10 Fortune 500 Companies Doing Social Media Right

Jennifer Leggio wrote a very nice blog post on ZDNet titled: 10 Fortune 500 Companies Doing Social Media Right. I am honored she chose to include my company Newell Rubbermaid and a quote from me in that list. Some excellent companies are included on the list: Intel, Cisco, EMC and Fedex to name a few.

Jennifer Leggio, also known as Mediaphyter, is a co-host with Aaron Strout on BlogTalkRadio Quick-n-Dirty Podcast.

New Calphalon.com Website Launches

We launched the new Calphalon.com website today, September 19, 2009.

The new design is focused on the Culinary Lifestyle and integrates consumer generated product reviews from BazaarVoice and advanced where-to-buy services from Channel Intelligence.

The site was developed by LBi Atlanta (@LBi_Atlanta) on a Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, Commerce Server, Microsoft SQL and Biztalk server platform hosted at Rackspace.

Kamie McHenry-Eckert was the lead Calphalon E-Marketing Manager and Imran Khan was the lead Corporate E-Business Program Manager on the project.

We are thrilled and excited to unveil this next generation website and look forward to its continued evolution.

From Zero to Community: Practical Advice for Growing and Nurturing an Online Community

I will be on a webcast tomorrow, September 17, 2009 at 3PM Eastern with Aaron Strout, CMO at Powered, and Rachel Happe, Principal and Founder, The Community Roundtable (@theCR). We will be presenting: From Zero To Community: Practical Advice for Growing and Nurturing an Online Community.

Rachel will be presenting her Community Maturity Model and community management best practices. I will be discussing our Sharpie - Uncap Your Creativity, Graco Baby - From The Heart and Rubbermaid - Adventures in Organizaton communities and social networking efforts.

Hope you can attend.

The HUB Magazine - Being Social

I was interviewed by Tim Manners of The HUB Magazine on Social Media and Social Networking topics a few weeks back. The article: "Being Social," just came out today. The article also includes quotes and comments from:

• Bonin Bough of Pepsico
• Richard Binhammer of Dell
• John Andrews of Collective Bias
• Aaron Magness of Zappos

I am honored to have been interviewed with these other very strong players in the social media and social web ecosystem.

In addition to this article coming out today, Newell Rubbermaid was also featured in a Wall Street Journal article discussing our Twitter recruiting efforts. "A New Job Is Just A Tweet Away" discusses how we use Twitter to find untapped talent. The Newell Rubbermaid Twitter recruiting id is @CoolJobsatNWL.

Newell Rubbermaid Social Web Ecosystem Update

It has been a very busy past couple of weeks. Below is an update on Newell Rubbermaid interactive and social web marketing efforts:

• Sharpie launched a new community microsite on June 1, 2009 - sharpieuncapped.com - that focuses on bringing creative Sharpie fans, content, creativity, art work, and innovative uses together in one place. USA Today ran a nice article on the effort: Ad Track: Signing On To Social Media; An Alluring Reader Inquiry. The Sharpie brand also received a lot of attention in a recent Investors Business Daily article: Corporate Marketers Blogging, Tweeting As Part Of Their Job. Also, check out the Sharpie Facebook Fan Page and @SharpieSusan on Twitter.
  

• Rubbermaid launched a new branded microsite on June 1, 2009 - easyfindlids.com - with several social web capabilities including a button for consumers to share Rubbermaid food storage Easy Find Lids on Facebook. The microsite also displays links to the Rubbermaid Facebook Fan Page and Twitter account.

• Graco also launched a Facebook Fan Page during the past few weeks. This is another component to the social web marketing strategy and engaging with the community where it lives. You can also engage with Graco through the Graco Baby Blog and Graco Baby Twitter Account. Finally, check out the Graco Baby microsites: My SweatPeace and Ready For The Road Ahead.

I also wanted to provide an update on the various places where you can find out more about Newell Rubbermaid brands in the social web ecosystem.

Newell Rubbermaid Brands on YouTube:

Bernzomatic Fat Boy

Graco Baby Products

Lenox Tools

Rubbermaid

Rubbermaid Commercial

Sharpie

uni-ball

Newell Rubbermaid Brands on Facebook:

Newell Rubbermaid Corporate Fan Page - Corporate Communications and Recruiting

BernzOmatic MAPP Propane and Butane powered Torches and Lighters

Graco Baby Fan Page

Irwin Industrial Tools UK Ultimate Tradesman Challenge

Irwin Vise Grip Appreciation Society

Lenox Tools Fan Page

Mimio Fan Page

Paper Mate Fan Page

Parker Gentleman's Club Fan Page

Prismacolor Fan Page

Prismacolor Group

Rubbermaid Fan Page

Sharpie Permanent Markers

Sharpie Fan Club

uni-ball Fan Page

Newell Rubbermaid Blogs:

Graco Baby - From The Heart

Rubbermaid - Adventures In Organization

Sharpie - Uncap What's Inside

Newell Rubbermaid Twitter Accounts:

@CoolJobsAtNWL

@DYMOtechnology

@Endicia

@endicia_a

@ExpoMarkers

@LenoxTools

@mimioTechnology

@NWLRubbermaidTA

@Prismacolor_

@rubbermaid

@RubbermaidTwo

@SalesJobsAtNWL

@SharpieSally

@SharpieSheryl

@SharpieSusan

@stampedapproval

@UniBall_USA

@UniBall_Pen_Gal

I will make updates to this list as we increase our presence in the social web ecosystem.

