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Team DIGO | 08/30/2012 | in
Personal wealth. It’s a topic no one likes to discuss in mixed company. To pony up a true salary number is almost too intimate. We’re constantly comparing ourselves to others and subscribing to the “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality. As Albert Bandura, a psychologist at Stanford University, said:
“Accomplishment is socially judged by ill defined criteria so that you have to rely on others to find out how you’re doing.“
People look to others to see if they are successful—we’re looking for social status. As advertisers, one thing we can do when marketing personal wealth is to show people the social status that comes with it. Don’t just promise them money; show them how taking control of their finances is taking control of social status. They have the power to define their own status by being proactive with their finances and taking advantage of the opportunities you’re offering them.
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Team DIGO | 08/30/2012 | in
Your job is killing you.
According to The Huffington Post, hours of sitting motionless in front of computer screens are driving us all to truly motionless positions in satin-lined boxes. The long hours, the sleepless nights, the junk food, the stress, it all adds up in a big way. A permanent, and often premature way.
Thankfully, the article does offer some helpful little tips to stave off the angel of death a little longer – at least until you can get those spreadsheets finished.
Read the full article here.
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Team DIGO | 08/30/2012 | in
As you’ve probably heard, national hero Neil Armstrong passed away on August 25th. The first human to set foot on the moon, not only was Armstrong smart, he was apparently a great writer. His immortal words: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” have gone down in history as one of the greatest quotes of the twentieth century. It’s well deserved—was that not the perfect thing to say? Imagine trying to come up with a tagline for space travel; I can’t imagine a better one. To think, what if Buzz got out there first? And all he said was a loud, “Eat it, Russia!” The moment could have gone an entirely different way.
The one point of contention from Armstrong’s moon landing quote is whether it was “one small step for a man” or simply “one small step for man” as it’s been known. Slate has a great piece on this from a reporter who was actually in on the debate at the time. In that moment, the reporter and others listening to Armstrong just weren’t sure which he said. They collectively agreed there was no “a” and released the quote that way. But Armstrong himself insisted he did say “a man” and the reporters were wrong—even though a cleaned up version of the landing recording supposedly makes it clear there was no “a.” More evidence he has the heart of a writer: we’re stubborn and we can’t stand being rewritten.
Mental Floss has a collection of letters Armstrong wrote that give another glimpse of his writing prowess. In this letter of thanks to the people who designed his spacesuit, you even get a bit of his humor:
To the EMU gang:
I remember noting a quarter century or so ago that an emu was a 6 foot Australian flightless bird. I thought that got most of it right.
It turned out to be one of the most widely photographed spacecraft in history. That was no doubt due to the fact that it was so photogenic. Equally responsible for its success was its characteristic of hiding from view its ugly occupant.
Its true beauty, however, was that it worked. It was tough, reliable and almost cuddly.
To all of you who made it all that it was, I send a quarter century’s worth of thanks and congratulations.
Sincerely,
(Signed) Neil A. Armstrong
This has to be one of the more endearing thank you notes I’ve ever laid eyes on. It’s benevolent, unassuming, and funny in the most charming, self-deprecating way. Armstrong was just a great writer. He could pull off poignancy and humor with equal eloquence—any writer will tell you that’s not an easy feat.
Space travel is all well and good, but the man would have made a great copywriter. And the fact that he can steer a spaceship, well that’s just the sort of color agencies look for on a resume.
Read more of Armstrong’s letters here.
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Team DIGO | 08/24/2012 | in
Will any of you take me up on this? Unless your job is to operate a computer – get away from your computer!
Get out of the office, and leave it behind, chained to your desk where it belongs.
The best ideas have been received in bars and coffee shops, garages and showers, beds and walks and shopping trips. Digital tools are so seductive, our lust for seeing our idea produced is so overwhelming, we are missing the whole game. A generation of campaigns created inside the box of the tools provided by devices will look old hat, and the first fresh style that comes from another place will stand out like a lightning bolt. Get up. Get up now. Plan a couple of hours. Go have coffee and talk about people and ideas, and scribble on napkins or in your sketch books. Bring back some gold.
When an idea is right, the rough on the cocktail napkin will sell it. Too much executing is a road of pretty pictures that leads to a Hell of mediocrity. Stand up. Stand up now. Take your favorite thinking partner. And go live a little.
