<b> Bold Interactive Inc.

The entertainment industry is notorious for poor relations with its most loyal customers. And nowhere is that more evident than MTV.

Sunday’s live broadcast of the Video Music Awards was a complete trainwreck. And it’s not Britney’s fault. The program was unfocused, split among several Las Vegas hotel suites and a lackluster mainstage. I’m not going to go into all the disastrous details (there were many), but MTV didn’t take care of its artists or its audience.

Justin Timberlake vocalized the desire of millions when he urged MTV to play more videos. The obvious argument is that music videos must not be a profitable model. But when was the last time you heard someone say “I really wish MTV would stop playing music videos”?

I’m not surprised that Kanye West was left feeling like promoting his music on MTV is a waste of his time. The channel barely has any music-related programming, instead filling the schedule with superficial reality dramas about So Cal teens.

This has created a cycle of diminishing the value of music videos in the industry.

My brother, who has worked on several music videos, informed me that budgets are being cut for videos because they’re not seen as a very strong marketing tool anymore. Consumers view them on small screens on their iPods or laptops as opposed to TV. This has resulted in a lessened desire on the part of music companies to budget a big production.

But this thinking is a demonstration of the continued resistance of record labels to embrace the future of the music industry. Yes, they can cut their budgets because web programming is significantly less expensive, but writing off music videos altogether is a mistake.

In fact, the entertainment industry in general has difficulties catering to its audience, and rewarding and supporting its brand evangelists.

Recently, I paid $29.95 for my daughter to join the Miley Cyrus fan club. The reason I signed her up was to have access to pre-sale concert tickets, which I assumed would be some of the best seats in the house. This morning, my husband tried to buy pre-sale concert tickets for our daughter and myself (I was at a client meeting). But none of the tickets were close to the stage. So I’m taking my chances when they go on sale to the general public. My daughter doesn’t even use the fan club site, which has usability issues as it’s completely done in Flash. So there’s $30 down the drain.

Later this morning, my husband was visiting the USA Network web site, watching outtakes from Psych, one of our favorite shows. But before watching the actual clip, he has to sit through advertisements - about the USA Network. It’s kind of like walking into McDonald’s and having to watch their commercials before ordering. When a customer is sold - stop selling!

Thankfully, the internet is a powerful tool in the hands of talented people. More and more, we are seeing those who might be ignored by corporate entertainment conglomerates get their shot in front of millions of people who haven’t been given what they really, really want.

Next time there’s “nothing on TV”, try Revver, Metacafe, Veoh, YouTube, or MySpace and discover your next favorite performer.

Technorati Tags: MTV, music videos, entertainment, miley cyrus, psych, USA network, marketing

The Future of Social Networks - David Wilson @ Social Media Optimization

3 Ways to Get Screwed by Social Media Marketing - Aaron Wall @ SEOBook

Forum Marketing Techniques - Matthew Sherborne @ his eponymous blog

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5 Strategies for How to Utilize Professional Product Laura Howard West @ Startup Princess

The secret to controlling marketing conversations in social media is: You don’t really want to control the conversation in the first place.

Here’s what I mean.

You know the ol’ saying “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is”? Smart consumers mistrust products and services that seem flawless. They’ve learned how to assess risk and that ability actually makes them feel smart and confident.

Part of their risk assessment includes appreciation for transparent marketing campaigns. With an inherent understanding that nothing is perfect, a loyalty to admittedly flawed brands develops.

These top tier consumers are your primary candidates for brand evangelists.

Insert brand dissenters. They spread negativity about a company. Maybe they got up on the wrong side of the bed. Maybe they have a generally pessimistic outlook. Either way, brand dissenters build your brand rather than tear it down.

There is a certain credibility for brands that are flawed by self-admission (note that this does not mean self-defeating though a touch of self-deprecation can be charming). Brand dissenters support the truth behind these transparent flaws, offering up ironic credentials for companies they loathe.

Dissenters also build by furthering the conversation. They often ruffle the feathers of brand evangelists. The back and forth discourse between the two sides raises brand awareness and aids in word of mouth marketing and other viral/buzz marketing efforts.

What happens if your company is lacking brand evangelists? Many companies are tempted to “fake” it. This is a big mistake that always backfires. The painful truth is that a lack of passionate, loyal consumers means that a company has an internal problem. The product or service is not what the people want. This may not even be reflected in sales because it can be disguised as a lack of potential sales - very difficult to measure.

When it comes to conversational marketing and social media, negative publicity does not in and of itself kill a brand. A brand’s social media success is highly correlated with the essential business practices that have existed for centuries. Fulfill a need with a fantastic product.

Technorati Tags: social media, conversation marketing

I want to give a HUGE SHOUTOUT to my brother, Isaac, who was a production assistant for the Rihanna “Umbrella” music video. Last night, the video won for both “Video of the Year” and “Monster Hit of the Year” at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Isaac moved to Los Angeles [u]just one year ago[/u]. And already, he’s worked on a nice slate of music videos as well as been cast in a few music videos as the role of bass player. Additionally, he worked on the promo commercials for the highly anticipated Fox comedy Back to You, starring Kelsey Grammar and Patricia Heaton.

If that wasn’t enough, his band has been recording their new cd.

Congratulations to you bro, and may the second year be even better!!!!

Technorati Tags: MTV, VMA, video music awards, rihanna

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Advanced Linking - Interview With Aaron Wall Of SEOBook.com Peter Da Vanzo @ LinkJuicy

I do not normally write about updates to various things that Google produces. (I stated as much in a comment on Liz Strauss’s blog just today!) But something happened that has given me a new lease on life.

I was just looking through my feeds for an interview with Wendy Piersall and thinking for the millionth time “I wish Google Reader had a search feature.”

Providence kicked in and my eyes were divinely guided to the top of the page. I gasped as I saw a box with a button next to it labeled “Search.” Could it be? Yes it was!!!!

Immediately a loud “Hallelujah!” in a operatic falsetto voice emanated from my vocal chords. My children wondered what could be so exciting. Unfortunately, for them it was not nearly as exciting as High School Musical 2 or Transformers being shown at IMAX. But my husband gave me a high-five. He is, after all, who introduced me to Reader in the first place.

Thank you, Google. Thank you for finally doing what you do best. Enabling search!

Technorati Tags: RSS, Google

1. SEO is an excellent vehicle to get to a destination, but is rarely a destination unto itself… don´t be afraid to leverage SEO knowledge for something bigger and better. - Todd Mintz on The Domaining Revolution: Lessons From The Domain Roundtable
2. Strategies and tactics that were once must-dos for any site will become second nature and will incorporate social media practices as online marketing and advertising evolves. - Giovanni Gallucci on Blending Your SEO Practices with Social Media
3. Point out that the lasting links you’ve made are with people, not bits of code. - Liz Strauss on 10 Ways to Kill the Kudzu and Get Your Blogging Mojo Back
4. It is about people. Not technology. The technology is a tool. - Bob Massa on Online Marketing - Old School
5. In my case, success only came to me once I allowed my positive personality to shine through. DazzlinDonna on The Attitude of Success
6. Successfully bringing a product to market is what makes the world a better place — because it satisfies needs in the market and expands the economy. There were music players before the iPod, but Apple innovated the iPod into more of a “must have” device. - Mike Masnick on No Shortage Of Ideas… It’s Successfully Bringing Them To Market That’s Tricky
7. Finding relevant links that are targeted to your business are not as hard as you might think. - Mat Siltala on Proof You can Gain Additional Rankings and Build Relevant Links with Google News
8. Next to contextual search (i.e. just a plain ‘regular’ search on a search engine) Image Search is the fastest growing vertical search in the space. - Liana Evans on 5 Tips for Optimizing Images for the Search Engines
9. Often, the less words we have to work with, the better the result. Every single word is made to count. - Skelliewag on Little Words, Big Meaning
10. Specific copy beats generalities. - Ankesh Kothari on How to Get the Genies to Give You What You Want
11. Just write anything and worry about perfection later on. - Matt Ambrose on 10 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block
12. Usability, accessibility and search engine marketing practices are united partners because they’re focused on the web site visitor. - Kim Krause Berg on Usability and SEO - Red Light, Green Light

A favorite card game of mine is Apples to Apples. It’s not played with a traditional deck of cards, but rather with red and green cards. The red cards are nouns and the green cards are adjectives.

Everyone starts with 7 red cards. A green card is placed in the middle by a judge. Every player gets a turn to be the judge (you go around the circle until the game is over).

The players who are not the judge choose from their hand which card is best described by the green card. So if the green card is “pretty” you might put down “Jessica Alba.” But, the judge uses his or her own opinion to decide which played red card is the best matched to the green card.

My friend Chris made a wise observation when playing the game. He said, “Know your judge.” He knew that what was “pretty” or “nice” or “stupid” to one person might be completely different than the preferences of another.

Chris was a teacher. I learned pretty quickly that if he places a green card with a flattering adjective, that I should play any red cards related to teaching that I had.

The marketing lesson is obvious. Know your audience! What makes them tick? Play your cards right and you’ll be seeing dollar signs in no time.

Technorati Tags: online marketing, target market, target audience

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I’m on hold right now listening to some horrible music and it occurred to me that in this day of personalization - why can’t I choose the type of music I want to listen to while I’m waiting?

I suppose it would be expensive, with licensing fees and all - the RIAA would make sure of that. But it would be awesome if I could listen to the Foo Fighters, Snow Patrol or Timbaland while my ear is attached to the phone.

Then again, record companies could use it as a way to market new music. Or you could have a “new music by artists you’ve never heard before option” and independent artists could have a new way of making it big.

Listen, if I’m gonna be on hold, I might as well have a little fun, don’t you think?