Posts tagged messaging
jeep & robert frost
Jan 24th
Ok.
It is very difficult in the car advertising business to make your advertising stand out.
Car manufacturers spend zillions of dollars (ok … only billions of dollars) and it is difficult to find something truly new and relevant and interesting to say.
So sometimes you just have to find a different way of saying the same thing and hopefully it stands out.
Jeep Wrangler Arctic just did it (for me at least).
In the television ad I saw I heard a poem I sort of recognized … and I couldn’t figure out who the voice was who was saying it (but it sounded dated).
The poem (and words used in the ad)?
“Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening”
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
The author? Robert Frost.
Holy cow.
Some copywriter dug around in his/her literary mental archive and saw these words and said “shit … I bet if we put some amazing footage of a Jeep Wrangler (Arctic to be specific) driving through some impossible snow underneath these words … well … it would be the shizzle.”
Then he/she thought some more and said …
“Oh. No. Let’s do better. Let’s use Robert himself.” (thought bubble attached: hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm … I wonder if there is a recording of Robert Frost reading it?)
Holy shit (instead of ‘cow’ this time). Yes. There is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfOxdZfo0gs&feature=related
And then they edited it to make this Jeep ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHeG8J5b1U4&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL3F36F72A7E0D8CB7
(by the way … if you stay on the link and let the next Jeep Compass ad run it is a great border collie ad)
Ok.
Is it brilliant advertising? Maybe not.
It is a brilliant creative way to say what you want to say? You bet.
It is an incredibly creative way of saying something that almost every ‘rough ‘n tumble’ car manufacturer has said.
Will most people know it is Robert Frost? Hell no.
But it sounds cool and tough and timeless and the words are relevant and if you do know it is Robert Frost … well … it make you feel like you are a smart Jeep owner.
Anyway.
Here is the entire Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening poem:
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Good stuff Jeep.
Oh. I have read a couple of commentaries on this advertising where some people were getting in a tizzy (a technical term) on using Robert Frost to sell Jeep Wranglers. Geez people … get over it. Get a life. It is a smart idea. And it’s not like they are using his poem (and voice) to sell feminine wipes or erectile dysfunction drugs (not that there is anything wrong with either of those). This was artfully and thoughtfully done.
Once again. Well done Jeep.
facts and creation
Jan 23rd
“Without the hard little bits of marble which are called ‘facts’ or ‘data’ one cannot compose a mosaic; what matters, however, are not so much the individual bits, but the successive patterns into which you arrange them, then break them up and rearrange them.” - The Act of Creation
I find it tragic to watch bright, energetic youth become lethargic and uninspired in the workplace.
Yes. Tragic. Because it is such a waste of not only mindpower but, well, will power. And it is also tragic to the work company because lethargy does not lead to ideas/ideation/creative thinking.
To me? The real problem lies with the older folk (in manager positions) who seem to lack a comprehensive relevant view of learning. Or maybe better said … they have an archaic way of viewing the way it should be done.
There are a lot of leaders (management whatever you want to call them) who appear to be guilty of classifying learning as being a difficult and frustrating experience.
This is in combination with the fact they also tend to have odd views on ‘how to make it fun.’ Oh. And to complete that thought … they have a belief that they have to ‘make it fun’ because learning is difficult/frustrating. Therefore it is a flawed belief system.
Look.
Creative thinking and innovation does not arise out of a vacuum but must be supported by a culture that encourages people to experiment. To experiment with facts, with ideas and products. With the hard little bits of marble as it were.
Original thinking and new ideas has to be nurtured and rearranged in successive patterns … not destroyed and scattered.
We can all encourage creativity by helping young people learn to assess the bits of marble and take intellectual risks in their work & ideation. Does this have to be “made” fun? Nope. And it is, frankly, silly to think it has to be.
Instead this is like providing a spark to combustible matter. I am not suggesting it should be painful but rather fun is slightly less relevant than providing the inspiration to learn and become engaged.
Ultimately I don’t believe management should teach people how to create ideas.
The goal should be to prepare young people to be competent and original in their thinking.
Do that and they will create mosaics like you have never seen before.
Oh.
And in successive patterns.
(by the way … that is a good thing)
global latin American
Dec 29th
Every once in awhile you come across some magazine advertising that makes you actually stop and look (rare … I know). It isn’t annoying, smelly (those damn cosmetic ads), condescending, impossible to figure out what they were trying to say (or why they did it) or have some random half naked model in it.
I saw one. In the Economist. This is about Itaú, a Brazilian global bank, and its advertising campaign.
I would imagine that most North Americans have no idea who Itau is. In 2010 it was listed as Latin America’s largest bank and was, for the second year in a row, ranked as one of the world’s 10 largest financial institutions. The bank operates 5,000 branches and nearly 30,000 ATMs, with 108,000 employees throughout the Americas, Asia and Europe.
It is one of the region’s most international banks, with Itaú-Unibanco branches in New York, Tokyo and Grand Cayman; Banco Itaú Europa branches in Lisbon, Madeira and London; and Itaú BBA offices in Shanghai and Nassau. It also offers retail banking in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay.
But.
The advertising campaign.
It is a wonderful strategic decision to leverage its roots, its current customers, its growth focus and its global feel. All in one ad campaign.
“I am a Global Latin American” is a brilliant use of what Latin American professionals are doing outside the region.
And I love the tagline … “The Global Latin American Bank” (mostly because I sense the majority of people don’t necessarily think of Latin American as global … in any sense of a definition).
And it’s a pretty cool print campaign (well art directed and written).
The full-page ads feature some leading Latins declaring why they consider themselves a “Global Latin American”:
Argentine Polo star and Ralph Lauren model Nacho Figueras.
Brazilian actress Alice Braga (Alice is best known in US for her role in “I Am Legend”).
Brazilian Artist Vik Muniz (full name … Vicente José de Oliveira Muniz … makes me wish I had been born in Brazil or Spain ).
Argentine ballerina Paloma Herrera (one of the premier ballet dancers in the world – named as one of the 30 artists most likely to change the world of culture).
The copy is personal and, while humble, certainly ends with a sense of accomplishment. It is one of the best use of celebrities I have seen in awhile.
And the ads were created by one of the world’s hottest ad agencies – Africa (they do some nice stuff).
I also like the campaign because despite the fact Itaú has been listed as one of the 100 most valuable brands in the world (ranking first among Brazilian banks ) by Millward Brown BrandZ rankings, it is a nice natural evolution of a thoughtful multi-year brand management effort. This stage in the effort seems to focus on increasing the type of awareness they desire (strong local but strong global). It is nicer stuff than simply saying “I have a shitload of deposits and ATMs.”
I sometimes believe larger institutions waste advertising dollars talking about themselves and it all blends together.
This ad campaign certainly looks & feels different.
And it makes them look different.
Well done Itau (and africa).
VW
Nov 16th
Ok.
VW has always done some really nice advertising. They remain one of the few companies who really has understood that what differentiates them is their product’s brand character and not really their features (or the lack thereof).
What I mean by that is while they will talk about a sometimes quirky appearance or how much gas mileage a VW owner can get from their product (a feature) … a feature, by the way, that everyone is talking about so it is all kind of a blur to everyone watching … they decide to talk about their features within what seems to be a very well defined brand character.
In other words they highlight a feature but do it in such a charming brand personality driven way that it becomes distinct.
And entertaining.
And fun to watch.
And, frankly, just makes you feel darn good about a VW.
If you own a VW you end up saying “hey, did you see that VW tv commercial?” (and feel great that it is your ‘brand’).
And if you don’t own a VW you actually chuckle and get what they were really trying to say (and maybe the next time you are in the market for a car you may take a look at a VW for no other particular reason then you feel good when you think VW).
The most recent example of what I have seen that speaks to gas mileage but does it in a very VW way. In fact it was this tv commercial that made me decide to write this post. Very well done. Clever. And VW to its core.
Vamanos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsTqGa2gd0E
And, of course, the VW Darth Vader tv commercial is spectacularly charming.
And it is the penultimate example of how do differentiate based on brand character.
I struggle to envision how some agencies would even present an idea so brand character driven … let alone the fact that most of car manufacturers wouldn’t even produce it.
The advertising, even more than selling a car, is a reflection of the company and brand itself. Envision the fact that almost 50 seconds of the entire 1 minute commercial has nothing to do with the car itself. And, yet, the advertising is unequivocally associated with VW.
Darth VW: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0
And then a commercial that involves a slice of ordinary life which everyone can relate to.
Somehow in this commercial they covered pretty much any and every one who could possibly be considered in their potential demographic profile by finding something similar within everyone’s life … that moment when we sing to ourselves.
Rocket Man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWy-LCGDsd8&NR=1
So.
Ever since Bill Bernbach infamously touted a VW Beetle in a print advertisement as a “Lemon” VW has maintained a sense of believability and charm and understanding that communicating product ‘truths’ within an honest brand character can create value in people’s minds.
Are VW’s REALLY better than other cars? Nope.
Is there another car brand that REALLY makes the same kind of self-image statement about its owner? Nope.
Others may make different statements (Jaguar, Porsche, Ford trucks, etc.) about their owners but not the same as a VW.
Good stuff.
Oh.
And you know how I know they understand their brand so well?
Doesn’t matter who their advertising agency is (DDB, Crispin, Deutsch) the advertising remains good.
That is a sign of a company that understands what is important.
one hundred monkeys
Oct 3rd
Ok. Everyone knows I love trying to understand why people do the things that they do (attitudes, behaviors, etc.). therefore I am hoping no one is surprised that I find the 100 monkey theory fascinating.
It is almost like a different version of crowd clout. But with a twist.
As some of you may be scratching your head at the moment – here is the 100 monkey theory:
In 1952, on the Japanese island of Koshima, a monkey named Imo washed a sweet potato before she ate it. She and her fellow, Macaca Fuscata monkeys were given sweet potatoes by the scientists who studied them. The monkeys like the taste of the potatoes, yet did not like the dirt. Imo taught her mother and the other monkeys she came into contact with and over time more and more monkeys were washing their potatoes.
Imo’s practice catches on.
Well, the interesting observation is that after a significant minority (let’s say 100 monkeys to use a number) of the monkeys were washing their potatoes, the scientists observed that very quickly after this, all the monkeys were washing their potatoes. Like a critical mass had been reached and now all the monkeys were able to access this knowledge somehow even if they did not come into contact with Imo and her friends. More interesting is that scientists observed that at the same time, on other islands monkeys were also washing their potatoes.
It appears that when 99 monkeys were washing potatoes and one more joined, a critical mass was achieved and this awareness was now available to everyone (please don’t get hung up on the exact 99 or 100 numbers).
This is known as the 100 Monkey Theory.
So. The foundation of the theory is when a certain critical number achieves an awareness of “something” (an attitude or behavior) that this new awareness may be communicated from mind to mind. Yup… mind to mind.
I believe the truly stunning aspect of this theory is the ‘island to island’ aspect.
And these monkeys didn’t have internet.
Nor a classroom.
Nor any physical content.
This theory suggests that, although the exact number may vary, that the 100 Monkey Phenomenon suggests when only a limited number of people know a new behavior it may subconsciously reside as the conscious property of the collective people.
And while I really do not want to get hung up on the actual numbers it is fascinating to think that there is a point at which if only one more person absorbs the new attitude and changes its behavior that somehow this awareness is picked up by almost everyone. The implications to this is interesting particularly in a business sense (not just culturally).
This suggests finding a group of influencers, or early adopters if that makes it easier for you to get a handle on, is more important to future success than simply grinding out success building “awareness.”
Anyway. There is a book on this theory, “The Hundredth Monkey,” by Ken Keyes, Jr. I don’t suggest reading it because, well, the concept is pretty simple and you don’t need a book to explain it nor do I believe a lot of ages with graphs and explanations will convince you.
Let me explain why I like it as well as how I rationalize it.
First. Trying to explain behavioral transition from specific tactics is very difficult – and it aggravates me when people try to associate specific expenditures or activity to create behavioral activity. This whole idea with 100 monkeys is about doing things, real behavior, creating enough critical mass so that it gets recognized and absorbed in some subconscious way which inevitably creates the behavioral change desired.
Oh. By the way. The fashion industry should take note of this one.
Anyway. I believe any one even remotely interested in creating cultural change should invest some time thinking about this theory. Instead of needing dollars to create change or wacky ideas to affect attitudes or investing energy trying to create “a wave of change” someone can focus on “the 100.” Creating change by focusing the few. Gosh. Sure would make life a little simpler huh? (some people, like me for an example, call this creating an influencer base to influence mass behavior).
Second.
100 monkeys (or any individuals with brains) is enough critical mass to ensure either extensive collaborative thinking or the presence of a superior individual innovative mind. Either way the group attains the same objective – an innovative idea. Combine this with my overall belief that great minds puzzling over similar situations are quite likely to have the same idea & thought (and inevitably the same innovation) then the 100 monkey theory is not as wacky or cerebral as it may seem at first blush.
You may not buy it.
You may not think people are related to monkeys.
You may think 100 isn’t enough.
But you should think about this (while eating a banana of course).
hope, low prices & marketing (part 1)
Aug 22nd
ok.
Working in the marketing business I often find myself in some heated debates about whether advertising & marketing is “selling” (or it is often stated “oh, so you are in sales”).
Here is the answer.
It’s not sales. It may not even be selling (in the traditional sense).
Sure.
Ultimately marketing & advertising wants to “sell stuff” but the craft of communications itself is not about selling.
Or convincing.
Or persuading (in some weird and creepy way) someone to do something they don’t want to really do.
Is it about “persuading” in the sense I want someone to “choose me!” to be on their wallet team? Sure.
Is it about persuading someone through some trickery to buy or do something that is bad for them? Nope.
Because in the end It is really about attitudes (creating or aligning to a ‘truth’ – a real truth not a made up one) and behavior (understanding why someone does something they do and inserting a choice into their existing behavior … and sometimes modifying that behavior if you can truly offer something better for them as an alternative).
So marketing & advertising is really about informing so someone can make a choice – whatever is the best choice for them.
Therefore. Marketing & advertising is not in the selling business.
It is in the choice business.
