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Friday, February 01, 2008

One More Thought About YahSoSoft
Or MicroHoo. Whatever. It's not long before we see Googlezon, I'm sure.

Anyway, it occurred to me that Steve Ballmer's song & dance performance from his Microsoft keynote address left a vague recollection in my mind. I wondered where I had seen that kind of enthusiasm, that kind of stage presence, that kind of heavy brow.

Then, it came to me...

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MicroHoo?
Breaking news this morning is that Microsoft has made a $44 billion offer to buy Yahoo. There's a lot of shock & surprise out there, but I think it makes a lot of sense. Here's why:
  • MSFT has been lagging behind Google in many areas, and this is a way to shore up the gap
  • YHOO owns some pretty attractive social media sites: Flickr, del.icio.us, Upcoming, to name a few - this is a great way for MSFT to get in the game
  • The combined search capabilities of the two would be something
  • And the online advertising opportunities would abound
Lots of people are excited about it. But no one more so than Microsoft's CEO. Let's see just how crazy Steve Ballmer gets:



Happy Friday.

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Friday, January 25, 2008

Facebook in 40 Years
I know there are lots of folks who are getting fed up with Facebook and all of the unwanted notifications, applications, etc. that are coming through. Will it stand the test of time? If it does, here's what Facebook will look like in 40 years.

This was just too funny to pass up. Enjoy some Friday Fun.

Click image to enlarge

From John Cow via Angela Penny on Twitter.

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Friday, October 26, 2007

Unkommonly Good
Last week, my post New Media Douchebag: Are You One? was a surprise hit. I'd like to think it's thanks to my wise choice of a headline, but I think everyone would agree that it was the entertaining nature of the video itself.

Well, not one to rest on my laurels, I've got another entry in the series. Before I queue it up though, I'd like to acknowledge Kommon Kraft, the creators of these amazingly funny and too-close-to-the-truth videos.

This series is a send-up of Lee LeFever's very successful Common Craft videos - particularly the "Plain English" series. But Kommon Kraft - with a logo suspiciously similar to Krispy Kreme (mmm....hot donuts now...) - is a creation of Kelly Stewart, who clearly is a very talented individual.

In this case, KK has hijacked the conversation and skewers my crayon colleague Joseph Jaffe (among others) in another hilarious video.

video

I wonder who the next (un)suspecting victim will be. Got any suggestions? I'm sure Kelly is listening.

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Friday, September 28, 2007

Even the Most Subtle Decisions Are Made for a Reason
It seems I'm in good company. Blue is in right now - my official color with crayon is Midnight Blue (Greg is green and Joseph is Aquamarine. I'll let them explain their own choices, if they wish).


I chose that color when I joined because - well, look around you here on my blog for a hint. But more than that, I chose the color for a business reason. Since I deal with clients on a regular basis, I wanted to espouse some of the feelings that blue typically conveys:
  • Openness
  • Calm, cool and soothing effects
  • A feeling of well-being
  • Fidelity

I know a lot of this might be hocus-pocus or completely subjective. Does blue have any sort of effect on you or on the decisions you make? Would you or have you ever decided against a brand or product because of its color?

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Friday, August 24, 2007

Web Two-Point Whoa!
Is it just me or are there like a billion Web 2.0 sites out there that flash by me via email, RSS feeds, newsletters, web sites, etc.? It's hard to keep track of all of them.

I could go to my del.icio.us page, but that's limited only to what I've been scanning & bookmarking. What I like about it is that I can throw in a likely tag and be given a range of sites that are foggy in my memory, so I can narrow the search.

But now it looks like there's a site out there that can do that, but on a much larger scale. With over 5,000 Web applications in their database, the folks at Simple Spark provide a place to share and search for cool stuff online. And to prove that they're providing a useful service, they've given us this handy video:



Via Karl Long.

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Friday, August 17, 2007

iBox
Wow. Talk about high-level customer service. Justine Ezarik, aka iJustine from Tasty Blog Snack, got herself a little surprise when her first iPhone bill arrived earlier this week.

In a box.

Not satisfied with giving you the slowest mobile network out there, evidently the "new" at&t decided that they need to kill a few forests while they're at it. Justine's bill was some 300 pages long, because at&t gives you a detailed transaction of every text message you send.

Here's the rather well-done video spoof of the iPhone commercial.

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Thursday, July 19, 2007

Crazy Eights
There must be something in the air. It seems to be meme season again already. The last one I forced upon my unsuspecting digital friends turned out to be moderately useful, in terms of getting to know our own content a little better.

The latest craze is instructive as well, but in the shadow of the great Age of Conversation, this meme is designed to build or deepen relationships we have with each other as we reveal 8 Random Things About Me. I was tagged by Ryan Barrett.

I'm struggling to come up with really good ones, because I feel like I've shared some already in various contexts online. Well, on the off chance that people haven't been paying attention, I'll repeat myself.
  1. In graduate school, I won a student book collecting contest sponsored by the Friends of the Libraries at Boston University. I subsequently joined the group and attended many cocktail receptions, lectures and dinners where I had the opportunity to speak with celebrities at length, including Angela Lansbury, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Claire Bloom, Prince Albert II of Monaco, Roddy McDowall, Saul Bellow, Anna Russell, Michael Chiklis, Dan Rather... At the event with Prince Edward, Lauren Bacall approached me and my wife, saying she wanted to hang with "the younger people."
  2. I was trained classically on the accordion. Yes, I can play polkas, but I choose not to. I competed at the state and national level and took home many prizes over the years. I stopped lessons after high school - there's only so much ridicule a guy can take.
  3. My range of vocal impressions is fairly exhaustive; I'd be doing voice-overs on the side if anyone took me up on it (see the right column under "About Me").
  4. I am a clothes horse - I own over 300 neckties and 50 bow ties. In order to make it through the "rotation," at my last job, each week I celebrated "Bow Tie Monday."
  5. You know Booger from Revenge of the Nerds? His real name is Curtis Armstrong and he and I are friends. If he were here he'd want me to point out that he was also in Ray, Akeelah and the Bee, Moonlighting, Better Off Dead and Risky Business, he's a P.G. Wodehouse and Washington Irving scholar, and he never gets tired of being called "Booger."
  6. Growing up in rural Connecticut, before I was of legal age to work in typical high school jobs (supermarket, fast food joints, etc.), I spent two summers working on tobacco farms that produced cigar tobacco. The first summer was broad-leaf (the wrapper) and the second summer was shade (the filler). My parents thought it built "character." I think it made me realize I never wanted to do manual labor.
  7. I was a Resident Assistant on duty the night Warren Towers had to be evacuated due to toxic fumes venting up from the sealcoating of the parking garage beneath. Over 1,500 students were displaced over October 11-13, 1991, as genius contractors thought the building would be at low capacity for Columbus Day weekend, and decided to use the toluene-based chemicals.
  8. I am an investitured member of the Baker Street Irregulars, a literary society whose members have included Rex Stout, Christopher Morley and Isaac Asimov, and I serve as business manager of the Baker Street Journal.
I showed you mine...now you show me yours. Eight people I'd like to know more about:
Paull Young
LaSandra Brill
Mike Sansone
Todd Andrlik
Lewis Green
Tom Clifford
Ed Cotton
Mark Goren

Consider yourself tagged!

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Friday, July 13, 2007

iPhone, Meet Total Blender
Of the videos I've seen this week, our friends over at BlendTec are the winners, hands down.

This week, the CEO (as usual) takes his position next to the blender and whips out his brand new iPhone. He quickly tosses it in the blender, selects "Smoothie," and...



I've been following the Will It Blend? videos for quite some time and they're always entertaining. But beyond the awareness/entertainment factor, every marketer wants to know: how does this translate into sales? According to BlendTec, they've seen a huge spike in sales.

Charlene Li sums up the success factors rather well in a post on her blog, citing authenticity, humor, originality and a connection to the value of the product. I don't know about you, but if I were to go blender shopping before seeing these videos, I'd normally have no clue as to what I'd buy. I'd probably pick some mid-range model and hope for the best.

But now if you say "blender," I automatically picture one of these videos in my mind and picture how the product performs. While I might not be in the market for a $400 blender, it's top of mind when I'm considering a purchase. And that's what any good marketer wants.

The relative low cost of using a social network like YouTube for a marketing campaign is certainly attractive in these days of tight marketing budgets. But as Charlene pointed out, there are a number of reasons this one works. But there is one that I think she missed: aligning your brand with another well-known (and in this case well-loved) brand.

In just two days, the iPhone edition of "Will It Blend?" has garnered over 650,000 views. The front-runner for all 55 videos submitted over the last year is...drum roll, please...an iPod! Nearly 4 million views of the world's foremost mp3 player versus the world's most powerful blender. But what makes the destruction of Jobsian technology so much more interesting than say, hockey pucks or oysters?

People who know and use Apple products are typically enamored with the beauty of the design and how well the software and hardware are integrated. The popularity of these particular videos is, I think, due to something as basic as morbid curiosity - the same emotion that causes NASCAR fans to secretly wish for a crash and a car fire. Plus, the sheer hype of the iPhone over the last few weeks undoubtedly drove this. Perhaps a little phone envy plays into it as well?

Bottom line: sometimes, instead of the typical features & benefits approach that 90% of marketers use, a little creativity and thought can go a long way. When you connect to your audience's emotions and give them a way to share their enthusiasm through social networks, your brand will benefit.

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Friday, June 29, 2007

A View from Inside the Crayon Box
The days at crayon have been busy lately, which is a good thing. But it's been keeping my frequency down on this blog.

Since I started working at crayon, a number of friends and colleagues have asked me, "So what's it like, working there?" There's really no easy way to answer that. Exhilarating. Stressful. Fun. Inspiring. Never boring. Want a great way to find out? Check out Coffee with crayon every Thursday at 9:00 a.m. in Second Life.

Invariably the questions from my associates come back to Joseph Jaffe - "what's he like?" they want to know. Again, there's no easy way to answer. He's very smart. He's passionate about what he does, his vision for crayon and for the future of marketing. And with a title like President & Chief Interruptor, you know there's got to be a little more beneath the surface.

So rather than tell you more about our Chief Interruptor, I'll show you:



Oh, and in case you didn't pick up on it, we crayonistas have a healthy sense of humor.

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Friday, June 22, 2007

Help! I'm Being Held Hostage by Marketing
I've made something of a tradition out of my Friday posts on this blog - my Friday Fun Video series. Long weeks, hard work and frayed nerves by the end of the week usually give rise to a little pawky humor that lends itself to Friday posts. But seeing as I've kept you awash in video posts this past week, I'm going to keep away from it today.

But I can promise you that I've got a real winner of a video to share with you next week.

For this week, I'll give you a thought about push marketing as inspired by the famous National Lampoon cover from January 1973 (full disclosure: I used to work just down the street from the Harvard Lampoon. The twisted humor probably rubbed off on me). How often have you felt like you've been held hostage by advertising or marketing?

More recently, this concept was illustrated by a Dilbert strip. Too many marketers, when they've exhausted the traditional lead generation, direct mail and sales-intensive efforts, seem to espouse this mentality:


And I've seen it happen with marketers who, after they've exhausted their lead generation, direct mail and trade show efforts (and budgets!), want to start a social media campaign in order to pick up the slack. Common phrases include:
  • "Which social networks should I join / which blogs should I comment on to help sell more product?"
  • "I'm going to measure ROI on my [blog/podcast/other social media effort] by measuring sales."
Bzzzzt! Sorry, wrong answer. That's not how it works.

With a social media strategy, your goal should be to become part of the conversation, to allow a community to form as a result of the conversation and the tools that you make available. If you really want to become indispensable in your customers' eyes, you need to understand them, you need to listen to them, you need to let them tell you what they need.

Maybe they'll tell you that you'll have to reconfigure your packaging or develop an improvement to your product or face a major overhaul of your website. Is this a pain? Sure. Is it expensive? Sometimes, but not necessarily, and let me tell you why.

The money you spend on these short term fixes, on listening - yes, actually listening to your customers - and taking action will be one of the smartest investments you could ever make. Think I'm overstating it? If your customers perceive your product to be inferior or the information on your website too confusing, they'll leave you for a competitor who can give them a better product and a more enjoyable Web experience.

The money you spend on making improvements - the very improvements that your customers ask for - will be goodwill that you can't buy any other way. They'll know that their opinion mattered and that a company actually listened to them, rather than forcing them to buy more crap. With a conversation that you've fostered or a community that you've nurtured, you'll have a committed and long-term focus group that will be able to tell you what you need to know.

Now, that's not to say that you should take every last recommendation or spend a huge budget on changes. But you should be open to hearing about your customers' points of view. After all, they're the ones that have to live with your products.

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Friday, June 15, 2007

Potts Sticker
I've been pleasantly surprised at the wide response that my previous post has attracted. Paul Potts, the mobile phone salesman from Wales wowed the audience with his rendition of "Nessun Dorma" on ITV's Britain's Got Talent.

I realize that not everyone has access to ITV, so here's an update on the competition. Judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan were on their feet this week, joining the audience in giving Potts a second standing ovation at the conclusion of his latest performance in the semi-finals last night.

Holden said Potts made her cry again and Morgan said that Potts was exactly the profile they were looking for: somebody doing an ordinary job, very unassuming, with an amazing talent, and they could provide him a platform to show the world what he had.

I'd say that if he sticks to it, odds are he's going to win the whole thing. The finals are on Sunday, June 17.




Video link for feedreaders.

