Notes from Flat Creek

An update on Flat Creek

Wed, 08 May 2013 23:42:00 GMT

Over the past eight years, Melanie and I have worked tirelessly to deliver value to our clients by finding new, creative, and useful ways to leverage technology to accomplish their goals. I've always viewed Flat Creek as an extension of my evangelism that technology is more than wires or HTML, but a vehicle to reach new audiences, build new relationships, and make organizations more effective.

Especially since the election last fall, I've focused more and more on how to leverage technology to help political entrepreneurs. These innovators are energetic and looking for better ways to have their voices heard in the marketplace of ideas. Like never before, people are open to conversations about how technology and digital communications strategies can make their organizations more effective. It's a very exciting and unique time.

In order to focus my time on that mission, I have accepted a position as Director of Marketing with Voter Gravity, a tech startup in the political space.

Flat Creek will continue to host and support our existing clients' websites, but we are going to start referring new projects to other agencies who can provide amazing design and strategy. For a list of several agencies we recommend, check out the directory on RootsHQ.com.

A little backstory...

Over the past several years, I've had the honor of getting to work with Ned Ryun on several projects. Late last year, we started talking more specifically about his work helping citizen activists and potential candidates find their voice and be more effective. His organization, American Majority, has trained more than 25,000 activists and candidates over the past five years. As a continuation of that commitment to changing the political landscape, in January he bought Political Gravity (now Voter Gravity), a voter canvassing and call-from-home tool that is incredibly effective and user-friendly. By making this tool available to grassroots candidates and organizations, he is changing the dynamics of the political technology debate.

As he shared his vision for the technology, it became apparent to both of us that we shared the same goals to make it easier for everyday citizens to run for office and be successful. Our conversations turned into planning and late last week he offered me the opportunity to join their team.

I can't begin to express how exciting the future is for Voter Gravity. It's a tool that several organizations used around the country last cycle with great success. But that technology almost seems like an AM transistor radio compared to the changes that will be coming over the next several months.

While I get ramped up with Gravity, Flat Creek will have a bright future in Melanie's capable hands. She's worked so hard in the background over the years, I'm excited for our clients to get to know her better in the coming months. We don't know exactly what the transition will look like yet, but we will move forward with our clients' best interests foremost in mind.

Thank you for your support and friendship over the years. I look forward to sharing more about Voter Gravity with you soon!

Why the Obama campaign won: Integration

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:08:00 GMT

Having worked in digital advocacy for over a decade now, this election was of particular interest because of the growing role of digital within the campaign. Through the lens of someone who believes that campaigns need to make more use of digital strategies -- like web, email, social media, and online advertising -- to be competitive, I studied the results closely, and have talked with digital and traditional operatives close to both presidential campaigns.

For too long the digital team was a sideshow, a second tier unit when compared to the political, communications, and finance operations. But following this election, we see digital becoming the main event. So naturally, I would like to chalk up President Obama's victory to the use of a great digital strategy. I would like to point to their email segmentation and content. I would like to talk about the ways they optimized for Facebook's EdgeRank and how that impacted voters' opinions.

But if I stopped there, I would be wrong.

Both campaigns made terrific use of digital strategies. They both implemented robust websites with rich interactivity and mobile-optimized versions. Both used their email lists extensively. Both used social media at unprecedented levels. And, I was glad to see, both campaigns invested real budgets to online advertising. Voters (like consumers) now spend much of their day online, but campaigns (like marketers) have been slow to adopt robust online ad budgets. This campaign changed that.

There's been a lot of buzz following the election about how the campaigns used Big Data, and there's no doubt this was another evolution driven by digital tools and strategies. But campaigns are no strangers to Big Data. Voter databases have been a critical campaign tool since the beginning of time, and new technology has only allowed them to hit the gas on previous data strategies. In fact, I would argue that the pursuit of the perfect campaign data resource has been the Holy Grail of politics for a long, long time.

All of these tools were put to use beyond what any campaign has ever done before. We can safely say that effective campaigns today must have a comprehensive digital strategy to win. This is not hyperbole. If either campaign had abandoned digital media, they would have surely lost and lost big. Thus, digital becomes a key strategic imperative for political operatives. Why do campaigns not buy newspaper ads? Because they don't make a difference. Digital makes a difference, and campaigns moving forward must proceed with careful planning around the use of their website, email, social media, online advertising, and use of data.

So what was the difference? If you look closely, beyond the headlines, you'll see that it was in fact not the presence of these tools and strategies that won the day, but their integration that lifted Obama over the top.

Over the past couple of cycles, we have seen campaigns integrate digital into their operations. Finance teams send fundraising emails, communications teams manage social media, and political teams rely on web-based databases of supporters. What we are talking about here is something entirely different.

What the Obama campaign did that was special was to put the use of analytics above everything else. They didn't read the tea leaves, they read the spreadsheets. Everything from donor events to their impressive get out the vote operation was driven by the analysis of data. This marriage between digital and the rest of the campaign was the critical factor that gave them the discipline to pursue precisely the micro targeted audiences they needed to donate, volunteer, and vote. In other words, they did not add digital and data strategies to what they were already doing. They built all of their activities around digital and data strategies.

The president's get out of the vote operation was driven by two successful pillars: an unprecedented database and an army of volunteers and field staff. The Big Data asset of the campaign was not enough, it was the political team, driven by the data, who put that database into action. It was the data scientists who crunched numbers. It was the finance team who organized events based on data profiles of likely supporters. Despite a number of indicators that the President was unlikely to win reelection (right/wrong track, unemployment, job approval), the political team leveraged the data they had available -- whether via laptop, tablet, or smartphone -- to build connections with voters and turnout their base in numbers even beyond what they did in 2008.

To be fair to the Romney team, the Obama campaign only had the opportunity to pursue this sort of integrated approach as a result of being the incumbent. They had four years to build it, test it, and use it. They did not have a primary to go through to prevent them from taking this step. They had the time and opportunity to implement it, only because they had the benefit of doing so for the current occupant of the White House.

If this strategic framework of placing digital and data strategies at the center of their campaign was a deciding factor in the election, then it is clear that modern campaigns do not diminish, only reinforce, the power of incumbency.

Will Big Data be the deciding factor in four years? It's likely to play a role, but by then there will be other technologies and strategies at play. Regardless of what tools are used, the fundamental underlying foundation will be that the winning team will likely be the one that integrates the tools available, and uses them across the campaign to win.

It's time to launch

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 19:37:00 GMT

Michael Hyatt, author and blogger, wrote a post recently titled "Embrace Permanent Beta and Launch" and the topic just jumped off of the screen:

Unfortunately, many people get stuck in this kind of no-man’s land. They want it perfect before they share it with the world. The problem is that they are missing scores of opportunities by waiting. Instead, they should get used to the concept of "permanent beta."

We have seen this time and time again through our RootsHQ and Studio 31A services, where we focus on creating a website design service that is quick, easy and personal. But too many people get wrapped up in the concept of "launch" as if we are about to send a book to the printer, with no opportunity to change so much as a comma once it is off to print.

In the web world, especially with the sort of content management tools we provide all of our clients, websites and content can and should be dynamic and fast-flowing. People expect to see change frequently. In fact, we believe in the model of "permanent beta" so much that we've even considered doing away with our website setup services, instead focusing entirely on incremental change over time. Much like watching a child grow up, the changes to your website should be steady and incremental, where you barely notice them day-by-day, but if you look back over a year or more, you see just how far it has come.

So if you've been thinking about starting a new website, a new hobby, or a new chapter in your life, don't wait for it to be perfect. That day will never come. Pick a direction and start moving that way. It's time to launch.

Guy Kawasaki: "What I Learned From Steve Jobs"

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 05:00:00 GMT

One of the most dynamic and successful businessmen around had some practical, personal perspective to share from working with Steve Jobs. Guy Kawasaki lays out several paradigm-shaping ideas in mere bullet points. A couple that struck home to me:

3. Jump to the next curve.

Big wins happen when you go beyond better sameness. The best daisy-wheel printer companies were introducing new fonts in more sizes. Apple introduced the next curve: laser printing. Think of ice harvesters, ice factories, and refrigerator companies. Ice 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0. Are you still harvesting ice during the winter from a frozen pond?

11. Real CEOs ship.

For all his perfectionism, Steve could ship. Maybe the product wasn’t perfect every time, but it was almost always great enough to go. The lesson is that Steve wasn’t tinkering for the sake of tinkering—he had a goal: shipping and achieving worldwide domination of existing markets or creation of new markets. Apple is an engineering-centric company, not a research-centric one. Which would you rather be: Apple or Xerox PARC?

Read the full post here.

Remembering 9/11/01

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 05:00:00 GMT

In remembering we honor those who perished, so here's my story from September 11...

On that beautiful September morning, I stepped out of my apartment at 5th & Constitution just like any other Tuesday. I was headed to the United States Senate, where I worked at the time. But on Tuesdays we had a Bible study in the Dirksen cafeteria before work, so I left early. It was cooler then, starting to feel like fall. Finally.

But when the Bible study was over, and I got to the office, the tragedy had already started. The TV in the front office showed a gaping hole in the side of the World Trade Center. My boss, Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) was a senior member of the Appropriations Transportation subcommittee, so committee staffers were already in the office working on what was clearly an FAA issue. Some small plane, we reasoned, had been lost, or lost power, and accidentally crashed into the tower.

We went into our regular morning staff meeting at exactly 9:00 am. And as we sat there, our legislative counsel kept an eye on the tv just outside the conference room.

Until he jumped from his chair. The second plane had just hit the second tower.

This was not an FAA issue. We were under attack.

Senator Shelby was also Vice-Chairman of the Intelligence committee. Soon he left for the secure committee office to huddle with staff there, and we left for our desks.

Almost every desk in the Senate has a TV next to it, so staff can watch the floor on CSPAN to know when a vote is coming up. That morning every channel showed the same view: reporters on rooftops with plumes of black smoke billowing behind them.

In that surreal moment, I don't exactly remember when we found out about the Pentagon. We watched in horror as the first tower collapsed as well. It was about the time they finally evacuated us. News of another inbound plane finally prompted Capitol Police to take action.

As we left the office, I heard a loud boom. Looking across the street at the Capitol dome, I thought it was another bomb, but later found out it was the sound of several floors of concrete collapsing within the charred rubble of the Pentagon.

With all of the bridges closed across the Potomac, several friends from Virginia came to my apartment three blocks away. And we spent the day there, talking to family and friends back home. Checking on friends in other offices. Are you okay? Do you know anyone at the Pentagon? Are there any other attacks?

That afternoon, I walked to the market. Police had pulled multiple cars across the roads around the Capitol, and they were armed to the hilt. I bought a pack of chicken breasts and took it back to grill. One of my co-workers had taken a legal pad and wrote her grocery list. We had nothing else to do. For people who had left our homes and families to come to Washington to serve the American people, we were helpless, so we did the best we could to pass the time.

That night, the members of the Senate, who just the day before had been at each others throats, stood shoulder to shoulder on the steps of the Capitol and sang God Bless America.

The next day, we went to work. Showing up, under armed guards and heavy searches, was all we could do to show our patriotism. We saw images of celebrating in the Middle East. I talked to the Senate Chaplain about joining the Army.

But mostly, we were just there. And on that day, September 12, that was enough.

Now Hiring an Account Coordinator

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Flat Creek is currently seeking a full-time Account Coordinator to provide friendly, proactive support to our growing client base. The ideal candidate will have two years of experience in a professional agency setting or in a customer support role and have a working knowledge of web technology and marketing and/or public relations.

Day-to-day duties include communicating with clients regarding their needs and managing tasks and schedules for Flat Creek's production teams. Other duties include monitoring project timelines, managing site content and email newsletters, and communicating with project consultants, designers, and developers regarding status of project-related tasks. Other duties as assigned.

Skill sets include:

- 2 years experience writing press releases or other content for distribution
- 2 years experience in a professional agency setting or in a customer service role
- Task oriented
- Friendly and proactive professional approach
- Proficient in Microsoft Office, especially Excel
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple tasks and proactively move projects forward
- Self-starter
- Working knowledge of HTML and other web technologies

Qualified candidates can apply for this position by submitting a resume, writing sample, and three references to careers@flatcreek.com. Interviews will take place August 23rd with a target start date of September 12. Salary commiserate with experience.

It's the Audience, Stupid

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Not a day goes by that we don't hear about the latest trend in digital marketing. Last week it was search engine optimization. Before that it was social networking. This week, I got an email from someone saying "it's all about mobile." Here's my take on the latest trends in online marketing:

It is not about SEO.

It is not about social networking.

It is not about mobile.

It is not all about those goofy videos that pop-up up on the homepage with someone talking to you.

At the end of the day, none of these matter. Building a marketing or communications operation around any tactic -- no matter how "awesome" or "killer" or "bleeding edge" it is -- will ultimately result in failure if, in fact, it is not tied to what is important.

It IS about the audience.

The target audience -- and the action you want them to take -- should be the foundation of any marketing effort. To pit one tactic against the other with broad brushstrokes is futile until put into the proper context.

That's why we've worked so hard to launch RootsHQ and Studio 31A, two services designed to implement the marketing channels required of effective communications plans. RootsHQ is designed to help campaigns and advocacy organizations put their message online, whether that be through a website, email, Facebook, or advertising. Likewise, Studio 31A delivers similar resources to marketing efforts of small businesses and professional firms.

So with this perspective, once a marketer looked at the goals of the effort, the communications habits of the target audience, and the action they want the audience to take, then we can more effectively look at what tools and tactics will make the most impact within the budget.

It very well may be that we need to be aggressive with SEO, or that mobile is the linchpin to our efforts. But without that broader perspective, preaching the virtues of a single tactic is just shouting into the wind.

I love new technology. Can't wait to put the latest gadgets and software to use in a marketing campaign. But without the proper context, without knowing our target audience, what action we want them to take, and how they communicate, we can't begin to pick one tactic over another.

To do so would be, well, stupid.

Hotline features Flat Creek's Allen Fuller

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 05:00:00 GMT

National Journal's daily publication the Hotline featured a Q&A with Flat Creek Strategies' managing partner Allen Fuller. Allen discussed his experiences working on federal and statewide races, as well as in the U.S. House and Senate. He also took a look at where the business of politics is heading.

A Fuller Perspective on New Media

Allen Fuller is the managing partner at Flat Creek Strategies, a Nashville-based GOP web consulting firm. Prior to Flat Creek, Fuller was a senior account exec. in the interactive practice group of Fleishman-Hillard, an int'l comm. firm. He previously served as press sec. for then-Rep. Bob Beauprez (R-CO) and was comm. dir. of Beauprez's '02 camp. But today, he is our Consultant Candid.

What was your first job?

When I first moved to DC after grad school, I had the great opportunity to work for Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) as an LC. It was the ideal way to get to know the Hill and the issues.

What is your proudest moment professionally?

There's actually two moments tied to each other that stand out. First, in early 2005 I left a great job at Fleishman-Hillard to start my own business. It seemed crazy at the time, but it gave me the chance to do something I had always wanted to do. I spent months working out of the spare bedroom in our Alexandria condo, not sure if I was doing the right thing. The second moment was on Election Day 2008, after a difficult cycle for Republicans, every incumbent we were working for won re-election, making all that work in the beginning worthwhile.

If you could be in any other line of work, what would it be?

It's hard to say, because I love what I do. My dad was a contractor, and I always loved helping him, so probably something related to construction.

Of what political campaign (past, present or future) would you most like to be a part?

Reagan 1980.

What individual who does your kind of work for the other party do you respect the most, and why?

I really respect Blue State Digital. They are very focused and do first class projects. In new media, we run into a lot of pushback from campaigns and other consultants. BSD has managed to navigate through that and work with campaigns strategically to provide some exciting results. The tools they've built are amazing, and no one on the Republican side has been able to replicate their success.

Negative campaigning -- good or bad?

There's almost always a time to draw contrasts with your opponent, but it can't be done without being a part of a broader plan and message.

What is your favorite restaurant to meet clients?

The Oak Bar in the historic Hermitage Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.

What is the first section of the newspaper you read?

I generally get news on Twitter.

A question from last week's participant, Tyler Harber of Wilson Research Strategies: Has the infatuation with social media distracted strategists from the fact that most voters are still moved more by traditional media?

Over 1/3 of Americans are now on Facebook. A recent study found the Internet is now a more essential medium than TV. These are trends that researchers have seen emerging for a long time, and refusing to acknowledge it or call it an "infatuation" is a head-in-sand approach. New media impacts a campaign in fundamental ways just as TV and direct mail did when they emerged as political tactics. I'm the last to say new media is the be all and end all of a campaign -- it isn't. But it is a powerful new tool to reach influential audiences, and it needs to be approached strategically and respectfully.

Please pose a question for the next interviewee.

Of the three major campaign components -- communications, political, finance -- which benefits the most from a proactive new media plan?

Video: Media Convergence

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:00:00 GMT

We experience media convergence every day, from checking websites on our cell phones to watching TV shows on our computers. This video does a great job of putting the trends into perspective in a visually engaging format.

Twitter for Organizations

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:00:00 GMT

If you're an active user on Twitter, you've probably run into the issue of wanting to post something but just to a closed group of colleagues or members of an organization. And while Twitter does not provide this ability, there are several new services that do.

Twitter has changed the way we communicate, interact with friends, and find out about breaking news. What it has not done though is provide a way for organizations to communicate internally using the informal method pioneered by Twitter called microblogging. There are several new services rushing to fill this void though, and we run through a few of them here.

Yammer

Yammer was one of the first "microblogging for enterprise" tools to hit the market after Twitter started to take off. Yammer works by automatically creating a network based on the user's email address, so everyone with an email address @flatcreek.com would automatically be put into a network. It's important for larger organizations to realize that this happens with or without the permission of the organization itself. Organizations can take ownership of their Yammer network, but it does not impact the ability for employees to have off the books conversations.

As an example of a company using it well, Nationwide is using Yammer internally to connect executives with employees throughout the world. You can read more about their experience here.

Socialcast

I'm a huge fan of Socialcast. The interface is clean, there are a lot of features, and the support is truly amazing. Last fall, I posted a note to their Get Satisfaction forum requesting some way to manage multiple networks. They quickly responded on the board and within a couple of weeks had actually built the feature into the application. Their email support is incredibly responsive as well, so with socialcast you not only get a great product but a terrific company behind it. Updating Socialcast feels more like Facebook than Twitter, and I mean that in a good way.

Socialcast also makes it easy to manage larger networks, with the ability to create groups. Setting up a Socialcast network is, like with Yammer, based on email domain.

ShoutEm

Having given Socialcast a glowing review, I have to say that ShoutEm may be the service to watch for non-profits. Like with Ning, Shout 'em makes creating networks incredibly easy. While their interface is too casual for serious consideration out of the gate, it's also easy to change the format to make it more professional. There are elements of Twitter, Foursquare, and Facebook all meshed together, giving users the ability to check in at locations and earn badges.

Like with Ning, ShoutEm lets you operate the network from your own domain (such as my.domain.com or team.domain.com) for a $4.95 charge per month. Setting up a ShoutEm network is not based on domain name, but can be limited to one or more domains. This freedom to easily integrate users who may not work directly for an organization, as well as the more casual interface, make it very appealing for non-profits.

All three services offer something different, both from the administrator and user sides, but have some similarities as well. They have all invested in mobile apps for the Blackberry and iPhone, which makes updating for users as easy as updating Twitter on the go. Socialcast has the vastly superior collection of integration tools, including mobile apps, IM integration, and a plugin for Google Apps.

All in all, Socialcast is ideal for companies -- truly "internal" communications -- but ShoutEm is emerging as a great tool for more extended networks, like a non-profit or campaign with volunteers and boards. And regardless of what service you end up using, don't neglect checking on Yammer to make sure you are tuned in to conversations happening there.

Facebook continues to climb

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Facebook had a banner year in 2009, drawing in almost 120 million U.S. users, almost double from a year ago.

Comscore has the whole picture, which you can see above, and more insights on their blog.

PR 2.0 Checklist

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 06:00:00 GMT

Given the amount of crisis communications and similar work we often do, we're big fans of training, so when a crisis hits we are prepared. Just as important as training though is having a checklist to work from when the task requires quick action.

Author Deirdre Breakenridge advocates using a checklist when creating a social media strategy as part of a "PR 2.0" effort. Below are the action items she believes should be part of such a checklist:

Ask the question, "Why social media and what are we expecting to get out of engaging in the social sphere."

Develop a social media policy

Which executives will participate in the program and determine the their time commitment

Share the policy with members of your organizations (build internal brand champions by establishing a participatory culture)

Set up monitoring and tracking of your brand, products and any trends that relate to your market (via free tools and paid software)

Listen to conversations in various social networks to see if your customers or other stakeholders are active in those communities and to pinpoint conversations relevant to your brand

Continue to observe communities for culture and interaction between community members

Identify who are the important influencers you would like to reach (from A-list bloggers to trendsetters and the magic middle) and what issues concern them

Decide who in the organization is going to manage information and direct continuous conversations and relationships (a community manager or social media manager)

Dissect information gathered in communities and share with other members/departments in your organization

Process the information within your organization and use it to provide insight and feedback in communities (and to also develop your communication strategy and content to share) or to place back into your product development cycle to enhance your offering for customers.

Determine a measurement strategy for engagement (participation could include leads/sales, conversations, registration, membership, education, authority, etc.)

Think about your budget and resources before you start your social media program.

These are all valid points for a checklist in the new world of new media communications. And in the middle of a crisis, it's a great way to answer the question, "Where do we start?"

Holiday Schedule

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 06:00:00 GMT

All of us at Flat Creek would like to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season. We will be closed from noon Central on Wednesday, Dec 23 until Monday, December 28. We will also close at noon on Thursday, December 31 and will be closed on Friday, January 1, 2010.

We look forward to working with you in 2010!

Don't risk a lousy promo

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

All too often in a campaign or issue advocacy group, someone has an off the wall idea to promote the candidate or cause. Maybe it doesn't seem like a good idea, but hey, all press is good press right?

Not so much....

A new study out by the Chief Marketing Officer Council and InfoPrint Solutions Company found that consumers are more than ready to cut off brands who contact them with a lousy or irrelevant promotion.

A full 41 percent of respondents said they would consider ending a brand relationship over an irrelevant promotion. A solid quarter, 22 percent, said they would definitely end a brand relationship in such a situation.

Read the full findings on Marketing Charts.

A wiser course of action is to spend the time to create a message and plan that connects with your target audiences in a way that calls them to take action. Spend some time in your statistics and pull out relevant segments to reach in a specific way. The result could be more enthusiastic supporters, and that makes for good press.

100 Ways to Measure Social Media

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Social media is often written off as a waste of time. And for a good reason too, from an employer's standpoint.

But from a marketer's standpoint, social media presents a wealth of opportunity to reach niche audiences with authentic, creative messages. The problem is often in how to measure ROI on social media to demonstrate value to a client.

Search no more. Here's 100 ways to meausure social media.