News Media Lays Egg With Duck Dynasty Coverage; Social Media Steps to New Lows

  Will somebody tell me why major news media outlets are hosting ‘experts’ to continuously debate the “rights” of Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson??

I’ll tell you why-or rather, if only because nobody at CNBC  knew how to put the issue into real perspective: its because Duck Dynasty has in just one year, become a $400 million annual revenue business. That’s right, the real story, not the reality TV version, is that the brouhaha that has since taken over any remaining intellect on the part of CNN’s programming team, is about money. Do-Re-Me. $400 million a year’s worth.

It is not about any so-called debate as to whether Phil Robertson’s constitutional rights have been violated; A&E, the network that airs this modern version of Beverly Hills Hillbillies, is a corporation whose business is business. Like any other entertainment company, they pay for content that entertains, but they reserve the right to cancel those payment agreements if they, in their sole determination, determine it is not in their best business interest to continue to broadcast said content. This happens when too many members of the audience voice their displeasure and protest, and in turn, causes sponsors/advertisers to cancel their agreements in conformance with standard clauses.

Let’s put this into perspective. The Ducksters attract the world’s biggest retailer’s audience. We’re talking about Walmart.  Walmart is the store du jour every day of the week for a vast majority of our country’s underemployed, “economically-disenfranchised” and financially-challenged. This includes a vast population of rednecks such as the personas the Robertson family works hard at emulating. Along the way, their raking in $400 million a year (or at least their ‘brand’ is courtesy of multiple licensing, advertising and sponsorship deals on top of merchandising deals).

Which brings me back to the opening rhetorical: why are seemingly intelligent news organizations dedicating so much air time to this issue, and more important, why are they framing it as if A&E’s corporate decision should be misconstrued for being anything more than a corporate decision?

Is it because programming execs are focused on maintaining the highest standards of journalism, and reporting stories that have a meaningful impact on society? Do these media czars really and truly believe that this issue even deserves consideration for being a ‘constitutional rights’ debate?  Help me by emailing me and telling me this can’t be true.

Or, have the lunatics taken over the asylum and we can attribute this latest insert into the news cycle for the latest rendition of an industry that is merely focused on serving up crap that advertisers are happy to underwrite, simply because the diners are zombies who happen to like eating crap and the other low-priced items those advertisers happen to sell?

By the way, the Ducksters and the folks at A&E are salivating because this ‘incident’ has just added a 2x factor to the value of the Duck Dynasty franchise. The major news networks will simply be remembered for their irresponsibility for profiling this most current example of human stupidity, while the Ducksters laugh all the way to the bank.

News Media Lays Egg With Duck Dynasty Coverage; Social Media Steps to New Lows

CEO-Centric Social Media Bootcamps; R U Clueless in the C-Suite Cubicle?

Courtesy of today’s WSJ, reporter Melissa Korn regurgitates an earlier story re: bootcamps for corporate bosses who, despite their leadership roles,  remain clueless about social media technologies and best practices–whether blogging, tweeting or how to position yourself properly and leverage social networks.

Excerpts from the WSJ story below..the bold/italicized comment is the take-away–and one that every/any C-Suiter should subscribe to:

“….Boardroom commanders are being assigned to basic training….Fearful their companies will fall behind because top bosses don’t have a firm grasp of technology or digital media, senior managers are taking lessons on how the Internet works….

Some firms are pairing individual leaders with young mentors, while others are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to teach the entire c-suite how to use social tools that most of their entry-level employees use without a second thought…

The goal isn’t for the CEO to parse the difference between a “like” and “share” on Facebook or take a spin on the company Twitter TWTR -3.60% account, though that is covered, too. Rather, instructors and managers say, a basic understanding of the digital landscape helps leaders make better decisions about what to invest in, as well as how to talk about it…” 

Below video provides insight courtesy of a “young-in” whose business is teaching grey-beards the ropes. Click here for the WSJ article

CEO-Centric Social Media Bootcamps; R U Clueless in the C-Suite Cubicle?

Bitcoin Accepted Here!

   Its official, JLC Group, the corporate marketing, branding and advisory to disruptive thought-leaders is now accepting Bitcoin in connection with payment for services, or if you simply want to send us some.

Yes, those of you who remain skeptical re: use of bitcoin in lieu of government issued currency are justified for wanting to wait until bitcoins become ubiquitous, i.e. when PayPal creates a means to transact with bitcoin, or when FaceBook Bank opens for business (the latter is an idea that we proposed last year, but has not yet resonated with FB execs), or when Jeff Bezos bites into the bitcoin apple.

All of that said, we like to be part of first-mover movements, particularly those that exhibit all of the signs of disrupting (in a positive way) the way in which do business. We were one of the first to extol the use of Google when it was still a garage project,  we were a first-wave wonk re LinkedIn’s march to fame and fortune, and we’ve been way ahead of the curve when it comes to embracing video applications as a means of enhancing brand awareness and corporate value propositions.

Caveat: We don’t recommend speculating in bitcoins the way some folks speculate in FX or futures trading. That’s a fool’s errand!

 

Bitcoin Accepted Here!

Awareness Strategy of The Day: Short, Subliminal Bursts

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/02/business/media/mob-city-uses-twitter-to-build-suspense-for-a-premiere.html?ref=todayspaper

From the “How To Create Awareness Today and Now” department, today’s news bulletins point to 2 unrelated stories aka case studies from New York Times reporter Andrew Adam Newman [Building Suspsene on Twitter for A Television Show About the Mob]  and WSJ’s Farhad Manjoo’s piece “Why Everyone Will Totally Read This…”

Before you click on either of above, the take-away is that both articles coincidentally profile “this week’s weapon of choice” for today’s “Awareness Creators.”Both also profile derivative forms of what this blogger suggests is a time-proven, “before-there-were-neuroscientists” narrative/story telling approach.

Tag-lines are out; in-vogue are tactics that leverage multiple mediums (traditional, new, digital and social media) and deliver “short-burst” messages over a series of days (i.e. single frames from a film clip, using Twitter to link to upcoming scripts of a widely-promoted TV show (i.e.AMC’s upcoming “Mob City”), or a series of 15 second video vignettes that are ‘episodes’ that tell a story that subliminally promotes a brand

Regardless of the specific weapon of choice, the objective is to assault the target audience with a string of increasingly intriguing (short!) messages such that each subsequent ‘hit’ leads to increasing degrees of recall and resonance..such that your audience, desperate to know “what’s next” proactively seeks you out. That folks is a Holy Grail for the current Madmen Generation.

Awareness Strategy of The Day: Short, Subliminal Bursts

How to Create Awareness: Social Networks Marry Uber-Rich With Investment Opportunities

Courtesy of Liz Moyer, WSJ (excerpt) :

“..A new breed of social investment networking is popping up, with the aim of helping wealthy suitors and private-business owners meet up and pair off. Call them matchmakers for the deal market. What the networks do best is give buyers and sellers the rough equivalent of a well-lit meeting place for a first encounter. The networks are generally open to “accredited” investors, typically those with an annual income of at least $200,000 or $1 million in investible assets..”

Firms such as Axial.net, Zanbato and FDX Capital are catering to deep-pocketed investors looking to buy majority stakes in closely held firms by introducing investors to business owners seeking that kind of long-term investment commitment. Zanbato and FDX opened their doors in the past year or so, while Axial was formed in 2010.

Zanbato’s network, Zanbato Sutter, launched in the spring. It connects about 800 wealthy families, as well public pensions and sovereign-wealth funds, with potential deals in real estate, media and other sectors. The firm, in Mountain View, Calif., charges investors a fee based on the size of a completed deal, says Nico Sand, its chief executive.

Here’s the link to the WSJ story

How to Create Awareness: Social Networks Marry Uber-Rich With Investment Opportunities

Corporate Brand Burnishing 101: #Citi Sings For Lunch with Man-in-The-Mirror

As reported in the WSJ weekend edition, what better way for Citibank to burnish its brand and show its humanity than to have its London-based bankers and traders perform their acoustical skills by singing a heart-rendering version of Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” on BBC’s hit competition TV show, “The Choir” ?

The Citibank Singers not only perform one of Michael Jackson’s best, but the performance by the CitiTroupe was apparently so compelling, clips from their performance are scheduled to be used in the opening of each segment of the show’s Season 2 (which premieres Mon Dec 2).

Ironically, BBC2′s website indicated that none of the promo clips for Season 2 were actually viewable online (yet), and as much as some might liken the snafu to less-than-customer-friendly experiences encountered when dealing with financial institutions (and/or with “healthcare.gov”), the clip to left offers great transparency (a quasi-popular phrase on Wall Street) i.e. the type of returns Citi staffers deliver when prompted to sing for their lunch.
For the full story, click here to be redirected and watch the clips, 

Thought-Leadership Requires Thought & Leadership: Excellence Awards Go To Excellent Folks

Well-demonstrated by a short list of Wall Street women recently awarded for their excellence and contributions to their respective organizations and to the communities they serve.  We’re proud to be associated with one such winner.

Thought-Leadership Requires Thought & Leadership: Excellence Awards Go To Excellent Folks

Advanced Branding: Story Tellers Rule The World

Caleb Ferguson for The New York Times
Dave Goldberg, left, Shane Snow and Joe Coleman founded Contently, which aims to be the “anticontent farm.”[/caption]

Kudos to NY Times’ David Karr re yesterday’s article profiling upstart company Contently, and narrowcasting on the increasing trend on the part of companies to disintermediate their intermediary media companies by creating [in-house] story-telling-style content and delivering this well-proven, brand value strategy directly to the consumer.

So as not to infringe on the NY Times copyrighted story , below are the excerpted “take-aways”:

“..At a time when advertising is achieving diminishing returns and public relations has trouble breaking through, companies are learning the value of putting their names around — but not in the middle — of memorable stories.”

“..In 1947, General Electric had an in-house reporter telling the company’s stories — a guy named Kurt Vonnegut.”

“…the bar has been raised by companies like Red Bull, whose incredibly popular extreme sports videos almost make it seem like a media company that sells beverages on the side..”

Call it “brand positioning” or call it “spinning”, companies who aspire to innovate need to pull no punches and understand  the art (and science) of telling stories as a means to ingratiate your targeted audience is a critical component to your overall brand messaging strategy.

This self-acclaimed expert re topic of spinning strongly advocates the successful and time-tested use of  compelling story-telling as a means to inspire and influence your audience to respond to your story accordingly.

Kurt Vonnegut might have pioneered this corporate branding strategy for GE, but to truly appreciate how a good story can have a meaningful impact your audience is to consider the success of The Bible.

Advanced Branding: Story Tellers Rule The World

Citibank's New Strategy: Cozy-Up to Customers; A Case Study

Thanks in part to the “financial crisis of 2008″…whose after-affects remain resonant in the minds and real lives of millions of people, this iconic brand has been the subject of countless critiques and criticism, including the re-purposing of their corporate name from Citibank to “Sh*%tyBank” by certain fun-loving anti-brand protagonists who believe that major banks care only about their bottom lines, and least of all, the consumers they exploit .

Even this blogger has, up until recently, been in the camp that decries the big banks that rest on the fine print that can’t be deciphered, and does everything to squeeze as much money as they can from the millions who have few alternatives re: credit card services. Until that is, last night, when I had an encounter via phone with a Citibank rep in connection with a notice I received about a credit pending to my account with regard to a Citi-promoted credit protection service I had apparently subscribed to during the 2000-2004 period.

The phone number included in the mailing directed me to a lovely lady who answered with “Hi, I’m Cathy xxx (no need to broadcast her last name here)…”I’m your Citi representative based here in Orlando, Florida and I’m here to help you..”

1. The Citi script was perfect..it provided subliminal comfort by immediately informing me I was speaking with someone here in the US (when one typically finds themselves speaking with an outsourced call center staffer with less-than perfect grasp of English and located in a different hemisphere) and their mission was to help me.

2. Before I could fully pose my query in connection with the notification, “Cathy” had my entire Citi history dispalyed on a screen in front of her, and immediately told me why I was calling and explained that I would be receiving a credit to my account that very evening.

3. After that’ business’ was concluded, Cathy offered to address any other concerns I might have. So, I figured that I should raise the issue of the usurious interest rate that seemed to be stuck to my corporate credit card account for the past 5 years. Cathy placed me on hold for 2 minutes and then came back on line, this time with her associate “Angela (whose last name is not necessary to post on the internet), who introduced herself in the same way Cathy did and told me where she was located (Atlanta).In less than 5 minutes, Angela advised me that she was authorized to reduce my annual interest rate by 30%, a change that if accepted, would be implemented immediately.

I had actually attempted to secure the same type of reduction for each of the past 4 years, with barely a budge in the rate.  Angela made me feel like a VIP and we proceeded to talk about sports teams and the weather in the northeast vs. southeast.  Bottom line? I had 2 different experiences with 2 different Citi employees in 2 different locations, working in 2 different departments. Both of those engagements left me with a warm and cozy feeling and I now tip my hat to Citi for flawless customer service.

 

Citibank's New Strategy: Cozy-Up to Customers; A Case Study

Dept of HHS ACA Website Snarl: PR Crisis Management Report Card: "D" For Just Plain Dumb

The media has convinced us all that Kathleen Sebelius, President Obama’s designated point person re the implementation of the government website to support the Affordable Care Act,  should be fired for failing to have taken a much more intelligent and well-informed approach to manage the design and roll out of the federal government ‘web portal’ intended to be used for signing up millions of Americans who need affordable healthcare.

After all, we all now know the roll-out hasn’t been simply ‘soft’, the snarled software project has increasingly becoming a harbinger of potentially much worse to come: the possible failure to sign up a minimum number of people required to prove the basic economic thesis of ACA.

This writer has been involved in multiple, enterprise-level technology initiatives over the past 20 years. Most have been related to the financial industry or the insurance industry. Mission critical stuff that has been the backbone to $ multi-billion industries.  The most important thing I learned is that software is called software for a reason, and this particular project is particularly complex when considering the the number of  independent federal and state government databases, as well as insurance company exchange member platforms that need to be linked and synced in order to make the platform work.

That said, when HHS Secretary says “we’re now going to bring in an A-team of technology experts to fix this..”, that’s when heads need to roll, starting with this Secretary–who along the way, has embarrassed herself by appearing on late night comedy talk shows.

Rule #1 re PR Crisis Management: Get out in front of the problem the moment it arises. DO NOT LET THE MEDIA MANIPULATE THE STORY WHILE YOU ARE TOO BUSY HOLDING INTERNAL STAFF MEETINGS DEBATING ON WHAT TO SAY TOMORROW IN RESPONSE TO YESTERDAY’S TWEETS.

Rule #1 re Leadership: DO NOT POINT FINGERS, DO NOT BURY YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND, DO NOT CLAIM TO BE “WAITING ON INTERNAL REPORTS THAT WILL IDENTIFY WHO SCREWED UP”…INSTEAD…YOU NEED TO MAKE AN EXECUTIVE PRO-ACTIVE DECISION AND IMMEDIATELY RECRUIT THE VERY MOST RESPECTED PROBLEM SOLVERS, REGARDLESS OF “ADDITIONAL COST”.

 

Dept of HHS ACA Website Snarl: PR Crisis Management Report Card: "D" For Just Plain Dumb

Financial Industry Marketing: A Social Media Video Lesson From World-Famous Hedge Fund Manager

Known for being secretive and stealth in the course of managing Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, Ray Dalio has been called many things; we know him for (among other things) being someone who embraces video, and uses this tool to extend a broad assortment of messages…including the one below that targets the universe of investors.

Sight, Sound and Motion…a time-tested tool that makes your message resonate.

Financial Industry Marketing: A Social Media Video Lesson From World-Famous Hedge Fund Manager

How The Economic Machine Works by Ray Dalio

Owning Stock in Pro Athletes & Celebs, Just Like Owning Shares in #GOOG!: Calling All Sponsors!

Calling all sponsorship agents!

As noted in today’s NYT DealBook story, start-up “Fantex Holdings” is a new trading exchange backed by executives from Silicon Valley, Wall Street and the sports world that can enable investors to buy and sell equity interests in professional athletes, and ultimately, entertainment industry celebrities. The vision is that investors can participate in the revenue generated by these individual ‘brands’ by virtue of owning stock in them.

[For those not familiar with the machinations of Wall Street, the inspiration to this concept comes from the 1990's, when a financial industry genius created "Bowie Bonds"--a bond issue that paid interest from current of future revenue of albums from rock star David Bowie..]

The latest iteration from Fantex (whose execs include a former West Point grad-turned megamillionaire after selling a software company for $600 mil, a former partner of VC firm Benchmark Capital, a former Goldman Sachs exec and now partner of hedge fund Glenview Capital  and a former technology wizard from E*Trade), envision Fantex as the ‘hub’ for IPOs and secondary market trading of ‘stocks’ whose underlying value is the revenue generated by the individual ‘brand’ celeb.   Sponsorship gurus will necessarily have an ‘axe’ in the equity value of the athletes, as its the sponsors who will serve as a primary source of revenue to that ‘brand’.

If the whole idea sounds convoluted and potentially subject to ‘gaming’, this “pontificator” says:

1. Brilliant Idea. I’d like to be the agent that is selling stock in those athletes.

2. When will Fantex facilitate selling shares in politicians? Once that happens, it will become a lobbyist’s wet dream.

3. Sounds like the SEC will have one more asset class to monitor. Rots of Ruck

 

 

Owning Stock in Pro Athletes & Celebs, Just Like Owning Shares in #GOOG!: Calling All Sponsors!

Sales/Marketing 101: Most Important Form of Communication? Listening!

You talk too much…particularly if your conversations find you speaking for more than 50% of the time.

This astute observation, reported in today’s weekend edition of the WSJ  by Rob Lazebnik (also a writer for “The Simpsons”) is courtesy of Dr. Lynn Koegel, Clinical Director of the Koegel Autism Center at the University of California.

However much the article (and Koegel’s view) may be referencing every day, social setting interactions, it provides great insight for road warrior sales execs and marketing “gurus”–the folks who live to dominate a conversation until the audience waves a white flag of submission.

The same article also inspired an ironic smirk on the part of this blogger, who, in the course of providing consulting services to enterprises of different shapes and sizes–makes it a point to include mentoring sessions with respective clients’ “up-and-comers” and interns. Each of the introductory always starts with this talking head posing my audience with this [rhetorical] question: “What is the most important form of communication?”

Invariably, the answers from my ‘students’ include the3-4 pat responses indoctrinated by those top”B-schools”; with the most likely suspect answers being:  ”good eye contact”  ”speak clearly”, “appropriate body language.” As spotlighted by today’s WSJ, I argue those pat answers are wrong; Listening is the Most Important Form of Communication. Period.

Sales/Marketing 101: Most Important Form of Communication? Listening!

#TwitterIPO: #Marketers Battle #Bots; Investors Solicited to Buy Parkay or Margarine?

Today’s WSJ story by Tom Gara, “Twitter Users: Real or Fake?” leads this blogger to suggest that Mr. Gara might have tripped over this blogger’s recent tweets (and posts) that question the viability and integrity of Twitter’s advertising model-the key ingredient for those contemplating investing in the unprofitable company’s upcoming public offering.

Per the WSJ article, “An undetermined millions of Twitter’s 215 million  accounts (which is who advertisers target) are of questionable legitimacy..” The article suggests that 5% of Twitter’s “audience” are so-called “bots” –which are not human eyeballs, but merely artificially-created. We, along with industry experts, believe the real number of ‘fake users’ is upwards of 15%.

What’s the big deal? Well, the big deal is that brand marketers and advertisers are the bread and butter of Twitter’s business model. If many of the targeted audience are not really real people, where’s the beef for the business?

Reminding us of the iconic branding campaign courtesy of Parkay Margarine

#TwitterIPO: #Marketers Battle #Bots; Investors Solicited to Buy Parkay or Margarine?

Brand Valuation Metric for VCs: Your Start-Up's Social Media Presence

According to the WSJ, start-ups  seeking venture capital should know that the value of your aspiring brand is directly correlated to your presence on Twitter, FaceBook and other social media platforms.

The article included 10 basic rules for start-up marketing gurus, including “Rule #8: It’s better to have a huge following on one platform than to have a mediocre following on several.”

The article caused me to smirk, as the first thought that came to mind while reading the article and and simultaneously thinking about how Twitter and FB are so easily manipulated by robots, was Forrest Gump’s fav: “Stupid is As Stupid Does.”

During the better part of the past 20 years (starting well in advance of the “Internet Bubble”), this blogger has led various start-ups and has worked with a broad universe of VCs and private equity icons in the course evaluating multiple enterprises who sought (and still seek) to disrupt the norm with innovative approaches and cutting-edge technology.   I’ve huddled with prescient grey beards as well as a multitude of B-School geniuses, the latter of whom like to believe they know everything there is to know about..well..everything..And, that latter group is necessarily fixated on current trends and what’s next..often courtesy of their schoolmates who aspire to be the next Mark Zuckerberg.

I’ve also interfaced with more than a few corporate marketing execs who are responsible  for driving brand strategies for their respective companies…many of which are Fortune-level corporations.

For those who don’t know it, when  it comes to investing, the herd mentality (which is what the WSJ article profiled), sheep are influenced by what all of the other sheep are doing.  Because VCs are making bets on companies with significant social media presence (however fleeting that presence actually is), they could easily be using the same capital to day trade commodities..which are much more liquid.

 

 

 

 

Brand Valuation Metric for VCs: Your Start-Up's Social Media Presence

Militants & Dictators Buy In To Twitter IPO

Makes sense that the world’s best-funded anarchists are hoping to capitalize further on Twitter; according to un-named European and Mid-Eastern bankers and brokers, a bunch of them are lining up to buy into the upcoming Twitter IPO.

For those not already in the know, Twitter–which is still trying to figure out its product and revenue model to justify its entree into the favored-nation world of multi-billion-dollar-valuation tech companies—this social media weapon is not just “all the rage” among democratic nation politicos and the universe of celebs, pontificators and opinionators, Twitter is the propaganda tool of choice for a broad spectrum of road-raging dictators and evil-doers….

Did we forget to add: recent studies have determined that easily more than 10%–and perhaps as much as 20% of “tweets” are created by artificially-intelligent robots who churn out chum in a systematic fashion–with the obvious goal of both influencing and luring unsuspecting dolts who believe what they read.

Here’s a good news clip profiling “terror on twitter” ..For those who aspire to own a piece of the next big IPO, be careful what you wish for.

http://jn1.tv/video/news/terror-on-twitter-how-militants-turn-to-social-media.html

 

Militants & Dictators Buy In To Twitter IPO

#Native-Advertising: A Boon or a Boondoggle? Do Storytelling Ads Usurp The Fourth Estate (Journalism)?

Per today's insightful article by New York Times' reporter David Carr, product-placement techniques that have always been the rage within the framework of film/television (as well as selective use within novels) are permeating traditional journalism via "native advertising"(aka "sponsored content")--to the chagrin of among others, The Wonderfactory's Joe McCambley, the fellow credited with introducing the web's now ubiquitous application: banner advertising.

Similar to the notion of "narrative persuasion"--Carr spotlights  the "Fourth Estate" increasing trend towards delivering content that subliminally masks the ultimate agenda of articles that appear to be unbiased, but necessarily put a hopefully powerful spin in favor of the referenced product or service.

When the lines between advertising copy and journalism intersect, that's when audiences might/should cry "foul"---or so McCambley argues. Can you say "Pandora's Box" 5x times in rapid succession?

Ironically, the New York Times, along with Forbes Magazine and a roster of other mainstream news outlets, is now full steam ahead using this very strategy to serve its advertisers. Without intending to endorse advertisers that appear on the page, here's the link to the story:  

While you're at it, an informative (non-sponsored!) article re storytelling and narrative persuasion can be found by clicking this link.

Great News: We're Moving to a New Location

Thanks to my pals at Golpik.com--visit our new website at www.thejlcgroup.com~

Old School Ad Execs Sweat as Data Geeks Displace Them

With a sense of wry review to a reasonably interesting article in today's WSJ (by Suzanne Vranica and Christopher Stewart--one that profiles the certainly-changing advertising industry landscape, and the diminished roles of wannabe Don Draper-types, below is one of several dozen comments posted to the WSJ online version of the article:

Accusing the ad industry's embracement of technology for being the cause of the downfall of martini-drinking creative geniuses in the ad industry makes for a great story, but the lamenting by those profiled in the article, i.e. those who find themselves without a seat is part sour grapes and part "I'm in the 80-20 Club" mindset...i.e. those that thought punching a clock without being truly relevant was a ticket to that second home in Aspen.

To best frame my observations re: a good snapshot, I should first preface that I speak from perspective of someone who spends considerable time on the fringes of Don Drapper’s Madison Avenue—but only after a more-than 15-minute career within the bowels of Wall Street, where my role as a “exchange floor specialist” had me bringing buyers and sellers together.  That role has long since become “electronified” and to a great extent, very specific human tasks associated with that role have been diminished, and in many instances, extinct from human interaction.

As poignantly observed by one creative blogger’s posting immediately subsequent to the announced merger between Publicis and Omnicom, the CEO of Omnicom referenced the combination of these two firms akin to building the next NASDAQ Stock Market; which was actually a somewhat narrow view of how the advertising industry will likely evolve.

Two of the 2 dozen online comments posted below your website edition of today’s article—those made by Mssrs. John Hooper and Bill Brown-- were perhaps the most well-thought out.

Notwithstanding the evolution of the global equities markets, the role of those who provide marketplace insight has remained a critical component. Buyers responsible for allocating significant capital remain reliant on trusted relationships, albeit those folks now necessarily need to be equipped with metadata talking points; but the human relationship remains paramount.

The buying and selling of highly-commoditized products obviously lends itself to automation and “AI”. Mid-level ad buyers will deservedly need to re-tool or seek other roles; much of what they do is better done via transparent electronic platforms. But, the creation of compelling, response-inspiring ad content that must not only conform to microscopic-sized screens or 70-character shout-outs or single images, but actually convert the viewer into an on-line shopper is, in this opinionator’s opinion, a holy grail that is still far from the reach of ET, AI or any other form of unearthly intelligence. The odds of someone introducing an insertable device that prompts delivering electronic messages to the brain that in turn, causes purchases to be made, are less slim than any AI will create crisp content that compels a call to action. Caveat: Simple phrases like “Buy this now, you schmuck! Because you deserve it!” will still inspire broad brand recall and the consumption of billions of dollars worth of burgers, cigarettes and booze.

The take-away: much like the way computer algorithms have become a defacto part of the financial market world of buying and selling, and much like similar tools and processes since embraced in other industries, the buying and selling of mid-level advertising placement budgets will be consigned to computers. The ability to deliver content that (I) creates recall and (ii) most importantly--converts into consumption within a new “Honey I Shrunk The Kids” landscape is wear the rubber will meet the road for those neuroscience-induced lab rats hiding behind quant guru pocket protectors. 

Delivering the right ad at the right time to the right place is as simple as securing an exclusive sponsorship deal with FB; tell me your story and why I should buy you within a 1 inch square space is not going to happen easily or quickly. And just as important, bulge bracket buyers—those allocating tens of zillions of dollars are always going to require a big fat, medium-rare steak..and ideally, front row seats at the next Knick game. The Advertising King is Dead, Long Live the King. 

P.S. Facebook actually doesn’t seem to have ‘exclusive sponsorship’ opportunities—such as a flower industry sponsored call to action that any marketing guru would expect to appear within the same ‘alert notification’ that’s displayed when  your mom, your daughter, your wife, your girlfriend, your mistress is about to celebrate a birthday or other occasion. “Today is your mom’s birthday—click here for the Facebook Endorsed Florist—It’s Low-Priced and High Quality!”… Trust me when I suggest that a computer can’t come up with that idea and a computer can’t pitch it to the knuckleheads at FB that think they’ve now got their mojo in mobile. 

       

Jay Berkman

JLC Group

Blogger Scoops Ad Industry MegaMerger; #Omnicom Chief Likens Ad Business Model to #Nasdaq

Hiding in plain site 2 days ago (Saturday afternoon's NYT digital version), we noticed a blurb/ brief mention of what was obviously the biggest merger in the history of the ad industry. Somewhat surprised that this blogger was the first to 'tweet' it, and even more surprised that the story didn't make the Saturday evening news or the following Sunday morning newspapers, we figured that Perry White must have been on holiday in the Hamptons.

Seems we were right on both counts. Omnicom and Publicis Groupe's plan to marry is the MadMen Industry's biggest event since...well certainly since Darrin Stevens took over McMann & Tate and Samantha blinked Tabatha to walk on the moon for a Kodak commercial..

After senior editors and reporters returned from their summer weekend, the 2 day old story appeared on this a.m.'s NYT front page, but only because WSJ cub reporter Jimmy Olsen apparently sent his girlfriend and NYT columnist Lois Lane a txt msg that read: "Ad Industry Merger: "Market Moving to NASDAQ Model" Says Designated Madmen Mogul.".

And the rest, they say, "is history" [in the making]. Jimmy Olsen will undoubtedly be charged by a joint task force led by Eric Holder and Preet Bharara for disclosing insider information. Lois Lane can be expected to be arraigned later today for conspiracy to disclose confidential information that Nasdaq has already negotiated to acquire the merged entity after the merger passed muster with the FTC...

The SEC of course has already put out a statement : "We've heard nothing, we've seen nothing and we know nothing ...about any disclosure of non public information involving any of these very public companies...." An SEC spokesman added (without being authorized to speak or think), "If Nasdaq has actually played a role in bringing these two ad agencies together in anticipation of acquiring that new entity so they could dominate the buying and selling of ad placements via an electronic market...well..that sounds good to me!"

Boon-Time for Marketing Gurus: Business Owners Are Planning Marketing Blitzes After SEC Action on Unregistered Shares

Today's WSJ Small Business column does a good follow-up re yesterday's post re SEC embracing the JOBS Act..

As a result, some entrepreneurs with businesses ranging from ride-sharing apps to portable farms (to hedge funds!) say they're planning marketing blitzes that they hope will help them reach the right target audiences of potential investors. Under consideration: putting investment offers on billboards and even printing them on T-shirts.

"Whoever has the slickest ads will make the most money here," says Heath Abshure, president of the North American Securities Administrators Association.

Enough said. Until of course, there is a proliferation of frauds and scams--situations that the SEC has little ability to prevent before it happens; best evidenced by the Madoff scandal.

Hedge Fund Advertising Strategies Uplifted by SEC

We told you so..(8 months ago!)..
In connection with last year's passing of the JOBS Act, today the SEC is expected to officially approve a new rule that would ease 80 years of advertising restrictions on ways that hedge funds and other companies seeking to raise money through private offerings.
 


The rule would ease 80 years of advertising restrictions that help ensure small investors aren’t lured into taking inappropriate risks. Under the new rule, startups and other small companies would also be able to use advertising to raise unlimited amounts of money.

“It changes the whole paradigm of who you can talk to,” said Brian J. Lane, a former division director at the SEC and now a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Washington. “Hedge funds will benefit because they have the most restrictions on their ability to communicate more broadly about different funds coming to market.”

The rule affects how companies raise money through private offerings, which are exempt from requirements to publicly report financial statements. Private offers are restricted to wealthy investors, who are considered better positioned to understand the risks of investing with less information.

For the full story from Bloomberg LP, please click here

Memo to Corporate CEO's & CMO's: Why FB Bought Vine: Because Its ALL About VIDEO, Stupid!

For you corporate chiefs and marketing czars who somehow missed the most poignant and succinct explanations [courtesy of more than a few Fortune CMO's and global branding experts] with regard to this week's Facebook Incs (NASDAQ:FB) purchase of Vine, and the strategy to incorporate that video toolkit into Instagram--here it is, in a nutshell--courtesy of the smartest marketer in the world (SMITW):

"Its all about video. Any corporate executive, any entrepreneurial leader of a fast growth company, any senior capo of a B2B enterprise, whether within the financial services space, the legal industry, the accounting industry, the professional services industry, or anyone advising executives who strive to distinguish themselves among the clutter needs to understand that if you are not delivering a corporate message via video, whether its 16 seconds, 60 seconds, or 90 seconds--you've outlived your usefulness to your organization."

You'll notice that above comment included 'financial services'..for you sell-side investment bank and brokers, buy-side investment managers and advisers, and let's not forget all of you fast-paced hedge fund marketers who need to spend the next year or so wrapping your arms around compliance issues before shining a brighter light on your value proposition--here's a news flash that isn't being repeated on CNBC: You've already been 'lapped' by competitors who are already on their 3rd iteration of videos in which their company executives and staff are shining brightly on a video screen near you--and one that's presumably nearer to the clients that you would like to impress.

Case study courtesy of NorthStar Financial, one of the financial advisory industry's most recognized brands: Not only did the folks at this Omaha-based, "Land of Buffet" financial behemoth  figure out the power of video messaging well ahead of their peers, this multi-legged enterprise, which serves a broad spectrum of registered investment advisors (RIAs) created a captive digital media production company (Advisor Studios) to punch out compelling B-rolls for RIAs and the assortment of other NorthStar clients and strategic partners who want to step up their branding and marketing.

Below is an illustration of the latest B-roll to come out of Advisor Studios..a great B2B piece that was produced and edited with more than solid skills.

And, Yes, for you skeptics that don't swallow endorsements or testimonials easily, there certainly might be more video production firms to choose from than there are pizza parlors and donut shops. That doesn't mean they are all as good as Advisor Studios--or--for those in the New York tri-state area, we have 2 favs--Simba Productions and MediaPlace

Your Web Display Ads: Not Displayed?!

Courtesy of WSJ reporter Suzanne Vranica..

The old adage in advertising—that half the money is wasted but no one knows which half—turns out to be as true for the digital world as it ever was for traditional media.

An astounding 54% of online display ads shown in "thousands" of campaigns measured by comScore Inc. between May of 2012 and February of this year weren't seen by anyone, according to a study completed last month.

Don't confuse "weren't seen" with "ignored." These ads simply weren't seen, the result of technical glitches, user habits and fraud.

The finding implies that billions of marketing dollars are being poured down a digital drain. Last year, $14 billion was spent on online display advertising, estimates eMarketer, 40% of all online ad spending.
Advertisers can blame both technical snafus and more nefarious factors for ads going nowhere. Technical issues include ads being displayed on part of a browser not open on a computer screen—such as when an ad appears at the bottom of the screen and surfers don't scroll down. Another problem: Some ads load so slowly that the Web surfer switches off before the ad comes up, says comScore.

And then there is fraud. A significant number of display-ad "impressions" often paid for by marketers are based on fake traffic. Malicious software makes a website think a person is actually on a page and ads are served up to that fake visitor. In other scams, ads show up on several Web pages but they are hidden behind a window on a website that is the size of a pencil point, according to comScore.

For the full article, please visit the WallStreet Journal via this link

The Dark Art of #HedgeFund Marketing: Shine Light on What You Do..Duh!

Courtesy of Bruce Frumerman



Editor Note: Marketing and Communication techniques for hedge funds are often no different than the techniques other service-centric businesses need to focus on. Its all about differentiating yourself from competitors and developing messages that distinguish yourself and ones that are clear, crisp and easy-to-grasp. We don't often profile 'competitors' in our posts, but we're happy to make an exception in the case of this simple, but important tutorial for masters of the universe who often believe what they are saying makes sense...even if their audience remains confused.

Have you taken notice of what SEI reports in 6 Ways Hedge Funds Need To Adapt Now, which addresses what it takes to succeed in the hedge fund business today? This sixth annual global survey of institutional hedge fund investors, with insights from roundtables with industry experts, reports that the key challenges hedge fund firm owners face today include the need to be able to demonstrate a sustainable edge and a clear value added, and to have business and marketing acumen.

SEI notes that seven out of ten institutional investors responding to its survey complained that “there are too many look-alike strategies in the hedge fund industry today.” Investors are not just looking for absolute returns, but for “differentiated alpha sources” that can produce non-correlated returns.
But, it is not enough for hedge funds to distinguish themselves in terms of their pedigree, talent, strategies, and performance, SEI observes. They need to “clearly articulate their investment process, and explain what makes their results repeatable (not to mention worth the fees they are asking).”

At too many hedge fund firms the owners never put the full detail of their hedge funds’ investment process stories in print. Verbal elaboration at an initial sales meeting to explain what your flip chart bullet points were meant to convey is not going to be remembered four or fourteen months down the road when a family office, institutional investor or wealth management firm may be getting around to discussing your fund and a few others with similar performance and risk characteristics. This often results in coming across as a commodity-like investment choice rather than a differentiated hedge fund with a value-added portfolio management approach.

Hedge fund marketing materials should make it easy for investors to conduct their due diligence. Too often they do not. While the pitchbook is the right tool for communicating data-based information (charts, graphs and numbers) it is the wrong leave-behind marketing tool for delivering a compelling and detailed explanation of investment process, which is text based content. An additional marketing collateral sales tool is required

For the entire article (which links to Frumerman's firm), please click here to FinAlternatives

Corporate Comics Update: Honest-Tea, It Works!

Using comic-book style elements within corporate collateral is a branding approach that we've profiled more than once..Lo and behold, Honest Tea's co-founder Seth Goldman, a Yale graduate, is applying his smarts to a proven method by telling his corporate story with pictures..

Here's the excerpt from today's NY Times snapshot courtesy of Elizabeth Olson:

WHEN it was building its brand, the beverage maker Honest Tea stayed off the conventional marketing grid, opting for samplings, recycling events and word of mouth to reach its audience. Now the company’s founders are taking an alternate route to telling a button-down corporate history and are instead laying out their story, warts and all, in the pictorial form of a comic book.

