Good snapshots of some major campaigns. Check it out.
marketing-campaign
A great display of the eveolution of 20 major brand logos.
Brand Logo Evolutions
A good overview of social media sites that appeared in, believe it or not, Northwest Airlines World Traveler Magazine.
NWA World Traveler
It's always interesting on flights. I find myself getting lost in my thoughts. Todays flight in particular. Thinking of life, love, family, childredn, friends, business and relationships. How they all work independently, but then how they also work together - sometimes like a nice, oiled machine, sometimes not. Especially when types of relationships mix - friends and business. Interesting dynamics. I've been playing that game for so long, it doesn't really even phase me. I always enjoy working with friends. There's a level of trust as well as quality that is unspoken, but understood. Also, some great business relationships have become wonderful friendships.
I feel electrified. On the verge of something big. Just a new found energy flowing through me, but with an extremely calm mind and relaxed state.
While deep in these "in-flight" thoughts and gazing out the window at the lights below, I get lost in my ipod. I find myself picking out random songs that have some sort of meaning at that moment. Tonights selections, Velvet Revolver's Fall to Pieces, Jeff Buckley's Lilac Wine, some Tori Amos, Rush's Closer to the Heart among others, and ending with one of my all time favorites, This is the 21st Century by Marillion. A brilliant song. Go to iTunes and get it now. Darken the room and crank the volume up to 11.
Some lyrics:
"This is the 21st century
Flash to crash and burn
Nobody's gonna give you anything
For nothing in return
There's a man up in a mirrored building
And he just bought the world
Would you want
To have kids
Growing up
Into what's left of this?
She shook her head,
She said "Can't you see?
The world is you
The world is me."
Good article from Idris Mootee posted on the Marketing & Strategy Innovation Blog this morning. Check it out.
advertising_is_simple_it_all_c.html
I recently landed a big project for a new client, a technology company. Last night I couldn't sleep. Yes, I was excited for this new venture, but that wasn't it. After struggling to try and sleep for a few hours, drifting in and out, I realized something. I was processing and concepting the new client challenges. Rehearsing the steps for branding and developing a marketing strategy for them. That's something that I probably have been doing for years, but just have never been aware of it. Despite the lack of sleep, it feels good and I feel like I accomplished something. Wonder if that sort of thing is billable?
Anyone else have any similar "processing" type rituals or habits?
The West Michigan (and I suspect elsewhere) market is hurting. Hurting bad. Just in the last 2 weeks I’ve heard from several graphic designers, photographers, printers, film and video folks, web designers, ad agency’s and web programmers – all looking for work. Not good.
From what I’m seeing, there’s work out there… BUT… you have to work and dig extremely hard for it. I don’t have all the answers, but some things to think about. How are you using social media sites? Are you on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Plaxo, etc? A great little program I ran across is ping.fm. This allows you to update your status across several social media sites. Great for saving time. But when you change and update your status, is it really relevant to what you do or the work you’re looking for? Keep that in mind. Always your audience must be top of mind. Do they really need to know that you’re enjoying a cup of coffee or just got done letting the dog out? This is fine if you use these media’s for purely social. But if you’re using them for business that type of post isn’t going to cut it. People want to know what interesting things you’re doing. Updates like: “Strategizing a communications campaign for a professional services client,” would be more appropriate. It updates your readers on what you’re doing but relating it back to what you do. Strategize. It could trigger something in someone’s mind that could lead to a call, some business, a referral, etc. This type of status update is meaningful. Also, what about linking to related blogs, articles or websites. These can be invaluable to clients. Clients are always tied down dealing with internal politics, budget issues and don’t always have time to think about the future. That’s where you can help them. Send them information that may be pertinent to them and their industry. Help them. That’s how you bring value and strengthen relationships.
I also work my network. A network is truly what makes a person successful. Contact anyone and everyone that you know. Update them on what you’re doing and what you’re looking for. Even if you haven’t talked in years, reach out. The larger your network base, the more successful you will be at finding employment or gaining work or recommendations. Do breakfasts, lunches, dinner, drinks, whatever it takes to get face time and to show your portfolio. Also reach out to folks that come in contact with a variety of businesses like printers, photographers or even insurance people. Anyone in your network is valuable as long as they clearly understand you and what you’re looking for.
Keep digging, keep networking and don’t stop. This is something that you really must do all the time, not only when things are tough, and it has to be a conscious effort. I typically have 8-12 networking (and new business) meetings per week, around 10-16 phone conversations, and spend an hour each night returning emails and surfing industry blogs and articles. I don’t think this is the magic combination, but it works for me. You need to find that magic combination that works for you.
Good luck and happy networking!
Hi All,
First off, thanks so much for all the wonderful comments on this post. I really had no idea how many people actually read this and how many people the "Happiness" post hit affected.
So what's going on with me. Still doing weekly acupuncture (thanks Kirsten) and it's feeling incredible. Last week during my apppointment I went "deeper" into a relaxed state that I hadn't felt before. And sleeping that night and since, feeling so rested. Probably the best sleep I've had in 6 or 8 years. My 4 am wake-up has move back a bit to more of a reasonable hour - 5:30. Still up here and there at 4 but able to get back to sleep within 10 minutes. In addition to the acupuncture I've started taking some Chinese herbs (again, thanks Kirsten) which address the insomnia, calm my mind and work on nourshing my blood and deal with my yin deficiencies in my lungs, heart and kidney. Also reduces my "heat" (no worries, i'll still be hot, just not a furnace, lol).
I've still been reading The Power of Now, listening to a lot of the Marillion cd and meditating. Also, have been pretty much kicking the coffee, on the green tea. So it's probably a combination of things, but I'm feeling absolutely incredible and my mind is becoming more and more clear of "noise".
I also seem to be managing my workload better. Better time management and juggling schedules. Things just seem to have clicked into place.
I've also been doing a good job of catching myself when I start stressing or feeling hurried. Reminding myself to breathe.
All is well and rolling on my journey.
Thanks for listening.
The January 2009 list for the top 150 twitter users with advertising and marketing blogs.
Enjoy!
http://www.twitterpower150.com/
I was talking with a friend today (thanks Chris from across the pond) and he reminded me about a few things that we all (including myself) tend to forget about.
During tough times marketers and advertisers need to take advantage of that. Chances are, if you're cutting budgets, your competitors are as well. And then with nobody in your industry is advertising, sending direct mail, etc. isn't this a golden opportunity for you to take advantage of all that open space?
In tough times, we all think about efficiencies, accountability, ROI and lead generation. An integrated approach is still the best, but with shrinking budgets you have to make every dollar work for you. It's easy to throw money at marketing activities when budgets are huge, but the true test of your marketing is to make it work in today's economy. Every single penny you spend must count and help drive leads and convert them to sales, build and strengthen your brand and help the bottom line of your company.
Think long and hard about your audience and what makes them tick. Then sharpen your marketing sword and develop a targeted strategy.
Excellent article by David C. Baker, Bringing More Process to Creativity. I couldn't find it published online anywhere so you'll have to look for the most recent issue of Communication Arts.
He talks about the process ladder, why we shun process, and the benefits of incorporating more process. I'm a firm believer in process, even when it comes to creativity and this article sums it up nicely.
The final thought in this article... "What passes for fixation on quality by many creatives is really just a fixation on control. If they really cared about quality, they'd pay a lot more attention to process."
Go buy this magazine now.
Won’t you help to sing these songs of freedom?
‘cause all I ever have…is redemption songs.
Emancipate yourself from mental slavery.
None but ourselves can free our minds.
- Bob Marley, Redemption Song
A repost from the Pop!Tech blog. Gives some great thought into what 2009 regarding leadership, branding and brand loyalty. Good stuff.
http://www.poptech.org/blog/index.php/2009/01/01/the-business-leader-2009-chief-meaning-officer/