Musings Archives - Page 10 of 14

POTUS is Renegade: Now What?

Posted on November 12, 2008 by Drew Neisser

Thanks to many of you for the various links noting that President-Elect Obama’s Secret Service codename is–damn straight–nothing other than Renegade! Here’s what they said about it on YahooBuzz:

The Renegade Is Loose. We Repeat, the Renegade Is Loose.

The Secret Service takes a lot of risks for the first family. So it’s only fair that the agency gets the honor of coming up with code names for the president-elect and his family. Various sources within the Buzz recently revealed the not-so-secret nicknames. [DREW NOTE–according to Wikipedia, the White House Communications Agency actually comes up with the codenames!]

Mr. Obama will be known as “Renegade” (move over, Lorenzo Lamas). Michelle, a woman of many talents, will be referred to as “Renaissance.” Malia Obama’s name will be “Radiance,” while little sister Sasha’s will be “Rosebud.”

Former Renegade, Rich Ullman who recognizes opportunity when he sees it, asks “now, what are you going to do with it?” Well, great question, Rich. First, let me assure we are delighted with the Secret Service’s selection and honored to share that name with the President-elect but of course, we will be expecting royalties;-) Second, I am working on my annual predictions letter which will be entitled, The Year of the Renegade and will feature hoops as the annual metaphor. Third, for the moment, there is not third. Any thoughts? I’ve got signed photos of my Obumkin and one unused Obama for President bumper sticker for the best idea out there.

While you’re thinking up ideas, here’s a list of secret service names for past president’s. Can you guess who’s who? For the answers, click here.

Scorecard or Providence
Lancer
Volunteer
Searchlight
Pass Key
Lock Master
Rawhide
Timberwolf
Eagle
Tumbler

Marketing as Service is not a Band-aid

Posted on November 9, 2008 by Drew Neisser

To be effective, Marketing of Service needs to a genuine commitment versus a one-off stunt. While few marketers will have the perseverance to make it 108 years like Michelin with its peripatetic guides, I suspect they can make it longer than a weekend like the recent painfully misguided “free taxi” effort by Tylenol.

Thanks to Jason Wurtzel for spotting these when they first arrived in the city on November 3rd. Not knowing anything about the program at that moment, I neglected to post Jason’s shots (see below) or to feel any sense of flattery since these were another attempt to copy the HSBC BankCab, which I might add is in its sixth year of driving loyalty to The World’s Local Bank.

Still on the case, Jason then forwarded this snippet about the cabs on The Gothamist:

The Tylenol (global?) “Warming Taxis” will take you anywhere in Manhattan, today through Sunday, from noon to 8 p.m. Your best shot of catching one is heading to a CVS at 630 Lexington, 540 Amsterdam, 272 8th or 307 6th Avenues and waiting for a stranger in a white car to offer you a lift and some Tylenol.

One weekend? Is that really supposed to heat up our feelings about Tylenol? As the Renegade behind the BankCab, that just plain hurts. It wasn’t even a cold weekend by November standards so the warming part fell flat. J&J, a usually savvy marketer, should know better than to treat Marketing as Service as a Band-Aid or perhaps they got ripped off by an unlicensed guerrilla practitioner.

Notes on Social Media

Posted on November 6, 2008 by Drew Neisser

At The CMO Club Summit today, I moderated a discussion among 35+ CMOs about social media. It was really a lively conversation representing the range of experiences of these CMOs. The group divided into three segments, from novices to making their way to “kicking butt and taking names.” David Spark provides a quick overview of the discussion on TheCMOClub site (yes, the very same social network that Renegade helped create!) but I thought add some more detail given the broad interest in the topic.

Introduction to Social Media
Here’s the definition of social media marketing from Frog Design’s blog that I used to start the discussion:

Social media marketing is all marketing that utilizes the social graph of both marketer and audience (in fact, the interesting thing is that they can be one and the same) to facilitate and cultivate a conversation. Social marketing is whenever more than two individuals collaborate online or offline for content generation and distribution. Social marketers harness the viral power of social networks in order to grow both the frequency and the reach of conversations exponentially. They know how to feed the social orbit with content that catalyzes conversations. And they understand that an “architecture of participation,” that lets employees be marketers, has become paramount for turning brands into live brands.

Social Media Numbers (or why CMO’s should care)

62% of consumers actively seek out and read customer reviews prior to purchase
82% of consumers found reading reviews better than researching a product in-store
60% of Americans use social media
59% interact with companies via social media; 25% do so once a week or more
93% of those that use SM believe companies should too
56% feel stronger connection to companies that they interact with via SMcompanies should use social networks to solve my problems
43% believe companies should use social networks to solve my problems
41% believe companies should solicit feedback on their products/services
37% want more ways to interact with companies

Renegade also created a Social Media IQ test for these CMO’s at CMOquiz.com which may be of interest.

Jim Collins’ To Do List

Posted on October 5, 2008 by Drew Neisser

I had the pleasure of seeing Jim Collins speak at the World Business Forum a week ago. Collins is the author of Good to Great, the only business book I actually read from cover to cover and then re-read. His speech covered much of the same ground as Good to Great and included lots of helpful reminders:

Good is the enemy of great
- It requires the hearts of lions and the courage of elephants
- Decline is typically self-inflicted
Over night successes are typically 20 years in the making
- Striving for great is a cumulative never ending process
- “the moment we think we’re great, we’re dead”
- If growth exceeds ability to hire great people, you’re in big trouble
Must have the right people on the bus even before you decide where you’re going
- Hire self-motivated people who are committed to doing whatever it takes
- The “plow horse” typically beats the “show horse” when it comes to great CEOs
- Have the discipline to confront the brutal facts
Find your “hedgehog” concept
- What are you truly passionate about?
- What can you be the best in the world at?
- What is the economic denominator that will make the business competitive?

