90% Inspiration, 10% Perspiration

Most of the time, it's true: get a passionate, great idea in your head, and the execution to bring it to life sometimes seems effortless. Sometimes things just click, and everything just flows - as if things are being channeled by divine intervention. It's a magical feeling we can all relate to.

Then there are the times when things seem forced. When it seems like more work than usual; when the idea in your head seems to wander around aimlessly in an unfocused stupor. You're just going through the motions. You're uninspired - merely painting by numbers, just waiting for it to all be over with. Just get it done, you think.

In my spare time, I enjoy writing music. Which doesn't happen often these days (one business and two kids later.) But many years ago, when I was getting into the industry, I remember hearing about those who had full-time jobs as staff songwriters. I recall thinking, "How great it would be to write music all day and get paid for it!" Until I really thought long and hard about it; and until I got into a business that demands such high levels of creativity on a regular basis. I wrestled with the concept that someone would actually go in to their "office", sit down, and crank out a hit song on demand. Then go home at the end of the day, only to do it all over again the next.

Yet, in our business, we do this every day. We have artists and editors and creative thinkers who - on demand - need to create great work for our clients. Is it possible to just snap one's fingers and say, "Thou shall create... go!" Not always easy, yet it must be done. How does everyone stay inspired? How can it just be "turned on" when needed? And how does it keep feeling like a passion, and not merely a job to do?

For me, I find inspiration in others. I feel the energy radiating from them while they are in the midst of their work, and I feel their inspiration. And inspiration begets inspiration. Many of us on our team feel the same way, and it's what keeps everyone fueled up - all the time. It's the "power of proximity" - the vibe you get from the group that you don't get working in isolation. Our team feels this energy, and when our clients are with us, they feel it too.

And that feels good.

Ten Easy Ways to Bad Marketing

If you look around at who the real stand-outs are in your market, it's sometimes easy to see what they're doing right. We all spend a load of time examining how they got there, and comparing ourselves with those who've achieved a higher rung on the ladder. But it's no accident how the leaders gained their success: it takes bold vision, sound strategy, and first-rate tactics to get to the top. But you say you don't have that kind of time, energy, or resources? Here's a simpler plan: become an expert in all the things they surely aren't doing, and it'll all start making sense as to what they most likely are doing.

10. Follow the Leader: Do exactly what everyone else is. Don't differentiate. Why take chances? Just ride the coattails of the masses. And since you'll be a follower instead of a leader, you won't have to worry about all that bothersome hard work involved in being a brand innovator.

9. Use fear. It's a great motivator, so be sure the scare the pants off everyone you can into signing on with what you are offering. It's cool to be a bully, and it doesn't even matter what you are selling: cram it down their throat with market intimidation. Then see how long you last.

8. And while you're at it, why not belittle your audience? Make them feel like they'll be the laughing stock of society if they don't get with the program. You owe it to them to make them realize they'll be a total loser unless they're on board with you. After all, who wants to be a loser?

7. Use loads of negative promotion. Talk about all the down sides of not using your services and offerings instead of all the positive reasons. Bad-mouth your competition, and burn as many bridges among your peers as you can. People don't like bad stuff of any kind, so be sure to use reverse psychology whenever possible. This way, even if you have nothing good to say about yourself, at least you can spend all your time talking about the stuff you aren't.

6. Ignore your audience. Don't listen to what they are saying - about what they want, about how they feel, about how they live, listen, and learn. Be reckless! Do your own thing. Hey, what do they know, anyway? The power of a million voices can't be that telling... can they?

5. Ignore your own brand. Most of the experts will tell you that market perception is what ultimately dictates and defines your brand. But why listen to them? Hey, you know more about your business than those experts do, right? If the world thinks you're blue, but you insist you're red, then place all your chips on red, and get ready to rake in the green. (And if you think I'm actually serious, then plan on the only green you'll ever be seeing to be the moss gathering on that never-to-roll-again stone you once called Your Business.)

4. Don't worry about vision. If you're nowhere near the level of success you feel you can reach, then you're probably doing a great job of looking just far enough down the road to make the next month's rent payment. Long-term planning takes insight and a strong sense of direction. Save it for the big guys.

3. Be #23 and be happy! Years ago, Snapple proclaimed they'd be quite content to just be #3 behind Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Let #1 and #2 spend all their efforts duking it out for pole position. #1 is always looking behind at the second place guy, and #2 is constantly looking to catch up to first place. No one ever gives credence to #3, so why would they ever take notice to #23? Plus, being that far behind the leader means you can do whatever the heck you want. It's like that kid in the back row of your high school social studies class who just sleeps all the way until the bell rings. Nobody's paying attention anyway. (Not even your market.)

2. Think old-school. Also, be sure your marketing budget isn't just completely arbitrary, but based on 1982 dollars. Remember when gas was only seventy-two cents a gallon, and a good car could be had for under ten grand? Things couldn't have changed that much in 25 years, right? Use outdated, obsolete sensibilities, too; do exactly what worked for you three decades ago. If it was good enough then, it's good enough now. Your market is exactly the same, right? So just stick with same-old, same-old. This way, the easiest thing to predict is failure.

1. Stay inside the same old box. Don't reinvent; it's unproven. Don't change; it's unfamiliar. And definitely don't start looking around outside the safety of your four little walls; you might start getting some bright ideas. And we all know what happens then: you might actually start reinvigorating yourself and standing out in your market. Then you'll have to deal with all that new business; and who wants that headache?

Be sure to follow these sure-fire techniques, and you'll always have an excuse for why you aren't a leader in your market.

Corporate video: form or just function?

The question of, "Is corporate video art?" is an oft-debated topic, and one that seems to be generating a buzz in the blog world. But to come to a more reasoned answer means also considering whether video itself is art. And I think most would agree it can be. From feature films, to artful documentaries, to brilliant advertising, video is merely a carrier for ideas. "Corporate" is simply one particular usage. So is it the added term "corporate" that would deny video the designation as "art"? And worse, is it simply accepted that a corporate video need not be artfully produced? Maybe this is why the industry has such a commonly bad stigma, and why so many producers are seemingly comfortable rising to a level of mere mediocrity with such videos.

Nearly everything has the potential to be art, since the very nature of art is subjective and open to individual interpretation. And a corporate video can be just as much an art form as any other medium or creation.

While some maintain that any functionality of art is a mere byproduct, I suggest it is the aspect of art that is the byproduct. Why? Because function is objective while art is subjective. A Frank Lloyd Wright house is first and foremost an irrefutably useful thing; it's a place in which to live and store stuff. Yet, subjectively, it is also considered artful to different extents by those who've witnessed it. But the objective nature of the house cannot be denied. There are many examples of artful "things", from furniture design to architecture.

But as all things have the possibility to be perceived as artful (eye of the beholder), not all art (created and intended solely as art) is necessarily useful. Not many human beings - unless they lacked even an ounce of emotional quotient - would suggest that a 1962 Ferrari GT is not at all art, but merely "a car." But there is little practical use for a painting by Monet other than to cover up a hole in a wall. At least the Ferrari can take you to the grocery store.

Still, I'd imagine there are few corporate videos out there that were created and intended as artful masterpieces first and foremost. Felini or Ingmar Bergman or Kubrik never woke up and said to himself, "Think I'll create a new masterpiece today. And today I shall work in a medium not yet explored: corporate video." In the world of corporate video, form definitely follows function. Nonetheless, anything created - if even with a prime intent of being useful and purposeful - can have the potential subjective quality of being "art" to those who might experience it, corporate communications notwithstanding.

The Go-To Person: Part II

Here's a corollary to the last post: don't make the dangerous mistake of giving too much away. Like the saying goes, "Why would someone buy the cow if the milk was free?" Too many people give away too much of their intellect free of charge. If a business consultant did this, he or she would be on the street faster than the first month's rent would be due. For the most part, any expert in their field is essentially a consultant at some level. Let your audience know that you have the goods; the know-how and experience to help them. Offer to meet and learn a bit about them and their need. Offer some references and case studies of past work. See if there's a good mutual fit. But be clear to them that your ideas, advice, and solutions have equity to both parties. In the strategy-tactics equation, this is the "blueprint" counterpart of building a new home. Nobody expects their architect to work free... so why would you?

The Go-To Person

We all know these people. When you absolutely need an answer - and the right answer, we all have that favorite connection who can hook us up. Malcolm Gladwell calls these people "mavens." They usually have all the answers, right when you need them.

Are you this person? Are you the one who people call for expert advice or a great plan of attack? The one everyone knows to connect with when they need the right answer? If you aren't, then you have a new assignment: become that person in your field, and be sure your market is aware.

It's safe to say that if you have been in your line of work long enough, you've learned a thing or two. Why not use this as your best tactic for generating revenue and driving your business? One thing to remember is that ALL business is cemented by the relationships between supplier and customer, between service provider and client, between person and person. Your relationships can outlast any dip, swing, or trend in your industry and they are the #1 thing to be nurtured and protected. When your audience needs an answer, be the one they call. And if your business depends on your ability to service your ideas, and not merely dispense them, this is one of the best tactics to getting work in the front door.

Educate through Video

Seth Godin recently wrote about video in its role as an educational tool, citing YouTube as a common forum for the masses to dispense know-how and information to one another.

The compelling power of video is something our company has been leveraging for decades, and the educational aspects of video are being talked about now more than ever before. The age of conversation we often discuss centers around the incredible techno-sociological movement we are experiencing, fueled by the Internet through use of blogging, dynamic Web sites, emails, chat rooms, and other social networking vehicles. And at the core of every conversation is someone's story waiting to be told, and information to be shared.

One of the most valuable things we offer - beyond our product or service - is our knowledge. For some, our knowledge is our core offering. And through imparting what we know, we all have the opportunity to position ourselves as experts in our respective industries - a key to leadership.

Everyone has something to share, and everyone something to learn. We are all simultaneously teacher and student. And each of us has the privilege to take part in the exchange of information and ideas through story - with video and interactive media among the most powerful viral mediums.

Price vs. Worth

If you're in the market for a new home, would you call your agent and ask, "I want a house. How much?" And even if you did ask such a ridiculously framed question, typical responses might be, "How many bedrooms do you need? Do you want a water view? How much land would you like?" And of course there's the all-important, "What is your price range?" Well, guess what: the communications business is no different.

Telling a story - in any form - is a lot like real estate: there is market value and assessed value. Market value is what drives home prices, based on their particular neighborhoods, school districts, and plot of land, or proximity to airports, bus lines, or highways, and so forth. Assessed value is what the tax collector uses for grand list measurement; it is often largely based on replacement cost at a material level. In our business, assessed value is what scares us, and is often what our clients get caught up in. Market value is what we should be pursuing, as is often the biggest subjective crux of a proposal. But it's the part we need to focus on when we make our pitch.

Our good friend and head storyteller here at Moving Pictures, Tom Clifford, has much to say on this subject, as well.

Why do many clients live under the common misconception that marketing and advertising costs $29 a pound, $4 a square yard, or - for video budgeting - the oft-believed myth of $1000 per minute? (For the record, good video has never cost "$1000 a minute". Further, by this logic, could a client assume that a four-minute video can be had for half price by cutting it down to two minutes? NO. This makes as much sense as ripping the blueprints down the middle and expecting your new house for 50% less money.) The truth of the matter is that many of us are in self-exile. Guardianship of the model is our responsibility, and if it's broken, it's up to us to fix it - not the client. If we continue to perpetuate it, shame on us. And if we fail to educate our clients, double shame on us.

Here are typical scenarios that often play out:

1. client: "I have X number of dollars. What can I get?"

or:

2. client: "Here's my concept. How much will this cost?"

The problem with both of these situations is this: who or what is driving the budget? Where's the rationale and the strategy (if there is any) behind the assignment of the budget criteria? And who decides whether the proposed budget is 20% too high? Too high for what? For the value in telling their story properly? "Yeah, our company vision is just not worth that kind of money." Right. But that's often the communicated subtext, whether they realize it or not.

Here's the best scenario:

you, to client: "Here is the plan we propose to deliver, based on what we know about your customers, your competition, and your industry. Here's how we propose to do it, here's the timeline, and here's what it will cost." By shedding light on a situation and revealing a compelling case to the client, the actual price can become secondary to the value-based framework surrounding the budget. The pricing now has relevance and meaning to the client. (Mercedes' customers certainly need not explain why they sell cars to people who could just as easily buy a used Yugo down the street.)

Proper execution of an initiative cannot and should not be immediately commoditized. Can you assign a value to your own worth? How much would you spend and how far would you go to realize your vision? "I don't really need to be #1, or even #10. I'm cool with being #427." If a client focuses more on imaginary dollar figures rather than a value and investment-based model, then being #427 in their market is probably where they'll wind up. As the beloved CT Lottery slogan goes, You can't win if you don't play. True, indeed.

Innovation :: Solo performance or orchestra?

How does a "breakthrough" happen? And does innovation happen as a spontaneous epiphany, the sole effort of a single, genius moment from a single mind? Or does it happen through a more intertwined process, through artful and synergistic collaboration? In this morning's Hartford Courant newspaper, staff writer William Weir contributed an excerpt from an interview he conducted with author Scott Berkun on his book The Myths of Innovation. The book examines the complex and thought-provoking subject of what innovation really means and many common misconceptions surrounding innovation.

Berkun recants the story of Sir Isaac Newton (useless trivia: a distant cousin of mine) and his "discovery" of gravity. The story of the apple falling from the tree was an analogy Newton used to describe something that would otherwise be a complex explanation, but this metaphor has - over the course of history - been ascribed as a literal event. Berkun also reminds us that many great "Eurekas!" are often the result of a much longer process of exploration, research, discovery, learning - and, yes, collaboration.

