by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC + former Record Industry Adman

Funny to see all the young ones chattin’ away on the Twitter ’bout this year’s South-by-Southwest festival, aka SXSW.

What used to be just a good ol’ fashioned music fest in the unvarnished heart of Austin is now this slicked-up multimedia shindig known as much — or even more — for its interactive media than its music. Seems to me that the latte-sippers are now outnumbering the Shiner Bock drinkers. The times they sure have a’changed…

Back in ‘95, when I was but a pup in the music industry, I got me an assignment to write an ad for MCA Records’ big concert in the middle of the street where no one could miss it. (Helps to have that big corporate concert budget, you know.) Now this ad was gonna run in the Austin Statesman, which would be filled with other ads from other record companies for other concerts all pretty much lookin’ the same, like the opposite sex in a bar after you’ve had one too many.

So I decided to be a little different by making my ad a Texas legend. Hell, I had the space to write all I wanted. And just like many legends and textbooks in Texas, this one was just made up. But I enjoyed writin’ it. And from what I hear, people enjoyed readin’ it.

And you’ll notice way at the bottom a plug for MCA Records’ website, which in 1995 was a new-fangled thing I also wrote. So I kinda like to think that we at MCA (R.I.P.) helped to sow all this multimedia business at SXSW that today’s kids are now reapin’.

So if you got the time and the inkling, give this piece o’ history a click and a read, and pour me another Shiner. I get enough lattes here in L.A.

The good ol' days - click to enlarge...

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC & Ink-Devouring Eco Junkie

I have a love-hate relationship with my Canon MP500 printer. Love because it prints out professional looking photos. Hate because its insatiable thirst for ink is robbing me dry, like NYPD cops in a perfume warehouse.

Indeed, according to one study, it would be significantly cheaper to refill my printer with Chanel No. 5.  And as the chart below notes, printer ink costs more than human blood, penicillin or vodka.

Source: Gizmodo

After burning through hundreds of dollars in ink, I now do most of my printing on a Dell laser printer — a move I should have made years ago — but I still use the Canon for photos and graphics. The other day while ordering some laser toner, I noticed something called Dell NextLife Ink. NextLife’s remanufactured cartridges supposedly last longer than regular cartridges and are more environmentally responsible. According to the Dell site, “if roughly 1% of the ink cartridges thrown into landfills every year were remanufactured by NextLife, the carbon savings over new cartridges would equate to planting almost 15,000 new trees.”

That’s a little convoluted, but OK, I’m a lifelong environmentalist, and I recycle my jokes regularly, so I was game for this. I’ve tried other off-brand ink cartridges made by child prison labor in China, and they just don’t work. Since this is Dell, and their laser printer has been problem-free so far, I decided to try their Canon-compatible cartridge.

The cartridge is smaller than a can of Altoids, so I expected it to arrive in a padded envelope. But as you can see in the following photo, it came in a 12″ x 9″ x 3″ box lined with foam. (The cartridge is the dark item wrapped in cellophane in the middle.)

EcoCat is not amused.

Inside was the cartridge’s own box and a Dell ad. Altogether, it wasn’t exactly Chernobyl, but it was still less eco-friendly than if I had driven alone in a Hummer at top speed to a Staples across town and bought a brand-new Canon cartridge along with a plastic store bag while drinking bottled water made from a genuine Antarctic glacier.

If this cartridge doesn’t work, maybe I’ll try blood next. It’s reportedly cheaper and less painful.

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango & “Bank Run” Consigliere

Full Disclosure: The following post is about one of my clients at Atomic Tango…

Imagine waking up and finding yourself strapped to a chair. Standing over you is a strange man swinging a large golf club. He keeps asking you menacing questions, but you have no idea what he’s talking about. Frustrated by your lack of answers, he decides to take a massive swing at a spot right between your eyes… How do you escape?

Well, there’s an App for that…

More exactly, there’s an iPhone App and an interactive movie. “Bank Run” is an Apple iPhone game with actual video footage — not CGI characters, but real humans in real locations. In addition, it’s integrated with an interactive movie at www.BankRunGame.com.

In “Bank Run,” you play Evan, an office drone caught up in a conspiracy involving hot secret agents, crooked bankers and an army of armed thugs. You have to dodge cars and bullets while deciding whom to trust and whom to kill. Make the wrong choice or the wrong move and Evan eats it — but you can hone your skills and try again.

“Bank Run” is the creation of my client SilkTricky, a Portland, Oregon-based digital agency that launched its first live-action interactive film, “The Outbreak,” in September 2008. (Which I also helped promote.) “The Outbreak” featured rampaging zombies, bloodied characters and viewers in charge. Fueled by reviews on blogs and social media, “The Outbreak” attracted over one million views during its eight-month run online.

“The reaction to ‘The Outbreak’ inspired us to go even further,” said Chris Lund, SilkTricky’s founder and writer/editor/director/effects artist. “Bank Run” was filmed in Portland with local actors. Lund won’t reveal the budget, but noted that “it cost a little less than ‘Avatar.’” He added, “Our goal wasn’t to make a cinematic classic, but to create a fun fantasy experience. There are some cheesy one-liners and over-the-top scenarios, but who wants to play a boring movie?”

Just another day at the evil multinational bank...

SilkTricky is hosting the first part of “Bank Run” online where it can be sampled freely. The experience continues on the iPhone with a $1.99 App that includes the second half of the movie and a couple of arcade-style shooter games. Both the movie and the game contain graphic violence and adult language — or approximately what you’d find at your typical evil multinational bank. And like any bank loan officer, Lund hopes that interest runs high…

Related Article: “The Outbreak”: New Zombie Flick Brings Interactive Films Back From The Dead

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC & Social Entrepreneurship Instructor

Heart? Who needs a heart? I've got a great bottom line...

Some people just don’t get it.

I’m not talking about the willfully ignorant knuckle-draggers on the Texas State Board of Education. (They’re so beyond not getting it, they’ve gone full primordial.) I’m talking about the highly educated, wealth exuding finance execs who impersonated the Tin Man at a recent conference I attended…

The four of them — a VC, a banker, an angel investor, and an asset-based lender — explained how they help entrepreneurs finance their dreams. There was the usual spiel about due diligence, meticulous records, profitability, exit options, and their need as financiers to earn a significant ROI. Indeed, most of what they discussed centered on their needs and their business standards — with not a single word about worthy causes or making the world a better place.

So what — that’s business, right?

Except these financiers weren’t addressing just another meeting of profit-obsessed entrepreneurs. This was the Social Entrepreneurship Keynote Event 2010 held by the USC Marshall School of Business Alumni Association. Most of the 150 in attendance had paid to learn how they could make the world a better place through business — they wanted to change the world, not just count change.

Even the conference lunch had been provided by an all-nautral, organic, eco-conscious caterer, Paleta, which included a flyer stating that “we can enjoy the fruits of our planet while still preserving our resources for future generations. To this end, we have proudly built the first green kitchen in SoCal complete with our own greenhouse.”

Yet somehow, despite all the conference literature proclaiming “social entrepreneurship” — the printed program featured a cover illustration of hands cradling the globe and the words “corporate social responsibility” — the finance guys seemed to miss the point of the entire event.

Some Do Get It…

Just a few hours before these finance troopers took the stage, the high priestess of progressive media, Arianna Huffington, had regaled and inspired the audience to “reinvent capitalism.” She underscored her firm belief in private enterprise — that capitalism is the best system ever invented — then added that she doesn’t believe it exists in America, where the forces of the status quo and their lobbyists now dominate public policy and the markets. She then extolled Alfred Marshall’s “economic chivalry” and the value of empathy for the survival of both business and society. She concluded by inviting all attendees to blog for her new cause-oriented site Huffpost Impact.

The finance guys on stage must have completely missed Ms. Huffington — “Arianna who?” They also apparently missed conference honoree Adlai Wertman, a successful investment banker who later launched the nonprofit organization Chrysalis to employ the homeless, and who now heads the Society and Business Lab at USC. Professor Wertman defined social entrepreneurship as “the creation of new business models that manage multiple missions,” not just generating a profit.

But the way the financiers spoke of profit, you’d think it was spelled p-r-o-p-h-e-t.

And Their World Keeps on Spinning…

An audience member thanked the financiers for taking their time to share their insights — then asked what it all had to do with social entrepreneurship. The guys were caught completely off-guard, reminding me of Sarah Palin’s reaction when asked what newspapers and magazines she reads. Being seasoned executives, they entered spin mode. “We’re creating jobs,” one of them repeated several times, not mentioning whether those jobs were in the U.S., a Chinese sweatshop, or their own assistant ranks. Another twice said, “We don’t discriminate. We look at all business opportunities.” That made me wonder if he would invest in clearcutting the Amazon if the indigenous peoples would swap their trees for cigarettes and booze.

We’re talking business options here, comrade, not gender or race: you better discriminate.

Now, I’ll give the banker a break. He worked with the Small Business Administration and had to abide by their mandates, which stipulates only ventures that create jobs in America. Even so, I was hoping he’d at least offer lower interest rates to entrepreneurs hoping to do good in addition to doing well. Instead, his mantra was, “We have to get repaid.” I think I heard that line once on “The Sopranos.”

Fortunately, the crowd didn’t let ‘em get away with it. One articulate young women pressed them on the values issue, which they again dodged by mentioning “jobs” and “no discrimination.” Then, having brought the conference’s soaring spirit of benevolence and possibilities crashing back to earth, the tin men quickly made their getaway.

Reality Bites — in a Good Way…

In a sense, this was great. This stunning splash of business frigidity had reminded the collected entrepreneurs and students that the forces of greed were everywhere and nearly impossible to sway. The finance guys also helped dispel some of the naiveté that often rises from these “anything is possible if you set your mind to it” conferences. Reinventing capitalism is not going to be easy.

