Being Peter Kim

2006 research in review; 2007 planning

In my day job, I analyse marketing at Forrester Research.  Over the past year, I've been publishing around a common theme that will take more prominence in 2007:  Integrated Marketing.

Successful integrated marketing consists of three high-level steps:  plan, execute, and measure. 
Seems deceptively simple, right?  As the saying goes, the devil is in the details.

Looking back on 2006, here's what I've covered so far.  I have a rough sketch of 2007 plans and would welcome your input on topics you would be interested in hearing about.

Planning:
- Reinventing The Marketing Organization
- Consumers Love To Hate Advertising
- Publicis + Digitas: Interactive Goes Mainstream

Execution:
- Advertisers Face TV Reality (with the ANA)
- Word-Of-Mouth Marketing Priorities For 2006
- Integrated Marketers Win Super Bowl XL
- Advertising Campaigns That Drive Web Traffic

Measurement:
- The Forrester Wave™: Brand Monitoring, Q3 2006
- Can Nielsen Reinvent Media Measurement? (A2/M2)
- Project Apollo: Finally, Measuring What Matters

(client access required for all research)

If you want to discuss ideas, drop me a line (link at top left).

Z-List on Squidoo: bloggers behaving badly

Seth Godin posted on the Z-List and created a lens on Squidoo where people could add more sites, in addition to voting sites up and down.  Mack Collier, the creator of the list, wrote that he isn't a fan of voting, as it's contrary to the original purpose.

It's been interesting to check on the list's movement on Squidoo.  For example, if you look at this screenshot from David Armano's blog, the ranking is quite different from today.  Also makes you wonder what "Romanian book blogs" have to do with marketing...

So what happened?  Ego and anonymity.   This is currently the hottest meme on Squidoo (i.e. #1) and bloggers have been voting up their own sites at the expense of others.  That's why you find almost no items at "0 points" while the mode (i.e. most frequent occurence) on the list is -7 or -8 points.

I wonder what the list would look like if voters were required to leave a record of their behavior - my guess is that there'd be many more sites clustered around 0.  Which leads us back to the question of purpose - what does a "high ranking" get you?  Influence or authority?  Or a few hours at the top of a Plexo list?

After reading Godin's update post, it's clear that he "gets it."  Now let's hope that a qualified moderator will step up.

Publicis + Digitas: some additional thoughts

It's a slow media week - but the Boston Globe provides some more insight on the financials behind the $1.3 billion merger of Publicis Groupe and Digitas.  The market certainly likes the deal - shares of both companies have been up since the announcement.
Thinking through the deal (briefly) with Harley Manning and Suresh Vittal, there are a couple of interesting aspects that aren't being mentioned:

• Digitas has a heritage in direct mail and brings left-brain skills to the table...
• ...but recent history shows that other Publicis agencies are unlikely to benefit from the interactive skills at Digitas.  But the stock price will.

Forrester clients can read more here.

UPDATE:  Article in Friday's Wall Street Journal with deeper background, based on information from David Kenny, CEO of Digitas (subscription required)

Blog measurement: authority vs. influence

The Z-list meme started by Mack Collier has picked up incredible momentum.  While it's been fun to see my blog's Technorati rank skyrocket, it's more interesting to step back and analyze the big picture (it's what I do for a living).  Compare authority and influence; the presence of one does not necessarily mean the other exists.  (see David Armano's image at right illustrating potential presence of authority, probable lack of influence).  So how can you think about blog measurement with these concepts in mind?

Like many other bloggers, I've redirected my feed through Feedburner.  Your subscription stats give a great idea of how many people [and bots] you may be reaching on a daily basis - a better indicator of ongoing influence rather than point-in-time authority.

I tested out a lot of different analytics packages as I started blogging:  SiteMeter, Performancing, Fireclick, Google Analytics, and Blogbeat.  I've heard good things about Mint and MeasureMap, but I don't run my own server and have been on the waiting list of the other for about a year.  Google Analytics and Fireclick are robust - a bit much for a personal blog.  So I coughed up the $24 for Blogbeat (which was refunded around the Feedburner acquisition) and  have been loving the service.  Now that Blogbeat stats have been merged with Feedburner, there's no need to go anywhere else - and their customer service is FANTASTIC.  Again, thinking about influence:  these stats give you a sense of (1) new vs. returning visitors, (2) volume of traffic from inbound links, and (3) popularity of outbound links, i.e. what you are influencing.

