Recently Go Wichita!, formerly the Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau, held their annual meeting.  The keynote speaker was Peter Yesawich, CEO of the Y Partnership.  The Y Partnership is a leader in the field of travel and tourism marketing research.  Peter spoke, in part, about the dramatic impact that technology is having on the travel and tourism industry.  He noted the following changes:

1. Meta search is changing the game of online travel research. Think sites like Kayak which aggregate a multitude of other travel booking sites, providing the user a wealth of planning information and comparative pricing with a few keystrokes and mouse clicks.
2. Mobile phone use is creating a third screen beyond the television and computer.  Smart phones are rampant and the iPhone has made us all application crazy. Players in this market need to recognize the opportunity to connect via this very personal tool.
3. Social tools and blogs are shaping perceptions. Word of mouth is nothing new.  However, more people are getting their WOM related to travel from social media destinations like YouTube and blogs to gain first hand feedback about destinations and attractions.

The travel and tourism industry is yet another industry experiencing change driven by digital technology that is quickly becoming mainstream.  Peter’s message was, “do not ignore this.”
I’ve seen technology drastically change the advertising industry, both for agencies and the clients they serve. The timeframe between reading about emerging trends like social media, micro blogging and mobile applications to them becoming widely adopted media channels is incredibly short.
I truly believe that we must make a conscious effort to regularly evaluate how technology is changing our businesses, impacting our customers and providing new opportunities.  Three questions to ask:

1. What technologies are my customers using? Ask them if they are on social media sites.  Ask them what type of phone they have. Ask them what blogs they visit.  And don’t just ask what they use, but dig into the how.
2. How can the business leverage these technologies to achieve business objectives and add value for customers? Don’t just adopt a social media strategy or dramatically overhaul your Web site without deciding what outcomes you want to see. Don’t do it because your customers might think you are cool. Do it because it makes their interactions with your company easier.
3. What resources do I have to allocate to make this happen? These initiatives often take three types of resources: people, money and time. Determine what mix of these three your idea requires. Often, you can find resources through reallocation. Do you have a part of your marketing that just isn’t working and hasn’t been working for a while? Stop it and devote those resources to your new idea.

Asking these questions, and answering honestly, can keep you in the forefront of the digital revolution and keep your company looking forward.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/simeon_barkas/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

In the last few decades, new stadium construction has been frequent in the world of professional sports. As is common nowadays in the construction of these types of buildings, they often choose to sell its naming rights.

From a marketing standpoint, I can understand why one organization would want to sell the naming rights (additional cash flow) and another buy them (marketing awareness). My personal reaction is two fold: First, I’m a little more skeptical of the long-term benefit to the selling organization. You’re gaining dollars, but losing the opportunity to create a true, memorable community icon. And second, the slow passing of unique, conceptual stadium names is disappointing.

Here are two examples: Before it was demolished, Three Rivers Stadium (named because it was built where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers join to form the Ohio River) was home to the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers. It was replaced in 2001 by Heinz Field. And Veterans Stadium (so named to honor veterans of all wars), previous home of the Philadelphia Eagles, was demolished and replaced by Lincoln Financial Field.

The names Heinz Field and Lincoln Financial Field say nothing about their respective cities. They could be anywhere. Three Rivers Stadium reflects the unique geography of the Pittsburgh area, and thus has more personality. Veterans Stadium? For one of the patriotic centers of our nation, the fit is perfect.

Does the name really matter? From a practical standpoint, maybe not. After all, it certainly doesn’t physically affect the venue’s ability to provide a suitably enjoyable experience for eventgoers. The name “Heinz Field” isn’t going to keep people from doing what they really want, which is to go see the Steelers play football.

If Heinz Field remained Heinz Field forever, I would probably care less. But due to the temporary nature of contracts, it’s probable that eventually the Steelers will end up selling the naming rights again. Now, the Steelers have lost the iconic value that has been built up in the name “Heinz Field.” In addition, they have to change all of their brochures, materials, Web site references, everything that says “Heinz Field” to Bud Light Field or Burger King Field or (as famously spoofed in the movie Baseketball) Tampax Stadium.

If you don’t believe the possibility of a stadium with a naming rights deal reaching absurd proportions, then consider the case of Sun Life Stadium, home to the Miami Dolphins. Originally constructed as Joe Robbie Stadium in 1986 (named after the entrepreneur who led the financing campaign to get it built), the rights to naming the stadium were sold to Fruit of the Loom in 1996, who then named the stadium after its Pro Player athletic wear division.

In 2005, that deal ended, and the team reverted the name to the simple Dolphins Stadium. In 2007, it was subsequently shortened to Dolphin Stadium. In 2009, a sponsorship deal was once again struck, this time to promote to Jimmy Buffet’s new LandShark Lager. That deal lasted just year, however, and in 2010, the beginning of a new five-year deal will lead to the stadium being named after Sun Life Financial.

If you’re counting, that’s six name changes in 23 years. No marketing consultant in their right mind would recommend that. Maybe it’s different in the world of professional sports, where there’s enough television exposure on a weekly basis that people discover quickly that names have been changed.

Reality is that people adjust to name changes and accept it, whether they like it or not. But does “Heinz Field” carry the iconic resonance of, say, Arrowhead Stadium or Soldier Field, which instantly make you think of Kansas City and Chicago, respectively? I say no. And that’s why, ultimately, for the image and awareness of the surrounding community, the dollars earned by the seller in a naming rights deal may not be worth quite as much as the contract states.

We got up early this morning to spend some time with fellow members of the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce. We were invited to present at the Chamber’s Sunrise Scrambler on the topic of selling value, not price. Sometimes it seems that everything boils down to low price. We attempted to show that companies and brands do not have to compete on price to be successful.This is because, people will pay more for something that has a higher perceived value, as illustrated in the video.

In our presentation, we covered the following (download your own copy of the slides here):

1. Uncovering key features of your business or products through exploring shared equity. Shared equity is made up of things that your organization identifies as key features that you do well, which are also key features that your customers say they value.
2. Using key features to find your unique selling proposition. Once you have your features identified, determine the customer benefit that is derived from the features. For example, a feature might be your years of operation. The benefit of this feature may be security, continuity or even trustworthiness. Once you know the benefits, find those that are unique to your business and those that set you apart from the competition. These make up your unique selling proposition.
3. Branding and image advertising is important. This type of advertising, which communicates your unique selling proposition, is key to building perceived value, or equity. Multiple studies have shown that companies with more brand equity experience success where it matters most: profitability.

This is just a portion of what we covered in the presentation. Overall, we hope that we helped people see the value of building their brands, focusing on their unique selling propositions and engaging in the right level of advertising to support their growth.

(Video from Showtime’s “Penn & Teller: BullS@$t!”)

by Ed Shank

I went to work at University IGA at 25th and Hillside on my 16th birthday.  I couldn’t wait to start and make real money.  I had pestered the owner, Mr. Goering, for a job for weeks.  He was a stickler for the rules and kept insisting I wasn’t old enough.  Prior to “coming of work age,” I had been limited to throwing newspapers morning and evening and to whatever lawns I could mow in the summer, not to mention the babysitting jobs on Friday and Saturday.   As a sacker at the IGA store I earned $1.25 for every hour I worked, and I worked 50 hours a week stocking shelves, sorting pop bottles, and sacking groceries.  The only negatives came on Friday evenings, when I missed my high school events, and Sunday afternoons, when I’d be heading to work to face shelves and my friends would be heading to an area lake.  But after taxes I earned $55 a week, which allowed me to buy my first car, a 1960 Hillman Minx, for $440.  My car payments were $22 a month.  I paid off my loan at KSB&T 11 months early.

Approaching 62 years of age I’ve worked full time for 46 years.  I figure that I’ve worked over 10,000 days.  I’ve been in the advertising agency business for the past 35 years, 22 of them at Armstrong|Shank.

Life has been wonderful so far.  I’m privileged to spend most of my time around two of the people I treasure most – my life partner and wife, Kim, and my work partner and friend, Susan.  Both have tolerated my quirks and eccentricities.  Both have indulged my excesses and fed and encouraged my creative ego; when I was a young boy taking a long look at life through an adolescent prism fraught with insecurities and embarrassments real and imagined, I would never have believed anything so dear.  I’ve been loved and liked way beyond what I’ve deserved or returned in kind.  I’ve also experienced the joy of the company of two better copies of me than me – my sons Sylvan and Andrew.  When they were children I worried at the end of every day what I might have done to screw them up.  Now that they are mature men I’m relieved to say they are an important part of the hope for the future of mankind.  They are making the world a better place.  They are worthy of praise.

(An important side road: Something of no small importance that I’ve learned is that if a bird flies hard into a window and its neck is not broken it can often be saved.  Usually after striking the glass the bird lies stunned on the ground below.  If left in that posture it typically quietly passes away.  Gently placing the bird on its feet will revive it more often than not.  It might take 15 to 20 minutes for the bird to regain its senses and fly away, so be patient.  As I was writing this morning a goldfinch flew into my window.  I set her upright on a bed of faded leaves.  Following a fretful wait of about 20 minutes she flew into the welcome embrace of a frost-covered yew – the sun is shining brighter on my keyboard now.)

I’ve always lacked confidence in my creative abilities.  I’ve never felt good enough for the responsibilities with which I’m entrusted.  Successful people retain Armstrong|Shank at handsome fees to make their businesses even more successful. Our employees entrust me with their futures; they depend on me for direction that will secure better futures for them and their families.  That confession aside, what a lucky guy; people pay me to have fun every day.  The problems we’re given to solve require a talented team of professionals of diverse abilities. Every day is different.  Challenges are new and usually unexpected.  We get to learn about virtually everything over time.  On any given day we can name a new service, write an ad for a bank, or charity or Bible, counsel a client on the best response to manage a publicity crisis, have a creative meeting to design television spots for a national golf equipment company, meet the local newspaper editor for lunch, and review plans for modifying our own Web-based marketing service … whew.  Fun, huh?  When my boys were small and they’d ask me what I did at work all day and I tried to give them an honest answer, they didn’t believe me.  They’d look at Kim and ask if I was telling the truth.  She assured them that for once I wasn’t making stuff up.

At the end of February I will walk away from my life in advertising.  I will move on to other things.  To be good at what I’ve spent most of my adult life doing you need an insatiable curiosity.   I’ve put off “some day” for long enough.  It’s finally time for my time.

Here is the future: Picture a remote Irish cottage in the Flint Hills sixty feet above the west fork of Little Fall River.  There is a low dam with a veil of white water just below the house.  The water is clear because it is fed by springs pouring out of the limestone rocks.  Two dogs, an Irish terrier and a miniature schnauzer, awake me at 5 a.m. each morning wanting my company and, to be perfectly honest, they want out to patrol.  I make strong, black coffee and sip it while frying vegetarian bacon and planning my day.  Following breakfast I will spend a couple of hours in my garden of organic vegetables nestled on a gentle slope in the side yard.  The tall grass of the prairie is a few yards to my east and south and the dogs flush a covey of seven quail, with the terrier leaping five feet in the air in chase.  Once satisfied that the weeds in the garden are sufficiently at bay, I will hike up our lane to continue work on a dry stone wall bordering the morning side of our drive.  I will be following principles perfected in Europe over many centuries.  Lifting and positioning the stones for the waist-high wall is hard on my back and regrettably I’m forced to stop for a simple lunch after only a couple of hours.  The chilled crappie from our pond on a bed of fresh greens, with tomato, onion, and assorted herbs from our garden is a welcome respite.   The crisp pinot is a nice accompaniment.  Taking my fishing rod from the corner of the garage I beckon to the dogs.  While eating I’d noticed the cows feeding at the farm below.  The man who built the cottage was an accomplished outdoorsman.  He taught me years ago that when the cattle are feeding the wildlife is feeding.  Then is when you want to fish.   So we head to the pond about a hundred yards through the woods.  Using an ultralight rod and four-pound test on an open spinner reel I cast a Rapala® onto the still water.  As I crank the balsa lure it runs about eighteen inches beneath the surface.  When I’m halfway through the retrieve I see a spotted bass race from the depths to take my bait.  It hits the fake minnow hard and immediately runs for the cover of the weeds at the edge of the dam.  It’s a beautiful fish of about two pounds and will make a delicious dinner.  I will dispense with further details of my day other than to say it will include editing a movie on my Mac, studying birds or other fauna, hiking with the dogs, improving my cooking skills, and likely gazing through my telescope after dark.

It’s a simple life, I know, and that is the way I like it. To me, there is no place more beautiful or wonderful than the prairie and the hills. I will miss advertising. I will miss collaborating with people of supreme intellect and skill. But I don’t want to overstay my usefulness. I have hired people better than me. It is time for me to move on. It is your turn.  I hope you enjoy the ride.  I certainly did.

"Doctor" J.D. Patton talks with a visitor about healthy Web sites.

Armstrong|Shank’s Webstratics group recently participated in the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s KC Biz Live show at Union Station. It was kind of a micro-trade show, with each exhibiting company limited to a 30-inch round table instead of a full booth. Additionally, because the tabletop displays could not be more than 3 feet tall, a bit of creativity was required to stand out.

Our team decided it was time to play doctor and went with a medical theme. We donned white coats, grabbed some clipboards and got down to business. Our message was that we make Web sites a healthy part of an organization’s marketing plan.

By the end of the show we had met tons of new, interesting people, including several potential clients. And, we had great fun doing it.  Trade shows provide great networking opportunities.  Here are few tips for your next trade show experience:

1. Don’t let rules or setting keep you from getting the most out of the event. We had fun coming up with eye-catching strategies that still met the rules. We wanted to use every inch of space we could, while keeping things simple, yet interesting.  The main element of our space was a three-sided sign which highlighted the name “Webstratics.”  The design and unique name were intriguing enough that a number of attendees could not help but walk up and ask what Webstratics is.  For a bit of added attention-grabbing flair, we  topped things off with a flashing red light!
   

   "Doctor" Harrold-Albright listens to a visitor to the Webstratics booth at KC Biz Live

2. Think beyond the booth. We knew that once attendees were near our table, we would be able to engage them, but why confine ourselves to just that space? With two of us at the booth, we had a third “doctor” walk through the crowd, engaging attendees as well as fellow exhibitors.
3. Take it over the top. So, are we really doctors? Of course not. We don’t even play one on TV. But by embracing the theme, we had people coming up to the table just to figure out why we were dressed like characters out of Grey’s Anatomy. By going a bit “out there” with our concept, we became interesting to people and approachable.
4. Be thoughtful about your handouts. Everyone gives out candy at these types of shows, but we wanted to have a bit more fun.  So we took some tiny bottles of M&Ms and re-labeled them as “WWWs,” the perfect medication for an unhealthy Web strategy.  We also offered attendees a chance to win a free Website Wellness Exam.  By tailoring our handouts and incentives to our service offering, we helped people make a better connection with our brand.  By the end of the show the bartender at the mixer was asking for some Webstratics WWWs.

So, what are some of your trade show tips?  Please comment and share.

I’m a lucky guy. In my career I’ve had dozens of interns, and nearly every one of them has been a joy to coach and an asset to my employers.

Maddie Marney, Armstrong|Shank summer intern from May to August 2009, raised the bar for intern performance and pleasantness. She was fearless when challenged to do a task and voraciously receptive to any learning opportunity. We trust she found her time with us equally rewarding.

We asked Maddie to reflect on her summer with us, and here’s what she had to say.

Mark Chamberlin
Director of Marketing Services and New Marketing Development

By Maddie Marney

Before starting my summer internship here at Armstrong Shank, I had little knowledge of what it really meant to work in advertising. Of course, I have seen the movies and TV shows featuring fake all-powerful ad agencies that snag every nationwide billion dollar budget campaign, but no one tells the real stories behind this business.

Through my years of college classes as an advertising major, we are taught to think out of the box and how to work in an effective team. Though these are great things to learn, they are not the biggest challenges to face in this business. We should rather be taking classes such as, “Stubborn Clients 101″ or “Navigating Through Millions of Files,” which would seem more appropriate for the actual working world.

When asked to sum up my experience here, I dug through my brain for a way to do so that did not consist of just listing the amazing things I have gotten to do. I figured the only way to get my point across was to come up with some guidelines, or commandments if you will, for those interns that may follow me in the future.

1. Advertising is somewhat of a compromise between clients, account executives, and creatives, all who have different visions of what the ending product should be.

2. Always bring a sweater to client meetings; you never know when you are entering an icebox.

3. Good research is the key to any project put in front of you whether it is a print ad, a PR project, or anything else that comes your way. You may learn something you never thought you would know.

4. Always ask questions, whether they seem dumb or not, you might actually learn something valuable.

5. Always bring your lunch, because of the limited food options. The workers at the Sonic down the street have gotten to know me a little too well.

6. Don’t be offended when your projects go through several revisions, because you will be so much prouder of the end product.

7. Embrace the new technology, you may learn how Twitter really works.

8. And finally, be careful when asking someone if they need help, you may soon regret you asked.

Regardless of these words of wisdom, my time here at Armstrong Shank has allowed me to gain some insight into this exciting and fast-paced industry. I feel like I now have the knowledge to talk to future employers with ease, as well as finish off my senior year with gained enthusiasm for entering into the “real world of advertising.”

One of the benefits of the social media age is that reaching out to your audience is easier than ever before. This is beneficial for several reasons: One, you never have to suffer from “out of sight, out of mind” syndrome. Cultivate a strong following through an outlet like Twitter, for example, and you’ll always be fresh in your followers’ minds.

You can also use social media as an invaluable image tool. If your online research indicates that there’s an unfortunate perception of your company, you can use social media as a way to chip away at that perception.

For example, I’m a Kansas City Chiefs fan. Over the last few years, fans like me haven’t had much to cheer about. Before the 2007 season, the front office failed to anticipate the decline of key players on the roster, and the team nosedived to a dismal 4-12 record. It got even worse during the 2008 season when the team’s plan to build for the future by letting younger players learn on the job resulted in an even worse 2-14 record.

Thanks to those spectacular failures, a very vocal segment of Chiefs fans and writers lashed out, deriding everyone from the coaching staff to the front office as morons or worse. In some cases, they went so far as to claim that the front office responsible for acquiring players and building the team was making personnel decisions based on ensuring the organization’s profitability, and not out of a desire to give fans the kind of winning team they could be proud to root for.

I’ve been a diehard Chiefs fan since the 1980s, and this was the most negativity I’d seen toward the team and, more specifically, the people running it.

To the Chiefs’ credit, they’ve made moves to rectify both the on-field and off-the-field issues. To reboot the football operation, Chiefs Chairman of the Board Clark Hunt disposed of a number of front office employees and coaching staff members and aggressively assembled a new staff of the best and brightest.

If the comments I’ve seen on various Chiefs-related forums are any indication, those moves helped engender a little faith in the football side of the organization. They’ve also used the power of social media to combat some of the negative stereotypes that have plagued the organization in recent years.

They’ve introduced a new blog on their Web site, manned by an up-and-coming writer hired to bring new energy and a new perspective. They’ve employed Twitter to give fans a steady stream of updates into the Chiefs’ day-to-day operations. They’ve introduced Chiefs 365, an online message board where fans can stay connected to each other and the team, and a number of other fan-driven features to the site. And look no farther than this gem for proof that they’ve truly embraced the power social media has in dispelling the image of an organization gone stale:

Now THAT is great. It’s funny, it’s current, and it is strikingly different than anything I’ve seen out of the Chiefs in 20 years. And while the truth is that it will still take wins on the football field to truly reignite the fan base, for an organization intent on recreating itself in the eyes of its fans, they’ve already punched in a touchdown or two.

A few minutes with … Susan Armstrong, President and CEO

01:24 p.m. Strolling across the building to Susan’s office, we practice our sales pitch in hopes of getting permission to sit and talk with her for a little bit. Taking a deep breath, we boldly stride in … only to find an empty desk. Empowered by the aura of leadership that courses throughout her office, we make the executive decision that “A Few Minutes without Susan” is less interesting than “A Few Minutes with Susan,” and should probably come back later.

02:30 We swing back by her office, and she’s finally returned. Unfortunately, she is already in a meeting with a vendor who has dropped by to do some work around the office. Drat.

02:45 From deep within our cubicle, we hear Susan’s voice ring out nearby. Investigating, we see that she has escorted the vendor into the kitchen area and should hopefully be wrapping things up. Mental note: be prepared to intercept her on her return trip.

03:00 We’re obviously working too hard. We miss the close of her conversation and she has somehow escaped back to her office, where she is already embroiled in deep conversation with John DeCesaro, one of our account executives. We consider sending a fake emergency text message to John, but decline to do so.

03:30 We begin to question the viability of this terrible, terrible idea. If we could fire ourselves, we would.

03:47 Aha! We’ve finally captured Susan in her office. She agrees to let us sit in, though wonders aloud if anything she does will be all that interesting. We assure her that isn’t a concern for us, because we’re mostly planning on making fun of her.

03:48 She gives us a quick recap of her background: journalist for the Hays Daily News; account executive for local agency Stephan Advertising; then the biggie, the launch of her own company, Armstrong Creative Services, in 1981. In 1992, the company’s name changed to Armstrong|Shank after the addition of Vice President and Creative Director Ed Shank. Now, 27 years later after its official launch, the company is still going strong and Susan is as busy as ever.

03:52 The intercom beeps in with a call — just the sort of thing we were hoping for. We watch intently as she transforms from accommodating boss into high-powered executive.

03:53 Susan is masterful on the phone, handling what is surely a crisis situation with a cool efficiency and calm demeanor. “It was my son,” she says after hanging up. “He wanted to know what’s for dinner.” True leadership on display.

3:54 A discussion of what a typical day is like for her ensues: Her mornings are where she does the majority of her planning, as afternoons are often spent attending to client needs — meetings, returning phone calls, e-mails and more. When not dealing directly with the client, her time revolves around strategic planning work for future projects, or being hunched over an adding machine on important budgets. Oftentimes, dealing with agency-centric concerns is pushed to evenings and weekends. As many business owners can attest to, it’s not easy being the boss. But she assures us that it’s definitely worthwhile.

04:05 The conversation pauses as a raccoon walks by Susan’s window.

04:07 Finally, we decide she’s put up with us long enough. We thank Susan and return to our cubicle, satisfied in the knowledge that we have successfully wasted the only quiet time she has had all day.

Looks like a Paul Simon song out my window. There’s a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow all over the woods behind our building. The black trees are frozen stiffly in place. The sky is a gray felt hat pulled down tight. Our bird feeders are by reservation only. The squirrels are scrunched up tight against the ground ravenously devouring the black oil sunflower seeds scattered about.

It’s a pretty picture-postcard, but I’m fantasizing about spring. I see goldfinch transformed from drab winter brown to brilliant summer yellow. I long for tender green leaves and deep shade sheltering a newborn fawn. And to feel a gentle breeze through my sliding door as I’m soothed by water splashing from the fountain in our reflecting pool.

Bitter winter temperatures and snow on the ground is a hardscrabble existence for the animals. Our furnace at home went out a few days ago, and even though the new one makes the house all toasty, I’m still not warm. The failed furnace gave me insight into the plight of the homeless and of my woodland friends all puffed up against the cold.

During milder winter days we never see birds in these numbers or variety at our back door: chickadee, titmouse, dark-eyed junco, harris sparrow, white-throated sparrow, goldfinch, house finch, cardinal, downy woodpecker, red-breasted woodpecker, and Carolina wren, to name the most common. Squirrels are daily visitors. But the snow blanketing the ground has driven animals we rarely see out into the open; even a rabbit lumbers awkwardly through the snow to our larder. For the most part, even when the day’s offering begins to run low, all animals share without conflict. The exception is that birds of the same species do have their pecking order.

In unison, the birds explode from the ground and race to cover. Either someone walked by the windows on the back of the building, which happens often, or a hawk is about. A blue jay screams raucously. And there it is: the party pooper – either a cooper’s or sharp-shinned hawk. Perched majestically on a hackberry limb about 15 feet above the forest floor, the predator is immobile except for its head rotating purposefully. Closer examination says the interloper is almost certainly a cooper’s. Standing nearly twenty inches, a large cooper’s is about the size of an average crow. Perfectly adapted for flying aggressively through trees, with short, powerful wings and a long tail for balance, they make their living feasting on smaller birds and animals. When they’re about, feeding birds at a feeder is like setting the table. Even the squirrels take cover.

It’s a deep and dark December.