Brian Feener

Throwback jerseys, re-released Jordans, Rambo, Rocky XI, I Love the 70s/80s/90s….

The trend of nostalgia isn’t going anywhere.  In the 1900s, there were only a few permanent records of things people did, said, wore, sung… etc.

Now?  Everything is digital and can be copied a million times over.

If someone in 2080 wants to do a “throwback” to 100 years previous, they will know exactly how it was made, what materials to use, what it looked like, what the audience was… etc.

Good? Bad?

In Massachusetts, there’s a weird culinary phenomenon happening.

There are a ton of ma & pa roast beef sandwich specialty shops. According to Google Maps, 6,163. (Quick plug for my local beef: Billy’s Famous Roast Beef of Wakefield.)

When I go to one of these local places, I always get my sandwich the same way- “regular beef, cheese, pickle, mayo, & (bbq) sauce,” otherwise known as a “regular beef, 3-way with pickle.” The “regular beef 3-way” is the most popular way people order their sandwich, as there is no such thing as a 2-way, or 4-way.

My friend Sean gets his sandwich with mustard, mayo - and salt, a combination I would never dare to experiment with.

What does this story have to do with network television?

Network television doesn’t ask you what toppings you want on your roast beef sandwich- it just gives you whatever is most popular. In this case, both Sean and I would get a regular beef 3-way. I’d be mostly satisfied while Sean would not be satisfied at all.

Cable television always asks how you want your sandwich prepared. In this case, Sean and I would get the sandwich tailored exactly how we want it.

Which sandwich shop are we most likely going to return to?

Cable may have less viewership than network television, but which is more likely to have a specific viewing pattern?

(Author note: Yes, a couple Arby’s are in the MA listing, but compare that 6,000+ to the search “roast beef” in “virginia” … I’ve clicked through to page 11 and there is nothing but Arby’s. The 6,000+ may not be 100% ma & pa, but don’t be fooled - roast beef is king on the north and south shore.)

UPDATE: From Mediaweek - NBCU’s Zucker: TV Business Must ‘Reinvent the Wheel (Hey, Big Z - the wheel isn’t broken. It’s just turning different.)

Reebok and Kool-Aid developed some great looking sneakers to wear whilst drinking sugar flavored grape drink.

Full Gallery:
http://www.sneakerfiles.com/2008/01/25/reebok-kool-aid-full-look/

I think this is a sign of Reebok’s attempt to become a fashion designer that happens to make sneakers. They can’t compete with Nike on endorsement deals, so they have chosen to go in a different direction.

I think it’ll be shoes like these that’ll help Reebok - not because it gains market share in the existing structure, but because it gains market share in, for them, new markets.

I understand its a niche, but they’re making me talk about them.  Isn’t that a start?

Stevie Wonder’s 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life is an album without any filler. Every song is crafted within the greater scope of the album. No skits, no pop singles for the radio.

Having a focused approach to business is difficult. It takes a lot of thought and the ability to admit that your ideas aren’t perfect. Most things developed within the creative process start out at filler. Heck, look this billion dollar company’s “finished” projects and their beta projects.

Stevie Wonder never ventured from his modus operandi when releasing Songs in the Key of Life. What are you spending your time on today?

Use the comments.

I’ll answer any question you ask about any topic.

Answers are guaranteed to be best the effort at humor or correctness, whichever comes first.

First 10 submissions are guaranteed to be answered.

Fire away.

Boss: “Oh no! Traffic is down 20% on the website! Quick - send out a e-newsletter.”
Marketer: “But, sir. We just sent out one a 2 days ago.”
Boss: “You’re right! And there was a 40% click-through rate. So get to it!”

Sound familiar?Well, there are some simple rules for writing e-newsletters. Here they are, free-of-charge, in no particular order, except for the first one:

1. Your e-newsletter costs resources.
2. Never send a newsletter without a call-to-action.
3. “The 9-second rule”
4. Keep the number of links low.
5. Match your website.
6. Make your newsletter un-archivable.
7. Text versus picture balance.

And it’s not a rule, but there is a #8…. the Frequency Quotient.

1. Your e-newsletter costs resources.

You may be saying to yourself, “Yes. It costs money to use a service like Constant Contact or JangoMail.” You are right, but I am talking about a more theoretical resource- it’s called Consumer Tolerance. The best example of someone not understanding Consumer Tolerance is GMC. Remember the baseball playoffs? Do the words “This is ourrrr countryyy….” send you into a blinding rage? If so, GMC has exhausted all of your Consumer Tolerance.

Your customer, if they are loyal and high-value, probably has signed up for your newsletter. This is a person who wants to hear from you every once in a while about what you’re going to offer them to keep them as a customer.

In order to keep this customer, you have to make your conversations with them high-value. (Make no bones about it, your newsletter is part of a larger conversation - ever talk to someone who never gets to the point? Do you want to keep talking to them?)

When you do a good job and keep the conversation progressing, you have earned additional Consumer Tolerance points. Your customer may be more apt to tolerate a screw-up. If you do a bad job with no real advances in the conversation, you’ve lost Consumer Tolerance points. Your customer may be more apt to not tolerate a screw up.

If you remember no other rule besides this one, you’ll be ok.

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Mark Cuban wrote a post today stating that the album is dead:

http://www.blogmaverick.com/2008/01/17/the-album-is-dead/

Mark is half right.  The album is pretty much dead now.  There’s no real draw for a person to buy an album in its physical form (or, while we’re at it, pay to download it in its digital).

However, from the album has come 12-ish pieces of albums - the songs that make up the album.  In this case, an album is not bigger than the sum of its parts.  It’s parts are bigger than the sum of the album (huh?)

Basically, a musician now has 12 opportunities to sell a song at $0.99.  A musician has 12 opportunities to  make a hit, 12 opportunities to make a music video, 12 opportunities to make a connection with the audience.  A musician has 12 opportunities to go on Letterman, 12 opportunities to (but it should be more) to update their blog, 12 opportunities to sell a ticket to their performance.  A musician has 12 opportunities to get on radio, 12 opportunities to promote, 12 opportunities to step their game up and make a hit record, 12 opportunities to  make money.  A musician can release 4 mixtapes between albums and keep their name in the news.  A musician can plug away and keep throwing spaghetti against the wall until it sticks.

OR- -

An artist has 1 opportunity to make a piece of everlasting material.  An artist has 1 opportunity not to distribute through iTunes, and Amazon.  An artist can make a piece of music so profound that the audience is doing itself a disservice by NOT buying the whole album.  An artist has 1 opportunity to put in special “e-mail subscriber-only” albums.  An artist can autograph 15 copies of an album, and sell them on E-bay.  An artist can write a thank you letter to the members of the official fan club.  An artist can release 10 songs on an album and any other recordings are deemed “unofficial.”  An artist can take the time necessary to make sure that the paella is finished completely.

There is a niche audience for everything.  Are you striving to be a musician or an artist?  Which is riskier?