Unintended consequences and unexpected opportunities.
Many years ago, I rented a room in a house owned by an Italian woman.
Well, not really an Italian woman – at least, not on the outside. She had a perfect, cut-glass accent, and lived in one of the posher parts of London.
But on the inside, she was Italian. She’d spent her formative years with her English parents in Rome, and had later moved to Milan. And then to England.
What amazed me about her was that nothing ever got in her way. And I’m not just talking about her driving, which was fast, dangerous and highly illegal. It was exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure, especially in sedate West London.
No, it was the way she got around life’s little irritations that impressed me. Whenever a problem cropped up, she found a solution. Rules and regulations didn’t faze her: she simply found a way to circumvent them.
One day, after a particularly cunning solution, she smiled broadly at me, and came out with a delightful Italian expression: Fatta la legge, trovato l’inganno!
Which means that as soon as a law is made, the workaround is found.
More regulation doesn’t mean more compliance, or a more orderly society. The unintended consequence of laws is that people quickly find ways to bypass them. Make more laws, and people simply find more ways.
And the Italians are good at finding ways: it’s estimated that the black market would add another 30% to their GDP. In the UK, by comparison, it’s a mere 5-10%.
Penny dreadful
Unintended consequences are one of life’s unavoidable problems (or opportunities – you decide).
Whenever you take a decision – to change your pricing, launch a marketing campaign, target a sector of the market, expand your product range – there are unintended consequences.
When the Net Book Agreement, which had set fixed prices for books in the UK for almost 100 years, was scrapped in mid-90s, it was hailed as a good thing. Henceforth, the market would prevail as these old, outdated restrictive practices were swept away.
The result?
Big chains got bigger. Small bookshops couldn’t compete. Supermarkets started selling books, and set their selling price below the cost price of many bookshops. In some cases, supermarkets simply used books as loss leaders to draw people into the store to buy food.
Publishing houses took fewer chances, as blockbusters ruled the day. Large book chains demanded funds for marketing, and supermarkets vetoed book covers which they claimed wouldn’t work for their customers.
A good thing indeed.
The French – as they mostly do – took a different approach. Culture was an exception, they said. Books weren’t a commodity, to be sold like so many bottles of mineral water or tins of cassoulet.
And so in France, to this day, the maximum a book can be discounted is 5%, whether you’re a mega-supermarket, an online retailer or a tiny independent bookseller.
The result? More books, more bookshops, more choice.
Vive la différence.
Text maniac
You can’t stand still. And you can’t predict the future – so don’t try to. Unintended consequences are everywhere, unpredictable and mostly unstoppable.
And sometimes, the consequences cause a chain reaction:
Text messages, thought to be a nice-to-have-but-essentially-useless add-on to the mobile phone, took off in a way nobody could have foreseen. Today, they’re worth billions of pounds a year to mobile operators.
Twitter, building on SMS success, has come from nowhere to be everywhere. It makes no sense and defies analysis. But it is what it is, and it’s here to stay.
Burglaries have suddenly became easier, thanks to people’s constant tweeting about their movements. I’m just popping out to the gym, they tell the world. Leaving the house empty, of course – a problem that the daring website Please Rob Me highlighted to startling effect. (It’s since suspended its operations, having made its point.)
Stuff happens. It’s how you deal with it that makes the difference.
Think ahead, identify the most likely problems, and work out your strategy. Don’t let yourself get stuck in Indecision Alley – it’s dead end.
And when the unexpected happens – and it will – go with the flow and react fast. See if there’s an opportunity lurking in the midst of it all, seize it with both hands, and run with it.
Much as a software company I know did. They launched what they thought was a niche solution, aimed at a gap in the market. But they weren’t sure, as the saying goes, whether there was a market in the gap.
There was.
Such a big market, in fact, that they completely re-engineered their company around that one solution, which has since become a runaway success.
So you see? Good stuff happens too.
Ciao bella
When my landlady’s parents went to live in Italy, they thought it would give their daughter a second language, an appreciation of art, culture and fine wine, as well as a broader world outlook.
It did. But it also gave her a lifelong disrespect for rules, a fiery temper and a quirky method of getting out of a tight parking spot.
One morning, I stood at my bedroom window, gaping in disbelief as she drove her car a little forwards, then a little backwards, in the impossibly small space. She nudged the car in front, and the car behind, and in front, and behind.
Well I say nudged, but I did hear a pretty loud bump each time she made contact. Bump, bump, bump, bump.
And then, with just enough space to swing out, she was off. Hurtling down a suburban London road with reckless abandon, singing along to the sound of Claudio Baglioni on her car stereo.
Unintended. But pretty damned impressive.
Find out more:
Open House. The controversial website Please Rob Me highlights over-sharing information online. Next time, think before you tweet.
“The really depressing bit for me,” said my friend, “was to hear the word authenticity used as a marketing term. Something is either authentic or it isn’t.”
He wasn’t talking about mobile phones or cars, life coaches or insurance salesmen. No, it was worse – much worse.
Politicians.
We’d both heard the same edition of Analysis on BBC Radio 4, which talked about pitching for the female vote in the upcoming general election. Its title, Babies and Biscuits, was inspired by David Cameron’s appearance on Mumsnet, a million-strong online network of mothers.
Mothers with votes.
Questions ranged from childcare vouchers to ID cards, with brief detours via nappies (aka diapers) and his favourite biscuit (he had an answer he prepared earlier – unlike Gordon Brown in the Biscuitgate scandal).
Perception is reality
Authenticity is on everybody’s lips these days. Everybody wants to be real, honest, and open – or at least, to appear so.
So we’re all doing the open-kimono thing, trying to show the real us, trying to connect with prospects.
My gym certainly is. LA Fitness have mugshots of real staff members plastered all over the gym, the web and in magazine advertising. Real people, warts and all.
Estate agent Carter Jonas has taken the same approach, relaunching its brand so the focus is not property, but…you got it, people.
So Sinéad likes Latin American dancing and Marie is a champion golfer. Geoff sails dinghies and Kevin enjoys cooking (he’s welcome to it).
Does this all feel authentic to you?
No, me neither. You get the feeling they’re trying too hard to be something they’re not. And by shoehorning them into roles they – and we – feel uncomfortable with, nobody’s being done any favours.
Easy does it
The thing about being honest and open is that it’s a hard sell. Tell somebody you’re honest, and their instinct is to doubt you. Why is he telling me this?
It’s a bit like telling somebody you’re talented. Isn’t that something they should be able to work out for themselves?
Going back to basics is another option. I’ve lost count of the number of times people have said to me I want to be more like Innocent.
Innocent Drinks, that is. With the cute cartoons and the cutesy taglines. It works very well – for them.
But here’s the thing. It isn’t the result of some focus group or creative brainstorm. It’s not designed to deceive or deflect. It’s a simple idea, with a simple execution.
And I do think it’s authentic. In fact, unless I was being spun to, I know it is.
Years ago, I bumped into one of the Innocents at a networking event in London. An ex-teacher, he’d abandoned the classroom and thrown himself into smoothies instead (metaphorically speaking, you understand).
And when it came to copy, he decided to give it a go himself. He’d keep it simple, straightforward and… innocent.
And it worked.
But that bandwagon has passed, and it’s too late to jump on. So don’t. Instead, create your own, start a trend and set yourself apart.
Be authentic, but do it your way.
And remember that being is one thing – doing is another. You’ve got to deliver, otherwise you’re just a likeable incompetent.
As Seth says:
… ‘being’ is too amorphous and we are notoriously bad at judging that. Internal vision is always blurry. Doing, on the other hand, is an act that can be seen by all.
Can I quote him on that? Oh yes, I just did.
And finally
So was Cameron being authentic, or just playing the game in a cynical attempt to garner votes?
Well, June 3rd is the last date on which an election can take place. So on the morning of the 4th, we’ll see how the cookie crumbles.
Or the biscuit. (Mine’s a ginger nut, by the way.)
Find out more:
It’s a duck: Seth Godin‘s take on authenticity (and Mother Teresa).
Remember the last time you saw a photo of yourself? I’m betting you didn’t like it. Maybe it was a bad angle, or the light wasn’t too good. Maybe you were caught unawares. Or maybe you just don’t like being photographed (I know where you’re coming from).
But another part, a big part of seeing a photo of ourselves, is that we don’t recognise ourselves. Why not? Because everything’s in reverse, the wrong way round.
Except it’s not.
That parting on the left-hand side is actually on the right in real life. The freckle on your nose is actually where it looks like it is. And your good side is actually your bad side.
The thing that throws us is that we’re seeing ourselves as others see us.
And that’s always a bit of a shock to the system.
Dog bites man
When you’re putting your message out, you need to have a little out-of-body experience now and then. In fact, the more often you do it, the better.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I worked for a big software company. For a product launch, our ad agency – a bunch of hip dudes and dudesses with more attitude than a classful of teenagers – came up with a great series of adverts.
Everybody loved them.
But the one that caught my eye featured a man tussling with a woman, topped off with what (to me, at least) looked like a slightly sexist headline.
It was daring, different and what would nowadays be called ‘edgy’ (back then, edgy meant irritable).
I thought it wouldn’t work, and said so. All eyes in the room turned on me, like a pack of ravening hyenas.
I stood my ground, repeated my opinion, and left it at that.
Two weeks later, I was sitting behind a two-way mirror with my colleagues watching a focus group run through the ads. When they came to the sexist one, I held my breath. But I think I was the only one – everybody else was convinced the ad would go down a storm.
It didn’t. It bombed from the very start.
And oddly enough, it was the men who thought it was most unacceptable. Perhaps it was because they were in mixed company. Perhaps it was because they knew there were under observation.
Or perhaps it was because it really was an awful advert.
Whatever the reason, its fate was sealed there and then, and it headed for cutting-room floor.
And the campaign? It was a huge success, boosting software sales and winning awards.
Step away from the campaign, sir
So what if you can’t afford a focus group? Well why not:
Phone a friend. Ask an acquaintance, family member or networking contact. Try not to prejudice them by over-explaining the concept (you won’t have that luxury with real prospects).
Walk away from it. Leave it for a day, weekend or a week. I guarantee it’ll look different after you’ve taken a break.
Get round the other side of your desk. No, really, I mean it. If you have space, get round there now. Be somebody else – taller, shorter, female, male, older, younger. Pretend you’re not yourself and look at it as objectively as you can. You’ll be surprised what emerges.
Ask your clients. After all, they’re the ones who are destined to see it. Pick a few key clients that you know and trust, and run the idea by them. They’ll be chuffed you asked, and you’ll get some great insights.
And if you’re still not sure? Do a Dr Pepper (what’s the worst that could happen?).
Run it anyway, but be prepared to make changes. Measure from Day 1, and make course adjustments. Stay nimble and agile. Set yourself a cut-off date, and if it’s not working, and you’ve tried everything, jettison it and move on.
Third degree (honorary)
If you call me with a great idea for a campaign you’d like to run, don’t be surprised if I ask questions. Lots of them.
It’s not that I don’t think you’ve got a great idea – it’s just that it’s the first time I’ve heard it, and I’m standing back, then getting up close, kicking the tyres and running my hand over it.
It allows me to see it objectively, evaluate it, and gain some perspective. And it allows you do to the same.
Wow, said a potential client recently, you’re so clever. You ask things I’d never even think of.
Clever, me? Maybe. But actually I’m asking questions from a position of complete ignorance.
Which is just another name for objectivity.
But don’t tell anyone.
Find out more:
Two wrongs might make a right. Yes, you can make mistakes – in fact, you should, otherwise you’re not trying. Check out Sunny Bates on Linchpins, Passion and Fear and you’ll see what I mean.
Feedback frenzy. Diamond Shreddies vs. Square Shreddies – can you tell the difference? They can (well they think they can, and that’s all that matters).
Every January, I play a little game. I check how long it is before I see the evergreen headline New Year, New You! somewhere.
In past years, winners have been my gym, The Times, and my ex-ex-mobile phone operator (brand loyalty isn’t my strong suit).
This year, the winner was Tesco. For there, above the magazine rack in my local store, were those four fateful words. And it was only 29 December. That took the biscuit (low-fat, Light Choices, of course).
Why does it work year after year?
Because change is good. Any change.
And what goes for our faces, figures and jobs also goes for our businesses, brands and corporate image.
The constant constant
No brand can afford to stand still. But not all brands change for the same reason. Some want to, some need to, and some do it just because they can.
So why would you want to change your brand?
It’s stale. What seemed like a great logo, tagline or look simply doesn’t cut it any more. You’re tired of seeing it, tired of hearing it, tired of putting it out there. And guess what? Your customers probably feel the same way.
It’s invisible. ‘Brand blindness’ inevitably sets in among your target audience. Been there, done that. Nothing to see, move on. Change your look and they’ll sit up and take notice again.
It’s falling behind. Makeovers are a me-too thing. If everybody else is doing them, and you’re not, it doesn’t matter how strong your brand is. It’s a game, so learn to do it well and often.
Sometimes, there’s simply no option. A takeover, for example, means that somebody loses out. When HSBC took over Midland Bank, a brand that had been on UK high streets for over a century disappeared without a trace.
The same happened recently when the Spanish giant Santander swallowed up Abbey, Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester. But when it comes to brands, bigger isn’t always better, as Barclays’ ill-fated ‘big bank’ advertising campaign proved.
Consumers like choice, and smaller banks, with a cosy, corner-shop feel, are preferable to huge multinationals. In an interesting development, the charmingly named Williams and Glyn’s bank looks set to re-emerge from the rubble if the Royal Bank of Scotland is broken up.
Froth with wings
Times change, and brands do too. Could there be a more iconic brand of the boom era than Starbucks? From humble beginnings in 1970s Seattle, it spread around the world and became synonymous with coffee.
Dot.com entrepreneurs hung out with grungy college students, lounging in battered leather seats with chill-out music wafting among the tables.
But that was then. This is now.
Big is now Bad: big banks, big investment houses, big bonuses.
Small is the new big. So Starbucks is going small again, launching unbranded coffee shops in an effort to lure people back.
So if you wander into 15th Avenue Coffee and Tea in Seattle, and think what a welcome alternative to Starbucks, you’re in for a surprise.
Because it’s Starbucks.
The stuff of legend
Sometimes, you really have no choice, and a makeover is not just an option – it’s the only option.
2010 sees the relaunch of a venerable old magazine, with a 90-year track record. The new title is to be Canada’s History.
It’s not going to set the world on fire, but at least it has the virtue of being immediately recognisable and obvious. Unlike its old title, which caused chaos with spam filters in the digital age.
For up until now, it’s revelled in a delightfully unfortunate name.
I’ve lost track of the number of people I’ve spoken to recently who don’t have a marketing plan.
It’s all up here, they tell me on the phone, and I picture them tapping their head.
I know what I want to do, they say. Why would I take the time to write it down?
Because writing it down makes it real. It forces you to focus. Writing it down exposes the flaws, shows the holes, and makes you look reality in the face.
But here’s the great thing: it also reveals opportunities you never thought existed, and things you hadn’t even thought of. It takes you in unexpected directions and gets you thinking about alternative strategies.
But where do you start? How do you get over BPS (blank-page syndrome, that is)?
With a template, of course. It’ll give the process structure, order and a purpose.
Microsoft has some great ready-made templates for Word (here) and PowerPoint (here). The PPT is in Office 2007 format, so if you have an earlier version, you’ll need the Microsoft Office compatibility pack (here).
Personally, I’d choose PowerPoint. It forces you to keep it brief, concise and bullet-pointed.
Which is what the best marketing plans are.
Words (don’t come easy)
All bulleted out? Plump up the cushions, grab a glass of port and a mince pie, and take 15 minutes out to watch lexicographer Erin McKean on TED.com.
Erin McKean redefines the dictionary is a witty look at words from somebody who spends her every day swimming in a sea of them.
One of the biggest drawbacks of using online dictionaries is, she says, that it eliminates serendipity.
“Serendipity is when you find things you weren’t looking for because finding what you were looking for is so damn difficult,” she says.
If, like me, you love words and can spend hours on end discovering new ones, this talk is for you. And even if you don’t, this talk is for you.
If nothing else, you’ll find out the meaning of double dactyls, as well as polysemy and synecdochically.
Enjoy.
(If you’re reading in email and can’t see the embedded video, click here instead.)
Free lunch? Walk this way…
If all that talk of words leaves you hungry for more, here’s a great way to access some of the leading reference works for free.
Yes, I said free. Not free* or free++ or even free^. Just free.
There is one catch, though.
You have to be in the UK and have a library card. If you are, and you have, you’re in luck, as your library website will provide a gateway.
Researching a company? Try Marketline. Need to find out more about the Big Cheese? Try Who’s Who. Plus the OED, Oxford Reference Online, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and the Encyclopaedia Britannica – and a whole lot more.
Even if you don’t read (you dont?) it’s worth joining your local library just for the freebies.
With all that reference material, there’s more than enough room for a little serendipity. Not to mention synedoche and polysemy.
Merry Christmas (and don’t leave crumbs on the cushion).
