Each week that I post these articles I’m careful to include embedded links to the different subjects I talk about, so that while you read the blog posts you can click on the links (highlighted in blue) to learn more about the individual people or companies mentioned. While I have metrics that show how many people open my emails and how long they stay open, I have no idea how many of you actually click on the links.

To get the most out of this post, though, you really need to open the links, at least the first one that says, “click HERE.” Perhaps it’ll seem like a bother and take a little longer than usual but I promise the interactive exercise will be worth the effort.

Fellow art director Steve Saley turned me onto a terrific three-minute film called The Porcelain Unicorn. The film is the brainchild of American director and producer, Keegan Wilcox, the winner of the Tell It Your Way short film contest sponsored by Philips. To watch this wonderful film, click HERE. I’ll see you again in a few minutes. No, don’t worry about me, I’ll wait.

Welcome back. Was the film as good as I promised it would be? Besides being moved by the touching script and great storytelling, did you notice how beautiful the high-definition footage was? While Wilcox is clearly very talented, this filmmaker also had the benefit of great actors, lighting technicians, musicians, editors and prohibitively expensive professional equipment, right?

Not exactly.

The entire film was shot on the new Canon 35mm SLR with HD video, a $1,600 camera that looks exactly like the camera you carry on vacation! You can learn more about the camera by clicking HERE. You can even buy one at Amazon by clicking HERE.

This line of new Canons has been revolutionizing the filmmaking business. A slightly more expensive model, the 5D Mark II, was used to shoot the entire House season finale (and yes, you can read more about that HERE). As they say in the article, “May 17 (the date the finale airs), [is] the date when the grumpy doctor you wish you were and the snazzy camera you wish you owned will join forces on American network television.”

To quote late-night television, “But wait, there’s more…” This same Canon 5D was used to film behind the scenes at this year’s Emmy intro with Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Betty White, Jon Hamm and Kate Gosselin (to watch the sneak peak, click HERE). Not only that, but the segment was edited on a MacBook Pro with Final Cut Pro, the same type of laptop that this blog post was written on.

Moore’s law, first published in Electronics Magazine on April 19, 1965, states that technology (specifically semi-conductors installed on silicone chips) will double in power and halve in price every two years. Think about what this means for the future of creativity. Equipment expense, once a barrier for all but the most well heeled creative types, will no longer be a consideration. Soon, the next Bergmans and wannabe Hitchcocks will be able to create their visions with equipment that they might already have at home. And because Internet sites such as YouTube and Vimeo eliminate distribution expense, the process of creating and sharing high-quality content will become entirely democratic and open to all.

That means that the future started yesterday and the brave new world is already here. Creative expression is available to everyone at a very low cost and that everyone includes you. The time has come for you to write your great American novel, shoot your movie, produce your album or express yourself anyway you like. When you do, send me a link and I’ll post it right here for everyone to enjoy.

Pedro and I before the race

At 5:45 last Sunday morning, I walked into the lobby of the Hilton Hotel on 53^rd Street in Manhattan and joined the crowd getting ready to run the New York Marathon. I was amazed by the energy of groups of nylon-clad athletes waiting to head to Staten Island and the race’s start.

There were runners from every country – big groups of Argentines, Brazilians, Dutch, and Australians (the Kenyans and Ethiopians had already been transported to the elite runner starting line, of course) and lots and lots of New Yorkers. Everyone was chatting excitedly, checking their running watches for the umpteenth time, re-knotting their shoes and scarfing down piles of New York bagels.

Finally I got onto the bus and sat next to my friend Pedro Madeira, the general manager of Joma USA, a Spanish soccer and running outfitter. As the bus whooshed into the midtown tunnel and out of Manhattan, Pedro told me about his time as general manager of Nike in Brazil and the business they built around the Brazilian national soccer team.

Under the watchful eye of Trevor Edwards, VP of Global Brands for Nike, Pedro found ways to capitalize on the Brazilian soccer team’s influence around the world. Before the team was scheduled to play in a great world city (Paris, Seoul, etc.), Pedro’s group would coordinate with the Nike representative in that city to make sure there was plenty of special edition apparel on hand for sale. Fans excited about the world champion Brazilian team coming to their town would snatch up shoes, clothes, and accessories; anything that had both the Nike logo and the Brazilian team’s colors.

