I have learned more in the past 10 weeks as a Critical Mass intern than I have learned in 4 years of university. This is not your typical internship. I have never once been asked to make a pot of coffee or pick up dry-cleaning. My job does not consist of merely shadowing senior employees or of acting as a fly on the wall in meetings (although that can be really interesting!). I was thrown into the business head-first and told to swim. The result is that I have had opportunities to personally lead meetings with our clients, participate in high-level account planning, attend executive presentations on the future direction of CM, meet the president and CEO, and be part of a team that’s doing something BIG! Here are some of the highlights from last week:

Monday: Start of a new week. Free breakfast in the Bistro every morning. Assist in the orientation for one of our new Account Managers who will be moving to Nashville at the end of the week. Get caught up from the weekend, because with a big product launch coming, people never stop working! Collect updates from the Project Managers on all open projects to prepare for the weekly client status meeting. Afternoon meeting with VP’s and team leads to discuss a huge new project I will be managing to enable cross-office integration.

Tuesday: Track down images and files for the client–client requests are top priority. Handle 9-1-1 calls for the impending site launch. Free Italian lunch buffet because the executive team is in town…mmm. Weekly Status Meeting with client, have to make sure all project deliverables are buttoned up and requests are responded to immediately. Fiscal year is coming to a close, so we need to make sure everything is organized, completed, signed, billed, and filed by the end of the month. All with 3 major projects going live at the same time.

Wednesday: Presentation from executive management on the 3-year plan for Critical Mass. Presidents and CEO chat openly about our work, offices, accounts, growth, and new pitches. Definitely not your typical corporate spiel… and no sign of a recession here! 60-100 people hired by September. And the best part? They want fresh new talent! Finish off with beer and chips in the Bistro. Leave pretty darn excited and call my friend to tell her to apply. Up until 2:30 am to assist with a client deliverable. Really feel part of the agency life now!

Thursday: Into the office a little late because of my late night, but that’s not a problem. Pretty crazy day with more emergency ad-hoc requests and meetings. Entire team takes an hour off to go for lunch with a co-worker who leaves on maternity leave the next day. Class in the evening because I am an intern, and I’m still in school. Discuss the characteristics of a “Perfect Project Manager”, which makes me laugh. I work with PM’s every single day… university theory does not equal real life.

Friday: TGIF! Only a few meetings scheduled, so I have time to catch up on my week. Cross a number of things off my list. It amazes me the questions I can answer and the problems I can solve after only 10 weeks. Afternoon meeting with the VP regarding account direction and how it will affect us. Love the level of transparency that the executives have with us. Free beer again, because it’s Friday and we work at Critical Mass.

This is one week, but I cannot say that there is a typical week at CM. I am in a unique situation because I’m part of the Account Team, but 4000 KM away at the headquarters in Calgary, onsite with the full team. This allows me to poke my nose into the Planning, Creative, Development and Marketing Science departments, while sharing a lot of my days with the project managers. Just by opening my eyes and ears, I am developing my skills and gaining a broad perspective into the world of interactive marketing.

I honestly cannot believe how lucky I am to have this opportunity as a student. Sure, some days are crazy-busy, up to your eyeballs with work, and you’re still going at 2:30am. But welcome to the agency world! It’s nothing after pulling all-nighters to study for midterms, edit final papers, and organize group projects. Critical Mass is full of extraordinary people who I get to work with and learn from every day. They’re growing, they’re exciting, and they value ME for who I am and what I can offer…even if that is not yet a university degree.

*If you want to learn more about our internship program, feel free to contact Julie Walyuchow at careers@criticalmass.com.

As I have been reading the recently released Six Pixels Of Separation by Mitch Joel, I’ve been struck by the (still newly) awesome power of the personal brand within a corporate structure.

But what is personal branding? And why should your company care?

Wikipedia defines personal branding as the “process [note: not end result] whereby people and their careers are marked as brands…defined as the creation of an asset that pertains to a particular person or individual…leading to an indelible impression that is uniquely distinguishable.”

This is just a fancy way to say that who you are and all of the stuff you do can be packaged up into a composite image of sorts – especially online.

The Simple Old Days

Personal brands have largely been troublesome for businesses in the past. Strong personalities or images could draw attention away from the business, itself. Personal missteps could drag down whole companies. And these are just the C-level dangers!

Personal brands below the C-level suite were anathema for business in the past. It was unnecessary fragmentation. It put an individual above the company.

It was, in short, unthinkable.

Back To Mitch Joel And Our Fragmented World

Now, however, we are immersed in fragmentation. We get our news and views from a variety of sources through a wide array of mediums. Despite a few head-firmly-in-sand ostriches, almost all of us know marketing, advertising, and PR are forever changed.

It is in this new world, where everyone possesses the power to publish, that personal branding has irrevocably changed. Joel states that in this new environment:

“[I]t is not about how your business connects and communicates in online channels, it’s about how you (or your employees) as an individual build, nurture, and share personal brands. A company is no longer made up of anonymous people building one brand; rather, it is made up of many personal brands that are telling your one corporate-brand story in their own, personal, ways.” (page 126)

Don’t we see this every day? Comcast has Frank Eliason. GM has Scott Monty. But more and more frequently, brands see even greater success by opening the flood gates even more. Over 450 Zappos employees are on Twitter. Can you beat that evangelism?

I asked Dan Schawbel, author of Me 2.0 and award-winning and syndicated blogger at PersonalBrandingBlog.com, what he thought about Joel’s quote.

“Personal brands can support corporate brands in many different ways, such as with online recruitment of top talent, customer support, sales, brand monitoring and free promotion through social networks. By avoiding your most powerful asset, your people, you are at a severe competitive disadvantage. The visibility of personal brands will only help you build a stronger corporate brand, especially during this tough economic climate.

Are all personal brands created equal? I would say not, which is why companies should find their best spokespeople, who have the most passion and value and enable them to share their voice, without legal constraints.”

‘Nuff said.

A Personal Personal Brand Example

I don’t intend to bore you with rah-rah-ing my own agency, but I’d like to present it as an example of one company striving to use all of its human resources.

One of our most popular blog posts last month was From Chasm to Convergence: Technology Closes the Gap Between Manufacturers and Consumers part 1 and part 2. Authors Johnathan Bonnell and Jason Theodor received 14 comments (quite healthy for an agency blog post) and incited conversations on several blogs. So, how did this happen?

The posts’ success originated from many factors, including:

• Personal brand aids in distribution. Johnathan and Jason were already active in social media, having previously gained a following through their blog (Jason), Posterous profile (Johnathan), and their respective Twitter accounts (@jted and @digitalinfant). They used their already existing personal channels to notify their audience to the agency post.
• Internal support. Critical Mass’ internal marketing team has renewed their efforts to use the company blog as a forum for employee posts. In fact, last month Critical Mass’ blog, Experience Matters, featured 13 posts from 11 contributors – the highest rate of staff involvement in 15 months. (So, props to @CeliaJones and @KTBogda for starting – and keeping – this ball rolling.) Both employees and the agency benefit from using the official company channel to broadcast their thoughts.

Through fragmented social media – owned by both the company and employees – word of these posts spread much further than they could have through any one channel.

From The Authors

I asked Johnathan and Jason about their experience and how the personal/company brand interplay affected the post.

From Johnathan:

“I think what worked well with the Experience Matters post was the combination of the work coming from Jason and I, as well as Critical Mass’ credibility.

It’s a combination of what the brand brings (top tier digital agency that has experience in producing high quality work) and what Jason and I bring (authenticity, personal experience, and a unique point of view). That to me is what worked well with the Experience Matters post.”

From my point of view, Johnathan is describing the machinations occurring just under the surface. Correspondingly, Jason highlights how their message then moved from the post outward into the broader world.

“I was thinking about how Critical Mass and employees who broadcast through social media channels create a symbiotic relationship.

Consider a Venn diagram, with Critical Mass in a circle in the centre, and all the employees who broadcast in circles surrounding it [image shown at the top of this post]. When I write something and it is broadcast by CM, it sucks in and filters all of Critical Mass’ extended audience and aims them at me.

At the same time, as an employee but also as an individual broadcaster, I pull in my OWN audience who then get exposed to Critical Mass. Who benefits the most? I’d say both…”

How This Is Different From GM, Comcast, And Others

So, why is this special? And why should your company or agency consider optimizing the personal brands of your employees?

Two reasons are paramount: Many megaphones and home-grown superstars.

Many Megaphones:

While it is great to give Frank at Comcast and Scott at GM the huge company megaphone, it remains just that – one megaphone. By dispersing content creation across the company, each employee generates buzz around their personal post and the company, by proxy.

Home-Grown Superstars:

And while bequeathing a social media position is a great step, companies and agencies should recognize the benefit of growing their own superstars. Find the employee who stands out, puts in the extra time, and has an innate sense of suitable content. Making your company blog a meritocracy allows for unknowns to rise and keeps the focus on the content and the company, as opposed to any particular individual (especially important when considering employee turn-over).

Who Is Your Human?

So, will you integrate employee personal brands into your company’s brand?

Johnathan summed up my thesis well: “The interesting and important idea is that social media and networks have made it easier for companies to develop relationships between their brand and customers by tapping into their employees as brand voices.”

And why is this important? I’m sure I am not alone in saying it is because the most interesting thing to people is…other people.

Social media strategist Jay Baer concurs that social media is about people, not logos:

“Sometimes, the humanization comes from an employee [or customer] that has a unique job or an unusual passion for the company…

[Paraphrased from the video:] We (and our consumers) are attracted to other people, not faceless corporations. 6 under $6 [the Subway advertising campaign prior to the famous Jared spots] is just features and benefits. It’s much more compelling to be human…Who’s your human?”

Who personifies your company? Do you allow employees to use company channels to spread your message?

Or, are you hesitant to tap into employee personal brands? If so, why?

We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.

I had the pleasure of attending Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh’s keynote speech at the 2008 Word of Mouth Marketing Summit in Las Vegas last Thursday.  Zappos is a company that’s renown for their customer service.  Tony spent an hour sharing his thoughts on why their customer service rocks and why word of mouth for them is so positive.  

Here’s a hint… it has nothing to do with blogging, social media, or Twitter.  In fact, it has nothing to doing with even *creating* word of mouth.

Founded in 1999, Zappos is the biggest online shoe store with over $1 billion in sales projected for 2008.  But if you asked Tony – or any Zappos employee for that matter – to describe the company, they would tell you that Zappos is a customer service company that just happens to sell shoes.

Personally, I love this perspective and believe that the CEOs of many airlines and financial services firms should be listening and learning from the Zappos story.  The main reason I say that is because I believe they are also customer service companies… but, in many cases, haven’t realized it yet.

Company Culture
Zappos employs about 1500 people.  Tony stressed how important it is for every emlpoyee to feel like they have a stake in the culture.  As a result, they’ve defined a set of core values that help keep them focused on the right things:

1. Deliver “WOW” through service.
2. Embrace and drive change.
3. Create fun and a little weirdness.
4. Be adventurous, creative, and open-minded.
5. Pursue growth and learning.
6. Build open and honest relationships with communication.
7. Build a positive team and family spirit.
8. Do more with less.
9. Be passionate and determined.
10. Be humble.

Quick Hits

• Re-Rethinking the User Experience
• Exploring the Relationship Between UX and Account Planning: The Middle Child and Mid-life Crisis
• UX is the New Account Planning
• A List of Social Media Marketing Examples
• How Pixar Foster Collective Creativity
• CNN Twitters Its Way To Direct Audience Engagement

Sites of the Week

• Mazda 6
• Panasonic – Everything Matters
• Hyundai Genesis

[Originally posted on Experience Planner]

I was inspired to write this post after a chat between Jeremy, an information architecture intern on my team, Dave Robertson, our VP of Insight & Planning at Critical Mass and myself. Jeremy is graduating from Capilano College’s Interactive Design program next week (I’ll be there to cheer you on, buddy… can’t wait to hear your “overheard at CM” one-liners) and the three of us had a chat about the job search process and how to get your foot in the agency door.

Intern, Intern, Intern
I started off as an intern. A lot of folks I know started off as interns. Some of the best people I’ve worked with started off as interns. Internship is more than Starbucks runs and making photo copies. As an intern, you:

• Acquire industry knowledge that you wouldn’t get anywhere else
• Gain valuable work experience that you can put on your resume
• Make essential professional connections
• Possibly get a full-time job out of the deal!

