Learning Strategy From Salsa Dancing
Sometimes leads are bad, but you are stuck with them until the dance is over so you just gotta speak their language as best as you can
Each lead speaks a different language – being the follow means you need to quickly adapt to their language in order to dance
Each lead has a different style – some like spinning, some are strong leads, some have firm grasps, some dance Cuban salsa – you need to look for clues to understand how you need to apapt to this particular lead
In an evening, you will dance with 5 – 10 leads – each one different. Since you are the follow and they are the lead, it’s your job to follow. If you try to lead as a follow, you are not doing your job, as a lead who is not leading and looking to the follow/girl for cues, isn’t being a good lead
If the girl spins away, the lead isn’t good. When a lead starts to spin a follow, she shouldn’t be worried about how many spins she’ll do / when she needs to stop because a good follow will make sure she stops and doesn’t fall over
A follow shouldn’t have to worry when doing a move that prevents them from seeing where they are going because the lead should have an eye out for where he is spinning the follow
Why You Can’t Beat Apple
It’s hard to win a race when the lead car in 15 laps ahead of the rest.
HASTE MAKES WASTE. While Apple invests in doing good work from the get-go, competitors release semi-ok stuff, then invest marketing dollars to convince consumers they make good products (which are actually poorly made and most likely should not be out on the market). Apple doesn’t need to prove anything – they know they have good products & have proved it.
If you don’t get mind share, you don’t get market share.
CONSUMERS AREN’T BETA TESTERS. Consumers care about the experience – they don’t care about the back-end technical stuff. Simple as that.
It’s COLAB Time!
To those of you looking for an internship in the advertising world, guess what? COLAB time is here again…
I participated in the inaugural 2008 group – wasn’t sure what to think going in, but it was the best six weeks I’ve spent during a summer – collaborating with some of the most forward thinking, techno-savvy, inspiring people.
Oh and plus you get to spend the summer in Portland. Which, I would have to say, it perhaps the best places in the States to spend a summer.
Anyway, COLAB asked us to create a video talking about our COLAB experience…check it out, then go apply. Now. Do it!
Finding Inspiration In Weird Places
So…generally, I am a work-o-holic. BUT, I am working on it. …uhhh that type of work doesn’t count. (;
Anyway, by working on it, I mean to say: realizing that life isn’t all about work and frequently just getting away from the computer and DOING THINGS is actually far more beneficial than sitting in front of the stupid computer for 37 hours a day (I’m not bitter).
I love finding/people/places/things that inspire, are weird…spark curiosity…or that I have no idea what immediate benefit will arise, but I’m fairly confident that someday the use will surface. Good thing I now live in Austin. Check it out:
Nerd night. Basically…it is an evening of beer + brains. At Buffalo Billiards. (hello, alliteration.)
The title of this talk was “Look Before You Flush.” I’ll let you figure out what it was about.
Bridge art.
Beat boys. (if I’m ever on MTV Made, this is what I want to be)
Dueling piano bar. Always a winner.
If it wasn’t so awkward, I could probably spend an hour reading a quality bathroom door. Lots of great content + insights to be found.
Festivals. This one was a Mediterranean Fest.
Mean Eyed Cat. Johnny Cash bar. People watching.
Learning About Target Markets from Soulja Boy
When I first began partaking in DECA/marketing in high school seven years ago (oh my god, I am getting old), we wrote and presented marketing plans. I remember copying down a list of demographic and psychographic target market ranges – 18 – 24 year old men and women, who attend college. Was this really how advertising was back in the day, or was I somehow disillusioned that there was a formula for advertising?
So anyway, back to DECA (funny – in high school, everyone not in DECA in high school always refered to it as being part of “the cult”. Anyone notice how this is the same exact opinion of us in the ad. program at UO?!)
Ok for real – back to the story: based on this very generic target market information…we wrote a marketing plan and strategy. And actual won a number of categories we/I had entered. Granted, this was a high school competition and we were just beginning our journey into the marketing world; however, point being…when we were first learning about marketing, we certainly did not have the types of resources we have now for market research. I remember I could not get on Facebook as I did not yet attend a college (how it still SHOULD be, p.s.) and social media had not yet exploded…
But I digress. Again. Oops.
Anyway, the point is, I was looking up Soulja By’s ‘Crank That’ on YouTube the other way (as to why I was searching this – well, don’t worry about it (; ) ANYWAY, it is quite amazing,actually, the wide variety of users who have posted content that I could not pigeon hole into a categorized target market (unless the target was: those who love Soulja Boy). I won’t lie – if I was shown the Crank That video in high school and was asked which target market I thought the song was catering to, I would probably say 16-22 year old African American males. Sounds horrible that I would stereotype this, but hey, I’m just being honest and I think a lot of people would have been right there with me.
Ok…so here’s the point. I complain a lot about how social media is ruining the world (and in a way it is), but at the same time, the power of social media is actually is pretty darn amazing. Social media and digital means have provided opportunities to gain an incredible insight and to open the transparency doors to connect dots and form communities that might have never been connected.
Very cool. Check it out: