DogBalls Blog

flickr photo of the day

Rush (II)
Originally uploaded by BURИBLUE

Ironman Marketing

  Robert Downey Jr red carpet interview 
  Originally uploaded by spinal_faun

Watching Ironman today was a rush. Great flick and there are far more coherent reviews of the movie than I can provide. "Nice balance of action, romance, fun and humor. A+" - Dogballsblog.com

I'd like to touch on the tremendously fun elements known as product placement (the art-form of deal-making that occurs when products find their way into a film.) Sometimes the art-form takes a tragic turn and it becomes awkward and forced ... yet other times it just seems to "work." In this case, I think the product-placement was obvious and yet, it seemed to wink to itself and say, WTF... we're here to have fun ... and it it paid off.

The Audi R8, A5 and Q7 were prominently featured. As was the Tesla electric super-car and the Rolls Royce. Burger King felt forced but probably because after the protagonist escapes three months of captivity, he makes two requests: sex and a burger (and not in that order.)

Going a little deeper than your average product-shots, there were several mentions that were tied to Conde Nast titles. Both were tied very closely to story-lines and I thought it to be very interesting because it was not "over the top." Typically magazine titles used as product-placement appear as "headlines" floating across the screen to add a real-world element to the fictional story-line. In this case, Wired was mentioned during the protagonist's back-story and he has a romance with a Vanity Fair writer trying to get a story out of him.

As media attention continues to be fragmented and TiVo eats away at response and recall rates, product-placement will continue to pay big dividends. Especially when brands tie themselves to big powerhouse films like Ironman. As a marketer, I enjoy a good product tie-in as much as a big movie-screen explosion!

Master of ceremonies ... student of moderating a panel

  look at your audience
  Originally uploaded by mil8

Last week I had the pleasure to moderate a panel at Web 2.0 Expo, entitled "The Changing Landscape of Affiliate Marketing: Bloggers, Social Media, & Online Merchants." In the weeks leading up to the event, I did some research on the topics but more importantly looked for online reference material for "how to effectively moderate a panel." There are quite a few very helpful resources out there and I wouldn't suggest that I'm an expert; however, I can offer what I would consider the "best of the best" advice that I received in hopes that you to can survive unscathed.

1. Prepare yourself in advance. Know the topic and if you don't know the topic, don't moderate.
2. Don't over-prepare your panelists. Give them a flavor of the types of questions you'll be asking but don't give them every question so that their answers sound stale or scripted.
3. Poll the audience. Before you begin, take a temperature read. "By a show of hands, how many here know what an affiliate network is, have heard about twitter and are familiar with the lolcats meme."
4. Invite each panelist to *briefly* introduce themselves. (They know which points they want to hit on and are more likely not to mangle their names.)
5. After you ask a question of a panelist, turn to the audience and listen to the response. It encourages your speaker to engage (look to the audience) for the answer, not you.
6. If you can, have an internet connection live and up on a large screen for the attendees to follow along. Pre-set bookmarks are great that you can quickly pull from for examples of your discussion.
7. Get panelists to talk to each other. "Stephanie, do you agree with Cam?"
8. Make waves. Ask one question and invite each panelist to take a stab at it one by one, down the row.
9. Insist that each panelist is individually and sufficiently mic'd. Nothing worse than dead-air as one microphone is shared among four panelists.
10. Prepare a list of questions and check them off as you go though. Be nimble enough to skip around as the discussion takes you in different directions but be sure not to repeat yourself. ;-)
11. Promise (and tease the audience) with time for Q&A. "I'll be inviting you all to ask questions in a moment but before I do, I'm going to ask one more prepared question for the panel." It also avoids that awkward silence by telegraphing what's next and hopefully gets people out of their seats ahead of time and running to the mircophone.
12. Be gracious to your panelists and your audience. Thank them each by name and ask the audience to lead you in a round of applause for their efforts. It's not easy standing up there.
13. Follow-up with your panelists with a small token of appreciation for their hard work. Email is great but if you can, a hand-written note is always best as a follow-up.