The best part was that none of this merchandise was really new. It required no new R&D and very little new design work. Instead, what the fans cared about was the uniqueness of the products and how they related to their favorite team’s image. So a shirt with a different sleeve design, or a soccer boot with a different color pattern was all it took to produce additional sales.

What was required, though, was logistics – making sure the newly colored merchandise was created, distributed and shipped in time to catch the fans’ fever. But, as Pedro pointed out, none of this required new offices, stores, people or distribution networks. Instead, it was a matter of the various Nike people around the world coordinating their efforts in order to make the sale.

When Pedro left Nike to join Joma, he took this same ability to find the opportunities hidden in plain sight with him. Even though Joma didn’t have the enormous marketing budgets or sponsorship connections of Nike, there were still opportunities to be mined.

Pedro and his team analyzed Joma’s abilities and uniquenesses and looked for ways to create real breaks. The Spanish brand had been selling competitive quality goods at ±20% less than the bigger brands such as Nike and Adidas. And thanks to tough economic times, the pricing strategy was scoring some successes. So Pedro looked deeper into Joma’s distribution system and found a new opportunity for profits.

Because Joma operated from a single distribution point in Madrid and had developed a very powerful logistics system with FedEx and UPS, the Spanish company was able to ship products around the world within two days. Discovering that fact was when Pedro heard opportunity knocking.

Pedro’s sales force began reaching out to high school team sport managers and coaches around the country to let them know that Joma could outfit their entire teams in only two or three days.

Imagine the competitive advantage! While the big boys needed three weeks to three months to deliver a team’s uniforms, Joma could deliver in just a couple of days, making the coaches’ jobs easier. And because the parents of the players paid for the uniforms, the coaches had a much easier time collecting when the parents were saving 20%.

Most importantly, as with Nike, Joma was able to create this new business channel without adding any new expenses; the entire program worked within the company’s existing infrastructure – it required no new people, plants or processes.

The opportunity was hidden in plain sight; it just took creativity and an open mind to identify and exploit it. Which are the same skills you need to find the hidden profit centers in your business and the hidden pleasure centers in your life. Before you start thinking it’s impossible, think of what Pedro accomplished for his companies without spending a dime. And then, as Nike says, “Just Do It.”

Do you know how to read musical notation? If you do, you know that when you’re reading music you’re actually reading at least two things simultaneously. Written music tells you what note to play and when to play it.

Written language, on the other hand, only tells you one thing – what letter to pronounce. Of course, punctuation helps indicate pacing – pause at a comma, stop at a period, I’m not really sure what to do at a semicolon – but it’s still up to the reader to interpret how the author wanted the piece paced.

For example, read the following sentences aloud and place the emphasis on the underlined word. You’ll see how the pacing, and the meaning, can change based on where you choose to place the emphasis.

I didn’t say you should leave now.

I didn’t say you should leave now.

I didn’t say you should leave now.

I didn’t say you should leave now.

I didn’t say you should leave now.

I didn’t say you should leave now.

I didn’t say you should leave now.

Music notation is not like that. The composer provides the note to play, the time signature to play it in, the exact time each note should be played, the way the note should be attacked and the volume with which the note should be played. That’s why an entire orchestra can play a piece of music simultaneously and get it mostly right on their first reading. Of course the conductor can add flavorings and nuance, as can each player, but the basic structure still provides instructions for every part of the composition.

At the same time, musical notation has a way to allow the musician to add his or her own ideas, or improvisation, to the piece. Here the composer might suggest what the musician should play but also provides for the instrumentalist to create their own music and explore their own musical ideas by playing what they feel, and hopefully, what fits into the structure of what the rest of the ensemble is playing.

Ironically, written language, which doesn’t put nearly the same restraints on interpretation of prose, has no such flexibility. Sure, a rabbi or minister might halt their liturgical reading to allow parishioners to riff on a theme (they call it private mediation) but when was the last time you were reading a novel and the author inserted a few blank pages for you to add your own thoughts? There’s no room for readers to add their own words to a written piece.

That’s why sarcasm and irony seldom works well in print or static online advertising. It’s one thing for the copywriter to add their own inflection to a headline when they present it to a client but it’s quite another to expect a reader to add that same emphasis. Instead, the language of ads must be clear, simple, and to the point. Hopefully this will cause an emotional response without depending on a specific interpretive performance from the reader.

Imagine if Gershwin had e-mailed the lyrics of his famous song to his manager:

“You like potato and I like potato,

You like tomato and I like tomato,

Potato, potato, tomato, tomato,

Let’s call the whole thing off.”

Say what? Call the whole thing off just because we use the same words? Clearly something was lost in the transmission.

Remember Gershwin when you’re writing to be understood and when you’re writing to be influential. Your reader most certainly won’t read your text the way you want them to; instead they’ll bring their own pacing, emphasis and meaning to your words. To build your brand value it’s important that your intention be so clear that your audience will internalize it no matter how they pace their reading.

By writing simply and clearly, the results of their interpretation will be music to your ears.

Between now and 2014, 10 Boomers will turn 50 years old every minute. By 2030, 20% of Americans will be 65+. What’s most remarkable is that most of them will live at least 25 years more, creating the largest and wealthiest generation in the history of the United States.

Despite the current financial situation and the fact that many Boomers have seen their 401(k)s slashed to 201(k)s, Boomers are the wealthiest generation in history and will only get wealthier as they inherit their parents’ generation’s assets. And because Boomers will possess the physical and financial means to enjoy their lives, over the next two years alone, Boomers will spend at least a trillion dollars MORE than all consumers under 45 combined.

Unfortunately, millions will discover that social security will be their only source of income. But millions more will have increased time, resources and interest in enriching their lives. What will they spend their money on? Wellness, travel and making being older cool.

Although 83% of Boomers say that eating healthy is important or very important, only 11% claim that they eat healthy all the time. 61% say they are only successful half of the time. And while 29% say they can’t afford it, most simply say they don’t have the information, availability or the time to make healthy changes to their lifestyles.

If the old saying is correct that “we spend the first half of our lives trading health for wealth and the second half trading wealth for health,” then the opportunity should be clear – Boomers will spend money, and lots of it, to stay healthy and enjoy their lives. Entire new businesses and industries will spring up to service these newly wealthy consumers eager to spend their hard-earned and inherited cash on improved lifestyles. But lots of existing businesses – restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, cruise lines, computer companies, retailers, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, HMOs, cosmetic surgeons, advertising agencies, and others – will reconfigure their businesses to exploit this golden-age mine.

The Who’s Roger Daltrey (who turned 66 in March) was talking ‘bout my generation when he sang, “hope I die before I get old,” and Boomers heard the message. But instead of dying young, 50+ consumers have decided to stay young just as long as they can. How are you going to take advantage of this burgeoning opportunity?

Last week I travelled to Racine, Wisconsin to do a much-anticipated job for SC Johnson. As Dan Fogelberg sang, “The audiences were heavenly but the travelling was hell.” I’ll spare you the long drawn out story of my travel travails but suffice to say I wound up spending a lot more time in airports than I expected.

My Delta flight from Miami was so late I missed my 4:20 PM connection in Atlanta. I was quickly put on the next flight and scheduled to leave for Milwaukee at 6:45. Unfortunately that flight was postponed time after time until Delta canceled it altogether at 9:30.

Luckily I was able get a one-way ticket on an AirTran flight scheduled to leave at 10:20. Up until now I have avoided AirTran, remembering that they strategically changed their name from ValueJet right after they stuffed a plane so deep into the Everglades muck that there was nothing left to pull out. But I did need to get to Wisconsin and they had a flight available. Thanks to more delays, that 10:20 flight didn’t leave until 2:30 in the morning but I was still able to make my meetings with SC Johnson (albeit on two hours sleep).

When my work was over, my hosts where nice enough to arrange a tour of their Frank Lloyd Wright designed campus – an afternoon of joy for an architecture groupie like me. Then a quick flight to Detroit where I eagerly checked the connections board only to find five dreaded red letters next to my flight to Miami – “CNCLD.”

Two Delta flights cancelled in two days! And this one meant an overnight stay at the scenic Detroit Airport Clarion Hotel, albeit with two six-dollar meal vouchers from Delta. Who said flying’s not glamorous anymore?

When I posted my plight on Twitter, @Randy_Gage responded that Delta stands for “Doesn’t Ever Leave The Airport” which pretty much fit my experience.

Randy’s tweet, coupled with last week’s blog post “What’s In A Name?” got me wondering what’s in an acronym? FIAT used to stand for “Fix It Again, Tony” and Saab meant “Swedish Automobiles Always Break” and neither brand is sold in the US anymore. Bud is short for “Beer’s UnDrinkable” and I agree with that. TCBY used to stand for “This Can’t Be Yogurt” until they were sued for copyright infringement by the “This Can’t Be Butter” people and changed their acronym to “The Country’s Best Yogurt.” I can’t tell you if that was true but I doubt it.

Some brands have managed to avoid the fate of their acronyms. Ford used to stand for “Fix Or Repair Daily” but seems to have figured out how to build quality cars. And BMW stood for “Break My Window” in the eighties but changed their electronics and cut down on radio theft.

Getting back to my feelings about Delta, I can’t think of a better acronym using their name but I do like IBACDIHBIFWTA which is short for “It’ll Be A Cold Day In Hell Before I Fly With Them Again.”

Love to hear what you think.

Right now the oil moving inexorably towards our coastline is on everybody’s mind. The media has created the 24-hour news feed, the battle lines have been drawn between BP and the pelicans, and consumers are hanging onto the edges of their seats for the next update.

The consequences of this tragedy, perhaps the largest domestic environmental crises to date, will go on for decades. But what happens when the next great new event pushes the Deepwater Horizon off the front pages? What will be the long-lasting effects to the beachfront tourism industry from Texas to Florida and beyond?

Do you think the issue won’t go away that quickly? When was the last time you were glued to your TV to find out about conditions in Haiti, the Time-Square bomb scare or even health care reform? We Americans have a notoriously short attention span and when the media moves on, we do too.

Of course you know that just because the situation doesn’t make front-page headlines anymore doesn’t mean that everything is better. Far from it. Post earthquake-damaged Haiti is still the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and suffers from every possible ill of poverty, a non-existent infrastructure and aggressively corrupt leadership; it’s just that we’re not so actively involved anymore. Out of sight, out of mind is not just a glib saying; it’s an accurate description of our national attention deficit syndrome.

So maybe the cameras moving on to the next subject will be a good thing for tourism. After all, if pictures of gooey petroleum-soaked seabirds aren’t on our TV screens 24/7, visitors might forget about the oil and rebook their vacations. On the other hand, what happens if oil-fouled beaches are the last things consumers see before the cameras leave and there are no inviting images to change that perception?

As I wrote in my last post, the solution is not to tell people the reasons why they shouldn’t not come but instead to build compelling stories that connect with consumers’ emotions and build desire. I’m still waiting to see those campaigns from the affected destinations. Let’s hope they’re coming soon.

So many gulf coast beach destinations are telling consumers that their beaches AREN’T fouled that I can’t help but wonder how robust their businesses must have been before the oil spill.

As I recall, a prolonged recession, increased competition, reduced consumer confidence and many other reasons had already softened most of the destinations’ business. Why is it then that they feel that by just announcing “We don’t have greasy beaches yet” the consumers will arrive in droves? Since when was telling people the reasons why they shouldn’t not come considered good marketing?

Eat here, our restaurant isn’t dirty.

Drive our car, it’s not unsafe.

Wear our jeans, they don’t make you look fat.

Thanks to Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, even most politicians have learned that defending a negative doesn’t work:

“I am not a crook.”

“I did not have sex with that woman.”

Saying “we don’t have oil” or the positive version – issuing “clean-beach guarantees” – is more of the same – telling people why they shouldn’t not come. Instead, thoughtful messaging for the near future (and for the next several months) is critical, particularly in markets that were hurting before anyone ever heard of the Deepwater Horizon.

The good news is that an opportunity actually exists in this crisis that shouldn’t be missed. Resort areas should seize the opportunity to highlight their strongest selling points and not just make the beaches look inviting. Negative perceptions have already been developed even if there isn’t oil on the coast of Florida, yet many tourists pick their destinations for reasons beyond the beach. And with all eyes on the region, now is the perfect time to show those eyes what they’re missing. At least the positive parts.