Month: December 2013

#WhipIt–Pantene tackles workplace perceptions of women

Activism, Videos

When I was a teenager I felt that my generation was going to be the one to combat all the issues of injustice that plagued the world. As I got older, I realised that almost every teenage generation thinks the same way – that they can, armed with fresh insight, a new perspective and abundant energy, change the world.

But changing one person’s mind is hard enough. Changing the world … well, you see where I am going.

We are a great mass of inertia – and it takes a lot of effort to mobilise our thinking and to push us to take action. That’s why it’s important to keep challenging “what is”. It’s why it is essential to call out unacceptable behaviours and “old” notions of thinking. Because in challenging these things change can happen one heart and one mind at a time. But no change comes without drawing a line in the sand. Which is why I love the way that Pantene has framed this ad. It’s calling out the often unspoken attitudes that continue to prevail in many of our workplaces.

It’s a great ad. It may not change the world, but it may inspire the drawing of a few more lines. And that would be a great, good thing.

This Holiday Season, Get Your Social Media House in Order

Comms 101, Social Media

It’s been a long year, and I know you are tired. Worn out. Ready for a break.

But how READY are you? Because when it comes to social media, you need to be business READY, and by that I mean:

Responsive Don’t bury your head in the sand. An issue can turn into a crisis very quickly. Make sure you have protocols and people that allow you to respond to issues as they arise. Even over the holidays.
Engaged It’s hard to hose down a crisis if you’ve never engaged with your audiences via social media. There’s an old saying, “dig your hole before you need the water” – and the same applies to social media. Be sure to engage with people before you need to. And if a crisis eventuates, be sure to remain engaged with the topic, the participants and your stakeholders.
Active In a crisis, remain active. Initiate communications. Actively monitor inbound and outbound channels. Check the facts and correct inconsistencies. Become the authority.
Direct When things are going pear-shaped, it’s tempting to “gild the lily” – to put some positive spin on events. Resist that urge. Be direct in your communications and engage with the issues that you need to, but don’t feed the trolls.
Y-front prepared There can be no doubt that a social media crisis is embarrassing for your brand. Are you ready to be caught out in the spotlight? What do you do when your dirty laundry is aired? Be prepared to talk dirty laundry.

And if you need a more detailed guide to managing a social media crisis, take a look through Simon Kemp’s excellent guide. It may be the best present you’ll get all year.

Ash Donaldson – Predicting Irrational Decisions

Behaviour Design, Customer Experience, Design, Smart Bloggers, Videos

I don’t know about you, but I am completely logical. Focused. Directed. I am completely in charge of my own decisions and behaviour.

Or so I thought.

A couple of weeks ago, I caught up with Ash Donaldson, caffeine aficionado and behavioural design guru. We got talking about mobile app design and human behaviour and within seconds, my head was swimming. He was connecting dots that once swirled around my head like stars in the night sky. With a few quick examples, he explained how – through design – we can predict someone’s decisions.

And if you are interested in understanding how this might work in practice, take a look at Ash’s webinar on Slideshare. It’s 10 minutes that may just change the way you plan your marketing. And it may just change the way you think about your own choices that you think you make.