Creative Concepts

After all my ranting and raving from my last round of events, it is only fitting that I give compliments to a conference well done…kudos to Nancy Andrews of PRSA-CVC.  She put together a good group of speakers who had experience with social media and had a handle on what is going on around them (thank goodness).  The audience was attentive and asked good questions.  A great time all the way around.

Above is a picture they just sent me…I swear I am not yelling shutup…I am just sharing information on how Bigelow Tea has used social media.

Well, I have had quite the week of events…not many but enough to make note of how others run their shows.  Attending the occassional conference or gathering is important to me because of chairing the Business Smart Tools Conference…I am like an an actor who goes out into the field to study for a role.  I need to know what others are producing, how they are conveying their messages and if there are any formats that work better than others.  I also need to know if our content is up to date and still important!!

What I discovered is that there are many people who can speak on a variety of topics, experts who have first hand knowledge of their subjects.  This is all fine and good but the information they bring to the table needs to be managed by talented, personable, respectful and knowledgeable moderators who know how to listen and can be flexible and go with what may work at that moment.  Information needs to be harnessed and released so the audience both understands and expands their thought process while listening which I would like to think is the ultimate learning experience. 

This is not an easy task and this week proved it. 

In NYC last week at this time I attended a tech PR conference.  Again, good speakers, horrible moderators.  They didn’t fully understand the knowledge base of the speakers and for sure didn’t get the information out that the PR audience really needed.  The one overriding message I walked away with was that PR practioners are horrible people who lie and spam and bloggers and the traditional media hate them.  Now, I half way agree wtih the lying and spamming part but hello…this was an audience of public relations professionals…teach them, guide them, instruct them.  It was a big opportunity to bring foes together for a merger of the minds but the chance was lost for everyone…the speakers and the audience walked away feeling the same way they did when they first walked into the room which should never happen at any successful conference.

I attended another event last night in Stamford.  Again, great topic.  An Exec Chairman who blogs.  Everyone wants to know about his process, what walls he encountered, what joys he has discovered and do the media really read the blog and more.  The speaker did very well.  The moderator tried to do some homework but I know this guy and he has resisted social media from day one so what is this moderator doing getting up and talking to Mr. Exec Chair about blogging when he barely understands the medium himself?  On top of that, the moderator scolded an attendee for asking a question before the question time…ever heard of the UnConferences like Podcamp?  They are very successful because of their flexibility.  Oh and how about the time he told people not to get on their soapboxes with long winded salesy questions that only promote their own business but we had to hear about how he blogged once and talked to the media and how fun it was?  Sorry…I will stop now.

Having said all of this, I am always on a quest to improve the Business Smart Tools Conference.  I learn every year what made it great and what needs to be improved and I work very hard at being a moderator who can prepare engaging questions that tend to the needs of the audience.  I also work hard at listening during the panels so I can go with the flow and make the next question relevant to where the conversation is going.

My and Creative Concepts’ goals for the Business Smart Tools conference remain the same every year.  I want this conference to be a place where the message matters and the content becomes a truly educational experience.  No cash sponsors to infuse the panels with a pitch, each speaker is chosen because of the expereinces they can share, and each demo company has something noteworthy to show in a way that is beyond the typical Web 2.0 company that doesn’t have a business plan or revenue stream.

Based on past responses from the attendees, we have done a good job but keep in mind that we never stop improving, listening and sharing content that teaches more than it preaches.

Join us May 5, 2009.  Stamford Marriott.  I will be the one listening and making sure the attendees get the biggest bang for their buck!

Had a great time speaking at HVDMA (Hudson Valley Direct Marketing Association) yesterday. They had a President’s panel where Joe Feigenbaum from TDO, Fern Galperin, independent web consultant, and Matt Staudt from interactive marketing group and myself sat on a podium and answered questions about the web…everything from social media (big topic) to print, email marketing, direct marketing and more.

Interesting format. We met prior to the meeting and chatted and then were thrown lots of questions which for sure kept us on our toes…I was in very good company because Joe, Fern and Matt were confident and knowledgeable about their experiences on the web and how they have been innovators for their clients!

To sum up, we all agreed that the web/internet marketing is one of many powerful channels to use when reaching out to your customers.

Get a good rundown here from Tim Parry of multichannel merchant.

Well, we have just completed our 2nd annual Business Smart Tools conference which took place May 15th in Stamford.  Based on my own personal opinion and the opinion of countless attendees, speakers and demo companies, it was a huge success on many levels.  I believe we hit every nerve so to speak.  First there was lunch, then demo companies who showed off very powerful products and/or services, then there were the speakers who talked about everything from the new media business basics to Second Life, and then cocktails that lead to lots of networking.

