Everyone who has ever shopped for a home knows the term curb appeal. It refers to the immediate impression that a home makes when you pull up to it. It’s the real estate version of judging a book by its cover. Only it’s a really big book. And the cover features a circle driveway, begonias, and a couple of garden gnomes.
Brand Curb Appeal
Brands and businesses have to think about their curb appeal too. You have an opportune moment to impress your potential customers when they first encounter your brand. That first impression can either help sell or unsell customers before you even mention the advantages of your non-caloric, silicon-based kitchen lubricant on cereal. Or sledding hills.
Personal Curb Appeal
But it’s also important for us to think about our own personal curb appeal. When people encounter you for the first time what do they see? What do your clothes, shoes and hair signal? What does your posture say about you? What message is your face sharing with the world? Do you have RBF? Or PMF? (Post Malone Face)
Is there something in your personal curb appeal that helps you stand out from the crowd and makes you interesting, unique and memorable? If not, think about what that could be. What’s your signature attribute? Just as a home benefits from a beautiful door, noteworthy landscaping or remarkable lighting, you also benefit from your memorable differentiators.
If you don’t yet have any memorable differentiators, now is a great time to discover something that serves you well. It could be something about the way you dress. Hats, shirts, ties, pants, belts, socks and shoes are all great options for creating interest and distinctiveness. So are other accessories, like watches, glasses, purses, canes and monocles. And you will really stand out if you rock 2 monocles at once.
But your personal curb appeal can also be enhanced by the way you carry yourself. Your visible energy, warmth, friendliness, happiness, charisma, kindness or professionalism can make a strong first impression, even from across the room, or across the street. Those attributes help make you immediately noticeable, likable, recognizable, and several other ables that are able to create immediate and lasting advantages for you.
Key Takeaway
It is important to consider your personal curb appeal. A home’s curb appeal helps increase the perceived value of the home. Your personal curb appeal will do the same for you. It helps you get noticed. It helps people remember you. It will inspire others to seek you out. Which helps improve your network and exposes you to more and better opportunities. You’ll find that life is better when great people and great opportunities are magnetized to you.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Super Bowl LVIII is in the books. The game was good. Especially if you like overtime. And long field goals. Usher got a passing grade. But more importantly, there were plenty of good commercials for the Chiefs and 49ers to play football around.
Today there will be a lot of talk about what commercial was the best. Which is a silly debate. Because if you like a commercial you saw yesterday, remember it today, and are now considering purchasing something from that advertiser, they won. Although, it’s hard to purchase a Jesus.
So rather than pick one winner. Here is a set of 10 winning Super Bowl advertisers and their commercials that made me like their product, service or brand more today than I did before the game.
10 Commercials That Won Me OverDuring the Super Bowl
Reese’s: Yes! (Caramel)
This spot announcing that Reese’s now has peanut butter cups topped with caramel was amazing. The message was simple and compelling to people who like such things. (And I like such things.) The extreme reactions to the announcement was hilarious. At my house, we rewound the commercial to watch all of the reactions several times. We paused the spot to take in all that was happening within the featured living room. If you haven’t done the same, do it now. Great job offering a cool new SKU Reece’s. And thanks for the head through the wall, the hula-hooping dog, and the duct tape on the coffee table. I saw it all.
Google Pixel 8: Javier In Frame
This was a cool and compelling technology introduction. But it quickly became a great story about how technology can impact your life. It was a sweet love story that couldn’t have been captured on camera, until now. It’s always risky running a touching Super Bowl spot, rather than a can’t-miss football-to-the-groin commercial. But you pulled it off nicely Googs. And now I think that you are really trying to make the world a better place, not just selling me search terms.
Poppi Soda. The Future of Soda is Now
Soda pop has not been a growing market for years. Teas, waters and flavored seltzers have become more sensible replacements. But Poppi Soda has a new and refreshing take on the category. And they used the Super Bowl as a stage to say that soda pop doesn’t have to be what it once was, Pony Boy. I tried my first Poppi Soda yesterday, and I loved it. It was exactly what I wish soda pop was. Low sugar. But not no sugar. (Honey-honey.) We may look back at this Super Bowl as the catapult that launched a significant soda pop shift. If so, I hope this blog post makes it into the National Soda Pop History Museum, which I assume is in Minnesoda.
