Brand Rockhill

The Best 12:21 of Your Day: The Happy Secret to Better Work

2012-02-24T14:42:00.001-06:00

This TED talk delivered to us all the way from TEDxBloomington is on rethinking how we view work and happiness.

Shawn Achor is CEO of Good Think, Inc. a corporate consulting firm. A former Harvard instructor, he explores positive outcomes and human potential, especially what he has coined the "Happiness Advantage."

Fundamentally, Mr. Achor believes that instead of working productively to gain happiness, we should work to be happy in order to increase work productivity. He uses his study of "positive psychology" and the belief that we need to escape the cult of the average in order to maximize our happiness. This makes complete sense once you look at it that way, but it is seldom done in any industry.

Let us consider a key piece of research that Mr. Achor references. When gauging success in the workplace only 25% of success is based on IQ. A full 75% of job success is due to optimism, social support and viewing stress as a challenge instead of a threat.

This is huge for several reasons. First, we need to consider hiring and how we evaluate people. Considering there personality and attitude more than their IQ or educational attainment. How will they respond under deadline? How will they work with their peers? What overall attitude will they convey?

25% of success is based on IQ

75% of success is based on optimism and support

Second, we need to consider how we manage. As a small business owner and someone who has spent a career in high-stress, high reward industries, this positive outlook is seldom used. Take for instance the advertising agency environment. Most agencies motivate their staff through winning of accounts, deadlines and the work hard - play hard system. Thus, the motivation is based on the success or failure of clients, revenue and projects delivered. The current model of, "hard work = success = happiness" simply forces employees to reset their goalpost of success to meet the next client deadline or next new business win. You never feel happy because there is always another goal to meet.

But what if we followed Mr. Achor's philosophy? How do we make people feel positive in the present?
What if we focus on instilling happiness as a basis and then letting that happiness and optimism carry the individual to success?
It is a great thought that all leaders should consider.

Bringing Back an Authentic Place, Turned Fake: 18th & Vine

2012-02-21T09:45:00.001-06:00

The Atlantic Cities, a website of The Atlantic magazine recently published a very interesting article entitled, The Jazz District Authenticity Problem, by Kansas City based writer Brandon Reynolds. He is referencing the Historic 18th & Vine Jazz District just east of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. The area that was the center of African-American life for decades, serving as an alternate to the highly segregated downtown. The impact of the music, art and culture that emanated from these few blocks was felt globally. From Charlie Parker to Negro League Baseball, it is still revered as the place were great artists and athletes honed their skills as they prepared to take the world by storm. As with many inner-city neighborhoods, it declined rapidly in the 1960s through the 1980s.

The road back to life began in 1989 when then Mayor Emmanuel Cleaver (now U.S. Congressman Cleaver) focused attention on the decay and worked tirelessly to direct resources toward a revival. Today we have a stable, if not thriving, historic district. A world-class jazz museum and a baseball museum dedicated to the Negro Leagues anchor the area. Both have struggled for years with gaining traction and support locally to the level that they deserve. Additionally many millions more have been invested to build a new community center, apartments and several store front retail locations. But as Mr. Reynolds points out, the area still feels more like a movie back lot than an authentic neighborhood. But why?

Obviously the remaining faux facades that dot the area from a 1996 film shot there creates an air of in-authenticity. But it goes deeper than the building facades. Simply put, the area is trapped in time. In it's desperate attempt to preserve the history of the area it is overlooking it's future. 18th & Vine became a place of innovation and legend in the early 20th century not because it was trying to preserve something of it's past, but because it was looking to the future. It was, at it's core, a place of entrepreneurship and of innovation. A creative think tank that served as a melting pot for crossover ideas. While it was a true African-American neighborhood, it was open to all. This was in sharp contrast to the white dominated areas that sought to keep non-whites out. Naturally, a wide-open place like the Jazz District attracted the creative class of whites, immigrants, Jews and more. All learned from, and contributed to the scene there. What was exported was nothing short of genius. So how do we recapture this big idea?

"18th & Vine became a place

of innovation and legend in

the early 20th century not

because it was trying to preserve

something of it's past,

but because it was looking

to the future."

The Jazz District will return to prosperity when it thinks less about being a museum and more about being a hub of revolutionary arts and culture. Make no mistake, the heritage and the museums are crucial to this occurring. They need to think more like a modern art galleries, and curate the explorers. The neighborhood should become a place that recruits new immigrants to Kansas City. Create global art and technology incubators and offer restaurant incubators. The leaders of the District have started to embrace this. They should double down on this idea and push forward like never before. 18th & Vine is where culture and new ideas are created and where the world discovers them. The physical neighborhood must continue to be restored too, of course. More sidewalk retail and residential must be built. Millions more must be invested in infrastructure. Better connectivity and transportation must be established. However, the biggest change could simply be in marketing, branding and communications. Stop thinking of 18th & Vine as just a historic place that should be placed under glass, and start thinking of it as a place that has always catered to the revolutionaries and the creative class. Life for the future with the past as inspiration.

The Best 1:58 of Your Day: Buenos Aires

2012-02-17T13:14:00.000-06:00

We usually don't plug specific products or companies on this site, but today's inspiration comes from Black Sheep Films. We have never worked with Black Sheep, but when we discovered their reel it went well beyond thinking they had some nice commercial work. No, it was more of "WOW! Have you checked this out? How cool is that!?!" Thus we had to share their work "Buenos Aires."

Why is this so engaging? It obviously is very well shot, with great editing and great effects. However, it enters the sublime with the beauty of the build, the pacing and the incredible backing track by the very talented Langhorne Slim. If you are like us you will watch it twice, then view their other work, then go back and watch it again. We love Escalas too. Yes, it has the same song usage, to less degree of success. But the opening is exceptional.

Happy Friday. Enjoy a bit of beauty and creativity as you start your weekend.

Buenos Aires - Inception Park from Black Sheep Films on Vimeo.

Creating America's Most Entrepreneurial City

2012-02-14T13:02:00.001-06:00

This past year the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce rolled out their Big 5 Ideas for improving the Kansas City Region and making it great. One of those "big ideas" is the bold goal of making Kansas City "America's Most Entrepreneurial City." To advance that vision, they appointed a committee headed by Peter DeSilva, CEO of UMB Financial. Mr. DeSilva has organized a series of Community Conversations, comprised of small business owners, academics, educators, corporate executives and more to discuss and form some tangible plans for achieving the goal.

Recently I attended one of these sessions and came away impressed. Many of the same old ideas and challenges were bandied about of course. But between the 90% of same, there were some new and exciting ideas. One of the ideas that came from the team I was on sought to look at barriers to entrepreneurship from a different perspective. We chose to look at it from a human perspective. Think about the life of an entrepreneur outside of their business plan. From this the beginning of a big idea was formed. The Entrepreneur's Safety Net idea seeks to remove barriers that make founding a start-up, growing a new company and even selling and starting over possible.

Hopefully, these ideas will be added to the well of ideas that come from these sessions. They will grow, evolve and become something great and meaningful for current, and future, innovators in our region. I simply left too inspired by these ideas to just sit and wait for the larger committee to take them on. I felt starting a virtual dialogue might help.

Thus, you have the forming ideas of the the Entrepreneur Safety Net Program

1. Healthcare

Creation of a community-based healthcare program that is portable and affordable for small businesses and individuals. It could be portable and consistent, as individuals change employment status or even employers within the region. It would be preventative-based and use technology to keep costs low. Cerner as a global leader in healthcare technology should play a leading role in creating a regional healthcare program. Ideally there would also be a shared pool created were the business community could help to subsidize healthcare for some start-ups while in their early launch phase and they would contribute back to the pool as they grow.

2. Childcare

Much like healthcare, childcare is a major barrier to many small innovators. Kansas City is known as a great community to raise a family, but the childcare network is sporadic and expensive. Using the model of the larger corporations and universities that have created their own highly successful childcare centers, we would propose a civic network of childcare centers that are designed to accommodate the children of the creative class and the start-up business owner. Flexible hours, tiered cost structure, community activities and more.

3. Advanced Entrepreneur Education

One of Kansas City's great assets is how the city's non-profit organizations and universities have created exceptional programs for entrepreneurs. From the Kauffman Foundation and their FastTrac program, the Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program, the various great university programs, such as the UMKC Bloch Business School and the Kansas City Art Institute; there is no lack of opportunity. There is however a problem with cohesion and selection. All of these educational programs need to create a clearinghouse and sharing program with the student in mind. What program or combination of programs are best for an individual? Then help that student craft a course of study that benefits them and sets them on the best path for building and growing a business in Kansas City.

4. Primary Education

Like most mid-size and large American cities, Kansas City has a serious problem with urban education. Many other initiatives are underway to attempt to address the challenges facing our educational system and I wish them well. For improving entrepreneurship, we need to look at current realities, and how we can create a school (or school network) that appeals to those considering our city to start a business or are already here. These women and men are generally highly educated and creative and want to find great schools for their kids. Currently, they are limited. Why not create a "district" that spans state lines and district borders and focuses on creative high-quality education? Use the new Kauffman School as a basis, but for K-12 and not limited to the current Charter School constructs.

5. Continuity of Resources (Entrepreneur Concierge)

This is perhaps the easiest one of the eight ideas to accomplish. All of the government entities need to put aside their differences and work with the local non-profits to create one simple gateway for all new business start-ups. The Area Development Council has had some success with this, but they are not conducive to the small start-up. There should be a singular point of contact throughout the entire life cycle of a company, regardless of the location in the metro or the type of business. Have one "concierge" that is there to assist and guide a business.

Additionally, our region has several great small business incubators such as Office Port. What the region needs is an effort to connect and unify the incubator programs. Tie together and leverage resources across for-profit facilities and university facilities.

6. Community-Based Venture Capital

We have one of the great philanthropic community funds in America. The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation currently administers over $1-billion in assets that benefit countless programs in the region. We also have several great venture capital funds in our region. The great missed opportunity is the creation of a community-based venture capital fund that is designed to support and fund early stage start-ups for the benefit of our community. A fund seeded by the philanthropists and local corporations and administered by a board of local leaders.

7. Start Up Neighborhood

All great cities known for innovation have one particular area or neighborhood especially known for the vibrancy of the entrepreneurial spirit. This becomes the hub from which the identity grows. Businesses may start in that area and then move to other areas within the region as their needs change. By designating and aligning assets to help create one key innovation hub, we will be able to better craft our message and story to the rest of the world. This benefit then spins off to the entire region. Creating an energetic center of innovation also reinforces the idea of the "Third Place" for individual interaction and idea exchange. Richard Florida does a great job explaining this in his book Who's Your City.

Hopefully these thoughts will coalesce into something tangible. Perhaps they will spur new ideas, debate and perhaps even real action. I am excited to continue to be an entrepreneur, while also pushing this greater discussion of how we can create a true American Entrepreneurial City.

Now I want to hear from you. Please share this article and leave your thoughts on this first draft of ideas. I will edit and refine as we continue a virtual dialogue.

Thank you.

Article first published as Creating America's Most Entrepreneurial City on Technorati.

Our Hometown: Kansas City As You Have Never Seen It

2012-01-17T16:00:00.000-06:00

We are proud to be based in Kansas City, Missouri.
It is truly an overlooked gem of a city that is gaining a lot of momentum as an arts, culture and innovation destination.
Below is a time lapse video in HD that gives you a nice feel for what "America's Creative Crossroads" is all about.

We will share more on our hometown, but for now, enjoy this series of photos that are truly worth millions of words.

The Best 16:10 of Your Day: Unintended Consequences

2012-01-13T11:27:00.000-06:00

Every one of us had made a decision that has had unintended consequences later in life. Now magnify that idea and consider inventions, ideas and ideals that impacted people on a global scale. That is what Edward Tenner, a historian challenges us with in this TED Talk.

In this age of hyper technology and innovation, we should stop and consider the possible unintended consequences of many of the tools that we use daily. There is much written about the near term consequences of cell phones, social media, the Internet, Google and more. But what about the changes that these innovations and devices will have on humanity in 50 years, 500 years or even 5000 years? Technology futurists seldom think in distant time frames.

Mr. Tenner does a great job of getting us out of this near-term history concept and start thinking much larger. Always a good thing for any of us who work on entrepreneurship and ideas.

Enjoy...

Edward Tenner: Unintended consequences

The Best 3:51 of Your Day: The Technology of Storytelling

2011-12-08T10:22:00.001-06:00

Do you know Lothar Meggendorfer? You probably don't, but you most certainly have enjoyed his invention as a child and perhaps as an adult. This talented 19th century German illustrator is credited with inventing the pop-up book. The self proclaimed story telling artist and creator, Joe Sabia (on Facebook) gives us a brief and entertaining glimpse into the technology of storytelling. Using his own humorous style based in technology, he gives us a nice starting point for further conversation.

Does technology harm our storytelling abilities? I would say yes, but it doesn't have to.
Did we falter in creative storytelling when moving from oral tradition to written? How about to movable type, or radio, television, computers... These are all simply devices that are there for us to shape and use. A child can explore amazing worlds sitting in the pile of dirt with a stick, but having the majority of all human knowledge at their fingertips shouldn't be the limiter to that exploration. Shifting how we educate our children is what will preserve, and even grow our creative spirit and our storytelling abilities.

Robert Sabuda "Wizard of Oz"

It is crucial that we encourage freedom of exploration and allow kids to explore the full gamut of storytelling traditions. Give them the basic tools of language and grammar to fully tell their story and stop fighting so hard to confine their learning to standardized tests. We are already seeing that simple acquisition and retention of knowledge is not what sets us apart anymore. It is the ability to efficiently seek out knowledge, curate it, build off it, create new ideas from it and convey it to others. Funny enough, these are the same skills that most employers need to be looking for.

Once again, TED has given me fodder for exploring my own new ideas and storytelling. Thank you.

Joe Sabia: The Technology of Storytelling

The Best 5:30 of Your Day: After Your Final Status Update

2011-10-28T12:16:00.000-05:00

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Adam Ostrow, editor in chief of Mashable, gives us a great topic to consider as we celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). What happens to your online "life" after you are gone? Now this is certainly not the most enjoyable topic, but it is a very important one. Facebook claims more than 800 million active users. The latest statistics I could find via the World Fact Book estimate that 55.3 million people die annually. That is two people every second. Given that we are about to hit the seven billion population mark, many of the newly deceased are not social media users. However, a large number are active on social media, thus the number of deceased users grow exponentially.

This gives us a lot to ponder. What is the role of online media? Does Facebook, Twitter, Blogs all exist just for the living? Could they become memorials to the deceased? A modern way for the departed to remain in our collective consciousness and be remembered? Those of us active in following social media and technology trends are quick to point out that all information you share on the Internet should be considered permanent and public. Does this apply after death?

Watch Mr. Ostrow's video below and start to ask yourself if you have or will use social media to remember people lost in your circles. How will this impact the amount of information archived? How should online groups such as Facebook handle archiving? What opportunities are out there for creating a more robust remembrance in "the cloud" for those that want it?

Now I wonder how many presenters on the TED site are no longer with us in body?

Adam Ostrow: After your final status update

Most Valuable Digital Consumers: An Infographic

2011-10-21T11:43:00.000-05:00

Nielsen recently released an interesting infographic related to how consumers use social media.

They followed that up with one highlighting mobile use and local social media engagement.

Not surprising is that 64% of parents use social media to learn about brands before purchase.

The group most likely to comment on social media posts are age 20-27. What this means to me is that looking solely at analytics and judging who is influenced is the wrong approach. There are a lot of lurkers who don't interact much but are influenced by social media.

This is especially true in localized and mobile. The growth of people using mobile devices to find a business or product is growing exponentially. The days of focusing active mobile and local engagement in key high-use markets such as San Francisco are gone.

Creating an effective, if not robust, presence is ideal. I posted recently on how curating your presence is the key to social media success. This is especially true when you understand how and where consumers are engaging with your online presence.

Understanding how people engage with your brand online is important, but if you don't know your customer and have a strong brand all of your social media activation will be wasted.

via NielsenWire

Via NielsenWire

Curating is the Key to Social Media Success

2011-10-19T10:07:00.000-05:00

Recently I wrote about the benefits of "curating your life" in the post Buy Less, Benefit More. The theory is that by simplifying your life, buying fewer but more meaningful things will improve your life. I also posit that retailers and business will benefit from more consumers leading smaller, more meaningful lives.

Today I want to talk briefly about your social media life. Well, your brands social media life. Most experts contend that you are doing your brand a disservice by not embracing the social media world fully. They will talk about multiple touch points and active and passive engagement. Indeed, it is true that you need to be available and accessible via social media. Geo-locating is also crucial for most retailers in this new world. A new study by JiWire that we referenced yesterday in the post Your Mom Buys More Online Than You, clearly shows that the majority of consumers research and find information about your products online. They study reviews and price compare, they geo-locate to find the nearest retailer and increasingly they buy online. But there is a problem with this.

When you build social media channels for your business, you are creating rooms for consumers to experience your products and services. Those virtual rooms must be branded, updated, staffed and managed. Just as you would not open a retail store and then ignore it for months, you must actively engage and manage your virtual store. A brand management plan must be created. Staff must be trained and customers responded to. ROI must be assessed. Investments must be made. That is where we get to the curated part.

