Ned Russell Joins Our Team

Ned Russell recently joined our Executive Team as our new Director of Client Services, and we couldn't be happier.  He writes a post here about making the decision to come to "wellness". 

Welcome, Ned!

Hope this finds you well -- Jim.

Take it away, Ned:

I spent over three years living in Japan, where a common response to 'How you doing?' is 'I'm genki'. 

There really isn't an English word that corresponds to 'genki' -- it means you're in good form, physically and mentally, but it also means on some larger scale that everything is in sync, that you're pressing ahead and ready for whatever comes next. 

So when I heard the words "Saatchi Wellness" for the first time, I was stopped in my tracks. 

In a world driven by customer engagement, this was big news. It seems like the thought leaders -- from Yankelovich to The Wall Street Journal -- currently publish 'Wellness' reports, and the reason they do go well beyond the obvious implications of an aging population. It's because today, 'Wellness' is the ultimate value proposition. Wellness is the the 'genki' that healthy, active brands want (and need) to have as part of their story.. 

Then I met Jim Joseph, Helayne Spivack and Johanna Skilling and I was really stopped in my tracks. 

Tremendously talented, full of vitality and passion (not to mention extremely sharp humor), these people were leading an operation unlike anything else I had ever seen in a 20+ year career of global marketing. 

They were doing what other agencies claimed but couldn't deliver: a modern, integrated practice (balanced between digital/CRM/traditional advertising); they started their shop with a strong point-of-view; they had great work; and they inspired scores of talented, motivated people under them to put in extremely long hours to make their clients successful through 'wellness'. 

All genki. 

I decided on the spot that I had to be a part of this because I believed myself in what Saatchi Wellness was trying to do: become a thought leader and content driver in an area that will be vital to just about any brand in this era of 'consumer engagement & participation' -- wellness will be an important component to how growing brands engage and sell to consumers. From health to sustainability, financial planning to fast food, wellness is already critical component to economic success. 

Saatchi Wellness is genki. It's different. And man is it exciting to be a part of it on the ground floor, as the importance of wellness and its role in marketing is just starting to gain traction. 

In my mind, Saatchi Wellness is the place to be.

- Ned Russell, Director of Client Services at Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness

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Why You Creeping On Me?

I don't like to admit that there's a generation gap. But every once in awhile it slaps me on the face and I have to recognize it. And try to learn from it.

Over the weekend I was driving my 16 year old daughter and her girlfriends to a party. Generally that's how I spend my weekends with the kids -- driving them around. But it's often a learning experience for me because I get to hear about what's going on, usually without them even realizing it :).

So the friends are in the back seat talking about Facebook. And they are talking about how their parents and aunts and uncles are on their Facebook pages, looking around, finding out what's going on in their lives. And then commenting on it. Seems fine to me, it's right out there in public.

Then one friend describes a conversation that she had with her mother about it and says, "Mom, why you creeping on me!?" And says, "Why is Aunt Louise creeping on me!?" "Why is everyone creeping on me!?"

Why You Creeping On Me? Which is code for: "why are you invading my privacy on my social media pages." As if there is anything private about social media.

So I got to thinking. Forget about the generation gap that I just slipped into, the bigger issue here is the social responsibility of social media.

Just because we put it out there in a social media space, doesn't give everyone the automatic right to view it, comment on it, and share it. There is a social responsibility to the consumption of social media.

Hmmm.

I guess we all need to realize that as in anywhere else, we need to respect each other's privacy. We need to be invited in. We can only participate when asked. Particularly as marketers.

As a brand, we don't ever want our consumers saying, "Why You Creeping On Me?"

Hope this finds you well -- Jim.

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Size Doesn't Matter

I know, I'm stooping low, but bear with me.

Last week the NYTimes had an interesting piece about "fat acceptance". The notion being that as a nation, we are not getting any thinner. Maybe we should just accept the fact, stop trying so hard to diet, and move on.

Our decades of dieting obsessions have merely caused our weight to fluctuate up and down, and up and down. We are not any thinner, just more stressed out and confused.

Certainly not a picture of wellness. Perhaps it is time to put aside size and focus on being healthy. So I join the NYTimes in asking the question, "Does Size Matter"?

But I'm not sure it's about "fat acceptance" as much as it's about just embracing a healthy life. Wellness should be the goal, not size.

Does it really matter how big you are if you are healthy? Does it really matter the size of the jeans that you wear? Isn't it more healthy to be strong and fit, rather than to hit a magical number on a scale or a fictional dress size?

Oprah's infamous magazine cover when she was at her all time skinniest is a perfect example. She calls that day her most unhealthy ever. Jessica Simpson certainly took a lot of heat a few months back for the extra pounds that she was carrying. How could it possibly matter as long as she is still happy and healthy?

In our minds here at the agency, wellness is all about choices. All of us, everyday choose to exercise and we choose the food that we put in our bodies. We can choose to live a healthy life and to do the things necessary to maintain it. And be happy about it.

As marketers, we can help people make the right kinds of choices for their wellness.

So instead of choosing to diet and to be skinny, let's put aside size and just choose to eat healthy and to stay fit. I'm betting the rest of wellness will follow suit. We'll all be a lot more content as a result.

Isn't that what wellness is really all about?

Hope this finds you well -- Jim.

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Good Marketing is No Coincidence

Ever notice how when you first hear of something, you think that you've never heard it before? And then suddenly, you hear the same thing over and over (often in the same day) and you can't believe that you never noticed it before?

I suppose from a behavioral standpoint, that phenomenon has something to do with a raised awareness of a topic that the brain now more easily recognizes and remembers.

Or maybe it's just a coincidence.

Not when it comes to good marketing.

It's no coincidence that after a first exposure to a brand, consumers suddenly notice it over and over again -- in a short period of time. Hopefully leading to trial of that brand.

That's no coincidence. It's good marketing leading to new sales -- the result of a thorough plan to continually reach consumers at various places in their lives.

I just had such an experience with Tim Hortons -- the coffee house franchise that is hugely successful in Canada. Read the backgrounder here if you are interested: http://www.timhortons.com/us/en/about/index.html

Tim Hortons is coming to the US and is planning on giving Starbucks a run for its money. Dunkin Donuts too.

There was a story about Tim Hortons on The Today Show last week. I watched it with great curiosity because I am a loyal fan of Starbucks, although admittedly that brand is faltering in my eyes. But that's another story.

No sooner did I see the story on The Today Show, but then there's a cover story on my Yahoo! home page. And a mention on the radio. And in a feature story on CNN. Holy cow, Tim Hortons is everywhere. How could it be that I had never heard of this brand before?!?

And then, to top it off, I'm running to catch a train at Penn Station and I see a "coming soon" sign, a stone's throw away from several Starbucks.

Coincidence? No, just good marketing. Can't wait to try it.

Hope this finds you well -- Jim.

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Is Sarah Palin a Brand?

I am a firm believer that marketing is marketing, no matter what the brand. And I also believe that anything can be a brand, if it's marketed well. In this post, our Director of Strategic Planning, Johanna Skilling, has questions about Sarah Palin.

Is she a brand?

Hope this finds you well -- Jim.

Take it away, Johanna:

Permission to be Sarah Palin

Apparently no one in the country, except perhaps the First Dude, knew what Sarah Palin was going to do next. She shocked the right, amused and delighted the left, and let herself become the object of every kind of speculation.

But my suspicion is that soon-to-be-former Governor Palin has just discovered that in fact she is Brand Palin. Not just a public servant, but a public figure. Someone who does more than fill a role, but embodies an archetype. (Did I hear someone just say “Maverick?”)

Brands are built on a mission and a vision, and love her or loathe her, Brand Palin has got both. Her mission has been to be a public figure; her vision is to operate on the biggest stage possible. Maybe Sarah has studied brands like Harley-Davidson (I said maybe.). H-D’s products are about two-wheeled transportation, but their brand is about fulfilling dreams. A plain old motorcycle company wouldn’t engage our imaginations as much as a fulfiller of dreams … just as Governor Palin didn’t engage the country as much as Brand Palin will.

But brands don’t just emerge on their own: they need our help. As Seth Godin says, “You don’t get permission to become a brand; you earn it.”

The former Mayor of Wasilla earned the right to run for Governor (and win, and get pretty high approval ratings); the Governor earned the right to be considered for Vice President of the United States of America. And the candidate who shook up that election decided she had permission to become a minister without portfolio in our national political landscape.

We don’t yet know what kind of brand Sarah Palin is going to be. But through a combination of natural attributes, luck, skill and strategy, she’s earned our permission to transcend the tidy niche a product fills, and become part of our collective consciousness.

We should all be so good.

- Johanna Skilling, Director of Strategic Planning at Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness

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Using Social Media for Consumer Research

There seems to be the beginning of a trend happening, and I feel the need to call it out. Although I'm certainly not the first.



Using social media outlets to conduct consumer research.




There's a breakthrough example from Splenda (the no cal sweetener) for its use of Facebook. Essentially the brand used a custom app on Facebook to distribute samples of an upcoming new product to consumers and then gathered their feedback. Pretty cool and incredibly efficient. AdAge covered it this week: http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=137851






Our agency just recently used social media (Facebook and LinkedIn) to conduct a wellness survey. Johanna Skilling, our head of strategic planning, is compiling the results and will release them shortly. In essence we used our vast networks of "friends" to get feedback on how the economy has influenced our wellness choices. Respondents crossed state and national borders as well as demographic profiles. We believe this social media wellness survey is the first of its kind, and will surely provide insights into the economic toll (or not).






Clearly part of an emerging trend and perhaps an unforeseen use of social media.






Another example is this recent survey of LinkedIn members by AdWeek to gauge interest in a ban on tobacco advertising: http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/packaged-goods/e3ie3cb96740c26f800223ff6479b0c0b45



Spot on and all social.








Hope this finds you well -- Jim.

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Agency POV

There's considerable discussion happening online about a recent editorial in AdAge from Jonah Bloom about how to differentiate your agency and avoid "commoditization". As a marketer and agency leader, I find it fascinating, and right in line with what we are trying to accomplish. You can read it here: http://adage.com/columns/article?article_id=137856

"Stop the rot," as Jonah says. Now there's a call to action for our industry!

As agency professionals, we spend so much time helping our clients differentiate their brands that we often leave our own "brands" a bit generic. Sort of the like the shoe maker's childrens' shoes, as the saying goes.

As an agency, though, I do think it's really important to have something to say; to have a point of view.

Lots of agencies have been built around a core capability, in the very traditional sense. Advertising agencies. Digital agencies. RM agencies. Doesn't differentiate anymore.

Some agencies have been built around a target: kids agencies, boomer agencies, senior agencies.

Some built around size: network agencies, boutique agencies, consultancy agencies.

Some even around an industry: pharma agencies (like what we used to be), fashion agencies, food agencies.

A committed point of view can transcend all of those very traditional segments and can set you apart from the pack. From my vantage point, very few agencies have been built around a point of view.

Ours? Wellness. Not just a trend, but a real cultural shift that crosses industries, targets, borders, and media.

How else do you explain vanilla soy milk "light"?

Look at any category, and there is at least one brand that owns some sort of a wellness positioning. Cars that are safe. Mattresses that aid sleep. Yogurt that helps in digestion. Makeup that reduces wrinkles. Banks are even talking wellness these days, as they should.

We've built our wellness point of view around a firm understanding of how consumers view their wellness. We revel in our understanding of how they make daily choices that either improve it or reduce it. We understand how to build relationships with consumers surrounding their wellness.

Wellness gives us a reason to be here. Does that differentiate us, we think so. It certainly gives us a reason to commute to work everyday.

Hope this finds you well -- Jim.

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