5 Quick Questions with David Berkowitz, Senior Director of Emerging Media & Innovation at 360i
Alexa Ehrlich | February 1st, 2011
For this month’s addition of 5 Quick Questions we had the privilege of interviewing David Berkowitz, whose the Senior Director of Emerging Media and Innovation at 360i. We think David is quite the social media rockstar! 
Check out what he had to say:
Q:Pretty impressive you manage 2 of the top 3 biggest brand “fan pages” on Facebook, how did you guys take Coca Cola from 2 million fans to 21 and with Oreo, 4 to 16 mil? Just by being real & talking to peoples wants and needs? Ex: the Oreo campaign “How do you eat your Oreo?”
A: “So much of it is figuring out why people want to be a fan of a brand. With Coca Cola and Oreo it’s been a continual process of learning how to connect and not just promote.”
Q:I recently attended a conference and people who are outside the visual space don’t understand as well as us how to fully connect their website’s to their facebook page, to have a constant cycle of traffic and comments to both- what’s your best advice for them? And is it important to have a strong Facebook presence so whatever comes next these companies are prepared for?
A: “A learning curve is going on now. My brother is a college professor and I recently gave him pointers on how to make his department’s website more social. It’s funny you get a lot of people who are connected to big brands who take social networking for granted. Where social networking is easier for others who only have pretty minimal web skills. People need to learn how to tell a story that makes sense to an audience and promote them and their brand that way via social networking.”
Q:You’re so big into social media…we even hear you met your wife through a social networking site, is there anything that CAN’T be done using the internet?
A: “That’s a tough one, a really tough question. I found my wife and my apartment thanks to social media. You are definitely stumping me…”
Q:On Mashable.com we saw the pictures of your desk, do you frequently take breaks to play video games at all? Do you think taking breaks are good for not only you but your employees to rest a bit during the busy work day?
A: “I’m such a big fan of how Google popularized a 20% time chunk of a day or a week to focus on something you love that isn’t entirely productive, well not immediately at least. I’m just a big believer in having fun at work and I’m lucky enough to have it built in as part of my job. I do think some fun should be a part of everyone’s work day.”
Q:Do you see Facebook always being a player in say the next 5 to 10 years?
A: “I think Facebook is so well entrenched as a utility; how they branded themselves for awhile. And Google is similar in the same regards. There’s also room for a lot of other social media sites to appeal to a different audience as well.”
Q:You started off primarily as a Search Marketing Firm only, and now performance wise dealing with social media what will be more successful do you think…Google or Social Networks?
A: “So much of it depends on what the marketers goals are. What’s actually fascinating is how well Facebook has been a traffic driver which is a threat to Google. Ultimately marketers, they only will focus on one or the other.”
Q:Which of the conferences you have spoken at rolled out the biggest red carpet? Who provided the best food?
A: “I’ve been to some good ones. Right now Im here at the Ritz Carlton in Miami, MediaPost always picks good locations. Along with that I can actually associate each conference with the food served and I have to give MediaPost some props, everything I’ve been having is a little too good!”
Q:If we were to make you into your own brand and make merchandise, what would you like to see? Would maybe some David Berkowitz action figures be cool??
A: “I think if I could have a brand extension out there I’d have my own kind of cereal. Even as a kid I loved all the crazy cereals out there. And unlike eating cupcakes everyday, cereal wouldn’t be that bad everyday!”
Q:You’re a blogger, so what is the key to blogging success and where should budding bloggers be to increase their presence? Certain blogs you see as being on the forefront that others bloggers should take note from?
A: “So much of blogging is constancy. You go to a certain blog that speaks to you when you go there. A lot of my favorite blogs are ones of my friends and they keep me coming back because they are either really smart or really funny, or both. I do think some new sites like Tumblr are making things as easy as Twitter to share content, giving everyone a voice. Blogging went from a fading idea to now being back in the forefront of social media.”
Q:As it states in your title (Senior Director of Emerging Media & Innovation for 360i) so what is emerging? Any new developments you can give us a peek into?
A: “I am really fascinated with everything going on in a living room now, from Xbox Kinect (my current favorite) to some of the interactive things coming out. To how people use their mobile devices and tablets while at home. Looking at home, people are consuming Netflix more and it’s changing how people see movies. Living Room 2.0 is finally catching on and all those pieces together are making a huge impact! In fact the word EMERGING is a moving target.”
Thanks for checking out our interview with David Berkowitz! Hope you now have a better understanding of why we think he’s so cool!! See you next time for 5 Quick Questions.
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- 5 Quick Questions with Michael Lazerow, Chairman and CEO of Buddy Media, Inc.
- 5 Quick Questions with Adam Hirsch, COO of Mashable
- 5 Quick Questions with Linda Boff, Executive Director of GE Digital
- 5 Quick Questions with Jeff Hayzlett former CMO of Kodak
Tags: alexa ehrlich, blogging, David Berkowitz, Director of Emerging Media and Innovation at 360i, sdzr, social media, social networking
About the Author: Originally from Danville, Illinois, I received my Bachelor’s of Arts in Journalism and Second Concentration in Gender Studies from Indiana University Bloomington in May 2010. I am now an aspiring Broadcast Journalist with great experience in the field, which I have obtained through various internships and with my involvement in IUSTV, the student produced news team at Indiana University.I am excited for new challenges and new learning experiences with each day in this field of work.I enjoy writing, volunteering in my local community, traveling, reading, and working out. I am eager to see where my degree will take me! For now I am so happy to have the opportunity to be contributing to SDZR.
