TMI with Kevin Ryan

Jeff Ferguson joins the show to talk about how brands are stepping up to reengineer their digital involvement to rise and meet the needs of our current climate. Jeff has been on the scene since the early days of digital as a writer for the trades, speaker, and leader in agency, publishing, and the client-side. Jeff and Kevin discuss the role of entrepreneurs to problem-solve and give hope to the industry, adding the notion that we may even take some of these practices with us after the pandemic is over. Then, Jeff and Kevin give examples of the good, bad, and ugly of media responses from different companies about the pandemic, and even slip into a fun role-playing segment of the show!

Takeaways:

• While a few comic book stores and record shops remain closed in all ways, Jeff noticed that there were some that adopted creative strategies to both move inventory and stay connected with their fan base.
• Some of the new advertising practices we develop in the pandemic will stick with us in the future and become new ways to engage with customers in a positive way (a fancy term for making money).
• Jeff predicts a shift where both smaller and bigger businesses will realize that including a digital portion of their brand or services will get them that direct-to-consumer sales channel.
• Also, traditional media channels are seeing the way digital can rewrite, recut, and reimagine their advertising instead of shutting it all down, and they may follow suit in this way as well.
• Things are going to be different, but it's not going to be that bad, despite what some advertising reports may tell you.
• Indulgent posts from CEO's and grandstanding with a sales message both don't help. What does help is honest and transparent communication and true care for the brands' customers and their community.

Quotes:

• "There will be enduring things that we have learned that will stick with us."
• Entrepreneurialism has always been about solving problems."
• "You have to be able to transform and do whatever you need to do."

Mentioned in This Episode:

Jeff Ferguson LinkedIn

Amplitude Digital

Fang Marketing

@ThatKevinSmith

Ming Chen

@grantmorrision

Geeky Quote from Matt Damon Mars Movie

"The COVID-19 Shuffle: How Businesses Embraced Digital Marketing to Survive the Pandemic"

"The COV-Ad Pandemic, And How to Avoid It"

"Rag and Bone's 'Why We're Lowering Our Prices' Letter is the Biggest Load of Horsesh*t"

Marathon Gas

"Creating Civility and Opportunity with Rob Norman"

Interactive Advertising Bureau

Joey Dumont is a leader in the digital space and known for work that encourages brands to be truthful and genuine with their customers. He joins the show to talk about his role as the Co-Founder and Partner Lead at True Thirty and Executive Producer of the documentary, The Naked Brand. Joey shares how we can take back communication and honesty in the advertising industry and describes a few examples of brands that do it right, and what we can learn from them. Joey was formerly the Partner/Managing Director at Questus, an award-winning digital ad agency.

Takeaways:

• Joey has spent over 15 years in the Advertising space and was the Executive Producer of a documentary that came out in 2012 called The Naked Brand.
• The Naked Brand showed how corporates and iconic CEO's had more success with their audience when they were honest and loyal, even about the challenges or not-so-great things surrounding the company.
• At True Thirty, LLC, Joey combines his advertising background with his colleague's expertise in journalism and creative strategy. Together, they form a holistic unit that helps brands really know what people are saying about them, which sometimes can be quite shocking and unexpected.
• The immediate impact of what is being said on social media and how people are saying it is uncharted territory in a way we haven't seen before.
• This conversation is a great reminder to use the pause button before we respond in heated arguments online. When we take a minute to check in with our emotions and understand where others may be coming from, our community can become just a little less divided.
• Not only is being honest the moral thing to do, but it's also the best thing for your brand and employees.
• What's playing out in social media is not always what is reflective of the discourse in real life.

Quotes:

• "It's not what we think, it's what is happening about there." (Joey on his work at True Thirty, LLC)
• "We have to start to control the contempt for one another. It's just not going to work."
• "Be dead honest about what you are doing, and then you have nothing to hide."

Mentioned in This Episode:

Joey Dumont LinkedIn

True Thirty

IAB Op-Ed on Panic Buying

rag & bone

"Creating Civility and Opportunity with Rob Norman"

The Naked Brand

Questus

The well-known and widely-respected Rob Norman joins the show this week. Before retiring, Rob served as GroupM's North American CEO and global chief digital officer. In today's episode, Rob and Kevin talk about creating a resume that highlights your superpowers, the need to be self-aware and civil to one another now more than ever, and how we can still try to maintain social relationships during this remote time.

Takeaways:

• While many of us are lucky to have a job where we can work from home, we are missing out on getting a feel for what our coworkers and colleagues are up to via osmosis from walking and talking with them.
• Rob discusses the new form of division where people are forced back to work due to the nature of their work, or the nature of their domestic situation. We must be mindful of businesses that are dependent on large populations for their survival.
• The more we are self-aware and thoughtful of other people, the more we lessen the risk of harm for the entire population. While we are social creatures and need personal relationships in work and personal life to remain healthy, we can moderate how we engage in social activities to make them safer.
• Instead of viewing your resume as just one isolated job after another, think about what you can offer now that no one else has done.
• Yes, some people are close to you for clout, while some are your true friends. When you have a career like Rob where you are truly respected and endeared, they still stick around after retirement.
• While we may have seen large budget cuts at the start of the pandemic, Rob delineated that it is a response to the emergency, not a reason for us to panic that the industry has changed completely.

Quotes:

• "Don't think about your resume as a series of jobs, but try to deconstruct it to find a superpower that can arise from something you have done.
• "A lot of people have a relationship with your business card, and a lot of people have a relationship with you. Sometime's it's both."

Mentioned in This Episode:

@robnorman

@GroupMWorldwide

Ad Age

Doug Weaver is a legend in the world of sales strategy and digital sales leadership. He is also the Founder & CEO of Upstream Group, Inc. and uses his expertise to help others break the mold of traditional sales conversations and get the best results for both themselves and their potential clients. He joins the show to share some of the best practices in digital sales and survival skills during the pandemic. Doug also talks about what strategies work best to keep large virtual meetings interesting and engaging.

Takeaways:

• ● Even though we are temporarily virtual, we can still make connections and help others feel seen and understood. During calls of upwards of 75–80 people, Doug personalizes it by calling people out by name and asking for their opinions while making a presentation.
• ● People can feel it immediately when you are just going through the motions and not invested in truly helping them. We can show empathy by doing our homework before, and knowing the business of our potential clients.
• ● While companies ease back into the new office structure, it is important to stay educated and hungry for information that keeps you essential to your industry and job.
• ● To stay on the edge of your game, you have to know more about your client than your competitor does and be open to knowledge that expands your skillset and helps others.
• ● We should think less about getting the business of our clients and more about if we actually deserve it.
• ● Our sales conversations can be a chance to help potential clients overcome a shortcoming in their business, and show that we truly deserve their loyalty.
• ● Keep learning and challenging yourself every day.
• Quotes:

• ● "Authenticity is the new professionalism."
• ● "You have to run this not as an entertainer, but as a party host."
• ● "We've got to understand the client's business."
• ● "Everyone focuses on getting the business, we don't focus enough on deserving it."
• Mentioned in This Episode:
• Upstream
• Doug Weaver
• @upstreamdw
• Gary Elliott

Drew Ianni, Founder, and Chairman of CDX, a conference series for senior digital executives, joins the show this week. Drew and Kevin discuss the merge into the Techonomy family and suggestions as to how we can best adjust to networking digitally for the time being. Drew also shares examples of speakers that connected to the audience and moved them with their words and messages, and also moments that didn't go to plan, and the lessons learned. He also mentions what we can expect from the virtual conference in June, and ways to take advantage of the editorial content that will be released soon.

Takeaways:

• What is happening now in the virtual conferencing space, and what we can expect in the future.
• What it was like for CDX to become part of the Techonomy family in this time of restructuring and reformatting how we connect and interact.
• Advice for conferences to get speakers and bring both actionable insights and connect with the audience.
• Why the CDX conference remains free to attend, and more about the editorial content that will soon be released.
• Ways that we can work through the setback of not being able to network face-to-face for the present moment, and best practices for digital networking.
• The success that conferences have when they get comfortable with being rejected from potential speakers, and continue to hustle and stay humble to book the best guests.
• Tips for speakers on customizing your speech according to the audience and city.
• Moments that the speakers and presentations at the CDX conference did not go as planned, and what lessons Drew took away from the experience.
• When you have respect for the people around you, your audience will get something relevant to them.

Quotes:

• "If you are doing weekly one-on-ones, you have to cherry-pick and pick the best people out of your network."
• "It's a temporary thing you have to figure out. The conference business will be back, and for those in the conference business, can you make it on through to the other side?"

Mentioned in This Episode:

Drew Ianni LinkedIn

Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before they Happen, by Rita McGrath

Techonomy

Ad: Tech

Seth Godin

Clay Shirky

Web Summit

Jim McCann

Sir Martin Sorrell

Rishad Tobaccowala

Susan Bratton

Martin Sorrell at CDX Conference Video

Chris Boggs is a top-tier digital marketing consultant and one of the stewards in Search Engine Marketing. He joins the show this week to talk about what he has seen change the most over his many years of experience in SEO, PPC, social media, and web analytics, and where he sees the trends moving next. Chris and Kevin also discuss the state of SEMPO (Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization) and how it spawned many of the digital marketing practices we still see today.

Takeaways:

• ● Chris was a member of the Board of Directors for SEMPO, the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization, for 14 years.
• ● There was an infamous meeting in SEMPO's history with some uproar and drama that they, fortunately, survived through.
• ● SEMPO has helped spark interest in executives at the C-Level to care about organic and paid search.
• ● SEMPO became a part of the Digital Analytics Association and Chris names a few of many of the benefits and support they get from DAA membership.
• ● Much like Kevin, Chris still communicates with people that he has known for over 14 years thanks to SEMPO and the digital marketing tribe.
• ● Chris's intention with SEMPO is to slowly build up educational content and discuss and implement current best practices within the industry.
• ● Many of the pitch decks, common themes, and terms within the digital marketing world came from SEMPO. While it was the Wild West in that time (and still is to a certain extent) the effort set forth to have consistency and organization did make a big difference.
• ● Chris doesn't use his SEMPO position for his own business but instead uses it as a place for unbiased research and to help others.
• ● We have to embrace AI, but to integrate with it our existing knowledge and experience.
• Quotes:

• ● "The goal is to continue to point people in the right place for networking and education."
• ● "The role of a company is to put information out there that is not biased and not trying to serve a predetermined agenda is important."
• ● "You have to have the experience to benefit from the value of the AI."
• Mentioned in This Episode:
• @boggles
• SEMPO
• Market Motive
• Digital Analytics Associaton
• MediaPost
• DemandBase
• The COV-Ad Pandemic, And How to Avoid It

Constellation Agency Cofounder and Do-Good Auto Coalition CEO Diana Lee joins the show today to share how she is helping the auto industry step up in a time of crisis and get food and supplies to the people and organizations that need it most. She shares how her experience from age 18 in the automotive industry gave her a thick skin and can-do attitude that helps her today, what the Do-Good Auto Coalition does in terms of outreach, what challenges they are currently facing, and what you can do to help.

Takeaways:

• The Do-Good Auto Coalition comprises dealers who have volunteered to deliver prescription medicine, food, and other items to needy seniors and others in their communities.
• Most of the first dealers to sign up are located in and around New York City but the coalition will soon spread to other cities, such as Detroit and Chicago.
• Diana started selling cars at 18 and used her sales skills to put herself through college. Working in car sales shaped her as a person and gave her a deep understanding of the auto industry and ways that it can help provide resources for others.
• The Do-Good Auto Coalition focuses on uniting the community and making a meaningful change. The Coalition acts as the middleman between dealers, volunteers, food rescue services, and citizens.
• The Coalition just did one rescue that consisted of 13,000 lbs. of food and six cars. These types of big changes can happen when we are able to provide transportation for food rescue companies.
• The DGAC also helps drivers that need work and give a purpose to employees of dealers, automakers, and manufacturers that want to work but can't.
• Social distancing is a privilege, and many people have to leave their homes to stand in line for food or other crucial resources.
• Brands that are aware of how they can help their community and take action will be the first in line to get commerce from loyal customers when business fully resumes.

Quotes:

• "If we don't actually rescue those foods they will all go to waste, and the pantries need them."
• "One volunteer with one car can't do what we need to do at this point."
• "Social distancing is a privilege."
• "If I, a healthy human being that's got resources can't order food, what happens to everybody else?"

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Do-Good Auto Coalition
• DCH Audi in Millburn
• Table to Table
• Automotive News story: com/dealers/group-cheers-dealers-good-deeds
• DGAC delivers 2,500 lbs of potatoes to a Manhattan food bank: com/sansone-auto

Tricia Nichols is currently the Chief Marketing Officer at Independent Pet Partners and was Senior Vice President of Marketing at Estee Lauder along with leadership roles in a variety of different industries. Tricia joins the show to talk about how brands can use authentic storytelling to get their message across and bond with the consumer, what customer currency is and how we can gain it in marketing, and the new ways of operating that we can adapt to and thrive in this new way of operating.

Takeaways:

• ● Storytelling is what drew Tricia to marketing and she appreciates that brands can share their story in a way that genuinely helps and moves others.
• ● Consumers are smarter than ever now and see through a lot of the old manipulative advertising techniques. Things that work in brand storytelling are more mindfulness and microstories.
• ● Brands must provide a compelling reason for their consumer to follow, trust, and engage with them.
• ● Consumer currency is a brand bonding metric and a blueprint to keep the consumer at the heart of the whole journey.
• ● We can build consumer currencies in many ways including providing expertise, filling the white space in that industry, making things easy and fun, and making their customers feel as though they are communicating with a friend.
• ● Brands must not just know the "how" of what they do, but also the "why."
• ● What is most important now is keeping wellness at the forefront of how brands communicate with their consumers.
• ● It is important to know the difference between educating and providing value, and grandstanding and just speaking for the sake of being heard.
• ● We can adapt to the new world instead of throwing away everything we know. We will always be pivoting in business since consumers are constantly rewriting their lives.
• Quotes:

• ● "You are not just sold by the brand, you are sold by the benefit of what that product is."
• ● "Wellness should be on everyone's mind as number one, right now."
• ● "If a brand could do anything, it should be asking how can I help and what do people need to know."
• Mentioned in This Episode:
• Tricia Nichols LinkedIn
• Chuck & Don's
• International Pet Partners

Rick Parkhill joins the show to talk about his time as the founder and prior CEO of iMedia Communications, which launched in 2001. Rick talks about how iMedia helped build community and produced an event where everyone was encouraged to drop their agendas and just connect for the greater good of the industry. Rick was a founding executive at Interactive Marketing, Inc. and founded Digitrends, along with InfoText and Brand Storytelling.

Takeaways:

• ● iMedia emerged in the midst of the internet explosion in 1999 when many of the internet companies washed away.
• ● Their first day of business was September 11, 2001, and after that major tragedy, they moved forward with building jobs for people and creating commerce for the community.
• ● Although he will never take all the credit, Rick definitely helped build the digital marketing industry, along with the help of many other iMedia longtime moguls.
• ● Rick discusses doing a roadshow for clients to explain what search was, and how it would impact them.
• ● The iMedia events were a space where people were invited to leave their agendas behind and connect in a nonpolitical realm.
• ● Rick handles big egos like none other, and he has some pretty good stories about them at iMedia events!
• ● Rick sold iMedia, and it did change in the way of personality and feel, but that is to be expected anytime a sale takes place.
• ● There are still a plethora of opportunities out there for content creators to get hired by brands. They are constantly looking for professionals to create entertaining and informative material for their product or service.
• Quotes:

• ● "There are massive egos at play, like entitled obnoxious jerks, like me!" — Kevin
• ● "We were true to our mission, to help the industry grow in a healthy way."
• ● "You serve the community, and as an event producer your industry will do fine."
• Mentioned in This Episode:
• iMedia
• Rick Parkhill LinkedIn
• Brand Storytelling

Jim Spanfeller is the CEO of G/O Media, CEO and President of Spanfeller Media Group, and Former CEO of Forbes.com. He helped shape the advertising and publishing business and continues to be a driving force in using a sound approach to marketing. He joins Kevin in New Orleans for a talk about how to get people to engage in the publishing space, what is still broken in marketing, the future of cookies, and how to find the right people for the right message.

Takeaways:

• ● Prior to joining Forbes, Jim also served as chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), publisher at Inc. magazine and also held senior positions at Newsweek.
• ● Third-party data gave us the opportunity to buy and scale, but nefarious things such as buying bots, no ads being seen, or multiple ads on a page came to fruition. This led to verification sources, but there is still much to be changed about the current practice.
• ● We must acknowledge that the model is broken, and it calls for an awareness of new privacy regulations.
• ● Programmatically buying contextual advertising will drive the overall push for impressions into a more controlled environment, which will take away the notion that there was an unlimited supply.
• ● Jim explains why his view of advertising is still optimistic, despite the current broken state of the industry.
• Quotes:

• ● "When we really get right down to it, it's a large number, but it's a defined number of ad impressions that anyone would want to buy."
• ● "I don't know what these people do for a living where they have time to go deep shopping for Nikes."
• ● "People don't go to the web to look at ads. They go to be entertained, informed, and delighted."
• Mentioned in This Episode:
• Jim Spanfeller: LinkedIn | Twitter
• Forbes.com
• The Daily Meal
• GDPR
• Ghostery
• Bad Boys For Life
• Irwin Gotlieb
• Amazon