business & innovation

If your email marketing strategy doesn’t factor in mobile devices and your emails aren't mobile ready then your marketing communications are missing a fundamental trick.

Our research shows that 36% of all consumers are already reading marketing emails on a mobile device - and this rises to over half (55%) for 18-34 year olds. The way your emails look - and the volume and type of content within them - needs to evolve so that the content is as engaging on a mobile device as it is on a laptop or desktop computer. Finding the middle ground between both types of devices (the "D-Spot") is paramount - particularly with the rise of m-commerce.

We said there were more to come, and as promised, here they are!

In this second announcement, we have another three SMWLDN Sept '12 Hub to introduce you to, on top of our previous announcement of ExHoSo House, Google Campus, The Hub Westminster, O2 Workshop and Unruly Media - giving us a total of 8 SMWLDN Sept '12 Hubs for the week.

As explained in the last announcement, each SMWLDN Sept '12 Hubs will have a topic area, and events taking place in the Hub will focus and/or relate to that particular Hub's topic area. Each Hub's schedule is being carefully curated, Hub events will highlight and showcase some of the best SMWLDN events taking place this September. Also, with London being a bit of a beast with events taking place all over the city, we hope that this will make SMWLDN easier to navigate, both physically and on the online schedule.

For fifteen years I’ve provided research, evidence and carefully chosen words to anyone who would listen to describe the benefits of allowing interpersonal communication within a brand-space. We used to call that "social network theory" or "social engine theory". Over time, the 'social media' industry grew up around our voices (not loud enough to dominate it but still we prattled away).

Today, my agency and team operate as a very tiny part of a £Billion business based on the very same ideas; that conversations are a form of marketing, that the customer can be an ambassador and that brand choices are part of expressible identity.

The questions I’m asked each day remain essentially the same, although the vocabulary has changed a little. Ten years ago a major sports brand asked me "What will I do if the public are critical of our product in a forum we put our brand on", today they ask "What are the costs and risks of page moderation".

Are you planning an event during Social Media Week London this September (24th - 28th)?  Have you submitted it to the schedule yet? You need to make it quick, the event submission deadline is 21st August, just two weeks away!

Also, the SMWLDN Sept '12 Schedule goes live tonight, with our official London schedule launch tomorrow morning. 

Not to worry, we have all you need to know to submit your event below.

On the face of it, it's tough to draw parallels between one of Britain's oldest publishing business and small, fast-growing firms in the digital, or any other, industry sector. But there's some useful lessons to be learnt here that apply to any business, especially those based on intellectual property.

Last week, the folks at Fresh Minds invited me to a breakfast roundtable with guest speaker, Mark Anderson, President of Strategy for Pearson International who took us on a tour of Pearson International's journey from book publisher to one of the world's largest education providers.

During Digital Shoreditch last May, Chinwag held a very successful Careers Day where employers such as Bloomberg, Mozilla Firefox, Financial Times, LBi, Unruly Media, Beyond, Yammer and more were able to meet top candidates and showcase their companies and vacancies.

On top of meeting fantastic brands and agencies, candidates were able to take advantage of a programme of advice sessions including CV Surgeries, Portfolio Reviews & Creativity Workshops.

The day was a huge hit with 23 brands exhibiting, 20 mentors, 100+ individual advice sessions, 120+ workshop delegates and 1000+ job seekers through the door. Check out the event highlights, top tips and advice from our mentors & sponsors here.

After recieving such great feedback during and after the event we decided that we'd love to do it all over again, and what better time than during this September's Social Media Week London.