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Psst. Wanna hear some lectures on marketing?

For the first time, after two decades of teaching, I believe I just might have reached the level of competence.

And you are invited.

Tomorrow, January 23rd, at 6:45 p.m., I return to CCAD for the first of a dozen weekly lectures on consumer behavior.

Come. This is your invitation.

There are 100 students registered for the class and it will be taught in a big, comfortable auditorium, so you can just blend in. Each class is only 75 minutes. You could come to this first Monday, any Monday, or every Monday.

Don't be shy. I would love to have you there.

(About a dozen folks accept this invitation each semester. They just show up. Nice!)

Let me know if you are coming, and I will send you a map to the specific location. Or just download the syllabus and come.

Ye Olde Rut
I taught this course for years, years ago at CCAD. As one student wrote:

“The course was high-energy, optimistic, full of humor and most importantly: informative. It was one of the few courses that just about everyone who took it not only looked forward to the next lesson, but recommended it to their colleagues as well.”

But, I left after hearing this thought about teaching:

If you are teaching the same thing the same way for more than five years, then you lack either ambition or imagination.

(I think this might have come from Noam Chomsky.)

I was indeed stuck in a rut.

The students were generous and appreciative. But I was teaching the same thing, in the same way, year after year. The presentation slides were so ready, I would just show up and let 'em rip.

So it was time to go away.

The Course Is Sound
Over time, I'd designed — and now redesigned — the course to help artists:

• Make work that is more than beautiful. The course helps the artist think through the work, so it persuades others and changes behavior.
• Justify each piece of work as more than beautiful. The course helps the artist describe work to executives in the workplace, to win more production budget for, say, the photography.
• Live a fuller life. We must live for more than our art. We can live creatively and ethically. So: let's!

The legendary CCAD education — especially its intensive first year, "Foundation" — expertly develops each artist's technical skills.

But having hired dozens of CCAD graduates at Young Isaac, I have seen too many who are riding solely on their technical proficiency. They do have highly developed hands and eyes — but aren't always levering their minds.

That's where this class comes in.

Bridging The Gap
After years of helping CCAD artists win the favor of businesspeople in the workplace, I've been teaching MBA candidates about creativity. This has me building the same bridge — over the creative gap — from the other side.

Now, with my MBA experiences, I'm really enjoying working with the artists at CCAD.

And you. Coming?

Psst. Wanna hear some lectures on marketing?

Tonight at 6:45 p.m., I return to CCAD for the first of a dozen weekly lectures on consumer behavior.

Come. This is your invitation.

There are 100 students registered for the class and it will be taught in a big, comfortable auditorium, so you can just blend in. Each class is only 75 minutes. You could come tonight, any Monday, or every Monday.

Don't be shy. I would love to have you there.

(Usually there are about a dozen Net Cotton Content readers who attend. Nice!)

Let me know if you are coming, and I will send you a map to the specific location.

Ye Olde Rut
I taught this course for years, years ago at CCAD. As one student wrote:

“The course was high-energy, optimistic, full of humor and most importantly: informative. It was one of the few courses that just about everyone who took it not only looked forward to the next lesson, but recommended it to their colleagues as well.”

But, I left after hearing this thought about teaching:

If you are teaching the same thing the same way for more than five years, then you lack either ambition or imagination.

(I think this might have come from Noam Chomsky.)

I was indeed stuck in a rut.

The students were generous and appreciative. But I was teaching the same thing, in the same way, year after year. The PowerPoint slides were so ready, I would just show up and let 'em rip.

So it was time to go away.

The Course Is Sound
Over time, I'd designed the course to help artists:

• Make work that is more than beautiful. The course helps the artist think through the work, so it persuades others and changes behavior.
• Justify each piece of work as more than beautiful. The course helps the artist describe work to executives in the workplace, to win more production budget for, say, the photography.

The legendary CCAD education — especially its intensive first year, "Foundation" — expertly develops each artist's technical skills.

But having hired dozens of CCAD graduates at Young Isaac, I have seen too many who are riding solely on their technical proficiency. They do have highly developed hands and eyes — but aren't always levering their minds.

That's where this class comes in.

Bridging The Gap
After years of helping CCAD artists win the favor of businesspeople in the workplace, I've been teaching MBA candidates about creativity. This has me building the same bridge — over the creative gap — from the other side.