In the land of the non-quantitative, there are comments that form conversations - any blog that doesn't allow them is all about authority.  Press outreach indicates a combination of authority and influence; when you receive concept pitches and get on BR (blog relations) lists, or when journalists call/write to follow up on posts.

Bottom line on determining the balance of authority vs. influence depends on why you blog (a subject for another post).  Whatever your reason(s), putting the right tools in place will help you keep tabs on how quickly you're getting to the goal.  (BTW you do have goals...right?)

Your help is absolutely welcome here - are you using any tools that I haven't mentioned here (e.g. Alexa)?  Do you see the authority vs. influence issue differently?

Social media on the NewPR Wiki

I ran into Constantin Basturea at the WOMMA conference in DC a couple of weeks ago.  I've been following his NewPR Wiki for a while, which is a great source of information on social computing.  Today, I finally got around to contributing on the Social Media Measurement page, which has a lot of great brand monitoring information.  Take a look and add your expertise!

links for 2006-12-26

• Sun Microsystems Remakes Its Sale Force - WSJ.com
  Great insight into the problems created by a product-focused organization. The solution? To become more customer-centric.
  (tags: reinventingthemarketingorganization)

Google maps adds waypoints

Google maps has added the ability to insert waypoints into directions.  Word has been out for a couple weeks, but it's been a low-key launch; the only "official" announcement I came across was a mention at the end of the December Google Friends newsletter.  So why blog it?  Because I stumbled across the functionality serendipitously and have blogged about the need for this before.

OK, so what does this mean?  Assume you're driving from Boston to Philadelphia.  However, you're not particularly interested in experiencing Manhattan-area traffic which means taking the Tappan Zee bridge.  The default directions don't help - in the past, you'd have to create two maps.  Now, you can add a destination like South Nyack which gets you to where you want to go.

The difference?  5 hours 48 minutes vs. 5 hours 27 minutes, but in reality you know that rather than adding 21 minutes, you're probably saving a more than an hour!

Merry Christmas!

I hope you're reading this on the new, super-l33t computer that you had asked Santa to deliver!  Enjoy your time online today with some history, pictures, and video.

Free Forrester marketing research (audio)

Hi - if you didn't get a chance to attend the Forrester's Consumer Forum in October, we've recently posted some audio content that includes insight from  keynote speakers, session panelists, and marketing analysts.  You can either visit the Forrester podcast landing page or download content directly on:

• Humanizing The Digital Experience
• Social Computing
• Word-Of-Mouth Marketing
• Reinventing The Marketing Organization
• The Changing Interactive Marketing Organization
• Tapping The Power Of Consumer-Generated Media
• Mobile Marketing

FYI the files are all between 5 - 9 MB in size and 10 - 20 minutes in length.

Now playing on YouTube: Massachusetts' Most Wanted

Saw this on the local Fox News the other night.  I've joked that YouTube is the online version of "America's Funniest Home Videos."  Now the police in Franklin, MA are using the site as "America's Most Wanted."  (embedded YouTube video below)

How to tell when someone's looking for a new job

With the rise of web 2.0, I've noticed some new indicators that pop up when someone's looking for a new job.  No value judgments intended - just taking note of some workplace trends.

You know most of the old ones; the most obvious:

• Randomly overdressed for the environment (Valid reason?  Funeral.  Questionable?  "I just felt like wearing something nice today.")
• Sudden medical appointments (Valid reason?  An obvious ailment.  Questionable?  "The slot just opened up."  These usually take weeks, if not months to schedule.)
• Spur-of-the-moment vacation plans (Valid reason?  Spontaneous personality.  Questionable?  "Just need to get away for a day to clean the house.")

