Talking Social Media and B2B at Social Fresh
On August 24th, I have the opportunity of join a talented group of speakers at the Social Fresh conference in Charlotte, North Carolina. The event focuses on educating attendees on social media’s application to business and features speakers from Rubbermaid, Best Buy, Ripple6 and more.
I will be moderating a panel about Social Media for Business to Business organizations. The panel will include Nathan Gilliatt of Social Target, Jeff Cohen of SocialMediaB2B.com and David Thomas of SAS. We are going to be focusing on tangible takeaways that B2B companies can start implementing right away in their business. We will be addressing monitoring, social CRM, selling social media to your boss, and will discuss strategies that have worked for other B2B organizations.
If you are planning to attend the event I look forward to meeting you!
I will report back next week with highlights from our discussions as well as my takeaways of the conference overall.
Social Media: A Fad or the Future?
Social media has gotten a bad rep as something as fleeting as Reality TV, beanie babies, or big hair, but recent statistics show it is here to stay.
Socialnomics – Social Media Blog recently posted a video that does a great job of showing the impact of social media and backing it up with more than a handful of facts.
Take a look – even as someone who works with social media daily, some of these stats were quite overwhelming.
So don’t push Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube to the back of your closet just yet, it looks like this is a trend that will stick around for a while.
Julia Anglin Promoted to Account Executive
Julia Anglin has been promoted to account executive on the Georgia-Pacific Professional and enMotion® brand accounts.
“Julia’s dedication to the Georgia-Pacific account is a key contributor to our successes with this client,” stated Melani Avery, management supervisor. “Her attention to detail, grasp of communication issues and stellar organizational skills keeps us all on-task and moving forward in-sync. Plus, it is a joy to work with her.”
The responsibilities that come with Anglin’s promotion include day-to-day client interaction, management of print, interactive and collateral projects for Georgia-Pacific Professional, and internal coordination with senior management.
Anglin has been working on the account since the beginning of the agency’s relationship with Georgia-Pacific Professional. As the agency of record, Howard, Merrell & Partners provides strategic, integrated brand support and tactical execution in the areas of advertising, media buying and planning, interactive, public relations and social media marketing. In the first year, the agency’s work for Georgia-Pacific Professional has been honored by national organizations.
Growing Interactive and Social Media Marketing Division
Howard, Merrell & Partners expands its expertise in interactive and social media marketing with the addition of two online communications professionals. Becca Liberman is a media planner, buyer and interactive specialist, and Sarah Findle is an account coordinator focused on social media marketing.
According to Scott Piggott, senior vice president, Technology and Interactive Services at Howard, Merrell & Partners, individuals are increasingly turning to the web for news and networking. “As more people continue to leverage the Internet for valuable information and social interaction, it is important that companies understand how their brand can serve its communities,” said Piggott. “Becca and Sarah join a team of Internet specialists at the agency who have been helping to not only educate clients about the online world, but also strategically and creatively help them compete in that space.”
Donna Mercer, chief operating officer at Howard, Merrell & Partners continued, “there’s no doubt that the online world is here to stay, so we’re excited to grow our agency with individuals who can augment our existing interactive and social media marketing offerings.”
Liberman comes to Howard, Merrell & Partners with a strong background in media planning. Previously with RBW in Raleigh, she handled advertising planning and purchasing as well as search engine marketing campaigns for companies including: BB&T, McDonalds, Sentara Health Care and Entertainment Cruises. Liberman’s prior experience includes media planning with Fahlgren, the Media Placement Group in Florida and Zenith Media in New York. She is a knowledgeable media professional who will lead the Media Assets department’s digital initiatives. Liberman graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor’s degree in advertising and a minor in psychology.
Before joining Howard, Merrell & Partners, Findle blogged for Cambiando Vidas, a non-profit affordable housing organization in San Juan, Dominican Republic. In addition to her social media experience, she has public relations experience having worked with Bayer Corporation, RLF Communications and the American Red Cross. Findle graduated magna cum laude from Elon University in Elon, North Carolina. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication and minors in business administration and Spanish.
Two Hermes Creative Awards Received
Howard, Merrell & Partners received two platinum Hermes Creative Awards. The agency’s management of Project Gecko presented by ZillaTM won in the Special Events category while the execution of the CORDURA® Baselayer brand T-shirt launch won in the Integrated Marketing Campaign category.
The Hermes Creative Awards is an international competition for creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of traditional materials and programs as well as emerging technologies. Entries are judged and awards administered by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. This international organization consists of marketing, communication, advertising, public relations, media production, web and freelance practitioners. The association oversees awards and recognition programs as well as sets standards for excellence.
“We are very excited to receive this honor from the Hermes Creative Awards,” said Howard, Merrell & Partners Senior Vice President of Public Relations Stephanie Styons. “In addition to the traditional use of communications tools such as project management, strategic counsel, writing and media relations – it’s great to be recognized for the creative work we provide our clients.”
ZillaTM challenged Howard, Merrell & Partners with the task of developing a program to increase awareness about reptile keeping and the Zilla brand. Thus, Project Gecko was born – a nationwide, educational contest in which students in the 4th, 5th and 6th grades were given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to name a new species of gecko. Project Gecko involved the development of teacher activity packets containing educational tools, media outreach, public relations support and event management.
INVISTA’s CORDURA® brand team looked to Howard, Merrell & Partners to develop and execute an integrated communications launch for the CORDURA® Baselayer brand t-shirt. The shirt’s primary benefit lies in its next-to-skin performance properties when exposed to heat in flash fire situations such as improvised explosive devices – making the CORDURA® Baselayer t-shirt a true innovation for today’s warfighter. The launch engaged parties such as Ranger Joe’s, a store that is a military icon in the Fort Benning community, and The Wounded Warrior Project, a program that provides services to severely injured service members between active duty and transitioning to civilian life. The integrated campaign included media relations coordination, public relations support, event management, an award-winning microsite (www.defendyourbase.com), hang tags, point-of-purchase display racks and in-store banners.
New Member of Account Management Department
Danielle Passingham joins Howard, Merrell & Partners as an account executive in the Account Management Department. In her new role she will primarily help manage the BASF Plant Science account.
Passingham brings a wealth of account and project management experience to the agency. She previously implemented advertising initiatives for Nortel with Baldwin& in Durham. Her prior account management duties include directing creative, media and production efforts for clients with Ulanguzi Creative Strategies and managing the Biscuitville, Lowe’s and Dollar Tree accounts while at RBW. She also worked on the BB&T business.
Passingham earned her bachelor’s degree in business from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Has Internet killed the TV star?
Surprisingly, not yet. The Internet has not taken television out of the spotlight thus far when it comes to viewership. According to the Ball State Video Consumer Mapping Study, television continues to dominate the majority of our total daily screen time which includes television, computer, mobile, and miscellaneous screens. Also surprising is that, according to the study, 45-54 year-olds spent the most time in front of a screen, contrary to popular belief that the 18-24 age group are the primary “screen gazers”. Clearly computers and the tech generation have yet to get their 15 minutes of fame.
Donna Mercer, COO and SVP of Media Assets at Howard Merrell & Partners, brought this study and its findings center-stage at the July 28th Raleigh Public Relations Society luncheon. The luncheon was my first official RPRS meeting, and I was proud to represent Howard Merrell & Partners along with my coworker, RPRS board member Claire Howell and learn from our very own COO as the keynote speaker.
The lunch was a great opportunity to meet other Raleigh area professionals and, as a recent graduate, I think RPRS will be a great way to explore the local PR community and gain knowledge and insight from fellow members and speakers.
Looking forward to the next one!
