Not true that younger generations won't pay for digital content Contrary to popular belief, not everyone demands content for free.

A new whitepaper from Ad Age Insights found that even the most demanding digital content consumers, the teens and young adults, understand there is sometimes a price to pay.

by Helen Leggatt
BizReport.com

Young adults, teens and tweens have been brought up in a world where media is easily accessible and the choice of channels and content is immense.

In fact, they spend over seven and a half hours a day with media. Many have drawn the conclusion that this means those generations are less likely to accept having to pay for it.

However, a new whitepaper from Ad Age Insights, "The On-Demand Generation", found that this isn't necessarily true. Their research found that even these media saturated generations realize that some content commands a price, be it monetary or via watching or participating in advertising.

"To them, the value of content online can be just as worth a price tag as cable or network TV shows and they're also -- surprisingly -- not averse to advertising," according to Ad Age's Beth Snyder Bulik, author of the report.

"But it better be good advertising, and it better not take more than a nanosecond to load."

Mitch Drew
National Sales Executive
NeuLion
mitch.drew@neulion.com

Related article:
Netflix, Fox expand deal for streaming content

F5-Expo puts the Social back into Social Media

Malcolm Gladwell asks an audience to look at the downside of Social Media and delivers a powerful message about human behavior

VANCOUVER – The F5-Expo was held at the Vancouver Convention Centre yesterday in the shadow of what only a month ago was the 2010 Winter Olympics International Broadcast Centre. As I looked out at the centre, it seemed like so long ago that the eyes of the world were staring back. It was business as usual and time for yet another tech conference in a location where I have attended tech conferences for close to 15 years.

The overall conference started and ended with the theme “what kind of impact on our society does social media have”? Or better yet, it left us all asking the same question, does social media really make us more social?


Tod Maffin crash and burn

The morning keynote was delivered by local author and new media guru Tod Maffin whose presentation clearly identified two things: First, that humans can NOT multi-task, they can only switch tasks and and do more things less effectively and second, our mental health is really being tested by the speed of business and all of this hyper interconnectivity. He went on to demonstrate that at the height of his career, when he was peaking financially and personally, he ended up having a breakdown due to the fact that his life had become so ‘multi task’ oriented that his brain could not keep up.

Social Media, Video Content and Mobile

During the day, the panels consisted of social media experts, ad agency and technology providers who all had great stories of successful viral campaigns and outstanding results in spreading the word about a brand using this ‘new tool’ called word of mouth…without the mouth. The panels were excellent and provided many in attendance with a larger snapshot of what can be achieved using the power of social media AND what you should look out for if planning on adding a social media strategy to your communications or advertising.


Malcolm Gladwell brings it all home

With stories of Fidel Castro’s rise in power to eventually leading a revolution in Cuba (without a Twitter or Facebook account) compared to Barack Obama’s tech-savy circumvention of the US political process, Gladwell demonstrated a key point. Social networking is NOT really all that social and it does not create groups who trust each other and certainly could not get a group together to overthrow a government. Social networks are wide and thin, consisting of ‘weak’ contacts that are extremely valuable to you, but are not as close to you as we all believe.

Technology helped get Obama elected President. However, technology is not helping his current followers stay connected and certainly did not and can not help build the solid foundation required for massive change. We are already seeing this with the low approval ratings of the current US administration.

Gladwell has openly commented that he is NOT an active social networker and in his personal time he yearns for more free time and less time online.

The conference was a great success, was extremely well attended and certainly opened up my eyes to a clear reality.

Social Networking can increase the number of contacts, associates, followers and friends but it may not increase the ‘depth’ of their friendship to you, loyalty to you or ability for you to depend on them longer term to either purchase your brand, vote for you or fight in the next revolution for you.

Mitch Drew

Mitch Drew is National Sales Executive for an Internet TV provider NeuLion. He is an active blogger, social media practioner, advertising consultant and Malcolm Gladwell fan.

mitch.drew@insinc.com
www.NeuLion.com

MITCH TV getting visitors from all over the world!

Thank you to all of our visitors. It's great to see the interest from all over the world. Appreciate the emails as well.

Mitch

Mitch Drew
National Sales Executive
mitch.drew@insinc.com
INSINC NeuLion

TV Works on the Web, but TV Advertising Won't

Will TV Everywhere Simply Become an Extension of TV Advertising? Let's Hope Not

AdAge.com
Posted by Thomas Morgan
04.02.10 @ 11:30 AM

As the vision of TV Everywhere comes to market, there are significant pressures on both broadcast and cable networks to close the "parity gap" between traditional TV and the emerging distribution channel we call internet television. But does internet TV need to conform to the ad practices and inventory loads of traditional TV? Does TV Everywhere simply become an extension of the ad inventory of traditional linear television? That is a $70 billion question.

CLICK HERE to view the entire post

Mitch Drew
National Sales Executive
INSINC Neulion
mitch.drew@insinc.com

How Adam Carolla Became a Podcast Superstar

In just over a year, Carolla, 45, has used this same improvisational approach to lift podcasting from the realm of amateur audio and video blogging to an increasingly professional medium with real revenue potential. His daily talk show was an immediate hit -- more than 50 million downloads in its first year -- and was named iTunes's best audio podcast of 2009.

By aggregating a devoted audience and then experimenting with new ways of interacting with it, Carolla is both taking advantage of an opportunity and creating one. Analysts at eMarketer predict that U.S. podcast listenership will approach 38 million by 2013, more than double 2008's audience. Meanwhile, traditional media has mostly used podcasting to repurpose preexisting TV and radio content -- the same mistake newspapers and magazines made with the Web, opening the door to outsiders.

CLICK HERE for the article at Fast Company

Major League Soccer's slick new video service debuts in Seattle

Tonight's Sounders game is an especially big opener for Major League Soccer, which is using the Seattle game to debut new online services for fans, including a high-def streaming video service.

Not coincidentally, a lot of the services are based on technology from Microsoft, which is a major sponsor of the league and the Sounders.

U.S. soccer fans on average are more technologically inclined than the general public, and the league is counting on new digital services to keep growing its popularity, said Chris Schlosser, MLS director of digital strategy.

Schlosser, a former product planner in Microsoft's MSN group, led the development of entirely new Web sites for the league and individual teams that are also debuting at today's game.

"It's one of the most significant investments our [league] ownership group has ever made,'' he said. "They clearly see our fan base is digital and the future growth of our league is driven by continued growth in the digital space."

The new online video service, called MatchDay Live, will stream up to three games at once and provide digital video recorder-like features, including pause, rewind and "instant replay."

"This really changes the experience for the MLS," said Chris Wagner, executive vice president of NeuLion, a New York-based company that built the player for MLS.


CLICK HERE for the entire post from The Seattle Times

Valpak creates Coupon Application for Mobile Discounts

CLICK HERE to see the Valpak Coupon Application download page

The end of the AD MEN as seen on MAD MEN

Why advertising has changed forever and will never go back to the way is was.

VANCOUVER – As a young boy I was introduced to the ad business because my Father worked in advertising. It was a fun and dynamic world that was full of exciting characters, creative people, energy and money.

I grew up in a neighborhood were most of my friends parents were doctors, lawyers and other professionals. We all had nice homes, two nice cars, stay-at-home moms and lived a great life full of swimming pools, backyard BBQ’s and vacations. My father was NOT a doctor or lawyer, he was in advertising.

The AD MEN of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s were wild characters. They drove the best cars, ate in the best restaurants, hung out with the sports celebrities and enjoyed Martini’s with agency buyers and direct clients until the order was booked. Often, business wasn’t even discussed during these infamous lunches and the contract renewals just flowed like the wine and fine food.

I always knew when one of my Father’s fellow ‘peddlers’ would show up by the flashy cars they drove, the swagger in their walk and the way they spoke.

This ‘elite’ group of well paid advertising wizards truly did help their customers sell more products and increase sales. They played a key role in the success of so many of the brands we now know today.

When I followed in the footsteps of my Father and entered the ad game myself, my expectations were to continue the exciting life that had I had been exposed to. After 25 years in the business myself, I can say that it's been very good to me too. I’ve earned large sums of money, owned expensive cars, traveled and tasted what life looks like from a private suite at an NHL hockey game and court-side seats at an NBA game. The life of the AD MEN in the 80’s and 90’s was still pretty sweet.

Enter the dot.com boom of 1998 and the bust of 2001

My guess is the first wave of the dot com boom at the end of the century was the beginning of the end for life as we know it in the typical ad world.

First, technology and specifically the internet started getting traction and although most of the business models had not taken hold, we knew as a society that this ‘connectivity’ thing was going to change the way people and brands interact with each other. When the ‘dot bomb’ hit in April 2001, it really was the start of what we see today as a major shift in the old style of advertising and marketing brands, products and services.

2010 marks the end of the AD BIZ as we know it.

Fast forward to 2010 and we might as well say that the old model of advertising is over and the AD MEN as depicted in MAD MEN wouldn’t stand a chance in today’s world.

The idea that a brand can create a cute positioning line, advertise it on TV and increase market share is still possible, it’s just more complicated now. The number of ways that a consumer is able to connect with a product is growing and the flow of information is no longer one-way. In fact it is no longer just two-way as consumers communicate with each other using blogs and Wiki’s.

The AD MEN of today better have a more open attitude about how traditional media and new media will work together to create advertising that is relevant and effective. The successful AD MEN of 2010 will convince advertisers to keep a percentage of their budgets in traditional, larger reach mediums like TV while encouraging them to ramp up online, social media and mobile marketing initiatives. Make no mistake, this is an exciting time to be in advertising. The AD MEN that recognize and embrace the new way of communicating with customers will succeed and continue to play a role in the success of their advertisers.

Mitch Drew

Mitch Drew is a television advertising salesperson in Vancouver. He is an active blogger, writer and social media expert.

This article was inspired by a conversation about the book.

Googled: The End of the World as We Know It by Ken Auletta

mitchdrewmedia@gmail.com

'Faces Of Social Media' Unveiled: Knowledge Networks, MediaPost Partner On Category Specific Research

To help marketers, agencies and publishers understand how social media is influencing consumer brand perception and purchasing decisions, Knowledge Networks has teamed with MediaPost Communications Inc., the publisher of Online Media Daily and the parent of the Center for Media Research, to launch the "Faces of Social Media," a new, long-term tracking study providing a consumer-centric view of social media's affect on 30 key product categories.

CLICK HERE for the story from MediaPost

Reaching the “purchase ready” consumer today.

Advertisers keep asking the question ‘how do I reach new customers today’ and the answer is to look at the many ways customers interact with media and make sure that your brand is were it needs to be!

There are some very simple steps to follow as you plot a course of connection with a new customer.

Step one: Start at the moment of the sale and work backwards.

This concept is a little different than the old approach of a typical ad persuasion technique (run an expensive TV campaign and so many people will see it that your product HAS TO sell). When we look at the customer on the floor and think about how he got there, we can start plotting a way to reach new customers.

As an example, let’s look at a typical new car buyer. Chances are the potential customer in the showroom has spent a considerable amount of time online doing research about the specific vehicle he is looking at purchasing. He will likely have looked up some consumer reviews, surfed a few personal blogs and even viewed video of the vehicle in action. This consumer is smart, savvy and is not going to react to a free cup of coffee or just a slick sales presentation. He wants verification of the information he already knows.

Step two: Hire an online consultant.

Have an outside online consultant look at your business and determine how your brand is positioned in your geographical area. This consultant may need to ‘log on’ using a server that has an address in your specific area to ensure that all other competitor information and targeted information is appearing. Ask the consultant to attempt to find a specific product (in this example a specific auto make/model) on your web site and see how long it takes them to ‘drill down’ and find you! Your consultant may find that there are local information sites, auto blogs and other car related content sites that are an excellent place for your dealership to appear…either as a contributor or as an advertiser.

Step Three: Create content and add value to the consumer experience.

Make all of your advertising interactive and relevant to your new mobile and active customer. It sounds simple but setting up a blog, creating custom video content and engaging in social media is an excellent way to cast a wide internet web of links back to your site and your inventory. In your newspaper, TV and Radio include a ‘text to win’ or ‘text for a free gas card’ offer of some kind so that potential customers can connect with you. Have multiple ways for customers to get in touch with you. Have a sexy phone number that is easy to remember and use a cool URL that is easy to say and easy to remember.

Step Four: Be cool.

Staying current online and using the technology available in your advertising and customer contact makes your business look cool. If 65% of your potential customers are on Facebook and you are NOT….they might not think that you are up to date in other areas of your business.

Step Five: More is better.

The days of finding one place to advertising and banging the drum over and over is over! Mix up your media and move the placement of your brand name and contact information so that people will not only bump into your brand in a number of places…but with a media mix you will tend to reach more people overall. As you “lure” them into your web of contact…you can start communicating with them more intimately and provide them with compelling reasons to shop in your location.

Conclusion: Connect and follow.

Advertise in a traditional way and entice potential customers to connect with you.

Give everyone as many options as possible so if they want to call you, text you, email you, be your friend, tweet you or comment on your blog.

Connect and follow up with each and every person who connects with you. Follow up and take your time with the contact. The new consumer has more time and more resources to make informed decisions. You need to be current and eager and yet keep the customers in control of their own experience.

Advertising, marketing and merchandising hasn’t changed all that much...but your ability to connect with a customer at the time they are ‘purchase ready’ has. This means your competition has the ability to ‘pluck’ a customer from your store with a better deal sent to their iPhone. Be sharp, be connected and use the tools that are all around you to beat your competition.

Mitch Drew

Mitch Drew is an advertising professional in Vancouver, Canada. He specializes in TV advertising and is an active writer, blogger and social networking expert. mitchdrewmedia@gmail.com