This past Monday I interviewed veteran Journalist, author, and cultural commentator TaRessa Stoval, managing editor of The Defenders Online. We talked about the changing face of the media and the medium and what that means to how we consumer, use, and interact with media.

You can listen to show by clicking here.

Many thanks to TaRessa for being on the show!

Writing a new post on “The New Normal.” Coming at you soon…

As technology continues to grow and the internet becomes a more common platform for business (believe it or not, many businesses still haven’t harnessed the internet), the amount of money spent on online ads has become, as you can imagine, fairly substantial. Although online advertising can be a more efficient way to target certain demographics than traditional media outlets, this does not always lead to greater results. According to a new study from MIT Sloan School of Management, the same search, and other technology, that has enabled advertisers to target particular audiences, such as men between 25 and 35 who work on Mac computers, is also creating greater online competition for the same audience, thus reducing profitability of advertising on any targeted web site.

If you think about it, this all makes all the sense in the world. And it isn’t enough that many online advertisers have only themselves to blame for fragmenting their own markets by hopping from one sexy technology or site to another, but now there is evidence that there is a finite amount of scree-estate available to compete for the attention of the viewer.

MarketingVox data suggest that the study’s findings take on greater relevance as vertical and hyper vertical ad networks continue to grow. Adify’s Vertical Gauge for Q3, brand advertising CPMs for various verticals continue to rebound from early 2009. Also, food CPMs are up 91% from last quarter and Real Estate CPMs are up 17%. As far as vertical brand advertising, both automotive and healthy living and lifestyle verticals contracted substantially.

Clearly this article suggests to advertisers and consumers alike that targeted ad dollars don’t necessarily create more efficacy or revenue, in fact, evidence, in this case, shows more targeted ad dollars are less profitable. It is critical that advertisers note the importance of integrated marketing strategies in their marketing communications campaigns…more to come.

So it’s been about fouryears since facebook redefined networking (MySpace fans, I do recognize that your site came first, but I’m on a roll here) and since, the world has come to see things just a bit differently. So here are some thoughts on what we have and have not learned about the new world.

1. Rush to fools gold - believe it or not, people still believe that you can get rich through social networking. This is Fools Gold 2.0. Yup, this is reminiscent of what happened with “the internet” about 15 years ago. The fact is, social networking takes time and work…one other thing, it’s not free. The medium may be free, but the work is not.
2. Who you tweeting to? - “I can get someone right out of college to do this stuff,” one of my current clients said to me when I was pitching his firm. “Certainly, you can.” I replied, “But will this person have the strategic background to build your network because if your network is not relevant, then there’s no reason to do this. Oh, and how are you going to keep your network interested in your firm.” Guess what? We got the account and the client is happy
3. Protect Your Brand - We now know that we need to protect our brands, products, and services on social networking sites. So it’s important that we secure these accounts even if we don’t intend to use them.
4. Your Network is Key - Building your relevant network takes time, but once it’s build it will serve you well, but only if you keep your network engaged. Are you measuring network growth? Are you measuring engagement? What are you doing for your network?
5. Social networking is the tip of the iceberg - It’s about integrating all the tools that the web offers and doing it well. Social networking is not a silo, it’s not an activity, and it must be a key part of your overall marketing communications strategy. And if it’s not, you’re probably dropping marketing bombs.

More to come.

I started my career working for legendary stock picker and investor Mario Gabelli. In my brief stint at Gabelli’s Rye, N.Y.-based firm, I learned much that has stuck with me to this day, including the basics of value investing. Value investing is about kicking the tires, doing your research from the ground up, and carefully evaluating a company and its stock based on its intrinsic value… before you pony up one dime for shares.

Value investing also looks at businesses in their totality and, just as importantly, over the long term. No flipping stocks, no short-term trades; value investors are overwhelmingly in it for the long run.

The era of managing quarter to quarter is over. If you’re in business, surely you’re in it for the long term, right? So your business, including your marketing approach, ought to reflect that reality. No one doubts Gabelli’s success, just as we all love to hear from Warren Buffet, the renowned value investor, pontificate about his latest corporate conquest. Both Buffet and Gabelli run their businesses the same way they invest: with an eye on value and for long-term success.What can we learn from these legendary investors about marketing and promotion? Here are four suggestions to include in your marketing plans that will deliver real value for your business:

Kick the Tires: Do your homework on marketing, including media. Not all media are created equal relative to your products, services, customers, and geographic service area. Take time to review all options before investing a medium. And because media companies are recognizing that we are in the age of engagement, many are providing advertisers with more venues to reach customers. They may include websites, networking opportunities, and direct mail, in addition to its core business offers. So do your homework on media and negotiate a good deal.

Avoid Marketing Bombs: Without a marketing plan, you’re dropping marketing bombs and wasting your hard-earned money. Recently, a CEO of a $500-million firm that sells telecommunications equipment said of his marketing: “Yeah, we got that idea, we tried it, and it didn’t work.” When I asked him about the context of that particular tactic within an overall campaign and why it did not work, he replied, “What campaign?” A tactical approach to marketing is far less effective than a strategic one, so invest in and employ market-driven strategy. Then measure your strategy in its entirety; don’t simply examine one tactic, no matter how important.

Know that People Buy From People: Bring your business out of the office. Target trade shows that have a close affinity to your firm. Investing in trade shows goes far beyond having a nice booth. It’s a great chance to network with other businesses, each a potential client. Trade shows allow you to measure yourself against the competition.

In addition, invest in opportunities to make personal connections, such as the simple act of taking potential clients to dinner. It may sound clichéd, but it’s the blocking and tackling that allows you to move down the field with consistency, and not the 60-yard “Hail Mary.” Very often, personal connections win more business than 9-to-5 sales tactics.

Do Good, Do Well: In the 1980s, American Express developed a unique campaign for their customers to help restore the Statue of Liberty. A penny for each use of the American Express card and $1 for each new card were donated to the Statue of Liberty Restoration campaign. In four months, $2 million was raised and, more importantly to American Express, its transaction activity increased by 28 percent. So integrating social causes into your marketing strategy will surely allow you to “do good”—while doing well.

PLAN FOR THE LONG RUN: The above are value-based tactics that should be included in your overall marketing plans. Don’t rely on one approach. Delivering value through marketing is ensuring that you integrate your tactics with business-driven strategy. So, if you agree with me that we’re in a new era of customer engagement, you’ll give your marketing plan a second look. If you don’t have a plan, build one around adding value to your business. And remember, that plan must deliver value to your market not just for now, but for the long run.

Here’s a brief interview with FIOS1 about social networking.

Last Wednesday’s train ride to DC was bumpier than usual, it breezed through the Philadelphia 30th Street Station when I decided to call my friend and journalist/writer/managing editor of TheDefendersonline.com and all around gal TaRess Stoval.  We chatted about my morning status update on facebook to which she replied, and then she asked me about my trip to the Capital. I told her I was basically heading there in search of business. I told her that I will also to talk to anyone who will listen to me yap about how build their social networking strategy through content distribution (as part of a larger marketing communications plan of course).  “Yeah, content is the new currency,” TaRessa hollered into my ear piece.  “You know what, that’s the title of my next blog, I’m stealing that..yeah, that’s right content is the new currency,” I replied.  So, now that I’ve given proper props, I’m taking it a step further, content and content distribution is the new currency. Here are three simple, but key thoughts…

Websites Are About As Obsolete Typewriters

Businesses put up websites, people engage in social networking. The Huffington Post, NPR, and some writers like Nick Kristof (who at the time of the writing of this piece has 118,937 fans) of the New York Times, deliver content on their websites, but engage readers on other sites by distributing the same content that’s on their website to other sites like facebook to reach readers, and listeners that would have otherwise would have never visited their website proper.  So clearly, creating content isn’t good enough, strategic distribution is vital.

Relevant Content Engages, And Invites

Businesses of all sizes must recognize that the social networking sites have done the work of aggregation, and now it is their responsibility to work with the golden opportunity in front of them. Frankly, no one cares that you have a website, people care about what they care about, so your business’ relevancy is about them, not you. Why should they join your group or fan your business? What will they get? Prestige? Coupons? Offers? Special content that no one else gets?  Insider scoops? Invitations to special events? Whatever it is, it must be relevant and frequent.  The frequency is important because it shows your network that YOU are engaged with them as well, which adds significantly to your online reputation.

Content Comes in Many Forms

Let’s not forget that Youtube is the world’s largest search engine, so utilizing video can be highly accretive to SEO and SEM. So integrating video, blogs, news articles and other forms of content, as long as it’s relevant, is the way to go.  Again, we’re vying to keep our network engaged through content.

Now, I am going to publish this piece, email it to my network, and share it with my facebook friends…because, content is the new currency!

Here’s a link to article about social networking in The Record by Joan Verdon. The article is also referenced below…

When North Jersey’s largest shopping mall, Westfield Garden State Plaza, was looking for a new way to connect with consumers, it turned to two marketing tools becoming increasingly popular with retailers — a Facebook fan site and a Twitter account.

For the past 10 days, the Paramus shopping center’s representatives have been posting news about sales and deals on the Facebook page, and sending out instant messages via Twitter.com about celebrity sightings and restaurant specials. Mall enthusiasts have been signing up as Facebook fans at the rate of about 100 per day. As of Monday at 10 a.m., the site had 1,067 fans.

“Social media is shifting the way we communicate with our customers,” said Lisa Herrmann, the mall’s marketing director. The Facebook site and Twitter account “allow us to send out information that is significant to our shoppers with real-time updates in a fun and engaging way,” she said. The mall plans to expand its offerings with fashion tips and shopping suggestions from style experts, and video clips of celebrity appearances at the mall.

The use of Facebook pages and fan sites has surged among retailers over the past year. A study released by Hamilton-based interactive marketing agency Rosetta in January found that 59 percent of the top 100 retailers had Facebook fan pages, and that the number of such sites doubled during the second half of 2008.

National department store chain Macy’s debuted a fan site in late June and already has more than 11,000 fans.

The return on investment for retail social networking sites has yet to be quantified, but the investment needed is minimal, although some sites have spent money for features such as interactive contests. Computer company Dell Inc. last month boosted the business credibility of social networks by announcing that it had made more than $3 million in sales through links to one of its Twitter accounts.

Marketing executives caution that malls and other retailers should have a clearly defined marketing strategy in mind before they jump on the Facebook and Twitter bandwagons.

“We haven’t surveyed retailers to see if they’re getting the ROI [return on investment],” said Adam Cohen, head of the social media practice for Rosetta. “But frankly, to set up a Twitter account and a Facebook page is not that expensive.”

The value of such networking lies in allowing retailers “to connect with their consumers in a different way,” Cohen said. The sites let companies build relationships and a sense of community with their customers, he said.

Retailers, Cohen said, need to dedicate time and effort to truly interact with online fans. “Otherwise, I think a lot of companies are going to be disappointed. Or they’re going to be measuring the buzz by how often someone comments on their page. They’re going to have a hard time being able to really attribute that to any quantifiable increase in sales,” he said.

“It’s very powerful if you do it right,” said Abe Kasbo, chief executive officer of Verasoni, a Little Falls marketing firm that has seen its social networking projects increase tenfold over the past year. “You can stay in constant touch literally on a daily basis with your clients and customers,” he said. “But the big caveat is you have to have a strategy and you have to do it right.”

The biggest mistake, Kasbo said, is launching a site and not maintaining it with frequent postings and relevant information. “It has to be relevant to the customer or they’re not going to hang out with you” online, Kasbo said.

Another potential pitfall with Facebook fan pages is any fan is free to post comments about the retailer’s news alerts, and those comments may be negative. The Plaza site has generated very little discussion thus far, and all of that has been positive. But some retailers have seen their sites hijacked by disgruntled shoppers or even their own employees.

On most sites, however, the Facebook fans live up to their name. The Target site, for example, gets daily postings by people proclaiming their love for the Minnesota-based retailer.

Westfield Garden State Plaza got a running start on building the fan base by launching it the week “Harry Potter” movie star Tom Felton (”Draco Malfoy”) appeared at the mall. His appearance drew 2,000 fans of the film series, and the mall used the event to promote its Facebook site.

The no-Sunday-shopping blue laws of Paramus and Bergen County don’t apply to shopping tweets and Facebook updates. Herrmann said the Plaza’s Facebook and Twitter followers can expect to get news alerts even on Sundays. This past Sunday, Plaza fans online at 6:21 a.m. could learn that the Tourneau store at the mall was offering a free pair of TAG Heuer sunglasses with any purchase of a TAG Heuer watch.

E-mail: verdon@northjersey.com

I was on fakeation (that’s a working vacation for the uninitiated), when my eyes turned to the television to catch Ford’s new advertising campaign.  The new ads feature Ford’s new tagline, “Drive the Ford Difference.”  But that’s not all, “Different is good,” they say.  Now with all the hurdles that Ford has to overcome, Ford is selling us “Driving the Ford Difference.”  I don’t know what that means, but I’m a good sport, I’ll play.  OK Ford, what is driving Ford difference?  If you can explain it beyond a tagline, I might be interested.  How does the Ford difference engage the customer? Was anyone at Ford’s advertising/MarCom department asking this question?

Once again we’re subjected to mass communications lip service, the same came from General Motors‘ recent “inspiring” video.  In this video, accompanied by iconic images of American flags, city scapes, Pittsburgh Steelers Ben Roethlisberger’s Superbowl pass, GM seeks to “to be completely honest…start over in order to get stronger.” And another thing, GM wants us to know that they are “not going out of business,” but instead “is getting down to business…”

Once again, Madison Avenue and those buying Madison Avenue to continue to fail both the Auto Industry and the American Public.  Here’s how it probably went down (with the GM video):

Madison Avenue:  (this guy is wearing a pink open collar shirt with hair a little messed up, cause he’s creative…speaks real fast) Look, we need to appeal to the American public, so we’ll need a video of the Superbowl, Detroit skyline, and a bunch of robots building cars, sparks everywhere.  Strong, deep voice, authoritative.  We’ll use technology like Youtube, and it’ll be viral…and it’ll show the government and our investors we’re serious about this. What do you think?

GM Marketing Guy:  We’ve gotta do something fast, yeah, sounds good…

GM Marketing Guy’s Staff: (this is probably what they were thinking, but they didn’t say anything, because if they did they wouldn’t be team players)  Dude, what about the actual product, our finances, and actually selling cars? How do we do that, Madison Avenue?

I would be wary with businesses who lead with communications instead of good products.  Rebuilding brands, if that indeed is your direction, starts with rebuilding your products and business, not a one hit wonder PR video release. In Amazon’s most recent shareholder meeting, CEO Jeff Bezos said: “Advertising is the price you pay for having an unremarkable product or service.” Now, some may consider this media fodder, and Madison Avenue may have been offended by the statement, but as it applies to the American Automotive industry…if the shoe fits.  And now, the American Auto industry seems to be taking it’s own advertising to an unremarkable, new low.

Here some suggestions to ponder:

1. With all the technologies and brainpower resources available to both the automotive industry and their advertising firms, Ford and GM ought to invest business driven MarCom initiatives that engage people and drive people to their hard working dealerships.

2. Redefine the objectives of these campaigns to create more connections with the consumer.

3.  Develop a serious strategy to convert non-customers (meaning non-GM or Ford customers).  This would an on and offline strategy, and may or may not be advertising driven.

4. Continue to reach newly minted drivers. Get them young, satisfy them, and perhaps they become your brand champs.

5. Capitalize on the dealer’s strong local relationships by spending local dollars more effectively - perhaps helping local dealers upgrade dealer TV commercials produced by cable companies, that undermine both the national brand and the dealer’s brand. Or assisting the dealer by vetting marketing plans & not advertising plans to help drive business.

One last thing…I’d like to suggest that the American Auto Industry needs a chief marketing officer who is more connected to the products and consumer than Madison Avenue.  This person, let’s use the vernacular of the day to call him or her, the Auto Marketing Czar, would be responsible for the deployment of business driven MarCom initiatves to communicate the real value of American cars to the public, and perhaps that will make all “the difference.”

The American Auto Industry has the responsibility to its dealers, customers, and investors to step up their marketing strategy to truely reflect its business aspirations, and it has the resources to do it.

Come on Detroit, step up…take the challenge…we want you to succeed.

The Walt Disney Company is perhaps the world’s most creative company. From movies, theme parks, stores, TV networks,websites, licensing, the mega entertainment company has had people swooning over its brand for about 70 years.  Mickey Mouse and Hannah Montana, the usual set of popular charcters, along with Disney’s noted suite of writers, producers, directors, performers, show biz executives, ensure its creative rivers will never run dry. With all this creativity, Disney’s latest choice for television commercial theme is puzzling and somewhat troubling.

The 30-second spot is set in a class-room where a child is transformed from his seemingly mundane and miserable duties  as a student to a better moment, a Disney moment, where the child and his parents leave school behind for a once in a lifetime Disney fantasy vacation. Calling all day dreamers, calling all daydreamers. Who hasn’t day-dreamed in school, work, on the bus, whatever? Of course, that’s the message and the target of the TV spot.

Now come on Disney, we’re all for good fun, but look around. It appears that you either haven’t you noticed the world around you or are willfully ignoring it? Perhaps not, perhaps there is no recession in Disney World. In this latest television campaign, I detect a continuing desire to promote mediocrity by encouraging our kids to diss school for the Disney option.  Maybe not all kids, you know, just the ones who daydream.  Perhaps Disney hasn’t seen or been affected by the kind of regress-to-the-mean, Wall Street work-ethic that drove our economy into a nose faster than Jack Welsh can say six-sigma. The point is, that while Disney has a responsibility to promote its business and generate profits, it does possess the creative means and resources to promote its business responsibly, and this commercial, in this or any environment is irresponsible. Disney should be promoting scholarship not derailing it.

As I’ve mentioned before, the era of managing quarter to quarter is over, and should have never started. It is time that we invest in rational business behavior, and respect both the market and our customers, and in my line of work, we started with responsible promotion, as agressive as you’d like.   The time is now to put business in a leadership position to promote our common values, the time is now for business to lead the way.  Come on Disney, you can do better.