Recently, Hodgson/Meyers’ President Gary Meyers was asked by the American Marketing Association (AMA) to share his take on what’s hot in B2B marketing for 2012. Here is what he had to say:

Safe Bets, Risks and Rewards: What 2012 Means for B2B Marketers

By Mary M. Flory

Content strategy? Social media? Mobile commerce? Lead generation? What should savvy B2B marketers bet on for 2012?
B2B Marketing polled several industry insiders to see what’s hot, what’s not and which strategies are worth their blood, sweat and tears, not to mention their time and money.
Here’s what they had to say.

Gary Meyers, Creative Director and President, Hodgson/Meyers Advertising:
In 2012, the economy will roar, relatively speaking. I’m not an economist. My observations are based on what we see in our world. Our ‘Tier One’ clients reside in the industries of telecommunications, financial services, security, industrial testing equipment, insurance and enterprise technology. And yeah, we’re in Seattle, which has a more robust economy right now, than say, Flint, Mich. But our clients represent a diverse geography, from New York to Chicago to Minneapolis to Houston to Little Rock, Ark., to Tucson, Ariz., to Seattle. For the most part, they’re bullish. So we’re bullish.

Brand positioning and brand activation are more relevant than ever in B2B. Content proliferation often translates to brand disintegration. More marketing “stuff” in the marketplace doesn’t mean more brand recognition. To the contrary––for the customer, it’s just more muck and mud and goo. The democratization of content creation hasn’t necessarily raised the quality bar. We hear from client marketing directors that their story is diluted and marginalized. We tell them: “Plant a flag in the ground. Be big at something. Own your space and rigorously, even single-mindedly at times, execute on that bigness with your marketing outreach.”

Data mining will be hot in B2B. While data mining, data aggregation and data selling are engendering intense debate regarding ethics and legalities in the consumer space (where commerce in consumer-data is a multi-billion dollar industry), I see more lenience, more leeway and more opportunity for B2B marketers. I think there is a huge, untapped potential, not so much for the trading of data, but for B2B companies to capture and analyze data from their own prospects and to market to them accordingly. I think, psychologically, we are more protective and guarded about divulging personal data that we are about divulging workplace data. For many professionals, our jobs involve research and purchase of products and services. It is more a requirement versus a choice as in the consumer psychosis. This more lenient business-to-business mindset opens the door to decision-tree content delivery and data capture on the Web, which leads to any number of re-targeting and nurturing activities. I believe, from what we see with clients, that data-based nurturing activities are still underresourced and underserved, especially considering that 90 percent of fresh B2B marketing leads, on average, are not ready for prime time.

To see what other industry leaders had to say on this topic, please visit the AMA website to view the rest of this article.

It’s interesting to note that those who lived during the Industrial Revolution didn’t stop and say to themselves, “gee, we’re living in the Industrial Revolution.” I think it’s a “can’t see the forest for the trees” sort of thing. So, it wasn’t until later that people looked back on this era and the full impact of what really occurred during those times hit them. With the passage of time and historical juxtaposition, it was clear that there truly was an Industrial Revolution.

Fast forward to today. As opposed to those of a hundred plus years ago, we realize we’re living in a Technological Revolution. What we don’t realize perhaps, is how one person could so profoundly affect how billions of people work, communicate, socialize, and get entertainment as part of that revolution. It’s truly mind-boggling to think how things might have been, had not that person pursued his vision and passion.

I sit here typing on my Mac Pro desktop computer, a MacBook Pro laptop in the computer bag under my desk, my iPhone a few inches away, and my iPad open to the Wall Street Journal app, where six of the top seven most read stories today are about Steve Jobs and Apple.

Thanks Steve. We will miss you.

As Summer is coming to an end, Spikesters share their likes of the week!

Kristen: Test your eye for color with this game. It’s harder than it looks!

Tim: Love this video. A beautiful blend of content and artistry. Not to mention jaw-dropping stunts.

Rachel: Excited to go to the Puyallup Fair this weekend!

Natasha: Next time you think about hitting your snooze button…

Willem: RETAIL RENAISSANCE | Smart retailers are defying doom and gloom scenarios, as they realize that shopping in the real world will forever satisfy consumers’ deep rooted needs for human contact, for instant gratification, for the promise of (shared) experiences, for telling stories. Hence the flurry of new formats, technologies, capabilities, and products that now are delighting retail customers around the world.

Tiffany: I’m not sure it’s science, but its definitely art!

Jason: 10th Anniversary 9-11 Memorial Stairclimb Seattle Firefighter

Charlie: Amazing, powerful and incredibly moving.

John: Football is back! I’m looking forward to a great season from the NY Jets.

Kristen: Prepare for the VMA’s by watching recaps of the most classic VMA moments- as reenacted by some special actors.

Gary G.: Having spent a week on the road surviving east coast earthquakes, avoiding oncoming hurricanes and (shudder) focus groups, Spike likes being back on terra firma among family and friends in the Great Pacific Northwest. His heart goes out to those about to feel the brunt of Irene.

Tiffany: So, I’m a big NASA nerd and I have been following the Mars rover’s for years. RIP Spirit

Willem: After testing their highlining skills up in the Mont Blanc massif, crazy french dudes highlined the highest twin towers in Paris.

Rachel: This bridesmaid was unable to make it to her friend’s wedding, but with an iPad and FaceTime, she was able to attend, digitally.

Natasha: Excited for my camping adventure at Blue Lake in Eastern Washington this weekend!

Erin: Nothing could make me more excited about heading into the weekend than seeing this:

Gina: Sad, but touching story that shows just how powerful the bond between people and animals can be.

Tim: Tim likes Steve Jobs. Or more accurately, he likes his contribution to technology.

As Steve Jobs steps down from Apple this week, it really does mark the end of an era. I was in Pioneer Square in the mid-eighties when a designer friend showed me his Apple computer, either an SE or a Plus, don’t remember. It was incredibly crude by today’s standards of course. But it allowed one to do graphics on a computer. Not very well at that time, but it was a beginning. I remember poking fun at it, but that changed soon. Then just around the corner, literally, a company called Aldus introduced PageMaker, and desktop publishing was born. Almost overnight, typesetters started to disappear — an industry that has been around since Gutenberg (over 500 years!). Within a year I had my first Mac. It was a IICX, and it was the most amazing thing I could imagine. Having just got out of art school and learned the traditional way of creating art, the timing couldn’t have been better for me. Adobe entered the picture  with Illustrator and Photoshop, and gave unbelievable creative life to the Mac.

We’ve stuck with Macs through thick and thin, even when the company was supposed to die in the late 90′s. It was Steve Jobs who came back, after being unceremoniously shoved out in 1984, and literally saved the company. One of the first signs of his resuscitating the company was the introduction of the cute and colorful iMacs. The iPod then revolutionized the music industry in spite of aggressive attempts to dethrone it (remember Microsoft’s Zune, the “iPod Killer”?). The iPhone reinvented the smartphone industry, and the latest smashing success is the iPad, which I absolutely love. (My wife thinks I love my iPad more than her. I don’t.)

This is of course a super-abbreviated version of the story. And even accounting for all the attention and adulation Steve Jobs has gotten in the business and entertainment communities, I don’t think history has even begun to really register the profound impact this visionary has had on the world. And for me, it’s been exhilarating and rewarding to personally experience it.

All was eerily quiet in the trees surrounding Hodgson/Meyers this week. No bold rat-a-tat-tapping of beak against bark, no joyful high-pitched punctuated birdcalls. Spike, our agency mascot and red-crested pileated woodpecker, fell silent in honor of a fellow flier.

Eddie, the proud, statuesque bald eagle often spotted perched on lampposts along the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, met his demise when hit by Metro bus on the morning of August 2nd. Spike wasn’t the only member of the H/M team affected by the eagle’s passing.

“I was devastated to hear the news,” said Senior Account Manager Gina Drake. “No matter how crazy my day may have been, I always felt better seeing see Eddie on the drive home.”

Added fellow 520 commuter, Senior Writer Gary Graf, “There was something reassuring about having Eddie watching over us all. They say angels have wings. I’d say sometimes feathers, too.”

As is standard practice when a bald or golden eagle dies, the feathers will be sent to a repository in Denver for distribution to Native American tribes.

While saddened by the sudden loss, Spike and the rest of us at Hodgson/Meyers are grateful for the grace and grandeur that Eddie bestowed on us all. Soar, Eddie, soar.

Spike loves his trips to Cabo, and came back with many pictures of his adventures.  More importantly, he brought a gift back for the Spikesters- some sunshine!

While Spike is off designing his own firework display, our Spikesters are here to share their favorite things about the Fourth of July!

Natasha: This Red, White and Blueberry trifle is the perfect recipe for the 4th!!

Gary G.: Likes the fact that Summer in Seattle officially starts after the 4th of July weekend.

John: NYC fireworks displays. Always crowded, but always very impressive!

Rachel: Growing up, I lived in an area where it was still legal to set off fireworks of any size right outside your house.  Every year, we would go to Boom City to pick out fireworks for our own personal fireworks display.  If you are planning your own show- Boom City is the only place to go!  And the best part- negotiating is part of the deal, so you can get really great prices.

Charlie: Spike likes our national anthem – Hendrix style.

Kristen: Looking forward to spending the 4th of July with friends and family at a neighborhood block party.  Can’t wait to try my brother’s batch of Amber Ale homebrew!

Willem: I can’t remember much about the 4th. Probably because of these….

