It’s actually quite odd how and why we reward certain behavioral traits in people and brands. In grade school, the kid who talked back to teachers usually received the most attention and admiration from his or her peers. From high school on through our mid- to late-twenties, the edgy “bad boy” was able to command respect – sincere or not – from others. Truth be told, I usually played the part of the straight-laced kid watching these characters with both disapproval and jealousy. When would traits like being positive, nice, or funny interest other people?

In no way am I attempting to draw a parallel between myself and The Man Your Man Could Smell Like, however, I would like to point out that of all the directions Portland-based ad agency Wieden + Kennedy could have taken this innovative “personalized response” campaign, they opted to keep it positive. For three days (July 12 – 14), the Old Spice guy engaged directly with his fans and consumers of Old Spice, sending those who responded to the work a personalized message.

While the T.V. commercials, which first introduced us to The Man Your Man Could Smell Like, had a hint of arrogance, the videos from personalized response campaign always sought to compliment the person for whom the video was created. Even the individuals or companies looking to self-promote or poke fun at Old Spice / the Old Spice guy were met with jovial, positive replies.

The  decision to always be positive is the impetus for the campaign’s success. Sure, every now and then we may find some pleasure in a pithy tweet, revolutionary technology, or even occasional public rant or beat down, but at the end of the day we love things that are honest, simple, and make us smile. In terms of ROI, being positive seems to be working for Old Spice; Nielsen reported that sales of the Old Spice Body Wash range as a whole rose by 55% over the last three months, and by 107% in the last month. In addition, independent third-party measurement firm Visible Measures recently shared that Old Spice’s video response campaign is one of the fastest-growing online video campaigns of all time. Check out their graph below and you’ll see what I mean:

I was recently at an event where Pet Holdings CEO Ben Huh (company behind FAIL Blog, Lolcats, etc.) shared, ”Human nature has a tendency to admire complexity but reward simplicity.” Similar to Ben’s quote is the thought, ”The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective.” from none other than Warren Buffet.

The point? We are smarter, more well-informed consumers than we were 10 years ago – mostly thanks to the Internet. We, as well as the companies whose goods and services we purchase, have the ability to be heard by the world through the various social media networks and platforms. Thus, if you, as a company, are going to use social media, please do not leverage it as a glorified news feed for your traditional press releases and propaganda. Rather than talk to everyone, companies need to talk with consumers. Having genuine conversations – some may have nothing to do with company at all – allows the consumers who are passionate about your topics to engage with you and champion your product or service.

As for the Old Spice responses, here are a few of my favorite examples of the “choosing to be positive” concept:

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Now get out there and create some luxury-style hot tubs!!!… Not laughing? Well, if you didn’t watch the first video from above then you won’t get the joke!

– Ryan

The article makes note that just over 3 million of the 100+ million iOS devices are iPads. So what? It’s a nice data point to quote, but I fail to see the vale of judging a new computing platform in its infancy. Furthermore, we already know that Windows and Android will eventually follow suit with their own tablet operating systems or maybe even take another swing at building their own devices.

The absence of iPad apps from non-media brands has less to do with their waiting to see if the tablet form-factor will become widely adopted – it will – and more to do with their desire to deliver a meaningful experience to users. Thankfully, it appears that many brands and their agencies are taking hold of the opportunity to build a thoughtful app for this new, albeit familiar, computing platform rather than produce more “me-too” or novelty apps, of which the App Store already has enough.

Building iPad apps that consumers actually want to use simply takes more time than the typical two- to four-week effort needed to create one of the many uninspired “app version of our web site” apps (e.g. store locator, catalogs lacking e-commerce, etc.) circa 2008 and 2009. Case in point, we are currently working on iPad app initiatives for a number of brands, each with time requirements spanning between three to six months to deliver a “version 1.0″ app. If anything, it’s refreshing to see these brands consider what pain their app will alleviate for its intended end users.

In addition to the larger scope and complexity of today’s mobile apps, iPad apps offer a unique (though potential similar to the up-coming Android devices will be here for the 2010 holiday season) experience unlike that of any other touch device – yes, even iPhone or iPod touch. iPad offers a “flat” user experience, allowing most of an app’s functionality to be accessible from one screen, versus the iPhone’s or iPod touch’s user experience where a more hierarchical approach is required.

Here’s a fun exercise, try using a “Universal” app (app that takes full advantage of the technologies on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch with a single binary) such as Evernote on iPad, and then on iPhone; now consider which experience you found to be more enjoyable. For me, apps built for iPad offer a stickier experience and more utility… Well, unless a camera is involved, but let’s not go there.

As for Chris Cunningham’s (CEO and co-founder of Appssavv) remark of the brand app era being over, I just don’t see it. Given the significant number of early adopters and the consumer groups who eventually follow suit, why would non-media brands (especially the ones who profess to be concerned with “engagement”) not want to reach out and engage with these premium consumers (assuming these consumers are part of their target market of course)?

I’d love to hear which brands would you like to see extend their products or services to an app for iPad.

– Ryan

That being said, I’m going to presume that most of you who are reading this post are not working in factories or painting curbs, though I am certainly not intending to imply that there is anything wrong with those professions. If your job requires even the slightest bit of rudimentary cognitive skill, then you really ought to watch this short whiteboard adaption of Dan Pink‘s talk at the RSA and learn why you care more about autonomy, mastery, and purpose than you do about monetary incentives.

[No video? Click here to view on YouTube.]

Pretty inspiring. So, how are you going apply this to your job or company?

– Ryan

In this post, I’ll introduce you to OmniFocus – a powerful to-do list and project tracking app for iPhone and Mac OSX. Think of OmniFocus as a high performance sports car; in unskilled hands it is still quite capable, but you’ll need to give the keys over to professional if you really want to see it maxed out! Enter David Allen and his time management method, Getting Things Done®.

Truthfully, I owned and attempted to utilized OmniFocus for several months before reading GTD® and, now that I know better, I look back and laugh (and shake my head a bit) at the time wasted trying to organize myself without the GTD methodology. I should also note that I have read similar productivity books before, but their concepts have never stuck with me. Simply put, cars need drivers and drivers need cars.

Prevalent mobile technology has made all the difference for me. In my presentation at UW this past April, I included a slide (slide #9 to be exact) which highlights this concept of “The best [camera book, bank, news, etc.] is the one that’s with you.” I definitely want to give Chase Jarvis credit for coining that term – thanks, Chase – as a marketer in the mobile space, I use that phrase on a weekly basis.

I digress! Back to mobile-enabled productivity.

Having the right methodology and the right tools (OmniFocus for me) has allowed me to enjoy a surprising level of consistency with regard to the way I capture, manage, and complete to-do, and thus projects. Sure, using these methodologies and tools will invariably take effort on our part, but the results are worth it. Bear in mind that it may take a week or two in order for a tangible productivity gain to be realized.

Well, enough from me. I’m not going to attempt to explain what other have already done so well. Rather, I’m going to give you a concise “user guide” for implementing OmniFocus and GTD into your life.

Step 1.

Read GTD by David Allen. Purchase here via Amazon.

Step 2.

Download and read “OmniFocus, GTD, and You” white paper. If you’re a “Mac” and the white paper makes sense – if you could seriously see yourself using OmniFocus as described – then download a free trail of OmniFocus for Mac OSX, but know that you will eventually have to pay $79.95 for the Mac OSX version of OmniFocus.

GTD author David Allen has this to say about OmniFocus, “OmniFocus is a stellar tool for keeping track of outcomes and actions in the Mac environment. It supports simple but important practices for keeping your head clear, staying focused, and managing your commitments.” Who can argue with that?

If the white paper does not make sense, then save your time, and your $80, and think about an alternate system that would work for you.

Step 3.

If you have an iPhone or iPod touch and are loving the Mac OSX version of OmniFocus, consider downloading the OmniFocus app (almost available for iPad too) from the App Store for $19.99. This app is very clean and easy to use. Here’s a screenshot from my iPhone:

If you’re like me, I often find that important projects or to-do’s come to mind at times when I am not in front of my computer; my best ideas come to me when I am doing the extracurricular things that I love – funny how that works, isn’t it?

Having OmniFocus on my iPhone effectively solves this dilemma; it’s always with me and seamlessly integrates into my preexisting workflow.

Other Tips:

• You have to clean up your to-do’s on a weekly bases. No excuses.
• Be diligent about capturing your thoughts or ideas as they come to you. Getting ideas out of your head and into a trusted “container” allows you to focus on the task at hand.
• Use MobileMe. You can try a 60-day free trial here. MobileMe is $99 per year, but if you have an iPhone the benefits that come with MobileMe are worth it. And yes, I will be doing a “WMP” post on MobileMe soon.
• If you don’t like the look of OmniFocus, take a look at Things by Culture Code. I’m not going to debate the two. In short, Things may look more aesthetically pleasing, but the good people of The Omni Group created the “OmniFocus, GTD, and You” white paper mentioned above, which was enough to win me over.

I’d love to hear any of your tips, tricks, or GTD / OmniFocus success stories!

– RP