Kopius Notes

Sweet and Salty Season's Greetings!

2010-12-21T18:14:00.003-05:00

what clients really want from an agency

2010-11-14T19:44:00.003-05:00

Whether your client sells cookies or cakes, the crack of the bat, a closer look at the Liberty Bell or insurance that pays for your next fender bender, clients are asking for the same few things.

Why can't we just give them to our clients and start a beautiful new relationship?

This week I had the chance to attend a breakfast program sponsored by the Philadlelphia Ad Club at the Union League in downtown Philadelphia. The panel consisted of directors of strategy and marketing officers from Wawa, Tasty Baking(makers of krimpets and tandytakes), the Phillies, PA Tourism and Cure Auto Care. Heavyweights, one and all presiding over the group consisting of a couple hundred people.

During the Q&A, one brave soul asked what everyone in the assembled audience(at least the ad agency people in attendance) wanted to know.

What could agencies do or say to get your attention? Of course, meaning, what would agencies in the area need to do to crack the ranks of these highly visible and beloved brands?

Here's what several had to say:

1. "Nimbleness"--clients are trying to do more with less and want agencies that are fast on their feet and can stay a few steps ahead of the game. My problem is that everyone--including agencies--claim to be nimble and frankly it's often more wishful thinking than actually delivered. So my advice is to "prove how you deliver nimbleness" in some consistent fashion.

2. Fast and Cheap--I know. Nobody likes to hear this. And while I think "fast and cheap" isn't the makings of greatness, it IS a reality of what clients are looking for. I think the edge goes to agencies that can deliver fast and cheap(can we say cost effective) but still deliver them as a idea that propels the brand.

3. Get me closer to the customer--clients know that fortunes turn on a companies ability to deliver on an unmet need, want or wish of the customer and only a deep insight can get companies closer to doing so. Agencies would be smart of conduct some research or qualititative studies to unearth insights or motivations a client might not even know about. Insights are the edge and clients love it when their agency are the ones who can help connect clients to them.

4. Help me stay up to date. There's so much to know and so much to keep up on, clients don't always have the time for due diligence to stay up to date. Agency can win some favor if it can serve as a resource to timely and valuable industry information that could make the client look good or make a more informed decision. Knowledge is power. Shared knowledge can be even more powerful for an agency looking for a way in.
5. Play nice with others. Clients now have so many vendors in place that it's important the each one play nice with others and contribute to the greater good of the group in a collaborative and cooperative manner. Territoriality is still a real aspect of relationships, but agencies need to be confident enough in what they do to still step up and be a good partner to others, including the client. It's makes life easier for the client and it makes for a more valuable end product--which makes everyone look good in the end.

Playback in Vegas

2010-09-22T16:56:00.002-04:00

Been a spirited few days in Vegas at a branding conference exploring the latest thinking on where brands are going in today's marketplace. Lots of juice. Good amount of reality checks. And a parade of really talented and articulated brand marketers with strong points of view. If speakers were beverages, we saw Coke Classic, A&W Root Beer, Naked, Jones Soda, and Monster.

Back in town. Back at work. Back to class. See you soon.

I'm Leaving for Vegas

2010-09-17T06:43:00.003-04:00

Countdown to ManageCamp Conference in Las Vegas. Great line-up of speakers. First time with ManageCamp so I hope it's everything it's promoted to be. Line up and speaker videos are available at www.managecamp.com.

Anyone with any insider tips on "must do's" in Vegas. Keep it PG13!

G to the K

Game On! Tuesday, Sept. 14th

2010-09-14T06:34:00.003-04:00

UArts class has re-engaged! Thought we'd use Kopius Notes to keep in touch through the week and talk a little shop between classes.

From last night: Strategy is all about the "how." It's the creative thinking that happens before the creative thinking. Every ad we see leaves clues as to what works and what doesn't. Hopefully you'll never just "look" at an ad or commercial again without trying to break it down into its essential parts, and figure out what's at work.

For next week: 1 ad that hits and a one-pager why; 1 ad(or piece of communication) that misses and a "fix the miss" version, as we did in class, on another piece of paper(simple sketch and layout). Include one-pager describing why you did what you did. Lastly, decide on your three "passion brands." What brands do you have great passion for? Prepare to talk about them and tell us why you have such positive feelings for the brand. No writing necessary. Just know your 3 brands.

Gary

why meetings rot your brain (and waste your time)

2010-08-05T07:50:00.004-04:00

This from "Rework" by 37Signals, page 108. Please share with anyone you're planning to meet with anytime soon:

Why meetings are toxic:

•They're usually about words and abstract concepts, not real things
•They usually convey an abysmally small amount of information per minute
•They drift off-subject easier than a Chicago cab in a snowstorm
•They require thorough preparation that most people don't have time for
•They frequently have agendas so vague that nobody is really sure of the goal
•They often include at least one moron who inevitably gets his turn to waste everyone's time with nonsense
•Meetings procreate. One meeting leads to another meeting leads to another...

I share this as much for me as for anyone I meet with(I promise not to feed into these if you promise too). If we seriously must work in a "do more with less" environment, I suggest we edit this notion to read "do more, waste less." As in waste less of all of our time.

That is all.

graphic facilitation

2010-05-23T20:09:00.005-04:00

While in Chicago at a conference last week, I came across an actual job title for something I've been doing my entire life during meetings. This thing? Doodling. Except a speaker at the innovation conference talked about different learning styles and the popularity of a visual way to absorb and process a meeting or brainstorming sessions. A "graphic facilitator" is someone who listens, synthesizes and draws what (s)he hears being said during the meeting. The benefit to participants? It's something of a "group mind map" of the direction of the meeting that allows people to easily track the flow of the meeting and do so in a very provocative, easy to follow way. To my surprise there are people out there right now who do graphic facilitation as a full-time job. Personally, I thing graphic facilitation is another example of what I'm feeling as a backlash to full-tilt technology. There is something engaging, disarming, charming about simple lines telling simple stories.

Check out how graphic facilitation works by plugging in "graphic facilitation" on YouTube. Give it a try and see if it helps your next big meeting. If so, let me know (if you want me to hang out at your meeting and draw on the wall, let me know). I tried it last week at a meeting that was half live bodies in the room and several on a conference call. It was a nice way to capture the spirit and trajectory of the meeting (at least for those of us in the room in PA). Also made it very easy for people in PA to speak to people in FLA about points made in the meeting's over last 90 minutes.

Gary

One of those days

2010-04-19T20:51:00.004-04:00

Pack a healthy, homemade lunch. Leave it in a plastic bag on the steps at home. Drive to work without it.

Desktop computer at work melts down, "logicworks" gone awry. Cool sizzling sound, I must admit.

General malaise.

Which is ten times more troublesome than a corporal malaise.

Here's to tomorrow.

if you wanna see you gotta look

2010-04-02T17:23:00.005-04:00

Cape May, New Jersey. Last summer. Minutes after a rainstorm blew through. Good thing I had my camera. This little beauty presented itself in between two buildings once the sun broke through. Stroke of luck an old-time viewfinder thing happen to be there, AND I had my camera.

Just a friendly reminder that you can plan an "ideation" session everyday of the week and not have an inspirational moment like this hit you plain in the face.

The secret of creativity? Who knows. I do know that it's the randomness of it all sometimes that makes it a truly blessed event.

Now go create...

Another Mile Marker i.e. Birthday

2010-03-31T07:50:00.002-04:00

My birthday came and went this week. It made me think of a cartoon I did a few weeks ago.

While it's not as quite as dire a realization as a skateboard growing up to be a hotel cart, birthdays do remind me to stay at it. Keep my eye on the prize. While things like a down economy and mounting school tuitions force me(and my wife) to be resourceful, another passing year is a clear signal to "keep moving, keep grinding and keep having fun on the ride."

Happy Birthday to me.

Two words to survive by

2010-03-20T11:07:00.005-04:00

We hear a lot about the chasm that exists between those with a digital orientation and those who still cling to traditional ways. Yes, it has something to do with the generational gap (i discovered a recent hire in our interactive department was born the same year I graduated college, damn!), but I now know that age is a total cop out when it comes to playing in today's game. Age simply doesn't matter in the grand scheme. Seriously.

Take Brent Musburger. He's 70 years old but he's still considered among the upper echelon of broadcasters. He's still got game. Still plugged in. When asked by a younger colleague over dinner one night following a game they covered, "what is your secret for surviving this long in the business?" Brent replied with just two words.

"Stay interested."

In other words, even if you're not personally interested in things like the ShamWow, Lady GaGa, crowdsourcing or cloud computing, you have to figure out what it is that make all of these so interesting to others. What do they all mean? What trends are they signaling? What's the deeper insight into each and what is it teaching us in terms of culture and marketing? All this is crucial to success especially if you play in the innovation space.

In other words, if you want to stay relevant, stay interested. Because trust me, I've seen first hand that it doesn't take long for even young guns to turn into old farts if you don't take time to keep your head in the game.

Thanks, Brent.

Making plays in small places, eh?

2010-03-18T07:20:00.004-04:00

The Canadian Olympic Ice Hockey was supposed to win the gold medal in Vancouver, so there's really no surprise there, right? Actually, there was. The way they did.

After losing to the U.S. early on, it was gut check time for Sidney Crosby and the Canadian team. In the final game against the U.S., the pundits identified the reason the Canadians were able to prevail: the were able to make plays in small places.

I love what this expression means: Making plays in small places. In the context of the game, it meant winning the battles in the corners and around of the net. Winning in all the pivotal places that could turn the game in your favor. I believe the same could apply to business, professional development and innovation. Companies and employees that learn to "make plays in small places" make all the difference between winning and losing. Between growing and being stuck. Between standout careers and vanilla careers. Whether we know it or not, every day we have chances to make plays in small places. In the clutch, do you battle or give in? Do you stick to your guns and make things better or do you fold up your tent and catch the first train home? The decisions we make, the battles we choose to engage in, the effort we put in to add value at any and every stage of a project. In today's "doing more with less" business world, "making plays in small places" is the answer to getting the gold. Frankly, THAT'S what doing more with less means is all about.

Great teams, great companies, great people know how to do it. It's what separates players like Sidney Crosby from everyone else. They put their mind to it every day. IN every situation. It's a part of their DNA.

What plays in small places will you make today?

Personal growth: game on!

2010-02-20T08:09:00.003-05:00

In times like these, the need to reinforce your core strengths and build additional strengths is critical. Since we work with Peirce College in Philly, helping people get their Bachelor's Degree and create a career path for themselves, we play frequently in this sandbox.

The sandbox is getting bigger.

