The third day of TED brought a slew of powerhouse talks — and one vibrant debate. Photo: Marla Aufmuth / TED

On day three of TED2017, we got an exploration of the mind, new ideas on climate change and thoughts on how our world is hyper global and at the same time hyper local. Below, some highlights.

Perception is a hallucination. Surprise! In Session 4, Anil Seth made a convincing case that we’re hallucinating all the time. In a delightfully disorienting talk, he explained how our minds are constantly making “best guesses” between sensory signals and prior experiences, then updating with new information. “It’s just that when we agree about our hallucinations, that’s what we call ‘reality,’” he said.

Redefining home around core values. Devita Davison, dismayed by the fact that many Detroiters live closer to a fast food restaurant than a supermarket, walked us through some organizations promoting urban agriculture in the city, to ensure that everyone has access to healthy food. Grace Kim sung the praises of co-housing, a system where neighbors share spaces and lives. This fights back against isolation, and creates neighborhoods founded on mutual care, she said. Then in one of the most powerful talks of the day, Luma Mufleh, a Jordanian immigrant of Syrian descent, shared how she became a soccer coach for young refugees in Atlanta after running across a group of kids playing barefoot, with rocks as goals. She formed a team that supports players from war-torn nations, affirming their basic humanity as they make new homes. “What I get to see every day is their hope, resilience, determination, love of life and appreciation for being able to rebuild their lives,” she said.

A live experiment. Dan Ariely and Mariano Sigman woke us up this morning by having us participate in an impromptu experiment. They asked us consider two morally ambiguous scenarios — then discuss them in random groups. They suspect that conversation might have effect on how people think about these kinds of questions. While their research won’t be available for a bit, they wanted us to do this to make a key point: “Experiments are an admission of how little we know.”

Daan Roosegaarde shows a ring made from the waste of Beijing smog. Photo: Bret Hartman / TED

The smog ring and “yes, but” chair. Daan Roosegaarde made a smog vacuum that cleans local parks in Beijing — then turns the waste into diamond-like rings. In an ode to hope and creativity in a session with sobering warnings on climate change, he said, “If we implement that kind of thinking, there’s a whole new world to be explored.” For anyone opposed, he had a surprise: a chair with voice recognition software that shocks anyone who says, “yes, but….” Because it’s a phrase guilty of killing many a good idea too soon.

In algorithms we shouldn’t trust. “Algorithms are opinions embedded in code,” warned Cathy O’Neil in a blistering talk. We accept algorithms as truth — even when we have no idea what they’re based on. And that’s a big problem, since they’re determining who gets released from prison, who loses their job and so much more. It’s a fascinating call to demand transparency in algorithms.

Geoengineering — yay or nay? TED attendees got a front-row seat for a debate on geoengineering. Danny Hillis proposed that we explore solar geoengineering to mitigate against rising global temperatures. He explained that, as agents of climate change, humans are already geoengineering. Climate scientist Kate Marvel stepped onstage to voice her concerns, saying, “I feel like what you are proposing is involving all of us as your human subjects, and I’m not sure I consent to that.” Tim Kruger introduced a process to break down limestone into lime and CO2 — the CO2 can be stored underground, while the lime can be used in seawater to counter ocean acidification. Finally Al Gore expressed skepticism. “We have to stop the pattern of behavior that’s creating this crisis,” he said. Despite these different takes, one message was clear: We need scientific research if we are to stand a chance.

Hard things? You can prepare for them. Anika Paulson found that a funny thing prepared her to weather the transition from high school to college — the fact that she’d been studying music theory. Neuroscientist Lisa Genova dropped the unsettling news that the plaque buildup in the brain believed to cause Alzheimer’s disease begins as early as age 40 — but that we can make ourselves more resilient to its effects by learning new things. And meteorologist David Titley pointed to the military adage that the time to prepare is before a crisis — and asked us to think this way about climate change, as rising sea levels mean that even small storms can devastate.

By Patrick R. Dailey, Ph.D. Present-day corporate directors are being equipped by governance educators, driven by regulators, and pressured by activists to be more actively engaged in pursuing their fiduciary and governance responsibilities. They are encouraged not to be simply fiduciary custodians of the interests of shareholders but active leaders with specialized knowledge of risks […]

In the first part of this two-part series, I talked about brand cultures that focus on performance, those that are restless for change, freeform cultures and those that learn fast and continue to evolve. Understanding the type of branded culture you are trying to change is critical, because no culture is serendipitous. It evolves from the mindsets, habits and viewpoints of those who made it the way it is. Equally, change will be dictated by the willingness of those involved to change.

