As online publishers scramble to feed video-hungry platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, some are using this one simple trick: Just post ads!
Publishers including Business Insider and Cheddar now frequently employ the tactic, which often involves reediting a TV commercial or marketing video by a third-party company, adding some subtitles and music, and reposting the resulting clip to their own social media accounts and websites.
For example, financial news company Cheddar posted a video to its Twitter and Facebook accounts featuring the “Sock Slider,” a contraption designed to help people put socks on their feet without stretching or straining. The video, complete with a Cheddar logo in one corner and an “as seen on TV” logo in the other, featured the same footage as a 60-second TV commercial for the product but with Cheddar’s own music and captions, rather than the commercial audio.
Since it was posted Wednesday, the Sock Slider video has racked up over 130,000 “views” on Facebook alone. On Twitter, pre-roll advertising for other companies was even running ahead of the repurposed Sock Slider commercial.
“Our audience on Facebook loves this content. It’s what works in the news feed where people scroll quickly with the sound off,” said Cheddar Chief Executive Jon Steinberg, adding that videos about “gadgets and cool visual tech or gizmos” perform particularly well.
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Consumers, meanwhile, may never know the video they’re watching actually started as a TV commercial.
“Some [of the videos] are ad content, though these posts are unpaid and not sponsor content, but others have nothing to do with content from ads,” Mr. Steinberg said.
Sock Slider had no involvement with the post and didn’t pay for it, Mr. Steinberg said. Allstar Marketing Group, which owns the Sock Slider trademark, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Some suggest the repackaging and reposting of ads highlights the “pivot to video” mentality many publishers now demonstrate. The push to churn out video content to feed platforms and to attract potentially lucrative video advertising is increasingly viewed as a potential solution to an increasingly challenging business model problem.
For publishers, repackaging a commercial is often a simple process that can take an experienced video editor relatively little time, and the result is a win-win situation for all parties. The publisher gets some quick and easy video content it can post to social media and potentially sell advertising against, the platforms get to brag about the millions of videos being uploaded to their services, and the company that originally produced the video gets more exposure.
Publishers might also get paid a commission on any sales they help drive by including affiliate links alongside the videos. If these links drive users to purchase the products, then the publisher gets a cut.
Business Insider regularly posts repackaged marketing videos to the various social media accounts it operates. On Thursday, its Insider brand posted a video multiple times about a gardening product called Drill Till, including the same footage featured in marketing videos posted on the Drill Till website. The video was originally produced by product development company Mind64.
Eric Miller, chief executive of Mind64, said his company is asked regularly by publishers for permission to use its marketing materials and is typically happy for them to use its videos as they see fit. Mind64 does retail placement, branding, video and other marketing for a range of products, Mr. Miller wrote in an email.
Both the Sock Slider and the Drill Till posts included affiliate links.
According to Insider’s editor in chief, Nicholas Carlson, 80% of the publication’s videos contain original footage produced by Insider itself. But it’s happy to use marketing content also, he said, describing the approach as “resourceful.”
“Sometimes a marketer will have made a video that nobody’s seen, but the way we use it to tell a story gets way more eyeballs and it’s because we’re experts at telling stories,” he said.
Repackaging marketing or advertising content is in itself a form of reporting, Mr. Carlson added, because it involves tracking down its owner, obtaining permission and reporting the story behind the footage.
The video isn’t always cribbed from TV commercials or product websites. Crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter also offer up a gold mine of video content for publishers to dip into, often featuring interesting innovations or product ideas.
In some ways the phenomenon isn’t a new one. Marketing videos produced by companies are regularly featured in editorial content on TV, for example.
But as long as companies such as Facebook, Google and Twitter have a business interest in consumers viewing more videos, they’ll find a way to ensure consumers view more videos. For publishers, that often means getting their hands on whatever video they can find, even if it’s an ad.
Consumption of video content is on the rise. So how can pharma use this increasingly popular tool? Jon Mowat highlights some of his favourite examples of video marketing to provide inspiration.
It’s no secret that video content is the dominant force in online marketing, with social networks moving towards video-first futures and 4G data plans becoming increasingly common and ever-more reliable, allowing users to hit the ‘play’ button without fear of buffering.
In fact, according to eMarketer, US adults now spend 1 hour 45 minutes each day on digital video sites (such as YouTube, Vimeo, Netflix), in addition to any video content they consume during their 1 hour 9 minutes browsing social platforms. That’s almost 3 hours of potential online video viewing every day.
These are incredible stats that will only rise as we approach the end of the decade, especially as 5G mobile is on the horizon – another technological leap that is also likely to expedite the adoption of telehealth services.
Pharma companies are no strangers to hopping aboard the broadcast bandwagon, producing short films to send out the right message and generate healthy brand awareness, but for those less consumer-facing businesses, knowing what type of content to produce can be difficult.
Bearing that in mind, here are three pharma video campaigns to give you some inspiration:
Sanofi – T1 Diabetes Youth Challenge
This video documents an inspirational campaign that showcases how those affected by diabetes don’t have to be defined by their condition – with participants hiking up Mount Kilimanjaro to prove the point.
Sanofi produces diabetes medication, and a statement on its website reads: “Sanofi is committed to working to address the diabetes public health concern worldwide through its integrated treatments and medical devices.”
The focus of the video is on the young participants and their desire to reach the top, working together and driving each other on, taking care to manage their condition every step of the way. Sanofi’s branding is minimal – just showing the logo at the end – but the messages of positivity underlines the company’s commitment to helping those living with diabetes.
GSK – The GSK Story
This is a great example of brand positioning, detailing GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) history and introducing future goals. Such videos help boost internal communications, ensuring all employees are aware of where the company is and where it is heading.
It also introduces charitable aims and a commitment to ethical trading, reassuring viewers that this is a business in tune with its corporate responsibility, one that is looking to create a positive impact on the world.
Animation is an excellent means of communicating big ideas – quickly dissecting complex projects and taking audiences on visually-captivating journeys, in this case enabling GSK to achieve a lot in just three-and-a-half minutes.
Pfizer – #QuitWithHelp
Pfizer’s #QuitWithHelp campaign employed the F2Freestylers, a pair of social media icons for lovers of silky soccer skills. The F2 have over 6 million subscribers to their YouTube channel, so can definitely be considered ‘influencers’, i.e. they are well positioned to take your message to the masses.
This video illustrates how you can achieve great things with a little teamwork. Bill balances a cigarette on top of the crossbar, before Jez kicks a ball from 50 yards away, knocking the cigarette into the bin. The underlying message here is that it’s easier to ‘quit with help’, i.e. by seeking the advice of a medical professional to give up smoking.
The video (hosted on Pfizer’s channel rather than the F2Freestylers’) has achieved over 1 million views, and was a social media smash, giving Pfizer great brand exposure and hopefully encouraging a fair portion of those viewers to stop smoking, painting the company in a very positive light.
Successful video strategies
There is no doubt that video can be incredibly powerful for propelling your online presence, and innovations such as 360-degree films are perfect for medical marketers. The medium of moving pictures allows you to show rather than simply tell, which is why it’s so effective at resonating on deeper levels.
Whether you document epic challenges, use animation to tell your story or team up with social media superstars, much can be achieved when you start shooting.
About the author:
Jon Mowat is the founder of UK video production company, Hurricane. As a former BBC documentary filmmaker, Jon knows how to tell a good story and he uses his skills to help international brands convey messages that connect with target customers. You can follow @HurricaneMedia on Twitter and connect with Jon on LinkedIn.
Read more on this topic in pharmaphorum’s magazine Deep Dive: Digital and look out for Deep Dive: Digital II, launching later this year. Sign up here to receive complimentary copies of Deep Dive as soon as they are published.
Video is undoubtedly one of the most important tools in a marketer’s arsenal, boasting a proven ability to engage and excite consumers.
From a 15-minute series to six-second Snapchat clips, the sheer volume of formats and channels available mean marketers need to carefully consider how video works for their specific brand.
Here Marketing Week explores the different types of video brands need to know.
Long form
As the home of long-form video content, YouTube is a favourite with brands looking to break the conventions of TV schedules and go direct to consumers.
Attracting seven billion global views each month, it is no wonder Buzzfeed believes digital shows can break through at scale. One in six people in the UK currently subscribes to one of BuzzFeed’s Tasty food channels on YouTube, while an episode of ‘Worth It’ – a series that pits high-end items against budget alternatives – routinely racks up more than 12 million views a month.
“When we look at serialised shows, there are very few examples of digital-only shows breaking through at scale,” said Ze Frank, president of the BuzzFeed Entertainment Group, speaking to Marketing Week in February.
“Then I look at a show like ‘Worth It’, which regularly gets over 10 million views, with a 75% retention rate. In terms of minutes watched, you’re starting to get to numbers that are bigger than cable.”
The immediacy of digital products means BuzzFeed can react quickly to direct feedback from its online audience, allowing its partner brands to adapt their advertising strategy in real time.
Beauty brand Benefit opts for YouTube when it wants to generate the mass awareness needed to promote a new product or launch a high-end, glossy video with the impact to capture consumers’ attention for longer.
However rather than aiming to upload a video to YouTube every week, head of digital marketing for Benefit UK and Ireland, Michelle Stoodley, believes less is definitely more.
“It’s really easy to think you need to do loads of video. Last year we attempted to do one a week on YouTube and I don’t think we appreciated the work involved, the time needed and the budgets.
“If you’re going to do video it helps to have the budgets to support it from an advertising point of view. So we’re trying to take the approach of doing less and when we do [create video] spending more to boost it across the relevant channels to get value out of every piece of content.”
As YouTube users have become accustomed to skipping adverts after five seconds it’s crucial marketers land their message in that limited timeframe, argues Mondelez digital and social media manager, Pollyanna Ward.
To ensure the message conveyed by its recent Belvita biscuit campaign reached maximum impact, Mondelez used Google Vogon technology to overlay dynamic text or images on top of the creative.
“It allowed us to change the messaging in the first five seconds of our advert to match the video that the user was watching. For example, those watching a music video would get a music-themed intro before getting into our creative,” Ward explains.
“This was incredibly successful for us in driving relevancy with our consumers and getting people to watch beyond the five seconds by having a creative and relevant hook.”
Short form
Whether it’s a six-second Snapchat clip or a polished, high-end Instagram Stories campaign, marketers are increasingly adding short-form video to their media mix. This means marketers are experimenting with how to use the screen space to make a real impact, says Mondelez’s Pollyanna Ward.
“On Instagram the square format presents a challenge when it comes to figuring out assets developed for a campaign, and this is the same with the vertical on Snapchat,” she explains.
“Despite these challenges in viewability and impact, what it really taught us is that when it comes to creative, there is no one-size-fits-all approach.”
Beauty brand Benefit uses the informal nature of bitesize content on Instagram Stories and Snapchat to bring consumers closer to the brand, from sharing footage of the trend team at a fashion show to inviting fans behind the scenes at exclusive Benefit events.
