The Business Christmas Party Can Be Costly

Last night I held my firms Christmas party. It is a small affair attended by those that I think have been good souls to and for Bamboo Strategy over the past year. Business stories were shared, including a few business travel nightmares, all in all it was a great time to chill out with some really good people.

Banter at Bamboo Strategy's Gentleman's Evening 2010

It was after the party when I read about a recent poll done by Travelodge in the UK, that hangovers from Christmas parties will cost the UK economy about $1 Billion this year. Now I did not suffer any loss in productivity today but clearly based on this study, many will this holiday season. Enjoy reading the very interesting post Christmas party poll results from the attached link below.

http://www.freshbusinessthinking.com/news.php?CID=&NID=6864&Title=Hangovers+Will+Cost+the+UK+Economy+%A3620+Million+this+Christmas

Related articles

• Christmas parties at 5-star hotels attracting the rich (lookatvietnam.com)
• Want to have fun at the office Christmas party? Don¿t invite the boss! (dailymail.co.uk)
• Oh Sh-t It's Christmas: 12 Days. Really?! (crushable.com)

Gaga Over In-flight Saftey Demonstration

Campaign Asia is the marketing communications trade book in Asia Pacific. Currently they are looking back on the best viral campaigns of 2010. As one would expect the Old Spice Guy is on the list. What you may not expect or know about, was a viral video for Cebu Pacific the Philippines second air carrier. The crew performs the standard safety instructions to the vocal styling of Lady Gaga and they and the passengers don't miss a beat. The video was picked up globally by major news networks.

Cebu has a fun and friendly positioning and this just reinforces it. Maybe Air Canada can use Nickelback to bolster their instructions. Just a thought. Enjoy the video below.

The Power of Celebrity

Image via Wikipedia

I had seen the power of music during my time working on ad campaigns for Canadian brewers Labatt and Molson in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Molson Canadian set the bar high with their iconic music video style campaign for Canadian, and the rush was on for beer brands to try and jump it. However, it wasn't until I was working in the agency business with McCann in Asia Pacific, a few years back, that I really became aware of the power of celebrity.

You see in Asia, celebrities are used to sell everything. In many cases if a client did not have a relevant strategic idea they would default to using a celebrity. If you have been to Asia, you will know what I mean, as you are inundated with fresh faces (with signatures underneath them) on every street corner and flat panel HDTV set.

It is with this mindset that I attended an event put on by Trixstar and Axe Productions in their Edmonton warehouse this past weekend,. It was a great example of the power of celebrity, in that they sprung upon an anticipative crowd, season two American Idol winner Ruben Studdard, and 1980's Canadian rockers Streetheart. While neither of these acts are the biggest celebrities today, the mood at the event went up dramatically when they respectively hit the stage, making the event an even bigger success. The power of celebrity has arrived and Mike Anderson, Trixstar's CEO, knows this better than most in the Edmonton area.

Agents Of What?

Image by DavidErickson via FlickrI recently asked several of my peers in the advertising world for their views on a few things, one of which revolved around the future of the Ad Agency. Tony Altilia, one of my first bosses in the Agency game back in 1985, (who is now a principal at http://www.maximpartnersinc.com/ in Toronto), replied with this link to a recent article in Fast Company called Mayhem on Madison Avenue. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/151/mayhem-on-madison-avenue.html?page=0%2C0.

To me I think the article is required reading for anyone who is related to the Advertising Agency world in anyway today. Lines like "They're all well aware that coding is now prized over copywriting and that a resume that includes Xbox and Google is more desirable than one featuring stints at BBDO or Grey." should make classic agency people shudder. Currency today is technology and insight to stakeholders and communities. Both of these demand an open mindedness that has not been the hallmark of the traditional advertising agency.

As another one of my former colleagues, Chris Beaumont (Past CEO Grey Japan), said, "perhaps this Brand New World demands a new 'agency' paradigm - where we look at what it is important to be an 'agent for'...". I think Chris has hit the nail on the head and that those firms that figure out what the word "agency" means today will be the winners. The days of Mad Men went decades ago, as did the original definition of "Agency". No longer do you need an ad agency as a 'go between' media companies and marketers. No longer do you need an ad agency as a 'go between' stakeholders and the organization. So the question I ask you is what defines "Agency" today?

Related articles

• The Future of Advertising: Three Agencies' Visions (thedenveregotist.com)
• Digital Youngsters Have Mad Men On the Run (observer.com)

Is On-line Pivoting Marketers Into Publishers

The discussions rage about the deepening of the media pool from the shallow end of paid media (think traditional media) to the deeper end of owned media (think web site, facebook page) and earned media (think rating sites). Some, like the attached McKinsey article, advocate for the addition of two more levels of deepness, in the form of sold (my site sells ad space to another brand) and hijacked media (some community member rallies opposition on facebook to my brand). The key to the definition, as laid out by McKinsey, is in the definition of "who owns the interface with the consumer".

No matter where you stand on the topic, one cannot help but ask the question, as marketers go deeper into engaging with their customers, will they have to start to think like publishers, in that they now must create content themselves that continues to service the more demanding needs of their customers/readers?

Furthermore, with the knowledge that McKinsey has learned, that as consumers move through the journey with a brand they hunger for something deeper, more authentic and transparent. Do you think the ad/digital agency creative talent is currently capable of delivering this, being a third party resource to the client and brand?

As marketers build their online presence (in an owned or earned manner) to stay relevant, they will have to feed the channels/publications they have built, and this takes a commitment internally to have talent that can quickly say the right thing to quell a hijacking, or write with passion and knowledge about the company's products, services and promotions.

I believe many things will challenge marketers going forward but to me one of the biggest questions that I have, and one I get from my clients on a regular basis, is who will own the web/social content development and its consequences, because they know they have to but they also know it will mean creating a skill set intenally that they do not have. They will have to learn to think like publishers!


Enjoy the thought provocative piece form McKinsey in the attached link. Make sure you also listen to the audio piece inside the link. (I am aware you have to become a member to the McKinsey site to get the full story but it is worth it. They are the world's number one business consultancy out there. Oh yeah, and it's free to join.)
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Beyond_paid_media_Marketings_new_vocabulary_2697

Love This Presentation Aid

Daniel Pink is indeed a smart guy. I often think his insights are real real good. This time though what blew me away was how RSA Animate took Pink's insight to another level of comprehension. It just shows how important visuals (or painting a visual) are to effective communication.

Click on the video link to be wowed.

RSA Animate -- Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us from Daniel Pink on Vimeo.

Sneakerpedia

The ad below is a real good example of how to build a community and have your brand be at the center of it. Now this ad from Foot Locker is how to build brand relevance!

Leaning Into Frame

In the past I have talked about business being careful in how it participates in the highly personal social media space of people. I am a big believer that you don't barge in and interrupt their online experiences if you want to build any sort of relevant long term relationship with them.

Well this clip via Mike Walsh and his agency Tomorrow provides an interview with New York Agency Anomaly about a concept they call Leaning Into Frame. In short Leaning Into Frame is recognising that "there are lots of interesting conversations going on in society at a point in time, and some of those conversations are appropriate for you (your business) to lean into."

I love the love subtle nature of the lean into frame mindset and the example they give of using the i-phone launch is perfect.

Mini Gets It Right, Very Right.

Every so often I come across an idea and creative execution of that idea, that is worth sharing. This time I applaud loudly the work mini has done in Sweden using an i-phone app to drive people to the mini Countryman car with the lure of winning a free mini Countryman.

How they get Awareness and Interest is to join the promotion is by creating a highly interactive game and pushing it via web and a viral network. They gain Desire by making the game of hunting for a FREE car using GPS technology simple and irresistible. They create Action (literally) by forcing players to down load the app and start running to find and avoid other players wanting to find and catch the virtual mini. This covers the AIDA model in one fell swoop.

Its simplicity is what makes it so powerful. This is technology being used relevantly to make a difference.

Enjoy the link to the video.

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/ambient/mini_getaway_stockholm

China to eat 20% of World's Energy by 2035.

A recent report from the International Energy Agency states that China will consume 20% of the world's energy demand by 2035. This is driven by a 75% jump in consumption from now until 2035. The question is how does Alberta and it's resource based technologies and services start, and in some cases, continue to approach this dominate market.

Many firms are afraid of China as it is too big and expensive. The flip side to this argument is that it is not going away, and it will be even tougher to get in and make a difference if business waits 10 years. So start to explore, find trusted counsel in Canada, make a few trips and see for yourself. The future in many ways is in dealing with China and the future is now.

It's Time For A Little Humanity

I believe that the world of screens that is upon us, be it TV, smart phone, computer, you name it, is leading to a distinct lack of people with the ability to hold a personal face to face conversation. I also believe that this is one of the biggest issues in the marketing communications world going forward, as digital grabs a firm hold of the tool kit being used by the industry. This almost single minded focus on interactive in a digital sense, I believe leaves a huge opportunity for interactive in the human "face to face" sense.

I for many years have been a huge proponent of experiential marketing and think the work being done by firms like Momentum and Jack Morton, just to name two I am personally familiar with, is outstanding and a real difference maker in building relevant brand relationships. To me those marketers that engage all the senses of the consumer, in an impactful experience, will win the day over those that just choose to digitally interact with them. Success in building relevant brands comes with striking a balance between digital and human interaction.

So I could not agree more with the following quote from a recent article from McKinsey. "Many retailers assume that customers walk into stores for purely transactional purposes: they know what they want and just need to buy it. Yet McKinsey research indicates that as many as 40 percent of customers remain open to persuasion once they enter a store,despite undertaking extensive product research, reading online reviews, and comparing prices on their own." Just think back to your in store experiences in the past few years. Think of the sales people you have encountered and think of how many added any knowledge or insight beyond what you had already uncovered on-line. If your answer is anything like mine then you will find the attached piece from McKinsey worth the short read.

Enjoy the link and don't forget we are humans not machines.

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Rediscovering_the_art_of_selling_2677

Video Rules and Brands are Too Agressive in Social Media Down Under

When I ran McCann Erickson China in the mid 2000's, John Gregg was the Strategy Director of our Shanghai office. John returned to Australia in 2006 and recently, as part of his role with Curtin University in Australia, published a research report on social media called the "2010 Social Web Index". I have attached the report below and based on North American studies I have seen, these insights are both supportive and instructive

Many insights come from the report but two in particular stand out to me. The first is the dominant role video plays in people's social on-line habits. Watching video clips on-line is roughly twice as popular as the next closest popular activity; chatting or uploading photos. I know video has become big but this number was huge to me. The second finding that stood out was that 73% of respondents find advertising on-line irrelevant, and 68% believe brands are being too aggressive and disruptive in social media. As I wrote back in July 2010, brands engaging in the social web need to be providing relevant insights or information to people if they want to be welcomed as part of their community, and this Australian information reinforces this point.

The report is very much worth a look at for those breaking a trail in the social media wilderness, as it provides current insights into this rapidly changing marketing communication tool.

Enjoy the link. https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=0AftEgov2gw4AZGMyeGo3NTNfMTlka3duY2pmcw&hl=en

What I've Learned

Yesterday I was in a local Second Cup coffee shop waiting to meet with a client, and I noticed their current  promotional materials talking about after 35 years in the business, they have learned a thing or two about coffee and coffee shops. What stood out to me was the word "learned". "Learned" to me is a great way to say you have credible experience and you have taken some swings in your game (industry) and fouled a few off, had few home runs and even struck out once or twice.

Today we have piles of people saying they have experience at something so it is hardly differentiating to say you have "experience". However the language of "learning" and "learning" over a considerable amount of time implies to me anyway, that one has probably walked the path their client or customer is on at the moment, and what one has to say is probably quite relevant.

So tell people why you are relevant to them. Tell people what you have learned to make you experienced enough for them to spend their hard earned cash on your good or service.

I am Don Norris and in the 25 years I have taken to build the Bamboo Strategy brand, I have learned that hitting foul balls and striking out now and then, means you will hit plenty of home runs in the future.

Who Really Cares

As many discuss how to break through in this world loaded with brands, I believe a central point in the discussion needs to be around relevancy. In other words does any body really care about what you stand for at the moment. Many focus on differentiation, as they should. However, creating brand differentiation is like creating brand impact, it can be done quite easily. However, if it is of the wrong kind (not relevant), then you can actually cause more damage than if you did nothing. For example, if I kick you in the groin, I will have made an impact but you won't want to have a relationship with me!

So again, I say business needs to take the time to understand what the people they depend on for success believe is relevant in their lives, and how they believe your brand best fits into these realities. By engaging with your customers and really understanding what drives them, you can avoid kicking them in the groin.

I attach a link to a quick little bit from "go to market strategies" that touches on brand relevancy.

Click here to read.  http://www.gtms-inc.com/tip_brandrelevance.htm

What Business Are You Really In?

If you have ever been in one of my business courses or seminars, you probably have heard me state that the first thing any one should do when starting a marketing plan, is ask themselves what business are they really in? This may seem obvious to many of you, but often it is too obvious and a real opportunity to step out and relevantly differentiate oneself from the competition is missed.

Think about it this way. Is Starbucks in the coffee business, or is Starbucks in the chill out business? Depending how you answer this question will indicate how you would run Starbucks if you were the boss. If you think they are in the coffee business then the store and the people you hire would be 100% coffee focused. Everyone would be coffee experts, the brewing and espresso machines would be of the highest quality and not focused on speed, just focused on superior coffee. You would not sell anything but coffee, certainly not fruit based drinks, and you would not really care if the environment was comfortable because all you want people to do is buy coffee and not really hang out.


If on the other hand you took the attitude that Starbucks is in the chill out business and just happens to sell coffee as part of this experience, your store would be built around allowing people to let their brains escape from their stresses. You may design an ordering language that is different, one that allows the brain to go somewhere else for the 15 seconds it takes to order a grande, double soy cap! Your staff would be full of unique personalities that just love people. You may even sell music that helps people chill out when they are not in the store.


No matter which approach you believe is best, you can see that determination of what business you are really in, will set the vision of the company in motion. It will determine the type of people you need to employ, the type of products and services to offer, and the style of packaging, store design and promotion to unleash to be optimally successful.

So as you sit on the dock this summer, take a few minutes and ask yourself what business am I really in. It may just open up your organization to a whole new set of buyers.

Again, Do You Know Your Customers?

I recently wrote a blog called "Wow Me." which talked about wowing people by showing you understand how important they are to your business versus just letting technology carry the day. Then a few days ago I came across an article that reinforced the need for business, especially tech business, to become more consumer focused. At the end of the article he provides three simple questions to ask yourself, and if you can't answer them, then your business is not spending enough time and money gaining insight into who your customers are.

The three questions are:

-Who are your Top 10 customers?
-Are they satisfied with what you are doing for them?
-Are you satisfied with what they are paying you?


Please enjoy the read at the link below.

www.financialpost.com/small-business/Customers+companies+best+source+cash/3326066/story.html

Search Me

In Razorfish's 2010 Outlook Report , the leading digital agency talks about many trends in the digital world. The one that has moved beyond trend into the new normal is search.

If you have not taken the time to really understand what search means to your business, then do so now. As Razorfish so poignantly says "In 2010, search will become more than just a service; it will be viewed as a necessity. We are past the point where users think about searching. It is now a reflex, and it is an expected part of the user experience — no matter where that experience may be. Social, video, mobile, local and shopping are all tied to search."

GO TO: www.razorfish.com/#/news/press-releases/2010/pressreleases/pr-20100524-razorfish-outlook-report/

Wow Me.

Summer is full of wows like sitting on a pristine lake dockside. However, all year long people are looking to be wowed when they meet you and your organization. Some firms like TD Bank understand this reality so much they have trademarked WOW, which is amazing in itself. In my mind this wow me attitude is driven by the power of technology and how easy it is to make your brand or business shine from the get go. The bar is constantly being set higher by smart phones, and the apps that are driving them.

So what do you do to break the wow factor when you have no new news and really your brand is not all that different from the competition. In my mind you start with your customers and what makes them tick right now. The best way to get people to say wow, is to show you understand them better than anyone else. Your insights should be so on the mark that they think "wow how did you know that?". By better understanding the people that your business depends on, you begin to place less reliance on technology alone being your wow factor.

The amazing thing to me is that people spend tons of capital on technology to stand out from the competition, yet this same technology is being bought by everybody which makes it tougher to stand out on technology alone. Even more amazing to me is that in comparison, very little is being spent to understand what makes the people tick that drive their business. I mean why do people buy the category? Why do people buy the product? What do people want from the ideal product, and can your firm deliver this today? It's great to look sharp but after people get beyond the glitz, what makes your conversation with them worth their while. What makes them say "wow these guys seem to just fit with what I think.".

So this summer I ask you, what makes the people most important to the success of your business say wow! Hopefully it's more than your technology. Hopefully it's that you know them better than anybody else.

Being Social Should Not Be New

As the marketing world grapples with all the new social media tools available, I think we should take comfort in the fact that at a strategic level, being social should come natural to good business people. At its core social media is just about allowing people to engage, share and profile their thoughts effortlessly.



From a business perspective, we need to understand the tools and how our customers are using them, but the strategy should remain simple - engage with people when you have something to say and it's something you think they will really want to hear. Don't abuse the entry they will give you into their network. Different consumers will demand different levels of engagement, so again take the time to understand the people that are critical to your business. Understand how they engage with social media and how they want you to engage with them on it. It is not about having a twitter account and a facebook page. It is about knowing when to engage and having something relevant to say them.



Many marketing service firms are exploring the social media marketplace for businesses. Take the time to meet with one and begin to learn how it may help your business out. Don't be afraid at first to just get into a learning phase and track what people are saying about your firm and industry. Keep engaging on-line to a later date, when you are truly ready to get into a meaningful discussion.



