This week I’ve left a series of posts on how marketers can better serve their customers by joining them in their community. This is an idea that I’ve been hashing out mentally for the past couple of weeks, and that I really wanted to get some feedback from our readers on. But then I realized that it wouldn’t be fair to the other writers if I tried to ‘dominate’ BMA to post about my ideas. And frequently there are stories/items I would like to post about here that are completely off-topic, and again, doing so wouldn’t be fair to our other writers or readers. So what I’ve decided to do is create a new blog. This blog, called The Viral Garden will be a place where I can not only post more in-depth about marketing issues that I want to explore, but also anything else, blogging, music, life, why every TV show that I like gets cancelled after 3 episodes, whatever. The main topic will still be marketing issues, but I reserve the right to get off-topic early and often. Also, on TVG on Monday I posted a sort of pseudo-introduction to the ‘marketing to the community’ series of posts above that I’ve left here on BMA this week. The 3 above posts were also cross-posted on TVG, but I only posted the introductory post on TVG. It will give you a greater idea of what my thinking was with this series of posts. So if you get a chance, check it out! I wanted to cross-post most of the marketing posts on both blogs this week, but from now on both TVG and BMA will usually have different content from my end. Ideally, my posting here will remain the same, but I’ll also bring completely different topics and content to TVG. Not too hard to do when you have a mouth as big as mine.

The New Scientist reports on a device that helps autistic folks communicate by buzzing whenever the person they’re talking to is bored, annoyed, or confused. I want to attach one to every client responsible for 90% of the ads I’ve seen in my life.

Another phrase I hear constantly is that marketers ‘have to listen to the consumer’. I don’t buy it. I think the key isn’t to listen to the consumer, but rather to understand them. Think of everything/one you listen to in an average day. Do you understand everything you hear? If so you’re a better listener than I am. How do we understand the consumer? By having a conversation. Communication leads to understanding, well usually. As we have a greater understanding of the consumer, we can better serve and anticipate their wants and needs. And as the consumer has a greater understanding of our role as marketers, they will begin to more freely communicate with us, which leads to greater understanding for both groups. But how do we communicate with them? I can’t see ‘communicate with marketers today’ as being in the ‘to-do’ list for many consumers. It’s up to us as marketers to join their community, so we can communicate with them at a time and place that’s convenient for them. This is the main flaw I find in blogs as a communication tool with consumers, because the convenience factor is more in the hands of the company and the marketers. If Company A starts a blog and begins communicating with their customers, that’s great, but the customers have to come to the blog to talk to Company A. Why can’t Company A go to the customers? And why can’t they have a communication tool that provides true communication, and not posting and commenting? IMO, that’s the next step in the company/customer communication process beyond blogs, an outlet that’s convenient to the customers, and in their backyard, not the company’s. But that’s another post for another day. Listening isn’t the key. Understanding is. Understanding comes from communication, and communication starts when we are in a place that makes the interaction convenient for the consumer. That place is their community.

Bank of America said forget it. Pepsi said they’ll have to wait and see. Home Depot said that if anyone can prove that he’s not a cheater, that they’ll think about it. The number of big-name corporations getting in line to promote Barry Bonds’ breaking the all-time home run record aint too long these days. Which sucks for the MLB, because they desperately need all the help they can get in reviving interest in a sport that has for decades billed itself as ‘America’s Pastime’. In actuality the only thing saving baseball from slipping to the 4th most popular pro sport spot is the fact that we don’t have enough ice here for curling. Attendance has been down at almost every ballpark in the league for 1 or 2 decades. The last time anyone cared about baseball was in 1998 when the country was mesmerized by Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire chasing the single-season HR record. Ironically, it now looks like they were both juicing at the time. BTW did you know Barry broke McGwire’s record for most HRs in a season a couple of years later? Did you care? Exactly. And no, no one defecated in my Cheerios this morning, but I do have a head-cold that’s degraded me to making a continous low drone that’s akin to a milk-cow with a bursting udder. Maybe that’s put me in a pissy mood, or maybe it’s hearing about companies like Home Depot and Pepsi’s internal marketing struggles as they try to decide if they want to spend money on promotional campaigns to give Barry a ‘Nice juicing there, big guy!’ slap on the backside as he tops Hank Aaron’s all-time HR record. Is this really the best way for these major corporations to spend their marketing dollars? I’ll let you contemplate that question as myself and my sinuses go back to mooing in the background.

