Articles by Gordon Plutsky

With great fanfare and PR flash, a new search engine was launched this week with the name of Cuil, pronounced “cool”.  They claim to have indexed more sites that Google and will rank the results by content rather than popularity.  Also, the results will be displayed in a unique magazine style layout and have added tabs to lead you to other relevant searches.  Just the thought of taking on Google is a bit daunting.  Two pretty impressive companies (Microsoft and Yahoo) keep falling behind in the race to own search.  Has any other company, product or service become such a big part of our lives and culture as Google in such a short period of time?  Not only has it become a verb, but starting a search on Google has become hard wired into our brains.  Taking on Google would be like taking on Coke with a new start up cola.  Don’t know if I would wager on surpassing Google, but in the tech game the better mousetrap sometimes wins. 

I gave Cuil a try in its first week and I was not all that impressed.  Right off, it does not have the other features of Google such as news, images and maps.  I did a search on Custom Media (the key word we most focus on) and didn’t think the results were anywhere as relevant as on Google.  King Fish Media generally ranks 9 or 10 on page one with Google and we were back on page seven with Cuil.  There were tons of rankings from the same sites listed over and over again.  Many of which had a mere mention of Custom Media rather than being a site about Custom Media. A search on King Fish Media itself turns up the freshest links and most relevant news on Google.  On Cuil it was a hodgepodge of old news and odd links.  I found this general pattern on a number of different key word searches.  However, the strangest thing was the image Cuil puts next to the individual search results.  In the vast majority of cases the images had absolutely nothing to do with the link referenced.  Usually they were random pictures or logos with no relevance to the result.  It was odd to see a link that referred to me personally with other people’s pictures.  Not sure what that’s all about, but it’s not “cuil”

Keep in mind this is just my own testing on week one.  To be fair, they will need time to get in a rhythm and be able to adjust their patterns based on how people actually search the site. Cuil is getting beaten up by the tech trades and bloggers who have a similar impression.  This is a good example of why you do a “soft launch” to work out the kinks.  They launched with a lot of PR which served mostly to have people take a very close look at their technology before it is ready for prime time.

It is worth keeping your eye on their progress, and especially how your sites ranks.  My snap judgment tells me that Cuil has not yet given web searchers a reason to change their behavior away from Google. And, what works for Google SEO will likely not work for Cuil.  The only people who may make out in this deal are the SEO consultants.

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Mark your calendars for a Folio Magazine Webinar on managing marketing timelines.  I will be the one of the speakers for the Folio audience of magazine marketing professionals.  The goal of the web cast is to give advice and best practices on how to create awareness and buzz for a comprehensive marketing program.  We will also cover how to create a rollout schedule to your sales reps, press and clients.  It is a topic I know well - I was the Marketing Director for several tech media brands including two of the most successful ones ever – PC Magazine and CRN.  The webinar is on August 14th at 2:00 eastern.  Click here to register.

In addition, I will be speaking at two sessions at this year’s Folio 08 (Sept. 22-24 in Chicago).  I will be covering “Upping Your Marketing Success Quotient” as part of the marketing track.  As part of the events track, I will be speaking at a session called “Models for Event Profitability”.  I will have much more about this as we get closer, so click here to learn more about attending the show.  It is a great networking and learning experience for anyone in B2C or B2B media.

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Very exciting news – AMC’s Mad Men starts up again this Sunday.  For my money the best show since the Sopranos.  For those who have not seen the show, it is a look at a New York ad agency in the early 60’s.  A fascinating portrayal of the men and women of that era juxtaposed against the advertising, media and marketing business.  The choice to set the show in the transitional early 60’s was savvy because it allows the show to explore the changing roles of men and women right before Vietnam and the civil rights and women’s rights movements.

It is a guilty pleasure watching the behavior of these guys in the office – smoking, drinking and womanizing is standard procedure.  And, so were sexism, harassment, racism and anti-Semitism - all out in the open.  It is jaw dropping to watch behavior that was then commonplace vs. today’s super sensitive politically correct workplace.

If you are in the marketing/media business you have to watch the advertising aspect of the show.  I get a charge out of watching them meet with clients, come up with ideas and pitch creative.  It was the heyday of traditional interruption based marketing.  They came up with a campaign and then bought tons of media in print, on billboards, or on television/radio.  That were all the options available, and there is nary a word about ROI, custom content or interactivity.  It was one-way communication from companies to the masses.  The ad agencies and media companies had a nice thing going, and they got rich fat and happy running ads.  They really never had to prove the ads worked as long as the drinks were flowing at lunch.

The “hero” is agency Creative Director Don Draper who is my favorite fictional character since the man with whom he shares many traits – Tony Soprano.  Don is morally ambiguous and lives by his own code of honor.  He is very ambitious and masterful with clients when pitching ideas.  Like Tony, he leads a complicated life juggling his family, extra-marital activities and his bosses and staff at the agency. An interesting aspect of the show is how the women in Don’s life represent the different and changing roles for women in the early 60’s. 

Keep an eye on how Don and his team come up with campaign ideas for their clients.  While we can make fun of the primitive tools they had to get the message out to their prospects, Don has incredible insight into how to craft a message.  He understands that great advertising is all about tapping into the mindset of the customer.  He strives to come up with concepts for the “emotional sell”.  A valuable lesson for today’s marketers to remember – good advertising and marketing is all about the customer, their needs and how they feel about themselves.  Sometimes because we have so many tools and technologies at our disposal we forget the basic fundamentals.  How many bad ad campaigns have we seen from marketers who just want to tap into the flavor of the week?  Putting the wrong message on a cool site; or just adding social networking to the mix does not make for good advertising.

Many people think advertising is about convincing or persuading someone to buy a product.  It is actually about making them realize they have an unmet need (physical or emotional) that can be filled with your product or service.  The customers who lined up for days to get the new iPhone were not “brainwashed” by Apple’s advertising; or even wowed by the technology.  They were searching to fill an emotional need to be the “first to have something” which validates their personality (yes, I was a psych major).  Apple does a brilliant job of leveraging that emotion.

On that note, my favorite scene is when Don is out with a group of bohemian type beatniks at a poetry reading.  One of beatniks starts in on him for “making people buy things they don’t want or need”, and then condescendingly asks Don “how he sleeps at night”.  Don coolly picks up his glass of scotch, smiles and replies “on a bed of money”.
 

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Of all the things that fascinate me about the web there is a special place in my heart for Wikipedia.  I am a trivia nut, so I love trolling the listings, and I get a kick out of the earnestness of the people who contribute and patrol the site (more about that later).  It is now standard practice for marketers to create a Wikipedia page for their company.  And, it has become an art form to put up a page that does not veer too much in a sales pitch to prevent being smote down by the Wikipedia gods.  I have heard from many of my marketing peers who have done battle with the self appointed defenders of truth.

Because Wikipedia is very well indexed by Google having a company page helps your SEO efforts. When you Google King Fish Media, our Wiki page comes up in the third listing after our site URL and the Think Tank blog - and it is driven over 100 visitors to our site.  If you have not ventured into these waters as a marketer, you must try it.  These types of sites are quickly replacing more traditional sorts of reference materials. 

There have been a lot of debates to the validity of the information presented, and you do need to take the facts and information presented with a grain of salt.  The dispersed and anonymous nature of the policing opens the door for people with an agenda to set the tone. 

I am fascinated by those who have taken on the duty to police the site for factual accuracy.  What is their motivation?  What drives them to do what they do?  It’s not money since they are volunteers.  Valid questions as we move into the age of user generated content – or UGC as the cool marketers are calling it.  Over on Channel V Media’s blog they wrote about a game called wikiracing where participants add information to obscure pages and see how fast they are corrected or edited.

In the name of science I inserted myself as notable resident of my hometown of Beverly, Massachusetts – as an author. I write this blog and have had a bunch of marketing articles published so I thought author was my best bet.  And, my new found fame would give my mom something to talk about at the Boynton Beach JCC.  It seemed easy enough since the current list of 26 people is pretty weak expect for some 300 year old historical figures and a few modern exceptions – Kevin O’Connor who hosts This Old House on PBS, alternative rocker Mary Lou Lord (check her out on iTunes if you don’t know her, she is great) and world famous author John Updike.  The rest were a collection of people no one has heard of unless you were related to them. 

I put myself in there alphabetically between actor Howard Petrie and television sports commentator Derek Rae - under the radar flanked by a B movie actor who has been dead for 40 years and a Scottish soccer commentator.  My fame lasted exactly 27 hours before being struck down by a wiki police person with the user name of Adj.  Adj is a serial editor who seems to specialize in trivial information about Massachusetts towns – talk about a niche.  I was of one of 13 edits Adj made that day, and one of over 500 since April.  You can visualize Adj at a desk in a cramped basement home office surrounded by reference books, cats and stacks of old newspapers - sipping a cup of tea and staring at the screen over drug store reading glasses while stamping out informational miscreants such as myself.  There must be immeasurable pleasure and satisfaction in telling the world that I am a seemingly nonnotable resident of Beverly.  However, I would wager that more people read this blog in 2008 than watched the collective works of Howard Petrie, but I’ll let it go.

Maybe the information on Wikipedia is good and can be trusted if there is any validity to the wisdom of crowds.  I am not totally sure what to make of it as a marketing tool other than you better not cross the line or the Adjs of cyberspace will be there to put you in your place – the digital dustbin of history.

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This week the NY Mets gave us an example of what happens when you don’t understand the current media landscape.  They fired Manager Willie Randolph on Monday night, and did it via press release at 3:15 am east coast time.  The team was in Anaheim on the first day of a west coast trip.   So, they made poor Willie fly all the away to So Cal, manage a game (he won) and fired him after the game.  As I am sure you know by now the Mets have been getting killed in the media for this low rent move on a classy guy.  They are spinning all kinds of stories such as they didn’t want to fire him on Father’s Day to they didn’t make up their mind until Monday.  The sad truth is they actually thought that if they did it in the middle of the night it would lessen the news and press impact since it would be a day before the NY papers could jump on it.  That was a questionable strategy in 1978 or 1988, but in 2008 it is beyond moronic.  That “strategy” backfired and blew up in their face.  They got beaten up on every available media platform for nearly three days – print, talk radio, blogs, sports web sites etc. 

At the heart of this mistake is a lack of understanding of today’s media environment.  It is always on, and always in search of content.  The explosion of media platforms, brands and choices has eliminated the concept of “news cycles” as we knew them.  On demand content and viral distribution have made traditional news cycles obsolete.  In addition, the proliferation of media platforms has created a situation where any “hot” bit of content and news is blown out of all proportion.  Many of these media outlets thrive on scandal and controversy.  The search and hunger for edgy content seems insatiable.  How else do you explain Lindsay Lohan’s mother and talentless sister getting a reality show.  More shame for us native Long Islanders.  Wasn’t Amy Fisher’s sex tape enough humiliation? 

The media narrative ended up being about how clumsy, heartless and dumb the Mets management appears to be.  The net result is the Mets did some real damage to their brand image, and maybe their bottom line too.  We are in a new media world, and if you follow the old rules you are sure to get burned.

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I recently contributed another article to Chief Marketer on the topic of face to face events.  Specifically it explains how to use events as a lead generation and lead nurturing tool.  While working for several media companies I had responsibility for publication branded events and custom events.  One thing I learned is when using events as lead gen tool it is critical to scale your event (and budget) to the anticipated return.  Many people do think of live events as custom media, but they can be very powerful tools as part of a private custom media solution.  Click here to read the article. 

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Just a short word on the passing of Tim Russert.   I spent much of last week thinking about and writing about media bias in the news organizations covering politics.  It was quite a shock to learn about his tragic death, as he was one of the last objective unbiased journalists on television.   Even though he worked his way up the ranks in Democratic politics he was equally tough on both parties.  You could make a case he was the most important journalist in America today.  Many people, including me, turned to him on Meet the Press and election night coverage to make sense of it all in a straightforward manner.  You could trust him because you felt he neither had an agenda nor was self promotional.  The timing of his loss before a historic election is a blow for this country.  We would hope that someone would fill the void, but it will be an impossible role to fill.

Nearly everyone I spoke with over the past few days felt like they lost a close friend.  He was such a presence on television, you actually felt like you knew him.  Just another reminder that as Buddhism states everything in life is impermanent.  It was heartbreaking to watch so many of his friends and colleagues talk about him all weekend.  However, listening to the tributes he was clearly a man who made the world better and lived every minute of his short 58 years.  Personally, I agree with his impressive son Luke, who said that if Tim could hear what was being said about him; he would be the most excited to hear that Bruce Springsteen paid tribute to him and played Thunder Road in his honor.  As a fellow Springsteen fanatic, I was very touched by the gesture from Boss who like Tim Russert is a master story teller with an ear to the common man.  Here is a passage from Thunder Road, a beautifully written song about vulnerability, yearning and redemption.

We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back
Heaven’s waiting on down the tracks
Oh oh come take my hand
Riding out tonight to case the promised land

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In an interesting bit of timing, the NY Times ran a story today about perceived media sexism toward Hillary Clinton. (A topic covered here yesterday) In a shocking development the mainstream media (NBC, CBS, CNN etc) strongly disagree with that notion.  They seem almost dismissive of the claims.   They are also quick to say that Hillary Clinton’s defeat was caused by her own mistakes and they are not responsible for her loss.  That is true, Hillary has no one to blame but herself, and Barack Obama played by the rules and won the nomination fair and square.  However, that does not absolve them of their actions, nor does it lessen the anger many feel towards them.

