Fresh Thinking Starts Here

Amex Embraces Social Media...IN PRINT!

2009-11-04T15:03:27-05:00

I was spending some time catching up on my Fortune Small Business magazines last night, when I came across the following ad for American Express:

The really interesting thing? When was the last time you saw a print ad that actually dedicated a significant amount of space to a NEGATIVE comment from a consumer?

We spend a lot of time talking about how the world of Web 2.0 requires for brands to give up some control over the conversation and develop the necessary thick skin that allows for open and honest dialogue - not all of which will be positive. It's one thing, however, to be ok with folks making negative comments about your brand on Twitter or Facebook - an entirely different thing to actually highlight those comments and present them for the world as an acceptable opposing point of view.

Not only does Amex present the opposing point of view in this ad, it actually gives it equal space to the positive comment AND gives credit to the person and company responsible for the comment. At no point does the ad disparage the negative comment or try to actively rebut it (of course, it is implied that they agree with the other POV).

Then they ask for the reader to check out all the points at goldforbusiness.com and make up his/her own mind. A great example of leveraging the learnings from social media into a more traditional media format. I like the approach. How about you?

Brand ManageCamp 2009 - Recap and Slideshow

2009-10-15T11:14:00-04:00

via www.flickr.com

OK - so it's been over a week since Brand ManageCamp 2009 ended...but it's never too late for a recap, right????

What a fantastic couple of days we had in Las Vegas. The weather was perfect, the hotel (The Signature at MGM Grand) was terrific and we had 220+ fun, intelligent, insightful brand marketers who had come together to learn from our speakers and each other. The theme, as always, was Fresh Thinking Starts Here - and I have no doubt that most everyone left with at least a few Fresh Thoughts to get things moving in new and better directions upon returning to the office!

Guy Kawasaki (best-selling author of "The Art of the Start" and "Reality Check;" founder of Alltop.com) got things started off on the right foot with his topic on Intrapreneurism. What better person than Guy to discuss lessons learned from entrepreneurs and what they mean for folks who are trying to bring about change within the larger organizations for whom they work?

John Gerzema (best-selling author of "The Brand Bubble" and Chief Insights Officer of Y&R) then brought us up to speed on the looming crisis in brand valuations and what we can do to help avoid it.

Amber MacArthur (commandn.tv ; ambermac.com) then lit up the stage with her bright personality and her insights on what is coming next in Web 3.0 and how we can best prepare to not get left behind. She also got the whole room singing the chorus to a KISS song - although I'm still not sure how! :)

Legendary marketing guru Philip Kotler followed with a look inside the findings from his lates book "Chaotics." In addition to teaching us how to better plan in an era marked by regular turbulence, he also delved into how to get consumers to love our brands and even touched on the importance of reaching consumer's on a spiritual level that goes beyond functions and emotions. Not only was Phil fantastic to work with, he then stayed the entire length of the conference - taking copious notes from the front row and interacting with our attendees during breaks and meals!

After lunch on Day 1, Simon Bray from ?What If! gave the audience an Innovative Kick in the Pants. His combination lecture/workshop created a buzz and had attendees raving. Brilliant! (as they might say in Simon's native Great Britain)

The next session was a very interesting panel discussion on Marketing ROI led by best-selling author Kevin Clancy ("Your Gut Is Still Not Smarter Than Your Head;" Chairman of Copernicus Marketing Consulting). Kevin and his panelists (Chuck Feltz, Senior Partner of Engage Consulting; Angela Geiger, Chief Strategy Officer of the Alzheimer's Association; Leslie Joseph, VP Consumer Research and Consumer Affairs for Constellation Wines). It was great to hear real-world stories of how marketers are implementing changes that result in increased ROI!

The sessions of Day 1 were then brought to an energetic close by Jeremy Gutsche (best-selling author of "Exploiting Chaos;" founder of Trendhunter.com). Jeremy showed us how to leverage cutting edge techniques to stimulate innovative creativity, generate breakthrough ideas, identify 'clusters of inspiration' and, ultimately, unlock cool in a way that the competition cannot. Plus, he was just plain fun. A great way to end the day and lead into another fun activity - cocktails!

Amazingly, after a full day of insights, a cocktail reception and a night on their own in Las Vegas, we still had a full room at 8am on Day 2 to see Jonathan Salem Baskin (author of "Branding Only Works on Cattle," Advertising Age columnist, Information Week blogger and creator of Dim Bulb). Jonathan gave us lots to chew on (boo, hiss, bad pun tied back to the 'Cattle' reference. I'm so disappointed in myself...) with his 10 Rules for Branding in a Post-Branded World. Jonathan challenged the audience to do things differently and to fight the tide of meaningless advertising to actually use marketing to get people to do things!

Second up on Day 2 was best-selling author Charlene Li ("The Groundswell" and The Altimeter Group) who taught us to focus on the strategy when approaching social media as opposed to getting caught up in the actual technologies of the day. Sound advice!

Michael Dunn (author of "The Marketing Accountability Imperative" and Chairman of Prophet) then took an interesting approach to an ROI topic, focusing on how you can sort through the clutter of metrics, measurement, and analytical options to get to the real end goal - driving better continuous decision making and improved in-market performance across the marketing value chain.

We then shifted into the final piece of the event. With tons of actionable insights under our belt on how to better connect with customers and grow our brands, our last two speakers focused on softer (albeit no less important) topics.

Rick Smith, founder of World50 and best-selling author of "The Leap,"covered the 3 steps we need to follow in order to unlock the potential we have within us as well as the potential within those we lead. It was an inspirational story that had many in the room thinking hard about where careers were headed and how best to move them in the right direction. Plus - his slides were produced by the same folks who did Al Gore's! Pretty cool.

The conference was then brought to a close by ex-FBI agent, spy-hunter, and author Joe Navarro ("What Every BODY Is Saying") who showed us the importance of non-verbal communication and how best to recognize the tells of those we are talking with as well as how to manage our own tells. It was fascinating content delivered in an engaging way. Plus - being in Vegas - he left us with a couple of tips for how to read people at the poker tables! (unfortunately, I still lost money - but I'm guessing that was 'user error').

I am so grateful to all of the speakers and, especially, all of the fantastic folks who took two days out of their busy schedules to join us for Brand ManageCamp 2009. I had a great time and am already looking forward to more Fresh Thinking in 2010!

EXPLOITING CHAOS - free chapter download from BMC2009 speaker Jeremy Gutsche

2009-09-08T11:14:34-04:00

via www.exploitingchaos.com

We love it when Brand ManageCamp speakers come out with new books right before the conference. It means we get to be among the first to hear about their new work right from the source! This one is even more special as BMC2009 speaker Jeremy Gutsche is making the first chapter of his new book - 'Exploiting Chaos' - available for FREE download!

It's an amazing book that looks like none you've ever seen before and is filled with '150 ways to spark innovation during times of change.' I think you'll agree, this is the perfect time for it!

Enjoy!

http://www.trendhunter.com/images/EXPLOITING-CHAOS-Sample.pdf

Fresh Thinking Moment #2 - Simon Bray (?What If! Innnovation)

2009-08-27T10:49:22-04:00

In this second installment of our Fresh Thinking Moment series, Simon Bray (Head of Capabilities for ?What If! Innovation and speaker at the upcoming Brand ManageCamp 2009) explains his views on 'Fresh Thinking.' Highlights include:

The need to get outside your comfort zone by going to new and different places for inspiration as well as the need to challenge existing rules and assumptions
The 'Fresh Thinking' behind Hyundai's Assurance promotion
How to generate inspiration by structuring new and different activities into your life. Simon's own examples include joining a story-telling group and getting together with a bunch of folks he doesn't know in NYC to only speak French with each other (and none of them are native or fluent French speakers!)

Simon is a brilliant guy (and he's British - so everything he says sounds smart anyway) with some fantastic ideas on 'Fresh Thinking.' Check out the video below to hear them directly from Simon himself. And for more Simon, be sure to join us at Brand ManageCamp 2009 in Las Vegas on October 5-6!

Fresh Thinking Moment #1 - John Gerzema

2009-08-21T13:04:17-04:00

This is a new feature I am really excited to bring to the blog. Through the Brand ManageCamp conferences, as well as our other activities, I am blessed to come into contact with so many brilliant thinkers. Some of them are authors/speakers, others are just visionaries from the corporate world.

Starting now, and recurring as often as I can, I am going to be posting short videos of these folks - all answering the same three questions:

1 - What does "Fresh Thinking" mean to you?
2 - What is a recent example you have seen of "Fresh Thinking?"
3 - Where do you get the inspiration for your own "Fresh Thinking?"

So, without any further ado, here is the first installment of what we are calling the "Fresh Thinking Moment." Take a peek as John Gerzema (Best-selling author of "The Brand Bubble," Chief Insights Officer of Y&R and Brand ManageCamp 2009 speaker) talks about the importance of focusing on the ever-changing consumer, Frito Lay's big win with adapting promotion cycles to pay cycles, and the inspiration he gets from his tweeps.

Enjoy!

How Simple Observation Can Take A Good Idea To Great

2009-08-03T11:52:58-04:00

Here's a story of an idea almost executed very well. Last night my wife had a hunkering for pasta and so off the family went to our local Macaroni Grill. It's been a while since we have been there and, I must admit, the restaurant was far nicer than I had remembered or the name does it justice.

(Macaroni Grill has always felt 'factory-like' and has never done it for me in terms of inspiring thoughts of delicious Italian cuisine. In that space, The Olive Garden does far better in communicating taste and ambiance via a brand name...but that's neither here nor there for this post...moving on...)

As our family consists of my wife and I and our two young daughters (ages 5 1/2 and 2), the existence of a kids menu is always appreciated - especially when it includes some healthy options. As you can see above, we were pleasantly surprised by Macaroni Grill's offering on this point. Two fun looking kids menus were placed in front of our children. They included games and stuff and had the above kids menu on the back cover. We immediately noticed that, in addition to the normal kids fare, they also offered a Chicken and Broccoli dish. Perfect! Kudos to them!

We ordered the kids some milk - which came in kids cups with straws, so the Macaroni Grill team clearly understands that kids' drinking needs are different than adults and that a sturdy plastic cup with lid and straw is mandatory to avoid the spills and messes sure to come without them.

However, once the kids meals came, it was clear that the understanding of kids' eating behaviors stopped with the drinks...(to be fair - this is fairly common across most restaurants and chains, so I'm not trying to pick on Macaroni Grill here - just that we were eating there last night and it became a 'teachable moment' :))

Notice a couple of things within this picture:

1 - The fork my 2 yr old has to use is about the size of her head. Each forkful brought with it the danger of her puncturing the back of her throat. When we asked the server for a smaller fork - perhaps a salad fork even - she let us know they only carry one size.

2 - The plate is a bread plate that we portioned out the meal onto for her (same for our 5 year old, not in the picture...). Those with kids know that they aren't the most coordinated when it comes to forking food - hence a bowl or some sort of plate with a raised side is helpful to give them something to push against. Would help avoid a lot of the mess you see.

3 - OK, you can't tell this one by the picture, but the Chicken with Broccoli dish came as it would have for an adult. A full size chicken breast and several large pieces of broccoli. Not exactly kid friendly. So...before my wife and I could start to eat our meals, we had to cut up the kids meals and do some portion control.

Please keep in mind that this post is not meant to be a whiny customer service complaint - although that is something I reserve the right to do at a later time. The key point here is that some simple consumer observation by any restaurant chain would quickly recognize that kids eat differently than adults and have very different needs. (quick props to past BMC speaker Scott Williams, now CMO of Morgans Hotel Group and past Chief Creative Officer of Starwood Hotels, who is a HUGE proponent of the virtues of consumer observation).

Such observations would most likely lead to the following 'innovations':

1 - Kid-friendly eating wares that extend beyond just plastic cups. Simple observation would dictate that any establishment that wants to be kid-friendly should have some kids plates/bowls and kids utensils ready.

2 - Kid portion sizes. Has anybody NOT heard about the problem of childhood obesity? Kid portions at restaurants should be just that - sized for kids. Not just blander adult meals.

3 - Kid food sizing. Watch any family with young kids and the first thing they will do when a plate of food comes is start cutting it down to size. Why not just deliver the meals already cut to bite sized pieces? Save the parents some time and effort and show them that you actually understand the difficulties of eating out with young children.

Just one easy example of how some simple consumer observations can take a good idea to great. I cannot stress enough the value of just watching your consumers interact with your products/services. If you haven't lately, start planning right now for when you will!

Business Brandicitis

2009-07-08T15:31:10-04:00

I was having a conversation with one of my favorite authors, brand-gurus, and all-around-great-guys, Tom Asacker (acleareye.com ; A Little Less Conversation ; A Clear Eye For Branding) the other day and somehow we got on the topic of appendicitis. Of course, we both immediately made the link to brands (what else?) and the following blog post is the result. I really like it - we (Tom and I) hope you do too...

Business Brandicitis

Have you ever wondered why virtually every time you hear of someone being treated for appendicitis, it turns out to be an emergency case?

This happened to my father years ago. He hadn’t been feeling well for a couple of days and the next thing I knew he was being rushed to the hospital with an appendix that was ready to explode.

Why does it seem that your appendix is either fine, or moments away from bursting and spreading deadly toxins throughout your system? Does it go off like a time bomb, with no warning? Does it all happen so fast that there is no chance of catching it earlier, if only to be able to go through the unavoidable surgery in a less frantic and harried state?

Not really. In fact, the symptoms of appendicitis usually develop over a period of up to 48 hours.

The problem is that the early warning signs are often easily explained away by other, more benign theories. The stomach pain is typically attributed to something we ate, stress or constipation, which seems to make sense based on our generally poor diets, and sedentary, stressful lives. And so we allow ourselves to CORRELATE the pain we are experiencing with the things we’ve done that help explain it away.

However, CORRELATION is not CAUSATION, and so many cases of appendicitis are misdiagnosed until the pain becomes so severe and the patient is so sick that the easier explanations no longer make sense. Unfortunately, by that time the only answer is emergency surgery (which is never as good as nonemergency surgery).

Of course, this CORRELATION/CAUSATION error is made all the time in business (think GM). The difference is that with appendicitis, you will figure out your mistake within 48 hours. With business, you could end up hiding the real issues for years while you explain them away with any number of convenient theories like the economy, the weather, the shift in media consumption, the political climate, the uninformed consumers, etc.

The actual cause of this behavior is, most often, a lack of perspective. We become so overconfident in our understanding of our businesses that our brains automatically fill in the blanks with the most logical and expedient answers given our experience and history. Without the benefit of a new lens or an outside perspective, everything can be made to make sense within the context of the most palatable of explanations.

Eventually, however, the organization’s brand will burst. And when it does, the options left on the table will be few and unappetizing.

So what can you do? The answer is easy - ensure that you are frequently soliciting points of view from people who are not so close to, and so vested in, your business that they will avoid the tough questions.

In our personal lives, we have doctors. Most of us don’t see them until it is too late - we are already sick - but we know we should be visiting them at least once a year. They do tests and ask questions and aren’t swayed by the fact that you’ve felt a certain way for so long that it has begun to feel like normal. They also derive no benefit by overlooking or explaining away potential underlying problems.

Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean you need to surround yourself with an army of consultants. However, you must allow your business, your brands, to be inspected by trusted allies who live outside the fold. People who will ask the tough questions, administer the right tests, and not look for the easiest and least painful explanations.

For, in issues of health – both personal and business – it is best to address small problems early than big problems late. Sure, saving a patient with appendicitis has become routine. But saving an organization with brandicitis is far from it.

Marketers Need a New Definition of 'Loyalty'

2009-06-22T11:04:12-04:00

"Package-Goods Brands Lose Loyalists in Recession." So reads the article headline on AdAge.com today. The gist of the article is that as the recession has bore on, brand loyalty has suffered, with over half of the consumers who said they were highly loyal to a brand in 2007 becoming significantly less so a year later.

The article points out that brands like Coca-Cola, J.M. Smuckers', Folgers, and Thomas' English Muffins came out much better - they "kept more than 60% of their highly loyal consumers from 2007; Coke and Thomas' retained more than three-quarters."

Conclusions from the article: the more brands spent, the better they fared; and losing brand loyalists is costly.

So, here's the problem I have with all this. The actual definition of loyal is:

"unswerving in allegiance"

Notice the first word - UNSWERVING. When half of your 'loyalists' desert you when times get rough, it is hard to consider them loyal in the first place. They might have been friends, but you certainly weren't married.

In fact, given that brands that spent more fared better, one can begin to question whether loyalty truly exists in brand relationships. Many studies have pointed out that your most 'loyal' consumers are quite often your least profitable. This is because 'loyalty' is often confused with 'bribery.'

Here's a hint - if your 'loyal' consumers jump ship based on price or promotions, they were never loyal to begin with. Your relationship with them was a fleeting one of convenience and affordability/value and they dumped you as soon as something better/more convenience/more affordable/more valuable came along.

You would never talk about how many of your loyal friends ditched you when you were going through a problem period. The very fact that they are loyal would imply that they stuck with you through thick and thin, better and worse, etc...

So don't fool yourself by talking about your consumers/customers as loyal just because they keep buying from you (mostly on deal, coupon, or special offers). Your TRULY loyal consumers are those who won't switch based on price or deals - they are the ones who somehow have created a bond with your brand that is strong enough to weather the ups and downs of relationships.

There are lots of studies, thoughts and opinions on 'brand loyalty.' However, I think that the world of marketing would benefit greatly by a change of terms in this field, as the word 'loyalty' implies things about your consumers that, most often, are far from the truth...

Survey Respondents Craft Brand ManageCamp 2009 Agenda - Travel Stimulus Program Announced

2009-05-08T12:02:01-04:00

After months of preparation and planning, Brand ManageCamp 2009 is now officially ready for registration! A few months ago, we circulated a survey that included 40 potential speaker choices for BMC2009. Based on over 340 responses, we crafted the conference people want to see - including an all-star agenda of the best and brightest in brand thinking, such as:

Philip Kotler - Marketing Strategy Legend; Best-selling author of dozens of books including the upcoming Chaotics as well as Marketing Management, Principles of Marketing, Ten Deadly Marketing Sins, and more
Guy Kawasaki - Best-selling author of Reality Check and The Art of The Start; founder of Alltop.com and Truemors; former Apple Fellow; Managing Director of Garage Technology Ventures
John Gerzema - Best-selling author of The Brand Bubble: The Looming Crisis in Brand Value and How To Avoid It; Chief Insights Officer of Y&R
Charlene Li - Best-selling author of Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed By Social Technologies; Founder of Altimeter Group
Jonathan Salem Baskin - Author of Branding Only Works on Cattle; Advertising Age columnist; Information Week blogger; Creator of Dim Bulb
Amber MacArthur - New Media Specialist; One of the 50 Most Influential Female Bloggers; NOW Magazine's "Best Geek Personality" of 2006; Host of CommandN.tv; AmberMac.com
Jeremy Gutsche - Founder of Trendhunter.com - the world's largest network for trend spotting and innovation
Michael Dunn - Author of The Marketing Accountability Imperative; CEO & Chairman of Prophet
Jim Lecinksi - Google's Managing Director of Central Region
Simon Bray - Innovation Expert; Head of Capability for ?What If! North America
Joe Navarro - Author of What Every BODY Is Saying; 25 year veteran of the FBI; Founding Member of the National Security Division's Behavioral Analysis Program
and more...

Announcing the Brand ManageCamp Travel Stimulus Plan

We know a lot of folks are experiencing some pressure on their travel budgets. To make it as easy as possible for you to register for Brand ManageCamp 2009, we have created a Travel Stimulus Program. Register before June 1st, 2009 and you could save $500 AND Fly/Stay for FREE! Check out the details...

FREE Summer Webinar Series

As if the amazing agenda and the Travel Stimulus Plan weren't enough... As it turns out, we had far more fantastic speakers identified then we could fit in the actual 2 day agenda at Brand ManageCamp. So, instead of letting all that great content go to waste, we will be providing a FREE Summer Webinar Series - only available to BMC2009 Registrants. These webinars will feature folks like:

Tom Asacker - Best-selling author of A Little Less Conversation and A Clear Eye For Branding; acleareye.com
David Meerman Scott - Best-selling author of World Wide Rave and The New Rules of Marketing & PR
Linda Kaplan Thaler - CEO & Chief Creative Officer of Kaplan Thaler Group; author of Bang! Getting Your Message Heard in a Noisy World, The Power of Small, and The Power of Nice
Kate Newlin - Author of Passion Brands: Why Some Brands Are Just Gotta Have, Drive All Night For, and Tell Your Friends All About
Hamish Pringle - Author of Brand Immortality: How Brands Can Live Long and Prosper; Director General of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising - the UK's leading trade and professional body for advertising, media and marketing communications agencies
and more...

We hope you will join us October 5-6 in Las Vegas!!!!

Fight The Lure Of The 80/20 Rule!

2009-04-02T12:04:55-04:00

If you are a brand marketer, I can almost guarantee that at some point in time you have invoked the 80/20 Rule. To be clear, this is different than the 5 second rule which allows you to safely eat any food that hasn't been on the floor for more than 5 seconds. The 80/20 rule is what happens when marketers say "80% of our sales come from 20% of our customers - so if we can just find and focus on that 20% we can get better bang for our marketing bucks."

Admit it - you have a slide in a deck (or multiple slides in multiple decks) that invoke this rule. Here is my advice - throw those slides away. They are the manifestation of everything within us that biases us towards the path of least resistance.

I submit that the 80/20 Rule and the subsequent search for the holy grail of that 20% is indicative of a big problem in brand marketing today. Forget about the fact that most of the time folks focus on the 20% that deliver 80% of the SALES - as opposed to 80% of the PROFITS (in reality - those 20% are actually your LEAST profitable customers as they are the most price sensitive and buy mostly on deal or with huge discounts). The real problem is that the 80/20 Rule, by definition, focuses on the status quo and limits your view of your potential market.

Look at it this way - if you buy into the fact that 20% deliver 80%, you are then predisposed to protecting that 20%. You become scared of doing anything that jeopardizes that 20% and you become biased towards the status quo. I mean, if what you have been doing is right for those 20% what impetus do you have for change?

The real question you should be asking is "Why can't I get more from the other 80%?" And, if you start asking that question, you will start looking at the 20% that are your heavy users in a completely different way. You will start looking at them to try to figure out how they are different than the other 80%. How do they think differently about your brand? How do they use your brand differently? Why do they use so much more than your light or non users?

The goal of asking those questions is not to protect the 20%, but instead to take those learnings and use them to try to convert the other 80% into heavier users.

So, fight the lure of the 80/20 Rule. At the very least, turn it upside down. Don't be content with having 20%. Learn from them and uncover the secrets to unlocking the potential in the other 80% of your market.