Digital Hive

A-B asks consumers to have just one more…please?

Bud.TV has not been doing well as of late as others and I have written. Just last week, A-B’s chief executive, August Busch IV, told investors that the site would slowly be phased out over the course of the year.

Funny how things change in a few days.

It turns out there are a few more “pints in the keg” and A-B is determined to find out if these taste better than the first round of digital brews we (the consumer) were offered earlier this year (read this great WSJ article). A-B acknowledged it has much to learn when playing in the digital world – basically, the tried and true marketing techniques of their brick and mortar successes do not necessarily translate online. To solve the current misses with consumers the company is making a series of strategic changes in an effort to revitalize Bud.TV and make it the “online destination of cool information for beer drinkers” it was designed to be:

• Shorter videos (averaging 1 minute from the current 6 minutes)
• A social-networking component (details not available)
• Pulling content and videos from other sites (a la YouTube)
• Joke of the Day (or other content with daily changes)
• Releasing content to other sites such as YouTube and Yahoo

However, there is no word if one of – if not the – biggest hurdles to Bud.TV's success will be removed: the (tedious) age-verification system. The lack of clarity on this issue is interesting given that A-B is going to try distributing content to other sites that have no age-verification; is content going to “watered down” to be appropriate for viewers of all ages?

I think A-B should be commended for their efforts (basically, to become an entertainment company in the digital space when they are not one in the physical world) and their launch of Bud.TV. However, I will remain skeptical until the age-verification issue is resolved (I still think this is a huge problem) and I see the execution of the steps outline above (theory is always easier than implementation).

So, are we willing to have another round of Bud or are we ready to move on to something else? And, who’s turn is it to buy?

Evan & The Almighty Forest

For Evan Almighty (Steve Carell’s upcoming film and the follow up to Bruce Almighty) NBC (parent company to Universal who is releasing the film) has a special “dotcomedy” page devoted to the release of the film. Every day they present a new Steve Carell clip from the NBC vault. If you are a fan (and I am) you may find it amusing.  Even better (or “Evan” better ~ oh I crack me up...) from the Dotcomedy page or from the Evan Almighty page you can make a $5 donation to the “Almighty Forest” project (via Universal/NBC's Get on Board Now.org) and they will plant a tree, you can decorate a virtual tree and it gets your name added to the Evan Almighty DVD. How many DVDs do you think they will sell just so people can see their name?

Universal's "Get on Board.org" launched just last week - here's a snip from the press release:

UNIVERSAL CITY, CA – May 24, 2007 -- NBC Universal today launched “Get On Board,” a comprehensive, companywide program to improve the environmental impact of its operations by reducing greenhouse gases, raising awareness about green issues, and stimulating change in the media and entertainment industry. Led by Jeff Zucker, President and CEO, NBC Universal, the campaign is part of NBCU parent company General Electric’s “ecomagination” initiative. It is also a significant corporate extension of the “Get On Board” campaign launched last month by Universal Pictures and the Conservation Fund in conjunction with this summer’s debut of Evan Almighty, NBC Universal’s first movie to “zero out” its carbon emissions.

NBC has several "partners" involved in the effort including the famously green BP (British Petroleum), Burger King, GE (part of the NBCU family) and Dell. That's quite a green little coalition they got going there. I'll be watching to see how effective the green play is from Universal & NBC - and we'll see how many trees get planted.  As for me, I'm going to name my tree Francesca. Evan Almighty will be released on June 22nd.

Social information architecture - an interesting approach

Kudos to Findability.org and Peter Morville (which in turn cites Gene Smith; check out Gene's cool Slideshare deck here) for surfacing a new (new for me at least) construct of social information architecture (click to enlarge visual at left for full effect).

What I find particularly compelling is how "softer" things like identity, group, reputation and relationship are addressed in this model. When we are planning how to get people involved in social media for clients (a staple of most Active Branding big creative marketing ideas) I find it's all too easy to just focus on the "do" activities (sharing photos through Flickr, using Twitter to tell your friends where you're hanging out), and overlook the more deeply "human" (less functional) aspects of the behaviors we are trying to stimulate for consumers with brands. "How do we get people to share?" is usually an easier question to answer than "How do we make people feel good about themselves?" - for us as well as clients.

It all makes sense - people like to feel good about themselves, feel they are connected to others, and build productive, rewarding relationships with each other (yes I've studied psychology).

If you diagrammed Ebay on this model (yes it's a commerce site but I'd argue the "social" aspects of it are essential to its function and at its heart it's just a great big ole social network with an enormous cash register attached to it), I would argue the softer dimensions of reputation and relationship would actually be dark green (primary rather than secondary) - as would sharing and conversation. Match.com is probably similar (though one must wonder about the precise nature of the "transaction" component......).

I wonder if there are examples (or will be or should be) where the "softer" things are dark green and the traditional "harder" things are not addressed or are light green - meaning the primary purpose of the social network is to put people into relationships with each other, make them feel good about themselves, promote their good reputations, etc. - and there's no focus on functional stuff like conversing.

I do think we've done some remarkable work lately that heads in this direction - first to mind is a recent AARP effort enables younger folks to create an identity of sorts for the lives they envision for themselves.

Let's keep it up.....

New ways of advertising in the Budapest subway

What a simple yet effective idea for ad placement - on the strap you grab to steady yourself as you hurtle through the tunnel beneath the Danube on the Budapest subway. I have been in a lot of subways around the world and can't recall ever seeing this advertising device before - anyone else? It's a place you'll definitely look at, if just for a moment as you check to make sure you've grabbed on adequately.

Better yet, check out this very large advertising/news screen in the subway waiting area - I have never seen this anywhere before. A bit surprising for a country that's hardly the vanguard of technology, but good for them. Would love to see this in the US, specifically on Silver Line bus stops (Mayor Menino, are you listening?).

Dove campaign in Budapest

I can't read Hungarian so I can't tell you what this ad says, but I can definitely tell you it's from Dove and is part of the real beauty campaign often blogged about here. Judging from the other ads I've seen here so far, this woman is a "real woman," not a model. I don't think I've seen an execution from this campaign with a dark background; perhaps the lighter seeming layouts aren't a global campaign mandate.

Those who embrace the new will understand the “enormous potential”

On Monday, Rupert Murdoch gave a great interview on the evolving relationship between media companies and consumers. While I do not follow Murdoch personally, I found his thoughts to be energizing and astute – and somewhat unexpected (I wonder what made him issue this particular interview so close to his bid for the Dow Jones?).

His interview is pasted below (from this Forbes article). It is somewhat telling when one of the world’s most influential media giants acknowledges the shifting of power away from companies and to consumers and what that means for tomorrow’s creation and distribution of content, isn’t it?

Special Report

Mixed Media

Rupert Murdoch 5-7-07

Traditional companies are feeling threatened. I say, bring on the changes.

Everyone knows that networking--once a face-to-face affair, sometimes captured in a Rolodex--is now worldwide, instant, and impervious to constraints of distance, time or cost.

Cocaine (the drink) Bust!

Last fall I was squawking about my close encounter with Cocaine (the drink) and I voiced my displeasure about the name. I am still not the Church Lady, but I still think it is the lamest marketing ploy out there.

Well just 8 short months later, according to this CNN.com story, Cocaine (the drink) is being pulled from the shelves.

The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter last month that said (manufacturer) Redux was illegally marketing the drink as a street drug alternative and a dietary supplement. May 4 was the deadline for the company to respond.

The FDA cited as evidence the drink's labeling and Web site, which included the statements "Speed in a Can," "Liquid Cocaine" and "Cocaine -- Instant Rush." The company says Cocaine contains no drugs and is marketed as an energy drink. It has been sold since last August in at least a dozen states.

The manufacturer had this to say about the product positioning:

"Of course, we intended for Cocaine energy drink to be a legal alternative the same way that celibacy is an alternative to premarital sex," (Clegg Ivey, a partner in Redux Beverages) Ivey said.

He did not just spew that line.  Did he?  If that is the clear-headed thinking that can only come from an "energy" drink, I think it might be time pull then plug from the refrigerator case. People, step away from the straw.

The Age of Conversation

I just submitted my chapter for the e-book (and super cool brainchild project of Gavin Heaton and Drew McLellan) 'The Age of Conversation'. My chapter is entitled "Speak to me TJX". In my chapter I ponder what happened to the deep and abiding relationship I've had with TJX. I mean really, Marshall's has been dressing me since my 9th grade portrait - but lately the company has been treating me like a bad junior prom date.

I have no business submitting anything in the company below, but I'm totally looking forward to the ebook. Like everyone else - to find out what everyone else has written, I’ll have to buy and read the e-book. The details will be posted here soon.

The e-book is dedicated to the memory of Sandra J. Kerley (the amazing CK's mom) and all proceeds from the sale will benefit Variety Children's Charity which serves children across the globe.