Get This

An Exceptional Mission Statement

Heard of Buca di Beppo?

I hadn’t, but when it comes to restaurant selection at a tradeshow, you tend to go with the flow. And so it was for Andrew and me as we joined our client Select Soccer at the National Soccer Coaches convention in Philadelphia. Reservations were made for Friday night at the Italian family style restaurant.

The little lobby as you enter Buca … in fact, every square foot of wall space … was some framed bit of Italian memorabilia. From the Pope to Sinatra to Juventus and Inter Milan (great soccer clubs), this place was a shrine to Italy.

As we were escourted through the kitchen staging area to our table, I noticed a bright red poster with the Buca mission statement and pulled out the iPhone to snap a quick shot. It talks about creating a “Celebratory Experience.” I thought it was one of the best I’d ever read and want to share it with you.

The food, the servers and the atmosphere at Buca never fell short of what was written on the kitchen wall. We enjoyed a great meal and a memorable experience.

At Harrison Kohn, we believe in the importance of a thoughtfully crafted mission statement to guide a company forward and galvanize the associates.

Fiesta Metrics

A few more thoughts on the Fiesta Movement.

Six-and-a-half million YouTube viewings later (as of early December, according to The Detroit News), the Fiesta Movement has shown a lot of smart people the power of brilliant product design + marketing creativity + social media.

The design was critical, according to Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vp for global product development. Of the subcompact segment, the “highest customer want is design” (see The Wall Stree Journal story). That starts with a smart look, cool gadgetry and customizable options.

Beyond that, give credit for Ford’s senior management for having the cahoonas to NOT take the easy route … traditional media advertising. As a result of an inventive below-the-radar approach, instead of just building impressions, Fiesta is at the center of a movement. According to Ford, the Fiesta brand name now has 60% recognition; what’s more, the new car is generating real excitement. And that’s not just among 16-34s, but baby-boomers, too.

For a neat little one-minute video recapping the campaign, just click here. You’ll be glad you did.

Learning from Ford (Honest!)

One of the brightest pieces of marketing in 09 had to be Ford’s not-so-quiet introduction of its new Fiesta. 100 Fiesta “Agents” were selected from a nationwide search to drive brand new European Fiestas around the USA, blogging, YouTubing, Facebooking and Tweeting everywhere they went.  It was the foundation of Ford’s brilliant Internet-based Fiesta Movement, that got the new car in front of millions of 16-34 year-olds, without spending a dime on traditional media advertising.

Take note of what Ford CMO Jim Farley told reporters: “… you can’t just say it. You have to get the people to say it to each other.”

Of course, the product experience has to be good enough (or bad enough) to stimulate the talking. Evidently, the new Fiesta is a winner.

And so is Ford. By handing the cars and communication tools to 100 well-networked people, the brand took a chance that’s already paying off months before the car is even available to buy in the U.S. (More to come on that.)

Good Signs in Greenville

New day. New year.

Took a brisk walk downtown for lunch today and noticed the demolition of the old Woolworth’s building is now in full swing. 

How great to remove a vacant eyesore in the middle of North Main, even if only to replace it with green space for downtowners to enjoy (for the time being until a developer steps up). No one wants to see a broken down relic from the past when there’s so much creative energy in our city.

Walking back to Harrison Kohn after a signature spinach salad and slice from Barley’s, I was stopped by a rather odd sign in front of the Tex-Mex restaurant Cantinflas. It read, “Our Promise & Mission: Delight All Our Guests.”

The coincidence was crazy. About 45 minutes from the sign siting, I would be leading a discussion to consider our own “promise and mission” at Harrison Kohn.

New day. New year. New life. A perfect time to redefine, reframe, reassess and reshuffle the deck. A splendid day to think about what the market needs Harrison Kohn to be. And then to become that company.

What a great day this is.