"...to create _____ that you can't imagine any other way"

"..to create simple objects..that you can't imagine any other way" Jonathan Ive. 

Source: Mark Prigg,London Evening Standard, March 2012. 

So.....what have you created that can't be imagined any other way ?

Pinterest - one simple tip to avoid faliure

If you are (or know) a stressed [business owner/brand/agency/marketer/online strategist/social media guru...you get the point] driven by the fear and panic of missing out on the next BIG thing that is the Pinterest bandwagon, today I offer you escape from failure via one simple tip.  

TIP: BEFORE you DO anything, ask yourself the question - is the brand I'm 'pinning' a lovemark? ...I suspect your answer is no/not sure.....so take a look at my personal list of #lovemark brands (below) and hundreds more - curated at  lovemarkscampus. 

Immerse in the stories, exercise your right brain.   Have the courage to tell [yourself/Director/CEO/VP/Manager/yourself] .........why you're not doing something with Pinterest right now.  Because you've got fundamental strategic stuff to take care of first....right ?

Music

Lamb

Sade

Tortured Soul

Underworld

Food



Chocolate Sushi

Cubanitas - Milwaukee

Places

Hong Kong - Taxis

Hong Kong - Langham Place Hotel

My Life

Sports

Manchester United

P.S. if your answer was yes....will it be tomorrow ?

(the trouble with) Swatting Flies

Isn't it curious that the harder you try to swat a fly the more it seems to anticipate your movements and preempt your action?

Marketing buzzwords are plentiful, but when I heard the 'attention war' during a presentation by James Andrews (aka the key influencer) my ears pricked up, and I found myself exonerated from defending the status quo.

• What if you reverse your brand strategies to focus on being found rather than incessantly trying to find people ?
• What if you work only on tactics that elicit discovery and not tactics designed to interrupt ?
• What if instead of trying to out-do your competition you simply out-do yourself over and over and over again by delighting only a minuscule group of consumers?
• Why try ever harder to combat 'attention attrition' ? What if you just listened more to find out where people are spending their time ? how about an act of generosity - by helping them have more of that precious time.

Wouldn't that be ample reason to reward you with a little more attention?

 

Sharp copywriting from Proactiv

Its not often that a Billboard catches my eye, but this one off Ohio St. in Chicago did.

Sharp wordplay, sharp photography and new territory for a brand that is now taking on the 'beauty' big hitters  such as Procter and Gamble and tapping into the more conventional aspirational messaging approach.  Read more perspective here from a  New York Times piece. Interesting to see if they divert more funds to this strategy.

THERE’S A GAP IN THE MARKET FOR A ‘SABOTAGE MARKETER’

I’m not an advocate of negative marketing, but after reading the story "United Breaks Guitars" a Smash Hit on YouTube! (as reported on MSNBC) http://tiny.cc/4NRaN , a contentious thought came to mind - that there could be ‘a gap in the market’ for a new marketing career path - namely sabotage marketing !

Don’t buy it huh, well hear me out…..

1.In the above case United Airlines get lots of coverage and can use it to show how they will learn and improve, and Dave Carroll (the inconvenienced customer) will get some belated compensation.

2.After all we have recently seen a number of cases of very smart and highly impactful ‘crisis management/turnarounds’ to handle negative publicity following inappropriate staff behavior at Domino’s (as reported on Fox) http://tiny.cc/quWZx and a chicken shortage at KFC http://tiny.cc/LpDQq

3.Although I’m not suggesting it was a premeditated strategy in the above examples, the results are impressive. What would stop a brand thinking ‘aha’ perhaps we ‘stage’ a negative experience as a way to build a viral ‘turnaround’ story.

4.That’s why I argue that there’s a gap in the market for the ‘sabotage marketer’, their sole job would be to actively and purposefully stuff up - and yes annoy consumers!

For those inclined - some sabotage marketing tips:

a)have a ready made press release, b) get your CEO Youtube response recorded, and of course - c) your Twitter apology posted, and d) fingers crossed either Wolf Blitzer or Anderson Cooper cover you on CNN.

PS.

Typing the phrase ‘sabotage marketing’ into your search engine produces descriptions not as extreme as the way described in point 4 above…..but you never know, so keep your eyes peeled and let me know if you find any concrete examples.