Word of Mouth Reminder

I've been meaning to blog about a lot of things lately. Today, however, I can't help skip over some of those important posts to discuss my most recent word of mouth reminder. 

Over the past few years there's been SO much talk about word of mouth and how important it is to branding. Most of the time we talk about it as if it were something only friends, family and co-workers pass on to one another. I've never had a discussion about the prospect of word of mouth from one stranger to another when not associated with a blog or the Internet in some way.

But just today in the supermarket I was on a mission to buy my first ever package of whole wheat spaghetti. As I stood there I felt so confused. Pasta is certainly a saturated category. The aisle is long, there are multiple versions of whole wheat, not whole wheat, shapes, sizes, you name it. It's confusing. 

Who came to my indecision rescue? A complete stranger. 

I was on the phone and mentioned to the person on the other end how hard it was to pick a pasta when there were so many choices. The stranger must have overheard me and pointed to a pasta and mouthed that it was really good. He looked fit so I trusted him.

And I bought that very pasta. 

Big Day At Brandcenter

Today is Part I of the Brandcenter's recruiter session. 

Hello to all of you recruiters reading this! 

Welcome to the Brandcenter and thank you for coming.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to talk to you at some point over the next couple of days. In the meantime, if you have a moment, scroll through this page to check out what I've been thinking and writing about. 

When You Have History

I recently went to one of the most amazing weddings ever. On the plane ride home, I ran out of magazines (I'm one of the few left who still love the printed word). So I reached into the back pocket of the seat in front of me, as if it were a grab bag, ready to dissect whatever Sky-mall-esque magazine I pulled out.

American Airelines-American Eagle's American Way publication from April 15, 2009 was the lucky winner. There are all kind of random tid-bits and articles but I became engrossed in "Riffing on a Legend" by Jack Boulware. It was about the C.F. Martin acoustic guitar. 

The entire article was about the brand, its heritage (Vienna born immigrant in 1833), its heyday ('70s with 22,000 units), its fall ('80s with 3,000 units), and its rise again (now). Two days ago if you asked me, "What is a C.F. Martin?" I would have stared at you blankly. Now I know that it's the holy grail of guitars. Every famous musician ever, has played one of these guitars made in Nazareth, PA. Eric Clapton, Johnny Cash, Beck, Neil Young, John Mayer, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley, Sting, Kurt Cobain, Paul Simon, the Dixie Chicks, Woody Gutherie... just to name a few. The article described it best, "One guitar has thoroughly saturated music's landscape." Talk about a cultural icon.

One of the most compelling parts was about the fall of the brand and how management (family operated-six generation style) made a hard decision and decided not to sell even though they were barely making enough to pay rent. As the article says, "It would have been an ignoble end to a long legacy." Instead, they decided to just make the best guitars they could even if they only sold 3,000 per year. That, my friends, is commitment. 

I don't even play guitar but I felt a pang rush over me at the thought of this legend becoming muddied by a big buyer. I can only imagine how (notice I didn't say if) the brand would have changed. The brand has, at its core, a commitment to a seemingly old-timey craft, that has deeply seeded itself in culture. That's the kind of value that becomes inherent, that you can't make-up through messaging or experiential branding or PR. It's a value achieved only by longevity. It's a kind of value only brands with history on their side can ever really have. When I think of others, the firsts that come to mind are Coca-cola and Campbell's.  

It's just really interesting to think about. We constantly hear and read how we (as a society in general) are always looking for new, bigger, better, faster. I don't disagree. Technology and innovation and newness catch our eye as a general rule. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing either. But come to think of it, thank god someone and some brand, is still out there, maintaining the old, carrying on history, craft and legacy. I never really realized how something so old and done, could be so refreshing and seem so, well... new.

Quote of the Friday.

"Ideas are about what could be done, innovation is about getting it done."

-Andrew Hargadon of the blog Harga-Blog in his post Prototypes R us.

Creating a More Creative Agency

I had a really strong reaction to the first concern of John Adams in my previous post. It was about creativity. I thought I'd share my thoughts.

It's true we don't know enough about creativity. 

Perhaps it starts with the fact that we are an industry at the intersection of creativity and business yet only a certain group of people in our agencies are called "creatives." This is even more appalling as we admit and acknowledge good creative can come from anywhere or anyone. It's a term that silos us without even really meaning. It's language and simple semantics that shape the way we act in ways we don't even realize. It's why women fought for him/her, fighter-fighters vs. firemen, and other such simple changes that make great differences. I've always believed you are whatever you say you are (even Eminem, the rapper believes in that one). We should all be calling ourselves creatives if we work in the industry no matter what our job title. It's that kind of thinking and ownership across the agency that will inspire and cook ingenuity across disciplines.

