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Monthly Archives: December 2011
If Paul Christoforo is a PR Pro, Bernie Madoff is the World’s Greatest Investment Advisor.
[Jan 5, 2012 Editorial Note: This story was originally posted last week but has been updated]
I am so flipping tired of my industry being maligned by idiots who crown themselves “Public Relations Professionals” or “Marketing Professionals” or “Social Media Experts”.
Seriously. This guy – Paul Christoforo – has ticked off half the electronics gaming community by ignoring every fundamental rule of good and effective communication. If he is a PR pro, Dr. Jekyll was a physician extraordinaire.
In a day and age where everyone knows everyone else’s business – because of PR and marketing and social media – how can anyone be so ignorant as to think you can treat customers like yesterday’s trash and get away with it? And then beg for forgiveness when you get caught. Not because you are truly sorry or that you even recognize the error of your ways, but because you got caught and it is killing your business.
Shame on Paul Christoforo; you are not a PR professional. Shame on Ocean Marketing; you are not a professional PR operation. And shame on N-Control; not only for hiring this marketing firm, but for retaining them after they pulled this kind of nonsense in the past. You get what you deserve.
Unfortunately, customers do NOT deserve this kind of nonsense. And since it is apparent they may have missed some of these lessons during their marketing/PR/social media training, I wanted to offer a couple of tenets to Ocean Marketing and N-Control for future consideration:
1. Be honest with your customers – even when it is bad news.
2. Own up to your mistakes just like you take credit for your achievements.
3. Make good on your promises, and if you fall short, make up for them with humility and rewards.
4. Treat customers with the respect they deserve for giving you their money and loyalty.
5. If you are incapable of relating to the public, do not call yourself a public relations professional.
As cautionary tales go, this one seems to have a good ending. N-Control fired Christoforo and Ocean Marketing, which has changed its name to Ocean Strategy (yeah, that will work), and someone (no names please) has effectively shut down N-Control’s website.
The following video (definitely R-rated for rough language) offers a quick and only slightly exaggerated summary of the basic story. Please view at your own risk with the volume set at low.
So You Want to Start Running… Awesome!
I was watching FOX news last night (don’t ask). The lead story featured a bird’s eye view of a white SUV flying down the middle of a multi-lane street. Cars parted like the Red Sea to make way. Without warning the white vehicle entered an intersection and t-boned a black SUV on the driver’s side. The runaway vehicle slammed to a dead stop; the black SUV was tossed 90 degrees. As smoke and steam began rising and unidentifiable car parts rolled along the street, two seemingly untroubled dogs jumped through the window of the black SUV and simply ran away.
What the hell? What the hell. Running is an instinct. Running is an escape. Running is freedom. Running is awesome… for dogs and humans.
In grade school I wanted to run in the worst way; unfortunately I did. As a teenager in high school I dreamt of being on the cross country or track & field teams; the closest I ever came was a hoodie I found after a meet. As a young man I became obsessed with Jim Fixx and began running (jogging), but gave it up in my late 30s because my knees kept swelling up. Then, at the ripening age of 53, I started running with my teenage niece; it was the summer of 2009. She quit running with me when school started up (teenagers!) in September, but my knees held out, so like Forest Gump, I just kept running.
Anyway, if you are seriously thinking about running, and I hope you are, I would like to offer some thoughts (not advice). On the one hand, it is just running, so you shouldn’t take it too seriously. On the other hand, it is running, so you shouldn’t take it too lightly.
1. If you are overweight and/or over 50, it would probably be a good idea to check in with your doctor before you get started. If you decide not to – and this especially applies to stubborn men with Peter Pan complexes – then at least take it slow and listen to your body.
2. It’s all about the shoes… and the socks. Sure, it is important to be comfortable in the running clothes you will be wearing, but a good pair of shoes and a good pair of socks will help prevent unnecessary and/or premature injuries that stop you from running. A good pair of shoes are not necessarily expensive, but they are rarely cheap. Buy shoes that are designed for running, ask for help at the store, try on several pairs and don’t be too proud to walk around the store a few times to see how they feel. And if you get them home and they don’t feel good when you run, take them back. I also like socks that provide additional cushion on my feet.
