Content Is Your Business

Visual and contextual content relating to digital technology as a portal to amazing experiences… Julie Vargas (Director, Digital Solutions) and Jonathan Aitken (Director, RFID and Digital Partnerships) at Avery Dennison join host Dalia Strum and guest host Pavan Bahl on… Continue Reading →

Marketing with influencers and digital social engagement…

Beca Alexander, Co-Founder and President of Socialyte (a premier influencer marketing and casting agency), joins Lisa Berger, Dalia Strum, and Edward Hertzman in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser. Presented by 24 Seven Talent.

From blogger to agency co-founder, four influencer categories, and being authentic and faithful to audiences

Alexander discusses how she fell into digital social engagement, was a blogger in fashion news and sold the blog despite not being profitable, she went to corporate America, had friends in the digital social engagement space who started personal style blogging, brands were reaching out, and they don’t know what to charge. She said she could negotiate their deals and take a cut, and then started Socialyte 3 ½ years ago, how the company acts as middle man to amplify brand messaging between services and brands to reach the right consumers, and how the only money used to be Google ads but that has changed dramatically. She mentions how she and her team began taking money from brands to write about the brands and became exhausted from running many stories daily, 24/7. Alexander received an offer to go to work, and also got an offer to sell the blog from a media company wanting to buy traffic from content websites. The blog articles were very opinion driven, and one can create traffic for differentiation but are brands skeptical about aligning? Influencers are in four different categories, and can be considered content creator. People follow people because they are posting about their luxury lifestyle. There are influencers, then there is actual high quality content, highly setup, with beautiful images curated in the feed, as if they could be in a magazine. Are these influencer posts reality or a manufactured, and how do they afford this lifestyle? How Socialyte is vetting content creators, looking for authenticity and consistent creation of content that is authentic and faithful to audience.

Micro-influencers, lone wolves and doubling up, and higher income for women

She touches on a love/hate relationship with micro-influencers, how they don’t generally understand the business of influencer marketing, but this is one of the reasons Socialyte comes into the conversation, with them often being the first agency that sends them a 12 page contract and they “freak out”. What the micro-influencers do, where the agency sends them a product, the influencer creates an image for a product. Occasionally, micro-influencers are introduced to timelines that they don’t understand or appreciate — missing a day or deadline can have a significant impact on the entire campaign. What is the level of engagement brand wants to see? Alexander discusses how there is talent management, how influencer failures impact contractual expectations, why Socialyte requires influencers to keep content and posts on for a year, when posting products becomes no longer authentic, the 50/50 sponsor-to-organic content ratio needed, and engagement levels. She mentions how the audience will tolerate sponsored content if post is authentic, the way influencers can be sponsored, how there is no template for this process, KPI’s are different for every brand, and influencers are humans, not commodities, so everyone is an individual that creates content and shares it in very specific ways. Influencers have been seen as lone wolves, as they are limited in seeing the circles around them. Now influencers are friends with other influencers because they share similar lifestyles, how this can result in them posting together and getting double content which looks like more organic content. She says that consumers are living vicariously through influencers, how influencers enjoy travel trips for content, being able to segment by location, and how this is one industry in which men are making less money as influencers than females.

Vetting brands and influencers, two hours of Instgaram, and becoming Beca

Alexander details, in a round of personal questions, the considerations for vetting of brands, taking an agency fee, declining brands and products dealing with smoking and sex, her obsession with human psychology and how the brain works, vetting influencers on their business goals, being a basic human, how her schedule starts with two hours of Instagram daily, tattoos, being from Ukraine, boring Cleveland, a tramp stamp, how self awareness results in informed decisions, conserving brain capacity, being very accessible by email, and how her name became Beca.

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Marketing with influencers and digital social engagement… Beca Alexander, Co-Founder and President of Socialyte (a premier influencer marketing and casting agency), joins Lisa Berger, Dalia Strum, and Edward Hertzman in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser. Presented by 24… Continue Reading →

Partnering music and brands with MAC Presents…

Photo credit: Derek Garlington

Marcie Allen, President of MAC Presents (music experiential agency , bridging the gap between corporations and the music industry), and musician, entrepreneur and philanthropist Taylor Bennett, join Pavan Bahl, Rob Sanchez, and Marc Raco for the most applause-laden interview in the show’s history on location at Subculture in New York City. This live audience episode is powered by Peerspace and features music by Casey McQuillen.

Representing the deal, a seat at the adult table, and a market for authentic stories

Photo credit: Derek Garlington

Allen reviews her “Southern belle debutante sorority girl” roots, being raised by two grandmothers, attending sixteen schools before fifth grade, then how she started her first company at 25, being a storyteller and solid salesperson, having knowledge on both sides of the music industry, being in music industry representing the deal, and how bad deals aren’t authentic or tell a story. The importance of paying it forward, measuring ROI in music/brand sponsorships, and how fashion brands are being introduced to entertainment marketing and mass consumer marketing. Allen’s creative things used in repertoire to bring allegiance, consideration of the music industry’s album sales being down, how 10 years ago no one wanted to do a sponsorship in music, and now music artists have a seat at the “adult table”. How a deal with Billy Joel and Citi was of value even though he didn’t need the marketing, how a deal like that can move the needle in a variety of ways for an artist, tracking metrics and how brands can measure success, lifting sales and getting press, how Imagine Dragons’ deal with Southwest Airlines produced a billion press impressions, and whether musical artists are celebrity influencers. How much of sponsorship with musical artists is the cool factor, how music is one of the most powerful ways to connect with consumers, and the Urban Outfitters partnership with Taylor Bennett for Pride Month happened because he came out as bisexual, and how that was so authentic. Consumers can smell through non-authentic sponsorships, the return of cassettes, and what’s fascinating about artists.

Gen Z, understanding the win, and measuring ROI

Photo credit: Derek Garlington

Deals with enterprise/blue chip companies, Khalid and Forever 21, Chance the Rapper with H & M, plus Taylor Bennett and Urban Outfitters, and how it’s about teamwork and women in the music industry. How artists have a groundswell of support from Gen Z, how brands don’t understand them, and they love fashion, and how brands are missing it. The absence of a major luxury brands who has done a deal with a developing artist, how fashion and music partnerships have exploded in the last year, and fashion brands are a way to reach a mass audience and global audience, so it isn’t as much about money. Sponsorship investments with large acts are at a fraction of the cost that other kinds of brands would pay because of the coolness factor and the reach of fashion brands for artists. Brands have to share what a win is – it is crucial. And, the need to focus more on the heartland of America. The story means everything, looking at what is the story that can be built around the artists and what brand will make sense is MAC Presents goes after. Knowing what are the important concerns, how brands are so focused on the latest technology, but ultimately it is about sitting down on both sides and finding out what is important to both sides. And, one has to be able to measure ROI.

Urban Outfitters, owning both sides of the business, and a surprise live performance

Photo credit: Derek Garlington

Taylor Bennett joins the interview, discussing how the partnership with Urban Outfitters fits into the vision of his career. The importance of being your authentic self, on coming out bisexual on Twitter, how the brand is a lifestyle and culture, a message of anti-bullying, needing a creative space to be yourself, how the brand has supporter urban artists. The natural, organic story, partnering with Bennett as a face for Pride month, how Bennett is controlling his own business and the revenue from streamed music, controlling the creative and business sides, and how he and his business partners hold meetings after changing into suits in the bathroom. Off the Grid Questions cover a grandmother’s ceramic frog smoking a pipe, real world skills, a college counselor going in a different direction, a surprise performance of an early rap, a regretted missed opportunity, Cara Lewis, chasing dreams, messages to the community, women empowerment, being a professor, grabbing your future for yourself and getting it done, and an impromptu live final thought rap performance by Bennett.

References:

CLG Cara Lewis

Sigrid

Walk the Moon

The post Marcie Allen of MAC Presents and Taylor Bennett – The Story of Music and Brands appeared first on Content Is Your Business.

