The Conversation of the Future?

Over the holidays, my 12 year-old son went shopping for a present for his mom on his own. After browsing around in Borders bookstore, he sent me a text which listed the things he was considering. I suggested he send me a photo of his favorite option. He did, I approved, and I can still recall the feeling as if I participated in the decision, even though he was exercising his independence. What a great experience and a nice connective moment for us both.

This got me thinking about what it means — or doesn’t mean — to have a conversation in an age of mobile ubiquity.

Humans have long enjoyed the art of the conversation. These days, we “talk” in many ways, including in person, over the phone, texting and tapping social media applications. What if brands spent less time prying their way into those conversations, and more time adding value by making it easier for us to converse about our brands and products?

Social Media types love to use the word “conversation.” So much so that now the phrase “Participate in the conversation” is cliché —and even derided.

Call me old school, but I think it’s important to revisit the notion of conversation before SMS texting, Twitter, Facebook and other non-verbal platforms. Merriam-Webster defines conversation as “oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas.” In other words: talking; dialogue; banter; chin wag.

Remember the good old days when you caught up with friends by placing a phone call? You could hear their happiness, or sadness, laughter, inflection. Even better, how about a face to face encounter, say lunch or a drink, where one can truly ascertain mood, nuance, and body language. These, combined with environmental factors allow both parties to reap the rewards of a meaningful conversation. Commenting on someone’s Facebook status or twittering 140 characters of #thoughtsonthetoilet doesn’t replicate the true definition of conversation. Perhaps there is a narrative created by the stream of comments and tweets, but how connective is it compared with a traditional multi-sensory conversation?

Or should we redefine it?

Or, perhaps this new age just means that we need to redefine the idea of conversation so that it’s not limited to “oral” but to also include visual and text inputs. With this expanded take on things, brands can better understand the role of public conversations and do a better job of facilitating. Again, Merriam-Webster tells us that to facilitate means “to make easier.”

Start with a basic understanding of how people are having conversations when thinking about brands and making purchases in a store. Last week, Motorola released their 2009 Holiday Shopper Report. According to the study, this past holiday season 64% of Gen Y used their mobile device for shopping IN-STORE¹. Gen Y are the generation that has redefined our view of a traditional conversation, and they are almost twice as likely as Boomers (33%) to use their mobile phone while shopping. These are the types of primary conversations they’re having:

• 38% called a friend to ask their opinion about a considered item purchase
• 31% texted a friend to ask their opinion about a considered item purchase
• 23% sent an image to a friend to ask their opinion about a considered item purchase

The types of secondary conversations are:

• 21% used a mobile phone to access the Internet for product reviews or other product information
• 21% used a mobile phone to access the Internet to compare prices
• 14% searched for a coupon relevant to a considered item purchase

10% actually made a purchase using their mobile phone while they were standing in a store (and presumably a purchase with a competitor).

While the report doesn’t clarify the implication of that last statistic, retailers can either ignore what consumers do in their house, or they can strategically embrace these growing mobile behaviors and make it easier for consumers to have these conversations with the objective of converting consideration to purchase.

This seems like a pretty simple strategy to execute. Some thoughts on how:

• Display products so that they are easy to photograph.
• Leverage POS signage to encourage sharing by creating text codes for picture sharing or accessing specific product reviews.
• Empower sales associates to encourage image capture and MMS sharing. Salesperson: “You look great in that outfit; I could take your picture and so you can send it to someone for a second opinion.”

And with new solutions providers developing share utilities for shoppers (e.g. www.inmarkit.com), it is increasingly easy to create wish lists and capture data not only on what people are sharing, but to monitor the conversations. “Participation” has potential to be meaningful and relevant, not intrusive and promotional.

¹ Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions: Business and Market Intelligence. 2009 Retail Holiday Season Shopper Study, Key Findings Report – January 2010.

This is also posted on Ogilvy’s re:direct.

My suggestion: think tactical, get tactical.

Here are five ideas and some useful links. And just like Twitter, they are FREE!