3. Just get started. Then stop, then start and repeat. Here’s the thing, running is perfectly normal and easy for some people and painful and difficult for others. Either way, you just need to get started. You can pump yourself up or bitch and complain… just get started.
4. Set a goal and a course. A man (or woman) without a plan is planning to fail. I decided from the beginning that I wanted to run every other day (preferably outdoors) and set a goal of three miles per run. Running every other day was easy; getting to three miles was not. But I kept at it. On my very first run, I measured out a mile course (using my car odometer) and just started running. About a third of the way through I was bent over catching my breath. So I walked it off for 60 seconds and started back up again from the spot I stopped at and ran another one-third of a mile. I was pretty convinced I could not finish, but I did. And despite the two stops, I ran a measured mile. And every time I ran it got easier (well, sort of), so I added a little distance until I eventually got up to and exceeded 3 miles.
5. Bring along a few friends. I rarely run with other people because it is so difficult to maintain your own pace and match up with someone else. That’s something I learned early on: everyone has their own unique pace. However, I never leave home without my iPod and one of my favorite running hats. My iPod has a perfect blend of high energy and cool down music, which I flip through accordingly. My favorite running band: OAR. My favorite running hat: whichever one I am wearing at the moment.
6. Never give up… never surrender! I continue to run every other day, almost without exception. Call it discipline or call it OCD; I call it essential. The body is weak, so the mind must be willing. Even when I don’t feel like running or it is too cold and rainy or I can think of a dozen more interesting things to do, I run. And I am almost always rewarded for my effort. Don’t quit. Don’t even take a break unless your doctor makes you.
7. Give yourself credit and enjoy your achievement. Every time my wife tells someone that I am a runner, I literally cringe with embarrassment. Because I know what a terrible runner I am. No one will ever confuse me with the Tarahumara Indians. But I also know that I am doing something I really enjoy… and I am doing a pretty good job. I have lost and kept off 20 pounds of unneeded and unwanted weight since I started running 2-1/2 years ago. And I still go out for ice cream at least once a week… because I love that also.
Remember what Christopher McDougall said: “You don’t stop running because you get old, you get old because you stop running.”
5 More Creative Ways to Use QR Codes
Earlier this year we explored what makes QR codes effective, how to use them in your marketing campaigns and how to avoid some of the most common mistakes associated with QR codes. And since the research predicts half of Americans will have smart phones by this Sunday, we wanted to share five more creative ways you can use QR codes to help achieve your 2012 marketing goals.
1. Support the launch of a mobile phone app. Consumers who already have a QR code reader app are already engaged in mobile marketing and are likely willing to try new mobile apps. Integrate QR codes into both your digital (users can scan QR codes from an email or website) and print efforts that allow users to download your app directly, rather than searching for it in the app marketplace.
2. Lead a guerilla marketing campaign. All you need is a little creativity. Ask street teams to wear QR codes on T-Shirts, lead a QR code scavenger hunt with each code sharing a new promotion or consider strategically placing QR codes in highly-trafficked public spaces to heighten mystery and anticipation surrounding a new product launch.
3. Engage customers at POS. Consider developing point of sale displays that incorporate QR codes. Use this as an opportunity to provide an in-store coupon or perhaps engage consumers with a video that makes the purchasing decision simpler. Also, do not forget to consider ways to add QR codes to your packaging. Hang tags on bottle necks, for example, are used to help products stand out on the shelf. Now that you have captured the consumer’s attention, place a QR code on the tag that allows the customer to learn more about your product and encourages a purchase.
4. Enhance the impact of a corporate sponsorship/charitable giving. Sponsoring a charitable event or launching product packaging that will benefit a cause? Add a QR code next to your corporate logo and use it to direct consumers to a landing page or microsite that details your commitment to the cause.
5. Drive a sampling campaign. Link a QR code to a sign up page where consumers can request a sample or trial of your product and get a coupon to purchase the full sized version.
With All Due Respect to Dan Pallotta, Maybe No One Has Anything Worth Saying.
Dan Pallotta is the president of Advertising for Humanity and author of Uncharitable. Last week Dan wrote a very interesting blog post about business jargon. To quote Dan, “I’d say that in about half of my business conversations, I have almost no idea what other people are saying to me.”
I could not agree more. Between the idioms, the acronyms and the hyperbole, it is almost impossible to follow conversations. Dan credits the Internet for making an already bad problem worse.
Maybe he’s right. Or maybe it is a failing education system. Or maybe it is a growing number of insecure business professionals seeking job security through language obscurity. Or maybe – just maybe – we’ve become so accustomed to marketing, we’ve forgotten how to communicate.
You remember President Reagan? He was often referred to as the great communicator. But in truth, he often did not know the difference between reality and a film reel. He rarely communicated and frequently marketed. I pass no judgement on him, and in fact openly admit that I voted for him… even when he said stuff like this:
“Approximately 80% of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons released by vegetation, so let’s not go overboard in setting and enforcing tough emission standards from man-made sources.”
“I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon.”
“How can a president not be an actor?”
In truth, President Jimmy Carter was the last great communicator of our time. There was very little marketing and a whole lot of communicating going on there. No abstract concepts, no meaningless expressions, just the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth… so help us God. Stuff like this:
“I have often wanted to drown my troubles, but I can’t get my wife to go swimming.”
“I’ve looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times. God knows I will do this and forgives me.”
“People make a big fuss over you when you’re President. But I’m very serious about doing everything I can to make sure that it doesn’t go to my head.”
Hmmm. Now that I consider it more closely, perhaps the difference between marketing and communication is one without distinction. Maybe it does not matter so much whether one uses business jargon, but rather that one has something worth saying.
Google+ Steps Up
Google+ is gaining momentum. Just launched in September 2011, Google+ has 40 million users. This might not seem like much compared to Facebook’s 800 million plus users, but Facebook has had more than 7 years of lead time to perfect its system.
Just this week Google+ announced improvements on its blog.
Never Miss an Important Post
Google+ is ensuring posts from close family and friends do not get lost in the clutter.
When viewing the stream for a particular circle, you’ll now see a slider at the top that lets you adjust how posts from that circle should be blended into the main stream. That way you’ll never miss a post from that special someone, and you can tweak these settings to form your own “perfect stream.”
Stay Up to Date Faster
It’s now easier to see what is new and interesting.
We now have easy-to-read “sneak previews” that immediately present what’s new and why you might care. We’ve polished these notifications up and made a few other meaningful improvements too, including the ability to see the +1’s and shares your posts have received since you last checked.
Simpler for Brands to Manage & Track Results
Google+ is not seeing its only customer as consumers. It is making accounts easier for brands to manage and track.
Now 50 employees can log in as the administrator. A new notification “flow” will ensure managers stay on top of what is new, allowing brands to stay involved in page conversations.
Also, brands can now get an accurate count of how many people interacted on their page, either by +1’ing it or being added to a circle.
Improved Photos
It’s a good thing Google+ has spent some time updating its photo Lightbox. After all, social media sites are the new photo albums.
Viewing a photo in Lightbox has been completely redesigned with improved navigation, enhanced comment legibility and better overall utility. This design makes the photo the hero, letting the content itself shine through. And we’re introducing a completely new photo-tagging experience that’s both fun and fluid, and lets you quickly focus on the people in your photos.
In the meantime, Facebook just launched its new timeline. Making a Facebook page more of a life collage of important posts, photos and milestones.
It will be interesting to see how Facebook, Google+ and even Myspace continue to co-exist. But it’s a little too early in this game of war to see who will come out the hero.
P.S. Check out Goolge+ latest TV commercial.
The World Is Definitely Scheduled to End. Now What?
Just over a year from now, on December 21, 2012, life as we know it on planet Earth will be disrupted with a cataclysmic event that signals or perhaps even brings about the end of times.
And how do we know this? Well, according to the Mayan calendar, our time is up. Naturally, you are probably wondering how a bunch of primitive people dancing around in skirts and sacrificing humans had the ability to foresee such things, and that is a good question.
The truth is, they didn’t know anything. Let’s be honest, these people were only one foot out of the cave, there is no conceivable way they could see into the distant future and pick out a specific date for the new era of mankind to begin. So what’s happening here?
Did you know there is no longer any gold in Fort Knox? It’s true. The last time anyone ever saw it, I was still in high school. Billions and billions of dollars worth of gold… gone. And I know where it went. We gave it to the aliens in exchange for knowledge. But not just bits of information or electronic files full of secret data; we traded our gold for actual aliens.
It is a well-known and accepted fact that aliens have been harvesting gold from the planet Earth for thousands and thousands of generations. In exchange, they gave us their best teachers and their DNA. Think about it; the greatest minds and leaders in our history have always been “different” from the rest of us. Did you actually think Steve Jobs was an Earthling? Conveniently enough, like Barack Obama (yeah), we don’t really know who his parents are. How about Stephen Hawking? According to most reports, his mom and dad were separated due to the war at the time of his birth (I’ll bet).
And how about Einstein? Or better still, Sir Isaac Newton or Leonardo DaVinci (both of whom were obsessed with alchemy… the creation of gold)? The greatest minds of our species… aliens one and all. And what about the most famous alien of all time. Everyone knows the story: a “heavenly” voice tells a young virgin that she is suddenly with child… she then follows an unknown “star” that magically appears in the sky to Bethlehem… where she gives birth to the most incredible human of all time. Jesus Christ. And three magi somehow find this child to bring him gifts of frankincense, myrrh and… gold.
Anyway, these aliens have been around for millions of years, traveling through the cosmos, gathering knowledge (and gold). Some suspect they may even be us, a million years in the future. Given their knowledge and experience, one can only conclude that their sharing of the date – 12/21/12 – had a purpose.
The world as we know it is most definitely scheduled to end just over a year from now. And truthfully, there just isn’t a whole lot you can do about it. In fact, there is nothing you can do about it. Not a thing.
So, I offer to you the wise words of my old friend Desmond Hume, “See you in another life, brotha.”
[Editorial Note: All facts and data supporting this blog post are courtesy of the History Channel, Discovery and National Geographic. These guys put the REAL into REALITY TV.]
Orange: The Hot New Color for 2012
Say goodbye to last year’s hot-pink hue Honeysuckle. And say hello to Tangerine Tango, a reddish-orange hue that Pantone announced as the top color of 2012. This color is already making its way into consumer products from fashion to furniture and kitchen products.
Why Tangerine Tango? According to a news release from Pantone, “There’s the element of encouragement with orange, it’s building on the ideas of courage and action, that we want to move on to better things. I think it would be a disservice to go with a relaxed, soothing color now,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, the research division of Pantone Inc.
Selecting Tangerine Tango is not an arbitrary choice. Pantone takes into consideration what shoppers want and need. Also, they look at everything going on in the world from fashion to pop culture and consumer habits.
So let’s surround ourselves with a little pop of orange and hope we all gain a little more encouragement as we move into 2012!
Key Considerations When Developing a Mobile App
A Nielsen forecast revealed 1 in 2 Americans will have a smartphone by Christmas of 2011 – a dramatic increase from the mere 1 in 10 Americans with smartphones in the summer of 2008. And with more consumers using smartphones daily, more people will be using mobile apps. But before running off and creating a mobile app, consider the following.
1. What platform(s) will my app operate on? While it is ideal to develop an app for all available platforms, including Android, iOS, iPhone and iPad, budget limitations may only allow for development on one platform. If you need to choose just one, we recommend starting with iOS. iPhone and iPad both run on iOS – so the app will work on both. Additionally, the app can be converted at a later time to run on Android if desired.
2. Is my app content intended to be self-contained, or do I want app users to share content from my app via social media? Determine whether you intend to incorporate sharing functions in order to properly plan and budget for app development.
3. How often will I need to update/revise my app’s content? If your app requires regular updates, you will need to assign this responsibility and establish a streamlined process to ensure your app is effective and current – without requiring too many resources to diminish its marketing value. Depending on the type of content and functionality, you may be able to program existing software to directly feed updated content to the app. However, someone may have to input updates manually.
