Jaffe Juice

Marketing in High Definition

In the past, I've always tried to give readers (of the blog) and listeners (to the podcast) a look under the covers of some of the marketing programs I've had the pleasure of working on. None have been as prevalent and exciting as Living in High Definition - Panasonic's community that celebrates the concept of High Definition (not just literally from a product standpoint, but also as an experience/way of life)

Recently we gave the community a new look (form and function); launched a community manager; a new podcast; a series of expert solution videos; and the list continues...

Now it's time to talk about it...and give you a chance to ask questions and talk back.

So mark your calendars for next Thursday, May 7th at 1.30pm EST for a live call-in episode of Jaffe Juice - the New Marketing Podcast. Joining me will be Panasonic's CMO and VP, Brand Strategy, LiHD's Community Manager, the host of the LiHD Podcast and last - but definitely not least - of of the participating families in the program (real life consumers!)

I'll be doing this via Talkshoe and here's what you'll need if you want to join:

• At 1.30pm EST on Thursday, May 7th, click on this link and join the call. Bonus points if you register. You'll be able to listen and chat live
• If you want to call in to the show, you'll need to dial +1 724 444-7444 Call ID: 25133 and I'll bring you into the conversation

It's going to be a pretty intriguing and illuminating call. Hope you can make it.

JJTV #8a and #8b - Weathering Twitterstorms

I recently sat down with Ad Age's Digital Editor, Abbey Klaasen and discussed an article she wrote called "How to weather a Twitterstorm"

1. Listen to the what -- and to the who
2. It's OK to say, "We don't know."
3. Address the crowd where it's gathered.
4. Tone matters.
5. Explain how you'll address the future.
6. Invest now to prepare for accidents later.

There are 2 versions:

• ...the short version for all those who have A.D.D. and/or feel web video needs to be short

• ...the long version with the full conversation

Take your pick.

Short

 

Long

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Retweet this why don't you: I figured out how to weather a Twitterstorm, now thanks to JJTV so can you: http://bit.ly/c0zga

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LiHD Podcast - Episode 2: It's all about the community

The second episode of the Living in HD Podcast is up. In it, we welcome Kate, LiHD's Community manager. Debates continue as to whether brands should have individual(s) names and faces; when it comes to community however, we think the answer is an affirmative. 

If you haven't visited the community yet...and more importantly, become a member...what are you waiting for?

fyi: You can follow the show's host, Laura and community manager, Kate on Twitter.

Help me Opr@h-wan-kanobi, you're my only hope

Looks like the Ponzi scheme has already begun to unravel. Mediaweek reports that up to 60% of Twitter's "rapidly growing audience" doesn't come back to the service.

Oops.

In other words, even with all the hype from both mainstream media and celebrity central, the message coming back from Main Street America is "huh?" or "I don't get it"....at least not yet.

It's eerily reminiscent of the good old Second Life days, despite many of the Twitter-boosters who make a clear distinction between the two "services" based on ease of use (set-up; initiation; operation) - whereas Second Life was ridiculously cumbersome, Twitter is pretty simple to use.

Perhaps someone needs to send a memo...'er, DM to Ev and Biz with an 9-character message: SELL NOW! (who needs 140 chars?) or perhaps this is just a reality check restoring growth curves to "regularly scheduled programming".

Perhaps this is also particularly good news for geeks everywhere...that they are not being overthrown by the likes of Ashton, Larry or Oprah.

Oprah incidentally, has been on Opr@h W@tch for about a week now. I'm still waiting for her to respond to me (because that's what Twitter allows you do i.e. connect friends, fans and Dr Phil) She also hasn't updated her profile in 5 days.

You can view my attempts at becoming Oprah's Dr Phil of Conversation here

So is this a good thing? Is Twitter becoming cool again for people who like to say things like FAIL, WOOT and PWND? Or on the flipside, does Twitter have a bit of Secondlifeapnia - especially when it comes to retention?

And while we're at it, what would you do if you were running Twitter to stem this tsunami of attrition? Personally I'd just get @oprah to tweet more, but that's just me...

RT away.

JJTV #7: Do you really need a social media marketer?

Well, do ya? Pepsi has Bonin Bough. Ford has W. Scott Monty. Coke has Adam Brown. Wells Fargo has another dude. This is in response to a Brandweek article. Warning: gratuitous human quote gestures ahead. Also do enjoy me getting really mad at around the 2m45 mark in respnse to this.

Twitter is a giant Ponzi Scheme (there's a Twucker born every minute)

I fear many of us are falling victim to a giant, well-orchestrated Ponzi-type scheme involving the hyping of Twitter. It's actually nothing more than a simple traffic driving ruse, involving tweeting and retweeting links back to the various mainstream media and social media websites and blogs.

Here's the dupe: all of these articles are about Twitter. 15 best uses of.... 12 top brands on.... 7 smartest brand marketers etc,

So it's articles and posts about Twitter being promoted, distributed and amplified via Twitter and in doing so, driving traffic back to the same sites and blogs that set the ball rolling in the first place. And it's all thanks to the A.D.D.-like 140 character limit that basically lets you say Jack Squat except for a codified bit.ly slurl whatever that pushes you to go back to the scene of the crime.

And as this continues to escalate, the medias (Ali G) and internetz increase their coverage, attention and "air time" because they know they're getting rich quick in the process.

Am I wrong? I'm not sure I am. I'm not trying to be skeptical and all, but come on....there are bigger fish to fry and takes more than 140 characters to fry 'em.

Oh and just in case you forgot...I'm @jaffejuice on Twitter and feel free to RT the crap out of this post and remember, drinks on me when I get to 10,000 followers (tweet-up venue to follow soon)

JJTV #6: I heart Charmin

I'm a two-ply guy myself...especially when it comes to marketing.

Hats off to Charmin. This is the kind of stuff we need to be focusing on, not 30-second spots, newspaper ads, banners and buttons and interns to manage our twitter accounts.

• You can now subscribe to this show directly from its new iTunes page
• Retweet this why don't you: Check out @jaffejuice's new episode of JJTV on Charmin - http://bit.ly/7Aa7j 
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@oprah w@tch: Day 2

Oprah's on Twitter. Follow her @oprah.

Oprah is a media maven second to none. She's conquered every single medium, with the possible exceptions of digital and "virtual" (I believe "social" fits between 3 planes: physical, digital and virtual), but she'll do that soon enough.

It's inevitable.

I'm actually wondering if she should purchase www.twitter.com/o from Oliver Thylmann in Cologne.

Anyway, I'm testing my theory that Oprah is awesome by tweeting her every weekday to see when she'll respond (not IF but WHEN) and more importantly, what she'll say. Right now Oprah is only interacting with a small personal network and celebs, but of course that's not what Twitter is about...and nor is it what Oprah's about.

• Here's Day 1's Tweet

• Here's today's Tweet

I actually have a few show ideas for Oprah (one of them is what I call "weight loss by community") and the more I think about it, the more I'd like to invest some of my time with more ideas for her. She's done amazing things for the world...and for my home country, South Africa. I should return the favor.

Think she'll respond? I do. Let's see what happens.

Jaffe Juice #127 - Hangin out with ma buddy Mitch talkin bout cool stuff

A cool conversation between my buddy Mitch Joel from Twist Image and Six Pixels of Separation Podcast and myself about stuff. From Inside Fish Bowl to Authentic voices. From Susan Boyle to Ben & Jerry's. Enjoy! Audio comments to +1 206 203-3255. Follow me on Twitter: @jaffejuice

Direct download here

Subscribe on iTunes here (come on, it's only once a month nowadays)

PS Episodes like these keep my faith strong on both podcasting's continued health and wellness, as well as an insight in terms of where this goes (at least for me)

JJTV #5 - Don't be a Twit about Twitter

A reality rant on Twitter. Don't be a twit. Get a grip. Seriously.

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