ScottCrider.com

About Scott Crider

2012-01-09T08:49:00.000-08:00

Currently: Vice President of Interactive Media & Technology, Compass Media, Inc.
Formerly: Digital Creative Director & Social Media Strategist, Aristotle Interactive.
Blog: ScottCrider.com
Email: ScottCrider [at] ScottCrider [dot] com

One-Line Bio: Scott Crider is an award winning creative and social media director, blogger, and Vice President of Interactive Media at Compass Media in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Short Bio: Scott Crider is an award winning digital creative director, social media strategist, and Vice President of Interactive Media at Compass Media in Gulf Shores, Alabama. A blogger and social media pioneer since early 2005, Crider's background in social media includes authoring two blogs that received over one million visitors and features by Time, CNN, ABC News, major online publishers, and a book about viral culture.

Full Bio: A digital creative director, social media strategist, interactive marketing specialist and professional speaker, Scott Crider is Vice President of Interactive Media at Compass Media in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Crider develops cutting-edge interactive programs for clients large and small. Crider drives the strategy and overall execution of integrated Web 2.0 programs that leverage viral opportunities in social media and related applications. With a proven track record of identifying high-impact opportunities that provide innovative new distribution strategies for clients and brands, Crider focuses on application strategy and technology integration within the Web 2.0 and Social Media space. Crider also has more than 25 years of experience in traditional marketing, advertising and public relations disciplines, including brand development. Among his most prized projects are the re-branding of Huntington Beach, California and an interactive and social media program developed for Fortune 100 company Murphy USA. Crider's social media accomplishments include the development of innovative social media integration applications that consistently exceed clients' expectations, including sales ROI in excess of 1000% for a Fortune 100 retailer (Murphy USA) and digital promotions that have garnered tens-of-thousands of new leads for major national and international marketing organizations. Crider is also a successful blogger, having authored two blogs that have received over 1 million readers. One of these blogs was featured by Time, CNN, ABC News, major national newspapers, and a book by Bill Wasik (editor of WIRED Magazine) titled And Then There's This: How Stories Live and Die in Viral Culture.

Speaking Engagements: Scott Crider, Vice President of Interactive Media at Compass Media in Gulf Shores, AL is available for public speaking engagements. References for public speaking can be found in the side bar of this site, and at Crider's LinkedIn profile. To arrange for public speaking, e-mail scottcrider [at] scottcrider [dot] com

myDMAI Spotlight: Scott Crider, Vice President, Interactive Media

2011-12-20T08:49:00.000-08:00

I was a bit shocked - and honored - to find that I'm featured in this month's myDMAI e-newsletter! Thank you, DMAI. I really enjoyed speaking at the Destination Management and Marketing Institute last month, as well.

Happy Holidays!

Scott

Huntington Beach and Aristotle Interactive Win MarCom Award

2011-11-30T07:42:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to my former employer, Aristotle Interactive, on winning another prestigious award for one of my former clients, the Hunting Beach Marketing and Visitor's Bureau!

A Gold Award was received from the International MarCom Awards for the city's rack brochure, for which I had the honor of providing the concept, writing, and creative direction. The gorgeous design was done by the very talented Christopher Stashuk.

The brochure features a beautiful die-cut that lets a view of the famous Huntington Beach pier, lit by a sunset, peek over the top of the first panel. It also features the new branding that was we developed for the city.

Congratulations, everyone!

Scott Crider left Aristotle Interactive in November 2010 to become Vice President of Interactive Media and Technology at Compass Media, Inc. in Gulf Shores, AL. To reach Scott, please email him at scottcrider[at]scottcrider.com or call 251-968-4600.

DMMI Presentation, Tunica, MS

2011-11-08T08:10:00.000-08:00

Thank you for attending today's session. I hope to see you again soon! Please drop me a note to let me know your thoughts:
E-mail:Scottcrider@ScottCrider.com
Linked In: www.Linkedin.com/in/ScottCrider
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/CScottCrider

Dmmi presentation final

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DMAI e-News: Holy Cr@p! Co-op Marketing and the Social Media Revolution

2011-09-27T13:04:00.001-07:00

Here is the text of my article that was published yesterday (9/26/11) in the Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI) e-Newsletter. I'll be speaking on this topic at DMAI's Destination Management & Marketing Institute in Tunica, MS on Nov. 7-9. I hope to see you there!

Holy Cr@p! Co-op Marketing and the Social Media Revolution

By: Scott Crider

Social Media is the hot topic, but has it really opened up quantifiable new opportunities for destination marketers? The short answer to this question is “yes.” The longer answer is, well, longer.

First, some perspective.

Facebook is nothing less than a stunning force in marketing. Founded just 7 years ago in a college dorm room, the site now boasts over 750 million active users worldwide (Source: Wikipedia). In the U.S., the site is projected to boast over 150 million users next year (that’s almost half of all Americans!).

And it’s not all kids.

For more than a year, the fastest growing demographic on Facebook in the U.S. has been adults ages 45-55. Today, seventy-two percent of Facebook’s users are between 25 and 54 - with nearly equal distribution among all consumer age groups (Source: Socialmediatoday).

Are you ready for this jaw-dropper? That means 93% of adult U.S. Internet users are on Facebook (Source: Hubspot).

Not only that, but U.S. consumers aren’t just dabbling around Facebook occasionally. They’re devouring it daily. A study last year showed that half of all Facebook users admitted they check it every day, often multiple times. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the average user spends more than 11 hours per month on the site.

That makes Facebook the biggest “time sink” on the Internet.

According to eMarketer, Facebook continues to entrench itself into consumer’s daily lives through diversification. No longer is the site primarily for keeping up with who is in a relationship with whom. What started as a “play” social network, eMarketer says, “has evolved into an all-purpose destination that is beginning to replace e-mail, instant messaging, video-sharing, gaming, and other activities that were otherwise scattered across unconnected venues.”

Considering these stats, it’s no wonder that around 80% of all businesses have by now created a Facebook page. In fact, a brand new Duke University survey of 249 U.S. Chief Marketing Officers indicated that, on average, they plan to dramatically increase use of social media over the next five years.

At the same time, though, marketing executives remain confused by social media. Many now have performance indicators built around social media metrics (such as growing Facebook “Likes”) but have little idea how to do so in a way that is strategically sound and deliver a discernable return on the investment.

The Duke University survey seems to agree, saying marketers “admitted they have a ways to go toward integrating social media in their strategy.” On a scale of 1-7, with one being “not integrated at all” almost one-quarter of marketing executives selected “one” to describe how well their company's social media is integrated with the firm's overall strategy.

Back to the original question: Has social media really opened up quantifiable new opportunities for destination marketers? You bet it has. And if you get creative, the opportunities can be enormous.

Let’s talk about an emerging trend in co-op marketing.

Virtually all media companies - television stations, radio stations, newspaper and magazine publishers - now have Facebook pages. They are challenged to continually grow “Likes” and provide innovative, fresh content that engages their audiences. Furthermore, they struggle to integrate their Facebook pages with their main programming and content.

DMOs can help media companies solve their “Facebook problem,” as one TV executive I know refers to it, and receive tens-of-thousands of dollars worth of free advertising and hundreds – even thousands – of new, targeted, drive market leads in exchange.

How?

Media companies have hundreds of thousands of viewers, listeners, and readers (even millions, depending on the market). DMO’s have destinations that offer consumers attractive travel opportunities. By using Facebook to tie the two together, amazing results can be achieved.

I know of one case study about a DMO/TV Station/Facebook co-op marketing partnership in which the TV station experienced:

• 40% increase in Facebook fans

• 325% increase in consumer engagement (comments and shares)

• 50% increase in monthly active users

While the DMO received:

• 506 TV spots

• 30 live on-air promotions (news and morning shows)

• 25,000 Web impressions

• Over 800 highly targeted leads

• 1,200% ROI (total advertising & lead value)

It’s a true win-win situation. And this occurred in a small market in which the TV station’s Facebook page had less than 3,000 “Likes” to begin with. In a large market, where TV stations frequently have 50,000 or more “Likers” to begin with, and much more expensive advertising rates, a DMO could receive many, many thousands of high quality leads and many, many thousands of dollars worth of advertising for a very low investment.

In a word: ROI. I’m talking ridiculous, over-the-top, downright gaudy ROI.

The key element in this co-op marketing opportunity is a Facebook app designed to process sweepstakes entries. There are several companies around the U.S. that create and license Facebook apps, and some even provide campaign management and technical support.

Using an app, and some creativity and ingenuity, your DMO can be an early beneficiary of this emerging trend. Put together a win-win co-op promotion with a media partner in a key market, and you’ll gain your destination a huge amount of exposure, tons of high-quality leads, and – best of all - a remarkable return on investment.

Scott Crider is Vice President, Interactive Media – Compass Media, Inc. in Gulf Shores, AL, and can be reached at scrider@compassmedia.com or +1.251.967.7548

Web Awards: Kentucky Tourism

2011-09-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

I am very proud to have had the opportunity to create this "digital scavenger hunt" program for Kentucky Tourism last year, for which my previous employer has won a fantastic award. Congratulations, Aristotle Interactive!

Dogs Against Romney: How I Got 1 Million Readers in 10 Days

2011-04-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

The 2012 version of Dogs Against Romney is now live, with a the complete story of how I got 1 million readers in just 10 days back during the 2008 election. Enjoy!

Social Media Summer Series Part 2

2010-07-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

In part 2, I want to talk to you about the truly mind-blowing expansiveness of social media as a communications tool. Like a huge boulder balanced on the peak of a mountaintop, there is an enormous amount of stored in energy in the social networks – at least for the brands that learn how to tap it.

Consider Facebook, in existence for just 6 years, has surpassed 500 million global users this month. That’s an average of 6.9 million new users per month. At its current pace, the social network is projected to reach 1 billion users – roughly 1/6^th of the world’s total population - next year.

The latest research shows that over half of the U.S. population is using social media - and it’s not just kids. 65% of all 25 to 34-year olds and 51% of all 35 to 44-year-olds are in the social networks.

Not only is social media the most widely and rapidly adopted medium of all time, but it’s also among the fastest, most powerful, and (I’d argue) most targeted mediums – ever. What do I mean by this?

Speed of communication – Because social networks are, by nature, social, news and information about your brand can spread via “word of mouth” extremely quickly. With a single click, your customers can share coupons, deals or product information with literally hundreds of people (the average Facebook user has 130 friends). For example, a recent promotion for Kentucky Tourism generated more than 18,000 Facebook status updates seen by over 174,000 people in just 8 days.

Power – For generations, marketers have known that word of mouth is the most powerful form of advertising. The social media have taken word of mouth to an entirely new level. Each “share” in social media is a de-facto word of mouth recommendation. Not only that, but (I’d argue) word of mouth itself is becoming even more powerful than ever before. In the age of information overload, research is beginning to indicate that people are actually using their social networks to screen and evaluate their purchasing decisions. If you sell cake mix, and thousands of moms share a free recipe and coupon for your product with tens of thousands of their friends, what cake mix do you think they are going to be more likely to buy?

Targeting – Also for generations, marketers have followed the rule of thumb that “birds of a feather flock together.” They found that, by and large, individual zip codes contained people of similar economic status and interests. The same is true (I’d argue) of social networks. People in social networks tend to be connected to people similar to themselves. Furthermore, people in these networks are conscious of the type of content they share – they don’t spam their friends. This means that when moms share your hypothetical cake mix recipe and coupon, they share it with other moms who are also your target – and they do it for you for FREE.

Next time, we’ll discuss more about social media for B2C marketing. Until then, please comment with any questions or topics you’d like covered and I will do my best to address them along the way.

