Generally speaking we are all addicted to what we love. Trying to handle things we don't like will be a massive attack to our hearts. One day this year i woke up, thought of circumstances of life and explained to myself: You will never regret what you do as long as you love, what you do. So challenge the future and keep close to your believes and the trust in your abilities and values. And don't regret!

Leave people behind who are producing negative feelings, leave people behind who cannot feel the passion and ambition you are living. Instead put your arm around them, who want to challenge the future with you. Trust the people, who present you with their trust. Stand at the side of those who inspire. Live with those who keep their words.

2011 will be great. 

Uhm! Approx. 90% of my day-time is fully booked with doing business. We discover, we learn, we practice... it's a great story (review of the year will be posted in the next days). It's entrepreneurship. Developing yourself always means to me achieving step for step more experience. And one day we will harvest the fruits, at the lastest by giving these fundamental experiences to our childs. That's save.

Despite we learned a lot, we don't need to fool ourselves: We are still working on the continuation of the basics... so: 

In 2011 there will be a bulk of challenges i want to recap here, so just listen if you are interested or involved, my top10:

#1: identity marketing
As mentioned in one of my blog posts of relevanz, i will concentrate on identity marketing. Maybe i will take further steps by developing a website concentrated on the subject and where we can exchange experiences. Furthermore i'm very interested in writing a small book affecting the subjects of marketing/distribution or the development of personal identities. Publishing it on Amazon would be a dream... :- )

#2: seo / sem
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) has a deeply impact on me. In times of oversupply the clients we manage in marketing communication need to reach their customers. SEO and SEM is now included in the agency services, because i guess that you can empower brands visibility and sharing information on products will always play an important role in the internet. We will expand these services. Actually we have made contracts with clients, more are coming up... stay tuned :- )

#3: magento development
Besides of marketing services we will amplify our technical unit. By now we are developing huge magento shops and already could collect ample experience in e-commerce. Co-founders of aijko, Gerrit Pechmann and Erik Frister, will manage the growth while i'm concentraiting in new business and all stages of marketing communication. We are setting up first cooperations and will definitely challenge the future. 

#4: marketing consultancy
This will be an exciting exercise: To strengthen our consultancy unit. Our fields of operation are becoming more and more complex. On the one hand you need the specialists, creating persuasive work. On the other hand you have to come up with allrounders, who know the processes of the specialists, knowing requirements of the agency and the clients at the same time, communicating in a transparent way and making win-win deals. So, are you young and hungry? Please send your application for account management at aijko to my hands, i will come back to you as fast as possible.

#5: technical mastership, innovation
aijko performs well in technical concept services and coding (frontend and backend). I hope we have the possibility to integrate new, outstanding developers. That would be nice for creating ideas for innovation and that followed the direct implementation by our own coding team. We want to be the first partner if you need demanding development (web, mobile...)!

#6: friendship / trust / sustainability / long relationships
Our clients are our friends. As creative corporate consultants we are very close to the people we work with daily. With all of our clients and partners we want to align new strategies due to the strenghtening of the companies and their products. We want sustainable cooperations. In 2010 we won more than 10 new clients; we started with them and now we want to improve.

#7: time-management / work-life balance
I have to work at my time-management and work-life-balance. If i loose drive and spirit, i will fail. Stop this by taking time you need for yourself: To reflect, to meet with people, to look beyond one's own nose. So work-life and other life has to be in balance. In 2010 there was no balance. We just forced our growth by strong commitment and passion. We'll have an eye on it.

#8: education by sharing
All people who are willing to join aijko will participate in an open-minded culture. We will share our knowledge to get the best employees in our space in 2011. And you are welcome to share your knowledge with us :- ) Let us rock young professionalism and create values and essence.   

#9: don't stop your visions
I was always conducted by my visions. And nothing else. Maybe it's creative power to handle things. To keep these visions alive you have to make sure that your personality, your imagination and your perception can unfold without restrictions. It keeps your drive and spirit alive. If it works, all the people surrounding you will notice... it's more than aura. I guess it could be part of #1 ... :) stay tuned.   

#10: To all my readers: I wish you all the best in 2011. Enjoy!

Listen...

"Listen as your day unfolds 
Challenge what the future holds 
Try and keep your head up to the sky 
Lovers, they may cause you tears 
Go ahead release your fears 
Stand up and be counted 
Don't be ashamed to cry 
You gotta be 
You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold 
You gotta be wiser, you gotta be hard 
You gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger 
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm 
You gotta stay together 
All I know, all I know, love will save the day 
Herald what your mother said 
Readin' the books your father read 
Try to solve the puzzles in your own sweet time 
Some may have more cash than you 
Others take a different view"

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Yesterday i was invited to Van der Valk Airport Hotel. More than 350 visitors came to Düsseldorf to join the first Online Kongress 2010 of the Rheinische Post. I proudly have to thank M. Brillen and K. Struck for the personal invitation and the really warm welcome. 

My friend Marcel joined me there and both we were excited about what the Kongress would be like. In general we passed a lot of Kongresses in the past and therefore we actually can give good or negative points to the contents, the organisation and so on... but Online Kongress 2010 we enjoyed definitely. It was all done well and despite the fact that I know a lot about Online Marketing there were some new aspects from speaking experts I was thinking about deeply.

So Frank Dopheide (Chairman, GREY), had the opening-keynote. Frank is a godlike speaker and really knows how to catch his audience. It's quite simple, but it has relevance and impact. And he speaks with passion and humor. Passion you feel. Just the right balance. He talked about emotional value and the replacement of each product in this world. He spoke about the change in advertising due to the internet-revolution. And the need of rethinking in marketing.
After his speech Frank left very early. But i catched him in the entrance while he waited for being fetched by taxi. I shortly asked about his further steps in career and that i'm interested in identity marketing as he mentioned in press as well. I hope that I'll find the time to write down my aspects of identity marketing in the near future (before christmas 2010!); i will post it here. Frank and I will meet again.

Later on we joined the "panels". There were some speaking experts for different subjects you could choose. We joined "Mobile" (heiko schwamb, YOC) and "Social Media" (KPMG). I was disappointed about the guys from KPMG. Maybe the content of their speech was okay (but there were intensive discussions though..), but such a boring presentation. I ever thought people from organisations like KPMG are thrilled to best speaking and to perform well in front of an audience. Nevertheless... Social Media is at odds all the time - i will track the development at aijko.

Rheinische Post will send out USB sticks with all the presentation slides which had been presented. If you are interested as well, just drop me a message.

I even will connect with people like Prof. Dr. Heinemann (Hochschule Niederrhein Krefeld) or Rainer Kunst (KunstundKollegen). Maybe we can initialize some professional but kickin' projects in the context of marketing.

Stay tuned

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I'm really often concerned with presentations due to my job in advertising industry. Presentations, in any way, call for preparation and training. Over the years you feel more and more comfortable and there are some tricks you can use. But sometimes, no matter why, I can't negate inner unstableness and I unsettle myself with a lot of wrong questions and feelings. I maybe made more than 50 speeches in my entire life and i guess they ended up more or less positive. However, the best of it is that you can switch to a meta section in which you are feeling quite well. In this meta section inner unstableness has no chance. It leads you to the right feelings, makes you feel strong and gives you new opportunities in presenting.

How to enter the meta section before and while presenting I will write down in part 2 of this blog post.

For now, start with the normal basis:

Situation (example): 
You were asked to give a presentation to your client. There will be an audience round about 10 people from higher rank (leaders). These leaders know about the subject you will present, but they are no experts in this field. How will you prepare your presentation? Maybe you consider these questions and answers. 

Expectations - Audience:
Why is the presenter here today? Who is the presenter and what benefit is secured? Do i learn something new? Is the presenter interested in his audience? Is he a good speaker? Does he use appropriate language and style according to his audience? Right from the start your goal (all the points you want to achieve) must be very clear and due your speech you should keep them in mind. You are always making a bad deal remarking interrogative faces or avoidance in active listening. So the keypoints should meet the expectations with regards to content.

Expectations - Speaker:
Is the audience interested in my speech? Can i meet the balance between rational and emotional aspects to make a good presentation? What techniques do I use? And what equipment do I have to bring with me?

Some thoughts of mine as a tight list:

• SOVEREIGNTY. Be confident.
• HONESTY. Be honest.
• Your prevailing mood matters and influences charism. (part 2)
• Convey enthusiasm for the subject. (part 2)
• Expectation shapes reality: Come up to expectations of your audience (part 2).
• Your clothing matters in the way what you are willing to express.
• Meet the eyes of your audience. 
• Be clear about your time.
• Be clear about your key message.
• Ensure that your slides look good (easy, creative and having impact).
• First slide is very important (title must catch the attention, dramatic ("this year we are going to make a fundamental transformation of the whole company")
• Second slide seizes attention of audience (controversy theory, quote..).
• Every slide has a clear headline, is easy to understand and extremely well-arranged (slides at max. 25 words).
• Intelligible bullet points help, no regular bullet points -> use of bullet-point-grafics which don't look like bullet-points!
• Three-part-lists ("good value, good visions, good policies").
• Try humor ("i dont mind... as long as.."), but avoid being infantile.
• Use phrases with impact on audience ("let me be clear", "i say to you"...).
• At its conclusion, a good presentation summarizes the key themes in a way that makes the audience feel like they just "got off the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland".

In my opinion there are a few things which are definitely accounting to a good presentation of yourself. First, you have to be ultra sovereign. That's probably the most intensive part of your training, your style and your inner feelings, as well. It's very close to your personality and has a deep impact on your audience. Second, be honest to the listeners, because a passionate speaker tells from heart (further in part 2). Thats the point to built up trust and to be on the same level as your audience at meta section. You can underline your honesty by using different expressions and replying to various signals from your audience. And last but not least for this blog post: Don't miss your strength of purpose. If you don't achieve coming closer to your goals, a good presentation is valueless. So take care of your intention!

Credits:
http://www.rogerdarlington.me.uk/Speech.html
http://www.presentationmagazine.com/presentation_espresso.htm 

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Thank you M. Brillen from RP media for inviting me to "Düsseldorfer Online Kongress 2010" on November 18 at the Van der Valk Airport Hotel. Who is interested in attending me? There are no tickets left, but I take you with me, so just drop me a line!

Here is what Rheinische Post says about the event:

"Längst greifen die verschiedenen Werbemöglichkeiten in den Bereichen Print und Digital ineinander über. So eröffnen sich neue und interessante Perspektiven. Online-Marketing bedeutet, neue Märkte zu erschließen, Zielgruppen gezielt und effektiv anzusprechen und am Puls der Zeit zu bleiben. Entdecken auch Sie die Chance, die das Internet für Ihre Werbung bietet. Erfahren Sie auf dem „Düsseldorfer Online Kongress“ in Vorträgen alles, was Sie über die verschiedenen Online-Werbeformen, Suchmaschinenoptimierung, Social Media, E-Commerce, Video und Mobile wissen müssen."

In general the Online Kongress 2010 is no meet up with a bulk of experts, but a possibility to connect with people out of my branch. Probably i wouldn't have decided to check-in if i weren't invited (the ticket is about 70 euro). But as an agency leader i want to collect further know-how for our clients, especially in the subjects mentioned above.

So do you join me?

Credits: Picture (Frank Dopheide, RP media)

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