Now, with my MBA experiences, I'm really enjoying re-meeting the artists at CCAD.

And you. Coming?

Creative To Be Fit

Jack LaLanne died Sunday. He remains a worthy hero.

It might seem morbid for me to share an obituary, but The New York Times obituaries provide a stunning series of role models: very creative people who made themselves famous and, often, greatly improved the world. The only thing wrong with most of these folks: they're dead.

Glorious Oddball
LaLanne was a peculiarity, especially early on, but that's how innovators appear.

His introduction of fitness is a classic representation of the introduction phase during the product life cycle, though his "product" was a concept and a call to action. He focused his communications on technical superiority — you'll live better through exercise — which is the perfect brand messaging strategy for a new product introduction.

If you jog or lift weights, swim or stair-master, cycle or skip rope, then you have been influenced — however indirectly — by Jack LaLanne.

He invented Just Do It long before the adguys took over.

Be Inspired
Please enjoy Richard Goldstein's beautifully written "Jack LaLanne, Founder of Modern Fitness Movement, Dies at 96" in this morning's issue of The New York Times.

And — if you want to pursue your next (or current) creative adventure with me, I'll be at the Columbus Museum of Art's Center for Creativity three Sundays during the next six months, starting February 6th. Perhaps you have a friend you might recommend for this? Here are the details.

Because All Creatives Die
Someday I want to teach a course called Dead Creatives, with obituaries as the only reading assignments.

Though, as Mr. Goldstein writes about LaLanne: "'I can’t die,' he most famously liked to say. 'It would ruin my image.'"

Psst. Wanna hear some lectures on marketing?

Next Monday, August 30th, at 6:45 p.m., I return to CCAD for the first of a dozen weekly lectures on consumer behavior.

Come. This is your invitation.

There are 100 students registered for the class and it will be taught in a big, comfortable auditorium, so you can just blend in. Each class is only 75 minutes. You could come to this first Monday, any Monday, or every Monday.

Don't be shy. I would love to have you there.

(About a dozen folks accept this invitation each semester. Nice!)

Let me know if you are coming, and I will send you a map to the specific location.

Ye Olde Rut
I taught this course for years, years ago at CCAD. As one student wrote:

“The course was high-energy, optimistic, full of humor and most importantly: informative. It was one of the few courses that just about everyone who took it not only looked forward to the next lesson, but recommended it to their colleagues as well.”

But, I left after hearing this thought about teaching:

If you are teaching the same thing the same way for more than five years, then you lack either ambition or imagination.

(I think this might have come from Noam Chomsky.)

I was indeed stuck in a rut.

The students were generous and appreciative. But I was teaching the same thing, in the same way, year after year. The presentation slides were so ready, I would just show up and let 'em rip.

So it was time to go away.

The Course Is Sound
Over time, I'd designed — and now redesigned — the course to help artists:

• Make work that is more than beautiful. The course helps the artist think through the work, so it persuades others and changes behavior.
• Justify each piece of work as more than beautiful. The course helps the artist describe work to executives in the workplace, to win more production budget for, say, the photography.

The legendary CCAD education — especially its intensive first year, "Foundation" — expertly develops each artist's technical skills.

But having hired dozens of CCAD graduates at Young Isaac, I have seen too many who are riding solely on their technical proficiency. They do have highly developed hands and eyes — but aren't always levering their minds.

That's where this class comes in.

Bridging The Gap
After years of helping CCAD artists win the favor of businesspeople in the workplace, I've been teaching MBA candidates about creativity. This has me building the same bridge — over the creative gap — from the other side.

Now, with my MBA experiences, I'm really enjoying re-meeting the artists at CCAD.

And you. Coming?

Personal Branding

This morning I sat on a panel at the Ohio Growth Summit. The topic for this panel was Personal Branding, effectively and imaginatively led by Nate Riggs.

I learned a lot about personal branding from the other panelists.

Right now, here's what I think it is.

Personal Branding Is Theatre.
As usual, Shakespeare offers the insight we seek.

As his Macbeth (V.v.24-28) tells us, each of us is in life "but a walking shadow, a poor player, / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, /And then is heard no more."

Our primary challenge is to pick a role that is worthy of us. For that is how we define ourselves. Be not the bloody king who played "a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing."

So, what to do?
Do what any actor works hard to do. And try to make it look easy.

• Recognize that you are playing a role. If you are a deep introvert, you can take comfort that the brand is not you, exposed naked. Perhaps it's you, amplified introvert. Pick the right role.
• Know your lines. All vivid brands are centered around a concise, clearly written message strategy. This is the backstory for your script.
• Stay in character. If you are wildly inconsistent, people won't know what your brand stands for.
• The role needs to be authentic. If you are trying to be something you are not — and something that you can't even reasonably grow into — then you are living a lie and you will constantly be swimming against the tension. That's a hard swim and a long life.
• It isn't a one-person show. Share your role with others. (Not just in performance. Tell people about your role from your point of view.) See how your motivation might contribute to others' motivations. Play nice. Collaborate. Be more than independent; be interdependent.
• Be self-aware, not self-centered. Know what you look like from the audience's point of view. Practice in a mirror and on camera. Dissect. Understand.
• Rehearse. If you don't practice your basic lines (such as your elevator pitch), then don't be surprised if it always sounds like the first time you've said it.
• Practice improvisation. Every day teaches us that life is not scripted. Get good at listening and working with others in a highly collaborative way. (Want group training? Let me introduce you to ImprovEdge.)

That note on authenticity is key.
It's the most important of the bullets above. As you know, I'm keen on trying to become authentic.

Polonius is no fool. As he tells Hamlet (I.iii.78-81):

This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell, my blessing season this in thee!

Same to you!

Dude. Your shirt rocks.

Here are three quick items from the world of tee shirts.

1. Homage has the best designs. It's like a Time Machine, where history is re-told and memory is paid homage — one tee shirt at a time.

2. Net Cotton Content is willing to introduce its own tee shirt. It features the executive photograph of my step-grandfather Andy Sokol, the muse for Net Cotton Content. (Here's why.) This design has been road tested by my great nephew. And you can grab the design and change it. Here you go.

3. From the Crunchy People at Comfest, this poster (click to enlarge) promotes their annual tee shirt contest. Hint: work up a design that looks good with beer and mustard spilled on it.

Experts Review Super Bowl Advertising

If you're like most readers, when you think Net Cotton Content, you think:

Football!

No?

Well, neither do I. I don't ever think football. Not even when I think "football." (When I think "football," I think about lifelong player injuries and misplaced fan energy.)

I Have A Terrible Super Bowl Attitude
And maybe that's why the Columbus Chapter of the American Marketing Association keeps inviting me back to moderate the annual panel on Super Bowl advertising.

It's big fun when we talk about the big advertising two days after the big game.

Very big.

Here's The Game Plan
First, the Super Bowl is played. I think it's Sunday. Two teams. Pageantry. Drama. Grrr.

I don't watch, because I am too anxious about potential injuries. And, frankly, I have better things to do. (Almost anything is a better thing.)  So, I will miss all the commercials. Dang.

Happily, on Monday, the AMA will tell me where on the Interwebs to look for the spots to be reviewed. For karma, I'll eat a brat, spill beer all over myself, and hit the web watching every spot twice.

Then, Tuesday, at lunchtime, I'll mis-guide a panel of experts on the subject. And you can be there. Here are the details.)

But Wait, That's Not All
Last year, I asked the organizers to let me bring a real expert: a soccer mom. The organizers said, "Yes." (But they were thinking, "Football.")

So I brought Debi Chakeres, the soccer mom who also runs Haven of Hope Cancer Foundation.

This year, I couldn't find a soccer mom. So I found a blogger mom.

And What Mother Of All Mothers
Could Be The Poster Mother
of Blogger Moms?
My own dear mom: Jackie Isaac.

I asked her and she said, "Yes" with so little reaction that it was like I'd said, "Hey, you want to go over to Billy Lee's and have a cocktail and an egg roll? You know, over at the bar?" (That usually earns a quick "yes.")

This might very well be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear my mother talk about Super Bowl advertising.

Bring your psychologist.
This lunch might shed insight on how I got to be whatever I am.

Psst. Wanna hear some lectures on marketing?

On Monday (8/30/10) at 6:45 p.m., I return to CCAD for the first of a dozen weekly lectures on consumer behavior.

Come. This is your invitation.

There are 100+ students registered for the class and it will be taught in a big, comfortable auditorium, so you can just blend in. Each class is only 75 minutes. You could come to this first Monday, any Monday, or every Monday.

Don't be shy. I would love to have you there.

(I opened last year's classes to folks like you and more than 30 attended. Nice!)

Let me know if you are coming, and I will send you a map to the specific location — and a syllabus with all the readings.

New and Improved
I have taught this course for years at CCAD. And I think it's a good course. As one student wrote:

“The course was high-energy, optimistic, full of humor and most importantly: informative. It was one of the few courses that just about everyone who took it not only looked forward to the next lesson, but recommended it to their colleagues as well.”

But I often recall the admonition of Noam Chomsky: If you are teaching the same thing the same way for more than five years, then you lack either ambition or imagination.

So, this semester, I am adding classes on ethics and creativity. So it was time to go away.

The Course Is Sound
Over time, I'd designed the course to help artists:

• Make work that is more than beautiful. The course helps the artist think through the work, so it persuades others and changes behavior.
• Justify each piece of work as more than beautiful. The course helps the artist describe work to executives in the workplace, to win more production budget for, say, the photography.

The legendary CCAD education — especially its intensive first year, "Foundation" — expertly develops each artist's technical skills.

But having hired dozens of CCAD graduates at Young Isaac, I have seen too many who are riding solely on their technical proficiency. They do have highly developed hands and eyes — but aren't always levering their minds.

That's where this class comes in.

Bridging The Gap
After years of helping CCAD artists win the favor of businesspeople in the workplace, I've been teaching MBA candidates about creativity. This has me building the same bridge — over the creative gap — from the other side.

Now, with my MBA experiences, I'm really enjoying re-meeting the artists at CCAD.

And you. Coming?

A Pic of His Junk

Thanks to Peter for bringing the Give It A Ponder campaign to my attention.

It's so great.

I don't know if it will sell any telephones.

But I do know that it raises issues of the ethics of speech. And deals with it intelligently.

The very existence of this campaign tells us that somewhere, someone cares about what you say.

I'm grateful.

My compliments to the actor James Lipton and the rest of the team:

Advertising Agency: Y&R New York, USA
Chief Creative Officers: Ian Reichenthal, Scott Vitrone
Global Creative Director: Darren Moran
ACD/Copywriter: John Battle
ACD/Art Director: Jeff Blouin Art Director: Evan Benedetto
Art Director: Jan Jaworski
Copywriter: Tara Lawall
Exec. Directors of Content Production: Lora Schulson, Nathy Aviram
Executive Producer: Alex Gianni
Production Company: Smith & Sons
Director: Ulf Johnansson
DP: Stephen Keith Roach
Executive Producer: Philippa Smith
Producer: Nicola Smith
Line Producer: Nancy Cannava
Editorial Company: Final Cut NY
Editor: Carlos Arias
Assistant Editor: Sonejuhi Sinha
Executive Producer: Stephanie Apt
Producer: Viet-An Nguyen
FX’s Company: Smoke & Mirrors NY
Lead Flame Artist: Nic Seresin
Creative Director: Sean Broughton
Executive Producer: Sue Romweber
Producer: Barbara Kontarovich
Audio Companies: Sound Lounge NY, Final Cut Audio NY

Mixers: Philip Loeb, Terressa Tate

Up, up and away

So, it's come to this. I'm weighing in on Balloon Boy.

I floated this trial balloon (sorry) in my keynote on creativity yesterday at SummitUp.

(I also enjoyed the other keynotes: Lewis Howes on Linkedin, Kevin Dugan on storytelling in social marketing, Bob Garfield on the death of advertising, and Chris Brogan on humans. There's nothing quite so motivating as a social media conference.)

My Wonderful Balloon
I'll presume you know the story of Balloon Boy. We all do.

But I'll also presume that you — we all, as a nation — haven't really considered the story in a productive, constructive way.

Most of us — and all the coverage I've seen — started low (fear! freakish emergency! watch TV!) and gone lower (what the hell is wrong with these people? let's wallow! watch TV!).

I think this story has done more than attempt to destroy The Balloon Family. I think it's cast a harsh light on all of us.

