Tag: year

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The Ads Have It

Good Super Bowl. Saints deserved to win. Brees outplayed Peyton. Mardi Gras will be long this year.

The Who put on a solid performance – although I kept thinking: 1) I hope Roger Daltrey doesn’t have a heart attack; and, 2) It’s time to leave behind the rock icons and start using current stars. (Guessing next year in Dallas, Jerry Jones will serve up an array of country acts – George Strait, Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood.)

Like the game, the commercials will go down as good, not great. The ad execs were as conservative as the Colts offense. No one showed the kind of risk-taking Sean Payton took with that onside kick to open the second half.

Here is my Top 10 for 2010:

10. Budweiser “Clydesdales” – I wanted to put the Super Bowl Shuffle remix here; however, any ad that includes a Bevo lookalike works for me.

9. Audi “Green Police” – Great concept that built toward a surprise ending as a car commercial.

8. Google “Paris” – This one probably didn’t make your list…but for simplicity and creativity, it was a winner (especially since my daughter spent last summer in France).

7. Kia “Sock Monkey” – Anyone willing to bring back that classic symbol of the stock market bubble deserves recognition. Really liked the robot doing the robot.

6. CBS “Letterman” – Great connection with recent NBC late night challenges. Oprah mediated as Leno took subtle swipe at his own network.

5. Denny’s “Grand Slam” – It was corny, but I liked the screaming chickens.

4. Budweiser “Bridge” – Nice take using a ‘B’ movie approach. I could hear some small town folks in west Texas saying, “Yep, we’d do that here.”

3. Tru.tv “Troy Polamalu” – Well-timed Groundhog Day premise with a shocking ending. Good follow-up to his shampoo commercials that appeared all season.

2. Snickers “Betty White” – The moment it came on, I said, “That looks like Betty White.” Turns out it was. Liked the Abe Vigoda ending. Surprised to learn he’s still alive.

1. Doritos “My Momma” – Ads with children and pets always work, especially when the kid gets in the face of mom’s date.

Finally, I hope all the pundits and folks who criticized Tim Tebow learned a lesson. Before you make negative comments, watch the ad. This turned out to be one of the better ones – and a great way to handle a difficult subject. Focus on the Family got a lot of value from its investment.

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Grass Is Always Greener

Last week I was facilitating the quarterly check-in meeting with one of my oil and gas client’s teams. These 55 energetic folks are responsible for delivering $120 million in revenue this year. As you might imagine, they are feeling some pressure to execute efficiently. One person began her comments by saying, “Everyone needs to understand our industry is changing quickly…” The only thing I remember about the rest of her statement is it appeared she was trying to justify some of the challenges they’ve faced thus far.

My guidance was to suggest they not fall back on a “we’re different than everybody else” crutch. I mentioned the airline commission cuts of 1995 – and ultimate elimination a few years later – and how one-third of travel agents evaporated from the industry.

I asked how many of them would like to be a printer right now. No one volunteered. Then I said, “Imagine you work at Amazon. You’re sitting on top of the world with Kindle…until Steve Jobs introduces iPad. How are you feeling today?”

Evolution. Commoditization. Overcapacity. There will always be something that jumps up and disrupts the smooth road you’re walking.

I was the co-owner of a sports travel company during the commission cuts. People across the industry were screaming for a class action lawsuit. We took a different approach – gathering our leaders and asking, “What now?” It took about a year for us to discover a better path. Today, that business – which I sold to my partner – is a two-time recipient of the “Best Travel Company in North America” award.

Of course, there was a class action lawsuit regarding the commission cuts. We eventually received a check for about $1,000. Good thing that wasn’t the change we counted on for success.

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Seek Professional Advice

Another of the Top 10 things I learned this year:

#4

Target 2027 – Up and down. Up and down. The rollercoaster ride of the stock market the past decade is enough to make you woozy. With my Big 5-0 arriving in 179 days, we recently entrusted our retirement savings to a money management firm. Aligning with professionals who take a ‘preserve capital first’ approach and understand the intricacies of blending the stock market with fixed investments to create a diversified portfolio seems like a better approach than dollar-cost averaging and being ‘all in’ all the time.

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In Search of the Guru

Continuing the countdown of the Top 10 things I learned this year:

#7

Go For It – A few months ago I read where Seth Godin wanted to invite a select group of 10 small business owners to spend a day brainstorming. The cost would be travel to and lodging in New York City and a $3,500 charitable donation. I decided to apply and wrote a compelling business case about why the marketing guru should pick Success Handler. He replied immediately with a personal e-mail. A week later, he sent another… notifying us we weren’t among the chosen few. While that was disappointing, it convinced me that I’m one click away from anyone on the planet. In 2010, my biggest Rock is to reach out to a lot more smart people and see what happens.

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The Year in Review

Counting down the Top 10 Things I learned this year:

#10

First Things First – During a coaching session one of my clients was describing the challenges he faces in his start-up company. Like many, he struggles balancing all the stuff on his plate. My response: “That’s why I’m eliminating things getting in the way of my success.” There will always be more to do, and most of us focus on what we enjoy, not necessarily what we need to be doing. I recently gave up my position as a columnist for an industry magazine, mutually agreed to end a long-term coaching relationship and decided not to renew a consulting contract. What will you let go of in 2010 to free up extra hours in your schedule?

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