Tag: BrandKnew

How is your brand performing in the economy of feelings?

 

 

Ever since I can remember, marketing has focused on the USP, the unique selling proposition, and the product’s/service’s features and benefits. This is a traditional theory and applies to a rational, analytical view of value. In an oversupplied market with more, and often conflicting information, rational decision making becomes a myth.

 

Instead, start paying attention to what people do (which is the best indication of how they feel), not so much to what they say.

 

The more choices there are and the more complex life becomes, the more people make decisions that “feel” right to them, and NOT on an objective truth.

 

So, how is your brand performing in the economy of feelings?

 

Changing behavior is a herculean task- ask any newspaper brand or cigarette brand or an Operating System brand..

 

You would have heard of this brand called Betty Crocker fabled for their Cake Mixes– when they launched, it was launched as a plug & play product, get the mix into the oven and voila, the cake is ready! Guess what? The brand bombed in the market.

 

They went back into the market wherein they gave only a 70% ready product and got the customer to participate and work on the remaining 30%- now guess what?? Betty Crocker was a roaring success.

 

Same thing applied to Ben & Jerry when they launched their Lavender flavor- it bombed..comeback kid was twinned with a more familiar to the audience Vanilla flavour and presto..

 

Creative pursuits that aim at changing consumer behavior should be hinged on layering the novel on the already familiar.

 

Caution: The value of marketing is not where you have been told it is.

 

Analytics inform , emotions compel.

 

In an era of quantum marketing with 5G, IOT, AI, VR, AR, MR, Meta etc, connecting hearts and minds is a great opportunity.

 

So, Marketing 101 would somewhat go like this:

-Identify which audience you want to be serving

-Examine what they need or want but don’t have

-If you can help people get to where they seek to go, when they’re ready to get there, the stuff called marketing gets significantly easier

-Be happy with serving a MVA(Minimum Viable Audience) rather than try to be all things to all people. Delight the daylights of your MVA

-Instead of finding customers for your product or service, find a product or service for your audience

 

As I conclude, may I direct you to this article from BrandKnew on how marketing has changed over the last half a century

 

ENDS

 

 

 

Un-Elevate The Elevator Pitch: Time For A Pattern Interrupt!

 

The quintessential elevator pitch has been indoctrinated into our culture for aeons. It is time to call time on that.

 

A pattern interrupt is anything that forces someone to change their natural pattern of thought. As a result, it is a technique that sales development and business development professionals use for a variety of situations in sales calls and sales processes.

 

Pattern Interrupt is an NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) technique for breaking a person’s usual habits by altering their mental, emotional, or behavioral state. Consider it an unexpected act that shocks them into a different state of mind.

 

” The purpose of an elevator pitch is to describe a situation or solution so compelling that the person you’re with wants to hear more even after the elevator ride is over “- Seth Godin

 

The brains of our audience are overloaded and preoccupied. Even a tiny bit of memory space is hard to come by. Experts will suggest the 3C model for your elevator pitch– Clear, Concise & Compelling. There is no shortage of advice floating around.

 

What if we do a pattern interrupt on the conventional elevator pitch? Which typically has always been about you making a pitch to a potential business partner or employer in the shortest possible time frame. No one ever bought anything on an elevator. The elevator pitch isn’t about selling your idea, because a metaphorical elevator is a lousy place to make a pitch.

 

When you are trying to cram in your perspective, your truth, your nuance, your past & your ambitions, all the while being judged, as you ride up a few floors, in just a few seconds, it is a sure fire way to failure.

So, how about putting the shoe on the other foot? We move from elevator pitch mode to a question mode, the elevator question. Beginning a conversation with the person you wish to connect with. Understanding who they are and what they want and then mapping it against who you are and what you want. So the elevator is like your trial room to check if the fit is right. And if the fit is not right, it is a signal, an opportunity to help the other side, even if it is not from you.

 

Rejection sets in when there is a mismatch of needs, narratives and what’s on offer. Rather than salivating over the prospect of the other person hiring you or doing business with you or fund you, calibrate your mind to think that no one can do these things. While you do that, open up the sunroof to bring in the sunshine of what you can help the other side with( and there are plenty of people whom you can help, mind you). And one way is that help could also come in the way of NOT making a pitch to them.

 

Hustle is de rigueur in our culture but a pattern interrupt that will work best is not to fall into the trap of hustling others.

 

Building a personal brand is an art. If you agree, this article from BrandKnew could be of interest, https://www.brandknewmag.com/you-need-to-establish-a-personal-brand-to-succeed-in-the-workplace-of-tomorrow-heres-how/

 

ENDS

Taking A Chance Called Luck!

 

As luck would have it..

 

This popular refrain has stood the test of time..both good and bad..

 

For all those of us staking a claim on luck..

 

Good luck seems something that has been unearned..a freebie..

 

And bad luck seems like an excuse..

 

It’s like being between a rock and a hard place..

The false promise of meritocracy decries luck in all its forms..

 

It goes for the countless things that happens to us in our lives..

 

That I was lucky to get that job or the contract..

 

That I was unlucky not to get that big meeting some years ago..

 

Giving credit(or blame) to luck makes it easier to get back to the hard work of making things better..

 

We do remain guarded about our luck..especially if there has been a windfall that has come your way or you have had a prized catch..the feeling that good luck is scarce, only adds to that sense of secrecy. Though you might want to attribute your new state of success to your skill or talent, on deeper introspection, you would be the first one to acknowledge that is not true.

 

So, WTL(What The Luck)?

 

While we are on this mindset you could take a look at this article on The Power Relentless Optimism in BrandKnew.

 

ENDS

 

Why Is Enough NOT Enough?

 

Not until something challenges you to rise up, you shall always stay down; not until you realize your enough is enough, you shall always have enough.

 

The scars in our culture will never let you get away from the imagined slip between the cup and the lip in this case. Present day bookkeeping(at least the one that most of us seem to practice) seems to have only debit, deficiency and gaps.

 

This is our modern curse: A century of conspicuous consumption has trained us to be dutiful citizens of the Republic of Not Enough, swearing allegiance to the marketable myth of scarcity, hoarding toilet paper for the apocalypse. Along the way, we have unlearned how to live wide-eyed with wonder at what Hermann Hesse called “the little joys” — those unpurchasable, unstorable emblems of aliveness that abound the moment we look up from our ledger of lack.

 

What are you chasing? Or what is chasing you? Counting on life or making life count?

 

The democracy of inadequacy is NOT of the people, by the people, for the people. We all need a different domicile.

It’s time to script your own countercultural invitation to rediscover life’s true priorities amid our confused maelstrom of materialism and compulsive productivity.

 

“Enough is so vast a sweetness, I suppose it never occurs, only pathetic counterfeits,” Emily Dickinson lamented in a love letter. In his splendid short poem about the secret of happiness, Kurt Vonnegut exposed the taproot of our modern suffering as the gnawing sense that what we have is not enough, that what we are is not enough.

 

You, you-er, you-est is the perennial journey you will embark on and the ticket for that ride will be your investment.

 

This civilisational trance and the unabashed quest for more needs a wake up call and the time is now. Enough said.

 

If a contrarian take on productivity is of interest to you, allow me to take you there https://www.sureshdinakaran.com/blog/2020/06/08/rip-productivity-productivity-is-not-working/

 

ENDS

The World Doesn’t Need Another Ad Agency! NO!

 

It’s amazing how a simple tap on the space bar can make such a difference.

 

” Another ” is one of those odd English words that have multiple and contradictory meanings.One definition is ‘ being one more in addition to one or more of the same kind ‘, like having another car payment or another piece of pizza( two more things none of us likely need).

 

But ” another ” also means distinct or different from the one first considered. That puts an entirely different spin on things, and putting a space between the letters ( ” an other ” ), underscores the point.

 

The world rarely needs ” another ” but it will always welcome ” an other ” -particularly in the most mature, crowded, commoditized industries, where sameness leads to staleness.

 

Time after time another product or service gets superseded by an other product or service, making our lives more pleasant, more efficient, more productive or better in a host of additional ways.

Seeking ” an other ” is a sound strategy to keep pace with the inexorable march of creative destruction. In the marketplace, what is, will not always be, and what is to come, has not always been. The task of strategists therefore is to be agents of creation rather than victims of destruction. Our challenge is to pursue the new and unproven while we preserve the existing and profitable.

 

Unless you can ensure your company, brand or service is continually and legitimately, ” an other “, it will always end up becoming just ” another “.

 

As I conclude, I am encouraged to direct you to this article from BrandKnew about the need for Intersectionality in the Ad Industry.

 

ENDS

 

 

 

GPS Signal lost?

 

The past has no power to stop you from being present now. Often we allow ourselves to be upset by small things we should despise and forget. Preferring to hang onto its coat tails. And happy to play victim.

 

Grievance as the crutch to making things better is a disaster. Because if that is the preferred status quo, exploring possibilities and therefore resolution and progress becomes a non starter.

 

As Booker Washington put it ” Let our opportunities overshadow our grievances “.

 

Holding onto a distant past to justify a present grievance is baseless. Possibility rides on the bedrock of uncertainty. Because nothing in life is ever sure.

 

The assertion here, however, is that there really is no creativity without uncertainty. Put another way: dubito ergo creo. This is Latin for, I doubt therefore I create.

The outside world provokes, persists and insists that we change the story we tell ourselves. Our attitude doesn’t have to be driven by the outside world, but sometimes they overlap.

 

Specifically, when we experience uncertainty – no matter how uncomfortable and unsettling and destabilizing it can feel – the good news is that it opens vistas of possibility for new thought and action.

 

Organizations are created, powered, and led by people. To lead organizations well, we train people in disciplines such as marketing, finance, and leadership. But uncertainty presents a special challenge since few of us have received training in how to deal with it. As a result, although we may call for innovation, transformation, and change, most people back down at even the hint of risk, falling into a series of behavioral traps that limit organizations’ ability to grow and adapt. The challenge is that all growth, change, and transformation inevitably come paired with uncertainty. We have to go through the uncertainty to get to the possibility.

 

“In detachment lies the wisdom of uncertainty…in the wisdom of uncertainty lies the freedom from our past, from the known, which is the prison of past conditioning. And in our willingness to step into the unknown, the field of all possibilities, we surrender ourselves to the creative mind that orchestrates the dance of the universe.” ~ Deepak Chopra.

 

As a possibilitarian ( its possible to create new vocabulary, you see!), may I direct you to this article from BrandKnew which talks about unlocking your inner futurist?

 

ENDS

Branding is Not Equal To Marketing!

 

Branding shapes. Marketing sells.

 

And yes, there is a gray zone. The shape is essential to the sale.

 

Let’s face it. Brands define who we are.

 

Branding

 

Think of branding as expressing yourself.

 

What do you wear to a job interview? A suit? A dress? Do you want to appear professional or casual? Sneakers? Heels ? Perfume ? Cologne? Do you shave? Put on makeup? What kind of lipstick? Red? Burgundy? Gloss?

 

Marketing

 

Think of marketing as making your case.

 

Why me? How do I fit into the organisation? What’s my experience? How do I make your life easier, better? How can I help you? What can I learn from you? What can you learn from me?

 

Branding is Not Equal To Marketing!

 

Without doubt it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between these two disciplines.

 

The way to see it is that brands need marketing just like a fish needing water. Without the crutch of marketing, brands simply will not get the eyeballs it need for survival.

 

Yes, marketing has changed the world. Billboards alter our skylines, and commercials disrupt our entertainment experiences. But, it is not marketing that shapes humanity in such fundamental ways.

 

Like it or not. It is brands that do.

 

Branding is Expecting; Marketing is Parenting. More on this can be accessed at BrandKnew.

 

ENDS

How about a New School Of Taught?

 

The education industrial complex pays little or no heed to Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence. The theory claims that human beings have different ways in which they process data, each being independent. Gardner’s theory argues that students will be better served by a broader vision of education, wherein teachers use different methodologies, exercises and activities to reach all students, not just those who excel at linguistic and logical intelligence.

 

Because humans excel in different areas, Gardner’s multiple intelligences’ theory can provide students with a better understanding of how they learn. When students are able to identify which type of multiple intelligence they use to learn material, they can adapt the information to their learning (Bilash, 2009).

 

“What makes a child gifted and talented may not always be good grades in school, but a different way of looking at the world and learning.” —Chuck Grassley.

 

10 is the new 20; 20 is the new 40. Age is an obsolete default.

