Cobble Hill Interactive: Digital Sales & Marketing Consulting

Brian Steinberg of the Wall Street Journal has this to say…

“Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?” will be most instructive to the advertising crowd, of course. It’s hard to find a book about marketing that is truly appropriate for anyone but people who practice the stuff. But general readers may find something valuable here too: the latest Madison Avenue methods for getting inside their brains and massaging their decision-making logic. If the Web offers marketers new opportunities, it also allows picky consumers to become — with a feline cleverness and caution — ever more finicky.

Read the entire article (subscription required).

Brian references our book in the context of the ad agency BBDO, a poster child for the Madison Ave. glitz and glamour brand marketing philosphy. On the opposite end of the marketing philosophy spectrum you would find the direct marketing philosophy , as represented by the president of the Direct Marketing Association John A. Greco, who also reviewed our book. Seems that all ends of the marketing spectrum see value in Persuasion Architecture.

Don’t you just love what the penetration of broadband and the web has done to us?  When Jeffrey and Bryan started Future Now in the late 90’s, one very real challenge they faced was the "my [insert distant relative here] is in computers" syndrome (note: the third-cousin-twice-removed wasn’t in marketing though 😉 

Now that Bryan chairs the Web Analytics Association, and is one of the longest running authors on ClickZ, not to mention a NYTimes, WSJ and USA Today best selling author (twice) we no longer typically run into this type of misperception.  That being said, there’s still the occasional "I know a few things about Search Engine technology, therefore I’m an expert in Marketing" (Descartes would be so proud), and when they pop up, it’s pure comedy.  That is, until you stop to consider that some people out there might take this "advice" seriously, and then it’s purely frightening.

A quick tip, if you want to learn Persona creation yourself, there’s more than a few excellent resources out there (and none of these experts will show you a complete persona in merely a few paragraphs, but if they do, don’t walk, run for the hills).

Well, not quite.  Rather, she’s hired someone to do it for her.  Not exactly the kind of transparency we’re shooting for.

File under: When will they ever learn.

Joe Jaffe’s utterly fabulous, Across the Sound podcast– definitely check it out, it’s a must listen to each week.  Truth be told, I only got through half the show today, on my race from Penn Station to have a conference call with a new partner doing some fascinating "usability" testing (I use the quoted term very loosely, but more on that later this week), but as I was walking in the door, Jaffe dropped this on me, and I stopped immediately.  I couldn’t help but wonder, WWMBT? (what would Matt Belkin think 😉

Joe said (and in fairness, I’m sure he had help coming up with the idea but added enough significant value in his own right – I’m loosely attributing it to him here, because he definitely introduced me to it):

1. Data is "the sun rises at 5:12 AM"
2. Information is "the sun rises from the East, at 5:12 AM"
3. Knowledge is "If you’re lost in the woods without a compass, follow the direction of the sun to find your direction"
4. Finally, wisdom is "Don’t get lost in the woods"

I love it… and it’s a perfect anecdote for the dangers in pure data reporting over the knowledge (dare I say wisdom) acquired from true analysis.

It’s not every day a client sends a FW: my way which causes me to literally laugh out loud (and clog other’s inbox as well), but today’s the day.  Apparently, our constant ranting about technology rarely being the solution to a Marketer’s problem is seeping into to those who listen to us most often (and who’s the worst offender of the "world domination through technology).  Take a look at what had me rolling, the official See-no-evil-hear-no-evil-and-certainly-do-no-evil Monkeys:

For the record, our exact quote is what Sergey and Larry have done best is create a technological solution so easy, any monkey could use it.  That does not, however, explain why people play their game.  Why, in the wake of ever present traffic cost inflation, do business owners look to continually blame Google for their own marketing ineptness (ineptness is likely to harsh, poor strategy and poorer execution is more likely) ?

Despite the recent brewhaha over Google and Relevance the key to seemless contextual advertising is just that: relevance- providing consistent scent of information, from the search term to the adword (driving point), and the adword to the landing page (funnel point).  It’s about understanding that search terms are laden with intent, and intent is an action based on a motivation.  Recall the third question we continually ask and answer during Persuasion Architecture engagements- what information would our audience need to feel comfortable and confident taking the action you’ve laid out for them– search terms hold your first clue.

We joke about Google around the office, because their notion of "doing no evil" is comical when with the advent of Gbuy they’ll now potentially know every piece of personally identifiable information about you, save two (Driver’s license and passport).  But truth be told, Eric Schmidt’s quote about charging advertisers more for PPC ads is not evil, it’s capitalism.  It’s not Google’s fault many Marketer’s take the lazy way out.  It’s not their fault Conversion Rates industry wide continue to fall. 

It is their fault however that people are misled into believing technology holds the cure to that which hasn’t been planned properly in the first place (and proper planning of a contextual visitor experiece my friends, is a Persuasion challenge not a technological one).  It’s also one of the reasons we asked Yahoo, and specifically brand marketing legend Murray Gaylord to partner with us and write the forward for Waiting for Your Cat to Bark.

Digg it?

