The world of blogging is an interesting one. You and I have access to celebrity bloggers in a way that we wish we had access to typical celebrities. If you are a celeberity blogger, such as hugh, then there is someone else out there whose ideas influence yours. Every now and then, I feel like posting something really personal (like relationships) on my little place here; but, then I remind myself of the purpose of this blog. I put those in my written journal.
My point is that we feel as though we know the authors of our favorite blogs, but do we? I’ve emailed several people whose blogs I follow. Except for a few, their tones were completely different than the way they write. Some were even kind of rude, but it’s hard to say they meant anything because emails don’t show tone. No harm done…I’m sure they get tired of being emailed by every Tom, Dick and me. I don’t really admire too many celebs; but one that I do is Jerry Seinfeld. I’ve seen him twice on stage. He always starts by saying, "Hey, it feels like we know each other doesn’t it? Miss me?" It may not be verbatim, but along the lines. I feel like I know him. I even know how to get in touch with him personally by mail, but I choose not to invade his privacy. He’s right…I truly have no idea what he’s about.
I think it’s cool that we are able to have access to some of the great minds in our respective industries; but, it makes me wonder how many are really trying to assist others or just stroke their ego. I kinda like a mix.
Someone yesterday posted a question on one of the business social networks that I’m a member of. It was about this movie and the impressions it presented to the people of the advertising world.
Here is my response:
I saw it Sunday night…pondered it that night and the next day. I thought it was well written…not as cheesy as I was expecting. The guy who played the 26 year old and Quaid did well together I thought.
I think there was a good deal of ‘simplified truth.’ Remember their target audience was just the general public. To you, me and the members of this forum, it’s a little bit of smoke and mirrors; but to everyone else it’s probably a decently real adaption.
I’m in ad sales, so I was able to relate quite a bit. I wish I had accounts the size of Sports America (ie Sports Illustrated). I was definitely able to relate to the size of the parent company. During the movie, I was wondering how much my ‘top dog’ is like the ‘top dog’ in the movie. Near the end when Connor (26 year old) comes down to earth and is letting out his thoughts, I immediately leaned over and whispered to my girlfriend, "I feel like I’m looking at myself in the mirror." She smirked, "I was thinking the same thing.
I’m not sure what it is about being young, but I never feel as though I’m moving fast enough to get to where I want to be. I think the coolest thing is to look back and realize that you were able to help a company get to a certain position. The direct impact would be awesome. I was able to relate to his character easier than Quaid’s. One thing that I like about being young is that I’m not scared to try new things. My ideas are aggressive and even if they don’t become reality, maybe they shed new light on an idea. I guess I’ll lose that at some point.
I had much more on my mind about it, but…WAKE UP!! It’s over.
Several weeks ago, I went with my dad to grab a beer and talk at Fox and Hound. They always have several TVs with various sporting events showing and music videos playing on one of those. I’ve never really payed any attention to MTV or VH1 in my life. I would watch it hanging out with friends or maybe hear about certain videos through the grapevine. If I wanted music, I’d listen to it…no need to watch. I thought TRL was dumb, but kids watched. I was a kid when it started…didn’t get it. However, I always thought it was fascinating how impressionable my age group was, and how people were so in love with famous people. I never really understood this obsession with celebrities. I understand it’s power in the world of marketing. I understand how to use to gain an advantage. I just don’t understand why humans in general obsess. They’re just people. They’re famous because of you.
Ok not the point to this entry. A video "Intuition" by Jewel came on the main TV. The reason I never see videos now is that MTV shows no videos. It’s completely pop culture TV. You need to have MTV #572 in order to see videos or stay up until 4am to see them on MTV #1. I’ve always thought the song was pretty cool. My dad asked me what the video was talking about. I thought it was awesome considering I work in advertising. If you know the song, then (Download jewel_intuition_1.mov)
it will make sense. If this is your first time watching the video, then listen to the words.
It is really cool to me the satire of the commercial brands. I think it’s two pronged.
- Trying to make the viewer realize how many brands and ads are seen on a daily basis that we never think about.
- The satire brings to light what consumers are really watching. It makes you think, "I buy or watch something because of this?"
The Nike, Corona and TRL were really clever. I would like to hear your thoughts on this.
Brands…
the most influential part of a business; however, it is often the most overlooked aspect of business. This is especially true within small to medium sized businesses. To the average ‘smedium’ sized business owner, this is seen as a function of the marketing/advertising department. In reality, it is separate. The brand is what your company stands for in the world. It is what sets it apart from your competition.
Case
One of my clients is a small bank (I’ll call them Comm Bank) that is rapidly growing in the community. They started out about twenty years ago and specialize in commercial clients. They know what their market is and what sets them apart from everyone else. Their brand is their service. They achieve this by consistently offering service comparable to that of the typical bank who’s main business is personal accounts. Their clients are businesses, but they talk to them like people. Comm knows the people of New Orleans. It is a very different market and is fickle when it comes to targeting. One of the most important things a company has to do in New Orleans is realize that loyalty is going to be a huge factor. During a period where major bank mergers are taking place and they are flooding the markets, it will be survival of the fittest when it comes to smaller banks. It happened with grocery stores, drug stores and bookstores, etc. Fortunately, my client realizes this. The cool logo is nice; but, it doesn’t sell…their brand does. Comm is expanding, but they know their top priority is to maintain their level of personal service to commercial customers. This is their brand.
The decision makers need to realize that the brand is the most important concept of their business. It affects everything. Ironically, the brand is also the most misunderstood function of business. It is the responsibility of the company heads…not something to be left to a third party ad agency or the in house marketing department. The role of the latter is to maintain and expand the brand.
Obviously, not everything can be defined at conception. Firms must keep in mind that your brand shapes everything from the way your employees function to the type of customers you’ll inherit.
Simple Steps for a SMedium Size Biz Brand Creation
It can be shaped by doing a SWOT analysis. However, you must also remember to stay credible…do what you say you will. Do not overextend.
Everyone has those days when something kinda important happens. It doesn’t always have to be bad or heartbreaking. It can be something positive. Just something deep to make you think. It can be something on a large scale such as the tsunami out in the Indian ocean. A world that seems far away from me as an American. It seems exotic, but so hits so close to home. The human element comes to task. It can be something local to you such as the 6 guardsmen Louisiana just lost. You could be in the Mac cult, which makes this one of two very exciting times for you. It doesn’t matter the magnitude or the connotations…just what’s important to you.
For me, the last 5 days have just been serious. It hasn’t all been negative or directly aimed at me. I try to walk that fine line between cocky and confident, but in times such as these I like to think that I handle pressure situations pretty well. Those who know me, know that I’m pretty even keel. I don’t get too up or too down because you never know when the times will abruptly change. This week was perfect to test my ability to juggle several things at once. My week was typical in that I had work and my IOP class, but I had news, happenings and advice to hand out/receive. I will not get into on here because I’m not sure all the involved party’s would want their business on here. The public things such as Buddy D or the local Guardsmen, someone close to me being scared or someone close to me having an unusually awesome week for the first time in a while. I had a client today that I rode with, and two opposite people from different walks of life became a little closer. In this case, it was bigger than just us. It made an impact on others. Moreover, I had two conversations about life with a close friend and mentor. All things that made me do a good deal of thinking this week.
Things we need to keep reminding ourselves:
- Be thankful for whomever raised you. For most of us, it’s our parents. I am extremely fortunate in this regard. Even if you were raised by horrible people, they helped you to become a stronger person and realized who you don’t want to be.
- Don’t take for granted where you are living especially if it’s in a country with a modern way of life. If you live in CA right now, think about a hurricane that hits Haiti real hard. It becomes life threatening chaos. In the US, we have groups that help each other.
- Hate your job? 5% of this country is without one. Blame it on whomever you wish, but you have one. Work hard…build up on your experience and your skills. One day you might get a better one. If nothing else, take pride in the fact that you’re doing the work.
- The more sensitive this country becomes…the weaker it is becoming. Everyone needs to stop being a victim. Be strong don’t make excuses. Try to get closer to your opposites…don’t push them away. This country is very good right now, but it can be great again.
- Remember the people that helped you get where you’re sitting right now.
I woke up and went downstairs to speak to my dad about my plans for the day. He was tranquilly lying on the couch looking at the ceiling thinking…nothing out of the usual for a Saturday morning. He didn’t have much response to anything I was saying. He said that ‘Buddy D’ had died. Initially, I said, "Damn. What happened?" My dad informed me that he passed due to a heart attack late Friday night. If you don’t know who Buddy D is, it’s a long story. Basically, he has been a journalist for the past fifty years in one form or another. For thirty-seven of those years, he covered the New Orleans Saints with a deep passion. He felt the frustration of the fans and knew how to convey it. He was the voice to management. The man was the ambassador to the Saints. A close second was Jim Henderson of WWL-TV (870 AM for game days). I’m not old enough to know when his career became established, but he’s been on the radio covering the Saints for as long as I’ve been alive. The coolest thing I hear about him is that all he expected was honesty.
Honestly, on Saturday I did not realize the magnitude of his disappearance from us. Truly, I stopped listening to his show within the past year or so. Other than football, I found myself siding with the callers to his show all the time. I’d get so frustrated. Buddy would not comprehend what a caller would say and then accuse the caller of being one of his infamous ‘squirrels.’ It aggravated me because anyone with an intelligent question would get turned away from the show because Buddy didn’t understand him. Finally, I came to the conclusion that he just was not able to keep up with the modern sports world. He was 73 at the time of his death, so I don’t think this is far-fetched; however, when it came to the Saints…he knew his business. If you’re not aware of the man, it’s too much to get into on this.
I spent a good amount of time on the road Saturday through Monday. All day on 870 AM, the station had a commercial free radio attributed to the Man. This was well-deserved, and I’m glad I was able to hear some of the stories about the people he’d touch. I especially enjoyed that commentary from the men and women who worked with him. Even though I started to dislike his show, I knew that he was a class act and a good guy to know. I wish it hadn’t ended for him like that, and that he could have done a ‘last show’ before he died.
I want to also give props to the two new sports shows in town. Gerry Valencourt spoke about the passing during halftime of the Kings game Saturday night. He also recognized him during his show on Monday afternoon. The same goes to Eric Asher and Justin Gutierrez during the day Monday. Shows much class…nice to see and something this city never seems to lack.
The Saints 2005-6 season is going to be weird. You’ll be missed. Hope you’re having a good time with the guys.
I just came back from a cruise last week. I was thinking about the loss LSU sustained to Iowa. Congratulations to Iowa…it hurt, but what a game!! Tate and Babineaux are great players. I’m looking forward to following both of them next year at their respective levels. I give major props to the coaching staff. With two timeouts and only 16 seconds left, I figured they’d call a timeout; however, I assume they saw that the SS was out of position and took a shot…catching LSU off guard. I wish the seniors the best of luck in all that they do. Next year LSU will have a battle for QB between JaMarcus Russell and Matt Flynn. Both are great athletes, but one is better in terms of raw talent; however, one is a head case. It’ll be interesting to see which one prevails with the new head coach.
Some things that occurred really bothered me. First of all, the experts don’t know jack. The media will do whatever it must to create a story. All week, guys at ESPN Radio/TV and FSR were commenting about how Coach Nick Saban needs to just go to Miami and leave his team be. LSU should say ‘thanks,’ and go their seperate ways. These are the people who have never played a sport in their lives. It doesn’t work like that. Truth is the media is aggarvated because Saban did the right thing by telling his team first. The poor media didn’t get the official word until the week of the bowl. Props to Coach Saban on doing the right thing. I didn’t hear any of these people complaining about Urban Meyer staying with the Utes through their bowl. Why? Because he’s more personable to the media and he confirmed his decision the next day. Nothing against Coach Meyer…he and Saban just have different personalities.
The media does not know Saban. I was a walk-on for a short time under Saban. I do not claim to know him like a Michael Clayton, Marcus Spears or Matt Mauck would know him (all class guys); but I’ve been a player behind doors and heard speeches that the media hasn’t. My brother is a walk-on as well. He’s much closer to playing than I ever was, and he confirms my thoughts. The media was under the impression that the Tigers would not play for him because he’s leaving. This is the biggest pile of bullshit. Those guys love Coach Saban. They would do anything for him. He has taught them about leadership, character and accountability. I only had a brief whiff of this, but this is what the man preaches. No one on that team was influenced by the media and the so-called distractions. If anything, they played harder and wanted it more. Saban preaches proving yourself to no one else but yourself. If everyone does their job for sixty minutes, then they will achieve success.
Be careful about what you hear in the media about teams. I’m not including guys such as Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit or Lee Corso. I am including guys such as Mike Greenburg, Mark May and Trev Alberts. These guys seem to have an agenda. Just one example: last year when LSU was on their way to the BCS Sugar Bowl, these experts said how great of a "players’ coach" Saban was. He is no where near that. Saban is about getting things done. The only time you saw the man was at practice, before a game or meetings. He was never around the locker room. He never made chit-chat while you were lifting. If you needed to see him aside from those three previously mentioned areas, then you made an appointment. Not an example of a players coach. I’m not bashing Saban. Everyone has their style and his works.
Make no mistake about it. Those Tigers gave their all during that last game. His players are happy for him, and the Tiger fans throughout the country, who truly appreciate what he’s done for the school, will be as well.
