QVIews

When I did my recent presentation on marketing innovations, I didn’t include podcasting because I wasn’t sure how we could use it as an advertising channel. Now Starcom’s research group has an excellent suggestion, covered by Zachary Rodgers at ClickZ. Read the whole article. ClickZ: Podcasting Augers ‘Connoisseur Cultures,’ Says Starcom Podcasting will give marketers…

A couple of months ago, I talked about Crunch Fitness who featured their customers (in their underwear) on billboards. Now Verizon is giving each of their customers 15 seconds of fame on a Times Square billboard. The Verizon campaign microsite is challenging to use at first, but although I think that will be a liability…

The powerhouse brands on the future will be less dependent on capital investment or kick-ass creative ideas. Instead they will leverage the power of their community. As a resource, the community offers greater risk and hence greater return. Martin Lindstrom at ClickZ: Community Brand-Builders: Join ‘Em. Without sharing, listening, and compatible matching, eBay, Amazon, Weight…

You can’t read the new issue of Fast Company online unless you’ve paid for the issue, but Tim Manner extracts some juicy tidbits at Cool News of the Day. Confederate Motor Co. is designing motorcycles like their sanity depends on it. Reveries: Teaching Harley-Davidson a Lesson from Bill Breen at Fast Company via Tim Manners…

If it’s your job to influence purchase decisions, you MUST read this article. In fact, if it’s your job to MAKE purchase decisions–you should also read this article. Postrel has rounded up some of the most fabulous quotes from scholars and researchers who are forming a new model for economic behavior in a world made…

Whininess is one of the Net’s more-grating lingua francas, heard everywhere from bad blogs to Web sites dedicated to the hatred of single companies. But it may be at its worst on consumer message boards. We’re not against Company X Stinks sites or message boards — in fact, it’s terrific that consumers now have a…

A new radio program from Public Radio International, called Open Source, will collect and refine story ideas from posts and comments on their blog. The intent of the producers, Mary McGrath and Christopher Lydon, is to allow people to see and participate in the production of each show. At first they’ll read blogger contributions over…

More details are now available about Current TV, which is expected to debut on Monday. Aspiring and professional filmmakers have already submitted 3,000 tapes. NY Times: For [Al] Gore, a Reincarnation on the Other Side of the Camera by Jacques Steinberg Instead of packaging its programming in 30- and 60-minute blocks, Current plans to show…

John Doerr and Ram Shriram, early investors in Google, announce they are investing  $16 million in Zazzle.com, an internet retailer that produces customized t-shirts and posters from licensed imagery from Disney, Build-a-Bear Workshop and NeoPets. Soon a joint venture with Pitney Bowes will allow them to produce customized postage stamps, which they expect will become…

For a refreshing lift, visit www.nesteaice.com. (Yes, I know I’m playing into their marketing campaign, but when advertisments are a lovely as this, we welcome them.) I hear that you should look for the shark; he’s quite a character. Found at the iMedia Connection Creative Showcase.