Lauren Andres is a senior at Wheaton College (MA) majoring in Studio Art. She grew up in Branford, Connecticut and is spending her summer at Fathom to gain more experience in graphic and website design. Lauren once worked in the Wheaton College Communications Office where she got to further enhance her graphic design skills. When not working on design, Lauren can be found running for the Wheaton Cross Country team or baking all of our favorite desserts.

After I had to spend some time in the hot seat answering questions, it was now my chance to turn [...]]]>  

Meet Lauren!

Lauren Andres is a senior at Wheaton College (MA) majoring in Studio Art. She grew up in Branford, Connecticut and is spending her summer at Fathom to gain more experience in graphic and website design. Lauren once worked in the Wheaton College Communications Office where she got to further enhance her graphic design skills. When not working on design, Lauren can be found running for the Wheaton Cross Country team or baking all of our favorite desserts.

After I had to spend some time in the hot seat answering questions, it was now my chance to turn the table and find out some more information from Lauren.

Jared: You’re a Studio Art major at Wheaton College. What is it and what interests you most about this field?

Lauren: Studio art is a variety of fine arts. It deals with painting, drawing, sculpture, and other two and three-dimensional arts. I am a very creative and visual person. Studio art gave me the opportunity to work with my hands a bit and work with something physically in front of me.

J: What do you see as your biggest challenge here at Fathom?

L: The biggest challenge I see here at Fathom is working at the level of designers. I have taken graphic design courses at school, but have not worked with programs as intensely as the people here have.

J: What kind of experience are you looking to get out of interning at Fathom this summer?

L: I am definitely looking at gaining more experience with graphic design programs and seeing how people work with these programs outside of the classroom. Another great part of Fathom is being able to work with a group that’s just not entirely designers. It will be a great experience to work with a variety of people here at Fathom.

J: What is the best advice you have ever received?

L: The best advice I have ever received is to do what you’re interested in. This is another reason why I went into studio art.

J: Ok, now your turn to give us a fun fact about yourself.

L: A fun fact about myself is that I went skydiving in Cape Cod for my graduation from high school.

Jared Kotler is a soon-to-be senior at George Washington University in D.C. majoring in Marketing and Business. He grew up in our home base of West Hartford, Conn. and is spending the summer at Fathom to gain more experience in marketing and business development. His skills in writing, communications and social media are exceptional. He once worked for Richard Blumenthal and is a self-proclaimed sports nut, as is evident from his tweets. But it was Jared’s positive energy, persistence and sheer joy for what he wants to do that caught our [...]]]> Jared Kotler is a soon-to-be senior at George Washington University in D.C. majoring in Marketing and Business. He grew up in our home base of West Hartford, Conn. and is spending the summer at Fathom to gain more experience in marketing and business development. His skills in writing, communications and social media are exceptional. He once worked for Richard Blumenthal and is a self-proclaimed sports nut, as is evident from his tweets. But it was Jared’s positive energy, persistence and sheer joy for what he wants to do that caught our eye.

This is a first . . . an intern in a suit and tie. Classy guy.

His first project at Fathom is to interview our people to get to know who we are and what we do and then present his findings to everyone at Friday Lunch on 5/24. He was also tasked with uncovering something about each of us that no one else knows. And, I’m going to now attempt to do the same . . .

Suzi: You’re a business and marketing major at George Washington University. What interests you the most about this field?

Jared: When trying to find the best major I was looking for something that truly interested and challenged me. I took an Intro to Marketing course and really liked the material and projects that were assigned to the class. Business and marketing both deal with a lot of strategy, creativity, and communication; three areas that I have always enjoyed working in.

S: You’ve worked on marketing campaigns before and are not exactly new to our world. Since we don’t advertise and primarily focus our efforts on content marketing and generating conversations, what do you see as your biggest challenge in helping us to market Fathom?

J: My biggest challenge has already passed! It was to get to know everything there is about Fathom and the people who work here. Now that I know more information about the people who work here and what Fathom truly offers their clients, helping to market Fathom will be much easier.

S: How are your interviews with everyone going? Are people giving up the goods?

J: The first project is going really well. It has been great getting to spend some time talking with everyone here at Fathom and finding out about their background and roles at the company. People are giving me great fun facts . . . I think they will truly surprise everyone.

S: What kind of experience do students look for in an internship these days and what are you hoping to leave here with in August?

J: Students look for an internship that will provide them with experience in a field interesting to them. An internship really gives you a chance to determine how much you would like to work in a particular field after graduation. I am looking to learn how Fathom runs and the way business is conducted here along with creating some great ideas to market Fathom.

S: You’re a West Hartford native and we’ve been here barely a year. Any advice or recommendations for doing as the locals do?

J: Enjoy all that the town has to offer! So many great places to go, eat, and hang out. When I’m not here at Fathom you can probably catch me out at Rockledge or Buena Vista Golf Course right here in West Hartford.

S: What’s the best advice that you’ve ever received?

J: The best advice I ever received came from both my parents who have always told me to work my hardest and put my best efforts into whatever I am doing.

S: Now it’s your turn, tell us something about yourself that no one else knows. (We won’t tell, promise).

My fun fact is really good. I don’t want to spoil the surprise for my new co-workers.

Returning home from a conference is like coming home after a great hunting expedition. You are either excited to share your kill with fellow villagers, or you bow your head in shame if you came up empty handed. If only conferences were as vital to your survival as an expedition [...]]]> Last week I spent 1.5 days with fellow industry colleagues at the B2B Content2Conversion Conference by DemandGen Report. Marketers, writers, researchers, technophiles, conversationalists and even left brainers gathered to take on the latest thinking and trends in content marketing.

Returning home from a conference is like coming home after a great hunting expedition. You are either excited to share your kill with fellow villagers, or you bow your head in shame if you came up empty handed. If only conferences were as vital to your survival as an expedition for food. We’d sure as heck have better conferences if that were the case, and a plan for making every last bite count.

Luckily, there was plenty of good stuff to feed on from this event. Below are my favorite perspectives, and recommendations for what to do with them. Because, among the tips, tricks, trends and other people’s successes, it’s the mindsets, the changes in thinking, that leads to change.

“Would your network thank you for your content?” – Ann Handley, Marketing Profs

How beautiful is this statement? It changes content from being something to produce out of obligation to a thoughtful gift for someone else. And, all thoughtful gifts require knowledge and caring of its recipient. From here on in, I will ask myself, “Would I want this ‘gift’ of content if someone else gave it to me?” If it would end up at a tag sale or shoved in the closet, it doesn’t get created. There’s nothing wrong with generating content to showcase your expertise but if you write it with ONLY that intent, chances are high that the only one thanking you for the content will be you and your team.

By the way: “regifting,” a.k.a. curating other people’s content (or “OPC” as it was known at the event), is a preferred method to help overcome one of the biggest challenges for content marketers: not enough time/resources/talent to create content and too much content from everyone else. For more on content curation, see the presentation by Curata, download their eBooks on the subject and follow Pawan Deshpande from Curata.

“Own the media. You’re not renting.” – Joe Pulizzi, Content Marketing Institute

Joe was fired up about content marketers seeing themselves as journalists and publishers. This theme compliments another of Ann’s thoughts which is the need to focus on moving from “sharing to storytelling.” Thinking like a publisher is nothing new. As someone who started out as a reporter and then worked in book publishing for years, I naturally think this way.

What’s new for me is how marketers can take this thinking to the level of systems change, resources and skill sets. When I tweeted about this idea during the event, Mark Joyella, a journalist pal of mine replied right away suggesting that his out-of-work colleagues are a huge untapped resource for businesses right now. It’s so obvious and so true! Businesses that employ journalists to tell stories and publishers to manage the distribution will gain a huge advantage over others who struggle to get their content out to the world in a timely and interesting way. For more on how this topic was discussed at the conference, read DemandGen Report’s “Think Like A Publisher” recap.

All this publisher talk is a great segue to the next theme . . .

“Great content isn’t great content until it’s found, shared and consumed.” – Lee Odden

Simple and straightforward but it should be a mantra for us all. Write the most intriguing blog post or produce the most amazing video but until someone else sees value in it, it might as well live on the cutting room floor. This advice from Lee forces us to think beyond the “what” of our creations and to consider the “who, why, where and how.” All of these pieces are vital to content that leads to doing v. content that is just existing.

This quick and dirty post on the “5Ws of Content Marketing” by my colleague Louisa Desson is a great way to start thinking like a reporter.

“Your top-of-the-funnel content should be intellectually divorced from your product, but emotionally tied to it.” – Joe Chernov, Kinvey

You know you’re a smart cookie when you’re being quoted at an event, and in a blog post about the event, and you didn’t even attend. Joe Chernov wasn’t there but this quote relayed by one of his pals says so much about the role of selling in content marketing (hint: very little) and the importance of believing in the value of what you do and what it can do for others.

“Real influence isn’t fans and followers, but niche communities that take action.”

I’ve lost my notes on who said this (fellow attendees, please let me know). The part about this quote that sparked a mindset shift in me is the “niche communities.” For a few years now, the focus has been on “fish where the fish are.” In other words: get a Facebook fan page, a Twitter handle, etc. Put yourself in the big platforms where the masses convene but don’t create your own community! That’s crazy talk. Yet, this thought speaks to a shift that’s happening in places like Quora, but also in micro-shifts within the bigger platforms that has been happening for some time now (hashtags, lists, subscriptions). People rally around a common idea or philosophy. Being a small fish in a big pond is not the future. There are too many fishes.

“The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.” – Tom Fishburne, Marketoonist

Here is a quote from another guy who wasn’t in attendance but had great things to say. I’ve been remiss to use the term “marketing” for a long time now. It has too much baggage. But, since I don’t have a better word, I’ll keep using it. However, having this idea in mind, that if the “marketing” I activate doesn’t smell or resemble marketing at all, gives me a success point to shoot for. If we’re able to attract the clients we want to work with without pitching, that’s a great sign that your “unmarketing” is really working.

This unmarketing begins with content that, as Ann Handley suggests, is something clients would thank you for.
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The presentations for the B2B Content2Conversion Conference can be found on DemandGen Report’s Slideshare, and here are some great conference recaps by attendees:

Amanda Batista: “10 Actionable Content Marketing Tips”
Lee Odden: “6 Simple Considerations for Boosting the Marketing Performance of Content”
Jonathan Lee: “B2B Content to Conversion Take-Away: Think Like A Publisher”
Jessie Zubatkin: “11 Great Tweets from Content2Conversation Event”
Marissa Pick: #B2BContentEvent Storify

Selling a house can be an emotionally charged experience, and ours didn’t disappoint. The house belonged to my husband’s grandfather and we raised our boys there during their formative years, so it was a difficult decision for us to let it go.

But, with one son in college and the other in high school (and more interested in baseball than yard work), it seemed the right time to downsize. We have more important things to do than maintain 3 acres and clear the snow from our long driveway.

In late winter, real estate inventory was [...]]]> My husband and I recently sold our house.

Selling a house can be an emotionally charged experience, and ours didn’t disappoint. The house belonged to my husband’s grandfather and we raised our boys there during their formative years, so it was a difficult decision for us to let it go.

But, with one son in college and the other in high school (and more interested in baseball than yard work), it seemed the right time to downsize. We have more important things to do than maintain 3 acres and clear the snow from our long driveway.

In late winter, real estate inventory was low but there were a lot of buyers, which resulted in two offers on our home. This was a good problem to have, but a problem nonetheless. We had a decision to make.

Let’s review the facts:

Both offers were for the same amount – over the asking price.

Offer #1 – single guy, no house to sell, wants quick closing

Offer #2 – young couple ready to start a family, both are veterinarians (we are pet people), have a house to sell

On paper, the single guy was the way to go. But the vets wrote us a letter. They told us how much they love the house and yard, explained how excited they were about maintaining the extensive perennial gardens on the property, shared with us their dream of enjoying the pond with their future children.

We agonized over this decision, our brains pitted against our hearts. Would the vets be able to sell their house? Who was single guy, and why did he need such a big home?

In the end, the vets won. Why? Because their story resonated with us. As a marketer, I was fully aware that I was being swayed by their story, but was powerless anyway.

Making a connection with your audience is essential, especially in this age of information overload.

You don’t necessarily have to pull on the heartstrings, but you do have to tell your story. Who are you?

Every market is saturated with experts. What makes you special?

There are almost infinite choices – all accessible with a quick Google search. Why are you a good fit for your consumer?

Never underestimate the power of your story. It sells, and your audience wants to hear it. Show them you care, and tell it freely.

When Jill Griffiths, VP of Corporate Communications at Aetna, talks fondly of her boss, it’s also with unnerving excitement. Will CEO Mark Bertolini say or do something to spark a forest fire of damage, or will his actions swing the other way and inspire a new possibility?

A veteran in health care communications, Griffiths reminded professionals at a recent event for the Connecticut chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), that her industry is an easy target. From the days of outing cigarette manufacturers to the Clinton era of health care reform, and now the [...]]]> When Jill Griffiths, VP of Corporate Communications at Aetna, talks fondly of her boss, it’s also with unnerving excitement. Will CEO Mark Bertolini say or do something to spark a forest fire of damage, or will his actions swing the other way and inspire a new possibility?

A veteran in health care communications, Griffiths reminded professionals at a recent event for the Connecticut chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), that her industry is an easy target. From the days of outing cigarette manufacturers to the Clinton era of health care reform, and now the impending reinvention of the entire health care industry, any topic for an insurance company can be an emotional, social or political land mine.

Griffiths has mentored every variety of CEO. She knows how to play maestro with the rogue and impetuous actions of a corporate chief and apply what’s needed –  either smooth damage control or more PR when it goes right. Beyond the daily work of cleanup and keeping a CEO on message, there is brilliance happening when the outward vision of the CEO elevates the company’s brand and vision. As Griffiths suggests, how can a leadership’s platform be used as a pivot point for organizational change?

Light bulb!

I’ve always known the importance of C-level visibility and what it can do for an organization. Developing a personal brand strategy for the most public-facing members of your team is a strategy we are actively developing. What I’ve been missing this whole time is how one person’s public-facing “way” — their perspectives, conversations, ideals, screw ups, provocations — can not only reflect an organization, but transform it from the outside in.

Think about what’s possible when the idea of control and management succumbs to what Brené Brown calls “the power of vulnerability.” Fearless vulnerability is found in people who open up to the world and are “out there,” really out there. Their openness allows for a stronger connection to others, and a stronger connection to themselves. In that connection, the sky is the limit to what can emerge: new perspectives, ideas, relationships, values, ways of being and, ultimately, change.

Bertolini, according to Griffiths, is a “bring it on CEO.” He’s the first CEO for Aetna to be active on Twitter. He rides a Harley, survived a near fatal skiing accident, helped his son survive a rare form of cancer, is a huge hockey fan, a Detroit loyal and proud of his Italian heritage. Getting to know Bertolini is easy from his Tweets:

A snapshot of Tweets from Bertolini. Follow him: @mtbert

Namaste? Did I just hear a CEO say namaste?

Bertolini’s transparent and no apologies approach is comforting and energizing. Griffiths worries about her boss being overly accessible. I can see why. How do you block and tackle someone who blurs the lines between who he is as a person and how he leads 35,000 people in a Fortune 100 company?

I think the answer can be found in changing the question. Instead of blocking and tackling, what’s possible when someone like Bertolini is free to be a gateway to real change? Leaders who inspire are more than fancy talkers. They’re mindful and accessible listeners.