The Client Side Blog with Michael Seaton

What Will They Think Of Next? Actually, I Don't Want To Know

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:27:48 +0000

I, likely along with you, was completely unaware that we have a problem with the wiping function. Apparently we do. So, I am pleased to pass along news that scientists and marketers combined their superpowers to provide society with ... wait for it ... The Comfort Wipe.

I am at a total loss for words. Along with The Snuggie , this ranks up there with inventions that are sure to accelerate the decline of Western culture as we have come to know it.

Hey folks, it's Friday, enjoy your weekend!

Hat tip to American Copywriter.

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The Original Social Networking Site

Tue, 26 May 2009 21:14:09 +0000

Not all "sites" are online. This clever little thirty-second spot from Coleman pokes a bit of fun at the social web with the voice of Sam Elliott adding a nice touch.

Found via Nick Kinney over at American Copywriter.

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Lawson Clarke, Male Copywriter

Tue, 19 May 2009 02:41:20 +0000

Lawson Clarke is a copywriter, a Male Copywriter. From what I can tell he is a rather good one who is unfortunately out of a full-time gig currently (but likely not for long).

He made me laugh out loud - not a full of crap LOL - it was actual out laughter. Rare.

In a world of freelancers looking to set themselves apart, Lawson wins. His creatively simple site says a lot about him (almost too much). It is a straightforward and humorous approach to showcase his talent and his work. Check out his portfolio - his writing is right up my alley. He seems like the kind of guy you'd want to play a round of golf with, or hang out and watch the game (that is as long as the bear skin rug is no where nearby).

Tip of the hat to Bob Garfield via Ad Age for a recommendation that did not disappoint.

Check out Lawson at Male Copywriter. He is on Twitter too, @malecopywriter.

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The Next 5,000 Days Of The Web

Mon, 11 May 2009 03:33:22 +0000

Great TED Talk from Kevin Kelly about Predicting The Next 5,000 Days Of The Web.

Kevin (founding editor of Wired and former publisher Whole Earth Catalog) provides his insights in terms of what has taken place over the past 5,000 days, describing what we though to be impossible has now become part of our daily existence. He sees it is all leading to "one global machine" that will be way smarter than us and connected in new and amazing ways.

Surprised? You shouldn't be. He presents a fascinating case to think about as we dive further into our digital existence.

Some find talk of the future amazing and inspiring while others find it scary or a waste of time. Whatever the case, the future is tough to predict (understatement?). No one knows exactly what will happen over the next 5,000 days (actually about 4,385 days given that this was filmed in December 2007) and that is a good thing. However, it is fun to make some educated guesses - especially when they come from a smart source with deep insights.

We are the web. Enjoy Kevin's talk.

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Just One Of The Reasons To Love YouTube

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:47:17 +0000

It's not just about teenagers kicking each other in the crotch. Where else would you find something like this? 32 songs in 8 minutes. I am now a fan of Freddie25.

And there is even some Chocolate Rain and a Rick Roll on acoustic guitar thrown in for good measure. Wild.

Hat tip to Leo Laporte via Twitter - follow him, he is only at 111,871!

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All A Flutter

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:58:46 +0000

Flutter, because 140 characters on Twitter is way too much.

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How The Web Ate The Economy

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:21:02 +0000

Money is always looking for somewhere to go. We started out with currencies of abundance back in the day and moved to a model of scarcity ever since. Is the web bringing us back to abundance?

These are the economics of the web as explained by Douglas Rushkoff, author of various books including Get Back In The Box "How being great at what you do is great for business", a great read full of fantastic ideas for businesses of all kinds.

It may be a good idea to be "less Saatchi and more Craigslist" if businesses had not become so good at incompetence. This is just one of the insights in his talk "How The Web Ate The Economy And Why It Is Good For Everyone" at the O'Reilly Web 2.0 Expo a little while ago. My only complaint? It was not long enough.

Enjoy.

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Newspapers In 1981

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 17:35:38 +0000

An interesting clip featuring the San Francisco Examiner that makes you think about where newspapers were thirty years ago and where they are now.

Hat tip to Ben McAlister.

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A Piece Of Paper And A Good Story

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 23:48:41 +0000

Stop motion origami does a beautiful job to tell the story of ASICS running shoes.

Origami In the Pursuit of Perfection from MABONA ORIGAMI on Vimeo.

According to artist Sipho Mabona "the advertising company Nordpol Hamburg+ (which is currently
listed in the top ten advertising agencies world wide) asked me to help them make
an origami movie. I spent the following four weeks designing around twenty origami
models for the video and consulting the computer animators. The world wide corporate
movie which tells the story of the Japanese sports brand ASICS has won numerous
awards."

As well it should.

Found via Smashing Magazine. Hat tip to Dom via Twitter.

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Forget About This Recession, How Are You Preparing For The Next One?

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 02:51:47 +0000

"We learn from history that we learn nothing from history" George Bernard Shaw.

This recession will end, hopefully sooner than later. But we must be realistic and recognize that the cyclical nature of economies will bring along another downturn before we know it. It is a certainty. However, the knowledge that history repeats itself does not mean we will act any differently to prepare ourselves for the inevitable future.

A Solid Five Year Plan Needed To Start Five Years Ago
One of those infamous questions asked of entry level candidates starting a career is “Where do you want to be five years from now?” It gets answered many ways. Some handle the question well while others flub around with what they hope is an appropriate answer. Others simply don’t know, not having thought it through. The smarter ones usually have a goal in mind and have mapped out a plan to achieve it.

But what if that question was directed to your marketing efforts? Where will it be in five years? My guess is many wish they had asked (and answered) that question five years ago, especially as it relates to digital.

Where Do You Stand?
Although we are smack in the middle of economic turmoil, digital is still a bright spot in terms of growth in marketing. But the issue remains that many have failed to scratch the surface of its true potential. As such, it is time to ask some hard questions and assess the stage you are at.

The list of below is posed in terms of where you might be today if you had begun to address things long enough ago to have already made a difference. In others words, how much better off would you be if you started to tackle the following over the past few years?:

Has broad digital knowledge been established with investments in human capital, hiring and ongoing education?

Are digital efforts aligned against best practices and creating your own reliable benchmarks?

Have basic opportunities like email, search and landing pages been exercised? Have they advanced?

Has the creation of compelling content taken place and been updated on a consistent basis?

Has site usability and utility improved over time?

Has optimization of campaign efforts and site performance been undertaken?

Where is the right fit in terms of balancing push versus pull marketing?

Has social media played a part in listening to and developing a dialogue with customers?

Has permission been captured to contact customers and prospects in the future?

Have customer profiles and preferences been recorded?

What insights and advances are being applied through analytics?

Many items are listed here. It is not a test, more of a reality check. The good news is that if you have made headway with even a few of these items you are doing better than most. Although it is kind of sad that we consider it good news when only a few of these items are checked off.

It’s Always Easier Save What Has Been Proven To Work
The harsh reality in a faltering economy is that cutbacks come down the line effecting people, projects and programs. There are tough decisions in terms of what goes and what stays. But it does not need to be that way. Mindsets geared to constant experimentation, testing and measuring outcomes when times are flush already have answers to these questions. They have proved what works and what does not. They are prepared and are likely able to preserve marketing dollars and talent.

Asset Building And Wealth Management
These are not concepts isolated to the financial world. A strong and meaningful brand is a strategic asset. It takes a lot of effort and time to build, grow and maintain. Done right, it pays substantial dividends over time.

Digital success is no different. The simple fact is that the vast majority of consumers are online and that is where the bulk of the brand experience is being delivered these days. And, it is only getting bigger and more important. As such, digital requires the same attention to vision, constant evolution and nurturing as does traditional brand marketing and management.

However, this means that now more than ever we need to be cognizant of our digital efforts. We need to avoid grasping at tactics in search of a quick fix. There are no get rich quick schemes here. It is all about sustainability and investing in select areas that will pay back over the long term. So go create that five year plan and start knocking-off the items that align against it.

No Digital Regrets? You May Be Lying To Yourself
Hindsight is always 20/20. So, be honest about regrets for not having done things when you had the chance. It’s okay to admit it because we all have them. It may be a small test, an idea for new content, changing and testing one variable, or perhaps taking a risk that would be much harder to get away with right now.

Whatever the case, imagine where you might be today if you had and use it as a reminder of why it is important to stay the course for the future. It is required to navigate the path ahead. As rosy as thing look, there is always danger waiting in the wings.

Living through history we have the knowledge that it will repeats itself but have yet to develop the wisdom to deal with it appropriately. Always be prepared.

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The Future Of Search

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 18:14:36 +0000

Spend an hour with Marissa Mayer, Vice President at Google who talks to Charlie Rose all about the most popular search engine in the world. She was one of Google's first twenty employees and it's first female engineer. For more info on Marissa, check out this article in NY Times last month.

Marissa sheds light on the keys to Google's success such as innovation, launching early and launching often, creating small teams, empowering them and staying agile. And, of course, staying focused on the users.

Charlie asks some interesting questions like "Is Google the next Microsoft, and Facebook the next Google?" Touchier issues around Yahoo! are answered in the way you'd expect.

She provides a great overview of the different services Google has put out from Organic and Paid Search to News to Latitude and what it takes to make it as an employee. In all, nothing earth shattering or too revealing if you pay attention to the tech world (not that it was really expected), but always interesting to hear direct from the source.

The one thing that comes across is that Marissa is passionate, articulate and just loving the gig she's got. And, who wouldn't!

