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  • Random thoughts too short for a blog post of their own

    Posted on July 31st, 2009 by Spike and currently 1 commenting.

    So I’m going to put them in a blog post all together.

    1. I think certain folks on Twitter are screwing themselves because they’ve worked so hard to build up their numbers - their reputation is based on their following - and now they have to spend huge amounts of time maintaining and catering to that following.

    2. Class reunions will never be the same since Facebook opened up to the world. Half of the fun of going is to see what everyone looks like. But now you can just click on their profile.

    3. One good thing about everyone in the world using social media is that people inside companies will now know that they can’t half-ass it since they will get called out. The users become the receivers and vise versa.

    4. Is creative work becoming the loss-leader for the big agencies? Is that why they still have huge teams working on spec work? Huh.

    5. I was wondering last week how to really determine if your marketing efforts are really paying off. I guess one way would to just stop doing them and see what happens.

    I told you they were random thoughts.

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  • This is a reminder that nobody trusts you

    Posted on July 30th, 2009 by Spike and currently 5 commenting.

    Did you know that:

    76% of Americans think companies LIE in ads. (2009 Yankelovich Study)

    77% of Americans trust companies less in 2009 than they did in 2008. (2009 Edelman Trust Barometer)

    Americans trust that businesses will do what is right has dropped from 58% to 38%. (2009 Edelman Trust Barometer)

    We all know that people trust people. People they know. People buy people first. But what constitutes “knowing” someone? You can chat with someone all day long on Twitter, but do you really “know” them? Do you trust them? Enough to make a financial investment? And even though you’re using social media to participate in the conversation, you’re still a company. And as you see from the stats above, you’re still not trusted.

    Why?

    It could be that you’re still towing the company line. It could be that social media, with all its wonders, allows people to become whomever they want you to think they are. And you can’t see the lies until you spend some time and dig down. It could be that people are naturally skeptical. It could be a lot of things.

    The movements we create are created by the people, for the people and people (most of the time customers) run the show. We do it for a lot of reasons, but the biggest one is that people trust people “just like me.” It’s not a top-down, push kinda thing. It’s just people connecting with people.

    Trust is very hard to earn and very easy to lose. It takes time to build and is not a physical line item on a P&L sheet. But boy, does that P&L sheet reflect it.

    People might like you, but that doesn’t mean they trust you. So what are ya gonna do about it?

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  • The next little thing

    Posted on July 29th, 2009 by Spike and currently 1 commenting.

    Why are we all always looking for the next BIG thing? Okay, don’t answer that.

    But I think as we’re all looking for that next big thing, we should keep in mind that a lot of the time, people are talking about the little things. And that it’s the little things that make those companies remarkable. It’s the little things that make those companies, well, the next big thing.

    There are so many daily opportunities we have to surprise and delight through the little things. From the copy on your packaging to the way you answer the phone to how you greet people face-to-face to your leave behinds. But the first step is realizing that we have all these opportunities around us. All day. Every day. And most of the time we never see them, because we’ve ALWAYS done it that way. We always take the same route to the office. We have our routines first thing in the morning. We just lock ourselves into work mode and go through the motions. So when we shake ourselves loose from the routine and take a step back to look at things differently, the opportunities to change the little things start to become obvious.

    Case in point. If you aren’t one of the 11 million people that have seen this video, take 5 minutes and watch it. (Here’s the link since embedding has been disabled.) These folks simply took a little thing - a traditional, boring, never questioned, always assumed, this is part of the ceremony sort of thing - and made it big.

    And now we’re all talking about it.

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  • It’s Your Birthday

    Posted on July 28th, 2009 by Spike and currently 6 commenting.

    Actually, it’s MY birthday today. And I love birthdays. Love. Them. Maybe because I like the attention. Maybe it’s because I love my life. Maybe it’s because I know it’s coming once a year. I make the most of it with gathering my friends and family around me and just enjoying their company. In other words, I feel special on my birthday.

    So why not take one employee or one customer per day and make it their birthday? In other words, why not make them feel special? Lavish attention on them. Give them love. It can be as big as you want it be or as small as a simple “thank you.” And it doesn’t have to be for any reason at all. It’s just because.

    And please don’t start with the ones that spend the most money or do the most work. Those kids always get the attention. If you want more like them, then find the hidden gems. The ones with potential. The ones that are so easy to overlook. Love on them first.

    Start with one a week. Pick up the phone. Walk over to their desk. Write a real (not email) letter. It will completely change the way you think about what you do on a daily basis. And besides, you’ll make someone’s day. When you do that, everyone wins.

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  • Past - 8.25.09 - Geno speaks - PRSA National Teleseminar

    Posted on July 27th, 2009 by Geno and currently 0 commenting.

    Here’s everything you need to know:

    How Sustainable Word-of-Mouth Marketing Can Help Boost Your Bottom Line
    Strategies on How to Identify Buzz-building Opportunities for Your Brand

    TELESEMINAR

    Authentic, sustainable word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing is one of the truest forms of brand communication, and it can’t be manufactured or bought. Find out how you can build an effective, meaningful movement for your brand that will directly impact your bottom line. Geno Church and Spike Jones help you learn how to identify those brand advocates already speaking out on your word-of-mouth program.

    You will learn:

    • How word-of-mouth marketing works and how it doesn’t.
    • Word-of-mouth techniques you should use for your public relations and communications messaging.
    • How you can identify buzz-building opportunities for your brand, with authenticity and clear measurement results in mind.
    • From successful case studies, including the Charleston Parks & Conservancy “Park Angels” movement, and how to incorporate a new way to define ROI for your marketing programs.
    • How WOM and buzz-building strategies can work for both B2B and B2C brands.
    • Why WOM can impact your business’ bottom line more so than other marketing techniques.
    • How to identify WOM opportunities already taking place for your brand, and what to do once you find them.

    INSTRUCTOR

    Geno Church, chief inspiration officer, Brains on Fire, develops word-of-mouth, buzz, viral and evangelism strategies for the agency’s clients. In his 13+ years with Brains on Fire, Geno has helped build word-of-mouth into the identities of brands including Fiskars Brands, the American Booksellers Association, National Family Partnership and Rage Against the Haze (South Carolina’s youth-led anti-tobacco movement).

    Spike Jones, firestarter, Brains on Fire, began his career as a copywriter, crafting compelling stories for clients ranging from BMW Manufacturing to Dagger Kayaks. His purpose now is to embrace the kindred spirits that approach Brains on Fire looking for identity and word-of-mouth help. In addition, his responsibilities include creative and strategic input in building remarkable experiences that marry a company’s identity with word-of-mouth tools and techniques.

    Read Geno and Spike’s blog post on our Professional Development blog, comPRehension:

    - “Where’s the Party?”
    - “Is Client Relations the New Media Relations?”

    Play-Back Registration Available

    EVENT

    Tuesday, August 25, 2009
    3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

    Member $150 / Non-Member $250
    APR Accreditation Maintenance Credits Approved: 1.0

    Participants earn 1.0 APR Accreditation Maintenance Credits for a teleseminar. For more information on APR Accreditation Maintenance Credits, visit http://www.prsa.org/PD/apr/index.html.

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