STAY COMM

On Thursday, December 3, six teams of six in five cities throughout the world participated in the Smartbox Hunt and had the pleasure of trying out several of their "experience" offerings during a competitive scavenger hunt.  Those of us in New York were fortunate to do the New York Skyride, learn how to arrange flowers at Arison Floral Boutique, take salsa lessons at Zamora School of Dance, and even explore Ripley's Believe it or Not in Times Square!  The good people at Smartbox fed us well at each stop, with delicious treats like breakfast pastries, gourmet sandwiches, and (my personal favorite) cheese, wine, and champagne to close out the event.  Smartbox invited bloggers, media professionals, and frequent users of social networks like Facebook and Twitter to participate in the Smartbox Hunt.

After spending a day enjoying Manhattan with Smartbox employees, who were enthusiastic participants and team leaders, I can say with confidence that this group of people knows how to have a good time and deliver an Unforgettable Experience.

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As the unemployment rate continues to rise (note: it's a lagging indicator and the perceived increase must be taken with a grain of salt), marketers are finding that their knowledge is best applied to making themselves stand out against the growing competition amongst creative professionals looking for work.  The tech-savvy have a significant advantage; Internet gurus who have been practicing interactive marketing know to use social media to position themselves as conversation starters and thought-leaders.  But even the likes of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have become too mainstream to act as significant differentiators since they are practically a minimum requirement for a decent marketing effort.

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In today's world of information overload, getting the attention of a potential customer requires creativity.  It's true that email marketing continues to be an effective way to reach a massive number of customers and prospects at a time, but we are all familiar with the drawbacks.  Purchasing lists is expensive and often not targeted enough to be effective, and even opt-in lists within a company's database are subject to fatigue if marketers aren't careful.

Fortunately, the Internet gives organizations many avenues towards lead generation.  One particular strategy, creating contests to engage an audience and generate leads, is now feasible for companies of all sizes thanks to a few easy-to-use platforms that have recently emerged. 

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Twitter is quickly becoming our favorite recession-proof marketing tool - it's a free, easy-to-use medium whose limits are constantly being defied.

140 characters didn't seem like a lot at first, but before we knew it 140 characters could include a tiny URL, a picture, and 12 seconds of video, for starters.

It was only a matter of time before a savvy marketing start-up harnessed the power of Twitter to share audio.

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