Thanks Unplggd for the images.

Three is a powerful number. It shows up a lot, in everything from fairy tales to scientific and basic human concepts. We all cherish the stories about the three little pigs and the three bears. There are three parts — a beginning, middle and end — to all things. In school we learn about the three elements to the structure of life (protein, fat, carbohydrates), the three elements that make up an atom (proton, neutron, electron) and the three branches of government (federal, state, local). We have three meal times (breakfast, lunch, dinner), three stages of life (young, middle age, old), three Olympic medals (gold, silver, bronze) and we often make three golden rules to succeed in some sort of task.

At Go East we value what has already been established and successful and use it to succeed in what we do. We have seen what the power of three can do, so we also use a three-pronged approach to solving complex marketing communication challenges. We have an account executive, project manager and an art director on all projects related to a brand. This three-person team is responsible for knowing the client, the history of the project and the brand. This approach allows us to quickly make good decisions about what is needed. At the onset of a project, the three team players interact and conquer many of the project’s complexities right away. We know who to pull in, what to do, when to do it, why we can or can’t do some things and how to begin. We all have our own perspectives based on what our position is, so we have a lot of information covered without a lot of extra meetings — saving time and budget dollars.

We have proven the success of the power of three many times in the years we have had this team approach in place. Best of all, we have formed some great working relationships and friendships along the way.

It was fabulous. For those that haven’t,  I highly recommend reading it. It’s a new way of thinking about what defines success.

In the beginning of the book, I wasn’t sure where Mr. Gladwell was going with his theory on how to be successful. For instance, one of the examples he used is that an overwhelming majority of “successful” hockey players are born in either January, February or March. Something as arbitrary as this makes a person feel helpless in paving their own success path. But as the book progressed, he dug deeper and revealed that there are ways to influence success in our lives.

Translating the core of the book’s message to the marketing communications world, the question becomes: Why do some brands succeed, while so many more never reach their potential? Gladwell would say that successful brands don’t rise out of nowhere. Instead, “they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot.”

Putting the theories outlined in this book in the context of marketing communications, it totally shifts the way I think about planning for my clients. The tried and true is not so relevant. In fact, it’s sure to lead to mediocrity. How can we make our brands true outliers?

1. Practice. To truly stand apart from the crowd it takes 10,000 hours of practice, according to Mr. Gladwell. What does that mean for a brand? First and foremost it means that marketing can’t be viewed as an expense. It needs to be an investment. A serious investment with experienced professionals leading the way.
2. Seek opportunities. Not only that: Take advantage of them. This is almost a subcategory of practicing. Get out there. Listen to what your customers are saying. Maximize those opportunities. Had Bill Gates not snuck out of his house every night between 3 and 6  a.m. to get in extra time on the computer at the nearby university, he would not be the man he is today. Breaking the rules to take advantage of opportunities is what will truly set your brand apart.
3. Surround yourself with like-minded team members. Both internal and external partners. Those that support your desire to drive the brand towards true marketplace dominance. People who not only say “good job” but also work with you to meet that goal. An “I’ll do whatever you tell me,” partner is not going to make your job easier. Seek true thought leaders.

Thinking of Gladwell’s book in the context of marketing communications is super exciting. There is so much potential for so many brands and the formula for success is clearly spelled out.

Who is your favorite risk taker?

A few years ago, when I was living in Eagan, I stopped in Jensen’s Supper Club one night for a beer. I sat at the bar, watched a little TV, paid my $6 tab with my debit card and went home. Upon reviewing my bank statement about a month later I saw, to my horror, that this little nightcap cost me $224.16!

Obviously, someone screwed up and switched my card with someone else’s card. So while I was sipping a Summit Extra Pale priced more like a bottle of a Château Mouton Rothschild ’45, a party of four in close proximity enjoyed a dinner of succulent cuisine at a very, very reasonable price!

Subsequently, around 3:30 on a Saturday, armed with copies of both my bank statement and humble brew receipt, I walked into Jensen’s and asked the host if I could speak with the manager. I was immediately given the bum’s rush and told that they were busy preparing for the dinner crowd. I briefly explained my situation and after trying to blow me off again, the host reluctantly came back with the manager in tow. “Is there a problem?” he asked. I explained the situation again and was told that it must be an accounting error on my part and besides, why did I wait almost a month before noticing it? (Answer: because I didn’t receive my bank statement until about a month later.)

Finally, he agreed to “look into it,” a response that was ultimately scripted to get me out the door.

Next, I went to my bank to advise them of the restaurant’s error so that I would not potentially be hit with an overdraft fee due to the bogus charge. The teller looked at me with tired apathy. She had obviously been down this road before, probably on a daily basis, from clients who didn’t know how to manage their finances and chose to blame a large institution possessing superior financial skills.

She gave me a few forms to fill out, along with her business card, but her look told me that she didn’t believe me. With my personal reputation now on the line, I told her “I will be back with a check from the restaurant, and I am going to ask for you personally when I am ready to deposit it!”

It took about another week of me calling the restaurant and leaving messages, before I finally received a message back from them: “Mr. Madore, we found the error and you are correct. A waitress mixed up your card with someone else’s and the amounts were switched. We are so, so sorry. Please call us to make arrangements to pick up your check.”

Vindication was finally mine (not to mention the cash)!

I picked up my check the next day, where I was given another apology, this time in person. “Please accept our apology, Mr. Madore. We are so sorry for the inconvenience.”

Next, I called the bank to make sure the same teller was on duty (she was). As I approached her, I said “Hi! Remember me? The guy with the bad charge from Jensen’s Supper Club? Well, here it is!”

She looked at me like I had three heads! Her former tired apathy was now replaced with enthusiastic courtesy! Vindication was mine — a second time (not to mention the cash)!

Basking in the glow of another round of “please” and “thank you,” I deposited my check with my dignity restored.

Both Jensen’s Supper Club and TCF Bank ultimately did right by me as a customer.

If only they would have treated me that way from the beginning …

Brand strategy helps a company discover what relevant, credible differentiation it holds as well as what is at the heart of the company. It documents what the company or product is about, and that allows it to stand out beyond features and benefits. Brand strategy brings personality and life.

Bottom line: You simply cannot go into the social media arena with product features and benefits. Believe me, your brand will take a blow if you do. To use social media to focus solely on product features and benefits is like entering a pre-existing conversation and changing the topic to focus on yourself. That’s a big no-no.

Ultimately you are building your brand. So what do you talk about?

Relevancy
What does your community value? What does your audience care about? To determine this, the first step is to LISTEN. Then ask yourself what you can bring to the conversation or experience.

Credible differentiation
Know what is behind your great product. Is it thought leadership that can lead to sharing brilliant insights? Deep expertise that can form great education? Maybe an ingenious spirit that can bring creativity to the conversation? Develop a social media marketing strategy based on how you are positioning your company as outlined in your brand platform.

Sum it up
You have listened. You understand. Now engage, not impose.

This means that, in connection planning, we have to let customers drive. At Go East we believe that, as marketers, we have to take on the role of the passenger by listening and observing. It’s not about sending messages out; it’s about having a conversation and adapting to feedback and sometimes to the fickle nature of the consumer.

Luckily, today it’s easier than ever to listen to customers through social media channels. If you think about it, it’s really what marketing is all about in its most simple form: identifying a consumer need and then developing a product and/or service to meet that need. It’s listening to the customers first and responding to their needs and wants, rather than trying to predict them.

Ultimately, connection planning requires developing some principles and discipline for how to respond quickly. First, it’s deciding who will respond to consumer comments and questions. And secondly, it’s setting up standards for how to respond in a timely manner. Connection planning is constant. It requires adjusting your plan to consider what you are learning on a frequent basis.

How do you connect with customers?

Marketers are not immune to unintended messages either. I came across a list of  “Top 13 Worst Marketing Slogan Translations Ever” and thought I would share a few.  I’ve narrowed it down to my top four. You can see the entire list here.

1. An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market that promoted the Pope’s visit. Instead of “I saw the Pope” (el Papa), the shirts read “I saw the Potato” (la papa).
2. Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following tagline in an American campaign: “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.”
3. Pepsi’s “Come alive with the Pepsi Generation” translated into “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave” in Chinese.
4. When American Airlines wanted to advertise its new leather seats in first class to the Mexican market, it used “Fly in leather,” which means “Fly naked” (Vuela en cuero) in Spanish.

Like these? You might also enjoy the “Top 10 Worst Marketing Gaffes, Flops and Disasters.”

These are good reminders that we need to consider all of our audiences and what we’re saying when it comes to our integrated marketing efforts.

1. “Integrated marketing communications is a term used to describe a holistic approach to marketing communication. It aims to ensure consistency of message and the complementary use of media. The concept includes online and offline marketing channels.”

2. A different way of saying that is: “The practice of blending different elements of the communication mix in mutually reinforcing ways.”

3. “A strategy in which a company coordinates advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, and publicity in order to present a single consistent image for the product and the company.”

And my favorite:

4. “Where all aspects of a company’s promotional efforts work together with a unified purpose to deliver a consistent and positive message; [integrated marketing communications] recognizes that all contact points with customers and prospects are important, from the truck making a delivery to the CEO in the news.”

I have a favorite, yet I don’t believe any of the above definitions are 100 percent accurate. Here’s what I consider my perfect definition. It’s worked well for me in my experiences at Go East. It’s an amalgam of the above, with new content as well:

Integrated marketing communications is a holistic approach to marketing communication. It aims to ensure consistency of message and the blending of different elements of the communication mix in mutually reinforcing ways. The goal is to present a consistent message to the core audience(s) in a variety of channels, including online and offline efforts involving advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and PR. It recognizes that all contact points with customers are important and that while the way in which a company should communicate is different from tactic to tactic, the same key message can and should be delivered.

What do you think? I’m especially fond of the last sentence. How do you define integrated marketing communications?

It’s refreshing to see companies walking the talk, so to speak. A value like “innovation” is easy to demonstrate. Which is great. On the other hand, how can companies demonstrate an intangible value such as “integrity”?

Recently, I heard that a potential client had commented on Go East’s integrity. As one of our core values, it’s good we’ve found a way to demonstrate something intangible. But what is it? What did we do in that meeting that demonstrated integrity?  What does integrity really mean?

The word “integrity” is a noun that means “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.” I think the most obvious way to demonstrate integrity is to do what you say you’ll do and if you don’t do what you said you would do, then take ownership of the mistake. It’s an important value, especially in a service business such as Go East’s.

But in the case of a potential client — where you haven’t even had a chance to make a recommendation, much less fullfill the promise — how can you exude integrity?  Thinking back on the meeting we had with the potential client, I can think of six key things that indicated we could be relied on to be an agency of integrity:

1. Make eye contact. You’d be surprised how many people cannot (or do not) do this. Right or wrong, when I meet new people, I make some initial judgments on a person’s quality of character based on their handshake and their ability to make/keep eye contact.
2. Answer questions directly.  Avoid dancing around the question. Avoid buzzwords. Just answer the question. Embedded in this point is to always be truthful in your answers. People innately know when you’re jive-talking.
3. Ask questions. The point here is to clarify and demonstrate interest in the other person. But you must be relevant and your questions must be authentic. You have to truly want or need to know the answers.
4. You can probably guess what this is based on #2 and #3 above. Listen. Listening skills aren’t natural — a person really needs to practice. A good listener uses all their senses to really absorb the full impact of what others are saying. (Ok, maybe they don’t smell the speaker.)
5. Don’t kowtow. This goes back to being authentic. There’s nothing less authentic than ass-kissing.
6. Be gracious. Thank your contact for spending the time with you. (Don’t overdo it though, then you’re back to kowtowing).

I believe that integrity can be demonstrated and the items above are ways to do so when you’re in a situation with a new person. But I also believe that integrity can’t be faked. So much of integrity is authenticity, which to me is something you just “feel.” (That’s a whole different philosophical topic…)

Integrity is important to many people and I know it made a difference with this particular person because she is now an actual client rather than a potential client.

What are your thoughts on this? I informally polled my friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter about this topic and received a lot of passionate results ranging from “integrity is everything to me” to “integrity is doing the right thing even if it feels wrong and yet, doing the perceived “wrong” thing because you know it’s right!”

How do you think this can be carried over into relationships with others, personal and business? How do you demonstrate integrity as a professional? Do you think anyone can demonstrate integrity? How important is integrity to you?

This is the time of year that strategic planning happens in all types of organizations and, while marketing communications plans typically measure out 3-5 years and are important to the big picture, the reality is that day-to-day planning is just as important. That’s probably why many of you responded “a week” or “a month” in answer to the question, “how far in advance do you plan?”

See for yourself how others in the marketing and marketing communications field are planning.

What are the implications of these results? Well, frankly, this is good news for our Post-it® Brand clients! Lists are still the primary way many people figure out what they have to do! There’s a note for that! (Even the “Magic 8-Ball” answer likely indicates something on paper!)

Whether you’re planning strategically or day-to-day, it’s important to have a process that works for you. The lesson in this poll is that everyone’s process is different and that’s OK as long as it works. But let’s not dismiss day-to-day planning as something that can’t be foreseen or planned for. A well-written marketing communications plan will align with the strategic plan and give you the opportunity to be efficient with your time and budget.

After polling our clients, we decided to look at how Go East-ers approach planning — watch the video here.

Working with New York-based CBS Television, Alberto has designed and launched websites, graphics and multimedia presentations for “CBS Evening News,” “Sunday Morning,” “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “60 Minutes.” He has created award-winning, innovative websites and social media initiatives for a wide range of clients, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies, including OfficeMax, Thomson Reuters and Travelers. Executing well over 100 websites in 13 years, he is dedicated to bringing the freshest ideas to the table, all the while keeping the importance of brand and consumer relationships top of mind.

Go East is a design and interactive media firm that turns business ideas into successful marketplace results. Its clients include GE, Target, Smead, United Hospital, Travelers and 3M brands including Post-it®, Thinsulate™ and Scotch-Brite®. For more information about Go East, visit goeastdesign.com.

