LaughlinOutLoud

It’s a scary time to graduate. I get that. A year and a half ago I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in professional strategic communications and a dream job in mind: working at an established, award-winning agency in the Midwest.

A brief stint at a coffee shop post-graduation left me a bit dissatisfied, but a career launch at a publishing company and a lot of persistence eventually landed me at Laughlin. So how did I score my dream job? Here are my tips for standing out and making sure that even if you’re not always gaining a job out of your search…you’re gaining something.

1) Don’t be afraid to go the untraditional route.
After endless online applications left me high and dry, I decided to go directly to the source. When I saw a job opening at Laughlin that I was qualified for, I contacted Joyce O’Brien (who had posted the position) via LinkedIn. Instead of just being thrown together with an abundance of online applicants, making direct contact can help you stand out and make you look ambitious. Don’t be afraid to use social media outlets to help you connect during your job search.

2) Realize that an interview is more than a job opportunity.
Interviews are opportunities to learn from someone who is sitting in the seat you wish you were in. Set up informational interviews with individuals at organizations you admire. Ask questions. Learn. When you get an interview for your dream job, be sure to prepare questions in advance. Even if you don’t get the job you should still leave with some knowledge.

3) Make yourself memorable.
Set yourself apart from other interviewees by leaving behind a tangible memento. That way when the company is reviewing candidates, they have something to remember you by that shows off your personality and ability.

4) Follow up with a thank you.
It seems so simple, yet so many people forget to do it. Whether it was a job interview or an informational interview, you should always follow up with a personalized thank you. It can be in the form of an e-mail, a handwritten note, or something a bit more creative (check out this cookie thank you from a recent Laughlin job applicant).

5) Be reasonable.
Recent grads have the tendency to want instant gratification. You know where you want to be and you want to be there now. But things take time and not every interview will lead to your dream job. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Your career is a journey and you might have to work at a coffee shop before you get your big break.

Interestingly enough, these five simple tips for the job-hunting grad can also be applied to brand building.

1) Don’t be afraid to go the untraditional route.
Don’t be afraid to try out social media. It’s an ever expanding realm and a great way to reach and engage an audience. However, don’t fall into the trap of throwing out information into the abyss of the internet because everyone else is doing it. Make sure to have focus, strategy and purpose behind your social media usage to ensure that you see the results you want to see.

2) Realize that brand building is more than a business boosting opportunity.
Realize that as you build your brand you have the opportunity to learn. To learn about how your brand is being perceived, about your target audience, about your competitors. The more you know the more successful you’ll be at positioning and building yourself.

3) Make yourself memorable.
You have to have a message associated with your brand that continues to resonate with the audience even after they’ve seen your commercial or visited your Facebook page. A leave behind, take home message that keeps bringing the consumer back.

4) Follow up with a thank you.
Not necessarily literally. But it’s important to show your customers some appreciation and to reward them for their loyalty.

5) Be reasonable.
Brand building takes time and effort. Don’t expect overnight results. Be patient, do your homework and flex those creative muscles.

So whether you’re a recent grad, a brand builder, or both…tuck these five versatile rules into your back pocket and go get ‘em!

image from agilemodeling.com

With a quickly evolving landscape, the pressure for brand managers to be “right” is increasing in inverse proportion to their confidence in being so.

But the road to being right doesn’t have to be complicated. One way to be right, is to avoid being so: Strive to live on the left side of the Bell Curve. Be agile. Be an outlier. Lead.

Two studies crossed my desk this week that help make the case that, for brand managers, being “right” is wrong.

1. The first, The Importance of A&P (Advertising and Promotion), comes from Deutsche Bank. It supports previous reports about the effectiveness of advertising in recessions. Companies that increased marketing spending through a recession were only slightly less profitable at the time, but were dramatically more profitable after the recession ended. The point? Being a leader can lead to a leadership position.
2. The second comes from a Booz & Co. and was titled The 2010 Innovation 1000. And, as with most of life’s opportunities, it’s not about spending more, it’s about spending better. Their analysis found that the compound annual growth rate for the top ten innovative organizations (as judged by industry experts) came in at 56 index points, measured against 42 points among those carrying the largest budgets. Innovation pioneers generate “superior financial results.”

The lesson to brand managers? Think different. Don’t be like the other brands who are doing it right.

I consider myself lucky to be a part of The Bucket Brigade, a virtual editorial board for Bud Caddell’s book-in-progress. While I’ve been an infrequent contributor to date (still trying to crack the code on a 30-hour day), I do my best to follow every thread of discussion about topics in the book. These are after all, some of the brightest minds in our evolving business.

Earlier this week, one board member proposed using a positioning template to simplify an issue that was being debated. Before introducing it, he referred to it using the following words: boring, reductive, old school and bland. And this was a tool he liked. But I know the feeling. Whenever I bring out a time- and battle-tested model, I get all apologetic, too.

It’s an interesting phenomenon. Moving on to new tools because we need something new. Apologizing for models that are proven to work because we’ve used them before. I believe this happens for two reasons:

1. The old models have been used poorly. Mission and vision statements often cause eye rolls. Not because they aren’t helpful, but because there are too many versions that are simply amorphous, toothless, run-on sentences. Even the word “branding” causes angst. It needn’t. We just need to collectively stop abusing it.
2. We live in a culture and work in an industry that is in a constant state of innovation and evolution. It’s fun. There’s energy in “new.” But a recent tweet from @ambercadabra summed it up nicely: We get so obsessed with whether we hear anything “new” at conferences. But we’re not doing an awesome job with the “old.”

And you know what? Tried-and-true can be just that. Value propositions, positioning statements and brand promises aren’t the end-all-be-all of strategy like they used to be. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have a seat at the table.

So the next time I use one, I’ll do so confidently. And I’ll try not to apologize for using it in the first place. It’s all the rage.

Many meetings, discussions and presentations get derailed by the concept of branding. I imagine at least one of these commonly uttered phrases will sound familiar to you: “Is this a brand ad?” and “The brand doesn’t matter in this execution.”

The reply to each of these is an unadulterated “Yes it is.” and a “Yes it does.”

Unfortunately, with about as many definitions of the word brand as there are brand consultancies, the language around the concept is diluted. At Laughlin Constable, we subscribe to straightforward definition: A brand is a promise and, more importantly, an expectation. As such:

Every ad is a brand ad. The term “brand ad” has, unfortunately, become synonymous with “soft sell.” It’s anything but. Event ads, rate ads, banner ads, sale ads? They are all brand ads. Each contributes to the expectation a consumer has. Even the seizure-inducing Head-On commercials are brand ads. (For those masochists among you, try to sit through the entire user-generated ten-minute Head-On commercial. I dare you.)

Everything is branding. Some media – and the online environment is a great example – are described as needing to be transactional. I don’t disagree. Transactions are essential. But how that transaction happens, how it’s presented, matters to your brand. Load speeds and “branding” are not mutually exclusive ideas. A simple, intuitive display isn’t just good UX design, it suggests the brand is there to help you.

We hear a lot about mobile advertising. eMarketer projects mobile advertising spending to top one billion dollars by 2012. Opportunities are expected to come faster and more furiously than ever before. Many will undoubtedly provide a healthy ROI and should be taken advantage of.

But, I think, mobile offers a bigger opportunity than advertising. Great brands provide value. And mobile is a phenomenal channel for doing so. So as budgets get ratcheted up, rather than thinking about mobile advertising, let’s start with what I’ll call mobile branding. Less emphasis on pushing a message, more on delivering a value.

I know that we all know “there’s an app for that.” But those apps are getting more powerful and more valuable. Just look at what is happening in the world of healthcare.

MIT has developed a snap-on lens that allows smartphones to provide mobile eye tests (via @MarkFairbanks). iStethoscope lets you record your heartbeat and email it to your doctor. And Google has bolstered its Google Health, allowing for more visualization of your health – from cholesterol to coffee consumption (via @PSFK). Just connect to integrated mobile apps to plug in more information automatically.

Brands of all shapes and sizes are faced with an unprecedented opportunity when thinking about how to have a presence in a mobile channel. The starting point shouldn’t be mobile advertising. It should be mobile branding.

I tweeted earlier this week: “Okay, Soccer. You win. I’m all in for the World Cup. Don’t let me down.” And I meant it. For a sport I’ve barely watched before, I couldn’t be more excited for what a good friend calls “a month-long celebration of awesome.”

But I find how I got here interesting. I’ve always known about the product of soccer. I played it for more than a decade. Marketers take note, it’s not the game of soccer that sold me on the tournament. It was the technology and the advertising.

Technology Changes The Game. It was just announced that AT&T Uverse will be launching ESPN 3D in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. I don’t (yet) have a 3D TV, but  HD already makes the experience thoroughly enjoyable. It makes things that were previously uninteresting to me imminently watchable. Case in point, I have recently enjoyed both hockey and curling for the first times ever. Technology, quite literally, changes the game.

The Power of Advertising. From McDonald’s to Nike, big brands have drawn me in with emotional messages. Especially Nike. The “Write The Future” campaign is so good, I think it could redefine the role a corporate sponsor plays – I hope FIFA paid Wieden + Kennedy handsomely. [Update: Nike is not an official sponsor. Which doesn't change my feelings about FIFA paying them.] Before I’ve watched a minute, I know some players and I am emotionally invested in the fates of not only the athletes, but their fans. That’s the power of advertising.

Until the technology and advertising changed the game for me, I was never a fan of the “product.” We’ll see how the next month goes. But fanaticism (and its ensuing loyalty) does not seem out of the question.

I don’t watch Lost. My excuse is not a good one. I just didn’t watch at the beginning – then felt like I couldn’t catch up. That said, I have a great deal of respect for the show.

It’s an old school drama that is leading the way in a reality world. And it weaves a story so compelling that its network let it run its course despite the fact that it was only going to lose audience as it moved towards completion (really, with all the plot complexities and questions, how many people were just going to “jump in” during Season Six?).

I recently listened to an interview with Carlton Cuse, one of the show’s head writers. As he talked about Lost for an hour – again, a show I really know nothing about – I became more and more interested in what he was saying. In describing his approach to writing the show, I felt like he was describing a strategic approach to brand management.

I thought he made four points that act as good reminders for any marketer building a brand via storytelling.

Embrace the community. Cuse said the writers write with intentional ambiguity. Think about that. Intentional ambiguity works to get fans involved. The show is meant to be discussed. In the world of branding, ambiguity sounds scary. But it can be a powerful engagement tool.

Execution really matters. In television, the premise is much less important than the execution of the premise. Exhibit A: Seinfeld. Exhibit B: Friends. The concept for Lost started as “Let’s do a show about a plane crash and an island.” Great execution can make an average idea powerful. It rarely works the other way around.

Don’t over-think it. The pilot for Lost was done – start to finish – in eleven weeks. That’s unheard of. On one hand, it’s amazing it got done. On the other, there wasn’t time to think it to death. Decisions were made. The creators got to trust their vision. There is always a reason not to do something. When the potential is great, we need to find more reasons to say yes.

Evolve. Cuse’s advice? You have to be willing to try things. The writers introduce characters based on both the storyline and ideas they have for great characters. They know there are lots of pieces. The show will tell you what it wants to be. They manage accordingly. How are you listening to your brand’s story?

Sports fans know when a referee is doing a good job. It’s when you don’t notice them. The best referees are chameleons. Their consistency and low-profile make them totally forgettable. In a good way.

This is the opposite of what your brand experience should be. While being the default option is a worthy goal, being used without a second thought may not be the ultimate recipe for success.

Research from McKinsey spells this out in rather remarkable terms. According to its report, A new way to measure word-of-mouth marketing, word of mouth is the primary factor behind 20 to 50 percent of all purchasing decisions. The most powerful form of word of mouth results largely when that experience deviates from what’s expected.

Overkill and lack of authenticity are clear enemies. But the worst thing your brand experience may be able to do is go unnoticed.

The necessary ingredients for this new age of brand experiences: Surprise. Fascination. Delight.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend a workshop – #Agency2.5  – in Chicago. It was sponsored by @4As and run by @TimWilliamsICG. And it was great. A full day of interesting statistics, fresh perspectives and conversation starters.

The #Agency2.5 workshop addressed how agencies are transforming for the future. One of the biggest themes of the day was the opportunity for brands to provide value. This is something that I believe to be at the crux of how we should be marketing. And, while this is by no means a new idea, there is a change afoot.

Value used to be provided post-purchase. Buy X to get Y. But smart brands are expediting that process. When “there’s an app for that” (digital or otherwise), brands can provide help and useful information pre-purchase rather than simply trying to persuade their consumers to buy, buy, buy.

It is a simple – but powerful – idea. We used to live in a time when consumers had a scarcity of choice and an abundance of time. That balance has shifted. A recent study from the University of California – San Diego found that Americans consume 34GB of information every day. Every day. It’s the very definition of information overload.

One way to get them to pay attention? Provide value. Done well, you might gain more than one time-starved customer. Provide the right value at the right time and you might just gain an advocate who gets the attention of their time-starved friends, fans and followers.

Forbes just listed the marketing world’s 10 most trusted celebrities.

The fact that Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) led the list over the guy who drove Miss Daisy (Morgan Freeman) should make the validity of this ranking a little suspect.  Maybe the value of celebrities in general is a little suspect, too.

As of this posting, the Forbes website has this list archived above the top ten retirement havens.  Marketers who bank on celebrities might want to keep that second list handy.  Celebrities are a little too much like politicians who are a little too much like all the rest of us.  Prone to bad behavior.

In spite of all the risks, there have been some spectacular endorsements. Michael Jordan and Nike leap to mind.  But it’s rare to be that right.

Michael Jordan is also the spokesperson for Hanes along with Charlie Sheen, a serial bad-boy.  He replaces Cuba Gooding Jr. in a continuing story line as the B-list celebrity who wants part of Michael’s A-list aura.  Michael comes across as unapproachable.  Mere stars aren’t even good enough for this guy.  Trouble is, you can’t replace an idea with a celebrity as so many spots try to do.  It’s either the celebrity getting in the way of the product, or vice versa.  My guess is celebrities don’t fit Hanes they way they used to.

A great old maxim went, if you don’t have anything important to say, get someone important to say it.  Today, brands just can’t afford to say nothing.  Mere awareness just won’t cut it anymore.

The great brands, like Kraft, Proctor & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, Johnson Wax, McDonald’s, Coke, Google, IBM, and Apple rarely use celebrities.  They focus on always having something new to talk about.  Sure there are plenty of exceptions, but in way too many cases, celebrities just aren’t good enough for a brand.