Better than Creativity ...

A rich knowledge of history is better than creativity.

Let me qualify that. A rich knowledge of history is better than creativity if your goal is to make money.

The most profitable form of creativity is to repurpose the proven.

Do you want to put together a group of colors that create a powerful effect? Maybe for a website or a sign or a brochure or a living room?

Common sense will tell you to hire an expert. That expert will ask you to describe the feelings you want the color scheme to conjure and then he or she will aim all their education, talent and experience toward doing what has already been done by minds far greater than their own.

Yes, common sense would tell you to hire a talented expert. But common sense is merely the name we give the collection of prejudices we acquire before the age of eighteen. (If you feel you’ve heard that statement before, it’s because Albert Einstein famously said it in the 1952 book, Mathematics, Queen and Servant of the Sciences.) Common sense is overrated.

An enlightened soul who has escaped the boundaries of common sense will quietly inquire of the giants whose footprints went deep into the earth, those giants whose fingerprints can be found on the hearts of billions of people they have touched.

Why pay a lightweight for advice when you can consult Gustav Klimt, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Vincent van Gogh for free?

1. Go online and select a series of world-famous paintings whose color palettes have the mojo you seek. (Mojo, by the way, is just the name we give to high-voltage emotional juju. Einstein didn’t say this, but I’m pretty sure it’s true, anyway.)
2. Download only the paintings of artists who rocked the world.
3. Import those paintings into Photoshop and sample each of the four or five principal colors. Click a couple of buttons to reveal the precise CMYK formulation of each. BAM!

Trust me, those colors will work fabulously well together.
No, don’t trust me. Trust the giants.

Lee Iacocca was chosen as one of Ford Motor Company’s ten “Whiz Kids” in 1946. But every time young Lee would go to his boss with a suggestion, his boss would say, “Show me where it has worked.”

Your first impression of this man is that he was a follower, a lemming, a conformist with no courage or imagination, right? But Iacocca credits that boss as being the man responsible for all his later successes. Iacocca learned from him a pivotal lesson: if an idea is truly brilliant, you’ll find examples of its successful implementation scattered throughout history.

The road to bankruptcy court is flanked on both sides by bright-eyed “creative people” dripping with enthusiasm. Ask any one of them for directions. They’ll make sure you get there.

The secret of guaranteed success is to import a tested and reliable methodology into a business category where it has never been used.

Repurpose the proven.

They’ll call you a brilliant creative innovator. You might even be able to patent your breakthrough.
But you and I know the truth. You’re merely an insightful historian.

Red Bull: STiR-communications Marketing Company of the Year

To know me is to know I am on the go from the get-go. I move fast, talk fast, my ADD has a case of ADD, and have been accused of being heavily caffeinated. Guilty of all, however, one thing I don’t have is wings. That has not stopped me from admiring the legions of angels who do.

Our Marketing Company of the Year: Red Bull.

Even though Red Bull has been credited with inventing the energy drink industry, they do not sell you an ounce of it. If you look closely at their marketing, they sell you adrenaline, they sell you action, they sell you passion. They just happened to bottle it into a small blue and silver can than contains taurine. That is one of the most masterful sales in history.

Go to its Facebook page, which is closing on 35 million fans as of this writing, and you will be hard pressed to find a single picture or a mention of the Red Bull bottle. As a matter of fact go to their homepage and you will also have great difficulty finding a single picture of the product on such prime real estate. Red Bull marketing does not sell you drinks. Red Bull may taste like carbonated medicine in a can while promising physical energy through glucose or a mixture of sugars, but it’s much more – it’s the most dominating aspirational brand in the category since Coca Cola.

As I write laying next to me is its lifestyle magazine, to which I subscribe. That’s right, I do not drink the product, but Red Bull has captured me and millions of others within its brand attributes.

In-Bound Marketing
In quarter three in 2012, Red Bull sponsored a skydiving jump from space. The skydive jump for Felix Baumgartner was delayed for weather reasons on three separate occasions and critics were questioning why would Red Bull would dump so much money in sponsoring such an event when their objective is to sell drinks. What critics were not paying attention to was the legions of followers online during this timeframe.

