Curtis Hougland, CEO of Attention, discusses "The Myths of Social Media"."
Bio
Curtis Hougland
Curtis Hougland founded the PR agency Attention in 2006, transforming the traditional top-down model of business communications and marketing through the use of participatory social media. Attention's clients include Verizon, Mattel, Novartis, Blackstone, and CNN. A pioneer in online marketing, Hougland created his first agency in 1993, helping clients reach consumers through nascent bulletin boards, online forums, and ISPs. He established the new-media practice at Ruder Finn and was one of the PR industry's first creative directors at Middleberg, which he grew into a highly successful consumer technology agency before its sale to Euro RSCG in 2000. He also cofounded Film Movement (sold to Blockbuster in 2006), the first company to release films simultaneously in theater and on DVD.
Curtis Hougland, founder of the firm Attention, argues that the days of Don Draper are over. Hougland believes data trumps creative and the 'big idea'. "We can't conceive of creative anymore," says Hougland, because of the influence of word of mouth marketing.