Remember you are successful because you know how and when to socialise with people. This skill will transfer to the social media world as well. If you are patient and engage when you have something to say that you know will be relevant to your customers, research tells us that you will be welcomed and shared amongst their network of peers.

Gain Insight Or Perish

While the title of this blog seems a tad "over the top" as my Aussie friends say, the point should not be lost that if you do not have anyone in the organization that is constantly, and I mean constantly, uncovering insights about your marketplace and your industry then your organization is set up to perish. Are you listening to what is being said about you on twitter or facebook? Are you following global trends in technology, demographics, economics, regulatory horizons, environment and lifestyle? Do you know how these ever changing trends will impact your business today and tomorrow? The attached link to a McKenzie consulting piece is a quick short read that I fully support. Their five global drivers over the next decade one could argue but in general they are great starting points for business leaders to consider and follow.

Simply put, if you are not dialoguing with your stake holders and consistently monitoring your market and industry, how do you expect to be making the strategic changes that are differentiating and relevant.


Click on the link and enjoy the insight.

www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Global_forces_An_introduction_2625

Wake Up Time Again

Several months back I wrote about business in Western Canada needing to change their future global thinking from the mindset that trade goes across the Atlantic ocean and south to the USA. I mentioned that we need to think of Asia Pacific as the "near west" not the "far east" as generations before us did. The growth of many Western Canadian businesses comes from developing markets in Asia not from past models of the 20th century. To act as a rallying cry for the next generation of businesses, three days ago Michael Geoghegan, chief executive of HSBC, delivered a speech at the American Chamber of Congress in Hong Kong that I believe any business leaders must read.

Mr. Geoghegan recently moved his office from London to Hong Kong to visibly send a signal that the western-centric mindset of global business needs to change. The following is the close of his speech and I attach a link to the entire speech at the end of this blog.  This is a sober look at the business world going forward from someone who has a front row seat. Do yourself and your partners a favour - read it.


"To recap, we have already entered a new phase for the global economy. We will see a new set of dynamic economies: the CIVETS joining the BRICs. We will see the rise of a new middle class and the emerging-market millionaire. We will see trade routes continue to shift in direction. We will see emerging markets' financial centers come of age. All this spells the continuing decline of the Western-centric mindset. All this marks a new beginning for the way the world does business. After three months back here, I am more convinced than ever that this is the decade for Asia's economy."


http://www.forbes.com/2010/04/29/hsbc-ceo-asia-china-india-markets-economy-michael-geoghegan.html

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The Pause That Refreshes

Many of us may know the famous Coca-Cola line a few decades back ..."the pause that refreshes". While this is still very much rich strategic territory for Coke today, the term I believe applies to how all businesses should be looking at the downturn in the past few years.

I have said in past blogs that this slowdown will be viewed by smart business leaders as a time to retool and strengthen not only product portfolios but corporate and brand positions as well. For those readers who enjoy a life line to the oil patch, you may find the attached video clip from McKinsey and Schlumberger's CEO Andrew Gold worth the three minutes it takes to view it. (The entire 6 clips take about 30 minutes if you are interested.)

Mr Gold's line of "This pause gives you an opportunity to get places where you think you've lost it or you don't have distinguished products and services.", proves that even the traditional oil field service industry need to look at business and reposition itself for the environment of the day.

Enjoy the clip.


http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/McKinsey_conversations_with_global_leaders_Andrew_Gould_of_Schlumberger_2572?pagenum=1#interactive

The Last Ad Agency On Earth

Today I came across a promotion video for an upcoming conference on the latest thinking in the marcom world. It is a short clip done by Saatchi & Saatchi Canada, and it is done very well. If your agency acts like this one did then you have not been listening for the past 5 years and move now to save yourself.


Besides the great execution the point is clear which makes the piece even better. Pull your head out of the sand and engage with your customers. If your agency isn't driving this for you then change the agency.  Video link is below.

http://vimeo.com/10251808

The Power Of Good Presentations

I am a big believer in presenting well. I also know that presenting well takes a pile of time and patience. If you have great information but cannot get this information into the minds of the audience, then all you have done is waste your time and theirs. Nancy Durate runs a very cool design firm that helps people deliver impactful presentations. I follow her blog now and then and her latest on the poor presentation style of Microsoft's Steve Ballmer is a little reminder that no matter who you are, you can always get better at presenting.

The link is below and the survey in the blog that deals with the content in Ballmer's Windows 7 release is worth noting so you can do the needful for your own presentations.

Enjoy the read.


http://blog.duarte.com/2010/02/steve-ballmer-could-make-more-money-if-he-presented-well/