I am not saying that any business should abandon a channel in social media. However, depending upon budget and ability you may have to consider converting some social media channels to sign posts. Feeder areas that direct people to an actively managed "room" where they can gain the contact and brand experience you want them to have. That does not mean that you still shouldn't actively monitor all of your social media channels. After all, you don't control your social media rooms fully. Others have the ability to influence for you. For effectively monitoring your online reputation and activity we have been excited to explore Datasift, a real-time data feed monitor.

Finally, curating what you convey to your customers is vital. Mark Twain was once credited with saying "I would have written you a shorter letter, but I didn't have the time." Just as in Mr. Twain's time, curating your message takes time and is hard work, but it is more valuable than ever. Clear and on-brand messaging will set you apart from the cluttered world of social media. Create a curated and managed social media life, align that with a curated offline presence that matches and then run both as you would a great retail store and you will be on the way to success.

Your Mom Buys More Online Than You

2011-10-18T10:34:00.000-05:00

There is some interesting findings in a new study of how consumers use mobile devices.

In a study by JiWire, a location-based online media company, we learn that more are using location-based content to find a business versus connect with others. Even fewer are checking in at locations. However, a majority are willing to reveal their location to gain more information about a business or to gain an offer. In a big leap from previous studies, a full 53% of those surveyed say that they plan to use their mobile device for their holiday shopping this season. All great trends for social media marketing and mobile marketing.

The most surprising statistics are when you look at the data by generations. The infographic below from JiWire summarizes the results well. Simply put, Generation X, and those up to age 54, are much more likely to make purchases via their mobile device. They are also almost twice as likely to research using their mobile device and then purchase in store. Granted the spending power of those aged 35-54 is greater than those 18-34, but the results seem to confirm the comfort level that older mobile users have has increased dramatically. This makes sense considering that most people over the age of 35 have been using mobile devices and shopping online for up to 20 years.

As marketers, what does this mean for us?

1. Location-based information is a must for your business. Even if it is passive, businesses must have online location presence with details and links to their other social media and online presence.

2. Retailers must align their social media and online brand with their bricks-and-mortar presence. It is clear that consumers view your brand as your brand,. If one does not relate to the other you are in trouble and they will question their potential purchase.

3. Active engagement and response in social media is crucial. With a near majority researching items online before buying, having an active engagement and response protocol is crucial. View social media engagement as sales staff in your store.

4. Monitoring your third-party product reviews and earned media is vital. Tracking and reporting of online product evaluations, reviews and blog commentary is vital. Develop a plan for engagement as response.

Ultimately, this simply reinforces the convergence of channels as it relates to your brand. You cannot neglect one outlet anymore.

The Best 17:16 of Your Day: How Beauty Feels

2011-10-12T12:51:00.000-05:00

Designer Richard Seymour paints an incredible picture of beauty and why it matters. Not a whiny appeal that we need to appreciate beauty that you hear from designers from time to time. No, he outlines for us how we subconsciously know beauty, appreciate beauty, respond emotionally to beauty and most importantly, know what is not beautiful.

From a branding and marketing perspective, this reinforces to me that as professionals we need to do a better job of selling quality design to clients. We need to work to convey to them that an immersive brand experience is valuable. That they need to invest in their brand, their packaging, their total experience. Not just because it will look beautiful, but because the consumer will respond to that beauty. They will act on it. Ultimately, if it is on message, they will buy it and regard the product more highly.

Richard Seymour's design company, SeymourPowell is a leader in product and packaging design. You should check them out, view their work and see how it makes you feel.

This is a TED talk that all designers should watch. More importantly, this is a talk that all agency owners, strategists and branding experts should watch. Enjoy...

Richard Seymour: How beauty feels

Dying a Qwikster Death

2011-10-11T09:45:00.000-05:00

Article first published as Dying a Qwikster Death on Technorati.

Reed Hastings, CEO

It was a death that most everyone knew was inevitable. The ill-conceiveddirect mail spin-off of Netflix, Qwikster, has been declared dead only a monthafter its creation. Brian Stelter of the New York Times covers it deftly in hisMedia Decoder column. While this is a catastrophic and high-profile failure, wesee this same type of mistake daily in companies big and small. Reed Hastings,CEO of Netflix is attributing it in his press release to moving too quickly,

“Consumers value the simplicity Netflix has always offeredand we respect that. There is a difference between moving quickly — whichNetflix has done very well for years — and moving too fast, which is what wedid in this case.”

There is no doubt that they moved to quickly, but speeddoesn't kill, if you don't make the other mistakes they made. Hidden in themultiple missteps of bad naming, terrible branding, bad launch strategy, poorplanning and unsatisfying public relations management are two key failures.

Failure #1: Theylost sight of their company vision in making this decision.

Mr. Hastings stated in the 2003 Netflix Annual Report that the vision of the company was to create "the best movieexperience. Period." A laudablegoal and a worthy one. The company abandoned this vision in an attempt toadvance the company to what future customers will demand. The problem with thatis that their customers are not future customers, they are current customers.Anyone who uses Netflix will tell you that the online streaming library is farfrom "The best movie experience." It lacks many current films and TVshows as well as many classics and art house films. The consumer does not wantto hear excuses. There are valid ones about licensing, Hollywood studios being difficultand cost-revenue factors. It is not the consumer’s responsibility to understandyour company’s challenges. All they are required to do is determine if yourcompany vision matches the experience.

Failure #2: They forgot that the customer comes first.

It’s an old adage, but a very important one. Simply put,they placed revenue and expense at the forefront of boardroom decision making.Evert decision should start with the questions "what will make our mostloyal customers love us even more? What will make our former customers love us?What will convert new customers over to us?" Those questions are the firstlitmus test. Once those ideas are on the table is when you sharpen the penciland determine what makes the most financial sense for the current landscape andinto the future.

Failure to Launch. Now on Netflix

So what should have Netflix done? I guess the betterquestion is, what should Netflix do now? The reality is that the mail order DVDbusiness is dying. No doubt. They need to exit it. Perhaps they felt that aquickie (pun intended) rebrand and spin-off would allow them to make a valuesale of that portion of their business. This was not the way to do it. Thevalue of their DVD business was in the brand of Netflix which they are notwilling to sell and the infrastructure. Most possible buyers would have bit ona sale as-is, without a spin-off business. Netflix should invest in morestreaming films, better software and distribution services, better search andviewing features and so on. They should make streaming the best it can possiblybe.

Second, Netflix should consider a tiered Premium service forstreaming customers. Offer exclusive content, preview viewings of new releasesand even live streamed content. Make it a real and worthwhile premium product.At the same time, they should slowly continue to ramp up the pricing of the DVDmail order product. Over the course of a year or two the price will havesteadily climbed to a point in which a smaller user base is paying a premiumfor the service. It will then become an "exclusive" service versus alag service.

The Qwikster death should certainly be a reminder to allbusinesses that they need to reflect on their vision and customers beforemaking any decision.

Update: Google+ is Emptying Out

2011-10-10T13:54:00.000-05:00

Google certainly did not want to hear the latest news on usage.

According to a report in the Daily Mail, Google+ traffic is off 60% since September 20th. that was the day they opened it to everyone and removed the invite only tag. The site experienced a huge traffic surge of over 1,200% that day, but has since dropped consistently.

I originally wrote about the concerns of the new social media site here: Google+, Party of No One?

But a funny thing happened on the way to world domination. It appears that for all the members signing up, few are actually hanging out in the Hangouts. As reported by Dan Reimold for MediaShift, Google+ "is worse than a ghost town." While actual details on traffic and usage are hard to come by, more anecdotal evidence is suggesting that the assumptions of lack of volume is in fact the case.

In that post, I did relay that media and news outlets are embracing it and gave some examples. There is no way to definitively prove that that sub-set of users are still engaged or not.

Offering a few more thoughts on the API growth and other Hangout features in this post: Did the Cool Kids Just Arrive at the Google+ Party?

The next few weeks will be a litmus test for the social network. Will the opening of Google+ to the 'general public' spur it past the "must engage daily" tipping point? Just as important is the announcement of the new API Hangout. Allowing third-party application development could certainly kick the place into high gear. new features are being launched as well that hold a great deal of potential.

Right now it looks like the excitement of Facebook Timeline is winning.
The already heavily invested Facebook user is finding it hard to create a new virtual social media world in Google+.

Simply put, there will have to be a major effort to convince people to shift their primary usage to Google+. An app that allows easy transfer of content from Facebook to Google+ would be one way. Another option would be for Google to focus on making it a news and media driven social media site. Google has a lot of work ahead of them to make Google+ a viable challenge to Facebook.

Buy Less, Benefit More

2011-10-06T15:58:00.000-05:00

Yasuhiro Yamashita designed small home

Alternately titled, Better Living Through Curated Belongings.

Graham Hill is a writer at Treehugger.com and a designer. He explains in his TED talk how and why we should simplify our lives through smaller spaces, fewer things and more thoughtful living. He covers the idea of editing your life. His talk is certainly worth a listen. In it he explains how the world benefits and how the individual benefits.

Leading a more sustainable life is laudable for all of us, but I am more interested in how producers of things benefit. How does the furniture company, the electronics company, the car company benefit? In more ways than you can imagine.

Engaging in a cultural shift toward possessing fewer belongings does not mean that our earnings and total spending on goods and services will change. What it does mean is that we will start to desire products that are longer lasting and of more quality. Couple that with the trend of localized consumption and you have a perfect storm for and explosion of micro and artisanal manufacturers of a huge array of products. I believe you will also see a growth of locally based Etsy.com style sites. But what does this shift mean for current products?

The strong retailers and manufacturers will start to adapt. Companies like Target will start to stock more refillable and reusable products. The days of the low quality bookcase that goes to the curb on trash day after a couple years will be replaced by high-quality solid wood bookcases made from reclaimed materials. You may also start to see retailers offering trade-in and trade-up programs. The consumer will benefit but so will the retailers. Fewer total transactions may occur, but each product transaction will be at a higher price point and invariably a higher profit margin.

Neighborhoods will benefit by having more infill homes, more density and more civic engagement. If you live in a smaller home that doesn't have 4,500 square-feet you get out to public spaces more. Restaurants will see continued increase in frequency of visitors. Architects will have to be much smarter, but will get to be much more creative. Smaller home construction will also allow more custom designs as the total construction cost will be lower.

Smaller quality product manufacturers located in your city will mean more jobs, closer commutes, more use of mass transit and so on.

Getting on the leading edge of this trend could hold great potential for business owners and entrepreneurs. There is great potential for more small retailers, small neighborhood grocers, residential renewable energy providers and even service providers to help consumers downsize their lives.

A lot to think about as this trend takes hold, but a lot of possible benefit for all of us.

The Yelp Effect

2011-10-04T13:56:00.000-05:00

Article first published as The Yelp Effect: Leveling the Playing Field for Independent Restaurants on Technorati.

A new study by the Harvard Business School seems to show that Yelp.com is helping to level the playing field for independent restaurants. The unique study shows that for every one-star rating increase in a restaurant review on the site, a restaurant achieved a 5-9% sales increase. This was not the case for chain or multi-unit establishments. Thus we are seeing a clear independent bias in consumer activation from Yelp. The study, available at http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/12-016.pdf uses Seattle as their study area.

When you dig into the numbers, it becomes apparent that Yelp has certainly allowed independent restaurants with limited marketing budgets to gain a presence in the marketplace more broad than they would have had otherwise. Prior to the proliferation of Yelp and other self-review sites, more traditional media was limited in the number of restaurants they reviewed. This allowed a few to gain wide exposure, while most went unnoticed to the masses. Chain restaurants did not benefit from Yelp primarily because they are already in the paid media channels establishing their message. Thus, you cannot benefit from an "organic" reputation while also controlling your reputation via paid media.

This success cannot be all attributed to Yelp however. The market they used for their study is a very strong independent restaurant city. It also is a tech savvy city with higher internet and social media penetration than the National average. During the study period we have also witnessed a strong growth in the "locavore" movement. The media coverage of this trend certainly has benefited independent restaurateurs. Finally, while Yelp is a popular site (nearly 500,000 daily unique users) when you break the searches down to local metro areas it is hardly a majority of patrons using their service. So what can we learn from this?

No one channel can make a restaurant a success. A clear brand message is still key. Establish that message via social media and utilize Yelp as a validation source. Reward loyal customers and turn them into brand advocates, extolling the qualities of the experience not just in an online review, but via social media and offline social circles. In short, Yelp is a tool and a reflection of the overall experience.

Local TV Spot Goodness: Cleopatra's Jewelry

2011-09-30T16:56:00.000-05:00

Having a limited marketing budget can be a challenge. This is especially true for small local retailers. Many times they have to work with a local cable provider or an individual with limited experience to create and produce a spot.

Sometimes magic happens. Yes, inadvertent magic, but magic nonetheless.

That is how this incredible spot for a now closed local jewelry store in Kansas City, Missouri came about. Heck, even the mall has been demolished.

After you watch this video, I dare you to try and get the song out of your head. Just try.

Enjoy...

*Video Courtesy of the greatest Media Planner and Buyer the World has ever known. Jennifer Nugent.

Did the Cool Kids Just Arrive at the Google+ Party?

2011-09-29T15:30:00.000-05:00

In an update to my comments last week, it now appears that we are seeing the big blip of growth in subscribers to Google+ now that it is open to the general public. Several sources are estimating that Google+ has hit the 50 million user mark and is growing at 4% a day. (PC Magazine: Google+ usage skyrockets, hits 50 million users) This is well and good, but my thoughts on it reaching the tipping point still stand.

The next few weeks will be a litmus test for the social network. Will the opening of Google+ to the 'general public' spur it past the "must engage daily" tipping point? Just as important is the announcement of the new API Hangout. Allowing third-party application development could certainly kick the place into high gear. new features are being launched as well that hold a great deal of potential.

The rapid growth must continue unabated for months for it to reach the density of Facebook. Then it must work to build out the content and depth of information that makes Facebook so interesting. It is true that Google+ should not strive to replace Facebook, but to be a new and fresh alternative. As we mentioned last week, it is certainly appealing more to the media and is being embraced in some unique and fun ways. The Developers will be the ones who play the key role in this next step. The Applications they launch and the linkages they form with brands and content sites will either propel Google+ toward being the "must visit first" site or an languishing also ran to Facebook.
One application that I am sure some enterprising developers are working on is a "Transfer your Facebook content to Google+." This type of app will be important with many. Leaving the social media world they have built is not a comforting thought.

My initial love of the style and interactivity of Google+ has abated a bit. I had also started to lose a bit of joy for Facebook, that is until Timeline was launched. Now my excitement for Facebook is renewed. I believe we will see a protracted battle for users and daily engagement numbers. The real war will be fought on the ad revenue side. It might be a protracted battle, but I believe we will see a mass decline in usage in one or the other platform should a clear winner in the media emerge.

Cool kids want to be with other cool kids after all. The name brands that associate with Google+ and Facebook will help tip that decision.

Stay tuned. It's going to be an interesting ride...

Rockhill Recommends: Googlization

2011-09-29T12:44:00.000-05:00

I took the time last night to attend a lecture at the Linda Hall Library on Google's impact on the Internet and our culture. More on that in a second.

First a brief shout out to the Linda Hall Library. It is one of the leading science, engineering and technology libraries in the World.

The information they have archived, and the role they are playing in current innovation cannot be underestimated.

I would also recommend that you visit their latest exhibit, This Time It's Personal: Innovation In Your Home. From Aspirin to the light switch to Pez Candy, it covers the research, discovery, development and intellectual property of things we use every day.

The opening speaker in support of the new exhibit was Siva Vaidhyanathan, a professor of media and law at the University of Virginia. His talk was in support of his current book, The Googlization of Everything (And Why We Should Worry). He has a supporting website as well here. This post is not a review of the lecture or a commentary on the book. That will come later after I have had a chance to read the book and do some research. I would however, recommend that everyone take some time and check out a bit more about his thoughts on Google.

Siva does a nice job of summarizing the incredible role that Google has played in our lives in the 13 years (yes, it has actually been that long) since its founding at Stanford in 1998. Early on the mission was simple, but oh so lofty...

Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.

He raises the valid question of why we should trust Google with this and how they have delivered.
Why this task shouldn't be entrusted to the academic institutions and librarians of the World.
Google determines how important search results are via their algorithms and he provides examples of Google modifying results for various reasons in spite of their claim that they do not alter search results. Some are for generally altruistic reasons such as a racist website "gaming" the results to get higher placement. He questions why we, as consumers accept this. Generally, it is because we don't know.

It is comforting to know that Google doesn't remove information. In that respect they really do attempt to archive all of the World's information. However, as a writer and researcher, I do find that you need even sharper personal analytical skills when working online.

He also offers a few other tidbits of insight that are worth considering:

We are not Google's customers. The advertisers are. Google only views us as customers so far as they need us to keep eyeballs on their site to sell to advertisers.
As technology consumers we generally are willing to accept technology as magic and not explore how a product or service works. Companies such as Apple and Google benefit from this.
Google fundamentally transformed the Internet for the better by working to filter out pornographic results that were served via spam or due to typographical error. This work to make the Internet safer for business and family use helped to also make the consumer feel safer about using the Internet for their financial needs.
When you use Google you are seeing the world through their lense. It is filtered.
Google may be radically different in five years and may not even exist in ten. That is the type of technology world we live in.

Overall, Mr. Vaidhyanathan offered some great perspectives on the good and bad of Google. The questions that he poses are easily applicable to many other communications channels, social media et cetera.

What he did not discuss is the rapidly expanding technology channels that Google is moving toward. For instance, I am typing this using Google Chrome browser. Google has mobile technology, hardware with Chrome Book and is developing a one-gigabyte Google Fiber technology in Kansas City. It is currently being installed outside my office window.

(Update) Google now has also opened a retail pop up store in London as reported by The London Evening Standard. This could be the direct assault on Apple that many have anticipated. The fundamental difference is, if Google is successful in hardware and retail sales, they will also possess an incredible wealth of content and the means of distribution.

I look forward to exploring these more and sharing thoughts with my readers here.

Possibly the most cogent and interesting comment was when he likened Google to Julius Caesar. A benevolent dictator who does indeed improve life for many but at what cost?

Angry Birds Stealing My Wallet?

2011-09-27T10:42:00.000-05:00

Angry Birds are Everywhere

The Atlantic recently published an article, Estimating the Damage to the U.S. Economy Caused by Angry Birds, that caused quite a stir.

In the article, Alexis Madrigal offers up how much American productivity is lost by employees playing Angry Birds at work. He uses a a variant of a calculation that a consulting firm has used to determine lost productivity from the NCAA Basketball Tournament. I am not here to question his math, just the basis of the assumption of "lost productivity."

In my professional career thus far, I have been a lowly account coodinator at a huge advertising agency and the director of accounts, with large teams of employees. I have also been the president of a region of a company and an entrepreneur of a tiny startup. Through all of these career moves I can assure you of one thing. People at work don't need a specific smartphone game to lose productivity. They (myself included) are perfectly good at seeking out ways to distract themselves from work. Referencing the hot new game is simply a device that journalists use to get the readers attention. An article titled, "Various Means Employed by People to Lose Productivity" isn't nearly as exciting as picking the hot new game or industry.

Courtesy of The Atlantic

If we look back through the archives of 'lost productivity" articles I assure you they list causes such as the personal computer, phone, water cooler, windows, air conditioning, co-ed working environment... and so on. Therefore, the lost productivity idea is a fallacy as it relates to specific new technology advances. What the advent of smartphones and social media has done, is make it easier to hide the actual activity from their boss. But banning Angry Birds and social media doesn't solve the problem. It only leads more secretive activity and alternative forms of lost productivity, such as people standing around talking about playing Angry Birds!

I am certain there are plenty of great Human Resources professionals that could chime in and offer a great deal of suggestions on how to increase productivity in the workplace. I am not going to attempt to tackle the complete productivity issue. I do feel that it all stems from proper supervision and pro-active management with a human understanding of how people work and live.

I do want to take a minute and address the Angry Birds and larger social media challenge that employers face. How to best solve it?

Employers should stop directing their IT staff to block offending games and sites. They should stop issuing corporate policies designed to prevent game play and social media (specifically Facebook and Twitter) usage at work. Instead, they should look at their customers and understand that they are probably using the same channels of social media and games. Enterprising marketing officers should be challenging their company to see how they can turn their most avid game playing employees and heavy Facebook users into defacto developers, idea generators and online brand advocates. By engaging with employees about their online activity, a company can better understand changing trends. If employees as unafraid to talk openly about what they are doing, ideas can be shared.

- Integrate social gaming into company team building.

- Offer incentives for employees that bring ideas on integrating company products into social gaming or online advertising

- Focus less on restricting activities of employees and more on accountability of delivering results.

- Offer at work education on Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

- Conduct education on what information employees can share about the company and its products.

- Let social sharing about your company occur naturally.

- If you have active social media marketing staff already, they should add monitoring and reporting of social media activity to their responsibilities.

There is a great deal of potential in leveraging the ideas from social gaming and the actual reach of social media. If handled proactively and positively by a company, you will be creating a large innovation team and social media marketing team from your existing employees.

The Best 5:51 of Your Day: Doodlers, Unite!

2011-09-23T14:41:00.000-05:00

This one is short, simple, to the point and best of all PERFECT. Doodling needs to come out of the hidden margins and to the main page. As a doodler myself, I am happy to know that it actually reinforces the messages I hear at conferences and meetings. I use doodles as meeting references and often place pages of doodles in my client files. many people in the advertising and design world think that only graphic designers are visual learners. As a strategist and writer, I can assure you that visual learning is at the core of my daily life.

Doodle while you listen/watch this brief TED talk by Sunni Brown. Sunni has a deep passion for the study of visual learning and is great at conveying the information. Find out more about her and the work she is doing at her website.

Enough copy, to the video and doodling. Enjoy...

Sunni Brown: Doodlers, unite!

Your Cure For Writer's Block

2011-09-22T11:53:00.000-05:00

From time to time we all struggle with the dreaded writer's block. Those who write many column inches for a living struggle with it, and so do us branding and marketing types. For me it is concept creation and short form creative copy. My clients look to me for the next "big idea." They expect something that will stand out, fit their brand and be clever and creative. All of those things are what they should expect of course.

However, being creative and relevant to a brand in an on demand fashion can be taxing. Ideas don't work 9 to 5. That is why there is the handy Moleskine. One travels with me at all times, and one stays on my nightstand. They get filled with ideas. Some of those ideas eventually become workable solutions to a client challenge. Some become dreams for future work and some are simply terrible. The edible bike helmet "dream" for instance seemed great at 3am.

So, what do you do when the ideas are are clogged up somewhere in your head and just not flowing? How do you get those ideas going again? I have already mentioned that watching some TED talks gets me going. A little Spotify music helps. Taking a walk. Finding inspiring work in unrelated fields, such as architecture and fine art. All help me to break the cycle of a creative block. But there is one other little secret that I would like to share and that is the New Yorker Magazine. Specifically, their cartoons.

You may not know this, but they have a weekly contest to write the headline to a published cartoon. It is a fun weekly challenge and blends a visual idea with short form copy.

The Caption Contest is certainly a fun secret pleasure of mine. Though I have yet to win and have a caption of mine appear, it is a fun challenge to try and meet. Go give it a try and see if it works for helping to break your writer's block.

I would love to hear what other ways people have for breaking their creative block.

I will update this post as people send me ideas.

The Most Important Infographic Ever

2011-09-21T12:37:00.000-05:00

After many months of extensive research and study, I have compiled a comprehensive Quadrant Analysis outlining where most industries fall in service and product quality.
Additionally, I have highlighted where there is a "white space" of opportunity.

For ease of use, I have bundled the companies by industry. The ones who fall within the "Opportunity" section I have listed by name.

Now, hopefully industry CEOs and CMOs will read and understand this chart.

The conclusion is that most companies need to adopt a mantra of "Don't Make Shit and Don't Be An Asshole."

Google+, Party of No One?

2011-09-20T13:02:00.000-05:00

Google opened up registration for it's Google+ social network to everyone today. That might be the catalyst that it needs to drive usage and propel Hangouts, and it might not. There is no doubt that the Google name propelled Google+ to near cult status at launch. Social media types bragged about invites and being a first adopter. Volumes were written nearly overnight explaining how this was a game changer. Google+ was the future. Facebook was going the way of Myspace. Twitter was dead... Most entertaining was that the death tomes were written and spread on the very networks that were supposedly dying.

This Hangout is Awesome!

But a funny thing happened on the way to world domination. It appears that for all the members signing up, few are actually hanging out in the Hangouts. As reported by Dan Reimold for MediaShift, Google+ "is worse than a ghost town." While actual details on traffic and usage are hard to come by, more anecdotal evidence is suggesting that the assumptions of lack of volume is in fact the case. So what does this mean for the ever fracturing social media world?

First, it proves that the raucous social media landscape is the Wild West. While some continue to focus on niche applications, LinkedIn for example, others continue to drop into the general consumer arena. Over the next few years many corporate obituaries will be written, but the winners will be very strong players with some incredible applications. Buckle up, it is going to be a fun ride.

It also reaffirms that Google is not King Midas. Like every other business, they will need to work hard to build relevance and be very strategic about it. If Google+ was actually a VC funded start-up void of the Google connection, I believe that it would have worked much harder to create category buzz. It would have launched a branding campaign and reinforced the natural occurring brand advocacy. In short, a boot strapped start-up would have fought and engaged earlier. They would have nurtured actively some initial category users.

The next few weeks will be a litmus test for the social network. Will the opening of Google+ to the 'general public' spur it past the "must engage daily" tipping point? Just as important is the announcement of the new API Hangout. Allowing third-party application development could certainly kick the place into high gear. new features are being launched as well that hold a great deal of potential.

Without a doubt, there are some exciting things occurring on Google+. It has some exciting features and is being adopted in very exciting ways by journalists the world over. The journalism potential is huge, and very exciting as we look at media convergence.

The University of Missouri School of Journalism has taken the lead in the Google+ newsy world. KOMU TV, the school-owned NBC affiliate has embraced it 100%. They recently launched a 4p.m. hour-long web newscast. The U_News@4 anchored by Sarah Hill uses Google+ as a core component of the news. This application holds the potential to truly transform local television. While Google+ is a core component of this news program, it remains to be seen if it will become the vehicle or if another outlet will co-op the segment as more news outlets follow Mizzou's lead. I will write more about this specific item soon. TV NewsCheck has done a nice job covering it's launch thus far.

Worth it in spite of our terrible graphics package

Sample of U_News@4

I look forward to following, engaging and seeing where this all goes. Based on what we have seem thus far, Google+ will have a future, but it may be far different than the Facebook killer it was purported to be.

Until then. Get to Google+, grab a Hangout and see if it is indeed a party of one.

Making Your Escape

2011-09-16T14:05:00.000-05:00

Everyone needs to get away sometimes, be it literally or figuratively.

We escape into a good book, music, sports... But sometimes you need to escape to an actual place. My retreats are usually neighborhood coffee shops and bookstores. There are some great ones here in Kansas City thankfully.

However, the place I envision when I need to really clear my head is 4532 miles from here. It is a place I have visited many times over the years. After each visit I leave inspired and refreshed. It is usually good for at least 10,000 words of creative writing.

That place is a famous, if small, bookstore at 37 rue de la Bûcherie on the Left Bank in Paris.

The wonderful Shakespeare and Company.

Since most people, myself included, can't just drop in on a Friday, here are a few photos for a virtual escape.

Enjoy... and remember

"Be Not Inhospitable to Strangers Lest They be Angels in Disguise"

The Best 16:17 of Your Day: The Origins of Pleasure

2011-09-16T10:45:00.000-05:00

This one is a bit esoteric, yet incredibly relevant to marketing, branding and communications professionals. In short Mr. Bloom hypothesizes that our knowledge of the origins of an object is critical to our emotional response to it. He uses art and forgery as his primary example, but this is critical in our lives with brands and products.

In short, if we perceive a brand as an original, a brand of quality. One we have had positive experiences with before, we will respond to it with pleasure and enjoy it more.

I will leave it at that, and let Mr. Bloom explain the psychology of it. If you are in the marketing and branding world however, listen to this talk with an eye toward how you reach consumers. Is your brand, your story, reinforcing originality and trust... pleasure?

It is critically important to realize that the experience and perceptions of a consumer will determine your brand's fate with them, even if your product is identical to one they love. Think about that next time you decide to skip brand planning and go for a crowd sourced logo. The next time you consider skipping a review of your retail experience, your staff training.

Once you lose originality and the consumer loses that pleasure in your brand, it is gone.

Paul Bloom: The Origins of Pleasure

Update: The Post Office Doesn't Like Radical Ideas

2011-09-15T15:30:00.000-05:00

Last week I discussed some radical ideas that might save the U.S. Postal Service.

Five Radical Ideas for Saving the U.S. Postal Service

As it turns out, they seem to think that worse service is the answer to their ills.

According to a recent Washington Business Journal article, they feel that closing processing facilities is the way to balance their budget. Given the decline in mail, closing some facilities may actually be needed. However, here is the problem. According to the Postmaster General this would result in much slower delivery of First Class Mail. Having worse service for more cost doesn't seem like a way toward solving their problems.

Your new Post Office

On the bright side, they are actually implementing one of the Radical Ideas... Sort of.

I proposed that the USPS sign a massive co-location deal with places such as McDonald's. They are not doing that, but they are moving forward with what they call "Village Post Offices." According to this CNN article, up to 3,700 mostly rural Post Offices could be converted to this type. Basically, small general stores will pay for the right to have Post Office services in their store. That way they can sell stamps with their Lotto tickets, beer and fishing lures.

This isn't quite the massive transformation or positive brand relationships I would like to see, but I guess it is a start.

AMC Not to Blame in KC Metro State Line Battle

2011-09-15T10:34:00.000-05:00

Today we diverge a bit from the usual branding and marketing commentary to discuss economic development and civic engagement:

AMC Theatres is the latest in a long line of Kansas City area companies to use the state line that runs down the middle of our metropolitan area to their financial advantage. In May, it was Applebee's jumping to Missouri to take advantage of incentives. Now it is AMC, fleeing downtown Kansas City after 91 years, and taking over 400 employees to Leawood, Kansas. They have every right to choose the location of their company. They are not a public trust and owe the citizens and taxpayers nothing. In fact, the Park Place development they are moving to is a very nice location. AMC has a clear goal of minimizing corporate expenses and maximizing corporate revenue. They are owned by a multi-national investment company, the Carlyle Group, that according to their own media info, "seeks to deliver attractive returns for our fund investors." Pretty clear what AMC CEO Gerry Lopez has been tasked with delivering back to the parent company.

AMC Theatres current HQ

Much as they cannot be blamed for their decision, they also cannot be considered good civic citizens. In taking the tax incentive package, worth anywhere between $60-67 million they are certainly returning an attractive return to their investors. However, for the Kansas City metro area, those are tax dollars lost for core investments in our community. The economic development experts are not only shifting tax revenue from one state to the other, and from one municipality to the other, they are taking dollars out of the coffers of the entire metro. Does anyone believe that the Carlyle Group, or AMC for that matter, will invest those dollars back in our city? Will they be generating a bevy of new jobs? Will they create a multi-million dollar education fund? No, that is not the corporate mission of AMC.

Park Place development

The public relations spin placed on this decision is simple. AMC could have moved to any number of cities and taken all of those jobs out of our metro. In fact, by their own words they point out that Kansas City is only the 28th largest AMC market. Thereby hinting at the fact that there were 27 other possibly more attractive markets that they could have taken their headquarters to. I am sure that this is true. Many cities would have loved to have lured a Fortune 1000 company headquarters. So the Kansas City area may have avoided the disaster of losing another large employer. But what have we gained? Nothing.

So if AMC is not to blame for the metro area losing $60 plus million in tax revenue while gaining zilch, who is? The economic development officials on both sides of the state line are to blame. These men and women have done nothing to benefit the citizens of our area with this type of deal. They are fighting for bragging rights at the behest of the narrow geography they represent. They seem to forget that this is a complex metro area that does not exist within any one border. Hundreds of thousands of people cross dozens of political boundaries every day. Their lives are only improved when all of the areas they visit are improved. They don't care whose road it is, they just want it to be nice when they drive on it. Our economic development officials do not seem to get that. They are a myopic bunch at best.

So what can be done to improve our entire city? The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce recently launched their Five Big Ideas plan. It is an ambitious and worthy roadmap for our future. How does corporate poaching improve entrepreneurship? Translational technology transfer? When was the last time any of the economic development teams in Kansas City lured a Fortune 1000 headquarters from another city to anywhere in the metro area? If we are going to give away $60 million in tax incentives, shouldn't the return on investment be completely new dollars to the area?

As citizens we musty demand better from all of our elected officials and the people they hire. The civic leaders of our city also need to stand up and work to grow our region, not just one small areas. The Greater Kansas City economy grew at only 1.52% in 2010, according to a report in the Kansas City Business Journal. That is good for 222nd among all metro areas. This does not even take into account our success globally. We are losing the fight, and we are losing it because we continue to let it be lost by fighting among ourselves. This is not unique to Kansas City, but we seem to do it better than most other metro areas.

We need to understand and accept that businesses will act in their best interest every time. We should leverage that motivation and focus our energy as a metro area and a region on new business creation, employment expansion and new employment recruitment. Continuing to shift headquarters a few miles at the expense of millions in needed tax revenue is a fools game. Consider that the next time your municipality raises your property tax rate, fees and sales tax after granting millions to lure a new business across a street.

Last Lecture by a Legend and Mentor

2011-09-09T14:19:00.000-05:00

Dr. William Bondeson recently retired after teaching philosophy, medical ethics and humanities for 50 years at the University of Missouri. He truly defined the term Renaissance Man. Words cannot express the impact that this man had on my life and my career. The University of Missouri Honors College is truly a hidden gem, and among the greatest academic programs in the country. When I was considering colleges, Dr. Polansky, the recently retired Director of the Honors College, took me to Shakespeare's Pizza (how appropriate) on a high school campus visit. Dr. Bondeson happened to cross our path on the way and joined us for lunch. The conversation that ensued was unlike anything I had ever heard. The topics spanned the upcoming basketball season to the pasta served at the University Club with a healthy serving of philosophy and literature sprinkled in. My college decision was sealed after that meal.

Over the years at Mizzou, I was lucky enough to have Dr. Bondeson for six courses. He invited his students into his home, chatted with us on campus and invited theatrical performers for us to experience. I returned often, I volunteered at every chance to help recruit the best and brightest to Mizzou. I stayed passionate about the things he taught us. In short, he helped inspire me to care about gaining knowledge for knowledge sake. This emphasis on breadth of knowledge has served me better than any other specialty class or training.

The following lecture is long, but well worth the time. I will leave you with one thought.
Understanding the origins of ideas, the ideals of man, the philosophy and values through history and the role that the arts play in all aspects of our lives is the single most important knowledge you can possess. That knowledge allows you to understand the world around you and simply makes you better at anything you do in life. There are things you can memorize. There are things you can learn. Then there are things you must experience.

The unexamined life is not worth living. -- Socrates

Hopefully you have had a mentor like Dr. Bondeson in your life. If not, soak up a bit of the wisdom of Bill and then seek our your own great mentor. Enjoy...

The Best 5:49 of Your Day: Jeff Tweedy Sings Black Eyed Peas

2011-09-09T11:28:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday everyone. Celebrate with a little Jeff Tweedy and, wait for it... the Black Eyed Peas.
Indeed.
He took the stage in Chicago recently and Time Out Chicago was there to report on this epic event.
For those of you not in the know, Tweedy is a former founding member of Uncle Tupelo, and the current front man for Wilco.

Kick off your weekend right...

Special Bonus since I love you all. Here is Mr. Tweedy with his rendition of My Humps.

Jeff Tweedy recites "My Humps" from Jasmine Davila on Vimeo.

Putting Relationship Back in PR

2011-09-09T10:49:00.000-05:00

Original Building Plan Courtesy of Highwoods

I recently was interviewed in The Kansas City Star about a public relations disaster on the venerable Country Club Plaza shopping district. For those of you not from Kansas City, "The Plaza" is an historic and iconic luxury open-air shopping district just south of the urban core. So what was this disaster you say? In short, Highwoods, the North Carolina-based owner of the center announced haphazardly last August that they would build a new office building for a local law firm on the north edge of the Plaza. They released a preliminary sketch and told of "only needing to demolish a small section of shops and an apartment building." They released it as a simple business development story. But almost overnight, a development project that they assumed would be met with open arms in these tough economic times turned into a media disaster that eventually forced them to withdraw the plan. It spawned lawsuits, public outcry and a very vocal, if not reasonable, "Save OUR Plaza" group. It also harmed the reputation of the shopping center and further distanced the ownership from their customers. they burned a great deal of good will and equity. Good will that would have come in handy as they dealt with recent teen riots, tenant snafus and the lingering perception of being too corporate.

Here is what I had to say, as well as the article from Kevin Collison in it's entirety.

Protest Group Sign

Anyone involved with commercial real estate needs to be continually engaged with the community, said Jon Stephens, the former manager of the Power & Light District, who now runs his own marketing firm.

Whether it should or not, the perception is, everybody should have a say, and a company that doesn't understand that is clearly doomed for problems, he said.

Had Highwoods properly vetted its Polsinelli plan, Stephens said, it would have found that razing the Balcony Building was a nonstarter. I believe if they came out with the final plan as opposed to the first one wouldn't have been received nearly as negatively.

Kansas City Star: Lessons from the Balcony Building Mess

The lesson in all of this, is it public relations is not about announcing projects. It is rather about continual community engagement, message management and understanding the customer, the community and the perceptions of your district. It is as much about being engaged in the community, working with your company executives to get involved in the community as it is planning an announcement.

I am not trying to vilify Highwoods. They are by all indications a good steward of their properties and for the most part have improved The Plaza and maintained a nice assortment of high-quality tenants in very tough times. However, they are miserable in their public relations and seem to make the same mistakes time and again. This has harmed them in several ways including people not giving them credit for the great tenants they do bring in.

So, what should they do going forward?

Identify a few select employees locally that can serve as the day-to-day voice and face of their company.
Train the Highwoods execs to be on message but also allow them to show some personality. Less corporate, more neighbor.
Look to a communications professional to assist them in guiding how they engage the community. Create an ongoing plan for reputation management.
Engage daily on issues big and small. Build communication pathways.
Realize that the citizens of Kansas City hold the area as part of their "public trust" and speak in that way when discussing the Plaza.
Create a program for the 150+ tenants to give them the tools to be pro-Plaza advocates.
Identify your true neighborhood and customer brand advocates and offer them previews and perks.
Push more regional and national media that will build pride in the community that they have a jewel in their own backyard.
When big changes are considered, look to a few trusted experts for advice before going public.

This entire mess may not have been avoided even with all of the above. However; if they had initially launched (with the revised plan that saved the historic building), had already built some equity in the community, and had a known local exec speaking out in a way that people could relate to, they just might have avoided the fight and harm they have done to their reputation.

The Best 4:27 of Your Day: How to Make a Splash in Social Media

2011-09-08T13:23:00.000-05:00

This is a story about Mr. Splashy Pants. The whale that hijacked a social media and web campaign for Greenpeace... and launched a movement. It is a very entertaining talk by Alexis Ohanian of Reddit.com. His talk reminds us of some very important things to remember when you are marketing or promoting services on the web.

First, while deep pockets help, the Internet and social media is still one of the most level playing fields there is. A great idea, story, photo or simple message can gain traction and become a movement a meme or a t-shirt slogan.

Second, Be genuine, be yourself and have a sense of humor about it all. This is especially true for brands and companies. If you give your fans a bit of ownership and flexibility while also engaging with them you will come out ahead. You can't always anticipate how even the most well thought out campaign will unfold on the Internet, but if you monitor, engage and adapt while maintaining a sense of humor, you will come out ahead.

These are lessons that our friends at Kansas State University should have learned from their recent EcoKat PR disaster.

This is a fun one people. Enjoy Mr. Splashy...

Alexis Ohanian: How to make a splash in social media

Entrepreneurs and The Cult of Stubbornness

2011-09-08T08:28:00.000-05:00

Definition of Stubborn adj.\ˈstə-bərn\
1. Having or showing dogged determination not to change
one's attitude or position on something, esp.
in spite of good arguments or reasons to do so.2. Difficult to move, remove, or cure.
See also, 'Being a Dick.'

I will admit that I am stubborn. From early childhood I was usually convinced that my way was the right way. My Lego airplane was perfect (even if it did have one wing twice as large as the other), my own special way of doing algebra was the right way, and so on. That carried over into adulthood, and on occasion, it still rears it's ugly head.

However, in advertising and design you need to let go of the ownership of ideas and realize that sharing, collaborating and refining a vision many times results in a much better outcome.
That is probably true in most life decisions, but for this post, I will limit it to simply my profession.
Over time, I came to the realization that letting go of my stubbornness, embracing new ideas and swallowing my pride in ideas usually led to more success.
That brings me to today's lesson kids.

MOST ENTREPRENEURS ARE STUBBORN S.O.Bs!

In fact, the entrepreneurial community teaches and rewards stubbornness. It is a cultural problem as much as an individual problem. Institutions that breed founders of startups, the great MBA programs, the tech startups, the incubators and the entrepreneurial foundations ALL reward and admire stubbornness. They may mask it in business speak or call it a 'can do' attitude, but ultimately, it is stubbornness that hurts them.

Let me give you a recent example. While consulting with some of the most talented new entrepreneurs selected from over 1,100 applicants the number one refrain was "Your idea is the best." The second message was "Don't let anyone tell you it will fail." Waaaaaaay down the list of ideas taught where "listen to experts" and "value constructive criticism." So, what was the result?
Several of these fledgling start-ups eschewed expert advice on naming, branding, marketing, product array and market research. They were willing to stick to their idea even if the facts were stacked against them. They were unwilling to alter their idea even a bit.
Some even refused tens of thousands of dollars in free design and brand work provided by the non-profit in order to crowd source a logo from their own ideas. So what happens when the Cult of Stubbornness kicks in?

Invariably many of these stubborn entrepreneurs will succeed. The road may be tough and they may burn through a lot of good people, but they will probably succeed. Many will fail. Many would fail with great collaborative efforts. The belief however, that they succeeded by being stubborn is a fallacy. The institutions that teach and reward this stubbornness should instead instill in these entrepreneurs the value of collaborative work. They should teach them how to identify great talent. How to hire quality branding and advertising agencies. How to stick to the core idea that is their own, while collecting and sorting customer data and feedback to make it better.

Entrepreneurs that bring a great idea to the table and then bring the right partners on to refine it will have the best chance at success.
Great entrepreneurial institutions like the Kauffman Foundation could refine their message to benefit the entrepreneur and the great support network that is there to help them launch. VC firms should also insist on this before investing.

That is my stubborn idea.

Five Radical Ideas for Saving the U.S. Postal Service

2011-09-07T14:35:00.000-05:00

The popular saying for the Post Office goes "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." However, it appears that changing consumer habits, poor management and a hesitancy over the years to close some of the now 32,000 postal facilities may doom the fabled institution.

I am not going to discuss the politics, the structuring of the financing or any other of the more laborious and realistic next steps.

Rather, I am going to look at a few ideas that could (or could have) been enacted within the retail and branding areas over the last few years to stem the tide of red ink and led to a more successful USPS for us and our children.

1. The USPS should radically redesign itself and it's brand. No one has taken this issue to task better than FastCoDesign with their great summary last year on Radical Retro ReBrand.

2. Rather than fighting to close existing Post Offices, the USPS should sign a long-term co-location deal with McDonald's. Move the vast majority of their retail outlets to cool new in-store kiosk facilities and even locate P.O. Boxes within McDonald's. The burger giant would always welcome the added traffic. Ideally they would have partnered with Blockbuster several years ago and also led in the mail order movie business that Netflix's move to streaming is now killing. Though that ship has sailed, it might not be too late for a radical retail overhaul.

Your Neighborhood McPost Office

3. The USPS was once one of the most trusted brands globally. Why not trust your email security to the Post Office? Internet security is a real concern and a huge multi-billion dollar business. If you receive an email with an attachment that has been delivered and certified by the United States Postal Service you would trust it. A Norton-USPS partnership could generate a lot of revenue for both and embrace the one thing that is diverting the most mail.

4. USPS Mail Carrier for rent. OK, so that is a bit much. However, with such a large employment base there are very few other employers that have that many feet on the ground in neighborhoods each day. Why not utilize them for services beyond letter delivery?

Market them local to deliver door hangers. Generate revenue by selling limited sponsorship's on their uniforms and delivery vehicles. Local municipalities could save money by contracting with them for services such as meter reading.

5. Don't get rid of Saturday delivery, but rather add Sunday delivery too. Make it weekend premium services and charge accordingly.

One more bonus idea:

6. Partner with Hallmark and others to create a unified campaign for special moment cards and deliveries. Demonstrate to people that while a Facebook Birthday is nice, people that really care about you will mail you a card. Make it a movement. Make it green and focus on the simpler more meaningful moments.

So that is it. My thoughts on radically reshaping the USPS. Do I think any of these ideas will be adopted? No. Do I think we will see tens of thousands of employee layoffs and billions in loses? Sadly, yes. Should the Postmaster General think like a gutsy CEO of a new business start-up? Absolutely.

Another great article that discusses the more mundane ideas:

NPR: Five Ways the Postal Service Could Reinvent Itself

Thoughts on The World's Hottest Brands

2011-09-07T13:13:00.000-05:00

Courtesy Ad Age Magazine

Ad Age, the leading publication on advertising, marketing and branding recently released a comprehensive report that includes 30 case studies examining brand strategies as well as 32 videos of ads and viral content. It is a very well written and well researched piece that is certainly worth the subscription price. Yes, it is a fee based article to read and view the videos. If you are in the industry and deal with branding daily, I highly recommend that you read it in full. For the rest of you here are a few thoughts.

They outline ten global brands, ten regional brands and ten local brands. Some you will have heard of and know a lot about, Nike, McDonald's, Facebook and Ikea for instance. Other great regional brands such as South Africa's Nando's, a chicken QSR with great advertising and Chinese 'local' brand Li-Ning, a multi-faceted sports and sporting apparel company.

For the rest you will have to read the white paper.

Here are a few of my thoughts as I read the paper:

Now more than ever, a consistent brand strategy and brand platform is imperative.
Local and regional brands are embracing their heritage, but looking and acting much more global.
Social media and the Internet have forever changed how we look at brands.
The U.S. no longer has a monopoly on strong brands and advertising.
Brand immersion and experiential marketing are vital everywhere.
Successful brands are looking to multiple touch-points with their consumers via multiple product lines and activities.

Read the much more comprehensive article here with more thoughts from Ad Age:

Ad Age Article: A World of Inspirational Problem-Solving, Savvy Brands and Smart Marketing

The Best 17:52 of Your Day: On Being Wrong from TED

2011-09-02T09:03:00.000-05:00

There is little better than ending the week with another incredible TED talk. This one by self described "Wrongologist" Kathryn Schulz. She makes a compelling case for not just admitting, but embracing our fallibility. I think that understanding why we refuse to admit when we are wrong not only impacts us as individuals, but also how we work and live.
It certainly has impacted our political process and, as I will comment on later, our entrepreneurs.

This one should generate some comments. Let me know what you think. I'll try not to tell you that you are wrong.

Take a few minutes today, enjoy Friday, and embrace being wrong...

Kathryn Schulz: On Being Wrong

Bulletproof Art+Copy Pecha Kucha Redux

2011-09-01T15:47:00.000-05:00

In April the good people at the AAF-KC hosted an event called Bulletproof. It is the advertising community version of the popular Pecha Kucha. In short you are given little to no direction in creating a 20 slide presentation about most anything. Then the slides advance automatically every 20 seconds. Thank goodness beer is served and cursing encouraged.
This is the result of our first attempt at this. The subject is a recent trip to China.
I am looking forward to taking another stab at this great event in the future and step up my game.
The competition is great here in KC!

Art+Copy Presents BULLETPROOF 2011 // Megan Stephens, Willoughby Design, and Jon Stephens, Rockhill Strategic from AAF - Kansas City on Vimeo.

The Art & Science of the Startup

2011-09-01T11:39:00.000-05:00

It seems that one of the hottest new trends is the attempt to define and compartmentalize the entrepreneur. To define how they are created, if they can indeed be created, who they know, how they were educated... on and on we go . I guess it is human nature to try and quantify then replicate the conditions that make a successful entrepreneur. I believe there are indeed some traits and experiences that can lead to success as an entrepreneur. There are also some pitfalls that lead to incredible failure, but more on that in a later post.

Having worked with a lot of entrepreneurs as clients, and with the leading entrepreneurial foundation, The Kauffman Foundation, it is my conclusion that there are some markers that help to define an entrepreneur. Those markers alone do not create success, however. You cannot crate a set path for individuals and expect the same outcome. Entrepreneurs are as diverse as the startups they create. They also need a level of support and guidance different from others. More on our work on that later as well.

Regardless of the value of determining the 'origins of entrepreneurs' our friends at LinkedIn have created a very nice summary of some of the markers that help us to define successful entrepreneurs. It is worth a look:

Sequencing the Startup DNA from LinkedIn

There is a link to a more detailed study at the bottom of the article.

The Best 17:27 of Your Day: Tribes We Lead from TED

2011-08-31T12:45:00.000-05:00

As you will soon learn, we believe that TED is one of the most amazing organizations around. For those of you unfamiliar, TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. It has grown from an annual conference to become a global movement. We find time each day to seek out one of the thousands of great (and free) talks. Today we bring you a classic. Seth Godin gives us the best thoughts on shared ideas and how we lead in the internet age. Fun and inspiring thoughts on how we form tribes and why it should be incredibly important to all of us, especially those of us who market.

Enjoy...

Seth Godin on the tribes we lead

The Cobbler's Kids Have No Shoes

2011-08-31T11:19:00.000-05:00

That is a phrase that I was told long ago, in an advertising agency far away. It was a reminder that in our business, we usually get around to marketing ourselves last. At the time I was working for a large independent agency that seemed to have more staff and more resources than it knew what to do with. Gettin' Jiggy Wit It owned the airwaves, and come to think of it, radio was still something we actually listened to... on a radio. Thus the line took on a relative different meaning for me. It stood as a symbol that we should look to the client work first and disregard our own marketing. It was a pride point.

Now, here we are so many years later. I have now come to realize that having no shoes is not a pride point. Having no shoes makes your journey incredibly difficult, not matter how much talent and skill you have. That brings us to the reason, if not the objective of this blog. The objective is to provide a location for great ideas to be distilled, distributed and discussed. The reason for this blog is so that our little company may take another step toward actually possessing the things we create on a daily basis... a story about who we are and what we stand for.

So, as I continue to cobble shoes here, while still making beautiful kicks for our clients, we hope you will join us and add commentary and ideas to our little project.

Thank you.