Matt Pilgrim - Talking 'Soft

Adtech. A (late) roundup

2011-09-29T11:07:01Z

I attended Adtech last week in London and rather than give a blow by blow account of the day, I thought I would share some salient points that I picked up from the sessions that I attended…

Adtech is a conference aimed at Digital Marketers and Advertising Agencies and features sessions by Brands, solution providers and industry experts, key sponsors this year were Sitecore (yawn ), Infosys, Casale Media, AdMarketplace.com, Matomy and White Label Dating.

Nuggets of info…

Content is king and your digital strategy should be focused around your content strategy
Amazing content is not enough, it needs to be ‘remarkable’ – ie. People want to comment/talk about it
75% of companies know that their customers are Social, only 10% of companies are actually doing something about it
22% of internet time is social
People are going to a brands site less and less but they still want to access the content – need an open and extensible platform, surface content through webparts to Facebook, ad banners, etc
Social media is all about affecting business in real-time
Digital Marketing is not about changing how we communicate but about changing how we do business
There are 3 trends predicted within Social

1. SOCO – SocialCommerce

Think Facebook stores
Think integration of Facebook/Twitter into ecommerce sites

2. SOCAL – Social Local

Location based social, think Groupon plus Foursquare or Google Latitude

3. SOGA – Social Gaming

Angry Birds gamers clock up 175 years of game time every day
The key to harnessing gamification is ‘Light Progression’ – offering rewards for participation

A great case study to put a lot of this into context is Dominos Pizza who partnered with RGA in the US to ‘re-invent’ their brand in under 3 months using the power of social.

Take a look at the campaign here:

They Crowd-sourced ideas and listened to their consumers, Created the dominos tracker that allows you to see who is making your Pizza, track it minute by minute through being created, cooked and delivered and then rate your Pizza once it arrives, this is then shared back to the person that made it! Dominos have seen a 30% rise in net new sales, 65% increase in return business and a 14.3% increase in in-store sales.

Great Infographic on Media usage

2011-09-20T17:46:04Z

Courtesy of Adage this shows the media consumption of different generations, hour by hour. very cool. Hat tip to the Digital Marketing Platform Group at Microsoft…

Looks like Grandpa keeps falling asleep with the radio on because he spends all day reading the news online and chatting to the grandkids on Facebook

The ROI of Social Media

2011-09-15T11:16:10Z

Today seems to be a day for infographics. another nice one on the ROI of social media, a widely disputed topic, kudos to MDG Advertising for this one…

Avoiding online customer complaints…

2011-09-15T10:36:57Z

Or more specifically, how to avoid an online complaint blowing up and trending on twitter or gaining momentum from disgruntled customers who want to join the fanfare but wouldn’t have lit the fire.

Its a very common problem and many organisations are looking at how they monitor social media traffic for negative posts about their brand, they are either hiring people within their company or paying for a 3rd party to monitor on their behalf.

Taking advantage of social media platforms to boost your brand or even just adopting some of the methodologies associated to them to improve productivity is something we talk about a lot in my team. its a huge part of any digital marketing platform but we rarely extend that conversation to think about how to handle situations that arise from the use of these mediums. I love a good infographic and this one tells a great story on the journey of a customer venting their frustration at a bad customer experience and how an organisation might use the new tools at their disposal to calm the situation…

Kudos to Zengage…

There’s amazing people out there…

2011-06-29T10:41:22Z

It was nearly 3 months ago but is far from a distant memory! In the first week of April I competed in and completed the 2011 Marathon Des Sables (MDS), I need to say a huge thank you to all who sponsored and supported me and also wanted to offer some info on the impact the money is making!

My final total sponsorship was £13,138.23 which is both overwhelming and truly remarkable. I would like to give you a little more information about where the money that was donated is going and also a little about the event itself; read on if you are interested or just skim the pictures if you are busy!

