Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

Facebook Mobile Results Deliver Good News for Brands

Fresh from the news of a proposed merger between NY-based Omincom and French-native Publicis Groupe, we begin to see positive numbers for digital advertising. First things first, though. The two companies hold a big network of agencies each by and large focused on the ad business. In the Sunday OmniPub press conference, the rationale provided as a reason for merging was looking to combine forces to compete with Google and Facebook in the collection and utilization of data. Talk about change! As Ad Contrarian points out#, apparently, the advertising industry has decided that it is no longer in the creativity... Read more →

Scale, Where it Gets Interesting

Technology adoption has accelerated the blend of online, at home, and on the go. All industries are being affected to varying degrees. We are starting to see big waves. From the recent news about agency mergers (Omnicom/Publicis), to media companies looking to reinvent the experience (Bloomberg Media Group hiring Justin Smith from The Atlantic)#, to shopping sites opening stores to make their products tangible (e.g., Warby Parker, BaubleBar, Proper Cloth, Bonobos, Piperlime) and vice versa, department stores looking to learn all about digital integration (e.g., Nordstrom#, Kate Spade Saturday, Sephora). All driven by customer behavior, including the broad adoption of... Read more →

Talking About Change

Talking about change is several degrees easier than doing change -- actually going through it, and doing something different ahead of the industry still cashing in on what was. One need only to read the headlines to see how it's possible to write about change and share reasonable opinions left to others to sort out. It was much easier for Fast Company to write about changing business models than to reinvent its own model -- from magazine to what's next. Figuring out what to do with a community of evangelists way ahead of social networks becoming the "thing" was hard.... Read more →

Changing the Value Equation

If RSS needs a CMO, CEOs need marketing more than ever. It is clear in many a conversation about technology -- social is a feature. In a mature market, one of the key driving factors to drive business success will be a shift from technology and tools to marketing. Demand creation means building white spaces vs. drilling black holes. The next generation of start-up CEOs will need to understand marketing beyond the ability to insert social sharing icons on beta sites -- identifying a true market to trade promises in, building a diverse team, and knowing how to account for... Read more →

Connection Friday: Who Would You Recommend?

Forget the clicks to endorse people on LinkedIn. The absence of friction often makes them fiction. Say someone whose opinion you care about, or maybe someone whose influence can benefit you greatly, or perhaps you are looking to help fill a position in your own organization. In each of these cases, your recommendation holds weight and accountability with it. On what would you base that recommendation? Work and career have become such fluid concepts that each of us, whatever our position or ambitions, is in need of becoming a master at connecting. Characteristics of good connectors What characterizes good connectors?... Read more →

Where do You Draw the Line on Good to Start?

You have felt it and so have I -- that inner tug of war between perfect and good enough. It's a constant negotiation we have with ourselves. Get something out into the world, or wait and keep developing the concept. Hence the concept -- and culture -- of the minimum viable product (MVP). I probably confused the issue recently by bringing up the maximally valued product as the words associated with the same acronym. Truth be told, they are the same concept, seen from two slightly different vantage points. you build a minimum viable product -- so you get it... Read more →

Would You Rather Buy Time or Invest in it?

In talking with a colleague today, it occurred to me many organizations are still buying time hoping to stave off the oncoming wave of change technology has already unleashed upon so many business models. Milk the cash cow is understandable when within the context of AND build a bridge to a model that takes into account the impact of digital on your products, especially when you're on the service side of business. It's "both/and", software and service, online and offline, brand initiated and customer-driven, and so on. The point is "watch and see" is not a strategy, it's a sure... Read more →

Example of the Value of Perception

Mark Suster has a great example of how the brand thing works in real life: I can’t make this up. One day I’m the business weenie and the next day I’m the technical geek simply because a piece of paper and a process says so. And the whole world just accepted that. Strange. And to make some of your blood boil, the gender bias was horrible. I worked in Rome on a small team with a really smart young woman named Elisabetta. She WAS an engineer and plenty technical. Yet when the senior leadership came into our room to discuss... Read more →

Valuable by Association to in Demand Brand

In brief: when the real strategy is to capture the most value by association, in demand brands make a ton of sense as preferred choice. You are the company you keep, literally. A company's brand on someone's resume is a shortcut to a conversation on value. Little it matters (often) whether you may have had a bigger job with greater financial accountability and results in a firm with a less known name. The more recognized and celebrated the brand, the higher attention you command from prospective employers, recruiters, publishers, and even conference organizers. The mere symbols of known brands next... Read more →

Making Things Happen, Ten Hacks

My business mentor and friend reminded me of the importance of setting the process for making your goals happen -- you get ready, set things in motion, and keep at it staying open to opportunity. Once you build momentum, the outcomes take care of themselves. We can hardly make someone else or something else do what we want, can we? What we can do is having the proper attitude and approach to open up opportunity. The more expansive our thinking, the easier to find help and support along the way. I think connecting people is the secret to success, and... Read more →