Archive for the ‘Edge’ Category

You know you are a Linchpin if…

Wednesday, June 16th, 2010

A bunch of us were huddled around a project the other day when we noted how gorgeous it was outside. The subject turned to playing hooky and how some of our friends in corporate America thought nothing of calling in sick on such a day to play a round of golf, go to the beach, or to burn up a “personal” day. After all, they have many counterparts in their departments to cover them. Our staffers* here at smith&jones were incredulous that their friends and family couldn’t understand why they, too, wouldn’t join in on a day off.  “I don’t think so,” they laughed, “who will get the ad out!” “Who will pick the right fonts and images?” “Who will decide on the social media mix and make sure our client’s best interest is accounted for when we review the media buy?”

Well, that’s when I realized we have an agency filled with Linchpins.

See, I have been reading Seth Godin’s latest book, Linchpin. And, tomorrow, I will be lucky enough to see him speak in person in Boston during one of the stops on his “Fight the Lizard Road Trip.**” Linchpins are indespensible individuals who aren’t afraid to exert emotional labor. They create connections with our clients (and in our case, with our clients’ clients), they have personal responsibility, they have tremendous passion about what they do, and most importantly – they create art. According to Godin, art is anything that causes an interaction or change to happen – and it’s a personal gift that changes the recipient. To quote from his book:

“It’s the art of interaction…running a meeting, counseling a student…calming an angry customer, managing a designer. If art is a human connection that causes someone to change his mind, then you are an artist.”

According to Linchpin, the industrialized nation as we know it is coming to a close. The days of using people as cogs in a wheel (and therefore being dispensable – like playing golf on a nice day) are also coming to a close. He states that being good isn’t good enough – that being remarkable is where it’s at. That the notion of being paid in exchange for a days work is actually selling out. Think about it – if that’s all there is,  you are not making a meaningful connection with your employer – you are rendering yourself indispensable.

In an interviewlinchpincards conducted by Hubspot, Godin states the next twenty years will be a revolution with many opportunities on the table. Will you be someone holding on waiting for things to go back to “normal?” Or will you realize that this is the new normal?

Will you take advantage? Will you be a Linchpin?

*BTW, thanks to the great staff we have in place here at smith&jones. You are all a great inspiration to me. As I read this book – I see a lot of great qualities in you that Seth Godin writes about. We are lucky to have all of you here. You are each remarkable.

**Check out these cool business cards I got in the mail prior to attending Seth’s talk tomorrow. Can’t wait!

Posted in Edge, Random Thoughts, Uncategorized, marketing, water cooler | No Comments »

Getting creative about creative thinking.

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

This is the final fifth and sixth combined blogs reporting on the exciting findings we learned about at the Edge Conference sponsored by the Ad Club of Boston on November 16th. During the event, some of the most creative minds in communications & brand-building shared with us inspirational stories, presentations, spirited panel discussions and valuable information that we imparted on our viewers during a series of blogs. Look back through our archives for the other entries!

Sometimes we creatives hit walls about how to be more creative. One of the best parts about attending the Edge conference was getting to listen to creative people talk about how they keep the good things coming. Finding inspiration from our clients, the world and each other is a constant work in progress.

Two of the stand-out presentations of the day for me were by Clark Scheffy, Practice Lead, Consumer Experience Design Practice IDEO, and Alex Bogusky, Co-Chairman Crispin Porter + Bogusky. Both talked about getting outside the usual methods of marketing and really getting inspired by their clients’ products. Both gave presentations that included unexpected ways of displaying their content, and great stories about how they get inside their ideas. Scheffy rode around in a camper for one client and got random surfers on the beach to try out new surf shorts and tell him what they thought for another. Bogusky went so far as to invent a product/project and pitch it to the city of Denver — without being asked (check it out here). These are people who look at challenges as fun, and you got the sense that they rarely use the same approach twice.

What I took away from their (amazing) presentations was that we should appreciate how unique and interesting each of our clients is and that the regular old plan (logo, brochure, media buy, website) just isn’t working the way it used to. Also, these are people who don’t take their work home with them. Instead, these are the people who take their home-life to work. They bring in their hobbies, their own views and interests, talents and curiosities. Their unique personalities spark new ways of thinking, reactions from each other, collaboration and learning.

It was inspiring to see how different all that creative idea-generation can really be. So, here at s&j we are implementing a few of these great ideas in the coming year. So far, we’ve broken down some walls and added some couches so we creatives can feel a little less-boxed in and really get inside our creative process. Next we’re looking at how we present our work to our clients and how we present our agency to the world wide web (keep a look out for our new website early this year!). While we are keeping all of our great personality and playing into the same strengths that have kept us in business for almost 15 years, we’re also looking to get inspired, try out some new things, and add some new value to our clients in the new year — it’s not so much a resolution as it is an evolution.

What’s in the new year for you?

* You can also check out Alex Bogusky’s new book about creative thinking, Baked In.

Posted in Edge, Fun, creative, marketing | 1 Comment »

Edge: 5 Trends Turning Business Upside Down

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

This is the fourth of 6 blogs reporting on the exciting findings we learned about at the Edge Conference sponsored by the Ad Club of Boston on November 16th. During the event, some of the most creative minds in communications & brand-building shared with us inspirational stories, presentations, spirited panel discussions and valuable information we will impart on our viewers over the next series of blogs. So stay tuned!

This fast-paced segment at the conference shed light on why we, as marketers, have to totally change our tune to align marketing to better reflect new product development trends. We learned that now, more than ever, the worlds of product developers and marketers have never been more intertwined. By using music as an analogy, Gary Stein, VP Social Media of Isobar, explained that by creating a more fluid, dynamic, open, social marketing system, we can help to integrate marketing earlier in a product’s development process.

By comparing the old way of doing business as “the composer” to the new way of doing business as “the DJ,” Stein walked us through the end-user wanting to paying less and get more (bigger, louder, faster). No longer do they have patience for a composer to sit in their room composing a masterpiece. They don’t need perfection…they are content with something that is just “good enough,” quickly delivered, and pretty exciting. Let’s take a look at the five trends impacting both product development and marketing:

  1. Hyperspeed product development cycles: Need to get products out there much more quickly. Today, manufacturers have been slicing an average of three years off product development.
  2. Overlapping competition: 26,ooo new products or brands introduced every year.
  3. Good enough revolution: Consumers have reached a stasis point. There is a new perception of “high quality” out there. Quality without cost – cheap and fast. Think Target – stylish, variety, inexpensive – consumers are asking for and getting exactly what they want.
  4. Consumers want transparency: There is no trust in traditional ads – consumers can know what it costs (by researching everything on the internet), and they can share experiences as well. Good and bad.
  5. Profit from loyalty: Need to find your revenue downstream. Often (and especially with electronics) there is not a lot of product in the initial purchase, you need to find your profit down the line. For instance, think of cell phones. They’re often sold for cost or at a loss, but profit is made with loyalty purchases on accessories, software, applications, etc.

What is the answer? For all us marketers in the group, this segment was really about using new media (yes, also often fast and cheap and good enough) to tap into reacting to this fast moving marketplace. Like a good DJ that grabs a bunch of pieces of all the good things of composers, we, as marketers, need to identify and grab the good stuff. Grab a piece of Facebook (use their demographics and network), or Twitter (immediate outreach and feedback), or open source (amazing technology)…basically grab on tight!

Grab a phone and call smith&jones. We get this thing.

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Posted in Edge, interactive, marketing | No Comments »

Edge: The Mobile World

Monday, December 7th, 2009

This is the third of 6 blogs reporting on the exciting findings we learned about at the Edge Conference sponsored by the Ad Club of Boston on November 16th. During the event, some of the most creative minds in communications & brand-building shared with us inspirational stories, presentations, spirited panel discussions and valuable information we will impart on our viewers over the next series of blogs. So stay tuned!

A lot of content at the Edge Conference was about the mobile world. In the past decade, the ultimate question of legitimacy for a business was, “Do you have a website?” But technology moves fast and that question has been replaced by, “Is your website mobile-compatible?”  We used to think we were cool kids because we had personal computers, and then sleek laptops, but now the cool kids have personal computers the size of a calculator that that they take everywhere and oh, they can make phone calls from them too.

Most businesses – and especially publishers – will need to have a mobile platform to survive. In order to stay competitive, businesses are going to need to think ahead toward the new wave of instant gratification and mobile accessibility. Only 25% of phones currently are smart phones and many users aren’t yet willing to pay for data plans (although the tide is moving in that direction), so text applications and other interfaces are still important.

But don’t panic. We’re not behind the curve yet. There are huge opportunities in the now for people who are mobile but not quite at the does-everything-for-you-but-make-breakfast smart phone level. The rise of social media and mobile devices is proving that consumers want to engage on a personal level. Text messaging campaigns are already being successfully implemented and mobile coupons are just around the corner. Text campaigns are being tied into loyalty connections like local sports teams in Europe (http://bit.ly/4RJ0A5) and even simple things like cereals here in the US (http://bit.ly/5Ahulg).

Like all marketing, it starts with the people: who are they? where are they? and what do they need? Hip mobile apps and texts direct from marketers to your iPhone may be fun and novel at first, but once everyone is doing them, they will lose their luster – and without purpose, they’ll never make a meaningful connection to your target. Mobile technology is a growing new medium that is expanding the consumer experience and taking the message straight to your clients’ pocket – wherever that might be. But, as we always say at smith&jones, consider your entire marketing plan when looking at a new medium; we can help you consider the bigger picture when you want to explore adding a new avenue into the mix.

