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 ...