INSPIRATION. ACCELERATED.

That was the question posed at a recent RSA lecture by Dan Pink, author of numerous articles and books about changing the world of work. As it turns out, the intrinsic nature of human motivation isn’t driven by fear of punishment or external rewards such as money or fame. As cognitive beings, we are driven by incentives that are far more complex. According to Dan, the essence of human motivation can be distilled down to three key principles:

• Autonomy
• Mastery
• Purpose

Okay, sure. But you’re probably asking yourself, what does that mean to me? How does that relate to the world of business? Well, rather than have me try to regurgitate Dan’s lecture, the RSA wisely decided to post his thought-provoking presentation where he discusses these points in detail. Better still, they added a brilliant animation which visually communicates these concepts in a very entertaining manner. So, when you have about 10 minutes, click on the link below to watch this humorous and enlightening video. And, when you’re done, you may just want to think about forwarding to your company President or CEO. It will definitely give them something to think about.

Dan Pink: The surprising truth about what really motivates us

Intercross is pleased to announce the addition of Patrick Bettenburg to the Client Services team. He has more than 15 years of agency experience working with major brands in B2B marketing and interactive.

Patrick has held leadership positions with large and small agencies in the Twin Cities, including Risdall Marketing Group, The Aristos Group and J.T. Mega. His forte is in strategic brand development and managing all aspects of the creative process. He has delivered measurable business results for clients such as Cargill, Land O’Lakes, Hormel, Jennie-O, McKinley Group, SpanLink, Restoration Professionals and Ecolab.

“We’re very excited to have Patrick join our team. Our clients will benefit from his strategic branding experience, his food industry expertise, and his in-depth knowledge of online marketing,” said David Maples, Creative Architect at Intercross Design (A.K.A. President). “His background in video production and web development is perfect for the type of new marketing we’re doing so much of these days.”

Patrick enjoys the pace and challenges associated with delivering effective marketing solutions. He’ll be jumping right into projects for C.H. Robinson, U.S. Bank, 3M, and other Intercross clients. But his first challenge is the commute to Minnetonka from St. Paul! (He’s hoping the Crosstown construction wraps up soon.) “I’m thrilled to be joining such a well respected agency. This team has done an incredible body of work for top companies in Minnesota and across the country,” Bettenburg said.

In his free time Patrick likes biking, exploring new restaurants, and reading the latest books and blogs on marketing. His recent favorites are Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin and The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott.

Feel free to contact or reconnect with Patrick at Intercross at 952-935-2080 or Patrick@Intercross.com. Send your greetings or post a comment here too!

In a perfect world, our agency would provide a quote, execute the project, bill, move on to the next mission, and the world would be at peace.

The problem is, human nature has a way of throwing a wrench into my devious plan to create a better place.

Why can’t agencies accurately bid projects every time? Here are the top five culprits:

1. The subjective world of design. When was the last time three people agreed on anything creative? It’s simply the nature of the beast that different people like different styles. Sometimes the designer hits the mark the first time, other times it takes a few edit rounds to reach a happy place.
2. Rounds of edits. There are few other variables that add to the cost of a project than the number of project edits. Do we assume 3 or 10? Locking this down is difficult, and many cases impossible.
3. New design vs. a template or brand guide. We create a lot of templates for our clients, which helps save time and money. But as soon as we move away from the templates, the price seems to go up significantly.
4. The number of client stakeholders. The more cooks in the kitchen, the more the recipe is likely to change. And the more it changes, the more it costs. For example, when high visibility projects reflect on many departments within an organization, it takes additional efforts to make everyone happy.
5. Expertise in managing the creative process. This is probably the biggest single factor that influences the cost of a project. Both on the client and agency side, experienced folks understand the process and know what to fight for – and when to just make that darn edit.

What are your thoughts? I’d love to find better ways to more accurately bid our projects and bring about world peace.

You know the saying, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure?” That applies to your marketing too. When important or interesting information comes through the mail, it’s appreciated. But if it’s not appealing, then it’s annoying.

People are critical of printed materials these days because of environmental issues and digital alternatives. Why waste money on postage, paper on printing or gas on delivery, when you can just send your communications electronically? But not every product or service can reach its target audience online. And direct mail can be very effective, if done right. Here’s a stat from the USPS:

“Every dollar spent on direct marketing will return almost $12 in sales—that’s a higher return on investment than other, non-direct mass communication methods. By using the right strategies and resources, you can create an effective campaign that has a minimal impact on the environment.”

In addition to reaching the right people, with the right message, make sure your mailings cut through the clutter with a beautiful design. Good creative stands out and delivers specific goals (not just revenue but brand awareness and recall as well). Your marketing materials can be “treasured”, both aesthetically and environmentally. These green ideas are from the USPS:

• Regularly update and improve your mailing lists to limit duplication and waste.
• Use research to effectively target your customers. Folks who live in apartment buildings, for example, probably don’t need lawn services.
• Allow customers to opt out of your mailings to ensure you’re not sending them unwanted mail.
• When sourcing paper, make sure that it comes from forests managed with practices certified by independent, third-party organizations such as the Sustainable Forest Initiative (www.sfiprogram.org) and the Forest Stewardship Council (www.fsc.org).
• Design your mailings to be recyclable, too, by printing with water-based inks, on uncoated paper stocks, and sending windowless envelopes.
• Encourage your customers to recycle the mailing once they’ve read it, and tell them how you made your mailing as green as possible.

Here are some other good resources for creating effective and efficient direct mail:

http://www.usps.com/green/greenmail.htm

http://www.dmaresponsibility.org/Environment/

The other day a friend mentioned Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin, and I realized that I had started the book but never finished it. So, I pulled it out to take another peak. Here are some nuggets, in case you haven’t read it:

• Satisfying “wants” is the core of our economy.
• Big Ideas can be simple. For example, choosing to organize an entire enterprise around service is a Big Idea.
• Big Ideas have to be in sync with the times.
• The Big Idea must be embedded into the experience of the product itself (like meatballs).
• Get your products, marketing messages and internal systems in sync.
• Align your organization from the bottom up to sync with New Marketing.
• Transform your organization into one that thrives on the new rules (interest people, don’t interrupt them).
• New Marketing isn’t about technology, any more than fast food (and the drive-thru window) is about cars.
• Marketing has always been about discovering what people want and need, and telling them a story about how they can get it.

So, can a company that manufacturers meatballs continue to grow, or even stay in business? Seth implies no, unless they reorganize around their customers’ current tastes. So here are a few ideas:

• Make low fat, vegetarian meatballs (people want healthy food these days).
• Package them with other ingredients, to make a complete meal (people want convenience these days).
• Sell them online, providing recipes, health tips, and other interesting tidbits about meatballs (forming a community of meatball fanatics).
• Create a personality and have some fun online; meatball games, giveaways, videos… maybe a dance line of meatballs dives into a pool of marinara sauce and becomes synchronized swimmers, whetting the appetite of Italians and other foodies alike.

Well, the opportunities are endless for synching up a traditional product with New Marketing. It’s just a matter of evolving your meatballs with the times, and then connecting with people in the world they live, with information they want.

Speaking of meat, a great example of a company already doing this is Gold’n Plump Chicken. Check out their website and Facebook page some time: http://www.goldnplump.com

It seems like everyone is spending their networking time on social media sites these days. Chatting with each other on Facebook, sharing industry news on Twitter and posting their work status on LinkedIn. Is anyone actually out there, in the real world, talking to each other face-to-face?

Many companies are rethinking their participation in trade shows as a marketing vehicle, especially in this economy.  And once people hear that attendance is down or the square footage of a show has been reduced, they start to question the value.  But recent stats tell us that shows are still an effective part of a marketing mix.

It’s not the quantity of attendees, but the quality. Yes, companies may be sending less people, but they’re still sending their decision-makers. Budgets are opening up and these folks carry the purse strings. Do you want to miss out on a chance to have a face-to-face conversation with them?

Your customers and prospects are attending shows not only to network, but to see, learn, compare, and buy.  Plan ahead to have the upper hand on your competition.

• Find the right shows and determine the right investment level.
• Update your booth to reflect specific audience insight and benefits.
• Make sure the staff is equipped with attention-getting, relevant handouts.
• Most importantly, make sure the staff is informed, confident and passionate about the products they’re selling.

Blogging, video conferencing and tweeting can’t beat the value of a face-to-face meeting. It’s the only way to ask questions, stay focused, build relationships and ultimately make a sale.

Trade shows are a cost-effective way for companies to market their products and get that elusive face-to-face meeting. But don’t forget to use your social media channels to promote your exhibit, and to invite your “virtual friends” to stop by to say “hi” – in person!

TOP TEN BEST PRACTICES FOR PROJECT EFFICIENCY

1. A clearly articulated creative brief from the client (signed-off on by all client stakeholders).

2. A well defined set of brand standards.

3. Whenever possible, a measurement for success.

4. A professional project manager on the agency side, and an empowered decision maker
on the client side.

5. A well-qualified creative team.

6. Fast, accurate edits from the agency.

7. Quick turn-around on edit rounds from the client.

8. Clearly defined agency responsibilities.

9. Delegation of the entire process to the agency, from content to design.

10. A partnership oriented development process!

As the first post on our long-overdue blog, I’m going to touch on something near and dear to everyone; navigating our way out of this recession.

What can each of us do to grow our economy?

From my perspective, we’ve all got our work cut out for us, not just because times are tough, but more importantly, because the only way to grow our economy is to put people back to work.

And the only way to create more jobs (at least in the private sector) is for us folks that do have jobs to continually innovate, which I believe is the spark that every company needs to grow, now more than ever. Growing your organization is not only good for your bottom line… there are literally millions of unemployed people that are depending on you and I to move this rock uphill.

So what can you do to innovate within your organization?

1. Focus. Consumers and businesses are more cautious than ever, so you need to focus your product or service on solving their needs with marketing that resonates and motivates.
2. Experiment. Test new products and marketing approaches against your control, and measure the results. Evaluate every marketing platform, from social networking and video to direct mail.
3. Deliver. Nothing builds repeat business like over-delivering on your brand promise. And in my opinion, every company must deliver exceptional value in an economy where every dollar counts.

We’ve all got work to-do, thank God for that…

David Maples
Communications Architect
(a.k.a. President)