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Posted in Edge, News, creative, marketing | No Comments »

Edge: The Creative Economy is thriving in MA

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

This is the second of 6 blogs reporting on the exciting findings we learned about at the Edge Conference sponsored by the Ad Club of Boston on November 16th. During the event, some of the most creative minds in communications & brand-building shared with us inspirational stories, presentations, spirited panel discussions and valuable information we will impart on our viewers over the next series of blogs. So stay tuned!

Ann Struthers, Director, Massachusetts Office of Business Development, opened up the Edge Conference with a little update on our small, yet always surprising state that smith&jones calls home. Seems as though the Commonwealth has launched a Creative Economy Initiative and has been working closely this past year with the Ad Club of Boston to rebrand Massachusetts as a center for advertising and other creative-centric business. The Creative Economy? Hmmmm, we wondered, just what has the state got up its sleeve now?! Turns out, it was some pretty cool stuff.

The state’s overall innovation agenda (we liked the sound of that – “innovation agenda”) includes strong growth plans for creative fields such as film and TV, design, video gaming, architecture, fashion,  advertising and digital arts, non-profits, fine arts and more. The Governer’s office has appointed a Creative Economy Industry Director in the Massachusetts Office of Business Development to work one-on-one with businesses. There are programs in place to help with financing, site selection, export promotion, plus tax incentives and more.

Usually known for technology and sciences, we were surprised to hear about this new Massachusetts endeavor, and proud to learn that we adopted this creative economy much earlier than many other regions of the United States. So we’re expecting big things in 2010 and beyond!

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Edge: A different kind of message

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

This is the first of 6 blogs reporting on the exciting findings we learned about at the Edge Conference sponsored by the Ad Club of Boston on November 16th. During the event, some of the most creative minds in communications & brand-building shared with us inspirational stories, presentations, spirited panel discussions and valuable information we will impart on our viewers over the next series of blogs. So stay tuned!

During the conference, I was blown away by the great line-up of dynamic speakers and overwhelmed with all the great new thoughts about advertising and media. But in the middle of all this inspiration about mobile technology and capturing market share, there was a speaker who was there to talk about something else, something simpler.

Doc Hendley, the founder and CEO of Wine to Water, was nominated as one of CNN’s Top 10 Heroes of the Year, and while he did not win the honor of being chosen as the Hero of the year, he certainly won-over the room at the Edge. He walked onto the stage in jeans, cowboy boots, and a belt buckle big enough to suggest he was a man from the south. He spoke humbly of his journey from bartender to pioneering philanthropist, saying that he was never good at much, but he was good at listening to people’s problems and giving them a drink. When he learned about the water crisis that is killing billions of people every day, he took those skills all over the world-listening to people’s problems, and giving them a drink. While he spoke, the entire room of clamoring ad execs stopped. All shiny iPhones screens were untouched, no Tweets were twittered, not a Facebook status was updated as he told us stories and showed us pictures of the horrors and triumphs of the places he has been: Darfur, Cambodia, Uganda. Like a room full of tweens at a Twilight premier, we were captivated.

His presentation was moving and inspiring, but it wasn’t just about bringing water to people in need. Water was the goal, but the method was the profound message. One would assume that upon his arrival to war-torn regions like Darfur, where the water crisis is killing thousands every day, he would be greeted with open arms and parades, but this was not the case. In these places around the world, a westerner is neither trusted or welcomed-no matter what he says he is bringing. In order to help, he had to convince the people that he had no agenda other than helping them survive. He had to meet the people, learn about them, have meals with them, get to know their families, live with them. He had to build relationships and become someone they could trust. His journey was about people, reaching out to each other across barriers like language, culture and fear to achieve simple human goals together. By going to the most dangerous places-against the advice of the UN-and personally meeting the people he was able to make connections to what they really needed and find out how best to get it to them. He set out to bring people water, but he ended up opening up communication and redefining how foreign aid can interact directly with the people who need it.

In a room full of people who spend all our time frantically brainstorming about new media and engaging our client’s customers with salesy ad programs, he reduced what we do to something very simple and very human. We are all in the business of people. The relationships that we build are more important than our technological capabilities or our portfolio of shiny designs. The first step of all our business interactions is to meet each other, shake hands, talk about who we are and what we are trying to accomplish, to see if we can make something together. So, as we enter the season of giving thanks, we wanted to take a moment to express our gratitude to all of our colleagues, industry peeps and clients for the great relationships, whether we are just beginning to get to know one another or if we’ve known you for years. You are all the best part of our business. Thank you for letting us know you, for lending us your trust, your brands and your business.

And a big special thank you to Doc Hendley and Water to Wine for running around the world doing amazing things and taking the time to remind us that it all comes down to people.

If you want to know more about Doc Hendley and Water to Wine, please visit watertowine.org or tune in to CNN at 9pm E.T. on Thanksgiving to watch the Heroes Tribute.

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