Apparently the folks who run broadcast networks flunked business 101. Can you imagine book publishers not selling their wares through Amazon and Borders and Barnes and Nobel at the same time? Of course not.

Sure, Networks can sell their programming direct, but, that’s not the point- especially since they will be out of business in the next three years if they don’t adapt to the new realities.

NBC made this super stupid move today:

NBC Cancels Apple iTunes TV Show Deal – TVWeek – News
NBC Universal wont renew its agreement with Apples iTunes to carry NBCU shows on the download service, sparking retail retaliation from the computer giant.

NBCU wont pull its existing content from iTunes until its current two-year deal expires in December. But in response to NBCU”s decision, Apple today said it would not make NBCs new fall TV shows available for download from iTunes.

Its a blow to both Apple and consumers. According to Apple, NBC supplied iTunes with three of its 10 best-selling TV shows last season, accounting for 30 percent of iTunes TV show sales.

It’s not about the networks anymore- it’s about delivering content to a diverse and varied and increasingly fickle audience- as efficiently as possible and monetizing it any way you can. The iTunes store is one of the most convenient online storefronts using the best technology. Most network sites have had problems with cross-platform delivery, consistent transfers and poor models for monetization. With Apple leading the market with over 70% of the portable digital devices- it’s a market that networks shouldn’t risk alienating.

The iTunes store also includes web 2.0 community functions- something that the networks have been slow to grasp. The market is moving to open source, open platforms- and all NBC is risking is ticking off their existing client base.

Stay tuned in- or should I say clicked in. This is only the beginning of the end of the Networks.

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Posted in: Change the world, Future of TV, Public Relations in the Web 2.0 world, Web strategy

There are people out there who specialize in “Buzz Marketing” who will charge you a lot of money for what I’m about to share with you.

Doing the right thing will get you more customers than a new ad campaign.

Recently I’ve had a few very good customer experiences that went above and beyond what I expected from a manufacturer- so good, I’m going to share them with the world, and in the day of Web 2.0 when everyone can have a say, it’s a very good investment.

I’ve had two Lowel Pro-lights for a few years. I am not the original owner, I bought them on Ebay for a song- since the cords had been jury rigged by the previous owner. I had tried to contact Lowel soon after I bought them to get parts to rewire them but hadn’t heard back. I was frustrated, but the lights still worked. We had a lull in our shooting schedule and a new office manager who loves to “Get things done”- so I had her tackle the problem again.

Lowel said- send them in. Two weeks later- the lights come back with new cords- 2 piece this time, with cord wraps included. No charge! When the decision comes to buy lights again- there is no question about what brand will be at the top of my list.

Here is what they say about their warranty on the site:

About Lowel Light
In the event of a defect reported by the consumer within the applicable time period, if any, Lowel will, at its option, replace or repair the defective merchandise at no charge to the consumer for either parts or labor.

Note: the warranty on lights is only 2 years, and I’ve had these for over 4.

Another case of going above and beyond was Hans Grohe the German highend plumbing fixture company. The holders for my hand showers had cracked, and the heads had taken a few tumbles.

I was looking for just the replacements for the holders- but, instead was shipped 2 brand new shower heads complete. Hans Grohe has a lifetime warranty- and apparently stands by it. I will grant that the new heads aren’t quite as cool as the old ones, but, I’m just as clean.

The jury is still out on Zwilling JA Henckels, who promise a lifetime warranty on their fine cutlery, but seem to be confused about what lifetime means- when a handle delaminates. The knife is over 40 years old, and still is a great chef’s knife- however, the handle is coming apart. When presented with something as simple as putting 2 new composite sides back on the blade, they seemed to want to stall and pass the buck. Is it really worth it?

Detroit has turned to extended warranties as a way to compete with higher perceived quality of off-shore manufacturers. Millions are spent on touting 10 year, or lifetime powertrain warranties- yet, if the money was instead spent on making sure every owner felt that getting warranty service wouldn’t be a major battle- and that customer satisfaction really was the brand’s first priority- they’d probably be selling more cars.

Customer satisfaction may be the most overlooked buzz marketing strategy available. As these three experiences showcase how one customer can help propel your brand into the blogosophere for better or worse.

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Posted in: 1 to 1 marketing, Brand relevancy, Change the world, Differentiating your brand, Everything you want to know about advertising, Low budget advertising, Marketing & the Web, Practical Marketing 101, Public Relations in the Web 2.0 world, Secrets of great advertising, Web strategy

By now, every one has seen the Apple iPhone ad “Calamari” showcasing the Google maps function on the iPhone.

And, when typing in Pizza it does a great job around my home. It also works for locating the nearest Apple Store quite well. But, when typing in “Advertising Agency” nothing even close to an ad agency got a pin in Dayton. So, of course, I had to fix that. Google informs me it will take up to 4 weeks before my listing is updated (unbelievably slow in the Internet age)- but, it was incredibly easy, and the verification by phone system worked well.

If you haven’t put your business on the Google Maps page, I highly recommend doing it as soon as possible- and, if you are a Pizza place, you can even put a coupon on it for free!  So, proceed to the following link and look for the “Add or Edit your business” part- make sure you are at your business phone and have a live internet connection at the same time.
Google Maps

For right now, it’s cool to show up on iPhone users phones- but, soon, this will be more important than the Yellow Pages ever were. And, before you select an ad agency, that claims to be digitally literate,  check out if they have a complete listing on Google Maps.

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Posted in: 1 to 1 marketing, Advertising, Advertising case studies for The Next Wave, Apple Advertising, Change the world, Dayton Media Options, Everything you want to know about advertising, Future of advertising, How to select an ad agency, Marketing & the Web, Media, Personalization of advertising, Practical Marketing 101, Public Relations in the Web 2.0 world, Search and Business, The Next Wave in Business, Web strategy

Collectively, very few people had heard of the little Duck Duck Goose Boutique in Troy Ohio. They sell stylish baby clothing and accessories- you want to be like Bradjolina, you head to Duck Duck Goose Boutique. We know about them because we host their website- and because Steve came and took our Websitetology seminar.
Then Lionsgate Films sues them for selling something that says “Nobody puts Baby in a corner” and it makes national news – note, the product’s manufacturer, Urban Smalls isn’t even mentioned in the news release:

Studio sues over “Dirty Dancing” line – Yahoo! News
Nobody puts Lionsgate in a corner. That’s the message of a trademark infringement lawsuit the studio behind “Dirty Dancing” has filed against several companies selling merchandise featuring the phrase “Nobody puts Baby in a corner” from the hit film.
The suit, filed August 15 in Los Angeles District Court, claims 15 companies including Uncommongoods.com in New York, Lucky Lou Boutique in Fishers, Ind., and Duck Duck Goose in Troy, Ohio, have used Lionsgate’s registered trademark without permission.

The quote, said by Patrick Swayze at the climax of the 1987 film starring Swayze and Jennifer Grey, has achieved a cult-like status, marketed and often repeated in films and TV shows for 20 years.

“The American Film Institute voted ‘Nobody puts Baby in a corner’ as one of the top 100 most popular quotes from a motion picture,” (it’s number 98) the lawsuit states. “Plaintiff markets and sells merchandise with the movie trademarks through approved licensees as part of the ‘Dirty Dancing’ line of approved merchandise.”

The defendants, many of which market baby clothing and merchandise, are not authorized to use the mark and have created a likelihood of confusion with merchandise authorized for sale by Lionsgate, the lawsuit alleges.

Lionsgate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., seeks to prevent the businesses from selling merchandise containing the phrase. It also seeks a court order requiring the defendants to pay restitution as well unspecified statutory and actual damages, treble damages and punitive damages.

The defendants could not be reached for comment.

Lionsgate is obviously looking for some attention to hype some 20 years of Dirty Dancing promo, but is going about it in the wrong way. While the logo, the name of the movie, the stars, etc. can be trademarked, taglines and corporate slogans can be trademarked- language from a movie shouldn’t be allowed to be trademarked unless it is done before the release of the film. Coming back after a phrase catches on, is just bad manners. Fair use should also come into play- the only connection between that line and the movie is in the fans heads- and those of us who didn’t think the film was all that- wouldn’t have a clue that “Nobody puts baby in a corner” has any connection to Dirty Dancing.

Think about how many times you’ve heard or said “Beam me up Scotty”- it’s homage, not a lawsuit. In fact, most brands would love to have their trade slogan become a part of the lexicon- but in cases like Nike’s “Just do it” and Wendy’s “Where’s the beef” they were trademarked and created with the intent of generating income from the phrase- the same can’t be said for a line from the movie.

Did I go to see “The Terminator” because I heard Arnold Schwarzenegger said “I’ll be back”- of course not.

Little Duck Duck Goose Boutique isn’t harming Lionsgate, and wasn’t intentionally trying to steal their money. Any right thinking court of law would recognize that- but, from a PR standpoint- it’s certainly their 15 minutes of fame.

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Posted in: Advertising, Brand relevancy, Differentiating your brand, Everything you want to know about advertising, Guerrilla campaigns, Low budget advertising, Public Relations in the Web 2.0 world, Viral Marketing

Virgil Griffith is my new hero, and should go down in history as one of the hero’s of Open Source right up there with Linus Torvalds (Linux) and Marc Andreessen (Netscape and the Mozilla codebase). In fact, if there isn’t an award for Open Source Hero’s- there is one now- and I’m bestowing it on Virgil.

Virgil devised the Wikipedia Scanner- a software program that can reveal who changes Wikipedia entries. Some of the first findings were that major corporations, as well as politicians are out there trying to smear their competition or cover up their flaws by changing and deleting info from Wikipedia for their own benefit. His software isn’t perfect, depending on IP addresses of editors being able to be linked back to the perpetrator, but, it’s a start.

Some of the marketing brand catches:

maltaStar.com
As soon as the software was launched on the internet, chaos erupted.
Among many revelations, Wikipedia Scanner reported that:

• Microsoft tried to cover up the XBOX 360 failure rate
• Apple edit Microsoft entries, adding more negative comments about its rival
• Bill Gates revenge? Microsoft edits Apple entries, adding more negative comments about its rival
• Exxon Mobil edits spillages and eco-system destruction from oil spillages article
• Oil company ChevronTexaco removes informative biodiesel article and deletes a paragraph regarding fines against the company
• Dell Computers deletes negative comments on customer services and removes a passage how the company outsources work to third world countries
• EA Games deletes whole paragraphs of criticism about employment practices and business methods
• Fox News removes all controversial topics against the network from the Fox News page
• Nestle removes negative comments on its business practices from its page
• DieBold, the company that controversially supplied computerised polling stations in the US elections, removes numerous paragraphs with negative comments
• Walmart removes criticism of outsourcing work. The retailer also changes negative paragraphs of underpaid workforce
• Sony removes harmful paragraphs against blu-ray systems
• Coca Cola removes negative content about its effects
• Boeing edits from “Boeing is a leading American aircraft and aerospace manufacturer” to “Boeing is the leading American aircraft and aerospace manufacturer”
• MSN Search is “a major competitor to Google”. That’s what MSN added to their page

Griffith created the tool to “create minor public relations disasters for companies and organizations I dislike,” he said on his web site. He admitted that it’s impossible to be sure if the edits were made by someone working at one of the organizations, although the I.P. address reveals that they were made by someone with access to their network, he says.

Griffith came up with the idea when he “heard about Congressmen being caught for white-washing their Wikipedia pages,” he said.

“If the edit occurred during working hours, then we can reasonably assume that the person is either an agent of that company or a guest that was allowed access to their network,” he wrote.He said he believes that anonymous speech is important for open projects like Wikipedia. The online encyclopedia works fine today for “noncontroversial topics,” he said, but tools like Wikipedia Scanner can help make the site more reliable for controversial topics, he said.

While the idea of negativity about your brand may send some CEO’s into a toxic meltdown mode- the reality of the new paradigm is quite different that it was back in the stone age (before Search and the Cluetrain Manifesto)

In fact, Cluetrain Theses #12 comes to mind:

There are no secrets. The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone.

Corporate brand managers are loathe to admit that the best they can do now is learn how to respond properly and with grace. Denial is no longer a PR strategy. Hoping customers won’t find out about product flaws, competitors advantages or pricing inequities is a thing of the past.

The key to good brand management in the world of Web 2.0 is the same as the motto for Google: Do no evil. The companies that realize the best marketing tool is delivering the best product, best service, best price in the humblest of ways. Anything else- and you’ll be hung out to dry.

Thank Open Source Hero #1 Virgil Griffith for insuring brands behave.

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Posted in: 1 to 1 marketing, Brand relevancy, Change the world, Differentiating your brand, Everything you want to know about advertising, Future of advertising, Marketing & the Web, Practical Marketing 101, Public Relations in the Web 2.0 world, Search and Business, Web strategy

Recently, I decided to take a look at the CBS show, Jericho, which was slated to be dropped, but was reinstated by fan support.

First stop was the free version of the pilot on the iTunes store. Perfect download, no problem watching and controls that actually worked. Plus I could watch it on my iPhone.

Next stop, CBS.com where I thought I’d be able to watch it on my mac. No such luck- since CBS engineered their site with the “RealPlayer” which has been referred to as one of the worst pieces of software ever. The mac plugin wasn’t even available the first time I tried. So, lucky for me, CBS was going to rerun the series in order over the summer. Tivo here I come. The second showing ended up being a fast forward through at least a half dozen episodes- and no where near as good as the seven minute Sopranos. Then, CBS skipped a week (or Tivo balked)- and I went back to the CBS site again. Somehow, I got it to stutter through a painful hour and a half viewing of a 45 minute show- complete with the same 2 commercials over and over. Then- JACKPOT- seems CBS put up another site: www.jerichorises.com which runs fine on a mac -problem solved. I’m in Jericho heaven- even though the play controls still aren’t near as good as Quicktime, and the resume doesn’t work at all.

But, here is the thing: CBS has the perfect opportunity to build a relationship with me. I’m coming back over and over to their site, to spend “quality time” with their show. They could ask as few as 1 or 2 questions in return for providing each episode on demand for free and start customizing the commercials. Right now, I get one for Gerbers baby food (I’m a single male over 40 with no intentions of breeding) and for AT&T Wireless- to whom I’m already stuck with, since I have an iPhone. Irrelevant ads, presented by the most relevant personalized delivery system.

If you are a marketer and are buying online ad delivery, you should be asking about how the message is being targeted and what kind of feedback mechanism is provided. Since I can’t fast forward through the ads easily (remember, the controls of “innertube” suck) all you are doing is annoying me, instead of having a chance to build a real relationship. In an age of earned media, that annoyance factor could actually contribute to negative brand equity- distaste for your brand from the intrusiveness and repetitiveness of your ad delivery.

Advertising online can be the most powerful tool yet, but, like all power, used without care- it can backfire royally.

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Posted in: 1 to 1 marketing, Advertising, Brand relevancy, Change the world, Differentiating your brand, Everything you want to know about advertising, Future of TV, Future of advertising, Marketing & the Web, Media, Personalization of advertising, Practical Marketing 101, Web strategy

News Flash: the Federal Government just realized that minority firms aren’t getting their fair shake on Government contracts. How about throwing this into the equation: since 2003, there has been a Federal requirement for 3% of all Government contracts to be set aside to Service Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses. Now I can assure you that if only 5% is going to minority firms- which includes Women Owned, African American Owned, Native American Owned, Asian Indian owned, 8A firms, HUBZone located firms- and Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business owned- the SDVOB participation is an infinitesimally smaller fraction.

When I attended the Diversity Fair held by the 4A’s and the AAF in NYC last November (06)- there were only 3 SDVOB’s in attendance. I spoke to all the agencies that had military recruiting contracts- and almost universally was ignored.

It’s not just the agencies at fault here, it’s also the Federal buyers who also don’t seem to risk anything by non-compliance. We’ve only just begun a conversation with GSD+M who are in the process of defending the Air Force recruiting contract. Our only contact previously, was from a mid-level exec at Leo Burnett far into the process for the botched US Army recruiting award, which Leo lost to McCann. McCann has hired a “Diversity” exec, but all calls to his office are met with a standard line that we aren’t approaching them correctly, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

Here are some excerpts from the Ad Age article:

Advertising Age – GAO: Only 5% of Government Ad Business Goes to Minority Firms
The U.S. government is doing a poor job of awarding small and minority firms advertising and public relations contracts, according to a Government Accountability Office study.
The GAO found that on average the government devoted 5% of its $4.3 billion in ad-related expenditures to small or minority businesses.
The GAO found that on average the government devoted 5% of its $4.3 billion in ad-related expenditures to small or minority businesses.

The GAO report released yesterday examined contracts from 2001 through 2005. It found that on average the government devoted 5% of its $4.3 billion in ad-related expenditures to small or minority businesses, but that compliance varied considerably among government agencies.

Treasury, Defense
The Department of Defense used minority firms for advertising only 1.8% of the time and paid them on average nearly 84% less than non-minority firms. The Treasury Department used minority firms for advertising only 1.9% of the time and paid them on average nearly 47% less per contract than ad contracts with non-minority firms. (Government numbers usually include work preparing brochures, hiring photographers and public-relations efforts along with traditional advertising.)….

The Defense Department’s $2.7 billion in spending surpassed all the other agencies combined. Health and Human Services spent $494 million and the Treasury $188 million during the five years studied.

Senators speak out
The GAO report has angered some Democrats. In letters sent the day of the report’s release, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada; Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass.; Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y;. and Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Carol Kilpatrick, D-Mich., urged the Defense and Treasury departments to do more.

“I am deeply concerned that the Departments of Defense and Treasury are denying minority advertising firms the opportunity to work with the federal government,” said Mr. Reid.

Mr. Kerry suggested the government’s record was inadequate. “This report shines a spotlight on the federal government’s failure to make equal opportunity a reality, not just rhetoric,” he said.

Ms. Kilpatrick said the lack of compliance is making a “mockery” of the contracting process. “Despite an [Clinton era] executive order, federal agencies are not providing minority business owners — who pay taxes, provide jobs, and help strengthen our economy — with equal opportunities in the federal contracting process. Failure to promote inclusion and fairness in contracting is not only an egregious disservice to America’s families, but it is also a mockery of the promise upon which our country was founded.”

Little mention has been made of the main reason for lack of minority participation: Bundling of contracts. We were recently contacted by the Veterans Administration, which now requires VA buyers to look first to SDVOBs then VOBs for outsourcing, about a video production contract.

The guaranteed buy has a maximum of  $14,252,000.00 (later purportedly revised up to $27 million) and ” the minimum amount the Government must order for each location (Salt Lake City, UT; St. Louis, MO; Washington, D.C.) is $500.00 for the entire contract, including optional ordering periods” to provide video production services. Some of the sample projects in the RFP were perfect fits for us, and other SDVOB businesses. An example from the RFP:

Purpose and Scope of Videotape Product:
Purpose:  To provide Production services for a 30 minute ‘PTSD Among Women Iraq Veterans’ videos.
The video format will be interviews with VA staff and patients with an on-camera professional narrator.

Which is fully within our- and many other SDVOBs reach.

Unless there are stringent rules about subcontracting, Primes contractors will find loopholes, set up shell firms or generally ignore Federal law requiring SDVOB and minority hiring requirements.

If you are interested in working with an SDVOB with HUBzone certification we can help you meet your hiring requirements- either by being your subcontractor, or by introducing you to other SDVOB and VOB businesses through our association with VOB108.org and NAVOBA.

If you would like to share you frustrations with us, please feel free to comment below.

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Posted in: Change the world, Everything you want to know about advertising, Great ad agencies, How to select an ad agency, Minorities in Advertising

Either television owners should be breathing a  big sigh of relief, or they should be making funeral arrangements for their obsolete business model. In a quiet announcement, Google is backing out of the paid video service- either because they expect all video to be ad supported via their new pop-up ad technology, or that video will be supported by advertisers subsidies, much like it is over the air now. Here was the piece on Electronista that clued us into this news:

Electronista | Google quietly kills paid video service
Sidestepping a public announcement, Google has informed customers individually of its decision to stop its paid video services later this week. In its mass e-mail, the company has explained that “to improve all Google services,” download-to-own and download-to-rent videos purchased through Google Video will become unavailable as of August 15th. In addition to stopping new purchases, this will disable videos already bought in the past. To compensate Google is providing refunds, plus a $2 bonus to be spent at Google Checkout within the next 60 days.

