Sunday Thought: Post It Wisdom

Remember me?

Well, I remember you!

It’s been a busy end of year for yours truly.

The responsibilities of parenting are heating up.

Work is nicely keeping me busy to end the year.

So I’ve neglected my Let Me Thinkers a bit.

But don’t worry; I have a few in the hopper before 2023 lets out.

Before then, let me get to today’s sponsor.

Keith Heiman is one of my best friends in the world. We were each other’s best man. In our younger years, we were inseparable. We also recently had children 2 weeks apart, that go by Lenny and Benny.

Clearly, we are lifelong and cherished friends.

Which is why Keith paid me $5.34 so I could tell you all how terrible I am at fantasy football.

Keith and I have been in the same, somewhat insufferable fantasy football league for going on 17 years. I have never won. And I pull my hair out every year losing to people like Keith and others.

So as you approach the end of the year, don’t forget to tell the people that matter most to you how much they mean to you, and how much they suck at fantasy football.

Onto the thought. If it’s a little choppy today, well - blame my sweet daughter on the monitor next to me.

I recently gave a talk at my company, Noble People, on sayings, quotes etc. I’ve written down to myself over the last 1-2 years.

These are quotes I’ve heard from others, or I’ve thought of after listening to others way smarter than me.

And they inspire me to do the best work I possibly can, as well as remind me when I need to do better.

I keep them up as post-it notes at my desk.

So, here they are, for you.

They’re a little lofty (as my good friend Barry told me after I received many blank stares during my company talk), so I’ve added 1 or 2 funny ones in here.

As you enter 2024 and think of your own goals for next year, I hope they inspire you as well.

Here they are, my post-it notes of 2023…

On media plans…

1. “Default to interesting.”

If you’re deciding between two options to include on a marketing or media plan, pick the one that is more interesting.

Similar to how in baseball, “tie goes to the runner” - if a baseman catches a ball at the same time the runner crosses the base, the runner wins.

Well, interesting should win every time.

Media is too fragmented, too dull, and budgets too few to experiment with boring.

2. “Really cheap, or really cool.”

Everything on a media plan should either be 1 of 2 things:

Really cheap, or really cool.

If you’re going to shell out a lot of money on something, it better be really cool.

And I’m not just talking about “cool.”

I mean actually cool.

Not, an off the shelf sponsorship a media partner has been slinging around for some time, or a piece of custom branded content no one will watch.

I mean, something that will really grab the attention of the people you’re trying to reach, and aim towards breaking culture.

And if it’s not cool, well - it better be as cheap as humanly possible, to get as many impressions and eyeballs as possible, knowing a lot of them won’t stick.

So, pay as little as possible for the things you “need” to do to reach the people you need to reach, while saving the money for the coolest stuff you can possibly dream up and buy.

And by the way, this isn’t a plea to buy cheap media. But for the media that is most effective for your brand or business, make sure you’re getting the best deal possible.

3. “If your product is cool, tell people. If it’s not, make it look cool.”

Some products are naturally unique, and the best way to market them is to just tell people about them.

This applies to a lot of the best DTC products of the last 10 years, and why TV instantly works for them: because they’re telling people about a naturally interesting product, in an effective and efficient medium.

So for cool products, don’t overthink it.

Buy effective impressions at the cheapest rate possible, to tell as many people as possible.

But if your product isn’t cool - and be honest with yourselves - well, that’s where creativity can help.

Dress it up, make it look sexy, make it memorable and distinctive, because otherwise, you’re just marketing the same thing everyone else is already bringing to the table.

4. “Reach, attention, cost = media success.”

Media plans, partners and proposals should come down to 3 factors: reach, attention, and cost.

Are you reaching enough people?

Are you reaching the right people?

Do people give a shit about the ads you’re buying?

Are they engaging with them? Or are they skipping them?

Are you sharing space with too many competitors or too much clutter?

Is the price you’re paying worth the reach and attention you’re getting?

If you use these 3 factors to evaluate a media proposal, you’ll rarely go wrong.

On strategy…

1. “What do we want to be known for, and what are the places to show that?”

I think every strategy should answer these two questions.

What do we want the brand to be known for, that is distinct to the customer, relevant to culture, and different from the category / competition?

And, what are the best places to reinforce that with media?

2. “Internal culture should drive strategies.”

CMO Joy Howard says her definition of a brand is both the internal and external culture of a brand.

We are most familiar with the external culture of a brand - how it shows up in the world to make a mark and influence people.

But the internal culture is just as important - the brand’s employees, its ways of doing things, its location, etc.

These aspects show what a company values in people, processes, standards, performance, relationships, etc.

After all, these internal assets are already a manifestation of the POV the brand wants to bring to the world - the people they’ve hired to carry out their vision, their traditions, what they’ve brought to their hometown, etc.

Internal cultures provide valuable clues about what brands can bring to the table in the real world, and what can be used in a messaging or media strategy that is different from the competition.

It’s worth paying more attention to.

On clients…

1. “Traditional → digital, digital → traditional”

If you are an agency person and you get a new client, ask yourself:

Are they a traditional brand? Meaning, do they have a real world presence or a traditional marketing mix that includes TV, outdoor, etc.?

Then they are hiring you to explore digital solutions for your brand.

Or, are they a digital brand? Meaning, do they have a digital only presence or a digital marketing mix that includes social, search, etc.?

Then they are hiring you to explore offline solutions for your brands.

Brands, and clients, want what they can’t have.

A digital brand wants a real world presence to feel tangible and alive.

A traditional brand wants a digital presence to feel modern and innovative.

Plans and solutions might eventually end up the way these companies already have it, but they at least start out exploring something foreign.

Ultimately, clients are hiring you for a reason: to provide what they don’t have or can’t do themselves, and for you to help transform their businesses.

That’s where the value is.

2. “Tell them what they don’t know, and tell them simply.”

I heard this on a podcast describing the best sports announcers: they break down otherwise complex sports concepts to viewers at home, and tell them what they don’t know, in terms they can understand.

For agency people, it’s the same thing our clients are asking of us.

Be an expert and know things they can’t get anywhere else.

But, don’t be condescending with that knowledge, or too hard to understand.

Instead, explain it to them so they also understand, and can be smarter with that information to accept it, internalize it, advocate for it, participate in conversations about it, tell others in their organization about it, and apply it themselves.

You won’t be able to convince people of a stance or argument you’re making, or really add value otherwise.

3. “Always tell them how to spend their $!”

It doesn’t matter if it’s a strategy presentation, an idea presentation, a reporting call, a status meeting, or a 1:1 with a client stakeholder.

Every time you’re with a client, be prepared to tell them how to spend their $.

That’s what they’re paying you for.

4. “This has gotta end.”

A few years ago, my team presented a CMO an 120-slide media plan deck.

By slide 70, he said the words above.

(He may have well been talking about this newsletter!)

If you’re pitching to a senior person, cut it down. Considerably.

On media partners..

1. “Ask them, what’s the coolest, most impactful thing we can do with you?”

Sometimes as agency folks, we are too prescriptive with the media companies and vendors we work with.

We give them briefs, and need them to answer the brief exactly.

Well, what get’s lost in that approach is the ingenuity that comes from brainstorming, workshopping, and simply understanding the client a bit more, as well as the best things that a media company has to offer.

These opportunities might not be immediately applicable to your brief or project, but if you ask a media partner this question, it not only opens their mind to other things that they might not have been thinking of per the brief you’ve given them, but makes them more invested in the outcome of the proposal as well.

On reporting…

1. “Win or learn.”

Stephen A. Smith says he never loses a debate. He wins, or he learns a new perspective.

In media, we should appreciate this more.

We’re easy to say something failed, or was a waste of money.

Instead, let’s reframe it.

When something goes well, great - we’ve won.

How can we do more of it?

But when something goes poorly, also great - we’ve learned something for our clients.

What would we change for next time?

Wallowing too much in the failures doesn’t help anybody, or any business succeed in the future.

Everyone just wants to win, or learn.

On next year..

1. “Say what I mean, and do what I say.”

This is my biggest resolution for 2024.

I say a lot of things in this newsletter, on LinkedIn, in conversations, etc.

But do I apply them all to my day-to-day?

No.

For one reason or another, I am not fully carrying out what I say to the world.

My main goal for 2024 is to change that.

So, here’s to setting solid goals for ourselves in 2024.

Here’s to doing what what we really mean, and carrying it out on a day to day basis.

Here’s to reflecting on what we learned this year and applying it forward.

And here’s to doing work we are all proud of.

Stay thinkin,

Danny