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Partnering music and brands with MAC Presents… Marcie Allen, President of MAC Presents (music experiential agency , bridging the gap between corporations and the music industry), and musician, entrepreneur and philanthropist Taylor Bennett, join Pavan Bahl, Rob Sanchez, and Marc… Continue Reading →

How 3D Audio enhances and impacts content, human experiences, art, and science…

Photo credit: Kevin Vallejos

Julie Kaganskiy (Cultural Director), and Seth Kranzler and Daniel Perlin (members), of  New Inc. (the first museum-led incubator and a coworking space designed to encourage collaboration and spark new ideas from the synthesis of different disciplines) discuss how 3D Audio will enhance sensory experiences, influence human emotions and perception through a new lens of viewing and interpreting art. They also take questions from the audience and cover the importance of really listening. Presented by Sennheiser in collaboration with MouthMedia Network.

Panelists

Julie Kaganskiy

Photo credit: Kevin Vallejos

Julia Kaganskiy is a cultural producer across art and technology. She previously served as global editor of the Creators Project, a partnership between VICE Media Group and Intel. In 2010, she founded #ArtsTech Meetup, an initiative that brings together digital artists and professionals from New York’s museums, galleries, and art-related start-ups. In 2012, she was profiled in the AOL/PBS series “MAKERS,” which honored women leaders. In 2015, she was named in Crain’s New York Business’s 40 Under 40 list, and has been cited by Fast Company (2011) and Business Insider(2013) as one of the most influential women in technology.

Seth Kranzler

Photo credit: Kevin Vallejos

Seth Kranzler is an artist, engineer, and developer working at the intersection of art and technology. He seeks to examine the impact of technological progress and expose new modes of interaction through the subversion of new technologies. His work manifests itself in installations, websites, and physical artifacts. He holds a Masters degree from New York University’s ITP program and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia. Seth cofounded Mixed Signals, an emerging concert series highlighting new works in electronic and digital video, music and dance. He also cofounded Channel Studio, a design and technology studio based in Brooklyn.

Daniel Perlin

Daniel Perlin is an artist and designer who believes in listening as a strategy for good design. Daniel got his start making work with things that make sound such as music, film, objects and sometimes spaces. After some years spent in Rio de Janeiro, where he worked in film and made work, he returned to New York where he attended NYU’s ITP program and the Whitney Independent Study program. During that time he started Perlin Studios, an experience and sound design studio in New York. Daniel has had the privilege of making things that cross many disciplines including sounds, interactive designs, objects, installations and performances. Recent work has included a solo performance at MoMA for the Lygia Clark Exhibition, an installation for the Costa Rica Pavilion in the Venice Biennial of Architecture, interactive work for Toyota’s Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle and a kinetic speaker in São Paulo. He has worked with such people, places and things as Google, Vito Acconci, Maya Lin, Errol Morris, Todd Solondz, IBM, Toyota, Domus Magazine, Under Armour, The Whitney Museum of American Art, PS1 the Cooper Hewitt and The New Museum.

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How 3D Audio enhances and impacts content, human experiences, art, and science… Julie Kaganskiy (Cultural Director), and Seth Kranzler and Daniel Perlin (members), of  New Inc. (the first museum-led incubator and a coworking space designed to encourage collaboration and spark new ideas… Continue Reading →

Big picture global macro patterns and behaviors, with Sheryl Connelly…

Sheryl Connelly, Global Trends and Futuring Manager (a.k.a. Corporate Futurist) for Ford Motor Company, talks with MouthMedia Network President Pavan Bahl about the insights and implications of the 2018 Ford Trends Report. Recorded at the MouthMedia Network studios, powered by Sennheiser. Read the 2018 Ford Trends Report here.

Data for all, giving younger people purpose, and seeking solutions

Connelly reveals how the report previously was kept proprietary and inside Ford, but now it is cascading it widely, as it is functionally agnostic. The brief is that the more it was shared that Ford received more insights. She discusses how trust is a trend that can’t be overestimated. She reviews the personal note to the reader, and how disorientation, disparity, and inequities cannot be ignored anymore, that people want to explore them and look for solutions and how the world is committed to looking for solutions. Being thoughtful in how to engage young people to give them purpose, working in emerging markets, endeavoring to be sure Ford is meaning the same thing around the world, elevating to truly a global space. How the whole landscape of automotive industry is evolving, and Ford is playing a leadership role.

An activist awakening, mental and physical health, and the Ford Hub

Uncertainty and confusion globally, an activist awakening, discovering the degree of intolerance of opposing viewpoints, and the understanding of the impact of individual actions on change. When thinking about solutions, whether women can feel safe and have accessible options, a societal cultural shift, how mental well being goes along with physical health, creating a culture of curiosity that opens the door for innovation, the impact of sleep on health and weight loss, disconnecting from work in order to grow and explore, and mending the mind. Retail, and pop up retailers such as Story offers evolution in use case and agile experiences. And the Ford Hub brand experience in the World Trade Center Oculus in New York City.

Managing data, autonomous vehicles, and the changing family

How the younger generation doesn’t care about giving personal information, and how brands can be distinguished by how they act as stewards of info. Autonomous driving features/autonomous vehicles, how we are already driving a semiautonomous vehicle, so the building blocks are already there. Bringing autonomous vehicles widely into reality will be partly dependent on legal, municipal, and other influencers, and how with this comes a greater level of responsibility for Ford. In 2021, when Ford brings its first autonomous vehicles to the streets will they be ride hailing and package delivery vehicles. Ford is “all in” with major investment and commitment, and it is something definitely coming. What it looks like offers various possibilities, addressing concerns of jobs going away. In the past the biggest fear with automation was what we’d do with our leisure time, but that didn’t happen. A lot of data in the “singled out” section—a lot of data on what average family means, for first time in America’s history there are more single people than married. Yet people maintain that single people are treated differently, and the definition of the nuclear family has changed. What kind of vehicles does that now mean, understanding how shifts might change affects how and where production is determined.The future plays out in ways that are tough to imagine. The resilience of the human spirit, and awe inspiring, head scratching data.

 

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Compelling content, experiences and partnerships for brands as part of a complex creative ecosystem with Milk Group

Angela Wei, Managing Director of Milk Agency (a creative agency, production resource and brand partner as part of Milk Group, a culturally conscious company), joins Lisa Berger, Edward Hertzman and Dalia Strum at the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser. Presented by 24 Seven Talent.

Collaboration and expression, brand collaboration, and the grey area in between

Wei discusses how Milk Agency as an extension of Milk Studios (Milk Group), a full service creative studio started 20 years ago as one of the first independent photo studios, how the agency as an incarnation of Milk is a platform for creative collaboration and expression, the culture platforms, how Milk.xyz features emerging talent and cultural stories, and the most recent iteration is Milk Makeup (direct to consumer and then via Sephora), and how Milk Group developed organically, but is a complex ecosystem. She shares he career path an early employee at Razorfish, from digital content to the ad world, working at MTV and at Discovery Channel, becoming interested in how those brands collaborated with other brands, working at Time Inc. in branded solutions, and interest in the grey area between brands when collaborating.

A content pyramid, a culture shift for younger generations, and working with makeup lines when you have a makeup line

She mentions content as a pyramid — at the top are films and featured commercials, down to snackable content at the bottom – and how Milk creates throughout the pyramid. She touches on how modern marketing is not enough, content is the future, brands being publishers and that people haven’t figured that out yet. The industry is intertwined, with big media houses pushing to keep integrity and trust, and how younger people are more comfortable with brands as a culture shift, with brands engaging more and creating dialogue. Wei says that an audience is a pyramid too, scaling is meaningless without a true purpose and a north star, and collaboration has to come down to the foundation of what a brand is about. Plus, the impact of having a makeup line on having makeup brands as clients, and Wei brings a seaweed snack.

Diminishing IP value, evaluating success, Virginia Wolf

Wei covers the “barbell model”, pure performance marketing now, how a type of brand determines the type of brand content and experiences, pop ups, embedding a brand experience that you take with you, how the IP value of brands are diminishing, how content is also what you input, and customizing content. She also shares perspectives on the ROI of branding and experiences, how one measures success of experiences and branding, and how it is usually qualitative, the impact of expectation of clickable marketing, and the danger of the expectation of never ending growth. And, Wei’s favorite books, being inspired by Virginia Wolf, the importance of curiosity and reflection, having space to explore, a crazy dog person, and how challenge comes from discomfort.

 

Find more MouthMedia Network podcasts at www.MouthMediaNetwork.com

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Compelling content, experiences and partnerships for brands as part of a complex creative ecosystem with Milk Group Angela Wei, Managing Director of Milk Agency (a creative agency, production resource and brand partner as part of Milk Group, a culturally conscious… Continue Reading →