Archive for the 'Blog' Category



Talking to those that are worth talking to

Not everyone gets your message, and that’s good, a great community has it’s own language, a way of interacting, it’s quirks.

And it’s those very quirks that make it attractive to those in it; which make it a community, ignore the critics and listen to those who partake.

You have an audience waiting, just talk to them!

September 30th, 2010

Exit through the gift shop

This way please, “oh look we have photos of you, would you like to buy one?”

It’s the last and final gasp to grab some value from you after a tourist adventure or visiting a destination, it’s a way for you to remember.  It’s also when your most likely to grab something that symbolises that event.

The gift shop shouldn’t ever be the last we hear from you!

What about post event? 6 months later? There’s a market there.  Getting permission and having an ongoing conversation with those that visit.  Getting them on board and reminding them of the good times, sharing with their friends, sending them a note at christmas saying hey we could send a photo direct to your relatives.

September 29th, 2010

Being well slept

Can definitely be a competitive advantage.

If your people are more brighter, creative, responsive for the same times when your competition are just waking up it’ll make a world of difference.

So why would you discourage napping? Google doesn’t.

September 27th, 2010

Smart People set rules (and then reallocate resources to those rules)

They define what is important, what isn’t and we divert our resources to where they get maximum impact.

And sometimes circumstances dictate these rules (as per the video below)….

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG6nZY9Bxy0

What it highlights is our capacity to redivert resources to where they’re needed, we just need to set the rules for them to operate within.

September 21st, 2010

Marketing by the numbers… and the numbers only

Spam is a numbers game, spam enough people and someone signs up, people get more savvy, means you need to spam more people.

Spam really is the result of going by the numbers too much – the more we talk to the more we hope that someone converts.

Given the cost of email is so low it works (if you get enough people).

It really is the result though of a series of decisions, made by the numbers and the numbers only.  Please be cautious marketing by the numbers, remember to step outside them, question the assumptions that build the numbers – often there’s a lot there if you dig into it.  Otherwise you end up in a situation…that’s very spammy indeed.

September 20th, 2010

An amazing (ironic) tweet I read during the peak of the recession

Read something along these lines:

“they want to cut marketing first, ironically they don’t value it as they sit there in $200 jeans..”

Sorry I don’t have a credit (as the tweet was in passing) – but I think we’ve all seen these conversations go on over the last 18-24 months.

Do not forget the consumer, get back to people, sales & marketing – drive what drives the business.

September 19th, 2010

So what's been happening?!?

Had a few emails recently asking that exact question, so I thought best to publish one post and get everyone up to speed.

  • Unfortunately I’ve recently been hacked, so some of my websites (bwagy.tv, bwagy.com, thebestideasarefree.com & this blog) have intermittent issues – please excuse interruption to these.  We’re still figuring out how to stop them.
  • I’m still doing The Best Ideas are Free radio segment during RadioWammo on KiwiFM (thanks Glenn!), these are added to a YouTube playlist which you can watch at www.bwagy.tv
  • Young & Shand is growing very well, we are adding team members (yay!) – you can keep up to date with the goings on over at the Young & Shand Blog (and main site).  We also have put together a digital strategy workbook if you’re keen to have a play.
  • My wedding is getting very close (less than two months now) so yay! Very excited, we have close to everything sorted (mostly thanks to Esther who has organised most/all of it). But just forewarning this will mean some downtime on the blog late November/early December.
  • Following that, it also means my next book has had to be pushed back from Q4 this year to early next year.  Please stay tuned, it’s definitely a step up from the last one and we now have a very refined publishing system (so I can publish more frequently).
  • Oh and also we’ve been doing a This Week in Digital Marketing podcast (very cool) check it out over here, please subscribe and add to the conversation.
  • I am going to do more interviews with business people passing through New Zealand – so if you know of anyone (and can help) let me know and I’ll see if we can organise it.  It’s truckloads of fun and you guys of course get the content.

Thanks a lot guys, appreciate everyone for reading,

-Ben

September 19th, 2010

Waiting, stretching that eternal pause

You want to leap in, say something, to fill the silence.  But if you can hang in there a second it can make all the difference.

Talking in front of an audience, going as if to talk, then pausing a couple of seconds draws attention.

Waiting on the response to a touchy question, those few seconds wait pause helps extrapolate an answer.

Responding to a question after a couple of seconds demonstrates a thought out response.

It’s tough but remember that time is often on your side if you know how to use it.

September 16th, 2010

You don't know what you don't know

But you CAN plant the seeds so that what you don’t know grows into something that you do know and helps you get where you want to go.

A blog is one such way, share your ideas & perspectives, see where it takes you.

September 15th, 2010

Second guess that move

It’s far too easy to slate a decision off as completely stupid without know the context in which it is made.

Far too easy.

Second guess that context, what would the context be for you to make the same decision?

And could that be the exact context they’re facing?

September 13th, 2010

Making enemies

It’s not the goal, it’s more of a by-product of achieving a goal.

Kind of like when Toyota was pronounced the #1 car manufacturer in the world, the CEO was quoting as saying it wasn’t the goal but a by-product of their focus on innovation etc.

Think about this when you see someone is seemingly against you – are they really?

September 9th, 2010

Ideas are only valid in a certain time and place

That is, what doesn’t work today may work tomorrow.

I find this all the time, structurally this idea won’t work here today, then six months later it will work.

It’s a good ethos to have, keep it in the back of your mind and you’ll be surprised when the right idea pops up for the right scenario.

September 8th, 2010

Stem Cells the change makers

The interesting thing about Stem Cells is that they can transform into any kind of cell.

That is why they are so desired by scientists, their ability to be universal and change depending on a stimulus.

Entrepreneurs are kind of like this too, throw them into a situation, chances are they’ll make something happen.

They’re both the change makers in any given scenario.

September 7th, 2010

Balance of an eco-system

With any system, you need to look at what inputs/outputs occur.

Specifically looking at carbon inputs/outputs.  I don’t want to delve into the scientific argument but just want to look at this balance.

When looking at reducing carbon emissions, there are a few fingers to point at: mainly farmers & cars (oil).

The second I understand, if the problem is too much carbon in the atmosphere – where did it come from? Underground where it was stored as oil/coal.

The former is only reusing carbon that is already in the atmosphere (or in plants)…

Thus the problem is capturing this carbon and pumping it back underground however that doesn’t solve our problem as we keep pulling more carbon out.

You see the eco-system is out of whack, we are putting more inputs in and expecting less outputs out – it just doesn’t work!

You’d be surprised on how often this happens! Structurally the same problem just a different context.

September 6th, 2010

From levers to tactility

The touchscreen revolution is upon us.

No longer do we have to pull levers (like mouse, keyboards) to interact with media we can be hands on.

It is a massive jump, it’s the same as going from traditional media to social media, it adds an extra tactile layer which is responsive.

This direct feedback increases learning, changes the experience and makes it even more engaging.

This shift is something we all need to think about…

September 6th, 2010

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