Branded Content (via @stevegarfield)

If I'm ever in a meeting like this, please shoot me.

Read more!

Why Brands are Hesitant to Utilize Twitter

I hosted and presented during a webinar for PR News yesterday about Twitter. It was a great line-up of social-media-minded folks from various industries. According to the organizers, there was over 400 location's signed up and on average, there are three to five folks listening in per site. The list of participating organizations ranged from government types, non-profits, consumer brands, b2b brands, etc.

As the moderator of the event, it was partly my job to answer questions on the fly and interact with each of the speakers. As the webinar began, the questions started flying in. They were all across the board, to specifics per the industry of the participant to the basics like online resources to further education on social media.

However, five questions came through loud and clear that made me take a step back and think, "so, THIS is why there doesn't seem to be a large adoption of Twitter by brands."

Those questions were:

1. How do I use Twitter for marketing purposes?


2. Who from my organization should be doing it?


3. How much time should I spend on Twitter?


4. How do I measure it's effectiveness?


5. Who in our organization should own it?

There are various schools of thought as it relates to all these questions, but here are my thoughts:

How do I use Twitter for use it to marketing purposes?
Ask yourself this? Does your organization have audiences it markets to? I'm guessing the answer is yes. Well, your audience is online and more often than not, are on Twitter. Simply put, use Twitter to build stronger relationships with your audiences. You can use it to address customer service concerns. You can use it to cultivate new sales prospects. You can use it to connect with media influencers. The audience connection opportunities are endless.

Who should be Twittering for your organization?
This is probably the easiest question of the lot in my opinion. Just like with your media opportunities, you should know who are the "voices" of your organization. Whether it's your CEO, CFO, PR Director, Admissions Director or Customer Service rep, each have their specific audiences that they can interact with on Twitter. I suggest segmenting your Twitter marketing per audience and determine who is the best person from your organization to have those conversations.

How much time should I spend on Twitter? I find this question almost comical. I'd answer that question with another question. How time should you spend marketing to your audiences? Get the point?

How do I measure its effectiveness? This is a little tougher to answer. It is not as cut and dry as say, website visitors. Yes, you can measure followers. However, the real juice is engagement. How many Twitterers retweeted posts? How often are your followers replying to your Twitter posts? The one to one engagement is where the rubber meets the road and can get customers to take action more so than any direct mail piece can.

Who in our organization should own it?
This is also an easy question in my opinion. Everyone should own Twitter. The key here is that whomever is Twitter on behalf of your organization, it should be done in a coordinated way and through the messaging prism you have set up for the rest of your marketing initiatives.

These questions - almost two years since Twitter's launch - show the uncertainty that brands still have in embracing it as a marketing and communications tool. My answers should get you asking, why aren't WE on Twitter? Read more!

Who is going to "own" social media in 2009?

Doing a little social media reading this morning and I came across a post that outlines who is going to take control of social media in 2009.

The four groups that are said to have an opportunity to control social are (grossly going to summarize here):

Advertising - they create tons of content that is viewed by millions and can have a huge impact on brand awareness, ad reps should control social media.

Digital - because social media is ALL online, the gear heads should control social media.

Public Relations - PRs help clients yap to their audiences so the PRs should control social media because it's all about the "conversation."

Client - in the end, the other three are working on behalf of the client, the client should own the conversation. consumers want to interact with the brand, not the Ad/Digital/PR hacks.

All great thinking here. However, there's one group that's missing and is THE most important - the audience.

At the end of the day, content is created for consumers. At the end of the day, if you're a mommy blogger, a hard working dad, an entrepreneur or a c-suite type, you're a consumer. Social media content IS created for the consumer. Consumers drive brand loyalty. Consumers can smash the marketing dreams of a client with a popular blog post. Consumers create and maintain the "buzz." Consumers are in the drivers seat and will be in control of social media in 2009.

The question is, however, how to ad/digital/pr/clients plug into the consumer control?

Well, here's my two-cent opinion:

Advertising: Consumers know what they want and don't want to be talked to. Advertising will have to plug into this mentality and reinforce what consumers want - an affirmation or reinforcement. Rarely will consumers make a purchase decision based on advertising alone.

Digital: These are the gear heads creating all the cool content on the web. They will be creating and launching the tools for which the message will be delivered - widgets, blogs, micro-sites, video, etc.

