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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Small is the new big.  But don’t take my word for it.  I’ve often said, “You don’t need to be the smartest guy in the room, you just need to know where to get the answers.”  So here are some people much smarter than me who’ve got my back:

Peter Bregman said it this week in his blog post for Harvard Business Review.  

The gap of confidence between small companies and big ones is growing. We used to rely on the security of big companies. That’s why we worked for them. And hired them. And put our money in them.

But with the virtual collapse of AIG, Lehman, Citibank, GM, Chrysler, and many more — now even GE is in trouble — all that’s changed. Now it’s a risk to do business with the big ones.

We simply don’t trust companies anymore. We trust people. And in big companies, it’s hard to even find a person to trust as we scream “operator” into our telephones only to get transferred to another menu whose options have changed.  

That gives small companies a huge advantage.”

Amen, brother.

A little too scientific coming from a bastion of brain cells like Harvard?  How about a man on the street view?  Specifically my home state of Virginia (shout out to my homies from out here in Seattle!).

This article from America.gov shows small companies thriving during a recession:

They didn’t overextend themselves. They provide good service. And they make sure they are in a market with customers who really need their goods or services.”

These stories all point to something that we entrepreneurs all know, that small businesses are resourceful, tenacious, and there IS no bailout for us.  We have to make it work–we  don’t have a choice.  We can’t just pack it in and go home.

How is this meaningful to you as a marketer?  I’ve shown, in this very blog how small specialist shops are more nimble and will lead the marketing industry in new business wins as marketers are forced to do more with less.

But again, don’t take my word for it, listen to someone smarter than me.  How about the owner of the best ad agency in the business?  This week Alex Bogusky echoed exactly what’s being said by many others: that tiny can out maneuver huge.  At long last, the small agency is becoming a forced to be reckoned with.  

The smaller agencies that make up part of that 75% and will be doing the marketing to help lead us out of recession deserve a tip of the hat. The reality is they can do things for their clients the big monster shops can’t. With fewer people and less overhead, they offer the nimble and fast approach to problems a lot of nascent brands need.”

 Small will win big!   Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Ted Turner’s autobiography, Call me Ted has been criticised for not being open enough at certain points in the story.  And when it comes to his personal life, he’d rather look ahead than behind.  But get the man talking about business and you’ve got a classic overcoming obstacles Cinderella story.

Call me Ted provides an up close and personal view into the mind and heart of the man who, among other things, founded CNN, gave $1 billion  to the UN, created the first national cable channel and as a result, the first direct response TV ads.  Remember the Ginsu Knife? 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abLB7aTmnE4]

What about vinyl repair kits or the 70’s super bad party ring?  Yes, indirectly, we can blame Ted Turner for those annoying Billy Mays Oxyclean commercials!

The man’s not a saint, nor does he claim to be.   Anyone who’s accomplished as much as Ted Turner has rubbed some people the wrong way.  Yes, he has detractors, but he’s done a lot of good.  Turner made a lot of mistakes but learned from them all; and he lays them bare in Call me Ted .  

His philosophies are homespun, conventional wisdom that he’s applied to his life and business, while other anecdotes are uniquely Ted Turner.  Nothing game changing and above all, he makes it plain that there are no magic bullets, that hard work is key and yes, a little luck doesn’t hurt. 

Here are 20 take aways from the book:

• Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise.  Turner didn’t coin the phrase but he lives by it.
• Honor and trust are the two most important things in business.
• Look for an unconventional angle and approach to problems:  The SuperStation couldn’t get noticed in the TV listings  when they were becoming a national station, competing with the networks in the early days of cable so he created Turner Time which made all their start times for programming  5 minutes after the hour or half hour 7:05, 7:35 etc.  As a result, they stood out!
• Community service in business is crucial.
• Set your goals so high you can’t possibly achieve them in one lifetime.
• You may not be in a glamorous business but you can still look for ways to use creativity everyday.
• Problems are inevitable; go around or through them.
• Don’t always negotiate on price.  Negotiate on terms.
• Doing the smallest things to take care of your customers is essential.
• Break down barriers:  When he purchased MGM and as went through to tour the place and meet the employees he said to each one who addressed him as Mr. Turner:  “Call me Ted.”
• You don’t know the roadblocks until you get started.
• Keep sights set on the future, don’t dwell on the past.
• Even bad publicity can be valuable—just make sure they spell your name correctly!
• Don’t haggle over a good opportunity.
• Don’t set your goals in monetary terms.
• Move fast.  Take advantage of opportunities before they become obvious and have passion for efficiency
• Talk to lots of people in your industry, including your competition.
• Speak your mind.
• Boundless energy will serve you well.
• And my personal favorite:  You can loose 10 million dollars a day for 2 ½ years and still be OK.

Turner wraps up the book by outlining his 11 voluntary initiatives, so named because he has trouble living up to his own personal code—so far be it for him to try to tell others how to live.  But the suggestions are bold and massive in scope.  I am not listing them here!  It’ll give you a reason to read the book.

Like any advice, take what works for you and leave the rest.  You may come away invigorated and ready to take on the world, or pissed that he’s made it so big.  Maybe he’ll provide anti motivation as in:  if he can do it I know I can do it.  I think he’d laugh and probably agree to know he had that effect.

Also titled: How not to develop Evangelists for your company: Chastise them for spreading the word!

A recent company that I had been blogging, twittering, and spreading the word about in various social media circles recently sent me what I referred to as a slap wrapped in a hug. I was rather stunned to see this in my inbox> the names have been removed to protect the innocent! And this has been abridged. I should add, you get perks for referrals…so this story makes sense.

I wanted to introduce myself to you, I am the Community Manager here at company x. I would like to welcome you! I hope that your experience thus far has been positive and useful.

I noticed you have referred many of your colleagues. This is great and we thank you for recommending our site to them. I wanted to let you know we monitor referrals very closely due to the fact that some do abuse this process. Please be sure that those you referred are your friends or colleagues in your network and are legit contacts, not from a mass email campaign. Thank you for your cooperation….blah blah blah more pleasantries.

Now, I understand brand control. I respect what they are trying to do–but if you give something away expecting people to spread the word, you can’t slap the on the wrist when they do!

Sidenote: My evangelism was entirely on the level and I was not out to game their system… I just had to scratch my head and laugh! It made for good conversation as my wife and I walked the dog around the park this evening.

At the end of the day we all kissed and made up and they’ve even sending me a tchotchky.

Free, just like Gideon’s at the Holiday Inn.  But if you like it, share it, and give Dave his props.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/bzzagent/The_Word_of_Mouth_Manual_Volume_II.pdf