A Fresh Look From a TNG Intern (cross-posting)

This is a cross-posting.  Originally posted by me on The New Group Blog. Figured my readers would want to read it too.

My first day here at The New Group is coming to a close. The first thing I noticed was how difficult it is to find this palace in the clouds. As a cyclist, MacCadam Ave was a cruel mistress. As a mild insomniac, I was quite groggy still this morning.

Macadam Ave. – More crowded in the morning (And why am I on the wrong side of the road?)

Image Credit: Google Maps

Fortunately, I was met with smiling faces, a cup of coffee and a slew of introductions. One would be hard pressed to find a group of people that know as much about their profession as the people I encountered today. Each department and each employee had a different style and rhythm. Many of my discussions focused on social media and the “everybody’s got one” blogosphere.

How can a brand improve its image in the digital landscape? There have always been discussions about products and services by consumers. Now, these conversations and opinions are being migrated to the digital arena, giving them much more impact on consumer opinion. Brands must be willing to listen to consumers and help shape the conversation. Who better knows the consumer than the consumer? Direct communication channels are powerful tools, and this is just the tip of the conversational media iceberg. It takes research and a personal “feel” for the pulse of the internet to know where people are getting their information, videos, images and anything else you can dream up. I have blogs that I have deemed to be interesting to me, and I am discovering new “culture magnets” all the time. For brands, it is essential to find who these culture magnets are for your target and observe what they are saying. These are the new “cool kids”. No longer do all the cool kids wear leather and smoke cigs behind the gym. They are devouring information and dispensing it to the average kids who are, like me, sitting in front of laptops and trying to make all the cool kids like them.

Photo Credit: Jen64

These opinions and feelings towards the brand will only increase in volume and ability to craft opinion in the coming years. In other words: It’s a big deal. I admit to being new to the world of analyzing such mountains of data, but these folks seem like they have been doing this for years. Maybe, I will pick up a thing or two in my time here at The New Group.

Throughout my (short) tenure here I will be attempting to call myself a copywriter. I became interested in copywriting because of my two loves: solving problems creatively and seeing my writing in giant letters on a billboard. I don’t have a huge ego, but where else can you write cheeky, snarky pieces and not have to expose anything about your personal feelings. It’s a great way for smart alecks like me to define problems and find unexpected solutions. Great writing is hard to define, but when your writing makes a direct, understandable connection to the target, great things happen. Customers are compelled to buy, the sun breaks through the clouds and everyone gets a pony. TNG has quite a few of those moments, and I hope to learn from some of the best pony-givers in the industry. Let’s creatve something beautiful.

Who doesn’t want a pony?

credit: andrediaslopes

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