Down in California I met this whacky Canadian named Brian Hogg. Brian does a show called DotBoom which is, I’m unafraid to say, absolutely freaking hilarious.
If you work in advertising, marketing or design (or have just spent time dealing with office politics and idiocy) check it out. It’s Canadian! And has puppets!!
So unless you’ve been living under a rock (and a rock without internet access at that) you’ve undoubtedly heard that the wunderkinds at Google have decided to buy up internet sensation YouTube for 1.57 Billion in stock.
And you gotta wonder, why are those geniuses in California shelling out so much scratch for a site that hasn’t–and legally almost can’t–make money?
Well, one of my new Haddadisms is “Money can’t buy you success, only opportunity.”
And what Google is buying here is the opportunity to lead the charge as the internet becomes more and more of a video medium.
A while back I harped on about how happy I was that the 30 second commercial spot is dying a quick death. And I’m still happy about that. In fact I’m dancing right now in my chair (as I watch a downloaded copy of Battlestar Galactica commercial free).
But video is powerful.
And video that’s controlled by the user–video that a consumer can turn on and off as she wants and skip through for the content she really wants, whenever and wherever she wants is going to be one of the most powerful sales tools to come along in decades.
Google knows this. Google undoubtedly has a plan that’s going to be as powerful and revolutionary to the way direct marketers (and if you’re doing business in 2006, you should be a direct marketer) work as good old Adsense.
Whew. I got back from the Podcasting Expo on Sunday night, immediately crashed in my big foam bed and have spent all my waking hours since catching up on work, signing deals and blathering on with advice for clients.
And I’m still feeling haggard from three full days of Podcasty goodness. My favorite speaker?
That one’s easy. Paul Colligan blew the roof off the “Podcasting as a Business” hall with a one-hour sprint describing how you can turn podcasting into profits. The big secret? Use your podcast to sell your stuff, not someone else’s.
Now, granted, this won’t work for everybody (there are plenty of folks who don’t have anything to sell) but podcasting is really a information marketers dream. I’m deep into Paul’s “The Business Podcasting Bible” and will be sure to harp on about it here as soon as I finish.
Otherwise the conference was far more fun than any business event has a right to be. I already miss my “camp” friends and can’t wait to go again next year.
Just heard a great quote from Phoebe–one of the lovely ladies behind the Nontourage Podcast had a great insight into why they’re decked out with so much delectable schwag
She says: “We’re marketing challenged, we’re just really good at shopping.”
I just got off stage where I played a rousing game of “What, so what?” with my good friend Scott Bourne. Scott held a room of rabid podcasters rapt as her laid out all the basics of how you can turn a passion for niche-casting into cold hard cash.
So if you’re here after seeing Scott and I at the expo, welcome and I hope you’ll stick around as I throw a little marketing speak your way.
What’s the core marketing concept every podcaster and niche-media mogul needs to know if they want to attract honest to goodness advertisers?
Just this:
People are selfish. Really selfish. Spend all the time in the world crafting an absolutely gorgeous audio ad, shell out the hard cash for your very own voice of god and work your fingers to the cold white bone and you know what? Most people–most consumers–won’t care. They won’t care about the soccer games you missed, the money you spent or that vacation you just know you could take if you could just get a couple of folks to buy from you’re loving sponsor.
Consumers only care about one thing: “What’s in it for me? How is this product or service going to make my life better, make my day simpler and let me do things I just couldn’t do before?”
If you can’t answer those questions — if you can’t let go of facts, figures and [-B features B-], and paint a compelling picture of the wondrous benefits the product or service you’re selling will provide, you’re doomed and damned to marketing purgatory.
So, when putting together your ads and marketing podcasts, take a deep breath, close your eyes and will yourself to translate your boring features into bombastic benefits. If you’re a consultant, don’t tell me about your four year degree from Harvard, instead, focus on the peace of mind I’ll experience knowing an Ivy League intellect is hard at work on the job. If you’re selling sports cars, don’t waste precious space prattling on about cubic inches, torque and horsepower. Instead, paint a picture of how powerful I’ll feel as I barrel down the road, gunning the engine, outrunning my humdrum life, and driving off into the sunset with a sultry waif giggling sexily by my side.
In other words, show me what’s in it for me.
Eager to know more? Drop me a line. Or if you’re at the conference call me on my cell at 206-550-5558.
I’m scampering around doing some last minute packing for my trip to lovely (err, well, not really) Ontario, California for the Portable Media Expo.
It’ll be two full days of how-to’s and why-to’s seasoned with a healthy smattering of networking, geek talk and, most likely, drinking. There should be wi-fi all over the convention center, so I’ll be sure to post a few times with thoughts and impressions. It’ll be just like you’re there! Only not at all!
. . . will probably end up right here on the blog as soon as I get back.
Or, well, most of it. But I can’t guarantee I won’t keep the goings on at Circus Circus to myself.
I’m heading out of town for a few days to whoop in up in Sin City and learn at the feet of a few marketers I admire. And since I’m not quite sure what the Wi-Fi deal is going to be at my hotel, I figure it’s best just to sign off the blog while I’m gone.
But don’t worry, dear reader! I’ve left some Haddonic goodness behind:
During those long, dark hours of your work day, you can read up on the true meaning of Labor Day, tip your hat to the memory of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, or tip back a glass and bask in the glory of the fourth episode of the Biznik Podcast.
And of course if I get the chance (and the web access) I’ll pop in with scintillating marketing observations from the strip.
In this rollicking half hour of an episode I sit down with Guerilla TV entrepreneur Stephen McCandless to talk about how not to rate your employees, why saving lives for a living isn’t as fun as you would think and why “Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you any kind of misery you want.”
Check it out at The Biznik Podcast Page or just search for Biznik in the iTunes podcast directory.
Ralston 360 (a marketing firm specializing in podcasting) does a great job of explaining the whacky world of the pod and why you might want to dive in.