On Instagram Stories Ted Baker has led the way with its episodic, soap opera style ‘Keeping up with the Bakers’ campaign. Unveiled in March, the campaign focuses on a fictional family who moves into a suburb where everyone is hiding dark secrets.
A scene from Ted Baker’s ‘Keeping up with the Bakers’ Instagram Stories campaign
Viewers have the ability to click through a selection of five different ‘TV channels’ in Stories, while the main short film is fully shoppable. The fashion retailer is also using Instagram Stories as a gossip channel, posting daily content about the Baker family.
Speaking to Marketing Week in March, Ted Baker global brand communication director Craig Smith argued that Instagram Stories is perfect for building a narrative and adding more depth to a thread.
The immediacy and ‘realness’ of live video is proving an attractive outlet for brands seeking to break down the wall between them and their customers.
Benefit started experimenting with Facebook Live a year ago and since then has launched a fortnightly series called Bene University, offering a playful take on the latest beauty trends. The quicker marketers can jump on a trend in the social space, the more relevant their content is to consumers, says Stoodley.
“Our community responds really well to both longer-form glossier pieces and short, fun content, because as a brand we stand for being real and honest. Our aim is to be a lot more relatable than the glossier premium beauty brands, which can be a little bit intimidating or too aspirational. So the live channels help us to do that,” she explains.
Benefit is not the only brand getting in on the live video action. As part of its partnership with beer brand Carling, Sky screens a Facebook Live show ahead of its Carling sponsored football coverage on Sky Sports.
“People are watching on Sky’s Facebook channel and getting involved with it. Then when you combine this with interesting long-form content – say a half hour show – you’ve got little elements that you make can make into shorter-form segments and then redistribute in the social space,” explains Sky Media head of creative solutions,Jason Hughes.
“You get a lot of earned good will from it because people might find that clip and then discover the longer show behind it.”
User-generated content
Content created by brand fans, influencers and staff has been a big success for Benefit. To coincide with the roll out of its mascara Roller Lash in 2015, Benefit created a montage video featuring user-generated content (UGC) posted by consumers, which Stoodley believes worked so well because it felt real.
The company also works with digital platform Seen It on an initiative called Benefit Capture. Benefit puts out briefs to its staff and blogger community via the platform with clear instructions about the kind of video they want the community to create.
“It works really well with our staff in particular as they make tutorials for us and it’s great because it’s a real girl from one of our real stores, creating a real look,” Stoodley explains.
“It’s not in a studio, it’s the kind of stuff that feels like watching influencer content, but more relatable than a head make-up artist doing something. Day to day it’s that type of content that’s working really well.”
Whereas a couple of years ago 4K video was only available to videographers with expensive equipment, significant improvements in smartphone technology have dramatically reduced the barriers to entry.
This has been reflected in the amount of 4K video being shot and uploaded to Shutterstock, which received 130,000 4K video submissions in January 2017, compared to 20,000 in January 2015.
“If you’re advertising today without a video component to the campaign, you have to wonder if you’re leaving something out,” says Shutterstock general manager of ecommerce motion, Alex Renaud.
“Engagement from video advertising and content ranks higher than traditional forms. However, people can so effortlessly turn off your message and move onto the next video. Therefore quality across video is of the utmost importance, as Netflix and others have ushered in an era where TV-quality is expected on digital media.”
Renaud argues that almost all video works best in 4K, especially content with lots of detail that benefits from crisp, ultra high-definition.
“By shooting in 4K you are future-proofing your work so that it can be consumed on future screens. As marketers have begun to take on a more platform-agnostic approach this is an essential component to consider. Commercials on YouTube should have a similar perceived quality than the ones that air on TV,” Renaud adds.
Multi-platform
Brand partnerships are central to the multi-platform strategy offered by Sky, which seeks to combine TV advertising and video-on-demand with social media, branded content and targeted programmatic.
One such example is the tie-up between Sky Atlantic and car brand Volvo on Human Made Stories. Centred on creative people who challenge convention, the campaign mixes premium cinematic style adverts on Sky Atlantic with 30-second trailers, idents and a social campaign using Twitter Amplify to drive awareness.
Sky Media head of creative solutions, Jason Hughes, believes brands should consider how they can support video with targeted VOD advertising and a holistic digital strategy in order to reach maximum impact.
“It’s good to explore how we transcend the walls of social and TV to share those learnings about how you build audiences to make great branded content,” says Hughes.
“If you think of the amount of content out there, the ads and branded content, there’s got to be a reason for the cut through and the more you can make the content credible and shareable, it makes far more sense.”
Hughes believes the best way for brands to achieve cut through is to combine traditional commercial airtime and targeted advertising in order to “turbo charge” their branded content.
Marketing Week will be publishing a series of features on video throughout the week.
Conversational videos drive traffic, boost engagement, and are taking over the internet: 74 percent of all Internet traffic in 2017 will be video. Learn how to stand out with conversational video marketing when you join our latest interactive VB Live event.
Video content, done well, is imminently shareable – even potentially viral, ready to take over the internet.
“Video gets freakish results,” says Todd Hartley, CEO of digital marketing agency Wirebuzz. He means that in a good way.
“I want to be able to present products and services in a way that get the best results,” he explains. “So that means I’ve got to be good at video in order to help my clients get the results that they’re looking for at faster and faster rates.”
In the B2B world, the word ‘viral’ is thrown around way too easily — but you aren’t actually looking to create the next billion-download internet sensation (though obviously you wouldn’t be mad if that happened). You need to focus.
“You have to recognize that in B2B, you’re not trying to go viral to everybody and my mother,” Hartley explains. “Instead you’re trying to go viral to a very specific target buyer, and that takes pre-planning and precision.”
Too many video marketers wing it, he says, and when they launch their finished product, it’s a dud. It takes a tremendous amount of smart planning and savvy strategy to create a video that really resonates.
“For me and my team, that means we don’t start with the video first,” he says. “We have to start with digital strategy. The strategy fleshes out the goals, and every video needs to have a strategy laid out beforehand: What are you trying to accomplish with this piece of content?”
There are five steps in video marketing planning at Wirebuzz, all designed with an overarching goal in mind: making the video compelling enough, with the right message and visuals, to make your target jump on that call-to-action you’ve carefully designed.
1. Strategy session
Strategy sessions take about an hour, Hartley says, but they’re going through a tremendous amount of information in that short time. Their objective is to uncover the end goal of the video. It’s a discovery session that covers everything from A to ROI.
The first step: So what exactly is that end goal? A purchase, a a share, a like? Capturing contact information? Identifying this allows you to pull out the key messaging that will guide video content and marketing all the way through the remaining steps of video creation.
Tactics should be determined right out of the gate as well. Is this going to be inbound? Is this going to be account-based marketing? Are we launching a business, are we going to be using a product launch formula, are we using this video for search optimization or email marketing to speed up sales? Is it going to be used in marketing automation?
2. Web development
Next step, Hartley says, is asking yourself if your website supports that strategy you’ve created — and if not, what elements need to be built in order for that video to be successful.
It takes about six weeks for the video to be created, he explains, which means you need to have the website, or at least a landing page, built at the same time.
It’s also why you need to be clear from the start what the call-to-action will be, as well as where that CTA will link.
3. Content creation
The call-to-action, where that links to, and what you’re supposed to find at the end of the rainbow is essential for the third stage, content creation. In the script and in the storyboard, that CTA needs to be thoroughly fleshed out and then baked into each and every frame.
4. Going live
Your video is done, it’s gloriously on-message, with every frame urging the viewer closer and closer to taking that final, committed step and becoming yours. Now the video goes live. At Wirebuzz, they have a Go-Live team, which posts and engages a target customer on a website or on social, or both. And every one of those marketing engagement interactions needs to be a reflection of the road map you started out with.
5. Ensuring ROI
The last stage, Hartley says, is handing over the action to the ROI team, which focuses on taking that live content and the road map that strategy designed, way back in the distant past, to create ads and generate leads that help drive traffic to your content, helping spark and then stimulate the conversation you’re trying to inspire.
Throughout the entire process, from concept to launch to conversion, personalization is also key, Hartley says. Video personalization is becoming more and more sophisticated as video content grows in marketing importance.
“Before the sale, personalization is an attention hack, and grabs awareness, because it’s rare that someone will see a video with their first name on it that is personalized to them, and it increases open rates and grabs higher attention,” he explains. “And also, it’s more likely to be shared.”
But personalization can also happen on the back end, Hartley says.
“We call this a talk trigger,” Hartley explains. “This is how we get clients not only to rave about our work but about our customer service.”
They create a personalized video for clients shortly before project deadlines to let them know that they’re going to see the final project very soon, it’s going beautifully, and everything is on track to get it to them by deadline or even sooner. It’s a don’t worry, be happy kind of video for clients designed to give them the warm fuzzies, and it gets results.
“When I send that personalized video, I get an immediate response, all caps, ‘THANK YOU, YOU GUYS ROCK,’” Hartley says. “And the reason is I’m breaking that fourth barrier in the relationship. I’m using video to reach out and deepen the relationship and alleviate stress. So pre sale, post sale, beautiful usage of personalized video goes a whole long way toward developing a relationship.”
To learn more about creating calls-to-action that sell, how to get your message out and to whom, and personalization strategies that convert in droves, don’t miss this VB Live event!
Ross Video has named Jennifer Markey as vice-president of marketing. She assumes leadership of the company’s global marketing team and initiatives including public relations, demand generation, events and channel partner marketing. Before joining Ross Video, Ms. Markey held senior technical and management posts with companies that included 360pi, SkyWave Mobile, CrossKeys and IBM.
Kinaxis has appointed Sarah Sedgman as chief customer officer. Sarah will be responsible for defining the strategies and programs that ensure continuous customer value across Kinaxis’ employees and partners.
Réjean Desjardins was named vice-president and general manager for Boone Plumbing and Heating Supply. Mr. Desjardins joined Boone in 1982 and held several positions with increased responsibilities over the years. He succeeds Claude DesRosiers, who has retired from the role.
British artificial intelligence entrepreneur William Tunstall-Pedoe has joined Fluent.ai’s advisory board. Mr. Tunstall-Pedoe founded Evi Technologies, which is now a division of Amazon following its acquisition in 2012.
Hats off
Pythian was recognized in the Leader category of the Global Outsourcing 100 awards. The company also received distinguished honours for the number of written customer testimonials received. The awards recognize the world’s best outsourcing service providers based on a scoring methodology that includes a review by an independent panel of International Association of Outsourcing Professionals members.
Clariti Group received two national awards from Canadian HR Reporter. The company was recognized with readers’ choice awards for outplacement services and leadership and team development training services.
Mike McLean, Ian MacLean, Art Monk and Terry Ludlow, all senior executives with Techinsights, have been named to the IAM Strategy 300 – the World’s Leading IP Strategists 2017. The IAM Strategy 300 is a peer-reviewed guide to globally renowned creators of IP value
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Looking for guidance as you build your brand and connect with customers? There’s a lot of marketing wisdom out there if you just know where to look. And, in this regard 11 industry veterans stand out in particular: Through their books, blogs and public speaking engagements, these experts are helping others make sense of today’s marketing landscape.