I've noticed recently that places like Phoenix (see banner ad), Strayer and now Kaplan University are turning up the heat. These places aren't your traditional universities. They're a new breed of educational resource that is catering to the non-traditional students out there who may not have the time or resources to attend college the way college was done in the past. Point being, personal growth isn't reserved for just MBA-seekers. I particularly like what Phoenix is doing (www.phoenix.edu). They're absolutely working very hard to build a brand. To that point, this is an awesome photo of a woman with a look of determination in her eyes you don't usually see in typical stock photos used in most college viewbooks.

Personal growth is big. Where else do you see this trend going on?

Room to Grow

2010-02-18T06:42:00.004-05:00

On Friday, March 12th, we're putting together a morning workshop all about growth: personal, professional and brand. Three presenters will be Sarah Rottenberg of Jump Associates, Rosemary Healy of AhHa! Insights and AJ Schultz, digital and experience strategist at Backe. Program is sponsored by Philly Business Journal and will be held at Backe offices in Radnor, Pa.

More soon.

Save the date. gk

Workshops that work harder

2010-02-16T21:00:00.004-05:00

What can I say? It's been too long since I've posted. My bad. With stuff going on, and in the case of snowstorms, stuff coming down, I've been easily distracted. So I'll mount a comeback baby steps at a time.

The first one? What is it that makes for a memorable workshop or seminar?

I recently moderated a workshop that asked this question. It was at the Drexel LeBow School of Business, and the goal was to develop as many new ideas for alumni programs as possible. Our objective was to figure out new ideas for events that Drexel alums would want to attend and perhaps talk about afterwards. We began the brainstorm with some basic questions around the elements that people believed contributed to events like a workshops or professional development events that people remembered and found valuable. The results were so basic and fundamental to what we humans look for in events like these, I thought I'd share them:

1) A great opening
Seems obvious, but many participants spoke about great events they've been to in the past that opened with a bang and never looked back. Sometimes, the first 15 minutes of a presentation can dictate its success. So it's worth taking the time to figure out a great "ice breaker" to get things rolling. Is there a great opening exercise, even a silly one, that gets people to exhale and relax?

2) Active engagement
Don't just leave the audience sitting there. We talked about how programs we've been to got us moving around, mingling as a way to get everyone engaged. I attended a Fast Company event in Florida a while back where they sent me an attendee package in the mail with information and a Burnt Sienna Crayola crayon. i was to bring the crayon with me to the event and seek out other Burnt Siennas in the crowd. The tactic got me engaged, and I was able to meet dozens of other attendees in search of my group. Fun tactic.

3) Learn something you didn't already know
Again, pretty simple. But difficult. In planning you're event, can you see to it that everyone who attends will learn at least one thing they didn't know before? Recently, I attended an Innovation Summit in Philadelphia and discovered that after attending two of the workshops, I was able to scribbled at least three insights or pieces of information I wasn't aware of or found valuable. The event for these reasons was worth the time spent.

4) An unexpected delivery
One of the attendees at the LeBow brainstorm talked about how at a motivational workshop, organizers included a Baptist preacher to address the crowd. The attendees were blown away by the unexpected tactic and seeing someone they wouldn't normally expect to see at such a corporate event. Does your workshop have that kind of "wow factor?"

5) Shake off the baggage you walked in the room with
Let's fact it, workdays aren't what they used to be. For most, they're jammed with stressful meetings, new business meetings and exhausting challenges that can take a lot out of you. People attend professional development workshops or seminars to be energized and uplifted with new possibilities. Fresh perspectives. Of course, people need to learn and find value in programs, but presenters and speakers need to help people lighten the load they walked into the room with. Give me reasons to lean forward in my chair, get excited and get back out there with a renewed spirit. Perhaps delivering useful information and helpful insights in an entertaining way is the way to go. Sometimes, all people want is an escape, so why not give it to them?

Marketing 2.0: It's about what others do with what you do

2009-12-09T07:20:00.002-05:00

I've been intrigued lately by the notion that "Marketing 2.0 isn't about what you do, it's about what others do with what you do."

So every marketer, down deep, must become something of an enabler. Today's consumers use brands as a steppingstone to their own self-expression and self-fulfillment. A good example of this is the new campaign Flip video "Do You Flip?" campaign as well as a new creative project by my friend, Peter Lloyd. It's a musical CD called "Cover Me."

Peter is a writer, author and singer-songwriter. Recently, Peter took 10 songs that he wrote and recorded on his own, and asked 10 friends to perform each of their songs on their own. "Cover Me: The songs of Peter Lloyd performed by friends and family of Peter Lloyd" came about. Peter asked me to illustrate the cover you see here. I thought "Cover Me" is a great example of this notion that success in marketing is all about getting other people to do something with what you do. In other words, the question is what will people want to do with the website you created, or the television commercial you developed? It's part of being in the age of dynamic engagement. On "Cover Me," each performer took the original Peter Lloyd song, and re-corded it with their own "special sauce." In other words, Peter's songs "enabled" the singers to channel their own talents and create something entirely new from the original iteration. IN the process, Peter's creative ideas became a form of "social objects."

As a marketer, you need to seriously ask yourself "is what I'm creating right something other people will want to do something with?"

If you're interested in the "Cover Me" CD, which is a very fun listen, go to www.gocreate.com. Would make a nice creative gift for the holidays.

Thanksgiven

2009-11-30T06:38:00.002-05:00

Great Thanksgiving. Back to work. Several large projects on the table, critical week in the development of both.

Off we go...

Have a good one.

Thanksgiving wishes and Petri dishes

2009-11-24T23:31:00.002-05:00

Has Purell become the new accessory for people with places to go, people to meet and hands to shake? Sure seems so lately.

