Sunday, December 14, 2008

Hulu and YouTube

Some amazing stats came out last week. During October, YouTube, in the US alone, reached just over 100M uniques. So as much as 50% of the US online population watched a YouTube video. That is some serious big reach. 

Perhaps more amazing is how little money Google is not making at the same time. Compare that with the incredible growth of Hulu. It achieved 24M uniques in October from a site less than a year old. And Hulu is making money, built off the quality content it controls. 

It is no surprise that the high quality product on Hulu attracts blue-chip clients. It does raise the interesting question if Hulu could ever break a show? I know Hulu has carried some season premieres, but always prior to a network transmission. Could the next NBC hit come from Hulu? I think it could happen. People trust the content on Hulu, so if the site made a push for a new, exclusive show, why wouldn't people check it out?

The worry for networks has always been how will people discover new content at its start in the face of declining ratings? This could be one solution.




Sunday, November 30, 2008

Brand Suicide


I came across this brand extension from Special K, a version of the low calorie, weight control breakfast now with added.....chocolate? I find this so bizarre. How can Special K, a brand thats entire purpose for being is to help consumers control their calories, pretend that adding chocolate is not a perversion of the entire brand? 

This screams to me of a company looking to boost SKUs and short term volume by adding ever more extensions, yet not thinking about their brand whatsoever. When brands do this, they are committing suicide. You can not expect consumers to believe in brand when it contradicts itself so fundamentally.



 

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Nuggets 25 Years Old

McDonalds is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the introduction of the nugget. There is a new fan site, here,  that is suitably tongue in cheek about the nugget. (The Nugget pledge anyone?)

What I like about this is simply that McDonalds are creating interest out of nothing. Or put another way, the birthday of the nugget means nada to anyone really, but McDonalds are using the opportunity to create some interest in the product - to make it relevant. This is not rocket science at all, but I am often amazed how companies do not make more of the assets they are sitting on. 

Monday, November 17, 2008

Sticher, Inc

Sticher is a great little program, available online or as an i-phone app. In a nutshell, it acts like an aggregator for radio content, similar to Google news format. The smart part is it then can recommend other radio content based on a Pandora/Amazon recommendations system.

So if you like the BBC news, it will serve up NPR Market Watch or other relevant radio content. The ease of use is great, but more importantly the service reminds you how powerful radio can be as a medium. Radio has, somewhat deservedly in the US, got a bad rap. Certainly, the medium made so much cash for so long it got lazy. Sticher is a smart move to make the medium relevant and enjoyable again. 


Thursday, November 13, 2008

You Tube

I met with You Tube today. They were showcasing their new sponsored video results function on You Tube. (For the record, it is a smart thing for them to do, and will make some decent money for them). 

More interesting, and just as a wow-fact, You Tube fields more searches in the US than Yahoo. This stat kind of blew my mind. You Tube has more people searching its videos than use Yahoo gets for everything search wise. Amazing! 

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Burger King Studio




T-shirts are clearly all the rage. Burger King have set up this new site that sells rather cool clothing branded with smart, fun BK elements. Clearly a fun way to connect with young, cool guys and girls. These people will be free adverts and cool ambassadors for the brand. BK will also make money selling this stuff - ads that pay for themselves, nice. Oh, and you can create your own custom looks as well. All very smart and engaging. 



Friday, November 7, 2008

CNN + Obama

CNN.com has created an online app that allows viewers to print a TV shirt with a CNN headline along with the time and date it ran. In this example the moment when CNN called the election for Obama, 11.04pm 11/4/08.

A tiny, but welcome new revenue stream. More importantly though, a smart way to extend the CNN brand, get some free marketing and keep CNN relevant. I like the thought that CNN does not just report and cover the news, but by doing so, CNN is the news. The brand that is the keeper of history.  

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Dexter


I like print. It is a great medium, saddled by some dumb working practices and negative perceptions in a digital era. Anyway, I came across the ad for Showtime series, Dexter. Nice job creatively, as well as in reaching the up-scale audience they must be looking for. The fake cover, and the advertorial spread with it are not new, but that does not make them bad. Good use of the medium. 

