Pardon The Disruption

Sorry to interrupt your conversations.....but..........

I'm so tired of hearing about the reinvention of advertising.

I'm bored of listening to you talk about your new business model, way of thinking, and the revolutionary new stuff that you are ...going... to create - you swear - one day really really soon.

I don't care you fired half your staff and filled a room with UX designers and social media strategists.

And I don't understand why so many people seem to be missing the point about the dramatic impact technologies have had on the way we now communicate.

Stop talking about it. Stop talking about YOURSELVES. No one cares. Stop with all the mass media and PR promises and start demonstrating that you are doing something different.

Change your process. Change your product. Change your results. And the rest will come.

Ok, now back to your previously scheduled programming.

Why Greatness Fails In Research: The Case Of Pie vs. Cake

Jasmin flipped me a brilliant link today around an argument as to why pie beats cake. On first read, while not only being funny, I have to say, pie on paper seems better than cake. Why? The author presents the following research:

Pie enjoyment is more sustained over the eating experience:


Cake has uneven frosting distribution:



Flavour anatomy is better with a pie:




Pie has a role in powerpoint presentations and cake doesn't:



This list goes on and on.

At first blush it's hard, no maybe impossible to refute such a strong argument. Again, on paper. But see, that's the problem with some types of research. What they don't take into count is the things you CAN'T see. What's not on the piece of paper - what you can't see is the deeper cultural implications that drive our imperfect decisions on a daily basis.

When I was 6, did my mom make me a pie for my birthday? No. She make me a cake.

Marie Antoinette. Did she say 'let them eat pie?" I think not.

Is there a show called Pie Boss, The Ace of Pie or the great Pie bake off? No, no and no.

Pie has its place but that place is not the same space in our hearts and our minds that cake has.

All of this to say, just because the research tells you so, doesn't mean it's true. Greatness can and has failed in research and if you don't believe me, just look at the case of pie vs. cake.

It's Your Obligation To Make It Better.....

I watched Julie & Julia the other day on a flight there and back from Washington. I really enjoyed the film. Why? Because Julia Child and Julie Powell (and Nora Ephron for that matter) are originals.

It's been sitting with me every since. I can't explain except to say, that I think that it's just such a rare thing. To be an original. And if you think about this whole Web 2.0 thing, when everyone's littlest thought or latest photo can be published without efforts beyond pushing a button, it's got to somehow make you think that it's going to be harder and harder to find true originality.

Slidehshare, the blogosphere, experts on every subject that is related to the word digtial....it's so chalk a block filled with imitators, chart creators and general wanna bees. People who take other people's ideas without any reference to the original thought - and by the time the third party person four degrees away starts quoting them, it's like they've actually said it and not say, Marshall McLuhan, or some obscure sociologist that I've never heard of, who in fact actually did.

I've heard the phrase before that it's ok to copy someone, as long as you make it better. And I guess after all that's exactly what I'm trying to say. It is ok to copy someone. But, it is (especially if you aren't going to give the original creator any credit) your OBLIGATION to make it better.

So i say to you, to any of you who care to listen. Make it better.

I dare you.

Paraphraseitis & The Quest For An Original Thought

Have you ever looked at a really fancy diagram in a blog post or slideshare presentation and thought, wow....that's really smart. Digital thought leaders using new phrases I've never seen in a context that appears to be completely original. Words like 'experience vertical design' 'cross-calibrated networked scenrios ' 'transformative media types' ...the list goes on and on.

And then did you take second look. And think...

Hold on a second...

They've just renamed stuff.

They just called marketing planning some new fandangled digital phrase.
They've just paraphrased what was formally known as a creative brief.

Hold on a second, what's going on here?

And then you realize that this isn't a new thought at all. It isn't original. It's something far more sinister.

It's what I call "paraphraseitis".

Definition...

Paraphraseitis: In the quest for an original thought and personal brand building, an expert, usually in the field of digital communications, renames something old and attempts to turn it into something new. They often then put it into diagram form, and distribute it through social media and RSS feeds thus getting notoriety through retweets and blog posts cheering their new great word/phrase discovery

What's the real issue here isn't that it bugs me (which it does) but that it actually is a detriment to what i do every day. It confuses people. It makes clients think they don't know 'what's going on with this digital stuff' when actually, they do.

It makes them think that there is some magic that they don't have powers in that only these shiny new Internet experts with their new diagrams, fancy new processes and fantabulous new phrases can explain.

Here's my personal ask. If there is already a phrase for it, let's use that. If there is a job that is close already, let's just use that word instead of making up a new one. And if it isn't an original thought? That's ok. Just reference what it really is. No one will judge you for it.

As for the quest for a real original thought? If you don't have to work hard for something, it's probably not worth having.

Who Died And Make The Box King?

I just can't resist a great rant. This one from Virginia Magaletta who is the CD at Twist Image (my new place of employment) and doesn't like boxes.

"I'd like to toss my hat into the ring, on the issue of BOXES. What is up with all these boxes on line? What makes a site with BOXES more navigable than one without BOXES? Why do we think that putting a BOX around something and then putting another BOX right next to that with something else in it is the best way to design a site? Who died and made the BOX king?"

For more boxy juiciness go here.

Photo credit: Flikr1309

Opt Out Should Be Banned From The Marketing Playbook

I don't understand why marketing departments still have the chuzpah to use opt out as a valid conversion tool.

Case and point - CIBC new Infinite credit card. According to CIBC, I have been chosen to the premier service which has no down side and gives me new benefits such as the ability to go over my limit with out a penalty.

Apparently, in one of their direct mail pieces they gave me the option to opt out. Of course, I don't read DM and frankly I get so damn much of it them, unless it's my VISA bill or my account info i tend to toss it in the garbage without a second glance.

Now, I guess from their perspective, I should be thrilled to have this new card. But these days, time is more important to me than trip cancellation service. Without warning, the other card has stopped working on my online banking and I"m officially being forced onto this new card.

Uch. Opt out. Unless it's for organ donation, it should just be stricken from the marketing playbook all together. That's my story and better credit or not, I"m sticking to it.

Social Media Experts Are Like Mushrooms & Dove Evolution Is Like Woodstock

Image via Wikipedia I bumped into this oh so true quote via Gavin -

"If someone tells you they are a social media expert, run" -- Connie Reece

I was joking around with a client the other day about all the agencies popping up social media groups like mushrooms on a old decaying log.

We are in experimentation mode. We are all testing and learning. We are in a few year long public beta where the results of which are only starting to come through. For that reason, there is no ONE proprietary methodology that works. There is no STANDARD for measurement and there are only a sea of opinions rather than any real "experts" on how we should be approaching this new networked marketing model. Anyone who tells you anything different, well, as Connie put it, RUN!

And on a separate ranty note, I think it's funny how the DOVE campaign has become like Woodstock -- apparently all boomers were at Woodstock and similarly, everyone in advertising worked on Dove. I thought I would state for the record that I did NOT work on the Dove campaign and had absolutely NOTHING to do with DOVE evolution.

There I said it. I'm not an social media expert and I didn't work on Dove. I hope you don't think less of me now :)

Let's Play The Game "Rename That Marketing Tactic"

Maybe the bad weather here in Toronto is getting to me, but marketing pple are starting to REALLY get on my nerves.

I know, let's take an old tactic, like say, a microsite for the press on a product launch. Let's rename is something cool - um something with the word social in it. I know, how about a social media press release!

Next thing you know, they take that new name, write books, blog posts. Maybe add some cool diagrams and develop new paradigms and go off to digital marketing conferences and become kings of the world.

Give me a break.

The Web has always been social. Email, IM. Biggest apps ever.
The tactic of creating interactive experiences for the media to launch products has existed since around 1997.
Community sites have been around since before the Netscape browser.

What has changed is decentralization and the power of the edge economy. What has changed is that we are all now media. Actually there are a lot of things that have changed except maybe marketers who continue to play the rename game and end up making a schwack load of dough in the process.

(this rant was for some reason was inspired by Mathew's post, "PR Industry: Still grasping for a clue)"

How To Ruin A Perfect Customer Experience: The W Hotels

Last week we stayed at the W hotel in Chicago for business. The hotel was beautiful. The rooms were immaculate (i love their aubergine colours). The bathrooms were fantastic (I am all about the shower pressure).

I even noticed that they changed the floor mats in the elevators to reflect the time of day (good morning and good evening). The staff was helpful, the food in the restaurant was quite good - all and all a pretty close to perfect customer experience.

Until....

Turns out, my credit card didn't register with their system and the individual who checked me out didn't notice. So since I wasn't there, they just chose to use the credit card of the person who reserved the hotel. I'll call that person, poor Nansi. So poor Nansi is the receptionist at the Blast office in NY. She's one of the most helpful people on the planet and instead of having a good day today, Nansi has been fighting with the W hotel over this issue. Even though it is THEIR error they are not only requesting my credit card (which we gave them) but as well, a faxed copy of photo ID.

This is just unacceptable. Let me count the reasons why:

1. One can routinely purchase items online without any photo ID
2. They know the error was theirs
3. They know Leigh Himel (whose credit card they have now been given over the phone) was the person who stayed in the room
4. Blast is clearly a real company, with real offices, who clearly poor Nansi works for bc she was the one who booked the travel in the first place

Not only that, but they have now turned a perfect customer experience into a horrible one. I was just filling out my profile for travel and was asked what my hotel preference is. While I am a starwood hotel travel member, I am now rethinking the whole thing.

What a shame. It's why end to end is so important and why living the brand means more than following a silly un-customer focused policy book.

Update: The W Hotel rocks my world again....Read about it here

Sometimes I Just Want To Jump Off The Web 2.0 Ledge

A friend who works at an unnamed place came by the other day with some classic stories. You know the kinds of things that as a digital strategist, make me want to jump off the Web 2.0 ledge. So in response, i have two things to say today:

1. Facebook widgets are not a strategy dammit! (nor is a myspace page, a corporate blog or a second life store) They are called tactics!

2. No one, and I mean NO ONE (be they clients, creative directors, account people etc.) should ever, EVER ask the question "Where are the Web 2.0 features?"

Whew. Thanks. I feel better now.

A Friend Read A Blog Of A Friend And Then Wrote A Post And Linked To The Friend And Then A Friend Read That Post ...And Then I Fell Asleep

Ok long winded title, but Case in point, the bubble post by Mark Andreessen. I read about it first on Paul Kedrosky's blog during my morning scanning. Then later in the afternoon, I went to my feeds again, and I swear I bumped into a gazillion postings on the exactly same subject, citing the exact same articles only a few of which gave any new perspective.

wow.

clearly I have no diversity in my feed reader.

And the irony? while i have thought this for a while and it's been bugging me, I actually read a post on this very subject a while back called the Echo chamber where one person almost dared people to link to Julia's post. Well dammit, now I have.

ECHO! ECHO! ....zzzzzzz........

"Well, Just This One Time"

"Well, just this one time"

should be stricken from the vocabulary of anyone who works in customer service.

This time, the bank. They don't put our three separate notices we gave them for change of address in their computer, and then close our account. They lose the investment that was in there (which can be recovered so they tell us....) and yet somehow manage to track us down in order to tell us we owe them $120 to reopen the account.

After arguing, they tell us, "well just this one time"

Like they are doing us a favour?

Banks. *Argh*