In Lieu of Fruitcake

As this time of year rolls around, it’s hard to be anything but reflective, and perhaps a bit sentimental.  We sincerely are grateful for all we possess, including a sizable percentage of our blog reading audience - you personally.  Where would this blog be without you, and the handful of other loyal readers?  We don’t know.

Writing a blog for a small audience is immensely satisfying, and today we thank each of you for taking this journey with us - reading this dreck month after month. 

Thank you SpongeB0bKnowPants.  Your retort to our sixth straight article about the importance and significance of branding warmed our hearts…and twisted our heads.  You’ve been quick with a joke and to light up our smoke, and there’s no place that we’d rather be either.  Your support is unquantifiable by our antiquated mathematic processes.  Muchacho gracias senor!

Thank you mister 6foot8sandwiches.  You are a real mench.  A real haymishe gentleman.  Without you, we’d have one less reader, and that’s significant, to us.  It was you who inspired our post about the connection between individualism and cubism.  Your words mean so much.  Your grandeur is only exceeded by your volume, and for that, we thank you from the bottom of our bloodpumper.

Thank you CLEIGHMattewsFiddy2.  It has been an honor to share the Internet field with you.  As the first, and only, to challenge our notion of vertical brand calibrated amplitude, you astutely pointed out that a) there is no such thing, and b) if there were, we would be approaching backwards.  Thank you sir! 

Lastly, we thank you KatCatLayD.  Your observations delivered our brains a punch to the face, your laughter considerably funnier than the joke.  Your presence drove us beyond our limitations and over walls neither imagined nor real.  Thank you for never letting up, and for never letting us down. 

To you, our loyal fans, we are deeply appreciative.  Thank you for keeping this blog our own little secret.  No matter how ambitiously we scoop, our largest helping of gratitude is far less than what you deserve.  Thank you.

Being Present

Ashton Kutcher teaches us many things.  Most recently, a valuable lesson about social media participation.  In case you missed the story, Ashton tweeted about the firing of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, unaware of the facts surrounding the situation.  His tweet read, "How do you fire Jo Pa? #insult #noclass as a hawkeye fan I find it in poor taste."  Once familiar with the sex abuse cover-up allegations that led to the famous coach’s firing, Ashton deleted the tweet, apologized and vowed to take a break from twitter for a while, turning over his account to his public relations team.

For brand managers, this should be a teaching moment about something much larger than the need to think and gather all the facts before we speak (or publish).  Ashton’s error is representative of a larger faux pas committed regularly by tons of brands via social media – the act of not being present.  Respectful social interaction requires attention, a commodity in short supply these days.

We live in a time-crunched society and as a result, it’s only natural to seek efficiencies where we can.  When it comes to social engagement, the need to be efficient should never outweigh the need to be present.  It's never fun to be in conversation with that guy who’s looking over your shoulder the whole time, trying to make eyes with the toothy blonde. 

Social media participation really challenges our commitment to be present.  For social media professionals, there are tools, such as Hootsuite, that promote aggregating information from multiple platforms and publishing to multiple platforms from a dashboard.  How convenient?  While monitoring information from a dashboard may be an efficient process, publishing from it frequently shortchanges the user experience. 

For example, creating a post on Hootsuite to be automatically shared on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn means that it must be limited to 140 characters, to render in its entirety on Twitter.  Perhaps this communication would have been better shared separately on Facebook with greater detail and uploaded with an image.  Do we really speak to our twitter audience the same way that we speak to our LinkedIn audience?  Probably not, considering that one audience is dressed casually while the other is wearing business attire. 

Constant Contact and other email applications allow us to publish email blast content to social media networks via automated process.  The score of this game:  Efficiency 1, Brand Experience 0.  When a Facebook visitor sees an automated post to a brand’s Wall, it essentially says, “Too busy to really be here, but here’s today’s post, enjoy, gotta go!”

The benefits of brand participation in social media include humanizing the brand, joining the conversation and servicing customers on their terms.  Doing it right takes time and attention.  Good friends make time for each other.  Brands should make time to be present when engaging socially.

Use Me

Over the past several weeks, Facebook users have had to endure significant changes to their beloved life sharing platform.  For many, the experience has left us shaken…and stirred.  Whether you’re a casual user or an ubersharer, social media has become such an integral part of our lives that, like email and cell phones, it’s getting hard to imagine life without it.

The difficult part of living with our new highly efficient online communication buddies is that we’re teased with the notion that we control the process, while learning that we are merely guinea pigs in a series of ongoing social media experiments.  These experiments belong to the owners of these powerful platforms.  As willing participants, we must remind ourselves that we are actually privileged to be along for the ride (imagine how it would feel to be excluded from the process).  It’s a hard pill to swallow!  Despite the fact that we publish the content, choose to share our lives and bring our friends to the party - this is indeed someone else’s party.

Facebook reminds us that we are guests at their home, when we login, see changes to the display of our news feed, learn about new features and settings, and that some basic rules of engagement have changed.  Say it ain’t so!  All of this has been done without asking us?  And, we’re told that more changes are in the works, and we’ll love them, they’re being put in place to create a better experience.  Who are we to doubt?

Bill Withers sang about it.  Facebook is the hot, hot chick that we’re dating.  Our friends tell us that we’re being used and our retort, “If it feels this good getting used…you can use me up!”

BE TRUE

Imagine going to a Metallica concert where the band comes out on stage, heavy metal outfits and all, and proceeds to play two and half hours of popular country-western songs.  Not pretty, right?  Yet, there could be seemingly good rationale by concert promoters to do such a thing.  According to the CMA (Country Music Association), 42% of Americans – or about 94.8 million people are Country Music fans!  Shouldn’t any band seek to tap into such a large market segment?

Business owners run up against this type of sentiment from time to time.  Especially in a challenging economy, who wouldn’t choose to seek out a sizeable new pool of potential new customers?  But, like Metallica playing “You Were Always on My Mind” as an encore, broadening a brand’s appeal is not always the right move.  There is a better way.  

First off, let’s be honest – we are not experiencing a “challenging economy,” it’s a LOUSY economy. 
That said, the formula for success in such an economy is simple.  Work harder, deliver more, at a better price…and win!  In building a brand, how do you work harder and deliver more?  You deliver on a stronger brand promise.  If your brand promises great prices and good service, it must now promise (and deliver) great prices and great service.   “Quality, convenience, value” must become “Quality, unmatched convenience and THE best value.”  

It’s not a word game.  Brand promise is a real commitment in the physical world.  It needs to be demonstrated consistently, unwavering.  Bands that are known for playing two hour shows should play three hour shows, because fans are now sacrificing more to spend money to see that live performance.  Always over-deliver, that’s a promise that will resonate with any audience.

Need help promoting your brand promise?  Call us.

Don't Sweat The Internet

The Internet is a funny thing. Just the other day, the Internet came into my office and told a joke about a donkey, a clergyman and a pastrami sandwich. I’d heard it before, but it still makes me laugh. Zany Internet!

Life with the Internet is a double-edged sword. We love that Facebook tells us when it’s our best friend’s birthday (is it the 8^th or 9^th of June?), but we detest being asked by high school acquaintances to help them plant an imaginary garden. And of course, email is a killer. Remember how AOL used to have that guy say, “You’ve got mail.” Pretty sure he died of acute laryngitis.

As with all things in life, the answer is having the right perspective. I used to walk around Manhattan annoyed that beggars would come up and ask for money, until I decided to imagine that they were offering me money. They would extend a cup full of change and a few bills, and I’d say, “No thank you, I’m good” and continue walking. Well, that’s how we should approach the Internet.

Fed up with information overload? Take better advantage of information unload. Here are five reasons why the Internet offers us more than it asks.

1. Search engines – No need to remember anything, including URLs. Being eternally stumped on a trivia question is a thing of the past. Finding exactly what we’re looking for is getting faster and easier all the time.

