word-of-mouth thy name is wits
Ok, before I get into this post there are a couple things you need to know. First, I’m a big fan of the musician Aimee Mann. Yes, I know that her music is depressing. And I will totally admit that I enjoy listening to indie music that’s on the slow and sad side of things: Luna, Yo La Tengo and Spain. (This was especially the case back in the late 90s.) Aimee Mann’s music is totally in line with this, but she is also endearing, charming and self-deprecating. I really started listening to her when she scored the soundtrack to the movie Magnolia. I thought the film itself was polarizing, but the album was fantastic. Give it a listen when you have the chance.
Second, I’m a big advocate and proponent of word-of-mouth marketing. I’ve written about it a few times previously on the blog, and I’ve tried to bring that discipline to my various roles at Best Buy. In particular this is one of the reasons that I’m excited about my current role leading social marketing for the brand.Ok, now that I’ve called those two things out, let’s get to it.coffee does a brand good
I’ve been thinking about coffee a lot lately, and it's partly due to things going on at the office. The Howard Schultz book “Onward” has been making the rounds at work because of the turnaround that happened at Starbucks, and some of us are seeing similarities to the current challenges facing Best Buy. (If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, go ahead and look up Best Buy on Google News to see some of the recent consumer and industry press clippings. Needless to say, it has been a wild ride at the Sandcrawlers of late, but that’s another post for another time.)The main reason that I’ve been thinking about coffee is because I’ve reached the point where I don’t just consume it for the caffeine benefits, but because I really enjoy the flavor. Maybe this is a sign that I’ve finally entered adulthood. I find myself wanting to compare the taste of Starbucks coffee to Caribou coffee, or I’ve started to seek out different independent coffee shops that I haven’t frequented before. Plus, I’m no longer doctoring my coffee with tons of sugar. (Only one teaspoon at most -- I swear.)
four kick drums and a community
On Friday night I went to see the local band The 4onthefloor perform at First Avenue. If you haven’t been to First Avenue before or are not familiar with the venue, it is the iconic concert venue in the Twin Cities. It’s been the launching pad of so many Minneapolis acts that I can’t keep track, and it was the centerpiece to the Prince movie and album “Purple Rain.”
special agent dale cooper, rosie larsen and learning something along the way
I was a huge fan of the short lived television program Twin Peaks when I was growing up. There was just something about the combination of the sleepy, pacific northwest setting, the cool musical soundtrack of Angelo Badalamenti, the eccentric characters (FBI agent Dale Cooper and his love of coffee, Sheriff Truman, Bob, The Log Lady) and the off center vision of David Lynch that utterly caught my imagination. In the end, Twin Peaks had a short-lived run and I totally acknowledge that it lost its way during the second (and final) season, but that show has always stuck with me.
SXSW 2012: a retrospective
I’m finally starting to get my legs back underneath me after being home for a full week following my nine day marathon in Austin for the 2012 SXSW Interactive and Music conference. As I mentioned in my previous post previewing the event, my plan was to attend SXSW Interactive in a work capacity and then take some vacation time for SXSW Music.
Getting primed for my SXSW marathon adventure
If you follow me on Twitter, then the last couple of months you may have caught some of my random tweets counting down the time until SXSW begins. (I’m assuming that most music fans or digital marketing folks know about the conference, but if you are unfamiliar with SXSW then you can get the lowdown here.) I’m big into music and have been making my way down to Austin every March the last few years for the annual music conference. Leslie and I have a great time catching up with friends while completely over indulging in live music. Plus, we just love Austin.
sharing some lessons learned from the social chair
For the most part, I have not written too many posts on this blog that get into the day-to-day aspects of my job. I have preferred to keep my entries at a broader level. I try to talk about observations I see in the consumer marketing space. Or I do have occasions where I’ll rant about the sometime silliness of corporate life. But this week I’ll get away from that a bit and step into the weeds.
bringing testing back
The countdown to spring here in the Twin Cities always coincides with my office’s fiscal year wrapping and the new one set to begin. (Best Buy’s fiscal year begins in March as opposed to many companies where the fiscal year mirrors the calendar one.) It‘s the time to finalize things from the prior year while putting the last details together on our plans for the year to come. In a way, it's like we’re getting ready to hit reset.
Co-blogging round two: scaling communities
It's time for round two of the co-blogging series that I'm doing with my friend and word-of-mouth marketer Eric Dodds. In our first entry we tackled how marketing communications impacts connections with customers. This time around we're talking community. Let's get going.
Co-bloggin’ goodness, round two: One is a seasoned corporate marketer working for Best Buy. The other is a small-agency young-gun in a constant quest for his spurs. Both are passionate about making positive change in the industry, and they want to share their thoughts with you. Jamie Plesser and Eric Dodds bring you the second post in a monthly co-blogging series that tackles tasty marketing topics from both sides of the line. Meet the crew.
playing the new year resolution game: work edition