Also, I wholeheartedly buy into the notion that creativity is a muscle. I think it can be exercised. People are made to believe that they aren't creative because of x, y, z reason. Either they are not in the habit of being creative, they have formulated a definition they don't quite fit into (such as I have to be able to produce to be creative) or maybe were even told at one point they weren't creative and have tagged themselves as just that and accepted it as a fact. Most people need to be pushed to have the confidence to be creative. It is a risk to put yourself and your ideas out there afterall. They need to be given time and opportunity to develop the abstract relationships between people, things, places, etc. that lead to unexpected thinking (aka creativity). I think it's a human resources activity worth investing in because even the accountants should believe themselves to be more creative than accountants who work in other fields (cough, but not in sneaky creative accounting ways!).

For agencies looking for creative people, there are actually tests that determine who is and who isn't creative. Currently I am part of a group at VCU called The da Vinci Center for Product Design and Development. We had to take one of those tests. I was really happy with my results. I'm not technically or traditionally a creative, but that test indicates I am creative. Maybe tests like these should be adopted by agencies.

Finally, another way I think agencies could find creative people across disciplines for hire is to do something very simple, but very telling. Instead of relying on polished books and savvy interviewers putting on a show, here's what you do: Give a person a blank sheet of paper and a pencil and tell them to inspire you with just that. It takes a brave person to even attempt to follow through with the exercise and a creative one to do it well. Whatever they do with that sheet will be telling of what consumes their thoughts and how creative they really are. Anyone can spend hours practicing and polishing a portfolio and personal interview skills but no one can practice or polish up for a test like that. It's too raw. If I'm ever in a position to hire in this industry, that will be my test. I came up with the idea from an experience in high school when I once auditioned for a play (yes, I was in improv theater for 4 years). The only assignment during the audition was to frighten the director on the spot. So simple, yet so very, very frightening (ironically) and difficult. I choked, but I learned a valuable lesson.

Words of Wisdom from John Adams.

At the Brandcenter we get the pleasure to hear a myriad of people in the creative industries talk, theorize and hand off advice. 

The other day we had the pleasure of hearing John Adams (see below), CEO of The Martin Agency, talk about what does and doesn't keep him up at night when it comes to this ever changing industry of advertising.

I won't go through what doesn't keep him up but I will go through what does keep him up. His speech was delivered masterfully and was incredibly compelling and provocative. Please know this is a gross summarization. Anyways, here's what he said:

1. We don't know enough about creativity. We don't know how to identify or how to teach it. With the industry changing we need it more than ever.

2. We need to be better relationship builders. We need to understand that there are no business relationships, only people relationships. The basis of all relationship breakdowns in business and between people are resultant from poor communication (ironic given we are in a communications industry), changes in priorities, and lack of commitment. We need to find a way to bring to the forefront of these relationships that awards and results are not separate or competing.

3. We need to realize we have a bigger job to do. We are focusing on the trees when we should be focusing on the forest. We work as a service for corporations which are the dominant part of our civilization. People don't trust them and we tend to not like them. We have a responsibility as to help shape the corporate social responsibility endeavors of our nation.

Fresh Thoughts.

The other day I went grocery shopping. 

It got me thinking about the word fresh. It was only after working in an agency and helping on a grocery client, that I began to understand the importance of that one word. I remember thinking at the time that the word is one with no real dimensions. I was wrong.

The dictionary describes fresh as recently made or obtained; not canned, frozen, or otherwise preserved. 

While I think that's (obviously) true, I also think that fresh has been given new meaning in recent years. The popularity of natural and organic have really changed the the meaning of that word. Here's why:

While at the grocery store, I purchased the freshest mozzarella. Ever. Stark white, wet, salty. I also purchased organic salsa.

My not canned, not frozen, not otherwise preserved mozzarella made and obtained recently was obviously fresh. I walked into the store with the intent to purchase fresh mozzarella and did just that.

But I realize while standing there looking at all the salsa options on the shelves, I have come to think, in recent years, that organic, even in a jar, is more fresh than the same product in a jar without the word organic attached. 

So now not fresh grocery items, those that are canned, frozen and otherwise preserved, can be fresher than their counterparts (as in the case of salsa). That means that fresh grocery items can also be fresher than their counterparts. A fresher fresh if you will. There's freshly grown strawberries and then there are fresher freshly grown strawberries that are organic. 

While organic can't own fresh, it can own fresher. The idea of pesticides and chemicals on anything takes away from our old notions of fresh. 

I wonder if other consumers think the same and how that effects the marketing of grocery and the highly competitive fresh wars that pepper the category.

Quote of the Friday.

Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction. 

-Picasso

Turning into yourself.

Market Research Must Get Real, Not Ideal, Social Scientists Say, March 31, MarketingDaily

Dr. Robert Deutsch, an anthropologist and founder of marketing firm Brain Sells, speaks up about brands. He says that people act rather than think; yet another nod to the irrationality of purchase decisions and behavior by the everyday Joe. 

While the entire article was interesting, what really got me thinking was the part where he talks about power of a brand is in the way it helps a person become more of him or herself. He suggests that brand loyalty is actually just self-loyalty in diguise. He says, "There is no such thing as product loyalty; that's commodity-based. Attachment leads to self-loyalty. It looks like product loyalty, but it's not; it's 'through you I become more of me.'"

People buy brands to become more of themselves and to tap into self-loyalty huh? I believe it. It's all very wrapped up in identity. It's easy to see in the fashion category. I like how J. Crew does a relaxed, smart, private school prep. I went to UofR. Private and prep describe the school. Polo would be a front runner. But Polo doesn't capture relaxed and smart to me like J. Crew does. It's more money and I'm more comfortable. See the connections? 

I started to think that maybe it's harder to see this relationship, "through you I become more me" in the parity product category like toilet paper (although I don't doubt that it's there). I started to think about the reason I buy certain parity products. Typically I buy whatever is cheapest across any category. If it's on sale, it's going in my basket by necessity. I have to trade down EVERYWHERE in EVERY category so that I can feed my passion for fashion. When it comes to fashions I still buy on sale BUT I try to make sure it's a sale that is brand name. 

Still, as hard as it was to come up with an example, I did. Here it is- I have German heritage and so I buy NIVEA over every other lotion simply because I remember my Oma using it and it makes me feel true to me and my story. Every-time I use it, I think of all my relatives over seas. They probably don't use it, but it's meaningful for me. Truth be told, I think it's a little bit thick but I keep buying it anyways because of that emotional connection. I also will buy a particular kind of chocolate from Belgium that Oma used to stock up on it too.

Anyways, you get my point. The article is worth reading but if you can't get to it, this is the conclusion:

Marketers should throw out purchase funnel models "and consider brand attachment as the yellow brick road -- "a journey I make with you that fills out what's already latent in me," Deutsch says. Great marketers are therefore shamans."

Understanding Behavior.

Behavioral Science is nothing short of fascinating. 

I think as planners we could all learn a thing or two about planning by studying the trends in this field encompassing psychology, economics and change. How we act, why we act the way we do and what can influence these things is connected to purchases decisions, strategy and marketing for obvious reasons. 

This article in TIME magazine about the topic is so interesting I've read it 3 times already. It's about Obama and his team of behavioral specialists, his campaign for presidency and for change at large. Click here to read. 

The article references a handful of books about the topic of behavior. Here is the list:

• Influence 
  
• Predictably Irrational 
  
• Nudge 
  
• Freakanomics
  
• The Wisdom of Crowds
  
• Animal Spirits
  

Fun with Fish Fillets.

I have a confession. Actually make that two.

1) I used to LOVE McDonald's fish fillet as a child. 2) My family definitely had a talking fish toy in our home (embarrassingly enough). 

But those are precisely the reasons why I love the new McDonald's commercials spreading around the web. I recently commented to a friend about the number of fish sandwiches being advertised in the past year. Either more were being advertised, all were being advertised more feverishly as a result of some bizarre behind the scenes fillet o' fish business wars, or I was simply paying more attention to them all.

Arby's was advertising a fish sandwich and Wendy is still steadily telling me that it's not fast food, it's food fast and it's fresh as well. "What's the difference other than the bun?" I kept thinking. I still have no idea although Wendy almost had me convinced for a while there. BUT I do know that the McDonald's ads stand out in this category. They are funny, which makes them fresh. They are nostalgic, which calls back to culture of yonder years and helps consumers welcome the commercial with a great big huge. AND it gives us something to talk about: "Oh yeah, my family had one of those (squished face, blushing with embarrassment and a giggle.) Didn't yours?!" 

As a result, instead of sending this viral just my friends like I normally do, I've now sent it to my parents too. They'll get a kick out of it even if they don't order a fish fillet at the drive through their next go-round. 

There is actually an article written about this in USA Today. Check it out here. 

Digital Media Cool School

I keep joking that I might as well go back to school if I don't get a job. Joking was the key word until I read an article in Fast Company called Hyper Island Grooms the Next Generation of Digital Media about a school in Sweeden called Hyper Island. Okay, so I won't really be thinking about going back to school, but if I did, this would be the place.

Click on the link or just read the article in full here:

MATTIAS HANSSON, 40, helps train 1,300 students a year in digital media, interactive art direction, and digital business management in Stockholm and on a former prison island off the coast of Sweden. Graduates are hotly recruited by such firms as Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Ideo.

"Look into the eyes of the creatives you know and ask them: If they could choose, would they pick the traditional academic world or an opportunity to learn by doing real stuff such as building e-communication solutions for MTV, Ikea, and others. We don't have classrooms or auditoriums, and we don't focus on grades. We don't educate people to become something. They have to decide that themselves.

Great talents get an opportunity to boost their skills while they are with us, and then they become very sought after. Every student has at least five job offers from top international agencies. The student with the most this year got 56 job offers. Around 80% go abroad. We're more of a household name in Manhattan, Paris, or San Francisco than in Sweden."

I haven't fully researched it yet but it was way too cool not to share. 

Quote of the Friday.

"It's better to live one year as a tiger than a hundred years as a sheep."

-Madonna

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Independent Street Innovation Inspiration

The Wall Street Journal's blog Independent Street is one of my favorite resources even if I don't check it as often as I should. Sometimes, I write down words of wisdom, bits of inspiration or that which makes me think from the articles in the blog. Here I'll share a few of my favorite I find myself revisiting often:

Want to Create an Innovation Culture? Here's How. Nov. 20, 2008

"Successful innovation can't just be small incremental innovations- it must be 'disruptive' or radical innovations that shake up the status quo." and "The largest gains in business come from more daring innovations that challenge the paradigm and the organization."

What Innovation Means for Small Businesses. Nov. 24, 2008

"From our perspective, innovation is three things: empathy, creativity and execution - and you have to have all three. Empathy is about getting employees out in the real world. If you work for company that makes kitchen tools, you should go hang out with the chefs that use those kitchen tools."

I think these are quotes are helpful reminders that it's not THINGS it's the WAY WE DO THINGS that make the biggest impact and cause societal shifts and trends when it comes to innovation. "Things" themselves often help us change the "way we do things" for sure. But when you're ideating, innovating or whatever you want to call it, it seems necessary to first think of the process that needs changing and then solve it, perhaps with a thing if need be.

Oceans, Circuses, American Idol and more: A Look at Culture, Remixed

From the article: Ad Age March 31, 2009, Rethinking 'Blue Ocean Strategy' in a Down Economy.

"Value innovation was defined as creating a leap in value for consumers while lowering costs and increasing revenue for the company. [...] A prime example was Cirque du Soleil, which took traditional circus acts and infused them with Broadway-style creative productions to increase customer value and ticket prices, while simultaneously cutting the largest cost item of the circus: the animals. Cirque du Soleil reinvented the circus and today maintains its dominance in a largely uncontested market space."

That article excerpt got me thinking a about remix culture. (My friends Ben Alter and Katie Fitz at Brandcenter also just recently wrote and published an article that touches on one aspect of the topic. View it here.) 

Cirque du Soleil is AMAZING but at the heart of their reinvention is taking something old, and remixing it with current culture to make it something fresh, exciting and new. To invent for them was to REinvent and that meant to remix, not start from scratch. Poof, a new relevant cultural obsession was born from an old concept given new meaning, execution and production.

Thinking about it that way, I concluded once and for all that Adam Lambert (the LA 26 year old) will win American Idol this season. I'm not a regular American Idol viewer at all. In fact, I've never watched any other season before but I started hearing so much buzz about this one contestant and his innovative ability with music. I started watching JUST to see what he'll do next. He blew my mind with his Middle Eastern version of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" (which I've obviously already downloaded from iTunes). He's taking old songs, remixing them and making them into something modern and amazing. Look him up on iTunes or watch here. He's reinventing the wheel through remix.

This got me thinking about brands of course. Right now, there's a lot of talk about creating culture as a way to build equity and engage consumers. It's so sexy to say, "let's create culture," but what does that really even mean? I'm not convinced any of us have it figured out exactly quite yet. Creating something cool works, yes, but it's pretty hard to predict what's will be cool and what consumers will latch onto. 

Perhaps brands could take a cue from Blue Ocean Strategy, Cirque du Soliel, and Adam Lambert. Maybe creating culture isn't pulling consumers completely away from the old (sounds a bit like shock therapy if you ask me). That tactic seems to lack a reference point and even an emotional pull. Maybe instead, one of the best practices in creating culture is taking what's familiar to consumers and giving it a new twist, easing them slowly, but safely into unchartered territory.

Brilliant Edible Ideas.

Have you ever noticed how much innovation goes down in the food industry? 

First there were 100 calorie packs that revolutionized our urge to devour entire boxes of [name your favorite] snacks. Then there were chefs nationwide telling us delicious bacon was not only for breakfast, it was also a savory addition to our favorite desserts (like the bacon chocolate chip cookie to your left there). Many, many thanks to that genius. Any reason to eat bacon is welcomed. 

New about to come out are Cheetos the size of ping pong balls (not good for beer bong) and Oreo's that are shaped as straws to sip milk through call Fun Stix. 

Check out the explanation behind the giant Cheetos and Oreos Fun Stix in this article, "Don't worry, buy happy: Cheerful stuff is selling well" by USA Today. Supposedly in this economic climate, it's the little stuff that makes the everyday person happy and thus sells well. The article mentions that when we're stressed, we revert back to the things that comforted us as kids. I must either stay stressed or I'm still a kid because Oreos never stopped comforting me in the first place. Just saying.

Anyway, I wonder what's next? Maybe a gummy bear edible doll house so I can play with my gummy bears before I eat them. Then I would really revert back to being a kid. Ok, maybe not. 

Make us laugh. Make us skinny.

Here's the list of drinks I consume:

1) always water 2) sometimes sweet tea 3) occasionally Vitaminwater.

Rarely do I drink soda or coffee. I'm afraid I'll get addicted like my mother. 

Water is good for me; it flushes the system. Sweet Tea is nostalgic and reminds me of my childhood, sunny days and porch swings with my grandma. Vitaminwater is just good... and the brand has such personality. Who doesn't want to be part of that conversation? But I rarely drink it because the calories scare me away. I could be having a tea...

The New York Times recently released that they will be coming out with a Vitaminwater10 with 10 calories per eight ounces that will compete in the low-cal beverage category and is aimed at, people, just like me. Cool. 

BBH is doing their ads and they will be funny. The agency's sense of irreverent humor melds well with funny in today's culture. Here's the article: With Humor, Glaceau Vitaminwater Introduces New Low-Calorie Beverage. Here's the a subway ad the article features: 

I'm sure I will end up trying this drink. But artificial sweeteners have the most distinct taste. Coca- cola has seen incredible success with Vitaminwater and leveraging the brands name to market a healthier option is a terrific idea. They will be using Stevia as the sweetener which is supposed to be natural. I know nothing about sweeteners but I look forward to trying the product and appreciate Vitaminwater continuing to develop new products to expand its target in spite of this economic downturn.  

A nice idea.

"Don't be yourself, be someone a little nicer." 

-Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1996

When I first became interested in advertising/branding/ideating I was told to watch out for all the snarky, mean people I would encounter.

Growing up with two older brothers I felt like this would be easy. People who were picked up by their head, who aren't traumatized, can typically handle even the most obnoxious people after all. 

Here's what I've come to realize though. It's not that people are mean, it's that they are wildly opinionated and brutally honest. You must have tough skin and an opinion to keep up. THAT I am okay with. THAT I can handle. THAT I actually enjoy. I love a challenge.

The problem is, that some people in this industry use the fact that the industry is brutally honest as a free pass to be an asshole. THAT I am not okay with. This certainly doesn't apply to everyone or even most everyone. It's just something I've been thinking about for a while now. 

Why? Well, leadership studies was my undergraduate major and as a result I am hyper sensitive to managerial and leadership styles. One of the lessons  I learned early on- People like to be challenged BUT only by nice people. 

Now, I realize nice doesn't have the best brand image. It's got an unfortunate reputation for being weak. 

So here's an idea- as an industry more in tune with branding than any other, let's re-brand nice. Let's continue to be the critical, hard-working, tough loving, brutally honest people we know ourselves to be... but let's charge ourselves to find a way to inject nice in their too.