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Why is there a lighthouse on your brochure?

• Posted by Francis Moran
• June 28, 2012
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By Francis Moran

Many years ago, our PR agency had a client for which we did media and analyst relations across North America and in Europe. This matched the market footprint of this rather successful company that was in the document-management space. One day, they sent us the latest version of their new marketing brochure. Internal discussions on it had apparently been going around and around in circles, and they wanted our opinion.

I took one look at the brochure and emailed back, asking, “Where’s the creative brief?”

“The creative what?” was the response.

Thinking maybe they used different terminology, I explained that I was looking for some sort of strategic document written at the outset of the brochure-development project that set out its objectives, the target audience and its level of understanding of the situation, intent, key messaging, tone and style, intended action and whatever else would help ensure that the result was both creatively arresting and strategically relevant.

We have no such thing, they told me.

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Francis Moran

Posted in:

• Marketing strategy
• Public and media relations

7 ways to stay sane and productive

• Posted by Leo Valiquette
• June 27, 2012
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By Leo Valiquette

There’s an old joke about the easy-going work-life balance that results from being an entrepreneur. “I can work for only half the day,” says the entrepreneur. “And I get to decide which 12 hours that will be.”

There is certainly something to be said for being your own boss without any commitment to regular office hours beyond making damned sure your deliverables are done on time and clients or customers feel well-served. But in my experience, being self-employed, which invariably means you are working remotely from whoever has agreed to pay your outrageous fee, requires that you impose upon yourself the same obligations as any teleworker with a traditional J.O.B. and a boss.

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Leo Valiquette

Posted in:

• Random thoughts
• Startups

Ottawa entrepreneur Scott Annan comments on the relaunch of Mercury Grove

• Posted by Alexandra Reid
• June 26, 2012
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By Alexandra Reid

Scott Annan is widely known in Ottawa for being a startup champion. He’s an entrepreneur who has strong opinions about the local startup ecosystem and what needs to change to increase our competitiveness on the global stage. According to Annan, Ottawa punches above its weight when it comes to startup talent, yet we are lagging behind other major cities like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver because we lack the cohesion and organization necessary to drive a vibrant startup community. It is with this mentality that Annan relaunched Mercury Grove, a startup accelerator, to advocate for local startups and provide them with the mentorship and financial support they need to be successful and drive a startup community that is proud to call Ottawa its hub.

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Alexandra Reid

Posted in:

• Startups
• Technology marketing

Tribal marketing for ‘Generation Me’

• Posted by Bob Bailly
• June 25, 2012
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By Bob Bailly

Prior to leaving on a holiday to Europe at the beginning of May, I was preparing an article on how tribal behaviour has been shaped by our expanded use of technology. Scotland, southern Spain and London didn’t change my topic, but the way I look at it was certainly altered.

A number of years ago I was researching this subject and came across a threaded blog entitled Tribe.

What had got me going then was this part of the post:

…Basically what tribal life is about is kinship. A tribal society is a society that functions by kinship — which is not limited to blood kinship, because all beings in the universe are kin, just as all societies conceive of the universe based on their own social structure (example: medieval Europeans, who lived under kings, saw the universe as ruled by a Divine King; modern society, which functions like a machine in which people are more or less interchangeable parts, sees the universe as a machine, etc.) indigenous tribal people, who live in an extended family … see the universe as an extended family as well, in which everyone is obligated to take care of everybody else. The closer the kinship, the greater the obligation.

I was intrigued because so much of my research into human business behaviour at the time had been concerned with evolutionary neuroscience and the concept of how decisions are controlled by our primitive brain’s self-interest. What’s always intrigued me is why and how the me, or the ego, or the mind controls the brain to look beyond itself and to become tuned to the group, the pack or the tribes to which it belongs. My questions: Why should we feel obligation to our tribe? What is it in our belonging that is central to how we operate as individuals? And finally, are new technologies changing our tribal behaviours?

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Bob Bailly

Posted in:

• Marketing strategy
• Social media
• Technology marketing

Social Media Breakfast Ottawa: Digital measurement and consumer understanding

• Posted by Alexandra Reid
• June 22, 2012
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By Alexandra Reid

The digital marketing space is becoming increasingly complex as consumers find more ways to uncover information about brands. They are looking at websites and social media through their desktops, laptops, and mobile devices but haven’t left behind more traditional channels such as TV, magazines, and radio. Media isn’t dying; media is proliferating and marketers are struggling to keep up with consumers as they demand a more holistic approach to how they receive information and communicate with brands.

That was the message Chris Greenfield, President of Ipsos ASI, shared with the Social Media Breakfast Ottawa audience this week. He stressed that businesses should not put all their money into digital marketing, and whatever they do invest should go towards providing a consistent and engaging experience for their audiences. It’s no longer about just paid media and advertising, but earned media. In this environment, brands should focus on providing consumers with a great experience across multiple touch points, and consider using reach and response as their goals on these channels, said Greenfield.

“Touch points do not act in isolation,” said Greenfield. “Brands must think and act holistically. It’s a 360-approach. Expect consumers to experience their brand at more than one touch point.”

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Alexandra Reid

Posted in:

• Content marketing
• Marketing strategy
• Social media