MEDIAPOST: Trend-Spotting In The Wild

When I was a student at Syracuse, one of my professors said something that stuck with me. They said if you want to be good (great) at advertising and marketing, then become a true student of popular culture. That statement resonated with me and has shaped how I view media, from the perspective of a consumer as well as that of a marketer. To this day, when my wife and I go to sleep she reads Business Week and Fortune while I read Rolling Stone, Spin and Entertainment Weekly – that’s my line into the world of “what’s going on” because I’m simply not hip anymore. It’s where I start my regular trend-spotting exercise.

Trend-spotting is an interesting component of our business. Trend-spotting is the science of identifying where things are headed in popular culture before they get there. It’s actually unfair of me to call it a science when it’s just as much art as anything else. Trend-spotters are the ultimate professors of popular culture, but the web is a powerful tool in that arsenal and just about anyone can be an amateur trend-spotter. If you get good at it, it can have a significant impact from a strategic perspective, and positively inform your client’s business for years to come.

A great place to start is with search. Search is an active database of trends in action. Google Trends is the most logical place to start, and Bing has it’s own trends platform, but there are a host of other tools like TrendyBing that give you access to the 30,000 foot view of what’s going on in search. Reading search trends gives you insight into what people are trying to uncover and the topics that are garnering their attention at the current moment. Trending these searches over time will help you identify fads, failures and long-term directions that may affect your creative messaging. One of the best ways to maintain resonance with your target audience is to be topical, so integrating data and insights from search is a great place to start.

Beyond search, there are a host of digital tools and publications that you can peruse, but one of them (which not everyone likes but I find fascinating) is Cool Hunting. I used to read their site, but they came up with an iPad app that I find far easier for my puny little brain to comprehend. I find publications like Cool Hunting to be interesting because they integrate the best of fashion, design, architecture and music together and highlight products and occurrences that align with what’s “cool”. One of the most overlooked tools of the trend-spotter can be other trend-spotters in the marketplace. There are very few people who can see it all before it comes, so why not rely on the aggregate of the information to allow the best to surface. After all, your goal as a marketer is not to be first, but to understand what impact these changes should have on your messaging.

Of course you can only go so far by reading magazines, perusing publications and tracking search. You have to do some of the work for yourself. Transforming your own daily life into that of a trend-spotter can be an onerous task, bordering on the impossible. It’s not feasible to be 100% self-aware and an objective third party all at the same time. These two states of mind are combative; but what you can do is follow some basic advice and open your mind a bit:

1. Be aware of the world around you and look at people. People watching is one of the greatest ways to spot trends, but in doing so you have to turn off that cynical, natural human inclination to judge. You need to just observe and take notes.

2. Get out… out of the office, out of your house. Get out of your comfort zone and try to engage with different kinds of people, places and things. Try to observe new places and new avenues for learning and attempt to see the inputs that shape others outside of your typical surroundings.

3. Listen to yourself. Pay close attention to what excites you, what interests you and try to observe your own habits. A great way to do this is go through an average day and keep a running log of what you do, when you do it and how you do it. You’ll be surprised at some of the things you come across.

4. Attend conferences, but attend conferences from other industries that may seem interesting to you. See what’s new, see what’s interesting and most importantly, see how others are viewing their own business.

5. The last piece of advice, the one that I read in an article and really liked, is try and spot trends then assume the exact opposite of that trend. It’s a standard brainstorming exercise to pick up certain messaging and then apply polarized thinking, and it works here as well. Identify a trend, then see what happens if everyone acted in the exact opposite manner.

Trend-spotting is an art, and it is a science. Many companies invest millions of dollars a year into this engaging area of our business, but creative thinking requires that everyone can be a little bit of a trend-spotter in their own, unique way. Go out today and try it and you’ll see the strategies you develop may be fresher, more exciting and potentially more effective as well.

MEDIAPOST: Online Advertisers Take The Summer Off

When was the last time you were in a record store? I used to go once a week. It was fun for me to browse the new releases, peruse the bins of my favorite artists and plow through the used CD’s to see if there was anything that I wanted to pick up. Times change though and that behavior has become as anachronistic as the pocket watch (and yes – I still like pocket watches).

The record industry has experienced more dramatic change in the last 10 years than almost any other category of consumer product. Don’t be confused by that statement because the music industry is indeed a very well defined consumer product, but the advent of digital media has created an entire generation of people that may well never set foot into a record store. A record store, for millions upon millions of people, was an experience in and of itself. It was a way to spend time, and a way to discover new music. Just last week I was dropping off a friend of mine when I was reminded of a song I wanted him to hear. When I played it for him, he mentioned that he hadn’t yet purchased that deluxe edition box set where the song originates from because he didn’t know where to go anymore! The joke was that just when he could have and should have gone to a record store, he didn’t even know where one was anymore.

Numerous articles have been written about how the music industry is dying, but that’s not what I’m here to write about. I’m actually here to raise awareness of the fact that it’s potentially better than ever. From my perspective, the industry is now set to experience a rebirth and a reinvigoration because I feel as though the stars have aligned, but the industry part is getting cut out and the artists are the ones to make the money!

Just look at the way we consume music now. Yes, it’s primarily digital and that means lesser sound quality and a less tactile experience, but that also means the art can come through in many new ways. Artists have the ability to create more immersive cover art than ever before and that can lend value to the experience. Why not create a virtual album cover that is digital video and 3-D rendered while being web based? When you browse through iTunes or Amazon, the primary ways that music is being purchased these days, you can catch the attention of the user with intensely visual artwork if you know how to do it. When you release songs as teasers online, the accompanying assets (video, graphical, flash, audio) are easily shared and passed along by fans and users of all kinds. Remixes and expanded versions are eaten up by online users and interactivity with your art further increases viral consumption. You used to make a mix and pass it along to your friends, now you can pass it along directly and with the right tools you can keep track of that virality!

Music discovery has never been so easy as it is now, with sites and services like Pandora and Spotify. It’s easy to uncover new music, recommend music and “try out” new music before you buy. It’s also easy to unearth rarities and classics from long-forgotten artists allowing them to reach a new audience altogether. And don’t even forget the ease with which users create content, and in that content they can easily integrate music. That music becomes exposed to a new audience and new fans are born!

Your browser and social media are the best record store you could ever hope for. Your friends are the new record store clerks and these services are a revenue stream that never existed before. I know the margins may not be as high as they were, but as the famous words were once spoken, “fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son”. The labels were fat, drunk and stupid and now they’re paying the price, but the artists are in far more control now than they ever were before.

Which brings me to the last point. The artistry is resurrecting. Some of the new albums from The Gaslight Anthem, The National and Arcade Fire are making me feel good about music again. Even pop albums from Katy Perry and a host of other artists make me feel there is creativity back in the business. So jump back in, feet first, and see what you think. Support the artists who are doing it right and let’s watch what happens!

Digital Influentials Volume 2, Issue 9: I Was So Hungry I Almost Ate This Column!

This issue of the Digital Influentials is dedicated to that one common denominator which unites us all! It’s the single, solitary, unifying factor that brings us all together, regardless of race, religion or appetite. It’s all about food!!

No matter what the state of the economy or the temperature or the state of international politics (which I can almost assuredly say is never a fun topic), people gotta eat! Surprisingly the food category is one that is generating lots of innovations in the digital space, so this issue we decided to highlight the various sites and services we discovered that either helped us save money or discover new ways to prep and eat food!

Foodies and average joe’s alike go to the web in droves to search for everything food related. From “what to make for dinner” to a “gourmet meal for 25 people” you can find just about everything. There are articles, videos, pictures (some refer to this as food porn), blogs and more that can help you turn on your cravings and satisfy your tastes. Grocery shopping is a booming category as more data shows that consumers go to the web to prep their grocery lists and research their meals for the week. Let’s dive into some of what we found on our wild and wonderful route through the week!

Looking for a recipe that will twist your ears back and set your nose on fire? Then look no further than YUMMLY (http://www.yummly.com/). Yummly is a next generation recipe search engine that catalogs more recipes than you could ever possibly imagine cooking, and people who know and love food created the site! They know the ingredients and they know what you mean to do with them, so check ‘em out!

When was the last time you were stuck in the store not knowing which product to buy? It was probably yesterday, but if AISLEBUYER (http://www.aislebuyer.com/) has its way it’ll never happen again! Aisle Buyer allows consumers to scan barcodes while in the store and unlock product reviews and information right while they’re in the store. You can even go that extra mile and buy from your phone, without waiting in line! Sounds like science fiction, doesn’t it?

Want to watch videos of your favorite cooking personalities, but you don’t want to watch TV? Then check out IN YOUR KITCHEN (http://www.inyourkitchen.com/). It’s video after video of succulent morsels being prepared by inquisitive culinary professionals! These folks love what they do and they want to do it for you, so take your laptop into the kitchen and cook with the best!

Sometimes the best place for foodies online is where they can check out the best pictures of food, so when you’re finished perusing your food porn with Flickr and PhotoBucket, check out PINTEREST (http://pinterest.com/). Pinterest is a social image-tagging site that allows users to “pin” a picture from any page of the web to their pinboard. Some of the most beautiful pages are the ones dedicated to food. Check out the pictures of cupcakes and pasta dishes and you’ll leave with your mouth watering and your eyes drooling (yes – I got that backwards on purpose).

Maybe you don’t have enough time to watch a show or peruse pictures? Then look in your inbox for TASTING TABLE (http://www.tastingtable.com/). Tasting Table is a free daily email dedicated to the best in dining, cooking and drinking. It’s focused on a few select areas, but chances are high that if you’re reading this email, you’re covered!

As for the Apple-related world of iPhones and iPads (because who better than a company named after a tasty, healthy snack), check out the EPICURIOUS app for recipes and cooking suggestions, or check out any of the shopping planner tools like GROCERY IQ, SHOPPER or GREEN GROCER. All of them will save you time, money, or both!

That’s it for this week. I have to close up the laptop and get me a snack. My tummy is grumbling something fierce! Have a great week!!

MEDIAPOST: What Does It Mean To Be A True “Partner”?

What does it mean to truly be a partner?

This is a question that I’ve been thinking about over the last few weeks and it has stylistically impacted a number of my recent columns. It’s come up on discussion threads, in some email lists and it’s been bantered about in the comments section, so let’s address it head on.

The antithesis of a partner is a vendor, and there is a simple point of differentiation. A partner is a valued relationship. A vendor is an order-taker. A partner is someone who adds value beyond the exact words of a contract, where a vendor does exactly what they’re told and nothing more. A partner is willing to say “no” and willing to fight for ideas and engage in intelligent discourse. A vendor fears conflict and does what they’re asked, even if they don’t believe it’s the right thing to do.

Many people ask me what’s wrong with the marketing services business, because there is definitely something wrong with much of it. My two cents is that too many companies and too many people are vendors and not enough of them are true partners.

In the days of “Mad Men”, or what some refer to as the glory days of advertising, agencies were partners and those relationships lasted a very long time. Agencies would call “BS” on their clients and would fight for what they believed in. Clients would engage in a healthy debate and the two sides would try to convince the other side of their POV. In the end we’d see a rationalized, well-thought out effort that would drive appreciable lifts in business.

Today, there are too many “yes-people” in this business.

It feels like people fear conflict and change, which is funny because this business is built on these two cornerstones. Conflict and change breed innovation and whether you’re trying to reinvent a brand or a category, you need innovation. People are also afraid to make mistakes, and our climate is one that doesn’t tolerate mistakes very easily. Mistakes are what develop ideas! You have to be encouraged to make mistakes and learn from them, because no one ever gets it right on the first try! Mistakes, conflict and change; these three words are important to the growth and creativity of ideas and they are currently missing from the marketing services world.

Yes-people live their lives worrying about mistakes, conflict and change. They’re terrified of making mistakes, they avoid conflict in any way possible and change unsettles them so they try to maintain the status quo. What great ideas have ever emerged from that kind of environment? What great developments or great strides forward have ever emerged from that mindset?

To mend the problems with the business, we need to embrace mistakes, conflict and change. We also need to end the nickel-and-dime tyranny of the post-procurement age where agencies are held to the letter of the contract and negotiated to within an inch of their lives. On the flip side, agencies need to branch out and provide insights with out holding out their hands every single time. Agencies need to take responsibility and offer intelligence without expecting an immediate response in the form of a check, but rather as a deposit in the emotional bank account of the relationship itself.

We need to recreate an environment where ideas are applauded and partners are encouraged to fight for their ideas without fear of repercussions. I don’t mean that every agency should turn into an arrogant, fascist regime but I think that they need to learn to stick up for themselves and their ideas. Clients need to see the value in their partners and engage in the discussion, and they need to be clear about who the decision makers are, engaging them early and often. Some blame Wall Street for the fear of public opinion, but I don’t believe it anymore. I think the responsibility lies within our teams and ourselves as only we can impact the relationships of those around us. Like the saying goes (sort of), you have to affect every relationship one client at a time.

Don’t you agree?

MEDIAPOST: Have You Hugged Your Agency Today?

Have you hugged your agency partners today?

OK – admittedly that sounds a little extreme, but the question is intended to be exaggerated to highlight the state of agency/client relationships these days.
In the old days, the agency/client relationship was long lasting, quite deep and very effective. These days the average agency/client relationship is four years. Is that because the agencies are full of overworked, under-experienced, over-compensated braggarts? In most cases, no.

For the most part, regardless of the issues facing the agencies, the agencies are full of hard working, well-intentioned innovative minds. To be an agency careerist is hard, and it’s full of challenges from many sides. Your competition is always coming after your business and the ethics of business aren’t always top of mind. Agencies undercut on price and they come after your best people. Being in an agency and pouring your heart and soul into the work of your clients can be a pretty thankless job, but those of us who’ve chosen this path know why we love it!

Being an agency person allows you to explore creativity and data all at the same time. It allows you to learn on an ongoing basis. It allows you to be innovative and it allows you to be a problem solver. The nature of the agency world is one of facing challenges head on almost daily, and creating solutions. Identifying a challenge and knowing that you can overcome them and succeed is what drives us. That’s the kind of thinking that gets agency people excited!

Of course, many of us will tell you that the agency business would be utterly amazing if it wasn’t for the clients. I jest (a little), but the fact is that most clients don’t value their agencies and they don’t take into account the human component of the work that’s delivered day in and day out, under intense conditions, in amazingly quick cycles. Rarely if ever does the agency develop the ideas they bring to you in the car ride over to the client’s offices. Most of those ideas were developed over painstaking hours and days and through any combination of late nights, frenetic brainstorms and emotional bloodletting. And nothing hurts worse than when a client shoots down your strategic vision in a matter of minutes for reasons like “they don’t like the color” or “but that’s what I read our competition is doing in AdWeek”.

By no means am I arguing that your agency partners get it right all of the time. Intelligent discourse is what truly creates great work, in both creative and media. What you should be striving for is that intelligent discourse, not just discourse for the sake of the meeting. When you select an agency, you select them because you believe they have the talent and the experience to bring value to your business, and that is what they do (for the most part, when compensated in the right way). Being a good partner means that you challenge one another and you try to make each other better. And you check your ego at the door. Being a good partner means that you value your partner’s strengths and you work through your partner’s weaknesses, knowing that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It’s the same in any relationship and it should be the same in business.

My hope is that if agencies and clients can create the right kind of relationship early, in the compensation structure, then they can create a truly mutually beneficial relationship that lasts for many years. Both sides should be willing to invest time and they should never nickel and dime their partners. Both sides should get to know the other from a personal view. They should value the experience they bring to the table and they should understand that decisions are made based on all the information, not just your gut or some innate desire to have power in the relationship. They should have an implied understanding that if they go the extra mile for one another, that they’ll have each other’s back and that kind of relationship can go on for years and years.

So if you have a meeting today, take a second to appreciate your agency. You don’t have to engage in a group hug, but simply ask them why they did what they did and say thank you for the hard work.

What have you seen that’s worked and was successful at creating a long lasting relationship between agency and client? Share your thoughts on the Spin Board – I know at least 1,000 people that really want to hear it!!