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Monthly Archives: January 2010

Marketing: The Social Media Marketing Experience

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January 28, 2010
Marketing, Media Trends
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I was playing around online the other day and randomly discovered an IBM marketing exec’s (Wendy Tarr) blog.  Wendy’s blog has terrific data and intel about marketing online in 2010.  I found two terrific postings on her site.

wendytarrpectrum-of-participation (jan 2010)

The first posting covers the five best practices for B2B social media marketing, which adequately supports other publications I’ve read by experts as well as cohesively outlines a process/plan one can create around their social media marketing strategy.  Really useful stuff information for anyone looking to brainstorm on how their company, brand, or business initiative can be translated to the social media landscape.

Social media diagram (jan 2010)

The other really useful posting I discovered was one linking a Wiki of social media marketing examples that was created by Peter Kim.  It was really insightful and interesting to see what type of social media channels companies are using to ignite conversations with consumers.  Again, if you are trying to understand how your business initative could be translated to the social media landscape then this is useful information.

A big shout out to Wendy and Pete!!  Keep the intel coming!

TrendsSpotting’s 2010 Social Media Influencers – Trend Predictions in 140 Characters

Lastly, another guru to be aware of is the social media marketing scientist Dan Zarella.   My brother - an online marketing whiz kid himself – put me up on Dan’s science of social media webinar and I’ve been checking in with Dan on the regulars ever since.  Dan offers a unique way of looking at how social media has progressed and where we are at.  I’m re-posting his 2010 predictions by social media experts in 140 characters or less presentation – its filled with wisdom from the people that have been doing this for years.

Lastly, if you want to be up on the latest trends and online marketing intel then one should follow Jason Kapler, Tweet English or the Eye Traffic cats out of D.C. on Twitter on the reg.  These guys are guaranteed to keep your company’s digital marketing program razor sharp and if you don’t have a Twitter account then – well – I guess we’ll see you in the 21st century at some point within this lifetime.

Media Trends Weekly Report: Virgin, Liz Murdoch, and Apple’s iPad

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January 28, 2010
Media Trends
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virtual reality (jan 2010)

Kyle Cameron of PSFK put me up on this dope interactive game/movie that integrates with online and mobile components.  People have been trying to crack the Choose Your Adventure type of content-game play for a little while now.  It looks like this project is a step into the future of content programming?  Time will tell.

Branson-Virgin-Fly Girls (Jan 2010)

Per Brand Week:  Virgin America’s ‘earned media’ article unveils  how Virgin America only spent 300K on measured media in 2009 (WOOP!) yet is still a strong brand that explores clever ways to connect and remain relevant with the consumer- even taking the risky yet novel approach via TV programming  with their new reality docu-series with CW about Virgin America’s flight attendants – the show is called FLY GIRLS.

internet off the charts (jan 2010)

Per Media Post:  Consumers to spend $6.2B on mobile applications in 2010 and by 2013 it is predicted that this will be $21.6B marketplace – wow.  To put this in perspective the online search advertising spend is predicted to be $11.4B in 2010 and by 2013 $14.7B – WHAT?!

Elisabether Murdoch Jan 2010shine group (jan 2010)

Liz Murdoch of Shine Group gave a speech at NAPTE in Las Vegas on how important it is for the TV industry executives and producers to embrace social media - calling it “the key to the future of TV’s success.” In a large part – TV has a lot of catching up to do and Liz is 100% spot on with that.  The sooner the entire business embraces and explores new ways for audiences to engage with their shows via new communication platforms – the better.  Media + Creativity discovered some terrific data from a Deep Focus/Yahoo study on TV to online engagement from a few years back that supports Liz’s speech at NAPTE – some interesting patterns to make note of.  Liz is a very smart-savvy media executive – she’s made a lot of the right moves the past few years.

iPad - jan 2010

And the story of the week is Apple’s new iPad - like many new products – people are disappointed by the limitations of it and I’m sure there will be stories of ‘glitches’ that will pour out in the weeks to come.  It’s funny to me that everyone is still surprised that we don’t get the real deal-best product off the bat – we really don’t get the supreme version of that product until the 3rd/4th generation releases to the public.

