Flavors of Me

I really like the personal web page I created with Flavors.me. I decided to make it the web link in my Twitter profile. I can't include an unlimited number of links like in my Google Profile (unless you pay a small fee of $20 per year), but it makes up for that limitation with great design options (mine is obviously still a work in progress).

What do you think? Do you like Flavors.me or Google Profile better? Are there any others you like better?

Nike launches soccer ad on Facebook, doubles fans

I was watching the (boring) Champion's league final during which Nike debuted for TV their ambitious, three minute (yes, 3, that's not a typo) soccer advertisement, Write the Future. But I had already seen it on Facebook.

Apparently, a lot of other people had, too. By debuting the ad on their Facebook page, they doubled their number of fans (likers?) to 1.1 million according to Inside Facebook. Here's the ad:

OTASessions takeaways

Last week, I attended the first annual OTASessions in Sioux Falls, S.D. The event was dreamed up by local dreamer (and I mean that in a good way) Hugh Weber. There were lots of people who answered the call, but Hugh deserves the credit for putting the event together.

Anyway, Hugh put out the call for reactions to OTASessions so I thought I'd blog my two cents worth. My primary takeaways (besides the pile of books pictured here)...

...were two:

1. Companies that show their bumps and bruises will get credit for it (Spike Jones). I find that so many companies think that every communication has to be spit-polished, vetted by everyone, thoroughly sanitized and (of course) can only be good news. The problem with that is that business is not simply a steady progression of positive news. So people will go elsewhere to get the negative news and because you weren't willing to provide it to them, they are more likely to ignore your positive news as well.
2. Partially-finished art is more powerful because it invites the viewer to interact with it and add their own context (paraphrasing Jonathan Harris). Jonathan made many profound, inspirational points, but of all of them, this one stuck out the most. He said it in reference to a torn photo he found on the ground with a partial inscription on the back, but it is applicable to a lot of what we as bloggers (should) do. As writers, we often fail to remember that whatever we write is only half of the context of that work. The other half is the audience reaction. Many times I think my blog posts have to be the complete record. Sometimes it causes me to not post anything because I can't get it all done. I've had far more success when I throw out a partial thought and ask others to react to it.

Anyway, those are the two primary thoughts kicking around in my head following the event. Perhaps that will change as I start reading other reactions and the books I took home. In case you're interested, here are some other thoughts  I tweeted throughout the day:

1. congrats! well-deserved! RT @electricpulp: We just won the "Work. Play. Do Good. Award" from #otasessions. And @guykawasaki did intro vid!6:52 PM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

2. RT @brupert: Johnathon Harris is seriously blowing minds at#otasessions4:46 PM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

3. RT @brupert: Congrats to @electricpulp on the Work. Play. Do good award. #otasessions4:12 PM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

4. RT @joleneloetscher: Keep doo-ing good @hughweber.#otasessions4:11 PM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

5. RT @AstronautStudio: "Experiment all the time" @timbrunelle#otasessions3:15 PM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

6. @spikejones how do you convince companies to show their bumps & bruises? #otasessions2:32 PM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

7. http://twitpic.com/1b2y0a - Good advice from @spikejones (but pre-empted by @chrisbrogan) #otasessions2:28 PM Mar 26th via TwitPic

8. show people your bumps and bruises & they will appreciate you for it @spikejones. #otasessions2:18 PM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

9. RT @kmjensen: Spike Jones: 90% of word of mouth marketing happens offline. #otasessions1:54 PM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

10. I got a book! Thanks Gary V. RT @ThePostSD: Gary Vaynerchuck#otasessions http://post.ly/VhBT1:52 PM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

11. http://twitpic.com/1b2ckt - #otasessions panel w/ @chrisbrogan @julien and @mitchjoel12:47 PM Mar 26th via TwitPic

12. RT @GBVeerman: @chrisbrogan Everyday: 30 minutes listening, 60 minutes connecting, 30 minutes posting. #otasessions11:23 AM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

13. @chrisbrogan: promote other people's stuff 12 times as often as your own #otasessions11:21 AM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

14. @chrisbrogan: we can listen to people at the point of need - coolest thing about social media11:09 AM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

