Four Insights From Philly Interactive Event

First of all, thanks Philadelphia Interactive Marketing Association (http://www.phillyinteractive.org/) for putting on such a fabulous and informative event called "Monetizing Video Online: Transforming Digital Pennies Into Dollars."

1. "Trust Your Agency." This pertinent quote and opinion was shared by two of the Panelists, Kevin McGurn from Hulu.com and Brendan Gallagher from Digitas Health. What they seemed to mean by this was that clients need to trust their advertising agencies to place ads and come up with a game plan to achieve the company's specific goals. The internet especially has a lot of under-researched possibilities and sometimes immeasurable ROIs. However, the medium has been around long enough that a good agency will know how to incorporate a New Media game plan as part of an over all campaign.

2. "Trained Viewer." This was an extremely interesting point made by all of the panelists. Regarding shows and movies, the consumer or viewer accepts and understands commercial interruptions. However, people are not willing to accept YouTube interruptions. Nor are they willing to accept having their internet content interrupted. The consumer gets "used to" or "trained" participating with content in a certain way particular to the medium. The trick is getting people to the point where they accept certain interruptive aspects of the internet and learning what their limits are.

3. "Capturing Lightning In A Bottle." This was the pet phrase for discussing utilizing YouTube to make clients money. I suppose agencies like to make promises that they can deliver. Obviously. But I refuse to believe monetizing YouTube is impossible and the charms are not as fleeting as every one seems to believe. Blendtec is the classic example. Susan Boyle is another. Let's get a true understanding of what makes a video truly viral or "sharable."

4. "Sharability." Not to be confused with Budweiser's "Drinkability." This is my new favorite word and will be applied to every thing I produce on the internet. The best quality of this word is that it focuses the content on the consumer. It forces the producer to ask herself, "if I am the viewer, will I share this with my friends or will I be bored out of my mind?" It forces creators to be a little more viewer-centric rather than company-centric.

Hamsters Driving Cars

The Kia Soul - A New Way To Roll. This is the new campaign for the very new and very hip Kia Soul. --Watch ad here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYOX5eYcViw

A couple of personal experiences have happened around this commercial that I'd like to share.

One, I am in my room doing important and smart things (finding the cure for the common cold or something) and my friend out in the living room calls me to come and look at a commercial. She says, "Look. Look. Aww." The cute, furry animals got her. That got me thinking. Why would they use little hamsters? I get the other ones are just running on their wheels and such, but there's other ways to get the same message across without hamsters. I wonder if the sole purpose of the hamsters is because they're cute and furry. It worked on my friend enough to where she wanted to pass it along to me.

Two, a bunch of us are hanging out with my friend in the hospital. Same hamster commercial comes on. One guy, the only guy in the room, says that it's a commercial for a Scion. (Uh-Oh!) I say, no it's Kia. He insists that it's Scion. Eventually I convince him that it's a Kia and he says, "Yeah, they had trouble ripping off stuff before. They got sued for using someone else's distinctive headlights shape." Careful, Kia!

So, two things learned. One little commercial. Moral of story one: cute, furry things sell. Moral of story two: if you're selling a cool-people car, make sure it's unique and original.

An Entire Article About Being Nice

This has been my greatest secret weapon in business and it takes very little effort.

The amazing thing about being nice to people is that usually, no matter what, they feel like they have to be nice back. Or, at least cordial. What to do if it's not easy for you to be nice? Well, then fake it for crap's sake.

What happens when people enjoy being around you? They prefer to do business with you. I prefer doing business with people that are nice to me. I mean, that's just basic. Now, this is all not to say, hey, let's make everything free and easy baby. Ya know, eventually, momma's gotta get paid.

But it's way easier to give my money to a nice person than it is to give it to a d-bag.

Is TV and Print Really Only One-Way?

At the risk of sounding like a new media heretic, I have to refute the proposition that TV/Print is talking at the customer and that there is no interaction.

One of the bonuses, they say, of social media is the direct interaction and connection between consumers and businesses. This is true and innovations in this frontier are being created at a breakneck pace.

But wait a minute. In my experience, I absolutely interact with Print and TV advertisements. If done properly, every Print and TV ad is a story. Everyone has experience knowing what it's like to interact with a story.

I would have to argue that the connection between listener and teller of the story (even if teller is TV) is an intimate one. One where messages are sent and received. The message sent by the listener or reader is this: relating. Relating leads to action. If it's a fiction romantic piece maybe that action means crying. If it's a company's story I relate to then the action is buying.

Customers do have the power of response. When they see a TV Commercial, they either relate or they don't. If they do, they buy. If they don't, then the message goes unremembered and the two-way communication has failed.

The Downfall Of Specialization

It was said to me, "The more you learn, the more you earn." But who has time to learn anything outside of their area of specialization? Every subject now has a endless library of books, blogs, and websites dedicated to it. With all the information available, it seems impossible to know everything about a given subject. There was a time when having your hands in a little bit of everything was revered. Now everybody's gotta be an expert. This, I think, is a mistake.

Ben Franklin wore many hats and look at the impact he had on advancing American culture. He was an inventor, publisher, statesman, landlord, writer, and more. Franklin was able to come up with ideas because he knew how systems interacted and affected each other. If he only knew how a printing press worked and refused to truly investigate anything else, there is no way we would have the libraries or the communications tools that we have today.

This post isn't about Ben Franklin. Rather, it is encouragement to all of us to be like him and explore different roads that have absolutely nothing to do with our "area of expertise."

Copywriters need to have naturally interested minds or else they won't want to write about the subject they've been paid to write about. It will be boring and without passion. I believe my job is to be a passionate learner and then a passionate conveyor of subjects. Like when you hear a song you fall in love with on the radio. You buy the artist's cd, memorize all the lyrics, and insist on playing it for your friends in the car.

I am a writer, but I am more than that. I play guitar. I read lots of books about branding and social media and fiction. Science and metaphysics are fascinating to me. In my opinion, "How It's Made" is one of the best shows on television. I wish I could list to you all of my interests, but there are simply too many.

Here's a great way to start becoming fascinated by the world again and this is something I myself do. A repairman comes to fix your hot water heater. Ask him if he will show you and tell you about what he is doing as he's doing it. He will probably be surprised and honored that you're interested in his work. People love to be teachers. Let them teach you.

5 Reasons Why Every Writer Needs To Be On Twitter

I went to a PR function for young PR professionals. PR pros have to be good writers/communicators of information. One of the panel speakers mentioned Twitter and out of a couple hundred young and hip professionals, none of them seemed to have any idea about it. They have five hundred friends on Facebook, but no Twitter account. This is a mistake.

What has happened for me:

1) Increased access to other like-minded copywriters and marketers across America.

2) A step ahead of most of my fellow writers who could care less about the innovations happening in their industry.

3) Practicing sharing knowledge, rather than hoarding it and being cutthroat. So many people are paranoid about this economy that they're forgetting about that whole relationship-building thing.

4) It is just so cool to have people follow you, give you feedback, and pass along your little posts.

5) Blog promotion and blog discovery! I have found some incredible and informative blogs from Tweets.

Oh, Twitter, When Will People Stop Being Too Good For You?

So I go to this advertising event and a guy - an “expert on internet marketing” - from a major media consulting firm does not Twitter.

I asked him a few questions about Twitter. Again, he is supposed to be an expert on how to make companies money by using methods such as Twitter. He answered the questions intelligently and in a friendly manner. Great! Then I asked, "So, are you on Twitter?" I assumed the answer would be yes and was going to follow up with a follow on Twitter. Instead he said no and, caught off guard, I said, "Why not!?"

"Oh, I'm just not that exciting a person to follow."

Huh? This statement said two things and neither of them what he literally said. It said to me: a) I am too cool to be on Twitter and b) I am going to make fun of you for being on Twitter.

You may be thinking, "Philly Wordsmith, you're being a little sensitive, dontcha think?"

No.

If you're an expert in social media, get the hell involved in social media. If you're so excited about these innovations and your job, then start experimenting and stop judging.

New Method For Getting to a Product's Soul

I've devised a new system of getting to the heart and soul of a product. I'm going to call it, "The Then-What System."

An example will work best to explain.

Let's say as a brand new product, Axe Body Spray comes to a marketer. Axe says, "hey, we've got this body spray that makes dudes smell good. Please make dudes buy it." Well, every marketer knows you've got to hit the emotional sweet spot of a product. Sure, it'll make you smell good, but so what? The potential buyer needs to know why this product is going to change his life.

Here's where The Then-What System comes in. It works in two ways: the customer with the product and the customer without it.

Customer with product: gets Axe Body Spray. Then what? Sprays it on. Then what? Smells good. Then what? Doesn't smell. Then what? Won't turn people off with odor. Then what? Won't turn girls off with stinkiness! (Now we're onto something) Then What? More chances with girls! Then what? Get laid!

Customer without product: doesn't get Axe Body Spray. Then what? Well, then I'll stay the same, which is sometimes stinky. Then what? If I'm sometimes stinky, that will gross people out. Then what? People won't want to be around me. Then what? I'll be alone. Then what? I'll be a loser. Then what? I'll die alone.

Seems dramatic, doesn't it? But it's the truth. Advertisers and marketers need to know what the potential consumer is thinking. Of course, you're not going to make a commercial of someone lying on his death bed because he didn't get Axe. Or could you? Point is, you could stop at any answer to the Then-What and play on that aspect of the product.

This system helps the marketer get into the head of the potential customer therefore making it much easier and effective sell. It's a thought organizer for my brain, for sure. The Then-What questions are especially great for the less sexy or unfamiliar product line and also company services. We're harnessing buyer motives with this system. I use it every time.

I know it works for me so maybe it will help you, too. Let me know how it works for you!

Why People Hate Your Company ...

...and therefore won't buy from you.

There is a deep mistrust in the American public consciousness at the moment. AIG, come on. Bonuses. Really? We want to trust our financial institutions and big companies. We want to know it's safe to eat a hamburger. Companies, you used to be able to get away with this lying. There are simply too many watchdog groups and forums for customer feedback. Companies are learning that the rules have changed. The American public has enormous access to information now and they are on to you.

Copy in company imaging has to be more than stats, figures, and numbers. It has to put a human face on otherwise untrustworthy companies. By becoming accessible, companies will save themselves from bankruptcy. Find marketing people who understand this need for trustworthiness.

It is more important than ever to have a great website. People cannot interact with a TV commercial. One practical and immediate solution is to respond and open yourself to feedback and criticism. The truth is always immediately uncomfortable, but it always promotes growth to bigger and better things.

Imagine if your company marketed the CEO's self-imposed pay/raise freeze so that employees would not have to be fired. Hundreds of jobs were saved because you denied yourself a 3 million dollar bonus. I don't need to do much here to convince you that sales and public awareness would absolutely skyrocket.

Click here for the NY Times article on Saturn's "We're Still Here" campaign. A great example of "putting a human face" on the public perception of an awful corporate regime.

Read This Company's Diary

Hey Copywriters, let's get back to our roots: ye olde pen and paper.

So, after about six hours of being hunched over my laptop, I stood up on stiff legs and bowed my head so that my neck cracked like thunderclaps. It was then that I was inspired to get back to the humble pen and paper. Not only for the practical reason of wanting to avoid some freakish, permanent damage to my spine, but also because there is something more intimate - primal, even - about holding a pen in your hand. You may say, I'm writing copy, companies don't want me to be intimate and primal. That would just be weird. My response: companies may not want it, but readers do.

Humans respond emotionally when they interact with other humans. They don't respond to robotic word lists. They will take advice from a voice quicker than just drab words. Good copywriters have the ability to give a website eyes.

Now, this art of giving website life becomes easier with a pen. Like writing in a diary. Only instead of writing about the new cute boy at school, you're writing about industrial machines or cat litter.

If the site is readable and human it becomes your helpful friend and not a brochure trying to sell you something. Don't take my word for it. Look around at the most successful websites in history and you'll notice that they act like an informative friend who happens to have exactly what you need. It's hard to say no to a friend.

So, get that pen in your hand and let your soon-to-be friends read your diary whose latest entry happens to be about car parts.

The Advantage of a Local Freelance Writer

The writing process is an interactive one. The writer is able to sit in a restaurant and let smells, sounds, and sights over take her. She is able to watch the waiters and the customers talk and laugh. Let your copywriter see, feel, and hear the heavy machinery that makes your factories loud. The job of your copy writer is to translate the smells and sights into words that create the holographic entity your customers can feel when they read your brochure or web page copy. Invite the writer to come and experience what you have to offer your customers because it will show in more vivid descriptions and better understanding of your product and company. As a writer, if I just have to imagine a flower and describe it with words, there tends to be vague adjectives or fuzzy general language. No one wants to read that. When I see a flower right in front of me, the power of smell, color, vibrancy is easy to get down on paper. Your product then becomes not just a product, but a story and an experience. Don't make your patrons have to read a boring list of adjectives for your product or service. People like stories and they like to experience so let your writer give them both.

Ladies, We're Gonna Get Lay'd

From the NY Times: Frito-Lay Tries to Enter the Minds (and Lunch Bags) of Women

Neuromarketing? Really?

The Hinge Cafe

Met with the lovely folks at the Hinge Cafe to talk about their marketing and copy needs. They have an amazing reputation for their culinary arts, but little to no reputation for their other Art House projects. How do we solve this? One of the ways: amazing copy. I'm coming up with some exciting ideas now.

Check it out: Hinge Cafe