Yes you heard me right. Even advertising.

Now, some of you no doubt subscribe to the view that mass media is a dying breed. Social media and all the new shiny toys like Facebook and Twitter are going to rule the future.

Others believe that advertising will stage a dramatic comeback and destroy these upstarts.

Still others believe that it’s about an all or nothing battle either on the side of digital marketing and campaigns; or in favour of traditional advertising and marketing efforts.

Seriously - why does it have to be quite so cut and dried? Isn’t it really about balance?

Think about it - sometimes you actually need an advertisement. Other times, a great word of mouth campaign will rock it. Still other occasions demand a good ol’ fashioned meet-the-public effort that allows you to look your customers in the eye and say “I’m here. Talk to Me.”

I would however add that as you set out to develop your next campaign - or even when looking at what you have out there already - you need to ask yourself a couple of questions.

These include:

- what am I getting for my dollar?

- are there tangible results or am I paying for something as vague as ‘branding’ and ‘presence’ without a way to tie it back to sales or some other more tangible measurement?

- if I am advertising, is my choice of media being guided by blind faith in an agency and th circulation numbers they offer? would I be better served by perhaps niche slicing my campaign and actually following my customers rather than trying to get them to follow me?

- do I really have to advertise at all? can I transfer some of that expensive campaign spend into more cost effective public relations, digital and search engine campaigns?

The list can go on and on. But you get the picture.

Ask a couple of questions. Look for a little more balance and your marketing campaigns will feel much healthier for it!

So, what campaigns or companies have you seen that seem to have their act all balanced out?

If you’re reading this elsewhere, check out Journeys Through The Line (http://www.arciscommunications.com/blog) for more thoughts and ramblings from Stephen P Francis of Arcis Communications.

The reason this is preying on my mind is that I’m in the midst of getting an idea of the ground.

For the past 18 months, I’ve been fortunate enough to be in the company of people who aren’t afraid to try new things.

To look at a need and then try and fill it. Kind of like the guys who invented the light bulb, automobile, airplanes, great consumer brands like Sony and Apple, Internet leaders like Google and yes, even software giants like SAP and Microsoft.

Granted, I’m not saying that we’re saving the planet here - but we are doing something that we think will matter to some people. People like you and me. Consumers.

So we’ve identified a need. We’re working on filling it. With a little luck - and a whole lot of help - we’ll even launch it for our friends, associates and acquaintances to play with it a little in about a month … give or take a couple of weeks for the gremlins to be worked out of the system.

And yet, we’re surrounded by people who are telling us we should be afraid.

That this isn’t the time to try something new. That there are “oh so many websites and services out there so why bother launching something new.” That we would be better off waiting and watching and continuing to do nothing instead of risking our time, money and hope on something.

This irritates me. It makes me mad. And it should make you even angrier.

If I - or anyone for that matter - believed in such “reasoning” then where would we be? We should just give up on innovation and settle for mediocrity.

I mean - why bother inventing new gizmos, gadgets, machines, software or anything else for that matter?

After all - what if it fails? Why not do nothing instead!

Don’t do nothing. Nothing is important as a means towards something. Do something and Nothing will instead be important as a footnote to your success.

This rings true whether its the development of a new service, product, level of customer satisfaction, innovative and relevant public relations campaign or something as simple as the sharing of an idea.

So why is nothing important - because being aware of the danger of it, you’ll do something. The only thing that you could do that would be worst than trying and failing - is to do nothing.

What challenges have you overcome in your fight to do something rather than nothing?

Vague as that sounds, cast it against the backdrop of your marketing, public relations, branding, advertising or web campaign’s and see what you find.

The reason I ask this is simple (but not easy) - if you don’t know what you want, how can you make sure you get it?

The seed of this line of thinking was a series of recent meetings where ideas were bounced, campaigns planned, metrics set … all without a clear understanding of the end goal. The only thing that happened was that no matter what happened down the line no one was satisfied. No one. Some expected more. Some wanted more focus on particular aspects of their campaign. Others just felt that parts of it should have been run - or not.

On the other hand, when planning was done upfront - the results were easier to accomplish, satisfaction was felt and it was more effective. Tweaking a campaign for greater ROI was also easier when you knew what you were tweaking it for.

So, when planning your campaigns have clear, measurable objectives in mind. Simple enough and yet something that we oftentimes forget to do.

So, what are your objectives and how have you accomplished them cost effectively and with a touch of style?

In Malaysia, the real estate industry is fairly effective in marketing and branding itself. Consider this - we for the most part practice a ‘sell and build‘ concept as opposed to some of our European or US based examples where you commonly build a property and then  sell it.

So local real estate developers consistently convince consumers (and banks) that they’re good for the money - agree to pay us hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars and we’ll build you a house/ building sometime in the future.

This speaks to creating tremendous amounts of both trust and reliability - two aspects of branding and public relations that we’d be well placed to remember in other industries.

The challenges these marketing experts face however is one that should be more familiar - the pressure to differentiate yourself from the competition.

Given the weakening economies of the region; the continuing development of tremendous swaths of land for commercial and residential use; and the on-going credit crunch; businesses in the real estate business must differentiate or fade away. Just like businesses in just about any industry when you stop and consider it.

An example that was quoted during the session included a developer that had taken the simple step of turning the areas behind the houses they built into themed landscapes. Japanese, Balinese and Roman gardens were placed in areas that would normally be nothing more than empty gravel or back lane roads.

A simple change. Not exactly rocket science. But it allowed them to differentiate themselves from the other developments in the area AND charge a premium to potential home owners.

There’s always going to be that group of brands that lead the way. They differentiate at an extreme level and they are rewarded with the price premiums and the most awe.

Then you have the middle of the road offerings that attempt to copy but not to innovate. They will for the most part compete on price and become commodities.

Let’s not even go near the rest of that list as these are brands that come and go on a regular basis. So where are you going to be?

So, here’s a thought - what’s different about you?

What’s different about the brands that you choose to support?

Seen a PR campaign that was different recently?

While doing some research for a design job I’m working on, I came across this inspired example of a company that is doing more with it’s brand than just going through the motions.

So, Lego is a company that many of us find synonymous with the toys of our childhood. Of course the fact that Lego blocks and their enthusiasts span all ages and sizes (as any search on Google will show you!) is another point in it’s favour.

But it IS cool when you see a company take something is so unique to it - in this case their fig people (the little figurines you find among lego blocks) - and it uses it to make a point.

Fig people name cards.

Now THAT’s something you’ll remember. And talk about. And pass around. And maybe even covet.

You can see the original post here along with a sample of the lego/card in question - thanks to Alexander Kjerulf’s Chief Happiness Officer site.

(We’re having some issues loading images right now so bear with the links)

So what’s unique about your brand/ company/ personality that you can extend and enhance to make sure that people and companies remember you/ your brand/ your product and service? What other examples have you seen of a company using it’s own products in new unique ways?

If maintaining a brand - the essence of it, what it stands for, the culture and the quality - are not something that the brand manager gets and is willing to stand for … then why do it? Worse, anything you do try will either be (i) vetoed or (ii) mangled.

If a brand is to be built, maintained and survive/ thrive then you have to have passion both inside it (the people who work for the brand) and outside it (the agencies, consultants, consumers, communities)

Save the effort for brands that care about themselves. Thankfully there are enough companies, individuals and organisations out there that are literally waiting for someone to help them.

Go work with / for them instead - you’re happy, they’re happy and most importantly, the consumer’s who support the brand get some additional value for their money.

They all have one thing in common - the importance of first impressions.

An example.

I recently met a new luxury products retailer in the high-end automotive marque business in Malaysia. They were building a fantastic showroom. In the meantime, they’d spent a considerable amount of money and time on a temporary oasis for their expensive and very exclusive automobiles.

Now, we’re talking about cars that went for millions of ringgit each (that’s about USD1 = RM3.2 for you number types). These cars epitomize the luxury and speed that high end automobiles stand for.

Racing, fine food, the best people and the most amazing lifestyles were hallmarks of the brand. Unfortunately, cleanliness didn’t seem to be one of their preferred traits if the showroom was anything to go by!

So imagine you’re walking into the showroom where these million ringgit cars are parked…on display in all their shine and glory. You’re ready to buy one. And then, you catch a scent on the air. Cigarettes. Stale cigarettes in an ashtray. An ashtray in a display space for millions of ringgit of cars that hadn’t been cleaned.

Seeing that you start to notice other things … like the loose carpeting. The corners of the car that have fingerprints on it. A less than million ringgit shine on that wonderful example of automotive excellence.

What kind of impression is that going to leave you?

Would you still be quite so ready to make that big purchase there - or are you going to look for an alternative?

After all, if they can’t keep the small things going in their showroom, how will they look after your car and you down the line?

Sometimes we forget that the big things - important as they are - don’t quite make or break a deal as much as the small.

The loose tiles. The misspelled proposal. The less than polished shoes.

Businesses - especially smaller ones - need to pay attention to the details. They need to clean that ashtray.

What experiences have you had where the small things made or broke a deal or meeting?

So, what’s your problem?

Ever walked into a room ready to give that company or individual the perfect solution to their communications/ branding/ public relations/ social networking problems?

You have the tools. You’ve got dozens of case studies. You know exactly what they need!

Well, here’s a thought - next time, walk in knowing nothing.

That way, you might actually give them a solution they want and need … rather then what you think they want and need.

Sometimes, it really is better not to know anything except when to ask the question “So, what’s your problem?”

When was the last time you gave someone the chance to tell you what they needed? How did that work for you?

What is passion? And why is it relevant to the marketeer / entrepreneur / employee ?

If you allow Hollywood’s version of it to prevail then your immediate image is the ‘up against the wall smoldering embrace’ version of it. As Wikipedia sees it, passion is ‘feeling very strongly about a subject or person, usually referring to feelings of intense desire and attraction, be very passionate about something.’

But what about the lil’ old man (OK so they’ve got young people too but for the sake of imagery bear with me) huddled over the precision work required in building the finest watches in the world? What about the craftspeople who build luxury items of the highest order like a Ferrari where each piece is a work of art in itself? The writer who does what he/she does for the sake of doing it and nothing else? The musician who writes music for his soul and not with a commercial focus first?

Extend that further and consider the businessman - the entrepreneur who builds an idea simply on the basis of ‘it seemed like a good idea at the time.’

These are true examples of passion as well I believe.

And if you look at the best brands, the greatest leaders and the forward thinking visionaries of any field, you’re bound to find this commonality amongst them - the commonality of passion.

With little more than sweat and dreams, they build brands that are powered by an intense inability to fail.An energy that is awe inspiring.

They’ll try anything at least once - and this opens up new business models, new marketing campaigns, new public relations gambits, new opportunities and new services. Think about it - Amazon.com, Ferrari, Nike, Google, Hotmail, Apple. All companies that were born out of the simple belief that it could be done better. That it should be done better. That it would be done better.

Passion is also one of the few things that separate employees from employers. Winning brands from the me-too pack of followers.

Business owners - dreamers - are typically willing to do what no one else will, to get what no one else can.

Employees on the other hand, work for a paycheck and miss out on that last mile of effort which yields tremendous returns.

Think about it - how many employees have you seen that have crossed that invisible barrier and become empowered through their passion for what they do?

What brands have you seen - personal or commercial - that have been fueled by passion? What are you passionate about?

The arguments for the chicken and for the egg … and vice versa are often well thought out, rational and if you’re lucky hilarious. Thing is, there isn’t really a good answer to it.

Is the same true for the question of what role branding/ public relations (PR) and marketing have in terms of product design?

I think so. A long time advocate of the “PR at the head table” crowd, I can’t tell you how many times the grapple has come as the campaign’s I and the team worked on had to justify the ‘marketing’ and ‘pr’ pointers given by numerous companies for what they thought were great solutions, products or services. Thing is - they weren’t.

Sure they made better widgets. Of course they were incrementally better. Or maybe they came up with many colored widgets. But a widget is a widget is a widget and no matter how many times you spin it. The disconnect happened because the engineers were building what they taught consumers wanted. Consumers were talking to marketing and public relations people. No one was talking to each other.

On the other hand, some companies have everyone sitting at the same table. They talk about products and needs at the same time - and in real time. They stay focused on create products and services that actually answer a need. Remarkable products. Functional products. Marketable products.

Companies today are locked into an ever higher stake battle for the next big thing. The next ‘IT’ product, technology or service. Conversely, a designer/engineer/CEO who can think of function, form and marketing/branding/public relations at the same time is an ever more valuable commodity.

A recent piece by Fast Company on John Maeda -  Digital Thinking at Rhode Island School of Design echoes this point. A world reknowned design school bringing a world class technologist and two different schools of thought together. Imagine that!

Some would say that this is the only way to go - and I’d be one of them!

Design is good for business. More importantly, it makes sense.

Do you have examples of companies and brands that get users, designers, marketeers, public relations and brand people together at the same table? Who are they? What do they make?