Companies use internships as a technique for evaluating prospective employees. Jump on that internship train today.

Informational Interviews
I remember the first time that a prospective employee contacted me about doing a informational interview. It struck me as a unique and appropriate method for getting on a prospective employer’s radar. I don’t mind getting resumes via e-mail or receiving the odd cold-call, but those interactions usually assume that there is an opening to be filled and can occasionally put a prospective employer on the defensive when there isn’t.

Instead, dip your toe in the water. Let a prospective employer know that you’re interested in learning more about the company, the work they do and the kinds of opportunities available there. In a way, make it less about you. I’ve witnessed several folks get their foot in the door that way and eventually land a job.

Informational interviews are great because:

• You get first-hand information about what it’s like to work at that company
• Learn about the various career paths within the company
• Helps you get clarity around what your own personal and professional goals are

Want an informational interview at Critical Mass? Email me at scottw at criticalmass dot com. If you’re in Calgary, come by and we’ll grab a cup of coffee in our bistro.

Informational interviews even work for industry veterans. I had an informational interview with Critical Mass three years before I landed a job here. So many times its one of those deals where the interest from both parties is there but your availability and opportunities at the prospective employer need to align first. Over those three years, I built a relationship with Kelly Shaw, a Creative Group Manager here, and eventually the opportunity and timing was right for both parities. Which brings me to my next point around networking.

Network
Networking is essential. Building your network of industry contacts gives you the opportunity to find out about job opportunities before others, gives you an inside track on a job you’ve got your eye on and puts contacts to use as your own personal sales force when you let them know your on the hunt.

Every job I’ve had has come through my network.

Tools for networking:

• LinkedIn (my profile… add me!)
• Start your own blog
• Industry associations (e.g., IAI for those interested in information architecture)
• Local groups (UXIrregulars in Toronto)

What are you tips for you getting foot in the agency door?

Photo c/o troy -a life-.

Will the current version of the Ad industry business model survive? Bob Garfield of Advertising Age doesn’t seem to think so. And while he simplifies the issues and offers solutions like blogger outreach programs—he may be on to something. One of the many problems that the Ad industry faces is that some organizations have massive, well oiled machines in place that produce a product. The product is called advertising—it usually starts with a print or video and the Ad factories across the world has gotten very good at manufacturing mass Advertisements in all shapes and sizes.

But by and large, what Garfield is tapping into is the fact that many agencies haven’t re-configured their “Ad factories”. Billing models and structures are still based on producing advertising-like objects and rely heavily on keeping bodies as billable as possible. Media buys have up until recently been a predictable model. Buy spots for Ads. Make a profit. Lather, rinse and repeat.

But I think that some agencies have really struggled with the fact that unlike traditional advertising tactics digital isn’t a channel—it’s a lifestyle. I’m currently working a through a set of “Digabilities”—a collection of essential “abilities” for thriving in the digital age. Right now it’s an incomplete work in progress. But given Garfield’s statement and the state of advertising in general—what do you think? What “Digability” have I missed? What would you add, subtract or swap? Inquiring minds want to know.

1. Digability
Is digital in your DNA? Is it a core part of your marketing thinking—or merely another “channel”? The world’s gone digital and it’s not another touch point—it’s a way of life. With every new birth on planet earth—there is another individual who will live their lives never knowing what the world was like before the existence of digital technologies. The digital lifestyle is here to stay, and digital literacy has become a global language essential to the success of brands and businesses that desire to not only survive—but thrive in this new world order.

2. Experienceability
Customers are people and people demand great experiences. Great experiences which make their heads and hearts happy. Provide a meaningful experience and you’ll be rewarded with praise, adoration and affection—fall short and you put your brand and business at the mercy of an empowered consumer class, able to take you down with the click of a mouse and the stroke of a keypad. In the digital age, talk is cheap—experiences rule.

3. Accessibility
The gig is up. Your brand isn’t something you can control. It doesn’t live in a vacuum. It lives in the hearts, minds and gut of the consumer—and guess what? They want a piece of it. No longer content to devour the messages you’ve broadcast to them over the past 40 years, consumers have become participants. Today’s power consumer wants to have a say in what your brand is. Digital makes it possible, giving the average Joe and Jane virtual microphones, soapboxes and platforms. Brands who make themselves accessible to consumers thrive in the digital age. Those who obsess over complete control may find themselves fighting for survival.

