Yesterday I had the great pleasure to have a lengthy conversation with Kevin Martin, vocalist for the band Candlebox. For those of you not familiar with the band, they are one of many to come out of the Seattle music scene in the 90s (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains). Grunge groups burst onto the national scene and connected with a large segment of the population from the onset.

The conversation with Kevin kept my mind racing during my return trip last night. His outlook on the music industry was refreshing and contained many items we can apply to today’s web. I want to touch on a small list of them - authenticity, having a holistic view, staying humble, and making real connections.

Be authentic

Fan or not, the biggest complaint about top 40 radio today (Nickelback, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus) is that it’s all manufactured fluff. It’s fake and built from the ground up to sell copies today and churn through musical acts as tools for profit. What they’re lacking is authenticity.

Compare this to the Twitter streams of ComcastCares and General Motors. In the case of ComcastCares, you clearly see that Comcast employee Frank Eliason cares about a customer’s experience and loves what he does. Contrast this to General Motors, who’s account GMblogs is not much more than an outlet for carefully crafted press releases and littered with responses shamelessly pushing the company line. One company is building good will and value, and the other is extending the perception of an out-of-touch and deaf company.

Have a holistic view

As a band member, if you’re only concerned with your role, then you’re accomplishing nothing more than making noise. Members of a good band understand the instruments of their band mates and how those instruments work together to create something larger than the individual pieces.

Kevin made a great point during our conversation in saying that a good drummer plays to the bass line and listed a number of the other connections between instruments. When the individual understands the role of another, he knows when to let him take his solo, provide fill/assistance in the moments of need, and when it’s ok take his own place in front and center. The same is true in your approach for your website, mobile presence, marketing efforts, and social media strategy. At any given time resources need to be shifted to find the correct positioning and response for the current environment.

Social media is all of the rage at the moment, and rightfully so, but that doesn’t mean it’s right for every business or that you should be setting a certain percentage of resources aside for it. On the other hand, your market may demand that it’s the single largest expenditure during a given period. The same is true of your website, mobile presence, and marketing efforts. Step back, take a holistic view and find what works for you.

Stay Humble

No one ever got to their current situation all on their own. It takes a great team behind Candlebox to put on each show. There is equally as many people you never see, than those on stage. Candlebox has a great crew which provides support in setup, tear-down, and shine in moments of emergency. Kevin and the band know this and haven’t let multiple chart busting songs swell their egos. He’s approachable and appreciative of what he’s done and what he has been given.

Just because your company may have found success with a hit product or service, don’t let that get to your head. Success is an ongoing process, and one which requires more than a single hit. Stay humble as a company, keep your ear to the ground, and take feedback when starting work on your next hit.

Make real connections

Among the long list of nationals my band has opened up for in the last year (Saving Abel, FUEL, Smile Empty Soul, etc.), I’ve seen none of them connect with their fans the way Candlebox did last night. A number of actions combined to show that the band wanted much more than to just play through the set and then head back to the tour bus. The guys stayed over an hour and a half, equal to the length of their set, to take pictures, give autographs and talk to each and every fan in attendance. Every single one.

Whether it’s engaged two-way conversation on Twitter or offline events, the need for real connections has never been greater. Simply sending out a generic email campaign isn’t going to cut it. Being willing to spend your time to have a conversation, showing appreciation to customers, and embracing new communication channels are not just "nice to haves" today, they’re the baseline.

Dynamit was honored as one of the “Best Places to Work” in 2010 & 2011 by Columbus Business First newspaper and Interactive Agency of the Year. Times are even better in 2012 and we’re hiring a Web/Graphic Designer for our aggressively growing team.

This is an exciting opportunity to work on cutting edge projects for well-known brands in a dynamic, entrepreneurial and highly creative environment. Please email resumes/cover letters and portfolio information (documents or links to online examples) to Gary Moneysmith via gmoney@dynamit.us.

A web/graphic designer on the Dynamit team will:

• Be well versed with Adobe Creative Suite: Strong knowledge of Photoshop, experience with Illustrator and InDesign.
• Have a strong understanding of Usability & Web Trends: Experience with user interface design, knowledge of best practices & examples of this in a portfolio or live site/application design. They will also be up-to-date on web trends and design tactics with examples.
• Have experience in user experience design (UXD) designing application and system interfaces. This experience is crucial for this position.
• Have Basic Programming Knowledge: We’re not looking for a developer here, but the designer should have the ability to design for web with a knowledge of the boundaries and how to design for execution by a programmer.
• Have a Strong Portfolio: We’d like to see much more web work than print.
• Be eager to learn, with a passion for design & the web. The designer should have a strong internal drive for industry knowledge and be committed to furthering the craft.

Experience is important, but personality is key. Our culture is what drives us, and we’re looking to build our team with someone who both fits and contributes to it.

The position is full time at our office in the Arena District in Columbus, Ohio. We offer a competitive salary and benefits package as well as a fun, high-energy, intellectually-stimulating work environment.

Benefits Include

• Competitive salary (compensation will be based on skills and experience)
• Fully paid medical/dental insurance for employees
• Paid parking
• Unlimited vacation time (within reason)
• Office bar + climbing wall — not recommended together

Don’t sit back. If you want to work in a fast paced work environment with great people who love what they do, apply today.

About Dynamit
Dynamit is a digital agency based in the Arena District in Columbus, Ohio. We work with clients and brands on digital initiatives that include strategy, design, user experience and development. We influence communication and commerce. Client work includes Hilton Worldwide, Charley's Grilled Subs, McGraw-Hill, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), E-Z-GO, American Electric Power (AEP), Columbus College of Art & Design and the Ohio State Medical Center (OSUMC) to name but a few.