True Thanks

The easiest column fodder in the book for people who publish routinely (and, well, this is Post 101, so that's me) is to look to the calendar and grind. The Thanksgiving thanks list, provided it's on your category, is a lay up.

This one, however, is going to be a little bit different, in that I'm going to be a little more candid, and a little less, well, seasonal.

This year, I'm thankful that...

> I no longer rely on online banners to pay the bills.

What a year for digital, honestly. Starting with the slow-moving avalanche that was the end of Flash, going to the growing horror that was maladvertising, and ending with the increasing mainstream nature of ad blocking, and you just had a year unlike any other in the two decades that this has been, well, a thing. I still believe in the medium, if only because there's too much money in it, and I believe that tech will solve many of the problems that it's caused. But for the time being, it's nice -- really nice -- to not have to defend all of the issues of the medium.

> I have no equity in my last gig.

This seems odd, but honestly, I am thankful my options were underwater and pointless to exercise, and the entire sum and substance of the past gig is now something I can brush off my shoulder. There's a value in being able to speak openly about an experience, and to not have to, in any way, "root" for the enterprise. Clean break and move on and no, um, you know, given.

> My network has never been better.

From the designers that we've worked with at M&AD, to the old friends and contacts that I've caught up with, 2015 has been a great year for conversations and renovation. There's no such thing, when you work in the Wild West of digital marketing and advertising, as true job security, but an active and engaged personal network makes that ugly reality a little easier to take. And honestly, some of the people in my world are just game changers. (By the way, if you are looking for people, ping me. Got

> Health, and the health of loved ones.

It's not something you get to just take for granted, honestly. The time commitment to maintaining such things is not an easy thing to carve out, given the other parts of my day. You also get to the point of reading obits for people in your demographic. It's not something anyone gives thanks for, until it's entirely too important. Be grateful.

> The current gig.

It's in a challenging category with great opportunities, in a medium that has exceptional advantages, for a management team that's supportive and respectful, without any dead weight co-workers. The work-life balance is dramatically better, and while there are aspects to it that I'd change, no problems look like they are just going to be the same for, well, years. And I'm learning new stuff. If I can't be thankful for that, I'm doing it wrong.

What are you thankful for this year?

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Give Thanks, Not Hours

12% approval, 62% disapproval

It may seem like retailers have to be open on Thanks- giving now, the same way that it seems like they have to outsource work to lower-paying countries, limit employment to avoid paying full-time benefits, and cut pay rates by any legal measure. Looking at the dozens of stores that are jumping in on the trend, the tone of what's open is striking: price-first retailers like Walmart, Target, Family Dollar, Kmart, Sears, Dollar General and Big Lots, for the most part. More upscale retailers like Costco, REI and Nordstrom's have done well with PR about how they aren't making the move. Particularly when there's just an online way to shop for those who just have to get their shop on.

A small point: Thanksgiving isn't an expensive holiday. Turkey's pretty cheap, the side dishes don't have to be over the top, and you can honestly feed a lot of people for not very much. There's no reason to bring gifts, spend on accouterments, or do anything more economically difficult than travel, which isn't even universal. It has been, in a country with an increasing amount of sensitivity about such things, a class-free holiday.

In my opinion, it's cruel to remind the disadvantaged of their issues on this day. Putting them in front of others who feel like they have to shop to stretch their dollars on this day is just doubling down on the sadness. What used to be a quiet day before the storm of Q4 is now just another part of Q4, and discourages

It is not my place, as a marketing and advertising consultant, to convince my clients about matters of business ethics. But what I can tell you is that a significant percentage of the audience finds this deplorable, and it's not the portion of the audience that you want to alienate.

Being open during non-traditional hours does not go anything beneficial for your brand. It does not make you seem more inclusive, excited to serve the public, or the place to be for the hottest sales and best options. Instead, it make you look desperate, bottom dollar, unable to make your numbers in any other way, and abusive to your workers. Or unable to hire and retain anyone with any better options.

If your sales are flat with expanded hours, that's not a moment to breathe a sigh of relief, and be thankful that you didn't lose anything to your more aggressive competitors. Instead, it's actually a disaster. Your expenses are up, your turnover for anything but the bottom percentage of your work force will rise, and you've conditioned the buyers to expect even lower prices later.

That's what a race to the bottom looks like, and why it's not something you can win.

Or want to enter.

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Feel free to comment, as well as like or share this column, connect with me on LinkedIn, or email me at davidlmountain at gmail dot com, or hit the top right RFP fields. RFPs are always free, and we hope to hear from you soon.

Being Different People For Fun And Profit

So there was an article in my social feed this week of how B2B leads are much further along in the sales funnel than people generally think. (Hat tip, Demandbase.) Sot when they reach a company to signal interest, the last thing that a sales pro should do is treat them like someone who needs to be sold. Instead, the theory goes, sales needs to think and act more like marketers, and look to solve problems, rather than just close.

My reaction to that was that it, well, seems fairly insulting to sales. In my experience, the best sales guys that I've ever worked with were always about solving problems, rather than just pushing a prospect over the line. That way may help you make a short term goal, but it dooms companies and destroys networks in the long term, because you become known for not taking care of your people. You also fill your funnel with clients that aren't going to be happy.

But more than that, it struck me how the approach that was suggested... is more along the lines of doing business as a creative, even more so than a marketer. Becoming a different person, to some extent, is just the right way to start a creative, especially when you are running a shop that handles a high amount of throughput.

Demographically, we knew who we are reaching in various consumer categories, so changing the pitch to suit -- with varying font and color choices, with language that suited the profile, with selling points that were either emphasized or disregarded -- is just good business. Combine this with moments of charity, otherwise known as never crafting work that is patronizing, but always sympathetic to the lead and their needs, and you can do work that has heart, rather than just technique.

This is, on some level, why clients hire you; because when you just have to work on your own account, you tend to make ads that appeal to the shareholders, rather than the target. It's also why diversity in your team isn't just a winning moment for your HR numbers or company photo, but also something that helps you make better work.

On some level, this aspect of the gig has always seemed to me to have aspects of being a defense attorney, or being able to argue both sides of a case in a mock trial exercise in pre-law or political science courses. (Full disclosure: my second major at college.) It's not a case of being showy and schizophrenic, or clumsily role-playing a different consumer class. Instead, it's trying to understand what's important to the pitched profile and why, then tailoring the work to that person.

It's an exercise in hearing the other side, in valuing the experience and needs of others as if they were your own, and it becomes something that informs and approves your whole life. As a parent, I am more effective if I can understand why my children act the way they do, and come at that from a better starting point. Same goes as a spouse, or to other members of my teams at work, or our clients. No one is acting in bad faith; all have some degree of validity to their point, and need to be accommodated or coached up. Hell, it even makes me better as a friend, since this means I can have people who don't agree with me, at all, politically.

When I am effective, it's because I've remembered that I don't have all the answers, but I can listen and learn and research to get them. And when I don't remember that, because that's part of being human as well... well, I can get back to the more open mindset quickly. It's habit. A really good one, actually.

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Feel free to comment, as well as like or share this column, connect with me on LinkedIn, or email me at davidlmountain at gmail dot com, or hit the top right RFP fields. RFPs are always free, and we hope to hear from you soon.