In discussing the placement of media planning (whether with ad agencies or with media services agencies) a recent Ad Age article (free subscription required) gives a great quote.
Anomaly’s new-business director, Jason DeLand, said the firm has turned down a number of clients on the basis of their media approach. “When it starts and stops with advertising, we don’t want to do it,†he said.
Novel idea.
I dropped in on Pause, my guilty pleasure, and Jory has posted her take on Randall Rothenberg’s interesting article in Strategy+Business.
Like Jory, I was taken back by the article and left feeling like it challenges a lot of what we’ve learned from Seth Godin’s Purple Cow and Tom Peters’ WOW! Either I totally misunderstand the article, or basically it espouses that the idea doesn’t matter as long as the execution is good.
I completely disagree with that notion. The execution does matter, but it cannot consistently overcome a horrible idea. Last night’s episode of The Apprentice is an excellent example. In creating an advertising concept for Lamborghini, the men lost based on horrible ideas. In his article, Rothenberg states the following.
Every manager, from the middle on up, knows that the secret to success lies not in strategy, but in galvanizing a team to implement the strategy.
Yet if you watched The Apprentice last night, you saw one team focus on teamwork (the men) and they lost horribly. Why? Because they never had a solid idea to build around.
Teamwork is huge. It is critical. But without a good idea, you have no reason for a team to exist.
Last weekend I met with some friends for a little retreat. We reflected on life and looked at how our passions and experiences might be indicating purpose for our lives. As we shared our lives with each other I thought about how I wouldn’t want to do what they do, and they probably wouldn’t want to do what I do. And that’s GREAT!
If we’re part of an organism, then we have our own purpose to fulfill. A hand doesn’t try to see and an eye doesn’t try to pick up a hammer and swing it. I shouldn’t try to find purpose in bookkeeping or accounting, and an accountant probably wouldn’t find their purpose in my idea-generating activities.
Still all the parts belong to the same body. They have the same blood coursing through them. They rely on the same air, food, and shelter. If the body decides it must do something (eat, sleep, run, etc.), then the parts have to work in conjunction for this common purpose. So must the parts of a business. People, departments, and divisions all belong to the same organism. They have the same financial “blood” flowing through them. They rely on the same mission, vision, and leadership. They may have different functions, but they need to come together in order to accomplish a common purpose (market growth, increasing margins, adjusting to competitors, etc.)
An organism has purpose on macro and micro levels. If the micro-purposes come together, they can accomplish incredible things on a macro level. Problem is, we often don’t know our purpose on ANY level.
OK, fess up time. I’m a Taco Bell junkie. Also, for some strange reason I really like the phrases on the sauce packets. Several of the phrases are cute and clever. I’m just surprised you can’t submit suggestions for phrases on Taco Bell’s website. Actually, there’s not even a mention of the sauce packets on their website, so I had to find a third party to help me out.
Why do you do what you do?
There’s a question to ask often and answer honestly. Two reasons:
Understanding what drives you can help direct/redirect your decisions.
You might ask why you chose your current occupation. In answering that question, you can discover motives and desires that lead you to your job. Conversely, you may realize that you chose your job because of security or because of what others expect of you. These “answers” (which really just lead to more questions, which hopefully leads to more discovery), can help you decide where to go from here and do it authentically.
Understanding your motives can give insight into what motivates others’ decision-making.
Not everyone will share your motivations, but at the core of your motivation is likely a universal motivator… one that nearly everyone shares with you. Try to find the universal motivators behind your decisions. Now, ask if your product/service taps into any of these motivators. If not, ask how it could. Find innovative ways of tapping into universal motivators.
The Oracle from Matrix Reloaded says it better than me.
Neo: But if you already know, how can I make a choice?
The Oracle: Because you didn’t come here to make the choice, you’ve already made it. You’re here to try to understand *why* you made it. I thought you’d have figured that out by now.
Per Bruce and (of course) Seth, Gilette has announced they will unveil a 5-blade razor in early 2006.
Somebody please remind me, what is the benefit of multiple blades? Multiple opportunities to cut myself? Originally, I believe they touted that you could get a smooth shave with one stroke of the razor. So, instead of shaving over the same area two or three times, now you just go over it once. Good idea.
Did I ever shave the same area five times? No. Not unless I want razor burn so bad that my neck resembles the topography of Mars. So, what is the purpose? Marketing. One-upmanship. OK, one-upmanship marketing.
Seems like the megahertz “myth” redux. Wintel PCs were blowing away Apple in megahertz speed ratings. In a race to have the fastest PC, manufacturers eventually commodotized the market. After one gigahertz (1,000 mhz), very few people could find reasons to buy faster computers. Soon, manufacturers were looking for another way to differentiate their product. Now speed is almost a non-factor. Any new PC is usually fast enough. It’s the peripherals (monitor, mp3 player, printers, cameras) that steer purchases now.
So, has Gillette (and the razor market) “jumped the shark?” I think so. Yet, razors don’t typically use peripherals so I’ll be interested to see how they differentiate themselves after this.
Ever try to serve hors devours on a rubberband?
Ever try to bend a toothpick?
If you manage employees, do they know what rules are flexible or inflexible? Seth gives a good example of why they should.