All about the money…

My chosen Charity was Hope For Children, HOPE's aims and objectives are to help disabled, orphaned, poor and exploited children, in particular those living in developing countries. This is achieved through providing, promoting and advancing children’s rights to basic necessities, including education and health care, aimed at sustaining their long term development. To make things a little more real, let me introduce you to someone…

This is James and the money people donated saved his life.

James is an 8 year old boy who fled to Kampala because of abuse and the war in North Uganda, he was forced to live on the streets (1) but it was still better than where he came from. Living on the streets is incredibly dangerous; violence and sexual abuse is commonplace (2); James has to beg every day just to get scraps of food to survive. The street children are seen as a problem by the police who regularly round them up, put them in cells and subject them to regular beatings and abuse (3). One of James’ friends actually died from the attacks he received in police custody.

Kampala is just one of the places that Hope for Children are helping. One of HOPE’s workers found James on the street (4), offered him counselling and support and helped him to get into a local school. The money that you have given has paid for James to receive an education and more importantly support from professionals who have helped him to stop substance abuse (5), leave a world of beatings and sexual attacks (6) and integrate into normal society.

Special thanks to all the corporate sponsors…

Microsoft, ICS Solutions, HowSplendid, DotNet Solutions, Resource IT, The Fantastic Tavern, cScape, Black Marble, Mando Group, Sword, Bluesource , Core GB, Clearpeople and Orion Lodge

You have let this boy become a child again and whilst he has lost his innocence forever he now has HOPE. Thank you

Below is a picture as proof that I did it!

Mobile Marketing

2011-06-24T07:36:19Z

I read an interesting stat this week stating that there are 3 times as many smart phones activated every day than there are people born! This really got me thinking about Mobile as a digital trend and in particular mobile marketing. take a look at this great infographic from the folks at Microsoft Tag…

The Change in Marketing

2011-06-23T15:05:44Z

Its no secret how Marketing has changed but its interesting to look at those changes to understand how technology and consumer trends are changing the world around us. Digital Marketing or the impact of new marketing channels and consumer behaviour is seen by many as the fourth ‘Industrial revolution’ (it’s pretty big).New marketing channels and changes in consumer behavior are forcing organisations to reconsider how they engage consumers online and the implications of a customer journey.

To explain how marketing has changed its useful to explain in a 101 style explanation, I’m no Marketer but to give some loose context, in the 80‘s Marketing was broken down into 7p’s

Product
Place
Promotion
Price
People
Process
Physical Evidence

These 7 points are all elements that a business could control, with the emergence of the web and now connectivity everywhere marketing has become far more complicated…

Again in the most basic explanation, we have to consider 5I’s when thinking of Digital Marketing and the impact of social media and consumer behaviour

Identification – Who are your customers
Individualization – Create a personalized experience
Interaction – Marketing is now being touted as a series of conversations, turn conversations into relationships into advocacy
Integration – Every part of an organization has a part to play, you need a consistent brand and a flow of information inside and outside of your business
Integrity – With conversations happening everywhere organisations have to operate with a high degree of integrity

As i start to write a bit more, perhaps i can start by digging into a few Digital trends that are driving the bigger change…

lets start again

2011-06-22T16:44:58Z

So, it has been a long time since my last post and its about time I started writing again. My role has changed slightly in that I am still at Microsoft but working for the Digital Marketing Platform Group. This means i still get to talk to people about the things that i am passionate about (user centred design, creative genius and New technology) but I also get the opportunity to help Partners and Customers to shape solutions that address the changing digital trends.

Exciting times, I hope i can offer some interesting thoughts…

Partner Tips #3

2010-08-27T14:35:00Z

Know your brand (pt. 3) - The Nirvana

So just for a little bit of fun and to carry on from tips 1 and 2, how amazing would it be if you could build such a strong brand that not only could the vendor you are partnering with identify your business from your logo, but that logo would invoke emotional attachment and the vendor could connect with your company values and key skills.

Can you identify these brands? what emotions do they provoke?

