Brand Autopsy

On the Post2Post Book Tour we’re talking about SWITCH: How to Change When Change is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath.

The Heath Brothers are more than authors; they are teachers. In MADE TO STICK they taught us how “Simple Unexpected Concrete Credentialed Emotional Stories” stand a better chance of sticking with people than do ideas presented in some willy-nilly, off-the-cuff way.

With SWITCH, they teach us how to unstuck ourselves from ritualistic behaviors. The lessons on how to make change happen not only apply to businesses, but also to causes and personal needs. As with MADE TO STICK, the Heaths tell stories to express their thinking. It’s a style that works.

You’ll read lots of astute observations about SWITCH on the Post2Post Book Tour . You can also learn more about the book concepts from an excerpt than ran in Fast Company.

I’ve asked my buddy, Sir Wilton Norman Chamberlain III, to do a dramatic reading from SWITCH for an episode of Marketing Masterpiece Theatre. Wilt doesn’t disappoint. (Or maybe he does, depending on your frame of mind and appetite for inaneness.) Enjoy...

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By day, Tom Fishburne is a managing director with Method. By night, Tom is a cartoonist appealing to the “improbable audience of brand managers.” By way of SXSWi, I attended Tom’s session on Innovation Lessons from Cartooning. Excellent session with lots of chewy takeaways, including:

Deliberate Exclusivity
“It’s more meaningful to be provocative to a few than to be broadly boring to many.”

Innovation as Instigators
“Innovation when done right can spark conversations.”
“Truly innovative ideas require innovative business models.”
“How you share your innovative ideas is more important than the ideas themselves.”

New Ideas
“Unfortunately, most businesses are equipped with more ‘cutting tools’ than ‘growing tools’ and too many meaningful ideas never see the light of day.”

Recessionary Times
“Recessions are litmus tests for worthwhile brands. If your brand isn’t worthwhile, it won’t last.”

All quotes from TOM FISHBURNE.

It’s with much appreciation that I share money quotes from Tom Peters’ newest book, THE LITTLE BIG THINGS: 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence.

Keep in mind this isn’t all-new material from Tom. This book contains polished versions of smart blog posts from tompeters.com. Don’t let that sway you from not buying and reading this collection of business wisdom. This book is chock-full of actionable and motivational business advice. (Plus it’s housed within the easy-to-riffle-through pages of a bound book. No pesky clicking necessary to go from webpage to webpage.)

In many ways, LITTLE BIG THINGS is similar to Tom’s previous book, Re-Imagine. (Long-time Brand Autopsy readers may recall my rants about Re-Imagine... #1 Rant, #2 Rant, #3 Rant, and #4 Rant.) Biggest difference is how LITTLE BIG THINGS is indexed with over 25 sections addressing topics like Excellence, Leadership, Attitude, Change, etc. Re-Imagine was lacking an index to help make the book more readable.

I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to showcase Tom Peters money quotes on PowerPoint using the manic design style that is synonymous with Tom Peters. (Go here and download some Peters PowerPoint to see what I mean. Seriously. Do it.)

Enough setup ... let’s get to the LITTLE BIG THINGS money quotes...

LITTLE BIG THINGS | Tom Peters

View more presentations from John Moore.

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[NOTE: I often receive free copies of biz books from publishers and publicists. I received a free copy of LITTLE BIG THINGS from the Tom Peters Company.]

In their one-hour core conversation at SXSWi about breaking into the paid speaking business, Nick Morgan and Tim Sanders gave attendees priceless advice. (Had I heard this advice back in 2005, it would have saved me from learning those lessons the hard way — that is by doing it and at times, failing by doing it.)

Nick is a speaking coach for executives and consultant-types. His first book, “GIVE YOUR SPEECH, CHANGE THE WORLD” is a must-read for anyone who delivers presentations. Tim Sanders is coached by Nick and has carved out a lucrative career as an author and speaker. These two guys were both being sincerely helpful by sharing their no holds barred advice.

The first piece of advice from Nick & Tim is get a book published. Yep. A published book that’s found in Barnes & Noble nationwide is the ante for getting into the paid speaking game. (That’s how I started. I even used the book they recommended to write a book proposal.)

Second piece of advice is get a quality speaking demo produced, edited, and shared online. Part of a conference meeting planner's job is to eliminate risk when hiring a speaker. As in a meeting planner must feel confident and comfortable a paid speaker will deliver the goods. An easy way for them to get confident and comfortable is to see video of you on stage delivering a presentation. (My demo reel isn't slick, but it does help to show a meeting planner the substance of my presentations and my style.)

Third piece of advice is exude enthusiasm, passion, and charisma when delivering presentations. The difference between a travel-fees only speaker and a well-compensated speaker comes down to style. It’s a given that both of these speakers will have smart content. However, the ones who get well-compensated understand they must not only share knowledge, they must also inspire attendees to act upon the knowledge they just heard.

Nick and Tim shared lots more advice on breaking into the paid speaking business beyond what I shared. Samantha Bell gives a detailed summary of their SXSWi session. Read it, it’s worth your time. You can also read the tweets from the #blogmoney hashtag.

In my readings far outside the business world, I read this yesterday:

“Crisis is a word that is often mistaken to mean tragedy or threat. A truer understanding is that crisis means a turning point.”

Nice. While not written for business, the implications for businesses are real and aplenty.

Dominos faced a crisis with the realization their pizza lacked zest. They responded and changed course by changing their pizza recipe.

Toyota is facing yet another crisis associated with quality issues. Clearly, Toyota is at a major turning point. Fingers are being pointed that Toyota must change the course of its company culture to emerge from this mess a stronger and healthier business.

Remember, a crisis isn’t a distraction. It’s an opportunity. An opportunity to question business practices and an opportunity to make decisions so that a company can become beloved again.

We continue with another business book summary in under 300 words by summing up FASCINATE: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation by Sally Hogshead.

Sally injects lots of personality in her writing, which makes FASCINATE a fun read. She also injects lot of smart thinking about attributes brands must have to make emotional connections with customers.

For this short summary, we're going with just the facts. Enjoy.

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FASCINATE | summarized in less than 300 words

WHAT
The challenge for brands is to fascinate (or fail).

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SO WHAT
According to a study from Kelton Research, “... people want to be fascinated, and they want to be fascinating.” For marketers this means brands have the opportunity to “help consumers feel more fascinating in their own lives” and to create products/services that fascinate people.

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NOW WHAT
The strongest brands ignite fascination for customers and from customers by triggering some or all of these seven powerful triggers: LUST ... MYSTIQUE ... ALARM ... PRESTIGE ... POWER ... VICE ... and, TRUST.

1 | LUST: a craving for pleasure.
>> Think being the first in your social circles to own an iPad.

2 | MYSTIQUE: a sparking of curiosity.
>> Think of the storied myth that Red Bull energy drink is made with secretions from a bull’s testicles.

3 | ALARM: an act of impulse no matter the consequences.
>> Think succumbing to the irresistible infomercial offer that is too good to be true... 6 Second Abs perhaps.

4 | PRESTIGE: an achievement earning high-status and respect.
>> Think becoming mayor of the hippest coffee joint in town on foursquare.

5 | POWER: an ability to gain domination and control.
>> Think using Proactiv to dominate and control acne issues.

6 | VICE: a tempting of guilty and sometimes sultry pleasures.
>> Think living an aspirational life by reading exploits of celebrities in US Weekly.

7 | TRUST: a comforting feeling of authenticity and reliability for the greater good.
>> Think TOMS shoes “one for one” core purpose.

WORD COUNT: 251

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[NOTE: I often receive free copies of biz books from publishers and publicists. I received a free copy of FASCINATE from a book publicist.]

NOTES: I am a member of WOMMA and serve as WOMMA’s “WOM Enthusiast.” Portions of this post were originally posted on the All Things WOM blog.

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The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) recently published a MEASUREMENT & METRICS GUIDEBOOK sharing practical insights into quantifying offline and online word of mouth. WOMMA Members have access to a free download of the paper. A bound version of the Guidebook is available for everyone.

Idil Cakim, VP of Interactive Media at GolinHarris, authored an article, “The Influence Factor,” detailing how brands can engage, monitor, and measure influencer marketing programs.

Idil recently appeared on a WOMMA Brands Council Jam Session webinar and shared her views on what constitutes offline and online influence, how to find influencers, and some do’s and don’ts of Influencer Marketing. The following SlideShare presentation includes snippets from this recent webinar.

Influencer Marketing

View more presentations from Word of Mouth Marketing Association.

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BONUS COVERAGE:

This short Q&A with Idil Cakim will give you more perspective on designing and delivering Influencer Marketing programs.

1. What constitutes influence offline and online?
Idil Cakim (IC): “The fundamentals of offline and online influence are the same: perceived knowledge of the influencer, credibility and hence trust. In the offline world, we have more access to visual, cultural and social clues that help us assess the influence factor. Meanwhile online, we have more third-party resources and published statements that can help us assess a given source's influence and authority. Whether online or offline, influencers are experts who know how to spread their messages either through peer-to-peer conversations, organized activities or publications.”

2. Any pitfalls to Influencer Marketing?
(IC): “The most common pitfall is sharing an idea or a product with too few influencers and expecting to move the needle. An influencer is bound to take the message further than the average person. However brands may need to engage hundreds of influencers at a time to have quantitative results that show the impact of their efforts.

Another point for consideration is that not all influencers are equal. Brands and organizations first need to determine what constitutes influence in their respective fields and research thoroughly when identifying their own set of influencers.

Lastly, thinking in terms of campaigns with limited times for outreach undercuts the value brands/organizations can derive from influencer relations. Spot outreach is fine, but there needs to be ongoing communication between the brand and its influencers, just like any healthy relationship.”

3. What are three steps a brand should take to design a better influencer marketing program?
(IC): First, determine your own influencer criteria and make sure you can recruit enough influencers who can create noticeable change.

Second, as you design your program, think of your communication goals and clarify what will determine success. Is it only increase in awareness or change in some type of behavior? Make sure that your program is designed to reach these goals.

Third, plan for ongoing engagement. Sustain authentic communications and continuously offer value to your influencers through news, information, first-to-try types of offers.” [SOURCE]