Dr. Neil Hair

Vic Perotti and I presented our findings of a recent value study of Facebook activity on Thursday to a packed house. I was very pleased with the turnout, the thoughtfulness of the questions and the enthusiasm for the work already conducted. If you were there - thanks for coming! If you weren't don't worry - Vic and I are putting together an extended pod cast of our work for you to see. Whilst everyone seems to be climbing onto the social networking band wagon very few businesses understand it - our work explores the value of such participation from a consumer perspective. Once we know what value individuals receive, we can commercialize it more effectively. One things for sure, it wont be advertising as another study with Sue Barnes and myself show overwhelming evidence that users don't trust the message or the senders themselves. Interesting times, and we're at the cutting edge in the research of it.

So, the company that seemed to encourage innovative behaviour of its customers appears to have scored another phenomenal own goal in its latest attempts to lock people into a contract with AT&T with its iPhones. As is DRM wasn't sufficient, nor the appalling battery life and warranty on apples Ipod range they now appear intent on punishing those who dare to switch providers. Users who have hacked their phones and update Apples latest patch wreck their equipment. I can just see the legal teams amassing now and the damage that will do to Apples already tainted image. Where is customer choice in all of this I hear you ask. Apple doesn't appear to care. Another reason why this individual wont buy into the culture or its products. Will I be buying an iPhone ever? I don't think so. Will I be switching to macs? No no no. Doing so limits customer choice, the power of the consumer and rewards such non market focused behaviour. Dare to be different. Say no to Apple.

If you thought the Chief Information Officer had it easy looking after all that precious information in your company I've news for you. There's a new kid in town. The job of the century has to be - wait for it - Chief Leaf Spotter. Now, I had previously thought that the Brits took the issue of weather very seriously. It is in our genes after all and some say we are born pondering the predicament of rain, sunshine or mixed bags of partial cloud cover. Not now so. It appears that America once again does things just a little bit better. The Department of Economic Development employ Leaf Spotters to identify when the leaves change colour and thus the seasons change…

I can hear the stunned silence. So, a little digging and the statistics are startling and very worrying. On the 19th September it was reported that as much as 20% of the local leaves of the Greater Niagara region were a dull yellow with orange highlights. Letchworth Park and the Finger Lakes have up to 15% change with yellow and reds in the next few weeks. Startling news for a region that relies so heavily on the summer for warm feelings, long summer drinks, and Samsung Air Conditioning units. Even the Catskills will see up to 25% change with a lot of red and gold highlights so there is it seems no escape from seasonal change.

One has to wonder what training a Leaf Spotter must endure, what salary or hourly rate they are paid, and how gruelling the final exams for professional certification must be.

One of the qualities I always enjoy exploring in any region are home micro brewery's. Rochester is not alone in this regard and my favourite Rohrbach is expanding in the public market quarter of downtown Rochester. I like the sound of the tours, tasting room and retail sections of the new offer. I do hope they get their local marketing right and let people know in ways above and beyond news releases to local papers, there's something about a 3D web tour of a facility before, during and after its launch. Nothing on it's main homepage as yet however…

Vic Perotti and I are presenting our social networking study findings in two weeks as part of the RIT Faculty Scholars series. Students and faculty wanting to know more about why we participate and what we get from participation should attend. Should be a fun and engaging event! Those of you interested in the commercialization aspect of online social networks should find this presentation particularly useful.

"The Value of Online Social Networks: A Business Perspective"
Date: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2007
Time: 3:00 – 5:00 pm
Place: The Idea Factory at Wallace Library (Bldg. 5, 1st floor)

Just ask Timberlake - I see his box song has won him an Emmy. Everyone was talking about it, everyone was singing it, goodness knows how many people were doing it. Facebook even got in on the act with their gifting options. So how does one really make the perfect viral video campaign? First off I suggest you study the more effective campaigns in existence. How does one select these campaigns? Numbers for one. How many times has this video been cited? Make sure you also identify the me-too's who love to start their own YouTube thread for the same video. Once you've identified the most creative - come and see me - I have a methodology in place for exploring the perceptions of effectiveness. Seriously, any independent study students of honors students who want a project looking at this? The Journal of Interactive Marketing and the International Journal of Market Research have recently announced special issues we could work towards.

An article in the Times caught my attention this morning which acknowledged for the first time that visits to the US by Euro and Sterling wielding tourists were down 17% since 2001. What was startling about the acknowledgment is that the blame has been placed squarely at the feet of customs officials at the boarder. Which got me thinking about my own experiences - especially that of 1997 when I first arrived into JFK on board a British Airways flight. The experience was rather terrifying to say the least. For me it was the first time I had ever seen someone asking me questions about my status whilst CARRYING A BLOODY BIG PISTOL. No cordial greetings of 'welcome to the United States' for me. No sir. Then my family made trips which proved equally distressing (my mother bless her shares the name with several high profile criminals it seems - you know where this went) - and Im not even going to start mentioning my wifes tales - we'll be here all day. The point is, the basic principles of marketing can be applied just about everywhere and should start the moment a tourist arrives. Next time you get off a plane re-entering the States pay special attention the ways in which you are marketed to (or not as the case may be). The tactics the airports are to employ leave me skeptical. In fact I think a three year old could identify more welcoming means. In my experience the Red Coats are more aggressive than the customs officials (paid less, often resentful of the presence of dollar wielding foreign customers). The most effective means of reducing the stress lies with the officials themselves surely. Now for a tale of promise - two places have consistently welcomed me to the US in a much more positive manner - LAX and Newark. Both times the officials seem just a little bit happier to have you there and it makes all the difference. A smile. A welcome. A little bit of ad libbing ('what book do you use for your internet marketing class Mr Hair?') that sort of thing. Only that way does the important storytelling of the homeward bound foreign traveler start with - you should see the skyline in NYC and not - I'm never going again after the way I was treated in the airport. 17% is a huge number. Especially where there average traveler spends over 3000 dollars per trip going directly into the US economy. Marketing see - its the future of everything.

The funniest advert I think Ive seen in a very long time… enjoy.