Be Contagious

I love this little booklet of the 10 Rules of Engagement, placed by Weber Shandwick in the Global Issue of Advertising Age. Simple, believable, fun and focused, it caught my attention and completely interrupted my reading...... 

No surprises  - eg 'Rule 2' is a reminder that brands co-create their message as they no longer own it. 'Rule 10' 'Hire Us' is a call to action, but, hey ! It did its job by getting Weber front of mind in a sea of agencies.... 

Nice work in raising the bar. I might get back to reading Ad Age at some stage, but inspiring me with simple pictures and simple ideas successfully nixed the impact of every other ad in this issue.

P.S.....anyone else notice perhaps an homage to JCP's latest logo/US campaign ?

The Art of Marketing (#TAOM) - Quotes that provoke ACTION

I get it.

You’re too busy to read a full recap of what the speakers had to say at the art of Marketing Chicago conference today.

So… here are 10 bite sized quotes that provoke action:  my notes and via Twitter #TAOM.

Why Marketers should be artists

1. "commodity is just a marketer that has given up"  - Seth Godin

2. "competence is no longer a scarce commodity" - Seth Godin   

What consumers want

3. "…we use our wealth to get weirder, we use wealth to be more like ourselves" -  Seth Godin

4. (pt 1) "Give a shit first, then maybe consumers will be interested in you”  

5. (pt 2) "..yes and they [customers] talk back now, we have to respect that via good cop marketing" – Gary Vaynerchuk

Leadership in 2012  

6. "lead with generosity, intimacy, candor and accountability" -  Keith Ferrazzi

7. It's Critical to shift from "Stumbling into intimacy" to a relationship strategy. Consider what are you ‘selling’ vs what people are ‘buying’ -  "Ask how can I serve you" - Keith Ferrazzi

8. "Do exactly what I tell you" is the 'Factory' model that no longer works – Seth Godin

Digital stuff…….  

 9. all a ‘bounce rate’ tells you is that "I came, I puked, and then left" - Avinash Kaushik

10. "do you work on a brand that has the right to be on the home page of your smart phone ?” -  Mitch Joel

P.S. Im saving @avinash’s salacious quotes for a deep dive post, and will leave you with the thought, that a book called: Puke.Boom.Orgasm.Awesome is in his destiny.

Just do it

There aren’t too many opportunities to immerse yourself in the business and marketing world at the movie theatre, so take advantage of two great films showing in selected theatres right now.

The September Issue

This narrates the creation of American Vogue's seminal ‘September’ issue (in 2007). The standout drama comes from the fascinating relationship between Anna Wintour and Grace Coddington, where methodical and meticulous editing alongside visionary creativity coexist - beautiful and truly fascinating.

Art and Copy

The film is a masterpiece that tells the magic stories behind seminal ad campaigns such as ‘got milk’, and of course 'Just Do it' from Nike. It's so much fun to revel in the journey of the campaigns and become mesmerized by the genius and talent of the protagonists.

The simple way I connect both films is that in these industries breakthrough success can only arise from three things:

• passion for what you do
• rejection of mediocrity
• Unbridled joy at expressing your creative self

Check them both out now !