“People ask me if it’s a graphic novel, and I say that it’s graphic, but not a novel,” said the Honest Tea co-founder Seth Goldman. Together with Barry Nalebuff, who was his professor while at the Yale School of Management, the two are sharing their company-building lessons in illustrated panels that track the brand’s start in 1998 — and its many missteps and near disasters — through to the flourishing company that was bought in 2011 by Coca-Cola. 

To lay out the dozen years of Honest Tea’s ups and downs before that point, Mr. Goldman borrowed an idea from something he loved doing with his three sons — reading comic books. He wanted to illustrate the company’s story, and persuaded Mr. Nalebuff, who has written five other books, to come aboard. 

A Revolutionary Marketing Strategy: Answer Customers’ Questions..Duh!

Excerpt from NYT Feb 27 column profiling small business entrepreneur's winning approach to winning customers. Compelling for anyone that claims to have the holy grail directional GPS..
Hats off to reporter Mark Cohen!

Q. Take us back. How did you save your company?

A. I just started thinking more about the way I use the Internet. Most of the time when I type in a search, I’m looking for an answer to a specific question. The problem in my industry, and a lot of industries, is you don’t get a lot of great search results because most businesses don’t want to give answers; they want to talk about their company. So I realized that if I was willing to answer all these questions that people have about fiberglass pools, we might have a chance to pull this out.

Q. What was the first question you answered?

A. The question I was always asked within the first two minutes of talking to customers was, How much does a fiberglass pool cost? Pool installers are like mattress or car dealers — we hate talking about how much a pool costs until we have you in person because there are so many options and accessories we want to sell you. As a result, pool companies never mention price on their Web sites. But I said, I don’t care what the question is, we’re going to answer it.

Q. Did you actually tell people the price of a pool?

A. No — because I couldn’t. But see, that’s the magic behind this. Google’s search engine doesn’t really care if we answer the question. It’s just looking for companies that are willing to address the question. So I said in that article, there are a ton of options, so it depends, the price can range anywhere from $20,000 to $200,000 and a lot of our customers end up between $40,000 and $80,000. And that was enough. Within about 24 hours of writing that article, it was No. 1 for every fiberglass-pool, cost-related phrase you could possibly type in. And because I have analytics, so far to this day, I’ve been able to track a minimum of $1.7 million in sales to that one article.

Q. What was the next question?

A. People used to ask me all the time, “Marcus, I’ve been hearing that fiberglass pools have all sorts of problems and issues. So what are the problems and issues?” Of course, they’d been talking to a concrete pool guy, but it doesn’t matter where they got it, now they have the question. So we wrote an article about the problems with fiberglass pools and specifically came right out and said: Here are the issues. Here are the benefits. You decide. Now, when you go in and type anything about fiberglass issues and problems, you’re going to see the River Pools Web site and you’re going to think, “Oh my gosh, these guys are so honest.”

Q. Anything else?

A. In most industries, there comes a time in the sale process where the customer turns to you and says, “O.K., I like you, but who are some of the other good companies that do this?” Half the time it’s a test, because people know who our competitors are because they can find them in .5 seconds online. Most contractors avoid the question. They say, “Oh, we don’t really have competition.” But because I was asked that question so often, I decided to answer it. I wrote a blog post about the best swimming pool builders in Richmond, Va., one of our main service areas.

Q. Where were you on the list?

A. I wasn’t on it.

Q. You weren’t?

A. No, because the moment I put my name up there I would lose all my credibility. But here’s the thing. Take the first company on the list, Pla-Mor Pools, a top competitor of ours. If you type in, “Pla-Mor Pools reviews Richmond, Va.,” which of course people do all the time when they’re vetting a company, what comes up? Me! You vet all my competitors, now I’m showing up for all their key words. If you really want to understand the power of inbound marketing, it comes down to this idea: I want to have the conversation at my house.

Q. Once you wrote a blog post, how much time did you spend promoting it on Twitter and Facebook?

A. I didn’t. Dude, that one article on price has never been tweeted. It’s never been Facebooked. I’m not saying social media doesn’t help, but it’s nowhere near what people think. The only metric that really matters is total pages viewed. Here’s a statistic for you: If somebody reads 30 pages of my River Pools Web site, and we go on a sales appointment, they buy 80 percent of the time. The industry average for sales appointments is 10 percent. So, our whole marketing campaign revolves around getting people to stick around and read our stuff, because the longer they stay on our site, the greater the chance they’re going to fall in love with our company.

Q. What do you say to business owners who say they don’t know what to blog about?

A. That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard, and I hear it a lot. What they should be doing is just listening to every single question they get and answering it. In my consulting business the first thing we do is brainstorm what questions the company gets on a regular basis. I’ve never had a company come up with less than 100 questions in 30 minutes.

Q. How do you suggest companies find time to do all of this blogging?

A. Most of the time, they can take the employees they already have talking to customers and turn them into content producers. If you have 25 salespeople, and each one of them writes one post a month, your search is going to be through the roof because that’s a new piece of content every day.

Q. How have your competitors responded to all of this?

A. They still don’t really get it. They’re nice about it. I’ll have one of my best-pool-builder lists come out, and I’ll run into them. And they’ll say, “Hey, man, thanks for including me in that list. I’m not sure why you did it, but thanks.”

#Blogging With #Video, Hoping to Go #Viral : Media Training 101--How to Appear on The Small Screen

Since this blogger has remained an outspoken advocate of using video to extend a message since, well, since soon after this blog launched 8 years ago, today's very-nicely written piece courtesy of Kate Murphy, New York Times deserves a hat's off. For marcom czars advising wing-tip clients (and entrepreneurs), here are the take-aways for those who have embraced video messaging..but may not be doing it just right.

Caveat-the article is geared towards those who hope to create a viral effect after uploading their elements to YouTube. But the take-aways below should be equally useful to those creating corporate sizzles..

It boils down to narcissism. If you’re an aspiring video blogger, remember, it’s not about you, it’s about who is watching you. Be conscious and considerate of your audience and its needs, rather than getting mired in your own egotism or insecurity. (It’s good advice for life but essential to making quality video.)

Of course you want to have a decent camera. “If you have an iPhone or Android phone, you pretty much do,” said Eddie Codel, a video consultant in San Francisco, who produces content mostly for corporate clients. A hand-held video camera is nice and offers more features and flexibility, but your smartphone is fine. The only additional equipment you might consider is a separate lavaliere or lapel microphone ($100-$200) for clearer audio. And if there isn’t enough ambient light to illuminate your face, spring for a clamp lamp ($10-$20) that you can find at most hardware stores. No one wants to watch you talking in the dark like someone in a witness protection program. For a flattering glow, Mr. Codel suggested putting wax paper in front of the lamp to diffuse the light. 

