MacKenzie Marketing Group - Home

I started Twittering – along with the rest of the MMG team – last year. It was still fairly new and I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Now I am addicted.

It’s sort of like being a voyeur – I get a glimpse into what people are thinking. It’s also my best news channel. I get great links to blog posts I may never find on my own. Twitter is also a wonderful re-connector. I follow people that I’ve know for years but haven’t seen in ages.

And when our friend Rick Turoczy got the big spread in the Oregonian last Sunday thousands more certainly signed up.

Like all social media, it has a big downside. There is too much of it. I can’t following thousands of people and get anything out of the relationship. And the technology is not perfect. Scalability is a big issues and users have to be very patient.

Lessons learned from Twitter? Like all good communications, it is best when it is focused.

You can follow me on Twitter and see what I am up to.

I used to think that awards were silly – the only way I thought we needed to be judged was by our clients’ success. I still think that is true, but not completely. Being judged by a panel of our peers is important. It keeps us on our toes.

Getting another award this week – a Communicator Award for our Ad campaign for Vigilan – is a big reason to celebrate. We knew it was a winner well before this because our client told us. Vigilan’s business has really taken off and we’re pretty happy to be a part of that success.

"

Big Kudos go to Jeni Cantley and Haley Lewis for the great design and concept. Another statue is on its way to join the others on the table!

Seth Godin – marketing consultant and author – just blogged todayabout the art of the putting on a show. In marketing he says, “…even if you're a professional marketer, if your show is cynical or manipulative, it's going to fall apart on you. Even Marlon Brando couldn't live the show all the time if he didn't believe it.”

Scott McClellan, the former White House press secretary, now author, is a perfect example of the marketer whose show fell apart. By taking the job as White House press secretary, he took on the role of communicating public policy. He didn’t believe in the message that he was delivering. It fell apart on him.

Godin further explains that “The difference between a professional and a naive marketer is that the professional can put on a different show in her next job, or for her next brand. Al Yageneh (The Soup Nazi), on the other hand, can only sell soup.”

I’ve sold software to consumers and professionals, consumer electronics, professional services, politicians and non-profits and most recently trail running shoes. Scott, on the other hand, has sold policy and I’m not sure he can sell any of that now.

I just started taking a Management and Leadership class as part of my graduate program at UO. The book that we are reading is "Leadership Challenge" by Kouzes and Posner. The jist of the book (and I'll know more by the end of the term) is a practical approach to teaching leadership at all levels. It uses anecdotal information to show "how" to be a successful leader. I'm really excited about this class to tighten my existing leadership qualities.

Here is a funny video explaining important values learned from Kouzes and Posner. Enjoy!