...but, I don't care. Socialmention.com is totally and ridiculously cool. I am monitoring online chatter, of ANY sort, about our clients' brands. Blogs, Microblogs, Bookmarks, Images, Video...you name it, socialmention tracks it for me.
Combined with my new TweetDeck (thank you, Bouv), I feel like a virtual steel trap - nothing is getting past me!
Tuesday was Veterans' Day; remembrance of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month that marked the Armistice ending World War I and every war since. I forgot to mention it to veterans I know and care about. My sister, Judy Hulbert, an operating room nurse in Vietnam (think M*A*S*H, without all the funny parts). Jim Lindsey, who attends regular reunions with his Army buddies but I've never heard talk about it. Silver Star and Purple Heart recipient, Bob Manning; retired from the video production business. He founded and now devotes his time to USAcares.org. My nephew, Ryan Voelker, graduated college and promptly entered the Army as an enlisted man, only weeks before September 11, 2001. And, of course, CurrentMarketing's favorite veteran-to-be, Air Force Academy Cadet Spencer Schardein.
I truly respect, appreciate and admire these and all veterans; their service and sacrifice. If you know a vet, and didn't recognize them on Veterans Day, it's never too late. Even if you disagreed with the wars they endured, they endured them for you.
Thank them.
This blog was inspired by a story in yesterday's Courier-Journal (yes, I still read the hard copy) about my friend Doug Julius' father . Like so many vets -- especially those of the Greatest Generation -- Bill Julius was quiet about his war experience. It reminded me of a closing line from HBO's mini-series "Band of Brothers" when Dick Winters remembers his grandson asking if he was a war hero (which he was). I can't watch that clip without choking up at least a little bit.
So, to all the heros, and those who served with them: Thank you.
Is this a great country or what? We get a choice -- right or wrong -- in who we select to lead us. Wait. If you're reading this on Tuesday and you haven't voted yet, STOP RIGHT NOW. Go vote. I'll wait....
(insert Jeopardy music here)
OK, thanks. Glad to have you back. Now, where was I? Oh, yeah...choosing who leads us. Our local lawmakers, judges, and national offices including federal lawmakers (ever wonder if we're making too many laws?) and the position often called Leader of the Free World.
No, the U.S. isn't the only country that chooses its leaders through elections. But I defy anyone to show me another that has done it as long and as fervently as we have. (I could go on a tangent here about the men and women who fought and died to preserve this freedom over the past two hundred and thirty something years, but you know all about that. If you don't, email me and I'll give you a quick history lesson.)
When I left my house at 5:55 this morning to walk to my polling place, I was overcome with emotion. Really. That I have the honor and privilege to choose the Leader of the Free World is pretty heady stuff when you get right down to it. I'm not saying all my choices will prove to be the correct choices once I have the benefit of hindsight. And I'm not sure all my choices will be winners. I'm just saying that they are MY CHOICES.
God, I love this Country!
We held our annual Halloween bash last Friday and, in true CurrentMarketing style, left no beer unopened and no man, woman or man dressed as a woman standing at the end of the night.
Please be kind with your comments, particularly with regard to "Big Red."
We're busy. We're growing. And we're busy .. did I already mention that?I'm looking for a couple more entry-level geeks to add to CurrentMarketing's web department. Benefits include plenty of video game talk, free soda, maybe some beer, and you'll probably even get paid!
If you want to come work with a Geek In Charge, Code Ninja and Wonder Boy (yes, those are on our business cards), you'll need to know some things from this list:
You don't have to know all of the above, but the more the better of course. If your language of preference isn't listed above, well, no worries. Tell me what you do know and we'll see what happens.
Put your resume up online somewhere and post in the comments of the blog entry.
Or seek me out on Twitter and send me a message there.
I know I’ve said it before, but I love this time of year. It’s late October and the best teams in baseball are battling to see who will be crowned world champion. It’s a time when legends are made and hearts are broken. (And in case you hadn't noticed from the first two clips, there is a glaring lack of actual baseball footage on the internet. Thanks MLB! So here is my greatest childhood baseball memory, lovingly recreated using NES RBI Baseball.)
So I thought it might be fun to look back as some classic commercials featuring the Boys of Summer; some of baseball's immortals and some not so much. Back in the 50s and 60s, it wasn't uncommon for ballplayers to take winter jobs to supplement meager earnings. So picking up an extra few bucks to shill for breakfast cereals and disposable razors was a welcome windfall. Here are a 5 of my favorites:
1) I was always a big fan of the Bob Uecker Miller Lite ads, and being a Yankee fan, this one helps me to forget the miserable season we just went through. I'm sure they're great seats Ueck, but with the ticket rates at the new Yankee Stadium, I'll never know.
2) This is a strange one: Mickey Mantle for Karo Syrup. I'm not sure what I like more, Mick's delivery or the fact that they managed to sober him up long enough to get through the filming.
3) This isn't your kid's Playstation: Roger Maris hawks Action Baseball game. Roger wasn't the most charismatic ballplayer of all time, but I can't hit a curveball, so what do I know?
4) Duke Snyder sells Ovaltine, with the help of Captain Midnight. I've got a 3 word secret clue for you. Ovaltine tastes nasty.
5) Several Dodger greats, including Roy Campanella, Don Zimmer, and Louisville's own Pee Wee Reece pitch Gillette Speed Razors. And I'll even throw in a link for a companion spot featuring Yankee, Dodger and Giant "greats" with one of the best unibrows since Frida Kahlo around the 1:22 mark. Enjoy.
MarketingProfs has released the results of a study of 600+ of its members in which they asked a series of questions about spending for 2009. No surprise that the economy has stymied spending even in 4th quarter and into 2009.
I'm extremely pleased to see that their prediction is that the economic situation will expedite the shift from traditional media to digital media. It's certainly an element that will be a much larger part of our 2009 plans. The primary argument of which we need to convince our clients is that digital marketing delivers the same thing television, radio or outdoor can - eyeballs. The difference is the qualification of those eyeballs. We can narrow TV to a demographic group and even index programs against certain behavioral tendencies. There is, however, no way to place a spot within a program that will ONLY hit people who are, for example, interested in switching banking services. Online marketing, however, allows us to reach only people who are searching for a new banking partner. So, it still delivers eyeballs, but only the eyeballs who are specifically looking for our product.
So, I ask myself (and by virtue of the blog's interactive nature, you)....why does it take an economic downturn to convince our clients that this marketing strategy is more advanced in targeting than traditional media?
While gearing up to watch the Daily Show, my wife and I occasionally flip the TV over to the CW, to watch a locally produced show Secrets of Louisville Chefs. I love the idea of this show. Louisville has a lot of great restaurants, and there seem to be more every year. I have several friends who are chefs and who deserve the recognition of one my favorite arts, but somehow, Secrets of Louisville Chefs manage to make every dish look as unappetizing as possible. I don't know what camera they use, but the picture is always bluish, suggesting mortification or mold, and the food is always shiny, making it look greasy.
It's amazing. They go to so much trouble to showcase local chefs, but seem to forget that the at-home audience can't taste the food - we have to rely on the visuals. I have a few suggestions for the producers of this show:
1. Get a better camera. It looks like you're shooting this on Beta or DV. That is so 20th century! The Panasonic HVX200A can be purchased at B&H for $5,200. It'll shoot in 1080p, and not only will your food look like it was shot on film, but you'll also build a small library of HD footage ready for when they throw the switch in 2012.
2. Get a couple of softboxes. You want to mute that light to reduce the shine. Seriously, that food looks like it was dipped in the second tank of my veggie car! Digustipating!
3. Color correct your footage. It doesn't take long and it's pretty easy. You'd be amazed at the difference in the picture if you would pull some of the blues out and actually make it look like food.
Make the investment. You won't regret it.
Interesting, and alarming, interpretation of Verizon's move to crank up their SMS rates by 3¢ per message:
http://tinyurl.com/48zy5h
Mobile Marketer predicts that Verizon's rate hike could potentially bring down the domestic mobile marketing industry. I don't feel educated enough to discredit this claim...but if it is true, then I scorn our country's inability to take advantage of a marketing avenue most Asian nations have not only grasped, but made their primary marketing vehicle.
In Korea, for example, most retail outlets have a bluetooth transmitter that will pick up on the presence of an open mobile channel in their vicinity and use that channel to push a message to a person walking just outside their doors. So, a C-store, for example, can push a "Red Bull 99¢ today only" type message to me as I walk right past the entrance to the store.
I believe the issue is most likely a lack of regulation. Not that I am for MORE laws, but if the mobile marketing industry fell under some sort of regulation, it would be extremely difficult, even impossible, for a company like Verizon to deliver an industry-crushing blow like a 3¢ rate increase. It would enable mobile companies to focus more on creative solutions to marketing to its subscribers rather than making a few cents on each of text message.
After years of being one of my favorite shows, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation sort of lost some of its luster for me last season. And by CSI, I don’t mean CSI Miami, or CSI New York or CSI Okalona, or any of the other abominations that they pass off as television programming. I’m talking about the O.G. show… CSI Las Vegas.
The season premier, “For Warrick,” was the payoff to the “For Gedda” cliffhanger from last year’s finale that left Warrick Brown shot in an alley. And since it was a foregone conclusion that Gary Dourdan’s character would not survive, (due, it seems, more to Dourdan’s off the set antics than for story reasons,) the premier was less plot resolution and more a sad goodbye to Warrick. Particularly strong was William Peterson, who usually gives a very even keeled performance as Gil Grissom. His delivery of Warrick’s eulogy was particularly moving and was one of the few times we get to see Grissom’s emotional side. (As opposed to Nick Stokes, who seems to get emotional when the weather changes.)
It isn’t that I don’t enjoy the show any more. The writing is still as good as it ever was and the performances are still interesting. (Particularly Peterson, whom I have loved since Manhunter… the original Silence of the Lambs prequel. Damn you Ed Norton for remaking that movie!) But the show has hit that point in its run where it has started to coast on its success. And there is no bigger sign than that Peterson, the show’s lead and the department’s leader, is leaving in episode 10 this season. Shows often lose actors and it isn’t always the kiss of death, but it really feels like the sharks are circling and The Fonz is revving up his bike.
But C.S.I. isn’t going down without a fight and to keep the show in the top 5, they are bringing in a heavy hitter… namely the heaviest hitter of them all, Ike Turner himself, Lawrence Fishburne, to replace Peterson as the head of CSI. Fishburne will show up in episode 9 as a permanent cast member. They are also finally replacing Jorja Fox, who’s character, Sara Sidel, left last season. Fans of Showtime’s “The L Word” will recognize, Lauren Lee Smith, who will be playing Bryce Adams, a character described by CBS as “a flirty and smart CSI who entered law enforcement to rebel against a controlling father.”
I’ll be interested to see what happens this season, because if anyone can save this show for me, it’s Morpheus.