And while choices have dollars & cents attached to them and features & benefits and all that truly functional crap … a person’s final choice preference is never any of those things.
A choice may be made based on them (that truly functional crap) but typically it is only made that way for lack of an alternative.
And that is why communicating “choice” is an art. Because communicating choice is about education and emotion and, well, hope.
Because the bottom line is that people want to make the choice that gives them the most hope.
Now.
That may sound hopelessly lofty but its not. In fact it is what marketing & advertsing & frankly just about any consumer business is all about.
We are in the hope business.
Hope of something (it doesn’t have to be some big audacious hope … sometimes it can just simply be some small glimmer of hope in an otherwise hopeless day).
Yes.
This is truth (and some businesses may cry & weep & gnash their teeth … I just wanted to type gnash).
People don’t really want cheaper prices.
People don’t really want better technology.
People don’t really want faster answers.
People don’t really want more time.
People don’t cooler features or more flashing widgets.
People even don’t really want more money at the end of the month.
None of that really matters to customers.
They want hope.
They want to know that they are going to be ok.
And they want to know that it can get better for themselves.
In a world where natural disasters wipe away lives in a second and leaders make decisions that take billions of dollars from hard working saving & investing people the only thing people can truly hold onto is a belief of something better.
Yet.
In our ROI-driven marketing world we not only seem content to pretend that a “faster, cheaper, better” is what people want but we also relentlessly pursue ineffective marketing communicatiosn initiatives expounding upon a litany of usefless features and functional doo-dads.
And we are wrong. Dead wrong.
People want hope.
In a lot of ways ‘the people’ are no different than you & I (because oddly enough we are people also).
They want to be listened to.
They don’t want to be lied to.
They don’t want you to talk over them.
They want you to validate their concerns.
They want their questions answered.
They don’t want you to ignore them.
They want you to inspire them.
They don’t want a sales pitch.
They don’t want you to be annoying.
They don’t want to hear about you.
They do want a distraction from real life.
They don’t want to be pressured.
They want to know that you have problems too.
They want a consistent partner.
They don’t want you to fake it.
They want truth in answers (the first time & every time).
They don’t want you to tell them what they want to hear.
They want to feel like you care.
They want you to hear what they aren’t saying.
And most importantly …
They want more than what they have (not materialistically but “happinesswise”)
They want more than what they expect (not just functionally but in life)
They want something better (not just functionally but in life)
They want optimism (based on truth not blarney).
So.
Enough of that.
People want hope.
(that is the common denominator in all the things I just typed)
And if you aren’t providing that in your marketing you … will …. not … be … successful.
Sure.
You can buy some sales and a “consumer relationship” with lowest prices & coupons and cool features and some functional widgetry but those people aren’t buying “you” they are buying the ‘feature of the day.”
In my words? You have bought a date not a relationship.
And you have missed an opportunity to be a hero. Instead you are a salesman.
You have missed an opportunity to have offered,and given, hope.
C’mon. be honest with yourself as you read this.
Think of all the times that were hoping that someone really cared about how bad you hurt inside. Or recognized the pain.
So ii guess if you really feel like you have to ‘sell’ … then sell hope.
Because as Hugh Macleod drew in his cartoon at the beginning of this post … if you can sell hope you can get someone to buy anything.
hope & marketing (part 2)
Aug 22nd
Ok. I had so much to write about in “hope, low process and selling” that I took this part and thinking and put it in its own lil post.
Here we go.
Fact.
Communicating choices with the intent to persuade someone to “choose me” is an inexact science.
In fact.
It is not a science at all (despite what ROI driven purchasing people suggest and desire).
Yes.
There is a discipline to crafting communications (c’mon … given the amount of time people have done things there is certainly a list of ‘trial & error’ learnings to use as benchmarks).
But.
Advertising iconic hero Bill Bernbach said: “I warn you against believing that advertising is a science. Artistry is what counts. The business is filled with great technicians, and unfortunately they talk the best game … but there’s one little problem. Advertising happens to be an art, not a science.”
And this dude, and his agency DDB, created some good shit (and still does).
So.
So, because being in the choice communication business (and selling hope) isn’t a science, the truth is (another fact) the more research conducted to “strengthen” choice communications (i.e., marketing & advertising) the more functional the communication has to be judged on … because that is the only thing research can quantitatively measure.
Emotion, or something you just feel in your gut, cannot be measured.
(note: there are some wacky research tools out there that attempt to do so but regardless of their best efforts no one I know can use ‘brain wave’ or ‘twitch muscle’ research to truly tell you what your gut tells you)
And (as noted in the previous ‘hope’ post) functional doesn’t win in the long run. Emotion or some higher order value wins.
Bottom line?
Two things lead to mediocrity and conformity in communications: research and rational benefits.
Interestingly this thought goes way beyond communications and advertising. It runs true in just about any transaction-based relationship (i.e., shopping).
Another fact.
Shopping isn’t simply a transaction. Shopping is an experience.
And I don’t necessarily mean experience in the “walking around and looking and touching” perspective. One expert said it best:
“We dream of shopping for beauty, truth and perfection, and if we do not shop for a perfect society, at least we shop for a perfect self.”
Yes. Correct. And, yes, again.
We shop and we make choices as an extension of ourselves – of who we are and what we want to be. That, at its most psychological Maslow-like level, is the pursuit for a perfect self.
Sound like a bunch of mumbo jumbo? Maybe sounds like it but it ain’t.
We talk transactions but we behave emotionally.
(how often has your head say “he is all wrong for me” and then you go ahead and let your heart tell you what to do?)
Anyway.
The same expert also suggested that she believes “the noblest aspect of shopping is finding a community, a discovery that usually happens at a place like a farmer’s market or a neighborhood store, where interaction among customers is fostered. Rallying for these public spaces rather than buying things, she argues, should be what we use shopping to achieve.”
Poetic words.
Maybe even sounds a little too lofty.
But its not. Because if you ignore the thought behind the words you simply fall back into the functional/rational zone of sameness (and then, I guess, it does become a science).
If it helps … simplistically she is suggesting creating spaces so that “birds of a feather can flock together” and be happy amongst others.
So why is all this important?
Well. If I want someone to ‘choose me’ I have to understand the challenges.
Understanding motivation for behavior is one thing (and a very very important thing).
Understanding HOW to communicate is another.
Bill Bernbach again: “Eighty-five percent of all ads don’t even get looked at. Think of it! You and I are the most extravagant people in the world. Who else is spending billions of dollars and getting absolutely nothing in return? We were worried about whether or not the American public loves us. They don’t even hate us. They just ignore us.”
So even if I am in the ‘selling hope’ business I have to deliver the message in a memorable, interesting and artful way if I want whatever I am marketing to be chosen.
Notice I used art in there.
Because, once again, it is not a science.
I cannot simply say “hey, look over here, I am selling some hope-on-a-rope.”
I gotta be creative and offer up some communication that stirs someone emotionally and lets them arrive at the benefit all by themselves. That is a powerful communications when that happens.
And there absolutely can be some discipline in the approach but the ultimate output is art.
A maddening art. I often call it the “glorious mistakes when we blunder into an incredible way to say what we want to say.”
Why a ‘glorious mistake’?
Well.
Often the most insightful communication is partly flawed. Likeable. Believable.
And I ended on believable because while communications is art … truth is just that – truth. No grey. Just truth. And that is ultimately what makes things believable.
Bob Levenson (hired by Bill Bernbach) may have said it best when he responded to a Time magazine contest in the 1960′s. Ad agencies were invited to create an advertisement in the public interest. He wrote a manifesto for the ad industry (see below). It conveys the honesty that the advertising/marketing profession is founded upon. And still should uphold as the beacon for everything every marketer (at any level) should do in the communications business.
Bottom line?
Share truth.
Sell hope.
And enjoy, share, and DO THIS OR DIE.
libyan public relations
Aug 3rd
Every once in awhile you read something really wacky. So wacky it becomes slightly hard to believe.
This one?
Moammar Gaddafi is looking for some PR help.
No shit.
A New Report Says Moammar Gaddafi Is Shopping For a New York PR Firm To Help Him Clean Up His Image.
Really Moammar? Are you serious?
It gets even better.
“Libyan Dictator Seeks Rep To Oversee Press Briefings and Prove His Claim To Power.”
Awesome.
“prove his claim to power.” Right. Public relations is gonna do that.
Here is what his new PR agency is going to be asked to do:
- polish his homicidal image
- help to counter the fallout of a civil war that threatens to topple his regime
- someone to head daily press briefings (and look good in Kevlar i may add)
- spread the good word on the tyrant’s “moral” and “legal” claims to power.
Ok. I cannot wait to see who would step up to the plate for this task.
Apparently this became news when a pitch letter an official in Tripoli emailed to New York and London agencies this month went public.
Ali Darwish of the Libyan Ministry of Information asked prospective reps to “present our just and fair case to the world” and claim the moral high ground. “We have good moral, political and legal logic supporting our position as the legitimate, sovereign and popular government of Libya. We also have proofs [sic] in written, audio and video forms to take our case forward,” he added, according to the pitch letter. Darwish even claims NATO attacks, which began in March in response to the regime slaughtering protesters, resulted from bad spin. “Libya has been under an unjustified media and PR attack which led to NATO’s military involvement,” says the email.
Alrighty then.
And I have some swamp land I want to sell in Florida to someone.
Anyone think a PR firm could help me?
So far there are no takers.
In the category of “let me state the obvious” .. Ronn Torossian of SWPR states “I highly doubt any PR firm will positively respond to this request.”
Geez.
I would have thought firms would have been lining up.
But. Whoever is interested better hurry up.
The somewhat not-so-solid government seeks to move quickly. “We can formalize any deal with your organization through a third party to help move things forward fast.” said the initial letter
And just in case you question the story. Libya officials have confirmed it.
According to an official with the Libyan Mission … “The government is trying to have the support of people outside the country,” said Dia Abubaker Alhutmany.
So. While this is absolutely crazy I got to thinking that maybe in some far corner of the PR world would believe this is an acceptable challenge for the field of Public Relations.
Therefore with this fascinating piece of gossip I swung my curiosity over to the public relations experts and sought out advice on whether Libya could solve their problems through PR.
Some expert states (which I thought was quite appropriate given my curiosity search) “Can public relations solve the world’s problems? Of course not. But can it solve all the problems for your business that appear out of the blue in the middle of the night and leave you pacing the floor? Definitely! Even the toughest cases can be fixed with a little savvy and wit.”
So with that I looked at his criteria (in italics below) and said “whoa, maybe Moammar has the right idea!”
Solvable issues (per a PR expert not me):
1. Freudian Slips
Your highly rated politician client is enjoying the love of the public and the comfort of a sure win come election day. Then one day he decides to foam at the mouth and manages to offend half his voters. Comfortable lead no longer exists.
Even worse, your opponent takes the gaffe and runs with it! They use it on every commercial, every print and Internet ad, during every speech. Before it gets out of control, get your foul-mouthed pundit out in public view to start making apologies and kissing babies! Then, have him publicly mingle with whichever group he offended to show what a great guy he is.
OMG.
This is Gaddafi! Moammar. Don’t hire anyone. Here is your solution. And every morning you should wake up, look in the mirror and say “gosh, I am a great guy.” A good way to start every morning.
2. Internal Rumblings
Times are tough, and your employees are naturally worried about layoffs. Once that rumor starts bouncing around the company walls, it could quickly lead to insubordination and employees bailing. If you pick up even the slightest of rumors your employees believe the company is having problems, hold an intervention to stave off any unforeseen problems it could cause! Reassure everyone their jobs are safe, and if there ARE problems within the company, be perfectly frank about them.
OMG (part 2).
Moammar. Do you see yourself in this situation? Stop shooting missiles and call everyone together and reassure them and, well, be frank. Once again. No need to hire anyone. You can do this (just leave guns at home in case you are tempted).
3. False Information
What a nightmare! Once in a while, something gets out in the press, be it a rumor or misunderstood info, that can totally derail your campaign. I honestly think this is one of the worst issues you can face as you probably had absolutely nothing to do with it! There’s no other option, though, other than to not only assure your customers the information is false but to also publicly show why the rumor is just that, a vicious rumor.
OMG (part 3).
Moammar. This perfectly describes your situation (as you stated in your request for PR help). Silly silly people believing all that false information. If you would just stop beheading all those people and simply publicly show why it is just a vicious rumor instigated by others who are jealous of you I can pretty much guarantee all will be well in the end (and you once again need not hire anyone)
4. Property Damage
When a fire tears through your small warehouse, ruining quite a bit of your product, people are worried their orders won’t get filled. Even worse, the future of your company is in jeopardy.
Of course, you’re not going to let a little fire ruin your life long dream, so you need to let everyone know that business is running as usual. Assure customers that there might be a delay in their order, but you firmly intend on honoring every order. Even though the fire wasn’t your fault, offer a coupon for their next order due to the delayed delivery.
OMA (part 4 excpet this time it is Oh My Allah).
Moammar, dude, you are surrounded by property damage these days. And not just fires. And I know for sure you did not personally start any of them. Offer people coupons. It will be great. Problem solved.
So.
In the end.
Maybe Moammar isnt that dumb.
Maybe hiring a PR firm truly is the answer to his problems.
please note:
(what a frickin’ wacky world we live in)
zone of mediocrity
Jul 21st
“Some people are born mediocre, some people achieve mediocrity, and some people have mediocrity thrust upon them.”
Joseph Heller
“We must overcome the notion that we must be regular…it robs you of the chance to be extraordinary and leads you to the mediocre.”
Uta Hagen
Ok. One of the things that consistently amazes me in the business world is mediocrity.
Or maybe better said …“comfort in mediocrity.”
And I am exponentially amazed because if you were to interview 100 different business leaders about their organization and company vision nowhere within that entire interview would you hear “we seek mediocrity.” In fact I can almost guarantee there will be words like extraordinary, innovative, new and bla … bla … bla.
Mediocrity is a stellar example that you cannot believe what people say. That what people say and what they do are often two completely different things.
It makes you wonder a little that if everyone’s attitude is so expansive why is their actual behavior so minimal/restrictive?
