advergirl

YES AND ... how to brainstorm (better)

Looking for the next game-changing idea. It's a noble cause. One whittled away at in meeting after meeting, google search after google search until we reach the breaking point: It's time for a brainstorm.

We gather interesting people from around the company. Arm them with carbs, caffeine and Sharpies and hope for the best. Sometimes they turn out the big ideas and sometimes ... they fizzle into frustration, aggravation, or even general malaise (I always wondered if I could get "general malaise" into an advertising blog post).

We all know the insidious enemies of good brainstorms:

• The knee-jerk why it won't work response: At their best, brainstorms are about gathering as many new ideas as possible. The editing comes later. It's nearly impossible to get idea momentum going when your energies are divided between defend and develop.
• Mired in just how it will get done: There will always be details to be worked out. The pixel dimensions really do not matter right now. Big picture, people.
• The focus group of one: The self-appointed expert who takes the stage claiming he can speak for all people who have ever enjoyed a Cheeto because he himself has been eating Cheetos so long that the little strips of skin under his fingernails are so permanently tattooed orange that he appears to have had a strange form of a french manicure (potentially one with a Halloween theme). Let's keep it open - every product has lots of different customers. 
  
• And, of course, the worst of them all: silence *crickets*

But how can we do it better? What can we do to keep the ideas flowing and the enemies at bay? 

I think a successful brainstorm is the responsibility of both the facilitators and participants.

What facilitators can do:

(You know, beyond bringing squishy balls and candy and such)

1. Give a little homework: Help  people get in the right mindset and feel invested with a quick homework assignment - something that they can share to kick off the day
2. Stimulus: What new information or experience can get us going? An inspiring video, a site visit, a new data point. 
3. Instant feedback: Let people know they'll get a chance to not only share their ideas, but vote on what they think will work. "Before we leave today, I'll ask you to put a hash mark next to the 5 ideas you like most..."

What participants can do:

1. Say yes and...: It's the ultimate brainstorm discipline. Can you build on an idea - add a new angle, make it better, create another application? 
2. Tagging: Give your ideas a headline. Not only easier for whoever is capturing the ideas, but also good way to get to the sellable proposition. 
3. Table the usual suspects: Agree in the beginning that you'll do all the obvious stuff (like get a project manager or create a brochure). Concentrate your in-brainstorm time on more unusual ideas.

 

How to be a (good) company blogger

Here’s a question I never even thought to ask: How do you train a blogger?

Isn't blogging just a conversation starter you type instead of talk?  Something that's kind of natural - like writing an email or posting a Facebook status?

Wait, in what world did these things become natural? I've got to shake up my digital comfort zone and think like people who haven't spent their entire careers on one long anthropological online dig.

We’re getting a couple of team-sourced blogs up and running here at GSW. There’s a lot of interest, but also a lot of uncertainty.

The sponsors/editors worry:

• Will people really submit content?


• Will it be on brand?


• Will it be something people want to read?

The contributors worry:

• What’s the right way to do this?


• How will I fit it in my workflow? (i.e. how will I have time for this?)


• What topic should I talk about?

The truth is, they're totally understandable concerns. John Cass wrote an interesting article recently about the four operational models companies use to adopt social media. They largely focus on getting people like me (digital junkies) to use their habit for the good of the brand.

I'm trying to add a whole new model. One that's pretty uncomfortable at first.

I'll call it: Corral the conversation

Find the people in your organization who have great, shareworthy ideas and give them new kinds of tools to share them. Fast track the digital adoption process by making technology work like they work. Basically help your curious, chatty people climb onto a soapbox they wouldn’t have been inclined to build up on their own.

Yeah, that’s harder, right? But, it’s one of the few way to get past the early adopters and tap into that larger, smart conversation going on in your organization. To have your social media investment really be authentic to your organization.

Now the question makes sense. How do you train bloggers? How do you help people feel comfortable in an environment that is totally foreign to them?

First, pick the right people. Or, better, let them nominate themselves (that's right, people, a call to blog. Complete with job number!).

Good bloggers are energized by the conversation. They share three things in common:

1. They’ve got a comfortable, recognizable voice. Both spoken and written.


2. They’re naturally curious. They’re the ones who send you all the links to the new studies, the breakout creative, the industry trends.


3. They’re good synthesizers. They read a couple of disparate things and draw a new conclusion. They tag their ideas with memorable phrases. They make it all accessible with analogy.

Ok, now you’ve got your core group. How do you make them successful?

I'm still thinking about that question: How do you train a blogger? I don't know the answer, but I know some things I recommend to writers to make it easier:

• Scribble an outline: Blogs are definitely a back-of-the-napkin kind of business. Just jot an idea down when it comes to you. It will be much easier to fill in the details later (vs. stopping everything to blog or trying to come up with an idea cold.)


• Call yourself: Blog writing is best when it sounds natural, like something you'd actually say. If you're having trouble writing that way, stop. Call your voicemail, turn on your iPhone's voice recorder - talk it out. Then go back later and type it up (Or try that nifty Dragon Dictation app)


• Take a POV: A lot of bloggers get caught up and trying to report on something. Covering every angle, citing sources, etc. It doesn't have to be that hard. Don't try to tell the whole story; just share a unique insight or POV on part of it. (Link to news story the media paid someone to write)


• Embrace the bullet point: Short is better (that's true even though I'm terrible at it!). Don't worry about big complex thoughts and compound sentences. Just give me the highlights.

The biggest opportunity, though, is probably for the editor. How can she use tools and technology to make blogging work the way people work:

• Make it doable: Set reasonable expectations. Start with two posts a month. And, do the proofreading for them.


• Use email: Wordpress, Drupal and other platforms now enbable post by email. How much better is that for contributors? Type your email with your pictures and bullets and bolding, send it to a custom email address, and (like magic) it's in the blog queue for publishing.


• Create a clear filter: Tell bloggers (and readers) what the blog is about. That crisp statement of purpose that helps them know what to write about (and what to save for the water cooler)


• Provide examples:  Show, don't tell. It's a lot easier for most people to work from a pattern.


• Accept lots of formats: It's not all about words. A great picture, a podcast, a video - take them all!


• Share results: Bloggers want to connect with readers. To be read and be valued. Make sure to pass results back to them - how many people have visited the blog, where the content was shared, what posts were most popular.

We're trying a little of all those things. Keep an eye on our progress.

We've already launched one team blog.

There's another one coming on April 22.

And, one more soon after that.

I'm a work hacker

I love the intro to this idea subtitled Learn to love the rule breakers by Bill Jensen and Josh Klein: 

The Problem: When a 12-year-old can gather information faster, process it more efficiently, reference more diverse professionals, and get volunteer guidance from better sources than you can at work, how can you pretend to be competitive? When the personal tools in your mobile phone are more empowering than what your company provides or approves for your projects, how can you be saved from devastating market forces?

Their point is that the tools we use in life have leapfrogged over the ones we use at work. And, some of the employees who stand out in your workplace have just learned how to hack together solutions using them.

Work Hackers aren't like the internet bad guys. They aren't stealing anything or breaking down password-protected walls. No, they're just working around the prescribed way of doing things. They're using open source and shareware and social networks to work faster, find new ideas and deliver deeper insight. 

I'm a total work hacker. I knew that for sure when I was packing up during my last few days at Ologie. I was putting together an email about some of best go-to sources for pitches & proposals and I realized that none of them were the least bit usable in the way most people work. There were the Delicious libraries I pulled into a feed reader, the totally brilliant Exel + Wordle hack I went to for everything, the fake-making-an-ad-to-get-all-the-Facebook-demo-info-I-need "solution," the 3000 brilliant Twitter followers who seem to find anything I can't... 

Hacking, it turns out, is not highly transferable. 

But it is valuable. The new gen opportunity for companies is finding ways to translate how people really work into tools the entire company can use. One-size-fits-all Microsoft products aren't going to be enough. Ethnography + creative coding? That might do it.

I use social media instead of a ladder

I do enjoy reading the lovely Tara Hunt’s insights on social media in action over at Horse*Pig*Cow and, of course, in her book The Wuffie Factor. One of my favorite ideas is The Soup Metric.

Defined: The soup metric is the number of people in your social network who you know would bring you soup if they knew you were sick and/or get your back in any other real friend way.

The big idea is: For those native to social media, there’s isn’t necessarily a big difference between our close-knit personal friends and our strongest business/online relationships. The people who will go to bat for us no matter what are our people. Doesn’t matter how we came to know them. Or where we talk to them most frequently.

I’m confident that if I was sick and needed soup, I could Tweet just such a mopey request and a number of someones would come to my aid. I know that because I would do the same for lots of people I’m connected to – even some I’ve never directly met.

I’ve often tried to explain this dynamic to spectators or adopters.

They ask: Isn’t Twitter just a bunch of people saying what they ate for dinner?

(Incidentally: a ridiculously good PB&J from Café Apropos)

And, I say: No, people use it lots of different ways. Primarily, they form ad hoc groups for socializing, sharing ideas or just supporting one another in everyday-tough situations.

They look at me quizzically. I try again.

Here are a few of the ways I use social media:

• To make my city smaller: Lots of Columbus people participate in social media – on Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. Getting to know them here lets me connect with a broader range of people than I might otherwise encounter. It helps me find new places, events and things worth checking out – and, ensures I’ll know someone when I get there. It’s knowing and being known in my adopted hometown. 


• To give and take ideas and resources: I read a lot. But, there’s so much information out there, I could never even hope to get to 1% of it. Online, I share links and mini reviews of my favorite content and count on my network to do the same. Together, we’re like a sassy high school debate team of data.


• To know my friends in more personal ways: I have friends I haven’t seen in years who I feel closer to than some of the people I see every day. I watch their lives unfold online. Hear their small victories and complaints. Laugh at what they did have for dinner or what awful thing their trainer said to them. It’s what the New York Times calls ambient intimacy – that easy sense of knowing someone that comes from being a small, ongoing part of their lives (instead of just getting the big Christmas-letter download)


•  And, it’s true: I use Twitter instead of a ladder. My ladder weighs at least 60 pounds. The thing is wicked configurable and nearly impossible to lug up the stairs. So when I have to change a light bulb in some lofty location, I climb on something totally inappropriate to the task (hamper, bar stool, and, once, a kitty condo tower). But, first, I tweet that I’m about to do something dumb & if I’m not heard from in 10 minutes to please send for help.

About the T-shirt: Threadless has this great new online Twitter store featuring shirts with crowdsourced Tweets. Submit one or buy one here.

Fundraising and Social Media

Can we just take a moment to be truly honest with each other, dear readers?

It’s weird when incredibly smart, fresh, relevant social media advice comes from the mouth of a 50-something, right?

Hell, most of the time I feel completely out of touch in this category myself… especially, as it turns out, when I’m getting schooled by a grey hair.

I’m jumping ahead.

This week: Ologie and Benefactor Counsel hosted a series of events for fundraising professionals and greater good leaders featuring Richard McPherson, author of Digital Giving.

I was lucky enough to attend two of the sessions focused on how to use social media to connect with new donors. And, I have to say – if you’re looking for a speaker who (1) totally gets social media, (2) has been there/done that credibility and (3) can deliver advice that is relevant, clear and actionable … well, this is the guy to call. I’m already integrating some of the things I learned.

Let me share a few highlights:

Set aside the scarcity mindset

• We need to move from the mindset of scarcity to one of abundance
  


• There are millions of potential donors out there; you just have to find a way to connect with them


• Online fundraising allows us to aggregate the resources of those scattered givers


• Your donors are older today, but it’s more a symptom of your fundraising efforts than it is a reflection of your true constituents


• 80% of Americans give to nonprofits every year (DMA 08)

Cause vs. Candidate

• Why has Obama been able to inspire so many first-time givers? The first thing he asks for isn’t money; it’s a commitment. He doesn’t ask for money until three or four communications in. First he makes you a stakeholder in his campaign – gives you a movement / an event / a task to be a part of


• One effective social tactic: Sign a pledge. People who get a chance to make a statement quickly become donors
  • 47% of people who give online did something else first


• People don’t emotionally connect to institutions; they connect with causes they can believe in
  • Ex. Give to the Library annual pledge vs. Thank a Librarian campaign
  • Ex. Nothing but Nets – the UN Foundations campaign to fight malaria


• The Internet rewards storytelling. It’s hard to tell a truly compelling “unrestricted gift” story

What's the strategy? There are no checkbooks on Facebook

 

• Fundraising is one step removed from a social media introduction


• Fundraising on the Web is more like “major gift” strategy than anything else. It’s about cultivation. Finding the right time and the right amount for a first gift


• Engage the person first; ask for money later


• Virtual volunteer recruitment is essential. Share your brand with your biggest advocates – let them take your message and “the ask” to their friends


• Add a function to your Web site that allows people to quickly qualify themselves (get them to register in exchange for something of value – ex. Field guide, “pet inside” fire sticker)


• The messenger is critical. You want that person / organization to create confidence. To endorse your organization’s brand.


• Focus on what the donor wants, not what the organization wants. For example, most online giving tools allow for anonymous giving, but organizations turn that off because they want to be able to track down the donor. If you allow it? Total donations increase 15 – 20%

The Web’s not just for small gifts

• 51% of the “wired wealthy” (middle and major donors) prefer to give online


• 80% already have (download Convio study)


• Why they like it: reduces administrative costs, has a sense of immediacy / ability to respond effectively to a crisis, gets them frequent flyer miles (yep, it’s a big number), makes it easier to track total donations over time


• Why they don’t like it: Worried that you’ll sell their personal information or deluge them with email

What are the tools?

• Ask yourself: If an opportunity presented itself today, are you ready to quickly communicate with all of your constituents? Do you have their email addresses, cell phone numbers, etc.?


• “Email is an old person’s medium. You have to be able to think beyond it.” But also use it strategically to reach boomers – it’s the bread & butter of their giving.


• The new free media is blogs. It’s “Information unfiltered by authority”


• 74% of people who give said an email about how a donation was spent would improve the chance that they give again (DMA 08)


• 3/4s said the Web site experience has a significant impact on it / how much they give

Budget for preparedness

• The challenge with disruptive technology is that there’s no proven ROI, no history


• It’s tough to fit that into the nonprofit planning model


• Need to set aside a certain percentage of the budget to prepare for what’s next – to experiment with how to connect with your new donors


• “Increasingly, the gap between have and have not organizations will be defined by how they have / have not embraced technology”

Why add mobile to your strategy?

• “Phones allow us to begin to compete with consumer spending instead of other charitable giving”


• Americans acknowledge that much of their spending is somewhat frivolous. It’s also spontaneous. So, today, it’s a sweater, but tomorrow it could just as easily be a contribution


• Today, mobile giving is challenged by total giving limits and administrative charges from providers. But, soon people will connect their Paypal accounts to their phones and giving will be much less restrictive


• Mobile partners: Mobile Accord, MobileCommons

Big takeaway: “You don’t teach your donors; your donors teach you” Donors are changing the rules of the game. It's up to us to learn it.

OpenAd.Net

What's better than wandering the aisles of Meijer when you're hopelessly awake past 3AM on a Monday?

OpenAd.net

All those wacky / expensive / off brand / scary ideas the AE wouldn't even let you get in front of the client??  ... yeah, whip 'em out. OpenAd is a virtual bazaar of spec creative work.

Read the RFPs. Submit your best idea.Winner takes the purse. And, the credit.

Sign up as a freelancer or make your entire creative department flex their noggins.

Read about it in Fast Company
Or, go sign up.

Rollover takeover

Here's an interesting video ad technique I hadn't noticed before - rolling over the ad causes the video panel to expand and take over the page content without leaving the original page. Nice balance.

Two examples from Eyewonder:
Invasion
Titliest

RSS: Yes, now

For most agencies and clients, email marketing still has a strong hold on interactive communications. In many cases RSS (which some of us rely on daily ... um, hourly) hasn't even really hit the radar.

With email marketing maturing and declining quickly, many savvy marketers are looking to RSS as the next logical opt in communication - and, as a huge proponent, I want to help get the word out.

Here's a great new article on the subject, chock full of plenty of plain-spoken rationale to start to move clients toward adoption. And, below is a super quick primer on just what we're talking about -

Email Morphs Into A Feed: The Progression from Email to RSS Content Distribution & Marketing

RSS [Real Simple Syndication] lets users (also known as people) choose what content they want and where they want to get it. They can look at information when they have the time or desire to do so, rather than planning to get back to yet another message in their crowded inbox.

The most ubiquitous users of RSS are bloggers. But, RSS – or the ability to subscribe to content – can been enabled on most any database-driven Web property.

There are generally three ways to read RSS-enabled content

• Visit the web page
• Use an online new aggregator [Users simply create an account, and then start subscribing to feeds. They can come back to that single portal page at any time and see all the latest updates on the sites they subscribe to]
• Download a reader. [Users also have the option to download a news aggregator, an RSS reader, that delivers the content right to their desktop or inbox. Newsgator, for example, is a popular RSS, which runs in Microsoft Outlook.]

And, with the correct administration, RSS can also be set up to power email – enabling users to subscribe to email updates daily, weekly or monthly.               

Many cell phone companies, free email providers and others are also starting to integrate RSS readers in their products.

If you haven't already, click through and read the article.

Do it yourself advertising

For the client who believes in less, Nick Grouf and David Waxman, founders of PeoplePC and Firefly, have just introduced Spotrunner - a virtual vanity press for low rent TV spots.

Do-it-themselves advertisers pick from 1,000 generic modules of pre-existing, professionally shot spots that cost as little as $350 to lease. They add their own title cards and/or voiceovers and taglines.

It’s not just account execs and creatives out on the street, though. Spotrunner lets users take over the media department, too, with a detailed media schedule featuring  à la carte prices that’s as user-friendly as ordering an item from an Internet retailer. Bravo in Berkeley, Calif. between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. will cost you a whopping $5. Want to advertise pizza delivery on ESPN when the local team is playing? That will run you $88—the profit on, say, 30 large pies?