Red Bull’s marketing strategy was born via an in-bound marketing strategy of two-way communication and during the period of time when the launch was delayed amassed a huge social media following. Red Bull’s Facebook page is currently ranked 41^st, which is ahead of Starbucks, Harry Potter, and McDonald’s. There is only one beverage company that is ahead of Red Bull in Facebook rankings: Coca-Cola. It would be wise to watch its back … In more ways than one.

To answer the question of why, well, for one it broke the record of the most watched live streaming event on YouTube with over 8 million people. The previous record you might ask? It was the London Olympics with an audience of 500,000 concurrent streams. Red Bull smashed the previous record by a multiple of 16! No small feat indeed. Then, according to the Huffington Post: besides YouTube, the jump was shown by more than 40 TV stations and 130 digital outlets. Red Bull’s Facebook post-jump photo of Baumgartner gained almost 216,000 likes, 10,000 comments and over 29,000 shares within 40 minutes, and half the worldwide trending topics on Twitter were related to Red Bull.

Do these benefits translate into profits for the company? That is hard to say since Red Bull is private and does not report its financial statements; however, it would be a very safe bet to say that the skydive from the edge of space, the three-peat Constructor’s Championship in Formula 1, along with Sebastian Vettel’s three-peat Formula 1 Driver Championships, the numerous Flugtag events, and the tons of other non-traditional sponsorships cannot have hurt. In fact, it is known that back in 2010 it sold 4.2 billion cans worldwide with just over a billion of them here in the United States. That represented a jump in revenue of 15.8% year over year. What was Coca-Cola’s increase? Between 3 and 4%.

There is no question that Red Bull Marketing is a force to be reckoned with. I sincerely believe that 2012 will be shown to have been the inflection point in Red Bull’s meteoric rise to the top. I have said it before and I’ll say it again, strategy is not about doing things better, it is about doing things differently. Red Bull has its headquarters in Austria near Salzburg (birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) in a town called Fuschl. Not your typical seat of a multi-billion dollar conglomerate. Yet, there is nothing typical about Red Bull nor its marketing. Red Bull has thrown the old marketing book out the window and is writing its own. We should all be so lucky to peruse it.

How Red Bull Did It
In today’s society, consumers are bombarded with promotional messages from organizations. Consumers receive these messages when they listen to the radio, watch television, read a newspaper, commute to work or simply walk around a city. Effective promotion relies on the message reaching the consumer in an accurate and timely way. However, there are so many messages it can be difficult for a business to reach its target audience. Promotional messages can easily become simply noise. They crowd the marketplace and make everything more confusing for consumers. This creates a marketing problem. To address this problem, some marketers look for new ways to communicate with consumers. They seek to break the traditional rules of marketing by reaching consumers in innovative ways.

Dietrich Mateschitz founded Red Bull in 1984 after discovering the widespread popularity of tonic drinks in the Far East. He developed the Red Bull Energy Drink, launching the product on the Austrian market in 1987. Since then, Red Bull has launched a range of products, including Red Bull Cola in 2008 and Red Bull Energy Shots in 2009. Today, Red Bull has annual sales of around 4 billion cans in 160 countries and employs more than 7,700 people. Red Bull has a distinctive approach to marketing: using a progressive marketing strategy. This type of strategy aims to constantly evolve and develop the brand. This approach allows Red Bull to engage with consumers using new and exciting channels of communication.

In recent years social media has become a vital marketing tool for many organizations. Its increasing popularity, predominantly with young audiences, has had a huge impact on modern marketing techniques. Digital and social media campaigns are integral to Red Bull’s marketing strategy. This case study illustrates how Red Bull uses a range of innovative promotional techniques to improve the process of communication and drive consumer engagement and loyalty.

To meet the needs of its customers, every organization seeks a distinctive marketing mix. This is often referred to as the 4Ps. It involves focusing on:

1. product – the specific features and benefits of the product
2. place – where and how the product is sold
3. price – setting the right price in each market
4. promotion – using the most suitable form of promotion to reach customers

For example, the marketing mix for Red Bull is based around:

1. A distinctive product – the taste of the product is unlike any other, it also has a functional effect in comparison to other soft drinks
2. It is easy to obtain as it is sold in a variety of places – including retail outlets and food and drink establishments
3. Red Bull uses a premium pricing strategy. The product is priced above that of competitors’ products. Consumers will pay a premium for Red Bull due to the quality of the product and the product’s benefits. This is reflected in the fact that it is the world’s best-selling energy drink.
4. However, perhaps the most interesting element of Red Bull’s marketing mix is its approach to promotion. Red Bull embraces innovation within its promotional activities and as such is able to create a lasting impression on consumers. The concept behind its promotional activity is to give people ‘Wiiings’. This translates as pushing the boundaries of what is possible and nurturing people’s talent so they can achieve their goals and dreams.