15. me please! RT @otasessions: Dear #OTAsessions guests: We have 2 BlackBerry/1 Droid chargers at the registration table if your phone is dying10:20 AM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

16. you r missing out! See @otasessions RT @Trey_Lane: "Am I missing something? What is #otasessions?10:16 AM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

17. RT @ThePhoenixSun #FF @ejgertz @gharman @egies@Kenwardjr @drgrist @nathanschock @kate_sheppard@KateGalbraith @NRDC @trailgirl @sarapresler10:12 AM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

18. #OTASessions RT @chrisbrogan: I never know the content of my speeches until I know the passions of my audience10:10 AM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

19. RT @chrisbrogan: Oh, and for #ff? Go find the new talent. Forget me.10:08 AM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

20. @mitchjoel was very good RT @jeremyorion: Hoping that the trite quotes from #otasessions aren't indicative of the quality of the speakers10:03 AM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

21. RT @sjhalestorm: Build communities while it is not obvious - before you *need* it - @julien. #otasessions9:57 AM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

22. RT @addiegraham: Nope. We are embracing the change! RT Wonder if mainstream media at #otasessions are uncomfortable listening to @mitchjoel9:55 AM Mar 26th via PockeTwit

23. @argusleader: I am a little uncomfortable listening to @mitchjoelb/c there is a lot more I could be doing #OTASessions9:40 AM Mar 26th via mobile web

24. Now listening to @julien at #OTASessions9:36 AM Mar 26th via mobile web

25. Wonder if the people from mainstream media at #OTASessions are uncomfortable listening to @mitchjoel9:17 AM Mar 26th via mobile web

26. http://twitpic.com/1b0zqb - @mitchjoel: real marketing is about real interactions b/w real people #OTASessions9:06 AM Mar 26th via TwitPic

27. @mitchjoel: my marketing is focused on reaching an audience of 6: 6 CMOs #OTASessions9:05 AM Mar 26th via mobile web

28. @mitchjoel: you create your own media experience #OTASessions8:53 AM Mar 26th via mobile web

29. @mitchjoel: more grandparents than HS students on Facebook#OTASessions8:51 AM Mar 26th via mobile web

30. http://twitpic.com/1b0vbp - @mitchjoel: Hernan Cortez burned the ships, we need to reboot8:44 AM Mar 26th via TwitPic

31. @mitchjoel: people don't click on banner ads #OTASessions8:44 AM Mar 26th via mobile web

32. At #OTASessions and listening to @mitchjoel from SPOS8:38 AM Mar 26th via mobile web

33. Enjoyed the #OTASessions Pre-Party tonight and looking forward to tomorrow

The ebay listing that got away

This morning, I read an interesting post on the New York Times Soccer Blog, Goal. The title of the post is what originally caught my eye: English Club for Sale, on eBay. Apparently, a company that was enlisted to find a buyer for the Tranmere Rovers, put the team up for sale on ebay for the sum of $10 million.

However, the auction ended early, apparently because the club was not happy with being listed on the popular online auction site. Here's the listing: Own an English Football Club - Tranmere Rovers FC. I particularly like that the item included "Free shipping" and "No Returns Accepted."

Why discuss on a PR blog? Well, I believe ebay's brand has been a bit tarnished by the statement from Tranmere Rovers Chairman Peter Johnson, saying he was very disappointed to discover that Dornoch Capital had chosen ebay.com as a route to find a potential buyer and would not have given permission for them to do so had he been asked. The perception is that ebay is good enough to list your old football shoes, but not a football club. Ebay would do well to enter the discussion of this before this view becomes solidified.

For my part, I just wish I'd have had the chance to put in a bid before the auction ended.

Glue should be recycled

At a recent job, I started a corporate blog and contributed many posts to it over my time there. After my employment with the company ended, they left up my posts but removed my name from all of them. This blog is intended to keep the posts I wrote so that they won't be lost if the blog is ever taken down.

No Comment = I'm Guilty

During a recent media training session I wanted to make it clear  what message saying "No Comment" sent to the public, so I wrote the following on a white board:

No Comment = I'm Guilty

When a charge is leveled against you and your answer is no comment, everyone who reads/sees/hears that automatically assumes that you are hiding something and are therefore guilty as charged. I don't know which lawyer came up with that phrase, but it's time to rid it from the American lexicon.

