[ paul isakson ]

How Brands Can Get Ahead In A Recession

First, if you haven't read either of the above, I highly recommend them. (Clicking on either of the quotes above will take you to their respective pages on Amazon.com.) Now then...

Every day, I'm convinced these statements are increasingly true. Especially today in our open-source, collaborative, conversation culture. The more good things you do for people, the more of your thinking and ideas that you share, and the more you help people out, the more good things will come back to you.

I've personally experienced this throughout my life, but none more so than in sharing things here. (Just as I'm sure many of you have.) Now we're in a situation where this mantra could create significant returns for brands if they are willing to take heed.

With growing talks of a global recession and reports of consumer confidence sinking around the globe, people are looking for ways to make their dollars go further. Brands that truly try to help people get through this period solely for the purpose of wanting to help make peoples' lives a little bit easier will come out significantly ahead of the pack when things turn around.

Almost everyone has natural tendencies that kick in when money starts getting short which tell them to hang on to as much as possible. This is just as true for businesses as it is for people. But if a business is willing to take a little less profit now in order to create greater savings for people and help them get what they want, it will come back to them when people have more money to spend.

It's not an easy decision to make. Especially when there are outside demands from stockholders and parent companies. But I have no doubts that those who approach this the right way - by doing what's best for the people who buy their products or services - will end up far better off than if they just try to ride it out by cutting costs that do not get passed through to consumers/customers.

On a related note, David Armano has turned a smart post titled "10 Ways Digital Can Help You Thrive In A Recession" into an easy to view slide show. You can view it below, on Logic + Emotion, or in glorious full-screen mode through SlideShare.

--

I'm certain there are several great examples out there that show this and I know I've heard or read them several times before. Right now, I'm simply too tired to look them up. Ha. Sorry, but just being honest. So, if you know of any off-hand, please share them in the comments...

Age of Conversation 2.0 Teasers

Last week, Ryan Barrett put out a request for the authors of the upcoming Age of Conversation 2 book to share a brief snippet of their chapters.

Greg Verdino has some critical thoughts on why this should have waited and I tend to agree him. Perhaps it is just the nature of many who blog to want to share what they write almost as immediately as it is finished.

Anyway... After reading what others have given her, I'm really looking forward to the book's eventual arrival so I can read the rest of their chapters.

Given that, and in the spirit of playing along, here's mine - based on a quote from George Bernard Shaw:

"The reasonable brand adapts itself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to it. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable brand."

The unreasonable brand is something I intend to start posting more and more things about without giving away my chapter as it's something I've been thinking a lot about lately and where I'm going to go with it won't encroach upon the specific sub-topic I chose to write on.

To see all of the bits Ryan has collected so far, jump over here.

Joseph Jaffe Speaking in Minneapolis 04/14/08

Just a heads-up for those reading this in the Twin Cities...

Joseph Jaffe will be speaking at the fourth Conversations About The Future Of Advertising (CATFOA) event sponsored by MCAD, MIMA and MSP Communications.

You can find all the details on the CATFOA blog along with recaps of the first three presentations and an announcement for the fifth, but the quick and dirty details for this one are that it happening this coming Monday night (14 April 2008) at Fine Line Music Cafe starting at 6 PM.

It is free for all to attend and the first 250 people to come through the door will get a complimentary copy of Join The Conversation.

Age of Conversation 2.0 Announced

Drew and Gavin have announced the theme and authors for Age Of Conversation 2.0. The winning theme was "Why Don't People Get It?"

I'm excited to be a part of this and I look forward to what lies ahead as it all comes together. Here is the complete list of contributors/authors with links to their blogs/sites. I'm sure many of these names will be familiar to you...

Adam Crowe, Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob Carlton, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Bradley Spitzer, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Clay Parker Jones, Chris Brown, Colin McKay, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Cord Silverstein, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Goldstein, Dan Schawbel, Dana VanDen Heuvel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Darryl Patterson, Dave Davison, Dave Origano, David Armano, David Bausola, David Berkowitz, David Brazeal, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Emily Reed, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, G. Kofi Annan, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Graham Hill, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, J.C. Hutchins, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeremy Middleton, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, Joe Talbott, John Herrington, John Jantsch, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Flowers, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kris Hoet, Krishna De, Kristin Gorski, Laura Fitton, Laurence Helene Borei, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Barnes-Johnston, Louise Mangan, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Marcus Brown, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Mark McSpadden, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Hawkins, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Monica Wright, Nathan Gilliatt, Nathan Snell, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul Marobella, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Beeker Northam, Rob Mortimer, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Cribbett, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tiffany Kenyon, Tim Brunelle, Tim Buesing, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Longhurst, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

The Age of Conversation Bum Rush

Now, normally I'm not a fan of these "Bum Rush the Charts" things, but this is a good book written by lots of smart people AND the proceeds go to charity, so how could I not help them spread the word?

You can help too. Here's how (paraphrased from an email from Drew):

Write a post telling your others about the Bum Rush.

You can get all the details here. Be sure that you use the specific link to the book listed below (or on the post). It’s linked to an Amazon associate account so even more money gets raised for Variety.

Digg Chris’ post on Friday, starting at noon CST.

Go to www.freshpeel.com on Friday and Digg Chris’ post about the Rush.  They are really trying to get the word out beyond their circle of influence. Stumble it....Facebook about it....Twitter. But drive people to Chris’ post from anywhere and everywhere.

Beginning Saturday morning — buy the book, but only buy one at a time!

Go here and buy the book.

Book Cover Designs Wanted

Can you design a better book jacket/cover than this?

If so, Tara Hunt would love your help.

There really are no rules. Just take the words that are there and make the thing look better.

Post a link to your design in her Flickr comments for this image and she'll check them out.

If you don't have a blog, web site, Flickr account, etc. to post your design to, just create a drop for it and put that URL in the comments section.

Also, please spread the word to others if you can.

I didn't get a deadline from her, but I'm sure it's something that's needed sooner than later.

Any help you can give her is greatly appreciated.

The Next "Age of Conversation"

If you didn't get in on The Age of Conversation but wished you had, here's a chance to participate in its forthcoming "kissing cousin." Drew and Gavin have announced that they are ready to organize a second book only this time, they're reaching out earlier and further.

First, go vote for what you think the book's subject/theme should be by the end of this week. They've narrowed it down to three broad topics:

• Marketing Manifesto
• Why Don't People Get It?
• My Marketing Tragedy (and what I learned)

Then, if you're interested in authoring a chapter in the new book, email Drew to let him know. All the details are available in either post from Drew and Gavin, so be sure to visit those if you need more info.

And lastly, if you haven't picked up a copy of Age of Conversation, you should. Not only is it a worthwhile read, but all the proceeds go to Variety, the children's charity (as they will for the upcoming book).

HERD // the mailman delivers

Looking forward to finally getting to dive into this one!