StarMediaGuy's Blog

Leonard Brody on the f..fu..fuu…future! Oops…the NOW!

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

Heard a fascinating speech by Mr. Brody of the Clarity Digital Group, in which he somewhat stunned an audience of 300 at the Lethbridge Economic Development ‘trends’ luncheon – when he wasn’t making us laugh.

His point, reiterated in several fascinating ways, is that we are A: in the MIDST OF the greatest turning point in human history, and B: We are physically, mentally, socially DIFFERENT HUMAN BEINGS today than ever before in the long saga of humanity. Different than we were even in 1990, before ‘the net’ took over.

And these are not theoretical differences we’re talking about – these are actual changes to our neural networks, changes in our behaviour as a species, and changes to our environment, unlike anything seen in the past. Now, obviously, if you know me then you know that I am in agreement with this premise. But Leonard had a few points that are truly fascinating, and which I have heard nowhere else before.  One was about how we trust online, in the digital world:

‘We are like children. maybe adolescents, if you’ve been at it since ’93, when the real web took off.’  (Oh, goody, I’m an adolescent! My roommate at the time won a ‘Best of the Web’ award…in 1993! )  His point being that we trust like children online. Which means we have low tolerance for interference or manipulation (Amen!), and also that if you screw with our trust, we will NEVER forgive you! Ever.

You will be shut out, and being shut out of my web of connections, and the web of people who trust me, is going to have real economic, social, and even romantic consequences for you. Research, he says, shows that those with the biggest social networks also have higher incomes, better lives, and are even more likely to have a life partner!

For me, tho, the most fascinating image was the slide of brain activity among the young versus us older folks.  When bombarded with stimulus, today’s young brain lights up like a Christmas tree versus the old brain. I know that my brain has changed in the years I’ve been ‘plugged in’ full time.  Which means, theoretically, that we, as a species, are getting smarter.

And just in time, one might say.

Posted in High technology and marketing., Lethbridge Business | No Comments »

The ‘Canadian Badlands’ is gaining traction.

Friday, April 1st, 2011

Just back from attending the annual conference of The Canadian Badlands Ltd., a unique tourism organization created to promote Southern Alberta. The company was formed out of a partnership of over 60 municipalities spread out over tens of thousands of square kilometres, with the intention of developing tourism in the region and making it Alberta’s 2nd ‘icon’ – after the Rocky Mountains. Obviously, that is going to take SOME doing, but the partners certainly seem enthusiastic about the task, and many I spoke to were adamant that “The Badlands” had already made positive contributions to their communities, and to their economic development efforts.

After spending two days learning more about this unique conglomerate, I am certainly convinced that they have their feet pretty firmly planted in reality, and recognize that there will be many small steps needed to get from today to iconic status. But there are in it for the long haul, and part of that commitment is rooted in the concrete awareness that, without creative intervention, the future of small, rural towns is in dire jeopardy. The loss of their youth to the cities, the decline in the number of farmers and ranchers, and their aging populations mean that, for many, the death of their town is a fearful possibility.

So something has to be done.

The ironic thing is that the small town lifestyle that is so threatened today is exactly the kind of lifestyle that so many people dream about, or hope to retire to. And the rural landscape of Southern Alberta and the Badlands provides some exceptional little towns. The beauty and peaceful nature of the landscape here takes a while to sink in, but once it does you realize just what a treat it is to experience a place that still has ‘wide open spaces,’ native wildlife in abundance, and caring people who truly see themselves as stewards of the land, and of their country lifestyle.

Like the “Crown of the Continent” initiative in S.W. Alberta, S.E. B.C., and northern Montana, the “Canadian Badlands” is another project designed to acknowledge, celebrate, and promote the wonderful ecosystem and lifestyle that we enjoy in this spacious and pristine part of the world. Since moving here from British Columbia – itself a place with pretty gorgeous landscapes! – I have really come to appreciate just what a brilliant experience it can be to drive through the prairie landscapes of Southern Alberta. As one presenter at the Badlands conference noted, “It’s so unusual to just look OUT, as far as the eye can see. That’s not an experience you get in the city.”

Amen to that.

