Accidental Information Evolves

Evo.lu.tion: a process of change in a certain direction: unfolding; a process of continuous change from a lower, simpler, or worse to a higher, more complex, or better state: growth.

The world evolves constantly. So do our environments. There comes a time with a blog must do the same thing. It's been a great run sharing my views, voice and the various ideas that spring into thought. During my journey of sharing, learning and connecting, one interesting thought stood out. So it's time to turn this idea in to reality and chart a new course. By adding a lot of passion and some elbow grease, I'm about to share the next stage of life for Accidental Information (AI).

So what does this all mean? In a few weeks, Accidental Information will be all new and transform from a communication-based blog to something bigger and better. This new destination will deliver unique and interesting information and some much needed fun. 

Excited to see what's next? Connect with AI now and be the first to know when the new site is up. Here's how to reach us:
  
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IABC 2011 World Conference Recap

Communicators talk a lot! And that’s a good thing. 1400 communication, marketing and social folks chatted, networked, learned and saw some sights in San Diego last week. The IABC World Conference was full swing in and offered much of the same things in the past, a place to share and learn. I was lucky enough to co-facilitate a session on Sunday sharing three hours of open space to collaborate hot topics and network our butts off. I stayed for the rest of the conference and took advantage of sessions, interesting keynote speakers, and my favorite part of any major event, meeting new people, like-minded or not. 

So what did I get out of the event? I’ve categorized my experiences in bite-sized nuggets for your scanning pleasure. But don’t just read and close the page. Share a few highlights of your own in the comments section. Isn’t that half the point of going to a conference? Share the wealth!

Best lines I heard or overheard:
“Your brand is what your employees say it is.”
“Value is in the eye of the beholder.”
“…prune your garden.”


Takeaways and Reminders
These are key points that resonated with me in the sessions I attended. Most are not new. But they are terrific reminders to be true and stay on point for successful approaches.

• Biggest theme: Make it simple (write in plain, simple language) 
• Integrated communications: Focus on blending plans and tactics vs. a singular approach to marketing, social media, executive communications, etc. 
• Emotional connections: Connect with employees emotionally to drive overall engagement and passion. Make it personal. 
• Drive traffic: Want better adoption? The best way to drive traffic to your site is to put the must-have items on it. i.e. pay stubs, schedules for hourly employees 
• Multiple approaches: One fit does not work for all regions and employees. For example in a sustainability program, employees in Asian Pacific markets prefer group contributions vs. employees in the US which usually prefer to contribute individually. Know the audience and be nimble in your approach.
• Offer outcomes: Understand the outcomes of your communication plans and services so you can focus on offering a service with an expected outcome to clients. This addresses that problem or situation a client wants to tackle. Clients too often are focused on services and something fun without understanding the best approach to solve their problem. 
• Think big about your brand: You really only have one brand. Or at least you should. Even sub-brands are okay as long as they deliver on your brand and promise. Everyone that touches this brand is now part of a brand system. Connect these people and initiatives to drive one brand message. If everyone is working together in a brand system, the message stays clear. And a clear message helps employees understand the company and their role. 
• Find the gaps: Communicators are in the perfect position to spot the gaps in strategy plans. We can look at it from all angles (employee, leaders, and consumer). Find the gaps and point them out. This is usually when communications can connect plans and ideas. 

Happy Improvements
I wrote a post last year recapping the 2010 conference including a few things I’d like to see changed. Guess what, people listened. Here are a few of those things as well as others that I believe worked nicely.

• Case studies: I was happily surprised to see more case studies and real experiences vs. an onslaught of vendors. I walked out of sessions with not only some knowledge, but most of the time with a new contact to share future ideas with. 
• Social media: There were session about it and a lot more attendees using tools while attending the conference. This was the first year I didn’t feel like the ugly duckling (swan…get it?) because I was tweeting and not many others were. Yay for embracing a current technology and rhythm. 
• Digital copy: It was nice to see a digital copy of the schedules and programs. I will admit, I actually do like the printed brochure. But digital was a step in the right direction. By the way, the right direction is listed below in the mobile app bullet. 
• Vendors: It was nice to see a few new vendors. I always like to know about new options. Maybe think about getting a Foursquare, Jive or Yammer there. They make perfect sense! 

Thoughts for Next Year

Call it what you will, challenges, learnings, whatever you do don’t do this again, or just plain that could be even better – all ideas to make 2012 an even better conference experience. 

• Collaboration: I am so glad IABC attendees had the option of joining an online group to share and interact around the 2011 conference. Now I’d like to see a permanent place instead of a one-time instance. Sad but true, the current Ning site will probably fade away. Why not use a place that IABC folks are already visiting, like LinkedIn. Make use of the space and do not create another place to distract. Adoption will also be better. Or if Ning is the ticket, make it a on-going living space in the IABC website. Connect them!  
• Mobile app: Take the digital schedule and resources and turn them into a mobile app. A digital version of the schedule can only do so much. Let me tag my schedule, build one, connect to the online collaborative space, see the twitter feed and more. Build it and we will come! 
• WiFi: You knew I was going to say this, right? I was okay without it this year because we were in the US. But for our non US folks and the attendees with WiFi only tablets, WiFi is a must. Make some magic. 

I end with a big smile and a resounding, “I’m glad I attended”. IABC is evolving and I can see it. I look forward to sharing, learning over the next year and seeing everyone at the 2012 conference. Who knows, maybe I’ll even throw my name in the hat for a session I’m cooking up. Interested?

Keep sharing and connecting!
   

How to Communicate a Clear Message: An Ad by KLM

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines just released a new video showcasing a social experiment they conducted. What if someone was in your personal space? Would you feel uncomfortable? Of course you would. This simple and easy to understand video explains that KLM knows what it's like to feel uncomfortable with someone in that protected space. The real message - we listen, we get you and we have a new program on European Business Class flights. Personally, I was sold with the new perk of an empty seat next to me. Now that's priceless. 

Yes, this video summarizes a new program. But it's with simplicity of human behavior and a soothing pace that makes this perfectly toned ad a winner. But this is just an ad, right? Well I of course think about how to apply this to employees of an organization. What if we set a soothing tone, listened more intently and said we get you to our employees? It would be one step closer to engaging our colleagues - honest and simple. Now watch for yourself.  

   

Smartphone + Microsoft Table = Gesture-based Fun

Amnesia Razorfish recently shared their new gesture-based interface between iPhone and iPad (+iPods) and the Microsoft Surface Table. This ultra seamless transfer is the stuff we've seen in movies. I can just imagine the impacts this could have with businesses and communications. The thought of sitting around a table designing marketing material with my communication partners is exciting. But to also allow all of us to grab the work instantly - this is a whole new way to collaborate and share. I am excited for other developers to join the table market and see how far interfaces can go. Talk about geeky meets cool!

   

The Emotional Connection

Have you seen the newest VW commercial with a little boy dressed up as Darth Vader? It's a viral hit that was even aired during the American Super Bowl. If you haven't seen it, watch it here. When I saw it a couple weeks ago, I immediately loved it. What's not to love - Star Wars, a child dreaming with a big imagination, and sweet caring parents. The point, I felt emotionally connected with the images and story. If you break it down a little, Star Wars is a pop culture reference that touches people in many cultures. A lot of us feel nostalgic toward this reference. Then we have a child dreaming of being something great, an icon with super powers. A lot of us remember and wish for those carefree moments today. Next, the parents, especially the dad, with a subtle movement, supports his son with a moment of believing. How could I not love and feel something toward this message? Now how do I feel about VW? I believe they care. They get me. I feel nostalgic and happy all at the same time. It's the same feeling I get when watching a bad 80's sitcom - Safe and content. 

Why is an emotional connection important?
We have all seen great marketing that is smart, hip, interesting, provocative, etc. But even the most interesting marketing sometimes doesn't have the impact one would hope. This often happens because of the lack of emotional connection with the audience. It's an easy equation; people make decisions based on the way they feel. See, I said feel, not think. An emotion will drive thinking and a decision. Look at politics, I make choices I think are morally right, not because it's the facts and I am not connected emotionally at all. I feel close to the ballot measure and my thinking follows. So if we want people (our employees) to do something, we need to find out what they really want and deliver our messages that relates to them emotionally.

How to do it
This isn't rocket science at all. You probably have seen this a million times. Now it's time to put it in place. Start with powerful images. Use images that strike a strong feeling in you when you see them. Why an image? People usually react faster and stronger to images more than to words. Of course, use strong text statements to connect the image with the audience. Here's an example of introducing a new vacation policy at a company. See if you have a much bigger reaction to the first or second example.

Text version of the policy:  

Enjoying the simple part of life

Effective June 1, 2011 our company will introduce a new vacation policy. A change in the vacation allotment has been simplified for ease of use and understanding. More information will be coming soon. 

A version with an emotionally-based graphic:

Enjoying the simple part of life

Effective June 1, 2011 our company will introduce a new vacation policy. A change in the vacation allotment has been simplified for ease of use and understanding. More information will be coming soon.

Telling the truth (my example)

Recently I've come to the conclusion that employees really want three things at work. They want to belong, feel proud of their company and get their job done. Sure there are many more elements. But these simple statements help me center on how to connect with my colleagues. Here's a real-life example of something I'm doing in my group and company.

Throughout the company, employees have many options, tools, resources, and information to help them grow and to complete the many tasks within their job. But employees cannot easily find the stuff they need or find the people that can help. Easy tasks like entering an expense report became a frustrating nightmare. Employees have become angry and at some points even disengaged. As I work to fix the issue of creating easy paths to tools and resources, it's not enough to send a message and say here it is. No one cares or believes it now. Instead, I share the honest truth, it's been tough and you deserve better. We're listening and we know it's time we made your life easier. By using images that make this statement and that remind them of our honesty, employees are hearing their voice heard. Isn't that what most of us want, to be heard?
   
The next time you design a marketing plan or create a presentation, remember to tell a story and connect with your audience on an emotional level. A clear message and just the facts will not deliver the real message and change behavior.

What are you doing?
Who's had a successful presentation or marketing plan using emotionally connected images? Are you using less words and more picture-driven story making? Share some examples!        

The Intranet: Communication Portal or Employee Toolkit?

Over the last year or so, I’ve seen a quiet war waging between communicators and employees.  Communicators passionately want to share breaking news, org changes, evergreen stories and the not so timely letter from the CEO.  On the employee end they say yes, keep me in the know.  But there is another want, not yet verbalized. They are really asking for a place to find what they need.  Employees want to get their hands on the ever elusive employee policies, org charts, and all of the tools that will help them be good company citizens while allowing them to focus on the job they’ve been hired to do.

Yesterday’s Intranet
The typical intranet seems to have all the basic offerings with obvious issues.  Your navigation may look good, but at closer inspection one will notice the cryptic link definitions based on departments and project areas.  Somewhere in this labyrinth lies useful information. But first you have to figure out the department that manages the form you need.  Now throw in a dash of the public and internal (if you’re lucky) company news.  Then there's a showcase of a new employee or new project in the company.  As you scroll down further you’ll find hidden gems like about us, bad clip art, a pointless integration of SharePoint or similar tool, and way too many animated graphics – all not updated in months. Lastly, if you’re a larger company, you may have invested in an enterprise software that allows employee self service via your intranet. These functions will be somewhere clickable in navigation, hopefully.

How about search? Do you suffer from a case of badsearchitis? Have you ever surfed the intranet looking for an HR form or IT policy?  Or maybe you need to use the enterprise system to log in your hours worked, file an expense report, or view your paycheck.  These and many more tasks have filled company intranets for the last few years.  No longer do employees log on to the company homepage just to find out the company stock price or view the world clock.

We communicators have worked diligently on our editorial calendars, giving departments a voice, and creating a home for employees.  But that was yesterday.  Today came a while ago and it’s time to take the best of our world and combine it with enterprise software, collaboration apps and tools “to get the job done”.  It’s time to make the shift to an Employee toolkit.

Employee Toolkit – key essentials
Admitting the need to evolve from a communication portal to a blended approach is the first step of bringing real business value to your intranet real estate.  It’s time to load your space with all of the key essentials.  Here’s a list of the core basics that companies may find useful.  Based on the needs of your company, you may need to cherry pick the options.

1. Easy to use navigation & organization – make it simple, make it clear, and make it meaningful.  Do away with department pages and define the links by subjects.
2. Search – It should work!  This is the starting spot for most employees.  Make sure your meta data is correct and that your search tool is crawling all of your spaces (intranets, SharePoint, etc).
3. Resources – Group key forms, policies, guides, finance information and the like.  Imagine having a one-stop shop for all the things you need.  Life would be amazing. (It’s ok to have separate sections for benefits and large categories as long as they truly are large – remember, simple navigation)
4. Enterprise tools – This is an important one. If you use something like SAP or Oracle for self service, make it easy to find and use. Have a great user interface – it’s so important.  Employees want this to be a no-brainer and they will love you for it.
5. Company News – Share important news and share it timely. Employees shouldn’t have to read about key company changes in the external news.
6. Interaction/Collaboration – Create a space (as part of the Intranet) for employees to have a voice in the news, resources, and to also continually shape their intranet. Plant and tend this garden.
7. Mobile – Everything is becoming mobile. Your intranet should be the same. If you can’t make it all function on a smart phone or tablet, aim for core tools like highly used self-service functions, company news, and collaboration. More and more, employees are bringing their smart devices into the office.
8. Customizable – Let employees choose what is important to them. I’m a big believer in providing framework and the main elements. But let employees have a voice in their home. As consumers (yes, employees are consumers), we see this everyday with iGoogle and MyYahoo.
9. Help – Share contact lists, phone numbers, and email addresses for your help groups – HR, IT, Legal, Finance, etc. Employees will call the IT help desk if they do not know who to call. Talk about frustrating for everyone.
10. Emergency Information – If you’re company is large, you’ll need a space to share what’s happening if an emergency arises. Think real-time and easy to see. Employees should and need to be safe.

The trick here will be in placement and design. If you make 3/4 of the page news, then you’ve lost the Employee Toolkit idea. Intranets should not be the CNN of your company.  Design the page so it’s truly the place to find the tools and information employees need to stay informed and get their job done.  Your home should be a resource employees want and need to visit daily.

Questions to stir the pot

What other essentials would you add to the list? What are your barriers in making the right intranet change? What has worked and what has failed?

YouTube Goes Round

What would make YouTube even better? Making the video screen round of course. Who doesn't want to see videos shaped like a Oreo, a plate, or even a record. Yep, now it's easy to spin me right round (like a record). The characters in the video are awfully cute. Soon to go viral? We'll have to see. 

Thanks to Cadbury, YouTube has a promotion that changes the video shape and offers some entertaining videos. Cadbury Dairy Milk is marketing their Rollpack. Clever idea. Only issue with the videos, they cannot be embedded. So just click on the picture below to see the videos for yourself. 

Building Comes to Life in 3D and Takes Over YouTube

Visual magic comes to life! This promotion is so good, I almost feel like I'm watching something at a Disney park.

Samsung has taken projection to the next level. In this ad, they project a 3D movie that brings the building to life. This same ad was applied to their YouTube page, cracking and bringing their simple page to life. You can see the building projection below. To experience the full YouTube page, click here. 

I wonder if we'll start seeing 3D use internally with employees. Imagine a company intranet with 3D. Too much of a good thing?

The 2010 IABC World Conference Wrap Up

I've been home from the 2010 IABC World Conference for a week. Yet my mind is still swirling from the amazing people I met, the unconference session, and the powerful engagement from my fellow speakers and attendees. As I've been pondering the nuggets of wisdom I gathered and while I stare at the stack of business cards I need to follow up with, I have tried to mentally document my communication adventure. I present to you, my mental list of bullet points - things that made me smile, the challenges and the, file under somebody may care.


What made me smile

• People! 1,400 communicators sharing, learning, networking and partying down like no others. With the different events, planned and not planned by IABC, there were plenty of opportunities to create new relationships. I even made a few friends out of this experience. Dear new friends - Please expect me coming to visit your country soon!
• Keynote speakers - I was moved and inspired. I especially enjoyed Craig Kielburger and Guy Kawasaki. Great job IABC with finding these innovation leaders.
• Location - Toronto was a great city to explore and navigate. The hotel space worked for the sessions, but not for internet access.
• Social media - I was very happy to see an increase in social media use from IABC. There was an official blog, Twitter feed, and a hashtag.
• Organization - All of the events, sessions and more felt very organized and smooth. Not having to overly think about locations or the logistics was a nice stress reliever. 
• Unconference - How can I not give a shout out to my co-facilitators, Jeremy Schultz, Linda Johannesson, and Bryan Person. I had a great time assisting in the creation and delivery of the new event for IABC. Not only was I pleased that IABC welcomed us, but they helped with great effort to make sure we would be successful. During the unconference, the attendees were very engaged, supportive and provided important feedback. Another unconference next year?!    

Challenges

• Wifi - Ugh! For us that do not live in Canada, wifi was ever so important. Data feeds on our mobile devices turn into highway robbery when traveling out of our home country. No wifi limited our real-time interaction, updating non attendees on the conference news, and created a lot of frustration. I'm really hoping for free hotel wifi coverage in San Diego for 2011!
• Internal communication and social media - Where were the social media sessions for internal communicators? I especially didn't see anything on the docket for advanced knowledge, next steps, and best practices for us internal folks. I already know what social media is and am using it. But now what? This area felt like a real gap.
• More case studies, less vendors - I'd love to see more of the real stories from communication leaders. I want to know how and what they have done to resolve the communication concern. A session from Wm. Amurgis regarding his new intranet was exactly what I we needed to hear. Hearing from a speaker in a session that wants me to sign up to his website for a free evaluation is not real help. It's just frustrating.
• Social media - Let's make next year the banner year for social media integration. Ask for attendees and volunteers to get involved. This shouldn't just be in addition to the basics. Its time to just make it a norm.

File under, somebody may care

• Help me make better decisions - The session descriptions need extra detail. I'd love to see a skill level assigned to each session, i.e. beginner, intermediate, advanced. This will help attendees gauge expectations and get the right people in the right session.
• Mobile conference guides - I'd like to see apps for the iPhone, Blackberry and Android that include general conference and session information. Less paper equals more money in the bank.

In all, IABC was worth my time and money. I am pleased in the efforts everyone made to create a powerful learning space and a space to let down my hair and shake my groove thing (thanks for the dance Heather!). Now it's time to start planning for 2011 in San Diego!

Next up, pictures, memories and the unusual from my trip to Toronto.

tainted love

Odd marketing campaign strikes again! It's random and makes me chuckle. The clever folks are using Tainted Love by Soft Cell. The song finds new life again, well sort of. I think this song is determined to be known by each generation. Long live Marc and the brains behind repurposing stuff from memories.

tired of the busy world?

Have a break. Just sit back and enjoy the silence. Not just silence, but enjoy nothing. A new web site from Kit Kat, where nothing is going on. Nothing at all. If you discover something going on, it's probably a bug. You are requested to email the webmaster and they will fix it. If you read the fine print, you can be rewarded for detecting something going on.

Fun marketing ad? Something lame? Maybe both. Have a Break

Related Kit Kat references:
giant
chicago
all the flavors: with descriptions or slideshow
taking a break in the 80s
   

the great schlep

Jews unite! I'm not even Jewish and I was entertained by The Great Schlep. It's a movement (grandkids should travel to FL between,10/11 - 10/ 13) and also a campaign to get the older Jewish community to support Barack Obama. This campaign is definitely inventive. Will it appeal to the younger Jewish community? Is Sarah Silverman the best face of the campaign? Check it out and let me know what ya think.

The Great Schlep

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.
 

delicious

As found in my local grocery shop, right next to each other. Just seems a bit odd to me. Free recipes and a gross meat product. Um, bad marketing I think. Beef nuggets just doesn't sound all that appealing. I wonder what other delicious treats are people suggesting out there. Let's take a look.

join the group
rachel's snack
possum road kill
horrible recipes
rice krispies
  

shank

While walking the small downtown section of Santa Rosa, CA during my journey to Sonoma County, I stumbled upon a men's clothing store. Um, Shank? Who thought it was a good idea to name it that? Yes, a shank can be used in a shoe. But is that really the first thing we all think about when hearing this oh so common prison term? Or maybe I am jaded because of too many viewings of HBO's Oz. If the store was open, I would of walked in and asked what inspired the owner to call his business Shank. What unusual store names have you seen? Send them in and we can make a top ten list.

Yelp - if you're interested

shank is defined on the store front

Friends Don't Let Friends Drink Friends

Thirsty? Feeling a little drained and need a pick me up? Don't go drinking off your friend's neck. Instead, try the new sexy Tru Blood synthetic blood nourishment beverage. All flavor without the bite.

tru blood beverage

The new HBO series True Blood starts September 7th at 9 PM. It's from the creators of Six Feet Under and is based on the Southern Vampire novels by Charlaine Harris.

I read the first book and enjoyed it. A little too much romance for my liking. But it was quirky and a different concept than other vampire tales. Vampires finally coming out of the closet. Great idea.

There is a ton of fun promotions for this new show. I haven't even seen the show and I already want to purchase stuff from the online store. Check it out.

the trailer
bloodcopy - chronicles the integration of vampires with humans
the comic book
dating...at lovebitten
vampire haters
american vampire league - facebook

what do you see? evil?

I like to think that most people are more of the good side vs. the dark side. But how can we really find out what lurks underneath it all? Thanks to Showtime and the creative force behind Dexter, we now have a way to weed out the frightfully dangerous characters. Are you one? My original score was 62%. Click to test your twisted side.

Am I a Killer?

let california ring

Right above is the new commercial supporting gay and lesbian marriages in CA. If you don't know, there is a measure (8) on ballot in November to ban marriage between gay and lesbians. This recent commercial is currently playing on different cable channels. It's a smart new ad done in great taste. After watching it, check out these other videos and resources.

let california ring
chemistry.com
overturns ban
adoption
ca proposition 8 (2008)

advertising with a flair

People are paid big bucks to create amazing ideas to spread the word or convince you to buy or care about something. Advertising and marketing can be found on TV, the Internet, in our mail, email, posters, on a car, even on someon's forehead, and almost anywhere. The trick is to find a connection with your audience. There have been so many great maketing ideas. But there has been so many unusual ones as well. It's time to spotlight the "creative" stuff out there. Watch and tell me which ones you think stand out of the crowd. Have one you love? Post a comment and share with me.

trunk monkey 1 4 5

Wienerschnitzel

devo and more

watches

flint

dvd

folgers

betmax

fitness

see what happnes

Most of us are familiar with Ikea. A warehouse full or house wares and sales tags with cryptic Swedish names. It's cheap and fun and there is usually something for everyone. Now, introducing a new website from Ikea in their native home. This site blends music, video and advertising together. The more you switch the music around or change rooms and characters, the more entertained (and knowledgeable about Ikea products) you are. The characters are odd and the rhythm is choppy. It's rather fun. Go ahead and have a look.

http://kominigarderoben.se/