A reflection on Anzac Day, 2019

A reflection on Anzac Day, 2019

Apr 25, 2019 | Communication, Personal Rant

It is Anzac day 2019, just a public holiday to some,  but a lot more to others.

It is also my beautiful daughters 34th birthday, so it is a good day.

As we take the day off, some will just be thankful that the self-serving, fact free, fabricated drama, and partisan nonsense of this election season has also taken a break. 

Anzac Day has re-emerged from a slumber in the late 60’s to mid-seventies,  when it seemed that it had faded in our collective memory. In 1976 I massaged the itinerary of  a European camping tour I was leading to take us down the Gallipoli peninsula to the Lone Pine memorial.  I was surprised that we were so close, and the visit was not included, but much more surprised that so few of the 45 twenty something passengers, knew much about what had happened there.

Perhaps the re-emergence of awareness and pride in the role Australians have played in wars has less to do with the facts of the sacrifices made by our forebears, than it has to do with our collective search for something to believe in, as they did. Something to bind us together, trust the word of a stranger because they looked in our eyes and said it was so.

The tools of modern communication are extraordinary, but we are more alone, more fragmented,  more focussed on ourselves, and more pessimistic than ever, while  we live in a world of plenty. 

It should be the opposite way around. We are highly social animals, the tools should have made ‘community’ easier, not harder, not more elusive. 

I look at all this through the eyes of a cynical, but well informed, educated, and thoughtful 67 year old baby boomer. I am a recipient of the largess brought on by the post war boom, and general prosperity since. While there have been some set-backs, on balance it has been a good life. That good life is in good measure thanks to those who went before, and made it possible.

Lest we forget.

Happy birthday Jennifer, now let your cranky old dad go and tend the BBQ, as an excuse to soothe his parched throat.

 

 

 

‘Brief’ does not just mean quick!

‘Brief’ does not just mean quick!

Apr 23, 2019 | Communication, Marketing

Providing a project brief is a core skill of great marketers.

Too often I see so called marketers sounding off about service providers of all stripes for failing to deliver, when the brief against which they are being judged is a load of ambiguous, fluffy clichés.

It takes courage for a service provider to tell a principal their brief sucks, but if they are to deliver, the brief has to be good. It is usually best where there is genuine collaboration on the brief development, engaging all the available expertise in defining the problems to be addressed, and sorting the  best way to go about it.

This requires not just the courage to speak up, but the intellectual freedom to do so, and follow differing lines of thought

Often time is a hard barrier, but in most cases that is because the marketer has failed in their duty to deeply consider the particular project  in the context of the strategic framework, which is also often missing.

As a young marketer, we were always seeking the ‘big idea,’ the one thing that would make a difference, the Meadow Lea line ‘you ought to be congratulated’ for instance. This appears to have been replaced by  the need to create an never ending flow of ideas for execution on all the new media platforms. However, a gaggle of mediocre creative does nothing except consume resources.

The day of the big idea is not gone, but we seem to grossly underestimate the time and intellectual energy necessary to come up with them.

The problems with Google

The problems with Google

Apr 15, 2019 | Governance, Marketing

Google is a wonderful tool, ask it any question, and the answer will come back, or at least a million references that may give an answer will come back.

That is terrific, except for a few minor, or major flaws, depending on your mindset, such as:

Confirmation.

The certainty you get from Dr. Google tends to confirm the things you may already know, at least it confirms the path you are on, by giving you easy answers to the question you face. As a kid, in PG (pre-google) days, we had to go looking for the answer, feed our curiosity, critically review the few sources available, and in the process, stumble across other information that might just be a useful addition to the path we were on. Some would point out that Google in delivering millions of references does the same thing. However, we mostly only look at the first page, which reflects best what others asking similar questions have opened. Confirmation bias at work, silently, in the background. 

No challenge

We do not have to work to find information, we just have to ask.

What if we do not know what to ask?

It seems to me we have lost the itch that is curiosity to see things that are different, divergent, and have a different perspective.

There is also another side to it. If we go to a library, and find the book we really like, the book next door is like the one you love, but just a bit different, that is the way libraries are organised, by topic. Google is not. It does not necessarily give you the thing most like what you are seeking, it just gives you a lead on the things that other people have sought by asking similar questions.

Currency

Google assumes that the newest stuff is the most useful. Often this is the case, but equally as often not.  Increasingly the current stuff is just Google-fodder, crap, of little value.

Dr Google removes the random.

As I get older, it seems I have become more curious, As a result I seem to collect random facts, stories, reports, and pieces of information. Sometimes they get used quickly, often they sit on the metaphorical shelf for ages until a use emerges, or it gets merged with another thought at another time. This collection of random curiosities is facilitated by Google, but not encouraged as everything you ask is there when you ask, but you never know what it is that you have not asked. The beauty of having a ‘library’ of trivia is that at some point, that piece of trivia, that random fact or report will add enormously to whatever it is you are doing. Google will never know this, so you need to collect the disconnected random facts like squirrels keeping nuts for winter.

Serendipity cannot be digital

Serendipity comes about from unexpected outcomes, things that go against the common understanding, the tenuous thread you see between two logically disconnected facts. Making these connections requires a multidimensional ‘intelligence,’ not one dependent on a logical algorithm, no matter how ‘smart’ it might be.

 

Google has not only become the default for the world, it is becoming the primary source, along perhaps with its digital stablemate Facebook, that is if anything, better than Google at eliminating the instinctive drive for creativity and curiosity. 

How do we encourage critical thinking when there are only two sources of information?

 

 

 

Managing the Jenga tower of marketing

Managing the Jenga tower of marketing

Apr 3, 2019 | Change, Marketing

Have you ever set up and played with a Jenga tower?

As the game progresses, some blocks can be removed easily, with no impact, others are really sensitive to any movement and can bring the tower down with a crash.

Problem is, the difference is really hard to tell.

This is a  bit like marketing.

There are a lot of variables, all with differing impact on the outcome, and all differing again, depending on the circumstances of what has gone before, and the manner in which the remaining blocks, or variables, are arranged..

What is important for one customer, in one situation, may be irrelevant to another, or even to the same customer in different circumstances.

Experience with Jenga, and careful testing of the ‘stickiness’ of different blocks before you pull them out can deliver you a win. Similarly, in marketing, the more analytical tools you can bring to bear that account for the minor variations, and differing configurations of the variables, the more likely you will be to get a favourable outcome. Increasingly, this task will be done by machine learning and pattern recognition, that accommodates the specific circumstances of the ‘marketing tower’, in this case,  the customer.

However, AI will never completely replace the wisdom of experience, creativity, and domain knowledge, which the truly successful will continue to observe, gather, and ultimately, rely.

 

Photo credit: Wikipedia

What is the one skill no SME can do without?

What is the one skill no SME can do without?

Mar 28, 2019 | Marketing, Strategy

Simple answer, rarely given at first: Writing quality copy!

Quality copy, in whatever form it is delivered,  gets inside someone’s head, it joins in and contributes to the conversation already happening, and influences the outcomes that evolve.

Everything we do in an enterprise is in one way or another directed towards the objective of getting someone to do something. It therefore follows that we need to be able to communicate with them clearly, in their words, saying things they either want to hear, or are receptive to hearing which may lead to an action.

This does not happen by accident, it only happens when time is invested in the writing process, and importantly, the preparation that happens before the pen is lifted. From writing a simple email, to communicating the most complex message by any number of media, the rules are pretty much the same, only the time invested will vary.

It is also true that we humans relate to, understand, and remember stories, so tell one! Do not just deliver a bunch of words, data and illustrations, create a memorable narrative.

There are 4.5 million copy templates out there, available via Dr. Google. Scrape away the jargon, fancy words, and promises of millions of dollars if you will just do this one thing, and there is a very common thread running through most of them that offer any real value. That thread comes down to  a few simple to say, but very hard to implement rules.

  • Audience. Know who you are talking to
  • Objective. Know exactly what it is you want to say, and why.
  • Action. Communicate what Action you want them to take as a result of reading (or listening)
  • Impression. What is the lasting impression you are seeking to place in the mind of the reader.

A simple acronym: A.O.A. I. That makes it 4.5 million and one!

An email will differ from website copy, and both will be different to a sales letter,  and to a major verbal presentation, but all will follow those simple rules, with the obvious variations in the manner in which they are executed.

Common to all are a few further observations I will make.

  • Every successful communication starts with a draft, that can always be improved. The more complex the communication, the greater the potential for improvement. Usually this is achieved by cutting words and selecting them more carefully to better communicate the meaning, motivate the desired action, and leave the lasting impression. For example, despite the following two sentences being quantitatively the same, almost everyone will feel substantially more favourable towards  the first:

‘This milk is 95% fat free‘ . Versus, ‘This milk contains 5% fat‘.

The pursuit of clarity, brevity, and maximum impact  are voracious consumers of the writers time, but always offer a return on the investment. Variously credited, but I believe correctly to Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) is a note to his wife while visiting Australia in 1895. ‘Darling, I wrote you a long letter because I did not have the time to write you a short one’

  • In written communications, spelling and grammar are essential skills. Not because of some preoccupation with the past, but because the rules of spelling and grammar evolved to assist in delivering clarity. Spellcheck is a good first start, but it misses a lot, particularly grammar, and the construction of sentences to deliver clarity. When writing anything, from a simple email to a book, in the absence of a person playing the role of editor, read it out aloud to yourself, saying every word as it is written.  There is a tool in Word, called ‘Speak’ which I have on my quick access toolbar, which reads back your copy in ‘computer voice’. While it is far from perfect, no matter how careful I have been, listening back to  ‘Speak’ always highlights something that can be improved.
  • Verbal communication, from a simple elevator pitch, to a major speech, should always evolve from a written draft. ‘Winging it’ is almost always a very bad idea! Once you have an elevator pitch, it can be memorised, repeated, and ‘tweeked’. Writing any communication the first time is always hard, as you have to decide what to leave out. Doing a brain dump of everything you know  about a topic will just lead to a bored, and disengaged audience.
  • Verbal communication in front of an audience also imposes another set of choices that need to be made in addition to the choice of words. That is how those words are to be delivered. Speaking naturally, including all the intonation and body language as you would to a single person, is always best, but with caution. Colloquial and ‘expressive’ language that may be acceptable one to one, may not be in front of an audience. This is a judgement to be made each time, usually somewhat dependent on the audience. Practise helps, as does the recognition that it is natural to be nervous, and importantly, working on the written drafts until you know  the content intimately, removes a lot of the self imposed pressure.

While the basic rules will remain consistent, the formats used will differ markedly. A sales letter will  look different to the copy on a website, which will be different to the presentation you do to an audience. However, the basic AOAI framework will help in the writing of the copy that is the foundation of delivering the message.

In addition to my simplistic A.O.A.I. template, there are many others of value from successful writers, as noted, roughly similar. The following two I commend, which come from books I have read and re-read on several occasions.

R.O.A.M. Readers, Objective, Action, iMpression. Josh Bernoff, ‘Writing without Bullshit’.

P.A.S.T.O.R. Person Problem Pain; Amplify; Story, Solution System; Transformation, Testimony; Offer; Response. Ray Edwards. ‘How to write copy that sells’.

When you need help developing and articulating your strategy, and figuring out how to implement, call me.  0410 627 318

What have you got to lose?

6 components of successful gambling (otherwise known as marketing)

6 components of successful gambling (otherwise known as marketing)

Mar 25, 2019 | Marketing

Successful Marketing is like having a great hand of cards.

Each card has a value by itself, but in isolation, that is very limited. The value of a hand is in the combination of cards you have, particularly the combination you have compared to the combination of your opponent, and how you leverage that combination. Sometimes as in Bridge, the combination of your hand with that of your partner is crucial.

Marketing is gambling, you are betting on the shape of the future, and your place in that future.

Just like gambling, professionals are better able to manage and manipulate the factors ‘at the edge,’ that compounded mean the amateur will never beat the professional.

Following are 6 factors professionals use to beat the amateurs. The analogy to marketing may be a bit ‘hairy’, but for me it works!

Incumbency.

A casino, the church of gambling, has an institutional advantage over the gambler. They only have to equal the gambler to win, the gambler has to beat the house, and do it on a consistent basis to win. ‘One-off’ wins happen all the time, but over time, the institutional advantage unless mitigated in some way, will always win out. 

Know the numbers, understand the odds.

‘Counting cards’ in a game of 21 for those few who can do it, will get you thrown out of a casino, as it is one of the means by which the odds can be altered against the house. When you can remember the cards that have been discarded, you are theoretically able to calculate the odds of a given card coming up next, and alter your bets accordingly.

Poker is a game of odds. The odds are dictated by the chance of a specific combination of cards being held, and when being dealt, of a specific card arriving. Playing ‘show poker’ assists those who can count, as they are better able to calculate and recalculate the odds based on the cards shown than the amateur.

As it is with marketing, the more you know that may have an influence on the outcome, the better able you are to calculate the odds.

Know the opposition.

Serious card players are very sensitive to unconscious signals from their opposition, the presence of a ‘tell’. In the movies, the protagonist scratches his forehead when an Ace arrives in his hand, a giveaway to  the professional.

‘Body language’ is a huge component of face to face communication, a professional sees and understands the meaning of all sorts of subtle, unconscious signals coming from their opposition, and is able to use them to their advantage.

Know the rules.

Every game has rules, knowing them is a foundation skill necessary to play. Understanding how the rules can be ‘managed,’  how the usual responses can be massaged to deliver a changed outcome is the sign of a professional.

Remember the stakes, and the balance of odds.

Playing the game, any game, requires investment, and for someone to win, it requires that someone loses. Very few amateurs accurately calculate the costs of losing, in the emotion of a potential win, something the professionals rely on. They win when amateurs lose, which is most of the time!

Opportunism pays.

Sometimes, even when the odds are stacked against you, luck plays a role. When the lady does show up, you have to be able to recognise her in order to take the advantage on offer. Always remember the old dictum of Louis Pasteur: “Fortune favours the prepared mind’ and as the scouts say, Be prepared!

When you need the experience and advice of a professional on your side, give  me a call.