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!

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?

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:

http://adage.com/article?article_id=147556

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!"

Tech Tracks on the Ski Slope

We're always looking for cool new convergence ideas, and this is definitely one:  Epic Mix.

http://www.snow.com/epicmix/home.aspx?cmpid=ET900094&et_rid=100512035

Simply stated, they've put RFID (trackable chips) on ski passes.  And they've leveraged it larger than a winter storm in International Falls. 

So what does this hi-tech tracker enable?

Track your progress throughout the day. 

See you entire day's run online before hitting the apres ski.

Even earn various 'pins', awards for hitting milestones slopewise.

Most importantly, find your friends at any time on any slope.  

Lord knows we could use that last feature, Mr. Hey-Slow-Up-on-the-Mogul-Run!!!!

The intro video for Epic Mix needs a better editor -- like lift lines, the shorter, the better, in video demo-land.  But apart from that, we're diggin' this development.

And as long as the chip survives Epic Mixes of downhill spills, bring it on!

http://www.snow.com/epicmix/home.aspx?cmpid=ET900094&et_rid=100512035

WOMEN & BEER

No, that’ s not the start of a bar song.

In the spirit of the season, we turn our thoughts at Bandwidth to food and spirits. And this new beer line caught our attention.

As you may know, women are becoming a bigger part of what was traditionally a male market for beer, in the US and abroad.

Some beer manufacturers have lowered the carbs and the calories to women, but Polish company, Carlsberg Polska, is making a bold move to create a beer just for women.

Their brew, Karmi, brings sweet flavors and complexity to the palette without pumping up the calories or alcohol content, so it’ s more in line with what health conscious women are looking for in a beer.

So far, Karmi comes in a handful of flavors: Classic (caramel), Poema di Caffé (coffee), Selua (pineapple/piña colada), and Lamai (guava, dragonfruit and mint.) All are sealed up in a luxurious bottle that feels far more elegant than most dude brews.

Clearly time to cue up a Dudes and Daquiris bar song after Auld Lang Syne.

Happy New Year!

Leadership Lessons in a Rock Fan's Dance

Many of you may be familiar with TED videos, the online video library of great talks from the TED (Technology Entertainment Design) Conference.

This talk in particular was great in its simplicity. Far faster than Gladwell's Tipping Point read, and just as cogent in its dissecting a video of a concert dance to make a point about how group movements start.

The lessons for marketers, leaders, teachers, party-throwers are readily apparent: it's the second "follower" that has real guts, turning the bleeding edge into the leading edge.

The second person to follow a lead:

• turns a solo into a group
• commits his or her credibility to a possible lone wolf, person, or idea
• enables the more risk-averse to join in

It's time to value that first convert in following the lead or idea. Seconds, anyone?

Bandwidth has more Bandwidth - A Moving Announcement

On October 1, we moved into new, bigger offices.
Stop in and say "Mmmmm, that new office smell."

New Address: 1599 Maple Avenue, Suite 200, Evanston IL 60201

New Phone: 312.772.MKTG
Same Website: bandwidthmktg.com