Author: themshow

Categories
Geek Stuff

Friday Night Fights, Round 2!

So I got lucky in round one, when checking out everyone’s posts it looked like free for all fighting, but after hearing from Bahlactus, the lead promoter himself, he’s going for more of a true boxing Friday night thing, making my HUGE metallic molar-rattling cross hit right on target.

I really had fun digging in and checking out all the writers out there, it’s great to find some people going beyond Wizard talking about what is big this week and can dig back deep into the archives to find stuff that’s STILL 25 CENTS! or even further back.

I’ve got a $5 starbucks card for the first comment that can tell me what happened to Daxam during the Great Darkness Saga.

Enough running my jaws, let’s rumble. Last week I got a kick of seeing Cap vs. Cap, shield to shield (which I can’t find now, link anyone?) and that reminded me of Peter David’s fantastic “Future Imperfect” (done with Perez I think?). Hulk is taking the shield slinging to the next level:

Categories
Daily Life The Marketeer

Using the Sneak Preview to generate buzz

I’m off to the lake and coverage is a bit spotty so just a quick post from the road. Christopher Penn and I discussed some interesting techniques to give you some search engine and Technorati juice in the latest Marketing Over Coffee, the best marketing podcast coming out of dunkin donuts in Framingham.

I’ve got to check in with Hollywood Steve but it seems like the sneak preview is a great way to get a movie rolling. The key is to find the Mavens that will generate interest in the movie prior to the opening weekend, which seems to be all that matters these days. (Queue flashback music) I remember back in the days when theatres only showed one movie and it stayed around for months if it was good. Although I could get misty eyed over the “Lost Golden Age” I think it’s more like how people revere the early baseball players but all of them know, deep down inside, that a lot of those old drunks would get their asses kicked if they had to play in today’s supercharged steroid swilling, dog maiming leagues. (climbing down of cranky old man soapbox).

Carin and I were invited to a sneak preview of No Reservations, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and the girl from Little Miss Sunshine (the movie that made Carin laugh so hard she couldn’t breathe). No Reservations is a great date movie, and it even has a few moments that are above and beyond. I worked for a number of years in foodservice so I have a great appreciation for that environment. (Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential is a great read for more on that).

It was a packed house but we were lucky enough to get to sit with Clarence, who’s got a unique voice that is just fun to listen to, much like Julien Smith. Also in the house were C.C. Chapman, Steve Garfield, Doug Haslam, Kroosh, and a few others I can’t remember right now. I was a little bummed though, I had to get home to take care of the dog so we weren’t there early enough for drinks beforehand and we had to get home right afterwards so I could pack for vacation and the 5am alarm for Marketing Over Coffee (did I mention that’s the best marketing podcast?).

Categories
Brain Buster Daily Life

A Soldier’s Funeral in Lexington

I rarely miss lunch. I’ve found that if I don’t get away from my desk for a break in the middle of the day I tend to get worthless around 3pm. Getting outside, walking around, breathing some different air and seeing a few different colors recharges both my mind and body. It’s also a great opportunity to talk to other people that I work with that are beyond the shouting range of my workspace.

On Friday I was driving over to Whole Foods to get some lunch (I know, I’m a lucky man to have that kind of food selection a short distance away, I can go high protein low/no carb and never even get bored) and there was a funeral going on as I drove by. Traffic was stop-and-go and I was by the ceremony as the salute was fired.

Had I stayed at my desk I would have been wrapped up in work as usual, instead I returned with a bit more perspective on what’s important and how fortunate I am to be free to do my work thanks to those who put their lives on the line for our way of life.

Categories
Daily Life Podcasting

Dark and Stormy

I was out in LA a few months back and Hollywood Steve hooked me up with a great summer drink – the Dark and Stormy. You get the spiciest Ginger Beer you can find and add a shot of Dark Rum and a wedge of lime.

The only problem is, like many drinks I have while out and about, I’ve had trouble recreating it. I first tried Reed’s Ginger Beer and that didn’t cut it. I also tried The Ginger People and that was much better. I have yet to try Barritt’s which, along with Gosling’s Black Seal Rum®, is supposed to be the official thing. I submitted a question via their website about where to buy their product in the states and got a message back from Bruce Barritt, that impressed me a lot.

So, drinking aside, I also finished the Harry Potter book and posted the latest M Show for the faithful listeners. Now back to work.

Categories
Geek Stuff

Friday Night Fights!

Time out for some Fanboy Fun: I’m adding Frank Miller’s Robocop vs. Terminator for Bahlactus’ Friday Night Fights:

Categories
Brain Buster The Marketeer

Why Awards are Important

Tomorrow I’m going to grab lunch with David Meerman Scott, he’s had a lot going on in the past month including the best marketing and PR book of 2007. I just swung by his blog and he has a post about an upcoming show about Madison Ave. advertising in the 60’s called Mad Men. I’m interested in this because a former President of Ogilvy is in the lovely Carin’s hometown and I’m going to try and get him on the mic.

