Excellent post by Mack Collier over at Viral Garden (via Customers Rock):

Let's travel back to 2005, when Word-Of-Mouth (WOM) hadn't yet been hijacked by clueless and myopic marketers looking to make a quick buck off the promise of this strange but powerful thing called authenticity:

From a two-year-old post by John Moore on his Brand Autopsy blog:

WOMMA's Word Of Mouth Marketing Summit is kicking off in Vegas this week, and let me just say that I'm a bit bummed about not being there.

Nicole Sampson and Patrick Rooney sending me emails from the Rio's pool isn't helping, by the way. (But keep sending me updates anyway. It's all good.) ;D

From the daily ad biz blog:

"The arrogance of success is to think that what you did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow."

- William Pollard.

That's worth framing and hanging in every meeting room from Portland to Tahiti (via Paris).

Also, via Tom Asacker:

Tom Asacker brings us another priceless bit of insight about building brands in these chaotic times:

For the next three days, I will be bringing you interesting bits of insight from the other side of the big pond. Because I want you to be able to read and understand these posts, I will translate everything into English (yes, free of charge.)

How about that!

(If you want to read the meat of this post in its original French, the link go here.)

Jean-Noël Kapferer (HEC).

2007 was characterized by the success of extremes: Low cost and luxury brands in mass market like Apple, H&M or Nespresso. We observed a polarization phenomenon in the market.

I found this perfectly timed gem over on Buzzoodle today:

When a client, especially a new client, does not get what they are expecting, you are breaking an implied promise. Once you break that first promise, they will be calulating in their head how much more they will take before letting you go.

Here are 10 ways you may have broken a promise to a client.

Sybil Stershic - of Quality Service Marketing sent me this killer little book, and I dig it. (She wrote it, by the way, which is probably why it is so good.)

"If customers feel like they have discovered a brand themselves, they become much more loyal."

- Ray Kelvin
Found on the Make Marketing History blog today:

Working intimately with Microsoft, this is a topic dear to my heart. (I may be shedding a bit of a tear right now.)From gapingvoid, via Logic + Emotion:

The Blue Monster was designed as a conversation starter. To paraphrase the ongoing dialogue between Steve and I:

For too long, Microsoft has allowed other people- the media, the competition and their detractors, especially- to tell their story on their behalf, instead of doing a better job of it themselves.

We firmly believe that Microsoft must start articulating their story better- what they do, why they do it, and why it matters- if they're to remain happy and prosperous long-term.

image: Polaroid SX-70 Time-Zero Film (expired film: 05/05) by macomaco.
From AdPulp's David Burn:

Polaroid Slides Down Far Side of Bell Curve

Newspapers and record companies are experiencing the awesome power of disruptive technology, but not like Polaroid.

According to The Boston Globe, Polaroid plans to make only enough film to last into next year before shuttering its factories.

Some sweet, sweet words of wisdom from Advergirl:

What's the number 1 reason agencies lose accounts? I would argue that it’s complacency. The agency is coasting. They probably don’t even realize they’re doing it. But after years with a product, it’s easy to get too close to it, to lean on old insights, to produce rather than create.

Taking a strategic approach to every project is fighting the coast.

But, more importantly, it's getting to do the best at your job - who wants to be a pair of hands when you can be a leader?
* * *

Time for your weekly brandbuilder reality check. There are only two types of businesses: The ones you know are the best in their category, and... everyone else. Advertising and marketing are nice, but too many "also in" businesses waste money on marketing and advertising when they should instead revamp one or two elements of their business that would help them actually gain market share. (The most pleasant and efficient customer service experience in your industry, a perfectly designed user interface, a 100% uptime guarantee, stunning design, impeccable ergonomics, remarkable flavor, etc.)

From Tim Coote's always brilliant and enjoyable blog:

“When people ask me how do you make it in show business or whatever, what I always tell them — And nobody ever takes note of it ‘cuz it’s not the answer they wanted to hear. What they want to hear is here’s how you get an agent, here’s how you write a script, here’s how you do this — But I always say, “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” If somebody’s thinking, “How can I be really good?”, people are going to come to you. It’s much easier doing it that way than going to cocktail parties.”

-Steve Martin.

Mike Bawden (who was kind enough to quote me on his blog a while back) once wrote one of the simplest yet most astute observations about leadership that I have ever read:

From SEENcreative, this pretty much sums it up the most disgusting corporate news of the year (and it's only Feb 2):

Exxon Mobile has just reported the largest annual profit in the history of U.S. corporations: $40.7 billion.

This profit came from an annual revenue of $404.5 billion.

That's $404,500,000,000.00.

That's $1,300 per second.

Thats an additional $125 million per quarter for every $1 increase in oil prices.

Again from Seth Godin, here's a great little post on Marketing. (It's good to hear it from the horse's mouth:)

For whatever reason, I recently started trying to stop using plastic bags. At the grocery store, at Target, and wherever else plastic bags rule the checkout counter, I try to do without them.

It started one day at Whole Foods. Here I am, feeling all green and superior and hip with my liter of organic kefir, my wedge of imported Pont L'Eveque, my quart of all natural taboule salad and my 100% recycled carton of free-range, hormone free, all vegetarian fed chicken eggs... when the girl at the counter asks me those dreaded words: "Paper or plastic?"

Pause frame.

Paper bags are bad. They kill trees. Actually, they're the crushed, melted and reconstituted remains of dead trees... and they're harder to recycle, etc. So... no paper bags.

Prologue: The Heelys Guestapo Incident

Heelys-haters beware: If you would rather spend your energy sniffing out Heelys-wearing kids and reprimanding their parents for letting them wear the devil's rollershoes in your stores than being cordial and professional, maybe you're missing the point of what your job is supposed to be in the first place. (Whatever it is, it isn't playing detective Dickhead from the Heely Police.)

web2 nonparticipates
Originally uploaded by benbarren Just got home from a strange day of extremes, where we 4th meeting pitched some high quality VC's (rare bunch downunder) and explained the types of problems clients have that we can solve and componentize. Mr Burley afterwards rightly pointed out that we all talk too much, and one day we'll learn to listen to the question and be able to answer within 140 characters.

The afternoon then flipped around where we spent a few hours training a client's staff on how the (same tools we'd pitched in the morning) would work for the client esp at a site admin level.

Nick, over at SEENcreative, gives us this (via orangeyeti):

Fellow fans of the Zune rejoice: You can now get yourself a 30GB limited edition pink Zune, and fight breast cancer at the same time. Per Gizmodo:

Pic rules as usual. Credit

Under the looming spectre of the credit crunch (where the hell did that phrase come from by the way) and the - ahem, problems - faced by Northern Rock over recent months, certain financial institutions have starting becoming a little antsy.

From Seth Godin's blog:

Most industries innovate from both ends:

Today, I would like to share some great advice with you, courtesy of Dave Armano's Updated Manifesto:

Ask.

Some practical notes on how to design an effective web page - from Seth Godin's blog, via UX, via Orange Yeti:

Flashback to my first job out of college: Semper Fi - French Style

On November 11th, 1918, an Armistice was signed in a small train car that officially ended WWI - The war to end all wars. Though WWI didn't in fact end all wars, we still observe the date, which is something I hope we never stop doing.