This is an OPEN INVITATION to ALL of my friends, colleagues and extended network!

(please read all of this post…  kinda long, but VERY important.)

I wanted to make sure I invited all of you to this amazing event, the 2012 Business Growth Summit coming up on the 31st of January!

It’s put on by a group started by some associates and myself about 2 months ago called Above The Line America. We’re a networking group like no other – (no fees, no forced referrals, no stupid clapping – unless you feel like clapping…  ).

Above The Line America is focused on building and supporting community first and fostering “Above The Line” business relationships second. It’s geared to bring like-minded leaders and business owners together to change the conversation from “below the line” (blame, denial and irresponsibility) back “Above The Line” (Accountability, Ownership, Respect).

The event is an ALL DAY Business Summit, focused on YOUR business and connecting you with some of the most innovative thought leaders in business and emerging business today.

Tony Brigmon (formerly with Southwest Airlines)
Geoff Wood (Silicon Prairie News)
Jordan Lampe (Dwolla)
Major Sean Quinlan (US Marines Bronze Star recipient)
Angela Maiers (Maiers Education Services) and more!

Learn the process and allow yourself to Dream, Set Goals, Make Plans, and Take Action! Leave the day armed with your overall 2012 Plan and next steps for the first 90 days. Have FUN and connect with 400 of your AboveTheLineAmerica™ partners for success! Eat, drink, plan and CONNECT with the BEST and BRIGHTEST in Business!

Let’s get this out of the way…  1/2 PRICE TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE. GO TO REGISTER AND USE THE DISCOUNT CODE “VIP.” (no quotes, of course)

I know this invitation doesn’t give much time to decide and some of you may not be in Des Moines, Iowa for the 31st, but I wanted to send out invites to everyone I thought would be able to get value from this amazing event.

If you can’t attend, PLEASE let me know your thoughts and if you’d be willing to attend another event like this on a regularly scheduled basis. And if you know of someone that SHOULD attend that I haven’t reached, PLEASE forward this on to them!

This is a group and an event that is VERY close to my heart. If you can attend, or are interested in Above The Line America membership (go to www.abovethelineamerica.com for more info on that), I’d be MORE than happy to welcome you with OPEN ARMS!

Thanks for your time!

Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

(originally posted at: http://TheBrandChef.tumblr.com )

Jonathan Fields is an author…

That’s where it all started for me.

I read his book, Uncertainty, Turning Fear and Doubt Into Fuel for Brilliance. And for those that know me, I NEEDED it. I can’t say it changed my life. I’ve personally understood what he wrote in the book for 20 years, but it revealed a path on which I could take the first step.  Read it today, I highly encourage it…

So, this morning, as I traveled on that path with meetings for a new venture, creating an outline for new campaigns, dreaming of the future and my plans for personal growth and “World Domination,”  I looked through my email and was shown just another hint of the brilliance that Jonathan Fields was willing to share with us.  It was a notification from Slideshare that Jonathan had posted a new slide deck.

Big deal, right? I get that notification as people I follow in SlideShare post new decks and videos daily. But this one stood out. It simply showed Jonathan Field’s portrait and the title “Annual Report 2011: Serve | Aspire | Transcend” 

I had to click.

What I saw was inspiring. What I read was engaging. What I felt was motivated to make 2012 the start of MY future to Serve, Aspire and Transcend.  I had my start with his book, but Jonathan’s slide deck (a look back for him), which I humbly share here, has become the blueprint for TheBrandChef (Andrew B. Clark) and how I choose to move through my life moving forward.

View…

Annual Report 2011: Serve | Aspire | Transcend

OOOOOOH are things heating up the TheBrandChef’s kitchen this morning? Thanks Jonathan Fields (@jonathanfields) for the permission to dream and act on my dreams.

NOW…  you go do the same!

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

“When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.”

— Alexander Graham Bell

This is for those of you out there that dwell just a little too long on the word “No.” (And this includes yours truly) Yeah, it sucks, BAD, but after the initial sting of the response, there are two simple decisions you can make:

1) Stand there with your heart in your hand and stare longingly, wishing you could bury your head in a bucket of cement, OR

2) Brush the dirt from the poor scuffed up little blob and put it back from whence it came, vowing to learn from the experience.

I’m not the Motivational Marketing Tooth-fairy or some kind of Communications Cheerleader that’s here to give you a shot to the arm when you’re feeling down. On the contrary, I’ve been there more times than I can count. I’ve been slapped down my defeat. I’ve wallowed with the best of the “wallowers,” and I’ll tell you one thing…

IT’S VERY UNPRODUCTIVE.

