Insights from Nebo

Next week is the 2012 Digital Summit, an annual digital marketing event held here in Atlanta. I'll be participating in a panel discussion on “Designing for Multiple Platforms” moderated by our good friends at TripLingo. The Digital Summit always features an incredible variety of both national and local Atlanta speakers. This year is no different, they will have over 75 speakers and a couple of great keynotes.

In honor of this week's NFL Draft, Nebo recently interviewed sports marketing veteran Jim Smith. Before stepping into his role with the Atlanta Falcons in 2004, Jim was President/General Manager of the Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew, held sports marketing positions at Ohio State University and the World Wrestling Federation, and worked in minor league baseball. Jim’s impact on the Atlanta Falcons has been significant, ranging from creating a new standard for the Falcons brand to developing the award-winning “Rise Up” campaign featuring Samuel Jackson. Jim spoke to Nebo about the impact of interactive marketing on the Falcons.

There is mediocre marketing. There is bad marketing. And there is failed marketing. But there is something worse than all of those combined: the AJC Reach.

They claim to be marketing. But they are litter. Garbage masquerading as marketing.

In my last post about injecting a performer’s spirit into business, I focused mostly on techniques such as bringing energy to every situation, loosening up conversation, and listening with skill. In this post, I want to focus on three entertainers who brought a specific attitude to their pursuits that helped define their core authenticity and the spirit of their art. The last “entertainer” may be a surprise to you, but he is just as relevant as any of the other artists we’ve discussed and dissected.

How did you spend your day today? Maybe you have a general idea: two hours in meetings, three hours on website updates for a client site, an hour talking to a potential client. But is that how you really spent your day? How much time did you spend responding to emails? Was your time solid, uninterrupted work? How long did that “quick” Facebook check actually take?