Reinventing the wheel ... and making it sexier!

It's a challenge for any brand to take on a new icon ... it can be even harder to reinvent an old beloved one. Sun-Maid Raisins has looked to modernize it's nearly 100 year old image with a new 3D version of the Sun-Maid Raisin Girl developed by Synthespian Studios. It's a move welcomed by the growers and corporate marketing team ... but not unexpectedly seen it's share of criticism. Recently a short and fairly positive blog article in conservative DC journal Weekly Standard called her "hot" and compared her to Julia Roberts. (My personal viewpoint leans towards Anne Hathaway). Before you could say "busty", Jezebel, PopCrunch, and even Yahoo Finance jumped in with considerably more than 2 cents worth. Fresno's KSEE TV added some regional viewpoint ... and the viral machine just keeps spinning. The YouTube video has received over 60,000 views in a week and hundreds of comments and emails coming in.

I believe the age old Ad Age adage (;-)) ... goes "any Press is good Press", but is it? Oh yes, definitely ... at least in this case. A peruse of blags and comments shows the tone as overall positive, with some bemusement as to why this is even an issue at all.  Discounting some typical venom around sex in advertising, America body image fixation, her body being too ample (or not ample enough), her moral outlook, orientation, etc ... the reality is that the Sun-Maid girl is a hot online news topic nearly 3 years after she was "developed". Not bad for a 90 year old babe ... and it offers Sun-Maid a way to rejuvenate and connect with the younger health minded consumers who will be their future. Look out Megan Fox ... without losing sight of their brand tradition, having "Lorraine" getting into shape and eating earth-friendly foods works well as a message. Better than those old school singing raisins that sold more toys than dried fruit.
Personally, I think most of the negative comments are just a secret disruptive plot by the military/industrial potato chip conglomerate. Looking forward to further adventures ... rumors of yoga, soccer, dancing and other healthy pursuits are bubbling. Hey, how did you think she kept that fine shape ... picking grapes? 

"I'm not a real user but I sell one online ..."

Unlike it's role in the Wall Street meltdown it helped orchestrate, once in a while the FTC does something intelligent ... and perhaps benefits us all! With the online world Tweeting like there's no tomorrow (a scenario many films like "2012" want you to believe), the FTC wants to rein in the blatant endorsement "free-for-some" that is clogging the Internet pipes.

Advertising is fee based promotion ... and subsidized or paid endorsements clearly fall into that category. The blurring of personal and professional lines around online social media has been based on novelty and curiousity. As the Internet emerges as a measurable communications channel with actualized new revenue forms it must take on more mature responsibilities.

The FTC has now set regulations that the online community better pay attention to. One of the greatest threats to the warm public embrace of "social networking" is fee based messages and endorsements. Just like in "real life" (and this is ours, don't forget) when someone I know and respect tells me about a product or service ... I listen and respond. When I sense an opinion is shaped by profit in any form ... all bets are off.

Experience teaches the difference between friends and "associates". My extended social network consists of many who are "friendly" but are not friends. I certainly would not regard advise from paid associates in the same manner as unpaid. iMediaConnection's paid Facebook "friends" and SponsoredTweets (which at least is exactly what it says) will quickly pull the plug on a belief that a lot of people are worth listening to. Filtering will follow.

For now I'll just be glad to see a more honest tone by many "influencers" and a transparancy to the sponsors of their messages.

(M)AdMen Shoot Endangered Species in the Foot!

Working with some ad agencies is like going hunting with Dick Cheney ... even side-by-side you can get shot! DDB Brazil, in trying to gain World Wildlife Federation account work, attempted to portray the scale of environmental damage from global warming in comparison to the attack on the New York City on 9/11. The result speaks for itself. It's not that the idea shouldn't come up at all... but wasn't anyone over 19 attending the meeting? Despite WWFs initial disclaimer of any prior knowledge and unauthorized use of brand, the concept got far enough to be submitted at the One Show (and win an award!). In my experience, nothing goes out for submission unless senior decisionmakers at both agency and client have signed off ... if not, heads roll. A joint apology has now been issued, but more than a little too late.

So, my eager young associates ... take heed. This is what Fluent Ideas is all about. Everything you think is cool, relevant and meaningful may have alternative meanings to other audiences. If you listen only to the voices in your head, you will hear one hand clapping. Open up creative debate ... and listen ... and then think again! If these guys had done so, someone without 9 lattes in their bloodstream (or worse) might have urged caution. Unabashed creative enthusiasm ... like a monkey with a gun ... can quickly do damage that cannot be repaired with words.

Healthcare 2.0: Wake up and Breathe

Excuse me, there's just been too much going on out there ... but that's not news.
If it's not global banks, its the auto industry or healthcare ... or just more inane posturing by Sarah Palin. (does anyone really take her seriously? ... I mean REALLY?). "We are where we are", a very wise man told me (My Dad, a long time ago ... and again just recently), "we'll deal with it a day at a time".

The financial system has a life of it's own ... hopefully we can let it get healthier. My media work in New York has taught me that news drives the market ... but not usually in the direction analysts predict. This is certainly true now. If analysts paid more attention to underlying causes (and traders actually listened) the market might exhibit more intelligence ... but "we are where we are". Companies that ignore the heartbeat of change will wither, those that feel the wind will fly.

Healthcare, on the other hand, is a controlled device of man's medical skill and financial cunning. The US healthcare system is clearly in need of overhaul ... costs are far too high and options far too few. Whether you think that a national health plan will help or hurt, information will prove the most valuable tool.

SO ... on that note, here is an interesting project on a key trend in medicine: self-service. Ronald Dixon, director of the Virtual Practice Project at Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital is introducing a medical kiosk, called Health Care 360. Blood pressure, diet, physical issues and even test data are entered and over time can act as an important diagnostic screening tool, allowing doctors to pay more attention to patients needing live attention. By turning patients from passive to active participants in their own health care, a truly holistic approach to medicine is enabled.

I worked on a project over a decade ago for GNC called "Alive Stores" with a similar intelligent "self-service" approach. While it faded out at the time due to costs, the concept was valid. With the drumbeats on Healthcare growing louder along the Potomac ... the industry would be well advised to pay attention (and perhaps some funding) to similar projects making smart use of such enabling technologies.

Technobama: changes 4ward?

With all the grim financial news on Wall Street, Detroit and pretty much all around the World, it's a good time to take inventory of what's broken, what needs fixing, what should get tossed ... and what is on the horizon.
The election of Barack Obama, beyond a historic event validating Americas commitment to it's stated social principals, is unprecedented in it's basis online. No previous election ever got as "grass roots" as this one, with an unlikely candidate with little previous national exposure rising to the top of the heap in a contending pack FULL of political savvy. To a significant extent, the Obama campaign's use of the Internet and social networking helped clinch both regional image-building and fundraising. The rest is History.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" ... but clearly some things are broke, including many Americans. The US public has helped bring this on itself in our political choices and general disinterest in critical issues. (It's much more fun to read up on Paris & Britney than politics & economics!) Our banking system has broken from deregulation and a lack of public oversight. By allowing banks, investment firms and insurance companies to compete for each others lunch, we unleashed a free-for-all and we now see the spectacle as these all belly up to a buffet trough of taxpayer cash. By fashion forwarding gas guzzling SUV's and 4x4s that never see dirt roads, we let US automakers think that alternative fuel vehicles are just PR window dressing for token appeal.
Enough already! Without a change in public mindset, there will be no real change. Even the most tragically-hip fashionistas and flag-draped uber-conservatives can smell something in the air that's not right. Beyond rhetoric, hopefully the news will get through that apathy is not cool, that political intelligence is not about snooping on election rivals and that changing the future starts in the present.
The world looks to America for some important exports. Ideas, entertainment and technology to name a few. In an age when America cannot compete effectively for low cost human manufacturing, innovation and creativity holds our greatest promise. Technology and creativity combined will prove Americas greatest WMP (Weapons of Mass Production). Look around ... on every front you can find promising solutions to specific problems from business management to engineering to social interaction. Our aspirations and concerns are reflected in media and music, our energy and commitment is found across the Web ... sometimes hard to find ... but there.
Congratulations Mr. Obama ... we wish you well and support the intelligent course you seem to be setting. Please ignore the political insiders and vested interests who will invariably push their programs at you. If you can tap into the roots of American intelligence and social commitment as well as you did our political discontent, we have a lot to look forward to.

Just below the "Surface"

Those of us who are aware of the remarkable potentials for retail and out-of-home media using interactivity are increasingly excited with the array of new tools available. No longer just demo tech, Microsoft’s new “Surface” platform is a good example of this genre, now being used in AT&T stores and elsewhere. GestureTek, Reatrix and others paved the “gesture-based” way … and now BumpTop, EonReality, MicroTouch, PerceptivePixel and other sensory displays are evolving fast. Such formats allow increased “hands on” touch-screen access for a far more fluid interaction “experience”. The system understands the user rather than the other way around … good news for all of us.

A decade ago I ran an experiment on self service “kiosks” at a medical trade event … one using a computer with keyboard and mouse, one with identical content on a touchscreen system. The results were quite compelling. Many intelligent, computer oriented customers literally avoided the computer / mouse … and the keyboard was treated like the “untouchable” caste in India! The touchscreen system by contrast had even admitted technophobes playing around and exploring the media with enthusiasm.

Creating a new “transparency” for out-of-home users is a critical element. Content is also key. "Digital signage" is more than moving pictures and commercials ... it offers a two-way line of communication directly between a business and its life blood ... Customers. Rather than the traditional "guesstimating" at their preferences, interactivity allows your clients and customers to actually “tell” you what they want in no uncertain terms by their behavior.

I'm not talking surveys here, please! Personally, I find many surveys depersonalized and irritating despite incentives for rewards. There are lots of real “choice” options which quietly and subtly allow the users preferences to be clear. When customer data is unified and used properly, the evidence is clear even without RFID’s, preferred member programs (though often a great idea) … or any tech driven invasion of privacy.

By using technology to make the dialogue between seller and buyer a close, honest and cooperative one, real brand loyalty is built … which is, as MasterCard says “priceless”. In this new media neighborhood, customers will naturally turn to those brands which comfort, nurture and care about them.

Be one of them.

Unleash your hidden business online

Sometimes the obvious is invisible ... when you are too close to the subject. This is true of most small businesses who take for granted qualities that customers may think important ... and such qualities may be what define your business as GREAT.

With this in mind ... take the extra time to find out why customers are loyal, keep coming back and send others. This knowledge is priceless! When you put in the extra effort it shows and customers respond ... when you don't your business dies a slow death. But you may not even be giving yourself credit where credit is due, and may actually be missing out on key business that is just waiting to land in your lap!

A quick case in point ... we helped design a wedding photographers website to show the quality and help with bookings. One piece of our strategy was to put proofs of each wedding in a "private" review area where both family and guests could see all of the proofs. Amazingly print sales soared, and we discovered that nearly as many guests bought prints from the gallery as family, creating a whole new circle of customers ... some who later also had THEIR weddings done by the same photographer.

This is typical of what online marketing can do for small business ... tap into a whole new class of customers. Websites that started out as "online brochures" grow into internet businesses. All thats needed is to keep an open eye and ear to what makes your customers tick ... and the willingness to try something new. Call us for a free evaluation at 212-604-0666