Upper West Strategies

Upper West Strategies is a marketing consultancy that develops programs at the intersection of government, tech and private industry. [phone] rich (at) upperweststrategies.com

[richardrobbins]

Yes We Can. Let’s!

“If we could all just borrow 5% of Megan Smith’s positivity and energy and smile, we'd all be better off." Meetup.com Founder / CEO, Scott Heiferman 

On Friday, April 17, 2015, the recently appointed United States Chief Technology Officer, Megan Smith, organized a gathering of tech-focused community organizers at the White House (or, more accurately, the Eisenhower Executive Office Building). Organized with Meetup.com, the platform that facilitates tech (and many other) communities throughout the nation and the world, this first “White House Tech Meetup” celebrated efforts to create jobs and opportunities in the tech industry, especially for women and minorities.

Several hundred leaders from tech Meetups across the country gathered to learn about homegrown efforts to encourage STEM (Science, Technology, Education and Math) education, teach coding, and increase diversity in tech. Following opening remarks by Smith, National Economic Council Director, Jeff Zients, and Meetup CEO, Scott Heiferman, the day started with two dozen spotlight sessions – quick talks by organizers from around the country. Zach Leatherman from NebraskaJS spoke about his efforts to counter “brain drain” of Nebraska developers to Silicon Valley and other tech hotspots. Matti Dupre from Alaska Web Devs spoke of his work supporting Alaska’s web developers.

Ryan Burke, Policy Advisor at the National Economic Council at the White House, spoke of the TechHire initiative to provide training to help meet the employer demand for over 500,000 open IT jobs in the nation. Per Zients, “If we can't fill the jobs, America's leadership in tech innovation won't last.” 

Special Assistant to the President, Michael Smith, spoke of the White House’s “My Brother’s Keeper” program to provide opportunities for African Americans. Brett Greene from Seattle’s New Tech ("Tech is a seed but community is what it's really all about."), Mandy Godown from Shesays Boulder, Jerry Fitzgerald Steele from Iowa Web Devs, and Jamal & Felicia O’Garro from Code Crew NYC were among the other speakers. All described their efforts to support their local tech communities. 

The morning’s talks were followed by an afternoon “unconference,” during which attendees suggested topics and organized our own groups to discuss topical issues. For the first session, a number of us gathered to discuss the issue of how to grow the pipeline of youth interested in tech and what government and corporations could do to provide support, especially for internship programs. For the second, I joined Paola Maldonado from NYC Tech Latinas who organized a session on the challenges of finding mentors for women in tech. 

What struck me about the event was the strong interest that Megan Smith tapped in regular Americans who want to be involved and help. It reminded me of the “Yes We Can” spirit of the ’08 campaign, when millions of Americans felt communal ownership of the ability for our government to work with citizens to help improve America. On Friday, with absolutely no talk of partisanship or politics, several hundred of us flocked to Washington DC when given the chance. As Rafael López, Senior Policy Advisor, Impact Technologies for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy stated, “Everyone in this room and everyone out there watching has a role to play in transforming America.” 

Meetup CEO Scott Heiferman loves saying that group actions begin with someone suggesting: “Let’s…” I’m hopeful that this first WH Meetup was the start of a renewed White House effort to embrace the community and provide more opportunities for Americans to serve. Let’s do it!

[richardrobbins]

White House Tech Meetup April 17, 2015

[richardrobbins]

On Men, Child Care and Work

"The next move in the women's movement will be to make it also a men's movement." Anne-Marie Slaughter  One of my great pleasures of the past few years has been meeting and getting to know Anne-Marie Slaughter. Last week, I saw her at the Personal Democracy Forum Conference and had the chance to catch up for a few minutes. When she asked me if I was still consulting and being the father of two girls (her way of asking if I'm playing an active role in taking care of the kids), I instantly became defensive. Instinctively, without thinking about whom I was talking to and her great leadership in talking about the importance of both parents taking an active role in child care, I answered that I'm mostly focused on my consulting and I've been really busy lately. Some context: A bit over two years ago, I started my own business as an independent consultant. For the most part, it's been fabulous. I've gotten a range of interesting projects, my business has been growing steadily, and I've had great flexibility to be my own boss and set my own hours. My wife is a lawyer at a NYC law firm. While her firm is quite understanding of the need for her to balance being a lawyer and a mom, lawyers are measured by how many hours they work, and face time at any firm is always a factor. This means that I've been the parent who goes on more school field trips and is more likely to deal with sick kids and doctor appointments. My independence and flexibility allow me to do this and then stay up late or work weekends to get my work done. Nonetheless though, I think I'm doing a reasonably good job of building a business, helping around the house, and enabling my wife to work in a demanding career, I feel the instinctive urge to deny my role in child care, as I did with Anne-Marie on Friday. This is due to the gut feeling that our society frowns upon men who don't put child care far down on their list of priorities. Of course, this makes me no different from tens of millions of women (and some men) who are expected to focus 110 percent on their careers despite demands at home. So my answer to Anne-Marie was true. I have been working long hours on a range of exciting business projects recently. But I didn't say that I also have been playing the lead role in taking one of our daughters to numerous doctors for a recent illness, and spending countless hours awake with her during the past two nearly sleepless months. Working women have long struggled not only with the demands of home and work, but with the concern that if they pay attention to their children's needs they will be viewed as slacking at work or putting their careers on hold. Fearing perhaps even greater costs in the workplace, men rarely acknowledge their parenting role when we do step up as fathers. As long as we view balancing family and career as a "woman's issue," though, we will never achieve equality either in the workplace or at home. Anne-Marie is right that a men's movement is essential for women to be able to realize their full potential. One necessary step is to change the culture so men feel comfortable speaking up about our role in child care, and for society to not frown on us for being active fathers while also managing our careers. We'll only achieve equality when men can step up to the plate at home and feel comfortable talking about it. After all, juggling family and career is a man's issue, too.

[richardrobbins]

Three Companies Get it Right

In this Age of Empowerment, a time when connective technologies such as Facebook, Twitter and Change.org enable consumers to hold companies increasingly accountable for their actions, companies need to take bold steps to demonstrate their commitment to their communities.

In recent days, three companies have done just that, taking big risks to be on the right side of topical issues.

Coca-Cola’s much heralded (and much attacked) “It’s Beautiful” SuperBowl ad made a courageous statement about our nation’s rich history as a melting pot. With a soundtrack of “America the Beautiful” sung in a variety of languages, the ad presented a series of short vignettes of a highly diverse group of Americans. The edgiest one, perhaps, showed two fathers holding hands as they rollerskated with a young girl and then joined together in what appeared to be a family embrace. Unfortunately, in addition to receiving great praise, the ad also triggered our nation’s shameful history of racism and intolerance with Twitter responses such as #SpeakAmerican and #BoycottCoke. Coke likely anticipated such a response, but concluded that net net, embracing diversity is good for business and for its reputation, both in the U.S. and worldwide.

Yesterday, AT&T, which easily could have stayed quiet on the issue and avoided controversy, wrote a corporate blog post, “A Time for Pride and Equality” embracing Human Rights Campaign’s call for sponsors to stand up for LGBT equality and criticizing Russia’s policies. “Russia’s law is harmful to LGBT individuals and families, and it’s harmful to a diverse society.” As a former employee (and, full disclosure, a shareholder through retirement savings), I know AT&T is not always quick to embrace risk, making this statement all the more notable.

Finally, this morning, CVS declared that it would stop selling tobacco. As its CEO Larry Merlo writes on the company website, “Cigarettes and tobacco products have no place in a setting where health care is delivered. This is the right thing to do.” In its statement, CVS says that this move will cost it an estimated $2 billion in annual sales, but that it expects to be able to make up the lost revenue in other ways.

All three of these examples are cases in which the companies easily could have played it safe and ostensibly avoided risk. But their forward-looking leaders recognized that, in fact, the biggest risk you can take is not taking risks. I expect that the community and the market will reward these companies for their bold moves, and hope that more leaders will take note and follow suit.

