PVR Killed A Marketing Star
Living in a world of ever more sophisticated technologies one can’t help to notice some changes in the way people goes about everyday life. Today, everything in the entertainment world revolves around active content. The days of adverts being forced down on consumers is slowly but surly changing to viewers choice. Here is why.
PVR or Personal Video Recorders, The Internet – live steaming and websites and mobile device will force the marketers of today to rethink strategies. PVR recorders allow the viewer to record his favorite program in advance and then watch it 10min later; allowing him to forward through TV adverts and only watch programming of interest. Marketers are forced to make adds that actually entertains, otherwise they are ignored. Life is to fast tracked to wait 5min for all the add breaks to pass and then only continue with normal programing.
A quick calculation and one can quickly see why viewers will do this. An averaged episode of Grey’s Anatomy is 30min. Add all the add breaks in between (in South Africa) and one can add another 20min to the program aired, totaling a staggering 50 minutes.
My feel is that the world of marketing should change to in-show marketing. If and where someone is drinking a Pepsi, make it visible to the viewer. Make adds that viewers actually want to see. Video clips must be posted on websites so that they can be POD casted and distributed from user to user. The means of market exposure is much less in terms of consumers being reached, but the add will capture the imagination of the user, if it is good, which will drive more effective marketing.
Website marketing should be taken more seriously. Markers must stop wasting money on adverts that will be fast-forwarded and ignored. Advertise creatively! For more info visit: www.placid.za.net
With a Grain of Salt (Because You Can’t Always Believe Everything You Hear or Read)
I always wonder if the ‘experts’ who appear on the morning
shows (The Today Show; Good Morning America; CBS
Morning Show) have any idea that they frequently sound
stupid to perhaps half the people who are listening to them.
Consider the other morning, for example. According to one
‘expert,’ dentists all over the country are extremely worried
because people are drinking so much bottled water, and,
therefore, are not getting enough fluoride from drinking tap
water.
“It is easy to drink fluoridated tap water,” the expert said.
“Everyone can just turn on their tap and drink fluoridated
water.”
Really?
Everyone?
What about those people who drink well water and are not
hooked into a municipal water system that fluoridates the
water supply?
I don’t know about people who live out in the country in other
parts of the United States, but around here in Wisconsin, we
do not install systems to fluoridate our well water.
Sometimes people will give fluoride tablets to their children
to prevent tooth decay, and the school districts will also give
fluoride tablets to rural children, but from what I’ve read,
fluoride tablets might not be such a good idea, either. I have
read that fluoride can depress thyroid activity and that
doctors used fluoride up until the 1950s to treat thyroid
conditions.
Whether the claims about the dangers of fluoride are true or
not, I cannot say for certain because I am not a research
scientist who has investigated fluoride. What I can say for
certain is that if you do a Google search for “fluoride” and
“thyroid” more than 300,000 references come up. And when
you start to read through the web page descriptions, you
see that many of the websites are questioning the safety
and efficacy of using fluoride either by tablet or in the
drinking water.
In regard to the issue of drinking tap water for the fluoride,
the expert on television went on to say that many people are
afraid to drink their tap water because of contaminants.
Really?
Isn’t that why municipalities go to great pains to test their
water? To make that sure the water is free from
contaminants? Isn’t that why there are so many regulations
concerning the testing done on municipal water to make
sure that it is safe to drink? Isn’t that why municipal water
systems have filters and other devices and procedures to
make sure the contaminants are removed?
Be that as it may, the expert hastened to assure everyone
that the bottled water companies were coming to the rescue
and would soon sell BOTTLED WATER THAT CONTAINS
FLUORIDE.
Ah-hah!
Now we come to the real crux of the matter.
It isn’t that dentists fear for our teeth and general dental
health because so many people drink unfluoridated bottled
water.
It isn’t that municipal water systems contain contaminants.
It’s that the bottled water companies want to create a
market to sell more bottled water.
So now I wonder, how long did it take the publicist (hired by
the bottled water companies, of course) to talk the
producers of the morning news show into airing the
segment?
