The ARF Listening Playbook, which will be given to every attendee, is done. Designed to answer the questions: what is listening, how is it used, how is it done, and where is it going? this Playbook is the most comprehensive guide available we've been told. It's meant to be a tool for you to use listening effectively. Here's what Meredith's Britta Ware has to say about it: "I am constantly quoting The ARF Listening Playbook’s framework for researc... [read more]

Putting Listening to Work THURSDAY JANUARY 28, 2010 Bently Reserve – San Francisco Join us at our upcoming San Francisco event to learn how to use listening, evaluate listening applications, develop a listening strategy, integrate it into your existing research program, create an action plan and apply its learnings. Get answers to your questions on listening and develop an action plan that specifically addresses your business needs during this in... [read more]

In the spirit of listening, we'd like to hear from you! What was the most important thing you learned about listening at the ARF event on Nov. 3?

... Read all 4 comments ...

Joel Rubinson: the industry is farthest along on activating communities and knowing how to listen to the blogosphere for corporate reputation. The industry is still being incremental rather than transformational in how we think about social media

David Wiesenfeld: Building on Joel's comment, I wonder if there needs to be more of a bridge between listening and traditional 'asking' methods to facilitate the transformation. Seems like listening is being used in addition to traditional approaches because even comp... [read more]

Joel Rubinson: Dave--i think you're work presented at the ARF rethink conference came closest to a start to that. come by and let's figure out a strategy for tighter integration. Joel

Fill out our post-event event survey at http://www.surveys.thearf.vovici.net/se.ashx?s=04BD76CC33F4D0FB

In the spirit of listening... we want to hear from you! What is the single most important thing you would like to learn at the Winning With Social Media Industry Leader Forum next week?

... Read all 10 comments ...

Peck Aaron: I'd like to come away with a better sense of marketers' greatest pain point when it comes to using/applying 'listening data.'

Earnestine Hargrove: I would like to get some more insights into determining the optimum mix of social media and traditional media that would have the greatest impact with our members.

David Rabjohns: Everybody seems to promise to do everything in the new world. I would like to get a better sense of who is really best for what kind of business challange.

Six fantastic afternoon breakout sessions at the event will engage you in deep discussions about listening and its practical considerations for brands and organizations. Select your breakout group here: http://www.surveys.thearf.vovici.net/se.ashx?s=04BD76CC55F94675

I created a blog posting about the idea of using social media to "hack marketing", that is, change the rules. This idea was spurred on by something in Chris Brogan's book, Trust Agents. please take a peek and share your thoughts here. http://blog.joelrubinson.net/2009/10/lets-hack-marketing/

Lynne d Johnson: This blog post reminds me of Mike Bonifer's "GameChangers -- Improvisation for Business in the Networked World." When he talks about listening, he talks about how the consumer is your audience and you create scenes that are moments when you interact ... [read more]

Have you seen Marketing Shift, the blog series about the changing face and innovations in marketing? This week, the ARF joined FastCompany to launch the Marketing Shift blog. Check out the first post by Sharon Napier of Partners + Napier: Is Creativity Worth $964 an Hour? http://bit.ly/8oPO

Check out the ARF's new SVP Social Media, Lynne d Johnson in Brandweek along with Seth Godin on a piece regarding the social media reaction and impact of Pepsi's Amp App.http://bit.ly/1eP8ZT

Lynne d Johnson: Thanks for posting this Laura. Pepsi's Amp is another one of those examples of #socialmediafail. I understand why Pepsi would think that this app would work specifically for its target demo, but the age of transparency also means the age of responsib... [read more]

Last week, The ARF launched the LQ (Listening Quotient) quiz, and over 200 people have taken it. After the first round of tabulation, the scores range from -2 to 88 with an average of score of 53. Congratulations to our top scorers – David Rabjohns, Motivequest; Richard Wise, Agent 16 and Kate Sirkin, Starcom MediaVest Group! We are excited to have David Rabjohns speaking at the Industry Leader Forum – Winning with Social Media event so we can al... [read more]

If you need a hotel room in New York City for the ARF Industry Leader Forum, it'll be tough because it is near the time of the NYC Marathon. However, I have a solution!: The ARF has secured an exclusive rate at the Roosevelt Hotel, located at 270 Madison Avenue, NYC (Madison @ 45th St.). Take advantage of ARF's special $319/night room rate by calling the Roosevelt at 888-833-3969. Be sure to mention the “Advertising Research Foundation” to receiv... [read more]

The New Rules of Marketing are all about engagement. We're in the age of customer-focused marketing and to not listen means not to care. Businesses need to be more human. Listen first, understand, analyze, and come up with a plan of action that includes what you've learned from listening. Do you all agree?