As a recent advertising graduate, I can honestly say that one of the most influential books that I’ve read in the past year was not a textbook on advertising but instead, The Medici Effect: What Elephants and Epidemics Can Teach Us About Innovation by Frans Johansson. Those who have heard of this book or had the pleasure to have read it understand why I believe this book reinforces the basic reason why most of us enter the field of advertising. We all have ideas, perspectives, creative minds, or experience that has led us to believe that we would best be suited in an innovative and always evolving atmosphere.
In the Medici Effect, Johansson discusses how merging two completely unrelated fields produces breakthrough innovations that come together when old ideas intersect to create entirely new thoughts and perceptions. This book not only discusses how to find such intersections but also gives real life examples of how some of the biggest ideas have come from some of the most unexpected places.
In the advertising world, generating new ideas for our clients and thinking of innovative ways to get a message across are consistently things we are trying to improve and conceptualize. As Johansson points out, “creation comes from a combination of different concepts in a unique fashion and it is difficult to trace the origin of insight,” (p.67). I think that as a person in advertising, I need to be open to new ideas no matter where or whom they come from in order to continue to grow and succeed in my profession. After a while, people tend to build up associative barriers that can hinder their willingness to keep an open mind. For example, this book has pushed me to be more open to experiencing new things when choosing what I eat, how I spend my free time, the places I visit, and even the acquaintances that I make along the way. The Medici Effect urges people to interact with the unfamiliar. It is about breaking down old barriers and becoming submersed in new atmospheres, diverse people, and assorted occupations to come up with a truly new idea.
While doing social media training here at the agency, I finally figured out why so many people do not respond or follow on Twitter…
They don’t know how!
Although Twitter seems pretty self explanatory, especially to those of us that were in college when Facebook and MySpace first hit the social media scene, that doesn’t mean everyone can follow along and quickly grasp the concept. For those who need the extra help, it means there will be some research involved… yes, you have to google how to twitter. Sounds like a simple enough request, right? Wrong. Most people look to social media because it should be fun, easy and exciting… not one of those words implies having to LEARN first.
I can now say from experience, that little effort to learn something new goes a long way to gaining a positive new tool to promote your business and yourself. Do you disagree? I’d love to see your thoughts.
P.S. If you can’t get somebody’s attention through social media like this poor man, maybe you should try a new tactic!
I didn’t suggest this first. One of my bosses at DDB said it to me many years ago. I don’t know if it was original to him. (John Noble. A funny, smart, irreverent man who said lots of good stuff. May he rest in peace.) It may have come from Bill Bernbach (May he rest in peace.) who was infinitely quotable and said many things worthy of stitching on a pillow or tattooing on your arm.
The creative gang bang. Don’t fret, it is nothing that would land me in a sexual harassment lawsuit. It is a Darwinian approach, common at most agencies, where the best work rises to the top through creative team (writer/art director) competition. Only now, with the proliferation of the internet, the concept is going global. Clients can post their creative brief and creatives do the assignment pro bono hoping they can win a grand or so for their time and effort. Is this a good idea? For a one-off, perhaps. Or for clients who have no relative brand identity. Or for clients that burn through agencies because they hate trusting anyone besides themselves. But while a former art director partner of mine is worried about the ramifications of such trends, this creative director is not. Great work comes from great relationships. Shared passion for the brand. Greater insight working together from strategy to focus groups to production. I would think clients would want an agency who was 100% invested and cared about the work working, the phone ringing, the web hits rising. And I’m glad I work at that kind of agency. So if you want to work with us, we’ll pitch you some great ideas. But we won’t pitch them through the internet.
All hospitals want to be innovative. Pioneering new technologies, treatments, and research is very important to them. But when it comes to innovative marketing strategies, hospitals are usually very conservative. They tend to play it safe and create ads that are category similar with either doctors, happy healthy people or tired testimonials. Our client Covenant Healthcare did something different. They said “yes” to a campaign that is truly a first in healthcare. Covenant’s differentiator is that they give extraordinary care to all generations from babies to grandparents. So one of the brand campaign concepts we created was to have kids deliver the message and talk about how Covenant will be there for them in the future like they are now. They loved it. Never in my 20 year career have I seen the agency, marketing client team, hospital executive leadership team, and every focus group all choose the same campaign as their favorite. There must be something special that connects emotionally across all these groups and all generations…and that’s exactly what we were shooting for. Here’s the spot, what do you think?
