Check out the Slide Share here. However, it may make more sense if you read the text below.

Please note that I drew from the knowledge of many gifted professionals both near and far and have tried to provide the appropriate links to the source. Also, I have modified the original text of the speech for easier reading in this format. (Apologies in advance — it’s a looong post)

Have I missed any kernels? Do you disagree with what I’ve said? Please provide your feedback. Thank you.

Today, I will do my best to share everything I know about being successful in business in the midst of great and daunting counter forces — economic conditions, the likes of which have not been seen in many decades. How will we survive? Will we ever see black ink on our ledgers again? Am I going to need to start renting my forehead for advertising revenue in order to keep the lights on?

The topic of my presentation is: “How Should I Market During a Recession?”

The short answer is, yes. You should. Any questions?

Maybe I should spend a few more minutes talking about this subject in greater depth.

Should you market during a recession? Absolutely. There’s an old aphorism that says, “When business is good, it pays to advertise. When business isn’t good, you’ve got to advertise.” In addition, research shows us that companies who continue to advertise during a recession not only average higher sales during that recession, but three-years later they realize 256% higher sales than companies who did not advertise. This statistic has been validated with studies following more than 600 businesses during both the 1981 and 2001 recessions.

Similarly, of those who wait until the economy recovers to increase promotional spending, only 20% see any increase in market share. That’s because everyone else is increasing spending, too. There is more noise in the marketplace and it’s much harder to gain attention.

Assuming we can all agree that you must continue marketing, the question then becomes, “what are ways I can keep my name in front of current and prospective customers when my cash-flow is more restricted or the banks are not able to provide additional capital?”

For nearly 20 years, I have built a successful career working with some amazing brands. I have studied the theory and practice of marketing communications from top to bottom. I have served as an adjunct professor at Texas Christian University, sat on experts’ panels at conferences and conducted many executive-coaching sessions.

And through all that, my belief is that the real answer to the question about how to market during a recession is — like so many service-oriented products — “it depends.”

It depends on your particular business. Your competitors. Your goals.

However, there are some things you should consider regardless of your unique situation. I have put them together in a list I like to call “the 7-2/3 kernels of insight.” Allow me to spend a few moments describing each one.

Kernel #1: Know Thyself

And to thine own self be true. Billy said it best. And, it rings true as kernel number one. Before you can convince others to buy what you are selling, you must first know precisely who your company is. What it stands for. What are the core values and beliefs for your organization? What truths do you hold in your gut — truths which are inviolate? What is the businesses purpose? Put another way, what would the world be missing if you ceased to exist?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, and you’ve got some time in between orders, take a minute (or a couple of days) and figure them out. Because, if you aren’t crystal clear about this, your clients/customers will know. Much like a lion smells fear, consumers can spot the disingenuous and you can’t cover it up. We are amazingly insightful creatures.

Kernel #2: Know Thy Customer

Does this feel like what you’re seeing in the business world today?

Don’t try to pull a fast one on me. I’m wise to your tricks sonny. Customers seem defensive and stand-offish.

How many times have you heard lately, “I’m just looking,” or “not really ready to buy today”?

The truth of the matter is that one of the results of this recession is consumers have had a re-evaluation of “wants” versus “needs.” I know that’s true in my house and in my circle of friends. On the surface, that may make you think that if your product isn’t a necessity like toilet paper or toothpaste, you should just curl up in the corner and wait this one out. Not so fast. Understand that value has so many definitions. You’ve just got to figure out what value means to your customers and how you can deliver it. If you take the example of an iPhone – is that a want or a need? For Mrs. 8th Idea, the iPhone was, and I quote, “the most romantic gift you’ve ever given me.” I gave her the gift of time. That is value.

Kernel #3: Be Remark-able

The very first time I saw that light of recognition and understanding in the back of my client’s eyes, I was hooked. The feeling of connection and understanding has driven me professionally for almost 20 years. I thrive on making those connections for me and my clients. My story is the story of the spark.

The phrase Be Remark-able is something I borrowed from Steth Godin. The idea is that in today’s world, where human time and attention is the most valuable resource, you should be providing a product or service that is worthy of being remarked about. Something that will grab attention, hold on and spread through word of mouth. Often that comes down to the ability we have as businesses to provide our clients/customers with the elements of stories.

Stories matter. Which do you have more interest in? A pair of tube socks from Target? Or socks that are custom-knit by Swiss grandmothers to your unique specifications? Would you like some celebrity’s cologne or a fragrance which incorporates your unique DNA (examples thanks to Trend Watching)?

OK. Which would you be more apt to respond to? A telemarketer? Or a call from your friend telling you about the great experience he’s had with Skype?

Stories sell. Stories matter. They connect us emotionally. And, after all, every single purchase decision we make is made emotionally.

Kernel #4: Don’t Be Terrified By Change

If you’re not comfortable with change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less. (Gen. Eric Shinseki)

(Note: slide showing Fortune Magazine cover, Miracle Whip jar, Gillette Sensor razor package and iPod)

What do these brands have in common? They were all launched during a recession…Fortune launched in 1930. Four months after the great stock market crash. Miracle Whip launched in 1933 at the height of the Great Depression. Gillette Sensor Razors launched during the 1990 recession and Apple launched the iPod just a month and a half after 9/11. The point is, don’t be afraid to proceed with a great product if the economic conditions aren’t just perfect. (For more in-depth analysis of this, check out this article.)

Also, be willing to experiment in low-risk ways. There is a wealth of very interesting books out there to consider and I also recommend looking for case studies from businesses in other industries to understand how they have been successful. You might just find some lessons that have applicable parallels to your situation.

Kernel #5: Take Simple Steps

Social media. If your workload has slowed down, take some of that time to establish or expand your presence in the social networks. Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others provide great ways to strengthen ties with customers and prospects at no out-of-pocket costs. However, be sure you have clear goals in mind and fully understand the benefits and limitations of each site. They are fantastic tools, but can consume a lot of staff time if not managed correctly. (Thanks, Eric Whittington for the succinct language here.)

How about current customers? When was the last time you called one and asked how they are doing? Learned whether or not they were having all of their needs met because of your fill in the blank product/service? Do you know if they were missing anything that you could help them with? Will they would recommend your business to a friend? If not, why not?

Speaking of referrals, have you created any type of referral program that rewards your customers for making recommendations? It doesn’t have to be complicated it just needs to be genuine and provide an incentive with sincere gratitude when the new customer buys from you.

Kernel #6: Think Different

With apologies to both my 11^th grade English teacher for the grammar errors and Apple computers’ campaign, I would ask you to consider your business and its marketing in a new way.

First, operations. The roles of operations and marketing are quickly merging. Not that an operations person could necessarily manage the marketing function for you. Or, vice versa — I don’t know that many marketing professionals who would be very adept at keeping the factory floor running. However, every action you take as a company is an opportunity to have an impact on your brand. For good and for bad. Let me back up. You realize that you don’t own your brand, right? Your customer owns your brand. See, a “brand” is nothing more than the sum total of all impressions your customer has with your company, your competitors, friends, colleagues and on and on. Every time someone’s world intersects with your business, another impression is made. How can your operations provide an opportunity to intensify that relationship with the customer. How you can provide a valuable service, even if you are not in the service industry?

Kernel #7: Consider Your Relationships

Consider your relationships. There is a wealth of marketing talent available on the market today. If you are currently working with a good marketing or advertising partner for your needs, and you are happy, please, please stick with them. However, without having to incur the overhead of an agency, there are many amazing resources for you to tap into for ideas to help your business. If you agree that you should maintain exposure, but don’t want to sink a sizeable portion into overhead, look for independent practitioners or freelance help.

I hope you’ve found some kernels in this talk that will be valuable to you. At the end of the day, marketing is just a way to bring people together into a conversation. The only way to do that is by building messages based on trust and authenticity. Much of it is common sense, but sometimes it takes another perspective to help us see it.

What does the “2/3” kernel mean? Frankly, I wanted to let you know a little bit about me and my business, but didn’t feel a shameless plug warranted an entire point.

It’s been said that there are only 7 original ideas in the world — the rest are just combinations and interpretations of those 7. I tend to agree. However, I also know that there are an infinite number of ways to pull together the wisdom of the ages with the context of today. That’s what 8^th Idea is all about. 8^th Idea is bent on helping those in the “care” industries (healthcare, hospitality, not-for-profit) define and refine their marketing strategy, insights and implementation. Helping discover that 8^th Idea that will help you achieve your business goals.

Here is where you can find me. (Note: contact information displayed shamelessly here)

As I mentioned before, the magic of marketing comes when the light of understanding goes off in the back of someone’s eyes. My hope for you is that your products and services will find that light using some of the ideas I mentioned today. Thanks for your time. Now, are there any questions?

Standing alone in the waiting room of a 24-hour animal hospital, with a half-cup of untouched coffee, and the tinny echo of Ron Popeil as he hocked knives from the plasma screen, I began to consider a lot of things. And, without trying to sound crass or macabre about it, the experience surrounding this decision highlighted some important lessons for businesses and marketers to understand when trying to connect with customers.

1. Everyone has a back-story.
For nearly six months, Paco had suffered with a mysterious condition. Thousands of dollars and countless consultations, second opinions and research only brought us more questions instead of answers.

What we did know was that this mutt — the vivacious puppy we adopted after the original owners couldn’t afford his Parvo treatment and abandoned him at the clinic more than 13 years ago — couldn’t stop panting. Twenty-four hours a day, he sounded as if he had just run a marathon. Even in his sleep, he was breathing and snoring so heavily he couldn’t have possibly been resting.

A veterinarian was the one who gave Paco a second chance, by paying for his original Parvo treatment and finding a home for him with our family. Our current veterinarian was very thorough but simply could not pinpoint the root of the problem. A variety of confounding symptoms, but no clear-cut disease. We thought it might be a thyroid issue. Or even Cushing’s disease.

We even took Paco and his 3-inch-thick file to an internal medicine specialist. Same problem. No real answers.

After a succession of seizures at 3:00 last Tuesday morning and the resulting complete loss of bodily control, we called our regular veterinarian and the answering service told us to go to Metro West Emergency Veterinary Clinic — their partner for this kind of situation.

I drove down the empty Interstate with him in the passenger seat and conferred with the doctor on staff when I arrived. There really wasn’t much we could do at this point. My wife and I had to make the excruciatingly difficult choice to end his suffering. To bring him peace.

I was there for his last breath. His final pant as it were.

Thanks for indulging me. I needed to get all this off my chest. Now, on to business.

The Metro West clinic staff was terrific and empathetic. Their synchronized grace helped me through a very challenging time. And I believe that fluidity stemmed from the fact that they intuitively understood I had a slide show of memories flying through my head in that moment. A back-story that meant a lot to me and my young family.

While you may not be selling an experience with the same emotional depth attached to it, your customers are bringing some form of bias with them. They are subconsciously comparing your interaction to their collective experiences on this planet.

And it’s not just service businesses who should understand the power of the back-story. The relationships we have with products or even appliances are just as dependent on the place our customers are at the moment of truth.

How well can you empathize with what your customers are going through and authentically connect to this web of context? How can you improve this?

2. Details matter.
From ensuring that my paperwork was complete prior to conducting the procedure (so I could leave without delay), to giving me a personalized remembrance of our dog (his final paw print in clay), this clinic considered every last detail. And, every detail was finely tuned to the situation.

The back-story and the transaction should greatly impact the tone and manner in which you speak to customers. The founder of a very successful car dealership in this region, Carl Sewell, built a thriving brand and lifelong customers by paying excruciating attention to detail.

Are you and your team situationally aware? What tools do you use to fine-tune the details of your processes?

3. The emotional can turn physical.
By receiving Paco’s paw print in clay, I watched the intense, yet intangible emotion over losing a loved family member transform into a physical artifact on which my wife, kids and I can project our fond memories.

That the emotional can become tangible is nothing new. It’s happened since the first painter picked up the first brush. However, the way we use that metamorphosis to develop deeper relationships with our customers can be powerful, profound and profitable.

Apple took the feelings we have with our music and created a physical connection through the design of the iPod. The Lance Armstrong Foundation wrapped pride and strength around our wrists in yellow silicone.

Where are you able to bring the emotions your customers have into the physical realm?

These are just a few
The process of losing a pet helped me gain some perspective. I hope you will forgive my sharing this story, but it seemed to contain a lot of important reminders for me about the way we connect companies to people.

Have I missed the boat here? Are you offended? Are there other lessons you would extract from this situation?

The 7 original ideas can be molded like clay

Early on in my career, I learned a lesson. It just took me 15 years to realize it, and now I’m making a major life change around it.

The Inspiration

Gladys Pinkerton, the first creative director I ever worked with, told me that there are only seven truly original ideas out there. (Floating in the ether, I suppose.) The rest, she would say, are just interpretations of those seven. I am not afraid to tell you that as an energetic young professional, I dismissed this theory as the musings of a pessimistic veteran. Surely, in the ultra-creative world of marketing and advertising, you just had to try hard enough and that magic, never-before-discovered idea would appear.

Before I go any further, let me apologize to Gladys for ever doubting her wisdom.

What she ingrained into my well-coiffed little head was something that is so true, that it has come back in spades.

I read it in James Webb Young’s early 20th-century book. I hear it in David Hackworthy’s presentation at last year’s AAAA’s Planning Conference (Shakespeare’s 7 plots). I see it reinforced first-hand in daily work and second-hand in the work of others.

The fundamental truths are there for us to play with. To shape and pound together like clay or weave into a rich garment.

But, I mentioned a change.

The Catalyst

Last Monday, my position was eliminated. It wasn’t much of a surprise — economy being what it is and all. My former employer, GCG Marketing, and I took a collective risk together. We shifted my responsibilities away from dedicated account service and into account planning/strategy and business development.

For an advertising agency of fewer than 30 people, this was a bold move. We had some great successes, but in the end, there were not enough sustained billings to support a full-time position. I believe that if we had started it two years ago, it would have had enough inertia to weather this fiscal storm.

GCG made the right business decision. And, I have a new opportunity.

The Opportunity

Since that first job, I’ve spent more than 15 years exploring the ways in which we connect. I’ve worked with and for some amazing professionals and seen how the wisdom of the ages, those seven original ideas, can be interpreted and combined into an infinite number of solutions. An infinite number of eighth ideas.

Now that I’m a free agent, I see a chance before me to help others discover their own eighth idea. That’s why I’m starting my own business and calling it 8th Idea.

8th Idea is bent on helping those in the “care” industries (healthcare, hospitality, not-for-profit) and small- to mid-sized advertising and public relations agencies define and refine their marketing strategy, insights and implementation. I have particularly deep experience in each of these narrow areas, so that’s what I’m going to do. Help a specific group discover that 8th Idea that will connect businesses and customers. Organizations and donors. People and people.

The Future

For one, stay tuned to this space. Subscribe to the RSS feed, sign up for emails or become a fan of 8th Ideas on Facebook. In the rush to get this business going, I haven’t been able to post as frequently as I’d like and I also have to launch a Web site.

As the days and weeks advance, I plan on not only doing business, but also doing some good. I’ll continue to use this blog as a place to seek insight and explore truth. However, I’ll also try to help “care” industry marketers with some insight particular to their industries.

I want to know what you think. Do you agree that there are only seven original ideas? Or, do you believe there are still as-yet undiscovered gems?

The first subject I wanted to cover was an article I read in the New York Times about neurology. Benedict Carey penned a feature back in April about some researchers who  have uncovered molecules that may be responsible for activating memories in our brains. As an account planner type, I am curious about the catalysts these scientists have revealed.

Up to this point, researchers (and philosophers) have believed that experiences are imprinted on our brain cells and the cells can collaborate later to recall the event. Carey has a great way of describing this:

…brain cells activated by an experience keep one another on biological speed-dial, like a group of people joined in common witness of some striking event. Call on one and word quickly goes out to the larger network of cells, each apparently adding some detail, sight, sound, smell. The brain appears to retain a memory by growing thicker, or more efficient, communication lines between these cells.

Apparently, Dr. Todd C. Sacktor and André A. Fenton have identified a substance, called PKMzeta, that clusters on the outskirts of our synapses and connects the memory dots for the cells in our heads. In an experiment, Sacktor and Fenton were able to block this molecule in mice which caused the animals to forget lessons learned just the day before.

Are we on the verge of being able to control our memory? How soon will you be able to stop by your local Walgreens and pick up a pill to enhance what you remember?

Before you go rent a copy of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Carey dedicates time in the article to highlighting ethical concerns already being raised by this finding. As with any scientific advancement, it can be used for good or for evil. I wouldn’t want to ever risk losing the recollection of the birth of my two children, but could I deny the possiblity of helping someone stave off dimentia?

And what impact will this field of study mean for marketing? Can we draw any parallels between the chain of connected brain cells and the way customers recall our brands? Is there a way to enhance these connections? To improve consumer engagement through understanding these chemical connections?

What do you think?

How important is it for our society to have happy endings?

What about stories with denouments which reflect the tenor of the times? Is it crucial that the sentiment matches the cultural contentedness barometer?

I read an article recently from the BBC Magazine that gave a nice overview of the ups and downs of endings.

We may think of Greek drama in terms of the unrelenting tragedy of Oedipus Rex or Medea. But even the Greeks expected a happy ending, says Alan Sommerstein, professor of Greek at Nottingham University.

“Greek tragic productions came in sets of four – the fourth was always a roaring farce. And not all tragedies had what we might call tragic endings.”

…

And there was a belief that a tragedy could actually make people happier.

“Aristotle argues that tragic drama gives pleasure, arousing the emotions. I would think myself of Shakespeare’s time which was pretty grim, with the plague liable to break out.”

I don’t pretend to have any answers as to whether or not a happy ending makes us sad or a sad one happy. What I do wonder is how this relates to marketing stories.

We bring people together with our products and services, often by way of a story. Is it important in this story to achieve the “right” ending, or is it more important to achieve an ending that elicits an emotional response? An opportunity to forge a deeper, more meaningful connection?

And, how does this level of emotional resonance change the way we start the story? How we imbue the characters with texture? How we set the stage?

Does a relationship based on emotion — either happy or sad — contain more value than one based on an outcome?

If you have thoughts, I’d like to hear them.

In men, images they consider to be beautiful appear to activate brain regions responsible for locating objects in absolute terms — x- and y-coordinates on a grid. Images considered beautiful by women do the same, but they also activate regions associated with relative location: above and behind, over and under. The difference could be the result of evolutionary pressures on our hunter-gatherer ancestors.

With something as ethereal as beauty being linked to specific, gender-based neurological pathways, can we begin to consider the same processes valid for other subjective judgements? Are the same neurons firing as customers interact with and adopt our brands? How should marketers and planners account for these variables of perspective and behavior?

John Tierny posted a story to his blog last week that related to an interview I saw on, of all places, The Colbert Report. In it, Tierny reports on the study by UCLA geography professor Thomas W. Gillespie in which he applies two aspects of the island biogeographic theory to posit theories on where Osama Bin Ladin may be hiding. The concept is that, like wildlife, a human dispersion pattern will decline exponentially the farther you look from the point of origin. Tierny pulls a key quote from the report featured in the M.I.T. International Review that can explain it much better than me:

Distance-decay theory states that as one goes further away from a precise location, there is an exponential decline in the turnover of species and a lower probability of finding the same composition of species. The theory of island biogeography states that large and close islands will have higher immigration rates and support more species with lower extinction rates than small isolated islands.

These theories can be applied over varying spatial scales to posit bin Laden’s current location based on his last reputed geographic location. Distance-decay theory would predict that he is closest to the point where he was last reported and, by extension, within a region that has a similar physical environment and cultural composition (that is, similar religious and political beliefs).

They’ve even identified the building in which they think he could be hiding. It’s in Parachinar, Afghanistan, 12 miles from Tora Bora.

Fascinating.

What I’m wondering is how this relates to marketing.

Can we apply similar principles to products?

To distribution strategy recommendations?

How do definitions of geography shift when discussing the plane of ideas? Do trends behave in the same way? Do human connections and/or relationships decline exponentially the farther you get from the source? Or, does technology allow us to maintain the strength of this connection regardless of time and space?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Image: http://flickr.com/photos/1yen (CC)

Like many of you, today I learned about the change in Facebook’s Terms of Service which essentially gave FB the right to “use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute” something that a user has posted, forever. My first exposure to this change was from The Next Web, and during the day an article appeared comparing TOS from FB, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn and others. The story also got picked up by CNET and the New York Times.

Thinking I could try to contribute to the solution, I even started a Facebook group protesting the policy. Ha! Guess I’m not as popular as the much larger group here.

Anyway, by 5:00 this afternoon, Mashable was reporting on Zuckerberg’s response via a post to the Facebook blog.

I don’t want to predict how this will shake out in the end. There are people much more attuned to those issues than me.

What is compelling to me is the way this might effect the Facebook brand. As Gavin adeptly points out in his cautionary post from this afternoon:

This change in the Facebook Terms of Service is a significant about face in the way in which Facebook treats its members. It may be too late for the content that I ALREADY have on my profile, but I will clearly be more SELECTIVE about the content I upload in the future. Because I won’t just be uploading, I will be GIVING it away.

Think about it. “A significant about face in the way in which Facebook treats its members.”

Would there be an uproar if Disney decided to welcome “customers” instead of “guests”? How about if Nordstrom decided to stop offering its signature service and instead adopted the technique of Seinfeld’s Soup Nazi?

