Author Archive

Here is latest ClickZ.com article from our CEO Alan Cutter!

Admit it – interviewing is rarely a fun game to play in Candy Land; you can find yourself navigating through chutes and ladders in a trivial pursuit to find a clue to the right job without taking much risk and landing in a taboo situation only to hear the dreaded, “Sorry.” Even in the best of situations, you are juggling various options and gauging multiple choices trying to decide what you would rather do. And so the game theme continues, as we are right back to the timeless game of “Would You Rather.” Here’s a crash course to guide you through the most common Would You Rather questions:

Would you rather interview on the phone at 9 a.m. Monday morning or in person at 5 p.m. Friday?

The 9 a.m. spot lends the opportunity to demonstrate alertness and eagerness at the very beginning of the work week, sounding sharp and on the ball when most people are asleep at their desks. On the other end of the spectrum, 5 p.m. Friday displays dedication and commitment to the job, not running away for the weekend and checking out both physically and mentally as soon as possible.

The key difference here is between phone and in-person interviews. Your interviewer could have a plethora of things waiting for her at work after the weekend and not give you 100 percent of her attention. When face to face, all of your interviewer’s attention is on you and distractions wait quietly at the door. This attention can work to your benefit or detriment; if you are 100 percent prepared for the interview and eager to wow them, push for an in-person interview. If you are not 100 percent ready and can use the aid of a computer screen/notes in front of you, push for the 9 a.m. call where you can mask your insufficient preparation with upbeat and contagious enthusiasm.

Would you rather have your potential employer check your LinkedIn profile or resume?

Here’s a poignant example of the battle between old school and new age. Having a LinkedIn page in-and-of itself shows that you are digitally savvy, connected to the social network, and active in the cyber community. Most importantly, unlike resumes, LinkedIn profiles boast your recommendations no matter how plentiful or lengthy, revealing who recommends you and allowing the viewer access to the recommender’s profile. This simple addition can accelerate the process and open up new alleys to background checks.

The benefits of the resume are strong as well; they are much easier to control/craft to highlight your qualities. In resumes, it is easier to cover up gaps in employment and other such unfavorable facts (LinkedIn profiles are organized chronologically, which makes this difficult). Your resume can include more personal and confidential information such as quotas, bonuses, clients, etc. that are extremely helpful to an interviewer but not appropriate for a publicly-displayed online profile.

Nowadays, your interviewer will most likely check both your resume and LinkedIn profile simultaneously, so keep them up to par. I would recommend sending your resume instead of your LinkedIn profile because it maintains an air of seniority and confidentiality; everyone can look at your LinkedIn profile, only those to whom you send it can see your resume.

Would you rather send a handwritten note, email, or phone call after an interview?

By now, no one should underestimate the power of a follow-up note; it has been shown to sway opinions from “Yes” to “No” and vice versa. Time, effort, and content are all considered and these factors explain which mode is best.

Handwritten notes demonstrate time and care, but lack spell check and neatness. If you have sloppy handwriting, don’t even think about writing it. Mailing in a handwritten letter could take five to eight days and follow-up notes should come within 24 hours of the interview. To show complete dedication, write or type and print a well-thought-out thank you note and either overnight it or bring it by hand to the office. There’s no way to misunderstand that as anything but serious. Maybe a little creepy, but serious.

Such extremes are not completely necessary and an email is fine. Triple-check everything and email each interviewer individually – they talk and will notice a template. Emails are efficient and quick, and they show that you are tech savvy and can handle a computer. The email itself won’t stand out, so make sure the content does.

Phone calls are far more casual and that depends on your relationship with the interviewer; when in doubt, err on the side of formal. Whatever you do, do not text a follow-up note.

Remember, the process is just as much a game for the interviewer as it is for the interviewee; keep a chess mind and always be one step ahead of your opponents. Soon enough, they will be your teammates.

Stay tuned for another guide to “Would You Rather” coming soon to ClickZ.

Read what our Managing Partner, Mike Adler  has to say!

During his 17 years working in ad sales at Meredith Corporation, Mark Josephson, 49, took on new business accounts as his role evolved. That meant less contact with other key clients over time.

After joining Reader’s Digest in November 2010 to fill a top sales position, he wanted to reconnect with some of the clients he had lost touch with, especially the ones who make the big media buying decisions at their companies. He knew he could use a number of digital networking platforms to reach out, but his experience told him to take a more human approach.

“How did I get back in touch with those clients?” said Josephson, chief sales officer of Reader’s Digest. “I focused on making personal contact with them over the phone or through emails. I would target the top decision makers on our accounts and I would immediately call and reconnect.”

It’s a question you hear a lot these days: Has LinkedIn wiped out the importance of developing and maintaining a Rolodex, that is, a list of people that you know on a personal basis?

Absolutely not, say recruiters and sales reps. People do become easier to track down as more of their information moves online, but an extensive contact list means little without genuine business relationships to back it up.

“It’s easy to go onto LinkedIn and start connecting with new people,” said Josephson. “But how many of those connections are quality connections? Probably less than 20%.”

In many ways, the insignificance of a fleeting business card exchange without a real connection has been heightened by the ease of clicking “connect” online, said Atlanta-based e-commerce recruiter Harry Joiner. It’s a common error that has been exacerbated by technology, he said.

“Just because I have someone’s name, rank and serial number doesn’t mean that when I call them they know or remember who I am,” said Joiner, 47, owner of ecommercrecruiter.com. “That’s the difference between a legitimate Rolodex and a list of names and job titles. Nothing can substitute for the real-life connections you have.”

If you work in sales in 2012 — at a time when the amount of turnover in nearly every industry can cause head spins — those connections need to be updated, filtered through and managed on a regular basis, said digital media recruiter Michael Adler. The only way to do that is by reaching out to people directly, he said.

“To consider someone a part of your Rolodex, you have to have corresponded with them in the last three to six months,” said Adler, 40, a managing partner at the recruiting firm AC Lion. “The problem with LinkedIn is that everyone wants to expand their professional networks, but they’re not doing much beyond that.”

LinkedIn’s user base is growing at a rate of more than two new members per second, according to the company. As of November 2011, the professional networking site had more than 135 million members around the world, up from 100 million members in March.

If used beyond cold connecting, the site’s features enhance the correspondences between sales reps and their clients and prospects, said Christian Sutherland-Wong, product lead and general manager of LinkedIn’s Premium Subscription business.

“LinkedIn is a very strategic tool for sales professionals, particularly as they think about how to get information on their current network and extended network of leads,” he said. “The more you know about a person’s background and the common connections between you and that person, the higher your response rate will be.”

In one recent case, a company’s sales team was able to secure a high-profile client through the organization’s shared network on LinkedIn, said Sutherland-Wong. That prospect was sitting right under their noses, linked to the company’s chief financial officer.

“The company’s sales team reached up to the CFO to make that connection and they ended up closing the deal,” he said.

LinkedIn does enable users to make their most successful business relationships visible to others, said Rachel Barash, 44, a national sales rep at Realtor.com who sells online advertising.

“I have asked some clients to endorse me on the site and I do believe recruiters and sales directors look at that,” she said.

How are they doing it?  Let me count the ways!

1. Cablevision matches the names and addresses of their subscribers with regular ad data from third parties, and, voila, different ads to different set top boxes, even if you are watching the same show.    Uses VisibleWorld  Say it’s a hotel ad:  the mom types get an ad promoting their family based activity.   The single guy’s ad highlights their clubs and nightlife. 
2. Dave Morgan, of Tacoda fame, uses your channel changing habits to target ads.   He uses algorithms to categorize the set top box (not the viewer) and targets ads according.  Simulmedia  tracks the data second-by-second.  You like satire news?   You’ll get the edgier version of that ad.
3. Rentrak, a TV-measurement and advertising-services firm, works through your live-TV and DVR  viewing. The company, in some cases, measures videos watched on mobile devices, too.
4. Even TiVo got into the game.  Partnered with TRA, which matches real time data for TiVo boxes, a cable operator and other data, like store frequent shopper cards.    Experian PLC matches the TiVo box to your address through the store card.  Now they know what you watch, what you buy and where you live.    My fave correlation?   TRA found that watchers of “Jersey Shore” are regular buyers of yogurt.  And here I thought it was tanning services and cheap booze.
5. And let’s not forget Google and the long discussed GoogleTV.   When they finally get it right, they’ll be a big player.   Imagine if they use your email content and TV viewing to target ads?

