Develop Motivation to Learn: Play!

Newsweek’s article, America’s Creativity Crisis, discusses a study that proved scores that measure creativity have been declining over the last 20 years, especially in young people.

This is unfortunate news considering how important creativity is to business.  A matter of fact, Fast Company published results from their own study, which polled 1,500 CEOs.  The study concluded that the most important leadership quality for CEOs is creativity.  Creativity spurs new ideas and inventions.

Apple co-founder and inventor, Steve Jobs said, “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”

Creativity inspires and assists with learning!  As educators, it’s important that we incorporate creative ideas and real-world experiences into our curriculum.  It’s up to us to inspire and motivate our students to be the next creative leaders in business.  The best way to encourage creativity is through play.

Playing allows us make connections and see new representations of people, institutions, and objects.  It provides a natural motivation to learn.

Play shouldn’t just be reserved for children – it’s important for learning adults!  Play helps you see problems in new ways, encourages teamwork, refreshes your mind and spirit, increases energy, triggers innovation and creativity, and it’s FUN!

Helpguide.org provides some points on the importance of play.

Education should be fun – How do you inspire others to play?

5 Things I Learned About Marketing From My Kids

Three years ago, I became a mommy when I gave birth to my spunky little guy, Elias.  Since then, I’ve added one more child (Isaak) to the mix and redirected my career focus, by walking away from a competitive corporate marketing position to start teaching a variety of marketing classes at an entertainment business university.  As I developed a balance between work and home-life, I’ve learned a lot from my kids that can easily be seen as lessons in marketing, too:

1. You can’t get your way by kicking and screaming.

Anyone who has witnessed a toddler throw a tantrum knows how much kicking and screaming can turn off those around them.  The same goes for marketing.  If your promotions are obnoxious, overbearing, or over-saturated, consumers will tune them out.  They will want to avoid you like the plague.

2. Consistency is everything.

Clear messaging is critical when it comes to parenting, and marketing.  If children (or customers) are receiving mixed messages, they wont recognize a good thing if it’s right in front of them.  Be consistent and use an integrated marketing approach.

3. Nurturing and encouraging can build the strongest bonds.

Everyone wants to feel loved.  Children thrive in a nurturing and encouraging environment, and customers do too!  You have to take care of your biggest fans.  One way you can do this is through loyalty marketing programs.  If your customers feel loved, they’ll continue to come back to you.

4. People learn most through hands-on, direct experience.

One of the most important roles of a parent is that of a teacher, and children learn best by experimenting and trying things out for themselves.  Engagement marketing is one of the most effective ways of connecting with customers.  It allows them to participate and interact with the brand building process.

5. Patience can lead to great results.

Patience is a virtue when it comes to raising kids or increasing your sales.  You can’t expect to see an impact to your bottom line overnight.  Whether your focus is traditional media, SEO, or word of mouth, it takes time and consistency to see results.  It’s all about dedication and tweaking your approach.

Like a valiant marketer touting the features and benefits of their prized product, I’m equally proud of my kids.  I’m looking forward to a lifetime of learning.

The Museum of Me Creates Social Media Magic

As an avid marketer and museum lover, I was blown away by the creativity behind Intel’s The Museum of Me.  There’s nothing more amusing than seeing an exhibit of your social life presented in an audio/visual format.

It’s no secret that we are our own biggest fans. Intel takes this into consideration by pulling together your Facebook photos, words, location, and the information you share via social media to create a technological masterpiece.  The video is an exclusive view of your life set to music by Takagi Masakatsu, made complete with spectators scattered throughout a virtual museum exhibit.

By using personal engagement, Intel hopes viewers will share the viral piece with friends and “like” the Intel Facebook fan page.  It appears to be working.  The application has over 800,000 “likes” so far and is definitely impressive enough to check out.

Steve Jobs: Connecting the Dots

When I started working for Full Sail, I taught a class called Business Storytelling and Brand Development.  One of our discussions encouraged the students to watch Steve Jobs’ Stanford commencement speech so they could see an excellent example of a turning-point story.  After seeing that video for the first time, I knew Jobs was an exceptional leader.

One of my favorite Steve Jobs’ quotes inspired the name of this blog: “Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

Jobs’ success was outstanding!  He created one of the most powerful and equitable brands in the world.  Unfortunately, riches can’t buy health and we lost an incredible man that turned dreams into reality.

Thank you, Steve, for setting an example for us all, providing us with amazing products, and changing the world we live in today.  I pray that you found peace in the way your dots connected.  Our world is a better place because of you.

Aloha! Why Less is More in Hawaii

Aloha!  I just got back from a trip to Hawaii.   My husband and I left the kids with our parents and we put our daily routine on hold to enjoy a much needed, relaxing, amazingly fun, and refreshing vacation!  Despite the interruption in our daily routine, my strange obsession with marketing didn’t subside.

On our way to Honolulu, we had a six-hour layover in Seattle so we decided to get out and see the city.  As we approached Pike’s Place Market, we saw a billboard for the airline that we were traveling on.  We laughed at the ironic tagline, “Hawaii is Closer Than Ever!” I loved experiencing Seattle’s artistic, unique style, and enjoyed how incredibly different the city was from our home in Orlando.

 

We were excited to arrive in Honolulu.  It didn’t take me long to figure out that things were very different from Orlando.  While massive amounts of revenue are brought into both cities through tourism, the culture is incredibly different and so is each city’s approach to marketing.

I want you to take a look at some photos I took from my brother-in-law’s condo in Wakiki.  Tell me what you see, or more importantly, what you don’t see.

That’s right, there’s no signage!  From a marketing perspective, you may think “what’s a marketer to do?”  You can’t tell one building from the next and there aren’t any billboards, signs, or obnoxious ads.  Now that doesn’t mean there isn’t any adverting – the city has a tourism channel on television, there are kiosks with timeshare sales people everywhere, and magazines packed full of ads and coupons.  But coming from Orlando, where you can’t get away from Disney billboards, huge signs, and excessive commercial promotions, I was amazed by how beautifully natural a city can be. 

As much as I love marketing, there’s a time and a place for outdoor advertising, and it’s definitely not in Wakiki.  I’m sure the Hawaiian locals and mainlanders can agree on one thing – marketing related “monstrosities” would be intrusive.  Any company bold enough to attempt to compete with the beauty of Hawaii is sure to be cursed.  In my opinion, nature’s beauty trumps commercialization, hands down.

Social Media Reigns as the Greatest Influence on Consumers

According to BlogHer’s 2011 Social Media Matters Study, social media is the number one influence on buying decisions.  The study reports, 87 percent of the female American adult population are active social media users.  88 percent search the Internet before making a purchase, while 75 percent consult blogs.  People tend to trust the advice they receive from reviews and online recommendations.  A matter of fact, 53 percent became a frequent or regular buyer based on blog recommendations.

There is bad news for celebrities seeking huge endorsement deals.  The impact of celebrity endorsements pale in comparison; only 13 percent of respondents claimed to be influenced by celebrities, where 20 percent were influenced by regular people – influential bloggers and social media friends. Why?  People trust regular people more than celebrities.  Many celebrities are using social media to connect with their fans but they are coming across as fake and unengaged; they are hiring interns and web teams to communicate via Facebook and Twitter. Communication clearly isn’t authentic or personal.

Blogs are even more effective than the company’s website, user generated reviews, social networks, print magazines, message boards, and television.  73 percent of respondents said they trust bloggers more because “the blogger has similar opinions and attitudes.”  In other words, readers feel like they get to know the bloggers they follow on a personal level.  And if they are happy with a past recommendation from the blogger, they are even more likely to look to that blogger for advice on purchases again in the future.

So how can you use social media to leverage your company’s success?

The Blogging Celebrity

From 50 Cent and Maroon 5, to Kim Kardashian and Roger Ebert, celebrities are blogging!  There are hundreds of celebrity blogs floating around the Internet these days and there are many GREAT reasons why musicians, television personalities, and socialites are using the Internet to promote their personal brands.

Blogs can be useful tools for marketing products and celebrities alike.  Let’s face it – a large percentage of the population loves to hear celebrity gossip and learn more about the artists they love.  They want to get to know stars on a personal level, and a blog allows celebrities to do this.

Connecting with the target audience – Blogs allow those in the public eye to share stories, pictures, and details about their personal life with their fans.  Fans get to experience the day-to-day activities of their favorite celebs.  For example, Moby uses images to share his adventures in his blog post about a 48 hour trip from England to LA.

Creative outlet – Bloggers can share new songs, art, photos, and fashion trends.  Kanye West launched his first “full-length (music) film,” “Runaway,” on his blog, allowing him to share his art and promote his music. (See video below.)

Setting the record straight – There are hundreds of celebrity gossip magazines and blogs, such as TMZ.com and Perezhilton.com, that are looking for a good story that will drag a celebrity through the mud.  Jason Mraz used his blog to clear the air about rumors that he hated the Jonas Brothers.

Promoting a positive brand image – Michael Franti of Spearhead blogged about a trip he took to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children.  There’s nothing better than sharing information about philanthropy and giving back to help shine positive light on a brand.

Sharing perspectives and passions – One of the most popular ways to use a blog is as an online journal.  Radiohead, Taylor Swift, Brett Dennen, John Mayer, and Dave Navarro, among others, share images, links, pictures, and personal thoughts.  Some celebrity blogs are mindless, while others share feelings about controversial issues and topics.

I’m interested in seeing more examples of celebrity blogs.  If you know of more examples, please share them by commenting!

