My Open Kimono

DO NOT FEED THE BIRDS

2012-01-30T16:59:00.007-05:00

If you could put 1,130 people in a room for one full year working on a project of your choice for 8 hours a day, what could you accomplish?

Those man hours represent the time spent on Angry Birds games each day. That's the equivalent of 200 million minutes each day playing Angry Birds. The number has been increasing by 8-10 percent each year.

What does this say about our global culture and the rise of the Internet? I cannot find logic in the explosive and frivolous waste of time that masks itself as "entertainment". Are we so far gone that we have lost sight of what's important and what passes as useful?

Granted, there are ways children and adults can learn through game playing when focused on real-world problems. I encourage the resources that push the educational gaming envelope forward ....but Angry Birds? I would be surprised and welcome data that refutes an estimate that less than 3 percent of game hours spent are of an educational nature.

Do the math. In one week it is estimated that globally 3 billion hours are spent playing video games. THREE BILLION!

Who's playing? 99 percent of boys and 94 percent of girls are playing games these days. And don't be surprised by the number of executives caught in the web.

LOSING FACE(BOOK)

2012-01-04T09:11:00.005-05:00

The holidays have come and gone and new year resolutions are on the agenda of millions. My own began on Christmas day when I resolved to quit Facebook. Easier said than done.

Finding the option to delete an account is a formidable task in and of itself. Trawling through settings and management options I finally (simply) typed "Cancel A Facebook Account" into Google's search engine. Results pointed to a direct link for deletion. Several clicks later I was done .... Or was I?

Advisory: STOP! Do Not Pass Go, No U-Turns!

While a de-activated account cannot be accessed by the public at large, it takes 14 days to delete the account entirely. If, during the 14 day "waiting" period you interact with Facebook, the account is automatically reactivated. The simple act of checking to make sure your account was deleted withing the 14 day period will reactivate it. Sneaky? Ya think?!

On January 8th I will be (should be) faceless. In the short period since December 25th I haven't missed one message, one update, one friend request or photo opp. What was it's purpose anyway?

Because it's my business to know what's happening in the digital world, I felt obligated to be part of it. What I finally realized was that all my news feeds keep me up to date without the need to maintain a Facebook account. Want to reach me? Send me a text. E-mail me. Pick up a phone. Write me a note.

I don't want Facebook to be my communication tool. Frankly I find the lazy and evasive, jibber-jabber attitude towards privacy a bit too corporate ... good for Facebook; not good for you.

The jury is also still out on the value of Facebook as a marketing tool for your business. Rushing like so many lemmings to the edge and over, into an abyss of corporate waste, is epic. There have been no real success stories that carry over into sustainable and profitable marketing efforts.

You can e-mail me at pbenjou@gmail.com

THE PERFECT HOLIDAY CARD

2011-12-07T08:33:00.004-05:00

The following video was sent to me by one of my blog readers. As he/she suggests. it's the perfect holiday card.

"I cried when I watched this because I really dont care much for the whole sentimental "Christmas" thing but this clip made me appreciate the bravado of the young kids who fight for our safety as a country and how grateful we should be to them during the season. It's like the perfect holiday card. I hope you enjoy."

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT DEADLINES

2011-11-23T09:45:00.007-05:00

We don't always meet them. In a rush to get to the finish line we often lose what is most important .... creativity.

Watch this neat video from KreativMagazin, the leading Hungarian magazine about advertising, commumnication and media related topics, and be inspired ....

OCCUPY THE WEB!

2011-11-14T16:56:00.005-05:00

It's been 10 years and we have not yet come close to realizing the hope for change that the internet was supposed to provide markets and brands around the globe.

Have we been overly hyped? Are we searching for something that simply does not exist and likely never will?

The rant that follows was borrowed, with thanks, from Bob Hoffman of Hoffman Lewis fame. I urge you to read it and bookmark a link to his blog....

I've been in the ad business a long time. But I've never experienced a more bewildering period than we have been through in the past 10 years.We thought we knew what this decade was going to look like.

We thought we knew the script. Just about everything we thought we knew has turned out to be wrong. We thought that interactivity would make advertising far more engaging. We thought that traditional advertising was dead. We thought that TiVo was going to cripple TV. We thought the PC and the television were going to converge. None of this has happened.

Interactivity has not made advertising more engaging. In fact, interactivity is mostly a rumor. Display ads have a click-through rate that is less than 1 in a thousand. While consumers have shown substantial interest in using the web to search for things they've already decided they're interested in, they have shown almost no interest in interacting with the ads we produce.

In other words, the web has proven to be far more effective at fulfilling demand than at creating it.Anyone who still thinks traditional advertising is dead probably didn't watch a football game this weekend. I don't think I have ever seen more commercial messages squeezed into 3 1/2 hours.

TiVo's impact on television viewing and consumer behavior has been a weighty topic inside the marketing beltway but has been a non-event to consumers. While about 40% of Americans now have some sort of DVR, those who own one only watch recorded material about 5% of the time. What's more, owning a DVR has not changed their purchasing behavior one whit.We are essentially no closer to the convergence of TV and the PC than we were ten years ago. We keep hearing that it's right around the corner, but we never seem to get to the corner.

The latest stats I've seen say that over 98% of video is still viewed on a television.The advertising landscape has been riddled with inconsistencies and cross-currents. Print advertising has certainly suffered. But television advertising has been booming. In 2008, as TV ad sales dropped significantly, it looked like the pundits were correct and that advertisers had lost confidence in traditional advertising. But now with TV ad sales growing and viewership at its highest point ever, it looks like the pundits were wrong and 2008 was about the recession.

Online advertising has been hit and miss. Search has certainly been effective, but display ads -- despite impressive sales growth -- have had a very discouraging record of effectiveness.Social media has been a huge worldwide phenomenon, but social media marketing still has to prove it's a sales builder and a brand builder.

With 60% of people who "friend" or "like" a brand saying that their primary motivation is to get something for nothing, it is hard to take seriously the argument that people are engaged in social media because they want to have "conversations" with brands. And we're still waiting for the first major consumer-facing, non-web-native brand to be built primarily by online advertising.

You would think that the gulf between our expectations and the facts would give us pause. But no such thing has happened. Our delusional belief that we understand what is going on has not been weakened at all. If anything it has strengthened. We are just as certain in our prognostications, just as arrogant in our pronouncements, just as sneaky in our data.
We tell our clients half the truth half the time.I am dismayed every week by how much of what is now accepted wisdom in the ad business is nothing but legend. I am disheartened by how little familiarity people in advertising have with the particulars. I am dumbfounded by how tolerant most clients are of false goals and how little appetite they have for the facts.

Perhaps the most confusing part of the past 10 years is not how far reality has veered from expectations, but how reluctant our industry is to validate its assumptions.

TAP YOUR WAY INTO THE FUTURE

2011-11-10T09:18:00.003-05:00

What will your next phone look like?

The video that follows, courtesy of Microsoft Office, draws back the technology curtain to provide a peek into the not-to-distant future.

The technology to do this exists today. The minds that will put all the pieces in place are just around the corner.

It all starts with your phone . Amazing.

JOB'S FINAL WORDS...OH WOW

2011-10-31T11:24:00.002-04:00

A reprint from SAI Business Insider on Steve's final words ....WOW

The New York Times ran Steve Jobs' sister's eulogy this morning.

It's a beautiful recollection of the 27 years Mona Simpson knew her biological brother, and it paints Jobs as an endless romantic, a creative genius, and a loving person.

Simpson ends the eulogy by recalling Jobs' final moments.

"Steve’s final words, hours earlier, were monosyllables, repeated three times," she says.

"Before embarking, he’d looked at his sister Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life’s partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them.

"Steve’s final words were:

"OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW."

HAPPY ALL HALLOWS!!

2011-10-27T20:57:00.001-04:00

A creative video shot with an older iPhone.

STEVE JOBS

2011-10-06T09:22:00.006-04:00

With thanks and credits to Bob Hoffman at Hoffman Lewis, what follows is his take on how Steve Jobs and Apple approached the ad world.....

What Steve Jobs Taught Us About Advertising

I pompously call myself The Ad Contrarian, but Steve Jobs was a true ad contrarian.

He knew what his company stood for and didn't care what you thought. He assiduously avoided every false turn in the "marketing fad of the month" playbook. Reportedly, the only research he ever did was to ask himself whether he liked something or not.

In his own way, he taught us everything we need to know about advertising. The only problem is, most of us are too blind or too stupid to learn. The thing about magicians is, you see it with your own eyes and you still don't know they did it.

Here's what I learned from watching Steve.

•The best way to build a brand is to sell a product. Apple rarely did "branding" advertising or "line" advertising. An Apple ad is about the features and benefits of one specific product. Not about "you the consumer." Not about how the brand intersects with your life. Not about how the brand saves the world.

•Creativity is simplicity. Apple ads always look like Apple ads. They are simple. They are direct. A white background, a product right smack in the middle of the page, and a line or two of copy. They rarely changed this formula. Once in a while they'd have a person along with the product, but no idiotic "lifestyle" crap and no art school visual puns.

•Trend-jumping is no substitute for principles. From what I can tell, Apple still doesn't have an official Twitter feed or Facebook page. They don't jump from one gimmick to another. They are not desperate to hop on every fad that comes along. They are the most successful technology company in the world, yet they understand that communication is best done human-to-human. They do a great job of utilizing the web for all their "below-the-line" materials. But they lean heavily on traditional channels for advertising. They have built the most powerful social network in the world without doing an ounce of social media.

•Be who you are. Apple's public personality -- its advertising voice -- has never changed from day one. When Microsoft was winning, it never tried to be the second best Microsoft.
Steve Jobs was the best adman of his generation. Those who want to learn would do well to study what he did.

To read Bob's blog and get a link to a bibliography of stuff that has appeared on his blog about Jobs and Apple advertising over the past few years, click here.

THE DEPTHS OF MEDIAOCEAN

2011-09-26T16:44:00.005-04:00

The recent news of a meeting of the minds between Donovan Data Systems and Mediabank have more than just a few companies scratching their heads. Where this proposed announcement leaves Harris, Strata, MediaX and others will initially be determined by the antitrust scrutiny of the US government regulatory agencies. Antitrust filings are sure to follow.

Why?

Is this an exit strategy for Michael Donovan? Is this Mediabank's attempt to scale their business? A defense against Google? Or is the proposed marriage a means to a more profitable monopoly?

It very likely holds true that all of the above played a role in the annoucement. It certainly is not about merging technologies. The platforms are unique. DDS carries legacy software that is potentially decades old while Mediabank has been quilting its own newer brand.

And while Google looms in the background there is not a chance in hell that they will accomplish in traditional media what DDS has.

In an ideal world, this merger might create something new and refreshing across all media functions. In our world, we will likely be harping on the same issue into the next decade or two.

A SPYING CONSPIRACY

2011-09-26T14:53:00.001-04:00

SUBWAYS ARE FOR ....?

2011-08-31T14:51:00.005-04:00

It comes as no surprise that printed newspaper and magazine circulation continues to drop as electronic delivery moves in to take up some of the slack. My daily commuting observations over the past two months, however, reveals a slower shift than I might have otherwise thought.

The Morning Rush
Look around. In a relatively packed car the majority occupied with either paper or electronics are reading printed material. Force of habit moves us to pick up the morning paper and revert to the 90s way of catching up on the news. Evidence of freebees, in the form of AM New York or Metro NY, are everywhere and account for a good number of readers. But they ARE reading more than “e-doing”.

The Afternoon Rush
The story changes. In almost a complete reversal, electronic gadgets are the order of the day with the minority reading printed matter in the form of books or magazines (rarely newspapers). Chances are that one gets caught up with the news during the day as the freebees are distributed only in the morning.

Demographic Chasms
Would it surprise you to know that the young adult is rarely buried in a book or newspaper? Watch as young execs are tethered to Angry Birds and plugged in to iPod tunes (often together) acting as if shaken by a seizure.
A more “seasoned” group is still browsing a magazine or reading a book …. But there are far fewer of them doing so.

So What?
If you can take targeted advantage of these dynamics it would suggest the use of morning freebees for the older crowd while focusing on a working e-platform for young adults. It would be wise to remember that underground e-connections do not yet exist.

TO THE CRAZY ONES

2011-08-25T14:24:00.004-04:00

Steve Jobs .... The crazy SOB that changed the world and the way we live.

NIKE: ARE YOU LISTENING?

2011-08-24T09:34:00.004-04:00

Human gait could soon power portable electronics.

A new energy-harvesting technology that could capture the energy of human motion to power portable electronics has been developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The “reverse electrowetting” technology promises to reduce our dependence on batteries. It converts mechanical energy to electrical energy using a microfluidic device consisting of thousands of liquid micro-droplets interacting with a novel nano-structured substrate.

This technology could capture energy produced by humans during walking that is normally lost as heat and convert it into up to 20 watts of electrical power that can be used to power mobile electronic devices, the researchers said. Unlike a traditional battery, the energy harvester never needs to be recharged, since the new energy is constantly generated during the normal walking process.

The energy generated by the harvester can be used to power a broad range of devices, from smartphones and laptops to radios, GPS units, night-vision goggles, and flashlights.

Shoe power (credit: Krupenkin, T. & Taylor, J. A.)

WOULD YOU? THINK TWICE.

2011-07-28T11:40:00.008-04:00

The Fund for American Studies recently surveyed people to see if they would give up the internet for $1MM. Make that $10MM and vote below. Then take a few minutes to watch the video.

3D TV-- A MASSIVE JOKE

2011-07-08T14:25:00.005-04:00

Manufacturers of 3D TV sets are about to suffer a loss. As the hype of 3D moved from the movie screen into the home, its potential was poorly judged and ill timed. This blog has commented on the looming disaster since inception only to fall on deaf ears .... or in this case blinded marketers. The 3D lemmings are approaching the cliff and will undoubtedly go over.

It was a novelty. A fad. They come and go as did the 3D craze in the 1950s. History will repeat itself .... this time in spades.

What follows is a partial lift from an article by TV Predictions.com focusing on 10 (just 10?) reasons why 3D TV will not make it. For a full read, follow this link.

1. 3D TV Interrupts Your Viewing Experience
You can't watch 3D TV for more than a minute without finding your eye focusing on individual elements of the screen rather than the picture as a whole. For example, if you're watching a 3D presentation of a college football game, you find yourself watching the player whose display best showcases the 3D effect. It's natural; you know you're watching 3D so your mind and eye tend to focus exclusively on the strongest 3D elements of the picture.

That makes for an interesting minute or two, but it's not why people watch television. They want to take in the entire picture; to be absorbed by it; to let it take over their entire thinking process so they can relax and lose themselves in what they are watching. 3D doesn't allow for that; it constantly interrupts you to check out some 3D effect. After awhile, you almost forget what's happening on the field or in a movie. If you're a Chicago Cubs fan, that could be a plus. But for most viewers, it's a strong negative.

2. It Makes You Sick
Doctors have estimated that up to 20 percent of the population will get headaches, dizziness or even nausea while watching 3D.

Steven Nusinowitz, an associate professor of ophthalmology at the Jules Stein Eye Institute in Los Angeles, tells CNN that 3D glasses have a polarized filter that separate two images, thereby enabling the 3D effect. However, the doctor adds that the separation occurs so quickly that your brain may have difficulty accepting it.

"The movie is telling you 'Hey, I'm moving around in this scene,' but your vestibular system is telling you, 'I'm not moving anywhere,' and that disconnect will make you feel sick, for some people," Nusinowitz said.

TV makers even warn consumers in their 3D TV manuals that they could get sick while watching 3D; they advise that you should take off the glasses every 15 minutes or so.

How many consumer products have ever been successful with the masses if their makers had to tell you they might make you sick?

3. Millions of People Just Bought New TVs
Because of the federally mandated Digital TV transition in 2009, millions of Americans bought a new TV to ensure they could continue watching when their local stations switched from analog to digital. Even in good times, people tend not to buy a new TV every few years or so; they buy one with the intention of keeping it for years.

And we're now in an economic morass; will people sacrifice the rent money for a 3D TV? When they probably have a TV in their living rooms that's not even three years old?

4. People Hate the 3D Glasses
Just about every objective consumer study has found that people hate wearing those 3D goggles while watching 3D TV. It's an uncomfortable experience, particularly if you wear prescription glasses or contact lenses with different prescriptions for each eye. The 3D apologists say that 3D sans the glasses is in the works, but most analysts say it will take years before the technology is ready

5. 3D TV Is Not HDTV
The 3D apologists like to say that High-Definition TV had a slow ramp-up to success. Well, that's true. But people didn't buy HDTVs in the early days because the sets were cost-prohibitive, with some medium-sized ones costing up to $10,000.

In contrast, the cost of a 3D TVs is just slightly more than a comparably-sized 2D HDTV. People aren't buying them because they cost too much; they aren't buying them because they don't want them.

In addition, when someone saw a HDTV in person, he wanted it, at least eventually when the price came down. The picture added to your viewing enjoyment because it made you feel like you're were there; the picture was that realistic. But 3D is the antithesis of realism; it's a tech trick designed to jolt a response from the viewer. But the response doesn't last long and it's ultimately unsatisfying. Unlike HDTV, watching 3D TV is not relaxing; it's jarring.

As for the "No Glasses Required" sets due to launch .... don't buy the hype. A small 20" set will run you back about $2800 and you will need to "learn" how to watch TV.

No thanks.

A FACT TO ASTOUND THE DIGERATI

2011-06-28T15:28:00.006-04:00

The post that follows is clipped from my favorite wordsmith and blogger, Bob Hoffman at Hoffman Lewis. Great work Bob!
Anyone In Advertising Still Interested In Facts?

Here at The Ad Contrarian World Headquarters, our commitment to our readers is so
intense that we actually pore through media research studies to provide you with the most up-to-date, relevant, information available.

Sometimes we even do it with our clothes on (I don't know what that means, but it seemed funny.)

I have just finished reading Nielsen's "Cross-Platform Report" for the 1st quarter of 2011 and, let me tell you, it was no Great Gatsby.

Besides suffering from Melted Brain Syndrome, I am sitting here in shock and awe. I am amazed at two things.

First, I am amazed at the resilience of television.

Second, I'm amazed at how the media world continues to ignore this story.

Over the past decade, if there is one story that is absolutely astounding, unexpected, and in complete disjunction with the opinion of experts, it is the incredible resilience of television.

Yes, web usage has grown. Yes, social media is an interesting and important social phenomenon. Yes, DVR's have become commonplace. But with all the new media and all the new technology no one expected TV viewership to behave as it has.

And yet, the trade media and media research companies continue to ignore this story, and instead report on the sexier, trendier new media stories.

As I have commented before, traditional TV viewing is at its highest point ever in history. People are watching, on average, over 35 1/2 hours a week. How much more stupid TV can these nitwits watch? Five hours a day isn't enough?

And it's continuing to grow! Over the last year, TV viewership grew another 22 minutes a month, on average.

Meanwhile, with all the hysteria about TiVo, and YouTube, and mobile, no other video medium even comes close to live TV. Here are the numbers:

The average person in America watches 38.7 total hours of video a week

•92% of that is real-time television
•6% is time-shifted television (TiVo, etc)
•1.5% is online video
•Less that 1/2 of 1% is mobile video
(And, by the way, the average person spends 6 times as much time on television as he does on line.)

As a service to all of you who are under the thumb of web maniacs, here is a simple chart I've created that you can click on and print out and stick up their...well, on their desks, anyway.

TECHNOLOGY ON STEROIDS

2011-06-17T13:33:00.005-04:00

This is 1956 photo of an IBM hard drive.

The drive weighed about a ton and could store about 5 megabytes of data. By comparison it would take 1000 of these monsters to store what a thumb drive can store today.
An analysis of the history of technology shows that technological change is exponential, contrary to the common-sense “intuitive linear” view. So we won’t experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century — it will be more like 20,000 years of progress (at today’s rate).

The “returns,” such as chip speed and cost-effectiveness, also increase exponentially. There’s even exponential growth in the rate of exponential growth. Within a few decades, machine intelligence will surpass human intelligence, leading to technological change so rapid and profound it represents a rupture in the fabric of human history.

The implications include the merger of biological and non biological intelligence, immortal software-based humans, and ultra-high levels of intelligence that expand outward in the universe at the speed of light.

And advertising fits into this picture, how?

With thanks to Business Insider for the photo and Ray Kurzweil's Accelerating Intelligence.

WARNING! ADVANCED PERSISTENT THREAT

2011-06-13T20:53:00.003-04:00

Think you're safe? Think again.

APTs refer to a group of well-funded, highly capable hackers pursing a specific agenda. It can be to bring down a site, hack government intelligence, steal personal banking information or disable infrastructures of whole countries.

The threats are real. Secure your information.

The most significant hacks in the first few months of 2011 affected millions of individuals resulting in millions of dollars in losses. They include . . . .

Epsilon (the largest breach of personal e-mail data), RSA (hacked security keys to highly sensitive governemt intelligence), SONY (70 million playstation account compromised), Google (government e-mail accounts hacked), Michaels ( PIN pads hacked and credit cards compromised), CITI (200,000 accounts stolen, credit cards reissued), IMF (sophisticated attack over several months to gain access to government information as "political dynamite).

And in 2010 "Payback Attacks" alone numbered 33 . . . .

ACS:Law acs-law.org.uk 10/03/2010
RIAA riaa.org 10/29/2010
Motion Picture Association of America mpaa.org
Aiplex Software aiplex.com
Davenport Lyons davenportlyons.com
TMG Image Over Networks tmg.eu
Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) afact.org.au
DG Legal dglegal.com
Gallant Macmillan gmlegal.co.uk 10/12/2010
Ministry of Sound ministryofsound.com 10/03/2010
Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE) sgae.es 10/06/2010
Ministerio de Cultura mcu.es 10/06/2010
promusicae promusicae.es 10/06/2010
Federation of the Italian Music Industry (FIMI) fimi.it 10/09/2010
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) ifpi.it 10/09/2010
pro-music.it 10/09/2010
United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office ipo.gov.uk 10/16/2010
Associação do Comércio Audiovisual de Portugal acapor.pt 10/18/2010
Gene Simmons genesimmons.com 10/19/2010
Satel Film satelfilm.at 10/22/2010
Hustler hustler.com 10/22/2010
FACT fact-uk.org.uk 10/24/2010 10:00 PM GMT
antipiracy.fi antipiracy.fi 10/26/2010
United States Copyright Office copyright.gov 11/03/2010 15:00 GMT
Irish National Federation Against Copyright Theft infact.ie 11/06/2010
International Federation of the Phonographic Industry ifpi.org 11/26/10
Warner Bros. warnerbros.com 12/1/10 6:00 PM GMT
PostFinance postfinance.ch 12/6/10
Aklagarmyndigheten Aklagare.se 12/7/10
EveryDNS everydns.com 12/7/10
Joseph Lieberman lieberman.senate.gov 12/8/10
MasterCard mastercard.com 12/8/10 10:30 AM GMT
Borgstrom and Bostrom advbyra.se 12/8/10

3D ... INVESTMENT GAMBLE FOLLY

2011-05-31T12:52:00.007-04:00

Just over a year ago I commented on the folly of 3D as a viable business. That post can be read here.

Fast forward to today's Business Insider article "3D Movies Are A Bust".
The outcome was so very obvious but Hollywood and TV set manufacturers hopped on the bandwagon, spending billions to rush to market with the new technology. They stand to lose their investments.

The single biggest advantage for 3D remains in gaming on small mobile tablets and PCs, shifting away from Hollywood and 3D sets.

3D .... So-o-o yesterday.

TO BE TRASHED

2011-05-26T18:22:00.004-04:00

Beyond belief. That someone actually spent time and money developing a desktop application that allows anyone and everyone with the app to search your trash bin for files you thought you might want to share is unbelieveable.

Justin Blinder, a Brooklyn self proclaimed programmer, creative technologist and hacker would like you to sign up for a "Dumpster Drive". Here's an explanation of the product and a video that follows.

"When we throw out physical trash, we know, at least on a subconscious level, that it often has the potential to be repurposed. Someone might rescue an abandoned book from a dumpster, or fall in love with the musical tastes of another through a discarded CD they find on the sidewalk. However, the drag-drop-delete process of deleting data from our computers prevents them from ever reaching others. Dumpster Drive makes your trash social within the context of your desktop, allowing you to dumpster dive through the discarded files of others."

Mac users can download the Dumpster Drive here.

I double dare you! Sorry PCs ...not yet available.

LIKE IT OR NOT ...

2011-05-19T20:53:00.005-04:00

Obfuscate: To darken, To make obscure. To be evasive, unclear or confusing. To make so confused or opaque as to be difficult to perceive or understand.

Guilty: Facebook, Twitter and Google.

A recent investigation by the Wall Street journal into the use of "LIKE" buttons and widgets placed on thousands of major sites, signaled yet another serious breach of ethics that will surely have the privacy police up in arms.

It appears these buttons capture a user's visit to the site and feeds it back to the originator. The kicker is that you need not click on the button. Your visit is automatically logged by the likes of Facebook.

Their explanations obfuscate. Do we really believe when they tell us they don't use the data? If so, why are the visits tracked in the first place.

Their real response should be .... We know you're too stupid to understand what we do and we don't want to tell you why we're doing it but we're going to do it anyway.

Gotcha!

Read the story here.

SIT, STAY, DIE

2011-05-10T09:02:00.005-04:00

An interesting and telling infograph (below) on the perils of sitting too long at your desk.

Where do you fit in?

With thanks to the folks at Medical Billing and Coding.

ABOUTFACEBOOK

2011-05-04T20:34:00.004-04:00

While Facebook may extol the virtues of its privacy policies they will not hesitate to release personal information to law enforcement authorities if pressed to do so.

What kind of information are they willing to give up?

All your contact information including your phone number,residential address and e-mail address.

Status updates and posts.

Everything you ever shared or liked.

All your notes.

All your friends.

Groups you belong to.

Events.

Your photos and all your videos.

All messages sent and received.

Where and when you logged in.

Your user number.

The date you joined.

Scary?

Not if you're an upstanding citizen. But there are elements that deal with law enforcement that can, if willing, misuse this information. Consider, for example, the millions of homeowners who are defaulting on their underwater mortgages. The extent of the information provided seems a "bit" overboard and is potentially damaging on a financial and emotional level.

Best advice: Remember 1984. Watch your "Wall".

AOL - FROM PATCH TO FULL BODY CAST

2011-04-26T22:25:00.005-04:00

Patch, a hyper local division of AOL just announced a course correction that will attempt to hire 8000 unpaid local blog contributors by May 4th. HA!

Patch is quilt work of 800 sites dedicated to local community news. But the cost of paying each of the 800 editors and staff is a losing proposition for AOL.

Arianna Huffington to the rescue! Replicate the HuffPost model! No need to pay for content when they can offer writers what?.....Nothing!

This is a train wreck waiting to happen and yet another example of the folly that has become AOL.

This parting shot from Mediabistro's Fishbowl LA ...

"In other words, if you have any ethical qualms about demanding free content from your writers, better get over them now–or the only thing you’ll have to worry about is the door hitting your ass on the way out."

JOKERS

2011-04-24T18:35:00.003-04:00

A couple of weeks ago one of my favorite bloggers, Bob Hoffman, CEO at Hoffman Lewis, posted on the issue of privacy and the security of our personal information.

His post follows in its entirety..

Here Comes The Government

Back in December I wrote a piece for Adweek called Big Brother Has Arrived, and He's Us. In the article I talked about the dangers of tracking on the internet.

"There’s no reasonable way that this is a good development for a free society. There is no realistic vision of the future in which this will not lead to appalling mischief.

It’s time for us to say no. It’s time to put aside our petty self-interest, take a step back and see where this is leading. We need to stop tracking people and their behavior now."

Of course, this will never occur. There is way too much money being made on digital advertising for anyone to act responsibly.

So inevitably what happens in circumstances like this is that the heavy hand of government steps in to regulate. The San Francisco Chronicle reported last week that...

"...legislation (that) would call on the California attorney general to force affected businesses to provide users a way to avoid having their personal information and online activity tracked..." was being introduced into the state legislature.

According to the 4A's...

"...the Judiciary Committee of the California State Senate has tentatively scheduled a hearing on April 26 to consider a new proposal... which seeks to become the country’s first do-not-track consumer privacy law."

There is an outrageous amount of personal data being collected. It is too accessible, and anyone who takes promises of internet privacy and security seriously is an idiot.

But you can bet by time the knuckleheads in government are finished with this, the regulations they enact will be way more daunting than if the greedy bastards in the industry had just acted sensibly and responsibly in the first place.

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right...

I could not have put it better than Bob.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

2011-04-20T09:24:00.013-04:00

When did it all begin?

In March 1876, Alexander Graham Bell was issued a patent for his invention which ultimately transformed into the telephone. The device became ubiquitous and the world tethered to it.
Today, 135 years later, we cannot live without the communication device that has morphed from the umbilical cord that connected us with each other to a magical wireless wonder, the cell phone. We are inextricably connected.

If we were to be visited by alien creatures they would describe us as a race with appendages connected to our heads.

But our conversations back then, save for the occasional party line or government tap, were private. Marketers were not listening in so that they could call back or mail you a invitation to try a new soap product you may have been discussing;. Your conversations and you life was private.

No longer.

Cutting the cord, moving towards a wireless world, we are giving up our rights to privacy as intrusions become the order of the day. Bell himself considered his famous invention an intrusion ... and refused to have a telephone in his study.

How far can the eavesdropping go?

A cell phone "extraction device" in use by several law enforcement agencies can search for and copy information on your cell phone via a USB port or Bluetooth. These devices, at a cost of around $10,000, automatically perform forensic extraction of calls, photos, messages, calendars, to do lists, memos, videos and audio. All in about 40 seconds.

Are your civil liberties being violated? Follow this link to a recent press piece.

AOL AMERICA'S ONLINE LUNACY

2011-04-12T21:26:00.009-04:00

When AOL and The Huffington Post teamed up last month it sparked controversy that is now spilling over into the investment world.

AOL stock is being shorted by investors betting that the company will tank. Not far from its all time low of $18.51 on March 16th, it may only be a matter of time before it, like MySpace, begins to drift towards the Bermuda Triangle.

Further complicated by a class action suit instituted by one of Huffington Post's contributors, the complaint charges that none of the $315 million paid by AOL for the news and opinion website co-founded by Arianna Huffington and Kenneth Lerer was shared with the writers and other creators of the site’s content. The suit seeks class-action, or group, status.

The complaint claims that 9000 writers provided the site with free content worth as much as $105 million, which “should be returned” to the plaintiff and the class. Huffington Post derives revenue from advertising on the site.

Adding insult to injury, the majority of the contributors who supported Arianna's site as a more liberal platform are now taking a back seat to the more conservative AOL.

Did AOL not believe that a site whose content, driven by 9000 freelance, unpaid writers, would not create a backlash? It is so very obvious that AOL's CEO and largest shareholder, Tim Armstrong, is desperately rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship.

Watching and waiting.

Click on the chart to enlarge it

YouTube vs BoobTube

2011-04-07T17:09:00.006-04:00

For the sake of clarity, I am posting a chart based on Nielsen estimates that reflects monthly viewing for video .. whether TV, Netflix or YouTube.

Simply stated, TV crushes YouTube.

Yet with all the hype concerning the coming of broadband video, as if it were the second coming of Christ, I see nothing in this chart that comes close to the power of good ol' television.

So why do we continue to get caught up in the gigabit flow of over-hyped, overzealous and hyper-exaggerated use of broadband video? Because it's human nature to want to be on the cutting edge of anything new and cool.

It is a young playground... and "the young are always ready to give those who are older than themselves the full benefits of their inexperience"..Oscar Wilde

Google announced it will spend $100 million to increse YouTube viewership. I would advise Google to take a close look at the chart again. If Google increased viewership by 300% would it make a difference?

The viewing landscape will eventually change .. but for the next decade I'll put my money on television as the most powerful marketing tool we have.

Click on the chart to enlarge it.

SAY IT'S NOT TRUE!

2011-04-01T19:53:00.005-04:00

At first blush I believed the video clip from CBS’s Days of Our Lives to be a spoof for a Wanchai Ferry Chinese food product placement.

It is not.

Not a fan of daytime soaps, I was not aware of the solicitous intrusion into the daily lives of daytime soap followers. These product placements are becoming commonplace and frankly deserve no place in the realm of content. They are annoying, uncomfortable for the actors, provide no value to program content and are distracting.

Product placements have been around for quite some time but never to the extent driven by these examples. Understandably, they drive a strong revenue stream for the networks. In Latin America, product placements can account for up to 50% of the revenue produced by novellas.

What’s your take on these “placements”?

Follow this link for more examples.

SHOTGUN WEDDING: GOOGLE / WPP

2011-04-01T00:02:00.003-04:00

Mountain View, CA (Reuters)

In a move that has the potential to rock and dislodge the underpinnings of the advertising community, Google announced a hostile takeover bid for holding company giant WPP.

With an enterprise value just shy of $11 billion Google is expected to pay up to a 60 percent premium for the firm raising the stock price to its 2000 high of $99 per share.

It is expected that Dr. Eric Schmidt, 56, recently sidelined as Google’s CEO will assume the CEO position at WPP as Sir Martin Sorrell, 66, who once described Google as a “frenemy”, takes the title of Executive Group Chairman.

Why would Google put its future at risk by assuming ownership of a major non-core business? Follow this link for a more in depth analysis: goo.gl/BZrKv

A WINDEX DREAM

2011-03-22T22:10:00.007-04:00

A good friend of mine, JoAnn Valenti, passed along the video that follows. I wanted to share it with my readers as a glimpse into the possibilities the future holds for us.

The video was produced for Corning Glass by Doremus. Following six days of shooting late in 2010 it was first released at an investor meeting this past February.

It has since generated over 10 million views. Enjoy the video, underscored with the international language of music.

Kudos to Doremus.

Credits:
Creative Director: Michael Litchfield
Film Maker: Dave Mackie
Camera Lead: Norman Bonney
Executive Producer: Todd Lindo

EVERYTHING POPULAR IS WRONG

2011-02-23T18:02:00.005-05:00

The headline is a quote borrowed from Oscar Wilde. In the context of this blog post it reflects on the often misguided and mass movement of special interest and demographic groups to tilt the needle on the sanity scale towards hysteria.... and that's not good.

Let me explain.

As marketers we believe our job is to inform the consuming public about a product or a service and to make a sale. We are charged with listening to them in order to understand their needs and then fill those needs as best we can. If we are smart marketers, we seek to connect and stay connected. Again .... make the sale, and then another.

We would like to believe we accomplish this is spades. We do not. We are not even close.

To a large (very large) degree we somehow managed to shift away from filling a need, moving instead towards creating a need. Some might call these creations fads. Others grasp them and market the hell out of them only to eventually concede to the definition of fad or phase or meme.

As the fad becomes "popular" and is collectively followed by an enthusiastic population, driven by emotional excitement and often peer pressure, it eventually succumbs as a faded novelty.

Social interaction, now defined and monitored as social "media", is a trend that has been tracking time over centuries. The Agora was a marketplace that encouraged social interaction and in some manner is believed to exists today in the form of Myspace, Twitter, Facebook or China's RenRen.

It is not.

These channels, or open air markets, are simply fads that have not yet recognized the true dynamics of a social marketplace. MySpace failed. AOL is gasping. Twitter struggles to find a workable model and Facebook may soon be approaching a privacy tipping point that forces a reversal of growth.

The market channels that will survive the test of time, innovating as they move forward, are best defined by Apple, Microsoft and Google ... companies that create lasting trends ... not fads.

Let's not be marketers consumed by the emotionally young chatter that disguises itself as "the future". That market represents a disproportionately small segment of consumer spending today. And I promise you that their behavior and attitudes will change as they mature.

TECH NEWS CLOUD

2011-02-16T17:50:00.003-05:00

SEM CLOUD

2011-02-16T17:46:00.003-05:00

AOL or AWOL ?

2011-02-04T09:29:00.005-05:00

Can AOL be fixed or is it time for the company execs to fold the tent and go AWOL?

As an outside observer, internal memos and external "off the record" quips seem to position the company as one grasping at straws, exasperated by bad, very bad, ad sales and earnings.

Tim Armstrong, AOL's CEO, wants to turn the company around with a manifesto of "wants" that reads like a child's tantrum.

This link to SAI's Business Insider puts it all into perspective with a peek into the AOL Master Plan.

The most recent broadside follows with a chart that illustrates how bad display sales really are.

Click on the chart to enlarge it

Where AOL goes from here remains to be seen. It is hard to argue, however, that this once high flying media company will survive in its current form.

WIKILEAKS' ASSANGE NET ASSAULT

2010-12-08T21:50:00.008-05:00

The current degree of hysteria relating to L’Affair Assange has not left the digital ad industry untouched.

Team Assange (a paltry six individuals) managed to escape shut down by government hackers and has, with the help of supporters, disabled major sites including Mastercard, VISA and PayPal (and now, potentially, Amazon) as payback. Sarah Palin’s site along with Joe Lieberman’s have also been disabled.

“Don’t mess with Wikileaks” is the message they are sending, suggesting the Internet would need to be shut in order to censor Wikileaks.

The cascading impact of these maneuvers and subterfuge to the ad community will manifest in forms concerning privacy, fed policy and e-commerce disruptions. It may also slow web media investments by marketers.

Let our readers know what you think ...

EV AND OIL ... VIRGIN TERRITORY

2010-11-29T18:44:00.010-05:00

The car makers are back in the "pink" registering huge profits, launching IPOs and making loan paybacks in the billions. Along with rising oil prices, expected to hit the $100 mark next year, the temptation for these linked industries to stay the course with fossil fuel engines can easily hamper EV (Electric Vehicle) initiatives in the US.

Impetus is coming from GE with a pending purchase of 25,000 EVs by 2015. Twelve thousand will be the GM Volt, a $41,000 electric/gasoline hybrid. Nissan's Leaf will debut this year at a $33,000 price point.

As we gingerly step into the EV market, we should take a lesson from the UK. London is quickly becoming the electric driving capital of Europe, building 1300 public charging points over the next two years.

Agencies not making plans now to deal with this coming wave will be in a weak position to secure strong market share.

Cary, NC McDonald's

Learn about the industry and begin to set strategies NOW!

In the coming year, we will be launching an aggregation site, SparkStop.com, on all things EV. Stay tuned.

SOCIAL NOTWORKING

2010-11-17T18:05:00.007-05:00

As a managing director for Morgan Stanley, Mary Meeker is the firm's global lead for the technology research unit. In 1995, she co-authored an industry report "The Internet Report" which would become a landmark during the internet boom era.

In her most recent presentation at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, "Ten Questions Internet Execs Should Ask & Answer" , you can find the chart that follows. It represents share of online display units along with corresponding CPM rates.

Click on the graph to enlarge

The report should be unnerving for the likes of Social Networks and especially Facebook. At the same Summit, Mark Zuckerberg brushed off advertising as "it's not necessarily about advertising".

Insanity?

It certainly isn't about advertising when faced with a dismal display rate. It also illustrates how weak the site is when it comes to ROI. With the exception of a few mega-efforts by major marketers (supported by even larger TV budgets), Facebook falls flat on its own face.

And it is becoming a potential detriment to sustaining business models supported by advertising.

SILENCE IS GOLDEN ... LITERALLY

2010-11-11T16:07:00.005-05:00

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

As dumb as this philosophical question is WMG (Warner Music Group) steps up to accept the Uber Dumb Ass Award for disabling the audio portion of a video featuring John Cage's 4'33" composition.

John Cage (1912-1992) was an American composer and a leading figure of the post war avant-garde. His best known composition 4'33" (four minutes, thirty three seconds) is performed without a sigle note being played.

Silence.

Known as one of the most controversial musical works of the 20th century, WMG, in the name of copyright protection, has decided to silence the silence!!

The video posted by Adam Lore follows. You are the music.

More commentary can be found at this link.

FORGET 3D ... HATSUMI IS HERE

2010-11-10T18:01:00.004-05:00

How quickly technology revolutionizes an industry only to be outdone by itself. Hatsumi Miku is the newest J-pop star to arrive via Japan.

The catch is that Hatsumi doesn't exist in human form but is a holographic avatar created by Crypton Media.

Hatsumi has been playing concerts to sell out crowds utilizing a singing Vocaloid synthesizer by Yamaha to mimic voice. Rave reviews and huge crowds cannot get enough.

The music world has changed once again. Watch the video(s) that follow and imagine the return of Elvis, Michael Jackson or any past or present persona as a lifelike avatar. There is no end in sight. Watch the crazed throngs waving their glow sticks in harmony.

The clarity of the hologram is remarkable for a first event and promises to only get better and better, delivered or created through a variety of channels.

Agencies and marketers take note ... it's a bandwagon you should be jumping on .

DRINKING FACEBOOK'S KOOL-AID

2010-11-08T17:30:00.006-05:00

That I have been questioning Facebook's efforts to manage the privacy of their users comes as no surprise to my readers. Facebook's survival is inexorably tied to the data it collects on users to "make the user experience more meaningful". In turn it collects targeting fees from its advertisers.

Facebook can't help itself. It is addicted to data collection, often sidestepping and overrunning privacy constraints.

In July, Zuckerberg announced that Facebook hit a milestone with 500 million active users. Frankly, I don't believe the self reported numbers.

At the end of 2009, Facebook reported 350 active million users. The time-line looks like this ....

100 million : August 26, 2008
150 million : Jan 7, 2009 (134 days)
200 million : April 8, 2009 (91 days)
250 million : July 15, 2009 (98 days)
300 million : September 15, 2009 (62 days)
350 million : December 1, 2009 (77 days)
500 million : July 2010 (242 days)

It appears that Facebook added 150 active million users or roughly 42% of its 12/1/2009 base in just eight months. Really? Who's auditing the numbers?

Consider the following reported numbers...

In the second quarter of 2009 there were 444 million broadband users globally. Factoring global broadband usage increases and mobile access, Facebook would need to include almost every global broadband connection as an active user. Really?

Seventy percent (70%) of Facebook's active users are outside the United States.

There are approximately 250 million people over the age of twelve in the US. A user needs to be thirteen to register on Facebook. Facebook claims sixty percent of the US population (150 million) over the age of twelve that are active registered users. Really? Please define "active".

User growth should be petering out as will revenue. Self reported annual revenue of $800 million suggests Facebook earns an unimpressive one dollar and sixty cents ($1.60) per user.

How much hype and Kool-aid will we continue to swallow?

DIGNITY

2010-11-04T15:52:00.004-04:00

From the staff at Hoffman Lewis .... Bravo.

Credits: Creative Director: Miles Turpin Art Director: James Cabral Writers: Desmond Tutu, Oliver Albrecht Editor: Nic Bucci Producer: Jay Cortez V/O: Hugh Masekela Music: Ranga

LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE!

2010-11-01T16:17:00.004-04:00

It is estimated that four billion dollars will have been spent on mid-term elections culminating in what may be a dramatic shift of power on Tuesday, November 2nd.

This unprecedented sum of money has been focused on television, accounting for about 70% of invested dollars while the balance was directed to radio, direct mail and print.

Online? About 2%.

The web does not seem to resonate with politicians seeking to swing voters. Personally, I cannot recall even one display ad or e-mail coming my way from the media channel that touts accountable and targeted ads like no other. Given the intensity of television advertising, the poor showing for the web escapes us.

Frankly, I am thankful. Sick of the promises, lies, and extreme negative positions, I am looking forward to the quiet of November 3..... and happy that I was spared the onslaught on the web.

Nonetheless, get out there and VOTE!

CAN DINOSAURS DANCE? DDS VS MEDIABANK

2010-10-28T21:26:00.006-04:00

Backroom operations are battling it out. The stakes are high.

Agencies seeking out software systems for the management of an enterprise wide management suite are pitting Donovan Data Systems (DDS) to defend against Mediabank as smaller contenders including Strata and Harris sit it out in the bleachers. All the while, entrepreneurial entries in the form of MediaX begin nipping at all their heels.

Starcom’s move from Donovan to Mediabank likely cost them a small fortune and a major migraine, sparking rumors of a return to Donovan, while driving part of its account to nimble entrepreneurs ala MediaX.

IPG’s Mediabrands is on the fence and about to fall one way or the other as Mediabank pushes for a move to unseat Donovan. Mediabank toppled Donovan when it won the DraftFCB account, jamming its foot in the Mediabrands door.

But eating Donovan’s lunch will not be an easy feat as it represents the majority share of agency business, driving close to $200 million in revenue.

Donovan’s Achilles Heel: It’s the system of choice that everyone loves to hate and a dinosaur that cannot easily innovate.

Mediabank’s underbelly exposes hubris that allows them to believe they have sufficient resources to manage a large win.

Among the underdogs, Harris seems not to have been invited to the party while Strata was simply glossed over.

And …. An honorary mention to the new entries that seem to “get it” and are willing to match their resources to agency visions.

An upset may be close at hand, before year’s end.

WATCHING FACEBOOK

2010-10-19T13:51:00.005-04:00

That I have been casting a watchful eye on the ever expanding Facebook tentacles, often cautioning users on privacy issues, is no secret. The exponential, albeit unaudited, growth of its user base closing in on one half billion and the questionable collection and use of the data it collects from its users continues to pop up like a bad penny.

This week's gaff, exposing tens of millions of its users' personal identity to advertisers, should be a wake up call for Facebook to finally clean up their act.

But it won't.

If we were to trace the "gaffs" back to revenue produced for Facebook, the picture could morph from Pollyanna to the greed of big business. No doubt the overzealous digerati would come up with blinded observations and poorly manufactured statistics, never losing site of self centered and self serving arguments .... drinking the Koolaid they mixed themselves.

The Internet provides us with a treasure trove of new and exciting options for entertainment, information and productivity platforms to enhance the world around our personal space. However social networks, moving in the direction of Facebook with total abandon and disregard for the sake of "advertising" revenue may, in the end, do more harm than good for the future of the Internet.

Simply, Facebook cannot seem to come up with a business model that does not deal with the discreet (and seemingly illegal) distribution of, or access to, personal data. The conversations and arguments center around "a better Internet experience", serving ads and content that THEY THINK .... make that THEY KNOW.... you want to see.

Give me a break!

It's about time we put the cards on the table and re-think the social network models before the house of cards collapses on itself. Let's begin the challenge by removing "advertising" from the equation.

And to those individuals that "don't care about their personal data being collected" ... please keep those empty arguments to yourselves .... you just don't get it.

FACEBOOK "NOSE" BEST

2010-10-06T20:05:00.007-04:00

As Facebook grows to a reported 500 million users globally, its privacy policies and the management of information their users post is coming under more intense scrutiny. On the heels of the movie release, Social Network, Facebook announced new tools for its users to manage that information across personal groups of people they "trust".

But things may not be what they seem.

What follows are excerpts from Facebook's commentary ... what they are saying, followed by our interpretation of what they may be thinking.

"We use your information to make your experience better"
Interpretation: We want to know what you've been up to so that we can direct more relevant ads and search results .... so that we can sell you stuff.

"When a group member posts to a group, everyone in that group will receive a notification about that post"
Interpretation: But what your friends do with it we can't control. It's your problem.

"The whole experience is organized around spaces of the people you care most about"
Interpretation: We want to confuse you to the point of exasperation and give up control of your information.

"You can quickly download everything you ever posted on Facebook"
Interpretation: Because we don't want to be responsible for your garbage.

Most comments post on the Huffington Post review were overwhelmingly negative which leads one to assume that there are many more users abandoning the social network than meets the eye.

IPG'S MEDIABRANDS ON THE FENCE?

2010-09-28T13:35:00.005-04:00

At the tail end of 2008, IPG's media management unit, Mediabrands, inked a multi-year deal with Donovan Data Systems (DDS). While it is unclear how much of the IPG spending flows through DDS (IPG agencies place upwards of $25 billion in media annually) it is nonetheless the lion's share.

DDS's competitor, Mediabank, quietly shored up its digital offering and in six short months following the DDS/Mediabrands deal Mediabank signed DraftFCB for digital services. A small but key foothold at IPG.

It was a whoops! for DDS as they struggled to keep the business.

After several starts and stops in 2009, Mediabank hired former Yahoo! and Right Media exec Bill Wise as CEO this past June 2010. It proved to be a wise move as Bill's vision and ability to chart and navigate digital waters was on spot for Mediabank.

Significant strides and development of their offerings over the last eight months, folding in Audience On Demand services in DSP fashion, places Mediabank at the nexus of what is coming next.

And .... it may have panned out as rumors have surfaced concerning a move by Mediabrands to DDS's rival Mediabank. In light of DDS's reluctance to move nimbly into the digital landscape it would not, however, come as a surprise and a severe blow to DDS.

If the Mediabank/DDS contract is up at the end of this year, we may just see a new face at Mediabrands.

BILLION DOLLAR FLASH IN THE PAN

2010-09-22T04:44:00.003-04:00

With revenues approaching $500 million and having been in business just under two years its valuation is estimated to be $1 billion.

Groupon is a phenomenon that needs to slow down fast.

An article in this week’s BrandWeek covers two years of marketing efforts for the company that shuns traditional methods and relies on viral impact and PR efforts to push the envelope.

But can this business sustain itself in a fickle world of web “loyalists”? There is no doubt that Groupon is a success today. What it will become tomorrow is anyone’s guess …. if it survives.

I took the plunge about a year ago and purchased several restaurant chits that gave me an average 30% savings at three establishments (the restaurants pony up as much as 75% to the customer and Groupon). One chit introduced me to a new Chinese sandwich shop I would have tried again but, it went out of business. One was mediocre and a third was below sub-par.

Since the chits were good for several months I decided to wait a few months to avoid crowds. And I wanted to ask if they would “do it again”. No, no and NO!

Apparently it was good business for Groupon but not nearly a first base hit for the restaurants that need repeat, full-paying customers. Groupon is the leaking bucket that will eventually run out of water as it tries to refill itself with compelling offers.

Dismissing my preferences only for restaurants, I have since been deluged with offers for nail salons, spas and women’s apparel. According to Groupon’s SVP, marketing, Aaron Cooper …”When you deeply understand your customer and product, you’re going to be better …. no need to hire traditional marketers ….you’re going to be better”.

Pride before a fall …. hubris. I recently unsubscribed from the service and am a happy, “spam” free camper.

TOP TEN AD SECRETS

2010-09-17T16:52:00.008-04:00

As much as and as quickly as media options change they stay pretty much the same. And as the force-winds of technology push us forward we quickly adapt.

Or do we?

It's a riddle. And we keep searching for the answer that is just under our very nose.

A recent blog post by Bob Hoffman, CEO of Hoffman Lewis in San Francisco and St. Louis, uncovers Top Ten Double-Secret Unknown Facts About Advertising. The list follows in its entirety .... with thanks to Bob for his investigative and inquiring mind.

An do drop by his insightful blog, The Ad Contrarian.

Top 10 Double-Secret Unknown Facts About Advertising

1) 99.9% of people who are served an online display ad do not click on it.

2) TV viewership is now at its highest point ever.

3) 96% of all retail activity is done in a store. 4% is done on line.

4) DVR owners watch live TV 95% of the time. 5% of the time they watch recorded material.

5) 99% percent of all video viewing is done on a television. 1% is done on line.

6) The difference in purchasing behavior between people who use DVRs to skip ads and those who don’t: None.

7) Since the 1990s, click-through rates for banner ads have dropped 97.5%.

8) Since the introduction of TiVo, real time TV viewing has increased over 20%.

9) Baby boomers dominate 94% of all consumer packaged goods categories. 5% of advertising is aimed at them.

10) TV viewers are no more likely to leave the room during a commercial break than they are before or after the break.

If you would like to print a nice, clean copy of this list and pin it up on your boss's wall, you can find it here.

Here are my sources:
1. DoubleClick, Benchmark Report, 2009
2. Nielsen Three Screen Report, Q1 2010
3. U.S. Department of Commerce, Q2 2010; Nielsen Three Screen Report, Q1 2010
4. Duke University, Do DVRs Influence Sales?
5. Nielsen Three Screen Report, Q1 2010
6. Duke University, Do DVRs Influence Sales?
7. Li, Hairong; Leckenby, John D. (2004). "Internet Advertising Formats and Effectiveness". Center for Interactive Advertising. And DoubleClick, Benchmark Report, 2009
8. NielsenWire, Nov. 10, 2009
9. Marketing Daily, July 22, 2010
10. Council for Research Excellence, May 10, 2010

DON'T MESS WITH THE PICKLE

2010-09-08T12:26:00.007-04:00

First it was the pickle. Now it's the tomato. It was subtle, but timely.

Since 1876, the Heinz Ketchup bottle pictured a pickle on their label. In 2009 the pickle was dropped and replaced by a vine tomato. Makes sense, right? After all, Heinz is the largest user of tomatoes in the world and there is no hint of pickles in their ketchup.

Ketchup lovers all over were disturbed by this move .... from an iconic label to an average, inconsistent marketing gimmick!

But now Heinz crossed the line. Catchy phrases on the labels like "Can't Help Broccoli" and, OMG!, an in-your-face call to action to fan them on Facebook!

This cannot be happening! But it is.

From Hefty Trash Bags to Ticonderoga Pencils, marketers are driven to find "friends" on Facebook.

When was the last time you were passionate about trash bags or pencils and who are these so called marketers that have no clue? In many cases, Facebook can be leveraged to the benefit of some brands. In many many more cases it is a huge waste of time, effort and money.

"You like tomatoes and I like tomatoes .... let's call the whole thing off."

REFLECTIONS

2010-09-02T16:50:00.005-04:00

In keeping with a the tradition to keep holiday posts a bit more personal, I wanted to highlight a non-profit organization you may have heard about.... Story Corps.

Their mission is to provide Americans with an outlet to record and preserve life's precious moments in story fashion. Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 30,000 interviews from more than 60,000 participants. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to share, and is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind.

The video that follows is just one of thousands in their archives that I encourage you to visit. Click the enlarge button for the full effect. And if, by chance, it moves you, click on the sidebar link to make a donation.

Danny Perasa and his wife, Annie, came to StoryCorps to recount their twenty-seven-year romance. As they remember their life together from their first date to Danny’s final days with terminal cancer, these remarkable Brooklynites personify the eloquence, grace, and poetry that can be found in the voices of everyday people when we take the time to listen.”

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

“By listening closely to one another, we can help illuminate the true character of this nation reminding us all just how precious each day can be and how truly great it is to be alive."
Dave Isay,
Founder, StoryCorps

Happy Labor Day .....

WHO'S WATCHING YOU?

2010-08-30T12:43:00.002-04:00

I found Tom Cunniff on the OT List, a group of industry professionals that have been working in advertising for a while ... ergo "Old Timers" or OT. But don't let the name fool you ... these pros are on the bleeding edge of new media channels and have the unique power to bring both "old" media and new media together.

Tom is VP Digital Director at Combe Inc and has an infrequent blog here.

In a recent letter to the OT group, Tom shared with us a "typical" dinner date with his wife. The evening follows .....

My wife and I have been going to the same sushi place in our NYC
neighborhood for years.

Everybody on the wait-staff knows us by name. When we sit down, we chat
and catch up a bit on each others' lives. Then the waiter asks if we
want the usual, which we usually do.

We love this. It's personal. It's about making us feel comfortable and
well-served. It's about a business relationship between us and that
restaurant.

But imagine how we'd feel if we knew that as we talked, our waiter was
recording everything we said and did and then contacting every
business in our neighborhood to tell them about our behavior.

"Here's what Tom ate, what new Barbara tried, and what they both
spilled on their clothes. I overheard them saying they're going to
Paris for 9 days. Barbara said she's exhausted. Tom said he needs to
get back to the gym -- and I could see he has sure packed on some
pounds lately! -- but that didn't stop him from ordering dessert. They
had a pretty heated discussion about some business thing Tom wants to
do..."

Now imagine us being pitched by every liquor store in our neighborhood
to try other sakes. By every dry cleaner for a discount on soy sauce
stain removal. By every car service for a trip to the airport, and by
every French restaurant. By every deli trying to sell Red Bull or
coffee to my exhausted wife. By every gym in the neighborhood AND
every bakery in the neighborhood about my weight gain. And by every
local marriage counselor, on top of all that.

It's completely impersonal. It's about telling strangers our
vulnerabilities. It's clearly much more about the restaurant serving
itself instead of serving us.

Can business educate me to feel good about that?

Can business educate me that my wife and I have never really had any
privacy in the first place, and that all of these are a natural
by-product of going anywhere in public and having a quiet
conversation?

Can business educate me to believe that business won't someday
redefine "public" to include the lobby of our apartment building, the
garbage that has been collected outside of it, and anything that can
be seen in the "public" areas of our apartment by a UPS delivery guy?

Here's the best defense I can muster.

===

Dear Public,

You have no reason to worry. In your heart, you know you can trust all
of our institutions -- especially big business like Enron, Bear
Stearns and BP -- to do the right thing. Just look at their track
record and you will be instantly reassured.

And besides, everything they do is completely transparent: it's
disclosed in multiple 900 page privacy policies strewn across multiple
websites written in multiple dialects of impenetrable legalese.

How wonderful it is to have this issue settled. Here, have a cookie!

HEALTHY HENS AND CHICKS

2010-08-24T19:53:00.006-04:00

Late last year a couple of chicks got together and decided to break away from the mother hen. As they matured into adulthood, they recognized their health needs were different from the older hens. And so they set off to establish a community of chicks that had common health questions.... ChickRx.com was the result.

Born from one of the WebMd ribs, ChickRx is a new start-up focusing on everyday health issues, but not intended to offer up serious medical advice (see your doctor for that).

The founders, two twenty-something "chicks" felt a need for a health website targeting their demographic. Founders Stacey Borden and Meghan Muntean (both 26) describe ChickRx as Daily Candy-meets-WebMd.

No traffic stats yet for this newly launched site but we would like your opinion.

Is there a real need for another health site catering to twenty-somethings? Visit the site here and let us know below.

Is ChickRx a sustainable concept?online survey

THE 3D JACKPOT

2010-08-15T21:35:00.009-04:00

The warning signals are out and they do not bode well for 3D TV or 3D film makers.

Having already invested billions, electronics manufacturers, production companies and Hollywood are bracing for a win or lose jackpot.

But what’s at the end of the rainbow may very likely turn out to be fools gold.

A report by the Financial Times yesterday pointed to a nervous set at Hollywood as many of the 3D releases simply flopped. The hype of Avatar, Alice in Wonderland and Clash of the Titans did not spill over to releases like Cats and Dogs which was panned by critics.

Overlooking the constraints of consumer spending in an economic downturn, 3D movie releases demand a 50% premium over 2D ticket prices. What are they thinking?

Short term vision has blurred reality as greed set in. 3D is a dimension looking for an audience that exists for the short term ….. until the novelty wears off.

And while Hollywood sits on the edge of their theater seat, companies the likes of LG, Sony and Samsung dove into the third dimension with huge investments in hardware.

Gizmodo reports that the sale of 3D TV units in Japan are not up to par. One year into marketing the units, prices are down by 20% and sales are not nearly predictive of a viable market. Yet the manufacturers are blindly predicting "millions of sets" will be sold in the coming year.

Say it often enough and you might come to believe it's true!

IDo believe in 3D, I DO believe in 3D, I DO believe in 3D ......

DID YOU KNOW?

2010-08-11T20:15:00.004-04:00

Running late for a meeting in Connecticut, I pulled up to a drive through window at McDonald's and ordered an Egg McMuffin and a cup of coffee. Nothing extraordinary about it except for a declaration printed on the bag ....

"Great Breakfast Taste. We make sure of it. Every single egg we use throughout the year is individually inspected - all 3 billion of them."

Now that's quite a statement that got me to thinking. How long does it take to inspect an egg? And how many people does it take to do so?

Here's the math with the assumption that an egg can be inspected in one second.

To inspect three billion eggs in one year would take three billion seconds. A quick search at WolframAlpha converts that number to a bit over 95 years. Assume the average worker puts in 250 days a year, it would take 138.7 man years to inspect that many eggs.

Does McDonald's really employ almost 139 "egg inspectors"? I put a call into their corporate office. Their response follows.

"All of the fresh Grade A eggs used for the Egg McMuffin sandwiches are inspected at the farm. Eggs are washed with warm water before being inspected both visually and electronically for any cracks and flaws. Checked eggs are then packed for shipment to the McDonald’s restaurants. So yes, every single egg is inspected before it makes the Egg McMuffin grade!"

So the promise that every egg is individually inspected is stretching the truth. And your average consumer would assume that the eggs are inspected by hand before they hit the griddle.

Can we please get back to Harry McCann's search for "Truth Well Told'?

AOL: AMERICA OFF LINE

2010-08-05T18:20:00.006-04:00

Once the focal point of social networking and a former stepchild of Time Warner, AOL may be writing its final chapter as a viable business. Spun off buy Time Warner in the fourth quarter of last year and declaring it's IPO status the same day, AOL (NYSE) is facing a tenuous future.

The chart that follows illustrates its revenue declines over the past few years. As subscribers leave (who needs a middleman to connect with the net?), ad dollars are sure to decline as well.

Click on the chart to enlarge.

What went wrong?

Is Time Warner to blame? Since its merger with the company in 2001, a decline of the value of the company was set in motion. Controversy concerning operations, billing disputes, account cancellation "scams" and subsequent investigations did not help its cause.

AOL was becoming a company in search of a purpose.

AOL is a matured company in a failed marriage that has not been able to keep pace with the shifting dynamics of a digital landscape. Its management is likely to blame, taking their eyes off the real prize ..... people.

Building a huge following with little regard for the followers (are you listening Facebook?) is a perfect recipe for failure.

It was fun while it lasted ....

AOL's stock graph since its IPO follows ....

Click image to enlarge

CONSUMER STALKING

2010-07-30T12:21:00.008-04:00

A major CPG company, Unilever, is launching a promotion for its OMO detergent brand in Brazil that utilizes GPS tracking to follow a consumer into their home(s).

Creepy? Outrageous?

The PR effort, mounted by its agency, Bullet, will plant GPS tracking devices in fifty two- pound boxes of the detergent and scatter distribution throughout Brazil (representing about 50 million homes).

When a box is pulled form the shelf, activation of the device will occur and the agency will track and “visit” the consumer at home within “a few hours or days” to let them know they won a pocket video camera and a day of fun at a Unilever event.

Invasion of privacy?

If a consumer refuses to answer the door for the “visit” (Brazil’s crime rate is quite high), the team will activate the device to buzz, alerting the consumer to the promotion.

Not OMO, but OMG!

Is this not like putting a “bullet” to your head? Where’s the thinking that cooked up this law suit waiting to happen?

While on the surface the promotion may sound like "fun in the suds", it has so many risks attached to it that they outweigh any positive return.

3DTV SHORTCOMINGS

2010-07-26T17:05:00.007-04:00

It should come as no surprise to my readers that I am not a fan of 3DTV. I've posted several times on the lemming nature of the movement and the costs to the consumer. From the TV itself to the glasses. What surprises me, however, is the blind surge and investments by the set manufacturers to jump on board a ship I don't believe will easily stay afloat.

Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. Michael is a partner at Altimeter Group. His weblog can be found at gartenblog.net.

His post below confirms my own perception of 3DTV.

"It's generally a bad idea to extrapolate larger consumer behavior from personal experience and say "if I like it, surely everyone else will as well." It's a mistake that happens all the time, but there's is one case where I will use my personal behavior to at least start the foundation for analysis -- when I don't want a new gadget or technology. Granted, sometimes I'm just not the target audience, but even then I'm usually able to remove myself from the process and say it might not be for me but others will love this. In the case of 3D TV, however, I think my lack of interest doesn't bode well for the market.

I'm surprised by figures, forecasts, predictions and prophecies all showing a rosy outlook for 3D TV beginning as early as this year, because I've seen most of the 3D offerings available and I have no plans to buy -- not now and not anytime soon. I should be a part of the core demographic for 3D: I like TV, movies and video games. I'm am early adopter. I have reasonable disposable income. I'm not afraid of betting on the wrong standard. And yet, I'm not buying. Here's why.

Cost: I'm fortunate that cost isn't the biggest inhibitor for me when I buy things, but I still do a cost/benefit analysis before I make a purchase. To really embrace 3D, I need a new TV, even though my current 1080p set is only a few years old and is wonderful. I'd need a new media player. I'd need glasses -- lots of them, as there can often be five or six people sitting around my set. I'd probably want a new digital camera to take 3D shots. And of course, I'd need some compelling 3D content from somewhere. That's already starting up to add into a significant cost proposition that takes it far out of impulse purchase territory.

Hassle: It's not just the cost to move to 3D. It's the hassle. Moving to HD was a breeze -- you just plugged in a new TV and were wowed by immediately available content. My upscaling DVD player made existing SD content look better than ever. By contrast, just viewing 3D content is a hassle due to the glasses. They're not cheap. They are gadgets in and of themselves, which means they require care and feeding, and everyone in the room needs a pair. Worse, I find 3D glasses very uncomfortable to wear for long periods over my regular glasses. The hassle alone of acquiring and viewing 3D content is enough to put me off.

Benefit: The cost and hassle of 3D could easily be justified and rationalized if there was a superb benefit on par with the move to HD. For me, 3D is cool but at best gratuitous. It doesn't change the visceral viewing experience for most of the content I've seen. I just don't see the value or wow factor that 3D brings to the table in its current format.

Someday technology will advance and 3D will be integrated into every screen. Standards will be deployed and the bulky and costly glasses will disappear. Content providers will figure out how to tell better stories with 3D that wouldn't have been possible before. And if that happens before I do my holiday shopping this year, I'll be on board. Given the low probability of that scenario, I'm going to pass for now. I expect many other consumers will as well."

TRUTH WELL TOLD

2010-07-15T17:55:00.007-04:00

As a departure from a more serious post, the video that follows points to frustrations consumers are exposed to in the face of advertising that "simply" provides useful product information.

In 1912, Harry McCann, along with four partners, launched H.K. McCann Co, introducing the still used credo "Truth Well Told". The slogan has been standing behind the overall creative work of the agency and holds its strategic integrity in check.

McCann truly follows the powerful credo, but tales well woven and jokes well made earn a berth here as well.

In just two years, the agency that became McCann Erickson will mark 100 years. That was the serious part and we will be wishing Nick Brien and what is now McCann Worldgroup well.

We can't wait for the party to begin .... but in the meantime enjoy the video and the laugh.

UP IS THE NEW DOWN FOR AD SPENDING

2010-07-14T15:03:00.004-04:00

A US ad spending forecast update, released today by MagnaGlobal, paints a rosier picture than previously reported.

Barring a double dip recession MagnaGlobal is forecasting a 2.1 percent growth for the US ad economy for 2010 to $169.9 billion....an increase of 31% over the previously reported forecast. This does NOT include Olympic or political media investments in TV which would bring the growth in at a very decent 3.4 percent for 2010.

The annual run rate for growth through 2015 is expected to be 3.6 percent.

As the industry braces for a return to a somewhat normal environment it begs the question of readiness. Staff cutbacks over the past several years created a void of intellectual capital that agencies and marketers need to quickly address. As a bounce-back occurs will we have the manpower to effectively manage normal growth?

Not all is positive, however. A downturn in online classifieds is causing an overall reduction in the double digit growth rate for the online sector. Direct Media (yellow pages, paid search, lead generation, directories and direct mail) is signaling a slowdown in growth and a possible short term return to awareness-driven media channels.

You can register for a free download of the report here: www.magnaglobal.com

CONDE' NAST'S DIGITAL ALBATROSS?

2010-07-12T18:16:00.006-04:00

A technology news aggregator and message board site with 280 million page views per month needs your help.

Why? Because they don't have a business model that works and have been losing money. Reader's are simply not clicking on ads.

Here's the kicker....the site's owner, Conde' Nast, purchased it in 2006, and is offering little or no technical support or funding until the site shows promise. So the four engineers running the site (which has had a spate of technical problems lately) are asking readers to donate or subscribe to the site in an effort to secure additional resources.

Many of the readers are too jaded and will not pay for a subscription. After all, Conde Nast is a giant publishing company that can easily fund it. But as a business unit with its own P&L, it seems CN will let it flounder and fail.

The bigger question, however, is the lack of reader interaction with the ads. Are surfers finally getting tired of display ads? Are they becoming oblivious to those leader boards and skyscrapers?

With 280 million page views you would think there is some merit in the sites ability to generate revenue.

You be the judge. Oh yeah...the site, if you can get to it, is reddit.com

BATTLE ROYALE

2010-07-08T16:23:00.008-04:00

If you're sick of Apple's walled garden but have yet to make the jump from the iPhone to an Android handset, here's what to expect, how to adjust, and how to cope with certain app withdrawal. The following guide, courtesy of the folks at Lifehacker.com will help ease a transition.....

Let me preface all of this by saying that for many—not all—the switch from iPhone to Android will feel like being covered in band-aids and ripping each one off over the course of a few weeks. This is not because there's anything particularly wrong with either mobile operating system, but because they have different paradigms. Android and iPhone feel different, look different, and accomplish things in sometimes very different manners. Nonetheless, they're both mobile operating systems with touch interfaces, so it's hard to avoid comparing the two and finding similarities between them. If you decide to ditch your iPhone and give Android a try, be prepared for a little culture shock.

The Good

While some things are worse and others just different, there are quite a few things Android does best, and you'll want to be sure to check them out.

You've Arrived with Google Maps Navigation
Welcome to getting to your destination safely, courtesy of Android's phenomenal free turn-by-turn navigation. As much as I love beating a dead horse, I won't go on endlessly about the fantastic Google Maps Navigation app. The app has found new routes to places I frequent that save 5-10 minutes over what I learned from my iPhone. It's great, it's built-in, and it costs you nothing.

Your Voice
Voice capabilities are also new and exciting. The iPhone's Voice Control exists, but it's limited to music, apps, and a few other areas of the phone. Android gives you surprisingly accurate voice search that lets you enter text into any field with your voice, get directions while you're driving, make calls to businesses just by saying their names, or find pretty much anything on the web.

Freedom of Choice
On the iPhone you have the App Store; on Android you have the Android Marketplace. One of the reasons you may want to switch to Android is the choice of carrier and hardware it provides, along with its much more open app market. This has its disadvantages, which we'll talk about it later, but the upside is the freedom developers have to bring you all kinds of apps. There are apps that look exactly like their iPhone counterparts, but also apps that dig a lot deeper into the OS, letting you customize all sorts of uses and notifications, and have a seductive level of control over what you can do.

Instant Web
On Android, the web is here. On your iPhone, you have to bring it to you. If you're an eager Google service user and you supply your Android phone with your Google credentials, you'll quickly find your phone is filled with all sorts of information. You'll have e-mail, calendar items, contacts, bookmarks and more. I found out I had calendars and contacts in Google I didn't know existed. You can also connect to Facebook and Twitter to pull even more information into your phone. When Android detects contact information that should belong to an existing contact, it'll suggest you link it. While the way it displays everything isn't so great, and you don't always have easy handles on what you don't want to see, information is in constant sync with your web apps.

Passively Notified

If you were asked to pick just one complaint about the iPhone's interface, there's a good chance it's about how it handles notifications. Nobody loves frequent pop-ups, and it's almost bizarre that Apple has implemented such an archaic notification system. Android handles notifications passively, allowing you to check when you want and be otherwise uninterrupted—but, if you'd like, set specific notifications to ring, vibrate, or flash your trackball light for attention. If you're new to Android, you might not know where to find these updates. Just drag the down on the status bar up top and you'll pull down your notifications drawer.

The Bad

It's not all good news when you switch. Android has its issues, too. Fortunately, you can work around most of them.

Spyware
Apple insists their walled garden of an App Store is necessary to keep everyone safe—and, infamously, offer freedom from porn—and in some ways they may be right. The Android Marketplace has begun to see a spyware problem. How big of an issue it is may be up for debate, but it exists. When you download an Android app, you'll need to consider its source and note the warnings about the sorts of data it can access. Be prudent and think before you install.

It is worth noting that Apple's App Store isn't bereft of spyware; it just hasn't grown to the projected proportions of the Android Marketplace.

Blame the Manufacturer

Carriers and hardware manufacturers can sometimes add to the Android experience, but in most cases you'll wish you could get rid of that Sprint Nascar app (for example). HTC likes to add their Sense layer on top of the standard Android experience, as a means of beautification and betterment, but you might find it more cumbersome than helpful. Of course, you may be the minority that loves mandatory carrier apps and added interface layers. If not, you can relegate carrier apps to the app drawer by simply dragging them from the home screen to the trash (and then further banishing them through the "Manage Applications" section of Settings/Applications). Better still, if you don't like the home screen, change it.

Low Battery Warning

Certain Android phones (that'd be you, Evo) have embarrassing battery life. While the iPhone's battery isn't endless (even though it's more battery than phone nowadays), due to Android's true multitasking, the battery life falls a little short. You may be able to eke out a little more longevity by utilizing apps like TasKiller (see #6) to quit processes you don't want running, or the buggy-but-brilliant JuiceDefender app to cut back on data and screen usage. There's a debate over TasKiller's efficacy, and you don't want to abuse its power in fear of killing off an important background task you actually want running, but I've found it helps me keep the phone on a little bit longer. If you don't want to take such extreme measures, just make sure you actually quit apps when you're done with them. Unlike the iPhone, you need to be a little more active in your app management.

The Uncomfortable

The good and bad aside, you'll most likely be uncomfortable until you hit the other side of the learning curve. Switching from one OS to another isn't supposed to be, so stay patient and stick with it.

Bad Touch
There's something about (multi)touch on Android that isn't quite as elegant as the iPhone. The animations aren't as smooth, touch doesn't always respond the same way and things just don't feel right. In some cases you'll find yourself adjusting to the little differences, such as sliding down to unlock your phone rather than left to right (as you're used to with the iPhone). In other cases you may find things just don't feel the way you hoped, like when scrolling and you hit a hard stop at the bottom of a page (whereas an iPhone will bounce a little to let you know you've reached the end). How hard it is to adjust to the touch, the feel of ~~cotton~~ Android will depend on you, but remember this: It's different. It's not an iPhone, so don't expect one.

Different Strokes

When you buy a new keyboard for a computer, the displacement of a single button can become very frustrating. Once you memorize key locations it's hard to switch, because they're embedded in your muscle memory. Depending on the Android phone you choose, you'll either be adjusting to a physical keyboard with its own layout, or you'll be presented with a familiar but notably different touch keyboard. The number/symbol selector may be on the right side (it varies), your spacebar is a bit smaller, and you have a microphone button that will let you speak what you want to type instead of typing it. It's slightly different and you'll slip up, but you'll adjust with practice. But once you get the hang of it you'll discover keyboard shortcuts that'll help you type faster. Here are a few shortcuts, but note that they may or may not work based on your hardware:

Alt + Spacebar lets you insert special characters
Alt + Delete will delete an entire line
Pressing Shift twice will initiate caps lock.
Menu + X will cut all text, Menu + C will copy it, Menu + V will paste clipboard text and Menu + A will select everything in the current field.
Alt + Q inserts a tab space.

The upside to Android? If you want to try a keyboard that's vastly different, like the gesture-based Swype, you have that option as well.

Consistent Expectations
Consistency of the interface is another piece of culture shock. Maybe staring at a grid of iPhone apps felt like staring into your probable future as a member of the Apple occult, but at least you knew what you were getting. On Android, you have several pages with different items and you may find yourself swiping around blindly. Just like you would with a grid of apps with no real immediate notification of what's what, you'll get used to the differing pages of your home screen. If not, you can always replace it with a nifty app like SlideScreen (something the iPhone could really use).

Localized Settings

On the iPhone you've come to expect some of your app settings in, well, the global Settings app. In Android, you'll always find them in the actual application. To get to any app's settings, you'll need to go into the app, hit your phone's Menu button, and then hit "Settings." This applies not only to apps your downloads from the Android Marketplace, but settings for your text messages, email accounts, and other features you may think of as part of the OS.

Real (or Unreal) Buttons
Speaking of the menu button, you'll find that navigating an Android phone requires the use of those four buttons below the screen. This can be very off-putting at first. You might wonder what purpose is served by offering dedicated buttons which, on some handsets, aren't really even buttons at all. As you get used to them and memorize where they are, you'll adapt, but initially you may want to pull your hair out wondering why everything isn't part of the touch screen. Simply put, iPhone apps have been designed for some time now as single environments with multiple screens to page through, while Android apps function a bit more like traditional desktop apps—a single screen, with buttons and options, made to be switched into and out of regularly.

Out of Sync

What about syncing? One of the benefits of Android is that, for the most part, you won't need to sync. You can copy media from your computer over USB if you need to. But do you miss the painful tethered syncing of iTunes? Then get doubleTwist (here's our first look), which can be described pretty accurately as iTunes for Android. If you don't like Android's media player, doubleTwist offers an alternative. If you're longing for iTunes after the switch, a couple of downloads should have you covered.

Storage Options
Storage on an iPhone is a sealed deal (much like the battery), but on Android it's expandable. On one hand this is great because you essentially have no limits, but it also means purchasing an additional MicroSDHC card (or two) in order to fit everything you want. Generally you only start with 8GB. Whether you go out and grab a 32GB card or a few smaller ones, you may have to start considering your storage a bit differently.

PREDICTING FLOPS - 3DTV

2010-07-02T11:31:00.002-04:00

Several months ago we commented on the lemming effect of television manufacturers running over the 3DTV cliff. Not withstanding the expense, the need to wear glasses (and have extra pairs around for guests), and the cost of the glasses we predicted (and still do) the loss of hundreds of millions by companies the likes of Sony, Samsung and LG among others.

Major motion picture directors and movie critics panned 3D as a "waste of a dimension".

Today, a Japanese consumer survey may have hammered the first nail in the coffin.

Here are the results and a partial lift from website VG247 ....

Sony is preparing to stake its case for 3D gaming at Develop in Brighton this month, despite a Japanese survey today showing that nearly 70 percent of those questioned have no intention of upgrading to 3D TVs this year. Why? Because the glasses are turning them off.

Respondents blamed the need for wear glasses, costly TV sets and scarcity of general content for lack of interest, the survey by Kakaku.com showed (via Reuters).

The numbers aren’t small, either: 70 percent said the hassle of wearing special glasses put them off, 57 percent said prices were too high and close to 40 percent said there was not enough 3D content.

Of those questioned, 67.4 percent said they were not interested in buying a 3D TV while only 31.2 percent were considering or wanted to purchase one, the survey said.

The online survey ran June 10-16, receiving responses from 8,957 people.

Gaming firms such as Sony and EA pushed 3D titles in their E3 press conferences this year, with Sony in particular making big efforts to evangelise the fledgling feature.

Sony continues western 3D push

Unperturbed by the news from Japan, however, Sony said today it’s to showcase PS3 3D at Develop later this month.

Enough said.

FIGURES LIE AND LIARS FIGURE

2010-06-27T10:16:00.006-04:00

One of my favorite blogs in the blog-o-sphere is written by Bob Hoffman, CEO of Hoffman/Lewis Advertising in San Francisco and St. Louis. The Ad Contrarian has become a daily read for me and I thank Bob for his wonderful, down to earth insights on anything advertising.

The following is a current post on Bob's blog. I encourage you to read it and occasionally drop by his blog .... you'll become addicted.

"The advertising industry is so intent on pumping up (some might say pimping up) web and mobile video, they can't even see the real world anymore.

Nielsen's "Three Screen Report" (which reports on TV, web, and mobile screen usage) for the first quarter of 2010 has some astounding data about viewing habits. But you'd never know it from reading their conclusions.

Here are the facts I found compelling.

1. While time spent with TV increased by 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year, time on the internet dropped by 10 times that amount.

2. Compared to Q1 last year, TV viewing grew by 2 hours per month, while watching video on the internet grew by 11 minutes per month.

3. DVR viewers fast forwarded through 3% fewer spots compared to Q1 a year ago.

4. The number of people watching TV and using a laptop simultaneously dropped by almost 5% compared to last year.

5. Video viewing on the internet continues to be less than 1% of all viewing.

6. Mobile viewing of video is essentially a non-factor, constituting about 2/10 of 1% of total viewing.

Meanwhile, here are the "Key Conclusions" Nielsen draws:

1. While mobile subscribers watching video on a mobile phone is (sic) still only a small fraction of the audience, the year-over-year growth is a notable 51.2%

2. Over half (55%) of the mobile video audience is aged 25-49, not teens as some might think

3. Simultaneous usage of television and PC, while down year-over-year in March, remains fairly constant.

Two of the "key conclusions" revolve around mobile viewing, which is not even a pimple on the ass of total viewing. No "key conclusions" about the amazing, continuing dominance of television. Nothing about the bewildering drop in internet viewing (can you imagine the hysteria and death knells if time spent with TV dropped 13% in one year!)

To me it is painfully obvious that the marketing and advertising industries have so thoroughly bought into the "narrative" of the power of web and mobile video -- and are so eager to find justification for that narrative -- that they can't even interpret their own numbers sensibly. "

Thanks Bob!

A MOMENT OF ZEN

2010-06-22T15:50:00.007-04:00

Every so often I come across a song that fits perfectly for a given occasion ... and has nothing to do with the world of advertising.

Although Father's day just past us last Sunday, these lyrics, put to music, best describes the love between father and son.

"The Riddle"

There was a man back in '95
Whose heart ran out of summers
But before he died, I asked him

Wait, what's the sense in life
Come over me, Come over me

He said,

Son why you got to sing that tune
Catch a Dylan song or some eclipse of the moon
Let an angel swing and make you swoon
Then you will see... You will see

Then he said,

Here's a riddle for you
Find the Answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I...

Picked up my kid from school today

Did you learn anything cause in the world today
You can't live in a castle far away
Now talk to me, come talk to me

He said,

Dad I'm big but we're smaller than small
In the scheme of things, well we're nothing at all
Still every mother's child sings a lonely song
So play with me, come play with me

And Hey Dad
Here's a riddle for you
Find the Answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I...

I said,

Son for all I've told you
When you get right down to the
Reason for the world...
Who am I?

There are secrets that we still have left to find
There have been mysteries from the beginning of time
There are answers we're not wise enough to see

He said... You looking for a clue I Love You free...

The batter swings and the summer flies
As I look into my angel's eyes
A song plays on while the moon is high over me
Something comes over me

I guess we're big and I guess we're small
If you think about it man you know we got it all
Cause we're all we got on this bouncing ball
And I love you free
I love you freely

Here's a riddle for you
Find the Answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I...

[Thanks to www.azlyrics.com for finding the lyrics]
[Thanks to Lauren (mangotango2025@yahoo.com) for these lyrics]
[Thanks to irshnd77@aol.com, Julia for correcting these lyrics]

Socialising Johannesburg

2010-06-22T13:29:00.005-04:00

The following from friends at PSFK on the use of digital outdoor-scapes....

Nike’s Write The Future campaign is taking an innovative approach by merging social media and World Cup activities to forge a truly interactive experience. Fans can submit a 57-character inspirational message through Facebook, Twitter, Mxitt (a South African social network), and QQ (a Chinese social network) and choose an accompanying picture of their favorite soccer player to have it headlined on the Life Center, one of Johannesburg’s largest skyscrapers.

One hundred fan-generated headlines are selected each night to be displayed on Africa’s largest interactive LED screen. Measuring 44 meters high by 42 meters wide and hoisted 30 stories high, it displays fan messages for the entire city to read and be inspired by. When a message is chosen and displayed, the fan receives a personalized notification with a picture of the headline and the accompanying animation of their favorite soccer player.

Several years ago the same strategy was utilized by Gateway for a digital billboard in Times Square.

Watch a video about the campaign below and the Times Square photo that precedes it.

PUBLISHERS BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL

2010-06-16T18:58:00.002-04:00

As digital publishers came together at a panel hosted by OMMA's PUBLISH conference today, trying to desperately figure out how to migrate to a digital landscape, I could not help but wonder.

What if offline publishing properties that are both non-native to the online environment and not time sensitive never migrated to the online world. Would they be better off today from a revenue perspective?

For those publishers that did make the leap (and made many mistakes along the way) do they regret the move? Chances are they would not admit they would "go back to the future".

The delicate balance between the reader and his/her engagement with a publication is likely not interrupted by the absence of a digital version. Many pubs missed the benefit they provide their offline readers .... the benefit of an exclusive interaction that is not available online. Unfortunately they followed the crowd.

This theory would not hold for news sites that are time sensitive. The internet created a "want it now, want it fast" culture that dictates the need for speed. They belong online .... as do native digital brands the likes of eBay, Monster, Huffington Post and Facebook.

As the traditional publishers scrambled to "go digital" with no vision for a sound business model, they gave away their content and are now waging an epic battle for their survival.

Comments welcome.

SAMSUNG SINGING SONY'S SONG

2010-06-08T16:52:00.005-04:00

Samsung, Sony and LG are in the throws of a cut-throat battle for the lead position on the introduction and launch of 3DTV sets in the U.S. market.

In a brilliant (or lucky) move by Samsung's ad agency, Leo Burnett, , they secured the rights to the music track that will likely become the hit song of the summer of 2010, running the catchy and addictive tune across the Samsung product line.

The song? Soul Sister by the artist Train. If you don't recall the title, watch and/or listen to one of the commercials, the music video or the music widget below.

Here's the rub. The song and the artist fall under the Sony Music Columbia record label. So.... why would Samsung allow its agency to subsidize the royalty coffers of its nemesis and continue to create buzz around the song through the summer?

While this isn't the first time Samsung has teamed up with Sony for the launch of new products (the launch of LCD sets was a cooperative effort), was this an "ooops" by Leo Burnett or just a smart move?

And, was (is) Samsung aware?

VENEZ COMME VOUS ETES

2010-06-04T17:27:00.008-04:00

McDonald's has launched a new ad campaign in France that aims to celebrate the diversity of its customers. One of the spots, featuring an interaction between a father and his gay teenage son, is gathering a lot of attention online...

The campaign, from BETC Euro RSCG in Paris, sees the brand move away from its usual focus on the traditional family set-up to recognizing a wider clientele.

Pro family groups are now mobilizing to publicize McDonlad's extreme support of "the deviant moral lifestyle of homosexuals and transgenders".

Let My Open Kimono readers know how you feel about McDonald's niche positioning after viewing the video that follows. Voting is anonymous.

TALK IS CHEAP -- NOT

2010-05-26T20:30:00.004-04:00

A recent announcement by AT&T alerts to an increase in early termination fees for iPhones ... from $175 to $350 per line for new contracts. Not withstanding the insult of draconian fees, surcharges and use taxes on cell phone bills AT&T maintains its service is exemplary. Except, of course, if you happen to live in a large metropolitan area.

The "fix" is to provide free WiFi service in cities like New York and San Francisco to relieve the load of calls running through its cellular 3G service.

Keep waiting.

And if you're thinking of moving to another service using the HTC Droid, think again. I received a "comeback to Verizon" offer following the cancellation of a PC modem for those rare instances when I cannot find a WiFi signal. The offer was for $100 off on a new phone. Since I did not cancel a phone I chalked the offer up to poor CRM management.

But the kicker to Verizon's offer was in the mouse type "terms" that will charge an early termination fee of $350 for "advanced devices". A call to Verizon confirmed that "advanced devices" refers to smart phones like the Droid.

You simply cannot win....or can you?

STOLEN GATES?

2010-05-24T15:25:00.007-04:00

More likely than not you have seen the AT&T commercial that drapes the nation's major landmarks with saffron colored bolts of fabric. The thirty second commercial (below) produced by BBDO drew immediate attention from viewers that recalled the "Gates project" by Christo, exhibited in New York's Central Park in February 2005.

Inspiration is a good thing. But give credit where credit is due.

The initial airings of the AT&T commercial did not credit Christo and wife Jeanne-Claude as artists for the "Gates" project. Someone must have complained.

In Stuart Elliott's New York Times column on May 19th, a reader posed the question to him. Elliott, in turn, contacted BBDO and received a response from Fleishman-Hilliard, AT&T's public relations agency to wit: “The artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude have had and have no direct or indirect affiliation or involvement with the creation of AT&T’s advertising.”

The commercial, currently airing, now has a disclaimer that reads: "The artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude have no direct or indirect affiliation or involvement with AT&T"

Is this inspiration or a stolen vision ? In either case it appears AT&T is not giving the artists credit. Watch the video and vote below.

Now vote!

he AT&T Gates commercial is ....customer surveys

NOT FOR SQUARES

2010-05-17T11:06:00.008-04:00

In just over one short year Foursquare, a location based, mobile driven social networking site caught fire in over one hundred metropolitan areas, quickly generating as many as one million users. Today, it's a worldwide service catching the eye of Yahoo! and a reputed offer of $125 million for the service.

Is Foursquare just another novel use of social networking that will fade away in a couple of years? What benefits does the service provide its users? Why bother?

Foursquare may just be another application searching for a user base but is, despite its somewhat hokey attempt at gaming, providing useful localized information on a variety of venues.

A user for several months now I can see the potential for the service .... as long as the founders recognize the need to limit input to useful information.

It needs to clean up its act a bit.

Awarding "badges" may be cute, but it just becomes an annoying "side dish". As users "check in" to venues they visit, the service then posts the venue for all to see. Not limited to restaurants or retail venues, there are "check-ins" for street corners, user apartments, etc. .... a sort of wild west listing with some offering no redeeming value.

The tie to the mobile ecosystem offering mobile "coupons" is the key to Foursquare's success. Building an opt-in mobile database will secure their future as they tie themselves to venues focused on local advertising and build relationships with online and offline media industry partners.

With a little clean up and smart strategic positioning I would give Foursquare a better chance of long-term survival and success than Facebook.

FACEBOOK - LIKE AN OIL SPILL

2010-05-11T16:34:00.007-04:00

It starts with a small drip, drip, drip....

Unchecked and unregulated it can grow to become a looming disaster affecting all aspects of personal and private information. Like the leaking oil in our gulf it will have lasting impact on individual "environments".

When Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook suggests to his employees that there is no such thing as privacy and when Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google insists that privacy should not be an issue if you have nothing to hide, it's time to worry.

Be very, very worried.

The infographs that follow trace the "privacy spill" perpetuated by Facebook in five short years. They tell the story better than I can in this short blog post.

Click on the graphs to enlarge.

A shout out and thanks to a reader (Yen) for passing this along.

HELL OF A WEEK

2010-05-07T18:38:00.009-04:00

Chances are that you could not escape this past week's news ... almost all bad.

From the BP oil spill and its danger to wildlife and fishing fleets, resulting in the loss of thousands of livelihoods, to the roller coaster ride on Wall Street and the explosive financial meltdown in Greece. It has been, at the very least, a depressing start to May. Add the massive flooding in Nashville and the bomb threats in New York .... you get the picture.

Jon Stewart's Daily Show took advantage of the week's top stories to pull together the video that follows:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Family Research Council's European Gaycation

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tea Party

In contrast to Stewart's report, this music video sung by Anne Murray provides a better perspective and gauge of feelings across the country. How little the world has changed since it was first written in 1983!

3D.... FUTURE OR FOLLY?

2010-05-03T19:49:00.010-04:00

Some would think the current buzz around 3D and its promise to revolutionize both theater and home screen viewing is worth rushing to the nearest Best Buy to place an order for the newest 3D TV.

Like so many lemmings.

Contrary to industry statistics on the popularity of 3D, it is far from a technology that can support a viable business model. It is expected that, by the end of this year, just under one percent of households will have a 3D TV.

Let me repeat that ....just under one percent will have a 3D TV.

Do the math. The massive investment to produce, refit theaters and manufacture TVs and computers that will work in 3D (assuming standards are established) for a viewing experience that is, even in its early stages, coming under scrutiny as "potentially unsafe" defies logic.

History repeats itself and if the 1950's has a lesson we should learn from it is that 3D, purely and simply, is a novelty.

Reports of headaches, uncomfortable viewing experiences and, in the case of the recent release of Alice In Wonderland, critics prefer the 2D experience. 3D is a diversion and the only growth segment for the technology lies with gaming.

Dr Michael Rosenberg, an ophthalmology professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago said ...."in a 3D movie, people are confronted with an entirely new sensory experience. That translates into greater mental effort, making it easier to get a headache. I think it will be a gimmick. I suspect there will be a lot of people who say it's sort of neat, but it's not really comfortable," he said.

For those individuals that are nearsighted, wearing glasses over glasses adds another layer of discomfort. It is estimated that at least thirty percent of the population requires corrective vision for nearsightedness.

Still not convinced? If you're part of the one percent that will bite this year, get ready to shell out $3900 for a Sony 3D TV and about $135 for each set of glasses. And remember to have a few spares around for guests when they come over to watch the Superbowl.

Click here for a comprehensive 3D movie list.

WHEELIES WELCOME

2010-04-30T12:52:00.004-04:00

As we begin to dust off and drag out bicycles to take advantage of warmer weather, one company, VW, roles out an electric concept bike for short distance commuting that promises to be an eye catcher.

This from engadget...

Well, it looks like it's the season for automakers to show off electric bicycle concepts, with Volkswagen now following Lexus' lead with its own "Bik.e" concept. Unlike Lexus' hybrid concept, this one is a full-fledged electric bicycle (sans pedals), and it boasts a few innovations of its own, not the least of which is that it's able to fold up and fit where you'd normally store a spare tire. It's also apparently able to be charged using your car's DC current in a pinch in addition to a standard AC outlet at home, and it promises to deliver a range of 20 kilometers (about 12.5 miles) on a full charge, along with a top speed of 20 kilometers per hour. What's more, it seems like Volkswagen is actually looking at commercial possibilities for the Bik.e, although it's not making any firm commitments just yet.

How does this play into the world of media? As a new concept that will draw attention, a smart marketer will secure fifty of these Bik.e's and launch them in a city with riders carrying their message on windbreakers. Short-lived, but impactful when it's timely.

Watch the video ....

OUT FRONT AND CENTER

2010-04-27T18:33:00.008-04:00

Mediapost's Outfront Conference on Tuesday held its audience for nine hours filled with nine panels and a star studded cast of speakers to include MSNBC's Chris Matthews and former Vice President Al Gore, Chairman of Current Media.

It was perhaps the only conference I can recall attending that held my interest for a full day.... a testament to the determination of Ken Fadner, Chairman at Mediapost and Joe Mandese, Editor in Chief to maintain a strong presence in key media channels. It signals a trend away from large multi-purpose, multi-channel venues towards more impactful "niche" conferences.

Sessions ranged from Dynamics of the Upfront TV marketplace to Advanced Metrics and a discussion on the acceptance of 3D TV.

Chris Matthews provided a respite from media issues to have a lively chat with the audience about everything from the Tea Party to Immigration, Sarah Palin and Obama. His commentary tonight will focus on "The Real McCain". On media ..."Your judgment about what to watch is driven by what you can learn".

Al Gore, no less entertaining, focused on sustainability in advertising driven by an ad model that should be subtle, targeted, efficient, not expensive and not intrusive. How "not intrusive" plays into the social network equation will be interesting to watch as I consider any commercial insert between the social interaction of two people or a group/community to be social interference or an "intrusion".

All considered the conference gets a AAAA rating.

CALM AMONG MADNESS

2010-04-22T20:52:00.008-04:00

I rarely step back from the blog table to highlight a company in the digital or analog space. But this one's a rising star.

Without beating around the bush, that company is AppNexus. Founded just three short years ago in 2007, founders Brian O'Kelley and Mike Nolet partnered to deliver a cutting edge online buying platform. The company launched the first server-side ad transactions and has been on a steep growth curve ever since.

Partnering with technology providers, ad networks, exchanges and data providers they are positioned as the ad server for the technology and data rich digital landscape that we are all challenged to understand and make it work to the marketer's benefit.

Bringing together over 150 attendees Thursday at a post AdTech event, the AppNexus "What Works" Summit successfully pulled together several panels and speakers that made AdTech seem like OnLine 101.

In a nutshell, AppNexus is the go-to company for real time ad buying in its enterprise level computing cloud. It drives the madness out of the planning/buying process.

They are truly at the nexus between the digital landscape and the cloud(s) that water and nurture it.

Bravo.

IT'S A WRAP FOLKS!

2010-04-22T00:18:00.008-04:00

AdTech 2010 in San Francisco is over with a crowning attendance estimated to be in the 10-12000 range. The crowd, in addition to the hundreds of vendors, struck positive notes on the promise of a successful business outcome.

Keynotes and session tracks were well attended. With the exception of Krisiti VanderBosch, CEO, Publicis & Hal Riney, I would have liked to have heard from more key agency figures the likes of Nick Brien, CEO, McCann Worldgroup or Rob Norman, CEO, Group M, NA.

Session tracks were well developed for a broad range of channel interests with solid presenters for the most part. Attendees from the agency side of the business, especially from the larger holding companies, were far too few and far between. I know of countless planners and strategists that could have benefited from the conference but were held back for lack of resources and work coverage at the agencies.

Overheard at lunch by one nameless agency strategist working on Microsoft that did attend .... "all you hear at Microsoft planning meetings is "what did Google or Facebook say or do". If they focused on what they were known for years ago, namely innovation, they wouldn't be so paranoid." Be careful what you say in public!

Overall tone of the conference leaned towards ad exchanges and ad networks as well as mobile initiatives for smartphones.

Buzz around the appNexus Summit on Thursday will likely prove to be a positive and lively curtain call for the conference.

WHEEL OF FORTUNE OR JEOPARDY?

2010-04-19T11:01:00.001-04:00

Publishers Clearing House (PCH) today announced at AdTech, San Francisco, the introduction of advertiser-sponsored tournaments for free online games at PCHGames.com

This past February, PCHGanes.com has 16 million game plays, 1.6 million uniques, 5 million visits and 28.8 million page views .... enough fodder to engage a returning audience with an opportunity to win cash prizes..

The advertiser-sponsored tournaments present a number of opportunities for brand engagement and offers to be communicated throughout the PCH portfolio of online properties, as well as through their opt-in database of email subscribers.

In addition to a customized landing page, sponsors also receive takeover ads, featured placements, ROS banners. pre-roll and post-roll ads before and after the games.

On April 28th, Mom-Jongg, a Mother's Day inspired version of Mah-Jongg, will take place.

Previewing the game site last week I found it to be engaging with a large selection of games but winced at the potential for pop up intrusions and screen crashes. I was surprised to find the sponsors and advertisers well integrated into the gaming environment and navigation error free with one major exception....games are not configured for a 10.1 inch netbook screen.

Finally, someone gets it right!

A few suggestions based on industry observations and the psychology of human behavior ....

1-Extend the experience to a community environment (sans messages) to generate the "social glue" that will keep customers connected with the sponsors.

2-Provide an opportunity to play for charities and invite celebrities to participate.

DO'S AND DONT'S

2010-04-14T16:08:00.013-04:00

Today's post will take a departure from general media issues to report on a few personal likes and dislikes which, I believe, may have a small but positive impact on your day.

You'll love how this sounds. If you're in the market for a low cost portable peripheral speaker the size of a golf ball with awesome sound, the X-mini fits the bill. It's the world's first pocket size speaker with built in bass support and a rechargeable battery. Sound quality is uncompromising for its size.

I use these speakers plugged into an iPhone while listening to music or Pandora. They also come in handy when plugged directly into the Sirius (XM) satellite receiver. You can also daisy chain several for a unique listening experience with deep, very deep, bass.

Speakers can be ordered directly from the website for about $20 each. It's only shortcoming is a short tether from the listening device to the speaker.

Twenty Eight, Five hundred, One Thousand Four Hundred. This could be a reprise from the musical RENT. What it represents is a reprehensible amount of average fat, calories and sodium in a new "sandwich" creation from the folks at Yum! Brand's KFC.

A heap of bacon, cheese and special sauce between two pieces of grilled or crispy chicken. Where's the bun!

I admit I had to pull into the nearest KFC to try it. Ecch! It was like biting into a salt lick. A shout out to Dave Novak, Chairman of Yum! Brands .... would you feed one of these to your kids?

The following from Steven Colbert says it all .... "This is deep-fried madness. It is breaded insanity. It is a sandwich that lacks all sandwichness...This is the warped creation of a syphilitic brain."

