Meet Our Newest Team Member - CREO

He's quirky. He is somewhat shy. And he is a creative powerhouse.

It is with great pride that I introduce you to CREO. He is the embodiment of creativity at Maple Creative.

To say that CREO is the newest member of our team is not totally accurate. CREO has been here all along. However, it is only recently that we have coaxed and persuaded him to go public.

CREO authorized us to release the following statement. Quoting directly:

"sdfe jiojoj fex jiokol cdsder njoi awesere njmkiol gferf. joij-fewf, dwed jkoj jioj sdfew. kop awqq njmklfreeeet vbdf bnjhn. cfde hjui serq jkioj? zasew oip dfger uiohuji ,.,,,.liuo ewfer?/?"

Okay, so CREO is a lousy typist. But the dude has huge hands... and only 8 fingers. Let's cut him a break. Allow me to translate:

"So Maple is a cool place in many respects. It is a really nice outlet for my creativity. I wonder sometimes if I am fitting in with them, though. Do they get me? And why do they leave here in the afternoon, because creativity never sleeps. Creativity lives here. Who stole my Funyuns?"

Go figure....

The guy can be a pest at times, to be sure. And talk about making a mess! But get him in on a brainstorming and the creative level just skyrockets! He's been in the State Journal and in West Virginia Executive lately. Oh, and rumor has it that he'll be showing up on YouTube and Facebook soon. We can only hope and pray that this recent "fame" doesn't go to his (freakin' huge) head.

Coming Soon: New Advertising Campaign for Maple Creative

Wow! I am so excited. We have a new advertising campaign in the works. And it's a doozie!

I'm not saying that because it is coming from my company. The concept was not my idea. In fact, it resulted from a recent great brainstorming session that we held at Maple Creative. Sure, we are a marketing firm. Advertising is one of our strong suits, in my opinion. But this new campaign is special.

Precursor ideas had been formulating for a couple of months, and in this recent session the "Group Genius" effect produced something that I believe is truly great. We decided to focus our 2009 ad campaign on creativity. Discussing the preliminary concepts around the brainstorming group helped us to come up with a brand-new idea, one that is better than anything any one of our talented individuals could have originated. It was inspired by many people and many discussions. That's the beauty of it.

While our new campaign is strong in the idea department, that is not enough to fuel its success. It involves a layered, multi-prong strategy. This new campaign lends itself well to print and multi-media formats. It will also adapt well to social media, such as Facebook, You Tube, blogging and Twitter. Finally, it is sure to generate buzz, with its experiential "on the street" elements.

We can't wait to show it to you. Stay tuned!

PS - The book "Group Genius" by Keith Sawyer is a very good read. I am about half way finished reading it. It is great to have an enriched understanding of the process that we utilize, nurture and treasure at Maple Creative.

Tis Better to Give Than to Receive

What a great, kind-hearted bunch of people! The Mapleonians pictured at left adopted a family for Christmas 2009 by way of the fine folks at the Union Mission, here in Charleston, W.Va.



Giving has always been one of our core values at Maple Creative. It feels good to know that one local family of four, down on their luck this year, will have a brighter Christmas thanks to this local "Secret Santa" program.



Pictured clockwise from lower left: Lauren Boder, Lora Franco, Clayton Ray, Carrie Bowe, Jim Nester, Marc Lewis and Justin Hylbert. Not shown are Michael Haid, Brooke Pauley, Steve Haid and Erin Deegan.



Those of you who've known us for a while will also notice that the snowflakes have returned again this year, which is another cause for celebration!



Here's one more shot of our lovable elves, hard at work (below):

Welcome, Lauren!

There's a new Mapleonian in town. She's a talented young graphic artist with agency design experience and a BFA from Appalachian State University. Meet Lauren Boder.

Lauren joined our team at the beginning of September and is already contributing with crisp, creative designs that help our clients achieve results. She has not yet debuted on the Maple Web site ... but that's coming soon. Welcome aboard, Lauren!

Start-up Attitude

Yesterday, Michael and I traveled out of state to meet with a team of entrepreneurs. This group of four, smart, highly-educated businessmen have launched a technology company. The day was, on the surface, a sales meeting. Yes, we came away with a bundle of great new project opportunities. But as valuable and as important as the sales opportunities were, the thing that stood out to me was the attitude and energy of these folks. They are full of hope, confidence and optimism. They have every intention of making it big and "conquering the world." Their attitude and energy were infectious. Even the language these four used was different, embodying the clarity and differentiation and purpose of a team that has spent a ton of time focusing on their business (not just working in their business).

Our company, Maple Creative, is completing its eighth year in business, which is not to imply that Maple is stale or old or tired. Au contrere, in many respects, I feel that we are just peaking ... coming into our prime. Personally, I have never felt more passionate, committed or optimistic about Maple Creative. Being with those four early-stage entrepreneurs was a reminder of the promise and hope of business ownership. In many respects, they were us--eight or nine years ago. I tip my cap to those guys. Yesterday's experience was a flashback and a blessing.

Maple Creative Talent Search: Graphic Designer

Recent changes at Maple Creative have created an opportunity to join our talented design team. Do you know of someone who might be described as follows:

Experienced graphic designer (or art director) with 3+ years of relevant work experience
Great attitude a must - optimistic, driven, unselfish, dedicated, honest, upbeat, reliable
Bachelor's degree (or more) - BFA preferred
Wildly creative with a great sense of style
Ability to interpret clients' needs, taste & preferences and to visually translate those into effective design solutions
Ability to conceptualize and plan multi-media campaigns including video and Web
Strong in print, typography/logo/identity, Web/electronic, video/TV
Proficient in Adobe InDesign creative suite
Web programming skills (html, PHP, Flash) preferred but not required
Strong understanding of printing and production processes
Team player with ability to relate and communicate with other designer and biz dev types

If so, please send them our way. Hey- maybe this is you!

This is a great, career-making opportunity to join an established, progressive and growing marketing firm, one whose work has garnered top honors regionally with American Advertising Federation (AAF-WV) and Public Relations Society (PRSA-WV). Please direct all inquiries to me via e-mail to (Skip @ maplecreative dot com). All inquiries will be handled with utmost confidentiality. Thanks in advance for your help, marketing geniuses!

Staycation

This summer, with the economy lagging and gas prices soaring, many folks are taking a staycation instead of a vacation. I heard that term for the first time recently, and I cannot recall where I heard it. But I love it. Appears to have emerged in summer 2006 and gained in popularity with a slight variant this year.

Official Urban Dictionary definition here.

Staying closer to home on vacation ... or staying home instead of travelling at all. The staycation--so 2008, isn't it?The staycation trend has obvious and serious impact for our friends and clients in the travel and tourism industries. What stories have you marketing geniuses heard about smart ways to tap into (or overcome) the staycation trend?

Hidden Logo Design Elements: The Golf Channel

Here is another chapter in our continuing feature series on interesting logo designs. The Golf Channel logo, displayed at left, is an interesting and timely case study in hidden logo design elements.

This week is, of course, U.S. Open Week. Millions of golf fans around the world are tuning in to the Golf Channel for in-depth coverage on one of professional golf's major championship contests.

Like most viewers, I had seen this logo hundreds of times prior to today. Yet, this morning, it came to me: something new. My eye found the hidden elements embedded within the Golf Channel's brand icon.

Can you find it? Post a comment below and tell us what you see. Happy hunting!

For more of these logo studies, check out the following:

Animal Planet

FedEx

Finding Nemo

Goodwill Industries

Hershey Kisses

Baskin Robbins

Big Ten Conference

Staples

Presidential Campaign logos

Tostito's Fiesta Bowl

Xerox

Etched

Any golf fans out there? Though I rarely play any more, I remain a huge golf fan. As all such beings know: this is U.S. Open week. It's showtime. This is one of the year's four major events in the world of professional golf. The scene for this year's contest is Torrey Pines in San Diego.

My brain has locked onto the fact that The Open always falls on Father's Day weekend. Golf is something that I've shared and enjoyed with my Dad for many years. So it holds a special element of significance for me, which makes this one of my favorite weeks of the year.

This morning my thoughts raced back, in fast-rewind mode, searching for U.S. Open recollections. Despite having attended last year's Open at Oakmont, what came to mind for me was the 1999 contest. Payne Stewart wrested the '99 trophy from Phil Michelson at Pinehurst. It was a dramatic and turbulent battle. On that Father's Day Sunday, Stewart prevailed as champion. I clearly remember that Michelson was about to become a father, carrying a pager and "on alert" the whole weekend. In a sweet and classy moment, Stewart upon sinking the winning putt, rushed to embrace runner-up Michelson and to offer the advice that becoming a father was a far greater reward than the trophy. (Sadly, Payne Stewart would die in a plane crash later that year.)

This story of the 1999 U.S. Open and all of its sideline elements are all so clear to me. But why? What makes that event so memorable? The answer is emotion. The details are so clear and vivid in our brains because they were etched into those neurons with emotion.

Powerful, powerful thing, emotion. The drama of the contest fueled the emotion. The expectancy and anticipation of the Michelsons' coming child added to the emotion. The tender moment between Stewart and Michelson: more emotion. Moreover, the year was 1999, one in which the whole world was amped-up a notch or two for the coming Millennium. (remember Y2K?) And of course, the whole episode was further etched with another dousing of emotion related to Stewart's tragic, untimely death.

Want to make your important stories more memorable? Inject some emotion. Whether you are giving a 15-minute speech to the local Lions Club, or crafting a 00:30 television advertisement designed to spearhead the launch of a new product, throw some emotion into it. The emotional elements don't have to be sad or nostalgic, joy and humor work well, too.

And if you want to learn how to make your stories more emotional--or more "sticky"--check out our previous posts on storytelling, persuasion, emotion, creativity and color.

Weigh in on This!

Philadelphia Media Holdings, the company that owns the Inquirer and Daily News, was the first to do a report on Derrie-Air (the world's first carbon-neutral airline), the first airline to offer flights based upon the weight of the passengers. Flights from Philadelphia to Chicago were $1.40 for every pound; L.A. for $2.25 a pound.

The ads and web site drew a tremoundous amount of interest and traffic. By all indications the promotion was a huge success. There's only one big catch.

It was joke. Or rather a creative means of measuring the effective of its own online and print media. You see, Philadelphia Media Holdings had worked with an ad agency, Gyro, to develop the campaign and test its offerings.

The link to the NBC10 story is here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25009304/from/ET/.

While it's clever, and was very effective, I'm not ready to call it genius. And here's why. Prepare to laugh or cry.

Way back when I was a kid, for my grandparents' anniversary dinner, my family (mom,dad, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents) went to what was at the time a rather popular restaurant. The concept of 'pay as you weigh' is not new to me thanks to this restaurant. You see, they priced the children's buffet based upon the weight of the child. Not the adults - that would have been crazy!?!

Anyway, all the other kids stepped on the scale and were fine. But, when it came to my cousin and I - not the same story. Our parents did a good job of ushering the other kids out of the way so they wouldn't see what they already knew - Jim and Mike are big guys. This happened for a few years and then the place closed. For the record, Mike and I had nothing to do with it.

At that time nobody knew my cousin would be a hell of a football player or that I would end up playing international rugby. So everything turned out alright, but now you know why I hesitate to give the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News the 'genius' stamp just yet. Valiant effort but there's something to be said for being first.

Still, a great way of doing something every marketing professional should do - measuring results.

Worried About Rising Gas Prices?

Today, most of us are seriously concerned, if not truly worried, about rising gas prices. Many are wondering where this will go and what the impact will be. Would you be surprised to learn that the technology of alternative reality gaming might be an integral part of determining alternatives and solutions? Yes, game playing may lead us to answers.

Last year, participants from 12 nations participated in a large scale role playing experiment called A World Without Oil. The game was played over a 32-week period with increasingly dire scenarios in which the world ran out of crude oil. Thousands of participants from diverse cohort groups, including community leaders, industry experts, conservationists, motor racing enthusiasts and mothers, reacted to scenarios and postulated responses and impacts. Week by week, as scenarios were explored and played out, the control panel exhibited the impact on various regional economies and public opinion.

The project produced valuable insights and such tangible resources as lesson plans for teachers. Much of the fictional experiment from 2007 seems increasingly realistic today in 2008. I urge you to check it out.

The project was led by Ken Eklund and Jane McGonigal of The Institute for The Future, the world's oldest forecasting organization. Jane is a Berkeley PhD and also a blogger. I read her blog, Avant Game regularly. I encourage you to infuse and invigorate your thinking with input from smart people, like Jane McGonigal, people from different places and different disciplines. [If you explore Jane's blog be sure to learn about Cookie Rolling!]