[richardrobbins]

In June 2006, I was a new father at Pete Seeger's Clearwater Festival and wanted my new baby to be touched by greatness. I saw Pete backstage and asked him if he minded taking a photo with the baby. As he graciously came over to Ava and me, I said, "She's been a huge fan her whole life" eliciting Pete's great smile. A few years later at Joe's Pub, he again graciously posed with Ella.

In fighting his entire life for the environment, peace and equality, and using "the power of song" to make a difference, he was a true American hero.

[richardrobbins]

Unsung Heroes: When government works

Kudos to FDNY and NYC DEP, and a "Cory Booker award" to NYC Council Member Helen Rosenthal

As Wendy was putting our young girls to bed on Saturday night, she heard pipes creaking and then water gushing. Our street had burst open: a geyser was spewing water in the middle of West 103rd Street.

I reported the water main break to 911 and ran outside to find a raging river in place of our quiet street, and a good amount of water pouring into our building's hallway and basement.

At once a crowd of FDNY firefighters was marching through icy water well above their boots, creatively stemming the rising tide with boards, bricks and anything else they could find. As they inspected buildings for signs of danger, they found water in our electric box and had to shut off our electricity, and thus heat, in the 17° weather.

Immediately after, NYC's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) shut off the water main and, at 10pm on a Saturday night started the overnight fix.

Alas, despite FDNY and ConEd's emergency gas crew informing me at 10pm that their electricity team would be arriving shortly to restore our power, by 1am we still had neither electricity nor heat. A ConEd emergency phone rep insisted that we would have to find a licensed electrician to inspect our building, file affidavits and get "blue slips" from NYC before they would restore the power, a process that could take days. But thankfully, newly elected NYC Council Member Helen Rosenthal was on the scene, tweeting with affected residents, and keeping tabs on emergency repair progress. By sufficiently escalating the issue with OEM, she was able to get ConEd to send workers to restore our power by 1:30am, earning her a "Cory Booker award" for the night. And I might even say she did it all with good cheer. By working through the night, DEP successfully restored water to the block by morning.

All told, losing utilities for a night is a minor inconvenience. But it's a perfect opportunity to take a rare step back and recognize all the unsung heroes of FDNY, DEP, and our elected officials who work through the coldest nights of the year to keep things working in NYC (and to pressure ConEd to respond to its customers).

We are quick to find fault anytime something goes wrong with government. So it's worth taking a pause to note when something goes right.

[richardrobbins]

A Call for Safer Streets in New York City

My grandmother in NJ used to say ironically that every traffic light is a memorial -- her way of calling transportation officials to task for not taking action until a fatal crash demonstrated after the fact that a road or intersection wasn't safe.

Unfortunately, two tragedies in my neighborhood show that New York City has suffered from the same lack of forward vision. A 73-year-old man was dragged to his death by a tour bus at 96th and Broadway and a 9-year-old boy who was walking hand-in-hand with his father was struck and killed by a taxi cab at the corner of 97th and West End Avenue.

Both these corners already have traffic lights, as do most city intersections. But the lights clearly weren't enough to save Alexander Shear nor little Cooper Stock. In fact, pedestrian deaths have been rising in New York, with 156 fatalities in 2013, up from 152 in 2012 and 142 in 2011. In just the first 10 days of the new year, there were 7 pedestrian fatalities. Since September 11, 2001, over 1,840 pedestrians and over 220 bicyclists have been killed on New York City's streets -- nearly three-quarters as many people as were killed in the city on 9/11.

Much more needs to be done and much more can be done. A forward-thinking approach calls for the enforcement of existing traffic laws and the installation of new safety features in our streets to protect pedestrians.

In October 2013, Transportation Alternatives' report "The Enforcement Gap" detailed that speeding drivers are the number one cause of fatal crashes and failure to yield was the number one cause of injurious crashes in 2011. However, even though 83% of New Yorkers want stronger enforcement of speed laws to reduce traffic fatalities, the NYPD gave out more tickets in 2012 for trivial issues that haven't caused fatalities such as excessive window tint (95,526 summonses) and defective headlights (25,439 summonses) than for speeding (84,630 summonses, despite 55 fatal crashes and 2,710 injurious crashes) and failure to yield (16,283 summonses, despite 26 fatal crashes and 5,501 injurious crashes).

Further, the NYPD has been cracking down more on cyclists than motorists, even though no pedestrians have been killed by cyclists in New York City in nearly 5 years.

My own observations are that traffic lights and speed limits are rarely obeyed by motorists and even more rarely enforced by the NYPD. Nearly every time a light turns red, I see at least one car speed up to race through the intersection. On West End Avenue, cars frequently are driven far in excess of the 30 mph speed limit. Yet almost never have I seen drivers get stopped for these dangerous offenses.

In the wake of these latest deaths, Mayor Bill de Blasio reinforced his call for "Vision Zero," the goal of completely eliminating pedestrian deaths in NYC, and Borough President Gale Brewer endorsed this goal in her inaugural address.

The NYPD needs to dramatically step up enforcement of dangerous traffic violations. Additionally, residential neighborhoods like the Upper West Side need traffic calming enhancements such as speed bumps and curb extensions, which physically force cars to slow down in dangerous areas and at intersections. Finally, Mayor de Blasio should force the NYPD to release more and better crash data so citizens help identify dangerous streets that need to be made safer and potential solutions.

It's time for New York City to get serious about making our streets safe. Had former NYPD Commissioner Kelly heeded Transportation Alternatives' report and cracked down on speeding and failure to yield, perhaps Cooper Stock and Alexander Shear would be alive today. It would be a greater tragedy if we don't react to these two latest in a series of pedestrian deaths in a way that effectively saves lives.

Note: There will be a vigil on Wednesday, January 15 at 6:30pm at the SW corner of 97th and West End Avenue to remember Cooper Stock and Alexander Shear.

[richardrobbins]

Citibike - The Perfect Marketing Campaign

I'm not usually quick to praise large banks. But I have to give credit where credit is due -- Citibike is the perfect marketing program and especially notable for a company that has taken a number of hits to its image in recent years.

While most companies are tripping over themselves to deliver meaningless offline and online impressions that impress nobody, Citi has linked its name and brand with a service that directly benefits both New Yorkers and visitors to New York City.

It's hard to go anywhere in downtown / midtown Manhattan without seeing the elegant docking stations and cyclists riding the shiny new bikes with prominent Citi logos prominently yet tastefully displayed from every angle. This ubiquity throughout Manhattan would be hard to achieve with any traditional media -- and besides does anyone really pay attention to ads on bus shelters and taxicab roofs?

Judging from the 50,000 memberships, 650,000 rides and 1.5 million miles traveled in just over a month since the program launched, the program is obviously fulfilling a previously unmet need for New Yorkers. Plus, the program has a positive image association for Citibank with fitness, especially among influential millennials. And the program also has great public affairs benefits, as the sponsorship is directly helping a pet project of Mayor Bloomberg. (It's surely no coincidence that Citi's Executive Vice President of Public Affairs, Ed Skyler, previously served as Bloomberg's Deputy Mayor of Operations and had also served as the Mayor's Press Secretary and Communications Director.)

Of course no innovative marketing program is without risk. The program (and Citi as its sponsor) have received plenty of criticism for launch delays, technical glitches and complaints about the docking stations taking up precious street parking. (Why New York City gives up so much real estate for free or under-market parking for private cars is a topic for another post.) Two weeks after the program launched, the New York Times ran an article "2 Weeks In, Bike-Share Program Is Hitting Snags." But with risk comes reward. As Citi's Skyler told New York Magazine, "You get very few opportunities to cut through the noise and make an impression in the fabric of a city like New York, which is our hometown."

