OTA 2013 Is Almost Here!

If you haven't heard of the OTA Sessions yet, you're missing out. Like...missing out big time.

The OTA Sessions basically take everything amazing about the OTA states (South DakOTA, North DakOTA, and MinnesOTA) and condense it into a conference made up of brilliant attendees, thought-provoking speakers, and a day fully packed with creativity, insight, and a chance for the Midwest to shine.

Oh, and there's a free lunch too.

Anyway, I'll be helping the brilliant Hugh Weber prepare for that over the course of the next month or so, and it is already looking like it will be a killer event. If you haven't gotten your ticket yet, please buy one today. I promise with all of my heart and soul that you won't regret it.

On a side note, I'm also still doing freelance writing work if you (or someone you know) are looking for help with writing on any projects. If you want more info on that side of my life, please feel free to visit HireMikeBilleter.com.

Thanks, and I'll try to post with more frequency now that Lindsie and I are on a temporary reprieve from our cross-country journey.

-Mike

From a Fiesta Agent understudy: How Ford's doing it right...

Doing something unique is fun. Doing something really unique is really fun. And doing something that only about 120 other people in the entire United States get to do is just flat-out wicked awesome.

Luckily, last Tuesday, I was fortunate enough to be a part of Ford’s “Fiesta Movement.” No, I didn’t win one of the cars (which would have led to an entirely different post…probably just a video of me screaming and shouting for joy), but I DO happen to have a boss who DID happen to win a car. And, seeing as the 10+ hour drive from Denver isn’t all that fun on one's own, I was fortunate enough to have a boss who wanted me out there to help him film, stay awake on the drive back to Sioux Falls, and do all of the other cool things that assistant-ish employees get to do.

After an early morning journey with boring details, I eventually found myself in Denver, meeting up with Hugh and the other 7 or so “Fiesta Agents” who were preparing to go see their cars for the first time. After a lengthy drive out of the city, we pulled up to the raceway where the cars were waiting for their respective Agents. Hugh’s excitement at finally meeting Ruby (his name for his Fiesta……yeah…I know…) was like a kid who just found out Christmas was happening every day for six months. I couldn’t have punched the smile off his face. And I’ve got really strong fists (that’s me on the left…)

Needless to say, Ford did it right. Nothing around but racetrack and open air, and a set of brand new cars begging their owners to sit down inside them (and probably literally begging, because these Fiestas are the smartest cars ever…it’s almost creepy…more on that later…). After the initial introductions, Hugh handed out the soon-to-be iconic “Fiesta Hugh” shirts (crafted by none other than Deep Bench’s own up-and-coming graphic design phenom, Andrew Brynjulson (Bren-yool-son)), which you can see in the image below.

And then it got even more awesome. After a quick instructional session on the cars themselves, the Fiesta Agents got to take their babies out on the speedway track. Although the maximum speed limit was 55 mph, the curves on the course were insanely tight and they managed to make 55 feel like 85. Although I can’t drive a stick shift, Hugh absolutely dominated his test runs like he was Jeff Gordon himself (or whichever NASCAR racer is relevant these days).

After it was all said and done, we were on the road back to Sioux Falls, and that’s a different story for a different post. For a sample of what’s on the way, here’s this photo:

Onto the point of this post… I was extremely impressed with Ford’s ability to make this Fiesta Movement a true social media campaign throughout the entire day. Although there are a few (necessary) rules and restrictions, I was blown away with how open everything was to filming and photography. I was loaded up with two video cameras and one photography camera, and I was never once asked to put them down or turn them off. Whether it was instructional sessions or video-recording conversations between agents and the marketing crew, I was never restricted from taking photos or footage. They’re perfectly willing to let this be a living, breathing social media effort, relatively out of their control.

In my opinion, Ford is taking big steps (and potentially big risks) to ensure that it’s on the forefront of online/social media marketing efforts. This isn’t a crafted and scripted series of videos and tweets that Ford’s invested in to get positive brand recognition. These are real people, doing real things, with the only rules being don’t break the law and don’t destroy your car.

