Brains on Fire

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  The Art of the Imperfect: Mix Tape

  Posted on January 23rd, 2012 by Geno and currently 0 commenting.

  Mix tapes were the social media of my teenage days. My friends and I carefully crafted playlists to share with each other, layering song after song in the hopes that we could produce a magical, imperfect mix tape. I’m not sure my goal was to ever make the perfect mix tape. I was always inspired to throw a random, wild card song in the mix, and it always got a response “Wow, that track #5 was something!”
   
  Even the artwork on our cassettes was magically imperfect. Drawn with colored pencils, magic markers and hand-written notes. More than a track listing, they were like musical diaries.
   
  But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s talk about friends, high school friends. My nickname in high school was “Freak.” Why? Because I walked the line of an athlete and I played in a band. My best friends became my friends through music. We made mix tapes to get to know each other, impress each other and inspire each other. Those tapes turned a car ride with friends into a Wayne’s World movie scene. And admit it, a mix tape was the perfect way to break the ice with the opposite sex. So, I think it’s pretty fair to say mix tapes were – and still are - social media.
   
  Today it’s hard to get your hands around all the social media we are creating. We all work so hard to create conversations and collect eyeballs – brands, marketers and people. Brands get frustrated at marketers if fans don’t like, post, comment, tweet and recommend. Marketers freak if people don’t do any of those things. Then you have people, everyday people, conditioned by the lure of social media gratification that says we should expect people to respond to all our photos, updates and tweets. I’m not judging – I do the same thing.
   
  We have busy lives in the real world and the virtual world. We dance between them with old friends, new friends, things we love and things we love to hate. That’s why sometimes I just want something to hold that’s real and imperfect, like a mix tape. They were a collection of a person’s likes, time and generosity. Something personal for another human being.
   
  I’m not saying you should make a mix tape for your client, your customer or a friend, but you could do something magically imperfect. Write a hand-written note. Invite someone for lunch. The point is the mix tape is about simple stuff you share in common with people you know. It’s you putting you into something that you hope will be meaningful to the recipient.
   
  And remember embrace imperfection… after all we’re all human. 

  Tags: Brains on Fire, geno church, Mixtapes, Social media, Word of Mouth
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  The Courage to Wonder

  Posted on November 21st, 2011 by Geno and currently 4 commenting.

  Last week Robbin Phillips, our client Emily Kirkpatrick (National Center for Family Literacy) and I attended the WOMMA Summit in Vegas. If you didn’t make this year’s summit you missed a good one. Great, thought-provoking keynotes, a WOMMA worthy venue (the Cosmopolitan rocked!) and a large turnout of brands and agencies. It was great to see many old friends and the WOMMA staff.

  I had the honor of co-presenting the Wonderopolis case study with Emily during our Content Marketing session. You can check out the presentation on SlideShare here.

  Wonderopolis was also honored during the WOMMY luncheon, with a GOLD WOMMY in the Cause Marketing category. Wonderopolis is a rare treat for an agency. It was birthed out of a trusting partnership between agency and client, in this case a not-for-profit.

  I’d like to say again… Wonder is simple, but in order to Wonder out loud – it takes courage. Thank you Emily and NCFL for having the courage to engage and inspire all of us to Wonder out loud. And to my co-workers at Brains on Fire, thank you for being fearless in bringing a strategy like Wonderopolis to life. It really is making a difference.

  I’ll leave you with this little nugget from a blog post: “Our class emailed Wonderopolis and nominated a wonder. It appeared this past week! And in less than two months time! The wonder is called How Do Mood Rings Work? I cannot wait to share it with my class tomorrow. Check it out! Thanks, Wonderopolis, for acting on our curiosity!”

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  It never hurts to ask

  Posted on June 13th, 2011 by Geno and currently 3 commenting.

  
  I wonder why more places that beg to tell a story don’t? I recently stayed at the Hudson Hotel in New York. A cool stealth hotel (no signage), lots of eye candy, hipster people all around. It’s funny after I’ve been home from the trip to NYC for a few days what I remember most is the mountain goat on the wall behind the concierge desk.

  So, I asked what’s up with the goat and what was the building before it was a hotel?

  It turns out the Hudson used to be an apartment building, in which most of the residents were elderly.

  During the renovation, sadly a lot of the resident’s belongings were left behind. Amongst the leftover belongings was a stuffed goat.

  Someone decided that the goat belonged to the building, and the goat head was mounted on the wall. The employee I chatted with told me the goat was viewed as a protector of the building.

  What’s the big deal with the goat? Maybe it’s not a big deal to you, but for me trendy boutique hotels can leave me cold. The décor tries so hard to be stylish that the style doesn’t function, and then it can be matched by uninspired service.

  The Hudson is a garden oasis in NYC no doubt, but to be honest it would be forgotten in time, and I probably wouldn’t be inspired to stay there again.

  However, understanding a bit of the ethos of the Hudson makes it sticky in my mind. Plus, who can quickly forget a goat head glowing in a spotlight.

  Never underestimate, the power of the little things. I like the goat cause it’s a little gesture, not a grand gesture. Yes, I had to ask to find a story, but someone was there to tell it.

  Tags: Brains on Fire, geno church, Goat, Hudson Hotel, Storytelling
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  Rules from Zombieland applied to Community Building

  Posted on May 23rd, 2011 by Geno and currently 3 commenting.

  
  I’m a Zombie junkie, if a character looks like a Zombie, I turn into a couch potato. I’ve spent many late nights watching Shaun of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead, The Walking Dead, and my favorite—Zombieland—instead of sleeping.

  I think all my Zombie watching has it’s rewards… lighthearted paranoia, killer soundtracks, and rules for survival. Evidently the CDC thinks so too (see link).

  In my opinion, Zombieland is the best of the best, a tasty movie (no pun intended) full of humor, zombie killings, and rules to live by. In my twisted mind, I saw brilliance in the survival rules of Zombieland. I also saw a challenge: Can those same rules be applied to community building? Here’s a cherry-picked list of seven “Rules from Zombieland” that I feel fit the bill:

  Rule #1: Cardio. This rule is not PC, basically larger people always die first in a Zombie Apocalypse. Cardio is a good thing, and in the case of community building, cardio is about pacing for the long run. Prepare for a journey not a sprint (or apply Rule #20: It’s a marathon, not a sprint, unless it’s a sprint, then sprint).

  Rule #2: Double Tap. To make sure a Zombie is dead, you double tap (two shots, not just one). How does this relate to community building? It’s about reaching out; doing a double tap. Most of the time companies say, “hello” (at best) and go off to get more likes, members, or customers. A Double Tap plan means having more than one meaningful touchpoint, having a backup plan.

  Rule #5: No attachments. Here comes my social media agnostic speech. It’s easy to get caught up in having a go-to social media strategy. This rule is about dropping your attachments, finding your customer’s attachments then building what they need.

  Rule #8: Get a Kick Ass Partner. Just like in buddy cop movies, communities eventually will need a good cop and a bad cop. It’s hard for a brand to be good cop and bad cop. It can make for community bad feelings. I know a certain community manager with the nickname “The Velvet Hammer” given to her by the community. Brand = good cop, Third-Party or Community Manager = gentle, tactful bad cop.

  Rule #17: Don’t be a Hero. To many times we (the brand, the agency) want to be the Hero. Folks, the customer is the hero, the advocate is the hero, the volunteer is the hero.

  Rule # 30: Pack Your Stain Stick. Communities are built and powered by people. So it’s messy business. Just like surviving a Zombie Apocalypse, you’re probably not going to come out clean. Communities require a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (I happen to think that’s the best part).

  Rule #32: Enjoy the little things. I know you need ROI, measuring eyeballs and ears, body counting, sales, etc., but a community is comprised of living human beings not zombies. Take the time to talk and listen to your communities’ neighbors. Don’t take for granted the people and all the little things that make them care about your brand, your product, your cause.

  Tags: Brains on Fire, Community, Community Building, geno church, Zombies
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  Lessons learned; Presenting with others

  Posted on May 19th, 2011 by Geno and currently 4 commenting.

  I had the great pleasure of presenting with John Moore at WOMMA’s School of WOM about offline word of mouth marketing.

  Something that isn’t for the faint of heart, as John pointed out in his part of the presentation. 90% of the WOM-U agenda is online marketing, and add to the mix that John is a helluva act to follow.

  John and I worked hard to build a cohesive presentation that would not create a disjointed two-part experience for the attendees. And I think we accomplished that, so the question is how?

  John and I know each other very well. We know each other’s stories, rants, and speaking styles. You might say that knowledge would make it easy for co-presenting… but not so fast.

  Lesson 1) Being familiar with a co-presenter is great, but instead of going with surface knowledge, use that familiarity to dig deeper. Go beyond a phone call chat, share a white paper, a case study or a rant. If you don’t know your co-presenter the same goes.

  Lesson 2) Think Audience First. Agree on a singular preso look and feel. I get a little design happy with my preso’s, but I learned a big lesson. Come up with your preso theme together, build a common template. Your audience will thank you.

  Lesson 3) Forget about being competitive. When you’re presenting with someone for the sake of the people that are the real heroes– your audience. Drop the posturing and find common ground in your presentations.

  Lesson 4) Enjoy the backstage. Be present when your co-presenter is speaking. It’s a wonderful learning experience for you, too. Watch them, listen to what they’re sharing, watch your audience’s reactions. This is your prep for QandA time.

  Lesson 5) Be supportive. I love the QandA, and this is where teamwork shines. Don’t just answer the questions your asked, support your co-presenter.

  To be honest I’ve never enjoyed co-presenting before, but I have a newfound respect for it, and the opportunity for growth from it. Next time, you have a co-presentation opportunity don’t think of it as what’s going to be my part. You are probably presenting together for a reason, find that common thread and build complimenting pieces, again your audience will thank you for it.

  Tags: Brains on Fire, geno church, john moore, WOMMA, WOMMU