Comments on: Grip interviews: Kevin Lynch

By: Dave

Dave — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 17:08:33 +0000

Am I reading too much into your ‘break bread’ analogy, or did just ask Steve out to lunch? Albeit, at a chain restaurant.

By: kevin

kevin — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:07:14 +0000

ha! before i realized the comment was from my old partner steve, i was reading it thinking, “hey smart point.” i should’ve known… a further explanation may help:

the point of a digital idea being enduring but lacking urgency is a good one, though i think of a digital idea as being more of a life form than the announcement-feel of a traditional TV or print ad. which means a brand’s expectations of how folks take in the idea should be different as well. using the panera example, if they had created a “Break Bread” day, encouraging adversaries to grab a meal together on a particular day, the print ad could’ve been pretty much the same, but the digital could’ve spurred a lot more conversation (i.e. “which facebook friend have you had a falling out with? time to make up…” type of thing). panera could’ve then made it easy to have people share stories about who they reconnected with (they have a couple hundred thousand fans on facebook, so their audience is voluntary and substantial already). then, panera could’ve encouraged the same event next year, and the year after. and the success of future events would be led more by online conversation they’ve generated and maintained throughout the year, rather than a one-off print ad. in other words, a digital idea’s endurance can come not just from its presence, but from its (potential) development.

good god, that was serious. sorry.

By: Greg

Greg — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 22:32:02 +0000

“If an idea is truly dead-on right for a brand, there shouldn’t be fear at all – only unbridled enthusiasm.”

I agree 100% with this. At least the way Kevin means it. The struggle comes when agencies and brand managers start to confuse “right for the brand” with conventional tactics. For some, a dead-on idea for a retailer is just low price in a starburst, and a dead-on idea for a fiber supplement might be old people smiling and having a good time.

By: Ian Mackenzie

Ian Mackenzie — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:49:31 +0000

To recap:

1) Online ads are more enduring because they last longer.

2) Online ads are less enduring because they last longer.

The resonance point is well taken. Your online ad might last for a million years, but will anyone care two weeks from now?

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 15:54:45 +0000

I would suggest that there’s a difference between enduring in the digital sense (e.g. that it will always be there) and enduring in the sense that it will have resonance over a long period of time. My belief is the fact that ideas communicated digitally never really disappear paradoxically negates their endurance. They lose a bit of their sense of urgency and, therefore, their significance.
After working with Kevin for over a decade, starting a company with him and sharing millions of memories, I can honestly say that this is the first time I’ve ever disagreed with him on any point.

By: Paul Dhillon

Paul Dhillon — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:42:08 +0000

It’s true that brands should be focusing on what their customers “want to hear” but research can be so misleading that it’s hard to know exactly what that is. Sometimes the intuition of brand stewards (brand managers & creatives) is more effective than a focus group.

By: Ian Mackenzie

Ian Mackenzie — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:27:01 +0000

“It’s popular to say, ‘Companies don’t own brands, consumers do.’ But that’s simply not true. Ultimately, consumers don’t make ownership decisions, companies do. To wit, if I owned my favorite brand of beer, it would be free.”

Brilliant!