Dr. Neil Hair

The summer is almost over, I guess I could be considered sad by most definitions, but I for one look forward to being back in the classroom. It's amusing - the start of the new academic year is almost a universal mind set - irrespective of whether you're at college or school or facing life 2.0 in a company after graduation, some say it's the same 40 years on! Organizations base their budgets on it, humans review their lives on it, even the land is said to give an opinion it. September 1st is it. A few thoughts on my September 1 as I look forward:

1. I look forward to seeing my wife complete her PhD. A second milestone for both of us.
2. Seeing old friends at our US celebration this coming Saturday at a 'Black and White' themed party (pictures to follow).
3. Seeing my first undergraduate honors student present a paper at an international colloquium on Relationship Marketing in Leipzig in Germany this month. Ryan - you ARE a benchmark.
4. Having my graduate assistant back - Sri Lanka rules in more ways than one Rethan.
5. Seeing former principles of marketing students in my B2B E-Commerce or Internet Marketing classes.
6. I equally look forward to seeing former students move on and graduate (reminding themselves they owe me a little share in my own 60ft Yacht).
7. To irresponsibly owning a two seater sports car that is AWFUL in the snow.
8. Complaining about the cold.
9. Being a year older.
10. Holding out in the mountains.
11. One day being able to play the Concerto for Piano No 21 in C Major (or at least Crocodile Rock anyway you like it).
12. Being part of the American Dream even though I miss home like no other…
13. Publishing my work on virtual communities, communities of practice, personal branding, virtual ethnography, ethics and my life as a Holly-holic.
14. Seeing Saunders a household name.
15. Excusing myself the pleasure of working on my blog when I should be doing other things…
16. Asking someone important to me if it still means the same to them, 20 plus years on, seeing a BIG smile on their face, and an affirmative…

24 hours is a long time for consumers of David Brent's unique style of humor. It was just 24 hours ago that I was watching his training video's for Microsoft falling about laughing. Microsoft spotted it - over 70,000 hits later - cried foul (perhaps fowl is a better way of describing this monumental mistake) and have ordered youtube to take them down. How annoying. Granted Microsoft paid Gervaise handsomely for the content, granted they were designed for in house use only, granted they were very very funny. Granted the quality of the video was poor, granted the internet populace was unlikely to want to download it for archiving, granted it perhaps painted Microsoft in a slightly different (and much more amenable) light. What was surely to be a great indirect public relations exercise has turned sour but not for everyone involved. Youtube still benefit from the new traffic the news story will generate, Gervaise benefits as it raises his profile as a comedian, and poor old Microsoft painted once again as the serious monopolist who wants to stop non employees enjoying their fun which lets face it - we have helped fund.

Updates: You can still watch the video here if you're quick

For some strange reason I spent a large part of last night and this morning searching youtube. It all started fairly innocently, I was looking for Queen's Live Aid performance and found it (22,000 views) plus so much more. Documentaries (4000 views), the music video originals (74,000 views - banned incidentally in certain states for years, one can only assume for the distressingly feminine looks of a dragged up Roger Taylor), interviews, arguments the lot. Bored with Queen (I had watched the live performance three times in a row) I went tubesurfing for Depeche Mode live performances (8,000 views), not content with that music videos for Loud Reed (900 views), Sisters of Mercy (25,000 views), and then (big mistake) David Bowie. Now, Im probably providing you with more insight into my personality and cultural frame than anything marketing related at this moment in time. But, when you think about it, is it not a marketers job to really pinpoint with a high degree of accuracy the wants and needs of its target market? THIS IS A GOLDMINE OF PSYCHOGRAPHIC INFORMATION! As as will be shown I am quite clearly psycho! The possibilities are endless (as too the ethical issues). If we put these issues to one side for a moment I'll finish the story. Now I have absolutely nothing against Mr Bowie. In fact I like his music so much I can forgive such appallingly kitsch music video's like 'Lets Dance' and EVEN his move into the movie industry. Point of correction. Whilst I can forgive Absolute Beginners, there really was no need to unleash Labyrinth onto the general peace loving public and strangely I found myself searching for Chilly Down taken from that film (sung incidentally by the cat from Red Dwarf). Thankfully I did not find it (try this instead, 46,000 views). However, I did stumble across perhaps the most bizarre form of internet culture I have ever come across. That of the Labyrinth remix video. This stuff is not for the faint of heart. There are spoof trailers (very well done), altered music clips (such as the GooGoo Dolls and Cold Play), countless re-enactments and literally thousands of people commenting about the quality of their efforts. So what has all this to do with marketing? Communities of interest, that's what. And for the marketer they offer a wonderful opportunity to target such groups in a setting where you know very well that there will be consumer take up. Do the copyright owners care about the use of their film and music being ripped up in such a manner? I'm sure they do, should they worry? Absolutely not. David Bowie actively encourages fans (as does Depeche Mode) to rip and remix his music. Why? Publicity. I for one would rush out now to buy the original sound track of Labyrinth on the basis of my tubesurfing foray.

Had I not already owned it like the sad man I am.

Such is life, amusing these days that rumor remains just that until it appears in print on facebook. Rose and I have tied the knot, it's facebook official (Ive changed my status). It's also official that facebook have held out as long as they can from the onslaught of the advertising business model. Microsoft *yawn* are to start providing banner space *even bigger YAWN* and sponsored links *DEATH DEFYING YAWN*. One of the nice things about facebook is its clean looks. Myspace just doesn't do it for me in this regard and seems to be full of weirdos (whereas facebook is full of good wholesome members of the RIT community - at least in my social circle). I guess I'm just not sure that advertising space is the only way to go. There remain plenty of alternative models that might prove equally attractive (shock and horror - pay for access?!). Couple this with a healthy retail model, party organizing features and so on and we might have something to sing about. Banner ads and sponsored links. Dear oh dear. What is the world coming to? How mind numbingly boring.

OK, I'm intrigued… an article by the D&C in Rochester places a secret elegant bar at the scene of what was the fast ferry. Are we witnessing the start of a viral campaign by the city of Rochester of something special? The story is simple. Ferry closes, area abandoned. Familiar reading it seems for those of us who live in the area. Another great chance to revitalize a unique space in need of attention is the promise created by the media. I've always likened the Port of Rochester with High Falls as one of those spaces that are screaming for investment and have so much potential in terms of creating a great place for entertainment and inner city living. The visits I've made to the area always left me wanting - you were basically talking about a transport terminal - hardly a sexy prospect. There is though lots of promise for those of us looking for something different on the ents / living scene. So, back to the story. Someones found a bar/night club that clearly involved a great deal of investment - newly sealed and away from the public eye. Why? What's going on? What can we expect? OK, you've got me excited but please don't let me down again. Now is an IDEAL time to seize the hype reported in Sundays news and start building the promise. Market the area effectively by understanding your target market (if you know who that is). Paint the picture using appropriate news sources (please don't forget the universities) and encourage complimentary businesses to swarm the area. Create a nucleus! As with all new ventures there is a great deal of safety in numbers - nations know it - so should small business. Rome was not built on one night club. Boutique shops are one thing, eclectic restaurants are another, cafe bars as well that show off the vibrancy of the area like Park Avenue. What about then attracting service industries who will make effective use of the amenities in the daytime? From here you can build the expensive condos and flats that will see the evening thrive. It's a great location with so much promise at the end of the day and a supportive local community that can also thrive from increased numbers. Perhaps most importantly it's unique selling proposition is the fact that it is on the water. Don't waste this. Rochester needs it.

We've seen several years of heavy down grading of service in the airline industry in the name of cost reduction. Of course the airlines will argue the opposite, service has never been better, more of our planes are in on time blah blah, else they'll blame the worlds security situation for not offering in-flight internet access or 'the need to charge $5 a drink fiasco' (at least on all American airlines it seems). The situation is starting to annoy me from both a customers perspective and that of the marketer. Several questions I'd like to throw at their director of customer service. Why aren't you offering internet access on long haul flights? The technology is not as expensive as you make it out to be. As a heavy user this would seriously eat into idle time on a plane and MIGHT even pass as excellent customer service - oh and I'd pay an additional $50 for the privilege on an 8 hour flight. Why aren't you offering 'delux' in-flight services such as the ordering and provision of additional reading material? Magazines after all have some of the largest margins known to mankind. Why aren't you offering real champagne when people want it (not sparkling wine from California)? Where are my noise reduction headphones that are dropping in price? Why do you insist on hot meals made of rubberized tarmac? Where is the selection? (technically 2 choices IS a selection I guess). Why haven't you enlisted the help of someone who really knows how to produce ready made meals such as Tescos, Sainsbury's or my own favourite Waitrose - British Airways? Where is the partnership branding in all of this? One of my biggest gripes however is reserved for Virgin. The company that seemed to be really going somewhere in terms of innovating the airline industry has sold out. Just another airline whose only true differentiator is its ability to charge slightly more than BA on the basis of the goodwill of the British public who once cared about the 'dirty tricks' campaign. I wouldn't mind as much if you could still pack your own food and drink for the journey (Hannibal made it look so much more appealing with his little box from Dean and Deluca - minus the brains of course). So much more to be done. One of the true successes of the new transatlantic era is Zoom. This little known Canadian company offers you little frills in return for little bucks. Companies like this will be the true winners as more and more of the old guard threaten to file for bankruptcy. They manage your expectations as part of their business model. Don't expect favours, we're cheap and trying to stay in the business! At least their vision's 20/20.

Gamefly has caught my eye. A dangerously attractive prospect that for $22 a month will see you with as many games as you want for as long as you want. Really interesting business model that's probably as attractive to investors in the company as it is avid gamers. The company has been around for a while suggesting mediocre marketing activities. What's interesting is that it's watched and learnt from the big players (netflix) and introduced a number of innovations to bring about better customer service (such as fast returns which sees local post offices scan your return for an instantly registered return). As it gets stronger it adds more titles and supports more platforms. Begs the question, why hasn't netflix moved into this market space with its publicity engine (the back of those annoying sheets you rip off before returning your dvd)? Thankfully Gamefly doesn't support the PC (I made a strategic decision several years ago that I would not buy a specific gaming machine for several reasons which paid off handsomely in terms of productivity). Probably only a matter of time before they do but will have to find a way around the thorny issue of registering the games on propriety networks (the preferred means of preventing piracy these days).

Lets face it, with millions of people visiting youtube every day the opportunity to brand yourself on internet tv is phenomenal.  Take Kelly Munckton or Lucy Whiteside on their video 'how to be a chav' that received 30,000 hits in one day. Big deal you might say - until the viral phenomena takes off and day two and three sees this spiraling (a chav incidentally is probably best described as, well, not a very nice way of life). Take Pomme and Kelly on their rather good rendition of Respect on google idol (they also have their own site but alas no business model in place *sigh*) or my absolute favourite the Chinese Backstreet Boys (you know the one by now). But you see that's exactly the point. You DO know the one by now - if not, where have you been? here it is. Of course the greatest tragedy as far as I can see is that Katja and Bracha didn't make it through the first heat on google idol - clearly Roses favourite and one of mine too. Long live internet tv, it's humor and its ability to reach vast audiences as part of your 15 minutes of fame. Struggle ye marketer as ye figure out how to make use of this new media…

Even The President is doing it. Welcome remix world. 15,000 5 star ratings later…and someone somewhere is bound to have good job offers. 

And now for something completely unnecessary. Hoffs new video.

So, where The Who? have quickly demonstrated the prophecy of their name sake quickly slipping back into digital obscurity where they belong, Duran Duran of all bands have stepped up to the new world challenge. The pioneers of the first big budget music video (that wondrous song Wild Boys which incidentally has all the staying power of the metro mattress song and then some) are now grasping at the nettle of the online era and performing their gigs in virtual settings. Duran Duran are to create an island in the popular game second life and are to hold live concerts from it. Whilst it's not clear whether there is a retail model involved at this stage (ie charging for tickets) it is clear that there are many opportunities for other business models to exist (and I wont go over this old ground again here - check my previous entries). Good to see a British Band doing something innovative with the internet and not squabbling over whether it actually exists.

Now I like to frag baddies as much as the next person and in a recent fit of weakness I bought Half-Life 2: Episode One. Several things struck me about the process from a marketing perspective. For one the use of Steam - basically connection software to stop the bad guys from playing duplicate copies of your game (or rather using your unique instillation code). I was immediately presented with the option to download and play the full version of a number of games that had yet to hit the stalls. Most impressive. Try before you buy from the gaming world (more like, try, get addicted, have to buy to keep on playing from the gaming world). Very interesting and I think very innovative (although the playing of demo software is nothing new). A time period also exists with the full version - encouraging the afore mentioned addictive behavior if you ask me. BRILLIANT!! Gaming is where it's at at the moment. Why arent the music companies onto this?