Comments for Rock Me Amadeo

Comment on There’s A Need For Integrated Social Media by amadeo

amadeo — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:03:04 +0000

I’m pretty confident that we’ll be a kickass group. Hopefully, we’ll see other follow suit and realize that we can’t all be running around separately and need to join together to offer scalable solutions.

Comment on There’s A Need For Integrated Social Media by steve K

steve K — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:51:17 +0000

Patience my young friend. We’re gonna do great things. We’re smart, have great experience and loads of passion,.

Comment on Jeff Howe Didn’t Mean To Be An Asshole by Crowdsourcing a Discussion on Crowdsourcing: Agency Nil, Anomaly and Victors & Spoils | eyecube

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:34:42 +0000

[...] and George Parker sounds off on Victors & Spoils via PSFK here. Other great takes include Amadeo Plaza of Crayon on V&S and Contagious takes a look at V&S here. BBH Labs on Agency Nil here and [...]

Comment on Jeff Howe Didn’t Mean To Be An Asshole by anibal

anibal — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:07:26 +0000

You’re right, crowdsourcing is not new and V&S certainly did not invent it. Yet I am not sure I agree with your point of view. Let me explain why.

First, you are talking about crowdsourcing not having the ability to deliver a quality product. That’s true. But let’s put things in perspective here. One of the main reasons why this industry gets so much heat and talking down is because, whether we love it or hate it, most of the work is shitty. Period. That’s the reason why everytime you go to a conference or a creative talk, the examples of great work are always about the same usual suspects. That’s why most agencies spend so much time admiring and adoring the work that a few do instead of their own. The sad truth is that most of the advertising out there sucks. Now, that’s also the reason why I believe these types of initiatives are good for what we do. Change is needed and since no one has nailed the right model, there is nothing wrong with trying.

I believe this industry truly masters the art of criticizing, yet it sucks when it comes to actually innovating and embracing failure, to set an example by doing and stop just preaching fancy words in paper. The art director and copywriter marriage got a lot of fire when it was first proposed but hey, it is always dark before the sun comes out. 15 years ago R/GA decided to go against the wave. Look where they are now. Look where digital is now.

Second. You’re asking if V&S can legitimately call themselves a creative ad agency? Well, I don’t know about you but I do believe creative is an attitude, not a discipline. So then why are we hired? Well, the truth is that for nothing that a dozen of smart guys at an in house agency can’t do. No matter what excuses we might say. The goal is to produce great work – that works – and there is no really a size that fits at all here.

Long story short, crowdsourcing might not be the answer. True. But I do respect those who have the guts to embrace failure and try something different from time to time. It is easy criticize but hard to take risks.

How can they sleep at night? I guess the same way that the big agencies with inflated production and man-hours fee driven models do. In peace. It’s all relative.

Comment on Have Marketers Lost Their Individuality? by Ben

Ben — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:16:36 +0000

+1. Though, I’ve gotta admit, I am guilty of wearing plaid. I blame Urban Outfitters and women’s taste in male fashion.

Comment on Want To Understand Social Media? Don’t Stop Using It At 5 P.M. by Anthony Perez

Anthony Perez — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:18:41 +0000

Might want to fix your links there, buddy.

Comment on The Only 3 Things You Need to Succeed In Social Media and Become an Engaged Brand by Anthony Perez

Anthony Perez — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:06:37 +0000

Josh’s point is the often forgotten one. It reminds me of when I saw a job posting on Craigslist for a law firm. For some reason they wanted a social media strategist including someone “who was a beast on Digg.” I didn’t understand what exactly a law firm would need with Digg. I do believe Twitter could be valuable if you’re a personal injury attorney and looking to reach out to those who mention their accidents on Twitter.

Comment on The Only 3 Things You Need to Succeed In Social Media and Become an Engaged Brand by amadeo

amadeo — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:37:59 +0000

Well made point, Sandra. I’d like to think that people should know to bring some kind of value to the table at this point, but I’m sure there are many still making the same mistakes. And thanks for reading .

Comment on The Only 3 Things You Need to Succeed In Social Media and Become an Engaged Brand by Sandra @ DebutanteClothing

Sandra @ DebutanteClothing — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:33:49 +0000

I would add “Be Useful” I agree that Zappos.com is one of the most successful brands in terms of social media, but one of the things that everyone at Zappos does on Twitter is that they use it as an extension of their customer service. So not only does the CEO taunt us with his many tweets of drinks at X hotel in Vegas, he also will get right on it when I have a delivery issue. The freaking CEO! Useful.

Comment on The Only 3 Things You Need to Succeed In Social Media and Become an Engaged Brand by amadeo

amadeo — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:49:51 +0000

Thanks Josh. And you’re right: Some companies just shouldn’t do it. Or rather, not that they shouldn’t do it altogether; they just don’t need to be as engaged as others.