Spheres of Influence

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday! As we get closer to the end of the year and looking back on what was important in 2007, it's certainly the relationships and interactions that are at the top of the list. Especially the ones where we made a difference to someone.

Spheres of influence are being highlighted by the growth in the number and varieties of online social networking mediums. The emphasis for most of these is mainly on breadth rather than depth - lots of superficiality: a mile wide and an inch deep.

Other influence is laser-focused. Take Tony Dungy's story. After his son committed suicide he said he was not going to continue with his career. A friend asked him if, knowing where his son was when he was living and where he is now, he would want to bring him back. After considering this awhile, he decided he really wouldn't do that and was able to return to football and ultimately bring the Colts to their Super Bowl win last year. I would trade that kind of positive influence in someone's life for a record-breaking Facebook network any day.

Most of the time it's more a matter of being ready for the opportunity than seeking it out. The genuineness and spontaneity are hard to fake. Here's a clip of a 13-year old whose influence would be tough to match. I hope we all see our opportunities for real influence in the new year.

Are You A Real Ketchup Fan?

If you're a real ketchup fanatic -- here's an opportunity for you to put your marketing skills and your video camera to work a la Nick Dimondi and his $12 "Crash The SuperBowl" Doritos commercial. The catch? You've got to be a diehard Heinz ketchup fan (or possibly a great lawyer).

This time around, the "Top This" challenge is worth $57,000 (get it?) to the winning thirty-second video entry, which can be submitted on YouTube's www.topthistv.com web site. What a great opportunity for you creative marketers to get some breakthrough exposure. I'm predicting more of these yet to come.

There's Always XLII...

After getting off to a Jack Bauer start in the first 14 seconds, avoiding interceptions was destined to be key to Chicago's winning or losing. You'll notice the correct jersey order - Urlacher, Hester, Grossman. But in the real media event, Careerbuilder came out the winner. What a contrast in their approach with the same theme in a little different package each time, in contrast to the predictably gratuitous go daddy.com replaying the same ad. (Everybody wants to be in marketing - get it?) The 'bood-lite' ESL class and is-Charles-Barkley-Dwyane-Wade's-father? from T-Mobile also ranked up in the memorable column. Did you miss one of those? See it here.

But who picked the Clown Prince of Ambiguity for the halftime show? It was more than the doves crying about that torturous bit of showmanship. If the half-time show is going to be a circus, bring in Cirque du Soleil. Can the NFL find no real musical talent out there (Norah Jones, John Legend...) for the most widely watched media event of the year? Some things can't be fixed even by putting a giant bow on top of your head.

As for HP's strategy -- "Hmmm... It's a Harley ad, no it's an Orange County Choppers ad, no it's an HP ad, is there any more salsa?" For any of these advertisers, it's going to be a 60-yard field goal to demonstrate a break-even before XLII.

Selling Technology at the Super Bowl

How about 'dem Bears? The flags are flying on the antennas down the Dan Ryan today and all the kids who aren't wearing Urlacher, Hester and Grossman jerseys to school at least have their blue and orange socks on.

And of course how about that holy grail (and last bastion) of TV advertising, 'da commercials? As Smith and Dungee run their strategies, you'll be seeing some of the biggest investments in annual marketing strategy unfolding in HD. For Americans, XLI shares the title of biggest sporting event and biggest marketing event. At $2.5 million for 30 seconds, and even allowing for a halo-effect of an entire quarter of reruns on youtube, advertisers will need to see a marginal profit of about $30,000 a day to break even.

That's a lot of ambivalent Pepsi-Coke railsitters being pushed one way or the other. And a lot of beer bought on the basis of horses playing football in the snow. And a lot of computer buyers being swayed in their next laptop purchase. Yup, HP breaks into the football-technology market with their Orange County Choppers-themed ad this year, following a long break since the top Super Bowl ad of all time, Apple's "1984" piece.

On Sunday, temperatures in Chicago will warm up to a balmy 7 degrees (from 5 at the moment), but Chicagoans who aren't in Miami in person will be there in spirit anyway -- where it should top out in the low 70's.