Alberta Business Marketing

I've never before written a post after someone has passed away.

Perhaps it's because I'm writing this on a MacBook Pro. Perhaps it's because we have over a half dozen Apple devices in our home. Perhaps it's the way I see my 3 year old daughter effortlessly using an iPad and technology without a second thought. Or perhaps I still remember when I first used a computer (Apple IIE) and how it was a moment of 'child-like wonder'.

I'm sure you have heard, Steve Jobs the founder of Apple and until recently its CEO, passed away yesterday due to the scourge of cancer. He left behind a wife and young family. He also left behind a legacy as an innovator and someone who demanded excellence. Someone who never contented himself or his company with the status quo.

Indeed I had the privilege to work at Apple but I only saw him once from a distance when I travelled to headquarters in Cupertino, California. But let me tell you that you felt his presence throughout the Apple and it was firmly ingrained within the company DNA.

Words that come to mind as it relates to Steve Jobs and Apple as a former employee? Excellence. Drive. Innovation. Marketing. Simplicity. Financial Performance. Ruthlessness. Secrecy. Vision.

Now I'm not about to suggest that Steve Jobs was perfect. But really who amongst is? He was no deity but one would be naive to deny the tremendous impact Steve Jobs had on marketing, technology and perhaps our society at large especially in the past decade.

Whether it was the founding of Apple. Being later unceremoniously removed from the very company he founded. Returning back to Apple to help it rise like a phoenix from the ashes and the precipice of bankruptcy. Taking Pixar Studios to the next level and making it a blockbuster company in terms of computer animation. Steve Jobs consistently made his mark.

Steve Jobs took an almost bankrupt company (with financial help from Microsoft) and made it one of the largest companies in terms of market capitalization on the planet. He did so by launching innovative and revolutionary products such as the MacBook, iPod, iPhone and iPad. Each of which significantly raised the bar in terms of the quality of products that companies in the consumer electronics industry produced. Each also severely disrupting other established industries such as music and entertainment.

So here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. Like Steve.

Sulemaan Ahmed
Twitter @sulemaan

Tags: Branding, Customer Experience, Digital, Get it off your chest, technology, This and That
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For those of us back in the office from a long weekend - what could be more appropriate than a post related to email? It's not like our inboxes are full or anything.

A couple weeks ago I was at an alumni event for my alma mater and it brought back memories of being in the library until the wee hours and writing my Master's thesis on email. (Yes I've been an email fanboy for a while. Stop snickering.) Years later I was part of a group of CMA members that created a Guide to Email Marketing. Download a free copy of it here.

I'll admit I've always been a proponent of email and how it can do wonders for us. Would anyone disagree with the notion that email is an integral part of our daily lives both personally and professionally?

Having said that I’ve been thinking about innovation as it applies to business, technology and marketing. And although email was a very innovative creation it can be argued it now stifles innovation. Our inboxes are filling up more and more and we’re struggling to keep pace. We don't have time to do 'work' because we are incessantly checking our inboxes. Inbox owners are losing the war. Some people have resorted to declaring email bankruptcy.

Chris Anderson of Wired and TED fame is of the view that the very purpose of email to improve our time, energy and sanity at work is now actually having the opposite effect. The reason according to Mr. Anderson isn't email itself but that most people are extremely bad at using this tool. His position is that "The total time taken to respond to an email is often MORE than the time it took to create it." I never thought about it that way before.

So Mr. Anderson created an Email Charter with input from the online community. The 10 rules in the charter are simple but could make a universal impact if widely adopted by more users out there - including myself.

Candidly, I'm guilty of some of the transgressions outlined in the Email Charter so I'm now trying to abide by it. In addition to the 10 Rules to Reverse the Email Spiral, I'm remembering two other small tips I’ve recently come across by people I respect.

1. Guy Kawasaki - Keeping emails to 6 sentences or less.
2. Seth Godin – Ask "If I had to pay $0.42 to send this email, would I?"

[If you have any thoughts, opinions or tips regarding email please add them to the discussion in the comments section below.]

The creation of email is a major technological and communication innovation but if used improperly it can be an impediment to future innovation. It can stifle productivity and waste the valuable time and resources of others. Not to mention how email can be lousy in expressing sentiment and emotion that could be better addressed in a conversation.

The last thing I want to do is contribute to the problem. So it's time to start contributing to the solution. If that means by trying to respect an Email Charter then so be it.

Sulemaan Ahmed
Twitter @sulemaan

Tags: Get it off your chest, technology, This and That
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There has been tons written about interviews and the 'art of interviews'. Competition for good positions is fierce these days just to get your foot in the door. And once you are in the door - you have to make an impression during the interview.

Naturally a lot of advice regarding interviews is common sense. For example, it amazes me how many people in actual interview scenarios are asked if they checked out a company website and the answer is often 'no'. It totally blows my mind in an era of Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social networks but I digress.

There are many others things one can do to be prepared for an interview besides doing your homework beforehand. Be on time. Be well dressed. Be honest about your credentials and experience. Be confident. Most importantly - be yourself.

The last point is the one that I feel is really important based on my experience. In today's business world there is indeed a lot of pressure to land that coveted role. However, it is critical you be yourself during the interview process. If you present yourself as anything different you will be miserable if you land the job under false pretences. A prospective employer should hire you because they are thrilled about you. Not some contrived persona.

I'd also take it a step further - within reason - to let your personality shine through in the interview if circumstances allow it. Let me give you a personal example.

Through the gracious introduction of a friend, I interviewed for a marketing position with a company I respected. They weren't quite a start-up but more of an 'up-start'. The company has a unique interview process where multiple employees at different levels of the organization interview prospective candidates and not just the senior leadership team.

I think it's brilliant as it allows them to get a real feel for potential candidates and the candidate to meet different employees. The employees would also have to feel empowered that they are part of the selection process and have a say if a candidate is the right fit for the company. This is critical when a company's culture has been carefully fostered and cultivated over many years.

During my 3rd interview, one of the interviewers said that he was asked before the interview if he had heard of me. He said the only "Sulemaan" he had heard of was this:

Now clearly I'm not the individual in this video. My moves on the dance floor vary from gusts of awful to winds of terrible. You will never see me on a dance floor. I smiled and told the interviewer the dancer definitely wasn't me.

A few days later I had a follow-up interview with the same gentleman and his team to tie-up loose ends and outstanding questions. This time I decided to add a little spice to things. I went to a local costume store and bought a replica Michael Jackson glove.

The next interview, I waited for the right moment. I said I needed to get a pen from my bag, reached down and put on the glove on and continued to take notes like nothing unusual had happened. The interviewers were surprised and chuckled.

I smiled and said something along the lines of "I can't dance like Michael Jackson but I can wear a glove like him." The interviewers got a real kick out of that. One of them actually put the glove on himself after I took it off and started doing Michael Jackson dance move hand gestures. But let me tell you they were still very serious and asked some tough questions.

Was wearing the glove a risky move? Perhaps but after the first couple of interviews I had a pretty good idea of the culture and people at that organization. I also figured it was a good litmus test to see how people reacted to different ideas, even ones appearing way out of the box.

Now I'm not suggesting you come to an interview in a clown suit. Nor be armed with resumes printed on pink paper doused in perfume. What I am suggesting is that you use the interview process as an opportunity to interview the company as well. Ask them tough questions (in a polite and respectful manner).

What I am also suggesting is you should infuse your own personality into the interview process if you have a sense the culture and environment allows that. Better to know how people respond to it during the interview process than after signing on the dotted line.

And how did those interviews go for me? Security promptly escorted me out of the building. Kidding. I was fortunate enough to receive a generous offer. So maybe the Michael Jackson glove really did make a difference. Because it sure wasn't due to my dancing skills.

Sulemaan Ahmed
Twitter @sulemaan

Tags: Get it off your chest, Human Resources, Marketing Talent, This and That
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Tell me if this sounds familiar. There is a major campaign and the marketing team of a company gets together. If they have an agency they brief them.

The team brainstorms on ideas, creative, copy, content and concepts. Everything comes together swimmingly. And as we're in an increasingly digital world we coordinate our offline marketing efforts as part of the campaign also. Print. Televsion. Radio. Billboards. You name it. All integrated into one ecosystem.

Someone on the team then gets hit by a thunderbolt during the process. You know those moments when a brilliant idea or tagline hits you when you are in the shower – and you get a brilliant name for the campaign. It's simple, to the point and memorable. Everyone agrees the proposed tagline is brilliant. And getting consensus is difficult if not bordering on impossible with so many internal stakeholders. Creative work starts and all systems are go! Full speed ahead. Damn the torpedoes!

And then a few weeks later as you steam ahead into the wild blue yonder someone has the temerity to ask the question "Has the website domain name for the campaign been registered?" Full stop. Evasive manoeuvres! Torpedo coming straight at you.

It's very common where marketers seem to put the registration of the domain name (I.e. website address) at the very bottom of their checklist – if it's there at all. And the consequences can be disastrous.

I once worked at a company where another department was working on a major marketing campaign. Our digital team wasn't involved as the other department 'had things totally under control'. A conservative estimate was that they had spent tens of thousands of dollars in creative, development work and media buy.

They then went to register the domain name – let's call it 'lightbox.com' - two weeks before the campaign launched. Guess what? The domain name was taken. Someone else had already registered it. They tried to get the legal department involved but no dice. Their case was tenuous at best and time was a commodity in short supply. Which isn't ideal when dealing with legal issues. Not to mention the CMO basically said "Figure it out. Or someone's head will roll."

The team then tried to purchase lightbox.com because all of the promotions and advertising led back to that website address. A website address they were not in possession of. Fortunately, the team managed to purchase it 12 hours before the national campaign went live. (They also paid through their nose and the ROI objectives of the entire campaign became a little more harder for no good reason.)

My question is why? In an age where digital, social and mobile are such a critical and integrated component of marketing – why do marketers seem to leave the domain names to the very end? These days that is akin to launching a campaign without creative. You just can't do it. And whether you are on the client side or agency side – it's completely irresponsible to overlook as a marketer. And don’t cop out and say that kind of thing is the responsibility of the IT department. It’s yours.

My rule of thumb has always been, as soon as you get alignment on a name, rush to the nearest computer and register the domain name immediately. Candidly, I border on paranoia where I refuse to tell people the name because you don't want word to get out until it's registered.

"That's great advice" you say – but what happens if I don't leave things to the last minute and the domain name is already taken Sulemaan? That could very well happen. In fact it's happened to me before and these days most .com website addresses are already taken. So here are some suggestions based on my experience:

1.Try to see if the website address is expiring anytime soon. Perhaps you can silently wait and then renew it for a minimal amount. Using a domain dropcatching service like NameJet or SnapNames vastly increases your chances here.

2.Pick an alternative domain name. Or instead of using a .com address, you can go with a .ca or .co address.

3.Use an intermediary to purchase the domain on your behalf. Why get someone else to do it? Isn't that more expensive? It might add some costs but if you directly contact the owner of a domain name you want and they figure out you work for 'Big Company X' or 'Huge Agency Y' - guess what happens to the starting asking price? Think helium balloons. So for years I've used Bill Sweetman from YummyNames. He's purchased domain names I’ve coveted from $24 all the way up to six figures. He's reliable. He's honest. He knows domains better than anyone I've met.

In this increasingly digital marketing world – whether you are planning a marketing campaign, launch or promotion - don't make registering your domain name(s) the last thing you do. Make it the first. That way you avoid unnecessary torpedoes.

Sulemaan Ahmed

Tags: eCommerce, Get it off your chest, Strategy, This and That
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Now despite the whole outrage over UBB in Canada, there are some other major issues occurring in the globe. As one friend aptly referred to our our hyper focus on UBB as a 1st world problem (i.e. our Internet costs potentially going up versus being cut off completely from the Internet in a show of repression).

The situation in Egypt is similar to other past pivotal events in the globe such as the Fall of the Berlin Wall and Tianamen Square. What makes it more compelling is the contributory role that Social media networks play such as Twitter, YouTube, YFrog and Facebook. No filters. No talking heads. Raw footage.

So of course a major brand - Kenneth Cole - tries to make light of the situation.

Brilliant. No less stunning is that this tweet came from Kenneth Cole himself. A compelling case could be made to file this under "What were they thinking?" And before you can say 'brandstorm' a fake Kenneth Cole PR twitter account was up and running within hours with well over 5 thousand followers. This is especially poignant as the normal Kenneth Cole twitter account has 9 thousand followers.

Now some could say Kenneth Cole was just having fun. Unfortunately the situation in Egypt is serious and is affecting many so this strikes close to home. Sure another clothing retailer tried to elicit controversy in the past but that doesn't make it right.

Candidly, I was also bothered by this tweet as l really like the Kenneth Cole brand. The number of shoes in my closet will attest to that. Talk about a classic case of bad PR or negative brand marketing creating cognitive dissonance.

Now to Kenneth Cole's credit he did apologize via Twitter a few hours after the controversy erupted. He also wrote a longer apology on Facebook where people are freely able to comment and call him some pretty nasty things in response. Check out the 1st reply.

It's also worth noting Kenneth Cole could have easily thrown some intern in front of the the bus but he stepped up to the plate and took accountability. Not to mention he's engaging social media where many senior executives won't touch it with a ten foot pole. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this debacle gave those naysayers more ammunition not to engage in social media.

We could all join the mob, grab our torches and pitchforks and march down to the local Kenneth Cole outlet to protest. I won't be doing that. Why? Not because I love his shoes but because I look at myself.

How many of have said something and immediately regretted it afterwards? Be it personally or in some kind of advertising campaign? Exactly. The only difference is that we are not leaders of a major clothing retailer where everything we say is highly scrutinized. Does that make what Mr. Cole did, right? Absolutely not but he did apologize. How many executives would have the temerity to do even that?

The only thing I might humbly suggest is that Kenneth Cole donate some of the significant resources (financial or otherwise) at his disposal to support the destitute in Egypt. They need it now more than ever. Perhaps a percentage of the online profits from the aforementioned 'Spring Collection' could go towards it? Or he could leverage the significant media at his disposal to create greater awareness of what is transpiring across the ocean in Egypt? As the Chief Creative Officer I'm sure he'll find a creative way to do something. Especially as he states in his Facebook apology "I’ve dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues."

Something creative that has an impact (beyond an apology) is a good next step in removing Kenneth Coles from the mouth. If you're going to talk the talk, you better walk the walk.

Sulemaan Ahmed

Tags: Branding, Digital, Get it off your chest, social media, This and That
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