Oh, and share it with the whole world.

It’ll be a blast to see where this goes (mostly because I hope to be going along with Hugh and Ruby wherever it all goes). I have a feeling the Secret Missions and subsequent adventures will be a lot of fun. Luckily, Ford’s willing to let you be there every step of the way too.

What do you think? Do you think Ford’s taking the right steps by putting its brand in the hands of customers for the world to see? Would you rather see a different campaign or strategy from Ford rather than the Fiesta Movement? Let me know your thoughts and I’ll pass them along to Hugh. With no restrictions, we’re willing to try just about anything, so don’t hesitate to leave a comment and let me know what you'd like to see!

And here are some more pictures of the journey:

Dude to Dad: One man's social media journey into fatherhood...

I’ve had some exciting things happen in the last few days. The most exciting of which was posting this blog post about Marvel Comics’ dominant social media presence on the internet and then finding out that Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief, Joe Quesada, passed it around to folks at the Marvel office (I even have the tweets to prove it, here, here, and here) and THEN having the Marvel Twitter account tweet it for everyone to read.

That completely rocks my world. Especially since that was not even in the least bit an expected result. As a long-time comic book fan (if I could find my homemade childhood Spider-Man and Captain America Halloween costume pictures, I'd post them here), my head just about exploded.

Thankfully it didn’t, and I’m back to post again. This time, it’s about a social media presence on which I am actually working. The concept is called “Dude to Dad,” and it’s the brainchild of my friend (and future boss) Hugh Weber.

Hugh decided that, seeing as he’ll be a father in fewer than 100 days, he needed to soon make the transition from “Dude” to “Dad,” by the time his child was born. Unfortunately, many of the “books” you can buy regarding this subject are more or less based on helping the mother-to-be during her pregnancy and not so much based on being a not-crappy father.

So, Dude to Dad is Hugh’s real-life journey into fatherhood, and it will be told through videos, tweets, blogging, and the Ning-created social networking site, dudetodad.com. The videos, which I personally think are hilarious (I’ll embed the intro video below if you’d like to see for yourself) are a huge part, but another major area we’re focused on is the back-and-forth discussion taking place on the site’s forum section. We want to know what makes a good “Dad” (both from the male and female perspectives), how difficult it is to transition from the ever-enjoyable “Dude” phase of life (I promise that is NOT me), and any other bits of information Hugh (and all dudes to dads) should know during this terrifying journey into dadhood.

Find more videos like this on Dude to Dad


So what role do I play in this shenanigans-filled combination of humor, true-life experiences, and fellowship, cooperation, and unity of soon-to-be fathers? Well, as a 22-year-old with no intentions of becoming a father anytime soon, I will be serving as Hugh’s “Dude Wingman,” and representing the urges of “dudeness” that he will need to be overcoming as he makes his transition.

Also, on a more technical note, I’ll be serving as the social media presence, site maintainer, writing editor, rap song parody writer (you don’t even know what’s coming), and eventual video guest star. I'll also help maintain the Dude to Dad Twitter account and Facebook page, all in the name of helping dudes become dads. It’s going to be an awesome ride and I definitely hope you’ll join us for it. Dude, dad, dudette, or anything else, you’re welcome to join us at dudetodad.com today and contribute to the site, the discussion, or anything else to which you care to contribute.

I could use some backup in the realm of Dude Wingmen as well, so if you’re young and not planning on being a dad anytime soon (like me), help me come up with ways to challenge Hugh to overcome the pratfalls of dudedom (all with the purpose of helping him become a better father, of course).

Bottom line, this is a big project and I’m looking forward to taking it on and changing the way dads grow into fatherhood. I hope to be on the path from Dude to Dad someday, and I have a feeling that Dude to Dad will be the first place to which I turn for advice, guidance, and friendship. Especially if this initial run goes well for Hugh. I guess we’ll find out together as we go...

P.S. - I'll go ahead and embed the latest video (which features Barack Obama, by the way). It's a pretty sweet video if you ask me:



-Then to my knees and I begged the Lord please…let me be a good daddy , all he needs…”