Free Dictionary defines denial as : “a process by which painful thoughts are not permitted into the consciousness.” Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the exact description of the times we’re living in and through right now: Banks deny they have problems, the President is the master of denial, TV networks deny the fact that their viewership is aging rapidly, advertising agencies continue to do business as usual while their business is dying around them. And the list goes on and on: Just look at industries changing (in some instances disappearing in front of our eyes) - Automotive, Yahoo!, Retailers, Record Labels.

Businesses are organisms. I always compare them to human beings. They have their own consciousness, their own soul, their own spirit. - And most companies act like smokers: They know they’re indulging in bad habits, a habit that will kill them one day. Every day they learn new facts how the smoke contains millions of carcinogens, how your chances of cancer/heart disease increase every time you light up. Standing outside in the rain, they suck on their cigarettes either proclaiming to quit soon or somehow rationalizing that they enjoy their habit.

Denial can come in various forms: Minimizing (It’s not going to be that bad), Cockiness (I’ve handled more difficult situations before), Rationalizing (Our revenue is down by 5%, we don’t have a real problem), Blaming (The clients don’t get it) and Intellectualizing (The new study shows everything will be good.) Or you can just lie to yourself, manipulate others, be defiant or withdraw. In the end, all denial ends in distaster.

Fact is, the advent of personal technology has changed media consumption behavior. Fact is, we’re undergoing dramatic demographic changes. And, fact is, humans are changing the way they interact with each other and institutions in new, never before seen ways.

These facts should lead businesses to rethink their business/marketing/service/brand strategies. Better today since delay is the deadliest form of denial. Just ask how IndyMac, Chrysler and Yahoo feel about their denials now.

We moved from housing crisis to credit crisis and are now in the middle of a banking crisis. First Bear Stearns, now IndyMac - who’s next? Wachovia is mentioned in various publications, WaMu seems to be in trouble (Where’s the Whoo Hoo when you really need it?) and ABC spills out a list of banks that are close to a meltdown. Urban myths are rearing their ugly head and there’s a feeding frenzy in the media (Just check out Drudgereport and you know what I mean). This is a full-fledged crisis, one that calls for crisis management, blogger outreach, connecting with nervous customers on a personal level, being open with your situation assessment and, and, and.

And what are banks doing?

You go to their corporate sites, scan the blogs for outreach and any interaction with their customers - absolutely nothing. As we know, banks are in the confidence business. That’s what they’re all about. Nothing else. No bank in the world has enough money on hand to survive a bank run. Just ask IndyMac. The Citigroups, BofA’s and Wells Fargo’s of the world have no way of surviving a bank run. Not even them.

Banks demonstrated confidence through shiny skyscrapers and glossy brochures. But in today’s world of free-flowing rumors, these old confidence builders don’t work that well anymore. We’ve been through the Enron disasters and know that we need to look under the hood. But the banks hide behind their old facades and don’t let anybody in. The problem is that they make themselves increasingly vulnerable to new forms of communication. A bank run can start within a few hours and ruin their business even quicker. Hiding is not an option.

My plea to banks: Open yourself up. I’m not talking about your quarterly earnings calls. Talk to your customers and discuss with them the current situation. Reassure them that their investments are safe (You better be telling the truth!) and explain to them how your bank is dealing with the current crisis. If you have to, go over FDIC regulations. Build confidence through open communication. And reap the benefits. Take a look at ING, see how they handle possible landmines.Stop all your Whoo Hoo and smiling faces - serious handshakes garbage advertising and invest in real conversations with your customers.

Take the concerns of your customers as serious as the demands of Wall Street.

While the upfront is chugging along and advertisers continue to flock to the golden goose called TV, news broke yesterday that the average broadcast network viewer median age was 50. (Not including DVR users.) As Variety put it: “…if they were a person, they wouldn’t even be a part of TV’s target demo anymore.”

