The perfect symbol for what’s next: ;

Recently I saw an ad for The Purpose Prize, funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies and the John Templeton Foundation. It is a $750,000 prize to invest in people over 60 who are changing the world. Finally! I have grown quite weary of all the negative dialogue about “boomers” and wondered when our generation might use our sheer strength, and collective intelligence, to change the way some think of us and the whole aging process.

Here are just some of the things I predict just might become fads:
- Gray hair is the new blonde
- Wrinkles are beautiful, so are age spots
- Slow movement is seen as smart
- Experience is priceless
- Typefaces over 12 pt are in style
- and yes – having an encore is the new “retirement”

See that symbol in the headline? It’s the old-fashioned semi-colon and I am impressed with the perfection of its use. ; Encore Careers, the ad goes on to say that the purpose of the organization and the prize money, is to celebrate and advance the work of people over 60 who are using their experience to take on society’s biggest challenges in new and innovative ways. Bravo, bravo, bravo – and thank you! Intrigued? The website is www.Encore.org.

So what is your ;?

Defining Marketing – not so easy

It’s a great time to be in business – calls are coming in, clients are happy and being a publicist is once again in demand. The problem is where to find great new members of our team? Over the years I have heard others say that building a team is far more difficult than building client business. Right now it’s not really about finding smart people; it’s about the job description! Just what is marketing in today’s environment? An advertising agency friend of mine and I have a lively debate about “the middle ground” of marketing. Is social media best left to advertising pros or PR experts? Who really is in charge of the message these days? Many will quickly say that social media belongs to the younger generation, but those of us over 40 know that representing a brand is a tricky place to be and often not a good place for someone beginning their career. I just read a great book, Groundswell, and they tell a story of a 70 year old professional who is managing the social networking for a top car manufacturer. Now that is interesting! Is marketing then “everything” and it is not only vital to business but will truly take a team to manage? I hope so, putting smart people together for a well considered outcome will always be the way to go. Now back to that job description!

As we get close to Grandparent’s Day 2009 …

In 1978 President Jimmy Carter signed a proclamation declaring the Sunday after Labor Day as the official day to celebrate Grandparents.

As the then Director of Communications for the National Restaurant Association this was a stellar opportunity to give diners just one more reason to dine out. You may not realize that after individual birthdays, the #1 day to dine out each year is Mother’s Day. Our mission was to promote this new observance, National Grandparents Day and assure we helped restaurateurs fill their restaurants and offer their customers another great reason to dine with the family; dine out that is.

Partnering with FTD and the Hallmark marketing teams we did just that. I never walk by a Hallmark store without thinking about how smart their marketing was then and is now.

Sometimes it is not about huge campaigns to get your message across, sometimes it’s just about making something special.

As we move forward with this new economic climate, try to add “something special” to your message and watch where it takes you. Possibly decades from now you too will see something you began today still be resonating with consumers in the future.
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Recently I read an article about two very smart women who have started a Boot Camp for Retirement. Is that brilliant? Retirement puts your life in reverse; instead of saving money you are now suppose to withdraw. Instead of having a full plate of things to do you are suppose to relax. This boot camp helps people know exactly what they are getting into when they retire.

I wish Marcia Tillotson and Joy Kenefick great success and don’t be surprised if someday I call on them to learn the important lessons of this next stage of life.
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Icebergs as Inspiration

As I write this it is 95 degrees, sunny and humid in Florida, exactly as it should be in July. But last week was another story for me – I was in Twillingate, Newfoundland in the northern region of Canada, specifically in parts known as “iceberg alley”. To say it was awesome would be an understatement. Let me paint a verbal picture for you here: grey skies, craggy grey/brown rocks, dark water and in the middle of it all a “family of icebergs” that are a blue that I am at a loss for words to describe to you. Imagine the bluest eyes you have ever seen and now think of them as luminescent and you’ll come close to understanding how mesmerizing an iceberg can be.

It struck me, that this iceberg, as far as it had traveled and as beautiful as it was in the midst of a foggy day was a symbol of how just one thing can make a huge difference. The townspeople were all out in their jackets and boots, along with the tourists who had driven hours north to see what had been rumored as one of the largest icebergs ever seen in the harbor. It was worth the drive I can tell you!

The thoughts of a recession, falling stock prices and a dim future outlook all receded as we looked at this spectacular chunk of nature. In a grey world, one sparkle or one spark can change the attitudes of a group of people in an instant.

They say that icebergs include very large masses below the water level – thus what we saw was literally the tip of an iceberg.

Could it be that if there are glimmers of good news emerging around the world about economies and positive trends that we all may be looking at the tip of the iceberg of our own? One where what we see through the grey mist is beautiful and though we cannot see the whole, we surely know it is there and worth the trip.

Smiley Faces – an icon for our times

We’re all feeling the gloom, some personally through home or job loss, most of us are feeling it in hundreds of little ways from increased concerns about the potential loss of our own homes or jobs; to the daily drive by empty store fronts and concerns about those who lost their livelihood when these stores closed.

Yet there really is hope in this “Great Recession” – I’m seeing a shout out for the good stuff – are you? Recent talk at our office was about last week’s reality show winners and how they exemplified “people next door” and how we are seeing more balance in the news and the Internet between good news and bad.

Our clients too have moved beyond the “what we don’t want to say” messaging to the “let’s focus on this good thing” mentality; and it’s working well with sales inching up every week.

I have a prediction – this summer of 2009 will be a quiet period of regrouping, stablizing and mapping out what’s next. This September will be a dynamic time with new ideas, innovation and creativity making the headlines.

In May car dealers are closing, by September there will be a new model of dealer coming out alongside the 2010 model cars … In May we are seeing a prediction of less far away summer vacations, by September we will hear talk of how families spent meaningful time together in June, July and August near home, but are planning trips to fun new destinations for the holidays or 2010. … In May we are still holding our breath with worry of what might be coming next, in September the exhale will begin.

Today’s New York Times (yes I am a big fan) has a large graphic of a yellow smiley face with the headline: Back by Popular Demand.

Accountability – thank goodness it’s back

Good Morning from Miami – I’ve had 6 meetings in 3 days coupled with hours in my car with time to think and begin this day knowing one thing for sure – even a financial mess like we are in now brings good things.

Marketing is about communicating and compelling – only by knowing the current climate of the consumer, specifically your target audience, can you be successful. Sometimes it’s also about our own actions.

It’s really about accountability isn’t it? Whether it’s the people who are receiving AIG bonuses or those giving it to them – we all want to know “who” and “why” this happened. When marketing a product or service, it’s not going to be an option going forward; we must present honesty and transparency.

It’s been too long since we the people have demanded information – we want to know who is doing what, why and what happens next.

Surely we should have been asking these questions all along, but that would have meant we would own a bit of the responsibility too. Possibly we were all having too good a time to pay attention.

On the other side is our own personal accountability. Most of us are questioning our own actions. Did we really need to have that designer shirt? Eat out so often or drive such a large vehicle?

I have friends who are saying this new economy gives them an excuse to say no, clients who are taking creative new looks at marketing and seeing businesses putting an emphasis on customer service. Doesn’t this mean our world is getting back to basics – you know, being good to one another, saying thank you and being accountable?

Every change brings opportunity. And though there are so many who are in dire straits, we should all do something for those less lucky than we are and be accountable for our neighbors.

I’ve heard several say it feels like they just got off a gerbil wheel and they are relieved. Let’s take this opportunity to be accountable for our world – do something significantly positive today, for someone else.

Is it New or is it Just A Great Idea Coming Back?

Lately I find myself saying “we did that 25 years ago”!

I’m happy to report that the topics that make me say that are the things I always felt good about as a marketer; Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR as it is known.

Community relations, special events for a cause, public service, giving back…. are all now part of what we do as an agency, and as individuals, and what we will be doing much more of in 2009.

Years ago, a vast amount of our time as marketers was spent on establishing a client’s brand through “good deeds”. Remember how frequently you saw public service announcements to tell you to buckle up, turn off the lights, not be a liter bug or asking “do you know where your children are?”.

We all want to spend our money with a company that cares. Wikipedia gives a great definition of how this CSR – is also being measured through systems called Social Accounting.

” Taking responsibility for its impact on society means in the first instance that a company accounts for its actions. Social accounting, a concept describing the communication of social and environmental effects of a company’s economic actions to particular interest groups within society and to society at large, is thus an important element of CSR.”

What is old is new again, “doing good” is now known as CSR and there is even a way to measure it! Maybe this old idea is just getting a whole lot better.

Go forth, do good things yourself and shop at retailers who give back.

Smell-o-Vision – Getting Your Attention?

Is getting someone’s attention really that difficult? Heck no – just be interesting. Or appeal to their most primal sense of smell.

It’s not new “Scentovision” was introduced in the 1930’s as part of the New York World’s Fair. (I wish those would come back!)

Have you noticed that incredible smells seem to be catching your attention? Or have you noticed that Bloomingdale’s releases different smells in different shopping areas, or that the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas has a magnificent scent all its own?

If you’ve been through an upscale model home lately you’ve probably smelled cinnamon – designed to capture the attention of the male shopper, or vanilla which nearly everyone chooses as a favorite.

Almost all hotels are now in full smell mode – Westin uses a white tea fragrance; they even (and smartly) integrated a scratch and sniff version in their print advertising. It is alluring and for sale through the Westin Web site.

The olfactory is a powerful tool and marketers are starting to use it in a big way.

If you notice marketers using this to sell their products, let me know and I’ll share with our readers.

Meanwhile, I’m using three scents in an upcoming promotion for a client; one will be chocolate scented, another will be citrus and we’re still debating the third. Stay tuned.

For $100,000 a second, it better score!

Super Bowl Sunday this year is February 1.

The absolute highlight of my career (so far that is) was the Super Bowl campaign we developed in 2000 for Super Bowl XXXIV. It was the year of dot-com Super Bowl commercials and we thought big, maximized every opportunity and scored huge. More than $20 million in PR coverage alone. We used EPCOT at Walt Disney World to do the filming, bought not only a spot in the second quarter of the game, but a series of 4 spots just before the kick-off.

The spots were unique, edgy, meant for a male audience and … about brides. We integrated every possible marketing element to introduce Our Beginning, an online wedding invitation company, and tied it back into the client’s Web site too We had over a million hits, the client achieved every single goal and more. For me, and all of us involved with the making of this small piece of TV history, it was just WOW.

In the next few weeks we’ll be hearing quite a bit about Super Bowl XLIII; and you will note a new theme. These commercials have to hit hard, impact the bottom line and score big for their companies. Rates are running $3 million for one thirty second spot.

Watch for new product introductions, financial services, and G.E. as a first time advertiser. There will be links to Web sites, Facebook, YouTube and even Twitter.

For those of you who will be glued to their TV’s on game day, let me know if you think this year’s commercials scored or not.

The grass is still growing here

Have you noticed too? I live in a comfortable neighborhood where on a daily basis our front door would have a cornucopia of flyers from painters, cleaning companies, pest control services, pool guys and yes landscaping companies. Just before Thanksgiving they stopped. I continue to open the front door expecting to see flyers; there are none.

What happened? Our grass is still growing here in Florida yet no one is soliciting us to take over our lawn service needs. Wouldn’t this be a good time to get my attention, especially if you have a lower price or a better service option?

It’s too quiet out there and as a marketer I’m recommending that now is the very best time to reach out for new business. I’ll keep checking our front door, our driveway and our mailbox for flyers, sure hope they are there – I think I can hear the grass grow!