Friday Find: Mofongo

Another New England Friday Find?! 

This week, Red Sox fans all over saw one of the all-time greats play his last game. David Ortiz–better known as Big Papi–walked off the field at Fenway forever. The Sox unfortunately lost, but it matters not. For me, Papi has been synonymous with the Sox for the past 13+ years. I remember in college I started paying more attention to the Sox, going to at least one game every year, and once I was able, going to bars around Fenway when I didn't have a ticket to get in. Perhaps it's no coincidence that it was around the same time that the Sox began their record-shattering sellout streak.  The Red Sox were hot, and being young in Boston to live it was a once in a lifetime experience. 

Big Papi was inseparable from all of that and continued to be the best of Boston long after I left the northeast (I generally keep it clean here, but who among us could forget the magnificent F-bomb he dropped at the game after the marathon bombings?). The only Sox shirt I've ever owned is number 34. So when Papi started showing up on SNL's Weekend Update, I was delighted. Surprised (he can't be that well known to SNL's broad audience, can he?), but delighted. I think these sketches work because he imitates Papi so well, but also because they're funny independent of whether you're familiar with everyone's favorite slugger. 

My husband and I quote these sketches all the time. (Biiiiiig lunch. Mofongo.)

We love you, Papi!

Marketing Monday: Why the Why

Today, I'm into this blog post over at KAI Partners, from a friend of mine, Sarah Walsh (this isn't in any way sponsored: I just like this post a whole lot). Sarah's talking about 'why', and why it "seems to be having a moment" in business. The article focuses mostly on making transitions and change go more smoothly, but 'why' is–and must be–a crucial touchpoint from the ground up, in everything from changes to the software your employees use to your marketing plans.

If you don't know the why in your marketing plan, then you don't know the who, which means you don't know the how or the what. And where does that leave you?

Photo from LinkedIn SlideShare, Simon Sinek, via Kai Partners.

When I speak with prospective clients, I ask them some standard questions. I ask them about who their competition is, what sets them apart, who their ideal client is, how their clients find them, and how they'd like their clients to find them. I ask them questions that paints a picture of who they are and what they do. But all of these questions are designed to get at the root of who they are, of what they stand for: of why they do what they do, of what drives them. Sometimes this is really easy. Sometimes it's harder than you'd expect.

Have you heard of the Five Whys? It's a way of getting beyond superficial reasons to a real root cause of a problem, and it's essentially what my questions get at. Yes, in order to be successful we need to know where we're going, but as the old (butchered) saying goes, you need to know where you're coming from and why you're on the train in the first place and what's fueling your train and how to keep fueling it and who's on it in order to get the outcome you want. 

Screenshot from the example at isixsigma.com.

The pinned tweet on my Twitter profile is this one:

This often ends up being one of the first things I tell clients: Be true to yourself and the rest will follow. #WednesdayWisdom

— Caitlin Hannah (@TheCopyCait) April 28, 2016

Which brings us full circle: all of this talk about 'why' goes to authenticity. Authenticity is easy to believe in, whereas selling (proverbially) something you don't believe in is not. In general, but in content marketing specifically, what you're really selling is the story about what you're selling. At the end of the day, that's what it comes down to. And people don't want to be sold to or talked at. They want to have a conversation, be told a story, and believe in what you do. 

Friday Find: The Littlest Ninja Warrior

A friend shared this on Facebook, and I thought it was so sweet. Nicely produced, fun, feel-good, and clearly a dad who loves his kid. What's not to like? It reminded me, too, of the balance beam and bar my own dad built me to help me practice my obsessive love of gymnastics at home when I was a kid.

If you want to help this little girl do more of these, there's a Go Fund Me page set up for donations. I can't vouch for its authenticity or where the money will actually go or any of that, but I thought it was worth mentioning. Happy Friday!