Archive for the ‘Spring Creek Group’ Category
We’re Getting in Shape Tomorrow at PR+Mktg Boot Camp
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010You don’t often hear the terms “Boot Camp” and “Library” in the same sentence.  For that reason alone, we would have decided to take part and be a panel moderator at tomorrow’s big PR and Marketing Event.  But when we found out some of our favorite people, including Betsy Aoki (@bing), Elliot Pesut (@alaskaair), Shauna Causey (@ShaunaCausey), Rod Brooks (@NW_Mktg_Guy), Ben Straley (@meteorsolutions), Scott Porad (@scottporad), not to mention too many others to list (about 40 overall) will be there as well, we had to sign up.
So come see Clay talk about Measurement and Analytics tools, and come say hi to Grant and I as we walk around soaking up knowledge. Â Hope to see you all there tomorrow.
Social Media by the Numbers
Friday, February 19th, 2010Â 
Blogs, the long-suffering workhorses of the Internet, are often thought of as an excellent way to communicate with others online. However, a “blog post,” when used to convey one’s opinion, comes with one inherent flaw: it requires the use of words, and words alone can simply not be trusted.
Fortunately, in the entire history of the world, numbers have never been used to lie or deceive any one in any way. That is why, periodically, we like to take a look at “Social Media by the Numbers” in order to cut through the empty rhetoric often present in the busy world of social media and get down to some serious and objective truth.Â
- Percentage of journalists in a recent study who say social media is an important tool for producing and reporting the stories they write:Â 56%
- Number of unique visits to Twitter.com in January:Â 73.5 million
- Minimum number of Olympic athletes who dislike NBC’s Olympic coverage, according to NBC.com’s own “Olympic Pulse” Twitter feed: 1
- Dollar amount of voucher offered to filmmaker Kevin Smith following his removal from a Southwest Airlines plane for being “too fat” to travel, which prompted a backlash via Twitter: $100
- Percentage of people, according to a CNN.com poll, who agree with Southwest Airlines’ decision: 58%
- Minimum number of photos of 9/11 hijackers that have been appropriated for Facebook advertisements regarding changes in Michigan’s auto insurance policy: 1
- Number of incarcerated individuals’ Facebook profiles that British Justice Secretary Jack Straw has requested be shut down, due to the fact that these profiles are being used to harass the individuals’ former victims: More than 30
- Altitude, in feet, which Toshiba UK launched an “ordinary living room chair” for an ad campaign:   98,268
- Number of class action lawsuits filed against Google due to privacy concerns over their new Google Buzz application: 1
- Percentage of social sharing on the web driven by Facebook: 44%
- Number of Facebook’s new environmentally-friendly “green data centers” that will be partially powered by coal: 1
- Breakdown of our emotional reaction to the “new social statement site” pleaserobme.com: 70% amused, 30% terrified
PRSA Luncheon – Following Up
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010Thanks to all who attended the PRSA Luncheon today. It was a great panel and we’d like to extend our appreciation to our fellow panel members, Melissa Tizon from Swedish and Ricardo Rabago from PCC.
Also, as with most of these events, the great content comes out when the audience starts firing questions, so for that we thank you.
Below is the deck Clay presented during the luncheon for your reference.
We look forward to interacting with and collaborating with you all in the future.
We’re Hiring – Marketing and Research Mgr
Friday, February 12th, 2010Spring Creek Group is hiring again, and we have a pretty specific job description.  If you have all these skills, send an email to Andy with a resume and links to published material. Please include the subject line: “Marketing and Research Manager” so we know you read our blog. (Please no follow up calls.)
Job Description: Marketing and Research Manager
Spring Creek Group is recruiting a talented individual to assist our Marketing and Business Development activities, specifically focusing on Marketing Communications, Research and Content Development. This opportunity requires someone who is highly organized and detail oriented, computer and Internet savvy and skilled in Social Media Channel development.  The ideal candidate will have passion and experience publishing across multiple channels, contacts across the industry, and ability to cultivate a community of partners in order to raise Spring Creek Group’s regional and national brand awareness. This position will report to Spring Creek Group’s Marketing and Business Development Department Head.
Overall Role & Responsibilities:
• Support the Marketing and Business Development Department Head and Business Development Director, working closely with other department staff to create and publish relevant, interesting and timely information that can be syndicated in national publications and for individual case studies.
• Manage the Spring Creek Group editorial calendar; working with all of the Spring Creek Group content creators on daily channels such as blogs, as well as developing industry leading reports and analysis for national publication.
• Utilize listening and monitoring technology tools in order to research and collect timely data for reports.
• As a member of the national advertising and Social Media Community, be the company’s first-look into emerging trends in Social Media; identifying ideas, information and opportunities about behaviors in syndicated video sites/applications, mobile, widgets, blogs, social networks, and other social media.
• Speak at, and attend, local and national Panels and Conferences, serving as a representative of Spring Creek Group to relay case studies, strategies, and insights.
• Work with the Community Managers from Spring Creek Group’s Partners to develop shared content, leverage connections, and cultivate new industry contacts.
• Work closely with Spring Creek Group’s creative team to develop video and audio content, including interviews, and animated marketing materials.
• Develop ideas and presentations for pitching SCG attendance on industry panels.
• Work closely with management on the campaign building process, including set-up and participation in brainstorming sessions.
Requirements:
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and a proficiency in Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, Excel, & and other Windows based applications. (Proficiency in Adobe Photoshop, Camtasia Studio and other creative tools a plus.)
• At least 3 years of professional experience in a similar position and/or related field.
• Experience developing presentations and speaking on industry panels.
• Contacts and connections within the national Social Media and Advertising Communities.
• Proven background with a variety of Social Media Channels for personal and/or corporate brand development.
• “Can-do” enthusiastic attitude.
• Ability and willingness to travel for short periods of time if necessary.
An SCG History Lesson
Monday, January 25th, 2010
If you subscribe to George Santayana’s thought that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, then rest assured that if any SCG employees go on to become city planners they won’t be building a city in tidal flats or leaving a 15 foot difference in elevation between sidewalks and streets.  No, we didn’t take a field trip to city hall (as evidenced by the fact that we still have our work ethic), but we did take the semi-famous Seattle Underground Tour under our new Pioneer Square home.
While most of us knew about the almost-forgotten Seattle that resides about two stories below our 311 ½ Occidental Ave. S. offices, surprisingly not many in the group had been on the actual tour (Someone must have also given the tour guide a heads-up in regarding our senses of humor, because the tour read more like a standup show than a stuffy tour through history).
We learned about Seattle’s litigious side—a side that was present from the very start— with Henry Yesler suing the city using a loophole in the tax law.  Oh yeah, and he got away with it three times while he was . . . wait for it . . . mayor.
We also learned that the second-largest donor to the Seattle Public School system was a madam by the name of Lou Graham, who owned and operated a brothel on the site of what is now the Union Gospel Mission.  Back in the day, a large number of Seattle women were involved in the “oldest profession” (although they listed their professions as “seamstress” when asked by authorities) as Seattle was a lively port filled with freshly-rich travelers returning from the Yukon and wide-eyed prospectors about to make the journey north.
Proving just exactly how truly geeky I am, I downloaded a Ghost Radar application for my iPhone as we entered what was supposedly a “haunted” vault. The app costs $0.99, and while I’m fairly sure all I did was give nearly a dollar to some college kid sitting in his mom’s basement, I had to try it out – it’s technology.  It basically told me exactly what the guys from Ghost Hunters found out – there’s nothing.
All in all, the tour was great. We learned a bit about the area we work and live in every day and got to spend some time outside the walls of SCG together.  If you’re looking for a bit of history and don’t mind doing something that might be a tad bit cliché, definitely check out the Underground Tour for yourself.
Social Media Marketing: Real Analytics, Real Results! Webinar Presented by SCG Principals
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
Be sure to join tomorrow’s WOMMA webinar, Social Media Marketing: Real Analytics, Real Results! Spring Creek Group Principals Clay McDaniel and Xavier Jiminez will discuss how social media marketing has moved beyond measuring buzz to actually engaging consumers to buy. While social media marketing in 2009 centered on experimental campaigns to build brand engagement, amass fans and followers, and increase brand recognition, Clay and Xav will explain why 2010 will be the year of analytics and conversion measurement in social media marketing.
To read more visit: http://womma.org/events/january-20-webinar-social-media-marketing-real-analytics-real-results/
Register for the event here: http://www.certain.com/system/profile/form/index.cfm?PKformID=0×8643113df7
Spring Creek Group Makes MarketingProfs Stuff of 2009 List
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010Now into a new year we are able to reflect on the last, assess what we have learned and pinpoint particular highlights. MarketingProfs has done such in their recent article The Stuff of 2009: The Most-Read, Most Downloaded, Most Watched at MarketingProfs. We’re proud to share that SCG Principal Clay McDaniel’s article, 13 Essential Social Media ‘Listening’ Tools made the list by hitting on interesting and emerging trends in social media. Being one of the Top 10 MarketingProfs Today Newsletter Articles is not a bad way to start the New Year. With the bar now raised a little higher, we’re looking forward to what Clay and team will conjure up in 2010.
See Seattle Green Innovation in Full Bloom at Bloom! Seattle
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 
This Wednesday, October 28, you have the chance to be part of the fast-paced, idea-riddled green event of the year as Pravda plays host to Bloom! Seattle. The event is almost Ignite-styled in its quickness with a two hour session split up into a number of different talks.
We learned about the event through our friends at the newly-hatched EnergySavvy.com, a portal for homeowners that educates them on home energy topics. The site has a rage of information aimed at helping homeowners wrap their heads around their home energy consumption, including tax rebates for greening your home ad listings of area contractors who specialize in green building.
So, get out your planners, iPhones, Palm Pilots, or whatever it is you use to run your life and pencil this event in.
Event Info:
What: Bloom! Seattle
When: Wednesday October 28, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Pravda – 1406 10th Ave. Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98122 MAP
How much: $13 online here or $15 at the door
Facebook’s Legitimacy Problems: Are You Who We Thought You Were?
Thursday, October 15th, 2009
A recent post outlined steps Facebook is taking in requiring page owners to prove their connections with the brands they represent on the ever-growing social networking site.  What does this mean for agencies?  What are the short-term and long-term impacts? How will this affect your brand?  Let’s take a look.
Prove It
Facebook essentially is providing page owners three ways to verify that they in fact have rights to develop and maintain a brand page and they can be found here:
- Add a badge or Fan Box widget to your Website – This is simple, really and can be done by sending a bit of code to whoever is code monkeying your site. It also provides a great focal point for driving traffic to your Fan Page.
- Add an official e-mail address to your personal Facebook account that can be used to verify your affiliation with the brand (this can also be that of an authorized outside entity like PR, marketing, advertising agency, etc.) – This is easy if you’re a recognized agency, but a little harder if your roles are mostly behind the scenes.
- Add another admin who has a legit e-mail address – This is probably the easiest thing to do. Simply add your client contact to the admins of the page, giving you instant legitimacy.
The Agency
For agencies that are building and maintaining Fan Pages for brands in the Facebook environment, this could be a bit of a sticking point as they have to work out, with their client, the level of visibility they want to have as to who is actually doing the legwork. Â However, in most cases, a client contact is already (or should be) and admin of the page so they can not only lend their legitimate e-mail address, but also their watchful eye to the account.
The Short Term
In the short term, proving the authenticity of these pages is going to create a bit of extra work, but the short-term rewards greatly outweigh the time needed to get your stamp of approval (is there actually a stamp of approval?). Â Like with Twitter, brands have always been able to make a case for deleting unauthorized accounts based on copyright law, but now Facebook is taking that a step further and actually making it easier to drive out those pages which might be representing brands in a less-than-authentic fashion.
By simply claiming your brand pages and legitimizing them, you’re essentially eliminating those other pages and, in some cases, Facebook may fold those pages’ fans into your fan base, giving them a legitimate source of interaction on Facebook— and you a broader fan base— in one fell swoop.
The Long Term
Long term, this seems like a strategy by Facebook to not only cut down on clutter and misinformation within the Facebook environment, but also a move toward offering brands added benefits for operating within Facebook.  Don’t be surprised if these Facebook Fan Pages start developing multiple levels of functionality and complexity based on dollars spent on Facebook Advertising and direct buys. The team at Facebook is smart enough to make a move when they see an opportunity like this.
Unanswered Questions
While this is still a new(ish) issue, Facebook needs to provide a bit more information around the topic of what this actually means for brands. Will verified pages show up higher in search results, regardless of fan base and searchability? What’s the lag time between reporting a brand page and action being taken to remove that page? What are the criteria for moving fans from a page that might not be verified to the verified Fan Page?
Hopefully we’ll have answers to those, as well as the mounting pile of questions that will undoubtedly come out of this shift.
SCG at Mashable.com: 18 Essential Tools for Word-of-Mouth Marketers
Tuesday, October 13th, 2009
SCG Principal Clay McDaniel is feeling a little listy (and not in a nautical sense) these days, which explains his latest post on Mashable.com, where he provides his list of 18 Essential Tools for Every Word-of-Mouth Marketer. It’s a handy guide, and we think that both gurus and beginners in the space alike will be able to find something of interest.  Make sure you check it out.
