CK's Blog

Funny like a clown--laughing all the way to the bank.

Being Halloween (boo!) I focused this week's Daily Fix piece on my favorite costumed company. They don't clown around when it comes to a new breed of innovation and an elaborate, meaningful brand--and they prove the Big Top sure can teach business a LOT about marketing.

With no animal acts (or inhumanity to animals) and no spoken dialogue so global audiences witness "show not tell", Cirque Du Soleil opts instead to push their performers to new heights...and deep-water lows.

But more than any high-wire feat it proves that amazing things happen when you re-engineer the old into the all-new. No more clownin' around for you dear reader...get your fix on right here.

Funny-like-a-clown Factoid: The #1 children's costume this year for boys is Johnny Depp-inspired Pirate Captain Jack. For girls it's a tie between Tinkerbell and Cinderella. All three characters were manufactured by the house of mouse (another creative co. that's also laughing all the way to the bank).

Keepin' it Real. Really fun, too.

Met up with Hee-Haw's Paul McEnany over the weekend in Dallas. As the blogger so goes the person--Paul is exactly like what you think: smart, gutsy, funny.  And yeah, he curses a lot. So I did, too. Hell, when in Rome...

Being that it's Paul, he does a far better job of telling the fun tale than I, it's here. Whenever possible--be they in your local community or through a business trip--meet up with the marketers in our community. We really are just that great in person...these blogs are no facade.

P.S.: Watch for Paul to go very far in his career (so he's a good person to know, sure glad I know him).

Go ahead. Blog behind my back.

I'm getting on yet more planes this week. Texas-bound am I. For someone who hates to fly, it's amazing just how much I do. Alas, I must go to my markets. I'm heading down to Austin for a project that focuses on the developer community.

You wanna talk authenticity, no-holds-barred, no-bullshit-either marketing? Then try marketing (but not really marketing) to a code-crunchin' segment who find marketers to be, well, bottom-feeders. I think "evil" is another way we're coined. Not to be confused with "evil-doers" as I don't think we're officially on the Axis of Evil. Yet.

Hey, at least they're honest about it. Which is exactly why I dig this audience. I will learn much about this innovative space that has been so disenfranchised (tsk. tsk. on big biz) over the next few months and will report many gems.

But since I'll be on planes and in conference rooms for the rest of the week, I won't be blogging much--as I understand that's rude when you're leading discussions.

So go ahead...blog behind my back. I double-dog dare ya. (Just don't mess with Texas.)

And speaking of no bullshit...at week's end I shall go up to Dallas and be meeting with the AUTHORITY on keeping it real and keeping us in line. Naturally, I'll report back on that, too. Paul, please get your town ready.

Fun factoid (well, at least we found it fun): Paul and I happened to be chatted up by a Romanian blog...tho' we've no idea if they're praising or panning us. Paul, can you get on the translation already?  Must I do everything?

A beauty tip...

Today I'm talkin' beauty over at "the Fix". I'm giving marketers a much-needed makeover. And a tip in responsibility. One that image-driven industries have had coming for a while.

Think "average" doesn't sell? Think again. Think that sexpot over there on the left was a waif? That buxom babe was between a size 10 and 12. It's time to rethink beauty and the messages we're sending today's youth, unless we want our future target markets to all but...disappear.

Follow this pretty little link to my fashion-forward post. Btw, you are the picture of beauty (you have no need for a makeover).

Darfur: If not for humanity, how about for PR points?

I just can't get past why President Bush isn't doing more anything for Darfur. Forget for a moment (if possible) that we vowed not to stand on the sidelines of genocide after The Holocaust. And then vowed it again after Croatia. And Rwanda. Try to forget 400,000 dead, 2.5 million displaced.

Sorry, I can't forget that they're raping women. Nor can I begin to comprehend why anyone would rape 3 year-old girls.

But in this mid-term election period when Bush needs to hit House majority--and desperately needs all the approval ratings he can get--why not, from a pure PR play, is he not helping this helpless region? Not only to get some fanfare here at home but to save some much-needed international face, too?

Mr. Prez, isn't saving lives a "faith-based" initiative? (psst: when I asked God he affirmed we should help others. As did Mom). Here's a 30-second spot asking how history will judge us:

Likely you guys will tell me what I already know--that all our money and manpower is fighting the war on terror. I can't begin to imagine the terror that the people in Darfur are living with. Here's a couple sources where you can sign petitions, write the president and learn just how lucky we are to have the problems we do.

