This morning, one of my Des Moines social media cohorts wrote a post about the recent onslaught of social media companies, consultants and “Superstars” that have recently dotted our fine city. Troy Rutter hasn’t hidden his distaste for the trend of social media consultants popping up out of nowhere (here, here, and here). But in this morning’s post, he created a correlation to other markets and specifically to the hotbed of social media action that is Boston – calling names like Chris Brogan, CC Chapman and Chris Penn as the benchmark to which all social media “Superstars” would be measured.

While Troy opens his post with a slight “hat tip” to the growth of Des Moines’ social media industry, he quickly jumps into a bit of a “back-handed” compliment:

“What is it about Des Moines that is a breeding ground for so-called Social Media Experts? Is it the corn? Can the city support three social media firms, and countless wannabes who think they have all the answers?

“The Des Moines social media scene is concerned more with being local leaders than global. They fight with/over each other to be the definitive “expert” while simultaneously patting each other on the back to make themselves feel good.”

And in comparison to the Bostonians:

“Maybe that’s the biggest difference. The Bostonians give back to the social media community, not really looking for their own accolades. While Des Moines experts seem bent on making a name for themselves any way they can.”

Okay, Troy, let’s talk this out objectively…

While I can’t comment on the national scene, personally,  I’ve felt nothing but camaraderie and compassion from the other local social media citizens. As a matter of fact, in March of 2006, I wrote my first blog post and was immediately welcomed by Drew McLellan – a national Superstar in his own right. I’d say that was pretty encouraging.

I’m also thrilled with the growth of social media in the Des Moines area. And while I agree that Des Moines is “Saturated” with “Social Media Stars,” to compare Des Moines’ social media community to Boston’s is a bit shortsighted.

The “Stars” in Boston certainly have “street cred.” They’ve built the foundation that others all over the country (and the world) are hoping to stand on. And while people like Penn and Brogan can pull crowds and garner attention better than E.F. Hutton, setting the “Social Media Star” standard by their reputations alone is unfair to the efforts being made here in Des Moines.

A simple marketing lesson I learned years ago states (and I’m paraphrasing):

“The first to the market will define and own that market until,
1) They are knocked out of the top position by a competitor
or (and this is the bigger point),
2) Another “segment” of the market is designed for the competitors to shine.”

Brogan and the rest of the Bostonians established the “Social Media Superstar” market. So, for now, it’s theirs as defined to own and defend. And it’s entirely what they’ve built their personal and business brands on.

I say, “Genius!”

What I see Des Moines social media practitioners doing is taking a loose model of what our East Coast brethren designed and creating a niche segment within the social media marketplace that better fits our community and the Midwestern economy. We (the Midwest) don’t need superstars to swoop in and save the day. On certain levels, I think the conservative nature of our neighbors would reject that model, anyway. The business model Des Moines companies gravitate to do not tolerate “Ego,” whether it’s intentionally inflated self-worth or not. Companies like LavaRow, Catchfire and One Social Media are capitalizing on that fact and creating a new “Relational Social Media” niche to fill that need.

So, to your point, Des Moines DOES deserve recognition for the social media acumen it possesses and encourages. Definitely! Should the social media practitioners strive to be some kind of hero or super star to warrant that credibility? Hell no.

To appease your hunger for national recognition, we could cite the recent feature CNN did on regional social media and the noise being made here. Many of the people you point at in your post were linchpins in many aspects to those events.

It’s just a matter of time before this model of “Relational Social Media” to break through to a bigger, more national level. But for now these companies are providing astounding insight, customer service, education and pride for Des Moines, central Iowa and the Midwest as a whole!

With that, I ask plead with my readers. Let’s keep the conversation going.

Does Des Moines (and the Midwest in general) have the social media chutzpa that will bring us to a national and / or international light? Or do you think that we have too many “wanna-be” practitioners muddying the waters?

Back to you…

Until next time,

Keep Cooking! (’cause social media is yummy for EVERYONE!)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Yep, it’s coming. Christmas.

Sure, right now it’s 93 degrees (in my neighborhood) and Christmas is a whole 156 days away, but I can almost see all of the commercials now. Don’t they start airing some time in September?!? And shortly after, my kids start communicating with every sentence starting with, “I NEED…”

It’s as predictable as the tides. What do you do?

The Child’s Mind And The “Want vs. Need” Paradigm

About mid October, when the kids finally succumb to the hypnotizing din of “New and improved this…” or “Now with 3D and smell-o-vision that,” I stop making lists and start asking two simple questions.

“How many do you actually NEED?”
and “Do you really NEED that… Really?”

“… or is it that you just ‘WANT’ it?”

That usually stops the munchkins mid-sentence like they’re hoping not to be caught for audibly farting. But what it really does is open the door to a more reasonable conversation centered on the “Want vs. Need” paradigm. (No, my kids don’t use the word “paradigm…” yet, but it works…)

The Nightmare Of The Perpetual Christmas And The Ever-Elusive Groovy Doohickey

In the marketing world, Christmas comes on almost a daily basis. Day after day, week-in and week-out, clients approach their marketing teams with stars in their eyes and dreams of some ever-elusive groovy doohickey that’s going to revolutionize the industry. And day after day, week-in and week-out, advertising agencies, marketing boutiques, freelancers and consultants alike accommodate them like Daddy Warbucks on Christmas morning. But should we really?

What would happen if the advertising agencies, marketing boutiques, freelancers and consultants asked one of two simple questions?

“How many do you actually NEED?”

Has the affect of the last 40 ad-hock attempts at knee-jerk marketing been successful? Have you taken the time to let a strategy take hold?  Will another direct mailer or another sales spot on every radio station in the city really make it better?  Doesn’t it eventually all add up to more noise?

OR (my favorite) “Do you really NEED that… Really?”

Too many companies are out there listening to “gurus” preaching on everything from social media and branding to voo-doo for solutions to their marketing woes. Maybe it’s not the next groovy doohickey that your marketing needs.

What would happen if we treated our customers like children? Would they listen?  Would they walk away? Could you do it? Maybe some of you already have (I know some of you and it’s true).

Food for thought…

Keep Cooking (the bravest decisions for your customers – whether they like it or not.)!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Myopic Manager: “Hey, I need a video.”

Worker Wendy: (shocked) “About what, sir?”

Myopic Manager: “Something that will get us noticed.”

Worker Wendy: “For what, sir?”

Myopic Manager: “You know. Something catchy and, what’s the word? VIRAL!”

Worker Wendy: “Viral, sir?”

Myopic Manager: “Yeah! Put it on FaceTube! That’ll do it!”

***

There are so many things wrong with that conversation, I can’t begin to list them. But this was a summarized dialogue a friend of mine recently had with her employer. It seems as though, after 25 years in business, “said employer” finally purchased a ticket to the 21st century and realized he was wearing a suit made in 1989 – you know, padded shoulders, thin, cotton tie… the whole enchilada!

The inspiration for this time-traveling adventure came from a growing collection of customers asking why they couldn’t find their favorite “widget” on the Internet. They couldn’t find their website. They couldn’t “Like” their FaceBook page. Heck, if they didn’t get up off their butts and walk through the door, they couldn’t tell the company was actually still in business!

“So, where do you start?” she asked me. And that’s where my “Mr. Marketing and Branding” persona jumped out – somewhat abruptly…

“Are you kidding?” I shot back at her. “Your company is nowhere near ready for Facebook, YouTube or social media marketing. Why don’t reign in Michael J. Fox over there and start with basic TRUE Branding?”

I explained to her that TRUE Branding was the road-map to where her boss wanted to go. They needed to discover the truth about their company – the who, what, when, where and why of their brand and brand community (‘cause they obviously have one). Then they needed to do some deep research to find out what made their company / brand relevant to their brand community. After that they needed to focus on what made them unique in that community. If there was ten other “widget” makers in the vicinity, what were unique propositions to going to their shop? And finally the needed to figure out where that community spent it’s time engaging their brand. Obviously they needed a stronger Web presence, but were FaceBook and YouTube really going to be where the best engagement would take place?

I’m sure, by the end of our conversation, my face was red and the veins in my forehead resembled what that road-map may look like. But the takeaway was put perfectly when she called up her employer and said, “Sir, we really can’t skip steps when it comes to TRUE Branding and marketing. Let’s take a strategic look at what where we want to go and then my friend Andy can come by and work with us to get there”

*Sigh*

As Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and Elton John put it, “That’s What Friends Are For.”

I know this comes off as a bit of a rant, but there are a lot of companies out there that are still behind the curve when it comes to social media marketing. It isn’t so much using the tools of social media like Facebook YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn, but the brand and marketing strategy that powers these tools. And it’s going to take time and a lot of thought to get that road-map to the future figured out.

Contrary to what Michel J. Fox and Steven Spielberg told us in 1985, time travel is NOT possible; the flux capacitor hasn’t been built yet; Delorians won’t withstand the pressure of time travel; and Doc Brown is just another wild-eyed pedophile in an Einstein wig and lab coat.

But I digress.

Could I have taken my friend’s company (and their money) and thrown together a FaceBook page and a few videos for YouTube? Sure. But I wouldn’t have been doing my job as The Brand Chef if I did it without TRUE branding and a strategic road-map. And they wouldn’t have seen results from any of it – making us all look stupid.

Just to sum up…  You can’t jump from 1989 to 2010 with the simple activation of a Twitter account. Research, plan, integrate and engage with social media AFTER you’ve figured out where your brand should be going within the marketplace. Then make a commitment to staying up-to-date with your brand, your industry and your community.

Until Next Time (within the next 25 years)…

Keep Cooking (timely, relevant branding decisions.)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

Does your company have good character? I’m not talking about the people or “characters” within the company. While the people make up a very important part of it, I’m talking about the character of the company, itself.