Here's to a healthy, happy and germ-free Thanksgiving for all.

I hope you enjoy the cartoon.
Best,

-GK

Trip Down...

2009-10-31T07:20:00.003-04:00

This cartoon was sparked by a high school reunion I attended in New Jersey. The event was a lot of fun and reminded me of the many good people I was fortunate enough to share my early years with. The experience got me thinking about how time plays with our memory and how our perspective can change over the years. That night I saw former teammates on the football team, former crushes and a handful of people who brought a smile to my face even though I couldn't immediately recall their names(that's why you wear your name tag!). Life's funny that way. My wife was also a member of our of graduating class which made the evening even more special. The night reminded me of a very funny episode of 30 Rock where Tina Fey(Liz Lemon) goes to her class reunion in Pennsylvania, and Alec Baldwin tags along and poses as a former classmate, Larry Braverman.

Here's to all my classmates at Woodbridge Senior High School!

Boom Books

2009-10-23T06:50:00.002-04:00

Another hectic week comes to a close. New biz pitches. Large projects building steam. Speaking of big pitches, the Phillies secure a spot in this year's World Series and wait to see who is still standing between Yanks and Angels.

It's amazing what winning can do to a city's psyche.

Blender video up and running...

2009-10-15T07:06:00.003-04:00

It's been a busy month for event seekers and creative opportunists. In addition to the Creative Convergence Summit in Philadelphia, we held our first Big Idea Blender in Ardmore, PA at Milkboy Coffee. A lot of fun. A lot of excited, open-minded people riffing on what they do. If you want to see some photos along with the entire video of Blender presentations, go to http://bigideablender.wordpress.com. There's been a lot of talk of doing another somewhere around town. Actually several new people looking to get involved and collaborate in some fashion. No shortage of ideas. I didn't think there would be with a group like this.

Enjoy the video. Post your comments. Share with someone who would like this kind of stuff. If you like it enough and want to play along, let me know.

kopius kick in the pants

2009-10-10T08:45:00.005-04:00

Have you ever felt like your brain was stuck in a particular gear, or a certain staleness had entered your gray matter? It's pretty common. I think when this happens, there's nothing like going to a conference or mixing with other creative people for a while. This past week I attended the Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit in Philadelphia (world's longest summit title), and served as a panelist at a workshop on creative ideation for the Philadelphia Ad Club.

As an audience member at the Summit, I got to sit and listen to other people talking about innovation, creativity and their process, and found it interesting that it can be very stimulated to hear someone share how they do exactly what they do every day, along with the challenges and successes they experience along the way. I have to admit, I did have a feeling going in of "I pretty much know all I need to know to do what I do, but let's see what others have to say about it." Bad habit. But we all do it. Even those who rail against it.

As a panelist at the Ideation Workshop for the Philly Ad Club, I had a chance to meet two very cool(very different) people who make a living coming up with new ideas and helping others find new ideas for their business. The worst thing would have been to sit next to two people who were clones of me, or approached things in the same manner I did. Or used the same facilitation approaches. They didn't. Which made it very valuable for me. Sarah Rottenberg from Jump Associates and Steve Mapes of Impact Unlimited are knowledgeable, passionate, friendly and fun.

That's why I love working in creative fields like advertising, brand marketing and innovation. It's the people. I mean who else walks around with a Tupperware container full of juicy, colorful magic markers, stickers and Post-Its? It's the diversity of people, opinions and personalities that gives us something new to always learn, and our mind some different place to go. By getting out and putting myself in different mixes of people and events, I must say my brain was really alive and was pushing neurons in places they haven't been, soaking in colorful points of view, and coming out of the haze with some fresh points of view around social media, how to deal with clients and how to beat the bureaucracy associated with team collaboration. For someone who reads a lot of books about the industry, innovation and creativity, I find there's nothing like getting out there, talking to people, listening to other people speak and speaking yourself. We all have a lot to learn and share, and doing so live and in person with other people is a rare and valuable treat. Thanks to all those who allowed me to do both.

Good stuff.

More soon.

(Photo: Sarah Rottenberg, Jump Associates, Steve Mapes, Impact Unlimited, me)

The minds plays tricks

2009-09-23T21:07:00.004-04:00

Something bubbling on the horizon

2009-08-25T07:14:00.002-04:00

In just a few weeks, the Big Idea Blender will be coming to Ardmore, Pennsylvania.

It's summer so most of us are still at the beach catching a wave, finishing up a trashy novel or sitting down to a slice of boardwalk pizza.

As we reach the final double digits of August, many of us are beginning to think about what we'll be doing once Labor Day is behind us. We'll start to focus again on the mission at hand.

It'll be time to shake off the sand and start reconnecting to the mission. Your mission. Whatever it may be.

On September 16th, you'll get to hear 10 people who have connected themselves to a mission talk about the experience. During our Open Mic Night, 10 presenters will take the stage and describe first hand the exhilaration, frustrations and utter jubilation of what it means to be an entrepreneur. What it means to take your personal passion and put it before the world.

More soon.

Don't forget. Save the whales. And save the date. Wednesday, September 16th.

Big Idea Blender: September 16th

2009-08-17T16:40:00.004-04:00

We've all wondered how great business ideas happen and even more important, how do they get one off the ground? Now there's a chance to find out how others are making big ideas happen. Think "Night at the Improv" meets "American Inventor."

The Big Idea Blender is an experiment kicking off on September 16th at 7:00pm at Milkboy Coffee in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.

Big Idea Blender is variation on a theme, in all honesty. It takes its inspiration from events like Google's Ignite, TED Conference and IdeaBlob.com by Advanta. It hopes to bring together entrepreneurs and creative business thinkers to share ideas, frustrations and victories all in the a hope of inspiring the assembled group of people to greater heights.

It follows the format of "an open mic night for entrepreneurs" and uses a rapid fire five-minute presentation style to keep things moving and the juices flowing. If you're interested or know someone who is, let me know and I can fill you in. The goal is to sign up 8-10 presenters for the night, and we've got the first two in place, so please make contact soon if you're into hitting the stage.

Our hopes are that this grassroots, coffeehouse style of event makes it easier to do it more often and get more entrepreneurs on-stage to share their stories with other like-minded trailblazers. The event is free but you need to register, and delicious Milkboy coffee and noshables will be on sale all evening.

Sticky idea for a Sunday

2009-08-02T20:48:00.002-04:00

If you come up or come across any sticky ideas this week, please send them along to kopiusnotes, and we'll talk about them.

I'll see what I can come up with this week.

An idea that's being knocked around is a Big Idea Blender in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. The day is September 16. A wednesday. It's something of an open mic night for entrepreneurs and creative business people. It's a great event to get inspired and inspire others. There will also be a freestyle "tablestorming" brainstorm at the end.

More soon.

How's your collaboration?

2009-07-28T08:01:00.003-04:00

-How well do you and your colleagues work together?

-How well do you brainstorm?

-How do ideas flow within your organization?

If you are interested in a white paper that can help you and the people you work with work better, let me know. It's called Better Brainstorming in the Idea Economy. I'll gladly email you a copy. I'd be interested in your feedback.

-g

Empowered Health and Living Brands

2009-07-19T22:54:00.006-04:00

Talking with a colleague of mine last week, our conversation led to an interesting
place, one that continues to stick with me:

EMPOWERED CONSUMERS POWER BRANDS.

That was it. The simplicity of the idea caught me off guard. But it made a lot of sense.

It cleared a lot of what I've been thinking about lately with regard to brands, and why some win and some lose. Brands like Apple, Whole Foods, NIKE as well as Dell and Scion (build your own) underscore a powerful concept at work today. Brands that are able to empower their customers and make them feel a part of the brand, are more successful than those brands that don't.

Let's face it, successful brands have a way of putting the consumer in a position of power that ultimately power the brand beyond its competitors.

I call them Empowered Health & Living Brands. These are any brands in any category that give consumers information, education and confidence for the purposes of making their life better and more enjoyable. The above brand, Vitasana multivitamins, talks about "adding a little life to your life." While the ad was done a few years ago during the height of the growth of natural supplements, the tactic still rings true today.

Powerful brands get that way by empowering consumers.

Unique Selling Proposition

2009-07-17T07:02:00.003-04:00

Let's face facts, without a clear and compelling selling promise, your offering is bound to get lost in the sauce.

This week, the team brainstormed names for a new service one of our larger clients is launching. It represented a potentially great new service at the retail level. The team was juiced and ready to create the future.

After an initial round of naming, we started to hit on richer, more interesting names that seemed to have one thing in common. They had a powerful and distinctive promise "baked" right into the name. The benefit of this is that the new names did much of the heavy lifting in the mind of the consumers. They didn't have to work hard in their head to figure out what benefit the company provided. A great name is literally a conversation starter. It moves a consumer instantaneously ahead which means the name has a much greater chance of being seen, noticed and acted upon.

If you're developing a new product or company name, make sure the names you consider work hard right from the start. They telegraphic the values and promise you wish to communicate. Words matter and so does their meaning in the marketplace. Choose wisely.

Day in, day out

2009-07-13T20:43:00.000-04:00

A little down time

2009-07-02T17:48:00.002-04:00

Time to disengage.

Happy Fourth of July...

Shoestring Creative Solutions

2009-07-01T06:54:00.003-04:00

A stack of Monopoly money. A pair of googly eyes. Actors playing it over the top.

Geico adds to its Gekko, Cavemen and celebrity sidekick series with a stripped down, dumbed down solution around the money you could be saving with Geico.

Genius or just annoying?

Put me in, Coach

2009-06-30T19:41:00.004-04:00

I had an interesting encounter yesterday. I had my first assessment done by a professional leadership coach. The assessment was designed to measure the types of energy I project at work and in my life.

Anabolic, good. Catabolic, bad. Very bad.

The strange part was that the coach was someone I met at one of my workshops. She had recently become a licensed coach and thought it would be good to lead me through her process.

I found it very interesting. I took an online test, and followed it up with a two-hour phone conversation to go over my assessment results.

I found out some very helpful things about the energy I generate at work, home and in my life. I definitely need to look at some specfic areas and relationships, including the expectations I set for myself. In particular, I tend to project certain types of energy at times that may be undermining my own progress and the way I interact with others.

The two-hour follow up phone conversation was very intense and pretty complex. Honestly, I don't know if I gave her what she was looking for, and I'm not sure what the exercise told me about my skills as a leader. The one thing our encounters made clear to me was that for a guy, I can be pretty high maintenance.

Who knew?

PS If anyone is interested in getting an Energy Leadership assessment done for themselves, let me know and I'll put you touch with my friend. She's very good, and a great listener.

Why they don't return your calls

2009-06-30T19:38:00.000-04:00

Speaking of Saying...

2009-06-27T23:13:00.000-04:00

Notworking

2009-06-23T19:57:00.002-04:00

I heard something on MPR this morning about the experience job seekers are having at job fairs. What they were saying underscores once again how traditional methods of doing things today are not necessarily the way to get things done moving forward. The report stated that very few of the companies at the fair actually had job openings. Most of the companies at the fair were there selling products that were meant to help job seekers find a job.

humans vs the hype

2009-06-17T08:18:00.003-04:00

This brandtoon to the left was inspired by a recent article I read in Communication Arts. It was written by Baba Shetty, a strategist at Hill Holliday, and talks about what he describes as the "hype cycle" of new technology.

In a nutshell, the hype cycle is the progression of any new technology from "hot new thing" to "been there done that" disenchantment. Or as Mr. Shetty describes it as, "either the recommendation of a technologcial approach just because it's fashionable or the dismissing, out-of-hand direction that's judged by the cognescenti as being all too common."

Net net, the piece poses the question about how new technology tools (toys) might play into the way we plan our work, and suggests that the best interactive experiences always have less to do with technology(or the hype around it) and more to do with what makes us human.

Amen, brother.

Thoughts, anyone?

Marketing 2.0

2009-06-13T14:47:00.000-04:00

The Activation Economy

2009-06-13T11:39:00.002-04:00

Activate interest, involvement, affinity, affection, loyalty, awareness, empowerment, energy, adventure, ambition, confidence, comfort, competition, value, health, engagement, enthusiasm, professionalism, romance, anger, pride, patriotism, individualism...

Marketing 2.0 is about activating a connection with people. What connection are you activating with the work you're doing?

Disruptive Brands

2009-06-13T07:51:00.000-04:00

face the enemy

2009-06-12T23:08:00.000-04:00

Ideas that stick

2009-06-12T07:19:00.003-04:00

My name is Gary...Hello, Gary!

Okay, I admit it. I have a problem and I blame it all on 3M. I have this thing about Post-It Notes and their private label pool partners from Staples called "sticky notes." I'm constantly writing things down on those little yellow (sometimes orange) sticky notes and putting them everywhere. My computer. My office walls. The dashboard of my car. My forehead(don't ask).

I believe there's nothing more exhilarating than reviewing the work of a group I'm facilitating. To do this, I often ask the group to rapid fire their ideas on a wall via Post-Its. As a creative facilitator, I encourage people to think out loud by writing everything down and putting it somewhere you could it see...move it around...combine it...evaluate it.

So if you're working on project with your group, have them gather around a wall and begin churning out ideas or pieces of ideas, writing everything down on Post-Its. Just beware. Creative thinking can be addictive. Once you've done it and see the value in writing everything down on those little sticky squares, you'll start taken a pad with you everywhere you go.

Turnpike Humor

2009-06-10T23:35:00.003-04:00

Breakfast of Chumpions

2009-06-09T22:14:00.002-04:00

1. Bridge traffic
2. The price of gas
3. Clients that don't answer emails
4. Clients that answer emails, then cut your budget
5. Car salesmen
6. Negative people
7. People who overpromise and underdeliver
8. Drivers on cell phones
9. Self-proclaimed "social media" experts
10. Male enhancement radio commercials

A Theme Machine

2009-05-26T07:16:00.003-04:00

I've been spending a lot of time dissecting the book, Brand Digital by Allen Adamson. It really brings into focus the importance of branding and the branding mindset in today's digital age. Or has Allen puts it, "digital amplifies the things that have always been true of branding."

One of the things Allen touches on is the importance of a Brand Driver. That "one idea" that serves as a launch pad or platform for every idea communicated across every channel. For instance, in the book Adamson refers to brand driver's such as Johnson & Johnson's "having a baby changes everything," GE's "imagination at work" and HP's "Personal computers are personal again."

Adamson calls it a "brand driver," but I've come to know it as a "brand theme." A brand theme is the backbone of all marketing communications and internal activity, yet it's stretchy and elastic enough to wrap around the entire brand. Which is why I believe that ad agencies need to get better at developing meaningful and original "brand themes" for their clients, and get beyond cute and clever "one-off" ads and taglines that sound more like prom themes. Ideas that work okay in the moment but are cast aside in a matter of months because they quickly lose relevance.

Is your brand wrapped around a clear, compelling and memorable brand theme? Is your brand theme built around a powerful and actionable consumer insight capable of generating hundreds of great ads, commercials or websites?

"Serious Care Starts Here" for a prestigious University Hospital, "Life is Looking Up" for Verizon Yellow Pages, and "Spontaneous Cool" for a brand of apparel for the NFL all were brand themes that gave the client and agency plenty of room to run. They were brand themes that spoke directly to the audience and gave the brand something to talk about. A conversation to own and involve people in.

Therefore, we're no longer makers of ads or designers of websites. We are
theme machines. Methodically crafting emotional blockbusters that become the calling card for the brand, and serve as a underpinning for all digital and traditional work.

Tom's Toon

2009-05-21T21:34:00.002-04:00

A fellow cartoonist friend of mine, Tom Fishburne, is a brand manager for Method in the U.K. and is a famous "management cartoonist"(tomfishburne.com). Here's a recent cartoon of Tom's that captures the sentiment of a lot of people.

Thought I'd end the week before Memorial Day with someone else's cartoon for a change.

Enjoy. And enjoy the holiday.

Powerless Point

2009-05-18T07:13:00.003-04:00

Marketingeze Made EZ

2009-05-16T10:31:00.003-04:00

Ah, the "agency capabilities presentation."

Such a fun ritual.

Who are we? What do we? Why are we different? Who have we done this with before? The bigger question in the room would be, "is the prospective client willing and able to pay for what we do? Do they even value what we do?"

A former ad agency colleague of mine had a favorite catchphrase when negotiating with prospective clients in the pitch mode, especially when the agency was asked by the prospective partner to "put together some ideas to see if we like what we do."
To them, GD would always intone to the team: "No romance without the finance." Funny.

I have to agree. Spec work is pure evil. Nonetheless. We had a couple good client meetings/presentations this week. Good rapport. Excitement in the air. All signs point to "yes" around the chance to do compelling work for them.

What closed the deal? Must have been the agency's elevator pitch.

Sound the Brand Alarm

2009-05-14T06:39:00.006-04:00

I saw this in the hallway of the hotel I was staying in while in Stockholm. At first glance, I read it as "brand alarm," and thought "I'm not sure what it means and why it's there, but what a great way to capture the feeling many marketers are experiencing these days." Upon further inspection I realized there wasn't an "A" after the "D" so it was actually brand-larm. Nonetheless, how cool would it be for clients to have one of these at their disposal? Branding companies could be like a firehouse.

Think of it. Whenever a client had an emergency with their brand, they could sound an alarm that would ring, alerting branding professionals to the problem(how many times have we heard about clients needing to "put out fires?)

This would certainly come in handy these days, when most marketers are smelling a little smoke and could use help figuring out where it's coming from.

The Virtual Brainstomer

2009-05-11T20:13:00.003-04:00

Welcome to an experiment.

Virtual Brainstormer is an extension of a workshop I did in December. I called the program Better Brainstorming in the Idea Economy. It's a culmination of probably a dozen years of traveling all over creation, brainstorming for pay for consumer products companies.

This is the first video of what I hope will be many. Some generated by me and my troupe. Some generated by others.

I hope you find it helpful.

Bloomin' Onion, Anyone?

2009-05-09T08:33:00.003-04:00

Shout™ is a stain remover, not a brand strategy Part 2

2009-05-06T06:58:00.003-04:00

Absolut has never been a brand that's needed to shout at anyone. It created its own brand of cool with an iconic bottle and its own language(Absolut whatever). It aligned with creative thinkers, artists and cultural icons and created an aura that's lasted over two decades.

This is me several months back in Stockholm, Sweden. While working on a project for Absolut, I had the opportunity to visit the Ice Bar. A bar where literally the bar is made of ice and you drink Absolut from glasses made of, well, ice. A marketing gimmick or totally unique touchpoint that lets people engage the brand in a memorable way? All I can say is that I came back with an amazing story to tell and a shared experience that has transformed me into an evangelist for Absolut. Literally and figuratively, a cool way to experience the spirits brand. When brands get it right they don't need to shout to be heard.

Who else is doing something that projects the brand in an unexpected way? Who else out there is demonstrating the inherent value of creating shared experiences, and not simply shouting at people?

Cheers.

Shout™ is a stain remover, not a brand strategy

2009-05-03T23:13:00.006-04:00

Back in the day, selling was all about shouting. Shouting messages via television commercials, radio spots and splashy print ads powered by heavy media buys. Through sheer exposure and merciless repetition, brand messages would seep into the brains of the masses. Trouble is, it's not about mass media anymore. Nor is it about one-way selling. No, marketing isn't about selling, it's about sharing. Sharing information, opinions, important conversations, and tools that let people live more empowered lives.

In his article in Businessweek in 2007, "It's the Conversation Economy, Stupid," David Armano tells us that "one of the engines that is driving '2.0' growth is the fact that communities are forming around popular social platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, Ning, Twitter---the list goes on and on. These platforms facilitate conversations. Conversation leads to relationships and relationships lead to affinity. Brand affinity, as companies such as Harley-Davidson have proven often drives communities to form around them."

In other words, if your brand isn't a conversation, it's just more noise. Therein lies the problem. Based on what I see in advertising and on various websites, most brands couldn't carry on a conversation with a consumer if their lives depended on it. Just more buzzwords and worn out marketing-eze. Imagine for a minute that these brands were people you met at a cocktail party. You'd probably excuse yourself to the restroom in a matter of minutes.

Further on in his article, David Armano(darmano.typepad.com) proposes that all marketers should think of themselves as "conversation architects." A professional whose job it is to know the audience, build empathy and create conversations that can live on their own.

Gary Kopervas, conversation architect.

I like the sound of that. Now you try it next to your own name.

But remember, no shouting.

Get Your Sock On

2009-05-01T16:01:00.002-04:00

Hey, another week in the books. Welcome the weekend with a big, wet, sloppy kiss or an awkward handshake (choice is yours). It's been another week of new business pitches, cranking on projects and follow up phone calls. These days weekends have really become a time to decompress, disengage and recharge the battery.

Go on. It's time. Shut 'er down, go home and enjoy yourself. Let's do this again on Monday.

G

Activate or Evaporate

2009-04-29T21:45:00.000-04:00

We talk a lot about "brand activation" and being brand activators in the digital age. Question is, what does it mean? it means getting the right people in the room, pulling a problem apart in every direction like you see here, and then putting together what we discover into new ideas that activate interest, activate involvement and activate interaction. Here's a little glimpse into a recent activator session.

