According to this story in Businessweek, the Associated Press is taking its fight with search giant Google to an interesting new level. For those not familiar, the AP is suing Google for using its news content without permission. Since that's not going anywhere, not they've decided to build their own search engine that will simultaneously give readers a way to access and search AP content quickly and easily, while also blocking Google spiders from tagging their stories.
I have a feeling this is as much a defensive move in response to lost income from failing newspapers as it is a genuine beef with Google. I love the AP, and some of the most well-written and thoroughly researched international news stories come out of that agency. It makes me a little sad that the prevailing minds at the country's biggest print news agency are taking the same path as many of the papers they serve: fighting against google rather than embracing it.
If they worked out a content sharing program that used adsense to monetize their content rather than blocking the number one aggregator's access to their content, it would probably work better and would certainly deliver more eyeballs to their content.
I'll keep you posted on developments.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
The Big Show
I spent the weekend working a show, the Good Guys Del Mar Nationals, for my client Hotchkis Performance. The show was HUGE. Over one thousand cars, several thousand spectators, a full field of enthusiasts thrashing their muscle cars in the Auto Cross, and dozens of vendors peddling their wares.
After speaking with the organizers of the show, several manufacturers with booths at the the event, spectators and members of the media covering the festivities, I was able to draw a few conclusions. My totally unscientific gut reaction to the Del Mar Show, which is considered the first major car show of the season, is thus:
- People are ready to enjoy life again. The Saturday crowd was HUGE. People walking the show, dragging their little kids behind them, smiles beaming and cars rumbling. Every show participant I expressed a said a variant of the same sentiment: "I'm tired of hiding in my house waiting for the recession to end, it's time to enjoy my life, my hobby, and spend a little money doing what I love."
- Business is getting back to normal. Most of the vendors I spoke to from the automotive aftermarket said that after a very lean Winter (particularly November - January) things started picking up again February, and March was actually strong. One manufacturer I spoke to actually told me his business was UP in March compared to the same month last year.
Why? I'm not an economist or a psychologist, but my instincts tell me that:
a) Tax refunds are making an impact
b) People are tired of living in fear and need some relief. For car guys that means working on their car or going to events
c) Those who have been living frugally for the past two years need to splurge on something, and in the case of gearheads that's car-related spending
d) Baby boomers have decided if they're going to put money into an investment, at least you can enjoy a classic car. A mutual fund? Not so much.
e) This whole crisis has bottomed out, and is starting the slow climb back to normal.
- Media has changed. Forever. This has been happening for a while, but the change is now irreversible. Members of the "old media" were out in force at the event, from editors and publishers to ad sales people and more. Many of these folks are my friends. In fact, I used to be one of them. While editors were doing interviews and photographers were shooting feature stories, their messages were universal: the big media companies have cut staff to a bare minimum, advertising revenue is way down, and things are pretty lean.
On the flip side, social media sites were represented in force. I saw dozens of hats and t-shirts emblazoned with the URLs of different popular automotive forums, moderators and admins I spoke with were extremely upbeat and positive, and at the racetrack there were clear rivalries and affiliations based on site loyalties. There were hundreds of people shooting the event with high-end digital still cameras and high-def video cameras, and you know all that content is going to land on the web. People have become their own publishers, and while its empowering for the general public it poses opportunities for the clever marketing maven and huge risks for those who ignore it.
So what does that mean for PR & Marketing? NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT DECISIVELY. Don't get back to the wasteful ways of old spending huge sums of money on advertising. Instead build a lean marketing program that speaks directly to the consumer. Blend traditional media relations to generate ink about how well your company is doing in the face of economic trouble, utilize a social media marketing campaign to speak directly with the most active influencers in your target demographic, and only buy ads in the most effective media outlets to reinforce the messages of the PR and Social Media campaigns.
Act now and capture the hearts and minds of consumers while your competitor is still hiding under his bed waiting for things to blow over, and you'll not only win your old customers back, you'll take his too. And that's the point of a truly excellent campaign, to increase your base and make money.
After speaking with the organizers of the show, several manufacturers with booths at the the event, spectators and members of the media covering the festivities, I was able to draw a few conclusions. My totally unscientific gut reaction to the Del Mar Show, which is considered the first major car show of the season, is thus:
- People are ready to enjoy life again. The Saturday crowd was HUGE. People walking the show, dragging their little kids behind them, smiles beaming and cars rumbling. Every show participant I expressed a said a variant of the same sentiment: "I'm tired of hiding in my house waiting for the recession to end, it's time to enjoy my life, my hobby, and spend a little money doing what I love."
