WE'VE MOVED - NEW SITE IS READY!

Sorry for yelling. If you are not redirected automatically, please note that The Client Side Blog has moved here

It's now new and improved with a podcast too! Less calories and all the taste (or lack thereof) that you have come to expect from The Client Side.

So, please check out my spanky new home and be sure to update your feeds.

Why the move? Blogger was wonderful spot to begin blogging back in May when I was not sure if I would manage to keep it going. Now here I am 6 months later and it was a time for a change. So, please join me over at my new home for The Client Side.

The Client Side Podcast - Episode # 1 - And The New Blog

Ok , it's ready to go. Finally!

My new blog and inaugural podcast are up. You can find it here at TheClientSideblog

You can find the podcast via the tab at the top of the page.

The Blog is still a bit rough around the edges and I'll be working to sync up my last posts from here (blogger account) over to the new Movable Type account. So please bear with me as the transition will take a couple of more days to complete.

I've been told that starting a podcast is kind of like a talking horse. No one cares what the horse is saying, it is just amazing that it is talking. Shel Holtz told me that the first five podcasts anyone does will suck - the first few episodes will be far from stellar. I hope he was not 100% right and that I am a bit better than a horse. But that is for you to decide. I hope you will stick with me as I find my groove and woudl love your feedback.

Anyhow, here it is. On Episode #2 (hopefully out by next week) I will review how I produced it and why I believe in a bit of post editing is a good thing for my podcast.

Here are the shownotes for The Client Side - Episode #1:

0:00 - Intro to the show
0:30 - Why Start another Podcast?
2:45 - Articles reviewed - Theme of Marketing to Youth and Children
3:10 - Wal Mart - toyland
4:57 - Podcasting in Schools
6:02 - Warner Bros & Scooby-Doo
7:00 - Alliance Atlantis & The Hilarious House of Frightenstein
9:22 - MTV changes to psychographic advertising
10:27 - My Space audience is getting older
12:16 - Social Site usage drops off in September
13:08 - Adjusting The Pitch: How to get ahead in new media

17:30 - Podsafe Music Network song: Remember - Black Lab




Technorati Tags: the Client Side Podcast Canadian Podcasts Business Podcasts Marketing Communications Marketing News

Pandora's Box

I had forgotten about Pandora. I can't remember when I first saw it but a friend sent me a link to it today reminding me that it is a cool little site. Thanks for reminding me Bal.

Technorati Tags: Pandora Music

Crayon Opens It's Virtual Doors

Mish has a great post about the opening of Crayon that took place on Crayonville Island in Second Life. I experienced some technical difficulties and was unable to attend.

Lots of fun hanging out last week with two of the four principles of Crayon (Joseph Jaffe and C.C. Chapman) at the CMA - Canadian Marketing Association - Digital Marketing Conference where they were keynoters.

Here is a picture from the event of the three of us (C.C., myself, Joseph). Other pictures from the event can be found at the Canada.com gallery.

Technorati Tags: New Marketing Crayon Across the Sound For Immediate Release Managing the Gray

Happy Birthday iPod

It was five years ago that the iPod was introduced. I can't remember not having one. Is it just me, or did that half decade just whip by?

Technorati Tags: iPod Apple

Not so Hilarious House of Alliance Atlantis

How many of you out there remember this gem of a series in the 70's created by Billy Van? It's the The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, although I must admit up until a few years ago I always thought it was Frankenstein, not Frightenstein (update: at least three other people I have spoken to todaytold me they thought it was Frankenstein too).

This is how it is described on the fan site: "This live action 60 minute show was a fixture on Saturday morning television for decades. Through its combination of variety, humor, and educational segments, all flavored with the spice of mock horror, the show had a lasting impact on the youth of the day." Here is the Wikipedia entry for more background.

It has been airing on cable TV lately likely due to Halloween and my four and a half year-old daughter has been loving it (Space Channel at 7am). So, when I saw the the DVD series box-set on the shelf of a retailer, I bought it for my kids (and for myself) without a second thought.

Why the beef with Alliance Atlantis? Well, when I open the box-set there was nothing but the disks inside. No show notes, no background info, no extras, no little cheesy booklet or anything at all. Nuthin. Bupkiss. Nada. Zip. Ziltch. Big fat zero. Get my point?

It is a cult classic and they delivered the ol' lunch bag let down.

What a missed marketing opportunity. I wonder how much extra production cost it would have been to do this right? This series was produced in the 1970's, could they not have gone the extra mile and done some interviews with the remaining living cast members or writers or whomever? How about some trivia or interesting anecdotes & stories (like how Vincent Price shot the entire series in one day?)

How about a sticker or a postcard with a URL to go and check out more online? Something in collaboration with the official fan site?

Nope, guess not.

