Playback in Vegas

Been a spirited few days in Vegas at a branding conference exploring the latest thinking on where brands are going in today's marketplace. Lots of juice. Good amount of reality checks. And a parade of really talented and articulated brand marketers with strong points of view. If speakers were beverages, we saw Coke Classic, A&W Root Beer, Naked, Jones Soda, and Monster.

Back in town. Back at work. Back to class. See you soon.

I'm Leaving for Vegas

Countdown to ManageCamp Conference in Las Vegas. Great line-up of speakers. First time with ManageCamp so I hope it's everything it's promoted to be. Line up and speaker videos are available at www.managecamp.com.

Anyone with any insider tips on "must do's" in Vegas. Keep it PG13!

G to the K

Game On! Tuesday, Sept. 14th

UArts class has re-engaged! Thought we'd use Kopius Notes to keep in touch through the week and talk a little shop between classes.

From last night: Strategy is all about the "how." It's the creative thinking that happens before the creative thinking. Every ad we see leaves clues as to what works and what doesn't. Hopefully you'll never just "look" at an ad or commercial again without trying to break it down into its essential parts, and figure out what's at work.

For next week: 1 ad that hits and a one-pager why; 1 ad(or piece of communication) that misses and a "fix the miss" version, as we did in class, on another piece of paper(simple sketch and layout). Include one-pager describing why you did what you did. Lastly, decide on your three "passion brands." What brands do you have great passion for? Prepare to talk about them and tell us why you have such positive feelings for the brand. No writing necessary. Just know your 3 brands.

Gary

why meetings rot your brain (and waste your time)

This from "Rework" by 37Signals, page 108. Please share with anyone you're planning to meet with anytime soon:


Why meetings are toxic:

•They're usually about words and abstract concepts, not real things
•They usually convey an abysmally small amount of information per minute
•They drift off-subject easier than a Chicago cab in a snowstorm
•They require thorough preparation that most people don't have time for
•They frequently have agendas so vague that nobody is really sure of the goal
•They often include at least one moron who inevitably gets his turn to waste everyone's time with nonsense
•Meetings procreate. One meeting leads to another meeting leads to another...

I share this as much for me as for anyone I meet with(I promise not to feed into these if you promise too). If we seriously must work in a "do more with less" environment, I suggest we edit this notion to read "do more, waste less." As in waste less of all of our time.

That is all.

graphic facilitation

While in Chicago at a conference last week, I came across an actual job title for something I've been doing my entire life during meetings. This thing? Doodling. Except a speaker at the innovation conference talked about different learning styles and the popularity of a visual way to absorb and process a meeting or brainstorming sessions. A "graphic facilitator" is someone who listens, synthesizes and draws what (s)he hears being said during the meeting. The benefit to participants? It's something of a "group mind map" of the direction of the meeting that allows people to easily track the flow of the meeting and do so in a very provocative, easy to follow way. To my surprise there are people out there right now who do graphic facilitation as a full-time job. Personally, I thing graphic facilitation is another example of what I'm feeling as a backlash to full-tilt technology. There is something engaging, disarming, charming about simple lines telling simple stories.

Check out how graphic facilitation works by plugging in "graphic facilitation" on YouTube. Give it a try and see if it helps your next big meeting. If so, let me know (if you want me to hang out at your meeting and draw on the wall, let me know). I tried it last week at a meeting that was half live bodies in the room and several on a conference call. It was a nice way to capture the spirit and trajectory of the meeting (at least for those of us in the room in PA). Also made it very easy for people in PA to speak to people in FLA about points made in the meeting's over last 90 minutes.

Gary

One of those days

Pack a healthy, homemade lunch. Leave it in a plastic bag on the steps at home. Drive to work without it.

Desktop computer at work melts down, "logicworks" gone awry. Cool sizzling sound, I must admit.

General malaise.

Which is ten times more troublesome than a corporal malaise.

Here's to tomorrow.

if you wanna see you gotta look

Cape May, New Jersey. Last summer. Minutes after a rainstorm blew through. Good thing I had my camera. This little beauty presented itself in between two buildings once the sun broke through. Stroke of luck an old-time viewfinder thing happen to be there, AND I had my camera.

Just a friendly reminder that you can plan an "ideation" session everyday of the week and not have an inspirational moment like this hit you plain in the face.

The secret of creativity? Who knows. I do know that it's the randomness of it all sometimes that makes it a truly blessed event.

Now go create...