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No more beating around the bush: in 2010, we are going to beat the bush itself to a bark chip, maybe even a pulp. In this, the run up to the 2010 Loeries awards, it's just a hop, step and a very long jump to 1-3 October, so I guess we'd better all get in training.

Let's start with some hard questions.

Does winning a Gold Loerie guarantee you everlasting fame and fortune? Ask someone who last won one in 2006, 2007 or 2008 and they'll probably say no. In truth, there is so much going on out there right now that even being incredibly awesome at what you do might not necessarily be enough to guarantee you'll get the top of mind recognition you so well deserve.

You have to know how to work it.

So who does? As an exercise, I undertook a little reccie of how local ad industry players who have featured well at Loeries in recent years, are faring in the self-promotion (read also social media) stakes.

Just to clarify, these days social media means how many times you are mentioned, your viral value, how you work the machine.

To ascertain, this I searched every winner since 2000 that appears on the winners section of The Loerie Awards site - you should try it sometime, it's a gas. Obviously not mention-worthy are those whose websites are non-existent, under-construction or that haven't been updated for a year! You know who you are.

So who are the 2010 ad industry web heroes?

Unexpected cool value comes in spades from none other than Saatchi & Saatchi. Already probably forgotten as the Gold Loerie winner in the EXPERIENTIAL: ALTERNATIVE MEDIA & FIELD MARKETING category in 2009 for its Eukanuba Fetch Dog Food promo.

Anyway, not only is its website pleasantly dynamic in design, it also - hang on a moment while a wipe a tear - invites you to "talk about us, talk to us" on the very front page. Well, how could you resist? http://twitter.com/saatchiza.

I am also totally in love with its lovelink, www.lovemarks.com, where you can nominate brands that you love and share your lovemarks stories. I haven't yet, but I intend to take a moment to nominate Bizcommunity.com ASAP.

But wait, there is more... Remember the consumer mantra me, me, me? Saatchi does! As a visitor to its website, I was also invited to join in its TRUE BLUE community to share like-minded strategic insights and what have you. Be still my heart, this is what working the machine is all about! I have only one question - why didn't it tell us all about it earlier? [it did, in Dec 2008 - managing ed]

Which goes to show how many aspects of comunication need to be factored in to maintain a social media strategy to the required standards of engagement these days [indeed, we have exciting plans in the pipeline for our press offices on Bizcommunity, so why not contact to find out more? - managing ed].

Socialist Media will be continued>