The Neophyte Network strikes!

A couple months back I wondered if, instead of proclaiming our areas of experience, us advisor/consultant types ought to wear our deficiencies on our sleeves.

The thinking being: the reason we’re brought into collaborate in the first place is because of our outsider perspective.

In that rant, I took the first step, by naming categories in which we are/were entirely virginal. In our case, entertainment, pharmaceuticals, government, and a couple others.

For anyone who believes in these sorts of karma/self-actualization things, I present you with another exhibit. No sooner had the post been thrown out there to the ether than the ether replied with a project promoting an upcoming film.

The above is a pic from the meeting room where we presented our thinking. No prizes for guessing who the client is. (But prizes to client for fanatical devotion to brand touchpoints!)

So, not that one project makes us entertainment pros, we do have to take that category off our Neophyte Resume. Which leaves toys, government agencies, pharmaceuticals and auto parts. Waddya say, ether? And what about you other Neophtyes? Stand up and be clueless.

Crying wolf once more

Popout

You've probably seen this video. It got lots of views, news coverage... the stuff we often measure success by.

Yes, it is another stunt on the edge of plausibility, the "reality" of the idea enhanced by its delivery mechanism, namely good old youtube.

“Woah… look at that girl jump, can you believe it? And did you see that one with the sunglasses/jeans/etc?”

Well, as James Frey knows, claiming reality sure does add another dimension to the power of your story. But when that story turns out to be not real… look out!

It seems to me we are mistreating our fellow citizens yet again - conning them into showing some interest in us.

It’s entertaining and all. But won’t the attraction of ‘reality’ wear off as soon as people tire of the trickery?

Worse still, aren’t we deepening the basis for mistrust?

The rise of the Truth Junkie

Image from Kapungo

This is part of a piece we wrote for Scott Goodson and strawberryfrog during a collaboration last year. I’d noticed the term ‘Truth Junkie’ being used in the media and thought it would be interesting to go back over its provenance. As far as I know, this was its first appearance...

“Our trust in monolithic sources of information (the boss, the 7 o'clock news, the advertiser, the president) has taken a beating in the last thirty years.

Our growing skepticism was held at bay, because there was nowhere else for us to go.

Then, along came the internet, and suddenly, we had a much more reliable, trustworthy source of information: each other.

With a million different media outlets came the realization that there are a million sides to every story, and that the only way to deal is to canvass opinion and find our own truth.

Where once this was the strange obsession of a small, Consumer Reports-reading minority, it is now an everyday matter of control and self-definition for a booming portion of our population.

Truth Junkies are taking over the world, revolutionizing industry after industry.

They have eclectic tastes in music, they don't go to the same old place for vacation, they know the out-of-the-way restaurant.

By its very nature, the search for truth is all about exploration and discovery.

Truth Junkies have a new control of their lives because they have the power of knowledge.”

The irresistible allure of shrubbery

Image from Troy B Thompson

My partner Mark tells a story that I find illuminating and frustrating all at once. Dark, knowing laughter is the general response.

He was creative director on BMW for the longest time. If ever there’s been a brand more meticulously crafted over so many years, I’d like to know its name.

He once met with the dealer body from Florida, one of whom was the leading dealer in the entire country. In fact, this particular guy’s success was enough to turn heads and raise eyebrows.

“Your sales are three times anyone else’s? How do you do it?” asked Mark.

“Well, Mr. Creative Director, I take your beautiful ad, and I snip the bottom off it.”

“Yeeeesss…. Go on.”

“And then I add my own message.”

“Continue.”

“My message says - Free Shrubbery With Every Test Drive.”

Funny how, on the road to a consummated persuasion, the smallest things, even actions seemingly at odds with your carefully constructed plan, can make the biggest difference.

Do you suffer from Brand Cringe?

Image from skampy

Nike. Apple. This is not for you and your ilk. You are the ones known as ‘creative opportunities.’ Every creative wants your brand in their portfolio. There is no cringe, just competition for your patronage.

No, this is for all you category-number-threes and -fours. It’s for you financial brands. Or you B to B’s. Or, gasp, you CPGs. You form a gigantic group of vital, dynamic businesses otherwise known in the creative department as the bottom 99th percentile of all brands you’re dying to work on.

There are thousands of brands in this catch-all that get incredible counsel from their agencies. But there are so many more that are potential victims of Brand Cringe.

(And no, budget doesn’t make anyone immune. Agencies will do a quick, mental Boston Consulting Group number on you, and consign you to the Cash Cow quadrant. Harsh, but true.)

Ask yourself the following questions to see if you have Brand Cringe.

Are creatives fighting to get on your business, or off it?

If there are layoffs at your agency, are any of your creatives the first to go?

Is the conversation about your brand centered around what has to change (the logo, the name, the style, the customer) instead of what has to be magnified?

Do your creatives define a successful communication by how little it shows of your actual product?

Any interest shown in your business - is it professional, or passionate?

Examine your responses to these questions and you’ll have a sense of your creative partner.

(a) A highly engaged lateral thinker, walking arm in arm with you to success, whose passion for your brand is such that it even buoys you through the inevitable down days.

(b) A treader of the waters, going through the motions, a tad embarrassed to be seen in public with your brand. A carrier of the dreaded Brand Cringe.

When the message is a service

My son goes to a really great school. It’s the polar opposite of my professional world: no logos are allowed, no characters, no team-wear, screen time is officially frowned upon, wood is preferred to plastic, live music is preferred to recorded, there is no candy, forget soda.

Which is what makes this little sheet of paper all the more impressive. It was handed out at a school meeting the other night.

Let me get this straight, teacher. You, the anti-commercial, are handing out the words from a TV spot as inspiration and grounding to your parent body? Wow, that’s when you know you have a viral message that will echo on for many years. That’s when you know you’ve hit a deep truth – “the people who are crazy enough to change the world, are the ones who do.”

“Advertising” has taken plenty of kicks to the groin, and deservedly so. It’s largely ineffective. It’s mostly irrelevant. “Services” do a better job of communicating. All true. Except for the rare occasion when the message itself is a service.

In praise of the ball-peen hammer

We’re in a golden age of communications tools, there’s no question.

That these tools are kept in separate tool boxes (the creative agency, the media agency, the digital agency) is at the root of the inefficiency that plagues our industry at the moment, but it will be a blip in time. Digital and non- will embrace each other in a heart-warming Hollywood-style final scene. Cue sunset.

Meanwhile, it’s good to see that the old tools, when used intelligently, work so well. Take this ad from last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, created by (I believe) Devito/Verdi. I’ve been aware of this campaign for many years. They’ve stuck to their tone, their look, their message, and their media placement, turning up again and again in my life, in a simple, smart, respectful way. It’s old school in just about every way there is. But I’ll bet it’s persuasive.