Marketing in 2023: Personalize or perish

In 2023, it is personal. Our devices, our vehicles, our appliances all know more about us than ever before, and are literally wired to learn more with each passing moment, with each new click. For marketers, this is both a set of opportunities — to launch targeted messaging, personalized services, and offers at the exact opportune moment— but a set of thorny challenges, too. Try personalization using old or incomplete data, and risk damaging your brand. Speaking of consumer data, now that so much is captured by default, there is increased responsibility to safeguard it, as well as to comply with a continuously growing list of regulations and best practices.

What would getting personal mean for your organization? How does an organization move from a position of “Marketing 101: doing ‘what we’ve always done’” to a position of strength that leverages the power of transformative digital technologies for all that they are worth? If you are not meeting your targets where they are with what they need, have you left the door open for competitors? If you want to discuss questions like these, and explore possibilities together, let’s chat.

Running with the chiefs

I am very pleased to share that I have recently accepted an invitation to join Chief, a women-led organization committed to driving more women to the top, and keeping us there. Chief is also a record setting billion-dollar pandemic-era success story (worth reading).

When I first learned about this organization, I was instantly intrigued. An organization like this may transform the very face of leadership at such a critical moment.

I am honored to embark on this journey in such distinguished company, and I thank those who have pointed direction, walked with me along the path, or shared opportunities.

These are uncertain times, but one thing is certain: we must keep going! Little eyes are watching.

Marketing like it’s 2019?

Is your organization still marketing from the same playbook used in ‘pre-pandemic days’? Are you are on the fence, wondering about whether and how to ‘return to in-person events’? If yes, that may be a sign. If your systems and frameworks haven’t considered the changes your customers and prospects have had to navigate across the last few years, it is time to ponder these questions.

Things have changed, and will continue to evolve. It’s not just ‘in person to virtual’; or ‘hybrid versus real space’. There are new priority sets that have emerged, as well as new technologies to better understand, and then serve prospects and clients. Many savvy orgs are aware of these shifts and even view them as opportunities more than challenges, but are a bit stumped about how to get started. Their teams are swamped, and everyone is walking on eggshells due to the current environment. Is Artificial Intelligence a threat or an opportunity? Is Marketing Automation worthy of the hype? Do you need to focus (more) on your SEO?

There has never been a better time to engage with a neutral, independent, experienced third party consultancy to help you to evaluate your marketing strategy, your martech stack, and the strength of your current campaigns in responding to the real-world, evidence based priorities of your clients and prospects. We are experienced at building teams, optimizing existing teams, and at facilitating discovery and implementation of process improvements with an eye toward agile marketing best practice. There are more helpful customer journey data points available than ever before, and if these are not being harnessed for more efficient, successful marketing, then it is time to explore ‘why not’.

Work with us a just a little, on a fixed-scope project basis, or work with us a lot, on a monthly retainer model. We are as flexible as we are creative and experienced. Drop us a note to say hi, or talk possibilities.

Potential COVID-19 impact on availability

In response to the global pandemic upon us, this update acknowledges the challenges we face together. While I endeavor to remain available and responsive, it feels reasonable to expect some reduction in my ability to respond to emails immediately, and also to meet totally uninterrupted during traditional business hours. As I, like so many others, have suddenly become a home school teacher for both Kindergarten and Preschool, while I also try to uphold all commitments and responsibilities professionally. I expect there will be some disruptions on calls, and that, depending on how this goes, I may need to make fewer daytime meeting slots available. Evening meetings are a possibility but I’d prefer to just see how things go before deciding on any particular approach. I expect that everything may take a little longer than usual. I expect that this will be universally understood as we are all facing these very same challenges, and meeting them with grace, as well as kindness and support for one another. As such, if there is anything I can possibly do to help you, please let me know because, of course, I will.

Most importantly, take good care of you and yours. See you on the other side of this!

You are me and we are all together?

Of course, this headline comes from a Beatles tune, but I think it reminds me of community. Across my career, I’m fortunate to have been part of many different communities. The missions, goals, and approach of each are unique, and yet one thing is the same - they are made up of people with shared interests or values working together. Some communities celebrate individuality of participants, some seek to unite and equalize all. How can we assess and identify what the best approach to community is?

Working for commercial publishers, there is a way in which I observed that we, on the publisher side, were both participant and at times gatekeeper and facilitator of, for example, the societies we worked in partnership with.

Working for proprietary SaaS vendors, we convened communities of customers and the end users within their organizations, and we also participated in fostering integrator or partner community.

Volunteering in professional and civic settings, we seek to generate interest via grassroots strategies. In this context everyone is strapped for time and every moment spent is a very generous contribution.

In academic settings, the community forms around the momentum built while exchanging ideas, challenging one another, and expanding our views together. We sit in classrooms and are in a performance based context but that framing is less important once the spark of real, good faith community has been ignited.

Working in Open Source community we facilitate the delicate ecosystem that is healthy participatory collaboration. No end users, just use case specialists. No clients or customers, instead partners and friends.

What I am struck by thinking back across diverse approaches, different meeting formats and communications tones, is how within each the community essentially is exactly only and completely what those participating in it want it to be. Whether the facilitating organization seeks to tightly control a community or an event, or they empower the community or event to be what it wants to be, the total value is always what the individuals participating enable it to be. If they bring low energy, it’s low energy, and no amount of artificial hype will change that. If they bring zeal it is feisty!

This reminds me of how much leading community is like parenting. You can have your own agenda, but ultimately, the outcome is totally out of your hands. The longer view is to stay involved, stay positive and open, remaining wiser than to seek to boil the ocean, or too tightly control the thing that cannot be controlled. That would strangle community, I bet.

Coko’s core methodology, the Cabbage Tree Method, includes a chapter about facilitating use case specialists to design systems- not digital officers or tech leads- use case specialists, or in other words, the people who will actually do the work with the tool post-development and release. In that section was a memorable passage stating that no one speaks for the use case specialists aside themselves. This is a cardinal rule of the collaborative design sessions the methodology advocates facilitating. While the passage is quite specifically speaking about this concrete process, I think the reason it resonated with me is because it gets to the spirit of what I think makes community succeed. For me, it doesn’t matter if it’s a user community, a community of bank customers, or a community of volunteers working together: no one else can pre-empt your own experience in the community. It’s totally yours, else the community is failing you. At the base, it is about trust.

In other words, I don’t think anyone can speak for the community aside its participants. While at times they may disagree, it is this kind of generous and open approach that will keep them feeling safe and welcome regardless of anything else.

See you in Lisbon!

I’m excited to extend my knowledge of all things to do with persistent identifiers (PIDs). This is why I’ll be traveling to Lisbon, Portugal this week to participate in the PIDapalooza 2020 meeting. Don’t miss the PID Party that is all about PID integrations in Open Source platforms and tools. I organized this session, along with Simon Porter from Digital Science’s Innovation Hub.

I’ll talk about Coko’s PubSweet, and the Micropublication.org platform now in live use by WormBase, and in particular, the platform’s CRediT integration. Simon will showcase Digital Science’s Physiome Journal and Awards platforms, highlighting all the PID goodness that is built in. We’ll talk fast so that we have plenty of time to engage attendees in discussion. Join us!

I’d be delighted to set time to chat about the projects and organizations I’m working with. If you’re game, please let me know. I’ve recently begun working with Cactus and Lyrasis, in addition to Book Sprints, Coko, and Delta Think’s OA DAT community.

Looking for data?

In this data-driven age, it’s sometimes perplexing and overwhelming to find the data we need, let alone to analyze and curate it for our own purposes. Marketers know these problems well, but surely many others seeking to make strategic decisions, grow businesses, predict futures, will relate.

Delta Think’s Open Access Data and Analytics tool seeks to remove the anxiety of finding, evaluating, collating, analyzing, curating and continually updating data that relates to Open Access. Going a step further, I think the tool also helps to contextualize the Open Access data it collects from publisher surveys, industry reports, and other verified sources, within the broader context of all articles published, Seems like somewhat of a well kept secret - a living, breathing version of the kinds of OA market reports that are often read, retweeted, and forgotten until the next update becomes available. This is often years later.

There is a public version of the tool that Delta Think makes available here. It’s useful, though the premium version is much more in-depth, lifting the lid on article processing charges by publisher, as they relate to impact, and so on. Market dynamics are broken down into regional dynamics (what areas of the world publish OA most, and how does what they do publish OA stack up to their overall output of all articles regardless of license type?), publisher dynamics and subject dynamics (each fairly straightforward). Combined with market growth projections, and views into funding patterns and compliance with funder mandates by publisher, I think the tool should be thought of as a ‘one-stop shop’ for market data.

It’s also useful that the tool allows for ‘digging in’ to charts by clicking into them, redrawing them according to filter selections, revealing helpful information via mouseover, and with premium access, the ability to export for further customized analysis, joining with in-house or offline datasets, or making further custom visualizations (though the tool offers multiple chart type options).

I am no expert on Plan S, or the nuances of OA, still, I’d be happy to give you a demonstration of this tool. I see something new, and learn something new each time I click through it. I am learning based on listening for what different organization types are looking for in the tool, and I am stumbling on new data as frequent updates and enhancements within the tool are made continuously by the Delta Think team.

A view of the public access version of the tool rendering a chart highlighting, by subject area, volume trends for OA output vs. subscription content. Used by permission from Delta Think. © 2017-20.

..And to all, a fab break!

Wishing a very merry and bright season to all!

It’s been an exciting and fun few months, and we look forward to continuing to grow in 2020!

Our sincerest thanks to those who are part of the fabric of O’Connell Consulting. We are grateful to those of you who share support, advice, feedback, and to those of you who are working with us, or advocating our value to others and spreading the word.

To each of you, please know who you are, and accept our gratitude and best wishes for a prosperous and impactful 2020!

We’re always available when you need us, yet these next weeks, when we are not needed, we’re off enjoying time with family, and reflecting on this past decade of adventures.

The 2019 books

Inspired by the Scholarly Kitchen Chefs, here are some books I read and found especially valuable this year:

Professional Development

Trust / Gert Tinggaard Svendsen

Peopleware / Timothy Lister and Tom DeMarco

The Formula / Albert Barabasi

Memoir

Educated / Tara Westover

Fiction

Eileen / Otessa Moshfegh

Parenting

The Conscious Parent’s Guide to Childhood Anxiety / Sheriana Boyle

How to raise kind kids / Thomas Lickona

Just tell me what to say / Betsy Brown Braun

Children’s :)

As I read dozens of bedtime stories to the kids each week, I suppose while I’m here I can share a few highlights I’ve encountered in this category.

The “What do you do with a..” series / Kobi Yamada

The “I am” series / Susan Verde

Julian is a Mermaid / Jessica Love

Compiling this list was useful in helping me to identify the need to mix in some light reads, buoyant poetry or capricious fiction, even. Onward!

Next stops

O’Connell Consulting is based in northern New England, and at this time of year, all of the leaves have fallen from the trees, and in residential areas, most have been raked and removed. The lawns, streets, and sidewalks are very tidy from now until the imminent snowfall begins.

This ‘tidied up’ landscape feels appropriate, as I am spending this time of year on organization, too. In order to end the year appropriately, and begin next year bright and ready, it is essential to organize and plan now.

As such, here are some of my travel plans for the next months. If you will be at any of these meetings, and wish to set time to catch up, give us a shout!

02 - 04 December Editoria Community Meeting

Participating in the (first ever) Editoria Advisory Group meeting on site at the Third Editoria Community Meeting; presenting on new features in Editoria.

29 - 30 January PIDapalooza

Moderating ‘PIDs in the OPEN: Integrating PIDs in OS tools.” Participant speakers include Simon Porter from Digital Science’s Innovation Hub. I’ll briefly present on Coko/PubSweet’s CRediT integration.

4 - 6 May Library Publishing Forum

27 - 29 May Society for Scholarly Publishing Annual Meeting

See you soon! Expect more details on meeting participation as they are confirmed.

What we are learning?

We are not yet two months old, and naturally, this means we are very much learning as we go. Some of this is always true, but especially right now in these early days. This ‘Updates’ space is intended to allow us to rapidly share relevant news items on-the-fly, and should be thought of less as a thought leadership blog, though anything is possible in the future!

Our focus today is right where it should be - on providing value to those we serve, and as such, we have less time and energy available for updating this space. This is also to highlight that our focus is less on ourselves now, and much more on delivering for the amazing organizations we work with.

This said, if you’re curious what any of us are up to, or you would like us to consider a guest post from you, we are happy to chat.

How deep is the bench?

I am just getting started setting up O’Connell Consulting. Still, I feel fortunate to have interesting work with leading organizations. As I move forward in discussions with additional projects and organizations, some of the questions necessary to ponder have to do with when, and how, and whether to scale.

In response to several encouraging discussions with prospects, the organization is scaling sustainably, adding expertise and support as needed in the most appropriate areas, thus enabling me to keep dedicated focus across activities.

Today, I share the addition of two to the O’Connell Consulting team: Conor Darby and Gina Lane.

Conor is interested in researcher tech needs, habits and preferences, as well as business process operations. He holds a MSc in International Business and Emerging Markets from University of Edinburgh. He has explored the increasing prevalence of start up environments leveraging the availability of subject matter expert marketing over large and costly internal departments.

In addition to Conor, Gina Lane joins us. Gina brings unique perspective and expertise to our organization. Gina began her career in the production and project management side of textbook publishing in the early 2000s. She then moved in to advertising, and brings to bear over 10 years of relationship management, brand engagement strategy, and marketing data analytics expertise. 

We are excited about the road ahead and we are ready to work collaboratively to move your innovative idea, organization, or product forward.

Welcome to our new website!

This new website was made possible by collaboration with the amazingly talented Pepper. Based in New Zealand, Pepper has previously worked on branding and design work for Coko, and I am very grateful that we were able to work together here. Pepper designed and implemented the website, and created our beautiful logos. We love them! Thank you so much, Pepper.

Kevin Harkins Photography took these photos during a meeting, and we are similarly grateful for his artistic eye and magical lens. He managed to capture our fun and collaborative working style perfectly.

We hope you enjoy the site, and would welcome the opportunity to chat to you about our vision and plans.

Alison McGonagle-O’Connell launches strategic marcomms and community development consultancy following management team role at Coko

Alison McGonagle-O’Connell announced the creation of O’Connell Strategic Consulting, a new consultancy focused on strategic marketing, business development, and community development for innovative technology organizations and publishers in scholarly communications and academia. This follows Alison’s successful transition from Coko management team member to advisory board participant on October 1.

Earliest client relationships include Delta Think, Book Sprints, and Coko. 

For Delta Think, Alison joins the team to develop community around the Open Access Data & Analytics Tool. Alison will also support consulting engagements focused on innovating workflows and leveraging open source technologies. 

For Book Sprints, Alison provides support in marketing and communications.

For Coko, Alison continues activities related to strategic public relations and business development.

Alison continues participating as co-chair of CRediT Program Committee, in addition to several initiatives and committees in the space.

“I’ve been very fortunate to develop a unique skill set working across extremely innovative and industry leading organizations, and I observe that everyone thrives and moves forward when collaborating in this way,” commented Alison. “My preference is to support organizations doing the most innovative work. I’m looking forward to leveraging a consultancy model to support helping organizations sustainably meet and exceed their growth goals related via strategic development activities.”

“As the scholarly communications landscape continues to evolve, start ups, emerging and existing players will benefit from leveraging Alison’s nuanced subject matter expertise and experience managing community development activities and interorganizational collaboration,” commented Richard Wynne, Founder of Rescognito, and former Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Aries Systems.

“I’m enthusiastic about continuing to collaborate with Alison in new contexts including within advisory capacities for Editoria and Coko,” commented Adam Hyde, Founder of Coko. “Alison’s many years in the industry make her an extremely efficient add to any team. She’s an excellent resource with deep subject matter expertise, many helpful connections, and a real passion for moving this industry forward.”

“We are excited about leveraging Alison‘s expertise for quickly generating fresh content for Book Sprints’ content distribution channels,” commented Barbara Rühling, CEO of Book Sprints. “Alison‘s is an interesting multifaceted perspective on the publishing industry and open technology that she brings forward in everything she does. We are excited to integrate her work into our messaging.”

About O’Connell Strategic Consulting | https://alisonmcg.com 

Alison McGonagle-O’Connell is a strategic development consultant with more than fifteen years of experience working for scholarly publishers, proprietary software as a service vendors, and open source organizations, as well as supporting project based initiatives in this space. Most immediately prior to founding O’Connell Strategic Consulting, Alison led community development at Coko as a member of the management team. 

Today is the day!

I’m so pleased that this day has arrived! I’ve been looking forward to sharing more about my vision and plans.

Who will I be working with?

I am extremely fortunate and grateful to have the support and partnership of several organizations and individuals that I admire, right from the start. I could not, and would not have taken this exciting step without their early encouragement.

Delta Think has announced that I’m joining the team to support sales and the development of community around the Open Access Data & Analytics Tool. I look forward to educating our broader community about the tool’s powerful capabilities, and I am delighted to work as part of such an innovative and trusted organization.

I will also continue to support the continuing growth and success of mission driven Coko. Additionally, I am thrilled that Coko’s Founder Adam Hyde has invited me to participate within the Coko Advisory Board and to continue with my role on the Editoria Advisory Group. I have very much enjoyed working for Coko over the last years, and I’m looking forward to continuing within new contexts.

Last, there are some very exciting conversations in the works, more news I hope to share soon, and trusted advisors and a community of friends and mentors behind the scenes for whom I am eternally grateful.

Why work this way?

As I continue affiliations with organizations and initiatives I’ve been working for, it’s tempting to ask why make changes, especially since I am able to work across such a broad constituency of forward thinkers through my work with Coko, CRediT volunteer work, and other professional development initiatives.

While this is all true, I think there is a real need for shared resource in strategic marcomms support, particularly for start up organizations and new projects and initiatives keen to drive change in the space. Options can be limiting when faced with a decision: hire someone with deep subject matter expertise and shoulder cost, or hire generalist expertise at a lower cost and spend on training and developing skill set and knowledge base. 

Especially for start ups and project based initiatives, tapping into subject matter expertise without the overhead of a full time executive is ideal: a service that allows access to the nuanced subject matter expertise that they actually need to move their initiatives forward without the onerous cost of full time employment, benefits, etc. Similarly, some organizations have stellar senior-level strategic marketing staff who may understand, for example, content marketing and journal development well, but who may not be ready to take emerging tech offerings developing at their organizations to market. Or, they may have extremely capable tactical expertise that could use some ad hoc strategic direction or facilitation to operate at peak performance for the organization. This is the sweet spot for me, so if it sounds good to you – let’s chat.

This model also allows me to focus on the most interesting strategic work for innovative organizations. I have a proven track record for catalyzing projects, building successful programs and teams, and delivering on high engagement marketing, communications, and community development programs.

Can we work together?

While the short answer is ‘I am not sure,’ I am quite open to discuss possibilities. Let’s talk about what your project or organization is most in need of, and explore possibilities forward from there. Feedback and continued engagement is welcome as I work out next steps toward best resourcing and serving the community interested in collaborating. That said, today is the day, so if this sounds like something you are interested in, please, let’s start a conversation!

See you in Copenhagen!

As I transition from Coko management team member to Coko advisory board member, and to consulting full-time beginning October 1, I’m heading to Copenhagen, Denmark for the COASP meeting. This is a new meeting for me, but feels timely, with an extremely interesting program. In fact, it’s a season full of ‘firsts’ as I make these significant but very exciting changes.

If you are interested in catching up at the meeting, please let me know.

Work in Progress

This website and this writer are both works in progress. Expect official launch October 1.

Thank you for stopping by, and please do check back soon, or drop me a note.