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. (source)

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?

and my very favorite (messaging and execution)

Crown Royal - Boss -

]]> http://www.nickseguin.com/2010/01/the-consumer-story/feed/ http://www.nickseguin.com/2009/12/attention-and-network-are-spent-before-cash/ http://www.nickseguin.com/2009/12/attention-and-network-are-spent-before-cash/#comments Sat, 05 Dec 2009 18:34:37 +0000 Nick Seguin http://www.nickseguin.com/?p=454 i said something a while ago that i thought had some value. so, i put it up on my tumblr.

we live in an economy where the currencies of attention and network often need to be spent before the currency of cold hard cash is.

i repeated this idea in an article that i recently submitted to the pursuit group to be published in one of their upcoming newsletters (not sure exactly when it’s coming out).

we’ve experienced a redefinition of value and a realignment of the engagement cycle. value comes in education and legitimization and engagement starts far before purchase, at least for those who are winning meaningful work and building sustainable relationships.

an educated buyer dictates engagement and has more access than ever before. a value transaction must begin immediately as your targets assemble profiles and self-educate, removing a portion of your previous contact [in-person opportunity] with them.

i know i refer to seth’s blog a lot, but his post today validated my position on all of this. i echo his sentiment when he says that we need to begin building trust and permission before we can ask for money.

digital is one (very important) medium when it comes to a) this broader continuum of engagement and b) the marketplace in which these newly important currencies are spent.

Really?

Things to think about -

1. Nominations for this prize were due February 1, 2009. That’s less than 1 month after President Obama assumed office.

According to Alfred Nobel’s will, the peace prize should go to an individual who:

during the preceding year [...] shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.

2. I believe bestowing this award is really the the Nobel Committee doing what they can to box President Obama into his campaign rhetoric which focused heavily on international relations and specific U.S. participation on the world stage. Since assuming office, the President has, obviously, been dealing with some high-priority domestic issues. They are nudging you, Mr. President.

3. Jimmy Carter and Al Gore are both former recipients of this award. I think this award is also the Nobel Committe sticking it to President George W. Bush in their own way.

I do think that President Obama is a fantastic speaker (though he and his team should have rethought content for both he and his wife in Copenhagen!) and seems to be committed to socio-economical and geo-political progress (define progress?) in the global theatre, but the award of this prize, considering timing and absence of real action, significantly decreases my respect for the Committee and the award. Shame on them for leveraging their position for political statements and hope for action.

Grade inflation (Positive Acquiescence Bias - thanks Bryce

download Imagine That

) seems to be prevalent across the web - YouTube and Amazon are both reporting it, and averages are higher in the UK (4.4) than the US.

While I don’t see any critical problems with positive acquiescence bias on the public web (buyer/browser/analyst beware & get smart), it made me think about the manifestation of this behavior on internal social networks - especially as more organizations are exploring and deploying mechanisms and/or re-engineering for some degree of social business design (Alimeter Group, Dachis Group).

Significant capital outlay for technology, change management, HR moves and more means that social business design is an investment. The investment is worth it, according to McKinsey survey results, but as companies push deeper into the space and begin to rely more heavily on information and insights gleaned from digital environments, I think we need to be aware of patterns and possible skews.

Why?

Because connecting a workforce is proving valuable: real-time feedback and data mean fast learning, course correction and innovation. Reputational systems applied to knowledge, resources, and options can quickly gauge a global and disparate organization’s sentiment and needs, allowing for informed business decisions… ‘informed’ being the operable word here. If feedback is inflated (one way or another), organizations need to be wary of making decisions based on it. The opportunity to gather and act on data is certainly there. It’s the qualification of that data, per the tendencies being reported in similar environments, that must be remembered.

So…

As Brian Link says, “sample sizes and % participation and correlated results from different data sets are key to interpreting these kinds of things” but I’m also wondering - Do we design against/for it? Do we coach against it? I’m not even close to an expert on reputational systems (again, see Bryce)) and haven’t researched inflation results beyond the WSJ article, but it made me think:

1. Are grades inflated?
2. Are there reputational system design considerations which can be made to combat or normalize this behavior or the data?
3. Is there group behavior coaching or leadership that can modify this these patterns?

Thoughts?

but the second one, with new perspective and learning, is just great. key point here - not about tools. about behaviors, patterns, psychology… all that good stuff.

So, I took the time to listen this morning. JOY! It was a recorded message from Mary Jo Kilroy 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?)

Ok, seriously?

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.

I’ve got some good friends who are presenting as part of the summer-long series. These friends, unlike many, are legitimate digitals - concerned with strategic deployment, measurement and bigger picture.

However, their presentations are focused on specific tools and networks (because this is what the camp is aimed at).

I’m not opposed to the introduction of and education on tools. It’s important.

However, I think that this camp, and SMB in general, with regard to the approach to ’social media’ is off-target, or at least putting the cart before the horse.

1) Stop calling it social media. Start calling it social web. Web is the platform,  and tools, behaviors, expectations and technology are socializing it.

2) Before you pick up your hammer and swing, let’s talk about why you’re doing it. Will the picture you’re hanging balance the room? Will you be moving it later in the month when you remodel? Are others hanging pictures? Do people even want to see this picture? Is it the right one? or does it completely throw off the theme you’re going for?

