The Remarkable Project Jay Tinkler

How do we harness the power of human connection to create stronger and more valuable relationships with our customers and clients? 
David Meerman Scott spotted the real-time marketing revolution in its infancy and wrote five books about it, including ‘The New Rules of Marketing and PR’, which is now in its 7th edition and has sold over 400,000 copies sold in English (having been translated into 29 languages).
Now David says the pendulum has swung too far in the direction of superficial online communications, with tech-weary and bot-wary people hungry for true human connection. Successful organisations have learned to win by developing what he calls a “Fanocracy”, tapping into the mindset that relationships with customers are more important than the products they sell to them.
His Wall Street Journal bestselling book of the same name, which was written in collaboration with his 27 year old daughter Reiko, focuses upon Fandom culture and how any business can turn fans into customers and vice-versa.
David has authored a total of eleven books to date, has a popular blog and provides advisory services for fast-growing companies. All this plus his speaking engagements around the world give him a singular perspective on how businesses are implementing new strategies to reach buyers directly and in real time. 
In this episode of The Remarkable Project David discusses the relevance of tribes, how putting passion on display can attract likeminded people and why trying to tightly control fan behaviour can prove counter-productive. 
Key Takeaways
·       Humans are craving a return to personal connection, to humanity, because we’re hard-wired to want to be part of a tribe of likeminded people. 
·       When you find a group of people who love something that you do too (music, sport, books etc.) you have an opportunity to join a tribe. If you act upon this, then over time the safety and acceptance you feel from the group becomes part of what you love about the ‘thing’, bolstering the emotional connection. 
·       Any business can find and nurture a tribe of fans, regardless of what industry they operate in. By actively fostering Fandom you can mobilise tribes to create new knowledge and attract new people via warmth of intention and shared understanding. 
·       We’re all fans of something, so when we share what we’re truly passionate about in a genuine manner we attract people to us. 
·       Close proximity to other people brings with it more pronounced emotional reactions – it’s biological.  
Remarkable Quotes
 “...big companies, small companies, it doesn’t matter…if they understand how and why somebody becomes a fan of something they can do business in a different way than the nastiness that’s going on right now in social media.”
“...once you create something and put it in the world, it no longer belongs to you, it belongs to the fans.”
“…you can try to aggregate a group of fans, but keep in mind that the ultimate is when they self-aggregate.”
Relevant References
‘The New Rules of Marketing and PR’ by David Meerman Scott [2017 – Updated Edition]
‘Fanocracy’ by David Meerman Scott and Reiko Scott [2020]
‘Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead’ by Brian Halligan and David Meerman Scott [2010]
‘Beyond Culture’ Edward T. Hall [1976]
 Connect with David
Learn more about David here and Fanocracy here
Follow David on Twitter (@dmscott)
Connect with David on LinkedIn

How do we ensure our businesses stays relevant and profitable? By building them from the outside-in, with customer experience at the epicentre of everything we do.
Phillip Di Bella is an entrepreneur, business owner, marketeer and mentor. His unique ability to visualise and commercialise what many others may never see has been on display through establishment of Di Bella Coffee, which became Australia’s largest speciality coffee company, as well as third-party businesses such as International Coffee Traders and Abbotsford Road Specialty Coffee in New York. His latest venture, Brisbane-based The Coffee Commune, is dedicated to the long term development, sustainability and success of the broader coffee industry for all participants.
Phillip is a champion of strategic business and personal growth wherever he goes. As well as driving forward the Di Bella Group of Companies where he is a Director, he also regularly lends his strategic thinking to businesses such as BDO Consulting, helping their clients overcome challenges, see new opportunities, and then supporting the commercialisation of these solutions.
In this episode of The Remarkable Project Phillip discusses the right questions to ask to unlock the true intent of a business, what makes understanding people so important to forging memorable experiences, how to encourage creativity and why it pays to avoid confusing ability with ambition.
Key Takeaways
A simple three question framework can be a great way to establish the direction of a business and make sure it holds itself accountable to the values it holds dear. What problem are we solving? How are we going to stay relevant? What is our purpose?Narrowing your target audience and segmenting efficiently can help focus thinking and doing. Then turning this into competitive advantage relies upon identifying fresh opportunities not only to satisfy customers but to delight them, to such an extent that if you weren’t there those same customers would struggle to know how to replace your impact and influence.Adopt a mindset that a sustainable business is best build from the outside in, with customer transformation at the heart. In doing so, size, power and profitability shift to outputs of people seeing your brand positively and understanding its intent, rather than inputs which will guarantee that they care. If you choose people, they’ll choose you.Exceeding customer expectations needs to be a strategic and creative endeavour.  Life is about memorable moments, so making time to observe, listen to and, crucially, think about how customers interact with what you do to, and having a clear process to act upon what you learn, is how to maintain real relevance over time.Remarkable Quotes
[03:28] “...If you can say “our client-base would struggle” if we closed our doors tomorrow, because no one can replicate what we do, then you have a rock-solid business.”
[41:48] “…The secret ingredient is emotional engagement…when people leave the room and they’re telling other people, that’s your brand.”
Relevant References
‘Entrepreneurial Intelligence’ by Allan Bonsall [2014]
‘The Dash’ by Linda Ellis / Robert Browning [poem]
Harvard Business Review [publication 
Connect with Phillip
Learn more about The Coffee Commune
Listen to the FlashCast by PDB on all Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more
Connect with Phillip on LinkedIn