Our friends at Marketing Sherpa have their annual Reader’s Choice Blog & Podcast awards currently ongoing.  We’re thrilled (and humbled – have you seen some of the names in our category?) to be nominated, but more than that, we’re prouder than ever that some of our partners efforts are being recognized for the absolute gems that they are. 

Michele’s WonderBranding and Holly’s Marketing to Women Online are both more than deserving of your votes (and you only have 2 more days to do so).  Please do be so kind, and lend them your support- I know we have.

By the way, while you’re there it wouldn’t hurt to cast a vote in the direction of some of the other excellent blogs nominated, like Sam Decker’s Decker Marketing, John Jantsch’s Duct Tape Marketing or Joe Jaffe’s outstanding Across the Sound Podcast.

You can vote here: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=28308

Something tells me, her appearances on both Leno and Letterman will put her back over the top when it’s all said and done though.

Just the same, we’re mighty proud to be sitting at #2 overall spot at Amazon tonight.

Care to help us get to number 1?  We’d be beyond appreciative.  If you’d prefer to save a few extra bucks, rumor has it Sam’s Club priced the book at $10!

Well forgive the shameless plug, but we’re finally 100% publicly shipping our latest book Waiting for Your Cat to Bark: Persuading Customers When They Ignore Marketing.  Amazon, BN and Sam’s Club jumped the gun a bit, but we forgive their exhuberance.  After all, there’s probably no better time to start shipping than when a book is recommended in the Sunday edition of the New York Times.  We couldn’t be more proud of it, and the reception we’ve received thus far.  There’s been far too much feedback to share here, but a random sampling shows podcasts, newspapers, tv & radio stations, and online reviews getting into the mix.  Here’s a few of our personal fav’s: (feel free to add your own 😉

• Craig Danuloff from Commerce360, leads an insightful chapter by chapter discussion of the book.
• Mike Grehan recently podcasted his fireside chat with Jeffrey & Bryan, and wrote about it on ClickZ
• The good folks behind 800-CEO-READ offer their thoughts (and free books)
• WonderBranding’s own Michele Miller donating her own charitable dollars to inspire future readers
• Chuck McKay, of Advertising Made Simple, offers the Small Biz take on the value of Cat

There’s been plenty of pub for the release, I gave you five, and in a variety of formats.  I hope there’s something in there for everyone.  Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who’s enjoyed the Waiting for Your Cat to Bark experience, and to those of you who haven’t… what are you waiting for?!

From ClickZ today:

But I’m not going to write about online video today. The real story is much bigger. The real story about the rise of online video isn’t about the fact consumers seem to really like to watch short low-res video clips on their computers. Nope. The real story is that consumers are starting to take control of their media, and they really seem to like it.
Control, not video, will have huge implications for advertisers, publishers, and marketers in the future.

Welcome to the on-demand future. Prepare for major disruptions.

The on-demand future isn’t about just video; it’s about all media.

Click on over to ClickZ, and read the rest of his excellent article. Of course, while you’re there, you may want to stop by here too.

perhaps it was Elmer’s who invented the internet.  The web as glue is in full swing.  Observe, just this week alone:

1. For the second consecutive night, on a two separate networks, a tv show I was watching ended with a URL, and some additional, only-available-online, content.  We’re not talking rehashed, repurposed, repeated highlights either- we’re talking genuine, 100%, never-before-seen, FRESH CONTENT… completely free.  You think that traffic source comes any more highly qualified?   

   [Note: Sadly, in both cases the networks utterly failed to follow up the successful driving point (i.e. tv show) with a funnel point that leads the visitor into a scenario where some interaction can take place.  That sound you hear is the cash register signaling yet another squandered opportunity, the likes of which becoming even more critical with continual traffic cost inflation.]

2. FX unleashes a contest which collects CGM.  What type of consumer generated media, you ask?- the type that got Chevy in such hot water a few months back.  This one incentivizes submissions with a $50,000 check.  Oh yeah, and one more thing worth noting, they only accept submissions through myspace! 

   [Note: Sadly, because their site is 100% designed in Flash, linking to it, creating a buzz, and sharing the viral WOM becomes far more difficult than it should be.  Oops.]

3. Our copy of Strategy + Business arrived at the office offering a field guide for the new Marketer (yes, I did wonder if they’d include a reading list, and if Waiting For Your Cat to Bark would top the list.) and a cover story entitled "The Future of Advertising Is Now" (free registration required).  It’s well worth the read, and a harbinger of things to come.  They predict marketing excellence in organizations who:
   • "Shift spending and management attention to
     digital media, and use those media to more effectively influence
     consumer purchase behavior.
   • Develop formats to promote interaction with audiences, especially their most likely consumers.
   • Create new research approaches and metrics that measure outcomes, not inputs.
   • Combine “above-the-line” advertising (TV, radio,
     and print) and “below-the-line” marketing (promotions, sponsorships,
     events, public relations) in new two-way, integrated campaigns.
   • Create their own branded entertainment assets and appeal to customers directly through them."

   [Note: As far as I know, they weren’t intentionally referring to the results of planning marketing strategy with Persuasion Architecture, but it sure sounds like they were.]

   Did I mention, it’s only Wednesday?