Will you take me up on this? It could change your world, and ours.
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Team DIGO | 08/23/2012 | in
Any agency worth its salt has a ping pong table. It’s a pervasive phenomenon, but why?
As David Ogilvy said, “When people aren’t having any fun, they seldom produce good advertising.” There’s definitely been research to back that statement up; one study from Australia showed that cruising the internet just for fun during work hours increased productivity in employees. As the study author put it: “People need to zone out for a bit to get back their concentration… Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the Internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days’ work, and as a result, increased productivity.”
A New York Times article says something similar, that concentration is similar to a muscle, “It becomes fatigued after sustained use and needs a rest period before it can recover.” (Read the full article). Their solution is breaks—even better, a break that involves physical activity. We could outfit every agency with a treadmill, but ping pong is conveniently made for teams—perfect for a AD/CW pair.
Next time you are pushing yourself to think to no avail, try a little ping pong. While you probably deserve a break, you might also need one.
Read the full Wired and New York Times articles.
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Team DIGO | 08/21/2012 | in
On Fast Company last week, Baratunde Thurston, comedian and former Director of Digital for The Onion, recounted a social media anecdote that would make any digital marketer squirm: he mistakenly activated a 3rd party tool for Twitter that spammed The Onion’s entire following every time they got a new follower. While his story may give me nightmares for weeks, the portion of his piece that really stood out was the importance of brand authenticity within the social space:
“For companies that see this new frontier as a marketing opportunity (and that’s basically all of them), it is a thin line between relevant and creepy stalker. You want to be where the conversation is and join it in an ‘authentic’ way, but just because someone is talking about your product does not mean he wants to talk about it with you. Should every human gathering place be targeted for interactive marketing campaigns? How would you feel if you and your friends were out dining, discussing Game of Thrones, and an HBO executive suddenly joined your table screaming, ‘Winter is coming!’”
Social marketing broke down the wall between brand and consumer. It offers such a valuable opportunity for open communication—but with this open communication comes new challenges. Companies need to achieve a seamless social strategy that users will get behind, rather than a “marketing ploy” that users will shy away from. The key to successful social marketing is authenticity.
When approaching social strategy, ask yourself: Would I personally share that post/tweet? What does liking this page say about me as a person? What value does my brand provide to our following? Don’t focus only on what you want your customers to do for you. Define how you want your customers to view your brand. Stay true to your brand voice and engage the users.
Read Baratunde’s full article here.
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Team DIGO | 07/26/2012 | in
We pride ourselves on doing heroic things for our clients. But working with organizations like National Jewish Health puts that kind of heroism in perspective. In our client’s organization, people are routinely retrieved from death’s door, as NJH is recognized as the world’s leader in curing MDR (Multi-Disease Resistant) lung infections. Returning soldiers have hope of better heath and breathing because of National Jewish Health. The best practices of respiratory medicine, the technology that becomes the standard, and the breakthroughs that give people life and breath… it really is true that the people of National Jewish Health NEVER SAY NEVER.
We’re so proud to share the news that National Jewish Health has been rated by US News as the Number One Respiratory Hospital once again for the 15th year in a row.
Congratulations, National Jewish Health!
Read more.
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Team DIGO | 07/24/2012 | in
Larry Olmstead
Contributor, Forbes
Loyal readers will know that while I cover sprits regularly, I rarely drink or endorse vodka, which I consider the lowest common denominator in the spirits world. Since the basic idea behind making vodka is to erase all flavor – the opposite of just about everything else we eat or drink – it seems kind of pointless.
Most great spirits have history and strict rules of production – good rum is made from sugarcane, Scotch from malted barley, Bourbon from corn – whereas vodka can be made from virtually anything containing sugar or starch, from potatoes and wheat to beets, grass or soy beans, even maple syrup. Most vodkas are more science project than craft, the result being clear, tasteless, diluted alcohol.
But it does not have to be that way. While vodka can (and usually is) made from inferior ingredients in a highly processed commercial fashion to produce a pedestrian product, there are a handful of producers who take just as much care in every stop of the process as the distillers of other fine spirits, it’s just that they are a lot fewer and farther between. I just found one I am really impressed with, and not merely because it tastes really good. I like everything about Double Cross vodka, from its story to production to ingredients to the bottle. I like the passion, and as vodkas go, Double Cross hit it out of the ballpark. Read the full article here.
