Will Work 4 $$$

at what point is behavioral targeting sexist?

i’m searching for a client’s ad, one which, as a consumer, i would certainly be interested in. i need a screenshot to create an “ooh & aah” client deck. one of my staff has had it served to him a handful of times. once he sent me the link to the page where he’s seen the ad, i sit. i refresh. i refresh. i refresh. i have received ads for: crate & barrel, jcpenney, national city bank, hsbc bank, disposable contacts (images of women on the go) and some sort of baby/parenting site. i’m not in the market for any of that shit. i’m not a mom. i think my stained/torn up towels work just fine. i AM in the market for a badass movie/auto promotion.

now, i’m not sure what browsing history indicated i’d be a candidate for a sale on new towels or flatware, but i’m starting to wonder if maybe some other bt segments are missing me. i like a lot of things that traditionally are “men” products/services. i don’t need a jock strap, but maybe i like movies where things blow up. or a car with over 330hp. or a giant triple bacon cheeseburger. these are things that are included in my browsing history, often.

i believe in the power of behavioral targeting in online media, but one consideration that easily gets elminated when you start using large quanitities of bt is the opportunity to reach new audiences. and there is the balancing act. maybe there isn’t a huge audience that you’re missing with bt, but it’s possible.

the other side of this is that i’m offended that the bt machine assumes all i care about are babies, towels and flatware. as the general public becomes more savvy regarding bt technologies, i hope the providers occasionally just take a look at the audience and imagine how they perceive the products being sold to them. similar to the way popular media depicts beautiful women as annorxic and blond (and white), i may get the impression that the site thinks i should only care about babies and flatware. and then, i say “fuck you” and continue building my own pontiac g8.

just food for thought.

social media consumer perception recon

i am one of the number one poo-poo’ers of concept of “focus group of one”. if you’re in advertising, you know the what i’ll refer to as the “fg1” people. the walk into a meeting and say, “my sister-in-law really loves posting links to websites on facebook. that’s what we should be doing,” while not really considering that their sister-in-law is a retired kindergarten teacher and is amazed by the lightening fast speeds of her dial-up connection.

here’s the “but”, there is endless amounts of valuable consumer perception data outside of building a branding study. social media. and i’m talking about twitter (which i’m relieved is finally losing some hype), facebook, blogs, and even established news sources. people are endlessly talking about what they ate for lunch, where they just dropped a paycheck on new shoes/music, who they hate, who they think are complete idiots, who they want to marry, etc. people broadcast their opinions because they want to feel that their opinions matter and people should listen. that’s not a terrible idea. i wouldn’t base major decisions off of what a high school varsity lacrosse player thinks of victoria’s secret, but it is a good place for thought starters.
if there is significant enough media coverage of your brand or something happening in your brand’s industry, the social media will have opinions on it. possibly thousands within the first couple of days. using tools, such as whostalkin.com can give you a quick gut-check of how consumers are reacting and the emotions connected to the news.

here’s an analogy: you have a sweater. you really love the sweater and you’ve had it forever. perfect colors, soft, warm, and in style. you wear it to work the one day, and you decide to take the train. you pass by busy coffee shops, crowded train platform, bustling streets, etc. you get to work and look at a mirror and think, “hmmm. do i really like this sweater still?” and you start to think that it might look too tight and you resemble a sausage in casing. but you can’t really tell. so, you may ask some people around you. they have seen you in this sweater often. actually, they’ve heard you talk about how great the sweater is and when they think of you, they think of the sweater. so, because they’re so close to the situation, they might not really think anything of it and tell you that you look fine. the problem is, the theory that you look fine could be skewed because of all the people that are used to seeing you in it. you look like you. the social media tools give you the ability to hear the thoughts of the people in the coffee shop that saw you walk by (“i hope that hoochie is not wearing THAT to work.”), the people on the train (“1992 called and they want their sweater back.”), and the people on the street (“oooh. i love that sweater. i wish i hadn’t lost it in 1993.”). those are their honest, unabashed opinions. if i had known that, maybe i would have donated the sweater in 1994.

so, maybe stop yourself from spending an additional $3mill in support of a product that sweetpong thinks is the best thing since rocky road, but walk away knowing if it’s on the radar and general idea of what people might be saying. i promise that if nothing else, it’s good for a laugh*.