If you can’t communicate in an interesting, entertaining, energetic way — I don’t care how much education you have, how brilliant you are, how many degrees you have — it’s going to be painful to watch you,” said Karen Melamed, a television producer and online video consultant in Los Angeles. “Dr. Phil is not on TV because he’s the best therapist in the world, and Paula Deen is not the best chef in the world. They are good performers.” 

Positioning Your Presentation & Communicating Your Message: Story-Telling 101

Courtesy of LeadershipIQ's Mark Murphy--one of my very favorite gurus:

There isn’t a presenter alive that doesn’t want their audience absolutely riveted; sitting on the edge of their seats with rapt attention. Yet, the reality in most presentations is that the audience is sitting back, kind of relaxed and spacing in and out.
Here Leadership IQ CEO and best-selling author, Mark Murphy, shares some ways anyone can deliver a killer presentation.

Q: You say storytelling is a critical element in delivering killer presentations that really catch and keep an audience’s attention. How does that work?

MM: It’s all about dopaminergic response. Basically, when something really interesting, like a good story, happens, the brain starts to light up. And if the story is really exciting, the amygdala gets involved (that’s what you want) and says, “Wow! This is fascinating stuff! I’ve got to start activating some of the other chemicals in the brain—we’ve got to pay close attention to this!” So it goes and starts activating dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter for highly pleasurable things, highly attentive things.

And whoa! Once dopamine gets involved people really start to pay attention. Plus dopamine helps sear whatever it is folks are experiencing (in this case, your killer presentation) into their memory so they don’t forget it. So a great story is a way of getting the brain to say, “I am really engaged with this. I don’t want to miss a word that’s being said here. I am going to remember every word I hear.”
Next time you’re listening to someone else’s presentation, pay attention and see if you experience any moments that leap out at you and just get seared into your brain. Where you walk out of there quoting something you just heard to everyone you run into that day. If you don’t have that kind of experience then it is likely that the person speaking didn’t get anywhere near activating anything beyond your prefrontal cortex. They didn’t get into your limbic system, and they certainly didn’t excite your amygdala.

Q: So what’s the secret to telling a great story that excites the amygdala?
MM: There are a number of different ways to tell stories that really get people’s attention. Here’s one that uses an unexpected twist. Imagine you began a presentation by saying, “Six months ago, we upgraded our servers. Our website visitor capacity doubled. Our website loading speed tripled. And our profits dropped by 80%.” You can do something like that. Take your audience in one direction and then all of a sudden take them in a totally different direction. That’s one of those things that will make people’s heads spin a bit and get them to think, “Wait a minute, did I just hear what I thought I heard? I better start listening more closely.” You can also tell stories that build an emotional connection or introduce a startling fact.

Q: What’s one big thing to avoid when giving a presentation?
MM: Narcissism. When you talk about others more than you talk about yourself, that’s good. But when you talk about yourself more than you talk about others, that’s bad. But that can be challenging in some presentation situations. Leadership IQ teaches presenters to apply the Narcissism Ratio which is a little check that signals when it’s time to tell a story or to talk about somebody or something other than yourself. That way you don’t spend 20 minutes talking about all of the awards your company has won – something about which your audience probably doesn’t care. And it directs you to talk about something about which they do care, something that’s really going to activate them and get them on the edge of their seats.
To apply the Narcissism Ratio to your next presentation, keep track of how many times you say “I” or “me” versus the number of times you say “customers” or “employees” or “you” or “they” or anybody other than you. It takes some practice, but it’s really quite an effective way to keep your finger on the pulse of where your presentation is going as it happens. That way you are always on track and making sure your  audience stays fully engaged.
For more tips on delivering memorable presentations, join us for our upcoming webinar The Secrets of Killer Presentations.

Marcom Resolutions for 2013- GS Exec Didn't Get The Memo?

In the spirit of "..'Tis the season to opine about resolutions for the new year..." we noticed 2 media articles today that inspired comment.
1. WSJ's "Money's No Object for His Stereo Types" .
This article profiles the Manhattan-based uber luxe business "catering to sound system/stereo aficionados for whom "money is no object", according to the business owner and former corporate litigator-turned-Crazy Eddie-to-the-ridiculously wealthy. 

Apparently, one (presumably senior) Goldman Sachs employee didn't read what any half-wit would think was an existing  internal memo that eschews employees from being profiled by the media whenever the topic of conspicuous consumption is being reported. This fellow not only spoke with the WSJ reporter who wrote the article, but acknowledged having just spent more than $200k to outfit his home with a state-of-art sound system. Although he did request that his name not be used for the article, the fact that he avowed being a Goldman Sachs employee would seemingly be in bad taste, particularly on the eve of a fiscal cliff agreement that imposes significant hits to the average Joe's take home pay.

On a more proactive point, WSJ's "How to Be a Better Boss in 2013" came equipped with elementary reminders for corporate execs and entrepreneurs.. The take-aways included the following:

•  The "reply to all" button is among the most misused—and reviled—pieces of office technology. At best, an accidental click can lead to an inbox-clogging chain of messages. At worst, it can cause a personal embarrassment before the entire company 

•   Set clear goals slightly beyond your current abilities and list specific actions that advance you toward that goal. Those hoping to move beyond the plateau should also seek feedback. Without frank, even harsh, feedback, progress will likely stall. 

•  You need to get out of your comfort zone. 

•  A successful manager needs to convince people to do things. Frame a choice as leading to a potential loss rather than a gain. This can create a sense of stress—and help managers get things done. Example: A study in which a group of executives were presented a proposal for an IT project. Twice as many in the group approved the proposal if the company was predicted to lose $500,000 if the proposal weren't accepted, compared with a scenario that predicted that the project would lead to profits of $500,000. 

•  Favorable outcomes almost double when we identify common ground with the other party in a negotiation. Find similarities between you and your customer—such as the car you drive or the age of your kids—and express them before you start negotiating with them over a contract or a price. 

•  Achieving any goal means grabbing hold of these opportunities before they slip through your fingers. One solution: If-then planning. Not only decide what you need to do, but also decide when and where you will do it, in advance. The general format of an if-then plan looks like this: If — occurs, then I will —. For example: When it's 3 p.m. today, then I'll stop whatever I'm doing and work on that project; If it's Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, then I'll go to the gym before work; If it's Tuesday morning, then I'll check in with all my direct reports.