There is so much in the marketing world about the interaction between customers in the blogosphere and the companies that make products or services for those customers. From the iPhone, to the Dodge Challenger there are robust communities all over the web making or breaking products through the power of word-of-mouth stimulated by social media. Very little of this interaction is sponsored by the makers of the products, but these voices no doubt affect the direction of the products, and future marketing decisions.

Jobs and labor are no different. In fact, one could argue that the transparency of company and consumer attitudes toward labor, from the advent of labor unions, to the existence of F*ed Company has a far more rich history than some contentious discourse about your crappy computing device.

Transparency is Coming to Legal Staffing
In the past year, this issue has come to the forefront for more legal staffing firms. Employees are not so afraid anymore of getting fired for blogging, even though this, this, and this suggest they should think otherwise. While online conversation had been the perview of IT workers since Usenet, it seems fairly recent that legal professionals have taken to blogging en force.

I first started to look into the online presence of legal professionals in 2005 when I noticed a small website, paralegalgateway.com sending a bit of traffic to Hudson’s websites. Upon further review I found that it was Jeannie Johnston’s site (a Hudson employee at the time) who through a small link in a blog post, had driven some traffic toward us. I was very curious to see one of our own interacting in a very meaningful way with a targeted talent pool from which she would recruit. This sparked more curiosity in me as to where blogging and online community were taking place within the world of our legal staffing practice. I knew that entry level legal professionals were hanging around the Monster Legal channel that we helped to establish in 2007. Still, there didn’t seem to be a voice of the practicing temporary attorney who was doing the large-scale document review which was becoming common.

The Awakening of 2007
With the exception of “Tom the Temp” who started his blog in late 2005, it seems that in mid-2007 the temporary attorney blogosphere became more populated and interesting. Joe Miller posted his first JD Wired entry in August of 2007, as did another anonymous temporary attorney in Washington DC. All of these blogs bring a very real voice to the marketplace that is useful market intelligence for legal staffing firms.

The good (from Tom the Temp):

Anonymous said…
reality check has the right of it. I’m an attorney working at the Newark site, and the original post couldn’t be a bigger bunch of bs. The Hudson people are courteous, pay on time, treat us like professionals, and have made the environment as pleasant as possibly given some constraints by the client (i.e. no phone use in the coding room). Whoever gave you the info for the original post either was fired on the first day for being a slobbering idiot, or needs to work on his fiction.

I’ve only been to this blog for a few weeks, but I already can see it’s just a bunch of WATBs. You cry babies have probably never worked a single day of your pampered lives at a real job. Whah whah whah.

$35 an hour plus time an half for coding isn’t good enough for you? Go get a “real” job then. Most firms aren’t looking to bring on board pouty, bitchy juveniles who think the world owes them, but hey, you might get lucky.

The bad (from Tom the Temp)

I really hope this is true. It’s time for some structure, people. The firms, temp agencies, predatory banks, and TTT law schools are continuing to eat us alive. How much more non-dischargeable law school debt will they be allowed to pile on top us? For the fifth straight year, will you just sit back and allow them to yet again “deflate your rate”? Will you lose yet another P.T.O. (not just any P.T.O, but one belonging to Dr. King), while profits per partner continue to soar? I hope not.

The ugly (from my attorney blog):

John Smith Says:

December 13th, 2007 at 11:00 am
Hudson totally screwed me out of referral fee because I was not staffed with them at the time. What a joke! I will never refer anyone to that agency again.

While marketers base their reputation on being publicly accountable for their thoughts, it appears that temporary attorneys see the opposite. Much of the commentary on these blogs as well as message boards like JDUnderground is anonymous and incendiary. To some extent this helps you get a pulse of the industry better than any employee survey could. Salaries and benefits are down, demand is less than supply, and work conditions are sometimes less than ideal.

I will admit that reading the content is entertaining, although somewhat like watching a car wreck. Hudson has put hundreds of satisfied people to work that are already speaking on our behalf within these social media. So far, my role is to know what is being said – to listen. Not only that, but Hudson’s front-line staff are listening. The real question for an interactive marketer then is how to join the conversation in a meaningful and beneficial way.

photo by mr oji

My sweet wife made me a home made gift for Valentine’s Day that is very thoughtful – literally. She created this cool little jar and inside it she put dark chocolate, and hundreds of little pick me up quotes that she found all over the place. I can take a quote from the jar each day and find inspiration from it. Not that I need any more inspiration than a person who is so thoughtful as to make such a gift for me. The first quote I pulled from the jar today…

Life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.
-Author Unknown-

Thanks honey, you are awesome! Oh, and thanks for the Wii stuff too.

What did I get Tricia for Valentine’s Day? A gift card to Scott Miller Spa in Webster. I hope that inspires her in a relaxing, get away from us crazies kind of way.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
-Corinthians- opened on 2.18.08

A true friend is the greatest of all blessings, and that which we take the least care of all to acquire.
-Francois Duc de La Rochefoucauld- opened on 2.19.08

Love is a fruit at all times, and within the reach of every hand.
-Mother Theresa- opened 2.20.08

It is sometimes hard to cross that bridge, try something new, or make that change.
opened 2.21.08

It takes 20 years to make an overnight success.
-Eddie Cantor- opened 2.22.08

Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
-Abraham Lincoln- opened 2.25.08

I love you, not for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you.
-Roy Croft- opened 2.26.08

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, While loving someone deeply gives you courage.
-Lao Tzu- opened 2.27.08

Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
-Eleanor Roosevelt- opened 3.12.08

Success is the good fortune that comes from aspiration, desperation, persperation and inspiration.
-Evan Esar- opened 4.14.08

All of these quotes give me perspective on my life and work.

All the good stuff from my childhood is making a return. I’m psyched to see what Indiana Jones will be up to in the newest movie coming out this Spring.

On top of that, we’ve got Kitt making a return to TV this Sunday, albeit as a Ford Mustang which just screams paid product placement. These are good times for the 25-34 year old male demographic, coming on the heels of the Transformers and Dukes of Hazzard revivals.

Saturday was Mason’s first ski lesson of 2008. We have him enrolled in a 4 week program at Powder Mills Park where I learned to ski when I was his age. Powder Mills is a small hill in a local park with nothing but a rope tow. The instruction there is first rate though, as the staff from Swain comes down and teaches beginners of all ages and it is VERY reasonably priced. The great news was that Mason had been skiing 2 times (week 1, week 2) at Swain already this year. When we arrived in the morning, we got Mason’s skis and boots that we have rented for all of the session. He immediately wanted me to pull him up the bottom part of the hill for some practice. Before the lesson even started, I knew he would have a great day.

Mason gets warmed up for ski lessons at Powder Mills Park

Mason skied with so much confidence on the bottom part of the hill that the instructors took our little 6 year old straight over to the rope tow. THAT was when the flashbacks really started for me. I remember shimmying over to the rope that was speeding in front of me. We were told to take our leather-palmed mittens and slowly grip the rope. As the rope zipped through trying to set my hands on fire, I can recall finally catching hold. I started to move, first from the shoulder joints where my arms were nearly pulled from the sockets, my upper body that absorbed the shock, then finally the skis from which I was removed and plunked straight on my face. It was with this fond memory as I watched Mason’s first experience. He did SO great!

Mason gets his first taste of the rope tow

After Mason made it to the top of the hill, his instructor named “Hoppy” took him on one run holding onto a stick next to him for stability. The very next run, Mason was skiing on his own for the first time, down terrain that was far steeper than before.

After the last run of the day, we went into the lodge to have hot chocolate to celebrate victory over the rope tow and look forward to next week.

Recently I’ve been stalking the CareerBuilder Super Bowl campaign, because I’m a customer of CareerBuilder, and more importantly because the study of Super Bowl ad strategy is very educational for those of us running much smaller marketing budgets.

I’ve also been honing my skills as social media participant. My first real foray into using Google Alerts, was to set one on “CareerBuilder Super Bowl Ads”. Today, it hit me with the kind of nugget that I never would have found without some real effort – the designer for the campaign, asking his peers what they thought of the ads.

Hey guys, I was wondering what your thoughts are on my ads that aired during the Super Bowl for an online job site called CareerBuilder.com

The comments on Youtube aren’t the most enlightening. You guys have more discerning tastes.

