Thursday, March 25, 2010

Caution: Slippery Content Ahead


I hate the sound of my own voice these days. Mostly because I seem to be repeating things which I believe are true (after many years of trial and error) and because I have a terrible Philly accent.

So, rather than repeat myself verbally, I'll write what I have said many times before: My philosophy on content is to first understand where it is most valuable and then allow it to freely go to that place, be it mobile devices, the web, TV, etc. Of course, if it isn’t created with that kind of flexibility in mind, then it becomes difficult to syndicate it anywhere.

In this regard, content must now be “slippery” as opposed to “sticky.” The goal should always be “hyper-syndication” with numerous end-points in mind. When it comes to content, it’s my job to create content that can be easily digested by consumers on any platform they select.

Of course, if the content isn’t unique and compelling, then no one will value it. Therefore, I try to deliver compelling “snack sized” content with very high production value.

That's it. Just wanted to say that (or write it) one more time.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Where Are The Real Men?

Are there any real men left in advertising?*

*Note: I know I should be referring to both men and women, but unfortunately women in advertising/marketing still have yet to be given anything close to equality. I'll be blogging on that problem at some point as well. So for this post, humor me and let me use the word men.

There's plenty of 'men' in advertising and in marketing. Agency presidents, chief marketing officers, and the such. Probably too many men (as noted above). But, where's the real ones? The ones with guts. The ones that still have creativity, imagination, and the nerve to take a stand - the ones that have the balls to try something new (yes, I said 'balls').

Have they been beat down so badly by their corporations and peers that they have just given up? Are they simply out of ideas, passion, and energy? Or, is it just too damn easy to keep cashing that pay check for mediocrity? But wait - I read recently that the average tenure for CMO's at the top 100 branded companies is only 22.9 months (not a lot of pay checks there). The average tenure for ad agencies is about the same. Get the picture guys? Hint: You're not helping each other.

"Hey Tom, why the rant about agencies and CMO's?" - I'm glad you asked that question. Because I want things to be better. I want to see people work harder. I want people to be rewarded for taking chances. I want agencies to remember why they fell in love with the business in the first place - and get back to communicating with consumers in new ways that actually make people feel good about brands and drive purchase. I want to stop hearing agency employees bitch and moan about what is wrong with their agencies, but instead do something about it. I want to see agencies and CMO's be change agents again and rise above. I want to stop seeing good people getting pulled down in the minutia that doesn't matter. But misery loves company - and there is plenty of misery at agencies these days. Most of it though is self-inflicted.

It's no wonder that the TV show "Mad Men" is so popular among agency types - it represents a fantasy that they wish they could live out. It makes you feel like there is energy, risk, creativity, fun, and even sexiness in the industry. Well, I got news for you, there still can be! But, it takes hard work (not three Martini lunches). It takes the willingness to call bullshit when you see it (sometimes at the risk of your job). It takes nerve.

This business is not just about big ideas. But if you don't have the ability to see a big idea when it is presented to you then you should not be in this business. If you don't understand how the right ideas executed in the right way can provide your brand with a new competitive advantage, then you do not belong in this business. If you take yourself and your work too seriously, then you should not be in this business. If you think you really should be making feature films in Hollywood instead of TV spots for financial institutions, then you should not be in this business...etc.

But, if you have no fear of taking chances, no fear of speaking your mind, no fear of trying new things, no fear of being different, and lots of nerve then maybe you can be among the real men of advertising.

PS: if this post pissed you off then you should not be in this business :)

Monday, March 15, 2010


How long before there are no more Yellowpages, Yellowbooks, Superpages, etc.?

Ironically these directories were actually innovative at one time - they represented the first iteration of Google. But like many companies, they failed to innovate at the most critical periods of time. Rather than quickly embrace the Internet (and then mobile) as an innovator and inventor, they simply reacted. And they reacted too late. These guys were the local search experts but they didn't understand what business they were really in.

There is an odd kind of arrogance that exists in the hallways of companies like these. A complacency that comes about as a result of wearing blinders - protected from the real world by management teams that are not incentivized to have real vision or to be innovators. When you assess any kind of company, always look at how the people get paid. That will tell you a great deal about why innovation is or is not happening. Usually, if you hit the sales numbers the future will take care of itself, right? Wrong.

Think about the Yellowbooks of the world - they feel like their customer base is strong, because every person in America receives their product (whether they want it or not). And there's the rub - they actually think that consumers are their customers! They forget that the real customer is the advertiser. And, the advertising space in those yellow books is becoming less valuable by the second. Further, states like Colorado are considering passing laws that will permit consumers from "opting-out" of receiving the antiquated and wasteful books. So, the Yellows better be very afraid. Consumers don't want their product and advertisers understand that there are better places to spend their money (and it is not with the "Internet version" of the Yellows).

Of course all this sucks. I, for one, would love to see a resurgence of the dinosaurs - that is the re-birth of companies that actually were once pioneers in their field, like the Yellows. But it won't happen until they change the people that run those companies. Unfortunately these firms have not demonstrated that they can embrace disruptive ideas from people with vision. So, they will slowly burn away, perhaps making a few desperate acquisitions on the way out.

The message to those businesses that still advertise with the Yellows: Let your ads do the walking right off the page and on to another company's expanding digital platforms. The message to the Yellows: Start fighting like hell - look outside your company hallways for answers and take a stand.

So many lessons to be learned here...

Friday, March 12, 2010

Talent Is Hiding In Plain Sight

Rishad Tobaccowala's excellent speech about "talent in the advertising industry" (which can be viewed a few blog posts below this one) got me thinking: What does the advertising industry really do to attract and develop talent?

Most agencies are really good at keeping the same people in the building for decades, but this doesn't mean that they are the right people. These are the ones that basically grew up in the agency - right out of college. Because they were raised by mostly the same parents (management team) year-in and year-out, they never really knew what existed outside - what is was like to work at a place with a different culture and a different approach to creating marketing.

Therefore these folks become the cogs in the machine that run their agency. They are so much a part of that machine that a very predictable, almost robotic like atmosphere exists. It results in pretty much the same kind of work being churned out for long time spans. Therefore the agency attracts a certain kind of client, because the client feels that they are a "safe bet." And, I must say that this oddly pays off for some agencies. They win business and retain clients. But, this type of agency never is able to hold on to the most talented employees that pass through their doors. In my 20 years+ in the business I have seen this time and again. It certainly comes as no surprise to anyone that has worked for a big agency group.

In other industries the talent does not just help build the company's brand - the talent is the brand. Think of people like Jack Welch, Steve Jobs, and even Donald Trump. This kind of talent acts like a magnet to attract others like them. They also know how to create organizations that are designed to attract talent pools. Yes, attracting talent does mean structuring compensation packages that will get them in the building and ensure that they are rewarded to achieve great things and then stay put. This is an obvious area of weakness in the advertising industry where only a select few get the rewards created by many. This leads to frustration among the talented - who recognize inequity faster than the mediocre employees. Frustration results in apathy and ultimately leads to the exit door.

The advertising industry also does not seem to realize that the kind of talent that can be a game changer may not necessarily be working at an "agency." More on that later...

Monday, March 8, 2010

Too Afraid To Fail?

"Warning: Past success does not guarantee future success. People tend to praise you for present results that have come about because of good decisions in the past. Unfortunately, at the very moment you are enjoying your best results you may be making the decisions that will lead your company to extinction." - Max McKeown

An interesting area of corporate culture has to do with the fear of failure. I have known senior executives whose careers have been ruined by even perceived failures. Yet, others were permitted by their companies to fail and therefore learned valuable - and later profitable - lessons from failed product launches. The same is true is professional sports - the merciless firing of a coach for a losing season that he probably could not have changed anyway (as a result of the resources or skill levels of players he had to work with). On the other hand, other coaches last for many seasons with losing records. There certainly is no consistency in how failure is treated from company to company or team to team. Just as there is no consistency on how people deal with failure.

The uncertainty that comes with failure makes it that much more fearful. In some ways, the fear of failure is also tied to the fear of the unknown. We're never really sure what failure will bring - for some it spells the end of a job. But does not that end sometimes lead to a new beginning and better future? Henry Ford's first two automobile companies failed. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team for lack of skill. John Grisham's first novel was rejected by sixteen agents and twelve publishing houses. You get the picture.

There are plenty of pithy sayings like "tough times do not last but tough people do" that might help you deal with "failure." But the most important thing you can do when you fail might sound odd - embrace the failure. It very well might be the most emotionally draining and challenging thing you can do, but by putting your failures under a magnifying glass you'll see that you can learn from them. Most importantly though, you'll probably learn more about yourself. And that you are not a failure - even though you may have made some bad decisions that caused one.

Your failings do not make you the person that they make you feel like. Now look inside yourself and understand that you may never be able to fully predict the outcome of your decisions but that factor should not prevent you from moving forward after failure. You still have time to change the road you're on. Be not afraid to fail.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Cloud Computing (for Dummies)


From Dummies.com: "Cloud computing is the next stage in the Internet's evolution, providing the means through which everything — from computing power to computing infrastructure, applications, business processes to personal collaboration — can be delivered to you as a service wherever and whenever you need."

As I continue to work on the evolution of the MeNetwork (www.theMeNetwork.net), I get to see first-hand how cloud computing represents the "next stage" of growth for the Internet/real-time web sector. More importantly, it clearly demonstrates how the best and brightest minds will always innovate around changing consumer lifestyles (yea, I say that phrase everyday - get used to it). As lifestyles change - and get even more mobile - industries will adapt. Some, like those involving providers like Yellowbook and Yellowpages will move too slow and then from their death bed make a flurry of misguided acquisitions in a futile attempt to remain relevant. You heard that prediction here first folks (not that you need a crystal ball to figure that out).

Anyway, I'm proud of the quiet progress that The MeNetwork is making as the most innovative cloud-based mobile search tool. Soon, travelers across the USA, as well as the citizens of some our biggest cities will start using the MeNetwork to connect them to businesses big and small (more on that later). Please stay tuned.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Great Speech About Ad Industry

Rocky Balboa Said It Best (Philly Style)


"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward."

The End of Facebook (for me)


Facebook just got too damn exhausting. Not that anyone will miss my my clever little snotty posts there, but I prefer to only share business information these days - mostly at this blog and Twitter (@irishboy9). So, with apologies to my cousins, far flung friends and sometimes creepy sort-of acquaintances, au revoir. Time to live more of my life in the real world, with real live humans. Radical thought, I know.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Ad Agencies Still Suck (says Forrester)

In case you missed the news from research firm Forrester, they have determined how much today's ad agencies suck. Not sure if that is "newsworthy" or "new" but here's a snippet:

Forrester quotes a marketing exec saying that agencies are "a necessary evil," rather than a strategic partner to grow his business. Another says, "Most senior ad execs appear more comfortable with conventional channels, which they claim are 'integrated' because they have tacked on a Web site."


If agencies have become a "necessary evil" for this executive, them I bet he and/or his marketing staff are:

A. A damn lazy bunch
B. Incompetent of having original thoughts
C. Both lazy and incompetent

Look, few people are more critical than myself when it comes to how inept some of the bigger agencies and holding companies can be, however, no-one is forced to hire them. Until brands stop relying on search agencies that ONLY send RFP's to multi-billion dollar agency factories or until CMO's start thinking for themselves, the smaller/better/smarter/hungrier agencies will continue to miss out. Yes, the system sucks. Yes, some big agencies are dinosaurs that amazingly still win huge business for which they fall short on. Yes, life is not fair.

Albert Einstein once famously said "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results." If we assume this applies to continued hiring (and firing) of today's "leading" ad agencies, then why do they keep getting hired? I'd like to know what you think. Chime in.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Marketing With "Purpose"

Lets face it, most marketers are opportunistic. When "green" became all the rage, it was laughable to watch how marketers would bend their messaging and brands to appeal to some tiny segment of their intended or core audience that actually cared to know how green the marketer was. Of course, for most of the big brands it was (and is) a load of crap. However, there obviously are some brands that truly are mindful about being more green. Too bad their message usually gets beat down by the big marketing machines fueled by their "less than honest" competitors.

Whether your brand is green or not. Start thinking about creating some marketing platforms that actually have a "purpose" - something that your brand can stand for. It doesn't matter how big or small, just as long as you're sincere about it.

"Purpose marketing" can best be seen at brands like Ocean Minded (http://www.oceanminded.com/). Last year alone Ocean Minded hosted 47 beach clean-ups around the world. This resulted in approximately 1,700 volunteers collecting and properly disposing over 20,000 pounds of trash. This is marketing that matters. It says a great deal about the brand and even more about the people that work there. This small shoe brand is making a difference while speaking volumes about the brand attributes and the kind of customers they want for their products. It is sincere, relevant, timely, authentic and as us jackass ad agency people like to say "on-brand."

I'll be writing more about this important subject in the future. But do not forget - you don't have to be Pepsi or any other billion dollar brand to launch meaningful and important purpose marketing initiatives. Start by asking your employees what matters to them - besides their paychecks.