Walking the Talk in Adland ... A Talk with Brian Fetherstonhaugh

A couple of weeks ago I was invited to a small gathering with Brian Fetherstonhaugh, Chairman and CEO for OgilvyOne Worldwide.  He explained his vision on how Kotler's 4 P's would have to become 4E's and how Ogilvy was getting ready for these new realities.  Even though I'm a sceptic when it comes to Madison Avenue sales talk, I have to say I was impressed.

Brian's presentation had it all: media neutrality, engagement, financial accountability, customer journeys, multi-channel thinking, attention, reputation, even a hint of Chris Andersen's Free mantra could be found. In short, if the world was upside down, I'd have asked him to join Futurelab on the spot :-)  Just to say that it was probably the most complete and sensible story I had heard from a traditional agency in years.

Needless to say I wanted to hear how he ensured that the rubber of all these great concepts also hit the proverbial road.  So with a little help, I managed to corner Brian for a short one-on-one.  We cut straight to the chase.  For readability purposes I have paraphrased him, yet the spirt of his words should be intact.

As a client-side advisor I know that many brands struggle in walking the talk you preach. What do you think is the reason?

The first is a skillset readiness issue.  Most marketing leaders grew up in the traditional model. They did not get promoted by doing a social networking site.  They got into their chairs for different reasons.  Because they launched a few new products.  Because they did television commercials.  Because of their dealings with the trade.

So when they are under pressure they revert to their core skills.  They go with what they know.  That causes overinvestment in traditional channels, while digital channels remain substantially underinvested.

And so far the gap is pretty wide.  What is needed to transform the current situation is a new generation of fully confident, digitally savvy Chief Marketing Officers.  I am starting to see this next generation getting into the top marketing leadership jobs, but it will take years for real change to happen.

The second is a matter of mandate.  Many marketing leaders do not have a 360° mandate.  They don't do the store, even though that's  40% of what people believe about the brand.  Internet is done by an internet department.  Public affairs only talk to the CEO.  They don't do the telemarketing centre either. And employee relations is another part of the business all together.

This means that in many companies, the marketing guy is de facto the ad guy who integrates advertising and direct mail.  I think there are some legacy silo issues on the client side.

So how does this work on the agency side?

The advertising industry has not at all been perfect either.  It has not always provided the measurability, accountability and reconcilability to inspire the confidence it asks for.  I myself started thinking 360° in 1986 when I put up my hand stating that I wanted to manage the American Express account both for O&M advertising as for Ogilvy Direct.

At the time, this got me two business cards.  I got a mid-way office I called Checkpoint Charlie.  I had two phones, two time sheets, two teams.  But we kind of made it work together.  Since that time there has been this growing group of true 360° thinkers at Ogilvy of which our CEO and our creative Vice Chairman are notable examples.

But I'll be straight.  There aren't 5000 people like that in our company or in the industry.  We have been training people, but not everybody is wired this way.  It's like in music, you don't often get people who equally love the piano, the violin, the guitar and the drums.   We need people who  value them all and can bring out the best.

But there is a now a rapidly growing group of people who truly believe that a big television commercial and a big mobile CRM application are equally noble.  We have also have put in the financial and strategic infrastructure to be genuinely agnostic.  Our business model gives us the freedom to follow the customer journey where ever that leads us.  Whether this is gaming, mobile, PR, billboards or TV.

So looking 5 to 7 years ahead, where will it all end?

I think that the ideas economy will continue to exist and clients will be prepared to pay big for big ideas. The implementation piece, on the other hand, is going to become more of a scale business.   In-sourcing, outsourcing and consolidation will be the name of the game.

Also accountability will continue to rise in importance.  When I do search, what happens to store business?  When my stores offer a bad customer experience, what happens to the brand?  When the brand's bad, what happens in social networks.  These are very challenging questions, but they will need to be answered.

All the stuff in the middle will shrink away.  The day-to-day carrying out of a mechanical advertising process of low value added, OK-ish thinking will disappear.  Clients simply won't pay for it.

So the industry will be segmenting itself.  Some enterprises will become a creative boutique.  Some will focus on the analytics arena.  And others again will focus on implementation.

And what about Ogilvy?

We will play on all three fields.  We will go on living the culture of David Ogilvy.  He would have loved these days of accountability, big ideas, measurability.  And we will love them with him.

I strongly believe in our agnostic view.  If someone says search is dead, PR is up, OK, the world has spoken.  If they would outlaw direct mail in china, OK, we'll shift.  We're not beholden.  I don't like being beholden to an execution channel.  I like being beholden to a customer journey and how people want to be engaged with, that's more interesting.

After all, we sell … or else

Dear Nick, I DO Love Creatives ...

There's nothing like being misquoted to get the blogger in me out of hibernation.  Especially if the misquote happens on-stage in Cannes and is done by someone as esteemed as Nick Moore (watch video below).  While I'm still a bit unsure whether I should be flattered for being in the same breath as Rupert Murdoch or stunned for being called a "bullshitter", I thought I'd write a post to set the record straight.  (UPDATE: Nick contacted me with the message he was perhaps a bit rash in his judgment.  Kudos to a man who practices what he preaches, when it comes to conversations!)

As a start, I'd like to make one thing absolutely clear.  In contrast to the "Lost in Translation" message which apparently reached Nick, I don't think we don't need or should get rid of creatives.  In fact, I LOVE creatives.  Some of my best friends are creatives.  My son of 8 is highly creative.  Almost everyone I know describes me as a creative.  In fact, I believe that creativity is one of the things that make our world worth living.

There is, of course, a "but".  When it comes to advertising, not all creatives are alike.  I regularly come across minds I tremendously respect.  But they are matched in numbers by those who confuse advertising with art, effectiveness with winning awards, relevance with million dollar budgets.  Because let's face it, the reason why we laugh at movies like Inspiration Anyone?, Truth in Ad Sales or Truth in Advertising is because we recognise their core of reality. 

And while it is easy for the enlighted creative classes to blame the advertiser that cannot brief, I believe there is no such thing as a stupid client.  There are only agencies that are insufficiently convincing.

So, as I was on the topic, I've summarised some of the criteria which I regularly use to either help agencies strengthen their competitive position, or help brands to evaluate whether they are making the right choices when it comes to spending their money.  You don't need to agree, yet in case anyone would like to quote me on Cannes 2009, at least you've got the correct context ;-)

Because remember ... I do love you

I LOVE CREATIVES ....

... which start with the business objective behind the briefing
David Ogilvy was wise: "you sell, or else". Marketing is about making money.  Period.  While sceptics claim that marketing's ROI is difficult to calculate, this excuse is used too often to skip the money-conversation all together.  That is why I love creatives that start by talking money and never leave the subject.  That challenge the brief until it is hyper-focused on the choice drivers that matter That measure results by the financial objectives achieved, and only then look at the Lions or even Effie's in their cupboard.

... that understand that customers are human
We all know that all women aged 28-34 are not the same, but billions in media are still planned as if they are.  We all know that different customers have different motives at different moments, but most campaigns still adhere to the mantra one product = one insight.  I love creatives who do NOT blast one message to a million different people that experience life in a million different ways.  I love creatives who tailor their messages as much as possible to the individual and his state of mind.  If only because that way, they have something interesting to say.

... who make my conversations and my life more interesting
By now, most agencies traffic in my word-of-mouth, yet only few creatives really get involved in making my brand experiences worth talking about.  I love the creatives who look beyond the tricks of the buzz-trade.  Who tell their client they will NOT do an ad-campaign as there's more value in upgrading the call centre or the after-sales support.  Who recommend internal communication programmes to ensure that the client's people "get" the strategy they are asked to implement, so they can in turn delight their customers.  I love creatives who care more about me, than about being witty.
 
... who embrace the mediaplan, and then kick it
Over the past 20 years it has continued to elude me how an entire industry gets away with separating media from creative, and pretend this actually works.  I love creatives who refuse to work on mediaplans that don't make sense, and in stead sit with planners and strategists to figure out what mix has most relevance for the inviduals that are being targeted.  Who point out that GRP debates are usually a waste of time.  Who pro-actively reduce their budgets' cause spending more is pointless anyway.  Who put the customer's interest first.

...who respect themselves and their clients
All agencies "love their clients", yet many still smile and go along, even when the client clearly got on the wrong bus.  After all, he is paying the bills.  To me, that's not love, that's prostitution.  Loving your client doesn't mean mindlessly doing what he says, but focusing on what he means.  What he needs.  I love creatives who have enough respect for their clients (and themselves) to always tell the truth and argue their case on facts.  And when the chips are down, are unafraid to say "we'll do as you ask, because you pay the bills, yet for the record we don't believe this is going to work".

... who understand that all of the above is "their department"
Yes, I know the world doesn't work the way I just described. Account management, production, media, creative, design, etc. are all part of the puzzle.  In fact, there are so many departments that most agencies even employ people to remind the rest that there is an actual customer out there (a little wave to all the planners :-).  I love creatives that fight this world of silos and ensure nothing leaves their desk that isn't relevant to the client and its customers, that isn't insightful and communicated with passion. Because real creatives use the limitations of the brief, the client and the agency to craft ideas that deliver the financial result and simply blow you away.

So when Nick said that I thought everyone in Cannes should be out of a job, I think he was being a bit too harsh.  But when reading the above, maybe some would be in line for some soul searching ...

The Seven Tips for Agency Survival

If advertising is so effective, why are CNN, airport billboards and business magazines free from ads in which agencies promote themselves to business audiences?  I always ask this question "tongue in cheek", but lately the cheekiness is waning.  Ad-effectiveness is plummeting all-round and both brand owners and consumers are nearing the point where indifference turns into annoyance.

That's why I jotted down some tips on what ad and media agencies could do to break out of their downward spiral.  In this, I benefit from ignorance as I've mainly worked on the client side, yet do claim some authority based on the nine-digits I've helped spend (waste?) in the past.

If you feel my under-nuanced, over-generalising, rhetorical approach misses the point, please use the comment section below.  The only way to turn the tide in the agency world, is to start having the painful conversations in the open.  Trying to ruffle a few feathers is my first contribution to get the talking started.  Because remember ... I do love you  :-x

TIP 1: TAKE THE LEAD IN ROI CONVERSATIONS RATHER THAN UNDERGOING THEM

In less than 3 years, agencies will find themselves facing marketing effectiveness specialists asking questions about the campaigns they were involved in.  As these consultants will probably come from outside the industry (c.q. McKinsey, Bain or even us) they will not be interested in a cosy chat about the "message of the brand" or the "creative award that has been won".  Instead, they will zoom in on the money the agency made, or lost, for its client. 

They will field very precise questions like: Why did you recommend to up-weight prime-time 30 second ads in urban areas when the data shows this has negligible impact on actual sales?  Or: Why did you focus this POP campaign on family values as a brand driver when it is clear that value for money is what really moves people to purchase?  They will come armed with data from the next generation media and message optimisers, which already today can identify the initiatives that made money for the brand and even predict those that never will.  And if you haven't got your answers straight, they will really go to work on you.  As an agency, the choice is therefore simple. Take the lead in measuring and managing ROI yourself and be ready for the conversation, or prepare to be the lamb three years from now.  After all, the data they will use then, is being collected today.

TIP 2: DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF

Here's a challenge. Look at any list of major international agencies and tell me in one word how each truly differentiates itself in the marketplace.  If you can get beyond half a dozen unique value propositions, I want to talk to you 'cause I ain't seein' them.  Everyone has large networks, everyone is creative, everyone has the best people and everyone has a bunch of awards on their wall.  Now look at this from a client's perspective. Here's an industry which claims to advise brands on how to differentiate themselves in the market place, yet can't get beyond bland whiter than white rethoric itself.  Rather than chase every budget-dollar through a middle-of-the-road positioning, agencies should clearly state what they are about and live by it.  Clients should be made to love the agency brand or hate it, yet not even contemplate the commodity purchasing indifference they display today.  After all, if you can't make your own agency stand out in the crowd, how do you expect your customers to ever take you seriously if you claim you can do it for them?

TIP 3: STOP ADVERTISING, START COMMUNICATING

By a cynic, the advertising industry could be summed up as a machine which is commissioned to blast inconspicuous consumers with as many commercial messages as possible, whether they want them or not.  Then, once a year, it gets together to celebrate the team which has come up with the least intrusive, or even funny way of doing so, and highlights their achievement to the world as a sign of its professionalism.  While exaggerated, I am seeing a rapid rise in the number of people embracing this view, and to pre-empt spinning out of control, agencies must let go of their addiction to channel-centric communication planning, and focus on what matters to the end-consumer.  They need to start recommending initiatives which are rooted in respect, insight and passion.  Messages need to be relevant and incite people to say "tell me more" rather than reach for the adzapper.  I realise this is a brutal step to take in a world where commission structures, industry habits, politics and people's beliefs have been formed by 30 years of info-blasting.  Yet when facing the dilemma between walking a difficult path or staying on the route to irrelevance, I know which one I'd choose.

