Obsessed with Conformity

Nissan, "Baby"

Why I'm a Better Writer than You

Stop right there.  Before you read any further, get the notion out of your head that I’m an ego-driven maniac who thinks he’s better than everyone else. I’m not. But I am a better writer than almost everyone I know. And while you might think that’s my ego talking, if you give me a couple of hundred words I’ll explain. 

Everyone does something really well. I am a lousy cook. I kill every plant I’ve tried growing. And despite a carpentry gene that flows through my veins, I can’t build shit. But I'm a good writer. And it used to be ok to be ok with that. Only now when you say things like this, the rest of the world looks at you like a freak. Why? Because everyone writes. How many illiterate people do you know within your digital social networks? Exactly. Everyone writes. But not everyone is a good writer. Most people just type and publish, as far as I can tell.

A repeating theme you hear from bloggers who have managed to make a living from their writing via advertising space and speaking arrangements is, ‘Just write. All the time. Constantly.’ And because these people have become successful at writing blogs on micro-specific subject matter, telling everyone to write like they’re getting paid for it gives people the false sense that everyone is capable of writing and getting paid for it.  

Over the past year I’ve been approached a few times by people attempting to find their voice in writing. People who have heard these successful bloggers tell them that the more they write, the better chance they have of making a living doing it. That’s akin to stating that the more lottery tickets you buy, the closer you are to becoming a millionaire. 

Not everyone is a good writer. No matter how much you write. Sorry. Sure, you can become a better writer in terms of grammar use – absolutely. And frankly, if you want to make grammar and structure the primary criteria for being a good writer, then I’m probably nowhere near as good a writer as you. My writing is routinely riddled with grammatical inconsistencies. Don’t mistake writing well with being a good writer. 

That said, there’s one critical reason why I’m a better writer than you - Empathy. 

Empathy is something you’re either born with or you’re not. Yes, you can become more or less empathetic over time, but you can’t learn to be naturally moved by things. Combine a hysterical sense of empathy with a clear understanding of how to string words together and you've got a dangerous combination that doesn't often account for much. Except maybe in advertising. 

As an advertising copywriter, empathy is the only reason I’ve been able to connect with so many different audiences, and why I’m absolutely confident that I can make a meaningful connection with any human on the planet if tasked. All I have to do is call on my empathy. 

I do not have a blog with thousands of subscribers, so you really have no reason to believe what I’m telling you. Besides, I’m not going to tell you the things you want to hear. That’s manipulation and I reserve manipulation for the things I get paid for. If I were to tell you to write as much as possible so that you too can make a living from it, then I'd immediately ask you for your credit card number. Don't get me wrong, there are some excellent writers in the blogosphere who are truly empathetic and who understand how to interject empathy into their posts so that even the most boring topic dances around in your chest. They're out there. They're just rare. 

For me - I’m a writer first, and blogger second. I don’t specialize in topics like Wordpress, Social Media or even Advertising. In fact, the name of my blog (Obsessed with Conformity) is intended to be ironic. Empathy flings itself in many directions. Sometimes it latches onto brilliant little moments in daily life that resonate enough for me to sit down and write about it. Other times it treads on life’s inequities. And yes, I've learned how to push empathy into advertising. But in reality, I don’t really control most of the things I truly care about. I’ve tried writing to specialized subject matter on my blog, but it comes out so stale and homogenized that I feel dirty afterward. And even when I have tried to write about things like Social Media, when I interject empathy, it sounds so different than most of the guys who get paid for it that it fails miserably. Some of the best posts I’ve written over the past two years were on business topics. Except, you guys didn’t think so. My most popular posts are those that deal with real life experiences – moments when my empathy latches onto something and materializes as meaningful dialogue in your heart. And invariably, those are the thirty-minute posts. Albeit, with some grammar issues. 

So yes, write. Write your ass off. You can become a better writer with practice, just as you can become a better free-throw shooter with practice. Only, you may never make it to the pros because of variables you don't control. Things like size, quickness, speed and age. If you practice writing, but lack true empathy that you have little control over, then you’re likely to become a serviceable writer. But may I suggest finding a popular topic to focus on and exploit instead of relying on empathy to light your way. Besides, there’s really not much money in this. 

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Jim Mitchem/@jmitchem

 

Posted via email from 300 Words

The Most Creative Thing I've Ever Done

 

 

As an advertising writer, my job is to influence, enlighten and engage people.  I could point to a multimedia Lexus campaign I wrote which sold every vehicle allocated to the dealer and say ‘that was the most creative thing I’ve ever done.’ Or I could tell you about the campaign I wrote that helped reduce the euthanasia rate in Mecklenburg County by 25% that was pretty freaking creative. Or, I could go on – but won’t. I’ve got 300 words and need to get this out. 

My point is, making people think about a thing differently, or applying emerging technology to media is not creative. You want to be creative? Create a completely new word for an idea that no one has ever even heard of before. Go ahead. I’ll give you a few minutes. 

.

.

.

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Did you create the word? Cool. Now try and sell it. 

Sadly, humans are not creative. Creativity only exists at the ‘divine entity’ level. I wrote a couple of blog posts on this last year and stand behind them. But what I’ve noticed watching thousands of advertising people from across the globe on Twitter is that we’re kind of attached to being ‘creative.’ It helps us justify getting our elbows pierced and our eyelids tattooed. It means we’re able to be “different” from others and get away with it. Trust me, I’ve done it. I know. 

But believing we’re creative is a deception caused by the ego. Am I clever? Yes. Innovatively clever. But unlike true creativity where you ‘create’ a completely new idea that has never been conceived before, I have rules to follow. Lots of them. I just think differently than most people, within the rules. 

That’s why the most ‘creative’ thing I’ve ever done was have two orgasms that resulted in the creation of two humans who, despite having all the normal human parts, are distinctly original souls. 

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Jim Mitchem/@jmitchem

Opulence...I Has It.

I've seen a few commercials recently that have reminded me what's beautiful about this business. This new one for Direct TV is one of them. 

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Jim Mitchem/@smashadv

NOTE: It's ok to use ellipses as a pause, according to Wikipedia. And I'm ok with this definition.

When Advertising is Evil: BP and the Gulf Coast

If you've paid any attention to television lately, you've likely seen a few commercials for tourism along the Gulf Coast. If not, here's one: 

Here's another one: 

Don't these spots just make you want to get in the car, drive down to Alabama and eat some shrimp? I also saw another one that features, in a prominent role, the Governor of Mississippi and his lovely wife. They're inviting you down to Mississippi, too. Y'all come on down, there's absolutely nothing wrong. 

On the one hand, it's hard to blame them for trying. But at what cost? 

BP (the fourth largest company in the world) has vowed to do whatever it takes to make sure no one along the Gulf Coast is financially impacted by their epic fuck up. This includes producing, procuring and deploying media in at least a few prime time slots (that I noticed) last week. Commercials like the ones above. No, the spots don't have to say BP for us to know they're part of a BP snow job. 

Come on down! Our beaches are clear! Nothing whatsoever is wrong! 

Curiously, I don't remember seeing ads for the Gulf Coast when all the oil rigs were functioning properly. Why is it that my market is suddenly their market? Honestly, do they think people are going to do what they say just because they say to do it during the second break on American Idol? 

Did you see the baby turtles in our ad? Aw...so cute. Come! Quickly! We'd love to see ya!

Can money solve all of our problems? Evidently, BP thinks so. And so do the people who allowed them to run such a ridiculous campaign. You see, we're all just minions. We see, we hear, we act favorably. The numbers say so. But imagine what happens if people flock down there and a nice storm kicks some of that sludge onshore? Betcha people will share that experience with other people. 

Don't get me wrong, I love the Gulf coast and my heart is with everyone affected there. But more than the people, my heart is with the ecosystem we've just altered for a decade or more. A system that only barely includes us to begin with.  

"Drill Baby Drill" is the war cry of the ignorant. Yes, the earth can bounce back from anything we throw at it. Anything. Even nukes. The oil people are right. This rock will continue to orbit our neighborhood star whether we're here or not. Rather, it's the organic creatures that live on the crust that need the rock. Not the other way around. 

This oil spill is more than just the money and tourism. It's about taking a step back and making a rational assessment of the situation. But to too many people, the Gulf Coast is just 20 billion dollars in tourism. Being eco-friendly isn't a priority in most capitalistic endeavors. Except in hindsight. In TV ads. 

Shame on the officials along the Gulf coast who bought into BP's 'throw money at it' logic. Had they thought this through beyond just a knee-jerk reaction, they could have done something useful with the generous BP media buy. Something like my friend Michael Calienes mentioned last week: 

 

Had the officials just said, "That's it then - we've got to write off this year. Let us now get to work on how to respond to this disaster so that next tourist season, our message will have meaning." Oh, and they'd already have a nice budget to build on, too. But no, they took the devil's money and pretzel logic and now they look desperate. Sadly, at this point the only ones profiting from the oil spill are media companies. 

Seafood, sunny skies, tanned and beautiful children running barefoot - and you. Oh, and baby turtles. Come on down! 

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Jim Mitchem is Floridian, writer and entrepreneur. He and his wife live in Charlotte with their two daughters and many animals. You can find him on Twitter @smashadv.

Change. Proportionate.

“Everything changes” has to be the most overused and underappreciated cliche known to man. We're desensitized to it. But from the day we’re born until the day we die, the human body endures some form of change. Those in denial of this fact suffer physically, spiritually, emotionally, etc. They try to keep things exactly the same. Eventually, they wither. Those who accept change, do what’s necessary to play right along with it. They live well. Exercise. Eat right. Grow. The trick is to recognize proportion. For example, you wouldn’t ask a 5 year old to swim two miles a day, or a 65 year old to bench press 250 pounds. Sure, there are exceptions, but they're rare. Change is a universal truth that influences and affects, well, everything. And it’s not limited to living forms, but inanimate forms as well. Ask any mountain or tectonic plate. 

And change applies to business too. Only, in business we’re programmed to be reactive. What I mean by this is that rarely do you see businesses using proactive approaches in reaching their audience. We’ve always bought print. And radio. And television. And direct mail. There are positive case studies for justifying these methods, by God! So we utilize best practices based on historical methodology and try to apply innovation and pass that off as creativity. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But it's not exactly proactive. Hell, it’s risky enough to be in business in the first place, let alone risking budgets on crazy new media fads. So businesses are usually slow in accepting change and playing along with it. That is, until someone comes up with a proven, positive and parallel case study. 

Unless you live under a rock, you know that there's an epic tragedy occurring in the Gulf of Mexico. If something good comes out of this situation it’s that every one of us needs to reevaluate our dependency on oil, and energy in general. This disaster isn’t just BP’s fault, it’s everyone’s. Change must occur. But how? It won’t happen overnight. It can’t. There’s no switch to go from oil to wind or solar or whatever. A transition must occur. And it will. But this doesn’t mean that oil will go away in our lifetimes. It might not go away...ever. No, the change will be proportionate to supply and demand. 

When Burma-Shave started their series of highway sign messages in the 1920s, no one else was doing it. It was risky. Nearly 100 years later, billboards are still relevant. Only less so. Billboards may never go away. They might sit on clouds like in the Jetsons, but they’d still have relevance. 

Today I tweeted, “Radio is coal. TV is oil. Digital is wind. Change happens.” 

A few people immediately got all up in my grill about how Digital *is* TV/Radio, etc. A couple people asked where other things fit in - like print. One person contended that coal is the future. Another that radio is not dead. There was also a shout-out to natural gas. Regardless of the semantics, or whether you’re a proponent of one form of energy, or media, or another, change happens. It just does. 

Enter social media (SocMe). Aside from being a horrible misnomer (we can’t think of anything better right now - thus my choice of ‘Digital’ in the tweet above), there are people here putting daggers into the heart of traditional media too soon. Way too soon. Yes, in my opinion SocMe is the most revolutionary communications advancement of my lifetime. Maybe ever. And I’m not going to spend time here waxing on the efficient connectivity of the digital age. If you’re here, you already know that this medium is growing. Fast. And by growing, I mean that people are coming here and engaging. 

Flash back to Berma-Shave. They went where people were. It was risky, sure, but it paid off handsomely for them. This is not to say every brand that invests in this space will hit it big time, nor will they be revolutionary. Rather, they’ll be going to where their audience is. It’s a natural transition. 

But I do have ideas. And one of them is for businesses to use their own internal resources to engage their audience. But how do you find the money to do this? Easy, rethink your budgets proportionately. If you believe that change is occurring right now under your nose, then you don’t have to be told that your print buy or your television buy or whatever, is nearly as valuable as it once was. Proportionately carve from these budgets to allocate money to your SocMe development and then train your own people to get out there and represent you the way they do when they pick up the telephone. Imagine whole companies shifting their communications strategies to maximize internal human resources to perform the same kinds of functions that they used to rely on traditional forms of media for? No, you're not giving up on those traditional forms of media, just using them smarter. And perhaps, less so. It's all about proportion. 

Traditional media isn’t dead for the same reason coal may be around as a legitimate form of energy forever. Also, traditional media isn’t irrelevant. It’s just growing increasingly less relevant - proportionate to digital, SocMe growth. 

Change. It isn’t death. It’s the exact opposite, really. 

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[Note to everyone who might say, ‘But social is also for public relations, customer service, recruiting, etc.’ - you’re right. It is. That’s just another reason why budgets should be allocated proportionately based on specific strategies. Every company, like every human, is different.]

Jim Mitchem is a father, husband, writer, and entrepreneur. You can follow him on Twitter @smashadv

One Word Advertising

This may be the most effective (and affective) poster in the history of advertising. It was designed for World War I recruitment after the Germans sank the passenger ship "Lusitania." In all, 1,153 passengers and crew drowned. One word. Powerful emotions. For the record, we went on to kick the pre-Nazis ass in that war too. 

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Jim Mitchem 

 

I Want to Marry This Ad

When I was a kid, only communist kids played soccer. I don't even know who any of these guys are. But damn, if this ad doesn't get me excited. And that - is the mark of great advertising. 

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Jim is a father, husband, copywriter, entrepreneur and baseball fan. You can follow him on Twitter @smashadv. 

The Science of Social Media

 

If you have financial goals attached to your foray into social media, you need to know a little about advertising. Those of us in the ad creation business are tasked with crawling inside of the heart and mind of the prototypical person who represents a target audience. We know how to think like other people. Most any copywriter will tell you that psychology is the science of advertising. Which makes mathematics is the science of marketing. So if you come into this space because the math tells you to, you’ll need to apply the science of advertising to make it work. 

I know what some of you are thinking, ‘but advertising is just selling things.’ Well, that’s the goal usually, yes. But before we sell a damn thing, we have to establish an amiable relationship with the target person. When we do, they pay attention. If you think you can come into social media with a mathematics formula to increase sales, you will fail. But, since not everyone thinks or communicates like a copywriter, and because not every agency (few, I’d guess) are outfitted to manage their client’s social media communications, you have to consider other options. 

