More Banning

MarketingVox tells us about a Republican-sponsored bill to restrict access to social networking sites. The bill, as it's written, has implications for sites that offer interactivity like bulletin boards or chat, as well. Looks like the equivalent of using a bazooka to swat a fly. It severely limits interactivity or expression for American kids under 18. Why we can't just get parents to pay more attention to their kids is beyond me.

In any case, it ought to be fun (NOT) to watch website operators scramble to figure out a way to kick off all under-18 participants in their open-access forums and such.

Someone Actually Stands Up For Late Creative

Klipmart CEO Chris Young actually writes an article for Mediapost in favor of letting creative deadlines slip.

Sure, late creative is annoying and obstructive to ad execution. But that's part of the reality of the business we're in, and it's up to all of us to find ways to adjust.

Like actually delivering things when you say you'll deliver things?

But online, we go impression by impression. If an ad goes live late, impressions can often be made up at the end of a campaign. And even after the ad is live, changes can continue to be made as many times as they need to. Late creative might add pressure and frustration, but it's certainly not the kiss of death.

Earlier in the same column, Tom Hespos grumbles, "It's obvious that deadlines slip in online media only because they can."

Well, yeah.

So shouldn't we be proud of that fact, and work to deliver the best performance we can from a medium unlike any other? We're not a traditional format, and we shouldn't be playing by traditional rules.

Rather than charge a client full price for materials that never ran, why not place the ball in their court by just saying, the pay period starts whenever you get the materials to us?

What Young is advocating is being different simply for the sake of being different. The distinctions he made about online media being served impression by impression are important, but they don't change the fact that inventory still expires. When a $20 CPM flight doesn't start on time, yes we have the capability to shift the flight dates. But what runs in that ad's place? Typically a house ad or a low CPM or CPC ad. Say what you want, but publishers are deprived of a revenue opportunity. And that opportunity cost rises the tighter inventory gets, so the problem is getting worse.

Not to mention that it's bad business to say you're going to deliver something by the first of the month, but you deliver it on the 7th instead.

Denying The Facts

You would be surprised at the number of meetings I've taken lately where the marketing folks are in obvious denial of the facts of the situation. I show them how folks are talking online on blogs, message boards, social networking sites and other communities about their brands, their products, their categories and their experiences doing business with their companies. Why don't they talk back? Answers most commonly given...

• Legal won't let us.
• We can't control the message.
• We're conservative.

I show them the message board posts where people are asking for product recommendations, the blog posts where someone lauds the new product they just launched and has a few suggestions for improving it further. I show them the blog post from the guy looking to address a problem for which their product is the solution. I show them how to find these posts easily and quickly, so they can answer within an appropriate period of time.

Still, many of them can't answer.

Folks, if you have an entire department (marketing) that is ostensibly charged with communicating with customers, and another department (legal) prevents them from doing so, what good is either of these departments? The fact is that legal is preventing you from doing your job.

You can't control the message? You're right. I don't know what gave you the idea that you have been in control of the message until now. The folks on Fark made fun of your ads last week. Thousands of people have posted about your products in an unfavorable light. What makes you think you've ever had control? Maybe you did before the Internet. In any case, you're telling me you have control, I'm showing you how you're not, and still you look me in the face and tell me you're in control.

You're conservative? So's Michelle Malkin. And as much as I abhor her views, at least she engages in dialogue with her audience. Conservatism is no excuse for building walls and refusing to talk to the people who (might) buy your product.

I hate to be confrontational, so when folks tell me they're not prepared to entertain the notion of Conversational Marketing, then I'll move on to do business with companies that will.

Bite The Hand That Feeds You

We've talked about Slingbox a few times here before, and how it enables people to enjoy their content in places other than their living rooms. You might think that would be a good thing for content providers - that rather than missing their favorite program, they might be able to catch it on their laptop or mobile device. After all, "your content your way" seems to be the guiding principle that holds true despite all the change in our industry. Evidently, that's not how HBO feels. I wonder when the old guard will start to warm up to the notion that ceding a bit of control does not necessarily equate to giving up profits.