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<title>Jan Kelley Marketing Blog - Stew Farago</title>
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<pubDate>Sat, 19 May 2012 18:35:08 -0400</pubDate>
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<title>What if what if</title>
<link>http://www.jankelley.comblog.php?blogId=133</link>
<pubDate>Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:12:01 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[In the late &lsquo;60s, I was one-sixth of a band out of St. Catharines, Ontario, called The Looking Glass. A few nights ago (Sunday, Feb. 6/11), I was one-fifth of the same band.
The reason we got together again after 42 years was because one of the original band members passed away last fall and his family and friends were organizing a tribute concert in his memory. They were hoping we would reunite for a one-off performance.
Here&rsquo;s the thing &ndash; as much as I liked the idea, I was terrified. I haven&rsquo;t performed in decades and the thought of doing it sent my fear-of-failure meter through the roof.&nbsp;
"What if my playing wasn&rsquo;t good enough anymore? What if my voice couldn&rsquo;t cut it? What if I forgot lyrics?&nbsp;What if&hellip; what if..."
And then I realized that I was doing exactly what I have spent so much of my life urging clients not to do &ndash; I was saying, &ldquo;Great idea, but there's definitely risk involved. Not sure I want to take the chance.&rdquo;&nbsp;
What?!
A special opportunity was staring me in the face and out of fear I was ready to shut the door on it. What&nbsp;the hell was I thinking?
The five of us finally got together in early January for our first of three rehearsals. Two hours into it we still hadn&rsquo;t played a song because we were too busy drinking from the deep well of memories. That in itself made my decision worthwhile.
So how did the concert go?&nbsp;Better than any of us were expecting. It was a blast.&nbsp;
The crowd had a great time and so did we. Our performance wasn&rsquo;t perfect, but the night was never meant to be about perfection as far as we were concerned. It was about remembering a good friend and reliving the music that defined who we were &ldquo;back in the day&rdquo;.
For me, it was also about reminding myself of what fear is so good at depriving us of &ndash; that adrenalin rush that comes from taking a chance. Putting yourself out there on the edge. Going for it.
Let's face it, that's when we feel most alive. The heart beats faster, the breaths are shorter and the nerves tingle. The game &ndash; whether personal or business &ndash; becomes a lot more exciting.
A 1971 song by Crowbar sums it up perfectly, &ldquo;Oh, what a feeling!&rdquo; And to think I almost passed up experiencing it because of "What if... what if..."
Fight the fear and take a chance. It'll do you good.
More brands should try it, too.
Note: Here are two unfinished tracks from a never-released album we began recording in New York in 1968. They&rsquo;ve been transferred to digital from a 42-year old two-track stereo tape we found in my basement, so please pardon the odd &ldquo;wrinkle&rdquo; in sound quality.&nbsp;]]></description>
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<author>sfarago@jankelley.com (StewFarago)</author>
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<title>And so it goes when you work with good talent</title>
<link>http://www.jankelley.comblog.php?blogId=59</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:02:52 -0400</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[&ldquo;Instead of a piano, let&rsquo;s try an accordion,&rdquo; says Clive.
Love it.
&ldquo;And it&rsquo;s not a pub band without a guitar player who&rsquo;s always tuning,&rdquo; adds Reg.
We laugh.
&ldquo;Yeah, and it&rsquo;s always to House of the Rising Sun,&rdquo; shouts Clive.
We laugh even harder.
&nbsp;
That&rsquo;s how it was putting together our new radio campaign for Firkin Pubs that officially hits the air June 14. It was a blast. And we&rsquo;re pretty pumped about it because the campaign features something brand new for Firkin &ndash; a pub anthem. It&rsquo;s a great device for radio and we think it has the potential to be very &ldquo;sticky&rsquo; (memorable) and a lot of fun.
In addition to the anthem, this campaign also pairs Clive (the iconic British voice of Firkin Pubs) with a likeable new character named Reg.
In real life, these two guys have been creative comrades for decades, and believe me you can tell the instant they start to perform. Playing off each other. Experimenting with their characters. Sharing. Pushing. Joking. Constantly mining for humour, yet always mindful of Firkin&rsquo;s &lsquo;business&rsquo; needs.
Which brings me to the real subject of this blog entry &ndash; good talent.
I love working with good talent &ndash; people who are true professionals. One obvious reason is because real pros tend to be better than most at what they do, so they&rsquo;re quick studies. But what really sets them apart as far as I&rsquo;m concerned is that they also have the confidence to speak honestly and a level of integrity that drives them to challenge themselves and all those around them to raise the bar, so you end up with a superior finished product.
Clive is a perfect example. Every time we&rsquo;ve gone into the studio to record over the past 10 years we&rsquo;ve come out with something a little different &ndash; and a little better &ndash; than what was originally on the script. Why, because we&rsquo;ve always welcomed Clive&rsquo;s creative input and he&rsquo;s generously given it.
My point is, there&rsquo;s talent and then there&rsquo;s good talent. Go for good talent whenever you can, it&rsquo;s always money well spent. And if you can bring yourself to lighten your grip on the reins and give good talent the freedom to run a little, you'll end up getting even more than you paid for.
&ldquo;What if my character is one of those guys who has to sweep into a song when he sings,&rdquo; suggests Reg. &ldquo;You know, every verse starts with a big glissando... Ooohhhh, when we&rsquo;re out on the town&hellip; know what I mean?&rdquo;
And so it goes when you work with good talent. I hope you like the campaign.]]></description>
<author>sfarago@jankelley.com (StewFarago)</author>
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<title>Formula for Effective Communication</title>
<link>http://www.jankelley.comblog.php?blogId=26</link>
<pubDate>Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:11:21 -0400</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Communication is a powerful thing. It can be a potent healer or the  most hurtful of weapons. A maker of success or a propellent of failure.  In the right hands it can save our world and in the wrong hands destroy  it.
Whether you believe communicating in today's world is more science  than art or vice versa, let me share what I believe is a formula for doing it effectively &ndash; in a positive,  motivating way, that is.
First of all, be relevant. Consider who it is you're  speaking to and what things or values are important to them. If you  don't make a connection on this level, you won't have a person's  attention on any level for very long.
Next, be honest. Be yourself and say what you want  to say truthfully. I don't know about you, but I don't have much time  for people I don't trust, and nothing is more critical to earning trust  than honesty (a.k.a. genuineness).
Lastly, be interesting. Reward their attention by  making the experience enjoyable and entertaining. Great storytellers do  more than just fill our heads with information, they fill our imaginations with  emotion &ndash; bringing ideas, characters and situations to life through  words, pictures and sounds.
Be relevant. Be honest. Be interesting.
On second thought, it isn't  really a formula at all. It's just courtesy and common sense.
]]></description>
<author>sfarago@jankelley.com (StewFarago)</author>
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