Building the tree of specificity

This site is a case study in grass roots marketing. Explore the site, and come back for my comments.
Ok, you back? So ESPN sucks. If I want to really hear about the Cleveland Browns, I have to wait for ESPN to assign a writer to the Browns and to write some interesting stuff (i.e. never). But I could also refer to this sports network and find the podcasts in my area, created by fans of my team.
So, apply this to a sponsorship stream. If I want to advertise next to Browns content to reach Browns fans today, I have to hope they see my adwords next to the ESPN article. But, reaching those who have actively sought the Browns podcasts on CSN, then I've reached a very engaged and willing audience. Even further, I can reach out to the podcasters themselves and say, hey, I run a pizza shop, let me sponsor your next tailgate party with your listeners. It really is a great business model, and its finally relevant to specific audiences, not just the faceless cold ESPN content monopoly.

So this is TalkShoe. Its a place to participate in Live Podcasts, and to chip away at the old media business model. I like the idea that people can engage in creating podcast content, because dialogue is valuable. Why its compelling: you can find podcasts you would not download, but gladly give a listen to, since its streaming. Also, particularly for sports, it creates an old, but timeless radio talk show format into modern techonology.

It will blend, my friend

Ok, so this guy made a really strong blender. To prove it, he blends shit (iPods, baseballs, whatever). Then he puts the video on his site, willitblend.com. Done. He blogs about it, so that people can suggest items to blend. He posts regularly, to keep people invested. And the whole time, we're being entertained by a blender, and this blender is for sale. Oh, did I mention he's had over 3 million viewers? How much does a media buy with 3million promised impressions cost? Probably a thousand times more than whatever it takes this guy to make this site. Perfect, if you ask me, and you did.

Purina knows pet owners

The team at Purina is tapping into a market of fanatics (as pet owners tend to be) by providing more content. If I had a dog, I would listen to Snouts in Your Town to find out about dog events and places in NYC. If I had a new puppy, I would listen to Complete Puppy care. All podcasts have the Purina logo, but only some are produced by Purina. They looked around and found people who already have the passion and the podcast, and hired them. Its so freaking obvious--this works in tech, advertising, sports, and any other interest that relies on passion to be interesting. This is a good example of how opening dialogue with consumers creates more, richer, relevant content. Compelling content, if you will. And yes, you will. The only problem is the podcasts aren't on the front page, where they should be, but rather found here.

This will be on TV tomorrow.

So I saw this on YouTube, you will too. Not really compelling conent, per se. But a good social commentary from Alanis. Its unusual to see musicians make fun of eachother in the Weird Al Yankovic style.

I like the orginal better, its more authentically ridiculous.

The original:

My Humps Video

My Humps lyrics - Black Eyed Peas lyrics

Black Eyed Peas Music Videos

Music Video Codes by VideoCure

Sprint Ambassadors

Whoa, just saw this story about the program from the man, Joseph Jaffe. This is a great freaking idea. Sprint takes people who are customers (who must have some sort of loyalty already) and gives them shit. Here, Sprint says, take this and play with it, just for being you. And if you like, tell others. Simple. Done. I am seriously considering Sprint now, not because of their ads from Chiat, which are great. But because Joseph Jaffe says so. I respect his opinion. His message is more valuable than any broadcast media buy. More companies should use this idea.

Compelled, but not satisfied

The outer cover of this week's Adweek has an ad for Mad Men, a tv show about advertising premiering this summer. The Ad itself is interesting because its relevant to me, and all the readers. The only call to action was AMCTV.com And when I arrived--nothing. I had to search for Mad Men, and when I did I found an emailing list signup. Couldn't they at least write a little paragraph? Im sure that whoever pitched the idea to AMC came up with some sort of synopsis. Im just saying, I should be rewarded for my extra step. Something to recognize my active interest.