Phoning It In

My absence from posting has been filled with contemplation and evaluation.  Ever since the birth of my blog I have struggled with the inability to just let go.  Most of the previous post were absolute nonsense (maybe I should change the name of this blog to that:-).  They had no meat or substance, and that had nothing to do with my lack of interest in the topic.  Believe me when I say that I usually have an opinion about everything and very often share it without solicitation.  The biggest problems that I find myself having is where to draw the line and how to phrase things in typed text so that they are not misinterpreted.  Properly communicating face-to-face with people is a skill that most of us practice from birth.  Face-to-face communication is often unambiguous.   There are a multitude of factors involved that aid in the interpretation of the message from they way a person is holding their head to the tone in their voice.  This is not always the case with virtual communication.   These are probably concerns and apprehensions that a lot of bloggers have at first and I just need to get over it.  I am just going to keep putting it out there and see what happens.

(Hey look at that…..I wrote something real)

American Idol & Ford

It is very apparent that the days of interruption marketing are over, in fact there have been several posts on this blog alone alluding to that very fact. With that said the next logical deduction is that marketers are having to become more creative with their ad placement. I personally think that Ford has definitely “hit the nail on the head”. I am an avid American Idol watcher, and I am constantly impressed with the way that Ford’s commercials integrate in to the show. Take last night for example, the Idols came together and participated in what appeared to be a very traditional style music video, but it centered all around Ford vehicles. It was the perfect way to entertain the audience and feature the cars.  I found it extremely engaging because I enjoy American Idol. They have done things like this all season, and if my memory serves me correctly they do this every season. It is no shock that they drag the show out FOREVER before telling you who is going to be kicked off, so it is refreshing to see a commercial during the endless breaks that is fun and entertaining. It is such a creative way to incorporate a marketing message without the viewers feeling taking advantage of.

Talk about literal

Man….this week so far has been really hectic. So much so that I have not been able to post in a few days. Anyways. I read this bulletin on myspace about google maps. It directed me to select the “get directions” tab, type in New York, New York for the starting point and Paris, London for the ending point. Hit enter, scroll down to item number 23 on the directions list and it literally tells you to “swim across the Atlantic Ocean”. It is completely hysterical!! And just in case anyone is wondering the distance is 3,462 miles from shore to shore. Some programmer is having way too much fun:-). It makes me curious to try other outrageous start and end points. I think I just might!

Just Another Don Imus Related Post

Obviously everyone has heard what is going on by now.  When this incident began to make headlines the first place I went for information was the blogosphere, and as you can imagine there is post after post after post.  To be perfectly honest I am not really sure where I stand on all of it.  However, there is one thing that I have taken away from my reading, and that is think before you speak.  Not that this needs to be done in an effort to censor your thoughts, but rather pull all of the facts and information together before you open your mouth.  Do not come to a irrational conclusion before you have had an opportunity to look at all of the evidence.  I think that sometimes people (including myself) are so quick to judge and make assumptions that we miss integral pieces of the puzzle.  One blogger referred to it as “clarity of thought”, and I think that is extremely appropriate.

Imperfections

We are winding down nine online at three squared, and putting the last final touches on the content for the upcoming issue. The next issue discusses the topic of word-of-mouth marketing, and a colleague ,Donna, and myself have had a lot of fun pulling it all together. She is writing this really great article (which I don’t want to give away) that talks about the humanization of business. This notion is something that seems to be at the forefront of every marketers minds. I always refer back to my really small hometown where a lot of the businesses were Ma&Pa outfits. That was just the way it was. It probably had a lot to do with the culture of a small town, especially a small town that was not close to any growing metropolis. The business owners were trusted and respected because they were not only providing products/services they were active participants in the communities in which they operated. Their kids went to school with the towns people’s kids, they played on the same sports teams, and worshiped in the same churches.

It is amazing how far business had strayed (Enron to Worldcom), and then managed to come back to its’ roots. We are all witness to the turning point that companies are making to re-prioritize their customers and but them back on the tops of their lists. It is no longer about avoiding the truth, but about being human. It is not always pretty or perfect or without flaws, but it is real. And I would give up a “perfect” existence any day to experience something that is true and has meaning. It is a dangerous practice to put any organization up on a pedestal. All will eventually lose their balance and fall off.

Youthful

Do you ever have those days where you wish that you had never gotten out of bed?  I have had one of those days today.  I have always been a very optimistic person so after a rough morning I have tried to keep a smile on my face.  I just wanted to share that, and now on to this post.

Myself and a very good friend of mine were talking last night, and I was completely taken back by something she said,  ”use your youth to your advantage”.  I recently graduated college and took my first job at three squared.  I have been having the time of my life and have had the opportunity to learn so much from my colleagues and growing network.  Sometimes however I get down because I do not know everything that they know.  These are the times that I truly wish that human intelligence could be transfer via osmosis.  I want to know everything they know.  Believe me, I understand that with time my knowledge base will flourish and I will continue to learn things until the day I die.  I will never be content with the information that I know and will always thrive to learn as much as I can from everything and everyone I can.  

When my friend made that comment to me it really struck a cord.  It sounds so simple of a realization, but for some reason my mind was too clouded to see it.  I accept the fact that I do not know everything or even a little bit about what other people in my industry know.  But what I can offer is a fresh unique perspective.  Basically what I am trying to say is that I should not be resentful of my youth, but appreciate the perspective it gives me, and all the things that I have left to see in my life. This seems like such an obvious notion, but sometimes the most obvious things have to be brought to your attention by other people.  So thanks Kelly!  I really appreciate your words of wisdom. 

SingShot

A colleague came across SingShot.com.  It is this really fun social network site where you can record your own version of a song.  It is basically like karaoke for the world wide web.  Lots of fun!

Giving It Meaning

I was watching TV last night and a Visa commercial came one. It was the one where everyone is in a food court type area and everything is moving to the same rhythm because everyone is using their Visa check card to pay for their lunch. A guy comes up to the register and pays for his meal with cash, and it completely messes everyone’s rhythm up and people begin to run into one another and drop things. Then the VO says “Because cash shouldn’t slow you down”. I have seen this commercial a dozen times and have never thought anything of it until last night. During high school, college and even now on the weekends I have worked in the retail business. Literally for about 9 years. So believe me when I say that the cash transactions are the fastest to process. I was watching this commercial with my roommate and he had also worked for a while in the food service business, and he agreed that cash transactions are the quickest to process as well. I am not saying that using cash is general is quicker, but going by the ATM can be a real pain. However the messaging in the commercial (at least how I interpreted it) was that using cash to pay for stuff was slower than with a check card.

I started thinking about this commercial and remembered the Verizon Wireless commercial where the guy is traveling the country saying “Can you hear me now….Can you hear me now….Good”, and realized that every time my cell phone begins to break-up I use that same phrase. It was intended to reflect the extensive Verizon network, but I use it to indicate a dead zone in my converage (oh…and by the way….I have Cingular:-)

Again more examples ,I think, of the lack of control that we have as marketers. We put it out their, but it is the audience that interprets it and gives it meaning.

Decisions, Decisions

I was talking with a very close old friend last night who has found himself at the crossroads of a life changing decision. Making the type of decision that he is faced with is so hard. How do you know which road to take, and how can you be certain that the decision you are making is the best choice? I guess you really can’t. You just have to make a choice and follow through with it. This will not be the last time that he finds himself at the crossroads of a life altering decision, but that doesn’t make the choice any easier. He asked me if I were presented with the same two options as he, which road would I take. I have always been very mindful of telling people what choice to make. I honestly feel that nothing good can come out of it. If you tell them one thing and it turns out to be the wrong road resentment may plague the friendship, and if you tell them to take the other road they may always wonder if they truly made the decision because they felt it was the right way to go or if it was because everyone said they should do it. Ultimately the person making the decision has to live with it every day for the rest of their lives. They are the ones that have to wake-up every morning, look in the mirror, and tell themselves that they made the right choice.

I am not really sure why I decided to share this information, probably because I can’t get him off my mind. It is important to remember that people don’t always need advice, sometimes they just need to someone to listen.

Clutter Clutter Everywhere

Whenever I think of clutter I remember the movie Josie and the Pussycats. It’s about this girl rock band that becomes instantly famous overnight with the help of subliminal messaging found in the lyrics of their songs placed there by the record company in an effort to increase sales. What is so funny about this movie is that not a scene goes by that does not incorporate a company’s brand image. It is absolutely hysterical. Everything from the wall hangings to the clothing is completely saturated with logos. The big time record executive even wears a gown that is completely fashioned out of American Express cards.

It’s not like the clutter problem is something new that we marketers are hearing about. It seems like every time we find a new medium we exploit the crap out of it until there is nothing left and then we move on. I feel like I am making us sound like parasites, but isn’t that what parasites do? They move to a place, consume all of the natural resources, and then move on. I think that it’s a breath of fresh air that consumers are beginning to demand that information is provided the way they want, where the want, and how they want it. It almost makes our jobs easier. All we have to do is listen. There are millions of conversations going on right now that are answering all of these questions for us. Blogging has made it even easier for us because now all we have to do is go to Technorati and do a keyword search and an abundant amount of information is spit back out. It’s like all of the information we ever could have wanted sprouted legs, walked up to us and said “Here I am. Read me! I can help you.”

I am not saying that the use of traditional media does not have a place in the marketing mix anymore, because I believe that it does, I just think that we marketers need to wise up and begin giving consumers what they want…what they are already asking for. When I read in an Adage article that “Somewhere between 254 and 5,000 is a number that represents just how many commercial messages an average consumer gets each day”, I think to myself something has got to give.