Brains on Fire

• 

  From my brother.

  Posted on May 31st, 2010 by Robbin and currently 0 commenting.

  My brother was in the military and now is head of engineering for Savannah Port Authority. Typically not a sappy type like me. But I am crazy about the guy, in a big brother sort of way. Anyway — he sent me and a few others this quick email. And I thought I would share.

  From my brother:
  The 3rd Infantry Division is based here in Savannah, at Fort Stewart. Hunter AAF, practically in downtown Savannah, is home to the primary airlift wing transporting troops and material on deployments, as well as a wing of Blackhawk helicopters that provide air support to ground troops. There is a big Air National Guard wing at Savannah-Hilton Head Airport. So we come into contact on a day-to-day basis with men and women who are serving and have been in Iraq and Afghanistan. I see them at the post office, the bank, Target, the grocery store and the beach. I make it a point to speak and I try to honor their rank, but I have stopped specifically thanking them for their service. I figure they don’t need me to remind them of the sacrifice they make, or the risk they take, while they have some time to get on with the more mundane things in life. These are good people. They have spouses, kids, dreams. You may not agree with the politics that puts them in harm’s way, but you can be proud of these folks.

  I pass this along because Memorial Day has a little more meaning here in Savannah. I know there are other military towns, but I didn’t have the daily reminder when I lived in other places. And I admit I didn’t think about it much.

  Have a great holiday, but take a few minutes to remember.

  Tags: Memorial Day
• 

  Show me the money?

  Posted on May 28th, 2010 by Robbin and currently 9 commenting.

  
  Photo via Flickr via CatastropheWaitress

  We have a new intern at Brains on Fire. She’s cool. Her name’s Elizabeth and sadly she had to leave for a few days while her appendix was cut out. Yikes. She is home in Atlanta recovering with her family.

  We miss you if you’re reading this Elizabeth.

  So the other morning I walked in feeling really calm and peaceful after my morning yoga class and Elizabeth remarked, “I answered the phone this morning, a man wanted to talk to someone about our services. He’s going to call you back at ten.”

  “Great.” I said, “Did you tell him how much we charge for our services?” Now I was sort of half smiling and joking and playing around. We get a lot of calls from people who are so amazing, have such amazing stories, but have absolutely no money.

  So she asked — and frankly why wouldn’t she — “How much do we charge?”

  So I told her, then I strolled off to start my day.

  Well, it seems this wonderful shiny smart lady decided to start sharing those honest numbers (I gave her a range) with people who call and inquire about our services.
  
  You see where I’m going with this?

  The first clue I got about this was from a brand manager of a large company (with a very cool project) who simply said to me, “How refreshing to get that money thing out on the table so quickly. I appreciate that.”

  Hmmmm. I’m slow. I’m still not putting two and two together.

  So yesterday I got a call and this man says the same thing. “So you guys must be fantastic and yes I DO have the money. One question though, are you going to charge me for this conversation?” Then he laughed out loud in that comfortable “I’ve known you for a million years” sort of way.

  Funny how everyone relaxes after that money dance is out of the way.

  Now again, this was a pretty experienced marketing guy so I asked, “Can you tell me what you are talking about?”

  And he told me. Elizabeth had smartly decided to take on the money question that all of us dance around with that very first conversation. Again. That “refreshing” word was used.

  Now I am pretty quick to get to the money question and in fact pride myself on that fact. I don’t want to waste anyone’s valuable time.

  But I have never laid it out there in the first two minutes of conversation.

  So it got me thinking. Perhaps this is a piece of brilliance we have just stumbled on…

  What do you think about Elizabeth’s newest idea? Brilliant, refreshing or off-putting?

  Come on and give me your thoughts, I really would like your opinion here. Especially if you fall in that “client to be” category. Help me figure this out today.

  BTW, see why we love our interns?

  They flat out make us think.

  P.S. I know it’s Chat Pack Friday. but this week has been a little crazy and long. And I forgot it was Friday. We’ll resume that next week. OXOXOX

  Tags: Lessons learned from interns, pricing, Word of Mouth
• 

  Today’s challenge.

  Posted on May 27th, 2010 by Robbin and currently 5 commenting.

  So I can’t really explain why, but Google’s Jim Lecinski talk at The School of WOM about how Google builds it’s brand with WOM has been on rolling around in my mind since yesterday. You can see it here.

  He made the point that everyone loves a challenge. And it’s true when you think about it. We humans are a bit competitive, aren’t we?

  Yesterday in the airport I realized that about three months ago I picked up this habit of cussing like a drunken sailor. Seriously, not sure where that came from but I was telling Dodds and challenging myself to stop.

  It was pretty funny. Every time I said a cuss word, Dodds would just repeat it under his breath. It helped.

  So far this morning, I am 100% cuss free.

  Anyway. I thought I would toss out a challenge to our readers today. Inspired by Cordell really. He and I were doing a little welcome home “one liner email exchange” as we often do and he said the most compelling one liner ever:

  It would be great if for one day, for everyone, anytime you said something mean or nice about someone else, angels whispered in your ear something mean or nice someone in the world was saying about you.

  Hmmmm. Hmmmm.

  How’s that for a word of mouth idea?

  Anyway. Here’s your challenge from me today. Come on, play. Why not?

  Today I challenge you to go the entire day without saying anything mean or snarky about another person. Online and offline.

  Try instead to channel that lack of commenting into a moment of understanding. Let’s go. Let me know if your day is worse or better for the wear.

  OR for those of you with a bit more time on your hands or perhaps a little less self control, take the google search story challenge and create a video.… and share it with us.

  Tags: Challenge, Google, Jim Lecinski, School of Wom, WOMMA
• 

  From O’Hare with love

  Posted on May 26th, 2010 by Eric Dodds and currently 6 commenting.

  

  We’re here in the airport after cramming a few last School of WOM sessions in before we head back home to Southern heat and humidity. You can guess that we’re talking shop about the conference (and realizing that we need to post a blog). With those powers combined, we present you with a few highlights from our time in Chicago.

  Heather:

  • “I learned that when you’ve been in the marketing / word of mouth world for a while, you can get desensitized to conferences, information and tactics. Not that conferences aren’t helpful, but it’s what we eat sleep and live each day. Bringing a client who doesn’t live in this world, though, energized me when I saw them suck in information like a sponge and think about their business in a critical way.”
  • “Rob Morris (a client and close kindred spirit) used a word I’d never heard before: slacktivism. It’s a word his organization uses to describe people who buy a t-shirt or bracelet for a cause and think they are an activist, but their limited, one-time involvement does little to ‘change the equation’ or make a lasting impact.”
  • “I learned a lot more about the use of location based technology – it was really neat to see all of the different ways companies and brands are using location on mobile devices.”

  Robbin:

  • “Meeting people offline really solidifies relationships – it’s so cool to meet people that you only have an electronic relationship with.”
  • “I learned from Google that people love a challenge – it’s in our DNA.”
  • “I learned about the concept of a ‘Chief Listening Officer’ from Kodak – I love that idea and will continue to give a lot of thought to that role in my own company and with our clients.”
  • “I learned that Motive Quest considers themselves ‘online anthropologists.’ Cool set of words, isn’t it?”

  Yours truly (brief due to the impending boarding call):

  • Steve Knox, from P+G’s Tremor, showed the psychological science behind interrupting ‘status-quo’ trains of thought in people’s minds. His points about ‘degree’s of interruption’ as related to how much they distance your mind from a brand’s ‘foundational truth’ were brilliant. Anyone who practices marketing should review his presentation. (I’ll update with a link after I dig around). His presentation was, in John Moore’s words, absolutely outstanding.

  Collectively:

  • We learned that Jamie Plesser is a true quasi-marketing-hipster and looks great in a skinny tie.
  • We learned that Chicago is home to a few really cool rooftop bars. (Thank you to Carl for giving us a tour).
  See you back East.
  Tags: Chicago, Clients, Learnings, location based marketing, Love 146, Marketing, Motive Quest, Proctor and Gamble, School of Wom, slacktivism, Tremor, WOMMA
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  Randomness from Chicago, School of WOM and a late night rooftop view

  Posted on May 25th, 2010 by Robbin and currently 2 commenting.

  
  Rob Morris from Love146, Jamie Plesser from Best Buy, Eric Dodds, and me

  Whew. Sorry we didn’t blog yesterday, but we are having non stop fun here in Chicago since Sat. afternoon. Geno and @angeladaniels spoke yesterday at the National Restaurant Association and that was fun. Nice crowd, engaging questions.

  Then @jamieplesser, dodds and geno spoke in the afternoon at WOMMA’s School of Wom about our work with Best Buy. There are a ton of interesting people here — John Moore, Sean Rooks — our client from Colonial Williamsburg, and the Love146 team. And I finally met Kristen from WOMMA. Love her.

  I also finally met @armano in person Sunday night and really like him. He’s a happy guy, smiles a lot and has a very cool ride. Not only did he share an interesting product idea for Brains on Fire which I am still rolling around in my head, but he also confessed his man crush on Geno. Got to love him for owning up to that.

  My favorite prezo from yesterday was Dan Heath. Wow. If you get the chance to hear him talk about Switch. Do it. Just do it.

  My big take away from the CMO of Kodak is the fact that they have a Chief Listening Officer. Don’t you love that?

  And our friends Amiee and Carl, from Table 301 are here so we have visited some great restaurants and rooftop bars every night since we got here. Hmmm. It’s been amazing. I’ll share the view and promise we’ll create more inspiring content tomorrow. Maybe I will find someone and interview them for you.
  

  Tags: Best Buy, Dan Heath, john moore, love146, National Restaurant Association, Rob Morris, School of Wom, WOMMA