The indignation incited by the financiers also stirred the audience from their post-lunch lull. (If you can fire up a food-comatose crowd despite all the finance jargon you can throw at them, you know you’ve hit a nerve.) And that was great for me, because I was speaking next.

I was part of a three-person marketing panel. You could tell we were marketers because our presentation was irreverent, loud and the only one backed by a PowerPoint presentation. Tracy Williams, who runs the PR firm Olmstead Williams Communications, discussed the value of corporate social responsibility. Michael Miller, Director of Operations of CFO 911 Solutions, offered case studies in green marketing.

I decided to talk about critical needs and mistakes in social entrepreneurship:

• Marketing is not an afterthought: I meet too many entrepreneurs who tell me “they’re not ready to do marketing yet.” They have the common misconception that “marketing” means “advertising” when, in fact, marketing touches all aspects of their business, including the product, pricing, place of business, and — yes — commercial promotions. The truth is, if they’ve named their business, they’ve already done marketing. If they’ve decided where to locate their operations, they’ve done marketing. If they’ve had business cards printed, they’ve done marketing. However, if they did all those things without strategically considering their customers, competitors, community (of particular importance to a social entrepreneur) and their company brand, then they haven’t been doing it correctly. This could cause significant problems down the road — or even right out of the starting gates.

• Good intentions only go so far: There’s this idealistic notion that customers will beat a path to your door if you’re doing something good, whether it’s organic or fair trade or donating profits to charity. Unfortunately, customers often have other overriding needs. While they might want to do good and support great causes, sometimes what they really want is a low price. I cited a startup garment factory in L.A. that mistakenly believed it would generate endless business from “Made in the USA” enthusiasts, only to discover that, in business, patriotism often only goes so far as flag waving. In fact, some people will even have their flag made in China if they can get a good price for it. So I advised that factory owner to emphasize other benefits from being local: quick turnaround, lack of import hassles, and client ability to readily inspect their orders and the factory’s working conditions. In general, social entrepreneurs should certainly tout their values and missions, but they also need to put their customer benefits front and center.

• Too much too soon: In their well-intentioned zeal, some social entrepreneurs try to do too much before establishing their brand or their business model. I told the story of Nau clothing, which launched with every good intention and noble practice — including donating 5% of their sales to nonprofits. But Nau was on a crash course, and would have disappeared from existence had it not been bought out by a larger, more moderate company that tempered some of its benevolence. I then quoted the late great USC business professor James Stancill, who taught me that no matter what kind of business you run, the three most important keys to survival are cash flow, cash flow, cash flow. Referring to the earlier panel, I added that the finance gods often have to be fed first.

• Come together right now: I also emphasized the need to collaborate, particularly for ventures with small budgets and little brand recognition. Collaborating (as I discussed in an earlier post) helps organizations share costs, customers, brand equity and risk, while feeding more human needs, such as romance and beer (not necessarily in that order). I also mentioned that a for-profit venture might be better off partnering with a nonprofit rather than trying to duplicate its efforts. The nonprofit offers experience and expertise, which enables the entrepreneur to focus on the business.

• Make it personal: A social venture is an act of passion, and that should be reflected in the company brand. I pointed out that a brand isn’t a logo, that it’s the company’s visual image, personality and reputation rolled into one impression. A strong, differentiated brand helps prevent competitors from copying your every move and stealing your customers. I suggested that one of the best sources of differentiation is the person they see every morning in the mirror, and that they shouldn’t hesitate to put their passions and personalities into their businesses.

• Social media has costs: Finally, I picked on — I mean, picked up one of my favorite subjects, the overhyped offerings of social media. Many underfunded entrepreneurs understandably rely on free social media for all their self-promotion. While the likes of Twitter and Facebook and Flickr may be free and easy, they usually require a huge investment of time before delivering significant followings and business — and there’s no guarantee that they’ll ever deliver. Furthermore, while entrepreneurs are busy tweeting and friending, posting and following, they might miss out on real-world opportunities and connections, such as potential clients and investors at conferences. In the end, the entrepreneur might find that old-fashioned advertising would have been less costly and demanding.

So, yes, I also decided to splash a little reality on the proceedings — but for a worthy cause. I studied social entrepreneurship in business school and will be teaching it at Antioch L.A. because I also see social entrepreneurship as the primary source of positive change — and jobs — in our time. My objective is to help aspiring social entrepreneurs avoid common mistakes, ultimately fulfill their multiple missions, and triumphantly say “no thanks” to old-school capitalists who just don’t get it.

Related Articles:

• Pour It On: Putting the “Fun” in Charity Fundraising
• Not Weird Science: Social Media in One Word

Shameless Plug: If you’re a social entrepreneur who needs marketing assistance and services, please contact us.

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder & Fusion Director of Atomic Tango LLC

What's even harder to believe is that this show is already 17 years old.

The hardest part about “Superman” to believe isn’t that a man can fly with no physical means of propulsion. It’s that Lois Lane, a reporter, can’t tell that Superman and Clark Kent are the same guy because of a pair of glasses. (Perhaps she needed a pair of her own.)

