One of my favorite things about my role at Strategic Blend is keeping up with clients, and seeing what they’re up to, how they’re using their digital properties, and watching them grow!

Some examples of recent innovative uses come from Drivin N Cryin, Karli Whetstone (and her new site theme), and The CO

DNC

Drivin N Cryin is a great example of motivating your community in a time of crisis/tragedy.  In a blog post dated Sept 13th, Drivin N Cryin took to their website with the following message:

Between 3:45am and 6am on Saturday September 11, Drivin N Cryin’s tour trailer containing their stage gear was stolen from the La Quinta Inn at x-169 on I-75 in Macon, GA. The black Quicksilver Racing 5×10 trailer held the band’s guitars, amplifiers, drums, merchandise and stage production gear. A complete list can be viewed here: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=5912085821&topic=15178#topic_top and photos can be seen here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=235150&id=5912085821. 3 items have since been recovered at a pawn shop in Atlanta, GA. The person responsible for pawning these 3 items has been identified as Atlanta resident Reginald Ellis. More information on Ellis can be found here:http://www.drivinncryin.com/thief/.

Drivin N Cryin would like to thank their friends, fans, the Georgia music community and the Atlanta/Macon media for the outpouring of support and assistance. For 25 years, you guys have been the best fans. We are truly grateful.

Not only is this horrible for a touring band, but especially for a band that’s been on the road for 20+ years.  Taking a look at some of that gear will make any music fan tear  up.

Using social media (and not to mention craigslist, hilarious!) to showcase the gear stolen, adding a page to the site to help catch the theif (that rotten bastard).  The general response has been overwhelming.  Bringing an entire musical community together in the search for their stuff, and, more importantly, getting the word out that they’d been robbed, someone was pawning their shit, and THIS IS THAT DUDE.

A great use of WordPress, a great use of facebook, and a good strategy in a time of panic.  DNC, may all your stuff be found, may it all be in one piece, and may they put Reginald Donta Ellis in a cell UNDER the jail, and never let him loose.

Karli Whetstone

Karli’s career has been steadily progressing, and she decided to give the site a new look!  What I feel is a more grown up / sophisticated look and feel.

In addition she’s also begun blogging.  And unlike this blogger…. she’s diligent.   Rarely missing a day to update you on what’s going on in her world.  It’s very “daily diary” in nature, and is currently the most popular section of her site.  Between that and a persistent twitter feed, her fans know what she’s up to every day… and that will pay off in spades!

A loyal, devout, and connected following is a very powerful thing!

The CO

The CO are one of my favorite artists we’ve worked with.  They just GET IT!  They have integrated every portion of their digitally owned properties into a really robust site.

Troy’s Blog is filled with some great video updates, quick quips and stories… and most importantly, his passion for giving back to the world around him.

Collin’s Blog has great introspection, and images.

Not to mention the great video blog on the general band blog page

Much like Karli’s site, you really get a sense of who these guys are, and what they’re up to!

So here’s to you guys…. I hope to continue learning from you, growing with you, and helping find success with you.

A well phrased rebuttal to a recent blog entry over at Midem.net

The original article can be read here.

Below is a comment, emailed to us from a client:

The average email marketing campaign has an open rate of (generously) 30-40%. I agree that the email list is important, but in this day and age it’s also important to have a strategy outside of an email database (social networks, PR involvement, artist actively pushing traffic at shows and in interviews)

I respect the success of Amanda Palmer, but also realize that she has ~400,000 followers on twitter… she was extremely active pushing followers to buy her album. And extremely active in promoting her digital presence in interviews and public appearances.

It’s a coordinated effort, not just email. I think that’s really important to remember. Email is a dying marketing tool, because the use of that channel has become extremely watered down by other brands trying to accomplish the same thing as the artist.

If you’re looking to put together a coordinated effort, utilizing all that the web has to offer look to a professional marketing firm dealing with artists and entertainment to direct your campaign. (might I suggest a company we went with http://www.strategicblend.com)

An offer that includes analytics, demographic information, and a full out assault on getting the message out to your fanbase.

I’m certainly not saying email isn’t important, but it has to be a cog in the machine, it isn’t the machine itself.

I couldn’t agree with this more.  Furthermore, it’s important to understand that digital campaigns have to be sincere to the artist.  I really appreciate Emily White (the author of the original blog)’s comment that “It is crucial that the artist has input in the mailer.” The artist must be involved, be active, and be plugged in.  If you aren’t working with an artist that is willing to promote themselves digitally, don’t invest a great deal of your marketing efforts on the digital facet of your strategy… period!

If you’re going to utilize a digital strategy, make sure it’s comprehensive!  We’ll be happy to help

The Billboard Site

There’s the Billboard site, it’s informational, doesn’t really ask you to do anything, but tries to convey information in a concise and direct manner.  Sometimes it will walk you through the ins and outs of a product service.  It doesn’t pressure you to act immediately, but hopes to leave an impression, like driving by a billboard on the highway.  Their hope is the imagery and information stay with you long enough to a) visit their establishment, b) tell someone else about their business, or c) make you aware of their business so that you think of them next time you’re in need of their products/services.  Think of it as a multi-page ad in a magazine.  These sites should always gather an email address of those that are interested in the product, and give the brand an opportunity to reconnect with interested visitors.

The Sales Site

Most Billboard sites think they are Sales sites, but they fail at one crucial juncture.  To transform the user visit into a transaction.  The sales site drives you to action, it describes the product, but asks you to buy, or sign up, or act at every turn.  These sites, if poorly designed can seem overbearing and pushy at times.  A well designed sales site can be a great revenue stream (and sometimes the ONLY revenue stream) for an organization.  Well crafted messaging and product description are critical, where to place sales pitches are important as well, but most important is turning a casual visitor into a customer.

The Content Site

This site is heavy on, you guessed it, content.   The main purpose of this page is to inform consistently with new and relative content each post.  Much like this blog that you’re reading right now.  We rarely ask you to act and purchase anything, we occasionally call out our services, but the inherent reason you’re here is to read our ramblings, get some ideas, and potentially put them into practice.

The Issue with these Three Site Types:

Most sites want to do ALL of this stuff.  They want to thoroughly inform you of their product, hopefully get you to spread the good word about what it is they do.  Not only do they want you informed, but they’d LOVE for you to make a purchase of some sort.  They want action, follow through, and they want to know who you are so they can reach out to you and keep you coming back for more.  Moreover than just selling you on something, they want to PROVE to you have a great deal of knowledge in their craft.  They want to tell you how to use their products/services and build a rapport through consistent updates of content.

When you try to put all of this stuff on one site, it can become distracting and confusing.  I could call out hundreds of sites that have been constructed asking you to “check out my band” and also “buy this album” and also “check out our blog” and also “look at our tour dates”, etc.   These are all great aspirations, but what is MOST important to you.  What do you want featured?   Is it most important for people to know about you and what you’re doing?  If that’s the case then the blog/journal is your vehicle for your brand.

The primary focus of your site can be a vehicle to promote other aspects of your business (i.e. you can promote your product/service at the end of your blog, read a little further and you’ll see this in action).

Similarly you can use the promotion or sale of a product/service to reach out to your customer base and let them know about your content.  Every site should incorporate a method of capturing email addresses, building a list to reach back out to loyal customers.  When you begin producing enough content to garner followers, it may be a good time to reach out to this customer base via email and let them know there is a new way to keep up with your business.

As you can see, setting up this type of site is not impossible, but the concern becomes content layout.  9 times out of 10 this type of site becomes a disaster area.  There is no streamlined layout to tell the user, “hey, check this out first.”  It’s no surprise that most sites want to have it all.  To do that effectively you’ll need a great plan, a better sitemap, and seamless execution.

If you’re interested in our assistance in building a Billboard, Sales, or Content site, please let us know. (ah-ha, there’s a call to action)

Moreover, if you’re looking to “have it all,” we’ve mastered the art of focusing on one element of your business and connecting those pieces to the other (equally important) pieces.  Focusing on what your most viable hook might be, and then continuing the product/service experience with the other elements of your site.   If you’re in this boat…please let us know, we’d love to make your web presence a viable revenue stream, and create a great experience for your site visitors.

