Author: Drew Neisser

The Last Lecture: Follow Your Dreams

Posted on by Drew Neisser

Last night, my daughter and I watched a video on YouTube called “The Last Lecture” which was given by Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch. We were both weeping by the end. We were both inspired as well. Over a million folks of all ages have watched this video, some finding inspiration, some finding schmaltz. ABC News (Diane Sawyer) ran a full hour story on Mr. Pausch this week which was also a tear jerker as it tracked his battle with terminal pancreatic cancer seven months after his now famous lecture.

Mr. Pausch also recently published a book called The Last Lecture that is getting favorable reviews across the country. Here’s some background on the book from the Detroit Free Press:

Pausch, a professor at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University, isn’t about dying, however. He’s about living. Living for his wife and their three young children. Living a good life as long as he can.

A now-famous lecture he gave at Carnegie in September has inspired millions who have viewed it on YouTube to follow his example. He hopes his new book, “The Last Lecture” (Hyperion, $21.95), published this week, will do the same. His publisher is banking on “Lecture ” to become the next “Tuesdays With Morrie,” the mega-best-seller by Free Press columnist Mitch Albom about another dying professor.

It all sounds terrible sad. Amazingly and to his enduring credit, it isn’t. My daughter took many of his suggestions to heart. Of course, she instantly asked to paint her room in response to his suggestion for parents to let their kids be creative and pursue their dreams (I consented!). She also took note about how Professor Pausch had gotten himself admitted to Carnegie Mellon for graduate school after having been rejected. You can imagine how relevant this was to a high school junior who is well aware that the high class of 2009 could face the highest rejection rate in the history of college admissions (the class of ’08 did).

I loved his description of a brick wall as simply a test of how badly you want something. I also found myself checking my own dream list just to make sure I hadn’t written too many of them off (and yes, there is still time for me to learn to surf!) So as you approach this weekend, perhaps it is time to review your personal dream list. If not now, when?

Nice goin’ Patagonia

Posted on by Drew Neisser

A fellow Renegade brought to my attention (thanks Shana) a bold new microsite by Patagonia noting that the “site tracks the journey of a handful of garments from inception to distribution, and measures the relative good and bad of the journey in terms of sustainability.” She added that it is a “good example of a company being transparent about their “green” efforts, for better or for worse.”

I’d encourage you to explore this site. I found an interesting video about how a Patagonia supplier (Unifi) is creating recycled polyester yarn that is ending up in Patagonia’s Synchilla Vest. In the video, a Patagonia spokesperson notes that the company wants to be using 100% recycled yarn in all its products by 2010. That’s an impressive goal. It is also interesting that the Unifi spokesperson noted that they save the equivalent of a 1/2 gallon of gas for each vest Patagonia produces with recycled synthetic yarn. I guess if Patagonia sells a lot of these vests, that’s a lot of saved energy.

The most refreshing part of this is the sheer honesty of the site since having a zero impact product development process is next to impossible. “The Footprint Chronicles” is a pristine example of Marketing for Good, educating their target about their green ambitions but not over-praising themselves for their “goodness.” Finally, it is worth noting that Patagonia encourages visitors to join the conversation on an employee blog called The Cleanest Line.

Dirty Pools, Clean Water & Black Mirrors

Posted on by Drew Neisser

My wife recently vowed not to give another dime to any politician regardless of their affiliation, position or stated angelic mission. Frankly, she’s just fed up with the lot of them and believes she can do more good supporting ideas like the Life Straw, a simply amazing approach to water purification which could help a billion or so people avoid water-borne diseases. Here’s a couple of quotes from their website:

Recognizing the importance of safe water in our daily lives and the billions of people who are still without access to these basic human rights, LifeStraw® was developed as a practical response to the urgency, and confirms our commitment to achieving the MDGs.

Mobilising LifeStraw® offers relief from waterborne diseases of major public concern such as typhoid, cholera, dysentery and diarrhea. As a personal and mobile water purification tool, LifeStraw® is designed to turn most of the surface water into drinking water, thus providing access to safe water wherever you are.

Happened to see inventor Dean Kamen (also founded F.I.R.S.T. robotic competition) on Colbert Report last week demonstrating his amazing water purifier (a far more expensive & robust system than the LifeStraw) and was reminded about it by this email from fellow a Renegade (thanks Phil!):

Dean Kamen, best known for inventing the Segway, unveiled his latest invention on the Colbert Report— a filtration system that will turn any liquid into pure water without the use of any filters or chemicals. The necessity for the invention arose from the fact that 50% of human disease can be attributed to pathogens in drinking water, a number he hopes his invention will erase. Kamen’s inventions have always inspired me because they are intended to sustain or improve human life rather than pursue wealth through consumer products like most inventors.

The necessity of this invention far surpasses that of any alternative fuel source we may be in the process of developing. If you think about all of the blood that has been shed for oil, just imagine what chaos would unfold around the world if there was no longer fresh water to drink. To put it simply— this is huge.

