Now Media Scott’s LifeStream

My pick for best superbowl ad of 2010 is:

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From the creator of the 2002 memo "The Environment: A Cleaner, Safer, Healthier America", which defined the Bush Administration's stance on Climate Change, and the architect of the 2009 health care coup, who's memo "The Language of Health" gave the term 'government takeover' a whole new meaning, comes a brand new memo designed to rile up the base.

Yes, wordsmith master Frank Luntz is at it again with his brand new "Language of Financial Reform" memo. Known to millions as a Fox News pollster, Luntz is also one of the most powerful marketers and political influencers in American politics.

When this guy writes a memo, literally, American policy and world politics are impacted.

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David Meerman Scott interviews Seth Godin from David Meerman Scott on Vimeo.

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If you've been paying attention to the news about the recent Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, you know how controversial this decision is. While I am not endorsing the Supreme Court ruling, I have to admit, when learning that PR Firm Murray Hill Inc. decided to run for Congress, inspired by the SOTUS decision, I took interest. Murray Hill, a Maryland based company is using the position of "Corporate Person" to establish the firm as a "corporate candidate". 

Politics aside, this is a clever use of PR power, and is one of the most creative campaigns I've seen in a while. But the thing is, they are serious, and have begun filing paperwork to run for Congress. Here is the Murray Hill press release Supreme Court Ruling Spurs Corporation Run For Congress: First Test of Corporate Personhood in Politics , and their campaign video is below.

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When I was 25, I accepted my first corporate job in a Brooklyn, NY ghetto, for a national book distributor, who was just a few months away from bankruptcy. Fresh out of retail, where I had been stocking organic produce for a several years, I was pretty naive, and expected to be fetching coffee and filing papers for the big bosses. Seriously. But on day one, I was led down to the basement ( I called it the dungeon), handed a pad of paper, a phone, and was directed to generate orders. In other words, in 1995, when I was least expecting it, I got my first introduction to sales. 

The first three weeks on the job were tough. I stumbled, fumbled and bumbled my way through a series of calls, many of which ended up as hang ups. Or simply put, me getting hung up on. Sales can be tough. Sometimes brutal. Especially when getting rejected daily in a tough Brooklyn neighborhood. But I stuck it out.

In my third week on the new job, a new Andrew Weil book, Spontaneous Healing quickly became a bestseller, and roared it's way into our warehouse, while garnering national recognition. Packaging up a marketing promotion with an extensive call strategy, my luck quickly turned, and my days of bombing out transcended into a first run of selling success. Within 2 months, my colleagues would say, there goes Scott building his empire. And I was. Only thing is, just as things started getting good, within a few months, the company did go bankrupt.

Such is life. There would be more empires to build. And I did.

I often like to say, marketing can be fun and exciting, but sales pays the bills. Thing is, marketing really is sales, or utilizing wording, media and graphics to create the dynamic of an appealing buying environment. PR is also a form of sales. Whatever it is that drives people to buy a product or service is essentially, sales. But I am getting ahead of myself. When I was 25, in retrospect, selling was actually pretty easy. We had a product customers wanted, and the enthusiasm and desire to get it in the stores.

By the time I was 30, the challenges multiplied, the salary increased, the economy was in good shape, and selling was still easy. But of course, at the still youthful age of 30, I represented a great product line and program that everyone in my industry wanted. It was a true selling market.

That was then. This is 2010.

Today, its mostly a buyers market. At least in my little world. While I represent dynamic clients, and exciting possibilities, the market is different, the economy is still weak, and the competitors are fierce, many of whom are hanging on for dear life. The easy selling success I achieved 15 years ago isn't possible in today's environment. Now, it's a game of patience, product demand, presentation, and pricing. And while I had to take my hits 15 years ago to learn how the game works, today, there are a whole new series of hits to learn from.

Getting on the phone, making the calls, and getting the meetings is part of the game. Cold calling is not dead. Its how one utilizes the call that matters. There is no science of sales I live by, and a first great meeting is now just, a nice meet, with no expectations. Let me learn about your business, get a handshake, and begin the follow up. Maybe it will take a few months, or a year or two, but eventually I'll get a shot. Just keep the polite persistence up, bring something fresh to the game, and earn my way into an opportunity. Sounds easy enough, but most people, even those in sales don't like this routine. Many find it demoralizing or intimidating. To me, it's my job. It's what I do, when I am not playing journalist on Twitter.

It's tough out there, and it's not going to get any easier. Not anytime soon. But always keep moving forward. Opportunity is out there. Just have to work hard for it.

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Here is a link to The Daily Beast's top 75 worst commutes in America. Fairly comprehensive list.

For several years I traveled extensively throughout America. Based on my experiences, I'd rank this list differently.

Can't speak for Honolulu at (#2), but would argue the Kennedy Expressway (#9) in Chicago, or the I-405 in Los Angeles (not listed) are the worst stretches in America for rush hour. The Austin I-35 (#4) is no fun, Atlanta (#22) can be wicked, and Detroit (#39) can be a nightmare. The Cross Bronx (#6) is noted, but where is the Long Island Expressway, or the NJ Turnpike on this list? These two should be on the list, and since they aren't, says to me, this list is not entirely accurate.

But Rochester at #66? ha! If they only knew how good we really have it.

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The A-Team movie is coming out soon. Below is the movie trailer, which was leaked a few days ago.

Here is a link to an interview I conducted with Dirk Benedict (the original Faceman) in June 2008. 10 Questions With Dirk Benedict. You will need to scroll down some beyond the comments for full the interview. Also, it's not an interview about marketing, but instead about macrobiotics.

Have done several interviews over the years, but this one is my favorite.

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Happy 2010.

Social media is still all the rage, but is it really living up to the hype as a driver of sales and results?

We're at an interesting moment in the evolution of social media technology. With millions of people now using Twitter, Facebook, and other networking platforms, in addition to the rise of even more social services in 2010 and beyond, the opportunity of tangible social media ROI is within reach it would appear, but the realities of social networking as a driver of sales results for all participants, is still at best, questionable.

2010 is the year marketers are to be demonstrating how social media produces solid ROI. I for one am not entirely sold on social media producing ROI in a broad sustainable sense. At least not for everyone, or every brand who takes part in social networking. Sure, some companies and individuals have figured out how to monetize social media, and more will. My feeling is social media is first, a communications platform, and second, a marketing tool. Everything else is play, fun and networking.

Some in social media talk about how relationships drive sales, and this is always true to some extent, but take away social networking, and relationship building to drive sales has been a true factor all along. What social media does best is to connect the masses, allowing for the free flow of information, and ideas.

So how exactly does social media drive sales?

When big name brands broadcast to millions of followers, naturally, there is the possibility of driving sales, from broad level mass marketing, and repeated branding that builds product or service interest and awareness. Beyond large companies, well positioned brands, and celebrity sponsored tweets, driving sales with social media is entirely possible through facilitating and enabling information. It doesn't take a whole blog post, or a book to outline how trust and relationships are sales drivers, but, to rely on current and existing social media technology indefinitely as a source of sales generation is, I now feel, a leap of faith. Besides, it really isn't social media that drives sales, but the users behind the profiles, that make generating sales possible.

If you or your brand is generating consistent sales using social media, way to go. I for one, have been an enthusiastic supporter of social media, but now see's the tools of Twitter, Facebook and other platforms as a complimentary sales building force, or, the appetizer to the main course of sales and marketing, which is really sweat equity, (aka hard work), charisma, a good product at a good price, and the right attitude.

So what is my social media outlook for 2010? To continue to be a part of the larger internet ecosystem, of ideas, influencers and information. I believe in social media as an agent to connect and influence. If sales comes from this approach, great. If not, that's fine too.

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What Matters Now

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