Lois’ lack of, um, vision is captured in an episode of the TV series “Lois & Clark,” wherein the time traveler Tempus gives her the low-down…

Tempus: Um, Lois, did you know that, in the future, you’re revered at the same level as Superman? Why there are books about you, statues, an interactive game. You’re even a breakfast cereal.
Lois: Really?
Tempus: Yes. But, as much as everybody loves you, there is one question that keeps coming up: “How dumb was she?” Here, I’ll show you what I mean. Look…
[puts glasses on]
Tempus: I’m Clark Kent.
[takes glasses off]
Tempus: No, I’m Superman.
[puts glasses on]
Tempus: Mild-mannered reporter.
[takes glasses off]
Tempus: Superhero. Hello! Duh! Clark Kent is Superman. Ha, ha, ha. Well, that was worth the whole trip. To actually meet the most galactically stupid woman who ever lived.

Apparently, some self-proclaimed marketing experts think most people are Lois Lane. They try to make us think they’ve come up with some spectacularly new idea by slapping a disguise onto an old one. But in place of glasses, they use words.

For example, last year Forrester Research recommended renaming brand managers “brand advocates” to reflect their new responsibilities in a digital age, proving without a doubt that Forrester should stick to research. As a friend of mine commented, “Really, Forrester? Rhetoric fixes things?” For the privilege of reading this piece of jargon slinging, Forrester will charge you only $499.

And that’s really the whole point of these rhetorical acrobatics: selling books and articles, not advancing the field of marketing.

From P’s to C’s…

One of the most popular targets of the disguise game is the 4P’s of the marketing mix: product, price, place and promotion. Established 50 years ago, the 4P’s are the fundamental elements of a marketing plan. They are to marketing what running, passing, blocking and kicking are to football offenses.

The fact that the 4P’s are well established makes them a tempting target for fame seekers, who proclaim that the 4P’s are passé or misguided, and then — ta-daa! — unveil their own perfect substitute. Forrester includes its own 4P’s substitute in that $499 article. After all, what better way to attract attention and sell overpriced studies than to announce that you’ve upended the foundation of an entire field?

One of my students recently directed my attention to another substitute, “the 4C’s of marketing”, in that virtual tome of infinite flawed knowledge, Wikipedia. Supposedly focused on customers, the 4C’s consists of customer, cost, convenience and communication. Let’s dissect this presumptuous impostor, one C at a time, shall we?

Customer

To include customers in the marketing mix is to grossly misunderstand what a marketing mix is. The marketing mix consists of everything you can DO or CREATE in a marketing plan. In other words, the tactics. The customer is the TARGET of all that.  Putting customers in the marketing mix is like putting fans in the football playbook. Completely nonsensical.

Customers are also just ONE target of a marketing plan. A marketer needs to additionally consider the competition, its own company stakeholders (executives, investors, employees), and members of the community (the media, regulators, interest groups, potential collaborators). These are the 4C’s I teach — customers, competitors, company, and community — as a “Stakeholders Analysis” to help craft a smart marketing mix. It’s not a substitute.

Third, including customers in the marketing mix condescendingly implies that other marketers have never considered customers when crafting their plans. That’s not a C; that’s a bunch of B with a mighty big S.

Finally, by leaving product out of the equation, the 4C’s also leaves out packaging, ambiance, quality and all the other attributes that make a certain product or service attractive. Shall we tell Apple to ignore product innovation and design and just focus on meeting customer needs? That’s not only bad marketing, that’s bad business.

Next!

Cost

Instead of just the sticker price of the product, “cost” includes all the expenses incurred by the customer to acquire and own the product. That sounds considerate, but there are three problems with that.

First, different customers have different costs. For example, I live within walking distance of three supermarkets, so it costs me nothing in gasoline to buy my groceries. Somebody up in the Hollywood Hills has to drive each and every time. And what if one guy drives his hybrid to the market and the other takes his Hummer? How can you actually determine all those costs for all your customers? That could result in paralysis by analysis, and not lead to any solutions.

Second, certain acquisition costs are already factored into price, such as shipping-and-handling. “Cost” is not a substitute for “price” — it’s just a matter of depth and degree. How far do you want to take it? And if your product is virtually identical to your competitor’s product, and they’re both for sale in the same store (think bottled water), then acquisition and maintenance costs are not an issue — but price may be.

Third, there are many brilliant and complicated pricing strategies, from two-part tariffs to reference pricing to freemiums. To ignore those by focusing on costs is to leave half of your marketing tools at home.

Convenience

In the 4P’s, “place” refers to all the distribution tactics that you can implement. In other words, how do you get the product to the customer? “Convenience” asks you to consider how easy it is for the customer to get the product. That’s nothing new or innovative; that’s just isolating one attribute and declaring it a substitute. I’ve yet to encounter a company that doesn’t consider access issues for their customers. That’s just basic distribution planning — as it has been since the first farmers brought their goods to the central bazaar.