In today's environment, you have two choices. Activate. Or evaporate.

Seek new ideas, seek the next new promise or product, and let your Sharpies™ do the talking.

g

Happy Convergences

2009-04-28T21:48:00.001-04:00

So, doing anything really unique at work?

(Click on cartoon to enlarge)

Running the regulatory gauntlet

2009-04-28T07:28:00.001-04:00

Two things that aren't easy:

1) being green
2) getting product claims through FDA regulatory (See cartoon)

-gary

Monday Numbday

2009-04-27T23:14:00.001-04:00

Sunny and 80

2009-04-26T08:55:00.000-04:00

It's sunny and in the 80s today. Time to leave the cave and get out.
Blogging can wait...

Can you keep a promise?

2009-04-25T10:10:00.000-04:00

My 17-year old son wrote this note when he was five years old. I recently dug it out of an old scrapbook.

I will behave.
I will behave.
I will behave.

12 years ago, my wife asked him to sit down and write this after some mischief he got into. Perhaps talking back. Or acting up in school that day. He took out a pencil, and did as my wife asked. At the time, he was doing something that brand marketers do every day: creating a brand promise. A brand promise is an agreement or covenant between brands and the people it wishes to start a relationship with. "The ultimate driving machine," "Diamonds are forever," "When you care enough to send the very best," and "Made from the best stuff on earth." These are more than simply well-penned taglines. They're promises that companies can build a business around. They're the rock upon which you build your brand church.

Here's the catch. In order to be successful, you need to actually keep your promise. Today. Tomorrow. And for years to come. In fact, I've always subscribed to the definition that "a brand is a promise made consistently over time." You can't "claim" to be a brand, you must "demonstrate" you're a brand over time. You do this by creating a powerful promise that you know you can keep, and is deemed valuable by consumers.

So the question boils down to this: "how well can you keep your promise?" If it's an authentic promise that grows out of the DNA of your company, it'll probably be easier to keep. And besides, in today's digital branding world, a brand is only as good as its ability to keep the promises it makes. For in today's Age of Transparency, if a brand doesn't keep its promise, it's only a matter of before it makes the rounds on the Internet in blogs and chat rooms.

What does my son's note have to do with the creation of enduring, beloved brands? Simple. If you make a promise today, you should be able to keep it years from now. That is the essence of what makes a brand great. In my son's case, he is planning to attend his senior high school prom in a couple of weeks. A prom that includes a long weekend "after party" at the Jersey Shore. My wish is that by reminding him of the promise he made, he'll remember to live by it during his Prom weekend.

Hey, it was worth a shot.

Units and measures and metrics, oh my

2009-04-24T07:18:00.000-04:00

Attended a panel discussion last night around the growth of online video in marketing. Units, metrics, measures delivered by people from Hulu, Tremor Media, WebMD, Point Roll and Digitas Health. Lots of talk around CPMs, CRTs and ROI.

I still have a headache this morning.

One encouraging note for me was that across the board, all the panelists reinforced a single idea: online media and the use of video are only as good as the content you create and the value that users attach to it. In other words, powerful brand stories, narratives and entertaining content drive the day. Another key point is that it's not easy to monetize the "next big thing" in video. Or as someone put it, "how do you monetize Susan Boyle or Paul Potts?" If you haven't seen these two from Britain's Got Talent fame, go check them out on YouTube. Their videos were viral blockbusters. Great stories of personal triumph, too.

Finding the right wave

2009-04-22T06:52:00.000-04:00

Sure, it's scary out there. Just ask my son standing on the beach at the Jersey Shore on this particularly gray day. It's alot like many of us feel right now about our business.

You can sit on the shore and wring your hands some more, or you can pick up your board, double-knot the string on your bathing suit, and get out there.

On the bright side, there are fewer surfers out on the water, so choosing a wave isn't as difficult as it usually is. It's less crowded right now, make it work for you.

So, what wave can your brand ride?

Leading edge of indecision

2009-04-19T10:15:00.000-04:00

Down economies are bad for a lot of reasons. But one byproduct that keeps rearing its head lately is indecision. Frankly, when times are bad, the headscratchers, fencesitters and handwringers come out in force. There's this wicked inertia happening. It's been really hard to get anyone to make a decision and as a result projects are at a standstill (and worse, projected revenue from these projects are in jeopardy). I can easily understand why(limited dollars and resources), but frankly, it's the last thing you want to have happen when you're trying to build momentum and dig your way out of a hole. I think small teams that develop an actionable strategy, fill-in the right resources around it and then think creatively to get things done are in a better position to win. We're involved in a couple projects right now where out of necessity, small groups of client and agency teams are "hunkered in the bunker" collaborating aggressively, blending strategy and creative, and making decisions around projects that I personally think stand a great chance of being successful. More importantly, any one of these projects could serve as the first step in putting together a "string of wins" that could instill confidence in any team, and keep the momentum moving forward.

Do you have any ways of overcoming indecision within a group or a company that could help any of us?

Life happens fast. Take Kopius notes.

2009-04-18T21:35:00.000-04:00

Like most people's lives, mine has gotten more hectic every day, and right now feels pretty top heavy with the demands of things to get done, places to be, work to complete, ideas to sell, pdf's to download, kids' games to watch, new contacts to make, checks to cut, and morning alarms to ignore.

Kopius Notes is my way of capturing the stuff that goes on in my day, in my life, and in my head. Along with the stuff that normally gets scribbled into my Moleskine notepad.