And some not so obvious:

• Mobile calls to the office and conference room conversations (the landline works just fine)
• Moving further away from the office (but closer to the new one)
• Someone who complains incessantly who doesn't anymore

Enter the web 2.0 updates:

• Getting LinkedIn requests from co-workers you see regularly
• A new blog that's less content and more resume focused

These are all situations I've seen or managed - anything else you'd add from your experience?

links for 2006-12-21

• Recruiting a Team of Mouths To Start Product Discussions - WSJ.com (subscription required)
  (tags: wom agentnetwork)
• Publicis to Buy Digitas For About $1.3 Billion - WSJ.com (subscription required)
  Which is a better $1B+ revenue engine...YouTube or Digitas?
  (tags: agencies)

Sucrology and game mechanics

Max Kalehoff wrote a post in June about "Game Mechanics Applied to Marketing And Brands."  The idea has recently gotten some mainstream attention highlighting a framework of five key tenets explaining why people enjoy games - and how the same principles can be applied to marketing (more on this in a second).

On an Aer Lingus flight in November from London to Shannon, I read an interesting article in Cara about sugar collecting.  And given that the sugar packets in Europe tend to be different than those in the US, I figured it was a good place to start - with pictures.  (Otherwise, I'd probably be collecting a bunch of insects somewhere in my house as well.)

Little did I know there was an actual term for this practice - sucrology.  And by creating a group on Flickr, there's a way to make it a more interesting experience as well.  It's a place for:

1. Collecting:  posting pics of packets I run into
2. Points:  members, page views, discussion threads
3. Feedback:  comments on member pictures
4. Exchanges:  sharing pics with others
5. Customization:  Editing the group page and related properties, like the wikipedia entry, future blog, etc.

That's the best part of social computing - IT'S FUN.  (Ever think about why you blog?)

BTW - if anyone can help get a copy of that article, it would be very much appreciated!

Five things about Being Peter Kim

Jumping into the "5 things you didn't know about me" meme, thanks to Max Kalehoff (borrowed his blogpulse meme tracker, pictured at right)...

1. My first job was scooping ice cream at a local shop - the kind of place where we made it ourselves.  One responsibility - keep my recovering alcoholic co-worker away from the Maker's Mark used for bourbon ball ice cream.  (He did whippits instead.)
2. I won tickets to see R.E.M. in 1989 by winning a local radio station contest to see who could Stand on one leg the longest.
3. I graduated from college before I could drink legally.  No bars meant four years of plan b.
4. In 1998, I visited North Korea.  It was like stepping into a time warp, almost something you'd see in a movie.  Some day I'll find the pictures and post to Flickr.  Posted on 5/31/07.
5. And finally more on my name and why I started blogging - including how I learned to love the blog.

So I'm late to this meme and it appears that these illustrious bloggers have yet to be tagged (or haven't posted yet):

• Eric Kintz (too non-corporate perhaps?)
• Marianne Richmond
• Ben McConnell or Jackie Huba (certainly you've been tagged already!)
• Joe Chernov at BzzAgent (can you hijack the Bento Box?)
• and my colleague Charlene Li - surely swamped with end-of-quarter stuff, just like me.

And for good measure: [these are not links to me!]

• Peter Kim
• Peter Kim
• Peter Kim

And some have been already, like Josh Hallett, Lewis Green, Sean Howard, Doug Karr.

UPDATE:  FYI the links to "Peter Kim" above are to three different people with the same name...not me!  Someone emailed me and asked for a link to her blog; she had tagged herself and also linked to herself four times.  Not the spirit of the meme, IMHO.

Product. Price. Place. Promotion. Participation.

Seems about time to add a 5th "P" to the marketing mix, doesn't it?  It's an idea I blogged about that fits in perfectly with my research into reinventing the marketing organization (and was reminded about from a post on the Fallon Planning Blog).

Marketers have professed customer-centricity for years.  However, marketing changes the way it organizes (away from product- or channel-based P&Ls), the idea of customer-centricity remains a concept, not a reality.

The catalyst driving the need for reinvention at present?  Social computing.  Technology has and will continue to change the nature of the game and companies need to shift or perish.

There's a nice white paper from BrandChannel as well, but it fails to emphasize the honesty/transparency aspects required to succeed.  Without reinvention, we're bound to see more egg on corporate faces, as unbelievable as that may seem.  The alternative?  Sit on the sideline while your competitors cement their relationships with your industry's influentials.

The time for reinvention is NOW.

links for 2006-12-18

• relevantNoise
  (tags: brandmonitoring)
• Southwest Airlines Wanna Get Away
  (tags: createyourown advertising)

Cashing in on Web 2.0

Mashable lists 19 sites that pay users for participation, with many others listed in comments.  Will these business models lead to better content or a rash of clutter?  We're still not talking about big money for users here, at least along the lines of becoming a SL millionaire.

I think the lure of compensation for participation will be irresistible to the masses.  For better or worse.  The CGM backlash seems closer than ever.

links for 2006-12-17

• DEF MINI Records
  From Interone Worldwide (BBDO)
  (tags: microsite advertising)
• Brands for the Chattering Masses - New York Times
  Article focusing on Buzzmetrics. Includes interesting Nike brand map.
  (tags: pressquote brandmonitoring nike nielsen)

JetBlue's adding four inches.

A resounding message from the recent WOMMA conference in DC:  if you want to generate positive word-of-mouth conversations, start with a great product.

JetBlue knows what it's doing in this area.  The airline is adding four inches - to the first 11 rows of its planes.  It has partnered with Dyson to use the handheld Root 6 to clean its planes.  And if you've noticed, the TV service on board has a powerful pacifying effect on passengers (the reverse when it's not working).

As the company expands routes, we'll see if they can take bigger = better in more ways than one.

links for 2006-12-16

• YouTube Whistleblower Vindicated by NYT, WaPo
  (tags: socialcomputing video)
• Dove Cream Oil - create your own commercial
  In partnership with AOL
  (tags: createyourown advertising socialcomputing)
• Doritos - consumer super bowl commercial
  (tags: createyourown advertising socialcomputing)

Delta Air Lines. Customer service. Abysmal.

OK, so Delta is bankrupt.  Does that explain why its customer service is so abysmal?  I'm trying to book some flights this week.  I have old credits to apply and I call up to make sure I can apply them + get a child fare (can't be booked online).  Good news:  I can [supposedly] apply the credits online.  Bad news:  there aren't any child fares available in this particular market (Louisville - Boston).  OK fine, I'll book everything online.  Oh, and if I have any problems, the agent tells me to call the online support number at 888-750-3284.

I log on to delta.com.  Find flights, apply credits, everything's going fine.  Then - "System Unavailable."  OK.  I clear my cache and cookies, try this again.  Same result.  Try it again, this time with IE 6 instead of Firefox.  Same result.  So I call the online support number.

Delta:  [ring ring] [immediately goes to hold musak]
(a few minutes pass)
Delta:  Hello, what are you calling about?
Me:  Hi, I'm trying to book a flight on delta dot com.
Delta:  Hello - there's a problem with your phone line.  Are you there?
Me:  Hello, I'm trying to book a flight on delta dot com and having some problems.
Delta:  OK.  Are you trying to go online with internet explorer or your internet service provider?
Me:  [confused] Excuse me?
Delta:  Some internet service providers are incompatible with delta.com.
Me:  Really?  I'm pretty sure my ISP is compatible.
Delta:  How are you logging on to the internet?
Me:  I'm using a cable modem and Comcast internet service.
Delta:  OK, well what you need to do is find a button called "start" and then look for a menu option called "programs"...
Me:  Are you serious?
[this goes on for a couple more minutes - and then I had to hang up.]

I tried to book online the next morning - same problem, system still unavailable.  So I called Delta again - this time I got Bombay on the line (last time it was Pune).  Delta charges $10 more for booking a ticket over the phone instead of online.

Me:  Well, the online system was broken and given that I had no choice but to book over the phone, I'd like a $10 discount.
Delta:  I'm sorry, I told you at the beginning of the call that there is a $10 service fee.  There's nothing I can do.
[on top of the $50 rebooking fee]

This is what happens when your customer service department blindly follows operating procedures instead of trying to understand the customer perspective.  By the way: the e-Credit functionality doesn't work, either.  So why put it on your site?

Z-Listers Unite!

Mack Collier has incited the Revenge of the Z-List.  The concept entails paying link-love forward, highlighting good content that might not be getting much exposure for whatever reasons.

His initial list:

• Shotgun Marketing Blog
• BrandSizzle
• bizsolutionsplus
• Customers Rock!
• and me. (thanks!)

Some blogs I'm subscribed to that I don't see mentioned frequently enough:

• MIT C3
• Decker Marketing
• AttentionMax
• Big Picture Advertising
• Loic Le Meur (just kidding on that one!)

Or visit Technorati for more.

UPDATE: (there's always more to see...)

Creative Think
Movie Marketing Madness
Blog Till You Drop!
Get Shouty!
One Reader at a Time
The New PR
Own Your Brand!
OTOInsights
bizandbuzz
Buzz Canuck
Marketing Hipster
The Marketing Minute
Funny Business
Mindblob
Open The Dialogue
Word Sell
Note to CMO:That's Great Marketing!
Shotgun Marketing Blog
BrandSizzle
bizsolutionsplus
Customers Rock!
Being Peter Kim
Pow! Right Between The Eyes!
Billions With Zero Knowledge
darrenbarefoot.com
The Emerging Brand
The Branding Blog
Craphammer
Drew's Marketing Minute
Golden PracticesViaspire
Tell Ten Friends
Flooring the Consumer
Kinetic Ideas
Unconventional Thinking
Buzzoodle
NewsPaperGrl
The Copywriting Maven
Hee-Haw Marketing
Multi-Cult Classics
Logic + Emotion
Branding & Marketing
On Influence & Automation
Servant of Chaos
converstations
Presentation Zen
Dmitry Linkov
aialone
John Wagner
Nick Rice
Design Sojourn
Perspectiveg
Marketing Nirvana
Bob Sutton
¡Hola! Oi! Hi!
Shut Up and Drink the Kool-Aid!
Community Guy
Social Media on the fly
Jeremy Latham’s Blog
SMogger Social Media Blog
Masey.com
The Viral Garden
Pardon My French
ON:digital+marketing
Todd And
Write now is good
Zoli's blog
High Desert Wanderer

links for 2006-12-14

• VeriSign - New Digital Brand & Fraud Protection Service
  (tags: brandmonitoring)
• Relegence
  Acquired by AOL
  (tags: brandmonitoring)
• 1st2c
  Brand monitoring company - UK, Israel
  (tags: brandmonitoring)
• Beechwood sets up online brand monitoring service - MarketingWeek
  (tags: brandmonitoring)
• Fluxmonitor.com
  (tags: brandmonitoring)

YouTubers love to hate AOL

Consumers love to hate advertising.  Don't just watch the video, read the comments.

Visit the AOL profile for more.

links for 2006-12-13

• SAP is ready for some football
  Article discussing B2B marketing on TV
  (tags: pressquote)
• Web users increase use of ad-blocking technology: Spannerworks
  I'm starting a new del.icio.us tag for mentions in the press. This one relates to "Consumers Love To Hate Advertising."
  (tags: pressquote)
• MediaPost Publications - Cross-Media Case Study: Feeling a Bit Crabby - 12/04/2006
  Honda's Gil the Crab ad campaign. "I pinch!"
  (tags: pressquote)
• Mplanet(TM) Attendees Receive Insight Into Most Pressing Marketing Trends for 2007: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
  From Mplanet - reinventing the marketing organization.
  (tags: pressquote)

Purple Cows: Good for marketing, bad for babies.

Babycenter has released their top 10 names of 2006.  Seth Godin's advice for creating great marketing?  Create a purple cow.  This means something that's outstanding, remarkable, unforgettable.

You'd think that parents would want this for their kids - unless you've read Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner.  According to their research, today's most popular "high-end" names are the next decade's most popular "low-end" names.  So don't turn your baby into a purple cow, lest you brand her/him for unintended bias.

BTW, I had to go back to the 1960's to even crack the "most popular" list.  I think I'm due for a comeback at some point this century.

Think about the reality of enforcing WOM ethics

WOMMA applauds the FTC decision to not take an official regulatory position on word-of-mouth marketing.  Complainant Commercial Alert concedes defeat and calls it a "giant Christmas present."  The FTC will evaluate situations on a case-by-case basis to determine if law enforcement action is necessary.

BzzAgent has 450,000 agents.  Tremor has 230,000 teens.  Vocalpoint has 450,000 moms.  That's 1,000,000+ potential WOM nodes out there.  If one in a million agents don't disclose their affiliation when buzzing, who's at fault (i.e. who gets sued)?  The agent, network, media agency, and/or sponsoring firm?