In this weeks Remarkable Conversation we speak with Ben Johnston from Evocative. Ben and I look at the importance of doing a yearly performance review on your brand to ensure it is still telling the right story.
 
Evocative is a brand design company based in Brisbane, Australia that work organisations to invent or reinvent brands to not only allow their clients to think and act more deliberately but also inspire a sense of forward progression that can drive growth and attract more of the right type of clients.

In this episode we cover:

- Why it is important to complete a performance review on your brand yearly.
- The three questions you should ask of your business.
- How consistency is key to the delivery of your brand and how that can wane over time.
- How brand is about the graphics as well as behaviours of the company and how they connect.

Get in touch with Ben & Evocative:

www.evocative.cc

https://www.linkedin.com/in/inbenjohnston/

How do you use creativity and storytelling to design client and customer experiences which will connect and make memories? 
Theron Skees is a master story-teller and former Imagineering creative executive for the Walt Disney Company, where he oversaw design of their soon to be unveiled private island, a fleet of ships and new theme park lands and attractions around the world.
Growing up in a family of builders, Theron quickly came to appreciate the joy of stepping back and seeing what you’ve created.  Fast forward to today and although he has a 30 year career in Themed Entertainment under his belt, where managing complex projects with multi-million dollar budgets concurrently has become his normal, he still loves seeing his creative vision come to life in physical and experiential form above all else.
The Designer’s Creative Studio is Theron’s latest venture, a company focused on using storytelling solutions and experience design to drive business uplift and brand equity for clients, as well as on providing big thinking consultancy and mentoring.
In this episode of The Remarkable Project Theron discusses how we can draw upon some of the approaches used to successfully plan, design and deliver physical environments, to help our brand or business build experiences which will be memorable, regardless of the form they take.  He also makes a case for getting under the skin of clients, talks shareable storytelling and explains the importance of making ‘why’ central to a narrative.
Five Key Takeaways
Innovation should be part of company culture, not an external input  Seeing things from a different perspective pushes refinement of ideas, especially when considered risk taking across teams and ‘fast failing’ is encouraged.  The concept of ‘narrative experience design’ involves understanding a client’s brand, their audience and their business objectives.  “Swimming upstream” when collaborating with clients or vendors is the process of questioning assumptions and validating asks at the outset, so that briefs and programs can proceed safe in the knowledge that there is a shared understanding between all parties.  People relate to authentic, real and actionable stories that they can place themselves within – it pays to take control of and champion why you do things, because it adds a layer of believability to the what you do.  Studies have shown that humans are wired to catalogue memories in a story format and that all five senses can contribute to the richness of this process.  Impactful stories bring together insight and escapism to trigger an emotional response which makes them memorable.Remarkable Quotes
[09:51] “...[innovation should be] less a service that should be purchased and more a culture that should be instituted.“
[14:47] “…good design should deliver on brand, it should grow your audience and it should deliver your business goals.”
[17:15] “…if you’re in a rocket ship and you’re aiming for Mars, but you only get to the Moon, you’ve still gone farther than most people on Earth…I believe in idealism because it sets the bar high and allows you to prepare to do impossible things.”
[39:11] “…no element is too small to represent your brand…doesn’t mean it has to be expensive, but everything should be looked at through that lens.”
Relevant References
‘Start With Why’ by Simon Sinek [2009]
‘The Experience Economy’ by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore [1999]
Connect with Theron
Reach out via LinkedIn or follow him on Instagram 
Learn more about Theron’s company The Designers Creative Studio here

In this weeks Remarkable Conversation we speak with Peter McKeon from Salesmasters International. Peter and I unpack what it takes to create a truly remarkable sales presentation.
 
Salesmasters International takes a client-by-client approach to designing innovative sales training programs that help businesses grow their revenue and in turn their business.  Peter's years of experience both in sales training, sales. strategy and also business give him to craft the requisite strategic vision to ensure that all organisational sales objectives are realised.

In this episode we cover:
 
- The importance of planning, research and clarity before starting the presentation.
 - How to begin to cultivate a trusted relationship in your presentation
 - Permission-based questioning.
 - Using story (and story cards) in your sales presentation instead of PowerPoint.
 - How to close off a sales presentation to ensure the outcome you are looking for.
 
 Get in touch with Peter:

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/petermckeon1/

www.salesmasters.com.au

How can you effectively and efficiently scale quality engagement with your brand or business at pace, whilst ensuring that the essence of what you’re trying to achieve and why doesn’t get lost along the way?
Brendan Kane has been described as an outside the box thinker who empowers brands to scale, expand and accelerate their business and influence.  He has acted as an innovation strategist for Fortune 500 corporations, brands, and celebrities including Taylor Swift, Rhianna, MTV and Yahoo!, helping them to unlock value and transform their businesses via his strategic approach and global network.
Through a deep understanding of client needs and goals, Brendan tailors strategies, tools and intelligence to help them capture opportunities and add value.  He has shared some of his most powerful insights within a pair of books – One Million Followers and Hook Point.  The former focuses on how to grow an entity at pace, and its follow-up talks about how to stand out and create a compelling brand in today’s micro-attention world. 
In this episode of The Remarkable Project Brendan discusses the foundations of successful social media scaling, how to encourage content shareability and why understanding what keeps clients and consumers up at night is key to crafting solutions that they will truly value and talk about.
Five Key Takeaways
Without understanding the underlying business goal for using a platform, it can be difficult to benchmark success and hold ourselves and our partners accountable for their efforts and outcomes.  
With nearly four billion content creators active globally, it’s fundamental to realise that we’re not just competing against direct industry competitors, we’re competing for attention against everyone else who is also sharing content, full stop.  
Not only do we need to be creative in how we get audiences to stop and take notice within the first three seconds, but we need to act authentically, so that we encourage on-sharing but avoid becoming click-bait.  
Taking time to understand who we’re talking to is crucial, but so is figuring out who it is talking to them – who are we, or who do we want to be in this intimate interaction?  
We’re more emotionally connected to what we ‘want’ than what we ‘need’, so it makes sense to create a hook which talks to the former first.  Once we’ve grabbed attention by cutting through the clutter, we can proceed to engage the ‘thinking brain’ by laying out how to fulfil the needs that will unlock the want.  
Remarkable Quotes
[09:51] “...if you’re not stopping the scroll when people are going through their social feeds, they’re never going to get to your story.“
[14:47] “…one of the biggest mistakes people make on social media is that they’re designing their content as though it’s a one-to-many platform, but in reality it’s a one-to-one platform.”
[17:21] “…people will get on and they’ll say “hey everybody, how’s everybody doing?” – and it’s like “I’m on my phone, who is everybody, who are you talking to?!”” 
[23:45] “…the businesses that thrive and survive are the ones who can constantly adapt and innovate." 
[25:25] “…all the attention in the world doesn’t mean anything without any substance to it.”
Relevant References
‘Hook Point’ by Brendan Kane [2021]
‘One Million Followers’ by Brendan Kane [2018]
Connect with Brendan
Understand what he and his team do to help create Hook Points and how to talk to them here
Learn more about his books Hook Point and One Million Followers

Connect on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/brendankane/