Posts tagged book recommendations
2011 best tv ads
Jan 1st
So.
It is the end of the year … but .. at the end of November (I think) AdWeek magazine (the people magazine of the advertising industry) published their top 10 television ads of 2011.
As Adweek states … it doesn’t seem that long ago that we were watching the “super bowl ads” and assessing the good and the bad.
and, at the end of the year. we now we see that 2 of the ads, the Chrysler Eminem execution and the VW Darth Vader execution, made their top ten list (and, I guess, my top 10).
About their top 10. All of the spots in the top 10 are strategically sound, often insightful to the audience it was developed for and flawlessly executed. As usual the greatest of the great are defined by nuances (which I will attempt to identify) and interestingly some of the best advertising comes in commodity-like categories (milk, communication). Oh. And they are all very different – using different techniques (albeit ones we have seen before) but using them in ways that bring the story to life.
Their list celebrates work across a wide variety of products, themes, styles, and geographies. You’ve got candy bars and zombies, cats with thumbs, film-directing bears and proud fathers.
Here is the list (10 to 1) as decided on by AdWeek (and I agree with most).
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/10-best-commercials-2011-136663?page=1
SNICKERS • Focus Group – this was 10th on the list … it may have been in my top 5. Finding different ways to showcase candy innovations is tough. They did it. It would be disturbing if it wasn’t so funny … and incredibly well executed (poorly executed and this would have made the worst 5 list).
NISSAN LEAF • Gas Powered Everything – This is vivid demonstration at its best. And using a dental drill to ease into the closing thought? Brilliant.
CRAVENDALE • Cats With Thumbs – there are so many charming & relevant aspects to this execution you almost have to watch it a couple of times to get it all (and it is worth every viewing). I am not sure milk advertising could ever be as creative as this ever again. Damn those Brits can do some funny good smart stuff.
DEEP SILVER • Dead Island Trailer – I am not a gamer but boy I would be tempted to become one. I personally would have chosen Gears of War/Into Dust with Hope Sandoval/Mazzy Star soundtrack (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5AVJXw–IQ) but this execution is an excellent use of reversing footage and music. Disturbing. But good.
CANAL+ • The Bear – The close with “why not me?” …. Brilliant. What an ending. French advertising at its best.
TALKTALK • Homes Within Homes – This probably wouldn’t have made my top 10 but it is beautifully done. And effectively communicates what it needs to communicate.
GOOGLE CHROME • Dear Sophie – Ok. This is proof that while you may use celebrities (Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber lent star power to the campaign in other executions) to build a business nothing works better than the simplest tugging of heart strings – a young father using Google tools to fill a digital scrapbook with notes, images, and videos of his young daughter … which he intends to share with her “someday.” For anyone who doesn’t think the web is personal you have no heart.
CHRYSLER • Born of Fire – It could have been called “Imported from Detroit” and that would have sealed the deal on this but they also took the in-your-face Eminem ‘lose yourself’ song and paraphrased the lyrics in a voice over and … well … this is car advertising at its best. I was not only proud to be an American but, dammit, I found something to like about Detroit.
CHIPOTLE • Back to the Start – Communicating a environmental philosophy in a meaningful way is … well .. tough. Here? It’s the music. Using Coldplay’s “The Scientist” but sung by Willie Nelson. The song is lyrically perfect. Yeah. I am probably biased because it is music-driven … but Adweek chose it not me.
Their number one?
VOLKSWAGEN • The Force – nothing more to say about this one. I have written about it before. It’s brilliant. It’s the kind of ad I wish I had done.
Just wanted to share because its fun.
b2b selling, heck, selling in general
Sep 1st
Yes. I have an entire white paper on b2b marketing.
But.
Some things just need to be said again (and again and again and again).
For some reason there seems to be a wacky belief that b2b marketing is so radically different from consumer marketing that … well … if you can do one well you could never do the other well.
With that said.
Just out of sheer spite I am going to invest some energy suggesting some thoughts on how the underpinnings are quite similar (so if you are a b2b business and you are speaking with some consumer guy and you think you are wasting your time pay attention because if he/he suggests some of these things they get the nuances and the similarities).
Let me begin with a word I have come to absolutely abhor. Brand (or branding). Inevitably any discussion seems to begin here so I will try and get it out of the way.
Whether your company is selling products or services to individual consumers or to businesses there is a need to get above the “noise.” Creating a branding imprint in the world relevant to you is the “simplifier” and can assist in the sale (and getting a higher price, and getting considered more often, and being differentiated in a sea of sameness, and, well, you get the point).
Look.
Good ‘branding’ is not about stirring rational people into frenzy so they make irrational decisions. It is about communicating the benefits and value proposition that a business or product provides its customers.
Okay. I think I got the “B” word out of the way.
Anyway.
I had this old dated factoid lurking on my computer (and I can only imagine what the numbers are today … higher).
In 1998 the average U.S. office worker received more than 160 messages a day via e-mail, fax, voice mail and conventional mail (lets go ahead and assume it is exponentially bigger now).
Go to a grocery store and you are faced with over 37,000 different products with distinct SKU’s (stock-keeping units) compared to 8,000 in 1970. Some other examples:
| SKUs | 1999 | 1970 |
| Orange juice | 70 | 20 |
| Coke | 25 | 6 |
| Crest Toothpaste | 45 | 15 |
| Philly Cream Cheese | 30 | 3 |
With that many choices establishing some added value (in the form of a brand) is almost necessary to be successful.
Oh.
Thinking that maybe all of a sudden I am not talking about b2b anymore because I used some consumer facings information? Nope.
For every product on the shelf there is a business decision maker choosing to put them on the shelf. So combine the numbers I just gave you above with the fact a grocery buyer is seeing twice as many (ones that end up dying and ones that they just cannot justify putting on the shelf) and all of a sudden you start seeing some of the challenges a b2b marketer faces.
So how the heck do you attack this issue (keeping in mind I am suggesting the more you tie consumer thought process and business thought process the more likely a company will be to be well prepared to meet any customer challenge).
First.
Any business (that includes the sales and marketing departments) has to recognize and plan for various buying styles/attitudes as well as the various buying cycles of their customers (this is the same with anyone b2 or consumer).
I (being JWT trained in customer buying behavior analysis) believe in beginning with the basics.
Let’s call it a Consumer Buying System (because it is called that …. oh … and by the way … a b2b customer is a consumer also … anyway). Think in terms of simple phases/stages in a purchase decision cycle:
- Predisposition.
- Stimulus to act
- Consideration
- Search
- Choose
- Buy
- Experience
(then it circles around again which would be called the “purchase cycle”).
Yeah. Sure. Here you go. An explanation of The Consumer’s Buying System.
This is more than just a theory or model for consumer behavior; it is the key to understanding the purchase process from the consumer’s perspective, and the tool for allocating the right communication resources and sales techniques at the most appropriate points in the cycle.
The easiest way to us it is to put yourself in the consumers’ (prospects, potentials, interested rejecters, customers) shoes and look at the category through their eyes. What makes them enter it in the first place? What criteria must their brand or service selection meet? Where do they get their information about the brands or services in the category, and where do they go to actually make the purchase?
Not all categories involve the same degree of time, effort and consideration. The buying process for chewing gum may last no more than a second or two; for a car it could take months, a business software system could take years and the consumer may make several loops through the search and channel contact phase before actually arriving at the contract/buying stage.
How do we use it?
It’s easy to use (and in its simplicity many may want to complicate it) because once you can describe how the consumer moves through the buying system for your particular category you can ask yourself all the right questions: “Where in this cycle is there a role for advertising, promotion, direct response, PR, telemarketing, sales, etc.?”
So.
Because I am ranting about the b2b specialty that no one can do but b2b specialists let’s look at some real numbers and see how they could be improved by this Consumer Buying System process.
According to recent studies at any given time: 15% is in buy aspect, 70% is not in a buying aspect (43% will enter into a buying cycle in the next 18 months) and 15% will not purchase from your organization.
Ok.
Next.
According to a Marketing Sherpa study:
7% are sales ready, 11% are mid term prospects, 73% are long term prospects and 9% will not purchase from your organization.
You look at these and think you have some good information.
Well. Not really.
In fact.
If I were to take the consumer buying system and apply it against each of those percentages I can actually derive what percentage of all those percentages would be likely to consider me, likely to run across me during a search phase, what percentage I can actually impact (and I could provably figure out what would be most important to say to them if they ‘glanced off of me’ while searching for information that would be most likely to get me back in the game).
In addition I could see what percentage of the buyers (consumers) actually have different criteria they are evaluating in the choose phase then when they were in the consideration phase (you would be surprised how often ‘price’ is a low priority in consider phase and then when choose comes rocking down the road price all of a sudden rears its ugly head … oh … in fact … that is often why companies/people aren’t REALLY choosing the lowest price because their initial consideration set was flawed if they truly wanted the lowest cost provider … anyway).
That’s just a couple of quick examples.
Ok.
Maybe it would help with the b2b people if we call this entire mumbo jumbo ‘Final disposition versus sales staging.’ Yeah. It’s the attempt to gain a true understanding of the status of your potential customers and existing customers all in one buying system analysis/discussion.
Look.
The buying system is simple but complex.
Adding meaningful status or stages to your marketing efforts can greatly enhance visibility into the overall marketing/sales pipeline activities AND put you in a position to understand the timing and movement of your prospects.
So.
Ultimately this process is set up to understand that buying phases exist and having an execution strategy for each phase to drive customers down the path to a transaction (adding value and setting expectations that can be met so that they end up satisfied).
Oh.
Another benefit of this Consumer Buying System thing? Long term consistent performance.
Sales and marketing often treat all prospects and customers the same. They deploy the same strategies, messaging and collateral to all. In doing that of course you obviously lose the ability to deliver relevant content at the appropriate time.
Maybe worse? You lose the ability to build relationships with those that are not in a buying mode but will be at some time in the future. Oh. And you lessen the probability that you will be in front of your customer when they enter a buying mode.
The value of thinking in a ‘consumer buying system’ like this way is you end up thinking long term engagement and not short term project.
Everyone fits into the funnel. Customers, interested, interested rejecters, dissatisfied, whatever. They all fall in and become part of the cycle.
Therefore activity avoids a ‘Project mentality’ (and even ‘just get me some leads to call).
(note: my entire write-up on the company TelAffects addresses this).
An additional benefit is a continuous effort (which maintains any momentum) instead of a more sales driven ‘stop-and-start’ activity style. I guess I could throw in that a continuous buying system communications plan invariably entertains the idea of an “ongoing dialogue’ attitude rather than “oops, I need to talk with you today” attitude (that also inherently strengthens efforts and efficiencies and relationships).
The consumer buying system inherently also integrates activities by simply suggesting it is all one cycle and therefore specific tactics aren’t utilized in a vacuum but rather in coordination with everything else affecting the cycle. And by integration I mean not just traditional marketing but all aspects (let’s call them touch points) of interaction between the company and potential customers.
Ok. I will stop on that discussion point.
You get it. The Buying System forces everyone away from “one off” actions and inherently incorporates a longer term focus (without sacrificing short term).
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yet. Many fail to invest in a process (although I just gave one for free) that develop strategies and deploy tactics at each buying mode.
Ok. One last thing.
The buying system thought is dead if you don’t have information.
In fact.
If you use the buying system (which is so frickin’simple) it is difficult to go into data overload and easy to gather pertinent information.
Because it is a thinking process/methodology you are actually systemizing information. Okay. In English that means as you gain data, rather than analyze data, you bucket it first. You put data into the system where the data/information most useful to you.
After a while rather than conducting massive research studies and huge data dumps you are rather simply updating or filling in holes as you gather items.
A process like this stops data overload and lets you actually go ‘do.’
And.
It really helps if you aren’t solely dependent upon research research (you know … traditional qualitative or quantitative research) but rather you have the ability to capture prospect and customer information through sales (or marketing or even telemarketing).
Sales and marketing should be constantly striving to gain information on their possible customers (in fact you can build a parallel consumer buying system for those costumers/consumers who have never purchased from you with the purpose of not getting them to ‘do’ your buying system but seek the moments where they may actually sneak close so you can suck them into yours … uh … that’s called converting competitive users …) and customers that will give them insight into not only their organization’s sales cycles but purchasing behavior.
Often the most overlooked and most valuable information is the information captured directly from your prospects and customers from previous dialogues.
Why does this happen?
Lack of attention from the sales and marketing personnel to gather and enter information.
Lack of consistency across the sales and marketing teams to gather and enter information.
The lack of understanding on how to use the information in a meaningful business dialogue.
These are solvable but that isn’t the point of this write up.
Here is a fact (that many marketing groups fail to see despite its obviousness).
The buying system is truly dependent upon information and information is often most attainable through sales (or any customer interaction including telemarketing and service providers). Once you have the information (an you have something as simple as a Consumer Buying System analysis) it is incredibly easy to Train sales and marketing people on “how” to use the information and “when and where” to use the information (in fact … sometimes the Buying System is so simple that people want to try and get something more ‘complicated’ because something that simple cannot be right).
Look.
(sticking with b2b)
Here’s the deal. Doing more with less seems to be a common issue we all face regardless of our roles or our responsibilities or industry. That means companies just need to be plain smarter with their activities and, in particular, with the information available and how they use that information (and leverage the information across their entire demand creation – consumer buying system – pipeline information process).
Yes.
I have written about a company called TelAffects. I didn’t want to call them telemarketing but, if you do, then you have to admit that many companies never receive the potential benefits of a well planned telemarketing program (read my article if you don’t agree).
People just don’t approach telemarketing in b2b as an effective marketing tool and integrate that activity into the entire process (as a marketing tool as well as an information tool).
Anyway.
The buying system naturally incorporates partners and alliances (telemarketers, crm, service providers, and suppliers) because the all affect the buying system and get built in to the entire fabric weave of interactions.
So.
All that said it all really falls apart if you don’t get the core thinking right.
Core thinking being value proposition, brand strategy and positioning in the marketplace (what need to does the company want to fulfill and how does the company want to be perceived by the customer).
An excellent example of brand vision in the semiconductor equipment industry is provided by Jim Morgan of Applied Materials. As chairman of the world’s leading semiconductor equipment supplier. He said, “Information is power. Information is wealth. Information is self-determination and in the 21stCentury, we have the potential of placing information in the hands of people around the world. This is the promise of the networked economy; the hope of individuals around the world; the purpose of Applied Materials.”
But. Core thinking is an entirely different article and write up.
This is about how b2b isn’t just for b2b rocket scientists. It’s for anyone who is smart enough and understands principles of differentiation and buying behavior.
Enough ranting.
Suffice it to say a good consumer marketing person can do b2b and a good b2b person can do consumer. And that’s that.
choosing the right word
Aug 29th
“Where the emotion has found its thought and the thought has found the words.”
Robert Frost
I love this quote for a number of reasons.
Let me focus on two.
First is I do love words and I truly envy people who know how to take a seemingly mixed bag of words and put them together in a way that makes people laugh or cry or just “feel something.”
Second is something practical. I tell people in business that more great ideas, more great thoughts, have died because they have not been articulated well then anything other reason in the world (more than even process or scared people).
Great thoughts are meaningless if no one can understand them.
The most powerful thoughts and ideas in the world have typically been captured in some words that have clearly communicated the thought behind it and evoked some sort of emotio
n.
In the end.
You have to find the words or the best thought you have ever had will die.
That is almost a postulate in life.
So.
With all that said and with full understanding that I will never be able to use words a well as Robert Frost (or maybe even Jack Frost) I have this book I keep with me everywhere I go.
Choose the Right Word by S. I. Hayakawa.
A friend just reminded me of how great that book is for those of us who challenge ourselves to use the right, or best, words whenever we can. It is the bible of wordsmanship.
about transactional branding
Aug 27th
Ok.
I use this term ‘transactional branding’ a lot when I am talking about business and defending why we shouldn’t talk about branding (or at least stop until everyone can turn off the bullshit meters and maybe all agree on terms of usage).
The premise behind the phrase is that excellent marketing/communications/branding activity/whatever you want to call it and business results – transactions – can and should be inextricably linked.
I do believe a truly inspiring insight or idea will inspire positive brand value and inspire consumer action and I call it Transactional Branding.
Now.
Let me be clear.
I wasn’t the genius who came up with the phrase and idea (although the concept behind it has always resided in my pea like brain).
Some guy at an agency I worked at articulated this idea (probably scribbled on a napkin over cocktails) and came up with the phrase and wording in maybe the late 90’s.
I loved it.
My boss loved it (who was actually the president).
Pretty much everyone else hated it.
It’s that damn word transactions.
Marketing and advertising agencies feel like it diminishes their abilities (and their art) to suggest that they do anything transactional
(but … to come to their defense .. while this is a visceral response I have not run into one great marketing/advertising creative mind … EVER … who didn’t understand that ultimately whatever they created needed to generate a business result or their ‘creative idea’ just wasn’t worth a shit).
Anyway. All that said.
Recognizing a brand cannot exist without ongoing sales, revenue or retail traffic seems to be an overlooked topic in the branding world.
Okay. Someone is going to suggest that it is simply ‘understood.’
Well.
It’s not.
In fact there is an entire generation of young marketers entering into the ‘branding world’ thinking it is all about building value (or adding value).
Well geez … adding value on ‘what.’ Not a logo. Or not on some culture. The value has to be added to … well … some ‘thing.’
And, oh by the way, that ‘thing’ needs some sales, revenue or traffic or your ‘thing’ will become ‘no-thing.’ (let alone a brand).
So this transactional branding concept means building the ‘encourage consumer action’ into the branding effort. In other words, create business outcomes today so the brand lives tomorrow.
It’s kind of a simple concept.
Some people may call it ‘holistic’ or something (maybe not).
Anyway.
How it works:
One brand idea. One brand voice. One brand strategy. An integrated communications plan with multiple tactics (which can be changed constantly because the strategy remains the same).
- note: see my glocal article on my point of view on flexibility in execution.
It begins by identifying ‘the’ inspiring insight (typically the marriage between consumer and brand insight).
Of course you identify the desired business results.
You identify the best communications/marketing ideas to generate the best results.
You develop smart insightful creative messaging (within the organization as well as externally to insure some alignment).
Then you measure results and adjust tactics as appropriate.
Whew.
Sounds simple.
Bottom line.
Here is the tricky part (t least to me)
Everything emanates from the inner truth (the essence, the company value insight, the cultural & functional core of the organization, whatever you want to call it) of the company. THAT my friends is really the brand.
All you are doing with transactional branding is sharing your ‘brand’ with people and let them fall in love with you (hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm … and really the only way they can fall in love with you is if they go out on an actual date … uh .. a transaction.)
So from that ‘inner thing’ you get to create some inspiring brand idea and incorporate it into tactics that create transactions.
THAT is Transactional Branding.
Oh.
And if you buy this thought/philosophy. It isn’t just about advertising or marketing.
Transactional Branding is about working on all aspects of a business – from traditional and non-traditional tactics to in-store to organizational attitudes and behaviors and … well … whatever. Because brand and transactions are so inextricably linked that it is about internal organization equal to, if not more important, than what is done externally wit customers.
Oh.
One last great thing about attaching transactional and brand.
It’s all about “selling ‘more’ of what they want to sell at a higher price.”
Whew.
Doesn’t get much better than that if you are running a business, does it?
burger mcsausage unoriginal smarts
Jul 21st
so. This television advertisement introducing the Burger King breakfast sausage biscuit (the one where the creepy king breaks into McDonald’s headquarters to steal the mcmuffin recipe):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF86Rb-uFNE
The execution doesn’t confuse me but the effort makes me pause and scratch my head a little.
But I guess if you have more money then you know what to do with and you see research numbers that show “people consider McDonalds for breakfast and not Burger King” and you already know what McDonalds best breakfast seller is then you spend some of that money saying “hey we have the same thing just in case you didn’t know.”
There are several things I do like about this:
Competitive but not competitive. It’s odd but they are going for the competitor jugular in an interesting way. They state that they are going to offer an unoriginal product (in that they are simply stealing someone else’s ‘good idea’). But. That also implies that it’s not rocket science stuff. That maybe the original McD’s breakfast biscuit just isn’t that “unique.” (clever guys those Crispin fellows – Crispin is burger kings’ agency of record).
No superiority. Simply “hey, if you like us <burger king> and you want exactly what you could get if you stopped at the bastards down the street here you go. We have it for you. We are willing to copy if it makes you happy.” Kind of shows you like your customers and will do whatever it takes to make them happy (even steal I guess).
And then the creepy king. Here is where I give Crispin the highest marks of all.
For years while brilliant the agency has been “one-off” brilliant. One great brilliant idea. Non campaignable. Lose client after one brilliant idea because they didn’t really have a great follow-up.
(Look. The BMW mini campaign the agency built their main reputation on was not a creative messaging brilliance idea it was a tactical brilliance concept … which I give them kudos for just don’t want to oversell their brilliance … or misidentify it).
Anyway. Back to the creepy king. Alex Bogusky is our generation’s Bill Bernbach. And he has matured (in my humble opinion) to a point where he is truly earning that pedestal. The Burger King creepy king is a great showcase for why I believe it to be so. The young Bogusky would probably have shoved a brand/company mnemonic device sustaining multiple campaigns over time so far up a client’s ass a proctologist would have been envious. But. He (or at least he encouraged his teams) stepped up and said “well, let’s make the best of it and I want to do it my way …. creatively and interestingly and sometimes creepy when we are wrong in the execution but sticking with it and getting it right.” They have made it work. And made it work over time. They have a sustainable mnemonic device (or branding element or whatever you want to call it).
Anyway.
I slam people but I also want to give some credit where credit is due.
Cannot wait to see what the creepy king does next.
Célébrons ! bastille day, baguettes & vel’ d’Hiv
Jul 14th
Bastille Day
So. Today, July 14th, France celebrates its national holiday in commemoration of the storming of the Bastille prison. Oh. Everyone should also note that if you want anything done in France today forget it. I flew through De Gaulle airport one 14th only to find out about 50% of the workers didn’t show up that day. Needless to say there were some delays.
Anyway. Bastille Day commemorates the storming of the Bastille, which took place on 14 July 1789 and marked the beginning of the French Revolution marked the end of absolute monarchy, the birth of the sovereign Nation, and, eventually, the creation of the (First) Republic, in 1792.
The Bastille was a prison and a symbol of the absolute and arbitrary power of Louis the 16th’s Ancient Regime. By capturing this symbol, the people signaled that the king’s power was no longer absolute: power should be based on the Nation and be limited by a separation of powers.
Although the Bastille only held seven prisoners at the time of its capture, the storming of the prison was a symbol of liberty and the fight against oppression for all French citizens. The other symbol remains the French Tricolore flag. It symbolizes the Republic’s three ideals: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity for all French citizens.
What English speakers call Bastille Day the French call le 14 juillet. If you want to wish French speaker a happy Bastille Day “Bonne Bastille !” is the simplest. But say Joyeux Quatorze Juillet ! and a Frenchman will smile.
“Une baguette de tradition, s’il vous plaît.”
Nothing beats a Parisian baguette which you can pick up at almost every corner in Paris as you walk. Oh. The “de tradition” part is important, because a traditional baguette tastes a whole lot better than a regular baguette. It’s usually slightly more expensive but worth it (a good baguette only costs around €1.20).
So. Ever wonder why the streets of Paris almost smell so nice (the fresh smell of bread and baking). An authentic baguette has a shelf life of only four hours so bakeries churn out fresh loaves throughout the day.
Oh, some other baguette protocols. If there’s a line, as there is at almost every boulangerie with excellent baguettes better have exact change ready (no fumbling at the counter or you can quickly uncover the surliness of the French). And say “Bonjour Madame/Monsieur” when it’s your turn, ask for your baguette (hesitating makes them move on to the next person in line) and put down the exact change when you get your baguette. With it, you are likely to hear the French word “Parfait!” and get a smile.
rue de Saintonge and Marais district and Vel’ d’Hiv
Famous for its 17th-century mansions, its Jewish heritage, a vibrant contemporary gay scene and edgy art galleries, the Marais district is also filled with quirky, unique boutiques specializing in the coolest fashion, the hottest design and the trendiest beauty products. The Marais is the labyrinth of streets stretching south from Boulevard du Temple in the 3rd arrondissement stretching into the 4th arrondissement. The Marais is interesting, sometimes not for the faint of heart and unlike walking the more touristy areas this Paris district is chockfull of a vivid mix of characters. Stroll its medieval lanes and you’ll rub shoulders with muscle-shirted gays and feather-boa transvestites and long-bearded rabbis and scruffy rock musicians and West African restaurateurs and Eastern European bakers.
Rue de Saintonge is in the 4th arrondissement near the center of the Marais (I think). This is one of my favorite neighborhoods as it is lively, eclectic and contains several of the oldest sections of the city as well as lots of trendy bars, shops, and restaurants. The rue des Rosiers is a centerpiece of Jewish lifestyle in Paris and the Ile St. Louis and the Ile de la Cité are the oldest parts of Paris.
A moment about rue de Saintonge
What makes this even more interesting is that I just finished reading a book called Sarah’s Key which centers its historical fiction story around an apartment on rue de Saintonge. The book’s back story revolves around a relatively unknown event during WW2 in occupied France involved with the Holocaust. An event, Vel’ d’Hiv, whose anniversary is on July 16th.
Vel’ d’Hiv (commonly called the Rafle du Vel’ d’Hiv – “Vel’ d’Hiv Police Roundup” – from the nickname for the Velodrome d’Hiver -”Winter Velodrome” cycle track) was a Nazi decreed raid in Paris on July 16 and 17, 1942, code named Operation Spring Breeze (Opération Vent printanier).
The roundup was one of several aimed at reducing the Jewish population in Occupied France. According to records 13,152 victims were arrested and held at the Vélodrome d’Hiver and the Drancy internment camp nearby, then shipped by rail to Auschwitz (of which almost 100% perished. The roundup, which was part of a continentwide plan to intern and kill Europe’s Jewish population, was a joint operation between the Germans and French leaders. The Vel’ d’Hiv roundup wasn’t the first. Nearly 4,000 Jewish men were arrested on 10 May 1941 and taken to Gare d’Austerlitz and then to internment camps and then to the “death” camps. Women and families followed in July 1942.
Roundups were conducted throughout France but public outrage was greatest in Paris because of the numbers involved in a concentrated area. The Roman Catholic church, which had not always been quick to condemn the Germans, even spoke out in protest. Public reaction obliged French leadership in occupied France to ask the Germans on 2 September not to demand more Jews.
The roundup accounted for more than a quarter of the 42,000 Jews sent from France to Auschwitz in 1942, of whom only 811 came home at the end of the war. I believe French Jews represented about 80,000 of the total 6 million Jewish people who died during the Holocaust.
Do I say this to diminish this event?
Nope.
I mention it to remind people that if you solely focus on 6 million you forget the smaller horrible events that took place in every country occupied by the Nazis during World War 2 that contributed to an incomprehensible number.
Everyone was accountable for the Holocaust. And it is very easy for us to suggest all those who did nothing to stop it should be shamed (and I believe all do feel it) but unless you were there, unless you know what it is like to be under the thumb of ferocious dictatorship it is simpler to just say “we were all accountable and a brave few knew how to have the courage to stand up.”
And while it may be easy to also focus on the complicity of the French police and government in this event (as well as any government in occupied Germany during this time) I will note to complete this particular section that 3,158 persons were awarded the Righteous among the Nations honor (of which 160 received a Legion of Honor).
- note: Righteous among the Nations (Chassidey Umot HaOlam, more literally: righteous men of the world’s nations, also translated as “Righteous Gentiles”) is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to save Jews from extermination by the Nazis.
The French, as do many countries, refer to the days of WW2 occupation and the holocaust as “their darkest hour.”
So.
On Bastille Day I would ask that they remember the few (of probably many) who were recognized for standing up to evil.
And on the 16th they remember that evil is difficult to face.
Célébrons ! Bastille Day.
boy scouts part 2
Jul 13th
So. A friend of mine sent me the following link with the Boy Scouts advertising announcement.
http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/boy_scouts_of_america_prepared
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ….
Well. Here’s the deal. And I admit. I may not be the best person to be providing a point of view here because I care about the Boy Scouts (therefore I may be biased toward being critical). But. I have a couple of problems … oops .. issues with this effort.