TIP 4: LEARN ABOUT THE STUFF THAT REALLY WORKS

As an ex-shopkeeper, I've built and managed stores from Killarney in Ireland to Kazachstan and I can tell you one thing, there's no medium on the planet that can rival retail and shop-staff.  Yet most regular agencies haven't got a clue on how to manage the point-of-experience.  The world has massively moved online, yet I still meet senior strategists who've never even visited Second Life or wrote a blogpost.  NPS and WOM are the "technique du jour", yet only very few people I know really understand what they mean.  Agencies need to make sure that everyone in the agency's employ truly update their knowledge on the new media, creative and business landscape.  If your people aren't tinkering with alternative media, branded storytelling, retail and the techniques that really matter, encourage them, force them and if they can't do it, replace them.  There is no reason to believe the current rate of change will not continue, so the communication game three years from now will look even more different than the way it does today.  In my book, the time to upgrade your capabilities is when you still have some money in the bank to pay for it.

TIP 5: CHALLENGE THE INDUSTRY ORTHODOXIES

In addition to understanding the new realities, agencies should actively challenge the industry orthodoxies that have stopped making sense (or are close to doing so).  In customer centric communication planning, it is non-sensical to separate media and creative.  In a world where ROI rules, the lingering habit to link an agency's reward to the amount of "money spent" is simply archaic.  With all the computer power and data flying around, media-buying by now could be as automated as buying shares on Nasdaq, yet everyone's still waiting for "industry entrant" Google to make the first move.  Looking at the way the advertising industry operates, it is easy to spot dozens of inconsistencies with the way the world is going.  Agencies that want to succeed in tomorrow's market place need to resist the temptation to go along with the industry politics and actively start breaking bad habits.  Silo-bashing will be a rough ride in the beginning, yet will eventually prepare them for a world which will prove unforgiving for those who haven't evolved.

TIP 6: IF IT HAS NO MEANING, STOP DOING IT

To paraphrase D. Ogilvy, most agency work still treats my wife as a moron and lacks any truly "BIG" idea.  In short, it's ineffective and meaningless.  And while I understand that it's often the client who waters down the boldness, the challenge I put is to fight back harder.  The way the market is going only those agencies who really add to their client's bottom line in the long run will be the ones that survive, being average is a guaranteed path to irrelevance.  If you're truly passionate about what you do, connect your ideas to the brand's bottom line and have the facts to back them up, you have every right to speak your mind and be firm about it.  Going along with the flow of mediocrity will not only devalue the perception of your agency, it will also make your brightest people leave.  Be bold, be confident and if the facts back you, be prepared to stand your ground.  And if committee-ship risks you producing vanilla, remember Ogilvy's words that he would never let an account get so big he couldn't afford to lose it.  Frightened agencies are lackies.

TIP 7: IF YOU DON'T WANT TO OR CAN'T IMPLEMENT THE ABOVE, HARVEST AND START OVER

There is no law against harvesting a brand name, and perhaps that's the way some of the established houses in advertising should go.  Even if the middle-of the-road market will be shrinking, there's still money to be made.  As long as the forces of conservatism are at work, having a clearly "conversative" positioning can be very effective (oh yes, but that relates to point 2 :-)  Some groups already seem to be going this way.  Publicis is eagerly shopping for new boutiques, Carat has got great outfits like Isobar, who say the opposite of what some of the more traditional Carat media execs are actually doing.  Betting on two horses is perhaps the wisest route if your a big player, and harvesting is part of that game.  Still, as a person reading this article, the question I dare ask is whether you prefer to be part of the agency that evolves to the next level, or the one that will get harvested.  If you're agency is already on the path I described, I applaud you and wish you all the best.  If it isn't, join the conversation to change the industry.  Or better, drive it ...

The 10 Truths of 'Real' Guerrilla Marketers

If you look up the definition “Guerrilla Marketing, is an unconventional way of performing promotional activities on a very low budget”.  While this is accurate, I’m not buying it.
   
