A look into the Gears of Dan Callahan – Robot Strategist at Elasticity

Recently, I published a few questions from SocialTrackr and Marketing Charts and responses from Brian Cross, managing partner of Elasticity.

Furious about my obvious disregard for their mustached excellence, the other partners demanded equal time on the blog which they produce.  Of course, I could not refuse.  I tracked down the most elusive of our partners who has never met an email thread-of-nonsense to which he did not unsubscribe.

So begins Part Deux of the series:

If you found yourself having to unilaterally make a decision on behalf of your client, would you execute work that builds the brand or makes the sale?

Dan Callahan, Director of Robot Strategies:  You can do both but, in this economic environment, I think you have to go for the sale with an eye toward using sales to build brand.  So much of social media seems to be aimlessly promoting brands that consumers, I think, are growing weary of a promotion without strategy.  Facebook, clearly, has become a ghetto of promotions gone wrong.   I believe consumers are looking for value and an efficient sales channel is one of the means to prove the value of the brand.

How have you spread awareness organically via social channels (or otherwise) as opposed to any paid media initiatives and how has that saved money for your clients?

Dan: We do this every day through all the social channels, creating communities for our clients who are willing to talk to customers directly and honestly. It’s turning into a new form of advertising that is more about information than hyperbole.

What’s your best example of integrating online and offline marketing?

Dan: My favorite was the digital treasure hunt we ran during the All-Star Game last summer. It combined both elements in as visual a means as possible – the contestants were literally running around downtown St. Louis looking for the tickets and answering questions at locations around the area.

Do you think small project teams have the ability to produce large scale digital assignments and if so how?

Dan: There are tools available to any agency that have pretty much erased the advantage larger organization have had. Beyond that, smaller organizations are proving to be more agile and less invested in traditional ideas. The key is the capabilities the company’s assets have and the projects they have worked on. The future is going to be written by those who learn from the past, not live in it.  (Author note:  Dan is a writer, don’t mess with him or you may end up in his book… about the future… which Elasticity is currently writing… because we’re elastic.  Sometimes I just can’t stop.)

^*Main Entry: ¹elas·tic
Pronunciation: \i-ˈlas-tik\
Function: adjective
a : capable of ready change or easy expansion or contraction : not rigid or constricted <an elastic concept> b : receptive to new ideas : adaptable <an elastic mind>