My Event Strategy Starts With: We Are Like Minds - UK

While my colleague, Thomas Crampton, winds down his annual pilgrimmage to Davos (see some of his coverage here), I am planning out my next event - keynoting at an unusual conference/summit/workshop in Exeter, England called We Are Like Minds. Every year, I re-evaluate conference and meeting opportunities to make sure I am doing all I can to make these significant time commitments - whether I am speaking or just attending - worthwhile. We are still in a recession and regardless of that who has time or money to travel to an experience that doesn't provide some superior value?

My Core Criteria
There are some practical considerations for me when I get involved in an event. Some are basic and some are new for this year:

• Will I likely learn something substantial that I can apply to my business within the next 90 days (I learn something no matter how poor a conference event and I am talking about "substantial learnings"
• Can I connect with clients or brands during the trip? The "killing two birds with one stone" approach helps justify costs and time. Likewise, can I connect with my global team and deliver off on part of my business mission with them (e.g. new training, business development, their client meetings)
• Do I have something substantial to contribute as a teacher? Beyond the 'thought leadership points' of stage-time, is there an opportuntiy for me to share something highly useful with colleagues, something they can meaningfully apply to their business within 30 days? (I hold myself to a slightly higher standard which I hope to meet) I don't waNt to speak just to speak - too many folks burning us out with that.
• Can I meet a concentrated group of social media and word of mouth marketing practitioners for the sake of current and future recruiting needs? Meeting colleagues who are actually doing the work and sharing from experience is usually very valuable.

My 2010 Criteria
Beyond this base there are a few new criteria which draw from where I am at professionally - both on a personal level and as a leader at Ogilvy. Some are qualifiers on the above criteria, others are new criteria. 

• Will the event give me considerable opportunity to meet and talk with professionals in one of the core areas of my business focus this year? We have set priority areas of expansion for our business - social media platforms, geographies, business verticals. For instance, we are tremendously bullish on the use of the Facebook/Twitter social crm model for brands in a few markets around the world. We specialize in integrated social media programs that scale. Can I advance these expertise/offerings even further? Can I find or establish a "community of practice" even?
• Does the event go deep on any form of meaningful measurement? You might argue this is just another facet of the previous criteria yet it is a singular focus for us and worth calling out. Ever since we introduced Conversation Impact (or really when we began working on it), we are insatiably hungry for the best thinking on measuring impact and performance. Also, events that have a solid focus on measurement - marcom, business impact - tend to be more rigorous in their agenda - less fluffy talks/sessions.
• Will I learn new ways to innovate in a "bootstrap" environment? I was thinking about this the other day when talking with Andrew Nachison from WeMedia, another great conference coming up. My team at Ogilvy innovates all of the time coming up with new, more effective and impactful ways to use social media marketing. We embed that innovation in our day, so-to-speak. I am always eager to learn new ways of doing that.
• Is it provocative? Will the session likely challenge my own view of how the world turns in social media? This one is a hard one to gauge and yet can be the most compelling and impactful.

We Are Like Minds
Get info and register here
Dates: February 26-27, 2010
Place:Exeter, England

This conference will be provocative. It will also bring together professionals in core areas of business focus for me, practitioners for current recruiting and brands - local, national and global - that interest me and the I respect.

My session? It's new and it's something practical that brands and others can apply to their business today.

Time for a Comprehensive Social Media Strategy
Brands and organizations have been experimenting and getting sharp in social media marketing. That's good because in one way or another social media and the impact of word of mouth has become a global change. But this experimentation risks becoming social media tokenism. Little trials that may be ineffective or worse, it could burn out your organization's enthusiasm for the possibilities of social media before the miracle happens.  Brands like Intel, Ford, P&G, Unilever, Vodafone and others are trading up for a more comprehensive social media strategy that really delivers results. We will review a framework from these experiences that maps out how to develop a strategy today. And the 'watch-outs' - what do we need to be careful of as we develop and roll this out. What will this deliver for your brand? A disciplined approach to using social media to achieve the biggest impact on your business (and your oarganization) possible.

Join us. 

Comments

[cleondann]

This is nice but all strategies will work or help? mostly depends upon the location of the business.

[Scott Gould]

Hey John

We're thrilled to be welcoming you to Like Minds. Can't wait!

Thanks again for your time on the phone.

Scott

[Brian]

Gwigo

Since it seems your blog covers just about everything utilizing social media in businesses, I thought that Gwigo (Go Where I GO) might interest you. It's a mapping-social network site that allows you to create cool maps of things that interest you and allow non-gwigo users to vote on the locations you map. If you are Gwigo friends with another person, you can view their points, give them a ranking, comment on them etc.

State Farm is currently piloting Gwigo with agencies in Middle Tennessee where it has been shown to increase internet visibility by an average of 140% per agent.

Anyhow it seemed up your alley. Check it out at http://www.gwigo.com