Ant Hill Marketing

The annual InnoTech conference was held yesterday at the Oregon Convention Center and it appeared to be a very successful year. The overall attendance looked strong, the speaking session line-up was interesting, and the energy was positive. A few members of the Ant Hill team went to take in the speaking sessions, including some from the eMarketing Summit, and we all walked out with a list of things to do, so we must have learned something.

As I took in the experience, I tried to note a few things that jumped out at me about the conference.  Here is my top 10 list:

1. Best Speaker: Eric Dishman, Intel Architecture Group. Eric is clearly a smart guy and he has a knack for taking his vast knowledge about health innovation, synthesizing it down to a few key points, and expressing it in a way the audience can understand. I could listen to the guy all day.
2. B2B Anyone? It struck me that InnoTech is a business-to-business conference, but that most of the eMarketing Summit speakers talked only about consumer mobile and social marketing strategies. B2B companies have a lot to learn from consumer examples, for sure, but it would be nice to hear more of a B2B perspective at a B2B conference.
3. Separate Lives. Thanks to Kelly Feller, Intel’s social media guru, I now feel comfortable with my decision to keep my business and personal life separate when it comes to Facebook.  If it’s good enough for her…
4. Virtual Insanity. I felt sorry for all the exhibitors located next to the ASG Game Truck. I would have had one of those virtual guns pointed at my virtual head if I had to listen to that racket all day. I suspect most of the post-show beer was drunk in that part of the hall.
5. PowerPoint Skills. PowerPoint was introduced in the 1980s, so you’d think users would have it mastered.  Nope. Type-heavy slides, small fonts, and bad artwork are still the norm.
6. Portland Foodies Unite! Cooking Light magazine has a huge spread about the Portland food scene this month, yet our convention center serves up a paltry set of options to our visitors. What do you say work a deal with the food cart vendors to give attendees some quick, easy and tasty options right outside the front doors. Fuego burrito anyone?
7. Buzzword Bingo. Most speakers were pretty good at explaining their ideas in a way the audience could understand and without a heavy dose of selling, but a few just couldn’t help themselves.
8. Good Vibe. It has been a couple years since I’ve been to InnoTech, but the attendance and energy was good. There is clearly some optimism about the future.
9. Parking Deal. Did you know it only costs $9 to park all day in the convention center lot? I didn’t.  I paid $12 to plug my meter. Lesson learned.
10. I’ll Be Back. Sign me up for next year.

So, the Portland Timbers have apparently designed a new logo to be unveiled this Saturday as a step to help them move toward Major League Soccer. I’m interested to see what they’ve come up with. An article in today’s Oregonian about the logo mentions, “What if they unveil the new logo…and nobody cheers?” Well, if that happens, perhaps it’s because a logo doesn’t make the brand.

Below is a visual timeline that showcases the the various logos used by the Timbers, as it appeared in The Oregonian article.

What’s interesting, from a brand perspective is all the hoopla around the unveiling of a logo. If the identity used during the 2001-2004 timeframe didn’t “catch on with fans” perhaps it was less about the design and more to do with the Timbers‘ brand itself. Are the Timbers positioned well? What’s their distinction in the Portland sports market that sets them a part from other sporting options? It helps they are the only soccer team, but other than that, what’s the promise? And what does the brand stand for? I’m not sure I know and I’m a soccer fan. I do know that the Timbers along with owner and business phenom Merritt Paulson are hanging their hats on this as their step to the majors. And the development process took more than a year including research. All well and good, but that’s a lot riding on a mark. And, the questions I have for Paulson and the team? Tell me what the Timbers stand for. Tell me the experience I’ll have attending matches. Tell me what you are promising and how you’ll deliver. Then with the answers hold the new logo up in the mirror and tell me what you see.

[Added 6/12 post logo unveiling]

So the new Portland Timbers’ logo has been unveiled. See it for yourself here. Was there cheering? Don’t know. But the outcome is…just okay. Slightly uninspiring. At least the Oregon Ducks will surely enjoy the color combo.

On December 8, 2009 Pantone® officially announced their choice for the 2010 color of the year.  And the winner is – Pantone 15-5519. A round of applause if you please. Pantone 15-5519 or better known as, turquoise.

Turquoise!?! Whaaa? After last year’s mimosa, turquoise is a bit of dull thud in the empty swimming pool of hexadecimal life.

Insert fuzzy swirling images here.

I believe it was the year 1972 in which my family purchased a Dodge truck in a stunning shade of turquoise. The three most memorable things about this truck for me are; one, the color, two, a chilling winter trip from Portland to Hood River with myself and my sister stuck in the back with a catalytic heater for warmth, and three, a brutally hot trip to Sumpter, Oregon, in the middle of summer, with the whole family jammed into the cab. Two parents, three children, no air conditioning. I spent most of the Sumpter trip curled up on the floorboards underneath my mother’s feet in a state of heat-induced delirium.  The combined smell of rubber soled shoes, transmission fluid and graham crackers is still a stifling memory.  But really, the thing I remember most about that truck, is the color.

De-fuzz and un-swirl images.

At this point in my life, I cut Dodge a fair bit of slack for the color choice. My parents, not so much. It was the early 1970s, the world was just coming out of the 60s, the Vietnam War was winding down, free love, the hippie movement, Berkley and turquoise. Dodge was just trying to be hip. As for my parents, I have to believe it was the last truck on the lot and it was at a really good price.