The aim of the promotion element of the marketing mix is to grow the business and increase market share. Businesses develop a promotional strategy in order to encourage customers to purchase their products. Many base their approach on AIDA principles. AIDA is an acronym that is shorthand for the stages in a sales process, Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

There are several traditional approaches to promotion:

Advertising
Perhaps the best known is advertising. This is a key element of what is known as above-the-line promotion. This type of promotion usually delivers messages to a wide audience using the press, television, radio and the Internet. Although this makes it easy to reach a large audience, it is more difficult to deliver a memorable message that is tailored to a specific target market. It can be costly: for example, television adverts at prime time are very expensive. In addition, businesses cannot completely control who sees or hears their adverts or how they respond. Red Bull’s above-the-line promotion primarily helps to increase top of mind brand awareness amongst consumers.

Below-the-line
Below-the-line promotions encompass all other forms of promotional activity. To reach targeted groups of consumers, Red Bull focuses heavily on developing inventive below-the-line promotions. Unlike many businesses, Red Bull does not use traditional sponsorship as a method of below-the-line promotion. Red Bull takes a different approach. It creates and organizes its own events around the world. These events provide a platform for talented athletes to showcase their skills and ambition.

Sporting events include Red Bull X-Fighters and Red Bull Air Race, where the world’s top FMX riders and pilots respectively perform world-class flips, turns and tricks in front of tens of thousands of spectators. These events help to establish the brand values. They also begin the AIDA process with the participants and audiences for these events, creating awareness and interest in Red Bull products.

A key aspect of Red Bull’s promotion is about creating genuine relationships with individual athletes, such as Robbie Maddison, who was able to achieve his lifelong ambition when he performed the first ever motorcycle back flip over a raised Tower Bridge in London. Through supporting these athletes in pushing themselves beyond their limits, Red Bull is able to engage with consumers. Red Bull events provide experiences that excite, surprise and challenge participants and spectators. For example, events in summer 2011 included Red Bull cliff-diving in the south of Italy and the Red Bull Flugtag event in Leeds. Red Bull Flugtag challenges brave and creative individuals to design, build and pilot their own homemade flying machines off a 30ft-high flight deck. Almost 100 Red Bull Flugtag events have been held around the globe. Teams are judged on the distance flown, as well as the creativity and originality of their flight machine idea. They also win points for their performance during their pre-flight speech to the thousands of spectators.

Events like these support the brand ethos and contribute to the Red Bull experience. They are based on a belief that mass awareness can be achieved without requiring big budgets. In fact, the large-scale activities, such as the Formula 1 team that is owned by Red Bull, are not the cornerstone of its promotional strategy. These activities are focused on building talent and pushing the sport to new levels through innovation. However, the emphasis is on local activities that can have a big impact and create interesting media coverage. These have the advantage that the company can quickly and inexpensively change anything that is not working. It can repeat or develop ideas that work and seem to have good public appeal. The program is managed through an annual activity plan, which is based on a three-year overview of promotional work.

Pull Marketing
Word of mouth (WOM) promotion is based on the principle of pull marketing. It relies on the transmission of a positive marketing message from person to person through conversation or a personal communication such as email or text message. Pull marketing gets consumers to bring other consumers to the product. In contrast, push marketing uses above-the-line promotional techniques to put products in front of consumers in order to generate sales.

Red Bull extensively uses pull marketing. This approach involves getting consumers excited about the product and conveying this excitement to their family and friends. It is also about trying to get coverage of Red Bull events in the press. This coverage can encourage consumers to find out more about the product. It helps to generate momentum through creating interesting stories for people to talk about, which in turn helps to create brand awareness and grow sales.

The founder of Red Bull used pull marketing to promote his original product in the 1980s. He hired a Red Bull Wings Team to go out and talk to people one-to-one about the product. This helps to create consumer interest in the product. As people experience the drink and appreciate its qualities, they become advocates for the brand. They share their opinions with other consumers when they talk with friends. The promotion therefore creates a ripple effect.

Innovation
Red Bull continues to use this process to reach consumers in innovative ways, including:

Red Bull Wings Team –
The team of students go out on the road in their Red Bull mini to help launch the product in new markets. The branded mini has a Red Bull can on the back of it. The team offers a cold can of Red Bull to people in need of energy to demonstrate the product’s qualities. Through engaging consumers in a fun, non-threatening way they create a personal and positive product experience. For example, the Wings Team attended the 2010 London to Brighton mini run. The team was there for the early start to offer competitors a cold can of Red Bull.

Student Brand Manager Program –
Individual students help activate a variety of events on campus. They organize activities around the world to get people talking about the product and get students actively involved on their own university campus.

Red Bull Bedroom Jam –
This is a competition to help teenage musicians get out of their bedrooms and onto the big stage, giving them an experience they may never have been able to have. Red Bull records bands playing live from their bedrooms for the world to see via the Internet. The bands that create the most attention online then compete for long-term career support and the opportunity to play at festivals and be tour support for established musical acts. This helps create interesting media coverage that gets people talking about the brand.

Red Bull Reporter –
This project provides opportunities for aspiring writers, filmmakers and presenters to report on world-class Red Bull events, giving them the chance to have their work published in a variety of credible publications.

These creative and original projects help Red Bull to capture the attention of its increasingly knowledgeable audience. They aim to build brand loyalty by creating relationships with consumers.

Digital and Social Media
Digital and social media are core elements for all of Red Bull’s campaigns. These tools provide direct and relevant lines of communication with Red Bull’s core youth audience. Facebook, Twitter and online blogs make it easy for people to exchange information quickly between themselves. These channels of communication make word-of-mouth and other pull marketing strategies more effective.

To remain competitive and interact with consumers, Red Bull is constantly creating new ways of reaching its audiences online. Red Bull also uses a variety of smart phone applications to promote its campaigns. These methods create connections with consumers, which minimize the risk of ‘noise’ affecting the promotional message. Unlike advertising campaigns, which have to be planned months in advance, the great advantage of some of the techniques that Red Bull uses is that they are easy to adapt and refine. Red Bull constantly creates new methods and techniques to engage with consumers. This is vital in such a competitive market.

Analytics
For promotions to remain effective, Red Bull has to analyze the impact of different campaigns. Word-of-mouth promotions can be more difficult to measure than some traditional methods of promotion. Although healthy sales are an important measure, Red Bull uses other measures to evaluate the effectiveness of its activities. For example:

1. Setting targets for sales returns from the smaller promotional activities.
2. Evaluating the amount of editorial coverage its activities receive in the media.
3. Measuring the number of blogs related to Red Bull’s products and the frequency of comment on these blogs.
4. Evaluating the online influence of Red Bull activities in the social media. For example, on Twitter there are around 875,000 followers of Red Bull activities. On Facebook, more than 35,000,000 consumers ‘like’ Red Bull.
5. Conducting an annual brand health-check with consumers to ensure that they like the brand.

Return on Investment
Measuring the outcomes of Red Bull promotions is not just about return on investment. These figures do not create the whole picture. This is because it can be difficult to value word-of-mouth promotions on paper. Sales returns do not take into account other factors such as longer-term brand loyalty.

As a specific example, the Red Bull Wings Team has proved to be a very important part of the marketing strategy. When Red Bull has launched products in countries without this program as part of its promotional mix, they have not been received as well by consumers.

Red Bull adopts a progressive marketing strategy that is constantly evolving to push the brand forward. Social and digital media is at the heart of all of its promotional campaigns.

This type of strategy allows Red Bull to adapt its promotional activity to reflect technological and social changes, for example, the increasing use of smart phone applications as a channel of communication to its audience. Consumers’ expectations are higher than ever, and as such Red Bull strives to use innovative marketing techniques to reach its audience.

In short, 6 basic tenets have turned this company into the world’s leader within the energy drink category and made them STiR-communications’ Marketing Company of the Year:

1. Embrace a sense of purpose
2. Beyond Big Society: do more than grow your bottom line
3. Move beyond ROI: pitch for emotional impact
4. Embrace ‘extreme marketing’
5. Behavior trumps brand values
6. Place commitment above all things

STOP READING THIS!!!!!!!!!!!

