Do Yourself a Favor, Get Some Good Ideas

I recently received an email from Piers Fawkes, asking me to pass along a little information about a conference he is hosting: PSFK Good Ideas Salon coming up January 30th in London.

You can find all the details you need here: http://www.psfk.com/good-ideas-salon-london

To see a video of a Good Ideas Salon that PSFK held in NY you can check it out here: http://www.psfk.com/2008/12/video-good-ideas-in-2009-in-digital.html

Typically, I wouldn’t just pass along information just becuase someone sends me an email. I am doing so now for a number of reasons.

1. I have seen Piers speak at a conference before and he seems to always have some really interesting things to pass along.
2. The line-up of speakers really looks amazing and I am sad that I won’t be able to attend myself.
3. Perhaps the most important reason, I have followed PSFK for years. Piers and his team have consistently delivered interesting and relevant content and never asked anything from me in return. Until now, of course.

It is that last point that I find interesting, and it seems like something all brands in the social media world could take a lesson from. You never know when you are going to need a favor, or who you will need/want help from; so treat everyone as best as you can all the time. Of course, the odds are that PSFK doesn’t really need my help to sell tickets, but what if they did? Or, what if they had some sort of crisis where they needed to rally support, I would probably be there to help out. This is becuase we already have an established relationship, and through all the content and inspiration they have given me over the years I feel I owe them a little something in return. I see it a little like Don Corleone from the Godfather, when he says, “Someday – and that day may never come – I’ll call upon you to do a service for me. But until that day, accept this justice as a gift on my daughter’s  wedding day.” As a company/brand you may never need a favor from your consumers, but itsn’t it worth treating them with respect and doing nice things for them, knowing that if that day does come they’ll be there.

A message to brands on Facebook, it takes heart

I recently came across this article, Advertisers Face Hurdles on Social Networking Sites, written by Randall Stross in the New York Times. In the article Mr. Stross focuses on Procter & Gamble’s foray into advertising and brand building in social networks, specifically Facebook. From reading the article, highlighting P&G’s successes or lack thereof, you would have to agree with the conclusion that advertising on social networks is, as the article posits, ‘stillborn.’ Hurdles certainly do exist for brands on social networks and they come in the form of savvy audiences that easily ignore banner advertising and the simple truth that social network users are there to connect with friends, not brands.

I don’t think it is impossible for brands to connect with consumers on Facebook, although banner ads may not be the best way. The question that seems to determine success is, where does the brand exist in the consumer conscious already? P&G’s Facebook page for Crest Whitestrips, presumably the company’s most successful, has less than 10,000 fans. Only 10,000 fans, even after incorporating free movie screenings, sponsored concerts and contests with product giveaways, not exactly a shining example. Another P&G brand, Tide, has even lower popularity with only 640 fans. These are powerhouse brands, with amazing amounts of recognition, so why can’t they get more fans? As I see it, the problem is that these are rational/commodity brands. They exist in the head, not the heart. Being a “fan” or friend with Tide, to me, is a little like being a friend with Exxon or salt. Sure, gas makes my car go and salt adds flavor to my food, but there isn’t a particularly strong emotional reaction to either (at least not a positive one anyway).

On the other hand, there are a few brands that already have a strong emotional connection with consumers and are using Facebook as one channel to engage them. For example, Product(RED) has over 100,000 fans, Skittles has over 330,000 and Victoria’s Secret PINK has a whopping 800,000. These brands aim for the consumer’s heart, through various appeals, but always focus on elevating above a product/rational benefit to an emotional one. Perhaps these emotional brands have permission for a deeper place to play in consumers’ lives, but let’s not kid ourselves. Brands will never be as important in the lives of consumers’ as their friends or family, but it seems that if your brand occupies a tiny place in their heart it can help foster a social connection.

UPDATE: Seth Godin takes a decidedly different take.

Learning From EA’s Online Conversation

If you are a company trying to compete today you are online. Period. That probably means that you have also heard gobs and gobs of information about social media and online conversations. You may have also heard about the need to be conscious of your own level of importance within the lives of consumers (i.e. no one wants to be friends with your mouthwash). However, if you are like me and have a simple brain, you hear phrases such as “your brand needs to participate in the ongoing online conversation,” and think to yourself “sounds like a nifty thing to say, but what does that mean?” Well, I always find I learn best from examples and I think I have a found a great one. EA has filmed a posted a response to a user video that was on YouTube. Lets take a look:

Original User Video:

EA Response:

Here are a couple points that I take away from this response:

• EA didn’t try to create their own social network or video-sharing site, they found an existing community, developed an understanding of the social conventions that were already there and worked within them.
• As with any great participant in a conversation, EA listened. Levinator25 posted a “glitch” in the game, and rather than get defensive EA posted a funny video that took its tonal cues from the original.
• EA added to the conversation. If EA hadn’t been able to come up with something as funny as this retort I believe they would have just skipped the idea altogether. No one needs EA’s voice here, but if it is interesting then it will be welcomed.
• If you are a large company, be a large company. The average YouTube poster can’t film a video with the real Tiger Woods, but EA can.

Oh Boy Obama!

Oh Boy Obama is a site that crowd sources political campaign ideas. The thinking goes that this will quickly separate the wheat from the chaff and all the good ideas will bubble up to the surface. Since anyone can participate there will likely be a bunch of ideas. As a great professor, Mark Fenske, once told me quantity will breed quality. Thanks to that I have no doubt that there will be good ideas on the site. What I am skeptical of is whether the good ideas will be the ones that rise to the top? In all likelihood it will be the popular ideas, not necessarily the good ones that come up. This technique works well if you are selling a product since a popular product idea would likely translate to sales. However, I haven’t seen companies crowd sourcing advertising strategies. Just because a strategic idea is popular doesn’t mean it will be effective at accomplishing its goals. On the other hand, if Obama had wanted to crowd source his selection for, VP that would have been a better option that would have likely netted a greater amount of followers…Hillary anyone???

Cooking and Artistry

Great quote found at Leeland Maschmeyer’s blog:

Some of the best artists and designers are great cooks. There is something to cooking that is not only inherently inventive, but also exemplifies the very nature of unselfish giving from the heart. What you could eat yourself, you choose to give to another as the most meaningful sustenance for survival.

John Maeda

I would include planners and all creatives in this assesment as well.

Ingredients from my awesome blueberry crumble cookies

Keeping the good work going

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been writing for the alldaybuffet blog. You can read the latest post about whether or not donation is the optimal form of philanthropy here. This ties in well with another project we have been working on called the Greater Good Guild (G3). G3 will work social entreprenuers and brands dedicated to doing good, to foster ideas and ensure they are maximizing their social potential through establishing sustainable models with a positive impact.

Cookies Make Me Happy

Sometimes in advertising, it is enough to just put a smile on people’s faces…

Organizational Transparency

In today’s world of unrestricted access, everything is a form of communication. In the past no one had ever heard of Procter & Gamble. Now it is not uncommon to find a consumer that knows which brands Procter & Gamble owns and that Jim Stengel is the CMO overseeing them. Need proof of this unrestricted access? Just look at any one of the many “internal” memos that have found their way outside the corporate walls and in front of consumers.

The operational behaviors of your company, now more than ever, tell a compelling story about your business and it’s personality (it’s not what you say it’s what you do). I would say these actions carry a stronger message because they feel like decisions you are making when no one is watching. In many cases they might be. There may not have been an ulterior motive to taking these actions other than managing operations and internal brand building. However, given the public’s unrestricted access remarkable actions, both good and bad, will eventually enter the collective public conscious. The following are a few examples I have spotted over the past couple weeks.

Virgin Media – Call Center Re-Design

Photo nicked from here, many thanks.

In a mundane territory like call centers, Headline Design along with Virgin Media have found a way to perk things up a bit. I would like to see the results in a year or two, but I suspect that employee satisfaction and retention will likely be up in a field that has historically low levels on both metrics. In addition the redesign should contribute to attracting the employee profile they are looking for, allowing Virgin to better deliver on the type of service they would like to provide. Plus, car park dating sounds like such a happy little idea and says a lot about Virgin since they are willing to put this much effort into their call centers.

Zappos – Pays New Hires To Quit

After an intense training program, indoctrinating new employees into the job and company culture Zappos offers them $1000 to quit on the spot. I have had jobs in the past that I mainly enjoyed, but had I been offered a grand to quit, you wouldn’t have even heard a response other than the door closing behind me. If you want a strong internal culture and a group of extremely dedicated employees this is the way to go. In addition to those company benefits, this move also says something to me as a consumer. I have never ordered from Zappos before, but after reading this I am 100% confident that it would be a smooth process and any problems I might have would be handled quickly and efficiently. Nice one!

Razorfish – A Stickler for Timesheets

Photo nicked from here, many thanks.

In an attempt to shame employees to fill out their timesheets on time, Avenue A/Razorfish displays photos of employees who haven’t completed theirs in the lobby. Whoa. I don’t exactly see this making people want to jump up and run to work for the interactive agency. Before we toss this idea aside though, what does it tell customers…aka clients? In an industry that has had a shaky past with billing and accountability it must give a warm fuzzy feeling to know that the agency is on top of it. If it turns off potential employees it may not be a long-term strategy, but it could be effective short-term allaying client fears.

Russell Mixes It Up

If you are a regular reader of this blog, and really who isn’t, then you know that I have a crush on mixtapes. Especially real mixtapes, but online ones as well:

• Muxtape
• Mixwit

So, when Russell Davies offered to combine the two on April 20, 2008, I jumped at the opportunity. (SIDE NOTE: If you don’t read Russell’s blog, start. Not everyone will get this, but I have said on many occasions if account planners had trading cards I would trade my Jon Steel rookie for a Russell Davies). I believe there is something inherently interesting in hand made objects and the thought of turning the internet experience into something real was exciting. Plus, the discovery associated with having someone else’s mixtape loaded new music on the B-side made the offer unable to resist (thanks Sean Salmon).

Now, 2 months later, the package has arrived. In response to a previous post I wrote about fetishizing products, I have decided to do an “unboxing” post similar to the ones some people post about new Apple products. It only makes sense, this is every bit as cool and interestingly packaged.

FRONT (Royal mail, not to often do I get that)

BACK (Addresses have been removed to protect the innocent)

INSIDE

CONTENTS

SONG LIST (Written by the man himself…or maybe Arthur given the legibility)

STARBURST (What a nice handmade touch)

MOO CARDS (A glimpse into the life of Russell)

MOO CARDS 2

A SIDE

B SIDE

Old Media Habits in New Media

In the past, you could reach nearly 90% of all American households with a TV by placing an ad simultaneously on the three major networks. This placed great power and control in the hands of advertisers, who were able to unilaterally blast their message to the public. TV viewers were forced to sit through that interruption of their programming with little recourse (I mean could you imagine having to get up to change the channel?). In the fragmented media landscape we exist in today we know this is impossible. The power has shifted from advertisers to the viewers, but the forced interruption technique still remains today.

For example, this banner advertisement that extends when you roll over it with your mouse.

Before rollover:

After rollover:

I won’t go into what I think of the concept of the show, that is a post for another time and another place. What bothered me about this ad, is every time I moved my mouse anywhere near it it grew and covered the article I was trying to read. Each time I would have to click to close the article, and each time I would move my mouse away it would expand again. Also, every time it popped out, not only did it cover the text of the article I was on the site for, but it played a video complete with sound distracting me from what I was there for. This is just beyond rude and annoying.

I wasn’t interested in what the ad had to say to begin with, but through the impolite practices of overly sensitive rollover triggers and automatically playing video I just became agitated. Even if I were the target, which I am pretty sure I am not, I would have avoided the ad simply because of its intrusiveness.

People read what interests them, sometimes its an ad.

Howard Gossage

Howard Gossage said this about print advertising, but it holds true in all forms of communication. Here is a banner ad that understands consumers will seek out advertising if they choose to do so:

Before rollover:

After rollover:

Again, I won’t go into the shows or their concepts, although these shows are obviously far superior and the ad even looks a lot better than the previous example. The banner ad was much more polite in the implementation of rollover technology and rich media experiences. For example, you have to not only roll over the banner, but also linger for 3 seconds in order for the ad to expand, thus preventing any accidental activation. Even after the ad expands, the videos did not play automatically instead the banner offered them and other content for you to chose to interact with, or not. This comes from the understanding that the viewer is in control and allows them to consume the content they so choose, graciously offering the media for your perusal without trying to shove it down your throat. Granted, I may be closer to the target for these two shows, but I sincerely appreciate the context in which the information is presented.