BlogWell is going to be making a stop in Cincinnati on April 7, 2010 and Cincinnati Social Media will be partnering for the festivities.  If you aren’t familiar with BlogWell, it is a great event put on across the country by GasPedal and the Social Media Business Council.    As they describe it:

It’s not rocket science but I love this graphic that shows how Social Media will amplify great content.  As more companies realize that “brands = publishers“, this is important thing to keep in mind.  The key is making your content easily sharable, using great enablers such as Share This and the Digg Widget.

It has been awhile since I posted a presentation up on Hard Knox Life.  Luckily my friend Kevin Dugan is helping me put an end to that drought with this great presentation on the state of media relations in regards to the impact of social media.   Provocatively called “Hack vs Flack“, I wish I had a chance to see him present this in person.

Hack vs. Flack…a social media point/counterpoint

In the halls of Brand Management, Tom Fishburne is easily more popular than Dilbert.  After all, he’s one of us.

So it is no surprise that Tom perfectly captured one of today’s most debated brand management questions:

“Who should represent a brand in Social Media?”

It is the same question that was posed on the American Express OPEN Forum, when Ann Handley wrote an article entitled “The Right Voice for Your Brand Online is…?“  In the post, Ann suggested the right “person” could be:

• The CEO (or other high-level executive).
• The marketing department.
• The company mascot.
• The intern.
• Separate identities for each distinct customer interest.
• Multiple individuals.
• Your customers.

All are interesting options but I think they left out not only the most obvious, but also the most important…the Brand Manager.

After all, the Brand Manager is the person that is suppose to live and breath the brand.  They are the one deciding on what products make it to shelf, what the advertising will look like and making the call on just about every other little detail that has to do with a brand.  When all is said and done, the Brand Manager is the brand.

So doesn’t it make sense for the Brand Manager to be the “Voice of the Brand?

The problem is that being the “voice of the brand” requires an entirely new skill set for Brand Managers.  In the past, Brand Managers rarely interacted directly with consumers.  When doing market research, there was always that convenient focus group where we could observe behind the glass.  With PR, generally we had a person that handled interactions with magazine editors and were in charge of “public  statements.”   And with advertising, our agency took the lead in crafting that message.  So while Brand Managers should be the “voice of the brand” in Social Media, it is going to require all of us to learn a new way of doing things… a new way to collaborate.

In the past, Brand Managers had to be experts at getting things accomplished internally and with agencies.  Going forward, Brand Managers are going to need to be externally focused, with a mindset for collaboration and partnership.  It is not going to be an easy shift, but it is one that every marketers need to be make in order to be the “Voice of the Brand.”

A few weeks ago, I was amazed to find out that Media Industry News had named me to their list of “Top 21 Social Media Superstars.” min’s Top 21 Social Media Superstars is for “those executives who have leveraged the power and influence of social media platforms for their brands and stand as the first generation of superstars.”  The honor alone was amazing but even more humbling when you consider my fellow award winners included folks such as:

• Michael Arrington, Founder, TechCrunch
• Tina Brown, Founder/Editor-in-Chief, The Daily Beast
• John Byrne, former Executive Editor, BusinessWeek
• Nick Denton, Publisher, Gawker
• Brandon Holley, Editor-in-Chief, Yahoo! Shine
• Mike Lazerow, CEO, Buddy Media
• Harvey Levin, Managing Editor, TMZ.com

Unfortunately I was unable to make it to New York City this past week for the award ceremony but I want to thank all of you that read this blog because the honor really goes to you.  As you can see in the below description of why I was selected, this blog had a lot to do with me making the shortlist:

As brand manager for P&G’s corporate marketing, wunderkind Dave Knox put himself on the social media map this past year with his very popular “Hard Knox Life” blog. Dedicated to discussing and dissecting issues that intersect with marketing, media and technology, Knox’s blog reads like a lively compendium of insights relevant to his current role at P&G. Knox’s overall goal: “To find the next generation of content, partnerships and entertainment to connect our brands with consumers.” So far, the former music industry vet has made his blog a must-read for other brand marketers seeking to make sense of the ever-changing digital landscape.

So thank you again for reading my little piece of cyberspace.   All of you are the best motivation a guy can have.