Page one: The wanderer.
If you've ever driven I-80 through the
panhandle of Nebraska (or even been to Nebraska),
there's not much there. Tumbleweed, an occasional
sign of life. Things are so sparse, it's hard for
a young dude like me to find some cool tunes
(don't get me wrong, I grew up in Omaha). A little
AM/FM scan and seek, the next thing you know -it's
Paul Harvey!
Page two: The content stinks.
Yes, Paul Harvey. The master of compelling
content. The chief of Editors in Chief. I'm a
little young to remember his TV stints (he did
have them, didn't he?), but I have listened to his
radio bit off and on since my lunch breaks in the
lawn service truck. Whether young or old, it's
tough to avoid the sucking sound a Paul Harvey
show makes. His content is interesting,
informative, and compelling. He remembers the
small person. He features the big ones. He talks
with you, not to you. Instead of cramming crap
into a small space, he uses silence as a weapon of
interest. He's someone you like. He has
personality. He's someone you trust. He's someone
who's impact cannot be measured.
Funny, even though he is radio, these are all
things us internet types could learn from. The day
I find a site with compelling and interesting
content that sucks me in, I'll let you know.
Instead of playing mass marketer with everything,
think about the small people. This should be
pretty easy, considering the internet is a perfect
platform for personalization. Even more, find
those small people and make them feel big. Be a
friend. Have some personality.
Paul Harvey would say - give me content that
sells product.
And now, page three.
Advertising is too obtrusive.
Integrate - it's the Paul Harvey way of
advertising. I intently listen to the stories, the
features. Then he slips in the most modest of
commercials at the peak of your interest. Johnny
and the Bose Wave Radio. An orchestra in your
kitchen. So modest it seems as the ad is actually
a story. Hey, now there's a concept - tell a story
to sell a product. A story that features a small
person. The single person that benefits from the
Bose and the story of "Bose and his life." Tell
that story.
Now here's an old concept - one I've hinted at
in the past -- integration. Telling a story and
selling a product at the same time. Or in
"internet-geek talk", make advertising the content
and content the advertising. It's the Paul Harvey
way.
Gulp! What about banners, interstitials and
those other ads? Paul would say - no such thing.
Banners don't sell - at least not as effectively
as content. Why do you think Public Relations is
such an important function in marketing? It
construes product as advertising and advertising
as product (or rather content). Instant
credibility. Banners are banners. Content is
content - but it CAN be advertising.
Can you do it? It takes some serious writing to
integrate editorial and content. It's not pure
objectivity or solid subjectivity. It's a balanced
mind that knows right from wrong. It's the ability
to be ethical and practical. It's the ability to
inform and to sell. Really - those people who
complain about the lines between content and
advertising disappearing - get a life! Paul's been
doing it for years. After all you editors, if you
don't please the advertiser, you might as well
quit your job!
Paul Harvey doesn't sell 30 second spots. Why
should you sell banners?
Do it the Paul Harvey way.
.gif){kind=small}
.gif){kind=small}
.gif){kind=small}
