The Future of Advertising

We are often too obsessed about what the future will hold and "what's next?" in our industry. But you gotta love this quote from the always clever Saneel Radia:

"When a brand only says the same thing and only talks about itself, there are drawbacks. If you're the guy at the party doing that, I'd want to punch you in the face. I don't care to hear all the time about the new exciting things you have going. I'd like you to behave a bit more humanly. That's why I think we'll probably see things that look a lot less integrated. We may start to embrace the one-off a little more. I say that realizing that 'one-off' is regarded as a dirty word—'that's a great idea but it's a one-off.' But it shouldn't have a negative meaning. We'll see ideas that are created specifically for a particular medium. The same brand can act differently in different environments yet have its message based on the same core values throughout. Over the next 10 years, I think we'll see less uniform integration."

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What is Leadership Really About?

True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not the enrichment of the leaders.-R.Townsend.

When you are around great leadership, you just know it. Whether it be in business, government, or the military, it's easy to spot the great leaders from the average ones. They have energy and passion for sure, but more importantly they have a way of bringing people together with a common purpose - a purpose that is crystal clear and inspiring. In other words, great leaders unify people - not divide them. And the extraordinary ones understand that their leadership is meant to benefit others, not themselves.

In the business world, leaders do not always come in the form of CEO's, sometimes they are account managers, strategists, or creative types. Their role is unimportant to them, it is the qualities they have as people that matter, not what it says on their business card.

Leaders are not always winners, in fact some of the best are those that have failed at one point or another. These failures make them even more valuable as leaders, because they understand that the outcome of their actions won't always be defined as a success.

Leaders must always be willing to roll up their sleeves with co-workers and involve others in the pursuit of common goals. But most of all, the really great leaders have humility and compassion. Being a truly great leader isn't always about vision and courage - a real leader will not be able to motivate people if those people feel that he or she does not understand what makes them tick.

Think about the great leaders you've know in your life. Jot down those attributes that you feel made them great. I bet that things like "hard worker" and "persuasive" are low on the list of what you thought made them effective.

Quote Of The Week

"Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose." - Bill Gates

Stop, Think, and Just Be

Turn of your ever present cell phone. Walk away from your computer. Unplug the earphones. Put down the magazine. Go to a quiet place away from people and just be. Don't worry, the world wont end if you miss a call or don't reply to a Tweet or email within 10 seconds. Now think. That brain of yours is still way more powerful than all your little digital devices combined. Fire up the grey matter - old school style without the use of a computer. Let me know what happens next.

Quote Of The Week

"Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want." ~ Margaret Young

Fighting Off Commoditization

I always ask new clients "what makes you different." And, after they answer, I ask "no, really?"

When it comes to marketing strategies, if yours is not different than it is not strategic. It has been my experience that most large consumer brand marketers get so close to their brands and business that they lose perspective. They fail to see themselves as others do. It reminds me of the movie "Dead Poets Society" when Robin Williams asks his students to stand on their desks - he says "I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way."

I believe the primary method for companies to fight off commoditization is to take a deeper look at consumer behavior and innovate around that - as opposed to putting on the blinders and trying to innovate around constantly developing new products and services. After all, brands cannot change consumer behavior until they truly understand it.

Part of the problem is that all too often we marketers focus on busy work and media plans and deadlines - we take zero time to step away from the laptop, the phone, the Facebook and Twitter pagers to just THINK. Remember thinking?

In summary, the first step to fighting off commoditization is to take the time to think and look at your brand from a new perspective - in other words, stand on your desk.

Quote Of The Week

"I don't judge a man by how low he falls but how high he bounces when he hits bottom." - General George Patton