rosetta | Citizen Marketer 2.1

Below you’ll find a post I contributed with friends, Todd Defren of SHIFT and Adam Cohen of Rosetta. The intro was penned by Mr. Cohen — the write-ups on each of our respective companies were written by, well, us. You can find Todd and Adam’s correlating posts here and here.

Changing markets cause change for those who serve them. As businesses adapt and figure out how social media will impact how they conduct day to day functions, service providers are adapting too. These days companies have a high probability of encountering any of the following providing social media services:

Sole prioprietor (independent contractor)
Social media agency (small, medium and increasingly larger)
PR agency (traditional, new media, all sizes)
Digital or interactive agency (all sizes)
Advertising agency (all sizes, but particularly the big dogs)
CRM consulting firm
Database marketing agency

Given the overlap in the “social” space, my friends and fellow agency movers-n-shakers, Todd Defren of SHIFT and Adam Cohen of Rosetta, have come together with me to create a brief description of what we do and how we do it to bring some clarity to the role each of our companies play in the space. We also talk about when we our companies might not be the best fit for a job (how’s that for transparency?)

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This is my company…

One of the top-25 PR agencies in the U.S., with offices in NYC, San Francisco and Boston, SHIFT is an agency that helps organizations of all sizes better communicate with the people that matter to their business. Sometimes that’s “the media,” sometimes that’s “some loudmouth on Twitter.” Companies ranging from Quiznos to Club Med, from tiny start-ups to established tech companies, look to SHIFT for counsel and execution on both branded and earned media.

What we do…

SHIFT focuses on “on-going engagement” vs. “campaigns.” And because relationships change over time, our targets and tactics evolve as-needed. Thus the portfolio of services a client will tap into can include: Traditional Media Relations (coverage in NYTimes, TODAY Show, eWeek, etc.) + Social Media Relations (dialogue with relevant Facebook Group admins, Twitterati, etc.) + Content and App Development + Community Management (running a YouTube channel or Facebook Fanpage).

This is why you should call me (type of challenge or project)…

We are generally called on by large brands that need to act more like a start-up or by small companies that want to take things to the next level. If your company needs more overall visibility (“get ink!”); needs to better engage with consumers (“that Social Media stuff!”); or needs to brand or re-brand in the marketplace, it’s worth a conversation.

This is when you should call someone else…

While we bring plenty of creativity to the table, when it comes to execution portion of app development, videography, website development, advertising campaigns, media buying and SEO, SHIFT will turn to quality partners like Powered and Rosetta, among others.

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This is my company…

Rosetta is the largest independent digital agency in the US. Using a patented approach to segmentation, called Personality® Segmentation (yep, it’s patented and a differentiator), which provides deep insights into the drivers of consumer behavior, Rosetta’s teams translate these insights into relevant marketing solutions to attract, retain and strengthen a brand’s most valuable customer relationships. With 720+ team members, Rosetta is headquartered in Princeton, NJ, with offices in NYC, Cleveland, Boston, Chicago, Denver and most recently Toronto.

What we do…

We help companies develop strategies and implement marketing tactics, combining the best of insight + technology – from eCommerce to Paid Search to Creative to Analytics to Relationship Marketing. With all the tools in a marketer’s toolbox, we strive to be a CMO’s most trusted partner. Our industry expertise includes Retail & Consumer Products; Healthcare; Financial Services; Communications, Media & Technology, and B2B.

This is why you should call me (type of challenge or project)…
We’re best when we bring to together marketing disciplines and industry acumen to provide measurable integrated solutions. We shine we get the opportunity to demonstrate business results across tactics – like integrating eCommerce with paid search/SEO, driving the best creative with analytics and measurement, or infusing CRM with Personality Segmentatio
n.

This is when you should call someone else…
Traditional media outlets are outside of our sweet spot (TV, print, radio), along with traditional PR. Our social media practice is focused on infusing social into all of our marketing disciplines, but we are partnering with world-class agencies like SHIFT on outreach programs and Powered on designing the best approaches to engage and activate communities.

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This is my company…

Powered is a dedicated social media agency that helps brands fully capitalize on their social initiatives. With 75 employees in four offices (Austin, New York City, Portland and San Francisco) we brings “best-in-class” expertise across the social spectrum to our clients by offering a combination of strategy, planning, activation and management for social presence and programs.

What we do…
Okay, I guess I answered this in the “this is my company” section but to add on, we help big brands with strategy and activation (getting their key stakeholders like customers, prospects, partners or employees) to do things that create value for their brand. Those activities might include evangelizing, contributing, participating or learning.

This is why you should call me (type of challenge or project)…
We’re really at our best when we’re helping big brands (mainly B2C) connect their social efforts to their marketing efforts. We start by fleshing out a cohesive strategy and then move toward the activation. In many cases, this includes focusing on things like influencer outreach, ambassador programs, Facebook Fanpages, applications and customer tabs and the building and managing of branded online communities.

This is when you should call someone else…
We’re still not particularly good at media buying, custom web development (outside of Facebook and community building), SEM and general site SEO. We also don’t do any traditional PR. For those activities, I’d strongly recommend talking to our friends at Rosetta and SHIFT, both of whom we partner/work with.

How did we do? Feedback here or on any of our posts is welcome.

It’s hard to say enough good things about my friend, Adam Cohen, partner at Rosetta and fellow Big Papelbon contributor. In my mind, Adam not only opitimizes how the business world and world of social should interact, he’s also a perfect example of someone that “pays it forward.” One other fun note about Adam is that he’s one of the first people I started following on Twitter. While that’s only been for a year and a half, that feels like dog years in the world of social.

Before I give him too much of a big head though, let’s see how Adam answered the five questions (as well as the questions submitted in the comments) in the Experts in the Industry series.

In one sentence, please describe what you do and why you’re good at it.

I am a partner at interactive marketing agency Rosetta, and I’m good at it because I hold myself and my team accountable to deliver value. That sounds lame, but I’ve seen lots of consultants that don’t. I’m passionate about building high performing teams and finding ways to exceed expectations.

How did you get into the world of online community, social media or social marketing?

A couple years ago a former client, Len Devanna, invited me to a social media cocktail hour sponsored by EMC in Boston. It happened to Jeremiah Owyang’s orientation week at Forrester, and I had the opportunity to meet many folks in the social media industry. Len told me that I would be hooked on this space and he was right. I immersed myself in Twitter and started attending social media related events even though it was not directly related to my day to day work responsibilities. I’m probably one of the few that started on Twitter first and added a blog later, in order to capture observations and conversations that need more than 140 characters. I’ll always be learning, and most recently have been able to build social media into our agency starting with helping our clients listen to what their brands mean to the marketplace. I continue to be amazed by and grateful for folks I have met through social media – they are willing to share and collaborate on ideas. Aaron is one of them.

If you had $10 million to invest in one company and one company only based on their use of “social,” which company would it be and why?

Facebook has something going on that is different from other platforms. Don’t roll your eyes. While many folks in the social media business have embraced Twitter, Friendfeed and other services, Facebook has the most universal appeal to connect people. My wife went from skeptic to addict in days. Facebook has a low barrier to entry and is the ‘gateway drug’ of lifestreaming technologies. If it is leveraged properly – mind you, people don’t go to Facebook to shop – it has the potential as an amazing marketing tool with the amount of data (demographic, behavioral, and preferences) available on each user. Privacy concerns aside, people are really using it to share experiences day to day.

Which business leader, politician or public figure do you most respect?

Warren Buffet has been an inspiration because of his emphasis on value and people. Berkshire Hathaway acquired a family friend’s successful business, and the transaction was about keeping the best people in place and letting them “do their thing” more confidently. He doesn’t come in looking to tear up, break up, re-invent – he looks for a value proposition and solid management to execute. Seems simple, doesn’t it?

Would you join a toothpaste community? Why?

I might. A good angle I’d be interested in is a toothpaste community targeted at kids, adding advice, tips, etc to make it fun for them. There has to be value outside of the product, otherwise it’s not a product I’m passionate about.

Freeform – here’s where you can riff on anyone or anything – good or bad. Or just share a pearl of wisdom.

I have to share one of my favorite quotes, from Calvin Coolidge:

Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

How many successful people do you know who weren’t persistent?

Do you have a favorite Social Networking/Social Media medium, application or site? If so, why that one?

No doubt Twitter. There is an “always on” conversation happening with smart people contributing. More so than Google Reader, it’s been a constant learning source.

Which non-social media industry person do you follow and why?

There are many, many folks on Twitter who don’t work in the social media industry but have something interesting to say and a compelling view point to add.

How many folks do you think will read other’s answers before answering themselves?

Honestly, I tried not to but couldn’t resist.

What does ‘Social Media’ or ‘Social Marketing’ encompass?

In your contest post of describing Social Marketing in 100 words or less, I defined it like adding “in bed” at the end of a fortune cookie. Take any standard definition of marketing and add “leveraging personalized interactions” at the end. Technology is a vehicle that enables those interactions but they are offline too.

It would be interesting to ask these folks which of their peers who are being interviewed most inspires their work.

Leveraging social media is a natural extension of the ways my agency, Rosetta, helps our clients. I’m working to build out a social media practice the right way, and so many folks in the #45in45 list have been resources to learn from. Folks like Amber Naslund (@ambercadabra), Jeremiah Owyang (@jowyang), Peter Kim (@peterkim), David Armano (@armano) and yourself Aaron have provided phenomenal insight through their day to day contributions. Ken Burbary (@kenburbary) and I are in very similar boats in our respective agencies and talking with him on a regular basis has provided a healthy sanity check. This #45in45 series has shed light on many more folks to learn from that I didn’t know of previously.

From a business and marketing strategy standpoint, how do you track, converse, communicate and otherwise curate your various social media activities?

I’ve still got much to learn – I have not yet established a formal pattern or method for how I engage in activities, but I do spend time daily catching up on Google Reader, Twitter and other feeds. There is a virtual fire hose of good content and it’s impossible to “drink” it all, but the more I drink the thirstier I get. What I do know is that every day and hour I spend connecting and interacting with people has a direct correlation to the value provided in both directions. I feel a blog post brewing about “Return on Engagement” applying both to personal involvement and company involvement in this space.

Thanks again for including me Aaron – and I think you should take all of these posts and make it into an eBook. – Adam [Aaron: Thanks Adam!]

Experts in the Industry: Adam Cohen (27 of 45)

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