So why did Pantone choose 15-5519 to be their color of the year? According to their press release on the subject, they say this: “In many cultures, Turquoise occupies a very special position in the world of color,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “It is believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky. Through years of color word-association studies, we also find that Turquoise represents an escape to many – taking them to a tropical paradise that is pleasant and inviting, even if only a fantasy.”  Further: “Turquoise adds a splash of excitement to neutrals and browns, complements reds and pinks, creates a classic maritime look with deep blues, livens up all other greens, and is especially trend-setting with yellow-greens.”  Hmmm.  A protective talisman, signals deep compassion and healing, the color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky, adds excitement, a classic maritime look, ESPECIALLY trend-setting with yellow-greens!  Pshaw I say! Obviously they never spent 9 hours on the floorboards of a turquoise Dodge truck in the middle of August on a trip to Sumpter, Oregon.

I can’t wait for 2011.

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‘Twas the night before deadline and all through the shop. Every creature was stirring…

We know what you’re thinking…”Uh oh, not another holiday letter.” Just read it. Please.

Think of it as our little tribute to 2009. Cheers!

Photo courtesy of www.portlandground.com

I love Portland. We’re not the city that never sleeps. We’re not the windy city. And, we’re not filled with tinsel, bleached hair and botox. But, we are overshadowed by other cities, especially when it comes to creative – and that’s a shame (or a sham depending on how you look at it). Creativity thrives here in our fair City of Roses (regardless of what Fast Company thinks). And with more than 1,500 companies, large and small, in the creative services industry, we contribute a fair share of professional services business revenue and jobs. Yet for some reason, we’re afraid to toot the horn let alone blow a low whistle (a little music once in a while is okay people). Maybe we think we’re great but need proof. Or we’re overly modest. Either way, consider this:

1. Creative services industry employs roughly 15,000 people in Portland
2. We have 344 designers per 100K residents – more than LA and Austin (according to Bureau of Labor Stats ’08 in Greater Portland Prosperity 2009)
3. The creative vitality here (based on the National Creative Vitality Index - yes there is such a thing) is more than twice the national baseline
4. Portland is among one of the most innovative cities, ranked 6 by Forbes for most patents, and 6th for both entrepreneurship and small business (Creative Capacity Project)
5. Creative industries generate nearly $2 billion and a payroll of nearly $1 billion annually (that’s no chump change) (Creative Capacity Project)
6. More than half of Oregon’s creative firms are concentrated in Portland (Creative Capacity Project)

Portland is a great place to be – to live and work. But we know that already. Even though we’re pushing through a rough spot and our state has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, we don’t have the brain drain other cities are facing. In fact, we’ve got some brain gain going on. More people are moving here from out-of-state than to our western compatriots (that’d be Seattle, Albuquerque, Austin, San Diego, Denver, San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacremento). The region is a magnet for all kinds of talented professionals – a chunk of them in the the creative industry and they’d rather be here than someplace else. Some get the entrepreneurial bug. It’s quite catchy here. Some freelance for local agencies or work directly with clients and supplement with other jobs. Baristas or bartenders are common, but more often they are artists, writers and musicians. Perhaps this is why Forbes dubbed Portland one of the best metro areas in which to ride out the recession. The great coffee, local microbrews, top notch wineries, and growing spirit distillers are definitely a bonus. And innovation abounds (the coffee, beer, wine, and spirits help) with the booming food scene, developing clean/green tech industry, the variety of arts and yes, our creative services industry. There’s no doubt the quality of life here is a big pull for newbies and the anchor for those of us here.  But to keep all this quiet, to simply sit idle hoping the great creative work gets noticed, isn’t the best strategy to help grow an industry sector. We all want good clients whether they reside here locally or in other regions – and other regions are touting their creative (some quite loudly).

So, what makes Portland such a great creative place? I posed this question (on Twitter) to fellow Portlanders and here’s a short list of what they said:

Portland is a great creative city because there are no rules. @DanFellini

Because Portlanders are real people. The lack of restriction and openness promotes a more creative and less stifled spirit. @massagepdx

It’s not that I don’t play well with others; I just want to choose where, when and with whom I play. [It's the] PDX attitude. @LogoMotives

Despite local chagrin, the influx of creatives from all over the country converging here brings broad perspective. @Metroknow

I have mixed feelings about it as a creative city. It’s like a college graduate: full of potential. Now it needs to find its way. @swestbrook

PDXers are curious and not too self-obsessed. Our lives are generally balanced and we leave room for non-work projects. We’re generally tolerant and open to new ideas=innovation. We’re risk takers and revel in a good fail-as-learning experience. @thisKat

Portland creativity=cuz we have twice the creative fuel with half the financial pressure. @vizeboogie

Because in PDX, there is life other than work, and that drives us to be more creative and inspired. @KevMurphy

We are passionate about living. We are free spirits. We celebrate…our ability to listen to ideas that we might not hold dear to ourselves. We live our lives out loud. @dtboyd

It’s this last point, living out loud, that strikes home.  Portland should take pride in our creative abilities and capabilities and not be afraid to shout them to the world.