Archives for January 2007

Viral Marketing…not: Boston Bomb Scare

January 31, 2007 by Susan Getgood

Placing electronic devices with magnetic lights under bridges and overpasses is probably not the brightest marketing move, wouldn’t you say? Well, apparently the Turner Broadcasting Network (Time Warner) thought differently. They did just that as a national promotion for one of their Cartoon Network adult cartoons.

As a friend emailed me this afternoon, if they gave a Darwin Award for marketing, these guys would get it.

What WERE they thinking? Ooops. I guess they weren’t.

At least nine different suspicious packages placed throughout Boston, including the first one that was detonated near I-93 this morning, caused the shutdown of the city’s major roadways and subway lines. Emergency responders, bomb squad, police, you name it, were called to respond to this potential disaster. Only to learn that it was a network stunt….

Apparently, similar devices have been placed in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Oregon and Austin, Texas, and they’ve been there for about three weeks. I’m not going to get into why they haven’t been discovered before today, but I am at a loss to explain why the TV network thought this was a good idea.

We have to take our shoes off to go through airport metal detectors and can’t bring water from home on the plane. And they thought it was a good idea to put suspicious looking boxes near bridges, waterways, overpasses and medical centers?

I would not be surprised if the State of Massachusetts sued to recover costs. Not to mention possible criminal charges. From Governor Deval Patrick’s statement:

"I am deeply dismayed to learn that many of the devices are a part of a marketing campaign by Turner Broadcasting. This stunt has caused considerable disruption and anxiety in our community. I understand that Turner Broadcasting has purported to apologize for this. I intend nonetheless to consult with the attorney general and other advisors about what recourse we may have."

Folks, this isn’t viral marketing. It is just sick.

Coverage: MarketWatch, Reuters

UPDATE Feb 1, 10:15pm: Lots of commentary on this subject today. I thought about doing another post but decided to just tack it on here. Check out John Cass, KD Paine and Todd Defren for further local perspective.

From this article (thanks Katie), apparently Interference, the agency who planned the campaign, was aware of the situation by the early afternoon, yet Turner did not contact the authorities until 4:30pm. That’s a big window of time and angst for the residents of Boston. Article also answers the question about why it took so long for someone to spot these "devices." Apparently the one that set the police response off — underneath Interstate 93 in Sullivan Square in Charlestown — wasn’t placed until overnight Monday, which is only a day in place before being reported, not 2-3 weeks.

There is now an apology on the Interference Web site; no idea when it went up. Too little too late?

More to come on this very interesting viral marketing story.

Update February 2, 8:10pm – Article in this morning’s Globe indicates that in 6 of the 9 other cities, the devices weren’t in transportation "danger zones." And even with the list of where the things should be, the authorities can’t find most of them, unless they look on eBay I suppose.

I also want to make a general comment to the folks who are making fun of the Boston reaction as over the top. It is very important to not confuse the issues. Just because Mayor Menino has a tendency to chew scenery and over-react, does NOT make the actions of the marketers behind this mess any less irresponsible. Or the response of the law enforcement officials wrong. They did what they are supposed to do. Just because one device was harmless does not make the next one harmless. Until you know where they are from, everything is suspicious. Harmless looking things can be dangerous. Terrorists have been putting bombs in dolls and balls longer than I can remember.

More reaction: David Parmet, the Net Savvy Executive

Tags: Boston bomb scare, viral marketing, Time Warner, Turner Broadcasting Network, Cartoon Network

A spectators-eye view of Sundance: Interview with blogger/artist Evelyn Rodriguez

January 29, 2007 by Susan Getgood

(long post)

I was lucky enough to have a long chat last week with writer/artist/saloniere/marketer Evelyn Rodriguez about her visit to the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

Evelyn used to live in Salt Lake City, and attended the Festival many times as a spectator. She now resides in San Jose, California, and described this visit — her first since 2003 — as the first time she attended the Festival as an artist.

Among her many projects, she is working with Click.TV, an online video company that develops tools for video annotation, commentary and social interaction that make it easier to search and engage with segments of interest. "For instance, in a day-long congressional hearing, you can jump straight to the part that’s on the bill that you’re tracking. And then join in on an online interaction discussion at that timestamp about the issue."

She went to Sundance to find out what was up in the world of film, and most particularly video. She hoped to meet other people who were exploring the alternative medium of digital video. Even a low budget film costs at least $1 million, she said, but video is a different, more accessible world, with fewer barriers to entry. "I met people that teach a No Budget Film School, people working on social microfinancing to finance films, and people helping to film-makers self-distribute their films. I walked out of the X-Dance film, "Chasing the Lotus" ready to buy a DVD. There’s got to be a way to capture that impulse."

She was somewhat surprised that when she told friends and acquaintances that she was going to Sundance, many replied they "don’t go to Sundance anymore" because it is too commercial. While she agrees that the Festival has changed — for example, she doesn’t remember quite so many corporate lounges, which now effectively take over the Main Street storefronts during the Festival, she felt that Sundance still had something for everyone, from the avant garde to the nearly mainstream. And the fact that so many companies want to be associated with the Festival adds value; she cited two examples that enhanced her Festival experience: the Krups Café co-sponsored with Salt Lake Roasting Company at New Frontiers on Main which showcased video art installations, multimedia performances, panels, and a digital microcinema, and the Adobe/HP equipment demonstrations/workshops.

This year, Sundance has really embraced social media — Second Life, YouTube and iTunes among other things. We talked at length about whether more people are or will now be aware of independent film as a result of blogs and other social media. Or I wondered, is it more a case of the "long tail" chasing itself?

Evelyn suggested, and I think she’s on the right track, that perhaps in our age group (we are both in our early 40s), the same people are likely to be engaged with social media and interested in independent film, but in younger groups, say mid-20s, social media like YouTube et al are reaching a much broader, diverse audience. The fact that a film is classified independent may not even matter for the younger folks, who will just recognize that they saw something cool that they liked on a friend’s MySpace page or in a YouTube clip.

Arin Crumley of "Four Eyed Monsters" grassroots indie fame was videoblogging Sundance this year on behalf of the Festival. While behind camera taping the Social Networking panel, he added how he’d engaged with Flickr, YouTube, MySpace, blogging and everything at his disposal to promote the video. Said Evelyn: "They even had visitors to their website vote for cities to show the film assuming if they had critical mass they could arrange a screening. One of the six ‘cities’ was Second Life. I myself watched "Strange Culture" at the New Frontiers microcinema while the film was simultaneously premiering in Second Life." She said the Q&A with the director and with subject Steve Kurtz of Critical Art Ensemble alternated between the live audience and the SL theater avatars.

Evelyn and I also discussed how social media is starting to change HOW we will see films. The only way for an artist to get his or her work seen won’t be the local movie theater, whether it is the local 10 screen Cineplex or an art house. Only 120 films last year got theatrical release across the nation. Distribution business models are on the cusp of change. Online alternatives, the growth of digital video and the possibility of interaction with the story are blurring the lines between artist and audience. Stories won’t necessarily have a beginning, middle and end, or even a script. For example, David Lynch’s INLAND EMPIRE was shot 100% in digital video, and the script was written scene-by-scene as the taping unfolded. And Lynch is distributing it himself.

You also don’t need a film school degree or expensive equipment for decent digital video. Evelyn believes that we will see more and more "regular folks" using video to tell interesting, impactful stories. While making a documentary film has been a lifelong goal, it didn’t seem feasible to her until now. Soon, she’ll embark on a digital video project that will start shooting in post-Katrina New Orleans in late February. She’s also exploring the idea of communities, colonies, ensembles, collectives, and Salons of artistic creation — bringing dancers, theater directors, writers, filmmakers, videographers, sculptors, social media visionaries and all sorts of people together in real as well as virtual space, to see how they stretch one another and push the edges of what’s possible in social art and social video. "Online video feels like the earliest days of cinema to me. When people were so enthralled by its novelty, as one audience member said at the Web 2.0 panel, that even a clip of someone sneezing was engaging. So these are pretty exciting times to be exploring this medium."

And in the end, isn’t that what Sundance is really all about? Inspiring us to share our creative vision with the world through the medium of film and moving pictures.

To read more from Evelyn, check out her blog, Crossroads Dispatches.

3-30-08 Comments closed due to spam attacks

Tags: Sundance, Backstage at Sundance, Evelyn Rodriguez, long tail

Other places I blog

January 28, 2007 by Susan Getgood

In addition to Marketing Roadmaps, I write on a few other blogs — some for clients, some simply as a contributor.

As I mentioned last week, a lot of my effort over the past week, both as writer and researcher, has gone into HP’s Backstage at Sundance blog. Among the highlights of the blog, exclusive live performances from Simon Townshend, Alexi Murdoch, and a duet with Glenn Hansard and Marketa Iglova, stars of the Sundance award-winning film Once. The Festival is over but there will be a few more posts over the next week to wrap up the story for the readers.

