Learning how to create an epidemic

I’m reading a book, quite old, but great, which is widely known.

Malcom Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference”.

Sincerely, it has been surprised me, not only for the easy way to explain complicated concepts, but the extraordinary connections between communication and some kinds of vital processes, like epidemics, illnesses, boiling point, …

Gladwell said tipping points are “the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable.”

He talks about the turning point which everyone of us should try to work in to get success, and seeks to explain and describe the “mysterious sociological changes that mark everyday life. and how ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread like”.

Definitely,  it is a book that should belong to any planner’s private library.

Think fast, win more

Gamers who are getting ready for a marathon session of Halo or World of Warcraft need certain supplies: confortable chair,  speedy connection and tasty snacks. Gamer Grub promise a substance to help gamers get to the next level.

It is a great tasting snack mix packed with select vitamins and neurotransmitters supporting fast cognitive performance. Gamer Grub is scientifically formulated to power your core gaming systems for maximum gaming performance. There are four curious flavours: Pizza, Wasabi, PB & J and Chocolate.

In addition, the snacks  come in ergonomically designed packages that don’t create greasy fingers or leave crumbs on keyboards. The product was named as the first functional product for gaming and the official snkack supplier of the 2008 World Cyber Games USA.

The gamer- snack arrival is only a consequence of  the heavy energy drink consumption of gamers.

I really think that food manufacturers, and its communication partners, have rightly shift their attention to a never-stop encreasing target which is expected to be one of the most important actors after the economic downturn.

Urban Pride

I find really interesting to talk about an increasing trend, which we’ll hear about in the coming years. We all know there are some cities around the globe which are even more known than its entire nation. So, it is no surprising that a huge number of its inhabitants identify the city they live in as an important part of their culture. This mega-cities have achieved an own character, becoming an important entity and representing a set of values which people feel represented.

Without a doubt, some brands have found in this Urban Pride trend an ideal opportunity to incorporate a city’s character on their brand image and communicate them through a specific way in each city.

In my opinion the most representative brand of this initiative has been ABSOLUT. They first launched the ABSOLUT CITIES SERIES in 2007 in New Orleans where the brand developed a special mango and black pepper blend inspired by the city. Then they continued with LA, Boston, NYC… The brand took a very appropriate character of each city associating it with various flavours mixed with the vodka. They also made specific creativities for each city.

Planner’s stuff

A job colleague forwarded me a research about account planning situation in Spain. It is a recent survey made by Cristina Sánchez Blanco, communication teacher of Universidad de Navarra, and the Account Planners Association of Spain (APG).

This is a survey sent to 62 junior and senior planners from all over the country in order to have an idea as close as possible to the vision that planners have themselves on the current state of the discipline.

I don’t want to go through the results of the study, which would probably be deductible in advance. Only congratulate the author and the APG for this great initiative, so a discipline as important as strategic planning should involve multiple studies behind them in our country. This has been only the first. And I believe we should all give a little push to one of main keys of the communication process.

 

Many foreign countries believe blindly in the figure of the planner.

In Spain, perhaps, to some is early.

But, perhaps, the bet has to be doubled.

 

 

 

If someone is interested in the study, here it is:

http://www.aeap.es/publicaciones/docs/SPE_Espa%F1a3.pdf

The ghost minute

I was reading a blog few days ago and I met a curious history about New York railroads: “The ghost minute”. In short, it was telling that the fact of losing a train in the ‘Big Apple’ after leaving work can suppose to arrive very late at home. That’s why everybody runs to take the train when go home from work.

What New Yorkers don’t know is that for many years the railroads of the city have been leaving from each station a minute later in relation to train schedules, in order to prevent people from losing the train. And they have never announced it and it has never been said to anybody.

However, it is really worth to do something for your clients before they do not even know it.

Should brands do more actions for people independently if they get good image or notoriety and repercussion in the media?

Surely they do. May be things people do not necessarily know that exist but make their lives a bit easier.

Probably there are brands that are already doing it, probably not. The case is that it would be great that people was speaking about your brand in spontaneous form, mainly because of the actions you’ve done for them.

It is as easy as put the consumer in the center of the communication instead of our brand. Only the exchange of two pieces, but a successful result.

Just landed

 

The aim of launching this blog is not to give lessons to nobody. In fact, it’s been made with the purpose of learning. Only to share my reflections trying to use what I’ve already learned and what I think about strategy and comunication.

The headline does not try to be any type of easy wink to communication excellence. It is just a modest honoring to whom, once, believed in the importance of the strategy and the knowledge of the consumer as the only way to success in our job.

 

Then, the game has just started.