Spamazon

Warning: rant coming. [I will beg your pardon, in advance.]

Amazon.com is great. I love books and love to learn. I probably purchase one book per month on Amazon. But I really dislike the frequency of unsolicited e-mail that Amazon sends me.

Again, I love the Web site. Love the selection ... and the reliability ... not to mention the simplicity of ordering. But on the down side, I probably receive three e-mails a week, suggesting a book that might be of interest to me ... or offering me some discount or free shipping. Enough already! Thanks for the suggestions and all, but I would really be more happy if Amazon would reduce their frequency of e-mail messages to me by about 50%

Anyone else share this frustration?

[We'll see if Amazon is monitoring "the groundswell"--I will be sure to let you know if they find and respond to this post. Stay tuned.]

Engaged Fans Promoting Starbucks on Facebook

The image at left is a screenshot of a Facebook application dubbed "My Starbucks." I received an invitation to join it by way of my Facebook friend, Betty. "My Starbucks" Facebook widget enables fans of Starbucks to have a conversation around their beloved brand.

It's also possible that engaged fans (like Betty) could persuade a few new folks to think about (or try) Starbucks, based on a personal endorsement. When Betty (or any trusted friend) points me to something they believe might be of interest to me, I am inclined to take a look. It's another marketing touchpoint for Starbucks. This is the power of social networking, the power of the groundswell.

The beauty of this, and the take-away point: "My Starbucks" was created by two college grad students from Wisconsin. It wasn't created by Starbucks. And it has 4,565 active users.

Repeat: Starbucks didn't hire them to do it ... or authorize them to do it. They were driven to do it on their own. And that carries far more credibility than if Starbucks created this and tried to dump it on their customer base.

Here's a bit of description from the introduction page:

About My Starbucks®
Starbucks® is moving from every street corner to a profile corner near you. My Starbucks® lets you sport your favorite drink, send drinks to your friends, and caffeinate your Facebook experience!

Update (Dec 14th)
We have been listening. There is now a drop down link on the order page to get "Advanced Options." Now there are tons more options to make your drink yours! Have fun, keep the ideas coming, but we do like to sleep some times! :-)

Disclaimer
The developers of and this application are in no way affiliated with Starbucks®. This application is for the enjoyment of fans and customers of the company.

Supposedly, this widget enables users to order their favorite Starbucks beverage (in advance, online) via Facebook for pick-up at the Starbucks location of their choosing. From what I could see in the comments, the application still has a few technical kinks to be resolved. But who cares. In our new Web 2.0 environment, you only need to inspire some customers to become fans. Look what they can do ... to help you, or to hurt you. Starbucks has absolutely no control over this.

The point is this: Marketing geniuses around the world are learning how to tap into the power of Web 2.0 and social networks, benefiting from the groundswell!

And here's a great resource, if you'd like to learn more: Next Generation Marketing.

A fantastic new book from which to learn more: Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff of Forrester Research.

Referrals and Service Recovery

At Next Generation Marketing, we recently presented a great deal of information about referrals. I wanted to share some additional information and resources about this important topic. It's worth a deeper look.

We all know that people live, socialize and communicate within networks ... and today across social networks such as blogs, forums, e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, etc. People talk about their kids, hobbies, their vacation destinations and their favorite sports teams; naturally people also share their experiences as consumers.

Studies prove this. The Coca-Cola Company conducted a study in the late 1960's and found that a highly satisfied customer is likely to tell four to five people, on average, about a positive experience. On the other hand, a bad experience will also be communicated—to an even greater extent. Coke learned that a dissatisfied customer is likely to spread the bad news to nine or 10 people.

Such information provides substantial motivation to the business owner to seek out and repair customer complaints. In fact, such situations create an opportunity for a company to inspire a loyal, engaged customer. (Remember, you cannot convert a customer to a loyal advocate. You have to inspire them to become advocates.)

When a company successfully recovers from a service snafu (i.e., makes it right for the customer and successfully addresses the situation), it can be a very powerful experience. The Coca-Cola study found that in service recovery situations the consumer is likely to share the news of the resolved problem with nine to 15 people. Today with the prevalence of social networking tools the numbers are likely multiplied. Still, the ratios are likely to remain intact.

As Justin Seibert explained: "You only have two opportunities to make a good first impression. One occurs upon initial contact; the other occurs after you've screwed up (and fixed things)."

More - Next Gen Marketing - Huntington, W. Va.

Justin Seibert in action, making a compelling point about customer engagement at Next Generation Marketing, an intensive, high-impact marketing workshop.

Next Generation Marketing Huntington

Jeff James engages the audience around new rules, new marketing. Our series continues tomorrow in Charleston, then later this month in Morgantown, West Virginia. We'll wrap up in Martinsburg on June 12. Thanks to everyone who attended today! Great to be in the learning space with you.

Next Generation Marketing

A few hours ago, we finished preparing for the Next Generation Marketing workshop. Tomorrow is our first stop on the roadshow. So it's off to Huntington, West Virginia, and the Pullman Plaza Hotel. Here are a few highlights from the content presentations:

• Sticky Stories
• Scandal
• Petroglyphs
• Archetypes
• Detractors
• Raving Fans
• Engagement

Sounds like something fun, doesn't it! Hey - if you use your imagination that list could be the storyline (chapter titles) from a Harry Potter novel (the one where he conquers the villains to the delight of everyone before winning the girl). Or not!

I am excited to learn from Jeff James, Justin Seibert and all of our guests. Plus, I can't wait to hear Snowshoe Mountain Resort CEO Bill Rock talk about marketing a mountaintop destination.

And we picked up some press over the weekend in the Charleston Daily Mail and Huntington Herald-Dispatch!

Several seats remain in Huntington but Charleston (on Wednesday, May 14) is almost full to capacity. Check out our nifty event info site and register before it's too late!

Brand Tags - You Must Check This Out!

It is very rare that we repost content from other blogs or point our readers to other Web sites. Our policy, by contrast, is to offer original thoughts, observations and perspectives. In the case of Brand Tags, we find one of those very worthy exceptions that's worth encouraging you to go see. The creator of Brand Tags is Noah Brier, a New York communication strategist and observer/reporter of media trends, especially those related to Web 2.0.

Most marketing professionals and those among the audience who are marketing enthusiasts are students of brands. If you are like me, you enjoy getting inside a brand and understanding the associated perceptions, the factors that influence and constitute a brand's position. Brand Tags is an extremely simple and well done tool that has been created to solicit and analyze such perceptions. It is a tool that I could see becoming widely adopted in the professional practice of brand development. Brand Tags is the proverbial "simple, elegant" solution.

Kudos to Noah and his team for creating this innovative, promising Web application! Go check it out and please post your thoughts in a comment here.

Ethical Void in Marketing?

A couple weeks ago I attended a presentation on ethics in business in Charleston, West Virginia. The presenter, a tenured professor from a respected local university, was commenting on how consumers are justified to expect honesty in corporate communications. Telling the truth was right and just and a mark of corporate integrity, he explained. Then, recognizing the need to clarify his statement, he paused to note the following exception: “Well, except for marketing and advertising. We all know that marketing communication is inherently full of lies.”

I almost fell out of my chair. What was plain to him was entirely troubling to me. He was inferring that marketing is devoid of ethics.

Maybe I should not have been so shocked. After all, Seth Godin, one of America’s most popular and respected marketing gurus, published a book entitled, All Marketers Are Liars. (And he’s a marketing guy!)

It troubles me that marketing is plainly perceived to be full of lies. How did we get to this point? More importantly, what can we do about it? Help me out with your thoughts and suggestions, my dear marketing geniuses.

New Animal Planet Logo

This is the new logo for the cable television network Animal Planet. The network is a favorite of my three-year-old son. We watch many of their interesting programs together. He likes the Meerkats and most of the monkey features (not surprising, and perhaps quite genetic, if you know me very well!). Some of the shows with the sharks and lions are "too scary." But that's not the point.


I am not too keen on the new design. What do you think of it? To my eye, it seems too cluttered, too busy. What's with the sideways "M"? At a quick glance, my eye sees "A PLANET" and something resembling an angular "3". Are they trying to imply that the planet has become too small for all the animals? That animals have become squeezed into our planet? Or is it just poor design?



And now here's their old logo. It still looks pretty good to me.

Which do you prefer?

Did they improve or detract from the brand identity?

Let us hear from all of our marketing and design geniuses out there!

A special thanks to our friend, Andy Malinoski, for pointing this out to us.