Match Wits With Sherlock Holmes In This Unique Immersive Story Experience

This Saturday you can be part of a very cool narrative experience at Lincoln Center. You will be asked to solve a crime worthy of Sherlock Holmes. This is a “Sneak Preview” of a larger experience that will be staged later this year at a major film festival.

Details:
Saturday, May 2nd
12pm, 1pm or 2pm
The Frieda and Roy Furman Gallery
Lincoln Center
165 West 65th Street (between Broadway & Amsterdam)

RSVP NOW – space is limited

Come step into a FREE collaborative storytelling experience that reimagines the world of Sherlock Holmes. This coming Saturday, May 4th during the Columbia University Film Festival, we’ll stage 3 games starting at 12pm, 1pm and 2pm. Space is limited so make sure to RSVP.

Become Sherlock Holmes and help create and solve an evolving mystery in a fun and playful setting that mixes story, gaming and design. Lincoln Center is your crime scene and you’ll have 60 minutes to create and solve a mystery.

Sherlock Holmes and the Internet of Things is an ongoing project from the Columbia Digital Storytelling Lab in partnership with the NYFF and the Brown Institute for Media Innovation.

For more info on this storytelling prototype from the Columbia Digital Storytelling Lab visit http://sherlock.digitalstorytellinglab.com

About the project
Join storytellers, game developers, makers, creative technologists, and experience designers. An experiment in co-authorship – Sherlock Holmes and the Internet of Things invites participants to step into a collaborative design space. Over the course of monthly meetups, participants lay the groundwork for a re-imaging of Sherlock Holmes told through a series of connected objects. The year-long experiment culminates with a special presentation at Lincoln Center during the NYFF in 2015.

 Sherlock

2014 Marketing Hall of Fame — A Turning Point In Marketing

On Wednesday night, 5/28, we will be inducting 3 people in the 2014 Marketing Hall of Fame.

This marks a major turning point in marketing. The Age of Narrative Marketing is now ready for prime time.

It was 10 years ago that Ad Age mocked the very idea of narrative as a strategic framework, metaphors as the keys to compelling communications  and storytelling as the single most effective way to integrate digital and traditional media. The catalyst? A major talk by the CMO of McDonald’s revealing the secret for the company’s revitalization and leap in relevance, market share and stock prices — a new model for marketing, Brand Journalism, spearheaded by Larry Light.  Among the detractors were Al & Laura Ries were among the loudest detractors, “The notion that McDonald’s should abandon the positioning philosophy and instead adopt a brand journalism approach is lunacy.

• Around the same time the ARF (advertising research foundation) was conducting a major industry study on the power of story being more effective than the traditional rational “proof point” or “reason-why”.
• Gerald Zaltman was publishing widely on his research into the universal power of metaphor.
• And 10 years ago I introduced the Narrative Branding model of marketing.
• Douglas Holt of Harvard was demonstrating a model of “iconic” brands in which cultural storytelling was more important than the standard “positioning” or “USP” models.

Lunacy, heresy, whatever you want to call it, the reality is that narrative models of marketing are far more effective than traditional positioning. How far has marketing gone in the direction of narrative marketing?  When Liquid & Linked was revealed at Cannes it was received with awards.  More importantly, it is helping the company to achieve it’s aggressive marketing goals. And that is what is most important.

So join us on Wednesday as we are celebrating the brilliance of Beth Comstock of GE, Joe Tripodi of The Coca-Cola Company and Philip Kotler of Kellogg School of Marketing.  Each one of them has broken with the old traditional model of marketing.

• The Coca-Cola Company’s model of Liquid & Linked is a prime example.
• Beth Comstock has elevated the role of marketing within GE to create new markets.
• And Philip Kotler is always at the forefront of where marketing is going, and particularly how marketing can promote positive social changes.

Another sign of the new age is that several years ago JWT, our host for Wednesday night, embraced Brand Journalism, created videos around their version of the approach, held panels at SxSW and did much to promote the new model.  The Commodore would be proud!

So come on Wednesday. Celebrate the Age of Narrative Marketing! Celebrate brilliance in marketing!  Marketinghalloffame.org

 

Philip Kotler on the Marketing Hall of Fame

Did you know that chairman of the nominating committee for one of the first Marketing Hall of Fame inductions was Philip Kotler?  Yes, back in 1995, when he wrote,

The two most important assets of any company, brand value and people value, are unfortunately not on the books.

While brands have slowly made there way onto the financial reports, marketers are still not on the books as valued and valuable resources. While there are awards for campaigns or for short-term successes, e.g. “Marketing of the Year”, there is no recognition for the people who have made tremendous contributions to marketing overall, and over a number of years.

We are changing that.

This year the Marketing Hall of Fame is inducting 3 individuals who have shown their innovation, leadership, inspiration and success over time, and often across multiple disciplines. This year we are celebrating brilliance in marketing, by focusing on the people behind the brands.

Marketing Hall of Fame to the people who make outstanding contributions to the field of marketing and are inspiring and educating the next generation of marketers.

Today I was in touch with Philip Kotler about his past role in the Marketing Hall of Fame. Phil Kotler wrote to me,

I am glad to hear that you are reviving the Marketing Hall of Fame and centering it on awarding people.

And he is already putting in nominations. I invite you to do the same.

Now is the time. This link takes you to the place: marketinghalloffame.org

 

 

The Marketing Hall of Fame Is Now Open

There is a Nobel Prize for Economics. And a Nobel Prize for Literature. Why isn’t there a Nobel Prize for Marketing?

Welcome to the one, the only, the official Marketing Hall of Fame. Celebrate Brilliance in Marketing.

 

The Marketing Hall of Fame is where the Nobel Prize of Marketing lives. Produced by the NYAMA.

Stay tuned…more to follow…

Absolute Proof That Design Drives Business Results

Stuart Elliot of the NY Times summed up the prevailing opinion of design when he once said to me,

Logo schmogo

Can a logo drive business results?  Absolutely.

There is one brand that saw a 20% change in their business within 7 weeks of changing their logo and packaging design.

Yes, that’s right, CHANGE IN LOGO RESULTS IN 20% CHANGE IN SALES IN 7 WEEKS.

Logo schmogo indeed!

There were no other changes during that time which would account for such a dramatic change in business performance — the product stayed the same, distribution the same, pricing the same.  Everything was the same except for the new logo on the package.

So what brand are we talking about?  Tropicana. In 7 Weeks sales plunged 20%

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — After a package redesign, sales of the Tropicana Pure Premium line plummeted 20% between Jan. 1 and Feb. 22, costing the brand tens of millions of dollars. On Feb. 23, the company announced it would bow to consumer demand and scrap the new packaging, designed by Peter Arnell.

I was reminded of this astonishing business result by the stories about Arnell Group finally closing its doors.

Peter Arnell made a very dangerous mistake.  He forgot the brand metaphor.  That orange with a straw is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. To paraphrase Anita Bryant, “An orange juice carton without a straw is like a morning without Tropicana.”

Is the glass half empty or half fully?

 

 

 

Great Metaphor

 

There’s a difference between beautiful design and brilliant design.  Peter went for beauty instead of brilliance.  And that probably contributed to the problems that led to the End of an Era: Omnicom’s Arnell Group to Close | Agency News – Advertising Age

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s a big difference between

4 X 4 in Times Square – or – Unpacked in the Packed Square

One of my secret vices is reading a book while walking down the street.  Now, since our offices are just off of Times Square, I reach a point where I just have to put down the book and look around me.  As anyone who has walked through Times Square lately can tell you, Samsung is launching the Samsung Galaxy S IV right there, tomorrow evening.

While I was admiring all of the digital billboards for the Galaxy S 4, I had to do a double take.

4 by 4?

LG is engaged in their own guerrilla tactics.

In this case LG is probably wasting their money.  Their message is speaking to themselves, or to Samsung Mobile executives, but certainly not to the average person who just sees

4

It just fits in with all of the other “4” billboards wrapped around the neighborhood.

The 4 Corners of the Galaxy

Honestly, I didn’t even realize that the LG billboard was trying to poke fun at Samsung until I looked at the photos later in the day.  “It will take more than 4 to equal one.”  With the visual emphasis on “4” LG is actually hurting their own cause.  Their spending is reinforcing the Samsung message.   Times Square is crowded visually, LG needs to have a better storyline to stand out.  There is no stopping power to their advertising.

Full disclosure, while Samsung is a client of Verse Group, we did not participate in this unpacked event.

BRITE Is On The Horizon

This year’s BRITE Conference is scheduled to start on Monday, March 4th.

The team up at Columbia Business School always put together a fascinating program.  A lot of hits and very few fizzles over the years.

Last year BRITE and the NYAMA teamed up on a major study on Marketing in the Age of Big Data (NYAMA_BRITE_Slides_030612 copy)  Professor Don Sexton and I presented some of the key findings.  David Rogers drew on it for additional insights.  While we aren’t presenting new data at the conference this year, there will be additional findings released by Don and David in the coming months.

So here’s what you need to know:

Our presenters will speak about a range of topics such as digital strategy, the future of mobile, and global insights. Our agenda can be found at:http://www.briteconference.com/Brite13/agenda.aspx.