This conference is geared specifically for the business person.  We cover what works and what doesn’t for business.  We had many big companies: Xerox, GM, GE….some attendees wanted to see more from small and medium sized companies.  I agree with that but the only problem is those companies either don’t have a budget to get out and speak or they just aren’t in the space yet.  The big companies have the budget which allows them to jump into social media endeavors and create success stories and to make mistakes…we heard all about both sides.  This is a shout out to all midsize and small companies who want to share their social media/internet marketing stories next year!

We will post a few video clips on the site along with any powerpoint presentations that the speakers shared with us.

Keep your eye on the site, www.BusinessSmartTools.com, for news about this year and updates about next.

Well, Sabine and I are getting excited about attending and speaking at Podcamp NYC.  They are now up to 1100 people attending which is amazing…quite a gathering in NYC for the Saturday before a major holiday (Easter)!!  Michelle, our sales maven, is heading to the networking party tonight, Friday, at Slate…Sabine, our emerging technology maven, and I are heading in tomorrow to hear what we can hear and to speak.

Now what is interesting about our workshop is that in a sea of passionate podcasters (and I hope to learn a lot from them), we are talking about “Blogging for Business!”  We were convinced to do so by John Havens one of the organziers (and great guy by the way!)  We will either have a near empty room or a room overflowing…this is the joy of doing an unconference…no one knows these things and there is no overplanning and everyone attending and planning the event contribute together…it is very cool!

If you are a second life fan, this link will lead you to some workshops that are taking place in real life at The New Yorker Hotel.

I haven’t checked the latest list of workshops but I do know that Greg Verdino will be working a panel on Saturday morning and Reena Jana from BusinessWeek will be speaking as well!  I do believe that Mike Dunn, podcaster extraordinaire, is thrown into the mix too (as long as there is no snow on a mountain somewhere :))

Ok then, see you all there…this is going to be a good time!

Well, today was interesting…ummm, not quite the right word!  I headed into NYC to check out the Ad Age Digital Marketing Conference.  This conference was $450 and for that I didn’t get a seat in the main area, didn’t get a program or extra handouts and didn’t even get water on the table (yes there were glasses but no water).

Yes the Ad Age Digital Marketing Conference succumbed to the let’s pack them in, let’s not plan, and let’s not work the event to take advantage of the speakers and guests!  Ok we heard about the Dove campaign (who hasn’t right), the panel was barely motivated to speak with Jonah Bloom moderating, and Abbey Klaassen seemed to have her favorite speakers (Manning Field from Chase) but was quite edgy with the audience (when no one had a question for one of the case study speakers, she asked if anyone understood what was going on)…lovely! 

Here is news for you Abbey, not only did we understand but we have heard it all before…don’t you have anything worthwhile to present to a group of people who paid $450…oh yes, you got your money and ran and didn’t look back. 

One redeeming note for Miss Abbey, after I went begging the staff for water and a program, Abbey gave me her program but couldn’t care about the others who didn’t have anything cause she needed to be “miked.”

On a positive note, I met Steve Rubel of Edelman and the Micro Persuasion blog.  What a nice guy.  After speaking with him, I didn’t realize what a fan I was! 

It is always good for me to attend various events and conferences to understand all facets of pleasing (and not pleasing) your audience.  I stil haven’t been to a conference like Buisness Smart Tools where the goal is truly to learn and share information…the speakers are the decision makers, the information is focused on how to make this digital/interactive/online stuff work in a business environment, the demos help expand the attendees experience and learn what is going on out there, and the networking is huge during the cocktail party where everyone gets up and walks around…a very big difference from hearing from some agencies who are winging it and having your lunch at your seat where you have sat since 9:00am.

Come to the conference in May and feel the difference…I promise enough water for everyone!

Liz Strauss, blogger extraordinaire of Successful Blog, has put together a conference, SOBCon ‘07, in Chicago.  Topic: taking your blog to the next level through strategy, art, technology and the science of relationship blogging.  250-300 bloggers expected.  Blog talk radio will cover it.

May 11 and May 12 at the Chicago Ohare Business Hotel

I have read the latest news about BED NY and Granville Adams.  Granville, a manager at BED, has been accused of criminally negligant homicide.  The story, at least the version in the New York Daily News and Reuters, is that Granville made a comment to a girl in the coat check line…her “man,” Orlando Valle, who was there with her having come off celebrating his 35th birthday (at 4 am), got outraged and a fight ensued.  Supposedly Granville pushed Orlando against the elevator and the doors opened and Orlando fell down the shaft and died.

