Just heard about Steve Jobs passing away today. I’m feeling sad and flooded with memories. Mainly memories of how his company’s products have positively affected my life.

1. 1987/1988. California. Whilst in an entrepreneur program at University. Peat Marwick sponsor our team and provide us with an Apple II computer to use for the next few semesters – no more computer lab for us! Woo hooo freedom and creativity for our project.

2. 1988 – 2007. California – Australia.  Due to career decisions switch between Apple and PC’s….. Always happier when I have an Apple computer….but employers dictate the technology. So lots of back and forth.

3. 2007. Sydney. iPhone 2. Need I say more …..except for the fact that I kept trying to ‘touch screen’ my work PC – and boy was that frustrating.

3. 2008. Sydney. I start my own consultancy and purchase the company’s first asset – a MacBook Pro. Bye bye corporate enforced PC’s I’ve re-embraced a Mac thanks to E….and I’m not turning back.

4. 2009. E and I form E&L Consultancy, upgrade the Apple Airport, purchase another MacBook and upgrade our iPhones. The functionality, design, tech support and customer service provided by Apple surpass any other technology experiences ever.

5.  2011. Having some dramas with my MacBook Pro….Apple replace it with a brand new one (after a few visits to the Mac hospital) I LOVE APPLE!

6.  2011. Visiting LA pick up a new MacBook Pro for my sweetie. He converts his entire music studio over to the Mac and can’t believe how amazing Ableton on his Mac is. He is so happy and blown away – creativity increases by 200%!

7.  5th/6th October 2011. We lose Steve Jobs today, but we have gained so much thanks to him – our world now has iPhones, iPads, Mac’s, Pixar and soooo much more.

THANK YOU STEVE JOBS – we honour your life, your products and your creativity for due to you we are more creative too!

I love Media – the industry, the concept, the execution, the fact that it’s often the touchpoint between brands and consumers, the trading of it, the strategy and art of it……it’s been a large part of my career and I’m proud to be a part of it.  However, as an industry it’s sorely in need of some change.

At the Mumbrella360 conference in Sydney this week I participated as a work-stream leader on the Mumbrella360 Manifesto for Change.  The desire for a Manifesto has come about because, as my colleague Chris Stephenson has stated, “Australia’s media planning and buying industry – like others around the world – is witnessing fundamental shifts in the media landscape…We need a shared manifesto. A manifesto for change. One that we all agree on. One that we can signal to everyone who works in our industry. One that we can signal to clients. One that frames the conversations between agencies and media owners. A manifesto that galvanises our industry, defends our margins and energises our people.”

The topics and issues we collectively addressed “live” this week in the Manifesto session are listed below.  What is exciting is we got somewhere!  Now we need your input – if it’s relevant to what you do.

Please check out our draft Manifesto and let us know what you think!

As many of you know my favourite saying is “Change is the only constant”.  Laura

Manifesto topics/issues list:

People – attracting, nurturing and retaining media talent

Remuneration – from transparency to media commissions, getting paid what we’re worth

Tech, Systems and Data – making the most of automation, trading desks and information, as well as debating who owns the data?

Agency and Media Owner relationships – is it time for a new contract? Expectations, behaviours and access in the 21st Century

Agency and Client relationships – education, expectations and getting paid for pitches

Planning in a post-broadcast world – moving the planning paradigm on for an on-demand world?

Social Media – the new gold rush or 21st Century Snake Oil, the future or a temporary distraction? And who should even plan it?

I’m sitting in the waiting room at the Doctor’s office and realise that I’m not reading magazines anymore because I’m on my iPhone. Whilst on my iPhone I’m writing notes, answering emails-work related, Googling things I need to find, mapping directions to my next meeting, rechecking my inbox, reading tweets – work related again, BUT…. I’m not reading magazines, seeing the advertisements, or catching up on pop-culture whilst waiting.

I’m also not agitated or annoyed with the fact that I’ve been here waiting for over a half-hour though I was on-time for my appointment (now that I’ve typed that I’m a bit concerned about the time delay). Additionally, I’m writing this article, which wouldn’t have occurred otherwise in this time and space.

I do miss the advertisements (really) and the magazines but don’t want to stop what I’m doing.  Im busy and my iPhone is assisting me to get things accomplished and has in fact inspired me to write this article.

In today’s media consumption competition my iPhone wins.  But what about everyone else?

This is who else is here and what they are doing:

•            Man 65+ reading paperback he brought with him

•            Lady 50+ reading the Virgin Blue magazine from the selection available

•            Lady late 30s rummaging in her bags and now staring out window

•            Man 35ish filling in the obligatory forms

•            Lady late 20s reading Cosmo with a New Idea magazine in the ready position

Me and my iPhone aren’t the norm!  There isn’t another iPhone in site, nor another device for that matter.  People are reading magazines, filling out forms, sniffling and sneezing, but not online!

The waiting room isn’t filled with iPads (good idea though), it has my beloved magazine, there for one and all to peruse….where the adverts get to live on and on for many to view, skip, leave the page open to, or ignore.  But I must say the waiting is palatable for some more then others as the magazines are a bit old.  Oh, it’s my turn…..gotta go and thanks to my iPhone I didn’t feel like I was waiting!

Hello,

At the beginning of April, E&L Consultancy celebrated its first anniversary. During our first year we’ve completed a surprising variety of projects for clients big and small.

• We’ve created new brands and refreshed old ones
• We’ve strategically helped the traditional go digital
• We’ve brought the school of business into the twenty first century
• We’ve connected third world entrepreneurs with much needed funding
• We’ve helped launch revolutionary new products

Entering our second year we’d like to contribute to your success as we build on ours by continuing to deliver world class marketing & creative without the big agency overheads. We hope you’ll keep our services in mind should you or a colleague need digital strategy, marketing or creative services.

What exactly does that mean?

It means we can help businesses of all sizes effectively reach their customers and find greater success through:

• Engaging brand creation – positioning, logo development, brochures, sales presentations and more
• Social marketing strategy – identifying where you should participate, developing your tone of voice, creating your assets, managing the conversation
• Digital business and media strategy – redefining and/or reaching your audience cost effectively
• Digital assets – website design and usability, facebook pages, advertising campaigns etc.

Our size allows us to be nimble, our experience & partner relationships ensure we deliver great quality, and our passion for what we do means you’ll get a bespoke solution that’s in step with this ever changing digital world.

We look forward to discussing your upcoming requirements.

Call, email or tweet us for a chat.

Happy Birthday to us today!

A year ago we officially started up our agency aptly choosing April Fools Day. Not because we thought it was a joke, nor because we are are joke playing hoaxers. Rather because it felt fun, light and memorable.

The little we knew about what The Fool stands for in mystical, symbolic and tarot definitions appealed to us for our new venture: beginning – starting something new, being spontaneous – feeling uninhibited, having faith – believing, embracing folly – pursuing a dream.

These definitions also felt appropriate for our industry and the work we do for our clients. The areas we specialise in are evolving constantly. To be successful we believe that being able to swiftly change direction, take leaps of faith, believe in our ideas, have a bit of fun and to always be open to something new is essential. We also, of course, believe it is imperative to be business minded, relevant, appropriate, authentic, effective and results focused.

Having completed our first year we can proudly say we have ticked every box. We have had the good fortune of working locally and internationally on 32 projects for 14 clients. Today, as we enter our 2nd year, we look forward to doubling our luck, minimising our challenges, staying on top of our game and having lots of wonderful clients, partners, and collaborators to keep us on our toes as we all, like The Fool, leap into the unknown.

The Fool

In medieval courts, the court jester or Fool was someone who was not expected to follow the same rules as others. He could observe and then poke fun. This makes the Fool unpredictable and full of surprises. He reminds us of the unlimited potential and spontaneity inherent in every moment. There is a sense with this card that anything goes nothing is certain or regular. The Fool adds the new and unfamiliar to a situation.

The Fool also represents the complete faith that life is good and worthy of trust. Some might call the Fool too innocent, but his innocence sustains him and brings him joy. In readings, the Fool can signal a new beginning or change of direction – one that will guide you onto a path of adventure, wonder and personal growth. He also reminds you to keep your faith and trust your natural responses. If you are facing a decision or moment of doubt, the Fool tells you to believe in yourself and follow your heart no matter how crazy or foolish your impulses may seem.

CONNECTION.   Be it professional, personal, removed, intimate, literal or figurative, is ever present.

To Marketers it is the ultimate success – for their brand/product/service to connect with its target audience.

For Technology it is generally the purpose – a connection of some kind occurs.

With People it is a variable, some may state they don’t need to connect… don’t believe them – Tom Hanks and ‘Wilson’ the volleyball proved this wrong

Connection is necessary.  The connections occurring now between People, Marketers and Technology are overflowing and inspire me daily.

Case in point – here I sit in E&L’s wireless office, writing this article directly into our WordPress site via my MacBook Pro. Upon finishing my edits, I will instant message E via Skype as he is offsite today.  E will log-in, add in an interesting visual that ties this article to an image and then publish it live to the E&L site.  Once live, we will Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook it’s debut so that our lovely E&L audience (that is you ) can at some point read this.  Even more exciting is that some of you may even connect to a point or two in this.  Let’s tick the boxes – People connect (you)-Yep, Marketers connect (us to you)-Yep, Technology connect (couldn’t do this without it)-Yep!

The saying “we are all connected” often hovers in my mind.  I find it can be a compass for one’s actions or intentions and that, I believe, is a good thing.

The possibilities are endless and the creativity at E&L is overflowing – come and connect with us!

Trend–noun  1.the general course or prevailing tendency; drift

Norm–noun 1.a standard, model, or pattern

If we start from the premise that “time is relative”, we as marketers still cannot ignore the current speed at which a Trend these days may become a Norm.  For those that are risk takers or fast drivers it may be a bit easier to fathom, but the current reality is that the time it is taking for a Trend to become a Norm is quicker then the Road Runner chasing an ACME box.

Experienced marketers toolbox & tactics initially contained items like: push marketing, tv, print, outdoor, radio, direct marketing, sponsorships, promotional items etc… these were the Norm for years.  Then the internet appeared and significant Trends over the past decade included: websites, banner ads, viral emails, text/sms messages, online discussion groups, instant messaging, online marketing…now all Norms!

Today’s current Trends: social networking, blogging, SAS, twittering/tweets, SEO, web 2.0, green marketing, WOM(via digital), user generated content(UGC)…. are on their way to becoming Norms in a fraction of a decade.  However, what hasn’t changed is the customer-centric approach at the heart of most marketing philosophy and the brand importance central to most advertising activities.

So the question to ask yourself is, where do your marketing activities sit?  Are they keeping your brand current?  Are they ensuring that your brand is viewed as a Norm by today’s standards?

When you peek at these current Trends or wannabe Norms you will notice that they all have foundation in Norm’s with the advantage of technology and fancy nomenclature often allowing them to enter as Trends first.  So rather then adorning rose-coloured glasses I suggest you use the Norm filter (knowledge and know how) when determining what these Trends mean to your brand and how best to apply them.  If you don’t, your brand won’t be a Trend or a Norm it will be Done.

Done-adjective 4.completed; finished; through

Oh how happy we’ll be…

what seems to be missing in many of the marketing and advertising related articles of late is the “Me”. The GFC, rather then standing for Global Financial Crisis appears to be the acronym – Good For Complaining.  Some of the latest headlines in trade press include “…Festival entries down”, “…Cannes doesn’t matter”, “…GM stifled ‘passion and creativity’ in its marketing ranks…”

Isn’t the main driver of the GFC the ownership that many are shirking, the finger pointing to ‘them’.  I think we could all put a little more of our own unique ‘Me’ into what we do and not less.  Imagine developing an idea, pitching it to your boss/board/stakeholders/partner/team and actually believing in what you and your team came up with.  Believing it to the point that you feel passionate about the idea, your gut says it will work, you can’t imagine it not being implemented and you are willing to stand by your idea – no matter what. You might actually be willing to put your money where your mouth is.  You my friend would be waking up and trading the ‘shirk’ for the ‘achieve’, the ‘avoid’ for the ‘meet’.

Whilst for some this is new territory and for others it is a familiar friend they have been avoiding, embracing the ‘Me’ as marketers truly allows us to redefine the GFC and turning a Crisis/Complaint into a Celebration is

Good

For

Camaraderie, Community, Collective, Companies, Connection, Cents….

Once again I am motivated through social media interaction to write about this.  In last week’s article 15 Gigabytes of Fame Part 1, I stated that “business/brands” are following the early adopters (being you and I) regarding marketing ideas and tactics in the digital space.  The lines are quite blurry between digital and non-digital as one is completely tied to the other now and Marketers and/or their Agencies whom are not thinking across all lines are continuing to lose.

Case in point, this morning via the “LinkedIn” update I received I was informed of a great story regarding the popular new TV series Mad Men. The TV show characters have become tweeters – created by the Fans – not the Show!  http://bit.ly/gMnuT It turns out another clever agency person was the fan who created at least one of the characters and I would gather this as been good for business – (shameless plug No. 3 – as I am hoping this article will be for E&L).

However, the point here is whom is in the drivers seat?  What are Marketers/Brands going to do to regain the seat they created? Many of these digital spaces require personal, not corporate, communication (thanks HA) – so whom is going to represent brands?

If you are pondering these questions, feel free to talk to us at E&L about the answers

So as I mull over someone else’s Social Media/Online Community money-making tips via my tweet this morning, I start to think about what is underlying the rapid uptake in web 2.0+ tactics we are experiencing right now.

One can’t turn around and not read about Twitter tactics, Facebook flaws, My Space musicians or LinkedIn liaison’s – and this is all now covered in mainstream press.

You and I (and most people we know) are the early adopters, business/brands are following and we are finally experiencing the shift to pull vs. push marketing, with many brands trying to figure out what to do in this digital space and how – which E&L would be happy to figure out for them (shameless plug no. 2).

However, it is the explosion of expression and sharing that I am intrigued by, the need to communicate one’s opinion as broadly as possible and the lack of censorship many have in doing so – which is clearly facilitated by Web 2.0+ tools. Why? I ponder….Is it to belong? Is it to find like-minded others across the world and connect with them? Is it to provoke? Is it to be recognised?

Or, is it the modern realisation of Andy Warhol’s quote “In the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes” (most often paraphrased as “…15 minutes of fame”)!