4. Flexibility
Agile is the new rigid. In order to thrive in the digital age—individuals, brands and business must adapt, evolve and demonstrate a nimble flexibility that bends rather than breaks. Flexibility rules in the form of never-ending beta releases, experimentation and innovation. In the digital age—planning will be essential, but improvisation will be required.

5. Portability
Widgets, gadgets and mobile. They all have one thing in common—they bring content and connectivity to you, on your terms where and when you want it. The user experience is mobile, it’s portable and it’s everywhere. Phones are becoming digital lifestyle assistants—the worldwide Web in our pockets. The days of centralized content are over—individuals will digest content on their terms. Customizable, personal, portable and everywhere and anywhere the consumer wants it to be. In the digital age, valuable content is the next killer app. And consumers dictate where and when they will they will engage with their content of choice.

6. Talkability
In the digital age customers get to talk back. Monologue dies while dialogue thrives. Customers demand to have a say, and want to hear back from the brands they empower. Conversation rules—dictation slowly erodes away. If you want to get customers talking about you—talk with them and help facilitate how they can better talk to each other.

7. Listenability
While the digital age empowers consumers with new tools and technologies to converse and connect—marketers are empowered to listen. There are more ways than ever to hear the customer out, listen to what they are saying—and discover the patterns. In the digital age listening becomes more important than talking. Understanding replaces mass-market communications and relationships take the place of messages.

8. Usability
In the digital age we witness an abundance of complexity and a scarcity of simplicity. Features lead to frustration and options paralyze. The demand to humanize technology reaches critical mass—usability becomes a key differentiator as consumers cry out for the conversion of complex to simple.

9. Shareability
Hoarding is out—sharing is in. In a connected network and human web woven by individuals thirsty for knowledge, information is currency. Brands who figure out how to crack the code of how much to share will establish the “exchange rates” within their industries. Open source turns into open for business as new opportunities emerge and new business models are built.

10. Sustainability
In an ever-changing digital landscape, new products services and experiences will continue to emerge. But few will be sustainable. Sustainability translates to peace of mind—customers knowing that you will be around tomorrow translates to commitment and ultimately loyalty.

11. Desirability
When useful and usable isn’t enough—desirable speaks to our emotions. Experiences that appeal to the senses make our hearts beat faster. These are the ones to stand out in a digital economy filled with an excess of ambient noise and constant clutter.

12. Measurability
Digital = measurable, period end of story. Or is it? Digital media has allowed us to track clicks, page views and measure time, but the engaged consumer is another story. Regardless of algorithms and analytics—engaged consumers, users and participants will continue to fuel the digital evolution. More engagement leads to more affinity—and more affinity results in genuine relationships between your brand or business and the people who matter most to you—your customers.

We’re writing this as a company blog from an agency that has had the pleasure of working with some amazing clients including Rolex, P&G, Mercedes-Benz, and Global Hyatt among others. Our work spans the brand and transactional space; from strategy through implementation. Much of it is global in nature. You can learn more about our company at www.criticalmass.com, or check in here periodically and we’ll keep you abreast on our work and thinking.

We’ve assembled a cross section of our team, from planners to creatives; from information architects to analysts; from technologists to marketers. We’ll engage some of our clients and others in the industry as the blog grows to discuss how better experiences that can deliver better results – to the business and the customer. We plan to discuss both “the what” and “the how.”

We’re fortunate to work with clients that appreciate great experiences online and off. We’ll apply what we’ve learned through the years, what we believe based on our own insights, and what we expect as consumers.Unlike a lot of blogs, we hope to post less but provide a bit more insight – the why of a post, if you will. We’re as busy as our readers, so we’ll respect your time and work to deliver value in return for your involvement. We want this blog to be a great experience for you, our readers.

We encourage your feedback and ideas on ways to make this blog better. Feel free to comment or email us if you have an idea. Should you want to maintain the conversation, we’ve made it simple to subscribe to updates via email or RSS feeds so you’re current on our thinking.

Thanks for your interest. We hope the experience is a learning one for both of us.