IF marketing & advertising

Spotted in Florida on a business trip:

No, I’m still not finished with Linchpin either. And no, it’s not that it’s too difficult or too long, we’re actually that busy. We hoped to have the book read, the blogs written and the conversation wrapped up nicely before Linchpin comes out tomorrow, but that obviously hasn’t happened. But in this economy, I’m happy to be too busy to blog, and I think Seth would be proud of that, too.

Now, on to the book…

In response to Jonathan’s final question, “Can a company be a Linchpin?”, I have to say, yes. Obviously not every company can be one, and most companies aren’t, but I do think it’s possible.

I just finished reading the section on “Artists Who Can’t Draw” and there are some great parts that relate to this. And, interestingly enough, Seth’s blog post today is on the same subject.

In the book, Godin says “Art isn’t only a painting. Art is anything that’s creative, passionate, and personal. Great art resonates with the viewer, not only with the creator.”

I think that’s important for us as a creative agency. I’d love to think that everything we do is art, that we’re creating things that resonate with our clients and ourselves, but also for the audience. That’s the real goal of what we do, right?

He says, “Art is a personal gift that changes the recipient.” And that’s what we’re hoping to do. To change the viewer, to motivate them, to convince them to take action. We just have to show our clients that what we’re creating is art, get them on board with creating something for their customers, not just “putting something out there” or telling people why you are better. We’re creating something for the customer, the guest, the community, the world.

Wouldn’t it be a wonderful job if all we did was create art with our clients? I think that’s how a company can become a linchpin. If we can get people to join us in the belief that we’re creating something special together art, if we can convince them that it’s a gift to their audience (even if it’s being sold), if we can show them who we’re creating it for, and why that matters, I think everyone will be more successful.

Here’s to staying busy, and hopefully finishing Linchpin soon!

Having only read 50 pages of Linchpin so far, all I can say is: “brilliant.” But for the sake of the review, here goes:

Seth doesn’t write abstractly about his ideas. Instead his writing is like a conversion in which he is talking directly to you, but he doesn’t demand anything in return. He piques your curiosity with seemingly simple ideas which could have profound impacts.

The most obvious example is the title. He never made a point to define what a linchpin was, but he uses it throughout the book to make a point. Essentially, a linchpin is an innocuous and fairly ubiquitous item that can be purchased at any hardware store very cheaply. However, it’s critical to a wagon – it holds the wheel to the cart. Then entire wagon could not function without the linchpin.

I have only read a small part of the book thus far, because I actually had to put it down for a while. There are so many ideas I almost felt overwhelmed…like reading a month’s worth of his blog postings in a single sitting.

Through it he quotes Hugh MacLeod; by far my favorite cartoonist in the business card medium. And my favorite section: Will You Still Be Loved? In which he says, “It’s entirely possible that once you choose to become indispensable, you will no longer be loved.” Which really struck a chord with me until he wrote, “But (and I know it’s a big hurt but) either those people will come around, or they never loved you in the first place, did they?”

Now I’m wondering, can a company become a Linchpin, instead of just a person? Can we collectively fill that space and hold everything together for another company? And if we do, how will we know?

My review copy of Linchpin probably came in on Monday, but I didn’t discover it until Wednesday – buried under envelopes and magazines. However, I am convinced that my copy was the second one mailed (see picture).

My copy of Linchpin

Seth Godin is my favorite marketing/business/advertising/industry/ideas writer and, like Clay, I am an avid reader of his blog. Interestingly, I was introduced to his seminal work, Purple Cow, in Holland by a nice Dutch man named Jan (pronounced “yawn”) who had been living in New Zealand and was back in Holland to visit family. This was several years ago on a trip with a girlfriend’s family to visit her stepfather’s family. It didn’t occur to me then, but now I realize just how well-known Seth Godin really is!

Seth’s new book, Linchpin, will be my third book of his. I read Purple Cow a couple of years ago and listened to the audiobook Meatball Sundae (great for road trips) narrated by the author himself. His books have always had a profound impact on my perspectives and I’m truly looking forward to this one!

Stay tuned for posts from us as we read Linchpin. As Clay mentioned, we’ve deviated from the directions so we can post our reactions and ideas from the book as we read it.

Linchpin by Seth Godin.

Our review copies of Linchpin came in on Monday.
Seth Godin is a hero of sorts around our office (as in many, many offices), so we are pretty excited to join in on his latest experiment. For those who don’t know about Godin’s latest book or his plan to distribute review copies before the official release on January 26, it’s pretty amazing. And it definitely worked on a few of us.

But on to the book. In the Word doc letter tucked into the front of my book (weren’t you excited to have a letter from Seth Godin, even if it has no real physical connection to him?), he asks us to “please read it through (twice if you can) before reviewing it.” Well, we’re going to break that rule here. Lucky for us, Linchpin is all about breaking the rules and striking out “without a map” so hopefully Godin won’t be too upset with us.

Instead of writing a full review, we’re going to borrow a page from the old-fashioned book clubs and talk our way through it. I’m starting with this introduction, and then we’ll take turns responding to each other and to the book as we go. Anyone out there is welcome to participate, as well, so we’ll be happy (and honestly a little surprised!) to answer any comments to our posts.

I’ll begin with a small, shameful fact: This is my first Seth Godin book. I’m a faithful reader and forwarder of his blog, and I loyally follow Seth wherever his hyperlinks tell me to go, but I’ve never actually picked up Purple Cow or Tribes.

I have to admit, sitting down with a printed version of Seth’s voice will be hard–already I see names or references in the text that I just want to click. Where can I find more about the education-industrial complex? Who is Anne Jackson? But the internet is so far away…. How did we ever get through school without textual links?

Enough rambling. Let me just say, I’m excited (and a little embarrassed) to dive into my first Godin book. Happy reading.

He’s done it again. First he managed to put down three burritos from Chipotle, now he’s tackled an American favorite – the cheeseburger. Juancho ate two double-meat cheeseburgers from the Cotton Patch here in Georgetown!

The Beginning

Austin marketing agency goes out for a an afternoon team building exercise of bowling & suds. Spring 2009

Yesterday our COO’s coffee exploded onto our Creative Director’s desk!

I just got off the phone with the managing partner for one of our full-service real estate marketing and sales clients.  This call was initiated to discuss the end of the term of our existing contract with this project, and just maybe the possibility of signing a new contract for the remainder of 2009. Currently, we handle their web, interactive, media buys, CRM, print pro, and we lead their on-site sales team.  

These types of clients use all of our services, have large budgets and have to take a very hard look at the results of their spend with us. Traditionally, results for real estate are measured in sales.  By no fault of ours, we have had NO sales in the first 6 months of this contract!  Real Estate is not selling anywhere in the country, so it’s not a surprise most developers are not finding value in firms like ours. I called the managing partner expecting to have this discussion.   

To my surprise the first thing this client said was, “I have no problem with your firm’s monthly retainer or the cost of the onsite sales team.”  He went on to say he didn’t think he could have found any agency that would have worked as hard we have, or a team that cared as much. Specifically, he said our creative is better than any he has seen and is far better than any of his competitors.  And he said his relationship with our director of sales could not be better. 

This client has been in the real estate business for years, and he said he has never seen a company deliver so many qualified leads. He told me the weekly sales meetings prove we are doing everything we can to succeed, that our monthly reports give him visibility into exactly what his money is doing for him, and that if he would have had our firm in place when times were good he would have already sold his project out.  

He finished by saying he would be crazy to consider changing anything, and that as the economy continues to recover he would not want to put this project in the hands of any other team. 

So here is a case of a customer who hired us because they saw value in the number of real estate sales we projected, but has retained us because they now see the value in our entire team. 

It’s hard to brag about a project where we’ve made exactly zero sales, but that just goes to show that it’s not always about the numbers. Sales and marketing are changing, and nowhere is that more apparent than in real estate. 

Sometimes we get so caught up in the end result, we forget about the processes and the connections that it takes to get there. Obviously, success for both teams depends on making sales, but reaching our goals becomes a whole lot easier when both sides trust that the other is doing the best job they possibly can. 

This isn’t bragging about the project, it’s bragging about the people we work with and the people we work for. They are the ones that make our work special.

Jeff Novak, CEO