Have Media Will Travel

A blog about outdoor adventure, family travel, national parks, media, technology, marketing, fitness and me.

Marketing

Advertising People: Read This Mashable Article

by


I read so many articles, it’s a miracle I retain anything. There is just so much change going on when it comes to marketing, mostly due to social media, and I am trying my best to stay informed, which means I’m reading a ton.

My first go-to source for all things social media is Mashable. Four days ago, it brought us this article, How Social Media Has Radically Altered Advertising, by Hank Wasiak.

It is just so spot on, I have to write a post directing you to it.

There’s immediate credibility to the article given it’s written by Wasiak, a 67-year-old advertising veteran (whose career in advertising started right in the middle of the actual Mad Men era), is a partner at The Concept Farm, the author of the best-selling Asset-Based Thinking book series, a 3-time Emmy award-winning TV host, a keynote speaker and professor at USC’s Graduate School of Business.

The article is timely and relevant given the changing landscape we’re trying our best to navigate as marketing professionals and business managers. In addition to many valuable insights, he shares quotes and concepts from industry thought leaders that include most of my favorites: Jeff Pulver, Brian Solis, John Jantsch, Jim Farley,Seth Godin and Chris Brogan.

One of the most noticeable gems in the article is a quote he shares from Jeff Pulver: “The social media revolution is less about “we the people” and more about “me the people.”

Another good one: Bob MacDonald, CEO of Procter & Gamble, sums up just how far a “me the people” movement can go: “What I would like to have is a one-on-one relationship with seven billion people in the world and be able to customize offerings for those seven billion people. Digital allows that relationship.”

It also includes the interesting graphic referred to as the “conversation prism“, provided by Brian Solis.

(Thanks, Hank, and Mashable, for this insightful article.)

What Matters Now is Awesome

by

What Matters Now is a brilliant compilation of thoughts and ideas from more than 70 big thinkers and visionaries. I’ve read only the first few and I’m telling you, the e-book is awesome.

Genius, thought leader and author Seth Godin created the e-book.

“Now, more than ever, we need a different way of thinking, a useful way to focus and the energy to turn the game around,” writes Godin in the blog post where he introduced and made available this fabulous ebook, which was a project that took him months to complete.

What you get are 80 pages of wisdom, presented in compelling, unique and useful ways. Download it here.

Among the thought leaders who participated and share their insights are Seth Godin, Guy Kawasaki, Tim O’Reilly, Gary Vaynerchuk, Tom Peters, Dan Pink, Chris Anderson, Kevin Kelly, Jason Fried, Elizabeth Gilbert, Steve Pressfield, and more.

Don’t waste another moment. This is truly a GIFT. I’m going to start reading it right now and will not put it down until I’ve read all of its pages. It’s not very often we get, for free or otherwise, such a compilation of wisdom and first-hand insights from such a significant, brilliant collection of thought leaders.

What Matters Now comes at a perfect time, near the end of 2009. It will inspire our hearts and stimulate our minds as we enter a new year.

I’d love to hear what some of your favorites are in the e-book.

What Matters Now Contributors Cloud image from SethGodin.com
What Matters Now Contributors Cloud image from SethGodin.com

Trump Tower: Good Start, Bad Ending

by

NOTE: This may look like a rant, smell like a rant and seem like a rant. But it’s not a rant. But it could be… and that’s the point of this post.

Our family went on a 2,200-mile road trip adventure over our Spring Break last April that involved camping and touring 6 states in 7 days. (See posts here: Spring Break 1, Spring Break Post 2, Spring Break Post 3, Spring Break Post 4, Spring Break Post 5, Spring Break Post 6, Spring Break Post 7, Spring Break Post 8, and Spring Break Post 9.

Our three young sons: Dirty, riled up and tired from roughing it for 6 days. Destination? 5-star luxury resort in Las Vegas.
Our three young sons: Dirty, riled up & tired from "roughing it" for 6 days.

We “roughed it,” camping along the way. Las Vegas was our last stop before returning back to Lander, WY. It would be the first real civilization since our trip started. We thought we’d treat the boys to the opposite extreme. So before our trip started, we splurged. On Priceline, we were able to get a night at the 5-star, 1-year-old Trump Tower in Vegas for $90.

Our three boys in front of Trump Tower... OR... Our country bumpkin sons have arrived.
Our three boys in front of Trump Tower... OR... Our country bumpkin sons have arrived.

Arriving with 6 days worth of red dirt and grime on our bodies and in our orifices, Trump Tower was exactly what the doctor ordered. And well deserved, I might add. We had hiked hard and the boys never complained. We were in need of some special treatment, a hot shower, good meal and a swimming pool.

It was exquisite. Robes for the entire family, and a huge outdoor swimming pool. The boys were in heaven and we felt we had arrived.

Hayden and Wolfie posing in front of some famous person's ride. (Every time they saw a stretch they were certain it was Miley Cyrus or Zac Efron!)
Hayden and Wolfie posing in front of some famous person's ride. (Every time they saw a stretch they were certain it was Miley Cyrus or Zac Efron!)

The stay was a perfect end to a perfect Spring Break family adventure.

Until, that is, we went to check out. There was a single person attending to all checkouts and there were about 25 people in line waiting to check out. We stood in line for 35 minutes.

The boys, who had watched The Apprentice with us a couple of years earlier, remarked “When Donald Trump finds out about this, that person at the counter will be so fired.”

We were angry, though. I wanted my 35 minutes back. That was 35 minutes of sightseeing we couldn’t get back and 35 minutes of road that remained in front of us instead of behind us.

We left, disgruntled. Which is a shame given the stay was absolutely wonderful.

About halfway back home, I was checking email on my Blackberry Storm and there was one with the subject line: “The Donald Thanks You for Staying at Trump Tower.” I showed the boys. Although I knew this was just good marketing, they thought it was awesome and special that The Donald would personally send a note to us.

Of course I know it as email marketing, but it's the fact our boys thought Donald Trump really wrote us a personal note within hours of checking out of Trump Tower that makes it great.
Of course I know it as email marketing, but it's the fact our boys thought Donald Trump really wrote us a personal note within hours of checking out of Trump Tower that makes it great.

As a result of the aforementioned, I decided to give the Trump Tower a pass. But most wouldn’t. We had a perfect stay and then had to go through the painful activity of waiting in a long line for 35 minutes. Given today’s technology and the fact it was a 5-star luxury resort, no one should have to wait in line for 35 minutes to check out of a hotel.

In today’s social media landscape, many customers would rant about it on TripAdvisor and Yelp, their blogs and Twitter, etc. (Again, don’t view this as a rant as much as an example of something that started out great but ended poorly. I will not be posting a negative review to TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc.)

The moral of the story is respect people’s time and apologize if you’re going to waste it. As we waiting in that long line, sitting on our suitcases, a simple apology by someone would have gone a long ways. Not an apology once we arrived at the counter, after 35 minutes, but during the long wait. A simple “I’m so sorry about the inconvenience and the long line” would have probably resolved my frustration a great deal. And it wouldn’t have cost the business or staff anything to do that.

Bank of America commercial followed by Imodium ad

by

So… I was on the elliptical trainer at the gym this morning. I was watching CNN as I stepped and stepped.

There was a commercial for Bank of America (slogan: Bank of Opportunity). BTW, probably they should add a “?” at the end of the slogan for the time being.

Anyhow, immediately following the BOA ad, was an ad for Imodium to help with diarrhea. And then immediately following the Imodium commercial was an Aleve commercial, to help with pain and discomfort.

The guy on the elliptical trainer next to me (friend Scott Yates) and I both laughed at the sequence and relevance of the commercial/advertising grouping.

While I can (happily) report I’m not the target market for either Imodium or Aleve, I did find it funny that the BOA, Imodium and Aleve ads all ran in sequence, as if the three products are related in some way.

Marketers: A little care goes a long way

by

I’m convinced that the solution to most marketers’, and businesses’, problems lies in hiring people who care.

I love the company, Life is Good. Not only because of their great story, fantastic products and their name, but also because of their slogan, which is something to the effect of: “Do what you love. Love what you do.”

That says it all. “Passion-centric” is the buzzword we are hearing that describes people who are brought together by a common passion.

If we have passionate people on our teams, who truly care about what we’re promoting and offering, then they serve as the best ambassadors we could hope for. They reflect the best aspects of our business.

One great example I have of this involves a hotel in Salt Lake City.

About a year ago, our middle son, Hayden, had to get a lump removed from his neck. It was his third such surgery and every time the lump came back it consumed us with worry. What if it’s cancer? How we hated to see our 6-year-old go through another surgery.

Hayden, a year after his successful third surgery. (If you look closely you can see he has an incision across the front of his neck)
Hayden, a year after his successful third surgery. (If you look closely you can see he has an incision across the front of his neck)

The Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City is phenomenal, and at 5 hours from where we live in Lander, WY, it was the best option.

We booked a stay at the Shilo Inn, in downtown Salt Lake. Upon booking the reservation, the attendant on the phone asked me what brought us to Salt Lake. I told her the brief story about our 6-year-old having surgery scheduled to remove a lump from his neck at the nearby Children’s Hospital.

We booked a room and a week later, arrived.

During check-in, the attendant remembered us and said she was praying for us and wishing us a great stay. She’d be thinking of our son, and of us, she said, as we checked in.

When we got to our room, there was a gift basket, complete with a card for Hayden, and beach balls for all three of our sons for the swimming pool.

To say that touched us during what would be a truly worrisome stay is an understatement. It moved us… and had the effect to make our sons happy and to take Hayden’s mind off the surgery.

Following the surgery, we returned to our room. Rachel Bremer, the marketing/sales person, sought us out and asked us how Hayden’s surgery came out.

The concern was genuine. Way more than I would have expected from a simple hotel reservation and hotel stay.

And I’ll tell you what, the Shilo Inn could have a train track right outside it and we’d always stay there when we visit Salt Lake City.

The care and concern showed for us during our stay spoke volumes and will never be forgotten. They won us over. Their people won us over.

(BTW, Hayden’s operation that time was a success; the lump was not cancerous. So far so good – it has not returned.)