It’s been almost 6 months but I am finally getting back to DC for the annual Reaching Out for GLBT MBAs. Ever since I learned about the conference about a year ago I have been psyched up for this opportunity.

Given the fact that much of what I have gotten to talk about on this show about being gay and in business, you can imagine how great this going to be.

If you happen to be in town or are going to the conference, shoot me a message via the blog – I would love to meet up!

Best,

Jared

Technorati Tags: GLBT MBA, LBGT MBA Conference, Reaching Out

Sadly, the M Awards have come and gone and we have come up empty-handed…

Although Amanda and I had a great time overall, my company’s B2B Integrated Marketing Campaign was passed over in favor of a company whose name I have never heard of. In all fairness though, with the level of local marketing star-power that showed up last night, I would have been shocked if anyone knew of my company, either.

The evening was not a total loss, though. It appears we have found a few patterns that, like real awards shows, are too good not to do a post-game on.

1) At Marketing Awards Shows, No One Cares Who You Are…It’s Who You Work For

One of the more interesting phenomenon Amanda and I witnessed was the fact that, at the reception, no one looked at your face – only your nametag. If they didn’t recognize the company, or realized they couldn’t sell you anything, you really didn’t exist.

2) Like The Movies, Independent Marketers Have an Uphill Battle

Only one independent company had a stand-out campaign last night. The rest were large marketing and communications firms with budgets big enough to drown an elephant. The moral of the story, unless you have a campaign with a completely out-there concept, it’s a bit of a one-sided competition.

3) Just Because We’re Marketers, It Doesn’t Mean We’re Organized

Lastly, the glitz and the glamour of these awards apparently succumb to the fact that not everyone can be an awards-show host. In fact, the evening went about as smoothly as the Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at Disney World with the awards having to be given out actually during the dinner. This proves once again that there is a fine line between marketing and operations.

In the end, re didn’t win but at least it was an honor to be a finalist. That and you can usually appeal for the winner’s free drink tickets, which can help you drown the shame of your looserdom.

Amanda conducts her first interview with the APPLEGEEKS guys and we discover why anime-fangirls love a certian type of manga.

Referenced Links:

• APPLEGEEKS – Amanda’s Favorite Web Comic
• Vidcast: Behind the Scenes – The Making of This 20SM Episode
• Boys’ Love Books – Check Out Their Interesting Titles (I smell bookclub!!!)

Listen To Episode:

Download audio file (20SMF60.mp3)

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For those of you who are following my neurotic quest to get into a great business school (A.K.A. MBA Spin) – the big annoucement is finally here.

To find out where I’m going, tune into tomorrow’s show …yeah, yeah yeah. If you want to know how it turned out, stop whining and just get ready to download the bloody show.

Muh ha ha ha ha!

Best,
Jared
20-Something Marketing

Because this announcement has such broad implications for 20-somethings (c’mon, what 20-something doesn’t want a new cell phone every other month?), though I will not be drooling over my keyboard from 12 PM – 2 PM EST, I will be providing some analysis on the next show. Perhaps I’ll even dish out a second post towards the end of the day if the reactions are really that spectacular.

Before the unveiling, I do have one thing to say about putting such a “killer product” on the market; If Henry Ford taught us anything about quality, its that it is produced from those who seek to specialize their trade and dedicated themselves to the quality of that one specialty.

Jobs might be able to pack all the neat tricks he wants to into this new iPhone (or whatever its going to be called) but don’t be surprised if its quality as a phone is on par with or below that of other “smart phones” (e.g. the Treo).

It’s consumerism versus quality, folks. I love my iPod as much as the next yuppie urbanite but there is a line between buying a product for its functionality and buying a product just because everyone else has it.

Apple has built what can only be described as a brand that all other marketers seek to replicate. It’s so strong, that even the hint of a new product creates demand for it. We’ll just have to see if it performs half as well as we want it to.