July 2007 – The conversation about marketing just became more interesting – and open. Today marks the official launch of Unbound EditionTM (http://www.unboundedition.com), a Web 2.0 resource dedicated to increasing connection, conversation and community among professionals in advertising, brand management, cultural trends, marketing, media, public relations, and research.
Unbound Edition, published by the brand consulting and management firm Patrick Davis Partners, provides substantive resources never before available to the marketing industry in one place. “Marketers aren’t having deep enough conversations with each other,” said Patrick T. Davis, CEO of Patrick Davis Partners. “We need more connection and interdisciplinary dialogue, especially as the walls between brand, media and marketing are crumbling in a digital age.”
Unbound Edition provides aggregated industry information and publishes original content, all developed for commentary, blogging, sharing and deeper dialogue through forums. “We are like the Drudge Report for marketing,” Davis said. “Our goal is to bring the broadest marketing conversation to our readers so they can get information faster and engage with it sooner.”
The site is rich with content that is updated around the clock as relevant news and articles are published worldwide. For example, Unbound Edition features The Dog Eared Journal, the only comprehensive RSS of nearly every publication for the brand, marketing and media communities, as well as other influential publications and global news sites.
Unbound Edition began as an internal project, and other professionals followed. Boyd Pearson, Unbound Edition’s editor-in-chief, said, “We created the resource we most wanted, the goal being to make our own jobs easier. We, like many professionals, were spending hours scouring sites for research and news. Unbound Edition has streamlined that process, and we’re sharing it with the world to generate broad discussion about marketing issues and marketplace trends.”
The site has been in a soft-launch phase with friends and professional associates since late April 2007. “Readership and participation have been extremely strong, surprisingly so,” said Pearson. “The natural growth and adoption of the site led us to invest more resources into it, and now launch it officially.”
“We are in the media business now,” said Davis. “That was a crucial move for us to make, especially since we advise global clients on these types of strategies. We needed to apply to ourselves the insights and recommendations we give others for thriving in today’s markets.”
In addition to the comprehensive RSS, the constantly updated content on Unbound Edition includes:
- At Issue: agenda-setting and opinion pieces on the subjects of brands, markets and media, from major news sources and Patrick Davis Partners senior consultants
- Dailies: each day, a new video profiling a company “doing it right,” providing commentary on marketplace issues, or featuring a comedy piece for entertainment; Fridays are for music
- Street Signs: images and commentary from cities, neighborhoods and shops around the world that uncover burgeoning cultural or retail trends
- Verso: a contrarian blog offering debate and musings on corporate branding, market strategy and cultural hot buttons
- The Feed: breaking news and top stories on broad industry issues, marketing deals, brand campaigns and executive moves
- Bibliothèque: a bookstore of recommended titles that inspire fresh thinking about the industry, marketplace, human behavior, design and cultural issues
- Industry Tracker: financial data and news coverage on 20 major media companies, 20 leading advertisers and four top marketing holding companies, available individually or comparatively
- Polls: Pulse checks on industry issues, conducted and reported in real time
- Vox Box: News stories and media releases about clients of Patrick Davis Partners and other friends of the firm
- Marketplace Forum: discussion board where members of the marketing community can share best practices, engage in discussion on industry topics or explore emerging challenges with their peers; job and resume postings also are available
As part of forming an intelligent, informed and engaged community, Unbound Edition welcomes submitted content for any of its sections. No content on the site is sponsored or paid for. “Unbound Edition is a community where all are welcome to converse about what they see, how they think and what they find important to our profession,” said Davis.