Guess what? The media agrees with me. Check out a recent blog post from Lou Raguse on KELO-TV's Inside the Newsroom blog. In that post, he discusses a story he aired on a city counselor who settled a sexual harassment suit but maintains his innocence. Had that counselor declined to comment, everyone would have known about the settlement and naturally assumed that he did it. But since he went on camera to explain his side, the viewing public is forced to consider the possibility that he did settle only to avoid an expensive court fight.

Here's Lou's synopsis: There are two sides to every story. Too often only one side is willing to explain their position. Fortunately, that wasn't the case this time. Unfortunately, Lou also said that he usually gets a refusal to comment from those the "negative" side of an issue.

The next time you're confronted with bad news, try telling your side of the story. You never know. The public just might believe you. Alternatively, you could just let them know you're guilty and say "No Comment."

Sometimes it takes a story

Sometimes, especially when something is new, it takes a story to really explain it and get a consumer to take action. Let me explain.

Over the past several months, I have been seeing more and more compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFL). The little bit I recalled included some benefits that motivated me just enough to decide to replace all of my regular lightbulbs...right after they burned out.

But then something came along that sped up my timetable. That something was an excellent story by Charles Fishman in Fast Company Magazine: How Many Lightbulbs Does it Take to Change the World? One. And You're Looking At It.

The story clearly spelled out the benefits of the CFL for the consumer: the bulbs use 75-80 percent less electricity and last 6-8 times as long as incandescent bulbs. That means that the more expensive CFL bulb pays for itself in five months, while lasting five years.

So I'm saving money, which is nice, but the story goes on to tell me how I'm not only saving money but also doing my part to save the planet. Here's the motivator:

...if every one of 110 million American households bought just one ice-cream-cone bulb, took it home, and screwed it in the place of an ordinary 60-watt bulb, the energy saved would be enough to power a city of 1.5 million people. One bulb swapped out, enough electricity saved to power all the homes in Delaware and Rhode Island. In terms of oil not burned, or greenhouse gases not exhausted into the atmosphere, one bulb is equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the roads.

In other words, the CFL gives me a painless way to save the environment. Where do I sign up?

But it took Fishman's story to bring home a point that advertising for the product could not. If you look at the package from GE, you only get one side of the story: the savings to the consumer. Eyeballing the package tells me that the bulbs last five years, use less electricity and all eight will save me a total of $300. Is that enough for the consumer to shell out the premium price? It wasn't for me.

But the story was. The following weekend I drove to Sam's Club and purchased enough CFL packages to replace every lightbulb in the house. My wife thought I was crazy...until she read the story and found out that I was saving money and the environment. If GE can get their advertising to tell the story as well as Fishman did, maybe more people will replace their bulbs.

Wikipedia and reputation management

It all started when someone decided to have fun with a Wikipedia entry. Nothing new, right? It happens all the time. But this entry happened to be about Stephanie Herseth, the lone member of the US House of Representatives from South Dakota.

The wiki-hacker claimed Herseth was pro-life (she's not), pregnant (she's not) and engaged to her campaign manager (she's not). The false information was taken down quickly, but not before it got a little more interesting.

Herseth is in a (very non-competitive) race for re-election this fall and her opponent's campaign manager couldn't leave the Wikipedia reference alone. He emailed it to several political bloggers...one of which happened to be the blog of the Rapid City Journal...who posted the full text of the email on the blog...and then defended their decision to do so.

As local political blogger Pat Powers noted, whoever put the false information on Wikipedia didn't do Republicans any favors. Neither did her opponent's campaign manager because now the discussion is about his email, rather than what they want to discuss. Not surprisingly the Herseth campaign has sensed the momentum in their favor on this issue and is calling for the campaign manager to be fired.

There are three important new media lessons here for anyone who cares to learn them. First, the Wisdom of Crowds is real and represents a new kind of information and fact exploration process. In the old days (only a few years ago) someone would research a story for days, weeks, months, even years before publishing the definitive account in a newspaper, magazine or book. If you wanted to respond to that account, you had to do the same thing yourself and it was very difficult to correct a story once it was published.

Today, the quest for the facts starts out in the open with a blog post or a Wikipedia entry. Everyone can read that information and respond to it. Eventually, the truth is discovered, as it was in this case, through the participation of a large group of people, like a virtual party. That's why Wikipedia is always among the most-searched topics on the net. That's also what makes blogging so difficult for most people to understand. Any one post may not be completely accurate, but is rather part of the process of getting at the accurate account. Sure, there will always be those who abuse the system, as there were in this case, but those people are typically found out and appropriately flogged.

Second, the Internet is not nearly as anonymous as you think. If I were you, I would avoid emailing anything you don't want the entire world to see. Bad email pitches can find themselves on the Bad Pitch Blog or posted on another blog that (at last count) had 80 comments. And by the way, your computer has a little thing called an "IP address" that leaves a convenient trail for people to follow. As we learned from the Cluetrain Manifesto and Adam Curry, there are no secrets, only information you don't yet have.

Third, you have to participate in the online conversation. If you don't, the party will start without you and how many of the millions of people online do you think care about your reputation? That's what I thought.

Did I send a New Media Release?

As mentioned previously on this blog, I am a faithful listener to For Immediate Release, which most people (including me) consider to be the best Public Relations podcast. I mention the podcast because they have led coverage of how the press release is being adaped for new media. Specifically, FIR has added a separate podcast called the NMRCast, with NMR standing for New Media Release.

A release from Shift Communications jumpstarted an effort to develop a template of the Social Media Press Release and now there is a Wiki and a del.icio.us tag. Much of what they're discussing is giving the press release more multi-media that is usable by bloggers and online journalists and making it more discoverable through the use of social tagging, RSS etc.

But I sent a release on PRWeb this week that I think accomplishes most, if not all, of what they're talking about with the new media release. In addition to all of the event information, my release included numerous social tagging features, an RSS feed, trackbacks, a PDF version of the release, links to a previous press release from the client of mine, a photo, a downloadable logo and even a podcast interview with me that can be retrieved from iTunes. It also gives me statistics so I can see the number of page views, which was substantial. It was perfect for my client which has online and social media as a significant portion of their overall marketing plan.

Does PRWeb cover everything that's being discussed about the new media release? According to a release from the company, they clearly think it does. What do you think? If you're a blogger or online journalist of any kind, is there anything else that you'd like to see from a press release?

Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded

That famous quote from Yogi Berra certainly applies to a favorite restaurant of ours: Sushi Masa. Despite very little advertising (I think the Yellow Pages might be it), they're always full.

In fact, the best advertising for this sushi hotspot is the queue of people that forms every day (see photo) just before it opens for lunch at 11:30. Their 15-20 tables are usually gone before the line is...and if you don't get there by 11:30 (sometimes 11:20), you won't get in. But the sushi is worth it, so the locals continue to wait in line for a chance at one of the tables.

The response of the average restaurateur to turning people away might be to expand...our open a second location...or a third. Not here. Their positioning seems to be a dose of exclusivity with a bit of the "best kept secret" thrown in for good measure. A large part of that aura is the daily queue. Do they make their patrons wait outside so passing drivers in downtown Sioux Falls will see the line and perceive the restaurant to be the popular stop? I doubt it, but if so, it seems to be working. It may seem weird for an advertising blog to ask this question, but: is your brand too accessible? Could it use a dose of exclusivity?

PC strikes back at Mac attack!

Fresh Glue is evenly divided among Mac (Greg Veerman) and PC (me) users. It is for that reason that we had much different reponses to the most recent Mac ads, which were designed to "take the mickey" out of PC users. Well, the PC has issued its response...but it didn't come from Microsoft (although it should have) or any other PC company. It came from my favorite video podcast, Best Week Ever.

This strikes me as the perfect response to the Mac ads and it took someone other than a PC company to come up with it. Take that Greg Veerman and other Mac users! We're not going to just sit back and take your abuse any longer!

2006 Innovative Marketing Conference

The Columbia Business School hosted the 2006 Innovative Marketing Conference last week. I didn't attend and it turns out I didn't have to. The entire conference was blogged about on FC NOW and several of the speakers were interviewed by Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson of For Immediate Release. Other bloggers, such as Lois Kelly of Foghound, filled in thoughts of their own. The list of speakers was impressive and included names like David Weinberger of Cluetrain Manifesto fame, Larry Weber of Weber Shandwick, Joseph Jaffe and Burger King CMO Russ Klein.

