Toellner Tells it

The Future of VOD

Taking a day off today -- trying to get caught up on life in general.  It's nice to get an opportunity to regroup.

I was flipping through TV channels this morning, and I was underwhelmed at the development of Video On Demand.  VOD has pretty much remained the same over the past 2 years.  There are some programs that are available, movies, music videos.  But it seems really archaic all of a sudden.

There were a lot fewer music videos -- especially by new artists -- than there should be at this point.  There are also few actual programs than I would expect -- and almost no advertising.

I really think VOD has the potential to revolutionize the travel industry.  Imagine if  you were planning a trip to Paris, and you could use a searchable VOD system and watch any travel program about Paris. There would be many options -- and you could learn all you ever wanted to learn about Paris.  Or a golf tour of Scotland.  Why is there not a "daytrips" section under travel of all the local B&B communities of where I can go spend a long weekend?

There are endless possibilities.  Local gyms could put video footage of some of their exercise classes.  Nike golf could be putting golf instructional videos on-demand as well as equipment features.

If you're a talented local musician, why wouldn't you video-tape yourself "in concert" and put the footage up on-demand?  The cost/reward would be well worth it, even if only a few people saw you and liked your music.

Why must I TiVo the Daily Show with Jon Stewart every night instead of just being able to watch it on-demand when I get around to it?  Would sure free up some DVR space for me..

I know that consumers have been slow to adapt to using VOD technology -- but I think advertisers are equally slow in moving toward VOD technology.  They'll get there...but in an info-on-demand society, making more content available for consumers in a more convenient way will be critical for success.   

Taking that leap of faith to on-demand shouldn't be that hard, and yet many companies struggle to do it.  Change is good...and necessary. 

We needed a study for this?

A new study was released yesterday and the Headline reads: "Study Reveals New Commercial Avoidance Culprit: Talking"

http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=49703

I can only ask, "We needed a study for this?"

There has been a lot of talk the last couple years about technology leading to commercial avoidance and that people are skipping our commecials or engaging in other media during commercials.  The reality is, that for as long as we've had other people in the room, refridgerators, remote controls, magazines and bathrooms, people have been avoiding commercials.  The only differences are a) we can now measure avoidance and b) networks have continued to add more commercial time -- thus turning off consumers and c) advertising is becoming increasingly mediocre and unworthy of consumer attention.

Anyone who lives at all, and watches any tv can observe that people as a whole dislike advertising.  It's our job as advertisers to create something that viewers will want to invite into their lives and is worthy of their time.  If we don't, they will, and should, avoid us.

"Repetition does not break through the clutter.  It escalates it" -- Joe Duffy

How much entertainment can we afford?

It was bound to happen. At some point, we all knew that there was going to be a tipping point of how much money Americans would be willing to spend on media.  With Americans spending hundreds of dollars monthly on paid media forms: Internet access, cable/satellite TV, cell phone service, wireless/mobile internet, satellite radio, magazine subscriptions, online content subscriptions, DVRs, etc.  Americans are now spending over 15 hours a day with media.  At some point people were just going to run out of time/money to spend on more media options.  Either they would quit adopting technologies, or, they would have to weed out old forms of media.

Mariane Matera reached her tipping point in a "column" this week.  http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2006/10/12/ESSAY-Matera%20paper%200541.doc.aspx

Because she found herself spending less and less time with newspaper (a growing trend nationally) she finally took the money and the time and decided to completely dedicate these resources elsewhere.  I did the same thing several months ago and signed up for the RSS feed for what pieces of the local newspaper I actually tried to make time for. 

I think it's becoming increasing evident that the future of traditional newspaper is very bleak...but it's demise is very practical from a consumer's standpoint.  There is only so much time/money that people have to spend on media.  As we continue to add new technology, other media may have to go. Keeping up with the trends of how people are moving is imperative to the performance of our clients and our brands.  If the last two years have told us nothing, it is that these changes can happen very quickly -- and will continue to change exponentially faster. 

You'll Be Missed Buck

If you never got a chance to meet Buck O'Neil, you missed a life changing experience.  Buck had something that is sadly missing from so much of our society, charisma.  Buck is one of the most popular people I've never met...but on the three occassions I had the privaledge to meet him, and shake his hand, he had a unique way of of making me feel like it was ME that was the important one in the conversation. 

Buck was an All-Star in the Negro Leagues back in the 40s.  He was the first black coach of a major league baseball team. He was one of the first black scouts in the major leagues -- he scouted Hall of Famers Ernie Banks and Lou Brock.  He played baseball with greats like Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson.  He wasn't allowed to attend Sarasota High School because of the color of his skin. 

In spite of facing the color barrier his entire life, there was not one ounce of hate in his body.  The man was blessed with a positive spirit, and seeing the positive in everything.  Buck was "discovered" in 1994 when Ken Burns did the nine part documentary entitled "Baseball".  Buck told stories of the Negro Leagues.  Buck follwed it up with an autobiography "I was right on time" -- wehre he told more stories.  In 1995 he started up the Negro League Baseball Museum.  In 1998 the Museum moved to a new, permanent location in the historic 18th and Vine district of Kansas City.  During that time he got numerous Negro Leagues players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

This past Spring, in a special election for the Hall of Fame, Buck O'Neil was unexcusably passed over for entrance into the Hall of Fame.  But seventeen other people associated with the negro leagues and hispanic leagues were inducted in.  Like everything else in Buck's life, he was left out. And like everything else, Buck had no bitterness.  He went to the induction ceremony at Cooperstown to give a speech for the others -- all deceased.  It was a ceremony in which he should have been honored, instead, he honored others.  He sang -- and got others to sing with him.  No bitterness.

Earlier this year, the Negro League Museum he founded was named the official national museum for the Negro Leagues.  It is the one and only shrine to the league of players that Major League Baseball refused to let in the league.  He had seen what will probably be the final group of Negro League's players into the Hall of Fame -- and he wasn't included. 

In spite of the hatred that he faced against him, Buck O'Neil accomplished more than I will ever imagine accomplishing.  In spite of the hatred, he did it all with a smile on his face, and love in his heart.  He touched so many people with his compassion, and charisma, and way of making everyone feel as if they were bigger than life.

Friday Night, Buck O'Neil passed away at the age of 94.  He will be dearly missed, but thankfully his discovery at the age of 84 allowed him, and his stories to live on. I'm grateful for having the opportunity to meet him. 

The Changing Media Landscape

We all know that consumers are utilizing media differently than ever before.  We also know that there is increased fragmentation and that instead of reaching people with a mass message, we need to hit people in niche audiences.  We all get that.

The one thing that is not being discussed in agency and client circles is what this really means for planning purposes.

According to a recent statement by industry guru Erwin Ephron, he currently estimates that there are about 1.125 Quadrillion media options out there for media planners and buyers to choose from to reach their respective audiences.  That is 1,125 followed by 12 zeros -- or 1,125,000,000,000,000. That's a lot of media options.

Now I can assure you that because the number of media options has grown so big so quickly, there is not an agency in the country that is staffed to evaluate over a quadrillion media options.  Nor should there be, as a lot of them aren't viable. 

However, a great many of them are viable.

And yet, as agencies and clients, we are mostly stuck in 1995 in terms of the staffing that we expect to pay for in media departments. 

At some point, some client/agency combination somewhere is going to figure out that in order to effectively evaluate the huge amount of media options out there, and that to effectively reach a large number of tiny niche audiences, it's going to take significantly more staff to do it right.  And they will, and they'll reap the rewards on the backside with better, more targeted, more meaningful media buys.  However, until we realize that most media departments are understaffed to handle the quickly growing number of media outlets that exist, we will continue to get media plans that are include mostly national TV buys.

Look at the media plans of any large conglomerate and you'll find that a huge portion of their budgets are spent on broadcast tv in the upfronts. This is happening in spite of dying tv ratings, audience fragmentation, and increased media costs.  But they continue to do it because it's easier.  And when you don't have time to evaluate everything effectively, you default to what you know, and what is easy.

We're working hard to staff to do it right...and we never do it easy.  Easy died about 5 years ago....it's time the industry catches up.

My one thing

So, when Sally Hogshead made us determine what our one thing was, what was mine?

The one thing truly unique about me is that I'm the guy people stop and ask for directions.  It happens all the time.  I get stopped almost every time I'm on vacation, or walking around in the city.  I was walking to my car at the Farmer's market 2 weeks ago, a woman stopped me and asked for directions to a church she was going to for a funeral.

I've been stopped in Kansas City many times, but also twice on the same trip to LA, in Montreal, in Italy, in Orlando, Atlanta, at a truck stop along I-70, etc.  I get stopped a lot.  Strangely, I've had pretty good success even knowing where things were in the cities where I was only visiting. 

So why am I the one who people stop to ask?  Do I look like I have a map?  Or do I look local? 

I think that it's because I look approachable -- like someone who might know the answer, but am not intimidating to stop and ask.  I look....nice.

So what does that mean for my job?  I work as a media planner.  Media is almost undoubtedly the part of advertising that most clients know the least amount -- and they KNOW they know the least about it.  It can be intimidating.  I think I somehow make media approachable for them...and they like that. Clients know I'm going to know the answer and point them in the right direction. 

That's my one thing.  Maybe a little weird, but it's what I offer that I don't think many others can.

Showing up

On Wednesday nights, I volunteer at a place called the Hope Center.  The Hope Center is a place where inner city kids go to learn more about developing good character, and to help improve their reading/writing skills that the inner-city schools seem to be failing them at teaching.

One of the most important things about working with inner-city youth is that there is very little stability in their lives...parents may go in and out of their lives, they may move regularly, change schools regularly, etc.  One of the biggest things that you can do when working with them to build a relationship with them, is show up.  Making the effort to show up, and be consistant, is an important part of building the trust and relationship.

I think our society has spent too little time emphasizing showing up -- being a consistant presence for clients, for your coworkers, for bosses, etc.  It's important to just be there. 

There is a guy running for City Council in the 4th District of Kansas City, Ezekiel Amador.  Ezekiel shows up at everything...neighborhood crime meetings, the neighborhood homes tour, a fundraising activity in our neighborhood park.  Many people in the neighborhood like him primarily because he keeps showing up.  If anyone is going to take that type of interest in the neighborhood, they're willing to vote for him.

I'm not necessarily endorsing him for the Council seat (in fact, I also very much like one of his opponents) - but I think he is a great example of the power of showing up.  Showing up builds trust---with inner city kids, with neighborhoods and in the workplace.

Passion

Nothing can spark a career like passion.  And nothing is better than seeing someone who does something that is their passion.

My next door neighbor Clifford got laid off from his job a few months ago.  Since then, he has been spending his time painting -- mostly landscapes, but also on-site painting of many of the homes in the our historic area.  This past weekend, Clifford had art on display at our neighborhood homes tour.  He has several people now who want to pay him to paint their houses also. 

I've lived next to Cliff for 2 years. While always one of the most likeable people I've ever met, I have never seen him happier than he was this weekend -- discussing his art with other artists or with other people who owned historic homes in the neighborhood.  He was literally glowing. 

Wouldn't it be great if we could all have that glow when we were working? 

Sally Hogshead spoke at our creativity symposium last week.  She had the group force us to identify what we were better at than anyone else on the planet...and finding that, and how we could relate that to our careers, would be a key to our happiness, and career longevity.  If we're truly happy, that will show through in our work, which would undoubtedly show through in great career success.

Clifford is there. Are you?