Every agency has a formula for success. They usually show it to you in a fancy chart in their pitches. This is how and why we are better than the competitor – this amazing, brilliant formula. To be honest, we have a formula. But I recently realized that we may need to revise it. Watch out Albert Einstein.
My epiphany happened while I was previewing the new TV commercial we developed with the University of Toledo Medical Center. I got goosebumps the first time, the second time, and still do after the 40th time.
We did something right. But why isn’t it always this way? Because really, it wasn’t just us in this. Leo Burnett once said “there is no such thing as a great advertising agency. There are, however, a few great clients.” No one says it more eloquently than Leo.
Yeah, we can write an amazing strategy, we can develop emotionally appealing creative, but without a smart, solid client partnership we’ve got nothing. So, I just want to give our clients at UTMC a little shout-out. A good strategy, a good client, a good team. There’s no better formula.
I heard a hospital recently twittered all through a surgery. So I figured why shouldn’t a creative director twitter all through a hospital TV commercial shoot. We were shooting a new branding commercial for the University of Toledo Medical Center. And although I couldn’t twitter too much about the details of the spot (gotta keep a secret until it airs!), my clients, Esther and Pat and account executives, Lauren and Julia, had a riot helping me with the tweets.
At first, we had technical issues finding a cell phone that could connect to the internet from a remote location in Ohio. But once up and going, we relayed tweets from shot to shot– what craft service was feeding us, what our dog talent (a tiny dog named Bear) was doing and the funny things our director, Amy, would say and do to make our non-professional talent “get in the moment”. So even though I don’t have a ton of people following me yet on twitter, I got several people who were following me excited about the upcoming spot. But more importantly, the tweetfest entertained all of us at the shoot and helped with client/agency bonding.
Marcie Brogan’s age-old philosophy: happy employees are productive employees, which in-turn results into good work and happy clients. But the state of our economy is in and layoffs happening throughout most Michigan companies, it seems hard to imagine offering any perks. But really, this is the time that most employees need the extra boost.
So, what are some ideas to keep your employees walking in with a smile each day?
Here are some of my favorite Brogan ways:
Dogs: who doesn’t love a dog? Every day I bring my furry friend, Mac in with me. He thinks it’s his job to walk up and down the hallway and greet each person with a little tail wag (I’m sure all of the treats he receives is payment enough for him).
Music: It’s one of my favorite perks – Bruce Springstein always brightens my day.
Exercise: Although I’m a bit lazy, some of us work-out during the lunch hour. Employees bring in workout videos, take walks, or lead classes. Those with kids love it because it’s one less thing they have to think about after work.
Agency breakfast: Everyone loves food – period. So, we have a monthly agency hosted breakfast, to supply fuel for our brains : )
Group activities: Anytime I (or a co-worker) sees a good networking event that would be FUN for all, we try to get each other involved. It gives us a chance to chat out of the office, have some laughs, and meet hockey players!
What is your company doing to keep employees up in this economy? Share your ideas – so I can copy them and perhaps others can implement them.
Want more ideas – read this article - it’s a great starting point:
Working in the account world of an advertising agency, the most important part of my job is to develop and grow long-term, successful partnerships with my clients.
So, I’ve decided to share with you the best account advice I can think of. It’s quite simple really. Date your clients. Corny? Probably. But it works.
Rules for Dating your Client:
Be yourself. Goofy, funny, nerdy, whatever it is that makes you – you.
Be honest. No one likes a liar.
Be trustworthy. Don’t go blabbing secrets.
Be true to yourself (and your agency)– give your reasoning, your input and insight. And if your client doesn’t agree with you, move forward and support their decision.
Be timely. Who wants to wait by themselves at a dinner table? (that means send things on time. And if you can’t make a deadline, call in advance.)
Be truly interested and interesting. “You can’t be bored if you aren’t boring.”
Be thoughtful. Remember special dates like birthdays & anniversaries.
The holiday season is almost here and I’ve been thinking about what to send my clients for a little holiday cheer and to thank them for our partnership. Companies of all sizes are doing the same. Trying to figure out what gift says I appreciate you, you inspire me, I think the world of you.
How about a digital picture frame? Maybe a tie. I’ve got it….a coffee mug, “personalized” with a big logo smack-dab in the middle.
That way they won’t ever forget where it came from.Those lucky to receive the gift will excitedly tear through the paper, anxious to see what is inside. And 2 weeks later it will end up in the trash. They expected something else; something thoughtful and inspiring. And that mug with your logo wasn’t it.Think differently and try being a socially conscious business partner. Send something that truly inspires those on the receiving end. Check out http://www.plentymag.com/ to provoke some ideas.