It all makes me rather sick to my stomach.No one cares
about the health of our teeth. It’s just that the bottled water
companies want to sell more bottled water.
Then again, it serves as an excellent reminder.
When I see or hear something on television, or read about it
in a newspaper or magazine, I must always ask myself —
whose agenda is this?
And once I figure out who stands to profit by a certain train of
thought or a certain opinion or a certain piece of “news” — I
am just that much closer to the truth.
© LeAnn R. Ralph 2006
http://ruralroute2.com
Marketing ‘Gurus’ Do You Need One
Its become fashionable to bash marketing “gurus” nowadays.
There are some for whom the prospect of even looking at someone as a “guru” is a sin. They believe in being free-thinkers, unfettered by the bonds of guru-dom.
Then there are those who try to score points by “proving” gurus wrong. They think they have achieved a new high in their field just by proving that a “guru” made a false statement.
The problem with such people is that they refuse to understand “gurus” for what they are.
So just what IS a guru (marketing or otherwise)?
To put it simply, a guru is someone who has “been there, done that.”
A guru is not one who is meant to be followed like a sheep, nor one whose every word is written in stone.
Of the letters in the Sanskrit word “Guru “, the letter ‘Gu’ stands for darkness or ignorance; and the letter ‘Ru’ stands for the one who removes it or dispels it.
A guru is one who imparts knowledge that clears the path of the seeker. Knowledge that helps the seeker gain a better understanding of himself.
Unfortunately many people see gurus – and marketing gurus in particular – as successful, over-bearing, conceited boors.
Trust me, if a person was successful in this field, he’d never have got there by being over-bearing and conceited.
Why? Because to be a success, you need other people to help you get there. And no one is going to do business with you if you’re an over-bearing, conceited boor.
So just why do you need a guru?
For the same reason you need a parent – to guide you when you are young and still learning the ways of the world.
For the same reason you need a teacher – to introduce you to new concepts and ways of thinking you may never have conceived of.
For the same reason you need a football coach – to teach you the rules of the game.
For the same reason you need a mountain guide – to take you through treacherous terrain to a safer place.
Sadly, people only perceive gurus as someone to look up to with fear and disdain, or as someone to pull down so that one can feel important.
They can never understand that a guru (or mentor, or teacher, or whatever you choose to call them) is just someone who can help cut their learning curve.
Someone who can help you NOT re-invent the wheel, but continue where they left off.
Someone who could share with you a new way of doing things that could benefit you in ways you could never imagine.
Few ‘real’ gurus – at least those worth learning from – will ever want to be called that.
The ones who do are usually cocky, self-professed types, full of their own importance – and you’ll learn more by avoiding them like the plague.
The gurus to watch (note, I didn’t say follow – as in sheep) and learn from, are the ones with a long track record of success.
The ones who have repeatedly proved that their methods are legitimate and that they work.
Not the flash-in-the-pan types, who come and go faster than you can say “bestselling ebook.”
Not the ones who jump from one opportunity to the next and try to take you along for the ride.
Not the ones who endorse everything from lunar real-estate to miracle cure-alls.
And certainly not cocky little teenagers, who have never cut their teeth on real marketing.
Don’t expect your chosen guru to know everything about everything. Even gurus specialize in different areas of expertise.
Just to give you an example, I respect Corey Rudl highly for his pioneering knowledge of marketing. But I would never take advice from him on getting high rankings in search engines.
For specialized knowledge like that, I would learn from someone who is a true expert in that field, like Dan Thies or Michael Campbell.
Whether you’re a newbie starting out on the internet, or an experienced marketer who has honed his skills to perfection, the one thing you can always benefit from is an open mind.
And a willingness to be taught.
So when you do choose a guru, guide, mentor or coach, pick one whose insight can help you see yourself – and what you have to offer – more clearly.
One whose knowledge can show you how to bring out your own latent talents.
And one whose guidance can help you grow into a seasoned and successful entrepreneur.
Copyright 2003 Priya Shah
Priya Shah is a partner in the search engine optimization firm, SEO & More and writes an online marketing blog