SharedBook: On Demand

The Marketer's Apprentice

Two more signs that nothing stays the same:

The largest of the large marketers are now embracing sampling programs like never before.  Why is this interesting?  Sampling was once the tactic used by those who couldn’t afford large-scale advertising.  There are lots of implications here, but the one I find fascinating: what does this say about the waning efficacy of traditional Interruption Marketing?

Meanwhile, speaking of Interruption Marketing, there’s another chink in its armor – Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. Seems that six million prime time viewers have gone missing since last year this time.  So if ads are less effective, and there are fewer consumers viewing them, what’s a marketer to do?

Go Direct! No surprise … that’s sort of what we’ve been advocating.

Our Changing World

Marketers must be aware of the very dynamic consumer environment.  Two trends are now being taken into account in new communications. 

First, the recession – it’s tough out there.  Value messaging, always important, is taking center stage, particularly for commodity products. 

Then, the sense that consumers are tired of being pushed and prodded is driving “reverse marketology” as Newsweek defines it. It’s the idea that reliable information makes the advertiser credible, and credibility, along with a large dollop of comfort, rings the cash register.

In either case, the core concept is driven by the affinity consumers feel for a brand when they feel messages are timely and speak personally to their needs.  And as our crazy world changes, needs change with it.

Good to remember.

There's No Place Like Home

When it comes to advertising on the Web, it seems that everyone is fighting for space on the homepage.  The idea being that there is no better place to advertise - since the homepage is commonly the most accessed page in any Web site and it appears early in an interaction, when anything is possible.

But there are many arguments to make that a simple placement on a homepage is not a good long-term strategy.

First off, there is the issue of context.  On a homepage the user has not yet established their intent and thus an out of context ad might not pay off.  There is no better example of this than Google.  They took this concept to its most extreme - a single text entry form homepage devoid of any other advertising.  But Google more than makes up for this after the user has disclosed their context.  Once a keyword or phrase is entered - let the advertising begin!

Secondly, there is the issue of timing.  In the early days of the Web, there was a concept that users visit Web sites for the fun of it.  So a simple homepage advertisement could be the very thing to entice the user.  But these days most Web site visitors come with an intent.  The homepage is scanned to find the intended target and, once it is found, the user clicks off the homepage.  Once they are gone, the homepage advantage is gone with it.

My preference would be to become more ingrained in the navigation of a site.  Take, for example, All Recipes.  Our Create-a-Cookbook appears in the global navigation of their site AND there is a button placed at the top of each members' Recipe Box.  Both the context and timing are right.

Don't get me wrong - given the option to advertise a product on someone's homepage, I'll jump at the chance.  But if it becomes the only placement in a Web site, I'd ask for a recount!  Especially when considering a product like SharedBook - which is at its best when it is incorporated into our clients' sites.   

Stop Foolin' with My Memories!

In previous posts I’ve been a strong proponent of the use of spokescharacters as part of the marketing mix – in the right situation it communicates brand value without the risks inherent in hiring au courant talent (O.J. Simpson, Michael Vick, etc.).  Today I happened upon an announcement that reminded me of another risk that marketers take – sometimes, it pays off, and sometimes not.

Bob Dylan, of all anti-establishment people, is now flogging Cadillac.  It brings news value, no doubt.  And to a younger demographic, perhaps the imprimatur of an iconic elder is, well, whatever passes for cool.

But I promise you, there will be many who see this as an abrogation of the values, or “positioning” of this iconic figure, and not only shun the act, but also shun the brand behind it.  It’s a bit of a twist, but it has its roots in a corollary to the Veblen Curve (remember your Economics 101?) known as the snob effect.  Generally used to explain the rare occurrence when demand increases as price increases, the snob effect also, in its own perverse way, causes consumers to reject pitches if they conflict with the consumers’ self-image.  As in “I love Dylan, he’s cool, therefore I’m cool, but now he’s sold out to a gas-guzzling SUV, and that’s not cool …”  You can fill in the rest.

This, as they say, is a minefield.  As marketers look to serve them that’s got (Boomers) they must tread carefully.  These folks are very picky about their memories, and that will only become more pronounced as they begin to spend their retirement savings on who knows what.

Kinda makes me glad I work for a company that provides users a way to preserve what they want to preserve in exactly the way they want to preserve it.  At SharedBook, the user rules.

Digitized Content and Customization: A Perfect Marriage

As consumers continue to move more and more into the digitized world, content owners such as magazines, music and recording studios, and TV and radio companies, are scrambling to digitize their archived materials.  But what is their main purpose for doing this? It can’t be solely to preserve the content in a medium that has a greater shelf life. One has to assume that digital distribution is playing a major role in how media companies are looking to monetize these treasured assets.

Almost every aspect of how we consume media and even communicate has gone digital. CD Players (although digital) have given way to MP3 players such as the iPod. Cars have GPS and navigation systems (I can’t remember the last time I bought a map) and many home phone users are switching to VoIP. Fortunately, people still find value in one medium that dates back centuries:  the book. People still like to read books. For some reason the digital world has not completely devoured this form of media altogether. Book stores are still thriving while record stores are unfortunately being closed in droves.

Another phenomenon that has come to the media world by use of digital distribution involves user generated content and the customization of content delivery. People are now getting used to being able to receive the content that is relevant to them based on their personal preferences. All this brings me to believe that we at SharedBook are on to something. With our platform, media companies that have digitized their archived content - articles, photographs, etc. - can now allow their online users the ability to select the content that is most relevant to them and create a book. This will enable media companies with deep content to monetize their assets in a way that just wasn’t available or even economical before. Imagine going to your favorite media company that has the content you are interested in and being able to build a customized book from that information. Now that sounds like a perfect marriage to me.  

