Check Out ChangeThis

Stumbled across ChangeThis while Googling something I wanted to share with a co-worker.

ChangeThis is a "way station" for authors and publishers looking to share the main themes of their business books. They condense their main themes down to an easily digestible PDF - almost like you're getting the Powerpoint, lecture version of the book.

And, no, it's not just some unknown writers on here. I was surprised to find works from the likes of Seth Godin, John Kotter and David Maister.

So, if you're short on time, you're sharing some ideas with co-workers, or want to sample a book before you run out and by the full text, check out ChangeThis. Nice resource.

Be On the Lookout for an Epidemic

I was trolling my Google Reader feed this morning when I came across a year-end wrap-up of books at John Moore's Brand Autopsy blog.

One of his Top 10 Must Reads is a book by Lucas Conley, "Obsessive Branding Disorder".

And, after reading John's breakdown of the book, I fear we're about to experience a wave of OBD sweep through our industry.

Conley's tough on the concept of branding; too tough, I think. But the salient take away, in my mind, is that branding can be corrupted, turned into a cure-all, a religion of sorts.

If a product is defective or deficient, some people can start to believe that it can be fixed by branding. And that never works, not in the long term.

My fear stems from the rapid changes going through the TV industry right now. Everyone is so concerned with cutting costs, and making it through some tough quarters ahead, that we can very easily lose sight of the product.

TV is a capital intensive business; it's why new players don't just pop into the game. When capital dries up, however, what can you really afford to live without? And how much can your brand make up for, or afford to give up? These questions need to be kept front of mind as we make tough choices about our businesses.

Also, we need to be prepared as the brand managers for our respective organizations to deal with the unrealistic expectations (both our own, and of other managers) of what branding can do. Audiences are smarter than we might give them credit for. They can tell when a product is compromised.

We have to be ready to maintain our products' health - but that means that we have to fight for the product as much as we fight for the promotion. One cannot thrive without the other. They are inseparable. If not one else in our organizations remembers that, we brand managers must.

Dizzying Days at the Peacock

TV Week has a good wrap-up of the big moves at NBC over the past two weeks, with a nice cross-section of the industry reaction. You can find it here.

Taste Tests with a Twist

Burger King is rolling out a new campaign with a new spin on an old idea.

They took a Whopper v. Big Mac taste test to parts of the world that wouldn't be familiar with either product. The idea being, "See what people think when no one has told them what to think".



I like Burger King's advertising. I think it's inventive, edgy and definitely compelling. The "Whopper Freakout" ads were gutsy. The "I Am Man" song, that made it clear who their target audience had become, hit all the right notes. The "Whopper and Whopper Jr." ads add a level of storyline to the product. And, yes, even the resurrected, creepy King has reached some level of status; it's now a pretty popular Halloween costume.

Of course, when you try to be different, there's no telling how people will react. Here's an article today from the Wall Street Journal on how the spots are already courting controversy.

Anchors Away!

The New York Times reports today on an increasingly popular cost-cutting measure in local TV news: Dropping the anchor.

Say what you will... We all know that the Ted Baxter caricature is more true than we're allowed to admit. But for decades, a good portion of promotion was devoted to building the brand on the strength of your anchor. What's bad for the anchors, therefore, is ultimately bad for the product.

Get set for a new set of promotions strategies to emerge.