Courtney Spence on Why Non-Profit Invests Big in Social Media Marketing

In Chapter 12 of 19 in her 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, non-profit executive Courtney Spence answers "How is Your Non-Profit Learning to More Effectively Use Social Media?"  Spence details how her organization's social media marketing strategy has shifted drastically over the past few years.  She notes how traditionally non-profits are encouraged to invest most funds in programming and how that is finding more balance with marketing and communications initiatives involving social media.  Courtney Spence returns to CYF for her Year 3 interview.  As Founder and Executive Director, Spence leads non-profit Students of the World to empower college students to use film, photography, and journalism to tell stories of global issues and the organizations working to address them.  Spence graduated with a BA in History from Duke University.

Transcript:

Erik Michielsen: How is your non-profit learning to more effectively use social media?

Courtney Spence: So we realize, we tell stories of others, we don’t tell our own. We realize, oh, we’re on Facebook and Twitter and we had a website, but there was not real purpose or thought or monetary investment behind those efforts. I think that we’re seeing this transition from particularly in the non-profit world, you know, it’s you do your programming and your fundraising and your management, your administration, your marketing and communication, and, you know, you wanna put all or your money into programming, and that’s – the IRS encourages that, everybody wants to see that, but the truth is, that, you know, marketing and communications are no longer just something that you do on the side, they’re really essential to programming and I think that – I mean, this is what we believe at Students of the World that, you know, storytelling and video and photography and animation are all essential parts to fulfilling a mission because we – ‘cause non-profits truly causes are about movements, and movements take people and if people don’t know that you exist, how are they gonna you’re your movement?

So we – I think you’re starting to see a shift and I think we’re just at the very, very tip of it, very beginning, but you’re seeing a shift from some non-profits and causes that understand the real need to invest in social media and that it’s not something we do on the side and it’s not something we should be ashamed about doing or that we should downplay, it’s something that should be integral to our programming because that will make us more effective fundraisers, it’ll make us more effective as an organization, it’ll help us create a movement, and that is what is so exciting about social media and the possibilities but I think that’s also the great challenge is how do we – when budgets have to be slashed, when organizations can’t spend as much time, media marketing is like one of the first things to go and I think that’s a big mistake and that’s quite frankly a mistake that we made at Students of the World.

And it was only in the last, again, 6 months where it was like we can no longer afford to just sort of – pardon me, but kind of half ass that. We have to really invest in that, because that’s what we do, but that’s also how we’re gonna go build our movement and do what we do much better and bigger than we ever dreamed. So our whole approach to social media has drastically shifted.

What Makes Social Media Work Meaningful - Mike Germano

In Chapter 2 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, social media ad agency CEO Mike Germano answers "What Makes Your Work Meaningful?"  After seven years in business, Germano finds creating engaging social experiences using innovative technology most rewarding.  He shares an example from a Red Bull mobile marketing campaign.  Mike Germano is co-founder and CEO of DUMBO, Brooklyn based social media advertising agency Carrot Creative.  Previously, Germano ran for and was elected to public office in Connecticut.  He is a graduate of Quinnipiac University. 

How to Maximize Company Potential in a Growth Phase - Mike Germano

In Chapter 19 of 19 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, social media ad agency CEO Mike Germano answers "What New Challenges as You Grow Your Business?"  Germano shares how as the company grows and provides more client services, there is a need to illustrate and maximize value to the client.  He also notes the importance of setting expectations internally with a fast growing team.  Mike Germano is co-founder and CEO of DUMBO, Brooklyn based social media advertising agency Carrot Creative.  Previously, Germano ran for and was elected to public office in Connecticut.  He is a graduate of Quinnipiac University. 

How to Make Consumer Experiences More Memorable - Jason Anello

In Chapter 13 of 20 in his 2012 interview, creative director Jason Anello answers "How Do You Create More Memorable Consumer Experiences?"  Anello notes this is wholly based on understanding your audience and learning what drives them.  He puts this in context of a Sungevity ice cream truck he build and how it tied into a residential solar power marketing campaign.  Jason Anello is a founding partner and creative director at marketing services agency Manifold Partners.  He is also the co-founder of the Forking Tasty Brooklyn supper club.  Previously, Anello held creative leadership roles at Yahoo! and Ogilvy & Mather.  He graduated from the University at Albany. 