Etsy: Gift Mode
This spot looked the part of an epic period piece spoof. The commercial captured the moment when France sent The United States The Statue of Liberty. It was hilarious. The spot reveals that the recipients, Americans, now felt put out that they had to send a thank-you gift to France. But they found the perfect gift, a handmade cheeseboard, on Etsy, thanks to the new Gift Mode.They don’t fully explain how gift mode works. But I feel like I should check it out because France was sure happy with their gift.
Pluto TV: Couch Potato Farms
This commercial for Pluto TV was funny and attention-getting. It utilized the perfect Super Bowl commercial formula: simple premise + epic execution + humor = memoralikability. In this case, Pluto TV shared that they have so much great content, that they create perfect conditions for couch potatoes. Plus they dropped the line, ‘I like romantic murder.’ The writing, direction, acting and potato costumes were excellent. Pluto TV is now on my radar. 24 hours ago it wasn’t.
Verizon: Can’t B Broken with Beyoncé
This is a great message that while it is possible to break the internet, you can’t break the Verizon network. Even with Beyoncé. Or Bar Bey. And if she can’t break it, it can’t be broken. Now that’s reliabilité.
Uber Eats: Don’t Forget.
Uber Eats presents a fun and funny concept that if you want to remember that Uber Eats delivers practically anything, you need to forget something else. And when you do, hilarity ensues. But be warned, you just might forget your friends and your pants. This spot definitely helped me remember that Uber Eats can help me deliver a lotta stuff. Mission accomplished. However, now I have forgotten what punctuation I am supposed to use to end a sentence
Tacoma. Dareful Handle
The all-new 2024 Toyota Tacoma is more powerful and therefore more adventurous than ever. The Tacoma has done a good job of positioning itself as a badass truck, so that as an import, it can compete with our homegrown Chevys, Fords, GMCs and Rams. This spot does a nice job of conveying Tacoma’s performance by highlighting what I have always known as the ‘Oh Shit Handle’. The message came across loud, clear and funny: the Tacoma will really go. And you can scare the poo out of passengers with its performance. Yee Haw!
Disney Plus: Well Said.
This beautifully simple commercial didn’t cost much to make. In fact, your local insurance agent probably could have afforded to produce it. (The media buy is a whole different issue.) The spot shared the classic lines from content you will find on Disney+. It was a reminder that many of the best movies and the best lines that have become ingrained in our culture are found on Disney+. It’s also ironic that Disney, the greatest creator of epic entertainment in history, would create a Super Bowl commercial that could have been produced on a typewriter. Ding.
This clip wasn’t from the Super Bowl. But you get the idea.
Roller Skates. Usher.
While roller skates didn’t have an actual commercial during the Super Bowl, Usher rocking the rollers during the halftime show was a great ad for these icons of the 1970s and 80s. I bet Moon Boots are totally jelly right now. I’m going to look into skating next weekend. Maybe enter the limbo contest. And I’m going to couple skate with my wife Dawn under that disco ball while Madonna’s Crazy For You plays. (If you want to listen to my favorite roller skating songs of all time check out my Roller Skating Playlist on Spotify.) Thanks Usher. You remind me…
Key Takeaway
There wasn’t an individual commercial that won the Super Bowl. The win is having your commercial in front of 100 million people and having a huge part of the audience like your spot, understand what you are advertising, believe that it is relevant to them, and remember the brand the next day. That’s how advertising helps businesses grow every day. Even when your ads are not on the Super Bowl. Marketers should settle for nothing less.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Earlier this month I was in Orlando for a speaking engagement. I was invited to talk to an organization about branding and customer experience. The two are inextricably linked. Like flotsam and jetsam, dilly and dally, or Tony Orlando and Dawn.
Because we were in Orlando, and nearly everyone flew in for the meeting, I used airlines to illustrate an important point about customer experience. I said that every employee who works for an airline has the ability to impact the customer experience. And like blood types, the impact could be either positive or negative.
Then I asked the audience if they could name an airline that offers a bad customer experience. Immediately, a chorus of brand names was shouted out from across the large hotel conference room. Clearly, there were a lot of people in the room who had negative customer experiences while flying.
However, this wasn’t a condemnation of the airline industry. Because everyone in the room who spoke up shouted the same name. This specific airline was called out as the airline with the bad customer experience. Like The Ohio State University.
In the minds of these customers, this airline brand was synonymous with bad customer experience. And by the number of witnesses who testified against them, the airline in question had clearly earned that brand reputation over and over and over again.
The important reminder.
Every interaction you have contributes to the brand reputation of the organization you represent. This is true whether you are the CEO, a front-line worker, the newest employee, or a volunteer. You are creating the brand and the customer experience through the experience you offer to those with whom you interact.
You also have a personal brand. Your brand is one of your greatest assets or your greatest liabilities. And while Joan Jett doesn’t give a damn ’bout her reputation, you should. And you should remember that it is created by each interaction you have with other people.
Key Takeaway
You earn your brand reputation every day. Consider the experience you are offering those you interact with. A positive experience enhances both your personal brand and the brand of the company or organization you represent. It is true when you are reliable, helpful, funny and kind. And it is true when you are unreliable, unresponsive, and rude. So choose to be great to others. You’ll earn the best reputation you could ever want.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Radar is a very useful technology in war and navigation. It alerts you that someone or something is within a determined radius of you. It makes you aware of things you weren’t aware of before. Including things that you can’t see with your naked eye. Or any other naked parts for that matter.
This concept is very useful to humans in other arenas too.
If you have a business that needs to develop new customers, having potential customers on your radar is important. But it’s critical for your business to be on your potential customer’s radar. Because, in the words of NSYNC, if you are not on their radar they can’t buy, buy, buy from you.
That is why marketing exists. You first need to ping on your customer’s radar before you can make a sale. Because if they are looking for products, services or experiences that you offer, but they don’t notice you, you both lose out. (Insert Game Show losing sound effect here.)
To be found, you have to send regular signals. That signal that you are sending should be loud and detectable by your most important audience. You do this both through placement (being where others can find you) and promotion (through messages you share with the world).
Once your products or your messages are discoverable, you will begin to ping on your most important customers’ radars. That is the goal. That’s where it all starts.
Key Takeaway
Great things happen as a result of awareness. Make sure you are taking steps to be discovered. Show up. Send messages. That’s how you get noticed. And once you are noticed, the possibilities are endless.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
There is no shortage of great people, products, or services. But far too few of those great offerings are known by those who could really use them. In many cases, growing your business isn’t about creating a stronger offering. It is about publicizing the great offering that already exists. So as Billy Joel said, tell her about it. And to be non-gender biased, tell him about it too.
Advertising!
Make sure that your greatness doesn’t go unnoticed. That is why advertising and marketing are so important. And why this post is advertising the importance of advertising. Which is totally meta. But not like Zuckerberg.
Send Your Invitations
Creating an excellent product, service, or experience but not marketing it, is like throwing a party and not sending out invitations. No one will ever know they were missing out on a good time. No one will come down with a bad case of FoMo. And worst of all, you won’t make any money. But it’s your party and you can cry if you want to.
Promote Yourself
The same holds true for people. If you are great at what you do and no one knows about you or your skills, your talents are wasted. You have to promote yourself, your abilities and your potential. In a challenging economic environment, this is even more important.
If you are a new graduate or soon-to-be new graduate you MUST promote yourself. Or you will end up in a job that you didn’t need your education to perform. All while living in a van down by the river.
The Weaponry
Nearly 7 years ago I launched the advertising and ideas agency The Weaponry to help brands promote their great products and services. The advertising we do every day makes our clients money. Which is why The Weaponry grew by 50% in 2022. But if I hadn’t told you about our year-over-year growth you wouldn’t have known we were really good at what we do. And if I hadn’t told you that we are an advertising and ideas agency you might have thought we sold catapults. Although metaphorically, you would have been correct.
Key Takeaway
You have to tell people about your great stuff. It’s not bragging. It’s necessary. It is often the missing link between failure and success. Or success and wild success. So share your own story. Talk about all of the stuff you are good at. And you will naturally write your own happy ending. That is the power of marketing.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
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.
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.
Over the past couple of weeks I have had several conversations with unhappy campers. Ok, so they weren’t really campers. They were entrepreneurs who were dissatisfied with the opportunities coming their way. As a result, they were not working with the types of clients or customers they wanted to work with. And they were not generating the level of revenue they expected.
The Cause
As I talked to these entrepreneurs about their challenges a common theme emerged. Each of the unhappy non-camping business owners told me that they were not actively marketing themselves. (Audible Gasp!) They said they are generating their leads from word of mouth alone. (Even Audibler Gasp!)
Out of Control
Generating business via word of mouth alone is a mistake. It means that you are not determining the types of clients you work with. Instead, the quantity and quality of clients approaching you are limiting your business. Which means you are not in control of your brand, or your growth. Janet Jackson would be disappointed.
Being Lazy Is Crazy
If you are not actively marketing and promoting yourself you are settling for whatever comes your way. Which is like going to a singles bar, and waiting for people to come talk to you. That is a lazy approach. And not likely to lead to your happily-ever-after ending.
Don’t Float. Drive Your Own Boat
I have been to singles bars, back before I was double. And the ladies who would come talk to me were not the same ones I would choose to talk to myself. They were the most aggressive ladies. Not the most attractive, smartest, nicest or most dentally impressive.
But I was not about to settle for less. I had a clear vision of what I wanted. And when I first saw my wife I was quickly in hot pursuit, like Sheriff Rosco P Coltrane. I wrote about it in the post It was an ordinary day until I got on that elevator.
Build Your Business
Since before I even launched The Weaponry, my advertising and idea agency, I identified the types of clients I wanted to work with. I spent a disproportionate amount of time focused on developing relationships with my ideal client types. As a result, The Weaponry works with a lot of really great clients in interesting industries. Just like I envisioned we would.
Key Takeaway
Don’t settle for the opportunities that come your way. Go after the opportunities you want. Find the clients, customers or employers you want to work with. Then actively promote yourself to them. It’s the only way to build the business, brand and life you imagined. It takes more work. But it’s worth it.
*If you know someone who could benefit from this message, please share it with them.
Do you know what makes you special? In business disciplines like marketing, branding and sales, the key to success is knowing what sets you apart from everyone else. As a marketing strategist I am constantly analyzing my clients to discover and capitalize on their specialness. #SpecialPurpose #IsntThatSpecial.
Turning the Camera Around
Once you train yourself to find the special, unique and rare things in others, you naturally analyze yourself the same way. Many times I have considered what makes me special. And not to brag, but there are a few things that set me apart.
My feet are among the flattest on Earth. I quite literally have no arches. This was first pointed out to me by my childhood friend Danny Boyle, and confirmed scientifically at a Fleet Feet store during a scan that listed my arches as Not Applicable.
I have no reflexes in my knees. You know how doctors tap patients on the front of the knee and the patient then naturally kicks their leg forward? That doesn’t happen to me, despite the fact that some clinicians have worked up quite a lather trying to get a reaction out of my patellar region.
I was born without two adult teeth. On my upper jaw, my 5th teeth from the center on both sides showed up as baby teeth, with no mature adult teeth behind them. Today I am rocking 2 full-sized implants that more than make up for what mother nature didn’t give me.
However, none of these 3 points offer much of a competitive advantage. Thankfully my 4th and final uniqueness does.
4. I make friends as fast as anyone on Earth.
For a long time I didn’t know I was unique in this way. But I love meeting new people. So I waste no time converting strangers into lifelong friends.
I am fascinated by people, their stories, experiences, skills and quirks. I love human connections. I love discovering common ground. And I love to learn what you know that I don’t. I devour people the way others devour books.
I am also blessed with a good memory that retains what I have learned about the people I meet. Pro Tip: Friends seem to like it when you remember things about them. Retaining people knowledge also enables me to connect dots and recognize shared connections of people places and things. And ulitmately make more friends.
The Value
In business and in life, my ability to make friends quickly has been my most valuable asset. It helps me develop quick rapport, which ensures that I never feel alone. When I first launched my advertising and idea agency, The Weaponry, I quickly recognized that I had done the most important work of entrepreneurship 20 to 30 years before launching my business. Because your personal network is critical to connecting the dots necessary to discovering and capitalizing on entrepreneurial opportunities.
Key Takeaway
Friends are the most valuable resources on Earth. Grab as many as you can as quickly as you can. They make everything on the planet better. Don’t be afraid to reach out and make new connections. I do it almost every day. Our friends provide the pathways to the most enjoyable experiences of our lives. They are gateways to opportunities. They provide our personal safety nets. And at the end of our days, our friends and family will be the only things we accumulated in our time on Earth that we will want to carry with us wherever we go next.
What’s in a name? When I was launching my new advertising agency in 2016, I needed to come up with a name. But I didn’t want to do what other agencies do. I didn’t want a collection of last names that sounds like a law firm, (Welcome to Nonebrecht, Somebrecht & Albrecht…). I didn’t want random letters like SOS, PMS or IBS. In short, I didn’t want a boredinary name. What I wanted was a name that no one would forget.
Whoomp, there it is!
When I first wrote down the name The Weaponry, it might as well have been written in giant, flashing neon letters. Because it jumped off the screen at me. I instantly knew I had found the right name.
Like the boy named Sue, our name has been one of our great assets. People tell me every week how much they like the name. It’s intriguing. It sounds aggressive and provocative. And I am constantly asked about The Weaponry’s origin and meaning. In other words, it’s a great conversation starter (except maybe that conversation it started with the Immigration officer in India at 2am).
What’s behind the name.
When people ask me what the name means I usually answer with the follow statement:
‘Well, right behind the desk in my office is a giant sign that says, The most powerful weapon on Earth is the human mind.’
Like the answer to a good riddle, that line always converts skeptics, doubters and critics, into enlightened insiders.
But wait, there’s more!
However, there is another reason we are called The Weaponry. I absolutely love the definition of the word:
Weaponry (noun): all the weapons, collectively.
All The Weapons
When I set our to create my perfect agency, I wanted to offer our clients ALL the weapons, collectively. For two reasons. First, it would make life easier for our clients to be able to get all of the services they need from one resource. Having one agency translates to less time looking for agencies, less time managing agencies and no time coordinating agencies.
The second reason I wanted to offer all of the weapons is that I believe that if you have the ability to skillfully use each weapon, you will always use the right weapon for the situation. Whereas specialist, or sliver agencies, who only know how to operate a couple of weapons, will use what they have, regardless of what the situation or strategy dictate.
So, what kind of work do you do?
People always ask me what kind of work The Weaponry does. I say, ‘Whatever our clients need.’ Which I realize sounds kind of lame, and kind of smart-assy. But it is the truth. To illustrate the breadth of work we do at The Weaponry, here is a list of the things we are creating this week:
billboards
radio commercials
print ads
television commercials
mobile ads
social content
website design
package design
videos
credit card design
logo design
business card design
taglines
blog posts
podcasts
manifestos
media plans
media buys
photo shoot planning
brand style guides
Powerpoint template design
pre-roll video
SEO
website development
trade show booth design
and some fun promotional buttons
Key Takeaway
At The Weaponry we are living into the vision. We have created a valuable and flexible resource for our clients. Our broad range of opportunities have created a stimulating environment for our Weapons. And thanks to our provocative name, we have great t-shirts, stickers and business cards that always get people thinking, and talking. Which is exactly what advertising is supposed to do.
I have never done any drugs and I never plan to. When I was a kid Nancy Reagan told me to just say no to drugs. And I listened. Then Whitney Houston told me that crack is whack. But I’m not sure she was even listening to herself. Although I don’t blame her. There are a lot of people who can’t seem to get enough crack. In fact, saying that something ‘is like crack’ is the ultimate customer experience compliment.
Getting Customers Hooked.
If you have a great product or service that you think people will love, think like a crack dealer. The crack dealer does not try to sell potential customers on the various product benefits of crack. They do not share testimonials, or research findings. Or charts and graphs. They don’t print up brochures highlighting the various features of their products, or images of happy users.
The crack dealer knows they have a hit (pun intended). So they give away the crack for free. Then they let the crack experience sell itself. And customers come running back for more. That is, until they come shuffling back for more, shaking like a Parkinson’s Disease victim.
Sample As Sales Tool
Since I launched my advertising and idea agency, The Weaponry, I have found that when we give our strategic thinking, our creative ideas and our enthusiasm away for free, the recipient very often comes back for more. I want our initial free meetings to feel like test drives of a real engagement. This approach has been a key driver of our growth and success. In fact I wrote about it here in Give it away, Give it away now!
Key Takeaway
If you want to start selling a product or service that you know is great, or you have a great offering that you are not selling enough of, try acting like a crack dealer. Give your crack away for free. Let your ideal customers experience your crack first hand. Let them feel what they are missing. Get them addicted to your crack over a short time period, or in a small quantity. Then capitalize on the addiction over the long-term. But never lower the quality of the product or service.
If the free sample doesn’t get customers hooked, your crack needs work. In which case you should keep refining and improving your crack until it is fully addictive. Focus on the lifetime value of a new customer, and the free samples will feel like a tiny price to pay for future sales.
*Don’t ever really do crack. Or sell crack. Don’t step on a crack. Don’t break your Mama’s back. And don’t show your crack. Not even if you are a plumber.
Adam Albrecht Blog 