Destinations Showcase Presentation - Chicago

2010-06-22T16:02:00.000-07:00

I was invited to speak about social media at Destinations Showcase in Chicago tomorrow morning. I'll be conducting two sessions for professional meeting planners to share the current state of social media and ways I think professional meeting planners could be using it to help them:

- Do their jobs more easily and effectively
- Increase attendance at their meetings
- Enhance the attendees' experience during (and after) the meeting

Here's the slide deck and notes. Feel free to share :)

A special thank you to those of you who attended the sessions. Please stay in touch via Twitter (@CScottCrider) and/or Linked IN (linkedin.com/in/scottcrider)

Holy Cr@P: Meetings and Social Media Revolution

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Social Media For the FMCG Industry, Part 1

2010-06-15T09:39:00.001-07:00

I am honored to have been invited to serve as a subject matter expert on social media by the Consumer Packaged Goods Supergroup on Linked In. The group has over 20,000 Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry members and continues to grow rapidly under the leadership of Bill Holland, who invited me to write a series of articles for the members.

Part 1 of the 6-part series I'll be writing is posted below. You can follow it on Linked In and participate in the conversation with CPG executives here.

I hope to see you there!

Social Media Summer Series Part 1: What is social media, really? And why is it important?

As an active practitioner in social media both professionally and personally since 2005, I’ve had the opportunity to watch and experience this phenomenon as it has grown in both size and potential. In just under 5 years social media has grown from an online chat environment populated mostly by teens into a socio-economic powerhouse that is likely to change the way we all buy and sell goods.

This first posting of the Social Media Summer article series will briefly outline what social media is and why it’s important for FMCG industry professionals to understand it. Beginning with Part II of the series, we’ll begin discussing in more detail what you can do with it to move products and drive sales.

So, what is social networking site? A study by UC-Berkley defined it this way: Social network sites are web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system.

Pretty straightforward - You set up a profile, connect with people you know, and find other people you share a common connection with.

Why is social networking important? What makes social networking enormously powerful (especially, I believe, for the FMCG industry) is that people in social networks can (and do) share brand recommendations, deals – even coupons -- very rapidly with their connections. The sharing of brand and product information and deals can happen at an amazing rate.

I know of one regional retailer for whom a custom Facebook application resulted in nearly 30,000 downloadable e-coupons being shared by customers with their Facebook friends in a matter of days. At one point in the promotion, e-coupons were being shared at a rate of thousands-per hour, forcing the retailer to deliberately slow the application down in order to avoid being blocked by Internet Service Providers.

There are many benefits to utilizing social networks in this way: 1) each “share” of your product is a de-facto recommendation (word of mouth advertising), 2) your customers identify new, like-minded customers for you (targeting), 3) promotions can be launched and revised quickly and easily (flexibility), 4) there are no printing, advertising, or postage costs (cost-savings), 5) virtual relationships are turned into actual store visits and purchases (ROI), 6) new customer contact information is acquired for a continued relationship (future sales), and 7) research shows that providing special deals for customers in social networks markedly increases purchases and the propensity to share your brand with others (loyalty).

Introduction: Social Media Summer Series

2010-06-08T06:54:00.000-07:00

I am honored to have been invited to serve as a subject matter expert on social media by the Consumer Packaged Goods Supergroup on Linked In. The group has over 20,000 members and continues to grow rapidly under the leadership of Bill Holland, who invited me to write a series of articles for the members.

This is an opportunity for me to share what I've learned about social media - and its enormous amount of stored energy - for use as a selling platform (I can almost hear the social media purists screaming at the thought).

The fact of the matter is, I've been in the branding/marketing/advertising business long enough to know that - for businesses - if social media can't demonstrate real ROI (cash in the register), it's going to be underutilized and the opportunity to truly capitalize on the more ethereal brand benefits will be missed as well.

In other words, I believe that for social media to continue to advance and become the truly transformative agent it can be, it must spread beyond a social movement and become an economic movement as well.

And it can. True, selling has to be done differently in a two-way medium, but it is selling none-the-less.

The introduction to the 6-part series I'll be writing for the CPG Supergroup is posted below. You can follow it on Linked In and participate in the conversation with CPG executives here.

I hope to see you there.

Introduction: Social Media Summer Series

When Bill Holland invited me to write about social media for the CPG Supergroup, I don’t think he knew how serendipitous it was. I had joined the group just a week prior to hearing from him because I felt that CPG, while not much involved in social media, may actually have the greatest opportunity to profit from it.

It’s not surprising that so few CPG companies have embraced social media. The Internet is rife with “gurus” who insist that social media is “not a selling platform,” and that social media ROI is based only in ethereal concepts like “brand humanization” and “share of voice.”

I disagree with these gurus. First, I don’t believe that “selling” is a dirty word. Second, not only is social media a selling platform – but, used properly, my experience shows it may be the most powerful selling platform ever.

This isn’t to say that the ethereal benefits of social media have no value for brands – they do. But companies and brands that use it only for “listening” and handling CRM issues are missing out on an enormous opportunity to move a lot of goods quickly, inexpensively, and without the damage to social media relationships predicted by the gurus.

I hope this introduction interests you enough to join the conversation. I plan to begin a six-part series next week with an overall introduction to social media, followed by more particularized information. It’s my hope that we have a lively, two-way conversation along the way so please comment with any questions or topics you’d like covered and I’ll do my best to address them.

Scott

How to Get Obscene ROI

2010-05-13T08:14:00.000-07:00

I've often heard people ask, often challengingly, "What's the ROI of social media?" Most often I'd answer this question with a question of my own. "What's the ROI of our relationship?" My intended point was that social media is about relationships, and business is done through relationships.

I now have a better answer.

Not only can I say that social media can generate real ROI, I can say that social media can generate obscene ROI.

That's right. Obscene, ridiculous, over-the-top, jaw-dropping ROI.

Without giving details in this public arena (official case study not done yet), I can say that I have observed a client's social media promotion generate real ROI - dollars in the cash register - easily greater than 800% - possibly approaching 1,000% - in a matter of days. Not only that, but the lifetime value of the thousands of new relationships created for the client by the promotion could far exceed even that.

If you'd like to hear more about it, drop an email to the address in my profile.

Scott

Social Plugins from Facebook Hit the Web

2010-04-22T08:52:00.001-07:00

Facebook just launched a whole suite of social plugins that "enable you to provide engaging social experiences to your users with just a line of HTML." There are several types of plugins, including a simple 'like" button. According to Facebook, the "like" button enables users to make connections to your pages and share content back to their friends on Facebook with one click.

I thought how interesting it might be if I could add this button to my blog posts (not just to the blog overall, but to individual blog posts) and discovered that I could. All I had to do was generate a blog post, copy its link, and then use that link to generate my button code here. Then it was a simple matter of coming back to edit the blog post by adding the code (see below).

When I clicked the button, it added my name and Facebook avatar to the blog post and also shared it on my Facebook wall.

This is a great new way for bloggers to promote their work. Give a try and see what you think!

Google Launches Twitter Follow Finder

2010-04-16T07:16:00.000-07:00

I just tinkered around with a new Google tool in the labs that helps you find people you'd like to follow on Twitter. It's pretty cool. You just enter your Twitter username and Google searches for people you might like to follow based on your Twitter profile, the people you already follow, who they follow, etc.

Check it out!

2010: The Year of the Tablet

2010-04-06T09:37:00.001-07:00

As readers know, I've been following the release of the iPad pretty closely here and speculating about the impact of it - and devices like it that are sure to follow - on digital marketing and advertising.

Well, here is some fresh news about the first of the "other" devices that will soon hit the market.

Amidst reports of some disappointment among early adopters of iPad 1.0, news has leaked that HP will soon be launching its own tablet with several valuable features not found on the iPad including:

- Two cameras (one external 3-megapixel and one front-facing VGA for videoconferencing usage). The iPad has no cameras.

- Multitasking. The HP device will run Windows 7 Premium.

- SIM card slot for your choice of 3G connectivity. The iPad's 3G is provided by ATT.

-GPS built in

- HDMI - you can connect the HP device to your HD television. A "stunning" ommission on the iPad, some say.

The cost for these extra goodies? A mere $50 more than the iPad according to reports.

The HP tablet is expected sometime around June. If it shows strong sales, look out for the avalanche of tablet devices with increasingly attractive features.

The impact on digital marketing and advertising in terms of developing websites and large format, rich media advertising that are optimized to take advantage of the capabilities of these new devices is sure to keep us busy in the coming months.

Clients - and their agencies - need to on top of it.

in reference to: LEAKED: HP Slate Gets Priced and Specced (view on Google Sidewiki)

iPad "Wicked Fast," "Game Changer"

2010-04-01T12:18:00.001-07:00

Here's a hands-on review of the iPad by Walt Mossberg, technology columnist for the Wall Street Journal, saying it is "wicked fast," has a battery life longer than the 10 hours advertised, and"can be used as a replacement for a laptop for most data communication and content consumption."

in reference to: Apple IPad a ‘Winner,’ ‘Game Changer,’ Reviewers Say (Update1) - Bloomberg.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Aristotle Interactive, Clients Win Internet Advertising Competition Awards

2010-03-31T07:45:00.001-07:00

Update: Scott Crider left Aristotle Interactive in November 2010 to become Vice President of Interactive Media and Technology at Compass Media, Inc. in Gulf Shores, AL. To reach Scott, please email him at scrider[at]compassmedia.com or call 251-968-4600.

Original blog article follows:

We at Aristotle Interactive are really excited to find out recently that we won top awards in the 2010 Internet Advertising Competition. I'm particularly proud that two campaigns I was deeply involved in each won Best of Industry awards for "Best Integrated Ad Campaign" in their categories.

Murphy US A won Best Retail Integrated Ad Campaign for the 2009 Murphy USA Bracket Challenge, a March Madness bracket competition that was marketed online via email, website, social media, and online advertising. Offline, we marketing the contest through the clients' 1000+ store locations in 21 states using point-of-sale posters and hand-out cards.

The Huntington Beach Marketing & Visitors Bureau won Best Leisure Integrated Ad Campaign for the inaugural Surfboards in the Sand event, a new event to honor surfing, raise funds for protecting the oceans, and highlighting southern California culture.

Surfboards in the Sand was sponsored by RipCurl and TransWorld Surf magazine and was marketed via online and offline channels including print, web, social media, point-of-sale, and word-of-mouth. Over 1000 surfers attended and posed with their surfboards for an epic group photo that appeared in TransWorld Surf magazine.

It's an honor to work with these clients, because all great work starts with great clients.

2010-03-30T10:44:00.000-07:00

I'll be at Social Fresh in St. Louis on April 19. I've been hearing a lot of great things about this conference, and I'm looking forward to meeting friends and followers who may be there too.

@me if you're going to be there!

The Power of Owned Media

2010-03-29T10:16:00.001-07:00

I've been talking to my clients (and vlogging here) for some time now about the reasons I believe "owned media," such as social network relationships, are so powerful.

Well, here is what I believe the true value of "owned media" is: EARNED MEDIA, which in social networks manifests itself as word-of-mouth marketing - the most powerful marketing of all.

According to a joint study by Publicis Groupe and ROI Research, nearly half (48%) of people who see a brand mentioned on Twitter went to a search engine to look for more information about it.

More details from the study include:

44% of people have recommended a product on Twitter
39% have discussed a product on Twitter
Forty-six percent of respondents say they would talk about or recommend a product on Facebook.
32% say coupon offers in social networks is a message they listen to loud and clear.
Sales and special deal notifications follow at 28%
Offers to win points for online currency, 23%
Sweepstakes participation, 21%.

The bottom line is, nowhere else is it easier or cheaper to communicate with your customers and prospects - and nowhere else is it easier or cheaper to gain the benefit of word-of-mouth marketing.

Don't have time for social media? Then you don't have time for your customers.

in reference to: MediaPost Publications Consumers More Willing To Share Brand Info On Social Networks Than Previously Thought 11/06/2009 (view on Google Sidewiki)

iPad Advertisers Paying Big

2010-03-25T14:03:00.001-07:00

I've blogged a couple of times recently about my interest in the iPad (and coming devices like it) as an opportunity to bring the creativity of large-format advertising back. So far, it looks like some pretty big-name advertisers are thinking the same way.

According to InformationWeek, The Wall Street Journal and Time magazine are having no trouble inking high-priced advertising agreements for their first iPad issues. Brands Unilever, Toyota and Fidelity are said to be on board, plus others.

I'm looking forward to seeing what creative these brands come up with for their investment in these buys, as well as getting our iPad in-hand here at the Aristotle offices and seeing what we can do with it.

in reference to: Publishers Inking iPad Ad Deals -- Apple iPad -- InformationWeek (view on Google Sidewiki)

iPad and the Future of Digital, Social, and Creative

2010-03-25T08:41:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I posted an article calling attention to the possibility that the iPad, with its unique new scale and interface capabilities, has the potential to resurrect large-format advertising design skills that have fallen to the wayside in recent years.

In my continued studies, I found this great survey of over 500 developers published by Appcelerator.

Everyone involved in digital, social, and creative should read it, but for me the key findings are:

1) The iPad is for real.

2) For our clients the iPad represents an exciting new way to engage audiences, extend and deepen the relationship beyond the typical advertising cycle.

3) For creatives, a new world of possibilities is opening up. We have a responsibility to experiment early with the iPad and to avoid just "creating stuff" for it. We have to make sound recommendations to our clients as to where and how this exciting new device fits in the brand's objectives.

Scott

Google Stops Censoring Search in China

2010-03-22T14:46:00.001-07:00

Google has changed the world already, and this is one more step in the process. Oppressive regimes maintain control over people by maintaining control over information.

Personally, if I had the money, technology, and skill Google has I would devote myself to NEVER letting the Chinese (or any other oppressive regime) control and manipulate information ever again.

Who knows? A few billion people might find their freedom as a result.

Go, Google.

in reference to: Google quits censoring search in China - CNN.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Video: Aristotle Interactive's Scott Crider on The Rise of Owned Media

2010-03-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

Welcome! Enjoy the video. If you would like to reach Scott Crider, he left Aristotle Interactive in November 2010 to join Compass Media, Inc. in Gulf Shores, AL where he is Vice President of Interactive Media & Technology. He can be reached via e-mail at scrider[at]compassmedia.com or by phone at 251-968-4600.

Is it Finally Time to Take QR Codes Seriously?

2010-03-16T07:25:00.001-07:00

I first studied QR Codes three years ago and even did a presentation about them for the management staff at my office - but they just didn't catch on here in America.

I think the problem was mostly a chicken-and-egg scenario. Mobile phones weren't being shipped with QR code readers built in, and marketers weren't pushing QR codes because of the hurdle of having to spend precious marketing dollars educating consumers about what the codes were, how to use them, and where to download the readers.

That may have all changed.

This morning, Twitter is abuzz with news that some people are seeing QR Code-related links appear and disappear in their Facebook profile menus. I got this screen capture from an article on TechCrunch (link to full article below).

I have not seen this appear in my Facebook yet, but the stories are widespread enough that I believe we will shortly see this implemented across the the Facebook system.

What does it mean? Well, for starters, it means that QR codes will be shortly be introduced and explained to many, many millions of people who never heard of them before, relieving marketers of that chore and expense.

How will it change Facebook and, more importantly, American advertising in general? That remains to be seen.

But one thing is for certain: QR Codes are about to become real in America, and its about time.

Scott

in reference to: Facebook Kicks Off Implementation Of QR Codes (view on Google Sidewiki)

All Eyes on iPad

2010-03-15T12:29:00.001-07:00

As a digital creative, I've already started my internal "work" considering how I might think differently about about web design and UI/UX for the iPad (and the wealth of devices like it that are sure to come), but there is another tantalizing consideration as well - what about "print" advertising?

As a 24-year veteran of the ad game, I cut my teeth writing, designing, and producing print advertising. But I long ago moved on to greener pastures. It was a sad transition, because I strongly believe that advertising creative overall has suffered as a result. There is nothing quite like the canvas of a full page ad to work with.

Now the iPad offers newspapers and magazines the opportunity for a re-birth, of sorts, and with it a re-birth of the large format "print ad" as well. All this could place a premium back on the skill of artfully combining headline, image, and copy to create something much greater than the sum of its parts.

Fast Company discusses some great ideas for immersive, rich-media experiences magazine and newspaper publishers could consider for the iPad, but I can see how these same ideas could apply to ads as well - and the thought has my mind churning.

Here's my adaptation of Fast Company's recommendations (for their original article, visit the link below):

1. Interactive reviews & on-the-spot shopping

As a reader, Imagine seeing a gorgeous, full-page ad - and clicking through to online reviews of the product and even dropping it into your Amazon shopping cart without ever leaving the article you're reading.

2. Continual publishing & market research

For magazines and newspapers on the iPad, Fast Company says, "there's no reason to publish monthly or daily issues. Rather, they should be curating content all of the time." The same can apply to ads on the iPad. Advertisers should be able to update and revise their ads with everything from contextual imagery to suit the article it appears in to a sweetened call-to-action to stimulate response. For example, imagine as an advertiser that customers could download a coupon from your ad with the touch of their finger. Imagine further that you could monitor these downloads by ad, by publication, by region, even by time of day - and adjust your coupon offer in real time to stimulate maximum response and ROI.

