Let's look to Newspapers for the future of Display Ads

In order to stop display ads from withering on the vine publishers and advertisers must get more creative with online ads, and one good place to look for ideas is traditional media.

As Mitch talked about in his blog post, display ads are in trouble.

Are they going to go away?  No, banner ads are the primary vehicle to obtain reach online, and can carry a brand message to millions online.  Yet no matter what we do creatively, or how we push the limits of behaviorally targeting, display ads still seem incomplete.

Why is that?  Why do we as marketers feel like we are missing something with a banner ad, that we get with a TV ad?

Some of it has to do with advertisers giving way to much credit to TV ads. Are they all that much more effective than a well done roadblock or pre-roll ad online?  Maybe a little, but  TV advertising has had over 50 years to perfect it's approach.

So what must be done to evolve display ads so they are more effective? First we need to think outside the current IAB box for display ads.  Publishers also need to work in tandem with advertisers to find the best placements.  They can no longer say, we place banners here, skyscrapers here, and big boxes here.

I know some publishers are offering this, and pretty much anyone would for the right price, but it needs to be easier.  Why not open up the entire page to ads, and charge different rates for different areas of the page?  Then publishers could make the content fit around that? Obviously their needs to be some limitations to this, but this same approach has been done for years in print.

A newspaper advertiser can choose pretty much any placement for an ad, as long as they stay to within basic column and row heighth specifications.  This gives the advertiser much more flexibility to create ads that grab attention.  Plus it makes it harder for readers to train themselves to ignore certain sections of a page where an the ad is always placed.

Sure to deploy this on websites would involve customized site layouts for each approach, but how hard would it be to come up with 30 different layout options for each placement? Again, the papers do it.

And this is just one option.  Other creative ideas such as unique shapes and sizes of creative need to be developed as well.  What about instead of a box or rectangle we use a circle, or even the shape of a logo? Sure that would not work for everyone, but over the years we have trained viewers to stop paying attention to colored boxes and rectangles online.  How do we break this pattern?

Only by getting creative, and thinking about new implementation ideas beyond IAB standards, are publishers going to be able to differentiate and take control back from the ad networks.

Too much inventory, too many sites, too many options.  Yes, that is a problem, but if can increase demand by using more effective placements and creative some of those problems will go away.

Traditional Media don't be Scared!

Why is it that traditional media and new media just can't get along? Why is it that I go to countless presentations by TV and Radio stations and all they ever try to do is justify their existence? It's always about reach! They say “you can't get reach like this anywhere else” (who are they kidding?). Or they try to sell their personal connection with their audience. I love when they say their website, has more dedicated followers that trust them and is more valuable than a typical website.

Seriously? When was the last time you felt a personal connection to a traditional media's website more than say a social website?

Traditional media is not dead by any stretch of the imagination, nor will it be anytime soon, but with this type of talk they are sure digging their grave rather fast. Why aren't they figuring out ways to develop deeper relationships and connections with their audience?

It's because they are scared of loosing audience to other sites and using other formats they do not control. Sure they have all added blogs, but why won't they reach out to their audience and connect in a more meaningful way? Why not have Facebook groups, Twitter profiles etc.?

No one wants to read a blog that talks about the same things they do on the air. They read a blog to find out what their DJ or news Anchorman is really like. Or at the very least to get a behind the scenes look at what is going on at the station.

I listen to the Hot AC radio station here in Seattle, (only in the morning mind you, it wakes me up) with an ideal Facebook demo, and they do not even have a Facebook Group that I can find. Their morning Jocks have Facebook profiles but they are private. (I would try to friend them, but don't want that showing up on my profile!)

TV is the same way. I have a friend who is a Weatherman, and I have been trying to convince him to join Twitter. He could be the Weatherman for Twitter, and connect with his audience on a deeper way, but as of yet he has not done it.

Why do these traditional media formats avoid these social platforms? It's all about controlling the audience. They still think they have control like they did 20 years ago, and sadly refuse to wake-up to the idea that they are now just a small part of people lives.

Only by embracing other media formats, and loosing control will they truly develop a deep relationship with their audiences. Once that relationship is established they will then have something more valuable then reach, they will have insight and a connection on a personal level.

In traditional media?  Let me know what you think.

Kevin Urie

Social Media Burnout? Will we see social media Karo-jisatsu?

How long until a big time social media enthusiast burns out and leaves the medium all together?  Or ever worse, how long until someone that is on Twitter 7 days a week 18 hrs a day, finally has enough and either goes insane, or does the unthinkable because of the over work?

Getting online everyday, blogging, checking your Tweets, replying to Facebook invites etc. can be overwhelming.  I even find that simply Tweets or Facebook updates can just be a little too much for me on certain days.

You can love the space all you want, but at some point people need breaks.  We need to breakup our lives in order to give us balance.  Otherwise I see too many of us in the social media space becoming much like Japan's Karo-jisatsu workers.

I am sure these Karo-jisatsu loved there job as well, and were trying to simply provide for their families and help others, but we must make sure everything is in balance.

All too often I find myself with my laptop in the family room as my wife and kids are doing something else.  Of course I justify it by saying I need to work harder, and stay on top of this stuff especially during these down economic times, but is it worth it? Probably not.

Finding that balance is different for everyone, but we all must try and be understating with others as they find their balance.  So next time you see 3 blog post, and 30 tweets on a Saturday or Sunday from your favorite social media guru, make sure to throw up a prayer to help the guy out.

At the very least be understanding if he does not get back to your ping immediately.

Share Social Networks on Thanksgiving!

Ever feel like being part of Twitter, having a blog, and taking part in other social networks, is something you want to share? Thought for Thanksgiving, I'd give tips on how to get friends, co-workers, etc. to use RSS, Twitter, and Blogs.  We are going to spend time with family and need something to talk about, why not let them in on a how amazing social networks are?

Below are a few ideas on how to get friends, family, and co-workers to start taking part in online conversations.  At some point someone got you started on it, now it's time to share the favor with someone else.

RSS - 1.Show them your RSS reader and how quickly it transformed how you get information from the web. 2.Show them this video by Common Craft if they still don't get it. 3.Setup an RSS reader for them with feeds you think they might like 4.If they like to read books, talk to them about how blogs have turned you onto some good books, and how blogs have added to your reading.

Twitter - 1.When you forward articles you found on Twitter, tell them that. 2.Tell them how your Twitter contacts answered a question you had. 3.Have them look over your shoulder when you use Twitter, to see the type of conversations you have.  They'll be shocked, it's not all about people posting about brushing their teeth. 4.If you have enough followers, ask your followers to say hello to the friend who is interested in Twitter.

Blog - 1.If they already like to write, encourage them to simply put it online. 2.If they think they can't write, have them read my blog.  I can't, but I am hoping by writing more on my blog it will improve. 3.I have friends who write long white paper type emails. These type of emails translate easy into blog post.  Help them convert some of them.

Networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn should be easy to get them on and is a great place to start

Facebook-

1.If they are not on Facebook by now, they probably think it is just for friends.  Show them how you use it to connect for business. 2.Show them lost friends you found on Facebook, and what that led to. 3.Some simply will not get Facebook, so move on to LinkedIn

LinkedIn- 1.Show them your connections, and ask them to name a business.  Then explain how you are connected to it. 2.If they are in sales, so them all the options LinkedIn provides them. 3.Explain how LinkedIn, does not have all the Facebook things they don't like.  Such as videos, personal pics, etc. 4.If they are looking for a new job, show them how to use it that way.

This list could go on and on, and please add to it in comments if you have any suggestions or stories of success.

I have been working on my friends and co-workers for the last few months, and two of them are starting blogs, three of them have started using RSS readers, and I think one is about to start Twitter.

It is not the easiest thing to convince others to join the online conversation, but the more people we have taking part, the better the conversations will be.

Are You Learning from Others to Imitate or to Innovate?

Downturns in the economy bring great innovations, and is when many successful companies get their start.  Whether it be during the Great Depression when HP was founded, or during 1975 recession when Microsoft started. American's are resilient and entrepreneurial, and when things get tough, we start innovating! (to read more on this see this link)

What are you doing to prosper during this economic slowdown?  Are you trying to innovate and think outside the box, or are you simply copying ideas from others?

Don't get me wrong, I love to learn.  I subscribe to around a hundred RSS feeds (ok I need to cut the list down. I have 1,200 feeds to read today),  have too many Twitter friends than I can follow, and love a good book and a lively debate.  Learning from others is not the problem that holds us back from innovating, the problem is if we let others do the thinking for us.

When you are in learning from others, do you find yourself taking what they say and finding ways to apply it to your own life, or do you think about what they have to say and how it will impact the future?

If we do not think about current application and future implications, we are missing out on one of the best parts of learning.  We must apply, but we also must spend time thinking about innovation.  We should always be asking ourselves, of everything I have learned today, and everything I know, what's next?  What is missing?  What is it that everyone else is talking about, but may have overlooked?

From this week on, I am challenging myself to spend time each day trying to innovate.  During this time I will use what I have learned to think outside the box and innovate.  This could simply be a new way to do some little task, or it could be developing new ideas on where marketing is headed.

Great companies do this.  3M allows time for their employees to think of new ideas, so does Google.  We need to take this time as well.

We spend countless hours reading and learning from others about their innovations.  Now it is our turn to  innovate!

“They're killing independent George! And they're, they're all in on it! World's are colliding!”

Ever felt like you have too many social networks? One for friends, one for business connections, one for learning from others, etc.? Ever thought about trying to keep these social networks separate?

It reminds me of a George's Worlds Collide Theory:

“Theory that if ones relationship self and their independent self met it would be the end of the independent self”

The same thing is happening with social media. Do we want our friend networks to collide with our business network? Do we want our learning network (for me this is Twitter) to collide with our friend or business network?

If they do, do we loose our one independent self? Does the work me, the friend me, and the family me all of a sudden become one person? Heck the more important question is do my connections in these different groups even want to know about my other worlds?

Do my Linkedin connections care that I just made a new friend on Facebook? Do my Facebook friends care that I just replied to @jasonfalls and asked him a question? Do they even know what @jasonfalls or RT means?

For now I am going to keep these worlds separate. Anyone can find me on any network (some are linked above and below) if they want to get info on that part of my world, but for now, mostly as a favor to my connections they will be separated.

I am sure someday a tool will come along, where you will be able to tell it what kind's of info you want from your various connections, but for now let's avoid the colliding of the worlds. Look what it did to George, his fiancee ended up dieing.

Profiles

Linkedin

Twitter

Facebook

Confused about the Future? Plan Anyway!

Steve Rubel recently blogged saying ...

"I want to make a bet with you today. By January 2014 I will wager that in the US almost all forms of tangible media will either be in sharp decline or completely extinct. I am not just talking about print, but all tangible forms of media - newspapers, magazines, books, DVDs, boxed software and video games."

This caused others such at Mitch Joel to blog in response, saying that making this shift by 2014 is almost impossible. And I agree with Mitch and others. (heck my bathroom is still littered with magazines, and for only $10 a year for most of them they are hard to give up)

This shift is never going to completely happen by 2014, but why don't we set that as a goal or a deadline?  Why don't we try to push ourselves to make it happen by this date?  Why don't we get our companies ready for this shift, and prepare our marketing for a fast and dramatic shift in media over these next eight years?

This way we can be ready if media does shift by 2014, and if it doesn't we can be ahead of the curve.

Now, I am not proposing shifting our advertising plans out of old media starting tomorrow,  I'm just saying let's start thinking about what life is going to be like after this digital shift.  How are we going to reach consumers with our message?  How are they going to interact with our products?  What new technology could we invent to communicate more effectively?

We may not know when, or how things are going to change, but we should always be trying to guess what the changes are going to be and when they are going to happen.  That is the only way we can start to prepare for the future.

Even if we never guess the right timeline, or the right changes, going through this exercise of preparing for change, will make us more able to capitalize on these shifts.  So if we are late to the party, and don't figure out what we need to do until the very last moment, we'll already be experienced at identifying the changes, and how we can take advantage of them.

Empty Your Cup of Knowledge

I am a fan of old Pacific Lutheran football coach Frosty Westering and a saying he uses before he speaks “empty your cup”. (Being Frosty, he actually demonstrates the illustration, water goes everywhere etc.) The essence of the saying is that if we go into anything thinking our cup of knowledge is full, we will not have any room to learn anything knew.

We must first empty our cup, and then look for ways to fill it with the knowledge of others.

This is something that I struggle with, and am trying to work on. I am an internet geek, I know a little about a lot, but true knowledge comes from relationships not the internet.

I struggle with this at my job as well. As an Ad Exec, I have a tendency to always want to come off as the marketing “expert” to my clients. I have the education, experience, support groups, etc. and my client does not, so I should understand marketing more than most of my clients who spend most of the day running their businesses.

But that is not always the case. As much as I try to understand my clients business, they still know it better than I do. Sometimes I make a mistake or overlook something, and the client can add some good insight. Other times my clients wealth of knowledge might be different than mine, and they may offer a great idea that I have never thought of.

Bottom line, no matter how much of an expert you think you are in any particular area, always listen to others as if they are an expert. It's amazing what you learn with an open mind.

Marketing Budget Cuts, Really?

So these last few months have been extremely hard on the advertising industry and on me personally.  No matter where you turn it seems everyone is talking about the horrible economy, and about how to avoid a depression.

Sorry, but when people sound hopeful about avoiding a depression, that still does not help instill confidence.

Given this news, many of my clients have asked to cut their budgets in the last few weeks.  Below is a list of reason they have given for cutting their budgets, and what my colleges and I have said in response.  (remember we specialize in retail advertising so the answers and questions lean that way.)

1. We can cut budget and keep our share of voice, because our competitors have cut budget – Our goal has never been share of voice, but share of mind.   We want XX% of people to think of your brand for XX product.

2. Let's cut for just a little bit and see what happens – The ramifications of cutting marketing spend are not instantaneous.  If I cut budget one week, my sales may not drop to the next etc., plus it may take some time to gain back the level of awareness we once had.

3.Spend to Sales is out of proportion - Let's look at the numbers based on the long term not month to month, and figure out our best long terms marketing goals.

I wish I could tell you these all worked, but of course they did not.  Some cut, some did not, and more will cut in the future.   No matter how many blogs we read that tell us now is not the time for an aggressive advertiser to cut budget,  we all know it will happen anyway.

Let's use this time not to complain or whine.  Let's use this time to think more strategically, and try to get the most out of every dollar we do have.  What have you wanted to do with your marketing, that now might be a good time to try?

Are you hiding behind social media?

Something I deal with every time I write on this blog or even tweet, is my tendency to hide.   Am I truly being me, or am I pretending to be the person I want the online community to think I am?

I am currently reading the book “The Silence of Adam”.  It is a Christian book that talks about how men should really act.  I came across the quote below, and it made me think about social media, how I learn, and my fears.

“Men are easily threatened. And whenever a man is threatened, when he becomes uncomfortable in places within himself that he does not understand, he naturally retreats into an arena of comfort or competence, or he dominates someone or something in order to feel powerful.  Men refuse to feel the paralyzing and humbling horror of uncertainty, a horror that could drive them to trust, a horror that could release in them the power to deeply give themselves in relationships. As a results most men feel close to no one........”

What is holding you back?  Are your fears or uncertainties holding you back form achieving your potential?  Are they holding you back from truly taking a place in social media and joining the conversation, and giving people insight on who you are?

Social media can seem like a vulnerable place.  Putting yourself out there for many to see, and possibly disagree with you.  Yet only once you do that, do you truly find your place, and do you start to develop real relationships.

Apple Please Listen to Us! Part III- Be Social!

Lastly Apple’s customer service is now having trouble keeping up with its growth. Don’t get me wrong, once you talk to someone you get great service, but getting to that point is difficult. Apple stores are always busy, and getting the time with a Genius can take days. Online their customer service is non-existent except for a few tutorials, a FAQ’s and a forum that no one from Apple seems to look at or moderate. Heck even finding there customer service phone number is next to impossible on the Apple Service website.

Why don’t they have live chat customer service? Why don’t they moderate the forums and see what the problems are? I called them the awhile ago because location services on my iPhone would not always work. I could find all sorts of post online about this very location services problem. Some on the Apple forum, others on Twitter or MacRumors Forums. To anyone who knew their way around the internet, it was obvious there was a problem.

But when I called Apple, they told me I was the first one ever to report the problem. She then talked to the CS supervisor and he still knew nothing of the problem. I told them to look at their forums. She then gave me an incident number for me to post on the forums so others could call in with the same complaint.

Shouldn’t Apple be doing this? Why are they relying on their customers to take care of other customers? Invest in your customers and they will reward you, even more than they do now. What if Apple was actively monitoring and posting in their forums? Think how useful it would be. Think of all the great ideas that would be shared, and the increase in brand loyalty they would have. (ok it is already pretty hi, but how long can it stay there?)

We are your customers Apple! We make you great! We control your future! If you do not listen to us, we will go away. We are a fickle bunch, and if you do not develop for us, take part in our conversation, or listen to us we will go way!

We’ll we may wait tell Steve leaves, but we will go away.

The Election, Customized Messages, and Connections

I'm taking a break from my Apple rant today, to talk about what everyone else is talking about today, the election.

This years election is fascinating, the internet and especially social media has allowed people to connect with their candidates like never before.  It started with the amazing connection many people felt with the old man out of Texas, Ron Paul, and then transitioned to other candidates.

Social media has allowed voters to feel a personal connection to their candidates, and has allowed the candidates to customize their message to reach specific demographics.

Obama did not personally connect with people online, but instead he encouraged his supporters to connect together and form a strong online community.  He allowed voters to find other people like themselves that were voting for Obama, and talk and develop an online connection. 9 out of 10 people I follow on Twitter have been telling me to vote for Obama and reasons why.  I have never met most of these people, but I trust them with other advice, why would I not trust them with political advice?  Especially when their reasons for voting for Obama are targeted to the online geek demographic I fit into?

Obama is capitalizing on, online word of mouth.  He has even segmented his supporters into groups.  Look at his website, under the people header.  There anyone can find a group to associate with, whether it is a Christian group, Arab Group, Latin American group, etc.  Instead of trying to be one brand for everyone, Obama has segmented his brand and tweaked it for each of these groups.

He is very generic with his mass media message and somewhat unclear, but then when targeting these small groups he has customized his message to appeal to them.  This would have been impossible to do with traditional media.

Each group of supporters has made the Obama brand their own.  Geeks love him for one thing and that is what he talks about to them, and Labor loves him for other reasons and he talks to them about that.

In some ways Obama has let his supporters take over the Obama Brand. They have made it their own, and have developed a strong connection with their views of who Obama is.

Could this backlash once he is President, and he has to make decisions that alienate groups of his followers? Probably, but I am sure he will once again engage the community, and talk to them online in a personal direct manner that appeals to their interest to minimizes the backlash.

It is an amazing strategy, and something political advisors will be studying for years to com

Apple Please Listen to Us! Part II- Steve Knows Best

From what I can gather about Apple from online research, they have done very little consumer research in recent years. This goes from simple focus groups, or even using online social monitoring programs to see what consumers are talking about. Instead it seems Steve thinks he knows what is best for us. He does not see a reason to use social monitoring, because he knows more about what consumers want than they do.

Take the lack of a picture messaging and video capabilities on the iPhone. I am sure that people within Apple brought these feature ideas to Steve before the 1^st gen iPhone ever hit beta development and Steve simply said no, I know best. Why picture messaging? I use email for that. Why video? The quality would not be that good, and the files will take up too much space, they don’t need that. Then after the iPhone came out, everyone wanted these features, and they would cost little to add to the phone, but two years later and we are still waiting. Why? Because Steve knows what is best for us, and really does not care what we think.

Sure there are exceptions to that rule. Most of the time it happens when a 3^rd party comes forward with an idea that is successful, and then Apple copies it or acquires it. Case in point, the iPhone App Store. Remember the outrage after word came out that Apple would not allow you to install software on the device? It was amazing, in weeks someone had found a way unlock the phone and apps were made.

This lack of control must have made Jobs extremely mad. Mad enough to actually listen to others and develop the App Store, but this is by far the exception to the rule.  The funny part is that when Apple does listen to their consumers (Ok, not really listen, more like respond to an outrage) they come out with some of their best products. I think Jobs says, fine they want something, well we are going to do it like no one has done before and blow their socks off.

Why don’t they simply listen to consumers at the beginning of the development process? Why don’t they simply ask for feedback, actually read their customer service forums? Why don’t they take these ideas, improve on them and make them world class?

In a way Apples consumers see more potential for the company than Jobs does. Why no DVR function in the Apple TV, why no Bluray support, why no docking station for the MB Pro? The list could go on and on. But to everyone on the outside, it just seems like Apple and Steve are being stubborn, and simply refuse to believe we know what we need.

Part III will look at how this is affecting thier customer service....

Apple, Please Listen to Us!

One of the main reasons Apple has been such a success in recent years is because of the amazing ability of Steve Jobs to develop products we all love. Jobs is a true visionary, and best of all he understands how to use technology to improve lives.

But how does he do it? He could be developing and marketing products that he likes, or he could be trying to figure out what we need/like and developing technology for us. I believe that Jobs develops products he personally would like to have and puts little if any emphasis on what consumers actually want.

So far it seems consumers like what Steve likes, so this strategy has worked out great for Apple. Some of the great products developed this way are iLife, iTunes, iPod, iPhone, and of course OS X or should we say NeXT. Sure there have been a few misses like the Lisa, Apple TV (ok TBD), HiFi, etc. but for the most part, there has been many more successes than failures.

This develop what Steve likes strategy for Apple, and has lead to amazing profits and growth at Apple.(Was going to talk about the stock price here, but that’s not lookin so hot) Sure it has been great for Apple, shareholders, and consumers, but this is going to be a major problem for Apple when Steve leaves. Apple has turned into a company that is completely dependent on Steve Jobs. Others come up with ideas and develop great products, but Jobs is the ultimate decision maker on if new products get developed and go to market.

This has left a void at Apple in the area of consumer research, customer retention, and customer service. These three areas leave them vulnerable to a backlash from consumers as they continue to grow and Steve gets closer to moving to Denver and joining a cult of people who wear Levi’s and a black mock turtlenecks.

TBC…

5 reasons a traditional advertiser needs to get online experience

I finished yesterday's post by saying that if you have not gotten into online advertising, start now.  This statement was directed at the traditional advertiser, you must keep up with the times or you will be passed by.

In an effort to follow that up, below are 5 reasons a traditional advertiser needs to get online experience.

1.Have you looked at the job boards for advertising positions lately?  Almost all of them are for people with online experience. How comfortable do you feel with your job?

2.You can apply what you learn online to traditional media.  You can fine tune creative online, and then apply what you have learned to traditional media.

3.You can get focus group type information online without paying for a focus group. Monitor your consumers, potential consumers and competition, with tools such as Google Alerts, Technorati, and Twitter Search.

4.Your website has become the 2nd point of contact.  Think of it as your most important store.  How much attention would you give a store that does over 60% of your traffic?

5.You can track it.  You can show your clients or boss that it is working.  How important is that during this down economy?

Of course I could go on with a longer list, but why don't you do that in the comments.

Good To Be Back!

Since it has almost been two months since my last post, I thought I should give you an update on what is going on. Well one of the main reasons I have not made time to post is because I have been busy.  At Destination Marketing I work as both an Account Director(AD) and I lead up our newly formed Destination Digital online division.  (Title for that is TBD, should have one in the next few weeks.)

At any rate as a AD I lead 6 accounts and we are currently going through our strategic planning stages for next year.  This is the best part of my job as an AD, laying the vision and strategy is a big passion of mine.

If that has not been keeping me busy enough, I have also been swamped with online business.  We started with no clients around 5 months ago and now we have 4.  Everyone seems excited to try anything out during this downturn, and we are seeing great results for our clients online.

Right now we are working on 3 websites, 2 display campaigns, 5 PPC campaigns, and are deploying some new SEO strategies.  Yesterday for the first time ever, I saw one of our display ads on big time websites. Digg.com and CNBC.com.  Can't tell you how gratifying that was.  It was like seeing or hearing the first TV or Radio commercial I was a part of 7 years ago.   The only difference is that I don't need to wait to see if the ad works!

We still have lots to learn, and many new strategies to deploy, but things are going well and we are adding new employees to the department.   Trust, me if you have not gotten into online advertising, start now!

Play.it Review – A great alternative to Pandora if they go out of business

As you have probably heard Pandora has been having problems making money, and may need to shut down.  Well CBS radio is trying to make money with streaming radio, and may just be able to do that with Play.it   .  (If you want the basics on Play.it, please see my other blog post. If you would like to read my vision for the future of radio view this post.)

I have been messing around with the beta version of Play.it for a few weeks now.  And I must say I am pretty impressed.  CBS took the best from the competition, improved upon it, and then added a way for them to make money.

The Interface -

Ok, the interface is not super intuitive, is way more complex than Pandora, and reminds me of the new Last.fm interface.  Not surprising since Last.fm is a CBS property as well.

The home page is well laid out and easy to understand.  On it you see the stations you have listened to in recent history, and also list of other stations by music type etc.  This includes user generated stations, AOL Radio stations and CBS radio stations, so you get a wide selection of options.

What let's me down the most is the player windows.  It is ugly, and reminds me of the player you get when you listen to a traditional radio online.

The Player -

The player can do everything other players can do.  You can skip songs, rate songs, buy songs from Itunes, share songs etc.  Oh, and the sound quality is great.

It is streamed at 128 kbps for broadband connections, and whatever compression they use does a great job.   I thought Pandora sounded good from streaming but Play.it has a richer fuller sound.  It is not going to replace my CD's or high bitrate MP3 but it  sounds way better than FM or Satellite Radio.

The most unique features of the player might be what it could offer in the future.  First if you look up at the buy bar, above the album art, you see a few options that are not live yet.

The CD image will probably link to Amazon or some service to buy the CD, They use a floppy disk icon (when's the last time you saw one of those?) for purchasing songs albums from iTunes. The film icon must be for buying music videos if they decide to stream that as well, The phone icon I'm guessing will either let you buy the ring-tone or let you send the song to your phone. I have no idea what the last icon is,  any of you have a guess?

At any rate all these different options for buying not only provide the user with the options they are looking for but give CBS another way to make money from the service.

On the bottom of the player window, you can find other stations, see your history, presets, settings etc.  Really you never need to leave the player window unless you are going to program a new station, you can do everything you need right inside the player

Station Creation -

Play.it has two unique features that allow you to highly customize your stations. Target ratings and music variety options.

With the Targeted ratings you simply drag and drop the artist, song or album to a place on the target.  The closer to the center of the target, the more impact that selection will have on the music played.

Remember  that you must tell it in the properties on the top right of the window to weight the selections, if you choose equal, the target feature no longer works.

It would be great to have this option in the player as you listen to songs.  Right now all you get is a 5 star rating method.   Let's hope that features is added with the next version.

The second unique feature of the station creation is that you get to choose how adventurous the music selection will be.  If you choose The Hits, almost all the music comes from the artist you selected.  If you move the slider over to Go Deep, your station will play a wide selection of independent artist, and music formats.

Lastly but most importantly with the correct customization Play.it gives you a good selection of music to listen to.  Right now they say there are 1.2 million songs in the database and are adding more everyday.  Also, if you request a song/artist to add, they say they will add it.

So far with my experience it chooses good music to play out of that vast selection, which was my biggest concern before I tried it.  Actually from what I remember from when I first started using Pandora, and Last.fm, the learning curve of the Play.it is a lot shorter.  It started playing music I liked right away, where Pandora took some time, and I never could get Last.fm to give me a station I liked.

You can set Play.it up for music discovery, or simple listening enjoyment, or both. Whatever you want it to do Play.it can do for you.

Widgets -

Widgets?  Yes it looks like Play.it is going to offer widgets.  Right now this feature is not live, but I am guessing it will be standalone players, Facebook integration etc.  I don't know at this point, heck CBS might not even know.  They probably read an article about how widgets are the next cool thing.  Then the CMO said we need widgets on our new site.

Social Aspects -

One of the more useful aspects of Play.it is that it has several ways to share your station.  You can email your station to friends, and you get a customized url for each station you create.  I am pretty sure Last.fm does this as well, but I have not given it enough time to figure out.

Play.it seems to push this aspect of the service everywhere it can.  It is constantly telling you to share your music, and is telling you to become a DJ.  The folks behind it really want you to feel like you are a program director at a radio station.

Next thing you know you will be able to insert your own ads, and even be your own DJ.  See this blog post for more on that.

Business Model -

So here is the downer.  Are we going to need to listen to radio commercials in the future of streaming radio?  Play.it and CBS sure think so.  Right now in the beta there are no commercials, but you do get interrupted about every 5th song with a Play.it spot.

In the future you will be interrupted with local and national radio spots, on both the customized stations and the AOL and CBS stations.  The key is that they limit the amount of stops in the break to one or two spots at most.  Any more, and they are going to turn off users.  And no you can't skip through them.

This is a great feature for advertisers, but we will see if users will put up with it.  To read more on the business model see this post.

Conclusion -

So do all the benefits of Play.it make it worth listening to commercials?  Not really, but given that Pandora may go away we may have no choice.  Since Play.it will have both national, and locally inserted radio ads, and the possibility for video ads, Play.it may actually have a way to make money doing this.

They already have the sales force, and team working on this for traditional radio, why not for online?  We will eventually get all our music that way, so the sooner they transition the better.

Pro's - Sound Quality Music Selection Customizability during station creation They will not go out of business anytime soon

Con's Ads- I don't want any freakin ads! Player could be more attractive Only a private beta at the moment.

In the end Play.it is a great service, with several unique features.  It's worth trying them out if you are not satisfied with other players, or stepping into this realm for the first time. Heck if things keep going in the current direction for Pandora, and other streaming music services, they may be your only choice.

Change to Feedburner

Sorry if any of you got all the feeds again.  I changed over to Feeburner.  Please let me know if you have any additional problems.

"Dear Traditional Marketer: A Goodbye Note from Your Word of Mouth Friend "

Great post from BuzzCanuck.  I don't agree with it 100%, but things are changing.

Dear Traditional Marketer: A Goodbye Note from Your Word of Mouth Friend

Dear Traditional Marketer,

I don't blame you for thinking the way you do. You're a product of your upbringing. How were you supposed to adapt to a world that changed do quickly.

I recognize, we were once very close, I believed in the same virtues as you, but now we've grown distant, I can't relate to you anymore.

As much as I have tried to convince you to lay off the campaigns, you continue to be hooked on them.  Despite the enormous toll and financial burden they encumber, you are still addicted to these 30 second flights of fancy. I have tried interventions, I have tried rational arguments, I have threatened to leave. Can't you realize that your type can't live on reach alone? Well, this time, for my own health and welfare I must leave you.

I need to find a healthier life with those in forward-thinking PR roles, in your intuitively smart executive, in your digital world, in your progressive agencies, with your research visionaries, perhaps even those who think different than you in your very own department...people without the same vices that are killing you and your credibility each day.

See, these new friends realize that your campaigns are a drug, sure they may be exciting and provide you some level of self-esteem with the CEO or your family who watch them, but for how long and for what size of a hangover are your prepared to deal with afterward? Snort a line of successful ad copy and you'll be chasing that same wheel the rest of your career.

Sure Mad Men is a very interesting show....but let's be honest, that show is set in 1963 - we're a hell of a lot more cynical and attention-starved now. Don't you understand there is a world of people out there who want to love you, if only you let them. Their names are: customers, fans, influencers, evangelists, prosumers, mavens...please if not for me, do it for your own health and let them into your life. Talk to them, get to know them, they're good people.

I've already spent too much time in this message and I must be moving on. If I knew you were listening, i'd continue to roll that ball of the hill but I fear you are too far gone.

Enjoy your media budget largesse, post-rationalization theories for poor performance, self-perpetuating myths of controlling brand equity levers and anachronistic top-down management style...I fear these will become old and tired fast. Good luck,

Agent Wildfire,  Your Word of Mouth Friend

How do we make CEO's and CMO's understand a conversation is going on, and that they need to be part of it?  I work with retail businesses on a daily basis and most want instant gratification.  Anything that does not increase sales instantly is not considered a worthy investment.

The Future of Radio?

This it not revolutionary by any means, but just an extension or the next step of what everyone is already doing.  The future of radio will be online of course, but it will also include personalities you hear on today's radio stations.

This means everyone will be able to be their own program director and pick their own music, like with LastFM or Pandora, but in addition to music selection you will be able to pick your DJ or host.  So you will be able to listen to your custom station and then pick your favorite DJ or host, to mix in and give you a break from the music.

DJ's don't talk about the music anymore anyway, so this will be an easy switch.  The software or the listener will be able to choose how often they want someone to interrupt the music with talk, and they will also be able to be choose if they want to be interrupted with local weather, news, etc. as well.

These don't have to be typical DJ's either.  They could be podcast, or just a guy from his garage. I know of a few podcast that would work perfectly in this format.  Diggnation comes to mind (it's too long to take all at once anyway).

Ok you might be saying, but why?  Well because these breaks help keep the music from getting boring  and help you develop a connection with what you are listening to.  Essentially you are becoming your own program director.

So the marketing angle?  Well you will be able to insert geo-targeted audio ads, endorsements, and promotions are still an option.  Plus you will be able to choose the type of listeners you would like to go after based on format and subscription data.

Will radio stations as we know it go away?  Most of them will, but a few innovative ones that have good program directors will stay around programing music, but most of them will just managing talent.

Obviously this all depends on getting hi-speed wireless internet connections becoming main stream, but that is just a matter of time.  Look at what is happening with the Iphone 3g.

What do you think?