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IMARKETING REPORT 08.06.02:
Kill for Teens; You Think?; Pay For It; Yahoo! Sucks.
>> I Ain't Paying for Sh!t!
Good morning execs,
Analysts, accountants, executives, and
bankers are being tarred and feathered.
But last week, I read two very interesting
articles that point out a fact that's con-
stant in every corporate scandal: nothing
could have been executed without the
help of a lawyer. Turns out, we're
trying to regulate the wrong industry,
since it's the lawyers who OK things
before anyone else does it. Geez, who's
next, doctors, for keeping all these bums
alive long enough to commit fraud?!
I mean, are we that eager to point fingers,
and not accept responsibility for anything.
Why not use all this energy to fix the
problem instead and move on?
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2002/0812/058.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/04/business/yourmoney/04LAWY.html
Following up on a study I highlighted
last week on how the internet has
gained ground on other traditional
media except print, last week, there
was another report saying the opposite,
that even print is loosing out. Decide
for yourself: "The
internet is now the
third source for news, views and en-
tertainment - after TV and radio, beating
newspapers and magazines into fourth
and fifth place. The most surprising
finding of the study was that the sea-
change in media habits is not confined
to the young or the affluent, or even to
men. It applies across all demographic
groups." I'm obviously a big supporter
of the internet, but at the rate these
reports are being released, they're
making all other reports loose credibility.
What we really need is a couple of
non-internet researchers telling us
the web is better, but that ain't gonna
happen because most of these big guys
are in the business of telling clients
what they want to hear, rather than
what's really going on.
CONTENTS:
1. BRANDS&INSIGHTS: Killing and Maiming Your Way to a
Corporate Sponsorship
2. CONSUMERFOCUS: Thinking Hurts the Bottom Line
3. MEDIA&CONTENT: I Ain't Paying For Sh!t
4. MGMT&OPS: What I Learned From Yahoo!
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1. BRANDS&INSIGHTS: Killing and Maiming Your Way to
a Corporate Sponsorship
So let me get this straight: if I assault
someone, and happen to be a basket-
ball player, sales of my endorsed pro-
ducts increase? hmmmmm... "Now
that most of the criminal charges
against NBA All-Star Allen Iverson
have been dismissed, a cynic might
wonder if his Reebok shoes, which
experienced an increase in sales after
news of his arrest earlier this month,
will still sell as well." According to
this Brandweek, "kids are intrigued
with the balance between good skills
on the court and bad behavior off of it."
So, as long as you're good at what
you do, it's ok to commit a crime, b/c
no one's going to do anything to you
anyway. Are R.Kelly Sony-cams
next? Limited-edition Jayson Williams
limousines? At what point does a
brand decide that a spokesperson that
breaks the law is actually great for sales?
BOTTOM LINE: There is no question
that getting through to teens is difficult.
After working in high schools and grammar
schools for a semester, I can tell you that
the only time I got through was when we
discussed non-school related subjects.
Athletes get through, but not consciously.
Singers get through, but not because it's
what they set out to do. And because
these celebrities aren't trying to be role
models, they don't think that their actions
have consequences. Their actions affect
the level of difficulty in reaching kids,
forcing marketers to raise the bar even
more in the approach they take to talk
to kids. But getting through to them isn't
really that hard. They may not admit it,
but they appreciate role models. A teacher,
coach, parent, or celeb all influence kids.
They still go to church and love their
families. And there's more of them online
than you think just waiting to be reached
the right way. Marketers, this is a call
to stop sponsoring celebs that do in-
appropriate things, because they are nega-
tively influencing your future audience.
In a generation, you'll have to start endorsing
rapists and serial killers just to get their
attention. Don't let it come to that.
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2. CONSUMERFOCUS: Thinking Hurts the Bottom Line
What if I told you that if you copied
and pasted portions of my newsletter
into any other writing, you have secretly
bestowed on me the right to hack into
your computer, cut you off from the web,
and there's nothing you can do about it?
If that scenario gets you as incensed as
it did me, get your congressman on the
phone right now, because California wants
to do just that to you if you're downloading
music. Yup, they want to allow record
labels to basically have their
way with
consumer's computers so that they can
fix this p2p issue once and for all. It's bad
enough that the internet radio business
model was almost destroyed by forcing
online radio stations to pay huge licensing
fees for playing music, but now, every loon
with a gavel wants to dictate how I use the
web. Little by little, ignorant politicians are
trying to dismantle the internet. Some
moron out in some European court has ac-
tually said that the deep linking I just des-
cribed is illegal too, so that scenario wasn't
actually exaggerated. Even popping an
ad over someone else's website can get
you in hot water these days, just like Gator.
The message is clear: stop thinking as a
consumer about what you want because
we want to continue telling you how we
want you to do things.
BOTTOM LINE: Who would you bet on?
If you're thinking "the consumer", you've
already got what it takes to run your own
successful business. Sure, everyone says
that the consumer is always first, but how
many companies actually practice what they
preach. As long as there are two people
using the internet to talk to each other, com-
panies can continue to sue the heck out of
each other, because it won't stop consumers
from finding what they want, whether it be
from you or other sources. Many marketers
know that the internet is an interactive medium
which allows them to talk to their consumers
and vice versa, but really, in all your time
using the internet, have you felt talked to?
Marketers, how are you talking to your
consumers using a pop-up? How can you
understand what your consumers are thinking
by analyzing their "click streams"? Sure,
email works when you want to talk to your
consumers, but only when your consumers
are pre-installed, meaning, buying a list, no
matter how relevant to your brand, will
eventually not work because as Seth Godin
has been telling you, "you need their permission."
Believe it or not, consumers do think, and
guess what, they really don't care that you
think for them.
READ MORE:
http://news.findlaw.com/ap/ht/1700/7-26-2002/20020726023002_14.html
http://home.cnet.com/software/0-8888-8-20161097-1.html
http://www.measurecast.com
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3. MEDIA&CONTENT: I Ain't Paying For Sh!t
By now, I'm sure you've heard that people
have actually spent more on internet content
this year than last. So, in some insane act
of self-worth, ABC has decided to re-air their
news online for a fee. First on ABC: let's
face it folks, if I can watch the same sh!t
on TV for free, why would I pay for it?
Yes, ABC argues that it's "on demand" so
you can watch their programming at any
time, but let's get serious people, I really don't
need to pay ABC to watch Peter Jennings'
crinkly butt telling me stuff I can read online
for free. Is that pompous or what? Actually
selling old news online! Now, the consumer,
who has spent so much money online: With
a collective sigh of relief, financial data, news,
dating, and entertainment have finally taken
off as viable internet services for the masses.
Some $300 MM in new revenue has material-
ized, but do marketers know how to leverage
their pre-installed consumer base to make more
money from them online? Before you go
registering 500 domain names and buying email
lists at incredible $0.000002/cpm, it's important
that you understand your consumer's need
online with regards to your product/content/
service.
BOTTOM LINE: The business argument:
with these results, we now have proof that
our model was viable all along. Consumers
do appreciate and value what we have and
we're going to exploit that and continue to
deliver valuable content that our customers
will continue to pay for. The consumer ar-
gument: Hey honey! Where'd this $30 charge
come from on the Visa?! Actually, that's
an exaggeration. Just because I'd never pay
for something doesn't mean regular consumers
won't. Remember, with 3 billion web pages,
consumers will pay for the convenience of
having what they perceive to be the best. But
how long will this pay-for-web services
continue? I'm guessing indefinitely, but not
at the 155%/year clip it's going now. Pay-for
web services is a novelty, and like any novelty,
it arouses curiosity. People want to know
what the heck an online company is charging
for. After the novelty is gone, people will
probably pay at a slower pace. Pay-for-web
will become the next growth area when
more computers with fast internet access
are available in every location imaginable
that no matter where a person is they can
access their accounts. No, I'm not still living
in the internet bubble, because even though
businesses fail, doesn't mean consumers have.
They're still out there, they're still getting online,
and they're still surfing, chatting, and searching
for new things online.
READ MORE:
http://www.online-publishers.org
http://www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/10789_1436861
http://email.BroadcastingCable.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=eH660Fh7Mb0DdH0BpNc0A5
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB1028063543160067080,00.html
http://www.emonline.com
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-947617.html?tag=dd.ne.dht.nl-sty.0
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4. MGMT&OPS: What I Learned From Yahoo!
OK, Yahoo! sucks! There, I said it!
Crashes all my machines. More viruses
spreading around there than a flies by a
dumpster. True, the amount of features
they offer far out way their problems, but
they suck. They've changed their privacy
policy to spam me. They've changed their
home page to advertise more to me.
They've changed my email interface to
make me view more ads... is any second
of my time on Yahoo not for sale?!?!?
But wait, that's it. Yahoo, in it's mindless
quest for revenues has identified something
most online media haven't: that every second
that your user is trapped on your site, it's a
second you can leverage to plaster some
ad in front of them. And that second has
value. What, you already knew that?
BOTTOM LINE: Why are you still selling
pop-ups when your consumers hate them?
Why are you not making it easier to have
your consumers hang out on your site? Why
are you still selling your emails to everyone
but your dog? Most sites cater only to the
advertisers, with no regards to their users.
Now you should know better than that. Your
consumers are your assets. The time they
spend on your site is your most valuable product.
So you better make sure your consumers feel
loved and wanted. That can only happen when
the content is useful, organized, and valuable to
them, not the advertiser. Yahoo! has been
balancing such a fine line that they will loose
users, but that's OK because the 20% that stay
and their site the most will generate for them
80% of their revenue. So, like Yahoo!, improve
your stuff, stop trying to cater to everyone,
and start getting paid for all your hard work.
READ MORE:
Yahoo Courts Ad Companies To Develop More Online Offerings for Advertisers
VentureReporter.net Monday, July 15, 2002, 1:57 PM ET
by Rafat Ali
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