2009 Gorilla Engagement Squad

First there was Guerrilla Warfare: a small group of combatants using ambushes and raids to fight a larger, formal army. 

Then came Guerrilla Marketing: a small team that creates promotions that rely on time, energy and imagination to generate buzz.

What did squad members do? They attended two on-line training sessions for Twitter and Flip Cams to prepare themselves before the conference began. At the conference, they used such tools as live blogging, Twitter, Flip Cams, and Flickr to capture the energy and ideas that were flowing fast at the conference. They kept score during the process, gaining points for each time they used an engagement tool.  When the dust settled, they captured 120 videos and posted a boatload of tweets. Plus, there were five individual winners (Paul Bachleitner, Christine Mulvin, Michael Remaley, Cate Ryba, and Amy Wolf), who won a Flip Cam of their very own! 

So, what's the verdict? Here are the results of our Gorilla Squad survey, with an outline of what worked, and what didn't, at the launch of this new web 2.0 conference strategy. Also, be sure to watch the videos shot by the Squad!

We had a great team of Gorillas raring to go, spreading the ideas shared at the Communications Network Conference far and wide. And now, without further ado, we present your 2009 Gorilla Engagement Squad:

Rebecca Arno, Vice President of Communications, The Denver Foundation
Paul Bachleitner, Author
Claire Baralt, Communications Officer, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
Thom Clark, President, Community Media Workshop
Emily Culbertson, Web Strategist and Project Manager
Gabriela Fitz, Co-Director, IssueLab
William Hanson, Director of Communications & Technology, The Skillman Foundation
Louie Herr, Consultant, The Lumina Foundation
Susan Herr, President, PhilanthroMedia
John Hodgins, Senior Communications Associate, The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Jennifer Humke, Associate Director, Public Affairs, MacArthur Foundation
Kathryn McGinley, Web Producer, The Atlantic Philanthropies
Larry Meyer, President, Meyer Communications LLC
Holly Minch, Navigator & Instigator
Christine Mulvin, Director of Communications, The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati
Julee Newberger, Online Communications Associate, Annie E. Casey Foundation
Michael Remaley, Hamill Remaley Communications
Cate Brandt Ryba, Media and Communications Officer, Mary Black Foundation
Dana Variano, Creative Director, PhilanthroMedia
Christopher Whitlatch, Manager of Marketing & Communications, The Pittsburgh Foundation
Amy Wolf, Communications Officer, The New York Community Trust

Gorilla Resources:

In addition to capturing perspectives from our annual conference, October 14-16, Gorillas are also developing the framework for members to test these engagement approaches at their own gatherings. Here are are resources intended to support that goal:

Overview of Launch Meeting
Deployment Packet
Twitter Training Notes and Audio File
Flip Cam Training PowerPoint, Training Video, and Audio File
Agenda with Twitter IDs