Rogers NHL Deal is a Bellwether for Those Who are Paying Attention

What does Dr. McLuhan, Roger's Communication, NHL and CBC have to do with the future of business? 

I think history will show quite a lot. Earlier this week, I wrote a blog for InfoStream pointing to the Rogers/NHL/CBC deal as an indicator of things to come. 

Dr. McLuhan once said 'the medium is the message' but he died in 1980 before the emergence of the internet. Now there is clear evidence that backs up his early thinking. 

The Internet facilitates disruptive innovation that has caused several stages of market evolution. The first stage involved the consolidation of demand in the market which allowed profits to build initially as the weak were gobbled up by the strong. The second stage involved the aggregation of supply lines which sustained profits by making the market more efficient for buyers and sellers with centralized portals. Now we are clearly entering into a third stage of disruption in which deconstruction of the modern media and delivery channels will take place. The lines between the medium and the message will be forever blurred.

The evidence is in this deal and it is all around us. Whereas consumers were forced to buy bundled content (cable, newspapers, etc) which allowed media to construct monopolies and harvest advertiser dollars, they can now deconstruct these bundles and structure their environment in ways that best suit their purpose or desire. Advertising agencies, brands and media are only now beginning to realize how disruptive this will be.

Witness the recent history of the New York Times. This long established newspaper was almost bankrupt, but now makes more revenue from its 700,000 subscribers than it does from advertisers. It has withstood severe disruption to the model and cash flow, reinvented itself and now has a billion dollars of cash in the bank. Furthermore, this cycle of fall, reinvent and rise again has all taken place in past six years. When our children tell their children about content delivery by way of rolls of newsprint thrown toward the front door each morning by the girls and boys of the newspaper delivery team, they are likely to find the story incredulous. 

Here's the InfoStream blog I wrote 

I'm just a farm boy from Crossfield but I find the pace and persistence of disruption, innovation and deconstruction to be fascinating. I hope these words will help the reader understand why I think those who own the PetLynx utility will be rewarded for their patient development of media, channel and message to serve the largest group of citizens who live in modern urban municipalities.

Is Your Investment in a Facebook Social Media Program Doomed?

There are many researchers and analysts who wonder about the value of a Facebook social media program in branding. Here's a posting on InfoStream that may give you pause to rethink your investment.

InfoStream Post

Larry's LinkedIn Metrics

Here is my LinkedIn network report. Thank you to those who have joined the conversation! 

YOUR LINKEDIN NETWORK (2013July31):

993  Connections link you to 8,816,892+ professionals

38,440 New people in your Network since July 27

Get Connected

Agency Change Accelerates as Brands Move to Other Media

Earlier this week, two giants of the advertising world (Publicis Groupe and Omnicom) merged to create the number two ($22.7 billion) player in the advertising game (Google leads, $50 billion). Analysts have not been kind to the advertising industry in general and have noted that a re-factoring of the industry was in progress. New models are expected to become widespread as brands turn away from 'Agency of Record' (AOR) contracts to focus on in-house or licensed digital media capabilities.

“Our industry is not limited to a handful of people. There are new people coming over the line to what was traditional advertising every single day.” (John Wren, Chief Executive of Omnicom, NYTimes)

“We see the lines have been blurred between the various functions and the various players" (Maurice Levy, Chief Executive of Publicis, NYTimes)

This merger seems to be focused on aggregating brand advertising dollars and budgets. However, the shift to preserve competitive advantage has actually been underway for sometime. Meredith Corporation's acquisition of TV/print channels and Nestle's acquisition of PetFinder are two other examples. Meredith is an example of another agency response - vertically integrating to exclusively touch millions of women across North America. Nestle is an example of acquiring the largest adoption channel in North America to preserve a point of market entry POME (the largest channel of adopted animals) for its Purina brand.

The PetLynx utility is exploring a fourth option. Like the Weather Company in its sector, Petlynx has gathered up the largest number of urban animal owners as well as the largest data base of urban animal information and purchasing habits in Canada. Like others using this model, PetLynx gathers these consumers with Service Portals. PetLynx licenses agencies and large brands to access these consumers on an opt-in basis. Since there are many brands and agencies in the Urban Animal Industry unable to acquire or manage their own digital channels PetLynx becomes a useful alternative.

David Kenny, a former Publicis executive who now runs the Weather Company, which includes The Weather Channel and weather.com, said that platforms like his are now working directly with companies to develop advertising campaigns, especially on mobile devices, essentially bypassing ad agencies. (quoted from NYTimes)

Which model will dominate the future? It seems they will all exist initially, but a bet on the PetLynx/Weather Company model long term should be safe. This model should always have the lowest cost of acquisition and the highest level of support from consumers because it is an opt-in service.

For consumers, the merger is another signal that the business of marketing is becoming more personalized, often based on information that consumers may not even be aware they are sharing, including Web habits, social media activity and credit card histories. (Quoted from NYTimes)

New York Times Article

Branducation:

1. In your opinion, which of the models identified is likely to be successful in your industry sector?
2. One model uses an 'opt-in' approach, one model consolidates advertising buys, one model owns consumer channels and another preserves a point of market entry. Briefly discuss the differences you see and advantages or disadvantages you would expect.

Are You Achieving a Win with Social Communication?

Branding isn't what you tell people. Branding is what people tell their friends about you.

Over the past few months, on behalf of InfoStream we have been interviewing members of the Urban Animal Industry to understand how Social Communication Programs are working. Perhaps not surprisingly, experiences haven't been uniformly positive and some have even abandoned or delayed further online involvement. Many of these conversations had similar expressions:

• Websites and interactive online ventures did not achieve the results expected
• Existing talent is already committed so asking them to take on 'social' is an imposition
• Re-posting content from other sites hasn't been effective in developing traffic
• Acquiring original content is expensive and hard to sustain
• Online conversations on media such as Facebook, when negative is hard to manage
• Supporting a real-time Twitter feed is exhausting
• Achieving presence in a noisy online environment is more difficult than expected

Last week a TEDxYYC presentation was published. Google expert, Chris Adamkowski talks candidly about 'Connecting in the Digital Age'. The video shows how online presence is more about 'Being invited In' than 'about cutting through the clutter' (rising above online noise). Watch this five minute video and see if it helps you understand how to 'invite someone in'. 

Branducation:

1. Is your organization connecting in the digital age?
2. What metrics did you create to measure performance?
3. In what ways have your expectations been met or not met?
4. Provide (in 200 words or less) a discussion of how you will achieve your branding goals online. 

On Rhythms, Patterns and Synchronicity

Last evening, Paul Kennedy, the host of CBC's regular program 'Ideas', repeated a broadcast that originally aired in April of this year. The program explores how synchronicity develops in nature. From Fireflies to a beating heart to groups of people naturally falling into step, there is evidence of synchronicity all around us. 

Can we understand these mechanisms and how they may relate to the development of consciousness in the human brain? Can understanding the importance of 'being in step' assist with social communications and the development of successful brand programs that serve the needs of clients?

Listen to 'The Heart of the Beat'

The first Branducation blog about synchronicity and the Firefly effect was July 2012. A follow up blog in August showed how Draft horses synchronize and step to the music.

Branducation:

1. Why is rhythm an important occurrence in nature?
2. How would rhythm influence the cost of a brand program?
3. How does being 'in step' with culture and nature add brand strength and loyalty?
4. Support your answer to question two with no more than 200 compelling words!

Trying to find a rhythm

Larry's LinkedIn Metrics

Here is the LinkedIn network report for my account this morning. Thank you to those who have joined the conversation! 

YOUR LINKEDIN NETWORK

768Connections link you to 8,371,751+ professionals

24,430New people in your Network since June 29

Do you know WHO I AM?

Flying home from Ottawa on Friday evening gave me time to consider my experience while in our nation's capital. The visit was remarkable:

Do you know who I am?

• The RCMP launched a criminal investigation of 'ExpenseGate' (Mike Duffey and the PMO);
• Senator Pamela Wallin faced the media in a CBC interview with Peter Mansbridge;
• Thomas Mulcair, leader of the opposition (NDP), drove through all the stop signs and security gates on the way to his assigned parking stall on parliament hill; and,
• The new CSIS building boogled my fiscal imagination - an amazing show of 'intelligence'.

Being a farm boy, I couldn't help thinking about entitlement. Two questions need to be addressed:

1. Do you know who I am? (Thomas Mulcair to RCMP)
2. Who is entitled?

On the first, if you ask this question of someone, the answer is clear. 

"You my friend, are a self serving, equivocating and perhaps even arrogant person, who believes the rules don't apply because of your station or role."

One can imagine this kind of thinking, would take a person in short order from a place of humility, reason and example, to a place where:

• public funds can be misappropriated;
• covering up and spinning what really happened is okay;
• an expectation that the rules were not meant for you; and,
• fiscal responsibility is for those governed not those governing.

At this point the 'servant leader' dies and an entitled, arrogant, equivocator is born.

On the second question, only one answer makes sense 'those served' are the ones who are entitled. Full stop! 

Citizens, tax payers, clients, employees, members, shareholders and others served, are those who are entitled. They are entitled to truth, transparency, respect, fairness, loyalty and good service. But, we see this is not often the case in government, in business, in education, in security, in religion and in community. 

Why do these elements seem hard to grasp for those who serve? Maybe it's because at one time or another, we all imagined ourselves as a ruler (lessor god), able to command and place those around us under the 'thumb' of authority we envisioned. 

Do we all wish to be king? It seems so. And while some of us give up this fairy tale, others are driven by it. And that is why, in our day and age, we must teach people to be servant leaders.

On Father's day 2013, I pause to reflect on two important questions:

• WHO AM I? 
• WHO DO I WISH TO BE?

Dad - a servant leader

Michael Dubin's New Video - Thinking Naked about #2

At the 'Think Naked' event last week in Calgary, Woodruff Sweitzer showed Dollar Shave Club's video from last year. It's a good example of a small budget production that has gone viral and essentially elevated a new company and concept onto a success track. And it happened in an environment that has been dominated by big budget productions from the likes of Gillette and Axe.

Yesterday Michael Dubin launched Dollar Club's #2 video.

The New York Times asks if a Shaving Company can duplicate the success of the first video. It provides an interesting read and the answer to 'why #2'.

I'm just a farm boy, but I wouldn't bet against this one. I see the elements of another run-away! And if I was the marketing director of a big budget brand company this would give me pause and send me off to review my brand investment strategy.


Branducation:

1. What are the essential elements of a video that will go viral?
2. What is the relationship between budget and a successful production?
3. Will viewership translate into sales for DollarShaveClub?
4. Get 'Naked' and support your answer to question three with no more than 200 compelling words!

Thunder Ridge Run-Aways

Predicting the Future - Understanding Risk and Uncertainty

In his book 'Leaders make the Future', Bob Johansen talks about a VUCA world. A world that is Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. I thought so much of this book that I made it the 'Summit 2102 Leaders Library' selection. The Summit provided a copy to every delegate. Upon reflection, it seems to me that we need to understand the difference between risk and uncertainty to develop a good strategy for the future.

Nate Silver

Nate Silver in his book The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail - but Some Don't (Penguin, 2012), shows that for the most part, the agencies we trust are either “unable or uninterested in appreciating the distinction between risk and uncertainty.” Silver suggests risk is something that can be calculated. You can put a price on risk. For instance, we often 'price in the risk' we face on a purchase or investment. Some even calculate the 'risk' of winning or losing while they gamble. 

By contrast, Silver shows that uncertainty has become a risk "that is hard" if not impossible to measure with  strict attention to mathematical models and predictive equations. According to Silver, “Risk greases the wheels of a free-market economy; uncertainty grinds them to a halt." In a day and age when marketers are asking us to trust their 'predictive models' and explore 'Big Data' can we be sure this is the path to a sustainable future? 

I think not. Perhaps we've arrived at a time and place where intuition, experience, common sense and the intellectual gifts humans possess may be the tools that prevail. If you have $20 to invest in your future, I suggest reading Silver's book. 

I'm a farm boy and uncertainty has always been part of agriculture. We till the ground and plant the seed but rely on a higher power for the sun and rain. Dealing with uncertainty involves understanding, expectation and faith. It seems to me these elements are states of mind or mindfulness which allow you to separate signals from noise and that is useful as you consider the future.

Thunder Ridge Farming

LinkedIn Metrics for Larry - 2013 May 27

Getting more invitations than I can process right now so I'm being very picky. They say it's good for someone in brand development and marketing to be popular! I'm still deciding.

653Connections link you to 7,847,371+ professionals

45,891New people in your Network since May 22

Intel's Eric Dishman Demonstrates a New Approach to HealthCare

In March 2013, Eric Dishman, general manager of Intel's Health Strategy & Solutions Group, gave an impassioned TED talk about his personal experiences with the current Health Care System. His understanding of the basis of current health care, his personal exposure to missed diagnosis and his knowledge of smart devices has caused him to re-imagine health care featuring in-home delivery from teams of relevant health care providers.

His work has been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post and Businessweek. The Wall Street Journal named him one of “12 People Who Are Changing Your Retirement.” He has delivered keynotes on independent living for events such as the annual Consumer Electronics Show, the IAHSA International Conference and the National Governors Association.

Fast Company said:

"'All of health care is based on one idea from the 1850s,' says social scientist Eric Dishman, Intel's director of health innovation. 'That it has to be delivered in a face-to-face setting.' His research on aging is behind evolving systems to provide more effective home care. His goal is to enable 50% of care in the U.S. to be delivered in the home by 2020."

This TED talk is worth every one of the 15 minutes it runs:

ERIC DISHMAN TED TALK

Branducation:

• What are the pillars that Eric Dishman identifies as the foundation for a new approach to health care?
• What is likely to be the impact on service providers and people requiring health care services?
• Will there be a similar impact on the integration of smart devices in your sector?
• How can you move to embrace this paradigm shift?

Rainbow @ Thunder Ridge

Perspectives - This is Water by David Foster Wallace

A brilliant, ironic writer, David Foster Wallace, was asked to give the commencement address to the 2005 graduating class of Kenyon College. However, the resulting speech didn't become widely known until 3 years later, after his tragic death. 

The good people at The Glossary made his address into a video saying, '(this speech) is, without a doubt, some of the best life advice we've ever come across, and perhaps the most simple and elegant explanation of the real value of education'.

Wallace committed suicide by hanging himself on September 12, 2008.

Branducation:

1. In brand we work hard to understand perspective. Identify one element in your environment that is so obvious it may require re-framing (a new perspective).
2. What role does tedium, boredom or frustration play in the experience consumers of your product or service brand deal with?
3. What strategy or tactic would take these negative elements and move them toward something positive in the consumer experience?

Perspective at Thunder Ridge

LinkedIn Says Thank You!

This morning, I was in receipt of an email thanking me for my participation on the tenth anniversary of the creation of LinkedIn. It came with a video which I have supplied here below.

I joined LinkedIn on the advice of a colleague in 2008.  I now have more than 7.3 million people in my professional network. It has been very useful for me and the work I do. It has been a powerful way to stay in contact with my clients.

YOUR LINKEDIN NETWORK

605Connections link you to 7,332,053+ professionals

10,730New people in your Network since May 8

Recognition is always a powerful way to enhance client relationships. I feel good, but more important I feel appreciated by the people who debit my charge card for $30 each month. I also feel like I have helped to build something useful for my colleagues in industry and my clients around the world.

Here's the video

Branducation:

1. Are you building an organization or starting a 'movement'?
2. What is the role of 'imagination' in your vision?
3. Imagine your future for a moment - then identify three elements that will show you have succeeded (add a time-frame so you can measure progress).

Percheron mares and foal

Nixon Responds to Recent RBC Brand Challenge

I'm not sure how you felt as the news came out that RBC was replacing Canadian employees with off-shore talent, but as a client, I felt a deep sense of irritation. In his open letter to all Canadians, this RBC leader finally covers all the bases of an adequate brand response:

• The Audience: All Canadians as well as effected employees and customers
• The Admission: Identifies that 'compliance with rules' is different than operating within the best interests of all stakeholders
• The Apology/Responsibility: Says 'we are sorry' to stakeholders and takes responsibility for directing a brand response
• The Fix: Identifies a course of action for the present episode and broadens out to other sensitive areas
• The History: Provides context, metrics and commitment to maintain the brand's reputation
• The Conclusion: Thanks stakeholders who support the brand

This is a business case for brand and the modern business leader:

The challenge

The initial response

Open letter from Gord Nixon, President and CEO, Royal Bank of Canada

Branducation (five opportunities to improve skill):

1. What element(s) of the final response engendered a feeling of trust?
2. What element(s) of the final response were most compelling?
3. What element(s) signal the final response is genuine?
4. Identify any aspects of the final response that seemed forced or contrived.
5. Develop a short (100 word max - point form) argument to support the voice you hear (Mr. Nixon or a  guru from the marketing department) in these responses.  

A bit of Thunder Ridge

CBC's Terry O'Reilly on Targeting

I find CBC's Under the Influence program a very worth while investment every Saturday morning. Hope you find Terry's piece on 'Targeting' on as insightful as I did last Saturday. 

Last Pull of the Year

McKinsey - The Leaders role in Social Media

What is the leaders role as the business paradigm shifts to 'social'?

Leaders can see the shift as disruptive, however the need to understand their role from both a personal and strategic perspective is critical.  This article shows the leader as Producer, Distributor and Recipient on a Personal level and as Advisor, Architect and Analyst on a Strategic/Organizational level. 

These are important roles to understand if you wish to move your career and organization along. 

Read the Article

Branducation:

After reading the article, examine your activity in each of the six roles and note the areas where you can improve.  Set the priority and timeline you hope to achieve, put it in your digital calendar and monitor your progress each month for one year. Enter the 'conversation' through the comments area if you need ideas or assistance from your peers.

Thunder Ridge

McKinsey Interview with Tapscott Highlights Social

A recent McKinsey interview with author and strategist Don Tapscott, highlights the way executives and managers are still trying to keep corporate information in a container. Tapscott says there are four essential elements to being successful with a transparent open approach leveraging modern social communications. 

McKinsey Interview with Tapscott

Don's new book Radical Openness: Four Principles for Unthinkable Success is well worth the read and is available from TED books.

So God made a Farmer - Thanks Dodge!

We are a Ford Family but we can't help send a little praise along to Dodge for their 2013 Super Bowl Ad and their promotion of 2013 Year of the Farmer.

Have a look at this!

'So God Made a Farmer' by the late Paul Harvey

Farm boy from Crossfield