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Observations from Worldcom Group Shanghai Meeting

Posted by Matt Kucharski on May 23, 2010 at 7:55 PM

I'm in the midst of a two-week trip to Shanghai, Singapore and Bangkok for meetings with our Worldcom Group global network partners and some crisis/critical issues training with a US-based client who has operations over here. Just finished the week with our Worldcom partners and thought I'd share some observations:

• Who is QQ.com? If you don't know of it, you soon will. It's the third largest internet company behind Google and Microsoft, and the most popular in China. In Japan, you'll be hearing more about Mixi.com.
• Non-Chinese visitors here in Shanghai couldn't get access to Facebook through wireless connections, but everybody with a 3G phone was able to get to it from there. Wonder how the Chinese government is going to be able to control that...
• James McGregor, author of the book One Billion Customers , gave a great presentation on where China is heading from a market position standpoint. Watch for China to encourage foreign businesses who want to come to China to sell to Chinese customers, vs ones who what to come to China for cheap labor.
• One of our newer partners, Cindy Payne from Asia-Pacific Connections in Singapore, gave a nice overview of the five largest social media users in the region -- China, Australia, Japan, India and Singapore. Suffice it to say that social media is going to be a big driver in cross-border communications, and it's ushering in a new type of language called "Globish," which is English but without all of the idioms.
• A great little bit of lore regarding the tradition of older Shanghainese wearing pajamas in public. Apparently Chiang Kai-Shek went to Europe and saw pajamas in French and wanted to bring a bit of European culture back to China. He just didn't realize that pajamas were for sleeping, and encouraged Chinese people to wear them outside. Now, timed with the World Expo taking place here, the Chinese government is mounting an "educational campaign" to encourage people to keep their pajamas indoors. One billboard that a friend translated for me says "Wearing pajamas outdoors is uncivilized."
• One of my social media heroes is Elizabeth Sosnow from Bliss in New York. She gave a nice overview of the tools she's using today (Google reader, delicious, Feedera, Addict-o-matic, bit.ly, backtype, Wordtracker and SocialOMPH). She also did a nice job driving home that these tools are as valuable for B2B as they are for B2C.

Heard several case studies on successful social media campaigns across Europe. Unfortunately, because I can't get to YouTube or Facebook here in China (note to my IT department -- would love to get a 3G global phone -- hint hint... :), you'll have to look them up yourself. Here's a list:

Renault Fluence and European Cancer Prevention Society viral videos in Bulgaria

Staropramen Brewery and Reforma in the Czech Republic

Denmark Tourist Organization in Denmark -- created some significant controversy and had to be pulled

Evian Roller Babies in Germany -- disturbing and funny at the same time -- those crazy Germans

Vatera.hv and Pannon in Hungary

Netherlands Government's campaign to protect personal information

Zai Jian (goodbye) for now...

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It's Great To Be Here!

Posted by Tony Morse on May 12, 2010 at 10:54 AM

How many times have you heard that? Well, today, I've heard it 113 times!

Yes, the 113 employee-owners of our firm are sharing all the reasons why they love working at Padilla ... and why we were recognized last night as "THE BEST AGENCY TO WORK FOR" in the country by The Holmes Report. Awards for client work are important, but we are most proud of awards that recognize our people and our culture.

So, aside from recognition from The Holmes Report, here's a summary of what our people think:

"What makes Padilla 'the best place to work?'"

Ownership - We succeed together and we pull together when things aren't at 100%. It's the culture of ownership that keeps people focused on what's right and what's best. Ever notice how the boss ducks out early Friday afternoons at some companies? At Padilla, early weekend escapes aren't reserved for the few. During the summer and over the winter holidays, all employees are invited to take Friday afternoons off if they've already put in their full hours for the week. This perk has been a firm policy for 21 years.

Communication - Our people are committed to being accessible to each other and to our clients. Internally, we all know what's going on through monthly all-company staff meetings to review financial performance, discuss initiatives and celebrate personal, client and firm-wide success.

Hard Work - One account manager said, "It's the people. I like working with really smart people." Maybe "work smart," describes us better ... even though I believe our clients would say we "do it right." I'm not sure it matters whether we work "hard" or "smart," as long as we live up to our brand promise for our clients: Something Unexpected. No Surprises.

Hard Play - Some mornings we arrive to the smell of pancakes cooked up in the third-floor kitchen. On New Year's Eve, there's a champagne toast at the fireplace. On Halloween, we eat a potluck lunch while perusing silent-auction items everyone donates to raise thousands for United Way. We celebrate the annual Twins home opener with a tailgate party. Throughout the year, we volunteer together to rake for seniors, donate books and supplies for school children, and serve nearly 200 other non-profit organizations. Even our children get into the action at our annual kids' holiday party each winter!

Constant Improvement - One of our values is "Keep learning." Through a mentorship program, a writing coach and regular professional (and personal) development, everyone has the opportunity to grow and achieve their full potential. This week's professional development sessions: "Staying Energized in a Draining World," and everything we need to know about life insurance.

Reputation - We devote ourselves to building and protecting our clients' reputations. That's dedicated has contributed to our strong reputation in the local community and the national communications community since our founding in 1961. As one Account Executive said, "Padilla earns the respect it gets, making me proud to work where I do."

Okay ... now on to celebrate finalists for Entrepreneur of the Year with Ernst & Young! (Padilla is a sponsor)

Padilla CEO, Lynn Casey accepts SABRE Award - Best Agency to Work For

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