DM Days New York Keynote Panel to Focus on Social Media, Today's 'Town Square'

May 4, 2007 — The method is as old as the town crier: word-of-mouth sells products. But today’s town crier is morphing so quickly – into YouTube, MySpace, and text messaging, to name a few forms of social media – that a savvy marketer waiting to see solid conversion results may pass up a great opportunity.

That’s why the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) has assembled a keynote panel titled “Next-Gen Interactive: How Marketers Are Optimizing the Power of Social Media to Connect and Deliver Results” to help kick off its 2007 DM Days New York Conference & Expo, which will be held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City, June 19 – 21.

The keynote panel will follow DMA President & CEO John A. Greco, Jr.’s opening remarks on Tuesday morning, June 19. The panelists, who deal with changing technology day-in and day-out, will tell DM Days conferees what works and what’s not worth the hype. So before taking that next advertising campaign to the street, this keynote panel will tell direct marketers which street is worth walking and why.

The keynote panel will be composed of moderator Aaron Kahlow, managing partner of BusinessOnLine, and panelists Kevin Heisler, a search/Web 2.0 analyst at Jupiter Research; Joseph Jaffe, president and “chief interrupter” of crayon, a “new marketing” company; Greg Kostello, CEO of vMix, the popular video Web site; Rebecca Lieb, editor-in-chief of The ClickZ Network; and Sandra Zoratti, director of worldwide marketing and strategy in the printing systems division of IBM Corporation;

Social Media…Today’s ‘Town Square’

“Social media is spinning in the same orbit as the fast-moving global economy,” said Paul McDonnough, DMA group show director. “Increasingly, it’s where people go to congregate and converse. This is today’s town square, and this is where potential customers are getting the information and advice they use to make their purchasing decisions.”

“During this keynote panel, our conferees can learn how savvy marketers can keep their edge in this quickly evolving landscape,” McDonnough continued. “We’re so pleased that these experts, who know the social media marketing process inside and out and are the best equipped to delve into its intricacies, will be on hand for DM Days attendees. This is essential knowledge that marketers need to grasp in order to do their jobs in today’s ever-changing technological environment.”

Using social media to advertise that product can yield an astounding return on investment, said keynote panelist Rebecca Lieb. The reason for that is simple: “The cost of marketing in these channels is extremely low.”

Lieb cited the example of book publisher Harper Perennial creating plainly-produced, risqué promotional clips for YouTube about a little-known book by Chad Kultgen titled “The Average American Male: A Novel.” The clips garnered a cult following that in turn bought the tome in droves. Why? Lieb said the social media marketing campaign sold YouTube viewers on the book by creating three sitcom-like clips that were too bawdy for mainstream television, but just right for potential book buyers to pass around.

“The Web doesn’t have the content restrictions that other forms of media do,” Lieb explained. “This is an ad campaign that couldn’t have happened anywhere but on the Web.”

At the same time, direct marketers who are accustomed to being deeply familiar with their audience have to pay special attention here. With social media, Lieb said, the presentation matters as much as the type of product because people use social networking venues to talk to each other – not to watch advertisements. “What works best is things that are honest,” she said. Candid, funny, and informational slants come across well and “people really pass those along,” she added.

Lieb said the phenomenon is, of course, not limited to YouTube. Several other sites, including MySpace, are seeing the same pattern. A study included on the “MySpace Client Summit” Web page even gives this phenomenon a name – “Momentum Effect.” This is defined by Marketing Evolution, the firm that performed this research for MySpace, as “giving consumers the opportunity to share their own story using the brand as a symbol and reference point.” Therefore, the initial ROI of $1.87 that adidas realized by advertising on MySpace was just the beginning.

About the ‘Next-Gen Interactive’ Panel

Moderator Aaron Kahlow is the managing partner of BusinessOnLine, www.businessol.com), a provider of Internet marketing and search engine marketing services. BusinessOnLine specializes in areas such as search engine marketing and Web site design and development to customers, including Chevron, Tyco, Cisco Systems, Kimberly-Clark, and HSBC.

Kevin Heisler is a search/Web 2.0 analyst at Jupiter Research (www.jupiterresearch.com). Heisler covers search marketing and online advertising, examining business models, consumer behavior, staffing and technology trends, and search engine innovations, as well as branding and direct response tactics. Heisler joined JupiterResearch from Proof Theory, an online advertising and search marketing consulting firm he founded.

Joseph Jaffe is the president and “chief interrupter” of crayon, a “new marketing” company (www.crayonville.com). Prior to launching crayon, he founded and ran the “new marketing” company jaffe, LLC. Jaffe’s popular blog, "Jaffe Juice,” provides daily commentary on all things new marketing at www.jaffejuice.com. Jaffe also hosts a weekly new marketing podcast called “Across the Sound” at www.acrossthesound.net or through iTunes.

Greg Kostello is the CEO of vMix (www.vMix.com), the popular video Web site. The company is a leader in user-generated content, branded entertainment, and licensed music. With the slogan “creative is sexy,” vMix lets users build their own “fully-branded channel,” upload their own videos and music, interact with members, enter contests and more.

In addition to her role at ClickZ Network, (www.clickz.com), Rebecca Lieb is a former executive marketing and communications professional at strategic e-services consultancies and global entertainment and media companies. She's also a member of the graduate faculty at New York University's Center for Publishing, where she also serves on the Electronic Publishing Advisory Group.

Sandra Zoratti is the director of worldwide marketing and strategy in the printing systems division of IBM Corporation. Zoratti joined IBM in 2000 and has worked in small and medium business marketing, launching the Express Portfolio. Prior to IBM, Zoratti built a 15-year track record of creating and executing marketing and business development initiatives worldwide. Zoratti launched and ran a private marketing practice and worked at two other Fortune 500 companies.

About DM Days New York Conference & Expo

The 2007 DM Days New York Conference & Expo provides a forum for the exchange of new ideas and technological advances and provides cutting-edge information in e-commerce, technology, media, database, and creative services. To register or to find more information about DM Days, please visit www.dmdays.com.

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