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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Alan Brown is one of the founders of DNA-Seattle.  Just starting its second decade of business, North-Westerners will know them by their recent campaign for PEMCO Insurance.  The spots are as good as anything I’ve seen nationally in their category (or out of category, for that matter).  The campaign is smart, uniquely relevant and successful, judging by the commitment CMO, Rod Brooks has made to the work.

DNA-Seattle’s focus, according to Alan is to “help our clients achieve meaningful results in the short-term while building their long-term brand asset.”  They’re the 6th largest agency in Seattle (by billings) and employ a staff of 40 to produce work for clients ranging from BECU, University of Washington, American Express Publishing, Avon Foundation, MultiCare and, of course, PEMCO Insurance.

I’m proud to profile them in this series!

1.  What was the aha moment when you realized “our company needs to be doing things differently than we have been”?
The industry has been changing fast over the past 8-10 years.  Technology, media choices and the shift of power to consumers through social media are driving a lot of it today.  But a big moment for me was last year when my mom (who is 75 and lives in Ohio) friended me on Facebook.  The “aha” was seismic.

2.  What books are on your nightstand or great blogs on your Google reader?
I’m a political and news junkie – so I read Andrew Sullivan’s blog, the Huffington Post, FiveThirtyEight and TalkingPointsMemo.  I also check out agency news at Agency Spy.

3.  Give me an example of marketing you think is brilliant and why.
The work that Crispin is doing for Burger King has been pretty phenomenal.  Their latest promotion (Sponge Bob Square Pants) is getting quite the buzz (not all of it good) – but they’ve really found a way to make BK relevant and talk-worthy – from Subservient Chicken to the BK King – they’re using creativity, social media, promotions, event and non-traditional media in interesting ways that are really having an impact on their business.  Right now, BK has committed to increasing their media spending to get a 20-25% lift in their brand impressions.  I don’t know of anyone else who’s doing that!

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?
Well, first let me say that we’re still interesting in pitching business, and do respond to RFPs that are a good fit for our agency.  However, the point is right on.  RFPs are expensive, and in many cases create an environment that isn’t best suited to finding the right agency/client match.  We try to avoid them by building our reputation with prospective clients and hopefully by getting invited to meet (or even handle a project) without a review.

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

Right now, we’re seeing a thinning of the herd.  Larger agencies are being gutted as a result of the economy and their clients cutting back.  But I also think that it’s time for agencies to re-think what they’re doing and what their value proposition is.  I think the successful agency of the future will be smaller, more nimble, creative and versatile.  They’ll work in traditional and new media almost seamlessly – guided by a keen ear from the marketplace.

6.  What do marketers need that agencies are not giving them?
An outside perspective, insight and leadership.

7.  Who do you admire and why?
It might sound trite, but I can’t think of anyone I admire more than Barack Obama.  His campaign spoke to me on a level that none other ever has.  I believe in his message of hope, and find great inspiration in his leadership.  I also admire how his campaign utilized social media and a grassroots movement to beat all odds.  He has also reached my 5 year old, bi-racial son – he looks up to President Obama as a role model – and I hope that he has experiences and opportunities that are different because of the path President Obama has blazed.