A Zenecist™ (my word) is someone who is “a light in the moment.” It’s also a soon-to-be retail and lifestyle hub, now in a soft opening as we ideate and source products.
My ‘second career’ after running a brand marketing and design agency the last 34 years, during the warmer months I’m a gardener locally on a part-time basis. I enjoy the work and offer essential gardening services from planning to planting to weeding, soil make-up/pH, and maintenance. I will have an exciting new offering in the kitchen-to-table table gardening space coming in early Fall. This system features a fully self-contained kitchen- or pantry-ready growing cabinet, now the rage in Europe.
Currently ZENECIST has two year-round components.
ZENECIST™ | High-Level. Laid-Back. Lifestyle.™ is an online retail business now under construction. Initially we’ll be testing products and different categories on an eBay store. As I learn, I’ll be building out the e-Comm module of this site, with a planned Grand Opening of ZENECIST™ online shopping scheduled for late 2024.
My goal with ZENECIST is to do some good, live an active lifestyle, and have some fun. Your insight, comments, and help are welcome as ZENECIST builds out. Add a comment to a blog post or go here.
Cheers! T –
PS: I also run my current Apple Music playlists in the sidebar: Spring, Summer, Fall & Winter (not an affiliate) for your perusal and amusement, and mine too.
Tom Lanen (aka: me, the guy on the right in the chill Maui Jim’s tailgating with new pals before a concert early summer 2022), the principal of Thomas Marketing Services Corporation, is a man on a mission. You see, at age 70 I’ve seen and experienced the overt trappings of agism in every aspect of my life, personal to professional. It happens daily. And it is ugly.
Here’s the thing: the isn’t a chance in the world that agism can be wiped out. But, and it’s a big one, it can be mitigated in large part, with just a little mindful effort. How? Try adding just a little style to your daily regime.
A couple years ago I starting devising what I call The Deflector™ Postulate. Simply stated, as older adults there’s nothing we can do about the effects of aging on our bodies; but we can defect the attention from our wrinkles by adding just one or two style elements to our wardrobes.
I’m determined: I never want to be that old fuck that gets out of his car at Target, polo shirt tucked into his cargo shorts, tube socks up to his knees, old man style kicks and a $12 haircut. Yeah, we get it: your wife dressed you. But dude, you’re perpetuating the senior stereotype. And it just infuriates me.
The Art of Style & Well-Being for Men of Age™
Deflector, a business unit of TMSC hosted at Medium.com, is all about mitigating the aspects of agism that confine or restrict the opportunities available to men of age, from employment to fun. And of course, agism is prejudice so ingrained in us all (including me) that it will never be eliminated in our daily lives; and I’ve found any attempts to do so are just a waste of good energy.
My rebooted publication about well-being, style and quality of life for men of age … and those who love them.
Rather than fight agism, I’ve chosen to coexist with it. It’s actually a remarkably simple thing to do. Inside of railing against the travails of agism, I’ve begun to expend my energy on a little bit of contemporary fashion style, one of my life-long interests, that makes me happy. Because it’s just no fun being an angry old man; I’ve tried it now and again and it always sucks – for everybody.
I call my sense of style “David Bowie Conservative.” An oxymoron you say? Not at all. Just an ideal in my head that mixes some classic style elements, such a plain baggy linen pants with at least one or two accents points I buy that are a little louder than my fashion style might suggest … but in context are just right. More on this in a future story.
Where to start? Well, consider this: when you meet somebody they look at your Face, Feet/Shoes and your hands – in that order. So OK, you have some sun damage on your face – so what’s next? Your kicks (shoes for you old timers). Wear a pair of beat-up boat shoes or sneakers and “old” is the immediate emotion and classification..
But wear a pair of red Nike high-tops or even the classic Chuck Taylor Converse white hi-top sneakers – making sure the soles are bright white like new (Mr Clean Magic Sponges are miracle kick cleaners) – and your presence, and your image is completely different, both with those seeing you and within your own self-view.
I might not have ever guessed this until I starting making cool kicks part of my fashion protocol, but almost immediately I started getting the comment, ‘nice kicks man,’ from young folks I’m certain would have otherwise ignored me. It made me feel good, adding a satisfying level of contentment to my otherwise charmed life.
Of course many older adults will proclaim they don’t need or want the attention of younger people, to which I can only reply: you’re losing out on a lot of the joy young people can bring to your life. I was lucky: I had my kids late in life – my first at 40 and twins at 45 – and I get a daily dose of youthful exuberance from my 20-something sons that gladdens my heart. It’s not to be missed.
You Don’t Wear Out, You Rust Out
My dad used to say: you don’t wear out, you rust out. It’s just so true; as I look at some of my more sedentary peers, such as those content with sitting at a recent Earth Wind & Fire and Santana concert, they generally look like shit. Plus they miss a big part of the joy music offers.
But what to do if you are adverse to gym routines, yoga or pilates or whatever exercise happens to be all the rage? For me, it’s back deck, “sports corner” (where I have my big sound system) or standing desk dancing. Not that I can dance, but as an erstwhile dummer I do have rhythm. And I have one of those bodies that can’t not move when it hears the chants of today’s music.
My dad used to say “you don’t wear out, you rust out.” It’s so true.
One of Deflector’s feature columns is called Rustbuckets™, Meditation & Moving for Guys Who Hate The Gym.In no way is Rustbuckets a place to come to learn to dance. What it is a destination, a focal point, to work out your day-to-day crazinesses in an environment of joy.
No, your web camera is not on and I couldn’t care, even a little, how you dance or if you’re wearing yoga pants with a beat-up top. I just care you dance, however you dance. And our musical selections may even introduce you to some great tunes & musical genres you might not otherwise have found.
Though there’s also a good argument for walking too. And there’re many other ways to keep active; the key is to pick one you love and to do it with consistency.
It works. In fact, I’ve dropped almost 35 pounds from my Covid weight with some daily dancing and a little better attention to what and how much I eat, which is another Rustbucket topic we’ll touch upon. Too, a legit study reported in 2022 that when young boys see their dads dancing, they grow up to be less aggressive towards women or the LGBTQ+ community. So the benefits go beyond our immediate universe.
So check it out, and if you’re so inclined, subscribe to the feed. But only if you want to have some fun in your older adult years.
With the right attitude, anything is possible, even for older adults. I tell you, the love I received this summer at a concert venue to which my 20-something sons gave ol’ dad a season pass for his 70th birthday has been off the hooks. I’m now verging on concert 30 of the summer and living my best life. And you know, when a stylish 20-something woman yelled out “dude, you look f-ing awesome” replete with the modifying f-bomb at a recent Suicide Boys show, well, that’s exactly how I felt. I tell you, it was f-ing wonderful.
Coaching youth soccer was one of the most fun and most satisfying, albeit challenging dad things I did when my sons were young. Not that I knew what I was doing; I did not. I’d never played it as a youth, and in fact my only connections to the game came from a Danish soccer team wear client I had during the 1994 World Cup in the USA; and through osmosis from my creative partner, an Irish National designer, who lived and breathed the game.
But knowing all out enthusiasm had carried me through many challenges about which I knew nothing, I accepted several coaching roles for all my sons, and my teams always seemed to enjoy the game, as did I.
My biggest challenge came when I picked up a H-14 youth soccer team the final year my oldest son played.
I’d been warned by the league coordinator when I took on the team: two of the guys on the team had given their coaches mass quantities of grief throughout their youth soccer career.
Now 14-years old, both had fallen right on the cusp of the singular toughest team to make in our schools: the 19-person Middle School 8th grade boys team. And I could see from how they both stood aside they felt they didn’t belong to my gang.
Frankly I was concerned, unconvinced they’d play well with others or even bother to play to their athletic levels. But after watching them, I could see they both had skills. And smarts.
Fact too was I liked them both. Maybe it was they reminded me of me. And knowing what I’d respond to at that age (or even now) gave me an idea.
So, at the start of our second practice I pulled each aside, and after asking them what they thought about the team, and listening to their answers, had one thought for each of them:
“Jay/Miguel, as coach I’m seeing some real possibility in you: I’d like you (and the other) to step up and take a leadership role in the team, and help me out.”
Of course, they were both suspicious. But when I announced they would be the Co-Captains for the first 3 matches, their pride was palpable. Recognition is a wonderful rehabilitator of the spirit.
You know, they stepped up and got it done, both becoming the team’s high scorers and toughest defenders.
They also became remarkably tolerant with their less skilled teammates, and put a halt to any unkind taunts or put-downs not uncommon in middle school society.
And, when others were named single-game captains, they were still the team’s leaders; the guys looked up to them and emulated their play.
What I learned that season has carried over to my professional life as a strategy and brand marketing coach to this day. Because one of the first things I look for in my clients’ staffs are those willing to rock the boat. Hidden leaders. Though they’re not all that hard to spot: they aren’t angry as much as they are impatient, and may even seem a little discontent about their limited roles. And they are always just a little smarter than the average bear.
Of course, there are always neer-do-wells, the “entitled,” and those who are patently dishonest (or worse, liars); and they need to be isolated as soon as discovered. Nasty is nasty.
But given my baseline requirements for intelligence, honesty, and a sense of decency, I’ve most always found troublemakers take risk to heart; and who, given the opportunity, will take the ball and run.
Then again, ‘trouble’ is always in the eye of the beholder, a matter of degree. And you can be sure my guys gave the competition big trouble that season. No, we didn’t win the league, but it was as good a season as I had in my 8 seasons as a youth soccer coach.
Now 10 years later, Miguel has returned to his native land, but I still run into Jay now and then at the local grocery store; and he looks happy as he takes on the world — on his terms.
And when I see him he always pays me what I consider the supreme compliment. He calls out “hey Coach!”
That he thinks of me in this manner, well, I think of it as an annuity on my investment in my teams — one that’s paid me handsomely time and again.
To say nothing of the impact these troublemakers have had on their friends, and peers.
A troublemaker from the word go, I’ve retired from youth soccer coaching and have gratefully taken to watching Premier League football, happy to let others have some good dad fun every weekend morning.
I’ve just completed my first significant assignment solely as a strategy and brand coach, versus the full-service ad agency guy I’ve been throughout my career. When I took the assignment, I expected it to be routine: the charge was to help re-establish a mid-technology B2B brand, and the beginnings of a marketing program — right in my wheelhouse. But, while one of my primary goals was to encourage the client’s staff to take over content and social media creation, I expected resistance, and thought I’d still have to be part of the tactical team.
Then I met the young stakeholders of this Austrian mid-technology business. And when they understood their new charge, they stepped-up and took full ownership of the brand. I was delighted.
You see, much like my college-age twins, they did so with a knowing light in their eyes – the “faces with a view” songwriter David Byrne once described – giving me great hope for both their professional careers, and for the people whose lives they will touch.
The emotion was more than I’d envisioned as I’ve formulated my strategy to evolve into a coach over the past few months. But they didn’t need me to tell them how to characterize their brand any more than my sons need me to tell them how to live their lives.
They just wanted a few hints about its structure; and license to go at it their way. Excellent.
All Lines In The Water
I was most struck by their instinctive understanding their brand was about truth, and not some epic myth we advertising folk used to invent. Though I think it helped their new CEO, a brilliant Austrian technologist and who’d also taken the CMO reigns, had very focused and transparent business goals he’d begun to share across the organization.
Faced with aggressive owner expectations for sales and revenue growth, he was convinced his strategic concept of “active fishing” could make the cash register ring more consistently. His approach suggested every contact every employee made – at work, and even their personal lives – was a possible customer, and they should be encouraged to benefit from all the business and brand offered.
My dad and I, circa 1981, back from a wonderful morning’s fishing outing on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, when all lines in the water, we both caught beautiful land-locked salmon.
My heart soared as I listened: it was not unlike a concept my dad, a sales engineer and manufacturer’s rep, had postulated and talked about during happy fishing outings in New Hampshire many years back. It was part of our legacy. And, with my decades of experience since, I recognized it wasn’t just a sales strategy, but an umbrella brand marketing strategy.
What he was asking was every single person on his staff become an active brand ambassador.
We can do that!
Osmosis Isn’t a Brand Development Strategy
Just one problem: the brand story was in disarray. Every person to whom I spoke had a different feeling and sense about the company, and its focus. This is quite common with going businesses; it’s easy for owners to think because they know the current and/or evolved business story everyone in the business should. It’s often not accurately reflected on websites either.
This typically happens when a brand’s strategic communications platform and position — a core foundational block — hasn’t been formally or recently articulated. As such it can’t be scaled throughout the organization, much less executed against in its inbound and outbound marketing.
After long discussion, including an introduction into current best practices including marketing automation, and content and social media marketing, I agreed with the CEO/CMO’s assessment: its marketing and sales teams needed branded “quality bait.” And only brand stakeholders could determine what that meant.
Much to his credit, the last thing he wanted was for me to ‘create’ it. He’d already given that a go with other agencies, and had neither the budget or patience for it. Nor did I.
During a week of meetings in Austria, I helped lead the company’s best and brightest construct the elements of their core brand – not just the “what,” but the “why” – using oversized post-it notes with considered contributions teams had created in a moderated workshop format.
As they did, and it all started to take shape, I enjoyed one of the biggest thrills of my multi-decade career. You see, I was experiencing the (re)birth of a pure brand, one representing the exact sensibilities of its owners. Brilliant!
Part of my interest was how the brand lexicon was evolving from what I viewed as a rather obtuse brand design system to language-based understanding; and addressed technical and non-technical audiences without loss of technical context.
Importantly too, the team also recognized and addressed how each linguistic bite translated into core understanding – mutually agreed upon translations – as it affected its markets and cultures, European, American and Asian.
In short, when the workshops concluded all participants were armed with the first vestiges of a defined and agile brand story to take back to their teammates. Everyone could talk to the same brand regardless of where they lived; a baited hook they could cast at will.
“(Beyond marketing materials) you build (brand) equity every day with every little decision you make along the way, which sounds simple and easy. But if you are growing, how do you continuously protect and preserve and strengthen the brand when more and more people get involved? That’s where brand becomes culture.”
These young leaders redefined their brand to address current day technology and marketing dynamics as they see it. It became their brand as it is, and can be. Not just some brand as it could be.
And that’s how it should be. Because today marketing is not about creating a myth and selling it; but about finding a truth and sharing it. And about creating a brand customers want to find, and make part of their own personal and professional brands.
A Living, Agile Entity
It would be simplistic to suggest the client team fully formulated its brand within a scant few meetings or they’ll even take it any further now the meetings are over.
Or, that their definitions will remain intact, which can be a good thing, given my sense today’s brands should be agile and allowed – even required – to evolve with changing attitudes and technologies.
But, while visual design systems will remain a constant to brand identity (and a love of mine), today it’s more about how a brand engages people on every possible level, inside and outside of the business.
It’s about building upon the core emotional dynamics of a brand, of being real, as tactics to add value and understanding; and to help the business qualify for brand value premiums because their goods are perceived worthy.
Importantly, it’s about having a brand baseline upon which everyone on the company team can build an ongoing sense of their own brands and purpose in their lives; something to which they can belong while building self-esteem, and their paths to success.
It’s all so exciting – even if I’m not creating it all as my agency-guy ego might once have demanded.
But then again, my brand has had yet another defining moment too.
Tom Lanen is the principal of Thomas Marketing Services Corporation, an erstwhile full-service advertising and digital marketing agency he founded in ‘89, now a strategy and brand coaching consultancy. He truly enjoyed the people, and the lusciously rich coffee and desserts for which Austria is known; though is less convinced of its many permutations of wiener schnitzel.
His marketing in-service program, Fishing Where The Fish Are Today™, is designed for business owners and brand stakeholders in small businesses who seek a better brand and marketing process as a strategy to hit their numbers. Tom can be reached at +1 508- 951-0130 or at [email protected]
