creativity for president

A brand is a calculus, the sum of which fluctuates depending on a consumer's interaction with it (O'Keefe). A brand manager is responsible for building or reducing infrastructure to implement change around the 5 P's; position, product, price, place, promotion. A consumer is also a content creator.

Our next President needs to recognize voters as content creators. He or she needs to be a better brand manager, not for his or her own personal brand, but for the USA brand. During the presidential race, the candidates needs to clearly define the current state of the USA brand and which pieces of infrastructure he or she would build or reduce to implement change. The earlier that the candidate can build a vision for cross functional partners (ie voters), the better the chance that the vision will be implemented. I highly doubt that any of the candidates are listening to me; however, I thought that I would offer some free advice from the perspective of a brand manager, just in case.

Position

The most creative nation in the world.

Creativity is neither Democratic nor Republican. Creativity is American. Creativity is also a currency right now. Just look at the value that Facebook placed on Instagram ($33 per user). The candidates need to inspire all individuals to feel like they have the capacity to create more than they are creating right now. After all, it's the collection of little business owners who pursue their dreams that will put the economy back on track.

Product

Intellectual Capital

A vehicle and a computing device are relatively similar things. They take you from point A to point B. You encounter other "drivers" along the way. The government requires a license to drive a car, why wouldn't they also require a license to navigate the internet? Implement a license to navigate the internet. Teach topics of personal privacy, intellectual property and content creation. Use it as an opportunity to create awareness about government websites. Hire the most creative digital agency in the US (R/GA) to make it fun and entertaining so that for a middle schooler, using the internet becomes an exciting stage of life. Give people a customized badge to pin once they have been awarded their license. At $10 per internet license for people on Facebook in the US alone, that is $1,690,000,000 in revenue. Have 5 year renewals as technology and related topics evolve.

Price

GDP + Personal Income

Penny profit. It's a simple and easy way to manage margin that works for both small businesses and large corporations alike. Allow the US residents to take a margin on their own personal content creation as measured in traffic per piece of content. Traffic ("bandwidth") is good not only for the corporations and advertisers, but an individuals own personal brand. Encourage citizens to produce quality thinking, not just quantity. Increase our exports. Pay for it by charging two pennies per international view. Keep a penny for yourself. Make our thoughts count to the local and international economy.

Place

Access

In the most thoroughly modern sense, if citizens cannot create digital content, they cannot contribute to the economy. Work on bringing internet access to every inch of the US. Improve infrastructure and encourage states to go wireless. Innovate. Empower each individual to become a contributing factor to the intellectual capital of our economy.

Promotion

We have a Nobel Peace Prize. Institute an Intellectual Capital Prize. Allow content creation to become a revered and respected philosophy. Let the reward be a break from taxes during the year in which the prize is awarded and give him or her international exposure. Praise individuals who contribute in valuable, compliant and legal ways. Create an emotional connection with your voters / consumers / content creators.

starting a revolution

As my family joined together tonight to watch the beautiful premiere of the HBO miniseries John Adams, it occurred to me how the principles of strategy and branding are similar whether you are launching a new product line or in the making of a revolution.

You need what my dad calls a "level 5 leader." This is someone who brings humility and courage to the table. An individual who is able to inspire others to action and perhaps transform cultural paradigms. When we were children we learned about Thomas Jefferson and George Washington as brilliant thinkers and leaders of our colonial era, however, it was John Adams who engaged them to act.

You need a core of believers. These are people who come from a variety of places and represent various traditions and economic conditions, however, all share the same set of values and mission in life. Even though John Adams was very different from his delegate from South Carolina, John Rutledge, they both valued their independence to the extent that their differences could be laid aside.

You need a rallying cry. "Join, or Die," for instance, was a term coined by Benjamin Franklin in a 1754 cartoon depicting the disunited state of the British American colonies. It was a line used well into the Revolution as a method of persuading others to act upon their independence.

You need a measurement tool. For the newly established United States of America, the Constitution was the first measurement of law. To this day, it holds each branch of government accountable for independence as a whole.

http://www.hbo.com/films/johnadams/

uncommon sense

When we were children, it seemed the most common form of feedback revolved around our "use of common sense." When we were younger, it was easy to be foolish because we did not know any better.

As I grow older, there still seems to be this pressure around having common sense; making wise decisions with the right friends and business partners at the right time. More or less, common sense is about risk aversion. However, it seems to me that successful people do not get where they are going using common sense. These people become successful as a result of taking on risks using a little uncommon sense.

Uncommon sense can be defined as "a remarkable or unparalleled capacity to judge practical matters." As left-brained thinking nears the end of its life cycle and right-brained thinking makes a comeback, should we not favor the unfavorable?

going green

I was very inspired by last week's assignment to present a new strategic initiative for The Home Depot. After meeting my own opinion with a travel through the website and a visit to the store I realized what a wonderful opportunity the retailer has.

Wal-Mart owns the everyday low price retailer position. They do this by negotiating lower prices with their vendors, who often have to develop line extensions (sub brands) in order to make a profit. In these extensions, packaging and product are sub-par to the typical brand product (thank you, Rob, for explaining this to me with regard to Boston Cutlery). Vendors who have a hard time adapting to the often quick turnaround time end up losing money.

With growing concerns for the health of our environment, a lot of people are asking "what can I do?" Eco-friendly products are not just a trend, they are a a byproduct of our mixed economy, advocated in both earned media and advertising.

The Home Depot's two main consumers are somewhat opposed to each other is philosophy. The construction worker has his or her tried and true methods of production with familiar products at familiar price points. The do-it-yourself[er] is willing to experiment with methods and products, given the price point is within reason.

Culture is encouraging the individual to go green for him- or herself. What if The Home Depot promoted their "Eco Options" campaign to the DIY target in-store by making a decision to keep its vendors accountable for the environmental sustainability of their products?

What if THD went to vendors and negotiated for more eco-friendly line extensions? These products could stand apart from others on the shelf with a green SKU label. THD could encourage environmental responsibility in our economy's largest industry, construction, in a small way. They could lead the green movement.

The Home Depot could go green.