Put Fireworks into Your Communications

How you communicate = How people react to you. Communication style is a continuous learning skill. So make it a priority in your New Years Resolution list :) 

Watch for the fireworks!

* "You had me at hello"

* The room was owned by you

* Likes, Retweets and Comments

* Your words are quoted by others

* Started a positive Chinese whisper and watched it motivate others

* Listened intently, found a new way of looking at an old problem

* You didn't avoid the conversation 

* Those few small words you choose to share had a big impact 

* You've found peace with those public speaking butterflies

* Think before speaking, emailing, tweeting and texting

* Expressed a true reflection of Brand You

Business Artists: Brand engagement through creativity

The focus on design innovation and the influence of digital communication has  placed a new emphasis on creativity. Creative disciplines such as graphic design, creative writing, video production,  copy writing, product design and art have risen to new heights of strategic importance. Even in the most conservative of corporations these disciplines can add business value.

Pure creativity has never been so important or valuable to businesses. The frequency of content generation, customer dialogue, product and service enhancements in creating a competitive advantage has increased significantly

Still more often then not in larger organisations creative roles are stifled by internal processes, rounds of internal stakeholder changes, and opinion led feedback. To the extent that often the person producing the creative concepts has little input into the process or the result.

The issue with creativity as I see it is that everyone envies it, everyone wants to contribute to it, and a lot of us are afraid of it because it is has high visibility. Yet we all know a great creative idea when we see it, so our nature is to try and copy these ideas rather than let the creative process unfold. Hence, the phenomenon of copying an ad style, fashion trend or digital content style until it becomes unoriginal.

A challenge for business process models is fostering creativity, simply because even when it is scoped, framed and time-lined it takes many unexpected directions. This makes it difficult to replicate, impossible to micromanage and inconsistently executed.

The on-line environment is paradise for creative types. It has no boundaries and perpetuates continuous learning and improvement. It enables creativity to be the 'hero" and appreciation to be fed back  immediately; with a simple like or favourite button share. Creativity flourishes because it is devised, presented and shared by the owner without constant change for change sake. 

Creativity even in simple forms, such as eye catching graphic design, can be a competitive advantage. In the on-line world where story telling, display and content rule this is particularly the case. In a world full of clutter, it can lift the profile of a brand and captivate audiences. A simple clever product feature, attractive package design or captivating 

copy can achieve cut through and drive brand choice.

Imagine if this same principle was applied to corporate business structures. A division of BUSINESS ARTISTS rather than MARKETING SERVICES. Respected for their unique skills and ability it engage internal and external audiences.

Creative skills and services are mainly grouped into corporate design or marketing functional responsibilities. In many organisations these roles are viewed as business services that respond to requests to produce desired outcomes. I have found when this is the case individuals in pure creative roles are less likely to be part of brainstorming sessions or initial solutions framing. They respond to briefs rather then being able to contribute to them. Yet in my experience these individuals are well trained in creative process methods and have a lot of suggestions/ ideas to offer.

In the same way that mathematical genius has made algorithms 'king' and 'geek' the new cool, I am sensing a shift in the esteem and profile of creative thinkers and professionals in conservative cultures. I think of these roles as Business Artists. Professionals charged with creating content, copy, visual design, smart features to delight, impress and inspire current and new customers.

Brands that achieve engagement will have a competitive advantage. Business Artists will ensure that brands can frequently communicate in a compelling way, stand out in a cluttered market, and engage with audiences through 'cleverness'. It is not many brands that can launch first to market, widely acclaimed product and/or service innovation. However, brands can connect with us like never before, if they take the time to 'create' with the aim to delight their customers.

Here's to Business Artists making the everyday less predictable in surprising ways.

Intrinsic Drives & Random Buys

"It can attend to more information, react more quickly to emergencies, and keep track of more complicated routes. It never gets angry. It never even blinks. In short, it is better than human in just about every way."  Taken from Wired Magazine; "Let the Robot Drive - The autonomous car of the future is here," February 2012 by Tom Vanderbilt

We make decisions on a 'hunch,' and often buy something that we didn't start out to get. Trying to understand this behaviour in a rational way has been the endeavor of many studies into human decision making behaviour. Understanding why customers make the purchase decisions they do is the 'holy grail' of marketing.