While the video viewing experience will become more and more important, the traditional TV experience is dying a slow death. This doesn’t mean above 50 aren’t desirable audiences and shouldn’t be addressed in your communcation strategy. But it means that younger generations have changed their behavior for good and won’t return. It happened with radio, newspapers and TV. And it will continue to happen with the online and mobile experience. Technology doesn’t drive revolutions. Changes in basic behavior drive societal changes. And we’re in the middle of one.

Who would think that a guy with goofy dance moves can show us how the world has changed? Amidst talk about recession, oil crisis and inflation, everybody should watch this video to understand how much hope is out there, how much the world has come closer together and that the human spirit is something we should never count out.

Get the inside story here

And check out ‘Where the hell is Matt?‘

We are living in a transitionary period. From analog to digital age. From industrial revolution to information revolution. From boom times to recession. Climate. Politics. Web 2.0. Media. Advertising. You name it.

Changes are scary. Transitions are even scarier. Changes get us somewhere. Transitions leave us in a nowhere land. We know the old is disappearing, fading away. Like a day that disappears in front of our eyes. Transitions are like the dark night. We know there will be a sunrise but we are afraid it might come too late. Or maybe it’s the first day without any sunrise?

The natural reaction to transitions is to go into stealth mode. Since we don’t know where the transition will lead us, we revert back to old, known behaviors, strategies, tactics. That’s a huge mistake.

Old strategies, tactics and behaviors won’t succeed after the transitional period is over. That’s why it’s imperative to experiment as much as we can. Try things. Learn. Collaborate.

Brands have problems with that. They tend to stay away from transitions as much as they can. It used to work that way, why shouldn’t it work again? We’re in a transitionary period from mass media to social media. We all know it. We all feel the major changes about to break and change our world. Our learned behavior tells us to do nothing, to go into stealth mode: “TV still works.” “If Facebook can’t be monetized, the whole idea of social media is completely overblown.”

Transitions are opportunities. Either an opportunity to retreat into passivity and be ruled by fear. Or an opportunity to change the game and lead by courage. Nobody said it was easy. But, looking at history (Coal Mines come to mind) we don’t have a real choice. Unless you regard failure as an option.

Image: Courtesy of Keri Smith.

Whatever you thin about Tiger Woods, you have to admire his work ethic and philosophy. When he was at the Olymp (Masters), he took the risk and retooled his swing. Not once. Twice.  In his words:

“My swing was good enough to compete on tour when I came out, but I didn’t think it was good enough to compete consistently on tour. I had a lot of holes in my game. I wasn’t a very good driver of the golf ball, my distance was terrible with the short irons. I would fly it over a bunch of greens. And my putting was way too aggressive. I had holes in my game that I needed to rectify in order to be consistent week in and week out.

“All the great champions that have ever played, that’s what they did. I didn’t think my game was good enough, so I needed to make changes.”

Companies, management consultants, individuals, kids should have this quote taped to their bathroom mirror. Too often all of us settle for mediocrity. For quarterly results that calm down Wall Street. For individual achievements that are good but not outstanding. For incremental change instead of radical change.

The real game changers (Dylan, Apple, Picasso - just to name a few) are never satisfied, always reinventing, changing. They have the patience for long-term results, don’t get frazzled by mid-term disappointments. And they are not guided by fear.

Fear is what keeps people/brands/corporations from changing. And, in the case of Conversational Marketing, keeps brands from adjusting to the changing media consumption habits of their customers. Instead, brands allocate experimental budgets to social media campaigns instead committing fully to the new marketing reality. Brands see their customers participate in a media category without them but they are too afraid to push the red button and change dramatically. Social Media is too often seen as the $1 lottery ticket: You get it right, you look like a hero (Doritos, anyone?) If you don’t get it right, so what? It’s just a buck.

Tiger’s life was and is about commitment. That’s why he’s the most successful individual business man. Ask yourself: Are you afraid or are you committed?

What is the key issue we all have to deal with besides the environment and the digital transformation of society? I would argue it’s the gender issue.

We have seen amazing progress in the last few decades but there’s a stalling feeling when looking at the future. The first phase of equality advancement was based on legal and political changes. Women could celebrate numerous victories guaranteeing equal rights and protection under the law. Society focused on abolishing discrimination, empowering women to keep up with men. This forced women to play in an environment built by men, controlled by men, perfected by men.