One can only imagine the Long Tail with a seasonal Halloween tie-in (i.e. revisiting a small fall campaign every year as a lead up to Oct 31). Can't you just see the online elements with a small investment? Granted, this is one of thousands of titles that Aliance has on the shelf, but there is no inventiveness here, no hint or spark of an idea to match the cult following for the show.

It is really disappointing that no one cared enough to put any effort into enhancing our memories and adding a little bit more to them. Ok, now I'm all veclempt. Please, talk amongst yourselves.

Seriously though, I am grinning at the memories of Saturday mornings in the 70's and early 80's with my roster of television when I was still wearing PJ's that had feet attached.

Smile if you remember: The Farm Report (if you were a freak and woke up as early as I did ) Spiderman, The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, Scooby-Doo, Land of the Lost, Cosby Kids, HR Puffnstuff, Superfriends, Dyno-mutt, Inch High Private, Hong Kong Phooey, Mr. Magoo, Jabber Jaw, SchoolHouse Rock, Shazam & Isis, Ark II, and the list goes on....

Check out Retroland and TV Party if you are a nostalgia junkie like me.

Technorati Tags: The Hilarious House of Frightenstein Billy Van Nostalgia 1970's Saturday Morning Cartoons Halloween Alliance Atlantis Television Classic TV

Love it or Hate it

This comes to us courtesy of Kathy Sierra at Creating Passionate Users. It has as much relevance when applied to brands (in addition to the products or services they create. Where do you stand?:

Apple - love or hate?
Microsoft - love or hate?
Wal-Mart - love or hate?
GAP - love or hate?
Molson - love or hate?
McDonalds - love or hate?
Sony - love or hate?
Ford - love or hate?
Your telco - love or hate?
Your cable company - love or hate?

Alright, I know where we net out on the last two, but it is still an interesting exercise.

Technorati Tags: Consumer Insights Love Hate Brands

Google Up Yahoo Down

Is it Google! or Yahoo! ?

This week, Google reported profit up by 92% year over year for Q3 while Yahoo's third-quarter profit dropped by 38%. I wonder who deserves to use the exclamation mark at this point. Maybe they should change it to Yahoo?!?

Perhaps if the slide continues, Google can do another little acquisition and merge it's newly acquired properties into YaTube.

Technorati Tags: Google Yahoo YaTube

Blogging like a madman....

.....but it is all over at The Canadian Marketing Association Blog.

I have tried to summarize all the fantastic presentations from the 9th Annual Digital Marketing Conference. Check out reviews including CC Chapman, Mitch Joel, Bryan Eisenberg, and David Weinberger.

Sony Bravia Blows Up Real Good

C.C. Chapman of Managing the Gray and Accident Hash (who I am looking very forward to meeting this week - for the first time outside of Second Life that is) points to Sony's follow-up to the brilliant Bravia bouncing ball effort.

The video is quite cool, check it out.

Technorati Tags: Sony Bravia Spots That Work C.C. Chapman

Dictator Joke, or Joke Dictator

If you read this and don't laugh, there is something wrong with you.

Funniest post I have seen all day. Courtesy of Bill Green at Make the Logo Bigger.

Technorati Tags: Funny Fashion Dictator North Korea Kim Jong Il

1 Day to Go

The Canadian Marketing Association's Digital Marketing Conference is one day away. Get there if you can.

Check out all the fabulous speakers and details and decide for yourself if this is something you can afford to miss.


Thursaday October 19 & Friday 20th. The Guvernment Kool Hause - 132 Queen's Quay.

Edelman speaks up on Wal-Mart fake blog

I've been following the story of Wal-Mart's fake blog and Edelman passively since late last week.

Shel Holtz posted an update today after Richard Edelman spoke up today and joined the conversation. He acknowledged the mistake and spoke to Edelman's support of WOMMA guidelines. Steve Rubel commented on Micro Persuassion.

Some questions remain but, as Shel points out it was a good effort at coming clean.

Technorati Tags:New Marketing Social Media Communications Public Relations Shel Holtz Wal Mart Fake Blog Edelman WOMMA

Jaffe, Holtz, Hobson and Chapman - The Newest New Marketing Announcement

Breaking news:

Joseph Jaffe, Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson, CC. Chapman have joined forces to create a new company/agency/entity - not sure exaclty what to call and neither are they (and that is a good thing).

All of these gentlemen started doing mystery promos on their respective podcasts last Thursday - Across The Sound, For Immediate Release and Managing the Gray . Now the news has broken and you can take your pick of who's podcast you want to listen to about the annoucement. I'd suggest all as they are equally great.

Joseph Jaffe spoke about how this new powerhouse will rise to the occasion and bring new marketing to the boardroom with their collective expertise, a "mosaic mash-up" that I think will do some ultra-cool work for clients who get it. Jaffe said this is not "superficial understanding and execution" it is about "inventing the future".
Sounds great and I am looking forward to seeing them strut their collective stuff. I predict a Second Life presence for their first office location - hope I get an invite to the opening partay!


PS. Bryan Person of NuComm Road sniffed this one out - he's like Mom P.I. - actually Dad P.I. as he just had an annoucement of his own - the arrival of a new addition to the Person family. Congrats Bryper!

Technorati Tags:Podcast New Marketing Marketing Communications Across the Sound For Immediate Release Managing the Gray

Next Generation Insights - Youth Panel moderated by Guy Kawasaki

Mitch Joel of Twist Image and the Six Pixels of Separation podcast sent me a link to this post at Adrants on Next Generation Insights.

Not only is the content interesting (coupled with strategist Guy Kawasaki as the moderator), I really liked the way the video was served up on the site with the ability to jump ahead in the video via the right hand panel. I don't believe I have seen that type of feature work so well before - it appears to be from Veotag.

Check out the video of Youth Panel moderated by Guy Kawasaki, it holds some interesting insights for marketers.

Technorati Tags: Marketing Youth Veotag Guy Kawasaki

AreYou Getting The Message? Special Report in Globe & Mail on Future Of Media

Just making my way through the full section pull-out in today's print version of the Globe & Mail on The Future of Media. Very neat stuff in there, check it out if you can (looked for it on their site - could not find anything to link to - let me know if you can!).


Technorati Tags: Social Media Advertising Marketing Media Communications New Media New Marketing Globe & Mail

Google , YouTube and the analyst

From the "I love being right" files, I posted about the survival of YouTube back in July, challenging the prediction of Josh Martin, an analyst at IDC.

I wonder if Josh was part of the team that estimated the value of YouTube for Google? Likely not.


Technorati Tags: Google YouTube

Coopetition and Illy - a Brand of Taste and Beauty in a time of war

Coopetition is a very interesting term. It brings to mind an aspect of business that you may not align with the seemingly cut-throat nature of the coffee wars. Yet, I found an article I enjoyed in The Economist (again!) recently titled "Head Barista" on that very subject.

You would think a person in Andrea Illy's position, as captain of the family business that was started in 1933, would be shaking in his Italian leather boots about the rise of Starbucks over the past decade. He is not. He views this as healthy coopetition. He is quoted in Economist article as saying "Eight years ago people talked of coffee as a commodity; now, nobody does".

In a fast-paced world of drive-through swill, Illy stands out even more today as a distinct brand. In fact, as you can see their "Beauty has a Taste" tagline is perfectly aligned with what their brand represents and the expectation they have set.

Illy espresso machines are pieces of art. And, their specially crafted limited-edition Espresso cup sets can fetch as high as several hundred dollars each. Many editions are already highly valued collector items.

Why do I care about Illy? Well, I start each and every day with a home-brewed shot of espresso - albeit in a Starbucks Barista machine (if anyone at Illy wants to send me one of theirs to do a comparison test, I'd happily comply). That being said, I like my Starbucks a whole lot too. So, if you love coffee they way I do and know the difference between brews and beans, Illy is simply one of the best.

They come by it honestly as the Economist article reveals, "Mr. Illy is a chemistry graduate - at university he wrote a thesis on the "Quality of Espresso from a Chemical Perspective". Want to bet his Dad helped him a bit with that paper?

The next phase for Illy is to open "Espressamente Illy" cafes worldwide as "advertisements for the brand" as well as remaining focused on sending a clear message that Illy produces coffee "according to the highest ethical standards" in terms of the fair-trade market.

Andrea, if you are ever in Toronto, or plan to open an Espressamente Illy here, I'll be there with cup in hand. Mr. Illy, you make good coffee.

Technorati Tags: Illy Coffee Marketing Espressamente Illy Branding

Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran answers questions on Second Life

Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran was interviewed by Lars Brandle of Billboard and offered a few insights into why Duran Duran is finding a second life in Second Life.

It is a very quick read, here are the Six Questions with Nick Rhodes


Technorati Tags:Duran Duran Second Life Marketing Music

Suits and Creatives

To figure out the fine balance between suits and creatives you need look no further than one of my all-time favourite shows; Entourage. There are some real insights into how these two types of personalities can work.

If you know the show, Eric ("E") is not a typical suit. Although he is in charge of Vince's career as his manager, he is an astute judge of the exact blend required between artistic pursuits and smart business choices.

Eric's character is grounded. He knows the business of the business, acting just as much like a Tom Hagen consigliere (or for a more modern mob reference, Silvio) as he does a business guru, a la Tom Peters.

Eric knows he is not a creative and leaves that to Vince. More importantly, he seems to know the business implications of creativity. He has been a solid decision-maker in growing the integrity and value of his brand (Vince). He has gained respect by doing what was right for his brand - weighing long-term strategy versus short-term manouvers. All the while, Vince sits back - clad in black - and does his laissez-fair thing, making the end product look great and the effort look minimal. A great team effort.

So, what does this mean for a marketers? Simply, the industry needs more Erics'. Those with informed opinions willing to take some creative chances, but know which ones are worth pursuing. Those who understand that neither party needs to be scared of the other or feel superior in the job they do. It is all about bringing individual expertise to the table and working together to deliver stellar results.

All that being said, sometimes you need to throw in a little Drama and Turtle for comic relief along the way. Wanna hug it out?

Technorati Tags: Marketing Collaboration Suits & Creatives Ideas Entourage

Executives and iPods.

How much would pay to have a staff member go to a conference and learn something new? It would be a steal for $200 -300, right? What if, for that very same investment, you could deliver conference type content or better on a regular basis throughout the the year?

Well, it can be done through the power of podcasting. With an iPod, Zune or any other Mp3 player it is not far out of reach. This technology is not just about music. Check out iTunes ,Podshow , Yahoo , Podcast Alley , Podcast Pickle or other sources for content specific to your business and away you go.

As the holidays approach, executives and leaders should consider these devices as gifts for staff. It is a double reward. It not only teaches them "how to use new tools", it also provides immediate access to the type of content that will help them pick their game up a notch or two, and yours.

So, what gift are you giving this year?

Technorati Tags: iPod Podcast Marketing Incentives Gifts Business Ideas

Scotiabank Podcast - The Money Clip - Goes Live

I will admit this post is shameless self promotion for Scotiabank. What's worse is that Ken Schafer at One Degree scooped me on my very own story!

Anyhow, I am very happy to announce that our team at Scotiabank has just launched The Money Clip - a consumer oriented podcast from a financial institution. After a scan of the space, I think we are safe in saying we are the first North American FI (perhaps even the world) to have launched a podcast (if that assertion is not correct, please let me know).

However, this was not a race to see who could be first. We based The Money Clip podcast on meaningful content that will bring insights on money related matters to Canadians (and anyone else who listens).

In terms of background, I started a program at Scotiabank called The Vault about 6 years ago. The Vault is an online guide to getting ahead financially, helping Canadians with insights and advice on personal finance. The goal is to extend objective, relevant and neutral content each and every month to our subscribers.

With the rise of podcasting (albeit still a very new medium), we thought this would be a wonderful way to extend our service, drilling deeper into financial matters by speaking with financial experts. By nature, podcasts are self-select and on-demand. They offer a unique method to deliver our brand in a meaningful way to our customers (and yet-to-become customers) that are interested in growing their financial knowledge.

The first series from The Money Clip is on Mutual Funds, split into three segments for beginners, intermediate and advanced investors. Part 1 is available now. Part 2 next week and Part 3 the following week. From there, we will continue to deliver podcasts dedicated to demystifying money related matters.

So, give The Money Clip podcast from The Vault at Scotiabank a listen. Let us know what you think. Before I go, a huge thanks to Tanya M for the name and to the entire team at Twist Image and Scotiabank marketing for collaborating and delivering a great program!


Technorati Tags: Scotiabank Podcast Canadian Podcasts Business Podcasts Podcasting Marketing Communications Personal FinanceBanking Money

Quirky names - good or bad for business?

Out and about today I saw a sign for a travel business. I could have sworn it said "Lime of Your Life Tours".

Upon closer inspection it was really "Time of Your Life Tours". Why the confusion? Blame it on really bad logo design that distorted the "T" and made it look like an "L" (if I would have had my camera with me I would have taken a shot to illustrate). I was almost resigned to the fact that somebody named it "Lime of Your Life" and, like most other nonsense that enters my brain, it got me thinking.

My point here today is to ask a simple question, when is a bad name for a business not so bad?. In support of this question I found this site called Shop Horror. I will let you be the judge. Is it "Wok this Way", "Austin Flowers" or "Vinyl Frontier"?

How about this one below I found at Spinfluencer. This I believe is bad. Or is it?

Do you have any examples that are just plain bad? Or any that are so bad they are actually good? Post a comment. Enquiring Blinds want to know...





Technorati Tags: Marketing Advertising Branding Business Names

Toronto Mayoral Race and The Art of Domain Name Registration

Bill Sweetman for Mayor of Toronto? Not quite. Over at Sweetmantra Bill posted about the importance of a good domain name and the current race for mayor in Toronto.

Brings to mind the permalink on Rick Mercer's Blog for Jason Kenney.org

I heard the CBC interview with Stepen LeDrew on Metro Morning last week. I wondered what Mr. LeDrew might do to gain support using the online space. Thanks for clearing that one up for me Bill!

Technorati Tags: Toronto Toronto Mayor Domain Names Stephen LeDrew