Making a cause viral

Stand Up To Cancer has rolled out a slew of YouTube videos to raise awareness for cancer prevention. The videos themselves are well done, but it also doesn't hurt that they have a lot of big names behind them. My favorite video is with Larry David below.

Metallica change tune on music piracy

“Listen, we’re ten days from release. I mean, from here, we’re golden. If this thing leaks all over the world today or tomorrow, happy days. Happy days. Trust me. Ten days out and it hasn’t quote-unquote fallen off the truck yet? Everybody’s happy. It’s 2008 and it’s part of how it is these days, so it’s fine. We’re happy.”
- Lars Ulrich

This is interesting because Lars Ulrich led the crusade against Napster. He testified in court to Metallica losing millions of dollars from online downloading. Now it seems that he doesn't care.

Why the change of heart?


Essentially, a CD leaking makes for free publicity. If it leaks and people enjoy the album, they are going to let other people know. Most people were disappointed with Metallica's last release, so maybe Lars is hoping positive word-of-mouth will spread with this one...

Last night I noticed that the CD did leak, which isn't surprising since the release is only a little more than a week away.

How will CD sales do? This answer will probably be reflected in what fans think of the leak.

Musical Tastes - A Marketer's Tool

The results of a large scale study were released today making a strong connection between musical tastes and personality traits. The study, conducted by Professor Adrian North of Heriot-Watt University, studied over 36,000 people from all over the world, looking at the details of what your music tastes reveal about your personality.

This study offers infinite data and ideas for marketers. What kinds of music fans would fit well with your product? Does your product cater better to hard workers, creative minds, or introverts? With the growing connections that can be made with people on the internet, companies now have the opportunity to go online and better analyze their demographics, reach out to new potential customers, and build a more loyal fan base for a product and service. This study could prove to be another tool for how marketers look at their advertising and outreach efforts - are you reaching the correct demographic?

Ihateyourcompany.com

Very interesting article from the WSJ on how companies are handling user feedback online.

What should companies do?
Get involved in the conversation. Approach the consumer in an understanding, not angry, tone. You won't be able to buy up every negative domain or stop every comment, so the best thing you can do is be transparent. Approach the customer with open arms and see what you can do to help them.

Companies shouldn't fear the negative comment. They should embrace it. If people are worked up enough about your product to write negatively about it online, chances are they will be listening to you explain how you will right a wrong.

Friday Distraction

The weekend is almost here. Take a break. Watch what might be the best Seinfeld tribute on YouTube

What are you thinking Microsoft?

The new Seinfeld-Microsoft ad has debuted on YouTube and my thoughts are......[insert drumroll].....

What is Microsoft thinking? This commercial doesn't make sense. Are they selling shoes? I don't get it. I expected more from Seinfeld and Crispin Porter. I don't even know what to say.

Seinfeld + Microsoft = Fail.


Maybe this advertisement is an outlier. Maybe I will be proven wrong. We'll see with the next few ads. Microsoft has spent $10 million on Seinfeld for a few commericals. What they got in return was a massive load of negative publicity with the new ad.