I hope the headline had you scratching your frontal lobe while blankly staring into space- my reaction to the inquiry. Would you even consider a new hire if their answer to the staple question of “what do you know about our company?” just so happens to be “nothing?” If you answered yes, find the little “x” that magically makes your browser window disappear, and click on it!

Certainly your brand favors a top spot in the hierarchy of company ethos. Beginning from the brand image, all other executive decisions trickle down to the most of minute tasks. It is imperative that each team member understands your brand’s voice in order to ensure its consistency across all mediums of communication.  In this situation, the understanding a new hire has of your brand image is no different from an experienced senior level manager to an intern pursuing a bachelor’s degree. Most likely the intern has an even better understanding of your company because of their extensive investigation of your social community. This stuff runs through the veins of Generation Yers like social media junkies looking to score their next fix… or social media position that is.

Following this further, I have witnessed piles of meaningless articles bashing companies for hiring interns to manage their social communities. Most of which argue that the intern does not know the voice, the brand, the image, the blah blah blah blah blah… about the company. Truth is, those taking the time to write these fictional articles couldn’t explain the voice of their own company and should inquire within the writer’s staff on the next Avatar movie.

It is beneficial for organizations to embrace taking on interns to coordinate their social communities for it will grant them the possible opportunity to learn more about their social strategy then they ever could. Most importantly, those questioning the coordination of their social community must revert back to the fact that Gen Yers are social media junkies. If they’re already hooked, it’s hard to get them to quite, so you may as well take advantage of their addiction. 

Calling on all interns and higher-ups to back/argue this concept. Got any case studies? Share em!

-CK 

The Beginning Of A Social Bond

When Facebook first began resonating with the professional populace, I was there. How did I get there? Well I stumbled upon the opportunity. And no, I don’t mean the popular social media past time that succeeds in feeding my A.D.D., just good ol’ fashioned stumbling.

Similar to the majority of young professional’s career paths, I dove into the fast paced, amoeba-like, social marketing sphere by chance. The window into social media marketing was fixed within the walls of Pittsburgh-based ad agency, Dymun + Company.

Through the opportunity as Social Media Coordinator, I elevated our company profile, boosted top of mind brand awareness, and attracted new business, simply by engaging socially on the web. Fascinated with the magnitude of the audience a business and/or brand could reach, along with the impact you can accomplish with such powerful social networking tools, I became a social junkie on the spot.

The Social Life

From my internship and beyond, I saturated my professional and personal life with social media; creating a presence on the Pitt campus for an award winning Chevrolet promotional campaign, increasing the fan engagement of my band Pistol Pete & the Big Beat, and continuing the music/marketing conversation personally, with my friends, industry contacts, and the Pittsburgh advertising and marketing community.

With that being said, one can imagine the importance of the ever-evolving social media landscape to my ever-evolving marketing, music, and mayhem-drenched life.

New-Age Customer Service

A recent engagement with drumstick artisan, Vic Firth, set the stage for a rockin’ customer service case study. I reached out to Vic Firth on their Facebook page in regards to a product defect with their S1H1 Isolation Headphones.

 The company went through all of the appropriate steps in handling a customer service complaint

•  Responded In A Timely Manner- Companies and brands with a social media presence must respond to customer questions, complaints, and comments within 24 hours in order to continue and or establish good rapport with their consumers. The more time it takes to answer a query, the more time they have to consider a substitute brand.
• Mapped Out A Resolution Plan- By explaining the terms and conditions of valid product defects, as well as the return process, the consumer has a clear picture of what they must do on their end in order to resolve the case.
• Acted Quickly- When a brand promises a return, repair, and/or further discussion of a complaint, they must abide by their word and act immediately. In this case, I received a new pair of headphones within 3 days following an immediate email from a Vic Firth Customer Service Representative

So fresh…

The overall experience with Vic Firth proved their ability to utilize social media in order to instill a positive brand image within their audience, while keeping us satisfied during the ride. Their ability to manage customer service both traditionally and socially is proof that they will continue to be the leading drumstick manufacturer in the industry.

When the higher-ups begin doubting the time and effort spent in creating a positive social media presence for your brand, present a similar case study in which your accomplished customer service department retained/increased business through social media. Those who are inclined to reach out to you socially are the ones who will jump at the opportunity to spread negative word of mouth across as many social mediums as possible, including yours!

Ahhhh the power of social media! Have any similar case studies? I invite you to share them.

-CK

One of the prime parts of witnessing Radiohead live is Thom Yorke dancing. His groovy moves are intertwined so tight within the musical fabric that his body is an instrument in itself. Radiohead knew exactly what their fans wanted when creating the video for Lotus Flower off The King Of Limbs. Click on the link- dig.

I’m going to create the ideal setting for the experience of The King Of Limbs. Park yourself in a comfortable dark space with all the amenities to keep you satiated for the next 38 minutes of your life (no interruptions), fit your ears with headphones or speakers capable of capturing the crispy tones of a WAV/FLAC file, and experience an articulated newspaper, fashioned by the music scientists of the United Kingdom.

Following one or forty-four listens of their eighth studio album you can confirm that Radiohead is The King Of Limbs. The album takes your limbs on a journey through euphoric emotions, seasons, and places that will leave you feeling departed from reality.

The opening track, Bloom, sets the color and aesthetics of the newspaper album by building upon a beautifully drenched loop measure after measure until Thom Yorke’s vocal melody sneaks in, making you feel like a flower that blooms only in the night. The concluding piece, Seperator, winds down the journey as if turning to the last page of a musical newspaper, bringing you back to your feet while Yorke suggests to “Wake Me Up” after The King Of Limbs snatched you from reality. Everything in between is stacked strategically, building up the energy from Bloom to the loopy and synthy, volume-swollen Feral, toning things down from the gorgeous vocal melody of Lotus and on.

The King Of Limbs is a musical odyssey. Each track takes you further into the journey until the last, which leaves you eager to depart again in order to figure out what just happened. The crowded loops and transitions between songs aren’t something you can understand fully with one listen. Each occasion a track, or the album in its entirety, is played, you discover an element you didn’t hear on the first, second, or even tenth listen which assembles the album into such an everlasting experience. Whether it’s a bass line here and there-adding a heavy element, a looped vocal melody glistening over the track, a brass section ringing in the distance, or a modulated guitar, there is always something in the sonic spectrum capturing your attention.

What’s your favorite moment or discovery in The King Of Limbs? Feel free to share in the Spark The Confabulation section of my page.

-CK

Last night’s nostalgia genuinely brought to mind the timeline of my love of music.

Being that its sole purpose was to catch dust and remind me of my youth, I decided it was time to take down the KNEX space-shuttle that has been hanging from the ceiling of my old room for the majority of my life. Considering that I’m still a kid at heart and preserve all of my old toys, I took apart the has-been masterpiece and placed it in its correct container- right next to my collection of NES games, Erector sets, and Mighty Max toys.

Upon deconstructing the space-shuttle, reminiscing the memories I had building the thing, I savored Cream’s Goodbye album on vinyl. When the record was ready to be flipped and all the pieces were put away I realized I just experienced déjà vu.

During my term as a pudgy little guy, anytime I constructed Legos, KNEX, or whatever needed built, I listened to an album in its entirety. Starting with my collection of tapes, jamming to Greenday through my Sony Walkman, and moving up to CDs, playing the Space Jam soundtrack out of a ridiculously oversized stereo system, I was always listening to music- of course my tastes have changed a tad.

Tonight I find myself sitting on my floor the same way I was when I was listening to my mom’s Barry White and Earth Wind & Fire records, putting together Lincoln Logs and singing along. The nostalgic feeling I get from the combination of the music and my childhood memories is fuel for continuing my love of listening, writing, and performing these beautiful tones myself. It has been with me from the very start, when my creativity was expressed through Legos instead of my guitar, and will always be close to my innards- right next to the hollow space that once housed an appendix. Does nostalgia drive you?

-CK

Upon releasing resumes into the wild in order to brand myself for the Pittsburgh marketing industry, I find more free time on my hands then I had during the grueling academics of my college-life at Pitt.  With this unusual time I’ve acquired, I have been rehearsing and performing with my band Pistol Pete & the Big Beat as well as writing music with two of my best gents in a new project- yet to be named. To fill the space in between I have been packing lines of words in my head.

The book I am currently turning pages with is Life, by Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones. This autobiography is packed with childhood mischief, heavy alcohol and drug consumption, and the storyline behind the Stones, all following the same Keith Richards’ aura and tone. One of the excerpts I came across today explaining Keef’s first gig, really struck me deep in the aorta. It goes as follows…

“That feeling you get is worth more then anything. There’s a certain moment when you realize that you’ve actually just left the planet for a bit and that nobody can touch you. You’re elevated because you’re with a bunch of guys who want to do the same thing as you. And when it works, baby, you’ve got wings. You know you’ve been somewhere most people will never get; you’ve been to a special place. And then you want to keep going back and keep landing again, and when you land you get busted. But you always want to go back there.”

I can speak for most musicians when I say that his words are so literal. When you are making music with a group of people, no matter what it may be, and everything falls into place, it’s just like floating off into space, into some unexplainable world that only those in the room can relate to. When those notes come straight out of your soul, flying around the room, recycling in and out of everyone else, you have magic. You’ve created a foreign land that you can enjoy without the distractions of life.

Music takes me somewhere that I can’t get by the usual form of transportation. I want to be able to bring listeners to the same place. I’m hoping you stay tuned for some tunes that will bring you there with me. Do you have the same experience creating music?

-CK