I have spent much of my weekend reading about the conference and listening to the interviews. If you're in marketing, advertising or public relations--and want to be in five years--you would be wise to do the same.

Perhaps due to my background in public relations, I found Weber's contributions particularly interesting, especially his interview with Holtz and Hobson. FC NOW had several posts on Weber, attributing the following comments to him:

Marketing's role is to create content that contributes to the conversation.

His favorite marketing word is engagement; his least is advertising.

Creativity will raise its head 'big time' in the next three years. 'Campaigns, content and delivery' are the next wave of getting one's marketing message out. Creativity's going to be about creating webisodes and podcasts that are funny, amusing and can be shared.

"Brand is the dialogue you have with your constituents."

There's a rough transcription of his speech and the web site for his new company can be found here.

I also enjoyed the interview with Johnnie Moore and John Winsor. Johnnie blogged a little on the conference here. In their interview, one of the Johns said something like: "a couple of years ago, companies were concerned about losing control of their brand, now they're saying 'I'm losing control, what the hell do I do?'" A major theme of the conference appeared to be getting on board with the emerging social media before you get left behind.

Next year, I think I might have to attend this event. On second thought, I got most of the content through the blogs and podcasts I listed above. Also, by staying home, I didn't have to miss any of the World Cup. Go USA!

World Cup Ad Watch

Don't bother calling me today because the chances are good that I won't answer my phone. I'll be at the local pub watching the biggest sporting event in the world: the 2006 World Cup. I've only been getting excited about this for the last six months and now it's finally here.

Partially responsible for my excitement are the excellent ads that ESPN has been running for the World Cup. If you haven't seen them yet, be sure to go over to the site they've put up: One Game Changes Everything. It's hard for me to be objective, because I love the game so much, but if the ad about the Ivory Coast doesn't give you goosebumps, you need to check for a pulse. Here it is:

Doesn't that make you want to watch? You can follow the action on the blogosphere at the excellent Deadspin or at my favorite soccer blog: Caught Offside. If you're looking for the view from the ground, try WorldCupBlog. I'm keeping up with the latest news about the event at ESPN's Soccernet. Their Gamecast is essential in case I'm forced to return to my desk before the game ends.

We'll be tracking some of the other ads we like (unless we're too busy watching the matches) so leave your suggestions (and your predictions) in the comments below. Game on!

Consumer Generated Single

What are you doing to engage the consumers that find their way to your web site? What are you giving them that makes them want to return? tell their friends? post something on Myspace?

Jars of Clay clearly spent some time thinking about engaging viewers of their band web site. In addition to great design, their site has a lot of the things you'd expect to find on the web site of popular musicians: multimedia, band bios and journals, an email list to sign up for, a fan site, a Myspace page and even a charity.

But Jars of Clay have taken engagement one step further. Fans who come to jarsofclay.com get to decide which song from the latest album will be released as the next single. You can vote here. But what if you haven't heard all of the songs from their latest album? They've got it covered. They're all there for you to listen to. That's right...all thirteen songs from the album Redemption Songs can be listened to in their entirety online.

But, you might ask, how will they get fans to buy what they can hear for free online? Well, I just purchased my copy. Why? Because I want to get it in my mp3 player.

What do your site visitors get to vote on? Are the polls meaningless, or do they get to decide what the next production extension will be? Do they get to pick a new color? retail location?

Incidentally, I voted for "I'll Fly Away." Leave your vote and thoughts in the comments section below.

Content is King (and Queen and Jack and Duke and…)

Recently, I was conducting a media training session for a local CEO. As I was preparing for the training, I was going over notes from past session and reflecting on one change that has occurred in the curriculum since I started teaching people how to handle media interviews.

In sessions from years ago, I spend a significant amount of time coaching trainees on the differences between the different kinds of media: broadcast and print. The reason for spending time on that material was the fairly common belief that different mediums needed to be approached in different ways.

In the recent session, the amount of time spent on this topic was reduced to a handout containing tips for how to dress for a television interview. The reason for this is an observation that the digitization of content has blurred the differences between the different types of media.

Let me give you a couple of recent examples. Our local newspaper, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, has started posting video interviews alongside their print stories that are reproduced online. Years ago, the newspaper was solely a print medium, but today their stories are posted online along with additional background, relevant links, additional photos and broadcast elements like audio and video interviews…even podcasts and RSS feeds.

In a similar fashion, television news is no longer just a broadcast medium. For years, TV news crews have been posting print versions of their stories on the web. Our local CBS affiliate, KELO, refers to their web site as their seventh broadcast of the day. Although their web sites typically aren’t as robust as TV, almost all radio stations have some kind of news presence on their web site.

In addition to the seismic shifts in mainstream media outlets, new media bring a number of other new considerations to your interview. A DVR can be used to capture your TV interview and post it online for everyone to see. Blogs can interact with the online version of your print interview and provide additional commentary that you hadn’t considered. And, of course, search engines create a permanent record of everything you’ve ever said that can and will be checked to see if it contradicts with your current comments.

Instead of focusing on the blurring distinctions between different types of media, I impress upon my trainees the importance of their content. Because you don’t know exactly how or where your comments are going to appear, focus almost exclusively on the content of your message. If your content is good, the context will matter less, whether that be a newspaper, TV news, a podcast or an online message board.

This coincides with the latest reading I’ve discussed in a recent post. In the third to last paragraph of “Life After the 30 Second Spot,” Joseph Jaffe writes: “Above all, content will remain king—now more than ever.” I couldn’t agree more.

Does your marketing plan include free ice water?

As previously mentioned, I took a vacation on the other side of the state last weekend. A stop we made both directions will be familiar to all South Dakotans and road warriors everywhere. Wall Drug has been an institution in this state since it was founded by the Hustead family in 1931. Pictured to the right is the third generation, Ted Hustead and yours truly (on the left).

To say that theirs has been a non-traditional marketing success story, would be like saying that the Pope is Catholic. Their first breakthrough came in 1936, when the struggling drug store came up with idea of luring travelers by providing free ice water and letting them know about it with road-side signs. It transformed them overnight to a South Dakota success story.

Today, although they have a web site, their marketing plan still primarily consists of free ice water and signs all over South Dakota and all over the world. My personal favorite is the sign at the South Pole (pictured to the left). The other thing Wall Drug has benefited from is about "a million dollars in free publicity." The publicity machine cranked out another success story over the weekend, when Wall Drug was featured in the USATODAY Road Trips. In Gene Sloan's article for the largest newspaper in the country, Hustead is quoted as saying: "Sometimes it's hard for us to understand what it is that our customers really love about this place." It's not hard for me to understand. I came for the pancakes (which are the best in the world) and the donuts (of which they serve more than 4,000 per day).

Actually, people love Wall Drug because it provides a completely authentic customer experience that makes people (like me) want to tell others (like you) about it. Throw in some free product, a heavy dose of guerrilla marketing and more road-side signs than BP and what you have is a genuine purple cow. Some 20,000 people come through their doors every day and Ted tells me that business is booming. I'm not surprised.

Attention = the new commodity

Ahhhh…vacation. I took two days off before Memorial Day Weekend to give myself (and my family) a five-day weekend. We spent the time in the Black Hills of South Dakota, which is one of my favorite places in the world (pictured to the right). We spent time fishing, hiking and soaking up the sun well off the beaten path.

In addition to the rest and relaxation, I caught up on some reading—two books that are relevant to this blog: All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin and Life After the 30-Second Spot by Joseph Jaffe (many thanks to Joseph for supplying us with a copy). I’d been meaning to get to these books for a long time and this vacation supplied me the time to get to both.

With the proliferation of blogs, I’ve noticed myself spending less time with books. It just seems that by the time a book comes to print, everything included therein has probably been covered by the blogosphere. However, this particular vacation I was without an Internet connection and my Treo was out of range, so I was forced to read the old way…and was rewarded for doing so.

One thing that jumped off the pages of these two marketing texts was the importance of gaining the attention of the consumer. The cluttered media landscape (which is rendering the 30-second spot irrelevant) has led to the “attention economy” with time “the new currency” states Jaffe. Rather than ROI, we need to focus on the “consumer’s ROA: return on attention."