Sharan: My daughters marched in this parade for 6 years when they were young.  Supposedly, this parade is the largest 4th of July parade West of the Mississippi!  Below is a photo of their High School band playing, and you can see one of the performances here.

Andrew: For this year’s Independence Day Weekend, I’m looking forward to our traditional family BBQ, sipping some cold microbrews, and watching the thousands of fireworks from our backyard.

Lea: Spending time with my family and friends….and kickball.

Tim: Fireworks are great. And the make-’em-yourself kind are best. No, I’m not just talking about pinching a Piccolo Pete towards the bottom so it makes a bang. But in the interest of public safety (and little boys’ fingers), I’ll stop right there.

Chris: I like the Seattle weather forecast for this 4th of July. Could it be? Is it possible? We may actually be able to see the fireworks this year! Enjoy, be safe and have a happy Independence Day.

Though Summer has yet to fully arrive here in Seattle, the Spikesters are sitting here, wishfully thinking about their favorite summer things. All in hopes that one of these days, we will break the 70 degree barrier.

Gary G.: Who do the Hoodoos? I do!

Lea: An afternoon sitting on the banks of the Seine in Ile St-Louis in Paris. Picnic, book, and champagne. And a box of strawberry macaroons from Laduree.

Chris: When the sun refuses to shine in Seattle, I like to head east to Lake Chelan where you’re guaranteed at least a little warmer weather. Canon Beach is great in late summer, and the San Juan’s can be spectacular. Here’s a picture of my daughter trying to catch some summer rays…literally.

Willem: The Solstice Parade and Fremont Fair welcome summer with a big, Fremont-style party. A local favorite since 1972, the fair celebrates the summer solstice and the quirky spirit of Fremont, the self-proclaimed “center of the universe.”

Rachel: Summertime dinners out on the deck, with all of our family and friends. Gives me an excuse to make my favorite Watermelon Salad. To make it more of a meal, I add arugula for a perfect summertime lunch. Also, for those who don’t like Feta- Parmesan is a great alternative.

Tim Hodgson: An interesting, and very unusual, place to visit this summer.  Assuming you like snakes.

Gary Meyers:
1. Shorts, t-shirts, and flip flops for (hopefully) 3 months.
2. Raucous birds in the backyard at 4:30 AM.
3. Grilling!

Andrew: This week, I’m donating one of my ugliest pictures in the name of summer fun. My favorite place to go, when the weather gets hot around here, is Lake Chelan. My friends and I bring the Boat and Sea-doos, and partake in some Chelanigans.

Natasha: My favorite thing about this summer is that I am finally graduated from college!

Gina: Summer makes me think of Nefarious Vineyards in Chelan and sipping my favorite summertime wine, Consequence.

Charlie: A classic look at summer in Seattle, courtesy of Almost Live!

Kristen: My favorite summer activity is walking to beautiful, historic downtown Snohomish and getting a bite to eat on a sunny day. My favorite places to visit are: The Crepe Escape for breakfast, Fred’s Rivertown Alehouse for Lunch, The Repp for Dinner and Bite Me Cupcakes for dessert!

Kristen: I’m very excited to join the Hodgson/Meyers team and I can’t wait to get started!

Andrew: This weekend I’ll be sporting the shorts and flip-flops as Seattle finally gets above 75ºF for the first time this year!

Rachel: I may be one of the few people around here who likes country music, but this song, Honey Bee by Blake Shelton is my current favorite. It is the perfect summer song.

Charlie: The good ol’ days of packaging are back (for a limited time).

Sharan: This kitten video is quite adorable.

Chris: The new mobile marketing gold rush is under way in the form of branded mobile codes. Instead of securing the latest website address, you can get your very own mobile vanity code that allows your customers to more easily interact with you on their mobile devices. Have you reserved your code yet? If not, you better hurry…they’re going fast. Find out if your company’s name is available at http://www.zoove.com/ But be prepared to open up your wallet.

Gina: This is hilarious. I see a bright future for this kid. Maybe politics? Motivational speaker?

Willem: Delicious HD eye candy at Vimeo.

In this weeks edition of Spike Likes Fridays, we are doing a little throw back to some of the best (and maybe worst) videos from YouTube.  Make sure you have a few minutes, and your computer volume on, so you can enjoy this edition of Spike Like’s Fridays.

Rachel: I have seen this video a few times, but Charlie still manages to crack me up.

Erin: I just think this is so sweet!

Chris: This one always makes me laugh…

Gary G.: Spike grooves to the Dave Niehaus Tribute Video by Macklemore.

Charlie:

Andrew: It was a tough choice between “Charlie Bit Me” and the new talking dog video, but this is my all time favorite. Be sure you’ve got 6 minutes to watch this. It’s worth every minute.

Sharan:

Tim:

Lea: I guess I am partial…