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    DRM and Variable Pricing of Songs.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    Apple announced yesterday that Sony, Universal and Warner have finally joined EMI and will do away with DRM (digital rights management) allowing digital songs, once purchased, to be copied to other devices.  In addition, variable pricing was announced that will allow some songs to be sold for $.69, more popular songs to be sold at $.99, while the most popular, most desirable will retail for $1.29. Smart pricing idea, but I suspect it will only chip away at revenue erosion. The new pricing logic suggests people are more apt to buy a marginally interesting song at $.66 than at $.99. Can’t disagree.

    My problem with all this – and Kid Rock agrees – is that if consumers are allowed to buy only one or two songs from an album then they are not getting the artist’s full intended experience. And if that becomes the case, listeners are less likely to become rabid, loyal fans.  And with ringtones allowing the purchase of 30 seconds of a song, we are deconstructing the art even further.  This whole deconstruction thing and new variable pricing scheme is dinging the music business more than the doofy record executives. It’s a case where technology is hurting the art and the artist. Peace!

     

    Little Love

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    What’s the idea with Big Love?

    You gotta love BBDO’s David Lubars trying to reinvent his agency with idea knick knacks that say “we get new media.” His new promotional and advertising efforts for HBO’s show “Big Love,” about a polygamist family in Utah, includes people walking around town with big thought bubbles (cartoon copy) displayed above their heads (coming to NY, Chicago, LA and Phil, Jan 14th) conveying personal secrets. Small audio billboards and sidewalk displays play Big Love characters’ secrets when you plug in your iPod headphones to the provided jacks. 

    The “secrets” campaign repurposes the idea of the online property post secret, which has been a brilliant internet property for years. “Everyone has something to hide,” the campaign theme, is a nice experiential truism and one people can agree is probably a core value of the show. That said, not that many people know the cast of Big Love and, therefore, will care about their secrets.  The thought bubbles are fun but goofy and the media becomes the message, not vice versa.

    Big Love is a good show. Everyone has something to hide is a good idea. The new media spin is a little forced.

       

     

     

     

     

     

    Things we carry.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    If you are a guy, think about all the things (Did you see the Ting Tings on New Year’s Eve?) you carry around with you each day. Cell phone, house and car keys, wallet to hold a drivers license, credit cards, cash, wrist watch, business cards, checks, and maybe a pair of glasses, if you haven’t had lasik, a pen. 

    Now let’s move to your backpack or messenger bag: sunglasses, laptop, jump drive, more business cards, pencil, iPod, chap stick, gum, iPod charger, cell phone charger, Bluetooth or hands free device. 

    As for the stuff women carry, multiply by 2.

    My prediction for the year 2009 goes to the stuff we carry. There will be less of it.  There will be a consolidation of stuff we carry. Already, my car keys are wireless and never leave my pocket. I only wear a watch because I’m a geeze. My phone can take 8 gigs of music, but I use my iPod because I’m lazy. The stuff in the wallet can all be digital and will be in a couple of years. The cell phone and laptop will collide. And let’s face it, someone is going to invent gum that freshens the breath and hydrates the lips. It’s inevitable. Peace!

    Oprah. Kindle. And pirates. Oh my.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    0


    Thank you Oprah for priming the pump of digital book sales. She plugged the Amazon Kindle in October and sales have taken off.   By some accounts, Amazon has sold a million Kindles. Oddly, they won’t announce how many. I wonder if their reticence has something to do with the number of digital books sold. Hmmm. For instance, if 1 million Kindles have been sold, but only 1.1 million digital books, at $11.00 a pop, that would suggest people don’t like the medium. They are not coming back in other words.

    Anyway, the Kindle and competitors, which now include the iPhone, will change the book market, no doubt.  Even a geeze like me expects to be a user soon. But book publishers must look out for piracy or they’ll end up like their music counterparts — not making money on their art, but on book signings (digital, of course). The pirates are out there. And even Oprah won’t be able to stop them. Peace! And happy holidays!

    Chrysler Says Thanks

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    “Thank You America” is the headline on a Chrysler print ad in today’s New York Times. The line sits atop a picture of a huge group of employees, 2 paragraphs of copy, the logos of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep and Robert Nardelli’s signature.

    After first wondering if spending $50,000 on a print ad is the best use of corporate bailout funds, I’ve decided it is a smart move. Sometimes people just need to hear “Thank you.”  No rationalizations. No explanations. A contrite thank you, said in the right tone, can go a long way.

    This was a classy gesture and hopefully the first step in Chrysler’s long road back.  Chrysler owes us…and if it remembers this each and every step on that road back, it just may have a future.

     

     

    Adamo by Dell

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    Last week I vented again about Dell’s fall from grace, saying it should spend more money in R&D and reinventing the PC, rather than focus on supply chain management. Well, the rumor mill suggests Dell may have been doing just that, creating a form for a new PC that may be slimmer than the MacBook Air. It’s code-named Adamo (silly name, sorry Frank). If Dell can re-capture the mantle of price-leader, this new product should be a real winner for them. Too bad it’s not in time for the holiday season.

    This rumor has be true. Dell can’t have slept through this market with its sole innovation the last 3 years being the red laptop with burnished corners. The slim, sleek Adamo should be here soon…and it will be a difference-maker. Take that HP!

    Bravo FedEx.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    1

    What’s the idea with FedEx? In these tough times when it is easy to cut headcount or RIF (reduction in force) workers, it’s nice to see companies like FedEx taking a smarter approach. They’ve cut the CEO’s salary 20%, top-tier officers 7-10%, white collars below the vp level 5%, and no cuts for hourly employees. (Per comment below.) All 401K contributions have been suspended and though it’s not a happy time everyone in the company feels the punch. This approach brings the entire company together, encouraging every employee to work harder. No part of the company is left to sulk in the corner. No spiteful anger out on the street — because fewer people are let go.

    A few years ago, I’m told, FedEx took this same approach when things were badand they turned their business around nicely. This is leadership. This is shared responsibility. This is the way to enlist an army to turn things around. Bravo FedEx. 

     

    End-of-Life Conundrum.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    As of this year, there are 78 million baby boomers in the U.S. and many of them have living parents. The aging population is huge. I’ve been doing some planning in and about this sector and having spoken to dieticians, nutritionists, gerontologists, physicians, nursing home execs and those tangentially allied with the pharmaceutical industry, I can safely say that we, as a society, are prolonging life and suffering beyond what is necessary and it’s not a good thing.

    The suffering hits three bull’s eyes. First, the aging patient him or herself. Second, the caregiver who is typically a family member providing ongoing care and assistance. And third, the pocketbook of all Americans. If the aged weren’t ready to go, there would be no such thing as Do Not Resuscitate or Health Power of Attorney. Many elders who are ready to go, only agree to stick around because they feel obliged to, enduring undo pain and suffering to keep others happy.  Caregivers, bearers of the biggest burdens and most anguish, are quitting and losing jobs to help their infirm loved ones at home, rather than send them to homes.  And lastly, though the pharmaceutical business is doing some wonderful things, some say they are not so much looking for cures as looking for ways to prolong treatment.  Total healthcare dollars spend in America are like 20+% of the GDP and they are often spent so efficiently.

    Read a brochure on aging or hospice or end-of-life and you often see the word dignity. There is no dignity in wasting.  We can’t legislate solutions, but we should be able to talk about them and keep from causing loved one so much undo pain.

     

    Good Brief.

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    0

    I sometimes wonder how creative people can write ads or other selling pieces without trying or using the product. It happens often. One can write a TV spot for a heart operation without having undergone surgery certainly, but for the most part good creative people use the products they sell and competitor’s products. Some creative people feel they know their craft so well, however, that product usage is not important. They are mistaken.

    That said, where copywriters, art directors and producers get to truly understand products is through the creative brief. The communications strategy on the brief is a single, focused selling statement which guides the message, but inspiration for the creative idea can come from anywhere on the brief.  A good brief, as the first Peter Kim used to say, inspires creative ideas. A good creative brief gives provides idea stimulation.  A good brief helps creatives live the product. Good brief, good ad. Peace!  

     

    Dell and Supply Chain Management

    By
    Steve Poppe
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    0

    The problem with manufacturing companies whose sole focus is to be expert in supply chain management is that they tend lag as innovators.  They rely on other people’s parts (OPP).  Some end up as middle of the pack companies growing through acquisition. Dell is in this position right now.   One could argue, but for me, Dell made its mark by being a low-cost, high quality computer provider.  Sure, you could order models with tailored features, but when push came to shove, consumers believed Dell drove price points for laptops below the $1,000 mark and was a great value.

    For Dell to keep its quality up and its prices down, it needs to do more than find the best circuit manufacturer in China or motherboard maker in Taiwan. It needs some R&D breakthroughs of its own.  And patent it needs to patent them.  Change the form of PCs. Change the interface. Act like a design and component innovator.

    Over the past 8 years, to keep revenue up, Dell went into corporate services, then TVs and MP3 players, now they are on a buying jag, looking to purchase other companies.  Back in the day, before supply chain was the pop manufacturing science of the day, American companies invented — and created differentiation through research and development. Peace.

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