Thursday, May 22, 2008

Another Reason Local Advertisers Need To Jump in the Online Ad Pool

The linked article is a good example of one of the compelling reasons I urge local advertisers to engage with local online advertising solutions today. This is coming. And if you wait until it completely unfolds on your local television sets, your competition will have already begun to take your business.

Yahoo Internet on TV in Japan « Screenwerk

Friday, May 9, 2008

Another "Channel" coming to your market

I wrote a response to Todd Shurz's blog on the Schurz Intranet site. Todd's blog raised the question, "what is a channel?" I argued that our radio and television properties define channel in terms of their station's VHF or FM or AM frequency designation. And that this definition was limiting and ultimately a hindrance to our future business plans. I believe there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of LOCAL "channels" in the near future. Today I came across the linked story below. This is just another "channel" that will exist in our markets. Yes, this channel will be temporary, but the negative effect it will have on our media properties ratings and revenues will be very real. Get ready for more and more of this.

Live Nation and AdBrite in Local Ads Deal « Screenwerk

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

All The News You're Really Great At Covering

What if your newspaper only printed stories that were exclusive-important-and something you were great at...not one of those three, ALL three. Forget AP stories, forget anything that can be called filler. Just don't print it. Would that mean a 2-page newspaper...maybe. Is that a bad thing? Does that cause production problems? Maybe. Should we make decisions about our future in the media world based on what our printing press can do, or on what our newsrooms can really great at.

Here's a link to the same kind of ideas played out for the Times.

Seth's Blog: All the News That Fits (do what you're great at)

Friday, May 2, 2008

Cloud Computing....Is it hype or the next BIG thing?

I'm no geek....read and start making your own conclusions.


Google, IBM Join Forces To Dominate 'Cloud Computing' -- Network Computing -- InformationWeek

Thanks

One of the guys that originally hired me into my first (and current) job in digital media just resigned. Hyler Cooper, our Vice President of Digital Operations at Schurz Communications announced he is leaving the company this week.

On May 15th, Hyler will become Senior Vice President of EMedia for AgWeb/Farm Journal, a media company that focuses on the agriculture industry with web, print and television products. He will be responsible for all digital operations which include six websites.

Good for Hyler, he's a talented guy to whom I owe a good deal of gratitude.

Your first job breaking into any industry is tough. You know the dilemma, everyone wants experience but no one wants to be the first to hire you and give you the experience. Hyler (and my direct boss, Scott Stavrakas) made that kind of hire with me. Because of that leap of faith, I would walk through fire to execute anything these guys want me to do. So, naturally, I'll miss Hyler. AgWeb made a good hire. And I suspect within a short period of time there will be some AgWeb folks working for Hyler that will also find walking through fire worth the trip.

Dell’s Embed-able, Subscribe-able, Share-able Video Is Working

Working with local advertisers across the country a couple of questions seem to be common across different type businesses and different parts of the country. The first question is why should I care about this online audience when it's still a relatively small number of potential customers? And second, when I have tried this in the past I didn't get any results so why should I try it again?

My answer for both questions is usually some version of this opinion I have: Advertising is changing, dramatically. The rules, tools, effectiveness, measurement and players are in a state of flux never before seen. But there are success stories, plenty of them. So the sooner you get in the game, the sooner you will find your path. And as your media partner, we're hear to help, guide and nurture your digital marketing attempts.

The natural reaction for most local advertisers to this state of flux is to seek the perceived safety of the sidelines and wait. So for those on the sidelines, let me share this. I believe the most significant driving force in the changing advertising reality is the power of your customers and potential customers. They are taking control. And this control will replace traditional push strategies, (television, newspaper, radio, direct mail, outdoor) with a still-emerging pull strategy some people call conversational marketing. The ultimate goal of your future advertising will be to create a conversation with your clients and potential customers. I'll write more about this in other posts. But look at the linked story below. Dell Computers is currently doing this in one of their campaigns with success that can be measured and tracked.


Dell’s Embed-able, Subscribe-able, Share-able Video Is Working