Raised in Tennessee,now living in Southern California, Hope Horner has been featured as one of Inc.’s 25 Inspiring Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2017.
Currently the CEO of Lemonlight Media, an emerging video marketing company that’s winning kudos across the nation, Horner has shared her personal insights and stories — many gleaned from her Pepperdine University beginnings and her three startup ventures –through the biggest publishing platforms on the internet, including Entrepreneur and the Huffington Post.
2. Erin Berman
A self-described storyteller and brand strategist, Erin Berman founded Blackbeard Studios after consulting for dozens of startups and traveling to the farthest corners of the globe.
Her fresh insights into company scalability — fostered by effective, contemporary storytelling — have made her a sought-after workshop presenter across the Bay Area. No stranger to Silicon Valley, Berman earned her master’s degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco.
3. Roy Raanani
As CEO and co-founder of Chorus.ai, which provides conversation intelligence for sales teams, Roy Raanani combines his engineering background with his passions for sales, customer success and marketing to leverage the power of artificial intelligence.
Raanani has mastered the intersection of technology and marketing science to deliver a new take on targeting audiences and improving the sales process for companies of all sizes. His career has involved creating his own startups as well as advising on strategy and operations.
Mihael Mikek is the founder and CEO of Celtra, a creative-management platform that helps companies create effective native and video ads as well as other formats that are targeted and relevant.
His vision led to the development of a pioneering cloud-based SaaS platform that helps the largest global advertisers improve their creative. The company now powers advertising for two-thirds of the Fortune 500 companies and delivers ad experiences in more than 30 global markets per year.
5. Stacy Durand
Stacy Durand is the CEO of Media Design Group, a media-buying agency that prides itself on meeting audiences wherever they may be.
Durand has said she sees herself as an energetic cheerleader for her company, helping her team stay creative, attentive, energetic and knowledgeable in order to zero in on a company’s target audience with TV advertising in an ever-expanding world of streaming and smart devices.
6. Jørn Lyseggen
Jørn Lyseggen is the founder and CEO of Meltwater, a global leader in media intelligence. In 2008, Lyseggen founded MEST (Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology) in Accra, Ghana, on the belief that talent is everywhere, though opportunity is not.
This belief has been the foundation for MEST, which is working to create work and wealth in Africa through a new generation of successful global software entrepreneurs on the continent.
7. Marcus Sheridan
When Marcus Sheridan saved his floundering swimming pool business after the dramatic economic crash of 2008, the New York Times dubbed him a web marketing guru.
Sheridan’s powerful story of resilience inspired the book Mashable called the No. 1 marketing read in 2017, They Ask You Answer. Lovingly referred to as « The Sales Lion, » Sheridan has displayed a digital marketing acumen that’s becomes internationally well known and has made him a trusted corporate brand advisor.
8. Jay Baer
One Jay Baer keynote is all it takes to understand why this New York Times best-selling author is a hit with audiences and readers. The founder of strategy consulting firm Convince Convert, Baier consistently delivers trend-worthy and notable content across multiple channels as resources for business executives.
In addition, he’s an active venture capitalist looking for new places to invest.
9. Mari Smith
Mari Smith has become known as a digital marketing expert, training small business owners in the ways of building traffic, subscribers, clients, alliances and targeted media attention. Smith has built these skills over the course of 10 years, with specialties in Facebook and Twitter.
The Canada native travels to the United States regularly to present keynotes and training seminars and has shared a stage with notable figures like the Dalai Lama, former South African President F.W. de Klerk, and celebrity Paula Abdul.
10. Heidi Cohen
Heidi Cohen is arguably one of the most well-rounded marketers working today. Her expertise is not limited to one domain. From textiles to financial services to entertainment, Cohen has honed her skills into her Actionable Marketing Guide, a blog providing insights on social media, mobile, branding, public relations, and small business.
11. Andy Crestodina
Co-founder and strategic director of Orbit Media Studios, an award-winning Chicago-based web design company, Andy Crestodina specializes in content marketing, social media and analytics. Crestodina seeks to make each topic accessible.
With more than 20 years of keynote speaking experience, Crestodina is consistently named a top presenter at prestigious events, including Content Marketing World’s 2015 conference. He is also the author of Content Chemistry: An Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing, which addresses web marketing and theory in practice.
These 11 industry leaders can point you down the path to better engagement and connections with your customers. With so much marketing wisdom available, there’s no reason not to use it — and strengthen your own marketing efforts.
Peter Daisyme
Peter Daisyme is the co-founder of Palo Alto, California-based Hostt, specializing in helping businesses with hosting their website for free, for life. Previously he was the co-founder of Pixloo, a company that helped people sell their…
“If an early supporter like this is thrown under the bus, then who is safe?” asked Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies and a supporter of stricter immigration policies like those promoted by Mr. Sessions. “You can imagine what the other cabinet secretaries are thinking.”
That may not bother Mr. Trump, who seems to thrive on slapping those close to him and keeping them on edge. Notoriously fickle, he left Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, on the hook for six months before his resignation last week. Reince Priebus, the chief of staff, is still on the bubble and said to be looking for a graceful exit of his own.
But that does not necessarily mean that Mr. Trump will push out Mr. Sessions. Stephen K. Bannon, the chief White House strategist, was in trouble a few months ago, but survived. For Mr. Trump, the former reality-show star, the suspense over Mr. Sessions is a season-ending cliffhanger: Stay tuned to see whether he gets voted off the island.
Mr. Trump raised the dramatic tension on Tuesday with a morning message on Twitter: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a VERY weak position on Hillary Clinton crimes (where are E-mails DNC server) Intel leakers!”
