It's Everyday for Lazy Sunday

Have you seen the hottest thing on the web? No it has absolutely nothing to do with Paris Hilton. It's Chris Parnell and Andy Samberg from SNL. Check out "Lazy Sunday".

This is destined to be an instant classic. And if marketers are looking for ways to reach tweens and 18-35 males - you'd better call and ask for Lorne Michaels because he's got lightning in a bottle. A story talking about it's success ran on the front page of the New York Times this weekend.

Interestingly, it's all over the web. I also saw this clip on a cool site called YouTube (www.youtube.com) where you can post video content in this vlog. I love the rich media web.

Technorati Tags: rich media, rich media marketing, broadband marketing

Keeping an "Eye" on the Future...Not!

So CBS announced this week that it's offering two of its hit comedies online.

According to a Boston Globe article 'Two and a Half Men" and ''How I Met Your Mother" are being offered for free video streaming this week from the Yahoo! website.

Well, move on over -- the bandwagon is getting full.

Looks like the "eye" has got it's eye on the future. Well, not really. When are the big networks going to realize the the web is not just another distribution medium? It's not just another place to broadcast TV content. I feel like I need to start my own Truth campaign about the dangers of underestimating the power of the rich media web.

Just like ABC lost out with Lost, when it failed to integrate mystery clues on the show's website, CBS is also losing a big marketing opportunity to help salvage its ratings and better engage viewers. Shows need cult followings to really do well. They need viewers that rearrange their schedule to make sure they watch (and record) the show. You can only get that level of involvement if your audience is REALLY engaged. So don't just re-run the same show. There's got to be more value. Build other content around the shows and their stars. Interact. Create conversations. Extend the story. Grow it.

At the very least CBS could solicit story ideas from viewers to embolden the characters and enhance the show with new life and energy. While 2 1/2 men is already doing well, according to Neilsen, the Marry Mother show didn't even crack the top 20.

My first question would be to Charlie Sheen - what were you thinking when you left Denise Richards?

Technorati Tags: rich media, rich media marketing, broadband marketing

Googling Lyrics...What's Next?

Like I discussed in a previous post on what's happening with Google, today the search behemoth announced plans to offer Google Music (btw, not the official logo, just illustrative).

This will be a search tool aimed at finding music lyrics, artists and album names. Isn't Google in enough businesses? But like I said, they've got the cash to invest in new types of ideas. And the founders even said that they'd do things like this, so it really shouldn't come as any surprise.

The UnofficialGoogleBlog wrote about this back in early October in a post titled, "Google Music On the Way."

But what do you think Google will buy next? Rich media search? Write in and let me know.

Or if you're really lazy, go to Google and type, "What will Google do next".

Technorati Tags: rich media, Google, Google Music

Yippee for Yahoo!

This is the second company in our look at the Super Seven companies most likely to affect the rich media landscape in the next 6-12 months.

Before we looked at Google, but today I saw an interesting story in today's "Online Media Daily" (free subscription) that Yahoo! will launch a new reality show called, 'Wow House' next year.' It will be an integral part of Yahoo!' Tech, the online media giant's technology content channel.

Well yippee for Yahoo! At last a company that sees the future of the rich media web and is going after the most important piece - content.

Well, according to David Utter with Webpronews, "The concept goes like this: two households get $10,000 each to spend on electronics for the home. Online viewers get to vote and decide which household keeps the new swag." Haven't we seen this before? Kind of, but not online exclusively.

This announcement comes on the heels of other big brands announcing broadband-only content exclusives such as HGTV who is (much to my wife's delight) developing a show aimed at kitchen renovations. Great - it was hard enough to hang on to the remote.

Technorati Tags: Yahoo!, rich media, rich media marketing, broadband marketing

I Thought I'd Seen it All...Until Tampax Did This

I'm sure this is making its way around the web and blogosphere, but I've gotta write about this great example of rich media marketing. I was reading Joseph Jaffe's blog and Adverblog (both had the link) and came across this story about Tampax and a new campaign devoted to ringtones targeted at tween girls. Talk about recruiting.

On first glance, if you're like me, you're thinking...Tampax... ringtones...okay, what's the punchline? But this site is actually pretty cool. Not that I'm in the right market AT ALL, but the creative is very well done. Kudos to the designers.

Check out the Tampax Ring Tone.

One nice feature is that individuals can make their own ringtones and then save them in a "Tone Gallery." So not only do I have the ability to create my own ringtone, but also get my friends' ringtones as well. Well done. Really great stuff.

Technorati Tags: rich media marketing, Joseph Jaffe, Adverblog, Being Girl

The Best is Yet to Come

On Tuesday, Dec 6, Steve Rubel wrote in his blog – Micropersuasion – about the increasing number of video and TV shows becoming available on iTunes. Shows like USA’s Monk and SciFi’s Battlestar Gallactica (alas, not the Lorne Greene version).

Well, this is good news and undoubtedly more and more will jump on the online video bandwagon. And that’s great, but this is a baby step. Don’t get me wrong, putting TV shows online is very convenient and I get the whole time-shifting thing. I’ve already downloaded two Lost episodes from iTunes – very nice. And I hear they’re making money which is fantastic too. Although I still think ABC missed a golden marketing opportunity by not extending the mysteries online, as I referenced in an earlier post.

But unlocking corporate video vaults and throwing the contents online is kind of like the early days of TV when all they could think to do was put radio shows on television. It's only when we realized that TV was an entirely different medium, that it blossomed into the monstrosity that can now get away with charging $2 million for a :30 spot interspersed with a little too much of Janet Jackson (if there is such a thing).

But the web is not TV 2.0 and it's not going to be. The web is a whole different animal - the sound is different, the motion is different, and the writing is even different. The best is yet to come because we're just now scratching the surface of what the Rich Media Web can do.

Just look at sites like Nike Lab or Freedom of the Seas (two of my favorites). Or some of the creative shops doing some really hot stuff, like this featurette of an online Underworld movie promotion.

The rich media web has enabled another paradigm shift with the added element of interactivity. That's where the real innovation is going to be. When we take video assets and enliven them with interactivity, gameplay, consumer-generated feedback and more substantiative depth, then we’ll begin to see the possibilities.

Technorati Tags: rich media marketing, rich media, Nike Lab, Freedom of the Seas

Desperate Shoppers - An Email Success Story

As I stood in line with my wife at her favorite store on Saturday morning at 11am, I tried to find the silver lining in my predicament. The pessimist in me was saying:

"Dude - it's Saturday morning and you're missing College GameDay - the last one of the season. Why couldn't you feign Avian Flu or something and get out of this nightmare?"

The optimist in me was saying:

"Dude - you're in New York & Company where the walls are adorned with perhaps the hottest Desperate Housewife of them all (Eva Longoria) and you got here because of an email. This is proof that rich media marketing works. This is great! Plus, Texas is probably killing Colorado so you're not missing too much." (which they did)

This is the beautiful face that launched a thousand successful emails and literally millions in revenue for New York & Company is this email (above). My wife got this email on Thursday and Saturday mornnig our AMEX bill took a big hit. Proof that online marketing can drive offline sales.

Now here's an even better idea. What if NY&C would have sent a rich media email (click the "holiday video" button) directed at husbands and boyfriends - using video of Eva that's already on the site - with her looking lustfully in the camera and espousing the benefits of accompanying their better halves to the mall - imagine the click-thru and drive-to on that email!

Who's a Blogger?

I was reading the AMA Blog and came across an interesting post by Blog Diva, Toby Bloomberg. She was talking about how seniors are the fastest growing segment of bloggers out there. Makes intuitive sense. Seniors - like my grandparents - love to reconnect, reminisce and stay active. Blogging is a natural fit.

But I did a little research and found out that while they may be the fastest growing segment, the 18-year-olds still dominate in terms of sheer number. This is a survey conducted by LiveJournal. There are a bunch of cool demographics in this study, but the age statistics are most interesting (sorry it's so hard to read, but you get the idea).
























ClickZ recently had an article titled, "Blogosphere by the Numbers" citing similar results from other sources.

This is interesting because the largest category of blogs is political blogs. Hopefully younger people are getting more and more active with the political scene. Regardless on which side of the aisle you reside, we're all going to have to take more ownership of this country to keep the advantages we have. This isn't something I have to tell my Bill O'Reilly-watching grandmother.

Now if I could just get her to understand what I mean by "rich media."