The Design Symphony Experience

The Best Creative Money Can't Buy

The interesting thing about the the video from will.i.am in my recent post is that it was created without any input, direction, or request from the Obama campaign.

As will.i.am tells it:

"I was sitting in my recording studio watching the debates...
Torn between the candidates...I was never really big on politics...
and actually I’m still not big on politics...

And then came New Hampshire... And i was captivated... Inspired...

I began making this song...
I came up with the idea to turn his speech into a song...
I wanted the inspiration that was bubbling inside me to take over...

so I called my friends...
and they called their friends...
in a matter of 2 days...
We made the song and video...

Usually this process would take months...
a bunch of record company people figuring out strategies and release dates...
interviews...
all that stuff...
but this time i took it in my own hands...
so i called my friends sarah pantera, mike jurkovac, fred goldring, and jesse dylan to help make it happen...
and they called their friends..
and we did it together in 48 hours...
and instead of putting it in the hands of profit we put it in the hands of inspiration...

You know you're delivering an impressive brand experience when your fans start creating their own ways to refer more business to you and promote your goals/dream/agenda.

After I sent out the video, my good friend and work colleague Berit sent me the following images created by Shepard Fairey - a well known artists of "Obey Giant" fame who specializes in the prolific stickering and flyposting of propaganda-style images.

Not only are these beautiful posters with powerful imagery, but once again, they were created by a "fan" who wanted to lend his own creativity to the cause. As he tells it:

"I first became interested in him [Obama] in 2004, after his speech at the Democratic convention and have been impressed with him ever since. I think I'm a pretty good judge of character and my feeling about Barack is he stuck his neck out by being against the war, he always seems to speak his mind whether it's the popular position or not and he just seems like he follows what he believes in, which impresses me. So I decided I'd support him and put up my own money to do so. Some people asked me why I don't wait until he's got the Democratic nomination, but if you want a candidate to win, why not try your best to ensure he actually gets the nomination? "

So here's the ultimate question: How many of your customers, supporters, donors, etc. would put their own time and money into creating amazingly creative campaigns to promote your cause?

If you struggle to answer that question, maybe you should start by thinking about how much you inspire them? Just a thought...

P.S. While the posters are sold out and there are no plans to print more, you can download a B/W version from Obey Giant here.

Dark Day for Design - London Edition!

The London 2012 Olympic Committee unveiled the official logo of the games today. It comes in a variety of colors including pink, blue, green, and orange.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said:

"When people see the new brand, we want them to be inspired to make a positive change in their life."

Organizing Committee Chairman Seb Coe said:

"It's not a logo, it's a brand that will take us forward for the next five years."

The cost of this logo? £400,000

Wow...

I work with companies and organizations to design logos and brand identities every day and I'm sorry, but this new logo just doesn't work.

* It's busy.
* It's confusing.
* It's cluttered.
* The "2012" numerals are hard to identify.
* The color combinations reflect some sort of Skittles binge-eating.

Not good.

With all due respect to Mr. Blair and Mr. Coe, I don't think it inspires "positive change" nor do I feel it is a brand that can take 2012 London forward.

The worst thing of all - the excuse that it's "all about the young people."

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said:

"This is a truly innovative brand logo that graphically captures the essence of the London 2012 Olympic Games - namely to inspire young people around the world through sport and the Olympic values."

Okay - let's be clear - young people around the world appreciate quality design and imagery more than any other generation living. And maybe more than any other generation in history. Just saying "it inspires young people" won't make it happen.

P.S. According to the BBC, the Committee plans to create a different logo for grassroots projects backing the Games.

Ouch.

Message to London 2012: If you're trying to build a brand from scratch - just create one logo folks. Don't complicate issues more than they already are with this original design.

The Seth Godin Experience

Last month I had the chance to meet the infamous Seth Godin - business writer, presenter, and marketer extraordinaire when he came to the University of Maryland business school.

Seth's writing is fantastic and his presenting lived up to his written word reputation. Here's my mindmap of notes from the meeting:

Download 3.4mb Mindmap PDF

The #1 takeaway for me from Seth's presentation?

Don't be afraid to risk.

And then risk some more.

Seth told a great story about one of his son's bathtub toys and a red circle that perfectly illustrates the point. Give me a call (two-zero-two -- 834-0111) or send me an email and I'd be happy to tell you the whole story (it's too long for a blog post).

Turning $10 into $10,000 in 10 Days

I'm asking an interesting question in the next few days... How hard is it to turn $10 into $10,000 in 10 days?

Kevin Bacon is famous for his acting - and for being the subject of a game called Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon where you try to link any actor to Kevin based on movies they've been in. Building on this game, Kevin has decided to use the process of connecting to people to help raise money for worthy causes.

Between now and March 31st, the Network for Good is tracking the number of people who make a minimum donation of $10 to causes identified by individuals using badges like this:

The six badges with the most donations (number of donors - not size of donations) will receive a matching award from Kevin - up to $10,000.

I'm trying an experiment using the group I sing with (The Washington Men's Camerata) and our NEA-supported effort called The Demetrius Project. The Project is creating a global library for choral music - collecting and preserving the music for generations to come. We also offer pieces on loan to choruses and scholars around the world and are recording a series of CDs using music arrangements found in the collection's archives.

Can it be done? Time will tell... At the very least it's a fascinating study in viral marketing, social marketing, and the behavior of crowds!

Feel free to do you part and donate to the cause (feel free to give more than $10 if you like too!) by clicking the orange "Donate" button on the badge above or by clicking here. If you could ask friends and family to help out too - that would be even more fantastic (remember it's the number of donors we're trying to maximize!)

P.S. After you donate, send me an email (there's an ecard option when you process the donation) and I'll send you a special gift from The Demetrius Project!

Feel the JC Penney's Love

Last month I posted about JC Penney's new "Every Day Matters" campaign and promised some updated photos. Here they are - fresh from the JC Penney's homepage. The campaign theme is presented in a series of pages - each one encouraging you to make the most of every day.

No Thinking Allowed

"I almost rented that - but I didn't want to have to think"

On Friday I overheard a woman at Blockbuster say this in reference to the movie An Inconvenient Truth.

The interesting thing? Making you think is exactly what that movie was all about - and even though this woman never saw the movie, she heard enough about its main goal (to make you think) that she self-selected out.

You marketing is working well when people know about your main purpose/message without ever experiencing your product. Congrats to everyone involved in the successful marketing of this movie.

P.S. If you haven't seen An Inconvenient Truth - go rent it - tonight. Seriously. And then "think" of just one thing you can do to help the environment and start "doing" it tomorrow morning. It is going to take the efforts of the people - not the efforts of governments or corporations - to save our planet and it starts with thinking followed by doing.

Who Loves JC Penney?

"Our new campaign will show that we are not just looking to sell merchandise; we are looking to sell an experience."

Mike Boylson, Penney's chief marketing officer, notes that "by focusing on life's little moments, we are able to show our customers how we can enhance their everyday lives, helping them make each day richer and more inspiring."

JC Penney's new "Every Day Matters" ad campaign shows they are drinking Kevin Robert's Lovemark Kool-Aid and attempting to "cultivate deeper, more emotional and enduring" relationships with their customers.

Customer Experience is hot, but do large corporations have the courage to make it a priority? Will they be able to follow through at all touchpoints of customer interaction? Only time will tell...

P.S. Sorry for the blurry photo - the campaign doesn't go live until the end of the month and when it does, I'll update with a better image.

Three Traytop Laptops

When it comes to advertising, sometimes less is more.

On my USAir flight yesterday I was surprised when I lowered my tray table to find this:

That's pretty creative I thought.

The people on either side of me (yes, I was lucky enough at 6'2" to get the coveted "middle seat") seemed to think it was interesting too as I caught the furtive glances at my tray table.

When the passengers next to me lowered their tray tables and saw ads as well, I must admit it seemed a bit less creative.

To Panasonic's credit, the three ads were different - which was a plus.

What would have been better is to place one ad per row - with text that talked about letting the other people in the row see the ad too. This approach would encourage interaction (people on planes talk to each other anyway) and at the very least leave people curious. Placing an ad on every tray (a glance around the rest of the plane saw the same ads repeated on every tray table) makes it less unique, less creative, and less likely to get my attention.

They say it takes seven impressions to make an impact. That may be true - but don't do all seven at once okay?

It's New to You

Last night I was riding around DC with some guests visiting from Massachusetts. I was on my phone trying to make a dinner reservation when one of the passengers said, "Is that really a phone?"

Before I could answer, another one said, "Can it do more than make calls?"

I explained that yes, it was a phone - a Treo to be specific - and that it could do lots of things including storing all the contact info in my entire Rolodex, surfing the web, emailing, taking photos, and even capturing short videos.

"Do you use it for all of those things?," the passenger asked.

"Not really," I replied, "but I do more with it every day."

Takeaways:
1) The Palm Treo phone has been around for five years and received a lot of media coverage. The Treo 650 (the model I have) was released in November 2004. To me, it's old news... Yet several of the passengers in the car (ranging in age from 18 to 56) had no idea what it was when they saw it. When they learned of its capabilities, they wanted to learn more. In short, just because it's "old to me" doesn't mean that everyone knows about it.

2) I've owned my Treo for over a year now and still don't have a handle on half of its capabilities - and I consider myself to be semi-tech savvy! Note to manufacturers: if you don't get me using features early on, you will be hard pressed to get me to start using them later.

The Cool New Phone - from Cingular?

I was having a conversation with the mother of a thirteen-year-old girl last night and she explained, "My daughter wants that new Cingular phone - you know the brand new one that is like an iPod?"

"The iPhone?" I inquired.

"Yeah - that's it!" she replied. "I told my daughter that $600 is really expensive for a phone, but if she will save the money, I'll help her get it."

The Cingular phone? I never thought I would hear that one! Sure there is debate (and lawsuits) over the iPhone name but the Cingular brand (which is actually AT&T now - but that's another story) got the plug in this conversation?

Not iPhone?

Not even Apple?

Wow...

Maybe Cingular wasn't such a bad choice for Apple to partner with on the new iPhone...

U.S.A. Scores Soccer Brand

David Beckham - one of the best examples of personal branding in the world today - just announced that he is leaving Real Madrid this summer to come play soccer in the United States.

Beckham agreed to a five-year, $250 million dollar deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy and the sports world is a flutter with what this means for "football" in the U.S.A. (that's "soccer" for all you American readers in the audience).

What impact will Beckham have? Only time will tell...

Beckham in Hollywood seems like a perfect combination. Athletic, good-looking, superstar - and that's just his wife! (the former "Posh" of the Spice Girls) Beckham is also an athletic, good-looking, superstar who is extremely well paid and brings with him big endorsement contracts. While the same can be said of many of Beckham's new neighbors in the City of Angels, the last time an athlete of such international stature moved to southern California the impact was tremendous. Playing for the Los Angeles Kings, Wayne Gretzky brought lots of buzz, sold-out crowds, and national expansion to U.S. hockey.

While Beckham may not change America's opinion of soccer, he will surely provide a real-time example of a personal brand in action. On that note, I give it three years (max) before we see Beckham with a big role in a major motion picture.

The Worst Haircut

If you don't acknowledge great referrals, you won't get more referrals in the future.

Yesterday I got my haircut and while waiting overheard this conversation between another customer getting a haircut and her hairdresser:

Customer: My friend Greg came in and you took such great care of him - he loved his haircut!
Hairdresser: Who? (still cutting hair)
Customer: Greg - he came in last week - short brown hair
Hairdresser: (long pause...) That name doesn't sound familiar (annoyed tone to voice)
Customer: He loved his haircut - you did a great job!
Hairdresser: So I think I'll cut this part to make the side have more shape...

I was shocked.

Here is a customer who not only is a repeat customer, but one who is actively referring business to the hairdresser. The referred customer (Greg) was very pleased with his haircut and will likely return as a result.

The customer is happy that her friend was treated well and that her "referring integrity" (the value of her recommendations) was actually met and exceeded in this instance. This is a raving fan in the making!

What did the hairdresser do to acknowledge this referral and the accompanying testimonial?

Nothing.

I could see the disappointed look on the customer's face. She seemed almost as shocked as I was that the hairdresser didn't even acknowledge her compliments or her referral.

How this conversation could have gone:

Customer arrives at salon...
Hairdresser: So great to see you! By the way, I cut your friend Greg's hair last week. Thank you so much for referring him to me. I hope he liked the cut?
Customer: Absolutely! He was raving about it. Thanks so much for taking good care of him.
Hairdresser: My pleasure - I'm thrilled he liked the results. And thank you so much for sending him my way. As a little thank you, I'd like to give you today's haircut free of charge - as a gift for your referral.
Customer: Wow... that's not why I referred Greg...
Hairdresser: I understand that, but I wanted to show you how much I appreciate it when you send new customers my way.

The conversation would be followed up by a handwritten thank you note to the customer, once again expressing appreciation for the referral.

Now that's how to turn a referral into a great customer experience.