12.11.23
THERE'S ZERO HUMANITY
CCO | Todd Lancaster
Just finished the excellent piece "Why is Everyone so Unhappy at Work Right Now? in the The Wall Street Journal by Vanessa Fuhrmans & Lindsay Ellis. In a nutshell, the "honeymoon is over" and the post-pandemic remote/hybrid/zoomed world has left employees craving jobs with a strong office culture. Employees are expressing their feelings - employers are listening - but both parties feel stuck. From the article - "The disconnect with workers has managers frustrated, and no quick fix seems to be at hand."
Oh wait- "I know a guy" - or better yet- "a place!”
Our clients have reached out, facing many of these challenges, and we've responded by creating some first steps and accessible guided programs to start mending the discontent and increasing culture gap widening between companies and their employees.
Brands spend so much money trying to create loyalty and attract consumers... but have failed to do so for their employees. Your brand's first target is your people. Brands are built from inside.
11.27.23
Authentically Gaslighting?
CCO | Todd Lancaster
Wow. Merriam-Webster's 2023 word of the year is "authentic." Seems fitting coming off of 2022's word "gaslighting." What troubles me is that in the brand world, leaders outwardly embrace and say they are building authentic brands - when in fact they are just gaslighting. In over 25 years of brand building I've never seen a year like 2023 where brands have raced faster to the bottom of the funnel and thrown everything into the mostly in-authentic world performance marketing and percents-off and BOGOs and price wars. All the while abandoning their brand truth. When everyone is at the bottom warring on price, everyone is simply a commodity – and while the bottom is definitely part of the game, it will be the true brands at the top actually building and connecting and showing up in authentic ways that will have audiences embracing them for who they are, rather than picking a deal out of a bargain bin.
8.16.23
The Challenges of Gen Z Job Hopping
CEO | Erik Herskind
Fostering a distinctive company culture has never been more important.
In today's rapidly evolving job market, the phenomenon of job hopping has gained significant attention, particularly among the Gen Z and younger Millennials workforce. And while job hopping to increase salary and skills early in a career is not new, it appears to be increasingly common: 22.3 percent of workers ages 20 and older spent a year or less at their jobs in 2022, the highest percentage with a tenure that short since 2006, according to data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Continue Article Here
6.27.23
Not the Culture Wars I’m Talking About
CCO | Todd Lancaster
Forget Bud Light or Target and focus on the real war that has every company out there pitted against each other…the War for Talent. This war is industry-agnostic and if you’re not in the trenches now, you soon will be. Those on the front lines are seeing it daily. Good people are hard to find and hard to keep. And post-pandemic, the good ones are jumping cross-platform and cross-industry to find what’s good for them, not necessarily what’s good for you. Luckily, there is something that’s good for both of you…culture. When you get down to brass tacks, you really have two levers to pull – compensation and culture. And you don’t want to get perpetually caught in the highest-bidder hamster wheel. So you better have a culture worth working for. Because if you don’t, it ain’t gonna work out for you or them. The world moved on, quit trying to fix the next gen of employees. FIX YOUR CULTURE.
6.1.23
Heat Hate?
CCO | Todd Lancaster
Ok. Let me get this outta the way first. I HATE the Miami Heat. H.A.T.E. I had to watch them celebrate the 2006 NBA Championship on the homecourt of my beloved Dallas Mavericks – in person. It hurt. B.A.D.
But as they make their seventh NBA Finals appearance this week, there’s something about the 2023 version of the Heat I just can’t hate… their culture. Excluding Pop in S.A. (because he’s grandfathered in – literally), they have the longest tenured coach in the league. They have 8 undrafted players (more than half their 15-man roster). As the 8 seed, they knocked off the number 1 & 2 seeds to get to the Finals. And it really comes as no surprise, team president Pat Riley has played, coached or been chief executive for a team in a championship game or series in SEVEN consecutive decades. What’s Riley’s secret. There is no secret. Culture is king. And Pat Riley knows it.
5.31.23
The Power of Company Culture in Challenging Economic Times
CEO | Erik Herskind
It goes without saying that many companies are feeling how uncertain the economy can be these days. With everything going on, having a strong corporate culture isn't just a fancy buzzword… Read Article HERE
5.18.23
Inside Boardroom Styling Lounge’s Aggressive Expansion & Rebrand
From the brand’s positioning, messaging and naming, we took Boardroom on a brand expedition that goes beyond aesthetics. (But we did that too… and it looks badass!)
