The New Way To Troll

Don't Snack On Me

I'm partial to political humor in my daily entertainment mix, which means I've found any number of "YallQaeda" takes in the past day. (In case you haven't been following the news, YallQaeda refers to the Oregon militia members who are occupying a federal building in rural Oregon.) The protestors have vowed to remain for months to draw attention to what they see as an unjust criminal proceeding against two local cattle ranchers, and have managed to get considerable media attention... but now that the authorities have decided to turn off the power and wait out the occupation, rather than risk an armed conflict, the news of the day is that the protesters are using social media to ask for donation of supplies, including socks, snacks, and energy drinks. Which has led to a considerable amount of ridicule, really.

There are, of course, any number of people ready to talk about the politics involved here, or to show how the police treatment of these protestors might differ from, say, how Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter, or those who come near a political convention are treated. This shows a lack of sophistication in the difference between police forces over the country, in my estimation, and Oregon is not exactly a population-dense area. But I digress, and as a consultant, it's not my role to show a side in these matters.

What I find new and interesting about this, especially from a marketing and advertising perspective, is how advances in communication technology allow for fundamentally different interactions between citizens. The protestor message may be brought to you by cable news and and the mainstream media, but the response sure isn't, especially when a postal address is given. (Yes, there's some good fun to be had from anti-government activists collecting supplies through the use of the US Mail. Stay with me on this.)

Imagine, if you will, how moments in our nation's history might have been fundamentally altered with social media and the Web. The Boston Tea Party as flash mob. William Randolph Hearst's efforts to foster fervor around the sinking of the Maine with a timely hashtag. Pancho Villa would have been all kinds of a sensation, honestly.

I don't mean to make light of what might turn into a terrible event. As a nation, our history does not always stay comedic when individuals take up arms against federal employees. But what's different about this is striking and substantial, and speaks to how the news is now not just an industry, or a profit making enterprise, but also a participation sport. Either from the breaking of the event through the use of social media, the escalation of the same, or the changing nature of it. Especially if that P.O. box fills up with items of note.

What does this mean for marketers and advertisers? Well, you have to wonder if a youth-oriented snack brand is going to take a shot at nearly free publicity by putting their wares in the box. No reward without risk. Or if supporters send enough of one brand to make it a de facto sponsorship. Lots of companies make socks and energy drinks and the like, and the temptation to get on the social media gravy train might be too strong to resist.

As a consultant, I'd probably advise a client to steer clear of this if we had any kind of standing in the marketplace. The humor could drain from this situation very quickly, after all, and no one wants their brand to be at the scene of a tragedy. But if I had an entirely new brand and no PR dollars, or was an also-ran or failing already? I just might roll those dice.

And as for what else might come out of this? Well, that's the intriguing part of social media. Supporters and detractors find you the same. And what one group might send to satirize or diminish your position might be very different than what you were asking for.

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Feel free to comment, as well as like or share this column, connect with me on LinkedIn, or email me at davidlmountain at gmail dot com, or hit the RFP boxes. RFPs are always free, and we hope to hear from you soon.

Post-Season Potpourri

Cleaning up in many ways

Two unrelated items as we get back into the swing of things after the holiday break...

First, on the off chance that anyone in the audience is involved in the creation of movies or animation, I've got a new tale to pitch. Saint Necassrius, the post-holiday embodiment of putting away all of the trimmings of the holidays, so that your house doesn't turn into that sad place at the end of the block where everything is up for way too long. Won't you sing with me?

Hail good Saint Nescarrius
He cleans up all our crap!
Halfway through his task you just
Might find him taking a nap!
(because he is a middle-aged 
demon who enjoys his naps)
Hail good Saint Nescarrius
He cleans up all our crap!

I'm thinking Walter Wolf, but either with a Krampus horn or elf trappings. Really, it depends on whether you want to scare your kids into helping, otherwise their stuff disappears, or if you are more happy with them clearing out and giving you time and space to yourself. (And yes, my kids get odd holiday traditions, the foremost of which is the Christmas Weasels.)

