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So many forms of media exist today that Media Nerd is absolutely certain that soon the phrase “alternative media” will cease to have any meaning at all. In our quest to make sure that nobody escapes from advertising messages we use every available surface for signage, screen placement, projection, graffiti, murals, until the landscape has no clear, open surfaces. So here are a few ideas about more:

Health Clubs:

• Cardio-workout equipment can be equipped with text zippers on which to read news, stock quotes, and ads.
• Plastic bags in the locker rooms can carry ads, which will cut the cost for the club because the advertiser is underwriting the service.
• Towels can be made with ads or logos and then supplied free or at low cost to the club
• Let’s not forget the back of the restroom stall door, which is already being done in bars and clubs.

Books:

• Bookmarks with ads/coupons can be distributed in bookstores with purchases and/or in libraries with books being checked out
• Put ads back in mass-market paperback books; they had bound-in ads in the middle about 50 years ago. That will help cut the cost of books themselves while delivering an audience that probably reads fewer magazines and watches less television.

Media Nerd recently met with the sales manager of Hercules Networks, a company that makes charging stations for cell phones: You watch news, weather, and ads while your cell phone charges in 10 minutes flat. Bookstores, libraries, and health clubs are three more venues I would suggest to him, since the average user is in each of these venues for at least ten minutes while browsing, shopping, or dressing. Not to mention everyone else who is also there who is exposed to the ads.

Of course, this also needs an approach that a client can measure, since everything is all about results. This has been done with 800-telephone numbers before, so there is a simple answer: All ads carry a variation of the web address so the site administrator can pull reports to log the number of hits by media form. That’s how to measure ROI.

Wellness is the new big American obsession. It speaks to our country’s hunger for continued youthfulness, focus and purpose as different things continue to exert strong pressure on our personal, family and work lives. We’re frankly all a little bit stressed over many things, including the economy, the state of the world, and the environment.

And while technology helps us to catch up by organizing us a bit more, keeping up with the growing base of gadgetry can also add to the worries. As a result we desperately need some space and time to meditate and take care of ourselves. Welcome to America’s heightened search for balance.

This search for the ‘better self’ was begun by Oprah in the late eighties and has increased over the years. Our quest for calm, ironically, is coming at a time when Americans are forced to work and try harder to keep up with the rest of the world. The Asians are kicking our butts in terms of economic growth, and the Europeans and their stronger Euro are putting a break on our ability to enjoy foreign travel. No wonder we’re looking for an outlet to let off some steam.

But we’re looking for a little bit more than just relaxation; we’re also looking for values and meaning. This feeling was drastically marked by the catastrophic impact on our collective identity after September 11th. continue reading ““I Feel Good” : America’s Wellness Revolution”

How and when did brands get so small? It seems that despite the greater availability of tools and engaging media to connect brands with consumers, the impact of brands on society has greatly diminished. Why are the trillions of dollars currently spent on marketing only getting us “Paris Hilton” brands instead of timeless “Liz Taylors?” It seems that this past decade’s media revolution has empowered consumers while making brands more insecure.

Brands that want to be leaders must learn how to lead. They must facilitate what we call “branded movements” – or powerful collaborative statements with non-traditional groups such as grassroots organizations and influencers resulting in powerful brand communities. How do branded movements begin?

Brands should first adopt a more assertive attitude with regards to the roles they can play in society. They should not be afraid to ask themselves how they can change the world. This type of weighty question will naturally guide your brand to true values and give clarity, edge and purpose to your branding strategy. Plus, doing so will also bring you closer with a stronger base of consumers that are already asking themselves that very question of the brands they embrace.

A growing number of examples of branded movements is feeding consumers’ appetite for brand meaning, including General Electric’s “Eco-magination,” Lance Armstrong’s “Live Strong,” Dove’s “Real Beauty”, and Bono’s Red Campaign. At the core of these initiatives is a brand becoming human, inspiring through values, and then building communities through stories and interactions through imaginative use of creative and media.

“Branded movements,” work because they give everyone involved a sense of purpose around the brand and its values. They are also powerful because they allow to brand to touch upon society’s big shifts as well as the themes impacting the day-to-day decisions of individuals and families. The brand becomes both symbolic and relatable, inspirational and accessible. It is then, by being truly a part of consumers’ lives that our shrinking brands can become big again.

Spain defeats Germany for the Euro 2008 Cup. It’s their first major title in 44 years.

Spain: 1
Germany: 0

¡Felicidades Campeones!

As Raul Castro continues to introduce new reforms in Cuba, he is slowly evolving the political ideology of a country that has been Communist for too many decades. We all have the right to pursue life, liberty and happiness in the United States. Although we take it for granted, we are rewarded for our entrepreneurial spirit and our abilities in every aspect of our life. What if someone took away your ability to better yourself or certain aspect of your life?

The equal pay system has been in place in Cuba since 1959. Cuban workers have been earning the same wage for decades with no incentive to excel due to everyone earning the same wage regardless of performance. It is no surprise that Cubans have allowed a government to oppress them for close to 50 years at home, at work and in all aspects of their lives with little resistance.

There is hope! Cuban officials hope to reverse a stagnant economy by adopting a new wage system that will reward workers with a minimum 5% bonus for meeting performance goals and their salaries will have no set ceiling. We will truly see the entrepreneurial spirit of a people that have been oppressed for so long personified in the improved production and services that Cuba can offer in this modern global economy.

What difference does 5% make on a relatively poor society? A new wage system will open the window for improved human rights conditions. That window will slowly become the door for a more democratic Cuban society.

At an Obama rally in Detroit, Michigan last week two Muslim women wearing traditional religious head coverings were asked to sit elsewhere so that they would not appear in the background of any photographs taken by the media. Shimaa Abdelfadeel and Hebba Aref, like many other Arab-Americans, may be getting the cold shoulder from a campaign that talks about unity and bringing together people from all walks of life. The Obama campaign has visited many temples and churches reaching out to all types of religious constituencies. He has even visited small Cuban Jewish communities in South Florida. So where’s the fist pound or the Obama horizon for Arab-Americans who are looking for the same types of political reforms as most Americans today?

It was a great public relations move by the Obama campaign to have Mr. Barack Obama personally call and apologize to these women, but wouldn’t we expect that type of apology from anyone with a publicist. How about a presidential candidate? It is the right move of course. In the end, the Obama campaign volunteers who refused to allow these women to sit behind the stage during Obama’s speech were likely just following the tone and orders set by Mr. Obama or his senior advisers. There is obviously some caution with the Obama campaign affiliating themselves too closely with the Muslim and Arab community.

As a Democrat and a former Hillary supporter, I continuously wonder if a two year senator from Illinois has the experience to lead this great country. Is this campaign of change for real or just a slogan created by the great David Axelrod? I for one will vote for substance over style everyday of the week, thus I remain undecided until November.

I’ve always had a good gut. When I was 5, I thought it would be a wonderful idea for a chain restaurant that JUST served fries. When I was 13, I couldn’t understand why places like Walmart or Target didn’t have fashionable teen clothes. Why everything “cool” was super expensive. Why gum, couldn’t help whiten or clean teeth. Now all of that has changed and I see that, I wasn’t crazy, I was just ahead of my time. There are a couple of more ideas that I have that I would like to put on the table. The business development of such enterprises is a bit beyond my area of expertise, yet as I would truly love to see these ideas come to life, I’m sharing. After all I can’t do them all and I would love to see them happen. If you’re reading this and know how to make these ideas happen feel free to ring us up for ways we can help.

1st: PureFeet: A business model that combines holistic foot spa treatments with podiatry, with a podiatrist on site to take a look and prescribe treatments as needed. continue reading “Billion Dollar Ideas.”

The other night I was flipping through the channels and I came across Nashville Star, NBC’s country music answer to Fox’s American Idol. There were a couple of things that caught my immediate attention. The first was the public’s ability to not get bored with the multiple variations of the Idol format or that Billy Ray Cirus, of “achy breaky heart” could be given a second chance.

