Mon Elefante

9 Life Lessons From Gordon Dean

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 13:22:43 -0400

Never lose your capacity for enthusiasm.
Never lose your capacity for indignation.
Never judge people. Don’t type them too quickly. But in a pinch, never first assume that a man is bad; first assume that he is good and that, at worst, he is in the gray area between bad and good.
Never be impressed by wealth alone or thrown by poverty.
If you can’t be generous when it’s hard to be, you won’t be when it’s easy.
The greatest builder of confidence is the ability to do something—almost anything—well.
When confidence comes, then strive for humility; you aren’t as good as all that.
The way to become truly useful is to seek the best that other brains have to offer. Use them to supplement your own, and be prepared to give credit to them when they have helped.
The greatest tragedies in the world and personal events stem from misunderstandings. So communicate!

A call to do more right brained, conceptual thinking. The Candle...

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 11:28:01 -0400

The Candle Problem

The Candle Problem For Dummies

The Solution

A call to do more right brained, conceptual thinking.

The Candle Problem is a cognitive performance test that measures one’s problem solving capabilities. It can be presented in different degrees of difficulty. Removing the tacks from the box simplifies the problem for the problem solver (see middle picture). However, one’s goal should be to solve the problem in the first picture.

Daniel Pink, thanks for the wonderful reminder.

Think & Behave Like a 5 Year Old

Sat, 04 Aug 2012 07:57:49 -0400

Think & Behave Like a 5 Year Old:

http://invitroinnovation.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/think-and-behave-like-a-five-year-old/

The things that make P&G’s “Thank You,...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:49:09 -0400

The things that make P&G’s “Thank You, Mom” campaign really work:

(1) Use one idea and spread it across different media channels for greatest impact. Think seamless conversation on a moving walkway.

(2) Singular message across touchpoints. The consumer will walk away thinking, believing, saying the same thing after exposure from each medium, be it print or social.

(3) Creative idea is driven from an emotional human insight (copyline: The hardest job in the world, is the best job in the world.) that’s relevant to the brand’s challenge (for P&G it’s unifying brands in its house & launching a global campaign).

(4) If it’s not broken, don’t fix it … just evolve it. This is the 2nd go-around for the much-anticipated “Thank You, Mom.” campaign. It 1st appeared 2-years ago during Vancouver Games.

"Believe in the possibility of every assignment."

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:41:25 -0400

“Believe in the possibility of every assignment.”

- True. Find the opportunity in all projects. No matter how small or off it feels.

- Old school Leo Burnett briefing doc.

"I beg young people to travel. If you don’t have a passport, get one. Take a summer, get a backpack..."

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:37:38 -0400

“I beg young people to travel. If you don’t have a passport, get one. Take a summer, get a backpack and go to Delhi, go to Saigon, go to Bangkok, go to Kenya. Have your mind blown. Eat interesting food. Dig some interesting people. Have an adventure. Be careful. Come back and you’re going to see your country differently, you’re going to see your president differently, no matter who it is. Music, culture, food, water. Your showers will become shorter. You’re going to get a sense of what globalization looks like. It’s not what Tom Friedman writes about; I’m sorry. You’re going to see that global climate change is very real. And that for some people, their day consists of walking 12 miles for four buckets of water. And so there are lessons that you can’t get out of a book that are waiting for you at the other end of that flight. A lot of people—Americans and Europeans—come back and go, ohhhhh. And the light bulb goes on.”

- Henry Rollins

Sage words.

(via planningthejourney)

I’m a nut for fun guerilla marketing tactics. Here...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:45:45 -0400

I’m a nut for fun guerilla marketing tactics.

Here Universal Studios Hollywood uses the side of the Staples Center to promote its new Transformers ride.

My dream backyard getaway. Bjon Pankratz designed and built this...

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:06:01 -0400

My dream backyard getaway. Bjon Pankratz designed and built this treehouse in his TN backyard. His kids are 2 lucky souls. Bjon, if you’re ever up for it we have a tree in the backyard that would happily take on your next outdoor decor project.

For a time series of Bjon’s treehouse check out Eilas’s blog.

"It’s good to be socially good today."

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:35:21 -0400

“It’s good to be socially good today.”

- Aradhna Krishna, University of Michigan professor who studies cause marketing

LATimes.com 1/25/12

Fo’, Fo’, Fo’

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 09:45:59 -0400

Fo’, Fo’, Fo’

On many long journeys have I gone. And waited, too, for others...

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:40:00 -0400

On many long journeys have I gone. And waited, too, for others to return from journeys of their own. Some return. Some are broken. Some come back so different only their names remain. - Dark Rendezous.

Very true for those of us who serve or served in the armed forces and their loved ones.

6 Habits of Strategic Planning

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:33:00 -0400

Anticipate: ask “what’s possible?;” practice peripheral vision

Think Critically: question everything; reframe problems; challenge current beliefs/processes

Interpret: don’t assume (you know what assuming will cause); synthesize info before forming a viewpoint; be rational; build and test your hypothesis

Decide: avoid “analysis paralysis by:using process to your benefit, not worrying about perfection and taking and owning a stand

Align: foster open dialogue & build trust; take time to really understand others’ agendas; don’t bury tough issues instead bring them to the surface and hash them out

Learn: continually grow and improve and don’t ever think that you’re too good to get better

Thanks for the reminder, Inc.

Social as a Part. Not a Whole.

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 17:30:18 -0400

It all starts with the consumer. Know your consumers’ life cycle to best plug in which medium works best at which point of the life cycle. That’s what I say to the role of social media. Yes, social media can, and if used strategically will, have an enormous impact on the success of your marketing programs. But first you need to know where in your consumers’ life cycle social media as a medium should go. In most cases, social media programs will be only one part of the total brand conversation and experience. You’ll most likely need a multi-channel communications plan to achieve your multiple communications objectives. As Nate Elliott said it, “(social media is) merely one tool in your marketing tool kit.” Realize that. Think consumer first and then find the right place for this engaging and dynamic medium.

Cool campaign from Gatorade. Not only did this brand create an...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:16:00 -0500

Cool campaign from Gatorade. Not only did this brand create an emotional connection … it literally set out and changed consumer behavior. As we all know, that’s something tough to do. Especially in this chaotic and frantic world. Way to go Gatorade & all collaborators!

Insight: An achievable aspirational idea of Second Chances to motivate aged 30+ adults to get active again.

Why it Works: Simple, single minded strategy and call to action. Culturally relevant and emotionally engaging creative idea. Multiple traditional and non-traditional touchpoint strategy that flows from the big idea.