Experience Manifesto

NY Ad Club Meetup

Presenting tonight at the NY Ad Club program entitled Ideas for 2008. Five speakers tonight, including:

Don Reilley from Microsoft Games & Devices. First program was the Burger King program for Xbox. Next, they did a program with Doritos to do a UGC game contest, where people submitted game designs. Winner announced about 2 weeks ago. 2500+ submissions. Top five were done in prototype and then users voted on their best game. Next challenge is to move these successes to other Microsoft platforms. Doing some cool stuff!

Ron Balanger, VP Agency Development for Yahoo. Five thoughts for 5 minutes. Search gets a facelift, not just text results anymore. Ads get smarter. Behaviorial targeting gets better. Social media space grabs more ad dollars. Search & social media data mined for insights. 2008 election will be won online.

Emily Anne Skinner from Openad.net. Interesting approach to bringing freelance creative to the agency business. Their tag line is "worlds biggest creative department." Creatives upload their own ideas to either sell to a client that way or they can respond to a creative brief. Wow, they even have a standard pricing revenue model so creatives will know what their idea is worth. One thing that's cool is that they actually have a legal team making sure your ideas are protected.

Andy Monreid from Lotame. Can American companies figure out how to monetize foreign involvement. Are we going to continue using tools built 10 - 15 years ago to handle online advertising? Building what he calls verb targeting, targeting based on how they've used the sites, not their demographics. Also working on engagement targeting, not inventory.

All in all a good night with a series of provocative thoughts. If they post people's presentations online, I'll make sure to add a link to them.

Heading home to prep for a presentation & walking tour tomorrow for students from Montclair Statge University.

Amazon.com: Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want: Books: James H. Gilmore,B. Joseph, II Pine

I'm very behind in my blogging and I'm trying to use the holiday weekend to get caught up a little. I've also been using the time off to catch up on my reading and this is one of the books I've been catching up on as well. As you know, I was a big fan of their original writings on this topic, when The Experience Economy since it was first published in 1999.

Their latest book deals with being authentic and the role of authenticity in today's business world. It's a big issue with a lot of attention these days and like Pine & Gilmore, we believe that it will continue to be important as we move into 2008.

As usual with their books, it's chock full of lots of good examples and discussions about what authenticity means and how brands can use the idea of being authentic to reach their audiences. But they also point out that companies not behaving in an authentic way will have to face the very public reactions today. (See Everyone's a Critic for more on this.)

We think that authenticity will become even more important in the future for brands. As brands jump onto various bandwagons (being green for example), the consumer will be looking to see how real they are about their statements. If you haven't seen it yet, take a look at Dove's Onslaught Film - The Backlash on PSFK to see one current example of a brand being held up to its own standards.

As I continue reading, I'll post more from the book and I would recommend adding it to your Christmas reading list!

Contrived. Disingenuous. Phony. Inauthentic. Do your customers use any of these words to describe what you sell or how you sell it? If so, welcome to the club. Inundated by fakes and sophisticated counterfeits, people increasingly see the world in terms of real or fake. They would rather buy something real from someone genuine, rather than something fake from some phony. When deciding to buy, consumers judge an offering s (and a company s) authenticity as much as if not more than price, quality, and availability.

In Authenticity, James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II argue that, to trounce rivals, companies must grasp, manage, and excel at rendering authenticity. Through examples from a wide array of industries as well as government, non-profit, education, and religious sectors, the authors show how to manage customers perception of authenticity by:

Recognizing how businesses fake it

Appealing to the five different genres of authenticity

Charting how to be true to self and what you say you are

Crafting and implementing business strategies for rendering authenticity

The first to explore what authenticity really means for businesses and how companies can approach it both thoughtfully and thoroughly, this book is a must-read for any organization seeking to fulfill consumers intensifying demand for the real deal.

Link: Amazon.com: Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want: Books: James H. Gilmore,B. Joseph, II Pine.

Link: Experience Manifesto: Authenticity.

Link: Experience Manifesto: Prediction 1: Authenticity is the Key.

Drew McLellan - The Marketing Minute: Age of Conversation: Time to play in the big leagues

I was very happy to be a part of the Age of Conversation and very happy to see how well it has done for Variety the Children's Charity. Now as we go into the holidays, we've made some changes to help generate even more for the Children's Charity, by adding to book to Amazon and other book sellers. That will necessitate some higher prices, so there’s a last chance to buy them from Lulu before the prices change and the hard cover stops being available. So, buy some folks a great gift and help the Children's Charity at the same time! Stay tuned for more details about additional events -- we're hoping to host a group of speakers at the Lab sometime in the near future too!

4 months. Over $11,000 raised for Variety the Children's Charity. Pretty impressive -- thanks to the talents and efforts of the 103 Age of Conversation authors.

But truth be told, 90% of the book sales came within the first 60 days and have trickled in since.

So, we've decided to try something different.

In the lead up to Christmas we have another opportunity to raise another $10,000 or maybe more, but to do this we need to break out of market that we have made.

We need to take advantage of the booksellers list and the opportunities afforded by online retailers. What we're going to do is to list the Age of Conversation with Amazon and all other book sellers around the world.

The proceeds to Variety will remain constant -- they will get as much per book as they always have.

But a few things need to change to make this happen, based on the rules set by the online book sellers.

As of November 30th...

The hard cover version of the book will be discontinued. (You can still buy it in bulk)

The paperback version of the book will no longer be available directly through Lulu.com (again, can still be bought in bulk)

The e-book will remain on Lulu.com for the same price

All of that makes way for:

The paperback version will appear on Amazon and other book sellers throughout the world. (at an increased price to cover the book sellers' commissions.)

A bum rush event on 12/14.

A new surge of blogger activity, virtual book tours and other great word of mouth marketing efforts.

Please jump on board...help spread the word and participate however you can. And if you want to buy copies of AoC for yourself, clients, family members or library -- grab all three versions before November 30th!

Link: Drew McLellan - The Marketing Minute: Age of Conversation: Time to play in the big leagues.

Link: Experience Manifesto: Get a Taste of the Age of Conversation: From A to D -- StickyFigure.

Link: Experience Manifesto: Age of Conversation Launched!.

Report from ad:tech

Realized I never posted this, so sorry it's late. These are my notes from the keynote session I attended during the recent ad:tech NY conference.

I'm at the Innovate or Die! presentation and looking forward to hearing what they think about the future. One thing that's interesting is looking at how this industry views interactivity. Now, I do have a vested interested in a wider definition, this industry needs to look beyond the internet when looking at interactivity. That's one of the reasons that we were asked to speak last month at Heineken, to help broaden the definition of interactivity.

In addition to Jon Fine, media columnist for BusinessWeek, the panelists are:

Jason Hirschorn, Sling Media

Paul Woolmington, Naked

Brad Jakeman, former VP of Marketing, Macy's

The conversation started with what disruption is and the difference between how big companies deal with vs. how smaller companies view disruption. Larger companies view disruption as a threat, not an opportunity. Paul said the you move through the process, you're a disrupter, then you become the status quo then you become disrupted.

Brad made an interesting point about disruption not just being about new technology. He pointed to campaigns likes Doves evolution as disrupting the advertising business.

Paul took a chance by suggesting that there's a conspiracy between big media and big holding companies that holds down the value of emerging media. Brad suggested that people respond to the idea, not to the platform. Nobodies focused on getting the ideas out there, more interested in getting content on all of the new formats.

Paul also talked about brand utility and examples like the Nike/Apple partnership.

Jason talked about the Dexter viral program where you could put someone into a news story about being the next victim of a serial killer. He made a number of good points throughout the program.

Brad -- ROI means removal of imagination. Entire marketing industry looking backwards for asnwers going forward. Nobody's cracked the ROI measurements yet.

Paul talked about the lack of R&D in the marketing services industry. Yes Paul, that's why we created the Brand Experience Lab!

Brad -- innovating on the front end of the airline industry is the real challenge. How do you look at the same problem differently?

Overall, I thought that it was a good session that covered a lot of ground. While many agencies -- and clients -- are giving lip service to the innovation discussion, we'll see if 2008 is the year that we start to see significant movement in how the agency world approaches the changes they're facing.

A Wii Happy Ending

Well, I did go back to my Toys 'R' Us early Sunday morning and we were the first online at the store, so we were able to get a Wii system for the house. Other then trying to figure out how to get to AV1 on our TV set, But other then that, the Wii was very easy to set up. And we had fun right away!

There were two main reasons that I wanted to get the Wii: The whole gaming space is something I've stayed away from since my VR days and with all of the advergaming talk, I need to get back in touch with gaming. I wanted something that Sydney & I could do together that didn't involve us just sitting on the couch! Although during last weeks chicken pox episode, she did master Poptropica!

And the cool thing is that it's really fun for both of us to play and sadly for me, we're pretty evenly matched! We've been playing tennis and Sydney's already scored a couple of knockouts in the boxing ring. We set up our Mii's, and she had a lot of fun helping me design them for the two of us!

But it turns out I can be a little bit of a sore loser sometimes. The other day, Sydney be me in two, best-of-five sets of tennis and honestly, I did a little sulking! But, I put on a good face for Sydney and I'll put some extra practice time in when she's asleep. I'll beat her yet!

