Ryan C. Miller.com - Social Media, Design, Tech, Commentary - broadcasting from Utica, NY

BOLO 2009 - Day 1 - Advice from Jim Lecinski

Posted on October 13, 2009 by MillerNo Comments

The 99% Conf. - Scott Thomas

Posted on April 21, 2009 by MillerNo Comments

Scott Thomas

Over the weekend I was in NYC to attend The 99% - a conference that focuses not on the 1% inspiration, but rather the 99% perspiration that it takes to make an idea happen. The 300 + crowd got to chill at the Times Center and hear from a pretty incredible lineup of speakers on the first ‘content day’, then engaged in different activities that were going on around Manhattan.

Though everyone’s talk were great (except Jill Greenberg unfortunately - she gave one of the most awkward talks I’ve ever heard, but did show photographs of monkeys and crying babies), I want to take a few posts and highlight the best of the best, as well as some key points which were generously donated to me via @rararararachel.

I want to start with Scott Thomas, who was the Design Director of New Media for the Obama presidential campaign. Scott was incredibly articulate and I got the sense that he was still overwhelmed by what he and his team accomplished over the campaign.  Essentially, they created what was the most effective online political campaign and outreach effort in history.

He likened working for the campaign to ‘building an airplane while you were having to fly it.’ There was no learning curve for their project, and though there were many many good ideas, it was important for them to realize that not all ideas need to come to fruition.

The Message - There were a couple of main themes when Scott talked about executing their brand and their message.  The first was that they wanted to convey both the historic nature of Obama’s campaign as well as show a message of Hope,   They blended traditional imagery of campaigns with what he called ‘instant vintage’ (like placing some of Obama’s remarks on paper that looked old and important (think Declaration of Indepedence).  This style would be present throughout Obama’s online (and offline) collateral.  It was this visual discipline across messages and mediums that allowed the campaign to combat the accusations of inexperience which were thrown their way.  As Scott put it ‘through consistency of design can you show experience and a sense of balance.’

Yes We Can -One of Obama’s huge strengths during the campaign was his engagement of his supporters nationwide.  His eloquence in oratory combined with the excitement of his candidacy and the message of community allowed for a perfect storm of engagement that the campaign took full advantage of. Scott talked about how there was a conscious effort to make the message ‘We, not He.’ For instance, there was a large asset page that contained branded artwork which was accessible to anyone with a web connection.  It allowed the community to take initiative and control of the message while still keeping a consistent visual.  The campaign could ‘triage’ ideas within the community in real time to see what people thought worked and what didn’t.  Local campaigns could adapt official artwork and blend it with a custom and effective message and use it on the ground in their own communities.

One huge takeaway for the group was an example of how to know your community when designing their online brand.  In short, they found that people HATE long ass forms.  They also hate giving away all sorts of their personal information.  Thing about how many times you have left a site because of the length of the form you were required to fill out, or the information they wanted to collect from you.

Instead, the campaign would make all of their forms and data collection pages simple.  Step by step.  They asked only one question at a time.  Only after completing that one question were you able to go on.  This did a couple of things.  It didn’t reveal the whole form at once, which may have stopped some people from leaving their info.  But more importantly, by using step by step forms, the campaign could see where people abandoned the forms or had trouble with providing an answer to a particular question.  They could then go back and tweak their data collection to where it was an exceptionally user friendly and not-too-invasive experience for the user.

It certainly was evident to me that Scott was a remakable individual, working with other remarkable individuals, to pull off something completely remarkable.  His passion for engaging people and executing was infectious. And I think that this kind of a Web 2.0 campaign was a natural fit for Barack Obama.  It just wouldn’t have fit with anyone else.  The historic nature of his campaign as well as his ability to connect with people, needed a campaign that was run in a new way, and that could connect individuals and groups on a massive scale.  I just coulnd’t see this kind of energy generated by John McCain, no matter how good of an online team he may have had.

Reading: Seth Godin - The Myth of Big Salaries

Posted on March 23, 2009 by MillerNo Comments

This is a tremendous post by Seth Godin on firms using salaries as a one axis marketing tool.  Here’s an excerpt, but be sure to read the full post, its brilliant.

After a million dollars or so in salary, the absolute amount that a person is paid has no real impact on their life. They can’t eat more meals in a day or wear more shoes. What matters to the manager is the relative amount. How much more would I make over there? Why does that company pay its CEO more than my company pays me?

(Aside: should the guys who drive an armored car that carries millions of dollars in bonds get paid more than the guys that drive an armored car that only carries thousands of dollars in cash? Does the amount of money handled change the difficult of the work?)

Twenty years ago, financial industry salaries were a tiny fraction of what they are today. Did lesser people do the work? Did they try less hard? Think smaller thoughts? Of course not. The reasons salaries are high is that the number is a signaling mechanism, a very expensive marketing campaign.

Full post here.

A Do No Evil code for marketers?

Posted on February 23, 2009 by Miller1 Comment

I was reading Seth Godin’s post today about whether ‘marketing is evil’ or not.  His answer was that while marketing itself isn’t usually evil, market-ers sometimes are, and that can lead to bad things.

While I’d agree, I’d also take a step back and try to look at the business or marketing and advertising.  One of the quotes that stood out to me from the post was:

I’ve got a lot of nerve telling you that what you do might be immoral. It’s immoral to rob someone’s house and burn it to the ground, but is it immoral to market them into foreclosure? Well, if marketing works, if it’s worth the time and money, then I don’t think it matters a bit if you’re doing your job. It’s still wrong.

and

Just because you can market something doesn’t mean you should. You’ve got the power, so you’re responsible, regardless of what your boss tells you to do.

Remember Chris Rock’s bit about gun control?  If you want to cut down on gun violence, make each bullet cost $5,000.  My original thought was that maybe ‘unethical’ advertising should just be more expensive…  Charge more for marketing products that are more dubious like ‘Advertorials,’ ‘Infomercials,’ and paid blog reviews - things that seem to blur the line between advertising and content.  The problem then becomes who is the judge of what’s on either side of the advertising line?

What about a sort of hypocratic oath for marketers - a kind of Do No Evil creed?  If there was some kind of high ethical standard that people were trained in from the get go would that change which products and services are marketed or the way that they are presented?  Or at the end of the day, are we all chasing ad dollars without regard for what we’re helping to market?

If you’re part of an agency or media outlet, how do you balance the need for business with the implications that consuming your clients’ product or service come with?

Apple’s Simplicity

Posted on January 23, 2009 by MillerNo Comments

I read a  great article on TechCrunch this morning that got me thinking about finding customers.  It talked about how Apple is just rocking the marketplace even in a recession and that one of their strengths is the small width of products that they produce:

Apple made $10 billion last year and their simple product line is the key. Look at it. There really aren’t that many products: One cellphone, four iPods, three notebooks, and three desktop computers. Now look at HP’s, Dell’s, or even Garmin and TomTom’s product lines. Apple does something different and hopefully others are taking notes.

Makes sense.  How many GPS units does Garmin make?  82.  Really.   Apple makes only a handful of versions of its products, but packs the hell out of the available features in that unit. Another excerpt:

Consumers hate choices. They say they love them, but have you ever stood in front of a wall of plasmas and LCDs with a random person? I have and did for years at Circuit City. They get overwhelmed by the amount of options, but Apple has made it easy but producing top-notch products that are easily available. The iPhone at Wal-Mart makes sense as it doesn’t require a salesman to sell the hottest phone on the market.

I have to add a couple of thoughts though.  First, I agree that consumers hate choices….to a point.  I think America’s economy is so massive because people want choice in that they want to find products and services that help them express themselves, and express their personality.  So in that sense, choice is good.  But I do agree with the arguement that no one needs 82 choices of GPS.

But there also is a certain illusion of choice.  When there are so many options, the space between the differentiations is so small it can be barely noticable.  But it can be effective.  Look at how many times Taco Bell can re-package Corn, beans, beef, and sour cream into products.

Second, Apple innovates.  When they focus on a product, they build things that are different in so many ways from what already exists.  They create things that are remarkable.  They create products that don’t even need salespeople.  The community and the identity of that community that Apple helped build is one that is a growing niche. That is, they are not afraid to build premium products that ‘are not for YOU.’  They’re not for everyone.  They are, however, built for a niche that has a cool factor.  A community that a lot of people want to be a part of.

My point is that granted, the simplicity factor saves resources and allows them to focus on making a handful of kick ass products.  But simplicity isn’t the answer by itself.  I would argue that its simplicity combined with innovation, and a good understanding of communities that allow it to shine.

Re: Stories You Can Tell

Posted on January 14, 2009 by MillerNo Comments

Read a GREAT post today from Chris Brogan about the importance of storytelling in marketing.  This is also something that Seth Godin beats like a drum.  And I have to agree.  Having  a story to tell, not a pitch, can be so much more effective in getting people to check out your service, your blog, or your product.

It all comes down to connections. People want to experience things with other people and I think in particular the web and social media are the most authentic way to share discovery that’s scalable and available.

BUT I’d say the most important thing in effective storytelling in marketing is that it is authentic. Period.

Here’s some snippets..  (full post here…if you do one thing today, read it)

If you’re the chief storyteller of Skype right now, what are you going to say about the product that will encourage more usage, more uptake, more awareness? The product is fairly solid, has a known set of features, and is one of a few “name brand” products in the Voice over IP space. So what can you say about it?

Companies face this trouble all the time. What will you say about Pepsi? How will you talk about the Ford Flex tomorrow? What should Titleist tell you about their Pro V1 balls?

The Stories You Can Tell

• Talk about the people. Who drives a Flex?
• Talk about success. Who used Pro V1 balls to change their game?

Talk about change. Did Pepsi help a community with an important project?

Look for Stories Everywhere

When you finish this post, stop and think. Where are the stories about your products, your services, your organization, you, the people or places you write about? How are you telling those stories? Are those stories useful? Do they resonate with people?

What comes next in all this is understanding how to move from talking about features into telling stories that make us want to be a part of them

The really cool thing is that I think when people start focusing on stories in marketing, there can be a natural byproduct of doing good, doing the right thing, and helping your community. Actually, that sounds kind of shady… You shouldn’t be doing cool stuff just for the marketing value (I know I know, it happens all the time). BUT maybe realizing the benefits of being cool to those around you, would encourage companies and organizations and YOU to do good for the sake of doing good, because at the end of the day there will be a benefit whether in notoriety or just having a great story to tell…