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RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESSpage 8

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features:8 Random Acts Of Kindness?

departments:6 publisher’s letter

7 contributors: who’s who in the industry

14 foresight: Hitting The Bullseye With Promotional Products

16 sales secrets: WSGAT™

18 case study: Fast-growing B2B expands social media exposure

20 incentives: Can Government Promote Health & Wellness Incentives?

22 exhibit: The Untapped Potential of your Trade Show Network

24 branding: The Situation Placement Game

26 marketing: When Success Is Merely Failure In Disguise

28 travel: Getting Brilliant Results with Sports Tourism

30 reflection: Measurement & Feedback Pathways & Pitfalls

32 innovative thinking: Innovation Requires Responsibility, Too

33 ad index

34 staying sharp: Procrastination

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Vol. 8, No. 4 2011

4 Brilliant Results • April 2011

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publisher’s letter

I thINk SIr Winston Churchill said it best. I believe those who

practice random acts of kindness will always prevail. Brands that also feel

this way will certainly make a difference and gain mindshare and from that

mindshare comes true brand allegiance. With everyone and their uncle

trying to get noticed online and be ‘liked’ or add a ‘friend’, those brands that

actually give or do without receiving or expecting anything will win. People

are time starved and dialed in and those that make a difference will shine it

is that simple and yet BrILLIANt.

Brilliant Publishing LLC9034 Joyce Lane

Hummelstown, PA 17036Ph: 717.571.9233Fax: 717.566.5431

PUBLISHER / ADVERTISINGMaureen Williams

[email protected]

717-608-5869

EDITORIALEditor in ChiefMaryAnne Morrill

Senior EditorMichelle Donofry

Style EditorCharity Plata

Asst. EditorMolly Anika

CONTRIBUTING WRITERSBob Circosta, Jim Clemmer, Michael Merrick Crooks,

Renier Evers, Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D. Drew Hawkins, Arnold Light, CTC, Martin Lindstrom, Barry Siskind,

Dr. Peter Tarlow, Steve Woodburn

PRODUCTION / DESIGNArt DirectorJeremy Tingle

Brilliant Results is published monthly by Brilliant Publishing LLC,

9034 Joyce Lane Hummelstown PA 17036 (717) 608-5869; Fax#

(717) 566-5431. Postage paid at Michigan City, IN and additional

offices. POSTMASTER please send address changes to Brilliant

Results, 9034 Joyce Lane, Hummelstown PA 17036. Volume 8.

Number 04. Brilliant Results subscription rates: one-year $120;

Canadian $160 USD; one-year foreign $225 USD. All subscriptions

are non-refundable. Copyright © 2011 Brilliant Publishing LLC. All

rights reserved. The publisher reserves the right to accept or reject

any advertising or editorial material. Advertisers, and/or their agents,

assume the responsibility for any claims against the publisher based

on the advertisement. Editorial contributors assume responsibility for

their published works and assume responsibility for any claims against

the publisher based on published work. No part of this publication can

be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means,

including information storage and retrieval systems, without written

permission from the publisher. All items submitted to Brilliant Results

become the sole property of Brilliant Publishing LLC. Editorial content

does not reflect the views of the publisher. The imprints, logos,

trademarks or trade names (Collectively the “Marks”) displayed on

the products featured in Brilliant Results are for illustrative purposes

only and are not available for sale. The marks do not represent the

implied or actual endorsement by the owners of the Marks of the

product on which they appear. All of the Marks are the property of

the respective owners and is not the property of either the advertisers

using the Marks or Brilliant Results.

brilliantresults™

Maureen [email protected] 717-608-5869

Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/Bresults

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” -Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965); British politician

6 Brilliant Results • April 2011 www.bri l l iantpubl ishing.com

contributors

a Bob Circosta, “The Billion Dollar Man”, takes lessons learned from achieving individual product sales in excess of $1 billion to help companies and sales professionals develop effective marketing and promotions techniques to produce sales results. Bob played a key role in the creation of the home shopping industry, and speaks to corporations, small businesses and entrepreneurs on how to sell more effectively. For more information, visit www.BobCircosta.com .

b Jim Clemmer’s practical leadership and personal growth books, workshops and team retreats have helped hundreds of thousands of people worldwide improve personal, team, and organizational performance. Jim’s web site, JimClemmer.com, has over 300 articles and dozens of video clips covering a broad range of topics. His latest book is Growing @ the Speed of Change.

c Michael Merrick Crooks, owns Crooks Advertising Alliance, an advertising and promotional marketing firm that specializes in creative problem-solving. The 27-year advertising veteran is internationally recognized as a thought-leader for his ability to strip away the status quo to reveal the obscure obvious. To learn more about his creative, writing and speaking services contact Crooks through www.CrooksAdvertising.com.

d Reinier Evers, Founder of trendwatching.com, is an accomplished trend watcher, entrepreneur, and presenter. He has been quoted as a trend expert in numerous business publications, including BusinessWeek, Time Magazine, New York Times, and Advertising Age. On a corporate level, Reinier has worked with leading brands like Young & Rubicam, KLM Airlines, SonyEricsson, Schiphol Airport, Electronic Arts, InterContinental Hotels Group, INSEAD, MasterFoods, and Unilever.

e Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D. For more than two decades Fortune 500 companies, educational institutions, and government organizations have relied on Dr. Barton Goldsmith to help them develop creative and balanced leadership. His columns appear in over 500 publications, including the Chicago Sun-Times, the Detroit News, and the Los Angeles Business Journal. He may be contacted through his web site www.BartonGoldsmith.com.

f Drew Hawkins is a Marketing Coordinator for Hinda Incentives. He recently commented that he could relate to the research on the explosive growth of social media in small businesses because he was witnessing it first hand. You can find him through his personal blog (Brain Wads) or @drewhawkins on Twitter. You can connect with Hinda as well through their blog, YouTube channel or Twitter.

g Arnold Light, CTC, CEO & President of Arnold Light Consults Inc., has 35 years of marketing experience specializing in incentive and loyalty marketing helping multinational corporations develop and implement B2B and B2C results oriented performance improvement programs. For additional information visit www.lightconsults.com.

h Martin Lindstrom, a respected branding and marketing expert, was selected as one of the world’s 100 most influential people by TIME magazine. The founder, CEO and Chairman of the LINDSTROM company (Sydney), Martin speaks to a global audience of approximately one million people every year. He has been featured in numerous publications, and on major broadcast and financial television network programs, his latest book; Buyology – Truth and Lies About Why We Buy – a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling book has been translated into 37 languages and is on almost all major best-seller lists worldwide.

i Barry Siskind is an internationally recognized trade and consumer show expert. He is the author of six bestselling business books including Powerful Exhibit Marketing. Read his newest book, Selling from the Inside Out for an in depth guide to a successful sales career. Visit Barry at www.siskindtraining.com.

j Dr. Peter Tarlow is the founder and president of Tourism & More Inc. Dr. Tarlow has appeared on National televised programs such as Dateline: NBC and on CNBC. Dr. Tarlow organizes conferences around the world dealing with visitor safety and security issues and with the economic importance of tourism and tourism marketing. For additional information visit www.tourismandmore.com

k Steve Woodburn works with clients to develop creative and measurable solutions that solve their marketing needs using promotional products, uniform programs, online company stores, point-of-sale initiatives along with rewards and recognition. He builds long-term relationships and becomes a trusted advisor and consultant his clients can turn to for all their brand extension needs. You can reach him at Staples Promotional Products: [email protected]

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RANDOM ACTS

With r.A.k. featuring prominently in our recent 11 Crucial Consumer

Trends for 2011, here is a full, in-depth briefing explaining why practicing

R.A.K. will be a winning strategy in 2011. First, our definition:

rANDOM ACtS OF kINDNESS For consumers

long used to (and annoyed by) distant, inflexible

and self-serporations, any acts of kindness by

brands will be gratefully received. For brands,

increasingly open communications both with and

between consumers (especially online), means

that it's never been easier to surprise and delight

audiences with r.A.k.: whether sending gifts,

responding to publicly expressed moods or just

showing that they care*.

Why kind, human brands Will thrive in a connected economy


RANDOM ACTS

By: ReNIeR eveRS

TReNDWATCHING.COM

OFKINDNESS

*Just to be absolutely clear: r.A.k. are not about

rewarding customers for tweeting/liking your product, and

not about giving away lots of free samples (that would be

Free Love), but about selected, random acts of kindness

(hence the name)

noW is the ideal moment to engage in some r.a.k:

1. HUMAN TOUCH | Consumers increasingly wanting

to see the human side of brands (or if indeed a brand has

a human side at all ;-), making r.A.k. more welcome than

ever.

2. PUTTING IT OUT THERE | Audiences publicly

disclosing more and more personal information on Facebook,

twitter and other social networks, about their lives, moods

and whereabouts, both current and intended, enabling r.A.k.

to be more relevant.

3. PASS IT ON | More consumers than ever are

now sharing their experiences with their friends and wider

audiences on social networks, meaning r.A.k. can spread

far beyond the original recipients.

let's look at these three drivers behind r.a.k. in more detail:

1. The Human Touchr.A.k. appeal to the vast (and ever-growing) number

of consumers who make up Generation G (that’s G for

Generosity not Greed). Disgusted with big, arrogant, sloppy

and out of touch institutions, fed-up consumers around the

world increasingly expect businesses to be socially, ethically

and environmentally responsible:

• 71% of people “make it a point to buy brands from companies whose values are similar to my own.” (Source: Young & rubicam, August 2010.)

• In 2006, ‘strong financial performance’ was the third most important factor for US consumers in determining corporate reputation. By 2010, financial returns had fallen to the bottom of Edelman’s rankings, while ‘transparent and honest practices’ and ‘company I can trust’ were the two most important. (Source: Edelman trust Barometer, 2010.)

• 87% of UK consumers expect companies to consider societal interests equal to business interests, while 78% of Indian, 77% of Chinese and 80% of Brazilian consumers prefer brands that support good causes. (Source:

Edelman, November 2010.)

April 2011 • Brilliant Results 9www.bri l l iantpubl ishing.com

the link with r.A.k.? Members of GENErAtION G are

also left cold by old-school business priorities and formalities.

With sharing, creating, discussing and collaborating for many

becoming a way of life (both on and offline), people want and

expect interactions to be genuine and enjoyable. And yes,

that includes interactions with brands. Meaning r.A.k. reach

out to those consumers craving ‘human’

brands who show not generosity, but

acts of compassion, humanity, or even

just some personality.

2. Putting It Out ThereMore people are now publicly and

knowingly disclosing more personal

information than ever before: about

their daily lives, their moods or their

whereabouts* (whether on Facebook,

twitter, Foursquare, GetGlue or any

other number of social apps). Some

numbers:

• Japan and Germany were the only countries out of 22 surveyed where a majority of online users did not use social networking. (Source: Pew, December 2010.)

• Twitter boasts 200 million accounts, and 95 million daily tweets. (Source: twitter.com, February 2011.)

• The Netherlands is the country with the deepest Twitter reach, with 22.3% of online adults using the service. Next up were Brazil (21.8%) Venezuela (21.1%) and Japan (20%). (Source: Comscore; December 2010.)

• The popular Chinese instant messaging platform QQ has over 600 million active users. (Source: QQ, March 2011.)

• Foursquare saw 380 million check-ins in 2010, up 3,400% on 2009 (Source: foursquare.com, January 2011.)

• Just 33% of Internet users say they worry about how much information is available about them online, down from 40% in December 2006. (Source: Pew, May 2010.)

All this personal information increasingly enables brands to

actually know what’s happening in consumers’ lives (both good

and bad!). In fact, it’s never been easier for brands to listen

and react to potential customers’ needs or desires in innovative

or even personalized ways. As much of this happens in real-

time, brands can increasingly engage with consumers right

at their moment of need, making r.A.k. more relevant, and

therefore better received. Case in point: Uk based cosmetic

retailer Biotherm Beauty offering free products to selected

people who happened to be tweeting about being tired.

*remember: r.A.k. are just a fun and light-hearted

demonstration of how brands can access some of this publicly

available information to brighten consumers' days. By no

means would we suggest that the implications for individuals,

society and businesses of this increasing disclosure of personal

information are limited to a few fun marketing campaigns. So,

for context-sake:

• Changing notions of social status, where status (especially online) can be increasingly derived from publicly displaying and sharing knowledge, skills, influence and popularity

rather than pure wealth and power.

• Consumers disclosing their intentions or whereabouts, either to each other or to companies in return for better offers and/ or service.

• Companies being expected to be more open with customers as those customers themselves are very open with everyone else, too. And those same companies being able to react to (or even preemptively defuse) complaints.

• Using crowd-sourcing techniques to create or improve products and services.

• And of course, public disclosure has its dangers: from the practical (remember Please rob Me, a site that (temporarily and glibly) drew attention to the risks of over-sharing on twitter and Foursquare?), to businesses and governments (literally) abusing the endless flows of individual data now being disclosed. Indeed, how

consumers, brands and governments wrestle with new privacy norms is one of online world's key issues. But that's for a future briefing.

3. Pass It OnNow, let’s not forget that brands have always been able

to offer r.A.k., whether informally or, for large brands, via

heavily publicized ad campaigns. But a R.A.K. strategy can

now be cost-efficiently applied by all brands, because the

'PUttING It OUt thErE' effect also guarantees that many

r.A.k. recipients will share their experiences with an ever-

wider audience.

After all, rather than having to call, text or even see people

personally (oh the hassle!), social networks’ streams allow

users to easily broadcast information to a wide range of people

without interrupting or intruding. Just one more stat:

• The 500 million active Facebook users share over 30 billion pieces of content per month. the average user has 130 friends. (Source: Facebook, February 2011.)

the explosion in both the volume and reach of connections

creates huge opportunities for brands that create interesting,

meaningful, funny, uplifting moments that people love to

share. Which means that r.A.k. can now touch thousands,

if not tens of thousands of people, rather than just the

original recipient.

All this personal information increasingly

enables brands to actually know

what’s happening in consumers’ lives (both

good and bad!).


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r.a.k. 101When done well, r.A.k. will bring unexpected glee to

consumers and truly enhance a brand’s reputation. Done badly,

r.A.k. will leave audiences unmoved (at best), or quite possibly

annoyed or even freaked out. A few tips on how to get it right:

Be genuine. r.A.k. should demonstrate a brand’s attitude,

not be a (temporarily) welcome exception to it. Any cold-

hearted, stuck-in-the-past brand who thinks it can fake it will be

unmasked in today's transparent marketplace. And the backlash

won’t be random.

Be personal, but not too personal. Audiences will like r.A.k.

that are aimed at their individual circumstances or needs, but

equally don’t want to feel like a brand has been stalking them.

however, brands should make sure they ensure that their r.A.k.

is appropriate. A light-hearted gesture at the right time will be

appreciated, intruding into personal issues certainly won't be.

Be compassionate, not crass. r.A.k. from 'human' brands

are welcomed because they are just that, acts of kindness,

rather than purely self-serving corporate marketing stunts.

Make it shareable. Give someone a reason to share their

r.A.k. with their friends and family (even better if they have

something to share, whether it be an extra ticket, or an online

video).

Be generous. Yes, Generation G appreciate any brand

generosity, but better to be really generous to a few people,

rather than kind-of-nice to lots of people.

have meaning and purpose. Encourage consumers to

engage in their own r.A.k. And then (publicly) reward them for

it – leaving them with a great status story.

Get real. Want to really surprise people? then deliver a

r.A.k. right to them, in their daily lives, surrounded by family,

friends, or colleagues. While people will share r.A.k. online,

offline acts will always have a big impact, too.

Don’t intrude, or be pushy, or sell. this isn’t about you or your

brand; it’s about the recipient.

Don’t make r.A.k. too frequent. Customers shouldn’t feel

upset if they don’t get a r.A.k.

examples:As always, a quick round-up of some of the best recent

R.A.K. Featuring Twitter-inspired gifts, offline surprises, and

brands helping other people to be kind:

random tWeets of kindness

• The UK based division of Biotherm, the skincare brand owned by L’Oreal, have been reaching out to tired twitter users and offering them free product samples of their Skin.Ergetic anti-fatigue range from their @BiothermBeauty account.

• In October 2010, flower delivery service Interflora launched a social media campaign in the Uk designed to brighten up the lives of Twitter users by sending them flowers. Interflora monitored twitter looking for users that needed cheering up. Once found, the users were contacted and sent a bouquet of flowers as a surprise.

• In November 2010, Dutch airline KLM ran an experimental campaign called how happiness Spreads, where it employed a "Surprise team" to give passengers tailored, unexpected gifts at the airport. Combining with location-based game Foursquare, as soon as someone checked-in at a kLM Foursquare location within its network of airports the Surprise Team went online to find more background information about the person, decided upon a suitable gift and gave it them before they flew. For instance, one traveler tweeted he would miss a PSV Eindhoven football game while he was in New York. the Surprise team, accordingly, gave him a Lonely Planet guidebook of NYC with all the football bars highlighted in blue.

• In June 2010, US cracker brand Wheat thins (owned by kraft Foods/Nabisco) launched their 'the Crunch is Calling" campaign, featuring a Wheat thins van tracking down and surprising tweeters who had indicated their attachment to the crackers. Each selected tweeter was filmed being unwittingly greeted by a whole pallet of the product. the videos were a success, with the campaign’s Youtube channel receiving nearly 1,500,000 views.

• Proctor & Gamble-owned Secret deodorant has applied r.A.k. as part of their marketing strategy to 'Blow People Away'. When someone wrote on Secret's Facebook wall that she couldn't buy Secret in Spain, P&G weren't able to just send her products from the US because of customs regulations. however, an agency executive took some to Italy on an unrelated trip and then mailed them to her from there. (tip of the hat to AdAge.)

offline acts of kindness

But don’t for a second think that r.A.k. is an online-only trend.

here are some brands that are bringing their r.A.k. directly to

delighted customers (who will share their good fortune online

anyway):

• In December 2010, Spain based airline Spanair collaborated with creative agency Shackleton Group to surprise passengers on one of its late Christmas Eve flights. As the passengers waited to pick up their luggage at the carousel, the airline sent out personalized presents to everyone who was onboard as a way of celebrating the holiday.

• In December 2010, Finnish travel company tjäreborg, a subsidiary of the thomas Cook Group, picked a family at random and flew them from the freezing Finnish winter to the beaches of Phuket, thailand with three-hours notice. Videos of the family’s vacation were shown on tV and online around Christmas.


• Washington based eco-conscious restaurant chain Sweetgreen employs a street team to perform ‘random Acts of Sweetness’ for its customers. Previous acts include covering people’s bike seats when it rains, or leaving gift certificates for drivers who've received parking tickets.

• In December 2010, Diageo owned Ciroc Vodka launched a campaign in New York in association with rapper Sean Combs and NYC DOt. the Safe rides Program saw Ciroc staff teams distribute pre-paid gift cards to consumers that could be redeemed for taxi rides until the end of the month - working like mobile credit, the cards could be used in taxis until the USD 25 credit had run out.

• Launched in Canada in March 2011 under the tagline "an act of kindness, big or small, can bring a little joy to someone’s day", the random Acts of Chocolate campaign from US confectionary behemoth Mars aims to grow a community of kindness ambassadors in the country. the campaign challenges Canadians to commit to 50,000 acts of kindness, with each act measured by a kindness Meter that will serve as the kindness pulse of the nation. Participants are encouraged to share their stories of kindness with others and nominate local community organizations for a chance to win one of three CAD 10,000 donations.

• As part of their Brighter Mornings campaign, the Canadian division of orange juice brand tropicana, brought a 36-foot wide helium balloon ‘sun’ to Inuvik, an Arctic town 200km north of the Arctic Circle whose 3,500 residents face 31 days of darkness in winter.

• Botany town Centre, a New Zealand based shopping mall, launched Freebruary in February 2011. Shoppers who were 'snapped' by photographers as they were purchasing something, could keep the product for free.

• In February 2011, Dutch beer brand Heineken produced a film entitled 'One Million hugs' to celebrate reaching one million ‘likes’ on Facebook. The film featured a group of Dutch female models visiting bars in Amsterdam and hugging male lager drinkers. the clip ended with the line "thanks a million".

• And of course, there’s Oprah. As someone who pioneered r.A.k., Oprah understands better than most the power of this trend. Despite previously announcing the end of her Big Give show, in September 2010, on the first day of the final season of the Oprah Winfrey Show, the host announced that she would take the 300 members of her studio audience on a trip to Australia in December 2010. then again, in November 2010, the show's audience was given keys to the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle.

share the love

Sometimes brands should simply help facilitate individuals

who want to send r.A.k. other individuals' way:• In February 2011, Spanish travel agency Atrapalo helped

Lucas Jatobá, a Brazilian creative who spent three years living in Barcelona, thank the city for his great time there. Attaching theater tickets to balloons, he released them over the city hoping that they would find their way to random people. the video has now been watched over 350,000 times.

• Launched in August 2010, Vitamin drink Emergen-C's "Share the Good" campaign is a Facebook app that encourages users to surprise their Facebook friends who need a pick-me-up. Using the app, users "tag" a friend who's having a bad day, and Emergen-C will mail that person a free sample packet.

• how Good Grows is a site from Yahoo! that allows users to post their good deeds online. Status messages can then be shared across Facebook, twitter and Yahoo! for friends and family to see.

• In September 2010, Kleenex launched their "Softness worth sharing" campaign. Participants could send a free packet of tissues, send friends a virtual kleenex on Facebook, or design and print a custom label to stick on a box of tissues. One million packages were sent during the promotion.

What Will your r.a.k. be?

this is one of

those consumer

trends that doesn’t

demand a wholesale

strategic shift, or

long and expensive

discussion, but simply the

right attitude. For 'human' brands,

the ever increasing volume of publicly

accessible information and the ability for

consumers to share their experiences far and

wide, create an environment in which a serious

(and sincere) r.A.k. strategy may mean a brand

is no longer being seen as inflexible and unwieldy,

but as more compassionate and charismatic instead.

And that is something, which is, of course, priceless

and actually enjoyable for customers and employees.

So learn from the above theory and the brands who

are already applying it, and then turn rANDOM ACtS

OF kINDNESS into an effective, permanent part of

your strategy!


FOresiGhtBy: STePHeN WOODBURN

Hitting the Bulls-Eye

IMAGINE YOUrSELF AN expert marksman

with a gun, bow and arrow or maybe even darts. If you close

your eyes and imagine you’re on the range, what do you see?

Do you envision there being bullet holes all over the target or

would it be more preferable if they were all clumped within the

small area of the bulls-eye?


Hitting the Bulls-Eye

For most of us, hitting the bulls-eye over and over again

will give us a much better score than will scattering lead all

across the target. the same can be said for advertising; the

more targeted your message is and the more that message

relates to the audience you’re targeting, the more successful

it will be. Meaning it will generate revenue or whatever other

form of currency your brand is after.

So what does targeted advertising look like? Spending

millions for a :30 or :60 second ad on the Super Bowl probably

wouldn’t come under the definition of targeted advertising

nor would radio or newspaper advertising. While these may

be good forums to reach the masses and can be effective,

they aren’t going to do much for you brand if you have a

much-defined niche of customers.

I admit up-front, I am biased when it comes to promotional

products and their ability to target with precision a group of

prospects or customers. A study by the Advertising Specialty

Institute (ASI), an information and services provider in

the promotional marketing world, shows that promotional

products have a low cost-per-impression (CPI) compared

with other media, have the ability to influence the recipient

and are kept and used. they are the only form of media that

has the potential to touch all your senses.

Here are five specific ways you can use promotional

products to target a specific group of customers, prospects,

donors, voters, etc.:

• Direct Mail: Have you ever heard the words, “lumpy mail?” think for a moment about your typical day’s mail: bills, letters, postcards and perhaps a magazine or two. What do you open first? The bills? Not likely. What if there was an envelope addressed to you and it wasn’t flat, but three-dimensional or lumpy. Chances are you would open it first to see what’s inside and that’s the point of lumpy mail. tying a promotional product to an offer or request is more likely to be noticed an acted upon than just sending a letter by itself. Target a specific group with lumpy mail and you’ll be amazed at the results.

• Trade shows: Walking a trade show floor can get tiring and after a while all the booths look the same. Oh, but up ahead you see a crowd gathered and when you arrive you find they are handing out a unique promotional product related to their product or service. Are you more likely to spend a few minutes talking with this company in return for a useful product? Studies show most people are and if you are exhibiting at a trade show then your target audience is most likely there.

• Sales Calls: I’m always amazed by how willing people are to help if you are friendly and offer a small gift in appreciation. Inexpensive pens, letter openers and sticky note pads are a great way to start a conversation with a receptionist or administrative assistant. I’ve been able to garner lots of information on companies and people I am looking to meet by simply asking questions and at the end offering a small imprinted gift as a way of saying thanks.

• Follow-Up: You’ve made a pitch or proposal to a group of people who could mean a big sale or donation for your organization. Target these people afterwards with a hand written thank you and a small, tastefully imprinted promotional product. A hand written note in itself is a rarity these days and including a useful product that is creative and useful won’t hurt your cause.

• Employee Appreciation: I work with a health care group that every year during National hospital Week gives each and every employee (3,800 of them) a promotional product as a thank you for their hard work. these are typically lifestyle gifts with the health care group’s logo subtly imprinted and the response is amazing. No, this won’t keep dissatisfied employees from complaining or quitting, but it will show their employer cares.

Now if you want to really target your prospects you, send

them a fold-up cloth target with magnetic darts they can

hang in their office. Hopefully they won’t put a photo of your

face on the target and throw darts at it!

With Promotional Products


WSGAT™

sAles seCretsBy: BOB CIRCOSTA

FOCUS ON SELLING a product’s benefits, not its features. Use

the word “you”, not “I” in sales presentations. And perhaps most important:

Understand that every sale is made based on emotion, not just facts.

We’ve covered these topics and quite a few others the past few months, and

you might be wondering, “how do I pull all these ideas together?” It can be like

trying to master a golf swing, where every part of the swing can be dissected

to the point of distraction. So instead of trying to remember five, six, or seven

methods, let’s stick to one.

The only thing you need to remember are these five letters: WSGATtM.

this is the foundation of our method for sales training at Bob Circosta

Communications. These five letters stand for: “What’s So Good About That?”

And it has been the key to my selling over $1 billion worth of merchandise in

my home shopping career.

If you can understand this system and live it, I can tell you that you will make

an emotional connection to the customer every time, and make more sales.

And you’ll probably have more fun and a more rewarding experience doing it,

because you will be plugging into how you are helping people, not just moving

products to get a paycheck.

the program was developed and sharpened during my years at home

Shopping Network, when we brought a long list of celebrities on the air to sell

products. WSGAt grew out of the idea that they needed to focus on how a

product would help the audience – not on themselves and their star power.

So, to start, think about this: What makes my product, idea or skills so

special? Then, use the methods of the WSGAT system to figure out how to

plug into a customer’s emotions.

here’s how it works: take a product or service, and start by listing its

features down the left side of a whiteboard or piece of paper. A feature is

something about the product that won’t change – it’s something that’s real and

can be proven.

For our example, we’ll take a product that isn’t a piece of merchandise, but

skills related to a person. In our example, we will use Bob Smith, a residential

Realtor who specializes in helping buyers and sellers around the town of

Crystal river, Florida.

So we start by creating a column listing the features that are part of Bob’s

services:

• Licensed Realtor • Sells 20-25 homes a year

• Lives in Crystal River • 13 years of Realtor experience

• Involved in his local church

“What’s So Good About That?”


then, let’s use the WSGAt formula to transform these

features into benefits that can help a customer. Think about

how each feature ties to how good a job Bob can do for his

customers, and the connection comes from there:

• Licensed Realtor: Bob’s deals follow all rules and regulations, reducing customer worries.

• Sells 20-25 homes a year. This success means Bob finds ways to make deals that work for everyone involved.

• Lives in Crystal River: This offers convenience for buyers looking for local property, and for sellers, he is close by for showings.

• 13 years of Realtor experience: Bob has seen a lot of different situations, and this experience will help if unforeseen things happen.

• Involved in his local church: Bob has an extensive network of friends and acquaintances in the town, which can help in finding buyers.

So let’s see how all this might translate into Bob’s

“elevator pitch” on what he does.

here’s the non-WSGAt approach. “My name

is Bob Smith. I am a licensed realtor who has

been selling in Crystal river for 13 years. I live

in Crystal river, sell 25 to 30 homes a year, and

am very involved in my local church.”

Okay, so these are the facts. If you’re a

potential buyer or seller, would this introduction

hit any hot buttons that would make you want

to consider Bob right away as your realtor? I

doubt it.

So let’s try an approach using WSGAt.

“My name is Bob Smith. As a licensed realtor

trained to handle residential transactions, I can

help buyers or sellers. My experience helps me in

figuring out solutions to all kinds of situations, and my

community connections also help my customers. After

all, real estate isn’t just what you know, it’s who you know,

too.”

Some of the key words in this approach: “trained,” “help,”

and “experience.” With the WSGAt approach, Bob just

explained how he can help you as a buyer or seller, because

he has the know-how and connections to get a deal across

the finish line.

If you take 95 percent of what you are going to say from

the “benefits” side of the chart, you are going to succeed. It

works every time. Of course, you have to be ready to provide

more detail about certain benefits if asked – for instance,

Bob might be asked why “who you know” helps if you are

selling someone’s house.

But regardless of where the conversation goes from

there, you’ve established credibility, you’ve showed you

understand the customer’s needs, and you’ve explained why

your product or service could help someone, and why.

And what if your “benefits” aren’t that spectacular? Don’t

get too worried about that.

If you know your audience, they may not need a lot

of flash. For instance, my guess is that the small-town

buyers in Crystal river would be very impressed with Bob

Smith’s record of solid work performance and community

involvement. It could very well be a good fit with the values

and experience those customers are looking for, so there

may be no need to “jazz it up.”

tied to that, remember something we have said before:

Don’t try to be someone else. It will come back to bite

you, every time. Be yourself, use the WSGAt method,

and you will make an emotional connection that works

every time!


CAse studyBy: DReW HAWKINS

Case study: Fast-growing B2B expands social media exposureWhEN I StArtED at hinda Incentives

in 2009, we had very little digital marketing efforts

outside of a website and a Google AdWords

account. Since that time, we’ve established a

presence on multiple social marketing channels

and positioned ourselves as an industry leader

in the social space. Within that time frame, we

were listed on the Inc. magazine list of the Fastest

Growing Companies, Crain’s Chicago Fast Fifty

roster, and are among the finalists for a B2B

twitterer of the Year award. Our social media

growth has paralleled the rapid financial growth

of our company.

how did we get to where we are today and

what are the results?

setting our oWn table

One of the overused phrases in social media

marketing is “joining the conversation.” hinda

is an established player in the incentive and

recognition industry. Our first research objective

was to pinpoint where our audience was hanging

out and what was being said about incentives.

to our disappointment, there wasn’t much of

a conversation about the subject outside of a

couple of key influencers.

Many see this as a roadblock to social media,

but we saw this as an opportunity. Since we

couldn’t get invited to the conversation table about

recognition programs, we set our own table. After

building online relationships with a couple of those

key influencers through blog commenting and


twitter conversations, we began to build our own community

around the strategies of recognition and loyalty programs —

with hinda’s name attached to the dialogue.

b2b social media…Where to engage?Our social strategy boiled down to one goal: Drive traffic

to our website — our largest source of lead generation.

If organic search and an AdWords account were creating

opportunities, we figured social media would amplify that

traffic. Our theory was, if people liked what we had to

say in our social outlets, they would be more likely to visit

our website.

B2B social media is still uncharted territory, so we

narrowed our “voice options” down to

a few select channels. Our emphasis

went toward content development for

our blog. We generated traffic to our

blog using twitter and LinkedIn, and

some relevant, B2B-friendly networks.

Our blog showcased our expertise

while twitter and LinkedIn helped

“humanize” our company brand. All of

those channels would provide direct

links to our home site, improve Search

Engine Optimization, and enable our

community to learn more about us.

the results

• Our Twitter community of targeted customers has grown steadily (doubling in six months), as has our LinkedIn following. Our conversations on twitter established relationships for significant sales leads while the lead quality generated from the new social website traffic has measurably improved over the last year.

• Our blog traffic took off quickly and we already receive 1,000 visits a month with subscribers from at least 30 different customers. In this short time our social presence has increased that valuable traffic to our website by about 15 percent. this has been powerful — just in the last week we received a few hundred thousand dollars in sales opportunities through this advantage.

• The blog has proven to be a valuable piece of social media real estate. We don’t just regurgitate the same concepts over and over. Our posts tie recognition and loyalty programs to hot topics such as social gaming, consumer electronic trends and pop culture.

• Our blog also served as a crucial PR tool last year when a major competitor pulled out of our industry. Many in our industry turned to what we said in our blog to learn our

official position on the situation, and this was picked up and quoted by other blogs, reinforcing our position as the voice of authority in our industry.

• We still have a long way to go, but already LinkedIn and our blog have become the number 2 and 3 sources of web traffic to our site, after organic search. With this initial success we have earned the right to grow our social marketing efforts. When our website overhaul is completed in a month, we look to boost sales leads further by making our site even more “social.”

lessons learned

Social takes time: Unless you are a well-known brand,

establishing a social presence takes time. We’ve been

working for over a year and a half on

our efforts and are just now reaping the

benefits. There was a time when our

posts and tweets were met by cricket

chirps – as if nobody was listening. the

key for us was to keep digging in and

build an audience. When our competitors

finally got to the social scene, we already

had a big lead.

Quality Over Quantity: We knew

from the beginning that we weren’t

aiming to be a company with two

million followers. While audience

size is important, we seek a small yet

engaged audience. So far that strategy

is paying off. Our audience is actively

referring clients to us, spreading our

brand message and even making a

point to seek us out at trade shows to

meet with us in person. We’ve learned

that there’s more to social media than

just having a ton of followers. It’s converting to meaningful

relationships that counts.

Plan Before You Act: Flying by the seat of your pants

in social media isn’t strategy – it’s luck. Before starting

anything, you should research who you need to target,

where they hang out online and what they talk about. We

wouldn’t be where we are today without steady planning

and analysis.

We’ve had a lot of fun in the digital space and are

constantly learning ways to improve. We never settle. Good

digital marketing, or any marketing, is a constant learning

and re-evaluation process.

I hope this has been interesting for you. What are your

key take-aways from what we’ve done so far? how can we

improve?

Quality Over Quantity:

We knew from the

beginning that we

weren’t aiming to be a

company with two million

followers. While audience

size is important, we

seek a small yet engaged

audience. So far that

strategy is paying off.


WhILE hEALth AND wellness incentive programs

have become a mainstay of corporate America, can these

programs become even more significant instigated by a Federal

government who would offer tax incentives for corporations to

either do more or for those who do nothing to implement new

programs? The savings in health costs could be significant if the

government enacted into legislation, similar tax benefits such as

those that already exist for safety programs.

to further the case for health and wellness legislation harvard

researchers recently did an analysis on costs and savings

associated with workplace disease prevention and wellness

programs. they found that medical costs fall by about $3.27 for

every dollar spent on wellness programs and that absenteeism

costs fall by about $2.73 for every dollar spent. A survey, by

Fidelity Investments and the National Business Group on health,

covered 147 companies with between 1,000 and 100,000

employees. The average employee incentive rose 65% to $430

last year from $260 in 2009. the study also went on to show

that employers are spending more on gift cards, contributions

to health savings accounts and other incentives to persuade

workers to take part in health-improvement programs.

A number of other studies have pointed out that there are four

critical areas that can help employees maintain healthy habits.

they are: physical activity, healthy diet, tobacco avoidance, and

moderate use of alcohol. the Omaha-based Wellness Councils

of America, (WELCOA) has concrete proof that wellness

programs do pay off in lower health care costs, reduced

absenteeism, increased productivity, and higher morale.

to prove their point WELCOA offers these case studies:

•Johnson & Johnson claimed that its “Live for Life” wellness

program saved the company $378 per employee last year by

lowering absenteeism and slowing the rise in the company's

health care expenses.

•General Electric, Cincinnati, found that employees who

exercised on a regular basis were absent from work 45 percent

fewer days than non-participants.

•The Scoular Grain Company, Omaha, opened a fitness

center for its 600 employees, and as a result the company

saved more than $1 million in health care costs, or about $1,500

per employee.

Can The Government Promote Health & Wellness Incentives?

By: ARNOlD lIGHT, CTC

inCentives


• McDonnell Douglas' employee assistance program

has returned more than $4 for every dollar spent helping

employees recover from alcohol-related problems.

•Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana found that over

a five-year period, benefit utilization savings of $519 per

wellness program participant resulted in a benefit-to-cost

ratio of 2.51 to 1.

WELCOA further claims that today

more than two-thirds of American

businesses with 50 or more employees

have some type of health promotion

program covering quitting smoking,

back care, stress management, and

health risk appraisals.

Corporations that spend more on

incentives are realizing bigger gains

in cost savings in the long run. In

a survey conducted by the ErISA

Industry Committee (ErIC) and the National Association of

Manufacturers (NAM) large U.S. employers using wellness

incentives rose from 62 percent in 2007 to 71 percent in

2008. the report includes fresh data on what programs

employers reward, how much they spend and what they

expect in return for their investments. Two important findings

were: Incentives for weight management programs ranged

from $5 to $500, and for smoking cessation programs, from

$5 to $600. Incentives per person, per year ranged from

$100 to $300, with an overall average of $192.

In line with the government’s desire to reduce health

care costs, providing legislation during the pending 112th

Congress on tax reform and health

care issues would give employers

a deduction for providing wellness

programs and granting employees

non-taxable income for earning

rewards. thus health goals would be

achieved and this would reduce costs

for healthcare services and be a win-

win situation for all. So if you are a

provider of incentives to corporations,

here is a great opportunity for you get

involved by contacting your elected officials and making them

aware of all of the benefits of passing the above suggested

legislation. What a great way to promote a healthy American

workforce!

have A rewarding Day…

Corporations that spend more on

incentives are realizing bigger gains in cost

savings in the long run.


The Untapped Potential of your Trade Show Network

By: BARRy SISKIND

WhEN It COMES to networking opportunities,

trade shows provide one of the best venues. here

is the one place where everyone in your industry

congregates for a few short days and is focused on

one thing – business.

Over the last few years we have seen a significant

drop in the number of people who attend shows while

the quality of those who do come has risen. this is

important news for an exhibitor or a visitor who wants

to meet and greet those often inaccessible industry

people.

these are the same people you have left countless

unanswered telephone, e-mail and text messages for.

these may be the same people who will ultimately

decide on the purchase of your product or service.

they will be the movers and shakers - people who have

their finger on the pulse of your industry. All you need

to do is be prepared.

here are a few tips on preparing your networking

activities for your next trade show.

1. Define your objective. Be really clear about what

you want to accomplish whether it’s meeting

decision makers, product experts, industry gurus,

forecasters or people who work for your competitors.

Ask yourself, “What do I want to accomplish with

these people?” If you want to learn more about

your industry for example, take this statement a

step further and ask, “What specifically?”

2. Make a list of the people you want to meet and the

most likely place to meet them. this will include

such places as receptions, on the show floor, at

participating hotels, during industry events such

as meetings, banquets and sporting events or at a

lecture.

3. Attempt to reach these people ahead of time to set

up a pre-arranged meeting. this is a great idea

because the people that you want to meet, just like

you, are busy and have full schedules.

4. Get involved in the social network. Start your own

Facebook or twitter page and actively follow others.

Commenting on blogs is a good way to begin to

build your credibility.

5. Develop a list of questions. rather than leaving the

meeting to chance it’s always better to spend a bit

of time preparing the questions ahead of time.

6. recording information. Whether you record

information electronically or manually, make sure

you note down the information you are gathering

and the promises you have made. .

7. Bring your business cards. Its simply good business

etiquette to exchange business cards during a

business meeting. having this contact’s card also

gives you their vital statistics so you can get in

touch with them after the show in case you have

additional questions or need some clarification on

the information they gave you.

8. thank them. Not only after the meeting is over

but immediately after the show. It’s good business

practice to send an e-mail or letter thanking them

for the time they spent with you and the value their

information had.

9. Look for opportunities to add information of your

own. During your face to face meetings you may

stumble across bits of information the person you

are meeting with may be looking for. here is a great

chance to give something back to the conversation.

But, be careful and avoid gossip. keep the

information you are sharing factual and positive.

Sometimes we get so focused on setting up an exhibit

or planning a trip we neglect the power we can cultivate

with a strong network. Put these nine simple steps to

work at your next show and reap the rewards that come

from adding networking to your show schedule.

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your brand here!

SItUAtION PLACEMENt CrEAtES a brand image in the consumer's mind around an initial

product, and then builds follow-up products around the

constructed notion. the technique makes brands the

raison d'être of those follow-up products. Your product

becomes the hero, enhancing a story rather than simply

appearing as an added element without any effect on the

plot, as is the function of product placement. But how do

you engineer this for your own brand? how do you secure

space for your brand in a computer game? how do you

manage to have your brand featured in a popular song or

placed center stage in a hit movie?

Before embarking on such an enterprise, you need to

consider and understand what you want to get out of it. In

contrast to traditional "above the line" marketing, it's almost

impossible to measure the effect of the situation placement

approach – at least in the short term.

the good news about product placement – or situation

placement as I call it, situation placement meaning that

you in fact ensure that your product becomes the hero –

enhancing the story – instead of a add-on element without

any affect on the story, is that it still, despite having been

around for some time is still considered as being very

new. Marketers still don't know how to handle it, and film

studios, composers, and particularly game developers still

see situation placement as a revenue-generating product-

placement exercise – without any fixed prices – helping

you to decide the price on a ad-hoc basic.

The Situation Placement Game

brAndinGBy: MARTIN lINDSTROM


It's all pretty immeasurable. tell me what price you'd pay

to have your brand sponsor the equipment handed out in "the

Matrix" or “Doom” games? tricky, eh? No one really knows,

so it's possible to get good value out of this type of marketing

effort.

My experience tells me if your brand is one that appeals

to kids or tweens, at least 10 to 15 percent of your budget

should be dedicated to "underground" branding with situation

placement as one of the main activities. Focus less on the

result, as it's almost impossible to assess, and jump on this

opportunity very quickly by securing a fabulous price for the

situation placement.

Your next step is to determine

where and how to place your brand

and brand message.

Again, the approach is slightly

different to what you might be

accustomed. try to think of your

brand as the hero by extending its

characteristics and benefits into a

story. For example, red Bull, which

gives you energy, also earns you

extra points in the game in which

it features. Nike might be the hero

by optimizing players' skills and

vanquishing other competitors.

Identify the unique characteristics

and advantages of your brand, and

then place your brand in a story that

allows it to emerge as the hero, the

helper, and a focus point of some

type. Forget online banner ads or

logos on walls... viewers forget that

stuff. What people don't forget is the

personality your brand takes on at

the center of a logically composed

situation – your brand was the hero

of the story, the game or the event

– making their life easier, making the story more relevant or

helping the hero in the movie. People remember if your brand

is the chief protagonist of a story, game, or event, one that

makes the story more relevant, helps you win the game, or is

the reason for the event.

the success of a situation- placement campaign is

determined by your ability to leverage the space you have

dedicated to it. But the space is not limitless, and the demand

for its creative use is increasing. So you'd better be quick --

before the game is over.

My advice to you therefore is to ensure less focus on the

result as it’s almost impossible to prove..., which by the way is

the reason why you most likely can secure a fabulous price.

Next step for you is to determine where and how to place

your brand and brand message. Again the approach is slightly

different from what you might be use to. try to think of your

brand as the hero – now tell me how can it become the hero.

Like in the example with red Bull – giving you energy – and

therefore extra points – you need to extract the benefits of your

brand into the story. If you are Nike your brand might optimize

your skills – beating your competitors. Be sure to identify the

unique skills of your brand – and then to place your brand in

a story where your brand turns out to be the hero, the helper

or the focus point.

Finally, think outside the box. Contact game suppliers, even

if they're based in Japan or korea.

Often, the farther away your potential

partner is from your own territory, the

better price you can secure. think

about ways of placing your product

no one's come up with before. there

are so many opportunities in situation

placement, and the more creative you

are, the lower the costs will be.

A truly successful situation

placement campaign is determined

on your ability to leverage the space

you have dedicated. If you identify it

yourself - you most likely will succeed

however it’s a very limited space and

the demand is increasingly growing –

so be fast – before it’s game over.

Identify the unique

characteristics and

advantages of your

brand, and then

place your brand in a

story that allows it to

emerge as the hero,

the helper, and a focus

point of some type.


SOMEtIMES, PEOPLE ACCOMPLISh great feats.

they stand back and congratulate themselves on a job well done and they

are proud. then, someone like me comes along and dumps all over it. Such

is the case of one of the biggest successes at the Las Vegas PPAI Expo

held in January.

What I’m about to share with you is a promotional marketing paradox.

What happened was a monumental success on so many fronts that just

about everyone missed the part that was, in my opinion, a failure of epic

proportions.

the promotional concept started with a wristband much like the one

pictured. I had an actual one that I was going to photograph. I left the

wristband on my desk… and I have children. Need I say more? Anyway…

the wristband used in the promotion had three removable tabs on it.

Each wristband was sequentially numbered with the number appearing

on all three tabs and the band. the vendor was giving away one iPad at

day's end.

At the tradeshow booth, the band was strapped on my wrist. One tab

was removed and put in the drawing box for a chance to win the iPad.

I was told, "Go find two more people who don't have wristbands. Give

each person one of your remaining tabs and have them turn in the tab

here at our booth. That way you'll have three total entries in our drawing."

When the two people I gave my tabs to turned them in, they were given

a wristband of their own, entered in the drawing and encouraged to find

two people.

mArketinGBy: MICHAel CROOKS

When Success Is Merely Failure In Disguise


the monumental success part: 1000 people were at the booth at the end of the day

to see who won the iPad. 1000 promotional marketing

specialists all exposed to the amazing power of the three-

tabbed wristband. What an incredible way to build booth

traffic during the show and a huge crowd at the end of the

day. A hush fell over 1000 people as the winning number

was announced. the winner stepped forward, accepted the

prize and the applause was thunderous.

the monumental success part continued the following

week as the three-tabbed wristband promotion was the

talk of the discussion boards. People couldn’t wait to

show their clients how they could actively engage trade

attendees and draw a huge crowd to their booth at the

end of the day.

the epic failure part:1 Winner, 999 Losers…1 person won an iPad. What about the other 999?

What's the point of having 1000 people standing around

your booth at the end of the day…nothing, unless you're

playing to tV cameras? Even then, do you really want 999

people to go away from your booth feeling like a loser?

Is that rEALLY the last thought you want associated with

your company brand?

think about that.

Despite having harnessed the ability to move the

masses, the supplier let 999 people leave with little more

than a tab-less wristband and the memory of having been

one among many.

What would you like 999 people to do at the end of a

trade show? Visit your website? Visit a retail location? Giving

everyone a key attached to a key tag that invites them to

stop in and open the prize trunk is a great way to drive trade

show traffic to a retail location. At the very point that those

people believe they are a loser is the perfect time to surprise

them with something as simple as a letter opener inviting

them to visit your website to download a coupon, watch a

video or sign up for your newsletter. keep in mind, multiple

touch points allow you to innocuously collect information

about your prospects.

the point is, you can prevent a magical moment

from being anticlimactic. You can use promotional

products to effectively create then carry the

excitement of the trade show into your prospect’s

home, off ice or vehicle. Make a person feel like

a winner and you can achieve brilliant results.

The Power of TouchConsumers who have the ability to reach out and touch

products are more likely to make purchases during their buy-

decision making process. 3DPhotoWorks’s (www.3dphotoworks.

com) innovative custom-made printing process is ideal for any

business – industries such as B2B, hospitality, amusement

park, sign, exhibition, etc. - seeking a new method to attract the

wandering eye of consumers who are high on the “desire to touch”

scale.

3DPhotoWorks, the creator of full color 3D Photographic Prints,

recently launched its flagship product that POPS! An original

three-dimensional bas-relief photographic display graphic using

a proprietary technology developed by the company’s staff of 3D

designers, technicians and engineers:

1. through an innovative software solution, a 2D image is

converted to 3D.

2. the 3D data is then sculpted to a relief depth of up to 1.75”

inches.

3. the 2D data is then printed in register onto the 3D relief using

a patent-pending process.

3DPhotoWork’s graphic displays are designed specifically to

help businesses attract potential buyers and ultimately make the

sale.

Brilliant results wishes to thank Chrissy kinch. Account

Executive of Matter Communications, ([email protected])

for bringing this interesting product to our attention.


South AfricA'S world cup mega

event was further proof that sporting events are

more than mere athletics they are representation's

of a nation's sense of self, and a major economic

stimulus to a locale's economy. from television ads

to interviews with players, sporting events are big

business and they have a major impact on a local or

host community.

to understand the impact of athletic events just

open a daily newspaper almost anywhere in the

world, the results are always the same: the media

devote more space to sports news than foreign

news and the mega-sporting events may best be

described as national holidays. these are events

that intertwine with the tourism, restaurant, travel

and hotel industries.

from the perspective of tourism, both

participatory sporting events and professional

athletic sporting events are major travel and

tourism generators. Sports really are two different

commodities, the passive commodity called

"spectator sports" and the active commodity called

"participatory sports." Spectator sports are really

part of the entertainment industry. they exist as

emotional releases and permit people to discuss

"safe" and "non-controversial" subjects. others

use spectator sports for vicarious means.

Amateur events such as softball leagues and

elementary school soccer events attract not only

players but also their friends and family. Professional

sports events provide a constant revenue stream

and mega events such as the world cup, Super

Bowl, or olympic Games, produce millions of dollars

in revenue and in free media coverage of the locale.

the tourism industry is also well aware of the fact

that mega sporting events are not merely about the

event itself, but also about the pre and post-game

events. from the tourism industry's perspective,

the real money is made not during the game, but in

the camaraderie that occurs both before and after

the game.

By: DR. PeTeR TARlOW

trAvel

Getting Brilliant Results with Sports Tourism:


People around the world also unfairly admire sports figures

as role models. Sports figures often argue that they did not

ask to be role models, that they are merely doing their job

and that it is unfair to expect them to be more virtuous than

anyone else. Sports also serve as an excellent metaphor

about the value of competition. No matter what one's

profession may be, many sporting principles can be applied

to other world situations and often with brilliant results.

Below are just a few of the ways to get the most out of

your community's local sporting event.

• If you are competing for a sporting event, make sure to offer the best facilities and equipment possible. People who are choosing a locale in which to host a sporting event look at the total package. Not only do they want a sports location that is in good shape and well taken care of, but they want to know what other facilities are available to them. People tend to respond to their environment. Make sure that your sports facilities are located in pleasant surroundings. Use your desire to attract sporting events as a reason to promote beautification.

• Work with local hotels, restaurants and even rent-a-car companies to offer sports packages. Sporting events can be a major economic development tool, but if the local secondary support businesses begin to gouge the public, the event will move to another location. to obtain brilliant results offer good service at a fair price.

• Maintain good community lists of local services, and emergency numbers since all sporting events have an element of risk. know the risks that go with your type of sports activity. Sport competitions catering to older athletes may have to deal with different risks than those sporting competitions that deal with visitors or younger consumers. Every sports manager should know how to find 24-hour pharmacies, hospital emergency rooms, and doctors and dentists who are willing to take on emergency patients.

• Before holding a sport event know the legal liabilities. In today's society where litigation has become a way of life, check with your community's law offices about the need for waivers when conducting public tournaments.


Organizational Measurement and Feedback Pathways and Pitfalls

FAr tOO MANY measures are designed to meet

internal needs. they may satisfy management's command-

and-control paranoia for "snoopervision" or they're

designed to serve accounting information technology,

human resources or other support departments. Numerous

measures are also highly technical, production or product.

What's often missing from these inward measurements,

is the customer. High performing organizations measure

from the outside in, along the customer-partner chain.

they begin by measuring what's important to customers

and pinpointing the performance gaps. Next on the

measurement pecking order, are the needs of those

external and internal partners serving customers. then

attention turns to the people producing

products or serving the servers. the

measurement needs of managers and

support departments come last in the

customer-partner chain.

Most managers rely far too heavily on

financial measures. They’re clearly an

important vital sign of the organization's

health. But the bottom line is history.

It shows today's consequences of

yesterday's management decisions.

however, these lagging indicators can

be very unreliable predictors of how

today's decisions will affect tomorrow's

results.

results are the outcome: they can't

be managed any more than we can turn

back time. We can't manage results; we can only manage

the causes of those results. Organization improvement

starts by identifying and measuring the vital areas that have

the biggest impact on results. If we’re driving through the

rear-view mirror of bottom line results, we won't see the

swamp until we’re sinking in it.

As important as what 's measured, is how the information

is used. In many organizations, team members and

managers resist measuring accuracy rates, cycle times,

rework, customer satisfaction levels, wait times, and the

like because they've been beaten up with this information.

Despite the mountain of evidence showing that 85 - 90

percent of errors and mistakes originate in the organization's

structure, system, or process, all too many managers still

look for who, rather than what, went wrong.

Micro or local measures need to flow out of organization-

wide, macro measures. to counter growing complaints from

their distributors, one manufacturer began measuring their

rate of incomplete orders. they discovered mounting back-

order levels, wrong parts shipped, and many clerical errors.

Over 60 percent of the "pick orders"

didn't match the distributor's invoices.

Management's solution was to replace

the shipping department manager.

the new manager promptly disciplined,

fired, and "motivated" clerks and shippers

to "shape up the department." After a

temporary improvement, error rates

settled in slightly below their previous

level. Only when measurement, root

cause analysis, problem solving, and

improvement activities focused across

the entire sales, order entry, picking and

packing, inventory control, accounting,

and invoicing process, did error rates

plunge by nearly 300 percent.

Measurements should never be used

in isolation. Effective measures provide vital links between

Focus and Context (vision, values, and purpose), strategy,

improvement, and higher performance.

Weighing myself ten times a day won't reduce my weight.

No matter how sophisticated our measurements are, they're

only indicators. What the indicators say, are much less

important than what's being done with the information.

reFleCtiOnBy: jIM CleMMeR

“Nothing requires a rarer intellectual heroism than the willingness to see one’s equation written out.” — George Santayana, American philosopher, poet, and novelist

Most managers rely far too heavily on

financial measures. They’re clearly an

important vital sign of the organization’s

health. But the bottom line is history.


Measurements that don't lead to meaningful

action aren't just useless; they are wasteful.

Measurement is an essential and very

important tool for transforming and improving

organization effectiveness. Choosing the right

tool is the first step. How skillfully the tool is

used determines its ultimate effectiveness.

Get teams to develop their own measures.

Make sure they're broad, balanced, and

simple. Get the measurement points as close

and as immediate to the activities being

performed as possible.

Move your team and organization to a

360-degree performance feedback system —

starting with you. 360-degree feedback involves

gathering data and performance perceptions

from the people reporting to you, the people

you serve in the customer/partner chain, your

suppliers, and the manager(s) you report to.

Your role in helping others on your team move

to this approach is that of a coach. You will

provide your performance feedback as one of

the many sources for your team and individual members. But

your main job is to help your team and its members gather,

understand, digest, and act on the feedback they get from

their customers, partners, and anyone reporting to them.

Be careful of using market share or competitive indicators

too heavily. You could be making great gains in a shrinking

market. A high performing leader often doesn't really care

what competitors are up to. He or she is too busy blazing new

trails, developing unconventional product extensions/uses,

or opening up new markets. Competitors warrant attention

and study to ensure that your company isn't falling behind in

key areas, or to figure out how to exploit their weaknesses.

But too much attention to competitors keeps our focus

inside traditional approaches and old (likely outdated)

market models. Our company then becomes defined and

bounded by industry standards. If it came down to a choice

between studying, keeping up with, and trying to outflank our

competitors, or knowing our current and potential customer

needs so well that we can anticipate market changes and

new market opportunities, choose the latter.

• Benchmarking can be a powerful measurement and improvement tool. This involves finding competitors, processes, or functions that you can use as a point of comparison and learning. here are a few keys:

• Get outside your industry and find comparable processes or functions that are many times more effective than yours.

• Benchmarking isn't "corporate tourism"; you benchmark a process, function, or organization with your own set of

measurements, process maps, and the like. You're there to compare and learn, not visit and poke around.

• Send out the teams that will be making the improvements and changes.

• Exchange information with the companies you're benchmarking so you can both learn.

• If you're just starting on a rigorous, planned organization improvement effort, don't benchmark yet. You're not ready. You need to have well trained teams, clear process maps, and core measurement data before you can effectively compare yourself with anyone else.

• Have someone study and become an expert in benchmarking, hire a consultant, or use a well-proven approach to benchmarking.

• Start small and grow the scope of your benchmarking with your experience.

When our son Chris was eight, we always knew exactly

where we stood with him. he had two notes. One said "I love

Mom/Dad" and the other said, "I don't love Mom/Dad." these

were posted on the bulletin board in his bedroom according

to what he felt we'd earned at that moment. Eventually, we

convinced him that love was unconditional. But the example

of highly visible and transparent measurement is right on the

mark. Too many people in organizations (and relationships)

spend a lot of time trying to read mixed messages, or figure

out what's being measured (and valued) and why.


Innovation Requires Responsibility, Too

By: DAve RIBBle, MAS

innOvAtive thinkinG

Sometimes, innovative thinking comes about by following

a deliberate trail. More often than not, however, it comes as

a result of tripping over ourselves on the way to trying to do

something else.

Imagine it happening to you: It’s oh, around -200BC in

ancient China and you are one of the tribesmen. It’s been

a long day of hunting and gathering and you finally finished

fixing that hole in your bamboo roof your wife has harped

about, just before the rain started. You notice you’re low

on firewood but you don’t want to take the time to go get

more, so you toss a few leftover chunks of bamboo onto

the fire, hoping they will burn but not yet aware of the fact

that since bamboo grows so rapidly, air and sap get trapped

inside and, when you add heat to that combination, you get

fireworks.

the ambiance of that extra warmth the bamboo is

generating is welcomed and everything is going just fine.

Then, without warning, BAM! BAM! BAM! Your fireplace

is making for more sizzle than you are. BAM! BAM! In

perfect, ancient Mandarin, the immortal question that would

come to represent the ever-continuing plight of discoverers,

inventors, innovative thinkers and yes, even people who

were clueless at the time: “Ok, what just happened?”

What happened was a discovery was made. Discoveries

like this sometimes are revealed with little fanfare, other

times accompanied by pain, trial and error. how many of

thomas Edison’s assistants hobbled home each night after

a day of “ok, I want you to wait until I am safely behind the

desk, then touch these two wires together and let’s see

what happens”?? Many discoveries come at a price and

we, today, take most of them for granted. I am typing this

on a computer, powered by a battery that was charged

by electricity and was then sent electronically to Brilliant

Results, which took only a few seconds to transmit. Crazy.

Carl Friedrich Gauss, the great mathematician, said, "It is

not knowledge, but the act of learning, not possession, but

the act of getting there, which grants the greatest enjoyment."

We’ve all experienced the thrill that accompanies discovery.

It’s in our DNA to want to discover, to apply innovative

thinking to something to see what else is possible.

With discovery, however, comes responsibility. turn on

the news tonight and when the pharmaceutical commercials

start, count the number of disclaimers accompanying

the ads. tradeoffs abound. We must pay attention to the

what-if.

Japan suffered a 9.0 earthquake and the early detection

system, albeit only a 30-second warning, saved lives. But,

along with the earthquake came a tsunami that was bigger

than anyone expected. Stories are now surfacing that

safety checks and safeguard considerations at the nuclear

plant may not have included upgrading the protective walls

around the plant to withstand something of this magnitude,

nor did they have in place a backup plan for the backup plan

if power went down. hindsight is easy, here, but when it

comes to saving lives, we must nevertheless ask the tough

questions.

Innovation requires responsibility, because the lessons

are very clear: What could happen, might. We must

encourage discovery of new things, but with a healthy

respect for the fact that for every new discovery there might

also be a potential tradeoff in the name of progress. It’s

called balance.

Or, perhaps we should call it ‘Brilliant Innovation’

accompanied by respectable common sense.

www.bri l l iantpubl ishing.com32 Brilliant Results • April 2011

Ad Index / Web resource Guide3M ® ......................................................... www.3M.com/promote

3M ® ............................................................ www.3M.com/promote ......................................Back Cover

Aprons, Etc .................................................. www.apronsetc.com ....................................................7, 11

Brilliant Results™ Magazine ........................ www.brilliantpublishing.com ..................................... 21, 33

Display Solutions ......................................... www.displaysolutions.net .................................................. 7

Groline © ..................................................... www.groline.com ................................................... 3, 5, 23

Magazine Publishers of America ................... www.Earth911.com ..........................................................29

Warwick ........................................................ www.warwickpublishing.com ................................ IFC. IBC

April Advertiser’s index

Free Product Information: For free product information from these suppliers, please complete and mail this page to:Brilliant Results Magazine, 9034 Joyce Lane, Hummelstown, PA 17036.Fax to (717) 566-5431 or e-mail [email protected].

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Please circle items of interest.

BRILLIANT IDEAS ARE HARD TO COME BY THESE DAYS....

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by your competition.

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staying informed.

Brilliant Results

Magazine can do

just that for you!

Visit www.brilliantpublishing.com and sign up for a Subscription to Brilliant Results Magazine. Don’t wait any longer to get in on the best ideas for creating a successful business.


Procrastination

I'VE BEEN MEANING to get around to this for

a while, but it's so easy to find other things to do. That

is the credo of the procrastinator. Don't get me wrong, I

believe that if it weren't for the last minute, nothing would

get accomplished, but if you are making yourself miserable

because you can't bring yourself to do what you need to do,

it's time to change that habit. here are some tips to help

you do just that.

Timing is everyThing. Start timing how long it takes you to do some of the

things you procrastinate about. For example, the man in

my mirror hates doing dishes. I used to let them pile up

in the sink. then one day, I was in a hurry and happened

to glance at the clock before I began putting my hands in

soapy water. When I was finished, I looked at the clock

again, and all of six minutes had passed. Now that I know

the process takes much less time than all the things I did to

avoid it, getting it done is much easier. And life at home is

a bit more pleasant.

JusT do iT. Some Olympic-level procrastinators will spend much of

their time trying to look for shortcuts or employing avoidance

techniques like saying "that's not my job" or thinking "Who

else can I get to do this?" the real truth is that if you just

jump into the task at hand, you will have some extra time in

your life, which you can use in whatever way you choose.

Face your Fear. When you've been avoiding something because the

thought of the task or failing at it causes you anxiety, it

can't feel good. In addition to fighting the fear factor, you

are actually creating an excuse to delay or completely

disregard important things in your life. If you are scared of

a particular chore, it will help to get your partner or a friend

to assist you. For many people, just having the company

is a great motivator. Fear can block us from many things

in life; working through it will strengthen you and your

relationships.

schedule lazy Time. Often we don't get around to doing what we need to

do because we're just plain tired. One of the best ways

to overcome this is to reward yourself with a nap or some

downtime, once you have completed what you need to

do. taking a break is a necessity; none of us can be

productive all the time, and getting a good rest actually

makes you sharper.

Getting past procrastination is a good thing, but you

need not beat yourself up in the process. You didn't create

this behavior overnight, and it won't go away just because

you've thought about it. take steps, one at a time, to move

your life forward, and before you know it, you will love the

productivity and your life a lot more.

stAyinG shArpBy: BARTON GOlDSMITH, PH.D.


A S I : 9 5 2 8 0 | S A G E : 5 7 5 9 0 | P PA I : 1 1 4 1 5 4

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