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I gave up reading books that can be found in the business/advertising/marketing section of the bookstore a while back. Most of the books you find in that section should have never been written in the first place: authors rehashing their previous work, self-help for the cubicle crowd, and whatever flavor of behavioral psychology is cool this month. I also posit that the original, interesting books in this section are likely to be rambling, 300 page tomes that would work better as 8 page articles in the New Yorker.
So, with few exceptions, the New York Times Business Bestseller List is dead to me. One of those exceptions is Rework, from the founders of 37signals (and the masterminds behind the best blog in the world, signal vs. noise).
Rework is essentially a collection of a hundred or so brief essays on how they do business. Anyone who has read their blog knows that they are feisty, irreverent, critical, and, in the end, brutally honest and usually right. The essays are no different. From advice on how to nurture office culture, to their thoughts on the futility of meeting and conference calls, they lay it all out there for the reader to do with as they please.
I have a strong suspicion that anyone who read this book and tried to follow their lead word for word would fail – miserably. Taken with a level head and grain of salt, however, the book is filled with provocations that will change the way they go about their life at work.
Here is a brief PDF excerpt from the book. Enjoy.
Well, it was only a matter of time before Twitter found a way to incorporate advertisements into its social networking structure.
Today is the apparent unveiling of its advertising plan, which Twitter calls “Promoted Tweets” (although after searching for 30 minutes and not being able to find an ad I promptly gave up). With Promoted Tweets, Twitter plans on incorporating advertisements into the Twitter live stream that relate to the personal search choices of its users. The promoted Tweet advertising plan, however, differs from that of Google, Yahoo, and even Facebook, which all place their advertisements on the right side of their web page. Unlike other social networking sites, Twitter only plans to display one ad at a time and plans to place the individual ads, which resemble normal Tweets, above the search results Twitter feed.
Advertisers will initially have to purchase key words that allow their ads to be displayed at the top of the Twitter feed when users use that key word in their searches. Twitter is also in the process of developing a performance model called ‘resonance’ to determine pricing for its Promoted Tweets. Similar to the pay per click model, Twitter’s resonance model will attempt to judge the impact of a particular ad by measuring the amount of times the ad is passed around, marked as a favorite, or how often users click the posted links on the advertisement, in order to determine price for ads. The more demand and popularity for an ad, the longer it will stay around.
I was skeptical at first about Twitter’s Promoted Tweet’s plan, and not able to recognize the difference between a Starbucks Promoted Tweet and the normal tweets Starbucks puts out daily to promote its brand and products. Why would a brand pay for something that it is already doing for free? However, it is important to recognize the fluidity of Twitter. Twitter is constantly being updated by its users, and as a result individual Tweets do not remain in one place for long. The Promoted Tweet plan allows advertisers to display a message without fear of it being engulfed in the constantly updated stream of Tweets. While Twitter’s advertising strategy is certainly unique, it is up to Twitter to convince advertisers, who will still have access to the promotional capabilities of a Twitter account free of charge, that its Promoted Tweets plan is worth the investment.
Lady Gaga’s new music video for her song “Telephone” made its debut on March 11th. Within hours of its YouTube release the video had so many viewers that the site temporarily crashed. Despite what you might think of the “Telephone” video, it’s impossible not to recognize that Lady Gaga is much more than an entertainer – she is a social media powerhouse. Gaga not only dominates the airwaves, she also extends her global pop domination via the Internet.
So you like the music video you are watching on the YouTube window embedded in her webpage? Well, just wait for Apple’s iTunes advertisement to pop up on the video screen and link you to the power of a one-click purchase of the mp3. You don’t even have to stop watching the video.
Lady Gaga’s viral dominance is fed directly through her website LadyGaga.com. Here Gaga links viewers to her Twitter feed, Facebook page, YouTube channel, and iTunes store. It’s easy to navigate because the various media platforms are combined into one simple user experience. This, in turn, makes it easier for consumers to listen and purchase Gaga merch – from albums to a pair of stylish new earbuds – all while receiving personal updates from the pop queen via her Twitter feed. Here you can truly plug into Gaga’s world 24/7.
This social media cocktail has proved an effective elixir for Gaga and her fans, pushing the “Telephone” video into the spotlight before MTV or VH1 got a hold of it. Now the artist has surpassed the record industry’s antiquated medium of delivery (video request shows or top ten countdowns). Social media cuts the power from the industry giants and puts it directly in the hands of the artists.
It is interesting to see how artists are embracing social media and turning it into venues for social marketing that directly and personally engage the artists with their fans. Lady Gaga isn’t the only one who is taking advantage of these new platforms, she just happens to have figured out a way to unite them all in a successful global media campaign that not only reaches thousands of people, but allows them to feel a personal connection with her at the same time.
I came across this interesting little essay the other day, and it’s been on my mind ever since. As much as we talk about paying for “content” when we buy books, music, and movies, we’ve really just paying for the medium. Books are priced based on the number of pages and whether they are hardcover or paperback. Not the quality of the writing. The most critically acclaimed film at the theater doesn’t cost more to see than the least.
In this new, digital world, we’re beginning to move beyond this. Record companies have been pushing for more tiers of pricing on iTunes. Some television shows are free on Hulu. Some only show on premium cable and DVD. Once you eliminate the physical product, distinctions between perceived quality are able to be made.
It’s no longer about supply, demand, and the price of paper. It’s about quality and creativity.
Anyway. This article is worth reading.
The past few years we have seen Apple make huge strides in gaining a larger piece of the market share and switching users from Windows to their own operating system. A large reason for this could be because of the fact that if you were to walk into a mall, chances are you would be able to see an Apple store, while there are no Windows stores in sight.
It looks like Mircosoft has finally decided to combat this problem. Last month, Microsoft announced that they will be opening up retail locations in the fall and better yet, some of these stores will be placed next to or very near the Apple stores. This is an interesting strategy and should create stiffer competition between the two companies. Even with that being said, the consumer is the one that comes out on top with this change. The ability to walk into both stores, one after another will greatly benefit the shopping experience for those who are in the market.
The world has seen its share of interesting footwear in recent years, including Uggs, Crocs, and the most recent trend, “toning footwear.” The overstated sneakers are intended to simulate walking on a soft surface to engage neglected muscles, and to create instability to engage muscles involved in balancing. Toning footwear was pioneered by smaller brands such as MBT, Ryn and FitFlop, but now is infiltrating mainstream brands such as Sketchers and Reebok.
Analysts predict that the shoe will be the next big trend in footwear despite its odd appearance. Others are more skeptical, likening them to Uggs, Crocs and Birkenstocks. The irony is that those who wear these “ugly” shoes swear by them.
A few years ago, Crocs were the greatest thing since sliced bread. Those who wore them thought they were comfortable and functional. Those who did not thought they were atrocious, to say the least. Apparently the negative attitudes prevailed, given Crocs Inc. recent trip toward bankruptcy. Considering that attitudes towards toning footwear reflect those surrounding Crocs, it will be interesting to see if toning footwear takes that same trip.
I’ve published quotes to the W5 Blog before, but we’re going to try to institute a new series pulling relevant or thought-provoking statements and linking you through to the sources. We may not add commentary for these quotes, but each will have some connection to what we do and the other topics we post about on the blog. Like our “Infographic of the Week” posts, we’ll publish these as they come up, rather than on a set schedule. To kick things off, here’s a swipe with two good quotes on the need to combine hard science and marketing, especially in this economic climate:
Do you think the push toward testing and metrics in advertising will get stronger?
Steve Cuno, author of Prove It Before You Promote It: How to Take the Guesswork Out of Marketing: Ads have to earn their keep. I can’t peer into the future, but I can tell you one thing. When a company is fat and has money to burn and just loves an ad campaign, sometimes they’ll keep it as an expression of the ego and as a personal indulgence. If you’re not fat and don’t have money to burn, the fact that you love the campaign is irrelevant. You simply want to know if it is producing.
Some CEOs are saying their companies cannot afford to market as they have in the past because of the recession. Should companies cut their marketing budget during tight economic times?
Cuno: It’s very telling when companies cut marketing budgets. The idea of marketing is to sell stuff and raise profits. If you cut your budget because things are tight, it’s an admission that deep down inside you suspect your marketing isn’t selling. Why else would you cut marketing? When things are tight and you know your marketing is working, you will increase it. Cutting effective marketing when sales are down is like cutting insulin because someone’s diabetes got worse.
Quote pulled from an interesting Deliver Magazine interview here
Brian Solis and JESS3 have published an updated version of their “Conversation Prism.” This infographic charts the many ways in which online and real world interactions are evolving, and the primary applications we use to communicate. In its current form, I find this to be a good resource for introduction/reminders about services for different channels, but if periodic updates continue, I can see this becoming a great tool for brainstorming and decision making.
Link to a mostly readable image
From their blog, “Using the Conversation Prism , we can visualize and map the shifting landscape of social networks and micro communities to observe and conduct our initial fieldwork through digital anthropology. The process reveals everything, from measurement opportunities to participation strategies to the specific infrastructure changes necessitated by the new proactive and reactive process of engagement in the social Web.”
