A conversation on marketing, communications and brand relationships with a little culture, music and random riffs thrown in for good measure.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
search tools
fellow planner, Mikey, sent our planning group a couple tools to track trends and visual searches. i am a fan of Trendpedia's comparison function, but was blown away when I visited Searchme Visual Search.
nice tools.
here's what was found when i entered "interwoven threads." (pardon the fellow Barkley-blogger publicity)
PSFK alerts the masses of a new warning label possibly appearing on Photoshopped images in magazines. this news comes when Photoshop has launched an online version of its software for the amateur fiddler to use in (bulking up biceps) editing images.
the above image, for instance, shows a Photoshopped image. look hard, but i think the difference is the background color. if the before and after - and the opportunity to understand there was some doctoring - didn't exist, i'd have just assumed the red background had always been present. thank you, transparency in photography!
the good news is, if a Photoshopped image, such as the catalog pic below, would have a warning label, i wouldn't have assumed Thing from Addams Family was now a fashion accessory.
1) from the always-attention-grabbing Jessica Hagy (why isn't she a brand planner?)
2) was pre-ordering the new Death Cab for Cutie album this morning and ran across the Vitamin String Quartet's tribute to DCFC. wow. perfectly mellow music for an overcast Wednesday.
6) muxtape. an online, social space to mix and share songs. instead of burning cds of your iTunes playlists, or hoping the object of your affection still has a tape deck and affinity for Rob Gordon-like romance, you can upload and mix and direct your listener to the site. brilliant. it's a bit slow to upload and load...not sure if that's new bugs or just the volume of traffic this great idea is sure to be receiving.
most of what i do is geared around uncovering insights and turning those insights into a relevant strategy. the other part of my day job is updating my facebook profile and downloading new music from iTunes.
planning/strategy folks go round and round about processes/resources/validation/research and very rarely agree on what it is, exactly, that they are looking for in an insight. many times, we back into an insight (or strategy) to validate an already-known mindset. that's not an insight. so what's an insight?
i think this slideshow by Matthew Millan explains insight in a brilliant way.
another inspiring Internet find today: mass innovation. a short film by Charles Ledbetter. well put together and a great reminder of the world we live in as marketers and consumers.
just watched this insightful video by Michael Wesch, Professor of Anthropology at Kansas State University, via PSFK. the video was created by Wesch and 200 of his anthropology students to document changes in student learning, while traditional education remains very much intact.
when i talk to college students the biggest change i see is the existence of laptops in class. with wireless networks allowing online perusal during lectures - and many of those lectures being given to enormous classes, tuning out and surfing the 'net become the norm. i'm not sure how this habit has taken hold in the small, private colleges i attended, but i'd imagine where there's a will there's a way in any sized class.
i think the most interesting thing about this video is its relevance to the way many of these college grads act in the workplace. just as education is changing and technology is both positively and negatively affecting the traditional school setting, the workplace is quickly evolving to reflect the same trends.
it's a permeation of multi-tasking and shortened attention spans. it's a heightened sense of urgency, perpetuated by convenience and opportunity to feed and execute any desire/task.
what does it all mean? i look at this video, and look around my own office and see that engagement is king. from the class to the office, technology plays both sides of the sword when it comes to engagement: you can use it to engage an audience in a meaningful way, or technology can be the first suitor to lure a disinterested brain away.
kudos to K-State for exploring this. too bad they couldn't win last night's game (yeah, i was rooting for them) to position the Jayhawks a bit more favorably.
After attending my first KC Coffee Morning last Friday, I had a lot of hope for the real-life realization of the conversations I enjoy via the blogosphere. It was nice to sit down with some new co-workers (John, Bruno, Seth, Andrew) as well as a few creatives from the area (Jeremy, Celeste). See, we read and comment. We forward and link. We admire and argue. And normally we hide behind a social firewall.
I've posted before about the power of unplugging and I was affirmed by the conversation and quickly-established relationships at the Coffee Morning. We nerds need to find more opportunities to shake hands, catch rolled eyes, hear laughter and wave goodbye to make our ideas, insights and interest tangible.
I enjoyed by this post from PSFK on social network realization. Good stuff to put into practice.
Recently, I've been thinking about social responsibility, both corporate social responsibility and my own responsible choices as a consumer. The first step was to ask myself, as a consumer and marketer, what social responsibility means. I kept going back to two qualifiers, priority and longevity of impact. Those seem to work both for judging a brand's social responsibility and a consumer's commitment to a cause. CSR can get a bad rap, oftentimes simply because a cause program or brand can't demonstrate the priority or impact of its social stance. Consumers aren't held to as high a public standard, so we get off relatively easy. So I started thinking in terms of brands and their social priorities?
I'd love some feedback here, as to what brands you recognize making an issue or cause a true priority. I'll fall back on one of my favorites, Patagonia. Since its founding, Patagonia has been tied directly to the environment, not as a marketing program or initiative, but as a way of life. A part of the employee and brand DNA.
Priority: Does the brand live its cause/social issue? If I crashed the company HQ, would I see a culture that embraces the cause? Or does the cause live only within the walls of the marketing department. If I met an employee at a bar, would that employee get excited - or even be aware - of what his or her employer has deemed an initiative?
Impact: Does the initiative/cause/charitable interaction truly enact positive change? Are the hands that hold a large check presentation callused with hands-on effort? And what is the longevity of the impact? Was the initiative set up to buckle down and impact an issue, or will the whole dang thing be forgotten in a year's time?
I'm already predicting I'll spend a good deal of 2007 blogging on emotion. If I can focus on one thing, as a marketer, this year, it will be emotion. At its core, CSR is emotional. Brands stick their necks out to take a stance on sometimes polarizing issues/causes. No matter how far those necks are exposed, a cause is always connected to consumers' emotions. The great brands have identified what matters to (or seek input from) consumers. They've created social priorities, not just programs. They share emotion with consumers.
Two recent examples have energized my thoughts on this topic. The first, relating to my beloved Apple brand.
In the past week, I've bought a new MacBook, visited the Apple store twice and received a new Mac as a work computer. So I was especially in tune with the brand when the "Green My Apple" campaign from Greenpeace came to my attention. Emotion played an instant role in my impression of this campaign - before sense or logic even entered into the equation. I'm a die-hard Apple brand loyalist. I'm also growing much more passionate about my environment and my role as a greener consumer.
As with most anti-brand campaigns (Note: Greenpeace does not call this a campaign against Apple), one has to search hard for both sides of the story. And as with most anti-brand campaigns, the side that harnesses emotion normally wins. Oftentimes with facts aside. First impressions matter.
First impression scorecard for this campaign: Big score for Greenpeace in creating a nice parody site, and providing lots and lots of ways consumers can interact should they choose. Big fumble for Apple, as it's innovative image is marred by its lack of action compared to its much less technologically innovative brand peers. Spike in the end zone for Greenpeace, which understood its audience (hip, young, creative, viral) better, it seems, than Apple on this issue.
On to another example of brand priority, Starbucks' treatment of Ethiopian farmers. Oxfam launched the "Day of Action" to raise awareness for the 3 cents Ethiopian farmers make on branded "Ethiopian" coffee. Watch this video first.
Starbucks, to its credit, utilized YouTube to post its response.
Now, as a professional communicator, I am impressed with what I imagine is Coffee Team head Dub Hay's ability to read printed cue cards. Nice response. Well written. And, though he takes a page out of "How to be interviewed on camera/always look at the interviewer," he is less than emotional. Kudos for joining the fray, but you're Starbucks! Take a film crew to Ethiopia and show me, don't read to me. Engage me, make me stand next to your spokesperson.
Facts aside (and again, I was impressed by Starbucks response), if you're going with emotion, Oxfam wins.
Two social issues. Both campaigns deal with more than CSR (Apple and Starbucks have admirable CSR/environmental programs). These campaigns deal with Starbucks' and Apple's social priorities. They deal with emotion. Pictures of the affected. Heartstrings. You get the drift.
From a crisis communications standpoint, both brands would benefit from grabbing onto these issues and making the necessary changes or explanation a priority. Both scenarios are great illustrations of a "crisis" where neither brand has yet lost the reputation game. Both are great opportunities for these brands to prioritize their social outreach and in turn, build a relationship with a group of passionate consumers.
Where do the brands you champion stand on social issues? Are they doing the minimum to play the field, or have they prioritized an effort to the point it is ingrained in your overall brand impression? Are you proud to hold that to-go cup or wear that shirt? Have you purchased products to support your own social priorities?
I’ve blogged many times on the importance of brands engaging and empowering employees – at a retail or customer service level – to be evangelists. No other time of the year polarizes a company’s employees more than the holiday season…it’s when great retail excels and bad retail is a gift-wrapped Pandora’s box of frustrations. And I’d wager that not too many places across our country are as holiday-ed up as Kansas City’s own Country Club Plaza. It’s a Mecca of lights, big-name stores and bustling shoppers.
I was getting coffee and doing some writing yesterday and decided to visit the Apple Store before I headed out of the Plaza. Though I can browse and play in there for hours, I had a few actual questions pertaining to both my iPod and MacBook. So, in I walk: a no-profit, question-asker in the middle of the holiday rush. But the Apple Store was just as prepared for me as it was for the mom who was on an iPod bender.
Oftentimes, at a retail level, the best way to let employees be evangelists is to arm them with the opportunity to interact with consumers. Three ways Apple prepares its stores to ensure each customer gets the attention he or she needs (and lets employees be evangelists):
Construct pay-station kiosks for the most popular products: MacBooks and iPods are sectioned off in a stocked-on-the-floor area with an employee (or two) devoted to simply working that product. This allows the register, Genius Bar and other employees freedom to serve focused purposes.
Devote people and a place to customer service: the Genius desk is a year-round feature in stores, but it further proves its worth in high-traffic by offering current owners a chance to get their product questions answered. Or simply a venue for advice and brand talk. A physical display of loyalty to those who already are interacting with the products.
Offer ample, smart staff: Apple may “over staff” by some retail standards, but I rarely – even on the busiest days – wait for help. Apple's other employee advantage is its training and lack of "seasonal" knowledge. Each of its employees can navigate the brand. And when employees aren’t directly answering inquiries or making a sale, they are messing around with products, showing browsers how to use iPhoto or import music or sync iCal. Brilliant.
By organizing its employees, space and products efficiently, the Apple Store is a low-stress experience, even at its busiest time. This organization ensures the brand’s important experiential environment, which encourages play, interaction and dialogue. All of these things yield sales and brand loyalty.
And most importantly, the organization Apple uses allows its employees the opportunity to engage others in the brand they visibly love.
The Four F's of Citizen Marketing...and Monk the Snow Dog
Great stuff on the "Four F's of Citizen Marketing" from the thought-leading brains at the Church of the Customer Blog. Ben and Jackie cite Filters, Fanatic, Facilitators and Firecrackers as the ways to classify user-created sites.
What excites me about the research and results above is the quickness in which the citizen/social media arena is evolving and the necessity to focus efforts to ensure relevancy and appropriate reach. As we continue to dig into the differences within this category, conversations will be better tailored, audiences will be reached in more relevant ways and ultimately, great relationships will be built.
And speaking of relevance, here's something that's probably not at all relevant:
Most know that our fair state-line-bisected city was involved in its first winter storm this week. Many of my friends have asked (as they do each year) whether my dog Monk likes the snow (I think this is the dog-owner equivalent to "how's he sleeping/eating/pooping" baby questions). Anyway. As with all things Monk, he likes the snow as long as I'm with him. Yesterday he spent about an hour plowing snow into his mouth as I shoveled my and my neighbor's driveway. This morning, the neighbor dog was outside waiting for him to run the fence line. They did. And by the time I bribed him away from the fun, he was covered in snow, looking more like a brave Iditarod musher than the co-dependent Labrador I love.
(Monk's favorite thing to do at the dog park) (Tougher dogs...with booties)
Listening to - South San Gabriel, Welcome Convelescence.
Doing the little things differently...and why I'm weird.
I've been sort of obsessed lately. Obsessed with finding different ways to do, represent, create or describe things. Finding not only a new, but relevant path is why clients pay marketers. Whether a designer labors over developing a color palette that sets the client's brand apart at first glance or a PR practitioner delivering new angles and information, the marketing profession lives and dies by the different.
Sure, it's overwhelming at times...the pressure to discover is large and demanded. This is an exciting time for ideas because technology allows almost any pipe dream to be realized. This morning I was on one of my favorite sites for inspiration - Lifehacker - and found the following tools to create messages using letters formed by buildings across the globe or bits of signage/graffiti/art:
These are fun to play with, but also represent a launchpad for opportunities to communicate differently. We live in an exciting time. Could my father have imagined sending a greeting pieced together entirely out of satellite images? Did my grandmother think pictures of signs, taken across the globe, could be compiled to form patchwork words? No. How weird would these now-simple opportunities seem to generations past?
The hard part isn't the realization of dreams...it's having the ability to dream.
Speaking of weird...my friend Jenne "tagged" me today, challenging me to answer the following:
List 5 things weird about yourself or your pets.
Well that's pretty darn easy. Here goes. 1) I do not like the Beatles...as in, I'll leave the room if the mop-tops are playing. 2) I love airplane turbulence. Sometimes I laugh when it happens. Also seems like airplane liqour - beer to wine, whatever - tastes better than terrestrial libations. Weird sub-point: for much of my young life I thought Ginger Ale was only served on airplanes. 3) I get sort of freaked out about the ocean. I'm not scared of the ocean. I think the ocean has some sort of role to play in our ecosystem, but I don't want anything to do with it. I especially do not want to be on a cruise ship. 4) I don't drink tap water. 5) I hate chewing gum: seeing people chew it, seeing it chewed, the packaging, chewing it myself, etc. I only chew gum in dire situations, such as just walking out of a Thai restaurant and seeing a beautiful woman with a sign that reads: "Will totally make out with someone named Andy."
My personal hell looks something like this: piped-in Beatles music, force feeding of DoubleMint, while stuck on a boat in the ocean.
For your DIY-inclined hands: My buddy Tango's paint chip card holders. After posting a how-to for these great accessories, Josh Spear, Lifehacker, and Craftzine have already picked it up. He nailed del.icio.us' top ten most popular today. Tango and I had a conversation this afternoon on how quickly good things spread...as opposed to the PR-pushed, artificial seeding so many products/people must rely on. Tango's thoughts and goods are a great example of how easily great ideas ignite. Check out his Web site/portfolio.
For your eyes and ears:Lasse Gjertsen's amazing video. His follow up to "Hyperactive." All I can say is wow. And just for fun, play Lasse again, then start playing some Ben Folds (I suggest the intro to "not the same")...the comparison is creepy.
For the tech geek in each of us: I'm working on a project with some folks and tonight we were spread across the country. I couldn't explain how I needed something to look. And void of drawing software on my computer, a scanner or fax machine, I went to GE's Imagination Cubed site and drew my thoughts, sent them on and in minutes we were discussing. I'm going to continue using this as a communication tool. Here's a special note to you, reader.