Mr. Trump repeated at a news conference later in the day what he told The New York Times last week: that he would not have appointed Mr. Sessions if he had known that the attorney general would step back from the Russia inquiry. “I am disappointed in the attorney general,” he said in the White House Rose Garden.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Trump dismissed the notion that Mr. Sessions, as the first senator to endorse his candidacy, deserved special loyalty.
The Day’s Top Political News
“When they say he endorsed me, I went to Alabama,” Mr. Trump said. “I had 40,000 people. He was a senator from Alabama. I won the state by a lot, massive numbers. A lot of the states I won by massive numbers. But he was a senator, he looks at 40,000 people and he probably says, ‘What do I have to lose?’ And he endorsed me. So it’s not like a great loyal thing about the endorsement.”
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The loyalty Mr. Trump was looking for, aides said, was about protecting him now that he is in office. “The president wants his cabinet secretaries to have his back,” said Anthony Scaramucci, the new White House communications director.
Mr. Sessions, however, is more than just another employee who has fallen out of favor with a volatile boss. No cabinet member is more closely associated with the conservative nationalism that helped propel Mr. Trump to the White House. For conservatives skeptical of Mr. Trump, Mr. Sessions has been an insurance policy in an administration stacked with suspect New Yorkers, relatives and Wall Street bankers.
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Breitbart News, the conservative nationalist outlet once led by Mr. Bannon, reflected anger on the right. “Trump vs. Trump: Potus Endangers Immigration Agenda,” its lead headline read on Tuesday. One article said the attack on the attorney general “only serves to highlight Trump’s own hypocrisy” while another said Mr. Sessions’s ouster “would be a devastating blow” to the nationalist-populist movement.
The division was clear, too, on the Drudge Report, the conservative-leaning website whose double-barreled headline on Tuesday was “Sessions in Dog House; Republicans on Brink of Civil War.”
Frustration among conservatives has been building for some time. Weeks ago, Mr. Bannon brought Ann Coulter, the firebrand pundit, to see Mr. Trump, according to two people briefed on the visit. Ms. Coulter railed at the president that he needed to focus more on his core supporters.
On Capitol Hill, where Mr. Sessions served for 20 years, Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, and other Republicans came to his defense. “Sessions is not weak,” said Senator Richard C. Shelby, a former colleague from Alabama. “He’s strong. He’s a man of purpose, integrity, substance.”
Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said: “Jeff Sessions is one of the most decent people I’ve ever met in my political life. He’s a rock-solid conservative, but above else he believes in the rule of law.”
Democrats, never fans of Mr. Sessions, nonetheless warned that Mr. Trump should not dump him and install a more sympathetic replacement during the coming Senate break. “Democrats will never go along with the recess appointment,” said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader. In a challenge to Republican leaders, he said, “I can’t imagine they would be complicit in creating a constitutional crisis.”
As for Mr. Sessions, who does not have a Twitter account, he has stayed out of the fray since he said on Friday that he wanted to continue working “under Trump’s direction.” On Tuesday, Mr. Sessions announced a new measure to withhold funding from states and cities that do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
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Critics said Mr. Trump’s assault on Mr. Sessions undermines the traditional independence of the Justice Department. “It is an extraordinary departure from how the relationship of the White House and the Department of Justice is supposed to operate and has operated under administrations of both parties,” said Matthew S. Axelrod, a department official under President Barack Obama.
Some Democrats criticized Mr. Sessions for remaining quiet. “The fact that the president has talked about politicizing investigations and the attorney general has nothing to say?” said Matthew Miller, a department spokesman during the Obama administration. “I thought that was a really, really bad moment for him as attorney general.”
The question remains whether it might be one of his last moments as attorney general.
President Trump celebrated the Senate’s procedural vote earlier in the day on repealing ObamaCare but avoided discussing his frustration with Attorney General Jeff Sessions during a rally in Ohio on Tuesday night.
Though it still remains unclear whether the Senate will ultimately have the votes to pass health care legislation, Trump portrayed Tuesday’s vote as an important step.
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President Donald Trump points to his supporters as first lady Melania Trump watches after speaking at the Covelli Centre, Tuesday, July 25, 2017, in Youngstown, Ohio.
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
The Senate voted 51-50 on Tuesday to start debate on legislation repealing former President Obama’s health care law.
“Only a few hours ago, the Senate approved a vote to begin debating the repealing and replacing the ObamaCare disaster,” Trump said at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown. “Finally. You think that’s easy? That’s not easy.”
He added, “We’re now one step closer to liberating citizens from this ObamaCare nightmare and delivering great health care for the American people.”
The president also issued a warning to Republican senators on the fence.
“Any senator who votes against repeal and replace is telling America that they are fine with the ObamaCare nightmare, and I predict they’ll have a lot of problems,” he said.
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President Donald Trump pauses as he speaks during a rally, Tuesday, July 25, 2017, at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio.
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The rally comes as the president has been lashing out his attorney general over Sessions’ recusal from the Russia meddling investigation. Earlier on Tuesday, Trump told reporters he was “disappointed” in Sessions and left open the door to getting rid of him. But he didn’t mention Sessions during the rally.
For about an hour, Trump delivered a freewheeling speech, reminiscent of those given during the 2016 campaign, on a variety of topics.
“I’m here this evening to cut through the fake-news filter and speak straight to the American people,” he said.
As he did during the campaign, he took shots at the reporters who cover him.
“This has been a difficult week for the media because I forced them to travel with us all around the country and spend time with tens of thousands of proud Americans who believe in the defending our values, our culture, our borders, our civilization and our great American way of life,” Trump said.
