Robert Wussler was one of my first bosses that helped define my thinking and bedside manner. Ted Turner, Brandon Tartikoff, Pierre Cossette, and Gerry Hogan did too. What I always admired about Bob was his world-view. He loved to travel and knew almost every U.S. city like the back of his hand. This was probably due to his being head of CBS Sports and the CBS network. Bob believed in socializing when doing business. When I was at Turner Broadcasting — and Bob was running the show — we would sit in some bar in a city and talk for hours about how to achieve a strategic initiative or program. I did not always agree with Bob’s style, but his depth of knowledge, relationships, and understanding of the entertainment business made it almost impossible not to respect him – I did. During the days that I was at Turner, it grew exponentially. It was not only Bob that counted, but the team Ted assembled – everyone was very smart and aggressive – which made Turner great place to work. Ted had vision. Gerry Hogan had a brilliant sales plan, Terry McGuirk had outstanding cable operator relationships, and Bob executed the programming. Bob also underscored Turner’s “network” creditability – someone who knew how the content game was played and promoted. Bob’s strategy and relationships helped TBS acquire many valuable sporting shows – like the NBA – which strengthened TBS and built its audience. At Turner, everyone challenged each other, and we all survived. What I owe to Bob Wussler today is my love of travel and the need to know every city in the world well. My strategic consulting business was definitely born at TBS – thanks to Bob and Gerry. I visited Bob recently in Connecticut, and he looked great. Sure we were both a bit older, but we are also wiser…and we had fun…fondly looking back on the “good ‘ol days of TBS.” Before I saw Bob, I ran into several people from disparate entertainment careers. The one thing they all had in common is that Robert Wussler had touched their lives. I must have told Bob that at least 5 people said “hello” and that they wanted him to know that he was a major part of their career. I do not know what Bob’s television legacy will be, but touching people’s lives will be one of them.

Yesterday at the Coach K Leadership Conference, James McCaffrey of Turner Broadcasting gave a talk about leadership in a technology disrupted organization. He talked a lot about the evolution of the Turner brands, including CNN, Turner Classic Movies, TNT and the rest, in the face of massive change in the media industry. Sometimes we forget just how fundamentally the way people consume news, information, and entertainment has been revolutionized over the last few years, and this talk really got me thinking.

James showed a couple of videos I thought were freakin’ awesome. The first is called Did You Know, and it does an fabulous job of conveying the scale of change. I’d seen the original, but had never seen this version:

And the second video is laugh out loud funny. A quick look at how the media would have covered the moon landing if it happened today.

So you want to make your mark and launch a career planning killer Guerrilla Marketing campaigns that are going to get your clients noticed, get people talking and make their product and/or service the next biggest thing since sliced bread, right? After all, you’ve seen Jackass (the T.V. show AND the Movie) and what could be easier or more fun than doing outrageous stuff and getting paid for it right?

You would be wrong.  While these freedoms and flexibilities of Guerrilla Marketing are attractive, it is important to remember that this unorthodox approach to marketing can have some serious consequences.

Take for example a campaign that recently hit headlines.  A campaign for Turner Broadcasting’s “Aqua Team Hunger Force” on it’s Adult Swim program mistakenly landed people in jail and on the hot seat when it was mistaken for a terrorist plot. The agency in charge of the campaign placed the Adult Swim character that looked like a bomb on light poles, signs, tunnels and street signs all over the greater Boston area.  The only problem, nobody ever alerted the city authorities that they were going to do such a thing.

The net result? A huge fine paid by the marketing agency and ALSO by Turner Broadcasting. Not exactly what one would call “looking out for your client’s best interests”.

The take home story here is that Guerrilla Marketing can be fun and it can be outrageous.  Much like any traditional campaign though, it must be planned out and well executed to avoid disaster. Speaking from experience, the last thing you want to get in the mail is a notice from the County Sheriff requesting your presence in their courtroom.

Avoid the arrest warrants, plan your campagins well, taking into account EVERY possible shortfall, and Make Your Mark!

So the post season is here and we’ve seen some great games so far as each team is fighting to get into the World Series. As a Yankee fan, I wanted to know which team the Yanks were going to face in the ALDS, so I watched the sudden death game between the Tigers and the Twins on Tuesday night. (Yes, I can actually watch a baseball game, though I must admit that I multi-task between pitches and innings).

Man, that game was an exciting game! It wasn’t a Bucky Dent or an Aaron Boone type of exciting but exciting nonetheless (if you’re a Tiger fan, I’m sure there are other words to describe that game). I wasn’t really rooting for one team over the other – all I wanted was a good baseball game and I got it! They were going head to head, going back and forth with each team matching or overtaking each other in runs and both teams executing awesome plays when they needed it. But ultimately, the Twins were able to pull ahead and win the game. Bottom-line, the Tigers choked down the stretch and eventually in this game. I actually thought that the Tigers had a better chance of beating the Yankees than the Twins…

The first game between the Yankees and the Twins wasn’t as exciting as the Tigers/Twins game. But I’ll take the win nonetheless. While watching the game on TV, I noticed the number of empty seats behind home plate. I’m not talking about an empty seat here or there, I’m talking about 3, 4 or 5 chunks of empty seats. The odd thing is, I’ve read and heard reports that the game was sold out. I know the economy is bad and the new seats behind home plate are wider & more spacious in between each seat, (so it looks a bit emptier back there) but empty seats at Yankee stadium during the playoffs??? I checked the 2nd game between the Phillies/Rockies and the Cardinals/Dodgers (another good game…but just like the Tiger fan, I’m sure the Cardinal fan would choose another word to describe that game), and their respective stadiums looked pretty packed…

On another note, there was one thing that was annoying as I was watching the game on TV. The TV kept freezing during the broadcast. I don’t know if it was my cable company (Time Warner) or Turner Broadcasting (TBS) but the screen would freeze for a few seconds and I’d miss some play by play. Then at other times, the screen would be ok but there would be no audio. I checked the other channels but I didn’t have any problems.

But back to baseball…I like the Yankees’ chances of winning the World Series this year because of better pitching, defense & clutch hitting. But I haven’t heard much on their aggressive use of speed, and I think this can be a difference maker in the post season this year. A perfect example is how we’ve seen Brett Gardner use his speed to get to fly balls in center field. We’ve also seen how he manufactured some runs during the regular season in running the base pads and in stealing bases. That speed was the difference in winning a few games for the Yankees.

Speed hurt the Yankees a lot during their recent dry spell – think Dave Roberts during the Championship Series in 2005 against Boston; the Angels in 2004 Division Series; and to a lesser extent, the Marlins in 2003 World Series. I remember when Joe Torre first came to manage the Yankees; the focus was on small ball like stealing, sacrificing, and defense because he came from the National League. But the Yankees moved away from the running game when they focused on signing power hitters like Giambi, Sheffield & Matsui, etc. And since power hitters usually can’t run, the stealing game was effectively taken away. Even though Alex Rodriguez has speed, no team would be foolish enough to have him aggressively steal bases, fearing injury to the highest paid player in baseball – the Yankees signed him to hit not to steal bases.

I’m not saying that speed (or lack thereof) was the reason why the Yankees failed to win the World Series – poor pitching and lack of clutch hits were the main reasons, however the combination of the other teams’ speed and the lack of speed on the Yankees, shackled them.  But this year, the shackles are off and they’ll come out running…

Match ups I’d like to see:

Yankees vs Red Sox in the Championship Series;
Yankees vs Dodgers in the World Series.

It would be cool to have Joe Torre manage against the Yankees in the World Series. Though I still have a soft spot for Torre, I’ll be rooting for the Yankees.

Click back to 2003. Several people in recession-weary California, including me, were gathered to hear Christopher Cox, then a U.S. congressman from Orange County, speak about business matters. At that time, neither YouTube nor Twitter existed, but Cox — a pro-business Republican — still addressed the effect of the Internet on business.

The federal government, he told the crowd, was not inclined to levy extra taxes for commerce done on the Internet. He explained that the online world is the best thing ever for small businesses, which do more for employment and job growth than do large corporations. An extra financial burden there would do more harm than good at a time when the U.S. could least afford it. (Economic frustration in California then was so severe that it led to the recall of Gov. Gray Davis and the subsequent election of Arnold Schwarzenegger.)

Click ahead to 2009. YouTube is now owned by Google, whose market cap ($156 billion) now rivals Microsoft ($227 billion) and dwarfs Disney ($51 billion; Disney owns ABC and ESPN). Several people in recession-weary Atlanta, including me, gather at New Media Atlanta to hear speakers from large and small businesses discuss how online networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) can help the bottom line.

And yes, this is no longer a novelty. When the Internet first started reaching the masses in the ’90s, seminars teaching about online commerce were practically on every street corner. Now, “new media” gatherings are the trendy way to pull people in. Networking and knowledge are important, but there’s also overkill.

New Media Atlanta (#nmatl on Twitter), a one-day event in Atlanta on Friday, had some positive attributes. I noticed that the speaker list included officials from large companies, such as Turner Broadcasting, Nokia Siemens and Newell Rubbermaid. That’s proof that even the big boys know that the chatter in the virtual world matters.

The part I liked best was the dollar-sign factor. It’s getting cliche-worn to talk about “building your brand” and “forming relationships.” Businesses are interested for one reason: the bottom line.

So, some helpful names and numbers from New Media Atlanta:

– Mike Mullineaux, Nokia Siemens: Mobility is where the growth is. He notes that 20% of Google’s 650 billion daily searches come from mobile devices, and that’s expected to hit 30% in 18 months … Mobile advertising is now a $572 million market … the biggest next thing will be for mobile operators to get their cost basis to a world-class level and learn about consumer needs.

– Bert DuMars, Newell Rubbermaid:The consumer-products giant (Sharpie, Graco, Levolor) has Rubbermaid devoting 50 % of one person’s time to social media, and two others devoting 20%. Sharpie’s SM budget started at $2,000 annually. Those are small numbers for such a company, but it shows some attention … He points out that retailers have  a huge impact on consumers’ purchase decisions.

– Seth Miller, Turner Broadcasting: The company measures success in overnight ratings … He says there are “lots” of fans of Turner Classic Movies (@tcm) on Twitter.

– Brent Leary, CRM Essentials: Some 80% of Twitter usage is from mobile devices.

– Jeff Turner, executive and entrepreneur: “Charge by the project” in SM consulting, not by the hour.

There are many other fine reviews, pics and videos of New Media Atlanta on Twitter (#nmatl).

 And my own suggestion for anyone putting on such a gig: Offer breakout sessions on various topics, rather than just a “one size fits all” approach like New Media Atlanta. SoCon08/09 at Kennesaw State in Atlanta, for example, had keynote speakers as well as several smaller gatherings.

As one speaker said at New Media Atlanta, there’s no one solution in SM that’s right for everyone. But there are still good tools for almost anyone. And the numbers don’t lie.

You’re invited to celebrate a Beltline Night Out with NPU-T, thanks to Turner Broadcasting!  NPU-T received a generous amount of tickets to Tuesday, September 15th game of the Braves vs Mets!

If you live within NPU-T- West End, Beecher Donnelly, Collegetown, Booker T. Washington, Villages of Castleberry Hill or attend one of the colleges within the AUC and would like a ticket- please send me an email(niaknowles@gmail.com) or txt at 404-414-32893

I just recently purchased a new laptop and I’m the process of transferring all of my files from my old laptop to an external hard drive for easier access. I found some of my old poetry I hadn’t read in a while, especially a poem I’ve had a couple of requests for….

Looking back, it’s clearly a cheap attempt at “Howl” and I realize that I fell well short of that mark, but it still carries a lot of emotional value for me. Feel free to comment and/or critique:

“November Spawned a Monster”

Cold blue smoke floats on a Wednesday afternoon
angst, the breakfast of champions, fuels me to
press on through the monotony of life.
Trapped in the glass globe of “southern living.”
Malnourished! Left to starve and choke on the
recycled Puritanical lies they
feed me.  People shuffle in and out, blind
to the rape which is occurring daily.
They rape me too, for years violated
by their calls for hate, while they paint it love.
Like a scared turtle I took shelter from
my fears in them, a product of my guilt.
Guilt, the crutch they use to beat dissenters.
No longer can I follow their trademark
recipe for hate.  Free thought my only
vehicle out of this holy shit-hole.
A 21st century digital
boy, a 21st century gad fly
America my Athens, but will my
idle words pack a sting or will hemlock
be my next entrée.  Pop radio the death
of life, sadly I silently hide the fact
I know the words, the headlines read the same
another nazi in Austin a pawn
to King George, a cog in the machine that’s
becoming the new evil empire
nicotine my friend on this bittersweet
morning.  A peace settles in as I am
reminded of words I read many years
ago, the only thing constant is change.
But what has changed? An epic sense of hate
and fear disguised in an artificial
sense of nationalism—Bush-leaguers—
black blood blinds bastard men obligated
to contractual obligations and
the divine sovereignty of Enron.
Rummy, The Cardiac Kid and Bushels
the cowboy clown bravely leading us on the
imperialistic charge through Babylon.
Illegitimacy abounds in an
illegitimate government. They
hate Mohamed—Mohamed sure loves them.
They remind us of that “Day”—a day I
remember all too well.
The incessant drone of the alarm clock
I tunneled in my sheets; sunlight seeped in
A confused voice stirred me, I sat up
“What are the chances this is an accident?”
I ran to the TV…Explosion #2!
I drive to work…Explosion #3!
Work, how can I work at a time like this?
I walked outside and lit a cigarette
the sun vibrantly shone casting shadows
upon the corridor I walked.
I heard the clanking of the flagpoles blowing in the distance
I reached for my phone; hoping for a connection out there
Busy.  I looked up, clear blue sky not a single cloud.
I walk on, heading towards a skyscraper.
Again, I dialed a number, hoping for a voice
Line down.  I looked up, how and why
I sat alone on the curve, lighting another cigarette
the nicotine my only comforter.
“Three down and one aloof”
What the fuck was happening?
It’s 9:30 A.M. and single yellow cab pulls into the bus station
$59 or less to anywhere?  How far is anywhere?
Not far enough.
I look down College, the city bus putts along as
Though it too has been affected.
My phone rings, I answer
Static. God Damnit, it might have been her
I look up, a family of pigeons dives towards our building
Never before had this scared me
Men with purple hearts, Carry silver guns hidden behind their sports coat
They stand on the street corners and watch.
I walk out of the shadows and into the sun.
Fall is approaching and a crisp breeze begins to blow down the street
I look around and all is at peace.
Does nature know something I don’t?
One more cigarette before Reba kills me
“Imagine there’s no heaven”
You got that right John.
No countries, no wars, and no religion
Right on, the words ring through my head
As if someone is positioned on the Bank of America building
Blaring the song throughout all of downtown.
All I ever need to know I learned from the Beatles
And Dylan, Dylan was good to
They warned us…they all warned us
Hell Sophocles and Aeschlyus warned us
But did we listen, too much fucking hubris for that.
Now 4,000 gone and counting
Will we learn now?
Or are we all still black and white?
Gay and straight?  Christian and Muslim?
When will we see that it’s all shit? We are merely human.
What’s she doing?  I bet she can see the shit from her window?
Better than Brokaw, better than Rather
She’s got the birdeyes view.  If I could only reach her.
Suddenly, I am once again paralyzed by the words of Lennon
Perhaps this will help us do away with the Puritanical myths
Maybe, we can live as one.
Teary eyed women come out of the building
And my dream is soon crushed.
I hear their rhetoric but I don’t comprehend
What is a “towel head”?
And how are they all responsible for this?
It’s a chance for the cowboy president
To gallop in the sunset
Showing that he is not just a daddies boy
Come on W give me direction
A lady from the TV station next door
Sticks her microphone in my face
Like some modern day phallic symbol
She asks me how it feels to be American
The only reply I can muster is:
“I am HUMAN and I need to be loved
Just like everyone else does.”
This monster was spawned in November
Our Supreme Court nurtured it
Our voters robbed…American voices muted
The legacy lives on.
Commercialism
Capitalism
Montheism—only if his name is Jesus though
These are the drugs that get pricks high.
Not in our names, the victims say
Fuck the victims our monster says.
Our generation, sold out
to the lies of AOL-Time Warner
To Viacom
To Turner Broadcasting
To Rupert Murdock
We gather together to discuss our
favorite Fox Anchor.
Our generation, desperately searching
We are the muted generation
Silenced by lusts, lies, lunacy
We desperately search for our voice
For our Ginsberg
For our Kerouac
For our Burroughs
I have no Carl Solomon to dedicate my words to,
Though I have seen “the best minds of my generation
Destroyed by madness, starving, hysterical, naked.”
American boys bleeding in Baghdad
I see it every night
It’s the worlds greatest reality TV show
Who needs Simon…who needs Trista?
We only need War!
We only need Peter Arnette and Geraldo.
Aren’t these GI’s the ultimate American Idols?
Isn’t this the ultimate Fear Factor?
Survivor:Baghdad; churning out more widows
To replace Trista on the Bacherlotte
ABC must be thrilled
Reality for a reality starved nation
Reality void in our schools, our government
Our culture, our country
Somehow I know there’s more than a flag and a crown.
My dissent indicts me, fettered by the chains of fascism
Repressed
Oppressed
And Suppressed!
I press on, searching for an end to the apathetic, plastic smiles
Bitchy, little Bible beaters, beating down your back.
Fear and insecurity drive these animals
To make a misery out of humans life.
My soul polluted by their racist, homophobic, misogynic manifesto
The theatre, my sanctuary…I go there to cleanse myself
To expunge the evils they have tainted me with
They tell me of the American Dream
Even more lies to complicate a convoluted life
Fables of success and prosperity
Promised as inherent, intrinsic rewards
For those who devote their life to hard work, liberty, justice and ever important pursuit of happiness
Happiness?  HA!
What do they know of happiness?
Happiness is not obedience
But now, thanks to the November’s monster
These people control my life
Filling our court’s, our congress
Their pockets
We live in an age where progress is equated with evil
Regression is the goal of our generals
They tell us not to forget
And we won’t
For just as November spawned the monster
November can slay it as well.

On the August 18th segment of the PI Window on Business Show I will be interviewing critically acclaimed author, speaker and entertainment industry veteran Libby Gill regarding her soon to be released book “You Unstuck: Mastering the New Rules of Risk-Taking at Work and in Life.”

Recognized as the branding brains behind the launch of the Dr. Phil Show, my interview with Libby will certainly have a universal appeal.  However, the show may strike a particular nerve with those of us who are within the purchasing profession.

Referring to what has become my usual practice of asking how many audience members from my seminars and conferences had actually planned to be purchasing professionals – not surprisingly less than 3 percent – I ask Libby what impact this has on both work and personal life.  The insights from this as well as the other questions should prove to be very interesting.

About Libby Gill:

An entertainment industry veteran, Libby Gill spent fifteen years heading public relations and corporate communications at Universal Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Turner Broadcasting.

Libby is now an internationally respected executive coach, speaker and bestselling author.  She has shared her success strategies on the Today Show, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, CNN, NPR, Oprah & Friends Radio Network, Fox News, CBS Early Show, and in Time Magazine, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, O Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Self and many more.

Here is the link to Buy the Book:

Join me on August 18th at 12:30 PM EDT through the On_Demand Player below, as I welcome Libby Gill to the PI Window on Business Show.

   PRESS RELEASE FROM CNN

NIGERIAN TOLU OGUNLESI WINS ARTS AND CULTURE AWARD AT CNN MULTICHOICE AFRICAN JOURNALIST AWARDS 2009

Tolu Ogunlesi, from Nigeria, has been awarded the Arts and Culture Award, presented by Nkepile Mabuse of CNN International on behalf of Zain Group at this year’s CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2009 Awards ceremony.

Tolu, who is a contributing editor for Glide Magazine, Nigeria, won for his story, ‘What the Truck?’, which was chosen from among 836 entries from 38 nations across the African continent. 

The Awards, which rotate location each year in tribute to their pan-African credentials, returned to South Africa in 2009 and were held at a Gala ceremony hosted by CNN and MultiChoice at The International Convention Centre, Durban this evening, Saturday 18^th July.

Member of the judging panel, Ferial Haafajee, Editor-in-Chief, City Press, South Africa, said: “Always a delight to read, watch and listen to, this year’s arts and culture section was particularly competitive, said the judges. Ultimately, street art won as Tolu Ogunlesi writing in Glide magazine curated a moving exhibition. Nigeria’s Molues, Danfoes and Gwongoro’s are decorated by motor display artists. He found the art in the commonplace. The trucks, buses and taxis are decorated in a riot of colour, picture and inspirational message. Among them: no condition is permanent as well as a set of religious messages. “They symbolised,” said Tolu, “…the harshness of daily existence and the stubborn hope…that makes present harshness bearable.”  

Tony Maddox, Executive Vice-President and Managing Director of CNN International, said: “Tonight’s journalists join an ever-increasing number of professionals recognised by their peers over the last fourteen years. They have become part of a community of excellence, representing the very best in African journalism and maintaining the highest standards of journalistic integrity.”

Eben Greyling, President MultiChoice Africa, said: “MultiChoice’s partnership in these awards reflects our deep commitment to promoting and developing media skills and talent in Africa. We are delighted that every year these awards keep getting bigger and more competitive which signals the growing influence of the awards as the premier event in Africa’s media calendar. We congratulate the winners and all the finalists and honour their hard work and dedication while celebrating with them the telling of the African story.”

The CNN MultiChoice competition is now in its fourteenth year. Durban-based accommodation is provided by Southern Sun Elangeni. Other prestigious sponsors include: British Airways; Coca-Cola Africa; Ecobank, IPP Media, Tanzania; Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD); Safebond Africa Ltd; South African Tourism; Zain; Global Media Alliance; and A24 Media.

More Opportunities Than Ever Before to Watch the African Journalist Awards:

Viewers across the continent and across the world will this year be presented by more ways than ever before in the history of the African Journalist Awards:

• The Highlights’ Programme of the Awards ceremony will be broadcast as follows:

     M-Net will broadcast the ‘Highlights Programme’ of the Award Ceremony:

     M-Net Domestic (IS7)            29th July at 2305 CAT

     M-Net EAST (W4 & IS10)     1^st August at 2100 CAT

     M-Net WEST (W4 & IS10)      1^st August at 2200 CAT

     AFRICA MAGIC (7)                22^nd August at 1930 CAT  

• Broadcasters in 44 countries on the African continent will be transmitting the ‘Highlights Programme’ during August and September.
• Internationally, the ‘Highlights Programme’ will be shown on OBE TV in the UK, The Africa Channel in the United States and on RTP Africa.
• CNN International’s longest-running feature programme, ‘Inside Africa’ will report on the Awards on Saturday 25^th July at 1830 CAT.
• For the first time ever, in its new feature programme ‘BackStory’, CNN International will provide viewers with a unique, behind-the-scenes insight into how the awards and competition are put together, which airs on Monday 20^th July at 2300 CAT.
• The Highlights Programme will be screened on CNN.com Live.

The overall CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2009 wins a substantial cash prize, a visit to CNN Centre in Atlanta, to attend the three week CNN Journalism Fellowship, along with the prize awarded to all category winners, which consists of a laptop computer, printer and a cash prize.

www.cnn.com/africanawards

About the award:

The CNN African Journalist of the Year Award was founded in 1995 by Edward Boateng (formerly African Regional Director for Turner Broadcasting System Inc., CNN’s parent company) and the late Mohamed Amin, to recognise and encourage excellence in journalism throughout Africa. 

2009 Judging Panel

The independent judging panel, chaired by Azubuike Ishiekwene, Executive Director, Punch Nigeria Limited, includes: Ferial Haffajee, Editor-in-Chief, City Press, South Africa; Joel Kibazo, journalist and media consultant; Arlindo Lopes, Secretary General of SABA – Southern African Broadcasting Association; Kim Norgaard, CNN’s Johannesburg Bureau Chief; Anna Umbima, journalist and broadcaster. Filipe Correia de Sá, Senior Producer at BBC World Service and Jean-Paul Gérouard, Deputy Editor-in-Chief at France 3 were brought in to help judge the Portuguese and French language categories.

Turner Broadcasting Corporate Social Responsibility:

In early 2009, twenty Turner staff fundraised $50,000 to build a school in Mali, which featured on CNN’s ‘BackStory’ programme and CNN Traveller magazine. The company donated funds to the project and several million dollars worth of airtime to Plan International, the NGO behind the scheme as well as funding the trip for the volunteers who helped build the school. Over the last three years the company and its staff have also provided houses in South Africa with Habitat for Humanity and schooling, food, drugs and transport for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Kenya with UNICEF. Using their paid volunteer time staff have also created advertisements and logos for African charities and CNN has donated airtime.  The company is now planning to build a school in Rwanda in 2010.

MultiChoice South Africa Corporate Social Responsibility:

MultiChoice South Africa’s Corporate Social Investment strategy is underpinned by the need to make a sustainable and lasting impact in the communities in which it operates.  Our focus areas include: media development, education and the orphaned and vulnerable children. Through direct technology investments and support, the company enables individuals and communities to help themselves.  It is about promoting independence and not dependence. The company also supports local communities, through encouraging employees to contribute their time and skills towards charity organisations and/or causes that they are most passionate about. The programme makes provision for team participation initiatives which go hand in hand with grants given to employees to implement their activities.

So I’ll start off by admitting that I’m in a bit of a funk today. I don’t have much of an explanation, except that it’s Monday. The weather’s actually quite nice for early May in New England.

Right to the point. I have two beefs, and I’m going to cover them together, because neither is worthy of a post on its own.

My first one re-visits Starbucks’ pricing. I’m already bitter that not all Starbucks (e.g. airport locations, Barnes & Noble stores) accept my Starbucks card (yes I understand why), so I pay 40 cents extra for soy milk. Today, I ordered a tall latte with an extra shot (a regular tall has only one, so what’s the point?) and I realized I paid the same price as a grande (which has 2 shots), except a grande has quite a bit more steamed milk. I looked more closely at the latte pricing and noticed that adding a shot to a grande makes it more expensive than a venti (which has 3 shots and also a lot more milk). Yes, I’m familiar with the concept of volume pricing, but in principle the regular price you charge for a larger size should at the very least be higher than the price for the smaller size. Why? Forget business sense. Because if you don’t follow this common sense principle, consumers are bound to be bitter once they figure it out.

The other one strikes a chord, because it relates to a personal pet peeve I’ve already blogged about twice in my Turner Broadcasting and BMW posts. Pepsico already has egg on its face over the Tropicana fiasco. And now, a chief marketing pitch for the new Gatorade drink G2 has an obvious grammatical error (see Google search results image at top). The page and tons of other ads are plastered with the phrase “Less Calories” (instead of “Fewer Calories”). This should never have made it past even the most junior copy editor. Truly embarrassing!

TAPA's readership.

Reader Leah (I know she spells it with an “h,” but I’ve been told I don’t use enough pictures) writes:

I’ve been corresponding with a producer at a big company in my city (Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta) regarding being a PA (a set PA, I believe). She said I could either be a volunteer for no pay or academic credit, or be paid (which would be awesome). I am completely willing to volunteer for awhile until I am comfortable with the job (haven’t PA-ed before), and then trying to get a paid position. However, here is my question: does being a PA “play well” with being a college student? In other words, do I have to be available (whether as a volunteer or paid PA) around the clock, or can I work on days when I don’t have class? If I was a volunteer PA, would they be more likely to work with my schedule?

I would LOVE to be a PA, but I still have a good 1.5 years left of college, and don’t want to drop out. However, being a Starbucks barista isn’t exactly my favorite job in the world, and being a PA would be a step in the right direction.

Boy, I wish I had been smart enough to network like that when I was in college. I wasted most of my time sneering at the other students, who clearly didn’t have the bright future I’m living in right now.

Anyway.

PAs aren’t generally “on call,” but it is a full time job. TV shows and movies shoot five or six days a week. It doesn’t do them much good if you’re only there three days a week.

Interning, while it obviously doesn’t pay the bills, is much more flexible. Usually, interns only come in two or three days a week, and for only eight hours, instead of twelve.

Just as importantly, everyone knows an intern is there to learn. While you may be given crap jobs (“Please sort the producer’s action figures by height, gender, and date of release”), you’ll also be given the opportunity to ask a lot of questions without annoying anyone.

My advice is to be an intern, and use your Starbucks connections to bring your boss her favorite mixed drink every morning.  She’ll love that.

​

When you ask someone to think of a Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day is usually the answer they give. The other half will say Ghostbusters. This is the kind of a role that one is born to play. Murray plays the character of Phil Conners and does it better than a real Phil Conners would have. His comedic talents are highly honed in this performance and he is working near the top of his game. It is so important to be inside a Phil Conner’s head in this movie due to the repetitive nature of the movie. Murray is consistent, funny and just melds with the story line.

The story line is pretty basic. Phil Conners is a weatherman on assignment to cover Groundhog Day. He doesn’t seem to be a nice man nor does he like his job very much. He mis-predicts the weather and end up getting stuck in Punxsutawney, PA where an annual Groundhog Day event is held putting the whole town on hold. Upon awakening the next morning in Punxsutawney the following day he discovers that it is Groundhog Day all over again. There is a great scene when Murray dresses as a cowboy with a date that is classic; and the way he is able to handle the Brink’s guards is also very humorous.

Also fun to watch in the movie is the talented Andie MacDowell whose character of Rita is completely unaware that it is the same day for Phil. She tries to understand. Less understanding is Phil’s cameraman played by David Letterman funny man Chris Elliot who gives his usual spot on dufus performance. The man who will always be synonymous with the film is Stephen Tobolowsky who plays the knee-slapping funny Ned Ryerson. The scenes, few as they are, with Bill Murray are comedy at its finest and also very Bill Murray.

Written by Danny Rubin and directed by Harold Ramis (Murray’s co-star in Ghostbusters), this film was almost an experiment to see if Hollywood would let them make a movie in which the characters relive the same day over and over again. There have even been analysis papers written about time travel and how Phill Conners reacts in his environment so as to allow the same actions to take place again the next day. The film really found a cult like following when the replay rights were purchased by Turner Broadcasting and the movie received so much repeat airplay on TBS that some viewers thought they were in the actual movie. Ramis is to be commended for keeping all the scenes and continuity straight even with so many Hollywood tricks he could have chosen to use. This movie has turned out to be an important film of the 1990s. 8/10*

* The poster for the film is a little too cutesy and I never thought of this film as cutesy or talking down to the audience. Of course what does it is the addition of MacDowell on the poster. It must have been in her contract.

I admit I’m no English grammar expert, so perhaps I’m speaking out of turn here. But I believe if you’re going to put a marketing message in front of millions of viewers, you should go through an intensive enough review process to make sure you get it right. So, yes I’m a stickler for grammar, and I can’t help that when used incorrectly in an overt fashion, it negatively impacts my impression of the offender. In my view, large corporations should be embarrassed when they repeatedly make highly visible mistakes, especially with seasoned copywriters and editors on staff.

Have you watched a movie on TBS or TNT lately? In the lower left corner of the screen in large letters, the phrase “More Movie, Less Commercials” is periodically displayed throughout every movie. I cringe every time I see it. “More Movie, Fewer Commercials” is the correct phrase.

I’m sure Turner’s writers refer to a trusty style guide when drafting copy, but perhaps a 7th grade English grammar book should be on the desk as well.

bostonherald.com is reporting that Andre Benjamin aka Andre 3000 of the musical group Outkast has been sued, along with the Cartoon Network and Turner Broadcasting, by Timothy McGee, a Boston postal worker, for $2 million in damages relating to animated series “Class of 3000.” The suit claims copyright infringement, breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets and requests damages “including but not limited to” all the profits from the show, legal fees and “whatever this court may deem additionally just and proper.” Unfortunately for McGee, the profits from the show aren’t that extensive as it has already been cancelled.

Key graphs:

Timothy McGee, 33, a former art student, claims he developed “characters, artwork, storylines . . . and concepts” for an animated series he called “The Music Factory of the ’90s,” nearly 10 years before the oddly similar “Class” began airing on the Cartoon channel.

and:

In 1997, the Boston guy submitted a proposal for his show to Michael Lazzo, then a vice president of programming for the Cartoon Network, and promptly received a rejection letter.

Nine years later, in November 2006, the Cartoon Network premiered “Class of 3000,” an animated series set in Atlanta.

Only time will tell if McGee has the goods to be able to hang this one on Andre. A good place to start will be any documentation he submitted to Lazzo in 1997, the rejection letter, and (if he’s lucky) a non-disclosure agreement. Oftentimes, when people pitch shows or ideas, the programming executive refuses to sign non-disclosures on the chance that they are pursuing a similar themed show already. These cases are notoriously hard to prove because of the passage of time and the difficulty of getting the right witnesses–is Lazzo still working for Cartoon Network (the article is unclear), and what documents still exist at Cartoon Network that might support McGee’s claim?

Another question, is it going to be worth it for McGee? This is not a question to be taken lightly. Even though you may have been wronged, a good business person will always, always conduct a cost-benefit analysis of pursuing a claim. If the damages aren’t great enough, there is little sense in filing a lawsuit and paying a lawyer lots of money just to achieve the satisfaction of knowing that a court of law agrees that you were wronged. A simple maxim: If the damages aren’t there, it is rarely worth it to litigate.

In this case, I see little reason to pursue this claim. Even if McGee were to win in spectacular fashion, the odds that an animated feature on the Cartoon Network that lasted for only two years will have generated enough profit to justify an award of $2 million is debatable.

We’ll keep you posted on this one.

I am definitely a fan of the entire viral/guerrilla marketing campaign era…of course, when the marketing campaigns are thought out and preferably don’t cause bomb scares. I will never forget coming home from night class in Rhode Island and turning on the nightly news only to find the main heading on my TV screen flashing…”Bomb Scare in Boston.” After a full explanation from the reporter on duty the “bomb scare” was in fact a guerrilla marketing campaign gone wrong…or right, depending on who you are.

The original idea behind the campaign was to promote the new show, Aqua Teen Hunger Force. A series of small electronic devices were placed around the city of Boston…on buildings, streets lamps and even bridges. The flashing LED signs had a cartoon character on the front and had exposed batteries and wires. The police were never informed of the campaign and took every step to ensure the safety of the city.

The general premise behind the campaign was in fact a good idea, but it was executed poorly. So, I have come up with an un-official list of questions that organizations can ask themselves in order to prepare themselves and avoid this disaster again…

1) What is our marketing budget for this campaign?
2) Will this campaign cause a bomb scare?

…and those are the only two answers they need, well maybe those are not the only questions they will need to answer, but at least that will point them in the right direction. I wonder what the future holds for guerrilla marketers? Whatever it is I hope that it’s in good taste and gets my attention.

So go on guerrilla marketers, do your thaaang…just try to keep the police out of it.

- TJ -

…since I have last written. Lord of the Rings Online is coming about with its first expansion, Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria this Fall. Gametap inked a deal with THQ to bring a huge lineup to their service, including the renowned (and one of my favorite) Warhammer 40k Dawn of War series. Cryptic Studios announced that is not only working on the next generation of Super Hero MMO’s (Champions Online) but it has decided to let the public know it is developing Star Trek Online; That is the first definite news on that project in quite a long time – trekkies rejoice.

Quite a busy year in the games industry, lots of interesting tidbits are coming down the line slowly but surely. As I have always stated, GameTap is doing well and has a great idea going for it – Cryptic, after making a shaky move in selling the City of Heroes franchise certainly has its hands full with 2 new upcoming productions (Go get em Statesma– er.. Jack).

Thursday, October 11th, I had the honor to be on CNN.com–which is a video interview that’s played on their website and broadcast all over the world.

CNN.com LINK http://www.cnn.com/video//video/showbiz/2007/10/11/odell.interview.cnn

Yikes. I thought I’d be scared and jittery, but honestly, I wasn’t. That’s where all the local and regional interviews I’ve done in cities such as Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando and others have helped.

I’ve learned that you sell one book at a time, and when you’re on TV or radio–you talk to the one person who’s interviewing you–that’s it.

The scariest part of my day was driving through downtown Atlanta and hoping I could find the place without any problems and without being snagged in one of Atlanta’s infamous and all-too-frequent traffic jams. All went well, and I parked and took a picture of the giant red (my favorite color, by the way) CNN sign on top of their building. The security guard had my name and printed me out a badge, and the producer came down and escorted me upstairs through the newsrooms, through headline news set and into the make-up room.

Now, I’ve had make-up before, but usually, they just touch you up a bit–put on a darker foundation applied with a big fluffy brush that takes all of 30 seconds.

Not at CNN, I had FULL make-up done, and it was so fascinating to be sitting next to anchors who talk on CNN and stare into their reflections in the mirrors–me–on CNN–how cool is that? Being a hick that I am, I got my picture taken with my make-up and hair artist. I couldn’t help myself.

Life is about celebrating, and this day was too monumental not to document, not to celebrate.

Honestly, I’ve never felt more together in my life. I had achieved my CNN diet (earlier blog) and they did such a good job with my hair and make-up that I was flabberghasted at how good I looked:) Even my daughters and friends called me later–in shock almost at how good I looked (which makes me wonder what I look like walking around every day).

The producer escorted me back upstairs, through all the newsrooms and the busy people rushing here and there, coffee cups in hand. I thought about all the news and events coming into this place from around the world. We went through one darkened room that had well over 100 TV screens/monitors on the walls–live feed from around the world.

I took my seat and soon, Melissa, my interviewer came over. Sharp, beautiful young woman. She didn’t “mess around” as us old geezers used to (and still do) say. She shook my hand, said we were “just going to have a conversation,” which made me feel like I was on NYPD and thought of asking if I needed a lawyer. Two seconds later, the cameras were rolling.

We did, we had the conversation. No prep, I just spoke from my heart. She had picked some great passages from my book, and in the end, I felt I did caregivers proud. I felt that my message that family and hope trumps despair, and I did it staying true to my story to the caregiving experience. No sugar coating, but poignant all the same.

A few minutes later, the producer walked me back downstairs and I felt as if I had just left an afternoon wedding–all dressed up and needing something else to do. I bought a latte in the atrium, watched all the tourists get in line for the CNN tour, took a few more pictures of the flag, the world that hangs high above, and I wrote in my journal.

I sat in the atrium of CNN and wrote because writers write. That’s how we live, remember, emote and process.

It was an amazing day–

~Carol D. O’Dell

author of MOTHERING MOTHER

Kunati Publishing

Available on Amazon and in most bookstores