4.6.23
CCO | Todd Lancaster
Everything looks the same. Have you noticed? Alex Murrell wrote an amazing piece on the subject. From the Instagram face, the wind tunnel car, to AirSpace interior design, the world’s aesthetic has been homogenized. And the advertising/branding world hasn’t escaped it. It’s got so bad Fast Company coined it blanding.
When I heard the term blanding, my brain went straight to the 80’s cult classic movie, They Live – where society has been numbed by mind-controlling, skull-faced aliens bent on subduing the population with subliminal bland messages and products. I’m starting to wonder if “they live” in 2023. So here’s a call to arms for all the creatives, designers, CMOs, marketing and branding professionals, anybody… say NO TO BLANDING.
We can fight blanding together. Creatives – think of something new, use your imaginations, be curious, find a new way, new color, new shape, new shot, new angle, new word. CMOs – be brave, take chances, embrace new ideas, your brand will never stand out if it looks like everyone else’s.
3.22.23
Don’t look now, but Hilton just validated the link between brand health and happy employees.
CEO | Erik Herskind
Put this recent Skift article in the “your brand is more than your logo” file folder. Better yet, share it with your executive team at your next week’s meeting. Because Hilton has put a stake in the ground when it comes to “cultivating an energized workforce to deliver on its brand promises.”Rather than talking about new color palettes and improved amenities at its 19 hotel and resort brands, Matthew Schuyler, chief brand and communications officer points to labor relations and a critical piece of creating happy workers (which creates prosperous brands).And is it working? You bet. For the past seven years, Fortune magazine has named it one of the World’s Best Workplaces (and currently the only hospitality company on the 25-slot “Great Places to Work” list).
11.4.22
Dust off your brand and invest in it.
CCO - Todd Lancaster
United is pulling no punches vs. rival Southwest Airlines in today's Ad Age article by Adrianne Pasquarelli. Fun jab, quick read, but skip to the moral of the story - "Invest in your brand to emerge on top."
8.3.22
Three Ways to Know Your Culture and Brand Aren’t Connected
- CEO Erik Herskind
A few short years ago, companies almost exclusively focused all their efforts on their relationship with their customers. Corporate Culture was considered an internal issue. Today, it is paramount that culture and brand be aligned to provide clarity and a unified mission >> click to read more
3.15.22
Are one-sided conversations killing your brand? Watch Volume One of our Shop Talk Webinar Series where GoDo CEO Erik Herskind helps you avoid this all-too-common brand messaging mistake.
2.2.22
Hear Todd Lancaster, GoDo CCO, teach Gold’s Gym International and domestic franchisees how to live their brand truth at the Gold’s Gym’s Global Convention.
1.26.22
Why Checking the Culture Box is the Biggest Mistake You’ll Make This Year.
- CEO Erik Herskind
As the first month of the year winds down, a conversation I’ve had more than once this month keeps coming back to me. In both formal and informal business settings, CEOs from significant companies have said to me some version of “yeah, we… >> click to read more
5.19.21
Hey! Ho!
-CCO Todd Lancaster
Joey Ramone would have turned 70 years old this week. He was and is everything punk. And punk's not a music genre, it's a philosophy. A quote from the philosopher.
"Play before you get good, because by the time you get good, you're too old to play." - Joey Ramone
Hey! Ho! Let's Go Do great things!
5.7.21
Boomerangs and Burning Bridges
-CCO Todd Lancaster
Just finished an article from George Anders on the rise of career boomerangs (link below). The article is a few years old, but is timely now as the pandemic has taught us a lot about how we work, where we work and who we work with. And that's had alot of former employees and employers reconnecting and George lists 5 things you gotta get right. For former employees, big ones being don't burn any bridges, keep in contact, and understand… >> click to read more
4.13.21
STOP! Before you…
-CCO Todd Lancaster
…name or rename your company, product, brand, restaurant or whatever you're trying to name; first read this article in today's CNN Business section - then call me. Our creative firm GoDo Discovery Co. has a proprietary process for naming your next venture. In the last few months we've named one of the U.S.'s largest private club organizations, a popular franchisee holding company, multiple restaurants, a barber, a spa and a boutique hotel. It's all about your brand truth. We'll find it first and then we'll know your name. Not search for it. Not guess it. Know it. As the first line of this article says, "you don't want to be the next member in the pantheon of the worst named companies in history."
