Marketing Pop Culture

Stop The Presses!

Just wanted to take a minute to give a shout-out and a well-deserved round of applause to our friend Cynthia Tucker.  Cynthia is the Editorial Page Editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a nationally syndicated columnist and, it was announced yesterday, a winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for the commentary category.  The citation reads:

Awarded to Cynthia Tucker of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for her courageous, clear-headed columns that evince a strong sense of morality and persuasive knowledge of the community.

Bravo, Cynthia, bravo!

And The Lesson Is. . .?

Is it really any surprise that Katie Couric can’t grow the audience for the CBS Evening News?  The audience for the 6PM news broadcast is graying, which means that at some point, the number of people for whom that’s a part of their lives will be approaching zero.  What about those not in the “older” American demo?  Say you’re in your 30s or 40s.  I suspect that either you’ve got kids and are helping them with their homework, or you or your spouse is still at the office at that time.  In any case, you’re not watching Katie. 

So, some poor schlub loses his job because Katie’s not pulling numbers, particularly in the younger demo.  I wish these broadcast news organizations would wake up to the fact that younger generations are getting their news from other sources.  No need to list them all.  Fundamentally, the connected consumer has entirely new consumption patterns and aesthetic sensibilities.  Unless the networks completely re-imagine how they deliver news, they’re going to continue sliding into irrelevance. 

After all, even if people are living longer, no one lives forever.  My question to broadcast news organizations is this: Are you going to wait until the market completely dries up before you institute some radical changes.

Another question (one I have no answer to): What’s the value of a daily national news broadcast in a customized, hyperlocal world?

Fields on Rubel on Brand Engagement via Advertising

Congrats to Steve Rubel for finally saying that the emperor has no clothes.  Is brand engagement a myth?  I’d argue yes, particularly when it purports to come as a result of advertising. 

Advertising is an awareness vehicle.  That’s all it ever was and, I think, all it ever will be.  As used by advertising people, engagement is a term designed to protect budgets.  It’s a claim that advertising (of any kind) is capable of achieving more that it really can.  But how can this be?  When you talk about engagement, you’re really saying that consumer behavior has changed with respect to a particular brand.  Since most ad agencies still don’t handle any of the promotions activities that are proven to change behavior, they’re really claiming that their creative is doing something that it, in fact, isn’t.

Let’s hear it for more truth in advertising.

Caught by the Catchy Song? Here's Why. . .

Futurelab highlights a recent study that attempts to explain what makes a song “catchy”. As one commenter notes, it doesn’t necessarily denote a good or bad song, just one that sticks in your head.

Of course, the immediate question is this: How can a marketer more purposefully select songs/sounds that offer a better delivery vehicle for a brand message or call to action? Apparently, there’s been some considerable thought devoted to “sonic branding.”

Tags: sonic branding, Futurelab

Sparks: May 15, 2006

• Kids wield $18 million in spending power
  Just to be clear, this report is talking about kids ages 3 – 11. But it’s not surprising, especially since even six year olds, like my son, become enamored of certain brands. What’s the name of that shoe again? “Geox,” he says. “You know, the shoe that breathes.” Give the Geox marketing department a raise.

• MTV’s URGE to compete with iTunes
  So MTV’s offering will be competitive with iTunes, Napster and RealNetworks. Cool. But, I’m not sure why anyone would choose to rent music vs. actually owning it. The advantages for MTV are obvious (ongoing revenue), but are less clear for consumers, particularly once you set aside exclusive MTV content. Music is something deeply personal, and renting leaves you with the feeling that someone, somewhere could snatch it away from you.

• The Upfronts: J&J, Coke, Wal-Mart and the [further] decline of TV
  With $18 billion at stake, a clear signal that brands aren’t going along with the status quo includes the decision by J&J and Coke to NOT put their nearly $700 million into play during the upfront market, and Wal-Mart’s heading the charge to change the upfronts to more of a stock market model. And, with a consortium whose combined spend totals nearly $2 billion, this experiment bears watching. The wildcard: Procter & Gamble has decided to stay its course.

   

tags: buying+power+kids, Geox, MTV, Urge, iTunes, Upfronts, Johnson & Johnson, Coke, Wal-Mart

Sparks: May 3, 2006

• The sleeping giant awakens? Myspace.com opens for ad business
  This bears watching, since the site, while boasting an impressive 70 million users, makes comparatively less revenue than sites with more traditional business models.  Expect more tension between the founders and their new bosses at News Corp.
• Soderbergh channels Chuck D: Burn, Hollywood, Burn
  The ultimate insider's outsider--or is that outsider's insider (let's ask Robert Altman, since he'd really know!) reiterated his take on the the movie business's broken revenue models.
• Microsoft Re-enters the Web TV business
  Today's just-announced partnership with reality TV top dog Ben Silverman calls for ten (10) 2-1/2 minute Web shows.  If any take off, Silverman can develop them into TV shows, with Microsoft receiving a minority stake.  Nice.
• Record companies go after big openers. . .and fail
  The record business has resembled the movie business for a long time, with its focus on having records open at or near the top of the charts.  However, many high entrants have subsequently fallen fast, according to the Daily News' Jim Farber, revealing most to be nothing more than products of record company hype.
• Accenture's Futuristic Interface
  Business travellers at Chicago's O'Hare--with JFK coming online soon--will be able to play Tom Cruise's John Anderton character from "Minority Report".  When I hear about stuff like this, I'm really looking forward to the day when David Polinchock and his partners at Brand Experience Lab get a break like this.
• Is Starbucks Diluting Its Brand?
  Laura Ries thinks so.  I disagree.  Starbucks is no longer a coffee brand.  It's a lifestyle brand, so extending the brand experience by operating in leisure/indulgence areas that are consistent with this position makes a lot of sense to me.
• Video Games Influenced by TV
  Usually, it's the other way around.  However, in the case of Atari's "Alone in the Dark," developers have take a page from the structure of such cliffhanger shows at "Lost" and "24".  See, gamer engagement can't be taken for granted anymore.

Tags: Myspace.com, Steven Soderbergh, 2929 Entertainment, digiwood, Microsoft, Web content, music business, Accenture, Minority Report, Tom Cruise, Starbucks, Laura Ries, videogames