Last time I talked with David he dealt me a brain buster about awards. I used to think that awards were a lottery ticket, I’ve sent in many applications for software products, marketing projects, etc. and the goal was to try and win for the PR lift. If you take this approach you have a slim chance of scoring.

The real benefit is the access to the judges. These are often well known and connected individuals within your industry. Many times they are Mavens, who spread knowledge across huge groups of people. Even if you are in the wrong category and determined ineligible, you’ve still had an opportunity to showcase your product/service to a group of people who have more influence than the general public.

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Productivity Booster The Marketeer

Steriods for your Career

I just posted the latest and best marketing podcast, and I mentioned Salary.com. This service has run me anywhere from 29-79 dollars a year and the least it has ever generated for me in a year is $3,000. If every investment of mine paid off like that I’d already be on my beach house in Nantucket.

It simply takes most of the voodoo out of the compensation question – instead of pulling an number out of the sky I can go see what the average marketing guy with 15 years in business, graduated from the one and only UMASS, working at a software company of under 100 employees in the Boston area gets. And go from there.

Market opinion is very squishy, market data has to be challenged with other data.

Categories
Geek Stuff

Nike Running Watch

So tonight the Boston Niketown Running Club is having a special event for the 10th Anniversary of the store. The running club has been around for almost as long, and I’ve logged close to 400 miles with them, even though I’ve only been 2 or 3 times in the past 3 years.

The running club is another example of excellent marketing. Wednesdays just before 7 people meet and go out in groups for a run around Boston, a great town to run in with pathways around the river Charles. Runners get snacks and water when they return. It’s free and you get to meet like minded runners and of course, you are hanging out in the store every week.

There’s no sales activity going on at all, yet when I go to the gym now I notice I have Nike shoes, shirt and shorts, all in this high tech stuff that is lighter and more comfortable than cotton.

I’m also addicted to the Nike+ system, and would like to invite an runners that would be interested in doing a marketing race (or perhaps a fatblogging challenge?). My only complaint about Nike+ is that there were some photos leaked back in the spring about some new watches that would be able to control the Nano. This is a desperately needed feature,  the clothes with integrated pockets are cool but it makes it difficult to skip tracks, change volume, etc. The instruction manual has been updated to talk about remotes, but no devices yet. Engadget said maybe by summer, I’ll be in line outside the store as soon as I hear about it.

Of course if it had integrated GPS, and heart rate monitor I’d pay $500 for that, but if I was marketing that I’d do it as a multi-year roll out.

Categories
Brain Buster Daily Life The Marketeer

Breaking Rocks

My first “pure” marketing job was with a company called DCI, they ran a number of very successful tech trade shows such as Data Warehouse World, and one of the biggest SFA (Sales Force Automation) shows out there. It was a good business model, young people came in at entry level pay grades and followed a proven system to develop, promote and run the conferences.

Everyone started with some time over in customer service and then moved to a show team where you worked on the marketing and then handed off to the operations team at showtime. I learned about graphic design, direct mail and printing. There are 3 people in my life that taught me how to write, and the third one, Carol Meinhart, worked there. The first two taught me how to get everything out of my head and on the page, she showed me how to trim away all the excess garbage to become persuasive.

This was around ’98 when there was some hot new technology called email which a few crazy people thought might be good to market with. Even though I majored in Economics by then I was a hardcore geek, and had even gone through Microsoft’s network admin program. The geek pen was on the same floor as the CEO and I’d get called over once and a while if there was some kind of stubborn tech problem (usually something really funky because he was very tech savvy, especially compared to previous execs I had dealt with prior to crossing over into tech).

So here’s the punchline – the company was eventually sold after I left (after a life-altering session with Christopher Lochhead, but that’s another story), and then a few years later the IRS was on the place like stink on a monkey. The investigation and trials went on for a long time, and it looks like it may come to an end (although I would imagine now the appeals could begin). The former CEO was sentenced for conspiracy and tax evasion. I would have to believe that almost everyone in an executive position gets the night sweats about this now and then, but for most I’d think that driving $8 million through Bermuda is not the kind of thing that sneaks up on you.

Categories
Daily Life

Virtual Yard Sale Continues

As the move gets closer I continue to unload stuff. If you need a cafe table or a corner bookcase, I can hook you up. I’m also getting rid of a Coach 3×5 card jotter for all you old school moleskein types.

And don’t forget to listen to America’s Favorite Podcast – The New M Show