I was down at an REBUS event in St Louis, attending at the NGage headquarters, and was happily surprised with some excellent examples of digital agencies using social media to help their clients. I tend to make fun of agencies that try social media, but in this case, I had to eat my words. NGage not only did exactly what I would have done - they did it better. So I figured an interview was a good way to show my humility.
Q)The case studies you showed at the REBUS event were pretty sophisticated - I’d call them best practice for the advertising industry's use of social media. Did you create these from internal staff, or did you hire someone from outside to build the strategy?
A: All of our strategy is developed in-house. This is a core competency and we consider this perhaps our greatest strength. We are, however learning every day from both personal experience and so much of the great work going on all over the web. That's what's so wonderful about working in the social media space. It's such an open exchange of ideas and strategies.
Q) Is there someone on staff with a job title dealing just with social media? Do you think there will be, or will social media skills be a new requirement on current roles? Do you think this is a trend just for your agency, or something industry wide?
A: We do have a "Social Media Coordinator," Matt Biegacki. Matt's role is to work diligently on behalf of client brands establishing meaningful and honest relationships in the social media sphere on behalf of the consumer brands NGAGE works for. On a more fundamental level, we do believe that everyone has to be not only fluent on a personal level with the social space, but curious about new stuff here at NGAGE. Observing the online space is like watching an octopus crawling over an uneven sea-floor -- ever changing and flowering and flowing in new directions. When we look for new potential employees, that sense of curiosity is a key characteristic.
Q) The MOZO Case Study: You said that the number one and number two drivers of traffic for MOZO were the YouTube channel and the blog. Did you expect that when you first started, or was it a happy surprise?
A: We certainly thought that branded social applications with a proven following would be a very significant traffic driver. With any online marketing campaign like MOZO, we always like to measure and adjust accordingly. Different brands may require different strategies.
Q) In that study, you mentioned that a competitor to MOZO tried the same strategy, but a month too late. How important is speed in a process like this, and could internal or client discussions have held it up, allowing the competitor to make their move first?
A: Speed is definitely important, but not absolutely essential. Our method is built around casting lots and lots of little nets instead of one big net. If we don't catch a potential consumer with the first net, we've got a variety of other options behind that one to catch them. The nets act as multiple entry-points to the brand. In MOZO's case, they were nimble and great to work with as a client, so we were lucky.
Q) Why is it so many people in St Louis don’t realize Hardee’s is headquartered here, and what can we do to focus media attention on what we have gained, rather than on what is lost?
A: I have no idea why the STL scene is unaware of Hardee's. They're a fun client and we're proud to have worked with them. I think your question really gets to the heart of it. NGAGE has always been about building something here in St. Louis. We're proud of this community and happy to be here. I suppose people find it more "exciting" to focus on agency or client failures -- always looking for someone "cryin' or dyin'." I would challenge all of us to tell more positive stories regularly, celebrating each other's successes as we all win in the end with a stronger creative community here in the STL.
Q) Do clients outside of St Louis think less of St Louis agencies, especially in cutting edge projects like social media? Are you the exception, or the rule?
A: We can only speak for our own personal experience. Our reception has been very positive from national clients. So much of building a great client roster is about great client relationships with GREAT thinking behind them and less about a street address. That type of approach helps put a bit of that swagger in our step as an agency. We've always been pleased to look outward to a national client base when courting new work.
Q) Be honest. When you look around the internet on Twitter, blogs, and social networks, what percentage of people saying they have social media experience have ever taken a check and delivered a project? I would say maybe 20%. What do you think?
A: 20% isn't a bad guess. With any new discipline or channel, everyone's an instant "expert." Though we are a young agency (figuratively and literally), we have earned every one of our proverbial "gray hairs" in the social media space. We are constantly learning and adjusting by really WORKING in that sphere. There is absolutely no substitute for this type of "real-world" experience.
Q) You guys said something important during your presentation. You said that as a client, your focus was on selling product for your clients. Care to expand on that?
A: We have definitely focused at times on brand-building for our clients -- branding is VERY near and dear to our hearts and at the risk of sounding immodest, we're pretty damn good at it. HOWEVER, ultimately, we're about goal-oriented creative and technology. We sell stuff. That's our bottom line.
Q) What does it take to work for you guys? How could someone really impress you if they wanted to get hired? What traits/experience would you like to see?
A: As far as "hard-skills," we look for folks that have truly outstanding skills in the basics of really great design, writing, planning and client management. The "softer" side of NGAGE employees ranges. Everyone sells their need for people with ability to ideate, but we believe firmly in that on the most basic level. We need SMART thinkers. We look for folks that are "bootstrappy" self-starters, as curious as they are self-reliant. We also look for even the barest bud of a "BS detector" in applicants. The most common question asked at the agency is "Why do I care?" The approach is really: "I'm listening. Make me care about your idea. If you can't, let's move on and come up with something amazing that I DO care about." We need people that can really engage (no pun intended) with that way of looking at the world. We indoctrinate and foster that on a fundamental level, but some folks aren't wired to look at the process that way. Ego has no place here, but pride in great ideas and work is our cornerstone.
