Bill Geist's Zeitgeist

Business Travel Rocks

The Travel Industry has been dubbed the "Invisible Industry" because we are subtly interconnected with virtually every other industry. Thus, we are often ignored for the economic engine that we are.

New research, however, shows that Business Travel has accounted for over a third of the growth in global trade and improved corporate productivity tenfold over the past decade.

Damn.

Of course, even with such compelling data, I doubt our political leaders will cease their inspid calls for reductions in travel. They know the sound bytes sound good to the masses.

And they don't really care about the carnage they create.

Gimme Summer Lovin'

It's the unofficial start of summer in America. And, while the Spencer Davis Group was part of the British Invasion, "Gimme Some Lovin'" was always one of those songs that so perfectly kicked off a party weekend.

So glad you made it. Now, turn it up!

Brandworks University 2011 / Day Three

Honestly...if you don't ask for an invitation to next year's conference, I really question your commitment to personal and professional growth. Brandworks University is truly that rare event that can change lives, business and brands.

On this final day, The Daily's Sam Poor and Lee Jeans' Liz Cahill provided amazingly compelling case studies that exemplified how understanding the consumer is the key to success. For The Daily, it was understanding that their iPad platform would enable readers to actually interact with the ads being served. For Lee, it was the understanding that guys hate to shop that enabled the conversation they now have with their base.

Marsha Lindsay returned to the stage and challenged the gathered by asking whether ad agencies were relevant (where have we heard that before?)...and said that the job for marketers is to create a desire for change. And, that was before she hauled out the chain saw.

SourceMartin's Brian Martin suggested that today is the dawning of the next creative revolution. It took agencies 15 years to figure out how to maximize TV. It's been 15 years since the dawn of the era of the internet. And we're just starting to figure it out.

The Monitor Group's Sandi Pocharski and Steven Goldbach talked about the future of organizational structure, offering that we should all be less like football and more like hockey (honestly, if you click on only one link...this is the one).

Chip Heath (author of "Switch") suggested new ways to get people within your organization to change. And, while the concepts are so obvious...it's obvious that we don't often use them.

And IBM's John Kennedy's closing presentation? One of the most powerful comments of the conference: "Have something to say...not something to sell."

To Marsha, Rick and all the folks at LSB. Thank you, thank you, thank you for recharging my batteries. And Brandworks 2012 can't come soon enough!

Brandworks University 2011 / Day Two

And the hits keep coming at America's premier branding conference in Madison WI.

Day Two kicked off with the inimitable Marsha Lindsay warning attendees that logic and rational thought will not free us from the Gordion Knot (how true, how true). She suggested (ouch) that the traditional SWOT Analysis would never create breakthrough thought...and that pursuing cost efficiencies often precludes growth. Probably the most telling take-away: "Don't focus on price to attract new customers...focus on what is priceless about your product." Damn...

The disruptive Byron Sharp (author of "How Brands Grow") took the stage to debunk virtually everything the assembled knew to be true. Indeed, that was the unofficial theme of the day: unlearning. His initial point...until just recently in human history, the best and brightest doctors thought bloodletting patients was an effective cure (of course, now they bleed us financially). The most powerful take-away? Your customers rarely think about you...which is why advertising is more crucial than ever. We need to stay in front of them, or they'll go somewhere else. As he said in his close: "Refreshing Memory Structures is the key."

Steven Goldbach (the Monitor) shared that "the Magic is in the Mix" of our marketing efforts. Chasing ROI of individual tactics means nothing. Instead, we need to understand the "Channel Pathway"...how consumers go from consideration to consumption. And, often, traditional advertising isn't part of the path.

Coke's Susan Gambardella shared how her company is "Liquid and Linked" in a sensational case study of Coke's sponsorship dominance of the World Cup. From securing an iconic theme song to connecting through Social Media channels, Coke learned that it was all about content...and allowing others to contribute to that content. Great take-away: Save 20% of the budget for the end game to leverege what worked. Cool.

LSB's Jiri Marousek and Amy Rohn offered their thoughts on Social and Mobile. Among the top-line thoughts: Managers often agree to Social Media because "it's free." Except, when all this "free" stuff gets stacked upon itself, it often becomes unmanageable. Others? Mobile is becoming the primary screen of our lives and is no longer a content delivery system, but a content generator.

Closing out the day was David Kirkpatrick, author of "The Facebook Effect," who opined that Facebook provides a broadcast platform to the people, enabling the revolution for which those in the '60s could only hope. Indeed, Facebook has enabled revolutions around the world to start...while Twitter added fuel to the fires.

Can't wait for Day Three...

 

Brandworks University 2011

And it couldn't have come at a more opportune time...at least for me.

One can only ply their craft so long until one needs a serious recharge of the creative and entrepreneurial batteries. And Day One of the most happening Brand conference in the land was just the juice I needed.

Marketed as a way to better understand how untie the Gordion Knot of Marketing, the conference got off to a roaring start when Founder Marsha Lindsay said "What the Hell" and whipped out a saw (not unlike Harrison Ford's response to a seemingly unbeatable challenge in "Indiana Jones.").

It only got better from there...

Nielsen's Susan Whiting debunked the myth that we are watching less TV (we're watching more) and that we don't watch DVR'd ads (we watch about half). That, and 25 million of us watch video on our mobile devices.

Mike Bloxham suggested that Brand Loyalty is all about Consumer Experience...and that we all look for the "best available screen" when searching for the content we crave. Most impactful for me: his 3 R's (Reach, Relevance and Resonance). Those that have seen my presentations on marketing know that I've been preaching relevance for years.

NYU's Craig Stacey shared a case study from Kayak that opened eyes. The OTA had built a successful business model on paid search. When it moved into TV, traditional media measures indicated that it was TV (and only TV) that generated traffic. But, with more sophisticated measures, it was clear that, while TV may have initiated the process for some, it was clearly a combination that also included search, billboards and online display that created the sale. More importantly, new research shows that online display advertising (long disparaged because of marginal click-thru rates) increases awareness and intent over time.

And then, the Onion's Steve Hannah shared how the originally Madison-based start up has changed the world in which we live. What a great opening day.

As Marsha said in her opening salvo: Marketers used to interupt...now we must disrupt.

Something that Zeitgeist loves to do. And, we'll have highlights from Day Two tomorrow morning.

The Tyranny of Poorly Trained Employees

I know better than to eat in airport restaurants. However, my 7am flight got pushed to 2pm with a doubtful connection that was supposedly getting me home at 8pm. I figured I should at least do lunch...and was reminded how, while "the Dude Abides," bad managers abound.

Setting the stage, it’s 11am. The left and right sides of the restaurant are “closed.” There are no signs indicating this...but chairs have been strategically positioned to block access. The airport is full of travelers whose flights have been delayed and, presumably, would be looking for something to do to kill time. Like, ummm, eat.

Past that the restaurant (and airport) was woefully understaffed, those servers that were on duty went through their paces with all the enthusiasm of drugged slugs. Except, of course, when someone tried to access the “closed” sections of the restaurant.

Then...oh then, they sprang to attention with perverse zeal bordering on raw abandon, crying out “that section is CLOSED.” When the humiliated patron pleaded that he or she hadn’t seen such a sign, the condescending retort? “Well, there was a chair there.” Only closing the sentence with, “you moron” would have been more tactless.

Now, I get that, during slow times, a restaurant manager would want to focus patrons in a particular section of the restaurant. But, the configuration of this particular establishment offered 2-tops on one side and 5 seat + options on the other. Everything in the middle were threes and fours. I was solo...as were most of the business travelers that had been stranded through the morning. We had already consumed most of the 3 and 4-tops because the two section was closed. And, I watched in amazement as a family of 8 was denied the family section and forced to break into two booths. All because those sections were quite arbitrarily “closed.”

By noon, they were magically open. Not because the place had a waiting line of customers...but because, clearly, it was noon.

I don’t blame the staff. I blame the management for not teaching the staff how to assess a situation and act to maximize it. Left to their own devices, there is nothing else for those employees to do but be snarky pains in the ass. And, ensuring that regulars to that airport will quit eating there.

Of course, one wonders if the manager even cares.

I Just Wanna Fuh

OK...I've got friends that simply can't believe I like Kiss. But, despite (or maybe because of) my general sophistication in music, I just can't hep mice elf. It is what it is. Call it a guilty pleasure. Call it a primal urge. Call it that I was one of the first DJs in the country to play them. I don't care.

And this is one of my faves. Tying a cool tip of the hat to "Summertime Blues" with the aural double entendre of "fuh," this is a great song to kick off an almost summer weekend.

"Tired of trying to be what I'll never be..."

Yeah...admit it. You like 'em too.

The Power of Inviting Just One

It's such a simple concept...yet amazingly powerful.

If every household in the State of Washington were to get just one friend or relative to visit this year, 21,000 new jobs would be created through the new spending that would ensue.

Check out this fabulous website and video from Washington Tourism.

Very well done.

Hotel Websites Suck

Actually...most websites do.

But Forrester Research has just come down like a ton of bricks on the hotel industry's approach to web marketing. And, I can't say that I disagree.

While Forrester says that most hotel website booking processes are effective, they find that most other aspects are severely lacking. Like why I'd want to book that hotel over the competition in the first place. Like what's nearby. Like any other question I may have.

To that last thought, Forrester finds that 3 in 5 online consumers consider abandoning an online purchase if they can't get real time help. Realizing this, a major chain recently implemented an online chat function and reduced its abondonment rate by 40%.

And, for those of us in the Destination Marketing world? There is a lot we can learn from Forrester's indictment of our industry partners...if we're paying attention.

Upgrading Hotels

I know it's not easy. And, in this economy, it's doubly tuff. But, it has to be done.

I recently stayed at a HQ hotel for a Convention Center. The hotel is getting a little long in the tooth...and, it's the primary reason for the Center's Lost Business Reports.

Yeah...love the Center, hate the hotel.

One of the issues, I'm sure, are the rooms, with showers that anyone over 6'2" would struggle to use (yeah...that nozzle is just about touching my shoulder).

And, given such a product, what is a Destination Marketing Organization to do?