“Tune in, turn on and drop out.”

When Timothy Leary famously penned the poetic LSD laced iconic phrase in 1967, it immediately entered the lexicon of underground counterculture. Leary’s sequence of personal developments was often misinterpreted to mean, “Get stoned and abandon all constructive activity.” However, this was not the intent at all; constructive activity was.

“Turn on” meant go within to activate your neural and genetic equipment. Become sensitive to the many and various levels of consciousness and the specific triggers that engage them.

“Tune in” meant interact harmoniously with the world around you – externalize, materialize, express your new internal perspectives.

“Drop out” suggested an active, selective, graceful process of detachment from involuntary or unconscious commitments. “Drop Out” meant self-reliance, a discovery of one’s singularity, a commitment to mobility, choice, and change.

Today, I would suggest we are so Tuned In and Turned On that it has created a societal detachment of pandemic proportions. Worse, the great majority are insensible to the heightened misfortune engulfing them. Take this blog for instance, why are you reading this dribble instead of doing something of substance? Seriously, that’s not self-deprecating, just self-awareness. I’m full of shit and so are most. More importantly how have you come to access this and upon what device of your many are you reading it?

The hyper-excessive ubiquity of technological advancement has simultaneously allowed us to believe we are more tuned in by being turned on. Anything we want is one click away. We can communicate with whomever and wherever we wish by the stroke of a keyboard or swipe on the screen. Are we truly better for it? In many ways we are.

As Thomas Friedman suggested, “the world is flat” and thus the barrier of entry to “do” becomes self-reliant. Many positive advancements have been spurred from this new frontier and I am not suggesting we abandon them. I love and embrace technology. Our company, STiR-communications, has become a leader in strategic public relations, inbound marketing and advertising using the very tools I fret. I just fear somewhere along the road within this progressive stratagem we have forgotten something: humans.

I am witnessing the demise of interpersonal relationships. Today’s LSD: “Little, Silly, Distractions,” and it runs rampant. Like Pavlov’s dog we react to every bell and vibrate with immediate reaction. Texting “I Love you” opposed to deeply looking into someone’s eyes and expressing it first hand. “Checking in” or announcing your actions opposed to, I don’t know, actually just being present. On that note, when was the last time you were still and intently looked at someone in the eyes for 10 minutes straight without the urge to check your email, text, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.?

I like to don a mono-chromatic attire, been accused of being mono-syllabic (yep) and of course I’m a monogamist. But my overwhelming preference is to be mono-a-mono. A task that is nearing extinction by the exhaustive execution of multitasking. Which in truth is masked multi-distraction.

So, on January 1st we are asking you to join a movement. For this ONE DAY shut it all down. No computers, smartphones or tablets. No Internet, no texting. We understand the withdrawal will be startling and many, including us, may not make it. Regardless, we want to know about it so please share your experience. For the lucky few that interact harmoniously with the world around you – externalize, materialize, express your new internal perspectives to people directly – please share your secrets.

I wish all luck and let’s Tune off, Turn off and Drop in!

Greg

 

Gregory Salsburg

CEO/The Big STIR

STIR-Communications
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723

e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com

Harnessing the Power of Disruptive Principles

Going against the old axiom, “it is ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” One communications firm taking on brand change.

It was time for another change but not simply for change sake. A powerful reboot that would provide immediate displacement and unease internally but with the strategic planning that would bare long-term success.

As our EVP Deidre Krause often says, you hurt the ones you love the most. Since we are self-obsessed, highly narcissistic and clearly love ourselves more than we love you, why not inflict this process on someone who we want to benefit the most? Our latest victim for this arduous torture: our own company, STiR-communications.

If you visit our site you will notice there have been many changes. We determined it was time to come out from the shadows and share with all our brand identity and company mission. If you viewed our video on the homepage you will see that we have never been shy at playing on the fringe. As a matter of fact and as a matter of rule, the fringe is where we focus. It’s where innovation propagates. Where tomorrow’s general acceptance is today’s feared or misunderstood. Do what’s right, not what’s easy has been a long-standing mantra at our company and a basis for the work and consult we provide our clients.

A myriad of companies within marketing, advertising and public relations have been forced of late to rethink their business models because of economic unrest. For the majority, these are reactive measures, many being implemented too late.

