Bledcom Conference debates the IMC Mix

Here is a great post by B.G. Smith, a panelist at the Bledcom Conference in Slovenia. It seems the debate centered on who's more truthful, advertising or PR. I think each has their faults, but advertising doesn't have much of a chance of changing becuase it lacks a two way dialogue.

http://theorynpractice.com/2008/07/09/guerrilla-pr-bledcom-2008/

Swirl on B. G.

Pitching Integrated Marketing

I have gone through a Masters program in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) at Emerson College and I still have a hard time wrapping my arms around IMC. I think my main problem has been that IMC falls under the "all things to all people" rule. When companies use IMC to promote themselves it always looks like they are saying that they can provide expertise in all areas of communication. I have held jobs in advertising, PR, branding, graphic design and social media and I would say that while I have experience in all these disciplines, my talent lies in strategy and branding. However, I am challenged as how I should position myself to new clients. I think this something that I will be exploring as I start up IMC Society, a new network for communication professionals that are interested in Integrated Marketing Communications. (www.imcsociety.wordpress.com)

What problems do you face when pitching IMC to your potential clients?

Twitter is a New Part of the Integrated Marketing Mix

This is a great article about the power Twitter is having on the integrated marketing mix. Twitter is a medium where marketing becomes all about customer support and helpful conversations. http://tinyurl.com/6l9ych

Keep Swirling

Over the 4th of July I have had some time to think. Well maybe not that much, but enough to be struck by a comment from my very own dad. He said "the thing I most admired about my son when he was young was that nothing ever stuck to him. He just did his thing and rolled with it and made it work. Well now it's a little different."

"Well now its a little different." What did that mean? However, I know exactly what it meant. It meant I have lost that spring in my step. The glisten in my eye. The attack in my soul.

So its been awhile and I don't really believe in new years resolutions or diets, but I challenge my self to get this blog back up and running. I challenge myself to lead the charge for Integrated Marketing. I challenge myself to let lose and speak my mind. I challenge myself to be all those things I thought I was going to be. In this Doogie Howser MD moment that I am having right now. I need to let lose. Fire this blog post across the internet and open up to the world of possibilty that I had forgotten existed until this last year. The new age of media has opened up the game to anyone and it is time I stepped on the court and played a few games.

So as of July 7th, swirlingmedia.blogspot.com and my new blog www.imcsociety.wordpress.com are up and running. Please RSS these sites for latest in intgrated marketing news.

Keep swirling.

Patrick Richardson
swirlingmedia

Degrees of IMC

I few people have asked me if there are any other integrated marketing communication degrees other than at Emerson College. So I did a Google search and here are the results. Let me know if you know of any other programs I might have missed.

West Virginia University
Florida State University
Northwestern University
Roosevelt University
University of Utah
Ithaca College
San Diego State

Integrated Marketing Forum

On June 19th, I took part in an "Thought Leaders Round Table Forum" put on by PRNews and VMS. The event brought together some of the leaders in the industry to talk about the future of integrated communications. This was one of many forums that PRNews has held around the country talking about the subject of integrated communication.

Below are a few points that I took home:

• People were very concerned about social media as a new silo in the integrated marketing mix

• People use the word silo a lot when talking about integrated marketing communication

• Many people, myself included are still having a hard time defining integrated marketing communications
- Pam Hamlin, President of Arnold Worldwide had the best description. While I don't have, word for word of what she said. Below is a bit that I like from Arnold's website.
True brand integration is what we do best. It’s easy when you start with the brand truth. Integration, per se, is not even a stated goal here at Arnold, because it is always an outcome of our work. It’s understood that everything we do for the brand will be integrated because every discipline is working against the same objectives, budgets and brand truth articulation. And with one bottom line across all disciplines, no one discipline is “fighting” for your dollars. The communications plan is built only to solve a client’s problem.

• Companies are having a hard time coming out of their defined "silos" of advertising, pr, marketing and interactive for fear that they will lose a piece of the pie. However, most of these agencies are actually practicing integrated marketing communication every day.

• Many people in the forum did not know that their was a masters offered in integrated marketing communication

It was a great event and I was proud to be a part. Below are a list of round table attendees.

Round top attendees:
Pam Hamlin, Arnold Worldwide
Stephanie Anderson, Osram Sylvania
Michelle Davis, Boston Children’s Hospital
Todd Defren, Shift Communications
Andrew Eberle, Weber Shandwick Worldwide
Mike Farber, Schwartz Communications
Mike Lawrence, Cone
Craig Martin, Feinstein Kean Healthcare
Kathy O’Reilly, Lycos
Patrick Richardson, Schneider & Associates
Christine Simeone, Lois Paul & Partners
Steven Singer, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
David Thomson, Thomson Communications

Project Update - Part 2 Waltham Community Farm

This next project was for Waltham Fields Community Farm, a pro-bono job that I started back in November. I was asked in by a good friend to help the farm with their branding for a silent auction that raises funds for the farm and their local hunger relief efforts. Working with Meg Coward (Managing Director) and other members of the silent auction volunteer team Swirlingmedia came up with the idea to call the event "Sprout". The name seemed to bring together spring, the possibility for the farm and hunger relief/nourishment all in that one word. After the naming was complete, we put together a logo, poster, invitations and signage for the event.

The Sprout silent auction took place on May 4th, and it sold out a week before the event. The attendance nearly tripled from the year before. The design was a hit and I received many compliments on my work. This project was an amazing case study on how creativity, vision, great design and a lot of dedicated individuals can help a non-profit organization's annual fund drive really pay off.

Stay tuned as I will be continuing my work with Waltham Fields by designing a new logo for the organization and collateral materials.