4. What are the primary goals my app will achieve and what value will it add to users? Developing an app with a focused purpose will deliver better results and be much simpler to manage. Try to choose a maximum of 2-3 things you want your app to do really well rather than complicating usability with too any features.
5. Will my app be paid or free? If you choose to offer a free app, determine how you can structure it to drive revenue or even charitable donations, which can translate into positive community relations and brand awareness. If you can determine in advance that your app will have an associated cost, you can offset some development costs and potentially expand the budget to achieve a more complex app.
6.How will I drive users to download my app? The mantra, “If you build it, they will come”, does NOT apply to apps. Just as critical as having a strategic approach to app development is developing a strategic marketing plan to support the launch of your app. Consider how you can use email marketing, publicity, social media, direct mail, guerilla marketing and even advertising to drive app downloads.
Journalists, NOT the Internet, Are Killing Journalism.
I have to be perfectly honest, I don’t know Daniel Henninger from Adam. He is a native Clevelander, which is nice. He’s also a Georgetown graduate, a member of the Wall Street Journal editorial staff and an award-winning journalist.
And he has an agenda… a conservative agenda. And I am fine with that. He also has several platforms, not the least of which is the WSJ and Fox News. And I am also fine with that.
What I am not so fine with is the general idea that bloggers and the Internet are ruining journalism, presumably because the “news sources” are looked upon as renegades who present themselves as experts (often self-proclaimed and rarely verified) and offer endless opinions as if they were facts (citing dubious sources, like Wikipedia).
Yet guys like Henninger can analogize (as he puts it) our President to the Corleone family, offering nothing but opinion (very personal opinion if you ask me), and he is still viewed as a serious journalist. A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.
I am reminded of the War of the Worlds broadcast; not the movie, but the Orsen Welles radio broadcast back in 1938. Apparently people couldn’t tell the difference between a real news report and a radio show. As it turns out, millions of American ran from their homes, fleeing as it were, invisible martians.
Welles began the broadcast with these words: “We know now that in the early years of the twentieth century this world was being watched closely by intelligences greater than man’s…”
Seems to me we could use a few intelligent watchdogs in the 21st century. If citizens are easily duped by radio shows and bloggers and the Internet and the President, they are likely also duped by WSJ columnists. And I am fine with that. Let’s just not pretend like the “journalist” is somehow more special or more right simply because of the masthead above his or her name.
WWE superstar Stone Cold Steve Austin used to say: Don’t Trust Anybody (DTA). Good advice for a wrestler, but not very practical for the rest of us.
How to Increase Website Sales Conversions
Are you driving quality traffic to your website but experiencing a disconnect when it comes to converting that traffic to online orders? While the design and usability of your site are not the sole factors influencing a consumer’s decision to buy, simple missteps – like those listed below – can help ensure you lose a sale that is already knocking at your door.
1. Ask for the sale too soon. Light boxes, screaming videos, pop ups and shopping carts are key conversion tools, but should not be the very first thing a consumer encounters when visiting your site. Site visitors either know what they want and want to get straight to it OR they want to shop around without some pesky virtual clerk annoying their experience. Give visitors the chance to breathe.
2. Bury critical product information. Information about your products should be accessible directly from the home or landing page you are driving traffic to – either by way of content (if you only sell one product) or very visible links that allow consumers to access product information in one simple click (two clicks at most).
3. Force content. Be careful not to make videos, animations and testimonials the focal points of your website’s content. Video and sound should not play automatically. Likewise, overbearing or too many customer testimonials can actually hurt your brand and product. The key is to integrate these tools with your content in a way that adds value and provides the consumer additional information without the pressure. Shopping should be fun!
4. No visible call to action. Once a visitor decides to buy your product, it should be very easy for her or him to complete the purchase. Every page on your site should have a visible call to action and direct link to check out.
5. Inconsistent branding. From the color scheme to the mood to the tone in your web copy, your website should be consistent with the type of product you are selling. Correctly using the creative components of your website confirms you can deliver on the promise your product offers.
