Introvert / extrovert? Shit yes it matters!

The douches on X-Factor may have dissed him, but the reality is 18 y/o Luke O'Dell has shined more attention on their crappy show than they could ever hope to generate on their own.

The dude's song "Introvert, Extrovert Doesn't Matter" is trending like it's going out of fashion all over the web.

Why? Because whatever it was that he did last night, it hit a nerve. It actually made people feel stuff they didn't expect to feel.

Check it out (below) - 'head' is among his song titles' top associated keywords. I know what you're thinking, not because people are calling the guy a 'dick head', but because his performance is 'stuck in their heads' (I checked it out).

Big ups mate. This is the kind of badass attitude that we as marketers can learn from.

You can't polish a turd

I met a guy today who seeds video content. Fork out $0.20 - $0.50 per view,  and he'll reach out to a database of bazillions and push targeted traffic/UGC/thumbs up/pick-any-KPI at your content.

Being naive and Tasmanian, I won't lie, this service amazes me. Hedging your bets on a strategy you're not sure of. Guaranteeing the client minimum reach. Giving an already shit-hot campaign a big kickstart. How good is that?!!

Well, only as good as your content. Chucking cash at crap video might give the old view counter a headstart (provided viewers can tolerate your audiovisual nonsense for 80% of its duration), but will it start a groundswell? Will it make a point? Will it turn shit on its head? Will it be remembered?

You may as well piss your client's budget (and business) up the wall on TV.

Know a good idea when you see one (bullshit filter)

Sam, a designer mate of mine comes up with simple ideas that always seem to work. His MO is based in common sense, and he has a low tolerance for marketing bullshit - and you've gotta respect that.

Take the instance where you've created more than one idea for a job. Sometimes it's difficult to know which one is best. Sam would just apply his 'bullshit filter' - and no question, common sense should usually take you in the right direction. But raw instinct probably won't work in the boardroom, so here's some ideas on putting a rational, 'strategic' process around what you most likely already know.

Seek a bigger idea

Often, if you look closely at seemingly disparate ideas, you can unearth something more fundamental that connects them. Dig a little and you may discover that your different strategic routes could in fact just be different campaign ideas for a much deeper brand idea. So first try looking not at what the best idea is out of the bunch, but at what connects them. 

Curate the idea

Sometimes through, there's no connection to be made, and you do in fact have genuinely different ideas. In this case, here are some qualifiers to help make the right decision:

• Is the problem we're solving something that enough people care about / could care about? 
• Is it provocative? Is it something your audience could not only agree with, but talk about, debate or get involved in?
• Is it something your brand could do credibly? This idea doesn't necessarily have to be something no other brand could do - you just have to own it in a marketing sense - but it does need to be believable for your brand.
• And perhaps most importantly - as Sam would no doubt push - which idea is the simplest? Which can you explain in a sentence. But further, when succinctly articulated in one sentence, which one evokes deeper thought or gives the feeling that there's a shitload of meaning sitting behind it? 

Get the right idea across the line

I'm seeing clients often wanting agencies to present a couple of ideas - and the danger here is that they pick the one you don't want them to. Here, a smart play is giving people a choice if you want them to buy something - offering two similar things where the one you want them to buy just happens to be a little bit better.

Extending on this idea is this bit from Paul Arden's 'It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be":

"If you show him (the client) what you want and not what he wants, he'll say that's not what he asked for. If, however, you show him what he wants first, he is then relaxed and is prepared to look at what you want to sell him. Give him what he wants and he may well give you what you want. There is also the possibility that he may be right."

Finding a marketing career that's the tits

Tomorrow I start a new gig at Tequila - and I'm feeling like its going to be a great move. Coming from companies that might seem worlds apart - In-tellinc and The Necessary Group - they've actually both been awesome for the exact same reason I wanted to work at Tequila - the people, and in particular the boss.

Rob Campbell and Paul Isakson wrote great posts a while back on finding the right agency. Rob says:

"...as much as working for one of the ‘cool agencies’ might sound great, it’s never as good as having a boss who will take you to places you didn’t even know existed."

This is so on point. My past bosses gave me a platform to learn and develop - not just a shitload of work. So in many ways I feel like its been an advantage NOT coming from a big brand agency.  

So, joining a smart new team with a great philosophy, beneath a planning boss who I already look up to (all of which just happens to exist inside an agency that's cool as shit), and having already locked in a Monday 10am with one hell of a client, I think this must surely be the next step towards a career that is indeed 'the tits'.

Why marketers need to be more like DJs

Andy C aka "The Executioner" is arguably the best drum and bass DJ ever. Aside from the fact that he destroys dancefloors, I think there are some other qualities that marketers can respect in the guy.  

"There was something different about him that people noticed." - GQ MC

Andy is a unique talent - and you feel it as soon as he steps up. I think its more important than ever to be brave and truthful in what we do. Check out this short interview with John Jay, ECD at W&K. He talks about the value of never letting others define who we are by their terms. Very cool video.

"It's quite remarkable what he can do with 2 or 3 pieces of vinyl and a set of decks...it's unbelievable." - Red One

While the world is scrambling for new ways that technology can make them better at what they do, Andy C continues to find new levels in himself - with 3 turntables and a mixer - shit that was invented in 1877.

"He can touch all genres of drum and bass, and it works." - Ed Rush

Andy is a complete DJ - he doesn't exist in the silos that lots of DJs - and marketers - tend to confine themselves to. I don't believe you can really be taken seriously as a planner if you're just a 'digital guy'. This is the hole I'm trying to dig out of now.

"He's the first person to really take it out there to the world...he opened the doors..." - Optical

Leadership brands aren't held back by convention, and Andy has been a true leader for over a decade - for the heads and the DJs. Drum and bass may be an acquired taste, but Andy's career doesn't reflect that of an artist who's ever been constrained by underground stereotypes.

"He always wants to keep the energy level there...take it to the next level." - Red One

Being voted 'Best DJ' 10 years in a row doesn't happen by accident. Andy's sets are smart. Every drop, double drop, triple drop - all precisely executed touchpoints along the raver journey. And Andy's right there with them every step of the way. Watching and making it better - right until the last drop.

"The fact that he can make any room work is a talent." - Ed Rush

Andy doesn't just impose his style on the dancefloor - he listens. Each new record that hits the platter is a stepping stone towards a shared vision - blended in perfect context.

"I wanna have fun. I find mixing today is as much fun as it always was...it's such a privilege to be up there mixing tunes." - Andy C

We all face the challenge of staying in touch with what's happening at street level - through the eyes of our audiences. Despite years at the top, Andy is still in it for the right reasons. And is probably loved by the ravers more than ever. Big ups Andy C.

SocialPoll.tv gets a workout at Oxford Uni

SocialPoll.tv got a massive workout at last month’s Hows My Feedback Conference at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. According to the How’s My Feedback Blog, there were five talks, each offering different perspectives on the phenomenon of online reviews, ratings and rankings.

The SocialPoll.tv experiment - ‘evaluating the evaluators’

Brave presenter and social scientist Andy Balmer agreed to participate in a real-time SocialPoll, where members of the audience could vote ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ throughout his talk.

Apparently Andy’s experiment raised all kinds of ethical concerns and discussions. Brilliant. Thanks Andy - very cool.

It was definitely cool watching the live worm happening in Oxford from my loungeroom in Tasmania. Can’t wait to see the videos guys - big props.

Convention hunting 2

'The ladder' is a disruption theory tool for identifying a category's communication / advertising conventions - and is helpful in the construction of the convention planets - another convention ID tool used in disruption.

The ladder
Helps to identify and disrupt communications conventions and explore brand visions along 6 areas of focus.


How the ladder works

In a given category, there is often one focus for communication which dominates. In doing a competitive review, going through competitors' TVCs (for example) and just marking a place on the ladder for each one will start to unearth the category's conventions.

Then ask 'why'? What is the assumption that explains why everyone is focussing on this? The answer to this will help fill in the convention planets and to identify assumptions that are being made about what the consumer thinks or wants.

Ladder elements or 'registers' in detail

• Top of mind - What is the one word that you would want consumers to keep in their mind about you to best understand the vision? This is the first and most immediate association with the brand.
• Attribute - What specific attribute does your product need in order to give you reason to believe in it? Ingredients, promotions, packaging, services etc.
• Benefit - What benefits do these specific product attributes bring the consumer? Emotional as well as material.
• Territory - The objective is to construct a real or imaginary territory surrounding your brand. This is a description of the territory or world that the consumers enter thanks to our products.
• Value - If we sell products that bring our customers these benefits, what are the values that we might stand for? A value which can be shared between the brand and the consumer.
• Role - If we as a brand, stand for these values, what role do we play in the wider spectrum? It can be a role in consumers' lives. It can be a role in society as a whole.