One writer suggested the reason is ‘vainglory.’
“Vainglory,” an anachronistic term meaning an unjustified and excessive pride in one’s own achievements or abilities is one of the primary forces animating and shaping contemporary culture.
Yeah. I buy that theory. Probably because I have seen it run rampant among successful entrepreneurs who now run their own companies. Well. Let me qualify that by saying they may represent the biggest ‘vainglory’ offenders (because large companies get mired in mediocrity too).
Ok.
To be fair (to those mired in mediocrity) it is possible the true effect of the recession in the business world is the creation of being safe versus smart risk taking.
But I am not sure it’s the recession’s fault.
Regardless. Companies beware.
The truth is that death resides in the zone of mediocrity (in a recession or not in a recession).
Interestingly I think companies do beware. It’s the leaders who are failing the companies.
So. Leaders beware.
Be fearful of mediocrity. And be fearful of playing it safe.
At the root of mediocrity?
Try this on for size. Criticism seems to have replaced oppositional debate as a form of business acumen.
Inherent in criticism is diminishing without enhancement. Oppositional debate is contrarianism with the intent to enhance.
And, frankly, I don’t have too much to offer here on why that is happening. If it were a generation thing I may have an idea but the people criticizing (leaders) typically grew up in an oppositional debate business world. So I am not sure what is breeding this.
But. Regardless. It’s happening.
And leaders are consistently permitting their organizations to get sucked into the world of mediocrity regardless of the criticism/debate thing I brought up.
To me the worst is when a company with all the potential to succeed gets sucked into the zone mediocrity. It is frustrating to see. And painful to watch as they continue in a doom loop of mediocrity. Or maybe call it unfulfilled potential.
I can even identify some key characteristics of a company mired in mediocrity.
1. High churn of leader low-senior people (the ones who ache to not be mediocre and seek to take the calculated risks to break out).
They get frustrated. And they leave for greener grass when frustrated.
2. Low churn of low-senior people with middle age kids.
Oh. They will bitch. Make some noises. But they know if they feed the mediocre machine (and get a small win here or there) they will never get fired. So they don’t take the day to day risks it often takes to rise above the zone of mediocrity. They learn to live within it.
3. High churn of young people. Especially the good ones.
The ones who have some ambition or maybe not a lot of ambition but want to learn stuff. They max out fast in the zone and hit a level of dissatisfaction quickly. These really hurt because this group dials up the company culture of miserableness in a sneaky way. They aren’t really grumbling. It’s worse than grumbling. They simply ask questions among themselves. The “why” question. Why are we this way? Why aren’t we growing? Why wasn’t that idea discussed instead of the one that was. Why, why, why and why again. They sense that something is off kilter but they don’t know the answer. They just keep asking the question.
And when all of that has swirled around long enough. When the repitition of mediocrity is solidly in place. After some time all groups and all employees and all people will get lulled into a sense of helplessness.
They start believing they cannot fight ‘the man’ (it can be identified specifically as the leader or simply the organization as a whole) and so they lose sight, or the desire to actually sight, for a something better than mediocrity because of complacency.
In the end.
Being in the zone of mediocrity in the workplace is odd. A little strange. Something feels off, some in-office rhythm is missing, something is off kilter, off balance, out of place.
Its something you cannot really quite put a finger on.
And with all that it becomes … it becomes easy to get sucked into the zone of mediocrity.
So what can you do? (other than bitch & moan & be mediocre).
If you are a leader? Lead. (but most people aren’t in leader positions).
If you are the rest of the world?
Well. I cannot guarantee this will get you out of the zone all the time but you will feel better about yourself and more fulfilled as a person (and possibly be better armed to battle mediocrity).
Never stop learning.
The corollary to this is ‘never stop challenging the norm.’
And at this idea’s foundation is something called commitment. Never stop learning takes commitment. Because in the zone of mediocrity life is much much easier if you go with the flow and accept ‘that is the way it is done.’ Be committed to never stop learning. From anyone. From any place. At any time.
Next.
Develop a passion for something.
There is nothing like passion to create day-to-day energy. This is much much bigger than ‘overcoming fear of failure’ or learning from mistakes or any kind of crap like that. This is about positively moving toward some unseen objective – fueled by an internal passion. The best example I found was about Thomas Edison.
It stated: Passion inspired Thomas Edison to develop the lightbulb. He failed more than 10,000 times. When he was asked what kept him going after so many failures, he said that he had not failed at all. What he had done was to find 10,000 ways that did not work.
Now. I will talk about resiliency next … but for now? That is passion. Find something to rally around. It’s easier to fight the good fight if you care.
Next.
No quit.