Posted in Branding/Marketing, Lethbridge Business | No Comments »

S. Alberta tourism marketing getting on track.

Monday, March 21st, 2011

Over the past year, a number of positive developments have occurred here in Southern Alberta in the tourism marketing world that lead me to have more hope for the future. New consortia have formed, and new marketing programs have been implemented. And it’s not a moment too soon, as the difficulties at Chinook Country Tourism have held back the industry in this region for a long time.

Last summer, I was pleased to be part of a group effort that successfully marketed the unveiling of a new full size bronze of the famous ‘Seabiscuit,’ ridden by his superstar Alberta-born jockey, George Woolf. The event, and the media and social media campaigns we created around it, won a marketing Alto Award from Travel Alberta. It was a great example of the good things that can happen when partners come together, reach out across organizational boundaries, and work toward a common goal.

More recently, four communities have come together to promote a new S. Alberta tourism option called “Canada’s Mormon Trail.” I am pleased to be working with the towns of Cardston, Magrath, Raymond, and Stirling to promote their unique cultural heritage, and to encourage visitor’s to learn more about the early Mormon pioneers who did so much to create the irrigation system that is central to agriculture in this region. The first canal they built was declared a National Historic Site in Canada in 1899!

On other fronts, the new partnership between Lethbridge hoteliers and the Chinook folks has produced some of the better promotion we’ve seen in some time for the City of Lethbridge. And the Badlands initiative, of which Lethbridge is a member, is continuing on its path of promoting the southern Alberta badlands region as a real destination. There is much work to be done there, but with over 50 member communities pulling in one direction, I expect that we will see more results from them as time goes on. They, at least, seem to have grasped the concept that together we are stronger, and that true partnerships make for more effective marketing.

Posted in Branding/Marketing, Lethbridge Business | No Comments »

Australia has survived Emirates airlines, why can’t Canada?

Wednesday, March 24th, 2010

Alberta, along with the other western provinces, have been pressuring the feds recently to open up our western skies to more foreign airlines. Thinking is, more carriers might actually lead to more competition, more options for travelers and even, gasp, cheaper fares! Oh, the horror.

Two completely different points of view have been eloquently expressed recently in two op-ed pieces in the Financial Post, one on March 20th and another the 23rd.
In one, an economist at an Ontario business school, Fred Lazar, posits what to me is the ridiculous idea that somehow Air Canada is going to develop strong international hub airports in Canada in some dimly-seen utopian future, once they’ve found some new way to compete with the global heavyweights. That is, as opposed to popping in and out of bankruptcy, as it has twice in the last 5 years – to the delightful enrichment of its senior management, and at the continued expense of Canadian taxpayers.

There is ONE thing that a ‘strong’ Air Canada… No, hold it. Let’s not be ridiculous. There IS NO strong Air Canada. What there is, is a series of long-standing protectionist measures to prevent really strong airlines from flying into our country when they want to. And heaven forbid that anyone should transit through a Canadian airport! Flights must stop or start here, else our world will crumble! And who have these policies served? I mean, really, who??

As the earlier reprint in the Post by Peter Harbison, the chairman of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, made clear, Canada has hundreds of thousands of fewer air passengers land here than Australia does. Along with far fewer international flight options.

The head of Air Canada, Mr. Rovinescu, in one of several recent speeches eviscerating the idea of Emirates access to anywhere other than Toronto, had this to say: “What Emirates wants to do is flood the Canadian market with capacity. Its strategy is to scoop up travelers going elsewhere in the world and funnel them through Dubai, further strengthening Dubai as a global flow hub. This would have the effect of severely damaging our hubs in Canada and our network in Europe and elsewhere.”
Really? What ‘hubs’ are those? The one’s you’ve been going bankrupt servicing? And ‘your’ network in Europe? You surely mean your partner Lufthansa’s network?

Where, exactly, in the world am I going to find more convenient to fly by transiting Dubai? India, maybe. Somalia. Gee, does Air Canada fly there a lot? Why, no.
So you’re saying, Mr. Air Canada, that opening up more capacity to a part of the world you hardly bother with will, somehow devastate the market for Air Canada? Even though most AirCan flights aren’t even on AirCan planes? I wonder what Australia’s experience has been?

