Intel founder, tech genius and billionaire Andy Grove titled his book, Only the Paranoid Survive.
Since we can’t see everything, the truth is that we make decisions based on our biases. Most of us don’t question our biases, they are just “the way we are.”
Grove developed a set of biases that propelled him to the top of the digital world. Where did he get them? Nazi Germany
To my mind, the reason Grove’s paranoia worked so well is that most people have the opposite bias. Blessed with good enough childhoods and with normally limited imaginations that protect them from the anxiety of seeing all the possibilities, most people deal with what they think they know.
Pearl Harbor. Nine-eleven. Sputnik. AIDS. Black Friday. Our tendency is to deal with things when we have to, rather than at the optimal time. Our tendency is to be surprised.
It’s good to know what you can about what competitors are doing. Like Starbucks looked at high-end coffee shops… and then McDonald’s came along…
The competition is always coming, but you just don’t know where it’s coming from. That’s the kind of paranoia that drives you to innovate, to stay ahead.
The Fountainhead: Why to do thought leadership and content marketing.
If you understand the value of the content you create to your audience, then you’ll have a much better idea of what’s worth doing and how to do it.
Let’s start with the current norm. Those of us who are doing this because we think thought leadership or content management is a good thing to be doing. We think we’re helping people make a product decision. Or we think we’re simply building the reputation of our company. And perhaps we also think we’re creating inexpensive ways to expand the potential for prospective customers to engage with us, and then perhaps be converted to customers down the line. Maybe we also think we’re arming our brand advocates with information and data they can use to advocate for us with others
Of course, these are all good reasons to build a content or thought leadership strategy. But they miss the essential element that makes all of this content so valuable: self-esteem.
Yes, many people seek out product information and knowledge about categories in order to build their own self-esteem. These segment into a few psychographic types. Some love the process in and of itself, many others are interested in the social status they derive for category knowledge, and even more are interested in the dopamine-mediated pain reduction that comes from encountering social-validation of a good decision they have already made.
If you know that the purpose of your ‘thought leadership’ is to make the decision process and lifecycle more gratifying and better, then you know a lot!
If you understand the value of the content you create to your audience, then you’ll have a much better idea of what’s worth doing and how to do it.
Let’s start with the current norm. Those of us who are doing this because we think thought leadership or content management is a good thing to be doing. We think we’re helping people make a product decision. Or we think we’re simply building the reputation of our company. And perhaps we also think we’re creating inexpensive ways to expand the potential for prospective customers to engage with us, and then perhaps be converted to customers down the line. Maybe we also think we’re arming our brand advocates with information and data they can use to advocate for us with others
Of course, these are all good reasons to build a content or thought leadership strategy. But they miss the essential element that makes all of this content so valuable: self-esteem.
Yes, many people seek out product information and knowledge about categories in order to build their own self-esteem. These segment into a few psychographic types. Some love the process in and of itself, many others are interested in the social status they derive for category knowledge, and even more are interested in the dopamine-mediated pain reduction that comes from encountering social-validation of a good decision they have already made.
If you know that the purpose of your ‘thought leadership’ is to make the decision process and lifecycle more gratifying and better, then you know a lot!
Upscale hotels leave a chocolate on your pillow. Tom Civitano was determined that The Plaza Hotel would never be a typical upscale hotel. His standard was “Legendary.”
The budget, however, would barely pay for chocolates. Tom’s idea: A Pearl!
He approached Mikimoto, the famous purveyor of the world’s finest pearls. He told the CEO of Mikimoto all about the Plaza Hotel’s clientele, including how much they were spending on jewelry
The Mikimoto brand simply had to have access to these potential customers! But, as Tom explained, it wouldn’t do to degrade the experience of Plaza guests with mercenary advertising such as brochures in their rooms. No, what was needed was an extraordinary gesture, a gift at once seductive and magical, a Pearl on the Pillow.
And it happened! Each time a guest stayed at The Plaza, he or she would find a new pearl, and a note with a $250 gift certificate and invitation to have the pearls strung into a necklace at Mikimoto.
Of course, the joint promotion was legendary and covered as a fairy tale come true in all media. And it worked wonders in driving revenue and loyalty for the hotel and new customers to Mikimoto.
(NEW YORK – May 8, 2012) – Award-winning broker-dealer and futures commission merchant TradeStation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Monex Group, Inc. (TSE: 8698), today launched a new integrated marketing campaign, highlighting its award-winning platform. New York-based brand-building agency DiMassimo Goldstein (DIGO) created “The Proof is in the Platform” initiative, which will feature print, TV and digital advertising along with a strong social media component.
The ads lightly spoof TradeStation’s competitors, encouraging traders to focus on the actual capabilities of trading platforms. Print ads will begin running in Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities, Futures Magazine and Active Trader, and TV spots will begin airing on CNBC today.
“We don’t need bells, whistles or special effects to impress or attract traders,” said Erik Jepson, VP of Marketing for TradeStation, which received the highest overall ranking (4 ½ stars) from Barron’s magazine in its 2012 review of online brokers, as well as Best for Frequent Traders, Best Trading Experience and Technology, and Best for International Traders.
“Our platform speaks for itself, and speaks louder than flashy, over-the-top advertising does,” Jepson added.
That’s the reasoning behind TradeStation’s decision to create a tour of its platform features on TradeStation.com. Hosted by the TradeStation Guys, the tour, which debuts today, will allow traders to see firsthand how advanced TradeStation’s platform’s tools are through several one- to two-minute videos.
When you have a name like Double Cross Vodka, April Fool’s Day is just too good an opportunity to pass up.
The ultra-premium vodka brand — distilled in Slovakia and launched (at least originally) specifically for the U.S. market in September 2008 — will kick off its first official consumer campaign on April 1, premised on helping people “double-cross the mundane and frustrating moments of life.”
The campaign’s hub is a microsite, Projectdoublecross.com, where fans can pick up tips for turning the tables on annoying types like arm rest-hoggers, at-table texters, telemarketers and chatty urinal neighbors. In addition, visitors can post and share (through the brand’s Facebook or Twitter accounts) their own “double cross” ideas.
Examples: To double-cross a loud cell phone talker, stand directly in front of him/her, position your Double Cross martini to the side of your head as if it were a phone, and adopt the same tone/volume as the offending phone-talker as you actually respond to what he/she is saying. To double-cross a subway pole-hugger, put your face close to the pole and begin whispering seductively to it; then enjoy your newly created personal space. Read more…
Growth Key: The category of online trading has no shortage of flash and swagger. But in the end, the proof is in the platform. This campaign has some fun with the category cliches and then draws the audience to the TradeStation Tour where they get a fuller understanding of why this platform is the most robust in the category.
To create some buzz for Double Cross Vodka, we turned their point-of-purchase into invitations to join Project Double Cross, a grass roots effort to turn the tables on life’s daily annoyances.
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