BIG QUESTIONS
Are audiences growing numb to marketing messages?
There is a careful balance good marketers strike between consistency and freshness. Yes, brands need to stick to their stories. But repeatedly telling that story in the same way with the same words deadens your impact. The equestrian community has a term for this called “deadsiding.” It’s when a rider kicks their horse so bloody often it starts to ignore them. The rider has stopped having a genuine conversation with the horse and so the horse tunes them out entirely. Same thing with marketers and their audiences. Think about that conversation as a living thing that you are nurturing and you will go far. Clippity clop.
TOOL JOY
Similar Song Finder
If you use algorithms to discover new music (and who doesn’t?), you might’ve found that they can be a bit off-key with your preferences – particularly if you stray from the mainstream. But a search engine called imilar Song Finder is specifically designed to help you create Spotify playlists based on your favorite song of the moment. We tried it with a couple of songs, and it goes to the top of the list – no deep cuts or obscure references. A solid and elegant “if-this-then-that” tool. Great for creating “mood” playlists and finding reference songs when trying to zero in on the perfect music for brand videos or TV spots.
DESIGN WE ❤️
Soren Iverson’s “unhinged” app features
Ever wish you could get a discount if you maintained a conversation with your Uber driver for the whole ride? Yeah, us either. But this idea has been visualized into a product screen mockup, along with many others, by California based designer, Soren Iverson. He uses his skills as a product designer to realistically show outlandish features on apps we use every day, like nepotism based job promotions on LinkedIn, or showing your next Tinder date in virtual reality.
What we love about Iverson’s work is that it holds up a mirror to our fallible human behavior in the context of our tech dependent society, but does so in a brilliant and very funny way.
BEEP BOOP
“You’re gonna have you come in on Saaaturday”: New study reveals that 43% of employees have about five extra tasks beyond their job descriptions – amounting to 104 extra working hours a year. It’s called “Boundary Blurring.”
X is SUCH a bummer: A study finds that logging onto X/Twitter leads to an immediate drop in positive emotions and an immediate surge in outrage. So why do it?
A fairy tale eclipse: Before humans knew why eclipses happened, they blamed it on cosmic serpents, demon warriors, and other made-up celestial miscreants. That’s because humans have a strong aversion to ambiguity.
Lonely? Try this creepy little AI doll It doesn’t just talk, it responds, reminds you to do things, and probably monetizes the shit out of your data. Maybe take a cooking class instead.
SPECIAL FEATURE
Dr. Robert Cialdini’s six principles of persuasion
True persuasion comes from establishing trust and common ground between parties. Here are six principles any brand can use to help establish that with their audiences:
- Reciprocity is gift-giving. If someone does something nice for you, naturally you are inclined to do something nice for them.
- Commitment and consistency are about building trust. As humans, we like predictability and being able to rely on someone or something.
- Social proof is feeling affirmed by others. If someone is leading and has already proved something is safe or sound, others are more likely to follow.
- Authority is demonstrating credibility through experience or expertise. As Aristotle demonstrated, people like to receive influence from those they deem credible.
- Liking is building rapport. People are more likely to adhere to a request coming from someone they admire.
- Scarcity is being valuable or rare. Naturally, people are motivated by things that are unique and valuable.
WORD TO THE WISE
Ice Cream & Advertising (A Parable)
La Heladeria Coromoto is an ice cream shop that holds the Guinness Record for having the most flavors of ice cream: 870.
“However, if you brought 100 people together and told them they could choose any flavor from the menu as long as they all chose the same flavor, something strange would happen. The group of 100 would decide on either vanilla or chocolate. Out of 870 flavors, when you put them to the test, the group would decide invariably on the world’s most common. That’s what happens when groups make decisions. In ice cream and advertising. Someone doesn’t like nuts. Mint makes someone sick. Someone says pink ice cream stains. One by one, flavors are axed. Unexpected disappear. Let’s trys vanish. Squiggles straighten. Odds get evened. Raised eyebrows are lowered. That’s how we all wind up with vanilla. Yum.”
Courtesy of George Tannenbaum, Founder of George & Co.
ICEBREAKER
What person would you consider to be your biggest influence in this profession?
Peter: Jerry Torchia was a professor who was incredibly smart and nicknamed The Prince of Darkness. He was also incredibly fair. No creative director I’ve ever had in my career was as intimidating as Jerry, and he set me up for success in a way I’ve never stopped appreciating.
Melissa: Gah. This is hard to pick. I could easily say Todd Anthony – as he runs his company the way I would run mine if I had one… However, that would be too brown-nosey. So, I will say Michael Litchfield. He was my creative director at Doremus and taught me more about the interactive space, video, and selling creative than anyone.
John: There are a number of people that influenced and mentored me as I built my career . It’s difficult to place one above any other – creative directors Jon Anderson, Jim Curl, Mark Schaer and Todd Anthony, to name a few, all taught me something different and valuable. But two disciplines were common to them all: pushing and iterating far beyond the low hanging fruit, then knowing how to present and sell your hard work.
Sarah: Jason Gaboriau was kickin’ ass over at Cliff Freeman when I met him back in 1999 – just a few years before he started Amalgamated. He mentored me, taught me to be brave in the trenches of NYC creative departments, and consoled me after my first agency layoff.
Laura: Laura Belgray. Genius and truly funny writer – copy and otherwise. She’s so good, she makes people think they can be her. But there’s only one. Was lucky to attend her mastermind a few years ago, and I use something I learned there almost every day.
Marielle: Colleagues I didn’t admire inspired me as much as those I did. They’re the ones who taught me who I didn’t want to be. But one boss, Gerry Spratt, is the most inspiring embodiment of what I DO want to be like professionally: thoughtful, considerate, savvy, and kind, in addition to being shrewd and strategic. Just knowing this is possible empowers me to only say yes to working with people I admire.
Todd: John Crankshaw was my first creative director at McCann. A short, wiry, balding British chap in his 50s who smoked incessantly, drank straight vodka, and looked 70. Walking behind him on the street one day he turned around, stared me dead in the eye, and blurted, “Never lose your humanity, Todd. It’s what will make you great.” Then turned and continued walking. And that has been my guiding principle ever since.
