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According to one RCA music exec, “It’s not just about great songs. It’s a full multi-media package.”

Glad we cleared that up.

Long gone are the days of having worldly success on the music stage with just a guitar, great lyrics and a dream. Today, you’re a package. Sure, the music’s part of that package, but there’s so much more. The Wall Street Journal today has an interesting look at Lady Gaga’s rise on the charts – and across the globe.

So, if you’re happy playing acoustic ballads at open mics, that’s great. But if you long to sell out Madison Square Garden and dominate the MTV Awards, you may want to up your digital and style game just a little bit.

Cindy Harris

That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet. Shakespeare is a wonderful poet and playwright; unfortunately, he’s not a marketer.

Apple may have taken Shakespeare’s advice a bit too seriously. Apple launched the new iPad yesterday, which left me wondering if they forgot to invite women to the marketing meeting?

When it comes to branding it can be a real challenge if your business name or that of your product has negative connotations or is similar to something that doesn’t fit your image. You want to make sure to get several outsiders’ opinions when naming your business or new product line. Think about the implication of the words you choose not only for the name, but for slogans and taglines as well. Are there any other brands with similar logos or color schemes? Will they interfere with the brand image that you are trying to build? Make sure to look at it from all the angles and perspectives – not to mention languages. Throughout the years there have been many name blunders that have impacted the success of a business or product  - remember the Nova, who names a car the “no go.” I’m not sure that the iPad is quite as terrible, but it is definitely not the best name Apple could have chosen – iTab perhaps?

So far the buzz has deemed the iPad an iPhone on steroids. Yet I will admit, after getting past the name and the negative hype, I decided to check out what Apple had to say and found myself impressed. The iPad promises new technology and more capabilities than the iPhone or iPod Touch. If the product lives up to these promises and is as wonderfully capable as Apple makes it out to be, success may not be tarnished by a name. Only time will tell if iPad will smell as sweet, regardless of its name.

Mary Grimborg

MSNBC has posted a gallery of the worst Big Game ads ever. Included in this dubious list are Go Daddy’s “shower” spot, Snickers’ “Manly” spot showing two burly guys accidentally kissing while sharing a Snickers, and GM’s suicidal robot.

The lesson for any advertiser? Don’t try so hard. Sure, at $3 million for 30 seconds, it’s a big investment that you want to be sure pays off. However, trying to be too cute, hip or shocking just to be cute, hip or shocking does nothing to enhance your brand, whether you’re in the Big Game or just running on local cable.

Stick to your core brand message in any creative you do. It’s fine to try and grab attention, but when you’re accused of racism, misogyny – or even receive the dreaded “who cares” from your audience – perhaps it wasn’t the best investment after all.

Cindy Harris

The “Big Game” is coming up, and it always produces a lot of buzz in the ad world.  Today’s Wall Street Journal takes a look at the new companies that are putting up $2.5 to $2.9 million for 30 seconds of time to jumpstart awareness of their products and services. Among the newcomers are mobile television provider Flo TV, information provider KGB and vacation rental firm HomeAway.com.

HomeAway will unveil an ad featuring the Griswold family from the National Lampoon “Vacation” series, and Flo TV’s spot will star NFL commentators James Brown and Jim Nantz.

The key to a successful Big Game campaign is the before- and after-game content and promotions. Home Away, for example, will encourage viewers to seek out a 15-minute video featuring the Griswolds. It’s a risky call for any company to drop that much on a single spot and the corresponding buzz-generating content, but it can pay off handsomely if it’s done correctly. (Standouts include last year’s campaigns for Hulu.com and Monster.com).

Stay tuned for more pre- and post-game ad analysis.

Cindy Harris

An article posted today on Ragan.com discusses how social media is helping during the crisis situation in Haiti by serving as a tool for information and donations. Organizations providing relief have been able to provide updates, correct misinformation and more through Facebook and Twitter. Even the White House is getting involved, encouraging fans and followers to text donations to the Red Cross.

On the darker side, some users have used Twitter to start rumors surrounding the tragedy. The organizations involved in these rumors were paying attention and have dealt with the situation.

This brings up something that we here at KMK Media have heard a lot about lately. Social media is not perfect. Anytime there is a new medium there is resistance to change. Most of the time this resistance to new technology is expressed through in the form of, “See all the bad stuff that can happen.” Yes, but what about all the good that can happen.

In this situation for example, if it weren’t for social media tools like Twitter and Facebook people wouldn’t know as much information as they do about the situation, people wouldn’t be able to correct information as fast, and people wouldn’t be able to donate as easily – text message, Facebook causes, etc.

Texting donations = amazing! Texting is also a newer technology in the sense that many outside of the Gen X/Gen Y are still resisting it’s use. You no longer have to send a check in the mail. You can text a five or 10 dollar donation to the Red Cross and provide immediate assistance.

Good, bad or indifferent social media is proving to be a very influential communication tool.

Social media sites rife with activity after Haiti quake

Mary Grimborg

Want to find out how good your grammar skills are? Then give this mini grammar quiz a go. It’s not timed or graded, and the answers and explanations are conveniently supplied on the same page. I even got tripped up by one of them.

But remember (and despite the author’s reassurance) as my favorite professor and grammar mentor Mr. John V. Glass of Rockford College would say: “No one with any taste or breeding would end a sentence with a preposition.”

Words to live by, friends.

Cindy Harris

KFC has paid Indiana $7,500 to put ads on fire extinguishers and hydrants in order to promote their new fiery chicken wings. The money will help Indiana improve their fire safety by paying for the purchase and installation of new hydrants and extinguishers.

In spring 2009, the fast food chain offered big city mayors the opportunity to fill potholes for free if they allowed KFC to paint the logo on top of the filled holes.

KFC will be extending the fire hydrant advertising offer soon to mayors in other large cities. This hybrid between advertising and public relations is a very interesting tactic to consider. A brand may be able to cut through the clutter of traditional advertising and actually help out the communities that they serve. Although, soon enough even this medium will become to cluttered.

Links:

http://blog.kmkmedia.com/2009/03/26/a-real-pothole-solution/

http://www.indystar.com/article/20100106/NEWS05/1060345/KFC-pays-Indiana-cities-for-fiery-ads

http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/retail-restaurants/e3ic48b7a3a3eb3111d1e753e41e824f324

It seems a fan page on Facebook is the new “must-have” marketing accessory, which is OK. The beauty of social media is that people can choose with whom – or with what organization – they interact. If I don’t have an interest in, for example, Uncle Jerry’s Bait and Tackle Shop, then I’m unlikely to join their fan page. But, by having a fan page, Uncle Jerry can interact with those loyal customers and supporters that do have an interest in his business.

One of the drawbacks to so many fan pages is that generally most of them are not living up to their potential in terms of content or delivering what Facebook users need or want. Is the content relevant? Is it technically sophisticated? Does it take advantage of the integration tools that are out there?

Do you manage a fan page – or are you considering launching one? Click here to read some excellent tips on how you can embellish your page to make it even more useful to your fans.

If you feel overwhelmed after reading the piece, remember that social media is a great, cost-effective place to start small, experiment and see what works for you and your social media marketing objectives.

Cindy Harris