6. Mobile unfriendly content. If mobile is part of your marketing strategy, ensure you complement it with a mobile version of your site. If you cannot create a mobile version of your website, at least ensure the landing page is viewable on a smart phone or device. If users cannot see your content or find the checkout area, they will get frustrated and leave before converting to a sale.
Email Not Compatible with Mobile? You Can Be Missing Out.
Email is not dead. In fact, the way we view email is beginning to shift as more people use smart phones and tablet computers.
According to Knotice, a provider of direct digital marketing software and services, there was a 51% increase in the number of people viewing their email on mobile phones and tablets from the first half of 2011 compared to the last quarter of 2010.
As far as the breakdown of the type of mobile and tablet devises people are reading their emails on, the iPhone is king.
iPhone: 12.78%
iPad: 3.92%
Android: 3.15%
Palm: 0.22%
Windows: 0.05%
BlackBerry: 0.01%
Knotice also evaluated mobile email opens by industry segments. Consumer services had the highest (30.49%) mobile open rates among the 11 industries, followed by the entertainment industry (21.41%), cable and telecommunications (20.42%), hospitality (20.13%) and retail (20.07%). The B2B industry had the lowest mobile email open rate with 6.77%.
However, while the data reveals more people are opening emails on their mobiles and tablets, the rate of those clicking on links within the email is far lower than the desktop computer. For example, the click to open rate (measure of the click activity once a person opens the email) for consumer product emails on mobiles and tablets is 18.99%. This number almost doubles (29.17%) on desktop computers.
Regardless of the click to open rates, a 51% increase in reading email on mobiles and tablets is a tremendous jump in a short amount of time. This is something marketers need to take note of, and ensure emails are designed for mobile devises, tablets and desktop computers.
Knotice’s Mobile Email Opens Report: First Half of 2011 is based on a cross sampling of approximately 701 million emails across 11 industry segments during the first six months of 2011. Click here to download the full report.
Tired from All that Multitasking? Blame it on the Revolution.
Once upon a time, we went to work for a singular purpose: to do work. We dug ditches, directed traffic, operated machinery, sold insurance, created advertising, designed clothing, milked cows and on and on. And whatever your job was, that was pretty much all you did all day long.
But Duke University professor Cathy Davidson says the digital age has changed everything – the way we work, the way we learn, the way we live. The Internet, smart phones, e-mail, social media, MP3 players, digital cameras, GPS… all this phenomenal technology has done far more than simply give us 24/7 access to information, communication and entertainment. It’s changed the way we exist.
Unfortunately, we haven’t made the necessary adjustments at the office or school or home or anywhere else to accommodate the transition from the industrial age to the digital age. So here we sit in office buildings and classrooms designed for a world that existed more than a century ago functioning under practices that were developed more than a century ago and attempting to be productive (and happy) in a world that exists today.
Something’s gotta give.
And, according to Davidson, the timing is just about right. The digital age, though still in its adolescence, is approaching its 20th birthday, which is the magical time that most civilizations require to begin making important adjustments. It happened with the agricultural revolution and the information revolution and the industrial revolution. And it is happening now.
About 2,500 years ago, Socrates freaked out about the invention of the writing stylus and was quoted by Plato as having said: “[Writing] destroys memory [and] weakens the mind, relieving it of…work that makes it strong. [Writing] is an inhuman thing.” Turns out writing devices did not destroy humanity, but they did change the world. And it would seem – sooner than later – the digital age is going to do the same thing in our workplaces and our classrooms and our personal lives.
In the meantime, I have a suggestion for all you multitaskers who are risking exhaustion attempting to read every e-mail, check every Facebook update, answer every text, tweet, blog, watch videos, download MP3s, notify Foursquare of your location and also do your work at the same time. Take a nap.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, “Naps can restore alertness, enhance performance, and reduce mistakes and accidents. A study at NASA on sleepy military pilots and astronauts found that a 40-minute nap improved performance by 34% and alertness 100%.” It worked in Kindergarten, it could work at the office.
And 20 years from now, when all the necessary changes have been made to adjust to the digital age, we can eliminate the mid-day sleep breaks. Hopefully by then there will be an app for that.
