From Chris Brogan today: “If projects have five major phases, I like the first two most. I’m just saying. My gratification delay mechanism stinks.” That one made me laugh. Chris, I can relate. ;D
Archive for June, 2008
Posted in project management, twitter, tagged project, twitter on June 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
WALL-E scores. Pixar’s decade-long gamble pays off.
Posted in movies, robots, talent, Uncategorized, tagged animation, CGI, cinema, film, love story, movies, pixar, robot, wall-e, walle on June 29, 2008 | 5 Comments »
WALL-E is so good, I might have to pay to see it again on the big screen. (That very rarely happens.) 1. The first act of WALL-E is so photo-realistic (down to textures, tight depths of field, camera angles, slightly shaky zooming in and out and shadowing) the only thing that reminded me that I [...]
French Lagerfeld print ad/PSA rocks my world.
Posted in Design Goodness, great advertising, great ideas, haute couture, intelligence, Les Cahiers de l'Advertising, tagged france, gilet et triangle, karl lagerfeld, print advertising, psa, road safety, safety, safety campaign, securite routiere on June 22, 2008 | 5 Comments »
From the International Herald Tribune: PARIS: Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, caught wearing something ugly? Lagerfeld sports a fluorescent yellow reflective safety vest — along with his signature dark suit and sunglasses — in a new French road safety campaign. The caption reads, “It’s yellow, it’s ugly, it doesn’t go with anything, but it could save your life.” [...]
Zunebie: My ZUNE rises from the dead.
Posted in zombies, zune, zune 2, tagged microsoft, zombie machine, zune, zune 2, zunebie on June 20, 2008 | 4 Comments »
I have no explanation for it. Last night, it was dead. No pulse. Cold to the touch. Pupils unresponsive. It was 100% D.O.A. I tried to revive it using the most advanced scientific techniques, but nothing worked. I cried all night. But when I got up this morning, it was alive again. I don’t understand [...]
My ZUNE just died for no good reason.
Posted in product failure, tagged 80G, media player, microsoft, zune, zune 2 on June 19, 2008 | 4 Comments »
Merde!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brandgroovin’
Posted in Uncategorized on June 19, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Photo by Matt A. If brands start with people, great brands start with great people. Not great in the sense that they are wealthy or successful or influencial (yet), but great in the sense that ego, self-righteousness and self-serving agendas aren’t part of the equation. Instead, these people are devoted to a cause. Infected with [...]
Insight and Action
Posted in advice, agile creativity, anthropology, being the best, brand promise, brand relevance, curiosity, Design Goodness, design matters, design thinking, fresh ideas, good advice, product design, product development, tagged cultural synching, design, design insight, product design on June 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Today’s bit of Marketing, Customer Experience, Design & Product Development advice comes from the archives of Kathy Sierra‘s blog: “Your job is to anticipate… To give them what they want and/or what they need just before they have to “ask” for it – to be surprising yet self-evident at the same time. If you are [...]
Maybe you guys can help me with something.
Posted in consumer questions, tagged consumer dilemma, point of purchase, time commitment, wallet share on June 18, 2008 | 9 Comments »
I know you guys can help me put a name to the concept of usage/time commitment a consumer subconsciously assigns to a product at the time of purchase. For example: A tube of toothpaste probably requires a 30-day commitment. When you buy that tube of toothpaste, you’re probably going to be committed to using it [...]
Stand Out.
Posted in Uncategorized on June 17, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Word to the wise: If you don’t stand out in some way, you’re done. You might be able to exist, you might manage to survive, but that’s all you’ll ever have to look forward to. You can be a one-man show and still be corporate. Don’t do it. Don’t waste your time being just like [...]
How Routine Kills Brands
Posted in brand promise, brand relevance, brand strategy, building value, civilized behavior, client partnerships, corporate culture, customer communities, customer experience, customer relationship, customer service, differentiation, engagement, good advice, happy customers, human interactions, management, market disruption, opportunity, people power, perception, purple cows, rainmaking, relationships, relevance, routine, user experience, user interface, value proposition, wisdom, WOM, tagged arrogance, customer relationship, relationships, success on June 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
“The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.” – William Pollard. That’s worth framing and hanging in every meeting room from Portland to Tahiti (via Paris). Also, via Tom Asacker: “Over time, unchanging relationships can turn into shackles that limit an organization’s flexibility and lock it [...]
Before you sign off on your advertising campaign
Posted in leadership, Les Cahiers de l'Advertising, marketing communications, tagged advertising, brandbuilder, demand, ROI on June 16, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
“Getting a product known isn’t the answer. Getting it wanted is the answer. …be sure your advertising is saying something, something that will inform and serve the consumer, and be sure you’re saying it like it’s never been said before.” – Bill Bernbach Hello Monday!
Slippery Slope
Posted in brand consciousness, building value, competition, competitive edge, differentiation, value proposition on June 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
image by ilisu Something Seth wrote quite a while back that still resonates with me today: “As soon as they start using the tactics of the other guys, playing the game they play, they become them. As soon as they decide that they can buy (not earn) attention, it all changes.” Chances are that you’ve [...]
Everyone needs a good mug shot in their back pocket – just in case.
Posted in personal branding on June 13, 2008 | 4 Comments »
You never know when you’re going to need a good mug shot for your PR guy to leak to the press. I mean… seriously. Are you going to leave the photography to some angry night shift booking flunkie? Do you really want that mug shot to show up in the tabloids? Heck no. Look at [...]
Heads-up! Fathers’ Day is this Sunday.
Posted in fathers day on June 13, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Probably one of the best places to shop for dad. Hat tip to Guy.
How sinking brands can accelerate their demise
Posted in bad management, bonehead moves, clueless, horrible marketing, poor leadership on June 12, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Metallica is writing the book on how to sink an A-list brand (namely their own). Step 1: Lose your relevance sometime in the mid 90′s and see sales dwindle over the next decade. Blame music downloads and the MP3 format for your market downturn – instead of accepting that you’ve lost touch with the times. [...]
Your chance to control the Federal budget
Posted in economics, federal budget, politics on June 12, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Guy Kawasaki points us to this very cool little site where you can control where your tax money goes. Well… kinduv. Connection to the branding discussion: At least four degrees of separation, but whatever. It’s still an interesting and fun little tool. Update: I just spent fifteen minutes playing with the tool, and managed to [...]
Investing in great products vs. investing in Advertising
Posted in brand insights, brand planning, Les Cahiers de l'Advertising, ROI on June 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Time for your weekly brandbuilder reality check. There are only two types of businesses: The ones you know are the best in their category, and… everyone else. Advertising and marketing are nice, but too many “also in” businesses waste money on marketing and advertising when they should instead revamp one or two elements of their [...]
Trendspotting: Opportunity comes in very small windows.
Posted in emerging markets, emerging technologies, trend spotting, trends on June 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Sweet post by Chris Wilson over at The Marketing Fresh Peel this week: An ability to perceptively spot trends is a vital part of putting your company ahead of the competition. But recognizing a trend is only half of the equation. It’s even more important that you take action. What good is it to spot [...]
The manliest dog in the world
Posted in chihuahua, dog, manliness on June 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
If you follow the assumption that men with um… “manliness” issues tend to overcompensate by buying enormous SUVs or powerful sports cars and adopting dangerous, aggressive dogs like Pit bulls, then I must be pretty damn comfortable about my own macho meter. Meet Chiquita – Chico’s little sister. (Chico is the brandbuilder mascot, in case [...]
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