While unproductive as “Feeling Defeated” is, it does more than just give you the blues. “Defeatism” is a psychological sand trap that not even Arnold Palmer has the right club to get out of. Swing as you may, without taking the experience objectively and learning from it, you’d simply dig and dig deeper into the hell that is the blues bogey monster.

Defeatism, depression, insecurity, fear… whatever you want to call it, it’s a powerful foe. You can’t fight it alone. You can’t focus on “it” solely. It’s the bully of the psychological playground and will kick your ass as soon as look at you.

I write this today, because I had someone say “no” to me – a proposal for work. I was pissed. I was despondent, but, instead of bowing my head and accepting defeat, I decided to fight back.  I asked the prospect this simple question:

“What was it that made your decision NOT to use our services?”

His answer?

“Well, while your proposal was very thorough and addressed our questions, we’ve just decided to go another direction.”

Loosely interpreted, “It’s not you, it’s me.” 

I was never going to win that fight, so I thanked him for his time, reminded him of the services we offer and graciously hung up the phone.

Was I still pissed? Yes, but I had another meeting to go to and didn’t have time to focus on the “no-ish” explanation.

I packed up my bag and went on to my meeting where I was GIVEN the entire marketing and communications strategy for 2012 (easily 3x the previous proposal) of a client that I didn’t expect to get more than some simple WordPress updates and FaceBook monitoring.

KER-SMACK…  Another door opened.

Had I been focused on the previous door, would I have seen the cues in the meeting that lead to this new business? Probably not. I would have been sullen and retracted my marketing and sales arms. But without hesitation, I noticed the opportunity and walked through the door, SLAMMING IT RIGHT IN THE FACE OF DEFEAT!

BOOO-YAH …  I JUST GAVE THE SMACK DOWN TO DEFEAT.

So, next time you get “No” for an answer, and we ALL will, take a step back, try to derive a lesson from it, and move on. If you have an opportunity to learn from your mistakes, then you can never consider them actual mistakes.

Rah-Rah-SIS-BOOM-BAH…  That’s as much cheer leading I do. I’d rather keep cooking… 

How do you handle rejection and the feelings that accompany it? Is there a process? Is there a plan to learn from it?  I’d LOVE to hear your stories about kicking “Defeat” in its ARSE!

Until next time…

Keep Cooking (positive mental momentum)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Economic times are tough for marketing and advertising agencies. Businesses are backing off marketing budgets. Some are folding their hands and letting fate take their brand into the abyss. Heck, some are closing the doors all together. And that directly affects the marketing and agency professionals that depend on them for their own livelihood.

So what do you do in hard times? What do you do when times require tightening the belt or cutting back? Hopefully you do what we all tell our clients to do… “For God’s sake, keep marketing!” Without constant visibility, people (even customers you’ve depended on for years) will forget about you. To us marketers, that’s obvious, right?

Think again.

Over the last 18 months, I’ve heard marketing “pros” and agency staffers (from receptionists on up to CEO) saying some of the oddest things. Things like, “The work just seems to have dried up.” and “I’m not getting any callbacks.” or “Clients are ‘InSourcing’ all the work we’d do…”

Troublesome.

Solution: How about you “SPEND” your way through the downturn? YES, SPEND! And I don’t mean doling out your hard-earned cash for new equipment or some rock star biz-dev stud bolt. I’m talking about strategically investing what you DO have, time, into generating those ever-elusive new leads.

I’ve put together a list of five simple (and VERY economical) actions that marketers and agencies can do to churn up new business. And all you have to remember is “SPEND…”

S = Social Media Marketing: Many “traditional” agencies are still having a hard time figuring out the power of using social media for marketing. If your agency or marketing team hasn’t jumped into the social media waters yet, I encourage them to get in there! It’s inexpensive (costing little more than time – and we all know you have oodles of that) and it has outstanding targeting capabilities. You just need to find and join the right conversations.

P = Public Speaking: Can you think of a better way to position yourself as “thought leader” of your chosen field? Associations, civic groups and chambers are always looking for great information and presentations for their meetings. Think of standing in front of 100 business owners looking for marketing advice. It’s a captive audience and each time you present your message, it’s honed to a sharper and more effective tool for your other marketing efforts.

