Today, I was delighted to read in the New York Times that President Obama shares my affinity for Honest Tea beverages. While most people hadn't heard of these drinks, I have been ordering them by the case for a while due to their high level of anti-oxidants for some time (although I am still not sure why oxidants are bad). However, I suspect that my endorsement hasn't done as much for the brand compared to what the President's will do now that the story is out.
While waiting for the elevator, Andrew and I were talking about the explosion of popularity that the Honest Tea drink will probably enjoy now that it is a noted favorite of the President, and Andrew came up with the idea that just might pull our country out of the financial crisis.
The question is how much would Pepsi pay to be the exclusive drink of Barack Obama? If history is any indication, a lot.
And why stop there? Professional athletes typically cash in on as many endorsment deals as possible while they are in their prime. And so should the President. Barack Obama should enjoy at least as many opportunities as Tiger Woods, and probably more. And the opportunity is not limited to the US - he is an international phenomenon, and should be able to reap big endorsement deals around the world.
And why should we limit this to the President. Any member of the administration who has the personal brand worthy of an endorsement should be exploited. And all federal buildings should be open for naming rights. Think T-Mobile White House, etc. with a visual wrap like the commuter busses in NYC. Of course, a cabinet level "super agent" (Ari Gold?) should be confirmed to handle all of this. Or maybe this should be a non-partisan commission. Or just outsource the whole thing to an online ad network and let the sponsor bid on it directly.
Either way, it's out of the box thinking like this that will get us out of this financial crisis...
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Reinventing Radio
There were a bunch of posts today covering the Deloitte consulting report which had a chapter on Internet radio. The best quote was, "In 2009, Internet Radio may not just reinvigorate the medium of radio. It may reinvent it."
Obviously, we are big believers in Internet radio and like to think we have a hand in this re-invention (okay - so maybe it's just a courtside seat). But as big as I thought this was going to be 2 years ago when we were putting TargetSpot together, I didn't see it coming this way. It's the proliferation of online apps - for the iPhone, Blackberry, Android OS - that are about to kick this thing into the big leagues of media consumption.
Honestly, I thought the next big frontier for Internet radio was going to be in autos. I figured the next 2 years would show significant organic growth on the desktop, with an eventual implementation in cars when WiMax came to enough metro areas that it paid to develop an in dash Internet radio tuner. Yes, this will happen, but there is a bigger, faster movement underway with the cell phone.
I totally didn't see the cell phone as the game changer. When we started TargetSpot, there were rumors of an "iPhone" but nothing more than a few spy photos. The concept of the app store had never been contemplated. And the idea that early adopters and the "tech elite" would stop listening to their iPod in exchange for "radio" would have seemed ludicrous.
However, this is exactly what is happening and it's helping drive the growth of online radio - even beyond the device. Wired had a great post on how your cell phone is changing how you listen to music, and I do believe this is a game changer. And the good news is that it means more music accessible to more people. And while ads will be more prevalent than they may have been before these services became real businesses, I suspect that the overall user experience will not be diminished.
And when you compare what radio is now and what it can be in another 11 months, to what it was 2 years ago, the Deloitte report is probably spot on.
Obviously, we are big believers in Internet radio and like to think we have a hand in this re-invention (okay - so maybe it's just a courtside seat). But as big as I thought this was going to be 2 years ago when we were putting TargetSpot together, I didn't see it coming this way. It's the proliferation of online apps - for the iPhone, Blackberry, Android OS - that are about to kick this thing into the big leagues of media consumption.
Honestly, I thought the next big frontier for Internet radio was going to be in autos. I figured the next 2 years would show significant organic growth on the desktop, with an eventual implementation in cars when WiMax came to enough metro areas that it paid to develop an in dash Internet radio tuner. Yes, this will happen, but there is a bigger, faster movement underway with the cell phone.
I totally didn't see the cell phone as the game changer. When we started TargetSpot, there were rumors of an "iPhone" but nothing more than a few spy photos. The concept of the app store had never been contemplated. And the idea that early adopters and the "tech elite" would stop listening to their iPod in exchange for "radio" would have seemed ludicrous.
However, this is exactly what is happening and it's helping drive the growth of online radio - even beyond the device. Wired had a great post on how your cell phone is changing how you listen to music, and I do believe this is a game changer. And the good news is that it means more music accessible to more people. And while ads will be more prevalent than they may have been before these services became real businesses, I suspect that the overall user experience will not be diminished.
And when you compare what radio is now and what it can be in another 11 months, to what it was 2 years ago, the Deloitte report is probably spot on.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Startup PR
Last week we announced 8 of our newest partners at TargetSpot. We make these announcements every few months, and it is a big part of the story we are telling about our company. I am a big believer in an aggressive PR strategy. Of course, simply making annoucements just for the sake of trying to get publicity will not work. If it is not news - and not relevant to the journalist's audience - it will not be covered. So you need to have a message that makes sense, a story that will resonate, and an audience that will care. The good news, is that if you are at a startup - and one that has received venture funding - there is a good chance that what you are doing is interesting enough to make news on a regular basis. And it's up to you as CEO to get the word out.
Is it worth it? I would argue that it is one of the most important uses of a CEO's time. Not just because it gets your name in the paper or on a blog, but because telling the story is how we get better at what we need to do as CEOs. We need to tell the story of our business and execute against it. When we can convince the press/bloggers that we are onto something, we usually are. And the passion, ideas and success we communicate to the press, are also necessary to communicate to your team, your board and most importantly, your clients.
We get great press at TargetSpot and people always ask me which PR firm we use. As an early stage business, working with a large PR firm is probably not a good use of cash. However, the early days are probably the best opportunities for PR. Recognizing this, I teamed up with a former colleague with some extra bandwidth who helps us out a with our PR on a consulting basis. This works out well - we are heavily involved in the PR process, but have a seasoned professional guide us and help us deliver the message. And the cost is significantly lower than what a PR firm would charge. And you work directly with an expert - instead of a jr. account manager at a PR firm.
Leveraging prior relationships a common theme for us. In addition to PR, we work or have worked with several former colleagues as consultants in Sales/Tech/Business Development. In these situations everyone wins. While these are not always long term relationships, they let you quickly bring in highly skilled and experienced individuals - who you probably couldn't afford to pay on a full time basis - and leverage their expertise and connections in a way that can jumpstart your own efforts.
At a start-up, there is no entrenched way to do business. And with limited resources you must try new ways to reach your goals more efficiently. Leveraging relationships to accomplish these goals in an innovative way will help you build your business and conserve your cash. I think we have done that with our PR strategy and I urge other start-ups to leverage their networks where possible.
Is it worth it? I would argue that it is one of the most important uses of a CEO's time. Not just because it gets your name in the paper or on a blog, but because telling the story is how we get better at what we need to do as CEOs. We need to tell the story of our business and execute against it. When we can convince the press/bloggers that we are onto something, we usually are. And the passion, ideas and success we communicate to the press, are also necessary to communicate to your team, your board and most importantly, your clients.
We get great press at TargetSpot and people always ask me which PR firm we use. As an early stage business, working with a large PR firm is probably not a good use of cash. However, the early days are probably the best opportunities for PR. Recognizing this, I teamed up with a former colleague with some extra bandwidth who helps us out a with our PR on a consulting basis. This works out well - we are heavily involved in the PR process, but have a seasoned professional guide us and help us deliver the message. And the cost is significantly lower than what a PR firm would charge. And you work directly with an expert - instead of a jr. account manager at a PR firm.
Leveraging prior relationships a common theme for us. In addition to PR, we work or have worked with several former colleagues as consultants in Sales/Tech/Business Development. In these situations everyone wins. While these are not always long term relationships, they let you quickly bring in highly skilled and experienced individuals - who you probably couldn't afford to pay on a full time basis - and leverage their expertise and connections in a way that can jumpstart your own efforts.
At a start-up, there is no entrenched way to do business. And with limited resources you must try new ways to reach your goals more efficiently. Leveraging relationships to accomplish these goals in an innovative way will help you build your business and conserve your cash. I think we have done that with our PR strategy and I urge other start-ups to leverage their networks where possible.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Slacker
I have been mildly obsessed with Slacker since I read about it in the now defunct Business 2.0 a few years ago. The idea of a radio that is fully customizable is highly intriguing to me - while I have a huge itunes music collection and several ipods, I am tired of the music I own, and highly enjoy discovering new music. The radio has always been the typical place you discover new artists, but traditional radio doesn't suit me anymore - my musical tastes are more refined and eclectic these days, and - let's be honest - I could do without the 5 minutes of commercial stop blocks. So when Slacker introduced their radio device that constantly downloaded new music from the web when in a "hot spot", I knew I would be an early adopter.
A good amount of time passed and the devices hadn't come to market yet, and I started getting into Pandora and some of the other online music services. However, when I finally received my Slacker radio, I was a believer. I had access to tons of new music on one device without having to download, create playlists and pay for it. It was just there. And because of the caching mechanism, you could listen to Slacker on subways and in other "non-connected" places.
But a few days ago, I had the real aha moment. The new Slacker app for the Blackberry was released and I downloaded it onto my Curve. While I was expecting some glitches, and wasn't sure if I was going to be able to use my phone, email, calendar and web apps while listening to music, I was wrong. The experience was great, and I am down to one device for all of my mobile needs. I am in heaven.
However, it begs the question, do you ever need a customized device specifically for music? Probably not. The iPod is very cool, but the Curve gives me the best of all worlds right now with the least amount of compromises (iPhone and Storm are non-starters because of the lack of keyboards). And what about all the resources that went into the development of those nifty Slacker G2 devices? In a perfect world, I would like a Curve that has a full screen on the back for web navigation, but until then, with my Slacker app, I am good to go.
A good amount of time passed and the devices hadn't come to market yet, and I started getting into Pandora and some of the other online music services. However, when I finally received my Slacker radio, I was a believer. I had access to tons of new music on one device without having to download, create playlists and pay for it. It was just there. And because of the caching mechanism, you could listen to Slacker on subways and in other "non-connected" places.
But a few days ago, I had the real aha moment. The new Slacker app for the Blackberry was released and I downloaded it onto my Curve. While I was expecting some glitches, and wasn't sure if I was going to be able to use my phone, email, calendar and web apps while listening to music, I was wrong. The experience was great, and I am down to one device for all of my mobile needs. I am in heaven.
However, it begs the question, do you ever need a customized device specifically for music? Probably not. The iPod is very cool, but the Curve gives me the best of all worlds right now with the least amount of compromises (iPhone and Storm are non-starters because of the lack of keyboards). And what about all the resources that went into the development of those nifty Slacker G2 devices? In a perfect world, I would like a Curve that has a full screen on the back for web navigation, but until then, with my Slacker app, I am good to go.
Netbooks
Yesterday, Elena was showing off her new Samsung netbook in the office. It has a 10 inch screen, 160 gigs of storage, web cam, 8 hour battery and sleek styling - and runs all of the standard Office type programs you would want to run. Not too long ago, I paid $2K for a ultra light laptop with similar specs. Sure the processing speed was faster, but for my purposes, a netbook is pretty useful. When I heard the price I was blown away - this cool netbook cost less than $500. And this one is at the high end of the netbook spectrum, with many in the $300-400 price range.
Immediately, I started thinking that if you pair this 2lb device with a mobile card, it is the ultimate road warrior. And then I started thinking about the discounts that we will probably see in the not so distant future. The $199 netbooks with a 1-2 year Verizon contract is probably not too far off.
Compare this to the $2,000 I spent last year on a similar product.
Holy crap! The speed in which we are seeing disruption is accelerating in the personal computing industry. A tough economy, and a product that offers killer utility at 30-50% less money than a traditional machine, will cause considerable pain to these businesses - probably as soon as next quarter. Intel is already getting hammered, and these devices with their less expensive chips will only make matters worse. But it's a good time to be a consumer...
Immediately, I started thinking that if you pair this 2lb device with a mobile card, it is the ultimate road warrior. And then I started thinking about the discounts that we will probably see in the not so distant future. The $199 netbooks with a 1-2 year Verizon contract is probably not too far off.
Compare this to the $2,000 I spent last year on a similar product.
Holy crap! The speed in which we are seeing disruption is accelerating in the personal computing industry. A tough economy, and a product that offers killer utility at 30-50% less money than a traditional machine, will cause considerable pain to these businesses - probably as soon as next quarter. Intel is already getting hammered, and these devices with their less expensive chips will only make matters worse. But it's a good time to be a consumer...
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Anything Worth Doing...
There are a lot of CEOs and VC bloggers who give advice to start-ups. It must be something about starting a company or funding a company that makes you want to share your experience with the world. Fred Wilson (a board member of TargetSpot), Marc Andreessen and others do a great job of sharing their experiences, and I will not attempt to rehash any of their wisdom since there is a good chance if you read this, you have read them. But when on rare occasion I feel I can make a contribution, I will post it. So here I go...
Probably my favorite rule of thumb for early stage companies is one that was told to me when I was working in politics. I was in Norman Adler's office discussing a campaign I was working on and told him I didn't think I could get to all of the things that needed to be done. [If you like working at startups, you will love political campaigns. A political campaign is a startup with a mandatory exit within a defined period of time - and it is usually less than a year. There is a sense of urgency to get things done like in no other profession (ok, maybe medical/public safety, etc. but you get the drift). ] Norman then turns to me and says,
When I tell people this, the reaction is either a polite cringe or a loud argument. It's easy to misunderstand. The point is that imperfect action is better than inaction. And in a startup, with limited resources, perfection is nearly impossible. You are constantly making sacrifices and compromises so your business can grow rapidly. And doing things "too well" is in my opinion will limit your growth.
Of course I am not advocating poor performance. We should always operate our business at the highest level possible. But when there are risks of not getting crucial work done, it's better to get it done than to get it perfect. Whether it is committing to a product spec, a timely press release, or a sales proposal, getting it done is what matters. We can always improve our pitch, product and press down the road, but you dont get second chances at point in time opportunities.
Probably my favorite rule of thumb for early stage companies is one that was told to me when I was working in politics. I was in Norman Adler's office discussing a campaign I was working on and told him I didn't think I could get to all of the things that needed to be done. [If you like working at startups, you will love political campaigns. A political campaign is a startup with a mandatory exit within a defined period of time - and it is usually less than a year. There is a sense of urgency to get things done like in no other profession (ok, maybe medical/public safety, etc. but you get the drift). ] Norman then turns to me and says,
"anything worth doing is worth doing crappy"And it stuck.
When I tell people this, the reaction is either a polite cringe or a loud argument. It's easy to misunderstand. The point is that imperfect action is better than inaction. And in a startup, with limited resources, perfection is nearly impossible. You are constantly making sacrifices and compromises so your business can grow rapidly. And doing things "too well" is in my opinion will limit your growth.
Of course I am not advocating poor performance. We should always operate our business at the highest level possible. But when there are risks of not getting crucial work done, it's better to get it done than to get it perfect. Whether it is committing to a product spec, a timely press release, or a sales proposal, getting it done is what matters. We can always improve our pitch, product and press down the road, but you dont get second chances at point in time opportunities.
And that is why this blog will never be perfect, but has a good chance of being.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Internet Radio: The Sleeper of the Ad Supported Web
Yesterday, my Google Alert for my company, TargetSpot, produced a blogger's review of the business that had a great quote - Internet Radio "may be the sleeper of the ad supported web". With all the attention internet radio has been getting, it still qualifies for sleeper status. Many people don't realize that when they hear an ad on "internet radio", it is as much an "internet ad" as the banner on Yahoo's home page, or the text link on the side of a search result. These ads can be targeted geographically, demographically, behaviorally and contextually, day parted, frequency capped and reported on in real time. They integrate into DART and Atlas reporting, and are interactive via the visual ad that runs simultaneously in the media player when the audio is running.
However, with internet radio currently reaching over 50M listeners per month and coming soon in cars, this sleeping giant is starting to wake up...
However, with internet radio currently reaching over 50M listeners per month and coming soon in cars, this sleeping giant is starting to wake up...
Monday, January 5, 2009
Getting Started
I have been meaning to start blogging for a while now and have used my lack of a camera phone as an excuse. While I was tempted to go for the Storm or an iPhone, I decided to remain old school and make a lateral move into a Curve. The old BB keyboard is tried and true and it just feels good. I think my device envy ended with the Palm Treo I bought and returned in 2005 - I would not stray too far from what i know again. I think the transformation into my dad is now complete...
Anyway, free of excuses and with the clean slate of a new year, I will make an attempt to keep current with the items of interest to me and hopefully a few of you with shared interests will find some of this useful...or at least mildly entertaining.
Anyway, free of excuses and with the clean slate of a new year, I will make an attempt to keep current with the items of interest to me and hopefully a few of you with shared interests will find some of this useful...or at least mildly entertaining.
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