I’ve been looking forward to this Ad Industry Innovator profile for a while: Spike Jones of Brains on Fire from Greenville [say, Greenvul] South Cackalacky.

Recently someone commented, “Ad Industry Innovator is an oxymoron.”  Getting to know agencies like Brains on Fire proves that point of view a little ill informed.  

The shops works with a wide range of regional and national clients including Best Buy, Fiskars Brands, Confluence Watersports, the American Booksellers Association, Rage Against the Haze (SC’s youth-led anti-tobacco use movement), Love146, Jason’s Deli, Michelin and BMW.

So you get a sense of Spike, one of my earliest email exchanges with him had this in his signature line:

I wanna be like Cap’n Kirk.

Get up everyday and love to go to work.

Don’t wanna be like Mr. Spock.

Wanna kick out the jams and rock the block.

 -Bob Schneider

Says a lot about Spike, I think, and anyone who turns me on to a new artist who sounds, at times, like Dr John and Taj Mahal’s love child gets props from me!

Brains on Fire are marketing kudzu.  

Not this Kudzu 

THIS kudzu:

Once you see them they keep popping up everywhere.  

Not sure where I first heard of them.  They floated across my screen somehow and from there, well, things just kind of spread.  

• In Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff’s game changing book, Groundswell (Pg 147, if you want to look) and there they were, Brains on Fire.
• A PEMCO business event at the Space Needle at the premier of a new spot by previously profiled DNA-Seattle I met Sean O’Driscoll from Ant’s Eye View (also coming up on a future Innovator’s profile) who are tight with, you guessed it, Brains on Fire.  
• Last month over my breakfast cereal and coffee I crack open the newest Fast Company and what should I flip to?  An article about Brains on Fire.
• Based on my friend, Alan Schutte ’s (Platt Hollow Road) recommendation to feature Norfolk, VA based Grow Interactive on an upcoming Innovator post, and who pops up on their site?  Brains on Fire.

Next time the Brains on Fire team rolls through your town, go check ‘em out.  Based on the places they pop up, they’ll probably be in your town next week.  If you’re ever in Greenville and you drop in, as people in the South are want to do, take them food, coffee or beer, they’ll love you for it.  (You’re welcome, Spike.)

1. What was the aha moment when you realized, “our company needs to be doing things differently than we have been?”

Well, this may come across as conceited, but Brains on Fire IS the ah-ha moment. We always say that Brains on Fire is a state of being. A condition. A movement. A cause. An attitude.

As for our current model, we found it in 2002 when we started a word of mouth movement that birthed Rage Against the Haze, SC’s youth-led anti-tobacco use movement. We didn’t have the funds to run ads like the TRUTH campaign, and we knew that even if we did, after the money ran out we’d be back to square one. So we created a peer-to-peer movement built on education instead of one built on fear. We used our identity/creative chops to bring it to life and RAGE has become one of the most successful anti-tobacco use movements in the nation (with one of the smallest budgets). At the time, we were just doing what we felt was right. A couple years later, the word of mouth industry came to be. Now we had a name for it.

2. What books are on your nightstand or great blogs on your Google reader?

I’ve been on a business book hiatus for a while, but I’m currently reading New York Stories: Landmark Writing from Four Decades of New York Magazine. It’s fantastic. And the last book I read before that was Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates by David Cordingly. (You’ll notice an old-school pirate mentality around the Brains on Fire crew.)

As for blogs, I look to Adpulp for my daily dose of the ad world. I faithfully read Peter Kim’s blog, John Moore’s Brand Autopsy, Jake McKee’s Community Guy blog, Mack Collier’s Viral Garden, the Brand New blog (since Brains on Fire’s heritage is in identity development), and then, of course the FAIL Blog.

3. Give me an example of marketing you think is brilliant and why.

Maker’s Mark brand ambassadors. Turbo Tax’s Inner Circle. Fiskars Fiskateers (that’s ours). Any movement that is shoulder-to-shoulder with your biggest fans where you empower, engage, listen and join forces with your customers. Scratch that. Not your customers. Your brand’s best friends.

4. We’ve all read that the pitch / RFP process is broken. Many agencies aren’t even interested in competing in pitches. Do you see an alternative to this process?

Don’t get me started. RFPs represent all that’s wrong with the client/agency relationship. We don’t answer them. I despise them. What a waste of time. But that’s the way things have always have been done – and it seems that no big agencies or companies are willing to take a stand. And for every RFP we refuse to answer, there are ten thousand agencies willing to roll the dice.

Especially spec work in RFPS. Come on. Giving away the one thing that you have to sell is completely insane. For example, an international hotel chain called us up…

An alternative? How about sitting down and having a conversation with the agency? How about checking out what they’ve DONE instead of making them guess about what they would do? How about checking out their culture to see if they believe what you believe? How about basing your decision on tangibles? Stupid RFPs.

5. What does the agency of the future look like?

You think I’m going to say digital, don’t you? I’m not. The agency of the future will be the one that is willing to roll up their sleeves, get their hands dirty and figure out how and why people connect OFFline. Let’s face it, 92% of WOM happens offline. Digital is getting to be the easy part. And those are tools. Just tools. We are humans. And we crave real interaction. The rise of offline focus – and I’m not talking traditional advertising – is coming.

6. What do marketers need that agencies are not giving them?

Long. Term. Actionable. Strategies. They HAVE to get rid of the “campaign” mentality. Build a movement first. Campaigns are short-sighted and tactic-driven. It’s a great way to quickly become the former agency of record.

7. Who do you admire and why?

That’s an easy one. John Saringer. This is a guy who saw possibilities in everything. He couldn’t afford college, so after his chores and work, he’d sprint down to the local university, climb the fire escape and listen through the open window to chemistry classes. John Saringer took nothing and turned it into one of the most respected cattle ranches in the state of Texas. He worked his ass off every single day of his life, but was quick with a smile, a kind word and there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for friend or stranger. Oh, and he was my grandfather.

But if you want someone who I’m not related to, I’d say pick someone at Brains on Fire. Anyone. Matt Reese, the First Impression and one of the smartest people I know. Kathie Conway, our CFO, who has a mind for numbers I’ll never have in a million years. Geno Church, the most forward-thinking WOM practitioner in the business. Greg Cordell, a principal and Inspiration Officer – the guy is freakin’ brilliant. Robbin Phillips, our Courageous President who has created a flat organization where everyone can thrive. Carrie Woodward, who manages one of the most successful WOM programs of all time – and never complains about the bad days. Simply. Amazing. People. And I could go on and on.

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Since this post is part of the 24 Hours of Innovation, I thought it’d be appropriate to start with a quote from futurist Bob Johansen, President of the Institute of the Future from 1996-2004 In his book Get There  Early, Johansen asserts that “no one can predict the future.” By his definition, predictions are statements of what will happen—and they’re almost always wrong.  Futurists forecast what may happen and “a forecast doesn’t need to come true to be valuable.”  Forecasts are valuable when they “provoke new thought, new insights, new possible actions, or new ways of thinking about the present [and] you don’t need to agree with a forecast to find it useful.”

To that end, My Pep Talk for 2009 during the 24 Hours of Innovation is less a statement of fact about the future of marketing innovation and more an outline of real examples, rhetorical challenges and possible outcomes.

The marketing hard sell and cold call have given way to interactions where brands intersect a customer’s life and add to their experience, provide clarity or make the customer’s life easier.  But marketing strategies and tactics are not in line with this new role; it’s the basis of an identity crisis in marketing—the likes of which we’ve never seen.

Marketing’s identity crisis

Marketing has an identity crisis and to solve it, marketers need to innovate.  Innovation requires us to lead, experiment, and take risks with emerging technology as well as traditional channels.  It also requires clients to create a culture so this can happen.  But right now we face a clash of wills and expectations. To get past it, clients and their marketing partners need to create a new framework from which to operate.

Social media and the Always On, consumer-controlled marketing environment change the rules almost daily.

Technology emerges and changes, sometimes faster than it can be harnessed—making it nearly impossible for marketers to make proven recommendations to clients , especially as these same clients begin to require money back guarantees and assurances of ROI.  A recent example is the Coca Cola Company’s pay-for-performance plan, a model that, instead of fostering innovation, runs the risk of stifling it. 

So what’s an agency or CMO to do? To begin with, I believe marketers need to become futurists and first movers by utilizing emerging technologies for marketing.

Some marketers have stepped into uncharted areas with great success and support from progressive clients.  ComBlu harnesses the power of online communities for their clients.  The Advance Guard’s work in social media allows them to stand firm in the belief that as marketers “we simply set the stage and arrange the chairs for customer conversation to take place.”

These firms are products of an industry diametrically opposed to itself, in which agencies can no longer afford to be reactionary, but in many cases can’t afford to be risk-takers, either.  For agencies to innovate and lead they need to continually experiment. 

Web shops do this every day by developing unique solutions to problems that can’t be solved by off-the-shelf products.  iPhone app developers quickly create micro software for very specific problems.

Perhaps innovation requires marketers to have access to a budget line item in which unproven methods can be tried without being held hostage to guaranteed sales increases.  This will be familiar ground for any marketer whose agency has continually preached the benefits of brand marketing with the cautionary warning that not all dollars can be quantified.

Problems fuel innovation

Many a conundrum has fueled innovation in the past, although it could be argued that these innovations have not necessarily helped marketers.

In a well informed treatise, Joe Jaffe has forecast the death of the 30-second television spot because of the DV-R. In response to these threats, the DV-R has driven innovation around commercials, soon services like ZillionTV will allow spots to be grouped and customized to a viewer’s interests.  For example, in the near future you’ll be able to choose nothing but beer commercials as your preferred pitch.   This reframes the whole model from less of an interruption to more of a choice—by giving viewers control and an increased ability to filter and giving marketers what Zillion calls “zero-waste” media.

Another innovative service will interrupt viewers fast forwarding through commercials and they’ll see a static page containing an enticing message that compels them to stop and watch a spot.  A bikini clad woman may invite them to view a commercial for Jamaica tourism—letting them know what they’re missing by flying past commercials.

Similar circumstances have driven the innovation that created blogs, satellite radio, YouTube and many other tools.

The near future

So what’s to become of advertising and marketing in the future?  Are we becoming a digital world with no use for the physical?  Far from it.  A 2009 digital report by Razorfish forecast that online and physical experiences will continue to merge.  Mobile continues to gain traction as customers are less concerned if they use a PC, phone, or their feet to access a brand.  Without distinction, customers want brands to be there whenever and wherever they want them. 

The offline experience melts with online as the web becomes less reactive and more real time, a phenomenon that began with the rise of the 24-hour news cycle and has increased exponentially as millions of online users flock to tools like Twitter and Facebook on their laptops and Blackberrys.

Technology dances with marketing

The Razorfish report shows distinct areas where technology has and will intersect with marketing.

RFID is an exciting innovation enabling companies like Target to become hyper efficient logistics machines.  By utilizing RF technology in their backrooms, the Target replenishment system allows shelves to stay stocked without over ordering, keeping inventory lean and responsive to customer’s purchasing habits.  

This same technology has been a marketing tool for years at Target.  They pioneered the development of their bridal and baby registry using RF technology.

In the near future, as barcode scanners become part of a Blackberry, for example, Target guests will be able to scan a product for instant information including user reviews, competitive price matching or suggested uses and accessories.

For years RF technology has been used for chip times in marathons, to find a lost dog in your neighborhood or to pay tolls via EZ Pass.  But when that same technology not only collects our money on the LA Freeway, but beams traffic information into our on-board navigation system and suggests alternative routes , then we’ll be starting to integrate and optimize this technology.

How many times have you found yourself in the grocery store line, with a full cart—and no credit card? But you’ve got your cell phone—because you didn’t want to miss that important client call.  Mobile wallet via your cell phone would allow you to bring home the bacon, literally—without running home for your billfold.

Reframing marketing

Are the above scenarios marketing?   Traditionalists would say no—not in the truest sense—they  are convenience and customer service on steroids.   Using Zappos as an example, one could certainly call their focus on customer service one hell of a marketing strategy.

So in conclusion, marketing innovation lies not entirely in positioning, public relations and ads, or even online communities, Twitter, and iPhone apps.  Innovation happens as a result of online and offline worlds merging, by reframing marketing’s role and developing tools and tactics that align all of the above.   

More importantly, if innovation is to be the savior of marketing, clients need to foster a culture that allows for experimentation and risk, and marketers need to offer a return on investment.  Two very different problems with different solutions; but in order to function, marketing must do both.

Thanks to Philippe De Ridder and the Board of Innovation for inviting me to participate!

Hitch has been invited to join a world-wide virtual event on innovation.  In keeping with the style of this blog I’ll be contributing a sythesis of opinions, reactions, and trendspotting from the advertising and marketing world regarding the agency of the future.

Weigh in on this blog or  email me [david at marketinghitch dot com] if you’ve got comments to add to the discussion.  What innovations do you see in marketing that you want to share with the world?

Here’s the scoop:

The 24 Hours of Innovation is a non-stop, online marathon of innovation initiatives around the world. The event takes place during a full day and night on May 15-16 from 10.00 am to 10.00 am (CET). (as a reference: Sydney 6 pm, New York 4.00 am, Los Angeles 1.00 am)

The 24 hours are divided in time slots, each one featuring an exciting innovation ranging from an innovation award to creativity sessions, start-ups, and interviews with global thought leaders. Everyone can follow and join the 24 Hours of Innovation on www.boardofinnovation.com, where the event will be covered across media on blogs, traditional media, twitter, slideshare, ustream, coveritlive, flickr, scribd, vimeo and more.

Interested in a time slot?

During this event, time is reserved for all organizations that are active in the field of innovation. Several interesting players have already lined up, but there are still slots available for others. If you are interested in participating or you feel that you can contribute, please contact us!

Join the 24 hour marathon!

Third in the Ad Industry Innovators series is Alain Thys from Futurelab in Brussels.  Very smart marketers in Brussels–and the beer’s not bad either.  Futurelab also has offices in Moscow, Munich, Hamburg, Shanghai, Athens, and Kiev.  

I first heard of Futurelab by stumbling on their blog.  Then through Google searches I kept finding these wonderfully insightful slideshare presentations and PDFs and quickly realized that many were coming from Alain’s company.

In Alain’s words

Futurelab is a marketing strategy consultancy focused on profit, customer-centricity and innovation.  We help marketers get a higher ROI, CEO’s to get their business focused on the customer and innovators to build innovations that make a difference in the market.

We also have a – not so secret  - agenda to make our contribution to changing the marketing landscape.  We believe that the mass-marketing era is coming to an end.  The symptoms of this can be found everywhere.  Billions are wasted. Marketers have acquired a bad reputation as “frivolous money spenders”.  Consumers are tuning out.   As a result, we believe that – as a collective – business needs to “re-invent marketing” so it can actually make the contribution it should to both the customer and the bottom line.”

Pretty smart, huh?  Keep reading, it gets better.

1.   What was the aha moment when you realized “our company needs to be doing things differently than we have been”?

When my business partner (Stefan Kolle) and I realized that the message we were spreading on a new way of marketing was actually being heard and repeated by others.  We decided we had to grow from a two-man band to a movement hell-bent on encouraging a conversation on a new type of marketing.  And that this could be profitable for all concerned.

2.   What books are on your nightstand or great blogs on your Google reader? 

Right now I’m reading Character & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card.  On the blog front, all the contributors to the Futurelab blog, but I also have a fondness for PresentationZen.  And of course Dilbert.

3.   Give me an example of marketing you think is brilliant and why.

The bakery in my street.  They only go for unique products, know every one of their customers, actually create products on customer demand, participate in every village event with an original little detail and in the 2 years they’ve been open have taken the market (like in people standing in line outside to pay a premium of 20% over the bakery 200 meters down the street). 

 I think this is brilliant because in contrast to many large organisations these people “get” what great marketing is about: truly understanding your customers, making a promise that is relevant to them and then overdelivering against this time and time again. 

4.   We’ve all read that the pitch / RFP process is broken.  Many agencies aren’t even interested in competing in pitches.  Do you see an alternative to this process?

I don’t believe that the RFP process is broken at all.  It’s just that people needs to re-adjust their expectations of what it can deliver.  In the mass-communication culture, big budgets went to big agencies which spent them at big media.  In those days an RFP that said “run my communications” made sense. 

But today, only very few agencies are capable of delivering against 100% of a brand’s needs.  If we would compare building a brand to building a house, each agency is like a “contractor” who specializes in one part of communication or the other.  So just like you wouldn’t ask your plumber to give an opinion about the windows in your roof, you wouldn’t ask a traditional advertising agency to have an opinion about the integral structure of your brand.   But I regularly see that some brands still expect this to happen (or agencies presuming they can do this).   That is where I think the disappointment comes from.

But just like when building a house this doesn’t mean the RFP process goes away.  It just means that it becomes more focused.  In short, brands need to be much more specific in their briefings to agencies and how they fit an overall picture (or employ “architects” like us to do it for them), while agencies need to let go of the illusion that the advertisements they come up with will “move the world” for the brand that commissions them.   

5.   What does the agency of the future look like?

I think the industry will evolve to resemble the movie or construction industry.

-       A large number of micro-specialists.  Forget about the PR agency or the digital agency.  Think about the Agency specialized in leveraging short message social media for spreading positive customer experiences in the banking sector.   Just like the guy who knows how to set up a particular type of solar panel which is government subsidized, they will be contracted on a project basis.  They can be creative, they can be production oriented, it all depends

-       A medium number of project management shops.  These probably best resemble the agency of today, be it without the in-house creative and possibly even production deparments.  They take the briefing of a client and ensure that the variety of micro-specialist implement this to excellence levels.  This may include creative, but mainly in a sourcing capacity (the role of art director in these environments is to ensure that the creative that is sourced meets the client need, not “come up with new stuff” inhouse).   Just like movie houses these project management shops may have privileged relationships with micro-specialists & creatives to provide them with a competitive edge.

-       A small number of strategy shops:  These will be the “architects” of the trade.  They will be a lot smaller than the project management shops and assist brands to formulate their strategy in a way that project management shops can implement it.   They are much more “numbers” based than most agencies of today and in style probably are more comparable to the McKinsey’s and the Bain’s than the McCann’s or Ogilvy’s.

6.   What do marketers need that agencies are not giving them?

The number one thing that marketers are looking for are solutions to business and marketing issues (grow sales, protect margin, ensure customer loyalty, …) while they typically receive “campaigns”.   For other examples I happily refer to our report Bridging the Brand Agency Divide.

7.   Who do you admire and why?

Muhammad Yunus.  For not only coming up with a theoretical concept to fix poverty in a structural way, but also pushing forward to making it happen.  In short, for making a difference.

I’ve  been invited to co-author a book with John Winsor from Crispin, Porter& Bogusky, one of the best ad agencies in the world.  I’m thrilled.  What an opportunity.  I’d like to thank everyone at CP&B  for working with me and say what an honor it is to….

Oh, hi, John.  You’re wha?  Crowd…what? CROWD sourcing it.  

Oh.

Apparently, John Winsor from Crispin, Porter & Bogusky is crowdsourcing the next edition of hisbook Beyond the Brand, which he’s also renamed: Flipped: How Bottom-Up Co-creation is Replacing Top-Down Innovation .  Another bold step from a bold, innovative agency.  

 You can participate too.  

Watching the comments roll in and tracking the evolution is very interesting.   Can’t wait to see how this turns out.

And stay tuned to the Ad Industry Innovators series right here on the Hitch blog,      C, P & G is coming up soon!

All kidding aside, John, it’s still pretty cool.  And we don’t have to tell my Mom what crowdsourcing means do we?