Big Mouth Blues

Let’s revisit the fascinating and frightening issue of the death of newspapers, record companies, broadcast television networks, etc.

The truth is that there’s probably more creative content available currently than at any time in the past. The problem isn’t with the content – the issue is that the old distribution and compensation models are broken. (I addressed this distinction here.) As a result, the distributors (record labels, etc.) no longer have a feasible business model and many creators are unsure as how to monetize their work.

And yet out of this uncertainly comes innovation. And some of that innovation is coming from the most unlikely of sources – a bunch of hippie musicians from Georgia known as The Black Crowes.

With the release of their latest album, “Before the Frost…Until the Freeze”, The Black Crowes have developed an intriguing blueprint for running their business outside of the traditional system. So, what are the key takeaways that we might be able apply to other businesses and creators?

1. Maintain creative control and ownership

The Crowes decided against signing with an established company in favor of creating their own label, Silver Arrow Records. While they have a sales and distribution deal with Megaforce/Sony Red BMG, they take the financial risks and reap the rewards for their creativity. As a result, they can produce the music that they want to, without having to worry about label approval. In the case of “Before the Frost…Until the Freeze” this translates into the Crowes pursuing a pure 1970s country-rock sound – something that has little to no mainstream commercial appeal in 2009.

2. “Crowdsource” production costs

Rather than rent a house or a traditional music studio, the Crowes recorded their new album live in front of their fans (about 200 per night) over the course of 5 weekend nights in February & March at Levon Helm’s studio barn. Fans in attendance were treated to a unique and intimate experience and their ticket fees covered the cost of recording. Even with a bootleg emerging from the first night, this unique recording approach created a lot of buzz and anticipation for the final product.

3. Provide free content and unexpected rewards

A month or so prior to releasing the album the Crowes posted a free download of the first single, “I Ain’t Hiding” on their website. No e-mail registration was required to get a free copy of the song.

Upon release, when consumers bought the CD they also received a code to download 9 more tunes from the sessions – an entire second album for free.

This is coming from a band that has previously given away a free live album just for signing up for their online live archive site (liveblackcrowes.com) and unexpectedly gave a pair of free tickets to the show of your choice in 2006 just for entering an online contest.

4. Give the consumer choice

“Before the Frost…Until the Freeze” was ultimately released in 3 formats that the consumer could choose from: a CD of the primary 11 track album called “Before the Frost” that also included the download code for the free second album, a double vinyl release that contained all 20 tracks in a different order (intentionally sequenced as a loose concept album) or an electronic download of all 20 tunes for $9.99 at iTunes. It was up to the consumer to choose which format suited their needs.

5. Build the Brand

The perpetually-touring Crowes featured up and coming band the Truth & Salvage Co. as the opening act for their Fall tour. Coincidentally, the Truth & Salvage Co. are the first band that has been signed to Silver Arrow and Crowes lead singer Chris Robinson is producing their debut album.

So how did it work?

The album debuted at #12 on the Billboard 200 and made it to #6 on iTunes. Plus, it’s an amazing record.  Not bad for a bunch of hippies.

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For more essays on marketing, click here.  For more essay on The Black Crowes and music, click here.

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Most advertising pundits these days focus on two interconnected problems that brands face in getting their message out: fragmentation and consumer empowerment.

Fragmentation refers to the explosion of traditional and online media vehicles that appeal to niche audiences. Gone are the days when a brand could reach the majority of their audience simply by buying national network TV, major newspapers and key magazines. Nowadays it costs more money to reach fewer, less engaged people.

Consumer empowerment represents Burger King’s old “Have it Your Way” promise writ large. Consumers now expect to have everything their way – they’ll decide what they want, when they want it and how they want it. And brands that don’t deliver will soon find themselves on the business end of “viral marketing”.

But that’s yesterday’s news. And if things turn out the way I think they will, brand managers are going to have an even bigger problem to deal with in 2010.

One of the third rails in marketing is politics (the other two are ‘religion’ and ‘people stealing shit from the office fridge’.) Getting political with your brand is almost always a bad idea because you’re guaranteed to piss off at least half of your potential customers.

Some brands have taken an overt political stance as part of their strategy. The Body Shop is an excellent example of a brand that championed liberal causes from inception as part of its brand strategy.

Other brands take an implied political stance as part of their strategy. A month ago you might have assumed that Whole Foods was a liberal organization because of the brand’s personality and the profile of their core shopper. The image of an aging baby boomer driving their Volvo station wagon to Whole Foods to buy some arugula is a wonderful cliché. But as we all found out when Whole Foods CEO John Mackey wrote a wacky op-ed in the WSJ denouncing health care reform, the corporate politics of Whole Foods might not actually mesh up with the politics of the Whole Foods shopper or the image of the brand.

The on-going boycott Whole Foods movement is merely a taste of what might come next year, depending on how things go down at the SCOTUS in a few months.

(Ed. Note: I predict that the Whole Foods boycott will ultimately fizzle out because where else are people going to but their stupid fiddleheads?)

Marketers would be wise to keep an eye out for any rulings in the case of Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission. You can read the wiki to learn all the legal jigger-jabber about the case, but the bottom line is that there might be a ruling in 2010 that would end limits on corporate giving to political campaigns. And with the current make-up of the Roberts court, a 5-4 decision to allow corporations to give till it hurts wouldn’t be a huge surprise.

So imagine that you’re a brand manager targeting urban hipsters when the news breaks that your corporate parent just gave a few thousand dollars to Joe “You Lie!” Wilson’s re-election campaign. Or what’s going to happen when secretly right-wing organizations like Curves put lots more of their money where their politics are?

Figuring out social media and crowdsourcing might seem like quaint problems to have if Glenn Beck starts crying to his lemmings about your brand next year.

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By the way, if you liked this essay, you can read more insightful and entertaining essays about marketing here.

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As we all know, the newspaper industry is struggling to survive and nobody knows how to fix it. Years of free high-quality content on the web has trained consumers that there is no inherent value in news content. Disappointing web advertising revenues are killing the bottom-line and it’s probably too late to start charging the online reader.

I’m not sure how to save the industry, but I’ve got a few ideas on how to save my local paper, The Boston Globe. Sentimentality aside, I’m just not sure where I’d get my beloved Parade magazine and coupons without the Globe.

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The core problem with The Boston Globe (and my household) is that it spends much more money every week than it makes. And unlike the various Ponzi schemes on Wall Street, there’s apparently no bailout money on the horizon. So the following things should happen in order to save The Globe:

1) They (probably) have to declare bankruptcy so they can renegotiate their existing contracts to reflect the current business requirements.

2) They need to be sold (preferably to local ownership) so that they can focus on the core business – journalism – and nothing else. No baseball teams, no jai alai leagues – just journalism.

Assuming those two things happen here’s what I would do next:

Print edition:

Monday through Saturday: Turn the Metro (or sell stake in Metro and create new version) into the Boston Globe Express. Free distribution model within reasonable distance of Boston. Merely provide synopses of stories and drive readers to web to read the full article. Make it a little smarter and better written than the Metro but continue to position it as a 20-minute read for commuters. Also offer BGE as a daily download that can be read on your handheld device on- or off-line.

Sunday: Restore the Sunday Globe to its former glory. Capitalize on the still existent desire to wake up on Sunday with a coffee and a real paper. Focus on regional and local stories and sports. Provide efficient delivery service (i.e. guaranteed delivery by 7 a.m.)

Boston.com:

Completely integrate The Boston Globe online into Boston.com. Truly leverage the social networking powers of the web and foster a true two-way conversation between readers and journalists. Redesign the site so that it’s a compelling web experience rather than a newspaper reproduced online. Allow users to have more creative input and interaction. Make Boston.com a destination on the web for all things Boston. Create exclusive content (i.e. Globe 10.0) in the form of videos and podcasts and don’t bury it under 5 layers of links.

So that’s my basic plan: free mini-paper during the week, best-in-class Sunday paper and next generation web experience.

Now, how do we make some money?

1) Print advertising: ads in the BGE and the Sunday Globe.

2) Web advertising: contextual search ads and banner ad on the new Boston.com

3) Subscriptions: on the Sunday Globe only, plus reward subscribers with member-only benefits, i.e. exclusive online chats, meet and greets, additional content, cross-promotional discounts, etc.

4) Donations: Follow the NPR model and request donations from readers. Emphasize transparency and show exactly where the money is going – to journalism and not to luxury boxes at Fenway.

Obviously it’s going to take a while for The Globe to get back into the black but I believe that if they focus on the core mission – providing compelling news content – they might just get there.

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If you liked these ideas on saving The Globe, you might also like my essay on Twitter & the Future of Creative Content.

I was saddened today to hear of the passing of Paul Silverman, founding creative director of Mullen.

I didn’t know Paul very well. Our paths crossed back in ’98 or ’99 at Mullen and we worked on a few things together. At the time I was an Account Supervisor and he was the head of creative so we obviously didn’t have a close personal relationship. Early on in my tenure I was fortunate enough to go on a shoot with Paul so I got to spend some quality time with him.

Even though we didn’t have a close relationship, Paul was one of my advertising role models. I enjoyed every moment we spent together. I found him to be smart, witty and charismatic. He dispelled every negative stereotype of the “ad guy.” I wanted to be an ad guy like Paul Silverman.

In the business world people tend to stress the importance of mentors – people that take an active role in shaping and grooming their juniors. What we don’t talk much about is the importance of role models – people that lead by example and provide their peers and juniors with an example of how to conduct themselves professionally.

I may never turn out to be an ad guy quite like Paul Silverman, but I hope that I can still be a role model for others like Paul was for me. There’s definitely some work that I need to do to get there, but it’s an admirable goal.

He was an admirable man.

I was lucky enough to run into Paul in the kitchen at Soundtrack this past winter. It was great to reconnect and we spoke for awhile, mostly about Manny Ramirez and the Red Sox. We were happy to find ourselves in agreement about how great a hitter Manny was and how foolish the Sox were to dump him. In retrospect, I guess we were both wrong.

Thanks for everything Paul.

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A while back I read an interesting blog post from an intern that was bitching about their tenure at an ad agency (I can’t find the link, sorry). The gist of the complaint seemed to be that the intern was criminally underused and the whole experience was a waste of time.

My initial reaction upon reading the post was: “Wow! They’re letting interns do entry-level work now?”

I remember all too well being an account coordinator.  The entirety of my responsibilities seemed to be making copies of presentation decks at Copy Cop and ensuring that we had a spare bulb packed for the overhead projector. I recall being jealous of closed door meetings and frustrated by feeling that I could do so much more.

Fortunately, early on in my career one of my superiors gave me some wonderful advice. She told me to be a sponge. She counseled me to absorb everything that I possibly could around the office. She encouraged me to read faxes and watch how people interact with each other and clients. She told me to actually study the decks that I was copying. She explained to me that I should take advantage of my unique position – proximity without real responsibility – to learn the business from the ground up.

It was great advice then and it’s great advice now.

The one thing that I’ve learned after all of these years is how much more I have to learn. I still have as many ideas now as I did back then. But I’ve come to appreciate the other aspects of the business that are required for success. So what are some things that an intern could learn merely by observing an agency?

• Internal negotiations. How do people deal with each other inside the agency? What techniques are effective for successfully interacting and compromising? How can one change behavior without destroying trust or the relationship?

• Client handling. How do people successfully manage the client? How do people deal with different client types? How do people address crises or screw-ups?

• Running the business. How does an agency actually operate and turn a profit? Who does what? What are the key roles and responsibilities?

• Nurturing creative. The purity of creativity is a wonderful ideal. Unfortunately, it’s rarely a reality. Great ideas need to be refined, they need to be nurtured and they need to be sold. We all know that more bad ideas get produced than great ideas. You’ve got to learn how to keep great work alive.

• How to get a job. Good interns often get hired by their agencies. And even if you can’t get a job you can start networking with actual working professionals that’ll probably end up at different agencies in the future.

These are just the first five things that came to mind but I’m sure there are many more examples. Being an intern at an agency is kind of like being Jane Goodall watching the chimps – you’ll learn a lot just by watching them play. Sure, feeding the apes might be fun, but you could get your hand bit off, too.

It should go without saying that no one should have to put up with an abusive situation but boredom probably doesn’t qualify as abuse, especially when there are so many sponge-worthy opportunities within the walls of any thriving agency.

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One of the most difficult challenges for account service professionals in the agency world is how to deliver effective creative feedback.  Or, put another way, how can an account service person give feedback that the creatives will actually listen to?

Today I’m going to give you the keys to the kingdom.  I’m going to let you in on the secret of how to force the creatives to listen to you.  It’s taken me over 16 years to figure this out but I’m going to give it to you for free. 

The key for account people to give creative feedback that can’t be ignored is…

Don’t.  That’s not your job.

(I’m sorry.  I know that’s not the answer you were hoping for.)

Here’s the thing.  As an account service professional your job is to make sure that the creative concepts that you present to the client are on strategy.  That’s it.  It is not your job to decide if you personally like the work.  It is not your job to provide feedback on the creative concept or execution.

That’s what creative directors do and they do it much better than you ever could.

The absolute worst thing that you can do as an account service professional is to presume what the client will think and then fight for concept changes based on those presumptions.  That’s an insult to both the client and the creatives.

Be strategic.  Assess whether the work truly pays off the brief.  Judge whether the work is appropriate for the brand’s voice.  Determine whether the work fulfills the assignment.  But don’t give “creative” feedback.

The truth is that the most innovative creative work can be a little unsettling.  The best work is often original and different.  It could make people nervous.  It might make the client nervous.  The prospect of a nervous client definitely makes account people nervous.  That’s okay.  If the work is on strategy and on brand then a little nervousness might be a good sign.

Over time, if you successfully establish yourself as a strategic thinker that respects boundaries, your creative team might actually solicit your opinion on the work.  If that’s the case then by all means offer it respectfully and thoughtfully.

But then again, they might never ask for your opinion on creative.  That’s okay, too.

Junior account people: always strive to be brilliant strategists rather than crappy creative directors.  Don’t worry – in about 16 years you’ll thank me.

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Book Review: “Soul for Sale” by Jay Williams (2009)

The natural temptation, especially if you were a part of the Boston ad scene at the turn of the century, is to read Jay Williams’ novel “Soul for Sale” as a Primary Colors for the ad set.  And while there’s certainly some enjoyment in playing the “who’s that character based on” game, it’s ultimately a disservice to the book to read it solely on those terms.

“Soul for Sale” is a well crafted tale that excels at creating a compelling and mostly believable world populated by a cast of classic ad agency archetypes: the egotistical creative, the fatalist account guy, the overly-optimistic executive, etc.  It’s a sign of Mr. Williams’ skill as a writer that he can successfully have it both ways with his characters: they’re clichés as well as real people that you care about.  Even more impressive is how he manages to pull this off with a minimum of words.  There’s no flab here.  He deftly forges meaningful relationships and fosters dramatic tension through a series of taut chapters that compel you to keep reading, pulling you deeper and deeper into the life of the protagonist, creative director Terry Wilson, and his eccentric peers. 

The novel can also be appreciated as a wonderful window into the culture of the advertising industry.  Then again, I’m not sure if the book will actually burnish the reputation of the industry, as it largely reinforces the notion of ad people being charismatic yet narcissistic wankers, but, well, it is what it is.

Underneath the surface of “Soul for Soul”, however, lies a much more profound meditation on art and the commercialization of creativity.  And this is where the book transcends mere page-turner status.

Advertising often appears to be a dream job.  In many ways it is.  There are few corporate career options for writers and artists.  Advertising allows people to sell their ideas in exchange for a comfortable existence.  And as the book frequently demonstrates, advertising people are almost universally entertaining and fun to hang out with.

Unfortunately, the price of patronage is the loss of control over your art.  So instead of directing a film or writing a novel, you’re sweating over a TV spot for a packaged-goods line extension.  And even if you manage to tell a compelling story or strike an emotional chord within the context of the assignment, odds are that your idea will be slowly and painful destroyed before your eyes as it travels through the endless layers of the approval and production process.

Over time, this process can have a corrosive effect on even the most confident of individuals.  This tension – between art and commerce, between purity and security – and what it does to a person, is at the heart of “Soul for Sale.”

Terry’s struggles – foremost among them his struggle for identity and self-value – are universal.  Are we, as individuals, better represented by our actions or by our intentions?   

If you must, read “Soul for Sale” in an attempt to find a dashingly handsome young management supervisor that somehow championed creative while wielding his superlative client handling skills.  Or better yet, dig a little deeper and you might just find some keen observations on the human condition.  Either way, you’re sure to enjoy it.

Buy “Soul for Sale” here.

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Please make sure that you visit The Hub Magazine to read my article on private label vs. national brands and then come back here if you have any comments or questions.  Here’s a preview:

When it comes to cultural trends, the only thing that Americans love more than embracing new ones is declaring the death of old ones. I’d use the wonderful phrase “jumped the shark” to describe this phenomenon (John Hein’s term for identifying the point where things pass their peak, named after the Happy Days episode in which a leather-jacket-clad Fonzie water skied over a shark), but in all honesty, “jumped the shark” itself jumped the shark quite a few years ago.

This phenomenon, however, isn’t just limited to cultural trends and television shows. Everything from political parties to media vehicles are constantly being declared “over.” Eight years ago, the Democrats were deemed irrelevant while today the Republicans are being declared D.O.A. Television was supposed to replace radio, while the internet was going to kill off newspapers. (Okay, that last one might still turn out to be true.)

One of the more notable occurrences during our Great Recession has been the explosive growth of private labels. Sales and purchase intent of private labels have been growing exponentially, with no end in sight. The temptation, naturally, is to seize upon this latest trend as a sign of the end of brands.

It’s a new era! Brands are dead! The age of brands is over!

I’m not so sure about that.

Yesterday, I made an innocuous tweet describing some of the highlights of my weekend, namely seeing The Black Crowes perform at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom and watching “The 36^th Chamber of Shaolin.”*

(* Ed Note: The Black Crowes are the last of the great rock bands and “The 36^th Chamber of Shaolin” is a classic Kung Fu movie that established many of the tropes of the genre and was paid homage to by Tarantino in “Kill Bill.”)

Someone replied to my tweet with the following:

 musiclovesryan@mitchblum did you get to see the black crowes live? SO JEALOUS. im trying to wait patiently for their new dvd! http://bit.ly/BlackCrowesFYE

Now, I generally believe in responding to personalized tweets as that fosters the conversation.  But when I clicked on musiclovesryan’s feed I noted that all of his tweets were variations on the one he sent me – a seemingly personalized message followed by a sales pitch/link.  Clicking on the link, I was taken to FYE’s page for The Black Crowes’ new DVD.

Someone is clearly searching for tweets that mention The Black Crowes and is attempting to drive sales of their DVD by sending thinly-veiled sales messages.  Now, I’m pretty sure that it’s not actually The Black Crowes that are behind this tactic as they are traveling hippies that don’t actually have computers.  So this is most-likely a FYE-led campaign.

The interesting thing is, from a content perspective, I’m totally fine with someone seeing that I like the Crowes and letting me know that there’s a new DVD for me to buy.  If the tweet came from “FYE” and just said as much I would have been cool with it.

My problem is that FYE feels the need to lie to me by having someone tweet as if they were a real person.  It’s patently obvious after 30 seconds of skimming musiclovesryan’s feed that he’s a fake corporate persona.  As a result, I don’t trust FYE and I won’t buy from them.  I expect honesty and transparency from my partners and vendors.

FYE, may I humbly recommend that you cease with the phony “ryan” bit and just send me a tweet along the lines of: “We saw that you’re a Crowes fan. Did you know they have a new DVD coming out? Click this link to buy the DVD and we’ll give you free shipping.”

That tactic might have worked.  Just saying.

I do commend you, however, on your choice of the Billy Ray Cyrus picture as musiclovesryan’s icon.  Well played.

The other day I returned home from a long day of making the marketing to find my front steps littered with about a dozen business cards.  This isn’t the first time that it’s happened and it certainly won’t be the last.  Many local businesses (painters, delivery restaurants, handymen, etc.) seem to rely exclusively on the one-two marketing punch of yellow pages and flyers.

It’s not a sophisticated technique, but going door to door in your local trading area and distributing flyers to generate awareness and stimulate trial of your company makes excellent sense.  The cost is low and there’s practically no downside.  Technology has made it increasingly easy and cheap to design and print business cards, flyers or menus.

But all companies, large and small, should always make sure that their message isn’t undermined by the delivery of the message.

The cleaning company that covered my steps with their business cards won’t ever get the chance to prove to me that they’re a good cleaner with competitive rates and conscientious customer service.  They might actually be all of those things.  But who would hire a cleaner that’s proven themselves to be adept at making – rather than cleaning up – messes?