Marketing Thought - Blog Becomes Permanent

At the request of several people, we will continue to host this blog to give marketing thought leaders a place to share their ideas. If you have already posted, your rights will just continue. If you want to post an idea of your own, request an invitation from svama@onebox.com. We are looking forward to hearing about your ideas.

Karen O'Brien - SVAMA's Marketing Thought Leader of the Year

Karen O'Brien, Principal of Interactive Marketing at Crimson Consulting took first place in SVAMA's search for "Marketing Thought Leader of the Year." Karen was selected from a group of marketers who submitted their ideas to a new blog set up just for this purpose.

I first met Karen during this past year when she spoke at a workshop for SVAMA. Out of all the events that I have attended over the past few months, this one stands out for a couple of reasons. The room was so full that we had to squeeze people into the room. I also remember the feedback from the attendees - even after an extended time in a crowded room, they wanted to stay and hear more from Karen. I certainly can understand why as she is clearly an expert in all of the various nuances of Web 2.0 and filled her discussion with useful and actionable information.

When we last corresponded via email Karen told me, "I'm still in shock." I guess I can understand that initial reaction given the quality of other articles submitted. However, her very simple idea to use Web 2.0 to "Attract," "Engage," and "Extend" was compelling and on target. Judges selected Karen's article Web 2.0 Makes You Rethink the Basics from a short list of finalists and announced it at SVAMA's Marketing Thought conference last week.

The other finalists were . . .

• Mark Cavender and Michael Eckhardt from Chasm Institute, LLC for Marketing Disruptive Innovations to Consumers: Myths vs Realities
• Mar Junge from 3cPR for Everybody LOVES a Juicy Story