John Winsor

Connecting Communities Beyond Advertising

Guest Post by Mat Ranauro

(Note: I asked Mat, our Director of Technology here at V&S, post this. He's started a new blog, Boom Days. So, be sure to go check it out. He'll be talking a lot about what's happening on the tech/community front. Lot's of cool stuff has been happening and we've been learning a ton every day. Mat's got a lot to share.)

I used to be in a band, this is not to imply I was or am remotely cool, I can assure you that's not the case. But being in a band allowed me to travel around the country with my friends, play new cities every night, meet new people and generally not have much to worry about. We encountered a lot of folks and observed just as many, we knew our “in a band” lives did not reflect the lives of most; People had responsibilities – a job – to sustain themselves and their families, 3 of 4 in the band did not.

A conversation stood out while we were in San Diego. We were staying close to the beach at a friend of the promoters house and a small party spun-up. Of course, we drank a few (million) beers and shot the shit. Someone brought up the topic “are you following your passion?”

Surprisingly, no one at the table said they were passionate about playing music, although every one of the people sitting at the table were in a band. How could that be? 

The group then went around the table, the chat getting more heated, while frustration began to brew when the consensus was obvious: people realized they had no passion for what they were doing everyday. The question landed at me. It was an easy thing for me to answer, I loved my job. It was truly satisfying and I have always been aware of my fortune to have found something I had passion for which also paid my bills.

The entire group turned on me. 

That conversation happened over 5 years ago but the backlash I received has stuck. Those eleven people were confused and pissed by my reply. Like they couldn’t believe what I was saying could possibly be true. But why not? When it happened I didn’t give the response much thought, I brushed it off and diffused the mob forming around me.

Their anger stemmed from hating their jobs and not finding any satisfaction whatsoever in the work they were doing. They couldn’t stand it. And something became apparent to me – this collective group is extremely intelligent and passionate for everything they’re NOT doing. 

Passionate people are everywhere, however the likelihood of those people using those passions to fuel what pays their bills is extremely unlikely. Being driven by something you believe in creates a completely different output: a genuine perspective.

The platform and community which is growing at Victors & Spoils, for me, is a direct response to those eleven intelligent and passionate people. It then multiplies by the thousands of people who now have a place to tap into their passions and contribute their thinking. 

We’re learning as we go. We’re in stealth mode, showing what path we’re on but carrying out a mission that will begin to reveal itself gradually. I wanted to shed a bit of light on the “why” behind the “what” we’ve got brewing: connecting more people to what they care about while giving them a place to contribute, learn and grow.

A distinction in the types of groups within our community is a critical point to be made. We believe the voice of an evangelic audience must inform the goals and vision of a brand while the craftsmanship and expertise of creative contributors defines the produced output. 

Our engine is taking shape: an open forum for anyone to contribute, a place to learn and grow as a creative problem solver and a proven group of top experts to craft the collective intelligence of the entire community into something that is less advertising and more informed, genuine communication between a brand and it’s audience.

#Give5 Things Away

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my stuff. It’s hard not to coming off of Black Friday.

Like most of us, I have a lot of stuff. And, a lot of it I bought quite unconsciously.

That was really highlighted when my good friend and business partner, Evan Fry, lost everything in the Fourmile Fire here in Boulder.

What would you do if you lost all of your things and had to start over?

I’ve been inspired how Evan has approached the process of replacing his stuff. Everything he buys now is consciously consumed. It’s curated. It has purpose.

And, I thought to myself, how do I do that?

I’ve always found that when I focus on giving away my stuff, I think more consciously about it. Why did I buy this? What does it mean to me?

The Lakota Indians practiced a Give Away Ceremony on special occasions.

“Indian people do not judge each other by how much money they make or by the amount of things they own, but rather by how much a person gives away. Kindness, thoughtfulness, and sincerity by a person towards his fellow man is shown when prized possessions are given away freely. Unlike the potlatch, receivers of gifts are not expected to give something of greater value in return.”

Maybe that’s it. Maybe instead of thinking about consuming we should all think a bit more about giving things away. It doesn’t matter what it is. A t-shirt. A coffee cup. A magazine. A car. Old clothes. Books. For that matter maybe things don’t even need to be physical. They could also include advice, time, an answer to a question, or even a presentation. It’s the act of giving more than the thing itself.

With that spirit in mind, I propose that we start a new hashtag on Twitter. Like #followfriday let’s start using #give5. Each month let’s give away at least five things. And, document it with #give5.

Maybe, if we start giving our some of our stuff away we’ll start acting more like the Lakotas and have to space to foster more kindness, thoughtfulness and sincerity.

And, like Evan, maybe we’ll have the space to consume things more consciously.

Will you join me?

Attack!

My son, Charile, 9, found a Tailless Whipped Scorpion (the local name for them is Concla) in our surfboard bodega. Not to fear. It was dead. But, being 9 and interested in all things creepy and crawly meant that Charlie wanted to play around with it. It's still scary.

It's Not About What You Say You Do, It's About What You Do

These days, everybody's talking about innovation. But, what are people really doing about it? It kind of reminds of surfing.

Lot's of folks talk about surfing and being a surfers. But, there's a big difference between sitting on the beach, waxing elequently about wave shapes, board shapes and gnarly rides and getting out in the water. It doesn't matter how good you are. The act of getting in the water is what makes you a surfer. It's all about doing, trying and failing. A lot.

I wrote a bit about my experience of learning surf in Flipped:

A few years ago, I sold my company I had owned for ten years and took an extended sabbatical. I went to Mexico to learn how to surf. Surfing has taught me that there is no substitution to repetitive practice. Many of the lessons I’ve learned from the sport of surfing are at the core of this book. Surfing is one of the iconic alternative sports representing not only the youth culture but also the beach culture. Many companies have used surfing to leverage their brands into household names in every town across the country. Everybody loves the image of surfing. Yet, I’ve discovered there are very few people who actually surf. Why is that? There is one simple answer: surfing is hard. I have a personal theory about surfing. It takes riding a thousand waves to become a surfer. It doesn’t matter if you catch 20 waves a day for 50 days or one wave a day for a thousand days; you just can’t get around the experience of learning the hard way.

If you want to be an innovator how will you ride a thousand waves? Start innovating. Start doing and making.

What We’re Learning at V&S #6: What’s the Motivation to Join the Creative Department?

The V&S  creative department has been exploding lately with over 3200 members as of today. One of the things we’re interested in is what’s motivating all of the good folks to join. Here are the top four reasons from a recent survey:

1. The V&S CCO and CD reputations were mentioned as the top motivation by many of the interview subjects – creative professionals are excited by the opportunity to work with these guys.

2. The opportunity for interesting projects and to do ‘good work’ with great brands.

3. V&S’s point-of-view on the industry and being a part of the future of advertising.

4. Additional income (ranked lowest in priority by a majority of subjects)

This highlights that people are looking for new ways to use their creativity. They want to work with great people on great projects.

Here’s what some of the folks had to say:

•“The model works great for me.  I love the idea of having briefs show up, working hard on them, sending them back and being evaluated.”

•“Following the talent where the talent is, working smart, I believe in what you guys are doing.”

•“Well, it’s really not about the compensation for us right now at this point in our careers … it truly is all about the work.”

•“I’m a firm believer that in the modern world, anyone who only has one job is either lazy or boring.”

Oversocks?

Every sport has a few things that are so esoteric that you don't even know what you'd do with them until you have them and then you don't know what you'd do without them.

That'll Never Happen: In a World Where Knowledge Has Been Democratized, How Do Planners Thrive?

Here's my talk from the Jay Chait Award Ceremony. Enjoy.

Toyota Jumps Into Crowdsourcing with Ideas for Good

It's really cool to see Toyota jump into the Age of Abundance with both feet. Things are changing fast.

A One Year Thank You from Victors & Spoils

Friday was the first anniversary for us here at Victors & Spoils. It's gone by so fast. A special thank you to the 3000 members of our creative department and our 15 clients. You've made this year a fantastic first year.

There's so much cool stuff in the pipeline. We're excited to share some of it very soon.

Thanks to all. We're honored and humbled by all of the support.