What to post AND what not to post

I spend my time racking my brain with what's appropriate (appropriately pithy) to post on this blog. Yesterday I got into a conversation with a couple of attorneys (thankfully they weren't charging me by the hour) about what's ok to post. The question was, "does your company have a formal policy?"

We do not have a formal Twitter/Blog policy at SMZ. Although the inquiry inspired addressing the matter. In doing some research (online of course) I came across a two-word policy that says almost all that needs saying: "be professional."

I have had frequent discussions with my daughters reminding them never to post/text/tweet anything about their friends that they wouldn't be comfortable saying face-to-face. Or for that matter that they wouldn't want their parents to see. That advice seems reasonable in business communications, too.

And since my mom is an occasional reader of this blog I'm practicing what I preach.

The Wine Arrives

The traditional gift of a bottle of wine is one of the holiday "joys" in the advertising business. Recently I read a piece in Running Times Magazine that connects wine and running (two of my passions) in a fashion beyond the "a glass a day is good for your heart."

While years of experience can give you great insight into your terroir, one of the dangers is that we become stale, mentally and physically, just as the soil in an agricultural terroir can when used to grow the same thing year after year after year. Change, either small or great, may reinvigorate your running.

Applies to our business, too. Might I suggest thinking about it over a nice glass of merlot.

Good to the last drop

The other day I asked my sister-in-law a trivia question? Who is credited with Maxwell House's famous line, "good to the last drop." She didn't get a chance to answer me yet given that she's been swamped at her new job. That's at Kraft, seller of Maxwell House.

But all that trivia ceased to matter hours later when my wife rang me from the pediatrician's office. Our daughter Brooke, who's 14 years-old had developed a serious infection on her leg. Later that evening we found ourselves rapidly admitted to Huron Valley-Sinai hospital. Within 90 minutes my daughter had received an I/V and started on a course of antibiotics. She was in the hospital for three days receiving wonderful care every second. Those antibiotics may have saved her life and, while contributing to the high cost of health care, they were certainly good to the last drop.

To bring all of this together, our coffee sloganeer made national health insurance one of the major planks of the Progressive party during the 1912 presidential campaign. If you answered Teddy Roosevelt, you're right on both accounts.

Being a Givergetter

While working on holiday ideas for the Michigan Lottery we had a simple strategy: good to give, great to get. That approach held true as SMZ looked for a way to commemorate our 80th year in business.

The article from the Oakland Press tells the story best.
http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2009/12/05/business/doc4b1a54e0486dd329319111.txt

The Fortune Cookie Game

Remember sitting around the table at a Chinese restaurant and the fortune cookies are served? Someone invariably reads their fortune and adds, with a giggle, the words "in bed" to the printed fortune. (Example: Tomorrow will be a great day in bed.)

Imagine accenture's surprise when this ad appeared in Forbes Magazine earlier in the week. (Maybe it was in "Fortune" too?) Play the fortune cookie game and the Tiger Woods double entendre takes on multiple meanings. I am NOT jumping on sensationalist tabloid speculation around a private issue. Rather, as an ad guy, I'm simply recognizing that celebrity spokespeople are fraught with danger regardless of how squeaky clean they might appear. The spokesperson can represent something one day and something entirely different the next. So be careful who you allow your brand to get "in bed" with. You might just end up OB (that's out-of-bounds to the non-golfer).

Breaking The Cycle

My friend Mike Fezzey, president and general manager of WJR Radio in Detroit tells a story.

I have a new neighbor. He just moved here from Chicago and he's excited about the move. So my neighbor goes to the dry cleaner and tells the woman at the counter that he just moved here. "Why would you do that?" she says. He goes to the supermarket and the same thing happens.

Here's a guy who relocated his business and employees to Michigan to take advantage of our skilled workforce, low cost-of-living, quality healthcare system and world-class educational institutions. And the very citizens of his new community are asking him why he came here. So Mike got fed up. And rightly so. That's why he's using his radio station to launch a bold initiative called Breaking the Cycle.

Breaking the Cycle will recognize Detroiters who are doing something to break the chain of negatives about Detroit. These are individuals who otherwise wouldn't be recognized for their efforts. I'm behind this initiative 100%. If we don't have internal champions for the Detroit Metro area, how can we expect anyone to be an external champion.

Whenever the chain comes off my bike I think that fixing the cycle is hard. What's really hard is breaking the cycle of negativism that surrounds Detroit. But I have my helmet on and am along for the uphill ride.

Going to Blog School

Last weekend my daughter passed her driving test. In a month she will be a licensed driver. For the last few months I've been an unlicensed blogger. Cutting people off, flipping the finger, texting while blogging, eating and drinking, listening to music ... You get it, I'm a distracted, untrained blogger. That's why I'm going to blog school on November 10th. Put on by GasPedal (hence the driving link) I will get practical, how-to advice on creating content, educating folks at my agency, keeping the lawyers happy, and engaging fans. Maybe you can join me. If not, be careful out on those Michigan roads.

100 Best Global Brands

Every year I study with interest Business Week's 100 Best Global Brands issue. Coca-Cola, IBM, Google, Toyota, Disney, Intel, etc. They all vie for the top slots. Deservedly so. But last weekend I was in Providence, RI with my wife and daughters. We were visiting family at RISD and took the prospective student tour at Brown. While doing the obligatory visit to the Brown bookstore (Brown logoed everything was for sale!) I realized there are some global brands conspicuously absent from the list.

I would argue that Harvard deserves consideration on Business Week's list. As the oldest university in the nation it's certainly "Built to Last." Put the Harvard name on anything and there's instant credibility. In fact many of our top U.S. colleges and universities have brand values greater than Prada or from the title of this blog, say Nescafe.

Dogging it at Work

Visitors to our agency know Webster. They seek out Webster. They guard their food from Webster. Who's Webster? Some hot-shot new creative talent? No, he's my father's dog who comes to our offices every day. A sometimes too-smart-for-his-own-good Labradoodle. Why is there so much fascination about the symbiotic relationship between ad people and dogs at work?

It's a given that advertising is a stress-filled profession and it’s well known that reducing stress is a key to a healthy life. So why dogs? Well, for every complex stress in life, it helps to balance it with a simple pleasure. Pets in the workplace reduce stress among owners who worry about home-alone dogs, they are a calming presence, and they often provide a welcome distraction. So come visit us at SMZ. I won't be offended if you're really most interested in Webster.

Believe in Michigan

Anyone running a business today in Michigan had better be a cheerleader for the state. (I know I try!) Minus the pom-poms, one of the finest arguments I've heard for the future of Michigan was put forth by Bobby Taubman, Chairman, President and CEO of Taubman Centers in his second quarter earnings conference call.

Michigan is now in its sixth year of negative GDP growth, as it has been working through a long and difficult restructuring of the auto industry. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the end of June, employment in automotive vehicle and parts manufacturing is now down to only 2.4% of nonfarm jobs in Michigan, a remarkable change from about 7% in 2000.

With the ripple effect commonly associated with the loss of manufacturing jobs, it’s not surprising our state recently reported 15% unemployment. That’s the highest in the nation and unfortunately, we believe that it will get worse before it gets better. Nonetheless, we are encouraged that a protracted bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler has been avoided. The companies are now able to stabilize and position themselves to begin growing again once the national economy improves.

Our state, the eighth most populous state, has about 10 million people. It has great resources and significantly more diversity in employment than is recognized. The R&D and high-tech sectors that were originally built around the automotive industry are morphing into countless other industries. Today’s southeastern Michigan has over 8,000 tech establishments and there are more engineers per capita than any other state in the U.S.

This leads to the second highest overall R&D expenditures of any state. With this growing knowledge base in place and favorable cost of living, the state has become a hub for advanced technologies. Numerous entities from battery research to clean technologies to defense research are already located here. Others have announced investments to take advantage of the available talent pool.

In June, General Electric announced it will be opening its Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Software Center in southeast Michigan in late 2009. They will be investing $100 million in a former Visteon automotive parts plant and eventually will employ 1,100 people. Announcing the facility, chief executive Jeff Immelt told reporters, “we can be low cost and still access a great work force in Michigan.”

We're proud to serve as one of Taubman Centers' advertising agencies. We're also proud to share a strong positive outlook on Michigan. Now, off to the mall ...

Oops, I did it the first time

She generally rates in the top ten most searched list. It's Britney Spears and I attended her sold-out concert last week with my wife and daughters at The Palace of Auburn Hills. I'm clearly not the target, but I was there and entitled to an opinion. This was one of the most un-fun nights of my life. Before the concert they ran commercials for Britney's "Circus Fantasy" fragrance. I've been to the Ringling Brothers circus. It smelled bad. Real bad. Who wants to smell like the circus? (Or "toxic" for that matter?)

I was appalled at how the 14 year olds going on 25 were dressed. Or not dressed. Sure it's slickly staged yet I was shocked how accepting the audience was of lip-synced singing. What happened to a live concert being live? As my wife said, "where's the band??" To cap off a "perfect" night the girl in the row behind me spilled her beer all over me. Just my luck to be seated in front of one of the ten girls of legal drinking age at the show. Baby I really wanted to "hit her one more time," but I controlled myself. And in front of me Britney got to change into dry clothes every ten seconds. Where's the justice?

This blog is a semi-regular, semi-humorous attempt to comment on consumer escapes. A great live concert can be the ultimate escape. Britney Spears' concert just made me want to get out. So I did. In Britney-speak I turned to my daughter and said, "I'm not a slave 2 this." So I escaped to our car and listened to the baseball game. All-in-all I'm "stronger" for the experience.

Tweets and Talk Radio

Am I doing it wrong? I listen to all sorts of talk radio. From liberal to conservative; from sports to music; on am and fm. Talk radio is a form of social media yet I've NEVER called in to a show. I've been tempted, but ultimately I'm just a listener. Long time listener, no time caller.

The same holds true for Twitter. I opened an account and have been following a few individuals and corporate entities. I barely tweet myself. So am I being anti-social in the world of social media? I don't think so. If listening is an underutilized skill, I think I'm just honing my listening skills. In the process I'm entertained and learn a few things. I hope someone "hears" this and comments.

Test driving a bed

Our mattress is 15 years old. I figure that's over 40,000 hours of use. (I'll allow the reader to break out the various uses.) So my wife and I went to Mattress World. It's on Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak, next to another mattress store and across the street from Art Van the self-proclaimed largest mattress retailer in North America. Sort of an auto mall for mattresses.

So we shopped the showroom by looking at bed after bed after bed. From my days watching the Serta team at Doner I know they're amazingly all "S" brands. Following Serta is Simmons, Sealy, and even Sterns and Foster. But my wife and I gravitated to the "T" brand, Tempur-Pedic. I had a great experience with that bed at a recent Courtyard by Marriott stay. Then I read online that Tempur-Pedic, while Swedish engineering, was developed by NASA scientists. Can't argue with that combination. After playing Goldilocks and trying out every model, one felt "just right." The retailer offered financing, free delivery and free pillows (the floor mats of mattress sales I guess). Ultimately, given the magnitude of the purchase we decided to "sleep on it" for a few days. Now if the government will just classify our high mileage bed as a "clunker" ...

The Cereal Project

Our kitchen pantry looks like a Seinfeld episode. We've got cereal in every size and shape. (The cereal itself and the newfangled, space-saving packaging.) I was remembering how long before I read a newspaper my sisters and I would fight over who got to read the back of the cereal box. I know that my ability to solve anagrams comes from 1970s era boxes of cereal.

Thanks to Mintel Research I've been alerted to a great escape - The Cereal Project, the quintessential resource for all things around the 140+ year history of breakfast cereals. Another affirmation of the power of advertising, the importance of packaging, and the ability of Cap'n Crunch to defeat the pirate Jean LaFoote. As this thoroughly enjoyable site says, "please tell your friends about discovering The Cereal Project. Enjoy your visit and don't forget to comment on your favorite cereals."

Hockey Night

As a native Detroiter I grew up watching Hockey Night in Canada and listening to Bruce Martyn call Red Wings games on WJR radio. I played the game starting at age four. I was a defenseman (which meant I couldn't score but was able to skate backwards) and had one hero, Bobby Orr. As did every kid who played then, so number 4 went to another kid. A bigger, faster kid. Why am I revisiting this period of my youth? Not because I'm lucky enough to call the Detroit Red Wings a client 40 years later. Because other marketers are able to draw on that period in my life and make a powerful emotional connection. Here's an example that brings all of these thoughts together.

Trust Me

Trust Me. I know it's the name of a TV series based on life at a high-pressure ad agency. I enjoy the show... in a later-at-night TiVo kind of way. It's well-written, high energy and often way to close to home. (As opposed to Mad Men which looks exactly like our agency in my grandfather's day yet reeks of soap opera.)

Inherent in the name of this TNT series is that we advertising people are not to be trusted. But every day I question the veracity of our clients and suppliers. Why? Because they too often start a statement with, "to be honest with you" or "believe me when I say" or "trust me on this" or simply "truthfully." Ding, ding, ding. My b-s detector goes off when I hear those phrases. So if you want me to trust you, say what you mean and allow me to decide if it rings true.

Trust me on this.

Obituaries

Lately I've been reading (consuming) the obituaries in the papers each day over breakfast. Is it a function of age or dealing with my own mortality? Was it a desire to remember every last fact about Walter Cronkite? I do know my health is good, so I wasn't looking just to make sure I didn't see my own name.

As I sat with my nervous, sick, shaking 13 year-old lab Guernesy at the vet this morning I realized I'm not having a new fascination with death. Instead I'm remembering to celebrate life. Those obits attempt to paint the richness of individual lives. They don't sweat the small stuff and the time wasters. They often move me. And they remind me to live.

To avoid being too morbid I also enjoy reading the back of the cereal box.

Company learning in a company town

"I think the whole company has learned when you step out and do bold things, you win, and when you're cautious and let other people do bold things, you lose."
- Bob Lutz, retiring vice chairman of GM

I'm going to miss Bob Lutz, and I've never had the privilege to meet the man. But he was refreshingly candid, always insightful, and those who work for him constantly praise his leadership. Regardless of the age, or the age we live in, we need more businesspeople like Mr. Lutz.

I for one will heed Bob Lutz's advice. Because in the words of advertising legend Bill Bernbach, "the future, as always, belongs to the brave."

More about winning thinkers and thinking that comes out of Detroit (yes, Detroit!) to come ...

Forcing Conflict

I haven't posted to this blog in nearly a month. I could chalk that up to "blogger's block." Or, I could honestly admit that I've been cuptivated by our client, the Detroit Red Wings in their push to win the Stanley Cup. In watching - no in reveling - in the hockey battles there's conflict that creates a level of drama that sucks me in. If you review the television ratings, millions of other fans have been pulled in too. It's man against man, team against team, city against city, good against bad ... It all depends upon your point-of-view, but ultimately what makes the series gripping is that conflict. (Now I know why I actually enjoyed Moby Dick back in high school English.)

Applying this to business raises the question: who do we bump up against that gets our blood boiling? If we can identify that true enemy, that brand we need to overcome to win, then the fight will bring out the best in us.

