Paulo Senra on The Way Forward

 

I've had the privledge of working with a lot of people in politics.

 

One of my favourites is a fella named Paulo Senra, who I had the pleasure of running into tonight at an event.  If you read his post (shamelessly reposted by me) below, you'll see why I think he's awesome.

 

People are constantly filling in gaps with their own perspective, creating non-existant layers of difference between us.

 

Scratch the surface a bit, though, you'll find that what we have in common is the ocean; what seperates us is merely a more easily perceived drop.

 

To fill in your gaps of perception with reality, not confabulation, start by asking and then listening.  Challenging, perhaps, but always more rewarding.

 

Flight 186: New York - Toronto

After five amazing days in New York City, I found myself sitting and reflecting in seat 6D on my Porter flight back home to Toronto. I was sad to be leaving, tired and a little hung over, but mostly a bit anxious as I usually am whenever boarding a plane.

Prior to take off, the woman next to me turned and gently told me: “Just to let you know, I’m not a very good flyer. I get nervous on take offs and landings.” I smiled and responded with: “That’s perfect because I love take offs and landings; the mid-air turbulence is what scares the shit out of me.”

We exchanged smiles and after a few initially awkward and silent moments, we struck up a conversation.

It started with the expected and the usual “Where you from/What do you do?” inquiries, but it quickly grew into something a lot more substantial and controversial.

I blame it on this: “You seem like a nice guy, do you have a girlfriend?”

I thought about lying for a split second, but instead, I respectfully responded with: “No, but that’s because I’m gay.”

For the majority of the flight, I found myself answering questions about my coming out story to my family, my relationship with my parents, my plans to raise children, the state of marriage equality in America and how proud I was to be Canadian.

But it was another topic that really shifted the conversation – religion.

As I was discussing how disappointed and disgusted I was with the Pope’s (and the Catholic Church’s) views on women, homosexuality and marriage, my new friend advised me that she was an Orthodox Jew.

Suddenly, I was the one asking questions.

For the remainder of the flight I got to know a wonderful 52-year woman; born in India; raised in Canada; now living and working just outside the New York City boundaries; married to another Canadian; has four children; still travels on her Canadian passport; thinks the gun culture in America is ridiculous; and, votes Republican because she doesn’t think President Obama likes Israel enough.

I listened, agreed and disagreed, and continued to ask questions.

I learned that my new friend was about to visit her ailing mother, who was on life support in a Toronto hospital. She also admitted to me that she struggles each and every day reconciling her own personal views and the religious beliefs she is told is the correct way forward.

My new friend described to me the wonderful Jewish traditions that her and her family observe during the holidays and Sabbath, but she also explained how at times, she is uncomfortable with the views of her sect of Judaism, and in her opinion, how women are treated as second-class citizens. At one point she exhaled deeply and uttered “It’s a constant challenge, I feel stuck some days.”

I reminded her it wasn’t just Judaism and briefly mentioned examples of how oppressive Islam and Christianity can be towards women (and gays).

The conversation then navigated itself to the topic of the holocaust, where my new friend was surprised to find out that homosexuals, in addition to the millions of Jews, were also camped and exterminated. (Oddly enough, her husband now works for IBM, the same company whose devices were used to identity and classify individuals using the infamous concentration camp punch cards.)

And suddenly, we were wheels down in Toronto. We gathered our belongings and exchanged a few looks. It was as if we had a renewed understanding of what shared oppression and struggle felt and looked like. Considering the intensity of our conversation, the encounter ended in a rather unremarkable manner.

New Friend: “You know, you were the first gay person I’ve ever spoken to. Thank you for that.”

Me: “Really? Well, it was great meeting you. You’ve made me completely re-think how I view and judge Orthodox Jews.”

New Friend: “Well, we are not all the same; some of us struggle and continue to ask questions.”

Me: “Same with us.”

We smiled at each other. She walked on and waved. I leaned back against the cold tunnel walls and waited for my gate-checked luggage.

 

 

 

NeuroMarketing: This is crazy, but I'm @GoDaddy, So Use Me Maybe?

Hey! I just met you - and this is crazy - but I'm @GoDaddy, so use me, maybe?

It all connects - we just have to look beyond the cells of our limbic panopticons to see how.

Hack the Hippocampus: Memory Principles for Ads

Rita J. King

EVP, Science House

 

You may never forget the GoDaddy kiss, but were any of the Super Bowl ads memorable for the right reasons?

“The GoDaddy kiss is pretty hard to shake,” Adam Albrecht, Chief Creative Officer at Engauge, told me. “It featured a passionate, if not shocking kiss between two complete opposites. Depending on which side of the lunchroom you sat on in high school the kiss was either horrifying or a fantasy come true. But this uber-awkward kiss demonstrated exactly how GoDaddy wants you to think about their brand. And as hard as I try, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to erase the image or the message behind it from my memory.”

Yes, that kiss will be hard to shake — but does such a technique create a memorable message, or just a memorable ad? With ads costing $3.8 million dollars per thirty second spot (that’s over $4,000 per frame) can companies afford to overlook the ad’s sole mission: highlighting the product, service or brand and not just the ad itself?

I’ve recently been collaborating with Memory Layer, a company that works with brands and ad agencies on creating memory in ads. Memory experts James Jorasch and Chris Harwood have designed a system for improving the memorability of ads. Memory Layer “hacks the hippocampus,” (the part of the brain that lets memories in) through five principles of memory. Here’s a glimpse of the Principle WHEEL of Memory (weight, harmony, entanglement, engagement and leveraged attention) from Memory Layer, and how these principles relate to a few of this year’s Super Bowl spots:

Weight  The brain evolved to see the world through the senses, so abstract ideas that cannot be directly sensed carry little value. Instead, tangible weight must be given to an idea. Two commercials this year demonstrated this principle well. Tide’s “Miracle Stain” took the lowly stain and raised it to exalted levels - creating a solid image in the mind of the audience.

Although the first GoDaddy ad is getting all the attention, its second spot, “Your Big Idea,” succeeded in turning an abstract notion into a concrete vision. It takes the possibility of someone else stealing a great idea and filing for a domain name before you and turns into the vision of what could have been if only you had acted. By showing people in other parts of the world all talking about the same idea, the spot makes the rush to move first on an idea tangible. In classic GoDaddy style, the reward is obnoxiously portrayed by a cackling winner on his private jet--but the point is made.

Harmony  Like a crew rowing in unison, the elements of an ad should operate toward a single key message. When the elements are more organized and harmonious, the brain is better able to process the message. One of the best examples of this principle in this years lineup of ads is Best Buy’s “Asking Amy” spot. Amy Poehler has lots of questions about the products. The Best Buy employee dutifully follows her around to answer them. While most of the answers are never shown, they are implied, and Amy leaves the store happy and thankful. Best Buy is advertising the expertise of their staff, which shows in the knowledgable and patient service provided in this commercial.

Entanglement  A commercial may be memorable without it being valuable, if what ends up being remembered is the content rather than the product or brand. You may remember a wish granting genie played by Kaley Cuoco, helping an average suburban family live out their wishes. But who or what was it for? Without firmly entangling the message to memorable content you end up with a $4 million showcase for the Big Bang Theory star and not an ad for the Toyota RAV4 in “Wish Granted.”

On the flip side is the Meatloaf-belting candy-coated commercial “Love Ballad.” The protagonist of the commercial is itself an M&M wrestling with the idea of love. In the first half, the M&M claims he would do anything for love and we see scenes of what that means to him. This is followed by what we humans want to do to the M&M’s we love: eat them in a variety of ways. This is something that he won’t do. You cannot remove the M&M from the story without ruining the narrative, as the narrative is dependent on the candy.

Engagement  In order for an advertisement to be truly experienced it must engage the audience. The more the viewers imagine, the more of the brain is used and in turn the more memorable the message becomes. The Mercedes-Benz “Soul” ad for their all-new CLA car succeeded brilliantly here, encouraging viewers to dream along with the protagonist as he envisions a future of the benefits associated with the car: riches, love, fame and adventure, offered to him in a deal with the devil played by Willem Dafoe. The audience is right there with him as a vision of the future (which includes Usher and Kate Upton) unfolds. In the end he sees, through the window, a billboard with the car’s reasonable price on it. Since he realizes that the glories promised by the car are within his reach and budget, he doesn’t need the tempting deal with the devil to own it.

Leveraged Attention  With millions of people watching a Super Bowl ad, this attention is far more valuable when it is leveraged to help remember the message. Hyundai had two commercials that used their attention in vastly different ways. The first, “Epic Playdate”, squandered most of it. It lent its focus to the guest band and the crazy antics an average suburban family can have in a day. Only after the frenetic action of the commercial do we really focus on the car, and then only for a couple of seconds. Hyundai’s “Stuck” commercial, however, took advantage of attention to bring the feature of the Sonata to the fore, illustrating why the turbo feature is helpful by having the action of the ad focus on the car passing other highway nuisances.

@RitaJKing

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Teachers and Farmers: The Leaders Needed Today Plan for Tomorrow

What an amazing ad courtesy of the Superb Owl - thanks to Warren Kinsella for posting it.

 

Note the themes in this - multitasking, the importance of faith in doing the difficult tasks that need done, the need to plan, to balance strength with compassion, the ability to endure and never lose sight of the harsh fact that the work we do today isn't for ourselves, but for those to follow. Really, this ad's about leadership.

Prescient, this. The kind of leaders we need today are more like teachers and farmers than stern fathers like Stephen Harper or would-be warriors like Rob Ford. Slowly, these are the kinds of leaders we're getting, too, starting with people like Kathleen Wynne.

We reap what we sow - the good choices of today will bear wholesome fruit tomorrow.  That's planning.

Stephen Harper and Jim Flaherty: Ideology in the Absence of a Plan

A good read, this.  Some highlights cut and pasted below:

 

During that time we were fortunate to work with ministers who wanted to hear advice and engage in discussion before they made decisions. That’s how good policy decisions are made.

 

 

The real purpose of your consultations seems to be to deliver photo ops, quotes and conditioning for the upcoming budget. We note that the prime minister has now decided to get into the pre-budget consultation exercise. Rarely do your “public” consultations ever lead to any policy actions. In fact, in the past, most major fiscal actions have been taken without consultation.

 

 

Our most important recommendation is that you implement a “real strategy” to support economic growth and job creation and not focus on more tax expenditures.

 

 

We believe that the government should put aside its sole policy commitment of eliminating the deficit by 2015-16, and introduce a medium-term strategy to support job creation and economic growth.

 

 

What is emerging is a widening “fiscal divide” between a federal government of diminished size with sound finances, and provincial governments with deepening fiscal imbalances resulting from growing spending pressures (health, education, infrastructure) and slower economic and revenue growth. This growing fiscal divide is not sustainable.

 

 

These irrational brawls with the PBO inevitably end up making the government look like it has something to hide and cannot be trusted. Both your credibility and the credibility of the government have suffered as a result.

 

 

Given the vagueness and opacity of the 2012 budget and the size and breadth of the two budget ominous bills, it’s hard for us to understand how a minister of finance could agree to them in the first place. Your credibility has suffered as a result.

There is an urgent need to restore the role of Parliament and its committees in assessing, reviewing and approving proposed legislation. Without sufficient information, Parliament and its committees cannot properly assess the budget. Parliamentary debate is stifled, public involvement is ignored and good public policy is derailed.

 

 

Unlike your predecessors, your legacy so far is one of a minister of finance who inherited a surplus and immediately eliminated it with a two-point cut in the GST, against the advice of all economists (including the ones in your own department) except one — the prime minister.

 

The budget needs to be much more explicit on proposed policy initiatives, providing details and background information sufficient for Parliamentary assessment and a better understanding by the public. Budget omnibus bills should be restricted to proposed tax changes only and all proposed spending initiatives should be presented either through the Main Estimates or through separate legislation, submitted to the applicable parliamentary committee for review.

 

 

It was you, along with the prime minister, who in the fall of 2008 stated the country would avoid a recession and never go into deficit. We all know how that went. You were subsequently forced to go ‘Keynesian’ and bring in a budget which introduced a major temporary stimulus program. This was the right thing to do, but it was imposed on you by the G20 and the rules of political survival. In your 2010 and 2012 budgets you introduced cuts in spending designed to eliminate the deficit over the “medium-term”. This seems to have become the only achievement that you want for your legacy.

We believe you can do much more. There is a need now for the federal government to take action to support medium-term growth and job creation, while maintaining a long-term sustainable fiscal framework. The government has the fiscal flexibility to do exactly that.

 

 

But first, you have to turn off the policy “autopilot” and take action.


It pays to think ahead - especially considering the consequences when you don't.

Pennyfall

A penny for your thoughts?  No longer.  Now, you can't get less than a nickle, which people will spend a bit more judiciously.  Better make sure those thoughts are worth it...

AssassiNation: All the World's a Stage

 

Watch this and learn.

Content, Context and consequence - particularly in a society where every minute gets captured and broadcast in real-time, the privilege of anonymity is fading.  Every person and their actions are preserved for consumption and use by police, governments, employers, friends, the general public around the world, in the cubicle down the hall, sitting across from you at the dinner table.

 

We're all on the stage, now - be conscious of this.  The truth will set you free.

All the world's indeed a stage,
And we are merely players,
Performers and portrayers,
Each another's audience
Outside the gilded cage.

Hyde park on a winter afternoon

One of the most perceptive minds I know turns out to also be one of the most poetic.  Funny how that works.

Hyde park on a winter afternoon

The sun appears
On a vast expanse of earth
Solid, flooding stillness
But for the gentle
Trembling of grass spears
And doleful waves of naked trees.
Then I hit the high street rush again
And madness creeps.