Well, it’s official, I’ve jumped out of the ad game and into an online marketing role at Charter Business.  No, it wasn’t a bad break up. In fact, I had a really great run for the first two years of my career.  In the end, it comes down to the area in which I see myself succeeding, an area that is consistently growing, and an area where I myself I have an unending love affair- digital, social, interactive, and everything that happens online.

So I’m one week in at Charter and I’ve learned more than I could imagine.  While my past experience does extend to national, I’ve never worked on a brand with such massive size and scope.  A competitor in innovation in an area in which I’m super interested (see my recent post on The Future of Digital/Streamable Media) I’m really excited about the opportunity in front of me at Charter.

As for my blog, I still plan on keeping current with new posts on the future of media and marketing.  But more importantly, you might want to bookmark Popcorn Jury as I’ll have a full premium cable package with unlimited access to On-Demand.  Coming from someone who’s been cut off from cable for the past two years, this could be quite scary. 

Thanks for following.  Stay tuned.

I get Google+, I really do. But I also think it's unimportant, unneccesary, and a little bit inconvenient. Trust me, I love Google. Their search engine, Maps, and Places features are applications that I literally couldn't live without. Their social networking features from Buzz to Wave, to Groups just haven't caught on with me. In fact, I'm actually utilizing Groups for a freelance gig with a local designer and it's almost unusable as a source to share work, inspirations or ideas. I think Google+ is going to fall down by the wayside too. Why? Because the experience isn't friendly, the design isn't pretty, and the idea isn't innovative. In fact, I'd argue it's taking Facebook and Twitter backwards, using "privacy" and "circles" as excuses to jump into the social business sphere one additional time.

Now that I've got that out of way, I'll touch on the technology. Google is by far one of the smartest companies in the world.  If anyone brings us into the "Minority Report" millenium, it will be the minions at Google.  I agree with the ideas inside Google+.  I'll also agree that they have one hell of a marketing team. If the actual experience matched up to the point-of-views portrayed in the videos below, we would all be interacting in ways only seen in Steven Speilberg movies. But we're not there yet. 

My mom is the master of Facebook. She's not quite into Twitter. She wouldn't go near Google+.

That, therein, lies the problem.

Well Google...will you prove me wrong?

Here lately, all I see is spam on my Facebook wall. The most popular? Probably "See a girl have an orgasm while riding a rollercoaster". I have a hard time believing that 20-30 of my friends clicked the link, but then again, you never know. Either way, I think the most important word in advertising today is relevancy. It's ditching the production model of the past- having an idea, and executing it as soon as possible to capture a relevant audience at a relevant time. This is especially true in digital.

Ed Relf, CCO of Mind Candy says it best:

"I have worked in places where it takes as long to sign off the bugdget as it does to create the campaign. It's a broken model that doesn't work. If I have an idea in the morning, we execute it by the afternoon. It's the only way it can work in the online space."

For all I know, Webroot could've been working on this for months.  Regardless, it's simple, relevant, and smart. 

Still, my advice for not getting a virus?  Go buy a Mac.

I’m consistently amazed at the ways in which we consume media.  For me, it’s a mixture of online and on-demand.  I very rarely catch something on TV as it’s happening live.  But then again, who does.  Almost everything online happens in real-time.  On television, even when something is live, it’s often way behind.  Take the Bachelorette, or other similar shows as an example.  Sure, we think we’re witnessing something live, but in reality, there’s a bunch of people online already chatting about the outcome. 

That’s not to say that media can exist solely in an online environment.  Nowadays blogs serve as the initial point of contact, while traditional news sources often confirm a fact.  I read movie blogs to get a feel for a movie, but I turn to the pros for validation from afar.  Then again, one could argue that even for expert reviews and opinions, I don’t turn towards a traditional news source.  While Roger Ebert works for the Chicago Sun Times, no one ever said you had to be a subscriber to access his review archive online. 

For me, traditional media doesn’t always work.  I don’t want products to be sold on me; I want to be sold on them.  If you put a Brooks Brothers ad in front of me, oftentimes, I’ll flip right through it.  On the other hand, if the editor at GQ hails it as a hot summer item, you better believe I’m taking two looks.  For other people, it’s less of a science; they simply want exposure to a brand.  A print ad in a magazine, a Web banner on favorite site, or a billboard on the highway is enough to build that brand.  I suppose an integrated effort on behalf of the brand is becoming more and more crucial so that every member of the audience is impacted.

At the end of the day, I don’t know whether the way we consume media is shifting or the way media wants to be consumed has changed.  You might be reading this from an iPhone today, an iPad tomorrow, or an RSS feed months after that.  Or, you may be a traditional type, someone who won’t ever read this at all. 

Whatever the fact, as long as people are reading and watching, the art of writing will forever live on.

I wanted to see what the weather was like in surrounding areas throughout Missouri after hearing about possible tornados.  With that, I googled "Rolla."  Here's what I got.

Traditional Google search for "Rolla" (2:15pm- 5/25/11)

Note: The most up-to-date news article is roughly 12 days old.  It has nothing to do with weather.

"Realtime" Google search for "Rolla" (2:15pm- 5/25/11)

The digital world moves much faster than the traditional media environment.  Are you up to speed?

An interesting, short and relevant animation from Barkley that illustrates the most basic idea behind influence. While some customers continue to use older channels of communication, others are using new channels like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Foursquare to broadcast and publicize their relationship with brands. Are you ready to respond?

*video courtesy of Barkley

Monetary incentive for checking in.

In reading Ad Age's recent interview with Carolyn Everson, the new Sales Chief at Facebook, one quote stood out to me. 

"The threshold at Facebook is that marketing should be as valuable and useful to the consumer as the rest of the Facebook experience." 

This is the mentality that drives the most innovative thinkers in today's communications industry. It brings me back to the Boulder Digital Works Conference held last week where Edward Boches of Mullen, tweeted (something along the lines of) "Why Didn't Bank of America come up with Mint.com? Why didn't Poloroid invent Flickr or Instagram?"  I wrote about this a long time ago in a post about "Creating Useful Things That Advertise" and I think it rings even more true today.  If we want to stay relevant in the age of the Internet and social sharing, we've got to start creating ads that are just as useful as the product they're advertising.

In her interview, Everson goes on to state, "In general, our industry suffers from the emphasis on click-thru-rates.To us, what's more important than click-thrus is "Are people paying attention to the message and remembering it?"  She concludes her argument by stating, "I'm not sure the marketing community understands Facebook's story just yet."

To her, I'd say this isn't just about Facebook.  The bigger issue is getting the marketing community to understand how to sell a story, start a relationship, and get people to come back to it.  A utility is one thing.  Ads are a whole different story.  Facebook is close, but it's just one tool in the marketing mix. This is an issue that needs to be attacked from the outside in. In my opinion, it's not just Madison Avenue- no one understands it just yet.

There's something intrinsically wonderful about receiving a magazine in the mail. Oftentimes it's a status symbol. If you read Wired, you're on the edge of innovation. If you read Elle, you're on the forefront of fashion. It's also sort of enchanting. You have to wait for it, it only comes once a month, and there's weeks of anticipation between every issue. Every other form of content is instant, immediate, or delivered daily. In my own opinion, the digital editions of Men's Health, Wired, or GQ don't hold a candle to their print counterparts. Then again, I see why advertisers are ready to move past print. It's interactive, allows for links, videos, and social networking/sharing functionalities. More importantly, it eliminates the unnecessary step of reading the magazine, opening up a computer, and typing in a url. It's instant, therefore, to advertisers, it's immaculate.

I like separating my forms of media and in some cases, digital does win out. I read the USA Today on my iPad every morning, but haven't once considered subscribing to print. Books are another form that I prefer to read digitally. It's a new medium, much more entertaining, and much more convenient. It's strange how much I appreciate the digital bookshelf, but steer clear of the digital mag rack. I think the rich content of magazines make it harder to appreciate online.

Time will only tell if technology surpasses the magazine. There will be more engagement, but the line between professional editorial that's worthy of a subscription and online content that can be accessed with the click of a button will blur and blur into a period of publication panic. For all of us in advertising, this could get exciting. For the publishers out there, let's reaccess the value of print before we turn immediately to digital. The latter, while in its infancy, still leaves much to be desired.

Check out AdWeek's column on this subject titled, "Reading Ads" for a great video from Michael Wolff, two-time National Magazine Award winner and contributing editor at Vanity Fair.

Recently I joined the leadership team at REBUS, the young professional arm of the St. Louis Advertising Club in an effort to improve the content and visibility of their blog.  For the past year or so, I've been a contributing writer offering up insights on "How to Land an Ad Gig", "The Importance of Social Media in the Workplace", and "Deadlines- The Ultimate Inspiration" as well as some recaps for local events that took place at agencies like Rivet and Hoffman Lewis.  It's been a fun excercise that's allowed me to appeal to a wider audience as well as a more targeted audience- young advertising professionals looking for advice from people within the industry.

I think REBUS is an advertising network with a lot of potential, and although it's getting more mature (the group just celebrated it's 5th birthday in March), it feels as though it's still in its infancy.  I originally got involved in an effort to land a job at an agency.  The reason I stick around is because in the advertising industry, it can't hurt to continue to be in the know.  Each REBUS event takes place at a different agency, with presenters who showcase new and innovative thinking year after year.  Yes, there have been some roadblocks (an opinion from an outsider looking in), but I think the group has a leadership team with a vision for a successful now and a successful future, and I'm excited to be a part of it.

I encourage you to keep an eye on the content over at the REBUS blog.  It's not all my writing (in fact most of the articles are submitted by REBUS members and contributing writers) but I think the content is really compelling, educational, and most importantly- original and specific to our intended audience.  It will be growing throughout the year, and I look forward to sharing the vision with you as we move forward.

For those who aren't familiar with REBUS and want to know more, shoot me an email or check out thier page on the St. Louis Ad Club site.