Robert French, professor at the University at Auburn, created the Marcom Blog three years ago for marketing and PR professionals to interact with and advise the students in his PR and Marketing Communications classes. I’ve been a contributor for about a year or so now, and I love the comments from the students, both on the Marcom blog and here on the Roadmap. I posted there today about the biggest value from blogging.

I also post semi-regularly on Multiple Choice, the blog of client Software Secure and do a couple of newsletters for clients.

Which is why sometimes the Roadmap goes a little silent 🙂 I’m writing, just not here.

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On a completely other note, Mary, Battlestar Sunday just isn’t the same as Battlestar Friday, is it?

Tags: Backstage at Sundance, Sundance, marcom blog

What’s so wrong about “audience?” – another social media press release flap

January 21, 2007 by Susan Getgood

Big blog kerfuffle over the social media press release.

Short story: Panel to discuss in San Francisco last week, including Shel Holtz and Chris Heuer. Stowe Boyd attends, writes critical post. Robert Scoble chimes in against press release. Lots of people comment.

As readers here know, I don’t have any problem with press releases, old or new format, as long as the PR people do the real job of crafting well written and newsworthy announcements without BS. The press release and other materials created for announcements are just the documentation of the story. They aren’t the story.

However, I do want to comment on one aspect of the linguistic nit-picking that has crept into this disagreement, and that is the word "audience." Just exactly what is so wrong about talking about the audience?

When we tell a story, whether to a friend, a colleague, a journalist or a neighbor, in person or on a blog, to one person or many, we should always think about them. What are they interested in, how will this story be more compelling to them, how can I make this a better story for the person/people who are listening, what parts of the story will make them want to participate, pass it on, and so on.

And guess what! Not all people are interested in all stories. Everyone doesn’t participate in every conversation, online or off. It helps us tell a better story when we think about the people who are most interested in it, and tell it for them. Telling it for them is what makes them want to chime in.

So, I suppose we could advise people to frame their stories, their blogs, their outreach to best reach "the people who are most interested in it." Or we could just get over ourselves and understand that "the people who are most interested in a story" are the audience for the story. Doesn’t mean they are passive. Doesn’t mean they don’t participate. Doesn’t mean we are simply talking to or at them, not with them. Doesn’t mean we aren’t part of our own audience — we are.

Just means they are the ones who care.

Tags: social media press release, PR, public relations

I’m Backstage at Sundance

January 20, 2007 by Susan Getgood

In case any of you were wondering where I’ve been for the last week, and warning, where I am likely to be much of next week as well, I’m Backstage at Sundance.

Well not literally of course. I’m covering general news and monitoring the blogosphere for interesting Sundance tidbits for the HP blog, all from GetGood Strategic Marketing world headquarters in Hudson, Mass. But as we all know, there’s only so much time to blog in any given week, so for the next little while, most of my writing will be over there, not here. And of course there’s lots of great Sundance blogging from the folks on the ground at the festival — film reviews, press conference reports, celebrity sightings. Be sure to check it out.

A few things I definitely want to note for my marketing and PR readers. I posted yesterday at Backstage about how Sundance is really embracing social media. In the last two weeks, they announced deals with iTunes and YouTube. Starting Monday, folks will be able to purchase short films from this year’s festival on iTunes. And on YouTube, there’s going to be a Sundance Channel section with all sorts of Sundance content — festival coverage of course, but also clips from programming and so on. Not to mention the festival screenings being held in Second Life. More details and links in my post over at Backstage at Sundance.

HP is trying something new with the Backstage blog this year: "En Español." Many of the general posts as well as posts of interest to the Hispanic audience will be translated into Spanish. From HP Hispanic Marketing Manager Kathleen Haley’s post today:

… we will have the most exciting entries about the festival, as well as specific entries that are relevant to the Hispanic market and our Hispanic readers — whether that be a celebrity sighting, a great movie (Padre Nuestro or Summer Rain directed by Antonio Banderas) or a big event. Keep coming back to see the latest on HP and Sundance en Español!

Finally, regular readers know how strongly I feel about donating to charity, early and often. Friday at Sundance, actor Kevin Bacon announced a new charitable initiative that plays off the well known game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Together with Network for Good, Bacon has created sixdegrees.org, a charitable community in which celebrities and regular folks alike share their favorite charity. When you donate to someone’s charity through sixdegrees.org, you can display a “badge” from the person whose charity you supported on your Web site or blog. Linking us all together by doing good.

You can read more about sixdegrees.org and Network for Good at the Diva Marketing blog and my Backstage post (updated).

Tags: Sundance, Backstage at Sundance, HP, Hewlett Packard, Network for Good, Kevin Bacon, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, sixdegrees.org, iTunes, YouTube, social media, Sundance Channel