We also had fun playing with my Mom & her beau, John, when they were in town this past weekend, proving that with the games we were playing, age was not a factor in having fun. An important part of what Wii is all about. I'll have my brother and nieces, nephews and in-laws in for Thanksgiving and I'm sure they'll all enjoy playing it as well.

So, a happy Wii ending to the story. And, after the holidays, I'll begin my official, Wii exercise program. Need to get in shape in '08!

Nokia E90 Communicator

Although it's currently out of stock, I've been dying to get the new Nokia E90 cell phone. I still love my Nokia 9500, but the software problems I've been having are wearing me down (see A Tale of Two Phones for the whole story about that) and I'd either like to get that fixed or get a new phone. So far, from everyone I've talked to about the software, the only way to get the software updated is to send it to Malaysia and that just seems like a serious hassle. And yea, I still have my iPhone, but I do so love to write on the Nokia! I just can't write on the iPhone like I can on the Nokia.

But, I don't understand why Nokia keeps their cell phone prices so high. The E90 is $1,099 at the Nokia site, but I haven't really seen it less then $899 anywhere else. If Apple can sell the iPhone for $399 (now), why is the E90 still over a thousand dollars??? If they sold it for $500 or $600, I'm sure they'd still make a tidy profit and they'd sell a lot more of them.

Of course, if they ever wanted to send me a demo model to review here, well, I'd be up for that! Otherwise, I'll be waiting for that price drop. I know it has to come sooner or later!

Link: Nokia - Nokia E90 Communicator - Phones - Find products.

Advertisers anxious to see writers strike end - Media biz- msnbc.com

Yep, more & more people are starting to worry about this issue!

As the Hollywood writers strike enters a second week, advertisers are worrying it could seriously disrupt the TV schedule — and the number of eyeballs viewing their ads — in coming months.

So far, the strike has forced only late-night talk and comedy shows into reruns, since their material must be freshly scripted every day.

But when marquee shows like "The Office," "Desperate Housewives" and "24" halted production, the supply of ready-to-air prime-time hits came under threat — and that has been unsettling to advertisers.

The real worry is what effect a prolonged strike could have on future TV show development and on audience loyalty to big-name shows, particularly as viewers face more and more choices for watching video — streamed over the Internet, uploaded to a media player or on cable channels.

"This could become a watershed moment," said Brad Adgate, senior vice president of research at Horizon Media, a major advertising buying and planning agency. "There's a lot of opportunities that consumers have with digital media, and advertising dollars are going to follow the eyeballs."

In fact, consumers' opportunities are at the heart of the current labor dispute. Writers want a share of future revenue from new media video channels such as streaming over the Web, but networks are balking. They say it's too early to tell what that business looks like.

Link: Advertisers anxious to see writers strike end - Media biz- msnbc.com.

Randy Pausch Video, Moving On - WSJ.com

This has been in my draft folder for quite some time as I guess I didn't really know what to say about it. Although I haven't seen Randy in a few years, I've known him since he first started working with Don Marinelli at the ETC and he's a pretty remarkable person. He says a lot of great things in this presentation and I've included both a brief piece and a link to the full video here. Since he gave this lecture, he's been on a pretty remarkable journey. He got to play with the Steelers (apparently, he always wanted to play football) and was on Oprah just a few weeks ago. So, take a look and be inspired! And our prayers are with Randy and his family.

Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer-science professor, was about to give a lecture Tuesday afternoon, but before he said a word, he received a standing ovation from 400 students and colleagues. He motioned to them to sit down. "Make me earn it," he said.

What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? For Carnegie Mellon professor Randy Pausch, the question isn't rhetorical -- he's dying of cancer. Jeff Zaslow narrates a video on Prof. Pausch's final lecture.

They had come to see him give what was billed as his "last lecture." This is a common title for talks on college campuses today. Schools such as Stanford and the University of Alabama have mounted "Last Lecture Series," in which top professors are asked to think deeply about what matters to them and to give hypothetical final talks. For the audience, the question to be mulled is this: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance?

It can be an intriguing hour, watching healthy professors consider their demise and ruminate over subjects dear to them. At the University of Northern Iowa, instructor Penny O'Connor recently titled her lecture "Get Over Yourself." At Cornell, Ellis Hanson, who teaches a course titled "Desire," spoke about sex and technology.

At Carnegie Mellon, however, Dr. Pausch's speech was more than just an academic exercise. The 46-year-old father of three has pancreatic cancer and expects to live for just a few months. His lecture, using images on a giant screen, turned out to be a rollicking and riveting journey through the lessons of his life.
He began by showing his CT scans, revealing 10 tumors on his liver. But after that, he talked about living. If anyone expected him to be morose, he said, "I'm sorry to disappoint you." He then dropped to the floor and did one-handed pushups.

Randy Pausch and his three children, ages 5, 2 and 1.
Clicking through photos of himself as a boy, he talked about his childhood dreams: to win giant stuffed animals at carnivals, to walk in zero gravity, to design Disney rides, to write a World Book entry. By adulthood, he had achieved each goal. As proof, he had students carry out all the huge stuffed animals he'd won in his life, which he gave to audience members. After all, he doesn't need them anymore.

He paid tribute to his techie background. "I've experienced a deathbed conversion," he said, smiling. "I just bought a Macintosh." Flashing his rejection letters on the screen, he talked about setbacks in his career, repeating: "Brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want things." He encouraged us to be patient with others. "Wait long enough, and people will surprise and impress you." After showing photos of his childhood bedroom, decorated with mathematical notations he'd drawn on the walls, he said: "If your kids want to paint their bedrooms, as a favor to me, let 'em do it."

While displaying photos of his bosses and students over the years, he said that helping others fulfill their dreams is even more fun than achieving your own. He talked of requiring his students to create videogames without sex and violence. "You'd be surprised how many 19-year-old boys run out of ideas when you take those possibilities away," he said, but they all rose to the challenge.

He also saluted his parents, who let him make his childhood bedroom his domain, even if his wall etchings hurt the home's resale value. He knew his mom was proud of him when he got his Ph.D, he said, despite how she'd introduce him: "This is my son. He's a doctor, but not the kind who helps people."
He then spoke about his legacy. Considered one of the nation's foremost teachers of videogame and virtual-reality technology, he helped develop "Alice," a Carnegie Mellon software project that allows people to easily create 3-D animations. It had one million downloads in the past year, and usage is expected to soar.

"Like Moses, I get to see the Promised Land, but I don't get to step foot in it," Dr. Pausch said. "That's OK. I will live on in Alice."

Link: Moving On - WSJ.com.

Link: Randy Pausch's Last Lecture - UPDATE | ETC Global News. You can see the full video here.

Link: Search Results. You can see all of the video from Randy on the Oprah show.

Really, It's Just Media. Pay up.

Paul McEnany over at Hew Haw marketing has a very interesting take on the writers strike. Hadn't thought about the fact that the writer's could just use the internet as a new distribution tool and forget about TV all together. That's a pretty interesting scenario. I mean, would people watch installments of 24 online instead of TV?

And this strike is going to have a major impact on the advertising industry. With TV budgets already facing challenges, what client is going to pay premiums to either be on reruns or some lame reality show that they networks put together just to fill the air? Not likely. And if TV just isn't pulling the numbers, advertising will leave for other areas. And unlike the last time there was a writers strike, there are a lot more places to go. So it will be a real challenge for TV advertising to maintain it's levels, especially when we're hearing that the strike could go 9 or 10 months.

So the question for people like us who do a lot of non-traditional work, is how much advantage do we take of the situation? Do we start pushing the message that this is speeding the decline -- not death -- of the 30 second spot? Do we encourage the writers to move their content to other distribution points? Do we talk to our clients about how TV will be less effective for the duration of the strike and that they should move their advertising dollars out of network buys?

We can imagine how the networks are feeling about the strike, but I also wonder how much this will start to impact the media buying companies as well. Already harder then it used to be, how will they ramp up to convince buyers that TV is still a place to go? And at what point will they just pack it in and tell their clients to put their money somewhere else?

I’d love to get feedback from other folks in the industry, so if you’re part of a network or a media buying company, what are you thinking these days?

Really, It's Just Media. Pay up.

Just one quick thought on the WGA strike. What if all those rich writers put some money together and distributed their own content on the web? What if the crew from the office got together and told NBC to go fuck themselves, and made their own version?

For the first time ever, that could actually happen. These networks are playing with fire. Not surprising when you throw common sense out the window and let lawyers run your company. It's apparent that being a big media conglomerate requires that you become stupid and out of touch. Same mistake, over and over, doesn't matter if it's the networks, record labels, the mpaa, riaa or Prince, it's a constant struggle for sameness when there's nothing left that's the same.

Luckily, Ze Frank came back to break up the blackout.

Link: Hee-Haw Marketing: Really, It's Just Media. Pay up..

It's A Fat World After All | Autopia from Wired.com

If there's a sadder commentary on the state of American society, we can't think of it -- we've grown so fat we sink the boats of It's A Small World.

According to Miceage, the boats routinely bottom out under the weight of super-sized riders, bringing the popular ride to a grinding -- literally -- halt. That's increased the wear and tear on the fiberglass boats, which have been in use since the ride opened during the 1964 World's Fair, when Americans, on average, weighed 25 pounds less than we do today.

Link: It's A Fat World After All | Autopia from Wired.com.

Link: MiceAge.com - A different look at Disney....