Today however I woke up with a new feeling, a reminder. A reminder that thoughts are not good enough in a world where actions speak the loudest and the most broken brands and industries are screaming most of all.

This morning, two of my mentors (I hope they’ll forgive me for naming them such) published two separate blog posts. The first by Jonathan MacDonald goaded apprehensive thinkers who accept second best in business and in life. The second by his partner in crime Liri Andersson discussed the diminishing position of ‘values’ in branding’.

Both were typical blog posts but like that random horoscope that catches up with truth (when you read them often enough), this morning both of these posts hit the nail on the head. Stating to me, and reminding me of the exact two things I really needed to hear.

When I was in college I read Naomi Klein’s No Logo (a book that this week I’m reading again). Since secondary school I’d been fascinated with branding and fascinated by the tricks and punches pulled by the likes of Coke, Starbucks, Nike and Wal-Mart. How they dedicated so much time and money to buffing and polishing their brands with marketing dollars so that thy could shine so brightly for us. Reading Naomi Klein was not a revelation, but a wake up call. A validation. There is not much good in shine if underneath the sprinkling of gold lay things that are decayed and rotten.

From then my interest in branding increased. Multiplied and intensified. Maturing through university and into life as an obsession that I can’t shake. I craved to get under the skin of these organisations, get a look into the cavity below and see which parts of the spectacle were real. How innocent were Innocent, how supportive was Macmillan…I wanted to see and experience and understand the parts that shone truthfully from inside and which parts where layered on to disguise.

Despite my want though, that hasn’t happened. That wasn’t on the cards. And with layers of “unfortunately” letters blocking my through road I took some decisions which led me into the back room to stand with thoughts and coffee.

But here I am at 23 – riding lazily on the coat tails of two mentors, doing the work but not stepping out – until reading two blog posts this morning and putting my coffee down.

It’s time. I know it. Time to step up and pursue my dreams down different avenues, chase down different streets. It is no longer the time wait nor the place to wonder.

I know that now. And for that, I’m saying thank you!

http://apps.asterisq.com/mentionmap/#

But this morning the text is different. I have no appointment, no hair related traumas. This text message, cleverly sneaked in on the premise of permission, invites me to the launch of a brand new business . A Bar and Grill to be precise. Apparently hoping to tap in to the vast database of clients they’ve made through hairdressing….?

This example is at the mildest tip of what can happen in permissionless mobile marketing. So what that they’re offering a free drink ;D, that it’s local, that I sort of know the owners. The fact that my permission was never given, that I was not asked to opt in (but may now have to go to the hassle of opting out) and that I certainly wasn’t asked if I’d like my details passed on to third parties (no matter how closely related they are).

The problem with permissionless marketing is that between the lack of ‘permission’ :*), the lack of targeting, the lack of ‘knowing if these messages are being received in good spirit’, the lack of ‘knowing which messages someone wants to receive’ and which they do not, the lack of ‘knowing wether someone who likes getting their hair done would like dining at a bar and grill’ and the lack of many many other things….the whole practice can soon become slightly missionless.

I’m not condemning my hairdressers just yet, but their method of collecting and then their use of their database throws questions up in the air. From small local business to large corporations, if the whole process of mobile marketing (from gaining permission to sending the right messages) is not handled with care  it may not be long before disgruntled mobile users cotton on, and start opting out with fake phone numbers the way many do with mail.

Being in India for only 5 weeks, it seems that I have barely skimmed the top of the deep and turbulent world of the sub continent.  Its contradictions stand bold in stark relief but the reasons for them, the history, the sense and the explanations still sit below the surface.

This week, we went to Jacob’s Well, the fair trade venture of a charity called Oasis India, who charge themselves with protecting the vulnerable and repressed women caught in the web of India’s dark underworld. Whilst the day was, in all, very positive it was the stories of child prostitution, of slavery, of human trafficking and torture that stayed with me. They jarred against the bright beauty of India, the smiles of its children and the curious stares of it’s adults. Against the rich heritage, the religious  loyalty, the family values, entrepreneurship, energy, vigor and life.

It was strange to think that alongside the day-to-day life that we believed we had witnessed, watched or even experience in India, dark and evil industries lurked round every corner and touched almost every stone. Human trafficking is the second largest illegal market in the world, and in India the problem runs deeper than dirt. We’ve seen the poverty in India, seen the begging and the need but I’d realised less the exploitation or atleast its extent. That the homeless women carrying babies are controlled by pimps, the girls dancing on the beach are bought and sold, the school aged children in Goa are brought in for western men……I can’t speak for Katherine, but for me it was heartbreaking to realise, in our last week of adoring India, that beside the beauty, on top of the wonder and underneath the awe of India (viewed easily along the well-worn tourist track), there was an ugly and devastating world that tourism (atleast in part) helps to feed and prosper. I think a lot now of one girl that we heard about. I’ll pray for her forever.

But we’re not ending on a low note. The last few days moving between Mysore, Bangalore and Mamallapuram have been packed with happy highs. Scaling the wall of a priest’s house to catch an early train, cycling through tiny village streets, watching a men catching fish on the shore, meeting more locals, drowning a flea, buying more STUFF!! and gearing up for travel!

India truly has been good to us. I hope most definitely to visit again. But for now, Mother India…I thank you. x

In preparation for my uncoming trip, I’ve bought a camera and went online to find the best deal. So preoccupied, I was, with finding the best camera and reading those reviews that I forgot altogether to check reviews on the seller.

So now, 3 days after placing my order through Camera Box, it only just occured to me to take a look. And now I’m scared.

Bad reviews are an understatement I’d say, loathing prehaps still.

“Do not use this seller at any cost” – is amongst the first of the results from Google. Now I’m really scared.

But alas, I’ll wait until the 3rd, when the delivery is expected. And then I’ll really panic.

Cardinal rule number 1: always read the reviews.

Google is dedicated, it shows, to making my life easier. Making everything as simple as it should be, as fast, as efficient, as fun! It’s a shame I wouldn’t be around when they drop their unlocked Nexus, but when I return they’ll have a customer in me!

I really do heart Google, and secretly…I think they feel the same.

When in one week you feel true hate and true love for the same thing, it’s hard to reconcile your true attitude towards it. This is dangerous in the world of branding, where customer attitude can be swayed with just one wrong move.

This week, in a bid to get my travel security sorted, I’ve had multiple contacts with my bank; online, on the high street and on the phone. At each touch point, my attitude has been blindingly different, like visiting a manic depressant friend. I had dodgy salesmen, trusted advisors, amazing convenience, crippling frustration, added value and a distinct lack of it, all tied under the same branded banner.

This lack of consistency is dangerous I think, because I for one always like to know where I stand. And when my bank whispers words of helpful banking through my telescreen and splashes it across all branches I would hope, at least, that it is help that I will always get.

And here lies the distrust, the actions versus words..brand messages versus brand behaviour. It’s true that the parts that didn’t work for me where largely at the hands of ‘real people’ more challenging to monitor, train and ‘control’ but in all organisations they are part and parcel of your brand. They are the front, the picture, the reality of what attitude people will take home. As much as (no! more than) the colour of your stores, your customer reward scheme, your competitions, marketing campaign, brand new website or online advice service.

So before calling the ad agency, the PR team, the spin doctor or the modeling agency who supplies you with the ‘face’ of your brand,  first look at your total package and figure out how to make ‘that message’ shine to the world, truthfully, from within!