I found this stellar presentation by Stephen Anderson thanks to John Moore at Brand Autopsy (side note: John is a must read for brand marketers).  In the words of Stephen, the presentation is about how:

To be good user experience folks, we need to crack open some psych 101 textbooks, learn what motivates people and then bake these ideas into our designs.

One of my favorite minds in the realm of Social Media has to be Charlene Li.  Best known as the author of Groundswell (read it if you haven’t already), Charlene has been making the speaking circuit in support of her new company, Altimeter Group.  Her latest presentation, The Future of Social Networks, is a must read for any Brand Manager thinking about how advertising and marketing will fit in this new social world.

In this presentation, Charlene makes the point that in the future, Social Networks will “be like air.”  Thanks to universal identity and sign-in, your friends will be wherever you need them… literally their recommendations and thoughts will be at your finger tips.  Just as important, this social graph will help marketers provide more relevent information and advertising to consumers when and where they need.

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Thanks to the folks over the Digital Design Blog for the lead.

Thanks to Chris Brogan, I stumbled across this amazing presentation on the importance of design.  Over the past several years, design has emerged as a powerful force at P&G.  This presentation does a great job capturing why design is an important element for every Brand Manager to consider.

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Courtesy of Will Lion on Flickr

It continues to amaze me how many brands do not invest in digital, choosing instead to stay with the safety of traditional mass media (ie TV and print).  When asked why, you will hear a lot of different answers, but none that haven’t been proven wrong time and time again.  Digital is measurable.  Digital can provide solid ROI.  Digital can drive trial and awareness.

But if you are still struggling with justifying your digital investment, I think there are 4 important reasons digital should matter to your brand:

1. Digital enables relationships and community
2. Digital tells a story around your brand
3. Digital is a key part of an integrated campaign
4. Digital builds brand equities in new ways

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