Now that the program has launched, there are many ways that Citi could further leverage the program to reinforce and further strengthen the community benefits of the program. It is great that Citibike offers discounted memberships to NYCHA residents. Some of the many other ways Citi could further leverage the sponsorship would be to organize Meetups to bring together loyal Citibike fans, sponsor special bike rides for Citibike members, and provide special offers for Citi customers to get free / discounted memberships.

I also hope that more companies learn from Citi's example and do similar community marketing programs. Some of many ideas include partnerships with schools, civic tech initiatives (such as Code for America), and developing innovative programs in conjunction with other essential city services such as the NYC Transit / MTA. As Citibike is showing, working to benefit the community can be a more effective form of marketing and brand-building than traditional advertising or sponsorships.

Oh, by the way, I still call it Shea.

I have no relationship, professional or otherwise, with Citibank and though I am an active cyclist I am not a Citibike member, as Citibike is not (yet) available in my neighborhood.

[richardrobbins]

The Importance of Summer Internships

Go to any tech conference in New York City or the monthly NY Tech Meetup and you’re sure to hear entrepreneurs desperate to find good talent. Though the city and the nation are stuck in an era of high unemployment, there’s actually NEGATIVE unemployment in the tech sector – demand is so great that developers are working multiple jobs.

At the same time, New York City’s Department of Education is working to ensure that students are prepared to face the real world, by being ready for college or careers when they graduate from high school. A proven way to help high school students prepare for their post-secondary life is by gaining meaningful work experience through internships.

I am pleased to be working with NYC’s Department of Education to help identify businesses and organizations to host summer interns who are participating in the CTE Summer Scholars program. This program recruits students from a number of New York City’s strongest Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in IT, advertising and media. Rising seniors and juniors who have been selected through a rigorous application process are matched with host organizations based on their skills and interests and the focus and needs of the host company. The students will work on-site Mondays – Wednesdays and will attend classes and workshops on Thursdays – Fridays.

Companies can be creative in deciding on the work they give to interns – it’s a great opportunity to have extra capacity to manage projects such as social media monitoring, online research / competitive analysis of websites and apps, inventorying of IT systems and networks, web design, art & design, video editing, and multimedia library management.

In addition to getting motivated young people helping out for the summer, companies will get great exposure and goodwill in the community and with leaders in NYC government. Plus, the program is funded by a generous grant from Bank of America so the students receive a paycheck (often for the first time in their lives) without any cost to the host organization.

We are currently identifying organizations that will host students this summer. If you are interested in serving as a host organization, please contact me at rich (at) upperweststrategies.com.

[richardrobbins]

Hey Reince – You Can’t Buy Friends

Today, on his 41st birthday, Reince Priebus announced a long list of initiatives to change the GOP’s image from being “scary,” “out of touch,” “stuffy old men.” A big part of this is what he calls a “bottom-up approach,” for which the GOP will be spending $10 million to build “a network of hundreds of paid people across America from the community level up to the national level dedicated to minority, youth, and women inclusion.The GOP’s “Growth & Opportunity Project” report (dubbed the “GOP Autopsy,” which ironically had been giving a “500 Internal Server Error” on the growthopp.gop.com website this morning) declares, “We need to campaign among Hispanic, black, Asian, and gay Americans and demonstrate that we care about them, too.”

Further, Priebus and the GOP focus on the tools of bottom-up movements, wanting to ensure that they stay ahead of the curve. In their fantasy, today’s popular platforms aren’t even enough. “Using social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and Instagram is important, but we also need to be actively looking for and utilizing the newest and most cutting-edge social media platforms to engage this generation.” Priebus calls for hackathons in tech centers such as San Francisco, Austin, New York and Denver to engage with tech communities, and is setting up a Silicon Valley office for the GOP.

Reince seems to have forgotten what every 6 year-old knows all too well. You can’t buy friends. The chair of national party with millions of members announcing a $10 million spend for a “bottom-up approach” shows a complete lack of understanding of the meaning of a bottom-up movement. Real grass-roots movements (as opposed to astroturf efforts) involve citizens banding together to organize on issues about which they are passionate. And thinking that the newest and most cutting-edge social media platforms are a cure shows the false belief that technology alone can rejuvenate the party.

The GOP’s real issue is that its policies are out of line with many of the groups it now wants to attract. The “Growth & Opportunity Project” report talks of the importance of women voters. However, its recommendations are superficial, “Our candidates, spokespeople and staff need to use language that addresses concerns that are on women’s minds.” Neither abortion nor women’s equality are mentioned in the report.

To its credit, the report, which largely avoids taking policy stands, does state that “we must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform.” However, the words and actions of many GOP legislators in calling for ever higher border fences and self deportation contradict this stand.

Also to his credit, Priebus stated that the GOP must make it easy to vote (though he couched this by raising the false issue of voter fraud and his support for voter ID). But these words ring hollow when far too many in the GOP have been actively working to disenfranchise Americans, especially through efforts that disproportionately impact minority voters.

Finally, the GOP’s opposition of health care reform and advocacy for tax breaks for the rich at the expense of social programs that help working-class Americans sends a clear message that the party is looking out for its own – rich, white men – and not for the majority of Americans.

Only when the GOP changes its policies and shows that there is room for moderates in all areas from minority rights to women’s rights to environmental protection to economic opportunity for all (and not just helping the rich get richer) will true bottom-up movements grow both in cities across America and online with the most cutting-edge digital tools.

[richardrobbins]

Thoughts About SXSW

In reflecting on being inducted into SXSW Interactive’s Hall of Fame, danah boyd writes, “The truth is that at this stage, the contemporary SXSW is a bit alien to me.”

I didn’t start going to SXSW Interactive until 2009, at which point there were already ~15K attendees. (I’m like the guy who thinks I discovered U2 because I saw them in an arena before they started playing stadiums.) Nonetheless, now with over 30,000 attendees, the conference has changed enormously even in the past few years. 

In 2009, I was AT&T’s newly minted “Director, Social Innovation,” a position I thought of and recommended creating based on my recognition that the company needed to engage with the tech community. Back then, far fewer corporations knew about SXSW and sent representatives. Among those of us who did attend, there was much basic ground to cover to such as how to get management and legal to understand the need for companies to engage. 

Now, social media has exploded and marketers everywhere recognize the need to have a social presence. Companies that don’t have active Facebook and Twitter accounts and multiple representatives at SXSW are now more the exception than the rule. While this is a great thing, I do worry that too many companies focus more on how to use social media to sell product than as a tool to embrace their communities in a true two-way fashion. 

A few thoughts from SXSW…. 

One corporation that had the right approach was American Express. Instead of wasting money on an interactive virtual presenter providing conference info (I’m talking to you, 3M), American Express got its sponsorship right by showcasing the vibrant tech community in its hometown of New York City through a partnership with New York Tech Meetup. 

A recurring theme was that our country’s economic growth depends on new businesses, which are desperate for top talent. Education and immigration are two sides of the same coin, and the US is failing in both. We need to do a far better job in educating our youth and especially in getting young people to study Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Brian Forde in the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy and Nicole Sanchez at the Level Playing Field Institute are doing great work to meet President Obama’s goal of 1 million additional STEM graduates in the next decade. Similarly, we need to attract top talent from around the world and allow them to stay in the US so they build businesses and create jobs in the US.

Similarly, we need to ensure that the tech community welcomes women. We can’t let people like Elon Musk “I'm able to be with (my five children) and still be on e-mail.” set the standard for what is required to succeed in the tech industry. 

An area that hasn’t received as much attention that I find extremely exciting is the civic tech space. Nearly $200 billion is spent annually on local, state and Federal government IT projects every year, yet many government IT systems are far from innovative. The White House is addressing this with the Presidential Innovation Fellows program, where “top innovators” can spend 6-13 month “tours of duty” to help make the Federal government more efficient and effective. Code for America, which bills itself as a “Peace Corps for Geeks,” offers fellowships for tech leaders to bring innovative tech projects to cities across America. Savvy corporations who want to appeal to communities like that at SXSW should explore developing innovative partnerships with the Presidential Fellows and Code for America. 

As social media continues to go mainstream, I do hope that corporations see the opportunity to listen to, engage with, and support tech leaders, rather than seeing SXSW as a way of promoting their products to “influencers.”

[richardrobbins]

Lessons from the Super Bowl – It’s all about the conversation

When explaining social media to executives, I describe it as one large cocktail party. One would never walk into a room full of people, clink a fork to a wine glass, and yell “Hi. I’m from ACME Corporation and I’m here to tell you about my latest product.” Even worse would be for a marketer to only talk from pre-approved scripts, with no regard for the conversation in the room or any unexpected events.

Yet far too many marketing executives who built their careers in the era of one-way broadcast still use exactly that approach in social media. Last night’s Super Bowl – the ultimate cocktail party celebrated throughout the world – was a prime example, as brands that spent millions of dollars on largely mediocre ads were outshined by marketers who were nimble enough to quickly jump into the conversation.

To their credit, many brands recognized that many viewers are following the game online while watching their TV – a Century 21 study found that 52% of Americans who use social media said they would be using social media during the game – and many ads pointed viewers to the companies’ social sites.

But when something unscripted happened, very few brands were prepared to join the conversation. And those that did – Oreos, Audi, MLB – were warmly welcomed with tens of thousands of retweets and mentions, not from $4M ads but from free tweets.

Some lessons:

Social media is a real-time conversation. Brands need to be prepared to jump in and participate. Just a few years ago, brands got credit for having a Facebook or Twitter account. Now, it’s essential. In the same way, being part of the conversation will become the norm and brands that aren’t will become irrelevant. 

Pre-approved scripts don’t work. And scheduled posts are a complete no-no. Social media is a communal activity. If you’re only talking, not listening to what others are saying and not responding to them, you’re not being social. And in our fast-paced news world, it is inappropriate (or even offensive) to be posting pre-scheduled generic marketing messages at times when the community is focused on a major news story or tragedy.

Brands need to be able to react real-time. Oreo was able to succeed because it had two executives watching the game at the agency who could approve posts instantly. I’m largely opposed to companies outsourcing their social posts, as it’s too great a risk. But those that do need to ensure that someone with authority is always ready to approve engaging with customers and reacting real-time to current events, whether for company-specific crisis communications, or to take advantage of newsworthy events like the Super Bowl blackout.

The conversation is happening on Twitter, not Facebook. Sure Facebook has more users (for now) and more time spent on the site. But the real conversation is happening on Twitter, and Twitter’s dominance will continue to expand. Marketing Land’s Matt McGee counted that 50% of Super Bowl ads referred viewers to Twitter, while only 8% mentioned Facebook.

Customers want to be engaged, not targeted. With the exception of a few “passion” brands whose customers wait for any bit of product news, customers largely don’t care about products. (If we cared, brands wouldn’t have to pay $4M for ads to reach us.) If you want people to be talking about your company or product, you need to be part of your customers’ lifestyle and community and find reasons why they should care about you (such as helping your community or being really funny).

Brands have come a long way in just a few years in understanding how connective technologies have changed the relationship between marketers and customers. However, there’s still a long way to go.

And a bit of advice – if you’re responsible for your company’s social media accounts, start making plans right now for how you’re going to manage the Grammy Awards this Sunday.

[richardrobbins]

Upper West Strategies

Upper West Strategies is a marketing consultancy that drives value for clients by developing and implementing innovative programs to positively engage target audiences and deliver desired results. Connective technologies have created an “Age of Empowerment,” where citizens and consumers expect corporations, non-profits and government agencies to serve as valuable members of their community. We help clients succeed in this new world, by developing a deep understanding of the competitive landscape, and then by creating unique programs that resonate with target audiences. We believe that there are many opportunities for increased cross-fertilization among corporations, government, non-profits and the tech sector, and we use our knowledge of these distinct worlds to develop mutually beneficial programs, which benefit communities and generate positive conversations.