Pilgrimage - A Novel of the Sovereign Era

I don't often do this, but I feel like I owe it to Matthew Wayne Selznick to try and help support his Kickstarter campaign; his novel, Pilgrimage - A Novel of the Sovereign Era, is a sequel to Brave Men Run, one of the first podcast novels EVER!  I read the first one and have been a fan ever since!

Click below to watch the video trailer for the book and to read more about Kickstarter and crowdfunding.

Never say "No" to Panda!

I'll admit that I'm ignorant of different languages, so I have NO IDEA what language they're speaking in these videos; the subtitles help, but aren't necessary, really. The moral of these commercials: buy Panda brand foods because you never want to make a panda mad; they'll make you pay for it!

Click "Read More" to watch the video.

Is the Twitter logo change a good thing?

The answer, quite frankly, is NO!  Yes, they may be wanting to convey upward movement, and psychologically, that's probably a good move; the old bird seemed to be flying horizontally.  The problem is that the new bird looks like a clip art graphic, which, for a major Internet brand, is probably a step in the wrong direction.  The old logo, with its little tuft of hair, was more personal.  Click below to see the picture!

Worst acupuncture experience EVER!

I have no idea what this ad is for, but it made me laugh pretty hard! Please post a comment below with guesses as to what it might be!

Who wants some Ronald tonight?

GEICO is famous for its funny ads, many of which have very little to do with insurance.  This one is my new favorite, and I was super-excited to find this uncut version of it!  After you watch the uncut version, check out the second video. It's the actual ad that appeared on TV, and I enjoyed seeing how they added text and re-cut it to act as a GEICO commercial.

Please leave a comment letting me know about YOUR favorite GEICO commercial!

Playing with your phone on YouTube

This is a pretty funny song, but the message is clear for marketers: mobile marketing has MASSIVE potential!

Dollar Shave Club's AWESOME video is marketing GOLD!

I saw this video the other day, and it made me laugh...maybe even OUT LOUD! I actually went to their site, just to see if it was real. It IS a real company, and they do what they say they'll do: ship you one razor each month to your door. Despite being pretty funny, the video also does a good job of laying out the company's purpose and promise. The promise is one of the funniest parts: "Our blades are F*CKING great!"

Click "Read more" below to see the video, then let me know what you think by posting a comment!

Banana Marketing

I never would have thought...

It's a pretty funny way to do it, and it's one of the last places I would think to look for an ad...which makes it the best place for it.  Plus, putting the ad on bananas fits the "Chipwrecked" movie's theme of tropical islands.  I didn't think of it, but I'm wondering now if they had these same stickers on OTHER types of fruit, too!

This party is MANDATORY!

I 'm a big fan of best-of lists, especially when they're funny.  This one's pretty good, and I'd also like it if there was a best-of-30-Rock list.

Brand Symbols, Part 1

The almighty NES controller!

When they originally released the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the United States, it was a smash hit, including my home.  Due to parental controls - in those days, that actually meant "parents" - I could only play it for 30 minutes every weekday.  Weekends were different, of course, and Saturdays were when the controllers got the most sticky from sweat and food residue.

A successful viral video

I haven't listened to the radio in a long time; mostly, I've just been listening to books non-stop.  Also, I'm not extremely active on Twitter, so I totally missed out on this gem of a music video.  It's unique, the song's catchy...and the marketing implications of this video are amazing!  Read my full post to view the video, too!

More charitable giving as marketing material

My 30-foot-tall tree fell in my front yard on
December 1st, 2011.

Last week, a barrage of unusually strong wind came whipping through the western United States.  When it whipped over the eastern mountains of the Wasatch Front, my town was the hardest hit; the gusts were over 100 miles per hour!  For those of you keeping track, that's level-two-hurricane-strength winds!

The best of James Bond, in ONE novel!