YouTube – Super Bowl Commercial – CareerBuilder.com – Queen of Hearts
Queen of Hearts

YouTube – Super Bowl Commercial – CareerBuilder.com – Firefly
Firefly

Two other spots from the campaign:
YouTube – CareerBuilder.com “Self-Help Yourself” Commercial
YouTube – CareerBuilder.com “Help You, Help You” Commercial

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Full res versions are on my site Art, Design, Direction and More! – NIKDAUM.COM

Thanks,
N

from designerstalk.com

You learn so much about the intent of a campaign and the thought process of the creative team by reading well…the thought process of the creative team…

“Queen of Hearts” is the story of a woman stuck in an unsatisfying job. Unable to act on her own, her heart takes matters into its own ventricles and busts forth with gusto to take care of business.

This literal execution of “follow your heart” remains practically unchanged from the initial script. Thai director Suthon Petchsuwan added whimsey though the set dressings, casting, and edit. Though hard to notice, the huge lobster helped peg the boss as a bad boss. A placeholder heart made of foam with wire feet was used during shooting for the actors to reference. It was replaced with a CGI model made by the SFX firm The Mill. Originally, we had wanted to use puppetry for the heart to make it more comical and less slick. But these days it is actually easier and cheaper to use CGI hearts.

For the branding at the end, the animators of the show Robot Chicken built and destroyed a miniature office park. The logo and the words START BUILDING were made out of painted acrylic and mounted on a metal plate to slide along. Gravity and some compositing did the rest. It took 6 takes, and six buildings to get right.

The rest of the campaign is featured within Nik Daum’s huge portfolio. He is a talented artist and designer who is going to take up residence in my blog roll for a while so I can follow more of his work.

The game was great. Much as it pains me to say **hurray** when a Giants team that at one point in its history put a dagger in my heart (Wide-Right), I did in fact jump out of my seat when Eli Manning played Houdini on one play, then hit Plaxico Burress wide-open in the end zone for the game winning touchdown.

The ads were less than great. The ‘follow your heart’ spot was a provocative stunt which definitely got people talking…mostly in the way they would talk after leaving a movie with gratuitous gore. The ‘Firefly’ ad was dopey. For some reason it took me until my second and 3rd viewing today to really grasp the punchline. I think it was a lot of story development in 30 seconds, and my slow brain just couldn’t keep up. It could also have been that it was later in the game when fatigue and beer had already set in.The CareerBuilder ’08 SuperBowl ads plus 2 others in the series are posted here.

Let’s see what the market has to say. I’m very interested in a lot of aspects to the campaign. I’ll list them below and continue to update this post as I find out more and more.

1. What is the overall sentiment toward CareerBuilder after it dropped the motherlode to buy those ads?
• Answer #1. USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter ranks ads 38th and 45th. Wasn’t this the metric that got CB’s Ad Agency fired last year?
• Answer #2. Nancy Colasurdo, Life Coach at Foxbusiness.com thought the CareerBuilder Ads Send an Important Message. Hmm…I don’t think most watchers are as cerebral as she.
2. How much web traffic did the ads generate? How many additional resumes, job views, applies, etc.?
   From my CareerBuilder Rep:
   

   Feb 08’, CareerBuilder.com hit a record high in unique visitors (in the Career Services and Development) with 25 million! Most importantly, right after Super Bowl commercials aired (Monday and Tues following)….CB internal data showed a substantial increase in EOI. It increased by 26%. EOI stands for “Expressions of Interest”…meaning # of people applying to jobs. In those 2 days following, there was a 26% increase in people that applied to jobs.

3. With social networking more mainstream than ever, how well does the campaign reach into influential social and professional networks?
   • Answer #1. The recruitosphere, which is NOT the target audience was discussing the ads pre- and post- Super Bowl:
     Why Recruiters Love Super Bowl Ads
     Cheezhead getting busted by W+K for posting the ad pre-bowl
     Cheezhead saying the ad was a flop
     Pamela Skillings really liked them
   • Answer #2. Twitter activity gave real time opinions of the ads. Look what people had to say.
   • Answer #3. Gizmodo (the influential tech gadget blog) rated Firefly the Lowest Kick to Disney’s Balls.
4. How much do the interactive/online components to the campaign contribute to its relative success?
• Answer #1. Charles Armstrong was impressed with Tide and not with CareerBuilder. I agree. Tide blew me away, and I’m getting all sorts of errors with CareerBuilder’s Personal Gruntledness Index today.
• Answer #2. Reprise Media gives CareerBuilder a “Touchdown” for integrating its paid search placement with its ad campaign. Tip o’ the hat to Matthew Grant at Aquent.

I’ll keep my ear to the ground on CareerBuilder campaign happenings as well as on the Monster ones to see who is getting it right, and who is treading water. Ultimately, it has an impact on where we invest our precious marketing budgets. Stay tuned.

CareerBuilder has action, Monster has aspirations. CareerBuilder’s 2008 marketing assault is taking a different tact toward driving job seekers than is Monster’s newly minted global ad campaign. Here’s the agency-created promo that was shown to CareerBuilder employees.

This video is from www.careerbuilder.com/marketinghighlights

CareerBuilder’s ad campaign, just like the rest of their product offering aims at immediacy. It is all about getting the traffic, driving applies, and ultimately delighting the clients who pay them for those candidates. For me, CareerBuilder’s recent success is more about their Recommended Jobs engine. The campaign is only going to augment the effectiveness of that product feature, and ultimately drive staffing firm success.

Case in point. Recommended jobs are present in every part of the job seeker experience. From the home page, to the thank you note you get after applying to a job, CareerBuilder drives users to that next opportunity that is relevant to what they know about you. It is a very Amazon-like experience, a site famous for leveraging knowledge of its customers to provide information about what you should do next. On Super Bowl Sunday, when Sally job seeker gets convinced it’s time to leave her sucky job, she’ll go to CareerBuilder and find 25 targeted recommendations on how to fix that problem. Even if the recommendations based on her zip code and uploaded resume lead her to my competitors, she’ll likely see Hudson jobs that could solve her problem too. Because of CareerBuilder’s product these are the types of seekers we’ll be looking for.

Monster has taken the aspirational high road, choosing to inspire people to find a job they are really passionate about – even if it’s in another industry. I’m not as cynical about their campaign as some, but I do find the following scenario a likely result.

Hmm…my calling is calling. Let’s see if I have a shot at being an executive chef. Keywords=chef + $100k, Apply Now. Ooh…I’ve always thought coffee was fun to drink, how about a career as a barista? Keywords=coffee + training available, Apply Now. Because the site isn’t telling Ms. Aspirational Accountant that the Contract Tax Manager position right up the street is in her wheelhouse, she’s almost encouraged to spread her application to any number of stretch positions. It’s a great marketing message for job seekers for sure, but for over-burdened recruiters and staffing firms with a mountain of unqualifieds on their desk, it’s a nightmare.

I’m eager to see whether the data supports my theory, or if I’m off my rocker. I’m certainly not the only armchair critic this year. Happy Super Bowl everybody.

2 days into Mason’s first year of school, there was no doubt in my mind that he had a very special teacher. Now he’s 90 days into his rookie year, and I’m convinced that Mrs. Sero is a star. She has got kindergarten down to a science. Her lessons are meticulously organized, her psychological abilities to keep the kids behaved are nothing short of supernatural. I’ve seen it. A soft-spoken “children let’s put our listening ears on” and the entire bunch quiets to listen in eager anticipation of whatever she’s about to say next.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Mrs. Sero’s Kindergarten is her complete and total grasp of the web. The class website she maintains, is always up to date with the latest happenings. Not only is the dry curriculum stuff up there, but she uploads photos of the kids’ activities and videos of their performances. She demonstrates a love for our children and their activities that we as parents can barely give. I can’t imagine that the communication from teacher to parent is better in any other class in America.

Now, JoAnna has entered the world of blogging. How she has the time, I’ll never know. The content is even more fun and free form than the website. I’ve added a new ‘kinderblog’ call-out in the sidebar of my lifeblog to showcase her writings. Thanks JoAnna. You are amazing!

Saturday, we had perfect conditions for another ski trek down to Swain. This time it was just Mason and me plus Andy and Nolan. The day started off a bit dicey as Mason must have thought he could hop right on the hill after only one week of skiing and be able to shuss right down. Well, he got a little frustrated and took off his skis at the top of the hill, refusing to put them back on. We talked about that not ever happening again in a not so patient voice from me. Andy and 5 year old Nolan kept skiing on their merry way. Luckily, they got tired, so we all went into the lodge for some much needed lunch.

Andy and the kids take a ski break by the fire.

There, I issued Mason the Ultimate Challenge which was to complete 10 runs on the magic carpet. Mason always responds well to challenges. Sure enough, he made it through 7 runs on the carpet before he got bored with it and the entire ski school that kept blocking our way. He asked me “Dad, if we go up the big lift once, does that count to complete the Ultimate Challenge?”. I said, “Of course.” and we took our first lift ride of the day. We skied down Round Top with Mason to my right holding an outstretched ski pole.

Then he was primed up. We decided to go down lower Robinson, a slightly wider hill, where the snow was just perfect. For the first time, I could tell the light bulb was turning on. Mason, tipped his legs in the snowplow in just the right way to keep his speed under control. Then he found that he could turn his head in the direction he wanted to go, and his body would follow. He’s so perceptive for a little kid. He said “Dad, look how my body follows where me head goes!”. I couldn’t have said it better myself.

We were both tired after that run, so we went inside to rest again. It was mostly for mine and Andy’s sake as we both were towing the kids around the bottom of the hill like we were Clydesdales. Then Mason asked to go to Mile Sweep. Wow! From whimpering quitter, to Braveheart in 2 short hours. So, we went up a full chairlift together to the top of the hill for the very first time. How rewarding. Mile Sweep is definitely…well…long. My back was about to break in half after skiing down it doubled over to keep Mason from going too fast. We made it to the bottom, and both celebrated with a picture.

Mason finishes his first run down Mile Sweep

It was a terrific day. The kind I was dreaming about when becoming a Dad. To see my son learn such a challenging skill really is rewarding. He and I both can’t wait to do it again. Thanks to Andy and Nolan for being patient with us, you guys are awesome.

The trails we skied at Swain 1/26/2008

Trust me when I say that I became interested in art, design, and now marketing because of my dislike of math. I came to this conclusion mid-way through my high school career as I examined which classes I liked best. At the time I was experimenting with the first Macs in art class, and spending the rest of my day trying to figure out what the hell an imaginary number was in AP Calculus. When it came time for college, the decision was easy. Head off to design school to “be creative” and leave all of that math stuff behind.

So, imagine my surprise 15 years later when I’m operating an application that I NEVER thought I would have to even look at; Microsoft Excel. I use Excel more right now than I use Photoshop. A tiny little piece of me dies inside when I click that little green X icon in my task tray. The first time I opened a brand new sheet, with its unending grid and unfamiliar map coordinates, was more intimidating than any blank canvas I’ve ever encountered.

Here’s the news to any interactive marketer worth their salt. Excel is one of the most powerful weapons in your arsenal. Heresy? Perhaps. Unfortunate Reality? Absolutely. Here’s why.

1. ROI=Longevity. The biggest opportunity interactive marketing offers is the ability to track Return on Investment. To measure that, you need a calculator not a paint brush. Have you ever tried to calculate the conversion ratio of traffic to leads using Photoshop?
2. Dirty, Filthy, Data. At some point the interactive marketer will be handed some list of names scraped from the internet, or scanned from some association flyer or whatever and be asked to run an email campaign to those people. Without Excel skillz, that is like having someone leave a flaming turd on your doorstep. Grind it through Excel correctly and run a few formulas…shabam! pristine data lined up in pretty little columns that can be sucked into an email marketing tool.
3. I want it cut in triangles not squares. Kids always want their sandwich cut a different way than you were planning on. Business leaders always want their marketing analytics sliced a different way or diced down to just their little corner of the world. Give me the raw data, and that magical Pivot table (which this rookie Excel user took forever to grasp) and voila, the big kids are VERY happy.

While I believe Excel is important, I also have learned everything I know by reading the help or asking a colleague. Going to get formal training is as pleasant as going to the dentist. I received some mail the other day on some cheapo Excel training classes that I might break down and sit through. I could even buy a book that sounds like it’s targeted right at me: Excel for Marketing Managers. Alas, I think I’ll probably spend my time learning to make a spreadsheet crossbow as in the video below.

Tip o the hat to Codswallop