What’s that?  You want to see it now?  We got you super excited now and you probably won’t remember it or be as excited in 5 months?  Well too bad because ITS COMING!

How many times have you been in a movie theatre and a movie trailer like this comes crashing onto the screen?  The “hurry up and wait” approach has been the movie industry’s #1 marketing gimmick for 30 years.  The “wait” portion can vary, sometimes 2 months, sometimes 12 months.  This strategy has been successful, which is why they continue to use it.

However, it is NOT a strategy that should be applied to any and every form of  entertainment and media.  In fact, I will argue it actually hinders sales.

Take music.

You hear a song on the radio for the first time.  You like this song.  You think to yourself  “this song is fantastic – I want to own it now so I can listen to it multiple times.”  You venture online and fire up iTunes only to find its not there.  You go over to Amazon and find its not their either.  After hours of searching you learn the single was just released to radio and won’t be available to buy for at least 3 more weeks.

Almost 100% of people faced with this situation choose one of two options: A. They go to the PirateBay or use g2p.org and find the song for free, or B. give up, move on and when the song actually does come out, don’t buy it.

In both instances, the consumer is NOT PURCHASING THE PRODUCT!  Why in God’s name wouldn’t the record label or artist have new music immediately ready to consume?  Answer – because they think the movie promo strategy is cool and that it can apply to any industry.  Clearly it can’t.  This is why almost every album is leaked before an official “release date.”

People simply don’t have the time anymore.  They don’t have the patience to be teased and baited and forced to wait.  If your content isn’t ready to consume the moment its first promoted or talked about, then you might as well give up.  You’re purposely leaving money on the table and have no business being IN business.

How about TV?

Same story.  If an episode of a TV show airs, then it should be immediately available to buy the very SECOND it has finished airing.  This goes for domestic and international TV.

Here’s a personal case in point.  I love the new series of Doctor Who.  I don’t live in the UK so I can’t see episodes when they originally air.  Because the BBC has the business sense of a goldfish, they don’t make these episodes available to buy OR to stream after they air.  So I, as a loyal fan, fire up the Pirate Bay and choose from among the many seeded torrents containing the newest episode – download it for free and enjoy it the same day everyone in London does.  I would GLADLY pay $1.oo – $3.00 an episode if I could get them immediately after they air.  I repeat, I WOULD GLADLY PAY!  Why is this option not available to me!?!  It’s so bewildering that I’m almost speachless.

People are no longer going to wait for  a lame-ass strategy of “baiting and waiting.”  There is simply too much competition.  The MOMENT your product is being talked about, it should be ready for purchase.  Not 3 weeks later.  Not 6 months later.  Make the release date the start of your marketing campaign, not the end.

You don’t get a second chance in the new economy.

Our society shifted, we got further away from recommendations from others and became more reliant on advertising (even “report based ads“), We’ve become just as likely to purchase products that spend the most ad dollars as what our neighbor reccomends.

The landscape has changed…. but are we now coming full circle?

Are we perhaps returning to a time when we listen to our peers as opposed to trusting advertising?  Friends recommending items to you, digitally.  Reading about someone you know deep frying a turkey, and learning how to do it online.  Learning about a new product from a twitter or facebook feed…. are we returning to a time when we trust our (digital) neighbor?

Using the recommendation of someone with similar tastes and a similar background is just as powerful as a big budget advertisement, more so if the source is a trusted friend or family member.

What are social networks if they aren’t the new paradigm of “word of mouth” advertising?  Blogging and people’s personal experiences are just as compelling to tuned in users as expensive advertising (and MUCH less expensive!)

Brands now have the unique opportunity to dial into their “Tribes“, social network followers, and fans to get out their message.

Consider it Digital Word of Mouth Advertising.

Perhaps we’re again in an age where the cream rises to the top, where the best and most applicable products are reccomended by our peers.  The tools are there to optimize your digital footprint and maximize the vehicles your fans can use to advocate your product…. use them.

And if you need help aggregating the message and bending the ear of the first few thousand…. give us a call

The short answer:

No, not really.

The long answer:

Email marketing used to be THE staple of the web marketers tool box.  Everyone had email.  Everyone used email.  Everyone was reachable via the medium, and things were great.  This went on until about 2 years ago when a combination of events knocked email off track:

1 – Spam became far too overwhelming.  Folks just got tired of having to sort through it and responded by simply checking their email less frequently and cranking up the spam filters.

2 – Free, online-based email accounts gave everyone massive amounts of space.  Gmail started with a whole gig and is already up to seven.  Teens and young adults are now using these accounts to store and swap large files and media content.  Messaging has no place among that practice.

3 – Its easier and quicker to text someone than to email them.  What teens were emailing in 1999, the teens of today are saying in less words via a text message.

4 – Facebook, twitter and myspace are better at direct communication.  I’ve observed countless people, young and old, who do all of their communicating EXCLUSIVELY via their social network of choice.  If you spend all your time there, why leave to email someone?  You can simply “message” them there.  Also, it’s much more fun to share photos, videos and hilarious links in a social setting where others can see and comment.

Remember those stupid surveys of 100 questions that used to get circulated via email?  Those mysteriously stopped as soon as facebook came of age.  You can now learn everything you need to by checking out someone’s profile page or take even better quizzes via a cool new app.

If you still base your business or marketing model on email, you are being left behind.

I don’t care if your email list enjoys a 60% open rate (God help you if it’s 20%).  Why isn’t it 100%? Why are the other 40% NOT opening?  If anyone does open, what are they actually responding to?  How many click on a banner or links you include?  How many return to the site to engage your brand further?  The truth is in the aggregate trends and it’s never pretty.  Over the last 2 years I’ve watched countless brands think that just because they have 25,000 people on their email list – that they can communicate with all 25k.  So many communities and so many businesses continue to base their models on email when the tide has already turned.

The folks over at hypebot have a short post about a recent artist email blast. They lament the fact that fans can’t “comment” or “interact” with the email, and suggest that responding to fan questions is somehow a revolutionary activity.

Please…this sounds like an idea that was revolutionary in 1994, not 2009.  Instead of using a traditional email blast this artist in question should have turned their email signup box into an RSS subscription button.  This way all of their fresh posts take the place of emails – the content is relevant, the messaging is unified and as a bonus your fans can actually COMMENT back and have a conversation over the message in real time.  ON THE WEBSITE.  What a concept eh?

The truth is email has become marginalized and is now a small player among a dozen possible communication channels.  Sure, many people still do open their email and enjoy receiving messages that way.  However, we’re a far cry from the days when that was EVERYBODY and we may be close to a day when email isn’t even used at all.

So to start the year off right, I wanted to remind everyone of what a good viral video is.  If you haven’t yet read my brilliant analysis on the viral medium, go check out my post on the Bill O’Reilly “We’ll Do It Live” video.   My point being that most viral marketing efforts suck, and few really understand what is required to make something “viral.”

But………..apparently someone at Samsung does!  I have been pondering getting a new phone, and the Samsung Omnia has caught my eye.  Curious, I trolled youtube for any out-of-box reviews or demos and came across this little gem.  Make sure you watch the whole thing – it gets good:

A fine example of what a viral video should be.  Let’s review why this piece works:

1. The video is based in the “mundane reality” or the “common everyday.”  Its anchored in something expected (in this case a product demo) and there’s no indication you’re going to be knocked off guard.
2. The piece then DOES knock you off guard!  After the button gets pressed, the rest of the video is total eye candy and a suspension of reality.  The effects are SO good you scratch your head wondering how they did that!
3. It’s a backhanded soft sell.  You’re not ready for it.  You’re engaged when it happens.  Your attention belongs to the marketer.
4. Due to the above, you as an individual have several legitimate reasons to share it with friends.  Maybe for the humor of it.  Maybe for the visual awe.  Maybe you want to play a quick practical joke and bate your friends into being fooled as you were.  Or maybe you just really like the product and want to use this as a sales tool yourself.

Ultimately, these traits are really no different than a Super Bowl commercial (the ORIGINAL viral video).  Granted, in this video you may not get to see the product ACTUALLY demonstrated, but that’s not the point.  The point is to create a memorable, sticky and sharable marketing experience that engages folks to dig deeper.