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Jet Blue Carbon Fund















A nice move by Jet Blue. You can use a calculator on a partner site to work out the carbon cost of your trip, and then make a contribution to cover that cost through a carbon off-set. I like the opt-in nature of this. Jet Blue are not hiding from their business being a polluter, but nor are they shaming anyone or forcing the issue. If you care, here is something you can do about it. The airline is also taking part in other green programs. Smart thinking and something you expect and welcome from the Jet Blue brand.




Wednesday, October 15, 2008

King of Media

An interesting piece on the decline of Howard Stern within pop-culture since he shifted his show to satellite radio. The article does a fine job in explaining how his much smaller audience has resulted in smaller guests coming on the show, and his sidelining of influence. 

There  interesting things here for me is relevancy. For Stern, his message and style have not changed, but his audience has. So he is no less relevant personally, apart from he now clearly is less relevant to society. For Pop-culture brands you have to conect with a scale. Without tapping a nerve and combining it with enough volume of people, you become just another voice in the babble.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Whopper Bar





















Burger King has done a great job of distinguishing their brand from McDonalds and the other fast food chains. I love the risks that they have taken, and investments in trying new things. This idea is another good example of a brand finding new ways to connect with customers. Interesting to see how it does - and extra points for taking a stab.


Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Quicksilver cool























I love this effort by Quicksilver, the So Cal surf brand. In a nutshell, they have taken over a loft space for a year, and got 6 up-and-coming women in different creative disciplines to live together. You can visit the site here to learn more

I like the many tentacles this has. It appeals and seems progressive for women, (who buy a lot of Quicksilver clothes I imagine). It gives Quicksilver a halo of social responsibility - giving something back to the community. It has 6 artists, each now with the Qucksilver backing, which probably means that at least one, if not all, will get more coverage and have a chance to be noticed. In terms of cost, free rent is simply not that much. Less than a few print pages in Teen Vogue. And if they are smart, they will be able to create a series of interviews, events and content all getting in front of the right people. 

And ultimately,  it is just plain cool and interesting, exactly where Quicksilver needs to be.

Magazine death

This week the American Magazine conference is taking place in San Francisco, just down the road from where I work. I have a free pass to attend, but I am choosing not to. Partly this is because I am crazy busy, and giving up a whole day seems impossible. However, more significantly, it is because I looked over the schedule of events and simply was not interested. 

Don't get me wrong, I love magazines and I think they can be a powerful ad medium, but I feel like I know everything there is to know. That sounds very arrogant, and perhaps what I really mean is there simply does not seem much opportunity for a game changing learning experience. Print is what it is. And this seems to be why magazines are struggling to connect with clients and with  media people. They feel old, are certainly cluttered and often expensive. So maybe next year, but I would not bet on it.  

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Microsoft

It shocks me how bad a marketeer Microsoft is. Literally, hundreds of millions of dollars spent every year and there is not a single quality campaign, line or thought to remember. I know that sounds harsh, but really, the more money you spend, the more you deserve to be judged closely. 

The latest effort, Live without Walls is, supposedly, based upon the strategic thought that Apple runs a closed software system, and Windows is open. Really? This is the similar logic that John Mcain uses when he runs ads claiming Obama supports sex education for pre-schoolers. It may be true technically, but it is bullshit all the same - and people know it. The smarts of Apple system is that it works seamlessly. There may indeed be walls, but it does not feel like it. The fact that Zune does not work across the suite of other MS programs highlights the con job MS is pulling.  And it will not work. Another $100M wasted I fear.


Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Digital + Traditional = Stronger

A while back I wrote about the Olympics coverage, and the great efforts NBC were taking to stream content and engage viewers online. Some results are in, and no surprise, the online portion appears to have deepened and engaged consumers total involvement. In a nutshell, the digital media did not cannibalize viewers, rather it enhanced and got those people to watch more Olympics TV. So both traditional and digital complimented each other. 

This is not rocket science, but it is still a big thing. For years the music, film and traditional media business have seen digital as a revenue threat, and chosen to dismiss, avoid and kill it. The reality is, done right, brands and media properties can enhance their offering and make stronger connections. Of course, the next step is turning that into increased engagement into revenue and profits, but the main point is, their is a huge upside to take advantage of. 

Monday, September 29, 2008

Wachovia

Advertising is a tough business. Winning accounts is hard, hard work. I can not imagine how rough it feels right now for Ogilviy.




















Friday, September 26, 2008

Future Quotes

Apologies for the long gap in postings. I have been busy, (x2 trips to NY) and a host of other stuff hitting the fan.

While in NY I attended a panel discussion on the Future of Media. It was a very good list of speakers, Cathie Black of Hearst, Randy Falco of AOL, Joe Uva of Univision. (My boss, Jeff Goodby, as well). In truth, there were a few to many people on the stage. I did like a couple of thoughts and phrases. 

Susan Whiting, EVP of Neilsen, speaking about consumer behavior online said: "Older people believe in a right to privacy, younger people in a right to publicity".

Mark Cuban made a strong case for a looming digital shake-out. Simply put, there are a lot of sites that are subsidized. Google pays for YouTube. The minute Google decides that it can not monetize YouTube, is the minute they will have to shut it down or sell it. 

All the panel, at the end, where asked for their synopsis of the biggest challenge or opportunity. I liked:- 

"No single company can do it all. The question is how do you put stuff together"

and:-

"You need a balance between what is possible with what is practical".
 



Thursday, September 11, 2008

Creatives VS everyone else

One question I often get asked by people who want to work at a creative agency is how I handle "creatives". There is a perception in the world that creatives at agencies are prima-donna, hissy-fit throwing, drama queens. Of course, they are not. Their bad reputation really comes from, I believe, the different way creatives work to nearly everyone else in the marketplace.

In my line of work, most of what I do is correct. By the time I get to present work to a client, I have a brief, a direction, input, analysis and and a whole load of other inputs. The result is I can be pretty confident I am going down the correct path, I am doing the right thing. I would estimate that 90%+ of my work is accepted. Clients usually ask me to tweak around the edges, but the basics are good.

For creatives it is very different. Their tweak ratio is reversed. For creative teams, even if they are phenomenal, perhaps 10% of their output  get past a creative director. And in truth, it is closer to 1%. Think about that for a second. Would you have the mental toughness to head into work everyday, knowing that 99% of your work, that you have poured your heart and late nights into, will be summarily rejected? 

Why do creatives care so much, get so caught up in the font size and seemingly small details? They care because they have to get it right. If it is not perfect it does not see the light of day. And you know what? It is great working with people who are that committed. Life is to short to take the easy, safe and expected route. Good creatives never do, and nor should everyone else. 


Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Google-NBC

If TV has a future, (and people staring at an electronic screen while entertainment plays is not going anywhere), it is companies like Google that are making it. Google TV is pretty interesting. The nut of it is advertisers only pay for the audience who actually watch the ad, not the quarter hour average rating of the show and ad break. In exchange, Google slots the ads so marketers have less control over which shows their spots end up in. 

Anyway, the Google TV program has been struggling because the traditional cable and TV nets do not like Google. They fear that true transparency in the metrics will take dollars away from their bottom line. This week Google struck a new deal with NBC. While it is only cable nets so far, this is still a huge development for Google. It gives them credibility and scale that the deal with EchoStar alone could not. We will see what happens, but hopefully the other nets will join the party. Anything that makes media more accountable and targeted is a good thing in my book. 

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Progressive X prize

I recently came across a genius move by Progressive Insurance. Progressive have announced they will give $10m to anyone who invents a car that can get 100 miles to the gallon. This is similar to the original X prize, which was for $1m to the first non-government agency to get a space-ship into space. You can read about it by clicking here.

Why is this genius? Well, with a Prius currently only at around 45mpg, there is a long way to go till they have to pay out. In the meantime, Progressive lives up to its name and can claim halo of environmental concern, (for a business that  ultimately relies on oil). 

Most importantly though, this is all free media. Every-time someone does a story on fuel technology, the impact of cars or socially aware marketing, Progressive is going to get featured. Oh, and it is also a cool thing that consumers and the employees of Progressive can be proud of.

Think about the reverse of this. Exxon recently spent some $20m or so buying prime spots during the Olympics. Exactly what did they get out of that? If they are lucky, some positive brand perceptions scores but only in the very short-term. More likely they achieved nada. What if Exxon had been the company to offer this prize? From an oil company, that would have been progressive!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Genisis

This is a shameless piece of agency self promotion. Today, our new campaign for the Hyundai Genesis car launches. It is a great car, priced phenomenally. You can check out the incredibly sleek website here . Working on Hyundai is a real treat. In a nutshell, the cars are wonderful, but the brand sucks. Or did suck. It is getting stronger. The Genesis is a serious contender in the luxury car space. 

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Kapow!

I am back from a vacation in Hawaii, so should get back to regular postings now. 

First up, this past weekend The Dark Knight passed the $500m marker in domestic US box office. It is only the second film in history, behind Titanic, to earn over half a billion dollars. (Of course, adjusted for inflation other films have done better, but within the modern era it beats Harry Potter, Captain Jack, James Bond, Jason Bourne, Spiderman and even Forrest Gump).

Earning this much cash is incredible, especially for a film so critically acclaimed. A rare confluence of art and money. I am stuck by a few thoughts:

- You can make high quality, yet mass appeal products. In some regard, network and cable TV are ahead of Hollywood. Lost, American Idol, Mad Men, all our quality mass entertainment. Hollywood struggles to make good blockbusters, yet clearly there is a desire for it. This plays to something I have always believed, people are smart. Brands do not need to play to the lowest common denominator. 

- Big, pop-cultural events play an important role in our culture. People want to be a part of something. For all the talk of the long-tail etc, (and it is real), big can still be beautiful.

- I see very little on the cultural horizon that will be as big as this movie has become. Of course, no one can truly predict the next mega thing, but looking at the release schedules and cultural events, there is a real lack of major event experiences to look forward too.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Good people are hard to find

Not to wallow in self-pity, but finding good people in the Communication Strategy discipline is pretty damn hard. I see a number of challenges. 

First, I prefer people who have experience of a creative agency environment. As the big media shops came to dominate media planning, about 10 years, the pool of people with both media and creative experience has dropped significantly. Pure media people can migrate into a creative agency, but it is much tougher.

Second, as the media landscape has radically changed, I do not feel straight media planning has kept up. Right now, being able to think about an idea and how it lives in the world is far more important than knowing how local cable works. That level of strategic visions is not shared by everyone, or even that many....

...but third, big thinkers who are not prepared to understand local media are not helpful either. We have plenty of creatives who think way big, what we need is people who can take on those thoughts and add potential to where they live in the world. You need to comprehend the dull, detailed mechanics of individual media. I need creative media people, not sub-par creatives.

So the perfect candidate is smart, creative, detailed oriented, and prepared to use excel a lot.

Know anyone? E-mail me: joshspanier@gmail.com

Sunday, August 17, 2008

That's a lot of eyeballs!

The Olympics has been great for truly silly stats and facts. For example, how many Chinese watch their top-rated business talk show? A truly mind-bending 400,000,000! So, about 20x the number of eyeballs as typically watch American Idol. I know, China is big, but it takes stats like this to bring it home. 

I am pretty fascinated by the mechanics of this. How much does one spot cost? I am guessing most advertisers buy regionally. Also, creatively, how do you craft a message that could resonate so broadly? By comparison, it makes the US market look almost cute in its smallness. 

If there is bigger thought here, perhaps it is simply the no matter where you are in the world, having a clear picture of you target audience and objectives is critical. I see so many bad US campaigns where the brief is confused and objectives unclear - which results in poor marketing and wasted money. I guess getting it wrong in China just means inefficiency on a whole new scale.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

If you lie, don't lie about the lie

The controversy coming out of the Olympics opening ceremony brings up an interesting debate for brands.

It turns out the super-cute 9-year who sang, was in fact lip-syncing. The real singer was 7, and deemed not attractive enough to be on camera. A secondary issue is that some of the fireworks were digitally added to the live TV feed. So viewers at the event did not see many of the effects that TV viewers got to see. No one knew the truth of these two things till these leaks emerged.

Are either of these controversies? Brands, and the Chinese government is a brand of sorts, do what they can to put themselves in the best possible light. Everyone knows that the cover stars of magazines are air-brushed, and no one seems to care. It is expected. Certainly, it detracts from the stunning nature of the ceremony. I now want to question what else was fixed that up till now I thought was amazing. That is not a good thing for sure.

So far I quite admire the Chinese response, which has been, "deal with it". If this escalates, perhaps they will become more contrite, but what I like is the simple explanation and honesty about their dishonesty. Rather than evade or excuse, they have simply said, we thought this would make the event better. Bizarrely, by telling the truth about why they lied, it could defuse the whole situation. How many other PR crises are made worse by the desperate flip-flopping and justifications? (Wide-stance anyone?)

For the record, I do feel pretty bad for the denied 7-year old. That was pretty cold. 




Monday, August 11, 2008

3D cinema and learned behavior

I listened to an NPR story yesterday about 3D technology and cinema attendance. Movie studios are betting big that the next generation of 3D will keep movies exciting, and widen the experience gap that in-home viewing that plasma screens, HD and Blu-ray have currently narrowed.

What was most interesting to me was the interview with a social psychologist. He offered a counter intuitive viewpoint that going to the movies has very little to do with the screen and audio fidelity. He spoke about how going to the cinema is a social and behavioral experience. It fits in with peoples needs to share, and also simply as a destination to go to. Physically having a place to go, a routine for our time, fulfills a basic need we humans have. Staying at home does not  always deliver. Therefore, the cinema chains should invest in bars, food and anything that makes the theater a destination over just better screen viewing.

I find this very interesting. Mass media audiences have fragmented, but total audience are not - in fact they are rising. Can brands create events, or experiences which tap these deeper psychological needs? I know that many events, concerts etc already do this, but my eyes were opened by the interview. I am going to read up on this subject and see what I can find.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Q&A

I did an online interview with BNET yesterday evening. Here are the questions, and my responses:

Q: What's happening with online display advertising?

A: It continues to evolve and improve. We have only scratched the surface. Increasingly, what you can do within the banner is taking precedence over just running a message. To that end, rich media is getting ever richer. A challenge though is the lack of standards. Creating a super-rich unit that most sites can not run, is a waste of resources. We need standardization, but of course without limiting creativity.


Q: What digital agencies are thriving? 

Some digital agencies do fantastic work, R/GA, AKQA for example. The challenge though, across the board for digital agencies, is staying relevant and cutting edge as everyone else catches up. Digital agencies provided expertise that traditional shops lacked. However, as digital has become the norm, that skills gap has closed. The lead agency for a brand usually has first crack at creating work. If the lead can plausibly delver in the digital space, why would clients need another agency to manage digital? Of course, there is no reason why digital agencies can not become the lead partner. Ironically then, the potential block holding back digital agencies is their lack of non-digital experience which is necessary take on total ownership.


A: Are sport events safe for television advertising? Is there any
chance online and DVRs will erode that market?

Sports are safe. The leagues are built on the massive revenue TV broadcast deals have provided. They are the golden egg, and the leagues will aggressively protect the viewing experience such that advertisers and marketeers will want to participate. That might involve online streaming, or other distribution options, but it will continue to be geared for brands. The great news is that digital technology actually enables more valuable content to be created. I am following the NBC efforts at the Olympics very closely. This is a forerunner of the digital exploitation of sport.


Q: Can the market bear so many online ad networks? Is there a round of
consolidation coming?

A: Yes. Buying and planning online is so labor intensive, the media buying business will drive this consolidation.


Q:When does mobile advertising take off? What needs to happen to make
this marketplace more viable?

A: Every year since 2002 has been the year when mobile is going to go huge. I am positive that we are really close now. Three key factors are driving this.
1) Phone ownership saturation means that the big carriers have to exploit their current customers to grow revenue, as just adding new customers is no longer an option. They have an incentive to educate and promote rich, data capable phones and services. That will benefit advertisers.
2) 3G or better technology. Make it fast, fun and worthwhile. The technology up till now has always lagged the potential for branding (or anything).
3) Rate plans from the carriers, such as the current "Simply Everything Plan" from Sprint*, that does not penalize unlimited date usage. Consumers are so scared of overages, and hidden fees that they shut down and reject using their phones potential. The all you can eat plan gives people freedom to play.

* Sprint is a client of our agency

Monday, August 4, 2008

The Passion of the Trash Can

Hi,

I often hear strategy people say they want to work on "exciting accounts". Translated this means something cool, stylish or sexy - packaged goods need not apply. I find this weird, as I have learnt throughout my career that anything can be fascinating. Honestly, I sometimes wonder if the team on Lexus are bored out of their minds. I mean, sexy cars for sure, but that brand and strategy is fully baked. How many different ways can you say luxurious?

The wonderful part of the media landscape today, is that we can now connect with the core, passionate group for anything. And they always exist. Case in point, this post from a product review on Amazon.











When someone tells you they could not live without a garbage bin, that is when I know it could be fun to sell trash bins, and more importantly, though smart media we could connect with them. 

Saturday, August 2, 2008

How not to impress me!

Hi,
 
I got this email blast from ELLE magazine:


















I find it so weird that a media owner chooses to celebrate their success by trumpeting how cluttered their property is. Good for them to be +10% in revenue, (not that I care or need to know), but as someone who has to evaluate each and every media vehicle, this is all wrong. I get that ELLE thinks this is a sign of vibrancy and momentum - marketeers are voting with their wallets. Still, the average time consumers spend reading an issue of ELLE is well under an hour, and that covers all the editorial and those staggering 420 pages of ads. Chest beating in this manner makes no sense.

Josh.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Small, but perfectly formed

Hi,

I take the casual car-pool into work. Here is how it works. The Bay Bridge connecting Oakland to San Francisco charges a $4 toll to drive across. However, if you have 3 riders in your car you get to cross for free, as well as using the much faster car-pool lanes. Anyone can go to one of a number of meeting points, and then jump into the car of someone who needs a couple more riders to qualify for the car-pool lane. People outside of San Francisco often find this a weird idea. Yes, you really do just get into the car of a complete stranger.

On the corner where everyone alights after having crossed the bridge, is a bank. Up till now, I had registered a bunch of plasma screens in its windows, but had never given whatever loans or offers displayed, or the bank overall, a second glance.

However, on Friday, I was totally stopped in my tracks. Some bright spark at the bank had changed all the screens to simply say "Thanks for sharing your ride". That was it. A tiny note, aimed perfectly at all the casual carpoolers, designed to make them feel good.

What a simple, yet smart thing to do. With just a couple strokes on a keyboard the bank, (New Resources Bank ) is able to ground itself into its local community, further exploit an asset they have invested in, and most importantly, send a resonant message to the 1000 or so business people communting in everyday. Sure, this is not going to win any big awards, or make or break the banks revenue for the year, but it made the bank visible, relevant and interesting to me. Use what you have, and be smart about it. I like that.

One final thing. The car pool ends at 10am, so from that time on, the screens just revert to their normal messaging, Smart use of day-parts as well.

Josh.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Stupid, inefficient, over-priced. Hooray!

Hi,

Following a 40-year pattern, at the recent broadcast up-fronts, the major TV networks raked in record dollars from marketers - to the tune of $9.3 billion! Oh, and all at higher than ever pricing. Truly more for less. Now, I really do not want to focus on something as clunky as the up-fronts in this blog. There are plenty of places where people can drone on about C3, CPM and CBS. However, there is a larger, more positive story that is worth mentioning.

The exorbitant pricing of traditional media has been a major contributing factor in driving innovation for the rest of us. If the networks had not over-loaded their shows with seemingly never ending ad breaks, so driving people into the arms of Tivo, and at the same time gouged advertisers who fund the whole thing, we would likely be in a different world.

Truth be told, my job has never been more interesting or challenging. The work our agency creates is infinitely more creative and evolved than from just a few years ago. And there is more to come. There is a comparable analogy to the oil crisis currently going on. Sure, at lot of people are complaining and suffering. At the same time, the lack of cheap oil is spurring innovation and creativity. People are being forced, and incentivized to think and approach problems differently.

So hooray for the up-fronts, they are driving innovation in marketing - and that is something to celebrate.

Josh.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

#2: Why

Hi,

I have been thinking about starting a blog for a while now. Truth be told, being the proud Dad to a 21-month year old was a convenient excuse as to why I never got around to starting. Now that the sleep deprivation stage of being a parent is long gone, I realized if this was ever going to happen, I just needed to get on with it.

Why do I want to bother and why does anyone need yet another blog?

The first part of this question is easy. I find stuff interesting. Or rather, in a very illogical piece of circular logic, the stuff I find interesting is really interesting - to me. So starting a blog is about catching my thoughts and ideas on what I stumble across. I hope that others find what I find interesting, but whatever the case, I want to see if I can articulate some analysis and insights about the world we live in. And keep it interesting.

As to why does anyone need another blog? They don't. All I will say is that while I like a lot of other marketing blogs out there, I think there is a gap as far thinking about media/coms strategy. This may simply be because the majority of blogs I follow are written by technologists and/or brand planners. I think my career and experiences, from the get go in pure media, gives me something different. I hope so anyway.

Josh

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Hi

This is my first post. They say the first time is always the hardest. If this is true, writing and updating this blog is going to be easy. 

Josh.