2. Efficiency –The ability to communicate to groups of people, even broadcast messages, is terribly efficient. Traveling and want to keep everyone up to date - without spending time, money and energy to connect with each. Now it’s easy - post an update to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn - and voila…done.

3. Value – Once connected to the Internet, you’ve got access to all the same public information as Bill Gates, heads of nations, Warren Buffet and Jimmy Buffet. Where else do you get the same treatment as these people?

4. Choice – We choose when to engage (and how much). Can’t sleep at night and need to fire off that email, done. Choosing to carry on a conversation that lasts months or years, by simply posting a quick comment when time permits…easy as pie.

5. Freedom –How we use each internet platform is up to us. Want to post poetry on LinkedIn (even if you’re not a professional poet)? Go ahead. Set up a website that redirects to your Twitter feed? What’s stopping you? There are very few rules to follow and that’s a good thing.

Remember, the Internet is family now, you don’t have to like everything about it, but you do have to love it.

DEFIANT ARE WE

Sometimes we outgrow what used to fit us so nicely. It happens to individuals and it happens to companies. We see it with clients frequently – a business is married to a brand that no longer appropriately defines who they are, how they do business, what they value and where they’re headed. They’ve outgrown their brand and it’s time for a change. It can be hard pill to swallow. The old brand fits like a comfortable shoe. But even well-made shoes lose their luster, stitching comes undone and soles wear thin. Being the local shoesmith, it’s our job to point out that it’s time for a new pair.

It usually goes like this. We are presented with a task to help a client achieve a specific goal. As we engage the client, we seek to understand how this given task works to strengthen the brand. Here’s the first sign that all is not well. The client reveals that this is merely a quick fix, something to draw attention, drive business and foster short-term growth. But, things don’t add up, draw attention to what? What’s the brand promise? Where’s the big picture thinking? Often, we sit around the table with members of a company who are unsure or disagree about what the company icons represent and how the company is perceived, internally and externally.

Recently, dgcg put our own brand through the process. We looked at the “+” that used to represent so much…and it felt old. We used to pride ourselves on the diversity of services that we bring to the table – and for good reason – there’s much to be said about an agency that can take care of a brand from head to toe. But, as all successful businesses do, we’ve emerged.

Our range of services is still an attribute, however, it’s not our greatest attribute and therefore it doesn’t make our hearts race. What does? Well, not trivialize the process, we must stop here and interject that it took weeks – and a number of deep, often emotional conversations to find the answer – and it wasn’t easy, at first. How do we encapsulate all of the passion and talent into a short understandable representation?

But, we looked hard at ourselves…and we liked what we saw. We are more than an ad agency. Hell, anyone can operate an ad agency. We simply dig deeper, work harder, care more and respect no limits. We don’t need no stinking + at the end of our name and “we don’t need no stinkin badges” either.

We found our answer…and energy flowed easily…smiles all around…a giddy up in our step. It was all “uphill” from that point on. As we freed ourselves from the old brand, we floated upwards, and we took notice.

Gravity – we defy you!

What we do for clients, we did for ourselves. Polished up a new pair of shoes and slid them on. With our new website, business cards, stationary, social media platforms and all collateral updated, we look at ourselves differently. Our new brand appropriately defines us and delivers a new sense of pride.

Who’s Got Your Back?

Think about your favorite restaurant. What’s special about it? The ambiance, service, menu, value, location – a combination of these attributes? Whatever it is that has you hooked, you are, indeed hooked. You wouldn’t hesitate to rattle off a list of reasons why you recommend this place to your friends, family and pretty much anyone who possesses a tongue populated by taste buds. If we were to estimate your value to that restaurant…you’d probably be somewhere in the gold to platinum range.

When you think about your business’ most important assets, what comes to mind? Proximity to customers/clients, availability of products, expertise in your field, vendor relationships, large inventory? You work hard to maintain these assets to ensure your company’s success. However, if your business’ asset list omits top clients, you are overlooking a HUGE opportunity. Not because your best clients patronize your business, but because they consistently market your business for you!

This is one of the reasons why social media marketing is growing so rapidly. Your best customers have always served as your top marketers and social media networks provide more opportunities to empower these “uber patrons.” See for yourself. Take a look at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens Facebook Page. You’ll see that not only do they utilize Facebook to inform about upcoming events; they also empower their audience to share experiences. In doing so, they give a platform and amplification to their brand ambassadors, who willingly market “the Morikami” to friends, family members and the local community.

You may say to yourself, well, my business is B to B − there are no lovely rock gardens, romantic bridges or flowering plants. Our best clients are business people, isn’t that a horse of a different color? Yes…and no. The type of engagement may be different, but the dynamics are the same. Business to business clients refer preferred business partners all the time. We refer local PR agencies and PR agencies are among our top sources for new business leads. Social media networks provide us with opportunities to publicly thank and promote business partners (B to B clients), establishing mutual ambassadorship, enthusiastically promoting each other’s business. We feature each other’s Facebook Pages, promote each other on Twitter and within LinkedIn profile updates.

Interested in maximizing customer, client or business partner relationships for your company? Let’s talk.

Personality?

It may seem strange to believe that businesses possess distinct personalities, but if you think about it, it makes perfect sense. We regularly attribute human traits to non-human entities. Who hasn’t owned a “temperamental” computer or a “moody” air conditioner?

Good, bad or indifferent, businesses do have personalities and express traits that are usually associated with individuals. “Aggressive” may be a desirable personality trait for a lawyer, but not for a dental practice. Likewise, few people are looking to hire a “gentle” lawyer.

Whether or not personality traits are explicitly stated, they are interpreted. Ask the pizza delivery guy about local businesses, you’ll hear words like nice, mean, picky, cheap and generous. Interestingly enough, you would get similar descriptions from people who have never serviced these companies, but are familiar with the reputation of each. Perhaps this is not surprising (or even interesting), but what is certainly worth considering is:

• Do you know your business’ personality?
  
  
• Are you satisfied with your business’ personality?
  
  
• Is your business capable of altering its personality?
  
  
• What personality traits would benefit you business?

Okay, once again, we’ve set ourselves up for the spike! This is what we do. It’s the brand that is essentially the business’ personality. What does the brand stand for and what does it say? How does it look and how is it perceived? Why am I asking you? Can I stop asking questions? I don’t think I can? Of course I can. My brand is silly, but I’m in control.

Brands are very much like the people for whom they are created and frequently mimic their personalities. If you ignore your brand, your business’ personality will be seen as lacking in consideration. Side note (venting opportunity): Spirit Airlines might as well not waste time contemplating personality, because they consistently deliver rude and cheap. If Spirit were a person, they’d invite you over for a dinner party and serve stale bread with watery ketchup (and they’d open your bottle of wine and drink it themselves). Back to our topic.

What’s sad to see is a business that’s fueled by intelligent, passionate, considerate people - and it’s not properly conveyed throughout the brand. The personality is not properly communicated or interpreted. With a well designed marketing strategy, this wouldn’t be the case. If your business needs personality enhancement, give us a buzz. We’ll make time for you. Attentiveness is one of our strongest traits!

Pocket Sized Brand Ambassador

“Cool card!” You love to hear this, because it’s not just a card, it’s your brand. The cool business card demonstrates pride of ownership. Some business cards say, “Hi, I’m Bob. I work for a payroll company. Here’s my info; you can email, fax, call or visit me if you so choose.”

The cool card says, “Check it out, this company is going places. We make our own rules and we’re badass. If Denzel was a company, he’d be this one!” Is this overstating the importance? Is a business card simply an efficient method of giving out contact information?

Heck no! Unless the recipient of your card has already been to your office, seen the quality of your work or checked out your website, this is your first opportunity to make an important impression.

True story - received a business card from an executive at a promotional products company called Far From Boring. Underneath the name, the title line read, “Handsome Bastard.” You know what? That’s Far From Boring! Guess who recently landed the spot as our favorite promotional products vendor?

A cool business card is not a disposable piece of paper. It’s too cool to toss away. Even once this contact is in your database, you can’t toss away the cool card. It’s too good. Too much went in to it. It’s a piece of the company. Some business cards present a powerful logo like a sizzling steak on a silver platter. Others serve you a paper plate with a hot dog and stale roll. The recipe we like: Captivating logo, sturdy card stock, a pleasing color palette and smart text in legible font.

Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Business cards are not a necessity, they’re an opportunity. When your card is passed on from a referral, who is there to ensure that impression you make is exactly the one you intended? Your good buddy, the cool card, that’s who!

Who’s got the time?

Blah, blah, blah…how awesome for you, a new blog post to read…maybe this one features a “game changing” marketing technique, so that you’re not wasting time reading it…perhaps this post will help invigorate your brand and make you twice as happy to go work tomorrow…or, this could be one of those posts that demonstrates how freakin smart and creative we are - separating ourselves from the competition and blowing your mind!

Actually, this post is about the need to put posturing aside and help our clients get what they really need…time!!! Get this…if we can save clients time and help them save their clients time, we can impact the time crisis facing almost all of us adults living in the free world today (free world?).

Social media. Does it suck? No…not really, if you use it right. Five tips for doing social media the right way and saving everyone’s time (also known as the 5 “Be”s):

1. Be concise – It’s not that hard, just say it as succinctly. You got a sale? You got a joke? You got a picture to share? A 40-second video? Bring it on. Just save the aggrandizing for someone who likes that stuff.

2. Be visual – Why? Back to point number one - a well chosen image can tell the story, or at least part of the story, quickly.

3. Be honest – This helps everyone, even sales people – (though it’s a heavy duty cultural shift for sales). Honesty works! Why are television shows now predominantly reality-based? Most of us evidently prefer to watch bad real plot lines over clever fiction.

4. Be proactive – Anticipate your clients needs. You know the aspects of your business that make you less than perfect. Acknowledge these shortcomings, reset expectations and satisfy more customers in the process.

5. Be inventive – Let’s not waste anyone’s time by showing them something they’ve already seen. New media permits us to invent by simply pushing the social media levers in an entirely new way. Hold a LinkedIn contest on your Facebook Page. Broadcast screenshots from your front door to your Twitter audience – every Tuesday at 9 AM. Challenge your nearest business competitor to a cooking contest – broadcast it live – with both brands gaining recognition for the event.

We could go on and on, but we don’t want to waste your time!

The Juice -- Aris

For Valentine’s Day, we thought we’d give you all a special treat, an inside peek at our own code (and love) monkey, Aris. Aris, of course, is not spelled with a “d,” but if it were, it would definitely be spelled with two D’s for a “double dose of his pimping.” Aris works the Interwebs here at dg, making websites and off-color remarks, and basically providing all the dreamy eye-candy we can handle.

So here, gentle readers, sit back and imagine yourself cuddled on a soft rug by a warm fire, sipping cognac and making small talk. Go ahead. Ask those questions you always wanted to.


Q1 – Why advertising?
To slip subliminal messages into our ads that will facilitate continuing seasons of the 1980’s “Buck Rogers” (minus Twiki). 



Q2 – Aside from working at d+g, what experiences have you had on the job that have shaped who you are today?
That would have to be when I was a Male Erotic dancer. I learned that sex sells. I learned a lot more, but not much I can share with you here. (Editor's note: Aris actually has worked as an erotic dancer, and may still freelance for the right price.)



Q3 – What is your favorite reality show?
What’s a reality show?



Q4 – What superpower do you harness that is mostly concealed to your co-workers and clients?
The power to (CENSORED) myself in a meeting and not even flinch.



Q5 – What is your favorite thing about d+g?
Gavin’s experimental English.



Q6 – Favorite South Florida eating establishment?
I’m playing the field right now.
 


Q7 - What sites, blogs, etc do you frequent and how often?
The Daily Rotten for my dose of news of the weird.

Sorry, gentle readers, but I'm afraid your dream date has come to an end. Time to snap out of it and get yourselves back to work. Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!