From an article in The Guardian:


In a shocking turn for the debut novel by Q.R. Markham, Assassin of Secrets, the US publisher is recalling all copies and offering refunds to those who have already purchased the book.  The UK publisher is taking back all copies of the book before it is released there this week.  Why are they doing it?

The answer is simple: plagiarism.

Making money through "charitable contributions"

Seth Harwood's Latest
Print Release

Check out this link: http://kck.st/piYHWd.  It'll take you to a page where one of my favorite authors, Seth Harwood, is raising money to help fund an independent book release.  While it might not be ideal for all situations, it seems to be a viable new way to get some initial funding through, what is essentially, charitable giving.  It's actually a genius idea to offer people the chance to be listed as a contributor IN THE BOOK if you send some cash his way.

Void Your Warranty with STYLE!

I just read an article on Wired.com (http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/09/iphone-mod-apple-logo/) that mentioned a mod, by iPatch, that will light up the Apple logo on the back of your iPhone.  If you check out this picture, it looks pretty cool!  They do mention at the end of the article that it will most definitely void your warranty, and that makes me pause and think:

WHY WOULD YOU EVER DO THIS?!

You spend a lot of money to get an iPhone, and it does so many cool things already, why void the warranty just so the back lights up?  Plus, it only has limited battery life.  This will, of course, drain the battery faster.  Is it worth having your phone die in the middle of a conversation?  For me, the answer is: NO FREAKIN' WAY!

The Marketing Take-away: Legal is always better!
Why would a company waste their time on making unauthorized mods?  Focus on making authorized mods instead.  Working with a company, especially one like Apple, is a huge advantage to your business, and provides much more industry clout than being "that company that makes mods."  I guarantee that iPatch doesn't have as high of a reputation as they might working WITH Apple.

-MJP

Apple Goes Solar

Schematic for one of Apple's filed patents.

Apple recently filed for two patents in the area of solar power, and they have three more in the works (http://gigaom.com/cleantech/how-apple-could-revolutionize-solar/).  If they get these patents, and even if they don't, what could this mean for Apple devices going forward?  All I can say is: WOW!

You already know you can download music DIRECTLY to your iPod, so the only need for the computer is to CHARGE the device and act as a backup for your entire music library.  Imagine if your iPod could be powered by the sun; that would mean no more charging via the computer.

So, other than for backing up your database...wait a minute.  Look at this: http://www.apple.com/icloud/what-is.html.  Well, now that's taken care of, too.  It seems to me that Apple just disconnected me from wires, completely.  How cool is THAT?!

The Marketing Take-away: Unplugged is a HUGE marketing plus!
iCloud and solar power could put Apple's devices in a league all their own, and this super-huge added value is marketing GOLD!  To no longer need a cord at all - to be truly portable - is a strategic advantage that can't currently be matched by anyone.

Steve Jobs had nice hair

This is Steve Jobs in January of 1984 as he introduced the world to the Macintosh computer. In his usual style, he let the images and sounds speak for themselves. Apple events have always been interesting marketing opportunities for the company; their mix of humor and technology have trained more than one generation of geeks what to expect from their computers. Enjoy!

Minor Leauge Player Falls into Marketing Gold!

Recently, a minor league outfielder facilitated a triple play with his head. His quick reaction and cool execution, despite what must have been a decent headache, could be used to promote the team and help his career. The key will be to market the incident properly.

A unique brand move for J.K. Rowling

Whether or not you like Harry Potter, you have to admit that this is an interesting move for the story's creator, J.K. Rowling.  She's created a new site for the world of Harry Potter, unveiled the week of June 19th, 2011.



The video reveals that it will be an interactive experience, but it's still REALLY vague as to what exactly will be going on there.  Leading up to the announcement, there were speculations as to what would be on www.pottermore.com.  It remains to be seen whether or not this brand strategy will pay off for Rowling.  In terms of e-book sales, it should be great, at least!


-MJP

Disruptive Innovation vs Incremental Improvement

This debate in The Economist brings to light an interesting difference between Eastern and Western creative philosophies.  Click the title to go to the article.