*note that the laugh could stem from typing inappropriate words into the query and seeing what people have posted and not necessarily stemming from your brand.

let me tell you about an exciting interview...

so, after the partner at job1 essentially told us that no one else would hire us, we all started looking for jobs. i personally, decided to look for a new job anywhere and everywhere related to advertising. my boyfriend at the time worked on a high profile account and one of his vendors, a famous pop culture and music magazine, was hiring. they were looking for an assistant account executive, who would generally be responsible for preparing sales reps materials for the 3 sales reps of different print publications (sales presentations, fact sheets, ad/production specifications). i was excited. the company name, on its own, was like a syren song calling me in from sea.

going into the interview, i was nervous, but eager and excited at all the possibilities. i would meet with 3 people (the sales reps i would be serving). the first two interviews went by pretty quickly, but they were great. laid back, easy to talk to, and ambitious. they needed a great support team and they would help that me grow into a more sales focused position as time went by and i learned the ropes. not only would they have been great to work for, but also great mentors for the future. the last interviewer i met with changed everything.

interviewer #3

i#3, (female, storms in flustered): so, you’re interviewing for the double ae spot?

me: umm, yup. that’s me. i’m soo excited about the opportunity. i’ve been interested in getting into sales, but…

i#3, (interrupting and staring at her manicure): yeah, we really fucking need someone bad. i mean, this office is a fucking mess. i will really need someone to sort out all of my shit and make sure that shit is organized. can you do that?

me: oh, definitely. in my current job, i was able to…

i#3, (interrupting and staring me in the eyes): GREAT! THAT WOULD BE AWESOME! i mean, this shit is sooo disorganized. i don’t know where anything is, and i need someone that can prepare all of my decks and everything so i can do my job. i mean this shit is fast paced. do you think you can handle it?

me: yes.

i#3, (standing up): great. great. that’s what we need. this is good. i mean, i can’t stand how fucking disorganized this place is and i need all this shit with me so i can do my job. as long as you can do your job, that’d be fucking great. i really need some help with this shit. i can’t organize this shit and go on sales calls. i don’t fucking have time to do all this shit. i mean, i need someone who can really do this. this is good. if you can do it, that’d be fucking great. do you have any questions?

me, (meekly and quietly): no

i#3: i’ll send [i#1] in case there’s anything else.

(i#3 storms out of the room)

it’s funny that an interview, one of so many and so long ago, sticks out in my mind so much. it was as if it just happened yesterday.

so, what happened afterward? i was scared shitless at the idea of working for i#3. first, she was obviously scatterbrained. her mind was all over the place and even the way she spoke was disorganized. and, if i actually got the job, it would be my job to organize her…big *eek*. second, her physical cues made her seem frighteningly tempermental. she stormed into the room, made dramatic and angry sweeping statements, then shifted to electric and positive exclamations. is this the person i want to be with when things go bad? HELL NO. third, she wasn’t listening to anything i had to say. sure, it was great that she seemed to like me, but she had no reason to like me, to be honest. she knew nothing about me because she didn’t listen to anything i had to say. what would happen if i tried to tell her something and she didn’t listen? things could go wrong, and how would that tempermental psycho bitch probably react?

this is where i learned that the potential employee is interviewing companies just as much as a company is interviewing them. you have to think about the environment for you to do your best work. this includes the pace, the job requirements, the company, and, most importantly, the people (above and below you). do you think you can understand each other and meet their expectations? do you can meet your expectations? would you like to be in their position one day? how do you think they would handle it if things didn’t go as expected? are they out of their mind?

for the most part, when things go right, everyone should win. granted, the high level execs probably get the lion’s share of credit for leading their team to victory, but it should be a win for everyone. that means, everyone should work comfortably as a team. <you can insert a visual analogy of a clock with cogs and screws, if it compels you. it makes sense here, but was even to cliche for me.> so, when you’re interviewing a potential job, make sure you think about the kind of team you want to work for/with/lead.

waiting...and more waiting...

i haven’t been great about creating a regular schedule around posts, but i’m going to pretend to apologize and then i’ll pretend you forgave me.

right now, i’m sitting in the living room, wearing my gym clothes, waiting for the phone to ring. a lot has happened since the last time i posted, so let me catch you up.

i’ve been in multiple telephone and in-person interviews for the initial job that i spoke about in my post about interview prep. amid the interviews, i found another posting for a job that sounds right up my alley and with a familiar company where i have friends in Chicago and NY. so, i applied for it (about 2 weeks ago). to make a long and boring story short and boring, the familiar company contacting me last friday, from NY, to find out which city i wanted to work in and i spoke with someone from familiar company (unrelated to familiar company job or friends at familiar company). i really hit it off with someone from familiar company, so i sent my resume and contact info to familiar company, and i was told i’d hear from them on monday.

then, i had to tell the initial company that i’m trying to make something happen with familiar company…that was painful. initial company is a really well-known, reputable company. telling them that i was also looking into another position was not easy for either of us (to say or to hear).

and now, i wait. i left a message for familiar company a little less than an hour ago. in normal situations, not hearing something two days late probably wouldn’t seem like such a big deal, but since then, i’ve imagined working for this company, living in a house that isn’t my in-law’s, etc. so, now, as each minute passes, my eyes quickly shift from the clock on the bottom right corner of my computer screen, to my mobile. i try to hold off and not look at the time, but by the next time i do look, only a single minute has gone by again. i try to watch the ellen show and pour myself into additional job searches, but my time obsessed eye twitch makes it seem like background music.

i know this sounds obsessive and dramatic, but my mind, my ego, my pride, and my family needs me to find a job. preferrably one where i’m comfortable and able to use my skill set. so, when that certain culmination of characteristics come along together (a great position, great people, great company), it’s hard not to get carried away.

so, now we wait. and write, i guess. but you know my mind is elsewhere.

in a time for envy and dwindling self-esteem, a new test of strength for your friendships.

right now, we are surrounded by very few people that are seeing success and good fortune. we are mostly in the same boat: jobless or potentially jobless, late on bills or worried about next month’s bills…but right now, the biggest issue we probably all have in common is that we’re clinging to our last shreds of self esteem. a year ago, we all probably felt pretty good. then, not having a paycheck was more of a passing thought. now, it just is.

we also have some friends that are somehow recession proof. they’re thriving. they’re not only secure in their jobs, they’re getting raises or even calls from recruiters worldwide. now, we’re faced with friendship test of self control and censorship. while we want to be happy that they aren’t being hit, it makes us feel worse about our own situation. it makes us turn our friends into a yard stick of worth and success.

when listening to the successful chain of events in a friend’s life, the urge to sarcastically blurt out, “Your life is SOOOO great, isn’t it?”, or, the reflex of quietly mumbling, “I’m so happy for you” will arrive. so, what’s the right thing to do? when that happens, here are some considerations:

• before and even after hearing a friend’s good news, try to remember your own accomplishments. what’s even better is writing a journal/blog, or even creating a portfolio based on those accomplishments. this will not only remind you of better times, but it will give you something to mentally refer to when you are interviewing.
• there’s a chance that you’re better off, even slightly, than another friend. if you had a dream interview, what reaction would you want?
• you will have good times again, big and small. as dolly parton once said, “if you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain.”
• you may find it difficult to be happy with your friend, which is natural, but at least fake it til you make it. in all times, you want to keep the friends that are worth a damn, and we all need those people in the best and worst of times.
• after you fake it, change the subject. you don’t have to hammer out every bonus or every new perk that your friends are getting, so after some congratulations go out, talk about something you can both enjoy. ncaa tourney, poker night, video games…whatever.

so, times suck. we can all drink to that. just remember that if you let your vicious green eyes show, you could end up drinking alone (and the bartender isn’t really your friend).

ps. for any of my friends that may be reading this: this isn’t directed to or about anybody specifically. all of my friends and family are having variable levels of success and failure. i’m with you when you win and when you lose.

ah, interviewing. good times.

so, i didn’t get to writing on monday because i actually had my first interview in over a month. don’t expect i’ll tell you what organization i interviewed with, but i can say it’s well-known.

i approached this interview as an opportunity to fine tune my interviewee style, and i’d like to share it with you, in case it helps you in any way.

The Day Before The Interview: Non-Interview Related Preparation

the Commute

the day prior was my first anniversary with my wonderful spouse. as he has a better knowledge of the city than i do, i had him do a dry run with me to show me how to get to the location, parking, etc. here’s what we learned from the dry run:

1. pay attention to how much time it took to get from home to the parking garage.
2. think about what traffic would be like at the specific time i would be driving (morning rush, mid-day rush, afternoon rush).
3. figure things may not go as planned (gas tank is on empty, the shoes i picked are missing, no coffee available, trouble finding spot in parking garage, etc.)

this gives you appropriate preparation and sufficient estimation of what time you need to wake up + how long it takes to get ready + buffer time + commute.