Godin calls attention “the unstated precious commodity” and tells marketers that they “can no longer force people to pay attention.” Both authors reference the effectiveness of “permission marketing,” the title of a previous Godin book, and Jaffe calls for the introduction of “permission advertising.” The permission is necessary because marketers waste the time of today’s time-pressed consumers at their own peril.

Both authors see attention gained in similar fashions. For Godin, attention is earned from the consumer by telling a compelling story that does not conflict with their worldview. Jaffe urges advertisers to get attention by crafting advertising that is real, relevant and beneficial to the consumer (hint: it’s tough to do that with a 30-second TV ad).

This is consistent with what our agency regularly discusses with our clients. In our view, the first job of good advertising is to stop the consumer and get them to pay attention. The consumer is not looking for your ad; in most cases they’re actively trying to avoid it. That’s why they signed up for the “Do Not Call List,” bought a DVR and installed Google pop-up blocker. An ad can’t convince its target to do anything if it doesn’t first get someone to pay attention and today that’s harder than ever to accomplish.

I’ll be blogging more about these two texts in the coming days (perhaps even review them), but I first wanted to highlight a theme or two that was present in both. Following all the vacation reading, I have a lot of thoughts to share with Fresh Glue readers.

Incidentally, public relations pros have joined advertisers in discussing the importance of consumer attention. In a presentation titled “Communicating on the Read-Write Web” by Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson, of For Immediate Release fame, attention is called “the scarcest resource.” The presentation is well worth the read.

Podding along

I have always been a massive consumer of media. It's probably what got me into public relations. When my friends were listening to AC-DC, I was listening to talk radio. When I had a job that required a lot of windshield time, I became a regular listener of audiobooks. I always had a shower radio so I could catch the local news every morning before I got out and started watching CNBC.

But, my busy schedule frequently does not mesh with the media schedule so that I can watch what I want, when I want to. Many others are in the same boat and that's why the DVR has proliferated so quickly: it puts the consumer in charge of the schedule. That's also why I like podcasts so much. I subscribe to my favorite podcasts on iTunes, which downloads the latest episodes to my computer. I then copy them to my mp3 player and listen to them whenever and wherever I desire. I listen while I'm driving, cleaning the house, mowing the lawn and biking or running.

Podcasts also remove the geographic restrictions that limit content that can be played on local radio. My two favorite podcasts are Across the Sound and For Immediate Release. They are about new media marketing and public relations and technology, respectively. Not exactly topics that would draw radio advertisers in Sioux Falls, but both have carved out large audiences in the podosphere. By the way, the two of them did a Mashup (joint podcast) a few weeks ago that you can listen to here. I'm hoping that its the first of many. To find your favorite podcast, try iTunes or podcast.net.

Now, you can reach that nationwide network of distributors with broadcast information that they can consume on their own terms. Your niche radio show might find an even bigger audience as a podcast. You're only limited by your imagination...so start imagining.

Man Bites Dog

When you start out in public relations and seasoned professionals (as well as reporters) are explaining to you that real news is the extraordinary, they usually grab for one particular metaphor: 'man bites dog.' Dogs bite men every day, the story goes, so that's really not news. But when a man bites a dog, stop the presses!

That old metaphor was the first thing that came to mind when I heard that the New York Times was searching for a p.r. expert. It seems that amid readership losses and a declining stock price, the Grey Lady wants an expert in crisis communications to help them right the ship. Man bites dog, or newspaper hires publicist. Either way, it reads the same to me.

(Hat tip to PR Machine for the link).

Many Shining Moments

Advertising doesn't always have to come in pretty little 30 second spots, full-page ads or tri-fold  brochures. In fact, some of the most effective advertising breaks with convention to forge a lasting, memorable connection between your brand and your audience.

In light of that, it's hard to think of a more effective piece of advertising/branding/marketing than One Shining Moment, the anthem of College Basketball. For the story on the song, click here.

After the (rather boring) game on Monday night, I taped it as I do every year. As a fan of college hoops, it's hard for me to watch or hear the song without getting a few chills. Some people even get choked up. As always, it leaves me in anticipation of next year's shining moments.