He ended with a to do list for all the attendees, especially the CEO’s in the audience. Here’s his 10-point to do list that I somehow turned into 11 points:

Assess your company’s strengths and weakness (with the Good to Great diagnostic tool on jimcollins.com)
Figure out the key “seats” on your business “bus” and calculate the percentage of those seats that are filled with the right people and then make an action plan for improving that percentage
Establish your own personal “board of directors” that can advise like “tribal elders”
Get some young people “in your face” to challenge your perspective on things
Build an internal council for key decision making
Ask more questions; make fewer statements (he suggested doubling the quantity of questions & repeated some advice given to him years back–spend more time being interested and less time being interesting!)
Turn off your electronic devices and schedule time just to think
Create a stop doing list (eliminate the stuff you don’t need to do yourself so you can focus on contribution)
Forget titles and focus on responsibilities (titles are inherently limiting and responsibilities ensure jobs get done)
Make sure your core values are solid and that you and your team are following them
Set BHAG (big hairy audacious goals) for 10, 15, 25 year horizons (establish the risks and then remove them).

Collins also recommended tracking down John Gardner’s book from 1984 called Personal and Organizational Renewal (which could take some work since Amazon notes it is out of print.) So, who’s ready to be great?

What Pirates Knew About Marketing

Posted on September 19, 2008 by Drew Neisser

Edward Teach understood the fundamentals of marketing perhaps better than any leader of his age. His ship was easily recognized from miles away thanks to an enormous black flag burnishing a distinctive skull and cross bones. A man of extraordinary size, he crafted a unique brand experience for anyone who dared cross his path. Shortly before engaging his competition, he would weave hemp into his enormous beard and then light it on fire. His fiery visage coupled with the multiple guns and swords he stuffed into his pantaloons sent a clear message–surrender or die. More often than not, the mere sight of the flaming Blackbeard was enough to shiver anyone’s timbers and in doing so, he captured over 40 ships in under 5 years, many without a fight.

Lest we forgot me hardies, marketing is a battle for hearts, minds and share points. Make your brand strong enough and the battle is easier. You need to fly your brand flag high and often so everyone knows exactly what it stands for. Create unforgettable brand experiences and the word will get around, your prospects will become customers and your customers brand advocates.

So, aarr you ready to join me in celebratin’ International Talk Like a Pirate Day?

Golden Bites from Beijing

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Drew Neisser

Just got back from 10 days in Asia including six stunning days in Beijing and four eye-opening ones in Seoul. I am still a bit jet lagged and don’t have all my thoughts organized but wanted to quickly bestow a gold medal marketing award to China. Never before has a country had so much to prove and taken up the challenge with so much gusto.

Vinyl by Vera: As a first time Olympic host, China was determined to dazzle the world on and off the playing fields. And dazzle they did. I had the pleasure of visiting six venues and each was stunning inside and out. Colorful vinyl graphics spruced up normally dull stadium interiors and architecturally-intriguing structures like the swimming Cube and the Birds Nest were simply stunning. If I owned a stadium, I sure would be studying the Chinese efforts–a little colorful vinyl can cover up architectural short-comings and lift the spirits of all inside.

Landscaping by Disney: Imagine one of the world’s largest cities was landscaped like Disneyworld and you probably still couldn’t picture the floral beauty that enveloped Beijing. Every street, and I mean every street, had perfectly manicured hedges surrounded by perfectly arranged flowers. Red and green flower trees dotted key intersections. Even construction sites were beautified with obfuscating walls covered with colorful Olympic graphics. Rainbow banners hung from every street lamp and road sign. Bright red lanterns hung from most retail establishments. Every tourist spot like Tienanmen Square, the largest public plaza in the world, had Olympic displays that looked like winning floats from the Pasadena Rose Parade.

No Ad Pollution: Following in the lead of Sao Paulo, Brazil which banished all of its billboard in 2007, the Beijing Olympic Committee (BOCOG) used its authority to rid the city of all extraneous billboards. The few remaining boards were all Olympic related, either for the TOP sponsors like Panasonic, Coke and Visa, or for the Beijing Olympics themselves. While this was probably a sad decision for the Chinese out-of-home advertising industry, it certainly illuminated the jarring clutter you often seen in big cities. The elimination of outdoor also increased the visibility of all the new buildings including the amazing CCTV arch and the
torch-shaped building where evidently the athletes stayed.

Lower Air Pollution: For the record, my eyes started to burn the minute I landed in smog shrouded Beijing. After the second day, I felt a constant irritation to my nasal passages. It wasn’t until the third day that I actually saw a bit of the sun. Remarkably, those who spend a lot of time in Beijing, said that the week I was there was the clearest and lowest smog levels they had seen in Beijing in many years. I didn’t feel compelled to wear a face mask like the US cycling team but I couldn’t certainly appreciate their desire to protect their lungs. Take a look at the sky in the picture below (CCTV building) and you’ll have a pretty good sense of the constant shroud Beijingers live with pretty much all year round.

Bottom line–China put on an amazing show. Now how great would it be if the second act involved cleaning up their polluted country. Turns out that is going to take a lot more effort than even the “we can do it all” government of China expected.