Thinking by Peter Davidson

Finally, a book from the new Nate Berkus empire minted by Oprah. Personality branding at it's best.

Related:

Nate Berkus: Jumped the Shark?

More on Nate Berkus

Nate Berkus Branding

Technorati Tags: personality brand, book, Nate Berkus, home decorating, Oprah, book selling, book writing, decorating

Attention maketers: While you are keeping one eye on the changes that Apple is bringing to your favorite advertising medium--Television, you should also be aware of the new emerging technologies that will change the game.

Siemens is working on flexible color display screens that will be printed on paper or foil. These displays can show a series of product photos, illustrations, instructions, etc. They are to be powered by printable batteries that are also a part of the packaging. Imagine an iPod box that features animated 360 degree views of the product or medical devices that feature step-by-step instructions for using the product right on the p-ackage.

There's even a hint at the future of this emerging technology:

Scientists from Siemens Corporate Technology and Automation and Drives are currently optimizing materials that react so quickly that the displays can also show moving pictures.

Just imagine the possibilities.

Wafer Thin Color Displays for Packaging

Technorati Tags: display, flexible display, TV, TV Downloads, design, television, packaging, Siemens, Apple

Already the new world of TV episode downloads minted by Apple has the entertainment industry shaken.

Hollywood unions want a piece of the revenues for their member producers, writers, actors, etc.

Are these valid questions? How are the studios and networks viewing these downloads? Are they going to be making money from them or are they seeing this as promotion to build viewership of the broadcast episodes? The new web is all about free samples of content to enlist a greater following for ideas and content. Should actors, producers, et all participate in these new content giveaways as promotion for the larger whole or should they be compensated for every bit of work and sales of that work?

Lot's of questions in the new world now just days old.

Technorati Tags: Apple, TV, TV Downloads, iTunes, Hollywood, Disney, video, iPod

The definitive personality brand Oprah announced today on her season preview a personal contribution of $10 million to Katrina Relief. She did not specify how her donation would be used. This is an attention getter people. It's significant and that's the point. It will get PR attention and thereby propel the both the Oprah hurricane relief efforts and the Oprah brand itself.

The Oprah brand masterfully knows her customers fans. She also announced a program through here charity to furnish "Katrina Homes." Designed like a wedding registry this allows her fan base to "shop" for household items to sponsor for Katrina Homes.

This is a potentially powerful relief fundraising model as it taps into the interest that many Oprah fans have in shopping and allows them to tell themselves a story about how their monetary contribution is being used. If you read the site carefully it includes a disclaimer saying that funds donated will be used to meet the greatest needs. While you can tell yourself that you are sponsoring x number of toasters for Katrina relief the reality may be that your funds are used differently.

I think there will be a parade of companies donating "stuff" for the Katrina homes as product placements on the Oprah show this year. The Oprah brand is a powerful entertainment/marketing force and they have found another vehicle to connect Oprah to her customer fan base and advertisers products. Without the marketing connections there isn't the money that fuels the entertainment.

Regarding Katrina relief efforts we are seeing the presentation of different stories that appeal to different world views. Paging Seth Godin. Relief fundraising is being tied to all sorts of products and celebrities. Whatever your world view or interest there's a relief effort that is tailor made for you. From environmentalists to faith based efforts. Musicians are appealing to their fans with benefits and sales donations. Soap opera TV stars do telethons. Jay Leno does his celebrity signed motorcycle thing again. Even the big charities offer a choice of story that you are contributing towards. Are you supporting the secular Red Cross or the Christian Salvation Army? Are you saving sick, scared puppies or are you volunteering your time as a medical first responder?

In a long tail world even disaster relief has fragmented into into multiple channels designed to appeal to different world views.

Technorati Tags: branding, customer, customer insights, emergency, fundraising, habitat for humanity, hurricane, Jay Leno, Katrina, Katrina Relief, long tail, Oprah, red cross, salvation army, Seth Godin

Thinking About The Movie Theater Business

This post that I wrote for BeConnected has me thinking about the movie theater business.

Customer experience is becoming a real problem. As multiplexes look for multiple sources of revenue and turn to advertising, high priced concessions and arcade games they are creating an experience that is only tolerated by teenagers who have different standards of acceptable theater behavior. Talking, seat switching, cellphone use, etc. are behaviors that are not well tolerated by older(35+) moviegoers. This encourages older customers to stay home and watch DVDs on their home theaters. When the rare movie designed to appeal to baby boomers is released theater owners and movie studios wonder why older movie goers don't come out to the theaters.(Witness the theatrical disappointment of Cinderella Man) They don't have enough customer intuition to see that they have designed their customer experience to be unfriendly to precisely the customers who can most afford the alternatives of DVD collections and home theaters.

Some call for enhanced theater experience. There are instances where a unique movie theater going experience could be crafted.

However, the days of the giant multiplex trying to be all things to all moviegoers is limited. There are just too many options for people to chose to attend movies at theaters that don't provide an experience that resonates with them. <b>I think we will see multiplex theaters divided up to serve different audiences</b>. Not unlike the subdivision of large theaters to provide more screens and more choices.

The adult theaters will serve adult concessions and beverages, provide shopping opportunities, feature seats and legroom that better accommodate adult dimensions, etc. The Teenager theaters will feature advanced technology, cellphone based interactive elements, teen popular concessions, entertainment, seats, computers, gaming systems, etc. Family theaters will be kid friendly at every turn. From bathrooms for kids and families to cry friendly screenings every aspect of the theater going experience can be tailored to appeal to children and families. Would this work? Of course it would. Look at Chuck E. Cheese.

It's segmentation time. That's not to say that the same movies couldn't be shown in each section of the multiplex.(they already show popular films on multiple screens) I am just saying that providing separate lobbies, theaters, concession stands and thereby moviegoing experiences is the only way forward for the big theater operators. Maybe now that Loews and AMC have merged this would be good advice as they deal with their potential oversupply of screens and locations.

Technorati Tags: Loews Cineplex, baby boomer, marketing, Hollywood, segmentation, video games, interactivity, AMC Entertainment, architecture, multiplex, teenager, home theaters, family friendly, BeConnected, The Long Tail, theaters, movies, design

For all your eager Sony PSP toting thieves students returning to school this fall the Make Blog points to a DIY script for the PSP that will return the 100 possible combinations for a Masterlock combination lock when the code number on the lock is entered. One of the commenter wants this to run on a cellphone. You don't suppose the kids are looking to crack into their friends/enemies/targets lockers do ya?

If you are a parent maybe you need to learn just what's possible with the technology your children have access to. Most people have a handle on the child's internet access but what about the portable gaming system or cellphone.

The recent news stories about downloadable scripts that unlock adult content in video games should be an eye opener that gets parents more interested in just what's possible with the technology their children have access to.

Technorati Tags: Sony PSP, technology, video games, children, Masterlock, combination locks, PSP, cell phone, cellphone

Tyler Cowen offers Six reasons he feels Hollywood is a losing proposition.

1. Hollywood cannot control its marketing costs or star salaries. The growing importance of DVDs increases the "needle in the haystack" problem for any single film and thus locks studios into more marketing, creating a vicious spiral.
2. TV is now so much better, and offers artists greater creative freedom. Why watch movies?
3. The Internet is outcompeting cinema, whether at the multiplex or on DVD.
4. Big TV screens are keeping people at home, which lowers box office receipts. This also hurts the long-term prospects of many DVDs.
5. The demand for DVDs has fallen because movie lovers have completed their core collections, just as the demands for classical CDs have fallen.
6. The demand for DVDs was due to fall in any case. Forget the collectors, you buy DVDs to have a stock on hand so you don't have to run out to the video store on short notice. Now everyone has a stock. Stocks must be replenished every now and then, but there is no longer a large new cohort simultaneously building up a stock from scratch.

I would whole heartedly agree. Until digital downloads replaces the DVD and we see a new generation building new collections of films the revenue of the DVD era is a shrinking violet.

The Fall of Hollywood?

Related:
Giant Movie Theater Chains Merge
Mark Cuban Has More Good Ideas More on DVD Marketing
The Catlow
You Could Pay For What You Get
Anticipation

Technorati Tags: DVD, DVD sales, Hollywood, movies, TV, Tyler Cowen

Brace yourselves, people, Nate Berkus is back today on Oprah. What I find interesting here is the use of the uber personality brand Oprah Winfrey to mint new personality brands. We saw this, of course, with Dr. Phil and now with designer Nate Berkus. Berkus has captured a significant fan following that has been helped by the "slow drip" approach that Oprah has taken with him. Berkus appears periodically on Oprah's show and in her O Magazine but very little else has been seen of him. We don't have an over exposure story here.

Today's appearance was classic Oprah/Berkus fare. The first story of a woman's living room makeover was a bit flat. The design was well done but nothing special. The story wasn't told in a compelling way. Rabid fans will disagree, believing that anything Berkus touches is gold. This room makeover is nothing that any number of other decorating shows offer every day. As far as emotional decorating makeovers, the game has been raised by ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition. They are casting the mold for captivating emotional storytelling around home design/decoration. Many other design shows are adding more emotion and storytelling to their shows in an attempt to keep up.

Next we see a tour of Berkus' own apartment. Nothing special really. A bit stereotypically gay man's apartment aesthetic really. Masculine lines, neutral colors, travel mementos, etc. Personal details were included to fan the flames of fan fantasy that is most of the appeal of Berkus.

The rest of the show featured the glue gun lady from O at Home magazine and decorating Q&A with Berkus. Nothing earth shattering. People just want to hear cliche' decorating advice coming out of his face and Oprah is happy to be the vehicle.

Oprah has to do something bigger and more original with Berkus or the audience will eventually tire of these mini makeover stories. This show seemed flat. Has the Nate Berkus phenomenon run it's course? Has the TV Nate Berkus jumped the shark?

Related:
More on Nate Berkus
Nate Berkus Branding

tags: oprah | nate berkus | interior design | makeover
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Nate Berkus Tsunami Story on Oprah Today

Nate Berkus appeared on the Oprah show today to tell the story of his Tsunami ordeal. Something about the show was very bothersome. I think it was the fact that the show was so focused on Berkus and the emotional outpouring that he has received. Yes, he's a nice guy, yes, he has lost someone close to him, yes, it's remarkable that he survived but 150,000+ people did not survive.

Oprah's global platform was not used to encourage or chronicle the outpouring of care, support and relief that this disaster has elicited. Yes she mentioned that her charity has donated $1 million to aid relief charities but it seems so much more could be done. Oprah did not even encourage people to give in some way. Berkus didn't mention any sort of relief efforts.

This was all about Nate and the handful of survivors that were supporting actors in the Nate Berkus Story. Oprah was fanning the flames of emotional empathy for Berkus. Clearly so many people are emotionally attached to him already that an hour of tear inducing story telling and tributes will certainly expand his following. You can just feel the building of the Nate Berkus brand ready for launch sometime soon.

He is, at the end of the day, just a regular person who has survived a horrible situation, lost someone close to him, and is now struggling to deal with his grief and nightmares. That makes him neither unique nor saint material. Many people in this country and world are going through similar or worse circumstances. He is a talented interior decorator who is being developed to be a celebrity. Perspective, people. Let's keep it in perspective.

Update: Read Nate Berkus: Jumped the Shark?

Nate Berkus will be appearing on the Oprah show on Monday, January 17 with an update on the Tsunami and the search for/loss of his partner.

The story of Nate Berkus has brought this particular tragedy home to millions of Americans who have become fans through the development of his personality brand on the Oprah show.

It will be interesting to see if Oprah swarms her fans in any unique way to support the relief efforts. She may just encourage donations to the Red Cross or other established aid agencies but wouldn't it be interesting if she has a creative way for her fans to make a difference?

Update: Read my reaction to the show. Here.

Update: Read Nate Berkus: Jumped the Shark?