The service never grabbed the public limelight, having been quickly dwarfed by the company’s own YouTube acquisition, and better-publicized competitors such as Amazon Unbox and the Apple iTunes Store. In its last days, clips sold through Google Video became limited to episodes of Charlie Rose. It is unclear whether the decision is directly related Google’s increasing involvement with Apple, which has Google co-founder Eric Schmidt on its board of directors, and has integrated YouTube into the iPhone and Apple TV.

No matter what, the delivery of television/video programs as we know it is in for a huge change. The Google/Apple connection on the iPhone and Apple TV may be foreboding for a new business alliance. Combine Googles ability to target advertising, with Apple ability to build an interface and payment system with the iTunes store- and you could have TV 2.0 coming to a plethora of digital devices soon.

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Posted in: Apple Advertising, Change the world, Everything you want to know about advertising, Future of TV, Future of advertising, Marketing & the Web, Media

In our effort to keep up-to-date with all the options for marketers trying to reach consumers in Dayton Ohio, we keep a media options for Dayton Ohio page as up to date as possible. Today, we found yet another out-of-home option- table cards in restaurants.

Run out of Portland Oregon, The Trivia Page is a low budget laminated single sheet that sits on tables in local restaurants.

Trivia Page Photos
The Trivia Page is an entertaining laminated booklet displayed at several restaurants throughout your city. It’s displayed in a variety of high traffic eating establishments, from Delis and Coffee Shops to Steakhouses and Sushi Restaurants. The reason it’s so popular with restaurant customers is that it’s filled with trivia questions, fun facts and other interesting reading material that keep the patrons occupied while they are waiting for their food.

The local option seems concentrated in the Kettering area, with 9 restaurants participating: Longhorn Steakhouse on Dorothy Lane,

Mcgillicutty’s
1980 East Whipp Road
Dayton, Ohio, 45440
Phone: 9374360057

Dublin Pub
300 Wayne Avenue
Dayton, Ohio, 45410
Phone: 9372247822

Dawg Haus
Wilmington Pike

Italian Oven
Kettering, Wilmington Pike

Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers
Jefferson Street Downtown and Patterson and  Wilmington Pike

The BullPen
Patterson Road

Carmel’s
Shroyer in Kettering

The price si $686 for the year, with your “Feature article appearing on at least 4 front pages.”

It’s printed quarterly, and you can reach The Trivia Pages at 800-299-4193. They are planning to roll out other areas.

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Posted in: Ad Agenices In Dayton OH, Dayton Media Options, Everything you want to know about advertising, Media

The line was too long for our rushed lunch in Chicago to eat at Roti. But the place was so cool, we decided to stop in and take a look after the rush was over.

Very cool- looked like it was worth the wait, nice design, fascinating menu (which I picked up to bring home to Dayton) and so I thought I’d snap a few pictures for my mental library of things I like-

that’s when the owner rushed up and told me “No pictures” and gave me the third degree on why I might want to take pictures. Well, I was going to say something wonderful about his place, but now, I’d rather just share this story on how to make a really crappy first impression.

roti – chicago, illinois

Roti was founded as a collaboration between friends with a vision to bring Mediterranean food to the casual restaurant marketplace, with an emphasis and focus on healthy alternatives, freshness and superior quality.

Since I wasn’t allowed to take pictures- I’ll have to share the ones from their site. Readily available- to everyone.

In a networked world you are not in control- your customers are, and good or bad, they tell everyone.

Which is what I just did.

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Posted in: Brand relevancy, Change the world, Differentiating your brand, Everything you want to know about advertising, Marketing & the Web, Practical Marketing 101, Public Relations in the Web 2.0 world, Retail