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Thought for Food - Mentally Ill Advertisers & German Cupcakes

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Fox News

Finally, a look at one of the best versions of Madonna's "Vogue" video to hit the airwaves ... played by Jane Lynch (Glee's Sue Sylvester), to be aired next week. A big thumbs up for this .... sure to propel Glee and Jane Lynch to the top of the popularity charts.

ATTRIBUTION: DILEMMA DEFINED

2010-04-09T11:14:00.004-04:00

Is attribution getting a fair shake or is it just so much nonsense?

Read today's commentary on the topic here.

TAKING A BITE OUT OF THE APPLE

2010-04-05T01:04:00.003-04:00

Getting my hands on an iPad for a few hours this weekend I was finally able to see what all the hoopla was about.

Much ado about nothing .... at least for version1.0.

What could this version of an iPhone on steroids do that my iPhone or Lenovo laptop couldn't do? Let's find out.

Upfront, the display is an eye popper. Crisp, clean and bright. Switching from one application to another was sickeningly fast. But switch you must because you cannot multitask on the iPad.

Photos? Got them on my iPhone. Reader? While I don't use a digital reader, I understand that the LED back lighting on the iPad is not as easy on the eyes as is the Kindle or Sony Reader. The interface that allows you to move from page to page is an awesome bell and whistle.

Computing and word processing? Not yet. Typing on glass may be a natural for those growing up with it, but I still prefer the keys on my Lenovo (even though I'm a whiz at texting on the iPhone).

Connecting peripherals? Forget it. No USB ports. Would rather listen to music on the iPhone with my external speakers.

No camera or web cam or communication device (as in PHONE). A device killer.

On and on....it's a way cool new (if not retro) gadget that will no doubt have all your friends buzzing like bees around you to get their hands on it.

This first release leaves much to be desired and much to be looking forward to.

I'll pass on the iPad till version x.o proves it can at least live up to its cousin the iPhone. So for now, it's an interactive clipboard.

iPhone Counting Coffee Beans

2010-04-01T18:16:00.007-04:00

As new barcode technology in the form of QR Codes takes hold in the U.S., one of the first major chains to implement a payment system using QR codes is Starbucks.

It was announced today that the coffee chain will begin accepting scanned codes for payment via its iPhone app. It will be initially available at all Starbucks locations in 1000 Target stores.

QR codes have been around for several years and are widely used in Japan. The codes can hold a large amount of data. MyOpenKimono reviewed the use of these codes in April 2009. The review can be accessed here.

The QR code is connected to the Starbucks Card only (not a credit card) and can be refilled through the app as required.

So leave your wallet at home and grab a cup of joe and a newspaper ... but don't forget your iPhone.

CYBER ATTACK ON GOOGLE?

2010-03-31T12:14:00.004-04:00

At 12:01 AM (CST) today, April 1, in Taiwan, it is believed the Chinese government, angered by Google’s decision to circumvent internet censorship rules, launched a global cyber attack on the company effectively hampering its ability to operate.

Initial denial of service attacks and shut downs in Europe and Asia are expected to spread to the Americas sometime today as Google scrambles to prevent further service cuts and begins to restore operations in affected regions.

Chinese authorities deny involvement in the attack.

Google’s vulnerability has been compromised and its stock price is expected to crash, losing as much as 75% of its current market price.

Google representatives are meeting with President Obama’s advisors as a security breach for the world’s largest search engine is also raising concerns for national security breaches across government and financial sectors.

The US Government is on full alert providing assistance to Google in an effort to identify the origin of the attack, determined to be centered in Asia.

Other search engines including Yahoo! and Microsoft appear unaffected but are nonetheless taking precautions. Baidu, China’s largest search engine and benefactor of Google’s exit from the country, is also unaffected.

Please note that it is already April 1st in Taiwan.

So, rather than appear foolish afterward, I renounce seeming clever now.

…William of Baskerville in “The Name of the Rose”.

Happy April Fools Day!

FOLLOW THE FINGER

2010-03-30T14:16:00.006-04:00

The 2010 RetailTech expo in Japan, biometrics played an important role in the unveiling of a new vending machine for Coca Cola.

The machine utilizes finger pulse recognition to identify the user using vein authentication technology. A selection is made from the machine and a credit card is debited.

A digital display on the machine also directs relevant messages to the purchaser with the option of receiving more information, free samples and offers by mail or digitally.

Awesome! No need to carry your debit card. No passwords required.

Check the video below for a demonstration.

EUREKA! SEO GURU AT SES

2010-03-24T19:59:00.008-04:00

Day Two at the Search Engine Strategies Conference (SES) in New York launched with a brilliant keynote address by Avinash Kaushik, author, blogger and Analytics Evangelist for Google.

If you can manage to hire away this brilliant mind from Google, do it! Avinash's take on the use of data analysis to build on business intelligence was short of super-genius.

At one point, the SEO Guru used Kodak as an example of poor (very poor) search marketing, focusing on the lack of keyword intelligence by their marketing department. If Kodak was in the audience they got a free analysis and examination of their search tactics (or lack thereof).

Go out and buy his book, Web Analytics 2.0 now.

Unfortunately, the afternoon keynote panel qualified for a big YAWN as the audience trickled out of the ballroom in search of caffeine. Topic -- Video Marketing. Ian Schafer, CEO of Deep Focus and part of the panel, attempting to start controversy, was trapped by a mediocre moderator and fellow panelists. Sorry, Ian.

Rounding out the day, a session on "Selling The C Suite" helped bring life back to the day with thoughtful tips by Kevin Lee, CEO of Didit and Fionn Downhill, CEO at Elixir Interactive. Suggesting what motivates the C suite --- Greed, Fear, Vanity, Loss and Competition were top of mind for Kevin. I would have added blackmail to the list!

ATTENTION! INDSUTRY UPTICK AT SES

2010-03-23T17:52:00.013-04:00

The Search engine Strategies (SES) Conference in New York kicked off today with a blow out crowd estimated to be 5000 plus, signaling an approaching business turn-around.

The opening keynote by David Meerman Scott, author of the just released "Worldwide Rave" immediately connected with his audience focusing on the issue of content creation and its impact on attention. The content of his presentation held the attention of his audience with the video that follows as part of his "act". The video is for a German company (CWS) that manufactures self-cleaning toilets, generating attention and a viral connection with over 2 million views through "Word Of Mouse".

The mid-day keynote panel, moderated by Henry Blodget, CEO, The Business Insider, as no less impressive with a lively exchange on stage and with the audience. Jonathan Blum, CEO, Blumsday LLC, lit up the audience with witty no holds barred exchanges calling out iTunes as a "restrictive, clumsy, dumb product" and suggesting the web is becoming a "content slum". Blodget, ripped mobile advertising as just a "crappy medium".

Waiting for Day 2 to be just as lively.

TWITTER TWITCHES

2010-03-16T14:51:00.013-04:00

At yesterday's South by Southwest Conference (SXSW) in Austin, attendees were expecting Twitter's keynote to unveil a new advertising platform. WRONG!

Instead, they skirted around a new feature dubbed @Anywhere. Details were very fuzzy and some likened it to Facebook Connect.

The press hammered the keynote as attendees made a beeline for the exit doors:

"Likely the most horrifically devastating keynote in SXSW history" (Fast Company)

Maya Baratz, manager at MTV, tweeted: "There are hundreds of people in the room. Someone. Anyone. Kanye this keynote and ask Evan a good question."

GIGOM: Twitter fails to live up to SXSW hype."

Twitter has been groping for a business model that will sustain the company as they begin to slow their growth and field questions on the value of a smaller-than-expected base of frequent users.

Frankly, they had their opportunity to execute on an exit strategy last year and blew it. The contagious YAWN at SXSW will not sit well with their benefactors as they watch their investment sour.

DIGITAL STRESS POLL

2010-03-09T14:16:00.004-05:00

Having made the rounds of at least a dozen agencies over the last few weeks I am beginning to notice a few stress cracks for those strategists, communications planners, ad-ops managers and personnel dedicated to the digital landscape.

Doing more with less is the mantra executive offices are chanting in the face of a recessive economy. But to what end?

Paths of least resistance are followed in order to play "catch-up", often passing by initiatives that could enhance the outcome of media campaigns.

Who's at fault?

The economy, the bean counters at the agencies, marketers pressuring agencies to do more for less, the swarm of data vendors offering countless alternatives with questionable accountability or the publishers who barrage media and account teams with often short-sighted promotions?

"All of the above" will eventually wear down digital practitioners until the stress cracks shift to create burn out. We risk the loss of bright minds to other industries if we don't relieve the stress.

Are you feeling the digital stress at your job?polls

OMMA BEHAVIORAL - DATA POWER BOOSTERS

2010-02-25T20:19:00.007-05:00

If you came away with anything from OMMA's Behavioral Conference on Thursday in New York, it was the notion that general agency professionals and brand marketers are simply confused by the complexity of data and analytic delivery and measurement options.

Rishad Tabaccowala, member of the management board at Vivaki, opened the session with a keynote that drove home the need for simplicity. KPIs and results are the currency utilized to judge performance. The "pipes" that target audiences, driven by data, should hide behind the walls, managed by the "plumbers" of data and analysis.

Rishad went on to offer three reasons agencies get hired .... Insights, Inspiration (as opposed to perspiration and hallucination), and Ideas.

An audience question that follows stumped the the panel on "Which Data Finds The Right Audience".... "Who can qualify the quality of third party online data?"

It's a sad commentary on our state of affairs when the data is referred to as so much snake oil.

Very much like STP's Power Booster, few understand the origination and quality of the data but tentatively accept the fact that adding layers of data segments to their targeting options (or in STP's case adding it to your tank) will somehow enhance performance and outcome.

Therein lies the problem that slows acceptance of online as a viable alternative. The industry is running ahead of itself with little regard for mapping a destination or taking the time to truly learn and educate along the way.

Matt Freeman, CEO, Mediabrand Ventures

OMMA METRICS-- WHAT'S IN YOUR COOKIE?

2010-02-24T19:40:00.008-05:00

Yesterday's OMMA Metrics conference in New York drew an impressive gathering of brand managers, agency execs and pioneers in the analytics space from a wide range of companies trying to make sense of all the data.

There was no question that the cost basis for media has long been based on scarcity while new media focuses on value as its cost basis. This shift will drive a deeper reliance on data according to Adam Gerber, Chief Marketing Officer at Quantcast.

John Burbank, CEO at Nielsen Online noted a collaborative strategic partnership formed with Facebook to utilize its 400 million strong membership as a source for an "opt-in panel" for measurement. Joe Mandese, Editor-in-Chief at Mediapost asked about opt-in rates which Burbank skirted as a "state secret".

The afternoon keynote, given by Vipin Mayer, EVP Global Director of Data and Analytics at MRM Worldwide set the stage for a lively panel that focused on the need for brands to drive ad dollars from analog to digital media given proven roi measures.

The panel missed the one ingredient that could potentially become the snowflake that starts the avalanche ..... comfort. The 800 pound invisible gorilla in the room, television, is in the DNA of most major brand marketers. The easiest segue to digital media for television centric brands is broadband video. It breeds familiarity. Those in the analytics space would do well to consider a focus of initial efforts on video platform measurement.

OMMA Panel - The New Steroid - Data

STRESS MANAGEMENT

2010-02-18T15:05:00.005-05:00

PHD (Omnicom) Reception, NYC

Long past are the days when media reps had to cool their heels in a reception area while waiting for a meeting. Productivity rules.

But productivity is a two way street as time pressures build on both ends of the buy/sell relationship. Strategists and buyers on the agency side of the equation are doing more with less as media reps are finding it more difficult to secure face to face time with the buyers.

In today's digital ecosystem selling also requires reaching out to agency personnel outside of the media department. Account services, research and creative teams are now part of the mix effectively lengthening the sales cycle.

Tools of the trade have changed as well, making it easier to manage time while multi-tasking. Smartphones, netbooks, and productivity software are now crucial to success.

As we move forcefully with stress into the 21st century, we still need to take time to lighten the load we are carrying .... for our own sanity.

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, 'How heavy is this glass of water?'

Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, 'The absolute weight doesn't matter.
It depends on how long you try to hold it.
If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem..
If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.
If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance.
In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.'

He continued,
'And that's the way it is with stress management.
If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later,
the burden will become increasingly heavy:
and we won't be able to carry on. '

'As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again..
When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.
So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down: don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow.
Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can.'

So, my friend, Put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don't pick it up again until after you've rested a while.
Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

* Just accept that, some days, you're the pigeon:
and, some days, you're the statue.

* Always keep your words soft and sweet - ,
just in case you have to eat them.

* Always wear stuff that will make you look good
if you die in the middle of it.

* Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be
"recalled" by their maker.

* If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again,
It was probably worth it.

* Nobody cares if you can't dance well.
Just get up and dance.

* When everything's coming your way,
you're in the wrong lane.

* You may be only one person in the world,
But you may also be the world to one person.

* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.

* We could learn a lot from crayons... Some are sharp; some are pretty; and some are dull. Some have weird names; and all are different colours; but they all have to live in the same box.

WHAT'S TED UP TO?

2010-02-12T14:54:00.007-05:00

Can't make it to the TED 2010 Conference in Palm Springs this week?

Spend the next eight minutes watching the video below for a mind-blowing peek into the MIT Media Lab and its experiments with Sixth Sense information loads.

FACEBOOK VS. TWITTER

2010-02-11T12:47:00.007-05:00

As Google forges ahead to rule the world of information (and then some), they are nonetheless true pioneers of the 21st century.

If you haven't come across Google Suggest, it is a feature that you may want to play with. The following is a lift from Digital Inspiration:

As you type words in the Google search box, it will try to guess what you are looking for and offer suggestions in real-time.

While we don’t know how exactly Google Suggest works, it does offer a peek into what others are asking or looking for on the web.

For instance, type “how to” in the Google search box and you’ll instantly know that loads of people are looking for information to “how to tie a tie” and “how to lose weight fast”. Google Suggest can also help you understand what others think of a particular product or service. Try the phrase “facebook is” in the search box and you’ll know what people generally think of Facebook.

Google offers search suggestions in a plain drop-down but if you are looking to compare Google Suggest results in a more visual manner, check out Web Seer – this again works as-you-type but the interesting part is that with Web Seer, you can also compare query suggestions for two different phrases.

Is there a way to visualize people's innermost thoughts? Google Suggest lets you see what others are asking when they search the web. From the existential to the mundane, the questions form a portrait of human curiosity.

Here’s an example comparing Facebook and Twitter. Lot of people seem to agree on one these – these networks are a “waste of time.”

Click on the chart to enlarge

The arrow thickness in the visualization is an indicator of the number of web pages that are in Google’s index for that query.