There is this passage and quote from MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann:

There was “constant reflection and analysis at MSNBC, and I must say there was constant good faith in trying to make certain Senator Clinton was not treated unfairly.”

Now that they have been called on the carpet they wrap themselves in objective journalism.  Ironically, Olbermann has made a name for himself making fun of Bill O’Reilly and the right wing bias at Fox News.  I don’t know if he realizes that he has become a liberal version of his friend Bill.  I used to enjoy watching him, but his rants have taken on an air of self righteousness and he has lost his ability to be objective. 

There are several problems with the mainstream media defense tactics.

As the old cliché goes – perception is reality.  Many Clinton supporters and women’s groups including NOW (click here to read a column from their President) are angry at the bias, and NBC/MSNBC and CNN have lost credibility with many viewers.  They can defend themselves all they want, but it won’t change the way many women (and men too) feel about the way their candidate was treated while her opponent got the kid gloves treatment.

I wonder if the many of the biggest offenders (who are generally men in their 50’s and 60’s) fully realize the way the media world has changed.  Every one of their comments is stored on the web forever, and can be easily passed around.  And, there is an army of bloggers to offer a counter opinion and analyze their comments.

The bottom line is they can deny it all they want, but we live in a new media world.  My advice would be to really reflect on how they handled the nomination process rather than trying to spin it away.  No one is buying it.

On a separate and personal note – Happy Father’s Day to the #1 reader of the Think Tank blog – my Dad, who is one of the smartest guys I have ever met.  The lessons I have learned from him are too numerous to recount here, and I use them every day.  Happy Father’s Day!!
 

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Before we leave the process that will eventually name Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee, let’s take a look back at one of the factors in this contest that helped him beat Hillary Clinton.  It can provide us some clues and insights into how he may fare against Senator John McCain this fall.

There has been much debate whether sexism played a role in the defeat of Hillary Clinton.  She and her campaign made a couple of well hashed over errors:  they underestimated Obama’s appeal, had no organization in the caucus states, and used Bill Clinton incorrectly.   Watching Bill Clinton in the 2008 campaign was like watching Willie Mays play for the Mets in 1973 – painful to watch a star whose time has past.  She was significantly hurt by the actions of Florida and Michigan to break the DNC rules which cost her big states she could have won.  And, it seems like she didn’t connect with the voters until she went from frontrunner to underdog.

A big factor in the race was a media bias for Obama and against Clinton.  This manifested itself in a mainstream media that seemed to be openly promoting Obama, while gleefully participating in the steady stream of sexist comments and jokes aimed at Hillary.  It was open season on petty analysis of her appearance, emotions and of course, the comments about how she came across as a bitchy woman.   Take a few minutes to check out these clips.   One is a brilliant piece from the Daily Show and other is a home grown video from YouTube.  Both illustrate numerous examples of the mainstream media taking sexist shots at Hillary.  It is sadly comical to watch a bunch of middle age white men (Mike Barnicle, Chris Matthews, Glenn Beck, Pat Buchannan, Wolf Blitzer) make statements that essentially says that Hillary is a shrew and a harpy who men don’t want to listen to because she sounds like a nagging wife.  Makes you wonder how happy these guys are at home.

In addition, journalists such as Keith Olberman of MSNBC and Frank Rich of the New York Times all but anointed Obama while never missing an opportunity to take a shot at either Hillary Clinton or John McCain.  By the way, making fun of McCain’s age is also fair game, and even sometimes the injuries he received as a POW.  Obama’s lack of experience and a real record and his relationship with Rev. Wright received as close to a free pass as you can get in today’s 24/7 media.

Try and imagine what would happen if these same middle age white male commentators used jokes and negative stereotypes about Obama’s race in the same manner as they did with Hillary Clinton’s gender.   When anyone even hints at race, such as Geraldine Ferraro, they are treated like a pariah.  Remember when a bunch of guys showed up at a Clinton rally held up signs and chanted “iron my shirts”.  It was laughed off as a prank.  What if it was an Obama rally and those hilarious frat boys were yelling “shine my shoes” or “fry my chicken” Not so funny, is it?  In fact, it is horrible.  However, it is hard to argue it was much different in terms of negative stereotyping.  Unfortunately, this gender bias affected the way the race was reported throughout the primary season.  Next, we will take a look at how media bias may have shaped the race.

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The media bias manifested itself in the reporting of primary results and the race for delegates.  I took a very close look at the final results in all of the election results as reported on Real Clear Politics.  The results were much closer than reported and in fact, you can make a strong argument that Hillary Clinton should be the nominee based on these results and her viability as a candidate vs. John McCain.  The popular vote is all but tied in terms of statistical variation, and Obama won 124 more pledged delegates out of 3,046 available.  After they fought to a near draw on Super Tuesday, Obama reeled off nine wins in a row in mostly caucus states (where the vast majority of voters don’t participate) and states with a huge African-American vote in the Democratic primary.    When February ended, the media had Clinton left for dead and already started calling for her to drop out in the name of party unity.  The calls for her to quit continued all through March, April and May.  What happened once the media crowned Obama? 

Starting with March 4th, Hillary won 9 of the last 15 races (I am leaving out Guam) and some of them with big margins – Kentucky, West Virginia, Penn, Ohio, and Rhode Island.  So much for the party faithful falling lock step behind Obama.  It is clear that he has an issue getting votes from white, working class voters.

Add her strong finish to wins in Texas, New York, New Jersey, California, Tennessee, Arizona, Arkansas and New Mexico.  She also would have fared very well in both Florida and Michigan.  Look at that list of states above – that is a winning Democratic electoral strategy.

The vast majority of American’s get their information from the mainstream media.  You wonder what would have happened if the they didn’t decide to jump on the Obama bandwagon early and report the facts in a slanted nature.  Or, let the process play out without their own need for a winner to be named by the end of February.  By constantly hashing over the issue of Clinton getting out of the race since early March they may have tampered with the system and affected the results of the remaining primaries.

It is clear that droves of Clinton supporters, many of them women, are angry at the way she was treated and portrayed.  Their feelings are justified, a two term Senator and the first serious woman candidate deserved better treatment and more respect.  It is not a lock they will vote for Obama, when John McCain is perceived as the least conservative Republican candidate in thirty years.  When you combine this with Obama’s weakness among white voters in big states John McCain has a much better chance of winning than Keith Olberman could ever imagine.  A woman running for President has an impossible task – show you are tough enough to be Commander-in-Chief without being perceived as a “bitch”, whatever that code word really means.  Maybe it’s just me, but when it comes to the ability to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, I’ll take a “bitch” any day.

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Last week my city, Beverly, MA held an election that may offer a small preview of this November’s election.  Here in the Massachusetts we have a wonderful law to reign in government called Proposition 2 ½ passed by referendum during a tax revolt in 1981.  Here in the bluest of blue states we have a segment of people who love their taxes.  It basically states that property tax can’t increase by more than 2.5% per year, except if the people in the town vote to over ride the law for a specific reason.  In our case it was to help fund the school system that is running at a deficit due to the usual suspects – increasing teacher healthcare and pension costs, unfunded state and federal mandates and exploding special education needs.  If it passed, the average homeowner would pay roughly $190 more a year in property tax and one of the six elementary schools in town would be saved from closing. 

It was quite a battle, a real steel cage street fight.  What struck me was the anti-government venom.  It was aimed at the Mayor, School Committee, City Council, Teachers Union and anyone who even walks by city hall.  There was also a generous helping of class warfare as the working class and seniors resented the upscale moms who led the fight for the over ride.  One of the leaders of the over ride movement made the classic marketing mistake of saying it would only cost “a latte a week” to fund the tax increase.  Oh boy! Talk about not knowing your audience.  That statement became a rallying cry from the working class people who wouldn’t go inside a Starbucks on a bet.  The moms (and some dads) were dubbed the Latte Divas by the anti-tax people who fought it out on the Salem News web site message boards.  I would read the forums and the anger was palpable.  The parents were advocating raising taxes “for the children” or our property values would plummet and the city would become a slum overnight.  Opponents ranted back about how unions, the government and entitled parents were ruining America, and how they can’t afford another cent is this bad economy.  Over rides for schools usually pass in small affluent bedroom communities, but in economically diverse Beverly (pop. 40,000) it was crushed 63% to 37%.  And, a real class division opened up in once cohesive community.

It was a fascinating look at how social networking and web 2.0 tactics shaped the debate.  The pro over ride parents (Yes! For Beverly) had their own blog, Facebook page and email distributions; and the forums on the local newspaper sites became ground zero for battles pitched by people from both sides using anonymous screen names.  Some of the postings were pretty mean, and would never be said if a real name had to be attached or it was face to face.  It is much easier to work up some real anger when hiding behind a made up name that can’t be tracked.  It got me thinking about the nature of these anonymous posts which are found all over the web on all types of sites.  Does the anonymity produce true and honest feelings that are hidden by social convention, or is it an excuse to be rude.  There is something freeing about putting the usual political correctness aside, but debates can escalate quickly.  It is an interesting situation for companies who host these types of forums, especially when someone can be slandered on your site.  Monitoring your site is a must to protect your brand.

In addition, I could tell that there were some “PR plants” in there spouting the talking points from each side.  I don’t think many “average citizens” know the intimate details of municipal finance, collectively bargained teacher’s contracts and academic studies on the benefits of lower class size.  There were more than a few people with not so hidden agenda’s passing themselves off as John and Jane Q. Public.

This local battle may be a microcosm of the upcoming Presidential election. We will hear some of the same issues and charges from both sides.  Elitism and class division, education, taxation and the economy will be issues out front and center.  2008 will be the first web 2.0/social networking presidential election.  The ground war is going to move from mainstream media ads and direct mail to the web in a big way.  The blogs, video sharing sites, forums and online fundraising are going to be humming.  This may help Obama and his more youthful supporters, but the same tools can also make any scandal viral or misstep magnified.  We are in somewhat uncharted media waters, and as the cable news talking heads like to say “only time will tell”

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This week I had the pleasure of contributing an article to the Chief Marketer web site.  The article is about using web casts to drive leads and ROI.  This is a topic quite familiar to King Fish as we manage over 250 web casts yearly for our clients.

To read the article please click here to go to the Chief Marketer site, and check out all of the great content they have on many other issues relevant to today’s marketer.

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Kimberly Jackson and I both wrote about the same topic this week, independent of each other, so here is a short introduction and both postings.  We were both taking a look at a private media channels created by personalities that are aimed at our respective demographics.  Oprah is for Kimba, the influential working mom and community organizer, and Howard Stern for me and my adolescent sense of humor.  While the content of each private media channel is very different, the net result is the same – a high affinity environment of trust.  Time and time again it is proven that in today’s media jungle the best way to get your marketing messages across is to pair them with original content that connects with your target audience.  Oprah and Howard may not have much in common, but they understand the power of intent based marketing as well as anyone today. 

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No one in media today understands the concept of private media channels better than Howard Stern.  At first, his much trumpeted move to Sirius Satellite radio seemed like a way to get out from under the thumb of FCC and their constant monitoring. However, Howard had something more in mind than the freedom to drop an occasional f-bomb and in-depth stripper interviews.  Back in the prehistoric early 90’s he dubbed himself the “King of all Media” because he was successful on syndicated radio, did a highlight show on E!, had best selling books, and an autobiographical movie.  He was in all media, but they were not integrated and he was essentially renting channels from huge media companies who owned the shows and profits.  He now has two dedicated stations on Sirius (soon to be merged with XM), his own web site and Howard TV which is an On Demand pay service.  All three platforms are tightly integrated, and users pay for the radio show and TV shows, while the free web site is a promotion for both.

The radio channels are interesting because they create a unique environment for the show.  There is a news operation to report on news about the show and characters; and each day there is a wrap up show to talk about the events of that day’s show.  Each show is treated like breaking news on the radio, TV and web site.  It is very addicting to tune into – you get immersed in a parallel world Howard is President and Fred, Artie, Robin, Gary and the huge cast of characters are the cabinet and members of Congress.  The wrap up show is like MSNBC for the whack pack (Howard’s most loyal fans that have become part of the show). 

The net effect is a very high affinity environment that produces two sources of revenue – subscriber fees and advertising/sponsorships.  At a time when it is getting difficult to get people to pay for content, Stern fans are happily forking over money to be able to be a part of his private media channel.  Additionally, the integration and cross-promotion is critical to creating the feel of a private media channel.  Howard Stern may not be to your taste, but there is no denying he has been a media pioneer for the past 25 years.  Keep an eye on him, and you will get a sense of what the future of media channels may look like.

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The cable giant bought Newsday on their home turf of Long Island for $650 million after a bidding war with Rupert Murdoch and Mort Zuckerman.  When billionaires place that much value on a local newspaper (albeit in a lucrative market), maybe the demise of newspapers is not as close as we think.  It is fashionable among media pundits and bloggers to pile on the newspaper business and declare it done for.  They always point to the fact young people don’t read newspapers and get their news on the web.  Has anyone bothered to ask what the newspaper subscription rate has been historically been among young adults – I bet it has always been low.  Not a huge priority at that stage in life.  And, what happens when these hip kids who have no use for newspapers and land lines get older and have kids, houses, careers, etc. 

I do agree that some of what newspapers currently do is obsolete.  National and global news is a commodity – either online, on TV or from the wire services.  Having it appear in a local newspaper serves very little purpose to the reader, who has probably already seen or heard the story in another more immediate platform.  For newspapers to succeed in the future they need to think locally – people love local news – the more local the better.  Reading about politics and tragedies in foreign lands is important but it really has little effect on the average person’s life.  However, they sure do like reading about their own slice of life in their town and region.  These stories have a real and emotional connection, and who doesn’t like keeping up on local gossip.  I may not know all the facts of what’s going on in Darfur or the real difference between Sunni and Shiite; but I know the gory details of an upcoming property tax increase vote in my town and the story of the kid up the street who was arrested for drug possession.

To take it one step further, instead of expending resources by having international and national news bureaus, redeploy those resources into good old investigative journalism on the local level.  Some of the best work from a newspaper is when they uncover crime, corruption or some other injustice in their backyard.  The Boston Globe did a great job this year exposing Mitt Romney’s illegal alien gardeners and some questionable ethics from the current speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representative, Sal DiMasi.  Newsday has a long history of doing that on Long Island, and I hope the new owners will be committed to that tradition.  There is real value in providing this type of content and service to a community.  And, it builds readership affinity for the advertisers, most of which are small local companies who do not run big web or TV campaigns, and rely on the local paper to get their message out.

The local angle is why I think the Cablevision/Newsday deal will work.  They can create an integrated media channel (print, web, cable, events) for readers and the local advertisers who want to reach them. In addition, Newsday now has ownership by people who actually live in the community and have a vested interest.  The days of the big remotely-owned newspaper chains and the homogenization of news that it brought may be over.  Maybe it is time that the local paper goes back to the future and becomes a major player in their community.

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Although still the number one show on network TV, American Idol has seen a steady rating decline this year to it’s lowest totals in five years.  Many theories have been offered  - lackluster contestants, people growing tired of the format, a general post-strike decline in viewership to name a few.   I would suggest another reason why the show has generated almost no buzz this year and people are tuning out.

In the past AI has been a masterful example of combining content and sponsorship.  In this age of permission based marketing, they came up with a formula that was compelling to fans while providing companies like Coke, AT&T and Ford a great marketing vehicle.  Once this show became a huge hit – the producers and FOX amped up the tie ins and revenue opportunities.  They produce records, concerts tours and TV shows.  The voter results show was expanded from 30 minutes to an hour to sell more commercials.  And, they added more promotional deals with iTunes and with “guest mentors” who had new albums to hawk.  Slowly but surely, the marketing and advertising overwhelmed the content portion of the show and this year was the tipping point.  For example, the addition of an AT&T sponsored segment where “random” fans call in to ask questions is nothing but filler and painful to watch.  You almost expect Ryan Seacrest to come out one night wearing a sandwich board with an ad for Maaco Auto Body shops.

I am a fan of the show, but felt like I just spent two hours a week watching an infomercial.  The desire for promotion really hurt the perception of this year’s contestants by forcing them to sing songs by artists who are not relevant to today’s audience.  Two weeks of Beatles songs were a bore – for today’s kids, it does not mean that much, and for those of us over 35, we have heard them a million times.  Then they moved on to Dolly Parton, Mariah Carey and Neil Diamond –who shockingly, all had new albums and tours to promote.  Can anyone name me three Dolly songs? Mariah has more #1 hits than anyone – but are any of them remotely memorable.  However, the highest rated show on the unintentional comedy scale was “show tunes” week with Andrew Lloyd Webber. 

You get the feeling it all about driving sales and playing it safe for the sponsors.  It is just a little coincidental that contestants who are different (i.e. possibly gay) or edgy (tattooed) find themselves gone early and the bland survive.  The success of the incredibly boring and cloying David Archuleta (known as the “Gasper” on Idol fan site Vote for the Worst.com) is symbolic of that trend.  He may be the single least entertaining person on television.

For the show to be successful past next year, the producers really need to examine the balance between content and marketing.  While we often profess that content based permission marketing is the wave of the future, AI is a cautionary tale of what happens when the mix gets out of balance.  I know we are all in business to make a buck, but guys, take it down a notch or you will kill the golden goose.

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I recently came across some interesting brand loyalty research.  This article from Chief Marketer  refers to a study done by Brand Keys that looks at a “Customer Loyalty Engagement Index”. In a nutshell the findings suggest customer loyalty greatly increases when products and services are customized to the consumer.  This makes perfect sense, as customization is becoming more critical to marketers as product differentiation is becoming hard to come by these days.  It is a testament to world wide engineering and manufacturing skills that most products sold in the US today are made very well.  Since most competitive products do the same thing reasonable well, the ability to customize for a specific buyer has become an attractive product attribute.

The two factors driving the age of customization are the same ones that are driving the move to private media channels and content marketing.  An advance in technology and web adoption has made ordering customized products or consuming custom content real and easy to do.  However, the biggest factor is that consumers have the power and are in control of their choices.  The web has empowered consumers to shop and/or gather information across the globe.  It also plays into the consumer’s mindset – they would much rather have something created just for them instead of the same product purchased by the guy down the street.

You can see how this can apply to your marketing choices – if you send your customers content that has been customized for them, you will increase your chances of building a relationship of affinity, trust and loyalty.  Many companies are missing a golden opportunity to build a stronger relationship with their customers by not communicating with them in a customized private custom media venue.  How many companies are still relying on mass market bulk mailings to talk to their customers if they talk to them at all?  The technology exists where you can mine your database to know a customer’s interests and tastes; why not send them content and marketing messages that are customized for them instead of a generic catalog or email?  Or even worse, do think you are hitting your current customers with a mass media ad that is focused at prospects?  Marketers are required to evaluate their customer communications in light of changes in the way people desire and consume information. 

We are in the age of customization, and savvy marketers don’t want to be sending yesterday’s news to tomorrow’s customers.

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Folio just reported on a recent Magazine Day where there was much conversation about the future of magazines (Magazines 3.0) and print in general. The drum beat of bad news for the traditional print business has been steady as consumer eyeballs and marketing dollars migrate to events (live and interactive) and online (e.g., Web sites, video, social networking, etc.)

I was really struck by the juxtaposition of quotes coming from the conference. John Griffin, Chairman of the Magazine Publishers of America (and group President of National Geographic) is trying to put a positive spin on it, but he seems to be fighting a losing battle. He is hoping to be able to deliver faster “audience metrics” to compete with online and TV. Huh? How is getting MRI and ad readership scores quicker going to help compete against the web? There will never be a real and tangible way to tie a print ad in a publication like National Geo (with close and materials deadlines a month ahead of publication) to any measurable return – that fact is driving the migration of advertisers away from print media.

However, that is only one issue responsible for the decline of print media. The other is also mentioned in the Folio article. There are still existing hard walls between edit and sales in American print media. Check these quotes out:

“Advertisers want to borrow—or steal—the credibility and authority we have with our readers,” Griffin said. “And we want to give it to them” without threatening the credibility and authority, he said. “[At National Geographic] we’re always asking ‘How far can we go with this?’ It’s a contestant internal struggle.”

“It’s the single biggest point of contention within our company,” said Deidre Depke, Newsweek.com’s assistant managing editor. “The only editorial asset our magazine has is its content—for us to abandon that, and let advertisers do what they want with it, would be a big mistake.”

In sum: there is a holier than thou streak that runs though these companies and publications that goes beyond what is really necessary and required by consumers. But read this quote – it is excellent, and I think sums up how many marketers/advertisers feel today.

“[The line] has been self-governed and self-policed—you’ve put the handcuffs on yourselves,” Steve Sturm, group VP of strategic research and planning at Toyota Motor North America said. “The federal government, the state government, they haven’t told you to do it. You put up all these roadblocks” that other media don’t have. And a younger generation of potential readers, he said, “don’t play by the same rules you play by.”

Dead on. One of the things that I learned in doing dozens of reader focus groups and readership studies is that the readers don’t care nearly as much about the actual brand name of the content as the editors would like to think they do. Consumers just want good honest, credible and accurate content that helps them in some way or to enjoy for entertainment. No one cares about all the editorial awards or devotion to “church and state”. It’s all about leads, ROI and moving product for the savvy marketer, not having their ad appear across from “pure” award winning editorial. Think about American Idol – it is essentially a commercial for Ford, Coke, AT&T and iTunes wrapped in a talent show. It is a brilliant marriage of content and sponsorship. Consumers get content they love, and marketers get a private media channel for their brands.

Today’s consumer, of all ages, is extremely media savvy and knowing. They can tell the difference between marketing messages and content. Editors need to give the consumer more credit for understanding the dynamic between marketing and content. The prevalence of corporate sponsorships, product placement, content relevant Web ads and custom media have made consumers come to expect marketing messages and content together in one package. In fact, I would argue they find it more valuable.

A magazine’s key asset is its database and the relationship with the people in that database. That is what they should be leveraging to compete. Marketers are tired of renting media channels in print publications when they can own their custom media channels using original content and targeted content delivery. Print can still be a valuable marketing tool when used as part of a private media solution that provides value for the reader and targeted messaging for the marketer.

As Steve Sturm mentions, younger consumers have a whole different perception of media and content. Magazine publishers are going to have to make some hard decisions and quickly. The old way of doing business is gone forever.

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Last week I wrote about Starbuck’s attempt to reach out to customers and prospects for constructive feedback and new product ideas.  In Tuesday’s Boston Globe they ran an insert (with attached card, see below) that made the following offer: Come in to Starbucks on Wednesday’s for the next six weeks, and receive a free tall Pike Place Roast coffee.  Pike Place Roast is their new smoother blend that was requested by many of the suggestions on the site.  It is a great tactic to use custom media to get new and lapsed customers into stores and try their new coffee.  I have to believe this promotion was focused at people like me who prefer the taste of Dunkin Donuts and do not regularly shop at Starbucks. Six weeks of free coffee can get someone hooked and make a stop at Starbucks part of their regular routine.  Most importantly, it gets the product into people’s hands.  All the “branding” and expensive TV ads in the world can’t guarantee that.

In the interest of marketing science I went to my local Starbucks yesterday morning to test their offer and taste the new blend.  It was the typical Starbucks experience with lots of earnest, serious people sitting around with no particular place to go at 8:30am on a week day.  I strode up to the baristas and ordered my tall Pike Place Roast and flashed my card.  I guess the card identified me a newbie since my barista felt compelled to thoughtfully point out that “tall” means “small”.  It was probably the best coffee I ever had at Starbucks, not as good as Dunkin Donuts, but much improved. 

It is interesting to see their private media channel come full circle from soliciting advice from their customers to putting a program in place to put their words into action.  I will give it a shot the next few weeks and let them try and convert me.  Maybe some day I will actually know what Venti means.

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Starbucks has been getting beaten up this year and faces tough competition from Dunkin Donuts. Even McDonalds is taking a run at them.  One of the ways they chose to respond is a great lesson in listening to your customer and embracing a private custom media channel.  For many companies the knee jerk, old school reaction would have been to launch a “branding” campaign or hire a celebrity pitch person.  Instead Starbucks did something very cool – they launched My Starbucks Idea web site.  The purpose of the site is to ask their loyal customers what they could do to improve the product and service.  I would encourage you to go to the site and read the both the volume and passion of the responses.  The site is powered by salesforce.com and they did a similar site for Dell.  Interesting, Dell and Starbucks have a lot in common – both were innovative companies who used to be the fresh up-and-comers, and once they got too big; they lost touch with what made them great.

I commend both companies for creating a private media channel to have a two way dialog with their customers.  This kind of forum gives customers a place to vent, and make suggestion.  Read through some of them – they are not only thoughtful, but smart.  A lot of companies give lip service to listening to their customer, but how many actually do and act on it?  More than ever, people in the executive suite are isolated from their customers, where they are a long way from their middle class American customers and prospects.  Also, since they only talk to other execs, they get caught in an infinite loop of their own B.S.  How many meetings have you been in where sales and marketing people sit around pitching each other and not taking in outside information?  Happens all the time and the result: the ads we see on TV and in magazines are completely off target.

What I really like about the site is the “Ideas in Action” section where Starbuck employees respond in their own words and tell customers what action they will take based on customer suggestions.  This is powerful because many times when you write to a web site, you get an automated response which is sometimes worse than getting none at all.  I have to admit I have never been a big Starbucks fan – the coffee is too harsh and I can’t stand the ordering process.  It was fun to see that many others feel the way I do.  As a result, they are introducing a “smoother” coffee and talking about an express line for impatient people like me who just want a regular coffee; and don’t want to stand behind a line of people ordering complicated permutations of coffee beans, milk (cow or soy) and odd flavors.

Now, let’s see if they take this process one step further.  They have collected scores of contact names and been given the “permission” to talk to them about Starbucks.  I would suggest starting a real Starbucks private custom media channel to their customers using content marketing to further strengthen the bond between them and their customers.  This approach could get Starbucks back on track and make the brand fresh again.  Meanwhile, I can’t wait for the first express line open. 

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Last month I became a member of a somewhat exclusive club which is unusual for me since I have avoided joining anything for most of my life.  You name it – frats, the Elks, Shriners, Freemasons, religions, community groups – no matter the club; I was not your man.

After thinking about it for years, I took the plunge and leased a Mercedes-Benz.  I went to my local dealer on President’s Day weekend dressed like a slob and was clearly only interested in the cheapest model they produce – the C300.  However, from the minute I walked into the dealer, I was treated with respect and like I was someone important.  The sales manager greeted me warmly and made sure I was with a sales person as quickly as possible.  He kept apologizing for the wait which was no more than five minutes.

