While it’s true you don’t have to grow up, you can’t help growing older. Harley Davidson has announced the development of a three-wheel vehicle, which made me wonder how far Harley Davidson could go to keep in step (so to speak) with it’s aging baby boomer customer base.
I can imagine the ad now… “We guarantee that if Medicare doesn’t approve your Harley Davidson Scooter, it’s free!”
My thanks to those who have sent me emails wondering what's been up. In my youth, I'd often dream of taking a summer off to travel around the country. 25 years later I got my wish. In June I met with 11 new clients at the “Wizard Of Ads Boom Your Business” workshop in Austin. Since then I’ve been following up with market visits to each one. There hasn't been a lot of time for quiet contemplation.
I wanted to call this summer's travels my "Graceland to Ground Zero" tour but that’d leave out a lot of the real estate I’ve seen this summer by plane, and train and automobile. My head is full of thoughts, my moleskin notebooks loaded with ideas and there’s a three-page word document with my impressions of the United States circa 2006. Eventually, I’ll share some of the stories but for now I'd like to share an observation from the road.
Despite media reports to the contrary, Americans are pretty much the same no matter where they live. From Long Island to Los Angeles people are concerned with more or less the same things; doing the best they can, providing for their family and building a better community.
I’ve also noticed that if you spend too much time watching television you could be led to believe that the country is coming apart at the seams. Everything is a “crisis” these days. A stretch of hot weather is reported at the onset of global warming. Commentators raising fears that a foiled terror plot could mean the end of air travel, as we know it. Gas Prices, Immigration, the list goes on and on.
In the movie “Men In Black,” Tommy Lee Jones explains to Will Smith that “a person is smart, people are stupid.” As a group we wring our hands, looking for someone to blame, looking for an easy answer. As individuals we realize that there are no simple answers and no one person or group to blame. So we do the best we can, providing for our families, helping to build a better community. And by doing that, things usually work out in the end.
I missed the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee last night. Despite the vivid recollection such events trigger, I congratulate this year’s champion 13-year-old Katharine Close of New Jersey. This year's winning word was "ursprache."
I remember participating in one and only one spelling bee. I was in 3rd or 4th grade at Fairlane Elementary in Taylor, Michigan. Upon hearing the word (and without thinking) I spelled Q – U –T –E.
I’ll bee sitting down now.
Every now and then I’ll take an hour or two to reflect on life, the universe and everything. This has been one of those evenings. Lives reflected in the soundtrack to “Almost Famous.”
“Walt I want to write.” “Walt I wish I could write as well as you.” “Walt, how do you do it?” Hardly a week goes by without someone making one of these comments. If you want my answer rent or buy the director’s cut of “Almost Famous.”
There’s a scene where Patrick Fugit as William Miller asks Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s character, Lester Bangs about what it takes to be a writer. Lester looks at the kid and says, “Just F***** write!” If there’s ever been a simpler more beautiful statement about how to become a writer, I’m not aware of it.
Just write. Write for yourself, write for your lover, write for your cat or write for generations unborn. Write as if no one will ever read your words. Write from the heart. Write from the head. Write something everyday even if you think your writing sucks like a Hoover. Get it down on the screen, or a note pad or on toilet paper, but get it down.
Be joyful in your failures relish your success. I promise, the passion or your words will be infectious.
Well, so much for reflections on a stormy night. Do yourself a favor, write something and send it to me.
In 2003, Verizon Wireless spent $880,000,000 dollars to institutionalize “Can You Hear Me Now.” McDonald’s “dah dah dah dah dah, I’m Lovin It” us to death to the tune of $673,000,000 the same year. So I find it somewhat amusing that some folks in Washington are frustrated that spending 1.5 million dollars (that’s total for operations and marketing!) over 5 years hasn’t moved the needle to get people to include a thirty second moment of remembrance to Memorial Day celebrations.
There's a logo, pens and coasters, prewritten news articles and television spots even a song. There have been events, like a sand-sculpture display inspired by D-Day. I don’t know about you but I’ve been pretty busy the past few years and I must have missed the memo. Maybe it goes back to the National Holiday Act of 1971 when Memorial Day (originally called Decoration Day) was moved from May 30th to the last Monday of the month to give us another 3-day weekend.
I think a moment of remembrance is a great idea, but it takes more than a ton of money to launch a new idea. Even as a holiday Memorial Day took some time to catch on. First observed after the Civil War in the mid-1860’s it wasn’t until 1873 when all Northern States had proclaimed the holiday. The Southern States refused to recognize the day until after World War 1 when it became a time to honor the dead of all wars, not just the Civil War.
We should remember those who have fallen in all wars with a moment of silence. But the moment of remembrance will be an uphill battle, much more difficult than say institutionalizing a moment of silence the morning of every September 11th. But I’ve always admired people who battle giants and I'll observe 30 seconds of silence at 3 p.m. this Monday.
If someone is unhappy with your service and wants to stop doing business with you after you’ve tried to resolve the issue get over it and move on. Don’t try to be tricky or evasive, especially if you accept cancellations online.
A little over three months ago I received an email from Classmates.com telling me an old (as in from a long time ago) girlfriend had sent me a note. Great! From time to time I’ve thought about her. There was only one catch (isn’t there always?) I needed to upgrade my free account to a “Gold” Membership. For only fifteen dollars for 3 months I would be able to read about her life, family, and career. I wasn’t about to pay an annual fee since I’d gotten along fine with a free membership for 5 or 6 years. Her note read, “Hi, I saw your name and wondered what you were up to” so much for her $15 autobiography.
Last week I received another email from Classmates thanking me for my membership renewal. “What’s This?” I log on sing in and find that somehow I have an automatic renewal. Actually the automatic renewal is the default setting. The language on the billing page is a little tricky. But I will accept full responsibility for not paying attention.
I went to the FAQ page for information on how to cancel my Gold Membership. Seemed easy enough. Said to contact member services. Unfortunately there is no link, no apparent way to contact customer service via the website. I felt myself sinking into the muck. I couldn’t find a phone number an email or regular address for customer service. Help me! I'm sinking! I'd had enough and decided to cancel everything including my free membership. There isn't wasn't a "I'M POD" box to check for the reason for the cancellation so I checked "other." Evidently I’m not the only one taken in by their marketing practices or they can read minds because the next day I received an email, which stated in part:
Thank you for contacting Classmates. I'd be more than happy to assist you.
While purchasing your Gold membership, you were enrolled in the automatic renewal program so that you wouldn’t experience any interruption to your Gold membership benefits. The automatic renewal information was provided to you on the credit card payment page of the Gold membership purchase process. We leave it up to each member to remove themselves from this program if they do not wish to participate by making the change in their "my account" area.
Now I had thought I had already cancelled my membership but a bit later on in the email….
You may cancel your Gold membership at any time by responding to this email; however, per the Terms of Service, you will forfeit your membership fee and your Gold membership benefits.
Welcome to my nightmare. I think I’m out of Classmates Gold, but I’m still not 100% certain.
I don’t like losing customers but relationships don’t always work out. I’ve only had three clients fire me in the last 5 years and I had to pull the plug on three who weren’t living up to their end of the agreement. Even though my paperwork requires written notice I’ve never made it an issue. It’s bad enough to go through a divorce without toss gasoline on the fire.
When a customer wants to leave, make it as easy as possible. Perhaps they’ll remember the good rather than the bad times.
Sometimes shorter ads are not only less effective than longer ones, but even harmful. If you don’t explain yourself listeners can draw the wrong conclusions. Case in point the following rant based solely on the information contained in one radio ad. I was totally wrong but I’d have never known it if I hadn’t taken the time to do the research or the ad was longer than fifteen seconds.
Would you equate the desire for a safe place to sleep with the desire for a safe night’s sleep? There’s a new Tylenol PM radio ad that tries. A serious female voice states that everyone deserves to have a safe place to sleep. Hmmm, it’s a public service announcement for the homeless. She then asserts that everyone deserves to sleep safely and Tylenol PM lets you get a good night’s sleep safely. “Stop, Think - Tylenol.”
The ad rubbed me the wrong way. Let’s change the slogan slightly “Stop and Think Tylenol.” If the members of the ad’s creative team learned about Abraham Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs” in college, they forgot most of it.
Foods, water and shelter are the most basic human “needs,” followed by safety, belonging, self-esteem and self-actualizing. About 10% of the American population is only concerned with fulfilling basic needs - having enough food, water, and shelter to survive.
Judging from the extraordinary amount of advertising for sleep aids and mattresses a large percentage of American’s are concerned about sleeping better, but I don’t believe that a majority of homeless people give a rip about the benefits of Tylenol PM. The analogy is confusing at best and insensitive to the homeless.
If they haven’t already, the makers of Tylenol PM should establish a foundation dedicated to the eradication of homelessness in America. Perhaps, if everyone had a safe place to sleep, maybe we could all sleep more soundly.
Well they have (sort of). McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals, maker of Tylenol is supporting Bright Spaces for Homeless Children project. A simple addition would have made a much more powerful ad.
This has been an interesting week. I’m back working with my friends in Asheville, North Carolina talking to advertisers about using my creative services for their ad campaigns. I learn so much from the business owners I meet. Every once in awhile I meet someone who opens up and tells me what they really want to do has very little with what they’re doing presently. When prodded their frustration bursts through their veneer like a chick out of it’s shell. This week I met three such people.
The conversations went something like this:
“I’m doing ‘X,’ but what I want to do is ‘Y.’”
“Why aren’t you doing Y?”
“Ummmm….”
There’s usually a reason or two, maybe an excuse given. I understand completely. Four years ago I was doing X dreaming of doing Y myself.
