Ryan MD Schmidt

Think and wonder, wonder and think.

2 Mar ’13

Not strategy

There is a wealth of information on strategy already out there and the world doesn’t need another blog post about it. Hopefully, this isn’t another “what is strategy” post. The obvious resource would be Michael Porter’s What is Strategy?. A quick Google search also brings up a ton of great other resources.

I feel like I’ve been talking to a lot of people about defining strategy and strategists, so I thought I’d clarify a few things:

Research isn’t strategy
Qualitative and quantative research. Focus groups. Gathering information is definitely all part of the strategic process, but not strategy in it’s entirety. Compiling and digesting a volumes of information is something a strategist will have to do, but

Creative also isn’t strategy
I had a very well respected and successful creative director once tell me that creative is strategy. I tried not to roll my eyes too obviously. Creative can have a clear strategic vision, but, in and of itself, creative is not strategy. Creative is the execution of a strategy. These are the steps taken toward the goal.

Strategist: The New Specialist
I’ve noticed recently that many young professionals in advertising and marketing have taken to the habit of calling themselves “strategists” without having the background, experience, or skill set to appropriately garner the title. I feel like, too often, these “strategists” are confusing the act of executing a strategy with the process of developing strategic vision, actionable philosophy, or brand positioning.

Being active on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, et al does not make you a social strategist. Building out social/web analytics reports or building the occasional deck does not make you a creative strategist. Strategist are generally planners that have a large breadth of experience to draw upon to create an insightful clear direction and plan.

Strategy is the path forged between insights and action.

1) develop an understanding of where you are now, 2) create a clear sense of where you want to end up (SMART goals are highly recommeded), 3) assess what stands in your way, 4) decide on approach, and 5) set a specific course of action.

Some Great Digital Strategists
Ana Andjelic
Jinal Shah
Bud Caddell
Mark Pollard

Make excellent mistakes.

12 Dec ’12

Social Rewards Programs & The Conversion Funnel

Loyalty programs aren’t new. For most people, loyalty programs are simply credit card programs to get discounts as well as earn points, miles, or random junk.

Obviously, loyalty programs go a lot further than just giving stuff away or offering. They can (and should) be mutually beneficial relationships. In return for doling out benefits to program members, companies can affect repeat business. Every couple of months, I cash in my credit card points for Amazon gift cards. Free books!

Programs are no longer defined by loyalty cards.

Social rewards programs can reward actions on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, GetGlue, online stores, Foursquare, and site visits, They can be integrated into a number of other apps like social voting, featured fan photos, and more comprehensive brand advocates programs.

A Couple Options
CrowdTwist is a product geared toward larger brands that includes white label platform, analytics, and tools to integrate with other marketing efforts like email campaigns and content management systems. Clients include the Miami Dolphins, Pepsi, and Zumiez.

Punchtab calls themselves a “on-demand engagement platform”. Their platform – which includes social rewards, giveaways, and badges for online engagement – is free for a limited branded version and starts at $99/mo for the unbranded, standard offering.

SocialRewards is a loyalty-marketing program that rewards points to users for posting to Facebook and tweeting about the brands they like. Social Rewards has worked with major casinos like the Luxor and the Palms to provide incentives for social buzz.

Top Guest is a platform that has many travel and hospitality clients. Their platform gives users rewards points when they check in via Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram and Gowalla on their mobile devices. Topguest’s client list includes Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, Paris Las Vegas, Virgin America, Holiday Inn, Avis and Comfort Suites, among others.

Booshaka is a no frills platform that exists primarily within Facebook. Earn rewards for Facebook likes, sharing posts, or uploading content. Some great examples of Booshaka are this New Girl Fan of the Week App. Other clients include Green Bay Packers, Carolina Panthers, and St. Louis Rams.

Lodestone Sports is a flexible platform that can live on Facebook like this Houston Texans FB App and/or within a microsite like this Jaguars site. Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Orange Bowl, Big Ten, and Miami Heat are some of Lodestone Sports clients.

3 Nov ’12

What is the internet, really?

Great TED talk by Andrew Blum Per the video description on Ted.com: “For his new book, ‘Tubes,’ Andrew Blum visited the places where the internet exists in physical form: the cables and switches and servers that virtually connect us.”

My responsive theme doesn’t like the embed. It’s probably best to view this video on Ted.com instead.

16 Nov ’11

mimicking birds – the loop

thank you lindsey for exposing me to this song.

14 Jul ’11

+- familiar. //

shuttered; battered. lost.
casual(ly) embraced, yet braced unhinged
through reckless/glances
full romance and trouble mirrored past.

unknown, however familiar.
bad choices. lies. unfair
same choices.. again. : ___

waiting, hoping dropped
and-all the flood returns

cast_aside. and/and and. and……..

gone;

28 Jun ’11

Splitscreen: A Love Story

8 May ’11

creative destruction

Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction. – Pablo Picasso

Very interesting duality. It reminds me of another old saying: “in order to know where you’re going, you need to know where you are from”.

The creative process is the realization of new ideas. In order to build, you have to understand the building blocks with which you’re creating.

I have so much respect for those that can tear apart something and create something completely different, new and exciting. Much of modern music is built upon this and, while naysayers like to cry afoul, the final product is often art in it’s own right.

This is one reason I’ve found chiptune music to be so intriguing. I’m not sure what would possess someone to hack a gaming console that was released in the 80s, but I’m happy they did. Enjoy.

29 Apr ’11

Notes from SXSW Interactive

SXSW was everything it was hyped up to be. In a word, SXSW was “overwhelming”. There were so many people and so many great talks. It took me a few days to figure it out, but the experience was extremely enriching.

I told myself that I would transcribe my session notes from my moleskin. A month later, I’ve gone through that exercise and realize I take terrible notes. The material from each talk is still fresh in mind and I’ve done my best to translate my messy, disjointed notes to something easily digestible. Here are my key takeaways:

1. Mobile is the new black. It’s cliche, but mobile is the new thing and every session mentioned it at some point. One recurring theme, however, was: though mobile is the newest platform for development, we should build on what interaction design lessons from Web 1.0, 2.0, and even print. Mobile is new and game-changing, but we shouldn’t throw everything out the window just yet.

2. Emotional content, not clever ideas, drive engagement. It’s amazing how few tech professionals don’t get this. It’s common to try to solve problems by looking for the newest, greatest idea. That may not always be the best solution, however. Simply put: figure out what people want, then give it to them. Don’t do things because it’s cool and everyone else did it.

3. Agencies need to learn from software companies. I heard a lot of agile development ideas… especially from the UX guys. This one is simple: don’t reinvent the wheel. Software companies have decades of developing rich, interactive tools. Learn from their mistakes. Adapt. Make it your own.

4. Metrics & research should drive strategic direction. Strategy without measurement is like trying to solve algebraic equations without defining the variables. If possible, measure everything. Then analyze the data, searching for trends. That brings me to my last key takeaway…

5. Iterate quickly and often. Foster an atmosphere of testing and don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis. If your analysis is wrong, change it quickly. One track and field quote that I love is: “if you improve every day by just a little bit, eventually you’ll hold the world record”. Don’t try to make drastic improvements all at once, small incremental ones are easier to make and easier to recover from if they aren’t the correct choice.

All in all, SXSW and Austin was great. I’d definitely like to go back, staying for the music and film portions next time around.

More to come…