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4 Insights from Scrappy Face Founder Kate Walling

By Mike on Dec 18, 2011 | 0 comments

Last week I had the pleasure of sitting down for a cup of coffee with Scrappy Face Founder and CEO Kate Walling. As our conversation wandered between starting your own company, the fact that Kate hails from three Southern states (all at once, mind you) and the needs of small businesses, I wanted to take a moment to share some of the more gems I pulled out of our conversation. You have no idea how good somebody is until you hire them As Kate told me, until you actually get in the trenches with somebody you’ve hired and seen how great / average / inferior of an employee they can be, nothing else matters. Recommendations from a friend, the fact that he married your sister or saved the pope from a nuclear missle strike on Vatican City means nothing until you actually work with that person. Then, and only then, do you have the ability to judge their talents. Start Ups Should Care About 2 Things: Sales & Customer Feedback In the twilight years of your company, as you’re wining and dining prospects with Mac ‘n Cheese and box wine, you should only care about two things: Sales: How many sales are you driving every week? Every month? Every quarter? What are you doing to increase that number? Customer Feedback: You put in all that hard work to close a deal … take the opportunity to ask your customers for feedback. What could be done better, what was done magnificently and / or how did they react to you showing up to the presentation in your birthday suit are all valid questions. Learn How to Hire & Fire In the infancy of your company, learning how to hire talented individuals and release underperformers is vital. Learn how to identify red flags that a new employee is underperforming — and FAST. By fast, Kate recommends being able to spot red flags within their first week of employment. Kindly explain to them the situation (“I just don’t see you enjoying yourself here and you’re not really performing because X, Y & Z”) and remove them from your team before they become a cancer to your new company. Conversely, identifying the right talent to inject into the workplace is vital to your growth. Find those who truly believe in your mission and are in it for more than the money. Make Progress Every Single Day This last one may be more vital to your personal sanity than anything else, but it also helps founders check the pulse of their company on a daily basis. Ask yourself: “What can I do to feel that I’m making progress every single day?” Identify ways in which you can take your company one step forward every single day....

Understanding What It Means to Be a Millennial

By Mike on Nov 30, 2011 | 4 comments

Justin.tv founder Justin Kan wrote a recent TechCrunch guest post describing the current state of employment for the millennial generation. Here were a few of his talking points that begin to describe what it’s like to be part of Generation Y. The system is broken: No longer can you go to school, get good grades, graduate with a job in hand and move up the corporate ladder. This rise to the top no longer applies to our generation; The system is broken. Millions of young millennials are unemployed or under-employed, according to Scott Gerber of The Young Entrepreneur Council. Our generation aspires to control our own destiny: To steal Justin’s own words, we’re “autonomous, impatient … refuse to pay our dues … hate the idea that we should ever be beholden to someone else.” We are like this because we have been abandoned by the instituions that should have embraced us. From an inefficient government run by elder statesmen politicians who don’t understand technology to corporations that turned their backs on us following college graduation, negating on their promise of jobs post-graduation for those who worked hard to get their degree. We are a generation of passionate makers and creators: The words “why?” and “why not?” seem to exist within our vocabulary to act as legitimate answers to “nobody has ever tried doing it this way” and “you can’t do things that way.” “Why not?” has become an invitation to challenge the current way of getting something done. Embracing Innovation Innovation takes place when some courageous individual defies popular belief and begins operating in a completely different manner than anybody else in their marketplace. Think it’s a mystery why consumers jumped up and gobbled the iPod when it first came out, even though Apple was years behind the competition in releasing an MP3 playing device? That Box and DropBox surpassed SharePoint as the most widely used cloud storage solutions in less than five years? Absolutely Not! The chiefs at Apple, Box & DropBox set out with a vision that was bigger in scope that their existing market. The absolute disregard for the state of their current industry led them to take actions, create products and push consumers in ways that nobody else could have predicted. Instead of following a set of broken rules established by an elder generation that could no longer support their existence, these companies offered their products and services in ways that had never been thought of before. So What Does This Mean For You? It means you should dedicate some time to reevaluate the way that your life is headed. Ask yourself a few simple questions: Am I truly happy where I am at right now personally, professionally and morally? If I could do anything in the world, what would that be? When I look back on my life in one month, one year, one decade, etc … How will I view the decisions that I made? Will recalling these decisions make me beam with pride or stew in regret — and why? We, the Millennial, are one hell of a generation. It’s time to show the world what we’re made of by re-writing the rules....

