Some of my dedicated fans out there might remember my blog from last year called “Tennis Loser”.  Well, I’m bringing it back on this blog!

Basically it is a way for me to make fun of myself when I get my ass beat on the tennis court.  I’ll start off the festivities tomorrow when I play in the Denver City Open at 4pm.  I’ll let you know how I do.

(Hint: the longer it takes me to post the result, the more likely it is that I lost.)

R.E.M. Red Rocks, CO 6/03/08, originally uploaded by Joshua Stecker.

If you get a chance to catch REM this summer, do it. I got to see them at Red Rocks last week and it was a great show.

One could make a strong argument that they are the ‘greatest” American band of all time. Before you jump my case, let me explain.  First off, I’m not an uber-huge REM geek.  I like them and own a couple of their records, so I feel like I can make a case for them from an objective standpoint.  Second, I’m not talking “best” - I’m talking “greatest” - with the descriptors being: best, biggest, longevity, defining a genre, can do a stadium tour.

Who else can you throw into that conversation? I’ve heard people say:

Metallica - Yeah, I think Metallica is in the conversation.  They’ve been around for over 20 years now and will probably fill stadiums when they tour to support their new record

Grateful Dead - Longevity? check. Talent? check. Polarizing? yes.  That would be my only knock against them.  They are probably even more polarizing than Metallica.

The Beach Boys - They really defined a sound and as a friend mentioned, they got better until Brian Wilson freaked out.

Guns n’ Roses - Could have been.  Probably don’t have the longevity to be in this conversation.  But damn, Appetite is a solid record.

When you stop and think about it, the US pumps out more, big solo acts than bands.

Who would you throw into the conversation?

• brandflakesforbreakfast: how could you add a little willy wonka to your brand plan?
  i want to do this for flying dog. sweet promotion. and no agencies or vendors to get in the way of making it work.
  (tags: promotions marketing)
• How Does Dr. Dre Feel About This?
  it’s weird how theater kids never seem to change.
  (tags: funny)
• Map Your Public Transportation Ride with Google
  handy tool
  (tags: google public_transportation)
• Are you more than the sum of your stuff? - The New Black - The Grand Rapids Press - MLive.com
  take a hard look at the stuff you buy. there’s a reason you do.
  (tags: murketing marketing)
• B.L. Ochman’s weblog: Internet marketing strategy, social media trends, news and commentary.: This is Your Brain on Cellphone. Popcorn Anyone?
  ok, good enough for me. i’m getting a head set.
  (tags: technology cell_phones)

Yo.  I have three Britekite invites.  First three people to email me get them.  nealdstewart {at} yahoo dot com.

I was also stoked to see that Britekite is a Denver company - literally blocks from my office.  If anyone from Britekite sees this, let me know and I’ll come by and drop off some Flying Dog beer for your crew.

For those of you that know me, you know I try to play tennis.  I don’t play nearly as much as I would like, but I try to get out there and play.

Last night, I was playing in a tournament at City Park in Denver and about half way thru the match, the MONSTER Energy Drink Truck came by and a girl yelled out, “Does anyone want some Monster?!”  She yelled it a few times and it actually got to be somewhat annoying.

This is NOT the way to sample for a couple reasons:

1. Know your audience.  Tennis players like quiet.  So don’t come out to sample at a tennis tournament and start yelling to tell people you’re sampling.
2. Have a conversation.  We implemented this when we did a lot of sampling for PBR: don’t just hand crap out and expect it to mean anything to the consumer.  Have a conversation and make the experience memorable
3. Have a conversation (part deux): My friends at Fizz and Brand Autopsy would argue that you really only get the value of the sample if you have a conversation with the consumer and share the brand story or the product benefits.

• We are what we buy | Salon Books
  salon reviews “buying in” by rob walker. i like how the writer talks about me without my name (end of the article).
  (tags: buying_in)

For the last 6 months…no for the last 8 months… we have been working on a summer sales promotion here at Flying Dog.  It was going to be a really good promotion.  We were going to give consumers the chance to win Flying Dog swag by simply sending a text message to a special number.  It was going to be a great promotion because:

• We cut out all of the headaches of relying on our distributors and retailers to execute the promotion by hanging “neckers” on one bottle of each 6-pack that would hit the shelves within the promotion period (June and July).
• We cut out all of the professional sweepstakers that send in countless entires to promotions that rely on tear pad entry forms.
• Finally, all of the product was arriving in the market at just the right time and both distributors and retailers really liked it because they didn’t have to do anything and in their mind, it used just the right amount of technology that would resonate with young adult consumers.

