THE ART OF THE COMEBACK

Diane von Furstenberg’s little wrap dress.

Telephone booths.

U.S. denim mills now manufacturing high-end jeans.

What’s old, so the saying goes, is new again. 

Thank the media, in part, for paying homage to stuff that, quite frankly, doesn’t seem so ancient to us.  Like PBS’ “Antiques Roadshow,” credited with a resurgence of interest in all things with years of patina.  A few months ago, The (august) New York Times, as part of the re-design of its Sunday magazine, launched a series called “Who Made That?” - using as its subjects such everyday objects as Kraft’s Velveeta and clothespins.  Recent culinary op-eds noted the revival of cast-iron cookware, yet mistakenly called it “marginal in the age we live in.”

Sometimes, baby boomer and other generations either re-acquaint themselves with or stumble on artifacts that might possess new lives, giving them new marketing twists.  Von Furstenberg’s eagle eye noticed that significant-for-flea-market prices were being asked (and paid for) her ‘70s-status dress.  High-end demand for authentic blue-jeans enticed an old North Carolina mill out of hibernation, and its workers, into better-paying livelihoods.  Today, telephone booths, no longer dressing rooms for Super-people or hang-outs for serial conversationalists, maintain a proud position in offices and creative firms. 

On the other hand, we fervently wish that some items in our portfolios (and our financial one, too) would experience a comeback.  Like good grammar, the craft of pairing the right nouns with the right verbs and avoiding dangling modifiers.  Like simple easy-to-understand design embedded in social media and Web sites and print media.  Like straightforward conversation, where understanding was the overriding, single, number-one objective of dialogue. 

What else deserves a comeback?  We’ll continue this list … with your help (at cbyd.co).

PLAIN, PURE AND SIMPLE

There’s hope in them words.

In the past 12 months or so, the likes of former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt, research from fund manager Invesco, and various and sundry media have pointedly – and poignantly – argued for the use of plain language.  In everything.

No one individual, no one corporation is immune.  Bloomberg BusinessWeek dove into the intricacies of Goldman Sachs’ rules for communication.  [Who could resist this one:  “Each individual’s correspondence must be sampled no less often than annually”?]

Financial advisers were another target.  Corporate mission statements received another volley of “please simplify.”  And Levitt took his once-and-future colleagues to task for using Wall Street-ese.

All these op-eds make us happy.  Most communicators and designers are, by instinct and by training, advocates of the strategically plain.  But where’s the reinforcement for great writing behaviors?  What’s the overall plan for change?

Once upon a time, the reward for best prose was bigger and better attention, which translated into book sales, media readership, even Internet visits.  Today, those incentives don’t work; bigger and better attention goes to Lady Gaga and Justin Beiber.

Maybe change for plain starts at the grassroots, with some simple tools put into the hands of influencers and agitators.  It could be a five-point checklist, inserted into brochures and annual reports, pasted on explanatory packaging.  Readers and consumers fill out that card, returning it to the originator.  Additional pennies per purchase or per stock share are given to those companies excelling in streamlined (and comprehensible) words.

Or for quick returns, how about a national award, with Hollywood-ish publicity, celebrity presenters, and re-tweets for the best non-advertising copy in different categories?  The statue would, of course, be called Mark, after author Twain who said he would never “write ‘metropolis’ for seven cents when I can write ‘city’ and get paid the same.”  A road show, then, would forever cure winners of using more than three-syllable words. 

Psst:  Brangelina, you busy?

ABCs* WE NEED TO MASTER

The days of Willy Loman are gone.  Long gone.

Along with, we hope, Ricky Ross and his colleagues from Glengarry Glen Ross.

Yet Arthur Miller and David Mamet’s plays continue to be revived year after year.

Perhaps it’s because today’s sales pro is still a breed apart.  These highly skilled practitioners live for meetings, listen with care, present dynamically, overcome objections, excel at negotiations, and drive for the deal.  Rightfully so, their contributions to the bottom line can be easily calculated. 

Many of us might not immediately accept that selling has become part of our job portfolios.  “Not my competency,” we’ll say.  Or simply sidestep the issue, knowing that handling rejection and mastering cold calls is integral to success.

Wait.  Ever accompany your deal-making counterparts to a prospect or new client meeting?  If you have, no doubt you’ve noticed a few similarities:

• Preparation is first and in-depth, well before the initial meeting.
• They ask great questions – and listen hard to the answers.
• Their to-the-point presentations zero in on benefits and value added.

Which is what we do.  Or should do.

To aspire to become trusted advisors in marketing, in branding, in design, in communications, we need to think about, first, when we sell – and second, how well we do it.   How often have you negotiated for more resources or a longer lead time?  When advocating that a new tool be implemented, do you develop a business case to present for leadership buy-in?  Are you comfortable with an “ask” of any kind?

Selling is now a science, with rigorous processes to adopt.  A few dozen business schools offer courses.  More than a handful of companies and coaches specialize in teaching industry-specific skills – to those working in professional services, within healthcare, for high tech.  Our consulting friends and colleagues have gone through innumerable strategic selling sessions to better their client skills.

It happens every day, in email, on the phone, with a presentation.  Are you ready?      

*Otherwise known as Always-Be-Closing.

COMM-CENSUS

Waahh!

The cries you hear are coming from the Midwest, which, says the U.S. Census, is no longer the heartland.  Instead, metro areas increased by nearly 11 percent over the last 10 to 12 years, as did western and southern regions.

Some other numbers that count:

• Latinos, along with a more concentrated Asian upswing, lead the people growth surge by major margins – like 65 percent in Texas, 55 percent in Florida, and, yes, nearly half the increase in Arizona and Nevada.  [That’s not so good for the GOP.]

• City hoods have become more integrated, with the most prominent example being Atlanta.  [That’s great news for promoting the U.S. of A. as a true melting pot.]

Other drool-worthy stats for demographers and psychographers range from Detroit’s “credit negative” status (a 25 percent decline) to the year 2041, the so-called date for the “majority minority” switch in this country.  [Translation:  At that time, whites of European ancestry will make up less than 50 percent of the population.]

We could spend even more time pondering the population shifts and transitions.  What becomes crystal clear to us, in our professional roles as chief communicators and change mavens, are the implications to our work (not to mention the companies we work for). 

A few of our top-of-mind thoughts: 

• Families and personal life take center stage, with policies and advertising and communications reflecting that focus.

• Diversity gets real.   Nope, not a simple nod to mixing color and gender.  Rather, language and visuals and behaviors become keenly attuned to everyone’s needs and inclinations. 

• Words and pictures matter.  Partnering with human resources experts, draw up different kinds of guides that segment and introduce messages and design and translations that will resonate with the various employee populations. 

• Internal and social-media communities will form naturally, gravitating towards like-minded colleagues who share specific values, yet welcoming other more diverse individuals and teams.

Is this a vision, an evolution, or a brand-new world?