However, years earlier and ahead of the curve, we changed our entire method of operation and applied forward thinking initiatives that would not simply serve our clients and our company for the moment and better prepare them for the future. When we made those changes – and the many since – we have been dismissed more often than embraced. That is, except by our clients.

One of my business stewards is Harvard Business Professor Clayton Christensen. Within his book, The Innovator’s Dilemma, he describes that “most companies with a practiced discipline of listening to their best customers, and identifying new products or services that promise greater profitability and growth, are rarely able to build a case for disruptive principles regularly until it’s too late.”

So here we go again. This time the journey is emblematic of our new mission. We no longer will serve solely as thought leaders but embrace the purpose to be thought providers.

Over the coming months our newly designed site will organically grow further, serving as a resource and portal for a wealth of information pertaining to numerous business, marketing and life topics. We will update this information regularly, which will be housed in the “Inspiration” section of our website, and hope you will use and further provide this information to others.

As a first step in growing this portal organically, we ask you start by sending this email to at least five friends. Additionally, we’d love to hear from you about some topics you would like to be discussed within this section.

We will continue to deliver award winning design, forwarding thinking digital media and strategic public relations that drive our clients financial initiatives upward. But along the way and regardless if we are working for you, we hope we can provide for you.

Enjoy

Gone, Back, Gone, But Never Forgotten

The gag order has been lifted, my vibrant prose no longer required to be heard solely by the numerous personalities running amok inside my head. (Somehow each with their own neuroses.)

My buds, Sergey and Larry continue to maintain technological dominance, and, as I predicted in our meetings, Facebook is showing the chinks in the armor of a pedestrian utility.  Who could have imagined that a company that solves the needs of billions of people daily, built on a vibrant and intuitive algorithm AND has figured out how to make money, has a brighter future than one that hopes to make you their "friend"?  With that said, MZ, I enjoyed our meetings, still wish you remained private and still believe the future is bright.

Too much time has passed since the last blog to catch you up on all, but I can tell you this - our company, STiR-Communications, is experiencing tremendous growth and exciting things continue to happen. We have been working with amazing companies and wonderful people, I feel blessed every day. My A.D.D. is acting up and once again I got the itch to redesign our site and the direction of our social media. As the song goes, "See you in September."

In the meantime, if you need some STiR'ing, we would love to hear from you.

Greg

Gregory Salsburg

CEO/The Big STIR

STIR-Communications 

Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723

e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com

GAG, ORDER!!!

When is right right? How far are you willing to go to stay true to yourself? To never waiver from personal values, even when no one else is looking.  To never quit, I mean never, not even for a second. To follow your charted course even when self-doubt is more deafening than self-confidence.

Three years ago I witnessed first-hand the pervasive power of big business. I watched while one of our client's (and friend) was crushed by one of the United States' largest banks. In one fell swoop and for no apparent reason they destroyed everything he worked for. And, then for good measure, they did all they could to defame him. 

For two months prior, our client was on every national TV show. CBS Morning Show said, "You are all America needs."  FOX called him "An innovator." These are a couple of many. Then, they pulled the plug.  So why would this bank seek to destroy this man? We are still not sure and maybe that question will never be answered. However, the ferocity in which they attacked him was stellar, without feeling and without debate. The bank unleashed a cloud of deception that was deft, allowing questionable thoughts to seep in; even to those closest to him.

The bank had perception on their side and they were positive they held the chips. It's so much easier to believe big over little, established over new, successful over start-up, boss over employee.

This was one of the United States' largest banks, so reputation was on their side. I mean banks are flawless and have never been shown to work beyond the bounds of propriety, right?

Your Honor, I need to strike that last statement on the account the courtroom is filled with uncontrollable laughter. 

When is right right? How far are you willing to go to stay true to yourself? To never waiver from personal values, even when no one else is looking.  To never quit, I mean never, not even for a second. To follow your charted course even when self-doubt is more deafening than self-confidence.

For three years he never quit, never changed his story. For three years he worked tirelessly to defend himself, no matter the professional and personal struggle AND there were many. Loss of all money, some friends, relationships, and an open heart surgery. That was the easy stuff. The internal struggles were even greater.

