Media

mesh was marvelous

By Mark Evans in Advertising/Marketing, Media, Social Media 2 Comments Tags: , ,

Mesh bean bagsmesh is like a good house party. Afterward, you’re exhausted but happy that everything worked so well. After seven months of preparation, the two days of mesh were over before you knew it, and now we’re on to the next thing – meshwest in Calgary on June 8.

So what were the highlights of mesh ’11? Without going into too much detail, here’s a personal list:

1. The venue – the Allstream Centre – was a major move for mesh because it’s much bigger than MaRS, which hosted the first five mesh events. Like any new home, there were a few kinks but, for the most part, it worked really well. It was great to have more meeting rooms and more space to mingle and eat.

2. The sponsors village – However you want to cut it, sponsors need to be part of the mix for a good conference. They provide the support needed to put on a good show. At the same time, sponsors want to be more than just a logo on the Web site and swag. At mesh, the village was part of the landscape so that they had great exposure that seemed natural and non-obtrusive.

3. The keynotes, particularly Gabe Zichermann’s talk with Stuart MacDonald about gameification. There are speakers who have a gift for entertaining, educating and engaging, and Gabe is a perfect example of someone who delivers all three. It was a keynote that delivered endless pearls of wisdom, and I found myself scribbling lots of notes.

A great example was Gabe’s contention that Web sites need to be simple rather than offer a lot of options, which is something that I constantly advocate when doing Web site projects for clients. Gabe also talked about the importance of rewarding users when they do what they you want. This can even message message such as “You’re amazing” after they register.

4. The porn panel – With a great lineup of speakers that included Pink Visual CEO Alison Vivas, who runs an adult entertainment company, it epitomized a mesh panel at its best. The panelists were engaged with each other, they had different perspectives to offer, they were entertaining and educational, and the audience was into it. Here’s the Huffington Post Canada story on the panel.

5. The bean bag chairs from FatBoy, which were a hit of the conference. Imagine walking into a large conference ballroom to discover there are 20 different coloured bean bag chairs to sit in. Now, a few people may have gone too far when they decided to take a nap but they were one of the small touches that made mesh really work. (Note: The photo above is the mesh gang post-mesh.)

6. The influencer panel with David Armano and Valeria Maltoni – With so much interest in the role of influencers within social media, the room was packed. As some of the leading thinkers about digital marketing, Armano and Maltoni were well-armed to provide perspective. If I had to moderate the panel over again, I would have pressed them into talking more about the tools – PeerIndex, Klout, mPact, etc. – because everyone gets that influence is an important thing but a lot of people are struggling with how to identify and successfully engage with influencers.

7. The TVO panel with host Steve Paikin, Micah Sifry, Jesse Brown, the NDP’s Charlie Angus and Tony Clement, the new Treasury Minister. It was a wonderful panel, highlighted by Angus proclaiming Twitter had little value – something that didn’t go over while in a room in which Twitter has enthusiastic support, including Clement.

There are lots of other highlights but these are some that jumped out. I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the other important part of mesh – the people who attended and spoke, and their enthusiasm to network, exchange ideas and engage. It’s something that makes mesh different and wonderful.

Now, it’s on to Calgary for meshwest, and pretty soon, we’ll be getting the programming machine going for meshmarketing in November…and then it’ll be time for mesh ’12 in May 2012!

Links: It was great to see so much coverage of mesh. One of the blog posts that caught my attention was Louise Armstrong’s post on conference etiquette, which captures the essence of mesh. As well, Micah Sifry (aka TechPresident) did a wonderful post about Canada’s Internet landscape.

More: Here are the “official” mesh photos.

Seven Keys to Capturing the Attention of Bloggers/Media

By Mark Evans in Blogs, Media 12 Comments Tags: , , ,

One of the most frustrating things for start-ups is how difficult it can be to capture the attention of bloggers and the media. They have created compelling new services and products, they have interesting stories to tell, and would love even a little coverage to support their efforts.

Unfortunately, attracting the attention of bloggers and media is a major challenge. It is particularly surprising for blogs given there are no real estate limits. For large blogs, volume is the name of the editorial game so you would think it would be an easier process. As someone with nearly 15 years as a newspaper reporter, you figure I might have an edge but it doesn’t seem to be the case. Like everyone else, my efforts are hit and miss, mostly miss.

So how do you capture the attention of bloggers and the media? Here are some tips:

1. Craft a good story rather than pitching what your company does. Bloggers and reporters tell stories so make their lives easier by giving them one on a silver platter. Make sure the story has a twist or hook that makes it different. It could be you have created something innovative, unorthodox or unique. Whatever your edge, play it up. A good example is Guardly, an iPhone app that launched yesterday that lets you notify friends and family when you have a personal emergency. Guardly is not your run of the mill startup but it’s one that resonates with many people, which is probably why it attracted some nice coverage in TechCrunch.

2. Give someone a “scoop”. Having a story that no one else does has always been a prize within the news game. Today, the rules are still the same. The downside of exclusives is the risk of alienating every other blogger or newspaper but if it means getting coverage in GigaOm or TechCrunch, for example, it can be worth the gamble.

3. Demonstrate success. Bloggers and the media really like two things: success and failure. Too many startups try to capture coverage when they haven’t done much of anything other than create a new service product. Unless you have something really special, this isn’t newsworthy. If, on the other hand, you attract thousands of customers or users, that is far more interesting because you have done something many companies fail to achieve.

A good example is WineAlign, which I did some work for two years ago. At the time, WineAlign founder Bryan McCaw was convinced he had created an innovative new service that would let people make smarter buying decisions at liquor stores in Ontario. But when he pitched the story, the response was deafening silence. Fast-forward two years and 15,000 registered users later, WineAlign just got great coverage in the Toronto Star.

4. If you’ve been successful in the past, make this part of the marketing efforts. It’s a spin-off of point #3. If an entrepreneur has been successful in the past, there may be interest in their latest efforts.

5. Have high-profile investors or advisors. Again, you’re looking to capture someone’s attention at a time when thousands of other companies are trying to do the same thing. Having recognizable investors or advisors can raise a company above the crowd. Look at the attention lavished on anything that Marc Andreessen invests in. This includes RockMelt, the browser that captured the spotlight only to quickly disappear.

6. Recognition at conferences and shows. Whether it’s Demo, 500 Startups Demo Day, TechCrunch 50 or another event, winning best of show can attract the spotlight and separate your company from the crowd. Look at what Mint.com or Yammer were able to do after winning the top prize at TechCrunch 50.

7. Relationships.Building relationships with bloggers or reporters can give you a better chance of getting your story covered. Bloggers and reporters people, they’re not writing machines. Like everyone else, they do things for friends, people who have done them favours, helped them out, or people they like.

Relationships are the biggest reason you should consider hiring a PR agency because a PR person’s most valuable asset is their Rolodex. A good PR person is building relationships every day, something that they can leverage when it comes to pitching a story.

AOL Making Content King Again

By Mark Evans in Media 1 Comment Tags: , , ,

So let’s get this straight: AOL just spent $315-million to buy the Huffington Post, a move that makes it a “next-generation publishing” entity?

First reaction is not why AOL decided to buy Huffington Post but why Arianna Huffington sold to AOL. Of course, there are 315 million reasons to justify the deal but why throw in the towel to AOL when you’ve got the world in the palm of your hand as the world’s largest and most influential online publisher?

It’s not like Huffington needs the money personally or whether the Huffington Post is lacking growth capital. At the apex of her career, Huffington made a strange decision by taking the money and running. Maybe her investors made her do it given the size of the AOL offer, which is five times the HP’s sales. After six years at the helm, maybe Huffington wants to focus on giving speeches and writing books rather than running a fast-growing online publishing company.

Whatever the reason, AOL is placing a huge bet not only the Huffington Post but the value of content to create a lucrative digital platform. For those of you with a sense of history, AOL pulled the same trick a decade ago with a marriage to Time-Warner in the name of digital convergence – and we all know how well that turned out.

With Huffington Post and TechCrunch now in the fold, AOL has swooped up two of the highest profile digital publishers and, along with it, two of the more interesting entrepreneurs (Huffington and TechCrunch’s Mike Arrington) along with it.

All I can say is “interesting”.

Want to Capture the Spotlight? Be Successful

By Mark Evans in Blogs, Media, Social Media 1 Comment Tags: , , ,

Over the past two years, I have worked with a lot of start-ups looking to establish themselves and attract media and blogger coverage. After all, what better way to jump-start your business than quality coverage from high-profile newspapers and bloggers.

The problem is there are dozens, if not hundreds, of new start-ups looking to capture the spotlight each and every day. Even if you have created a better mousetrap, it doesn’t guarantee coverage. It can be a frustrating because there are start-ups with amazing technology and innovative services that fail to get even a sniff of attention.

The problem is there is too much digital noise and competition, which makes rising above the crowd challenging.

The start-ups that do get coverage in the New York Times and blogs such as TechCrunch are anomalies. For whatever reason, they have the right story at the right time, and it has little to do with the quality of their technology, service or the excellent pitches crafted by PR agencies.

So how does a start-up attract media and blogger coverage? The answer is simple: be successful.

It’s not enough to have an innovative product or service; what really matters is if you can attract enough users or customers to validate that what you are doing is interesting or, at least, newsworthy.

Only then will your story start to resonate with reporters and bloggers. It really boils down to what reporters and bloggers like: success or failure. If you’re wildly successful, that’s interesting. If you explode and make millions of dollars in venture capital disappear, that’s interesting. If you’re a start-up with an innovative service but few users, that’s not interesting or newsworthy.