In addition, “convenience” is not the only aspect of distribution that customers care about. The image of the distribution outlet also matters. A luxury product will take a huge hit to its brand if it’s for sale at Walmart. Indeed, some customers won’t even set foot in a Walmart for any reason.

Other places offer unique advantages. Red Bull, for example, initially sold its energy drink in bars because that’s where customers are used to paying high prices for funny tasting beverages; because bars can make a glorified soft drink seem edgy, adult and sophisticated; because bars inspire experimentation and conversation; and because bars let you observe your customers consuming the product on the spot.

Place isn’t just about convenience. Indeed, in the case of Red Bull, the company initially made their product hard to get to increase its mystique and desirability.

Communication

Supposedly, “communication” is superior to promotion because it includes two-way conversations. This ignores the fact that promotion has always included two-way conversations as options, such as in-store demos or door-to-door proselytizing or telemarketing. Last I checked, telemarketing is not exactly a well-loved tactic.

Promotion also already incorporates social media and other wonders of communication, so why rename the category?

Third, using the term “communication” ignores that fact that not all customers want conversations or any kind of relationship with a company — many just want to buy their stuff and to be left alone.

Finally, there are effective promotional tactics that do not involve any two-way communications, such as public relations or SEO/SEM. To focus just on interactive promotions is to, again, leave half your tools at home.

Overall, this 4C’s is simply a variation of the 4P’s with an emphasis on some tactics over others — in other words, marketing planning as usual. Its most serious flaw is to list “customers” as a tactic, when they’re part of the overall consideration set. 4C’s? Meet deep six.

Mmmm, Conflict…

Over the years, I’ve seen other variations of the marketing mix, all guilty of misunderstanding, contrivance or incompleteness. There’s a reason the 4P’s have survived for 50 years: they cover all the bases, they’re logical, and their very simplicity is what makes them work.

Now we marketers love to disagree. After all, differentiation is what we do for a living. Just ask all the marketers you meet to define “marketing” or “brand,” and you won’t find two who agree.

I for one relish a good marketing debate. Some killer insights and creative strategies can evolve from a smart discussion. But when the disagreements center on simply twisting words around, then call me anti-semantic, but I won’t play along. Believing that mere wordplay is revolutionary would just be galactically stupid.

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC and Capitalist Relationship Counselor

"You're totally cute and all, but I still won't fan you on Facebook."

Dear John Corporation:

Let me begin by saying that our times together have been good for me. I mean it! I definitely see the value in being with you… to a certain extent. So what I’m about to say might seem cold and heartless, but please don’t take it the wrong way. I think you’re great! I really do, otherwise we would never have gotten together in the first place. But the truth is — well, how can I say this any other way but…

I don’t want a relationship with you.

As much as I need you occasionally — and “occasionally” is the key word here — I don’t feel the need to get any closer or spend any more time with you than what’s necessary to, um, get the job done. That means I don’t want to follow you on Twitter, fan you on Facebook, or get your emails in my box on a regular basis — make that EVER. I like you, but I don’t want you emailing me about what’s new with you or what you can do for me. Really.

I mean, face it, John, you’re a corporation. What makes you think I want a relationship with that? I can barely keep up with my real friends and family, and they’re human. I don’t care what the Supreme Court says — you’re not human to me, no matter who you hire to be your face in the media.

Plus, I know you’ve been seeing other consumers and, I confess, I’ve been seeing other corporations — shocking, huh? — so it’s not like we had an exclusive here. So let’s just cut this “relationship” crap, OK? Let’s just keep things the way they are: distant and impersonal.

Now I know all those social media “gurus” are telling you that consumers want relationships with brands, that it’s all about “one-to-one” marketing these days. But, seriously, like, what do they know? I mean, I don’t remember them asking me what I want! I think they’re just making this stuff up so they can get retweeted. In fact, I bet most of them were writing for horoscopes or fortune cookies or something before social media came along. Seriously, how many of them actually have relationships with corporations? – and I’m not talking about the ones who hire them as consultants. Are they swapping emails with Palmolive? Getting it on with Elmer’s Glue on Twitter? Posting sweet nothings on the Facebook pages of their favorite gas station minimart?

The cold hard truth, John, is that to most of us consumers, most of you companies are just something we use. Harsh but true. We’ll pay you for your time and goods, of course, and I know that makes you feel like a whore or a Senator from Connecticut, but that’s the way it is. We don’t want a relationship with you. Period. We don’t even want to just be “friends,” whatever the hell that means in the Facebook age.

So please stop stalking me. Really. STOP. No following, no friending, no fanning, no f’ing anything.

Just back off.

And if you keep it up, I’ll have to get a restraining order.

So I hope we have an understanding here. And of course, I’ll see you next week for our usual, OK?

Happy Valentine’s Day!
Jane Consumer

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango and Chief Talent Scout

Our clients will be easier to find than ever, ’cause Atomic Tango now has an SEO pro in the house.

Yea, though he walks through the Valley o' Death (about 290 miles northeast of L.A.), the Search Strategist always finds matters of interest...

Search Strategist Jerram Betts joins us from Shopzilla Inc., where he was Director of Search Engine Optimization for both Shopzilla.com and Bizrate.com. Unlike the SEO hacks who simply stuff websites with keywords, Jerram integrates site optimization, blogging, social networking and bookmarking into comprehensive campaigns.

And that integrated marketing communications (IMC) is what Atomic Tango is all about.

IMC coordinates all activities around a central strategy and theme, which eliminates brand disconnects and ensures unity of purpose. I’ve been crafting integrated campaigns since the emergence of the commercial web, and currently teach IMC at UCLA Extension. With Jerram as Atomic Tango’s Search Strategist & Chief Technologist, search engine marketing (SEM) and optimization (SEO) will play more significant roles in our overt-ops. Our new realm of search-related services include:

1. Baseline stats/information analysis
a. Traffic levels from top sources
b. Pages in the indices
c. Backlinks
d. Rankings on key phrases
e. Research of other sites in keyword space

2. Keyword research
a. Understanding types of searches performed by potential customers
b. Keyword expansion

3. Site review
a. Ensuring site crawlability
b. Information architecture review
c. Content review

4. Link building
a. Listings in key directories
b. Content syndication to related sites
c. BizDev/partner opportunities
d. Link bait/viral content creation
e. Social media outreach

5. Other offerings
a. PPC campaign management (building off the keyword research)
b. Display advertising campaign management
c. Affiliate program setup
d. Landing page optimization

Our goal: to create content for our clients that’s not only search-engine friendly, but also worth checking out and linking to. And that, of course, further enhances a site’s search engine page rank.

On a personal note, both Jerram and I were MBA classmates at USC, and for years we’ve talked biz while watching Trojan football or shooting pool. He’s already enlightened me about some SEO practices — more importantly, what not to do. Now it’s time to get serious about search.

Serious in the Atomic Tango way, of course.

Shameless plug: For the full scoop on Atomic Tango’s search and integrated marketing services, simply drop us a line.

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC & Professional Provocateur…

Professionals? More like the bland leading the bland.

I recently got some fan mail about my post on resume writing: “I was liking your article, as I have others that I’ve read… However, I soon found the in-your-face political opinion rude and quite unprofessional to say the least. I just wanted to read a good professional article not something that would make the Huffington Post.”

Hmmm. How to respond?

Well, first of all, I love the Huffington Post. And if my blog were to ever become one-tenth as successful as the Huffington Post, I would combust in ecstasy. So I welcome the comparison. Thank you.

Second, this is, like, my blog. As in mine. I own it. Mine mine mine mine mine. And last I checked, that means I can write — drum roll please — whatever I want. I also offer it free to the public, without even a single ad to click away, so what’s this about “rude”? And — hold on, let me make sure — yes, my contract with myself says I’m not obligated to write a word according to the whims or stipulations of others.

Sorry, bro.

But what I found most intriguing in this fan mail was the use of the word “professional.” Or, to be more exact, its misuse.

There’s this inbred misconception amongst the creatively-challenged that “professional” means safe, boring, and completely devoid of color and character. To these clones, even the slightest touch of humor or personality renders any work “unprofessional.” They prefer dry, soulless and frigidly cold. And hey, that’s cool if they want their own work to have all the flavor of iced packing foam, but it’s completely and incontrovertibly uncool to try to impose their sterile thinking on others.

Don’t pull that Stepford act around here, buddy.

5 Ways to Define Professionalism

We’re entering the second decade of Century 21.0 already. The 1950s ended 50 years ago, and today the grey flannel business suit is worn by so few American workers, it’s been declared an endangered species.

And in the creative fields I love — like marketing and media — it should be extinct.

Creativity is the name of the game in today’s America. Whether you’re talking alternative energy, filmmaking, web development, bioengineering, gourmet cooking, automotive design, football coaching, high fashion, or advertising, success goes to those who break the mold in the name of innovation. Want lockstep thinking? No problem: China Eastern Airlines is departing for Beijing at high noon. Au revoir, zaijian — and don’t forget your baggage!

For those of us working to remake and revive this economy, I offer this multi-part definition of “professional”… (Note: I’ve alternated the pronouns “he” and “she” here; no gender slights should be inferred.)

1. Giving it your all: A true professional never delivers a half-assed effort, whether he’s composing the soundtrack for a film, developing a cure for cancer, or playing middle linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The professional rehearses and reviews to eliminate all errors, and continuously works to master his craft. Moreover, the professional takes pride in giving 100% in the pursuit of perfection.

2. Living up to your word: A true professional shows up at the appointed time and never misses a deadline. She may work from home, the beach, or her favorite coffee shop while slamming triple espressos and listening to vintage Joan Jett in her iPod — but she lives up to her word when it comes time to deliver. The only acceptable excuses are extreme emergencies, and even then she apologizes for the delay and tries to make up for it when she gets back on her feet.

3. Providing due respect: A true professional may talk smack about the competition and the clowns on Fox News, but he would never disrespect a colleague, client or collaborator. Phone ringing? Unless there’s a baby being delivered at the other end of the line, the physical human presence always comes first. Got an irresistible urge to text or tweet all the time, even during meetings? See an addiction counselor. A professional listens attentively while being spoken to and never interrupts. He can then rebut the speaker, but he does so by critiquing the ideas, not the person.

4. Being appropriate: A true professional understands the environment, audience and occasion, then comports herself appropriately. Yes, this sometimes means wearing a suit, but at other times, it might mean wearing jeans and an ironic logo T-shirt. (Though at no time does it ever mean wearing Crocs.) She speaks at the level of her audience, never over their heads, but without pandering to their slang or mannerisms. Joking around is totally fine — even encouraged — as long as her tone is appropriate for the audience. (Some groups don’t mind a strategic f-bomb.)

Note that using business jargon does not make one a professional — it makes one clichéd and incomprehensible.

5. Questioning the answers: A true professional challenges conventional thinking and undermines the status quo, because that’s what makes progress possible. He understands the difference between traditions, rules, etiquette, habits, ethics and so-called “best practices,” and he strives to create even better practices. Those who feel threatened by these questions and challenges will call them “unprofessional,” which is a sign that they’re starting to work.

Indeed, a true professional might decide to redefine what it means to be a professional. What does it mean to you?

Parting Shots on Blogging and Professionalism

There are thousands of mainstream business magazines and blogs online, most consisting of the bland leading the bland. They don’t cut it for me, so I created my own.

A blog should always be personal, and my politics happen to be a large part of me; hence, the political bias of Cool Rules Pronto. Is that unprofessional? Ask the Wall Street Journal, which takes an approach to business that’s just to the right of Attila the Hun. Ask Jon Stewart, who has transformed political satire and outperformed even mainstream journalists in exposing the truth.

True, I do risk alienating people, but my long-term goal is to create a distinctive brand, and that sometimes means alienating certain segments of the market… on purpose. That’s not unprofessional. That’s just business.

Plus, picking on Republicans isn’t being unprofessional; it’s simply being human.

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC & Japanese Food Lover

So you manage a small chain of sushi restaurants, and business is not exactly stellar, so you decide to run one of those coupons that winds up in people’s mailboxes en route to the recycling bin. And that’s when this happens…

click to enlarge

When I first saw the coupon, I noticed the right part first (red type catches the eye much better than reverse type on a blue background). Then I noticed the people, since the eye tends to gravitate to human faces, and I thought, “Oh, look, white sushi chefs in L.A. That’s different.” Then I noticed the logo for “Worst Cooks in America.” Then I knew, “This must be blogged.”

The contest is run not by Sushi Mac but by Valpak Direct Marketing Systems, Inc., the company that puts together these coupon packs that wind up in people’s mailboxes en route to the recycling bin. Usually, there’s only one business advertised per coupon — I’ve never seen two. So I wonder what Valpak told the folks at Sushi Mac… “Hey, we’ll give you a discount if you let us run a contest for the Food Network on your coupon.” I can only guess that they did not tell them that “Worst Cooks in America” would be located just inches away from “Unique Dining Experience!”

My appetite for sushi was quite diminished. The offers on the reverse side — which included “All Sushi $3.00 (Tax Included!) Per Order” — did not provide any culinary reassurance, since most consumers associate low prices with low quality. Not exactly what I want with raw fish.

In addition to poor ad placement and questionable pricing strategy, having a sushi chain sound like an Apple computer doesn’t help much, either: “Get the New Sushi Mac — Raw Power for Those on a Roll! Now Comes with iTunas.”

Recycling bin here it comes.

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Board Member of City Garage Theatre

Whenever I get hungry in a strange city, I hunt out brewery restaurants. My belief: anyone who cares about the taste of beer is going to make pretty good food — or at least a decent burger. And so far, my belief has not failed me.

Throughout Oregon, I dug on the McMenamin’s chain. In Austin, I enjoyed Opal Divine’s. And close to home, my favorite joint is the Library Alehouse in Santa Monica. Although the Library Alehouse doesn’t brew their own beer, they do carry dozens of artisan brews, from imported Belgian lambics to my fave, Arrogant Bastard of Escondico. Their burgers are wholly unpretentious (hold the blue cheese and arugula) and consist of primo quality beef. And their Grilled Chipotle Shrimp Salad makes me grateful for every single tastebud.

Now take note, all ye who work for non-profit organizations: Library Alehouse also regularly hosts charity fundraisers. During these public events, they donate 15% of their day’s revenues to a local charity, such as the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition and the Santa Monica Museum of Art. Why doesn’t the charity just ask people to donate 100% of the money and skip all the wining and dining? Because like a good microbrew, there’s much more to such an event than meets the eye…

Overusing the “G” Word

As you might have experienced during the holidays, so many organizations told us to “give” that this four-letter word started sounding like a four-letter word. This past year in particular, non-profits were walloped by drastic deductions in donations (government, corporate and individual) and — for the arts — basic patronage. Consequently, I couldn’t open my mailbox or Facebook page without getting hit up for a hand out. I myself sent out requests for donations on behalf of City Garage Theatre, where I sit on the board of directors.