3. Advertainment (Woven Narratives) & easy sharing

"...if you're sitting back with an iPad or a tablet, the content you read can quite easily vacillate between words and images," Fast Company said. Imagine a full page ad with imagery that comes to life with video and audio at the touch of your finger without leaving the page or article you're reading. Imagine also that with one touch you could easily share an ad that you found particularly entertaining with your social networks.

4. Custom content & earned media

Magazines and newspapers, Fast Company says, "...might even push stories to your front page, based on the things you've spent time with in the past." Again, I foresee the same applying to advertisements - and on top of that, the publication could also push "popular" ads (judged by the ads' rate of sharing by readers) to prime positions. This could actually create a new form of earned media - prime placement (added value) that is earned by the advertiser for having great, compelling creative.

All of the ideas described above have the potential to enhance the quality of online creative and improve the overall experience for both publishers and consumers of content.

It's a great time to be in this business!

Scott

in reference to: Lean With It: To Succeed, iPad Must Revolutionize Reading. It Hasn't...Yet | Design & Innovation | Fast Company (view on Google Sidewiki)

The Rise of Owned Media

2010-03-13T07:55:00.000-08:00

I frequently, and surprisingly, hear otherwise excellent marketers say they "don't have time" for social media. They are making a huge mistake.

For eons we had two basic media channels through which we could communicate with our customers - paid and earned (there has always been word-of-mouth, of course, but I'd argue that falls under the "earned" media category - especially now that everyone is essentially a media channel).

The recent and rapid rise of "owned" media have dramatically changed the communications landscape. Marketers who put in the work to build their social media networks and relationships (blogs, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) and build and distribute useful tools (such as iPhone apps and widgets) create for themselves an entirely new media channel through which they can communicate directly with customers.

Not only that but, unlike paid and earned media, "owned" media channels enable marketers to carry on two-way communications that build trust and establish relationships. Furthermore, "owned" media channels are the ideal tool to have at hand when a crisis strikes.

One need look no further than Tiger Woods for evidence. Woods, who possesses one of the most well-known brands in the world, never really engaged in social media. He has a website, but his blog hasn't been updated since October, 2009. In a world where Google places a premium on fresh content, that's a huge no-no.

In the days and weeks after Wood's personal scandal broke into the news his website, the only bit of media he "owned," disappeared from the first page of Google search returns. For weeks, the only thing that could be found by searching "Tiger Woods" were negative news stories and blog posts, jokes, and a scrolling stream of real-time tweets from people all over the world - few of them positive.

In the blink of an eye, Woods went from being a man completely in control of his brand to a man completely unable to change the course of its fall. While he was being ravaged by traditional and new media alike he was digitally blind, deaf, and dumb - unable to get his message out.

The moral of the story is don't wait. Start building your "owned" media empire now.

Scott

Digital Brand Experience Marketing

2010-03-10T07:32:00.001-08:00

Here's an excerpt from my article in this month's Digital Marketing Tips newsletter from Aristotle. You can hit the link below for the full article. Enjoy!

"New data from Forrester and other sources confirms that digital brand experiences are not only increasingly popular, but are also proving to be very, very effective.

For the consumer, digital brand experiences can include activities such as participating in an online contest, reading a corporate blog, writing or reading a product review, friending a brand on a social network, following a brand on Twitter, etc.

Here's the really juicy info, though...."

in reference to:

"Digital Brand Experience Marketing"
- Digital Brand Experience Marketing (view on Google Sidewiki)

Destinations Showcase Presentation

2010-03-04T13:31:00.000-08:00

I was invited to speak about social media at Destinations Showcase in Washington, DC last week. I did two sessions for nearly 300 very attentive people who made my job easy by asking a lot questions and Tweeting comments through the backchannel. The purpose of the presentation was to share the current state of social media, and ways professional meeting planners could be using it to help them:

- Do their jobs more easily and effectively
- Increase attendance at their meetings
- Enhance the attendees' experience during (and after) the meeting

Here is the slide deck and notes. Feel free to share :)

And a special thank you to those of you who attended the session. Please stay in touch via Twitter (@CScottCrider) and/or Linked IN (linkedin.com/in/scottcrider).

Holy Cr@p! Meetings and the Social Media Revolution

View more presentations from Aristotle Interactive.

Google Sidewiki Conference Call

2010-02-21T06:53:00.000-08:00

I've been a pretty strong advocate of Google Sidewiki ever since it launched, using it as a tool to update blogs and social networks I maintain. I've also written about it here wondering if there is a possibility that it could help create a new class of "influencers."

Somebody must be paying attention, because I received a tweet from the Sidewiki Team asking if I'd be interested in participating in a call with "other prominent Sidewiki users and the Sidewiki Team."

"Prominent" might be a bit too strong a word to describe my sidewiki presence, but I accepted the invitation. I'll let you know when it goes down and what happens.

Scott

Why NOT to use Twitter feeds during a presentation

2010-02-09T09:52:00.001-08:00

I'm working on my presentation for the upcoming DMAI Destination Showcase in Washington, DC today, and came across this great example of why NOT to use live Twitter feeds during presentations.

Sad (but also funny!).

Scott
Bio and session description here: http://www.destinationsshowcase.com/washington/meeting-experts.html#crider

in reference to: YouTube - Crowd diverts the attention in a conference using Tweets (view on Google Sidewiki)

Interesting idea!

2010-02-03T07:14:00.001-08:00

I'm going to consider something along these lines for a major launch coming soon.

in reference to:

"If you embrace this suggestion and promote your new website to your external contacts, send us an email and let us know how it went"
- New Website Launch Promotion That Gets Attention (view on Google Sidewiki)

Digital Brand Experience Marketing for Political Candidates

2009-12-28T07:42:00.000-08:00

I published an article here a while ago about some new things I have learned about the concept of digital brand experience marketing.

For details, you can go read that prior post. In this article, I want to focus on the potential I see for political candidates to benefit from creating digital experiences for supporters and potential supporters.

The concept of "brand experiences" is not new to political candidates. They have long known that the most effective way to engage with voters is to appear and mingle personally with them. That is why you see candidates making the rounds to county and state fairs, BBQ's, dinners, and kissing babies all over the place.

The problem for candidates, especially those running for statewide and national office, is that attending this endless stream of events can leave them exhausted. Just look at this photo of Hillary Clinton, taken at a 2008 campaign event. Tell me how it helped her to have images like this published next to images of a vibrant, well-rested Barack Obama.

On top of that indignity, attending all these events eats up precious resources that would be better spent getting a candidate's message out. As a candidate, imagine the possibilities if you were able to create a digital brand experience "engine" that ran everywhere, 24 hours-per-day, 7 days-per-week. And imagine further that of all the people who experienced your brand online:

98% showed increased consideration of you as a candidate
97% became more likely to vote for you in the next election; and
96% became more likely to recommend to friends that they vote for you, too

That's what we're talking about here, because that is the power of digital brand experience marketing.

Digital Brand Experiences Defined

Digital brand experiences can range widely from passive engagement, such as reading a candidate's blog, to more active engagements such as following a candidate on Twitter or "friending" on Facebook.

It is the more active brand engagements that drive the kinds of results I'm talking about. President Obama's campaign was early to the concept, though most of the reporting about his campaign's use of digital experience marketing focused on how much money was raised, rather than WHY so many people were moved to contribute - many of whom had never been politically active before.

According to The Atlantic, by adding social networking to the online fundraising mix, the Obama campaign raised half a billion dollars. In one month alone, Obama raised $45 million online - without hosting a single fundraiser, attending a single BBQ, or kissing a single baby.

Not only that, but the statistics show that virtually all of the millions of people who engaged with Obama via social networks felt as strong a connection to him as the comparatively few who actually got to meet him!

I believe it was this feeling of connection - the digital brand experience of choosing to "friend" or "follow," combined with the ease of giving online, that led so many to give who had never given before.

Clearly, candidates in future elections will have the opportunity to engage with their constituents in ways not possible before. But they are going to need people who can help them create and manage engaging and meaningful digital brand experiences.

That includes much more than just setting up Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. It involves content creation, choosing the right medium, writing with the correct tone, being able to respond to threats and opportunities with lightning speed, optimizing it for search engines, and releasing it all with the proper timing. In the future, it will include creating widgets and mobile apps, and leveraging things like Google Wave, Google Sidewiki, and more.

It is the candidates who do this successfully who will have the enormous advantage. They will be able to run more lean campaigns, spend less time on the road, and be able to devote substantially more of their resources on getting their messages out.

And as a bonus, once they win, they will be able to focus less on fundraising for the next election and more on doing the jobs they were elected to do.

Candidates running for office in 2010 should be well into this already. Those planning campaigns for 2012 need to be bringing digital experience and online marketing experts on board now. The social media world will look completely different in three years, and no one knows yet exactly what is going to become big and what isn't. That means you need to be working, testing, and analyzing all potential digital experience engines now.

If you don't, you'll be paying off campaign debts long after your opponent has taken the oath of office.

Politics and The Internet: My Congressman is Nuts

2009-12-20T06:54:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I introduced you to Call Me Barbara, a website devoted to combating the re-election of Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer by using a clip of her chastising a U.S. military General to call her "Senator" instead of "Ma'am."

Today, I have another great example of how technology in the hands of the people can affect politics. There's a Congressman from Florida named Alan Grayson who is apparently quite a character. His outbursts on the House floor have generated enough news (though not enough that I caught wind of it before today) that a Florida resident set up a web page called MyCongressmanIsNuts.com

Pretty funny.

What is even funnier, and an example of extremely poor PR judgement on the part of the Congressman, is he has now publicly called for the Attorney General to investigate and jail the person who created the site. This generated news coverage (I just saw it on Fox News) far beyond what the site would ever have gotten if the Congressman had simply ignored it.

If he had stayed quiet about it, it would have remained a small story in some of his local Florida papers and blogs - now, at this moment I suspect, the site is getting a crush of traffic from all over the United States and far more people are now aware of the Congressman's behavior.

He has not only embarrassed himself now, but also the people of Florida.

Scott

CallMeBarbara.com - A Missed Opportunity

2009-12-14T14:56:00.001-08:00

Whatever side of the political spectrum you hail from, you must admit that this site, set up to showcase a rather unsavory moment in the political life of Senator Barbara Boxer, is getting some MSM attention (and no doubt raising some funds and building a list).

Too bad the site owner didn't think to add easy links for social media sharing. That's a missed opportunity.

Scott

in reference to: CallMeBarbara.com (view on Google Sidewiki)

Will Sidewiki Create a New Class of Influencers?

2009-11-24T08:09:00.001-08:00

This article in Finance and Commerce discusses how companies might be able to exercise some degree of control over Google Sidewiki comments about their websites, saying "...having a group of brand ambassadors [to vote up or down sidewiki comments] is critical to controlling your reputation within this service."

The "brand ambassadors", the article argues, "will be seen as credible sources, which will ensure their comments rank above others and can aid in pushing down spam comments."

I'm not certain that is true. From what I understand, sidewiki commenters will eventually be ranked by Google according to a number of factors presumably including not just the number of "up" votes their sidewikis get, but also the frequency with which they post comments, the range of sites they comment on, their own record as sidewiki moderators, their level of expertise on various topics (such as being the owner of a popular blog), and more.

In other words, I believe sidewiki comments will eventually be ranked by Google according to the overall online "brand" possessed by the commenter.

For so called "brand ambassadors" to be seen as more credible, I believe they would have to do far more than just log on and vote up/down the sidewikis on a single site. Instead, they would have to do the same work required of everyone else to become a highly rated commenter.

This brings to mind a question I've been contemplating for several days. Will sidewiki create a new class of influencers? People who, by carefully managing their online brands, can become highly desirable supporters to have working or consulting for one's company?

Scott

in reference to: What will Google’s Sidewiki mean for online businesses? - Finance and Commerce (view on Google Sidewiki)

Kudos to XBox 360 Customer Service: E74 Red Ring of Death Error

2009-11-21T07:23:00.000-08:00

I felt I should share this story, because its an example of a company doing the right thing to take care of its customers.

About 10 days ago I took my 13 year old son to the midnight release of Modern Warfare 2. He had been saving up his money for it and he was SO excited. We got our copy and dashed home at 1 A.M. so that he could jump online with his buddies and play it for a bit before bed (a special concession on a school night).

But when he popped the game into his Xbox 360, an update was needed first. The update ran for maybe 2 seconds, then everything stopped and the screen showed a string of text in multiple languages. At the bottom of the screen it said "E 74" error. Around the power button glowed the dreaded Red Ring of Death.

My son was distraught.

It was clear that the update caused the error, but we weren't sure if it was generated by MW2 itself, or just a regular Xbox update. In either case, I had one majorly disappointed child on my hands.

I jumped online and found this PCWorld article by Matt Peckham, which helped me determine that the problem was most likely generated by a regular Xbox update. I followed his advice and found that with an E74 error I could return the machine for repairs free of charge.

The only downside, other than the inconvenience, was the customer service site said it could take up to three weeks to repair the machine.

"THREE WEEKS!?" My son wailed. It sounded like a long time to a boy who was falling more hopelessly behind his friends in MW2 every second.

I convinced him to go to bed, and then his mother and I surprised him with a new Xbox 360 the next evening. We didn't want him to miss out on such a highly anticipated social experience. I figured I would just sell the repaired one when it came back to help make up the expense of the new one.

Now here's the good part. Last night, just 10 days later, I was a bit surprised to find a package from Xbox had been delivered. I was even more surprised to find that they had sent a brand new machine to replace the old one.

Included with it was a letter that said: "Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience you have experienced...It is our goal to provide you with the best gaming and entertainment experience possible, and hope to regain your trust, satisfaction and loyalty."

Also included was a card worth a free month of Xbox Live.

Folks, that's customer service done right. Kudos to Microsoft.

Digital Brand Experience Marketing

2009-11-19T07:13:00.000-08:00

Over the last few days I've been reading Razorfish's 2009 Digital Brand Experience Report. It's chock full of great data that quantifies something that I think digital marketers have sensed for some time. Online engagement seems to create a closer connection with customers than can be achieved with traditional marketing.

It turns out this is true but what I didn't realize was just how powerful online engagement - what Razorfish calls a "digital brand experience" - really is.

First of all, according to the report, the sheer numbers of people who can be classified as "connected consumers" - those who have the means and disposition to engage with brands online - has finally reached the saturation point, at least from a marketer's perspective.

Razorfish combines its own findings with those of the Pew Internet & American Life Project to determine that roughly 200 million Americans can now be classified as "connected consumers," defined by Razorfish as those who:

Have broadband access
Spent at least $150 online in the past 6 months (plane tickets, Amazon, etc.)
Visited a social networking site, and
Consumed or created some form of digital media (news, photos, video, music, etc.)

Whether or not the 200 million figure is completely accurate, its safe to say that the mainstream American public is now pretty Internet savvy.

Digital brand experiences include things like participating in an online contest, reading a corporate blog, writing or reading a product review, friending a brand on a social network, following a brand on Twitter, etc.

Here's the really juicy info, though.

First, 65% of consumers report having had a digital brand experience that either positively or negatively changed their opinion of a brand. That's a higher number than was expected - and it will continue to grow exponentially.

Second (and this is the real kicker) of these consumers, 97% say that their digital brand experience influenced whether or not they eventually purchased a product or service from that brand.

Think about that. Clearly, what happens with your brand online matters - a lot.

There is a lot more to digest in this report, but that's the gist of it. It got me thinking about the 2012 election (candidates are brands, after all). By then, its safe to say that even more people will be "connected consumers' and even more of them will be engaging with brands online. Those candidates who focus on creating digital "brand experiences" with themselves for the public could gain a lot at a relatively low cost.

That will be the subject of a future post.

Scott

Google Sidewiki: A Blogger's Dream

2009-11-17T07:47:00.000-08:00

Sure sidewiki presents some potential problems for publishers, but one thing that isn't mentioned much yet is that it also provides a great service to publishers - bloggers especially. Now I can surf sites, comment on things that interest me and, with one additional click, post my sidewiki comment simultaneously to my blog - complete with a link back to the article (even the words within the article) I commented on.

Not only that, but I can also share my sidewiki comments via Twitter and other means. It takes something that used to be tedious and makes it effortless.

Scott

Who Will Be the First to Lose an Election to Sidewiki?

2009-11-17T07:38:00.000-08:00

I've recently become enamored with Google's new Sidewiki. I've been playing with it for a few days now, and I have come to see its potentially disruptive role in future elections. I've mentioned these thoughts in some sidewiki comments around the web, and I've decided to share them here.

You can see the original appearances of these comments in sidewiki form, associated with the webpages I posted them on, by clicking the links I provide (assuming you've added the Google Toolbar to your browser).

"As a political junkie, I can't wait to observe (and participate) in what sidewiki is going to do to upcoming elections in the U.S. As this site points out, no longer can anyone promote a one-sided view, spin, or outright misrepresentation without being held accountable. I suspect the "sidewiki effect" will be fairly muted during the mid-term election next year, but by the time 2012 rolls around the presidential campaign process could be changed dramatically. Who will be the first to lose an election to a sidewiki comment?

Original sidewiki appearance here.