Good character, like TRUE branding, is based on a very specific set of criteria. For TRUE branding, we’ve determined that the brand must be True, Relevant, Unique and Engaging to have a strong, marketable brand foundation. But when it comes to character, there are six traits that form the strongest foundation:

•  Trustworthiness
•  Respect
•  Responsibility
•  Fairness
•  Caring
•  and Citizenship

Not one of those characteristics has anything to do with increasing market share or ROI.

There’s more than the bottom line. There’s more than the marketing. There’s more than 60-hour workweek. There’s more than the executive washroom. There’s more than accounting or sales. More than copier paper, toner, staples… There’s simply more, and it’s called character. While it shouldn’t be confused with your company brand, good character and a TRUE brand should go hand-in-hand.

Can British Petroleum (BP) say they’ve got a good character? If you evaluate the company character based on the simple six criteria listed above, they’re failing miserably! They’ve broken our trust, shown absolutely NO respect, taken no responsibility for their actions and have been deplorable in their dealings since the spill (can we even call it a spill any more?). And let’s not even talk about caring and citizenship. It’s a perfect case study in complete corporate character implosion. Even based on the TRUE branding criteria, I’d say their brand (and company) is in a world of hurt.

I love the recent statement by Laura Ries when she identified BP’s “brand problem.”

“The spill in the Gulf has pulled the curtain off of a company that has been blowing smoke up our butts for years. No consumer, regulator or politician will soon forget this tragedy”

And she concludes with,

“Strong brands with a reputation for quality, safety and honesty are able to survive even the worst tragedies and negative PR stories. Toyota, Tylenol and Goldman Sachs have faced some dark days recently, but for them the future is still bright because the brands are strong. For BP, not so much. A brand with a poor reputation facing one of the worst oil spills ever is damaged goods. No amount of advertising can fix this. Anything BP says will no longer be believed. You can fool us once, but never again.”

Because of recent events, BP is the obvious example, but what other companies have been branding themselves as the “community company” when its character, deep down, is flawed, selfish, myopic and detrimental to the community in which they serve? Finding the truth within your brand is imperative. It’s the foundation on which all else is built. Ironically, truth is a core component for good character as well.

I can’t emphasize the importance of the correlation here.  There’s an important connection. When the two support each other, everyone wins!

What has your company done to educate and foster good character? Does good character start in the corner office and spread on down through the ranks or is it simply a happy face panted over oil slicks, smoke screens and broken promises?

Food for thought…

Keep Cooking! (TRUE character-driven business)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef

For more information on the six pillars of character, check out these links:

http://www.charactercountsiniowa.blogspot.com/
http://charactercounts.org/sixpillars.html
http://www.drake.edu/icd/
http://josephsoninstitute.org/business/

I don’t mean to fire another shot at the marketing community in the U.K., but…

What the heck are the marketers for the London 2012 Olympics committee smoking?

VIDEO:

Sorry about the auto play… (Notice the kids giving the Nazi salute to them? WTH?)

To have such a prestigious organization adorn your city would be an honor to last a lifetime. But it seems like the folks marketing for the occasion have taken the opportunity and turned it into a Duran Duran meets The TeleTubbies on LSD experience.

Let me back up about four years… If you haven’t read it yet, I did a blog post (June 2006) about the incredibly ill-conceived logo designed for the London 2012 Olympics. Saying:

“I’m saddened when I think of the world’s athletes that have put so much effort and time into achieving the honor of competing in the Olympics having to walk around the Olympic Village slathered with a logo that looks like they just got back from a Duran Duran concert.”

And now the marketers have launched a campaign to show off the new mascots. All I can say for them is at least they’re consistent.

Good Lord, They look like the love child of Timothy Leary and TinkyWinkie! I’m thinking the Aztecs saw this for 2012 and just decided to end it all there. What the heck would be the point of living after that?

Marketing in a Vacuum?

Normally, in these horribly off-the-mark situations, I’d point my finger at some self indulgent agency or myopic company trying to be “cutting edge” without the first hint of research or understanding of the target market. But according to The Telegraph UK, the chairman of the London Organizing Committee, Lord Coe and his marketing group spent 18 months and did over 40 focus groups in preparation and development of these atrocities!

40 FOCUS GROUPS?!?

What did they do, design them AND THEN hold focus groups until they found someone to say they liked them?

Here are a couple more images that come to mind when I see these mascots:

At least Vancouver 2010 Mascots related to the region and didn’t scare the hell out of people…

Also from The Telegraph UK:

Stephen Bayley, the prominent design critic, said: “What is it about these Games which seems to drive the organisers into this cretinous infantilism?

“Why can’t we have something that makes us sing with pride, instead of these appalling computerised Smurfs for the iPhone generation?”

“If the Games are going to be remembered by their art then we can declare them a calamitous failure already.”

I mean c’mon, if one of the biggest design critics in your country says they suck, shouldn’t you reflect on the direction you’ve taken?

So, what is the London 2012 Olympic committee to do? It’s too late to start over. It’s too ugly to ignore. Is this a public relations issue now? Can they make this all make sense somehow?

I’d love to know what you think. And for a little fun, here’s a little spoof from Gawker…

Keep Cooking! (at least tasteful branding decisions)
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef