MarketingInProgress.com by Brett Duncan » Uncategorized

Complimentary Tix to Optimization Summit

Brett — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:06:04 +0000

So here’s the deal:

Optimization Summit is next week (Sept. 16-17) in Dallas, and I’ve got three complimentary tickets I need to give away that the good folks putting on the event have bestowed upon me.

If you think you’re the best choice for one of these tickets, I just need you to tell me why in the comments. Who are you looking forward to hearing from? What seminars do you think you need the most? Stuff like that. The only catch if you get them is you need to tweet and blog about it either during or after the event. Pretty easy, huh?

If you’ve read my recaps of the previous Optimization Summit, you know I absolutely love it. It’s a great marketing conference. This one features Brian Solis, Christopher S. Penn, Jason Falls, Mack Collier, Jay Ehret, Geno Church and many, MANY other marketing luminaries.

So leave your comment below and I’ll pick the winners late Friday night (Sept. 10). And if you don’t get the tickets, I still have a killer discount code that gets you 60% off the price. Just click here.

OK – lemme hear from ya (and make it good!). And follow along at Twitter: #OptSum.Similar Posts:

What I Love, and Hate, About the Miami Thrice

Brett — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 10:50:41 +0000

What, you haven’t heard that the Lebron/Wade/Bosh trinity in South Beach is being called the ‘Miami Thrice?’ I would say reading this little cheese nip made me vomit a little, but the fact is my nausea was in full force way before. And yet, there are still some things I love about this mammoth move of NBA juggernauts. Things we can all learn from.

What I Love About the Miami Thrice

Importance of Chemistry. So the rumor is that this trio so enjoyed playing together in the 2008 Olympics that they decided then to find a way to play together in the NBA. They created a little chemistry, and they wanted to keep it going. Some all calling this conniving and greedy, but I’m digging it. I believe chemistry between coworkers is just about the most important thing to have in place. We talk often about the power of synergy, but without chemistry between the separate parts, there is no such thing. So I applaud Lebron James, Dewayne Wade and Chris Bosh for recognizing its importance, too (supposedly, Chris Paul was in on the conversation, too). These days, when I ask someone to come in for an interview to join my team, I’m analyzing chemistry potential more than anything. Their resume or portfolio or online presence can tell me just about everything I need to know about their work. I need to know if they can fit into the current mix and add to it.
Not Making the Money Priority #1. So some if not all three of these guys are agreeing to lower contracts than they could’ve had. Yes, I know that between the lack of state tax and all the endorsement opportunities that none of them will be crying over the difference. But it’s still rare in today’s free agency market. Being a Dallas guy, it would’ve been great if Steve Nash had stuck around for a little less money to take on the world with Dirk. But he went to the highest bidder in Phoenix. All three in the Thrice realize they’ll be rewarded both monetarily and in championships to make up whatever lacks in their salary.

What I Hate About the Miami Thrice

Lebron Tainted His Brand. Lebron was an awesome brand before all of this. A brand of high integrity (relatively speaking, at least). I loved watching him play and listening to his speeches because I felt he epitomized true leadership. But now he’s been shady with us. He’s actually gone against so many of the things his brand promised. The hometown hero, the superhero leading the Cavs, of all teams, to a championship, the NBA’s best (arguably). With his recent antics, his no longer trustworthy, he’s turned his back on his hometown, and he’s admitted he’s not good enough to be the clear leader of a championship. Kobe’s stock has actually risen even though he’s done nothing, only because Lebron’s stock has lowered so much.The funny thing is I keep hearing about the “Lebron brand,” but I think Lebron is actually going backwards. I think Lebron had the brand thing down before, and now, like so many brands, he’s lost his way and become something he’s not supposed to be.
Enough with the hoopla. The ESPN special made me sick. The celebration in Miami where they all rose from the ground in fog made me laugh, then it made me sick. And the whole charade of how they all courted Chicago and the Clippers and the Knicks, blah, blah, blah, blah …. does anyone really believe that was legit. And this is the whole problem: the Thrice are clearly concerned with the hoopla. They can say that winning is all that matters, but so far it’s the spotlight that’s really mattering.

So what’s the point here? Try this one: How you do something is ALWAYS as important, if not more important, than what you do.

