Viral Marketing

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

I was on vacation in Arizona when my friend Sara, a comedy writer and fellow comedian, sent me an email.

“DO THIS WITH ME,” it read, with a link to the Jim Beam website.

Jim Beam’s recent advertising campaign, shown ad nauseum on TBS during Celtics games, flashed through my head. They wanted users to create and submit their own videos, either inspired by or a parody of, the commercials. Sara was going to write a script in which I would get to parody the gorgeous girl who says she likes her man “a little bit hairy.”
I slammed back the remainder of my ice tea and replied, “Hell yes!” 

For comedians and humor appreciators of all persuasions, sites like Funnyordie.com and CollegeHumor.com are becoming an increasingly popular place to watch video creativity in action. It’s like an oasis of laughter in a web crowded with depressing political commentary sites and stay-at-home mom blogs. Besides being a great way to get exposure, it’s also a way to connect people across the country. And lately, corporate America has been starting to use user generated media to their advantage, too.

From Ragu’s “Great American Family” contest to the Brooks running shoe contest, companies are saying to their customers, “Hey! We value you! Come be a part of this with us! It’s fun!” On our commercial parody production team, we studied the original commercials, talked about effective ways to represent the Jim Beam brand, and forced our friends and families to watch the submissions as they rolled in. What better way for a company to build community, engender brand loyalty and market virally, all at one time? Customer retention happens when you make your customers feel like a part of your brand. And if you listen close enough, what your customers are saying can probably help you move in the right direction in the future.

It’s working for Jim Beam. They had hundreds upon hundreds of video submissions, ranging from brilliant to disturbed. (To the man whose cat inexplicably ate his wig during the video—I just want you to know your lingerie was really classy.) One guy even built a Facebook Fan page to advertise that he had entered the contest. Talk about word-of-mouth and social media in action! 

And as for our submission…well, we didn’t make it to the finals. Maybe it was because my character barfed into her purse. Maybe it was the mature lady mud wrestling. We’ll never know. But I do know that next time I throw a party, I’m buying some Jim Beam.

I recently participated in an interesting project as one of 100 marketing authors to contribute to a book called Project 100: Marketing in the Social Media Era.  This is a topic that is relevant to anyone in the marketing profession today.  Social media is about two way conversations, interaction, story telling and authenticity.  It is having your own private media channel to talk to your customers and prospects without the filter of traditional media. 

The project was the idea of Jeff Caswell who recruited the authors and produced the books.  One of the best aspects of this project is that all profits will go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, global leader of the breast cancer movement, with a goal of raising at least $5,000. 

Please check out the site and consider purchasing a book for only $19.95 to get 100 unique opinions on social media marketing and make a donation to an important cause at the same time.

Another Oscar show is in the books and the ratings did tick up a bit from last year’s record low.  While the show format is tired, it is not the real story of why it no longer holds America’s interest as it once did.  The original purpose of the awards was to provide a sales boost to the winning movies and to get some PR love for the industry’s image.  That is still the purpose today and it is reflected in the nominated movies and the tone of the show.  This is the industry’s opportunity to show that they make “Big important movies about big important ideas”. 

The nominated movies are often loaded with political messages and diversity.  That is not a bad thing, but a complete disconnect with what the movie industry actually produces in large quantity today.  The majority of releases are marketing concoctions aimed at the at the lucrative demo of young men and women and kids.  Tad Friend wrote a fascinating article in the New Yorker about the movie marketing business.  The story takes you into the sausage factory and it is eye opening.  The artistic process has given way to focus groups and market testing to make sure the product resonates with the target audience.  Between 25-35% of a movie’s budget is taken up by marketing efforts.  Much of that money is dumped into a barrage of unmeasurable and unaccountable 15 and 30 second TV spots.  Like their cousins in the auto industry, movie marketers show no signs of breaking their addiction to print and broadcast advertising that is high in cost and low in return. When it comes to “renting” media channels, the movie industry spends money with a fire hose.

The whole situation becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.  The added marketing costs make it harder for movies to make a profit, so they market test them and alter the film to resonate with the ticket buying young men and women.  This is apparent when reviewing the top movies of 2008.  The top grossing movies are mostly action and comedy films aimed at 15-28 yr old men and women.  There is also a number of animated movies for the under 12 crowd.  The first “adult” movie checks in at numbers 11 and 12 with “Sex in the City” and “Mama Mia”.  After that it is slim pickings for the over 35 set (I could also say the over 110 IQ set, but that would be mean). 

The fact that Hollywood is primarily producing products for the youth market is not a crime.  They are in business to make money and those are the people who buy movie tickets.  Ironically, the target audiences for their movies are the people least likely to settle in on a Sunday evening to watch an Oscar telecast that moves at the pace of a 1970’s variety show.  Unlike the Grammy awards that live in the moment, the Oscars are often about the past.  And, giving technical and behind the scenes awards (sound, costumes, editing) during prime time is not appealing to anyone except the families of the nominees.

There is also another factor at play in why America is tuning out the Oscars and that is political persuasion of the movie and entertainment industry.  They are not shy in their support of Obama and liberal causes.  This manifests itself in both financial and vocal public support.  Sean Penn came through last night talking about how America elected an “elegant” man.  Who knew Obama was like Fred Astaire.

This can be a turn off to the roughly 48% of the country that did not vote for President Obama – elegance and all.  It is one thing to tolerate a difference in opinion from elected officials such as Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi, but quite another to be lectured by rich, spoiled celebrities like Matt Damon.  Don’t underestimate some of the hard feelings from moderate/conservative voters who got fed up with the media and entertainment industry during the past election.  Nobody likes to be told how we are not doing enough about global warming and healthcare from surgically enhanced people who earn millions to stand in front of a camera and recite someone else’s words.  The individuals in the movie business have every right to speak their minds, but it can be a risky proposition when you are selling a product to a broad consumer audience. 

This explains some of the reasons why the Oscars are losing relevance, but what about the future of the movie industry in the age of new media.  We’ll explore that next week….

I am stating the obvious, but 2009 will be a rough year for the Face to Face events business – from trade shows to custom events to conferences.  I have been hearing about cut backs and cancelations from colleagues for months, and then saw this cover story in the New York Times on Vegas.  Business is way down in Las Vegas, arguably the convention and conference capital of the US.  Over 30,000 hotel rooms canceled last month as many shows have postponed or decided to cancel.  At last month’s Super Bowl the famous Playboy party was canceled.  They said a lavish party seemed inappropriate given the economy but I would wager that the only thing that was inappropriate was the lack of sponsor dollars to fund it.

The costs associated with live events makes them easy to cancel during a recession and that is really too bad.  Live events are one of the best lead generation tools available and they do an equally great job with customer retention.  The powers of events are enhanced when they are paired with original and compelling content created for the target audience.  However, event’s benefits come with a high cost per lead due to the fixed costs of running a first class event.   While there is no substitute for personal contact with a prospect or customer, there is another way.

Webcasting has been around for over ten years and is an established lead gen tool being used widely in the B2B world.  The Virtual Show or Virtual Trade Show is really picking up steam this year.  They have been around for a while now, but seem to be reaching a critical mass especially in the technology and life sciences markets.  If you are not familiar with them here is a definition from Wikipedia:

The structure of a typical virtual tradeshow often includes a virtual exhibit hall which users enter with specific permissions and capabilities, to either attend and view virtual trade show displays in the exhibit hall or build virtual booths to exhibit information related to products or services on offer, just as they would at a trade fair in a convention center. The virtual tradeshow may have other components such as a virtual web conference, or a web seminar or a webinar, or other educational presentations. The virtual show thus results in live interaction between all the users on many levels (one-to-one, one-to-many and many-to-many) and simultaneously. Detailed tracking mechanisms allow organizers to determine the flow of traffic in the virtual tradeshow.

Because this is online you get incredible data on the visitors and the actions they take during the show.  This allows you to segment and score your leads before you feed them into your lead nurturing programs.  And, your sales people can interact with prospects online during the show.  ON24 (King Fish is an authorized reseller) is one of several companies that provide a virtual show platform and they did some interesting research on the growth of virtual shows.  They surveyed 10,000 enterprise executive who reported that 53% of their companies have begun using virtual events and 23% plan to start using them this year.  The majority of these companies are also reporting that they will be decreasing their use of trade shows and physical sales meetings and training events.

If your company is struggling with your live events strategy it is worth exploring a virtual event.  Be aware, it is a large undertaking with project management, selection of a platform, content creation and audience development all playing a big role in your plans.  However, the rewards will be worth it when you start filling your sales pipeline with warm leads at a lower cost per lead (CPL) than a live event.

One of the consequences of the new media landscape is the marketing discipline of online reputation management.  This has always been an issue, but with the popularity of social media it has reached critical mass.  I recently came across a story that illustrates how ordinary people can harness the power of web 2.0 tools and make life very difficult for a company or individual.  Last month while flipping channels my wife came across a show we have never watched – Wife Swap.  The premise is wives from diverse backgrounds are switched for the purpose of mining entertainment from differences in attitudes towards housework, child rearing etc.  They’re generally from opposing social and political strata to create conflict and comedy, and this one was off the charts. 

One family was from Missouri and Middle America.  Their dream is seeing their oldest boy win a paintball scholarship, though I can’t believe it actually exists.  The “snobby” family was a pair of insufferable cultural elites from San Francisco who reveled in being environmentally correct and having a “World View” whatever that means.  The husband, Stephen Fowler, is possibly the vilest person ever to grace American TV.  He is a Brit who lives in the US of A to help us see the errors of our way.  Stephen (wearing a shirt that says “Sustainability”) was mean and cruel to the wife from the Midwest to a level that was almost unwatchable.  For more background check out this news video from San Francisco’s ABC affiliate. 

I watched to the end because I wanted to see this loathsome man get his comeuppance, and I sorely disappointed. It just ended with him and his wife (who said she was not proud to be American) being their usual smug and condescending selves.  I forgot all about the Fowlers until I read about the furor that this story caused in the Bay area and across the country.  Outraged people took to the web/social media networks and started making life difficult for the Fowlers.  This web site (stephenfowlersucks.com) became the hub and you can read about how their business and personal lives took a hit.  Stephen tried to apologize but it was too late, even though he was “deeply” sorry.  He had to resign from boards and his wife’s business, which they were promoting, was damaged.  It’s a reminder that things live forever on the web and once something goes viral, it is out of anyone’s control.  The internet is still the Wild West when it comes to digital rights and reputation management. 

All you need to do is flip through the comments section of any news, political or entertainment site to see public people being bashed by anonymous posters.  It is a real issue for companies who are seeing complaints about them rise in Google searches.  When people are angry today they take to the web and create a permanent record of their grievance than can be found by any customer or prospect.  I have had my challenges with Comcast cable so I typed “I hate Comcast” into Google and found almost 11 thousand exact matches.  And came across the charming site named comcastsucks.org.  That can’t put a smile on the face on their CMO. 

Monitoring your online reputation is something all marketers need to take seriously and it should be part of someone’s job responsibility.  That person needs to keep checking search engines, blogs, Facebook, twitter etc.  If possible you should reach out to the aggrieved person and try to resolve the conflict or at least try and show that there are people behind your logo.  Angry consumers often strike out against companies because they feel powerless and that no one cares about them.  It seems simple, but show you are listening and start an interactive dialog with your own blog or Facebook/Twitter account.  If there is something nasty being said about your company on the web, you want to know about it before your CEO’s son or daughter tells him about it. 

The current growth rate of Facebook continues apace, passing 100 million world wide users.  The growth is being fueled by both non-US users and the stampede of people between the ages of 25-55 who are jumping into the mix in huge and fast growing numbers.  Much of it is driven by professional needs, but the social needs are just as strong.  As the job market softens, it becomes imperative to network and keep in touch with past colleagues.  Also, to promote yourself and let people in your industry know what you have been up to for the past few years.  Having a Facebook account is a “must have” for those of us toiling in the media and marketing business.

We are firmly in a new world where our personal and business lives are combined, intersected and merged.  Even our young President has a Blackberry, and I heard him refer to the White House as a home office in jest.  Think of the Seinfeld episode where George does not want his girlfriend and friends to spend time together, because World’s Collide.  I feel like that on Facebook when “bawdy” Gordon exchanges ribald jokes with High School and gym friends in the same place where I dialog with clients, vendors and co-workers.  I try to be mindful of it, but others let it fly.  If you are going to wade into Facebook you have be tolerant of the torrent of trivial status updates (Fran is baking cookies, Leon is heading to Home Depot, Calvin needs coffee before writing a report) and ones that are there to self promote and sell. 

I have learned that given the ideological bent of the media world, it is best to leave politics off line, lest you want to receive a diatribe on the evils of George Bush or climate change (what global warming is called in the winter).  Like any platform or forum there will be those who abuse it and become serial “frienders”, just looking to pad their total in some odd ego affirming exercise.  Another form of abuse are over-posters who constantly regale their friends with political views, favorite articles and songs and generally clog up the works by assuming that there are hundreds of people who care about their every thought.  Take my advice – de-friend them.  I have done it a couple of times, it is cleansing

Now that everyone is here the question is – how best to use this powerful tool.  At this point no one has any firm answers but I do think it is valuable venue for marketing.  We’ll explore your company on Facebook in the next posting, but it is certainly worthwhile for individuals.  Facebook creates your own private media channel to the world.  You can chose to communicate one on one, to a specialized group or in mass.  It is a method to get the word out about events in your personal or professional life.   It also allows you to grow closer to people you don’t see or speak with on a regular basis.  I have found the ability to post links an effective way to get out the message about some interesting things we are doing as a company.  Facebook also gives us a targeted distribution channel for our blog and other content we create.  One of the main tenants of private custom media channels is the ability to speak to your permission based target audience with content in an environment where they will be receptive.  Facebook enables you to have an interactive dialog with your audience.  Social media has great promise as a marketing tool and right now we are all pioneers.

Over the past few weeks I have had the pleasure of appearing on a few radio shows to talk about the new media landscape.  It is important to look at these changes from the point of view of media consumers and how it affects marketers.  A common theme is how technology has empowered consumers to be in control of their media choices in terms of timing, format and platform.  This dynamic has changed the business model for traditional media companies especially in print and broadcast.  An equally important theme is the drive for measurability and accountability from marketers.  In a down economy, marketers are even more obsessed with return on investment and making every cent count.  These are themes we will be exploring in depth in 2009.

Please click the links to listen to the clips

December 22 – Indianapolis morning show with Pete the Planner, a well known financial planner from Green Candy.

January 16 – Houston National Public Radio

January 27 – KFUO morning show in St. Louis

January 30  - The Small Business Advocate with Jim Blasingame, small business expert

Cam Brown, President
King Fish Media

2009 will feature the greatest redirect in marketing approach that the media industry has seen since the explosive growth of cable television (and its subsequent usage opportunities that caused planning confusion in the 1980s and early 90s) . Looking forward, savvy marketers will broker deals with media companies not for reduced page rates or air time, but for their subscriber list – the more selects available, the better. Media companies will re-structure their sales teams, reducing the workforce of 30 and 40-something reps and elevating the most insightful marketers.

This new staff will gain immediate credibility with advertising partners who will not view them as yet another new face pitching the same old story, but as a strategic marketer identifying the most targeted database possible from their circ files, and guiding the best practices for usage of that file. The story of targeted efficiency over reach, and reduced top line advertising revenue in exchange for a smarter, more collaborative client relationship, is the story of 2009 and beyond.

Gordon Plutsky, Director of Marketing
King Fish Media

Custom Media, across all platforms, will be one of the few areas that will grow in revenue in 2009 thanks to two important trends:

    -  Companies becoming publishers and producing their own content to talk directly to customers and prospects.

   -   The need for more measurable media and high ROI during a recession.

The continued growth of web casting, virtual trade shows and online video will take a significant chunk of revenue from trade shows and live events during 2009.

The decline of the US auto industry will result in huge cut backs in print advertising from the big three, and several magazines will close as a result.  Local TV stations and newspapers will see big decreases in ad revenue as car dealerships close after GM kills Buick, Pontiac and Saturn and Ford also pares brands as part of a government bailout.

Several IT publications will follow the lead of PC Magazine and abandon their print issue to reposition themselves as online and events brands.  They will thrive once all the print overhead is removed.

Facebook will explode and become a “must have” for professionals in 34-54 age group who will continue to blur the lines between personal and business life.

The big television networks will continue to become less relevant in the lives of Americans as they spend more time on niche cable networks and social media sites.  The 2009 fall season will produce zero new hits.  The continued penetration of DVR’s will further erode their advertising base and they will have to make major cutbacks.

A major US daily newspaper will fold its print edition and go digital only.

Sarah Palin will write a book about her experiences during the 2008 campaign.  She will get a giant advance and it will go to #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list much to the dismay of New York Times.