The core values of a company cannot and should not be sacrificed for fear of eroding the foundational promise on which the whole of the brand rests.

No question, Facebook is the 800-pound gorilla of social media these days. After all, business is business. FB has to protect itself and keep its interests first. But, one would hope with that importance comes responsibility.

In that same post, Gavin warns bloggers and agencies to approach FB knowing that your content will no longer be your content. Sage advice. And, if I’m in the boardroom at FB, this advice should make me feel a hole burning in my lower intestines.

One of the very reasons my company exists — to generate traffic by connecting people with shared interests — might now be threatened by the content creators second-guessing my integrity. Thing is, content creators aren’t just agencies and bloggers. If you upload your vacation photos to FB, the new TOS say FB can do what they want with them.

That they can use my fish-belly-white chest photographed on the Michigan shore in future ads without my permission is where their trust (not to mention their level of taste) disappears.

The minute you start taking for granted the trust of your customers (the very population on which your business plan and funding rests) someone else is going to capitalize and fill that void.

I hope Shakespeare will forgive my paraphrase, but the question now seems to be, “To share or not to share? To connect or not to connect?”

Perhaps this will all blow over. Maybe FB will reverse its stance (not without losing some ground). Heck, maybe there’s not a large enough percentage of the 175 million users out there who care. Maybe I’m just shouting into the wind.

What if I’m not? Will you continue to post to Facebook? If you blog, will you use FB as a way to connect to your audience?

Will you share?

(Image via Creative Commons: http://flickr.com/photos/wooandy)

Creative Commons: http://flickr.com/photos/degerstrom

About the time I was pressing a crease in the top of my shirt sleeve a few weeks ago, the TV commentator’s words traveled directly to my gut. Now, a story in today’s New York Times puts an interesting bookend on my thoughts.

Should you back up a few steps?

It’s my habit to iron my own shirts. Has been since I joined the ranks of the professionals oh-so-many years ago. And like many who find unexpected inspiration in routines, it was my turn for a light bulb on this otherwise typical morning.

As she addressed the shakeup in the financial markets, this commentator (unfortunately, I didn’t write down her name) highlighted something I hadn’t yet grasped — the coming void of talent in innovation in the United States.

For years now, the highest-paying jobs have been in financial services and investments. More of the brightest minds in our country have gravitated to Wall Street because the rewards there were greater. No great surprise there. While not particularly revolutionary or insightful, her prescription for the problem was essentially a realignment of society’s reward system.

This perspective cracked opened a window in my head.

And, today, the New York Times features an article by John Markoff, which throws open the whole sash by asking a pretty big question, “Do we need a new Internet?”

Citing significant security concerns about the way the current network is structured, Markoff reports on several experts who believe it’s time to start over. They believe the next version of the Internet may require us to give up some privacy in order to maintain security. I’ve already seen Twitter traffic about whether or not this story is a scare tactic. Regardless of hype, the underlying motivation seems valid to me.

Some big hand in the sky has fingers on the “option” and “command” keys and is getting mighty close to pressing “escape” (substitute ctrl-alt-del if you are a PC).

Is it really time for a restart? Do we need to go back to square one in the societal reward structures? In the fundamental composition of our worldwide computer network?

I’m not the first to write about the reliance we all have on each other and the trust it takes to get through the day. Adrian posted a piece on interconnectedness that is still rattling around in my noggin. Umair has penned a post or two on the need for innovation if our global economy is to truly recover. And, I’m sure you could point me to countless other examples from much smarter people than me.

Ironically, the dearth of innovators, relative to the opportunities at hand, and the concept of starting over with the Web is oddly invigorating to me.

Perhaps it is a sign of the times. The inability to find permanence in anything but the most foundational concepts like family, friends and real relationships. I’m ready for the challenge.

In many ways, great marketing thinkers have long seen this change coming. Starting with the erosion of confidence post dot-com and culminating in the current economic recession, we are all familiar with the need to create authentic relationships.

However, this time it feels different.

Have you seen it coming? How are you going to innovate? Are you prepared to reinvent what seemed untouchable just a year ago? To sacrifice something short-term for long-term rewards?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Regardless of ideology, this is a true example of a solid narrative arc.

FDR figured out radio.

Kennedy harnessed TV.

Obama is shaping political communications for the next generation (is it “socio-political networking?”).