Oh yeah, he's got a MySpace page, too.

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Tuesday, June 05, 2007

WIIFM?
Yesterday, I noted the six entries on my blog that were the most popular based on a single metric - traffic. Two of my "taggees" immediately took the bait joined the conversation and noted their own popular entries, but with a twist.

Greg Verdino, in a Herculean effort to overcome his anti-meme streak, rose to the challenge by choosing three entries, each based on a different factor: traffic generated to his blog, and most conversation generated and most attention from other bloggers.

Both he and Doug Haslam also went further by selecting which past posts they liked the most themselves. I was initially thinking of doing that as well, but I decided against it because my feeling was that the blog exists more for you as my reader, rather than for me as a writer. As a marketer, I was trying to be sensitive to this perspective, because at times the marketing profession gets too wrapped up in its own message and seemingly ignores the customer. It becomes a game of "Look at me!!" rather than "What do you need?"

As much as any marketer's positioning, branding and message are essential, let's remember that customers are constantly wondering WIIFM - "what's in it for me?" To that end, it's our responsibility as marketers to ensure that we're delivering something of value to them, whether it's a 30-second spot, a product that meets their needs or a service that exceeds their expectations.

The point of this post isn't to pontificate - it's to share a perspective. And my perspective changed a little after reading Greg's and Doug's posts. Here's how they rationalized their decision to post their own favorite entries:
Doug: [my blog] is here to help me “create with the mind”– that is what “Gischeleman” means– and work on my writing and thinking by doing it regularly.

Greg (a little more unabashed): these are some of the posts that have given me the greatest satisfaction, that I feel are most consistent with my general views on new media and marketing, that come closest to nailing my vision for this blog. These are just a few of the posts that rank among the most popular with my favorite audience of one, ME.

Even though Because they were up-front about their desire to share their own (high) opinions of their work, I was forced to rethink the position I had taken. Although my readership has grown over time (albeit slowly) and I have the utmost respect for you as a reader (hey let's face it, if you've made it this far in the post, you have my thanks as well as my admiration), here's something that sets a blog apart from other marketing vehicles:

While a blog depends on good content, it thrives based on a good relationship.

You've come to know me through my writing style, the images I choose and the content I choose to post. I've come to know you through your comments or links you've made to my site - or even better, by meeting you in person. That represents the overall evolution of a blogger-reader relationship.

So at this point in our relationship, I guess I feel more comfortable sharing my own favorites with you. You can humor me - or you can move on to your next to-do. Either way, I hope you find value out of my work.

Twittermeme - ironically, one of my favorites is a meme, in this case "What Would Sherlock Holmes Twitter?" The reason I like it is that it allowed me to tie in another interest and it actually generated some minor conversation among a limited group of friends (including that good sport Verdino).

It's All Geek to Me - this was my first interaction with David Armano, in which he commented on my blog. It was my first "big blogger" reaction to anything I posted, and it was the beginning of great relationship with David - and eventually the connection to Greg Verdino.

What Is the Face of Your Brand - hey, any post in which I can mention Calvert DeForest / Larry "Bud" Melman is a winner in my mind.


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Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Nothing Lasts Forever
This has to be one of the funniest videos I've placed on this blog. Usually I keep this kind of fun reserved for Friday, but by then it'll be everywhere, as it totally skewers the advertising world. Let's start the weekend a little early!



The video, called The Break Up, is about the end of a relationship - in this case the relationship between an advertiser and a consumer. Things have changed, but Advertising is still the same unidirectional self-absorbed jerk. Consumer isn't pleased, as she wants genuine love, affection and conversation.

Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions initiated this project and has a blog running called Bring the Love Back to promote the process and ideas, and both the marketing manager and the agency are contributing to it. It's genius.

And one of the coolest parts? It was inspired/supported by David Armano's BusinessWeek article It's the Conversation Economy, Stupid.

Via David Armano at Logic + Emotion.

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Friday, May 11, 2007

Community - There When You Need It
You know, one of the things that I like about new media and social networks is how it's really easy to become part of a community. Even for those who are just starting out, all you need to do is raise your hand and ask a question and someone - and often many people - will reach out and help you.

It's not often that we find ourselves in such a situation. Sure, we've got family and friends who we know we can count on. But think about it for a moment: how often do you find yourself in a room full of strangers who make you feel like you belong and are willing to go the distance for you?

To me, that is one of the true strengths of social media. Which is why it's so important for organizations to remember that you just can't fake it with social media. True connections with your customers, prospects and others happen over time and because you're really part of a community. You're not afforded that special treatment when you just drop in.

Here's an example of a small community that defends one of its own:


Please click here to see the video if you're using a feedreader.

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Thursday, May 03, 2007

Perchance to Dream
This week, the screen and stage lost a humble and down-to-earth friend in Tom Poston. As I was thinking about a Friday Fun Video, I came across this clip called "George's Dream" from Newhart in which Poston, playing George the handyman, imagines himself having pancakes.

Newhart asked why he was dreaming about pancakes, when you can do anything you like in a dream. George responded, "I like this."

Thinking about how this applies to marketing for a moment, it's extremely easy to remain loyal to a particular tactic, channel, or approach. Have you ever tried to sell a client on a fresh new approach, only do be greeted with their version of "I like this" - WADITWA (we always did it this way).

It's tempting to read the same blogs, trade publications and opinion pieces all them time. But I find my mind instantly broadened when I try a fresh approach to a problem, read a blog or visit a Web site that I haven't read before. Pancakes are great, but sometimes it's nice to try something new - and surprise your constituency in the process, as George does at the end of the video.


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Friday, April 27, 2007

Friday Fun Video
I feel a little musical today. And although I tend to shy away from political topics on this blog, I can't resist highlighting a video that has been making the rounds in the last 24 hours.

On Wednesday, President Bush did his part to help malaria awareness - but, according to the Jimmy Kimmel Show, his effort wound up being captured with this headline: Bush Confirms His Whiteness.

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Friday, April 13, 2007

Knowledge is Power
Not long before my great-grandmother died some 10 years ago at the age of 100, she and I were cataloging the vast amount of technological change she witnessed in her lifetime. From the first flight to two world wars fueled by heavy industry, to the Space Age and laptop computers, her lifetime spanned probably the broadest technological change we're likely to see.

Changes that we'll see over the course of our lifetime will likely be limited to knowledge- and information-based changes, but they'll be just as mind boggling. This video, called Did You Know, more than any other I've seen, truly captures what a remarkable age this is.



Thanks to Greg Verdino for the video lead.

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Friday, April 06, 2007

On a Mote of Dust
Whereas last week's Friday Fun Video was a playful one, this week I give you something a little more thought-provoking. Today being Good Friday, I thought it's worth stopping for a moment and considering life on the Pale Blue Dot, as Carl Sagan called our home planet.

Marketing, advertising and public relations move so quickly these days, client demands are ever-growing, the public wants more stuff cheaper, and the Web is filled with vast arrays of data, messaging and crap.

But when we take some time to reflect on our place on the planet and in the universe - how insignificant we really are - it helps to put our life in perspective. So take three minutes out of your day and watch this short masterpiece - and it is just that - by Carl Sagan, who manages to bring it all home. (If you can't see the video in your RSS reader, click here.)



It's healthy to slow down and reflect on the big picture from time to time. It makes you realize how little certain things actually matter.

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Friday, March 30, 2007

Behold the Power of the Wonderbra
I had originally planned something a little more intellectual for today's Friday Fun video, but then I found this. Plus, I figured, "What the hell?" it's Friday!

Who knew that outdoor advertising could be so stopping?

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Friday, March 23, 2007

Friday Fun Video
And now, the weekly feature. This week it's a tribute to Calvert DeForest (aka Larry 'Bud' Melman). Enjoy.

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Friday, February 23, 2007

The Grey Poupon Passes
In a nod to the recent death of screen and stage star Ian Richardson, I'd like to share this gem from Lowe & Partners, done in the 1980s:


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Thursday, February 22, 2007

When Should a CEO Blog?
Notable CEO bloggers Jonathan Schwartz and Bill Marriott "get it." Their posts are personal, timely and tied to company events. It seems that JetBlue's David Neeleman is still a bit of a novice.

JetBlue established David Neeleman's Flight Log as the corporate blog - very corporate - as it exists not as the expected blog.domain.com URL, but under the more formal domain.com/about/ourcompany URL. To me, that means that it's part of the corporate structure rather than a somewhat independent site. It's purely semantic, but the perception matters.

Neeleman's blog is described as follows:
Each week I fly on JetBlue flights and talk to customers so I can find out how we can improve our airline. This is my flight log...
Great premise. If only he followed up on it. In October and November, there were only 4 posts each month; December saw 3; January, only one. And it hasn't been updated since February 1. So let me get this straight. The CEO of an airline flies every week (as one would expect him to do), but his blog is only updated a few times a month?

We all know that JetBlue has been in the news over the past week over a plane full of passengers that sat on a runway for 10 hours. Crisis communications is a natural function of a blog. If I were Neeleman, I'd have made sure that any and all updates related to this public relations and customer service disaster were clearly communicated on my blog.

Mr. Neeleman did take the time to write a very sincere and heartfelt letter to JetBlue customers; this is the very type of entry his blog needs. Perhaps he should take charge of the blog himself and relieve the marketing communications flunky of the underwhelming job he or she has been doing.

Here's Neeleman's letter in full:
Dear JetBlue Customers,

We are sorry and embarrassed. But most of all, we are deeply sorry.

Last week was the worst operational week in JetBlue's seven year history. Following the severe winter ice storm in the Northeast, we subjected our customers to unacceptable delays, flight cancellations, lost baggage, and other major inconveniences. The storm disrupted the movement of aircraft, and, more importantly, disrupted the movement of JetBlue's pilot and inflight crewmembers who were depending on those planes to get them to the airports where they were scheduled to serve you. With the busy President's Day weekend upon us, rebooking opportunities were scarce and hold times at 1-800-JETBLUE were unacceptably long or not even available, further hindering our recovery efforts.

Words cannot express how truly sorry we are for the anxiety, frustration and inconvenience that we caused. This is especially saddening because JetBlue was founded on the promise of bringing humanity back to air travel and making the experience of flying happier and easier for everyone who chooses to fly with us. We know we failed to deliver on this promise last week.

We are committed to you, our valued customers, and are taking immediate corrective steps to regain your confidence in us. We have begun putting a comprehensive plan in place to provide better and more timely information to you, more tools and resources for our crewmembers and improved procedures for handling operational difficulties in the future. We are confident, as a result of these actions, that JetBlue will emerge as a more reliable and even more customer responsive airline than ever before.

Most importantly, we have published the JetBlue Airways Customer Bill of Rights—our official commitment to you of how we will handle operational interruptions going forward—including details of compensation. I have a video message to share with you about this industry leading action.

You deserved better—a lot better—from us last week. Nothing is more important than regaining your trust and all of us here hope you will give us the opportunity to welcome you onboard again soon and provide you the positive JetBlue Experience you have come to expect from us.

Sincerely,
David Neeleman
Founder and CEO
JetBlue Airways


And here's his video message as well.



UPDATE: Neeleman's blog has been updated with the letter as of this morning. But where's the video?

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Thursday, February 15, 2007

For Us, By Us - Friday Fun Video
I recently came across a short film called Truth in Advertising, which is a major rip on the way marketing campaigns are developed. Everyone in the process - from the VP of Marketing and the Brand Manager on the client side, to the copywriter, art director and account director on the agency side - is equally skewered.

Do yourself a favor. Take 10 minutes or so to watch this video that shows each player actually speaking what they're thinking in a particular situation

FYI, I've chosen to simply feature a link rather than to embed the YouTube video itself because it contains some rather graphic language and this is, after all, a family blog.

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Thursday, January 25, 2007

Thursday Fun Video
Okay, so I'm a day early. I'm sure you won't mind.

This week, let's take a look at a video that has been making the rounds lately. Last week, AT&T made headlines with the decision to eliminate Cingular and brand everything as AT&T (oh, excuse me, at&t). Not a career-making move. Not by a long shot.

Even kids agree. According to Marc Brownstein, his 15 year-old son said of the decision:
"Dad, is that the stupidest thing thing you've ever heard? Why would anyone kill the Cingular name? It's cool! Who cares about AT&T? I don't! Whoever made that decision should be fired."

And as usual, when we find ourselves in doubt, we can turn to Stephen Colbert for certainty:

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Thursday, December 21, 2006

Friday Fun Video
The holidays are upon us! Where did the year go? As we begin to wrap up the year, I offer the "Goodwill" video from the Apple/PC commercial series. For the full series - which is an extraordinarily well done one - check this out.

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Friday, December 15, 2006

Friday Fun Video
This week's video features Sony being called out for having a flog (aka a fake blog) for their PSP. The site, alliwantforxmasisapsp.com (now offline), was not convincing at all - offers were too promotional in nature and Zipatoni, the agency responsible for the blog, was clearly noted on the domain registration page.

When will companies learn? It's transparency and authenticity that matters in social media. In their rush to try to get something out that looks like it's user-generated content, they're missing the basics. First, you need to connect with and understand consumers so that you've giving them something worthy of passing along. Otherwise, it's just a poorly planned promotion that demonstrates just how little you think of your customers.


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Friday, December 08, 2006

Friday Fun Video
This week has been exceptionally busy with client travel. One of the benefits was traveling with a colleague who introduced me to another excellent movie trailer. I'll do even better than sharing that one with you - I'll give you two for the price of one.






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Friday, November 10, 2006

Friday Fun Video
This week in Friday Fun Video, before we get to the fun part, I need to share some information about online video advertising with you.

According to emarketer, online video advertising is on the verge of a boom. In 2006, spending will reach $410 million, at 82% jump over 2005 numbers. And by 2010, you're looking at about $3 billion in online video advertising spending.



(This link was made possible by Debbie Weil, via Paul Gillin)

And now, on with the show...

As a colleague wrote when he forwarded this video, "if you don''t laugh at this, you have no soul."

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Friday, October 27, 2006

Friday Fun Video
Better late than really late. Five months later, Coca-Cola has finally decided to embrace the Diet Coke & Mentos craze. If you recall, the original video was embraced by Mentos, but Coca-Cola distanced itself from the viral video and wanted no part in it.

This time, Coca-Cola has sponsored the EepyBird guys and is challenging viewers to submit their own videos of zany concoctions of Diet Coke and God knows what else. Coke. It's the real thing!



I guess I'll have to do a special Manic Monday Video entry to follow up on this hype.

Thanks to Joseph Jaffe for the lead.

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Friday, October 20, 2006

Friday Fun Video
This week, most of the world is following the Dove Evolution of Beauty video, in which a seemingly average woman is tranformed into breathtakingly beautiful model thanks to makeup artists, hairstylists, the ubiquitous modelling fan and Photoshop.

I'd like to take a different approach and mention a video that we put together at work. It's our weekly happy hour, during which we drop work for a bit, unwind and socialize together. We showed this video to a potential client in a new business pitch, in order to show a little bit of our personality.


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Friday, October 13, 2006

What's Good for the Goose...
A couple of weeks ago, pundits and liberals had a field day with the Clinton Gone Wild video. That produced a huge wave of views, but I don't have stats here because so many users uploaded the FoxNews video; the views are spread widely over many uploads.

Conservatives struck back this week with a video explaining why North Korea has the ability to conduct nuclear weapons testing in 2006.

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Friday, October 06, 2006

Friday Fun Video
Nothing realted to marketing to remark upon. This is just a Geico commercial that I like, particularly because I'm an aspiring voice over artist and this video features Don LaFontaine, one of the VO greats.



Of further DLF interest is Five Guys in a Limo, clearly an inside joke prepared for an industry award show. Worth a look.






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Friday, September 29, 2006

Friday Fun Video
There really isn't much commentary about this video, so I'll keep it short. Here in Massachusetts, we have Christy Mihos, an Indepdendent candidate, running for governor.

One of the things that's been a huge concern here for the last decade for politicians and the public alike has been the Big Dig. Christy Mihos is no stranger to it, as he served on the board of the Massachusetts Turnpike and has been a notable critic of it.

There's been a huge buzz about the ad that he released last week, slated to run only between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., due to its content. I've been searching around for it since Saturday; the campaign caught on to the buzz (and probably received numerous requests) and finally posted it on the campaign Web site.




Let's see how long it takes before someone converts the Flash to mpeg and posts it on YouTube.

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Friday, September 22, 2006

Not So LonelyGirl
In the last two weeks, the big discussion regarding online video has been around LonelyGirlGate.

It turns out that LonelyGirl15 was not simply an self-vlogger, but rather the brainchild of a couple of guys in L.A. who were trying to jumpstart a career in full length film by scripting every video she made.

A couple of observations from her "My First Kiss" video this week. First, it's the second most-viewed video of the week, with over 600,000 views. Evidently the scandal worked in her favor.

Second, it seems a little odd, knowing that it's scripted, to hear Bree - whose MySpace account is currently the most-visited account this week and this month - to be so coy about telling us about her first kiss, leading up to it with phrases like:
"I really don't want to tell you, but..."

and

"Go away!"


If you don't want to tell us, and you're recording yourself, you probably don't really want us to go away.

Someone's trying a little too hard to sound authentic.

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Thursday, September 14, 2006

New Numa, New Media
A couple of interesting developments related to YouTube. First, a new site called Viral Video Chart tracks the most talked-about videos on YouTube (thanks to Micro Persuasion for the link).

Coming in at #11 is New Numa, a video by Gary Brolsma, the original Numa Numa kid (*see below for details on Numa Numa). Here's the interesting part of New Numa: with this video, Gary is challenging viewers to participate in a contest to vie for $25,000 in grand prize money for the best video.

Since the posting of the video on September 8, 2006 (one week ago!), it has had over 1.6 million views - plus it's helpful to know on YouTube that others can rip your video and repost it under a diferent title, so the views may be significantly higher. "New Numa" (Gary's YouTube name) has nearly 1,200 subscribers and the video itself has encouraged nearly 20,000 comments.