American Idol will see a strong decline in ratings - over commercialization and bland contestants killed the golden goose.

Kathleen Martin
RocketComm

The markets will continue to ride the roller coaster through the third quarter. Big business will continue to contract but there will be explosive growth in small service firms and mid size companies. Contracting will be the norm versus traditional company employment.

Social media will continue to grow and the challenge in 2009 will be how to manage the scale and depth of your social networks and leverage the various media options for maximum return. As customers accept the flashing boxes on the sidebar and scrolling headers the media agencies will be looking for new ways to gain not only mind share but retention in a non-retentive environment.

I also think Elvis and Marilyn Monroe have a pretty good chance of being invited to the inauguration and we will see another Kennedy in the senate.

Joe Pulizzi
Junta42

More and more media companies will shed unprofitable titles in certain verticals to stay profitable and solvent. This will open up opportunities for corporate brands to become the content providers for those industries.  I wouldn’t be surprised if you started seeing corporate brands with some cash in the bank buy out small, niche media properties as they work to build out their content strategies.

Traditional media spend will continue to drop as corporate marketers will lean on web statistics for ROI. Marketers will take half of what they are pulling out of traditional and spend on content-driven activities, social media, and other more “experimental” media. Some “forward-looking” brands will see an opportunity to go back to targeted print activities, such as custom magazines and customer newsletters, to differentiate themselves from the barrage of email marketers. 

 What are your predictions?  Send them to gplutsky@kingfishmedia.com and we will post them or leave a comment. 
 

I covered lead gen in my latest posting on Online Marketing for Marketers .  Specifically, I wrote about cost per lead (CPL) online lead generation for B2B marketers.  At King Fish we use it often as a tool for driving registrants to webcasts and virtual trade shows.  Here is the posting:

The need for ROI-based online marketing will be ever greater in 2009 as financials types will be scrutinizing every marketing dollar and looking for cuts.  As I’m sure you know, marketing is one of the first to get some budget shaving—but of course your sales people are still looking for fresh leads in the pipeline and they’re expecting you to help.

If you have not fully embraced online lead generation and cost-per-lead (CPL) programs now is the time.  The era of email list rental and blasting as an online lead acquisition tool is nearing an end.  The vast majority of your outbound email winds up in spam boxes or get deleted.  Media (both print and online) companies have had it good by renting email names at high rates and guaranteeing no results.  It is time to ask them to do business in a new way.  Ask them for CPL programs so both parties have skin in the game, and you will guarantee yourself qualified leads from your online efforts.  It will likely cost more at first, but it is worth it.  Almost all of the big players in IT media are doing online lead gen, and doing it well.  The CPL model is starting to make the move into non-tech B2B media.  Here are a couple of tips we have found to be successful using online lead gen/CPL to generate qualified sales leads for our clients:

1. It works best when taking advantage of the relationship potential customers have with a web site and/or media brand.  You get the affinity and halo effect, so choose leading media brands for your efforts.

2. Use content as the offer – interactive events and webcasts work very well as does downloadable white papers and interactive ebooks.  Make it worth the prospect’s while to give up their name and email address and start to build a permission relationship.

3. Use third party independent content if possible, especially research that is not generally available.

4. Use strong filters by using landing pages with specific questions to get only the selects you want.  It could add cost, but also worth it to give your sales team a more qualified leads.

5. Track the results closely and keep in close contact with the media company on the volume and quantity of the leads being generated through online efforts.

Moving your online lead generation efforts to a CPL model will generate significant higher returns in the long run and keep your sales pipeline full during a challenging year.

We are heading into the holiday buying season and Black Friday is upon us.  I have a great suggestion for you to do your shopping and contribute to an important cause.  A good friend, Linda Kuehn, has created a site called “Click to Cure ALS”.  She is doing her part to battle a terrible disease that has stuck close to home.  Linda used her marketing and web skills to create a shopping portal with tons of terrific online merchants.  The best way to describe it is from the “About” page on the site:

Click To Cure ALS is a shopping portal built for the purpose of raising money in the fight against ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).

All you have to do to help is simply visit this site, click a link or an ad to go to the store where you want to shop, and then shop as you normally would. It does not cost you anything and you don’t pay a premium when you use this site. As a matter of fact, you’ll find plenty of money-saving offers when you visit us!

When you click from this site to an online store and complete a purchase, we’ll earn a commission from our participating merchants and donate the profits to the ALS Association and Project A.L.S.

There is no extra cost to click through to sites you would be going to anyway via the magic of affiliate marketing.  I plan on using the site during some down time over Thanksgiving.  There is nothing better than having a drink or two and setting yourself loose on iTunes.  It is always fun when the bill comes.  Linda has put together a nice variety of sites and you may discover a new one such as Kosher.com.  Now I can have Kosher Bison delivered right here to Salem, Massachusetts.  The wonders of the internet never cease.

Give it a try and help to fight ALS.

Happy Thanksgiving from the King Fish Think Tank team!

Are you a subject matter expert?  A subject matter expert is the “go-to” person for their customers and social network contacts.  These experts are seasoned professionals with references and a portfolio of proven success.  Subject matter experts get the customers, win the bids and are answering the phone rather than cold calling.

Interested in being an expert?  Then begin thinking like one.  An expert by definition is “having, involving, or displaying special skill or knowledge derived from training or experience.”  In other words if you can demonstrate that you know more than most and are recognized as a leader within a community you are an expert.

In the 1980’s it could take you years to establish yourself as an expert.  With today’s social networking communities you can be recognized almost overnight.  Let’s look at two communities and how to position you and your business as leaders.

LinkedIn:

LinkedIn is established to be a business networking community.  You have the opportunity to ask questions, answer questions and participate in discussions.  The more time you dedicate to positioning yourself the more you will differentiate yourself.  Include links to your sites (blogs included) and where possible share your books or white papers on the subject.  References also speak volumes.  Anytime you can say “don’t take my word for it, read what my customers think” the more credible your opinions and suggestions become.

You can also join “like-minded” experts on LinkedIn.  These are small groups inside of the larger community that often focus on a discipline (e.g. marketing, sales, recruiting, human resources, or accounting) or on a specific interest (e.g. events, public relations, consulting).  Groups are reflected on your profile and allow people to see your affiliations and interests.

Facebook:

Facebook is different as it was set up as a social site.  Both business and personal intersect here.  You can establish multiple Facebook pages that focus on your business and on you as an individual.  You can choose to combine it all into one page.  Post notes that include article leads with links as well as highlights from your latest activities.  Changing your status to include information on where you are speaking or a presentation you may have posted will drive others to review your work.  You can cross link both Facebook and LinkedIn driving your audience from one site to the other.

There are many other sites that work much like these two (Plaxo, Namyz, MySpace).  It is possible to stretch yourself too thin with social networks.  I recommend you pick two and really focus your efforts in developing your message through your profile, references and participation (e.g. status updates, Q&A). 

The path to being an expert is clear: a well developed profile, references from your customers, participation in online discussions and building a following of contacts who are looking to drive business with you and for you.

I am sure that by now you have perfected your “about me” and “profile” pages on all of your social networks.  You have opened yourself to networking outside of your known circle and you are sending personal notes when you extend or accept invitation.  Your network of contacts has grown from hundreds to thousands of business professionals.

During this process you may have noticed that a large number of both corporate and private recruiters are looking to connect.  Recruiters are by nature active networkers.  They understand that they may meet the next great hire directly or indirectly through their network. Recruiters are experts at turning their contacts in leads.

So how do you do this?  I recommend three easy steps:

1.  Open a conversation with each of your contacts.  As I previously mentioned I respond to each invitation with a personal message.  I do have a form message that I personalize based on the profile of the individual.  I do the same with invitations.  I share what I do and what I am looking for.  I always ask for the business.  I am networking to grown my business.

2. Have “free” items available.  White papers, links to your blogs or anything that will share your expertise with the potential lead.  This is a validation process for them.

3. Set telephone calls to follow up individually.  I may spend 4-5 hours a week networking on line, but I spend an additional 8-9 hours in follow up calls and sending out information to prospective clients.

LinkedIn has added discussion functions to each of its groups.  You can send out a question or even a specific job request to the group.  This is also an excellent place for you to answer questions and position yourself as the expert in a specific area.  If in responding to a question you see an opportunity to ask for the business I often choose a “private reply” versus and open posting.  This allows me to contact the individual directly and share with them the benefits of my company and how I can assist them with their specific question or need.

Ready to jump offline and add an in person social networking option?  I recommend BNI . BNI offers everyone an opportunity to grow their business through referrals.  I use BNI to supplement by Facebook and LinkedIn communities and increase my local area leads.

Careful feeding, watering and farming of your contacts can turn your social network contacts in leads and revenue for your business. 

I’d like to introduce a new contributor to the King Fish Think Tank  - Kathleen Martin, CEO, RocketComm.  Kathleen is speaker, presenter and marketing professional with a track record for producing programs that generate revenue and exceed goals.  I have known her for several years going back to when I was running a marketing department for a traditional media company and she was a customer in her role as a communications manager for a Fortune 500 technology manufacturer.  Kathleen was one of my favorite clients because she is a master at using both new and traditional media to create ROI driven integrated solutions.  Now as CEO of her own company she is spreading her knowledge and experience with the world. – Gordon Plutsky, King Fish Media.

Driving Business Through Your Social Networks

I love to network.  I think I have been networking since I was in the third grade and introducing people to other people and looking for who had what in their lunch and who was looking to trade.  I am a bit older and I rarely find people looking to trade lunches, but I do find leads for my business and others through social network sites.   Networking online allows me to work a much larger lunch room and I make money versus Hostess cakes.

I have about 2400 contacts in my LinkedIn community and there is a fair amount of discussion on how to use LinkedIn or any social networking site to drive leads and increase your business.  I recommend that all users following five simple steps:

Understand the rules.
Social networks come with their own rules.  Be sure you understand what is acceptable in your communities.  On LinkedIn if you send an invitation to someone and they list you as “do not know” you will be unable to openly network without emails of the people you are trying to contact.  On Facebook not all of your discussions should be posted to walls, some require contact to contact messages.  You can often look at discussions posted online or in the FAQ section.

Build your profile as if you are building your website.
On LinkedIn your profile is not only a personal resume, but a resume for your business.  On Facebook you are walking a thin line of family, friends and business.  You can choose to have a personal page and a page for your business.  Keep an eye on what pictures you post on Facebook.  I cannot tell you how many small business owners loose business based on a picture they posted on Facebook (the holiday Christmas party should not be an open posting).

Start with the network you know. 
On LinkedIn you will need to just type in names in the search bar and request connections, on Facebook you can import your contacts from most webmail applications.  Add a personal note to each invitation.   Your note should include a short introduction from you, why you want to add this person to your network and why they should link to you.

Grow your contacts through open networking.
Move to the community that is available to you through your contacts.  On LinkedIn you can join the open networker groups (there are at least three) and you will receive invitations each time the new “invite me” list is shared.  On Facebook you can request anyone to be a friend, but the best way to grow quickly is to ask your friends to suggest contacts for you. 

Always ask for the business.
Anytime someone accepts your invitation or you accept theirs, follow up with a thank you note.  I suggest that you include not only your thanks, but what you are looking for business wise and ask what you can assist them with.

Wondering if it works?  I have driven more business in the last month through my LinkedIn contacts than I did on my last two direct mail campaigns.  By communicating in a personal manner both at the time of the invitation and when an invitation is accepted you create an active network.  Active networkers are open to growing business and will share leads with you if forward leads back out.   Next time we will discuss how to turn these conversations into active business.

Dear Steve Schmidt, Chief Strategist McCain Campaign,

After watching Sarah Palin light it up against Biden and draw huge crowds this weekend, I feel compelled to give some you marketing and media advice.  Love how you energized McCain and pulled ahead after the convention, but it has been all down hill since then.  The bail out timing was a bad break, and no matter what happens now it is Bush’s fault and by association McCain’s.  That may have been a tipping point in a year that should be a Democratic layup equivalent to Carter’s post-Nixon/Watergate win.  The RCP poll average has you down six, but the numbers have been volatile and may not be that accurate.  You still have a chance, time to take the gloves off and hand the ball to your point guard – Sarah Barracuda Palin. 

Your media missteps nearly killed your hottest brand, but it is not too late to salvage it with a new custom media approach.  What you have pulled off so far is impressive. As Alaska’s Governor she had no reason to be expert on issues such as internal Iranian politics, nuclear proliferation and Wall Street regulation.  You had five weeks to prepare her to debate a guy in who has been in the Senate since 1973 in front of 70 million people and you did a decent job.  However, you messed up the press relations and almost sunk her (and your campaign) by feeding her to the mainstream media on their terms.

What were you thinking?  I admit I may have given the interview to Charlie Gibson, who knew he would be a condescending ass? However, feeding her to Katie Couric was criminal.  The entire concept of network evening news is old school and a relic.  It has not been relevant or important since the 80’s.  In today’s media landscape, the consumer is in control and news is a commodity that is available on demand, 24/7 on any platform. The idea of influential people sitting down to watch 22 minutes of news at 6:30 every night has gone the way of parachute pants and knit ties.

Let’s face it, the mainstream media (MSM) is in the tank for Obama and has shown a willingness to do his dirty work by attacking McCain and Palin.  What possessed you to give into them and send Governor Palin to be interviewed by a woman who is floundering with horrible ratings and is on the verge of being fired?   Couric’s back is up against the wall and you gave her a chance to matter again – and you gave her complete control over content, camera work and editing.  You made people talk about Saturday Night Live again for the first time since the days of Eddie Murphy playing Gumby, damn it. 

Did you cave from the pressure of the MSM?  Did you actually take them seriously when they said it was the role of the media to vet candidates?  I don’t recall reading that in the Constitution.  The coastal liberal elite think that people in flyover land are too dumb to decide for their own, so it is their responsibility to decide for them.  They decided this one back in January, ask Hillary.

Here at King Fish, we have a philosophy called Private Media.  You need to own your own private media channel, not rent the old one from the MSM.  I suggest you create the Sarah Palin channel, to talk directly only to the voters that matter – swing voters in the key swing states.  Forget the traditional media of the networks and print media; you don’t need them – not a bit. They are losing significance and influence in the lives of Americans.  It is not coincidence that the networks and newspapers are the ones whose business models are most under attack.  You can get better marketing ROI handing out flyers in front of Penn Station than advertising during NBC’s new shows (hey, let’s remake Knight Rider).  The New York Times and its junior varsity team The Boston Globe have turned themselves into daily Obama campaign bulletins.  Is it any wonder their profits and stock price are declining?  The Times is cutting costs, sections and staff while losing what was left of their objectivity.

It is time to keep Palin away from these faltering outlets and have her talk directly to voters.  You will take heat for this strategy.  A hue and cry will come from people in NY, Boston, and LA who mock and hate her.  Who cares, let the NPR crowd stew over their soy lattes; you have already lost those states.  Focus on your target market – swing voters in swing states who identify with her and feel she is “one of them”.   Let the voters decide on Nov. 4th and let the chips fall where they may.

You are sitting on a pile a of cash, so buy up half hour time slots in critical local market to run infomercials and promote the hell out of them.  Create the shows as town halls where people can see Palin speak directly to voters with no media filter.  Embrace social networking to a much greater extent than you have – go viral with web video in a big way.  Enlist word of mouth marketing with PTO groups and churches in Middle America. Try some live streaming video web casts with Sarah where she can answers question directly from voters, and not from agenda driven members of the media. 

The game is well into the 4th quarter, put the ball in her hands and have her attack and bust the zone.  You can’t wait for Obama to make a mistake; he won’t, he is too good a politician.  Have her hit him hard on Ayers, taxes, and “the white flag of surrender” in Iraq.  Sarah Palin needs to take her message directly to the right voters and forget about traditional media.  The web, live events, you tube, email and word of mouth will be your media vehicles.

It still may not be enough since it seems that a slim majority of American are ready to cast their lot with Obama because he is a blank canvas to where they can project their hopes, dreams and fears.  Look on the bright side; if you and Gov Palin (or Gov. Jindal or Gov. Pawlenty) takes him on in 2012 you will have an actual Obama record to run against instead of slogans and promises.  No matter what happens over the next four years, good or bad, you can hang it on him.  It may be fun to take the easy route, it has been for Obama.

I feel like the guy at the gym with a giant walkman instead of an IPOD.  Or the weird co-worker who doesn’t have cable TV.  Yes, until this week I was not on Facebook. I am not a total stooge, and am quite active on Linked In and really enjoy it.  I was under the mistaken impression that Facebook was not for business.  I was pretty wrong – just about everyone on my Linked In list has their own page.  At the urging of several marketing colleagues and my super terrific PR agency I took the plunge.  I have spent the last few nights at home reaching out to friends and business associates and fooling around with the site.  It is a world onto itself.  Linked In is a somewhat spartan, no frills all business site.   I spoke with someone recently who told me it is one of her best sources for leads.  It does the job but kind of dull – like a Toyota Camry.

Facebook is a strange mix of your personal and business life.  I am not totally sure I like that, but everyone else seems to be having a grand old time.   There are two ways that personal and business mix.  First, I have business contacts mixed in with people from my personal life – in my case from my gym (North Shore Cross Fit has it own group page) and some friends and family.  Secondly, the site gives you the ability to express yourself in all kinds of ways – music, movies, relationships, pictures and politics.  And, everything can be commented on – lots of witty banter.  I have already engaged in some fun back and forth with some radical leftist commie friends over politics.  It is all in good fun, but does everyone else who can read it know that? 

The other strange feature is the twitter like stream of consciousness that you can post on a regular basis.  So far it has been amusing because I know some very amusing people, but what is the purpose?  Like most social networking sites, it is a freaky intersection of narcissism and voyeurism.

However, I do like being in contact with past co-workers whom I really like but never have a real reason to talk to during a busy day.  I am going to jump in and hope that King Fish gets some business benefit out of the whole thing.  I will be watching it closely, and will report on its success as a business and marketing tool.  Hey, if you come by, friend me. 

Do you remember when you were a kid and you picked your cereal based upon the toy in the box?  Remember deliberating as you walked down the very small aisle which had a reasonable amount of cereals from which to choose? Remember getting home and sticking your hand in a brand new full box of some sugary crunchies to fish out a plastic item that your mom always hoped you didn’t eat accidentally?  The toy wasn’t usually that interesting in the end game but it still persuaded you to make a brand decision. 

Things have changed in the cereal aisle and elsewhere when it comes to marketing to our kids.  First of all the cereal aisle is twice as long and has infinitely more choices.  Secondly the stakes are higher:  it’s no longer a toy, it’s an online game. Moreover, it’s not just the cereal aisle that has fun incentives and those toys are not just for kids anymore!

Welcome to Advergaming! According to Wikipedia: 

“Advergaming is the practice of using video games to advertise a product, organization or viewpoint. The term “advergames” was coined in January 2000 by Anthony Giallourakis who purchased the domain names Advergames.com along with Adverplay.com. The term Advergames was later mentioned by Wired’s “Jargon Watch” column in 2001, and has been applied to various free online games commissioned by major companies.”

I won’t blog about the whole history of the concept, suffice to say it’s been here since the beginning of this century and even if you haven’t been exposed it is likely that your kids have.  My kids love Webkinz.  “Webkinz are stuffed animals that were originally released by the Ganz company on April 29, 2005. The toys are similar to many other small plush toys. However, each Webkinz toy has an attached tag with a unique “Secret Code” printed on it that allows access to the “Webkinz World” website. On Webkinz World, the Secret Code allows the user to own a virtual version of the pet for virtual interaction.”  Webkinz are the perfect example of brand interaction but not necessarily designed to be “advertising”, more the point of the pet is to experience the virtual reality of the pet.  But whatever you call it, my kids are playing with a brand for hours if I would let them.  (Please don’t let Webkinz come out with a cereal!)

Similarly many marketers from Pepsi to McDonalds, Fruit Loops to Chips Ahoy have developed fun online games that are a true band “experience”.  The gaming world has been growing at warp speed since Pong hit the screen in the 1972.  According to a new survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, “97 percent of children and teenagers ages 12 to 17 claim to have played some kind of video game, with 99 percent of boys and 94 percent of girls saying they play games.”  Given the ability of kids, and those even the younger than tweens and teens, to navigate a variety of interfaces, it is no surprise that advertisers would jump at the chance to make branding fun.

It’s virtually impossible to find a brand who doesn’t have virtual fun associated with its products.  And don’t be deceived that play time is just for kids anymore.  Adidas, Fidelity, Toyota, Volkswagen, Stride Gum have all developed advergames.  Even Pfizer is promoting Viagra via it’s own targeted advergame.  Begging the question, are you really serious?  Grown men interacting with little blue pills on line.  What will they think of next? 
There is no doubt that advergaming is attractive to many consumers out there.  It makes sense because the goal of many advertisers is to get the target audience to spend more time with the brand, increase preference and loyalty.  This online fun allows marketers to develop their own private custom media channel and continue to restate their unique brand proposition but in a subtle and subliminal sort of way.  Imagine, finding a way to have your target market watch a channel that only ran your marketing messages and nothing else.  What would you pay for that kind of play time?

To say we’re heating up for another testy presidential election would be an understatement. This burner’s been on for months and we’re all overcooked. I loved the primaries, but by April, I was exhausted by the Democratic Party’s inability to choose a candidate, and by Mitt Romney’s embarrassing quest to purchase the White House. When it became clear that my pantsuited hero was out, I licked my wounds and placed myself defiantly in the undecided camp.

I am exactly the person both Obama and McCain want to sway to their side. Obama wants me to understand just how mentally unstable McCain is. How could he possibly not remember how many houses he owns?! McCain wants me to know how Obama himself said, in 2004, how he would not be ready to be president in 2008. How could you possibly elect such a celebrity 2008?!

But this year, something is different. Both political parties are making their pleas to me via the web, which is the information and entertainment tool I, and every single one of my peers, use more than any other medium. In past election years, I’d be lucky to catch an attack ad or two on television on the weekends. Now, it seems like I’m seeing new web videos released every few days. I’m watching as McCain compares Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, and as Obama warns us that McCain will send more troops to Iraq. I can watch them multiple times (I said can, not want to) and send them along to my friends – something that was impossible with television ads.

Of course we can’t lose sight of the fact that this is still all politics as usual. McCain might not get my vote because he keeps coming out with better videos of key Democrats sounding off about Obama’s lack of experience. The point is that they’re reaching me and I’m watching them. And on November 4, I have to make a decision.

Last week I was out of action with a nasty case of pneumonia which seems like an odd thing to get in August, but there I was on my couch gasping for breath and watching TV.  I thought I would catch up the Olympics, but in the afternoons you get lots of team handball, bad baseball, women soccer and other stuff that does not make the prime time cut. So, I ended up flipping back and forth between MSNBC and Fox News to watch the run up to Obama’s VP pick.  The big story was how the Obama campaign was going to text message his supporters the pick before releasing it to the media.  As ideas go, it is an excellent one taking advantage of all the benefits of private media channels.  It helps them build their donor list, has a viral nature and allows them to tell the message directly to their “customers”.  It fits in with the younger demo of his supporters for whom texting is part of their everyday life.  And, it makes supporters feel that they are special and in the know.  However, great ideas need great execution and this is where they fell down.  My biggest gripe with the way they handled it was that it dragged out for days.  On Thursday, Obama announced he made a decision and teased it to reporters, and the campaign announced a joint campaign appearance on Sat afternoon in Illinois.

A story hungry press was in a frenzy trying to figure out who it was and why they were waiting so long to announce it.  You can argue that by dragging it out they received a ton of press coverage and owned the news cycle.  That was the take on MSNBC and it a legitimate benefit.  I would argue that by taking so long they made the choice of Joe Biden seem very anti-climatic and played into the fact it was a very conventional choice for a candidate that was all about newness and change – a bit of brand disconnect.  If the choice was Hillary Clinton or someone out of left field the build up would have worked.  The payoff to the suspense was a bit of a dud when Mr. Change picks a 65 year old white man who has been in the Senate since 1973.  Andrea Mitchell of MSNBC was one of many reporters who accurately reported on Thursday that Biden was the choice.  I don’t know what value was gained by waiting until 3am on Sat. morning after the press had already confirm it.  It turns out they had to send it at 3am because no one had checked to see if it was technically possible to send a few million text messages at the same time from the same source.  It was a great idea and fair execution, but huge kudos to the campaign for embracing private media channels and building an affinity relationship with their supporters.

The amusing part of the story was watching the reactions of the two cable news networks.  I think MSNBC has decided to become the liberal version of Fox News, but without the humor.  At this point, the Obama campaign should be paying part of Keith Olberman’s salary.  The Fox anchors led by the very funny Shepard Smith and Neal Cavuto reported on the text message strategy and VP choice in a somewhat mocking satirical manner while still reporting what facts there were to report.  Shepard Smith called it the most important text message in history and Cavuto said texting was for geeks and hoped the whole thing bombs.

Over at MSNBC they did treat the text strategy roll out with the excitement and gravity that the Fox guys were mocking.  The highlight for me was Hardball.  Chris Mathews kept going on and on how the Obama campaign was making a huge mistake if they didn’t announce the VP pick on Thursday night since everyone knows that is the key night.  He went on to explain that Thursday is when the editors of the big papers do their Sunday layouts (on paste up boards, no doubt) and it is the deadline for the Sunday op-ed columns.  Not to mention the fact the Sunday shows are booked on Thursday.  He was mystified that they would miss this golden opportunity to be in the Sunday papers.  His guest was a young reporter from the Washington Post who tried to politely tell Mathews that with the news web site, blogs and smart phones the day of the week doesn’t really matter that much anymore.  Chris just stared right through him and went back to a telling story about Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy.
 

Word of Mouth (WOM) marketing is certainly not a new sensation; in fact it’s not even a hot buzzword anymore.  The reality is that much of what began under the banner of WOM is now being spoken of in the lexicon of social media.  Blogs, Wikis, User Generated Content (UGC) and the whole social media world are really built upon many of the principles started years ago with WOM. 

No matter what you call it, there’s now an environment capable of propagating the reality of your products quality and comparative value into the marketplace at blinding speed.  All these channels of communication and exchange make information available to a larger group of people at a faster rate than at any time in history.   

Even in this world of radical transparency and information exchange, I continue to be amazed at how much energy goes into messaging and marketing that attempts to gloss over product deficiencies rather than directing more focus and resources on fixing the underlying issues.  Often the result is marketing that dooms a product to fall short of expectations and to subsequently be raked over the coals of public opinion.   This kind of thinking completely misses the opportunity to tap the exponential power of social medial and WOM and fuels those folks who love to expose faulty products and the companies who make them.

Addressing core product issues isn’t always possible for a variety of reasons.  Lack of funding, short timelines to get a product to market or a host of other factors create the need for compromises.   No product, even fantastic ones, will likely go to market without their creators secretly wishing they could have slipped in a couple extra cool features.  

In the end, it comes down to the truth of your product.  Despite great marketing, huge media buys and all the other traditional marketing trimmings, a less-than product is destined for a very short half-life these days.  In contrast, high-quality offerings taken to market with savvy use of social media/WOM channels are likely to enjoy a longer run and do so with smaller marketing budgets. 

Next time you’re planning a go-to-market strategy, don’t underestimate the marketing value of a great product.  Waiting for, or pushing for, that next feature could be the best marketing decision you’ve ever made.    
 

A few weeks ago my Think Tank colleague Gordon blogged about the Proposition 2 ½ over ride which was soundly rejected by his city, Beverly MA.  His observations on local politics and the impact of social networking on these heated topics are characteristic of many towns who are facing tough budgetary decisions in economically diverse communities.  And my town, an upscale fishing/sailing town north of Boston, is included on that list.

I will admit it right now: I am an SUV driving, latte drinking, work-out mom with 3 kids and at least 3 jobs, only one for which I get an actual pay check.  Most of the time managing my off-springs agenda’s is a full time job.  Sometimes it’s the PTO, or church school, or the Children’s Hospital fundraisers that fill my day. Other times it’s helping my clients reach the ever-more-valuable Mom-target more effectively.  It was the years of training in media arena that prepared me best and most for my most recent 90 day job: Chief Override Mom.

Having never worked on a political campaign, nor really knowing anyone who has made it uncharted water.  But much like bringing a new product to market, there was a familiarity to our strategy. We organized ourselves by putting together a troop of talented, business savvy Mommas who brought energy and creativity to this challenge.  We had communications specialists, attorneys, web designers, teachers, real estate marketers, ad agency types, you name it.  We had representation from all kids of hard working Moms, oh yes and one dad with a great sense of humor!  Once our team was drafted we set about answering the following: How were we going to persuade a town full of real old line New Englanders (read: frugal), who are insanely proud of the “lowest” tax rate around, to approve almost $22 million to REPAIR AND UPDATE our middle school facilities?  Not even to build a new school?

This was not going to be “my mothers over ride” as we embraced new media.  What once was an old fashion effort of neighborhood signs and leaflets in your neighbor’s door evolved into a multi-platform marketing strategy.  We laid out a 90 day time plan for our communications and out reach.  We built a web site and utilized Constant Contact email newsletters to reach out to our database of supporters. We set up phone networks of parents to use word of mouth to get out the vote. We had traditional direct mail to the 45-60 year old voters who could no longer (or never could) be reached by the back pack brigade.  We created emails that were organically viral: you send it to your address book and ask those people to pass along in kind.  We added a face to face component and invited the community to events, including tours of the school itself.  Taking word of mouth marketing one step further we identified town/thought leaders and brought them literally into the boiler rooms of the school that many of them had attended in their own youth, pointing out of course that nothing had really changed in 50 years… ergo the $22 million. 

It was important to keep our eye on the opposition daily, reading of course the angry and bitter words on local town blogs and forums, which of course are attributed to no one.  As Gordon pointed out, it is much easier to be rude when you don’t have to sign your name to your rants.  We didn’t spend much time or energy trying to change the hearts and minds of the intensely opposed, it would have been futile.  We preferred to focus on educating those voters who would be impacted one way or another by this enormous decision. 

After 90 days and lots of hard work and some strategic sign holding later, we prevailed.  A real grass roots effort with some high tech twists helped us to get out enough voters to pass our over ride by a 2 to 1 margin.  What had worked was creating a private media channel to reach our target through many vehicles:  a combination of print and on-line distribution of information that helped to educate our community.  It was face to face meetings and tours that gave real urgency to our cause.  It was virtual tours online that brought the situation to life.  It was the friendly email reminders to the overwhelmed to make sure we made their daily “to do list”.  It was inviting the senior community to witness the decay of the school facilities.  It was reminding the town in local papers about the impact of a healthy school system on their property values.  All in all, it was a classic private media channel where we used compelling content to tell our story to a highly targeted audience.

I know this small town effort to fix a single school is no match for what is coming in November.  We are still low tech in our efforts compared to Obama and McCain but we sure have come along way from the bake sales and flyers of my youth.  I have witnessed organic-mom-networking 2.0.  So far I’d say it’s a powerful force of nature and one to be watched with a careful marketer’s eye.

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.

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”

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.

This year’s Digital Hollywood conference in Los Angeles has been shedding light on the significant challenges marketers face as they try to lasso prospects online. By and large, the panelists have been candid about the immaturity of this medium, but have been unified in their belief that traditional advertising is waning, and providing prospects with meaningful online experiences is the cost of entry.

The panelists, most of which carried senior executive titles, provided sound bites that had me in complete agreement. Here is a sample.

During a session entitled: The Web, Social Media and Advertising: Transforming and Disassembling the World of Traditional Media and Communications, Matt Rosenberg, Group Director, Organic said that to be successful, “Brands are immersing themselves in the content experience…you need to let your brand take a backseat.” I absolutely agree, and that is a core strategy at King Fish Media, where our job is to help clients engage with prospects and clients on a far more meaningful level than brand advertising offers.

Recommended contacts who spoke at this panel:

Raquel Krouse, VP Social Media, Interpublic Emerging Media Lab
Matt Rosenberg, Group Director, Organic
Mark Lewis, Strategic Planning Director, DDB San Francisco

The next session, Bridging TV and Broadband: Strategic Relationships – Advertising, Technology and Content, took the full customer immersion concept to a different level. A senior executive from the Home Shopping Network candidly evaluated her brand, and said that the universal knowledge of her brand allowed for movement into new media platforms (Interactive TV and .TV), saying, “People at the company worried about these platforms, but with the huge brand loyalty, they go wherever the brand goes and build communities there.” We, at King Fish, describe this phenomenon as owning, not renting your own media channel – Private Media.

Recommended contacts from this panel:

Jeff Miller, President and CEO, ICTV
Fred McIntyre, SVP, AOL Video

On a separate note, I hope to never again hear these words as much as I have during the last three days: “paradigm” (thought we were done with that), “frictionless”, “zero sum game”, “net loser” and “value proposition”.

During each of these sessions, I heard frequent confirmation that intent-based vs. interruption-based communications is the most effective means for clients to communicate with their prospects and customers; custom media provides the single strongest venue to effectively achieve success with this effort.

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. 

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.?

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.

We often talk about Private Media in terms of for-profit corporations directly talking to customers and prospects by owning their media channel rather than renting time and space from large media companies. One of the many benefits of the private media approach is that the owner of the media channel gets to control the message – both the content and distribution.

We now see a rapidly growing movement where individuals are also creating private media channels – pretty easy with today’s Web 2.0 technologies. Between social networking sites and video sharing, anyone can create a private media channel with minimal effort.  All of the Presidential candidates are well down this road, and almost every rock star, actor and athlete worth their salt has their own Web site, myspace page, and has posted videos on YouTube for an interactive dialog with fans. While the primary motivation is promotion, it can also be used to communicate directly with fans, enabling the personality to control the message and environment while getting their message out there as fast as possible. One of the key rules of crisis management is getting the word out quickly and framing the conversation.

How many times on TV have we seen someone yell at their lackeys in anger, saying: “the press will have a field day”. (By the way, a field day is an opportunity for unrestrained activity, not a day of sports competition at school – thanks Encarta.) In the past, celebrities and companies were dependent on their PR machines pitching and spinning stories to the press and having no input as the press edits and positions the story. Once a negative story gets into the 24/7 news cycle it is well out of your hands, and indeed a field day ensues.

We are now seeing famous people taking their message directly to the people. When Rosie O’Donnell was battling ABC and Barbra Walters over her job on the View, she posted video blogs on her site for her fans and the media to pick up and replay. Rosie’s private media channel told her side of the story quicker than the Disney/ABC PR team could tell theirs. Baseball’s Roger Clemens did the same thing when responding to reports he used steroids. After a few days of silence he posted a video on his site and on YouTube to deny the allegations. He will appear on 60 Minutes this weekend, but he has already gotten his message directly to the public bypassing the 60 Minutes film editing room.

The newest private media channel took me by surprise – The British Royal Family has premiered their own royal channel on YouTube. This is where they posted the Queen’s annual Christmas message and other clips and archive footage. When one of the oldest and most traditional intuitions in the world embraces private media, it is clearly an idea whose time has come.

Consumers of media and information need to watch these videos with an attitude of buyer beware. This is an unfiltered message, which does not have the benefit of a journalistic screen – no fact checking or follow up questions.  On the other hand, there also no agenda or bias from the journalist or media company. This is especially attractive to polarizing and controversial figures such as Queen Elizabeth II and Roger Clemens. It bears watching how this trend will develop – as we can assume that more and more notable people and companies create their own private media channels.

How will the traditional media companies adapt? Will consumers put as much faith in messages directly from the sources, rather than through journalists? My guess is that we will come to expect the direct message from our actors, singers, athletes, politicians and corporations. It will be incumbent on corporations and others using private media to keep the content benefit-oriented and information rich when speaking to their customers and prospects rather than a sales pitch. With the right content, a private media channel can be more powerful than any ad or PR effort will ever be.
 

I like my dry cleaning strong. Strong colors, strong creases, strong chemical smells. I want to peel my ultra-heavy starched shirts right off the hanger and feel as though I’m wearing a brand-new shirt. I want to lift up that plastic veil and marvel at the sight of my born-again wool coats. I want to be sure that my linen pants were dipped in pool of industrial-strength Oxy Clean and then lovingly hand-creased by a strong and meticulous Russian woman.

After a recent move, I decided to frequent a nearby location of the Zoots chain. “They have a delivery service, shoe repair AND in-store tailoring!” I salivated. “Boy, I bet they’ll crease my pants with pride. I’m there.”

And so began my year-long lukewarm affair with Zoots. At first, I was just vaguely dissatisfied with the fact that when I dropped clothes off, it was at least four days before I could pick them up. Then, I began to notice that the receipt they gave me for pick-up never had the cost on it. And the clothes just never…felt clean. More than anything, I just couldn’t shake the thought that they were trying to dupe me into paying more for what was truly some mediocre cleaning and even more mediocre service. 

So, my recent decision to try another dry cleaner was indeed premeditated. I packed up my silk shirts and tailored pants and headed to another local chain called Anton’s. I dropped my clothes off with ease, was told they’d be ready in two days, and received a pick-up receipt that had the cost of the cleaning prominently displayed. I was already off to a better start, I mused as I left the store.

About three days later, I reached into my mailbox to find a mysterious package with a hand-applied label and a stamp. I took a closer look and discovered it was a cheery, beautifully designed welcome package from Anton’s. I eagerly tore the package open and saw it included a welcome letter highlighting store locations, a bevy of coupons and a card with dry-cleaning tips, among other items.

Anton’s chose the precise media channel, direct mail, to reach me, and right after I had a very positive experience with them. The excellent timing, the variety of useful materials enclosed and the attractive, welcoming packaging all worked together to make me feel like they truly cared about serving me. They noticed I was a new customer, and they sent me a package to show they appreciated it. That’s perhaps one of the most simple, yet most important keys of customer retention – just showing you care. And no matter what people say about the death of direct mail, if it’s as well-executed as my package from Anton’ was, a simple $1 or $2 mailing might just earn you a customer for life.

Zoots may have cared about my business, but they certainly never showed it. And now that I have Anton’s to re-fresh my creases, I’m one happy customer. 

As we head into the home stretch of the holiday season, I am thinking about two media images that are juxtaposed in my head.  The first is one you have all seen – the crazy rush of people charging stores like Best Buy and Wal-Mart.  Check out these clips from YouTube, the one from Best Buy was taken by their own staff  - priceless.  I don’t think I am going out on a limb by saying this may not be our finest moment as a country.  We in the marketing/media industry need to take some of the responsibility in helping create this insane frenzy over material products and the mania to buy the latest and greatest toy or electronic gadget for ourselves and our children.  The ad blitz starts right after Halloween, and it has turned Thanksgiving into a speed bump on the way to “Black Friday”.  That night the news is full of stories about people lining up at 4 am and acting like maniacs to get their hands on stuff no one really needs.  TV and newspapers are full of ads that make it seem like if you don’t get out there now and fill your cart you are a bad parent. 

The whole furor over the Wii is an eloquent symbol of this excess.  My 9 yr old nephew and 10 yr old niece HAD to have these – a $250 product.  Not only do their friends have them, but they have been exposed to hundreds of ad and media images selling them this video game.   My brother got my nephew his Wii and like a true New Yorker paid a $50 premium on ebay; my New England brother-in-law got his at list price for my niece by standing in line for five hours.  I love these kids more than anything, but this is just nutty.  I can’t even imagine how the conversation with my parents would have gone, asking for a $250 toy back in the seventies when I was their age.  I was more than happy with my anatomically incorrect GI Joe.

Don’t get me wrong; I am as much a capitalist as the next guy, (although my Fox News loving father-in-law has called me a Communist on occasion).  But, maybe things need to be taken down a notch. Do kids need to be sold and pitched all day long on the dozens of cable channel aimed at them?  The ads all have the same theme – if you don’t have product X, you are not cool and don’t measure up.  That’s a lot of pressure for pre-teens.

This brings me to the other media image – one that struck a cord with my personal sensibilities.  I came home tonight to a front page story in my local paper about the dire conditions of food banks across our region and the county.  Local food banks are at an all time low in donations and an all time high in demand.  The reasons for this have been well documented – out of control energy costs, the credit crunch, foreclosures, rising health care costs and a stagnant economy.  It is going to be a tough winter here in New England, as skyrocketing heating oil prices will force many people, especially those on a fixed income, to make hard choices between heat, food and prescription drugs.  Add to this the monetary pressure of the holidays and you have a sad situation. 

So, take a break from buying and going to parties and donate either time, food or cash to your local food bank – every town and city has one.  There is a great one in my town, Beverly Bootstraps, and I will be bringing them a donation on my way home.  Or check out this new site www.redefinechristmas.org that makes it easy to donate money you may have used for gifts to worthy charities, and it has a viral element to pass along the message to friends. It’s the least we marketing professionals can do in return for our role in making Christmas and Hanukkah an orgy of spending and excess.
 

The moms market is one of the most lucrative targets for marketers – some estimates have it pegged at well over $1 trillion, and keep in mind that moms have influence over more than 80% of a household’s purchasing power.

While it seems like it would be easy, Mom Hunting isn’t always as simple as it appears. They are right out there in the open, but the competition for their attention and time is fierce. They are not just filtering information for themselves, but for their families, their homes, their schools and committees. How do you capture the attention of this valuable gatekeeper?

Traditional business to business marketing has a few key strategies that have worked well: Targeted events, trade magazines, trade shows, email newsletters, online videos, and web casts. All of these can help persuade potential clients to see the wisdom of selecting a certain product or vendor. These techniques can also work for mom with one critical caveat: the content and format has to absolutely be developed with the mom in mind.

Example: If you are having an event for moms, you have to plan the event with the perfect balance of information and resources - you must factor in the babysitters! Holding an event for moms in the daytime without offering a strategy for the kids would be a clear statement of your lack of understanding of the challenges that these moms face. In a recent Working Mothers Conference, produced by King Fish, the event was not only extremely well attended, but even the moms who did not take advantage of the babysitting service appreciated the offer and said so in their post event comments.

For ducklings, a multi-platform mom-marketing effort for Albertsons/Shaws  supermarkets, the content at each turn supported their tag line: “a little help along the way”. For the magazine element of the program the editorial was developed with the busy mom in mind.

Recipes had a handy shopping list that included minimal ingredients that could be prepared quickly and enjoyed by all palates. The editorial content acknowledged the fact that most moms are short on time and prefers not to cook different meals for finicky eaters. This approach appealed to the readers and kept them coming back to the magazine.

Balancing this type of editorial with actionable information that speaks to the busy mom’s day to day existence was also part of the content plan. By the way, it’s not always about the kids and the spouse, how about something for a little mom time. Quick beauty secrets that were whipped up with grocery store products were always a hit!

Also, keep in mind the power of the mom’s networks, and how much time they spend communicating with each other. Recently I received a video of Anita Renfrew, (viewed over 10 million times on YouTube) the mom who sings the “everything a Mom says in a day” to the tune of the 1812 Overture, in less than 3 minutes. (Over 25 moms sent me this link knowing I would enjoy it.) With this song she captured the hearts and minds of countless moms. Every one of us who, while wiping the laughing tears from our eyes said, “I wish I wrote that!”. We say it the same way we wish we had developed the “Baby Einstein” series of educational tapes for kids. As though we know we COULD have done that, because it is so simple and so obviously true. If a marketer can develop a viral campaign that includes this level of entertainment with the right content for moms, they will have a success. That will be a brand that spreads faster than a germ in a pre-school class!

Hunting this big game sounds easy on the surface, but take a tip from your mom who likely said to you as a kid, “it’s the little things that make a difference”. It is the little gestures wrapped around the well conceived content that will lure the mom and keep her coming back. More importantly, you will start to build a dialog of trust and affinity with a new or existing customer.

There is a remarkable group run out of the University of Massachusetts’ McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies named Give Us Your Poor. Leading this group is a driven and truly committed guy named John McGah (left) - and if you don’t know that name, chances are you will soon.

John has led this program for several years, and aims to not just raise awareness of the homeless, but lobbies Washington to implement legislation that will begin to eradicate it within the decade. And he’s not alone.

Through nothing more than a powerful determination, John has gathered powerful business executives, politicians and now includes musical artists contributing to a new CD to bring their voices to today’s present realities of homelessness. And these are not B-list names.

The recently released CD features work by Springsteen, Seeger, Bon Jovi, Bonnie Raitt, Keb’ Mo, Mario Frangoulis and Mighty Sam McClain. It’s even made ABC’s nightly newscast on Friday, November 9th when Natalie Merchant was named person of the week for her work with Give Us Your Poor and was profiled during a recording session.

John has harnessed the power of media to raise awareness and funds to drive the next chapter of Give Us Your Poor. Among the biggest names and voices recording today, artists have contributed their original work and energy to this cause, and it’s coming to Boston Friday November 16th at the newly renovated Strand Theatre. If you’re from the Boston area, this will be an amazing night; come learn more about the organization and hear some incredible music from Natalie Merchant, Mighty Sam McClain, Mario Frangoulis & Buffalo Tom (for ticket info, click on this link ).

Note:  King Fish provides considerable pro bono work for the Give Us Your Poor organization, as they do for other 501c(3) non profit groups as part of its corporate mission and employee contribution program.

Nike and others have discovered that they can increase customer retention and affinity by communicating directly with customers rather than through traditional “interruption” based media. Companies that use Private Media and permission based marketing techniques are seeing positive results; and are shifting their advertising budgets away from big media companies to direct interactions with customers and prospects. This Private Media strategy has been at the foundation of King Fish’s approach since its founding, and continues to be successful for our clients.

I thought this fact and quote from the story was very powerful:

Last year, Nike spent just 33 percent of its $678 million United States advertising budget on ads with television networks and other traditional media companies. That’s down from 55 percent 10 years ago, according to the trade publication Advertising Age.

“We’re not in the business of keeping the media companies alive,” Said Trevor Edwards, Nike’s corporate vice president for global brand and category management.  Mr. Edwards says he tells this to many many media executives. “We’re in the business of connecting with consumers.”

Read this story from a New York Times article illustrating how Nike and other leading marketers are using Private Media and bypassing traditional media channels.

This is just the beginning of what will be a long term shift in strategy.  Thanks to advances in wireless technology and the maturation of social networking web tools, we will see more and more companies speaking directly to consumers without the filter and expense of media companies.  This does not mean that traditional media companies will disappear by any means.  However there will be a shake out and only ones with the best relationship with their readers/viewers will survive.

I confess that for me, presidential political races are right up there with American League pennant races. After 175 games or so this season with the Sox ultimately victorious over the Rockies, I can switch gears to the race for out next President.

In 1999, I worked on the John McCain campaign for the Republican nomination in Massachusetts. It was wildly interesting to be a small part of the election process, and one of my top experiences was meeting and speaking with the Senator for several minutes as he prepared to give a speech in rural New Hampshire to about 100 local citizens.

Fast forward to 2007 and an election where campaigns are increasingly fought through video and other electronic means. Some videos are professionally produced by the campaign staff and worthy of Cannes consideration and others are clips from cable TV that rely on humor to help us remember what ought to matter in a candidate - service to our country and strength of character.

 The great thing about video is that there is always another side to the candidate they hope you don’t see, but the video camera is always on and can capture awkward moments. In this example, while I like to think he was in fact reading notes, however, that may be a tough sell.

Or you could see his humor being lost on an audience of students asking about age.  On the other hand, voters are getting a raw glimpse of John McCain that they would not see on the Sunday talk shows. .

The Senator likes to talk straight, “warts and all.” And our media’s there to capture every word, every slip, every sound bite. The new web video culture gives candidates the opportunity you speak directly to the people without the filter of traditional media. It also gives campaigns the ability to post positive clips of their guy, and negative clips of their opposition. But while watching the quick-hits and sound bites, don’t forget to peel back the onion a bit, and look at the qualities of character, integrity and service in all of the candidates.

Last March, my family was skiing with a large group in Vermont. My thirteen year old son (who spends his time pursuing either speed or jumps of some nature) broke his wrist on our last afternoon. We made it to the local hospital about 7:00pm, and he was in a cast and home by 9:00. I had noticed he was unusually anxious about the time, and about getting out of the hospital, so naturally I presumed he was in pain, and that he needed to get back to the security of his home and family. Wrong.

Walking in the door, he went straight to YouTube, where he searched for and quickly found video taken that afternoon of him and his friends on Sugarbush. It had been about five hours since the accident, and there it was: 5:45 minutes, edited with audio by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and complete with opening and closing graphics. And the director/editor (also 13) had to drive three hours to get home. The most amazing part of this—there were already 350 views of the video.

User-generated content is a reality of all age groups. Kids rely on it for entertainment value, adults rely on peer groups for advice, and businesses rely on their own customers for testimonials to prospective new customers. Virtually no other form of content has been so universally adopted in such a short timeframe.

Of course, there are risks when you let content be posted with minimal screening, and you know what they are. But does it also enhance a brand’s perceived confidence by not over-editing or censoring content generated on their site? Are prospective customers more likely to purchase a particular item of clothing or energy drink because it was featured on a free video spoof and was viewed 3mm times? Looks like the shift is on and yes, that is exactly what’s happening.

Take YouTube phenomenon Tay Zonday, whose song “Chocolate Rain” has generated 7,600,000+ views in four months and is available for download?. Then, look at how many others are already parodying this song (although the beat is excruciating, watch “Vanilla Snow” right after “Chocolate Rain” for an excellent laugh; currently, Vanilla Snow has received about 1mm views), and you get a feel for the power of user generated content. It’s a quirky approach to custom media, but with significant views daily, you can be confident it’s rattling the sensibilities of traditional media companies too stubborn to feel the new wind blowing.

When 13 year-olds are living for free, user-generated content, it’s time to pay attention to the new face of media that has arrived. And marketers in the world of custom media have got to harness the platform and drive their clients to make smart deployment of the medium to remain relevant.