Amen Brother! This is brilliant...

Why do you use what you use?

I read a ton of advertising/planning/marketing blogs, and I just recently set up this here blog. One thing I've found interesting is that no one talks about which blog service/app they use and why. Perhaps they do, and I've just never seen it because it was in their very first post, but it seems odd to me that so many people who eat, drink and breathe branding don't discuss the medium they use to discuss it.

My overall impression is that Typepad is the most "respectable," Blogger is for beginners, and WordPress is for experienced users. Since those companies don't advertise, where did I get those opinions? First, from my experience with their products. I've created accounts with all three to see which one I wanted to use, and ended up choosing Blogger because it's free and it allows me to automatically export all posts onto my server space (domain mapping). WordPress has the best analytics tools, and Typepad seems to be used by the bloggers who I respect the most.

In terms of advertising, then, it's interesting that in the absence of traditional brand communications, the people who use the product become very visible endorsements.

AlwaysOn

I found this really interesting magazine in our mailroom today, AlwaysOn. They had a list of the "Top 100 New Tools for The New Marketer" (everything from social media sites to new ad models), and I was blown away by how many companies have already been operating in these spaces. I know, I shouldn't be. But I went to their website to find the article online so that I could link to it and direct my friends to it, and the bulk of the content wasn't there! They have the list of companies, but not the short description of what differentiates them! Kind of ironic considering the content we're talking about, and more than a little disappointing.

Ever buy a pomegranate?

Just a few days ago my wife and I were at the grocery store. I noticed a new display in the produce section for pomegranates that included a diagram above the bin. It showed how to "prepare" the unique fruit (is it a fruit?), because if you've never eaten one before it's not exactly intuitive. I had never bought, prepared, or eaten one, and as a studying planner, I was struck by how smart it was for them to include the instructions. The obvious barrier to buying a pomegranate (at $1.50 each no less) is not knowing what the hell to do with it when you get home. In case you're wondering, you submerge it under water and then open up the outer casing. Then you dislodge the little red berries and use a strainer to get the remaining fruit.

So at dinner time tonight, my wife took a knife and cut it in half (which is not what the diagram called for). Pomegranate juice squirted all over and she was amazed by how much of a mess that it made. I asked her if she had seen the diagram, but she didn't know what I was talking about. I took over with the pomegranate from there.

So what's the moral? The diagram was brilliant, but what good is it if it goes unnoticed? On the other hand, it went unnoticed but she still bought one! So I don't think I can say there's a moral other than this: When you've got a piece of communication that you think is key to purchase behavior, do your best to make sure the message is heard. Peraps that's obvious, but I thought it was an interesting story. Kudos to whomever designed the diagram for POM.

Hello

The inspiration for this is entirely due to the one, the only, Russell Davies. If you have no idea who Russell is, do yourself a favor and go check out what he has to say right now. If you do know who he is, you probably know what I am talking about. After reading his "How to be Interesting" post, I've been motivated to get in daily habits. And I can't think of a better place to start than following this guide. You'll likely here a lot more talk about what Russell talks about from me. If I can post one tenth of the orignial and insightful thinking that he does, I'll be off to a good start.