so i think this topic is going to be the basis of a few posts for me. at least, i hope so. please hold me to it.
there’s actually a lot to be said about this. i’m seeing and learning a lot.
the first:
i find it interesting that in a major city i know, there are major universities with ‘entrepreneurship departments ‘. also, there is an independent student organization called ‘business builders club‘. what’s in a name? everything.
brand can mean a lot of things to a lot of things to a lot of people these days.
we’re hearings about consumer goods and retail products living and dying based on ‘brand’ as actual product has little true differentiation. we know that consumers have the control – that they dictate what the brand is. we’re also seeing millions of dollars being spent/invested in brand development, strategy and deployment.
Here’s Seth Godin’s definition of brand:
A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. ()
i think he’s on to something here. instead of talking about all of the assets and palettes and logo variations and guidelines and taglines and paid representatives and placements that comprise ‘major brands’ and ‘billion dollar brands’… talk about the role of a brand in a story or experience and the outcome because of it.
companies should be telling their consumers’ stories. if a product/good/brand is truly doing its job – if it is serving the customer/client and adding value by enhancing or creating an experience, then telling the consumers’ stories will, by default, be telling the brand story.
the vids below are examples in a specific industry – spirits – but i think the spots do a great job of telling stories about people. you find yourself understanding them not only in these instances, but imagining the back stories as well as projecting into the future and being able to construct what very well could be. you are thinking about people and experiences and thus the brand evolves from a usage situation into much more. it is a part of a lifestyle, a component in a process, an element in a look, a feel, an atmosphere. the brands assume characteristics of those who have purchased it, or, is it vise versa? the blur is the goal.
what brands should tell your story? what are the brands that, removed from your life, would remove part of your story?
im a fan of lebron james. he’s my age, from ohio, and doing pretty well at his job. he’s a physical specimen, what seems to be like a pretty good guy (enter tiger snark here) and some are calling him one of, if not THE, best who ever lived…
except he’s not that last bit. not even close.
lebron has a problem. he’s not alone. plenty of people our age have it. it’s a product of environment and upbringing. it’s a reflection of society.
lebron (maybe the best finisher ever) has a problem finishing things. he has a problem sustaining focus and maintaining intensity across a series. the guy can take it to the rim, get his shot or get a call any Any ANY time he pleases. however, in game 4 he had 18 shots and 7 turnovers.
unacceptable.
game 3 – he owns things. game 4, not so much. he needs to bring his A-game every single night. he needs to finish a series. he may bring up his lack of supporting cast, or the difficulty in sustaining that level of play, but quite simply… i don’t want to hear it. jordan and kobe can do it, so can you. until you decide to, you don’t get to be part of those conversations. your name is scrubbed from those sentences.
i find this pattern with a lot of people my age. our generation has been celebrated at every twist and turn of our lives. medals for trying, ribbons for effort and applause no matter what. guess what – no one cares. we need to champion achievement, period. we’ve bread a culture of mediocrity and entitlement. until you are on top, don’t stop. until you’ve won it all, lebron, you’ve won nothing.
decide to be great. work until you get there. don’t turn it on and off. win, and leave no room for questions.
I’m beginning a new job at the today. Kauffman is the preeminent entrepreneurship foundation in the world. It’s an amazing opportunity.
I’ve moved to Kansas City (where Kauffman is based) and am living right off the . It’s a and I chose it because of access to the Plaza, to many art museums and because I can walk to Kauffman.
I’m remaining a partner at () and look forward to continuing to build and drive our company. dynamit continues to grow at a fast pace and work in partnership with great clients. The experience and perspective I’ve gained in helping start and grow dynamit have certainly positioned me well for my new opportuntity with Kauffman.
The new gig will be fascinating. I’m extremely excited. While I’m not completely positive of what lies ahead, I know there will be tons of travel and untold new ideas and people. I look forward to learning, a lot. I’ll be blogging on a much more consistent basis here, on NickSeguin.com.
Thought it was interesting to take a look at the 4 browser windows and multiple tabs that I have open right now and see what I’ve accumulated but have yet to read in the last day or so. Here’s a sampling:
This morning as I began to juggle the 1023913249 things I do on a given day, I had to listen to a voicemail left on our office phone. I knew when it had been left – last night at 7:30pm – because I was still in the office but was head down working and not answering the phone at that time on a Thursday night.
So, I took the time to listen this morning. JOY! It was a recorded message from inviting us to come talk about how to create jobs in Ohio, talk about our dependence on foreign oil and green technologies. (Side note – funny she wants to talk about job creation as my city – Columbus – is about to pass an income tax hike which REALLY PUMPS US UP to continue to locate and grow our business downtown. Smell the sarcasm? No, but it’d be cool if you could, right?)
1) A recorded message mass distributed via phone (and a voicemail at that!) is F’ING stupid. Apparently she and her staff/consultants are not being exposed to the new rules of engagement and best practices that are getting just a little bit of coverage these days – personal, new media, social web, etc etc. Oh wait, Pres. Obama has been… so you’d think Kilroy’s camp would too. No?
How do I, and most people, add things to their calendar? There is a digital invite and we have the ability to explore it and add it if we want to. If Kilroy’s crew is doing this (Facebook/Email/Twitter/Meetup/other), then I’m not aware… and I tend to have a decent finger on the pulse of such things in this city.
2) Our number is on the DO NOT CALL listing. Funny how these politicians passed that act…. but left a loophole for themselves.
So, the culmination of the medium (phone), the timing (7:30pm), the fact that we aren’t supposed to be contacted like this, the completely generic impersonal effort, and the fact that she wasted my time has left me a bit put off this morning.