E = Email: Do you know what 93.6% of business owners do every morning when they walk into the office? They check their email! Why not be in front of them, IN their office, ON their desktop on a regular basis? There are plenty of FREE or LOW COST broadcast email services out there (my favorites are AWeber and MailChimp). Get a sign-up form on your website. Set up your target list. Create a reason for them to WANT to open and engage with you (remember you are a marketer). Then, and this is the MOST important part, KEEP DOING IT AND FOLLOW UP!

N = Networking: If the calls aren’t coming in then you need to get out and start introducing yourself to your audience again. Sitting in your office, looking through PeachTree or QuickBooks isn’t going to get people interested in what’s going on in your world; nor will it help your attitude much. Not interested in chamber functions or professional associations? Then get involved with your church or a board for a non-profit. I don’t think God frowns upon doing business between the pews as long as you thank him once-in-a-while.

D = Dial The Phone! This is one that should go without saying, but for some reason, those that choose “Communications” as a profession seem to HATE talking on the phone. Ridiculous! As I said above, FOLLOW UP! You’ve spent time working your social media, speaking engagements, emails and networking, now just give ‘em a call! You need to reach out and touch someone (more than once) before they’ll turn their attention to you. Sure, the phone is cold, impersonal and intimidating, but it can be the best lead generator in your office – if used correctly.

Guess what you do for a living. You market! You advertise! If you’re able to do it for your clients, then why is it so difficult for you to do it for yourself? Even if you only do a couple of the SPEND tactics, isn’t it better than sitting on your thumbs waiting for the phone to ring?

How do you generate new leads when times are tough? Do you SPEND your time wisely? If you don’t do it, someone else will.

Keep Cooking (at all times)!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

If I include my college internship, this September will be my 20th year working in, on and around marketing. I’ve seen some successful campaigns. I’ve seen some pitiful campaigns. Fortunately, I’ve learned something from them all, but the most important thing I’ve learned is how to tell them apart. (Trust me, some can’t…)

So what IS the difference between a successful and a pitiful marketing campaign? STRATEGY.

All Marketing Strategy Is Not The Same

If you walk through any marketing department or advertising agency, without a doubt, you’ll see computers, printers, scanners, cameras and all of the nifty tools that go along with the production of marketing. But without a strategic process, those tools are worthless, as are the people using them.

Some marketing departments and agencies swear by their specific system, their standard to which all campaigns must abide. Others are a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of shop that take a “more organic” approach. But all successful marketers and agencies alike understand strategy is imperative to their success. Strategies vary, and one agency doesn’t have the corner on the market (no pun intended), but marketing without a strategy is just plain ignorant.

So for your ease and my pleasure, I’ve put together The 8 D’s Of Successful Marketing:

1. Dream
   Contrary to some companies, marketing still requires a little creative forethought. At the onset of a campaign you and the client need to dream, and dream big. Set goals for the campaign and create the passion you hope to have the consumer “buy into.”
2. Demographics
   So many campaigns fail to take full advantage of this step. If you don’t know your target audience, then how do you know where to shoot? Do some research on your product or service to find out how it fits, where it fits and, yes, if it fits within the marketplace.
3. Develop
   Start bringing those dreams along to a logical and executable campaign that can be performed by the marketing team. Narrowing focus and slicing the fat from the creative until all you have left is a laser-focused campaign targeted to the demographics you found in the previous step.
4. Design
   This stage encompasses more than the “look” of the campaign. Design the vehicles and all parts that go into it. From the mailing lists to the website to the logo and packaging, design applies the dream to the product or service.
5. Disseminate
   Get the dream out there. You’ve picked the right idea. You’ve targeted the right audience. Now deliver the dream to them.
6. Discover
   Measure results and response. If that’s analytics or responses to a direct mail or sales; you need to track and discover the strength and weaknesses of the campaign.
7. Doctor
   Based on the discovery stage, make the changes that are necessary to focus the campaign even more. A great idea is to split the campaign into A and B versions for further refinement and testing.
8. Do-it-again
   And again… and again!

Put that in the squishy pink blob between your ears. You’ll thank me later.

Everyone approaches marketing differently. My approach is different than another marketer’s approach. If 20 years has taught me anything its the truth about successful marketing campaigns. Simply put, ALL SUCCESSFUL MARKETING CAMPAIGNS START WITH STRATEGY!

Where does your marketing start? Is my 8 D’s of Successful Marketing similar to your strategy or strategies? What would you change / add / subtract from the eight?

Help me (and others) continue to learn and help create successful marketing.

Keep Cooking! (TRUE strategic marketing decisions)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef