After reading In today’s Advertising Age post, Why Metrics Are Killing Creativity in Advertising, Patrick Sarkissian’s subhead reads: “When marketing decisions are based on numbers, we lose the desire to be creative.”

Damn that’s bleak. And I certainly don’t see it that way.

What clients are asking for is accountability. They want results for their investment in our big freaking brains. And we have to deliver. Why? Because there is no going back to hoping something works, especially when the price tag for such work is six and seven figures deep. In the article, Patrick Sarkissian explains:

Recently, I had a wicked battle with a client determined to let the numbers fully dictate a new creative strategy.

Thing is, you cannot truly quantify creativity. And in ever-increasing fashion, our clients’ (and our own) rote dependence on the dusty world of metrics is exactly why creativity is going to hell.

Here’s the thing: when you leave it to marketers to explain their business and numbers to you, you’re done.

Think about sitting in a board meeting with them. Shadow them for a week and see what pressures they face. Make them go over the metrics before you sit down and develop a strategy. Once you see their business through their eyes, you’ll probably get a deeper understanding of why your pretty comps spray mounted on black foam core don’t mean a fucking thing to them.

It’s up to agencies and creatives to take the lead and explain to marketers how the world has changed and how bigger ideas — and yes, more creative ones that tug at the emotions or take a sledgehammer to the funny bone — are their best chance to emerge victorious in the constant fight for attention.

I think clients and marketers want to trust us again. They want to be able to have a partner they can look to and solve the problems they face. But if we just stand around bitching about metrics and accountability, that day will never come.

If you’ve lost your desire to be creative in the face of metrics, please feel free to refer those clients to me. I’d be more happy to find freedom within the numbers.

Thanks in advance.

Search on Google and you’ll note a big change in the results page about 1/3 of the way down: a scrolling list of results that appear just minutes and seconds after they’re posted online — and that includes results from Twitter (just note the post from “deckard256″ in the image above).

What does it mean to you a business owner? A company? A marketing department? There’s no longer any delay whatsoever between a customer’s experience and what the world will learn about that experience should it be posted anywhere online.

Of course, these scrolling results won’t be available if there isn’t a lot of online chatter about that term. But the more opinions, insights, emotions people share over time about their everyday lives, the more your chances of appearing there, or on Bing, or on Yahoo! or anywhere else online for that matter — immediately.

Technology’s leaps and bounds are prodding and nudging for companies to do what’s been prescribed for years: Be there. Be vigilant. Be responsive. (The thing is, now you’ll have to add quicker than ever to the mix, too.)

What do you think about Google gone real-time?

When I took my first bite, I chalked it off to kitchen having an off night — which is unheard of at The Red Elephant Pizza and Grill. When I returned three weeks later, the result was the same. Crestfallen, I asked our waitress if she wouldn’t mind getting the manager (my wife always loves when I do this).

It wasn’t 30 seconds before Jeff Hanson, General Manager (pictured above), appeared, introduced himself and asked how he could help us. Pushing back a tear, I asked what was up with the chicken salad?

Apparently, the original chicken salad recipe had been getting some disheartening reviews from customers. Now, it was gone. The tarragon and walnuts had been evicted, only to be replaced by grape halves. My chicken salad wrap had been transformed into something that no longer compared.

Noting my disappointment, Jeff quickly said, “Tell you what, next time you come in, call me fifteen minutes before and I’ll make it for you the old way.”

I heard angels sing, and an elephant trumpet. Jeff seemed to bask in a heavenly glow.

Over the next couple of months, I visited with my daughter and wife but didn’t bother asking Jeff to make good on his offer. After all, who wants be that annoying customer? (My wife, however, will tell you that I am, and she would love telling you this).

Last week, I went for it. I called ahead and spoke to the Manager, Jeri Render. I explained the “situation” and she said, hold on, let me get Jeff. She got back on the phone about three seconds later and said, “Jeff says come on over.”

Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting with my daughter, enjoying the original chicken salad wrap recipe our waitress, Trish, had brought over. It was perfect. Better than perfect, actually. It was made just for me, by the fearless leader of a fun-loving group of people who seem to always be going the extra mile.

The Red Elephant Pizza and Grill became our family’s go-to restaurant since we moved to the Northeast side of Tallahassee. When we’re in no mood to crank up the stove, our 3 year-old daughter stills get her grilled-cheese-and-fries, my wife her single serving pizza, and me, well, since there’s no more tarragon or walnuts, I go for the grilled mahi mahi. When you’re there, you can always count on the food being hot, the atmosphere being fun, the music being funky, and the staff being unforgettable.

I’m a fan. What about you?

Conversation Fridays at the conversation factory weren’t meant to be networking sessions in the traditional sense. We certainly don’t exist for the purpose of pitching business to each other. But what’s happening is exactly what I hoped would happen: guests are beginning to earn trust and business by sharing their perspectives and ideas. After all, sharing ideas IS pitching business, but doing it like this is so much more powerful, genuine, and human than traditional sales approaches.

By the time each session ends, everyone knows who you are, what you do, and what makes you unique in your space. Of course, this last part depends greatly on your participation during our one-hour session.

If you’re interested in attending, email me or just post a message on the conversation factory’s wall on facebook. We encourage reservations because we limit our sessions to 9 people so that everyone can participate, though we certainly don’t frown on you if you’re a serial listener.

You can bring your business cards and your ideas, just leave the sales pitch at the door. A one-hour conversation beats 10 second elevator speech any day of the week — especially Fridays.

Have a great weekend.

Posted via email from michaelcalienes’s posterous

It’s that time of year again when messages from business owners and staff  requesting a vote for their companies in the Tally Awards begin filling our inboxes and blanketing our newsfeeds.

Maybe your business will win; but, man, what if you get absolutely NOTHING?!

Before you go bunching your panties, think about what it takes to win a Tally Award. It takes getting more people to vote for your business than any other business in that category. I don’t know what that tells you, but that tells me it’s a popularity contest. It also tells me that a mediocre business with a well-networked staff can easily beat out an exceptional business whose staff prefers doing business beyond the perimeter of the spotlight.

I’m not saying don’t enter. I’m not saying don’t vote. I’m saying keep it in perspective. And seriously, if you have the ability to get a few hundred people to click some buttons on the internet, consider directing them here, here, or here. Maybe you can help change the world, or even a small part of it. Now that would be something deserving of an award.

Thanks to Chad Caufield and MMB Boston for calling us in on this :30 Subway project. The original spot was conceived by the creatives at McCarthy Mambro Bertino. Transplant was subsequently called in to assist with transcreation into Spanish language, casting selects, and voice direction.

¡Muchas gracias, compadres!

Tonight I received this 7-second message from Jim Bennight of Brian Barnard’s Flooring America Tallahassee. In it, he simply says, “Hello, Michael. You’re gonna make a technophile out of me yet. See you Friday.”

Why is that so exciting? Because it’s a big step for Jim, but I’m sure it’s just one of many many more. He’s been attending Conversation Fridays at The Conversation Factory since day one. He’s been curious all along — asking questions, participating in our discussions and really digging in. Now he’s tweeting, blogging, and digging deeper into his passion for rugs.

You’ll be seeing more from Jim I’m sure. Hopefully, so will I.

If you’ve got any questions about area rugs, well, Jim’s your man.

See you Friday, Jim.

So. What do you do when you launch a facebook page featuring a new product people hate? If you’re Honda, and your product is the CrossTour set to release this fall, you put a copywriter and a lawyer together in a freshly-disinfected room, turn on the fluorescent lighting, set the thermostat to about 64º, and get to work.

1. Set up a “Message to Fans” tab; after all, who wants to speak directly to anyone responsible for the very thing being berated?
2. No matter how strong the urge, do not respond directly to anyone.
3. Post a commercial that doesn’t even show the car, thereby fueling fans’ opinions.
4. Make visitors become fans to access “exclusive content.”
5. Explain the removal of comments with something warm and fuzzy like, “We removed comments that were posted contrary to American Honda’s consumer-generated media policy for associates.”

I could go on, but you get the point. Although a lot of bad has been said about the Honda CrossTour (and its social media efforts), it’s apparent Honda didn’t do enough social media homework to soften the blows they never saw coming. Personally, I don’t think the car looks all that bad — certainly the social media effort was designed much more haphazardly. I’d say it was as well thought out as the Pontiac Aztek (now THAT is one ugly vehicle).

Happy Sunday.

Posted via email from michaelcalienes’s posterous

I’d like to thank today’s Conversation Friday attendees (left to right) Howard Libin of Adventures in Advertising, Juli Puckett and Allie Merzer-Fleming of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, and Fred Addonizio and Jim Bennight of Brian Barnard’s Flooring America.

We got the Conversation going by playing Chris Brogan’s “Don’t be that guy” video, which sparked plenty of discussion about when to be human, and when to sell. We talked facebook and twitter strategies and pros and cons, what’s working in retail and what isn’t. By 1pm (from right to left), the facebook regulars had converted Fred from a member to user (here’s a quick before and after); we discussed how Jim could use his blog to cast a wider net and attract readership and and drive online conversation; talked about how, just yesterday, Allie’s facebook feed fed more ideas for next year’s Annual Chamber conference; discussed how Julie could use twitter hashtagging and explore twitter from a professional and personal standpoint; and how Howard’s love of the yard sale has inspired a weekly series of updates.

I’m grateful for everyone’s presence here today. I learned a heck of a lot about each of these people’s businesses and their points of view. It was a group effort that offered a human dynamic you just can’t get online. (We all know each other better than we did at 11:59am that’s for sure.)

If you’d like to join us next Conversation Friday, just leave a comment here or drop me a note at our facebook page.

Have a great weekend.