Altyrian View

You are in a big meeting, and your phone rings. Do you answer it? You talking to a friend that you haven’t seen in years. Do you answer a call, or let it go to voicemail?
If you are on live TV, you might think that you would ignore a cell phone call. This anchor, however, chose to take the call. The next morning (after she saw herself on YouTube, no doubt), she explained that she took the call because she was working on a big story. Kinda funny all the same…

In study released Wednesday by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, it is reported that the mainstream media stories differ greatly from stories that are user-chosen on Digg, Del.icio.us and Reddit. The study compared coverage on the three social media sites with 48 mainstream media outlets from June 24 to June 29.

During the study period, the mainstream media covered immigration debate in Congress as well as the war in Iraq. Social media sites, however had its users pick stories about the iPhone (iDay was June 28) and Nintendo surpassing Sony in net worth.

All I can say is “duhhhh.”

First, as Scott Karp points out in his blog, the audience for Digg and Reddit is completely different from that of that of most mainstream media sites:

The other issue, which the report does address to a limited degree, is that audience for Digg and Reddit is principally young, male, tech enthusiasts (with a dash of puerile interest) — the “users” or “citizens” of these sites are in NO way representative of the broad, diverse group of mainstream news consumers.

Next, how are these people using Digg, etc.? I don’t Digg “big” news stories. Why should I? Maybe I’m using it incorrectly, but those stories are on the home page of every major media outlet. I Digg stories that are are offbeat and often buried. I also Digg those stories that contain an interesting (often contrarian) opinion. Hopefully, that’s not a top story for the major media (it angers me when “news” outlets inject opinion into NEWS stories).

Last time I checked, Digg, Del.icio.us and Reddit were not billing themselves as “hard” news aggregators. Nope, they are for tagging what is “new and popular” online. I’m disappointed in the PEJ for not catching this HUGE difference in purpose. Oh well.

Bottom line: Folks, don’t think that you are getting your hard news from Digg, Reddit or Del.icio.us. You are going to have to hit the AP, BBC, Fox News, CNN or another one. But you knew that. You’re not stupid.

Every morning, I read Bulldog Reporter’s Daily Dog. It covers PR industry news and happenings. This morning, however, I’m greeted with the following headline: iPhone Security Loophole Creates Roadblock for Apple: Researchers Able to Hack High-Profile Product, Claim Others Could Take Control of Devices. Except for PR people with iPhones, how is that industry news? It is news, just not PR industry news. Will we get a Bulldog article every time a new virus or computer hack is discovered? Gee, I sure hope not.

I guess that’s the joy of big buzz: No matter the media outlet, if the buzz is big enough, they will cover it. Our latest podcast covered iPhones too, but from the perspective of advertising and PR. I wish that the ‘Dog would have shared how this affects us. Perhaps they are setting us up for a story tomorrow about how Apple is handling the deluge of stories like this.

If you hadn’t heard of a video news release (VNR) before 2004, you certainly heard about it then. The government issued some VNRs that were aired by the networks without revealing the source of the report. It became a big deal then, and the FCC is making VNRs fight for their lives again. Yesterday, I read that the FCC has announced that it is going to fine 42 stations for not disclosing that news reports came from VNRs. It seems that the FCC regulates all video that is paid placement – it should; those are called ads even if they are in a news show. If the video is distributed freely (as most VNRs are), the FCC mandates attribution if the content is political or controversial. One could make an argument that that includes 99% of all VNRs. Hence, the FCC has all but killed the VNR.

PRSA issued a press release a few months ago telling us their stance on VNRs and their regulation. Makes sense to me, but clearly not to the FCC.
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I’m wondering how people get their stuff into Advertising Age (I guess I could find out at their site… nah). Anyway, today I read a viewpoint column by Scott Johnson titled ”Electronic Media: Altering Our Intelligence”. In it he actually states “The media-induced diminution of human intelligence is very real. The good news for those of us in the advertising industry is that, slowly, an entirely new form of intelligence is being born to replace it.”

Let me get this right: We humans are getting more stupid and more intelligent at the same time? Neat trick! Let’s see, I can use the “I’m getting more stupid” part to keep me out of decisions I don’t want to make. Then I can use the “I’m gaining an entirely new form of intelligence” part to win arguments with my co-workers. This is fantastic! If only I even remotely agreed with his premise.

I don’t. In fact, I think it’s a silly and embarassing article to come from someone in our industry.

Quick! Using just your RSS aggregator, tell me what the top news story is on CNN, the AP wire or FoxNews.

You can’t (unless you guess) because on RSS feeds, all news is created equal.

I’ll admit it; I’m a feed junkie. I’m following the feeds of the news sources listed above in addition to the blogs I follow. I choose what to read based on title alone. If the subject is interesting to me, I read it. If not, I’ll let the news item slide. In all, I can keep up with lots of news that way. But am I keeping up with the “important” news?

Last night I caught a news program that covered the top stories. Because of a crazy work and home schedule, I hadn’t seen a broadcast or cable news program in a few days. I was shocked! I knew all of the stories that they had covered, but issues that I thought were “top stories” weren’t. Stories that I didn’t see much immediacy in, were the headlines. Can we survive on RSS feeds alone?

When I visit CNN.com I see the “important” stories big as life with a photo. FoxNews.com is the same way. I know what the editors have decided as most important to news readers (what’s amazing is how often these two sites differ). With RSS, I choose the news I read in no particular order. I guess without the hoopla from a big story having a photo and a big headline, it’s just another story to be read. In this sense, news editors have lost their power to control what is and is not important to the news reader. Their only control is making a headline that makes me want to read the story. They really need to take a note from blog writers who have learned the art of making titles too good to pass by.
Chances are, none of my clients will ever be the big, big story (if they are, crisis mode has probably kicked in, and I’m not happy that they are there). But I don’t have to be number one as long as I’m in the top 10 on the RSS feed. If I’m on the right feed, my audience will be more likely to read the story because hopefully, my client interests them.

MediaWeek has a new article outlining research from Mediamark Research Inc. According to the research

• 11.2 percent of adults report having a DVR up from 8.6 in the Fall
• DVR households are 23% less likely to be heavy TV viewers
• DVR households are 43% more likely to be heavy readers of magazines
• DVR households are 40% more likely to be heavy readers of newspapers
• DVR households are 81% more likely to be heavy Internet users
• DVR households more upscale than the entire adult population

Communicators take note! To me this looks like the profile of a social media user. They might be fast forwarding through commercials, but they are paying attention to media relations initiatives and social media. Advertising is not dead, it’s just shifting its focus. TV is still a major player in an advertising mix, but will it always be that way? No. The DVR is giving us television when we want it – just like YouTube and iTunes and Google Video. This study does not imply that DVR users are less plugged in, it tells me that they are even more aware of products and services than are their commercial-watching counterparts. We need to recognize that the DVR gives us more opportunities to reach our audiences, and it forces us to be more creative with our television promotions.

Broadcasted on June 9, 2006

Today, John Mims interviews Tom Gaillard, President of Concentric Direct Marketing. Gaillard discuses the market’s shift toward consumer centric marketing: its strategies and practices.

• The common approach before consumer centric marketing was product marketing where companies were pushing products at consumers, with little input. Now, with consumer centric strategies, companies experience an opposite effect with consumers pulling at products. Successful companies are able to determine, understand, and deliver what the consumer wants.

• Technology is causing the shift toward consumer centric marketing. With large data warehouses, the internet and collection tools, collecting and capturing data has become significantly easier and practical.

• As a result of consumer centric marketing, companies use more real-time and relevant communication with their customers. Consumers naturally create a media barrier, jaded from spam and other irksome advertising attempts, so it is necessary to deliver the right message, at the right time, and the right way.

• Cross selling opportunities are becoming more widespread. Companies target previous customers by analyzing their demographics. For example, if a customer opens a checking account, the next day the bank will send a thank you package with specific promotions and offers which would best apply to the interests of the consumer.

• Specific targeting saves money in the long run by not sending out unnecessary information. Companies now target customers specifically by sending out details and information the customer would be interested in.

Listen to the full broadcast on our iTunes Podcast Marketing Watch.
Feel free to contact us; we welcome ideas and feedback from our audience.

Broadcasted on May 19, 2006

Today’s interview is with Lara Helms, Art Director for Altyris Advertising. Helms discusses the marketing strategies used to promote the TV show “Lost.”

• “Lost” is taking its audience outside the hour long TV show to searching websites and other sponsorships looking for show details. Lost fans search sites such as Sublymonal.com, sponsored by Sprite, to look for “Lost” information.

• “Lost” marketers are taking fans from one medium and driving them into another medium to market their product and message. The Hanso Foundation, a fictional organization created in the “Lost” series, released a commercial that prompted a hotline number and website for curious fans. Those who called the number were put on hold and listened to commercials from Monster.com and Sprite.

• For those who do not have access to the power of marketing through hit TV shows, Podcasts from iTunes, viral marketing, and websites like myspace.com have the same kind of impact and are just as useful.

Listen to the full broadcast on our iTunes Podcast Marketing Watch.

Feel free to contact us; we welcome ideas and feedback from our audience.

Broadcasted on Nov. 1, 2005

Today’s interview is with John Mims, Public Relations Director for Altyris Advertising. John discusses the procedures of how to handle a public relations crisis.

• Although some companies do not respond at all, in fear of the media or from lawyer intervention, it is important to keep two rules in mind:

1. Respond Quickly. This usually depends on the crisis, but with events involving safety and injury, people want to hear if the parties involved are safe and if investigations are occurring to prevent any further incident.

2. Respond Completely. It is important to initially respond with as much information as can be given. This avoids the problem of going back out to the media to give additional information which will keep the story alive and lengthen the time the public will hear the bad press.

• A PR Crisis Plan preplans a response team at the time of the crisis and allows you to focus on what you are going to say, rather than who and how you are going to say it.

Listen to the full broadcast on our iTunes Podcast Marketing Watch.
Feel free to contact us; we welcome ideas and feedback from our audience.