You're Probably Too Poor To Know What Google Is.

"We don't advertise on the internet because our customers are not internet users."

Doesn't that statement seem utterly ridiculous?  It should, but there are STILL companies out there saying that very thing, as if their customers somehow escaped the 75% of the nation that are now internet-connected.  But that's not really my point.

The point is that it's a missed opportunity, not at reaching a mass of consumers, but talking to a few of them.

So, maybe you're not selling IPods, and you might be right that your particular product skews a little poorer, or a little older, or a little less of the traditional mindset of the internet user, but you just missed a chance to open a dialogue with those that are, and may have the biggest influence over your audience, anyway.

The net isn't about getting the most ears and eyes, so who really gives a shit if ALL your customers aren't there.  ALL your customers aren't anywhere  Accept it.  But if you're company has fans, and let's hope it does, give them an avenue to get to know you better.  It's a terrible oversight to not talk when you have customers ready to have a conversation with you.

The Fix is In 4

The ad doctor is in again, laying down a little hee-haw for the fourth time. See the rest of the series by clicking on one, two, or three.

(4) Inbred thinking
The worse half of learning.  It's assimilation of thought, not growth of imagination.  It's not seeking a give it take, not a mutually-beneficial relationship.  Here, one mindset gets passed, without adapting to a new environment.

We’ve all seen it a hundred times.  Someone gets older instead of gets better.  They get comfortable in their ideas. They love them, so they don’t ever change, and they pass along the same dogma to someone in an inferior position. 

The Fix:
Expect growth, in both yourself, and those around you. The only way to avoid cyclical thinking is to constantly avoid making the easy choice, and to create an environment where learning is king above all. And, not just learning of one thing, but a quest for knowledge of everything you can know.

It means relying on others around you to bring in their ideas, and making it easy for them to share and accomplish. In our business, we have to know that we don’t always have the answers. The quickest way to ensure continued success is to surround yourself with good people, and allow them to flourish.

photo from twm on flickr.

It's the links I love, my friend

Some good, good from the past couple days.

Understanding the 1% rule: Motivations - Church of the Customer
Here's just a jumping off point from the upcoming book release from CotC, beginning to explain the basic motivation behind joining the one percent club, complete with an apt comparison to Hollister motorcycle gangs.  Why is it so great to be a one percenter, be it a motorcycle gang or a digg voter?  You guessed it...the community.

Brand Affinity Through Stories + Experience - Logic + Emotion
David Armano creates another  argument for the removal of silos, this time between Experience People and Storytellers.  The best brands, and the most effective campaigns are born out of both storytelling and the user experience, and when the two are working together, on strategy, that's where the magic happens. (see attached graphic)

Connectedness, Not Content - NoahBrier.com
The medium is the message...The reason the internet changed the world isn't necessarily just because we can watch video or download music, it's because of the easy connections it makes. 

We can't leave innovation up to our users - Creating Passionate Users
Ah, Kathy, always with the great posts.  Sometimes it's up to the creators to revolutionize, to create markets where before they didn't exist.  Then, it's up to us to listen and improve from there...

Do you live in a glass tower?

Well, Hot Damn, Hee-Haw, Three youtube posts in a row?!?!

Well, I've got no choice, after seeing this kickass video created by Peter Hirshberg of Technorati, and Michel Markman.  It's a sort-of War of the Worlds take on audience empowerment.

Money quote:

"With blind confidence, we considered them our own, our audience, our subscribers, our cuddly couch potatoes.  With infinite complacency, we blithely segmented and sold them to advertisers.  We learned to shape their habits, mold their desires and give them the illusion of infinite choice.  Yet, from their side of the screen, with envious eyes, they studied us,  And bit by bit, they learned, and linked, and drew their plans against us, wielding weapons we, ourselves, provided."

Just brilliant.  Thanks to Chris Anderson for posting this today.

Bravo, Bravia

Sony, by producing something so captivating as the Bravia Balls, actually drew people closer to them.  A troubled company was given a face people could love.  It's the beauty of making an ad so simple and emotive.  For a few seconds, it was easy to separate Bravia from the company we hated for loading spyware on our computers without telling us. 

And, now, they're out to do it again.  They've created a blog to release information on the eagerly awaited second installment, and to be honest with you, I can't friggin' wait.  If you thought throwing a half million rubber balls down the streets of San Francisco sounded stupid, wait until you hear about exploding a shitload of paint and fireworks over a building in Scotland. 

I really love the fact that they've created buzz like this around an ad that hasn't even been created. I feel like I'm waiting for the next Scorsese film. 

It's also indicative of that fact that in the days of the DVR outcry from traditional addies, that people aren't turned off just by advertising, they're turned off by lazy, formulaic, crap advertising.  Make your messages unforgettable, no matter the platform.

Here's a video shot by someone who showed up to watch the filming:

Tune In Saturdays

This weeks featured artist, The Polyphonic Spree. 

To see a Spree show is the equivalent of going to a music revival.  Children, grandpas, hipsters and teeny-boppers alike can be found scattered throughout the crowd, with beaming smiles on their face.  The music and bouncy demeanor make this the most infectiously happy band I've ever seen.

The Polyphonic Spree was born of the ashes of Tripping Daisy, one of the more popular experimental bands to come out of Dallas.  The Spree features the frontman, drummer, and bassist from Daisy, as well as a cast of roughly 20 - that's right, 20, two-zero, other musicians,  The amazing mass of performers create a magnificent pop symphony that have landed them opening slots for the likes of David Bowie, and later this year, Matisyahu. 

Even with big name recognition, and heavy touring, the band has flown mostly under the radar with their first two releases, "The Beginning Stages of" and "Together We're Heavy," as well as the score to Mike Mills' coming-of-age movie, "Thumbsucker."  The newest release, "The Fragile Army" has basically been recorded, and, although no release date has been set, should be coming out in the coming months.

Although their home page is being renovated to prepare for the new release, you can go the back route to the old one here, where you can listen to full songs from "TWH" (starting with "Hold Me Now," which is truly a gem).  Their MySpace page features a couple tunes from Thumbsucker. 

Below is a video Michel Gondry did for them after their appearance on the "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" soundtrack.

Also, I think it's fair to say this band seems way bigger than I'd usually talk about here, but they are a band still finding their place, and still without a major voice on the music scene.  Enjoy!

It's the links I love, my friend

And here's me, taking a page out of Mack's Viral Community handbook, and doing a little roundup of my own.  There's just such a great network of great minds out there right now, I'd hate for anyone to miss out.  And, with that...

Social Networking: Lessons from Overseas - Chaos Scenerio
A social networking site not a slave to the advertisers?   Cyworld's kicking ass by finding a business model that makes money without annoying interstitials. 

Elements of Customer Experience - Experience Planner
The EP's on a quest to understand and describe customer experience.

Theory is good.  Theory being put into action and proven is better - The Viral Garden
Mack is a communal badass, and has been tracking Universal Pictures' amazingly smart, money-saving, time-efficient move to involve the blogging community in the marketing of Miami Vice.  Thousands of engaged eyeballs later, Universal will surely be exclaiming, "Thank you sir, May I have another?!?!"  Kudos to Mack and Chris over at Movie Marketing Madness.

Fix Me. Save Me. Don't Let Me Break - CK's Blog
CK's about doing what every good marketer should, keeping her ear to the ground.  If you haven't checked out her blog, yet, you probably can't read.

10 Habits of Highly Annoying Agency Humans - Advergirl
I love me some advergirl.  She accurately describes the people that making our working lives even more workier.  And yes, I know, workier is not a word.

The Underground Blogosphere - Micro Persuasion
A-Lister Steve Rubel describes the phenomenon of bloggers shilling blogs to other blogs through email. It's the blogging equivalent of Behind the Music.  I must say, I have a little trouble doing it.  I'll admit, I've sent a couple links, but literally, that means two.  I sent one to Godin, and one to Jaffe, and then I felt like a blog whore and went into a shame spiral.  Anybody else feel this way, too?  I just feel so dorky trying to send a link of something I wrote.

Read 'em up!

The Fix is In 3

(3) A Bad Case of Monetary Balls-lessness.
Commissions continually shrink, as agencies get squeezedtighter for every dollar. That’s right, no more first-class, limos and Cristal for you. These commoditized agencies can do nothing but beg, because why wouldn’t a client go to the lowest bidder if an agency doesn’t offer them something someone else can’t? It’s a vicious cycle of lowering, and whimpering, further lowering, and louder whimpering.

The Fix:
First, you start by owning your inner snowflake. Obviously, there are aspects of any agency that are similar, but you must indulge in your individuality to demand the most dollars.

With our own fees, and commissions that are based solely on the price tag of ad buys, not performance, we’ve painted ourselves into an all-or-nothing corner. Either you perform immediately or you’re fired. This black and white proposition doesn’t allow much time for growth, and these days more than ever, long-term, growth-based relationships are much more important than short-term cash grabs.

It’s time to find measurements that work for both the clients and the agency, and base the income off these benchmarks.  An agency doing its job is an agency getting paid.  Period.

If we can’t stand behind our product, then how can we possibly expect our clients to stand behind us?

photo from flickr.

Cuban Gets Hee-Haw'd!

Mark Cuban, savior of Dallas basketball (seriously, I remember going to Mavs games back in the early 90’s…it sucked) and all-around techie guru, has turned to the masses to find a solution to his movie marketing problem.  His issues are two-fold, spending too much to build an audience, and requiring them to pay too much when they get there. 

It's a bit of a tough assignment because I don't think the problem can be fixed by introducing a new tactic or two.  It's all about considering the consumer a partner in the experience, not just a benefactor of an experience created for them.  With that said, here are a few tactics. :)

(1) Get the movie to the places people want to watch.
Local coffee shops, bars, clubs, whatever, are always looking for ways of drawing in the public, and the public is tired of theaters gouging them at the concession stand, just because they think they can.  Allow these businesses who have the space, to also roll the feature.  Rent a projector, a screen, and the movie for a fee that makes sense to that location.

• The establishment wins because they draw people in.
• The people win because they can go to a place where they feel more comfortable, might be able to smoke, drink, eat a reasonably priced meal, etc.

(2) Do whatever it takes to make the audience comfortable the movie won't be shit.
Although a trailer has its place, it's time to move to the taster.  Allow consumers to view 30 or 45 minutes of the movie for free.  Give them time to get to know the characters, to get engaged with the story, and then charge to see the second half.  If you present a crap movie, of course, you'll get a crap response, but make something worth watching, and you're much more likely to have a customer happy to pay your price.  Show these tasters anywhere you can, streams on the internet, late-night television (cheap for you and DVR friendly), before baseball games, whatever.  Give people a chance to become involved with the story.

(3) Monetize in other places.
Product placement can be a valuable resource, but doesn't necessarily offer any immediate payoff.  Create a virtual store of ALL the items in the movie.  Clothes, furniture, kitchenware, cars, whatever, and build affiliate programs to get a cut of the return.  They buy through you, and everyone wins.

(4) Allow your biggest fans to become engorged in the movie.
Start blogging from the beginning.  Show early cuts of scenes and interview your actors from day one.  Make them accessible throughout the shoot, not just on press day.  Release scenes for download so fans can create their own mash-ups, and become a part of the movie.  Give movie communities as much access as you possibly can.  (Mack knows a thing or two about this). Open a continuing dialogue.

Those are just a few of the literally thousands of things Mark could be doing to change the industry. Screening parties, pricing-to-the-occasion, flop passes, loyalty programs, selling the extras immediately after the feature, and on and on and on….

Eric Frenchman also has a few ideas.

The Fix is In 2

(2) Lack of Meaningful Partnership

Ad agencies are now largely message factories, rather than absolute partners.

This relationship is really just an extension of old-school, silo’d thinking, and part of a “not my job” mentality that consumes narrow-minded managers.  Marketing is not only messaging, and advertising agencies who see traditional executions as their primary responsibility will be part of the slew that will fail, have failed, or are in the process of failing.

The Fix:

Agencies will become full partners, examining all the characteristics that move consumers. Yes, messaging will still be a part of the job, but the traditional definition of messaging will fade away.

Messaging will become literal. No longer will it be just the advertisements we have placed, but all the things our clients communicate, in any form or fashion.  That means customer service, operational issues, all the way down to the number of plies on the toilet paper. We will be image auditors, ensuring a consistent, fulfilling customer experience at all levels, encounters and interactions.

Now more than ever, advertising is about ensuring a remarkable product experience, and making those experiences relatable, not differentiation through mass marketing of homogeneous crap.

photo by R80o via flickr.