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Information Sharing Needs Good Marketing
Corporate marketing professionals face challenges that parallel those of information sharing promoters in the US national defense community. A great product won’t sell without a strong marketing strategy. In the same way, information sharing initiatives can’t succeed unless the participants (customers) buy-in.
Deeplocal, an award-winning marketing firm servicing Fortune 500 companies, knows a little bit about sharing information with potential customers. As described on their web site, Deeplocal “builds interactive experiences that bridge the physical and digital worlds, generating emotional connections with consumers, earned media, and increased revenue.” The better a brand is able to connect with media and consumers on both the digital and physical planes, the more revenue the brand can expect to generate.
Information sharing benefits are well understood by many: reduction in redundant efforts such as monitoring and data analysis, faster innovation, improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of intelligence agents and analysts. The benefits are clear and the technology is here, yet we’re not seeing the results that we’d expect. Perhaps it’s failing because there’s no buy-in. Information sharing promoters can learn a lot from marketing firms like Deeplocal.
War on Terrorism: Losing Battles
Last month, Dennis Blair announced his intention to step down as Director of National Intelligence. As a government vendor providing information sharing solutions to the intelligence community, this announcement prompted us to wonder whether the announcement was related to the intelligence lapses that occurred on Mr. Blair’s watch. Due to the detrimental results of these and other systematic failures, we believe there is no room for error in agencies’ ability to proactively share relevant information with others.
First up on our radar: the Fort Hood shooting on November 5th, 2009, in which a U.S. Army major is accused of killing 13 people and wounding 30 others. After the incident, investigators found e-mails between the shooter and Anwar al-Awlaki, an Islamic lecturer who purportedly inspires terrorists. On Christmas Day, December 25, 2009, the “underwear bomber,” a member of al-Qaeda tried to set off a plastic explosive that had been sewn into his underwear. Later, it was revealed that information about the suspect had failed to cross agency lines. In fact, an investigation into the lapses revealed a total of 14 failures. The next incident occurred just five days later, in the Afghan city of Khost, at the Forward Operating Base Chapman. A Jordanian doctor and double agent loyal to Islamist Extremists was on a suicide mission that ended in the deaths of seven CIA operatives and the wounding of six others. Despite his history of contributing to online extremist forums and a prior arrest by Jordanian intelligence, he was invited to the CIA base to brief operatives on some information. Inexplicably, he was not subjected to the usual security measures upon entering the base. Fast forward to May 1, 2010, when Faisal Shahzad attempted to detonate a car bomb in busy Times Square. Fortunately, the bomb was “amateurish,” and did not go off. Despite the fact that his name was added to the no-fly list, he was able to purchase airline tickets, pass through security, and board a plane bound for Pakistan before officials arrested him just before take-off.
While there has been substantial improvement since September 11, 2001, it is our hope that the new leadership will continue to improve upon the information software, systems, and processes that contribute to Homeland security.
A Bailout Plan for your Career
Gas prices, home foreclosures, bank failures, 700M bailout plan, what’s next? In uncertain times like these our emotions tell us to get out of the game. Buy high, sell low? On the contrary, finance expert Suze Orman is urging us to contribute more to our retirement plans and 401k’s (provided you’re not within a few years of retirement) because lower stock prices mean we can buy stock for less. Real estate mogul Donald Trump is emploring us to invest in real estate for the first time in 10 years! Buy low, sell high.
So, how does this relate to your career?
A recent blog by Seth Godin suggests that these uncertain times make for less competition for jobs and business opportunities. I agree. This is an opportunity to take your career to the next level. If you’ve been contemplating a jump from programmer to project manager, now might be a good time. You’ll probably face less competition. Why not help out with proposal and marketing efforts? Your efforts will be appreciated now more than ever because your company’s chances of winning the work is higher.
Join an exciting small business where you can capitalize on this rare opportunity to catapult your career.