Newton was not alone throughout his work. At a minimum, he was in concert with the physical cues from the environment - both the observable and hypothetical world around him. In each of our own lives, we might be inspired by others, or what we see and learn around us. And we've all experienced the creative horsepower generated through group think-tank sessions around the white board, the kitchen table, or the local pub after hours. The "1+1+1=6" analogy I use often describes the nonlinear power of a group effort. The energy resulting from great collaboration can be mind bending at times, and the process of formulating engaging and dynamic new ideas is catapulted exponentially beyond what a single person can often yield.

The real test of anything new is how well it resonates with an audience. If it does not, the idea is as good as dead and buried. Is a new product idea strong enough to capture the hearts of the marketplace? Is a new process or procedure sticky enough to engage the minds of the business community? Does the world want what they are being pitched? As both Guy Kawasaki and Tom Kelley have also both written about, innovation is a two-fold process: not only does it happen through a collaboration of energies, but it requires manifestation to become reality. Innovation is not merely a great idea hatched, only to sit on the proverbial drawing board or desk drawer. Only when it breathes life in the real world is it truly innovation in action.

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To blog or not to blog...

It seems every day, more and more people are taking the plunge. They are starting their own blogs. Becoming as common as a diary to a 16-year-old girl in the '50s, blogs take the personal monolog to the public arena. We impart our thoughts, musings, and words of subjective wisdom to the masses - sometimes as much for our own edification as anything else. Blogs do at least three things: Give us a voice to the world; conversely, give the world something more from which to glean; and the original intent, to act as a dynamic draw through the search engines.

As I've written before, the technology of today allows closet artists, writers, and musicians to create and express themselves like never before. And this is both a bane and a boon. As all works of the creative mind are subject to interpretation, criticism, and judgment, some might argue that much of today's creative output would have best been left in the minds of the creators. So, too, might be the case with many blogs. Indeed, although anyone has the right to go forth and blog, the rest of the connected universe has zero obligation to read any of it, much less appreciate the effort set forth. Each time we create something, we take a crapshoot leap of faith that it'll resonate with someone. (Unless we create purely for self expression. And that's cool, too.)

But there's something that troubles me. And something that troubles many others, particularly a very important segment of our world: the almighty client. In the corporate world, most of these folks have their metaphoric hands and tongues tied. Open communication is often an oxymoron, as the watchful eye of Big Brother filters through nearly every piece of electronic correspondence. Compliance and legal departments have found new paranoia over the prospects of having to check the bazillion pages of employee-contributed blog posts, scrutinizing for anything that might be deemed inappropriate, unacceptable, nonfactual, damaging, slandering, or just plain uncool. Are the watchful eyes of The Man afraid his faithful servants would bring down the corporate house of cards with the power of words? Truly, the pen (virtual or otherwise) is mightier than the sword. And this scares the pants off corporate America. One thing that's sorely needed is an agreement between responsible action on part of the employee and trusting latitude on part of the employer.

Why is this so important? Because blogs are here to stay, and they are changing the world. How? By changing the way people communicate with one another - from Main Street to Wall Street - and it's people that constitute the fabric of business. Every company out there - small or large - is a box of people. And each and every box has the potential to connect to one another in the rapidly expanding social media network that is the blogosphere. This really should not be a foreign concept to any company who's already communicating and conducting business through the Internet.

It will be the wise and sensible companies that embrace blogging, perhaps instituting a formal plan of education for its employees on its power and potential. Encourage employees to share their knowledge, insights, and stories. Share their wisdom, and capitalize on the investment and equity a company has in its employees by allowing them to position themselves as experts and leaders.

Simply put, blogging in the corporate world is like tapping into the energy of the sun. It can instantly add a host of new brand ambassadors, from the mailroom to the boardroom. It takes people out of their cubicles and out into the community.

Audience of One

Recently, Drew McLellan wrote in his blog about why not to focus on demographics so heavily when marketing; to say a certain product, idea, or service is "targeted" to a group of, say, 25-39 year old men is ludicrous, says Drew - and he's right. NO man is "25-39"; they are either 25, 26, 27, or 32 or 34... or so on. ONE age, not a range. A man might be more aptly and specifically characterized as "John the 32-year-old engineer who enjoys flyfishing and building model ships, lives in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and has a wife and three daughters." This man has unique interests apart from the rest of the broadly sweeping demographic into which he might be lumped in some "quantitative" research effort.

Narrowcasting is a term used to describe a concentration on marketing to individuals as individuals, not as mirrors of some mass demographic pool. Any marketing effort that purports to "target market", while looking at any sort of demographic, is a bit of an oxymoron. That sort of targeting is akin to a sharpshooter using a slingshot and a bucket of butterflies. Real target marketing speaks to one person at a time, not to the masses - regardless of how small a demographic is defined. Anything bigger than an audience of one is a shotgun approach to communications. And while there are practical limitations to many traditional forms of communicating - TV, radio, mass print (even in niche magazines), etc - it is always important to remember that action is inspired one distinctive heart and mind at a time.