ml haynes design

I recently had the pleasure of working as a Pro Bono Consultant for the Taproot Foundation with the executive team at Marin Agricultural Land Trust. I chose to join this team as one of two Graphic Designers, feeling like I wanted to dive into a richly creative project and learn about this 30-year-old brand from the inside out. As you can see from the “before-and-after” examples above, it was quite a journey. And the arrival was a delight for all involved, myself included.

What started as an exercise in rebranding and reinvention became a deep and engaging process of discovery and development. And ultimately, for me, it became a process of re-confirmation: that to truly represent a brand, wholly new or decades old, I must find what is authentic and true to that brand and bring it to life in a way that sacrifices none of the essence and, in fact, illuminates and elevates that core in a way that resonates completely and without the need for guidance or instruction.

As the new identity is activated we will see how this refreshed brand is embraced and championed by existing stakeholders and supporters and understood by those who will only now discover it and come to learn about the brand and what it means to them.

The new integrated campaign for Dickies launched via online video “tough tests” last week. This initial offering — the first round of work from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners — shows 874 Work Pants taking a beating, literally, as they’re ripped apart by squealing choppers, torn and shredded by massive wrecking balls, and rolled down a meticulously groomed hillside.

Each black-and-white clip is a combination of the old “don’t try this at home” instructional film and “don’t try this with stuff you’ve paid decent money for” product demonstration. Taking what has been a staple of skaters, surfers, hirsute tradesmen, and wannabe rockers, the GSP team brings this brand to the hard core. You know those guys and gals: the ones with the biker chain clipped to their belt loop, the steel-toe boots, and the compostable lunch bag in their recycled rubber messenger bag.

Watching the series, I couldn’t help but think brand loyalists aren’t the type to be sold with old-school show-and-tell demos like these. They’ve been trained over a lifetime to be skeptical of these well-choreographed tests and product performances. Folks new to the brand are probably in the same place in regard to what influences their purchasing decisions. The rough characters who star in these films aren’t buying it either, and they certainly are not watching videos online. Hell, they’re still rocking classic rock radio in their pickup trucks for a good time.

What’s going on here? Choppers pulling a pair of pants apart. Levi’s denim tags sport a mule team doing the same and have been for decades. Product is attached to a swinging steel ball and aimed at a thick concrete wall. Check out classic commercials of the ’60s and ’70s, and you’ll see this has been a staple for more than half a century. It didn’t get more tough than a Timex watch attached to an arrowhead, shot through a pane of glass by a gentleman wearing a plaid flannel shirt.

What was that last “test” again?

That’s right. Those tough twill pants are worn by a gravity-loving, bearded hipster who simply cannot resist the urge to rock, roll, and bounce down a beautiful hillside obviously landscaped by a professional film crew and production team. Parkour, I think not. This guy likes a good tumble it would appear, and, well, it just isn’t that easy to get yourself a chopper at the last minute, let alone a wrecking ball without calling ahead. What better way to show the world that you — and your new pants — have earned the badass Dickies label?

It’s funny how things come to you at the oddest times and in the strangest situations. I’m getting used to it, but ideas and solutions can still strike me when I least expect it. I had one of those experiences recently, as I worked to find the Holy Grail of “selling social” to clients — and even colleagues — that aren’t there yet in understanding the how and the why of it.

If you pitch pixels you know what I’m talking about. You’ve got a Marketing Director, an exec out of the C-suite, maybe even someone out of biz dev that hasn’t yet seen the shining light of their first badge or felt the rush of a retweet. You can throw all the stats you’ve got like so many Ninja Stars, but they just don’t get it. One too many of these meetings and I realized I needed to pull it in and rethink my approach.

Then it hit me. It was really quite simple. I broke it down into four simple steps. Take a look. Try it out. See what you think and let me know if you don’t agree that sometimes (and this is one of those times) it’s best to go low-tech and keep on truckin’!

Step 1: Get In
Social Media should be experienced. If you want to know what’s going on, join in. Reading, researching is no substitute for total immersion. Sure there’s the obvious — and the ubiquitous — but maybe you walk in slowly at the shallow end. Just get off that chaise lounge and get in!

Step 2: Sit Down
Get comfortable too. You’re going to be here for a while. If you’re going to make this a worthwhile venture — and meeting business objectives is certainly worthwhile, to say the least — you’ll need to take the long-view on this. And you’re going to need to be present, actively present, when you’re here too.

Step 3: Hold On
The ride can get bumpy, so reach up and grab that handrail when you feel the need. Remember, this is why you’re here — to take in everything. The good. The bad. The ugly. The “hell-I-had-no-idea-they-felt-like-that.” Social Media is like a focus group on some really good stuff. And once you get your bearings, you’ll be glad you rode it out.

Step 4: Shut Up
This is sometimes the hardest part: the listening part. There’s a reason why we call these intentional communities “listening platforms.” And this is where the gold is. That tripped out focus group I mentioned earlier — they come up with some great stuff. And if we take the time to let it soak in, inform our thinking and insights, change and improve our perspective, then it’s a ride that’ll take us to some very interesting — and fruitful — places.

This post also appears on Talent Zoo’s new media blog this morning. Check it out; there’s some great content there. More great pix (like the one above) can be found at NotStock Photography.

I recently had a conversation with a new acquaintance that started with the old question “what do you do exactly?” My answer to her query was rather short, but the dialogue that followed stayed with me and has prompted me to ask myself (more than a few times), “Can I wear too many hats and is being a jack-of-all-trades a product of an insatiable curiousity or a lack of commitment, amounting to being nothing at all?”

This is typically how the script plays out in my head:

Me: “What do you do? Give me your elevator pitch.”

Myself: “Would you like the long or short answer? And how many floors are we going up?”

Me: “You teach clients and staff day in and day out on the merits of a simple, clear and concise message and you can’t manage to do it yourself?”

Myself: “Well, it’s different. At least I think it’s different. What’s the weight limit in this elevator again?!”

Me: “You’ve got 15 seconds. Go! Do it!”

Myself: “Look, I’m going to take the stairs. I’ll meet you up there.” And here’s where I’m shot down the rabbit hole — I’m thinking to myself (as I’m talking to myself, not something to do without proper training) “Damn, I really do need that elevator pitch.”

So, as of today I’m sticking to the do-it-all storyline — I’m unable to shake loose the belief that knowledge is valuable currency — and while taking the stairs would be great for my health I’m going to commit to the elevator and work up my new pitch in the next week.

Check back to see where I’ve taken this. Or, better yet, take an inventory of your arsenal and ask yourself if you’re prepared for the simple question: “What do you do?” Then come back and get on the lift with me. I’d love to know your answer, your approach, your apprehensions.

Hats off to you!

I recently attended a one-day working session at HP headquarters in Palo Alto. With nine presenters scheduled in just as many hours I came prepared to gain actionable insights on technology, strategy and the future of interactive advertising. Presenters showcased the agency, advertiser, supplier, VC and developer challenges each face today and hinted at how they planned to meet new challenges in the future. Here are some of the more interesting take-aways:

Gary Elliot of HP
Everything is a service.

Michael Theodore of IAB
Online brand building is ineffective. Sponsorships, search and digital video are most effective.
As the “most accountable medium” we are still tweaking and arguing over measurement models and methodolgy; we need cross-industry consensus on this.
To avoid FTC regulation, there is an immediate need to create a self-regulating framework and process for working within that framework.

Curt Hecht of VivaKi
After a spending a year and observing 25 million users, the efficacy of user-selected pre-roll ads on Hulu.com is confirmed. Users will choose which ads they watch in exchange for the video content they crave.

Chris Curtin of HP
“Searchandising” — make it easy for users to find the product that interests them.
Technology + behavior = Mobile at retail
Ideas don’t count until you do them.

John Coyne of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners
Bring your discipline, leave your department.
The fear of irrelevance should drive us all to change.
Change + Convergence + Collaboration

Emma Cookson of BBH USA
When looking for creative talent consider two key attributes: Diplomacy and Generosity.
“Getting it done” is the new heroism.
Moving beyond networking, working harmoniously and to each person’s mutual benefit, sharing expertise and disseminating information through the agency is key to an agency’s evolution.

George Gallate of Euro RSCG 4D
Put digital at the core of everything.
Technology does not equal ROI. But technology to the power of creativity does.

Erin Clift of AOL
Build platforms to scale, allowing for smart growth.
Even with perishable content, the portal can flex to deliver relevant content to a built-up “fan base” user group.

Nancy Hill of AAAA
Work to extinguish outdated compensation models and tensions between agency and client

Calvin Lui of Tumri
Chic versus Geek — we need to marry art and science, knowing how to inspire consumers.
Consider “interest-based advertising” versus behavioral targeting

Checking in with a progress report for my work with Taproot. Our team of six has completed the discovery phase and delivered findings to our client, Marin Agricultural Land Trust. We have also prepared, presented and await approval on the Requirements Brief AKA the Creative Brief. So, after weeks of preparation and presentation we now stand poised to begin the “real” creative work.

MALT, Marin Agricultural Land Trust, began work as a non-profit thirty years ago. At the time there was a concern that family farms in West Marin could cease to thrive if developers were able to buy up the fertile land and forever change the landscape with buildings and pavement. Preserving the farmland was and is their mission and our team has been charged with reinvigorating the brand, redesigning the visual identity and enabling this passionate group to tell their story in new and meaningful ways.

And that is one of the most challenging aspects of this project — making farmland meaningful to folks who take their food very seriously, shop at local farmers markets, believe in sustainable living but have never stepped foot on a working farm. Creating a mark that will telegraph the import of that land to their quality of life, and directly impact their thoughts and actions AKA making donations to a cause they believe in. And to do this in such a way that this message passes the “bumper sticker test” from twenty feet.

Bring it on! I am thrilled to be starting up this phase and cannot wait to dive into what promises to be a very rewarding project.

More as we progress.

Every year I set the DVR, rearrange the furniture, stock up on salty snacks and spend a few hours watching television commercials with some football to break it up. This year a perennial contender bowed out, opting instead to put their mouth where their money was. Instead of fighting it out with lite beer and sports cars, Pepsi choose to put their energy, and sizable budget, into social media.

Leaving other predictable brands in ever-predictable broadcast media, the other cola promoted their latest initiative, the Pepsi Refresh Project. And while it hasn’t received the buzz of the ManCrunch, Tebow or Betty White/Snickers spots, the industry will be watching and taking note of just what happens when one of their own decides to sit out the Super Bowl. Refresh, indeed.

“I’m a Mechanic.” A simple statement of fact, a powerful declaration of affinity and a message of belonging in a time of insecurity. It also happens to be a small, but hard-working microsite developed by my team at the nine-to-five.

We are about to develop and deploy the next phase of content and interactivity —with a side of social — for this brand portal. And as we kick-off this next round I’m thinking a lot about the creation/celebration of culture — the culture we identify with, the culture we gravitate toward, the culture we establish and define against previously mandated boundaries and borders. Experiencing the power of this brand in people’s professional and personal lives, it is no inconsequential task to steward the culture of both consumers and clients, people who have built this brand over generations. To authentically represent the brand and the people who have created culture around it continues to be our challenge.

Makes me think about the brands in my life. The brands that I would stand up for, declare an unwavering believe in, that encourage a feeling of “insider” for having stayed true and loyal. Not too many these days; how about you?

The Flip has landed and the fun has just begun. This is a quick field test of the UltraHD, sans tripod. Mic picks up absolutely everything. Color is true and consistent. Upload and transfer couldn’t be easier. Getting 120 minutes of record time, more than 6 hours of battery life and 1280×720 video resolution means I’ll be taking this everywhere and sharing the adventure here.