I like history, always have. Even as a kid, I preferred a good war movie to Star Wars and cartoons. The future was all lasers and space. Phooey. History just seemed more exciting. And it actually happened. It was true. It was real. Luke Skywalker couldn’t hold a candle to Magellan or Robert E. Lee.

For a time, before getting into advertising, I worked towards a PhD in history. I quit my studies midway. As it turned out, I preferred reading history to researching it. Still, many years later, I get a great thrill from reading a solidly researched, well-written historical tract. Nothing beats it, except golf.

It bothers me that people don’t know or appreciate history. I think they’re depriving themselves of an important part of being alive. They’re missing the richness of appreciating where they exist in time. They don’t get to absorb the happenings of another place and era. And sadly, I believe their ability to fully make sense of the present world is compromised. Because man is a creature of memory, custom, and ritual, and the past will always be with us. For good and bad. The future is coming; I’m here to tell you, so is the past.

Well, for my money, there’s no better supplemental training a creative can have than a grasp of history. Each day, I face the blank sheet of paper. It can be daunting. But thanks to my passion for history, I don’t look down on that empty whiteness alone. I have inspirational helpers as I search for a concept to tackle a client’s problem. You may know some of them: Napoleon, Buzz Aldrin, James K. Polk, Cortez, Thomas More, Erasmus, Hannibal, Pericles, Botticelli, Peter Abelard, Chester Nimitz, Plato, Hadrian, Otto Von Bismarck but enough name dropping.

Part I

RMS Titanic represented state-of-the-art technology in 1912. It was the pinnacle of Edwardian achievement and the height of accomplishment in the industrial revolution up to that time. And, it was in service for only 4 days.

The lessons learned from Titanic are profound and many. The sinking changed an antiquated system, and those changes continue to save lives to this day. So perhaps we can also glean lessons that apply to our job as communicators and brand stewards.

1. If you’re coming head on into disaster, don’t avoid it; aim directly for it.

When Titanic sailed, it was the brand new flagship of the White Star Line. So the line decided they should have their highest-ranking people in command. The problem was, most of those officers didn’t have a great understanding of the brand new ship. And that is ultimately what led to the disaster.

This is also true of brands. If the people in charge of a brand don’t understand that the brand really isn’t theirs, but instead is their customer’s property, that brand is doomed to fail in this new era of communication.

Chief Officer William McMaster Murdoch was at the helm of Titanic when the iceberg was spotted. His reaction was to go with his instincts. “Hard astarboard, full speed astern” was his command.

His intention was to swing the ship around the berg to miss it altogether. The problem was, he didn’t understand how Titanic was engineered. His command actually eliminated the ship’s ability to turn quickly. Because the ship “glanced” off the side of the berg, it damaged five watertight compartments. Titanic was designed to be able to stay afloat with four compartments damaged.

The best order at the helm of Titanic that night would have been “full speed astern,” an order to steer directly into the berg. This would have damaged at most two compartments and would have saved 1500 lives.

In a time when a brand can no longer control a one-way conversation, it is more important than ever to do what Officer Murdoch should have done: take on whatever is coming your way directly. Don’t try to avoid it. Don’t try to sugar coat it. Take it head on. The new consumer wants a “relationship.” They want to be able to trust a brand. So they want to feel like that brand is listening to what they have to say.

And just like in any friendship, not all conversations are going to be nice ones. But friendships survive because the two parties trust each other. They may not always agree, but they will always trust. Be authentic. Be real.

2. Be careful what you say. The message could turn on you.

“God himself could not sink this ship.”

After almost 100 years, this quote — which, legend has it, was made on the spur of the moment by a deckhand during Titanic’s sea trials a week before her maiden voyage — has become the defining characteristic of the disaster. Titanic: the unsinkable ship. Ironically, the brand — the White Star Line — never made this claim. Yet to this day it is synonymous with the greatest ocean liner disaster of all time. Why?

Because it was picked up and given life by the media, and by word of mouth, and made larger by each person who passed it along. The brand allowed this exaggeration to take hold and did nothing to influence or quell it.

Why not? The ship was practically unsinkable. It had a double bottom, 16 watertight compartments with three separate systems to activate the doors should the ship need them. What could possibly go wrong? Why not allow this misinformation to circulate? It could only help the brand, right?

Wrong. White Star never recovered after Titanic sank and was eventually absorbed by their primary competitor.

This exact situation lives on today, especially with the advent of social media. Any message, whether true or not, can now be picked up and circulated around the world instantly. The brands of tomorrow need to be cognizant today about a game plan for where the conversation goes and how to shape its life.

Those who have systems in place to guide the discussion won’t be blindsided. You will never be able to fully control the conversation, but you can get your side of the story to take hold if you are prepared. Because once the wrong story begins to spin, it is hard to slow down. Just ask Tiger Woods.

(to be continued)

Make that a 22,841-foot view.

Just Do It. Sounds trite, but I firmly believe that I stood on the top of Mount Aconcagua, one of the highest mountains in the world, on Jan 14, 2011 because of an ad man from Portland, Oregon. Our industry has the power to influence. Sometimes for good, sometimes not. I’m not a copywriter, as witness to this blog post. I’m an art director. And while I do believe that art can certainly move you, words, on the other hand, have a lasting quality and a power that transcends a memorable photo or a striking illustration.