I purchased 6 cars before this one and each transaction was confrontational and unpleasant.  It was the same drill we have all been through – the pressure to buy today – and the old “What is going to take to for you to buy a car today”.  And of course, the Oz-like sales manager/business manager who is kept in back office and is in charge of closing and the final price.  His purpose is to intimate you into buying now.  The whole experience is usually horrible and you never want to go back.  My father-in-law once punched a guy who would not give him back the keys to the car he was considering trading in.

The people at my dealership worked hard with me to come up with a deal that worked for me.  My sales person patiently explored all options with me in terms of down payment, mileage etc.  I took a test drive and was incredibly impressed with the car and the knowledge of my sales person, who happened to be German – how cool is that.  The business manager was also helpful and closed the deal by giving me a credit for the two payments I had on my existing lease.  At no point did I feel pressured or harassed into buying

What I found interesting was in the sales pitch and all the conversations there was a subtle but strong theme.  From the moment I walked into the dealership they viewed me as a possible life time customer, not a one time deal to make a monthly quota.  There was a lot of talk about “joining the club” how I have earned this car/status symbol. Part of being in the club means I can come by any time for a free car wash, or call for a Mercedes service call anywhere in the US. 

After I signed my agreement, the sales manager who first greeted me came over, shook my hand and put his arm around my shoulder to welcome me and offer his congratulation for “arriving”.  It all sounds corny, but it worked for this cynical guy.

When you think about it there is no difference between a Kia and Mercedes in the respect they both get you from point A to B.  To sell a premium price car you must sell more than basic transportation.  Additionally, the high price point means there is a limited amount of buyers and lots of competition for their dollars.  All the expensive broadcast and print ads in the world can’t duplicate the experience I received when buying my car.  Your next best customer is always your current customer.  Check back with me in three years, but the odds are high I’ll be staying in the club.

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Much has been made of the efforts of conservative radio hosts to affect the Republican primary process. The right wing talker crowd almost uniformly and vocally supported Mitt Romney, the formerly moderate Governor of Massachusetts. Additionally, they railed against John McCain and Mike Huckabee with a venom previously reserved for Bill Clinton and Barbara Streisand. Question: does anyone else see the irony of a thrice divorced indicted drug addict, Rush Limbaugh, defaming a war hero and a Minister?

A deeper look tells us a lot about the changing media landscape and reinforces the fact that consumers are now in control of their media choices.

Conservative talk radio has been a successful media phenomenon, while attempts to recreate on the left have been a commercial failure. The energy of these shows are often fueled by the anger and resentment of listeners who are unhappy with the changes going on around them and the always present liberal (or enemy of the day) threat. Tune in for a while and you will hear they sure are against a lot of things: taxes, universal healthcare, affirmative action, gun control, abortion, gay marriage, immigration, and secular progressives who are now apparently conducting a war on Christmas.

The success of these shows depends on conflict and ideological purity which is why they hate John McCain. Based on his past record, a President McCain would reach out to his friends across the aisle and attempt to create the solutions Americans crave. Voters in the primary elections are gravitating to McCain and Barack Obama who are least ideological and are the most pragmatic of the candidates.

Voters in both parties want real solutions and desire authenticity. That is one of the reasons why conservative radio could not deliver for Romney. Jay Severin, a radio host here in MA, turned his show into a four hour daily commercial for Romney (whom he said would be on Mount Rushmore as a President) and regularly spewed bile about McCain. Net result - Romney only beat McCain by four delegates in his home state on Super Tuesday, symbolic of his greater lack of traction among Republican voters.

The other reason talk radio could not influence voters is rooted in changes in the media landscape. Like the left-leaning network news, right wing radio used to be the only game in town. It was the place where people got their news, and where they formed their opinions. Not anymore. Now there are thousands of places to get information about the candidates and issues. Blogs and citizen journalists have flooded the Web, proliferating the number of opinions to choose from (Technorati tracks over 46,000 political blogs). Additionally, candidates are now using their own Web sites and private media solutions to speak directly to voters with their own media channel. Voters can easily find information and do their own research. It is tough to pass off Romney as a social conservative when You Tube is full of clips from his more liberal past.   Click here and here to see pro-choice Mitt in action.  It is also hard to misrepresent McCain’s conservative record when anyone can look it up themselves.  Between media changes and the current mood of the electorate, the conservative commentators are losing relevancy and influence. Not to mention the credibility issue they have after selling their audiences so hard on George Bush, on track to leave office the least popular President since Nixon.

The loss of credibility, relevance and influence has these radio hosts nervous and up in arms. Being a right wing commentator has become a lucrative media career. The radio shows are only the hub of a multi-platform brand that includes books, TV shows, Web sites and speaking engagements. In fact, I have hired Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham (me and Laura at the Rainbow Room, she was great) as dinner speakers for B2B events. A loss of relevancy and perceived influence could be disastrous for their media brands and personal income.

Twice in my career I was working on a formally powerful media brand that lost relevancy and influence seemingly overnight due to market and media consumption changes. It ain’t pretty to see up close, and once that mystique is gone, it is gone for good. This is why you hear some of these pundits, led by Ann Coulter, say they will vote for Hillary or Obama over McCain presumably to keep the conflict and anger stoked. Which do you think Ann is more concerned with, the welfare of American people or the bottom line of Ann Coulter, Inc.?

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There have already been a million reviews of the creative, and that is not our goal, but rather to take a Private Media/Custom Media look at the efforts.

One of the big themes was Web tie-ins and promotions. Google/You Tube  offered a special package which was a smart option. When you are spending $3 million for 30 seconds of rented TV time, it is a no brainier to buy a package from the premier search engine and video sharing site. My Space and other sites also promoted how you could recap the commercials online after the game. Many (but not enough) of the commercials invited you to a special Web site with mixed results. This was the whole focus of the Go Daddy campaign where they teased you to go on line for a lame Junior High joke about Danica Patrick and a beaver. Embarrassing all around, and did nothing to persuade people to use their domain buying service.

The other theme was the overall level of violence, anger, mayhem and gross outs. Puking babies, hearts jumping out of a chest, people sucked into a jet engine, face mauling badgers, and Justin Timberlake being beaten senseless. I haven’t even gotten to the politically incorrect and just plain offensive – making fun of foreigners, unattractive women and creepy clowns. I am a pretty insensitive guy, and even I was offended at some of this stuff.

Mayhem has been a theme for a couple of years now. I can only guess that this is what happens when big agencies try to make news rather than practice good marketing. They are trying to outdo each other and be outrageous to break through the clutter. This is classic example of agencies talking AT customers rather building a relationship and imparting information that could be used to make a buying decision. The whole Super Bowl ad culture has forgotten the purpose of advertising and marketing is to actually sell products and services.

What struck me the most about these ads is how all those marketing dollars could have been used more effectively. Here are just some rough ideas on how to better spend $3,000,000 using content based private custom media solutions.

1. Mining your customer and prospect database to create a quarterly magazine or newsletter with customized content to build a relationship of trust with your customers.
2. A frequent buyer’s affinity program aimed at your best customers to get them to spend more money and convert them to life long customers.
3. A series of interactive webcasts where you can give customers and prospects great information while creating a two-way dialog.
4. A custom Web site packed with content and an online video series with a viral component to build excitement about your brand and turn customers into brand evangelists.
5. A series of face-to-face events to get yourself closer to your customers. There is no substitute to getting your prospects to actually touch, feel and try your product. This works for both consumer and business offerings. If you want someone to try a new version of Pepsi then get it into people’s hands in a fun atmosphere. That will convert a lot more customers than a commercial that rips off a 1990’s Saturday Night Live skit

Two Ads I Really Liked

I thought the ad for the Audi R8 did the best job showing you the product in action and creating excitement for a new car. First they get you hooked with a parody of the Godfather. They even used an actor, Alex Rocco, from the original film. (He played Jewish gangster Moe Green, the bullet in the eye guy from the scene where Michael settles all family business). After getting the viewer sucked in they tease the car in action, which was impressive to say the least. The only reaction you can have is “Wow, I have to know more about that.”

The other ad I really liked was the Coke parade ad. While Pepsi tries to be cool and trendy, Coke takes a timeless, classic approach with cartoon characters. It was creative, fun and multi generational, using Charlie Brown, Stewie from Family Guy and Underdog. Just putting those three together was inspired. The best part was in the end poor old Charlie Brown gets the bottle of coke. It was a feel good, affinity building moment that stood out in a sea of mean-spirited commercials.

I am also compelled to mention that my media flavored NY vs. Boston Super Bowl game prediction was right on the money. The lesson – When Hubris comes up against Karma, always take Karma and the points.
 

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The proposed take over of Yahoo by Microsoft is a fascinating intersection of marketing, technology and advertising, with Microsoft motivated by its inability to compete with Google in search and online advertising.  If I were in Steve Ballmer’s shoes I would probably do the same thing, but this strategy is a classic example of fighting the last war.

Mergers in the tech world never seem to work out for a variety of reasons, but mostly because they forget about the customer or take them for granted.  These deals always sound good in the conference room where insulated executives pitch each other on stories of efficiency and synergy.  They think that one plus one never equals three, in some cases such as TimeWarner/AOL – one plus one equaled .75.

Trying to merge cultures, technologies, people and rivalries is always a mess, and the needs of and desires of customers always take a back seat.  It is always assumed that if “Joe” is a customer of Company B, and it is bought by Company A, then “Joe” naturally becomes a customer of Company A.  This is faulty logic – our man Joe has no relationship or loyalty to the new company, and may not even like them (remember the HP/Compaq merger).  The market has already selected Google as the de facto search standard by a huge margin.  Why they would think that combing the second and third place search engines would get people to switch.  The wisdom of crowds has spoken and it is not talking about the MSN network.

I have always been a big fan and heavy user of Yahoo’s content and email, but frankly, their search is not nearly as good as Google’s.  I have started the day with my customized myYahoo page and used their email service forever.  However, if a Microsoft-owned Yahoo tries to convert me to a Hotmail account, I am gone, and so will others who don’t want an email address that looks like it comes from an adult site.

Microsoft has to be very nervous about Google’s success and plans for the future.  According to the New York Times, MS is heavily dependent on sales of operating systems and Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) for profitability.  In the last quarter alone their operating profit from Office was $3.2 billion on $4.8 billion in sales.  That is literately printing money and a business model they need to defend.

It is hard to imagine a time when corporate America won’t be using MS Office, but fast forward 10-12 years.  Do you really think we will all still be using packaged software that costs $400 a pop, or will we be using some sort of Software as a Service (SaaS) or ASP model?  Check out Google Docs and you can see they are moving in this direction.  That thought has to scare the heck out of Microsoft.  Not to mention mobile computing and other platforms where they are lagging behind.

Technology is a cruel business, where one moment you are the hot new thing, the king of the hill, and a minute later you are yesterday’s news.  Google will not be toppled by the combination of Microsoft and Yahoo.  However, one day they will likely be knocked off the mountain by a group of brilliant kids who get their start in a garage.

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I am not usually a fan of broad-based, brand advertising because they usually try too hard to be clever or sexy without selling the product or the benefits to the buyer. However, I love the recent Bud Light ads with the “Dude” guy. If you have not seen them, check out this YouTube link and this one which has football theme - and Fox’s Joe Buck.

In some ways this breaks all the rules of classic advertising. They do not give any features or benefits of the product, or even try. They barely even show Bud Light. Not exactly Ogilvy on Advertising. However, the product they are advertising is not all that good – in fact it is a poor excuse for beer. Bland taste, too much carbonation, and I don’t think it is possible for a grown man to get a buzz off of low cal version of the classic Bud. Trying to sell the quality of product would not have credibility since no one really thinks Bud Light is a great tasting beer.

So why does the ad work? On one level, it is well done and funny. It taps into the non-verbal relationships most men have with each other. There is no need for talk, when a well placed situational “dude” will do the trick. The camera work and the melancholy piano are perfect creating a unique environment. The casting is excellent – he is the classic everyman in his late twenties or early thirties. Everyone knows a guy like him from work, school, or the local bar. He sits in a cube, wears inexpensive clothes and lives with a roommate in a low rent apartment. He is just a regular guy looking to have some fun with his circle of friends.

It works because they create affinity with the brand. I have a more positive image of Bud Light because I get a kick out of the commercial. In my head, I know the beer has not changed, but they have created an emotional connection.

Affinity and likeability are critical when creating and promoting a brand. At King Fish we profess that affinity leads to trust, which in turn leads to a customer taking an action. In a Private Media solution we use original content in a preferred environment to create that affinity, trust and action. In this case, Bud Light created that relationship by using content that speaks to men on a non-verbal, emotional level rather than trying to tell them the beer was superior tasting. A smart strategy when selling something that is basically a commodity.

Will this commercial lead people to buy more Bud Light? Even more, will it get people talking about Bud Light, creating a groundswell of awareness and brand equity? I bet it will, and I can’t wait to see what they do with the Dude guy next.

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Barack Obama has won the South Carolina primary by a big margin and trounced Hillary Clinton among voters under 30. The battle between Obama and Hillary has been positioned as a battle of race and gender, but I think there is something else at play. The real showdown between Obama and Hillary Clinton is generational. Hillary is the classic boomer, 60 years old, highlighting her 35 years of experience. Obama is of the next generation – only 46, and looking forward. Newsweek recently wrote a cover story declaring that this election will be all about 1968 and reliving those old battles. I could not disagree more. This contest symbolizes the generational change and will have major implications for media and marketing strategy.

Generational conflict has been much discussed over the years. I would consider the classic boomer generation as 1946-1959. They are now between 62 and 49, and their earliest influences are from the 60’s and early 70s. Generation X (1960-1975) is now between 4