The great guerilleros like Che or Mao had something more going for them than being “unconventional and cheap”.  Their battles became legend because they were thinking beyond next quarter.That’s why in this post I’m going in search of that “something more”.  As usual, I’m not claiming wisdom, so if you find omissions or flaws in my mini Sun Tzu on the Art of Guerilla Marketing, don’t hesitate to hit me.
   
And if all this macho talk of warfare is getting a bit too masculine for your taste, just remember that Ms. Wang Cong’er (aka. Mulan only without the happy ending) was one of the fiercest guerilleros of them all.
   
Here we go …

# 1 Set out to Change the World
In the spirit of Guy Kawasaki: Don’t launch a business unless you’re prepared to change the world.  No one ever freed a nation with features and benefits.  People will only get excited about your initiatives if you clearly articulate how your proposition will liberate your customers in a way none of your competitors can.  That is the true cause and banner of your guerrilla.  And if you can’t come up with it, don’t bother with the rest of this list.

# 2 It’s not about the battle, it’s about the war
If successfully waged, guerrilla causes “death by a thousand bee-stings”.  Yet all too often, marketing initiatives that claim to be guerrilla in nature, are planned without regard for the 999 stings to come.  This leaves successful campaigns without follow-up or even budget.  While in war there may be merit in merely irritating your enemy, in business it’s simply a waste of money.

# 3 Power to the People
No guerrilla or revolution can succeed without popular support.  Guerilla campaigns are a great opportunity to involve your most loyal customers and staff.  Consider community marketing, CGM and co-creation programmes to get them in the loop.  Not to make money, yet to help achieve the change you described in point 1. People love to improve the world.  Invite them to your cause and treat them well.

# 4 Deploy Mercenaries Wisely
While agencies can be great allies in having extra resources to deploy, they also know that there will be a time that you will abandon them (come one, be honest).  That is why they will serve offer you the same loyalty of any mercenary; as long as the money’s good.  The moment a budgetary glitch reduces budgets or margins, they will leave you to your own devices.  That is why you should involve agencies whenever you need the extra firepower, yet avoid relying on them for the long run.  That, you can only do on your own staff and customers (as long as you treat them well).

# 5 Think Small, but Spectacular
Guerilla campaigns are high on brainpower and low on budget.  They use creativity, speed and adaptability to capitalise on high-profile opportunities.  Foster this attitude by combining tight budgets with high to impossible expectations from your marketing team or agency.  And when they get lost in opportunities, focus their attention on the one thing that will really blow the market’s mind.
 
# 6 Keep Them Guessing
Guerilla campaigns always capitalise on the element of surprise.  Not once, yet over and over again.  If you have something that works, change it before your competitors can respond.  If you focus on one geographic region in one month, move somewhere completely different (or not).  If you can create a rhythm of surprise, yet stay true to your cause, your competitors won’t see your next move coming, while your popular support keeps growing.

# 7 Get the Gold and Get Out
Guerilla campaigns are executed with laser precision.  This means they get clear, quantifiable business objectives.  Once these are achieved, you get out.  Prolonging your initiative only leads to wasted resources plus gives your competition time to react.  Similarly, if it looks like a new tactic you try isn’t working, get out fast.  Don’t let your pride get in the way and run to fight another day.

# 8 Lead the Charge
Every cause needs a leader who’s drive cannot be captured in a PowerPoint presentation.  Love it or hate it, but this leader is you.  And if you don’t have the time to be with your troops when they need you, find someone who cares enough about your cause to do it in your place.  Leaders are where the action is, and in your case that’s among your community, customers and staff.

# 9 Don’t forget propaganda
These days it’s probably called word-of-mouth (WOM), yet in the old days whenever the Partizans in Italy blew up another stronghold, the country knew about it in an instant.  If one of your guerrilla marketing campaigns hits a home-run, get yourself a megaphone and shout it off the roofs.  You have taken another step to change the world.  And don’t take the credit yourself, but celebrate your heroes (customers, staff and other) for they will be your biggest source of WOM.

# 10 Don’t get killed by friendly fire
Guerrilla campaigns are by definition unorthodox, daring, visible, accountable and prone to failure.  This means that if you’re in a large organisation, people can get nervous about them. Prepare the ground by selling your bosses on your cause and the path you intend to walk.  Demonstrate the benefits of involving your customer community and focusing your staff on “one goal”.  And if it looks like you really won’t get any air cover, don’t go it alone.  Dead soldiers can’t win wars.

Happy fighting! 