Personal Branding Through Social Media

I’m sure many of you have heard the expression “perception is reality.”  To employers, that’s very true.  They are going to believe what they read about you and their perception is key.  It’s important that as you develop your own personal brand, you develop a brand perception that is equal to your own self-impression.

According to the NY Times article, More Employers Use Social Networks to Check Out Applicants, close to half of employers are using social networks to screen job candidates.  That’s more than double the percentage of supervisors that reported researching potential hires on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Linked In one year ago.

35% of the 2,667 questioned HR recruiters and managers decided not to offer a job to a candidate based on content uncovered on a social networking site.  More than half of the employers said some of the factors that contributed to a decision not to hire a potential job candidate include provocative photos, references to drinking and drug use, bad-mouthing previous employees and colleagues, and poor online communication skills.

So what kind of impression do you think potential employers are getting from the content they read about YOU online?   Is your social media blueprint sending the right message?

Believe it or not, social media can be a great resource for developing a positive personal branding message.   Social media sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and Linked In can be useful tools for getting positive attention online.  Here are a few tips for using social media to your benefit:

• Develop polished, exciting content.  Check for grammatical errors and put your best foot forward.
• Control the content.  It’s wise to use privacy settings to keep personal content away from the public eye.
• Increase you ranking status.  If you want people to find the good content that you develop on your profiles, you can use keyword or name tagging in the images that you post online
• Set up profiles and claim your usernames on all social media sites and fill out the bio, even if you’re not planning to use them.  That way other people can’t claim your username.

Social media is a great tool for, not just connecting with friends and relatives, but unknown, potential employers.  By building the right brand perception online, you’ll open new doors and opportunities will start coming your way.

The Old Spice Guy Goes Viral – Again!

Ahhh, the smell of Old Spice aftershave.  It brings back fond memories of sitting on my grandfather’s lap as a child.  He would wear the Old Spice brand day-after-day with pride and I loved it because it would mask his usual odor of Ben Gay and mothballs.

Unfortunately, until now, the image most of us associated with Old Spice is old, distinguished men.  No wonder the company is working so hard to revitalize the brand; the audience they connected with most is inevitably dying off!

I was tickled when I saw “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” commercial back in February.  It’s hilarious!  And within the past five months, it has turned into an internet sensation, receiving close to 13 million views on YouTube.

No doubt, the company is attempting to reach a new demographic and what they’ve done so far appears to be working! College students and young adults love the commercials.

But Old Spice didn’t stop there.  They took their viral campaign to the next level by reaching out to influential bloggers and admirers.  Mashable announced Old Spice’s latest and greatest viral idea yesterday.  The Old Spice guy is now making personalized messages for his biggest Internet fans.  Check out this video made for Perez Hilton, which was posted to Twitter.

Old Spice has even recorded marriage proposal messages.  (This is my personal favorite.)

So, why is this idea pure genius?  It’s encouraging more viral chatter for an already very successful campaign!

• The Old Spice guy is connecting with opinion leaders and other online influentials that will be prompted to comment and share the video with their target audience.

• A personal connection will be made with people the ads are created for.  People that admire the popular bloggers, and lesser know individuals, will become invested in the brand and more likely to make a purchase.

I wonder what my dear grandpa would say about the technological mayhem surrounding one of his favorite brands today?  I’m sure he’d find the humor associated with the brand just as entertaining as I do.

Rebranding an American Icon – ‘Chevy’ Becomes a Four-Letter Word

Over the past year, General Motors has gone through major restructuring, as any company should when they accept government bailout money.  They’ve dropped the Saturn and Hummer brands, redesigned their Cadillac logo and laid of thousands of employees.  But yesterday, news broke that really made me question the people in charge.  An internal memo was leaked, claiming employees were no longer allowed to refer to the Chevrolet brand as a ‘Chevy.’

For decades term ‘Chevy’ has been a representation of the iconic American brand.  Countless artists have written songs about Chevys; from Don McLean’s “American Pie” to Elton John’s “Crocodile Rock.”  Now GM wants to take a more formal approach, encouraging employees to only refer to the brand as a ‘Chevrolet,’ claiming it will create more brand consistency.

The New York Times published the memo in the article, “A Chevy by Any Other Name.” When reviewing this article and applying my own thoughts on branding, two things come to mind.

1. The advertising agency can’t possibly know how important the word ‘Chevy’ is to the brand
2. This may just be a big publicity stunt to get people talking

Words are essential for building a strong brand. Most brands are successful when they reduce the essence of the brand to a single, easy to pronounce word.  In my opinion, the companies that have synonymous nicknames are the ones that are most memorable.  Some companies even trademark their nicknames; take Coca-Cola’s nickname ‘Coke’ and Federal Express’ nickname ‘FedEx’ for example.  These names hold an innate power.

Wow!  This news makes me wonder how much GM is paying the advertising agency that’s willing to sacrifice the a part of the company’s identity.