Twitterview #128 – With Olivier Blanchard (@thebrandbuilder)

@JoelECarlson – Hello everybody and welcome to the #jectv Twitterview with @thebrandbuilder as our guest. Lets get it started!

@thebrandbuilder – Glad to be here. :)

Q – #1    So @thebrandbuilder, tell us, where did you grow up and what were some of the life steps that you took to get where you are today?

A:    Oh wow. That could be A LOT of tweets. :D The short of it: I was born in Paris, France in 1971…

I grew up in France, then Belgium, came to the US for university, and moved here permanently in 1994. I live in SC now.

Aside from a brief stint in the French military, I’ve been in Marketing and brand management pretty much for 15 years.

That’s it in a nutshell.

I studied Political Science at Furman University. At the time, I was considering a career in international law.

Q – #2    My mistake. So you are our East Coast and not our West Coast guest. My mistake. :) What university did you attend?

A:    Depending on the day of the week, i could be on either coast at this point. :D I live in airports.

I was still a bit under my parents’ thumb at the time. Law was their idea. They didn’t believe Marketing was solid.

I think they mistook my passion for debate as a need to argue legal cases. :D

Q – #3    I’ll be sure to dot my I’s and cross my T’s. :)  So how did you develop a passion for marketing?

A:    It started as a child. I was fascinated by TV ads. You couldn’t pull me away. A set would come on, and I would watch.

This was in the 1970s in France. Back then, TV shows weren’t interrupted by commercial breaks every 10 minutes…

TV ads came between shows. So… they tended to last a little longer. This affected the way ads were made, I think.

Without the constant repetition, they needed to really stick. So their quality was outstanding.

I think that’s how it started. Watching those ads, learning what worked and what didn’t. Seeing the mechanics of it all

Then I naturally gravitated towards it in my professional life, more out of necessity than by design.

Q – #4    I see. What kinds of elements do you like in ads? What makes a good ad to you for consumers?

A:    It depends, but generally, it has to be memorable, and it has to move the audience towards either desire or preference.

Some ads are memorable, but they don’t move anyone to do anything. They’re just skits. There’s little value in that.

I still see really funny ads that are memorable, but… I can’t remember what the ads were for. That’s bad.

The question at the end of the spot is this: Will this make me want to buy, own or use this product tomorrow?

If I can’t even remember what the ad was for, all I remember were the flying monkeys, then it’s failed.

And if at the store, I see the advertised products, remember the ad, but don’t buy it, the spot has failed too.

So I look for a blend of clever creative and well thought-through strategy. Good ads don’t just entertain.

Back then, Levi’s, Canada Dry, Coca Cola and Orangina absolutely killed in France because their ads were so good.

I still think that one of the brands that still understands TV advertising is Nike. Their ads give me chills.

Q – #5    Good points! So what is your impression of many of the “over the top” ads that run during the Super Bowl? Worth $?

A:    Pragmatically, if the revenue-to-cost ratio is positive, then yes they’re worth it. Advertising is there to sell stuff

But what I see with a lot of Superbowl ads is noise: Who can outdo the other ads, in other words. That’s never good.

What it becomes is this: Ad agencies using their clients’ budgets to showcase their work during the Superbowl.

Some of these ads are all flash, no substance. Some of them are just cluster… It’s shameful, really.

I don’t have anything against over-the-top ads as long as they work for the client. The client comes first. :)

Q – #6    True. So how have you been at embracing Social Media? Do you envision it being a strong and lasting branding tool?

A:    This whole evolution of communications has been fascinating to me, from publishing to virtual communities.

I don’t really look at anything in the Social space as a branding tool. Channels, platforms, comms, yes. Branding, no.

To me, branding is language. Some of it verbal, most of it not. The Social Web isn’t language, it’s a comms medium.

But yes, the Social Web is completely changing the way brands/companies interact with the public. No doubt.

And it isn’t going away. The Social Web isn’t a fad. We’re never going to go back to the old “messaging” model.

Which is why my focus in the immediate future is to help companies adapt to this change in the way they communicate.

The Social Web requires that companies change the way they look at communications, which means… how they do business.

Velocity has changed, business intelligence has changed, the language of business has changed. It’s a tough change. #

Q – #7    Good direction! Now more about you – Favorite: Restaurant(s), store(s), summer activity and tech gadget.

A:    Favorite restaurant? Wow. That’s tough. There’s this little vendor near the Eiffel Tower who makes Nutella crepes…

Favorite store? It’s a tossup between Faconnable and Smalto. I don’t know. It varies. I’m fickle that way.

Favorite summer activity? :D swimming and free-diving on the French Riviera. I spent my summers there as a kid…

… It’s in my blood. When I think of the perfect summer day, I go back to that. It feeds the soul. :)

Favorite tech gadget? My canon cameras. Particularly my SLRs. I can do without my smart phone and my laptop…

… but I LOVE my cameras. I’d give up the internet for photography if I had to. Otherwise, I dig my Nook. A lot.

Speaking of my cameras, one of my SLRs broke last night. My oldest one. It was a sad moment. I’ve mourned it all day. #

Q – #8    That’s great to have such good memories of childhood! So what final thought or mantra would you like to share today?

A:    Final thought or mantra? Hmmm. There are many. Let’s see…

1. Do what you love. If work has become a drag, if you don’t like your job or your clients, take a step back…

… Whether you’re in marketing, PR, Social Media, advertising, bizdev, if what you do doesn’t fuel your soul…

… something is out of place. No industry is bad or rotten. No company is either. Anything can be turned around.

The point is this: If you don’t love what you do, you’ll eventually suck at it. There’s no value in that.

2. Whenever someone tells you “it can’t be done,” they’re wrong. The world of business changing VERY fast…

… Just because something hasn’t been done yet doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Being the first to figure out how to…

… do it is a pretty solid way to move forward in life. Gates and Jobs knew that. It’s worked out well for them.

And finally 3. Don’t be afraid to fail or succeed. Just try and try and try again, Learn from your mistake

… adapt to what you’ve learned, and keep tweaking your ideas until they DO work. (And they will.)

@JoelECarlson – Thank you VERY MUCH for sharing some of your thoughts and time today on Twitterview. Have a great evening @thebrandbuilder!

@thebrandbuilder – Thanks, Joel. The pleasure was all mine. :)