WHERE DOES EMERGING MEDIA GO FROM HERE?

Over the past nine weeks I have covered a wide range of topics concerning emerging media.  As a recap, here is what I have covered:
1. Introduction
2. Hulu
3. Netflix
4. Ethics in trailblazing a new emerging media marketing
5. The “Sixth Sense,” a revolutionary, unorthodox media platform
6. Functionality versus Design for websites
7. Customer Service: Emerging media companies lead the pack
8. Corporate websites, the best-in-class version
9. Subtle Commercials, movie magic for marketing
10. Untapped Potential: Amazon’s media platform, the Unbox
11. Buzz Marketing
12. Word-of-Mouth Advertising
13. Facebook & Twitter Your Way to Political Office
14. The Power of Wikis
15. Online Communities and Product Placement
16. Social Networking – Video is King
17. New Emerging Media Platform – Streaming Online Radio in Passenger Vehicles
18. Ethics in Mobile Media: Horror Stories
19. Copyrights and the Internet
20. Wrapup

As you can see, this broad range of topics covers everything horror stories of marketing pioneering gone terribly wrong to copyright infringement, from new and exciting breakthroughs in media like online streaming music available in your car from coast-to-coast to the old tried and true method of marketing, word-of-mouth.

What does all this mean? Where do we as marketers go from here? The best advice for anyone in marketing that is wading in the untapped waters of media potential: Keep it simple. Don’t over think things just because the media platform for which you are using is unproven or has never before been attempted.

Think of it in terms of feeling, emotion or impulse. These feelings and emotions are what consumers base 80% of their sales on while only 20% of sales are practical purchases…again, keep it simple with the tried and true 80/20 rule!

It has been an honor for those of you loyal readers of my blog to “serve” you new content and ways to ponder marketing going forward. If you have enjoyed my blog, post a comment! I would love to hear some feedback.

THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND, THIS LAND IS MY LAND?

Copyrights are a big deal and not just for the surface view of keeping your stuff as, well, YOUR STUFF! People make their living by creating images, stories, music, taglines, etc., etc. This to them is their livelyhood. It’s how they put food on the table and milk in their kids cereal.

In this week’s discussion most people were for copyright and property laws but a couple people brought up the idea of a free-for-all, everyone-shares mentality. While certainly this view has its merit and an argument can be made for it, to me it’s a bit more Utopian than practical. I have never written a book, never put my voice onto tape (or CD, whatever) nor have I ever had to worry about someone stealing my images. BUT…I do relate to individuals that are essentially self employed that go out of their way to be different, to create new and innovated material. The last thing in the world someone like that wants or needs is for another individual to lazily steal that material and use it as their own.

If material is “shared” and nobody has intelectual rights to any given item, where is the creativity fueld from? If “this picture is my picture, this picture is your picture, this picture is made for you and me” mentality is applied to everything on the web, what is the incentive for me as a graphic artist of photographer to do anything new? How does one challenge oneself to create when he or she can just Google a new image and slap their name on it and call it a day? To me, that is taking a major step backwards.

As Paul Harvey once said: “

Why should anyone aspire to be a common man, an average man? Do you realize what it means to be average? That means your the best of the lousiest and the lousiest of the best. Now if we demand more and more for producing less and less, while the have-not nations encourage and inspire, and indeed require hard work and maximum effort – if we deify the common men while they encourage and reward the uncommon ones – Well, the end result of such a lopsided race as that is too obvious to require elaboration.

TODAY: ONLINE RADIO VIA COMPUTER. TOMORROW: IN YOUR CAR

As if radio stations didn’t have enough to worry about with satellite radio picking off their listeners, a struggling economy gouging their advertising revenue, and a plethora of other advertising mediums companies can choose from besides radio, they now they have one more thing to worry about. Carmakers are now embarking on suiting cars up with online streaming radios, similar to Rhapsody, as an optional or even standard feature in future cars. 

According to an article that appeared back in 2007, the anticipated date for this feature in some car models was 2010.  With GPS navigation systems nearly perfected this seems like the perfect time to add online streaming radio. 

The reason?  Selection.  Anyone that has used Yahoo’s LaunchCast or Rhapsody can attest to the fact that being able to program your own radio station that plays songs based on your musical taste is a definite plus.  Say your favorite band is the Rolling Stones.  Players like Rhapsody will allow you to rank songs, bands, or even styles of music which then leads to other music of similar styles to that which was just played. 

One of the first to actually begin manufacturing and installing these radios in cars is Blaupunkt. “The beauty of Internet car radio is the customized user experience,” said George Parthimos, Founder and CEO of miRoamer said in a press release. “Today, users want to jump in their car and go – no pulling out third-party devices or plugging in cords to access their music and information. miRoamer’s development with Blaupunkt is the first seamless Internet radio solution. Now, with the simple push of a button, users can access AM/FM stations or Internet radio’s thousands of music, entertainment, news and talk stations from around the world, all from the same car stereo.”

Why is this important?  Because it gives advertisers a new medium to connect with their target audience and perhaps an exclusive and more pinpointed way.

Blaupunkt's miRoamer

THE NEXT CALL YOU MAKE MAY BE YOUR LAST!

From Adam Snuka at AdLaw:  “When Laci Satterfield’s son answered his mother’s cell phone in the middle of a cold January night in 2006, he heard the following message: “The next call you take may be your last.” Seconds later, when a text message arrived to the same number promoting Steven King’s newest horror novel, The Cell, Ms. Satterfield decided that some advertiser had crossed the line. Simon and Schuster (“S&S”) was that advertiser.

 

How did S&S obtain Ms. Satterfield’s cell phone number? Several months earlier, Ms. Satterfield enrolled as a user of Nextones, a company that sells custom ringtones, to obtain a free ring tone. During the registration process, she clicked on the opt-in box with the following adjacent message, “I would like to receive promotions from Nextones’ affiliates and brands.” Soon after the events described above transpired, Ms. Satterfield filed a class action lawsuit against S&S, claiming that S&S violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.”

Imagine if the message had been a bit different, a bit more dodgy perhaps? The story could have taken on a much more serious tone and may involve jail time for the perpetrators. Such was the case with an adult website that thought they were targeting men who had subscribed to an affiliate adult website. The man, who was indeed subscribed to said site, also had a family plan through a small mobile phone carrier in Nebraska. The message was accidentally sent to the man’s 12 year old daughter for whom the man was assigned as the owner since he owns the family plan. 

 

Such stories, while sounding like marketing horror stories, can be a wakeup call for marketers looking to cash in on the emerging media and wireless internet capabilities of today’s “smartphones.” As more and more consumers choose cell phones over land lines and mobile internet versus PCs, the rise in mobile advertising will follow.

SOCIAL NETWORKS – VIDEO IS KING

We live in a somewhat contradictory world today, one that appreciates the spoken word over the newspaper, video games over books,  Tweets and texts over picking up the telephone.  What do all those newer forms of communication have in common?  All are accessible, fast, convenient and relatively new.  Snap bracelets were at one time cool too, so let’s not get carried away with Tweeting just yet, nevertheless, it is interesting to understand these trends so as marketers we can potentially capitalize on the next fad, the next Twitter, the next Facebook or YouTube. 

If we understand one thing it is that people enjoy videos.  The top ranked video today (as of 6:00 PM Central) on YouTube is of a cat riding on a Roomba vacuum cleaner.  So clearly the complexity of the content is not as important as the entertainment value of said video. 

Viral videos are a very interesting phenomenon in that essentially the recipient or viewer of the video passes it along to those the person deems appropriate (and in some cases inappropriate with dubious REPLY ALL button!).  Regardless of who in that network the person sends the video(s) to, the act of passing it along needs to be fully understood before one can go about trying to capitalize on this viral video phenomena. 

 Take the Smirnoff Raw Tea viral video from 2006.

This is a video that has been viewed, as of July 8, 2009, a total of 4,995,575  times.  But why?  Well, it is funny for sure but it also has a catchy tune and the video quality is quite good for a viral video.  Obviously the production quality is there but is not too over-the-top to seem pretentious.  In short, to paraphrase from another commercial, it’s quality not quantity.   

