Part 2 of a 3 part series on visiting Nigeria.
Andrew, part my bodyguard, part my cinematographer and part photographer and I flew Delta Airlines. Fortunately we got to fly business class and it was a great experience. In fact, the Delta service team was one of the best ever on the way to Nigeria. On the way back was another story, which I promise I will write about in the next few weeks.  The food was excellent too. It was just a little weird dining at midnight, right before you popped an Ambient sleeping pill.

Delta to Nigeria

Our plane arrived 11 hours later about 3 PM Nigerian time. We were greeted by our government assigned, armored, traveling security team with big AK47’s. From there we plowed through at least a million cars and saw miles of poverty en route to our hotel on the island of Victoria. This is a sad sight considering the amount of oil money that comes from this country. It does seem like there should be a better outcome.

City scape in Lagos

The ride was intense and not without fear. The driver had two speeds: super fast and stop. I honestly thought this was one of my last trips on earth.

Scary car ride on way to hotel

One hour later, we arrived at the Ecko Hotel. The hotel was comparable to a lower end 3-star US hotel. Contemporary, it had some cool African art in the lobby, and was gated with several towers. Andrew and I were split up. In hindsight, I should have demanded this be corrected. Fortunately, our four days were safe and without incident.

African art in Lagos

The service was very good. The wine was divine. The food OK and interesting. Lots of plantains, which I like. But everything had an odd fishy flavor to it that I’m still trying to identify. I believe it’s the cooking oil. I’ve noticed this in other countries I’ve visited too.

Our rooms were comfortable, once you got past the constant horn blowing outside, the fact the internet moved like a drunk snail and the power completely turned off about every couple hours without notice. Apparently, this has to do with a power supply issue. We did get used to that, but it totally sucked when Andrew’s only power cable blew up from a surge. $200 later, a scarier cab ride, a tire blow out and some serious sweat, he was back in business.

During our stay, as long as we remained inside our compound, we felt safe, just on alert, as there were always several armed guards outside our windows at all times.  There was also a high degree of missing trust and crime related issues that were apparent. Below is the sign that greeted us upon check in? This is a shame because the country is filled with many more honest and trusting people, than the minority of bad folks who have tarnished the country’s image.

The first day there was a press conference at 10AM promoting the event. We were driven over and greeted by a roomful of 25 plus curious journalist, Internet, print and broadcast. Everyone was unbelievably friendly and warm. This calm tone changed dramatically at the event. The media at the event was like no paparazzi I’ve ever imagined, swarming like bees, hungry for up close photos of the Governor and the branding speaker, “moi” from the US. There were a couple times that I had big fears, not for my life or safety, but that my hair piece (curls) were definitely going to fly off.

Both days, everyone wanted to know how branding could help their country, leadership and ultimately the people the government served. I covered the highlights at the press conference and encouraged everyone to attend the event later that night.

I will cover this topic of government branding and post my presentation in my next blog post.

Until then, here are a few more lessons from African trip. Missed my first one?
1) Always pack two power cables for your computer if your work depends on power.
1.5) Pack legal pads, so when you don’t have Internet service, you can still write.
2) Save your earplugs from the flight, so the cab horns don’t keep you up all night.
3) When visiting another country and doing an event with 500 people, pack a box of business cards 500+.
4) Pack at least a dozen energy bars, in case you are not loving the food.
5) Pack super light, international airport travel will not be so stressful.
6) Don’t wear anything scented – hair product, lotion, nothing. Mosquitoes love the stuff. You don’t want them sucking your blood and giving you a serious disease.

I love oxymorons. I find their mix of contrast, clarifying. Here’s my favorite big little list.

I also have a love-hate relationship with waiting things.

I’m in New York City and while I love this city, the waiting for most things, I hate. It grades on my patience account.

Since I’ve been here, I’ve waited a lot, for my luggage, to be seated, for my coat, for a cab, for an Internet connection, for a phone signal, for an appointment, for the hotel engineer, to get service and to even pay for what I wanted to buy.

On the back end of waiting for all of these things, fortunately came good rewards and benefits that I did in fact want and desire. So I suppose it was worth the wait.

I don’t think I’m alone with this down opinion of waiting. Unless I was waiting for a call from the IRS for an audit, or a my one way ticket off the earth, then waiting is looking better.

In our society we as consumers are conditioned to get lots of things fast, some even immediately. I like that. Because I’m really not a patient person, even though I do wait patiently. Verses the screaming guy or gal who looses it after 30 seconds of waiting.

Technology is responsible for this speed of delivery, until you are put on hold for technical support, which is a nightmare even if it’s during the day.

It seems like with all this waiting, there should be some opportunities here too. It’s likely your competition is not even thinking about this stuff, because they are waiting for other stuff.

Here are ideas you don’t need to wait to do.

• If your customers have to wait, why not make it a fun experience, entertain them, teach them something.
• If your customers have to wait, why not pamper them in some way. A soothing environment small treat goes a long way to shorten the reality of waiting time.
• If your customers have to wait, provide something that engages them to participate in your brand experience. This can be accomplished with media, sensory elements or human conversation.

Watching paint dry is never fun. Watching a masterpiece being created by an artist is amazing.

Also, don’t forget to check out: Make vacation communication a day at the beach.

Last week I was in an elegant, Italian restaurant in Jeddah, Saudi with my speaking colleague, Dr. Jim Balasco. Every inch of the place was opulent, sophisticated and refined. The food presentation was a master piece and the flavors were beyond my highest expectations.

Shortly after the food arrived, the waiter returned with a gigantic pepper mill. The largest one I’ve ever seen. It was very over the top, unexpected and fun. A small touch of hugeness, an element of solid magnitude and a story that I’ve shared with at least 20 people since that night.

Years ago, I first discovered a company that specializes in big stuff. And I’m happy to report they are still delivering big stuff and their offering has gotten much bigger.

There’s a lot to be said about big things. Remember Tom Hanks in the movie big, how could you forget it. It was a bit hit.

Big stuff some is more stick-to-your-memory than small items. Sometimes big reflects a persona of confidence, sometimes even a mammoth kind of goofiness, but it’s always a memorable image.

Is there anything you can pump up in size in your brand experience? Consider these applications to increase your big brand memory effect.

1) What about when you mail a prospect and it’s packaged in a very big way?
2) Or something that you display at a trade show booth that really stands out from all the boring exhibits?
3) Why not something big in your retail shop that people want to be photographed next to?
4) What about a PR photo visual that is really super-sized? Tie in a holiday and create something enormous and then break a Guninness world record too. Like Charlie Sheen has done. To date he has earned being the highest paid actor for a sitcom, attracted the most twitter followers in faster time and I suppose biggest pathetic guy.

For more on branding, view: Brand makeovers can add new life to a business.

Standout brands are distinct, memorable and own their turf. Think about Target (hip, cool and great design), Alfec (the duck icon), and Lady GaGa (outrageous style, no borders behavior).

They didn’t copy the pack, they lead it with a set of unique attributes. If you want to break through a clutter of the same old boring stuff that 95% of your competition are doing, then be original, odd and offbeat. And avoid these 5 costly mistakes.

1) Don’t use other people’s quotes in your marketing content and social media. Create your own original quotes, ideas, opinions and and insight.

2) Don’t use the same colors and graphic styles that are everywhere in your industry. Break the rules. And then rule your category.

3) Don’t use the same tired copy points and words that your competition uses. Tell memorable stories and create your own words that are unique and belong to you.

4) Don’t use, over used stock images and photos that everyone and their uncle has used since 1982. Find compelling pics, try adding treatments to them with cropping, borders, colors and filters. Or take your own.

5) Don’t expect everyone to love your distinction. Change or an unusual approached often get resisted early in the game. How may people loved Google when it first launched?

When you find your solid path of brand distinction and stick to it, your marketing dollars will have more power to help build a strong and sustainable brand.

Also check out: The 3 A’s of an awesome brand name.

Friday evening I went to the opera in St. Petersburg, Florida at The Palladium. The Palladium is a gem, full of charm and historic architecture. The theater was built in 1925 as a church and later transformed into a community performing arts venue now run by the St. Petersburg College.

The opera was Verdi Rigoletto, a story of love, passion, betrayal, revenge and tragedy.

I love opera. It’s so intense. The majestic voices, the opulent costumes, the suspenseful drama, the entire experience is artistic and emotional.

The Palladium, compared to other rooms I’ve been to, is very small for an opera. Yet the characters and the behind the scenes team delivered the same incredible rush of entertainment value as the big opera houses in New York, London and Houston.

The evening and performance exceeded my expectations by 10 fold.  The cast and orchestra had the talent which is certainly vital part of the experience, but supporting their theater and musical skills was a well executed package of equally as dramatic and very scaled-up visual components.

Scaled-up is important strategy beyond an operatic performance. It applies to brands, our stories and the experience we all deliver to our buyers.

Here’s how the production of Rigoletto did it, creating a moving, memorable experience that will be treasured for a long time with the audience.

• They used the full space (left to right, top to bottom) to project massive black and white images behind the stage. They were big and bold and transformed the mood of the room instantly.
• The costumes were also scaled-up, exaggerated and all toned in a consistent palate of black and white with a splash of subliminal blood red preceding the tragic ending.
• The scenery was also scaled-up, over-sized and poignant. And of course, the volume and magnitude of their voices was thundering even in the most peaceful scenes.

Think about how you can scale-up some elements in your experience to make a grander impact and more lasting memories. These ideas can work in office lobbies, retail and hospitality businesses.

1) Enlarge your wall graphic communications.
Dinky art or framed publicity on big walls, often says small potato. Big impressions can imply confidence and that success lives here.

2) Add a high tech aspect to your messaging.
Projected images can be applied to entry ways, ceiling and floors. Incorporating technology can say innovation, creative thinkers, that’s us.

3) Introduce props to an environment and showcase them.
An over-sized product model, a character or even your logo – as a dimensional item can be a powerful aspect of the experience.

4) Garb your team with a strategic uniform or dress code.
Apple computer’s retail staffers all have a common look, that says: hip and creative, to a cosmetic company that sports hot pink lab coats to project a scientific/fashion image, to the Geek Squad’s special agent cool, nerd attire.

What’s your next act?

For more up-scale elements, view: The 5th element to a successful marketing mix.

It’s the new year and a good time to evaluate your brand. Join me and my friend Lisa Malloy, a business coach and host of “The Entrepreneur Corner” as we discuss: What branding is, Do you need it? and How do you do it?

Specific issues will include:
1. What does Branding your business mean?
2. Why is it so important?
3. Should your brand look identical on all of your marketing materials, i.e. website, blog, newsletters?
4. Examples of company branding?
5. How does one know if they have branded their business correctly?
6. At what stage in your business should you consider branding your business?
7. Is it expense to create your own brand?
8. Should you pay to have someone create your brand or should you create it on your own?

The 30 minute show can be accessed via http://webtalkradio.net/shows/the-entrepreneur-corner/ on the afternoon of January 10th.

Be sure to view the other part of this blog, here.

Also, check out: Is publicity worth the time and expense for a small business?

My good friend Jim Blasingale, fellow entrepreneur and host of The Small Business Advocate Radio show,  invited me back to his show this morning, Monday, at 7:00 AM Eastern time.

If you missed it, click below to listen to the two-part interview discussing:
1) Reinvention of you or your business for the new year
2) How small business branding is changing

Also check out Jim’s site. On the air since 1997 and the Internet since 1998, it’s packed with insight and multi-media content from some of the top business experts from around the country. Jim’s show is the world’s only weekday radio program dedicated to small businesses.

