As marketers it is our job to find and focus on the attributes that make each brand different. Every successful company has a unique selling proposition, but it is not enough to simply say that you have one. Every piece of marketing and communication should answer the HOW question. We are different because…

image courtesy Halton Region Small Business Centre

This, of course, is not mis-calulated, foolish risk-taking. Instead, it involves careful discernment and preparation. Even more so, it requires courage to try, go against the norm and say “why not?” when others have stopped at “why?”

Steve Jobs was not satisfied with the status quo and his life will continue to be an inspiration.

In business and marketing don’t settle for good. Push boundaries even if they are uncomfortable. Try something new. Do something great.

Each year the coming of fall brings a renewed spirit, at least it does for me. It’s a time to ponder and reflect about where you are headed in your business. Those projects that seem to get pushed aside during the summer due to vacations or whatever else are now ready to be tackled. Fall is such a refreshing time, isn’t it? Not to mention, football season, pumpkin pie, beautiful leaves, apples…I could go on.

So take a deep breath of crisp, fall air and get ready for a fantastic season!

Here are a few motivational quotes  that will hopefully spark some creativity and get you charged up for fall and planning your 2010 marketing!

Chance is always powerful. Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be fish. -Ovid

The voyage of discovery lies not in finding new landscapes, but in having new eyes. -  Marcel Proust

Such as are your habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts. – Marcus Aurelius

Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product -Eleanor Roosevelt

Drag your thoughts away from your troubles… by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it. – Mark Twain

We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. -Aristotle

Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.  -Samuel Johnson

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.  -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have a great, productive day everyone!

To summarize the article, Matt is explaining how marketers are taking their same, old, stale ideas and translating them into social media. He says, “Let’s get really radical and stop trying to keep marketing 1.0 thinking alive with Web 2.0 media.” He is very clear that he is not discounting the social web or the transformative power the technology holds. He claims that there are brands who are utilizing these tools for the betterment of their consumers and companies, but at the same time, there are those brands that totally miss the mark on authenticity and the proverbial “point” of social media. All this brings him to the conclusion that instead of intensifying their mundane messages, companies should focus on creating better stories. The line I love the most is “Most people are still looking for real things: experiences, connections, value, stories, emotions.”

Cartoon by Geek and Poke

That line is what I want to talk about.

It is so easy to get caught up in what’s new and right now [social media] that many other important marketing aspects are left to the wayside. How often have you heard someone complain that Comcast gives better service on Twitter than they do in “real life.” In my opinion, then what’s the point? You can create a tantalizing message via social media, but if you can’t follow through with TRUE value and experiences, then it is completely useless. By true value, I am referring to what a customer actually receives when connecting with your brand. Businesses that are in a B to C environment especially need to put effort into the experiences and authentic emotional connections with their customers. When this happens, your customers will become your biggest fan and advertise for you through their positive recommendations and word of mouth!! This is the ultimately goal.

So the question remains, how does your brand create those stories…stories that engage, connect, and create emotional impact?

I don’t think anyone says it better than Seth Godin. Seth wrote an article for ODE Magazine, entitled “How to Tell a Great Story.” I have included it below:

A great story is true. Not necessarily because it’s factual, but because it’s consistent and authentic. Consumers are too good at sniffing out inconsistencies for a marketer to get away with a story that’s just slapped on.

Great stories make a promise. They promise fun, safety or a shortcut. The promise needs to be bold and audacious. It’s either exceptional or it’s not worth listening to.

Great stories are trusted. Trust is the scarcest resource we’ve got left. No one trusts anyone. People don’t trust the beautiful women ordering vodka at the corner bar (they’re getting paid by the liquor company). People don’t trust the spokespeople on commercials (who exactly is Rula Lenska?). And they certainly don’t trust the companies that make pharmaceuticals (Vioxx, apparently, can kill you). As a result, no marketer succeeds in telling a story unless he has earned the credibility to tell that story.

Great stories are subtle. Surprisingly, the fewer details a marketer spells out, the more powerful the story becomes. Talented marketers understand that allowing people to draw their own conclusions is far more effective than announcing the punch line.

Great stories happen fast. First impressions are far more powerful than we give them credit for. Great stories don’t always need eight-page colour brochures or a face-to-face meeting. Either you are ready to listen or you aren’t.

Great stories don’t appeal to logic, but they often appeal to our senses. Pheromones aren’t a myth. People decide if they like someone after just a sniff.

Great stories are rarely aimed at everyone. Average people are good at ignoring you. Average people have too many different points of view about life and average people are by and large satisfied. If you need to water down your story to appeal to everyone, it will appeal to no one. The most effective stories match the world view of a tiny audience—and then that tiny audience spreads the story.

Great stories don’t contradict themselves. If your restaurant is in the right location but had the wrong menu, you lose. If your art gallery carries the right artists but your staff is made up of rejects from a used car lot, you lose. Consumers are clever and they’ll see through your deceit at once.

Most of all, great stories agree with our world view. The best stories don’t teach people anything new. Instead, the best stories agree with what the audience already believes and makes the members of the audience feel smart and secure when reminded how right they were in the first place.

Social Media is an excellent avenue for getting your story out, but just make sure you have the “real stuff” to back it up.

In Jack Foster’s book, “How To Get Ideas”, he states there are some key things that position creative individuals apart from the seemingly uncreative. According to the book, “An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements.” So why is coming up with ideas often times so difficult??

Here are a couple tips taken from the book to help start the creative spark!

1) Have fun! More often than not, a creative person is having fun.

2) Realize that for every problem there is not only one, but hundreds of solutions, answers, ideas.

3) Know that the way you think about yourself is the single most important factor in finding those ideas and solutions. We’ve all heard it before, but if you think you can’t – you won’t.

4)  Set your mind on goals. If you want to get ideas, imagine that you already have them.

5) Get more inputs. Be curious about the world around you. Continuously ask questions and accumulate bits of knowledge. The more elements you have, the more you can combine for great ideas.

6) Do not be afraid to fail. Voicing your ideas takes courage. It is sometimes this lack of courage that causes people to muffle their creative instincts. The fear of rejection shuts them down. Just remember: there are no bad ideas!  When you forget that, remember Madame Curie had a “bad” idea that turned out to be radium.

For more tips check out the book: “How to Get Ideas” by Jack Foster.

The video was show at Sony’s executive conference this year as to help everyone get a grasp on reality. Take the five minutes to watch — I’m know you’ll be glad you did.

Need change?

The Dave Thomas Foundation missed an opportunity for clever cuteness… how about: “Give a little change (a lot).” A simple play on words in this case would have been very cool.  We still love you Dave Thomas.. and were happy to give!

In this time of recession everyone is finding ways to cut back, well, not everyone… but huge Fortune 500s are in a big way. The geniousness of Apple is that Apple is news. They can pull back on the ad budget in the beginning of 2009 because the news media has kept Apple in the spot light due to Job’s absence. Call me crazy (and many do), but everything Steve Jobs is usually motivated by something much beyond the surface. In this case? I think my bet is that he is basking in the press while sitting deviously ready to unveil his next wild and crazy toy………… Guerrilla marketing at its best.

Food Network Logo

Once again I was reminded why I simply love the world of marketing: Food Network. It was Christmas eve, late, and like many others (I’m sure), I was wrapping gifts – enjoying a frothy beverage – and watching Bobby Flay throw down in healthy competition. With cooking being one of my primary guilty pleasures, I find that whatever free time I can muster is mostly spent with the network that quenches my thirst for cookery.

Last year, the Food Network caused me to chuckle as they successfully managed to pull together my two favorite things in a blissful session of guiltless pleasure and did so with these two words: “Season’s Eatings.” “Ahhh, yes, there it is again,” I thought to myself last night as I cut my index finger on a slice of wrapping paper.  A simple innuendo or play on words makes marketers shake their heads in disgust, not because it is bad, but because we didn’t think of it! A few times I have found myself envious of people who have created these little bits of genuine geniousness.  “Season’s Eatings” sums up everything “Food Network” and “Holidays” and delivers it right in our lap, wrapped up with a bow. So, on this late Christmas day evening, with all the craziness of the day a memory, I offer a toast to smart marketers everywhere: Cheers to 2009 and all the wordplay that will come with it.  Season’s Eatings!