Saying Goodbye to an Era

This is old news now, but it deserves a mention. One of the founders of Crispin, Porter and Bogusky will be leaving the industry. Alex Bogusky, Head of Creative, has opted to resign his position in order to pursue writing, green projects and sustainability projects.

Under Bogusky, CP&B, has become one of the most talked about ad shops in the industry. They've brought you "The King" and "Subservient Chicken" for Burger King ads. They brought you the creativity of Mini Cooper ads.

But when the time comes and it will for everyone, you take a step back and sometimes take a step away, permanently. Bogusky started an era in advertising, as part of his agency, but it's good to know his genius will still be seen in his books.

You can read more about his career here.

The 9-Inch 'Diet': Exposing the Big Conspiracy in AmericaHoopla, A Book About Crispin Porter and Bogusky

Predicting The Future

I can predict the future! At least I can when the crystal ball is working and the answer is already pretty predictable. For this exercise I'd suggest letting go of that pesky little fear that you'll be wrong and just use a little common sense, with some guesstimation.

Today, you're going to take a look at your business and you're going to attempt to predict the future. Following a combination of tried and true recipes from, "Baked In" by Alex Bogusky and John Winsor you're going to write down what makes your business so successful - what are the cultural trends that make your product or service work so well. And now you're going to write down where your product should be in ten years and what your product needs to do, how it should adapt and how it needs to change in order to continue to be successful.

Need some examples? Good! There is a perfect example gaining popularity today - Silly Bandz.

Silly Bandz are reminiscent of Slap Bracelets - the popular accessory in the 90's. But they also bear resemblance of any fad item you've seen throughout the decades - Beanie Babies, Pogs, one-hit wonders. This decade is different, however, with the opportunities the Internet can now offer.

According to an article about Silly Bandz in the Wall Street Journal the owner of the Silly Bandz company, Robert Croak, is following the "Baked In" recipe. Even though Silly Bandz are currently at the height of their product life-cycle, Robert is already trying to find ways to expand his business. He is looking ahead and trying to predict the future of his product. He's even looking at the hard facts - his product is a fad - and he is already taking steps to expand into other products so he can stay successful.

I know it's difficult, but take a few minutes today and examine your product or service. Where will these be in ten years? What changes will need to be made? What is a fad and what is going to stand the test of time?

Predict the future.

Baked In: Creating Products and Businesses That Market Themselves