Tag Archives: business

October 4, 2012 · 11:00 am

Advertorials

If the internet has a downside, it’s that is has neither barriers to entry nor a filter.  Of course, that’s also part of what’s so good about it.  However, there is really no way to tell if what you’re reading is from a credible source that did research or if it’s just made up crap.  One way I think users can distinguish one from the other is by considering the source.  Legitimate news operations tend to have done their homework and there’s usually some sort of editorial control in place to assure that some writer’s fantasy doesn’t get put out there as fact.

That’s why I found the story in this morning’s Media Post so disturbing:

If there is a red line delineating the church and state of journalism, some big news publishers have just crossed it — introducing a spate of new “native” advertising formats that blur the line between advertising and editorial content in new ways, including brand-produced videos served directly in the news organizations’ video news players.

This is not a new phenomenon.  “Advertorials” have been around for a long time.  These are long-form ads written to appear as regular editorial and are designed to look like a legitimate and independent news story. It might be a TV piece that’s an “infomercial,” or as a segment on a talk show or variety show. In radio, it might be a discussion between the announcer and a brand representative.  The brand usually controls all of the content and there are subtile differences – a tiny “advertisement” written someplace – that make it hard for someone encountering the content to tell that it’s brand advocacy, not editorial.

I’m not a fan.  Obviously I’m a big fan of ad-supported media – I worked in it and sold it for decades.  I do think, however, that doing this in digital in particular is an issue since there is so much content out there and users’ expectations of editorial integrity as explained above are not met when the line is crossed.  It calls into question all of the legitimate reporting.  I get that people might ignore advertising but pay attention to this.  They need to know it’s not the same as other content.

The pressure for revenue can’t undermine the integrity of the news brand, and while it’s easy to rationalize including this sort of advertising, you’re ceding control to someone who may not meet the same sort of standards you set for your organization.  I don’t think that’s smart.

What do you think?

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October 1, 2012 · 10:59 am

The Ryder Cup’s Lessons

The Ryder Cup 2012

The Ryder Cup 2012 (Photo credit: proforged)

I said to myelf late last week I wasn’t going to do it.

The notion popped into my head to discuss The Ryder Cup but I said “no, it’s really a business blog and you’re spending way too much time on golf even if it does relate to business.”  Then, of course, The Ryder Cup actually took place and the final day was one of the most thrilling things I’ve ever seen in sport (even the Mrs. sat down and watched which generally requires it to be The Olympics or some sport set to music).

There are some great business points we can take away from the competition, no matter how you feel about the outcome.  The European side made a historic comeback on the last day – equalling the one made by the U.S. side in 1999.  The Americans didn’t lose this thing – the Europeans won it.  That’s a big difference.  When your opponent makes three long (over 25 feet) putts in a row to win the last three holes, you were beaten, you didn’t lose.  I wrote about that a few months ago and that will suffice.

Another thing you might hear about today was how badly a few members of the U.S. team performed throughout.  Tiger Woods earned 1/2 a point in 4 tries.  Steve Stricker, who was put on the team as a Captain’s pick mostly because Tiger likes to play with Steve as his partner, didn’t earn a single point.  Lesson: you can’t count on a high performer who is in a slump to break out of that slump as a strategy.  While Tiger has demonstrated that his game can be what it once was in VERY limited doses (one or two rounds out of a four round tournament), he is far from the consistently dominating player he was 10 years ago.  Counting on any great performer who is off form is not a sound strategy (and Tiger has never played well in Ryder Cup!).

Lesson 2: changing your business strategy to honor the wishes of someone who isn’t a key to the plan (Stricker on the team to benefit Tiger), is nuts.  Even though Steve is a top player, there were other players left off the team who have been playing better the last few months and might have been better choices.   As the CEO (or team captain in this case), you do what’s right for the overall strategy.

Lesson 3:  the power of strong motivation.  The Europeans were playing the first Cup since the death of Ryder Cup legend, Spaniard Seve Ballesteros.  He was a mentor to many of the golfers on the team and the team literally wore Seve on their bags and shirts.   This team would not quit and was highly motivated to honor his memory.  As leaders, it’s our job to foster this sort of passion.

Finally, we learn the lesson of working as a team.  Golf is a solitary sport yet The Ryder Cup forces golfers to play matches as a team two of the three days.  The Captain needs to send out singles matches with the overall team’s play in mind on the third day.  For whatever reason, The European golfers seem to be able to subordinate their own egos and style of play to that of the team while the Americans have more difficulty   Something to think about when hiring and something to stress to your team.  It’s a different game working as a unit.  Not everyone can adjust.

This was great drama and a massive display of skill and passion by the Euros.  Like Seve, who often made impossible shots look routine, they were inspired by their Captain to “believe” (his word) that they could do the impossible and come back.  They did believe, they did come back.  Can you get your team to that same sort of belief in themselves?

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September 28, 2012 · 10:41 am

Heat

For our Foodie Friday topic today, let’s have a cup of coffee.  Actually, let’s get some inspiration from one – specifically from Jerry Seinfeld‘s new web series Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee.  If you haven’t seen it, Jerry goes out for coffee with another funny person – Michael Richards, Carl Reiner, and Larry David among them.  It was in the Larry David episode – Larry Eats A Pancake – that we get today’s food – and business – point.

Jerry remarks that as a pancake gets cold it becomes less appealing   “Once it cools off it loses its allure.” Why is that?  “Heat doesn’t have any flavor…what does it do?”  Larry’s response – “it warms you” is very Kramer-ish.  But it’s true – heat doesn’t have any flavor although it certainly does affect the things that do.  Many dishes are best served at or near room temperature while some foods are disgusting at that temperature.  Food that’s too hot loses flavor, as does food that’s not quite warm enough (putting aside things such as ice cream, of course).  It’s not just the intrinsic flavor of the food that affects the perceived quality.  It’s also the intangible value of the right temperature.

The same holds in business.  It’s the difference on the customer experience on Jet Blue vs. that on Spirit air.  Two discount airlines with many of the same features and requirements (there’s a charge for everything!) but the “heat” of one is perfect and make it delicious while the other is served cold and isn’t something I’ll go near again.

We need to pay attention to the “how hot” as much as we do to the “what.”  Heat can “warm you” or it can burn you.  It can mask flavors or enhance them.  Focus on the “heat” factor you’re generating and you’ll be surprised how appealing the same old stuff can seem.

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