Marketing an iPhone App - What a Difference a Year Makes in a Digital Media World

What a difference a year makes! I posted the blog entry below on May 27th, 2009. As I watch the iPad spiral to unforeseen levels of penetration in just a few weeks, as I ogle over the new HTC Droid, as the number of application stores reaches 5+, and as the number of Droid applications is expected to surpass those for iPhones this year, I thought it was worth pulling it up for old time's sake and to notice what a difference a year makes - and also what has stayed the same. So, in the interest of time - as I have important meetings at 2pm and 4:30pm, here are a few data points for thought:

• Mobile ad sales accounted for approximately $391 million in 2009 and are forecast to reach $561 million in 2010 (Zenith Optimedia). Of course, this doesn't begin to take into account content revenue: music, video, applications, etc. or usage charges: text messaging, data, voice (remember voice?)

• The global market for mobile applications reached $10 billion in 2009. (Didn't see that coming in 2006!) - Juniper Research

• Apple sold 1 million iPads in 28 days and more than 2 million in less than 60 days.

• It took 74 days to sell 1 million iPhones.

• As of May 3, 2010, 12 million iPad applications had been downloaded and 1.5 million eBooks (Steve Jobs)

• There are, I believe, 200,000 iPad applications available

• Android applications are expected to reach 150,000 by the end of 2010 - though I believe a Motorola executive speaking during Internet Week referenced 40,000 available apps - as she was making the case that WAP sites are even better than apps... Note that iPhone users are more likely to use apps than websites; that's flipped for other smart phone users.

• 65,000 Android phones ship daily (Eric Schmidt, May 17, 2010 via AndroPhones.com)

• Android phones were not around a year ago

• Unlike iPhones, Android phones have multiple manufacturers including Motorola, HTC, LG, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, and are available through multiple carriers

• The term is no longer "iPhone App" but rather "Mobile App."

• The term is no longer "iPhone" but rather "Smartphone."

• Smartphone penetration reached 21% of wireless subscribers at the end of 2010 and is expected to pass the 50% mark in 2011. (Nielsen)

• 14% of mobile customers have downloaded an app in the last 30 days. BlackBerry, Palm and Windows Mobile users have between 10 and 14 apps on their phones, with RIM on the low end of the scale. Android users average 22 apps, compared to iPhone owners who devour, as Steve Smith of Mediapost puts it, 37 apps.

• As of May 2010, Apple is larger than Microsoft.

And now to our formerly scheduled blog posting:


POSTED MAY 27TH, 2009

I recently attended one of Alan Brody's iBreakfasts - "iPhone Apps & Mobile Platforms." The panelists were Eric Litman from MediaLets, Ken Engels from Curious Brain and Alex Muller from Slifter. And it of course, got me thinking about iPhone apps. So here are some of my thoughts:

FUN iPHONE FACTS

How Many Phones?

There are currently 40MM iPhone and iTouch devices (15)

17MM iPhones had been sold as of March 2009. (1)

Nearly 4MM iPhones were sold in the 1st quarter of 2009 - representing growth of nearly 125% vs. 2008. (8)

During the first three months of iPhone 3G availability (3Q 2008), seven million phones were sold, exceeding the six million first-generation phones sold in 1 1/4 years. (8)

26% of U.S. smart phone users have iPhones (35% have Blackberries). (3)



Where Are They?

iPhone applications are available in 77 countries. (7)

There are 500MM people with mobile phones in India...(5)



How Many Apps?

As of April 24th, 2009, 1 billion iPhone applications had been downloaded - 9 months after the launch of the store. (4)

On June 8th, Apple announced that there were 50,000 applications in the iTunes Store - up from 35,000 in April (7). At the OMMA Video conference on June 17th, I heard estimates of 54,000 by Gordon Borrell and 57,500 by Marketspace Senior Advisor Andrew Heyward.

As of April 15, 2009, 25,000 different iPhone apps had been downloaded. (6)

As of June 12th, 2009, 15 of the top 20 free and paid apps (top 10 free; top 10 paid) were games

The iPhone Applications Store model of centralized distribution is unprecedented.

It takes one to two weeks for a new application to be listed by Apple (if approved).(9)



What's Up with UrbanSpoon?

UrbanSpoon was one of the top applications downloaded in 2008.

Following favorable reviews from Macworld, TechCrunch, and even the New York Times, the free app racked up 300,000 downloads and over 6,000,000 shakes within the first 10 days.

In October 2008, UrbanSpoon began selling advertising on the application through a platform/ad network called AdMob that specializes in mobile advertising.

UrbanSpoon had already achieved 1MM downloads when it was approached by Apple to be featured in the Apple iPhone commercial. One month after the November commercial hit the airwaves, UrbanSpoon's downloads had jumped to 2.2MM. (10)

The UrbanSpoon iPhone application was originally introduced to drive traffic to its website. Its founders estimate that if they had charged for the application, e.g., $1.00, downloads would have been reduced by 90%. (11)

UrbanSpoon was recently purchased by IAC.



How Much Are They?

Most iPhone applications are paid apps. (12)

However, the top 10 free applications made up 7% of downloads as of December 2008. (13)

iPhone paid apps range from $.99 to at least $6.99 (e.g., BeamMe Pro). (14) The average price is $1.00 - $1.50. (12)

Apple takes 30% commission for paid applications. Apple's estimated revenue from app sales is undisclosed, but estimates range from $70 million to $160 million. (14)



What's Next?

Web 3.0 is here. The iPhone 3.0 enables in-application purchases (7)



RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MARKETING AN iPHONE APPLICATION

ASO and ASM:

I have coined two new phrases: Application Store Optimization (ASO) and Application Store Marketing (ASM). These are core elements of iPhone application marketing.

Where do people go when they are looking for information and answers? Google - the "Q-Tip" of Search. Where do people go when looking for an iPhone application? The App Store - the centralized, exclusive source for iPhone Applications.

There are two goals: (1) turn up high on the results page of an app store keyword search (e.g., subway map, weather) and (2) be part of a "Top 10" list (e.g., games). 80% of downloads come from the top 100 applications. (16)

If you can't accomplish this organically, then go for Application Search Marketing (ASM) by paying to be a "Featured" application. As with SEM, ASM can be used to jump start organic search.

The key concept to remember is that popularity breeds popularity. Once you achieve a high ranking, take advantage of it. The one time you are guaranteed inclusion in a Top 25 list is when you are introduced, so support your application when you launch it, and focus your efforts.

If you are going to spend money advertising your application, then you are better off with one heavy push, i.e., buy your advertising all in one day rather than by sprinkling it around.

The "What's New" and "Top" lists are said to have rolling 24 hour windows. However, Apple has been continuously changing its algorithms.


Other Applications

A good strategy is to get included in other applications. This can be done by purchasing ad inventory through a third party or through partnerships. Creators of gaming applications often maintain a portfolio of games, using each one as a platform to promote the others. Whatever your application, it's important to target people who like a similar or complementary application.


Website Promotion

If you have an online presence, you can promote your mobile application on your own website. This can include deep links that can be emailed or texted to a mobile device or that links to the iTunes Store.


Social Media and Editorial Reviews

Develop a strategy for getting positive coverage: editorial and user reviews, blogs, Twitter, etc.


Consider Giving It Away

As with other content providers, the developer of an iPhone application is faced with a tradeoff: (a) give it away to get broader adoption (b) sell it to get revenue and recoup costs. Consider giving away your initial version; it will get downloaded by early adopters who are sure to give you feedback in the form of reviews within the Application Store. Once you've refined the application and gotten some word of mouth, transition to a paid model (grandfathering the early adopters). Additionally, you can give your first release away for free and then charge for the 2nd generation premium or "pro' version. BeamMe went from free to $6.99.


OBSERVATIONS

iPhone applications are characterized by the early fervor of a new space, and there are low barriers to entry for a new iPhone application

More than one in four smart phone users have iPhones; Verizon needs to take this situation seriously as it evaluates whether to reach an arrangement with iPhone once AT&T's exclusive contract expires. A Blackberry representative recently told me that because only 7.4% of computers are Apple computers, there is limited incentive to create software for Mac users, e.g., a working program for synchronizing a Blackberry with a MacBook. However, if Blackberry can't offer a viable solution, Verizon will lose customers to AT&T and iPhone, despite the fact that Verizon offers dramatically better phone courage. If Verizon continues to let this happen, they are missing a big opportunity.


HOW'D THEY DO?

In early 2006, I wrote a presentation about the mobile space for a multi-platform publisher that included forecasts of mobile advertising and marketing revenue by a range of media pundits. This is what they forecast for 2009:
- Visiongain: $602MM (55% compound annual growth rate)
- RBC Capital: $1.5 Bn (101% CAGR)
- McKinsey: $250-$750MM
- eMarketer: $434MM (20% CAGR)

(As it turns out, mobile advertising revenue for 2009 was $391 million - Source: ZenithOptimedia, "Advertising Expenditure Forecasts," provided to eMarketer, December 8, 2009 - it seems that eMarketer wins the forecasting contest.)

The wide-ranging projections could not have foreseen the iPhone application revolution, that provides increased opportunity for paid listings, sponsorships, cross-promotion, affiliate marketing and display advertising. That said, the majority of mobile revenue comes from text messaging. (12)




Sources: Eric Litman, Alex Muller, Ken Engels and Alan Brody, Network World, Zueo, Christian Science Monitor, Articles Base, eMarketer, Tata, Steve Wax of Campfire Media, Stuart Farr of Not for Tourists

(1) March 24th, 2009
(2) January 28th, 2009 - while some of the difference between the 15MM and the 17MM numbers may be due to purchases made between January and March, some is likely attributable to iPhone owners who have purchased more than one iPhone - likely trading up from version 1 to version 2
(3) March 2009 - eMarketer, Skype survey
(4) 1 billion as of April 24th, 2009 - Apple.com - remember that iTouch users also download applications --> approximately 22 per device
(5) Tata - 92nd Street Y panel, June 2009
(6) Are there 10,000 iPhone applications that have never been downloaded?
(7) 35,000 as of April 24th, 2009 - Apple.com
(8) Apple financial report
(9) June 8, 2009. Recent applicant
(10) Ethan Lowry, founding member of UrbanSpoon, one of the most downloaded iPhone applications of 2008. Mobile Crunch, December 5th, 2008.
(11) October 30, 2008 - Seattle 2.0, Kevin Leneway
(12) iBreakfast panel
(13) Mobile Crunch, December 5th, 2008 - estimate by Greg Kuparak
(14) ClickZ, May 22, 2009
(15) Apple, June 8, 2009
(16) Gordon Borrell, CEO, Borrell Associates, Inc. - OMMA Video Conference, June 17, 2009

Place the Spot; Spot the Placement

I can't help it! When I'm watching "The Big Bang Theory," and Leonard's "Mom" holds her soda can just a little too long and a little too high, and the can remains visible for 5 minutes of the show, then it must be a product placement. It's a bit of a game, a bit of an art to spot, so I'm reopening my log of potential spottings. I hope you'll join me.

- Rules of Engagement, June 7th, 2010 - Kiehl's moisturizer on Audrey's nightstand. Could be for character definition. In any case, awfully prominent, as in the only thing on the nightstand, just inside the shot and positioned so that you could read the label.

What do you think? Is Kiehl's helping to define Audrey's character, or is CBS helping to promote Kiehl's?

- Colbert Show, June 8th, 2010 - Colbert wearing a lab coat with a big Lexus logo on the back during piece about Consumer Reports.

- Colbert Show, June 7th, 2010 - Microsoft's Bing search engine agreed to donate $2,500 to a charity of Stephen's choice every time he said the word, "bing." The show raised $100,000 for the Gulf of America Fund.

- Ugly Betty and the Atlantis Paradise Island resort - the December 4th episode was one long, albeit beautiful, advertorial for the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas, interrupted only by, well, ads for the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. There was even an entire scene designed around the famous water slide. If it weren't for the MEMORABLE footage of the dastardly but oh so hot Connor Owens wearing minimal wardrobe, it might have been too much. Ugly Betty is a great vehicle for brand integration. And I understand that the Latin American version, which takes place in an advertising agency, milks the product placement cow even more completely.

- Big Bang Theory, September 21, 2009 - new Diet Pepsi can - 3rd act of "Big Bang Theory." The can is - for me - one of five characters in the scene.

Who Will Capture the Flag? The Convergence of Digital, Traditional, Media & PR Agencies

A recent "AdWeek" article observed that, "digitally centric agencies like R/GA are adding more traditional brand-building capabilities while TBWA and BBDO are trying to apply digital to their orgs."

This article prompted a student of business to pose the following question on LinkedIn: "Who has it harder traditional agencies or digital ones?"

This was my response:

Full service, traditional agencies have longer histories and potentially tighter relationships with major advertisers. Digital agencies have deeper and wider technical skills and experience, e.g., building a rich media site or social media campaign. It will be very interesting to see how things play out, and I think, as I write this and look at the names you have listed above, it may be a case by case situation, i.e., some digital agencies are strong enough to make the transition, and some creative agencies are forward looking enough to make inroads.

One thing that I think both benefits and limits digital agencies is that many of these agencies grew out of the direct agencies of the large media conglomerates. While test and learn, measurement and optimization are important, and while digital realms provide a bevy of data to work with, that kind of mindset can be limiting as the interactive space becomes more and more "upper funnel" - with more opportunities for branding and truly breakthrough creative thinking.

All that said, what is happening on the ground right now is that
(a) creative agencies are seeking to hire talent with interactive backgrounds, particularly from top digital agencies and
(b) both digital and traditional agencies are expanding and changing out their strategy teams. Several major agencies have new strategy heads as of the beginning of 2010.

Who's the Boss? Why Facebook Can't Get Its Head Around Our Privacy Concerns

I've seen it before. Technology companies that don't understand the customer mindset. Coming from a packaged goods background, I am trained to see my consumer as my most important constituency. But coming from a technology background, Mark Zuckerberg seems to have greater empathy for developers than users.

Last month, Facebook hosted a day of presentations, talks and break out sessions known as F8. As someone in the digital community, I tuned in for a streamed recording of the Zuckerberg's keynote speech, which outlined the dramatic changes that Facebook was introducing to the world including the open graph protocol, greater sharing of data with partner sites and changes in privacy policies. It was an inspiring talk. At the end of it, he spoke about how medical students see opportunities in the world to save people, lawyers see opportunities to bring fairness to the world, and programmers want to make the world a better place. It's a bit late at night, so I'll have to go back to the tape to see whether I've summarized this appropriately, but I recall being inspired by his can-do, why-not, I'm an engineer attitude.

My next thought was the following: This has been an informative and well-produced little presentation. I watched it because I'm a digital junkie, but, what about the other 400 million people who use Facebook? How many of them watched this? And even if they did, would they have understood it? Open graph protocol???? I don't think so. So, I was waiting to see how Facebook would communicate these innovations to its... customers, its users, not its third party developers and programmers, but the folks who give him the data and attention and time that is so valuable to everyone else. Nada. I did not see any plan to do so.

Then I logged into my Facebook account. As you can imagine, when I logged in, I was there for a specific reason. Perhaps I wanted to post something on my wall, or check my inbox or read comments to my profile. As soon as I arrived at the home page, I was met by a huge block of text and choices. It told me that my "likes" would be something-or-othered and I could decide what I wanted to share and not and... well, I didn't have time for it. Click this, unclick that, and I went on my merry way.

Had I not watched the video, I would have been taken completely off guard. As it was, I was thrown off course, but had enough of a backdrop to be cautious about what I did and didn't check. I do recall going to Twitter and expressing concern about whether my name would be posted on the websites of brands I "liked." The Twitter community assured me there was nothing to worry about and went about tweeting about this interesting open graph protocol.

Tune in a week later, and the world has gone amok. Diaspora* is having hundreds of thousands of dollars offered to them to be the David to Zuckerberg's Goliath. Public figures like Baratunde Thurston are publicly closing out their Facebook accounts and asking friends to unfriend them. And Zuckerberg is taking his story to the Washington Post to let us know he "hears us"... but that we really shouldn't be so concerned.

