Adomatica

A fellow marketer sent me this job posting as he knew it was something that I would get a good laugh from. I like to share ,so here is it. You’ll soon see why the “ALL” in the title of this post is in all caps.

Start of job posting ->

Austin based consumer products company/ business to business company is seeking an individual to operate a one person marketing department. Individual must have at least 5 years EXPERIENCE and must be able to PROVE experience in the areas below by providing actual projects and campaigns. Environment is hectic, fast-paced, deadline intensive and requires ability to manage, control multiple daily deadlines in many areas.

Skill sets required:

Organizational Skills
Must demonstrate how you can manage dozens of daily deadlines, which are hit, without missing details. Must show systems used to manage detail.

Creative Skills
Demonstrate ability to develop campaigns and branding in print, web, social, promotional, trade how, etc. Must show examples of campaigns and programs you have created, whcih have been successfully implemented and must demonstrate results with detailed data.

Data Crunching and Research
Demonstrate your skill and experience in monitoring data in terms of response rates, success or purchase rates, success of campaigns, etc. Also ability to research concepts for supportaive collatoral materials, sales documents, presentations, etc.

Management of Layout/Design
Demonstrate your ability to manage a graphics team and how you communicate and create successful graphics. Position will require occassional design work as well when graphics departments cannot respond to last minute changes or needs.

Flexibility
Ability to operate, without stressful reaction to continual changes, adjustments, change of direction or strategy, continual updates of campaigns, web, graphics.

Writing Skills
Demonstrate ability to write powerful headlines and copy with actual ads, campaigns, presentations you have written, whcih have been used successfully in market.

Social Media
Experience and skill in developing a high profile for brands on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and others, including successful “like” and fan page adoption. ability to tweet on behalf of brands and customers frequently, ability to use social as a tool to drive busiess to brands.

SEO
Demonstrate ability and skills to place brands at the top of Google search, Yahoo, Bing and others consistently and understand how to prevent brands from being spam-labeled.

Website Update/Management
Demonstrate ability to update website data as needed in a timely fashion, operate CMS systems with ability to manipulate systems to create correct professional appearance.

Listening & Survey Skills
Ability to listen and take direction and follow through to completion independently, ability and experience in client and customer surveys, focus groups, online survey creation and related conclusions and interpretation.

WordPress, Blogger and Type Pad
Demonstrate ability and experience at creating blogs in these platforms, blog posts, interesting blog design and ability to create customized look through manipulation of html.

Project Management and Basecamp
Demonstrate ability to operate in a highly detailed, step by step project management environment with daily milestone management with all persons and partners involved in projects.

Layout & Design Skills
Ability to create graphic elements, brochures, ads, manipulate photographcs as needed for some projects and in the event last minute “fires” cannot involve others typically involved.

Strong Editing Skills
Ability to edit copy, spell check, grammer check on web copy, ad copy, etc.

Flash
Ability to create animated flash campaigns.

Email Campaign
Understanding of spam and email laws, management of databases, copy writing for email, creating campaigns for email with appropriate approach and frequency. Ability to craft text and html- based email (must speak html), develop multiple linking elements, attractive and professional appearance, etc.

Video and Audio Management
Ability to oversee audio and video creation (radio, television ads, corporate video) and ability to create basic video editing skill. Experience managing or overseeing video, audio production and dvd authoring.

Database Management
Experience with managing marketing lists and sub lists and understanding the core essentials of building, maintaining and utilizing targeted databases.

Marketing Plan Creation/Implementation
Experience at crafting strategy from the customer needs analysis to branding, direction, promotion, advertising, public relations, customer experience, customer service, customer follow up.

Follow Through Skills
This role involves hundreds of moving parts as you oversee and execute multiple high prioritiy initiatives simultaniously, thus requiring tremendous ability to manage details, not miss details, follow through as well as ability to anticipate issues, needs, problems in advance.

Management Ability
Though company is operating with reduced staff (recession) you will manage other people and will interact with many others. Must have exerience and demonstrate success as a manager.

Acustomed to Long Hours and Fierce Deadlines
Evertying must be done and implemented on launch or due dates, which requires a “can do no matter what” attitude. You cannot go home until each days projects are complete.

Excellence Driven and Upbeat Attitude
Getting things done is not enough. Getting them done with excellence and quality, taking extra steps if necessary to assure quality is imperative. Must remain upbeat in constant pressure-cooker environment with big loads, high demands and limted resources.

Trade Show and Event Development, Strategy, Implementation
Experience creating and implementing trade show strategy, booth design, creative promotions and alternatives, sponsorships, event creation and experience with “booth” time under your belt.

Advertising
Experience creating, writing and developing concepts for consumer and B to B, B to C, B to G campagns. Must have experience tracking success and testing ads.

Brand Development and Building
Experience inventing brand positions, developing brands and carrying project through from concept, logo development, brand exposure, brand reinforcement and brand enhancement. Also experience in giving new life to tired brands.

Direct Response Advertising
Ability to create advertising with requires immediate customer purchase via online sites, inbound phone, telemarketing, phone scripting, media scripting.

Business Development Initiatives
Ability to envision collaborative efforts with partners, media, other companies and to make contact and set up relationships.

Creative Promotion Creation and Implementation
Ability to develop incentive plans, contests, drawings, promotional campaigns, event promotions, attention getting schemes.

Ability to Cut Through Clutter
Know how to grab attention, get noticed, get better than normal results, stand above the crowd, create controversay.

Interested in Innovation
Individual must like to shake things up, break the status quo and create new and creative ways to make paradigm-breaking change.

Budget Focused and Frugal
Must have ability to create, manage or follow budgets, save the company money on every possible initiative.

Vendor Relationships Management:
Manage production, design, printing, web, app creation, trade show booth, graphics, promotional items, etc) including cost control, budgeting and negotiation.

Must have excellent communication skills, ability to interact with public, ability to travel, ability to commute to Austin office weekdays, pro-active, ability to operate without much guidance or micro management, some sales experience helpful. We prefer individual accustomed to a smaller, fast-paced business environment. If you cannot
move fast with excellence this job will eat you alive. We prefer “corporate” marketing types not apply because you are accustomed to deep resources and deep budgets. We need people who can be resourceful where budgets do not always exist or where resources are limited.

Must be versed in MAC and PC and have EXTENSIVE Experience in the following programs (you will be tested for your ability)
- PhotoShop
- Flash
- Basecamp
- After Effects
- In Design
- PowerPoint/Keynote
- Word
- Google (mail, docs)
- Excel
- CMS Systems
- Web Management Systems
- Email marketing systems
- Database management systems

Pay will be commensorate with your skill sets.

To apply for this job. (Read carefully. If you do not follow this plan it is an indicator that you cannot follow direction and therefore we will delete your application without reading it.)

- Do NOT apply if you do not possess most of the skills and software listed in this ad.
- Do NOT apply if you do not have at least 5 years experience in marketing.
- In your email COVER letter (do not attach a cover letter) explain why you are right for this job.
- If your cover letter does not demonstrate marketing and copy writing ability you will be deleted.
- If your cover letter says “Dear Sirs” you are not creative. Don’t bother applying.
- Attach ONE DOCUMENT only. PLACE YOUR FULL NAME is the document title.
- That document must demonstrate:
Your abilit to be creative
Your graphics ability
Your resume BREFLY
HOW YOU RATE YOURSELF (A, B or C) in EACH of the CATEGORIES LISTED ABOVE
Examples of your work
Examples of success

IF you apply and get past the initial screening you will be taken through a six interview process and will be asked to PROVE your experience and skill in each area.

(We’re not jerks, really, we just know 99% of the people applying never read the requirements and apply anyway. Our hiring process helps assure that we hire the right person and thus that person stays around a long time.)

<- End of job posting

You’ve probably seen mention recently of Pinterest.com. Pinterest is “a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.” The site has grown from about 40k users in 2010 to ~3.2 million users as of October 2011. It’s invite only, but that doesn’t seem to be slowing it down. I recently requested and quickly got an invite, so if you want in, just request an invite from the site or ask a friend, who is already a member, to send you an invite. (I’m also happy to send you an invite – email me rgecweb at gmail.com)

First, here are a couple of definitions (from Pinterest.com):

Pin – “an image added to Pinterest. A pin can be a dded from a website using the Pin It button, or you can upload images from your computer. Each pin added using the Pin It button links back to the site it came from.”

Board – “a set of pins. A board can be created on any topic, such as Cool Posters, Recipes For Dinner, or Wishlist. You can add as many pins to a board as you want.”

Following – “Following All means you’ll have all of a user’s pins on all their boards shown to you in real-time on Pinterest. If the user makes new boards, you will automatically follow them. You can follow individual boards if you’re only interested in seeing a user’s pins to specific boards. You can unfollow boards and users at any time: they will not be notified.”

Tip #1 – Install the Pin It Button – the button is cool little tool that you can easily add to your browser – it makes “pinning” things super easy – you can find out more about this and other “goodies” like the iPhone app and website badges here -> http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/

Tip #2 – Create a few boards – my suggestion here is to make your own boards. Your original profile will have some generic / preset boards, but I think Pinterest works best if you personalize it from the start. I created and pinned items to the following boards when I first set-up my profile: Quote Art, Things, Style, Books-Music-Movies, Calendars (yes, I know, this one is a surprise), and Infographics.

Tip #3 – Use for Lists – I’m not really doing this one yet, but I’ve already seem others using Pinterest to build lists. For example, someone planning a wedding might use it to build lists of ideas with each board being a different subject. i.e. Cakes, Dresses, Flowers, Honeymoon spots – you get the point

Tip #4 (For Brands) – Share Product Images – OK, I know that some of you will say something like “keep you business pushing capitalist heathen crap off of my social media,” but you know it is going to happen, so just don’t follow or stop following any brands that bug you in any way on any of your social channels. I think Pinterest gives businesses a neat opportunity to share product images. It could give fans of a brand a different / image heavy means to browse products and since the images are linked back to the source, it’s easy to move from viewing image to viewing more info on or even buying the product. Brands could also use Pinterest to spot trends, styles, and get new product ideas.

Tip #5 Just give it a try – no need to submerge yourself in this. Just give it a try, set up a few boards, pin a few items, browse the Pinterest homepage -> you might get inspired.

What Pinterest tips do you have? Please post a comment to share your tips.

Article title = “Ad firm Enfatico emphatically denies demise”

If you’ve been reading my blog long enough, you know about its past.

If you’ve been in the Austin ad agency space long enough, you know about Enfatico previous known as Project DaVinci and mocked as Enfartico.

If you’ve been reading my blog AND been in the Austin ad agency space long enough, you know why the title gets me get a tiny bit excited.

Quick aside -> Hello, my name is Robert Gilbreath, and I am a reformed Ad agency space asshole blogger. Feels good to just say it. I haven’t posted what most would consider a juicy bit of gossip, insider info, or just plain bad news in a long time. (My visitor count proves it.) <- end of aside

The title gets me a bit excited as it, in my opinion, warns of an article that will be full of hard hitting journalism, alternate points of views, and, I'm sorry, some good or bad news about an agency that I (along with most of the ad world) followed so closely during the summer of 2008.

The article does very little in the way of exciting anyone beyond the title. The "Story Line" section of the article mentions nothing regarding the vast extend of bad press that agency got or the tons of people who lost jobs at other agencies when Dell pulled (with little warning) its business from most or all of its ad agencies.

There are a few lines / quotes from a PR exec saying that Enfatico needs to do a better job of branding itself. Most ad agencies (and business) could do a better job of branding themselves, hell, even the great ones continue to do things to push along their brands. Enfatico is part of Y&R. They do not need to earn more business. They work for Dell. Their branding was set back in the summer of 2008 and I don't think we'll hear much from them beyond that.

Austin Business Journal article -> Ad firm Enfatico emphatically denies demise

OK, so I went 30 days between my last two posts. I’m sure I’ve done a post or two like this in the past, but again it’s my blog and I can post what I want to.

I’ve been busy. I run marketing for Calendars.com. As I hope you can imagine, the last several months are slightly busy in the calendar business. My team had a hell of a year breaking nearly every record they could and busting through almost every challenge they faced. I’m excited about the coming year.

Directing marketing for “the largest selection of calendars in the known universe” and getting pumped about the year is really a very minor part of what’s been going on with my family. I’m also doing what a husband can do when his wife is expecting. Let’s face it, that basically means I try to be as helpful as I can and not pretend that I have any idea what my wife is going through. Seriously, this is baby number three for us and, from my perspective, it has been the toughest. Chasing the two other little ones around while your mid-section grows a bit more each day can not be easy at all. It feels almost pointless to say thanks to Sarah or actually to even ask how she is feeling. (Thank you Sarah – I’m glad that you are getting in a nap as I type this up.)

The due date is now within view and I think it makes it even harder. The anticipation of the day, the pain, and the pleasure of an ending that marks the beginning of something so incredible. Like many things in life, it really seems to build-up as “the end” gets ever closer, but this is one of the most unique and unlike anything else in life moments.

I said that I was excited about the coming year regarding Calendars.com. I am beyond ecstatic about the coming year at home. As the family is nearly grown by one, I look forward to all the changes and new things we will experience together.

Happy New Year!