Featured speakers include:

• Shiv Singh, Global Head of Digital, PepsiCo Beverages
• Liz Schimel, Chief Digital Officer, Meredith National Media Group
• Kerry Trainor, Chief Executive Officer, Vimeo
• Kaaren Hanson, Vice President of Design Innovation, Intuit
• Michael Hagan, Chief Operating Officer, LevelUp
• Jean Brandolini-Lamb, Vice President, Global Branding, SAP
• Charles Duhigg, Author, The Power of Habit; Journalist, The New York Times
• Miklos Sarvary, GlaxoSmithKline Chaired Professor of Corporate Innovation, INSEAD
• Bernd Schmitt, Executive Director, Institute on Asian Consumer Insight; Professor, Columbia Business School

We hope to see you there!

Best,

David, Matt, and Allie

2013 BRITE Conference: Brands, Innovation, Technology

Presented by the Columbia Business School Center on Global Brand Leadership

March 4 – March 5, 2013

Lerner Hall, Columbia University, New York, New York

About BRITE

BRITE ’13 will bring together 300-400 leaders from business, technology, media, and marketing to discuss how technology and innovation are transforming the ways that companies build and sustain great brands.

Kotler and Keller on Narrative Branding

It is a great honor that Narrative Branding is included in Marketing Management by Professors Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller.

Marketing Management (15th Edition, Pearson) is the most widely used marketing textbook.  It has been adopted by many MBA programs around the world.

Narrative Branding method in Kotler/Keller Marketing Management

Thunderbolts, Lightning, Mini Display? Hello, Apple, Anyone Home?

Apple has gone too cute with their nomenclature for connectors, cables and adapters.  Generally Apple has a good grasp of metaphor based naming systems: Apple, Macintosh, MacBook. Or: Safari, Leopard, Mountain Lion.

Today their metaphorical grasp is slipping.  Gone are common sense and intuition.  Welcome to the storm clouds in Apple’s product nomenclature!

The other day I went into the neighborhood Apple store looking for an adapter to connect our new Airbook to our somewhat older monitor with its VGA ports.  Earlier that day I had checked it out online, knew that I needed a Thunderbolt to VGA adapter.  So I scanned the nearly identical packages of adapters, saw what I needed and made it home in no time at all.  So far, so good.

Then I tried to connect the adapter to the computer.  Wouldn’t fit.  I went back to the package and saw Apple’s mistake — the faint gray lettering said  Lightning to VGA, not Thunderbolt to VGA.   That’s annoying, naming two different adapters with synonyms.  Thunderbolts are lightning. In fact, the icon for Thunderbolt is…lightning!   It’s a rookie mistake.  Block that Metaphor!

So I went back to the store to exchange Lightning for Thunderbolt.  Instead, I came across the puzzle below.  I was looking for the one on the left, Thunderbolt to VGA.  All I could find was the one on the right, Mini DisplayPort to VGA.  What, exactly, is different between these two ports?  Certainly the names are different.  The icons are different.  But somehow…

 

Yes, you are right, the shapes of the two ports are identical.

It’s not an optical illusion.  You wouldn’t know it if you didn’t ask, but the Thunderbolt port is identical to the Mini DisplayPort.  You cannot buy a Thunderbolt to VGA adapter because it is called Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter.  The Apple store employee explained this can only be discovered by close reading  of the small mouse-size type in faint gray on the side of the box.

So here is what I learned about their mixed metaphors:

Thunderbolts are lightning in the real world.  In Apple World Thunderbolts are not Lightning… even though the Thunderbolt icon is…Lightning.

Thunderbolts and Mini DisplayPorts are different in the real world.  In Apple World they are identical but given two different names.

iCloud. U lightning. They Thunderbolt. She Mini DisplayPort. We all confused by this nomenclature.

And I’m left wondering what ever happened to FireWire?

 

 

 

Is The World Ready for TRUTH in Advertising? How About Next Week? How About $5,000?

It’s January.  Time to for you to enter the Clios, the One Show and the newest advertising competition of all… The Truth in Advertising Contest!

Sure, those statues and plaques from the other award shows are fun.  The awards dinners are fun.  But do you win $5,000?  Only The Truth in Advertising Contest gives the winner $5,000.  http://truthinadvertisingcontest.tumblr.com

And remember, there’s only one place where you can find TRUTH in advertising.  And that’s in the novel by John Kenney.

You can order it today, but you’ll have to wait until next week for the Truth In Advertising.  That’s when it goes on sale.

Learn more at:  simonandschuster.com/truthinadvertising/