No more ABC for me, thanks

ABC's President of Advertising Sales Mike Shaw decided to let us know why we like our DVRs.  And, no, it's not because it enhances our ability to dodge the minefield of shitty advertising that they run on their network.  It's only for the time-shifting.  He said:

I'm not so sure that the whole issue reallyis one of commercial avoidance,  It really is a matter of convenience--so you don't miss your favorite show. And quite frankly, we're just training a new generation of viewers to skip commercials because they can. I'm not sure that the driving reason to get a DVR in the first place is just to skip commercials. I don't fundamentally believe that. People can understand in order to have convenience and on-demand (options), that you can't skip commercials.

While I appreciate how he wishes the world would stay the same for forever, let's get with the program a little bit.  Mike Shaw, your job is not to train us.  Your job is not to choose how we consume what we consume.  If we don't want commercials, then we won't watch them, and if your network isn't on board with that, then we simply won't watch it.  We don't owe you our time because you're still living in a decade past.

Now, I understand the need to make money.  I understand that advertising makes that content possible.  But you understand that it doesn't give you the option to treat us like we're simply numbers that have to add up to make you enough dollars.  Find new ways to engage us.  Give us choices. 

The lesson needs to be learned that no one controls technology.  If you think you can, you will fail.  And I wish Mike Shaw nothing but failure.

Via Boing Boing.
Also - Hespos.

Hee-Haw Marketing Gets Hee-Haw for realz

Late Monday night, on my birthday, no less, I got a whuppin'.  Apparently, a group of guys thought someone in the house I was at threw something at them.  I happened to walk out the front door at the wrong time.

Concussion, Broken Nose, Stitched up face, and 3 broken teeth later, my Hee-Haw moniker is now a way of life.

I'm still loopy from pain pills, so you probably won't see me around the blogosphere for a few days, but have no fear, I will be back, recharged and ready to rock next week.

If you've got any fun activities I can do from bed, please feel free to fill me in.

Thanks...

Chris Anderson's "The Long Tail"

Chris Anderson, editor of Wired Magazine, has a new book, "The Long Tail," in which he discusses, you guessed it, the long tail.  He masterfully describes in great detail the mechanisms at work, changing our consumption habits, and further segmenting us, not by geography, age or skin color, but by our common interests.  Chris says:

"Instead of the office watercooler, which crosses cultural boundaries as only the random assortment of personalities found in the workplace can, we're increasingly forming our own tribes, groups bound together more by affinity and shared interests than by default broadcast schedules.  These days our watercoolers are increasingly virtual-there are many different ones, and the people who gather around them are self-selected.  We are turning from a mass market back into a niche nation, defined now not by our geography but by our interest."

The long tail is essentially the relationship between the hits, and everything else.  Hits have the biggest sales, and everything else, much smaller.  The top 100 hits individually might far outsell the rest, but the increasingly abundant tail provides a huge profit center when sales are combined.

This is shown in the graph below

But now, we're seeing a shift from the top 100 (the head) and more power and profits to the tail (everything else).  Although, Chris shows off some technical chops in the book, I'll leave it to you to read the book for further explanation.

The real power in this book is more from a cultural standpoint, rather than a purely economic one.  As we see companies like Netflix, Amazon, Itunes, etc. extend the tail further and further, the hits get less impactful.  As the tail gets longer, the tools of production get less expensive, and the filters that help us search the tail get better, we can see this shift happening.

It's happening on our television sets, our computers, our supermarkets, and our theaters.  As the Internet grows, it allows us to have, as Chris says "the Paradise of Choice" and the means by which to find the things that interest us most, no matter the producer.  It's an increasingly decentralized version of the media power structure that's falling apart today.  As Chris puts it:

"Every time a new technology enables more choice, whether it's the VCR or the Internet, consumers clamor for it.  Choice is simply what we want and, apparently, what we've always wanted."

This is a must read for anyone proclaiming the successes of new media, and both technically and rhetorically brings to light how we have been and will be affected by our new digital landscape, and the explosion of the niche,

Now, if you have an interest in the book, I will very web2.0ishly be offering to pass it right along down the line.   The first one to post a comment or send me an email gets the book, and I'll have it shipped out to you on Wednesday.

Any takers?

Buy the Book.

Marketer's Credo: An Ideological Doctrine

The Traditional is dead.
Long Live the Era of the Marketer's Credo.

1. WE will not fear failure.
2. WE will not be beholden to any medium.
3. WE will listen, engage, adapt to, and join our clients' communities.
4. WE will remember that our responsibility is not only to our clients, but also to the communities with which we are interacting.
5. WE will try new things, and be willing to venture to places no one else has been.
6. WE will not waste consumers' time.
7. WE will offer consumers something in return for that time, be it social, monetary, experiential, or cause-related.
8. WE will not accept what we have done as the way things should be done.
9. WE will question everything.
10. WE will not lose sight of what makes our jobs important.
11. WE will not merely be the executor of client programs.  We will be partners in ensuring authenticity and cohesiveness across all messaging, interactions and touchpoints.
12. WE will speak to consumers when and how they want us to, and in their language, not our own.
13. WE will be concerned most with building long-term relationships.
14. WE will never stop learning and growing, both academically and culturally.
15. WE will not be afraid to speak our minds.
16. WE will defend our ideas and our actions, and only do those which are defensible.
17. WE will use our tools and knowledge to also brand ourselves.
18. WE will not merely add to the clutter.
19. WE will not be lazy.

Do you agree or disagree?  Are there additions or subtractions to be made?

You tell me.

Some Sweet Songs for Your Sweet Ads

On to this weeks featured artist, Sorta, the winner of the Best Act Overall in the 2006 Dallas Observer Awards.  This mellow rock meets country outfit sounds just like they describe themselves.  A little Wilco, a little Elliot Smith, and a dash of Dylan. I couldn't describe it any better if I tried, so I won't.

In August, they will be releasing Strange and Sad, but True, which they very Web 2 .0ishly pre-released on MySpace for free, 4 songs at a time, all downloadable.  Although, they recently split from their previous label, Summer Break Records, we're all keeping our fingers crossed that they'll find someone new so they can pull off a timely release.

So, I recommend you hit up their MySpace site, start with 'Tell Me A Story', lay back on your couch, and prepare to be blown away with the niceties of true musical craftsman.  You'll notice the careful nature of their songs, like they've been cared for and nurtured.  They ebb and flow, and ultimately build into colored explosions. 

If you head over to the home site, give '85 feet' a spin second, and I guarantee you'll be hooked.  And if you are, just send me your address and I'll be sure to pass along the entire album, since it's not releasing for awhile.  Hopefully, they will be ok with that, but from the pre-release, it sounds to me that they're more concerned with getting the most ears, rather than the most dollars at this point.  You just have to make one promise; If you like it, you have to buy it when it comes out.  Fair?

Perfect for: Top-Down rides in the country, Wry smiles

Sorta
MySpace

Fordvertising

Ford has actually made the leap, and finally did something bold.

That's right, they've not only hired Kelly Clarkson, but they also tied up Taylor Hicks.

Obviously, I kid Ford.  And they deserve it.  They rolled out this Bold Moves campaign, not by actually being bold, but by merely saying that they are bold.  You remember that old thing where positioning your product meant you told your customers what you were, and the masses accepted it as true?  Well, apparently, Ford was feeling some positioning nostalgia, and, thankfully, the nostalgia has worn off.

Ford rolled out this new website, complete with dissenting opinions, not particularly flattering news, and a documentary, that, at the very least, took a marginally honest viewpoint of the state of their company.  Most bloggers have only been begrudgingly congratulatory to Ford. Some said that it only speaks to their stakeholders. 

Of course, but don't most campaigns?  Settle the troops.  Give them some tools to defend the company.  Don't let your supporters hang freely in the wind with nothing from you but some American Idol trainwreck.  I give them some big congratulations, and can only hope this will be successful for them.  Their eyes are opening, here's hoping the stay that way.

I'm still not buying a Ford anytime soon, but they've held back some on the bullshit, and gained a little respect in the process.

More Ford Talk:
AdFreak
AdJab
Adrants

Saatchi Nonsense

Maurice Saatchi recently made the case for a new initiative, one word equity.  From what I gather, he basically means, that today, with all of our changing media, ad clutter, life clutter, etc. what we need is too boldly...

...change our tagline strategy?

What?  Are there question marks over anyone else's foreheads?

Ok, I get it, we need to offer more simplicity.  We live in a complex world, one that's becoming more and more complex, and now, simplicity is more likely to cut through the clutter.  Except, of course, when it doesn't.

The problem here is with focus.  While he may be, well not right, but on the right track on the tagline thing, should that really be the main focus?  He sounds like Bush ranting about gay marriage.  Aren't there bigger things?

What we need is a refocus on the customer.  We need to find authentic messages that ring true to our brand, and to the communities that use them.  We need to offer our brand participants what they want to see, hear, use, not what we want, or wish they would see, hear and use.  We must focus on what is important, and that is what's important to them, not us.

As far as tags go, keep 'em short.  Make them true.  Make them mean something.  Or don't use them at all.  As long as you keep your focus on doing remarkable things for your customers, memorability will take care of itself.

Chroma has more thoughts.

The Backlash of Being Cool

So many people are out to become the next "in" thing.  To be the next cultural hit, always taking home run swings, when all they need is a single.

I started thinking about this when I had the thought, "Damnit, when will Apple just shut the fuck up?"  Apple jumped on a cultural shift and hit a massive home run with the IPod, and reinvigorated it's brand like John Travolta.  Everything's kicking in high gear, with far and wide praise, computers flying off the shelves, destruction of all other mp3 players, annoyingly smug ad campaigns, and on and on. 

But the thing about cool brands, they always have a relatively short shelf-life.  The cooler you get, the bigger the faction of people that hate you for your coolness.  There is a direct relationship between amount of cool, and amount of haters. 

It's just like any new wanna-be Studio 54 club in town.  When they first open up, there's long lines, VIP, and plenty of press.  But, eventually you won't be so new, and someone just as cool, but now newer will open and render you obsolete.  All the while, the laid back neighborhood bar can keep kicking for 20 years because they offer what cool can't, consistency.

I guess the point is, sometimes it's better to be consistent than it is to be cool.  You'll have a lot better shot of sticking around when this trend passes, and a new trend starts.

ATS Goes Hee Haw.

Catch me on Episode #39 of Jaffe's Across the Sound, commenting on the squalor of the majority of traditional marketing.  I'm about 20 minutes in.  Show notes and download here.

If you haven't heard it, make sure you listen to the whole thing. I promise you'll learn a thing or two.

You can also hear me get beat up a little bit by the [X+1] boys for my joking comment about using  algebra on a marketing blog.  Trust me, boys, I spend plenty of time busting out numbers in excel (even as much as I hate it).  It was only a joke, damnit!

I will say this,  the [x+1] sponsorship turned out amazingly well..  Although the direct ROI may or may not be there, they've definitely gone from a company I had never heard of, to one with a face and my respect.  CEO Toby Gabriner had a compelling interview chocked full of interesting tidbits, and sponsorship or not, I'll keep my fingers crossed we hear from him again.

Trendy Music for Your Next Trendy Commercial

And the next band to be featured in my rotating-name Saturday special, Midlake.  By my estimations, these guys will fall under the category of unknowns for roughly another month, so if you want to get 'em cheap, you better get 'em now.

These boys hail from my old stomping grounds, Denton, Texas, USA, and were regular patrons of my former bar of employment and over-consumption, Lucky Lou's.

Now, for a proclamation:  This is the album of 2006, and you'll hear this album over and over.  MTV, VH1, whatever.  Hearing the first song on the album was reminiscent of the first time I heard Coldplay's "Yellow".  You just know it's going to be huge.  Although they recorded the album in their living room, it's got an amazingly soothing, polished finish to it.  Imagine 1 part Fleetwood Mac, 1 part Flaming Lips, and 1 part Radiohead.

I'll leave it at that and let the music speak for itself.  Make sure you start with 'Roscoe' and then you can watch the video for 'Young Bride' below. The Trials of Van Occupanther is due out in the States July 25.

Perfect for:  Rocky montages and bicycle rides

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