Update: Katie of "Get Shouty" has given us two more tremendous resources. Even better she gave great advice in saying..."don't wait to be told the right thing to do: YOU are a leader, YOU are creative." Here are two more links in addition to the ones above:

http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/sudan/activism.html
(this is seriously good- split into hours that you're willing to committ)

Ten things you can do right now:
http://www.genocideintervention.net/advocate/tenthings.php

More updates: Cam Beck of ChaosScenario kindly provided this list of resources (Cam, I'm sorry this took me a few days to post): http://www.darfurgenocide.org/learn.php#Movements

It's Organic, dude.

Ah, clients. Do love 'em. Base my livelihood on them. Ah blogs, love 'em too. And they're becoming even more of my livelihood...oh how the entire world now wants a blog (and a shortcut).

See, in my biz, I do as much work offline as I do online, plenty of strategy, loads of planning and program development. I've worked for BIG companies and done the MBA deal. So I'm no stranger to methodologies, matrices, paradigms and revenue models. I'm a fan of them. Fact is, these exercises and a "method to the madness" is critical.

But the BIG question nowadays is: how do I get "the bloggers" to chat up my product?  And how do I do it quickly?

Sure, there are best practices. And without question there are rules of the social-media road. But it really comes down to being dedicated enough to your market--be it b2b or b2c--to invest the time, encourage feedback and act upon it when your market generously does give you input.

I have several client workshops ahead of me where I'll be discussing "going social" and I'll outline upwards of 20 best practices. But my core message is up there in the headline. In this self-policing, transparent medium, the route to relationships is not methodical. It's organic, dude.

It's exactly like your relationships in real life: they develop naturally, are built on trust and require an investment of time. And that's the long, short and inside skinny. No shortcuts, free passes or discounts.

So far, not many of my clients like my answer. That's OK, if they go this route they'll like the results. Should they go organic, I've done my job. And if they say 'dude'? Well, that's just a bonus.

The Bloggers Behind The Blogs.

I needn't write a post on how much blogging does for us professionally...so I'll write a post on just how much it can do for us personally. Lately I've been fortunate to meet many bloggers I read and respect in person. Could be a letdown, right? Wrong.

Do yourself a BIG favor: where possible, step away from your blog, go offline...and meet up with your colleagues. You too will find these to be truly enriching people (and cool, to boot).

I've been lucky that client travel has allowed me to meet bloggers I otherwise wouldn't be able to. I've also been able to meet bloggers here in the big apple--that's Max Kalehoff, Noah Brier, Yours Truly, David Armano and Joseph Jaffe up there. We were all out to see Armano's presentation to his agency (thanks to Digitas for letting us bloggers invade your conference room). Ann Handley pens the presentation's highlights here.

And over on the right we have with us David's work colleague and another social-media advocate from Digitas, Greg Verdino. That's him on the very far right.

Last week when I was in San Francisco I met up with Mario Sundar; another blog to check out (and a terrific blogger to meet up with). Next week I'm going to be in Texas (woo-hoo!) but down in Austin--maybe if we can all put pressure on Paul McEnany up in Dallas to take a road trip I can meet him too. C'mon Paul, step away from your blog. Austin is a great town. And I'm great company (just ask Mario or David).

I'm blogging. Riddling, too. (just not here)

Over at "the Fix" am I. No worries, I'll return here soon enough--and shortly, I'll learn how to be in two places at once.

In the meantime, I have a riddle for you: when it comes to social media, why are so many companies having such a hard time getting it right? Armed with budgets, brains and plenty of bandwidth why do so many corporate blogs get panned, while so many blogs run by individuals get praised? Given that hardly any organizations are having success at it, what's so darn hard about social media?

Here's a hint: the answer is really easy...and the answer is right here.

The Strategic Art of Pricing (a la Picasso)

Last week I had a colleague call me who was concerned about how to price a consulting project. He was trying to guesstimate hours and then map those to price. I told him to work backwards instead of forwards, explaining he should price by the value he brings to the project--which is a function of his unique talent and years of experience. Not the mere time he invests in it.

I then sent him Selling the Invisible by Harry Beckwith with the following passage highlighted, figuring it he wouldn't listen to me...perhaps he'd listen to Picasso:

A woman was strolling along a street in Paris when she spotted Picasso sketching at a sidewalk cafe. Not so thrilled that she could not be slightly presumptuous, the woman asked Picasso if he might sketch her, and charge accordingly. Picasso obliged. In just minutes, there she was: an original Picasso.

"And what do I owe you?" she asked. "Five thousand francs," he answered. "But it only took you three minutes," she politely reminded him. "No," Picasso said, "It took me all my life".

I rest my case. Charge by your talent, not your time.

Friday Pic Fun: CK in SF

Just got back from San Francisco. Learned much and was able to take an otherwise online friendship offline. That's Marketing Nirvana's Mario Sundar and me, smiling before we took the Japantown area of SF by storm...or by Sake as the case may be. Kampai! I'll let Mario fill you in on his corner.

You know that Mario is smart and kind but what you don't know is just how much fun he is to hang with. Sure, I consider him colleague, but now I truly consider him friend as well. Thanks Mario and yes, we'll definitely organize an event when I'm back out there in a couple months.

Alas, I did go to the West Coast for business, but even that had social highlights: I recorded my first spot. I'm in the studio over there on the right. Sorry I can't yet post the recorded piece but the offering hasn't launched--it's especially prime for a 'hipster' target so the copy was a lot of fun.

I'm looking forward to meeting more bloggers I read and respect next week. And I don't even have to fly 3,000 miles this go 'round! David Armano will be in town and Noah Brier has arranged a meetup (psst: to all you bloggers, meet us out next Tuesday, Oct. 17th--all info. is at Noah's blog.)

Girls Got Game...who knew?

Who knew women played so many games?  No, not head games (we knew that!). But video games, a $7 billion-dollar industry.  I caught an article in BusinessWeek profiling Skunk Studios, the company that makes "casual games," a nifty market segment that wants less shoot and kill, more ease and breeze in their games.

Think more along the lines of Pac Man than Grand Theft Auto and you'll get a feel for this market. Turns out the market is huge; I was shocked at how many of my gender are getting their game on: according to the Entertainment Software Assn., 38% of all game players are women. In fact, women over the age of 18 represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (30%) than boys age 17 or younger (23%).  You go, girls.

We were all surprised a few weeks ago when we came to find out not all MySpacers are 21. Nowhere near. Over 55 million of them are 25 and older--with adults 35-54 making up more than 40% of the site. Which just goes to prove something I tell clients (and frequently remind myself): Don't assume. Do ask (do your due diligence). Especially when important strategies, and expensive marketing campaigns, hinge upon your assumptions.

The answers--and we women--will often surprise you.

Gettin' my Fix on...

I'll now be blogging over at MarketingProfs: Daily Fix blog, too. It's all sorts of exciting to join the conversation as a contributor (I've been chattin' over there as a commenter for a while). I'm truly over the moon about it. And Lewis, you now have seniority ;-).

What will be there won't be here, meaning, it will be all original CK content all the time. Well, not all the time, but every time I post. I may let you know of a piece I've got over there. Though not always. The element of surprise is far too underrated.

And I'll cover a lot of topics. Like I do here. But there. Got it? Good!

People say bloggers are passionate. That they are. What they don't say is just how generous we are: thanks to everyone for being so generous with your knowledge, time and friendship. Can't tell you how much it means to me and my little blog (btw, that's my blog I'm clutching in my hand as I soar over the moon up there. I wouldn't go to the moon and back without it).

So, see you there. And here.

P.S.: Due to being in the air as much as on land for the next week, it will be a little while before my inaugural post airs over at The Daily Fix. But she's a comin'--and hey, this way I get to surprise you right out of the gate.

Going Really Green.

I'm not saying you kids should inhale...but research is suggesting that maybe grandma should have. Findings just released from the Scripps Research Institute in California show the active ingredient in marijuana may prevent the progression of the Alzheimer's disease by preserving levels of an important neurotransmitter that allows the brain to function.

So the drug that makes you forget and unable to function in the short term winds up making you remember and able to function in the long term. Poetic justice, no?

Yep, marijuana's active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, can prevent the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from breaking down more effectively than commercially marketed drugs. Hang on, now the green marketing movement gets really interesting.

Is it me, or between relieving glaucoma, helping reduce side effects from cancer and AIDS treatments and now guarding against Alzheimer's....is marijuana/mary jane/weed/pot/grass/dope/cannabis/chronic/whatever Snoop Dogg wants to call it on any given day...becoming evident as not the "gateway drug" but the wonder drug?

While Vioxx, Celebrex and its chemical siblings are getting recalled and, uh, killing people left and right? Big Pharma might do itself a favor and start buying grow lights because if these results hold water, they're going to need to replace some revenue streams--as there's a market here. It just needs time and tipping points like these.

Having worked projects in life sciences and biotech I can tell you that the costs for drug discovery (pinpointing the next Zanax or Ambien) are astronomical. Millions upon millions. Yet, all the while, the answer might have been growing in our own back yards. I simply must interview the lobbying agency that's surely already on retainer for this initiative: imagine the creative and the tactics for those campaigns. Hmm, maybe it's 'high' time to revisit the egg...

Disclaimer: The marketer behind this blog does not endorse, agree, promote, validate or otherwise concur with Marijuana usage, for medicinal purposes or otherwise. Unless she gets hired to consult on such a groundbreaking movement (then you can puff away since it will drive my client's ROI).

Is "Lost" Losing its Luster? Characters not plot. Complex not complicated.

Coming off the Season 3 Premiere of Lost last night, mind you, one of the shows I still watch now that I've taken to all this blogging--though I TiVo'd it and watched it around 1am--I can't help but find myself wondering if the show has jumped the dharma-branded shark (you gotta watch the show to understand that reference).

Not jumped the shark in that the show has gone too many seasons...but that it's lost its way. Certainly, it's too early to tell since it was the first episode of the new season. But, not for nothin', it wasn't even an Emmy contender this year after taking the house by storm last year (for it's first season, no less).

Why the cause for this Lostie's concern? Well, that leads me to 2 marketing principles. Neither are ground-breaking or new, but obviously bear repeating:

Character driven: The beauty of TV is that characters are accessible to us, they (literally) come into our homes once a week, develop and define themselves over time. Unlike a box-office smash with BIG-screen stars that we're in awe of (Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson currently not withstanding).

That's why the Apple ads have done well, because they're using living, breathing characters not lifeless, good-lookin' machines. Not to beat a dead Vampire Show, but the reason that Buffy did so well is because of several layered characters (the show was never about saving the world). And the beauty of Lost is (was?) that it connects you to the characters by featuring a "prequel" with every episode...via the brilliant character back-stories. Your characters, not your special effects, are what hook us.

• Marketing principle #1: Stay steadfast to one concept; one true, unique differentiator. In Lost's case you need to focus on characters again (not plot).

Keep it simple (or simpler): I understand that there are Sci-Fi and spiritual forces at play on the island. I dig those. To a point. Now you're just becoming too high-maintenance for this marketer. We've now got so many hatches (above and below sea level), the "lucky" numbers, the damn Polar Bears, branded sharks and washed-up Pirate ships. And (oy!) the friggin' "others". I don't want to become attached to the "others". It was just perfect enough having the characters from the tail-end of the craft enter the scene last year. That made sense. All were stranded. All were connected somehow. All had endured the same fall-out-of-the-sky experience.

Now we have gated island communities...who hold book clubs? Not cute, too complicated. Too much of the wrong drama. When all I want are complex characters--and a true ensemble cast. I've been having to tell some clients lately that their offerings and business models are far too complicated. If I'm grappling with how to communicate them, how are the prospects going to feel?

That's right, overwhelmed. One could say...lost.

• Marketing principle #2: Keep it simple. Simple does not mean without depth. Don't be a mile wide and a 1/2" deep.

If the show's writers are listening: I want the "Season 1" Locke back. As for Sawyer, I'll take him from any season :-). And if you kill off either of these characters...you'll surely lose this Lostie.

Early and Often, Baby.

The software mantra is "early and often". Release that is. You don't need to wait for 2.0. Just slap a logo on the sucker and ship out 1.6.! Don't worry it's not secure or fully functioning. That's what patches are for (and those patches give us a prime vehicle to hawk version 1.8 for a simple "upgrade" cost).

