Different not better

It was a big story back in January. Chevrolet moved its car advertising from Campbell-Ewald to Publicis.

The campaign featuring Howie Long (not my favorite) was dropped for one described by Publicis Chief Creative Officer Bob Moore as using "very human, intimate, family moments--those that often happen in the enclosed environment of the family car--to capture the spirit of the Chevy."

Here's the problem. Those little moments are completely invisible and unmemorable. Chevrolet sponsored Glee last night running multiple ads and I honestly can't remember one of them. (Yes, I actually watched that show. Don't ask me why.).

Sales don't seem to be responding incredibly well either. In March GM's car sales were up 5%, while Ford's car sales were up 52%. Toyota, even with all its troubles, saw sales increase 29%.

Chevrolet changed advertising agencies and all they got was a different campaign, one that doesn't seem to be working.

What they really need is a new approach to marketing.

The age of alignment

Planning is a monumental waste of time.

Every year thousands of executives and managers spend millions of hours developing plans that are scuttled the minute a competitor offers a rebate, a new technology emerges, or the CEO reads a best-selling management book.

Rather than developing detailed plans, spend time defining your company's vision, mission, values, goals and objectives – those things aren't (or at least shouldn't be) subject to the vagaries of the daily business page – then communicate them with every member of your team to ensure they're in alignment.

If your team truly understands your mission, values and goals, they can act within their areas of expertise to do the right thing when new challenges and opportunities present themselves.

By not hamstringing people with a list of tasks and timelines, while holding them to specific measurable goals, you're allowing employees to initiate action and take a deeper level of ownership in their jobs and the company. You'll create more commitment, more satisfaction and a nimbler workplace that can rise to meet challenges in a moment's notice.

It all starts with knowing what you stand for. And making sure everyone else knows it, too.

Are you engaged or just dating?

Nielsen has released a report measuring what it calls "Fourth Screen" viewership. This is all those people watching TVs at places like health clubs, elevators and gas stations. While it's important to know how many people are watching at those places, it would seem silly to treat them all the same way.

Context is as important as content. How engaged is a viewer who's running late for a meeting, pumping gas while talking on the phone and reaching for his wallet? My guess; not very.

I don't really care how many people are watching. I want to know if the right people are watching and how engaged they are. It would seem that viewers who make a conscious effort to turn on the screen, whether it's a TV, computer or mobile device, and dial in a program would be more engaged than someone who stumbled across one.

There's too much accidental advertising out there. Stuff placed in hopes I'll come across it and buy something. I really don't have time for it. Tell me something relevant in an interesting manner at a time that I'm receptive and you'll probably be successful. Otherwise it's just background noise.

And if you really, really want me to watch your message at the pump, take a few cents off a gallon of gas as a reward. That just might get my attention.