rehumanize

I have on my desk a quote that a very dear friend of mine gave me years ago when I was President of Y&R in Southern California:   "Those on top of the mountain didn't fall there."   I've kept it there for the past seven years as a reminder that it takes a lot of hard work to get lucky.  And lucky I've been! I recently revisited a speech on leadership that I gave to the Executive MBA program at the University of California Irvine's Merage School of Business.  I shared with these executives what I've learned about leadership through observation, trial and (much) error. Here's a summary of some of the core beliefs I've developed over the years: The role of leadership: Great leaders don't create followers – great leaders inspire more leaders to achieve things that matter. Great leaders define the organization's inspiring "why." Telling employees what to do is management.  Showing employees how to do it better is directio

I’ve embraced a simple truth when it comes to brand planning:   what’s true in real life is true in brand building.   Over time and across categories, I've observed that the ways in which people form personal relationships mirrors how they form brand relationships. Forces such as empathy, experiences, energy and endorsement help shape our real life relationships.  Think about the people with whom you enjoy your most lasting relationships.  It’s likely those individuals who “get you” because you share the same values, sense of style, point of view or sense of humor; these same people are likely those with whom you've enjoyed truly memorable experiences; people who always seem to be up to something new and interesting; they are likely the people you trust most because their reputation is consistent. What’s true in real life is true in brand building. These same human dynamics –   empathy , experiences , energy and endorsement – create a clear and actionable planning

Since my recent post on how the Super Bowl mainstreamed Social TV, I read the announcement that Turner Entertainment is creating companion apps to enable second-screen viewing  for its hit shows like Conan and Big Bang Theory . These apps will use audio-fingerprint technology, similar to Shazam, to offer viewers deeper content and offers that correspond with the action in the program.  The trend toward second-screen viewing recognizes that TV viewers are increasingly watching TV with the remote in one hand and the smart phone or tablet in the other. The dream of interactive TV is alive and well.  However, unlike the early prognostications that viewers would interact with the TV screen through their set top box, the interaction is likely to take place through the ever present smart phone.

The 2012 Super Bowl set a new high water mark for Social TV. TV has long been a personal experience, perhaps shared in real time by one or two fellow couch potatoes in your den or the following morning with co-workers. Social media has changed that.  Now TV is shared in real time with friends and strangers who share your passion for Grey's Anatomy or SNL. This trends blows up during major events. According to Bluefin Labs, the 12.2 million social media comments during and after the Super Bowl represented a 578% increase over last year. During the final three minutes, tweet volume was about 10,000 tweets per second.  There were 985,000 comments about the commercials alone. (That's wikibranding in action.) H&M/"Beckham", Chrysler/"Clint", and Doritos/"missing cat" led this conversation. A couple of smart marketers recognized this by integrating a social aspect into their Super Bowl promotions. Chevy offered an app to use during the game