On a marketing side--and I say this with my head held low--it actually makes sense. Ries and others have taught us the law of the leader is often a function of being there first (that's not saying these gurus support less than superior products). Microsoft has taught us you can make a boatload of bucks, heck, even sponsor a continent, on the money you make from this mantra.

The problem is, it sucks for users. You monetize us, but it's not meaningful. When you do this, you treat customers as unpaid usability experts. You're a player, we're the puppets.

In software, it's a race--and you don't want to arrive fashionably late to the party. But more should.

Vaspers the Grate, who reviews a bevy of software, hardware, people and concepts, said this in one of the comments to an earlier post of mine: "They rush to market a flimsy piece of junk, full of bugs and broken functionalities, so they can garner media attention and palm their garbage off on zealous early adopters. I used to beta test products. No more. I'm tired of providing free usability testing to these jerks."

He's absolutely, undeniably right. To him, beta = junk. And when launching a new software version, he's one of the first consultants I'd hire to shoot it full of holes so I could get R&D to plug 'em up...well ahead of going to market.

But waiting is a business model that is slow in the cooking since the need for speed is so ingrained in the DNA of software companies--and since arriving first assures market share.

There is one thing that will change it and change it quick: enough backlashes. The other way is to make everything open-source...but there again your API (Application Program Interface) needs to be up to snuff before you invite contributors innovators. It's a respect issue, really. It earns trust...which just happens to be the key to brand loyalty.

And it's definitely we marketer's job to ensure that usability is something done in-house, not in public. I say Early and Often should evolve into Locked and Loaded. Then...and only then...you can launch, baby.

Brand Borat: Take heart Kazakhstan, Pluto didn't even get a film.

Apparently the much ballyhooed Borat has caused an international stink. A diplomatic brouhaha. I keep reading more blogs because it just seems too preposterous to be true. But Sacha Baron Cohen, the comedian who brilliantly dons such personas as Ali G (a hip-hop Brit) and Borat (a zany Kazakh journalist) has miffed Kazakhstan while hyping his new movie. And then there is the parody site imploring us to "Stop Borat" which you simply much check out.

The movie includes such degradations as anti-semitic remarks, incest and a car being pulled by a horse. Does the movie appear to make fun of the country? Absolutely. Does it put Kazakhstan on the map? Absolutely.

According to Sean R. Roberts, Central Asian Affairs Fellow at Georgetown University, "I have found that more Americans are aware of Kazakhstan than four years ago when I last lived in the United States. The increased knowledge of Kazakhstan, however, is not due to the country's economic success or its role as U.S. ally in the war on terror. Instead, most Americans have heard of it through a satire of a Kazakh journalist named Borat."

Now, the country's President Nazarbayev is flying over to the US to meet with Bush. On the agenda? The country's image. Why oh why Kazakhstan would confer with President Bush about saving a country's image is beyond this marketer (uh, have you checked out our international favor lately? This move only serves to make you appear ignorant, sorry to say).

President Nazarbayev has confirmed that his government will buy "educational" TV spots and print ads about the "real Kazakhstan" in a bid to save face before the movie's November launch. Just look at Borat up there in all his glory (that's pretty much all he's in). Do you really think an educational TV spot is going to trump this goofy guy? Fight fire with fire guys: get zany, NOT serious.

To Kazakhstan I say: Take heart. Take one for the team. Leverage the awareness--and the movie's halo effect--that Borat has bestowed upon you. Revel in all the newfound attention (it may be your one shot). And then follow-up straight away to prove your country deserves attention all the time.

Napa Valley leveraged the awareness from the film Sideways. When tourists come to my city, they always want to see Rupert the "deli guy" from David Letterman or the "Soup Nazi" from Seinfeld.  These aren't the Empire State Building or Lady Liberty, but we invite the satire (and thank you for your tourism revenues).

Instead of featuring horse-drawn carriage rides, feature horse-drawn car rides. People will understand you're far more advanced as a result. And we'll appreciate that you're a good sport. Even if we're making fun of you, let us love you...in our own way.

Laugh and indeed the world laughs with you. Run educational spots and we'll surely be laughing at you. Hey, at least you didn't get outright demoted like poor Pluto (who has nary an ad budget nor a box-office smash to capitalize upon).