The Look

then, you should at least think about how you want to look for your interview. i am fortunate enough that most people think i’m younger than my actual age. i realize that this is generally a good thing, but depending on what position i’m interviewing for, this could be a hindrance. now, i understand that many people feel that the way they look should have nothing to do with their capabilities. the problem with that is that these people don’t know you. they don’t know what you’re capable of, so they are going to judge everything about you that they can see. you can be yourself once they’ve indicated to you that they want to get to know you better. the resume does part of the job, but how you look and present yourself counts for much more.

so, here are the considerations for your interview look:

• what type of person is the organization looking for (leader, follower, self monitoring, scapegoat, whatever)?
• what type of organization is it (trendy, corporate, boys’ club, girls’ club, laid back)? if you don’t know, do some internet surfing to see if you can identify existing employees. facebook, linkedin and myspace can give you a lot of background information about the type of people they have now.
• what still represents YOU? this isn’t about pretending to be someone else. this is about YOU being the centerpiece and your clothes are the garnish. so, you still want YOU to shine through the suit that you hate wearing? depending on the situation, that could mean a fashionable, high-end t-shirt or a halter top or a brooks brother’s button down. use good judgement in knowing what’s appropriate. a suit is best in 95% of cases, but make it your own.
• what are you comfortable in? this has part to do with representing yourself, but this is also about making sure that while the interviewer is asking questions, you’re not sweating bullets or have major underwear ride-up issues. think about temperature and what movements you’ll need to make (shaking hands, walking, standing, etc.). you’ll present much more confidently if you feel like you’re in your own skin.

The Day Before The Interview: Interview Related

Preparation checklist:

• extra copies of your resume on good quality paper (it matters). as a rule of thumb, i always bring 5. 3 could be too little, especially if people want to pass it along within the group. much more and it starts to look like you’re playing a show at the empty bottle.
• copies of your references on good quality paper (the same paper as your resume).
• pens, usually 3. one for yourself, one back-up, and one in case the interviewer forgot one. i know it’s an apple polisher move, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared and courteous.
• directions and address of interview location. even with a dry run, and even if you’re familiar with the area, you still need to remember the suit number, etc.
• who you need to ask for in reception. there have been times where hr has never told me if i ask for them or someone i’m interviewing with. so, this needs to be cleared up before the interview, and i even try to bring the email where this was discussed, so i remember. again, can’t hurt.
• portfolio of work. i know this seems like more of a copywriting and creative thing, but it’s actually not. for media folks, this could include any of the following: screenshots/copies of ads placed and a summary of positioning, old presentations, old POV’s, and even copies of what you’re writing for your blog (if appropriate). they might never ask for it, but if you think of this like a client presentation, visual aids always help. two very important notes about this: change any confidential information (i change client names, sites, vendors, and ALL numbers involved), and bring a copy to leave behind. as they recap discussions with either the department or other departments that you could work for, a visual representation of your work is the most succinct way of saying who you are, how you work, etc.
• copies of their work. do your homework. know the work they’ve done and have opinions ready, good or bad. it not only shows that you’re familiar with them as a company, but it also gives them an ego boost that you know and care. for bonus, know good AND bad so they know you like them, but you could make things even better for them.
• mints. gum is too messy and distracting, but you don’t want to be remembered as the interviewee with dragon breath. they don’t want to work with that guy/girl.
• questions. prepare them beforehand so it shows that you thought about it and never forget that you’re interviewing them too. i get questions from the job description and the news. from a job description, you can draw such questions as how did this position come about, how does this position interact with other departments, who reports to you, who do you report to, what does turnover in the department look like, what has the department done that they’re proud of, and so on. questions drawn from the news could be like around how the news has effected them publicly, how much is true, how does the news apply specifically to the job/department, etc.
• practice the answers to the obvious questions, aloud. give an example of how you resolved or handled conflict, how you thought on your feet, how you handle clients, what you teach your direct reports or coworkers, how you work with other departments/agencies. the thing is, even if they don’t ask the specific questions, they’ll probably ask something pretty close and you’ll be prepared to toot your horn.
• sing in the car on the way there or at home while you’re getting ready, something fun and upbeat. this does 2 things: calms you down and exercise your vocal chords. i listen to queen. i want to ride my bicycle. i want to ride my biiiike.

