Caffeinated Blog

Just minutes after posting Funny or Die’s Presidential Reunion video I got a new tweet from Zappos about their first TV spot for their new TV campaign featuring puppets. 3 minutes after the tweet I clicked on the link and viewed the video on Youtube. The video had 317 views. I’ll be checking in same time tomorrow to see how the video did in the first 24 hours.

And as I was finishing up this post I got email from Adage. One of the feature stories was titled “Why Apple’s Oscar Ad Won’t Go Viral” given that Apple typically eschews social media and online campaigns.

Two tweets and an email in a matter of minutes – all concerning big names and their potential viral video. It will be interesting to see if all 3 of these campaigns see big numbers online.

Another video about the serious subject of consumer protection – the prequel to the Ron Howard video below. This is funny and an excellent example of the power of viral video. 2,570,056 views as of this writing.

Ron Howard teamed up with plastic reality fixture Heidi Montag to film a PSA for The Main Street Brigade. They are using humor to drum up support for the creation of an independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Effective?

Found a great video of Seth Godin speaking in 2003. Lessons are still very relevant:

My wife and I visited San Diego for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Sunday morning rolled around and it was time for breakfast. We wanted to find a ‘local’ spot instead of one of the big chain restaurants. We got on our iPhones and used UrbanSpoon to help us find a spot. We zeroed in on a restaurant that had over 90 positive reviews with just a couple of negative reviews.

We proceeded to the restaurant. I can tell you that without the 90 positive reviews we never would have eaten at the place much less found it. It was just outside the high traffic touristy area and the decor left a lot to be desired. It had that grungy, been there too long, old bar feel to it.

The food however was fantastic and we had a great time there. I overheard a couple (obviously ‘locals’) that walked in behind us say “It looks like this place has been discovered”. They weren’t amused.

Without all the glowing reviews we never would have found this place. Had we not read all those positive reviews we might have been a little more close minded when we walked in and saw the decor. In fact, we may have turned and left and then missed out on a great experience.

People will often take the time to leave a negative review. I think it is even more important to leave positive reviews when you’ve been given reason to do so. Help really great businesses, especially small businesses that just don’t have the resources to get the word out through traditional advertising. I know a bike shop in Atlanta that is outside the city in a hard to find industrial area in a little hole in the wall shop. The shop is The Bicycle Doctor and owner Scott is building his business by providing exceptional service. His customers are so passionate about him that they have taken the time to post no less than 67 positive reviews on Atlanta based Kudzu.com – far more than any other bike shop. The reviews generate more business and I have no doubt that Scott’s service will continue to generate more positive reviews. In the end Scott wins, the bike community in Atlanta wins and the brands that Scott represents win.

Some sites where you can leave a review include Yelp.com, UrbanSpoon.com and Kudzu.com. You can also post a review on Google.com when you do a local search and the business pops up on the map. Just click on the ‘more info’ tab.

With Web 2.0 came a new openness. People now regularly Twitter, Blog and post to Facebook things they never would have broadcast to the world prior to Web 2.0. With great openness comes great opportunity for your competition and even criminals. I just read an MSNBC article that talks about how people tweet that they are on vacation giving details about where and how long they will be gone. The whole world now knows that their house is sitting empty and for how long. This just seems like a bad idea. Would you post an ad in a newspaper letting the whole town know that you are away and your house is empty? Interesting read and a little bit of a lesson… http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31921967/ns/business-consumer_news/

Yes, Facebook, Twitter and Blogs are essentially free from a monetary standpoint. There are however other costs – primarily the resources and time that you need to devote to these social mediums. I believe that the costs are still considerably less than a company would have to spend on traditional media to achieve similar results. See what they think at MSNBC.com:

A great example of a viral video with high production values. 12 million views and counting…

I read an interesting AP article on MSNBC this morning titled “As buyers shift from wants to needs, ads follow“.  The article talks about how brands are advertising in this drawn out ressession.  Inexpensive staple items like Hamburger Helper and Kool-Aid are in, gourmet oils, sauces and beverages are out.  The most telling example was Home Depot who are pushing items like potting soil and hand tools says the article.  Last spring they were focusing on dream kitchens!

The moral of the story – firms need to evaluate what they are maketing and can’t make the same pitch they made a year ago.

Leading up to his inauguration then President Elect Obama was asked on more than a few occasions to comment on the economy and crisis on the Gaza Strip.  Most times he would say that “there can be only one President at a time” and abstain from interjecting what he thought the U.S. should do.

The Internet was a key element in President Obama’s campaign.  His team’s mastery of it to build grass roots support, communicate with his base and raise money was crucial to winning the Democratic Nomination and the Presidency.

So it was more than symbolic that at 12:01 on January 20, 2009 we had a new President and a brand new www.Whitehouse.gov.  It wasn’t just the President’s name on the site that changed, it was an entirely new site.  New architecture and functions that include up to the minute updates and information.  A site that includes video, a blog, slide shows, and text about what the president is doing and why.  Text from Obama’s first speech as President was posted shortly after he concluded.  There was a slide show of his first day in office.  Visitors can view the inauguration speech video and even download a higher quality version.  There will even be a weekly video address on the new site.

President Obama has said throughout the campaign that his administration would be “open and transparent”.  Just a minute into is presidency he proved that he meant what he said when his team posted the new site.

The importance President Obama placed on using the internet to craft his image and get his message out is something no business person should ignore.  After all, this is a man that raised hundreds of millions of dollars online and was able to use the web to bring his supporters together like no other.  President Obama has made the Internet an important part of his overall communication strategy.  Nothing reflected that more than the change we say at 12:01 on January 20, 2009.