My last name and then the word marketing...

I realized today that I have a real aversion towards cluttered websites. You know the ones I’m talking about. There’s ads on every spare part of the page. Things are blinking, moving, popping up in my face. No wonder Americans are all plagued with ADHD. On many of those sites, it’s hard to even find what is the real information. I’m not positive the owner of the site knows the difference anymore.

I will completely write off a site that has a certain amount of ads or clutter on it. I have been recommended websites for information, seen the amount of advertising on it and immediately left. Are we really at a point as marketers where we have to inundate the masses to get their attention? Is the new strategy to annoy the customer to the point that they click on the link just to get it to stop blinking, singing or jumping up and down? I call that fly swatter marketing. Buzz around their head long enough and maybe they’ll take a swing.

We can do better than that.

For all you rockers with kids, Flipside Memphis has just published a new video about Rock ‘n’ Romp, a local group putting on rock shows for families in a kid-friendly environment. For those of you who don’t know about Flipside Memphis, you definitely need to check it out. The Live From Memphis crew has put together video shorts about a lot of the things that make Memphis great. If you’re like most typical Memphians, you probably have more bad than good to say about our city. I dare you to spend a while on flipsidememphis.com and see if you still have the same opinion.

I think the Flipside Memphis promotional videos are one of the cooler ideas to come out of our city as a way to showcase what Memphis has to offer. Showcased on the Convention and Visitors Bureau website, they are a great introduction to a city that has more than Blues and BBQ to offer.

When you get up and go to work tomorrow, you are going to experience attitudes from everyone around you. Whether it’s the gruff bagel guy who grunts when you want it toasted to the security guard who always has a friendly good morning as you enter the building, everyone around you will leave their emotional mark on you by the attitude they bring to the interaction.

Now picture work. What attitudes dominate? Are lunches with coworkers gripe fests? Do you fear letting your ideas be heard at the weekly business meetings?

If you’re a leader, take a step back and analyze how you guide your staff. Are you a no person? Are you feared? Do you motivate? Do you stimulate? There’s a good chance you hired them because they brought value to the table. In the business world, investments are considered good when they grow and when you profit from their growth. Why not figure out this week how to grow those investments. Maybe you give them more ownership, or maybe you encourage them to express their ideas without fear of rejection.

If you are led, how’s it going? Is it worth simply being a pawn, putting in your time, and collecting a paycheck? If your workplace cops a “no mentality” attitude, maybe it’s time to look somewhere else.

One of the best examples of picking up the music industry and punting it over the fence into the scary neighbors yard has to be these guys. From their own mouths…

“What Daytrotter is attempting to do is to not kid around with you and tell you that we found something that you never knew existed. We are going to contribute to the musical landscape, not just toss it around like a used book or a stolen pick-up line. We’re going to give you something that you truly have never heard.”

I am proud to say that my good friends the Rocketboys have had the opportunity to record a session with them and I just found another jem today. Headlights, a band I have toured with, stayed with and hung out in ridiculously scary corn fields in Illinois with have also recorded a session. Please go and take a listen. I promise you’ll get lost on that site and find yourself on the other side hours later a better person for it.

The Rocketboys

Headlights

An idea was brought to my attention the other day concerning facebook. In my sorry attempts to remain cool and/or relevant, I have started up my old band again. This Is Goodbye, as we are named, is an indie rock band that was based out of Memphis and toured back 5 or 6 years ago. All of us needed a creative outlet, and so we are now trying really hard to balance jobs, family, and other responsibilities to get to play music again.

Discussing our future marketing efforts, an idea was brought forth. Someone mentioned friend sharing with other bands on Facebook. Apparently, it’s common practice to trade log in information with other bands and then swap friends. Upon further discussion, I realized that it’s a similar practice to buying mailing lists, or email lists. You suddenly gain access to a lot of people for not a lot of work, which sounds great. The bad part is that you also do not have their permission. In the world of social networking, permission reigns the day. It’s all about accessing those who want to be accessed. That’s why the term Viral Marketing exists. You put something of value out there, and it spreads like a virus.

Good social networkers understand this. Seth Godin gets it. Read Permission Marketing. It’ll change everything in terms of how you bring product to the masses.

One of the most fun fundraisers I have ever been a part of is back in full swing. TRO Jung|Brannen is once again participating in the Memphis Heritage, AIA Memphis Adapt-A-Door Project. Teams compete by taking doors, planned on being recycled, and creating new and unique uses for them. The only stipulation is that 70% of the door must be used. Last year, our team placed Best In Show for our creation, a three foot tall floor lamp. I created a site to showcase our team and the process. It’s a great way to gain some exposure for the firm through social media. I’m using the Slideshare program to upload Powerpoint presentations to the site. It’s a pretty slick way to get your presentations onto your sites with the ability to share them.

Stack Project

Here’s a quick slideshow showing our selection and first meeting pics.

After a long hiatus, I’m going to start posting again. Confusion in my mind over where to take this blog after closing my business has kept me silent for many months. I’ve decided it’s time to start writing again, not because I need to satisfy some narcissistic pastime, but because these posts help organize my thoughts, keep me searching for the newest and the best and because there’s no better way to promote those around me than through personal endorsement. For now, if you need a website or online marketing help, go see Jared Rawlinson at Rawlinson Media. If you’re bored, read this.

See the full project site here.

Creative Commons subscribes to the mantra of saving the world from failed sharing. In my opinion, organizations like this are revolutionizing the music industry. Instead of me rambling for three paragraphs about how, check out their website and then Google Nine In Nails. You’ll see how Trent Reznor is using file sharing and the Creative Commons concept to completely change his marketing and album distribution methods. Oh, and then read the pdf I referred to in the last post. I promise you won’t be wasting your time.

I just finished reading “The 20 Things You Must Know About Music Online,” by Andrew Dubber. This is a 96 page pdf available at newmusicstrategies.com that concisely organizes the online music world into an easy to understand essay. I’ve recently become a huge fan of Pandora and Last.fm for discovering new music. I love the fact that more and more artists are giving their music away. The market has changed and less labels are able to make money off the traditional record. Using free music as a marketing tool for an artist seems to make the most sense in a market where the industry is losing the file sharing and piracy war. As a marketing and advertising professional, I have always been intrigued by the product. For me, the essence of marketing is figuring that out. For musicians, the faster they realize that they’re the product, and not their CDs or T-shirts, the faster they’ll begin to think outside the box in terms of marketing. With Web 2.0 marketing, musicians can capitalize on the word-of-mouth advertising model by allowing their music to be shared. Music listeners have traditionally listened before they bought. A working band can gain an impressive growth of fans by giving music away. These new fans can then buy older catalog items, attend concerts, and tell their friends. If you are a young, struggling independent artist, please take the time and read the above referenced guide. It will competely change your marketing mentality.