Brains on Fire

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  Common Sense and Old News

  Posted on July 27th, 2011 by Eric Dodds and currently 0 commenting.

  We’re a group of happy people here. (Maybe too happy sometimes.) Our good spirits tend to keep our blog posts pretty positive, but sometimes we run across a few things that make us sigh, shake our heads, and riff them pretty hard via a mass-email to all the pirates in the office. Today I thought I’d share one or two of those things with you.

  The first was the headline of an article that someone randomly received in their inbox:

  “Use of Human Voice in Social Media Can Help Organizations Build Relationships” (1)

  That was the conclusion of a study performed at a well known academic institution. Now, we’re not snarky pundits who like to throw strong opinions around to feel better about ourselves. In fact, we’re big supporters research, and if you can put numbers (instead of just talk) behind what you’re doing with social media, we’re impressed. Heck, we’re in the business of helping organizations become more human (and we often use social media as one of our tools).

  What got us about this headline, though, is that it makes the conclusion seem really new and revolutionary when we’ve known the same is true in other channels for a long, long time. Ask anyone in customer service: people don’t like talking to machines. And social media isn’t any different.

  Maybe we’re picky, but it’s hard for us to get excited about common sense and long-time best-practices re-packaged as new-news.

  The second is an excerpt from an article about T.G.I. Friday’s Father’s Day Facebook promotion (2):

  So much for ties or sweaters for Dad. And so much for traditional marketing vehicles.

  In a new world of marketing, where social media is the lone currency that virtually guarantees a return, the beer app is being viewed as forward-thinking by some but tacky by others.

  We believe social media is a great tool too, but I think this author might have neglected to do their homework on how much people still use traditional media. For examples, Neilsen’s State of the Media: Cross Platform Report in Q1 of 2011 found that ”Americans are spending more time watching video content on traditional TVs, mobile devices and the Internet than ever before.” (3). Also, companies still invest a whole lot of money in it: another Neilsen report shows that TV spending grew 8% over last year (4).

  Again, we’re not naysayers. But sensational statements about new technology as a magic bullet have always been a red flag for us.

  OK. That feels a lot better. We’re done shaking our heads.

  • (1) – You can find the study about human voice in social media here.
  • (2) – You can read the article about T.G.I. Friday’s Father’s Day promotion here.
  • (3) – You can read Neilsen’s “State of the Media: Cross Platform Report in Q1 of 2011″ here.
  • (4) – You can read Neilsen’s “State of the MediaTrends in TV Viewing—2011 TV Upfronts” here (PDF).
  Tags: Common Sense, Facebook, Magic Bullet, News, old news, Social media, T.G.I. Fridays
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  Unlearning.

  Posted on July 26th, 2011 by Robbin and currently 5 commenting.

  
  Self portrait created by my son at age six.

  Years ago, in another life it almost seems, my young family was visiting with some friends. I’ve since lost touch with them, but these were really interesting people. They were a young family like mine, but they had nine kids and lived on a farm. They had chickens and grew things. And they had a tenth kid on the way.

  There was a creek on their farm, which was in the middle of nowhere in South Carolina. It was hot June day. Things were roasting over fires and we were roasting too.

  My son was about 5 or 6 at the time and he came running up to me and said, “Mama can I get in the creek?”

  I looked around, surveying the safety of it all and asked him who was down by the creek. One of the nine, (soon to be ten) kids about the same age as my son looked at me with his hands on his hips, his bare chest held high and said, “I ain’t never seen a boy who had to ask his Mama if he could get in the creek on a hot day.”

  I remember laughing out loud at that very honest observation. Somewhere along the way my son learned to ask, and his little friend had never been taught that creeks could be something your mom might not want you to just jump in on hot day.

  Marketers have had to do a whole lot of quick “unlearning” these last few years as the rules of traditional marketing have been undone and rearranged.

  We have had to learn to stop tossing clever messages at our customers in the hopes that something might stick. We’ve learned how to be more human in our reactions. And that we don’t have magic wands when it comes to connecting people in a tech savvy social world.

  It’s hard work. All that unlearning.

  I actually told a friend the other night that there is no such thing as marketing any more. It’s a different world and we deserve a new word. We have to jump in the creek without asking these days, even if we were brought up with other notions in our heads.

  What have you “unlearned” recently that has made you better at creating relationships, both online and face to face with your customers?

  Tags: Marketing, Unlearning
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  Bring Your Heart to Work Day

  Posted on July 25th, 2011 by amy and currently 2 commenting.
  

  Abbey & Meredith

  
  

  I have recently fallen in love with StumbleUpon. If you haven’t used StumbleUpon, you should. But probably not when you have anything important or pressing going on (like running errands, getting to an appointment on time or remaining gainfully employed), as it is one of those amazing tools that can easily take you on a three hour journey down the rabbit hole. I know, because I’ve spent a lot of time over the past week doing just that.

  A few nights ago, I was stumbling along, and the story below popped up as a suggested read…

  Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

  Dear God,
  Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick. I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.
  Love, Meredith.

  We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

  Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, “To Meredith” in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, “When a Pet Dies.” Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

  Dear Meredith,
  Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away. Abbey isn’t sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays In your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don’t need our bodies in heaven, I don’t have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.

  Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you. I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I am wherever there is love.
  Love, God

  According to her mother, Meredith was comforted by the book and letter and was unastounded that God saw fit to write back. “She wasn’t surprised because she had such faith that her letter was going to get to God.” (The oldest of the Scrivener children, 6-year-old Andy, was impressed, though: He “thought it was pretty special his sister got a book from the angel,” says his mum.)

  While Mrs. Scrivener considered asking at the post office about the package, she decided against it. “I kind of like not knowing,” she said. “I don’t know who took the time to do it, but it was an angel. We all think about doing these things, but no one takes the time to do it.”

  Before you write off the story of Abbey and Meredith as another well-intentioned load of internet hooha, you should know that it has actually been confirmed as true by Snopes. As remarkable as the story is, what struck me as even more remarkable is that somewhere, someone working in the dead letter office took the time to perform a random act of kindness that changed a little girl’s life. They didn’t just do their job that day, they found a purpose.

  Speaker Betty Bender once said, “When people go to work, they shouldn’t have to leave their hearts at home.”

  Most of us spend at least 40 hours a week at work. We may not all have an opportunity to write a letter on behalf of God, but we can all make a difference somehow. As we embark on a fresh week, I challenge each of us to bring our hearts along for the ride. Let’s make every day Bring Your Heart to Work Day.

  Have you ever been the recipient of a random act of kindness? Do tell.

  Tags: abbey, dog, god, letter, Love, meredith, Work
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  Calmness, rocks and things people talk about.

  Posted on July 22nd, 2011 by Robbin and currently 7 commenting.

  
  I have this tiny rock that I keep with me to remind myself to stay calm.

  One of my roles at Brains on Fire is to stay calm. Not always perfect at it, but I try. I think it’s the role of anyone who finds themselves needing to lead. (accidental or otherwise). Everyone wants calm. Even during exciting times.

  We follow it like magic fairy dust.

  The other day I splurged on a bottle of really good Lavender oil which I put on the bathroom sink counter. While I was getting ready for bed, I accidently knocked it over and the glass bottle hit the ceramic tile. Lavender oil went everywhere. It was a mess. And It was amazing and intoxicating. I smiled and slowing began cleaning it up.

  When I hit the sheets, I tweeted this remark:

  Spilled an entire bottle of lavender oil on the bathroom floor — if you don’t hear from me in a while, I’ve overdosed on calm.

  It was perhaps one of the most re-tweeted remark I’ve ever made. Funny, huh — and more proof we are looking for calm. We follow it. We talk about it.

  We’d like to OD on it.

  The next day, I was cleaning out my email box and found this letter (can we still call them letters if they arrive by email?) from a very wise and wonderful friend. It is a set of words I think of often when I am searching for calm. Both professionally and personally, so I’ll share:
  
  Nature works, you can’t argue with it. If a boulder falls into the middle of a stream, the stream immediately goes around and continues it’s path. It doesn’t stop and look around or stomp it’s feet and whine or call it’s friends and say “can you believe this rock?” It just continues…

  How do you keep your cool when the world around you is going mad? How do you lead with calmness?

  Happy Friday! Make it the best day ever! And most of all stay calm.

  Tags: Calmness, Leadership
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  Selling Insurance by Not Selling Insurance?

  Posted on July 20th, 2011 by Eric Dodds and currently 8 commenting.

  If you haven’t heard about  State Farm’s plans to test a totally new approach to their business, you should take a look. It seems like they’re going to sell insurance by NOT selling insurance.

  Here’s a description from the Chicago Brander (1):

  State Farm Next Door opens August 1st and the concept is a more open, casual community space that offers free Wi-Fi and coffee (via its Next Door Cafe) as well as personalized coaching/small group classes on financial matters that range from paying off student loans to learning how to budget your finances.

  And guess what? It’s all free. Even more crazy? They’re not going to sell insurance policies at these locations.

  An article on Families.com says it well (2): “This is either a fantastically innovative idea, or a disaster waiting to happen.” I happen to think that it’s a great idea, and here’s why: State Farm is forgoing the classic insurance price-war and focusing on living up to what they say they are, a ‘Good Neighbor.’

  I’ve only been out of school for a handful of years, but I’ve switched insurance providers 3 times for lower rates. It’s a crowded market, and for the big players, comparison is the name of the game. But it’s not the best way to be a good neighbor. A neighbor doesn’t present you a buffet of commodities, they go out of their way to really help you, and it seems like that is what State Farm is aiming for. (A timely move as well – budgets and student loans are a hot topic and a big need for many recent grads.)  Chicago Brander hits the nail on the head:

  For a long time, State Farm talked about the fact that their agents live in the same community as their customers. Which is normal. But even though you can continuously say, “We live where you live,” there’s nothing quite like actually demonstrating it visibly by being more of a central hub.

  There are a number of factors that will contribute to the success of Next Door, and I’m interested to see how things turn out. What I do know is that not playing the same game as competition and “actually demonstrating” your promise to customers is one of the best foundations to build on.

  • (1) – You can read the Chicago Brander’s article here.
  • (2) – You can read the Families.com article here.
  Tags: Brand, Customer, good neighbor, insurance, Marketing, neighbor, Promise, selling insurance, state farm