GOOD CHEER FOR THE NEW VIDEO YEAR

Yes, this attached video is a bit of inside humor, but we think it's funny no matter what bizness you're in.

Actually, given everyone seems to be in the 'I can make a funny viral video' bizness, this skit's relevant on several levels.

No real learning lesson here, other than 'funny can come from anywhere nowadays.'  And, a great concept with a good script trumps production values every time.

Better yet if bad production values are meant to be part of the concept:

Time to go write some local car ad spoofs....

Oh, and speaking of bad video but amusing concepts, here's one that we think is real.  If any readers are down at 110th & Cicero, shoot us a confirmation:

The site's not bad either:

http://www.jonesgoodassbbqandfootmassage.com/

Tech and t-t-t-timing

After a recent bout of online Christmas shopping, a ski helmet we'd been checking out  kept on appearing on the non-ecommerce site we visited afterwards.   And in sites that REALLY weren't related.  Music videos?

 

The ability to target someone so narrowly with a relevant ad will undoubtedly produce better results over the long run and at a lesser cost.  

But the logic of showing a product right after steering away from it didn't impress.  

Displaying it 24 hours later whilst surfing, in case we just ran out of time or simply wanted to think about it, would have been far more appealing...and intriguing.

Cookies, tracking, and geo-targeting has certainly built a far better and more measurable mouse trap.  But there's still missing magic in knowing where and when to place the cheese.

New Coke?

What an interesting turn around at Coke.  From the folks that didn't know how to leverage the Mentos/Coke 'exploding' viral video, we finally see some swagger come out of the Coke Zero brand team.

In addition to sponsoring The Onion video segments (not for the faint of heart, but some like this are really funny), the Atlanta gang is leveraging some new technology to have unabashed fun.

Adults Go Wild Over Latest In Children's Picture Book Series

So here is a link to Coke Zero's latest social media idea:  with your permission, Coke looks through your pictures on Facebook and uses facial recognition software to find your doppelgänger anywhere in the world.    The results are convincing and sometimes eerie.

Quick. Easy. Engaging.  And effectively pitches Zero as Coke's doppelgänger.

Plus, the results are cool enough to cause us to share the heavily-branded site  with our online cohorts like you.  Share a Coke and your smile...?

To find your own doppelgänger click below:

http://www.facialprofiler.com

Census Sense, Gender Style

According to the latest census data, men are taking it on the chin in this economy.

78% of the jobs lost in the last recession were men's.  And this isn't simply because more men are working.  One of the main reasons is the heavy losses in construction and manufacturing. 

Given women tend to be more represented in sectors of the economy less effected by the recession like health care and education, they are doing better.  

In addition, women are:

• 48% of the workforce but 52% of professional and managerial slots

 • graduating college at 1.6x the rate of men for the last decade

In the entire +25 population, starting in 2009 there will be more women than men college graduates.

All this could have a flow-through effect on:

• spending power

• shifts in marketing targets

• product innovation and invention that's more gender focused

• who starts holding the door open for whom....

(source http://www.census.gov/)

Web 3.OH!

Sure, social media are all the buzz.

Though Twitter may wane, and Facebook deface, the notable elements behind social media is this:

• the way we all communicate and engage continues to undergo a monumental shift

• newer consumers continue to become better producers

• groups and individuals now communicate, in concentric circles, at the same time

It's a direct result of information shifting from hyper-centralized to decentralized.

What happened in retail, product, and other traditionally distributed consumer goods is now speeding up how we connect, talk, and transfer info.

One of the main reasons everything was centralized was Economies of Scale, a requirement that crumbles more with each increase in digitization and broadband internet upgrade.

Of course, quality of content and engagement still separates the wheat from the chaff, but since distribution is free, information, and its transfer, is increasingly de-centralized -- bye-bye mainframes, and newspaper...hello hub, and blog.

In a tip of the hat to that free info, we'll share one of our favorite sources info, the TED talks. Clay Shirky here sums up the implications of this communication revolution:

http://www.ted.com/talks/clay_shirky_how_cellphones_twitter_facebook_can_make_history.html

Enjoy. And transfer this info!

ʇdıɹɔs ǝɥʇ dıןɟ

Can't turn your monitor upside down?

We stumbled upon this novelty site and thought we'd share in the spirit of lightening up these darker winter days.

http://flipmytext.com/ and a host of other sites enable one to send messages upside down.

Watch your friends try it on the self righting screens of their smart phones! While these site are mostly just a novelty we can't help but write copy.

ɹǝʇuıʍ uı ɹǝɯɯns ɹǝpun uʍop

Imagine that kind of pitch from Quantas for a 'Down Under Summer in Winter' sale. Or an eblast selling the inversion boot workout. Too obscure? Well, you get the idea.

Just twist your thinking. ˙ʎɹǝʌıןǝp ǝɥʇ dıןɟ puɐ

Since we're in marketing, we're in the markets.

"This is all happening because my father didn't buy me a train set as a kid."

- WARREN BUFFETT, joking about his decision to buy a railroad, the Burlington

Northern Santa Fe Corporation.

NY Times, November 3rd, 2009

Is this a sign the downturn's up?' Should we start studying Buffett's other Rosebud-esque childhood stories? 'Hey, his folks didn't get him a junior insurance agent playset, so that explains GEICO!'

As we all know, the daily Dow, and all those market swings effect virtually every business, especially those involving antacid supplements. And while fixation isn't helpful, paying attention to the trends makes business sense.

Colleagues and friends ask us what we're seeing in our world, given marketing can be an indicator of C-suite outlook.

We're noticing the obvious things:

• turnover at some companies makes getting back in-synch harder

• the struggling companies seem to shift back in an odd reliance on old ways vs fresh starts

• risk-aversion still rules at companies with slow/no-growth (self-fulfilling? most likely)

• well-run companies are acting smarter about how they're spending -- more thoughtful in decisions, yet moving like an opportunist

• smart companies are questioning value -- not overall cost, but cost against the service

All told, these trends have actually led to more business for our business.

Why is that? And what are the lessons we've learned about what's worked? Getting back to the basics of entrepreneurial structures, that start any business big or small, including:

• minimized overhead that can deliver optimal value AND a truly neutral structure and solution set

• efficient processes born of that minimized structure vs legacy systems

• personnel hiring that bring only those who are flexible and think like an entrepreneur given constant change in the marketplace

None of the above is news. really. But it's amazing how the rapid growth era can take all but the smartest from going off track...Mr. Buffett.