Guest Post by Jessica Fyles

“Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead” by David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan clearly and simply outline how the Grateful Dead became THE Grateful Dead.  Although the book is geared towards business success, I found myself thinking while reading of how I could apply some of these same lessons in my own quest for employment success.  Recently laid off and transitioning careers, I’m hoping the Grateful Dead can help me in landing that next gig (and soon!).

Here are some of my favorite lessons from the book:

“Be Yourself” and “Do What You Love”

Scott and Halligan point out that the Grateful Dead were the complete opposite of many of their peers.  Most bands of their time were glamorous and packaged whereas “the Grateful Dead were simply themselves-dope-smoking, music-loving San Francisco hippies.”

These are the most important lessons to remember, especially when job hunting.  Be true to yourself, do what you love and the reward will come.  It is tempting, and easy, for me to find another job in IT.  I fell out of love with IT long ago and am now pursuing my new love with my graduate studies in Public Communication.

“Embrace Technology”

The Grateful Dead were always on the cutting edge of music technology to create the best concert experience possible for their fans. Per Scott and Halligan “…in the 1980s a $30,000 harmonic analyzer originally designed by NASA to evaluate the aerodynamic strength of metals was added to the live show equipment.”

I doubt NASA will help me in my job search but I have finally put my long ignored Twitter account to work for me.  Many organizations post job openings via Twitter.  I now follow multiple organizations and career resources and use HootSuite to help me curate all that content.  My Twitter profile also indicates that I am a #jobseeker.

“Build a Following”

The Grateful Dead simply, and brilliantly, communicated directly with their fans in the early years via a mailing list and telephone hotline.  Fans responded back with letters, postcards and artwork. As technology evolved, so did their methods of engaging with fans, as Scott and Halligan discuss throughout the book.

I’ve been an active LinkedIn user for years and on Facebook for some time now.  I can’t imagine going into this job search without these super networking tools.  I found my previous job through my offline network, which was much, much smaller back then.  I am confident that I will find the right gig with the help of the much larger networks and functionality that LinkedIn and Facebook provide.

“Give back”

Scott and Halligan talk about how the Grateful Dead frequently held benefit concerts and invited charities to be part of their concert events.  The Rex Foundation was later established to help better support the causes the band believed in.  “The Grateful Dead was remarkably generous, a brand attribute that contributed to their growth and prosperity over many years,” note Scott and Halligan.

During this time of transition, I plan on volunteering to give back to the world that has given me so much already.  Volunteering is a great way of exercising skills, networking and meeting new people, all of which could lead to a new opportunity.  I hope to continue volunteering even after I land that new gig.

Facebook Timeline for Brands is coming. And soon.

The 850-million use social network is expected to announce details of their new Timeline for Brands roll-out on Feb. 29.

This comes not long after Timeline for Profiles was made available worldwide.

To make such a seismic shift to their entire platform – both personal and brand pages – means Facebook strongly believes in what this new functionality has to offer.

And since Timeline was a major change to profiles, there is a lot of stress over what will happen to brand pages.

Which leads me to my #1 Tip for Brands to Prepare for Facebook Timeline:

RELAX.

As of this moment, there is nothing to do.

No firm facts have leaked out, meaning marketers have no idea what this new functionality will provide, from benefits, challenges, capabilities and loses.

However, we’ll find out what Facebook has in store soon enough.

And there will be a period to plan and implement before the switch is finally flipped. Remember how nearly every online marketer had Timeline for their profile months before the global roll-out?

I’ll be watching the virtual announcement – and I’ve set aside time Wednesday and Thursday to process and adjust.

The Facebook platform will be changing drastically – that much we know.

But until we know exactly what changes will be made, my only piece of advice is to relax.

And then, when the announcement comes, we can freak out together.

There has been no bigger sports story over the past few weeks than the meteoric rise of New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin.

He’s taken over the sports media world over the past few weeks, capturing the minds of fans in a nearly Tebow-esque manner.

Let’s examine the 7 Elements of…LINSANITY…and why he may not be just a flash in the pan.

1) Ethnicity.

Let’s get this one over with first. He’s the first Asian-American player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent. Being the FIRST to do something is newsworthy, no matter what Floyd Mayweather, Jr., thinks. Also of note, Asian Americans make up roughly 5% of the US population.

2) Education.

Lin played at Harvard. Anytime an Ivy Leaguer finds success in a major professional sports organization, it will be newsworthy. Book smarts + athletic ability = huge upside. In an industry where most players enter the league with barely a year of college under their belt, the educated Harvard man stands tall.

3) Market.

He’s in New York. The Knicks have been starving for relevancy for years now. So there is a fan base and media corps ready to jump on something hot and ride the wave. You can also say that being close to ESPN’s home base of Bristol, CT, plays a role, too. Trust me, Linsanity wouldn’t be so Linsane if he played in Milwaukee (no disrespect meant to the fine city, but it’s the truth).

4) Timing.

The Super Bowl is over. Spring Training doesn’t fully kick-in for another few weeks. The Peyton Manning story is dragging. Basically, if there was ever a moment for a basketball star to emerge, this is it.

5) Excellence.

The #1 component is his out-of-this-world play. He has scored more points in his first five starts than any other player in NBA history. Think about that. He is off to the best start ever, topping Michael Jordan, Shaq, Bill Russell and others. Hitting the game-winning 3-pointer on the road against Toronto on Tuesday will only increase the hype. But the fact of the matter is, he’s bringing the steak and the sizzle.

6) Connection.

Watch a Knicks game and you’ll see shirts, signs, posters, jerseys (which are selling quite nicely – by some accounts, the most NBA jerseys sold since Feb. 4), face paint and more. People want to see this guy succeed.

7) Instant Value.

On Monday, Forbes claimed his “brand” was worth $14 million. Three weeks ago, nobody knew who he was. And that claim was made BEFORE Tuesday’s game-winning shot. I’m certain brands are trying to strike while the iron is hot and maximize his promotional value – or get in on “the cheap.”

This was illustrated/mocked by Stephen Colbert Monday night on Comedy Central. The man is a cross-over star now.

Will the Legend of Lin continue to grow?

Or will he fizzle and disappear the the back of the bench in a few weeks?

At this point, does it matter?

His one-of-a-kind background and record-settling plat has made him a phenomenon. He’s a made man and a marketing machine in waiting.

Nothing gets marketing/communications folk more amped-up than THE BIG IDEA!

A BIG IDEA is something monumental, memorable and completely out there, but perfect.

We chase THE BIG IDEA like we’re Sasquatch hunters.

And when we find that THE BIG IDEA came to another company, we aren’t even jealous. It’s a cocktail of admiration, respect, hatred and frustration. Probably toss a few deadly sins in there, for good measure.

I do believe that Pizza Hut has struck gold and oil and diamonds all at the same time.

To launch their new $10 Big Dinner Box, they thought, appropriately, completely outside of it.

They are currently running a “Tie the Knot with a $10 Dinner Box” campaign that is so stinking brilliant.

For $10,010, you get a marriage proposal package that includes:

1. A Ruby Red Ring (and while a diamond would preferable, Red is their primary color)
2. Fireworks
3. Limo Service for a night
4. Flowers
5. A videographer
6. A photographer
7. …and a $10 Dinner Box

But here is the best part.

Click on that link and read the fine print: Limit 1 per person!

Do you want to be that guy who is unsure which woman is the one for you, so you purchase multiple proposal packages from Pizza Hut to see who says yes??

But I digress.

This campaign has made headlines everywhere. It’s been in the news and covered on the radio.

It’s not a contest or a prize, it’s a special package people can PAY for.

I would assume that buried in the fine print is that the photographer and videographer will give a copy of all film and assets to Pizza Hut for use in future marketing materials.

I don’t think my wife would have approved of this proposal method, but I’m sure that there are 10 couples out there that would consider this well worth the $10,000. Plus $10 for dinner.

Awesome, awesome, awesome campaign.

I love seeing companies get creative.

It doesn’t always work and can annoy customers, but I appreciate creativity.

I recently went to the movies at a Regal Cinemas location.

Whereas every theater I’ve ever been to has the name of the movie on display above the entrance door, this location was thinking differently.

Apparently, they’ve had a problem with people movie-hopping (paying for one movie and seeing more than one) lately. To combat the problem, this location stopped putting the name of the show above the door, just keeping the theater’s number there.

The number of the theater was printed on the ticket stub, so that should be sufficient identification.

If you don’t know what movie is playing where, you can’t sneak into multiple movies.

However, a number of patrons in our theater expressed confusion over which movie they were about to sit through.

You see, there was NO signage alerting you that you were in the right theater. Even the smartest folk have accidentally popped into the wrong movie before – and that’s WITH the name of the movie clearly displayed.

Is confusing or even angering customers worth the cost?

Is sneaking into multiple movies more a sign of protest against outlandish ticket prices? Is this a value proposition?

I’m sure they save nominal amounts of money in the theater signs, but I hope that doesn’t factor into the decision-making process.

Have you seen this arrangement anywhere else? Do you think it’s a good idea, or one destined for failure?

[I will say this - while I'm not confessing to seeing multiple films, but The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Young Adult should NOT be seen back-to-back.]

Perhaps there is a solution somewhere in here that works for everyone: an all-day movie pass.

For one relatively low price, you can see as many movies as your tush can stand. Would something like that, basically legalizing movie-hopping for a fee, be something you’re interested in? I know I would be!

Again, I appreciate the creativity this theater showed, but think that they aren’t solving the reason WHY people movie-hop, just trying to treat the symptom.

I am so ridiculously happy and honored to share some good news that just became official this morning.

This spring, I will be an adjunct professor at American University teaching a graduate course in Social Media Strategies and Tactics!

I’m so excited to explore the social media world with the class – and present social media in a new, engaging, sustainable way.

Case in point: my tentative reading list includes “Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead” by David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan, and a selection from Grant Morrison’s book “Supergods” on how Superman foretold the online “badge” system we are increasingly living in.

This class will obviously be no fun.

So…coming to a classroom near you this spring, Professor Schaffer!