Integrated Marketing

In honor of Ted Spiegel

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:15:47 -0500

This past weekend we lost Ted Spiegel, a groundbreaking leader in the marketing industry and someone who has touched the lives of many people, including mine.

I learned the news a few minutes ago when checking my email after a flight. I just arrived in San Francisco for a fundraising trip for Groovebug, a company I launched while earning my Masters at Northwestern University, and while working under Ted as a graduate assistant. You could say there wouldn’t be a Groovebug if there wasn’t a Ted Spiegel.

Ted was a huge influence on my experience at Northwestern, an experience I can only describe as utterly life changing. His kindness, brilliance, authentic interest in my success, and passion for everything he did, will always be a way of being that I will work hard to emulate.

When i was a young kid my family lived in a far flung small town in northwestern Ohio called Fremont. The town didn’t have a record store, let alone clothing stores that carried anything of interest to my young mother. Catalogs were my mom’s connection to “civilization” and fashion. Spiegel, was one of those catalogs.

During orientation for Northwestern’s IMC program, Tom Collinger introduced Professor Emeritus Ted Spiegel, the program’s former chair. I was star struck. He helped grow the Spiegel family catalog business for more than 30 years beginning in 1957. He was behind my mom’s connection to the outside world! I was so excited to tell my mom about the Spiegel connection that I had a hard time listening to anything else.

Soon after the program started, I volunteered to work with Ted on an ambitious project to use Google Apps for Education to build class web sites that would serve as learning resources during and after the graduate program. Ted’s passion for using technology to improve teaching was amazing. He was a force of nature and a pioneer within the university. Under Ted, i designed and built the program’s intranet site to help get one step closer to realizing his vision.

Even though it meant that I’d have to give up working on Ted’s project, Ted wholeheartedly encouraged me to pursue entrepreneurship and Groovebug. He even let me borrow his copy of Steven Blank’s Four Steps to the Epiphany, probably the most important book I’ve ever read.

I only wish I had a chance to properly thank him. Rest in Peace Ted. You are missed.

Running your start-up like a fire fighter

Thu, 17 May 2012 18:33:44 -0500

Just like a raging wildfire, the market is volatile. The prevailing winds of consumer trends rapidly change direction, the competitive landscape is often cluttered, and mistakes can easily become fatal to a young company.

How should a new company cope?

Start-ups should look to other organizations that successfully operate in treacherous and highly dynamic environments. Fire fighters who fight wild fires, nurses in emergency rooms, and combat units are all examples of organizations that must operate at extremely high levels of reliability in rapidly changing environments.

In Managing the Unexpected, Karl E. Weick identifies five principals that enable high reliability organizations (HROs) to mitigate and contain unexpected events. These principals are common to fire fighters who battle wildfires, emergency room staff members, and soldiers in the line of fire.

HROs cannot afford to make huge mistakes. When mistakes are made they need to be quickly contained. The HRO Principals listed below enable these organizations to operate at a high level of reliability.

HRO Principals:

1. Preoccupation with failure - Spend time working out all of the mistakes you can’t afford to make. Try to anticipate what the competition might do that could pose problems. Think though the worst case scenarios.

2. Reluctance to simplify the problem - Be skeptical of simple explanations. Remember that reality is nuanced.

3. Sensitivity to operations - Work hard to gain a perspective from the front lines and all of your customer touch points.

4. Commitment to resilience - Problems are going to happen. They key is a commitment to respond to unexpected jolts without getting flustered. Be ready to quickly bring resources to bear on any issue 24/7. You always need to have an engineer and a designated spokesperson on call.

5. Deference to expertise - Expertise trumps all. Listen to your experts.

Why I love Chicago, now more than ever

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:44:00 -0500

Thanks to Built in Chicago, I had the opportunity to pitch Groovebug to a room full of the top digital marketing executives in Chicago at yesterday’s Digital Collective event at the Field Museum. Amazingly, we were voted by the group as one of the five hottest start-ups in Chicago! We were in great company. The other four start-ups chosen to present were Belly, Sprout Social, Appolicious, and 30 Second Mobile. It was great to meet the other CEOs.

At the event I had a chance to hear a talk by John Tolva, the City of Chicago’s new CTO. I was quite impressed. As a Chicagoan I’m proud to know that our city is making great strides in becoming a technological leader. Tolva really gets it and is certainly the right man for the job. He is committed to harnessing the power of the developer community by making municipal data accessible through APIs. Check out some of these cool products and sites that have come from opening Chicago’s data:

http://wasmycartowed.com - find out if your car was towed and where it is

http://2inch.es - get alerts about parking restrictions

http://faspark.com - find a place to park (really)

You can find more at http://appsformetrochicago.com/

I was most impressed that the city is using social media monitoring tools to discover streets that need to be repaired, bad customer service, smelly CTA stops, and more. The city is teaching other municipalities how to replicate what Chicago is doing.

I learned first-hand how powerful social media monitoring tools can be in my Consumer Insights class in Northwestern’s IMC program. We conducted netnography studies (think ethnography on the web) with a powerful tool by Netbase. In other classes we used other tools like Radian 6. It is amazing that Chicago is becoming so cutting edge!

After the Digital Collective event, I stopped by 1871, the new tech center where we are moving Groovebug HQ. 1871 is an ambitious project that is part of a wider effort to make Chicago a tech powerhouse. I met with Steven Collens and Kevin Willer, two of the guys making 1871 possible. They showed me the space, filled me in on the latest, and made sure I knew about the opening party.

So now, here is the reason why I love Chicago now more than ever. They told me that John Tolva, the city’s new CTO, is actually one of the DJs for the opening party. How cool is that? As a DJ/technologist/Chicagoan/someone-who-just-heard-the-guy-talk-a-couple-hours-before, this really made me feel like I am in the right place at the right time.

I love you Chicago.

Reflecting on the last 18 months at Northwestern

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:18:04 -0500

Yesterday I participated in an alumni panel and a cocktail party at IMC Visit Day at Northwestern University. It pushed me to reflect on the past 18 months as a grad student in Medill’s Integrated Marketing Communications Masters of Science program and the Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation’s NUvention Web class. I can’t overstate the impact the experience has had on my life.

Thanks to Northwestern University, the engaged alumni network, dedicated faculty, and brilliant energy of fellow students, I’ve been given the unbelievable opportunity to launch Groovebug, a business that represents the convergence of all my passions - music, marketing, technology, and building things.

Over the past 18 months I’ve learned to uncover deep consumer insights, develop predictive models of consumer behavior, determine the financial of value of customer segments, plan media buys, develop an integrated marketing strategy tied to financial returns, measure social media ROI, manage a media organization, build a lean start-up, raise capital, develop a mobile application, and run a company. Every step of the way I’ve benefited from an environment where everyone pulled for me to succeed and went our of their way to help. That it is what makes Northwestern such a special place.

During the cocktail reception yesterday I interacted with several of the newly admitted students. I found myself gushing about the program and the university. In fact, an admitted student from Toronto, who I found quite impressive, thanked me for my “sales pitch.” The truth is, I feel like I owe something to the school and the people involved with it. The past 18 months were life changing.

RT @FastCompany: To Reach Fans Through Social Music Sites, Labels Need To Learn To Let Go...

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:51:56 -0600

RT @FastCompany: To Reach Fans Through Social Music Sites, Labels Need To Learn To Let Go http://t.co/kBO8y5WZ (by Louis Marino)

Google Artist Hub Offers Direct-To-Consumer Platform for Bands | Scott Steinberg | Rolling Stone...

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:00:36 -0600

Google Artist Hub Offers Direct-To-Consumer Platform for Bands | Scott Steinberg | Rolling Stone http://t.co/zLCHxTLP via @rollingstone

Beardyman @ BBC Comedy Proms 2011, Royal Albert Hall (Video) http://t.co/rbzNTsQh via @groovebug

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 17:43:55 -0600

Beardyman @ BBC Comedy Proms 2011, Royal Albert Hall (Video)
http://t.co/rbzNTsQh via @groovebug

RT @groovebug: Groovebug team is going to Reggie’s in Chicago for Chicago Afrobeat Project...

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 14:50:15 -0600

RT @groovebug: Groovebug team is going to Reggie’s in Chicago for Chicago Afrobeat Project show. #Occupy event too. Rumors swirling abou …

http://t.co/mu8fyaRq - Need We Say More? > News > Chick Corea’s 70th: Return to Forever,...

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 09:40:58 -0600

http://t.co/mu8fyaRq - Need We Say More? > News > Chick Corea’s 70th: Return to Forever, Herbie…
http://t.co/dY5oR7jM via @groovebug

Pink Floyd The Wall - Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb (Video) http://t.co/kVeMV4pr via @groovebug

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 07:46:44 -0600

Pink Floyd The Wall - Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb (Video)
http://t.co/kVeMV4pr via @groovebug

Derrick Carter @ DEDGE (Video) http://t.co/KSwDa9Qf via @groovebug

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:06:06 -0600

Derrick Carter @ DEDGE (Video)
http://t.co/KSwDa9Qf via @groovebug

This is an awesome video - Emil & Friends - “Let Your Heart / Prescriptions” (Video)...

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 07:57:49 -0600

This is an awesome video - Emil & Friends - “Let Your Heart / Prescriptions” (Video) http://t.co/oeTRdC0f via @groovebug

Top 5 Scaling Lessons From Superhero CEOs http://t.co/EH8iyNBQ #laomc

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:22:30 -0600

Top 5 Scaling Lessons From Superhero CEOs http://t.co/EH8iyNBQ #laomc

If you’re going to be in Chicago on 11/15, you should plan to attend the @MedillSchool...

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:36:07 -0600

If you’re going to be in Chicago on 11/15, you should plan to attend the @MedillSchool @IMCTalentQ symposium: RSVP at

EMI & Echonest forge strategic partnership to bring innovation to music distribution #laomc

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 01:40:54 -0500

EMI & Echonest forge strategic partnership to bring innovation to music distribution #laomc

Why Coldplay and Adele Aren’t Bringing New Albums to Spotify http://t.co/ywBCVJ6E #laomc -...

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 22:07:47 -0500

Why Coldplay and Adele Aren’t Bringing New Albums to Spotify http://t.co/ywBCVJ6E #laomc - release windows for music?

Cibelle - Punk da Periferia (Video) http://t.co/8zIzXnJ9 via @groovebug

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 15:11:38 -0500

Cibelle - Punk da Periferia (Video) http://t.co/8zIzXnJ9 via @groovebug

Dj Heather @ Coachella 04-28-07 (Video) http://t.co/8tJEkSM9 via @groovebug

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 01:43:46 -0500

Dj Heather @ Coachella 04-28-07 (Video) http://t.co/8tJEkSM9 via @groovebug

Alison Levine at #tedxmidwest with lessons in leadership - tough decisions in changing environments...

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:39:59 -0500

Alison Levine at #tedxmidwest with lessons in leadership - tough decisions in changing environments and insights on progress #laomc

I’m hiring! iOS Developer at Groovebug - Greater Chicago Area #jobs http://t.co/zujGZJm5

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:47:56 -0500

I’m hiring! iOS Developer at Groovebug - Greater Chicago Area #jobs http://t.co/zujGZJm5