Pop quiz:
What was the top 2021 Super Bowl ad according to USA Today's Ad Meter?
Heck, if you can name one of the top ten, I will give you bonus points.
The reason you can't remember the best ad or any ads from the big game, it's not the best tool.
It's not the best tool because it doesn't connect, make an impact, or leave a mark.
You see, brand marketing doesn't work in the direct marketing world.
Brand marketing is from a different age. A different business environment. A different communication era.
Brand marketing was created when John Wanamaker's statement "half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half" worked because it could work.
It could work because advertisers created a mass broadcast communications environment to serve its needs.
Radio was created to sell ads.
Television was created to sell ads.
Brian Millar, a co-founder of the Emotional Intelligence Agency, writes, "traditional advertising went after 'share of mind’–the idea was to get you to associate a brand with a single idea, a single emotion. Volvo: safety. Jaguar: speed. Coke: happiness. The Economist: success. Bang, bang, bang, went the ads, hammering the same idea into your mind every time you saw one.
"Advertising briefs evolved to focus the creatives on a single unique selling position and a single message. Tell them we're the Ultimate Driving Machine. Tell them in a thrilling way. It worked when you saw ads infrequently on television, in a Sunday magazine, or on a billboard on your morning commute."
This type of advertising worked because it was a communications environment of one to many with only a handful of vehicles to reach an audience.
But that is not today.
Today we are living in a direct marketing world powered by the WWW.
Now we have micro-media and personalized broadcast communications environment which serves the needs of the end-user.
The internet was not created for ads.
The internet is not mass media.
The Emotional Intelligence Agency conducted a study to understand what kind of content works to better understand this new communications environment. The firm found communications that used funny, practical, beautiful, and inspiring content delivers the best results.
Not surprisingly, the most successful brands do all four.
Also, not surprising, these are the adjectives used by any top storyteller.
She knows they are the best words when executing micro and personalized communications.
Yet most of us communicate using only one type of emotionally compelling content - if at all - employing brand marketing techniques that are closer to the days of Mad Men than to the present day of Laundry Service.
We still communicate like once a day, or worse, just a few times a month.
Instead of using tools that follow and engage our most active supporters in their media diet.
When it comes to the WWW and the direct marketing communications environment, being multidimensional beats being single-minded.
Surprise beats consistency.
Emotion beats fact.
Funny beats dour.
Useful beats sales.
Beautiful beats boring.
Inspirational beats directional.
The best communicators have always understood this instinctively.
By the way, USA Today's Ad Meter ranked Rocket Mortgage's "Certain Is Better" with Tracy Morgan, Dave Bautista, and Liza Koshy" as the best 2021 ad.
I don't remember the ad either.
-Marc
Can you name the top 2021 Super Bowl ad? | Brigadoon Weekend
Brand marketing in a direct marketing world
Pop quiz:
What was the top 2021 Super Bowl ad according to USA Today's Ad Meter?
Heck, if you can name one of the top ten, I will give you bonus points.
The reason you can't remember the best ad or any ads from the big game, it's not the best tool.
It's not the best tool because it doesn't connect, make an impact, or leave a mark.
You see, brand marketing doesn't work in the direct marketing world.
Brand marketing is from a different age. A different business environment. A different communication era.
Brand marketing was created when John Wanamaker's statement "half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half" worked because it could work.
It could work because advertisers created a mass broadcast communications environment to serve its needs.
Radio was created to sell ads.
Television was created to sell ads.
Brian Millar, a co-founder of the Emotional Intelligence Agency, writes, "traditional advertising went after 'share of mind’–the idea was to get you to associate a brand with a single idea, a single emotion. Volvo: safety. Jaguar: speed. Coke: happiness. The Economist: success. Bang, bang, bang, went the ads, hammering the same idea into your mind every time you saw one.
"Advertising briefs evolved to focus the creatives on a single unique selling position and a single message. Tell them we're the Ultimate Driving Machine. Tell them in a thrilling way. It worked when you saw ads infrequently on television, in a Sunday magazine, or on a billboard on your morning commute."
This type of advertising worked because it was a communications environment of one to many with only a handful of vehicles to reach an audience.
But that is not today.
Today we are living in a direct marketing world powered by the WWW.
Now we have micro-media and personalized broadcast communications environment which serves the needs of the end-user.
The internet was not created for ads.
The internet is not mass media.
The Emotional Intelligence Agency conducted a study to understand what kind of content works to better understand this new communications environment. The firm found communications that used funny, practical, beautiful, and inspiring content delivers the best results.
Not surprisingly, the most successful brands do all four.
Also, not surprising, these are the adjectives used by any top storyteller.
She knows they are the best words when executing micro and personalized communications.
Yet most of us communicate using only one type of emotionally compelling content - if at all - employing brand marketing techniques that are closer to the days of Mad Men than to the present day of Laundry Service.
We still communicate like once a day, or worse, just a few times a month.
Instead of using tools that follow and engage our most active supporters in their media diet.
When it comes to the WWW and the direct marketing communications environment, being multidimensional beats being single-minded.
Surprise beats consistency.
Emotion beats fact.
Funny beats dour.
Useful beats sales.
Beautiful beats boring.
Inspirational beats directional.
The best communicators have always understood this instinctively.
By the way, USA Today's Ad Meter ranked Rocket Mortgage's "Certain Is Better" with Tracy Morgan, Dave Bautista, and Liza Koshy" as the best 2021 ad.
I don't remember the ad either.
-Marc
Five to read
Malice at the Palace: How a new doc reexamines the epochal NBA brawl: A new docuseries offers a fresh perspective on the infamous 2004 melee that changed the shape of basketball as we know it.
Guardian
Banksy is on the prowl again: Several works of art by the elusive painter have emerged across coastal towns in England. Here's a look at some of the mysterious artist's works in the past.
DW
What I don't do
Dave Trott
The mascot whisperer: Dave Raymond practically invented the modern sports mascot. And over four decades, he has built a career on helping pro teams bring them to life.
NYT Mag
How to start a media company in 2021:
Step 1: TikTok
Step 2: TikTok + newsletter + podcast
Step 3: TikTok + newsletter + podcast + free community
Step 4: TikTok + newsletter + podcast + free + paid communities
Step 5: TikTok + newsletter + podcast + communities + paid products
HT @gregisenberg
Like this content? Sample Brigadoon Daily for a week. Drop me an email and get added to the distribution list for a week. marc@thebrigadoon.com
Reasons you should be Brigadoon Member:
You are curious.
You can check your ego.
You want to make things.
You could be a thought leader.
You could be a senior executive.
You seek knowledge from others.
You could be thinking what is next.
You could be running your own business.
You could be leading a public policy campaign.
You could be seeking some new tools to help you.
You just want to learn how to get better at being you.
You have said ‘when the time is right’ too many times.
You could have a great career but have a yearning to do something else.
Join here for as low as $150 a month, and for peace of mind, you cancel whenever you get bored or find the membership trite.
Thanks for supporting Brigadoon. See you next week.
-Marc
Curation + commentary by Marc A. Ross | Founder + Chief Curator @ Brigadoon
Brigadoon is Global Street Smarts
More @ thebrigadoon.com
Saying no wins | Brigadoon Weekend
Saying no wins
What's the difference between executive A and executive B?
Executive A:
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Executive B:
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
The difference?
Constraints.
Seth Godin often talks of constraints.
"Every project worth doing comes with constraints. Our natural inclination is to fight them.
"When we fight constraints and eliminate them, we often gain access to new insights, new products, and new solutions. It also makes it easier to compete against people who don't have those constraints.
""Give me constraints" is rarely heard, except when talented and passionate designers go to work."
In an interview with Tim Ferriss, Godin went on about the power of constraints:
"Constraints used to frustrate me so much, and now they are the core of my useful working life.
"I've set up constraints all around me, constraints about how I choose which projects, constraints about what I eat, constraints about what a project can entail and what it can't entail, constraints about how many people work with me, constraints about which media I'm going to be in and which ones I'm not going to be in.
"They're all arbitrary.
"I just made up rules, because having constraints lets me get to the edge. It lets me get to the boards without breaking my nose."
If you don't think constraints are powerful and productive, consider your favorite sport.
Sport is all about constraints.
Size of the playing surface.
Length of the contest.
Equipment for the game.
Number of players allowed.
Sport without constraints would be a pointless mess.
This weekly email is riddled with constraints.
So I will stop now.
I will embrace the constraints.
-Marc
Five to read
Necker Island — inside Richard Branson’s Caribbean lair: After being devastated by a hurricane, the Virgin boss’s home — and celebrity magnet — has reopened to guests.
FT
Who owns street art? Pieces are increasingly being taken off walls and sold to private collectors.
Economist
How the bobos broke America: The creative class was supposed to foster progressive values and economic growth. Instead, we got resentment, alienation, and endless political dysfunction.
David Brooks - Atlantic
Real estate is booming in Bozeman, Mont.—or shall we say, Boz Angeles: The Rocky Mountain city is nearly unrecognizable, as out-of-state buyers and young professionals continue to transform the once-sleepy area into a trendy hotspot.
WSJ
You can choose to enjoy getting pummeled, and other lessons from big wave surfer Garrett McNamara: The man who's ridden some of the world's biggest waves talked to GQ about his new HBO documentary, manifesting, and why he's “not an adrenaline junkie.”
GQ
Like this content? Sample Brigadoon Daily for a week. Drop me an email and get added to the distribution list for a week. marc@thebrigadoon.com
Five reasons you should be Brigadoon Member:
A discount for you and a plus one to all Brigadoon events, workshops, remotes, retreats, and salon dinners
Delivered monthly, one highly curated book on leadership, performance, marketing, or public affairs
A quarterly deck covering emerging issues, business model disruption, globalization, or behavioral economics
Access to a global network of entrepreneurs and independent thinkers to test ideas and engage a private audience
You are an entrepreneur and independent thinker who needs more global street smarts
Join here for as low as $150 a month, and for peace of mind, you cancel whenever you get bored or find the membership trite.
Thanks for supporting Brigadoon. See you next week.
-Marc
Curation + commentary by Marc A. Ross | Founder + Chief Curator @ Brigadoon
Brigadoon is Global Street Smarts
More @ thebrigadoon.com
Let's go 0 to 1 | Brigadoon Weekend
Let's go 0 to 1: 21 things I learned from Peter Thiel
It's hard to finger precisely what Peter Thiel is most famous for.
Co-founding PayPal?
Launching Palantir Technologies?
Early-stage investments in Facebook, LinkedIn, and Tesla?
Or could it be his contrarian views on education, science, and technology?
Honestly, it is probably all these things.
In Spring 2012, Thiel took his experience, insights, and knowledge and packaged them into a class at Stanford University.
CS183: Startup.
In the classroom was Blake Masters.
Masters took copious notes and then posted an essay version of these class notes on his blog.
Not surprisingly, the blog posted notes became an instant hit in the tech community and to entrepreneurs beyond.
So successful were these notes, Masters and Thiel teamed up to produce Zero to One by distilling lectures and notes into a must-read book.
Here are 21 nuggets I picked up from the book - Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future:
1. Every moment in business only happens once
2. Today's "best practices" lead to dead ends; the best paths are new and untried
3. Successful people find value in unexpected places
4. Brilliant thinking is rare, but courage is in even shorter supply than genius
5. What a startup has to do - question received ideas and rethink business from scratch
6. The most contrarian thing of all is not to oppose the crowd but to think for yourself
7. If you want to create and capture lasting value, don't build an undifferentiated commodity business
8. War is a costly business
9. Many entrepreneurs focus only on short-term growth. They have an excuse - growth is easy to measure, but durability isn't
10. Every startup should start with a very small market
11. Don't disrupt: Avoid competition at all costs
12. You are not a lottery ticket: Skill probably plays a much more significant role than people typically think.
13. There are two kinds of secrets: Secrets about nature and secrets about people
14. No company has a culture; every company is a culture
15. Everyone at your company should be different in the same way - a tribe of like-minded people fiercely devoted to the company's mission
16. Academic ideas about history or economics don't just sell themselves on their intellectual merits
17. Marketing and advertising work for relatively low-priced products that have mass appeal but lack any method of viral distribution
18. A product is viral if its core functionality encourages users to invite their friends to become users too
19. Men and machines are good at different things: Computers excel at efficient data processing but struggle to make basic judgments that would be simple for any human
20. Most of the world dreams of living as comfortably as Americans do today, and globalization will cause increasingly severe energy challenges unless we build new technology
21. We cannot take for granted that the future will be better, and that means we need to work to create it today
By the way, if you want to do a deeper dive on Thiel's insights from this class and read Masters' unabridged notes, click here.
-Marc
WHAT BRIGADOON IS WATCHING THIS WEEKEND
Should Canada go to the Moon?
J. Randy Attwood + Renée Hložek
Love robots + UI: The role of AI in the design industry
Canvas Editorial
The blockchain is starting to live up to its potential: The digital database has moved beyond cryptocurrencies and is being used in everything from health care to elections.
Aaron Brown - Bloomberg
Toyota led on clean cars. Now critics say it works to delay them. The auto giant bet on hydrogen power, but as the world moves toward electric the company is fighting climate regulations in an apparent effort to buy time.
NYT
What will arise from the demise of mass commuting? ‘For one thing, the pandemic has transformed many suburbs vastly for the better.’
FT
Like this content? Sample Brigadoon Daily for a week. Drop me an email and get added to the distribution list for a week. marc@thebrigadoon.com
Five reasons you should be Brigadoon Member:
A discount for you and a plus one to all Brigadoon events, workshops, remotes, retreats, and salon dinners
Delivered monthly, one highly curated book on leadership, performance, marketing, or public affairs
A quarterly deck covering emerging issues, business model disruption, globalization, or behavioral economics
Access to a global network of entrepreneurs and independent thinkers to test ideas and engage a private audience
You are an entrepreneur and independent thinker who needs more global street smarts
Join here for as low as $150 a month, and for peace of mind, you cancel whenever you get bored or find the membership trite.
Thanks for supporting Brigadoon. See you next week.
-Marc
Curation + commentary by Marc A. Ross | Founder + Chief Curator @ Brigadoon
Brigadoon is Global Street Smarts
More @ thebrigadoon.com