The New Numa has its own Web site, on which Gary is immortalized in a logo. Once there, you can download ringtones, buy Numa Numa gear, chat with Gary, get the music from iTunes, and read a press release from Jaeter Corporation, the new media company that is hitching its wagon to Gary's star.

It used to be that star personalities sprung from campaigns (think Jared, Mr. Whipple, etc.). Now media companies are taking advantage of individuals' 15 minutes of fame and trying to create a larger sensation out of it. What fame-seeking shlub can turn that down?

For the two of you of you not familiar with the original Numa Numa, here it is. Gary Brolsma had recorded this on his Webcam and sent it to a friend. Ever the pal, his friend uploaded it to the Internet and a star was born.

If you ask me, the original is much better than the new also-ran. Plus, I like the logo.

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Friday, September 08, 2006

Friday Fun Video
You've probably seen this video already, since it's one of the most popular videos on YouTube (currently ranked at #16 with over 5.5 million views).

According to Advertising Age in YouTube Success Rockets Band to Fame, their video "A Million Ways" inspired so many me-too videos to be sent to them that they launched an online contest using YouTube. They followed it up with this hilarious treadmill dance sequence.

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Friday, September 01, 2006

Epic 2014
The future isn't so far away. Here's an eerie prediction on the future of media.





Given this week's announcement of Google teaming up with eBay, it's not at all unreasonable to believe that one day there may be a GoogleBay...

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Friday, August 25, 2006

Friday Fun Video
Every good blog needs a 'regular feature' that its readers can anticipate. Here at SMM, I'm going to post a humorous video clip every Friday (that's not to say there won't be others throughout the week, but you can count on a Friday appearance).

This week, the angry observational comic Lewis Black takes a look at advertising - specifically what HP, USAirways and CBS are doing to build brand loyalty.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Back in Black - Advertising
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes		Political HumorJason Jones in Iran


To read a little bit about the background, check out the USAirways story here and the CBS story here.

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About Scott

For hi-res, click here

The best way to describe Scott is "Renaissance Man." Friends and colleagues that know Scott from one facet of his life are very frequently surprised to learn of his interests and talents in other areas.

Scott is a marketing and communications professional focused on the digital industry — specifically on social media. His career spans a number of industries such as healthcare, pharma, biotech, travel, automotive, tech, and communications, and includes a wide range of clients, from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.

Currently on the staff of corporate communications in Ford Motor Company, Scott heads up the social media function and holds the title Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager. He is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company, from blogger relations to marketing support, customer service to internal communications and more, as social media is being integrated into many facets of Ford business.


Prior to joining Ford, Scott served as Consigliere for crayon and spent a number of years with PJA Advertising + Marketing, a boutique BtoB agency specializing in health sciences & high tech.

In addition to his consulting and agency background, Scott is an active blogger and podcaster. He writes about the intersection of advertising, marketing and PR at The Social Media Marketing Blog and also writes The Baker Street Blog, a literary undertaking. Scott has been featured in numerous news and business publications, on a variety of podcasts, and on national television. Scott is a recognized thought leader in the social media industry and frequently speaks at industry events.

Scott received his Master's in Medical Science from Boston University's School of Medicine concurrently with his MBA from BU's Graduate School of Management. He lives in the greater Detroit area with his wife and two young sons, golfs all too infrequently, and has a hidden talent for voice over work.

Oh, and one last little-known fact: Scott coined the term "tweetup."

You may download a headshot here, courtesy of C.C. Chapman and a PDF version of Scott's bio here.


Books in which Scott's work is featured:
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Get Seen

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Speaking Events

Scott speaks on social media at events, seminars and conferences around the world. His topic generally focuses on corporate use of social media, becoming an online spokesperson, and specifically on the progress that Ford has made in the recent past. If you're interested in booking Scott to speak at your event, please send an email to speaking [AT] scottmonty [DOT] com. Scott's bio and headshot can be found in the "About Scott" tab above.






Some previous engagements include:

BlogWell - How Big Companies Use Social Media - Minneapolis - August 13 Keynote at OMMA Global Sept. 21, 2009

MIMA Summit

Brand Camp '09 "I am Speaking at" Widget 135px Direct Marketing Association International conference, Oct. 18-22, 2009



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Who is Scott Monty?

Hi, I'm Scott. I'm the head of social media for Ford Motor Company. This is my personal blog, where I share my perspectives on social media - the convergence of marketing, advertising and PR on the Web - for marketers, agencies, the enterprise and the individual. This blog contains my personal views.

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