The Land of Misfit toy

Sometimes the advertising world is much like the land of misfit toys. You have entire offices that are filled with people that understand people but are totally out of touch with normal people. I find that most people in advertising are suspended in a state of perpetual childhood. Like children they bounce from one thing to next, the latest trend, platform, media or app. What is an app anyway? Well I guess there is an app for just about everything. They are always chasing the next big thing.

Well I guess that's what makes advertising effective. It's the inner child that is deep inside each of us the marketers tap. They bring out the kid who want's to drive his toy truck thru the mud after the rain.f

Advertising Placement

Everyone knows that in advertising, placement and audience targeting is everything. These guys hit a grand slam home run with their spot in the newspaper.

Too much Photoshop

The pictures are always better than the real thing

Enough said. Your product shouldn't be this much worse than your packaging photos. 

The Battle Within

I often like to talk about the battles that we face from our competition or within an organization. Those are the types of battles that make headlines, captivates audience and draw lots of attention from others. In these cases we often hear lots of opinions and "what I'd do..". But what about those internal battles and curscial decisions that are waged in the mind? How do we reckon with those things when there is no one to side with you.

We have often heard the old adage that your greatest enemy lies within. This is true think how many times that you have thought of a great idea but did not act or investigate it. You just let it slip through the cracks. As time passes by you see something and it looks vaguely familar. It's yeah, the product, service, process that you thought of. But strangely get again you're not the one receiving the royalty fees or payments for it. Instead you are in the line buying the xzy. Why are you in line buying? Or better yet rushing to catch up with your competition.

You just got beat by your greatest competitor, you. Yes you. You were out smarted by you. Who else would possibly be able to point out all of the flaws and missing data. Who else would be able to craft such an eloquent argument about the lack of this of this or that. No one but you.
So how do you beat you with the need for proof and perfection?

Step 1) Is there any one person or thing in this present world that is perfect? No, Nothing we do will be perfect but we strive for perfection each day of life. With each day of our life we stride one step closer to perfection.
Step 2) Agree to take one step forward in the direction of your xzy. As take this step visualize xzy in action. Walk around xyz, examine xyz as you are touring xyz write down what you see.
Step 3) Agree that xyz is possible remember that you just saw it. Take another step forward walk through the marketplace and look at xyz competition. Now write down a comparison between xyz and the others. Write down your competitive advantage.
Step 4) Believe. If you don't be in the xyz then chances are no one else will. Evangelize xyz to others. Telling people about xyz accomplishes two things
1) Your are able receive feedback back from others
2) Your are now becoming responsible and accountable for xyz. When we tell others can no longer just play like that idea never happened.
Step 5) Rally the troops and resource. By now you have told everyone you know about xyz and how it will make their life better. Now it is time to sign up those people's time and resources to launch xyz.

You can do it! You have won the battle it's out of your head and into your hands. Now go out and fight because have to win the war!

Making the most out of any situtation

I recently went to watch the Kansas City Royals take on the Boston Red Sox. I know what you're thinking Royals against the Red Sox there's no competition there right? Well that's what I was thinking that the Royals couldn't buy a game if they tried. Well it's true the Kansas City Royals suck. So I was going to see the Red Sox play. It had rained almost the entire day but I had already paid for the tickets so I went. I didn't want to go but I went with my lovely wife and office mates. We brought a few extra dry towels along the way for good measure.

Well we proceeded into the stadium we almost went to our seats in the nosebleed section but we didn't we found a section of dry seats underneath the club level seats. These seats were nice they were dry and we were sitting in between third base and home. The game went as expected the Sox dominated scoring six runs in one inning. This was great until started to rain. This was still good we were still dry as the other spectators started running for cover. My wife leaned over and ask me something peculiar and seemingly simple "Can the Royals come back?". My answer was as any baseball fans know is "Now way" they are down 9-0 in the bottom of the 6th inning.

Then is started the Royals scored 1 run then another. Oh well at least it won't be a shut out. Then it continued. The Royals continued to score in the next inning. Another thing happened most of the spectators didn't come back, they went home. A few of my office mates were able to make it down and sat directly behind the Red Sox's dugout in the rain. Everyone else either went home or was satisfied with being dry.

I couldn't sit there any longer I had go out there! This was my chance to watch a great game and be mere feet away from some the greatest baseball players of all times. Being dry wasn't worth missing the opportunity to see Big Papi step out of the dugout and go up to bat. WOW, in most stadiums and on most days an average guy like myself would never have that opportunity. So I did! I watched the Royals comeback and beat the Red Sox 12 to 9 in the rain! This was a day of in probables but a day not to forget.

The lesson I learned is even a dark raining circumstance can yield special opportunities.

If it ain't broke then it well be. So fix it !!

We have long heard the saying "If it ain't broke then don't fix it". This saying in the online space is pure foolishness. If you are doing the same thing the same way that you did it last year and year before then you broken and don't know it. You will also be broke $$ or looking for a new career if you don't change.

Today we live in a hyper competitive world and everyone is looking to be successful. Most people and organizations will readily look at a competitor and say "we're better". We so often forget that others are doing the same thing to us or we underestimate the "little guy". This is a sign of defeat underestimating because of lack the of "x". The little guy has nothing to lose! He/she will dissect and find inefficiencies in your processes. He also beat you with the next last greatest and take your loyal customers. Loyal customers can't stand to lose money, they're business people after all, not government bureaucrats.

So think like the little guy that you were before you got big. Or the little guy will find the fix.