Marketing

Commentary and advice on marketing, mostly for publishers (traditional and brands) and writers, but sometimes from a broader perspective.

An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Obama’s Executive Credentials (and Clinton’s apparent lack thereof…)

UPDATE: Holy shit! Obama has raised over $4m $5m SINCE LAST NIGHT!!!! BarackObama.com is currently down as their servers are overwhelmed so chances are he’s going to blow past $5m $6m by the morning. That’s a movement!

I said recently that Politico’s Ben Smith had become my favorite political blogger, and while still technically true from an informational perspective (check out this post on the question of whether the Clintons are self-financing their campaign), The Atlantic’s Andrew Sullivan has consistently impressed with me his level-headed insight on various aspects of this roller coaster campaign. Today he offers a compelling assessment of Obama and the “executive experience” question:

He asked me to judge his executive skills by observing how he was managing a campaign.

By that standard, who isn’t impressed? A first term senator – a black urban liberal – raised more money, and continues to raise much more money, than Senator Clinton. More to the point, the money he has raised has not come from the well-connected fat-cats who do things like donate to the Clinton library. His base is much wider, broader and internet-based than hers. It has many more small donors.

Now look at the strategy he laid out last year, as he explained it to me and others. Iowa was the key. If he didn’t win Iowa, it was over. But if he could win Iowa, he would prove the principle that a black man could transcend the racial issue, helping in New Hampshire, and then also helping him peel off what was then majority black support for the Clintons in South Carolina. Then his strategy was meticulous organization – and you saw that in Iowa, as well as yesterday’s caucus states. Everything he told me has been followed through. And the attention to detail – from the Alaska caucus to the Nevada cooks – has been striking.

He goes on to look at how Obama’s handled “the psychological and emotional challenges of this campaign” and declares: “In the middle of this very hot zone, he exhibit a coolness and steeliness that is a mark of presidential timber.”

The entire post is good reading and one to bookmark for knee-jerk Clinton supporters who like to offer the maddeningly vague and misleading “35 years of experience” talking point by way of explaining their choice.

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Continue ReadingObama’s Executive Credentials (and Clinton’s apparent lack thereof…)
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Hollywood Democratic Debate

It was a surprisingly substantial, mature discussion of actual issues between two very Presidential candidates with minimal interference from the moderator, who turned out to be Wolf Blitzer, not Anderson Cooper as I’d thought it would be.

Highlights:

  1. Health Care: The difference between them seems subtle on the face of it but I think it ultimately comes down to a question of Clinton’s approach seems to assume significant compromise will be required so she padded her proposal a bit (the way I used to approach the first round of my marketing annual budget), while Obama wants to cut to the chase and put forward a plan that is palatable to all from the beginning and puts us on the quickest path to a health care plan that can eventually lead to true universal health care.
  2. Immigration: Obama took the high road, saying it’s wrong to scapegoat immigrants as the reason unemployment is so high amongst African-Americans, while Clinton, shockingly, implied it was okay to blame immigrants. It’ll be interesting to see if the California media picks up on that in tomorrow’s coverage and if it gets any play in the Latino or African-American community.
  3. Iraq: Obama’s “Ready on Day One vs. Right on Day One” was the closest thing to a clean shot to the chin either candidate landed tonight. Blitzer pushed a little too hard on questioning Clinton’s naivete over trusting Bush’s word by voting for the war resolution, to the point where the audience booed him, but it was a valid point. 

Both candidates avoided any major gaffes or faux pas, going out of their way to be as cordial and respectful as possible, to the point where I can almost see myself shifting back towards being relatively comfortable voting for Clinton in November if she ends up being the nominee.  I still don’t see an Obama/Clinton or Clinton/Obama ticket happening, though.

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Review Roundup: 1/08

Last year I was invited to join Amazon Vine, the online behemoth’s slick new marketing program that enables publishers (and other companies) to provide free review copies of their books (and other products) for a group of Amazon-selected reviewers, pretty much ensuring a lot of independent user reviews for the participating products. The program lets reviewers select up to 2 products from a pretty varied list each month, and you cannot have more than 2 unreviewed products at any time, so while there’s no guarantees (or requirements) that the reviews will be positive, the setup ensures that the products are actually getting some buzz for the effort from “influential” users.

I’ve been casually reviewing things on Amazon since 2000, breaking into the top 5,000 a year or two ago — which is where I was when I got the invitation — and am currently ranked #3,872 for my 103 reviews and the 782 helpful votes they’ve received.

So far, I’ve reviewed four books through the Vine program — two very good and two not at all — all but one of which I chose primarily on the basis of the marketing copy and/or subject matter:

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips (2 stars)
“Sitcom approach ruins intriguing premise”

Lush Life: A Novel by Richard Price (5 stars)
“Vibrant, compelling read”

Hundred in the Hand by Joseph M. Marshall III (4 stars)
“Excellent, despite a couple of missteps”

Franklin the Fly by R.O. Blechman (2 stars)
“Pretty pictures can’t save too slight story”

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Are You a Bad Monkey?

Well, are you? Matt Ruff has written three of my favorite books, including one of my all-time favorites, Fool on the Hill. One of the coolest birthday presents I ever received was a signed copy of his Sewer, Gas and Electric [Whoops!] Fool -- Salomé actually mailed my dog-earred copy to him and he signed it and mailed it back! I'm a terrible fan, though, as I didn't realize his latest book, Bad Monkeys had been released yet. It's now on my wish list and I'll be ordering it this weekend. You should do the same! Side note: His website…

Continue ReadingAre You a Bad Monkey?
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

On Comics, Pokémon and Storm Hawks

Other than the occasional review at Amazon — or even less frequently, at PopCultureShock — it’s been a while since I’ve written about comics. After 2.5 years of being ankle-deep in the industry, writing reviews, interviews, commentary and the occasional news piece, I really don’t miss it at all. While I’m still reading comics, my weekly trips to Midtown Comics have become monthly trips, at best, and my pull list has shrunk considerably to the point where I barely meet their 10-title minimum. Last time I was there, right before New Year’s Eve, I picked up six weeks worth of comics, including the Satchel Paige graphic novel (review coming soon), and spent less than $25 with my discount, which my wallet definitely appreciated. (My liver, which is bearing the brunt of that redistributed cash flow, not so much.)

One thing I really don’t miss is tracking the 150+ comic book websites and blogs I used to read regularly to stay in the loop. Some of the best/worst highlights were the times when comics “professionals” would get caught up in some ridiculous flame war with a fan or pundit, usually over something incredibly petty and stupid. For instance, the apparently revived and reconceived MurderShow.net, tipped me off to a post at NEWSarama where notoriously thin-skinned Marvel Comics writer Dan Slott reveals he has a bit too much time on his hands.

As these things typically go, it’s a relatively minor dust-up, but it’s the kind of thing that certainly doesn’t win a creator any new fans and could prove off-putting to existing fans who are already frustrated with Marvel for myriad reasons. It’s also not the best approach for a B-list writer like Slott who has a small, rabidly loyal fanbase but is still looking for a breakout run on a top-selling series to push him onto the A-list. The thrice-monthly Amazing Spider-Man will presumably offer him that chance, but as one of four B-list writers who’ll be churning out editorially mandated storylines, partnering with much higher profile artists, that’s not really the best recipe for a breakout performance.

Other random thoughts on comic-related stuff:

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An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

Borders’ Open-Door Poetry

Borders -- partnering with The Student Publishing Program, one of the top high school writing programs in the country -- has launched an interesting new online program promoting poetry called Open-Door Poetry: "Open-Door Poetry" is for anyone who has ever wanted to communicate to others in some way while opening the door for viewers to become active participants. Each compelling episode features seven to 10 "spoken-word" and "academic" poets giving writing advice or reciting poems live from locations ranging from the streets and rooftops in New York City to the living room in the home of the poet. Each episode…

Continue ReadingBorders’ Open-Door Poetry
An arm with a tattoo: "I was made for the library, not the classroom."

On Jodi Picoult, Writing, and Platforms

The two morning sessions I attended were about breaking into magazines and an overview of sales & marketing in the book industry, the former of which was more of a refresher course while the latter filled in a lot of the gaps where things are different in periodical publishing, which is where my background is. One common thread popped up in both sessions that I thought was really interesting, though: platforms.

Continue ReadingOn Jodi Picoult, Writing, and Platforms
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