Partner Tips #2

2010-08-20T14:34:00Z

Know your brand (pt. 2) – the exercise – Ten questions to ask yourself

To follow on from my post (Partner Tip #1) try asking these questions of your business, it might help put things in perspective…

Can you state your five most relevant and compelling brand attributes (adjectives that describe your business)?
Have you identified and documented your short-term and long-term goals?
Do you know what those around you would say is your organisations greatest strength?
Are you clear about what you don’t do?
When people introduce you, what words do they use to describe what you do?
Can you clearly describe what differentiates you from your competitors?
Do you have a brand positioning statement that describes: what you offer, for whom and how you are different?
Can you clearly describe your target audience or the ‘sweetspot’ for your solution?
Do you have your own newsletter or ways to keep in touch with your vendors and target audience?
Do you know the next step in the evolution of your brand (i.e. What you need to do next to increase your visibility among your target audience members)?

Partner Tips #1

2010-08-13T14:27:00Z

1. Know your brand

When working with a vendor it is important to understand what your company brand stands for. Think of the image that you wish to portrait within that organization and stick to it.

This isn’t a reference to the skills that your teams possess or services that you can provide, products that you sell or solutions that you build. This is more about how you present those skills and services, how you pitch the products you sell and how you reference the solutions that you have built.

What do you want people to say when asked about your business?

Some of the most successful Partners that I have worked with do an excellent job of expressing their brand to a vendor; quite often this is done without explaining it, but through the style of presentations that they give, through the way in which they interact with the vendor. In most cases this is exactly the same message that you would try to portrait to a customer to emphasize why they would choose your business to deliver a service. If you think about it, this makes perfect sense, as in most cases you want the vendor to be able to articulate your uniqueness or differentiators to their customers.

Be proud of your company culture; it is a representation of the people you employ, and lets face it, they are the heartbeat of your business and the most important asset you possess. It’s a well known fact that people buy from people, so be proud of yours.

Google breakthrough

2010-08-04T16:34:16Z

Google have announced ‘single sign on’ support for a number of their web applications. Happy days. this really improves the overall experience of their product set and will even let you manage more than one mail account without the need to sign out then in again. Impressive.

Prompted me to research into when Microsoft realised this feature was important to the success of web based applications… can't quite believe it's been 10 years...

Marathon des Sables…

2010-07-23T20:59:00Z

The Marathon des Sables is hailed as the toughest footrace in the world. To compete, not only do you need to be fit, you need extreme mental strength .

The MDS covers 243km (151 miles) over 6 days; with the stages split to approximately 25km, 34km, 38km, 82km 42km and 22km. Competitors are required to carry everything they need for the duration of the event (apart from a tent) and water is rationed throughout the various stages. If that doesn’t sound so bad; the final detail is that the event is staged across the Sahara Desert in Morocco!

Competitors are completely self-sustained and will have to endure temperatures of up to 120⁰F, run over uneven rocky and stony ground and battle with sand dunes for 15 – 20% of the distance. The heat, distance and rubbing is likely to trash your feet. Dehydration is a serious threat throughout the duration of the race. Physical fitness is a fundamental requirement but mental stamina probably constitutes atleast 50% of whether competitors complete or not. The fourth day of the race really epitomizes what this event is all about: 45 – 50 miles across the barren wilderness with a 42km marathon distance the very next day. This really is the toughest footrace on earth!

….And I’m competing!!

Hope for Children

2010-07-23T15:16:00Z

HOPE's aims and objectives are to help disabled, orphaned, poor and exploited children, in particular those living in developing countries. This is achieved through providing, promoting and advancing children’s rights to basic necessities, including education and health care, aimed at sustaining their long term development. Hope for Children endeavor to:

Improve the quality of life and advance the rights of children.
Bring about change for good on behalf of children and families, and encourage them to participate in processes which enhance their equality, self-reliance and long term sustainable development.
Wherever possible to provide practical support which allows children to grow up within their own families and communities

I’ll be attempting to complete the Marathon des Sables in March / April 2011 to raise £7k for Hope for Children. Do something amazing…

Ross Brown Solution Partner Keynote WPC10…

2010-07-23T12:04:16Z

Some of you were there but might want to share with other people within your organization but if you weren’t at WPC this is a MUST VIEW

Ross Brown does a great job of explaining the Partner eco-system at Microsoft and some positive changes coming in this year…

Even the dark side hate Apple…

2010-07-23T09:56:57Z

Amidst all the hype around Windows Phone 7, I’m glad people are still taking some time to have a swipe at the iPhone :-)

I love this video by Russell Arch

There has to be some credit owed here though, even under scrutiny, Apple still invoke creativity amongst the community!!

