Observations: Stephendann.com

2008 Annual Report – The Year in Work Recognised Outputs

The To Done List from 2008 (thus far…)

I do need to preface this list by pointing out that I’ve included the blanks on the annual report to indicate what my workplace recognises as outcomes in a year. I still feel a little bit disgruntled with the performance for 2008 (three rejected papers, a few missed shots, and some stuff from 2007 which I haven’t converted into anything yet is getting towards time expiry.)

It’s small wonder I’m feeling tired.

Continue reading 2008 Annual Report – The Year in Work Recognised Outputs

Proposition 8: When asked to do the improbable, some achieve the seemingly impossible

2008 – California Proposition 8: Ban on Gay Marriage
Yes – 5,376,424 (52%)
No – 4,870,010 (48%)

2000 – California Proposition 22:Ban on recognition of same sex marriages

Yes – 61.4%
No – 38.6%

That’s a near 10% swing in 8 years against one of the largest coordinated campaigns by out of state influences. California voted for 61 percent in favour of a ban on gay marriage which, when over turned by the courts, created the freedom to marry.

Support for Proposition 8 was down 10% from Proposition 22. The defending team conceded a 10% swing despite the massive resource push into the fight. They gained no ground on what they had in 2000, they lost substantial ground from where they stood, and they had to fight like mad to hold onto a slender majority.

Given the seemingly impossible challenge of 12.4% swing required to stave off this attack on individual rights, the electorate mustered up a near 10% swing, (which in political marketing terms is this side of a miracle when dealing with an issue with such a well resourced opposition)

Now the margin is 2.1% for a 50.1% majority vote to support same sex marriage.

The battle was lost today in 2008. The battle for tomorrow is a 2.1% margin from the campaign teams that have a 10% margin gain under their belts already. That future is winnable, because despite the massive resources the various opponents of same sex marriage brought to their fight, they still bleed massive numbers of supports, and a huge slice of the electorate. Their time is running out, and they just saw their A-game only narrowly scratch out a win

For same sex marriage supports, it’s only a 2.1% margin left to convert. For the opponents, given they can’t defend a 12% lead? They’re running out of options, time and support base.

When Automatic Options Go Wrong

Do you speak English (UK) guv?

Facebook has one of those days with the automatic region recognition offering me an opportunity to into Cockney rhyming slang to the US site.

World Social Marketing Conference (Post Event Reflection)

I have to admit to still being somewhere between Cloud 9 and a state of shock over the sheer intensity of the conference, and my successes at the Conference.

The Good

First and foremost, a massive thank you to TCP and to the National Social Marketing Centre for the event. I had the honour of working in with the two teams by running the WSMC twitter account. I owe a massive debt of thanks to Patrick Ladbury at the NSMC for letting me set up and run the WSMC twitter account. Thank you. It’s a tribute to you and the Centre that I was able to come into the picture at the last moment and just slot into the framework.

The Brilliant

Philip Kotler. This man is one of the most seriously impressive people I’ve had the honour to meet, and to hear him talk about social marketing in person is an amazing privilege. This man is a living legend in the marketing business, and a genuine icon of the commercial marketing sector. He was there at the opening of the conference, and was present and participating throughout the entire process. I know many key note speakers fly in, speak, and fly out. He was there in the sessions, listening, learning and observing the progress of the discipline he helped build from a great idea to powerful social force.

Plus…

: Kotler, P, Dann, S and Dann, S (2008) Social Marketing Conference Photo, World Social Marketing Championships, Brighton

I have a signed copy of the Kotler and Lee (2008) Social Marketing text, and I was lucky (and bold) enough to be photographed with Kotler, and have my photo taken with Nancy Lee (my social marketing icon).

Lee, N and Dann, S (2008) Social Marketing World Championship Dinner, Brighton

The Downright Astonishing

I was named as one of the 18 senior social marketing figures. The conference held a lunch time breakout session to have “Lunch with senior social marketeers”. The list of names of the Social Marketing “Team of the Century” (as I’ve taken to calling it)

Clarence Room – Philip Kotler & Nancy Lee
Sandringham Room – Bill Smith & Seynabou Mbengue
Osborne – Rob Donovan & Tane Cassidy
Lancaster Room – Gerard Hastings & Alan Andreasen
Edinburgh Room – Francois Lagarde & Jeff French
Ambassador Room – Sue Peattie & Doug McKenzie Mohr
Library – Craig Lefebvre & Katherine Lyon Daniel
Surrey Room – Stephen Dann & Ray Lowry
Gloucester Room – Sameer Deshpande & Juan Manuel Urrutia

I am honoured and humbled to be in the same line up as these icons of the business. I was affectionately referring to the conference as the World Championships of Social Marketing, and I think I can comfortably say I walked out of the event with a title belt and a baggy green cap as part of the World Championship squad.

The Future

This conference involved me staking a major bet on the production of a new definition of social marketing which paid serious dividends. The full paper based on the conference presentation has provisionally been accepted into the Journal of Business Research with no changes. There’s interest in the methodology used in the paper from another journal. People were literally screencapping the definition with digital cameras. This was the biggest event of my career, and one of the most amazing days of my life to stand before peers, icons and idols, and put a legitimate claim on defining the meaning of social marketing.

There’s much more to recap and write up from the event for the next few days. For now, I’ll just settle with being extremely honoured and humbled to be part of an amazing event.

Slight Case of Same Yet Massive Difference: US download quotas and caps

Via Boing Boing -Comcast limits customers to 250 gigs a month fire_set_a01

Starting October 1, roundly hated broadband provider Comcast will begin officially capping consumer use at 250 gigs a month, according to the company’s recently-updated Frequently Asked Questions about Excessive Use.

250 gig a month. The best plan I could find for an Australian ISP was 60gig a month capped. This is the digital disconnect in action – Australians have to think about quotas when downloading even on “big” quota deals like 40gig. Here, there’s outrage at capping at 250gig a month?

Try our networks, then complain about a monthly cap that beats most people’s annual caps.