I’m cool with what the Miami Thrice did; I hate how they did it. Because of that, I’ll be rooting against them at every turn.

What’s your take on the whole mess?

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Feeding Your Elevator Pitch with an Onliness Statement

Brett — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 03:07:59 +0000

I ran into a few people this past weekend who, after I asked the obligatory question “What do you do?,” confessed that they were really working through how to communicate what it was they do.

It’s easy to laugh at this, until you realize you kinda stumble through your elevator pitch yourself. It’s actually quite admirable, to be openly finding your way toward your niche. And it’s terribly common to stay in that “working it out” stage for a long time.

So, may I suggest filling in the blanks of Marty Neumier‘s “Onliness Statement,” from his amazing book ZAG!? It goes a little something like this:

Our brand is the only ___________ that _________________.

What, that doesn’t make sense? Read the book. It’s a wonderful exercise in working through your statement. To be quite honest, I think mine is due for some refreshing.

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Big Design Conference 2010 Review: Major Peaks Sprinkled with Valleys

Brett — Mon, 31 May 2010 19:48:46 +0000

I had the privilege of both speaking and attending the Big Design conference this past weekend, a two-day event filled with keynotes and workshops targeting designers and developers that are obsessed with the user experience. Being that I’m neither a designer or developer, I was a bit cautious rolling into this event, figuring much of it would be well over my head.

I was right, of course. I have to say, there were some really, really smart and gifted people at this event. But it was refreshing. I took on the attitude to soak up as much knowledge outside of my comfort zone (which, with web, normally falls in the content and marketing management zone) and really tried to gain what I could from topics that I’m pretty green in.

Overall, the approach was quite profitable. There were definitely some real sleepers in the midst, but there were certainly more peaks than valleys, especially once Day 2 was over. With that said, here are my highlights.

Highlights and Takeaways from Big Design Conference 2010

Chris Bernard, Lessons in Big Design from John Hughes: This Saturday morning keynote was probably the best part of the conference for me. Again, keep in mind that I was a little out of my area of expertise here, so I have to admit I hadn’t heard of Chris before. However, everyone was abuzz that he was there. He didn’t disappoint. His presentation weaved together lessons from John Hughes movies like Ferris Bueller and 16 Candles, as well as Hughes’ life, in a way that made great high-level points on design but also kept me engaged. I learned just as much about concocting an attention-grabbing presentation as I did design, and I found myself wanting to grab a Hughes biography immediately after the conference.
Brian Sullivan and Ryan Plesko, Design Studios – Sketching User Experiences: Brian and Ryan are the real brains and brawn behind the Big D conference. However, they’re also great presenters. I walked out of this workshop with a whole new level of respect for those who find ways to really push and organize the creative process. Listening to how detailed and thought out they both treat their sketching process was truly eye-opening. The presentation was extremely resourceful, and it inspired me to go out and grab a sketch book, even though I’ve always been Mr. College-Ruled regardless of the application.
Susan Weinschenk (aka The Brain Lady), Psychology of Online Behavior: Susan kicked the event off with her keynote on Friday morning. I think I took the most notes during her session. Part of it was because her presentation was very interactive, and I know I’ll be stealing some of her examples to create some a-ha moments in my own. One of the tidbits I took away was Susan’s proof that people actually want to click more. Which is refreshing, considering I get bombarded every day with power users counting clicks for every experience they have on my sites. Another great stat Susan shared was that, at any given moment, we humans have 40 million sensory inputs at work per second, but we’re only conscious of about 40. Her presentation impressed me enough that I grabbed her book, Neuro Web Design: What Makes Them Click.
Amy Buckner, Understanding the Why Behind Analytics: What a great session! Amy presented us with analytics for several different scenarios, then simultaneously showed us how analytics alone don’t give you the info you need and the techniques and approaches to use to get the info you need. Between eye-tracking to 1:1 usability tests, her tips were very strong, and her style was refreshing.

I also have to mention just how much of a pleasure it was to sit in on the For-Profit/Non-Profit Panel, sharing the stage with the likes of Jim Carlson-Landy from Sabre, Christian Caldwell from American Heart Association and Laura Humpries who freelances for the Boy Scouts of America. We had a great time “preparing” for our time off stage (and I use that phrase oh so loosely), and a pretty dang good discussion on stage. I’ll probably blog soon about my thoughts on the lessons that can be learned from the other. And huge props to Ben Smithee for superb moderation.

Were there some disappointments? Sure; what conference doesn’t have ‘em? There were a couple dud presentations in the mix, and I was really disappointed that both Erica O’Grady and Ryan Merket were no-shows (but huge tip o’ da hat to Mike D. Merrill for jumping in at the last minute with a stellar presentation on the Brandividual). And I have to admit, I feel like I’ve been overwhelmed with social media workshops over the past six months, so I’m sure my opinion of those workshops is skewed.

But that’s really the only bad thing I can say about it. It was a great conference at a great location (SMU), and it was awesome seeing such a local group of true usability professionals.

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Some other attendees’ reviews (and video and slides coming soon):

Brief Reactions to Big D Conference, MadMacGirl.com
Mike Merrill’s Age of the Brandividual Slides
Russ Unger’s Opening the Kimono slides (sorry I missed this one)
Baxie404.com review
Deran Shillings Recap

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What No More Lost, Jack Bauer or Simon Cowell Really Means

Brett — Wed, 26 May 2010 01:46:48 +0000

Pardon me if this seems a bit off-topic.

It’s just hard to not reap something out of the end of one of the most significant events in pop culture which is happening before our eyes. Since Sunday, we’ve seen the end of Lost, 24 and Simon Cowell‘s spot on the American Idol panel.

Seriously, think about this.

24 changed the way to think about what’s possible with a full season. Lost completely revolutionized the idea of what a “cult following” can truly mean. Simon Cowell showed us the importance of being a real prick.

And now they’re all gone.

It’s just amazing that it’s all happening at once. It truly feels like the end of TV as we know it.

Now, if I have to apply some marketing lessons to take from all of this, consider these, and add your own in the comments:

Before Lost and 24, watching a full season on DVD really wasn’t a smart option. It was available, but it was little more than archiving. The storylines and formats of these shows not only made it a good idea to get the DVDs, but in most cases it’s actually preferred. The shows were produced with sales of the DVDs and, later, the iTunes downloads in mind. Watching it on programmed TV was just icing. These shows pioneered how to mold your show to the growing trends.
Simon Cowell showed us how leadership really works. Randy and Paula and Kara and Ellen are all just preambles to whatever Simon says. And why did we listen to him? It’s not cuz we knew any songs he’d ever played, or produced, or thought he was good looking, or anything like that. It’s because he spoke with authority and unapologetically. People will follow that (and their votes will follow).
Ignore conventional wisdom. None of these shows followed the status quo. They all took risks. They all did things that led to raving fans, and they also did things that pissed off their fans. And that’s what happens when you push the limits.

I said goodebye to good music about 8 years ago. I’m now bidding adieu to quality TV.Similar Posts:

Book Review: The Search for God and Guinness by Stephen Mansfield

Brett — Sun, 16 May 2010 19:09:45 +0000

If you like beer and history and doing good thing, you’ll enjoy reading The Search for God and Guinness by Stephen Mansfield. If you don’t like doing any of those things, I think you’ll still like the book. It’s an informative look at the story behind both Guinness and Dublin, Ireland, and how the giving spirit of one truly shaped and saved the other.

As informative as the book is, though, it’s not exactly the most enjoyable read. At times I found it a bit too fact-and research-driven. I’ve never read another of " target="_blank">Mansfield’s books, so I’m not sure if his laborious listing of facts and events is normal. Regardless, it got old quick. The information was good, but the joy of reading wasn’t experienced in most chapters.

Though I found the majority of the book a chore scattered with interesting nuggets and trivia, the Introduction completely made up for it. Mansfield does a wonderful job capturing the essence and communal centrality of beer over the generations, and its prominent place in the church, of all places. His story of the first Thanksgiving is one I’ve already retold to several friends. Being a recent convert to the goodness of tasty ales myself, I felt reaffirmed in moving into what had before been forbidden territory. All in all, the book is worth its cover price if you only read the introduction.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”Similar Posts:

What Your Credit Score and SEO Have in Common

Brett — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:44:29 +0000

Did you ever think lessons you learned once your rose from the ashes of your days of “financial irresponsibility” could be so handy with how you manage your web content?