Monetizing Content in the Web 2.0 World

Following the trends in today’s marketplace for where corporations are directing their acquisitions, leads one to conclude that there has been a gradual but steady paradigm shift towards user-generated content and social networking. Over the past few years, some major acquisitions have taken place: Google acquired YouTube and News Corp. acquired MySpace at tremendous valuations reminiscent of the late 1990s.

But the numbers don’t lie, and many social networks have built tremendous user bases with countless amounts of content such as pictures, video, blogs, etc. to share with the public. It’s debatable as to what is the best method for how content get’s consumed, should it be free based on an advertising model, or should it be charged through a subscription model. All that is highly debatable, but one thing is for sure, the user ultimately is in control.

User-generated content and social networking on the Web also have other implications; the old method of content distribution has changed forever. For example, the music industry no longer has the control it once had over artists and retail. They are scrambling how to figure out how to best sell content now that digital distribution is growing and physical distribution through retail has basically shrunk to only a few outlets. Plus, peer-to-peer file sharing is as strong as ever. Who would have thought the mighty Tower Records would close their flagship store in NYC? The fastest growing segment of the music business is the independent community. But this is only a snapshot of what is happening in other digital content marketplaces such as publishing and television.

People are clearly interested in user-generated content and old distribution models are changing fast, so how can companies that have digital content best address the online marketplace and monetize their assets?

I am admittedly biased, but perhaps it’s best to utilize a platform such as SharedBook's that enables on-demand distribution, allows the user to select the content that is important to them and provides a certain level of customization and personalization. The faster organizations address the changing content distribution marketplace and invest or partner with companies that can enable them to engage their customers, the sooner they will see returns. 

The Marketer's Apprentice

In a previous marketing life I was, in essence, the brand steward of Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble.  Well, the assistant brand steward, actually.  Cocoa and Fruity Pebbles.  Yum!

And in strategic terms, I was always told by those who knew that there was great value in creating or licensing spokescharacters to promote a brand.  I was particularly impressed with the ability of spokescharacters to yield substantial equity over years and years, as I watched celebrities come and go.  "An animated character never takes the perp walk," or so the joke went.  Fred and Barney certainly were model citizens on my watch.

I’m not tempted yet to commission Susie SharedBook.  But after witnessing the Michael Vick affair … it’s a lesson, isn’t it?  I wonder how that "swoosh" is going to look on an orange jumpsuit …

Those Who Cannot Learn From History …

One of the greatest marketing lessons of all time can be found in the launch of “New Coke."  For those of you who remember, I need say no more.  For the rest of you: the details can be found almost anywhere, but the bottom line is that Coca-Cola, already the #1 brand in 1985, had its secret formula “improved” in April of that year, in an attempt to keep growing, and fend off an ever-aggressive Pepsi-Cola brand.  And, of course, during this attempt to grab more, they began to lose the market share they had, by alienating much of their core user base.  You can plug in a comparison to your favorite tale from Greek Mythology right here.

And today you can plug in CBS-101.  New Yorkers of a certain age (but who’s counting?) are rejoicing this week because CBS has, with much bravado, announced a return of its beloved oldies station to the airwaves in the Apple.  After being summarily dumped, without warning two years ago, in favor of a new format that held the promise of growth, the oldies are back. Why? Seems that the new format successfully halved the station’s audience ranking; it alienated their core user base.  CBS wasn’t happy with the stranglehold it had on the older-demo audience, and didn’t have the patience for the huge bubble of baby-boomers to move through and organically increase its numbers.  So out went the old, and in came the New.  Turned out the suits didn’t really know Jack at all …

But, whether it’s New Coke or Jack-FM, the marketing story is still the same: development of a brand, and loyal users is very, very hard, and once attained, should be handled with great care and much caution.  Customers have not merely given their money, they’ve given their trust.  Try buying that back.

The Sopranos Have TEV

TEV.  True Experiential Value. I blogged about it back in April, and since then, I haven’t run across many examples of this core underpinning of today’s successful brands.

But it struck me around 10:30 p.m. Eastern last night that, since 1999, David Chase and HBO have delivered that elusive quality, and created a brand that, frankly, could live on with great vitality far longer than its creators chose to continue it.  Think about it – love him or hate him, who delivered more memorable hours than Tony?  Every episode delivered quality of a higher level than most anything seen, and some episodes were better than everything on broadcast or cable.  Excellence of experience, delivered consistently, so much so that many viewers felt their HBO subscriptions were money well spent for just the one series!  That's TEV, friends.

And for those of you who think that, in strict marketing terms, The Sopranos isn’t a brand?  Drop me a note after you see the DVD sales of the complete set ... after holiday sales in 2009, almost two years after the show leaves the air!

The Marketer's Apprentice

If you’ve got a minute or two to kill, check out yesterday’s column by the always interesting Bob Garfield.

The California Marketing Committee has taken a whack at the “What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas” campaign by illustrating what happens, in fact, when it doesn’t.  Stay in Vegas, that is.  The pitch: stay home in California, and you can have fun without possibly doing something so incredibly stupid that it’ll ruin your life. 

Cute.

Actually, it’s an interesting twist on an old subject: positioning.  Whether you are open, transparent, and honest (see Ann’s post below) or you’re, well, AT&T, there’s still a lot of time and money spent trying to communicate what you ARE.  And, sometimes, it’s easier to do that by delivering a simple message that defines what you’re NOT. 

Whether the great state of California has counter-positioned itself successfully will soon be seen.  But it’s a very interesting strategy, perhaps best employed when a business is trying to emerge from a very cluttered space.

Hmm…