Speaking of Marketing

i feel so bad - me without an avatar

Wow!  There's a marketing firm that specializes in taking companies into the virtual worlds.  Places I have been meaning to go but just haven't gotten around to it (I'm still wondering: young, hot female BABE or evil scientist bent on dominating the world or destroying it, your choice you pathetic throng.)  Anyway, what struck me as so cool about what they do is, at least for one campaign:

"Instead of building a dedicated island for L’Oreal Paris (the solution for 95% of Second Life marketing campaigns to date) we partnered with existing retailers and placed L’Oreal Paris metabrand items into their stores alongside existing virtual goods.  This approach allowed us to instantly tap into and engage our target market."

Competing by changing the game - foregoing the island, a place you have to build traffic to, and taking advantage of the traffic created by others - they hit a home-run for their client.  Sounds just like when luxury makeup brands started buying first floor store space from upscale department stores.  Which happened, oh, maybe 50 or 60 years ago.

Good for Kzero.  They're helping clients win in the virtual worlds while I contemplate who I want to be.  Actually, I'm leaning toward the evil scientist.  But I digress. . .you pathetic. . .

Plantronics Hit a Home Run

In my best Neo voice: Whoa!  This new headset I bought is amazing: it’s a wireless headset you can end and make (dial) calls away from the base unit; it’s a Bluetooth headset for my cell; and with its USB connection to my computer, it’s my VoIP/Skype phone.

The quality as a wireless headset on my land line is superb, both ways.  My hearing isn't the best and I do a fair amount of coaching via the phone, so voice and sound quality are both deal breakers for me.  With the Calisto (that’s the name of the unit: Calisto Pro from Plantronics, I bought it from headsetsdirect.com, $249, I think suggested retail is a bit more), I don’t have to strain to hear and I don’t sound like I’m on a headset.

I’ve owned a half dozen cell phone headsets, including some very marginal Bluetooth sets.  This is the best Bluetooth headset I’ve found, hands down.  I can hear without straining and my voice quality is surprisingly good; not clipped or compressed like most Bluetooth sets.

Ditto as a VoIP/Skype phone.  In fact, this may be the coolest aspect of the headset because most mics people use for Skype calls are so bad.  Plus, you are wireless!

Every now and then I run across a product or piece of software that is so well designed I just have to smile.  You know, it seems like the company really took the time and effort to think through every aspect—they really set out to make a great product.  This is one of those.  It is a truly great product superbly designed for the professional in a home office or small office environment.

One more cool thing.  When I was talking to a guy at headsetsdirect.com about what I was looking for he actually told me to talk to another guy there, Al, who had more experience with the Calisto.  And I was able to talk to Al about his experience with the unit while he was talking to me on a Calisto.  That was unusual.  Also, he basically said buy it, try it, prove whether it meets my quality requirements and send it back if it doesn’t.  I did and I can highly recommend the unit and headsetsdirect.com.

Hats off to IBM

I just saw a good ad by IBM.  It was good on two levels.  One, it was a story about a customer; Aetna.  An interview, actually.  It was interesting (imagine that!).

The second thing that made it good: the concept behind it.  They're basically saying "Stop thinking like a bank and start thinking like a customer."  The ad, the interview, demonstrates the concept.

And, of course, the final thing that makes it good: it agrees with my mantra for the past three decades of adapting your marketing to your customer's perspective.  That is, think like your customer.

Good advice from my old employer.

Telling Your Story

I subscribe to WIRED magazine, something I recommend everyone do.  A DVD titled "Eureka" was tucked inside the current issue.  It is a 9 minute film created by Shell (the oil company).  They also have a web page with the same content.

To my surprise I watched the film (only 9 min. I thought--and I am a curious soul).  It tells the story (puts a more human face on the facts) of how a Shell engineer developed the idea for their new more eco-friendly drilling technology.  Nice interactivity that encourages you to learn more about the tech they describe throughout the short film.

The result: I feel a bit warmer toward Shell.  They connected with me. . .which is the fundamental goal of any marketing.  All in all, a nice piece of marketing.