1. No one cares if you (or your company) are 100 years old if that is all you say. If you are waiting to let people arrive at their own conclusion (and you are hoping against hope that they believe it means “hey, I am reliable and you can count on me”), you are screwed. Because most people will suggest 100 years old means you are … well … old … and not relevant. (hmmmmmmmmm … I believe that would be the existing issue the Boy Scouts are dealing with so maybe the intent of this advertising is to support and encourage that belief? Ok. If that is the intent they nailed it).
2. I don’t really see why I would choose to either be a Boy Scout or have my son (if I had one) become a Boy Scout. (ok. what I am saying is leveraging off a 100 year heritage is not compelling enough to make me choose)
3. I would be fine with leveraging a message from 100 years if it were buttressed with some unexpected possibly contradictory thought (anyone surprised here?) that made people think about Boy Scouts differently. (best example I can think of continues to be the Girl Scouts ad I posted once).
Girl Scout example:
Ok. That is the Girl Scouts.
But. In the end I would suggest the Boy Scouts truly missed an opportunity.
The Boy Scouts don’t do a lot of advertising. Therefore missing opportunities like this one means they had better be prepared to continue dealing with the relevancy issues they have already been dealing with.
Be prepared to be called old (or maybe better said “continue to be called old).
Be prepared to explain why the heck they spend money to say nothing like this.
Oh.
And be prepared to do something else.
I do love the decision on the production style. It looks beautiful and classic.
The truly missed opportunity is that if they had put a non classic looking evocative message on that production style they would have had the opportunity to suggest that Boy Scouts actually has both those characteristics – classic & contemporary.
For example (harkening back to my point 3 above) imagine if they used one of these images with a headline that says something like “100 years of values in every One of our scouts”:
Are they exactly right?
Nope.
Would people take a look?
Yup.
Would people start thinking that maybe the Boy Scouts were changing? Maybe.
Instead?
The Boy Scout just look classically old and dated.
Awesome organization. Poor communications execution.
unhealthy eating Part 3: the campaign idea
Jul 12th
(foreword note) Ok. This has been a long time coming. My fault. I hadn’t mastered the link placement in post thing. Hang in there and maybe go back and peruse 1 &2 and 4 is actually now on its way.
Assuming you have read Parts 1 & 2 of this diatribe you are tagging along to see where I take the “unhealthy eating is an addiction” thought.
Suffice it to say it is counterproductive to continue pouring money and effort into attempts to make everyone slim, especially when this results in side effects that are disastrous for mental and physical health (widespread body dissatisfaction and poor self-image, eating disorders, appearance based prejudice, discrimination, stigmatization). We’ve had advice, admonition, instruction, rebuke, counsel and guidance through food columns, health columns, TV programs, government initiatives, and local campaigns. There have been guidelines, targets, programs and agendas, plans of action and series of measures.
None have worked.
Yet, as I read USAToday and other publications it seems we are doomed to experience more government anti-obesity campaigns and policies that have little effect on our collective health (or weight) but will make them feel good they are “doing something to solve the problem.
The demand for weight loss fueled by the notion that everyone has a moral obligation to achieve a slim body will continue to eat up more and more of individuals’ budgets and energy (only to fail again and again in their efforts and simply go back to existing behavior).
This is what awaits us (or worse), if we don’t change direction and stop trying to follow the ‘one objective’ (be slim) method.
Look. We are going to have to do something different because it’s not as if we hadn’t heard it all before. For the last 20 years we’ve been lectured, browbeaten, chided and scolded over weight issues.
And let me be clear. We may have the programs available to help resolve the issue but the majority of these programs marketing campaigns (and intent) are appealing to people’s vanity and avoiding a key emotional trigger to inspire ongoing behavior (because vanity isn’t it).
In fact these programs go after the “be slim” concept which is wrong, wrong, wrong.
But I have an idea.
I believe the most recent UK anti-obesity campaign comes close.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2009/jan/02/change4life-ad-campaign
By close I mean they wrap a story around what I would consider the idea that would get adults to really really care.
Almost hidden in the middle of the execution they show and say (basically) that obesity, or being overweight, kills. By the way, the reason they can say that (truthfully) is that there are numbers showing the current generation of kids are believed to be destined to live a shorter lifespan than prior generations (the first downward trend in a long time).
So. The campaign is leveraging an adult’s worst nightmare – they outlive their child.
But they soften the blow in a nice story.
On how to ‘unsoften the blow’ we should look to anti-smoking initiatives and attack this problem exactly like they did.
Now. Let’s be careful with this thought. A bunch of people are gonna start talking about the existing anti smoking programs and “how smoke affects other people” and “not scaring people to motivate them to act.” All those things are correct, and smart, but not what needs to be done now.
We need to go back to learnings from initial anti-smoking campaigns. We need to scare the bejesus out of people so they sit up and take notice.
This is “black lung” type of messaging time.
This is time to tie Unhealthy Eating with dire consequences.
I was recently at an agency where we developed a pro bono “Obesity Kills” campaign. Awesome idea. Well articulated. Made people gasp when we presented it. Half the room loved it. The entire room was scared of it. That made us feel like we had hit the nail on the head.
No one had the cahones to use it. (That didn’t make us feel as good.)
Anyway.
Similar to the UK campaign I would use the fact that Unhealthy Eating can affect the lifespan of children. I would highlight the fact Unhealthy Eating is an addiction.
I do believe a campaign can highlight the effects of an unhealthy eating addiction in children to change adult behavior (and therefore create a circular behavior effect – “I need to change my child’s eating behavior so they won’t die so I need to change my behavior as an example for them – and ultimately I will be healthier also).” It may sound indirect but adults do amazing things to protect kids.
Look. We hear a lot about “childhood obesity campaigns.” That’s stupid. A marketing campaign directed to children won’t address the issue. We can try and make sure the right things are available to them. But kids aren’t stupid. What kid doesn’t look to their mother and father or favorite aunt or uncle as an example of behavior? So. This behavior shift isn’t really about kids. Kids are kids. We can tell them about unhealthy eating until we are blue in the face. As soon as on their own they will grab the snickers bar over the apple. (cause that is pretty much what adults do).
So. In the end I believe we need to change adult behavior (and ultimately that will change children’s behavior).
Unhealthy Eating is an addiction that Kills.
The role of this umbrella campaign is to get people stimulated to do something. Get in a “quit program.”
Once in program we should be encouraging a practical systematic approach to healthy eating (that was in Part 2).
To me we should be driving people into an HAES system so “kicking the addiction” isn’t about getting slimmer it is about achievable ways to optimize health for each individual regardless of size or shape. Once again, HAES emphasizes the benefits of sound nutrition, active living and body confidence as ends in themselves, not as a route to weight management.
Bottom line. Weight control is NOT about being fat or obese or skinny or any body image word you want to write here. It is about being healthy or unhealthy in the body you have. Bodies come in all shapes and sizes. Let them come in all shapes and sizes. Let’s address how we treat those bodies. Unhealthy eating is an addiction. Treat is as such.
speaking & silence
Jun 17th
The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but also to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
- teen blogger Taychyka
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
- Winston Churchill
I have an upcoming post on ‘effective communication’ or maybe better said ‘the art of rhetoric.’ But that is one side of the equation in communication. The actual speaking and what to say.
The other side of the equation is silence.
And I wanted to begin my thinking with a 16 year old quote and a Winston Churchill quote. Huh? Yup. Sometimes teens really do get it.
The funny thing is I believe all of us know, especially when we are younger, that there is a time to ‘not talk.’ Then.
School makes “filling space with words” a competitive arena and starts making us believe it is a way of life.
And in the business world this competition for words and ‘speaking your ideas to get credit’ goes to an entirely new level … it’s on steroids.
It takes courage to not speak.
It is often leaving something unsaid that is the most difficult thing to do in conversations and dialogue.
Silence is a funky thing to most of us.
Most young speakers appear to have a deadly fear of silence. And as they proceed into ‘not so young’ their behavior continues and become aggravating non stop talking machines.
Unless someone says “pause and think.”
But. It seems we are becoming a people who if for even a fraction of a second nothing is coming out of their mouth they feel that something is wrong.
The result? Well.
Actually two things:
1. The ever aggravating “uh,” “um,” “eh”, “ah”, “you know” and other useless things that dot the monologue (all barriers to an actual dialogue by the way).
We employ these unnecessary noises seemingly because we dread the “sound of silence.” It’s as if someone has told us that that something must always be coming out of their mouth, at all times, under all conditions, no matter what.
We all know, in fact, that is not true. Even the non stop talking machines understand this (in whatever quiet moments they may have with themselves assuming they aren’t talking to themselves in the mirror). We all know that silence is a natural and necessary part of any good presentation of whatever you are talking about.
2. The wrong thing. It is quite possible we all need a lesson in what saying the wrong thing means versus silence. I often believe we forget that (thanks for reminding us teen blogger).
Saying the wrong thing, especially at the wrong time, kills ideas, kills conversation, kills relationships … it just kills. I just don’t believe we teach this enough. I just don’t believe we think about this enough. And, this may be funny in this post, I just don’t think we speak about this enough. We discuss “silence versus missed opportunity to say the right thing” all the time. “Speak up if you have something to say” is the message we start teaching early on in life. Balance. We need to teach balance.
Anyway.
I try and keep it simple in my own head. “Don’t fill empty space simply because it is empty.”
In a non-stop world, we have become non-stop speakers. For this reason alone, silence is a powerful tool. Think about beginning a presentation with silence. It takes courage. But it gives your audience time to breathe as well. We live in a crazy world where silence is not easy to find. And, frankly, it’s just not that easy to use either.
Silence. Don’t shun silence. Embrace it.
One of the most poetic thoughtful thoughts I can think of with regard to silence comes from lyrical wordsmiths Simon and Garfunkel:
- “People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening. No one dared disturb the sound of silence. Hear my words that I might teach you, take my arms that I might reach you. My words like silent raindrops, fell and echoed in the wells of silence.”
Oh.
One last, kind of odd, thought on speaking and silence.
Think about this. This is a legal thing.
Legally you must speak out in order to benefit from your right to remain silent.
No shit.
So. In a narrowly split decision the Supreme Court recently expanded the Miranda rights limits. The decision reflects that suspects must break their silence and tell police they are going to remain quiet to stop an interrogation (just as I guess they must actually speak out to tell police they want a lawyer).
What this means is you still have the right to remain silent, but if you want questioning to stop you need to invoke it by first speaking. The goal here is not to protect the constitutional right to silence, but to tell the police when questioning must stop.
I am not sure what to do with this information but maybe if you get arrested silence isn’t such a good thing (I think).
Global Generation 4: role of an education plan
Jun 13th
So. This Global Generation I keep talking about. These kids some of whom haven’t even been born. I have been struggling a bit to explain the implementation of the education platform. And then I opened up the new Economist and there were two articles back to back on Human Rights. The key article to me was a short article discussing how Amnesty International, UN Human Rights Council and Human Rights Watch are unaligned on advocacy of civil liberties and the rising issue that several key Western governments (including America) are giving less priority to Human Rights. 
But what really hit me square between the eyes was how focused these organizations are on intervention. Setting up a legal process to deal with people who abuse Human Rights and highlighting existing problems (abuse). And when that hit me it was a good thing I was on an exercise bike reading The Economist because I began a pretty vigorous rant in my head.
