Insights from Mashable Connect: Connecting is King

Recently, Digitas' Jessica Randazza attended Mashable Connect, a three-day event that explored innovation in digital. In addition to live-tweeting the speakers from @Digitas, she's recapped key insights and takeaways below.

It's more often than not, that when I attend a conference I spend several days in advance staring directly in the sun and performing intense neck stretches to prepare me for the time I'll spend head down into my computer and iPhone screen. I'm sure many of you have experienced the same -- you attend a conference, but instead of sharing ideas in person together, you spend more time watching the hashtag conversation to make sure you know what's going on. Sometime so much so, it's not worth the price of high conference registration (P.S., Twitter is FREE).

Mashable Connect, which took place at the most magical place on earth (Walt Disney World Resort) in Orlando on May 12-15 set the conference measuring stick with a carefully cultivated list of 300 new media professional that were so engaging and interesting, I'm happy to say my eye and neck exercises were in vein.

By far one of the most interesting groups of industry folks I've ever seen in one place and a small enough conference to make it possible to meet many of them. For the first time since June 29, 2007, I actually stayed off my device(s) for hours to   [Mashable] connect IRL (in real life). Conversations weren’t limited to just the industry, it was chockablock with real conversations where the first thing people asked was, "What are your hobbies," instead of the "What do you do (so I can find out if you're a benefit to me)."

And, of course, the content was superb, plentiful, and powerful.

Here are some of my favorite takeaways:

- Connecting is king, not content. Scott Heiferman founder of Meetup, focused on the importance of brands making REAL connections. He said we need to shift our engagement strategy, "connecting is king, not content.” As communications professionals for year we’ve heard “content is king” and worked tirelessly on crafting perfect marketing messages to blast out to our audiences. The conference stressed the value in talking WITH your community, and understanding their needs to create movements.

 “Meetups make a movement. Movements are made up of communities. It's not a movement if people aren't talking to one another.”

- Ingrain social purpose. It comes as no surprise that due to broad reaching digital connectivity, consumers are looking more than ever before to benefit the largest number of people in the largest possible way (as a differentiation point). But consumers also want brands to be authentic, and respond negatively (or ignore) disconnected or haphazard social good campaigns.  Brands see the largest ROI when they have a “social purpose” which reinvigorates the brand meaning for consumers and builds strong communities that can snowball into movements.

And as a follow up to the social good conversation, Mashable announced during the conference their upcoming Social Good Conference Sept 19 – 22 in NYC, which is pending full announcement. 

- Authority is critical in a saturated digital age. Consumers are seeking validation for brands online and being met with a mix of information, often causing complete information overload. According to a presentation given at the conference by Steve Rubel, EVP of Global Strategy and Insights for Edelman, “More content will be created today than existed in entirety before 2003.”

 We’ve entered a “validation” era where brands must constantly be accessible and connect with their consumers, share social purpose, and provide data where needed in order to build brand authority.

While those are just some of my favorite highlights, you can find more recaps from the conference on Mashable.

A huge thanks to the Mashable team for pulling together such an incredible conference, we look forward to more great events down the road!

For more insights from Jessica, follow her on Twitter - @JessicaRandazza

Digitas, American Express, Crispin Win Grand CLIO at the CLIO Awards

"Small Business Saturday" Campaign Takes Top Advertising Prize Of The Year, and Gold in the First Ever Facebook Category and Gold in Interactive/Social Media Category

NEW YORK - May 23, 2011  -- Digitas, the leading global integrated brand agency, American Express, and Crispin Porter + Bogusky have been awarded the Grand CLIO in the "Content and Contact" category for "Small Business Saturday," a groundbreaking campaign that created the first-ever holiday dedicated to supporting small businesses.

In addition to the Grand CLIO, Small Business Saturday also won the CLIO Special Award for Facebook Integrated Media and the Gold CLIO for Interactive/Social Media.

"American Express OPEN is an inspired partner who understands the value and drive of community. Small Business Saturday was an idea that inspired passion and action and Facebook was the quintessential place to gain nationwide community momentum," said Mark Kiernan, SVP, Marketing, Digitas. "We're thrilled to be honored by the CLIOS for this successful campaign and to have a part in the creation of a national consumer movement to 'shop small.'"

The campaign designated November 27 as "Small Business Saturday" -- a day when American Express cardholders could receive $25 back when shopping at registered small businesses. At the same time, registered small business owners received access to sophisticated marketing tools, advice, and free geo-targeted advertising. The multi-channel campaign impacted millions of people and business owners nationwide, as well as garnered the support of numerous elected officials.

> GRAND CLIO | Content and Contact
Client: American Express | Campaign: Small Business Saturday
http://www.clioawards.com/winners/winners.cfm?medium_id=8
Agencies: Digitas, Crispin Porter + Bogusky

> CLIO SPECIAL AWARD | Facebook Integrated Media
Client: American Express | Campaign: Small Business Saturday
http://www.clioawards.com/winners/winners.cfm?medium_id=17
Agencies: Digitas

> GOLD CLIO | Interactive (Social Media)
Client: American Express | Campaign: Small Business Saturday
http://www.clioawards.com/winners/winners.cfm?medium_id=7
Agencies: Digitas

Now in its 52nd year, the CLIO Awards is one of the world's most prestigious advertising awards competitions. The Grand CLIO honors the best advertising of the year -- outstanding campaigns that inspire consumers and drive results.

This award comes on the heels of a number of other accolades that Digitas and American Express have won through their collaboration. In February, they were awarded the One Show Silver Pencil for Innovation for "My Movie Pitch," a contest where film enthusiasts everywhere could submit movie pitches online for the chance to see their idea brought to life. In April, they were named finalists in two categories at the Webby Awards for "Unstaged," a live interactive concert experience that drew in millions of viewers. And in June, Unstaged will be awarded an Effie for Best Media Idea.

What Microsoft’s Purchase of Skype Says About The Future of Social Networking

What are the implications of Microsoft's purchase of Skype? Digitas' Jordan Bitterman, SVP, Social Marketing Practice Director, shares his thoughts on the deal and the future of social networking.

Last week, Microsoft bought Skype for $8.5 billion.  Much of the news surrounding this deal has centered on the price tag.  Microsoft’s purchase figure is 3x what eBay received when it sold Skype to a group of private investors just 18 months ago.  Has Skype found a far more profitable revenue source since then? All indications suggest it hasn’t.  So, for the moment, let’s set aside the valuation – as well as the clear trend that many acquisitions in the Internet and technology space are occurring at skyrocketing multiples – and consider the implications of the deal.

In making this purchase, Microsoft is indicating to the market (and marketers, for that matter) that they are doubling-down in the social networking category.  Skype is a social network.  Sure it’s an IP telephony company, but with 170 million users, it is similar in size to Twitter and has a global footprint to match.

By purchasing Skype, Microsoft can now freely integrate the service into its other product offerings.  For instance, X-Box Live users may be able to add additional functionality to live game play. When users search for a retail establishment on Bing, they may be given the option of direct dialing the resulting merchants.  Windows 7 phones may get a much-needed boost by providing many users the ability to access Skype with deeper integration.  Microsoft Office might soon integrate Skype into PowerPoint and Excel allowing for real-time presentation and collaboration.

Each of these possibilities adds so much connectivity to existing products that one must think about the other mergers, acquisitions and strategic partnerships to be struck in the months to come.

If Pandora and Twitter joined forces, music enthusiasts could share the identity of tracks they have just heard and follow people who have similar taste in music.  If local cable companies such as Comcast or Time Warner partnered with Foursquare, they could create check-ins for content and connect the associated programming to the TV’s built-in cable guide and DVR & on-demand functionality.  If financial services firms with closed-loop capabilities teamed-up with Google Maps, customers could get deals at establishments based on their phone’s current location.

Time – and a great deal of back-end integration – will tell if Microsoft’s purchase of Skype was worth the transaction price.  But to me, the exciting part of this announcement is the path it has cleared for the exciting possibilities to come.

For more of Jordan's insights, follow him on Twitter - @jordanbitterman. And be sure to check out his interview on Bloomberg's "InBusiness with Margaret Brennan" where he shares his thoughts on brand content and The NewFront.

Google and Digitas Collaborate to Drive Original Mobile Marketing Insights and Research

First output: 33% of searches on "flowers" come from mobile devices on Mother's Day 2011

NEW YORK  -- Integrated brand agency Digitas and Google announced their plans to deliver mobile marketing insights and usage research in a new collaborative project.  The collaboration combines original Google and Digitas search and marketing data to forecast trends, inform investment strategies, and drive increased adoption and deployment of mobile-optimized websites.  Google and Digitas have announced the first output from the collaboration -- specific trends from Mother's Day 2011 -- with more in-depth mobile insights to come in the coming months.

"The mobile frontier is here and now, and we have a responsibility to our clients to drive an advanced point of view on navigating this terrain. Fundamentally, this starts with foresight and a progressive company like Google," said Colin Kinsella, President, Digitas N. America. "We are both data-inspired organizations, who understand that data is the spotlight that turns opinions to insights and drives a smart, strategic marketing agenda. I'm thrilled we'll be able to give these first looks to our clients."

Consumer's Go Mobile for Mom This Mother's Day

The first output from the Google-Digitas collaboration is a look at mobile trends around Mother's Day, the second largest U.S. consumer spending holiday.  Initial findings are below.

CHART: Relative to last year, Mother's day shoppers looking for flowers relied more heavily on mobile.

• On Mother's Day 2011 (May 9th), 33% of Google search queries on the term "flowers" came from mobile devices.
• Mobile search queries for "flowers" both on Mother's Day 2011 and in the week leading up to the holiday increased by over 100% compared with the same periods last year.
• In the week prior to Mother's Day desktop searches for "flowers" increased from Monday to Friday, then declined on the weekend, while mobile queries steadily increased all week and maxed out on the weekend.  While this is in line with general mobile/desktop usage trends, on the weekend of Mother's Day, the increase in mobile searches on "flowers" was much higher that usual, as last minute shoppers scrambled to find a bouquet for mom.
• Google searches on "mother's day gifts" were relatively consistent across mobile and desktop suggesting that perhaps flowers were the last minute purchase of choice for many Mother's Day shoppers.

In order to reach the mobile consumer, many businesses are developing mobile-specific strategies.  "Mobile is critical to our long-term goals of reaching customers and building relationships," said Rich Lesperance, who heads online marketing at Walgreens. "Our shoppers are busy and on-the-go, and mobile is the gateway to provide them information, access and service when they need it. This is especially true for last minute shopping around important holidays like Mother's Day."

"The data is clear - people are using their mobile devices to find, shop and buy," said Jason Spero, Director of Google Mobile Ads.  "But users are ahead of businesses right now.  Businesses are not always ready to engage them on mobile. By working with Digitas to combine our insights and experiences, we hope to help marketers embrace mobile and provide their customers with a positive experience on this critical platform."

"There are over 5 billion mobile phone units bridging the human network across the planet. The reach of mobile devices is unprecedented and the possibilities it brings for brands to connect people with people is exciting," said Laura Lang, global CEO, Digitas. "With this collaboration, our collective mission is to take a bold step towards realizing the potential of mobile marketing in creative and surprising ways."

The Google-Digitas project will look at a range of mobile trends over the course of the year to better understand how the advancement of mobile technology and smartphone adoption has impacted consumer behavior.

NewFront Versus Upfronts: Jordan Bitterman On Bloomberg #NF11

There's been a lot of talk about upfronts versus the NewFront. Digitas' Jordan Bitterman, SVP/Social Marketing Practice Director, breaks it down for viewers on "InBusiness with Margaret Brennan" on Bloomberg Television: what the NewFront is, what it has to offer, and how ad spending between the two compares. Plus, get the story on Kraft Food's successful "Real Women of Philadelphia" campaign and how it was spawned from The NewFront.

"What the NewFront allows us to do, and what the digital content allows us to do, is to create integrated marketing experiences for brands that people can participate in," says Bitterman. "It's a different marketplace."

Follow Jordan on Twitter for more insights on The NewFront and the digital space - @JordanBitterman