What’s The Big Idea?

We all know this, and ignore it at our peril, yet we still bullheadedly press on without answering this most fundamental question:

What’s The BIG IDEA?

Great article (“Your Marketing Campaign: What’s the Big Idea?“) from Marketing Profs.

You’re rolling out a marketing campaign. Launching a product. Revitalizing your brand.

What’s the big idea? Not to sound flippant, but you need one. Because without it, it’s likely your campaign, product launch, or brand repositioning won’t be memorable—or particularly effective.

“Today, it’s economically crucial to create something that’s beautiful, whimsical, or emotionally engaging,” writes Daniel Pink in his influential book A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future.

Whether you’re just starting out or farther along in the creative process, ask yourself the essential question: What’s the big idea?

Market Analysis of Malaysian Mobile Telcos

Besides banks, these are probably the biggest spenders of marketing communication budgets in Malaysia.

(Source: Business Times Malaysia, 20 Aug 2007)

No One Expected A Tornado

A crisis communication plan is probably one of the most overlooked items in an organization’s communication arsenal. Here, Seth Godin explains why it’s important:

No one expected a tornado

New York City was shut down yesterday by three inches of rain and a tornado in Brooklyn. The trains, the subways, the roads… they all stopped working. There were small boulders on the West Side Highway and rivers of water everywhere.

Millions of critical citizens were answered by officials who pointed out that they had rehearsed for all sorts of events, but a tornado in New York?

What they’re missing is this: people weren’t complaining about the trains or the roads. They were complaining about the communication of the news. Commuters spent hours on trains into the city, only to find that the subways were closed, thus wasting the ride. I spent two hours on the road going to a meeting in the city–and the radio never once mentioned what was going on. The city didn’t start telling people to stay home until after 9 am… two hours late.

Airlines screw this part up all the time. So do websites. And even pizzerias that close for vacation.

Bottom line: the first thing to rehearse is your communication strategy. You can’t predict weird events, but you can get really good at alerting people when they happen.

Is Good Enough, Good Enough?

I remember coming across this quote from somewhere else before and really loving it. Then, Seth Godin comes up with this fantastic (and somewhat frightening) thought:

Is good enough enough?

Most marketing efforts are projects in response to problems. “We need a box for the product launch.” “We need a press release for the tour the boss is doing.” “We need an ad campaign for the Super Bowl.”

In response to projects, many organizations figure out the resources they’ve got and then work hard to do something good enough. On time, within budget. Meeting spec, after all, is your job.

You end up, if you’re talented, with something good enough.

Is that enough? Is good enough enough to win? To change the game? To reinvent your organization and your career? In a crowded market, when all the competition is good enough, not much happens.

Digi’s Yellow Coverage Fellow

This is one campaign I think is fantastic… and I certainly hope that Digi will start concentrating on it, instead of decentralizing their advertising business across multiple agencies, which has only resulted in multiple messages and confusing brand images. To Digi, I say, let the Digi Yellow Coverage Fellow take the lead!

Back And Forth Copywriting: This Is The Truth