Traditional advertising is rude because it is based on interrupting the recipient.

STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND LISTEN TO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY TO YOU NOW!!!!!
STOP WHAT YOU ARE WATCHING AND LOOK AT MY MESSAGE!!!!

Just like telemarketing.

STOP PLANNING THAT FUNERAL I HAVE THE BEST STUD FARM INVESTMENT DEAL FOR YOU!!!!!
(This actually happened to me for real. Some scam out of Queensland.)

It is also rude because it …

Most businesses and brands are boring. Doing social media is really an attempt at unboringfication.

Most businesses have spent most of their time not developing a rich, deep, authentic and approachable personality. Let alone one that behaves congruently with clearly stated values and beliefs. They tell themselves they are the expert in everything. They strive to be everyone’s BFF. They are fearful and paranoid. In some cases, they are …

It is interesting how Apple’s brand has become synonymous with the personality of Steve Jobs. Like it or hate it, this makes Apple as a brand very rich and real.

It is also interesting how it is often in times of difficulty that the true beliefs and values of a person/brand are revealed. And without a doubt Apple is in some difficulties at the moment around the iPhone …

There seems to be a trend for documentary channels like Discovery, National Geographic and History to focus on “sensationalist” shows these days.

I am referring to the seemingly endless parade of shows about war (human wars, animal wars…), weaponry, fighting/combat skills, people blowing things up (in the name of learnings of course), daredevil biologists doing rude things to unsuspecting animals (leave it be – just you remember what …

“Why change the world when all you need to change people’s perception?” — Claudia Bing, a PR magnate character in Absolutely Fabulous.

The older I get, the less concerned I am about trying to “manage” other people’s perception. These days I am more concerned with telling it as I see it, saying what is true to me.

The reality is people will take things …

Marketing managers have now more or less learnt the topical key words – emotional engagement, authenticity, engaging in conversations…

But the doing of marketing is still essentially flawed – because marketing is still treated as a standalone function at the end of a linear service/product development pipeline. Marketing is still treated by many businesses a veneer/façade function, and thus necessarily shallow.

You want to be authentic, genuine, appeal to …

Word-of-mouth is highly valued because it is from someone we know and trust, it is spontaneous, and it is real. When a message is carefully crafted, and its dissemination planned, targeted and orchestrated, it becomes advertising.

WOMMA the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (US) seems like anathema to the idea of authenticity. They conduct large scale, planned, and orchestrated “word-of-mouth” campaigns through real and virtual social networks. Ordinary people …

Great ad / image selling imagination. Pity the actual toy being sold was rather more prescriptive than I would have liked to see.

Stumbled upon on Thingamababy.

So this fast food bonanza at the Shanghai World Expo is the American contribution to a better life writ large(!) writ global? Is this rather telling of the power and profit-myopia of conventional business practice?

Despite the mandate not being to make money (at least not right there and then), but rather social diplomacy, international relations, and the imagination of a “better city, better life.” The …

Mass media (TV, radio) was set up primarily to enable the mass marketing of mass produced, mass branded good to the public. The entertainment content came second.

Consequently, we have been trained to expect the content for free, as long as we put up with the advertising. Paying purely for content (and hopefully without the ads) in the form of subscription TV is a fairly recent innovation.

Contrast this with …