Engaging: To cause someone to become involved in

Meaningful: Having a serious, important or useful quality or purpose

We can plan for meaningful content, but when we engage with our customers, we don’t know what will happen. Planning for social media almost seems like an oxymoron, right? How can you plan for something that is dynamic and kinetic? Well, think of how kinetic it would feel without a plan!

A good social media plan is created with a strategic, proven methodology. It’s about setting clear and measurable objectives. It’s about ongoing engagement. It’s about listening. It’s about reporting. It’s about being relevant. It’s about a lot of things, but it is not about creating a Facebook page and it’s not about you.

One other important thing about social media strategy is that it’s integrated with your brand strategy. All of your consumer touch points should be aligned with the same objectives. After all, social media — although a beast with its own set of rules — is just another consumer touch point.

How challenging is it for you to integrate your social media strategy with your brand strategy? How have you overcome those challenges?

I’ve learned through my Go East and Mary Kay training that planning your six most important things to do each day helps you accomplish, little by little, all the things you need to accomplish. It’s best to write your to-do list the night before you need to do the tasks. That way you won’t end up in the thick of chaos the next day and think, “I wish I’d made that list.”

Write your list just after dinner or before bed. Choose a time when you can think and your head is clear. The next day, you’ll wake up refreshed, rested and ready to tackle your list. Not only does preparing your list ahead of time give you a sense of being in control of your day, it also provides a great sense of accomplishment when you cross something off of it. You are organized, productive and accomplished!

What are your six most important things to do tomorrow? I challenge you to try this.

Go East is a brand, design and interactive media firm that brings brands vividly to life for national and regional, large and mid-size businesses. We help our clients define and articulate their brands, develop integrated communication programs and create powerful creative solutions and relevant experiences in all media.

Job Description

Go East seeks an Interactive Producer to join our growing interactive team. With the Interactive Director, the Interactive Producer leads strategic development, planning and production on a wide variety of websites and other interactive solutions. As the project lead, the Producer works closely with the account, creative and project management teams to understand and implement the needed steps of a successful interactive project. This is a client-facing role and the Producer is an important ambassador for Go East on interactive projects.

This is a 30–40 hours per week, on-site, contract position with the possibility of becoming permanent, full time

Responsibilities

1. With the account and creative teams, craft vision and strategy for interactive solutions
2. Define and document the vision, strategy and implementation plans for interactive projects, based on the creative brief and/or discussions with the account and creative teams.
3. Work with internal teams to develop pricing estimates based on the strategy, technology and functionality requirements
4. Develop site maps, outlines and wireframes and other architecture needs
5. Define and document all required project tasks
6. Communicate with clients — partner with Account Services to obtain client information, sign-offs, content, and other assets needed to ensure successful completion of the project
7. Partner with the creative staff to develop outstanding relevant solutions and appropriate content, based on the vision of the project
8. Work with internal and external resources to determine, plan for and manage programming and development needs
9. Act as Quality Assurance lead, ensuring the project meets the vision and objectives outlined in the scope accurately and successfully
10. Manage project budget, timelines, external resources and timelines

Requirements

This position requires 3–5 years of experience producing interactive solutions, including supervising workflow. Excellent strategic thinking, project management and strong verbal and written communication skills are required, as are the abilities to collaborate, manage multiple projects, meet deadlines and actively listen. Knowledge of integrated marketing a plus. A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field is preferred.

Please provide a cover letter, resume and samples of strategic documents you have authored. Your resume should include evidence of solid strategic skills, website development, digital/interactive marketing or digital agency experience.

Growing up, the new school year began after the Labor Day holiday. As an adult, my “new” year starts in September and involves a new wardrobe, new calendar, fall cleaning, organizing my home and creating new goals. While the business world continues to plan — and often recognizes a January-December fiscal year — fall is a great time to re-engage your personal brand and re-charge your efforts to be organized in your personal and business lives.

Start anew and revitalize your life by meeting your personal goals, while also being proactive with your schedule by:

• Actively responding to meeting invitations in a timely manner
• Being on time to events (this includes lunch with your best friend and internal business meetings!)
• Weighing the outcome of taking on too much responsibility. Whether it’s volunteering or signing up for too many activities, don’t over commit and get yourself in a bind!

A few strategies that I have found helpful are:

• Use a single planning tool (e.g., FranklinCovey®Planner, Google Calendar, iCal, etc.). Choose a tool that reflects how you manage your time: Are you on the go? Usually at your desk? Are you a visual person who needs to reference a physical calendar?
• Make sure you account for all reoccurring meetings so you don’t miss a beat.
• Be planful … plan ahead as best you can.
• Refer to previous goal-setting documents and see where your areas of growth have been. You can also initiate new goals in areas where you fell short in the previous year.

Enjoy your summer but consider embracing the new New Year. Fall is the season for a fresh start.