Then: disaster.

Two days before the promotion launch date, I get a call from the agency who was working on this program and they tell me that the “aggregator” that we were going to use went out of business and there was going to be a delay to the launch of the campaign.  oof.

And there I am, stuck with 100,000 promotional pieces hitting the market and not being able to do anything to fix the campaign over the weekend and get it back on track.

I don’t have any lessons or advice on how to prevent this from happening.  All I can say is that technology can be a real bitch sometimes and leave you with very few options on how to resolve a really bad situation.  The only thing I would have done differently is had more contact with the text messaging vendor, but even that may not have changed anything.

We spent today on damage control.  We posted information about the promotion on our website home and promotion page.  We also posted information on our blog.  We are also offering consumers the opportunity to email us if they want to know when the promotion goes online.

Does anyone else have any nightmare promotion stories out there?

The world isn’t going to end and no one is going to get hurt, but it sure does suck when things like this happen.

I got an email this week from someone in the “New Media/PR” Department of a company that I mentioned on the blog a little while back.  The problem is that I had no recollection of even talking about them.  It was a teeny-tiny mention on one of my delicious link posts and really meant nothing to me.

So the guy sends me the email and I’m not going to mention their name because it will pop up in their Google Alert:

Hey Neal!

My name is Rod Stiffington and I am the social media PR guy here at the XYZ Widget Factory home office in Belleville, IL. I came across your blog and the funny mention of XYZ Widgets.  My job is to analyze and monitor brand mentions online as well as pitch XYZ content to online journalists and bloggers.  I was excited to see our name on your site and I am glad you know about XYZ.

Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you in the future.

PS - I am also on LinkedIn as well as Twitter (XYZWidgets).

Best regards,

Rod Stiffington
Assistant Public Relations Manager, New Media
XYZ Widgets, Inc

Uh, ok.  How about you buy me a new iPhone when it comes out?

Anyway, this all got me thinking about the right way to proactively build a relationship with a blogger.

• I like how they are monitoring blogs and see them as an important way of talking to active consumers.  But his email really made it clear that he just came across my blog because it popped up on his Google Alert.  He could of at least made it sound like it was more than just a “one night stand” deal where he only read my blog because I mentioned his brand’s name.  Kind of narcissistic, don’t you think?
• Nowhere in the email did he try to engage me in a conversation.  My comment about his brand was fairly non-descript and left the door wide open to ask about my experience with their brand and why I chose to mention them.
• If I were him, I would have just left a comment on the blog entry.  That would have showed me (as the blogger that they are reading and interested in what I have to say.  Us bloggers love them comments.
• Take some time to make sure the blogger wants to hear from you.  If the brand mention is fairly random, the blogger could probably care less if they hear from you.  But if their blog repeated mentions your brand or the business you’re in, they probably DO want to hear from you.  For example, I love hearing from Which Wich and Cheeba Hut regarding my Turkey Sandwich Report blog.
• Even if your intentions are to build online awareness for your brand, bloggers want to think you’re there to help them enhance their blog.  It’s just like any other form of media - what’s in it for the publication, network, etc?

Overall, building a relationship with a blogger is a lot like picking someone up in a bar.  If you come on too strong or just walk up to them and think they’re going to be interested in you - it’s probably not going to work.  I’m not saying it NEVER works, it’s just that there is probably a better way.

• The Viddler Spotlight » Indiana Jones and the Lego Ball
  cool idea. poor execution.
  (tags: video)

Let’s Put All of the Stuff That is Dying Together, originally uploaded by nealdstewart.

A friend asked me to mail some postcards for them yesterday. While I was getting the car’s oil changed today and walked over to the grocery store and couldn’t find the mailbox.

Why?

Because this particular grocery story has put all the the stuff that is dying a slow painful death together: Mail, newspaper machines and the Western Union sign for good measure.