Windows Phone 7…

2010-07-12T19:34:11Z

I was sat in a keynote at WPC today and it has just been announced that the final beta for the developer tools for Windows Phone 7 Series are now LIVE!

Really is a huge opportunity for Partners to provide customers with a seem-less, integrated and rich experience across a number of different platforms! this is real and now and I, for one, am very excited.

Its a new channel for SI’s to help extend solutions out to a different platform and allow mobile workers to interact with Line of Business applications.

http://developer.windowsphone.com/

The UI looks incredible with information being displayed via hubs with panoramic screens that offer seem-less integrate with web based applications. I am also loving the framework for building applications. The phones should be in stores for “holiday season” and will have a single ‘optimised hardware target’

Sometimes you have to ask “why?”

2010-07-07T15:02:18Z

I found out this week that I have secured a place in the 2011 Marathon des Sables, for those of who are unsure, take a look here

I will be undertaking this challenge to raise money for a very worthwhile charity Hope for Children take a look at my fundraising page and please make a contribution!

The hardship I will endure over 6 days in the desert is nothing compared to the suffering of children all over the world.

Go on, do something amazing!!

Office 2010 team use crowdsourcing…

2010-06-30T14:42:02Z

Interesting article on Office 2010. Some great quotes including…

“In some ways, the ‘Office versus Google Docs’ debate doesn’t merit a lot of consideration -- it’s still no competition,” said J.P. Gownder, a Forrester analyst. “In terms of usage and penetration, Google Docs remains a failure -- so far, anyway.”

Web apps, get your web apps…

2010-06-09T16:29:47Z

On Monday, we announced the launch of office web apps within Sky Drive, go have a play...

Expression Studio 4 Ultimate

2010-06-08T09:09:29Z

Some great info in the Expression newsletter this month including a video overview of the tools that make up Expression Studio 4 Ultimate…

http://expression.microsoft.com/en-us/ee426901.aspx

And don’t forget, if you have a copy of Expression 3 you can upgrade for FREE!!

Adidas Star Wars Advert

2010-06-04T16:28:44Z

Loving the new Adidas commercials featuring some well known stars and the cast of Star Wars.

This is surely the pick of the bunch, Snoop Dogg is tremendous!

Friday Funny…

2010-05-07T15:29:00Z

Courtesy of Mickey Boswell from bluesource…

Once upon a time, a Prince asked a beautiful Princess... “Will you marry me?”
The Princess said “NO!”

And the Prince lived happily ever after and rode motorcycles
and went fishing and hunting and played golf
and dated women half his age and drank beer and scotch
and had tons of money in the bank and left the toilet seat up
and farted whenever he wanted.

The End

Google in dramatic redesign of search engine!

2010-05-06T15:15:15Z

So, Google have re-vamped their search engine. Is this really news? just made me laugh as I was expecting something beautiful and a visual appeal to lure me away from Bing.

I’ll forgive you if you haven’t noticed this upgrade.

Any one fancy a game of spot the difference??

Credit where credit is due, they are making some really nice tweaks to the functionality within search results…. http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_15017536?nclick_check=1

Sensecam..

2010-05-06T13:38:22Z

An example of a beautifully simple device with a plethora of potential uses. The sensecam developed by Microsoft research team in Cambridge is essentially a digital camera that you wear around your neck that takes pictures periodically throughout your day.

This makes for a fascinating snapshot into someone’s life and more importantly is being applied to help people with memory loss problems.

enjoy