I’ve always argued that changing a culture requires working with its pervading biases to the greatest extent possible. If you are looking to change or adjust a performance culture, for example, work with the competitiveness that is inherent in that culture rather than trying to work against it. So much cultural transformation fails I believe because those seeking to change a culture try to impose an ideology that simply doesn’t align with the dominant characteristics. Some will say that is what cultural transformation is: taking a brand’s culture, breaking it down and rebuilding it. I beg to differ, and the failure rates around corporate cultural change would suggest that, at the very least, a different approach is well worth considering.

With that in mind, here are four more of eight different brand cultures I’ve encountered and some thoughts on what it takes to successfully achieve enduring change in each of these environments.

5. Purpose Culture – driven by a need to change the world. Dominant once in challenger brands and ethical brands, but increasingly becoming mainstream as corporate brands catch onto the galvanizing power of focusing their people on a big idea. These cultures are highly motivated because they have a clear ‘wrong’ that they are intent on righting. You’ll find these brand cultures across many sectors, particularly those where the mainstream incumbents are seen as out of step or in areas where there are opportunities to fly the flag for democratizing access. Three things can do serious harm to a branded culture that is purpose driven. It becomes too successful for its own good, and therefore loses much of the energy and ambition that powered it. It can become so absorbed in what it is doing that it loses the plot competitively. Or people within the organization can decide to over-share their evangelism, lecturing those that they see as disagreeing with them or who they regard as obstructive, including the brand’s own customers. In their book On Purpose, Shaun Smith and Andy Milligan share the story, for example, of Virgin Atlantic firing 13 crew members after they posted rude comments about passengers. The great strength of purpose-driven brand cultures – their impatience for change – is also their potential weakness unless handled well. Refocusing is best achieved by a shift in target, preferably to something even bigger and more ambitious, leveraging off a sentiment that ‘our work here is done’.

6. Start Up Brand Culture – the culture that defines the brand. There’s a romance and defiance to the best start-ups that most CMOs would love to bottle. To me, that aspect of a brand culture is seldom the issue. The small number of people, the huge workloads, the odds against success, the pressures of investors and the belief that they have something that will change the world combine to give those start-ups that make it the gumption and vision to pull together as a team. Where things become difficult is when the growth sets in. As the brand incorporates more systems and processes, perhaps increases its footprint and learns the meaning of success, hesitation becomes more normal. The impulsive early days are replaced by broader and slower decision making, the rise of silos, politicization and a tendency to take less risk. All of this can combine to make the brand culture more obstructive, less enjoyable and less motivated. The key with any start-up as it grows up is to insist that the characteristics that built the company stay with the brand; and that it embraces those defining tenets to address its growing problems, rather than abandoning them in order to grow. That may sound relatively straight-forward, but in reality it’s difficult because it requires those coming aboard to ‘learn’ what the brand was while adding to what the brand is. I’m always bemused by the fact that start-up brands seem too eager to abandon their history as they grow while established brands don’t seem eager enough. Two questions I like to ask of start-up brands that are evolving to the next phase in their culture are these: What motivated you to start in the first place? And where do you continue to put all that energy?

7. Personality-Powered Culture – shaped by the style, manner and priorities of a leader. These people exert such an influence over their organizations that they drive and shape the entire culture. This can be a hugely positive force for good – think Walt Disney or Coco Chanel. But when a brand revolves so much around one person and the brand they envisage, it can, in the wrong hands, stifle innovation and change. People and their visions underpin some of the most powerful brand stories. Great brands leverage the charisma and vision of these leaders to hold the brand together, but continuing to interpret the founder’s vision or that of a great leader after they have left is something many cultures grapple with. Too often, they lapse into preservation – failing to change because of a reluctance to move on from what has been a tradition for too long. The secret to driving such a culture forward is not dissimilar to that of the start-up brands given above. It’s about holding the organization accountable to what made the brand famous and continuing to evolve how the culture works and thinks. There was a great piece by James Allen and Christopher Zook last year in which they talked about the need for organizations to keep their founder spirit. To do that, more brands need to disperse that thinking beyond their leadership and into the very marrow of their culture so that everyone feels encouraged and motivated to think like an entrepreneur.

8. Lean Culture – these are brands that need to keep pushing down costs in order to thrive. Often they are in sectors characterized by high volumes and low margins, such as wholesalers, big box retail and many intermediaries for example. There’s a tendency to see such brand cultures as people-unfriendly. Brands such as WalMart have taken a lot of flak over the years for the demands they make on staff and suppliers alike because of their propensity for driving out cost anywhere they can. But brands like Costco have also shown that lean cultures can be effective and humane. It all comes down to where you put your priorities. Lean brand cultures that see people as costs will look to automate and standardize in order to hit their bottom lines. Lean brand cultures that see people as assets will look to do the exact opposite: treat their people as a resource for extracting more value out of how the business works. Happiness, motivation and support may seem like fluffy qualities in sectors where price and margin dominate so many of the conversations, but the secret to making these cultures work is recognizing that change from within rather than from above will be most successful. I’m a huge advocate for little changes when looking to move lean cultures – because the cumulative effect of so many tweaks can be significant and people feel like they have control and that they are bringing the change about themselves. But there’s a flip side to this success as well: getting everyone to understand and embrace the pricing, and encouraging a straight-shooting culture where no-one is scared to tell the truth. When people feel they have a future, but they also know what the business needs to achieve in order for there to be a future, it quickly generates a powerful sense of ownership.

Perhaps some of you will be thinking that your culture has elements of several of these cultural types, and therefore it’s hard to pinpoint where you should focus in order to achieve meaningful change. My recommendation is that you look for two things: the characteristics of your culture that drive the greatest and most successful change; and those that hold the brand back and prevent it achieving its potential. If you can, draw on the first to address the second.

The Blake Project Can Help: Please email us for more about our brand culture expertise.

Don’t Let The Future Leave Your Brand Behind. Join Us At The Un-Conference – Marketing’s Only Problem Solving Event.

Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education

FREE Publications And Resources For Marketers

Past ANA Multicultural Excellence Award nominees and winners share some of their best habits and tips for success.

It can be said that good brands are well known, but great brands are well loved. The love affair between customers and their brands, as with any relationship, takes work. Great brands don’t merely talk the talk when it comes to their unique customer-centric mindset. They walk the walk by the effort and sacrifice they do, corporately, “to keep it real” for the customer.

Earlier on Branding Strategy Insider, we looked at how brands like Delta and Campbell Soup were showing how they could relate to their customer’s reality by telling their stories through some very creative and engaging marketing campaigns. But what’s important to remember is that as clever and well-produced as these campaigns are, they are simply an accurate reflection of the brand’s attitude of care and respect for its customer.

Virtually all successful brands employ some combination of best practices to care for their customers, such as customer hotlines, live chats, blog posts, online reviews, social media and relationship management. Great brands go further, incorporating traditions, practices and rituals that pursue customer affection while keeping the main tenants of the brand alive and well.

During my work on the Home Depot account, I learned a valuable lesson from this big box brand in this regard. For instance, Home Depot requires all its non-store associates to spend a couple of weeks “wearing the orange apron” serving customers in one of their 2,275+ stores. It doesn’t matter if you’re a top executive or an assistant’s assistant in their home office in Atlanta, you wear the apron and you serve the customer. In so doing, you experience Home Depot for the first time from the brand’s perspective–to give you a greater appreciation of the customer’s perspective.

Attend any company meeting and you’ll understand why this practice is so powerful—an auditorium filled with loud brand-passionate orange apron-clad believers ready to do what it takes to keep their chain #1 and their customers happy.

There are other corporate cultural imprints, such as referring to their home office the “Store Support Center” (again, putting the emphasis on serving others) rather than “headquarters.” And inside this massive complex, you’ll find an exhibit dedicated to the Home Depot story and experience, as impressive as anything you would walk through in a large, metropolitan science and industry museum.

These and other practices are designed to inculcate and keep alive the brand’s culture, passed on from the founders, of customer service, passion, and can-do attitude with each of the 385,000+ associates that wear the Home Depot apron.