I hear so many marketers saying that you have to ‘interact’ and ‘participate’ with ‘the community’. I say good ideas, but let’s take it a step further, and say that we need to JOIN the community. Hugh starts using blogs to sell wine, and Stormhoek’s sales double in less than 12 months. Why? Because Hugh himself is a blogger, he understands how bloggers think, and what appeals to them. He helps the employees at Stormhoek become bloggers themselves, ie, he brings them into the community, the blogosphere. Would this have worked if Stormhoek had tried to market their wine to bloggers without joining the community? Probably not. Again, it’s not enough to interact with the community, you have to join it. I’ll go back to the JewelStock example. This event wasn’t a huge success because Jewel interacted with her fans via their emailing list, it was a success because a member of her management was a PARTICIPATING MEMBER of that emailing list. This gave her fans DIRECT contact with the artist. Otherwise the concerts likely would have never happened. Here’s how it came about, according to one of the event organizers, who was also a member of the emailing list:

”In response to a list members off-hand request, Jewel agreed to give a private concert for the list members. Through Hiranya, a Jewel management contact and sometimes participant in the list group discussions, Jewel made an early June post agreeing to do a private performance. The response from the list was phenomenal”

And again, this event wasn’t organized and carried out via the internet in 2006, it was organized and carried out via the internet in 1996. That’s the power of being a part of the community. And it goes beyond the obvious; that being a part of the community means you better understand your customers. What happens when you better understand your customers is that you can better serve them by anticipating their wants and needs. And the best part? As we correctly anticipate the consumers’ wants and needs, and fill them, a trust is developed, which leads to the consumer lowering their defenses and letting us interact with them on a deeper level. This leads to a greater understanding of their needs, which means we can more quickly and effectively meet these needs, and thus the cycle is created. Extra point: With that higher level of trust comes the creation of a barrier to entry for your competitors. Extra extra point: When you join the community, you become a part of the community. As a result, the wants and needs of the community become your wants and needs. You, as a member of the blogging community, are reading this because you want to read something interesting. I am also a member of the blogging community, and I am writing this because I want you to find it interesting. If I am meeting your wants and needs, then mine are satisfied as well. Nettwerk opposes the RIAA’s stance on file sharing because they believe music should be more freely shared, as does the community of music fans, which they are a part of.

This is what would happen in Microsoft redesigned the ipod package…. Pretty funny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeXAcwriid0

The Wooster Collective, a blog/website that focuses on street and graffiti art from around the world, is calling all hands on deck for an informal discussion about how street art and branded content might work together:

So an idea we have is to put together a group of informal and relaxed meetings and get togethers where brand managers, creatives at advertising agencies, designers, can meet with a group of graffiti and street artists informally over beers and share their thoughts, ideas, and vision for how both brands and artists can mutually benefit.

If you’re interested in joining the conversation, email them at woostercollective@gmail.com

The NYC blog, The Gothamist, has a brief but interesting discussion on what consumers buy to hide…what consumers buy. Of note, 25% of men and women will purchase extra items simply to cover up their more embarrassing items. Topping the list:

The five most embarrassing products for women to purchase, according to the News, are Lice Killing Shampoo, Vagisil, Condoms, Hemorrhoid Cream and Pill. Meanwhile, the five most embarrassing products for men to purchase are Condoms, Anti-Diarrheal caplets, Hemorrhoid Cream, Suppositories and Vagisil.

How’s that for a quick study in consumer behavior?

So Gm has decided to lay off 500 salary workers, and offer buyouts to hourly workers. Note to GM - It starts at the top. Don’t blame the unions. Don’t blame Japan. Blame yourselves. I cringe at the fact that I bought a Japanese car, but I could not find an American car that fit my needs. Note to GM Employees - You don’t have it that bad. In fact, take the buyouts, smile, move from the rustbelt, go to school, get a new job, and buy a Prius. Just realize that we, as Americans do feel for you. But, we also have little sympathy for your situation. It is hard to feel bad for these people. While it is sad they are losing their jobs, they need to realize that they are living in a utopia that does not exist elsewhere in America. The GM Salary Worker Layoff - “Hank, we need to let you go. As part of the agreement, you will recieve one month severence pay for every year you worked, which ads up to nine months. In addition to this severnece, GM will continue to pay your health insurance premiums, and let you keep your company car. You will also be eligible for unemployment” The GM Hourly Worker - “Jim, Here is $140,000 to walk out today. We lost 10 billion dollars. Take it or leave it” The Advertising Agency Layoff - “Hey, Bob. Thanks for the five years. Business is slow. We need to lay you off. We will provide a good reference, and you can keep your laptop” This is how it goes. So GM workers - you were born into the bowtie. Your kids went to college on the bowtie. Now it is time to start over…. JK

‘The consumer is in control, so get out of their way!’ A ‘Marketing 2.0’ catch-phrase that I just don’t understand. ’Getting out of the way’ implies to me that the consumer leads, and that marketers follow. I prefer to think that our goal as marketers is to clear a path for the consumer. The consumer will eventually reach their destination with or without us, but the value we bring to the equation is to help the consumer reach their destination as effectively as possible. We can’t clear a path if the consumer is leading us. And if we get too far ahead of the consumer, we lose the ability to accurately anticipate their path. So we walk with the consumer. If the consumer leads, our ability to clear their path is diminished, which doesn’t serve the best interest of the consumer. If the marketer leads, then our ability to understand the consumer is diminished, which means our ability to understand which path they will take is lessened. And that’s not in their best interest either. It also doesn’t help us. The best interests of BOTH the consumer and the marketer are best served when we walk together. And how do we walk with the consumer? By joining their community.

Sweet November, Thirtysomething, Bewitched, Bosom Buddies, Crazy People, Picture Perfect, Melrose Place, Felicity, How to Get A Head in Advertising and Nothing in Common-What do all these television shows and movies have in common? Take a guess. If you said all of them make lame attempts to pretend to be about advertising than you should reach around and pat yourself on the back. Of course, the second to last should have been a pretty clear hint. True, this is only a fraction of the films and shows with advertising mixed into their plots, but what amazes me is how wrong each seems to go. I remember once sitting in an interview session with a college senior as she described the advertising career path as she understood it from Thirtysomething. “You start out as an art director. Then you become a copywriter. And then you become an account executive.” What was saddest about this whole event was that it took place at a respectable university. The other thing that amazes me is how little work actually seems to get done in any of these films or TV shows. It’s as if advertising isn’t a real profession. Rather advertising is an entertaining backdrop for people who are eagerly and dramatically stabbing each other in the back, as they jump in and out of each other’s exploding beds. The saddest thing about the whole situation is that the films which in my opinion actually come the closest to being about the profession are the nearly pure comedies, like Crazy People and Nothing in Common, where at least there is some indication of idea generation and work being done, even if it is done with sarcasm. The thing is years ago, when Truth in Advertising became an internet sensation, I was dumbstruck that something had finally come close to the truth of our profession after so many film and television shows had missed the mark. Now after having caught a late night showing of Barbarians at The Gate, where they turned a hostile takeover into a combination of high art and high comedy, why can’t anyone do the same for advertising? Imagine it, Where Suckers Moon, THE MOVIE! And Then We Set His Hair on Fire, THE MOVIE! Hell, even Ogilvy, the Man, the Myth, the Legend would do. I have to admit, I was hoping that Donny’s The Big Idea, might offer a true perspective on our industry to the world, but once I had seen every member of the caste of Las Vegas, with the exception of Jame Caan, on the show I realized that wasn’t the direction he was going. In summation, advertising is a dramatic, interesting, engrossing and invigorating profession with all the drama of financial thriller like Barbarians at the Gate, all the deciet of Shattered Glass and all the intrigue of any of the numerous Enron documentaries and dramatizations, so why can’t anyone in Hollywood see our profession is something more than a colorful backdrop for Jennifer Aniston or Keanu Reeves?

If I throw the name Deborah Morrison into the mix, most people will probably scratch their head for a moment and then move on. She’s not in the index of the latest awards annuals. She’s not the creative director at the hottest of the hot agencies. But she probably trained the person who’s in both of those roles. Deborah spent 18 years molding some of the top creative minds in the country from a rather unlikely spot: austin, texas. The Texas Creative Program is one of the lesser known, and more highly respected ad programs in the country. And Deborah built it from the ground up. She’s got her own unique style of…well, of just about everything. I had the good fortune of being in a couple of her classes during my stint at UT. I can’t recall the number of times I heard her say, “It needs more…more…” and then walk away. When she did finish that sentence, it usually ended with “scratch”. Either way, Deborah managed to tell you that it (a paper, a spec ad, your life) needed more and left the thought open-ended enough to let you figure out what “more” meant. She’s also decided to share her way of thought, dubbed “Morrisonian Theory” over the years, with the rest of us ad folks. Check out her column in the latest update of TalentZoo.com, Beyond Obligation. Deborah was also interviewed recently on The Ranch, a new blog by the students of the Texas Creative Program. Much to the chagrin of the UT community, Deborah has now moved on to the University of Oregon where she will head up their new creative program (Isabella, you’ll live to regret this). Keep an eye on them. They’re sure to become an ad school of note over the next few years. Edit: It appears that AdPulp has picked up on the Morrisonian Theory as well.

While waiting for my non-toxic, biodegradable all purpose cleaner to start doing it’s magic on my Petri-dish of a refrigerator I decided to check in on Green Team, one of my favorite hippie ad agencies. Turns out they have a new project: After These Messages. They’ve teamed with the The Art Directors Club to create a website where you judge produced work on six criteria that include effectiveness, creativity, and what kind of karma it will bring its creators. You can even submit your own work. To prove that hippies are materialistic too, you earn points for judging spots and referring friends. Earn 3000 points and you get a very cool silver ring for that eco-friendly finger of yours. I think as this site grows it will be a fun new place to check out new work and have discuss how our work impacts the world around us. Because while we’re busy creating countless messages, some of them are sink in somewhere. And I personally would like to be proud of what I’m saying. Okay, enough crunchiness out of me. I’m going to go drive around aimlessly in my pick up truck for a while.

Okay since time began there has been one role almost universally reviled in society, middlemen. Middle managers are seen as unnecessary. The Middle-class is often despised as “bourgeois” and bears the brunt of the tax system. And more and more often we hear how removing the middlemen will either save us money or make us money, depending which end of things we find ourselves. But, what none of these views really take into account is the greatest value of the middleman. THE MIDDLEMAN IS THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS WHAT’S GOING ON AT BOTH ENDS. Middlemen have a unique position as far as being enablers and catalysts. They make introductions and, when they do their jobs sincerely, they ensure quality. So as with my columns in the past, you may be wondering, “what the devil does this have to do with advertising?” Simply this, everyday small and medium-sized agencies are confronted with a marketplace where clients are approached by newspapers, radio stations or cable companies who offer to do an ad for them just for buying space or time. The clients are told they will save not only on creative costs, but they can avoid the agency commissions. What’s lost is the value of powerful creative. What’s lost is the bargaining power of an agency who buys media in quantity, power that can actually reduce costs. And most importantly, what’s lost is a client advocate with the experience, creativity and insight to not just save the clients money and ensure quality printing and broadcast, but create communications that will make the clients money. Likewise, as a creative I’ve been told how other sorts of middlemen are unnecessary. “You don’t need a headhunter. They are just middlemen.” “You don’t need a director. They will just get in the middle and take all the credit.” “You don’t need a web designer, an account executive, a traffic manager…” And the list goes on and on. But guess what, you do. True, your work, direct relationships and reputation are your greatest assets when looking for work, but you can never know everyone. For headhunters, it’s their job to know the openings and the talent. Like matchmakers of old, they build their reputations matching the right people with the right opportunities. Ignore either end and their reputation suffers. So when a headhunting resource is able to staying in business long enough to build a reputation, it’s a resource to be respected and valued. And most of all it’s a darn site better than offering a $3000 kick back to anyone you who’s email address you can get. Likewise, directors are just as much glory hounds as we creatives are. And why shouldn’t they be? If your director didn’t bring something extra to the table, you wouldn’t want them to be involved in the first place. But going without one, is to deny yourself the insights that their specialization can offer. Because that’s the value of middlemen—specialization. If they are good, each brings with them skills and resources that you might be able to duplicate, but not without distracting you from your specialization. So the moral of the story is this—the next time someone tells you how removing the middleman will improve things, remember when you remove the guy who’s stuck in the middle generally you end up taking his place with clowns to left of you and jokers to the right, but, unlike the song, you’re all by yourself.

That’s weird. I have seen a bunch of other weird crap. I have done some weird crap. But I have learned that when you look desperate, no one wants to hire you. And the sad thing is, the more jobs you get turned down for, the more desperate you get. Thats why the e-mail went out. Becasue that person hit rock bottom. He was desperate, and now his desperation showed. Awhile back I had an opprtunity for an Account Supervisor job. I interviewed three times, and thought they really went well. I got a call telling me that they went with another canididate. No biggie. I am used to it. Sometimes things just don’t fit. Except, the next day I saw the same job listing on a job board. I was pissed! Why did they lie to me? WTF. So being a true 25 year old dipshit, I called and left a message like this: Hello XXX, Its Chris. I don’t want to sound desperate or anything…..well, I am not desperate, I just noticed that you are still looking for an Account Supervisor, and that is strange becuase you told me you hired someone else. I would still be interested if you are still looking, if it was the money maybe we can talk about it…..I just can’t figure out why you lied about the other person…. What an idiot! I was so mad at myself for even leaving that message. Of course, I did not get a call back. If I did, I would have hung up on them myself. In our business, it is all about confidence. The second you lose that confidence, is the second that you lose everything. I lost my confidence for a second, and I regret it to this day. Anyways, here is some of the crap I have seen: The billboard. OMG what an idiot. Had his resume on a friggen billboard. Guess he did not know about the 6-8 word thing The newspaper ad - Will work for blah, blah, blah. Pathetic But job hunting is tough. I have been lucky all of my life in that I always have had a job while looking. And if I was unemployed, boy, I may get desperate. I have seen a lot of crap. My favorites: “Well, Chris, I have some good news. This summer we are offering health insurance for the first time” - umm, hello McFly, what? They did not even get the patented JK triple thank you “Could you work for us on a contract basis for 3 to 6 months” - Sure, no problem. I will drop my benefits to try you out for three months. And then you can let me walk because I finished the project. 4th interview “So Chris, We are impressed with you. Would you work for $xx. We realize that you are making $XX now, but we have really cool clients” - Sorry man, it’s all about the money. Or the “Disappear act” Because I do not like confrontation, you will NEVER hear from us again. Follow up as you must, we will delete your e-mails, delete your messages, and tear your letters. While we appreciate your time, we are much too busyt to even write the dreaded form letter. Ok wow. I am done. JK

Now just how cool is this Adidas ’street art’ campaign from Germany? Adidas set up blank billboards with nothing but a small Adidas logo at the top, and let the kids have at it. Their ‘finished’ product is the pic on the left. Then Adidas came back and put up the billboard you see on the right, in the same spot. Note that they incorporated some of the graffiti from the old billboard into the design of the shoe. Pure genius. This is a classic example of how marketers can join the community, which I’m going to talk about more in a few days. Adidas let the kids express themselves, then used their input in the creation process. This sends the message to the consumer that Adidas is listening, and is a part of their community. The big question is: When the kids return to find the ‘finished’ billboard, will they view it as an advertisement, or as a product that they helped create? My guess is that it will be the latter, and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if they decided that the ‘finished’ billboard from Adidas wasn’t done after all, and added some extra spice to it. And I doubt Adidas would care, in fact I’d bet they are counting on it. Both pics came from WoosterCollective(Check em out!), and AdRants also has a write-up on them. UPDATE: After visiting WoosterCollective, they mentioned what Abbey did, that it looks like Adidas planted some of the graffiti on the first versions. Like I told Abbey, I don’t have a big problem with that, as they likely did it to ‘get the ball rolling’. Now if they come back and plant a bunch of ‘graffiti’ on the ‘finished’ billboard, then they would have gone too far. I still love the concept. BTW sorry to our feed readers for sending this post through like 8 times, damned Blogger didn’t want to line the pics up right.

Buffy McCoy Kelly is VP/Creative Director at Neiman Group. She’s won One Show gold, was named one of the 2005’s Top 25 Advertising Working Mothers of the Year, and one of the “Up and Comers” under the age of 35, by Working Mother Magazine and AWNY. She kick-boxes, plays the drums, grows a mean peony, and always expects to have the door held for her.

Okay, now that we’ve hit critical mass and I won’t have the one, weird, non-music post (though I love reading your stuff Mack) I’m going to give this a shot. So I’ve been thinking about mentors. In short, I think more juniors should have them. And I think more of them should have juniors. I’ve had some wonderful informal relationships with CDs, but I wonder how many other juniors get this? How many others can call on a CD who isn’t their boss, when they need help that their boss just can’t give them. I mean, I’ve learned a ton from the people I’ve worked for. But there’s something unique about going to a CD and being able to ask any question you want without fear of getting fired. And don’t CDs get something out of this? We all know you’re busy, but there must be something you can learn from us too. Fresh ideas and perspectives simply from growing up in a different place and time. The ability to get in the mind of a junior who isn’t on your payroll. Or, to paraphrase one of my favorite CDs “I hope to be working for you one day.” Like I said, I’ve been lucky and kept in touch with some wonderful people who have helped me immeasurably. But I found them all through pure luck (and hard work). Maybe mentors should be part of unpaid internships. Or maybe we could all just start posting ads on CraigsList.org.

One ad agency website that, in my opinion, is worthy of everyone’s attention is Boston’s Modernista! Modernista! designs their website around strange and beautiful works of art which seem to change yearly. They’ve also archived the past versions. All versions are a sight to behold. Note especially the interesting religious and occult imagery in Version 2 and the ghoulish figures in Version 3 that a former co-worker of mine described as “scary and disturbing.” Another interesting feature of Modernista!’s website is that along with their agency philosophy and a showcase of their work, they feature links to various art projects and artists that the agency is involved with. It’s well worth your time to click around on each version, there’s some really cool stuff to explore. Now I personally don’t know what Modernista!’s philosophy is behind their websites, and I don’t mean to put words in their mouth, but I think it shows a passion for original and compelling art and communication. I also think that unique websites like this serve as a great filter for finding the kind of people and clients that you want to work with. If someone’s drastically offended by ghoulish creatures, occult symbols, and creepy babies, then perhaps they aren’t the like-minded individuals that Modernista! wants to be associated with. In my opinion, Modernista!’s work is pretty solid, with a couple of stellar pieces. And Lord knows we would all be better off if Hummer vanished off the face of the earth. But with their website, Modernista! shows that they are an agency definitely worth watching in today’s crowded ad world.

AdPulp has a bit of a tizzy on their hands this morning. Piers from PSFK is upset because David is re-posting posts from other blogs, on Adpulp. David is doing this, but he’s also clearly linking back to the original articles in the process. Piers doesn’t think that’s good enough, and would prefer that David just post a snippet of the article, or summarize it, and not re-post the entire article. I’m posting this to see what you guys think. Personally I think the exposure that a blogger would get via AdPulp is going to ultimately benefit the blog more than it hurts it, but I can also understand why Piers doesn’t like the practice. I’ve had other blogs do the same with my posts before, and I was flattered that someone would think enough of my work to re-post it. Now where I *do* see a problem is with blogs that re-post original content from another blog on their blog, and do NOT link back to the original content. That’s a major no-no, but again, that’s not what happened in this case. So what do you guys think, is AdPulp in the wrong here, or is this no big deal? And if someone started re-posting your articles(with a link), would this upset you, or would you view it as a way to get your thoughts exposed to more people?