On Monday, I spent the day at DigiDay: Apps, a conference all about (you guessed it!) apps. We talked about iPhone apps and Android apps; [...]]]> Ah, the elusive app. All the rage these days, right? I was thinking about counting the number of times I heard “app” vs. “social media” in a buzzword-off…but I lost count.

On Monday, I spent the day at DigiDay: Apps, a conference all about (you guessed it!) apps. We talked about iPhone apps and Android apps; we talked about Facebook apps; we talked about how to build these apps and how to measure these apps. This was a full-day event, so I’ve tried to cull down the key learnings into five main points:

1. Make something good. While this should be obvious, this point was made by agency execs as well as app developers. If you don’t have the financial ability to make something good, don’t make anything at all. [Note: This even applies to branded utility- You can't just make something useful, it has to be well-designed and easy to use.]

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2. Media buys are a must. Specifically, panelists said you need to devote at least $10k toward promoting your app. Roadblock buys are great for new releases if you have a big budget: Spend $10k in the first two days and then spend the remainder of the $10k+ across the following days/weeks.

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2a. Leverage existing media to support your app. Be sure to leverage all of your assets to draw attention to your app. Whether you have a TV buy in place, a print ad going out or just a large following on Facebook/Twitter, these need to somehow drive back to your app. (This is especially important in the beginning.)

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3. Talk about location-based technology. You don’t have to re-invent the wheel and try to talk brands or investors into building another Foursquare. Instead, brainstorm how location-based technologies and apps apply to your company or your companies clients. Part of providing consumers with content when they want it and where they want it is the where.

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4. Make your app accessible across multiple platforms. Across the board panelists cited apps with cross-platform availability as “the most successful, without exception.” This means Android and iPhone, but also Blackberry and Facebook. It’s important to note that this is likely where the majority of your app budget will be spent – cross-platform development could cost $300k.

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5. Build in metrics & ways to measure success up front. Talk to your clients (& internally) to figure out what kinds of metrics and measurements show success. Then, make sure ways to track these metrics are part of the app development process. These days, it isn’t about downloads or installs as much as it is about engagement: How many people shared the app with their friend? How frequently did they use your app? How long were they using your app?

So those are the five things I’m walking away with in my back pocket. What would you say to an app-novice? I’d love to hear your thoughts, even if you weren’t at DigiDay: Apps!

What exactly is cultural latency, you ask? Latency refers to the lag time between cause and effect, typically in reference to gaming. The lower the latency, the faster the response time. With advances in technology, we [...]]]> Ever since Faris Yakob wrote this piece for Fast Company on cultural latency, I have been fascinated by the idea.

What exactly is cultural latency, you ask? Latency refers to the lag time between cause and effect, typically in reference to gaming. The lower the latency, the faster the response time. With advances in technology, we continue to see diminishing cultural latency across a wide range of day-to-day activities – from communication (think snail mail vs. email or IM) to advertising.

Which leads us to the ridiculously awesome Old Spice videos that W+K pulled off.

In case you’re not sure what I’m talking about, first check out the original Old Spice ad here and the newly released sequel here. The concept is great, the copywriting is excellent. But here’s where it get’s good: For two days, Isaiah Mustafa, “the Old Spice guy,” was responding to the digital world in almost real time. What happened to the script approvals, post production work and lengthy edits? Gone – out the window.

[Side note: One of the things about advertising that has always annoyed me is the amount of time that it takes to get things done. From signing contracts to script approvals to shooting to post production, by the time it's all said and done, it's hard to keep track of where things started in the first place. This is probably one of the reasons I love social media - everything has to be quick, and so it is!]

After posting updates to various social networks inviting users to ask questions to Isaiah Mustafa (the star of the videos), they received responses from Demi Moore, Ellen DeGeneres, Digg founder Kevin Rose and even the guys from Twitter (who asked if Mustafa had any experience training whales.) In a single day, over 80 videos were created in response to tweets, Facebook comments and even 4chan postings.

The videos were genuinely hilarious, but they also felt extremely personal. But I suppose you could argue that’s nothing new – There are lots of creative people in our industry.

What was so crucial for this to work was the response time. Tweets fly by… Responding to a tweet months later, even days later, just wouldn’t have been the same.

But like all good things, the videos, too, come to an end. So what now?

Brands will be challenged with trusting the agencies that are producing their content even more and agencies will be challenged with creating content (that matters) on the fly. How are you stepping up to the challenge?

One thing that particularly stuck out to me was a panel’s reference to the “lightning rod effect,” when people with [...]]]> Yesterday I attended the Creativity and Technology Conference and got to see a ton of great panels/speakers. I’m convinced that CaT is the new (& better) SXSW. All the tweets you read were true

One thing that particularly stuck out to me was a panel’s reference to the “lightning rod effect,” when people with large followings start talking about you/your brand, causing others to do the same. In some cases the chaos that comes from it can be good (”we had so many people visit our site that the server went down” isn’t such a bad problem to have), but more often than not people express their POV when they’re angry or have an issue with your brand. And in those instances, the mobs tend to attack.

So if the mobs attack, what can you do to come out on top?
- Thicken your skin. Sometimes the comments will be accurate, while others will be a bit silly. While it may feel personal, especially if you’re the founder or CEO of the brand, step back and toughen up.
- Acknowledge their comments. Even if you can’t fix the problem immediately, publicly recognize the fact that you’re getting an influx of comments and are looking into the situation or a possible solution.
- Don’t shut people out. Break down the communication barriers and really let your consumers and fans know what is going on. If the solution is taking longer than expected, acknowledge that. If you’re struggling to fix the problem, ask for input from your fans. While it may seem harder for bigger corporations, this is the most crucial bit.
- Be transparent. Now isn’t the time for marketing speak. Instead, pull them closer and appeal to human nature. Give consumers a reasonable and honest answer. If you can’t fix their problem, explain why to the best of your ability and recommend alternatives.

While it may seem like an uphill battle, it doesn’t have to end badly – In fact, this panel argued that often times, it may build an even tighter-knit community.

Jason quizzed Stephanie Agresta, Peter Shankman and Jeff Pulver on everything from their favorite brunch places in NYC to what they thought of Facebook privacy & Diaspora. It was nice to hear what these [...]]]> Last night, I had the pleasure of attending #SuperPanel put on by the wonderful Jason Keath (in conjunction with Doubletree and Chevrolet.)

Jason quizzed Stephanie Agresta, Peter Shankman and Jeff Pulver on everything from their favorite brunch places in NYC to what they thought of Facebook privacy & Diaspora. It was nice to hear what these digital influencers had to say outside of the large conference setting. The top 5 highlights of the night:

- Jeff Pulver has instated NDD – No Device Dinners – at his home. (I’m sure my parents wish they had thought of this!)
- Stephanie Agresta said that most problems with executing social media aren’t from agencies being poorly staffed but come from the brand side
- What happens at 11p isn’t always funny at 7a (says Peter Shankman)
- The panelists agreed that brands need to have (& show) their feelings if they want to be successful
- When asked about cursing on Twitter, all of the panelists said they refrained (though I have to say there was quite a bit of cursing during the panel itself!)

Thanks again to Jason Keath of Social Fresh for hosting the event!

But then yesterday I read about Alec Brownstein, a copywriter and director, and his use of a Google ad buy.

Brownstein wanted to work for one of the top creative directors in NYC [...]]]> I can’t count how many times I hear about “SEO” and yet, it’s always seemed boring to me. (Sorry – just my personal opinion!)

But then yesterday I read about Alec Brownstein, a copywriter and director, and his use of a Google ad buy.

Brownstein wanted to work for one of the top creative directors in NYC – and using the insight that we all Google ourselves from time to time – he decided to buy ads associated with their names. The result? Whenever they googled themselves, they would see “Hey (their name)! Googling yourself is a lot of fun. Hiring me is fun, too.”

Brownstein estimates the total cost around $6, and from his creative thinking he landed 4 interviews and 2 job offers…. And a 2 pencils & a Clio. He’s now at Y & R in NYC. Not too shabby, eh?

I’m think I’m slowly changing my mind about SEO- any other clever uses you’ve seen lately?

I saw an email from a friend with the text above and immediately thought her e-mail account had been hacked by a Nigerian prince offering me his fortune.

But, alas, it was not. Instead, it was something much more interesting. It was a campaign for Stella Artois. They wanted to give this amazing weekend to Jacques [...]]]>

I saw an email from a friend with the text above and immediately thought her e-mail account had been hacked by a Nigerian prince offering me his fortune.

But, alas, it was not. Instead, it was something much more interesting. It was a campaign for Stella Artois. They wanted to give this amazing weekend to Jacques d’Azur, but he’s disappeared and they so they are on a mission to find the rightful heir to this amazing weekend in Cannes.

I clicked through to the website, watched the video and realized that I was indeed, the rightful heir to an amazing weekend at Cannes – a helicopter ride to a presidential suite, the best seats at all the shows and of course passes to the best parties.

I received an email from Jacques d’Azur’s lawyer letting me know that while many impersonators had applied, they did think that I could possibly be the rightful heir and would contact me as soon as they had anymore information.

Getting caught up in the campaign, I tweeted about how great the experience was and almost immediately got a response.

Not only was the campaign beautifully done, the transmedia experience was completely engaging and fun to be a part of. And turns out that you, too, could be the rightful heir! Stella will send 50 people to Cannes for the weekend. Hats off to Mother London for this great work!

The costs start at $99 for individuals which amounts to less than $10/month – a small price to pay in [...]]]> As much as I love bit.ly, I’m thinking that I may have to make a move to a different URL shortener soon – Totally Awesome, or Totally.Awe.Sm, creates a URL shortener from any domain you own.

The costs start at $99 for individuals which amounts to less than $10/month – a small price to pay in my opinion.

The personalization trend has already taken hold – I think it’s fair to say that we’ll see more and more people & companies using custom URL shorteners in the near future.

Tim talked about process, quality and culture at AOL and how it contributed to both their successes and failures. Whereas Google does a great job of marrying art and science, AOL has missed the boat a bit [...]]]> This morning I was invited to an “Innovation Breakfast” with Tim Armstrong, CEO of AOL, hosted by Wolff Olins.

Tim talked about process, quality and culture at AOL and how it contributed to both their successes and failures. Whereas Google does a great job of marrying art and science, AOL has missed the boat a bit and is now playing a game of catch-up.

Having come from Google, Tim had a lot to say about internal culture. The most important point, I think, was about competitive culture. Tim pointed out that everyone at Google had a competitive drive and wanted to do their very best – But beyond that, Google had also set the bar of quality pretty high.

Tim argued that to help employees succeed, they assume that employees are smart. By trusting them to manage their own time and workloads, you are giving them the freedom to create their own success. Think of micromanagement and then think of the opposite.

Beyond management styles, Tim touched on meeting culture at AOL. “We don’t do PowerPoints about PowerPoint,” he said, pointing out that this is just a waste of everyone’s time. The company is conscious of not wasting their employees time and has even implemented a 5 minute meeting rule – If you are 5 minutes (or more) late to a meeting, you’re locked out. This holds true for employees across the board: Tim cited an example earlier this month where there was a new business meeting with a large client and the Director of Business Development was late. Instead of pushing back the meeting, they locked the doors.

So can AOL redefine itself and truly succeed? I think so. And so does Tim.

Tim said he accepted the position at AOL because he is a “huge believer that the Internet is going to be much, much bigger than it is today.” Beyond AOL as an Internet Server Provider (ISP), Tim pointed out that there were a lot of other assets and features that AOL has such as MapQuest (the #2 online mapping site) and AdTech. He skipped over Beebo, but when an audience member brought it up, he pointed out that at the time of acquisition, it was a pretty solid social network – especially overseas.

What else is going on behind closed doors at AOL? Tim is challenging his employees to “beat the internet.” Looking at what’s available online today – from flavors.me to Twitter to Wikipedia – there are some amazing tools and platforms available. Tim and his team are taking close looks at what is out there and how they can create something better.

The biggest challenge I think they face is the stigma associated with AOL. While the new logos are cool, lots of people (myself included) still remember AOL as an ISP promoting their service on little CDs of free hours. When I think of AOL, I think ‘old school.’

AOL has a long way to go, but I, for one, am pretty excited about what the future may hold : )

If you’re not at SXSWi, watch this space for our golden nuggets of learning. [...]]]> This week, both Michelle and myself will be at SXSWi. We’re planning on checking out the panels, learning tidbits to share with you, meeting cool people, earning some new badges on Foursquare and attending a few parties here and there

If you’re not at SXSWi, watch this space for our golden nuggets of learning. You can also live vicariously by checking out (ba-da-boom cha!) Vicarious.ly, which aggregates all the geo-location “check-ins” in Austin in real time. While Foursquare is the geo-location app that has coined the “check-in,” Vicarious.ly also aggregates BlockChalk, Bump, Flickr, Gowalla, Fwix and Twitter.

While it’s a great tool to see clustering of people and overarching trends, it feels a bit overwhelming. At first glance, it also provides some topline insight on the Gowalla-Foursquare battle. While New Yorkers are used to using Foursquare, the steady stream of Gowalla check-ins in Austin shows that they’re becoming a major player in the geo-location gaming world.

Check in, check it out and of course, if you’re at SXSW, please do come and say hi!

You can find us on Twitter here: @rosiesiman & @miishi