June 9, 2009 Update:

Sharpie "Uncap What's Inside" integrated marketing campaign additional articles:

• PRNewswire: Sharpie Challenges Consumers to "Uncap What's Inside" with New Multi-Channel Marketing Campaign

• Chicago Sun-Times: Sharpie Uncaps Its Creativity

Saturday Night Live Shout Out by "President Obama" for Paper Mate and Levolor Brands

Saturday Night Live opening skit on April 4, 2009 discussed the extension of the Federal Government Stimulus package beyond just the auto industry and financial services. The skit goes so far as to declare winning brands and companies in specific industries. Thankfully for Newell Rubbermaid, Paper Mate and Levolor brands are called out as "winners." It is a very funny and timely skit. Watch and enjoy.

New Graco Baby Website Launches

Tonight we launched the next generation of our Graco Baby Website. This was a collaboration between Newell Rubbermaid and LBi. A lot of people from the Graco Brand, Corporate E-Business Team and LBi put in months of hard work to bring this new website to life. It was a huge accomplishment for the entire team.

We also launched a redesign of our Graco Baby Blog that integrated design elements from the New Graco Baby website.

We are all very excited that we were able to launch prior to the holidays.

Bernaise Source Story on Sharpie Blog

I find myself catching up on another excellent post by Dan Greenfield, an Atlanta, GA focused communications, PR and Technology blogger. Dan writes the Bernaise Source blog.

Dan and I were on a Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) panel together discussing "Consulting 2.0 is...All About The Customer."

Dan also moderated an online panel on "Global Brands: Social Media Pays Off" that included myself, Adam Brown of Coca Cola, Jennifer Martin of CNN and Debbie Curtis-Magley of UPS.

Dan also wrote a blog post on the Newell Rubbermaid Sharpie blog based on an interview with me. He discussed our goals of creating a place that highlighted the fun, creative, artistic and innovative ways people use Sharpie pens. The post is titled: Sharpie Blog Puts Newell Rubbermaid's Social Media Strategy Into "Sharper" Focus.

Dan is a great resource on Atlanta based company, social media marketing activities and success stories. If you are exploring social media marketing and technologies like me, please reach out to Dan to connect with others in the Atlanta region and make sure to keep up with his Bernaise Source blog. There is much we can learn from each other in the ever changing and evolving social media ecosystem.

Newell Rubbermaid Social Media Marketing Blog Posts And Articles

It has been a very active past couple of weeks for the Newell Rubbermaid social media marketing teams. We have received positive recognition for our efforts from several influential social media marketing, PR and communications bloggers. Below are a list and links to these articles and blog posts:

• Fortune 500 Series: How Newell Rubbermaid Uses Social Media by Jennifer Leggio - Jennifer wrote an article based on a series of email interviews with me. She also writes a well respected blog: Mediaphyter A Communications Cocktail and can be found on Twitter at @Mediaphyter.

• A Blog Should Feel Like A Gift: 10 Ways to Improve Your Corporate Blog by Kami Hyuse - Kami and I first met at the University of Georgia Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communications CONNECT 2008 conference. She writes an excellent blog: Communication Overtones focused on what else, marketing communications and public relations. She is also a social media expert and excellent resource for new ideas and programs that work. Kami can be found on Twitter at @Kamichat.
  

• People Don't Trust Company Blogs. What You Should Do About It by Josh Bernoff - Josh wrote a highly controversial blog post and Forrester Research report on the general mistrust consumers have with corporate or brand blogs. There was considerable discussion on Twitter and in the blogosphere about this report. I think what was missed in all that discussion was the excellent corporate or brand blog framework proposed by Josh as part of his Groundswell blog post and research report. He also identified those doing brand blogging correctly including our Rubbermaid blog. Also, I believe the trust issue is important to consider and evaluate. I personally believe trust will grow as brands get better at blogging and developing content that is focused on problem solving, how to, fun, creative uses and opening a communications path for consumers to interact with brand employees. Josh Bernoff is also the author of the Groundswell book a great resource on social media marketing. Josh can be found on Twitter at @JBernoff.

• Rubbermaid - A Corporate Blog That Organizes The World by John Cass - John wrote a wonderful blog post on the Rubbermaid brand blog based on an interview with Jim Deitzel - The Rubbermaid blogger. Jim can be found on Twitter at @JimDeitzel and also manages the @Rubbermaid Twitter account. The blog post focuses on the Rubbermaid's blog goal of reaching out to professional organizers and those striving for a more organized lifestyle. The Rubbermaid blog specifically focuses on how to better organize your home. Several Rubbermaid Marketing Communications team members are active content contributors. John Cass blog is: PR Communications and he can be found on Twitter at @JohnCass.

• What Works For Newell Rubbermaid by Jennifer Leggio - Smartbrief also highlighted the article by Jennifer.

A very busy couple of weeks and I want to extend my appreciation to all the authors referenced above. As usual, I learn as much from them as they from me and the Newell Rubbermaid social media marketing teams and I value their perspective on the social media ecosystem.