ORGANIZATION NAME: Candybox Marketing
INDUSTRY: Marketing & Communications
NAME OF CONTACT: Darrell Keezer, President & CEO
Throughout history humanity has always wanted to know the future. In a time when little changed over millennia, history looked for predictors, seers, prophets and guru’s. Today people not only want to know the future, they want to create it. Social Media “experts” are popping up all over the place; each with their own perception of what social media will look like in the future.
The future of social media hints of the following;
- creating and expanding brand awareness
- cultivating meaningful relationships
- delivering integrated marketing campaigns that are “share worthy” with friends
- creating C2C scenarios whereby people feel comfortable in recommending a business to a friend
Recently, I had the good fortune of connecting with DARRELL KEEZER, President and CEO of Candybox Marketing. “Candybox” is a leading Canadian communications firm specializing in social media. They have numerous clients in the USA and Canada. They have literally helped create millions of dollars in revenues for their clients. With over 250 workshops conducted, they’re leading the charge in helping North American companies make sense of the digital age. During my one hour discussion with Mr. Keezer, I found him to be poignant, knowledgeable and more than willing to expand on his day to day experience with the growth of social media. His offices are virtual. They have regular weekly client & production meetings via SKYPE. He has very firm, “set in stone” values. At the very centre of his values is his family. Married with four children, he conducts his business from 9AM – 5PM. After 5PM, the computer is turned off. It’s family time. It’s play time for daddy and a real break for his wife, who gladly hands over the reigns after a long day of minding kids and performing the innumerable tasks taken on by mothers.
Our discussion focused on four main areas:
- How would you describe yourself? How would others describe you?
- What is there about the social media space that captivated your interests?
- What does the future of social media look like? (branding & connectivity)
- Social media and revenues. How do you help create revenues for your client?
“…at the very core of who we are, we are SOCIAL, I AM SOCIAL” (Darrell Keezer, President & CEO of Candybox Marketing)
LESSONS LEARNED
- Human beings are social. Social media is just that.
- Truth be told, the Guru’s are only steps ahead of their clients. Not only are they responding to markets but creating them as well.
- The future of social media is in a state of perpetual flux.
- Every market will have its corresponding strategies and approaches. What works in one market, will unlikely work in another.
- Social media requires new types of thinking from minds not cluttered with the past.
- The price of social media future? Let go, look around, interpret the landscape and in the words of Gene Roddenberry … “BOLDLY GO”!
WEB REFERENCES:
HOW WILL BE THE WORLD IN 2020?
SUBMITTED BY: Jaye Torley
To contact the author of this entry please email at jtorley@rogers.com
If you have concerns as to the accuracy of anything posted on this site please send your concerns to Peter Carr, Program Director, Social Media for Business Performance.