Nevertheless, listen to the Co-Founder of Apple aka the genius that is the Woz thoughts on the new product.  The bottom line is that the new iPad is Amazon’s Kindle meets the iPhone/iPod and will most likely-once again throw a new wrinkle on the content distribution business model.  This isn’t just a cool new product from Apple but is also another rock thrown into the waters that is the digital media content business – time will tell how those ripples influence the industry.

Click here to read what media execs have to say about the new iPad via Brand Week.

Products like Apple’s iPad reflect why researches predict “mobile applications” to be a $6.2B business and within the next five years will be over a $20B business – because hand-held devices have and will continue to dominate the consumer landscape.

It is crazy when I think of all thew new technology coming our way and the communication platforms and applications that are going to be applicable to our everyday lifestyle.  This has and will only continue to force every business and industry to rethink the way they operate their business, the way they engage with consumers, and the way they communicate with the world in general.

Good news/bad news if you ask me with this non-stop-engagement-instant gratification-sound byte-media-information-24/7 evolution we are living in.  I hope you have your seat belts fasted tight because its going to be a crazy ride as we make way into the 21st century.

Media Trends Weekly Report: Peter Chernin/MGM, Pepsi Refresh, and NBC woes

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January 22, 2010
Media Trends
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TV Everywhere Universe (Jan 2010)

Okay so it’s so not Monday – been a nutty week for the ol’ Media + Creativity grind.  Nevertheless, without further ado – please read the stories and headlines below for a re-cap of what when down recently in media and marketing.

Peter Chernin to buy MGM?

Peter Chernin would love to get his paws on Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. To do that though, Chernin might have to team up with his former employer, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., where Chernin served for years as president and chief operating officer until leaving that post last June. While News Corp., which owns the Fox movie and TV studio and bankrolls Chernin’s new production company, has not formulated any plan to bid for MGM, with or without Chernin’s involvement, there is one possibility that could see the two unite.

2010 Media Trends to watch by Brad Adgate.

The recently concluded decades brought out some of the industry’s greatest innovations, including iPods, smartphones, social networks, blogging, YouTube, Twitter, e-books, portable GPS devices, the transition to digital TV and the emergence of Google. The upcoming decade promises to be even more innovative.

‘Leno’ Woes: NBC Local TV Battered By 25% Audience Drop – OUCH!! Late NBC local TV newscasts airing after “The Jay Leno Show” have seen ratings declines by 25% among key viewers, which is costing NBC stations $22 million every three months.

Discovery and Hasboro unveil HUB – the new TV network that is set to launch in the fall of 2010 with 60 million homes, replacing the current Discovery Kids network. Discovery and toymaker Hasbro are 50-50 partners in the venture, a deal that was announced in April 2009.

Is YouTube Finally Ready to Turn a Profit This Year?

Apple looks to be in “acquisition mode” which is unlike the tech-giant. The recent hiring of a Goldman Sachs banker has eyebrows raised in Silicon Valley.

Gillette looks to connect with their target – young male demographic through a digital documentary series program called “UNCUT.”

Pepsi’s Pumped-Up ‘Refresh’ Initiative Kicks Off!! Pepsi has begun promotions for an expanded, “evolved” 2010 iteration of the “Refresh Everything” initiative first implemented last year, now rechristened the “Pepsi Refresh Project.”This year, Pepsi has earmarked more than $20 million to fund ideas for new community projects submitted by members of the public. The projects to be funded will also be chosen by the public, via online voting.

Pay Homage – Pop Icon: Tim Burton

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January 15, 2010
Pay Homage: Pop Culture Icons, Video
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tim-burton

Pay Homage to the genius that is Tim Burton.  Tim directed Pew-wee’s Big Adventure, Beetle Juice, Batman, Mars Attacks!, Sleepy Hollow, and most recently Alice in Wonderland with his long-time partner in crime – Johnny Depp.  What?! Those are some serious films and the work in each of them are tremendous!!  Get your Netflix on if you are behind the curve.

Many think that Tim is a very strange character and while that maybe true – you can never knock the originality in his work and what he has given to the art they call film.

I caught an incredible interview of Tim Burton on Charlie Rose about Tim’s new MOMA exhibit that is up in NYC.  Tim makes some great comments on not wanting “to be a child” per say but not losing that “spirit of seeing things and being surprised by life”  as children do.

PART 2/6 SKIP to 5:05 to get to Tim

PART 3/6

I also really dug Tim’s thought in part 3 of the interview where he speaks about not liking labels and how children start to “re-format” their creativity around the age 10 because they become aware of these labels and of what they “can” and “can’t” do which makes his blood boil.

This hit close to home for me because my parents (Bless them) forever en-grained into my head of “not losing the child within you ever” which I never quite understood but the older I get – the more I’m realizing its important to try to keep the vessel open if you will and allow yourself to be surprised by color, vibrations, sound and such .  Quite frankly – it is why I started Media + Creativity!!    To remind people of not losing that young-creative-being that lives within us all – and to go for it – don’t hold back in the  exploration of life and creativity – you will often times surprise yourself.

PART 4/6

Part 5/6

Fresh Sounds: Junior Boys

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January 13, 2010
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Junior Boys 1-10

Another great group I discovered via Pandora Radio Passion Pit station is Junior Boys. Again I’m a little late to the party but these cats are dope.

I found myself turning to my blackberry thinking “who are these guys – they are putting some different sounds together in a fresh way”. Their sound is clearly the electro-indie-pop with a nod towards R&B – which I love.

From their site:

Their music has drawn variously from disco, electro-pop, UK garage, R&B—and Frank Sinatra. They bear traces of Munich, London, Chicago, Virginia Beach, Tin Pan Alley—and yet they hail from Hamilton, Ontario. They are men of the world, but you can call them Junior Boys.

The men in question, of course, are Jeremy Greenspan and Matt Didemus, and their story is an unlikely one: two childhood friends who had no real intention of becoming professional musicians—and yet, six years after the almost accidental founding of the band, find themselves with three studio albums and a mix CD under their belts, their passports ragged after frequent touring, their press books brimming with clippings.

The first track that caught my ear was IN THE MORNING. I really dig how its electronic, funky and has a little R&B mixed in there – its modern and I dig it.  One music head told me this is the new – new age sound coming back.

This was the groups single back in 2006.

IN THE MORNING

Their latest single – HAZEL is also fresh. This track has now been added to the iPod shuffle mix.

HAZEL

Media Trends Weekly Report: Silverman’s Electus, Jersey Shore, and Mark Cuban

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January 13, 2010
Marketing, Media Trends
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Electus and Yahoo are looking to get dirty and by dirty I mean create some branded programming Ben Silverman style. Let’s see what comes out of it. Yahoo wants to take a step from this and this.

Ben Silverman (Electus)  & Joanne Bradford (Yahoo) at CES

HannaMontana

Hannah Montana has been a terrific property for Disney and solidified Miley Cyrus as a star-on-the-rise. Let’s hope she doesn’t get too crazy and get all Lohan on us.

Jersey Shore

Slowly yet surely MTV took www.hotchickswithdouchebags.com and My New Haircut YouTube video and made a show out of it and this show is called JERSEY SHORE and  I must say – its genius.

For those of you that have been living underneath a rock and don’t know what the MY NEW HAIRCUT YouTube phenomenon is then you can check it out below.  Been nearly two and a half years and 25 million views later. . .there is show to watch and laugh at all the time.

Tucker jackass

Speaking of douch-bagery Tucker Carlson thinks can get that internet money and someone is betting $3Million he is right. Wall Street – get me $1million and I’ll create an entire new media empire that will get acquired by a major media conglomerate.  I said it.  Holler at me.

Martin Sorrell (jan)

WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell sits down with Raymond Girard and talks Branded Media in 2010.  Sir Martin is a real smart dude when it comes to seeing what is going down in advertising today.

So it’s a natural human emotion if you like – a human feeling – to resist this change. But it’s only a question of time. Because if consumers are spending 20, or 25 percent of their time online and clients are spending 12 or 13 percent of their budgets online, there’s a natural gravitational pull to that 25 percent.


TV Everywhere Universe (Jan 2010)

WSJ’s article on THE FUTURE OF TV by Holmam W. Jenkins Jr. discusses the race to own the eyeballs of premium content. We just don’t know how the pie will be sliced or which model will grab market share first. Comcast just acquired NBC and the experiment that is the joint venture between Fox, NBC, Disney might get new legs? Time will tell what will come of the premium TV/Film content marketplace – it sure will be interesting. Holman also acknowledges that Europe is undergoing a digital revolution themselves – which will enable them to develop faster than North America.

Look to Western Europe, where the digital transition began earlier. Viewers willing to rely on over-the-air digital broadcast TV have grown to 42 million from 31 million in three years, according to the International Television Expert Group. They are expected to hit 59 million in 2013.


CES

3D all the rage at CES Las Vegas this year and with that ESPN and Discovery saying forget HD – we are moving onto 3D – where there is smoke there usually is fire.

Jay Leno and Conan

NBC is done playing their game and going back to the old strategy with Late Night – how many moves does it take before you lose your job? Jeff Zucker is like a cat – always land on his feet.  It’s funny because NBC might be my favorite network out of the four major broadcast networks yet their Nielsen ratings are marginal compared to the baby-boomer targeted CBS, the mom-family loving ABC, or the part Alternative Americana-part British format guru Fox.   Maybe the TV-Everywhere-Comcast-Hulu-Premium model helps them set themselves apart from the rest in the future?  Time will tell

Mark Cuban on CES 2010 via Wall Street Journal

drivethrudiet010410

Wait – Taco Bell is taking themselves seriously with their “Drive-Thru Diet” campaign? Bwwhhhaa-LOL!! Are you kidding? Why did I read all of the text below their “cute” little diet commercial talking about reading your nutrition facts before you eat our greasy-cheap-nasty-food. Wow Taco Bell – really?

Fresh Sounds: Au Revoir Simone

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January 6, 2010
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Au Revoire Simone 1-10

Have to love the new digital age of radio. Plenty of friends have been raving to me about Pandora Radio and sure enough when I finally opened an account I wasn’t disappointed. After typing in my fave of the moment “Passion Pit” as a “radio station” – I got the chance to discover these uber-cool girls name Au Revoir Simone.

After doing a little research, I’m clearly a little late to the party.

Anyways that said – they freaking_______ rock!!!  I kept finding myself coming back to the radio and was like “who is this?” and after the fifth time I was like okay, I have to by their album.

Enjoy!!! They are fire!! Erika Forster, Annie Hart, and Heather D’Angelo seriously rock.

SAD SONG

Per Wikipedia re: Musical Style

Au Revoir Simone’s music has been described as “melody-laden loveliness” by Q Magazine. David Lynch called the group’s music “innocent, hip and new.” Spin also gave a review of the group: “Powered by vintage keyboards, a lockstep beat-box, and gorgeous, wide-eyed warbling, the Simones create make-out music for your inner android.” NME had a lot to say about the indie group: “Au Revoir Simone [appears] onstage like the sisters from The Virgin Suicides—[its] looks ranging from prim librarian, to hippy housewife to raven-haired art student. [The group] excavates the lost corner, joining Ladytron and Camera Obscura: lush electronic hypno-folk that breezes from the speakers like chocolate melting over one of Latitude’s many £5-a-crepe food stalls”. In another NME article, the magazine went on to say that “Au Revoir Simone must have beamed in from a land where lace clouds breeze over crystal lakes and icicles grow from the warm earth. This New York three-piece’s glorious synth-lead alt-folk will leave you crying on the stairs in the middle of the night.” The group defined itself as playing “warm and organic electronic music with forthright female vocalists.”

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