4.1.21
Opening Day :(
-CCO Todd Lancaster
Used to be the biggest day in sports. Now it's not. Why? On the Ticket this morning I caught a snippet where The Musers sited a Sports Illustrated article by Tom Verducci that had some thoughts on why. One is that Major League Baseball has moved from "an athletic contest to a thinking contest." Analytics is starting to trump the athletes. And how exciting is that to watch?
And I can't help but think how that basic premise is hurting all kinds of industries… >> click to read more
3.30.21
Similes Make Me, Like, Smile
-CCO Todd Lancaster
One of my BIGGEST pet peeves about language is the current usage of the word “like.” It’s like, the worst thing, in like, the whole world. I don’t know what happened, but modern speakers just can’t, like, find the right words to say, or like, find the right thing to compare what they’re talking about, to like, other things. So they just keeping “liking” through every GD thing… >> click to read more
3.19.21
Get Away
-CCO Todd Lancaster
Spent the week driving across the county in an RV “unplugging.” After a year of lock downs, quarantines and being digitally connected more than physically connected – it was a breath of fresh air both metaphorically and literally. With the work/life balance turned upside down for many of us, getting away for your mental health is a must! I just don’t know how much sanity I actually found in an RV with a family of five in the middle of the desert?
3.10.21
Start Your Own Band
-CCO Todd Lancaster
Literally and/or metaphorically – do it. I was lucky enough to be interviewed by Adweek (read here) and their writer clued in on something that seems increasingly relevant today. I’ve got several creative friends that have been hit hard by the pandemic. From furloughs to layoffs, there are a lot of creative and agency-types out there trying to figure out their next move. And that’s what brought me back to what the writer honed in on in our interview… enough to wrap her story around it. The “Go start your own band” mantra. She didn’t include… >> click to read more
3.4.21
Logos 101
-CCO Todd Lancaster
While pumping gas, my eyes rested on 5 frigid letters – HIELO. Didn’t think another thought about it until I drove away. I marveled that I had just seen a word I’ve never seen in my life and I knew exactly what it was. Because of the logo. It’s the same logo I’ve seen about a billion times in 3 frigid letters – ICE.
Logos are one of the hardest things for clients to settle on. It’s so subjective they say. But is it really? Sure a little bit of aesthetic opinion can… >> click to read more
2.25.21
From Conception to Execution
-CCO Todd Lancaster
Been thinking about this a lot lately. Specifically as it relates to the ad/marketing industry (and a maybe a little existentially too, but that’s another post). It’s a journey that every piece of creative goes on – whether it’s a brand, a campaign, a logo… an anything. The journey from an idea (the concept) - to a realization (the execution). Powerful words: CONCEPT and EXECUTION. One is a spark, an epiphany! The other is, well, death… >> click to read more
2.12.21
Super Flop
- CCO Todd Lancaster
Wanna know the real reason Jeep’s Super Bowl ad flopped. It’s not what you think. Bruce Springsteen’s DUI may have actually been their “save” to get out of the ditch they found themselves in after the big game.
The real reason it flopped was they didn’t speak through their archetype. They got out of their lane. Jeep’s spent generations speaking through the lens of the Explorer Archetype. Jeep doesn’t drive through the socio-political swamp…they’ve spent… >> click to read more
2.4.21
First Covid-Super Bowl
-CCO Todd Lancaster
The first Pandemic-era Super Bowl is this weekend (hopefully the last). And I’m wondering if it will kill the “killer” SB ad for good? With bars shuttered, less parties and limited fans at the game, some analysts are saying this SB telecast may have the most eyeballs in history as everyone is hunkered down at home. While others are saying it could have the least… because it’s those parties and potential killer commercials that bring the non-football eyeballs. And I say potential, because some of the biggest… >> click to read more
1.25.21
2020 Brand of the Year goes to…
-CCO Todd Lancaster
The last few weeks everyone’s picked their brand of the year for 2020. I’ve got mine and it’s not even close… BLM. Now before I lose half of you - this is not political talk - this is brand talk. What have creative directors & ad agencies been telling you to do with your brand messaging for years?
Make a simple statement. Believe it. Make it accessible and repeatable and shout it… >> click to read more