Does this mean start-ups with few users give up on trying to get media and blogger coverage? Probably not. What it does suggest, however, is having realistic expectations about how much attention you will attract when there are few people using your product or service.

Rather than being disappointed when the world doesn’t beat a path to your door, a better approach is focusing on improving your product or service, and growing the business. Don’t worry about attracting attention from reporters or bloggers. If you’re business becomes a success, you can hit them again with a much more interesting story.

Bottom line: If you’re a start-up with no or few customers or users, getting media or blog coverage is a major challenge. It doesn’t mean what you’re doing isn’t interesting; it just means that it’s not newsworthy until more people endorse that what you’re doing is worthy writing about.

Why PR Still Doesn’t Get Bloggers

By Mark Evans in Media 7 Comments Tags: , ,

Riddle me this: It’s been at least four years since blogging burst into the mainstream to become a new and viable way to generate and consume content. Many of the world’s most popular online destinations are blogs.

So why is it that some PR firms still have no clue how to approach bloggers? I have noticed a strange inability to recognize that bloggers have particular interests, different approaches and particular styles – just like traditional media.

Here’s a classic example of how not to approach a blogger – an e-mail I received from someone who works for a large PR firm.

Hi there –

Please see below for the release from XXX announcing the newest addition to their XXX family of products, the XXX. The XXX is one of the thinnest and lightest ultraportable laptops available; it is ideal for the on-the-go entrepreneurs who are looking for durability, security and functionality in a package that will turn heads. The XXX is available today on XXX.ca, starting at $449.

If have any questions about this, or any product in XXX’s line-up, or you would like to speak with someone about this release, please let us know.

Thank you.

First mistake: A lack of personalization. How difficult could it be to write “Hi, Mark”.

Second mistake: I don’t write about laptops so sending me a press release about a new one suggests you haven’t done your homework.

Third mistake: Even if I did write about laptops, what’s the angle other than this particular model is new? Why would I be interested in learning more?

As they say in baseball, three strikes and you’re out.

What puzzles me is many PR firms have “rap sheets” about reporters – their likes, dislikes, when they like to be contacted, how they like to be contacted, etc. Why wouldn’t they do the same for bloggers? Are bloggers still not seen as equivalent to reporters so not worthy of the same love and attention?

Let’s be clear, there are many PR firms that are excellent at bloggers relations. But when you have a major PR firm sending press releases to bloggers that are unpersonalized press release, there’s something not quite right.

The reality is as traditional newsrooms shrink, there will be fewer reports. As a result, bloggers will become more important. Now is the time to start implementing best practices for blogger relations as opposed to dropping the proverbial ball.

Could You Cut the Cable or Satellite Cord?

By Mark Evans in Media 12 Comments Tags: , , , ,

Although it’s more of a murmur than a rumble, there appears to be growing attention on cord-cutting. I’m not talking about wood as those of us north of border prepare for another long, cold winter but people who have decided they no longer need cable or satellite service because most, if not all, of their video needs are being met by online services.

Fabrice Taylor had an interesting column in yesterday’s Globe & Mail that talked about his own decision to cut the chord, as well as the fact the number of U.S. cable and satellite subscribers dropped by 216,000 in the second-quarter, the first time it had ever declined.

In the scheme of things 216,000 is a drop in the bucket compared with the 10s of millions of subscribers still coughing up a growing amount of dollars each and every month. But it does signal that consumers now have an option to get their video fix – be it movies, documentaries or television shows. With higher-speed networks and a growing number of devices to watch video, the Web is becoming a more viable and attractive platform.

This is a movement that will likely gain more traction as services such as Hulu, NetFlix and iTunes make it even easier to access online video anywhere, any time on any device, including smartphones.

The big obstacle facing cord-cutting is live sports – something that is available on pay-per-view but not readily available through an online service. If the professional sports leagues come around to offering games on a pay-as-you-go basis, it could dramatically jump-start the cord-cutting trend.

Last weekend, for example, I watched an NFL football game via online service. It wasn’t a legitimate service but, nevertheless, hinted at what was possible. If I could purchase the game of the week (e.g. New England vs. the New York Jets) for let’s say $4.99 from NFL.com, that would completely change how I would consume television.

That said, I do not expect the professional sports leagues in North America to change how they do business in the near future. The television deals from ESPN, NBC, Fox and CBS are too lucrative to consideration alternatives. We’re talking about hundreds of billions of dollars.

So while professional sports may not be part of the cord-cutting movement, everything else is on the table. As more services become available and more people get their heads around the fact they really don’t need to have cable or satellite service, cord-cutting could go from a murmur to a rumble in no time at all.

Have you cut the cord? If so, how do you consume your video these days, and what services do you use?

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