 

The predominant rote method of learning | teaching is actually a signal that you could do just enough work to persuade an overwhelmed teacher that you were compliant.

The opportunity going forward remains the same: Bringing insight and guts to interesting problems.

 

There is a high possibility that you get ahead in life for years and years because you got dealt good cards. But, very soon you realise that in the real world, attitude and effort, taking initiative and responsibility, showing up and shipping out consistently are what lands you a senior VP role, or a Broadway part or a Nobel Prize. Because these are the people who have put in the hard yards, showed up, understood, cared, and remained open to new experiences.

 

We live in a culture, unfortunately, that is highly biased towards connections and charisma.

 

What if we wear a different hat? Start celebrating the students who work the hardest, help others the most, lead by example, explore possibilities? Sending out clear signals to those on the sidelines that if you are willing to do all of that, you will be celebrated as well. Grades, marks, shiny trophies can wait!

 

If education is life itself, then we be better prepared. Or, we prepare better!

 

As I conclude I lead you to an article from BrandKnew on This high school that is designed for the jobs of the future.

 

ENDS

It’s an ever & over connected economy, but, we have never been more lonely!

The barrage is non-stop. Requests for connections. Another feather in the cap. Another vanilla metric to flaunt your social standing. Another ‘virtual friend’.

 

The legendary Greek Philosopher Aristotle once said, “Man is by nature a social animal, an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human. Society is something that precedes the individual.” He said this because human beings live in groups whether they are smaller like a family or larger like a city or country.

 

And that precisely is the reason why societal interventions seem to be dominating the discourse when it comes to offering solutions to foster connection, often to the exclusion of more individual ones. There are myriad theories about why we are struggling to connect, and just as many proposed solutions.

 

 

According to Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, the United States is in the throes of what he recently labeled a loneliness “epidemic”, with nearly one in four Americans over 18 say they often or always feel lonely. Things may not be very different in other countries.

 

Findings at the intersection of neuroscience and psychology suggest that feelings of loneliness are a biological signal, a clarion call to remind us that we need other people. That being said, there is a theory that runs counter to the default. Without the crutch of social connection, what we, as individuals can do to alleviate the situation- most of them are frictionless and non controversial- like engaging with nature or woods( if our modern day cities have them), physical exercise, one on one cognitive intervention and such like.

 

Mind you that this is not a prescription asking you to plough a lone furrow but a reconciliation to the fact that we need the best of both worlds to fight this ‘ epidemic ‘ via a personal as well as collective approach.

 

As we all know, it takes nothing to join the crowd, but, you also have to go ahead, even if no one goes with you.

 

” Alone is a state of being or body, whereas loneliness is state of mind “- Invajy

 

As I conclude, may I tempt fate and ask you to take a look at this article in BrandKnew about the power of emotions.

 

ENDS

Words Worth!

Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity.

 

“Words, like nature, half reveal and half conceal the soul within.”

 

“Words—so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become, in the hands of one who knows how to combine them “!

 

We take the stage. The spotlight is on us. There is a great opportunity calling. Our words- it can connect, engage, open up possibilities, create progress. With the audience. Or, our words- could severe, distance, delink us from moving things forward.

 

Just an arrow that has left the security of the quiver cannot be retrieved, as is so with our words. So measure our words, use them for respect, by respect and with respect. Love is life in search of words, and words are wings that lift us, break us, join us, melt us, like rain.

 

The person in front of you keeps the door open for you as you enter behind her. You say ‘ Thank you ‘ and she responds by saying ‘ No Problem ‘. Nothing wrong with that. Except, that it may convey that the good deed she did of keeping the door open for you was a huge hassle but she did it nevertheless. A better expression of words could have been ‘ My Pleasure ‘. After all, she had a choice, and she chose to do this work precisely so that it could have an impact on someone else, in this case you. The story we tell ourselves about the work can be fuel for finding ways to do it better.

 

 

If culture and community are the bedrocks of our existence, then hospitality and connection give them the wings. Words are like loose canon. You can choose your words. But you cannot choose the effect they can have on people.

 

To quote from some wisdom of the past- ” Don’t use words too big for the subject. · Words are sacred. · Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit— YOU choose “.

 

May I direct you to this article from BrandKnew that just may dovetail into what I touched upon above.

 

ENDS