The quote relates to self-driving cars and why they are safer on the road.
It’s a rational reason for embracing this new technology, less human error resulting in safer conditions for driving. The idea played in my mind because it highlights how limited our access to information is when making decisions, and the seemingly random; even careless; behaviours we demonstrate.

In marketing we provide information, brand cues, service and offers to influence purchasing behaviour.  We have a range of mediums and tactics to utilise. Breaking through the clutter in a human mind is a challenge, given the high degree of audio and visual stimulation in the market.

Disregarding irrelevant inputs and distractions is impossible. They influence us in ways we often don't recognise or understand.  Measuring perceptions, subconscious choice drivers, innate preferences and underlying anxieties influencing buying behaviour is difficult.

I was reading on Brandchannel.com an article entitled 'NASCAR Drivers and Fans Juggle Sponsor Logos” posted by Mark J.Miller about the high brand loyalty fans have to team sponsors. Fans indicate that they are 54% more likely to purchase a sponsor product if prices are equal and 11% if the price was higher.  This is not a surprise given the passion these fans have for the sport, resulting in an emotional connection to sponsor products by association.

We process data that has an emotive impact more deeply and faster. It is our way of filtering out some of the clutter. In my experience this includes rational statements, as often this provides an emotional benefit e.g. makes me feel safer, smarter, frugal, responsible, less gullible, less pressured. 

Tapping into these subconscious decision making factors is the biggest challenge for marketers, yet yields the highest returns because it influences behaviour.
After all we are human. Our rational responses often don't calibrate with what we say we will do or even think we will do a lot of the time. When working on the convenience category, stated behaviours did not calibrate to shop item sales data. This was because customers did not remember or did not like to reveal that they had purchased treats such as chocolate bars or a soft drink ‘on a whim.’

Like driving a car, this makes marketing to humans a hazardous and potentially risky endeavour without having some predictive data to assist in strategy development. Always keep in mind that stated behaviours are often different to what people actually do.

Let's face it. This is what also makes marketing interesting the intrinsic drives...the human factor. This is what makes shopping interesting....our random buys.

What are your thoughts?

Managing Marketing Projects to Achieve Big Outcomes

This is not an article about project management. To successfully deliver a big project competence in these skills is essential.

My experience has been in managing marketing and brand projects, including brand identity launches, national fundraising initiatives, global research and branding activations. Therefore the insights I share come from this perspective.

This is an article about what lays behind the process charts. What to expect when managing competing agendas, ambiguity and multiple considerations.

1) Know what the project is: Sounds obvious however most marketing projects start as a concept. Often the project is not defined or even clearly understood. Take the initiative to articulate the scope, set objectives and identify outcomes. It creates alignment upfront and provides an opportunity to communicate in a meaningful way with decision makers.

Remember scope and objectives can be amended along the way. Don't be afraid to take the initiative and suggest what they should be.

2) Control what you can: A day, a week, a month in a project can change everything. Control what you can and do this well. Flexibility is key when managing projects. There are a lot of variables, stakeholders and tasks. Not everything will go to plan and schedule.

When you control what you can, you create momentum. Identify what you can control and keep this moving.

3) Allow time, momentum or a 'drop dead' decision date to overcome the ambiguity: This relates to the points outlined above. There is always more than one direction or action that can be taken when it comes to marketing tactics. It can lead to work teams and stakeholders wanting to brainstorm more rather than agreeing on actions and next steps.

Keep the project moving by being vigilant to flag decision points and putting forward recommendations. Inevitably a stand will be taken or a direction agreed.

Be bold about recommending next steps and brave in pursuing a cause of action.

4) Put a stake in the ground and call timings and budgets: Work ahead. Good project management requires forward thinking. The ideal is to have information ready for feedback.

Timings are a good example of this philosophy. Don't wait for every piece of information available to map out timings. Start with the projected project implementation date and work back. Not only does it clarify a schedule of milestones, it provides insight on resource
requirements. Besides this analysis is totally objective providing instant reassurance that you know where you're going.

