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April 22, 2009

Perez Hilton Blowback and a Pulitzer Snub

I don't watch beauty pageants. I do blog. I don't read gossip sites. I do believe journalism is being recreated at present. Perez Hilton is not helping the cause.

I guess I shouldn't care about what a small-minded writer who spews out gossip columns is writing/saying, despite his enormous reach. But the backlash over Hilton's innane comments regarding Miss California's stance on same-sex marriage is not helping to portray bloggers as intelligent, rational beings. And yes, this storm will pass and no one will remember Hilton, Miss California or any of the silly, name-calling details.

But it is interesting to me that I am offended by Hilton's action. Like a Band of Brothers, I refer to myself as a blogger and am loath to be tarred by silliness of this type. I treat my writing seriously and find the coverage of the event trivializes the work of many people who do hard work in this medium. Which is why I also remain offended by the Pulitzer commitee's begrudging acceptance of online media and their continued reticence to acknowledge the standards for research and journalistic integrity are just as high for some bloggers as they are for a print journalist.

In the end, these are all trivial events on a road to a new place, but the annoying bumps in the road don't have to be enjoyable...

Posted by jcioban at 1:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 11, 2009

Faith, Trust and The No-Spin Zone

"I still put my pants on one leg at a time," goes the saying. And so it is with many tasks that we mindlessly perform. The trouble for many marketers is that they still approach their day jobs with that methodical resolve. But, times have changed.

And the change is not just in the WAYS that we communicate (e.g. social media), but in WHAT we communicate. In fact, I would argue that the "what" is the most important change of all.

In this Easter/Passover season, many people will use their faith to believe the message of their religion. Well, as it turns out, faith was what a lot of marketing was built on...a faith and trust in the companies whose messages were being spun out to us every day.

But, that faith is gone...with any last vestiges obliterated into charred ruins by the collapse of the financial system. Consumers and businesspeople no longer read content supplied by companies at "face value". Instead, we discount and skeptically reshape the messages, then add a heatlthy dose of peer review in to create a final message deemed to our liking. It's a daily dose of the customer "no-spin zone" (with all due resepct to Bill O'Reilly). The implications of this behavior shape not only how you communiate, but more importantly, what you communicate.

So, this holiday, take a moment between meals to think about the implications of a faith now faltered and what it means to your marketing plans.

Posted by jcioban at 10:19 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 10, 2009

How Funny Are We?

We....as in marketers, that is.

In my surfing for project information recently, I came across Current TV.  Here is their description of themselves:

"Since its inception in 2005, Emmy award-winning Current TV has been the world's leading peer-to-peer news and information network. Current is the only 24/7 cable and satellite television network and Internet site produced and programmed in collaboration with its audience. Current connects young adults with what is going on in their world, from their perspective, in their own voices.....Current is now viewed in the U.S. and U.K. in more than 51 million households through distribution partners Comcast (Channel 107 nationwide), Time Warner (nationwide), DirecTV (channel 358 nationwide), Dish Network (channel 196 nationwide), Sky (channel 183) and Virgin Media Cable (channel 155)."

Current's Website is a media smorgasbord...a drug-den for media-addicated viewers with time to burn. It is also a window into the changing landscape of media. In that landscape, weak efforts at brand development and audience shaping not only fail to go unnoticed...they earn the scorn and ridicule of others.

So it was with some amusement that I found Sarah Haskins, (Twitter) a Harvard-educated, Second City-trained comedian who is boosting her career lampooning campaigns that target or mis-target women. Yogurt manufacturers, Carl's Jr., women-focused TV networks...all have come under the hysterical, yet burning light of Sarah's criticism. Think Bob Garfield live, only funnier (I know..Garfield is pretty damn funny to start....)

With growing frequency, talented writers/critics are building a comedy empire spotlighting the awful work being produced in the name marketing. They point out the over-the-top claims, the creepy associations, the blithe generalizations. And, they make more and more of us conscious of how we are targeted by well-meaning marketers...like ourselves.

Once you acknowlege these new media outlets, you come to see how the business of marketing and advertising is changing. And since our consumer lives train our business lives, how these changes will influence marketers of every stripe.

So, if you haven't already visited Current TV or seen Sarah Haskins, sit back and enjoy a laugh or two. But realize, that the laughs could be coming at your own expense.

Posted by jcioban at 12:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 7, 2009

Is The 'Nuclear Winter' Coming?

I have been getting more and more unsolicited e-mail from companies lately. With the recession comes a sense of urgency by companies to find less expensive ways to reach out. Many of them even seem to be using "reputable" e-mail services (whose names I will mercifully leave out), but because they offer a self-service ASP model, they cannot easily stop all violations. So...I am left with the burden of clearing the Inbox every morning.

I suspect some comes through because of shady/ludicrous "affiliate marketing" deals. Others because of clueless senders. But the bottom line to me is a growing frustration with the medium as the Spam comes in. Note to senders...just because there is an opt-out on the message does not mean I don't think it is spam.

And that is a situation that should worry all legitimate marketers. When we all start getting frustrated, the whole medium becomes worthless.

Posted by jcioban at 8:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 2, 2009

Being Authentic

At an event last night, I saw the clip below from Rich Wagoner, former CEO of GM. It is just 6 months old, but had an eerie feel to...the "dead man walking" thing. It also generated much debate about "authenticity" and "openness" and gave me some reasons to think about the meaning of those terms in today's market.

Rich Wagoner was a pragmatic executive who made many fateful decisions, such as the choice to kill the EV-1 Electric Car in the earlier part of this decade only to have to resurrect the car at the Volt in 2008. But, despite the risks, he did make himself the poster child for an old-line company putting itself in the consumer's crosshairs on the Web. And while people railed against him last night, I am not sure it was deserved.

But there is a real lesson for executives. If you watch the clip above, you will hear ideas that now sound like hollow promises, and in a world of opennes, that can be dangerous. With the Internet, words are out there...in the public...for ridicule or reward. Equally important, they are there forever. I actually respect Rick Wagoner for trying to leverage new technologies to communicate...but all talk with no action (or too slow action) is becoming less and less viable as a business strategy. Rick might have eventually turned GM around, but eventually was not soon enough in the end.

Perhaps this is the Internet's ultimate gift to us...it can make any self-respecting executive think twice before making idle promises, since those words are forever available for allies and gadflies alike. 

Posted by jcioban at 7:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack