Question: Has your sales and marketing tactics changed radically over the past five years?  Not to over hype it, but the second half of this decade has brought changes in media consumption that rivals the introduction of the printing press and television.  You need to keep your customer’s behavior in mind when deciding which marketing and sales tactics to use in light of the dramatic changes.

Five years ago no one had yet heard of YouTube, Hulu, Face book or Twitter.  Reality TV now dominates the ratings as Andy Warhol’s prediction of instant fame actually came true.  Public Wi Fi is everywhere and Google is now a verb.  The new generation of smart phones would amaze James Bond.  DVRs  and IPODs have completely changed the concept of consuming and buying entertainment.  When it comes to content, the influence of bloggers in politics, sports and entertainment often drive the media narrative with the mainstream media chasing. 

Major newspapers like the Boston Globe are a dying business model.  Network TV viewership is at an all time low and the level of creativity is even lower – how many crime shows do we need?  Magazine are shrinking and trying to reinvent themselves like Newsweek, Playboy and Reader’s Digest.  The B2B trade press is migrating from print to online content, web casts and virtual trade shows.

Thanks to advances in technology, the balance of power has shifted from media to consumer and that changes everything for marketers.  Have you adjusted your marketing plans to take advantage of these changes or are you maintaining the status quo?

Here are ten burning questions you need to ask yourself now:

1. Are you conducting or finding research to understand how your customers are consuming media? 

2. Does this research tell you the information needs of your customers and prospects?

3. Are you still renting expensive ad space in print and TV with the majority your budget? 

4. Are your producing original content and owning your own media channel to create an interactive dialog with your customers?

5. Is your company using original content to become a trusted media brand?

6. Are you creating passion and communities among your customers?

7. Do you make an effort to balance your retention and acquisition efforts, or are you over investing in lead generation?

8. Do you have a defined social media strategy to engage with customers and prospects where they are spending more and more time?

9. Are you personally engaged with Linked In, Face Book and Twitter to find prospects and talk to your customers?

10. Do you have measurement metrics in place for all of your marketing and sales tactics?

Think about your honest answers to these questions and take stock of where you are with both your company and career.  It is easy for mid career professionals to write these changes off as a passing fad or “for kids”.  That is probably what they there thinking at the Boston Globe and Newsweek just a few years ago.  We are in the midst of big time changes across the spectrum of politics, economics and media consumption.  The companies that adopt swiftly will thrive over the next decade. 

During last few weeks I have noticed a ratcheting up of inbound direct mail (postal and email) coming to me from companies that I had bought from in the past.  It ranged from Lowes and the Sunglass Hut sending me $50 off coupons for purchases over $200 to Omaha Steaks and 1800 Flowers emailing me great deals for Mothers and Fathers Day. 

Marketing to current or past customers is always smart, but even smarter during a recession.  Acquiring new customers can be a very expensive but necessary operation.  When funds are tight nimble companies tweak the balance between retention and acquisition.  By mining your customer database you can target past customers who will be more receptive to your messages.  Keep in mind most consumers are cutting back and trying to spend wiser.  A good deal from a familiar voice can get them to open their wallets.  It is always easier to convince someone to buy again rather than for the first time. 

Customer retention is even more powerful when paired with content marketing to build stronger relationships with customers who will see you as a trusted information resource.  This content can take the shape of custom magazines or magalogs, newsletters or webcasts.  Even face to face events for current customers could deliver a solid return.

How are you balancing your acquisition and retention efforts?  Do your customers see you as a trusted source of information or just someone trying to sell them something?

A content rich custom media customer retention program may be your best bet during trying economic times.

In 2000, Al Gore received a half million more votes than George W. Bush for President, but it was not to be.  Talk about Karma - fast forward to today and W. is in his living room with the lowest approval rating in modern times and is still a punching bag for the media and comedians.  Meanwhile, Al Gore has added a Nobel Peace Prize, Oscar, Grammy and Emmy to his environmentally correct trophy case.  In case you didn’t know, Gore is also one of the founders of Current TV.  Description below:

Since its inception in 2005, Current TV has been the world’s leading peer-to-peer news and information network. Current is the only 24/7 cable and satellite television network and Internet site produced and programmed in collaboration with its audience. Current connects young adults with what is going on in their world, from their perspective, in their own voices.

Current pioneered the television industry’s leading model of interactive viewer created content (VC2). Comprising roughly one-third of Current’s on-air broadcast, this content is submitted via short-form, non-fiction video “pods”. Viewer Created Ad Messages (VCAMs) are also open to viewer’s participation.
 

Current TV is a creature of the new media landscape and takes advantage of the fact many people want to create content, connect with peers and be famous. The technology to live this dream is now in the hands of the masses.  You can see this theme throughout media and popular culture.  Who received more “buzz” this year?  Was it Adam Lambert, Susan Boyle and the Housewives of NY/NJ or the scripted dramas on network television?  Clearly it was the reality stars because they feed into the concept of democratized content and aspirations of fame and fortune.

This trend has implications for marketers and advertisers trying to reach an ever more fragmented audience.  The 30 second spot and print ads are dying art forms.  One of the cool things about Current TV is they allow viewers to create ads for major brands such as HP and T-Mobile based on some creative assets and a brief.  Their research shows that viewers prefer user generated ads by a ratio of 9 to 1.  This trend does not bode well for traditional ad agencies, and doesn’t big Al know it.  Read a few quotes from a keynote he recently gave at marketing event as reported by Adweek:

He described the end of the industrial-revolution-like era of advertising, which produced ads that are “big, blunt expensive and very intrusive. . Audiences have begun to resist that old model.”   Going forward, advertising needs to become more nuanced, authentic and peer-to-peer, said Gore. “People want a different kind of feeling toward brands to which they give their money.”
 
That means being more upfront about ad messaging, rather than attempting to squeeze marketing messages into content through branded entertainment, he said. According to Gore, one of the reasons that Current viewers like VCAM ads is that they are straightforward in their intent. “People are interested in what someone like them is going to do and they’re not going to have something slipped by them,” Gore said. With ads that have been disguised as entertainment, “there is some resistance to those models. . . . We believe that intelligent empowerment of the audience is the key.”

Al Gore will likely never be President but he is now at the forefront of private custom media channels and content marketing.  In the parlance of marketing speak, Al Gore “gets it”.  Do you? 

The job of a marketer has probably never been more complicated with all the choices and options we have to communicate our messages for lead generation and customer retention.  The advent of new web tools and social media has made keeping up a full time job.  Our friend Joe Pulizzi at Junta42 has done a great job of compiling all the tools you need to know about in the areas of custom media, social networking, interactive conversations, Facebook and Twitter tools, content sharing, blogging, back end operation and of course, measurement.

Take a look at the list and let us know if you have any gems to add.   Personally, I have found the ability to share information with peers one of the best benefits of social media. Later this week I’ll let you know who I follow via Twitter to keep up with the daily changes in our world.  Happy reading.

Two sets of numbers recently came across my screen that illustrates the wrenching changes in media and marketing.  MIN Online has released 2009 first half numbers for monthly magazines and it is ugly.  Yes, we are in a tough recession, but these steep drops are more about the decline and fall of print advertising supported media.  Here is a snippet of the carnage as reported by MediaPost News:

The losses were widespread, with only eight out of the 118 titles tracked by MIN showing an increase in ad pages.  Among women’s lifestyle titles, Allure, Lucky, Vogue and W are all down over 30%. Auto and enthusiast titles (mostly targeting men) are sharply down, with drops of over 30% at Power & Motoryacht, Boating, Automobile, Motor Trend and Road & Track, Details, Maxim and GQ are also down over 30%, as are music monthlies Spin and Vibe and food titles Gourmet and Bon Appetit.

The brands mentioned above were formally profit generating powerhouses in lucrative categories.  The bulk of these pages are not coming back after the recession nor are closed newspapers going to spring back to life.  The ad market is undergoing a structural change.  Print is caught is a vise – readers have moved on to online media (more about that soon) and marketers are looking for measurable results that drive sales.  It is hard to make that case with a $50,000 branding ad in a monthly glossy magazine.

At the same time social media is on fire.  Facebook is now getting 300 million unique visitors per month, a 160% increase from a year ago.  This April, Twitter received 32 million world wide uniques, up 70% in a month!  MySpace has been flat at 123 million uniques per month while Facebook and Twitter grow unabated.  MySpace is going to end up the Netscape Navigator of its time. 

Since there are still only 24 hours in a day, something must be suffering with people spending all that time with social media.  Spring 2009 MRI readership shows a significant decline in magazine readership in the past year.

This has huge implications for marketers as they decide on their strategies for coming out of this economic downturn.  Reaching customers and prospects the old fashion way, is well, old fashion.  More than ever, it is imperative for marketers to turn to content market, storytelling and private media channels for measurable results.  And, now is the time to harness the power of social media.   Tweet now or forever hold your peace.

This is an interesting situation worth watching to see if a classic “old media” brand can make a successful transition to the new media landscape.  As reported on cnbc.com, Newsweek will debut their transformation on Monday in print and online today.  In a nutshell, they are moving from a newsweekly to thought leadership/opinion magazine.  In addition, they will take the rate base way down and focus on quality of readers who will in theory pay more for subscriptions. 

Here is a description of the new sections in the magazine:

“The magazine will be reorganized into four sections with a new focus on opinion. A new section called “The Take” will gather all the magazine’s columnists into one place. Newsweek is adding a new survey called “Internationalist” about world happenings. “The Culture” section will feature a lead essay with big ideas about art etc. The content will aim to speak to a well educated reader. And the design of the magazine and website will be sparser, with a lot more white space”

While everyone agrees a newsweekly no longer has a purpose, it may be too late to make this move.  In truth, they abandoned objective news reporting years ago and are now coming clean as somewhat liberal leaning publication (Obama appeared on 25% of their weekly covers in 2008 dwarfing his competitors).  If they are aiming to become a high end opinion magazine, they are cruising into crowded territory.  As Julia Boorstin mentions in her report, there is already some excellent journalism in that niche such as The Atlantic Monthly, The Economist and the New Yorker.  I am a pretty frequent reader of Newsweek and the New Yorker and there is no comparison in the level of writing.  Newsweek will have to up their game considerably to compete in that space.  Newsweek has been written for a broad general audience and will have to switch gears.

A prediction – Newsweek is gone as a print magazine in less than three years.  One thing I am fairly certain of is that you can’t completely change the DNA of a media brand and expect to go merrily along.  Newsweek has subscribers, newsstand buyers, advertisers and writers who are rooted in the newsweekly world and have a firm impression and mindset of what the brand means to them.  This can’t be changed on the fly at a time when print advertising is falling out of vogue faster than Second Life.

Media brands are living things whether they are TV shows, magazines, movie franchises or rock stars.  They have definable life cycles and eventually run their course.  Even one time mega hits such as Seinfeld eventually run out of steam and die a natural death.  I saw it first hand with PC Magazine, 10 years ago one of the largest magazines in the world, today an online only brand.  Its reason for being, a monthly print magazine with comparative reviews of PCs, is no longer relevant to readers or advertisers.  While we all bemoan the loss, the hard truth is the print magazine no longer served a purpose.

In the age of Twitter and smart phones, a weekly news magazine is no longer relevant.   And, moving a print advertising supported magazine into a saturated market segment does not make a lot of business sense.  At first blush their redesigned web site looks like a hodge podge of various types of content thrown up against the wall/home page to see what will be sticky.  The web site may grow and prosper over time, but don’t count on seeing the President on a dozen Newsweek covers in 2012.  He’ll be running, but the magazine will be a memory.

In my post a couple of weeks ago, I wrote about entering the Jim Beam Remake contest, where users submitted their original parodies and remakes of the new Jim Beam commercials.  

A few days ago, as I arrived home in the evening, I noticed a large envelope poking out of my mailbox. It didn’t have a return address. My boyfriend and I were so curious as to its contents, we ripped it open before we even got inside.

Inside were a Jim Beam t-shirt and a letter from the director of whiskeys, thanking the participants for sending in their videos. I was sincerely impressed by how classy and sincere the letter was. It seemed this person and her team had truly enjoyed watching the hundreds of video entries. She even stated she would do it all again, and hopes we would too.

In my post a year ago about Anton’s Cleaners , I talked about how customer retention works when companies let their customers know they care. It doesn’t need to be big, it doesn’t need to be expensive, but it needs to be personal.

To be honest, I’ve never had an ounce of whiskey or bourbon. But after having such intense brand interaction with Jim Beam, there is no way the Jim Beam brand won’t be at the forefront of my mind the next time I go into a liquor store to stock up for a party or to buy a bottle of liquor for a friend. And the next-best thing to going to bed with a bottle of liquor cradled in your arms is going to bed with a nightgown-sized 2XL t-shirt from Jim Beam. 

You may have seen Time Inc’s latest foray into custom media.  They sold Lexus into a sole sponsorship for a magazine called Mine (tag line – My Magazine - My Way) which is compiled from several of their titles to consumers who request it.  Give Lexus credit for wanting to own a private media channel to potential customers, but is this really custom media?  Anyone could sign up for it, and I did.  They didn’t develop the audience to be car buyers or people in the right demographic for Lexus.  It appears that anyone with internet access could sign up.  The content consists of articles selected by Time from several of their existing magazines.  The gimmick is that subscribers can pick which magazine reprint they can receive all in one place.  I don’t remember exactly what I signed up for, but I know for sure I didn’t sign up for Sports Illustrated because I already subscribe, and I certainly didn’t ask for Golf Magazine.  I want to read about golf about as often as I want to watch a Harry Potter movie or listen to jazz and that is never.  Here is the editorial line up in my “customized” magazine that came My Way:

Travel and Leisure – An article on how to look out an airplane window, and a feature on fancy tents.  I already know how to look out a window and will likely live the rest of my life without ever being in a tent, no matter how swanky.

Real Simple – A side by side nutritional comparison of juices, and a “how to” on road trips.  Let’s just say the editorial mission of being “simple” is coming through loud and clear.

InStyle – How to find the perfect pair of jeans, interview with Marc Jacobs, and fitness page staring Aisha Tyler talking about how to build biceps.  Not bad edit if I were a woman, but alas I am not.

Sports Illustrated – An amusing article from a soccer hater giving the game a try.  Good article and I liked it the first time I read in Sports Illustrated. 

Golf Magazine – Interview with golfer Natalie Gulbis, (of Celebrity Apprentice fame) and a “watch and learn” breaking down Tiger Wood’s swing.  This would be helpful if I didn’t hate golf.

As you can see this is really My Magazine, My Way.  A few weeks ago I received an email from Time that said a “computer error” may have caused me not to get exactly what I ordered in terms of content. 

Custom media and content marketing works best when you create original content that is designed for a specific audience and their information needs.  Mine misses the mark on all counts, the audience was not qualified nor selected as customers or prospects of Lexus; and the content is anything but original or aimed at a specific audience.  This is a classic big media company maneuver.  Take some edit that is already in the can, patch it together and send it to a random list.  And finally, get someone to sole sponsor five issues.  Only an auto company would go for something this off target and old fashion. 

“I wouldn’t call this an ad, this goes much beyond this,” said David Nordstrom, Lexus’ vice president of marketing. “Our message of ‘driver-inspired’ and ‘customization’ will come through a lot stronger.”

Here is what came across to me – the back page is an ad that screams in 28 pt type: THE ALL NEW 2010 RX. NOW WITH MORE GORDON PLUTSKY

It is so much more than an ad; it is off putting and annoying.

All that being said, it will probably be a decent money maker for Time Inc, but please don’t call it custom media when it is a glorified reprint.

Twitter is turning into a full fledged cultural phenomenon.  Former underwear model and cougar lover Ashton Kutcher is now over 1 million followers and Oprah and Howard Stern have joined the fray.  The New England Patriots tweeted their NFL draft picks this past weekend.  There are no shortage of so called social media experts and consultants publishing lists and posts on how to use Twitter, how to make money with Twitter, Twitter etiquette, etc.  The hype is reaching a fever pitch and a lot of it seems to be marketing people talking to each other.

Here is the fundamental thing we all need to keep in mind about Twitter – it is a media channel to talk to people directly without the filter or expense of a media brand or company.  That’s it folks, nothing more, nothing less.  That being said, we are big fans of owning your own media channel, so Twitter can and should become another aspect of your private media strategy for customers and prospects.

Twitter is a great vehicle for pushing out content to a specialized list of people, and I will distribute this blog to my “followers”.  Please go here if you want to follow me.  Whether you are a B2C or B2B company Twitter is an effective way to engage in an interactive dialog with your customers.  I follow lot of journalists and research companies to keep tabs on them without having to go to their sites directly.   It is smart for your executives to have a presence and be able to get feedback from customers and create a relationship with them.  Stronger personal bonds mean stronger sales for your company. Twitter is a no brainer when thinking about customer retention.  Smart and judicious use of this media channel can be a low cost way to drive sales from existing customers and give your content a broader audience.  For a great example, check out what Dell Outlet is doing to engage customers.

On the flip side, given the 140 character limit, it is much harder to mix business and personal as you can with Facebook.  Many keep Twitter mostly business, and that seems to be the general milieu.   Some people link their Facebook status update and Tweets so they are in sync.  I don’t like this because you should customize your message to your audience and environment, but it seems to be a growing trend.  Additionally, you can wear people out with over posting and will no doubt lose followers.

Twitter has reached the critical mass where it can’t be ignored by marketers, so embrace it as a free private media channel while it lasts.  Give it a shot, talking to your customers is always a good thing, especially when they can talk or tweet back.  Or better yet, buy something.

The big media news here in New England is the fate of the Boston Globe.  The situation now looks even more urgent in light of the dreadful earnings report and cash burn situation the NY Times Company reported this week.  The Times bought the Globe for $1.1 billion back in 1993 before the dawn the web.  They had a couple of very profitable years until the bottom fell out of the newspaper business.  In retrospect, newspapers did what many trade publishers did for a long time – resist the web because selling print ads was so damn profitable.  And, they gave their content away free online to build traffic.  This combination worked out poorly.  Newspapers across the country are closing or in financial peril. 

In 2008, the Globe lost roughly $50 million on an estimated $450 million in revenue (down a few hundred million in the past three years).  That is not easy to do unless your costs are way out of whack, especially labor costs.  The NYT is asking the unions for concessions or they will close down the paper, and I would assume and keep the very successful Boston.com. There has been a lot of finger pointing and looking to place blame. Hundred of comments have appeared in online forums raving about how the Globe’s liberal editorial slant has hurt them with subscribers and advertisers.  I am sure it has cost them some, but does not nearly account for their revenue and profit freefall.

The truth is actually pretty simple, but the solution is not.  In the not so distant past the Boston Globe was a money machine because it had a stranglehold on classified advertising in New England – help wanted, real estate, cars –huge money makers raking in over $100 million annually with high margins.   This cash flow allowed the cost structure to get fat and happy during the good times.  Most of that revenue is now gone to cars.com, monster.com, realtor.com and craigslist to name a few.  Although Boston.com generates high traffic numbers, the CPMs for online ads are a fraction of what they were in print thanks to all the competition and low barrier to entry.  Factor in declining subscription and single copy revenue due to changing consumer behavior and the fact they are giving away all the content for free online. 

To survive the Globe and other newspapers are going to have to start charging for online content – there is just no way around it anymore.  Something has to give, or they will go out of business. Our communities and democracy will suffer without a functioning free press.  Bloggers, pontificating from their cube or basement, are no substitute for real reporters who are digging for stories and holding government and business to task.  It has been conventional wisdom that people won’t pay for content online, but they have never been confronted with a situation where if they don’t pay for it they will have no other option, at least locally. 

If push comes to shove will people refuse to pay $10-$20 per month for an online local newspaper and let it fold?  Or will they realize there is no real difference between paying for a pile a paper and ink dropped at your door and online content.  Many consumers have an emotional attachment to newsprint, but the web version of a newspaper is far superior with up-to-the minute news, video, talk back forums, interactive charts and archives.  Additionally, younger people are just not subscribing to print versions of newspapers, nor will they anytime soon. One issue not easily resolved is access for people without internet access. Perhaps a newsstand only version can be provided that is subsidized by ads. 

The bottom line is the newspaper business needs to start monetizing online content and quickly.  Consumers would rather read online because there is more functionality and marketers are running less and less print ads because they are not measurable.  The writing is on the wall, but is anyone reading?  In this case, living in the past is a fast road to extinction.