But more importantly than that, or that Jewel is a judge of the show and now a bonafide country-star, was the fact that one of the participants was Latino and the other one an African American. There they were, Gabe Garcia and Coffey singing contemporary western hits and making it to the next round. It seems that country is finally all-american, no guilt or shame attached.

Country is becoming bigger and more attractive to both whites and non-whites and it’s going to get bigger. Here’s why. America has become more comfortable in its cultural skin, shedding the haughtiness of the eighties. It’s something our fast-paced culture is craving in a post-911 society that values return to simpler times. As a result NY professionals welcome a restaurant called hill country, and texas hold’em poker becomes one of the most played games online, as well as watched on ESPN.

At the end it seems that the US is ready to embrace its humble Honky Tonk roots. The result is that we’ll see more country, healthy comfort food, albeit all with new touches and accents reflecting our cultural pluralism.

 And we’ll see more of this throughout this year as both Republicans and Democrats need to speak to that other disenfranchised group, the rural white.  So get your country records out, practice that two step, and put some ribs on that barbeque and celebrate the new old face of America.

Innovation, along with the power of execution, is constantly heralded in the business media as one of the cornerstones of business strategies and growth. But how do you attain it. Industries differ in their inherent capacity for innovation. It’s an art form that requires both a culture fit and a set of processes that see business ideas thrive to become profitable initiatives and products giving new life to brands and to the bottom line.

Advertising agencies should be naturals at doing this given their focus on what consumers are looking for. But unfortunately they are more concerned in the day to day of running ads. “Today’s agencies must become more open in everything they do, we need to leverage our uniqueness when speaking to consumers and come up with other innovations besides simply ads to impact our clients. ” states Roberto Ramos, President & CEO of the vox collective, a full service communication agency that comes up not only with campaigns but also with product and business ideas for clients.

The vox collective worked very closely with Regatta USA and Kohl’s to come with a clothing line for model and television personality Daisy Fuentes. The agency leveraged its extensive knowledge of the retail and female market, as well as the growing Latino market to come up with a business plan and relevant communications to launch this brand. It is currently the biggest private label brand at Kohl’s, expanding into categories such as accessories and home décor.

Should we have less actual media placements and just make them the right ones? This is the question provoked by Fox’s recent decision to limit themselves to five commercial minutes per hour in two of their new programs. Media Nerd suspects that these premium units will initially be snapped up at a package rate by long-term big spenders while the network looks at the effectiveness of this strategy. The alternative scenario is that the cost will be sufficiently high to have more :15s being placed into these programs. This certainly won’t solve the clutter problem because of the traditionally-perceived lower recall rate of the :15s, leaving everyone back where they started while paying more for it. Nobody wants their CPPs to double, so the return for this has to be more than twice the sales to make it viable.

The Spanish-language networks already run fewer commercial minutes per hour and more program promos, mostly not cluttering the screen during credits or program time. When you factor in the lower commercial load during most novela premieres, you have an audience that isn’t picking up the remote. Good opening episodes will then mean a loyal audience.

Univision’s forthcoming Video on Demand in 2009 comes as no surprise in a market with increasing media choices and comes as very welcome news to viewers who want to have choices about viewing times. The damper on this good news, however, is that their licensing agreement with Televisa doesn’t allow them to provide their blockbuster telenovelas within the VOD offerings.

No te preocupes, because Televisa’s own viewers have come to the rescue: A few of them are meticulously posting entire episodes to YouTube. Media Nerd saw the first 40 episodes of Fuego en la Sangre prior to its record-breaking US debut and saw numerous posts from regular YouTube users eager for the next installment. The stream count for most of those clips so far is in the low to middle 5 figures, not enough to cut into Univision’s normal viewing audience, most of whom clearly prefer to see their programs on a standard-size or large screen with significantly better resolution.

The ones censored by Univision, however, got over 200,000 plays each.

Media Nerd, having seen some of the badly edited DVD sets of a few past titles, would happily watch them on YouTube. Even with commercials. Muchas gracias, amigos.