January 28, 2007

Who's Got the Time?

Inc. magazine's latest cover heralds "the coolest new marketplace in the world." And it's Second Life.

I have a friend who has become engaged - no, I should say "engulfed" (and inevitably to be "engorged") by Second Life.

My question is, who has the time? And, by dedicating time to Second Life, what are they taking that time from? Their 'first life'? Hey, which is more important?

Am I the only one who can't find enough hours in the day? Stretch, plan, multi-task, get up even earlier, go to bed even later, discipline, discipline, discipline...whatever...and there's still not enough time. Are all Second Lifers slackers? No! I know my friend isn't. She's brilliant. But where is she stealing the time from?

Meanwhile, one entrepreneur - who calls himself Rathe Underthorn - has created an ad agency selling ads on Second Life to Second Life 'companies.' (So far, selling ads to 'real world' advertisers is not permitted by Linden Labs, the creator of Second Life. Underthorn reports that his ads have topped 1.2 million impressions already, and they're working. His revenue is in the range of around $400-$500, so he needs to keep his day job. But he reports that some of the Second Life company advertisers are earning as much as $60,000 a year. [Where do they find the time?!]

Could the time come when one can earn more in a 'second' life than a 'first'? Will virtuality replace the real thing? Or will they become fully integrated....and we'll see advertising on Second Life for virtual and real companies. Will we be able to tell the difference? Will there be one?

January 25, 2007

Flagship Stores Define Image

Increasingly, we're seeing companies create flagship stores that define their image and entangle consumers into their clutches. The Apple Stores are current classics. And recently the Nokia Store in New York is the latest in these luscious branding tools. You can sit on a bar stool and use one of their phone/cameras to create a text message that appears on the wall, or you can take your own picture and print it out right there. The ambiance - complete with super design and music - is dripping in branding. And, yes, they'll sell you some product too...if you insist.

It's such a luxury to drop into a store that doesn't ostensibly try to be a store...it's an environment...it lives the brand...and you tear yourself away wishing that you were more of the brand too. I love these places. And the exercise of creating them is a great way to define one's brand. I'm thinking what a "store" for each of our clients might look like....and how it would reflect each brand and help bring it to life. Heck, if you can't do it for real, you can certainly do it in cyberspace.

Touchpoint Strategies

Soon you'll be driving onto New York's George Washington Bridge and see ads for Geico at the toll booths. We're going to see more turnstile ads...more ads on Chinese food take-out cartons...even ads on airline air sickness bags. Why? Because all of us marketers want to intercept people at the touchpoints of their lives...beyond traditional media. Well, not beyond traditional media...but in addition to them.

It always astounds me to discover how much is "for sale." We need to think about our customers' lifestyle and figure how we can intercept them along the way in behalf of our clients.

Chances Are....It's for Sale

January 22, 2007

Selective News

I understand the concept (and appeal) of selective news: identify what categories of information interest you and only tap into them...typically on the Internet. But then what happens to the information that you didn't know interested you until you saw it?

I'm thinking of the way a newspaper is organized. We turn the pages, ostensibly looking for the issues that interest us...and then, along the way, we discover something we had no idea would either be there or appeal to us, and it opens up our eyes to an entirely new issue.

Do we lose that experience when we over-customize the information we receive? Do we dull our curiousity...narrow our horizons?

I cannot imagine life without a newspaper. Like Jay, its tactile nature appeals to me. And I especially enjoy the discovery of stuff I didn't know, didn't expect to see, and love learning about.

But I think that newspapers should consider zero-basing their content. The world of information has changed so dramatically since the heyday of newspapers. We've got radio, TV, and - most consequentially - the Internet. Newspapers have not changed accordingly. We now have a few national papers - USA Today, The New York Times - and then we have the metropolitan dailies...virtually all declining in circulation.

Imagine if you were creating a metropolitan daily from scratch today. What would that paper look like? What would its content be? To what extent would it customize its editions (by geography, area of interest, demographic profile, etc.)? How much international and national news would it include? What would make it most relevant to its metropolitan audience?

Importantly, how would it differ from what's being presently produced in your metropolitan market?

My guess is that it would differ substantially. Then the challenge is to go from here to there...or get ready for a slow and painful death.

I don't think that's an exercise that most newspapers have the guts to go through. And, if they do, they typically turn to people in their own industry to tell them how to solve the problem. My guess is that the solutions are going to come from outside the industry. And they're going to come. Like they say..."when the pupil is ready, the teacher arrives."

Combo Brands The Rage

Who doesn't like the Gap/Project Red promotion? After all, it's good stuff in a good looking campaign for a good cause.

And, it's more. It's co-branding at its best. Blending brands to add more uuumph to both.

Apple's iPod did it with Nike and BMW. Burger King did it with Sean "Diddy" Combs. And Target has done it with a bunch of big name designers.

Interesting exercise: who fits with your brand? What's their business? How could you leverage each other's muscle to create an even more powerful presence?

Not only does the exercise help you identify co-branding opportunities, it also helps you define more clearly to yourself precisely what your brand is and what it stands for.

January 20, 2007

For Ida....

Where We Turn for Our News

We all know the Internet is increasingly important. But I'm always interested in specific research that tells us how important.

The Pew Internet Project recently reported that twice as many Americans used the Internet as their primary source of news about the 2006 campaign compared with the most recent mid-term election in 2002.

On an average day in August, 26 million Americans were using the Internet for news or information about politics!

Pew attributes the increase both to more attractive content and to more prevalent broadband access. More than three times as many Americans had broadband access in 2006 vs. 2002.

Here in Charleston, our mid-term election cycle was dominated by a hotly contested School Board race. A powerful group of five seasoned politicians called themselves The A Team, and were the odds-on favorites to sweep the election.

Their website? It was "under construction" during the entire campaign.

Meanwhile, their opponents made smart and aggressive use of the Internet.

Results? The A Team got trounced.

Project Share: Marketing's New Powerhouse

The Pew study also reports that 23% of those who used the Internet for political purposes actually created or forwarded online political commentary or politically-related videos.

Of course, this peer-to-peer communications is one of the most powerful phenomena in marketing today.

A recent survey reported that as recently as 2003, only 22% of respondents said they trusted a "person like yourself or your peer." That number is now up over 68%.

Friends and family are now the killer communicators...sharing info, videos, opinions, etc. like never before...and, in many cases, simply by-passing traditional ways of marketing.

It's key, then, to find ways to provide marketing materials and messages that are likely to be virally exchanged...like the Folger's coffee "morning" spot that I don't think ever made it out of YouTube but was viewed by millions.

So What's Up with "For Ida"?

I saw her last night ,and she told me she missed my blog; and I was so flattered that I'm gonna get back at it. How shallow am I?!!!