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If We Had Just Listened To The Experts

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 00:21:34 +0000

Mainstream broadcast news should aspire to be this good. The clip below is just one of reasons that more and more people turn to the comedic insights from the likes of Jon Stewart as the real beacon of objective and credible content over the airwaves these days. It represents what is really going on in the world, be it politics, the economy, or a review of the latest Disney movie. No holds barred. Its real. And, really funny. The truth often is, even when it is the sad truth we're talking about.

As Jon Stewart relates, if we had listened to the likes of CNBC and Jim Cramer and taken all the prudent advice they dispensed over the last year or two, we could all have a million dollars in the bank now. That is, if we started with a hundred million.

And then there was this classic that led to the beginning of the end of Tucker Carlson and Crossfire. This was TV worth watching.

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Yelp, Quickbooks, Google Images And Start Ups

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:49:03 +0000

I don't believe I have ever posted a random set of links and stories before that caught my eye, but there is always a first time. With so much out there I thought it I'd point to some items of interest.

- Not ready for primetime, or when not to use images found on the web without doing some proof reading - found via The Next Web.

- Do we all really hate Quickbooks? I used to use Intuit's Quicken for personal finance, nice tool. But when I missed an automatic bank account update, reconciling was a pain. Either way, this site We all hate Quickbooks brings together mentions of Quickbooks on Twitter, unfiltered, both good and bad. And no, not everyone hates it. It is an initiative of Less Accounting, for all the obvious reasons. What do you think about this tactic?

- And what would a mention of Twitter this week be without referring to Skittles grabbing attention in social media for changing their home page to show a Twitter feed of mentions of Skittles or your Facebook page displaying Skittles Fan page. If the point was to generate buzz in social media corners, they seem to have scored.

- Does Yelp need help? The world of crowd sourcing is all fine and well, but some don't agree with the outcome as The NY Times looks at advertisers taking issue with user comments on Yelp.

- Top 50 of the Worlds Most Admired Companies from Fortune. Compare this with The Top 100 Most Respected Companies from Vanno. Overlay stock performance, dividend yield and track record with employment (e.g. layoffs) in this downturn and you could have a list that may represent investments to weather the storm. Or not. Who the heck knows anyways? Look at the mess all the "professional" money managers and economists have created and you might as well ask some random guy at the bus stop for advice, chances are he could beat them all. Maybe we should just ask the magic eight ball.

- And, a look at why we should let start ups bailout the economy and inherit the earth from Reid Hoffman in The Washington Post.

Happy reading.

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Christopher Walken Via Kevin Pollak Via YouTube Via Twitter

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 15:12:00 +0000

Actor and comedian Kevin Pollak does a Christopher Walken imitation better than Chistopher Walken does Christopher Walken. You have to see it to believe it. His Alan Arkin is bang on too. Check out the video below.

In the intro, Pollak mentions it is his first YouTube video (which is really not 100% true as there are many that have been uploaded of Kevin by others). Indeed, this is the first he produced and uploaded on his own, creating his own direct channel to reach his audience. Whats more, he says he got the idea through a suggestion from Twitter, which he has been using for a week or so and was fully engage with during the Oscars ceremony last week.

He just posted a follow-up "thanks" video based on the comments and feedback he has received, bringing him one step closer to his fans in a real way.

Sure, it's the same story we keep hearing of reach and influence getting wider and adoption becoming broader in these platforms. All the same, it is still great to see each and every time.

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Number One With A Bullet, Blackberry Versus Apple

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:31:03 +0000

Some camps hold the view that a golden rule of positioning and effective branding is to never mention the competition in your advertising. But rules were made to be broken. Especially when breaking them results in great creative, clear messaging and potential word of mouth value.

The Apple versus PC (aka Microsoft) is a case in point over the years.

Apple has clearly cornered the creative niche in this genre, literally taking a hammer to the competition and effectively demonstrating that there is such a thing as geek chic. From the iconic Chiat Day 1984 Apple Macintosh Super Bowl spot touted as the best TV commercial of all time, down to the recent spots Mac versus PC spots starring John Hodgman and Justin Long that are cute and entertaining (as far as 30 second spots go), the competition has paled.

Enter Research In Motion's Blackberry and the new era of mobile wars. The spirit of this spot below literally "takes a shot" at Apple in a simple and smart way. Visually relevant and memorable. No over thinking here.

As with the personal computer market, there is a lot at stake with mobile brand and product positioning over the long-term. And, these are still early days. One has to wonder if this is a one-off or, if there long term viability for RIM's to approach Apple's prowess on this front as each execution can be a very risky proposition. At the end of the day, though,competition is good. But it is even better when it yields powerful creative, so let the battle wage on.

UPDATE: As suspected, this was a consumer generated video (I'm told it was likely done by an agency or other professional outfit, but was unsolicited and not sanctioned or endorsed by RIM). It was not aligned with RIM's standards for advertising or branding. And, although I do like the simplicity of it, it makes a lot more sense with that in mind. Apologies for not nailing down the source of the video in the original post.

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