Hello Viking

Test this.

We attended a very pleasant Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association "salon" this evening featuring Jamie Roach, founder and president of Offermatica.

Our Twitterings from the presentation are vague, but we were excited by Jamie's logic. Optimization and testing can be avenues to increased creativity, more relevant messaging and greater overall efficiency.

If you have a reasonable-sized audience (and budget), why wouldn't you engage in a variety of tests with all factors of your website?

It's as much about providing balance to a culture of guessing--which occurs inside even the brightest marketing organizations--as it is about providing mechanisms for continual learning. From a creative standpoint, this kind of testing isn't about rating the worthiness of a singular idea, it's about the democracy of concepting and the reality that any testing means more than one idea is required. In essence, a culture of testing will produce and "air" more ideas than a culture that doesn't test.

Jamie also mentioned Cliq, a new blog-promoting tool sponsored by Offermatica. We'll test it out.

And kudos to MIMA for hosting the event in the swank Minneapolis Club, with its fascinating wall of genteel past presidents.

We'll be back.

What does it take? Part 2

Wow. 23 votes cast so far in our poll asking, "What actions should CEOs be taking to demonstrate their understanding of the digital space?" And more important -- numerous, well-considered comments. Thanks everyone, for the wonderful conversation.

Here's a recap of the voting thus far from PollDaddy (great web app). Let's remember, this isn't a poll of CEOs, but a poll of those responsible to a CEO -- those in the digital trenches, doing the work. What do those of us doing the work today want and need to see from our betters?

What stands out for us, overall, is this:

CEOs need to put some skin in the digital game.
It might be Facebook, or attending a conference or blogging. CEOs need to participate, personally. Show those around you -- your fellow board members, your direct reports -- that you're personally invested.

We've got highlights from the comments following the image.

In the case of "Other," the suggestions were:

+ Run paperbag lunch sessions where CEO presents ideas/vehicles that have merit

+ I think execs should have a digital dashboard that they review on a weekly basis

+ Support initiatives encouraging their employees to explore the digital space

+ INVESTMENT AND INCLUSION: put gigerati on the board, invest in technology

+ Take an interest in the ops/financial/marketing value of their domain name

+ Recognize that 40% of their customers time is spent online, yet they invest 5%

COMMENT HIGHLIGHTS:

"The real question I face every day is how do you get an executive -- who has been at the top of his or her field for decades -- to admit that they now have a knowledge gap that must be addressed?"

"That Giant Sucking Sound you hear is the leadership vacuum in the corporate digital space."

"The net-net is, we just have to keep educating, no? We have to speak up and tell them, show them, when cool stuff happens..."

"If the company's business is primarily in the digital space, it doesn't make sense for the CEO to be focused on it. It's far better if they support initiatives encouraging their employees to explore how best the company's culture fits into the digital space."

- - -

All of this gets us thinking and asking, well, Who is doing it right, right now?

Which CEOs in your opinion are demonstrating a solid understanding of the digital space?

And how are they demonstrating it?

Let's keep the conversation going.

What does it take?

After attending the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association Summit 2007 and the MN Advertising Federation Show, and chatting with our friends working in the interactive space, we've got a question:

We have no illusions that any CEOs are going to answer this poll. Rather, we're curious what you -- the people who create, enable and guide the interactive work -- want from your CEO in terms of understanding and involvement. What do you want your CEO to know and participate in?

We'll post the results here and continue the discussion. Please share this poll and encourage your friends and co-workers to participate. The more responses we have from all of you, the better the survey. And everyone can share in the results.

(Hat tip to David Armano for the PollDaddy link.)