By Ed Zuber



Earlier this month, I went camping in Las Vegas.  Stories were told, rich in allegory, bringing life to the messages behind the stories.  Music was played, songs were sung.  Meals were eaten.  Friendships were made.  There was hiking amid architecture and designed environments that approached the topographical and exotic.  There was even wildlife.  This was at Brand Manage Camp 2009.

I love camping in the traditional sense and all the stuff that comes with it.  Exploration.  Camaraderie.  Immersion in the unknown/unfamiliar.  Taking time to think.  Good conferences can be like that too.  I’d been to an earlier installation of Brand Manage Camp a few years ago in Denver, and my high expectations were not disappointed.  Engaging speakers highlighted important trends and shared insights animated by interesting stories.  Conference music was chosen by an expert in sonic branding.  The MGM Grand, with its ample and modern conference space even had lions that one could observe from inches away, even underneath, through a sheet of glass.  (It occurs to me that if businesses managed their transparency in the same manner and intent as observing lions at the MGM, there would be fewer problems in business.)  Even to the passive conference attendee, this is all great.  But if you embrace the experience, it becomes all the richer.

If you arrive early to breakfast and other meals, rather than eating alone or managing emails or voicemails, you’ll meet some interesting people.  You’ll discover connections in networks and ideas you hadn’t seen before.  You’ll make friends.  You might even find yourself demonstrating the difference between Axel F and Rockit and making others laugh.  (Yes, this actually happened, and I had a surreal moment a week later when this same obscure conversation appeared on a new TV sitcom.)  If you participate in activities, you’ll not only have a deeper experience, your participation will help others to do the same.  If you take the time to explore the streets and buildings of a conference city and see what people are doing and saying, you’ll get to know the character of a city and understand it a little better.  You might even start thinking more creatively.

Marketing often talks about creating great experiences for customers, and when customers are prepared to embrace the experience, it’s a win for everyone.  I wonder how often companies are thinking beyond experience design and figuring out how to make it easy for customers to embrace experiences and easy for employees to deliver great experiences.

For those of you who couldn’t go brand camping this year, I took away the following themes from the 12 sessions.  We are in the midst of change, joined not only by crises in the economy and employment, but crises in our relationships with business.  Many brands are suffering from trust and relevance issues.  There is a very strong call to act immediately for survival and growth of our businesses.  Innovation is required, which is supported by thinking creatively and ahead of process curves.  At the same time, we need to measure against objectives and assess what is working to make better decisions.  Experimentation is a powerful tool to explore new ideas, link actions to results, and make better business decisions.  Here’s the brand evolution:  our brands are becoming more about our character, based on how we behave, connect with customers, and provide value for their needs.  To do so, we need to understand our customers better and connect more deeply, past the rational to the emotional and spiritual needs.  Organizational values and culture are a powerful way to connect with employees, customers, and several other groups that matter.  Brands and culture need to be authentic, and they will guide decision making.  Lead by example.  Successful brands will develop more organically and honestly.  Web 3.0 means that people can find out the truth and share it.  There are many widely-used web tools we can use to connect with each other and customers, to collaborate for work, and to learn.  These tools are evolving; we need to participate wisely and not get lost.  Act now.

There were many great conference quotes I’d love to list, but my favorite comes from Jeremy Gutsche, trend hunter: Culture eats strategy for breakfast.  My runner up is from Guy Kawasaki:  Don’t let the bozos grind you down.  I submit that embracing just these two inspirational philosophies will get you a long way.

In closing, here are two more quotes that I’ve found myself returning to over the past weeks.  Charlene Li speaks wisely of social technologies:  Prepare to let go of the control you never had.  And here is a final one from Jonathan Salem Baskin that I don’t take literally but I enjoy ruminating because it provokes deeper thought on a brand’s character and also creates some amusing images:  Kill your mascot.