5) Be honest about the issues: While you don't want to be viewed as the road blocker I have seen many people position themselves poorly by being associated with a project that had no chance of coming to fruition.

Be honest about the issues. Offer solutions or modify the scope when possible. It can difficult to 'call a project' however as is the case in most business relationships 'early warnings' are better then late notice.

If you are expected to keep going on a project that has high risks and internal cynics, go back to the principal of 'control what you can and do this well'. Just remember the higher the risk, the greater the reward when things go better than expected.


6) Accept that others may not see the project as a priority or even care: Stakeholder analysis is the project management process for this. The reality is that a big project sits outside of usual business and this means that resources being pulled in at various stages will see this as extra work. If there is no recognition for small contributions individuals can derail or block progress.

Making the contribution of others as easy as possible by being clear about requirements and not taking too much of their time is critical. Over managing tasks, creating long meetings and over engaging these individuals is a sure way of getting them offside.

Think about what you are requesting and your interaction style with these individuals. Be specific and don't enter into an over laboured process for a small request. Respect others expertise by not directing and controlling their contribution.

7) Be positive, don't allow a minor set back to railroad the bigger picture: Some people over react to the smallest set back. Some individuals love drama, loudly and boldly sharing any minor issue. Be positive, remain strong and be the voice of reason, keep focussed on the end goal.

Remember there is usually a solution for every problem if you search hard enough. You may need to remind others of this.

8) Call it! Often a project is to identify what's possible. If the resourcing, systems and support aren't forthcoming it may be best to call it off until these areas are addressed. Some talented people have stalled their careers by being associated with projects that had no chance of being delivered and not being brave enough to call it as it is.

9) Get ready to be judged - a project by it's very nature is exclusive. A project is set up to ensure there is a concentrated focus by a select group of people. Therefore it is an exclusive - not inclusive process. This means that the majority of people will not be across the details, challenges and wins. They will judge the project on the outcome only.

All projects offer look back opportunities. There will always be things that can be done better. Be willing to share the positives and negatives. Know that some people will feel alienated from the process and this is OK. After all a good project is designed to exclude others and bring them in when required.

10) Don't get derailed by individuals wanting to contribute ideas: One of the biggest challenges in delivering marketing projects is moving stakeholders from contributing ideas to decision making, and having work teams complete tasks to plan rather then expand the scope.

Be clear about being in execution phase and insist that individuals with expertise in this are available. There comes a time when it just needs to happen. People wanting to contribute ideas rather than a means to implement are a distraction. Beware of this as a project progresses. Ideas without substance do not add value when implementation plans are in progress.

Managing big projects for big outcomes goes beyond process excellence. It requires flexibility, tenacity and positivity to keep moving forward. An ability to shake off small set backs to achieve a bigger goal.

Good luck with implementing your big marketing projects.

Building Internal Social Networks that Connect

A reason why internal  social networks fail to achieve higher uptake is the assumption that people who work together will seek to connect with each other.

Self branding and exchanging personal commentary is what external social networking is all about. However, whether individuals desire to mimic similar on-line behaviours in the workplace is questionable. 

An article published on socialbusinessnews.com titled 'Why are so few internal social media networks deemed a success' by Adi Gaskill, indicated that user adoption is the biggest issue. The article cited a report from Information Week 'Rebooting the anti-social network' which indicated that only 13% of IT professionals believed that their companies internal social networks were successful. Most employees preferred to use public tools such as Linkedin or Facebook.

Meyers Briggs (and other popular personality profiling tools) come to mind. An individual's persona and traits is likely to differ in work and home situations.  This insight applies to how individuals engage in social communications behaviour.

How an individual manages their work persona in relation to their personality and interests differs is a work environment. It is managed consciously as part of professional development, authority level and area of expertise. Yet, so often the launch of an internal social network site begins with an internal push to share personal interests, hobbies, family information and experiences. An attempt to mimic external on-line socialising.


Internal social networks have the potential to harness ideas, foster collaboration and breakdown structural barriers. They can provide a way to inform, engage and consolidate knowledge across diverse internal groups. Yet, they are often launched in a way that is trivial to business operations and alienates users.

So how can user adoption be lifted?

1. Clear Purpose and Objectives: I would suggest a good starting point for defining the purpose is to understand the end-user (employee) motivations for utilising the network and how this can deliver on business outcomes.

Place an emphasis on empowering employees to build their internal  professional profile. Provide ways for them to share what they are working on, success stories, and to tap into others expertise. Focus on engaging the internal community in work related conversations and commentary. Assign moderators to encourage exchanges and even seek out teams/individuals to showcase projects.

2. Community Approach: Work place communities share a common interest in organisational success, team and individual recognition, and professional development for future promotion.

Developing a community engagement road map shapes communications planning. It takes the emphasis away from the tool and back to the user group.  It helps identify the type of content and messaging that appeals to the internal audience.

Popular external social networks grow organically with individuals wanting to be associated with the group due to shared interests. Community posts are 'on topic' and can easily be shared.

3. Content Content Content: Scanning the organisation for content that has wide appeal is important. Internal social networks often suffer from a lack of ownership in generating and moderating content.

Interesting content attracts users to the network. Many social networkers are active watchers, information seekers or followers -  not initiators. Good content will seed end-user adoption sooner then directing individuals to contribute information.

As the saying goes for any system - 'Rubbish in, Rubbish out.'  

4.  Utilise Email: Email is still 'king' of business communication. Utilise email communications to lift adoption levels. Provide updates on community activity, content links and new items. Often internal social networks are launched with fanfare, followed by a lack of ongoing communication about why and how the network is being used.

5. Avoid New System Fatigue: Most businesses have many systems for day-to- day tasks. Avoid launching an internal social network with other business systems simultaneously. It will be seen as another tool to navigate and learn. If it is not viewed as  'business critical' it will become low on the priority list.

6. List End-User Benefits: The biggest challenge when implementing is the perceived lack of business value in using the platform. For leadership teams, the potential to collect ideas, reach a company wide audience efficiently, and promote cross functional collaboration is compelling. For other employees the benefits are not as obvious for their role.

Developing a list of business benefits for internal end-users and reinforcing these regularly will foster usage. Similar to defining community motivations, the benefit list needs to by viewed from the end-user perspective. Otherwise employees will view it as the domain of leaders and managers.

Internal social networks - so much potential, so little usage. Putting community motivations at the forefront of implementation will drive usage. Acknowledging that external and internal social networking are uniquely different on-line behaviours anchors the purpose and objectives in the right context.

What are your thoughts on this?

What examples can you provide in increasing internal social network user adoption?

Genius in the Workplace

More naps, increased curiosity, less detail and an abundance of positivity. Sounds like a great way to approach work? It's actually pure genius.

Genius in the workplace goes beyond brainstorming sessions and innovation mandates. It is an innate way of thinking differently that becomes a pre-occupation. An evolving mind map of thoughts that explores possibilities while adjusting variables to take into account new information of relevance. An obsessive need to solve problems to provide enhanced solutions.

Culture change programs are focussing on creating work places that adopt 'Einstein' traits to encourage genius.  These values embrace the following principles:

 Imagination, Always questioning, Old problems new ways of thinking,  Intuition, Strong positive attitude, Naps, Rise above the mundane details, Willingness to try new things...and fail, Maintaining balance, Stay on top of technological trends *

Most of us are not geniuses. We work hard at being perceived to be smart. We facilitate sessions to unlock ideas. We focus on what we can control. We keep an eye on trends and competitors. We response as quickly as we can to new information. 

The learning that I have taken from 'Einstein' and professional observations on ingenuity is this;

* Deep thinking is different to free thinking

   Brainstorming sessions enable free thinking. Deep thinking is an entirely different concept 

   requiring time and intense focus. It is also more difficult to achieve as it requires taking

   resources away from everyday work distractions on a regular basis. It requires a full

   understanding on what the 'old problem' is to apply new thinking to it. In contrast,

   brainstorming sessions don't require much context or understanding to generate  

   ideas.

 

   

* Genius emerges from curiosity and questioning

   Genius ideas do not come about by working in isolation. Accessing knowledge, insights and            

   experiences available enhances the thinking process. Beware of individuals that always know 

   the answer. They are most likely to be the ones stifling creativity and progressive thinking.

