Monthly Archives: November 2010

Life in the Fishbowl

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Well everything hit the fan yesterday, and we have had wall-to-wall coverage of the Wikileaks in the diplomatic world.  If you love titillation and scandal, things just couldn’t get any better.  If you believe that these things should not have been leaked, then life is now hell.  Better get used to it since there is more to come, and I’ll get to that later.

Many of my clients are senior executives who both love the limelight, but who also want to control their image, and that of their organization.  That has gotten to be hard in this highly 24/7 social world.  Anyone can be spotted and tagged in a photo or video and it is hard to do anything about it.  For the photo shy this is frustrating.  What can you do – best advice today – get over it.  You now live in a fishbowl world and transparency is full time and real time.  Be it your image, or any data about you – it is being shared, and in many cases sold to someone who wants to market to you.  We now live in a world wide small village where we all know everything about everyone else.

There is outrage at the leaks, and talk of espionage charges against the leakers, one of whom an Army enlisted man is awaiting trial.  Things will get sorted out in the future, but one thing is not and will not change in the future.  Once the story is out, the damage is done…the bell has been rung and cannot be un-rung!  If this is to be our future we must adapt our behavior on the front end to avoid consequences on the other end.

The change in behavior needed?  Think transparency and reputation management.  If you start with the fact that you really do live in a fishbowl, you should adapt your behavior on the front end, cause the consequences WILL follow on the back end.  You should also be active in promoting your brand and all of the positive things it stands for on a routine basis.  That should help if any small hick-ups occur along the way.  A good offense helps to create a good defense in football parlance.

What happens next with the leaks?  In a new Forbes cover story Julian Assange has ‘leaked’ the fact that their next target is going to be a major bank.  Big business is now in his sites.  With all of the damage being played out in the news over the sad state of the foreclosure mess which is hurting some of the major banks now, I don’t think it will take much to cause a real stir, and perhaps a crisis there.  My retired banker father-in-law is so thankful not to be working in this environment.  He for one could not stand to live in the ‘fishbowl’ of today’s world.  Fish food anyone?

The Game Is Changing

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In discussions with clients I often offer suggestions for their reading to help them with insights on current issues they are facing.  I find that this adds some additional perspective to our conversations, and helps to clarify the open issues that one on ones might not fully cover.  Recently, someone asked me what book was most helpful to me.  I thought, and one came to mind since it really helped me through a disruptive period in the mid-80’s.  I’ve owned two copies of the book, and since it was so helpful to me, I recommended it to others – so they borrowed it.  Sad thing is I lost track of both copies, and the book is out of print, though can be had for a premium price.  With my luck I would repeat the process again to the same result.

The book is Game Plans, Sports Strategies for Business by Robert Keidel published in 1985.  The book looked at various business models of key business and fields and related them to sports.  Football, with all of the blocking and tackling and defined roles of players, offensive and defensive teams – was the epitome of what we say in large corporations of the time.  The best example was General Motors and Ford.

The second model Keidel used was baseball, with the emphasis of no clock and offensive and defensive roles in sequence.  Very free form with coaches making changes to the lineup, but the game was played the same time all the time.  The key element here was that historically winning seasons came to those who won the most games, and those who hit the most home runs won the most games.  Baseball was a game of home runs and rewarded the big swingers, though most struck out more than they homered.

The last model was basketball, or even hockey.  Here the motion was always fluid.  Shoot, miss and you instantly are on defense, grab the ball and you are on offensive hurtling down the court.  Keidel saw this as the new model that was emerging in the computer field – we’re not not even calling it the digital world at that time.

Why was this premise so big to me?  The company I had joined in 1979 was a total football company.  All the language we used to describe the business was pure football, and Tom Landry was our exalted guide, this being a Texas based company.  A few years later after years on the road handling startups for the company I found myself in a strange atmosphere.  It had become a baseball company, and the long ball hitters were the heros.  No matter how many times they struck out, the homeruns were celebrated. When I realized I was still playing football and everyone else was playing baseball I realized that I that was out of step, not everyone else.  What did I do – I changed and learned to play in the new game.

Why would I tell my clients about this little know book?  One of the key questions I always ask now is what game are they playing?  Is that the same game your competitors are playing?  Is this the game that will help you win and keep customers?  It sounds so simple, but every time I bring it up I get that ‘aha’ flash of their eyes.  Today the game is changing everyday, take stock and make sure you are wearing the right gear, and playing by the right rules.  Now if I could get back at least one of those two ‘lost’ copies of Game Plans I could tip my hat to my photo of Tom Landry with a big smile on my face.

Yeah, that’s the ticket!

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Nike's New Floor at Univ of Oregon

I had my first pair of waffle trainers back in the late 70’s.  They like every other pair of running shoes were discarded long before they wore out.  I have a son who works on Nike advertising for their digital agency R/GA since 2007 when they first went digital in a really big way.  On any given Saturday in the fall we see tons of colleges with Nike logos on them, fewer with the three stripes of Adidas, and a smattering of Under Armor logos.

Nike is at it again with a whole new place in which to show their pride and spirit.  The University of Oregon, the beneficiary of much largess from their “neighbor with benefits” Nike, is now installing a new floor in their new Matthew Knight Arena.  In 60 days when it opens it will have a floor covering featuring a unique image that hopes to give everyone a view called “Deep in the Woods.”  One of the hopes, I suspect, is to strike fear in the hearts of visiting basketball players, much like the blue “Smurf Truf” at Boise State.

I don’t know about striking fear in the hearts of the visitors, but it is likely to give vertigo or something like that to players running down the court on a fast break.  We used to worry about a collision with a defender now we’ll have to worry about running into a tree, or at least the image of one.

Nike is nothing if not creative.  I can’t wait to see what they will do next, and to see what Adididas and Under Armor might try as well.  How about the Adidas ‘three stipes’ on California prisoner uniforms for our ‘three strikers.’  California could use some of that good endorsement money.  I’ll call Adidas in Herzogenerach, Germany tomorrow with my money making idea – yeah, that’s the ticket!

Not Dead Yet!

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In recent presentations I continue to get questions about the various forms of media and which should they be using. What they are really asking seems to be…”Is email dead?”  They also want to know the same about direct mail, newspapers, radio. It reminds of the scene in Monty Python’s The Holy Grail where they were collecting the dead from the streets at the height of the Black Death – “Bring Out Your Dead, and the retort was from one lying in the street – “Not Dead Yet!”

Not dead yet is my answer for all of the media people are continuing to use.  Everything is still alive and kicking and serves useful functions for reaching segments of the audience you want to reach.  One only has to look at the conduct of the advertising for the recent elections to see just how segmented the approach was by the various campaigns.  Living in California, I saw it all, and received it all, including some mobile for the very first time.

The key for making the right choices are the target segments you are trying to reach. That will lead you to the right media mix- that’s right the media mix. Change in media has been endemic over the last several years, and continues to change daily, is that it takes a mix to ensure hitting your targets.  The article in the sidebar and linked here – “Email Marketing: I am not dead yet” gives you some recent stats that show email marketing is alive, and in Deliver, the USPS publication contains a number of good hints and stats that show direct mail is also still viable.  I’ve worked in both arenas, as well in newspapers and out of home and I can attest that all are still useful – when used the right way, for the right audience, and in the right mix.  Kind of like making a cake – right ingredients, right temperature served to the right company will get you raves.  Change any of those variants will change the outcome.  It takes a lot of ingredients, all in different proportions to make a cake – and the same holds true for trying to reach your customers and potential customers.

My advice to my clients is to focus on your audience and segments and that will help you define the right media mix for now and for the future.  Newspapers may not be as profitable as they once were, but they are still viable as a part of your mix – “Not Dead Yet!”

Addressing Our Fear of Failure

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Atychiphobia is the ‘fear of failure.’ I read a piece in Advertising Age this morning that caught my attention because it dealt with our collective fear of failure.   In my professional capacity I deal with sales people all the time, and one of the key factors everyone is dealing with today is the current state of the economy.  Many are really ‘spooked’ – their fear of failure is palpable.  We live in an age that worships celebrity and success in all areas – sports, politics, celebrity and business. Yesterday, half of the teams in the NFL lost.  Tomorrow, only one winner will come out of each political campaign with a smile on their fact.

The Ad Age article is entitled “Not Only Is Failure an Option, It’s a Requirement.” Derek Walker hits a key point, one I was first introduced to when I was recruited to Harte-Hanks in 1979.  All new management hires went through a psychologist who interviewed for suitability to an aggressive management environment.  My psychologist marveled at my track record to that point, but had one key issue – my lack of failure to that point.  He gave me some advice in my new career – don’t be afraid of failure, embrace it, learn from it, and move on.  I thought he was crazy, but I smiled.  A few years later in the midst of another round of expansion and incredible change I found solice and inspiration in his advice, and I did embrace it.  It allowed my to go on the management tightrope and try things I would not have done, and in the recession of 1982, I needed it.

Derek Walker in his article focuses on the advertising field, and the need to try new things and push the envelope as keys ways to do the best work for clients.  He is right, but you have to bring the customer allow for the ride, willingly.  The mistake is to get too far out ahead of them.  I’ve made that mistake and paid the price, but I also learned from it and that has helped to propel me forward.

Success is great, it brings us financial rewards.  Failure can be more rewarding for the enlightenment it brings.  In the end, you can take both to the bank with you.  You can feast on success today, but failure will feed you in the future.  The psychologist was right!