Month: October 2006

Creative Chaos

Creativity

C H A O S

I have always believed that there is a link between creativity and chaos, and the more I embrace the chaos of the world, of life and my work, the more doors open into a creative world.

When I first started using the name "Servant of Chaos", it was simply to create a new Yahoo Messenger ID. I was there at work looking at my office with piles of paper (who said computers would lead to less paper), stacks of brand and style guides reaching up to the ceiling, row after row of Corbus photo sample books and three computers lined up ready to go. And the more I thought about it, the more I realised that FAR from being the MASTER of my own destiny, I was a servant of the chaos that comes into, and forms part of, my own world.

Realising this was great. It allowed me to let go of any sense of control. It allowed me to focus on the end result of my work, not on my ability to MAKE something happen. It made me think about my customers, my colleagues and my friends. Well, I am still pretty pushy, but I am not as bad as I was!

I was reminded of this by this great post by Tara. She is talking about embracing chaos … from a different perspective, of course, but the lessons hold true (you can read them all) — embracing the chaos prepares you for ANYTHING. Precisely because you don’t know what to EXPECT, you don’t exclude possibilities. You are open to, and are able to respond more nimbly to, unexpected events.

Unfortunately, this is not for everyone. Some people DO like a more predictable life. How about you? Bet I know the answer 😉

S.

Blog Debt Goes Higher

blog debt

I had just finished writing a post on blog debt when Typepad kicked me out! It was filled with witty references to all the great posts I had read over the last few weeks but not had time to respond to by comment or post. It described part of my pleasant day today, far away from the office, my phone and email. But now it is all lost. Well almost all … here is the stuff that I have loved:

  • Russell Davies’ Post of the Month — Quick only hours to get your nomination in!
  • Death of Citizen Marketing — My nomination for post of the month — got to love the passion, writing and attitude!
  • The prolific Mr Armano’s efforts — he continues to put us all to shame with his insight, "intuitive impression" and generosity
  • Ann Handley’s great post called Dumb is the New Smart — and I know Ann I probably owe you an article too, but hope this sign will suffice for now
  • The Staufenberger’s rash of new posts filled with thought provoking ideas and links (thanks for the church sign above)

Hope you enjoy these if you have not read them yet. Do I feel better? Well maybe a little … but blog debt seems to be a common experience. Now it’s time to rest!

S.

Some Agencies Just DON’T Get It!

Rant

Laura and Natasha Dumb Sign!
Originally uploaded by Laurydia.

So you have all been spared a rant for a while … but this has been bubbling away for some time. It was fuelled by this great post by Ann Handley and the comments from CK.

Some time ago I am sitting in a meeting room. I am there as a guest of my client, along with a number of other people representing various agencies … and the conversation swings around to the online world … to the web, the value of sites, blogs, portals and online ad spending. The discussion was being led by the head of one of the big media agencies and all in the room were nodding in agreement with the general flow of conversation/presentation. And then came the bombshell … "ah yes, but you can’t measure the web".

Beg your pardon?

I thought I must have misheard. I looked around the room and the nodding continued. Then I realised that I was just living in a parallel universe … the one where SOME people get the Net and others don’t. Unfortunately, my world was the lesser populated.

Now I could have jumped in and launched a tirade … but I paused. I wanted to understand why this perspective was held. I am quite immersed in the world of the web and interactive media, so I wanted to hear what was going on in this strange other world. So I sat on my indignation and listened … I expected to find out that the focus of the measurement argument was around protecting the lucrative media placement business. But it was worse …

The "lack of measurement" claim was actually about owning "strategy". By pushing forward with a measurement system built around mass media — TV and radio — and using the sampling provided by rating agencies around the world, this agency was claiming the strategic highground — based on their research and demographic analysis. I shook my head and wondered if I was hearing right!

Finally it clicked.

The reason that no one in the room thought that the web was measurable was because they were trying to use the WRONG system of measurement. They were viewing the web as just another channel … like TV and radio. They were talking about (can you believe it) banner ads and interstitials. They were wanting one-to-many broadcasts (and associated metrics) without understanding that you CAN have one-to-one narrowcasts (and better, targeted metrics). Not only did this agency (and the others), not understand the web and its potential, but they were actively discouraging their client from experimenting and innovating. And they were trying to AVOID helping our client build real, interactive relationships with customers.

Interestingly, I noticed through my web analytics, that certain agencies were checking our names and histories … and ended up here. How do I know it was them? Google Analytics lets you cross-analyse data in all sorts of fun ways … I even know what kind of computer they use and the screen size of their monitor. No measurement? Ha! Sounds like a job for this chap below (thanks to CK for the reference).

S.

Song of Country

Branding

I love a bit of pop culture branding. I love what pop culture says about brands, and more importantly, the way that PEOPLE engage with brands. I guess this is why blogging and the Web 2.0 intersection interests me, because Web 2.0 is about DOING things with brands. It is about bringing brands to life in ways that show the playful side of life.

CK has a great post on Borat — one of the funniest creations of the inimitable Sacha Baron Cohen (ok let’s face it, who WANTS to imitate him) — and the way that the character has single-handedly raised the awareness of Khazakstan as a country. It is interesting example, because, undoubtedly, there is something distasteful in the Borat character (understatement) … but to have Borat making the agenda for Khazakstan’s President Nazarbayev’s upcoming meeting with President George W Bush shows the power of comedy. And in a way, it shows how to engage an audience.

And while I don’t know that you would want to "take one for the team" — especially Borat style … there is a real opportunity to build on the awareness that Borat has built. In building an audience, the challenge in moving from "awareness" to "postive perception" is about getting your story across. There is a supreme opportunity for Khazakstan to EMBRACE the Borat character … I am seeing a whole series of "come and meet my family" advertisements ("meet my sister …", "my cousin loves your country, listen to him sing your song of country", "this is my cow …"). Is that going to resonate with an audience? Is it going to build buzz? Absolutely … and it would be fun!

Just don’t let Borat feature in an ad for beachwear (see CK’s article and you will know what I mean!)

S.