Confessions of an Executive Producer

and counting...

I was always fascinated by the sign in NYC calculating the national debt in real time. Even better was they showed each families share of the debt. It said it all. No conjecture. No opinions. No debate. It was pure fact. It makes a statement in the most concise possible way. 

Like the National Debt Board, posting the Gary Hayes' Social Media Count says more than writing another diatribe on the impact social media is having on the future of our culture and our industry. It's also easier.

Watch the numbers go up. It's mesmerizing, scary and overwhelming. 

defining human connection

Today is my first blog postings in 13 days. Longest stretch in a year. Ready to shake off some rust.

First off, thanks to the guest bloggers who allowed me a break while maintaining a strong supply of content. I enjoyed all the pieces. What I found particularly interesting was three of the guest bloggers shared a very similar theme, experiencing a feeling of loss in the digital age. 

Erika Levy called herself a "digital immigrant" and proud of it. Scott Cymbal looked at himself as a "digital hostage". Kim Orchen Cooper questioned the complexity of relationships created in the social media vortex. 

Anyone over 35 grew up analog. Our generation didn't have cellphones, laptops or ipods as part of our culture. Digital was not our native tongue but we learned out of necessity to adapt. Some of us embraced the new media. Others rejected the social media revolution, refusing to Facebook, Tweet or connect digitally outside of email. I could argue either behavior with equal passion. It's often how I feel about religion. On my best days I'm agnostic, wanting to believe in a greater power. And on my worst days, i'm a devout atheist, believing it's a well perpetrated fraud. 

Whatever my mood I do believe social networking doesn't create relationships as much as they create connections. There is a big difference. Relationships take time and effort. They are built on trust and respect. Connections are a way to network. In the virtual world it's searching for others of like interest and passions. The former requires nurturing and intimacy. The latter requires free time and wi-fi.

I don't believe anyone thinks technology will ever replace human interaction. For those that do, my guess is they wouldn't be particularly social in any era. But as I think about the pros and cons of the social media/technology revolution as it relates to the human experience, it reminds me of one of my first jobs.

In the late 80's I worked as a PA for a line producer. She was in her early 40's. One night she told me how she migrated to NY. She was from a small town in Eastern Pennsylvania. Growing up she always felt like an outcast. She dressed goth, listened to punk and was arty. Hardly the norm around Scranton. During her senior year of high school, they took a class trip to NY City. She ventured into the East Village. It was a placed populated with weirdos and freaks. In other words, people she felt were like her. It was an awakening. Within a few months she moved to the city. She was no longer an outcast. She had a sense of belonging. She was home. As he told me this story, she reflected often on what would've happened had she not gone on that class trip. 

Today, the outcast kid doesn't have to rely on serendipity to find acceptance. Discovery of others like themselves is a click away. Isolation no longer the norm for the abnorm. This may not be a relationship as my generation would define it. Maybe it is just networking. Does it really matter if some kid finds a place they belong even if its only virtual?

I guess today I'm feeling agnostic.  

forward thinking in reverse

My friend Ed Herbstman sent me this link. He thought it would make for an interesting post. He was right.

The video was made by the UK branch of Dorling Kindersley Books. It was originally created for internal company use but was so well received they decided to place it online. Ironically enough the concept was ripped off from an ad agency in Argentina. They applied the idea to a spot for a Presidential Candidate. The film won a Silver Lion at Cannes. Not sure how the politician fared.  

What I liked most about this video was the idea of re-purposing the same words. Finding a different meaning by playing around with what already exists. It's a message wrapped in a metaphor. Or, a metaphor wrapped in a message. 

The message is something we all hear everyday, media distribution is changing rapidly. It isn't as if people have stopped reading books or watching TV or listening to music, quite the contrary. The difference is they are just consuming them differently. 

No matter what the doom and gloomers say, it's only a matter of time before digital content is monetized on a large and sustainable scale. This is just another example of people publicly thinking aloud. By doing so, they encourage innovation and embrace the current and future culture.  

international man of mystery

I received an email a couple weeks back from Roopak Saluja. Roopak is the 34 year old Managing Director of Bang Bang Films located in Mumbai, India. Roopak was coming to LA to produce a spot for Pepsi International and wanted to meet.  

Roopak saw me speak at a panel discussion at the Boards October '09 Summit. After the summit he started to follow me on Twitter. From Twitter he started to read my blog. From my blog he inquired about a meeting. I love social media. 

Yesterday, Roopak came to the Epoch office. We talked for a while. I questioned him endlessly about production and advertising in India. You won't believe what I found out. 

Cost consultants are on the rise. They don't offer solutions or are held accountable for reducing the bid. All they demand is more for less. And they expect it. 

Here's another shocker. Content is becoming increasingly prevalent. In particular mobile phone content. There are 540 million cell phone users in India. Marketing to them is where the growth of the industry lies.

Another discovery. Agencies power is waning. Clients are looking for lesser expensive alternatives. They want more project based options where more money goes to the screen than to the holding the companies pockets. India is trending toward direct to client. 

This all feels vaguely familiar. My Lord, it sounds like...US. Of course there are differences between the US and Indian markets such as process and sales. But, from a business perspective they are encountering uncertainty and transformative issues directly reflecting our own. 

Intrigued by Rookpak and his experiences as a production company owner in India, I decided to dig into my analytics. I found out that in the last 30 days I had close to 6,000 visitors in 43 countries. If this is the reach of my humble blog, it tells us the issues facing advertising are not exclusive to the good old U.S. of A. The challenges are similar across all borders. Or, maybe the analytics tell me a good recipe for Chicken in a Pot is an international necessity. 

This meeting also made me think about the AICP. I've post about the organization restructuring to create a stronger national foundation. I'll write more specifically about this again in the very near future. Overall the goal is greater inclusion amongst members, create stronger value and voices for our causes and help shape the future of the industry. I believe this goal knows no boundaries. Once establishing a national presence, the natural progression is to grow into an international association. 

Even from this small encounter, it is further proof, as Thomas Friedman has said, the world has become flat. It's an open playing field where everyone competes and communicates. 

Build locally. Act nationally. Grow globally. 

Roopak Saluja. Reason # 137 how social media brings the industry closer. 

i'm lovin' it

2009 seemed to be the year social media exploded into the mainstream. Maybe it's been huge for a while but it's me that caught on this year. 

There were two social media items at years end I thought were interesting. The NY Times wrote a piece about the first Twitter Christmas. It ranged from posting special deals and shopping strategies to popular gift items and wheres the open parking spaces in shopping malls. What was most compelling to me was this anecdote from Black Friday:

After buying a new navigation system at 6 a.m. on the most frenzied shopping day of the year, Laura S. Kern of Los Angeles could not figure out why it was not giving her traffic updates. She sent a message to Best Buy’s Twitter account and within five minutes not one, but two Best Buy employees responded with fix-it advice.

Businesses are using the Twitter open platform to create better interaction between customers and their employees therefore the brand. Its more time efficient, more personal, more modern. Every brand is trying to incorporate social media into their marketing. The Christmas season is a seamless approach to utilize social media in communicating with consumers. Finding a comprehensive over arching brand strategy beyond the season is another. 

Someone at McDonald's, one of the world most recognizable brands, put together a social media strategy to create a stronger bond with their customers and enhance their image. Go through the deck. It's impressive thinking. I'n curious to see if McDonald's actually implements this strategy. Personally I won't let my kids go near the place but I'd love to see them take these marketing steps. I believe they would further distance themselves from the competition and set a new standard for other brands not just those in the fast food business. 

BDI 11/12 The Social Consumer - McDonald's Presentation

View more documents from Business Development Institute.

calling an audible

As I sat down tonight to polish up a blog posting, I opened Typepad. On the front page I saw a new dimension being offered by the site. It's called the "Quick Compose". After seeing this, I decided to change what I was going to write. 

 

This function allows the blog user to post immediately without going through the usual steps. It works now more like a Twitter feed or a Facebook status. Speaking of which, they have also set it up so my posts will automatically link to my Facebook wall and share with friends and followers. All these are real time savers. And, it's making participation that much easer.

It's amazing to see how quick and effective the social media revolution is moving. They are not only developing a language that's becoming universal but it also a network of linking to all the popular services. It's an entire industry working in conjunction with one another to build standards, infrastructure and formats to create a new means of communication, engagement and entertainment. It's a cue we should take as an industry. 

More collaboration and support amongst competitors. More risk and experimentation. I guess it's easier to do with a new industry than one that's existed for generations. It's been said that turning one dollar into a million dollars is a lot harder than turning a million dollar into fifty. Probably true with investment but probably not in industry.  

don't hold back

GUEST BLOGGER - Virginia Scripps, President/Founder of Press Kitchen shares her insights on social media. Press Kitchen was Epoch's first PR company. They did a great job for us but we changed our approach to PR so we parted ways a couple years back. 

I'm thankful for Virginia's contribution not only because PR is the original earned media industry providing a new perspective for this blog but also to show the importance of maintaining past working relationships. You never know when you need  a guest blogger in the midst of a very hectic week. 

--------------------------------------

Are you a brand? Should you be?

Long before blogging, Tweeting, Facebooking, Digg-ing or any of the other new ‘ings’ that keep us from doing our work were invented, commercial directors were brands in and of themselves.

Producers have been the brand builders behind the scenes. These often-colorful personalities appeared at a public level only on conference panels, on the AICP board, in the occasional trade article quote or – if they had good publicists –profile story. Influential producers have long been Google-able, but the rise of blogs such as this one have cast a much wider net for their personal brands. The daily hits Jerry gets on this blog are in the hundreds. But if you look at the industry clout of the typical producerposts.com reader, Jerry’s role as a thought leader is substantial – whether he admits it or not!

People in the business who have much-trafficked blogs, Twitter feeds or Facebook pages have become brands. And that extends to the ad agency Twitter-ers whose feeds I follow because they made me spit soup onto my keyboard with a hideously tasteless joke or had the cojones to say something no one else dared. For instance, I started following grokstar when he pronounced, on the Boards09 Twitter feed, “advertising isn't broken, agencies are. Stop doing the same old shit in all the new places!” The more unfiltered the message, the more people will wonder what you’re going to do for an encore.

Not everyone is comfortable with the public nature of social media. Many of my clients vehemently refuse to “join the conversation” on Twitter and shy away from blogging. Some brands’ feel their cachet depends on remaining stealth. I understand, because my brand is that way. On my company blog, I post “fresh” client news, along with cool photos (currently, a pumpkin carved into an exceptional likeness of Yoda). I stopped making personal blog entries for two reasons: my company is about my clients’ visibility, not my own; and as much as I’d love to display a devil-may-care attitude, my honest insights are likely to piss off either clients or press. Blog entries that gloss over the truth are not an option. That type of whitewashing is counter to the very soul of social media.

What about you? Would a blog or feisty Twitter feed fortify your brand? Examples of the magnetism of unadorned honesty are everywhere – like Jon Favreau’s obedience to Vince Vaughn’s blunt tutelage in Swingers, or, our nation tuning in to see Obama shooting the s&*t on late night TV. If you are willing to get real, social media may help your brand inspire this kind of devotion.

Although I failed to practice what I preach and become a blogger (for my business, anyway), I’d be glad to share my uncensored opinions with you at a party some time. I trust you’ll be too tipsy to quote me…

Virginia Scripps is the founder & President of Press Kitchen PR, www.presskitchen.com, where she represents production companies and others in entertainment. A former copywriter, she has a masters in film from Columbia University. She is also a mom, an author, a skier and a Mad Men-aholic.

sneak preview

Tomorrow I'll be at the 'Boards Summit. I'm speaking on two panels. The first takes place on Tuesday morning and is called, "Business Unusual". Charles Day and Chris Tardio are the moderators on a discussion about business innovation during these transitional times. I shouldn't embarrass myself on this one. It's extemporaneous bullshitting, plus I know Charles and Chris will carry the weight along with the other panelist.

In the afternoon is the Town Hall discussion "Envisioning the Future". Now, that's an entirely different story. I need to give a prepared speech. Rumor is there is a secret Epoch office pool on at what time during the speech I'll choke. The winner gets their choice of venue for free lunch Friday for the entire month of December. 

Below is a sneak preview of my presentation. As I mentioned last week, I received much needed help from Hudson Lines. He put together the slides that accompanies the speech. I owe him big and intend to pay him back. 

Here's the context. Being the only production company representative on the panel, I chose to talk from that perspective. I didn't feel qualified to layout some futuristic business model. It wasn't me.

The theme is for production companies to become more proactive and less reactive. In short, embrace the new era of transparency and engagement through social media by viewing our culture differently. I'm going to try do this through my own personal exploration. 

A brief on the slides:

1. Intro.
2. Being asked to speak only because I blog.
3. How I found Hudson and chose the topic of this speech. 
4. My first venture into social media.
5. The launching of my blog and building an audience.
6. Tracking my readership growth.
7. The hypocrisy of partnering in a branded content co. without knowledge. 
8. Learning to participate not just observe.
9. Prod companies evolving from gatekeepers of talent to curators of talent.
10. Thoughts on how are models must adapt to support this evolution.
11. The change in media forces us to do so.
12. What we can do to engage and entertain our audiences.
13. An example from my childhood. Texaco sponsoring NY Opera.
14. Another more recent example, BMW films.
15. Striving to gain consumers attention by giving them something in return.
16. All sectors of the ad industry trying to win the online marketing race.
17. How social media helped me build community. And more...
18. Supporting our competitors helps speed up innovation.
19. Innovation only happens through risk and mistakes. 
20. Less predictions. More participation.
21. A look into the future. 

Jerry Solomon - Boards

View more documents from Hudson.

If anyone understands any of this (Lord knows I don't), please feel free to make comments or critique. You can also provide any words of encouragement. Lord knows I need that too. 

Hopefully I'll see some of you there. Wish me luck. 

a rare saturday posting

I just had to follow up on what I posted yesterday. 

I wrote about my daughter going onto the Zappos website while at home sick with the flu. She sent my wife an email embedding the pictures of the shoes she wanted to buy. A personal anecdote on where our culture is heading. 

As usual, I update my daily posting on Twitter and Facebook. When checking out my tweetdeck I was surprised when I saw this...

 

A direct tweet from none other than Zappos. They acknowledged me giving them some earned media. They complimented my writing.  And, they wished Eliza well. I don't even like shopping but it made me want to buy shoes...from Zappos. 

Zappos - Reason # 96 how social media makes relationships with customers.

that's entertainment

 

I spent a lot of time this week talking, thinking and writing about social media. At my day job, I've also been pondering social media as it relates to ad commerce. If we believe the stats of the Youtube clip I posted on Wednesday that 96% of Generation Y is involved in social media. That, social media has overtaken porn in net popularity. That, social media is the greatest force since the industrial revolution, then why the hell can't we better monetize this revolution for brands? Maybe I'm just impatient but this is how I'm seeing it.

Every brand/agency is concepting, pitching or producing some form of internet, digital, viral, branded, 360 or whatever moniker du jour you'd like to give it. They are doing so with very few successes. Success being defined as genuine sustainable interaction with a consumer base of desirable size. 

In the last 10 months I have read through dozens of decks by some very talented advertising people. I'm always impressed with the amount of thought and energy placed into these concepts. Most are well designed, some have clever ideas and all are generally underfunded. I keep asking myself why isn't it more effective? Where are we going wrong? We can't just blame the money or the client.

I believe we need to start asking ourselves two questions before formulating a digital strategy or thinking about creative - how are we going to get people to our site and once we do, why are they going to stay there? Recently I've asked these questions at meetings and on conference calls. I usually get the same answers. 

• The commercials/banners are going to drive traffic
• We're going to start a Facebook page, Twitter feed and some other social media applications
• PR is going to reach out to the blog community

Let me get this right. The TV commercials are driving traffic by placing a URL on an end tag. The idea being the target audience is going to stop their viewing experience to get up, go to their computer, type in the URL and interact with some corporate content. Who has ever done that? 

Banner ads. Ever click on one intentionally or even notice them? Enough said. 

Facebook and Twitter. Always sounds progressive but how are you going to get friends and followers? Go with the "Field of Dreams" mantra? Sign up and they will come. 

Bloggers. They love promoting ad sites to their hard earned audience unless, of course, they get paid. And now thanks to the FTC they are legally bound to disclose compensation. I guess they would do it without payment, if it was good. 

Despite my sarcasm, I believe a successful integrated campaign needs all of the above to build audiences. It just needs to be strategically planned to work across all mediums. And, I still haven't answered my own questions. How to mobilize a community and keep them? 

It starts with agencies thinking less like admen and more like programmers. The social contract of TV viewing is based on providing entertainment then breaking for a paid message from the sponsor. In paid media, brands don't have to build followings, they just pay for the privilege of piggy back on top of someone elses. With the exception of pre-roll, this can't be done in earned media.

When creating branded content you have to ask yourself would I pass this onto a friend? Would I spend my valued time watching this? There are many enticements to draw in an audience (free stuff, discounts, competitive games, etc) but keeping them is all about entertainment. It can't be brand focused but rather brand sponsored. 

In the year end issue of SHOOT magazine, they named Goodby Silverstein agency of the year. Rich Silverstein said, and i paraphrase, "We are no longer an ad agency. As matter of fact, we believe no one should be. We need to become entertainment companies." This resonated with me. 

Agencies and production companies theoretically should be the ones to unlock the code of communal and meaningful digital interaction with consumers (actually they should be called viewers). To do so we need to start holding ourselves accountable to building audiences, keeping them connected and providing content of value. We are the natural leaders in advertising innovation. However, just because we're the rightful heirs doesn't mean we'll inherit the future. They're are countless others aggressively pursuing the crown.