Brains on Fire

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  Unplugging is the New Black.

  Posted on January 9th, 2012 by Robbin and currently 4 commenting.

  
  Photo via Libby Williams. Grab a cup of coffee this is a long one.

  A friend passed this article on to me.

  The Joy of Quiet.

  Oh. My. Goodness. Take a few quiet minutes sometime today and read it to the end.

  I have. Twice.
  
  I have always loved this quote from Thoreau (keep in mind he was born in the early 1800s):

  We have more and more ways to communicate and less and less to say.

  About a week ago, the very same friend who sent me this article casually announced over dinner,

  “I deleted my Facebook account today”.

  “Really?”, I said in disbelief.

  “Yup.”

  Seems the new Facebook timeline made him painfully aware that he’s been saying the same thing over and over for the last three to four years. And it made him feel foolish.

  “It’s just a time sucker and I don’t have time to waste.”, he said.

  I saw a stat recently that said the average Facebook user spends over five hours a month on the site. Wow. That’s a lot of time, in my humble opinion. And that’s just the average.

  Here’s another thing. I have often said that Facebook and social media make me lonely. Because the truth of the matter is most people jump on Facebook (or any social online tool) when they are alone (physically or emotionally).

  I feel that in my heart.

  Yeah, yeah. There are those of you so happy you have to share. I get it. And I do it too. Happy is good and worth spreading.

  But I love this line and think it is worth repeating from the Joy of Quiet.
  
  Joy is the kind of happiness that doesn’t depend on what happens.

  Some things are meant to be shared and personally I do think of my Facebook account as an online scrapbook. It makes me happy to glance at photos of my friends and my kids from time to time. BUT it can’t replace the real thing.

  It can’t replace real connections.

  As the article said, the information revolution came without an instruction manual. As people and especially as marketers a manual might have been nice in hindsight. I have always believed marketers got a little too overzealous about social media and the significance it held for their brands and organizations.

  Yeah, Yeah. I know those of us at Brains on Fire sound like a broken record about this notion.

  But what is exciting me lately about this latest discussion, is I do believe the world of marketing will see all this “unplugging” as a wake up call. And perhaps marketers will finally realize that social media tools have a wonderful place in connecting employees and customers, but they alone are not the total solution. And surely we are coming to realize these “essential” truths:

  It’s quality of relationships over quantity.

  The real beauty of creating online relationships with your customers is the ability it gives you to connect offline.
  And even though offline takes work, it’s SO worth it.

  One of my favorite lines from our book is from an interview with the VP of Brand Marketing of Fiskars talking about the value of the Fiskateers:

  “For me, it’s not about the numbers. It’s about growing even deeper relationships. Today we are constantly engaging the actual people that use our products. They are absolutely fueling better products.”

  And trust me. Fiskars gets the value of offline engagement. It’s part of their brilliant and courageous success.

  Nowadays we really DO have more and more ways to connect and that’s a good thing.

  But as Thoreau suggested many years ago, let’s live our REAL lives in a way that creates meaningful stories and relationships. Let’s create content and experiences and share knowledge as brands that is truly relevant to our customer’s lives. Let’s add value that is beyond simple distraction. Let’s connect and surprise and delight and inspire.

  Then we will have something meaningful and truly worth talking about.

  And we will ignite that wonderful, magical, powerful marketing tool called Word of Mouth.
  
  Okay, your turn. Let me know what you think about The Joy of Quiet and how the new trend in unplugging is relevant to marketing?

  Tags: Facebook, Fiskars, Fiskateers, henry david thoreau, Libby Williams, The Joy of Quiet, unplugging
• 

  The ROI of One TRUE fan.

  Posted on August 29th, 2011 by Robbin and currently 4 commenting.

  
  Where do you keep your love letters. True Fans send them all the time. Photo via flickr.

  The other day a friend of mine said the most interesting thing. He was a little bit discouraged about something he was working on and he said to me.

  “If I could just get some momentum going.”

  I looked at him oddly. And said.
  
  “That should be easy. Because you control that. You create your own momentum.”

  I see that simple principle at work and even in my own personal life everyday. And I also see it in the lives of brands and organizations that are trying to get a community started.

  Movement/momentum happens one person at time.
  
  One meaningful, soulful, heartfelt interaction at time.

  This notion is simple and hard at the very same time.

  I love this blog/article sent to me by John Moore. Seems it got a lot of play in 2008 but I want to revive it.
  
  Well worth the long read.

  From The Technium post 1000 True Fans

  The gist of 1,000 True Fans can be stated simply:

  A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author – in other words, anyone producing works of art – needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.

  A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can’t wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.
  

  Now I know he is talking about artists here. But aren’t we all produce/creating something akin to art? (Whether solutions or products)

  And I can tell you, I have personally seen the value of 1000 true fans in the growth of Brains on Fire.

  For us, it might work like this:

  Someone on twitter tells someone to read out book or check out our blog. That person is inside an organization that hires us to speak. We create more fans inside the organization. We realize that we can add value and they figure that out too. And a relationship is forged. Based on trust.

  And we never forget this one simple fact:
  
  It all began with one true fan.

  For one of our newest clients the story goes like this:

  The CMO was looking for a new marketing team. A young designer within the organization followed our blog religiously. He asked if she would place our name on her list. We got an email. We arranged a call, then a visit. We told our story. We realized we were “same tribe”.

  And again…it all began with one true fan. A fan that was willing to tell someone about us.

  Do we spend a lot of money and time on that one true fan?

  Yup. They are ALWAYS on our mind.

  That is why we spent over six months writing them a book.

  Posting blogs, like love letters, everyday.

  We hold yearly FIRE sessions in Greenville where we ask them to be our guest.

  We speak in interesting places and ask them to show up.

  We love them.

  WE adore our true fans.

  We help them find jobs when they need us. We read their blogs. We give them our time.

  So yes. To say we believe in the power of ONE true fan is actually an understatement. We’ve built Brains on Fire with the help of our true fans. Slowly but surely they have become an army of ambassadors.

  I’ve never once made a COLD call. Ugh. And I love our fans because they make that lovely statement possible.

  No, Brains on Fire is not selling Oreos or $10 dollar widgets or even scissors, but the principles are the same. True FANS matter more than huge numbers of likes or followers any day of the week. Because they are wiling to do something on your behalf.

  Jay Gillespie of Fiskars sums it up best in our book, “For me it’s not about the numbers, its about growing even deeper relationships.”

  Go out today and love your TRUE fans. Support them. Create deeper relationships. Lift them up. And never let them go.

  It will create momentum. And you don’t believe me, check out what Papa Seth has to say.
  
  Your turn: When have you experienced or seen first hand the ROI of one TRUE fan?

  Tags: 1000 True Fans, Brand Autopsy, First, Fiskateers, john moore, Organize 1000, Papa Seth, Seth Godin, The Technium
• 

  Where are you going?

  Posted on July 19th, 2011 by Robbin and currently 2 commenting.

  
  Got up this morning to go in the attic and find the post card I am referencing. Of course, I must have put it “somewhere safe”. And now it’s no where to be found. Don’t you hate that? So this photo is from Flickr viaSLDigital. If I run across the real thing, I’ll replace it and let you know.

  About a month ago I moved to a new house. In the process of moving as I was sorting out what to keep and what to toss, I stumbled on an old post card. I have no idea where I got it, but I know it found it’s way to me when I was about thirteen. On the front of the card was a picture taken on the shores of Carmel, CA.

  At thirteen, I carefully wrote the words you see above.

  Going there one day…
  
  As I held the rediscovered post card in my hands I could remember the feeling and the reason I wrote those four little words. Living in a small town in South Carolina, going to Carmel by the Sea sounded as far fetched as going to the moon. At that point, I had most likely never traveled more than 30 miles from my home. I knew then in my heart what I know to be true now:

  If you don’t set your heart and mind on a destination you will never get there.

  I also knew my life would be richer and better and more exciting if I could experience new things and see the world.

  As marketers in this brave new world, the destination question and purpose behind it is a question we should ask over and over and over. Where are we going? What are we really trying to do? And why? What are we trying to change or make better in our world?

  There is so much talk about ROI of social media and word of mouth marketing. I know some of you will roll your eyes and say “Of course. Set goals and measure them. We know that.” But don’t you think the shiny new objects in the room have us all turned a bit upside down and some of us on occasion are guilty of forgetting the very basics?

  One of my favorite stories to tell is the Fiskateers. (Yes, still.) I remember and love one of the key drivers behind creating the Fiskateers. Fiskars simply wanted to create an emotional connection to their customers. And I can honestly say they got that! And in the process changed the way they do business. As Jay Gillespie says in our book; “Today we are constantly engaging the actual people that use our products. They are are absolutely fueling better products.”

  And isn’t that the ultimate ROI?

  I also have never, ever forgotten Scott Monty’s simple proclamation of Ford’s goals: To humanize the brand. Don’t you love that as a destination? Personally, I think they’ve done it. Over and over and over.

  So where are you going?

  Personally, professionally and as an organization? Put a stake in the ground and ask yourself at the end of every single day:

  Did the things we worked on today, take us closer to where we want to be? The businesses that make their goals personal get it right in my humble opinion.

  I’m lucky in life.
  I have traveled far and wide. For me it was heartfelt goal that had to be met. Haven’t made it to Carmel. But I will.

  How to do you make your business goals personal? How to you get them stuck in your heart?

  Tags: CA, Carmel, Carmel by the Sea, Fiskars, Fiskateers, FORD, Jay Gillepsie, Scott Monty
• 

  Designing Happiness

  Posted on March 14th, 2011 by Robbin and currently 2 commenting.

  
  Kids never have to look too far for happiness, do they? Photo via Libby Williams, .

  I have been thinking a lot about happiness lately.

  And how the work we do in the world – unearthing the passion conversation for brands and igniting community to support that conversation – promotes happiness and well being.

  So when I cracked open the March issue of Fast Company, this article on The Business of Happiness jumped out at me.

  The article features the work of Jennifer Aaker, who teaches a filled to capacity course called “Designing Happiness” at — get this — Stanford University.

  Nice.

  Seems that businesses are seriously trying to figure out how to use happiness to increase productivity and woo customers.

  Woo customers. I love that word — woo. It’s a happier word for marketing, don’t you think?

  From the article:

  “The idea of brands enabling happiness and providing greater meaning in the world is powerful.”

  According to John Kenny of Draft FCB, it seems we want “something different from simply buying a product, using it and throwing it out. Marketing happiness expands the idea of what it means to buy something.”

  Kenny goes on to say. “ The stakes are a lot higher now with social media, you want people to have an important experience they can talk about…”

  Kate Sayre , a partner in Boston Consulting Group states, “ Marketers want consumers to… feel as if the product is part of their lives and community.”

  Hmmm. Most products and services fit into our lives in some way is, right?

  I see the comments and learnings from Aaaker and others mentioned in this article as more validation for Lesson Number One from our book:
  
  It’s about the PASSION conversation, not the product conversation.

  We are all looking for happiness. And our passions, the things we DO that give us joy, are the things that bring us the most happiness. Marketers (or woo-ers) should start their happiness journey by looking for the shared passion between their advocates and their employees. People connect through shared interests and it’s the things that we’re most passionate about that we want to talk about. Period.

  We all want to be a part of something bigger than our own lives. And that can take the form of sharing our love of scrapbooking or providing little moments of wonder within our families to abolishing human trafficking in the world.

  So what if you stop marketing your product and start thinking about igniting a conversation to “woo” people toward your brand or organization.

  Here’s the part when I ask you to share with me. You know how I love that.

  How do you or can you authentically fit into the lives of the people who buy and use your product and services?

  Have you seen examples lately of brands doing this in a way that feels emotional and real to you?

  Do you believe you can a brand can truly market happiness?

  Tags: Boston Consulting Group, Brains on Fire, Draft FCB, Fast Company, Fiskateers, Igniting Powerful Sustainable Word of Mouth Movements, Jennifer Aaker, John Kenny, Kate Sayre, love146, Stanford University, The Business of Happiness, Wonderopolis
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  Do we really need names?

  Posted on March 4th, 2011 by Robbin and currently 6 commenting.

  
  This photo via Flickr via Leo Reynolds.

  We help name things.

  Names can tell a great story. Like love146.

  Names can unite a community. Like the Fiskateers.

  Names can evoke emotion like the name the kids in South Carolina found for their youth powered tobacco free movement. Rage Against the Haze.

  Names can ignite fasciniation, like Wonderopolis.

  I could go on. But it’s Friday. So let’s chat.

  Today’s chat pack question is fun.

  Suppose instead of having a name, you had a letter. and people would always refer to you as that letter. What letter would you want to replace your name?

  Mine is easy.

  B

  I have spent my whole life explaining the extra B in my name (After staring at me for 11 days, my folks finally named me RoBBIn with two B’s. I am kinda fond of that extra B. It was worth the wait.)

  So how about you? Come on. Share.

  Tags: chat pack friday, Fiskateers, love146, Naming, Rage Against the Haze, Wonderopolis