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For more information on the organizations we’ve donated to this year, please visit Habitat for Humanity, Nassau County & Island Harvest.
See you next year!
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As a full-time member of Strobe’s headquarters in New York, I was recently designated a liaison between our East Coast and West Coast operations, to ensure that both offices are in sync and that our promotions run smoothly. When I was first presented with this new role, I must admit that I was nervous; I wasn’t sure what the task at hand would require. I learned after only a couple of weeks that with proper time management skills and open lines of communication with my colleagues across the country, that it is actually beneficial to work in a time zone that is three hours ahead of theirs.
Now, some might think that working with a schedule that is three hours ahead could be confusing and uncoordinated. When the timing is off and you need something right away, it can be frustrating, but when you plan ahead and your lines of communication are intact, the time zone difference is extremely beneficial to both parties. For the East Coast, it allows for us to work on projects/tasks for an extra three hours before the work day starts in California (it’s also great when the client is on the West Coast too!) while the Left Coast has an extra three hours of work time after the East Coast has gone for the day. When there is extra work to be done, this time difference can be helpful; it allows for additional hours to be put in across the board and totals an almost 12-hour workday!
The most important aspects in running a successful bi-costal project are excellent communication and preparation skills. Both parties need to know each other’s schedules (an Outlook calendar is a tremendous help!) and must be able to clearly define what roles each will play on a per project basis. An effective tool for this is a timeline of the current project(s) that clearly defines the responsibilities of all parties involved (including the client) and deadlines that need to be met, specifying the time and the time zone of that particular deadline. This way, there are no surprises and everyone is on the same page. Once roles are defines and schedules are discussed, its smooth sailing.
It wasn’t until I had spent some time visiting my colleagues across the country that I realized how lucky we both were. I have had the daily pleasure of working closely with people that are 3,000 miles away. I look forward to developing our cross-country relationships and discovering new ways to improve time zone time management more effectively.
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Strobe is hiring! Want to join our East Coast team? We’re looking for a Manager, Client Services & an Account Executive. Check out our job listings for more information.
Implementing a Social Media Policy
The hot topic of the PMA Law Conference this year was social media. It was a hot topic indeed, in light of the recently published FTC Guidelines concerning the use of testimonials and endorsements in advertising and social media, as well as the new Facebook policies put in place the day before the conference. Naturally, many questions arose throughout the conference discussions. One overarching concern for marketers about this topic is “How do we protect ourselves and our clients in this ever-changing environment without inhibiting the creative use of these social media marketing tools?”
The take away is basically this: create a social media policy for your company.
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY COMPANY NEEDS A SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY?
Is your company or brand leveraging social media in their marketing strategy? Has your company created a fan page on Facebook or established a company account on Twitter? Maybe your employees are tweeting about the company on their personal accounts. If so, then it’s time to consider creating a social media policy, a tool to help your employees navigate the social media jungle.
WHAT IS A SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY?
Like any good set of terms and conditions or Official Rules, a social media policy will outline what information should or shouldn’t be posted to any social media platform in order to avoid violating the FTC Guidelines. It should apply to any employee, agency or blogger who posts information (that can be attributed to your company or product) to any social media site; including their own or the company’s blog, Facebook fan page, or Twitter account.
In short, the new FTC Guidelines cover all advertising messages including product reviews, endorsements and testimonials, hosted on blogs and social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Compliance with the FTC Guidelines is all about disclosure. So, bloggers, and in some cases your employees (or agencies, or even your mom, if she likes to brag!), who make these “endorsements” must disclose the material connections they share with the Sponsor. This way, consumers are aware when the author of a review/testimonial has been paid or received free product in return. Your social media policy would outline how your employees, agents and bloggers should conduct themselves when talking about your brand and products on the web.
WHAT SHOULD A SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY DO?
Make sure the social media policy is reviewed by marketing, HR, legal, PR departments and your advertising agency so you have everyone’s input.
WHY A SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY?
While not fool-proof, a social media policy will help steer those in your company to walk the right path when it comes to sponsored messages and testimonials on social media, and having one in place may determine whether or not an action will be brought against your company, should an infraction of the FTC Guidelines occur.
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P.S. - Don’t forget to play our Merry Memory Game for your chance to win an LCD HDTV or an iPod Nano! It’s a great off the shelf solution that can be quickly customized for your holiday marketing campaign. Good luck!
We’re excited to announce the launch of “5 in 5,” our new video series in which we discuss a relevant promotion topic by asking an expert 5 questions in about 5 minutes.
In this inaugural episode, Steve & Sheri chat about User Generated Content promotions, or UGCs. They explain exactly what UGCs are and how marketers can utilize them to engage consumers.
Also, don’t forget to play our Merry Memory Game for your chance to win an LCD HDTV or an iPod Nano! It’s a great off the shelf solution that can be quickly customized for your holiday marketing campaign. Good luck!