“Just do it.” has remained Nike’s official tagline for over 20 years, and is one of the most memorable slogans in advertising history. It’s also a mantra that can be heard on any weekend bike ride, or college keg party. You can hear it at the local gym, an 8th grade dance, or maybe on a morning jog with a few buddies. It always comes to the surface when someone is contemplating something new. Something that will most likely push them out of their comfort zone. A tagline written for a shoe company has changed lives. It changed mine, of that I have no doubt. No, I don’t have a Nike shrine under the stairs at home. I don’t even buy Nike shoes. But I bought in, 100 percent, into their marketing effort. I love “Just do it.” Sometimes it gets me in trouble. Sometimes it puts me in places I thought I would never be. Like the summit of the tallest mountain in the Andes. So in a way, I guess I do use Nike’s product. The fact that I think about Nike’s tagline every time I push back at the urge to sit on my ass, is testament enough.

Words have power. The power to persuade. The power to motivate.

A simple note can change the course of someone’s life. A single paragraph from a paperback book, graffiti on a wall, a love note passed in a 5th grade classroom. Just a few words from a speech put 12 men on the moon. Words can move people, change people. Words can make you cry, make you laugh. A message on an answering machine, or even the lyrics from a song can have a profound impact. Like the tagline of a shoe company that put an old art director on the summit of Mount Aconcagua.

Lewis recently helped create a successful joint promotion for Whole Foods Market and the Black Warrior Riverkeeper. A portion of proceeds from a day’s sales went to the Riverkeeper, and sales for the gourmet market were up by 5% the day of the promotion. Lewis also created a new educational brochure for the Riverkeeper.

For so many people, social media is exactly that – a place to be social. But during the dramatic unfolding of devastating weather conditions in the state of Alabama, social media became more than just a social website – it became a lifeline for so many. Facebook became a site to literally check-in on your friends’ lives. For those who had already lost power, it was a way to pass along information to the outside world that your friends were among the living.

It also serves as a giant Hallmark card of sorts. For our friends who have lost so much, once they are able to check back in, hopefully the sight of their Facebook wall will help them to get through the next stage – whether it is grieving, recovery or rebuilding. For our own co-workers, the outpouring of love and concern and the many offers of assistance should serve to at least let them know that they are loved, in our thoughts and that their needs are our top priority.

And as the state begins to pick up the pieces of what these tornadoes left behind, the number of pages popping up on Facebook to assist are truly inspiring. The page “Animals Lost & Found from the Tornadoes in Alabama on 4/27/11” helps connect displaced pets with “foster parents” until their owners can be located as well as alerting people as to missing pets. “Pictures and Documents found after the April 27, 2011 Tornadoes” allows the return of what may appear to be debris to some but could be the only photo reclaimed of a dear family member.

I’ve seen everything from “how to volunteer”, how to donate, how to file your insurance claim pop up within the last 18 hours. It also serves as the most relevant news source to some. After all, the news that’s important to our friends tends to be that which is most important to us.

And while the penetration of Facebook continues to increase, one can only imagine that it will continue to have an important role in these types of events. For me, social media took on a whole new realm of meaning in my life this week.

The new Edelman Trust Barometer Study is out and causing quite a stir among marketing people. The buzz surrounding the report is primarily because it shows a significant one-year decline in the perceived value of “friends” as a trusted source re: brand trial and preference.

Many pundits are gleefully quoting this single datapoint as evidence that the social influence “fad” is starting to fade.

I think this is a big mistake.

For starters, words matter and the term “friends” has been severely cheapened and confused due to the social media lexicon. Real friends will forever remain a source of trust and confidence for Americans. We are greatly influenced by people we know and admire, and as media fragmentation continues, our reliance on these sources will increase.

Secondly, it is important to remember that brand “conversations,” as we define them here, have never been limited to or framed by the social influence movement. We don’t endorse a cannibalizing view of social media and we openly reject the “advertising is dead” mantra.

Instead, our position is that “we do work worth talking about,” no matter what the media. This is not a new position for our firm, nor is it an attempt to promote ourselves with a social media spin.

We are marketing communications experts who are passionate and gifted at stimulating, measuring and sustaining brand conversations — which is vital in an era of “always on, always accessible” media.

Therefore, while the term “conversations” may become a casualty of the social media debate, what should not be lost is a singular focus on helping customers better connect with and through a client’s brand.

This has always been the strength of great agencies and it will never lose its value.

See the good.

On December 1, at the Annual Recreation Vehicle Industry Association International Trade Show in Louisville, Kentucky, Lewis Communications helped Tiffin Motorhomes unveil their newest model, the Allegro Breeze. The Breeze is a 28′ Class A diesel-pusher that isn’t just a new product, but creates a whole new category in the RV industry. Just as luxurious as Tiffin’s high-end models, the Breeze is smaller, more maneuverable and fuel efficient.

In an industry where in the past bigger almost always meant better, a teaser campaign was developed with the tagline, “This is BIG.” The campaign targeted dealers and industry media letting them know Tiffin would soon be unveiling something brand new. The Tiffin website homepage included a countdown clock promising something huge at the industry’s leading annual show. Direct mail and social media posts also helped spread the word of Tiffin’s big news leading up to the show.

The actual unveiling at the RVIA show included an oversized curtain with fake wheels pushed out to create the impression of a vehicle almost twice the size of the Breeze.

When the curtain was dropped attendees were surprised to see a luxury RV half the size of what was expected. Miniature pocket-sized brochures were handed out and the wording on the side of the display changed to say “Small is Big.”

The Breeze was named Best of Show for the RVIA Expo and was featured in RV Business and MotorHome Magazine.