How Corporate Leadership Creates Innovation Culture - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 7 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "What are the Challenges of Applying an Entrepreneurial Approach in a Large Company?"  Ferrentino notes how it is more challenging to make change in an established company than in a small one.  He notes innovation blockers such as political barriers, including fiefdoms, as well as concerns about meeting Wall Street expectations as a publicly traded company.  He shares how some companies can create innovation or incubator groups and how that can work; however, in fast moving industries such as software, the innovation must be embedded in culture and that, he shares, is a top-down executive responsibility.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

How to Find Purpose in Technology Leadership Career - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 8 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "What Makes Your Work Meaningful?"  Ferrentino enjoys not only doing something that has not been done, but more importantly driving people - teams, partners, consumers - toward that vision.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

How to Design a Corporate Social Network - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 10 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino answers "So How Has Your Approach to Solving Problems You are Having Led You to Developing Social Tools for the Enterprise?"  Ferrentino, who concepted a corporate social network called Chatter, walks through the process that informed why and how Salesforce Chatter was built.  He compares and contrasts corporate social networks with consumer social networks and what he learned about applying Web 2.0 and social tools in an enterprise environment.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

How Cloud Computing Adoption Changes IT Career - Marc Ferrentino

In Chapter 15 of 16 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, cloud computing technology executive Marc Ferrentino "Why Did You Decided to Take on a New Challenge by Leaving Salesforce to Become CTO of Cloud Computing at BMC Software?"  Ferrentino details how he saw cloud computing transform enterprise information technology.  Starting as an evangelist speaking to CIOs, Ferrentino sees opportunity to focus on large scale managed services and joins BMC to make it happen.  Ferrentino is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of cloud computing at BMC Software.  Previously, he was Chief Technology Architect (CTA) at Salesforce.com.  Previous to Salesforce.com, Ferrentino worked in mobile and Internet startups and at Goldman Sachs.  He earned a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan.

Learning to Lead in an Environmental Career - Andrew Hutson

In Chapter 8 of 17 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, Andrew Hutson answers "What Does It Mean to Be a Leader in What You Do?"  Hutson notes the importance of getting ahead of the issue and understand how to solve it in ways others are not thinking about it.  He details creative, collaborative, and innovative ways to think about problem solving.  Hutson puts this in context of his environmental work overcoming media and general public challenges to scientific findings and the leadership requirements necessary to communicate, educate, and lead.  Hutson is a senior project manager at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), where he advises corporate partners such as Wal-Mart on sustainable supply chain initiatives.  Hutson holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MEM from the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment.  He earned his BA from Michigan State University. 

How Environmental Innovation Works in the Private Sector - Andrew Hutson

In Chapter 13 of 17 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview, Andrew Hutson answers "What Has Your Environmental Work at Intersection of Public and Private Sectors Taught You About What Makes Innovation Work?"  First, Hutson notes, comes value creation.  This comes before solving problems or identifying needs.  Private sector environmental value creation and profitability must precede environmental benefit.  Hutson is a senior project manager at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), where he advises corporate partners such as Wal-Mart on sustainable supply chain initiatives.  Hutson holds a PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MEM from the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment.  He earned his BA from Michigan State University. 

What Motivates Curiosity for Learning New Things - Ken Rona

In Chapter 5 of 13 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, data analytics expert Ken Rona answers "What Motivates You to Learn New Things?"  Professionally, business impact motivates Rona.  He sees being a driver of innovation as a point of pride and means to game changing outcomes.  Personally, Rona finds parenting - rightfully - takes away time from hobbies and interests and begins to revisit hobbies including cars and photography.  Rona is currently VP Audience Insights and Ad Sales Partnerships at Turner Broadcasting.  Previously, Rona has worked in roles in data analytics at IXI Digital and AOL and management consulting at McKinsey & Co.  He earned a BA and MA in Political Science from Stony Brook University and a PhD in Behavioral Economics from Duke University. 

How Changing Consumer TV Habits Create Data Analyst Jobs - Ken Rona

In Chapter 10 of 13 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, data analytics expert Ken Rona answers "How is the Move to Digital Television Affecting Analytics and Audience Measurement?"  Rona notes that traditionally, audiences are measured by Nielsen panels, samples which monitor a select number of families and their aggregated viewing patterns.  From an analytics perspective, Rona finds it fascinating how media consumption is progressively more digital, which eliminates need to do samples and opens doors to move into census analysis.  Rona is currently VP Audience Insights and Ad Sales Partnerships at Turner Broadcasting.  Previously, Rona has worked in roles in data analytics at IXI Digital and AOL and management consulting at McKinsey & Co.  He earned a BA and MA in Political Science from Stony Brook University and a PhD in Behavioral Economics from Duke University. 

Online Advertising Strategy Design Considerations - Ken Rona

In Chapter 11 of 13 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, data analytics expert Ken Rona answers "What Should a Media Company Consider When Designing Online Advertising Strategy?"  First, Rona first considers how people are going to consume content.  This informs what technology platform gets used.  Dynamic ad insertion is a second priority.  Third, and most important, Rona urges media companies to use or create high quality original content.  Rona is currently VP Audience Insights and Ad Sales Partnerships at Turner Broadcasting.  Previously, Rona has worked in roles in data analytics at IXI Digital and AOL and management consulting at McKinsey & Co.  He earned a BA and MA in Political Science from Stony Brook University and a PhD in Behavioral Economics from Duke University.

Learning Business Strategy Research in Stanford PhD Program - Ben Hallen

In Chapter 8 of 21 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, business school professor Ben Hallen answers "What Was Most Challenging About Earning Your PhD at Stanford University?" Hallen finds the greatest challenge rising to the expected level of research. Understanding what it means to create high caliber research. Not only is it rigorous in understanding what is the right behavior to use, but also rigorous in that it strives to learn something that is not understood yet that applies in strategy and management. Hallen is an Assistant Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School. Previously, he was Assistant Professor of Management and Organization at University of Maryland. Hallen earned his PhD from Stanford University and its Stanford Technology Venture Program (STVP). He has been a startup CTO and graduated from the University of Virginia with a BS in Electrical Engineering and a Masters in Computer Science.

Stacie Bloom on How to Foster Innovation in Global Nutrition Science

In Chapter 17 of 19 in her 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, Stacie Grossman Bloom answers "What Has Led You to Create a Global Program on Nutrition Science?" Grossman Bloom, who at the time of this interview was at the New York Academy of Science (NYAS), shares how the organization designed a unique initiative to have global impact. The organization applies its 200 years of experience of scientific community led problem solving to the challenges of malnutrition and nutrition science.

Stacie Grossman Bloom is the Executive Director at the NYU Neuroscience Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center. Previously, she was VP and Scientific Director at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS). She earned her PhD in Neurobiology and Cell Biology at Georgetown University and did a post-doctoral fellowship at Rockefeller University in New York City. She earned her BA in Chemistry and Psychology from the University of Delaware.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen: What has led you to create a global program on nutrition science?

Stacie Grossman Bloom: I am currently the vice president and scientific director at the New York Academy of Sciences. This is an organization that’s been around for almost 200 years in the United States. And for those 200 years, what it has really excelled in, is building communities of scientists in discreet areas and then driving those communities towards innovation. One area that was becoming increasingly important to address, but which we weren’t really doing, was nutrition science. So, we set out about 18 months ago to scope out a project in nutrition science. That scoping project led us to interview 48 stakeholders around the world to really design an initiative that would be unique, that wouldn’t duplicate existing efforts, that would align with them, and that would have global impact.

