Are You A "Rock Star" In Your Customers' Eyes?

(This post, written by me, was first published on my work blog over at www.thedeepbench.com. I figured I'd share it here as well. Enjoy. Hopefully.)

Ask yourself this question: “Do our customers consider us to be rock stars?” If you aren’t sure what I’m asking, watch Intel’s “Our rock stars aren’t like your rock stars” commercial, then read why the question matters.

Beyond just being funny, this commercial's message is deeper than it appears. Although it’s obviously overdone to add the element of humor (unless people really do wear shirts with Ajay’s photo screen-printed on them), the fact of the matter is that Intel uses the spot to distinguish its employees from employees in other fields. Although there are a large number of people in the world who don’t have any idea who Ajay Bhatt is, those that do know who he is most likely recognize and respect what he’s accomplished. And those same people are the ones working hard (for Intel) to create, innovate and become “rock stars” like him someday (in order to make life better for YOU, the consumer).

The question I ask is this. What are you doing to become a “rock star” to your customers or clients?

If you own a restaurant, how are you working to elevate your status from “that place makes decent hamburgers” to “SERIOUSLY…You have GOT to try these burgers!”? (Hint - It takes more than good food for the customer to have an amazing experience...)

If you run a retail business, what are you doing to take your customers from “I got my stereo here, but it’s cheaper to get it at Wal-Mart” to the point where they tell friends and family, “The customer service at [your store] was UNBELIEVABLE! It may not have been the cheapest place to get my stereo, but they were so great that I wouldn’t take my business anywhere else.”?

Basically, how are you engaging your customers or clients and making yourself (or your brand) a “rock star” in their eyes? If you’re not working to achieve that level of connection and engagement, why aren’t you? Frankly, if you’re able to answer the question “How is what we're doing making our customers' lives better?”, then you’re probably on the path to stardom in their eyes. If you can't answer that question, then you might want to develop a strategy to get yourself on the right path for rock star success.

Because honestly, wouldn't you rather be the rock star than the opening act?

What do you think? Which companies or brands do you feel are the rock stars in your life? Who do you know you can consistently rely on to give you a great experience? Who could do better? Let us know in the comments section below or hit us up on Twitter at @deepbench.

BBC Blast Studio: Control Machines in London (From Your Computer!)

Have you ever wanted to control machines in a random room in London?

Well now you can! Courtesy of BBC’s Blast Studio, you can control one of four artistic devices (via your computer) that respond your keyboard commands in real time. (Here's a screenshot for you so you can see what I'm talking about...)

Want to play a song on a set of hanging colored lights that light up and make a musical tone when you type the corresponding key? Do it!

Want to decorate a wall with paints that you control? Do it!

Want to type a message and have it print out on paper inside the studio to be saved forever (barring any disastrous fires or floods in London)? Do it!

Want to drop goops of paint on some randomly big spinning thing in the middle of the room? Do it.

You control the room. From your computer. Very far away. If you don’t think this is fascinating and awesome, let me know why you aren’t impressed. That’s not meant to be said in a challenging tone, I’m just curious as to what people do/don’t like about it. I think it’s got great potential as projects like this down the line continue to grow and flourish. I mean, you’re controlling machines from your own computer at home. And they’re in LONDON!

Beyond being just cool as a concept, what does this mean for companies and brands down the line? Are there companies that could use this type of technology to better engage fans or customers? Is this the next step in the process of letting customers personalize their brand experiences? I’ve got a few thoughts but would love to hear yours. Let me know in the comments section or hit me up on Twitter at @mikebilleter.

Is YOUR passion contagious? (What I learned at Big Omaha...)

When you think of tech and innovation conferences, it’s likely that the first place that comes to mind isn’t the Midwest. While Silicon Valley and the East Coast seem to be hot spots for those types of gatherings, we Midwesterners had a chance to gather for an awesome and exciting event in a place much closer to home than usual: Omaha, Nebraska.

For the millions of you East and West Coast readers who don’t travel much to our humble Midwest region, try to contain your snickers and smiles. While it may not be New York City or Los Angeles, Omaha has plenty of action and excitement of its own. This action and excitement was encapsulated in last Thursday and Friday’s FANTASTIC event known as Big Omaha.

Featuring some unbelievable guest speakers, top-notch facilities and rockin’ pre/post parties, Big Omaha’s goal was simple: “What happens when the country’s foremost creatives, entrepreneurs and innovators descend on one place? That place explodes. Which is precisely what we plan for Omaha…The energy will be impossible to contain. We will begin building communities, companies and friendships. We will inspire new thoughts and completely new ways of thinking. We will develop visions: personal, shared, and civic.”

They succeeded. Big time. With some unbelievable presenters sharing their thoughts on entrepreneurship (or Jason Fried’s dislike of the word entrepreneurship), success and failure (or Jason’s disdain for the concept of failing early and often) and how to maintain your company’s culture as your environment changes around you, as well as a glimpse of the fun and energy of Omaha’s community and the people that represent it, Big Omaha proved that the Midwest can be just as innovative and tech-savvy as any other region of the U.S.

Beyond the great speakers themselves (Gary Vaynerchuk, Micah Baldwin, Jeffrey Kalmikoff, Jason Fried, Micah Laaker, Ben Rattray, and Adriana Gascoigne), the guys putting on the conference (Jeff Slobotski and Dusty Davidson) did an unbelievable job of providing a great conference environment, engaging people with fun pre- and post-event parties, and keeping the show running as smoothly as a freshly-zambonied hockey rink.

Although I could take time trying to recap what it was that the speakers said (or, for more humor, I could recap my first lesson in driving a stick shift from the Omaha airport to downtown Omaha…which was a self-taught lesson, mind you), I’d rather focus on what I feel is the most important element of Big Omaha, and that is this:

If you believe in the creative community of your region and you believe that your region has plenty to offer the rest of the world, you can build an extremely strong and engaging event to reflect the brainpower and passion of your creative community.

Don’t think small!

Don’t think that because you live in a (relatively) smaller community, you can’t make BIG things happen. Dusty and Jeff felt like they could truly represent the passion of Omaha’s creative community and they did so with abundant success.

And I don’t mean that strictly in the sense of building a conference either. I’m talking about it in any form of life or business. There is NO client or project too big for you if you truly have the desire to work with someone great or do something amazing.

It’s up to you. Big Omaha proved that. Every speaker at the conference shared how he or she was blown away by what Omaha had to offer. But here’s the important part: if Jeff and Dusty hadn’t brought their passion to this project, those speakers probably might not have ever known Omaha had so much to offer.

That’s what you can do. Bring your passion to the table every single day. Show the world that you love what you do and that your passion is contagious. How could someone NOT want to work with a team of people completely thrilled with and invigorated by what they’re doing?

Big Omaha wasn’t just about Omaha. It was about taking your passion and turning it into everyone’s passion. From the people of Omaha themselves to the many visitors from around the country, it seemed like just about everybody was ready to up and move to Omaha by the time Friday night rolled around. How can you build that kind of excitement for your brand or your clients?

Most importantly, how can you build and maintain that passion for yourself?

P.S. - If you want to see some awesome photos from Big Omaha, check out our friend Aaron Mentele's shots in his flickr photostream. As soon as the videos from the event are up online, we'll link to those as well.

Did you go to Big Omaha last week? Share your thoughts on the event in the comments section below. What did you enjoy? What could have been done better? What did you learn from the experience? If you weren’t there, why do you wish you could have been? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so drop us your insight below or hit us up on Twitter at @deepbench (or hit me up personally at @mikebilleter).

From a Fiesta Agent understudy: How Ford's doing it right...

Doing something unique is fun. Doing something really unique is really fun. And doing something that only about 120 other people in the entire United States get to do is just flat-out wicked awesome.

Luckily, last Tuesday, I was fortunate enough to be a part of Ford’s “Fiesta Movement.” No, I didn’t win one of the cars (which would have led to an entirely different post…probably just a video of me screaming and shouting for joy), but I DO happen to have a boss who DID happen to win a car. And, seeing as the 10+ hour drive from Denver isn’t all that fun on one's own, I was fortunate enough to have a boss who wanted me out there to help him film, stay awake on the drive back to Sioux Falls, and do all of the other cool things that assistant-ish employees get to do.

After an early morning journey with boring details, I eventually found myself in Denver, meeting up with Hugh and the other 7 or so “Fiesta Agents” who were preparing to go see their cars for the first time. After a lengthy drive out of the city, we pulled up to the raceway where the cars were waiting for their respective Agents. Hugh’s excitement at finally meeting Ruby (his name for his Fiesta……yeah…I know…) was like a kid who just found out Christmas was happening every day for six months. I couldn’t have punched the smile off his face. And I’ve got really strong fists (that’s me on the left…)

Needless to say, Ford did it right. Nothing around but racetrack and open air, and a set of brand new cars begging their owners to sit down inside them (and probably literally begging, because these Fiestas are the smartest cars ever…it’s almost creepy…more on that later…). After the initial introductions, Hugh handed out the soon-to-be iconic “Fiesta Hugh” shirts (crafted by none other than Deep Bench’s own up-and-coming graphic design phenom, Andrew Brynjulson (Bren-yool-son)), which you can see in the image below.

And then it got even more awesome. After a quick instructional session on the cars themselves, the Fiesta Agents got to take their babies out on the speedway track. Although the maximum speed limit was 55 mph, the curves on the course were insanely tight and they managed to make 55 feel like 85. Although I can’t drive a stick shift, Hugh absolutely dominated his test runs like he was Jeff Gordon himself (or whichever NASCAR racer is relevant these days).

After it was all said and done, we were on the road back to Sioux Falls, and that’s a different story for a different post. For a sample of what’s on the way, here’s this photo:

Onto the point of this post… I was extremely impressed with Ford’s ability to make this Fiesta Movement a true social media campaign throughout the entire day. Although there are a few (necessary) rules and restrictions, I was blown away with how open everything was to filming and photography. I was loaded up with two video cameras and one photography camera, and I was never once asked to put them down or turn them off. Whether it was instructional sessions or video-recording conversations between agents and the marketing crew, I was never restricted from taking photos or footage. They’re perfectly willing to let this be a living, breathing social media effort, relatively out of their control.

In my opinion, Ford is taking big steps (and potentially big risks) to ensure that it’s on the forefront of online/social media marketing efforts. This isn’t a crafted and scripted series of videos and tweets that Ford’s invested in to get positive brand recognition. These are real people, doing real things, with the only rules being don’t break the law and don’t destroy your car.

Oh, and share it with the whole world.

It’ll be a blast to see where this goes (mostly because I hope to be going along with Hugh and Ruby wherever it all goes). I have a feeling the Secret Missions and subsequent adventures will be a lot of fun. Luckily, Ford’s willing to let you be there every step of the way too.

What do you think? Do you think Ford’s taking the right steps by putting its brand in the hands of customers for the world to see? Would you rather see a different campaign or strategy from Ford rather than the Fiesta Movement? Let me know your thoughts and I’ll pass them along to Hugh. With no restrictions, we’re willing to try just about anything, so don’t hesitate to leave a comment and let me know what you'd like to see!

And here are some more pictures of the journey: