As Seth Godin says, “Marketing is a contest for people’s attention.” Hopefully those tornadic sharks* got your attention. So what’s the connection to Two-Factor Authentication?

I’ll answer that question momentarily, but first, let’s have a quick refresher in case you’ve missed our previous marketing efforts:

Due to past incidents where grades were changed and direct deposit information was compromised, Miami is implementing additional protection around those items as well as tax forms. This additional protection, Two-Factor Authentication (TFA), reduces the potential of security breaches and theft.

Two-Factor Authentication is based on the idea that you will use two items (factors) to log into certain Miami services or applications. These two factors are

• Something you know–your Miami password; and
• Something you have–a single-use verification code.

When you use your Miami UniqueID and password to log in to certain Miami services or applications, you will be prompted to enter a six-digit single-use verification code. This code can be delivered to you through several methods, but most people will probably work from a printout of their codes or from Google Authenticator, a free smartphone app. More info is available at MiamiOH.edu/twofactor.

As a member of the (Agile) Two-Factor Authentication project team, I’m fortunate to work with a great group of colleagues who are passionate about our product: a layer of enhanced security for tax forms, direct deposit, and grade entry. One of the things we talk about daily is how to communicate, educate, and train people to understand this new service.

If you’re used to this kind of authentication in other contexts, such as Facebook, WordPress, or Twitter, you probably don’t need much help from us.

But if you’re not used to Two-Factor–and especially if you don’t use a smartphone–the learning curve will be a little steeper. Here’s what we’ve got in place so far:

• The developers are outstanding, diligently working out every technical detail while making the user experience as smooth as possible. Somehow they meet every challenge thrown their way.
• We’ve developed and published KB documentation and continue to work to get training and support resources ready for our anticipated go-live dates in May.
• We’ve begun marketing the service via myMiami, listservs, small group and departmental meetings, internal news outlets, and more.
• Last but not least, our sponsor Joe Bazeley himself stars in a series of new two-factor videos (check it out–he explains everything quite well!)

Here’s where the shark comes in. You can probably imagine the marketing challenge this project presents.  It’s easy to skim past the two-factor messaging in the sea of emails, newsletters, and blog posts (ahem) that we all receive. We need to grab people’s attention in a big way to get them ready and make a smooth transition.

In short, we need a figurative “Sharknado” of education to successfully explain this techy topic.

So here’s where you come in. Stay in the loop, help us test, and–most importantly–help your clients and colleagues understand the reasoning behind this initiative. Don’t make Joe have to wear a shark costume in his next video.

*Thanks to Amy Tackett for the sharkspiration.