Brains on Fire

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  What are you doing with your minutes?

  Posted on January 30th, 2012 by Robbin and currently 0 commenting.

  2011 from hey_rabbit on Vimeo.

  I found this on GOOD. Oh MY. Have I told you how much I love almost every bit of content they produce and curate?

  This video is no exception. Seems that Madeline captured a bit of video everyday for a year of her life, then edited each video down to one second for each day.

  The random minutes of life collectively make up our life’s bigger story in such a magical way, don’t they?

  The other day Geno and I were talking about a CEO client we admire that takes over an hour to walk from the building entrance to her office. She takes the time to stop and talk to her employees and customers. Geno’s take on that: “People don’t realize that something magical can start just by asking a one employee or customer for a cup of coffee and listening to what they have to say.” Then doing it again and again and again.

  Word of mouth is at it’s core conversation and conversation is a powerful thing. It’s the collective conversations that unite and change organizations from the inside out.
  
  As a person and a marketer or a leader, how are you using your minutes? Are you heads down from one task to another, or are you sucking in all that each minute truly offers?

  Tags: GOOD, MInutes, word of mouth marketing
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  What is your ultimate business travel story?

  Posted on December 19th, 2011 by Robbin and currently 1 commenting.

  I saw this post on Mashable. And it triggered a story from my very early years.

  BTW: I think it must have been about 20 years ago when this story happened. If you don’t know Merlin Olsen, the NFL Hall of Famer and FTD spokesperson, it might not make sense. If you do. Read on.

  Years and years ago, I was in New York with my then business partner, Mike Goot. We were editing a series of television spots for a bank in Georgia. Think me, four white shirt bankers and a slightly younger version of this guy:
  

  We were looking for something to do at night.

  Hmmm.

  Someone mentioned Blue Men Group. We took our chances and went up to the ticket office and got the last seats in the house. One of the seats was far removed from the other five. I took it. As I sat down to get ready for the show, I noticed this couple in front of me. One of them looked just like a director I had often worked with from Charleston. But I wasn’t 100% sure.

  What are the odds of seeing someone I know from South Carolina on a random Tuesday night in NYC. Right?

  So I decided to wait until intermission to call out his name and see if he responded. In the meantime, a rather large, older man had sat beside me with his loud, happy group of friends. Since the seats where crazy tight, this man nicely asked me, “Do you mind?” as he put his arm around me to stretch out a bit. I looked at him a little bit closer and HE actually looked sort of familiar. Then he said, “I am going to need to send you flowers after this show is over.” It dawned on me, he was Merlin Olsen. The very large football star turned actor who was had done a long stint of commercials for FTD Florists.

  Anyone remember him?

  I said what anyone would say, are you Merlin Olsen? So we started talking. He was really nice. And he introduced me to his family and friends. He also kept his arm around the back of my chair.

  During intermission I leaned slowly in to the row in front of me and I quietly asked, “Brian?”

  He (it was Brian) jumped, looked back at me stunned and said, “Robbin? Why are doing in New York with Merlin Olsen?”

  So that is my ultimate business travel story.

  ___________________________________________________________________________________________
  Don’t you love how hearing other people’s stories can inspire you to remember and share your own? Cordell quoted someone this morning and from memory it went like this:

  We like each other better when we tell each other our stories.

  Stories are how we connect as humans. And telling your organization’s stories is powerful for that very reason. Stories trigger emotional and spark sharing. Which creates connection. And word of mouth.

  So come on. Let’s share this morning. What is YOUR ultimate business travel story?
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  Tags: Blue Men Group, Mashable, Merlin Olsen, Mike Goot, Storytelling, Ulitimate Travel Story, Word of Mouth
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  Stories, Sharing and Emotions

  Posted on December 6th, 2011 by Robbin and currently 6 commenting.

  

  I’ve never given The Palms Restaurant much thought. I’ve passed by them in more than one city. Knew they started many years ago with the one little place in New York City. I certainly knew it was famous on some level. But this weekend I heard a heartfelt version of this little story about their name and it got stuck in my heart:
  
  “Italian immigrants Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi opened the first Palm restaurant in 1926. It was originally intended to be named La Parma, but a city licensing clerk misunderstood the thick Italian accent of the founders. The owners found it was easier to change the name than to get the license reissued.”

  The rather factual wording above is straight from Wikipedia. But the emotional story is still there.

  Don’t you feel it?

  Can’t you just imagine the confusion and disappointment or maybe exhausted laughter over a glass of wine when the two friends, caught up in the excitement of getting their first restaurant started, realized the name was written down wrong?

  Even the bare bones wiki version of their start up story triggers emotion.

  In some ways, I would go so far to say this little story even inspires me to remember that mistakes or missteps have a way of working themselves out in the long run.

  They really do.

  Emotional stories capture our heart because we can see ourselves in them.

  We can relate.

  Which is why we want to share them with others.

  Research by our friends at KellerFay has found that strong emotional content is key to people’s desire to pass along things they hear about brands, either though word of mouth or online sharing.

  Ed Keller quoted Heather Oldani from McDonald’s in one of his recent blog post and I love it:

  “For brands, showing emotion is the new black.”

  One of the most often repeated lines in the Brains on Fire book is also one of my absolute favorites:

  Your company is the stories people tell about it.

  And I might add, it’s the emotional, inspiring ones that get stuck in our hearts. Which is great place for your company or organization to live.
  _______________________________________________________________________

  So your turn: What stories about a brand or organization have you been moved to shared recently and why? What emotions do those stories trigger?
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  Tags: Brains on Fire Book, Ed Keller, Emotion, Heather Oldani, Keller Fay, McDonald's, stories, The Palm Restaurant, word of mouth marketing
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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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  The Retooling of Retailing: How social networks are changing the consumer/retailer relationship

  Posted on November 16th, 2011 by amy and currently 11 commenting.
  

  The loot.

  Here’s the thing: I don’t like malls. Call me germaphobic (or perhaps I’ve just seen one too many apocalyptic pandemic films for my own good), but being trapped indoors with a crowd breathing recycled air makes me feel like I’m a hop, skip and a viral cell away from the flu du jour. And while the hustle and bustle of holiday shoppers has a certain seasonal charm, watching overstressed, grown adults have public meltdowns and temper tantrums at the register generally puts a ding in my Christmas spirit. Thus I avoid the mall at all costs. Not just during the holidays, but every day.

  Last weekend, however, compelled by early onset Christmas spirit and a Klout perk Macy’s gift card, I found myself circling the lot with the rest of the parking lot sharks. Before I headed in, I checked-in on Four Square, only to discover that Macy’s was also offering a “special” (i.e. additional discounts) to anyone checked-in. With very little effort, I had earned myself significant savings – and Macy’s planted a little love seed in my heart. As I stood in line waiting to checkout, I began thinking about how technology and social connectivity are not only influencing, but changing, the retail landscape.

  I stumbled across this timely article on Monday. The author suggests that “Connectivity has shifted the balance of power to individual shoppers. The traditional ways that retailers and merchants reach out to users and how they expect them to discover, shop and pay are getting disrupted by mobile and social. And that’s forcing companies to react.”

  The article goes on to explain that almost half of all shoppers are coming to stores armed with smartphones, altering the ways we relate to and interact with retailers. Not only does the technology in our pockets give us instant access to product ratings and reviews, it gives us the ability to shop for a better deal with the click of a button – and decide whether that better deal is worth driving across town for.

  The ways in which consumers are learning about products and services are shifting as well. In contrast to the days when people made decisions perusing store shelves and aisles, today we’re arming ourselves with information – and so much more – by turning to our social networks. Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and Square says consumers are learning about products through social connections on Twitter, by following their passions and interests.

  When I reflect on several of my own recent purchases, it rings true. After my iPhone shattered, I went on the hunt for an indestructible case by throwing a question out to my Twitter followers. The name “Otterbox” was quickly Tweeted back by many. When I decided to invest in iPhone insurance, my social network (and their glowing recommendations) directed me to a company called SquareTrade. In these instances, my social network wasn’t just influential in my purchase, it was integral.

  So what does the future of consumer/retailer relationships look like? John Donohoe, CEO of eBay, says he expects more changes in the next three years in commerce than in the last 15.

  As to be expected, Word of Mouth will continue to be an increasingly influential force when it comes to decision-making about which companies to support, which products to buy and where and how customers will spend their dollars.

  The fact is that with mobile and social, consumers are much more savvy. They are equipped with the latest information and the latest prices whenever and wherever they go shopping. And with social channels, they are swayed by and discover products through their friends, not through ads.

  How have you noticed retailers and service providers adapting to the increasing influence of social networks and Word of Mouth?

  Tags: buying, Change, Consumer, Influence, iPhone, Klout, Macy's, malls, otterbox, perk, purchase, retail, shopping, Social networks, spending, squaretrade, Word of Mouth, word of mouth marketing