LET'S NOT FORGET TO REUSE

If I were to take a wild guess about what will be the green-speak six months from now, I guess I'd say this. You know the whole phrase "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." I feel like when the green movement was first getting momentum, it was all about recycling. It was about not throwing stuff in landfills or unnecessarily polluting. More recently, it's been about reducing... reducing the amount of oil we consume, electricity we use, bottled water we drink, and our carbon footprint.

I think the next phase of the green movement will be about reuse. I think there's an efficiency argument that people are starting to make. Our office is in a 90 year old building that is one of the smallest LEED platinum buildings in the country. One of the reasons it's so green is because it's so old. The company that renovated our building believes the oldest buildings can be the greenest buildings because you can reuse so much of what's already there.

WIRED magazine published a controversial story awhile back that claimed driving a used SUV is more environmentally friendly than buying a brand new Prius for that very same reason. A few weeks ago, I came across a more lighthearted reuse idea.

The great thing about focusing on reuse is that it’s not about what you should buy or what to get rid of. It’s about making the most of what we already have.

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WORDS WORTH REPEATING #3: ASHLEIGH BRILLIANT

"Words are a wonderful form of communication but they will never replace kisses and punches." -Ashleigh Brilliant, English author and cartoonist

A great reminder that we need to stop thinking in terms of public messages and start thinking in terms of public acts.

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NO, YOU CAN'T BE LIKE APPLE

If I had a nickel for every time a marketer asked us to help them become the Apple of (insert category name here), I'd, well... still not have enough for a cup of coffee. But it's happened enough for me to want to write about it.

It seems like an innocent enough request. And one most branding experts are more than happy to indulge. But our answer is consistently and categorically, "No."

You can't be like Apple and here's why:

You don't have a $486 million marketing budget. (If you do, call me!) You don't simultaneously control both the product and the distribution. You don’t have thousands of developers freely creating applications for your devices. You don't operate in one of the few categories that is actually seeing growth at a time like this. You don't have Steve Jobs leading the way. You don't have Bill Gates to serve as your foil. You don't have free placement of your products in practically everything that comes out of Hollywood with perhaps the exception of Madmen, That 70’s Show and The Flintstones (less maybe the episodes where they visited the Jetsons).

Sure, you may have a few of these things. But you don't have them all. Only Apple does.

Success is a complex brew of a myriad of different factors. Many of which are simply beyond our control.

So beware of those who claim to have a process or formula that will spit out the next Apple (or Nike or Harley-Davidson or Amazon or Google or whomever). It's a lie that has been perpetuated by ad agencies and brand consultants for decades.

If you want your brand to be successful, it doesn’t need to be more like Apple. It simply needs to be a better version of itself.

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No Time for Mediocre

Twelve Books is fairly new to the publishing scene. The interesting thing about Twelve is that they have chosen to only publish one book a month. They believe every book they publish should be a book that matters... a book that helps shape the way we look at our society. In just a few short years, they already have a nice track record.

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Stop me if you've heard this before

Everyone knows that guy who tells the same jokes all the time.  It doesn’t matter where he is or whom he’s with, he routinely pulls out his tried-and-true “killer material” which he hopes will evoke the same laughter as it did the first time around. 

There are three types of reactions:

1.) We can pretend we’ve never heard the joke and laugh as if we haven’t.

2.) Beat him to the punchline.

3.) Or, slowly and quietly dismiss ourselves from the conversation before the joke is finished.

All options make us uncomfortable and none make for a healthy conversation. Consumers mentally cycle through the same options when they hear a familiar brand say the same thing (or slightly “new and improved” version thereof) in the same ways it has before. 

Sadly, for decades most marketers have been instructed that the best thing to do for their brand is to say the same thing over and over again. 

What’s more important than using repetition to burn a brand into a consumer’s memory is giving them something worth remembering in the first place.  Real financial gains these days are being realized by a handful of what we call "Renaissance Brands" who consistently redefine their product offering, service approach, and marketing style – not beat consumers over the head with the same, worn-out sales pitch.

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WARNING: YOUR BRAND MAY INDUCE VOMITING

Okay, hopefully not vomiting. But maybe greed, arrogance or gluttony.

A recent study reveals that children are more likely to share candy with others when they see Santa’s cap. Apparently it’s a symbol that promotes the spirit of kindness and generosity. The mere site of a Toys ‘r Us logo has the opposite effect.

The best brands actually help bring out our better selves. They have a purpose beyond simply making money. And they understand the need to shift marketing efforts from a consumption-model to a contribution-model. 

Don't stop at asking yourself what you want your customer to do. Ask yourself what you think your brand can help them become.

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The Emergence of Mission Controlled Companies

The fruits of our capitalistic society have largely been accrued through the shareholder-centric business model. However a growing number of critics (including CEOs of publicly traded companies) have argued that this model has increasingly kept business narrowly focused on short term earnings.

However, a new breed of organizations have cropped up that put social mission at the core of its business. A great article from Strategy+Business dubs these "Mission Controlled Companies." While not pure non-profits, they evaluate employees and initiatives based on their impact toward the organization's mission – not how profitable they are.

Just five years ago, most would have written this off as being too idealistic to work. But times have changed. It used to be that social movements wanted to be like corporate brands. Now corporate brands want to be like social movements. We think that's refreshing.

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A Wall Meant To Keep People Apart Now Brings People Together

The Face2Face Project is an organization that strives to bring Palestinians and Israelis together.

To help raise awareness they've created an initiative where for 30 Euro you can have someone spray paint a message on the wall that divides the two groups. They'll take a picture and send it to you. The proceeds help fund social and cultural change.

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Mazdanomics or Hyundainomics?

To which philosophy of production and consumption do you ascribe? Actually, no need to answer... it’s a trick question. Neither Mazdanomics or Hyundainomics is based on any belief or point of view. They are just words. Made up words without meaning or significance. Like 3conomics.

We talk about helping brands identify and share their unique philosophy with the world. The key, however, is to come up with the philosophy first before you name it. Not the other way around. Haphazardly bolting interesting or relevant prefixes and suffixes to a brand does not in and of itself make that brand interesting or relevant.

Freakonomics is a great title for a book that challenges popular everyday beliefs through the creative use of economics. It works because the book came first; the title came second.

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