Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

When the Secret Sauce is the Sauce Itself

I have met and talked with a number of free agents and entrepreneurs over the years. Partly through association with colleges like Temple and Drexel University. Partly thanks to the connections forged when working for a start up company a few years ago. We had conversations about business with Fast Company's network, and on occasion we helped a new business kick things in first or second gear. Those are exciting times, when you think about possibility, resources, and make plans for the future. Having attended my fair share of events geared towards solopreneurs at various Chambers and organizations, I can... Read more →

Blog Action Day 2008 Announced: Change the Conversation on Poverty

Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo. Poverty has a profound effect on people and can cause ripples throughout communities. I've been very fortunate - although I've been called to make tough choices growing up and during the years I worked in the non profit sector, I've had a roof over my head and access to a superb education. Poverty is affecting society, the enormous hole left by possibilities that go unrealized becomes even greater with our discomfort in acknowledging the gap. The rapid aging of the population in the Western hemisphere and the failing of... Read more →

NBC Gets Olympic Gold on Ad Sales

As marketers, we're all called to choose among tactics and media in search of the greatest return on dollars spent and impact towards our goals. Strategies can be served in a myriad ways. We get our medals when we perform at peak. NBC and the network's parent company, GE, chose to realize the most gains from the Olympic Games by directing audiences to the most ubiquitous and lucrative media. Now it is laughing all the way to the bank, according to Wired magazine. Gold on Sales Broadcasting & Cable news reported that NBC hit $1b in ad sales, the network's... Read more →

The Pitch

Maybe he hasn't noticed me. That's just one of the rationalizations that marketers tend to make when the consumer is not paying attention. In man-woman relationships that tends to be wrong. In fact, you could take the time it took you to notice him and cut that in half - and that's how long it took him to notice you. It's a crowded marketplace and there are just too many products and services out there, continues the rationalization, let me shout louder. You make your pitch, but the likelihood that it's going to work depends on that person being already... Read more →

Brandjacking

In the age of transparent conversation, knowing who you are talking with is increasingly important. Both as consumers and marketers, we have been quick to state that humanizing a brand makes it more likely we will engage with the company, product or service. And we have demonstrated that is the case in many public instances. We pay attention to brands and that is reflected in brand rankings. Is brand impersonation a form of brandjacking? It could happen to you, but is it likely to? This is an open question to each one of us. A little over a week ago,... Read more →

Notable Agency Blogs

It's encouraging to meet more practitioners on the agency side who walk the talk. In many cases, as you will see, the blogs are created and maintained by individuals as their own personal thinking ground. In others, they are the effort of a small group on behalf of the agency. Many I read very regularly, some I visit with on occasion. In no particular order: Signal vs. Noise - by 37 Signals Micro Persuasion - by Steve Rubel (Edelman) Sixty Second View - by David Brain (Edelman, Europe) Experience Matters - by Critical Mass Logic+Emotion - by David Armano (Critical... Read more →

When the Marketer on the Inside can Think

I have been on receiving end of pitches from agencies for the good part of my career in corporate America. I recognize that I do not represent the average marketer on the inside. Heck, I think that using the word average to describe me in any fashion would not put the word to its intended use. Not being average has been an advantage at times and a big liability in some circumstances. As I am preparing to work on my presentation for the fabulous Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) Annual Summit on October 1, a few thoughts are starting to... Read more →

Conversation as Negotiation

Many of the most productive conversations we have lead to an understanding of sorts. In some cases they allow us to connect with one another in a way that leads to solving a problem, advancing a project, and creating opportunity for a next step or action. This kind of conversation is similar to a negotiation where both or multiple parties participate. Because people are involved, outcomes tend to be fairly unpredictable, and that is a good thing. If we could boil down the dynamics of relationships to a specific and neat formula, we would cut ourselves out of the myriad... Read more →

Do You Need Trade Media for a Product Launch?

As we challenge the tactics used traditionally for many of the components of the marketing communications mix, I do wonder if in the age of new media, businesses still need trade media to initiate the conversation around their products. Public relations is not equal to media relations, after all. What would happen if a company put its resources into a coherent, well-thought out, product launch on its own new media portfolio? That is if the company has one. Let's think about it for a moment. One of the most important aspects of your product launch is the passion you can... Read more →

Moments of Truth

“The moment of truth, the sudden emergence of a new insight, is an act of intuition. Such intuitions give the appearance of miraculous flushes, or short-circuits of reasoning. In fact they may be likened to an immersed chain, of which only the beginning and the end are visible above the surface of consciousness. The diver vanishes at one end of the chain and comes up at the other end, guided by invisible links.” [Arthur Koestler, British novelist, journalist] We talk about authenticity, honesty, and truth. How many moments of truth do you have in a day, a week, a month,... Read more →