PR: Us PRs will help develop what the key messages are. We will continue to evaluate the message and if it's resonating with consumers and help clients stay above the curve, driving the conversation.

Clients: Clients will control the other three groups because they have the budget. They will rely on the other three groups for guidance, but will have some good opinions as to execution because they are starting to get more in-tune with the entire social media scene. They will also remain hesitant because social media is still the wild wild west. They will need good advice and real case studies to help them make purchasing decisions.

At the end of the day, the four groups will have to work in-sync in order to meet the content needs of consumers. Additionally, these groups will band together to propose new ideas, new products and new "conversations" that will be tested against needs of consumers. It'll be like a rolling focus group, but instead of 50 people in two groups, it'll be billions of people, everyday, all day...always changing, always being tweaked.

There will be more FAIL concepts in 2009 than WIN concepts. However, those that WIN, will be big because they will rise to the top of the convo clutter and really engage consumers and activate them. They will take off like the popularity of Facebook in the last half of 2008.

It will be an exciting year for consumers on the social media scene. The four groups mentioned above will be at the mercy of consumers, a group that can crush a brand in 140 characters or less.

Just my $.02. What do you think? Read more!

Brands need to listen to online chatter

For weeks now, I've been complaining about getting e-marketing spam from Land's End. I tried to unsubscribe. Each time to no avail and every time I failed to unsubscribe, I posted a message on Twitter. I just couldn't stop them from coming. It was brutal.

Fast forward to Thursday of this past week. I opened up mail on my macbook pro and there it was, yet another Land's End email. That was it. That was the final straw. I posted a message to Twitter and I posted this video:



Then, a short while later, I get a Twitter message from @mymo that brings me closer to a resolution:

@bigguyd DM your email to @LandsEndChat They will get you unsubscribed. LE isn't perfect but we are on twitter. :)

Cool. Seconds later I get this message on Twitter from @daddymacWI:

@bigguyd @HappyHourBoston Lands' End is listening. We do not want to send unwanted email. Every email we send has an unsubscribe link.

Well, if that was the case, I'd be able to unsubscribe. The options weren't that clear. Trust me. I tried. Thus, my various rants.

I pinged them with my email address and said basically that this was the last straw and that I was going to go postal if there was no resolution ASAP.

A short while after the Twitter exchange, I get this email:

Thanks for the feedback Don. I have unsubscribed your email address. You may still get an email tomorrow and/or Saturday, but they should be stopped after that. I apologize for any unwanted email you have received from Lands' End. We listen to customer comments and value your input.

Thank you for reaching out via Twitter.

I did end up getting one more email, but so far, during the past two days, no emails from Land's End. Thank goodness.

What's the lesson here for consumers AND brands? People are listening. The power of social media is amazing and there's no better way to interact with a brand than through Twitter. It's one to one communications. Brands that are not using Twitter should. If they aren't, they are missing a big opportunity to improve their customer service. If the brands are listening, i.e. a company executive or marketing/PR exec, then their agencies should be. That's we do at MS&L. We build it into every program. It's THAT important.

So thanks to Land's End for listening and taking care of my e-mail unsubscribe problem. Nice to know people are listening and taking action. Read more!

Six Flags marketing

I am extremely annoyed by the new marketing by Six Flags. Their recent commercial sports are stupid. As a matter of fact, if I was an Asian-American, I might be offended by the tag line and the way it's delivered.

Read more!

Pink Hats, revisited

So the Boston Globe story that I've been plugging has finally run. Thanks to a bunch of other news and the Celtics winning the championship, it was bumped until today. I woke up to a flurry or emails on the Blackberry talking about the story and the pictures. I've read it, but have yet to get my hands on the hard copy (as we're up in NH in the sticks and going to the store is sorta a hike).

I hear the pic of me and the kids is pretty cute. I'll have to loop back with the photog who said he'd email me the pics - which is a nice thing to do. Maybe I should get it framed for the office (or is that too self serving?)

Just kidding. It's done in good fun. The reporter did leave out my anecdote about the girls actually choosing regular Sox hats versus pink hats though. Read more!

PayPal looking to cut the chord from the eBay brand

New CMO of PayPal talks about elevating the company's brand and separating the brand from eBay.