Ideas for Any Business that generate retail traffic (e.g. a doctor or dentists office, vet clinic, dry cleaners, restaurant, grocery store, jeweler, florist, etc).

Idea # 1: Invite existing customers to follow you. Create a Twitter profile (or more depending on who you enlist to tweet in the shop) and put a sign up on the front door that clearly invites your customers to “Follow us on Twitter.” What you can promise your customers is that you’ll keep them informed with useful news. What’s useful? It depends on your business. If you run a florist, then you can let your followers know when and what new flowers come in. Or maybe it’s almost closing time on Saturday and you want to clear out the remaining flowers before you pick up a new batch on Monday. If they choose to follow you, they’ll appreciate the inside scoop.

Idea # 2: Get the front desk tweeting. If you run a veterinarians office, for example, you probably have more content than you know what to do with. Get Tweeting about all those animals. Use Twitpics (www.twitpic.com) so they can post pictures of all those adorable dogs and cats than come through the door every hour. It’s an animal lover’s dream and it demonstrates what most owners are looking for in a Vet – a love for animals.

Idea #3: Time your tweets to influence the behavior you want. Restaurant owners, pay attention. Lunch specials should go out at 10:00am. Dinner ideas between 3:00 and 4:00. There is so much than can be accomplished in a simple tweet to your existing customer base. I recently started following Typhoon Restaurants, @Typhoon, to see what they do. How does this sound?

“Steamed Mussels. Spicy Seafood Salad. Death by Asparagus. Crab Phad Thai. Summer Curry.
Pineapple Fried Rice. Drunken Noodles. YUM!!!!!!!!!!”

With over 1,400 followers, if even 0.005% come in as a result, that’s 7 extra covers that cost you nothing but the time to type 140 characters.

Ideas for Realtors

I’m working with my friends at iEnfluence to help real estate professionals build their individual brand to create a point of difference, but Twitter, and every other Social Media tool, is useful for the real estate industry. You can check out what we’re doing at www.ienfluence.wordpress.com

Idea #4: Get following and get followed. Use the Twitter search capability to find people who are talking about real estate in your area. Follow them. And start tweeting about real estate in your area to get followed. If you have a listing, use a URL shortening service to share that listing. http://searchengineland.com/analysis-which-url-shortening-service-should-you-use-17204 If you have a showing or an open house, twitter about it. Share the location and the times you will be there. This is also true for your status updates on Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, etc.

Idea #5: Create a specific Twitter User Name for each property you list. Put it up on the yard sign and on the website you create. If someone is interested in your listing, they can send you a direct tweet for info about the property, like the price (which is what most people want to know). You can then create a direct dialogue with a prospect, let them know about the property, price changes, open houses, offers, upgrades, and anything else that is motivating about the property. It’s manageable with applications like Twitter Split http://twittersplit.com/. Plus, you’re building a base of potential clients and “friends” who will tell their friends, and so on, and so on.

These ideas work across the board for all types of businesses. Remember, the question is “What are you doing?” How about contractors. Twitter about the job your working on. Share photos and show your work progress and quality. Or the Jeweler who’s making that custom diamond ring. The fish shop who is offering sushi classes. The coffee shop that has live music. The band that is on tour. Even the marketing consultant who drives down the street and sees opportunity everywhere.

Now for some useful links (or just Twitter for help; it’s abundant):

Twitter 101, Part 1 http://searchenginewatch.com/3633223

Twitter 101, Part 2 http://searchenginewatch.com/3633276

25 Apps that add form and function to Twitter http://www.the20life.com/2009/03/31/25-apps-that-add-form-and-function-to-twitter/

Universal Connection Platform http://www.tiseme.com/

Get Twittering people. It’s there for the taking, for free. Think about what you’re doing and why it matters. You might be surprised to find that you have loyal customers who will follow you, share (and care) about what you’re doing and hopefully stop by during business hours.

No doubt direct mail’s role as a mass medium for credit card solicitations has dwindled, thankfully. But what has always made direct mail so powerful is the connection of the written word: personalized, tailored, individual. Direct mail, when done right (and it rarely is), is like a love letter. I can think of few examples. Drayton Bird’s classic letter for American Express that begins “Have you ever paid a little more for a better seat at the theatre and thus enjoyed a far more memorable evening?” is one. In fact, it’s a three-page letter that worked for what seemed like decades attracting new Cardmembers to the American Express franchise.

Gone are the days when we, Twittering, texting, Facebooking consumers that we are, will stop to read a piece of personal correspondence on paper (much less write one. Even a Thank You note would be nice). Gone are the days of ink and parchment. Even pulp fiction and literary classics are an easy 30 second download with the Wi-Fi enabled Kindle 2.

Maybe direct mail is dead. Or, so I thought until I received a letter from my old friend Johnnie Boden. I actually know Johnnie and worked with him back in London in the mid 90’s when he was really getting his catalog business going. Because of this, his letter did speak to me differently. I could hear him as I read the letter. Even so, the honest, sincere – dare I say – humorous – tone shone through and made a connection. So much so that I read the entire letter. Every word of it!

You see, direct mail works best when it is written by a person, not a corporation. This letter uses all the DM tricks like the big $20 voucher with bright colors and made up terms like “Quick Service Number” so they can track me, but make me feel important. It even the uses of the word “Free” at least three times.

But, it also employs the key ingredient of the Boden Brand: wit and charm. Combined with brevity on one page, it’s a winning combo. In the opening paragraph Johnnie informs me that he’s “been hopping from foot to foot like an incontinent uncle waiting for that elusive first order.” He then acknowledges these are indeed “grey and miserable times” (I appreciate the dose of honesty) and asks for the order.

He writes, “It’s been colder than a polar bear’s toenails, and houses are now worth less than a packet of chips, but that’s no reason not to look fabulous. It’s time to just say ‘Sod it’.” Spoken like a true Englishman. He even uses the adverb “sartorially” which is an early 19th Century word relating to good tailoring. When was the last time you received such an erudite piece of direct mail that also contains colloquial vulgarities like “sod it”?

It worked for me. And this is my point. If you want to succeed in personalized communications, know your audience and know your voice. Don’t be afraid to proclaim your undying love for your customer or share common trepidations that will connect you with your audience.  It’s even acceptable use words that others may not know. If the letter is good and genuine (as opposed to attorney-speak and pompous), the reader may even look the words up (online, of course). Hopefully they will buy something at best, or at least tell a friend (on Facebook) and perhaps even Blog about it. Too often the humanity of today’s direct marketing communications (and this includes email) is over thought by marketers and lawyers afraid to expose any “personality.” I suppose the worry is that being oneself, warts and all, might offend a small few with disregard for potentially connecting with the many more who care.

So check out Johnnie’s clothes. Sartorially speaking, they’re nice threads.  www.bodenusa.com

The penny dropped recently when, after having an increasingly common war of words with my turning-12-on-Saturday son, I updated my Facebook status,

“Hugh is pretty fed up with the tween ‘tude.”

26 minutes later came the first comment on my status,

“I’m pretty fed up with dad.”

More interesting and unexpected were the subsequent status comments and even direct emails from other parents with teenagers, tweens and below. I was surprised by the cyber empathy and advice. That’s when it struck me: “There is no privacy. Transparency is good for government. It’s bad for parenting.”

I can’t be honest on my Facebook status. I can’t say, “At GameStop buying Halo Wars for Jack’s birthday.” I positively cannot use FB to promote this blog posting. But with Twitter, at least in the near future, I can share what I’m doing and more. I can Tweet my location and search for other new game recommendations, like MLB 2K9, and get real time, conversational feedback, anonymously . . . well, at least without my children knowing what I’m doing. You see, I CAN BLOCK THEM! How great is that!?

So let’s go parents, let’s help each other out using Twitter to share advice and tips so we don’t feel so alone navigating this challenging course called parenting. We can’t stop technology. But we CAN harness it to serve our needs too. For now, I am safe. Facebook and SMS are the tools of choice for my kids. Twitter will be our little secret.

And for more info on that Twitter trajectory, read this:

http://waxingphilosophic.com/2009/01/05/why-facebook-has-crossed-the-canyon-changed-the-way-we-communicateand-should-buy-twitter/

Twitter is exciting. It’s trendy. It’s unique. But is it useful? Or, is it just another Internet time drain? That depends solely on how you use it. Twitter is about the here and how. It’s a snapshot of one’s immediate present. On Twitter, you’re only as relevant as your last Tweet.

I joined Twitter in October last year and immediately I didn’t intuitively understand what I was supposed to do. I kept asking the question, “Who cares?”

Then, in January, when a US Airways plane crash landed in the Hudson River, Twitter suddenly became both relevant and a lot more ubiquitous. Almost as suddenly as the plane made an emergency landing in the river, a snapshot of that frightening incident was sent around the globe via Twitter. It was almost an hour after the impact before the “traditional” news media was able to capture the amazing scene on film. The plane crash and Twitter made the news that day. It was time to take notice and see what I was missing.

I revisited my life without Twitter. But, the question still nagged: How do I make Twitter relevant for me? As I tell my DePaul students repeatedly: experimentation is the key to understanding Web 2.0.

So last week, my kids were off school and we decided to take a last minute family vacation to Florida. Road trip. 21 hours one way from Chicago to Clearwater Beach, FL. Using my Facebook status, I asked people to follow our vacation via Twitter. I called it a “Twittercation.” (The term has been used to suggest taking a break from Twitter and blogging in general, but I was hoping to coin a new definition).

I was giddy with excitement and posted updates every few hours as we set off. As each new “follower” joined the journey, I felt compelled to keep my Twittercation tweets coming. I gained 15 new followers. I installed Twitterberry on my Crackberry. I even used Twitter to get help along the way on how to load photos using Twitpics. Each response – or re-tweet (RT) – I received made me feel connected; like my journey was relevant. I was connected and connecting.

Eventually, we arrived at our destination and for me it was as though the “event” I had created was over. I no longer wanted to tweet my status. I was tired. I wanted to relax and stay away from technology. Ironically, I wanted a Twittercation.

What I learned about Twitter:

1. You need a camera phone. My camera is broken. My event would have been so much more interesting with photos (although I did load one of a sunset in Indianapolis, more on that in # 3). Twitpics is a great application and I just saw a Tweet from Michael Kantrow that Tweetdeck now includes 12 seconds of video recording. The opportunity to capture and share a moment is relevant and cool. I saw amazing road signs with outrageous messages juxtaposed to one another. We went snorkeling with Manatee in the Crystal River. Or kayaking in the bay in search of dolphins. These moments in time would have made great Tweets, but sadly, I could not capture them.
   
   
2. Facts are useful. Progress is boring. As I was being followed, I was also a follower. I have noticed after a week of active Twittering that some folks share useful information. Like this one from Philip Greenfield who was attending the GSMA Mobile Congress in Barcelona, “Josh Silverman. 350 K new users on Skype every day. 8% of all international minutes are on Skype.” Useful information that makes me want to learn more about the Skype growth figures. On the other hand, I don’t care that someone just pulled into the parking lot at Tesco or just went through security at the airport. I am not convinced this is the appropriate medium for communicating with your partner about the progress of your day. That’s what IM and email and phone calls are for.
   
   
3. Tags work. As I mentioned, I uploaded a photo when we passed through Indianapolis. I tagged that photo “Indianapolis” and I got a response to my Tweet from brainiac@hughru “Eat, sleep, breath, walk, talk INDY at CircleCity.org. Sign-up for a free account and start sharing with and about Indy!” Clever application for promoting a business. Marketers can make these applications relevant.
   
   
4. Tweets vs Status. Personally, I prefer to keep my Facebook status separate from the Tweets. For me, a Tweet best captures a single thought, experience or moment in time. It’s more immediate. It’s connective, but boasts a sharper, more factual response to the question “What are you doing?” A Status reflects what “is” about you and more often than not, it is emotionally descriptive and personally connective.
   
   
5. Twitter is a mobile application. This is the most exciting part. Twitter is made for mobile and where it is the most interesting. Mobile is where the big opportunity lies in the future for web 2.0. Facebook, and most other social networking sites, are significantly stronger when viewed on a browser, not a mobile device. That’s ok, as there is room for both.

There is plenty more to explore. I encourage you to conduct your own experiments with Twitter, Skype, FriendFeed, well, the list just keeps going and growing. Bottom line, experimentation is the key to understanding web 2.0.

I will use a friend and former colleague as an example. Lisa, like so many people I know, myself included, is a seasoned marketing professional. She has dedicated her career to advertising agencies and corporate clients. She has sacrificed so much of her life helping others make money. No doubt, she’s been able to provide for her family, but not without a significant personal toll.

Like so many of us “ex” agency people, what Lisa brings to any professional environment is deep communications experience: strategic, integrated marketing insights, multi-channel creative management, results based business acumen. Experience that goes deep: managing individuals and teams, managing budgets, managing “up,” managing under pressure, solving problems, initiative. Plus, she’s nice AND smart.

So yesterday she learns, after her seventh (7^th) job interview with company A, that she is a great candidate, but she’s considered “overqualified.”

What does that mean, overqualified?

• Perhaps it is a euphemism for “we can’t afford to pay you what you used to earn.” Let me just clarify that most of us would just be happy with a paycheck and some health insurance.

• Perhaps the concern then becomes that if this overqualified individual takes the job for a lesser salary that they’ll be happy today, but by 2010, when the economy supposedly starts to turn around, they will want more money or leave. Mr. Prospective Employer, you could have worse problems. Take the experience at a reduced rate while you can get it. Think of it as a trial run. If they are that good, then they will have made you enough money so you can afford to pay them what they deserve. If not, let them go.

• Perhaps the concern – and this is valid – is that this person isn’t a “doer” because they are so senior. I share this concern, but I think in this economy you will find plenty of very senior level people that will happily take on project management roles and do them with great skill and efficiency (which means happier clients and improved profitability). Remember that point about a paycheck and health insurance?

• Perhaps the problem is that the “overqualified” employee will report to an “under qualified” manager. Now we’re getting somewhere. Good, smart people apparently ruffle the tenure structure.

The point I want to stress is that the term “overqualified” is relative to something or someone else. If an organization passes over really great talent because of formidable qualifications, what does that say about the organization? What message does it send to clients?

Sure, we need structure, and sometimes even hierarchy, but brains and experience tend to develop better strategies and solutions for success.

David Ogilvy would have loved today’s hiring environment. He would have embraced the tremendous pool of talent available today and I imagine he would use the opportunity to clean house. I learned early on in my career at Ogilvy about the Russian Dolls. Every so often, Ogilvy would send each of his directors a set of Russian nesting dolls, where inside the largest doll would be a small one, and then a smaller one, and so on. In the smallest doll, he would place a piece of paper that read: “If we hire people who are smaller than we are, we will become a company of dwarfs. If we hire people who are larger than we are, we’ll become a company of giants.”

Now, I am off to my therapy group. “Hi, my name is Hugh Allspaugh and I am overqualified.” Please hire me.

Now, what about those commercials? I want to start with 3-D. It sucks if you don’t have glasses and it’s an outdated gimmick in this world of technology (Coca Cola ran a 3-D ad in 1989). Who approves this stuff? Even worse, why are advertising agencies even presenting this stuff? It works in a movie theatre. It works at Disneyland. It’s not a great tactic for 100 million + people drinking beer and watching a football game. Unless of course we could see the whole game in 3-D. Hmmmm.

Nope, this Recession Bowl’s showing was a disappointment because in times like these, even animals don’t make us feel great. Budweiser’s romance between a Clydesdale and a circus horse touched many female heartstrings. It was a beacon of hope in a sea of failed attempts at humor. Times are hard. We all want to laugh. But let’s be honest about it: the message that stuck over the last year has been about CHANGE. I think Madison Avenue missed the finer points of the current mood. There was nothing new about the 40+ commercials. There was little in the way of innovation. It felt like every other spot used a celebrity or an animal. In the ad business, we call that SAFE.

I quote President Obama from his inauguration,

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

“Lower its sights.” Perhaps that is what Madison Avenue and its clients did on Superbowl Sunday. We’re not stupid. Doritos and Denny’s are bad for you. Our kids are getting fat from colas. So when Pepsi delivered what I thought was a lovely spot featuring Bob Dylan’s Forever Young – while very connective with multiple generations – it was equally confounding.

I tried to like the work. Honestly. I did laugh, along with my 11 year old. The Pepsi Max “I’m Good” spot was funny, stupid male humor.

The new Priceline spot was extremely well executed. Shatner is great.

Coca Cola delivered a lovely creative spot with the bugs making off with the guy’s Coke.

Even Bridgestone with Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head connected with me. My wife, you see, is a terrible back seat driver.

Finally, I thought NBC came out well. The Heroes commercial with a John Elway Cameo was savvy. “Laughing your butt off” was funny too.

But what this country needs is not an injection of subjective humor. We need examples. We have a great new one in the White House. Let’s hope we can all follow his lead.

What’s G? It’s wonderfully shot. It’s decidedly hip. It’s broader in scope than anything the brand has attempted before. By that statement, I mean that suddenly Gatorade isn’t just for athletes anymore (“Is it in you?”), it’s now presented as the drink of choice for athletes – dead and alive, hip-hop artists, and comedians.

“What’s G?” is effectively stylized, presented with black and white commercials with Lil Wayne narrating the primary television spot. The intent, I suppose, is to get viewers to ask the question.

To me, this spot looks more like a brand essence film than a television commercial. It’s a teaser campaign in an age of Twitter when “teasers” seem less relevant. We can all access information too quickly to any degree of detail we choose. The consumer is in control, not the advertiser.

My search for “G” led me to YouTube, of course. Guess what? There’s more. Three additional videos: “No Excuses” and “Bring It” and “Shine On”. And they are really good videos. But there is absolutely NO MENTION OF GATORADE. Why? I know it’s you. The cat’s out of the bag. Do you really think I am going to wait for an “announcement” on that big billboard you unveil or that super expensive Super Bowl spot you will run?

These mini films are great and they are cleverly connected to the new product look and feel. In fact, if you can be bothered enough to go to the Gatorade website, the videos reflect the names of the products. It’s all very nicely executed creatively, but I think they have taken the “art” too far. This is marketing. We get. So help us make the connection because we might actually want to buy your product!

Here’s the website, on the house!

http://www.gatorade.com/

Anyone who knows me is aware of my unwavering admiration of Neil Young. He is, without question, one of the most innovative, influential, and passionate musicians of the 60’s rock era that just won’t quit, thank God. His show at Allstate Arena in Chicago on Tuesday night was just another proof point of this. Let’s get to it.

He opened with Love and Only Love and in doing so he made no bones about setting the table for the evening. It’s pure reverb out of the gate and he goes straight into Hey, Hey, My, My (Into the Black) as if to say “stand up and rock with me all night, folks.”  He followed that with Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. The man knows how to grab your attention and get you hooked.

This was the 22^nd time I have seen Neil Young live. My first time was in 1983 at the Austin Opera House in Austin, Texas. Since then, I have been fortunate. Dallas, New York City, Jone’s Beach Long Island, Alpine Valley Wisconsin, London, Reading Music Festival (UK, with Pearl Jam), Portland, LA, Chicago. I owe a great deal of my love for Neil Young to my old friend David Hudgins who first introduced me to Neil’s solo music (not just CSN&Y) in high school. I may have been a late comer, but I embraced his music vigorously. Dave and I can sing it, play it and connect through it.

So, it made sense that when he played old standbys like Powerfinger I would think of Dave who lives in California. When Neil pulled out his acoustic guitar and started playing Oh, Lonesome Me, it was time to call this one in. Thankfully, Dave was at dinner so his voicemail has captured a moment of Neil history. It’s not a popular song on the standard set list and not one I had yet had the pleasure to hear live until last night.

But wait. To hear Old Man sung by, well . . . he’s not 24 anymore. Magic. Poignant. Ironic.

Cortez was spot on. Cowgirl in the Sand delivered perfect tempo changes led by drummer Chad Cromwell. Back to the Country was as good with Ben Keith on steel guitar as it was in 1985 when I saw them play that song at Reunion Arena in Dallas.

The whole time Neil kept thanking us for being there, chatting briefly, but mostly jamming as hard as he always has. Gracious.  Appreciative.  Unassuming for a legend. This guy loves his job. And what a great gig he’s got. He travels with his wife Peggy who seems to love the music more than anyone as she waits between screaming guitar solos to sing backup harmony. He’s revered by fans. He has huge amps and beautiful guitars. He’s always doing something strange on stage, like the guy who painted art on canvas throughout the show last night. Who knows why – or where the art is now. Not as trippy as nomad dwarfs on stage, but random. And typical Neil.

The real magic came at the end when Neil came out to play the only encore. You see, I stopped going to see Neil Young shows about 10 years ago apart from a couple of opportunities. Ticket prices are crazy. I have kids and they have better things to spend my money on. But this encore was unexpected. And he truly turned me on when he started playing A Day in the Life. Neil Young singing Lennon and McCartney. This wasn’t whimsical, it was pure enchantment.

I was hoping to hear Mr. Soul. Instead, he touched my soul, again.

Crackberry Photo, Allstate Arena, Chicago 12/9/08

For the set list, email me. hugh@marketingindependence.com

T’is the season for a new twist on Santa.

Credit should be given to Palm centro for the transformative effect their phone has on Santa Claus. Our traditional Santa discovers the Palm centro smartphone and apparently a whole new world is opened up for him. He cuts his hair, ditches the shabby suit and antiquated sleigh and becomes a hip (hop) character named Claus (which rhymes with “blouse”), smartly dressed in a designer suit traveling to places warm and sunny – far away from the North Pole – which he easily finds using his GPS navigation app on his centro (and presumably a little magic).

There are a lot of spots in this campaign, each supporting a key feature of the smartphone from music to photos. For example, the Rooftop DJ spot opens with Claus in front of an enraptured circle of young people where he’s discussing his amazement that he can keep his “list” on the centro rather than those “big parchment scrolls.” Claus, where the hell have you been for the last 12 years? I mean, didn’t you deliver the original Palm Pilot 1000 and Pilot 5000 to tech geeks everywhere for Christmas between 1996 and 1999?

He’s likeable, this Claus character, although I prefer the fat, jolly old man Coca Cola made famous; or at least the tech savvy version of Santa in his Grotto managing his naughty and nice list on his IBM ThinkPad – a brilliant print execution created by Ogilvy & Mather in the ‘90s. (If anyone has the jpg of that ad, please post it).

This campaign, however, is not that well executed online. If you search “Palm centro”, for example, you don’t get a link to the official campaign site (http://www.palm.com/claus/). The organic results direct you to people like me blogging about the campaign – and it’s not all good. There’s no paid search results that I have seen. Why spend all this money on television and not add a little more to the place where people will ultimately go to form an opinion about this device. Seems really short sighted.

Claus has his own Facebook page too with just over 1,600 friends (http://www.facebook.com/claus). For all of the advertising money being spent, I would have hoped for at least another zero, if not two. That would be a better Christmas present for the brand manager and the agency. Even worse, if you search “Santa Claus Centro” in Facebook, you find some rather pornographic groups based in Santiago, Chile who apparently like to show their raw materials.

Palm did a great job with the narrative hook on this one, but they haven’t detailed the threads too well. Beyond the ads, this story falls flat. And even at $49.99, I’m not sure it will deliver what I am sure Palm wants for Christmas – sales in a very competitive iPhone dominated space. I’m keeping my eye on the Blackberry Storm, thanks.