At the end of the day, improving both your search engine results pages and your credit score come down to the same main strategy:

Do the right thing (write valuable content/pay your bills) ….
Consistently over a period of time, and …..
Be patient

Any questions?Similar Posts:

Questions for a Monday

Brett — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:03:51 +0000

I woke up with these questions in my mind, so I thought I’d ask them of you, too. I’m not sure what I’m going to do about the answers, but nonetheless, it’s a good level-set for a Monday morning.

5 Questions to Ask Yourself on a Monday Morning

What can you do this morning that you’ll be thankful for tonight?
What can you do today that you’ll be thankful for on Friday?
What can you do this week that you’ll be glad you did in mid-April?
What can you do this month that you’ll be glad you did by the end of the year?
What can you accomplish this year that will make you proud next year?

Happy Monday.Similar Posts:

15 A-Ha Moments From Ignite Dallas

Brett — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:15:35 +0000

Many of you already know that I attended and spoke at the first ever Ignite Dallas event on March 3, 2010 at the Granada Theater. My expectations were high, but they were completely blown out of the water. My brief recap is actually posted over at LaunchDFW, the DFW Startup Community.

What I hope to capture with this post is just how moving and/or informative every single speaker managed to be. When you just throw 15 speakers on a stage and let them loose on any topic, you have no idea what you’re going to get. But this box of chocolates had nothing but the good stuff. Here are my quick takeaways from each speaker (in the order in which they spoke):

Shyam Patel, The Next American Epidemic – Mind Obesity (@shyampatel): The subject matter was amazing, but Shyam’s delivery, pacing and obvious grasp on what he’s talking about was inspiring. A great speaker with a great message.
Brett Duncan (aka me), Move the Box (@bdunc1): When I originally wrote about this topic more than two years ago, I knew it had legs. But I didn’t do anything with it until the Ignite opportunity came up. Also, I had no idea how hard it could be to put together a freakin’ five-minute presentation. Good Lord!
Karl Sydow, Tobacco – the Most Interesting Drug in the World (@karlsydow): There was this one slide of Obama smoking in Karl’s presentation and his comment on role models that just cracked me up. Karl’s quirky and dry manner actually fit his presentation perfectly.
Michael L. Perry – How Do We Collaborate Through Software? (@michaellperry): OK, Michael could be the smartest guy I’ve ever met. His presentation was way over my head, but you could tell it was important. And that he really knows his stuff. Plus, Michael and I had a great discussion about outsourcing before the event started.
Stu Hill, The Birth of a Nickname (@stuhill): Who knew assigning a nickname could be so formulaic. Stu took us step by step how he got his nickname for a snowboarder to be used on ESPN. It was a very funny talk.
Laura Vatalaro, Go Green Graphic Design (@lvgraphics): Laura showed five pretty innovative ways to make printing green. She even showed how to turn a cereal box into a business card, and I was one of the few who got one before the night was done. She made a strong case that printing doesn’t have to be as wasteful as we think it is.
Sean Scogin, Increasing Emotional Investment in Social Media (@seanscogin): Sean proved the point that you can’t judge a presentation by its rehearsal. I got to see Sean run through his talk a couple times before the doors opened, and I have to admit, I thought it was a little dry. Ends up Sean was saving the good stuff for the real deal, cuz he was smokin’ on stage. Plus, he proved why every good presentation should include a picture of a cocker spaniel. Nice touch.
Mike Orren, Stop Thinking and Say “Yes, and ….” (@mikeorren): This was one of my favorite talks of the night. Mike took his experiences from attending an improv class and turned it into a great paradigm shift we should all take in any forum. The idea is that we’re geared to say “No, but….” If we could just switch that mentality, it could change a lot.
Travis Blythe, Touring the Country on My Harley – A How-to Guide (@blydawg): Way over the top, but in a good way. It felt right. I still chuckle when I think about how he made us think for a second that a hair dryer and curler were necessary tools for the road. I also thought his powerpoint design was smart – he had his contact info in front of us the entire presentation.
Bethany Nelson, Complex Environments: This is not a Bar (@superawesomeBN): First, I have to say I really enjoyed talking to Bethany throughout the night. Very cool girl, and she was proud to be representin’ Denton. She hit the highlights of a project she did in turning a coffee shop into dance performance. Normally, this wouldn’t have been a topic I’d be interested in, but she shared it in a way that made me listen. One thing that stuck out to me was that she mentioned gathering data at the coffee shop and the using that to form the performance. Never have I heard of a dancer gathering data, so that was cool.
Jasmin Brande, What Social Media and Ike Turner Have in Common (@brandpointe): Overall, this was probably my favorite talk of the night. First, you could tell Jasmin knows her stuff. Second, the analogy of using Ike and Tina Turner to represent social media and education was perfect. Third, Jasmin was wise in not using my corny line “What’s abuse got to do with it?,” which I pitched at her prior to her talk. Fourth, she really brought it home when she ended her talk (and I paraphrase) with “Social media will never be able to replace great teachers.” The crowd went crazy over that.
John Lehmann, Changing the Way the World Looks at Information (@jplehmann): John is a really smart guy. One of the biggest a-ha moments I had of the night was when he said it’s most likely that I have consumed more information than all my previous generations combined. That’s crazy.
Liz Broderick, The Importance of Killer Heels (@passingthemic): Of all the talks, Liz’s definitely had the most pre-show buzz. Between quotes in the Morning News and I saw someone filming her in her heels outside of the Granada, everyone knew about this talk. If you thought the talk was gonna be about fashion, though, you quickly learned you were way off. Liz weaved the idea of heels into job searches, climbing the corporate ladder and the power and influence of today’s woman.
Salah Boukadoum, One Billion Dollars to End Poverty (@soaphope): Salah got screwed. The mic at the Granada was iffy all night, and it pretty much just crapped out when Salah got up to talk. But he did what pros do and just said “Screw it,” and gave his speech the old fashioned way, sans microphone. Salah took the principle of getting a lot of people (or in this case, businesses) to do a little, which results in big things. In this case, a billion dollars.
Mike D. Merrill, For the Love of Bacon – America’s Cult Meme (@mikedmerrill): Could you wrap a night like this any better than with a passionate history of bacon? While this talk was chock-full of very useful information, the image that is stained in my mind is of the girl using bacon for her own frontal support. Not sure if that makes Mike the one with the sick mind or me.

I think it’s clear that the night was amazing. Attendance for future Ignite events are definitely in my future, with the next one being on June 2.

Also, I have to give HUGE props to the folks who organized this, starting with Chris Walters. The idea struck him about 4 weeks prior to the event, and he and his team (Mike Merrill, Joey Pomerenke, Danica Mathes, Cone Johnson, Andy Hickl and Chris Bond) pulled it off and then some. Thanks to you guys.

Also, big thanks to the sponsors:

Scott & Scott, Facebook, hck2, Greenlight, Dave Curlee Media, Granada Theater, Sprint, Campaign Monitor, Big (D)esign Conference, swingly, Content Solutions, Social Media Club of Dallas, CoHabitat, Yelp, Level Ten Interactive.

Were you there? What were your favorite moments?

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Why I Follow Roland Gilbert, Mack Collier

Brett — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:38:20 +0000

Here’s this week’s shout-outs to those who bring me many pleasures via Twitter, the blogosphere and the like:

Why I follow Roland Gilbert (@christianjava): Roland throws out a great mix of “here’s what I’m doing” and great church communications ideas. Being a Dallas local, I’m especially interested, and can relate to, much of what he’s talking about (even when he gave almost play-by-play anaylsis of his recent jury duty escapades). Plus, he’s got a great blog that everyone needs to check out, and that I’ve mentioned before.

Why I follow Mack Collier (@MackCollier): Mack is a modern-day marketing idol in every way. His blog, Viral Garden, has long been considered one of the must-reads online. And his contributions to MarketingProfs are always worthy of the couple minutes it takes to read them. But simply observing his Twitter stream is a lesson in how to maximize the medium. He sparks conversations (esp. #blogchat, normally on Sunday nights) and he passes along pertinent info without overdoing it.Similar Posts: