Posted by Chris Walbert on June 30th, 2009 and has 1 comment.
Last night, as I was driving to pick up my little brother, I was struck by the fact that it has been nearly two years since we were matched. Many things in both my life and his life have changed in the last two years, but what hasn’t changed is the ongoing commitment to spend time together.
I approached the whole Big Brothers thing with excitement, but also a bit of trepidation. To be honest, I wasn’t really sure that I could be a good mentor or role model for a kid. I don’t have life figured out, so what wisdom can I impart on someone else?
Through this experience, I’ve learned that I don’t have to be perfect and I don’t have to attempt to share some great wisdom or knowledge with him. All I really have to do is remain committed to spending time with him and do a lot of listening. I don’t know that he will remember anything I have said to him in 10 years, but I’m pretty sure he will remember that someone cared enough about him to take him to baseball games, play video games with him, and teach him how to fix his bike.
Continue Reading Two Years as a Big Brother
Posted by Chris Walbert on May 18th, 2009 and has no comments.
I was quoted in Friday’s Baltimore Business Journal in an article called “Blog and Pony Show“. The article is essentially about the money, or lack thereof, that people can expect to make from blogging. As a planner and buyer of interactive media, I’m approached regularly by sites with advertising opportunities and have to evaluate whether they are the right places for our clients to be advertising.
I wanted to expand upon the BBJ quote and explain a little more of my thoughts on advertising on blogs and in social media. Here’s the quote:
“It pushes the brand even further and gets people to talk about it amongst themselves,” said Chris Walbert, digital media manager for Media Works Ltd. in Owings Mills. “That’s the powerful thing about blogs and social networks.”
First, to state the obvious, just because you advertise on a blog or social network doesn’t mean people will care or talk about your brand or product. The fact that blogs and networks are innately social environments, though, does give people the opportunity to talk about your brand or product within the site.
Continue Reading A Little More About My BBJ Quote
Posted by Chris Walbert on May 12th, 2009 and has no comments.
This past weekend I planted my soon-to-be vegetable garden in my parents’ backyard. They were gracious enough to sacrifice a sizable chunk of their lawn to an endeavor that hopefully will yield many delicious vegetables this summer.
I started the whole process 3-4 weeks ago when I spent a Sunday afternoon digging up and tilling a 6×11 foot piece of the yard. The soil was pretty terrible and mostly comprised of clay and rocks. I dug out all of the grass and a good bit of the clay and replaced it with some store-bought soil. I was also able to mix in some clay breaker that made a portion of the yard’s soil usable.
At the same time I started a compost pile. This was my first adventure with compost and it actually turned out much better than I was expecting. In just a few weeks, the compost was a dark, rich color and I was able to add it in when I planted the vegetables.
Continue Reading My Soon-to-be Vegetable Garden
Posted by Chris Walbert on April 28th, 2009 and has 2 comments.
There has been a lot of talk lately bemoaning the lack of creativity in online advertising. For years the IAB has been working to standardize ad units in order to make it easier and more efficient for agencies to buy and negotiate online ads. However, some believe this standardization has led to less creative and engaging ads that are easier for consumers to ignore.
VideoEgg has been doing some really good work recently to combat this. Most of the VideoEgg ads I’ve noticed have been on TwitPic for clients like Honda and Dove. The ads expand to cover the screen and include video and multiple ways for users to engage with the ads. And that’s what these new units are all about, engagement.
Also, today there is a really interesting ad on Wired.com (I don’t believe this is from VideoEgg) for the History channel show Life After People. The ad ‘destroys’ and takes over Wired’s homepage. Users can then email a note to a friend telling them about the ad. While the creativity of the ad is very cool, there are a few pieces missing that I think would make this ad even more effective.
Continue Reading Life After People Destroys Wired.com
Posted by Chris Walbert on March 25th, 2009 and has 1 comment.
Last night, I headed down to the second Outlet Baltimore event, this time held at Dougherty’s on W. Chase St. While I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself or say hi to everyone, I did talk to a bunch of cool, interesting people. For those that don’t know, Outlet Baltimore is basically a monthly event for people involved in tech/new media/Twitter in Baltimore to get together, have a few drinks, and meet each other in real life.
It’s a very interesting and sometimes awkward phenomenon to meet someone you follow on Twitter for the first time. When they tell you their name, you’re like, “Yeah, I know who you are. I also know what you ate for lunch today, what music you like, and that you have 3 cats.” But of course, I just said, “Hi, I’m Chris.”
But honestly, Outlet is a really cool event and one worth checking out. It gave me a chance to meet and talk with people who are interested in a lot of the same things I am. Hopefully events like this will continue to develop the community that exist online into one that exists in the real world.