At one point, the crowd began to chant “build that wall.” The president then vowed to follow through on his campaign promise.
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A supporter holds up a sign as President Donald Trump speaks at the Covelli Centre, Tuesday, July 25, 2017, in Youngstown, Ohio.
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak)
“Don’t even think about it,” he said. “We will build the wall.”
Several protesters were escorted out during the speech. After one particularly young-looking man was taken out, Trump remarked: “He’s a young one. He’s going back home to mommy. He’s in trouble.”
During the speech, Trump brought up a man named Gino Defabio, who said he was a longtime Democrat who voted for the president. He was wearing a shirt that said “Trump won, deal with it!”
The president also responded to those who say he doesn’t always behave like a president should.
“Sometimes they say he doesn’t act presidential,” Trump said. “And I say, hey look, great schools, great guy, it’s so easy to act presidential but that’s not going to get it done.”
He added, “With the exception of the late great Abraham Lincoln, I can be more presidential than any president that’s ever held this office. That I can tell you. It’s real easy.”
Looking back on his six months in office, Trump boasted of withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Paris climate accords. He also renewed his threat to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
“And if we don’t negotiate a great deal with Mexico and Canada, we will terminate NAFTA and we’ll start all over again,” he said.
Attacking the media again, Trump made the crowd laugh by invoking the possibility a sculpture of him could be on Mount Rushmore.
“I’d ask whether or not you think I will someday be on Mount Rushmore,” Trump told the crowd. “But here’s the problem. If I did it jokingly, totally joking, having fun, the fake news media will say, ‘He believes he should be on Mount Rushmore.’ So I won’t say it, OK?”
“Make no mistake,” Mr. McCain said, “my service here is the most important job I’ve had in my life.”
Mr. McCain quickly moved on to critique the current state of the Senate and his own role in a partisan, quarrelsome era of American governing. The Senate, Mr. McCain said, has not “been overburdened by greatness lately; they aren’t producing much for the American people. Both sides have let this happen.”
In self-reproach, he added: “Sometimes I’ve let my passion rule my reason. Sometimes I made it harder to find common ground because of something harsh I said to a colleague.”
Mr. McCain cautioned his colleagues to ignore “bombastic” pundits. “To hell with them,” he said to applause as he implored his colleagues to work in a bipartisan manner — a provocative message after the hyperpartisan vote. (In all, 50 Republicans voted to take up the health care debate and two voted no. On the other side, 46 Democrats and two independents voted no.)
On social media, Mr. McCain took a beating in the 24 hours after he revealed that he would make the five-hour flight to Washington to vote for what many viewed as a bill to take away health care from poor people when Mr. McCain was receiving the best treatment available. In 2008, Senator Edward M. Kennedy had the same tumor that has sickened Mr. McCain, and the Massachusetts Democrat made a surprise appearance to help Democrats break a filibuster they said would protect access to doctors by older Americans.
Over the last year, Mr. McCain, 80, has displayed every element of his disputatious, droll, scolding, informed, press-loving, press-hating, senatorial self. He has zipped around the world at a pace that has exhausted colleagues decades younger, trying to assure allies rattled by Mr. Trump’s tweets and remarks.
He has remained watchful and characteristically hawkish on all things Russia-related, even as his fellow Republicans have largely shied from the issue since Mr. Trump entered the White House. He has remained bizarrely captivated by the vexing problem of catfish inspection processes. He has cooperated loyally with the party, except when he hasn’t. He brought down a Republican measure to end emissions curbs on methane because he was mad about the Trump administration’s choice for United States trade representative.
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Mr. McCain’s wife, Cindy McCain, outside the Senate chamber as he delivered remarks after voting on Tuesday. Credit
Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
But his Teflon veneer showed cracks this spring when he seemed to be occasionally confused and at times more testy than usual. Last month, Mr. McCain seemed muddled while questioning James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, during a Senate hearing. Mr. McCain later said his befuddlement was because of a late night watching an Arizona Diamondbacks game. This month, Mr. McCain learned he had brain cancer.
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It was striking enough that Mr. McCain, held and tortured for five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, returned dangerously sick to the Capitol to help put a health care bill over the line. It was stunning that he did it for Mr. Trump, who as a candidate derided Mr. McCain’s military service — “I like people who weren’t captured,” Mr. Trump said in July 2015 — and who ridiculed scores of policy and political conventions that Mr. McCain has embodied over a generation.
This was the John McCain who, rather than attend the 2016 Republican National Convention, chose instead to stomp around his home state and to take a train to his beloved Grand Canyon.
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On Tuesday morning, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, expressed his thanks on the Senate floor. “Senator McCain is a fighter,” he said. “That’s evidenced by his remarkable life of public service, just as it’s again evidenced by his quick return to the Senate this afternoon. I know he’s eager to get back to work, and we’ll all be very pleased to have him back with us.”
Mr. McCain does not expect the health care vote to be the culmination of his congressional career, which began when he won a House seat in 1982. It is Mr. McCain’s intense wish to oversee the annual Pentagon policy bill, and he has repeatedly told Republican leaders he will manage the passage of the legislation.
“I’ve had so many people say such nice things about me recently that I think some of you must have me confused with someone else,” Mr. McCain said, suggesting that he would get the Pentagon bill moving in the next few days before going home for treatment. His colleagues rose to applaud him.
Mr. McCain, who will soon undergo treatment for his cancer, said he would be back. “I have every intention of returning here,” he said, “and giving all of you cause to regret all of the nice things you said about me.”