Turns out that, “despite a 50% increase in Gulf airline capacity since 2005, Qantas’ international market share is almost identical.” So Australia’s Quantas manages to compete, and Australia gets an extra 40,000 visitors a WEEK into it’s airports and country. Gee, that must be awful for Australia’s economy. A total disaster.

Turns out most of Canada’s air tourists come from the US. Makes sense, as their airlines at least offer cheap fares to their citizens. But, in case you haven’t noticed, America’s economy has tanked. Where are we going to replace those lost tourists from? Well, with the attitude of Air Canada, backed by the bureaucrats of Transport Canada, and perhaps the federal government, it would seem the answer to that question would be:
Nowhere.

Tags: Air Canada, competition, Emirates, fly
Posted in Customer Service, Lethbridge Business | 2 Comments »

Was Lethbridge College ahead of its time?

Friday, December 11th, 2009

Interesting article in the Globe’s Report on Business today about University marketing. Suggesting that to market to the potential students of today, you need to stop talking to them about what great ‘company men’ they’re going to be as adults. The image in the article  is an ad from Ontario showing a long haired, messy looking kid with the caption “Einstein didn’t own a hairbrush either.”

Fun. And aimed right at the target market.

So what happened to the brilliant marketing campaign produced a while back by Lethbridge College?  Their ‘Totally New’d” campaign was absolutely brilliant in speaking to the teens who are the College’s target market. Developed by marketing head Carmen Toth, the campaign apparently came in for some real backlash from our politically conservative community.

Which speaks rather nicely to my greatest beef with marketing and advertising clients – which is the persistent idea that your advertising should be something that YOU like, or that your boss will like. More money has been wasted creating ads to please the boss or the client than for any other reason. And it’s a hard lesson to get. It’s hard to do, even for professionals, to put yourself in the mind of the AUDIENCE. But it’s absolutely necessary if you want some ROI on your ad spend.

An ad works if, and only if,  the intended audience takes action after experiencing the ad. Almost any other result is a waste of time and money. Oh, sure, ‘awareness’ and ‘brand building’ are high and noble pursuits. But unless you have a big budget, your ads should probably be about creating action. That’s a hard enough result to create, I assure you! But it’s going to be next to impossible if the ad is not speaking to the mindset of your target. Which is why (Warning: About to blow own horn! ) your ad designs should be left to professionals. Not just me, obviously, but to people who truly GET this concept. Because at least then your ads have a chance of doing something for you.

Assuming, of course, that you understand to some extent who your target audience really is. But that’s a topic for another day…

Tags: "Lethbridge College" students conservative
Posted in Branding/Marketing, Lethbridge Business | No Comments »

Finally! Some useful thoughts on hiring.

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

If, like me, you get sick and tired of the same old tired cliches (note the tired cliche) about hiring great staff, and would prefer to read something that makes sense in the real world, instead of the “paste a smile on your face and have every hair in place’ idea of job readiness, then here’s an article for you:

How I Hire Programmers Aaron Swartz’s Raw Thought.

The advice contained in Aaron’s article could also be fruitfully applied to hiring contractors – even ad agencies!
I particularly like a bit about ‘do they hear you? And do they then ask meaningful follow up questions?

I was meeting with the marketing rep for a western heavywieght in the accounting field here in Lethbridge yesterday, and he told me about canceling a 25 thousand dollar ad contract, because the media reps just didn’t pay any attention to what he wanted, and kept trying to feed him something he didn’t. Ouch.

Posted in Business Advice, Lethbridge Business | No Comments »

Whither goest the economy? And why am I paying more?

Friday, November 27th, 2009

As today’s “Dubai Meltdown” in global markets suggests, those who are in the know – or at least like to think they are – about the world’s financial system are incredibly nervous these days. Dubai’s announcement that they were freezing payments on billions in debt until spring shook up the world, sending the US dollar higher, while other things – our dollar, oil, gold – fell sharply from recent peaks.

Living in Southern Alberta, it’s easy to feel that the global financial crisis has largely passed us by. Until, that is, you talk to friends whose portfolios dropped by half last year.

But still, in terms of the local economy, as a consumer it’s been hard to notice the crisis’ effects. Business owners keep telling me that they are doing fine. And the mall’s parking lot still fills up every Sunday.

One of the things I AM seeing, however, is some vast jumps in prices. Which seems counter-intuitive. While national  hotels and restaurant chains are discounting, in some cases heavily, the local operators have, if anything, increased prices. And in one way it’s understandable, since thier input costs have been rising sharply. The price of bread, as a classic barometer, is up to ridiculous levels lately. And the other day, I bought some Gillette Fusion razor blades. But I did it after shopping around, since the price of an individual cartridge at most stores is now about $5. And I thought they were expensive at $3, which they were, if memory serves, only six or eight months ago.

So what gives? If the economy is in trouble, unemployment is at huge levels (over 10% in the US, new layoffs in Canada announced yesterday), and therefor consumers have less to spend, why are prices going up?

Well, I’m no economist, but at least part of the answer must lie in the fact that SOMEBODY (read ‘us’) has got to pay for all these bailouts, bonuses, and wars. Governments have decided that ‘the system’ needs to be kept alive, at all costs. And we are the ones who must, eventually, pay those costs.

And it seems we’ve already begun. Are these the first steps in an inflationary spiral? Economists can’t agree, Whispers of deflation scares them even more.

If it wasn’t going to affect each of our daily lives so much, it would be a hilarious game to watch.

As it is, I suggest taking care of your own, pulling in your horsn, and your spending, and start socking away for some rainy days that are almost sure to come.

Posted in Lethbridge Business | No Comments »

Small Business “Social Media” strategies.

Monday, November 16th, 2009

I’ve been reading a number of books on Social Media lately, as well as attending a few workshops on the subject. The one put on by Marty Eberth of Travel Alberta was excellent, and you can catch it in Drumheller in December if you want. Registration link at Travel Alberta is here.

But if you want some quick tips that make a lot of sense, check out the article by Ross Kimbarovsky on Mashable:
http://mashable.com/2009/10/28/small-business-marketing/

Ross gives some excellent tips on both basic, and more advanced strategies to pursue on the most popular social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook.

Ross’s article provides enough information to actually get started, and he inspired me to set up a new page for my business on Facebook, which you can preview.

If you’d like to ‘learn as you go’ with my experiences in the social media sphere, either follow this blog or sign up as a fan on the Facebook page. I’ll be passing along the best strategies as I discover them, and sharing tips and tricks from my friend Ruth Seeley, who is the social media whiz at NoSpinPR.

Tags: "Social Media strategies", "Travel Alberta workshop", Facebook, strategies, Twitter
Posted in High technology and marketing., Lethbridge Business | 2 Comments »

Lethbridge wants to fly to market…

Friday, September 25th, 2009

The City of Lethbridge has committed a quarter of a million dollars to help market the Lethbridge Airport. This is a great idea, as the economic spin-offs from a busy airport are well established. And our airport is anything but busy.
Other cities and jurisdictions have been down this road before. Some with marked success, some not so much. Kamloops and Kelowna in the BC interior both spent years building relationships and capacity into their ‘ports, both with the full backing and support of the provincial government.
But the landscape has changed considerably since then. Airlines are bleeding money, and any decision to start a new route must be based in hard dollars and cents.
I had an interesting chat with one of the senior members of Travel Alberta’s team, who told the story of getting flights into the Yukon from Germany. When Air Canada suddenly dropped the German route the Yukon was relying on, the Yukon had to guarantee to pay for 1,400 seats in the first season, if their new carrier couldn’t fill them in Europe.
And this was back in the days when there actually were other airlines you could deal with.
Even Air Canada’s statement this week of potential new direct service between Calgary and Asia came with the proviso ‘if the business community supports it.’ Translation: pony up the dough and fill our business class, and we’ll be there for ya’!
So there will be no easy deals to be made for Lethbridge. But I have to think there are opportunities out there. What about an East-West connector, serving the Kootenays, S. Alberta, and S. Saskatchewan to help shuttle tourists around? And, obviously, a cross border short haul services could be a great thing. But the chances of senior governments getting behind that idea are slim to none.
Here’s hoping that the good team at Economic Development can unearth some opportunities. Hey, if a guy can find an Anglo-Saxon treasure buried in a farmer’s field, there’s hope for anything, right?

Tags: airline industry, City of Lethbridge, economics, Lethbridge airport
Posted in Lethbridge Business, Uncategorized | No Comments »