In The Interview

• firm handshake. it shows your confident and helps generate a strong image. don’t be batman. be bruce wayne.
• really listen to what they’re saying and respond appropriately. sometimes it’s easy to go into the speech that you prepared the night before, but they need to know that you’re hearing and listening to them.
• eye contact, but don’t be creepy. give them enough so they know you’re listening, but not to the point where they have to look away. there’s a fine line, sometimes, but use your gut instincts and common sense.
• relax, but be professional. you want them to know that you’re a comfortable person to be around, but, since they just met you, they don’t want to know about the man from nantucket.
• take notes. seriously. real notes. this not only shows that you’re paying attention, but, if you’re like me, you’ll need the notes for a follow up interview. my biggest problems are that i forget and while i’m in an interview sometimes, it’s more of an out-of-body experience. notes help refresh my memory of what was discussed and help me start off on the right foot in a second interview. bonus: you can create more questions based on your notes.
• thank them for their time. they’re busy, or else they wouldn’t need to hire someone. so, show them that you know their time is valuable and you’re appreciative that they met with you.

The Aftermath. Now what?

first, you can write on your blog.

second, give them time. remember that they’re probably interviewing multiple candidates and that can take weeks because of busy schedules. not only that, but, even if they end up offering you the job, you may not be their first choice (not the worst thing in the world), so they may even need time to offer the job to someone else and for them to turn it down. i generally give interviewers 2-4 weeks.

third, after 2-4 weeks, if you haven’t heard from them, contact HR and just politely ask for an update. “i’m really interested in the position and i’d like to know the next steps.”

fourth, thank you cards. nowadays, this can include a professional sounding email. cards are nice, but, email also generally works fine.

wrapping it up

i did some, but not all of the things i listed above. i have no idea how i was perceived, but these are the thoughts i had coming out of it. i hope it was helpful and good luck!

gone fishing...for the day

well, fishing for a job. i’ll tell you more about it after it’s all said and done, but fingers crossed!

from adage.com, "P&G Gives Its Marketers a Crash Course in Social Media"

here’s the LINK . now go read it. i’ll wait….i’m not going to summarize this one for you, so you’re going to have to read it your own damn self.

now that you’ve read it, here i go: i love this campaign. i love it because it’s able to demonstrate a lot to digital media and brand managers that there are more than one way to skin a cat. since the myspace and even friendster.com’s of the world came around with their billions of people served, i’ve always been hounded with questions on how to use social media (and before that, it was how to make campaigns “buzzworthy”, “viral” and “grass roots”). ideas were brainstormed, trimmed and presented, but immediately shot down because there were seen as risky (“what if that joe six-pack doesn’t like the idea?”), or the absolute payout wasn’t an exact profit calculation.

what this tide example gives to the digital community is the opportunity to see how making a little investment and reaching out to the right people (digital ad agencies) to gain some bigger learnings. also, it gave digital ad shops to flex a little brain muscle in front of a sexy client. they were able to show off their resourcefulness, ingenuity and street cred, all for the sake of charity (at least as a final result, but maybe not entirely as the main objective).

big kudos to the tide team for creating the even and sharing some of the results with the rest of the community.

at this moment, my favorite jobless activities:

1. playing mario kart with my fellow unemployed or mini-strangers from foreign lands
2. listening and downloading songs from rcrdlbl.com
3. writing blogs
4. going to the gym
5. cooking for the in-laws, as rent payment
6. seeing who’s viewed me on linkedin.com
7. responding to various people’s twitter feeds or facebook status’
8. spooning with the dogs and cat
9. reading the first three twilight books, marley & me, and the watchmen
10. creating wii versions of various presidents (most recently, teddy roosevelt)
11. i’m almost sick of tv, but not yet. if ellen has one more lame guest on, it’s over.
12. bothering friends on im with stupid questions (“should i buy an ipod shuffle for the gym? i mean, i already have an mp3 player, but…”)
13. playing multiple games of the various scrabble rip offs on facebook
14. playing dress up
15. eavesdropping on people at starbucks. whether you realize it or care, people are listening…