If I had these people in front of me I would ask them:
- Have you not learned anything about the power of people?
- Have you learned nothing about the power of grassroots programs?
- Have you learned nothing from historical revolutions?
- Have you learned nothing about managing human behavior?
- Haven’t you gotten tired of running around putting out fires?
- Wouldn’t it be better to maybe teach people it is better to not start the fire?
Look. I have the utmost respect for the results and intent of these organizations.
But.
At its most basic level my Global Generation idea is about human rights. About the fact education or understanding choices is the foundation for a values system (within individuals) ultimately creating societal (within varying cultures) value underpinnings.
It made me realize that this global education program for a Global Generation is actually a discussion of preventative versus intervention attitude.
And, to be honest, we need both.
However it appears most human rights organizations focus on intervention (and that’s not bad) which is half the equation … maybe even less than half if you look at it from a long term vision standpoint. In the business world this would be considered ‘long term death to a business’ by running around trying to stop problems (and gaining credit for them) rather than isolating why they happen and coming up with a plan to stop them from even occurring.
So. Isn’t this idea I am discussing really a long term grassroots human rights initiative?
And if I think about it that way then describing implantation is a lot easier.
The premise? Let’s just say human rights are about righting wrongs as well as having and claiming a right or rights. While there is certainly a place for say “a UN declaration of human rights” (which we have actually had since 1948 but has no “teeth”) ultimately it comes down to people’s choices (and that means education). Therefore the vision of Human Rights advocates shouldn’t be to run around pointing at adults and trying to change their behavior but rather try to affect behavior by educating your core target.
Youth. And from birth if you want to truly affect a generational attitude.
This kind of thinking takes vision and fortitude. And media and investors will come ‘a gunnin’ for it year in and year out because you won’t see results (or major ones) for 10 years. Heck. Maybe 20 years.
Why did I say major? Because even though you are aiming at youth invariably some other older age groups will be affected (let’s say a smaller group of like minded young adults an existing advocates who you hope are influential in some way).
This is a plan where the world will not see its complete benefits until maybe 2035. Let’s say even 2045 (and that date becomes more important later in this post) Uh. That is what grassroots is about. Building a groundswell of attitudinal underpinnings which encourage desired behavior patterns.
Oh. And also. This is what revolutionary behavior is about. The great revolutions took a generation to come to fruition. First. Adults became unhappy with status quo (but are unempowered by the majority to do anything). Second. Their children learned attitude and behavior aspects growing up. Third. And when rose to adulthood shed the status quo when assuming leadership & decision making roles.
(note: yes. That was a simplistic description but a relatively true generalization)
Let me be clear. In the Global Generation I am not talking about a revolution level of conflict. But rather a revolution of global enlightenment (or conflict with societal/behavioral rules).
I am talking about implementing a grassroots anti ignorance campaign.
But. While I ranted about the existing Human Rights initiatives truly the best way to impact global human rights behavior is probably a bookend strategy.
But. One without the other is wasted effort (in my eyes).
One bookend is these existing organizations. With an emphasis on the UN human rights Council (this is where 2045 becomes relevant).
There is a UN human rights declaration (a global initiative) developed in 1948 after the atrocities of WW2. Yes. It exists. It has no teeth and needs support. And there is an interesting book I happened across at the local bookstore that suggest by 2048 we could have the legal system in place to actually have a viable global UN backed human rights high level sanctioned program. And I am all for it. And it is needed.
I have not read the entire book yet (just scanned it) but it outlines a systematic process to establish the global legal bookend. However, the author speaks about the process as a ‘grassroots’ program and I would debate with him whether it is grassroots (but that would be another post). to me it is simply a nice systematic approach to building a necessary legal foundation for human rights (a superior intervention program & process).
Anyway. That is one bookend. Ultimately it empowers PEOPLE to stand up for human rights (although some bonehead is going to argue its intent is to be able to sanction those who don’t meet human rights standards. Uh. But that is using conflict to resolve conflict).
No.
This first bookend is really only effective if you are building an opposite bookend at the exact same time. Create a Global Generation of people who are willing to point to the declaration (and what it says and stands for) as important. I do not mean global leaders to point at it and say it is important (although influencers are always good). But rather a generation of people. Working people. Everyday people. Farmers. Villagers. Factory workers. Town mayors and spokespeople.
People who in their heart of hearts understand the choices that could lead to abuse of human rights (and say “no”).
This is a program where the attitudes of a generation rise INTO leadership (instead of challenging existing leaders) positions and are empowered by the other bookend to steady the shelf of nations and their actions in (what I am calling) enlightened actions. Less ignorant actions. Less human rights abused conflict. Ultimately enlightened conflict.
So I would tell these folks at these high falutin’ initiatives. You are going to fail unless you invest in the other bookend. You are ignoring basic human behavior aspects. You are firefighters in dire need of a fight fire campaign (Smokey the Bear was embed
ded in a generation of children who understood forest fires).
I would tell them they have a fairly unique human generational opportunity in front of them.
I would tell them to stop and think and with their vision in mind course correct actions for a longer term effect (who in Amnesty International forefathers foresaw a global web based platform when they constructed their vision? They couldn’t).
I would tell them remember effective grassroots programs. And remember human behavior, real human behavior and belief system changes, occur thru generations and not in 5 year plans.
I admit. I read an article like this in the Economist and it drives me a little nuts.
Organizations with great intent and more money than a good smart business person could ever spend and bureaucracy and in fighting and media attacking “lack of results” and possibly some people who can’t see the forest for the trees and it comes to wasted effort. Ok. That was harsh. Inefficient long term effort. Kills me.
But. Maybe I am biased. I am the guy who believes we can impact the behavior of the Global Generation. I am the guy who believes we can build a global education foundation. So. Maybe I am the guy who is nuts.
Well my site. Nuts for everyone.