The second involves finally getting around to taking the better half to her popcorn movie of choice, which is the latest Star Wars installment. I'll defer from getting into any major plot points in this, since that sort of thing is just poor form for those who haven't been yet, and are still planning to go, but I've got complaints. Minor ones, for the most part, and pointless because of the astounding success it's achieving in the market (see, this turns into a business column after all), but to wit...

1) There is, I read, some actual Oscar buzz around this film, because people seemingly feel bad about big money blockbusters never getting critical acclaim. To which I would say... um, why?

You don't go into a sci-fi blockbuster looking for people who are acting up a storm. You go in for explosions, effects, and other feet up, brain in a box stimuli. (And yes, I know, plenty of smart people like to entertain themselves with populating the Star Wars universe with additional content. That doesn't make it Art. If the audience can do better than the creators, in my opinion, that doesn't speak well to the efforts of the professionals.)

2) You might have heard how George Lucas, the maker of the first six of these franchise events, is disappointed with how the latest has turned out, because it feels to him like a retro event, and that the new corporate owners (Disney) have done more work at this with a merchandise and licensing angle, rather than make something new.

It reminds me of nothing so much as an aging rock band that makes the audience suffer through the new album, rather than play the hits. You can do the former, of course, if you are willing to make less money, play smaller venues, and live with lower crowds. Heck, for a true validation of your art, you can do what David Bowie did in the early '90s and not even use your own name on the marquee, just announce it as a different band. That way, everyone who comes knows what they are getting, and you aren't tempted to use the crutch of past hits to get the crowd on your side. You'll live and die with the new tunes.

But that wouldn't single-handedly save Q4 for theaters, or even generate some weird back-hand award talk now, would it?

As a marketing and advertising consultant, I've always known what acts I was doing for love, or art, and which ones I was doing to pay the bills. If you are very lucky, you can sometimes mix the motivations and hit it with your whole heart, and true pros never give away the game of when it's just a mental exercise.

But no one gets to do just what they want to do, all the time, without compromise or commerce.

It's just a shame that Lucas had his moment of discovering this in front of a reporter, really.

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Feel free to comment, as well as like or share this column, connect with me on LinkedIn, or email me at davidlmountain at gmail dot com, or hit the RFP boxes. RFPs are always free, and we hope to hear from you soon.

The Best Present

Present and Present

Christmas is a multi-day event for my family. The day before is filled with wrapping, decorations, and making the staging area just right. The day itself is for immediate family, with our group of four exchanging presents. Later in the day, we usually visit local family, with a few more presents to exchange. The next day or so, grandmothers visit, and those gifts are also passed around. It sometimes feels like overkill, but for the most part it works, and everyone gets more or less what they want. (This year, for me? Really good socks and a treadmill. I live a very exciting life.)

However, this year was different, because in addition to taking care of our own needs, we also did something altruistic and deep. I'm not going to get into the details of it, because they are private, but our commitment here was more significant than we usually do, despite coming at the end of a highly challenging year.

What I've discovered from the act was that it has stayed with me, even in small moments and unoccupied times. Where you might find seasonal depression, concerns about crass capitalism, or worries that the kids are being spoiled, now I've got the memory of giving. Instead of obsessing about how we're going to make what we need to make, or just how short the year has been, it's more of a confidence that, well, we did that, and it will come back in time and in measure.

It's kind of like the counter-balance to grief. We had a beloved pet pass away far too soon a while back, and I can make myself feel bad just about any time I care to, just by remembering that day. But now, I can make myself feel good, just by remembering the gift. If you are of a means to do so, I can't recommend the presence of this kind of gift in your life highly enough.

And with that, I'm going to call an end to 2015 posts on the M&AD blog and on LinkedIn, and see you all in a week. It's time to clear out the fitness goals, work on the nooks and crannies of the house that have missed my previous attention, binge on some Netflix (I've finally cracked open "House of Cards", and by heaven, it's great), play video games with the kids and get away from the writing addiction for a little while. We'll be back for the usual 3X weekly schedule in 2016, and as a final gift to you, this: we got through the entire month of December without resorting to a listicle or calendar-driven futures pieces. Of such small moments are holiday miracles, and memories, made.

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Feel free to comment, as well as like or share this column, connect with me on LinkedIn, or email me at davidlmountain at gmail dot com, or hit the RFP boxes. RFPs are always free, and we hope to hear from you soon.