Cabernet Logic

Seth's IPhone Challenge

Seth Godin has thrown down the IPhone challenge. With speculation running rampant, everyone has their two cents on whether the IPhone will fail, meet or exceed expectations.

Great time to point out how cool and powerful the blog world is when i get to voice my opinions and guesstimates along side some of the best in the world...so here goes it...

I am going to agree with Seth on this one. He quotes Laura in his article and showcases her opinion of the phone fading into the all-in-one technology abyss. Though the argument may have some legs, her example of Steve Jobs moving to another project thus leaving the phone to fizzle seems a bit skewed. Steve is not dealing with the IPod on a daily basis and it seems to break new barriers every year.

All in all, whether it sells 2 million or 10 million it will forever change the face of the cell phone industry. Look at the MP3 market. Sure the market existed pre-IPod, but not to the extent we find today. Back then it was a few choices from a few manufacturers and they were being built on the company's terms not the users.

The competition to beat the IPod has created cheaper alternatives, new features, and new form factors. The IPhone will do the same. Will the entire cell-using world change? NO WAY. Will the entire world benefit? MOST DEFINITELY!

So my guess is 1.7 million in 2007 (I expect Nintendo Wii problems with shipping and distribution). The only variable is the carrier deal with Cingular/AT&T - they do not have the best track record at making customers stay. Maybe our next challenge/pool should be everyone making their picks on whether a neat piece of high technology is enough to overcome a customer's displeasure for a carrier brand. Place your bets...feel free to TrackBack your opinions here as well.

The Bi-Polar Bear

This is one of my favorite cheesy stories to tell, but it really has a strong message in regards to marketing and advertising.

My wife and I were enjoying a trip to Gatlinburg, where one of my goals was to take a picture of a real-live Brown Bear in the wild. Not even a mile along a driving trail, traffic is stopped and in the ditch is a real-live Brown Bear - its huge, 4 or 5 foot, hands like baseball mitts - its incredible!

I am on the side of the road clicking away. Through the lens, this animal is amazing. It appears so soft, so cuddly, eating away with the occasional glance towards the paparazzi-like crowd of amateur photogs across the street. Through the viewfinder it looks so perfect, so easy-going; my creative side is framing shot after shot of what i consider to be great stuff. Then it happens...one of the camera's flash catches the bear's attention and it raises up. I too raise up from behind the camera and see this bear through my own eyes. Less than 10 feet in front of me, there stands a Brown Bear on its hind legs. Its towering at this point, teeth showing, claws bigger than my fingers, reality sets in.

I slowly make my way back to the car and joke with my wife who has been hiding behind locked doors this whole time, "Babe, did you see how fast that bear went from friendly to ferocious? It must have been a bi-polar bear...ha ha...get it...bi-polar...polar bear...?" Yeah she laughed about as much as you are right now, little to none.

After thinking about it though, I made the same mistake so many businesses make. I got lost behind the lens of my camera. Whether it still or video or simply the concept of marketing, companies fail by thinking they know their audience and making their campaign pitches based on THEIR perceptions, not those of THEIR customers. Jeremy Bullmore summed this up years ago with the idea "a business is selling a drill" but "the customer is buying the hole in the wall." 

Lesson learned, make sure you are still in touch with your customers. Don't get caught up in making such a great product or image or brand that you forget who you are selling it too. With all your major projects, take a step away, look in with the eyes of the customer, does the bear still look so friendly?

URLs and Ideas

Seth Godin started a conversation in respect to the affordability of web URLs and how that can change how we approach our business in repsect to the web.

As with most of his posts, bloggers and businesss people all had their comments and thoughts on the subject. Steve - Before It Was Around -  took the dicussion further listing his past URLs and their place in the web today.

I liked the exercise as I ran through some of the past URLs I had purchased. The list of expired or un-acted upon URLs were merely $10 reminders of the creative process....yeah there were moments of pride swallowing as i counted up how many projects have expired or not developed. We have hundreds of ideas a day and only get to pursue a handful. So with no pride swallowing, actually with a little laughter, here are my favorite URLs that have sat dormant this year:

PaulaPassesOut.com - aw come on, at the beginning of this year's season of American Idol, it seemed inevitable that she would fall over at the judges' table. I envisioned a site dedicated to the fallout and backlash humor of Paula and the world's obsession with Pop Culture.

Thegratefulbreadtour.com - bought this one for a baker friend of mine. We were going global with t-shirts, bread recipes, bumper stickers...it was going to be a virtual gathering place for hippies and bakers alike. Today it sits empty like an old VW bus and that Ty-dyed shirt in your closet.

DamnGoodVideo.com - now this is one of my favorite. SURE, Youtube beat me to the punch on this one. I have not figured out how to be different from Youtube and I certainly do not have any plans on competing with them...BTW for the familiy friendly i bought the mirror darngoodvideo.com. Always thinking ahead with my inactivity.

Unwrapthefun.com - I bought this thinking it would be a contest site(even planned on pitching it to a candybar company)..then a friend pointed out the natural adult themes that could be assumed...does everything online come back to porn?

How about you guys? What are your favorite URLs that did not pan out? Why leave it at URLs, what about ideas, think about it, a URL is nothing more than an idea in its earliest stage, a book title if you will...keep in mind though, Scott the Name Tag Guy says, "once you have a title, the book is basically done."

Thanking all the way to the bank...

I just read a very interesting post from Cord at Marketing Hipster. It involves Nike and their new ad campaign slyly thanking the ignorance of Imus for promoting Rutgers, women's basketball, and female student athletes in general.

The full page ad displayed the following with the obvious Nike Swoop:

Thank you, ignorance.
Thank you for starting the conversation.
Thank you for making an entire nation listen to the Rutgers team’s story. And for making us wonder what other great stories we’ve missed. Thank you for reminding us to think before we speak.
Thank you for showing us how strong and poised 18 and 20-year-old women can be.
Thank you for reminding us that another basketball tournament goes on in March.
Thank you for showing us that sport includes more than the time spent on the court.
Thank you for unintentionally moving women’s sport forward.
And thank you for making all of us realize that we still have a long way to go.
Next season starts 11.16.07.

In a similiar layout you think their letter to Imus was something like this:

Thank you for your ignorance.
Thank you for starting the conversation.
Thank you for making an entire nation invite our logo into their lives. Thank you for the endless coverage of press conferences, photo ops, and ESPN stories in which the players proudly wore their team colors baring a beautifully placed Nike Swoop. Thank you Imus for providing brand placement in national media that even Nike cannot buy.

You can almost envision Imus in the studio with his next contract, sitting there in his long coat with his cowboy hat..what's that right beside his headphones...is that a Nike Swoop?

The Art of Falling...on fire :-)

Alright, I have been receiving a few emails from some readers that have crossed me back to my TV job with Club Hour on Beach TV. A few of you out there - and there are only a few reading this - have inquired about the "old days" of stunt work and diving shows.

In theme with the concept of quitting, falling down and making educated decisions of whether or not to push through the "DIP" as Seth calls it, here is a fun video of a charity stunt show I was doing for my community pool.

I concede that the "Dip" in this clip might not be a HUGE one in respect to careers or long term goals, but as i lay on the pool deck on fire I had to make the decision, do i push on - get up and climb on that board or simply roll into the water and decide to focus on the rest of the show. Ah watching now and laughing out loud i know this was a Dip that was worth pushing through...now the second fall, that was plain stupid.

The lesson in this video, its okay to make a mistake as long as you are prepared to follow through for your customer...of course one would like to think you would learn from the first fall thus preventing the second.

What we Can't Do...

Seth and Michele point out some great issues with customer service with their post's today.

Seth, referring to some customers being jerks, stated "If you're going to be in the service business, you need to accept that or you're going to hate it and be lousy at it, both at the same time."

I wonder, when did customer service become more about "what we CAN'T do" versus "How can we help you?"

This is true in HUGE corporations but equally true in simple neighborly behavior. Helping people for the sake of helping them - with no expectations of gain - isn't that what makes us good people? Sure its inconvenient at times, but its the right thing to do AND it makes a huge difference - to you, to the world, and especially to the person you helped out.

To quit or not to quit

..that has been a widely asked question throughout the blog world lately. Its not as bad as it sounds, all this quitting chatter is in reference to Seth Godin's new book The Dip - A little book that teaches you when to quit (and when to stick).

Much in the fashion of Seth's teachings, he has already created a buzz for the book by simply talking about it. In one interview with Guy Kawasaki, he was quoted saying "It’s time to quit when you secretly realize you’ve been settling for mediocrity all along. It’s time to quit when the things you’re measuring aren’t improving, and you can’t find anything better to measure."

Jaya asked for readers to share their Dip. My Dip was in 1998. I had been chasing the dream of making the Olympic Team in diving for about 10 years at that point. I would always joke with my coach about how long i had to compete before i could call my quitting "retirement." (As with most of our youth sport's machine, I was taught QUIT was a 4 letter word.) Not having the time to pursue school or any real job at that point, i decided it was time to quit.

How little did I know about how that quitting would change my life. By getting out then, it opened doors for me. I took an overseas contract to perform in Stunt Shows. This led to world travels which ultimitely led to a great job in TV entertainment, in which I enjoy today. I still like to think back and pretend I "retired" from the sport, but call it what you will, it was the best decision I could have ever made.

Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting quitting cold in an answer to problems. Using a calculated decision of what resources are required for a task and where those resources could be better spent is what quitting in the business world should be all about. Seth says it well in his interview exceprts and I am sure the book will turn out to be an eye-opener for a lot of the cubicle nation.

   

Listening to Your Customers

True story...

At a local wind tasting with friends and one of asks a booth operator, "Do you have a Chardonnay that is oakey and buttery?"

The rep responds, "I have the perfect fit for you," he beings pouring and continues, "well its not really that oakey and its definitely not a huge buttery style chard BUT i am sure you are going to like it."

The best way - I believe - to build a relationship would be to listen to your customers goals. Open your ears and share your honesty; you may not be able to provide for their initial needs but you can become a trusted resource for their future ones.

But No One Else Does It...

...and that is exactly why he did! I work in marketing and advertising for visitor information TV stations. Our traditional client base consists of restaurants, attractions, bars/clubs, and retail - all things you consider when thinking vacation.

When I approached Ben Bollinger, a criminal defense lawyer in the area, about sponsoring our bar show, he asked, "Why should I?" The answer was simple; because no one else does. No other lawyer in our community viewed the millions of visitors a year as potential clients. Imagine being so successful you could overlook this audience and continue the inward focus on your local customer base. Great time to note that the typical local already has a lawyer of choice, advertising to them is risky, selling something they are not in the market for.

Now visitors on the other hand, even if they have a lawyer back home, he/she cannot practice in our area - its not cost feasible to travel here for something simple like a DUI. Ben marketed to this niche, branded himself as "The Spring Break Lawyer" as the "Visitor's Lawyer" and quickly owned the brand.

And did it work? What started out as a local campaign on a small local visitors station landed Ben in a feature article in the Wall Street Journal, an appearance on Bill O'Reilly's program, a feature on Inside Edition, and a story about him on the CBS nightly news. He found an audience with a need and filled it, and at the same time has managed to turn his name into a brand both locally and nationally.

Here's to all those NOT willing to take the risk, it leaves a world of opportunities for those of us that are!

How Times Have Changed...

Alright so I am walking through the electronics section in Wal-Mart and these two young guys approach me, look around discreetly, and say, "Hey man, if we give you money, will you buy us...."

Before I finish, we have all been there - slipping our friend's older brother a few bucks to buy us a six pack or cigs back when they were cool, heck, half the challenges we faced in high school involved how were we going to get whatever we needed when we were not nearly old enough to have it.

Okay back to Wal-mart..."Hey man, if we give you money, will you buy us a video game?"

"A VIDEO GAME?!? Umm okay..." (what was I supposed to do, now I am sure i just admitted to some law being broken, but there I was with two teens buying a video game...to make the entire experience worse, I had to infer I was their older brother - it was that or their dad and I am not ready to accept that age yet...)

Alright we are all aware that underage drinking has actually gone down in the states, but at what cost. The drinking turns out to be a gateway infraction to something much much worse...there's a new "E" in town and it stands for Electronic Arts....

(any represetation of a law being broken in the above story is merely a ficticious account of what could have happened in today's times.)