All posts by Robert Payne

Multichannel marketing and communications professional with a proven ability to deliver award-winning campaigns that inspire action from difficult to reach and discerning audiences. • I’ve exceeded benchmarks time and again across programmatic and social media buys. • Empowered sales teams with tightly integrated lead funnels and lifecycle management solutions leveraging Salesforce.com. • Know how to craft a compelling narrative and have won over a dozen video production awards in the past 5 years. • Served on both the interactive agency and client side, and I am a highly capable sparring partner for any marketing professional whether B2B or B2C. Most recently, I helped the Georgia Department of Economic Development attract new business both domestically and in 12 strategic markets around the globe. In the 7 years I ran Georgia’s global marketing efforts, we were selected as the #1 State for Business by Site Selection magazine, and its database of site consultants, for an unprecedented 7 years in a row. Jobs and investment grew steadily YOY due to a healthy pipeline of prospects. In addition, the Department’s commitment to marketing over that same period of time grew more than 300% because the ROI was clear and measurable. I also managed a team of 5 and 4 agency relationships for interactive, pr, traditional and video production. My online marketing career started with the direction of email marketing and web campaigns for Mandalay Resort Group, resulting in several awards for creative execution and exceptional return on investment. This caught the attention of the interactive marketing company, Twelve Horses where I directed their corporate marketing, advertising, and public relations efforts, as well as provided strategic consulting for travel/tourism clients such as Park City, Heavenly Mountain Resort, and America’s Adventure Place. Leveraging my experience with media and multi-channel marketing technology, I went on to lead the marketing and branding initiatives for SAXOTECH (now NEWSCYCLE), a global provider of content management platforms, circulation systems and advertising solutions for the media industry. I’ve worked in sales, marketing, advertising and public relations for a variety of other companies, including Switchback PR & Marketing, Stoel Rives LLP, Preferred Capital Corporation and Patagonia. I have an MBA with a specialization in Marketing and a BA from Clemson University. Side hustle: My photography has appeared in countless ads, brochures, and marketing campaigns.

Space Shuttle Discovery

Shuttle_Discovery

A lot has changed since Kennedy was president. To think he never had the chance to slurp down a Starbucks non-fat latte while chattering on a 3G cell phone connection and streaming YouTube videos over WiFi is a shame. He may have helped us get to the Moon, but the idea that a human being can strap themselves to more fuel than some small countries have in reserve, and then launch beyond the confines of our atmosphere is, well, maybe not as exciting as American Idol or Michael Jackson’s drug addiction? We’ve been there done that, right?

When I rolled into Cocoa Beach Friday night on a mission to surf Tropical Danny, I observed hoards of people gathered on the causeway, and a brilliant white light beaming towards the sky over Cape Canaveral. Just a couple of subtle clues that something interesting was about to go down; or up if you want to get technical about it. I later confirmed that the Space Shuttle Discovery was scheduled to launch at 11:59pm that very night.

After settling in to my hotel room, I made my way down to the beach to see what all the fuss was about. A quick check of NASA’s Twitter account let me know there were no delays, and sure enough, just before midnight I observed a bright yellow flash on the horizon. Shuttle Discovery then lit up the night sky like a fire ball. You should see my hydrogen fuel tan, it’s fabulous.

The fact is this was no firework display or pop news that wastes brain space. It was human innovation incarnate, and I was both awed and humbled by it. As the team of astronauts arced their way out of our atmosphere at a chill speed of 17,500 miles per hour, I couldn’t help but ask myself – So, what have you done lately?

I’m Just a Little Outdoorzy

origo-rendezvous-peak-multi-sensor-watch-review I just wanted to give a shout out to Outdoorzy and Origo for the sweet new watch. How did I win it? Well, Outdoorzy ran a contest on their snoop bloggy blog, and the blog pound rated the comments and chose the winner. What did I say?

“I run a lot of class V rivers and backcountry ski over difficult terrain that requires the use of a topographic map to judge location. It is always a bit of a guessing game, and it would be a lot of fun to see if the altimeter and compass matched up with the contour lines and my estimations of location. Plus, I really need a new watch.”

I’ll tell ya, I would’ve loved using the watch on this backcountry ski trip.

As far as the functionality of the watch is concerned, I would concur with this excellent review more than anything else I have seen. Even though some of the features of the watch are difficult to use and don’t work as well as I would like, the fact is there are a lot of features packed into this watch at a reasonable price.

Because I work in marketing, I can appreciate the power of word of mouth. If you are launching a new product, soliciting reviews and incoming links is a great way to build conversation and search relevance. Of course, you in turn run the risk of receiving a negative review, but even that can be beneficial. For example, I was not familiar with the Origo brand until now, and if you are reading this blog post you might not have either. Now their brand name is in your subconscious, and when they produce future watches with even better features the likelihood of capturing your attention for further consideration is that much higher.

Of course, there is always the tie back to Kevin Bacon.

Outdoorzy

“Dear Subaru” Advertising Campaign

Dear_Subaru Carmichael Lynch put together a very bold and clever advertising campaign for Subaru, and it features a photograph that I took of my very own Subaru Outback after I ran it headlong into a boulder going 60 mph. I walked away relatively unscathed, but the car wasn’t so lucky.

This Subaru was 1 of 5 that I have thus far owned in my lifetime. The reasons why I walked away from the accident  has much to do with my predilection. When I bought my first one it was for the All-Wheel-Drive and good gas mileage. I would later discover other positive attributes, along with the company’s attention to manufacturing efficiencies and the environment.

With the “Dear Subaru” campaign, Subaru is counting on there being more people like me who have a story to tell. It doesn’t have to be an accident like mine, but anything that demonstrates  your affinity for driving their vehicles and the places they take you.

Carmichael Lynch and Subaru are pursuing a multi-channel marketing strategy with targeted ad buys in various publications, signage in dealerships, digital media, and I suspect some outdoor as well. The “Dear Subaru” imagery and messaging is all tailored to encourage conversation about the Subaru brand. People share their stories on the Web, but is so often the case conversations extend from online to offline as well as the reciprocal. It is a clever strategy, and I look forward to seeing how the campaign performs.

Money Dear_Subaru_Web

If you see one of the ads featuring my photo and story please tear it out, take a photo, or forwarded it to me online. I would appreciate it!

Survey: 10 Simple Questions for Facebook

Ah, it’s Monday. While enjoying my first cup of coffee, I thought I’d choose a WordPress plugin to play with and see what I could do with it. I stumbled across this WordPress Survey Tool and figured I’d use it to judge Facebook usage.

A note about WordPress survey tools: some are better than others, some take more time to use, some are compatible with older releases and not new ones. But sometimes it is just about getting a job accomplished, developing some insight, and moving on to the next item on your list. Either way, they’re free! I’ll let you know what I think of this one.

Answer to the best of your abilities, and if you have any other questions you would like to see added please comment on this post. I will share the results of the survey one month from today. Hope you have a good week!

Post to Twitter

It’s Getting Hot in Here…

Thunderstorm

It has been soooo HOT here in Tampa lately! The humidity and heat is a stifling stew that makes me want to run rampant, pillage, plunder, wreak havoc; but then that would make me sweat. Instead, I suckle my air conditioning vent like a lover and throw ice cubes at the fan.

Despite being situated between Satan’s arse cheeks, there are some not so subtle benefits of a nuclear summer – thunderstorms! The big banger variety that build in the afternoons and roll across the Bay with impressive energy.

I tried to take some photos of one the other evening out at Ballast Point State Park, but I didn’t adjust the ISO for dark light, rain beat against the lens, and my tripod swayed in the wind like the cheap POS from Ritz Camera that it is. Oh well, one of them actually came out alright even if I am too far away. The varying spectrums of light between the three bolts of lightning is what I like.

Hope you’re staying  cool.