Those are the top tips I found on the interweb tubes and through discussions with friends who've moderated before. I hope you find them as helpful as I did. See you at the next confab.

whatever whenever

  w hotel 
  Originally uploaded by emilychang

The San Francisco W Hotel has that slogan affixed permanently on their guest phones and in every hotel room guidebook. I actually wouldn't know that for certain because I didn't stay there during my trip to Web 2.0 Expo. I did take several lunch meetings there and a couple rounds of drinks after hours in their hotel bar, XYZ, but that didn't stop their General Manager from granting me a favor ... he took "whatever whenever" seriously.

I was checked in down the road at their sister Starwood property, The Palace and was shocked to learn they didn't have an iPod dock. When I asked the kind gentleman riding through the lobby on a Puma bike if he was the concierge and could he do me a favor, he said, he was the GM and he'd see what he could do.

Ten minutes later, I had an iPod dock and a business card in exchange for a promise from me to stay with them next time.

The W Hotel gets it ... big time. I'll be back... and I'll tell a few hundred people about my experience.

How many kicks does Obama own?

  Kicks 
  Originally uploaded by Jbot6000

REUTERS HEADLINE:
Always buying sneakers? It's the sign of a leader

A recent poll by Mindset Media found that people who buy more than three pairs of sneakers a year are 61 percent more likely to have the qualities of a modern leader. They're 50 percent more likely to be assertive and 47 percent more likely to be spontaneous.

As a runner, I can't help wondering if serious runners (who tend to go through their shoes at a quicker pace) skewed these results a bit. However... in any event, I think this study makes an interesting statement. Aside from 'leadership qualities', I tend to associate people with a closet full of Air Force 1's as being very "creative" (not to mention with a ton of disposable income and/or a large credit card balance.)

With all this in mind ... and actually before this study was made public, I wanted to infuse a "fashion element" to Twiistup. If you're a custom kicks shop in LA, looking to tap into a very creative market, please drop me an email. We'd love to feature your product to an audience that has the leadership skills, creativity and the VC money to pick up a few pairs. ;-)

marc [at] twiistup [dot] com

hat-tip to Jaime for the original story via Yahoo!

Quote of the day

   
  Originally uploaded by mil8

 
   

"Our creative genius is the fountainhead of originality. It fires our compulsion to evolve. It inspires us to challenge the norms. Creative genius is about flying to new heights on untested wings. It is about the danger of crashing. It is amorphous, magical, unmeasurable and unpredictable."

- Gordon Mackenzie, "Orbiting the Giant Hairball"
via book recommendation from friend and confidant, Mike Macadaan, Twiistup Founder

4:3:08 :: Good People Day

If I was a video blogger, this is the video I'd post. Gary Vaynerchuck puts it out there and oh boy is it sweet. Well done Gary! Pleasure to call you a friend. Pay it forward!

Twiistup 4 Tiickets are on Sale Today

Twiistup 4 - Poolside!
Thursday 07.17.08
7p to Midnight
Viceroy Santa Monica

Early Bird Tickets now on sale today, $49

Twiistup sells out everytime, so get your tickets early!

Buy your tickets here or here

opportunities to delight

This morning on my way to catching a flight on Virgin America I was greeted with some bad news. The email from the guest services team at Virgin America informed me that onboard entertainment system they are known for would not be available. Bad news? For certain but by informing and managing expectations of its most "connected customers" (who can perhaps blog about it) they've turned this bad news into an opportunity to shine by being transparent and authentic.

The email includes the note, "we wanted to let you know so you could charge up your iPod" and a voucher for free premium service on a future flight.

I love it when companies get it.

UPDATE: At the gate, in honor of the NCAA's great-eight in the men's bball tourney, guests with an 8 in their birthdays were given more free drinks and premium services on future flights. Dogballs!

twiistup 4 :: july 17, 2008

I'm proud to be a part of this amazing L.A. event that brings together creative minds from technology, media and entertainment. Twiistup's 1 through 3 were all just a warm-up for what will be more twiisted than all of them combined. This time it'll be at the Viceroy in Santa Monica. Get in early. Tickets go on sale soon.

Interested in sponsoring? marc [at] twiistup [dot] com