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April 26, 2006
Just got home from day one of Direct Media's excellent Client Conference and Co-Op in White Plains, NY (fantastic event, guys - thanks!).
I had to get to my laptop fast so that I could post a note about this extraordinary moment of awesome karmic weirdness on the way home.
Earlier this evening, around 5:15, I'm sitting in the tiny, crowded departure lounge of the White Plains airport.
There's this tall dude standing just across from me in the line-up for the O'Hare flight, and I notice he's wearing one of those great "I'm blogging this" t-shirts.
So naturally I have to go talk to him.
They're already boarding his flight, but I walk over and say "Yeah, well I'm podcasting it".
Laughter. We chat. He asks me what I blog about and I mention that I used to write a lot about PR when I was in that business.
"Oh - do you know Steve Rubel?" he asks.
"Sure, everyone knows Steve," I said.
"He talks about me in his presentations! About the NetFlix PR story," he says.
I think my jaw actually dropped: "You're Mike Kaltschnee!"
I told him how I'd just got through telling a bunch of people his story at the Direct Media event, and how we even wrote about Mike's "Hacking NetFlix" blog in our latest whitepaper.
We swapped cards, Mike ran for his flight.
Unreal.
If you don't know the story of Hacking NetFlix by now, read about it in our "Invisible Marketing" whitepaper - and read Mike's blog too.
It's a small blogosphere after all...
April 26, 2006
For the past four months, the Influencer50 team has been hard at work putting together their research report on the top 50 influencers on buying decisions in our market (i.e., technology solutions for marketers).
I'm pleased to say that the report is now finished, and Janet and I are delighted with it. While I won't disclose the names of the folks who popped up on the list (sorry, too many competitors read this blog), I will reveal some interesting stats about the results.
As I mentioned in my first post about Influencer50, one of the things that initially caught my eye was this statement:
Research has demonstrated that 10 years ago industry analysts and journalists made up between 75-80 percent of the major influencers on technology buying decisions. More recent research has shown that today that figure stands at 45-50 percent (dependent on exact marketplace). They're still very significant, but now almost 50 percent of influencers are neither analysts nor journalists.
This certainly proved true in terms of our report -- check out the following breakdown of the influencers:
| Industry Analysts | 22% |
| Journalists | 18% |
| Vendors | 18% |
| Online/Blogs | 16% |
| Individuals | 10% |
| Consultants | 6% |
| Forums | 4% |
Given our enthusiastic support of the blogosphere, we weren't necessarily surprised to see that bloggers have a major presence in the top 50. However, it is fascinating that their presence is already almost as strong as that of more traditional journalists.
So, for those businesses who aren't actively participating in the blogosphere in some way, shape or form: get on with it.
And if you don't believe me, consider commissioning your own Influencer50 report. It's worth it.
April 21, 2006
We just put the finishing touches on our latest and greatest whitepaper, "Invisible Marketing: What Every Organization Needs to Know in the Era of Blogs, Social Networks and Web 2.0."
To give you just a brief summary...
The evolution of technology has caused a fundamental power shift in consumer behavior. Thus, businesses that wish to maintain their competitive edge must rethink the way they market in general, and re-align their marketing organizations so that they are more closely connected to -- if not completely intertwined with -- sales, customer support, and other critical business units.
This new approach to marketing, call it "Marketing 2.0," is as much an attitude as it is a set of tools and techniques. This paper offers an introduction to the ideas of Marketing 2.0, grounded in the context of recent technology and marketing history, and provides advice to marketers looking to understand and succeed in the "invisible" domain.
The paper is already getting some good buzz (thank you for the nice feedback, Tom!), so consider checking it out. I apologize in advance for the registration form, but Janet and I really can't help being just a little curious about who is downloading it.
As always, additional feedback is very welcome.
April 14, 2006
I was wandering around the blogosphere the other day, and came across a post called "You as Brand" that really rang true to me. Lynann Bradbury is a Sr. VP over at Waggener Edstrom, and someone I met last year at the Blog Business Summit in San Francisco. I've enjoyed reading her blog about "Personal leadership & the changing communications model." In this particular post, she wrote:
"Each one of us is a brand. Start with your name. Add your values, combine those with your personal style and the way people experience you, mix it with the promises you make and uphold, and presto - you've got a brand."
She follows with some questions leaders should ask themselves about personal brand attributes you define yourself vs. those being defined by others. And, she ended with sage advice:
"The kicker is to consciously live the answers, so that you're living and projecting an authentic self...."
Amen.
That prompted me to think more about something that's been rolling around in my head for a long time, and I may have blogged about it before.
Your word is your brand.
In so many ways, every thing you say (as Lynann points out perfectly above) defines you. Every word you write and every nuance, defines you.
For example, I got mad this week when, at the end of a long day, I got an e-mail that made me very mad. As a result, I hit the forward button and SCREAMED at a colleague. I never do that (really!). But at that point I was so mad I actually put the caps lock on and physically pounded on the keyboard as I flamed to him. This story may seem a non-sequitur, but I was not being authentic to my brand when I yelled in e-mail.
Did it make me feel better? Maybe, at the time. But you know what? He did the sensible thing. He picked up the phone and called me. To talk. Of course, he had to hear me vent on the phone for a good four or five minutes before we could actually come up with a plan to fix what had made me so mad. Bless his patient heart. His brand rose significantly in my book. Who knows what kind of damage mine took in his?
And in hindsight, it's pretty funny (to me, at least) that what ticked me off - enough to be inauthentic to my personal brand - was a fairly innocent violation of Marqui's brand.
A brand isn't a color or a logo. It's your (and your company's) word. It's the reaction you evoke every time you interact with someone - whether you're at home, among friends or at work. A brand is all about emotions and feelings.
In this brave new world of Marketing 2.0 - where crowds are talking to crowds in very public places (like a blog or an e-mail thread), all we can do is hope that we each behave authentically and with integrity to our personal and company's brand.
April 12, 2006
I've blogged more than once about wire services such as PR Newswire and Business Wire, and whether or not the benefits outweigh the expense.
For some interesting perspective on how Really Simple Syndication (RSS) might impact the wire services-- or make them obsolete -- see yesterday's post from Steve Rubel.
Bottom line according to Rubel: unless they want to become extinct, the wire services need to get with it and find ways to help journalists/PR pros take advantage of RSS.
April 11, 2006
Good news, MySpace will have a new "Child Safety Czar" in May. Mr. Hemanshu Nigam, currently the director of Consumer Security Outreach & Child Safe Computing at Microsoft will head up safety, education, privacy and such for News Corp. web properties - including MySpace.
He has more than 15 years (one might say he's a seasoned executive) experience in online safety, serving as an advisor on cyberstalking and online child safety to Congress and the White House.
This is one of a series of measures MySpace has implemented to protect their young users. Apparently, it claims to have deleted more than 200,000 profiles of underage kids (you have to be at least 14 to get your own account - and if you're under 16, you can only see your friends' profiles) since inception.
And there has been plenty of coverage this week about their big online safety program of public service banner ads, in conjunction with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Advertising Council.
Meanwhile, they continue to add 250,000 new users every day.
Have you asked to see your kid's MySpace profile yet?
April 10, 2006
In case you haven't seen it, Forrester analyst Charlene Li recently published some interesting stats/comments on podcasting. To summarize some of the highlights from her blog/report:
- Podcasts have hit the mainstream consciousness but have not yet seen widespread use. One-quarter of online consumers express interest in podcasts, with most interested in time-shifting existing radio and Internet radio channels.
- [Forrester's] survey showed that only 1% of online households in North America regularly download and listen to podcasts. And when you include all of the people who are just interested or have used podcasts, they strongly favor listening to existing content like Internet radio or broadcast radio, not necessarily new content.
- Forrester projects that just 700,000 households in the US in 2006 will use podcasting, and that it will grow to 12.3 million households in the US by 2010. Just to give you some context, Forrester expects MP3 adoption to be almost 11 million households in the US this year, and grow to 34.5 million households by 2010. So that means in four years, about a third of those MP3 owners will be listening to podcasts on those devices.
Charlene concludes, "So should companies be putting podcasting on the backburner? Hardly. Content that already exists -- such as earning calls, training updates, and executive presentations are all excellent fodder for podcasts. My caution is that companies shouldn't be dashing out to create expensive original content for a small audience -- unless they gain value from being seen as innovative."
Fortunately, Marqui absolutely sees value in being innovative -- isn't that what marketing is about? And we don't think podcasts have to be some massively expensive undertaking to be compelling. To that end, we will be rolling out some MarquiCasts pretty soon. (We'll document the process too, in case folks are interested in how we did it.)
April 7, 2006
While sitting in rush hour traffic this morning, I couldn't help but notice that one of the businesses I passed by was sporting a huge advertisement boasting some sort of "Spring Has Sprung" sale.
That is probably the twentieth time I have seen that phrase used in an advertisement in the past week and it has inspired me to compile a list of completely over-used phrases that just bug the heck out of me.
- Spring has sprung (This is particularly annoying in Oregon -- I mean, have you looked outside recently???)
- To blog or not to blog (Seriously, if I see one more blog post with this title...)
- The Long Tail
- At the end of the day
- Where the rubber meets the road
- Think different (my, what splendid use of grammar!)
- PR is dead (Sorry, as a PR professional I feel obligated to include this one)
- Step up to the plate
- Any phrase that includes two or more of the following: scalable, robust, end-to-end, next-generation and/or turnkey
- Seasoned management team (Wow, do you prefer your executives cajun-spiced or zesty Italian style?)
To anyone guilty of using these items -- stop the insanity!
(Okay, this concludes my Friday morning rant.)
April 5, 2006
I don't write particulary well, especially as compared to other bloggers and people with whom I work.
But I can talk your ear off, if given the opportunity.
I was fortunate to be interviewed last week by Alex Williams for the Podcast on the Floor in my very first podcast. Cathy Wang sent the link over this morning, and it was with some trepidation that I opened it, turned on my speakers, and listened.
I was reminded of how nervous I was the first time I hit the "Post" button on Marqui's World. Frankly, it was a little scary to listen to myself. And of course, I blushed when I heard myself stuttering and tripping over my words - which, inevitably, I did.
But I'm convinced podcasts can be an extremely valuable marketing tool. Every brand manager knows the value of building personal connections with their audience. What better way is there to connect - than to add a voice to your brand? Anyone who takes the time to listen to that interview will know Marqui just a little better as a result. For better or for worse.
At Marqui, we're entering into the world of podcasting to give voice to our customers, our employees and our ideas. We'll be blogging (and podcasting) as we move through the process, in order to share our experiences with our audience, like:
- Choosing the right equipment - 'Get a good microphone!' is what everyone tells me
- Creating a brand "bumper" - What fun it will be to find a riff or a tune to represent Marqui's brand
- Convincing our customers to be interviewed - Who will be willing to go first, and what will it take?
- Marketing your podcast - How do you use them to extend your reach?
As always, we welcome your comments, concerns and creative suggestions as we explore this new communication channel.
Who are you listening to?
April 4, 2006
I guess the general consensus these days is that I need more sugar in my diet or something, because vendors keep sending me sweets. Seriously, in the past few days I've received a huge box of chocolates (courtesy of IDG World Expo), fortune cookies (thank you, Voxus PR), and a Starbucks gift card from some guy looking for a job. I've also heard that the folks at SDMA have some sort of clever campaign going for their upcoming Market to the Max conference.
Of course, I didn't actually receive that last one. I'll try not to take it personally though - maybe they don't send the special promos to companies already signed up as sponsors.
*Sniffle*
Anyway, my question is whether these types of things actually result in any business nowadays. Obviously, they must do a little something since companies keep trying it ... and I will somewhat sheepishly admit they usually get my attention more than say a regular direct mailer. (Come on, cute little fortune cookies with custom Voxus fortunes inside vs. a boring old flyer. Can you really blame me?!)
But do they actually work? And is it worth the cost?
For example, a while back another PR agency sent Marqui's CEO a huge apple pie. None of us can remember the name of the agency -- and we obviously didn't end up working with them -- but the whole office certainly enjoyed the pie.
At Marqui, we know exactly what our cost per lead is for e-mail campaigns, banner ads, print mailers and so forth...but how do fortune cookie campaigns compare?
Voxus, care to comment on that? And what about the guy looking for the job? Did your promo work?
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