Heroes
I've been thinking about this post for a few days, and now that it's Father's Day, it's only appropriate that I title it: Heroes. I'm going to make an advertising and business point, but first, I also want to make a personal point. Regardless of what I'm about to say about contemporary vs. old school heroes, at the end of the day, my greatest hero is still my dad. I thought about writing something specific about him, but, quite honestly, the stuff I said a year ago on Father's Day (here's the link) hasn't changed a bit -- and never will.
Ok, now to the advertising/business portion of our show:
Who's your hero? In a business and/or advertising sense, I mean.
If you're steeped in traditional advertising culture, especially creative culture, and you've been around awhile, you might say Bill Bernbach, or David Ogilvy. If you came of age in this business a little later, you might say Tom McElligott, or Lee Clow, Hal Riney, or both Goodby and Silverstein. And regardless of when you entered advertising, there's a chance you're going to say Alex.
If you're more business than creative, but maybe still creative, there's another world to choose from:
Jobs, Gates, Branson, etc., etc.
Our heroes are people we choose to be our heroes because we aspire to be like them, or achieve what they've achieved, or at the very least, take some of the approaches they've taken, but in our own context. We believe them, and believe in them. And many, many of us choose the same ones, mostly for their historical achievements.
Next question. Who do you believe?
The Wall Street Journal? Ad Age? AdCritic? CA? CNN?
By asking this question, I don't mean to imply that these are less than impeccable sources. And I realize you'd believe any one of them for any number of different things. So, maybe the better question might be, "Who do you turn to first for reliable information?" Chances are, the name you're thinking of would fit nicely into the set above. And most everyone could choose at least one from the list, and call it a primary source of trusted information -- for the most part, based on historical performance in delivering accurate and timely information.
Ok, so now, here comes the point:
The web has changed the Heroes list. Significantly, and forever. It's also changed the Trusted Sources list. Again, significantly. And yes, again, forever.
The web-savvy 20 somethings who are creating your next app, or animating your next spot, or, yes, developing the strategy for your next online push -- don't have any of the same heroes, and they don't have any of the same trusted sources. Neither do any of their friends, who, depending on which products you're creating stuff for, may very well be your audience. In fact, much of the culture that you're scrambling to be a part of has never even heard of most of your heroes.
Their heroes are different: Follow this link. It's really, really important.
And their trusted sources? If you answered Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Drudge, Kos, Mashable, Godin, YouTube, Adrants or any number of other blogs, social networks, sharing platforms or assorted other 2.0 thingies, you're aimed in the right direction, but ultimately, you're wrong. Because their trusted sources aren't the organizations that provide the platforms -- it's the other people who participate in the platforms.
Their trusted sources are each other.
And information gleaned from those sources, collectively, trumps any article in any printed publication, or from any news organization,any day. Not to mention, online chatter and blogs pretty much always beat mainstream media to the punch. There's actually a certain amount of credibility for those who are not affiliated with a major trade pub or news org, simply because the opinions they express are no one's but their own. Example: The notion that Jeff Jarvis is credible because he wrote for TV Guide, People, and Entertainment Weekly is wrong. He's credible because his blog changed Dell.
Yes, there are exceptions. Google is (mostly) a trusted entity. Breaking news on blogs can be wrong. Everybody loves Steve Jobs. Fine.
The real point is, the new heroes and the new trusted sources are created quickly, and constantly -- and the list changes all the time. And dismissing them is a mistake, because they're just as real as your heroes and your trusted sources. The difference is the same difference that applies to most everything on the web, versus offline -- it just happens faster.
Does that mean your heroes and sources are irrelevant? Not at all. Most of the time on this blog, I write about how all this new stuff is a shinier faster version of something else that has already been. As I said in the very beginning, what I wrote about my dad last year will never change.
What it does mean, though, is that if you want to compete on the web, or if you want to have a hope of communicating with the people who spend most of their time on the web, you have to take your understanding of your heroes and sources, and look at it through the same lens they do. Which is, basically: That was then. When you find the basic principles that are timeless, you then have to translate it to the environment that is now.
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Advertising Marketing Creative Interactive Online Marketing Design Digital Design Blattner Brunner Ernie Mosteller BB Digital
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