I encouragage you to go find another great example of viral marketing and keep it handy throughout 2009.  We are what we read and watch after all, so why not read or watch the best.

(ps, check out our kick-ass tag cloud we just installed on the blog page!)

It used to be that you had to live in a few specific cities, have access to the right people and tools and devote a large amount of time, sacrifice and money to produce content.  This was true for film makers, musicians, artists, writers, illustrators, radio broadcasters, and so on.  Then about 5 years ago, all of those tools became cheap enough for everyone to access.  Laptops became the new form of the PC, and the internet matured to facilitate all the collaboration and distribution you would ever need.  Now EVERYONE, ANYWHERE could create content and distribute it to the world.  It’s the economy of the long tail!  Something for everyone!  Sounds pretty good right?

Maybe not…

I’ve grown increasingly concerned over the sheer amount of “stuff” that’s being produced and distributed on the internet.  Every last person who’s ever wanted to create something, has (including myself).  All of this content is now bleeding out of every site, portal and niche network imaginable.  What’s concerning is the lack of any real GOOD filters to put some sense of order around this mess.  Only the most savvy internet user has any chance at actually finding content that’s new and truly lasting.  Everyone else (especially those over 45) is left to fend for themselves, rendered helpless in this sea of “stuff.”  Many just get distracted, tune out, or eventually give up.

I’m frustrated because everyone who uses the internet could potentially discover their next favorite book, tv show, song or cartoon.  In fact, most people WANT that experience.  However very few ever actually get it.  As a marketer and champion of the independent artist, I want a trusted source that ranks and organizes content, and attracts sizable user-base.

It’s this fundamental problem I’m going to be addressing in a series of posts I’m calling “The Conundrum of Clutter.”  I feel it’s an issue that requires a good deal of examination and exploration.  I’ll interview various demographics, discuss some existing services and try to form some new thinking on how where to go from here.

Stay tuned, and please….post your thoughts below.

The author, who appears to be anonymous with no noticeable credit given anywhere on the site, first gives us this little gem:

“If AC/DC’s Black Ice performs, it could have serious long-term consequences for the pre-eminent position of iTunes as a music retailer.”

This is a stretch of the imagination. iTunes has pushed 5 billion tracks since 2003, without the help of many top selling artists or must have albums. The impact of AC/DC’s new album on the service will be negligible.

The article continues:

“Because iTunes steadfastly refuses to “lock” any album..”

False. iTunes has consistently made deals with movie studios and other entities to lock soundtracks. These deals seem to fluctuate with certain albums locking then unlocking, but you can see a current example for yourself by examining the album: Deadwood – Music from the HBO Original Series or the Moulin Rouge Soundtrack. If the author had bothered to do minimal research they would have discovered the same. However, this isn’t the most glaring error. The author then goes on to state:

“Though the Beatles’ back catalogue is still not available on iTunes, this will be the first time in the music store’s short history that it will be deprived of a major current release.”

WRONG! The Eagles Long Road Out Of Eden, one of last year’s most anticipated and biggest selling albums, was sold as a Walmart exclusive and denied iTunes placement. There have been further examples from this year including Kid Rock’s Rock’n'Roll Jesus.

The article meanders on with another one of these

“The release of Black Ice will be a major blow for iTunes’ claim to be the world’s biggest music retailer..”

Which we’ve already covered, but then we learn

“a more significant threat to the company takes place when the mobile phone company Nokia begin to sell their new “Comes With Music” phone in UK stores.”

Instead of rehashing why this is an ignorant, pandering comment, I’ll leave it to the good folks at ArsTechnica who walked through Nokia’s service in a recent column.

So there you have it – another ridiculous article from the Telegraph lacking any true substance and packed with hyperbole and blatantly wrong information.. The lesson here? We could all stand to be a lot pickier about what we read each day, and a lot more critical. The time of hype and spin is over for the music industry – anyone who wants to succeed needs to cut through to the meat of the issues and make good, intelligent decisions based on the data.

Links
The Telegraph Article
Nokia’s Comes With Music won’t worry Apple… yet