Today's business "Black Hole"

The other day I was discussing with a colleague how frequently a letter, call, email and even a full Request for Proposal (RFP) go unanswered. A simple "yes" or "no" and in business we move on. But when the gray area in between becomes the norm we have a business black hole.

An aside, last night I thoroughly enjoyed watching the new Star Trek movie in a packed theatre with my 15 year-old daughter. Black holes played a key role. After the movie my daughter lovingly called me a "nerd."

So while I can't answer for others I'm going to make sure I'm responsive. Rather than all light being absorbed, maybe I'll "shine" in the process.

Balance

Balance Bars, the balance beam, New Balance shoes, balance ball, balance transfers and of course the balance sheet. So balance must be important. One often addressed is "work-life" balance. I generally pooh-pooh that concept until time comes to actually take a vacation. It's then that I learn how out of balance things can get. Last week we took a glorious trip to Hawaii. I watched my daughters surf, ate macadamia nuts with everything and in everything, and just relaxed. (My wife always reminds me that it takes three days to get to that point.)

While in Hawaii, and on the VERY long flights I read at least three books. Completed the past six New York Times Sunday crossword puzzles. Even took part in a local Kona 10-k. (That run wasn't on the long flights.) And the amazing thing was not once did anyone in our family use the Internet. Yes, a whole week disconnected yet reconnected- with each other. In effect we rebalanced.

What's that awful sound going thump-thump-thump? My wife just asked me to redistribute the towels in the washing machine. I guess even machines need balance. Here's hoping you find yours.

Overbooked at the book store

I had an airline-like customer service experience at Border's in Birmingham today. I guess books are an inexpensive escape as the store was very busy. They had over 100 people in the check-out line filed all the way to the rear of the store. An associate tried to be helpful and was handing out candy. Instead a parent raised a fuss because they gave candy to her child. A cry for the manager followed. She proceeded to announce to the line of customers, "this is what happens when we get cut to the bone!" Sometimes there's such a thing as too much honesty. I left my books on a shelf came home and bought the same pile of books for $20 less on Amazon with free shipping. Then I went and got the mail. What company was profiled on the cover of this week's Barron's as America's best retailer? You guessed it, Amazon. And, unfortunately, while I root for Michigan-based Border's they're not putting up the best fight. Free candy or free shipping? From here on I'll be ordering from "home sweet home."

Next generation isn't slacking

OK, I'm proud to admit it but my children are savvier about technology than me. IM, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Pandora Radio, CraigsList... On every one of those my daughters beat me to the punch. No doubt, digital media is in the center of their lives. They embrace it while for me it's often an intrusion. So a typical parent might say, "they're wasting time and brain cells." Most of the time I'm typical, but recently I had to stand up and take notice.

Last month my 13 year-old daughter launched a website. She built it completely herself, signed up for Google AdWords and PayPal linked to her bank account, and immediately began taking orders. So while I was her age I delivered newspapers rain-or-shine to at best 95 houses in the local community; she's selling hand-painted baby gifts to all 50 states without ever having to put on a jacket. (Shameless plug, please visit Rainbows and Lollipops.)

Where does this all go next? I certainly don't know, yet I'm completely confident in who will be leading the charge.

Someone to listen to

I've grown up in and around the advertising business. One campaign I always remembered is, "when E.F. Hutton talks, people listen." Sure that company has since been engulfed by a larger financial firm, but I miss what that message represented. Is it just me, or is there so much talk, that nothing earns that "lean in" any more?

But there is one person who gets my ear. (Look at my photo and you'll see that my ear already sticks out.) That wise sage is also in finance. No secret it's Warren Buffett. For more than a decade I've marked my calendar to the Saturday when Buffett releases his annual shareholder letter. This year was no exception. I can't help but be cuptivated by the big themes tackled in such plain language. I suggest reading it yourself at Berkshire's site.

With Passover less than a month away I must acknowledge Mitchell Epstein the writer of the E.F. Hutton theme. Because he also penned the classic "Man, Oh Manischewitz."