We Crush People.
When sentencing the three spies to death (Henry V, II.ii), the newly engaged warrior king is moved to sadness, because this treason "methinks, is like another fall of man."

Hey, Hank, wethinks the same way, even when the crime isn't treason.

To this day, our popular culture seeks, finds and amplifies any failing or sin. We snipe and snap; we define others by their momentary failings. (Ironically, the non-religious and fundamentalists seem united as the Hypocrisy Police, sputtering mad at any display of inconsistency by others.)

Who amongst us should truly be known only for his greatest failing?

In Defense Of Balloon Dad
Listen, pal, I know that Balloon Dad made mistakes.

All his mistakes can be placed in that quintessentially American bucket labeled: "Seeks fame at any cost." He enlists his son in fraud. He abuses emergency services. He incites panic. He embarrasses all of America, if all our other tacky and gratuitous behavior hasn't already destroyed our international dignity.

All he learned from Bernie Madoff was: hey, I really think I can do this.

Balloon Dad — and we all — should be grateful no one died in the pursuit of that balloon. It's entirely plausible that an accident might have resulted, costing the life of a responder. Then, we'd be on to manslaughter charges.

In any case, Balloon Dad calculated poorly. And, yes, I wouldn't put my sick kid on The Today Show where he would barf.

But let's slow down here.

The Balloon Parents seem wacky to me, too. But let he with no wackiness cast the first stone. Truly: come to my home and watch me play the role of dad for a week. Am I Perfect Dad? Hardly. You'd soon see that I am just Balloon Dad Without A Balloon.

Balloon Dad — we can all agree on this — is just trying to make a living while getting his kids interested in science. (He just got in over his head by about 2,000 feet.)

Balloon Boy was in the rafters of the garage, right? Where was your kid at that time, Mr. and Mrs. Ideal Parents? Playing video games? Smoking crack?

An argument can be made for guy who loves science so much that he chases storms with his kids.

An Inch From Greatness
Allow me to pose the unthinkable question: what could Balloon Family have done to achieve a great media success, rather than a felony indictment?

I mean, really. They were very, very close to achieving exactly what they sought: national exposure for a science-related reality show about a family that is bonkers for science (and, yes, maybe just a little bonkers).

The main problem was, as I read, Balloon Dad planned this event for two weeks. That might have been a lot of planning for a guy who chases storms, but it isn't enough planning for a national social media campaign.

Monday Morning Quarterback
What could Balloon Dad have done differently?

• Use a cat. Rather than having a missing child as the balloon ballast, use a house cat. The PETA people — and we all — should be outraged by this, but it would have resulted in the same media frenzy without the panic. (Is a cat too dear to exploit in this way? Pick the species you hate. How about bloggimus bombasticus?)
• Call 911 first. By calling the FAA and CNN before calling 911, Balloon Dad acted like a social media guy rather than a dad whose kid is escaping from Oz. Even better would be to contact the authorities two week earlier. (What? That takes the thrill out of the emergency? Perhaps. It also removes the awkward felony charge.)
• Coach the kid. Balloon Boy spilled the beans, once on Larry King ("You told me it was for the show.") and once on the floor while on The Today Show. Sophocles couldn't have directed this little fellow any better: he hears falsehood and responds by vomiting the truth.
  

Don't teach the kid how to lie, of course. Teach him a better answer that he can give America while he winks his eye like a child actor.

Imagine our collective opinion if Balloon Boy had looked into Larry King's third eye and said, with the honest, aw-shucks face of little Opie Taylor, "I guess you are right, Mr. King. We just wanted to bring our love of science to more children. If hiding in the rafters is a crime, let me be guilty." 

The New Adventures of Balloon Boy would be on CBS next Thursday night.

But Balloon Dad Isn't The Only Culprit Here.
Hey, we get the world we build.

If you watch this kind of low drama, you must want more of it. Otherwise, you'd have quickly decided to ignore it in favor of more productive activities.

But we get the media we deserve. Why else is The Today Show allowing a sick kid on the show. Is this news? Not hardly. The chase of the balloon was news. The day after was entertainment.

What television producer considers a sick kid barfing to be entertaining?

And who continues to watch such crap without barfing? Spending our time this way is not re-building this country.

Hand me the bucket, Balloon Boy. I'm with you.