While I personally wasn’t at BED during this occassion, Creative Concepts was a sponsor and actively involved in the event planning of the TechCrunch NYC party last November which took place at this hot nightclub/restaurant. 

While trying to get all of the details in line for this particular event, we were dealing with the typical shady NYC nightclub characters.  The event manager who didn’t have a lot of experience but came with a fair amount of attitude and the very elusive upper management/owners who were never referred to by name.  When I finally met Granville on the night of the party, I felt great relief.  He was the floor manager and my go to man and appeared to be the only one truly in charge (ever). 

As the night wore on, my gut about Granville was right.  He helped us through every detail of the event.  He was polished, calm and very much on top of the “floor” and very effective at solving any issue that came our way!  Did I say he was calm?  That is what made him so effective…plus he did a lot of hustling to get things done for us.  You could not have asked for better!

That is all I can say about Granville.  There is more to say about the elevator.  While coming to BED to check out the space (this was midday with no club traffic), the elevator was broken down.  Also on the night of the event, the elevator had been worked on most of the day and got up and running just in the nick of time for the party.  The staff said this was a regular occurence.  The air conditioning was also broken that night (this was November…I am sure the system wasn’t overused because of the weather!)…you see a theme of broken down equipment here?  It was easier for BED management to make a quick fix than invest their dollars in making the nightclub safe and comfortable for their patrons.

I wish Granville luck.  For the short time I knew him, I considered him a true professional in a sea of murky waters called BED NY!

 

 

Well this week and last have been bustling and fun!  Here are some of the projects and visits with present and potential clients:

First we did a major hustle and got the Cruise Resort & World Travel blog up and running.  We announced an award and posted a press release while Nancy, the blog owner was traveling in Viet Nam, Bangkok and Singapore and posted her observations.  We have information about Nancy, contact information for booking a luxury travel vacation and a press page with links.  We have a blog roll that supports the visitors’ need for travel information from flight stats to where to work out in the US when traveling.  Look for more to come with this exciting blog from an luxury travel agency owner who knows and experiences the world!

For a site that I thought was maintaining status quo, one of the principals called with vim and vigor and wanted to rev things up…letters out to customers, expand the topics of the blog posts, reach out to peers….it has been easy to support The Orthodontic Center, a site that supports 2 blogs where both blogs have a different agenda and different readers.

Next I was on to visit Ruth Ridgeway whose site is about to go live next week so check back on this link.  Ruth is a hard working feisty event designer who knows how to please her clients and make something out of nothing when it comes to a party.  Her site is awesome…we are about to add some video so bookmark her site for future visits.

I then worked through the details of two more sites that are going to be awesome…both have blogs, both communicate well with potential site visitors…stay tuned…you know I will tell you something when there is something to show.

And to add to all of this, I went this week to visit a potential client.  The principal is bright, energetic and creative but still afraid of what a blog is and can do (search engine optimization, crisis management, networking to name a few!).  Many in the corporate arena think a blog is dangerous and out of control.  Dangerous, no, out of control, yes, in a great way. 

Take a look at the Bigelow Blog.  This is a prime example of a corporate blog hard at work and working well for the company (500% increase in visitors from last month).  The President (Cindi), the VP Sales (Bob) and the VP of manufacturing (Dean) all contribute to the blog plus we back them up with studies and web finds on the benefits and facts of tea.  They have a strong community outreach plus they were a featured weightloss team on ABC Primetime live…all fodder for the blog.  The fact that Joe Torre, Phil and Chris Simms drink Green Tea doesn’t hurt either…Bob blogs about them especially when they came to headquarters recently for a visit.  A corporate blog requires the CEO or head of the organization to be open with a sense of adventure and dedication and that is Cindi Bigelow to a TEA!  She is ready to head out the door to bring on new customers…stay tuned for more exciting developments from Bigelow Tea.

All of this coupled with the excitement of the Business Smart Tools conference which is coming in May.  Amazing and knowledgeable speakers plus demo companies (tech startups that are geared toward business) and the BST angel award where judges award the one start up that shows the most promise with consulting time from management and tech gurus…it is truly a show to behold and one that has solid content where you walk away satisifed and well fed with information that can change how you work today.  Check out the Business Smart Tools Blog for updates.

We at Creative Concepts have been busy with the best yet to come…look for more adventures in the not so far future.

Check out Greg Verdino’s post on the party….he gives a great summary of who was there and what was going on!