Having everyone tell you to just give up, move on, lick your wounds and fight another day, may have appeared as fruitful advise, but to him, it created further feeling of isolation. Conversely it also provided a sense of resolve, knowing the same character traits required to be a visionary in the first place would need to be applied if truth would prevail.

Fighting for justice can be parallel to living in a silo of emotional solitary confinement. A breaking point is always nearing. Yet, he never broke.

At the start of the trial the air was thick with greed, smugness and the pious veil facade of those who normally hide in ivory towers. However, after day one it became evident that one of the United States' largest bank’s equivalent of kryptonite was going to be "truth" itself.

Wait, banks aren't flawless? They have been shown to work beyond the bounds of propriety? They took money from TARP and then still doled out huge bonuses while the American people turned into Oliver Twist, begging for "More Gruel, Please, Sir." 

Lawyer: Your Honor, we object.

Judge:  On what grounds?

Lawyer: The truth really hurts.

This week my client and friend WON and defeated one of United State’s largest banks. This was not just a victory for himself and his company, but for all of us. That's not hyperbole.

Where would we be if we never questioned authority? If we sat idly by while known injustice was rampant? We are better today, because of the actions of this man.

When is right right? How far are you willing to go to stay true to yourself? To never waiver from personal values, even when no one else is looking.  To never quit, I mean never, not even for a second. To follow your charted course even when self-doubt is more deafening than self-confidence.

Greg

Gregory Salsburg

CEO/The Big STIR

STIR-Communications 

Miami | New York | London
c: (561) 386-8064
o: (305) 407-1723

e: Greg@STIR-Communications.com 

Facebook Finale III

Last week was a world wind – no time to blog, barely time to choose between which Italian bespoke threads and killer socks to don.

With the traveling to and fro on sleek G6's emblazoned with logos of my gracious hosts, popping the bottles of Ace of Spades, making it rain and putting Range in the Rovers, tapping out my infamous prose was feeling trite. Plus my posting on http://www.monster.com/ for a ghost writer with uncanny wit and erudite synapse went unanswered, leaving my broad shoulders to weather the storm once again.

By now you know this blog is read by a ton. For many it's a faithful ritual, for others a rite of passage. What started as a lark and a sea of sarcasm and cynicism now provides riches in excess of the GNP of Guam.

It's influence has also grown, but in truth, until two weeks ago I didn't realize how much. That was until my two posts about my immediate departure from Facebook were unleashed. On September 14th a FedEx truck arrived at Chez Salsburg delivering a large box. Curiosity peaked and I diligently cut into the cardboard and pulled out its contents: a singular blue hoodie and a note reading "I can't live, if living is without you. Sincerely MZ."

Sure, my first thought was, do you think this person is quoting the Badfinger or Mariah Carey version? And, which one makes me feel most uncomfortable? And, why are there ketchup stains on this sweatshirt?

Back to the note - it had an email address and phone number both marked CONFIDENTIAL. Upon dialing a voice picked up the other end before it even rang and said, "Greg is that you? Please come back. I can change."

I attempted to explain myself, while fawning excitement that I was speaking to an entrepreneurial behemoth. Not to mention the last and only reason Jessie Eisenberg will be relevant. He insisted I be flown to Menlo Park, CA to meet face to face, I succumbed.

35,000 feet in the air and somewhere over Dubuque, I checked my emails. One marked urgent caught my eye. Subject: Brewskies with the Ruskies. It went on to read: Greg, as you know we subscribed to your blog after reading about it on Techcrunch. Obviously we hate Facebook too and MZ’s fashion choices make us sick. Our new system Google+ is doing well but we can use your input. Let's bring you to Mountain View, we promise to make it worth your while. Peace, Sergey and Larry.

Look, I've signed so many confidentiality agreements I am not sure I still even own my children. However, I do know that I cannot reveal what took place in those meetings but it was even better than you're thinking. (I may need to lawyer up just for sharing the above.)

With that said, by now you have probably read about the alterations that were unveiled the past few weeks at these companies respectfully. They're not perfect. Change is not a destination, it takes time, and although I'm still not picking sides as of yet I think progress is being made.

As your weekly fearless leader I will continue to defend us all. There is no challenge too great for me to tackle upon your behalf. That is, if I can get my newfound entourage to bring me a painkiller for this massive Champagne hangover.

Greg

Gregory Salsburg
CEO/The Big STIR
STIR-Communications
Miami | New York | London
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