What will you do in this new decade to be more honest and authentic? Rebrand your business? Listen to the 1st half of the discussion.

Click below to hear the 2nd half of the discussion on the impact of business branding in the 21st century.

Being seen, talked about and featured in the media can certainly add to your brand buzz and success. This visibility can attract customers, superstar employees and even catch the eye of a choice joint venture partner. I’m a news and magazine junkie. I clip stuff daily that I find interesting, throw it in my cool ideas pile and then, over the thanksgiving, thought it was time to share with my fellow Oddpodz. So here are some of my favorite finds to help you increase your venture’s visibility.

1) Four wheels & style to burn.
How you can hit the road with a branded vehicle score publicity, create a tweet trail and always be on the move finding new customers.

2) Logos and license plates.
Many states are now offering custom branded auto plates to further brand your biz.

3) How to break a record and get in Guinness World Record Book.
Every week we see some company or person all over the news because they break a world record. The biggest something, the longest this, the first that, here’s how they do it.

4) Can guilt get you more customers and attention?
Think you need to shell out more product info or some financial reward to lure the non-believers? Think again. Get into their heads with a little old fashion guilt and they will follow.

5) Time sensitive, limited supply or an exclusive offer can be the ticket to a whole lot of buzz. Just ask any McRib junkie.
Every year it returns. That weird culinary pork and sauce thing called a McRib and then before you know it, it’s gone. This catch me while you can strategy has proven to be a big hit for the global burger joint. What can you offer your loyal customers with the same sense of urgency and maybe even a product tracker website for the truly addicted?

I sometimes twitch my eyes, baseballs and golf balls scare me, my spelling totally sucks and that I once lead a company down a toilet and lost a ton of money.

I recently opened a big speech with 5 pieces of self-deprecating information.

Crazy?
Nope. Self-deprecation and being honest about your list of imperfections can actually help build trust and credibility. It does not matter if you speak on stage, like me or not. You can use this strategy in a new biz presentations, recruiting a business partners and or team member.

Here’s how it worked.
1) It showed my audience that I’m willing to break rules and I’m not perfect. Prior to my flaw dump, the sponsor read my bio which is filled with great milestones. As I entered the stage, I threw out the question, “What’s up with all these speaker intros, as preachers of truth and messengers of real world best practices, and then all you here is half their story?”

2) This common ground served as a trust builder. Many in the group had some of the same flaws as I did. We connected.

3) This off the wall content added instant humor, which is often the key to message transfer with an audience, especially at 7:30 AM.

4) I flipped the most dramatic flaw (the business in the toilet one) into PROOF that, bouncing back is reachable, no matter how low your situation is and because of that unfortunate experience, I am 330% smarter. The audience knew my program content and knowledge was not academic BS, but true, authentic battlefield insight.

I was amazed at how many people came up to me afterwards and thanked my for my honesty and courage.

So what so wrong with you? And how can you make it work for you too?

Billboard marketing is something that just about everyone is familiar with, they line streets, busy intersections not to mention sports stadiums across the land. We can barely turn a corner without seeing some billboard advertising some product or company or promoting an event. The most popular method of billboard advertising is aimed at drivers thus the reason we see them on busy highways and streets and they can be useful , letting you know what’s up ahead or how far to the next hotel or restaurant and are aimed at allowing a driver to quickly view and grasp the message being broadcast. Anyone who has ever driven across the United States is familiar with billboards advertising truck stops, restaurants, motels and hotels. I recall seeing billboards advertising the “Waffle House” across several states and starting in Kansas seeing billboards for “Stuckeys” all the way to Philadelphia.

The history of billboards goes back thousands of years starting with the Egyptians who used a large tall stone obelisk to publicize laws and treaties. This was one of the first methods of broadcasting a message to a large audience. In 1436 Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press known as the Gutenberg press, and while this was a revolution in the production of books it also was the start of a technology that allowed and made it possible to cheaply disseminate information to the masses. This invention made it possible and led to the creation of the handbill, which was an advertisement intended for wide distribution. In early America we saw some of the first billboards as roadside advertising for local businesses. In 1835 Jared Bell starting printing posters for the circus and in New York is where the first large American poster was born and around the turn of the 20th century a national billboard advertising boom started with big advertisers mass producing billboards for the national market advertising everything from toothpaste to cigarettes to tequila, coca-cola, and Disneyland.  Modern billboards are still going strong and cost anywhere from $500 and up, depending on location, location, location.

Let’s fast forward to today and discuss a relatively new form of advertising which is Digital Billboards which is based on the traditional platform of billboard advertising using a digital format. While this is fairly new, some form of digital signage started being used in the 1970’s using in-store VCR’s and T.V.’s as a way to attract customers, but unlike modern digital signage this was always a closed circuit and prerecordedezinearticles.com.

Today digital billboards are popping up everywhere all over the country. Anyone who goes to Las Vegas for the weekend will see a myriad of digital billboards splattered across the Las Vegas Strip from the famous MGM Grand billboard to a smaller but very visible one at Circus Circus and of course anyone going to Times Square in New York has seen the giant digital billboard that encompasses that building.

There are hundreds of  digital billboards popping up in metropolitan areas all over the U.S. which pales in comparison to the hundreds of thousands of traditional billboards seen all over America, but these numbers are expected to grow and rapidly. So what is all the hullabaloo about? While digital is sexier and is the all dressed up ready to party version of billboard advertising, but from the advertiser’s perspective, what’s the difference? Does it really make a difference? The difference is they are backlit, easier to read, advertising can be changed frequently and on the fly and from the marketing companies perspective they can rotate through several clients ads instead of just one being there, so that each time a driver passes by they can potentially see a different ad. These billboards can rotate ads every few seconds and they can change the ad from miles away, and clients can change ads anytime, without having to wait a month for the redesign to be applied. Want to change the dates, or add a location? No problem, it will be changed this afternoon. Paul Meyers the CEO of Clear Channel says this technology is not limited to just large billboards, it can be applied to anywhere there is a flat surface such as buses, bus stops, taxi cabs, mall kiosks and more.

Okay so you want to cut to the chase, how much does it cost? The cost varies depending on the size and the location but the average cost is anywhere from $1200 to $10,000 a month. Is it worth it? Only time will tell but according to Magic Media Jimmy McAndrew within a few years all billboards will be digital.

Unfortunately the news on digital billboards is not all good; some cities are banning this new technology due to safety issues. In March, the city of Denver has outright banned them and other cities have temporarily suspended them pending a federal study on whether or not they distract drivers. In Los Angeles a one year moratorium was placed which was challenged in federal court by Liberty Media Corp. but U.S. District Judge Audrey B. Collins tentatively upheld the band for the time being.

The digital billboards are a distraction,” says Fred Wessels, an alderman in St. Louis, which just approved a one-year moratorium on new signs in that city.  “There’s no doubt in my mind that they are not a driving distraction,” says Bryan Parker, an executive vice president for Clear Channel Outdoor. So the jury is still out on the legal future of digital billboards… Stay tuned.

[Note from Karen Post- looking for outdoor advertising ideas and resources? check out the Outdoor Advertising Association of America. Got a great campaign worthy of billboard fame? Enter here. Also be aware that many companies will sell packages  or bundles of boards with very reduced rates.]

Campaign example in above was a silver Obie winner in 2010 winner in the food and restaurant category.  GREAT WORK!
Entry Group: Traditional Billboard Campaign, Agency: Cramer-Krasselt, Advertiser: Johnsonville Sausages, Brand: Johnsonville Sausages
Title of Work: “Blankville” Campaign, Executive Creative Director: Chris Jacobs, Creative Director: Brian Ganther, Art Director: Matt Herrmann, Copywriter: Brian Ganther, Photographer: Tim Turner, Getty Images