IMHO it's more about building trust with consumers than it is cutting the eBay chord.

Shopping online is all about trust. When it comes to doing transactions on eBay, you have to take the word of their rating system that the person you're buying that original Optimus Prime action figure from is a legit seller.

Same sort of trust applies to the PayPal brand. Who is PayPal? Why should I give them access to my checking account? Will I wake up one morning and see my balance at zero and that someone in Peru had a field day, buying all sorts of stuff online?

As Billy Joel once said, "it's a matter of trust."

I use PayPal for some transactions. I started linking a credit card to the account. That way, if I got hosed, it wasn't "real" money. After a period of time, I came to the conclusion that PayPal is a good service. It's convenient and it is safe (maybe not 100% safe, because what really is?).

After my trust was built with the brand, I entered in my checking account info. Now transactions are instant. I get my "stuff" sooner rather than later because those I'm sending money to, get it right away. I also use it for accepting payment from those who are purchasing photos from me.

So, yea, I would agree that the PayPal brand is somewhat wrapped around eBay's but it really comes down to building trust with consumers. Maybe the company needs to do some paid advertising or some word of mouth campaigning to establish a higher level of trust to those less savvy about using the internet for banking transactions. Read more!

The Obama Hillary ticket

Finally, is all I have to say. We now know that Obama has secured the seat on the Dem side. The one stone left unturned is who he will select as his running mate. I heard an interesting argument this morning on the radio about Obama's future selection that got me thinking about this entire political process.

Obama HAS to select Hilary. Why?

Rumor on the street is that those who support Mrs. Clinton will vote for McCain OR not vote at all if Hilary is not on the ballot. Maybe that's not the word on the street, but I've heard that said a few times via those who are really into politics.

Now, does that make any sense? To me, no. Just because your candidate didn't get top billing, you're going to vote Republican? Does that mean you (those in question) believe that McCain's policies and beliefs are that close to those of Obama? Or will your vote for McCain be cast out of spite? Or maybe you're not going to vote at all. That's also a dumb move.

Here's my point. Life is all about choices. More often than not, you are not presented with choices that are absolutely up your alley. Sometimes you need to compromise. That's what life is all about. It's also what the political process is all about.

I rarely talk about politics on this blog because it really bores the crap out of me. I do enjoy following the marketing strategies each camp employs to trash the other however.

So whether your allegiance lies with Obama or Hilary, but you're a Dem, why not just vote blue? From what I gather Obama's policies are as close to Hilary's as you're gonna get. Not voting at all would be the biggest travesty.

Just make a choice to vote. That's all I'm asking. If we don't vote, then the political process failed to do what it's designed to do - give the people a voice.

Make a choice. Don't candy-ass your way out of your right to vote just because you're gal got her butt whooped. Read more!

Social Network preferences tied to ethnicity

Read this story this morning about a recent study on online behaviors. It talks about the online habits of males vs. females, Hispanics and African-Americans. The cross section of data is interesting to me as a PR professional and one who looks to infuse digital PR into all our client programs.

Data like this is critical to hacks like me because the PR/marketing/communication game has become so one-to-one or very granular. Shotgun approaches are dead. The tough thing is to get our hands on real data like this. It's becoming harder and harder to track online usage patterns and even harder to marketing to specific groups without that data.

Wish there were more resources out there that we, as PRs, can use to help with client programs. If we're really embracing a free Internet, such data should also be free.

Read more!

Webkinz re-introducing banner ads

My buddy Dave asks the following:"Parents, lock up your (kids) privacy - Webkinz is reintroducing banner ads back into their site. The question for parents is: Will the addition of ads affect your or your child's online habits?"Not really. They are too young to understand the concept of ads. Yea, it might be something that annoys them or changes their visual routine of the Webkinz experience, but for the most part, they are on their just to have fun and to feed "Buster" the panda.

read more | digg story Read more!

Thoughts on retailers and packaging

Killing a little time via my feed reader this evening before the work week kicks in. On the list of feeds is Seth's blog. He posts a beef with retailers and packaging.

His point is that retailers can do better. You know what he driving at. Lots of retailers are wasting materials, killing the environment, etc. just to package their goods. However, what Seth is missing is that retailers - most of them at least - really don't give a rat's behind. They are in it to win it. Look at Apple's packaging. The iPod touch I recently bought came in a well designed package, but it wasn't the most eco-friendly piece. Lost of wasted paper and material for an item that's pretty thin.

Retailers won't change their bad packaging habits until they are told to do so by the government. It's that simple. Read more!

Facebook party over?

CNet ran a story today about the Facebook party being over or should I say that it's use as a social media platform for marketers is declining.

I can see why this is happening. Things happen online so quickly. Things go away online just as quick. Simply put, I think consumers are just tired of constantly being marketing to. We want to use these sites to have fun, network, chat with friends, have live conversations about things that are important to us. We don't want products slammed down our throat in the middle of that conversation. And no, I will not accept the party invitation NOR accept the "have a drink on me" invitation you sent me.

I prefer to seek out the marketing messages that are important to me, i.e. when I'm searching for something, need info about a product or an event, I want to be able to find it in timely fashion. I'd rather not be marketed to based on my user preferences and online habits that some robot is tracking.

Facebook isn't going away. It's still a useful tool communications tool. However, it's use as a marketing channel, like Myspace, has seen it's better days - even though those days seem like a week ago. Read more!

Hating pink hats makes me a bad dad?

This whole pink hat thing has taken on a life of its own. Universal Hub picked up my rant about the topic. Since then, a couple folks have taken the liberty of throwing me under the bus for being a overbearing and dictator-ish dad.

Are you f-ing kidding me?

I love how folks try to take something as small and insignificant as my hatred for pink hats and ASSume they know me personally. Here are some snippets from the anti-big guy morons who know me so well:

"You sound like those feminists who shit a cow when their daughter falls in love with Barbie dolls. How about just letting the girl find what pleases her, and not being Dictator Dad?"

"I suppose the whole point is that it shows just how much he loves the Red Sox and, without a willingness to admit it, how overbearing he is when it comes to his children and people he does not know in matters of minuscule significance except to other pink hat-haters."

From these comments, I take away that I'm keeping my daughters down and not letting them do what they want to do. I'm a dictator and rule with an iron fist. I'm over bearing to my kids as well as to others when it comes to this small, I will admit, insignificant, opinion. These comments are far from the truth. Folks that know me, know this to be true.

This started with a fun media opp for the Boston Globe. Having folks I don't know talk about my parenting as overbearing and as a dictatorship is brutal and almost comical.

The funniest part of all this is that my wife was out shopping with the girls a day or two prior to the pink hat Globe interview. They were in a sports store and came across various Sox hats. My oldest wanted one like daddy and when presented with two hats - a pink and regular one - my youngest picked the regular hat. She's one, so I'm 100% sure that she picked the regular hat NOT because of my dislike of pink hats. It was random. I know this. Needless to say, I was happy they both "chose" a traditional colored hat. Not "original" as I stated in my very first post (I was corrected by a follower of the thread that red, white and blue aren't the "original" colors). I knew this (Google the history of the Sox franchise), but used the word "original" when I should have used traditional (which would have covered any red, white, and blue combinations). My bad, I guess.

Long story short, I was going to let all the banter just blow over me, but when you call me out as a parent, I take offense. To those of you who know me, please gander over to Universal Hub and voice your opinion. Show some support for the Big Guy as a dad, not as the pink hat hater.
Read more!

Pink Hats, GTA, High Def surround sound, and Bugs in my Salad

Got another hodge podge of a post for you this morning. On the menu today is a further discussion about Pink Hats and my 15 mins of fame; a plug for a future post regarding GTA and one long-time gamers opinion; my new love for TV via high def and surround sound; and finally, bugs in my salad.

Not sure you remember my rant about pink hats and how a Boston Globe reporter wanted to interview me for my unique position on them (and similar non-traditional professional team merchandise). Well, the story has yet to run and apparently, the reporter wants to add some art work to the piece. That's where me and my girls come in.

Before I get to that though, I just want to clarify my stance. I hate pink hats. I'm not saying that those who wear them aren't fans, but they just have no place at Fenway. I am a traditionalist. I don't like anything out of the norm (not including retro stuff), especially pink Red Sox hats.

So, being a father of two girls, I basically have banned them from wearing pink hats or similar gear. They are going to be raised as traditional fans. They wear enough pink so at the very least they can represent out home town teams in the right way.

So, back to my 15 mins. The Globe will be here today doing a photo shoot of me and the girls in our Red Sox gear. The article should appear this week sometime. I'm really excited about it and think it's very cool. I know there will be a lot of people out here who think that my stance on pink hats is crazy (including my statement that all those that wear them at the game should be banned for life). That's ok though. It's my opinion and one that I'm sure is not a lone opinion. Those who agree with me, please comment.

I'll keep you all posted as to how the shoot goes. Being a photographer myself, I'm leery about telling what the photographer should shoot. I'm just interested in what sort of gear he/she has! Needless to say, this is my 15 mins of fame and subsequently, the second time my PR skills have gotten my kids into the Globe.

Speaking of media coverage, there has been a ton about the new Grand Theft Auto game. Now, I used to be a hard core gamer. With kids, that's kinda tough. However, I'm really interested in getting back into it (you'll read why in a second). I have some pretty poignant thoughts on GTA and all the naysayers out there who hate the game, the violence, what it's doing to kids, etc. However, a friend of mine and a true hardcore gamer, has some VERY interesting thoughts on the GTA craze. This is a plug for a future Q&A type post that you all will find interesting. Stay tuned.

Speaking of "tuned," I am totally tuned into high def and surround sound thanks to George W. This week Mrs. Big Guy and I basically did a living makeover. Thanks to the fact we have two little tax breaks running around, we got a bit more $$ in our stimulus package that those without kids. With the money, we decided to "fuel" the economy via 42" inch plasma, surround sound system and new decor for the living room. It has energized us to do more around the house. And we did it pretty much on the cheap - with the exception of the equipment we purchased. So thank you George W.

Speaking of high def, the best thing to watch IMHO is sports. The colors are fantastic. The sound is great. It's a fantastic experience. I now know what I was missing. I will be diving into the HD experience with game three tonight of the Celtics and Cavs. While the C's are up 2-0, I have a feeling that we might go down in flames tonight. There's no way you can keep Lebron quiet for three games straight. He's gonna have a monster game...maybe 30-40 points. The key though, is if we can keep Z and others quiet. Lebron can't score ALL the points. What I really hope will happen is that we sweep the Cavs and get the guys some rest. Then again, let's just keep rolling and winning. That's all that really matters. Momentum is all about consistency so maybe another tough series is what we need and NOT a sweep. The deeper we go into he playoffs the tougher it's going to get. However, it's a long road and it's nice to be able to watch it in high def.

One of the cooler high def channels is Nat Geo. Watching stuff about animals and bugs never really interested me, but with high def, I'm glued. And speaking of bugs, my wife and I decided to make chicken caesar salads last night. I went out and got all the stuff and was excited for it. It's a nice healthy meal (as long as you use the right ingredients). One ingredient that we weren't expecting was a bug that flew out of the salad bag. Luckily enough, we had other roughage in the refrigerator. It amazes me though that a bug can live in that bag for who knows how long and still be alive after it's packaged, shipped, shipped again, shipped again and put on a shelf where I so happen to pick it up. Then again, maybe it ate it's way INTO the bag versus already being in the bag. Either way, it was kind of nasty and made me rethink our dinner plans - for about a second. After all, if those crazy outdoor types can eat bugs, bark and all types of nasty stuff, I don't mind a little creepy crawler along with my caesar salad.

Read more!

Celtics playoff schedule

What the hell is up with the playoff schedule?

Sun, April 20, Atlanta at Boston, 8:30 pm ET
Wed, April 23, Atlanta at Boston, 8 pm ET
Sat, April 26, Boston at Atlanta, 8 pm ET
Mon, April 28, Boston at Atlanta, 8 pm ET
*Wed, April 30, Atlanta at Boston
*Fri, May 2, Boston at Atlanta
*Sun, May 4, Atlanta at Boston
* if needed

Seriously, why so much of a gap between games. I think it's great to be able to rest the players, but at the same time, it really kills the momentum. The players are going to be so jacked up between games. It's hard to stay hot with so much time between games.

I know this is a brand ploy by the NBA. They want to stretch it out as much as possible and make as much $$ as possible.

But seriously, come on NBA powers that be, stop making us wait. Let's the games beging and make it a jam packed spring of great hoops versus a leisurely stroll.
Read more!

Ban pink hats

A media inquiry to a service I subscribe to gave me the idea for this post.

Now that the Red Sox are in full swing and I'm working back in town, all I see on game nights are PINK HATS! I can't stand them.

No, I'm not one of those morons who think that by wearing a pink hat or even a camo colored hat means you are not a fan. I'm just of the mindset that thinks if you're a fan of the team, you should support the team in its original colors. I've never been a fan of alternative jersey's or retro jerseys for that matter or really alternative team gear in general.

When pink hats became all the rage at Fenway, it made me want to puke. Though some of the pink hat wearers are legit fans, I can't help but think that they are on the bandwagon or are there to get a peak at Elsbury's or Beckett's behind. These are the types that don't pay attention to the game and spend most of it yappin' on their cell phone. For the most part, like I said, these folks are fans. However, they do look silly wearing pink hats. They sell the same style in blue, fyi.

The pink hats, like all the other alternative gear, is just a marketing ploy - a reason to get you to spend your money - or your husband's/boyfriend's money.

No thank you. I'm good with the solid blue hat with a solid red B, maybe even an authentic Papi home jersey.

Pink hats should be banned. Those that come to the park wearing them should be banned for life.
Read more!

Gillette Mach3 Disposable ad push

Being that I'm in the PR profession, I'm very sensitive to how and when I am being marketed to.

For a little over a month now, the Back Bay T stop in Boston has been flooded with Gillette Mach3 Disposable ads. There are ads on the walls on the other side of the train tracks (maybe 6x6 in size). There are ads "wallpapered" to the floor.

For days now, I've been starring at these aqua blue and black ads with short punchy lines on them, trying to convince me to buy their product. After a while, you forget they are there because they eventually start to soak into the wall, i.e. I can't see they are there anymore.

This morning, as I'm jamming along to the some classic Soundgarden, I noticed a street team in aqua blue t-shirts, handing out little cards.

Yep, you guessed it. They were coupon ads for the Mach3 disposable. Three bucks off.

This got me thinking about their marketing strategy for this product. It felt old school to me. A shotgun approach. I wasn't impressed and it still hasn't gotten me excited enough to buy Mach3 disposables. Now, if they were giving samples away, that would have had more of an impact.

Going back to my point...why do big brands tend to stay within their comfort zone? Why not branch out and do some very creative marketing to promote your new product? Where's the social media/web 2.0 component? Is there one? If so, I haven't seen it and I consider myself pretty well in tune with that world.

Is this a product they really don't want to put too much marketing dollars in to? Do they think the popularity of the Mach3 or the entire razor line will carry this product off the shelves?

Good questions, all of which I don't have answers to. So if there are any PR folks for the big G out there reading this, I'd be interested to learn what the strategy was to roll this product out. IMHO it seemed like a half-assed effort to promote what I'm sure is a great product. I am, after all, a Gillette man. I've never shaved with anything else nor will I. Brand loyalty is big with me.

What ticks me off the most about this entire thing is that Gillette has a great brand even with the fact that they were swallowed up by P&G. I've always enjoyed their marketing efforts, TV ads, etc. Everything is consistent. I think it's time for them to step out of the box a bit and be more creative. It's not 1998 anymore. Read more!

Amazon Kindle

Seems as if Amazon can't keep up with demand of their Kindle product. Now why wouldn't they expect how much merchandise to have in stock? Don't they do any research in terms of the market interest in a product like this? Maybe they did, but demand blew those numbers out of the water. Just seems strange that there was SO much demand for this product that they sold out in five hours.

Read more!

Buggin' over Bloggio

Seem as if my boy Dbink is in a tongue lashing war over the Bloggio service. Well, maybe not a war, but a very constructive argument. Check out the link to find out more about the service and the "war."

What amazed me about this was how the PR person responded so quickly to Dave's post as well s the manner in which she did it.

You have to tread ever so lightly these days when responded to bloggers and their content. As a PR pro myself, I understand where she was coming from. She's protecting her company's brand and wanted to point out some of the "holes" in Dbink's post. That's the thing with blogging, you really never know where the bullshit stops and the real info begins.

IMHO, seems as if the service is a pay for play deal just like any of the traditional "find the right journalist" applications like Bacon's or MediaMap or Cision or whatever the hell they are calling it these days.

I'm going to keep an eye on this one. Can't wait for Dbink's retort. Read more!