VERY DIFFERENT SUBJECT–AFTER ALL THIS IS THE MUSINGS SECTION

To water things down a bit, I thought I’d spout about Arcade Fire’s latest web video which is as cool and interactive as their last one. This time you get to manipulate six music tracks via your #1 through #6 keys as the “Melville-like” video progresses. The song is called Black Mirror and the URL for the video is oh so cleverly… rorrimkcalb.com/arcadefire.html (read about this in Creativity.) One word of warning, you will have some time to look in the mirror as you wait for this site to load…

Vacation Observations

Posted on by Drew Neisser

Spent a week on a beach doing my best not to think about the office. Freed from the daily grind, I still found myself seeking examples of Marketing as Service. Ironically, great examples are few and far between, so here’s a motley collection reflecting various stops on my trip:

  • Detachable Wine Labels–maybe this is a personal problem but I simply can’t remember one wine from the next even if it is a sensational vintage. It’s almost embarrassing. So I was delighted to learn about a detachable wine label design from Ben Terrett’s blog (via Noah). If you suffer regularly from CRS (Can’t Remember Sh_t) like moi, this elegant design solution is a genuine service indeed.
  • United Technologies print ads–Providing educational information in print ads is such a fundamental form of Marketing as Service it is simply remarkable how rarely advertisers choose to go this route. United Technologies “curious” print campaign which dissect everything from space suits to hybrid electric buses, cruise ships to helicopters, is a sterling example of ads that enlighten, educate and entertain. If you haven’t noticed the ads, check out the supporting microsite (utc.com/curious) to see what I’m talking about. Taking a page out of the How Things Work book series, these highly detailed ads aren’t for the incurious AND speak volumes to the breadth and depth of UTC’s product/service offerings.
  • PRSA Webinar–Shortly before I skipped town, the PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) offered its members a webinar by yours truly called “What Recession? Nine Ways to Cut Through Regardless of the Economy.” An article about this 45 minute one-way chat is now posted on the PRSA website. This webinar is another basic example of Marketing as Service, both for the PRSA which hopes that such services will help them retain members AND for Renegade which hopes that one or more of the 200+ attendees will turn to Renegade when they need an engaging interactive brand experience.
  • College Tour Guides–Before I got to the beach, I stopped at three colleges with my daughter, the junior. I won’t mention the schools but I will tell you that a well-orchestrated college tour (by the admissions office) makes all the difference. I know this is not a new idea. But it is an example of Marketing as Service. The better the tour, the more engaging the tour guide, the more favorable the response by the prospective student (and check-writing parents). Some schools are more careful than others about the quality of the guides AND this is painfully obvious. Anyone who has ever hired a brand ambassador knows that the good ones well-trained are worth their weight in gold.

As I noted at the beginning, with one drinkable exception, these are fairly basic examples of Marketing as Service. But hey, if everyone was doing this all the time, I’d probably need a new thesis to pursue.

Green in Green

Posted on by Drew Neisser

One of the nice things about being on vacation is that you actually have time to read a couple of newspapers cover to cover. That was particularly rewarding today as I devoured both the New York Times and the Wall St. Journal. If you get a chance, check out the Journal’s special section called Eco:nomics, that contains a series of interviews they gathered at conference by the same name. The interview’s with Jeffrey Immelt (CEO of GE) and H. Lee Scott, Jr. (CEO of Wal-Mart) were particularly instructive. While both of these companies were quick to get on the green bandwagon, neither are prepared to call it missionary work. Instead they see it simply as good business. Here are two telling quotes:

JEFFREY IMMELT: I don’t think that CEO hobbies have any role in running companies. I’m an investor, I’m a capitalist and I’m a businessman. So I believe that I could generate earnings for my investors through technology. There’s no percentage for any CEO in the world to run his or her business thinking that there are not going to be carbon caps someday. Because the day it becomes law, you’re five years late. And you either get out ahead of these things or you get stomped by them.

H. LEE SCOTT JR.: It’s consistent with what we say our purpose is, and that is saving people money so they can live better. We looked at what Sam Walton started and how he developed the company. It was by eliminating waste, bringing in efficiencies. And by thinking about sustainability from our standpoint, it really is about how do you take cost out, which is waste, whether it’s through recycling, through less energy use in the store, through the construction techniques we’re using, through the supply chain. All of those things are simply the creation of waste. We found it’s consistent with the entire model we’ve had since Sam opened the first store.

Neither of these CEO’s are seeking sainthood by going green. Instead, as Emmelt put it, they see “green in green.” This sort of honesty is refreshing and avoids the pretense so often found in green-related marketing. While there is room for altruism in this world, I’m suspicious of any public company with profit-driven shareholder obligations that claims it is going green for any reason other than it is simply good business. Businesses that do badly by doing good won’t stay in business. Businesses that do well by doing good, in this case by leading the green revolution, are to be commended with higher stock prices not Nobel Prizes.

 

Is Laughter a Service?

Posted on by Drew Neisser

Toyota’s commitment to selling more Corolla’s is no laughing matter. This is their biggest selling model and has been since I bought my first car (a blue custom pin striped Corolla I named Quasimodo!) back in the 70’s. So I am quite intrigued by Corolla’s collosal commitment to comedy both offline and online.

Let’s start with their ads-the ferocious ferret in one TV spot cracks me up and does a decent job of making the point that Corolla’s are quite inside. Even if you don’t end up putting Corolla on your short list of new car options, one can’t help but liking the brand and resisting the temptation to zap the next ad of theirs.

Brandweek covered Toyota’s extensive sponsorship of Comedy Central including an upcoming live comedy showcase to benefit autism. Toyota will be integrated into this live event on April 13 and in subsequent airings both offline and online. It’s all good fun for a good cause and just might inspire a few dealer visits.

Toyota is also sponsoring a comedy channel on YouTube called Best in Jest. They have done this before so one would expect they aren’t humoring YouTube by re-upping.

Which brings me back to my initial question-is laughter a service? If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know my opinion. With people and products all taking themselves way too seriously, clever marketers will stand up for comedy. If comedy can drive sales for Corolla, then perhaps more marketers will get on the laugh track serving up yucks faster than a mule can say “the yokes on us .” And since I’m not one to quit while I’m ahead or behind, I offer the wisdom of the humble race conductor who once said, “it’s a start.”