Now, around Christmas, it’s easier to solicit donations because of general feelings of goodwill and/or guilt. It’s hard to snub a charity when you’re eyeing that new 50″ LED-backlit flatscreen for your den. But now that the holidays have exhausted themselves, how can non-profits continue to ask these same prospective donors to give?

They can’t.

They can certainly try, but in this still cruel economy, many Americans are feeling drained, emotionally and financially — particularly those who just bought 50″ LED-backlit flatscreens. A non-profit might as well try to make wine from raisins. So rather than ask these people to give outside of giving season, non-profits should be answering a certain donor question — even if they never hear it asked: “What’s in it for me?”

Of course, most people would never say that directly to a charity. Some might never even think it. They’ll donate if the charity is personal (they know a member of the organization or some of its beneficiaries) or emotional (the cause touches a nerve, like Hurricane Katrina did, so that giving feels like a no-brainer).

Those aside, most charities are not personally related to the donor and might not seem terribly desperate in the grand scale of human events. That’s when the non-profit must think beyond their own needs to what would entice the disinterested. In other words, what does the donor want or need?

Some charities might be appalled at this notion of having to appeal to the self-interests of others. But ignoring the reality of the non-profit marketplace — crowded, needy, and highly competitive — is idealism, and idealism won’t pay the rent. It’s also idealistic to ignore human nature: we the people can’t help feeling attracted to something that meets our particular desires and needs.

Feed the Needs

Looking at a restaurant-based fundraiser, like those at the Library Alehouse, reveals multiple levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy being served:

• Food: People have to eat. A charity event gives penny-pinching consumers an excuse to dine out. And if the restaurant is new and enjoyable to them, they’ll appreciate the introduction.
• Friendship and amore: What better way to connect with new mates than over drinks and a great cause? Indeed, one way to drum up attendance is to invite singles’ clubs…
• Networking: Whether someone needs a job or a client, a themed event makes for easier schmoozing than a generic “networking” event. The charity breaks the ice and makes everyone in attendance seem benevolent.
• Entertainment: Let’s see, stay home and watch reruns of NCIS/CSI/ColdCase/Numbers, or actually go out on the town and interact with people not wearing toe tags? Hmmm, tough choice there…
• Beer: No explanation necessary.

Businesses also have needs. Far too often, non-profits will hit up a business for a donation without even considering what the business will get out of it. With these fundraising events, the restaurants benefit on multiple levels:

• Sales: These days, walk into any establishment that doesn’t ask “would you like fries with that?” and you’ll likely see empty tables. Any sales, even at a discount, would be welcome. Since these discounts are donated to a charity, they don’t cheapen the value of their dishes (as coupons might), and unlike other discounts, they’re tax deductible.
• Exposure to new clientele: With one event, small establishments that can’t afford to advertise can now reach entire new pools of customers — and let the non-profit do the marketing for them. Some of the attendees (such as the wealthier donors) are definitely worth reaching. In addition, some of these newcomers might become repeat customers, particularly since the restaurant helped support a cause they care about.
• Brand boost: A great way to enhance the brand of a for-profit enterprise is to collaborate with a worthy non-profit. The establishment is no longer just a business — it becomes a member of the community.

What about the non-profit organization itself? It also benefits beyond the dollars:

• Brand boost, part deux: One challenge that small non-profits have is building credibility. The last ten years undermined trust in our society, even of various charities. Collaborating with a credible local business — not to mention a favorite watering hole — gives an unknown charity visibility, and reassures donors that it’s a real non-profit and not some guy with a P.O. Box.
• Newsworthy event: For a community newspaper, a charity fundraiser in conjunction with a local business is much more newsworthy than a boring solicitation for donations. The key is to notify the newspaper staff far ahead of time, and to invite them all (including the receptionist) to join in the fun. The event also makes for great content on the non-profit’s blog, Facebook page and other social media. Photos from the event will later draw traffic from the attendees and their friends (don’t forget to collect names so you can tag the photos on Facebook).
• Exposure to potential new donors: Encourage regular supporters to bring their friends, family and colleagues. Since the event doesn’t cost anything beyond the regular price of food and drinks, it’s an easy invite. The charity will also attract the attention of other diners at the restaurant.
• Bonding: Non-profit work can get fairly serious. Such events give the organization’s staff a chance to loosen up and bond over brews and burgers. More importantly, these events enable donors, board members, beneficiaries and other members of the organization’s extended family to meet the men and women behind the curtain. Adding faces to an organization helps encourage loyalty.

In sum, the benefits of a collaborative fundraiser far surpass the value of the donations and are spread all around. In a tasty twist, meeting the selfish interests of others can actually generate more value than simply being Idealistic.

And if it’s done at a microbrewery, it’s a great way to build a buzz.

Update 1/5/2010: This post has been republished by Vivanista.