Kelly Mooney

I have TED Head. Unlike bed head, which generally involves too little sleep and too little time for proper grooming, TED Head is a mind swirl. It’s that feeling when you are simultaneously inspired to change the world and overwhelmed with what that might entail. TED Head makes me say, “Crap! Can I be doing more? Moving faster? Making the world better? C’mon, get going!” Maybe that feeling is just the kick in the pants we all need from time to time.

As you know, it’s easy enough to go TED.com and see the latest videos. I highly recommend you make a habit of it. In my home, we’ve instituted “family hour” each Sunday where TED plays a central role. (Okay, geeky, I know…but why not use it as parental juice? It’s fun and YOU don’t have to be the one doing the preaching.) [...] Read >

I consider myself a lifelong student of the consumer. I get jazzed by understanding what makes people love the brands they do—how people share, shop, decide, buy, return, advocate and co-create—and how it continues to change based on technology that’s been threaded throughout our lives. That personal passion led to two books—the first, titled The Ten Demandments, expressed the voice of the empowered consumer, shepherded in by the Internet, and the second, The Open Brand, focused on foreseeing the changes, challenges and opportunities for brand building in the new millennium given the rise of the social web. What do you think is the number one question I routinely get asked today? Answer: “So, what’s the next book?” Quickly followed by, “When’s it coming out?” [...] Read >

I don’t want an iPad mini or a new MacBook Pro for Christmas. Instead, I want iTunes Family®. Never heard of it? That’s because it doesn’t exist, but it should. It’s time that Apple started designing its software as fervently and elegantly as it does its hardware. A comprehensive overhaul of the iTunes experience is long overdue.

To be clear, I’ve been an avid Apple fan and user for decades and my family of four is equipped with 20 devices (4 laptops, 1 iPad, 1 desktop, 5 iPhones, 2 iPods, 4 nanos, 2 shuffles and 1 Apple TV—kind of shocking to actually write it all down). While we may be atypical with 20 (we tend to keep them all when we upgrade—but that’s another blog post for another day), households with Apple products own three devices, on average. Unfortunately, iTunes isn’t tuned into households, families or multi-device ownership. iTunes was launched as a single user/single device application and it hasn’t materially evolved since 2001. And from what I can tell, iTunes 11 will essentially be more of the same. [...] Read >

To be honest, I was worried. Helping to pull together the regional conference for my fellow YPOers was a tad intimidating. This group of over 200 CEOs and their spouses/partners who committed to four days of professional development (and of course, a little fun) had not only extremely short attention spans, but high expectations for…well…everything. So, our committee’s content strategy was variety, brevity and provocation. While I’m not at liberty to share the presenters’ actual presentations, I wanted to share highlights from my favorite presenters. [...] Read >

It’s been more than six years since my initial insight that brand building would fundamentally change due to the rise of social media, the impact of the open source era, and the rapidly changing expectations of consumers. From that insight came a book, a framework and a variety of tools that we’ve used extensively at Resource to develop priorities, experience strategies and measurement solutions for our clients.

We’ve learned A LOT along the way and we continue to think deeply about how open branding is a much bigger concept and shift than we originally imagined. We know the future potential for our clients is huge. That’s why we’re committing our agency to this ONE BIG IDEA—Building Open Brands. But, more than a singular focus and point of view, more than proprietary tools and processes, there’s a passion that fuels us. A passion that fuels what we believe. And when our clients believe this too, we can create amazing things together. [...] Read >

For more than 100 years, marketers have accepted and applied a consumer journey model often referred to as AIDA—awareness, interest, desire and action. Of course there are many iterations of this model, and more recently some notable improvements from McKinsey and Forrester.

Since my design training in the mid-‘80s, I’ve been preoccupied with understanding consumers, how they make decisions and how technology is fundamentally changing our behaviors as people, and therefore, must impact our models as marketers. In 2008, our agency introduced some fresh thinking on this topic in the book I co-authored with Dr. Nita Rollins, The Open Brand. Our insight at the time was that the model was shifting from “funnel to fish”—meaning that our choices as consumers were expanding, not narrowing, as our journey took hold. Read >

It’s been over 6 years since I posed the simple question, “What can marketers learn from technologists?” I had been intrigued by open-source technology and the volunteers it attracted from around the globe to collaborate on software development. Not their day job. Typically for no pay. Why would they do this? It seemed for kudos, experience, technical challenge, or maybe the longevity of contribution.

I wondered, WHAT IF … what if everyday consumers (not technophiles) could feel the need, the desire, even the right, to routinely interact with brands in wholly new ways and at a scale never before possible? WHAT IF brands could become co-created by consumers around the globe who would rate and review products and experiences, create messages voluntarily, help develop new product ideas in a public forum, produce advertising content and organize global conversations? Brands that embraced these notions and even welcomed them became open brands. [...] Read >

I’m a designer by education. A highly visual learner. I can’t even think, write, brainstorm or communicate without sketching. Maybe that’s why I’ve often relied on Google Images as a starting point for articulating thoughts, fragments of ideas. Is there an existing diagram, comic or inspiring image that can jumpstart my process? Well, the answer used to routinely be a resounding “Yes!” But my go-to source for visual inspiration, Google Images, has been one-upped by many players in many ways. Start-ups are fueling the “rise of the visual web” as Andrew Lipsman, comScore VP, referred to the trend that’s catching fire. [...] Read >

I’m off to drink from the fire hose of inspiration, innovation and ingenuity—otherwise known as TED. When I return, I promise to distill and share the highlights from my favorite speakers who are changing the world and inviting us to do the same. But as I pack my bags and ready myself to be relatively unplugged for the week, I can’t help but note that TED is a fascinating OPEN brand case study.

While TED was founded in 1984 by Richard Saul Wurman and Harry Marks as a relatively exclusive, one-off, Silicon Valley insiders-only conference in Monterey, it has blossomed into an inclusive, ongoing, global phenomenon. Now, there are many readers who will take issue with my “inclusive” reference given its hefty price tag for the privilege of attending an in-person event. [...] Read >

Despite the fact that TV ad spending continues to decline with fragmented audiences, channels and choices, there is one day that continues to guarantee consumer eyeballs and set new records: Super Bowl Sunday. A single 30-second spot for this Sunday’s football showdown cost nearly $3.5 million, selling out by Thanksgiving. With this hefty investment (not to mention all the costs associated with planning, ideating, aligning, production, post-production), I’m hopeful that this year we’ll be more than entertained. I hope we’ll be engaged. [...] Read >