- Business is getting back to normal. Most of the vendors I spoke to from the automotive aftermarket said that after a very lean Winter (particularly November - January) things started picking up again February, and March was actually strong. One manufacturer I spoke to actually told me his business was UP in March compared to the same month last year.
Why? I'm not an economist or a psychologist, but my instincts tell me that:
a) Tax refunds are making an impact
b) People are tired of living in fear and need some relief. For car guys that means working on their car or going to events
c) Those who have been living frugally for the past two years need to splurge on something, and in the case of gearheads that's car-related spending
d) Baby boomers have decided if they're going to put money into an investment, at least you can enjoy a classic car. A mutual fund? Not so much.
e) This whole crisis has bottomed out, and is starting the slow climb back to normal.
- Media has changed. Forever. This has been happening for a while, but the change is now irreversible. Members of the "old media" were out in force at the event, from editors and publishers to ad sales people and more. Many of these folks are my friends. In fact, I used to be one of them. While editors were doing interviews and photographers were shooting feature stories, their messages were universal: the big media companies have cut staff to a bare minimum, advertising revenue is way down, and things are pretty lean.
On the flip side, social media sites were represented in force. I saw dozens of hats and t-shirts emblazoned with the URLs of different popular automotive forums, moderators and admins I spoke with were extremely upbeat and positive, and at the racetrack there were clear rivalries and affiliations based on site loyalties. There were hundreds of people shooting the event with high-end digital still cameras and high-def video cameras, and you know all that content is going to land on the web. People have become their own publishers, and while its empowering for the general public it poses opportunities for the clever marketing maven and huge risks for those who ignore it.
So what does that mean for PR & Marketing? NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT DECISIVELY. Don't get back to the wasteful ways of old spending huge sums of money on advertising. Instead build a lean marketing program that speaks directly to the consumer. Blend traditional media relations to generate ink about how well your company is doing in the face of economic trouble, utilize a social media marketing campaign to speak directly with the most active influencers in your target demographic, and only buy ads in the most effective media outlets to reinforce the messages of the PR and Social Media campaigns.
Act now and capture the hearts and minds of consumers while your competitor is still hiding under his bed waiting for things to blow over, and you'll not only win your old customers back, you'll take his too. And that's the point of a truly excellent campaign, to increase your base and make money.
Interesting Read: Why do people buy?
The Bulldog Reporter posted a thought-provoking story last week titled
"Why do people buy? Emotional Triggers Drive Consumer Behavior and Can Reframe PR Research"
The 'dog has a recap of the article along with an interview with its authors, Michelle Helin & Linda Goodman. While the Bulldog Reporter focuses on the PR trade (and does an excellent job of it) I thought there were some take-away lessons here for anyone who runs a retail business. Here are the highlights:
What was a big surprise for your research that destroyed long-held marketing beliefs?
The big surprise, frankly, is that interviewees are often unaware of their own thoughts and feelings. Very often they are surprised at where the conversation has led them and how emotional they are. This dispels the tradition that customers are able to tell us how they will react to a new product or service. They act instinctively based on emotion but when asked to explain their actions after the fact the answers are often part fact, part re-invention and part wishful thinking.
How important is "storytelling" and narrative in inciting emotional triggers? Why?
Storytelling is important because it allows the "teller" to speak in a deeply personal way, revealing the heart felt feelings or emotions that drive or influence their behavior. While someone might not say, "I was so angry," they will, in telling the story, invariably, allow those angry emotions to show.
Since these responses are neither deliberate nor planned they elude quantifiable explanations. Emotional triggers are important because they strike at a deep-seated chord. They are what connect with at a level that goes beyond reasoning because in our gut it feels right or familiar.
The rest of the story is focused on Emotional Trigger Response, a PR effectiveness testing method. Read the rest of the story here.
"Why do people buy? Emotional Triggers Drive Consumer Behavior and Can Reframe PR Research"
The 'dog has a recap of the article along with an interview with its authors, Michelle Helin & Linda Goodman. While the Bulldog Reporter focuses on the PR trade (and does an excellent job of it) I thought there were some take-away lessons here for anyone who runs a retail business. Here are the highlights:
What was a big surprise for your research that destroyed long-held marketing beliefs?
The big surprise, frankly, is that interviewees are often unaware of their own thoughts and feelings. Very often they are surprised at where the conversation has led them and how emotional they are. This dispels the tradition that customers are able to tell us how they will react to a new product or service. They act instinctively based on emotion but when asked to explain their actions after the fact the answers are often part fact, part re-invention and part wishful thinking.
How important is "storytelling" and narrative in inciting emotional triggers? Why?
Storytelling is important because it allows the "teller" to speak in a deeply personal way, revealing the heart felt feelings or emotions that drive or influence their behavior. While someone might not say, "I was so angry," they will, in telling the story, invariably, allow those angry emotions to show.
Since these responses are neither deliberate nor planned they elude quantifiable explanations. Emotional triggers are important because they strike at a deep-seated chord. They are what connect with at a level that goes beyond reasoning because in our gut it feels right or familiar.
The rest of the story is focused on Emotional Trigger Response, a PR effectiveness testing method. Read the rest of the story here.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Why Online Video Has Forever Changed PR
The top European market Auto viral videos from last year:
From Media Post:
Businesses Embracing Online Video Will Fuel The Web's Revolution
by Dave Dutch
IF VIDEO KILLED THE radio star, online video will surely kill the static Web.
The following are a handful of ways video is impacting corporate Web strategies and business models:
Company news and information. Web video enables organizations to become their own broadcast networks. For example, rather than being greeted by the customary block of text and images on a company's home page, visitors may find a running video news feed. British Sky Broadcasting posts its top news stories as video. Organizations can populate the corporate news room with video news releases. To satisfy investors and meet compliance requirements, companies can populate on-demand libraries with shareholder meetings, annual reports and RSS videocasts on a host of topics.
Product information and how-to. Video can be a key enabler of product support and advice. Avery, the office supply company, offers a library of demos that show how to pull off that pesky mail merge, among other office tasks. Another example, Scott's Miracle-Gro Company, has turned its Web site into a consumer-centric source of advice on lawn care, gardening and related topics. Here, video serves as the primary format for "help" articles.
Branded entertainment. Organizations can deliver original video content directly to customers. Nike.com offers sports-specific channels that, in addition to offering video-based training, feature stories about Nike athletes. A good example is the basketball documentary on Team USA's road to Beijing.
Best practices and knowledge management. If commercials and entertainment can be viral, so can internal company knowledge. A manufacturing company with plants all over the world could enable far-flung employees to record and share best practices. Along those same lines, investment in education and training can be expanded exponentially by giving distributed offices and facilities access to video-based programs, seminars and workshops. IT consulting firm Bluewolf provides an example of how businesses might accomplish this-the firm shares its case studies and testimonials with external audiences on Bluewolf TV.
Community. User-generated content (UGC) can turn customers and fans into a network of content creators who communicate through video. Cult footwear favorite Crocs, for instance, has set up a site that invites lovers and haters of the brand to upload videos about how they feel about the product. And look for more companies to build communities with video as the primary form of content.
UGC offers organizations a significant source of original content and can foster a natural community that keeps a pulse of the brand. This is where two of today's most powerful trends -- online video and the social Web -- combine to form a new capability for business: the power to create and sustain new communities, glued together by our most compelling mass medium.
Turning on the Spigot
So why should corporate America embrace the video-centric Web? Remember the lessons of a certain small appliance maker called Blendtec. This small business came out of nowhere in a crowded and competitive market segment to establish a vibrant business on the back of short, simple video segments. You never know where the best ideas or content will come from. Successful companies will be the ones that engage online communities with video that is compelling and continuous.
And of course I have to throw in client video, just to keep it relevant:
From Media Post:
Businesses Embracing Online Video Will Fuel The Web's Revolution
by Dave Dutch
IF VIDEO KILLED THE radio star, online video will surely kill the static Web.
The following are a handful of ways video is impacting corporate Web strategies and business models:
Company news and information. Web video enables organizations to become their own broadcast networks. For example, rather than being greeted by the customary block of text and images on a company's home page, visitors may find a running video news feed. British Sky Broadcasting posts its top news stories as video. Organizations can populate the corporate news room with video news releases. To satisfy investors and meet compliance requirements, companies can populate on-demand libraries with shareholder meetings, annual reports and RSS videocasts on a host of topics.
Product information and how-to. Video can be a key enabler of product support and advice. Avery, the office supply company, offers a library of demos that show how to pull off that pesky mail merge, among other office tasks. Another example, Scott's Miracle-Gro Company, has turned its Web site into a consumer-centric source of advice on lawn care, gardening and related topics. Here, video serves as the primary format for "help" articles.
