Media

Commentary on various aspects of publishing and marketing, primarily focused on books, magazines, and social media.

Read more about the article In a time of crisitunity, you gotta have soul!

In a time of crisitunity, you gotta have soul!

CM Summit New York
CM Summit New York

“Ad networks have scale and data, but they lack soul. Customers don’t join ad networks.”
—John Battelle, Founder & CEO, Federated Media

Federated Media’s Conversational Marketing Summit earlier this week was an unconditional success by any measure, particularly with regards to acheiving their goal of presenting insightful and instructive case studies of conversational marketing programs that worked. I say that as someone who attended for my own personal edification, not representing any company and paying my own way as a result.

Standout presentations from Proctor & Gamble, Lenovo, Intel, American Express, RIM, and (by proxy) Microsoft and Federated Media highlighted two days of pure marketing nirvana that gave me a new identity — marketing technopologist — and offered some clear navigational guidelines for brands and publishers to successfully engage with consumers in an increasingly noisy world.

Battelle’s opening remarks set the right tone, and his identifying the need for “soul” struck an especially warm chord with me as it’s something many “old media” brands already possess but haven’t always successfully leveraged online. That slow response left a huge opening for personal brands to evolve exponentially, gain precious mindshare and become competitive with the established brands that once nurtured them (or their progenitors, at least); it also allowed savvy brand marketers to connect directly with consumers instead of having to go through traditional intermediaries.

The first day was arguably a bit stronger than the second, at least based on my notes and #cmsummit tweets, but excepting an oddly defensive Pepsi/YouTube presentation by Google’s Eileen Naughton, and an awkward interview with former Bush press secretary Dana Perino, it was all good and well worth the two vacation days I used to attend.

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Read more about the article Publishers should be idea advocates

Publishers should be idea advocates

rain ruined by (Tres) descamarado
rain ruined by (Tres) "descamarado"

I attended my second BookExpo America last Friday — walking the main floor, talking to several exhibitors and attendees, checking out a couple of panels, hanging out at the #beattweetup later that night — and came away with an odd sense of deja vu. It reminded me a bit of the last National Poetry Slam I attended as more than a spectator, in Seattle back in 2001, which had literally been hit by an earthquake a few months prior, and although the show went on, the metaphorical fault lines that run through the slam community, locally and nationally, were on the verge of erupting.

(NOTE: Do fault lines erupt or emerge?)

While the overall energy on the floor seemed positive, and most of the people I spoke with were upbeat, I wonder how much of that was an effect of shellshock and/or lowered expectations? Sort of like when Sarah Palin didn’t pull out a rifle and shoot Joe Biden during the Vice-Presidential debate, it was a declared a victory for her.

Having had a few days to digest things, and filtered somewhat through the broader lens of the Conversational Marketing Summit I attended earlier this week (thoughts on that to come soon here), here are my five key takeaways from #BEA09:
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Read more about the article Conversational Marketing Summit: NY 2009

Conversational Marketing Summit: NY 2009

Conversational Marketing Summit 2009
Conversational Marketing Summit 2009

I’ll be attending Federated Media’s Conversational Marketing Summit the next two days — “an exclusive two-day event that brings together executives in social media and conversational marketing for a frank, real-world discussion around pressing issues, beckoning opportunities, and lessons learned.”

While I hate the term “social media“, I like FM’s “Conversational Marketing” approach and think they’re headed in the right direction with their recent decision to shift their focus from online advertising to developing custom and strategic marketing programs.

It’s a necessary shift that all publishers are going to need to make to stay relevant (not to mention solvent), but online players like FM are much better positioned to make that shift quicker than their print-centric competitors who are buried deeply under inefficient infrastructures and are carrying loads of debt from the go-go days of highly leveraged, ill-conceived mergers and acquisitions.

One of the things that really stood out for me in the new media vs. traditional publishing dustup at SXSW earlier this year was the apparent lack of participation by traditional media types at these kinds of foward-thinking conferences. Meanwhile, the level of cluelessness and/or self-serving hype about new media on display at the more traditional conferences is astounding.

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Read more about the article How Much is a Magazine’s Content Worth? Part II

How Much is a Magazine’s Content Worth? Part II

With advertising revenue less reliable than ever—overall ad spending declined another 15.1 percent in Q1 2009 (Bernstein’s Research)—this prolonged and brutal economic downturn will claim even more magazines before the year is over, requiring the rapid development of alternative revenue streams and pitting those still standing in an intriguing, high-stakes game of "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast". One of the seemingly obvious steps to take would be to raise the deeply discounted subscription rates that were formerly subsidized by advertising, sending a clear message to readers (and advertisers) about the true value of the content being published. While most magazines would undoubtedly lose subscribers, the ones they retained would be more profitable, more engaged, and more responsive to relevant advertising and direct-to-consumer offerings.

Continue ReadingHow Much is a Magazine’s Content Worth? Part II
Read more about the article How Much is a Magazine’s Content Worth? Part I

How Much is a Magazine’s Content Worth? Part I

I'm no fetishist or luddite, though, and while I tend to favor print, my definition of a magazine is platform neutral. I've worked in magazine publishing for over 15 years now—from audience development to advertising sales, freelance editorial to events planning, corporate to DIY—and stand firmly with the digital generation that's purportedly out mugging elderly newspapers in broad daylight, and striking fear in the hearts of cowardly and superstitious magazines in the middle of the night. Seeing subscription offers like the one above for Fast Company and Inc.—two solid print magazines devaluing their editorial content at only $.75/issue while simultaneously making it all available for free online—I think that the death of the current ad-supported model is inevitable and, arguably, a good thing.

Continue ReadingHow Much is a Magazine’s Content Worth? Part I
Read more about the article Kris Allen is the next American Idol

Kris Allen is the next American Idol

Kris Allen and Adam Lambert, American Idol
Kris Allen and Adam Lambert, American Idol

In a just world, at the end of a season that featured the most raw talent they’ve ever assembled, Kris Allen would be this season’s American Idol in a landslide and authenticity would be hailed as the new black.

Period.  And shut up. (Especially you, Kara DioGuardi!)

Of course, we don’t live in a just world — if we did, it would be Kris vs. Allison Iraheta — and Adam Lambert is supposedly the prohibitive favorite going into the finale.

Here’s three reasons I think Kris will pull off the “upset” that really should be a no-brainer:

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Read more about the article Starbucks, I Done You Wrong! #smwin

Starbucks, I Done You Wrong! #smwin

Starbucks is more socially responsible than I thought.
Starbucks is more socially responsible than I thought.

One of the great things about “social media” is the ability to engage in conversations with a variety of people, anywhere in the world, on pretty much any topic of interest, no matter how obscure or inane. Thanks to forums, blogs and Facebook, I’ve connected with poets, writers, comic book fans and creators, and re-connected with friends and family, past and present, most of whom I don’t get to see nearly as often as I used to. My.BarackObama.com pulled me deeper into a political campaign than I’d ever been.

On Twitter, the shiny objet du jour, I’ve connected with insightful marketing and publishing professionals with whom I’ve had many interesting conversations and from whom I’ve learned a lot.

From a marketing perspective, new social media tools offer an incredible opportunity for companies to engage with customers (and potential customers) on a level that old-school interruption advertising and media relations simply can’t come close to. While some choose to avoid them completely or approach them tactically for preemptive damage control, I prefer to see them enabling proactive engagement, joining the community and participating in the conversation, no matter which direction it goes… and sometimes it can go in unfortunate directions, as Amazon found out a few weeks ago.

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Continue ReadingStarbucks, I Done You Wrong! #smwin

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