Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

Getting Satisfaction

People tend to want to help each other, when given the chance. I've stood in many lines where people started conversations to share information about products and services they liked. I've even swapped some of those stories while riding elevators in hotels during conferences. While these dynamics are part of the natural way in which we connect in person, we have been faster at implementing ways for people to offer peer support online. You've probably already participated in forums and listserv conversations about a company, a product or a service where other members offered advice and tips. Blogs are a... Read more →

Ask(?)Away on Storytelling in Marketing, now Portable

There is a new format to online conversations. Mark Goren of Transmission Content + Creative and I called it Ask(?)Away. When it comes to communicating with each other, we're all super achievers. After all, we are self publishers. Our desire to have conversations has us Twitter (I can't believe I just wrote that), chat, email and post -- all at the same time. And we can keep those conversations going and mostly straight. Then we integrate comments with our own thinking and we keep evolving both. So Mark and I thought of launching a way to publish those conversations in... Read more →

Elevating the Conversation on Stories

Stories work because we can narrate our way through and listen to complex information in easy to digest form. Stories are sticky, especially when they present us with information we can identify with. Our stories from catching up in New York city this weekend really resonate with me until we add new ones, next time. The Dove Real Beauty story used by Gerry Lantz in our conversation, hit a nerve with readers. Annie Heckenberger was first on the scene by mentioning the enormous spending of this campaign to look real. The Dove people were smart to work the integration over... Read more →

The Tree of Life

It was the best of times, it was the most emotional; when time didn’t really matter. It was the best of places; the quiet rustling leaves our only sounds. It was the best of moments, when friends near and far came together to celebrate. In honor of the life and spirit of Sandra Kerley, it said. [with CK in the Garden] If you lie on the warm earth and feel its moist welcome through your fingers, eyes wide open to the young branches stretching upward you too can feel the infinite possibilities against the wide blue canvas. Limbs reaching from... Read more →

Going from Class to Economy: How Creativity has its Place

As we're thinking about the role of story in our personal lives -- family, friends, adventures, etc. -- and in our professional encounters -- brands, marketing, communications, etc., the dynamics tend to be the same. It feels like story is the perfect container for capturing the higher concepts of commerce and bringing about the shifts we are observing on the socio-economic side. We all build our lives around stories. Those who can build an open and expansive story will have an open and expansive life. Those who build a limited story, will live a limited life. This is as true... Read more →

Philadelphia is *the* Center for the Creative Economy

I've been a citizen marketer, and curator of Fast Company magazine readers' network for seven years. The conversations we have developed in the Greater Philadelphia area cut across professional associations, disciplines, type of work, and age groups. The magazine celebrated our fair city on its pages, at live events, and during roadshows on numerous occasions. They are back this coming month with Senior Editor Charles Fishman engaging Fast50 honoree Sun Edison CEO Jigar Shah. Last Tuesday, I was invited to attend the unveiling of the Center for The Creative Economy at the University of the Arts. Richard Florida, the guest... Read more →

Now What? Going from Stuck to Unstuck

Have you ever felt powerless? People have described that feeling in many different ways: I'm not in control, I had no choice, there was nothing I could do, nowhere to go, we were captive, etc. I could go on. The point that I'd like to convey is that "stuck" is an overwhelming sentiment -- it's emotional. When we feel trapped, we stop thinking about possibilities and we shut down to any kind of rationalization. Our attitude may go from expansive to uncooperative in a matter of minutes. It's quite normal, actually. Yet this feeling is often chalked up to impatience... Read more →

Brand Stories that Work, Gerry Lantz -- Part Deux

Thank you for continuing the conversation on brand stories that work. Gerry had a pretty spectacular career. He contributed to the growth and success of such clients as Unilever, Hershey Foods, and Hasbro Toys among others, while an officer at Ogilvy and DDB. In recognition of his contributions, Gerry has received three Effies—the American Marketing Association award for sales effectiveness, two David Ogilvy Awards—for creativity and sales effectiveness, and the Toy Marketing Association's Award for Best Marketing, Advertising, & Promotion of 2000. As CMO at Ferrero USA, the makers of Tic Tac, Rocher, and Nutella, he directed marketing, sales, advertising,... Read more →

Brand Stories that Work, Gerry Lantz -- Part One

Gerry Lantz describes himself as a "creative guy in a business suit." After 27 years in marketing, advertising and communications, he has created STORIES THAT WORK®,a series of narrative-based tools, that help executives and corporations communicate more memorably and persuasively. The goal of STORIES THAT WORK® is to cut through the same-old, same-old business blah-blah and boilerplate. Using these tools, Gerry helps others create his favorite stories: how to grow business and the people in it. Gerry is a long time friend, someone I admire and respect. As I've been focusing on the power of storytelling in marketing, I wanted... Read more →

The Graduate Awards

Marketing or sales? That is the question we discussed during a panel conversation with students from The Fox School of Business at Temple University last March. I had the chance to mingle with some of those students last week at the local Marketer of the Year Awards. In talking with them I realized once again how passionate I am about mentoring young professionals, especially those who wish to pursue a career in marketing. It can be pretty daunting to find a job after school. Much of what I learned over time, I learned by doing and through the wise counsel... Read more →