More importantly, who files the complaints?  The burden of action falls to consumers - and a backlash against WOM doesn't seem imminent.  One solution?  A network of "anti-WOM" agents that would actively question when buzzed and take action to report disclosure or lack thereof.  But there's no money in this direction to fund such an effort and I'd bet that the demographics of those who'd voluntarily support such a cause diverge wildly from existing agent networks.

Otherwise, without Bones- or House-type forensics, enforcement will be nearly impossible outside of a closed-loop system, e.g. online.  You can track spam, flogs, and phishing - but not person-to-person non-disclosure.

WOMMA 2: Brand monitoring panel

I moderated a panel this morning at WOMMA's research symposium in DC.  Josh Hallett was live blogging and posted a great summary on the event blog.  The slides from my intro (slightly modified) are posted above - hosted at slideshare.

For more information on brand monitoring, see the Forrester Wave or previous blog posts.

Thanks to everyone who participated and attended!

WOMMA 2: Opening Session

Dr. Walter Carl from Northeastern University, one of the leading minds in WOM academics, kicked off the research symposium with a "State of WOM Research and Measurement" address.  Some highlights:

What does it take to start people buzzing?

• More likely to seek out and listen to WOM when purchase is higher risk, e.g. more talk about autos, less about toilet paper
• Extreme levels of satisfaction/dissatisfaction drive WOM
• Advertising can stimulate WOM
• Loyal customers tend to engage in WOM, but not always positive

What's the ROI of Advocacy?

• Likelihood to recommend as a proxy measure of advocacy
• Net Promoter Score (Promoters – Detractors); metric correlated with revenue growth
• Current controversy about relationship between NPS and business performance
• Challenge:  WOM is both a driver of future sales and an outcome of past sales

[the jury's still out on this one.]

Naturally, these points were all supported by citations of academic research, like this.

WOMMA Summit starts with big news

The biggest gathering of professionals in word-of-mouth marketing kicks off today - WOMMA's Research Symposium and Marketing Summit.  I'll be moderating a panel later today called "brand monitoring: following the conversation in a word of mouth world."

Any event organizer wants their conference to start out with a momentum-producing event...and this morning WOMMA announced via email that Andy Sernovitz, Founder and CEO, will be leaving the organization in April 2007.  In his words, WOMMA is "no longer a startup" and "the most important service a true entrepreneur can provide to his company is to get the hell out of the way when the startup days are over."  True that.

Perhaps we'll hear more about the reasons why over the next few days - book doing well?  Edelman fallout?  An early April Fools 2007 joke?

Best of luck, Andy.  In the past year covering the space, it's been quite a ride and fun working with you.

Data freaks rejoice! Swivel preview is live.

Swivel launched last week and is being called the "YouTube for Data."  Have fun and remember that correlation does not imply causation.

I've uploaded some data on internet ad revenue and domains in use - pretty clear connection.  Also created a simple graph on google stock price vs. search share - makes sense, too.

Enjoy!

UPDATED:  Here's the ad revenue/domains graph, embedded.  Great stuff. You should get the authors of Freakonomics to start using the service and illustrating their arguments!

Consumers Love To Hate Advertising

I published a new research piece last week called "Consumers Love To Hate Advertising."  At first glance, this seems like a big "duh."  However, the research uncovers some deeper insights.

Forrester has tracked consumer attitudes toward advertising since September 2002.  Things look grim, fsho.  However, consumers aren't just whining about ads anymore - they're taking action:

• Since 2004, the percentage of consumers using spam filters and TV ad-skipping technology has almost tripled.
• In that time, the percentage of consumers using pop-up blockers has more than doubled.

Why?  Clutter, Interruption, And Irrelevance.  The same reasons Jaffe would never recommend a pre-roll ad.

So imagine the alternative: an ad-free world.  That would be synonymous with a content-free world.  Consumers will not pay to replace lost ad revenue.  85% of consumers told us so.  You think that cable is the answer?  Hello, product placement and branded entertainment.

Until integrated marketing becomes a reality, advertising will continue to be a necessary evil - which is why consumers love to hate it.

Here's a mini-metafilter on sites carrying on a discussion sparked by the piece:

• Information Week:  "Consumer Use Of Ad-Blocking Technology Doubles"
• Techdirt:  "People Don't Hate Advertising; They Hate Bad, Intrusive And Annoying Advertising"
• Dvorak Uncensored:  "Popup Blockers, DVRs and “I Get No Spam” Are The Bane Of Advertisers"
• MarketingFacts (NL):  "Gebruik ad-blockers verdubbeld"
• i-Wisdom:  "Consumers Love To Hate Advertising"

(Personally, I fall into those small minority percentage that likes ads.  My favorite?  Miller Lite's Evil Beaver.  It's funny how times change - 20 years ago, beer and shoe ads were the most creative.  These days everyone raves about computers and mp3 players.  The geek have inherited the earth.)

links for 2006-12-08

• MindComet Expands Its Online Brand Management Service
  (tags: brandmonitoring)

links for 2006-12-07

• Yahoo! Re-Aligns Organization to More Effectively Focus on Key Customer Segments and Capture Future Growth Opportunities: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
  (tags: yahoo customer-centricity)

Razorfish Reports v2.0

A lot has changed at Razorfish since Y2K (I worked there between 2000 - 2001).  One clear difference can be found in their white papers.

During the first incarnation of the company, Razorfish white papers covered subjects like "How To Peel A Chicken" and "Tom's Rules Of Thumbing."  I suggested a couple of topics for publications to our Chief Scientist - real options applied to digital strategy and system dynamics thinking for e-commerce.  Both were rejected as impractical.

Now, Avenue A | Razorfish publishes "Points of View" that cover big-time enterprise-focused topics.  Much more useful to making money, something the old company was not particularly good at doing.  For example, their most recent report on "Actionable Analytics" answers 14 questions that you might face as a marketer who has web analytics, but need help monetizing the insight.

Like MOM (the old Razorfish internet, pictured at left), it looks like the old ways of doing business are gone and a profitable, mature enterprise has emerged.

[and let me know when you publish on those topics!]

Deconstruction and Grand Theft Auto

Is pop culture mostly full of sound and fury, signifying nothing?  Or can the capitalist motives of authors and analysts be defended when analysing icons like SoaP and Borat?

I've started a new category on this blog to reflect a trend I'm seeing, drawing from influences like Stallybrass and Berger, Johnson and Gladwell:  deconstruction.

The latest example I've stumbled into: The Meaning And Culture of Grand Theft Auto, via CNet News.  Chapter titles include:

1. Spilling Hot Coffee? Grand Theft Auto as Contested Cultural Product
2. Political Interface: The Banning of GTA3 in Australia
3. Virtual Gangstas, Coming to a Suburban House Near You: Demonization, Commodification, and Policing Blackness
4. Play-Fighting: Understanding Violence in Grand Theft Auto III
5. The Subversive Carnival of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
6. Grand Theft Video: Running and Gunning for the U.S. Empire
7. From Stompin’ Mushrooms to Bustin’ Heads: Grand Theft Auto III as Paradigm Shift
8. Everyday Play: Cruising for Leisure in San Andreas
9. Cruising in San Andreas: Ludic Space and Urban Aesthetics in Grand Theft Auto
10. Experiencing Place in Los Santos and Vice City
11. Positioning and Creating the Semiotic Self in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
12. Against Embedded Agency: Subversion and Emergence in GTA3
13. Inviting Subversion: Metalepses and Tmesis in Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto Series
14. Playing with Style: Negotiating Digital Game Studies

Chapter excerpts are available here.  And I thought it was just a video game.

2006 In Our Words - courtesy David Armano

Great post from David Armano, summarizing feedback he's received in response to the question, "What was the most significant event/aspect of 2006 in regards to marketing, advertising or user experience?"   Great visual summary shared on DA's site and you can view the raw data as well.

Wake-Up With Hyatt and Christie Brinkley

I was cleaning up some old junk mail and came across a piece from Hyatt Gold Passport.  They are running a promotion through the end of the year where users can schedule a celebrity wake-up call from Christie Brinkley (that's her at left).  According to their site, for every call scheduled Hyatt will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation (up to $10,000 total) part of a larger partnership.

So feel free to do a good deed by using one of these four access codes at hyattwakeup.com:

• 04706476204
• 04706494269
• 04706513893
• 04706543075

If the codes are all used up and you're curious to hear what a wake-up call from Christie sounds like, there are two diffe