Branded entertainment. Organizations can deliver original video content directly to customers. Nike.com offers sports-specific channels that, in addition to offering video-based training, feature stories about Nike athletes. A good example is the basketball documentary on Team USA's road to Beijing.
Best practices and knowledge management. If commercials and entertainment can be viral, so can internal company knowledge. A manufacturing company with plants all over the world could enable far-flung employees to record and share best practices. Along those same lines, investment in education and training can be expanded exponentially by giving distributed offices and facilities access to video-based programs, seminars and workshops. IT consulting firm Bluewolf provides an example of how businesses might accomplish this-the firm shares its case studies and testimonials with external audiences on Bluewolf TV.
Community. User-generated content (UGC) can turn customers and fans into a network of content creators who communicate through video. Cult footwear favorite Crocs, for instance, has set up a site that invites lovers and haters of the brand to upload videos about how they feel about the product. And look for more companies to build communities with video as the primary form of content.
UGC offers organizations a significant source of original content and can foster a natural community that keeps a pulse of the brand. This is where two of today's most powerful trends -- online video and the social Web -- combine to form a new capability for business: the power to create and sustain new communities, glued together by our most compelling mass medium.
Turning on the Spigot
So why should corporate America embrace the video-centric Web? Remember the lessons of a certain small appliance maker called Blendtec. This small business came out of nowhere in a crowded and competitive market segment to establish a vibrant business on the back of short, simple video segments. You never know where the best ideas or content will come from. Successful companies will be the ones that engage online communities with video that is compelling and continuous.
And of course I have to throw in client video, just to keep it relevant:
Thursday, April 2, 2009
YouTube Going Corporate
This story was just posted on the Bulldog Reporter:
YouTube Absorbed By Corporate Machinery:
The Amateur-Video Pioneer Begins Transition to Hollywood Vehicle
YouTube will soon unveil a redesign that clearly separates its premium and long-form programming from the user-posted videos that account for most of its activity. According to two sources familiar with Google's plans for YouTube, the new design will do away with the current navigation scheme — which funnels users into "videos," "channels," and "community" categories. That layout will be replaced with a tabbed navigation with clearly defined sections for professional content, ClickZ reports.
The new design will offer four tabs: Movies, Music, Shows, and Videos. The first three tabs will display premium shows, clips, and movies from Google's network and studio partners, all of which will be monetized with in-stream advertising. Meanwhile the Videos channel will house amateur and semi-pro content of the sort major brand advertisers have shied away from. "They're putting up walls between all the UGC stuff, which will live within the video channel,...and the brand safe content," said one senior agency exec who was briefed on YouTube's plans, reports ClickZ writer Zachary Rodgers.
The redesign also touches YouTube's video player. The new player interface closely resembles the video experience on Hulu, the video portal that's grown by leaps and bounds since its launch last year. Like Hulu, the new video player displays visual markers in places where ads are scheduled to play. Also like Hulu, the YouTube player allows users to "dim the lights," reducing the brightness of screen real estate outside the video frame. "It's totally a Hulu approach, but that's best practices right now," the exec told ClickZ.
The planned launch date for the overhauled site is April 16. According to sources, the original plan was to roll it out next week, but YouTube pushed the date back for unknown reasons. YouTube has been pitching launch packages to agencies for approximately six weeks.
This does not bode well. Myspace was once a vibrant, booming social media platform. Then Newscorp decided it would be a great outlet to reach young people and bought it, quickly turning the site into one giant flashing banner advertisement for its latest movies and promotions. People fled the site in droves to Facebook, which was still an emerging site growing in popularity amongst high school and college kids. I fear the same will happen with YouTube once Hollywood sinks its incredibly out-of-touch teeth in.
YouTube Absorbed By Corporate Machinery:
The Amateur-Video Pioneer Begins Transition to Hollywood Vehicle
YouTube will soon unveil a redesign that clearly separates its premium and long-form programming from the user-posted videos that account for most of its activity. According to two sources familiar with Google's plans for YouTube, the new design will do away with the current navigation scheme — which funnels users into "videos," "channels," and "community" categories. That layout will be replaced with a tabbed navigation with clearly defined sections for professional content, ClickZ reports.
The new design will offer four tabs: Movies, Music, Shows, and Videos. The first three tabs will display premium shows, clips, and movies from Google's network and studio partners, all of which will be monetized with in-stream advertising. Meanwhile the Videos channel will house amateur and semi-pro content of the sort major brand advertisers have shied away from. "They're putting up walls between all the UGC stuff, which will live within the video channel,...and the brand safe content," said one senior agency exec who was briefed on YouTube's plans, reports ClickZ writer Zachary Rodgers.
The redesign also touches YouTube's video player. The new player interface closely resembles the video experience on Hulu, the video portal that's grown by leaps and bounds since its launch last year. Like Hulu, the new video player displays visual markers in places where ads are scheduled to play. Also like Hulu, the YouTube player allows users to "dim the lights," reducing the brightness of screen real estate outside the video frame. "It's totally a Hulu approach, but that's best practices right now," the exec told ClickZ.
The planned launch date for the overhauled site is April 16. According to sources, the original plan was to roll it out next week, but YouTube pushed the date back for unknown reasons. YouTube has been pitching launch packages to agencies for approximately six weeks.
This does not bode well. Myspace was once a vibrant, booming social media platform. Then Newscorp decided it would be a great outlet to reach young people and bought it, quickly turning the site into one giant flashing banner advertisement for its latest movies and promotions. People fled the site in droves to Facebook, which was still an emerging site growing in popularity amongst high school and college kids. I fear the same will happen with YouTube once Hollywood sinks its incredibly out-of-touch teeth in.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
A little positivity doesn't hurt...
I try to keep this blog focused on PR and Marketing, but I've got to make a comment on a media trend that's becoming more and more difficult to deal with. I'm fed up with the non-stop crisis reporting.
September 11th was a terrible event and a true turning point in the trajectory of our nation. However it seems like ever since that horrible day, the cable news networks (and in their wake the local news and papers) have been trying to feed the ratings beast and fill that gaping maw of round-the-clock coverage with a never ending series of scandals and blown-out-of-proportion disasters. Remember Elian Gonzales? How about Terry Schiavo, Drew Petersen, Octomom, etc? Most recently the networks made it sound like the residents of Fargo, ND, needed to build an ark and wait for the end of the world to fall on them. Except... it didn't happen. There was some rain, an some damage, but people did what they had to do and moved on.
I used to be a journalist, actually made a living at it too. I live and breathe media as a PR flack, and I understand how news cycles work. However the combination of "feed the beast" news programming and the war between mediums has created a situation where bad situations get blown up into major catastrophes, which causes panic and perpetuates the problem. I believe that's exactly what happened with this economic downturn. Every seven years or so the economy goes soft. However reporters screaming about "the next great depression" certainly caused some damage to the American psyche and made the situation worse.
I'm seeing very strong signs that this thing is starting to get better. People are spending money again, business is picking up for nearly everyone I speak with. Are we out of the woods? Not quite yet... but things are certainly looking up from my perspective.
So what's next? Smile. Be positive. Go out to dinner. Wax your car and go for a drive. Get back to the important stuff, working hard and having fun. Hopefully one day soon the newsdesk editors I pitch on a regular basis will start doing some positive stories and we can all get back to normal. Save the scary music and crisis graphs for the unfortunate day when they're actually appropriate.
Of course, John Stewart says it best.
September 11th was a terrible event and a true turning point in the trajectory of our nation. However it seems like ever since that horrible day, the cable news networks (and in their wake the local news and papers) have been trying to feed the ratings beast and fill that gaping maw of round-the-clock coverage with a never ending series of scandals and blown-out-of-proportion disasters. Remember Elian Gonzales? How about Terry Schiavo, Drew Petersen, Octomom, etc? Most recently the networks made it sound like the residents of Fargo, ND, needed to build an ark and wait for the end of the world to fall on them. Except... it didn't happen. There was some rain, an some damage, but people did what they had to do and moved on.
I used to be a journalist, actually made a living at it too. I live and breathe media as a PR flack, and I understand how news cycles work. However the combination of "feed the beast" news programming and the war between mediums has created a situation where bad situations get blown up into major catastrophes, which causes panic and perpetuates the problem. I believe that's exactly what happened with this economic downturn. Every seven years or so the economy goes soft. However reporters screaming about "the next great depression" certainly caused some damage to the American psyche and made the situation worse.
I'm seeing very strong signs that this thing is starting to get better. People are spending money again, business is picking up for nearly everyone I speak with. Are we out of the woods? Not quite yet... but things are certainly looking up from my perspective.
So what's next? Smile. Be positive. Go out to dinner. Wax your car and go for a drive. Get back to the important stuff, working hard and having fun. Hopefully one day soon the newsdesk editors I pitch on a regular basis will start doing some positive stories and we can all get back to normal. Save the scary music and crisis graphs for the unfortunate day when they're actually appropriate.
Of course, John Stewart says it best.
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