The Top Ten Truths of €'Real'€ Marketers

About a week ago Guy Kawasaki wrote an article on the Top Ten Lies of Marketers.  While I admit I recognised quite a few, I wanted to provide some balance by indicating truths a “real” marketer does live by.  Compare it to a marketer's Code of the Samurai.

Upon reading this over the weekend, a friend of mine did indicate that he knew very little  marketers actually fitting this bill, yet I hope your comments with respect to this post will prove him wrong (and Guy for that matter ;-) . 

So if you have a “real” marketing story or case to share, do pass it on.  Meanwhile, here are the Truths as I see them:

Marketing initiatives connect directly to the bottom line, or simply don’t exist.

Marketing is as much a numbers game as finance.  Real marketers don't improvise, yet provide their CEO with initiatives to measurably generate cash and track their results in terms of ROI.  They help sales, production, inventory management and finance to smooth cash-in and scrap every non-productive budget even before the CFO asks the awkward question.  

Integrated marketing campaigns start in the HR department.

Most integrated campaigns fail because they are planned in isolation.  That’s why real marketers start new initiatives by talking to the HR department to ensure the internal communication, performance measures, training programmes, ... are aligned to the initiatives they take.  And because they realize that only 5% of employees really “get” the strategy anyway, they take their cheque book along to ensure HR has real fire-power.

Agencies are a resource to help make money, not win awards 

Winning a Cannes Lion may look good in your office, yet real marketers want agencies that deliver the numbers and understand their client’s business.  In fact, too many awards may even create suspicion.  Still, those agencies that are willing to make the commitment can look forward to a long term business relationship.  Creative hot-shops are interchangeable.  Partners that make you money, usually tend to stick around.

Agencies need money too

The commoditization of the advertising industry and the prevailing budgetary orthodoxies prohibit many agencies to come up with the best solution, and forces them to go for the quick buck.  That’s why real marketers re-examine commission structures and budget allocations so agencies have the financial breathing space to “deliver” against measurable financial objectives.

Product management is a relic from the industrial age

In the old days you had a factory which needed to push product.  For that you employed product managers who continuously came up with more arguments why your product was the hottest things since sliced bread.  Unless you are still in this situation (which means PM makes sense), flexible production methods mean companies can organize them around consumers.  That’s why real marketers replace their product management structures with those centered around customer types.

Simplicity rules!

Advertising and feature overload is making consumers “tune out” (now even proven by neurologists).  Real marketers respect this and focus their messages on the essence of what they’re trying to say, simply deleting all the rest.  They also avoid countering marketing immunity by bigger doses of promotion, yet focus on timing their message only at the most relevant moment (ironically saving a bundle of budget in the process).

Authenticity rules!

Sorry Seth, yet all marketers aren’t liars.  In fact, real marketers understand that the brand promise they make, is to be translated and relentlessly delivered at every touchpoint.  On one side because they realize that the penalty for insincerity is brutal. On the other side, … well because they actually believe in what they say.  You cannot fake being authentic.  Real marketers don’t sell products and services they aren’t passionate about.  They’d rather quit their job.

Trust customers as much as you expect them to trust you. 

In the social media space reputations can be made or broken in the blink of an eye, and there’s nothing a brand can do about it.  Real marketers see this and proactively open up their treasure box to their community of users.  They publicly own up to mistakes and involve consumers in creating promotions and even products.  Above all, real marketers understand that love for a brand starts with trust, and to earn trust you first have give it.

There’s nothing wrong with hard work 

For some, marketing is a profession which is 90% about coming up with ideas and then farming out the “doing” to agencies.  Real marketers see this differently.  They implement rigorous processes to ensure initiatives get executed on-time, on-budget and with maximum financial impact on the business.  They go along on sales calls, not to talk about their latest campaign, yet to listen, learn and help the account manager get the business.  In short, they roll up their sleeves and work.

There’s more to life than making money 

When fighting MS Outlook it is easy to forget about the really important things in life.  Real marketers don’t.  It may take them some effort, yet they find ways to justifiable build “doing good” into their business model.  Not because of PR value (which may be their pitch), or feeling of corporate guilt (which may be their angle), yet simply because they want to use their position to make a difference.

And to end with the eleventh rule that shall remain unwritten … there are no truths.

PS. Guy, I hope you don’t mind my borrowing your signature bullet-point style.  Promise I’ll do it only once ;-)