These days, it takes innovative vision and inspiring leadership to truly “change the game” and build disruptive businesses.  This panel brings together these types of leaders from across industries for a truly captivating evening.  Not only are we proud to have Mike on the panel and representing Holland-Mark, we’re excited to learn from these inspriational Boston leaders.

Each CEO will also conduct a 30 minute Breakout Session on a specific strategic brand partnership initiative.  We’ll be front row, pen and paper ready.

The CEO Panel includes:

Kenny Dichter	Joy Bauer	Jens Bang	Stephanie Sarofian	Michael Troiano
CEO Marquis Jet	CEO Joy Bauer Nutrition	CEO CONE	Managing Director & Senior VP Digitas	Principal Holland-Mark

If you are interesting in attending, please register here

You got your Twitter handle, and you finally figured out how to create a Facebook page. The blog is ready to go and… now what? Resisting the urge to use social media sites for self-promotional content is hard, but necessary. So how do you find that sweet spot between interesting and relevant content to your audience, that also makes them want to reach out?

Join Mike Tuesday at 8:00 am as he moderates a MITX panel on creating branded content and its value in building customer relationships. Mike will be joined by Carissa Caramanis O’Brien, President at Red Box Communications, Eric Oliver, Director of Digital Brand Communications at Converse, and Matt Drinkwater, Senior Director at Yahoo!. The panel will discuss questions like:

• How does “branded content” work?
• How does the approach compare to conventional forms?
• How does branded content work on portals and social media sites, where control of the context is not in the hands of your brand?

Learn more and sign up on the MITX event page here. What are your thoughts on what kind of content “clicks” for brands?

Related articles

• Is branded content the great equalizer? (econsultancy.com)
• Content Marketing continues to grow (thewayoftheweb.net)
• Content and Social Media Marketing Success Secret: Create Your Core Branded Destination (admaven.blogspot.com)

Austin Gardner-Smith recently came into the office to sit down with Mike and get the Holland-Mark perspective on the marketing and advertising landscape.  It was a great interview (see it in full here), and Mike was able to touch on some key points, including:

• - The new value economy that’s here to stay
• - The evolution of marketers from “decorators” to “architects”
• - The thought behind our new Venture Branding arm
• - Why Holland-Mark doesn’t strive to be one of the “big three”

It was a great overview of who we are here at HM, and a little insight on what we are trying to do.  We are all proud of what Mike, Chris, and Rob have built over the last few years.  But all in all, my favorite line is still:

“[Mike is] a big dude with a solid beard and a no-nonsense countenance that might engender sobriety from even the most bubbly personalities”

Hmm, maybe Austin hasn’t seen Mike at one of our Karaoke parties….

What do you guys think of the article?

Introduces Best of Boston iPhone App

Boston, MA (August 2010) – With the introduction of its innovative Best of Boston iPhone app for Boston magazine comes the formal launch of Holland-Mark’s Venture Branding practice. Led by agency principal Mike Troiano, the Venture Branding unit will focus on identifying, developing, and launching new consumer brands and product ideas with partners. “As an agency we are very focused on having measurable impact and seeing the tangible fruits of our creativity,” shares Troiano. “We created the Venture Branding practice to be able to put some skin in the game, to realize some of our own innovative ideas, and simply to work with smart people who want to build something with us.”

The Venture Branding model provides two entry points: The agency offers its ideas to partners and together they go to market, or partners approach the agency with their ideas and Holland-Mark provides the support. The Best of Boston iPhone app is an example of the former, with Holland-Mark executives proposing the idea to Boston magazine’s leadership in March 2010. Holland-Mark developed the software and interface and licenses the content from Boston magazine. With the early success of the Best of Boston app, the Venture Branding team has already begun working on the Best of Philadelphia offering, another property of Boston magazine publisher Metrocorp. The second Venture Branding partnership type is reflected in the agency’s work with Chris Lohring, CEO and owner of Notch Session Ales. “Chris came to us in the fall of 2009 with an interesting idea for a new category of ale,” said Troiano. “We worked with him on everything, from the recipe and name to the distribution strategy. The Notch brand launched in May. We went from an informal conversation to barrels going out the door in six months. That’s pretty cool.”

“Holland-Mark and the Venture Branding practice brings it all together,” said Chris Lohring, Notch CEO. “Strategic sensibility, real marketing expertise, creative horsepower, and a focus on delivering a brand and business model that works. As a one-person start-up it would have taken me another year to get where we got in six months. And the demand for Notch is incredible.”

Holland-Mark is in talks with several potential Venture Branding partners and plans for a portfolio of five to ten brands by the end of 2011.

****

Holland-Mark is a strategic marketing firm focused on creating imperative brands. Clients include ACIS, BodyScapes, Boston magazine, Chelsea Clock, Corning, Harvard, Himmel Hospitality Group, IHRSA, MassMutual, Mercer, Notch Brewing, Pearson Education, and World Energy.

If you didn’t know, before he was our content hub advocate, Mike was part of the venture-funded mobile content pioneer m-Qube. He’ll be applying this experience, as well as our current mobile perspective, to the “Beyond Mobile Barriers” panel.

The panel will explore mobile as a critical part of media planning strategies and discuss features such as rich media, applications, geo-location, and hyperlocal that allow brands and establishments to interact with mobile users in new and useful ways. Mike’s panel includes mobile leaders Dan Olschwang of Jumptap, Andrew Paradise at AisleBuyer, and Ben Smith of Dunkin’ Brands. Whether you Check In or are checked out, it should be interesting to see how mobile is changing the media landscape.

While you are at it, check out the rest of Media Innovation Day, learn about some of the most important up-and-coming trends in marketing and media, and recognize the people who take innovative media planning to a new level. Check out the schedule and register here.

Working with our friends at Boston magazine, we developed an iPhone application that allows consumers to search and access content from the magazine’s highly regarded annual Best of Boston® issues. Best of Boston® is the go-to resource for the expert-selected winners in over 70 categories, from suits to sushi.

Through the app, you can access Best of Boston® winners from the last five years, searching by location, keyword, and category. You can even share what you find and save your favorites.

It simply and effectively gets you what you want: the best from the people that know what’s best. Whether you’re a tourist or a local, it’s ideal for navigating Boston.

We developed the app as part of our newly formed Venture Branding practice, spearheaded by partner Mike Troiano. The Venture Branding model has two facets: we have great ideas and take them to market or others have great ideas and we help take them to market.

Our work with Boston magazine on the Best of Boston® iPhone app is an example of the former; our work with Chris Lohring on the creation of Notch Session Ales, an example of the latter. Whichever way it works, we get to play with smart people and create viable brands and businesses. What could be better?

If you want to check out the Best of Boston® iPhone app (just in time for the weekend), click here. And let us know what you think.

If you haven’t heard, MassChallenge is an inspiring organization that supports early stage entrepreneurs. By providing resources and key elements like networking, training, and support, MassChallenge has infused the Greater Boston entrepreneurial community with a new sense of opportunity in spite of a rocky economic climate. Mike Troiano will be joining MassChallenge for one of their great events next Wednesday: “How to Build Buzz Around Your Brand.”

Mike will not be alone — he will be sharing his knowledge alongside other influential speakers: Jay Wilder (Brainshark), David Hauser (Grasshopper), and Kipp Bodnar (Hubspot). Jay will discuss how solo entrepreneurs (or those with small teams) can overcome the obstacles of making your personal feel and passion scalable. David will show how he has achieved success building relationships and creating value (aka the New PR). And Kipp will demonstrate how creative content should be compelling in order to attract customers to one’s business.

Mike will focus on “How to Take your Brand from Interesting to Imperative,” a critical challenge for any business owner. He will walk through what “imperative” really means, and how getting back to the basics of product, communication, and engagement can be a business breakthrough.

Since MassChallenge is one of the hosts, the event should be quite “buzzworthy” and a hot topic for Boston and its growing entrepreneurial and start-up community. We hope it will coax you into dropping by and seeing what these four gentlemen have to share regarding marketing and brands today. Looking forward to seeing you there!

What you need to know:

Date: Wednesday, 6/23/2010

Time: 6:00-9:00pm

Cost: FREE

Location: Microsoft New England Research & Development Center

One Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA

It got us thinking — along with our friends and colleagues at MITX — that there had to be a way to stage a meeting of the marketing minds that would go beyond talk.  And so, between cocktails and panels and whiteboards, FutureM was born.  Slated for October 4-8th, FutureM is a week-long collaborative conference on the vision for marketing in Massachusetts through an intersection of people and ideas and inspiration.  It’s a chance to hear about the latest in marketing, technology, and design– together.  And if the thought of nonstop keynotes scares you as much as it scares us, fear not: FutureM includes panels, roundtables, summits, parties, meet-ups, and more, because the best ideas rarely get created around a podium.  We can’t wait.  Check out the rumblings of the future here.

In the meantime, we wanted to share the opportunity to be a part of FutureM.  If you have a topic, technology, team, or even a question that can help define what’s next for marketing, submit an event idea.  So get creative and join us at the future here.

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