By Ben Haber
By Ben
In December I wrote that a 30 second commercial during the Superbowl was going for $2.7 million. If not for the unfortunate outcome of the game, I would have said the commercials were the least memorable part – and USA Today seems to agree.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEWtTVaIH0M ]
According to the paper, celebrities showed up in 18 ads this year, but not one of the advertisements cracked the top five in USA Today’s ‘Ad Meter’, and exclusive real-time consumer rating of the ads.
For businesses, these kinds of results may be even more disappointing that the game itself.
February 6th, 2008
By Kyle Austin
By Kyle Austin
It has rained for three days in Boston (the guy upstairs must be taking it as hard as me). I should have never written the pre- Groundhog Day post. Since then I’ve been stuck in some sort of bizarro Groundhog Day myself.
As Bill Murray (Phil Connors) once said:
“You want a prediction about the weather, you’re asking the wrong Phil. I’ll give you a winter prediction: It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be grey, and it’s gonna last you for the rest of your life.”
Now that I’ve dragged myself back to post, some thoughts from the last couple days:
- The New York Giants and MicroHoo! are now on top of the food chain
- Google’s statement on Microsoft’s bid to acquire Yahoo! sounds ironically like Red Sox executives still referring to the Yankees as the Evil Empire. It’s time to look in the mirror and realize that you’re one and the same. It also sounds like they are scared. I can see Ballmer hanging the statement like Beli…(I mean Coughlin) all over Redmond offices as a motivational tool.
- Zuckerberg is now a more worthy TMZ figure then Tom Brady.
- Howcast, just closed a $8 million series A financing. (The company makes online “How To” videos). Like “How to paint a wall.” Like “How did I not think of this?”
- You can now track Scoble while he is in flight. Unfortunately, I still don’t think they’ve gotten Wi-Fi up and running, so you’ll have to hold off on twittering him.
February 6th, 2008
By George Snell
By Peter Prodromou
It’s been nearly 80 years since Edward Bernays changed the face of PR by marching a bunch of women down Madison Avenue smoking cigarettes. Yet even with the passage of time, you could argue nothing’s changed. Companies and governments still use the same tired approaches to publicize their agendas:
1 Part Wall Street Journal + 1 Part Charitable Act = Successful Reputation Management
The problem with that formula is that the world has passed it by.
The Wall Street Journal is still important and, let’s face it, who can argue with the righteousness of charitable acts? But the reality is, today’s audiences are more fragmented, sophisticated and connected than ever. The power of the internet and digital media has given everyone and anyone the power to drive perception. At the same time, the public is more issues driven than ever. Just think about how many of your friends and neighbors talk about the environment… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The companies and countries that are going to define this century are going to need more than economic might and an audience with print and broadcast media. They’re going to be tapped into those issues and, equally important, they’re going to have to understand the value of new technology and web media for not only communicating a story, but creating conversations and on-on-one constituent relationships.
They’ll do it through digital media, blogs, forums and other discussion sites. They’ll do it visually, using the web to spread their message far and wide. Most important, they’ll do it credibly with true commitment to the issues that concern the public today and through true relationship building.
So who’s getting it right? Think One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) – empowering people all over the globe to gain access to knowledge and talking about it on the web, as well as through traditional media. Think British Petroleum, moving to transform from an old oil company, to a next generation energy resource – and is proud – and daring enough — to talk about it.
These are the organizations that give you hope for a better tomorrow and a view into real leadership. These are the model organizations that work now or will work with World 2.0.
February 6th, 2008