As the brand continues to grow and become more successful, keeping the passion and connection alive between its roots and its branches becomes an increasing challenge. Success can actually become the enemy of brands for a variety of reasons:

• The original mission becomes muddled by way of growth via mergers and acquisitions of other brands (and their corporate cultures),
• Changes of ownership or leadership with a different set of priorities,
• Growth directions and line extensions that may dilute or diminish,
• Growing too fast to adequately train and equip associates to maintain the same standards of quality and service the brand is known for,
• Or just complacency brought about by over-confidence

Home Depot experienced such a challenge a few years ago, precipitated by a leadership change, and as a result, its reputation for customer service was called into question. With another regime change, however, customer service was again given priority and, post-recession, the brand has continued to thrive.

Of course, Home Depot is not alone in the pursuit of keeping itself real for the customer. Great examples abound with great brands:

• Southwest Airlines and Wegmans treating their employees as number one which inspires them to make their customers feel number one.
• Zappos’ singular goal: Make the customer happy no matter what. Period.
• Nordstrom’s “The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service” with attention to detail and employee empowerment.
• Ritz Carlton’s culture of ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.
• IKEA’s communication of its high standards regarding protection for the environment and employee working conditions throughout its organization and with all of its suppliers.
• Laura Ashley’s ways of personalized thank you’s to its customers.

When brands meet customers where they’re at, and work uniquely and diligently for their business, their hearts and their loyalty will follow. Great brands go the extra mile and are not only well known, but well loved.

Don’t Let The Future Leave Your Brand Behind. Join Us At The Un-Conference – Marketing’s Only Problem Solving Event. May 1st – 3rd, 2017 West Hollywood, California

The Blake Project Can Help: Accelerate Brand Growth Through Powerful Emotional Connections

Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education

FREE Publications And Resources For Marketers

By Katie Paine Buying influence is nothing new. In the old days, we called paid influencer marketing “paid testimonials.” But today, with the explosive influence of YouTube, it can be a guy in a garage, or a drunk actress in a kitchen. As major brands get burned by some of these “influencers,” we wonder how […]

How three CMOs, given the chance, would reinvest a month’s worth of advertising spend. With insights from Amy Choyne, CMO at United States Tennis Association, Wendy Harrington, CMO at Tyto Life, and Terrance Williams, EVP and CMO at Nationwide.

What if there was an even more emotional way to find out you’re expecting a baby? Discover the mechanism of the first pregnancy test prototype that gives to all women the possibility to know if they’re pregnant by their men, not by a device.

BBDO Italy and we’re trying to make our Tempo handkerchief client stand not for illness and unpleasant situations only but for release of happy moments too, in order to re-launch it as a positive brand that encourages people to live their emotions to the fullest. And we thought no event could be happier and more emotional than a pregnancy announcement.

But while men discover they’ll be dads with their female partners in the most beautiful ways, women get that news in a bathroom, most of times alone in a mechanical and solitary way.

To show what it would be like to discover the result in an alternative way, we created a pregnancy test that delivers the result to man first, so he can let a woman know whether or not she is pregnancy in a more sweetest way.

Thanks to this unprecedented pregnancy test on March 18 for the first time in history a man announced to a woman they’re expecting a baby, generating a debate on the most important newspapers in Italy.

This way, we want to connect with our audience in a way no other brand has ever done and pushed them to associate Tempo hankies with the most emotional moments of life too.

CREATIVE CREDITS:
Ad Agency: BBDO, Italy

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); –ADVERTISEMENT–

The world is not a perfect place or so claims Huawei and ag agency DDB&Tribal in it’s latest commercial, very, very, very not perfect. But at least there are some people who are working on making it a better place.

CREATIVE CREDITS:
Ad Agency: DDB & Tribal Warsaw, Poland
Creative Directors: Maciej Waligóra, and Zuzanna Duchniewska-Sobczak
Senior Art Director: Mariusz Sepek
Senior Copywriter: Krzysztof Mielcarek
Production House: CUTCUT
Post-Production: Televisor
Director: Trevor McMahan
DOP: Kamil Plocki
Senior Interactive Account Manager: Iwona Maksylewicz

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); –ADVERTISEMENT–

ANA’s Ask the Expert research service answers the question, “How much of our marketing budget should go to the media purchase of our ads versus paying the agency to create the ads? In other words, what best practices are you seeing around the allocation of working dollars to nonworking dollars?”