How Crowdfunding Empowers a New Storytelling Generation - Slava Rubin

In Chapter 10 of 12 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, IndieGoGo co-founder and entrepreneur Slava Rubin answers "How is Crowdfunding Empowering a New Generation of Storytellers?" Rubin shares how the rise of online payments and social media sharing have sparked new ways to finance passion projects. From cause supporters to business creators to artists, Rubin finds fulfillment seeing his company, IndieGoGo, provide them means to make dreams come true. Rubin is co-founder and CEO of IndieGoGo.com, a crowdfunding startup whose platform helps individuals and groups finance their passions. Before IndieGoGo, Rubin worked in management consulting for Diamond Consulting, now a PWC company. Rubin founded and manages non-profit Music Against Myeloma to raise funds and awareness to fight cancer. He earned a BBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Transcript: 

Erik Michielsen:  How is crowd funding empowering a new generation of storytellers?

Slava Rubin:  You know, ten years ago, even five years ago, you have no YouTube; you have no Facebook; you have no MySpace; you have no Twitter.  You barely have attachments in emails.  You don’t really have as much transaction happening via credit card.  You definitely do not have the word ‘Obama’ being used anywhere.  And it’s just incredible that just in a number of years you start taking all these trends and resources, you put them into one place, and you create a platform like IndieGoGo, which allows anybody to raise money for absolutely anything.  And now you find out that if you give them these tools, everybody in the world is passionate.  Everybody in the world wants to create a campaign or fund a campaign.  It’s just not so easy for them to do that.  Now with IndieGoGo, we provide them those tools, and now all of a sudden, all these musicians, video game artists, business creators, cause supporters are making incredible, incredible stuff, and it’s just a world of validation, and now they can follow their dreams.  

We have a great example of that with Elaine Zelker, a mom in Pennsylvania with three kids.  She is a registered nurse and really focused on her day-to-day job, so that she can provide for the family with her husband.  And she’s always wanted to be in photography but never took that risk.  She gets on IndieGoGo, raises money, creates this gallery in a photo book, she gets exposure, and now is on Good Morning, America. Gets on Good Morning, America.  People see it left and right.  She gets a major agent from New York to wanna push out her book.  So now she has gone from, you know, super conservative, registered nurse of Pennsylvania to somebody who has thousands of dollars to do her photography that she loves, turning in to her business, and now has an agent out of New York.  It’s just incredible as you see people following their passions and that IndieGoGo can support those dreams.

Erik Michielsen:  And how did that make you feel to be part of that?

Slava Rubin:  I love it.  The coolest thing about IndieGoGo is different than just a, should we say, ‘search engine’, or maybe a regular e-commerce site, or even some whiz-bang amazing stuff that’s happening here at South-by, people love using IndieGoGo.  It becomes part of them and their fabric.  They get the emails when they get the money and it says you got money, and it’s just so exciting ‘cause it’s just little bricks being added to their foundation of a dream, and it’s awesome.

How Innovation Can Enable Industry Leadership - Richard Moross

In Chapter 7 of 13 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, Moo.com CEO and London entrepreneur Richard Moross answers "What Does It Mean to Be a Leader in What You Do?" He shares how his company, Moo, has challenged rules to make an industry, printing, better. It was not only about process improvements such as lowering costs and increasing throughput. It was about being more relevant, responsible, accountable, useful and beautiful. The optimistic vision of continuous improvement over time shapes the Moo company and brand into one known for innovation. Moross is founder and CEO of Moo.com. Before starting Moo.com, an award-winning online print business, Moross was a senior design strategist at Imagination, the world's largest independent design company. He graduated from the University of Sussex, where he majored in philosophy and politics.

How Manufacturer Innovates eCommerce Operations - Richard Moross

In Chapter 13 of 13 in his 2011 Capture Your Flag interview with host Erik Michielsen, Moo.com CEO and London entrepreneur Richard Moross answers "What Have You Found to Be the Key Drivers to Scale eCommerce Business Operations?" Moross notes the company has scale printing capability at the technology level, working with Hewlett-Packard and its Indigo platform. Moreover, given its simple product designs, manufacturing operations processes would remain simple. Where the company had to overcome challenges was in inventory management and packaging design. This becomes progressively critical as the busienss grows. Moross is founder and CEO of Moo.com. Before starting Moo.com, an award-winning online print business, Moross was a senior design strategist at Imagination, the world's largest independent design company. He graduated from the University of Sussex, where he majored in philosophy and politics.