-Straight up - small and medium (even large) businesses are hip to the hype - they hear “twitter” “social media” “linkedIn” “money money money” and think “my god I’ve got to get into this!”.

Ok - maybe.

I’d like people to take a step back and understand their environments in more detail before running to learn about tools.

1) Understand your business/industry environment. Who are you serving? Who should you be serving? What is your brand? What is the industry doing? etc etc. Often, when we engage clients and work through our process, we find the standard discovery is eye-opening in that the questions we are asking have never been asked (or at least haven’t been asked in a very long time). Before you run to broadcast to the world, to engage clients and activate advocates, don’t you think you should be pretty solid on who you are, what you stand for and what you want to achieve? Else, you’re creating a spike - something that’s not sustainable and won’t have lasting impact.

2) Understand the web environment. Being able to Google something and having a Hotmail account does not mean understanding the web environment (no offense to anyone there - it helps us stay in business). The web environment is not LinkedIn & Twitter. It’s not generating leads and broadcasting (read: shouting). The web environment is a combination of light, flexible, adaptable technologies, psychological and sociological factors, time and space shift, combination and recombination, human and NOW. Business-speak: the web environment is consumer empowerment and pull-model. It’s customization, comparison, 24-7, conversation and individual. The web environment is access, value-add and trust.

If you can’t understand the web enviornment, the paradigm shift from pages to streams , then tools which exist there are useless. Time put into them is useless. Lasting value can’t be generated.

Small business or large, regardless of end-goals for implementing social web in a business environment, a failure or inability to understand the landscape and fundamental parameters often means an attempt at a quick fix and an outstretched hand at dollars instead of value.

What do you think?

that said, i wanted to take a little time to thank all of those who im following. i really and truly enjoy diving into seesmic desktop (my new desktop twitter client of choice) and feeding on my twitter stream. i primarily follow industry (web) folk, VCs and angels, economists, journalists, and media. i also follow some friends around the country and some colleagues, friends and acquaintances in town (columbus, ohio).

i depend on my stream to a) provide great links to things im interested in: web, technology, economics, politics and current events . the stream ive built does this phenomenally. they are people who want to be on top of things, who NEED to be on top of things, who truly believe in horizontal sharing of information and the incredible results of realtime sharing and conversation. b) provide a diverse perspective. my stream is composed of some incredible people in different walks of life, in different parts of the country and world, working on and interested in myriad things. the information and topics im exposed to because of them allow me to be a more balanced and learned person. [ *** IMPORTANT NOTE - 2 key realities of the twitter-dynamic surface here 1) the access to people that twitter provides - i can consume (even if im not interacting with) thought, conversation and information from people i otherwise would not have access too and 2) the nature of twitter and the BIY stream actually creates a push model (to me) so that i can access tons of info without digging through what i now (i didnt used to) consider a smothering volume in a RSS reader ] c) just be flat out interesting. seriously. the people i follow are observant, curious, innovative. links and important information aside… i love reading witty, insightful, hilarious tweets. they remind me that people are thinking, that life is happening to everyone, that there is a human condition (as fractured as it may be) and that people do notice the things that i do.

twitter isnt for everyone (individual or company), but its definitely for me.

so, thanks, people i follow, for being interesting and deciding to share.

To All My Valued Employees,

There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of this company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the good news is this: The economy doesn’t pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in this country.

However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help you decide what is in your best interests.

First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is a back story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by what you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You’ve seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I’m sure; all these flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.

However, what you don’t see is the back story.

I started this company 28 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300 square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building a company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.

My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a defective transmission. I didn’t have time to date. Often times, I stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and partying. In fact, I was married to my business — hard work, discipline, and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes. Instead of hitting the Nordstrom’s for the latest hot fashion item, I was trolling through the Goodwill store extracting any clothing item that didn’t look like it was birthed in the 70’s. My friends refinanced their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put my time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my friends supposedly had.

So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in at about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don’t. There is no “off” button for me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend all to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is no weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached to my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only see the fruits of that garden — the nice house, the Mercedes, the vacations… You never realize the back story and the sacrifices I’ve made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who didn’t. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled to the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life for.

Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I’ve paid is steep and not without wounds.

Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell you why:

I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don’t pay enough. I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes. Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess what? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of my time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000 for quarterly taxes. You know what my “stimulus” check was? Zero. Nada. Zilch.

The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000 people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic stimulus of this country.

The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you’d quit and you wouldn’t work here. I mean, why should you? That’s nuts. Who wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which is why your job is in jeopardy.

Here is what many of you don’t understand … to stimulate the economy you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government mandated to me that I didn’t need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.

When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don’t defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to life, do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the poor of America are the essential drivers of the American economic engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of change you can keep.

So where am I going with all this?

It’s quite simple.

If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child’s future. Frankly, it isn’t my problem any more.

Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and retire. You see, I’m done. I’m done with a country that penalizes the productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.

If you lose your job, it won’t be at the hands of the economy; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about….

Signed,

Your boss  

Those who add value and work hard are the ones left standing right now. Note I said work hard, because adding value and creating perceived value or value built on a house of cards (read vehicles such as CDOs and the like) are not the same. 

Let the American core competency of innovation breathe again and allow capitalism to right the ship. This means that things fail, that people have to redefine what their value proposition is (in many cases have to actually get one). Do not squeeze those who have built the framework on which everything(one) else stands.

O ya, and read Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman.