Jim gives his observations from the NY Auto Show. Is the industry advancing, or is it all just marketing bling?

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Episode #150! Thanks to everyone that has read the blog and listened to the podcast over the years.

It seems things have come full circle… In Episode #1 of the Hopkinson Report podcast, I compared the iPhone to a Porsche, and asked, “Has the iPhone reached ‘no substitute’ status?”

Well, the iPhone is still going strong, with Apple on track to make $100 billion dollars in 2011. It sold 18.65 million iPhones in the quarter, an eye-popping 113 percent increase over last year, destroying Wall Street’s consensus estimate of 16.6 million units.

As for Porsche, I get to them a little later.

When I talk about marketing cars, I think the interesting thing is that companies have to market them all the time. A user might buy a car only once every 3, 5, or even 10 years, so car companies have to be building this brand and trust constantly.

Let me give you a personal example. My aging parents were looking for a car to replace their aging 1999 Toyota Camry. Since I love cars, love research, and love negotiating, I was excited at the challenge. I narrowed it down to four basic car companies that they would lease: Toyota, Honda, Ford, Hyundai.

The truth is, I knew I really couldn’t go wrong, as all the cars were virtually identical when it came to price, options, features, and gas mileage.

Here was what I decided on:
Toyota Camry – Looked solid all around, but in the end I had limited time and didn’t even get to test drive the Camry. While others might have said, “I love the Camry, let me just upgrade models from 1999 to 2011,” in our case it was kind of the opposite. We felt that going from one Camry to the next was kind of boring. Why not mix it up a bit.

Honda Accord – Speaking of boring, you can’t get more safe than the Accord. This isn’t a bad thing… it’s a safe bet, very reliable, and has been around for decades. But since this was a lease, I was a little less concerned about resale value. In the end, I steered away from the Accord because I didn’t like the experience in the showroom with the sales reps, and it was more expensive.

Ford Fusion – To their credit, a strong marketing presence in the past few years was enough just to get Ford into the Final Four. I’m not sure I would have considered this car a few years ago. A strong effort, but not quite enough.

Hyundai Sonata – In the end it was the Hyundai Sonata that did just enough of the little things right to put it over the top in this competitive battle.
- First, the experience was good. The dealership was professional without playing any “let me talk to my manager” bull**** and the sales rep was very straightforward.
- Next was styling. To me, the car just looked much more stylish. Like a brand new 2011 look and feel, as opposed to a continually updated model each year.
- The interior was solid and had a great feel
- It had a better base engine… 190hp vs 169, 177, and 175 with the others.
- The negotiated price was right

But enough about the stats, what about the marketing?

When I looked back at my blog and podcast, I had talked about Hyundai in episode 23, 28, 52 (coverage of the 2009 Auto Show), 91, and 140.

That’s five times over 3 years, some good, some bad, but they were top of mind. You know what?

That’s true marketing. Earned marketing. Multiple mediums. Lots of trust built and money spent.

But I’m a little worried about the auto industry going for the quick fix.
When it’s fake, you can see right through it.

Here are 7 examples of what could be too much marketing bling:
(summary below… listen to the podcast for full descriptions)

1) Bling Car
See the photo at the top of the post. This car was made purely for bling value and to bring attention to it, so that’s transparent at least.

2) Spokespeople
The uber coiffed and professional models strutted around the cars like Vanna White crack me up. I can’t tell if this is a good gig for them (just one speech to memorize) or a bad gig (they’d rather be acting).

But I do know one thing… when the Dodge spokeswoman was talking about “Adaptive Cruise Control with forward collision warning,” she literally said “…so you don’t have to worry about any forward collisions.”

Really? I don’t have to worry about accidents? Is that a little bit of hyperbole? Just a bit?

3) Detroit
I’ve talked about this before… I’m rooting for Detroit. I really am. Check out this fascinating article in GQ titled “Destroying Detroit (in Order to Save It).”
But the Chrysler 200 – the one Eminem drove in the Super Bowl ad… it’s not quite there yet.

4) Audi on Checks In
Audi had a Foursquare check-in. They were trying, but I’m not sure it was the right audience for this.

5) iPads
Several car companies tried to integrate the hottest tech gadget for the show, mostly with success.
- Porsche used iPads for data collection, taking my name and address in order to send me more information. It was fast and efficient.
- BMW used iPads to actually display data about their cars. A step up from just a standard piece of paper listing options, but maybe a bit of overkill.
- Hyundai‘s Equus model comes with an iPad for the user manual in the glove box. Again, maybe a little bit of overkill and trying to capitalize on the iPad’s buzz — why not just say “Buy an Equus, get a free iPad — but when they start to add other little things like the ability to schedule service appointments, they’re getting there.

6) Prove you were here
This was a promotion Chevy did, where users could get their picture taken in a car, then upload it to Facebook or other social media sites. I liked the idea because it works in this environment… it’s fun, gets people sitting in the cars, and has a viral element.

7) Electric Car test driving in the basement of the convention center
This was a little strange to me. Of course I believe electric cars are eventually going to be our future, but it was a little bit of a circus atmosphere to have people in line waiting to drive one.

But I understand it because in the same way that car companies have to spend years introducing a brand, it could take decades to really win over the public and prove to old-timers (like me) that it’s time to change to a hybrid or electric car. Cars will continue to evolve as they become more like computers, but it might take some time.

As for Porsche? They had a great little social media case study.

It went like this:
- Porsche was the first car company to get to 1 million fans on Facebook
- They created a custom 911 saying thank you, with 28,000 names on it
- Fans could search for their name on a microsite
- They made a “making of” video of the process

Are we at the point where liking a car brand is worth it for them to put your name on an actual car? Well, I thought it was a very interesting program, a good test for them, and you know those 28,000 fans — probably the most loyal followers they have — are going to spread the word all over Facebook.

But what if Porsche offered to give me the Facebook-branded car because I was such a big fan. Would I accept it? Aahhh, I don’t know. It might be a bit too blingy for me.

Today I question the spread of social media to every last place on earth.

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Hey everybody

It’s my annual Super Bowl commercial podcast. You know I love sports, you know I love marketing, and I also love beer and cars so that’s covered too.

Last year I broke down 10 Super Bowl commercials that were completely irrelevant (and 6 that weren’t), but this year I’m going to do a quick one.

Passing thoughts were that a lot of commercials must have paid big money royalties to songwriters, including Kenny G, Elton John, David Bowie, Jay Z, Eminem, and the theme from Star Wars. I guess on the big stage, you want a music that people know.

I thought Bridgestone and Audi and Teleflora hit their mark, Best Buy tried a little too hard, the beer commercials were about par for the course, and the ad exec that suggested the ‘Pepsi Max can to the groin‘ should be fired. You know his defense was. ‘C’mon… can to the groin always works.’ Sadly, he’s kinda right.

And by far the one that stopped me in my tracks was Chrysler’s Eminem spot. Beautifully shot, held your attention, and made you think. Am I going to go buy a Chrysler? Let’s say the chances of that rose from never, not a chance…. to less than 3%.

But you know what? I’ve been swayed before. My parents need a new car, and I told them to look at two Hyundai models and two Ford models in addition to checking out an updated Camry. Can’t say I would have done that 5 years ago.

More importantly is what I think it does for Detroit. The motor city has been the brunt of jokes for well over a decade now. They’re like the youngest brother that can’t keep up with the rest of the family. But it’s still YOUR little brother. And maybe the Super Bowl, a game of upsets and redemption, is the perfect place to make a stand. Look at last year’s champions, the New Orleans Saints. Here was a franchise whose team was steeped in failure, but the entire country rallied around a city. Maybe Detroit is up next.

But let’s switch to the main topic…

Facebook integration on a new car.

For those that missed it, check out the spot below, or here’s the scene. A young couple is standing on the sidewalk at night after a first date, there’s the awkward pause, then they share a quick kiss before the girl runs into her apartment.

The guy gets into his car, hits a button on the mirror, and uses a voice command to bring up a spoken feed of his Facebook page, which assures him that his love interest has posted ‘Best first date ever.’ The tagline?

The all-new Chevy Cruze with real-time Facebook status updates.
When the good news, just can’t wait.

My visceral reaction was as follows:

- That’s the most ridiculous idea I’ve ever heard of

- That is the most unsafe thing I could imagine… what if the status update had been, ‘Back from my date, what a tremendous loser. Bad breath, stiffed the waiter with a bad tip, and talked about his mom all night. I’ll never get THOSE 2 hours back.’

- That’s a desperate move by Chevy to try to seem hip with the younger crowd

- Will social media seep it’s way into every last crevice of our lives? It seems the term work-life balance is going to become obsolete. There’s a good chance that the couple probably were texting and tweeting and checking in the entire date and not even getting to know each other. People are dialed in 24-7, work too hard, and can’t get away from technology. Can’t you drive home with a great song on the radio and not have to be on Facebook?

But I wanted to take an alternative viewpoint than everyone else.

Entertainment in the car has always evolved. Sure, there are Ferraris and Porsches that don’t have a radio, because the low, sweet sound of the engine gurgling and roaring is all a true driver needs to hear.

But we’ve gone from AM-only, to AM/FM, and then progressed from physical 8-Tracks to cassettes to CDs to multi-CD changers. There has always been a bond between a car and the music.

But now things have gone digital. We have satellite radio, iPod connectors, GPS systems with talking voices, and even video game systems and DVD players to entertain passengers.

Getting Facebook updates in your car is just the next step in the evolution of two trends we’ve been seeing for the last decade or more.

1) When it comes to entertainment, people want to consume what they want, where they want it, and when they’re ready.

That’s why we listen to podcasts on the subway, TV shows on computers, newspapers on iPads, and Saturday Night Live on DVR Sunday morning.

2) Social media is the new form of media.

There was a time when people read magazine or newspapers, or watched the evening news or the Tonight Show. Now people are spending hours per day, every day, with social media.

It doesn’t matter if it’s Twitter or Facebook or Blogs, this is entertainment to many many people in 2011. What’s more, it’s personal.

Some people have long commutes or drive for a living. If it’s just a voice talking about the day’s events, what’s the difference if it’s yapping sports talk show hosts talking about the Super Bowl, NPR breaking down the political status in Egypt, Eminem stringing together rap lyrics, or your close friends and family talking about the events of the day.

In fact, having Facebook in your car is kind of like a first date. There’s a lot of unknowns, it seems awkward and exciting at the same time, and only time will tell if things will work out.

=======================

What do you think? Ridiculous idea or sign of things to come? Hit me up on Twitter under the name @Hopkinson Report

The ideal customer is not only one that keeps coming back, but that buys more expensive items over time.

Is Apple the best in history?

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We are winding down the end of the year, just a few podcasts left to go. As we hit the holidays,

I bet there are a lot of Apple products on people’s lists:
- I’ve been predicting all year that the iPad is going to be the #1 tech gift of the season (along with the Kindle)
- iPod music players are always in demand
- The laptop elite will be lusting for the Macbook Air
- Digital entertainment geeks might long for the $99 Apple TV

Today I want to talk about the near-perfect upsell path that Apple has perfected. I’ve covered this topic a bit in the past, for example in Episode 107, Can the iPad be beat?.

In that post, I told the tale of how I went from using a PC for 21 years before switching over to a Mac in 2007, and since they buying an iPhone in 2008 and an iPad in 2010.

The reasons why I switched from a PC to a Mac for me were obvious and quite simple:
a) I wanted a laptop and operating system where didn’t have to worry about viruses
b) I wanted ease of use for syncing my existing iTunes library and playing podcasts
c) It would be nice to be able to bring it to Apple retail store if anything went wrong

But I was at the Silicon Alley Insider Ignition conference last week, and Gene Munster, an analyst from Piper Jaffrey started talking about it. Here are some of the predictions he talked about, answering the question

What is Apple’s place in the future of various media?

Tablets: In terms of the iPad, he said they have 90% marketshare now, but because of the increased competition, that would drop to about 45% by 2012. He did say they did studies between the iPad and Galaxy and 85% of people preferred the iPad (although I found out later that it was a small sample size of 65 people). Just reported on Wired as I post this, is that the Galaxy Tab has already sold 1 million units.

Mobile phones: In the mobile phone business, he said that there would be two top players that dominated, and that would be the iPhone and Android. He said the losers in the phone space, would be Windows phones, Blackberry, and Nokia.

Music, movies, and TV: He said that Apple would continue to be ‘the gatekeeper of music’ because the iPod is the digital music player with 90% market share. However, with movies and TVs, it’s going to be more fragmented. He says they have about 45% market share, but there are too many content players and apps to compete with. I’m thinking Amazon, cable TV, Hulu, Netflix, and a few others is who he is referring to.

But then the next thing he said, and don’t quote me because this part was live and I was jotting it down so I am paraphrasing, was something to the effect of:

‘Apple does such an amazing job with their upgrade path. They start them young, they get them in cheap, and then they graduate them up the ladder. From the iPod to the iPad to the iPhone. No other company has this ability.’

Since I’ve been preaching this, and living this, the first part made sense to me.

- They have 90% of the digital music market, and that means the iPod. They can get pre-teenagers to buy in at a very low price of $49, for a bright, fun, colorful iPod shuffle. Or maybe they get a holiday gift, or save some allowance, and it’s the $149 Nano or $229 iPod touch.

The point is, they see fun, happy commercials, their friends have iPods too, and they want one. But what’s the main key? Many times, this gets them into the Apple Store. So what happens there? They’re greeted with a super-friendly, super-knowledgeable staff, and everything in the store can be used and tested… computers, phones, iPads, you name it.

- Now a few years later when the 9 year-old turns 13, they want a phone. Of course there are many on the market, but a $200 iPhone — plus long term contract — has a familiar interface, can play all their songs immediately, and is available right in that store.

- And when 18 comes around and they’re headed off to college, it’s a toss up between a Mac and a PC.  The HP or Dell or Toshiba at Best Buy is always going to be cheaper, but that slick Macbook is going to have a lot of appeal. Next thing you know, Dad is pulling out his credit card and sending Steve Jobs another grand.

- Then along comes the iPad and Apple TV, and I think you get my point. A fanboy is born.

But it was that last line Munster said, that as a marketer, got my attention.

‘No other company has this ability.’

So I started thinking of other companies, not only in consumer electronics, but in all other industries, that could do what Apple does, along those two key criteria:

1) Bring a consumer in at a young age and keep them all through adulthood

2) Start them with a product under $100 and graduate them to spending thousands

In the end, I could only come up with four decent examples, and none quite as smooth as Apple:

1) Personal products.
There’s a marketing research question that says ‘What kind of toothpaste do you use?’ and the answer is invariably the one that your parents used. Because there’s not a lot of differentiation, most people stick with the brand that they grew up with.

However, while the long-term repurchase rate is spectacular, there’s not much of an upgrade path besides going from mint paste to total control whitening with baking soda for an extra 50 cents.

One argument you could make is razors. If Gillette can suck you to the sample Fusion Power razor for a mere $9 and you stick with them, at $4 a freaking blade, the average man will spend thousands in cartridges over his lifetime.

Another one my female friend suggested was makeup. I can’t be too helpful with specifics, but I’m sure each brand has a lower priced teen line, and then keeps you all the way through, from sexy eyeliner in your 20s, into fire engine red lipstick as a cougar, and $75 wrinkle removal cream past 40.

2) Clothing
One company that could outfit you from cradle to grave is the Gap. Think about it, you start out wearing cute Baby Gap outfits as a toddler. Then you go to cargo pants and graphic T’s from Old Navy. You move on to khakis and a hoodie from The Gap, before dropping $1000 on a suit, dress shirt, a tie, shoes, and overcoat at Banana Republic. Of course, when you hit the downside of old age, you probably revert back to sweatpants and fleece jackets from the Gap again.

However, I’m not sure how many people really link those three companies together, and they really don’t push you hard from one store to the next.

3) Cars
It’s no coincidence that you have to walk through a new car showroom to get to the service area at your local dealer. If you’re bringing in your old Honda Civic for a new muffler, they want to make darn sure you see the 2011 Honda Accord Coupe. If you’re in there enough times, you’ll eventually get the speech that it’s not worth it to keep repairing your old vehicle, so why not take a test drive in the latest and greatest.

From there, the hope is that you’ll make the connection between Honda and Acura, and climb your way even further up the luxury ladder. While you’re not getting into a decent-running Civic for under $5000, let alone $100, the potential for a car company to keep you for life and extract tens of thousands from you is there.

While we’re on the topic, what about car insurance? Geico runs so many ads, they can’t decide if they want to use cavemen or geckos or the guy that says ‘Could switching to Geico really save you 15% or more on car insurance? Did the little piggy cry wee wee wee all the way home?’

The hope there of course? Get you in at a great rate on one car, then get your whole family, then upsell to home insurance too. Definitely could add up to thousands.

4) Credit cards
This one fits the criteria, if only for the evilness. I know I’ve read studies that show most people spend the most money on the first credit card they got in college. So now you know why all those tables with the freebies are set up during orientation.

The average undergrad has $2,200 in credit card debt. So it’s easy to see that by giving students a free t-shirt or gift for under $50, eventually they’ll be ringing up purchases that will being thousands to credit card companies.

Hey wait a minute, I bet they’re using those cards to buy stuff from the Apple store…

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Ah, Super Bowl Sunday. The day every football player aspires to. How do players get their start? The NFL Draft. The last player picked, after more than 200-250 people have been selected, has been given the name “Mr. Irrelevant.” Don’t laugh — Marty Moore was picked by the Patriots dead last in 1994, and went on to play in the 1996 Super Bowl.

Ah, Super Bowl Sunday commercials. The day every marketing person aspires to. To have their ads seen by millions. And there should only be one goal. To make your ad relevant.

But when it came to relevance, how did so many spots miss the point?

Here are 10 Super Bowl commercials that were completely irrelevant (and 6 that weren’t).

For the FULL RANT, download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:

1. Hyundai
You’re comparing the paint quality vs. a Mercedes??? When thinking about buying a car, people think about comfort, safety, horsepower, styling, resale value, cost, fuel economy… should I keep going? Where on the list is paint quality? I think this selling point is pretty irrelevant.

2. Doritos
Some funny commercials in there, but where does the URL at the end of the spot send people? www.SnackStrongProductions.com

Now listen, I get it. Snack Strong Productions is probably part of some bigger program. Doritos.com is probably too focused. I go there (SSP) and sure enough, there is a whole bunch of things going on.

So then I go over to Doritos.com, and guess what. IT’S THE SAME EXACT WEBSITE!

Why would you do that? Why would you take the chance at sending people to a 3-word, 22 letter website? Who doesn’t know the word Doritos? Do you like Doritos? I LOVE Doritos. Hey, it’s the Doritos commercial! I wish we got some Doritos! SO WHY NOT SEND PEOPLE TO DORITOS.COM??? Is Snack Strong Productions relevant to any consumer?

3. Boost Mobile
Again, we’re talking relevance and targeting. Who the heck is the target market??? According to Wikipedia, “The Boost Mobile brand was originally marketed to the teen and young adult demographics.” I’m not sure who they’re going after now, but I’m guessing it’s still a younger, hipper, tech-savvy generation.

So who do they bust out? A Super Bowl Shuffle Rehash??? This is horrible. Are you kidding me? “The Boost Mobile Shuffle???” That team was from 1985 – - 25 years ago!!! I asked my intern if he knew who Mike Singletary was. No idea. You know why? Because my intern wasn’t even alive in 1985. Thus, this commercial was irrelevant to him.

4. Shape-Ups
This one doesn’t start off well. The first sentence is “Get in shape without setting foot in a gym.” Really? All we need is fancy pair of dorky looking sneakers in order to cure obesity? We don’t need to watch our diet (consisting of Doritos)? Don’t need to get sleep? Just put on these shoes and get in shape?

Then it gets worse: “Hi, I’m Joe Montana, I spent 16 years playing football, and Shape-ups have improved my strength and posture.” Really Joe? What kind of strength are we talking? Are you squatting 650 and deadlifting 540 now? And how do you measure posture improvement?

And if you’re going to endorse the product, could you at least show up for the video shoot and throw a ball around wearing a generic maroon football shirt? No? What about letting them use a photo? No good on that either? Do you need the money? I saw that you put your $49 million vacation house up for sale, won’t that help?

Oh, and when did Joe play? That’s right, he retired 16 years ago.

5. Taco Bell
Just want to take this space to say Charles Barkley cannot rap. Oh, and he cannot act. He was terrible on Saturday Night Live. Yes, I know he’s not a trained actor and has to read cue cards. But simply terrible for someone that is on TV on a regular basis. The marketing person that said “Let’s get Charles Barkley to rap about Tacos” obviously has never seen him on TNT or SNL. You could say he is irrelevant in the rap community.

6. Dove Men Care
Hands up… how many men feel that they needed their own soap? I’m sure Dove has lots of research, but I think to the average beer-drinking, football-watching man, this product is irrelevant. I’d like to see the list of ingredients, and see what is in there that isn’t in the women’s version. I’m guessing a lot of this is packaging.

7. Dr Pepper
Irrelevant data:
- Who do you think they are reaching? Adults in their 20s?
- Dr Pepper: Established 1885 (says so on the logo)
- The band Kiss: formed in 1972 (38 years ago)
- The band Mini Kiss – formed in 1996 (14 years ago)

My vote: Irrelevant

8. Homeaway.com
One question… when was the last time Chevy Chase was relevant? I thought so.
The Griswald’s Vacation movie? 1983 … 27 years ago.

9. KGB
Hmmm… to me, KGB is “the Soviet Union’s premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization.”
a) How often do you NOT find something you want on Google or on the web
b) How many people want their mobile phone bill to have MORE charges on it (it’s 99 cents for an answer)
c) How many women are going to be buying $450 KGB-branded outfits???
Are you serious???
My thoughts? неуместный
(I think that’s Russian for irrelevant)

10. Census
Wait, WTF? The Census? The freaking Census? The government is paying $3 million to tell people about the Census? Can’t we just let Google count everyone? Does anyone have a problem with that? THEY’VE ALREADY MAPPED THE ENTIRE EARTH!!! I think they’ll do a better job than the government.

The brands that got it right:

1. GoDaddy
OK, these guys are in my Hall of Fame. Why? Love them or hate them, you have to admit:
- You know their name
- The spots are memorable
- The ads get people talking
- They reach their target of men
- Some % of people will go to their website to see the rest of the ad (that’s the goal, right?)
- They hammer home GoDaddy.com in the logo, the T-shirt, the song, and the URL

My one problem… they had a bullet point promoting them as “The SSL Certificate Giant.” I think that’s a little over most people’s heads for this game.

2. Bud Light
The crowd votes… and Bud Light consistently got “laugh out loud” reactions at my party. They’re always clever and funny.

And while others are bringing out bands from the early 80s, they bring in T-Pain and Auto-Tune the commercial.
And you KNOW how I love auto-tune.

Verdict: Relevant

The one interesting thing I picked up… they don’t own Bud.com (a pot site) or Budlite.com. C’mon, guys, spend the money and buy those guys out.

3. E*trade
The good… you can’t help but watch them, the “Milk-a-holic” line was classic, and they had a Facebook and Youtube logo on the screen.
The bad… I swear that the baby lipsync is much worse in the recent ads vs when they first appeared. Are they skimping on tech resources now?

4. Teleflora
At first I thought this was lame. Who thinks about getting flowers in a box vs a vase? But you know what, it DID raise awareness of that for me. I would give it a second thought now. Nice work. And the ad was funny.

5. Hyundai
There you go, Hyundai!!! The ad later in the game emphasized their incredible 10 year/100,000 mile warranty. Now THAT is something that is relevant to car buyers.

6. Google
And finally, the Google ad. To me, it was clever, poignant, smart, and you just get it. And you know what? It was the most relevant ad of the night. And why not? The entire purpose of the company is to bring us relevant search results.

Now if they could only get started on that census…

What do a new car purchase, choosing a career, and marketing have in common?

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When I was 22, I was fresh out of college and the country was mired in the worst recession since… well, since the one we’re in right now. Jobs were so scarce that I took an hourly retail job at Staples. While I was there, I worked with a guy that made 2 lasting impressions on me about cars and careers.

When the work schedule came out and I realized that I was stuck working another Friday night until closing, but he had the night off, I asked him how that always happened. He said it’s easy, “I just told them when I was hired that I played in a band, and that we practice on Friday nights, so I couldn’t work them.”

It was so simple a concept that I could only shake my head and laugh at how right he was. I didn’t even play an instrument at the time, but years later I picked up the drums and found myself in a bona fide group. While I don’t think I used it quite so blatantly to avoid work, for three years I never worked past 5:30 on a Monday night (practice), and a few times a month I took off early — and rolled in late the next day — because of gigs.

But the employee also did something in my eyes that was so wrong it dumbfounded me to the point where it bordered on anger. One weekend he got in an a car accident. Thankfully, he walked away completely unharmed, but his car was totaled. That Wednesday, he showed me the $8,000 check from the insurance company.

Let me set the stage here and flashback to a 22 year old marketing guy for those new to the program…
- I love cars and everything about them
- I had the deep-dive analytical research brain that you see in action now
- I was dirt poor and making $6 an hour
- I was driving a rusted out, 1975 Dodge Dart

The concept of having eight grand to put toward any car would have sent me into a giddy, 3 week research cocoon.

So when he walked in on Thursday – the very next day – to say he had bought a car, I couldn’t believe it.

“Sure, I’ll show you.”

We walked out into the parking lot and he pointed out the brand new, light blue, 1991 Toyota Tercel 2-door.

I stammered… “A Tercel? That’s what you bought??? How? Why?”

He replied, “I dunno, my dad and I just went to a dealer, they had this model there that was the same amount as my check, so we did the deal and I drove it home that night. I don’t love the color, but it’s ok.”

My head nearly exploded. Who could possibly buy a car in one night? How could you buy a car in a color you don’t like? How could you walk onto a lot and take the first thing you see without comparing it to others? You bought this particular car because the cost of it happened to be the same as the check you were holding? And what kind of self-respecting 25 year old guy in a band has no further car aspirations than a Toyota Tercel Sedan???

In looking back, the problem I had was that he let the solution come to him, vs. him seeking out a solution.

The advice I’m going to give you is the same for car shopping, career progression, and marketing communication.

CARS
Right now my parents – in their late 60s – are in need of a car, and it’s been incredibly frustrating for me to try to help them without being by their side (they live 4 hours away and my schedule hasn’t let me visit them recently). They are visiting various dealerships, and although salespeople are working within their price range, the staff is clearly trying to sell them what they have, not what they want.

What I’m urging — pleading — my parents to do, is to first just drive the 5-10 models that I recommended after a lot of research, then once they let me know which ones they like or hate, then we can focus on the right deal.

Can you believe that one of the salespeople tried to pull the “this deal is only good for tonight” routine? Really? My parents walked away, and shocking — the guy called back the next day with a lower price. I told my Dad to lead with the following… “Wait, I’m confused. You told me yesterday it was a one day deal, but now you’re giving me a better deal and this isn’t the case? So are you saying you lied to me last night? Or how do I interpret this?”

My point to them is this… do your research, drive some cars, get your butts in the seats, and determine what you like and dislike first, and then I’ll help do all the work negotiating and getting down to finding the perfect car at the perfect price.

CAREER
The same goes for your career. I see a lot of people starting their job search at what is available on Monster.com or Hotjobs, which is just like walking into the dealer. You can narrow down the general specs, and certainly you can get lucky, but you’re risking that you’re going to be influenced by what is available, not by what you want.

I can honestly say that in my last two positions, the first thing I did was research the industry, the companies, the location, and positions that I wanted to work for before I ever checked if a job was available. I literally targeted only 4-5 companies that I truly wanted to work for, then I stopped at nothing to find a networking connection to those companies.

You might say that with this economy you don’t have that luxury, and that I was fortunate to be at the right place at the right time, and of course to some degree that is correct. There are many people that have been out of work for months, and are willing to take the first thing that comes along. Kind of like how I ended up at Staples. But I also think having that singular focus and controlling your destiny will put you ahead of other people that stumble into the job by accident.

MARKETING
By now you can probably guess how this ties into marketing. The old adage that marketers need to deliver the right message at the right time is as true as always. Simply blasting your branding message out for anyone to see in hopes that you hit the right target is certainly not the best use of your budget.

It’s no secret how Google became a multi-billion dollar company through their search algorithm. If I’m a car dealership, I can spend a lot of money advertising the latest Chevy Equinox or Honda Accord to the watchers of Grey’s Anatomy or How I Met Your Mother in hopes that one of those viewers is in the market for that type of vehicle. But if I buy Google keywords and someone searches “Used 2006 Volkswagen Passat GL Wagon,” you can be pretty sure that the person is in buying mode.

The same thing goes for the continued trend in social media marketing. Putting an ad banner for the 3rd generation Toyota Prius throughout Yahoo is good. Targeting it to their cars section is better. Doing an integrated buy in Wired Magazine and Wired.com, where research has shown that the readers are thought-leaders that influence decisions and recommend purchases to others is even more intelligent. And taking the last step by creating a Facebook page where 37,000 fans can interact and be part of the conversation around your product?

That’s just brilliant. As brilliant as telling your boss you just joined a band.

———————————————–

Like this article? You might also like:

How to network like your life depends on it

Job searching in the digital age

Driving customers – 10 marketing hits and misses at the NY Auto Show

Porsche vs. iPhone

Hey, it’s the 1 year anniversary of The Hopkinson Report! So what’s my secret? Either delve into a topic that you’re really really into, or meet and interview people doing very cool things. As a car geek, I spent 4 hours at the New York Auto Show. So in a testament to my very first episode, the Porsche vs. the iPhone, I’m going to talk about cars, and marketing.

Download the podcast on iTunes, or play it below:

Play Episode as a Podcast:

First let’s set the scene… The New York Auto Show is a massive production, a popular trade show that takes place at the Javits Center in Manhattan for up to 12 hours a day over the course of 10 days. Saturday April 11 brought pouring rain to New York City, making it the perfect day to be inside but do something fun. After sufficient food and caffeination, I descended into the belly of the beast.

The crowd was extremely diverse. There were plenty of 30-something white guys like me ogling the latest Porsches, families of 5 climbing in and out of minivans, and gangly teenagers with newly-minted driver’s licenses in the Fast and Furious demo talking tiptronic transmissions.

I also spotted a few secretly giddy Dads that probably implied to their wives that it would be a big chore to lug the boy to the show. Later on, he would ruin his 8-year-old son for the next 50 years by sitting him in the driver’s seat of a $100,000 Mercedes convertible, not realizing he had planted a seed in the kids brain and that he wouldn’t actually get to OWN that car until he was nearing retirement.

But with a fun, free-for-all atmosphere where everyone there patiently followed the car show etiquette of taking turns getting to sit in most any car they wanted, and without the normal stress of a used car salesman in a bad suit hovering over you, it was bliss for a car geek.

And things were even better for a podcasting car geek. Why? Because there were plenty of approachable, intelligent, factory-authorized, data-spewing representatives dying to tell you about their products. For example, I opened up every conversation with two questions, ‘So, how’s the show going?’ followed by ‘What’s the big buzz for [name of automaker].’

Every answer was a resounding ‘Fantastic!’ followed by a carefully prepared soundbite about the latest and greatest car.

But things got interesting when I started asking about social media, marketing, the economy, and connecting with the car-loving community that surrounded them.

Clearly some of them got it, while others were struggling:

BMW
The person I spoke with at BMW gave me a great overview of the underlying goals at the show. What is going to sell the most cars? To that end, she described the three levels their company had.

At the top, was the national level. They dictated the overall marketing of the brand, and was responsible for the more holistic consumer interaction, such as last year’s 1 Series ad campaign aimed at the younger Facebook generation, with a rumored $15-$25 online ad campaign, or this year’s BMW Z4 painting promotion.

At the bottom level are the dealers, who only want one thing… people in the showroom taking test drives. Her position was as the middleman between the two, coordinating regional media buys to make everyone happy.

So how are they doing on social media? I had trouble finding an overarching official Facebook or Twitter page, but there were plenty of fan pages, and they tied in their Z4 painting promotion with an iPhone application in the iTunes App store. Nice job.

NISSAN
The Japanese automaker impressed me on two levels, but left me scratching my head on a third. I was particularly curious to check out the 2009 Nissan Murano. When I last attended the Auto Show, there was a lot of buzz about the Murano and I thought the exterior looked sharp. But when I slid behind the wheel, I felt the mostly plastic dash area felt very cheap. A quick check of the updated 2009 model showed a much sturdier, well-built cabin.

So it came as no surprise when I spoke with one of their reps, they said their goal of the show, was to gather as much customer feedback as possible. Each rep on the floor filled out detailed feedback reports at the end of each show that would be relayed back to the manufacturer. Clearly this feedback was taken to heart in the last redesign.

When I asked about how the economy has affected them, she noted that the Nissan Versa was one of the only cars that was priced below $10,000. Yes, a new car under $10k.

Then I asked if they were using social media to interact with customers. When I mentioned Facebook, she actually said that all employees were discouraged from associating with Nissan in any way on Facebook.

This is yet another decision that major corporations need to face with employees. With over 150,000 workers worldwide, this would certainly be an opportunity for evangelism of their brand. But they viewed the risk of an employee standing proudly next to their new 370Z, positioned next to a photo of them drinking heavily at a barbecue, to potentially send the wrong message. I can understand their position.

VOLKSWAGEN

I spoke at length with a friendly rep at VW. There was a lot of buzz in their section, as they showed off their Jetta TDI clean diesel, which won a Green Car of the Year Award, and their Golf TDI won World Car of the Year.

I was also curious to see the new Volkswagen CC.  This was a case where I thought their initial marketing campaign was excellent. The car looked amazing in slick print ads and well-produced TV commercials. But how was it in person? I’d have to say it was solid. They noted how many people compared it to a Mercedes CLS, and the body style definitely has similarities. It starts at $27k and climbs all the way to $44 depending on options.

Then I asked them about Facebook and Twitter, and to her credit, the rep lit up, led me over to their desk, and handed me a postcard. But upon inspection, it was clear that they had been printed hours before the show as an afterthought. Was it the lack of any design element? Well, yes. That, and the fact that THEY SPELLED VOLKSWAGEN WRONG.

I was trying to figure out where they were sending me, and it said

Facebook Pages
Volkswagen of America Public Relations
Volkswaegen Jetta TDI Cup

Really? You think asking people to join the global public relations Facebook fan page is going to endear you to customers?

And how do I find that? She said I should just search for it. Hey, I have an idea. How about Facebook.com/VW?

How are those sites doing? Try 130 fans on the first one and just over 200 on the other.

Then I checked out their Twitter pages.
Twitter.com/VWPR?  11 followers, 11 updates.
The Jetta TDI page? Just over 100 followers, 10 updates.

Clearly they’ve just started testing the waters here.

LEXUS
As always, the Lexus cars were sleek and appealing. The good news about their social media? The rep I spoke with – who actually came across as a little too slick for my taste – whipped out a very cool, custom-made iPod touch application in order to take my information so that they could follow up. The bad news? When I asked him if they were on Facebook, his response was ‘Um, I don’t know. I don’t really like going online much.’

AUDI
Leading the buzz for Audi was their head-turning, $114,000 Audi R8. But when asked about the economy, my rep was quick to point out that their line started with the $27,000 A3, that they had cars up and down their line to compete with Mercedes and BMW, and that sales were actually strong.

Which brings me to their Facebook page. So while Lexus was indifferent, Nissan discouraged it, and VW is finding their way, the Audi Facebook page has attracted a whopping 358,000 fans since they went live on November 29, 2007. How do I know that date? Well, that single post is the only sign of any interaction whatsoever on the page on behalf of the company.

The good news is that fans post on the wall, and conduct 500-post discussions, but it seems to me a lost opportunity when Audi doesn’t engage with their passionate audience, missing the chance to post events, upload photos and videos, and discuss new products.

PORSCHE
If you expected wide-eyed men from age 10 to 60 getting giddy when slipping behind the wheel of the latest 911, you guessed right. They even capped it off with free posters for kids to hang in their rooms over their bed. They’re creating a new generation of dreamers.

As far as truly connecting amidst the impeccably dressed staff, I had a great conversation with a rep from the Alabama-based Porsche Driving school. In addition to describing their offerings, from a 1-day high performance driving lesson, to a 3-day advanced competition driving school that culminates in being eligible to apply for a racing license, I really got the low-down on some technical questions I had. A good resource.

TOYOTA
The area surrounding the world’s largest automaker was entertaining to all ages, with an interactive trivia contest, complete with an over-the-top, Bob Eubanks-style host. While I wasn’t the least bit surprised that they were hammering home the marketing on the Prius Hybrid, I was completely caught off guard when the rep told me that another major focus for them at the show was pet-friendly cars.

We’re talking
-    Dog seat belts and restraints
-    Dog ramps
-    Dog booster seats

Evidently you can also buy “Doggles,” goggles for dogs who like to stick their head out the car window.

As far as fan interaction, they had a nifty tablet computer to take buyer information for following up later.

PONTIAC
Look, I swear I didn’t go out of my way to find issues with our GM whipping boys. I was waiting in line to check out a car, and as the couple in front of me emerged, they were grossed out and pointing and confused. The husband’s hand was covered in black grease. Before I entered the car myself, we determined that he had placed his hand in the sunroof as he got out, and that’s where he got his unexpected surprise.

I slipped into the driver’s seat and started checking out the interior, and in the course of my inspection, the plastic cupholder in front of the floor-mounted shifter popped open, revealing a hole that let you look directly down at a bundle of exposed wires and metal, practically toward the drivetrain.  Not giving me confidence in their build quality.

And while their ‘Dine and Drive’ promotion, offering a $50 gift card for dinner just for taking a test drive was nice, it didn’t have the pizzazz of other companies.

So let me conclude with two companies I was most impressed with.

MERCEDES
The German automaker had lines 5 and 10 deep waiting to sit in their wide array of cars, from sedans and coupes to the $135,000 SL63 AMG convertible with 518 hp.

They connected with customers in three ways.

1)    Instead of paper brochures for over 16 different models that would take up space and cost money to store and ship, they handed out ID cards not only with a URL on them that would bring you to a website, but also with a personal access code so they could track where you came from. Very smart.

2)    Next, they had a VIP lounge behind the desk, almost hidden from view. Attendees that were already Mercedes owners merely had to show their key to gain access and take a break away from the crowds. But the rep also explained that it was a great perk for local dealers to hand out to customers, getting them to go to the car show to see the latest and greatest models.

3)    And lastly, the rep invited me to join ‘Generation Benz.’

This was a program targeted at 21-31 year olds. Clearly they were looking for the next generation of decision makers. Because I was, ahem, slightly older than the demo, I snuck through their login, and was greeted with the following text:

This is an exclusive community created for you and others like yourself to interact and collaborate with the teams at Mercedes-Benz. Your involvement in this community helps us understand your likes, dislikes and your opinion on anything. Aside from current and future vehicles, we’ll talk about everything; even your opinion on the latest trends. This is your chance to have a direct impact and help shape the future of the brand.

What followed next was a video from the VP of Marketing.

Sounds like they’re trying to be fully engaged with their audience and make a connection.

HYUNDAI
But the car company that impressed me the most?  Hyundai. Let me tell you why.

I was really impressed with the quality of the Sante Fe at the last show, and wanted to see if they had kept up. Their main focus for 2009 was the Genesis sedan, which was named North American Car of the Year.

I could see why. It was solidly built, fairly luxurious on the inside, and had geek items like 528 watt, 17 speaker surround sound, Bluetooth connection, and AM/FM/CD/MP3/XM with iPod, USB, and Auxiliary inputs. Great for listening to podcasts.

My marketing mind then asked, I wonder what cars they see as their competition. And as I grabbed a flyer and walked over to a rep, I glanced down and saw that they had a chart on the back of the document, answering my question. They put their $37,000 4.6 model up against the $53,000 Lexus GS460 and $61,000 Mercedes E550. The features stacked up well at half the price. A great job marketing themselves vs. the competition.

But what I like best is how they are gaining trust the right way, slowly and surely over time.

No one would argue that Hyundais of the 90s were terrible cars, and I’m sure many people still think of them that way. Owning up to this, that’s why the rep I spoke to told me that’s why these car shows are so important to the company… because people can come and see for themselves and change their attitude.

And what they’re doing is taking away any reservations they customers would have.

-    Worried about safety? Check out the ‘cut away’ car showing all the safety features.
-    Worried about reliability? They have a 10 year, 100,000 mile warranty.
-    Don’t want to buy a new car in this economy? I’m sure you’ve heard the hype mixed in among dozens of commercials, but I think it bears repeating. Now I’m sure there’s lots of fine print, but on the surface, with their Hyundai assurance program, if you buy or lease a car and then lose your job in the next year, you can return the car.
-    And with their limited time Assurance Plus, the guy said if you lose your job, you can skip up to three payments, and if you keep the car and then get your job back, you don’t have to make those payments back. Seems impressive to me.

How’s that working out for them?  Sales in Q1 were up 1% vs. Q1 last year. Not many car companies can say that.

As they were showing off their high-end Equus car, that they are debating bringing to the US, they had several people on hand whose only job was to listen to anything the audience had to say and answer any feedback. Seems like they right marketing plan to me.

So there you have it… On the one year anniversary of The Hopkinson Report, you have 10 companies competing in the global economy for your hard-earned dollars and trying out social media, some getting it more than others.  The question is, who is more likely to still be doing the same thing a year from now, me, or all of them?

At the SXSW Interactive festival in mid-March, I interviewed several fantastic, interesting individuals and small companies that are on the leading edge of using social media and marketing on the web.

This podcast interviews entrepreneur Joshua Baer from Other Inbox, and he has the key for curing email overload, and for a Tesla Roadster.

Download the podcast on iTunes, or play it below:

Play Episode as a Podcast:

Here are some of the topics we covered:

What is Other Inbox and what does it do?

Take a look at your inbox. How many items in there? 10? 40? 100?  Over 500?

Face it, everyone has a problem with too much email, so it’s going to be up to innovators in the space to help us manage it. Josh talks about his company and the widespread problem of e-mail overload.

Other Inbox not only makes it faster to isolate and focus on the important items in your inbox, but it can help you clear through the less important mails quicker as well.

How he got involved

Josh reveals that his background was actually on the opposite end of the spectrum. As an young entrepreneur running a “dorm room dot-com,” he founded a company that helps corporations SEND billions of e-mails per month.

But like a CEO at Krispy Kreme taking a job at Weight Watchers, he appreciated both sides of the email coin, from the consumer and the marketing perspective. And that’s how Other Inbox came to life.

How does it work?

Other Inbox is free to set up and works in conjunction with Gmail to make your inbox smaller. How the heck does it do that? Listen to the podcast to see how Using OtherInbox is like a geek doing laundry.

How is OtherInbox getting the word out with their marketing?

We talk about using social media to spread the word about their new product, including their use of Twitter while they were in Beta mode. We discuss:

- 2 key things they learned while using Twitter

- why it was so important to use a public forum

And if that’s not enough, we introduce you to OIB Superhero  Mr. Spam. Every company needs a mascot, right? But can you guess if he loves spam, or hates it?

Lastly, we discuss his bright orange Tesla Roadster electic car.

Josh waited three years for the delivery of production car # 83 from Tesla Motors, and our Geek Gearhead side emerges as we take a quick second to:

- Talk Torque

- Articulate Acceleration and

- Rhapsodize RPMs.

Find out if a mini tragedy involving an 18-wheeler will affect the multiple levels of appreciation Josh has for his electric car, and the process you need to know if you want to take a ride with him.

———-

Key Links

Other Inbox.com

Austinpreneur.com

Mr. Spam

Twitter.com/OtherInbox

Twitter.com/HopkinsonReport

Are the new breed of netbooks the real deal or marketing hype?

In last week’s podcast and blog post, I laid out a dilemma for the gadget-obsessed. The Amazon Kindle 2 and a slew of mini notebook computers – or netbooks – have entered the market in the last year or so at a price point of $350.

Is either, or both of them, worth the tech investment?

Play Episode as a Podcast (recommended):

The price point of $350 is very interesting, especially in these times. For a lot of people, if there’s a gadget you need for $40 or less, such as a thumb drive, a new set of earbuds, or a case for your iPhone, most likely you’ll grab it as an impulse buy because it will make you happy or more efficient.

If there’s something over $400, like a new TV, a new Macbook, or a video console system and a few games, then it becomes more discretionary and something you put off until you have the budget for it. Or at least that’s how it you SHOULD look at it.

Do I?  In looking back at my major geek purchases over the last 18 months, it turns out I’ve been remarkably consistent in my upgrade pattern. Let’s take a look:

Frankly, this analysis is rather stunning. I’m almost ashamed. Three to four years???

Where do I turn in my early adopter membership card?

This purchase pattern makes sense if you’re being pragmatic about things, which obviously I was without even knowing it. We all have our obsessions. For example, I hung out with pretty hard core group of mountain biking friends a few years ago. When I got a new bike, I went with the best balance of price vs. performance.

But my friend Ben skewed quite a bit differently. He sunk over $5,000 into his bike. If there was a newer, lighter, stronger component – and there always was – he had to have it. He was the most aggressive rider of the group, once breaking the weld on his titanium frame.

But the funniest part was watching him strap this $5,000 piece of elite machinery onto the roof rack of his 1991 Ford Festiva. Put it this way. We called it the clown car. Retail value of the car at that time? About $900.

When reached for comment, Ben said, “You guys can make fun all you want, but that car held up to such extraordinary abuse at my hands. I sold it for 75 cents and a game token to my friend Jeff a year ago, complete with a hornet’s nest in the back bumper.  It still runs like a dream.”

My friend Loren echoed the same sentiment, saying he bought a $3,500 bike the same year his 1992 Honda was worth about the same price.

For some, their obsession is bikes, while others might lust after cars or clothes or shoes or books or music. They always have a little bit more than the next guy, and always have the latest and greatest on their radar.

Surprising business model

OK, back to netbooks.  In the March issue of Wired, Clive Thompson covers The Netbook Effect and makes some great points, which I will highlight. In reality, the latest-and-greatest high end market was NOT the target for these machines. One Taiwanese manufacturer – they’re the ones dominating market share right now – said his next billion customers would come from BRIC countries. BRIC stands for Brazil, Russia, India, and China, where billions of very price-conscious consumers have yet to buy their first computer.

But something strange happened as the tech-obsessed snapped up these low-cost machines as their backup computer, finding out that they really don’t need the bloated operating systems and 6 pound behemoths that have been pushed on us like the high profit margin SUVs of the computer world.

Instead, users are content to surf the web, Twitter, blog, use Facebook, and do short projects in the cloud on Google docs.

The business and marketing world play catch-up

Now there are several groups scrambling to play catch-up.

Microsoft – The software titan in Redmond is getting assaulted on many levels. Macworld notes that 30% of netbooks are shipping with Linux, meaning not only does Microsoft not get paid for Windows on those machines, they’re also not going to sell Office, and they’re taking a smaller cut on Windows XP installs on the ones they do sell.

Major PC Brands – Companies like Dell and HP are now rolling out their own versions of netbooks, but will face razor thin margins and most likely drastic sales dips in their higher end laptops. And many are saying, why would Apple even enter the game and risk the profit margins that their $1000 and up Macbooks are making.

Marketing – When I looked at the Kindle 2 last week, the marketing hype was primarily coming AT me. Sure, I saw the buzz on blogs, and as a Manhattan resident, I knew about Jeff Bezos and Stephen King announcing the new model at the New York Public Library. Every time I went on Amazon, I was confronted with a sales pitch for the Kindle. If I wanted, there was a system where I could meet an existing Kindle user to check it out in person. I had to wade through the marketing, figure out if this is something I could actually use in my life, in the end, I decided… well, go back and listen to the Kindle podcast to find out what I decided.

But with netbooks, I’m seeing the same level of early adopter hype on blogs, but I have to actively SEEK OUT the product. At the Circuit City near me, there was a single, sad, lonely HP model chained to the counter, praying to be bought before being left behind as the retailer went out of business. At the Best Buy, the selection was as meager as the level of information from the staff.

Case in point: Where does one go to look at an MSI Wind? When I got to their website through a Google search, one of the links had a redirect going on. Their website is slow loading and not very organized, and their free gift of his and hers USB Drives doesn’t exactly inspire.

When I found the MSI Wind retail store locator, here’s how it played out:

BestBuy: didn’t see one when I was there
Costco: Nearest one to me is in Queens
EBC Computers: Wow, 3 locations in the Utah area!
Fry’s Electronics: I thought they went out of business; closest store is Duluth, GA
MicroCenter: Link gave me an error message; typing myself, 21 locations, including Long Island

Do you see what’s happening here? A LOT of work on my part. As usual, the best way to learn about these is ironically, on Amazon.com.

So clearly, unlike the Kindle, it’s not the marketing that is drawing me to this product, it’s the fact that it is a shiny new gadget and it’s calling my name.

Eventually, my coworker Brian brought in his new MSI Wind for me to demo in person.

Instantly, my gadget lust was re, um, rekindled.

While this probably wasn’t the exact model I would get (he only went for the 3 hour battery), it was definitely something I could see adding to my technical arsenal.

But how could I justify it?
When would I use it?

- I wouldn’t use it at work. I have my company-issued PC laptop.
- At home, I don’t see how a smaller screen and smaller keyboard would ever trump my more powerful 15″ Macbook Pro.
- On my frequent cross-country trips to the Wired office in San Francisco, I need my work laptop to connect with our network, so that’s coming with me. And if I’m staying for an extended period of time, I actually bring my Macbook with all my podcast templates along as well. No way a third computer is hitting my carry-on, at least not without approval from a chiropractor.
- What about my New York to Boston trips to see family? Not only does my Macbook make the trip so I can catch up on Netflix DVDs (note that netbooks don’t include a DVD player), but my iPhone and Treo provide more than enough backup when there’s traffic on I-95.

But despite all that, this is a product I definitely see myself splurging on.

- I’m not much of a ‘sit in a coffee shop and blog’ kind of guy, but this would sure make it a lot easier.
- I often give presentations at my tech meetup group, so the thought of a tiny laptop with a PDF attached to a projector sounds great.
- What about a fantasy football draft? Real-time access to player stats, customized cheatsheets, and most importantly, NOT having a $2000 computer laying around during the open bar portion? No brainer.
- And finally, international travel. While these trips don’t come along nearly often enough, this is where a netbook would shine.

So as of right now, the netbook still resides in the “research with the intent to buy” column. Things are changing so fast and manufacturers are adapting to user feedback at a breakneck pace, that I’m going to wait a bit longer to make sure I get the following features.

Netbook specifications checklist

- The new Atom chipset
- 802.11n wifi
- Super long battery life
- 2 gigs of ram
- As big an SSD hard drive as they can create
- A well made keyboard and trackpad
- All well under 3 pounds

So help me out here gadget lovers! Have you made the plunge? If you own a netbook, how are YOU getting the most use out of it?

Write me at MarketingGuy [at] Wired.com, or find me at twitter.com/hopkinsonreport.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a fantasy baseball draft to plan in Buenos Aires.

========================

Also see:

Marketing the Amazon Kindle – Making me want one when I don’t need one.

Marketing Lessons from Slumdog Millionaire.

You thought I was kidding when I said I would do an entire podcast about toilets, but you were wrong. Here’s what Japanese toilets taught me about the auto industry.

Play Episode (recommended for maximum loud, funny, ranting):

Or read as a blog post:
Konnichiwa, boys and girls. Today I’ll do my final podcast about my trip to Japan. Previously I’ve covered a dozen marketing and cultural observations about Japan and why Japan is the king of customer service. So if you haven’t seen those yet, check ‘em out.

But another thing that really struck me was the Japanese bathrooms.  Don’t worry, I’m going to keep the language, um, out of the gutter, but when I started thinking about how to broach this topic, somehow the US auto industry came to mind, which of course, is going down the toilet.

But along the way, think about how the topics I discuss apply to ANY business.

So let me rant about five things involving toilets, and cars…

1)    Evolution
Think about the toilet in your apartment. Think about the toilet at your office. Think about the toilet at your parent’s house. Think about the toilet you had when you were 5 years old. What do they have in common? EVERYTHING. They’re exactly the same.

For me, with the exception of my unrenovated 60s era apartment in Seattle in which the toilet was a bright canary yellow, every single one was basically the same, a white ceramic bowl with a white ceramic cover with a white lid.  OK, maybe at my mom’s house there’d be a furry blue cover or a red and green one with Santa on it during the holidays, but they were all the same.

Which is why it’s so striking when you go to Japan, because the toilets are unlike anything you’ve ever seen. They seem so evolved. I’ll talk about how in a second.

Now lets compare cars from the US and Japan.

I’m not going to rip the US car industry and say that they’ve never evolved, but look at something like a Jeep Cherokee from the 80s compared to now. Are they really that different? Now pick a Japanese care and do the same thing.

You want a rant about car evolution? Listen, I don’t know if it was a Japanese company or an American company that finally figured this one out, but how about accidentally leaving your lights on and draining your car battery.

How many of you are nodding your head right now, shuddering about the time you left the lights on in your car, went into a friend’s house or the football game or whatnot, and when you came out, your lights were on, and your battery was dead.

Really? We couldn’t figure this one out? Not a single engineer for years and years and years and years spoke up and said, you know, there’s really no need to have your lights stay on, why don’t we make it so that when you shut the car off, it shuts your lights off?

What happened to that guy? Did he get fired on the spot?  Did they lock him in a basement in Flint, Michigan?  Really? You mean to tell me that no one thought this was a good idea?

Think about that… think about how many thousands of lost productivity hours there were from people that couldn’t get to work. Think about all the dangerous situations people were put in stranded at night in a parking lot. Think about all the nice couples having brutal fights as the frustration mounted. Think about all the annoying announcements in department stores ‘Would the owner of a blue Plymouth Reliant, license plate 147-PFH please return to your car, your lights are on.’

My theory is that there was a powerful mafia organization built around Sears Diehard batteries and the jumper cable industry.

Wouldn’t it have been nice if all American cars evolved past that 20 years ago?

And two quick ones: when I was in high school in the 80s, we had our standard American cars, but my friend’s family bought a Subaru station wagon. And I was struck by two things on the dashboard. First, the heat controls were nice, round, clearly marked dials that you could twist easily, not difficult sliding levers.

And second, the hazard lights were simply a triangle on the dash that you pushed. Press once, the hazards were on. Press again, they were off. On American cars, you sometimes had to do a 2-step process to turn on the hazards, and sometimes it was located under the steering column. Again, really? They’re HAZARD LIGHTS. Who thought, well, if someone needs the hazard lights, it’s probably a stressful, emergency situation. Let’s hide the switch and make it difficult to engage!

2)    Mechanical breakdowns
Ever have to unjam a stopped up toilet? Is there any greater fear – any greater fear? – then when you’re at your rich friend’s house and they have like 6-ply, 300-thread count Egyptian-weave toilet paper and you flush and it starts to get stuck and the water is rising and your heart stops because it looks like it might overflow? Ever use a snake? Or a plunger? Or deal with a plumber? Or have to take the cover off to inspect the ball and chain mechanism? Or have a toilet keep running forever? Not good times.

My point is? Shouldn’t we have figured this out by now?  According to wikipedia, toilets were invented in 2800 BC.  Shouldn’t plumbers be out of business? I can’t say for sure that the newer Japanese toilets work any better, but just check out the video on TheHopkinsonReport.com. They’re at least trying. They’ve got a freaking vortex going.

As far as mechanical breakdowns for cars, the story has been told many times. Now don’t write me angry emails… I don’t have JD Power and Associates on retainer to fill my head with data. But I think most would agree that although the US has made great strides and some companies and some models have caught up in quality, Japanese cars consistently had fewer mechanical problems than US cars over the years.

3)    Customer service

Let me say three words and tell me what images it conjures up: Used. Car. Dealer.  What about bringing the car to the shop? What about dealing with mechanics? What about your confidence level that you’re getting a good deal when buying a car?  Few people rave about the history of customer service in the US auto industry.

And hey, I can’t speak to the car buying experience in Japan, but when every single customer interaction in the entire country for me was a good one? I’ll take my chances that car shopping isn’t too bad either.

So what about the buying process for toilets? In the US, how does one even buy a toilet? Well, you’re either dealing with the folks at Home Depot – if you can get someone to come to aisle 17 – or you’re dealing with a general housing contractor. Hmmm… do they fall above used car dealer or below?

But in Japan? I am horribly embarrassed to say that on my vacation, I took a tour of the Toto Toilet Headquarters. HEY! It was recommended in the freaking Lonely Planet guide next to museums and other attractions!

Demo video of high-tech, green, Japanese toilet from Jim Hopkinson on Vimeo.

And you know what? It didn’t disappoint!  It was like an IKEA, but 10 times better.  They had kitchens and sinks and bathrooms with LCD TVs in the tub.  Granted, there were no Swedish meatballs, but…
•    They had before and after makeovers showing how their products could increase efficiency in your house
•    A team of three attractive Japanese girls giggled, laughed, and bent over backwards giving me a rundown of products in their catalog
•    A man dressed like a scientist gave me a personal tour or their newest models
•    At the end of the mini tour, they gave out free gifts!

4)    Going green
You don’t have to be Al Gore to know that American auto companies fought vigorously against hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles over the past few decades in favor of giant gas-guzzling SUVs that padded their bottom line. Just think of the leadership position they’d be in right now if they were forward thinking. Instead, when I hear the word ‘Hybrid,’ I think Toyota Prius. They’re way ahead and we’re playing catch-up.

As far as toilets go, I know there have been advances in basic US toilets which use fewer gallons of per flush and thus conserve water. But, I’ve also heard that they aren’t as strong, so sometimes you have to flush twice, thus not saving water at all. I’ve also heard stories of people paying off contractors to get the ‘old kind.’

But I do know this.  In the demo the guy gave me in Japan, the new model shoots the water around in a Bermuda-triangle-esque vortex, and they had some fancy meter hooked up that measured the force of the flush. Put it this way, hold onto your iPhone because if you drop it by mistake, it’s never coming back.

5)    Technology
In the auto industry, I have to applaud both sides of the globe for the advances in the past 25 years. Cars can be driven longer and longer, they break down less, and antilock brakes, crumple zones, and airbags are saving lives.

But in the bathroom, it’s a different story.

In the United States, I feel we’ve taken a giant leap backwards. I don’t know whose fault it was, but it has been decided that no American can be trusted to simply turn on a faucet, turn it off when we’re done, and use enough paper towels to dry our hands.

TheHopkinsonReport.com looks at High Tech Control Panels on Japanese Toilets from Jim Hopkinson on Vimeo.

Oh no. We must all be treated like idiots and punished. We’re forced to succumb to some crazy dance where we have to wave our hands in front of infrared sensors, push a knob and wash our hands in 3 seconds flat, dry our hands with half a sheet of gauze, or blow cold air on our wet hands before wiping them on our pants. It’s really quite sad.

— OK, stop the podcast. This is unprecedented. I recorded this podcast on a Tuesday night, and was editing on a Wednesday night, and I was still so fired up about this, I plugged in the mic and added even MORE ranting. Does NO ONE see a problem with this? Does anyone care? I challenge ANYONE … ANYONE! … to show me an automated system that does the following 4 things perfectly
1) as soon as I wave my hands a single time at the sensor, the water immediately turns on
2) the water is the right temperature and comes out hard enough to wash the soap off, but not so hard that it splashes
3) as soon as I wave my hands a single time at the dryer sensor, a paper towel immediately comes out
4) The paper towel I get is substantial enough to dry my hands in a single use – I don’t have to get another sheet, and I don’t have to wipe my hands on my pants
— OK, back to the podcast

But not in Japan.

•    Let’s start with every toilet having a heated seat. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t like heated seats in their car. Why not have it in the john?
•    How about an electronic control panel on the wall instead of that clangy metal knob
•    How about an electronic sensor that will automatically raise and lower the seat. That argument between men and women has been around since the dawn of time. Not anymore.
•    And the water jets? Don’t knock it till you try it.
•    So when you read about other options such as auto flushing, blow dryers, deodorizing fans, and artificial flushing sounds, it sounds like you’re comparing a brand new, top of the line 2009 Infiniti or Lexus to a 2001 Pontiac Aztec.

So in the end, what did we learn here? I covered:
•    Continually evolving your product
•    Maintaining product quality
•    Superior Customer Service
•    Operating in an environmentally friendly way
•    Keeping up with new technology

What I’m trying to get across, is that it doesn’t matter if you’re making Toto Toilets or Toyota Tundras, these qualities are necessary for ANY business to succeed.

So in the end, was I able to do an entire podcast about toilets? You bet your ass I was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From cars to cameras, who are the people that make you buy what you buy? They are hyper-influencers, word-of-mouth marketing mavens using social media to influence sales.

Play Episode (recommended):

Or read as a blog post:

Picture the scene. It was the fall of 1992 and with a year of post-graduation ‘real work’ under my belt, it was time to get my first real car. I was a nervous 23-year-old sitting behind the wheel of a 1990 Mitsubishi Eclipse Turbo. Sitting equally as nervous next to me was the car’s owner, as we went on a test drive. I was pulling out into heavy traffic, and the vortex of wind from tractor trailers speeding by the tiny two door sports car made it rock. As a clearing appeared, the owner said the following seven words to me.

‘You know you’re in third gear, right?’

I said ‘Um, oh yeah.’ And nervously put it into first.

His next question was, ‘You DO know how to drive a stick, right?’

I replied, ‘Yeah, I kinda learned a bit over the summer on my boss’ truck.’

His final fearful question was, ‘So … what are you driving right now?’

I responded without hesitation, ‘A 1975 baby blue Dodge Dart.’

So how did I get here? How did I end up in this situation, with this car, jumping an entire decade, going from a rusted sedan that my Dad bought for $1500 and somehow got me through college, to a 5-speed, 195-hp mini rocket?

The answer?

I am a hyper-influencer.

What does that mean? Read on…

As Wired Magazine Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson has said, ‘There is a new generation of forward thinking people who are not content to be passive consumers – they want to watch or read what they want, when they want, and where they want. They want to have the ability to comment on and respond to what they are seeing. In some cases, they want be content creators in their own right.’

This new generation has emerged dramatically in the social media era of the web, on sites I work on such as Wired.com and reddit.com. And I identify myself as one of them.

Who is the hyper-influencer?

They’re predominantly male, educated, affluent, professional, in their 30s, and index off the charts in comparison to their peers on other web sites for the following activities:

1) interested in learning about the next new thing
2) researching products
3) seek or post reviews online
4) publish a blog/personal webpage

and not surprisingly if you’re hearing the sound of my voice…

5) listening to podcasts

What do hyper-influencers say about themselves?

They also index off the charts for the following statements:

1) I use new technologies before they are completely proven or accepted by my peers
2) My friends and colleagues often ask for my advice
3) I am confident in expressing my opinions in front of others
4) When I come across a technology I’m not familiar with, I spend time to research and figure out how it works

For example, 80% of reddit.com visitors share their technology expertise with their friends. 80%!

So here is what I characterize as…

The 5 defining characteristics of a hyper-influencer:

1) Burning desire to be in the know
2) Intense research
3) Passionate evangelism
4) Rush from distribution of information
5) Rewards for your investment

So how has this word-of-mouth changed over the past 15 years?

Here are two personal case studies.

CASE STUDY # 1) The glorious turbo
OK, back to the car story. There’s a break in traffic, but another tractor-trailer is barreling down the highway. I pop the clutch, hit the gas, and make my move. My heart nearly stops as I come within milliseconds of stalling the car, but I gain control and am on the road. I throw it into second, glance up at the grill of the 18-wheeler closing quickly in the rear-view mirror and stomp on the accelerator. The turbo kicks in and our heads snap back as I jump from 15 miles per hour up to 40 in a heartbeat. And that’s when the devilish smile was plastered across my face.

So lets look at how I got here. First, the burning desire to be in the know. I knew a car was a major investment that I would have to live with over the next several years. Make the wrong choice, and you’ve doomed yourself to costly trips to the shop and miles of boredom. I needed to know the right car for me.

The reason I was in THIS year of THIS model of THIS car was intense research. Over the previous months, I spent my daily commute analyzing every car I passed on the highway. I eliminated trucks and Jeeps and big sedans and slow, heavy clunkers. I eventually narrowed it down to a handful of models, and I knew this car was named Car and Driver’s 10 best for several years in a row.

Where did I learn this valuable information? Brace yourself boys and girls.
From a MAGAZINE in a public LIBRARY.

I actually found and posted that Car and Driver 1990 Ten Best List.

So what happened next? After equally intense research surrounding loans and insurance, I told my other friends about my find. It was with this passionate evangelism that not one, but two of my friends bought the same model cars. Yes, even as a 23-year-old, I was influencing almost $25,000 worth of products, which was more money than I was earning at my first job.

[Side note: Back then, these care were only $13-$20k brand new! I specifically remember paying $10,500 for my 2 year old version. My friend Ed Sheehan emailed to remind me that he bought a used Eclipse like me, then 3 months later a guy ran a stop sign and totalled it, and he turned around and bought another NEW one with the insurance money, so the grand total was 3 cars.]

After all the hours of research I logged, and putting my recommendation out there and reputation on the line to some of my closest friends, it was almost a drug-like rush from getting others to see your point of view and act on it.

So how did it pay off and reward me as an investment? The first is enjoying every day I owned that car, and knowing I had helped my friends. But one day at a local repair shop for a routine visit, the mechanic said I had a damaged power steering rack, and with the warranty long expired it would cost me almost two thousand dollars to fix.

Rather than get angry, I sat down and wrote a letter to the chairman of Mitsubishi Motors North America – yes, printed on paper and mailed to him with a stamp, not via email. I explained how happy I had been with the car for so long, and that both of my friends had bought his cars, and how disappointed I would be if I were no longer able to recommend his vehicles.

To my surprise, 3 days later I got a personal phone call. He said to bring it to the local dealership, talk to the manager, and if it was found to be a normal defect and not due to an accident or abuse, they would fix it. For free. And they did.

CASE STUDY # 2) The Sony Cybershot DSC-T500

So what has changed in 15 years? Well, the same five hyper-influencer characteristics that I used then are relevant now, with 2 enormous additions.

1) The internet provides virtually unlimited research
2) Social media sites make product evangelism instantaneous and viral

So this fall with my blog and podcast in full swing and a vacation coming up, I was ready to upgrade my aging digital camera with the broken battery door to something new. While I had made the decision not to do a video podcast, I wanted to be able to use video on my blog and for fun. While not close to the investment as a car, I knew that I needed to make a good decision as I’d live with this camera for a few years. Here’s how the decision process went:

Should I buy a quality digital video camera?
I entertained the thought of buying a full-function video camera. The new, high definition handhelds were a huge improvement over the shoulder toting VHS models of yesteryear. But they were still big enough that you’d have to lug them separately, and the sheer quantity of movies they allow you to take so easily, leaves you with gigabytes of footage sitting on your hard drive waiting to be edited in iMovie. That’s a pass.

What about a mini digital video camera?
I always had my eye on the Sanyo Xacti, and know people rave about the Flip. Both had new, improved HD models, and the small size, cool looks, and easy transfer tempted me. But the bottom line was, it was still a separate device in addition to a handheld digital camera. Pass.

What about a DSLR?
I had an old-school Minolta X-370 in high school and actually did a decent job of lugging it around. I enjoyed the satisfying click of locking in different lenses for different situations. So I thought long and hard about investing in something like the Nikon D90, taking some classes, and really expanding on my slight photo-taking talent. On a business trip to the Wired office in San Francisco, I hung out with expert photographer Jon Snyder. Within minutes, I knew the chasm of knowledge between even a tech geek like me and a real pro like him was enormous. And I just couldn’t make the leap to having to lug the camera.

View Jon Snyder’s amazing photos covering a Nine Inch Nails story for Wired. And on his personal website JonathanSnyder.com, take a minute to flip through “Portfolios… Book 1.”

The solution
With my 46′ widescreen luring over my shoulder as I researched, I knew that widescreen 16:9 HD was the only way to go. What I wanted was a new point and shoot digital camera I could take anywhere, but one that had the newest features, including the ability to take short HD videos to be used on the web.

And that’s when, through my research, I heard about the Sony Cybershot T-500, a new model that takes 720p HD video. Now you might be asking, hey Jim, ummm, don’t you work for Wired? And yes, that’s true. I found out from Wired’s Gadget Lab guru Dylan Tweney that there were 1-2 other cameras that already offered this, and I looked into them. But one look at the Sony and I was sold. And get this, it hadn’t even come out yet!

I was such an early adopter, that I decided to buy a camera that wasn’t for sale!

I then set about doing things only a true research geek would do.
- I set up Google alerts to track any bloggers that might have a sneak preview
- I lurked on the Amazon sales page
- I visited the Sony website
- I researched video sites to find out how I’d need to edit this video
- I learned my options for Sony memory stick storage
- And I even visited the Sony store in Manhattan, only to find out that I knew far more than the full time employee there, who told me with full assurance that it had 4GB of internal memory (um, that would be 4MB, thanks)

So with my research done, the new baby arrived a week before my vacation.  I practiced taking widescreen photos and videos around New York City.

SAMPLE PHOTOS (Click to view larger)

SAMPLE VIDEO

NOTE: You must go to Vimeo in order to watch it in High Definition.

HD video using Sony Cybershot DSC-T500: Saxaphone in Central Park from Jim Hopkinson on Vimeo.

Who does this much work!?!?!?

A hyper-influencer does.

In the old days I would have had to mail that magazine page from Car and Driver to each friend and talk on the phone. The problem was finding enough information. In the current digital world, I can self-publish a blog that reaches thousands, send a Twitter update, or email my entire Facebook list with a click. I’m helpful now because there is too much information out there and I help people focus.

And all was well and good… until…

Tokyo, Day 8 of 10.
I’m playing some type of Rock Band game in a crazy Japanese arcade.
And the next time I pull the camera out, the 3.5′ LCD is going haywire. Frazzled.

I would later realize that it wasn’t sitting on the camera wrong while in my pocket. After all, it had been fine all week. No, what surely transpired was the butt end of the drumstick I was using in the game, pierced the screen as the camera sat LCD side up in my front pocket. As of now, my new toy was a pile of useless transistors.

All’s well that end’s well for the Hyper-influencer.

Yes, it took multiple calls to Amazon.com call centers around the globe, and eventually escalating calmly to a manager, but I laid out my hyper-influencer resume:
- I was a long-time Amazon customer and evangelist
- I owned and used an Amazon credit card
- I am an Amazon Prime member
- I had a blog and was part of the Amazon Affiliates program

And like an old-school car dealership owner in a pre-internet age, the manager told me they would overnight a brand new camera to me so that I had it in time for Thanksgiving with my family. You could say they sent it to me ‘turbo fast.’

=============================

The thoughts and personal reviews of the products here are purely my own, so make sure to go to Wired’s product reviews section or download the Gadget Lab video podcast on iTunes to get expert reviews on everything from laptops to Lamborghinis from Wired technology editors.

But if you’re looking for more great marketing case stories like this:

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