Promo - August 2008 - (Page 6)

www.promomagazine.com A Penton Media publication EDITORIAL PROMO Executive Editor Patricia Odell Senior Editor Amy Johannes Reporter Richard Tedesco B rian Q uinton / Editor-at- Large Editor’s note Editor-at-Large, Promo and Direct Brian Quinton DESIGN/PRODUCTION Art Director Jed Davis ADVERTISING Associate Publisher Bryan Benjamin bryan.benjamin@penton.com Dir. of Mktg. Services/Classiﬁed Alan Steen Fall of the Machines The new Web is about social as much as software Have you heard about the Netflix prize? The mail-order movie rental mogul is offering $1 million to anyone who can develop an online movie recommendation software that is 10% more accurate at predicting what people will like than its current algorithm. The serious size of the purse is an indication of just how badly Netflix wants to get a skosh better at producing recommendations its users feel good about. $1 million: That’s a lot of Jujubes. I applaud the effort. But while the Netflix competition is slated to continue at least until 2011, its time may already be running out. We’re becoming more accustomed to getting our reviews and recommendations the old-fashioned way: from real people, most of whom we’ll never meet face to face. With more user-generated content on Web sites, going to the Internet to find advice on everything from game consoles to guinea fowl recipes will become more personal all the time. Those less structured environments are more effective at directing preferences because they work in a social context. People join a community, post a few comments, perhaps exchange notes or pokes with other members and get to feel they know the group. That gives them the confidence to sort through the picks and pans for the ones they feel they can trust. Of course, the Web will always have a place for structured merchandising. Software is behind two of the biggest success stories in e-commerce, Google and Amazon. But I believe marketers and promoters are going to have to get more active about incorporating social networks and communities into their campaigns as our Internet use matures. I can foresee a point at which simply launching a new product with a single campaign or promo idea—even an interactive one—will seem narrow and thin without some viral potential built into it. And the bigger the buy, the more personal I want the advice to be. I’ll take my chances on a new shampoo. When it comes to a vacation destination, a new car or a video camera, I’m going to want to hear from someone who’s been there, driven one or tried to use it during a five-year-old’s birthday party. As the Web moves forward, it’s going to be increasingly important to get real people speaking up for your message or offering. Marketers should be trying on different tactics now to enlist those citizen advocates. Oh, and Netflix? Consider adding a human touch to your recommendation system. At the very least, give me a rating button that replaces the bland “Not Interested” with something more expressive: for example, “Would Rather Undergo Elective Surgery Than Watch This Dreck.” P You can have that improvement for nothing. l 6 alan.steen@penton.com Resource Sales Associate Cynthia Foristel cynthia.foristel@penton.com Resource Sales Associate Karen Putrimas karen.putrimas@penton.com Online Sales Development Director Rob Shore rob.shore@penton.com Production Manager Brenda Wiley brenda.wiley@penton.com Classiﬁed Production Coordinator Lindsey Sutton lindsey.sutton@penton.com P E N TO N M A R K E T I N G M E D I A S T R AT E G I E S Senior Vice President, Penton Media Financial Services and Marketing Group Warren N. Bimblick Publisher Leslie Bacon Group Editorial Director Ray Schultz Group Copy Chief Charles Vietri Group Research Editor Richard H. Levey Audience Marketing Manager Seth Olson Show Director Angela Eastin READER INFO Editorial e-mailbox: promo.mag@penton.com Subscriber Service: (866)505-7173 (toll-free in the U.S.); (847)763-9504 (for calls originating outside the U.S.) Reprints: reprints@pentonreprints.com or (888)858-8851 List Rental: Marie.Briganti@walterkarl.infousa.com or (845)732-7054 EDITORIAL OFFICES 11 Riverbend Drive South Stamford, CT 06907-0225 Phone (203) 358-9900 Fax (203) 358-5834 ADVERTISING 249 West 17th Street New York, NY 10011-5300 Phone (212) 462-3580 Fax: (212) 683-4572 Chief Executive Oﬃcer John French john.french@penton.com Chief Revenue Oﬃcer Darrell Denny darrell.denny@penton.com Vice President, General Councel Elise Zealand elise.zealand@penton.com Reprints: Contact Penton Reprints (www.pentonreprints .com) to purchase quality custom reprints or e-prints of articles appearing in PROMO at (888) 858-8851 or reprints@pentonreprints.com. Instant reprints and permissions may be purchased directly from our Web site; look for the iCopyright tag appended to the end of each online article. Portions of our magazine subscriber lists are available to carefully screened companies that oﬀer products and services directly related to the industries we cover. Any subscriber who does not want to receive mailings from third-party companies should contact the subscriber service department at (800) 441-0294 (USA), or (913) 967-1707 (outside USA). ©2008 Penton Media. All Rights Reserved August 2008 / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / Promo http://w.promomagazine.com http://www.pentonreprints.com http://www.pentonreprints.com http://www.promomagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - August 2008

Promo - August 2008 Contents Editor's Note Turf War Have You Seen Us? Film Fest Print on the Run Always Ready, Always There The Personal Touch Commentary College Bound Shakin' It Up Q&A: The Summer of Slurpee ¡Conectado! Resource Center The Agency Center Customer Care Index of Advertisers

Promo - August 2008

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