We are very excited to have Jason Kodish of Digitas as our second guest blogger for our Big Data series this month. Jason provides some great insight in to where Big Data is going and the importance of value exchange. Enjoy the post and be sure to keep an eye out for more guest blog posts from the series later this week!

As SVP/North American Lead for Strategy and Analysis at Digitas, Jason Kodish leads a group of over 250 analytics professionals across the country - the largest S&A group of any agency nationwide. With more than 15 years of industry experience, Kodish has worked across a wide range of client industries including financial services, automotive, consumer packaged goods, travel, and more.

Where is Big Data going? The answer lies in Disney World
Why quid pro quo is becoming increasingly important to the world of big data

While researching our impending trip to Disney World, my son Holden came across an interesting new piece of technology from Disney called the MagicBand. The MagicBand embeds a family’s identification, payment mechanism, park tickets, and other information into a simple, disposable bracelet. These bracelets eliminate the need to carry a wallet and minimize the risk of losing important documents. Now, all Holden cares about is that he can wear a bracelet instead of lugging around his embarrassing father around the park and still pay for lunch. But as a marketer, the first thing that came to my mind is the incredible volume and value of the data that can be generated through this new piece of customer service. 

Not only does MagicBand provide great transparency into the full transactional data aggregated into one profile, but hypothetically, it should also be able to understand other customer behaviors – the path you take around the park, time spent in certain areas, shows attended, etc.  And it’s easy to envision Disney* using this data to create in-stay offers through mobile devices or email, post-stay communication, life-time value modeling, and customer segmentation for further marketing materials.  The strategic opportunities here are endless

We are officially kicking off our guest blogging series for the month of April with this exciting post from a great member. The theme this month is Big Data and there is some great content coming your way! Guest blogging is an opportunity we extend to our members and in the coming months we have some exciting topics, if you would like to contribute read our previous blog with all of the details.

Cesar Brea is the co-founder of Force Five Partners, LLC, which works with multi-channel marketers across several industries to build their analytic capabilities through hands-on support for marketing programs and campaigns. More: www.forcefivepartners.com

Big Data, as Alicia Keys might say, is “On fi-yah!”  As I walked through Logan airport this morning, I couldn’t take ten steps or turn my head more than fifteen degrees without seeing an ad claiming its solution as the best path to enlightenment and bigger profits. Google Trends confirms the zeitgeist:

We want YOU to write for the MITX blog! We want to feature our rock star members, and their points of view, on the most discussed and questioned industry topics. Writing for our blog is a members only benefit and one we hope everyone takes advantage of. Who better to educate our readers than some of our very own?

Please welcome this week's guest blogger; Gerald Kimber White, Senior Managing Director at RF|Binder. Gerald was assigned to Uncharted Play during the MITX Up Hackathon, who recently developed the SOCCKET Ball. Learn more about this innovative product in this article from Co.EXIST! 

Last week, I was scheduled to participate in the latest MITX UP “hackathon” but when Wednesday evening rolled around and I ran through my mental “to do” list – preparing for two new business pitches, our agency’s annual meeting in New York, this week’s SXSWedu in Austin, etc. – part of me felt I should skip it and stay focused on my other obligations. As much as I love going to the hackathons, there was simply no way to get it all in. Fortunately, the selfish side of me that loves the hackathon experience overwhelmed the clock-watching side of me and I went to the Harvard Innovation Lab to meet another startup.

I was particularly looking forward to this hackathon since the startup I was assigned was Uncharted Play, a company that has developed a soccer ball that somehow manages to incorporate a power generator inside an almost perfectly standard size and weight ball. The generator converts the kinetic energy from play into electricity that can be stored to power an LED light (with plans to increase the output to be able to charge cell phones, water purifiers, etc.). The SOCCKET ball is designed for communities in developing countries for whom power supply is inconsistent or non-existent. Basically, SOCCKET combines two of my biggest passions – economic and social development and soccer – in a business model.

FutureM’s call for proposals is open! I hope you are thinking about submitting a proposal, strategizing with your team on an idea that brings your company’s expertise to life. Understanding the criteria we use to select sessions is important during your thought process; below please find examples and ideas to make sure your session is set up for success and earns a gold star.

Criteria #1: Forward thinking and innovative topics about modern marketing.
Criteria #2: New and unique ideas, either in format or topic.
FutureM is about the future of Marketing, so sessions that are forward-thinking and futuristic are a must. Consider choosing a topic that is innovative - delve into areas that may take a little vision or have a unique viewpoint on an ongoing debate. You don’t necessarily have to be a visionary predicting what Marketing will look like in 2020. But we are looking for ideas based on thoughts about what the future holds for us, even if the future is more like tomorrow than 2020. Speaker proposals from your PR team to get your executives a stage for their sales pitch aren’t what we are want; these proposals are the first to be cut because they don’t incorporate the kind of deep and curious thinking we’re looking for.

What is the best way to show us you are meeting these criteria? Incorporate your vision in the topic/name of your session. Don’t be afraid to be a little provocative. Here are some great session titles from 2012:

Please welcome this week's guest blogger: Lorenz Jakober, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Akamai Technologies. Responsible for the product marketing of Akamai's Aqua product line, Jakober brings a wealth of experience focused on web and mobile application design, performance optimization, usability, and delivery. Prior to joining Akamai Technologies he drove mobile product marketing strategy and the complexity at the edge theme for Compuware Gomez. This is part two of a two-part blog post from Lorenz.

Now let’s focus on how to create engaging, holistic experiences across your different channels. In particular the digital experiences inside and outside your stores. We know that end-users have high expectations when it comes to web and mobile experiences. In fact, Akamai commissioned Forrester to conduct some end-user research back in 2009 and asked consumers how fast do they expect a website to load on their PC? 47% said 2 seconds or less.

In 2011 another company asked the same question but of smartphone users – how fast do you expect a website to load on your smartphone? 34% said 2 seconds or less.

Please welcome this week's guest blogger: Lorenz Jakober, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Akamai Technologies. Responsible for the product marketing of Akamai's Aqua product line, Jakober brings a wealth of experience focused on web and mobile application design, performance optimization, usability, and delivery. Prior to joining Akamai Technologies he drove mobile product marketing strategy and the complexity at the edge theme for Compuware Gomez. This is part one of a two-part blog post from Lorenz.

We all know digital commerce is evolving. It used to be pretty simple. A person would visit your ecommerce web application from her PC over a wired connection. You probably had to support one, maybe two browsers. The world has changed. No longer do consumers shop only from their desks. We have entered the age of couch commerce, showrooming and price check apps on mobile devices.

In fact, the Internet and mobile devices in particular have changed our lives – including how we shop. As Charles Golvin from Forrester likes to point out: We no longer go online – we are online. And this trend is only going to accelerate in the coming years – in fact analysts like Mary Meeker predict that for the first time in 2013 the installed base for smartphones and tablets will exceed PCs. This is not tablet and smartphone shipments – that was surpassed in Q4 2010 – this is the number of devices in the hands of actual end- users.

This guest post is by Pamela Neville, VP, Account Management at AMP Agency. Pamela recently joined the agency; prior to AMP, Pamela worked at Digitas, driving growth for a variety of clients via effective strategic marketing programs.

During the BIMA event last month, AMP Agency and Digitas valiantly debated whether print would still be around in 5 years given the ongoing mass adoption of smart phones and tablets. Although we at AMP made a convincing argument that print will remain firmly in place for at least 5 years given the longevity of our older generations and the ubiquitous use of print on airplanes (takeoff and landing), waiting rooms and the like, there is clearly more to it. Print has a place amongst the media mix. There is no denying that digital is growing and newsstand is decreasing. But, it is my contention that the evolution will not be a slow death but rather a shift in how consumers use the print medium. Three main drivers impact this shift: emotional response to print, situational usage and content.

Emotional Response to Print

Did you see our announcement yesterday? FutureM is officially accepting session proposals for this year's event! Opening the call for proposals marks the first big milestone in our journey to create FutureM 2013, and we hope as many of you as possible will join us as session partners (or as sponsors which we're also seeking, and soon as attendees and supporters when registration opens later this spring!). The full press announcement is posted below, with more information found on FutureM.org.

FutureM, a three-day event experience on the future of Marketing, is now accepting session proposals for its October 2013 event. The brainchild of MITX (Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange) and a group of marketing and media leaders from the Greater Boston area, FutureM invites companies, organizations, venture firms and university groups from across the nation to submit a topic idea that explores what’s new and what’s next in Marketing.

To kick-off the new year, we asked some of our smartest guest writers to reflect on the past year and look to the upcoming year. This post is by Rick Jensen, Senior Vice President, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Constant Contact. Rick oversees the company's sales and marketing functions. He joined Constant Contact in May 2011, bringing with him more than two decades of consumer and small business marketing and sales experience, a passion for small organization success, and a strong track record managing high-growth organizations.

We live in a world that’s more social and more interactive than ever before. For marketers, this brings a tremendous opportunity to tap into new tools and more opportunities for engagement to help build long-lasting customer relationships. As a result, separating yourself from the crowd and respecting the relationship you have with your audience is more important than ever. So, you’re probably asking yourself this question – what can I do in 2013 to help build these important customer relationships?

One of the biggest trends I see this coming year is the emergence of SoLoMo (the convergence of social media, local merchants using location-aware technology, and mobile device usage). This evolution lets marketers more effectively tailor messages and content like deals and offers to individual customers, greatly increasing the opportunity for engagement. Let’s take a look at what lies ahead for SoMoLo in 2013: