live it out

Whether you’re talking business or personal style, standing out takes balls. And the ballsiest person I know is 88 year old Iris Apfel. Iris is outrageous, down to earth, and can count herself among the ranks of art geniuses.

Her medium?  Clothes.

Don’t laugh. Art museums around the country are showing her work, including NY’s Met and the Peabody Essex Museum. Last month we promoted her extraordinary exhibit on radio.

Now, meet Iris…

“Live it out!” Iris tells us. It’s true in life as well as business. The first question to ask is: Do you have the guts to be truly distinctive? All it takes is some balls and maybe a boa.

a fitting experience

The movie Amelia starring Hillary Swank opened to mixed reviews this month. However, that didn’t stop the NYC discount retail chain Daffy’s from turning it into a hit.

Before the screening of the film at the Ziegfeld Theater in Midtown Manhattan, a music video became the genesis of an experiential ad for the retailer.

Dancers on the screen were upstaged by dancers on the stage as all the performers acted out how shoppers try on clothes in “Fitting Dance”.

Find your fans and create an experience that delights them. Zappos does it with customer service, Daffy surprised the Ziegfeld crowd and T-mobile rocked a crowded train station.

Ask yourself how your brand can bring joy to your customers, then ask your customers for their business.

We’d love to know what groups you’ve been thrilled with and why. Is there an agency, a freelancer or a consultant that over delivers and is rewarded with your loyalty?  Do tell.

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the real work of brands

Tomorrow I lead 25 TV executives through an all-day brand workshop in Dubai  at the DMI studios.

We’ve never met, but already I know this: they’re managers, directors, art directors, and producers. They’re young, creative, opinionated, curious, and ambitious.They’ll be shy at first, and open up as the day goes on. We will laugh and disagree, we may have misunderstandings.

By the end of the day, they will amaze me.

We spend a lot of time preparing our workshops:  pulling examples, creating exercises, and laying out the concepts that make brands work.

But the miracle always happens in the team work. When the language of the day isn’t job titles or meetings. It’s ideas. When people jump in and try things out. When they don’t fear failure.

What will amaze me tomorrow? I can’t wait to find out.

What’s your best workshop experience?

everything I know about social marketing I learned from my taekwondo master.

Grandmaster Kim may not tweet or post his favorite kicks on Facebook. But he has mastered Social Media and, in the process, built an internationally recognized school, Jae H. Kim Taekwondo Institute.

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Build Community

The school, a stone’s throw from Fenway Park, plays host to Korean surgeons, clerks from Ethiopia, French chefs, and students from Boston University. But, in uniforms and bare feet, we’re members of the same tribe, thanks to the community that Mr. Kim has built.

He hosts an annual holiday luncheon, expects every black belt to teach other students, and encourages us to visit sister schools around the world. Jet-lagged in Singapore, I still found a home and welcoming instructors at the JHK dojang.

This year Master Kim is throwing a Hanmadang to celebrate the school’s 35th anniversary. Visitors from the other schools will come for a day of competition, showmanship, demonstrations, songs, and, yes, eating.

Think about the communities in your company. Are they welcoming? Passionate? Open and well organized?

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Tell your story

A beautifully hand-painted scroll, a gift to Mr. Kim from the founder of Taekwon Do,  General Choi, greets everyone who enters the dojang.

In the visitor’s area, next to the cushy sofas, are booklets packed with moments from the school’s history. Events like the “Friday Night Fights” and the showdown between Mr. Kim and his top 3 students against a competing school, are told with full relish.

The message is clear to every member, you’re part of something great.

Story fills your brand up with meaning. It lets consumers know they’re part of something more than a business transaction. So, what’s your story?

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Keep talking and tinkering

Every week Master Kim sends emails updating members on the school. He’s not a chatty guy; every email is an enclosure and written formally. Mr. Kim changes up class schedules and shifts the focus every year to reflect student input. He takes risks on a daily basis.

Embracing change every day in your business may seem overwhelming. But, just like a turning sidekick, exercise those muscles and it becomes fluid.

Are you ready to kick your social marketing up a level. What are great examples in your own life?

uncorking ideas

It’s spring in Johannesburg and if that’s not enough to put a smile on my face, new friends and fantastic wine does.

Preparing another session of Write With Balls, this time for Promax/BDA Africa and I turn on the TV. What’s on in the southern hemisphere? Plenty of channels and a familiar line-up; Discovery, Nat Geo, Cartoon, and CNN. But I watch for the ads.

So, how does Coke talk to its customers? With music of course. There’s a detergent for doing laundry in a bucket vs a washing machine.

Plus ads for a very special kind of bra. Well, not exactly a bra — something you wear over a bra. These print ads show you what you need to know.

More from Jo-burg in a day or two. In the meantime do you ever turn the TV on when you travel, if so what do you like? I once saw a game show in Italy that was over the top. You?

mini miracles

Discard beverage. Take off shoes. Slide computer through xray. Purchase identical beverage a moment later. Board plane. Squeeze computer bag and body into seat. Endure not-so-solitary confinement for hours marked by B movies, salty snacks, and a shortage of fresh air.

By the time custom forms make the rounds and the landing gear has settled, you are under a spell, some metaphysical abracadabra. Poof, a new world is outside the terminal doors: Singapore, Mumbai or Kuala Lumpur.

So many fresh ideas on the other side of the puddle: a different way to deliver lunch, a solution to collecting trash, or package milk. Sometimes dull becomes delightful.

Consider the mind-blowing technique of Keith Loutit, an Australian film maker.

Loutit shoots real life and turns it into miniature. TV1 in Australia was sharp enough to hire him for their image campaign. Magic.

your happy spot

Is that optimism I smell in the air?

Here’s a little happiness from Passat. And if the singing doesn’t lift your mood, look for the smiling sheep near the end.

What do you think–is the tide turning?

flight of fancy

Here you go–bonus ad for the week and a smile for your weekend. Watch for the cuckoo clock.

Got a favorite ad? Let us know and we’ll share it too.

our favorite ‘lil ad this week

Hold onto your karma and meditate on this ad for Bayer Asprin. Your inner analgesic awaits.

Smart or misguided? Is Bayer stretching gracefully or plain clumsy on their yoga mats.  Let us know!

apply attitude

Attitude can have an amazing effect on your voice, tone, and manner.

So take your personality (see “begin with personality”) and strike the right ‘tude.

 

Here’s more fun from our popular Promax/BDA session . . .

Sister networks, TNT and TBS, know how. Like most sisters they share things; sweaters, boyfriends and movies. But one is all laughs, the other a drama queen.

Recently, both aired “Titanic.” Remember– Big maritime disaster? Leo DiCaprio dies slow icy death?

Here’s how TNT (We Know Drama) promoted it:

 

and here’s how TBS (Very Funny) handled the same movie.

Like two different movies, right?

Attitude frees you up to romp in your creative playground. But like cosmetic surgery, you can go too far, and your audience might not even recognize you. 

Not sure what we mean? Here’s another “surprise endings” for you. Can you guess which network this spot is for?

Really, who needs Viagra.

Ever see an identical product or program promoted differently? Sure you have – let us know what you’ve seen and what you like. We love attitude and are always searching for brilliant examples.