Forever and Always

By Mike on Sep 23, 2011 | 1 comment

Even when you peed on the carpet, I loved you. When you stopped peeing on the carpet, I found a way to love you even more. When you woke me up early on a Saturday morning, demanding breakfast and a long walk in the rain, I loved you, even though that meant I had to shake off the cob webs much earlier than I had originally planned. When you listened to me, I loved you a LOT. Even more so, listening to me in front of a group of people made me so proud I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face for hours. Those times when I took you to Green Lake to pick up girls, and instead you’d attract more middle-aged men because you’d remind them of their dog growing up, I loved you (although I told you we needed to work on that!) When you disobeyed me and I was forced to raise my voice with you, I still loved you. I loved you so much that I always wanted you to know the difference between doing the right thing (“good boy!”) and the wrong thing (“Tyyy-soooonnnnn!!!!”) The fact that you always knew when it was me coming through the front door meant the world to me — you were always there. Tail wagging. Barking up a storm. Giving me big fat doggie kisses when I bent down to pet you. You’d run up and lay on my bed — waiting patiently for me to give you a belly rub and head scratch. When I tried to give you nice toys, you spurned them in favor of a stick from the back yard, showing me how much the little things in life matter and how material possessions are precisely that: material. Temporary. Meaningless without context. Your love of the simple things in life reminded me of a fantastic quote I once heard: “A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water log stick will do just fine. A dog doesn’t care if your rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he’ll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?” You made me feel inexplicably special, Tyson, and I hope that from this day forward I can deliver a fraction of that feeling to every single person that I meet; that I can make somebody else feel as extraordinary, special and loved the way you made me feel over the past nine months. Until the day I die, you’ll always be in my heart and on my mind. Forever and always your best friend....

Introduction to Campaign Assignment and Objectives An advertiser had just missed a 7 am flight — one that he woke up at 4:30 to make it to the airport, in fact — and was not in a very happy mood. Another advertiser who had shared the same fate steamed past me in a flurry of after shave and four-letter utterances describing the ticket agent’s resemblance to an unattractive, female canine pet. As the advertiser gathered his belongings, he looked up and noticed a pool of potential users who could be relevant to his target audience. Upon further inspection, he noticed one individual that would later be defined as the target audience of the campaign. This realization spawned the assignment: drive a lead form sign up conversion by the target audience. The objective of this assignment was to acquire contact information necessary to contact the target at a later date with the offer to meet for an alcoholic beverage. This story details the planning, buying and optimization of this campaign. Planning After conducting first-party market research** (**source: MJK, Inc.), the advertiser determined that his target audience was comprised entirely of the following: Female Age 25 – 34 Avid shopper, as demonstrated by her sparkling gold Tom’s slip-on-shoes and trendy knee-length skirt Affinity for air travel Continued first-person research uncovered an insight that would eventually become the key strategic centerpiece for this campaign: hyper relevant geo-targeted messaging. “So, looks like you missed this flight too?” I asked. “Yeah … ” (shrug and sign combination) “I’m flying on a family friends buddy pass and didn’t get on the flight,” she finished. Vendor Selection Due to the fact that the advertiser knew very little about this target audience, he recommended the use of a DR-focused learning platform to assist in creating a profile of this target audience in the attempt to drive a conversion. Executing the buy under the umbrella of a learning platform would help the advertiser develop a 3rd party validated profile of the target audience that would include demographic, psychographic and behavioral information. Secure the inventory “You look a little bit lost,” the advertiser began. “If you’re still trying to get to Minneapolis, you can follow me to the next gate and we’ll check on the flight status of the 8 am?” The target smiled and picked up her bag, signaling written agreement on the initial terms of the promotional offer. “That sounds great to me,” she confirmed. As I was away from my fax machine, I made an Evernote task reminder to send along the written terms of the agreement in order to confirm the campaign: Flight: 9/2/11 – Forever Cost: $5 CPD (cost per drink) with no annual cap Targeting: hyper relevant keyword targeting delivered via verbal communication known as a “conversation” Geographic considerations: Zip code targeted to 98100 Trafficking Upon confirmation of the buy details and securing the inventory, it was time to traffic the assets. In line with IAB advertising standards, assets were trafficked to the proper location (empty table near the Seattle’s Best Coffee) five minutes in advance of campaign launch. Campaign Launch “Hi, I’m Samantha,” the target smiled as she introduced herself after asset trafficking concluded. “Nice to meet you. I’m Mike,” the advertiser responded. As basic questions were asked, the advertiser began dropping cookies on the target audiences responses to build out the profile: Where are you from? Do you like cookies? If yes, do you prefer chocolate chip or 3rd party verified? Have you purchased a camera in the last 6 months? if so, what brand? First campaign measurement takes place As the advertiser continued to cookie the conversation responses of the target audience, he began to notice a few trends: Target audiences was single Lived in the Seattle DMA Earth-shattering smile The “conversation” began to die down, which brought the advertiser to his first optimization opportunity. Optimization The first optimization that took place was a change in environment: The placement of the advertisers message was not complimentary to the conversion path that he was trying to lead the target through. “I know it’s only 8 am, but you realized we just missed the 8 am flight. Want to grab a bloody mary?” he asked. As the advertiser measured the targets response, he noticed a behavioral attitude and cookied it immediately: a smile. “Sure, that sounds great,” the target responded. Second optimization After the placement of the advertisers message was moved to a booth in the Backdoor Bar & Grill the advertiser executed a second optimization to help liven the mood. “A whiskey coke for myself and a bloody mary for the lady [i.e. the target]”, he politely told the waitress. Third optimization As “conversation” performance improved, the advertiser uncovered an additional insight that would continue to deliver an increase in campaign performance. “So, I have a sweet little jack russell terrier mix …” the target began to explain. The advertiser immediately delivered a hyper-relevant contextual creative execution in the form of an iPhone picture of his own puppy. “Awwwwwww he’s soooo cute!” the target exclaimed. Yes he is, the advertiser thought. Yes. He. Is. Mid campaign performance recap Per the terms and conditions of the assignment, the advertiser needed to provide himself with a mid campaign recap of the events of the campaign planning, buying & performance of said campaign. They included: Key insight was geographic targeting that connected advertiser...

Just Do It

By Mike on Jun 23, 2011 | 0 comments

Recently, I became friends with Tatango founder Derek Johnson … As we talked over lunch, I asked him about the difference between running a start up and working for a corporation. His response was simple: “My roommate has been analyzing a large account at work for the past 6 months; hasn’t even made a recommendation on what they should do yet,” Johnson says “One day, we realized that Tatango needed SEO work done to drive organic search traffic, so I began meeting with every SEO expert in the Seattle area and just started doing it.” Tatango immediately began to make progress on their SEO initiative because they followed a Learn / Execute / Measure / Optimize / Repeat model. That model being was focused on a Larry the Cable Guy-esque “Git ‘r Dunnn” attitude. That model was comprised of … Learn: Take the time to educate yourself on the in’s and out’s of your desired subject matter. Immerse yourself in reading materials — blogs are my favorite and generally most current — and take every single expert in that field out to coffee until you can no longer slurp down another Grande Vanilla Latte. Show up with questions to guide the conversation. Take notes of the resident experts answers. Don’t forget to pick up the tab (c’mon, it’s a $4 cup of coffee …) Execute: All those great questions you asked and took notes on? Yeah, put them into action immediately. The longer you wait, the more time you have waisted in trimming down the advice you’ve been given to build the most efficient and effective plan of attack. Measure: Learn to develop KPI’s for your business; key performance indicators. Without these, all the executing in the world won’t matter because you won’t know if you’ve made progress or not. Don’t waste your time with vanity metrics; Yeah, it’s great to hear that time on site is up 12%, but how does that help your bottom line? Select “hard metrics” that you can turn into monetary goals. Goals like cost per acquisition, cost per lead and average cost per conversion. Make the metrics come to life! Optimize: What’s working? More importantly, what’s not working? Eliminate whatever is holding you back and invest all your energy and resources into tactics that are paying off (literally). Let the business-minded metrics do all the decision making for you. Repeat: What, you thought you’d learn everything there is to know about topic XYZ in one go around? No! Continue to educate yourself. Try new things. Measure their success / failure. Pick out the top performers and start all over...

The Point Where Failure, Risk & Creativity Collide

By Mike on Jun 7, 2011 | 0 comments

Usually, I only flip through a few pages of the hard copy edition Ad Age sends me via snail mail because I’ve already read a chunk of the articles as they arrive in to my GMail on a daily basis. Then, I read through “The Creativity 50” Much as it sounds, “The Creativity 50” is a run down of the top 50 most creative individuals, regardless of profession, in the world. Three members of this list had comments that struck me as awe-inspiring and / or amazing (usually both). So without further ado … “Dan Wieden said that we’re no use to him unless we’ve failed three times.” – Eric Quennoy // Executive Creative Director @ Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam Love this quote because it brings to light the fact that you should not be scared to fail. As a basketball player, failing 60% of the time from 3-point range gets you known as a sharp shooter. In baseball, failing 70% of the time at the plate leads to a Hall of Fame career. In display media buying, failing 99.8% of the time results in a stellar banner campaign. You should not be scared to fail – You should be scared not to try. Failure is our our most effective teacher. Anytime I fail I remember the missteps I made so when I repeat that task I can correct myself and avoid making the same mistake twice. “Being forgettable is risky” – David Droga, Founder of Droga5 This statement is true on so many different levels, some of the principal ones being: People don’t remember average. If you’re average, that means people aren’t remembering you. If you’re too “vanilla”, you may tend to get overlooked. Don’t be afraid to stand out! “Macho Man” Randy Savage wasn’t all that bright of a guy, but how could you ever forget someone who dressed like this Don’t do anything that would tarnish your image in the eyes of those who are important to you. Once you do so, ensuing missteps will make it easy for you to drift slowly out of their realm of concern … In my opinion, one of the biggest mistakes you can make it your personal / professional life is to walk out of a room and be instantly forgotten. If people have to ask, “Who was that guy, again?” then you obviously didn’t do enough to make an impression. “Age is the biggest creativity killer” – Brian Wong, founder of Kiip I founded The Anti Resume on a concept similar to this (that age shouldn’t be the sole determining factor in employee potential) and Brian took it to a whole ‘nother level. And I love it. It’s brash, honest and cocky as hell. And the older I get, the more I agree that it becomes harder and harder to think creatively. Who knew that all I needed was a 20-year old CEO to remind me of this fact to get me thinking creatively again! — A link to the full “Creativity 50” can be found...