On September 15th 2005 I quit my day job and became one of Roy Williams’ Wizard Partners. Occasionally, an acquaintance or ex-employee will comment about how “Lucky” I am to be doing what I want, where I want every day. “Luck” has nothing to do with it. Being willing to take baby steps toward achieving big dreams has everything to do with it.
Madison, Wisconsin October 2000 – The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association brings Roy Williams in to speak to Radio Salespeople and Managers. I’d read some of Roy’s articles and skimmed “Wizard Of Ads,” but seeing it live was something else. I remember calling my wife on the cell phone on the drive back home telling her that I needed to spend $3,000 we didn’t have to go to a place called Buda, Texas for three days. One look when I walked through the door told her I wasn’t kidding.
Buda, Texas November 2000 – The Wizard Academy – 3 days that shook my world. I sat in front of 14 brilliant people who would become friends and told them that, “I think I’d like to have my own advertising business someday.”
Sometime in early 2002 my boss, Kira asked me what I’d do if I could do anything. Simple answer, “Give up managing 12 salespeople, and takeover management of the radio station’s creative services division. Three months later we completed the transition.
For the next two years I had the unbelievable fortune to travel around the country meeting hundreds of business people helping those I could to improve their advertising, and offering as much free marketing advice as anyone cared to take. One thing was clear; advising was a heck of a lot more fun than selling or managing.
October 2004 – I became one of the first 25 Wizard Partners without much of an idea of what to do next so I kept traveling, working with any radio station managers who got the concept of helping their clients build brands.
Chicago, IL December 15th, 2005 – The O’Hare Hilton. The CEO of the company I worked for asked why I was writing ads for stations he didn’t own. I had permission but he said I shouldn’t do that anymore. Put a fork in it boys and girls. That was the moment it became a matter of when not if I was going to go do my own thing.
Nine months to the day (hmm never thought of it that way before) I received my last direct deposit from the radio guys and completed that stage of my career evolution.
I’m still working with a select number of brilliant radio station managers (I’d mention their names but it would embarrass them) and am building up a list of clients that I consult. I have room for a few more clients if you’re interested.
Where are you in your career? Are you doing exactly what you want to be doing, if not, why not?
It seems that people almost need permission to follow their dreams. So here it is. If you have big dreams and are willing to take baby steps to get there I give you permission on behalf of everyone else on earth.
The letters “N” “A” “S” and “E” keep rubbing off the keyboard of my 14.1” Apple iBook G4. It takes about 3 months, but just like clockwork the letters disappear before my very eyes. Fortunately, I purchased an Apple Care extended warranty so I have another couple of keyboards left before I’m out of luck. But that’s a different story.
Today’s story is about the great people at DHL customer service. Next to choosing my own airline seat, tracking express shipments online is perhaps the greatest tool of empowerment on the web. It’s almost like watching Santa Claus fly down from the North Pole with his bag of goodies.
So imagine my shock when DHL’s tracking page indicated that my new keyboard had been delivered at 10:07 AM on April 17th, signed for by the receptionist D. Mainland. I’m still a struggling writer. I work from home and don’t have a receptionist unless my lovely wife answers the phone.
I call DHL customer service. They inform me that the package has been delivered. True, but it wasn’t delivered to me. The customer service rep said she’d check into it and call back with-in two hours. Yeah right. Well she didn’t call - Amazing Theresa did – less than 2 hours later. They had made an inquiry locally and she would call me back before the end of the day.
Shortly afterward, a friendly yellow DHL truck pulled into the drive. That was fast. But the driver asked me if I had a package for pick-up from D Mainland. It took a few minutes to explain that there was no D Mainland at my location. He left completely bewildered.
Moments later Theresa called back and said that D. Mainland wasn’t available at the address at the package’s delivery address. After I explained that the driver had come to my house, Theresa said this was gong to take further investigation. Should she have someone call me later in the evening or would a call by 10 AM the next day be OK? I told her the morning would be fine.
At 8:30 the delivery guy shows up - no package but after a few minutes of investigation he seemed to have a grasp of what needed to be done. He knows where D Mainland works. Theresa called back at 9:10 AM. She gave me her personal line and if she didn’t call back soon enough with an answer, I should give her a call.
Shortly after 1 PM the delivery guy shows up again, this time with a box from Apple Computer. He took full responsibility for the mistake. So with new keyboard in hand, I called Theresa to tell her the problem was solved.
How often is your customer service department this vigilant? It didn’t matter what was in the box the DHL folks were on a mission. 4 calls and 3 DHL visits in less than 24 hours and I’m happily typing away with a full set of letters.
PS – If your Apple iBook is suffering from letterus disappearus, a silicone iSkin (sounds sort of kinky doesn’t it?) keyboard cover is said to eliminate the problem. I’ll let you know as soon as mine shows up.
There’s good news tonight. I’ve been informed that the owner of the Italian restaurant mentioned in a previous post has been spearheading a movement to bar cell phones from all downtown restaurants in his community. He may be tilting at windmills, but I wish him the best and whole-heartedly recommend his establishment based on his excellent food, service and vision.
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