This is possibly better defined as “character resiliency.” This has nothing to do with trying and doing and day in and day out grinding it out. This is bigger picture stuff. This is about not giving up on what you dream or imagine. Mediocrity of almost all things in life takes a boatload of resiliency to face and defeat. I threw in character but at its core this is resiliency. Mediocrity is relentless and patient and sneaky. You cannot quit, ever, in your battle against mediocrity.
Ok.
So. What happens if you don’t attempt the three things I suggest (or anything to get out of the mediocrity zone)?
Well. If you don’t do this (and reside in the hellish zone of mediocrity) I have one word for you.
Regret.
Regrets are almost always about missed opportunities – failing to take the risks that could have led to a more fulfilling outcome.
Mediocrity is numbingly subtle.
Company leaders have to believe they are called to something bold and amazing. Even if it is simply engineering the best toilet. I read somewhere three keys to fighting your way out of this mediocrity malaise:
- 1. I believe we each hold within us a vast reservoir of courage.
- 2. I believe in doing something every day that scares the shit out of me.
- 3. I believe in burning my ships and declaring myself all in.
Love it.
Leaders should have it up on their wall.
Breaking out of mediocrity means being courageous, scared shitless sometimes and being “all in” when making a decision.
Ok.
But before anyone thinks this is some wacky uncomfortable hi-risk leadership point of view. Let me say it takes all those things as well as some blending. Yeah. A blend.
Blending risk and safety is the key to success. Too much of either is just not good stewardship. Foolish risk taking is as bad as mediocrity. Somewhere in the middle is the zone of success.
Ok.
I am coming to the close on this topic.
Mediocrity is a simple thing to identify (if you are honest with yourself).
Mediocrity is driven by inertia.
So, saying that, mediocrity ends up actually being a choice (it doesn’t come naturally).
I will try and end this by explaining the zone of mediocrity and that choice I just mentioned by using Yeats:
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre/ The falcon cannot hear the falconer.” 
(note: gyre – a vortex, a circular or spiral motion, especially in ocean currents)
Yeats suggests that at any moment forces are raveling and unraveling, forming and disintegrating in polarity (or, as one writer explained, “gyres” superimposed on each other with the apex or narrowest point of one at the center of the other’s base).
Therefore moments of opportunity occur when time shifts from the outer to the inner gyre – somewhere within the constantly raveling & unraveling.
Leaders are always a focal point for a company’s constantly spinning gyre of ambition and desires. So that leader has to recognize the possibilities inherent in change and the accompanying risks. No change, or progress, occurs in the face of all this raveling & unraveling only through the choice to be mediocre – and not make change (or worse … not take advantage of the forming opportunities).
Their excuse for mediocrity? (if there is an excuse at all).
Mediocrity occurs because the problem is that unraveling/raveling is rarely neat and the leader risks losing what is most important – the center. Or as Yeats suggests:
“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold”
And there in lies the true foundation of the zone of mediocrity.
Those in leadership positions of power and authority who foresee the possibility of ‘things falling part’ remain frozen in models that no longer function, or adapt, in a new environment. They fear losing what is at the center (which is certainly the closest to their soul & well being).
So they refuse to embrace change and instead embrace mediocrity.
And in that, my friends, we end up in the infamous zone of mediocrity.
Do what you can to avoid it.
Do what you can to break out of it.
Do what you can to find leaders who seek to stay out of it.
heineken & music
Jul 1st
First. I love a cold Heineken. Probably my favorite brew when the day calls for a beer.
Second. I have hated Heineken advertising for a very very long time. I have continuously thought whomever was doing the work was missing what Heineken was all about as a brand. In general the advertising seemed to continue to Americanize the brand.
Oh.
Side note. I love America (this being the 4th I wanted to reinforce that thought so no one came trundling into my comment section mentioning that I was some communist or something. The point is that Heineken is not American – nor communist I may add).
Whew.
All that said.
The new Heineken advertising.
Love it for Heineken.
It is interesting to me not only because they have developed advertising that is quirky and with lots & lots of personality but strategically it is their version of “the most interesting man in the world “ (Dos Equis).
This is “I see myself in that brand” 101 (a basic college lesson).
It is over the top but in an odd European quirky way. It reestablishes Heineken is not for the mainstream. It clearly showcases that Heineken is not for everyone, it may only be for those who like to be different and it has an international feel to it.
It is the type of advertising that people in other categories should sit up and pay attention to not because they should copy it but because they could learn from it.
Smart stuff from a smart advertising agency – wedien & kennedy.
Even better?
Love the music.
And the music tied to the over-the-topness of the commercial itself is absofrickinly perfect.
The song is “the golden age” by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour.
So.
Here is Heineken “the entrance” tv commercial (done by Weiden & Kennedy – good stuff from a good agency):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0KvbSqfd28&feature=related
as a bonus.
This is the full Golden Age music video if you want to see it (and you like the song):
The asteroid galaxy tour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=On6U-kQGBcA
Happy 4th of July weekend. Have a Heineken.