MY SECOND LIFE IS BETTER THAN YOUR ENTROPIA

The explosion of web communities has caught the eye of even the most traditional companies.  The benefits of corporate participation in these online communities have executives playing follow-the-leader and anxious to enter these markets.  Given the right branding and marketing and the right strategy is implemented, there are definite benefits from these online portals.  Communities can be used to engage your customer base in a natural and unabtrusive fashion.  One of the first video game manufacturers to enter this world was EA Sports back in the early 2000’s.  In a marketing deal with Old Spice and Pontiac within EA’s “NCAA” franchise, the user would be treated to seeing the “Pontiac Game Changing Performance” or the “Old Spice Red Zone” during play.  While certainly noticeable it was still nonobtrusive and, after a while, just became part of the game.   Communities can strengthen the bond between company and consumer, creating loyalty through personal investment.  Old Spice certainly benefited by using this platform to revitalize and bring youth into what was quickly becoming and aged brand and to reinforce/revitalize their brand image. 

In what could be compared to product placement in movies, online product and brand placement is not directed or manipulated by the movie director.  If a person playing an online video game sees a product placement within their gaming, they may want to check that product/brand and spend a bit more time looking at it.  The ‘Back to the Future’ movie trilogy featured Pepsi for example yet the viewer only saw brief snipets of the brand whereas if they were playing Second Life, they could spend a bit more time seeing the logo and the product all at their own pace.

How effective is this marketing?  While research is inconclusive the sheer number of users of these games lends credit and legitimizes the expense of advertising dollars to this venue.

WIKIPEDIA GETS IT RIGHT…WELL, MOST OF THE TIME ANYWAY!

Wikipedia.  The anyone-can-update-me-at-anytime-for-any-reason encyclopedia.  Sounds like a disaster right?  Well, it can be and it was when a 22 year old student fradulently posted a quote by a famous author that had recently died.  The quote was later used in obituaries in some of the largest newspapers from around the world.

While the information contained in Wikipedia can and should be at times taken at face value one cannot deny its popularity and utility for other capacities. Marketers have taken notice to the power of what is essentially voluntary work by others for the benefit of a few. In some capacities it is called “Crowdsourcing” and has become big among many cutting edge companies to promote their brand and get the message out to potential consumers.

Even the prestigous Brown University has taken notice. Teachers use the Wiki method to centralize a single syllabus for multiple teachers and sections of the same class, therefore utilizing the power to save time and energy of reproducing the same information over and over again with only slight changes.

The power of a wiki is that it is so simple. When done right users, or those that are passionate about a certain subject, can mold and shape the concept to unimaginable hights. What people need to understand about wikis is that they are not perfect and perhaps never will be. People have the impression that just because something appears in print from an otherwise reputable source, say the New York Times, columnists still get things wrong from time to time…it’s called the Corrections and Retractions Section! Nevertheless, much of the information on the broader, more popular topics are mostly error free. Take the Roman Empire for example, when compared to my Ancient History textbook from college it is spot on with important dates and information regarding the former Roman Emperors.

Wikis can also help businesses internally to polish employee manuals, marketing data, office proceedures, and other pertinent information. This too can help businesses save time and money. Pete Williams of PreneurMarketing writes: “corporate wiki is a wiki used in a corporate (or organizational) context, especially to enhance internal knowledge sharing. Wikis are increasingly used internally by companies and public sector organizations, some as prominent as Adobe Systems, Intel, Microsoft and the FBI. Depending on the size of a corporation, they may add to or replace centrally-managed content management systems. Their decentralized nature allows them, in theory, to disseminate needed information across an organization faster and cheaper than a centrally controlled knowledge repository.”

FACEBOOK & TWITTER YOUR WAY TO POLITICAL OFFICE!

The mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, is pining for the California governor’s seat currently held by Arnold Schwarzenegger…just not now.  “Let me wait until next year” he says.  “Who the heck wants it now!”  Perhaps this is a wise move considering the financial shape the state is in right now having been hit hard by the housing market, especially in southern Cal.

Nevertheless, the flamboyant and controversial Newsom is going about his (eventual) campaign in a non-orthodox way, through emerging media.  The Democrat announced his gubernatorial candidacy on Twitter and his first stop on this campaign was at Facebook.  Pretty innovative for how we often view politicians with little to no tech savvy (see the story of former President George W. Bush not knowing how to send an email or the White House wanting to take away President Obama’s Blackberry for just a couple examples). 

Newsom’s strategy appears clear and relatively transparent, to key in on a certain younger voter demographic through the use of emerging media.  In addition to stopping and blazing new battle grounds Facebook and Twitter, Newsom has utilized time on YouTube, giving speeches and entrenching his stance on being a pro-gay marriage advocate and a proponent for the homeless. 

As one of the first politicians to make his campaign truly utilize these newer forms of media, Gavin Newsom will serve as a litmus test for how effective or perhaps ineffective these forms of emerging media will be on the campaign front.  Only time will tell. 

WORD UP! WORD OF MOUTH ADVERTISING GOING THE WAY OF THE DODO?

Roe and Beverly Hatlen

Mr. Roe Hatlen, founder & former CEO of Old Country Buffet and my personal mentor, once told me that the holy grail for any company is to master the art of word-of-mouth advertising. When Old Country Buffet opened its first restaurant in Richfield, Minnesota, Mr. Hatlen had provided customers with a unique product and one for which people couldn’t find anywhere else. Sure, there were other buffet restaurants that people could go to before that first restaurant was opened in 1983 but the food quality and the service was second to none. Companies simply cannot get people to talk about their product glowingly if the product is not up to snuff; these attributes were directly related to the success of the company and the reason why OCB was able to open over a hundred restaurants in a matter of just under a decade. By 1998 the company had 115 unique company-owned restaurants and a grand total of approximately 150 restaurants following the 1996 acquisition of HomeTown Buffet.

Original Location: Richfield, MN

Today, even with all the technological advancements we have to communicate with one another, why are more companies not rewarding customers that bring a friend or a group of people to a restaurant? Cheetah Pizza in Minnesota rewards its loyal customers by a punch card for themselves and a discount on pizza if they help sign up a friend for a punch card. The principal, it would seem, is simple: if I bring in two friends and those two friends bring in two friends, and so on and so forth, the end result is a quick and broad customer base.

In a 2002 interview I did for an undergraduate ‘Intro to Business’ class, Mr. Hatlen put it best when he said, “I always wanted to give my customers the best food I could at the best price. The rest, I thought, would always take care of itself. I never thought much about TV or radio advertising because the best form of advertising is hearing about it from someone you know.” That about says it all, doesn’t it?

BUZZZZ MARKETING – PERHAPS YOU’VE SEEN ME!

Everyone that has taken an upper-level marketing or business class has probably heard about “Buzz Marketing” but what is it exactly? Can one really put their finger on the pulse of buzz marketing if so few can actually duplicated it time and time again?

Take Segway Scooters for example. This company sent out a military of “employees” to create a buzz for the dolly-like scooters to make them hip and happening. Unfortunately, after for a fairly successful beginning for the company, it seems only mall cops and Gob from Arrested Development use them now. The famous (or infamous) Jack Trout wrote about Segway and their buzz marketing capaign and penned his take on their less-than-othodox way of advertising, through word-of-mouth advertising. This advertising was simply through what was being portrayed as regular people just talking about their scooters.

How about another example with the launch of the Ford Focus? Here too we find that the Ford Motor Company hired beautiful people to drive the Focus and even used P-Diddy (or Puff Daddy…or Sean Combs…or is he going by Sean John these days?) at a red carpet event to try to convince people that the odd-shaped car really is/was cool.

Buzz marketing is and always will be effective if done right. The operative words in that phrase are “done right.” Any marketing done right is good marketing – obviously – but the reason why companies have done and will continue to partake in the practice is the same as why network TV has fallen in love with reality-based programming: because it’s cheaper than regular programming so too is buzz marketing typically cheaper than traditional marketing. Thus, we will continue to see companies trying to make a splash by, well, perhaps making a literal splash like Coca-Cola did at Sea World!