BTW, I’ve been talking mainly about consumer products here. Can you imagine when political candidates start targeting ads by voter?

Click below for more:

Wall Street Journal
Techland

Media Header
Digital Media Recruiter

Yes, there are still some of them left in the world.   In fact, lots of them.    I estimate that roughly 190 million Facebook users use regular cellphones to connect to Facebook.   How did I get there?

• Facebook has 500 million users worldwide.
• About 40% of Facebook users connect to Facebook thru mobile phones.    That works out to 200 million users.
• About 95% of mobile phone users don’t have a smart phone.   And that’s world- wide.  IDC says that 1 billion of them were sold in 2010. 

Now, that’s a market worth tapping.   And Facebook wants to encourage you to connect via mobile.  Not just to increase traffic.   If you connect through a mobile, they know your location—and can now better serve you up ads.  And, don’t forget, that’s a real revenue stream for them.

Today Facebook announced it was buying Snaptu, which develops apps for those cheaper mobile phones, for a reportedly $60-70 million.   And that should help them reach developing areas where users don’t have PCs or smartphones.    Africa, Antarctica, the Amazon—Facebook marches on.

ACLION  BUILDS RESEARCH DIVISION TO SERVE GROWING DIGITAL MARKET

AC Lion, NY’s leading Digital Media executive search firm, announces the appointment of Melina Garda as Senior Director of Research.  Ms. Garda will spearhead AC Lion’s increased fulfillment efforts, as the digital job market continues its strong rebound.

“The demand for top talent in the digital market continues to grow.  AC Lion focuses on top media sales and marketing people—and everyone from Fortune 100s to emerging businesses is ramping up their operation” said CEO Alan Cutter.  “With this appointment, we will have faster turnaround time, which provides better customer service.”

Ms. Garda, a native of Alaska, brings over 10 years senior search experience, focusing on the digital, tech and entertainment sectors on both coasts.  Previously with KornFerry and Katalyst Group, she has an MBA from Pepperdine.   Her clients have included Sony Digital, Fox Mobile, EA Mobile, Activision, and Disney.

Founded in 1996, AC LION is a leading executive search firm specializing in building sales, marketing and technology teams within the digital media (agencies, publishers, networks, search, 3rd party technology/software), emerging platforms (mobile, social, gaming, video and converging media), e-commerce/customer acquisition, and financial industries. Headquartered in New York, AC LION has West Coast operations as well.  Over the past fourteen years, we have developed a strong reputation in the marketplace by helping the industries’ best companies maintain their competitive edge by sourcing the best talent. Visit http://www.aclion.com for more information.

Wow, think of your voice going viral.  Well, that’s what this cool new audio tool can do.  Record any 30 second clip from your cell phone or browser and send it to your friends. Could be your reaction to a great meal, your recent Black Friday great deal, a wicked pair of high heels, a bad foul throw by Shaw O’Neal, or your brand new automobile.  

Could even be your kid singing Happy Birthday Grandma! Imagine the smile when she hears that. Who needs a fancy Hallmark recordable card when you can do it yourself for nothing.   Now, that’s something to Blurt about!

Oh yeah, can use it for branding, social engagement, and that all important tracking. Entertaining and engaging!

 Click Here for more!

Zagat’s, the famed restaurant review group but a poor performer on the online world, is changing online tactics. They are bypassing their botched subscription model in lieu of a great app. For Zagat’s, its  another distribution channel, like their still successful printed books. It’s mobile, it’s local, it’s search. Looks poised for success but only time will tell.

Yet another publisher where the paid subscription model failed. Most disappointing is that they seemed ideally positioned to make it on line.  As the NY Times beautifully put it, Zagat’s was the original ‘user generated content.’ Pre-blogs, pre-Facebook, pre-Yelp, they had all these people reviewing restaurants. But they kept it paid content, which kept it outside Google’s firewall. Now they’re seen as an also-ran to Yelp and the proliferating local restaurant and daily deal sites.

So the ad model (Yelp) vs the paid content model (Zagat’s). Yelp was worth $500 million to Google. Zagat was at $175-200 million in 2008. An interesting battle to keep an eye on.

Click Here for full article.

AC Lion, as part of our ongoing partnership with PluggedInVentures, is a proud sponsor of the 2010 eCommerce Summit on Tuesday, December 21st in midtown Manhattan.  This event brings together people from social and mobile commerce, group buying and traditional ecommerce.

Each quarter, PluggedIn looks at a specific industry by bringing together its leaders and innovators for an informative and scintillating discussion. Awesome things happen at our roundtables as we put together a small group of smart and passionate people together to discuss everything dealing with ecommerce. The goal is simple: to connect the most innovative and exciting startups in the ecommerce space with the biggest and best eCommerce sites, brands, technology providers and industry analysts.

The eCommerce summit is a full day event that includes 4 topic specific roundtables with one-on-one networking and meetings in between. The roundtable format is an intimate if not laid back discussion that includes a moderator, participant panel, and guests who are relevant and engaged in the content. It’s designed to facilitate knowledge sharing, relationship building and deal making. 

Participating Companies include: BuyWithMe, Ashford.com, Yipit, GaggleOfChicks, GiltCity, dotBox, SocialAmp, TurnTo, Triad Digital, StyleTrek, ScoopSt, Vitamin Creek, Razorfish, Digitas, Peekaboo Mobile, Checkpoints, and many others.

I invite you to join me there.   AC Lion has negotiated a significant discount (to $150–$100 off if you register before 11/22/10).  Use the product code “ACLion” when you register at  http://www.pluggedinsummit.com/register/

If you have further questions, or need a group rate, please do not hesitate to ask.

Hope to see you there,

Yep, it’s here.  More people are playing games on their iPhones and iPads than watch most TV shows.  Ranks close to Sunday Night Football in terms of consumer reach.    And advertisers love it—those gaming ads are targeting, available 24/7, longer use time and repeat viewing.  And, oh, peak usage is in the evening, what we used to call prime time viewing hours. 

And it’s not just primetime.  Last month BrightRoll CEO Tod Sacerdoti pointed out that Zynga has 50 million users, mainly female gamers between 18 and 30.   That used to be the target audience for soap operas, which are fading away (or maybe they just had amnesia, a missing twin, were kidnapped or lost in the jungle for years). 

And I know this first hand.   Logged into YahooGames to see my fave time wasting game had been taken over by Resolve laundry detergent.   The message boards were flaming about it but people were still playing.  Who cares what was happening on network TV?  That’s so 20^th century.

Click here  for full article.

AC Lion is proud to sponsor of the 2010 PluggedIn Mobile Eco Summit  on Monday, September 20th in midtown Manhattan.  The Mobile Ecosystem summit encompasses 4 roundtables of 90 minutes with high level networking and meetings among participants and attendees.  The roundtable format is an intimate and laid back discussion with a moderator and a roomful of guests who would like to listen to the content of the discussion.  Roundtables are kept intimate in order to foster networking and meaningful discussion. In fact, roundtables have been referred to as “cage matches” for founders, c-level execs and investors, as they allow for honest conversation with insightful back-and-forth dialogue.

Roundtable participants include:

Mobile Apps:

eyeDip, WorldLiveMobile, Toura, MEDL Mobile, Appsolute Media, Fox Mobile, Time Inc.,  WSJ, MTV, Sony Music, Turner Broadcasting,  and Thomson Rueters.

Mobile Marketing:

AppsSavvy, Socialight, Adenyo, Appular, Bravo Media, Joule, Razorfish, and MRM Worldwide.

Mobile Advertising:

Medialets, Jumptap, Greystripe, Percent Mobile, InMobi, Todacell, Ringleader Digital, Ogilvy, Microsoft, and Google.

Check-In/LBS:

Xtify, Buzzd, Facebook, Fiddme, Where, Loopt, Topguest, DoubleDutch, Izea, and Grouptabs.

I invite you to join me there. Click here to register.