Picture of the Week: 4/19/13

Pic of the Week

Every weekday morning at 10:42 am, our team is invited to send in a picture of where they are, what they’re doing, or who they’re with. We post our favorite picture from each week and share its story here.

10:42 April 8, 2013 - Kimfer Spying on Brady

If you work at Projectline, you probably already know these folks. If not, you should make a point of it. “Charming”, “friendly”, and “talented” are just a few of the words often used to describe Brady and Kim (affectionately known as “Kimfer”). Among many other responsibilities, Brady is the guy who edits my captions every week and turns them into the kind of fun, readable snippet that you see before you. Kimfer is the heart of our creative team, providing fun and playfulness on top of the amazing work she does for our clients. A picture of them together, aren’t you lucky?

Picture of the Week: 4/3/13

Pic of the Week

Every weekday morning at 10:42 am, our team is invited to send in a picture of where they are, what they’re doing, or who they’re with. We post our favorite picture from each week and share its story here.

10:42 March 29, 2013 - Humboldt in the House

Ever since our move to the Smith Tower we’ve been hosting a noticeably larger number of guests, both individually and in groups. Sure, the fabulous offices are a big draw, but we’d like to think it’s more about the magnetic pull of all these awesome marketing minds located in one unified place. Last week, a large group of Business and Marketing students from Humboldt State College came for a tour and to meet with some of our leadership. Thanks for visiting, Humboldt! Maybe we’ll see some of you again real soon.

What Can Crowdsourcing Do For You?

Marketing Musings

You have probably heard the term crowdsourcing, but maybe you’re still not sure of what it is or who is using it. At this year’s PSAMA MarketMix, we got a tour of the crowdsourcing landscape from Mike Reeder, VP of Account Planning & Strategy at Possible, Seattle, and Jennifer Chiu, the author of Roll with Jen, voted 2011 Best Food Blog of Western Washington by Evening Magazine.

If you’re not familiar with crowdsourcing, think of it as a way to invite customers to participate in your company, whether it be providing feedback, ideas, or straight-up cash funding.

Now you’d probably think crowdsourcing is a great resource for individuals or small companies looking for funding or just a little extra support. But big and small companies alike are using crowdsourcing. Companies as traditional as an electrical supply company in Ohio and as innovative as the X Prize Foundation, for example, have used crowdsourcing to fuel product development.

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Picture of the Week: 3/26/13

Pic of the Week

Every weekday morning at 10:42 am, our team is invited to send in a picture of where they are, what they’re doing, or who they’re with. We post our favorite picture from each week and share its story here.

10:42 March 20, 2013 - Sean is visiting from our PA office.

We get a whole bunch of visitors at the Projectline offices in Seattle. Whether they’re clients, prospective employees, or family members just visiting a loved one in a beautiful setting, we’re happy to have folks drop by. What excites us more than any other visitors, though, is when an employee from one of our other worldwide locations stop in. Last week we had the great pleasure of hosting Sean Hagan, from our Philadelphia contingent, and the Projectline Welcoming Committee was ready for action. Thanks for coming, Sean, and we miss you already!

Deprogramming Customer Reference Programs

Marketing Musings

How do you position customer reference programs with key reference targets? This question was posed to a panel of reference professionals from organizations including Intel, Citrix, Oracle, and Responsys at the recent Summit on Customer Engagement in Redwood City, California.

Their answer was simple. You don’t pose them as “programs” or something they have to “join.” When the panelists asked if anyone in the audience was still doing this, 99% of the audience did not raise their hands. However, in several sessions I attended over two days, it was evident that many reference professionals in fact were still inviting customers to join their customer reference programs.

If you’re unfamiliar with customer reference programs, they work to cultivate customers who are excited to promote your business through engagement in content and activities that support sales and marketing initiatives. This year’s summit focused on “Customer References and the New Marketing.” Sessions and discussions explored new trends in marketing and the ever-important role of reference programs.

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Picture of the Week: 3/18/13

Pic of the Week

Every weekday morning at 10:42 am, our team is invited to send in a picture of where they are, what they’re doing, or who they’re with. We post our favorite picture from each week and share its story here.

10:42 March 11, 2013 - New Hires Inducted!

Projectline is big on the culture of inclusion. When you start here, you are instantly part of our family. As we spread across the country, and the world, the ways in which that culture manifests itself can differ from location-to-location and group-to-group. In some of our offices, it might be afternoon tea. In Seattle, you can bet it’ll involve IPA and some foosball. In Philly, however, they aren’t messing around! As a new member of the PAPL family, your first test is to survive a round of CRANIUM. It sounds simple, but this crew is serious about their board games, so don’t let first impressions deceive.

PSAMA MarketMix 2013: Here We Come!

Marketing Musings

Every year, Projectline sends a notable contingent of marketers to the Puget Sound American Marketing Association’s annual conference. And every year, we come back loaded with ideas and enthusiasm, as this post from last year’s event attests.

This year is no exception—if you’re going to MarketMix 2013, keep an eye out for these and other Projectliners. Here’s what we’re looking forward to this year:

MollyMolly Dee Anderson, Senior Writer: As I worked on Big Data week for Microsoft, I’m eager to hear what the marketing world is saying about big data. I’m interested in the meta-issues related to harnessing big data—and the meta-results that can be realized.

HeatherHeather Belliveau, Senior Manager: I hope to hear about the new trends toward modern storytelling as part of our content strategy.

LisaLisa Sullivan, Marketing Manager: This will be my fifth consecutive year attending MarketMix and I always leave feeling so inspired to bring what I have learned back to my work as a consultant and project manager. My passion lies in advertising and creative so I plan to attend some breakout sessions on related topics and take some key learnings back to Projectline’s creative team.

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Sandra Sullivan, Marketing Consultant: I am most looking forward to the keynotes—it can often be the most catalyzing to hear what thought leaders in the marketing industry have to say and it often inspires “ahead of the curve” thinking (at least for the next week). I’m especially anxious to hear Ekaterina Walter’s keynote. It’s not about convincing people that social is a relevant tool anymore; it’s about how to keep agile and be sure you are applying [the right kind of] strategy to your social media tactics.

Are you planning to go to MarketMix 2013? If so, what do you hope to bring back?