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Brand ManageCamp speaker - Jonathan Littman

Jonathan Littman is the best-selling co-author of The Ten Faces of Innovation and The Art of Innovation.  Jon practices innovation daily as a partner in Simmer Branding Studio with screenwriter and naming expert Marc Hershon, who worked on the team that coined the Blackberry, Swiffer, Dasani, Saturn Vue and Pentium. Simmer clients include Garmin International and Sony Corp. Simmer names products, services and companies, Jon developing the stories that help spark naming and branding projects for billion dollar empires and start-ups.

Jon's San Francisco Chronicle series on murder and gambling at the Cabazon reservation was a finalist for the Pulitzer prize. A two-time winner of the Computer Press Awards, he is the author of seven books, including the Fugitive Game, which along with three others have been optioned for film.

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Here's Jon's response to my question (see September 3rd's post for the question):

I've been fortunate to have worked in just about every possible media -- authoring books, writing for Forbes, the LA Times and Playboy, appearing on TV and radio, and even working for a year as a reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle.

Last fall, a story I wrote for Playboy helped me earn the position of Yahoo columnist, covering all things Barry Bonds and steroids. As a columnist for Yahoo, I've learned a lot about online media. I thought I'd share some of the lessons I've learned (Note: Yahoo Sports is the number one sports site in the world).

The best online media today are covering events like television. Yahoo hired me because they realized a simple fact -- a story on Yahoo about Barry Bonds would get 1 to 2 million hits. Meanwhile, except for Kobe Bryant and one or two other sports celebs, nearly every other story -- no matter how well written or reported -- was down in the 250,000 to half million zone. Respectable but no home run.

Companies can complain all they want about our culture of celebrity, but on-line personalities sell brands and products -- whether they are positive or noxious figures. The companies and brands that understand this aren't afraid of the edge. Nice and comfortable rarely gets many hits.

The other lesson I've learned: Yahoo has hired some of the best sports writers in the country -- men and women eager to leap off the sinking paradigm of newspapers. Look around your company and industry. There are other paradigms that are sinking -- and they'll probably hit bottom before you know it.

As for your talent and your company --  in this on-line accelerated world prepare for crushing deadlines, in my case a courtroom story that must be filed within 45 minutes of the verdict.

To earn the most hits and the best exposure for your brands you must plan all sorts of contingencies -- story-lines that may or may not pan out.

Even better, expect the unexpected.

Posted September 4, 2008
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