Here’s where it gets good - you don’t *have* to hire an agency or copywriter to create your messages and interact with your audience. Sure, maybe *you* (personally) are too close to your product/service to separate yourself enough to make a meaningful connection with your audience. But I’ll bet that there are people in your organization who are ready to do it. Real people. People who you already trust to represent your organization every day on the phone, via email and in person. Draw upon these resources to spearhead your social media engagement. When real people interact with other real people about mutual interests and passions, good things happen. 

The beauty of social media is that it reinforces the idea that people don’t want to be sold anything. Those of us in advertising have always known this. But if you come in here trying to sell stuff by attempting to write like a senior copywriter, you're going to butcher the hell out of your brand and the whole thing will backfire. Focus on building a great product and you'll gain a loyal following. Throw in some friendly chatter and responsive service by real people who already believe in your company, and social media is a goldmine waiting to be unearthed. Yes, you should hire experts do develop and produce your complex digital campaigns, but definitely keep your day-to-day social engagement stuff in house - where loyalty takes hold. 

Social media isn't brain surgery. But there's definitely an element of psychology involved. 

*****

Jim Mitchem is a father, husband, copywriter and founder of smashcommunications. You can follow him on Twitter @smashadv.

What It's Like to be a Copywriter

Jim Mitchem is a father, husband, copywriter and founder of smashcommunications. You can follow him on Twitter @smashadv

QUIET PLEASE! re: Quail Hollow and Phone Bans

This week, the Quail Hollow Championship dominates news in Charlotte. Among the old social elite, the focus is on Tiger. Among the new social elite, the focus is on the no-phone policy at the tournament. You weren’t even allowed to bring a phone into the practice rounds. You could bring a camera, but no phone. The justification is simple - golfers need to focus intently. And a Nickelback ringtone during a Phil Mickelson’s backswing, just won't cut it. And even if they just said ‘turn your ringers off,’ they'd still have to contend with loud cell phone talker. Because, as we all know, if dude is on a sales call or on a call with the Mercedes shop, dude’s talking loud. Dude doesn’t care if Lefty is teeing off in a pro-am. So that’s why they banned phones.  Not for fear of social media. In fact, they’ve got people tweeting from the course. They like social media.  

Except, our phones aren’t just our phones. They’re our cameras, our email correspondence, our data clouds, our GPS to check distance to the flag and of course our wireless portals to our digital networks. If I had to guess, I’d say that 5% of the usage on my iPhone is actually to talk with people. But very few people can’t be trusted to carry phones during golf events. Even if that means surrendering a TON of free publicity from people who would no doubt be tweeting and facebooking from the course. Eventually, I expect a compromise - or at least the invention of a wireless app that allows the course to shut down the phone portion of your mobile device. 

On the other hand, the “GET IN THE HOLE!” guy gets a free pass. Which makes me wonder what would happen if he yelled, “BUY A BUICK!” instead? Why hasn’t anyone done this yet? “BEN AND JERRYS!” "DURALAST!" That’s live TV, man. Tons of impressionable ears there. It’s all about the numbers, right? Pay me 5K, and I’m doing it. 

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Jim is a father, husband copywriter and helps run smashcommuncations. You can find him on Twitter@smashadv.

On Loyalty

Why do you order Coke instead of Pepsi? Does Coke pay you? No, you pay Coke. You pay Coke for their product. It's a good product. You like the taste. You gladly pay them for it. As a result, you're a brand ambassador for Coke every time you order one in a restaurant, walk around with one in the office or open up your favorite beach umbrella emblazoned with the Coke logo. 

Coke wins because it has you as a lifetime customer unless they really screw up, or you give up high fructose corn syrup. You win because you've found a brand experience that you value enough to consistently pay for, be a walking billboard for and trust for UV protection. Seems weird doesn't it? 

It's the same with loyalty in sports. While most of us have never worn a jock strap in a Yankees uniform (yes, those of you in The Nation may substitute Red Sox), we gladly pay the Steinbrenners big money for the experience we have with their brand. They're damn sure not giving it away. We do it for the shared experience the moment Rivera closes out a game six and we feel a euphoric connectedness with other fans around the globe. The strange thing is - you're purchasing your own loyalty. To Coke. To the Yankees. To any brand. 

In fact, the only way a brand purchases loyalty is in the workplace. If you go to work every day for a company, and you're not C-level, you're selling your time. Sure, you're selling it for a price and hopefully you consider it a fair price, but really - can it ever be? I mean, not only are you selling your time, you're selling your loyalty. No? Really? Ok then, let's say that you're a copywriter for a big ad agency in NYC. You have a great salary, bust your ass 10 hours a day (ok, so writing copy isn't exactly something I'd put in the 'busting ass' bucket, but you know what I mean) and you have a sweet apartment a block from the 4 train. You're happy. And you're totally loyal to your employer. Then one day, as fate would have it, an agency in San Francisco comes calling. It's a better offer with a more money, better accounts, more perks, etc. 

Where's your loyalty? I'll tell you where it is - it's in SF. Yes, I could write a ton of contingencies that make it so the copywriter stays in NYC, but for this argument, my guy moved to SF, ok? However, in every other business application, loyalty cannot be purchased. Only earned. If you want lifetime customers, you make a great product and back it up with great service. Show people you care. Prove it. Again and again. In business, the only way to develop loyalty is to fulfill promises. And that takes time. 

Except, now that we have social media, it takes a lot *less* time. In the old days, if you wanted to sell product, you'd pay an ad agency to create a kick-ass campaign and flood the market with your call-to-action. Only, the best that this kind of communication can ever do is give commands. Sure, the ads would probably be clever, and the media well-placed, but it's still just a call-to-action. You put it out there - and hope. 

Social offers the opportunity to engage people directly. Directly! It's such a different idea that people struggle to wrap their minds around it and instead drive over to the gadget store to focus on tools that help brands monitor when people say things about them. This is the opposite of active. Yet, when you take a look around a Twitter stream filled with thought-leaders, gurus and experts - you notice that most of them talk about the tools, and how to manage, track and concatenate data flow. Yes, many of these tools are necessary to augment a social communications strategy, and a lot of them *are* pretty cool, but too few people of influence talk about the actual dialogue between a brand and its prospects and customers. What happened to the thing about brands nurturing loyalty? 

Dear brands, this isn't brain surgery. If you're going to be in social, do more than tell us how great you are, and intercept people when they have a questionable brand experience. Why not follow your customers? This is the chance you've been waiting for! Dump your upcoming direct mail campaign, and employ a direct engagement campaign here instead (no one reads your junk mail anyway). Put your resources into people who work for you and who are already (paid to be) loyal to you and who can can seek out and interact with people who will become so loyal to you that they will tell other people about their own positive experience with your brand. You know, like word of mouth (that thing they tell you is the 'best' kind of advertising). 

Loyalty. It's just as confusing now as when Oedipus struggled with it. 

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Jim is a father, husband, copywriter and parter at smashcommunications - a communications consultancy that's shifting with the rest of the world to social media as a primary means of audience interaction. You can follow him on Twitter @smashadv

Spreading the Love. Maximizing the Media.

Last week we launched a social media program for the upcoming Boxman Studios restaurant. The cool thing about this brand is that other than developing an identity and building a basic website that explains the concept, we're not doing anything 'traditional.' Sure, the website is SEO compliant, but we're not bidding on key phrases. Yes, we made a brochure/flier for a special event, but we're not producing high-profile 3D collateral. We're utilizing social media as the main vehicle to develop awareness for the brand, and to promote the restaurant. For more information on the campaign, click here. Also, as part of the awareness campaign, we created a naming contest for the restaurant. For information on the contest, click here.

After about a week, I think we've done pretty well. We've doubled our Twitter followers, have a few fans of the restaurant's Facebook page (we could use more, please), have received about 50 name submissions for the contest and are developing a very cool blog that will become the primary social media vehicle for both the brand and the restaurant going forward. But because we're bypassing traditional media, we have to get creative to ensure that when the restaurant launches in April, we have as much momentum as we can handle. Eventually, the food will be the thing that makes the restaurant successful or not, but we need people to try it out first - and that's where creativity comes in. 

The thing about traditional media is that it costs money. You want a radio spot - money. TV - money, Print - money. Social media - ? So I had the idea to pay a few people in Charlotte to tweet about the naming contest (JUST the naming contest), since that's the thing that will attract followers. And those followers will eventually see where the restaurant is located (as it will move daily) so that they can try the food for themselves and ultimately decide whether the restaurant succeeds by talking about it in their social circles. 

Three things about the controversial idea of paying people to promote the contest - 

1) We wouldn't just pay anyone. We'd only ask people who have been to Boxman Studios and have experienced the brand first-hand for themselves. They could always decline being paid, or decline to endorse it altogether. We'd not ask for people to be dishonest in any way. 

2) We'd not pay a lot. In fact, if the these people could take someone to dinner on what we'd pay for sponsored tweets about the contest - that would be a victory. We just want to show our appreciation for taking the time to visit the brand firsthand, and (if they wanted) pay them a little something in return. 

3) We'd not ask people to spam their followers. In fact, we'd only be looking only for a few tweets about the contest between now and March 18th to help get the word out to people in Charlotte. 

The point of this post is to be as transparent as possible. No, I would not make a public list of the people we'd ask to help out, and no, we'd not ask anyone who agrees to help out to publicly state that they're being paid to promote the contest. If these people decided to say they're being paid - that's their decision. And it would be perfectly ok with us. We'd not ask them to lie about anything - there really *is* a contest where we're giving someone $500 to name the restaurant. Look at it this way, if when the restaurant launches and someone isn't happy with the food or prices or service and they tweet their dissatisfaction, we don't control that either. Eventually, momentum for the restaurant (and the Boxman brand, for that matter) will take care of itself via social media. This is an organic space. People make up their own minds to say what they feel. The pay thing would just be a little boost for the contest. 

Anyway, this is a tricky situation, but one that I feel pretty strongly about. If Tide came to me tomorrow because I said something nice about their laundry detergent last week, and they offered to pay me $1,000 to tweet how clean my jeans were after using Tide, guess what - I'm taking it. Within reason, of course. 

So what do you think, will this work? Do people deserve to be compensated for promoting a brand or an idea within the networks they've worked so hard to build? Is this a bad idea that will backfire on the brand because *everyone* will want to be paid to say *anything* about it - or else not say anything at all? Any feedback you can offer is appreciated. Thanks for your time. 

Transparently yours, Jim

NOTE: As of Saturday, March 6th, we have decided NOT pay for sponsored tweets about the naming contest. This doesn't mean we don't appreciate people talking about the contest in this space. We do. A lot. But the idea of sponsored tweets in general is such a radical concept (to some people) that we feel that this tactic might overshadow all of the other (less controversial) tactics we're employing to promote the restaurant. I personally feel that one day we (as owners of our own networks here) may capitalize on our influence in ways that help put food on our tables or clothes on our kids' backs. Because big media companies and big brands should NOT be the only ones who capitalize from our word-of-mouth experiences.  

Jim Mitchem is a father, husband, writer and partner at smashcommunications. You can follow him on Twitter at@smashadv and @boxmanstudios.

The Ultimate Driving Experience

Remember those guys in middle school who wore T-shirts with big Chevy muscle cars eating little Fords, or the ones with giant Ford trucks crushing little Chevys until their headlights popped out? Remember those guys? The ones with permanent grease stains under their finger nails? Well, I wasn't one of those guys. I'm not a car guy. So when Kamran Popkin, @swagclub, invited me down to the BMW Performance Driving School (PDS) for a day, I was at once honored, and skeptical. 

But I got into my wife's Pacifica and drove to Greenville (Greer) from Charlotte, anyway. What the hell, I could drive fancy cars for a few hours. It would be kind of cool. In his infinite wisdom, Popkin invited several people from social media to attend this event - which no doubt garnered some buzz about the school, while also developing some loyalty to Kamran (and his company). Don't get me wrong, Kamran's not the type of guy to ask you to do or say anything on his company's behalf. In fact, if you check out his Twitter page, it's clear that just the opposite is true. Kamran was offering us a one-of-a-kind experience with nothing expected in return. Because that's just the kind of guy he is. 

But enough about Kamran. This was about the BMW experience. Not being a car guy, I've always just assumed that people who drove Mercedes or BMW were doing it for the status of the hood ornament - only. And while that might be true for many owners, the PDS makes you think differently about the brand. These cars flat out bust it. It's almost a crime to call them cars at all. More like land-jets. Land F-15s. I drove several of these machines at very high speeds. They fly. The video below is taken with the iPhone as I sat shotgun while an instructor drove (I forget the model - I'm not a car guy).

Everything about the BMW PDS is solid. The brand's clean lines and attention to detail resonate in every corner of this place. From the briefing room to the instructors to the sign above our fleet that stated, "Don't forget to breathe" - the PDS is more than just the ultimate driving school, it's the ultimate ad for BMW. Imagine all brands giving their prospects a chance to experience the very best that the brand offers, in a controlled environment that reinforces the promise of value - and charge them for it! Sure, the PDS might set you back a few bucks (a lot actually), but if you're looking to purchase one of these machines - the cost is insignificant. 

Which is to say, I will likely never own a BMW. A love for cars just wasn't passed down to me. So I'll continue to drive my old jalopy (a 1993 Range Rover with 85K miles that I bought to accommodate dogs and kids) and my wife's fancy car, when necessary. All I care about is getting to where I'm going. But, if you have the means, and you're in the market for a car that can outrun James Bond villains, I can't recommend BMW highly enough. 

At the end of the day, we were asked to fill out a form about the experience. On the form it asked which brands we associated closest with BMW. I could only think of two - Apple and Disney. 

One last thing, I was able to meet a couple of people on Twitter at this event, and at one point was a passenger in a vehicle driven by @sydneywilliams. She tried to kill me. I (somehow) survived. And don't believe her if she tells you she beat my time around the track. Ok, believe her. I'm not a car guy. 

Jim Mitchem is a father, husband, writer and partner at smashcommunications. You can follow him on Twitter @smashadv. 

The Formula for (Social Media) Success

If you've landed here expecting a bullet list on how to make a fortune in social media, go ahead and click the back button on your browser now. If anything, this post is written to reinforce a very traditional idea that worked for generations before the first billboard ever blocked out a tree, let alone in social media. 

Question: If you want a girl to like you (or a boy, for you sticklers), what is the best course of action

A) Lie your ass off and hope they don't care when they find out?

B) Be yourself? 

We watch a lot of movies, so I'm going with B. And you can replace 'girl' with any number of other things. You want that new watch? Steal it? You want to fly to Europe? Stow away? You want to be successful in social media? Lie and be whatever you think your audience wants you to be in order for you to reach some unrealistic goal? Or be yourself? 

One of the best bits of advice I have ever received is: 'Always tell the truth - there's less to remember.' As someone who didn't always follow this rule in life, I've found it to be as helpful today as when I first heard it 20 years ago. It's a helluva lot easier to be authentic than false. It just is. 

As an advertising copywriter, I've been asked to write a lot of stuff. And despite a general view that advertising is manipulative and evil, I've never once lied in an appeal - ever. Sure, I get people to think about TRUE ideas differently, but I've never lied (though I've been asked to.) Also, I've sold a lot of stuff. Truth always wins. 

Which brings us social media. Today I had a meeting with a client to talk about their social media strategy and was having a parallel discussion with a partner on how best to use Twitter (specifically.) After thinking about these things for a bit, I posted this tweet: 

This may be the truest thing I've written in this space. After all, influence is the number one factor as to why people do *anything* (next to getting paid for it, of course.) After I posted this tweet, a bunch of people agreed with the idea (Thanks for the RT,) and, of course, some people questioned it. There's *no way* that something as simple as authenticity can be a core foundation for brands to move around in this space. 

Don't get me wrong, I completely understand that there are people who think that authenticity is not a very good idea for brands - period. After all, there's a whole school of thought in traditional marketing that the point of any advertising is to be in front of as many 'eyeballs' as possible. Why? So that one day, subconsciously I guess, the minions act favorably. Brilliant! 

Wow. Ok, assuming this isn't so brilliant, what's left for brands to do? How about making the best product possible and letting that stand on its own merit for people to decide for themselves? You know, like giving this 'word-of-mouth' advertising thing a shot. Especially since every single person in business recognizes 'word-of-mouth' as the best advertising available. 

Ok, but how do you get people to notice? Obviously, as we all know, social media is a great place to develop an audience who may or may not help you spread the word about your stuff - but not because you ask them to, rather because you sell good stuff. So the trick is to sell good stuff, have people in place who don't lie (and who treat people with respect), and always tell the truth about - everything. No, we don't need to know that the COO is sleeping with the receptionist at the Boulder satellite. At some point common sense must prevail. Rather, just be authentic. 

Perhaps the best advice about brand development (whether in social or not) comes courtesy of a dead English poet: "To thy own self be true." When you can do this, everything works out for the best. Always. Especially with the girl. 

***

Jim Mitchem

Face for Radio, Voice for Twitter

Last Saturday I participated in an ad industry podcast. My first one. How'd it go? You can judge for yourself by clicking here. Bob Knorpp, @thebeancast on Twitter, was kind enough to invite me to join some very smart people on The BeanCast, a weekly, hour-long audio broadcast that brings the brightest minds from the ad business to a virtual round table to discuss current industry trends and news. 

This week's show featured Bill Green, @mtlb, Dirk Singer, @dirktherabbit and Ian Sohn, @iansohn, who are all accomplished professionals with wonderful speaking voices. Me, not so much. Plus, I rambled. And you can hear it all by clicking here. Yep, I loosely associated Toyota loyalty with how my father kept food on our table when I was a kid, and even proposed that the sticking gas pedals might be some kind of conspiracy. I don't know how Bob did it, but he somehow removed my inadvertent belching and all of my expletives. Bob is a pro. Really, he's like the younger, male, advertising version of Dianne Rehm. I strongly recommend that if you have anything to do with marketing and advertising, you subscribe to The BeanCast. You just download it to iTunes, then upload it to your mobile device and listen while you're at the gym, your kid's soccer practice or anywhere else you've got an hour to listen. I have for a while now, and have never been disappointed. Which is to say, you should download this week's show AND any of Bob's other 90 shows to establish your own reference point - and gain some keen industry insight. 

Thanks, Bob. 

Jim is a father, husband, copywriter and founder of smashcommunications, llc. You can find him on Twitter @smashadv.  

How To Write Memorable - Old Spice

Evidently, the really smart people are working on the Old Spice account. Wow. If this ad had run during the Super Bowl, Betty White is an afterthought. 

Jim is a father, husband, copywriter and founder of smashcommunications, llc. You can find him on Twitter @smashadv.  

Of Saints and Sinners - My Top 3 Ads from SB44

Wow. Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints. As a former season-ticket holder, during the worst season in team history, I'm very happy to see the Gold and Black win it all. And it was a great game to boot. But Sunday night, there were even more pressing issues at hand - namely, the airing of Super Bowl commercials. Since I was a kid, the ads were always an important part of the game. Sometimes more important. 

As for last night's batch of Super Bowl commercials, I was utterly underwhelmed. It seemed like the creative concepts were developed by people who were terrified to put the best ideas on the table. Either that, or the advertisers were scared. Someone was. Yes, I work in advertising, no I've never done a SB ad - and likely never will. But the fact that I've paid attention to advertising communications my whole life gives me the right to state what I think works and why. Click here for a look at the spots I liked from last year's Super Bowl.

So without further delay, here's how last night's top three spots ranked for this ad guy. 

#3 - Bud Light "Lost" 

After several Bud Light spots that were downright stupid, the brand aired this one. I have never seen an episode of Lost, but according to Twitter, it's a very popular show. Sure, all beer commercials either attempt to make you think that animals love beer, or that every human being in the world would drop everything for a sip of golden goodness, but this ad works. The acting (inflection) in this spot is fantastic, from the girl who finds the radio, to the guy who finds the beverage cart (to the actual use of the term beverage cart) - really smart. Made me laugh. 

#2 Google "Paris" 

Isn't it ironic that one of the best spots that aired during the Super Bowl was for a brand that really doesn't need to advertise? I guess that when you're king, you can throw a few million around if you've got a really good idea to share. Thank you Google for sharing this one. Smart, funny, empathetic, resonant, shows real use of the service - all the components of great communications. 

#1 Snickers "Betty White"

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Snickers - The Game - (2010) :30

You've got to hand it to Snickers (Mars) - they're ballsy. If you've been paying attention to their advertising the past few years, you know they've done some seriously 'different' work. Sometimes too different for mass appeal. But man, when they enlisted Betty White, they knocked it out of the park. This spot is as creative as it is funny. And a great reminder that Abe Vigoda is still alive. 

A Couple of Parting Shots

The Budweiser spot with the pony and calf who are 'best friends' - what the hell is that? An alcoholic (aka legal and addictive drugs) beverage company trying to appeal to children is pure evil. When my daughters (6, 8) saw this spot, they were giddy with laughter when the bull crashed through the gate. When the Bud logo came up, my oldest turned to me and said, "Why did that company make that ad, Daddy?" I had to be honest, "Because you're their future consumer honey, that's why." Hey Budweiser, why not just use unicorns next year? And butterflies? 

As far as the Tim Tebow 'Focus on the Family' spot is concerned, I honestly don't get the controversy. It's funny, it's part of a true story (whether you like that story or not) and it actually asks you to take further action to learn more - a tactic that was lacking in most every other ad that ran last night. Sure, the GoDaddy commercials asked you to sign onto their website for something like lesbian sex (I'm guessing) but when a GoDaddy spot runs, an angel loses its wings. 

The line of the night belonged to Hyundai: "At Hyundai, we believe that a safety feature like electronic stability control is too important to charge a premium for..." That's pretty smart. 

Finally, to next year's Super Bowl advertisers: Please stop with all the people in their underwear, the slapping, hitting and all violence altogether, and relying on rodents as core creative concepts. Thanks. 

Special thanks to Adland.tv for posting all these videos so quickly, and for a look at what other people thought about the ads, click #sbad and #brandbowl. 

Jim is a father, husband, copywriter and founder of smashcommunications, llc. even though he'll probably never make a Super Bowl ad. You can find him on Twitter @smashadv.  

Brand is Still King

Don't kid yourself - advertising still matters. Thanks to the digital revolution, traditional advertising is sliding into oblivion with print, radio and outdoor becoming smaller and smaller like the opening narrative in Star Wars. But the one component of traditional advertising that's just as important now as ever - is brand. So before we abandon traditional logic altogether, let's not forget what got us here in the first place.

I'm not talking about just a logo, tagline, color palette or typography. I'm talking about the deeper stuff. Real branding. Core ideals that drive corporate cultures and that are developed at the top of an organization and flow freely downstream into every tributary of the company. The best an advertising agency can do to develop a brand is decipher what is most true about an organization, and then let that thing be the tip of the communications spear. For everything. 

Consider that until the arrival of Social media, advertising in any form was, at best, a one-way appeal. And don't try to tell me that telemarketing or direct response was somehow 2-way advertising either, mister. I know first hand how to write scripts that feature variable data as actual people. By virtue of its nature, one-way communication is manipulative. Do something. Buy something. Act now. 

Only, social media is where 'Act now' goes to die. 

So how do you exist in this space? Thankfully, just as with traditional advertising, the best strategy is to lead with brand. Brands that are true to their values and are willing to share them with prospects, customers or even strangers will, no doubt, transition easily into social media. Those that rely on traditional manipulation tactics to drive sales - not so much. 

The best brands get out of their own way.

Jim is a father, husband, copywriter and founder of smashcommunications, llc. You can find him on Twitter @smashadv.  

Perhaps the Most Perfect Commercial Ever Made

If the purpose of a :30 television spot is to be memorable and to reinforce a brand's core promise of value, then this spot by Staples may be the best ad ever. Think about it - first you have a guy standing in a store branded to the teeth with the company's identity. Then you've got an excited customer screaming the brand's value proposition over and over. Add a couple of helpful employees, and throw in the number of products the brand carries - and bingo, a nearly perfect spot. 

Note: This does not mean that I think this is the best commercial I've ever seen. Rather, that when you get down to knuckles, advertising's supposed to do certain things. I also think that the old Chiquita Banana tagline ('Perhaps the World's Most Perfect Food') is pretty perfect too. Which is why I borrowed it for the title of this post. 

Jim is a father, husband, copywriter and founder of smashcommunications, llc. You can find him on Twitter @smashadv.