Ahead of President Trump’s appearance Monday at the National Scout Jamboree in West Virginia, the troops were offered some advice on the gathering’s official blog: Fully hydrate. Be “courteous” and “kind.” And avoid the kind of divisive chants heard during the 2016 campaign such as “build the wall” and “lock her up.”
But from the moment he took the stage, Trump — who was never a Scout himself but touted his role as the “honorary president of the Boy Scouts of America” — started leading them down a very different path.
Over the next 35 minutes, the president threatened to fire one of his Cabinet members, attacked former president Barack Obama, dissed his former rival Hillary Clinton, marveled at the size of the crowd, warned the boys about the “fake media,” mocked pollsters and pundits, and said more people would say “Merry Christmas” under his presidency. He also told a rambling tale about a famous, now-deceased home builder that meandered from a Manhattan cocktail party to a yacht and then to places that the president would only allow the boys’ imaginations to go.
The speech was, in fact, very much like the rally speeches that Trump gave across the country last year, although he sprinkled in some pieces of inspirational advice (“Do something you love”) and reflections on Boy Scout values (“We could really use some more loyalty, I will tell you that.”).
Trump was joined by former Scouts who serve in his Cabinet, including Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. The latter wore a Scouting outfit for the occasion. “Ryan is an Eagle Scout from Big Sky country in Montana,” Trump relayed.
As the president’s speech continued, Perry appeared to grow bored as he stood behind Trump, chatting with others, flipping through a book and then filming a video of the crowd. Not invited on the adventure: Attorney General Jeff Sessions, an Eagle Scout whose day job appears in jeopardy in Washington.
Trump began the official address, delivered from a lectern with the presidential seal, by pledging to talk about things loftier than politics.
“Tonight we put aside all of the policy fights in Washington, D.C., you’ve been hearing about with the fake news,” the president told the crowd of Scouts and volunteers gathered in Glen Jean, W.Va. “Who the hell wants to speak about politics when I’m in front of the Boy Scouts?”
But before long, Trump dived into the politics of the Republican health-care bill, which could die if it doesn’t clear a key procedural vote on Tuesday. Trump pointed to Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, who has been tasked with selling the legislation.
“Hopefully he’s going to get the votes tomorrow,” Trump said, emphasizing the importance of overhauling the Affordable Care Act, which he called “this horrible thing that’s really hurting us.”
As chants of “USA! USA!” broke out, Trump asked Price: “By the way, are you going to get the votes? You better get the votes. Otherwise, I’ll say, ‘Tom, you’re fired.’ ”
Trump also slipped in a reference to Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, one of the Republican holdouts on moving forward with the bill, which would leave up to 22 million fewer Americans with health insurance by 2026, according to estimates.
President Trump was joined by, from left, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke as he spoke at the 2017 National Scout Jamboree in Glen Jean, W.Va., Monday. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
“You better get Senator Capito to vote for it,” the president told Price.
Seemingly returning to the teleprompters, Trump pivoted to another subject.
“Boy Scout values are American values,” the president said. “And great Boy Scouts become great, great Americans. As the Scout law says, a Scout is trustworthy, loyal – we could use some more loyalty, I will tell you that.”
It wasn’t clear what Trump was referencing. Perhaps it was fellow members of his party refusing to vote for health-care legislation. Perhaps it was Sessions, whom earlier in the day Trump had called “beleaguered” in a tweet. Trump harshly criticized Sessions last week for recusing himself from investigations involving Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The Boy Scouts then chanted the 10 other words that make up the Boy Scout Law: “Helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.” On the stage behind Trump, Zinke and Perry stood at attention and held their right hands up in the Boy Scout salute. Trump smiled.
“Very good,” he told the boys. “Very good.”
At another point, Trump marveled at the more than 30,000 Scouts who had gathered for the Jamboree, although he acted as if they were there just for him and not for a regular event attended by seven other presidents.
“What do you think the chances are that this incredible, massive crowd, record-setting, is going to be shown on television tonight? One percent or zero,” Trump said as the Scouts yelled out answers and “CNN!” “The fake media will say . . . ‘President Trump spoke before a small crowd of Boy Scouts today.’ That is some crowd. Fake media! Fake news!”
As Trump told the Scouts that they should spend their adult years doing something that they love to do, someone in the crowd shouted that he loved the president.
“I love you, too,” Trump said, before jumping into a monologue on love between males. “I don’t know, it’s a nice guy. Hey, what am I going to do, he sounds like a nice person. He. He, he, he. Thank you. I do, I do love you.”
The boys laughed and then seemed to chant something that sounded like: “We love Trump! We love Trump!” Trump smiled and applauded them, then said: “By the way, just a question, did President Obama ever come to a Jamboree?”
“Nooooo!” the boys roared back in a sound that seemed to turn into booing, apparently not giving Obama credit for sending a video message to the 2010 Jamboree.
Before the gathering, the Scouts were told on the Jamboree’s blog that it would be inappropriate to behave as though they were at a campaign rally.
Such behavior, the blog said, “is considered divisive by many members of our audience and may cause unnecessary friction between individuals and units. . . . Please help us ensure that all Scouts can enjoy this historical address by making sure that your troop members are respectful not only of the president, but of the wide variety of viewpoints held by Scouts and Scouters in the audience tonight.”
Before departing, Trump took time to relive last year’s election, chiding Clinton for not working hard enough in several Midwestern states. He recalled the “massive” crowds he drew in Wisconsin, a state that a Republican presidential candidate hadn’t won in “many, many years.”
“Michigan came in — and we worked hard there. You know, my opponent didn’t work hard there. She was told she was going to win Michigan and I said, ‘Wait a minute, the car industry is going to move to Mexico.’ ”