Online social networks are great and very important, but they’re a lot more valuable and fun when they also extend to the real world. I highly recommend getting yourself out to the next Outlet Baltimore. If you do, make sure you say hi.
Posted by Chris Walbert on March 11th, 2009 and has 4 comments.
I love March Madness. The NCAA tournament is the most competitive and fun to watch event in sports. Also, spring training is now in full force, which means opening day is just around the corner. This really is the best time of year for sports.
It’s no surprise then that big name companies want to be involved with the NCAA Tournament. CBS Sports really impressed me last year with their March Madness coverage. You could stream every game online and the online commercial breaks were well done with video ads corresponding to the player’s skin and companion banners. While I’m sure CBS will have coverage again this year, the first marketing message I received about the tournament was not from CBS Sports, but from Miller Lite and Facebook.
Miller Lite emailed me on Monday to announce their new March Madness Bracket Challenge. Selection Sunday isn’t until this upcoming Sunday, but I guess they wanted to get a jump on all those other requests you’ll get to fill out brackets. Here’s how the ML/FB Bracket Challenge looks and works:
Continue Reading Facebook and Miller Lite Launch 2009 Bracket Challenge
Posted by Chris Walbert on March 11th, 2009 and has no comments.
I’ve been having a tough time writing this week and just have not been feeling extraordinarily creative. Sometimes, all you need is a beer and some conversation with a good friend to pull you out of that rut.
I just got back from a happy hour with Mike where we spent a lot of time discussing ideas for a proposal we’re working on together. The ideas were flowing and I’m really excited about what we came up with.
Tonight just reminded me how important it is to surround yourself with motivated, creative and fun people. So, to my question. Who makes you more creative? Who challenges you to come up with better ideas? Surround yourself with more people like that. Or instead, spend more time with the creative people you already know.
Posted by Chris Walbert on March 2nd, 2009 and has no comments.
Yesterday as I was getting ready to leave New York and return home to Baltimore, I checked my email to find a disturbing email from Megabus. It simply said,
“Dear Megabus customer,
Please be advised that the trip listed below has been canceled due to winter weather. We apologize for any inconvenience and would like to emphasize that this decision was made with concern to the safety of our passengers and operators. Please contact 1-877-GO2-MEGA to change your reservation or receive a refund.”
Obviously, canceling my bus was a huge inconvenience to me. I immediately called the number, hoping they might be able to help me find an alternative means of getting home. But instead of getting a customer service rep on the phone, Megabus had a generic voicemail message stating that due to the inclement weather they could not answer any phone calls.
Continue Reading Megabus and the Worst Customer Service Experience of My Life
Posted by Chris Walbert on February 9th, 2009 and has no comments.
I wrote this post for my agency’s blog and wanted to include it here as well.
It’s not news that the United States economy, as well as the global economy, is in serious turmoil. The US government is pondering the largest bailout in history and the unemployment rate continues to climb. In such an unsure and volatile time, does it make sense for your company to cutback or stop advertising to decrease your expenses?
Initially, this may seem like the best course of action. However, history has shown that companies can receive great value by advertising and continuing to innovate during a down economy.
Here are a few reasons why:
Fewer advertisers mean better rates
At Media Works we have seen this firsthand. When other advertisers stop or reduce their spending, it opens up inventory and reduces rates. This allows clients to get even more value for their advertising dollar.
Instead of the typical yearly increase in media costs, we have seen at least a 10-15% drop in ad rates. For certain forms of media, the reductions are even larger. Our clients’ ad dollars are going farther, giving them increased exposure for the same spend. This savings on current media buys also allows companies to invest in testing new media or technologies.
Continue Reading Why You Should Continue Advertising in a Down Economy
Posted by Chris Walbert on January 19th, 2009 and has no comments.
On Saturday afternoon I joined 40,000 of my fellow Baltimoreans to welcome President-Elect Obama to our city. Tomorrow, of course, Mr. Obama will be sworn-in as president. For many people, especially older African-Americans, this is a day they thought would never come. Tomorrow, January 20, 2009, the United States of America will inaugurate our first African-American president.
While we were waiting for Obama to address the crowd, I stood next to an older African-American couple and their friends. You could just tell that the election of Barack Obama meant so much to them. They lived through the worst and most disgraceful part of American history and now are seeing an African-American man take the office of President of the United States of America.
Our country has come so far in the 45 years since Dr. King gave his beloved I Have a Dream speech. Many are even saying today that Dr. King’s vision has now been fully realized. CNN released poll results this morning saying that “More than two-thirds of African-Americans believe Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision for race relations has been fulfilled.”
Continue Reading Is Obama’s Inauguration the Realization of Dr. King’s Dream?