   You don't need to know the answer to solve the problem, however you need to embrace the

   process of discovery.

* Maintain an external focus on technology, customer and market trends

   Organisations with a strong external focus survive by reinventing themselves. Businesses 

   with an internal focus eventually self implode from not being open or able to change over

   time. Focusing on breaking down an internal barrier impacting on external performance role

   models how new ways of thinking about an old problem creates positive outcomes.

* Minimise burning and churning resources 

   Resources that are over stretched do not have the time or energy to contribute beyond their

   immediate focus items. The ability to contribute quality thinking requires time out to focus. 

   Stressful workplaces do not allow for questioning or time to be curious. Deep thinkers are 

   likely to move on quickly from these workplaces, even though their skills are greatly

   required.

...and if all fails take a nap and start again...

* Taken form an article Mike Werling titled '10 Traits Entrepreneurs and Einstein Share' Oct 2008 on www.entrepreneur.com. 

Guerilla marketing thinking in large organisations

Guerrillamarketing was defined by Jay Conrad Levinson as a way of promoting that relieson time, energy and imagination (source: Wikipedia). It embraces an alternativeway of thinking to the traditional marketing principles employed by largeorganisations to assist individuals and smaller businesses attract and build aloyal customer base.

Theapproach cuts through marketing jargon and ignites us all to ‘go to market’ with confidence by trustinginstincts. It is the “doing” that is critical to keep momentum.  Everyone has time, energy and imagination.What we often lack is investment dollars and support resources.

There aremany free and cost effective ways to target customers. Opportunistic ways tostand out from competitors are all around if you are open to seeing them andapply some imagination. Managing the risk is less daunting when there islimited investment dollars required to assess impact.

Marketingleaders in large enterprises are required to be more adaptable and flexible astraditional practices are being challenged. Find new ways to adapt traditional ‘go to market’ models.  Keep a keeneye on the external environment as the cost of entry for new brands to quicklyreach a target audience becomes less of a barrier. Demonstrate a guerrillamarketing tenacity and attitude to stay ahead of the competition.

Bigcompany marketing approaches can become predictable, slow and unoriginal.  The big players keep watch of the other bigplayers.  This allows new players withenergy, imagination and time to grab attention and customers.  Placing pressure on margins for largercompanies with high cost structures. 

Thequestion is whether process discipline and guerrilla thinking can co-exist? This evolution is still a work in progress.  A philosophical step change is required tounlock guerrillas from their constraints in large enterprises.

Suggested leadership qualities and mantras are outlinedbelow.

1.  Time, Energy & Imagination - Embrace thismantra as part of the marketing culture. Marketing leaders need to be enablersof these conditions to incorporate guerrilla thinking to challenge theconventional.

2.  Doing trumps planning – Execution provideslearning. Embrace doing and avoid over engineering the planning process.

3.  Leadership – You are closest to the business you intuitivelyknow what to do. Be decisive.  Trust yourinsights.

4.  Apply, learn and test scenarios – Review quickly. Stop doingwhat isn’tworking.  Even when there is a lot ofdata, isolating the impact of individual marketing activities can beimpossible.  Be a champion of flexibleexecution to uncover wins and losses.

5.  Does it really need high production quality toexecute – Oftenit is the simple, personalised touches that make the most impact withcustomers.

6.  Be alert and react quickly – Avoid being too internallyfocused and set on a path regardless of external trends and competitor actions.

7.  Use technology to advantage – There are many new andcost efficient technologies that can be used to engage customers, increasemessage reach and measure activity responsiveness. 

8.  If you can’t explain quickly and simply what you’re doing and why, youprobably don’t knowwhat you’re doing– Oftenmarketing plans are complex. Does everyone in the team know what is expectedand how to measure success.

Marketingleaders who can get the internal balance between process discipline andguerrilla marketing thinking right will increase profitability.  Having the two co-exist will produce optimalresults even though the approaches are divergent practices.  Fast moving markets, on-line consumerengagement and new media has created new ways to ‘goto market’ for those with time, energyand imagination.  This reality appliesjust as much too large enterprises as it does to smaller players.