Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Money is the Root of All Demotivation?!

Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose motivate.  It's been shown, time and again, yet is rarely used in today's corporate structure.

At our link below, Dan Pink's talk on this subject is captivatingly brought to life via pure-smelly-marker animation from RSA.  The talk, and illustration, are well worth witnessing.

Pink's presentation describes research that showed money was a motivator for mechanical tasks.  Bigger carrot, better performance.

But when the task required cognitive skills, more money did the opposite.  When rewards are increased, performance will decrease. 

Social scientists have uncovered three factors that lead to better performance: autonomy, mastery and purpose.

Fundamentally, we feel the need to direct our own lives, overcome obstacles and live and work for something bigger than ourselves.

What would your work place look like if those motivators ruled?  How might you manage in your work place?

Think about it.  Now, back to the grindstone!



Friday, February 11, 2011

Take Our Post Superbowl Ad Challenge




Click here to take our survey

So do you think the cost of advertising in the Superbowl is worth it?

Want to know what impact you could get for that kind of spending elsewhere? Or 1/100th of it?

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The Brand is Dead. Long Live the Brand.

No, this isn't a hi-falutin' discourse on the state of the brand today.

But it is a shout out for the value of dead brands.  And what can be done with them in the right hands.

In our green, recycling way, we've been interested for a long time in dead or tarnished brands, and how great marketers (like these guys here), can bring them back to life.

While we haven't acted on this yet, we'd like to.  

We appreciate what Brad Hittle and team did for Pabst and now Schlitz.  Not dead brands, but stale as 30 year old beer, and, yet, he revived 'em with smart positioning, packaging, and promotion.


And we marveled at this odd auction last fall in New York:

One random rep in attendance signed over a cashier's check for about $2000 and ran off with the rights to failed, but hallowed, old magazine brand, Collier's.

So, if you see a brand you want to revive, we're big fans of fixer-uppers...and would be happy to help.  

"Murph, we're gettin' the brand back together!"

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