by Joyce Turner-Gionet | Jul 29, 2015 | Advertising, Business Success, Communications, Latest, Marketing
Addicted to making lists? You’re not alone. We all (well, most of us) love lists. We don’t just make them because we’re busy, or because our memory’s occasionally letting us down. We’ve been ‘listing’ from the beginning.
As kids it was: “Who’s coming to my birthday party,” and we’d get busy making a list. We made impulsive mental lists — deciding we’d eat the icing flower on top of the cupcake first, then lick the icing, then eat the rest (that was the order in which I did it, my little brother did it differently). Back in the day, we had a ‘Pet the Snake’ club on the bank of a river. We’d catch a garter snake and then list names in chalk on the wall under the bridge of those who were brave enough to pet it. You were in the club if you were brave enough. Life was simple. Lists were simple.
Many of us are compulsive list makers
As adults, many of us are compulsive list makers. We don’t always write our lists down, we compose them in our head. Waking up in the morning, we think about what we are going do today: that’s a list. When we mull over solutions to a problem, we’re ‘listing’.
We regularly ‘list’ at work. Marketing couldn’t exist without lists: leads, accounts, and contacts, even a list of marketing strategies in order to settle on the best. Advertising is no different: a client brief is a list, things the client wants us to accomplish with the advertising. Advertising campaigns require all types of lists: new product names, story options, headline options, tag line options, graphic options, the list is endless. As a copywriter, my job regularly involves creating a list of product features with its corresponding list of benefits.
Outside of work, we make things-to-do lists, friends-to-call lists, books-to-read lists, grocery lists, wish lists and bucket lists. Our New Year’s resolutions are lists. [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”#3HListAddict”]Try going a day without listing.[/inlinetweet] Apps for list making can take it to the absurd. I recently saw a link to “5 free apps for making better to-do lists.” The link’s title got me. How do you make a better to-do list? Instead of I need to buy cucumbers, oranges and milk, should it read 3 ripe cucumbers, 2 juicy oranges and a pint of fresh milk? I’m kidding, but then again, how much instruction do we need to make a list? Lists, by nature, are meant to simplify our lives; they have a simple purpose.
Why we make lists
Psychologists say we make lists:
- So we don’t forget
- To help us feel in control
- To gain focus by prioritizing
- To prevent procrastinating
- To feel good when we cross something off the list.
Yes, I know, I just made fun of an app for making a “better” list, but Sir Richard Branson, entrepreneur and obsessive list maker, published a listicle recently. Its focus was business, but it’s apt personally too: Top Ten Tips for making lists. I particularly liked #10: Celebrate your successes, and then make new lists of new goals.
Celebrate! Crossing off a task done is worthy of celebration
When we cross everything off a list, we should take a moment to celebrate. Mostly, we don’t. We just make a new list and start the process all over again. But that ‘Wow, look what I did’ moment, the one that comes when we’ve accomplished everything on the to-do list, deserves celebrating. Isn’t that why we made the list in the first place, to feel good about crossing things off, getting things done?
A final thought. A little tongue-in-cheek, perhaps, but my favourite comment on list making was by writer Umberto Eco in an interview with Der Spiegel. He said: “We make lists because we don’t want to die.” What do you think he meant by this?
Last week, we published a blog that focussed on the new term ‘listicles’ and whether they have a place in advertising. [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”#3HListAddict”]Listicles and our ongoing attraction to them could be an extension of our inherent need to simplify, organize and get things done.[/inlinetweet] Let us know some of the reasons you write lists. What has been your most bizarre? #3HListAddict
by Miriam Hara | Jul 27, 2015 | Advertising, Business Success, Communications, Latest, Management
Recently, I blogged about 7 things I absolutely need in a new hire. As those responsible for hiring, we all know the things we absolutely need in a new hire and we look for them, first in the cover letter and résumé, later in the interview and the portfolio. Closer to actually hiring, we might call their personal references and nowadays, we might check out Social Media, particularly LinkedIn. All good so far. But how much are we really learning about that person? Don’t forget the quirky questions to find the quirky side of a candidate. Ask outside the box interview questions. Probe deeper.
… ‘quirky’ bears thinking about. It’s not just about being able to do the job.
A person’s intangible assets are not easy to evaluate. Most people are a little nervous in interviews. Their cover letter, résumé and portfolio are always (or should be, but that’s a subject for another blog) a best-foot-forward approach. But what is the person really like? Things you might think completely unrelated —although they’re really not — to the job they can do for you. I like to know this stuff.
[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”#NewHireWishList”]… it’s not just about being able to do the job. It’s about their approach to life, because a person’s approach to life is mirrored in their approach to their job[/inlinetweet].
I don’t just want to find out if the person can do the job, I want to find out how they’ll respond when asked something unexpected. How seriously do they take themselves; are they able to think on their feet? How imaginative and creative are they? [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”#NewHireWishList”]Sometimes, particularly in creative environments, a quirky approach makes things interesting.[/inlinetweet]
7 quirky outside-the-box interview question examples:
1. Who is your favourite Disney character and why?
2. Which celebrity has the best hair? Why do you like it?
3. What’s your favourite movie and why?
4. What’s your favourite quote?
5. Which dessert do you most relate to?
6. If you were a wine, how would you be described?
7. Where’s your favourite place in the world? Have you ever been there?
Asking questions that are outside of the box can be refreshing for candidates and enlightening for you.
What’s your secret to uncovering what lies inside a candidate? What questions do you ask to find out if they’ll fit your culture? What quirky questions do you pop into a conversation, or do you? [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”#SharedWisdom #NewHireWishList#3HListAddict”]What’s the quirkiest thing you’ve heard from a candidate?[/inlinetweet] Send us your quirky listicle. #SharedWisdom #NewHireWishList #3HListAddict
by Miriam Hara | Jul 22, 2015 | Advertising, Communications, Latest, Social Media
Origin of the word: List + (art)icle.
Are listicles worthy of advertising? It’s a question that needs to be asked simply because they resonate so well with people and that’s what we want for our advertising messages. We want them to resonate? We want them to promote action, but we also want them to be high quality content. Do listicles fit the bill?
Listicles are everywhere: in print, on the Internet, they show up in news feeds, although some argue they’re ‘masquerading’ as journalism. If you see an article headed: ‘The 10 Best …’ or ‘The 5 Most’ … it’s a listicle. The 10 Best Behinds in Hollywood, The 5 Best Orange Veggies For Radiant Skin, 22 Reasons Your Ex-Mother-in-Law Still Hates You: we all know listicles. Most of us have read a few, maybe shared a few. Buzzfeed.com, land of listicles, offers some truly bizarre ones. This morning’s was: 13 Photos of Terrifying Shark Eggs! I didn’t read it; wasn’t sure I could handle seeing an egg with the power to terrify me so early in the day. But is this form of content creation credible. Is it serious?
Easy to digest, light on cerebral calories
Webster’s defines a listicle (yes, the word has made it to the dictionary, online at least) as “an article structured in the from of a list, typically having some additional content relating to each item.” [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”#3HListAddict”]Listicles are like popsicles for the soul: guilt-free treats. Colourful, easy to digest, available in a variety of flavours, light on cerebral calories and consumed with no effort. [/inlinetweet]Mostly, they’re just plain fun. You get sucked in because you’ve been wanting to lose weight and the canny listicle language got you: “10 easy ways to lose that last 10 pounds”. The point is, though, it got to you.
My newspaper, a relatively conservative one, also seems to be big on listicles lately. In the last few months, I’ve seen:
- 3 ways to benefit now from historically low interest rates.
- How to shake a dynasty in 10 easy steps: the Alberta election and why it all went wrong for the Progressive Conservatives.
- 10 ways to make people really like you at work
We’re busy. We like reading short, snappy bites that make their point quickly
The jury is probably going to be out forever on listicles, particularly in the realm of journalism. [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”#3HListAddict”]But we love lists and listicles are essentially expanded lists. We’re busy. We like reading short, snappy bites that make their point quickly.[/inlinetweet] (Think bullet points: there’s a reason we use them. They deliver key points quickly and succinctly.)
The venerable New Yorker sums up our attraction to listicles perfectly: “The article-as-numbered-list has several features that make it inherently captivating: the headline catches our eye in a stream of content; it positions its subject within a preexisting category and classification system … it spatially organizes the information; and it promises a story that’s finite, whose length has been qualified up front. Together, these create an easy reading experience, in which the heavy mental lifting of conceptualization, categorization, and analysis is completed well in advance of actual consumption …”
Hmm! That sounds a lot like advertising’s job. So do listicles have a role to play in advertising? Some say they do!
Listicles are “a great tool to reach consumers”
From an Advertising Age guest post: “… news syndication company Mobiles Republic showed that consumers are “news snacking.” The study showed that while new consumption is increasing, consumers are checking the news for a shorter amount of time. They’re hungry for news but “snack” throughout the day. Listicles can help feed their appetite. It appears listicles are here to stay and advertisers should take note. They’re a great tool to reach consumers.” Why?
I’m summarizing the author here, but I’ve linked to the entire article farther below:
Listicles …
- Are social in nature and easily shared.
- Engage consumers, typically with something that resonates.
- Can reach the right consumer at the right time with the right message
- Allow advertisers to be creative.
- Can work across platforms.
Listicles are here to stay, and advertisers should take note
Chances are, now you’re thinking about them, you’ll see listicles in places you hadn’t noticed them before. Or at least, you’ll recognize them as such. What’s your take? Listicles have a place in advertising?
[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]Send me the best listicle or listicle ad you’ve seen this month. #3HListAddict[/inlinetweet]
A few more lively listicle commentaries:
From Forbes:
Five reasons why millenials love listicles
From The New York Times:
In defense of the listicle
From the Smithsonian:
Listicles that went viral long before there was an Internet
by Miriam Hara | Jul 20, 2015 | Advertising, Agency, Creative, Latest, Management
To understand why I need what I need in a new hire, you have to understand the business. [inlinetweet prefix=””Do what you love.” – Steve Jobs” tweeter=”” suffix=”#NewHireWishList #SharedWisdom”]The advertising business isn’t just a job, it’s a way of life.[/inlinetweet] Take it from me, it’s like no other business in the world. It’s not a tap you turn on and off. You don’t (in fact, you can’t) turn on at 8:30 a.m. and turn off at 4:30 p.m., particularly if you’re leading a team. I think people who are really good at what they do (in any industry) are always thinking about what they do: how they can do it better; how they can do it differently for better results; how they can streamline the process to get where they’re going more effectively and yes, get there faster. They’re always thinking about “ideas” and marketing and advertising is all about ideas.
A platitude that’s a bit overused maybe, but there’s still plenty of truth in it: “Work smarter, not harder”
Work smarter, not harder: I want people who really believe that. You’ve seen the posters. But there’s plenty of truth in those four little words.
I never know what will spark the idea, or when it will come, I just trust, from experience, that it will come. I want that characteristic in a new hire.
It’s a Saturday morning, my business hat is off. It’s summer, I might be having a coffee on a patio, at the farmer’s market, anywhere; but I’m probably thinking about a new client, a client presentation, or an idea for a new campaign. It’s the middle of the week, I could be in an airport, a cab, at a restaurant, or just taking a walk down by the lake with my husband after dinner. Maybe I’m in the middle of a presentation for clients, totally focused and an idea pops up, completely unrelated to what I’m doing. Everywhere I am, anything can spark an idea. This might sound like I never stop working and in a way, I don’t.
It’s partly the business and partly me. [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”-Miriam Hara, CCO, 3H #ExceedBeyond #SharedWisdom”]I’m still excited about what I do, even after 27 years.[/inlinetweet] I still get up in the morning passionate about our projects. It’s not that I’m always consciously thinking about work, it’s that I can’t help not thinking about it. I want people around me like that.
The business is not just me – I rely on my team. Most of them have been with 3H a long time. All of them have passion. And I want people with passion. I need them:
7 THINGS I ABSOLUTELY NEED IN A NEW CREATIVE HIRE
- Passion for the industry and the creative process.
- The desire to win!
- Willingness to learn and the ability to wear many hats.
- Someone who adds value to the process, who is flexible and won’t freeze when things go wrong, because in our business, like in life, something always does!
- Someone who isn’t afraid of ‘working without a net’; meaning that it’s okay if they don’t know the total background and details of a job, they run with the things and know it will work it out and they’ll eventually catch on. Being okay with not knowing is really important!
- Someone who is thick skinned and doesn’t take things too personally.
- No overblown egos. Confidence is what I want and it’s not the same thing. Egos make life difficult for everyone else. Strangely, it’s the kind of business where ego doesn’t belong, although we don’t think of the advertising and marketing business that way. Ego is insignificant to clients — it would be troublesome. They hire you because they already know you’re good at what you do.
There’s a number 8, but the heading says 7 so I’ll just say that for number 8 a sense of humour is hugely important. I want someone who finds things funny, can see humour where it’s sometimes hard to see it. There’s more to hiring the right person. Things that maybe you don’t often think about when you’re hiring; quirky characteristics that can enrich company culture on a day to day basis. (I’ll talk about them in an upcoming blog.)
It’s such an important aspect of business, finding the right people because it affects so many aspects of the business.
Send me your thoughts on what you look for in a new hire. #NewHireWishList #SharedWisdom #ExceedBeyond
by Miriam Hara | Jul 15, 2015 | Advertising, Latest, Social Media
I hate to break the news to you, but the social media channel is media; as such, it is a channel that is increasingly necessitating the use of advertising. Advertising is alive and well … and the social media channel can be thanked for that!
Advertising, or successfully advertising, is about reach and frequency. Of course, it’s about creative and messaging too. But if you don’t have reach or frequency, well, it’s like winking in the dark. Your message won’t be heard, let alone seen. Reaching your target audience, casting a wider net, etc., is what advertising “promises” and how and what it delivers. Ultimately, the very definition of advertising is the act or practice of calling public attention to one’s product, service, or need; using paid announcements in newspapers and magazines, over radio or television, on billboards, and yes, digital properties.
Those saying that advertising is going the way of the Dodo bird, well, they might be in for a surprise – they may just look outside and see a Dodo walking around in their backyard!
It’s not hard to make the leap to understanding why the social media channel is, or should be, considered as advertising. Understood, the aspect of “paid” is inherent in advertising. However, I would challenge this type of thinking. Paid for distributing a message, or paid in terms of creating the message, still makes it advertising. Content marketing has developed as a core tactic because of the social media channel, and content, no matter how “grassroots” or professional it is developed, is still advertising. You only have to look at Facebook. The different formats of social media advertising available to brands is quite varied. You can build your brand page — that in itself is a form of advertising — where your target audience can choose to follow you, come and see what your brand is up to on a daily basis, if you desire. You can “boost” your brand post, for a nominal fee of course. You can create display advertising, targeted to your niche, which I feel is pretty “conventional” thinking. Suffice to say, all this what I term as social media advertising.
The social media channel with all its diverse properties was made for advertising.
Or did the reverse occur? Advertising has evolved the social media channel into an advertising channel, simply because of its potential and ability to reach niches and masses alike. The creative aspects of creating the messaging based on the media channel will vary, of course. But then again, they always have! You wouldn’t create a magazine ad and place it on an out-of-home billboard? (Although, I have seen that, unfortunately). Advertising, done well, delivers the appropriate type of creative for the channel. Advertising on the social media channel is no different. Posting on your business blog is advertising, isn’t it? It establishes your business as a leader, as an expert. It garners relationships and spreads the word about your business. Advertising has never been about one-way relationships. The essence of advertising is about awareness and provoking an action: “Hey look at me! I’m here. Come see me. Get to know me”. It has transcended the relationship between product and customer, brand and consumers, business and client from pure physicality to one of connectivity and viewership.
[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”#SharedWisdom #ExceedBeyond”]What are your thoughts on the role social media plays in advertising?[/inlinetweet]
by Miriam Hara | Jul 10, 2015 | Advertising, Agency, Business Success, Latest, Marketing, Uncategorized
Earlier this week, I focused on you being the multi-tasking maestro as the business or team leader. It’s equally important to encourage your team members to multi-task.
I’ll repeat my definition of multi-tasking. I’m not talking about one person being asked to wear too many hats and spread themselves thin. That leads to resentment and overtired team members who lose motivation. I’m talking about encouraging people to step out of their defined roles, even momentarily, to try on a new hat, or a few new hats. I’m talking about team building.
[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”#TeamBuilding”]Getting people involved in tasks they don’t own can lead to shared ownership[/inlinetweet], bigger ideas, better ideas and a richer outcome. It benefits people on a personal level. They’re learning new skills, they feel involved, they feel appreciated. A richer outcome is also better for clients.
I remember when secretaries went the way of the dodo bird and many professionals exclaimed: “I don’t know how to type a letter or make a presentation!” Now, almost everyone in business creates their own PowerPoint presentations. We learned to multi-task. The world changes; today more than every before, it changes quickly. If we’re smart, we change with it. If we want to survive and thrive in business, it’s not an option. And we need to encourage our teams to change too.
Speaking from an advertising perspective, back in the ‘50s on Madison Avenue, Bill Bernbach, of Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB) put together the first creative team: an art director (artist) and copywriter. He chose the teams with complementary personalities in mind. Fundamentally, this was an exercise in multi-tasking; putting together people with different skill sets — art and copy — but with similar mindsets. Mindsets that understood the advertising world and conceptualized visually and verbally. Getting them to work off each other, getting the writer to think visually and the designer to think verbally, built confidence, trust and ultimately the clients benefited from the results. It was brilliant. It worked and it works still. Today, the scope is even larger.
Agencies haven’t been just about print for years, they’re constantly evolving: digital/internet, mobile, guerilla, broadcast, outdoor, public service, to name a few. A lot more people are involved in the marketing strategy and the advertising that results. Everyone’s talents can be tapped, everywhere. Who says only a copywriter can write a good headline? Experience tells me the IT people often read the advertising copy and have ideas. Project managers work with clients all day long. Who better to be included in brainstorming than the people who know your clients best? Admin personnel? Absolutely. After all, if you’re admin in an ad agency, your creative side asserts itself sooner or later. It can’t not. Everybody has a creative side. (If you think you don’t have one, you just haven’t had a chance to explore it.) I’m not saying when you’re stuck for a headline call the IT guy — he’d probably look at you like you’d lost your mind. I’m saying be open to the idea that everyone has more to contribute than you, or they, might think.
Social Media is an ideal example. It’s a prime area for promoting multi-tasking. I’ve said this in other posts: Social Media is its best when all departments are involved. Everyone in an organization has something to say, saying it just needs to be encouraged. [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”#TeamBuilding”]The more employees know about how an organization operates, the more involved they can be;[/inlinetweet] the more they assume a personal stake in the business’ success and feel free to contribute, the more successful the organization will be. When someone in Admin or HR writes a Social Media post, that’s multi-tasking. You’re asking them to step out of their assigned role and try something new. You’re building a stronger team.
As I’ve also said before: [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=”#TeamBuilding”]To be in marketing and not be a multi-tasker is dangerous. It’s also not as much fun.[/inlinetweet] If you approach it the right way, give expanded opportunities to learn and contribute, I’m sure your team will agree. At 3H, it works well.
What’s your take on multi-tasking, at least my meaning of it? Are there ways you’re using it in your business to build teams? Let me know.
