Category: Branding

How a strong brand voice helps you stand out from the crowd.

I love the song We Are The World. It was one of the biggest hits of my early childhood. It is up there with other timeless classics like Karma Chameleon, Rhinestone Cowboy, and Pac-Man Fever.

We Are The World, was written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, and produced by Quincy (Don’t-Call-Me-Adams) Jones. The song features 50 of the biggest musical acts of the 1980s, plus Dan Akroyd.

The iconic song was recorded after the 1985 American Music Awards show and was released by the supergroup USA for Africa. It is catchy, beautiful and poignant. It tells listeners that it’s time to help aid the people of Africa who were suffering from devastating food shortages because of famine. I’m guessing it’s one of the most uplifting songs about starving ever recorded.

Listening Now

When I hear the song today, the thing that stands out is that I can instantly recognize each of the singers’ voices. Despite the fact that there are 21 soloists in the song. And each of them only sings a line or two. So why is it that nearly 40 years after the song was released I can still identify each voice?

Different is Better Than Better

Because each singer’s voice is unique. They all sound distinctly different. When you listen to the song you realize that one reason these singers became popular is that they have their own unique sound. Which makes them special and easily identifiable, even when they aren’t wearing their signature glove.

Developing Your Voice

If you have a business or work in marketing or advertising, you have to think about developing your unique brand voice. It is how you get recognized and remembered. It is how the Search & Rescue team spots you in the Sea of Sameness. You need to position your brand as different from everyone else. Unless you are a counterfeit brand. If that’s the case you should study every move your model brand makes. And every breath that your model brand takes. I’ll be watching you.

Study To Stand Out

Know what others in your category do and say. But then either do or say different things, or do and say the same things differently. And say, say, say what you want. That’s how you stand out. Like Paul McCartney and MJ.

Your Personal Brand

If you have a personal brand, and we all do, think about developing and nurturing your own unique style. This could be your own unique way of talking, walking, acting, or dressing. You can distinguish yourself with all of those things or anything else that feels unique and interesting to you.

Through my blog posts and books, I have developed my own writing style. Which is typically laced with pop culture references and random things I think are funny. Like the bones in my elbows.

My personal goal is to help everyone who reads my writings learn a little, laugh a little and lift a little. (Lift as in spirits, not dumbells.) I believe this is why I receive so many requests for speaking engagements. (But it could just be that other speakers are unavailable.)

Through the advertising and ideas agency, The Weaponry, I help brands create their own unique voice every day. I highly encourage you to find your way of standing apart from the crowd. Positive differentiation will ensure that more great opportunities find you simply because you own a distinct space in the minds of the opportunity holders. And that is a valuable place to be.

Key Takeaway

Discover and develop your unique brand voice. This is true whether you have a business brand to nurture or a personal brand to perfect. Stand apart from the crowd to get noticed. And people will be much more likely to recruit you to be part of their supergroup.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

No good at marketing yourself? Try these 5 things now.

I have had numerous conversations lately with people who have told me they don’t understand marketing and don’t know how to market themselves. I find this more frightening than the twin girls from The Shining. Because if you don’t understand basic marketing, you will lose out to someone who does.

It’s important to know that sales don’t go to the best products or services. And opportunities don’t go to the most worthy candidates. They often go to those who market themselves best. Which is the only way to explain the success of Bobcat Goldthwait.

You have to be able to market yourself. Because you are constantly being evaluated as a more or less worthy candidate than another person. The opportunity at stake could be a job, a sale, a spot on a team, or a date. With 8 billion people on the planet, there are always other options to choose from. Which means that people are deciding to swipe right or swipe left on you every day. To be a successful contestant on The Swipe Is Right, here are some marketing basics.

5 things to know about marketing yourself.

  1. It is not who you know, it is who knows you. It is important that you are both visible and discoverable. The first step to marketing is being findable. So make yourself easy to find. Be on social media. Especially LinkedIn. Show up at events. Join organizations. Participate. Don’t be Boo Radley. Or Sasquatch. Or translucent.

2. Share your successes. One of the best ways to market yourself is to share your successes. Share them as part of your social and professional profiles where appropriate. Make your successes part of your introduction to others, whether in person or via email or classic mail.

When people think of you, you want them to think of your successes. People have to know what you are good at. This makes you memorable for your strengths. Don’t be humble about your successes, or you are likely to lose out on opportunities to someone with lesser success. As Deion Sanders once said, ‘They don’t pay nobody to be humble.’ And Deion is the master of marketing. (He is also the master of having one too many vowels in his name.)

3. Gain Endorsements: Know which of your friends, family, or acquaintances have influence. Spend time with them. Highlight your relationship with them. Be seen with them. When people with influence endorse, support or choose you it carries weight with others. This is why celebrity spokespeople are valuable. They help drive sales of everything from peanut butter to hair replacement. You are known by the company you keep. And cool kids like to spend time with other cool kids. (And all the cool kids, they seem to fit in.)

4. Stand out. Have something in your style, dress, or language that makes you highly identifiable. You have to stand out from the crowd to be remembered. And you have to be remembered to have opportunities find you. The year that I first grew my hair longer, I was amazed at how much more people recognized and remembered me. I attribute much of that to the fact that I simply looked different from many of the people around me. My friend Tony Sharpe always wears black. T-Pain has AutoTune. Aaron Neville, Drew Brees, Post Malone, and Cindy Crawford are all known for things on their faces. Find your signature thang and leverage it.

5. Be the go-to for something. Great brands are synonymous with something specific. Think about what one valuable thing you stand for in the minds of others. It could be creativity or trustworthiness, hard work, problem-solving, willingness, funniness, or intelligence. Really it could be any single strength or positive trait that distinguishes you. Grab it. Own it. And anytime people feel they need that, they come to you. Because you’ve got the Motts.

Key Takeaway

The world is full of opportunities. To make sure you get your share of them it is important to learn basic marketing skills. Make yourself visible. Tout your wins. Associate with people that others know, like and respect. Develop an identifiable personal trademark. And develop your rare and valuable skills. You’ll be surprised how many good things start coming your way.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more of the best life lessons I have learned check out my book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

Don’t be one of those people.

I pay close attention to the language that people use. I always have. I notice local nuances in word choice, phrasing and pronunciation. And I can tell the difference between the cursing of an educated and uneducated human.

I also quickly recognize when new words and phrases gain popularity.

A few years ago I noticed the increased popularity of the phrases, If I’m being honest…, and To tell you the truth… There is a time and place to use those phrases. But they shouldn’t be sprinkled before everything you say or you sound like your default setting is Big Fat Liar.

The latest phrase to ping my ears is One of those. Here are a few uses:

He’s one of those guys who….

She’s one of those bosses who….

They are one of those friends who…

I dislike the use of this phrase for 2 reasons.

  1. It is unnecessary. Whatever you say after this introduction could simply stand on its own. She’s one of those bosses who people love to work for could simply be: People love working for her. And, He’s one of those guys who never seems to have a bad day could simply be: He never seems to have a bad day. Or He’s always in a good mood. Or, I think he’s on drugs.

2. I don’t like to think of people as being common types. Humans are complicated, nuanced and unique. We are oversimplifying when we lump people into one of those categories. And I hate to be lumped.

As a champion of marketing, advertising and branding I am constantly looking for the unique, unoccupied spaces for brands to live. It’s important to own distinct real estate in customers’ minds. It is how brands become irreplaceable.

The same holds true when it comes to your personal brand. You don’t want to be one of those types. It decreases your value. It makes it sound as if there are a large number of you. As soon as you are one of those types, you are interchangeable with all the others. Like a commodity. Don’t be that kid.

Key Takeaway

Don’t allow yourself to simply be one of those. Lean into your uniqueness. Develop your own intriguing combination of strengths and style. Become uncategorizable. Be unlabelable. Own a unique place in the minds of those you interact with. It is the best way to maximize your value and memorability. It’s true of brands, products and services. And it’s true for humans too.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+ For more thinking like this check out my new book What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

The great un-equalizers in life and business.

There are nearly 8 billion people on Earth. Which, according to my quick math, equals a lot of competition.

Every time you apply for a job, promotion, or elected position, someone else will want it too. Just ask Napoleon and Pedro.

Want to woo an attractive mate? Join the crowd. Want to join a team, cast, club, or society? Get in line. Want a pound of that sandwich-sliced turkey breast? Take a number.

It’s important to have an impressive resume. Skillz are good. Experience is helpful. Knowledge is nice. References are respectable. Connections are cool, Jay. But your competitors will have all of those too. And perhaps theirs will be better than yours.

However, the great difference-makers in life don’t show up on your resume, your transcripts, or your personal win-loss ledger.

Online dating sites can’t capture the great difference-makers either. If they did we would have a lot fewer dating disaster stories to share.

Your Way

The secret ingredients that set you apart in life and business are your personality and style. Their importance can’t be overstated. If you have no personality or style you have no chance. If your personality and style are indistinguishable, so are you.

By developing a unique and interesting flavor you stand out. You get noticed. You become memorable. And interesting. And attractive. And sought after. That’s how you win in Nashville, Hollywood, Wall Street, Main Street, and at the Kollege Klub.

Key Takeaway

Embrace your own personality and style. Develop your own voice. Find your own flavor. It will become your unfair advantage in life. And in a crowd of 8 billion people, you could use every advantage you can get.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

+For more life lessons I have learned on my adventure on Earth, check out my new book What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? from Ripples Media.

May the Super Bowl remind you that the size of your audience matters.

Welcome to Super Bowl Sunday! For American advertisers, this is the biggest opportunity of the year. Because Super Bowl viewers make up the biggest American audience advertisers can reach at one time without a white Ford Bronco.

Messages need eyeballs and earballs to be received. More receptors and detectors mean that your message can have a bigger impact, more influence, generate more demand, create more persuasion and generate more revenue. It’s all you need to know to understand the popularity of the lip-sync platform Tik Tok.

The cost of running a Super Bowl commercial is super high. Because a commercial that airs during the Super Bowl has super potential to generate sales. Like an army of Mary Kay saleswomen in pink Cadillac’s invading the suburbs.

Remember, it’s not about who you know. It’s who knows you. Your idea, brand, product, service, movement, cause, or candidate’s success is limited by the number of people who are aware you even exist.

Key Takeaway

The shortcut to marking success is to get yourself in front of the biggest audience you can find. It’s ok to start small, but don’t think small. Keep ratcheting up your reach. Converting your audience will always be a percentage game. The greater the audience the greater the opportunity. Just ask the NFL. Or Kris Jenner.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

A little creative inspiration for us all from the US Postal Service.

Last week I needed to mail a check. Yes, this sometimes still happens. I went to the drawer where our mailing paraphernalia lives and pulled out a sheet of stamps. And I paused. I was struck by just how artful, detailed and interesting the stamps were. Then my wife Dawn said, ‘Don’t use those. I bought those for Johann.’ (My son Johann is really into trains, as you can read about in Never Be Afraid To Ask For What You Want.)

The stamps that got me thinking.

As I examined the stamps in our Stampatorium, spending far more time engaging with them than I ever imagined I would, I realized the US Postal Service could teach a master class on creativity. Because they infused massive creativity into a space that required none.

These are current US Postal stamps, as of this posting. How cool are these? I mean, it’s the sun, and the sun is super hot. But the design and idea are way cool.

The Stamp

The postal stamp has no reason to be cool or interesting. After all, its only job is to tell the Postal Service that the delivery fee has been paid. It could simply say PAID, and it would have met the minimum requirement. Heck, it doesn’t even need to do that. It could be a black square that you put on your white envelope and that would serve as a signal that the fee had been paid.

America’s first stamp from 1847. I think that is the guy from the Ben Franklin Stores. Although it looks like one of the guys from the 80s Hair Band Reunion Tour, who is now in his 80s.

Pushing The Envelope

Instead, the US Postal Service has created an endless parade of tiny works of art to adorn our envelopes. They are ever-changing, covering every season, every category of honor and commemoration you can think of. And plenty that you would never have thought of. But don’t worry, the Director of Stampology at the USPS has spent a lot of time thinking about it for you.

Some Super Stamps

As a result, stamps not only are interesting to look at, they often tell an interesting story, or teach a valuable lesson, within the bounds of a one-inch square. In fact, they do such a great job, that people collect them, trade them and sell them. In fact, my head high school track coach, Tom Jennings, had an entire business selling stamps, that all started with a stamp collection he had when he was a kid. And the only reason a kid starts collecting stamps is that stamps are cool and collectible.

Why Hello Stamp!

The Big Question

The postal service saw an opportunity to turn a tiny, forgettable touchpoint into their hallmark. Which should inspire all of us to ask:

Which touchpoints could I turn into differentiators or signatures for my business or personal brand?

As the postal service has shown us, anything can become a signature element of our brand. Just look around. Find the most boring element within your brand, or within your personal ecosystem, and do something interesting and differentiating.

Beautify America though stamps and plants.

My Calling Card

Can’t think of anything? Call me at 614-256-2850. If I don’t pick up you’ll get my voicemail greeting which always has a non traditional message. In fact, people often text me and tell me they are about to call just to hear my voicemail greeting. Which means people call me who don’t even want to talk to me because I have made something boring interesting. You can do that too.

This collection is also currently available. Jarts didn’t make the cut.
This stamp helps raise money for breast cancer research.

Key Takeaway

Find your special thing. The thing that didn’t have to be special. That usually isn’t. But that you made special. That thing will not only add joy, intrigue, or interest to others, it will make you more memorable.Which means that when opportunities come along, you will be thought of first.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

How to use video conferences to improve your appearance.

According to the Chinese calendar, 2020 was the year of the rat. No one is likely to argue that designation. But for most of us, 2020 was also the year of the video call. In 2020 I used Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex, Go To Meeting, Ring Central, Skype, and PantsOptional. (Ok, I may have made the last one up.)

Zoom and its various alternatives have provided a way for life to continue with some sense of normalcy since covid-19 burst on the scene and began stealing our toilet paper. Thanks to these platforms we can still have meetings and meetups. We can still conduct business. We can still educate our youth. And we can still answer No when asked if we drink alone on those pesky diagnostic questionnaires.

The Zoom Advantage

While it is easy to think of a Zoom meeting as inferior to in-person meetings, there is at least one major advantage Zoom offers over in-person get-togethers. And it’s not related to deodorant.

Watch Yourself!

Zoom offers you the unique opportunity to see yourself the way others see you in meetings. It is arguably the greatest gift of 2020. And it’s a gift you should take advantage of.

When you are on a video conference, and you select to view the meeting in gallery mode, meaning that you can see all participants, you also get to view yourself, in real-time.

This self-view is extremely valuable whether you are talking and presenting or simply listening to others.

7 things to look for when you see yourself on Zoom.

  1. How do you look? Check your attire and your grooming. Do you look professional and respectable? Are you well dressed? Are you properly groomed? Or do you look like you just stumbled in from a pajama party? Your clothing and your hair still matter on Zoom. Look the part.
  2. Are you smiling? Do you look friendly? Are you scowling? Do you have RBF? It makes a big difference. Especially when you are not in the room together. A pleasant smile is a good default.
  3. How is your posture? Are you upright and attentive? Or are you lounging like you are watching a late-night informercial? I am surprised at how many loungers I see on Zoom. Especially among the student population. Don’t be that kid.
  4. Do you appear engaged and interested in the conversation? Or do you look like you would rather be anywhere else? People take as much interest in you as you take in them. So engage.
  5. Do you come across as energetic or lethargic? When you bring energy to the screen others do too. When you lack energy you put people to sleep, like narcolepsy.
  6. Are you providing affirmations? On video conferences, simple head nods go a long way to convey that you agree and support the points being made. However, one long head nod means you have fallen asleep.
  7. How are people responding? You can easily tie your delivery to the response you see on screen form others. Are you connecting? Are you knocking it out of the park? Or have you lost the audience? Make adjustments to make sure you are getting the response you are looking for.

Additional Considerations

To make sure you are presenting yourself well check the following:

  1. How is the lighting? Are you bright enough? Are you too bright? Do you look like you are beaming in from Heaven? Adjust your lighting using lamps or windows until you look great.
  2. Does your background help your brand image or hurt it? Be aware of what is behind you. It has the ability to make you seem more interesting, or reveal that you are really a slob.
  3. Check the camera angle. Think about TV news anchors. The camera should be at eye level. It should not be looking up your nose. Use books or boxes to raise your computer camera if necessary.
  4. Are you looking at the camera? If you have a second monitor it can appear as if you are never looking at the camera. This happens to me sometimes. It is weird. Fix it if you can. It makes you appear distracted or disinterested.

Take The Fast Feedback

Zoom and other video conference platforms provide you with a mirror during meetings and meetup. They allow you to monitor, evaluate and adjust how you are presenting yourself to the world. This is a rare opportunity to see what you are offering the world in real-time. It is like watching game film. It enables you to see how you are being received. And it allows you to change up your style and delivery, on the fly, and see how your audience responds.

Key Takeaway

Take advantage of the opportunity video conferencing offers and tune in to see how others see you. Notice how others respond to you. And experiment with adjustments. Zoom will teach you how to become a better presenter and a better audience. All you have to do is pay attention.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this idea, please share it with them.

How to stand out in a crowd using your unique identifiers.

There are a lot of people to compete with on this planet. If you are looking for a job, a significant other, or a great opportunity, it helps to stand out from the herd. Or so I’ve heard.

Only You.

In advertising, we are always looking for that thing that only our brand can say. We were the first brand to do ________. We are the only brand to offer ________. We are the only brand that does __________ in Dallas, besides Debbie.

What we are doing is creating a clear and distinguishing image of our brand without an equal competitor. To do this, we create evaluation criteria that we naturally win.

Your Personal Brand

You can do the same thing for your personal brand. To do this, simply find something that makes you stand out. Use the following question as your guide.

What is something you have done that you are fairly confident you are the ONLY person in the considered set to have done?

The considered set means you are the only person in the room, at the party, in the new business pitch, or being interviewed who could say this. When someone asks you to share a fun fact about yourself, this is what they mean. I always think this would be a really fun game to play in prison.

Your Unique Identifiers

This question offers you an opportunity to become unforgettable. It allows you to reach into your bag of uniqueness and pull out that crazy fact, that interesting experience, that crazy condition, that remarkable accomplishment, and hold it up for everyone to see. Like when Anthony Michael Hall holds up Molly Ringwald’s underwear in Sixteen Candles. When you do, you have created your own Unique Identifier.

Your Unique Identifier serves as a valuable story that dramatically increases your memorability. And if you want opportunities to come your way, it helps to stand out from the crowd.

Some Unique Identifiers I use:

  • I once pet a hummingbird in the wild.
  • I once got stuck in a Murphy bed in Germany.
  • My Mom is one of 9 kids and my Dad is one of 12.
  • I lived in 5 states by the time I was in 7th Grade.
  • Me and Danica Patrick once filled a Prevost motorhome with ping pong balls.
  • My older sister Heather and I have the same birthday 2 years apart. And my 2 younger sisters, Alison and Donielle, have the same birthday 2 years apart.
  • In high school, I broke the state record in the discus 8 months after having my ACL reconstructed.
  • I launched The Weaponry because I had two different clients call me the same day and encourage me to start my own advertising agency.

Key Takeaway

We all have Unique Identifiers. Think about yours. Write them down and keep them handy. Use them at parties, on dates, and in interviews. They give others something interesting and differentiating to remember you by. Just ask Mikhail Gorbachev.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.

What is your Mount Rushmore?

South Dakota is an out-of-the-way place. It’s beautiful, but out of the way. Probably like you. Which is why the people of the state wanted to come with something to attract others to come see just how beautiful it is.

Doane ‘How you Do-ane’ Robinson had the idea to create Mount Rushmore. Ok, so they actually re-created Mount Rushmore. The carved it up and put the faces of American presidents on the mountain for national appeal. It was a crazy idea. And it worked like crazy.

Now, 2 million people each year make the the pilgrimage to far western South Dakota to see the great faces. In the process, many of them travel across the entire state, spending money at The Corn Palace, Wall Drug and some of the state’s finest prairie dog farms.

IMG_2990 2 

Mount Rushmore is an amazing marketing idea. It is a man-made attraction that attracts visitors and their spending money from all over the world. But anyone can do what South Dakota did. Whether you are a state (you are probably not a state), a city, a brand, a business or a person trying to attract more attention, you can create your own Mount Rushmore. 

You can create something interesting, surprising or intriguing. You can do something unusual or epic. Provide value to others. Give people a good reason to come see you, and they will come see you. They will give you their time, money and attention. Then give them a great photo op and they will help spread the word for you for free. #hashtag

Key Takeaway. 

Big ideas and big actions lead to big rewards. By thinking bigger you can draw people to you, even if you are in an out-of-the-way place. Like South Dakota (Mount Rushmore) or Waco, Texas (Mount Chip and Joanna). Just give people something interesting to see or do. And they will give back to you much more in return.

*If you know someone, someplace, or some brand that could benefit from this post, please share it with them.

Are you too vanilla to be successful?

I recently got a phone call from a CEO. He told me that he was worried about his organization’s brand. The company had hired another advertising agency to jazz up their image. But he felt like what they came back to them with was very vanilla. I pondered the idea of very vanilla. As if there was mediocrity, and then there was extreme mediocrity.

He knew his business couldn’t win against formidable foes with vanilla. He knew he couldn’t motivate his considerable team with vanilla. And he knew he couldn’t recruit top talent with vanilla. Vanilla is flat. Undifferentiated. Forgettable.

person holding vanilla ice cream on cone
In business vanilla is the kiss of death. Or maybe it’s the lick of death.

I knew I could help him. I have spent my career helping brands find their flavor. And vanilla is simply not on the menu.

We spoke for an hour. I shared how my team at The Weaponry would approach their brand development needs. Which included developing differentiated processes, products and services so that they truly had something interesting and ownable to talk about. Even if it didn’t exist today.

I enjoyed our conversation. But I was curious how he found me. And why he thought I was the right person to call.

Then he shared the following.

‘Adam, I don’t know much about The Weaponry. Or the type of work you usually do. But I saw you speak several months ago. And I remember you not seeming very vanilla. And I figured you could help us seem not vanilla too.’

Key Takeaway

If you want to be remembered you can’t be vanilla. You have to differentiate yourself in positive and meaningful ways. You can differentiate your personal brand by doing things differently. By breaking rules. And adding extra-anything to your personal recipe. Like energy or thoughtfulness. Or excluding a common ingredient altogether. Like shaving, laziness, alcohol, or pants.

Your business can differentiate itself with personality, product or process. You can stand out because of your pricing or packaging. You can be remembered for your people or your promise. Or simply be doing unreasonable things on behalf of your customers. But whatever you do, don’t be vanilla. Vanilla is the flavor of the crowd.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.