Leadership Retreat!

If your organization has a leadership team, do they ever get away to vision-cast and strategize?

I had the opportunity to participate in a leadership retreat this past weekend with our team at LifeBridge Church. Our core leadership team and spouses left town and went to a secluded camp (in the middle of nowhere) to spend 1 1/2 days reviewing the past year’s goals and achievements, our purpose, casting vision for the next year, and strategizing a plan for the future. It was a weekend of celebration, relationship building, and talking through where we are heading for the next year. It was very encouraging, uplifting, unifying, and simply awesome!

Often in corporate environments, leadership teams will do something similar, but it doesn’t always happen there either. Small and medium sized businesses often neglect this activity altogether, and non-profits (especially churches) miss the boat here most of the time. You do not have to be a large corporation to engage your leadership team in a vision-casting retreat. Our group at LifeBridge was only 8 people in total and it served to be a very up-lifting and beneficial time for us as individuals and it will pay big dividends for the organization. In some ways, the more focused your organization, the easier it is to review and re-cast vision. For non-profits, because their leadership teams are often made up mostly of volunteers, this is even more important so you can get everyone on the same page. Your volunteer leaders are not necessarily working side-by-side every day like they are in a business environment.

I can not underscore the importance of casting a strong vision, setting goals, and reviewing them every year. If you don’t set a plan like this in place, how will you measure where you want your organization to go and determine whether it is making progress? This whole exercise rises and falls on leadership. If a strong leader is in place, they will want to chart a course with a clear vision and ensure that every leader is on board. It fosters unity. If you are practicing the leadership retreat concept, congratulations and keep up the good work. If you are not currently doing this, then I seriously encourage you to try it. I am confident that your team will reap the benefits of stronger relationships, growing as a team, drawing closer together in unity, and your organization will achieve more measurable results as everyone marches to the beat of the same drum. It fosters a healthy environment and leads to greater organizational success. What are you waiting for…plan your retreat today!

I welcome your comments and feedback if you have ever taken part in a leadership retreat.

(Image courtesy BuffaloGeek)

Web 2.0 Writing

I know that many reading this blog are somewhat new to the Web 2.0 world. In fact some of you might even have a hard time defining what Web 2.0 is actually! I have come across a great resource ‘White Paper’ written by a fellow WordPress Marketing Bloggers Network member Online Marketer. If you want a basic primer on Web 2.0 and how writing is done differently in this environment please download his free white-paper here.

I particularly like the section that emphasizes writing with passion. Hey, if you are not passionate about your product or service…who will be?

If you don’t care, they won’t care. It is as simple as that.

This is a great 20-page resource that will give you something to think about and that you can digest in one one sitting. Then the challenge will be…applying it!

Branded with a Song

One tradition for many Canadians is the Saturday night ritual of turning on the TV and watching Hockey Night in Canada. The show is an icon of Canadiana. Part of the deep-rooted brand of this show is its theme song. There are few Canadians who could not hum the theme passionately for you.

The big uproar in the media today is over the possibility of the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) dropping the iconic anthem. As it turns out, they pay $500 each time they play it and they can not come to agreement on a future use contract or price to buy out the rights. This first broke yesterday on the website of the composer of the tune (hockeytheme.com). Then the national media jumped on it and the story is taking on a life of its own. It turns out now, the CBC’s hand has been forced a little and they are re-thinking their ultimatum and low-ball offer.

How important is the music or theme song to a brand like this? Does the song have any value if disconnected from Hockey Night in Canada? Would the ratings be affected if it used a different intro? Ultimately, yes the theme is synonymous with the program. As soon as most Canadians hear the music, they connect to the show. Would it effect the brand…absolutely not. Canadians will not stop watching if some other intro theme were used. It is simply history and nostalgia. Does the song have the same monetary value aside from Hockey Night…absolutely not. Who else would pay $500 bucks per play? Nobody. So, unlike other brands, whether they be logos, personalities, or chimes/jingles, in this instance the success of the program is not affected by the brand attached to the music. Is it important from a marketing perspective? Well, that depends on how the CBC handles the media and the negative publicity. If they get their communication ducks lined up they could navigate through the bad public press. More than anything, it would just be a sad end to a 40-year-old tradition.

We will see what happens as the story plays out. Don’t think for a moment that this wasn’t a media play by the composer’s agent to create waves for the CBC. This draws the issue to the surface and many feel so passionately about it that the CBC may not have much choice given the public outcry. However, the composer’s representative had better play his hand carefully because the value drops significantly without CBC. I am thinking executives at CBC are wishing they had bought the rights to the song outright when it was composed for them, like Nike did when it bought the swoosh logo for dirt cheap…then this wouldn’t be the marketing problem it is for them today.

The marketing take-home is this…if you are going to use music to connect your customers to your brand (like the chimes for Intel, NBC, and Rogers) which is an important sensory connection, think through how your brand would be affected without it. Buy the rights early so that you are not held hostage later…trust me you’ll be happy you did!

Interesting Twist Update: Monday June 9th: CTV Buys the Rights to Hockey Night in Canada Theme Song. Bet you didn’t see that one coming CBC! So here’s another thought…does this give CTV hockey broadcasts on CTV or TSN some extra brand power?

I welcome your thoughts on the importance of music to branding.

Connect. Relate. Solve.

A Simple Formula:

Whether you are leading a business or a church, connecting with people is what it is ultimately all about. Trying to build a relationship and sharing your product or message to solve or meet a person’s need.

Connect. Relate. Solve.

Simple. Do you agree?

Hockey’s Rising Advertising Star

Corporations are always searching for the next endorsement star. Hockey has a new one…Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It just so happens that Sidney is from my home town of Dartmouth (Cole Harbour), Nova Scotia.

At twenty one years of age he is the captain of his team, leading them into the Stanley Cup finals, and staring in more than a few high-profile commercials. As the NHL’s newest ace, Sid-The-Kid is also their well spoken ambassador, and he has certainly been integral to resurrecting the dismal state of the Penguins fanchise.

Under contract with Rebok and Gatorade to name a few, Crosby demands premium dollars on and off the ice. Advertising will always gravitate to stars of sports. Some represent the products well in and out of the public eye. It is certainly refreshing to find a star like Crosby who seems to have his act together and the maturity to handle it. Here is his latest Gatorade spot: