• We need your help.

    Posted on May 17th, 2012 by and currently 2 commenting.


    That’s Ramsey. We’re always looking for amazing talent.

    Brains on Fire is looking for another pirate to join our crew!

    We’re looking for a smart, eager to learn, WOMM loving, Public Relations savvy person to help us spread the Brains on Fire love around the world. You’ll be responsible for planning and executing our speaking team outreach and logistics – this means you need to be overly organized, a great planner, and a maniac about following up with people. You will also serve and be the ambassador for our book, Brains on Fire.

    This is an entry-level position with tons of room to grow. Send your information (please keep it sweet and short) to jumponboard@brainsonfire.com. Only those willing to relocate to lovely Greenville, SC need apply.

    Brains on Fire is the only Word of Mouth Marketing company with roots in identity building, but you know that if you’re reading our blog. If you want to find out even more about our point of view, you can read Brains on Fire; Igniting Powerful Sustainable Word of Mouth Movements.

  • Stories vs. Slogans

    Posted on May 16th, 2012 by and currently 3 commenting.

    Stories live forever.
    Slogans live until the ad agency gets tired of them.

    Stories are real.
    Slogans are made up.

    Stories pull you in.
    Slogans push out a message.

    Stories are deep.
    Slogans are shallow.

    Stories are personal.
    Slogans are impersonal.

    Stories are passed on by word of mouth.
    Slogans are forced on us by ads.

    Stories are part of who we are. After all, you don’t share slogans about your grandfather, how your parents met or even how you were treated at a restaurant.

    Brains on Fire Book, page 32

    The proof is in the pudding story…

  • Is All of That ‘Noise’ a Bad Thing?

    Posted on May 15th, 2012 by and currently 2 commenting.

    How many times have you heard talk about the dreaded ‘noise’?

    The other day a friend of mine lamented about how digital camera prices have dropped to a point where ‘everyone’ is calling themselves a ‘professional photographer’ and its creating so much ‘noise’ in the industry.

    But it seems to be everywhere – from startups releasing a product, to companies exploring social media, to ‘content strategy,’ to hundreds of people applying for the same job opening.

    Everyone seems to be asking, “how in the world are we going to break through all of this noise and capture people’s attention??”

    As I’ve thought through this subject, the first question that keeps surfacing is, ‘what exactly is this noise?’

    This probably warrants a longer discussion, but here are a few thoughts:

    • A lot of ‘noise’ is advertising…but that’s nothing new, right?
    • People seem to be talking about a ‘new’ sort of noise, and much of the conversation seems to be centered on the internet.
    • Whatever else is included, it seems to me that a sizable amount of this ‘new’ noise is people creating and sharing. Call it the ‘social web’ or whatever term suits you, but more people than ever are (publicly) writing, sharing photographs, making music, coding applications, interacting, reading, etc.

    Those thoughts begged these questions: “Why do people talk about noise as an enemy? And is it really a bad thing?”

    I think noise scares people because of this: it’s much more difficult to get noticed in in a room of 100 people than it is in a room of 10 people. (Got the next Twitter in beta? Awesome. So do a thousand other talented people.)

    No one will contest the fact that standing out in a larger crowd is a difficult barrier to overcome – the reality is that our job got a whole lot harder, and is changing a whole lot quicker than it did before. I think that makes a lot of people uncomfortable. (It should probably make them hungry to learn.)

    But I’m not convinced that a conversation about ‘breaking through the noise’ is the best way to think about what we do. After all, aren’t we making things and messages for many of the people who are creating that so-called ‘noise’?

    I think we need to be asking these questions:

    • Am I solving an actual problem or providing a better solution for people?
    • Am I making every effort to produce remarkable things and communicate about them in remarkable ways?

    Our jobs may be more complicated in the current marketplace, but if we weren’t willing to solve problems, come up with better solutions, or do the work of being remarkable before, any success would have been temporary even when there wasn’t so much ‘noise’.

  • Nostalgia, Mad Men and Emotions

    Posted on May 14th, 2012 by and currently 0 commenting.


    Yours truly at a Brains on Fire Mad Men Christmas party a few years back.

    I’ve never gotten caught up watching the show, Mad Men. But the other day someone showed me a short clip that got stuck in my heart for many reasons.

    Take a minute and watch it.

    Don’t you love that?

    The definition of nostalgia as a pain of or ache is wonderful. Even happy memories can create that tug.

    Since we’re in the word of mouth marketing business, we think a lot about the role of emotions in igniting conversation. We know that brands and organizations that evoke strong emotions and storytelling are more likely to get talked about.

    I sent this clip to Cordell last week and he came back with this insight:

    “When we are deeply moved to the emotional edges, we are the most human. We are the closest to who we really are, closest to each other. And only when we are there can we see our truth, if only for a moment before the tears and smiles are wiped away and we slip back into our disguises.

    That video reminds me of how true that is.”

    Today, as you go about your day, think about the brands you talk about. And what triggers you to share. I’d love to hear about those stories from you!

    P.S. Check out Geno and John Moore‘s prezo on Wommology if you haven’t seen it. Lots of good stuff about the role of emotions in Word of Mouth Marketing.

  • The End User is Not the Only User

    Posted on May 10th, 2012 by and currently 0 commenting.

    I am not a product designer. I’m not even a designer. But I noticed something recently that made me think hard about the process of developing products and experiences.

    My wife and I were eating at a burrito chain where one of the new Coca-Cola “Freestyle” drink machines was installed (1). I’m not a soda drinker, so I didn’t experience it for myself, but I could tell that other restaurant patrons were really enjoying the futuristic interface and the impossibly broad number of drink choices available from one machine. (I read later that the number of available drinks is over 100.)

    My first thought was, “That invention made a giant step.” Again, I don’t use the machines often, but I think the traditional soda fountain has at best maybe 10 or 12 choices.

    Increasing the number of available products by a multiple of 10 – in a machine that’s really not too much larger than the old version – is a pretty significant product.

    Here’s the interesting thing, though: about halfway through my burrito, I noticed one of the employees pouring a giant pitcher of steaming water into the tray beneath the nozzle that sprayed carbonated syrup into people’s cups. I was interested enough in what he was doing to get up out of my seat and ask him, “why in the world are you pouring hot water into this new Coke machine?”

    “Well, the ice gets backed up in the tray,” he said, “so I have to come melt it down with hot water so that people can keep using it and it doesn’t make a mess.”

    I want to reiterate that I’m not a product designer. I also want to point out that I have no idea if this is a common issue in the Freestyle machines, or if the people who installed it made a mistake or messed up the drainage system. In short, I realize that this could be an edge case.

    That being said, talking with the pitcher-toting employee reminded me of a really great lesson: the end user is not the only user.

    I thought about how disappointing it would be to create a product that the manufacturer and end user love, but everyone in between hates.

    Happy employees make happy customers, and if you can develop products that do both, everyone wins.

    • (1) – You can read about the Ferrari-influenced Coca-Coal Freestyle machines here.

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