And therein lies the problem. Mark Zuckerberg doesn't think like a consumer. And certainly not like the mainstream consumers that have come to Facebook of late. He thinks like a Gen Y, 20-something programmer. He's never taken a marketing class; he never even finished his Harvard Core Curriculum requirements.

This, as I am waywardly getting to, is my point. Seeing the consumer as the constituent does not always come naturally. Several years ago, I served as interim marketing head for an up and coming website. The year before I arrived, revenue was $40 million. The year I got there, $70 million. And they were on track for $100 million. But they were somehow a little stuck. The content on their site was written by a group of contributors I will call "Coaches." These people are compensated by the website based on the traffic and ad revenue they generate. This group was, up until I arrived, considered to be the company's customer. What about the users, I asked? What about the advertisers? Ah, that was where I could provide insight to this technology-driven organization.

A year or so later, I worked with the website of a major travel and tourism commission. When I visited the site, I looked at it from a consumer point of view and was disappointed. Then I looked at it from an advertiser point of view and was disappointed. Who did the commission see as their customer? Answer: The hospitality industry and destination marketing organizations. Because these organizations were the ones who funded the tourism commission. Hence, if I visited the site and searched for information about ski resorts, I might be served with minutes from the ski resort marketing association annual meeting. Shocking to me, but it made total sense to the client - because we had different ideas as to who the key stakeholder was.

What Facebook seems to be lacking is a true and intuitive understanding of the consumer. The consumer that is the user - not the developer, not even the advertiser, but the individual members of the Facebook community. The four hundred million... people.

Link me In - LinkedIn Tips for Job Search and Business Promotion

This evening I am sitting on a discussion panel about social media and, particularly, LinkedIn. Last night I jotted down some thoughts with respect to some of the preliminary questions posed to me and thought I might share them here for those who will not be making it to Paramus this evening - though I encourage you to do so if you can as (a) I will surely refine my answers (b) there are two other panelists and a moderator, (c) there will be a Q&A session (d) there will be networking and food for a low price.

As I said, these thoughts are rough and preliminary, and I hope to improve upon them when I find myself in a "procrastinatory" mood. I welcome your thoughts, input, disagreement, personal examples, corroboration and so forth:

JOB SEARCH:

How do I make my profile standout?

- Be true to yourself. I see my LinkedIn profile as part of my overall communication plan. So highlight the things you want to emphasize. I would also recommend that you include any “Brand Names” and “key words” that might be of interest to those you want to “attract.” There are a number of people, including recruiters and HR managers, who use LinkedIn as a search engine. It’s similar to the way things used to be with job sites like CareerBuilder. However, this is better, in my opinion, because you are not obviously, actively looking, so it puts you on more equal footing.

- Include descriptions of your work, not just listings of companies, titles and dates

- Include links to relevant websites, e.g., if you have a personal or biz website, if you have a blog, if you have a Twitter feed.

- Have a nice, professional photo.

- Update things periodically so that your contacts get “updates.” Keeps you top of mind. Use the status update, but use it strategically and cautiously.

Should I make more than one profile?

- No, it will just complicate your life, and it will confuse people. This is what makes LinkedIn tricky, but embraces it as a puzzle to solve.

What are some profile mistakes I should avoid?

- Poor quality or unprofessional photo
- Twitter feed – don’t overwhelm me
- Incoherent overview of what you do – for consultants – don’t give me a list
- [I have a personal example of something I tried but found to be suboptimal - demonstrating that here, as in most digital environments, there is an opportunity to test and change.]

How do I expand my network?

- LinkedIn is a tool to manage your network, so basic networking rules still apply, and I would encourage getting to know people face to face before connecting with them on LinkedIn. When you meet someone at an event that you want to connect to, take their card and connect to them in the next 24 hours to 7 days.

- Groups. Join some relevant groups, and join in on the conversations

- Go through the lists that LinkedIn gives you of people from your jobs or schools that are on LinkedIn. Check back periodically. Once you’ve exhausted that, take a look at the people that LinkedIn recommends to you.

- Go through your non-LinkedIn “Rolodex” and periodically invite people to connect. Consider “refreshing” people’s memories, as needed, e.g., “you may recall that we met at the Bergen County Networking Event.”

How do I request references?

- Probably best to prime the pump outside of LinkedIn, e.g., via email or phone or in person. Then send the invite; make it easy for them.

- Technically: go to edit mode of your profile, go to relevant job, and click on “request recommendation.” The person has to be a LinkedIn connection.

- Think strategically about how many you want. Try to get people from different perspectives, but especially senior people. Ask people who can sincerely write about you.

- Sometimes people will ask you what they should say. Find out whether they want a few bullet points or an actual draft. [interested in what others have to say about this.]


How do I find companies that may not be advertising new jobs?

- Search for people at those companies, including people in HR. Create jobs. Network with people and sell them on what you could potentially do. Set up informational interviews.

- Follow companies… (a new feature)

- Check out company pages.

What can/should I learn about a company before an interview?

- Find out who you are meeting with and check out their LinkedIn profile – take a look at who you know in common – take at look at people’s blogs, company websites and twitter feeds. Be cautious about speaking to people who know the interviewer in common – make sure you’re not giving away a lead.

- I still like Hoover’s

- Set up Google alerts

Should I link my LinkedIn profile to my blog, Facebook and Twitter?

- Blog: depends on the blog; if your blog is something you want potential employers to see, i.e., professional and/or shows off something you want to showcase, then link to it – use the link at the top of your profile – otherwise, no

- Facebook: no

- Twitter: include your twitter name if, as above, you want potential employers to see it, i.e., it’s professional

Should I accept all connection requests?

- No. Be discriminating. I would like to think that, even though I have 700 connections, I could say who each person is, even though it may take some research, e.g., spotlight, notes, address book or need to jog my memory by seeing who we know in common, etc.

- Do not connect to anyone you have not met or had substantive exchange with via phone or email.

- Be somewhat cautious about recruiters – they want access to your Rolodex. Think about whether they can be valuable to you.

Is it recommended that a job seeker use the Q&A section?

- Q&A - now called Answers - is not very commonly used anymore. I would focus on Groups.


BUSINESS PROMOTION

What’s the best way to promote a business on LinkedIn?

- Create and maintain company profile
- Use status updates, events, get involved in Groups
- As above, tweak your profile to stay on people’s update feeds
- Create a blog if you have the time and it’s relevant; link to it. Same with Twitter.
- Encourage employees to use LinkedIn
- Create alumni groups
- Monitor LinkedIn to stay on top of trends and hear what's being said about your company, competitors and your sector

How do we promote a small business? (versus a large business)

- Same as above.

How do we use LinkedIn for local business promotion?

- I think there are some hyper local functions being added
- Join local groups (such as Bergen County LinkedIn and Meetup groups)
- Connect to important people in your geo

Can I advertise on LinkedIn?

- Yes. There is a link at the bottom of the page called “advertising.” There are options for large & small budgets. I think it’s like Google. Pay per click and also banner pops.

Can I use LinkedIn for competitive info?

- Yes. First of all, track down people who used to work at competitive companies and network with them…
- Follow the companies

Should we link our blog/Facebook/Twitter to LinkedIn?

- Same as above: blog if it’s professional. Facebook Fan page if it’s professional. Twitter if it’s professional. But not automatic feeds. I hate that.

Should we accept all connection requests?

- Nope – same as above. Your business is yourself when it comes to social media. It’s all about authenticity and transparency, so it’s hard to draw a line.

Should we create a LinkedIn Company Profile? Pros/Cons

- Yes, it’s quick and easy. No downside, and you can see who is following you. Set it up. You can always add to it later.

Disaggregation & Correlation Optimization - How Print Media Can Be Saved

Print publishers need to start looking at their business in a new way. Rather than maintaining the print versions of their magazine and newspaper publications as they are, and then deciding what form of walled garden, paywall, metered, micropayment and/or freemium model to implement online, they need to unbundle and redesign what they offer - which is news and information, not a printed magazine or electronic replication with enhancements.

Right now, a consumer has no choice in what they get in terms of a print publication. There is basically one version. You may read only a few sections of the New York Times but, too bad, you get it all, and now you need to deal with disposing of and/or recycling what you don't read or need. It's like saying to a shopper at Costco: I know you came in for diapers, but you also get motor oil with that purchase - for free - because they are bundled together. Well, that motor oil just makes the "bundle" worth less to me. I'd rather have the diapers alone or, perhaps, bundle them with pureed vegetables.

So it is with published content. I might like to have a print copy of the Sunday Arts & Leisure and Style sections as well as daily podcasts of the front page and daily e-mail news alerts about anything having to do with social media. So disaggregate what you offer and rebundle it in a way that is valuable to me. I might be willing to pay more for that combination than I currently pay for the printed publication.

Now I understand that the NYT may not want to create hundreds of thousands of customized product combinations. However, it may be the case that most people who read the Arts & Leisure section also follow social media. Through correlation and cluster analysis, I can get a sense of what individual elements tend to "go together" and then create a portfolio of options that appeal to different consumer segments. Remember that phrase, "consumer segmentation?" Personally I think it is one of the most powerful concepts that can be garnered from a $100,000 MBA education. I'm emphasizing it to you for free! So please don't waste it.

While the New York Times does not seem to have used this disaggregation & correlation optimization approach in designing their new tiered/metered content approach, I'm getting the sense that some other print publications (I won't mention them by name) may be exploring this kind of more sophisticated pricing. I think this could be the answer to much of what ails traditional media - from newspapers & magazines to books to interactive television. Executives have to be willing to take apart their current assumptions and create something that is bigger than the whole. As mentioned in previous blogs, I think that Flatworld Knowledge has done some interesting things in this space. And, based on a pricing strategy engagement I completed - with my colleagues at Abbey Road Associates - for a major equity research company, they also are tapping into the power of this kind of analysis.

Don't miss out. It's powerful stuff. Not easy, not to be done without expert pricing supervision but well worth the effort.


If you'd like to learn more about how Triple Play can help you with this type of pricing strategy development, send me a note via LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook or leave a comment for me here.

Hot Styles Now – A Keynote by Mindy Grossman

Several weeks ago, I spent the entire day at Macy’s. Not shopping – department stores scare me a little – but attending a conference on Interactive Retailing. The keynote speaker was Mindy Grossman, the CEO of HSN. I say, “HSN” rather than “Home Shopping Network” because one of the modernizing changes she has made is updating the name – kind of like KFC, but with less to hide.

I found this change in name particularly interesting because in 2002, I did quite a bit of work with HSN. I was one of two marketing leads in Hearst Magazines’ Brand Development Group, i.e., licensed products. Products ranging from Marie Claire fashion to Good Housekeeping cookery to Cosmo hair accessories and Country Living quilts were frequently featured on HSN and QVC. Seeking to find a fit between the HSN brand and the Marie Claire flair was tricky, so I coined the phrase “Hot Styles Now!”

Well, it seems that Mindy Grossman has updated the HSN brand to a point where we don’t need either Home Shopping Network or Hot Styles Now. These are some of the things she has done:

Coined the catch phrase: “There's No Place Like HSN."

- Check out the video.

Eliminated $100 billion in product.

- I’d like to know how she selected which product to eliminate. Rationalizing a product line is a valuable and tricky endeavor. You want to upgrade your brand, but you don’t want to alienate your core audience.

- Did she use the BCG matrix – identifying stars, cash cows, problem children and dogs based on market share and growth? Was there qualitative and quantitative research involved? Did she, like Showtime, define the unique look, feel and personality of HSN and then pick products that supported it and simply felt right? Did she segment her target market? I certainly hope and imagine she did. I think that market segmentation is perhaps the most important element of marketing strategy.

- I’d also like to know what led to the transformation. How, as I alluded above, did she evaluate where she was and where she wanted to go? Was it an upfront strategy or more of an incremental evolution?

The end goal and end result was a transition to a lifestyle network.

- That is big. I sounds like she identified the core of her brand and her audience and expanded from a retail channel to an entertainment/transaction vehicle. Very interesting.

HSN added culinary programming noting that the appetite for this kind of programming has not been sated.
Cute choice of words: appetite for culinary things has not been sated… Also quite a statement. Even with a 24/7 Food Network and Food Network spinoff (Scripps re-purposing of “Fine Living).

- In fact, even with food content on Bravo, TLC, the Travel Network, A&E, ABC Family Channel, BBC America, Discovery, Fox Reality, MTV, Style Network, AMC, FX Network, MSNBC, TV Land, Hallmark Channel, Lifetime and Lifetime Movie, Oxygen, SoapNet, WEtv, Comedy Central and Spike TV (phew!), there is still an unsated appetite. (This , by the way, is why I would like to invite Brooke Johnson, President of Food Network, to speak at the Harvard Club, but that is a story for another day.)

In any case, HSN feels that this appetite has not been sated – perhaps, like chocolate, having food content just makes us all want even more – so, "she is going after that."

Mindy started her talk with some key Internet data points:

- Oh, how I love data…

Here they are:

Peer reviews are the #2 source of content/activity after search

30 billion videos viewed each month, ___% on YouTube [darn, missed the # and will have to look it up]

When a person has a DVR, 40-60% of viewing is time shifted

- By the way, I spoke with a physicist working on the Hadron Collider, and he broke the news to me that time shifting is not the fourth dimension. It has to do with the Speed x Time = Distance equation. Oh well.

The web is becoming more sociable than searchable

- Nice alliteration

Facebook had 400 MM users in February of 2010

- Yup, it’s more than that now.

4 of 5 Internet users visited social networking site

11% of time online is on social networks

eBay is experimenting with outlets

- I didn’t know that. I’ll need to search on it when I get a sec.

Online gaming is growing in popularity – 65% of households game! More than 40% of those who game are women. A lot [missed the number] are over the age of 50. 57% are earning or spending virtual currency daily.

- Wow and whoah. 57%! On virtual currency! Take in for a moment that companies like Zynga have figured out a way to turn online value into money! This is worth taking a pause to digest. I’m glad that I’m working on a social gaming speaking event. It’s hot, hot, hot!

The leaders in social mobile networking activity are 35-46 years old.

- Kids, by the way, are pretty much satisfied with Facebook when it comes to social networking.

- Oops – speaking of food content, it’s time for lunch. Gotta run.

- Good news is that Mindy’s people have invited me to do an audio interview, so if you have any questions you’d like me to ask, send ‘em on over!

When You Think "Add;" Also Think "Reduce"

Something dramatic happened in 2009. Something that might not surprise you today but would have been unthinkable back when I walked the carpeted hallways of Hachette, Hearst or Conde Nast Magazines just a few years ago. Internet advertising revenue surpassed magazine advertising revenue.

Based on ZenithOptimedia estimates, magazine revenues fell from $24 billion in 2008 to $19 billion in 2009, and Internet revenues grew from $18 billion to $20 billion - despite a decrease in total ad revenue across all categories. The line in the sand has officially been crossed, and I can not imagine that it will be reversed. (In fact, Zenith estimates an increased gap in 2010.) While magazines may experience a partial rebirth with the birth of the iPad, their role as a top 3 medium is no longer.

Now, while TV and Newspapers seem to be holding their own, this stability does beg a question for me as follows: Are the interactive ad revenues associated with newspaper websites and tv websites included in the newspaper/tv bucket or the interactive bucket? My most recent perusal of a Veronis Suhler report revealed that these calculations are far more complicated than they may seem. As integrated advertising and media offerings have become more real, bookkeeping has become more surreal. In fact, the strength of TV and newspaper revenues reflects, in part, the strength of their digital offerings, particularly in comparison to the somewhat late-to-the-table magazine industry.

Last night, I sponsored a talk by Bob Seelert, Worldwide Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi, author of the book "Start with the Answer" and creator of a short article featuring a list of the "10 Things To Do When Leading In Tough Times." #9 on the list reads as follows: "When you think 'add;' also think 'reduce.' When you think 'create;' also think 'eliminate.'"

Unfortunately, as advertising agencies seek to enhance their digital capabilities, they find a reduced need for those with print expertise. A smart organization will see the need to make this tradeoff, and a long-time print professional had better see the need to stay a step ahead - or at least catch up!

On July 10, 2007, I wrote my very third blog entry. It was entitled, "Don't Do It" and strongly counseled a colleague to diversify out of print and into digital. I hope she heeded my advice:

"Don't do it," I told her. A colleague from my magazine days took me to breakfast to ask for career advice. She has 11 years of magazine experience and is reentering the work force after a maternity leave and a quick detour into non-profit. "Don't go back into pure play print," I told her. If you do return to magazines, make sure you have digital responsibility and interaction."

My colleague didn't think she had enough online knowledge to enter that world. "I don't know about search and all that," she said. But my feeling is that she needs to get up to speed on the lingo, the players and the trends. I suggested that she attend some industry breakfasts such as iBreakfast and NY:MIEG and directed her to paidcontent.org and eMarketer. She has more digital experience than she thinks as she oversees the redesign of her non-profit's website. I like to think that I earned my pancakes.

Why Go Digital - to the Count of Three

Yesterday, I shared with you some thoughts about measuring payback on ad spending. Thoughts that I am collecting as part of a specific inquiry. Today, I jumped to a later chapter in my analysis for a little diversity and thought therefore, that I would go ahead and begin a fresh post:

Let’s jump ahead for a moment to the big picture. What is it my inquirer wants to know? In sum, she wants to get a handle on the dynamics of the ad market as it transitions from print to digital. She would like to understand why people are moving, why people are staying and how the different users of advertising as well as their intermediaries think about print vs. digital from both the intangible, e.g., business need/presence, and the tangible, e.g., better bang for the buck for banner ad, ability to market to a certain demographic.

The question presents itself to me therefore, which came first the tangible or the intangible? Personally, I think it was the intangible with the tangible playing a part in terms of low risk from a cost point of view. When a client asks me whether marketing dollars should be moved online or to specific new platforms, my reasoning is seldom led by efficiencies. True, the efficiencies are there, and I touted them heartily when writing a business plan for Campfire. (Remind me to share some.) But the reasons advertisers should, have and are going digital include the following:

#1 Your consumers, your customers, your audience is going online. You need to be where they are. As Rishad Tobaccowala once said, “I don’t know whether you are behind your competitors, but I know you are behind your consumers.”

Even if your audience is not quite there yet, I’d rather be there when they arrive than try to find them once I get there. It’s kind of like a party. Fashionably late is not as fashionable when you’re trying to make a good impression and get a jump start. Few marketers and brands are on foursquare. In fact, foursquare has only 750,000 people on it (albeit a 4-fold increase in the last few weeks). But those who were there first – Bravo, Intel, Zagat -- have already made an impression, gotten the press and gotten an advantage.

So, number one, you need to be where your peeps are.

Moreover, you need to be where the puck is going, not where it is now. You may still have a critical mass of your core market watching tv, but what about tomorrow’s market? What about the young mothers who are going online for advice and community, spending more time consuming media on their laptops or mobile devices with less time to spend watching daytime soap operas – to the extent that they still exist? You need to get to know these women in their formative, digital years.

#2 Digital media allows for all kinds of targeting. Not just demographic but behavioral, social, key word, contextual and, eventually (once I understand it), semantic. Moreover, let’s think about the word demographic. With geo-location technology, it’s possible to target at the GPS-level. I mean, I mean, in the not too distant future – if not today – a marketer will actually be able to, finally, really, know that I am leaving my yoga studio and walking by the bakery. Good time for a shout out, no?

So digital targeting is not just specific and flexible, but it’s dynamic. With current prevalent print technology, an advertiser knows that I read “Elle” magazine, but does he know whether I, personally, also read “Wired?” Does he know what I do before and after I read my magazine? At what point do I go ahead and purchase the item advertised in the magazine? Not easily.

With the current geo-location analytics technology, a marketer will be able to know what my literal path to purchase is. He’ll know that I go from my house to work, to lunch to the subway to the gym to the grocery store. Now, how he uses that is a new question, but the fact that this kind of information is available is fantastic.

So, to review, the reasons to spend on digital media include:

(1) that’s where you’re consumers are
(2) there are incredible opportunities with respect to targeting and intelligence

#3 Why Not? Why waste the opportunity? If you are advertising offline, why not continue the conversation digitally. The incremental cost is probably not too big in the scheme of the campaign. It extends the impression – both in time and depth – and it offers an opportunity to capture information. It’s a move from one-to-many to one-to-one. “Thanks for coming to my party, now tell me more about yourself.”

Now that I have brought up this third reason, I’d like to go back to part of the original question, i.e., why are some people staying and some people going, and what is the dynamic of the market as it transitions from print to digital. Well, at the risk of getting touchy-feely, this third reason suggests that an advertiser extend his or her buy by adding a digital element. These platforms can and should work together. Is digital cannibalizing analog, or is it possible that the whole will be bigger than the pieces, yielding a bigger payout and thus additional dollars to fund the whole campaign. Well, that’s high math (and cost accounting) but certainly something to think about.

Dream Cover

A colleague of mine asked me to provide some bullet points that she could incorporate into a note she is writing on my behalf. I wrote something quite mature and professional and then let loose with the following. I think it's actually quite appropriate and simply need someone to post it on my behalf on LinkedIn. Or maybe not... In any case, here's what I've written this exceedingly warm afternoon:

Karen is the most impressive, coolest, prettiest, nicest, most generous, incredible person I know. Her mind works in ways that others can't fathom. She is selfless and makes those around her feel like they are walking on sunshine. Any client she works with experiences immediate dramatic revenue growth. I have considered moving my practice to NYC just so that we could work together more often. She is also a proposal writing machine.

In addition, Karen is the best house guest you could imagine. I have thought about getting a second home on the East Coast just so that she could visit me more often.

And most important, dogs love her. When she looks at them, their fur immediately becomes soft and smooth and straight as if it had been brushed for hours, and their teeth become minty clean and bright.

Measuring Advertising Returns

This blog is about advertising returns, in particular gauging the efficacy of different types of advertising campaigns. It was inspired by the questions asked me by a client seeking to understand how retailers and advertising agencies view payback on ad investment through different advertising vehicles.

We began with catalogs. Now catalogs are typically considered to be a “lower funnel” or direct advertising tool. While a well-done catalog can positively impact brand perception and equity and can stimulate upper funnel results such as awareness, interest and desire, most catalogs are judged on tangible results.

What then are the tangible results we are looking for? A smart marketer will begin his or her campaign with that question, rather than measuring them after the fact. In direct marketing, these are referred to as Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs. In the case of a retail catalog, these KPIs will reflect specific desirable consumer actions such as: making a purchase, visiting a website, returning a business reply mailer, signing up for a mailing list. Most enticing, of course, is sales volume.

How then, do we link consumer activity to a particular catalog mailing? There are a number of tactics that can be used. Here are some examples:

1. Create and include a dedicated telesales phone number for each catalog.

2. Send catalogs to different geographic areas on different dates. Then keep an eye on traffic and spending, in store and online, during those periods in those geographies. The geography of an online shopper can be estimated based on the user’s IP address. (An Internet Protocol (IP) address is a numerical label that is assigned to devices participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication between its nodes.)

3. More to come…

I welcome your thoughts!

If You Don't Know Where You're Going, Any Road Will Take You There

Later this month, I am hosting a talk by Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide Chairman Bob Seelert. In preparation for this talk, I am reading his book, "Start with the Answer." This afternoon, as I basked in the peaceful exhaustion of a Vinyasa class listening to a mellow arrangement of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" in the "pink" area of the Pure Yoga studio, and reading through Mr. Seelert's two-page chapters punctuated and summated by a chapter-specific "Bob's Wisdom," I sat up suddenly with a compelling need to tweet one of these takeaways: "If You Do Not Know Where You Are Going, Any Road Will Take You There." Like Porter's, "You Can't Manage What You Can't Measure," this struck me as a key leadership tenet worth sharing with the tweetosphere.

But as I continued to read the chapter, I realized that it was much more. It was the holy grail. As a strategy consultant, and particularly in situations where I am the sole strategist leading the way on the development of a digital strategy roadmap or an overall marketing strategy, I find myself mired in the following question: What is a strategy, and what is a tactic. On a recent such project, I recall harkening back to my days as a pasta sauce brand manager when I was given the clear, organizationally-approved framework of objective, strategy, plan. Or... was it strategy, objective, plan? No, surely the first.

But in these new situations, what I saw as a strategy, others might see as a tactic, and vice-versa; and no one was really sure what the objective was. In fact, was the starting point an objective or a vision? Hmmmm... In one such situation, I found myself reaching out to Wharton classmates, Booz & Co. colleagues and other strategic gurus - only to find myself once again mired in the discussion of what the client viscerally responded to as a strategy vs. a plan.

Now, this is admittedly, not as clear cut as my three tiered delineation above. There is sometimes a cascading effect such that a high level "plan" might turn into a lower level "strategy" as the organization gets closer to implementation. I recall having this discussion with Charlie McKittrick at Ogilvy & Mather who nicely summed up his definition of strategy as: "a plan for the allocation of limited resources over time to reach an objective." And in a note to him, I reiterated my comments above that "what may be a tactical element of a high level business strategy can also be the starting point for a marketing strategy (which in turn informs a creative plan and execution)."

All of that said - and serving as a sufficient preamble to allow me to shamelessly reprint what Mr. Seelert outlines in his book, here is a supremely clear cut, General Foods trained, overview of objective vs. strategy vs. plan:

"As a chief executive, it is your job to set a direction for the enterprise. Working with your team, you need to establish a clear vision or better yet, an inspirational dream that is specific to your situation and communicate it to everyone in the organization as often and as thoroughly as possible.

This also sets the stage for mapping objectives, strategies and plans that bring your directions to life and focus the efforts of your people. The first questions to clarify are: What is an objective? What is a strategy? What is a plan? Organizations can become tied in knots if they do not get this simple structure right."

Hallelujah!!! I have been to those knots, and I have seen how tangled, turned around, and derailed a team can become.

"An objective can be described as a goal, an outcome, or an 'end.' It must be measurable."

Hallelujah! B School 101: "specific, measurable results." Anything can be measured - with enough creativity, "can-do" determination and cooperation.

"A strategy describes the boundaries you operate within to achieve the objectives. As such, they represent the 'means to an end.' A plan then is a set of action-oriented steps, taken in conformance with the strategies to achieve the objective."

QED. Quite simple really.

"If the objective is to 'build share of market,' the supporting strategy might be, 'utilize promotional incentives to generate trial among non-users.' A plan flowing from this could be, 'circulate a direct mail coupon of 'x' value on 'y' date.'"

The key here is the simplicity of the objective: "build share of market." Simple but defining. Something that will keep you on track. An overarching framework by which all strategies and plans can be reviewed.

"Setting strategies is particularly important. By establishing boundaries, strategies help channel the organization's efforts in the right direction and minimize the unfettered thinking and actions. They provide the mechanism for evaluating the strength or sensibility of plans as they come forth. The simple question to ask is, 'Is the plan on strategy?'"

Hallelujah! So long, that is, as a company is willing to take a stand on its objective. That requires decision-making and consensus. "A well-defined problem is 90% solved." - Einstein

The New Semester Begins Now

For a number of months, I have been sharing with you courses, panels, seminars, workshops, etc. that I have found to be worth my attending. Perhaps you do too. Well, the list was getting quite long, so I think it's time to unwrap a new notebook, as it were:

[I have moved the upcoming events to a more recent posting.]

Recently Attended:

"The 10 Laws of Enduring Success.” An exclusive one-on-one interview with Maria Bartiromo. Sobel Media, Wednesday, March 31, 7pm. Samsung Experience, NYC.

Everyone wants to attain success. But what is success? How do you get it, and how do you keep it? The events of recent years have prompted many of us to rethink our definition of success. In “The 10 Laws of Enduring Success,” Maria Bartiromo shares personal insights developed on the front-lines of the financial crisis, as well as ideas from in-depth interviews with notable Americans, including Condoleezza Rice, Joe Torre, Bill Gates, Jack Welch, and Goldie Hawn. "The 10 Laws of Enduring Success," will be released on March 30th. Catch her on The Today Show with Matt Lauer on March 31st, then join her in person with us at The Samsung Experience for an exclusive one-on-one conversation with Frank Radice.


Wharton, University Pennsylvania Interactive Retailing 2010 Conference. Tuesday, March 23, 8am-3pm. Macy's Herald Square.

Keynote Speaker: Mindy Grossman

The internet opened up a new channel of distribution for retailers. Now, social networking, online communities and mobile commerce have the ability to transform the industry yet again. To be effective and impactful these new tools must have the flexibility required by retailers: interactivity, ease of use and the ability to influence buying behaviors.

What are the potential opportunities and challenges for retailers who embrace these new technologies?
When should you embrace them?

Can the industry effectively utilize new e-commerce tools to improve their business models and drive sales?
What are the most promising technologies on the horizon?

These are just some of the topics that will be discussed as retail industry executives and academics meet as the Jay H. Baker Retailing Initiative and Wharton Interactive Media Initiative present INTERACTIVE RETAILING 2010. This conference will focus on existing technologies that work and how to synergize emerging technologies to position your firm for the future

Professor Nouriel Roubini: THE WORLD ECONOMY – WHAT’S NEXT? Monday, March 15th, 2010. Harvard Club of New York

The New York Times has described him as “the seer who saw it coming” – “it” being of the housing bubble and the ensuing economic meltdown. Professor Nouriel Roubini, who earned his Ph.D. in economics at Harvard and now teaches at New York University, is pre-eminently the economist who made his predictions in public and was right on the money. Now, after earning the right to say, “I told you so,” he is coming to the Harvard Club to talk about the economic future.


The Changing Economics of News and Print Media. Thursday, March 4th, 2010.

An intimate dinner and interactive conversation with media thought leaders to discuss the future of internet and social technologies and their impact on the changing economics of news and print media. How internet and social technologies have irreversibly changed the economics of news and print, and the implications for traditional and emerging media businesses: (a) Consumer consumption habits and trends across multiple platforms, (b) Crowd-sourcing, citizen journalists, and the cost of content creation, and (c) Aggregated vs. reported, free vs. pay.

(Excellent discussion.)

Social is the Next Search: Is Your Site Ready? Thursday, March 4th, 2010. 2-3pm ECT. Free webinar by Gigya

(Excellent presentation, materials, best practice examples)

Shorty Awards. Wednesday, March 3, 2010. NYC - via Livestream from The New York Times Center.

The Shorty Awards are unique awards for the Twitter community, by the Twitter community. Online voting is public and democratic, culminating in an awards ceremony that recognizes the winners in 26 official categories as well as those in crowd-sourced ones.

(Of course TweetDeck won.)

OMMA (Online Media, Marketing and Advertising) Behavioral conference. February 25, 2010. NYC

OMMA (Online Media, Marketing and Advertising) Metrics and Measurement conference. February 24, 2010. NYC

Multichannel News Advanced Advertising: The Future Is Now. Monday, February 22, 2010. NYC

Uncorking Gary Vaynerchuk: an in-depth interview with Ellis Henican of Newsday and Fox News. Sobel Media. Wednesday, February 17, 2010. NYC

Eventcamp 2010. Saturday, February 6th, 2010. NYC

EventCamp 2010 was the first industry gathering of its kind, offering an intimate and low cost alternative to the large annual conference and allowing attendees the option to generate their own content, encouraging participation and allowing for a more interactive environment. Approximately half the session topics were be pre-determined, and aimed to assist planners in utilizing social media and technology in event and meeting planning, execution, business development and networking. All levels of Social Media, Technology, and Event enthusiasts are welcome and encouraged! There were Social Media and Technology rockstars on hand to help participants get started or answer questions.

Whole Foods Market Presents: Afternoon Snack. A New York New Food Media Panel as part of Social Media Week. Friday, February 5th, 2010. NYC

Unleashing Social Media on the Sports World, hosted by the New York Times as part of Social Media Week. Friday, February 5th, 2010. NYC

Crowdsourcing, hosted by the New York Times as part of Social Media Week. Friday, February 5th, 2010. NYC

Is The Future F#cked? - a part of Social Media Week. Thursday, February 4, 2010. NYC.

The Prince of Silicon Valley: Frank Quattrone and the Dot-Com Bubble. Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010. NYC

Before subprime housing melted down in 2008, there was the dot-com bubble and meltdown a decade earlier. The Pied Piper of the Internet bubble was Frank Quattrone, the era’s most successful banker. From Cisco to Netscape to Amazon, he took some of the biggest names in technology public. In 1999 and 2000, his group at Credit Suisse led the most hot initial public offerings, which lifted the entire stock market to record heights. Take a walk down Wall Street with Randall Smith, an award-winning reporter for The Wall Street Journal, whose articles chronicled the investigations of Quattrone’s firm by
regulators and federal prosecutors. Quattrone’s 2004 conviction for obstruction of justice was overturned in 2006, and the banker recently returned to the securities business. Smith will share the tale of a Wall Street Icarus who flew too close to the sun, an absorbing noir detective story of those investigations and trials. His book, The Prince of Silicon Valley, traces Quattrone’s rise from the back streets of South Philadelphia to the peak of finance as the highest paid banker on Wall Street. (This was my event.)

Pass the Matzoh, Please! The Timeless Tradition of Live Storytelling.

With Passover around the corner, I thought I would dust this posting off from April 14, 2009.

The other night I attended a marathon seder... hmmmm, that's actually a redundant phrase as anyone who has perused a 95 page Hagaddah that tells the history of a 6,000 year old people may have observed. In any case, this seder, which was sponsored by a group called Romemu and attended by 150 people, ran from 6:30-10:30pm - followed by an additional hour of chatting with the people at my table whom I had not met before that day but with whom I had bonded through bitter herbs, plagues, songs, poems, questions, meditation and gefilte fish.

Well, a little over three hours into the seder - after I had accidentally drenched our tablecloth with matzoh ball soup and inadvertently set on fire two plastic bowls by placing them too close to the tea lights on the table - I started to get a little distracted. Reflecting on the many seders I have attended, I began to jot down thoughts for a blog post about the cultural, developmental and educational aspects of the holiday's practices.

A seder - which means order - not only tells the story of Moses and the escape of the Jews from Egypt, but teaches all kinds of values and skills that are inherent elements of the Jewish culture. One of these is discipline and patience, as it can take many hours of deprivation and light symbolic snacking before you get to the meal. Until then, you must subsist on horseradish, wine, a little bit of matzoh and other allegorical items.

The seder also shines a light on the youngest members of the family, requiring them to read aloud and, in the case of the youngest child, to ask the famous four questions. With respect to this, I observed that I felt a commonality with the other "youngest children" at my table. All of us adults, all of us having experienced that unique responsibility. (They hated it; I loved it.) This, in fact, led me to observe that the seder reinforces the birth order.

In addition to learning to speak in public, young people at the seder learn to ask questions. To challenge, question, discuss and analyze. (Does the combination of public speaking and questioning shed a light on the prevalence of Jewish comedians?)

Through the search for the Afikomen, the children learn about work and reward and, in some cases, they learn about the art of negotiation as they determine the payment they are willing to accept in return for the matzoh they now hold hostage.

As I jotted down thoughts in and among the poems and prayers of my seder booklet, one of my table-mates took out a small notebook and began to write. Intrigued, I asked to see what he had written. It was not a blog but a poem. This is what he wrote:

Between God and soul lies a plan that is vast
Deserts seem small
Oceans like ponds
This space vast, it must be passed

With prayer given to the all that is
Joyous singing
Quiet thought
Actions speak loud, to do good is bliss

Smiles and laughs and breathing in deep
Ears that are open
Eyes that can see
Running and jumping, faith calls for blind leaps

The gap isn’t true
There’s no space between
We are all connected
By smiles and by seams.

(Written by Douglas Karson, April 9, 2009)

Early Check In - with foursquare

In July 2009, I wrote an entry called "Who's Tweeting Now" that chronicled various observations about a new rage called "Twitter." Yes, that was less than a year ago. Twitter was hitting public awareness with a bang, and I was being asked by social media skeptics how this new obsession could possibly be useful. So, I decided to string together short Twitter observations into "macro" blog entry.

Now, eight months later, and one year after its launch, foursquare is beginning to penetrate public consciousness. The first week in February, I was asked by a client to pull together some social media elements to be incorporated into a proposal for a B2B financial services client seeking to improve the impact, effectiveness and engagement of its trade show marketing. I did some research into whether this marketer's clients have smart phones and use digital media and whether other major B2B players use Twitter (and Facebook). My initial finding was that this audience was not the iPhone carrying Gowalla using audience that those in NYC might think are the American norm. Some trade show organizers were experimenting with hash tags, and a number of B2B companies had huge numbers of Twitter followers - and even Facebook fans, but my sense was that the social media aspects of this campaign needed to be relatively simple.

I recommended therefore, a number of ways for the marketer to use Twitter - before, during and after each show. And I gave them overall guidance as to how to develop, maintain and optimize their Twitter presence. That done, my client and I decided to go for it, to be crazy, and to incorporate location-based social media into the equation. I looked into developing a mobile application either independently or in conjunction with the trade shows, themselves. But this was really too aggressive. It meant developing an application and then getting trade show participants to adopt it. In other words, it required creating a market. Not easy.

So, why not foursquare? An existing application, with a growing adoption rate and functionality that allowed us to incorporate our promotions and marketing into the existing framework. See, for example, what Intel did at the Consumer Electronics Show. See also what your local retailers are doing. And look at the pop up recommendations that Bill Sobel has left for those who use foursquare in and around New York's upper west side.

I developed the plan and incorporated it into the deck. After finalizing the deck, I called my client to discuss next steps. One of the things he asked for was a more in depth conversation about foursquare so that he could better understand and represent the concept to his customer. Joe, I said (I call all my clients Joe...), keep your eye on this thing - this foursquare. Your client may think it's niche or obscure now, but six months from now, they'll note how ahead of the curve we were. The bigger foursquare gets, the more appropriate our recommendations will be, and since the customer's program is ongoing, they can incorporate it at any time.

There is something about it that is very reminiscent of Facebook back in 2006. Friends and relatives thought I was crazy, or at least, eccentric, when I joined Facebook. (One even said that it was "sad" that I had to go online for friendship...) When I joined there were 6 million people on Facebook. Today, there are close to 400 million - including all those friends and relatives I mentioned. (As of this week, Facebook consistently attracts more daily visitors than Google - CNET.) In 2006 - and even today - there are those who can't imagine why you would want to share private or personal information about what you are doing online. Today, they are scared of the risks of posting information about where you are into a public mobile ethersphere. There are even spoof sites that beckon thieves to "rob me now" when your foursquare status (geotag) shows you are away from home. The number of foursquare participants is low, but the passion of those using it is high. (In actuality, foursquare reached 500,000 participants this week - March 19th, up from 400,000 last week due to intensive guerilla marketing efforts at South by Southwest last weekend.)

Yesterday, I called my client to check in (not in a foursquare sort of way, just a phone call). The first thing he said was that since we had spoken, he had seen and heard about foursquare over and over in the press. It wasn't gradual, and it didn't take six months. It was immediate.

My heart began to beat as I observed the amount of hype this new trend is getting - fast. And so, the question arises again, "how can this new obsession be used - and why?"

Now, I wear a number of hats. I am a "user" - of media, that is. I am a consultant to media and entertainment clients. And I am a consultant to marketers. So, my introduction to foursquare posed at least three sets of questions.

First, how and why should I use it? How can I improve my life by joining foursquare?

Second, what's the plan for Dennis Crowley, founder of foursquare, and his partners? How are they going to monetize this? And, wow, these guys have something hot with a lot of potential. Oh and how might Apple limit or enhance this potential - specifically, Apple recently announced that they would not allow hyper-local advertising on their platform. Uh oh, that seems limiting.

Third, how can marketers exploit this great new technology, growing social trend and incredible treasure trove of consumer behavior information? And in using the word "marketer," I reference a huge range of players, from your local ice cream shop to the Bravo network ("America's Top Chef" program) to major global marketing brands.

And fourth, how can other constituents partner with and leverage foursquare. For example, the University of North Carolina and Harvard College announced foursquare programs this December and January, respectively; and Zagat announced a content partnership shortly thereafter.

And so it goes that I must take up the mouse again - to create a repository of foursquare marketing uses that I observe, identify and generate...

Be sure to check in to see what I uncover.

Is Watching TV a "Yesterday" Thing To Do?

When I consume my video media, I like to be sitting in my livingroom, with my MacBook Air in front of me, my iPhone within easy reach, a bottle of water nearby and some kind of food at the ready. Yesterday I watched the Shorty awards on my laptop, and it was tiring. The day before I watched “Up” on my 15” LCD screen, and it was suboptimal. When I watch TV, I want to lean back. I want to unwind. I want to give my eyes, maybe not a rest, but a change of scenery.

So when people say that livingroom TV watching is going away, that “Gen Y” does not watch television, and that their behavior will take over our world in the not too distant future – 3D TV be damned, I don’t fully buy it.

As someone who considers myself to be a “young [insert age here].” I do feel somewhat embarrassed saying this out loud. Is it because I straddle two generations – as a Gen Xer tucked between young Boomers and the seemingly endless millennial generation? Well, tonight I had an epiphany! It didn’t actually come to me organically but was vaulted at me by a very self-confident HBS I-Banker, who by the way, had no idea what FourSquare was and was irate to find that it did not come up in his Droid app store when he typed in “4.” But I digress.

This erudite MBA pointed out to me that, as someone who often works at home, I am in a unique sub-segment of the population. So the rule that “people watch tv on the best screen option available to them” is not completely false. It’s just that I typically have a better screen available to me than my office- and classroom-tethered brethren. Hmmmm… Duh.

Calling a Spade a Spade at the OMMA Behavioral Conference

Thursday of last week was a messy, mushy wet day here in New York City, but the ballroom at the Marriott Marquis, home of the OMMA Behavioral conference, was warm and comfortable. That is, until Rishad Tobaccowala of Publicis Groupe’s VivaKi gave us all a tough talking to.

His theme: collaboration – and our lack thereof.

“We believe we’re in a share game when we’re in a growth industry,” he said. We fight tooth and nail for $1.2 billion while overlooking $240 billion that is “lying there.” We need to focus, he said, on the customer, not on each other.

So what is it the customer wants? Six things:

Clients want:

(1) Continuous Improvement
(2) Service
(3) Collaboration

How do we score?

(1) Continuous improvement: We pass!

(2) Service: Well, that’s a 50% score

(3) Collaboration…. “We do this horribly.”

Leave it to Rishad to say out loud what we all know to be true, particularly from the client’s perspective. Clients are faced, he said, with a choice between best of breed agencies, that don’t play well together or a mediocre but collaborative combination of vendors.

Most sobering, Rishad wrapped it up by saying that these are the requirements that determine whether an agency stays or goes: “You get fired for these things,” he said.

The spade that Rishad called a spade is something that has surprised and perplexed me – particularly when looking at the situation from the client’s point of view. The client wants an overarching look at how its marketing dollars are working. But an increasingly common refrain is: “We can’t get access to that data because it belongs to an agency that is not part of our group.” Craziness… but hard to fix.

How are clients fixing it? They’re taking it in house. “Clients are much smarter today than they were 5 years ago,” he said. “They are taking a lot of things in house to avoid the drama.”

Rishad brought this up in response to my question about how we can address this problem in the short term. And I’ve had it corroborated by recruiters looking for agency people to work directly for advertisers. Uh oh, if we don’t play well together, we’re going to have our very expensive toys taken away from us.

So that’s why agencies get fired. Why do they get hired? What can we do to catch the eye of a prospective client? As is often the case today, the answer came in “I's” – three “I’s.” They are: (4) Insights, (5) Inspiration and (6) Ideas. Sounds sexy.

So… how are we doing? The story starts well:

(4) Insights: What industry is better suited to provide insights, Rishad exclaimed. Good point (if we do it right, of course...).

(5) Inspiration: Maybe not so good. Eloquent as always, Rishad explained, “We give perspiration, desperation, hallucination…” but not inspiration. Well, that’s a bummer

(6) Ideas: [hmmm.. I’ll have to go back to the recording to see what he said on this topic].

As I said, at the end of Rishad’s uplifting talk, I asked what we could do in the short term. His response:

Treat people like people. “If you are answering a question with PowerPoint slides,” he said, “you have already lost. Take your clients out to a drink and recognize that they are actually people.”

And with that, I’m tempted to put my keyboard down and get a drink but…. the last bit of what Rishad said was intriguing. “All of TV,” he said,” is going to get like digital.” Hmmm, that may be coming but not in the immediate future. Though… I must say that the satellite providers are offering some very cool interactivity with respect to remote DVR programming. This is how they differentiate themselves, and they are ahead of the curve. They are not tethered by a patchwork of acquired cable providers and corresponding remote controls.

And, he said, if the iPad succeeds, it will be the same for magazines.

Food – and drink for thought.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock. The Digital Clock.

Tick tock, tick tock. I'm back on the clock.

What does it mean when a man includes this in his dating profile:

"I'm tired of playing games."

What does it mean? I'm going to ask...


I can't help it, this blog writes itself:

Headline: "your best friend and lover"

Opening line: "My name is M___. I’m a vivid camper and hiker."

Our educational system has failed us.

Finding My Digital Identity

This blog posting came up in a recent discussion of Four Square and whether I am an influencer of some kind, so I thought I'd bring it back up into the light of day. It was originally posted April 21st, 2009.

I was born into the television generation. I cannot deny it. Much of my childhood was spent watching reruns of "MASH" and "Gilligan's Island." And I once asked Carol Burnett to air her show earlier in the evening because my mother wouldn't let me stay up to watch it. (Ms. Burnett did write back to me, but did not reschedule her show.) These were the days of purely linear television. Do you remember? Even before VCRs with their flashing clocks that were so annoying to program.

And thus, I will never be a digital native. I cannot run for president of our digital nation. But yet, my identity is in flux. In 1985, while I was still watching shows like "LA Law," I was also using instant messaging and e-mail via a proprietary system used within IBM, where I worked during summer vacations. At the end of that summer, I bought my first personal computer, an IBM PC with floppy drives and an amber (or green?) screen.

In 1993, I discovered e-mail, and my friends soon learned that to communicate with me effectively, they needed to follow suit. In 1994, I purchased a Motorola cell phone after running out of gas on the Merritt Parkway, hiking up a snowy hill and knocking on people's doors asking to use their phone to call AAA. Can you even imagine that today! Cell phones would have ruined "Rocky Horror Picture Show."

In 1994, I also worked with a stroke victim, helping him use a software program that enabled him to turn mouse movements into spoken words. I also wrote e-mails for him that traveled through an extremely clunky internet client. In 1995, my employer had to add an additional server to handle the e-mail volume produced by me and one of the firm's partners.

In 2003, I joined "Friendster!" (Ugh) and sometime thereafter "MySpace," where my niece let me become her friend - something that will not be repeated on Facebook now that she is a teenager.

At the beginning of 2006, I signed on to FaceBook as one of two people in my college class. The social network had 7.5 million users at the time. (Yes, you read that correctly; that is in contrast to today's number - February 2010 - of 400 million users.) I urged my client - a leading business magazine - to utilize FaceBook, which was just starting to experiment with sponsored programs. In fact, I recommended that they seize what turned out to be a "do it or lose it" opportunity to create a branded FaceBook for MBA students.

To sum things up, I have deemed myself an "early settler and highly assimilated digital immigrant." Perhaps I can become governor of Motorati Island.