The most successful women were those that displayed male characteristics and often had to act more manly than any of their male competitors to be considered for promotion or executive positions. Hillary’s primary run was a perfect example for this behavior. Interestingly, Hillary had to play the ‘man card’ of being cut-throat and hyper-competitive to be regarded as a strong competitor. Obama, on the other hand, showed a softer, more female side as a competitor by emphasizing relationships and making connections. Frankly, Hillary had no choice: The gender environment requires women to act like men.

The next step will be hardest: Women have to change the way business is done. They have to change the way we conduct politics. They have to move society away from competitiveness towards relationship building. The desire for this change is out there. Not only in politics as we’ve discovered with the stunning success of Obama. We see this need for more relationship building and connections in the way people use new technologies.

This change can’t be dictated by courts or politicians. It will happen when women finally use their buying power to force businesses to change. Voting with their wallets will change car dealerships, banks, health care, well, almost everything. Society is ready for it. When will brands answer?

Working as a copywriter and later CD in Germany, I lead quite a few major pitches. Once my team received the brief, the first thing they did was grab all the available Luerzer Archives and annuals. And for the next few days, all the creative power was wasted on rummaging through old annuals, trying to be inspired by genius. In the end, none of it resulted in any innovative ideas, just recycling brilliant ideas into second-rate advertising.

But what would you expect from a society that thrives on copycats? Food Network is based on the idea that people don’t trust their own instincts, rather copying experts. Andrew writes brilliantly about his own cooking experience on the Northern Planner blog. Just spend a few hours with HGTV, home improvement magazines or healthy lifestyles shows. It’s all about copying what other people have done.

Average marketing is done by reading a lot of advice. An average life is lived by consuming a lot of advice. Real life starts when you get the basics down, learn everything you can from your parents, family, friends, books, movies, music, etc. and then shut all the outside influences out and create your own life. Your own convictions, your own style.

All the people that ask for another viral video or a widget or more bright shiny objects, didn’t take the time to process information. Just like the creatives reading annuals after annuals. Get the creative brief and let it sink in. Don’t give in to the noise and create more noise. Then use the product/service. Push it as hard as you can. Use it as you. Use it as your neighbor. Use it as Joe Blow. And let that sink in. Your job is to keep the noise level down to a minimum. Your mind needs silence to develop inspiring, innovative ideas.

These are hectic times: Ad clutter, nervous marketing departments, anxious agencies to sell the newest fad or sticking to the old :30s because the rest is so confusing.

It’s not that hard.

Instead of relying on the pied pipers of old/new/emerging/whatever marketing, trust yourself first. Or as Funkadelic brilliantly sang: “Free your mind and your ass will follow.”

Confidence is sexy. Confidence in your positive traits and being able to deal with your negatives. Pretending you’re somebody else doesn’t work. Not in your personal life. Not as a business. If you are confident, if you love yourself for who you are, the majority will feel the same way about you.

The brand landfill is littered with brands pretending to be something they’re not: Brand extensions such as Hooters Air or Trump Cologne come to mind. Or the well-reported flogsof Wal-Mart and PSP. 

A long time ago, Avis lead the charge in showing their confidence in being #2. They didn’t try to claim to be leader in everything (Unlike almost all car companies - just look at their performance claims.), they made their customers feel confident in buying from the #2 rental company, giving all others another reason to try them out. Because they tried harder.

Just look at today’s airline branding disaster: Yes, all the traditional airlines (AA, United, Delta) still have their Crown Rooms, their pre-boarding for Medallion and Platinum members. But, once seated, you still in an aging plane with grumpy employees and grumpier passengers. (Overheard on an AA flight a few days ago - Purser: “We know you have many choices of bankrupt airlines.” - Now there’s somebody being honest.)

In the new marketing reality, brands need to be authentic. They might need to confront negative truths but there are ways of turning these negatives into positives. No, I’m not talking about spin. I’m talking about using your weaknesses as strengths in your communication and conversations. Just like Avis did.