Sometimes all the media in the world can’t help you with your snacking

So why do corporations put resources into public relations and marketing? Sometimes it can be for a cause but usually it has one purpose – to help sell something.  And a lot of the time we tend to focus on the sexy new ad spot or the ingenious public relations campaign when we talk about the success of brands. After all, it’s the exciting stuff that, when done right, can capture our attention. And corporations can spend millions upon millions to make sure their brands are top of mind and positioned properly so that when demand strikes we choose their goods. And they spend countless hours laboring over the perfect price to make sure spend and the distribution methods that will see their wares quickly snapped up in the places where we want them.

Frito Lays would be one such company. The vending machine in this post is probably just one of thousands that exist across the world. To be fair to Frito Lays this vending machine is not operated by them but by a local vending machine operator. But they are obviously partners together, part of a sales machine to get tasty snacks in our hands in exchange for our money. This particular machine is located in the Athletics building on the campus of Universite du Moncton in Moncton, New Brunswick. And this past weekend was a weekend both Frito Lays and this vending machine operator only dream of. We were there for an Atlantic provinces indoor track meet. 400 or so people trapped in a building for 5 hours straight. And also while we were there a volleyball game attracting 100 or so folks took place as well.

But here’s the point. The exact configuration and count of the goods in this machine stayed the same all day. Yes, it didn’t matter when I would have taken the picture because nothing would have changed. In fact I probably could return today, a full day later, and the scene would be identical. Why because no matter what I or at least a half a dozen folks (in the brief time I was near the machine to notice) tried to do, this machine did not take any money. No bills, no coins. I even tried my spin-the-coin trick that usually works on picky machines. No dice.

20 brands of products, all an top awareness in our minds, all with positive positioning, all priced relatively where we would want them, sitting there in a spot where we wanted them but behind an impenetrable glass wall – less like products and more like museum pieces.

So the day came and went. Unfortunately, and at no fault of Frito Lay, their products were well preserved but not so for their brand. Damaged, ever so slightly perhaps, not from disappointed customers who tried the products but disappointed customers who never even had a chance to even get a whiff of them. Just goes to remind us that for all of the best laid plans in PR and marketing it can take a little bump in recognizing the value of a dollar that can spoil all of our snacking enjoyment.

January 14th, 2008 - Posted in media snacking, public relations | | 1 Comments

Hi my name is David Alston and I’m a social media addict.

Well it’s the 2nd day of 2008 and like many others I’m considering what I need to change about my life in the year ahead. I’m coming off of a great holiday break which provided lots of time to decompress and spend time with loved ones. Whenever vacation does roll around each year I go through a struggle. And I don’t think I’m alone.

Social media and networking is a wonderful thing. It connects you directly with those sharing similar interests in a way unmatched by anything in the past basically because it has very few geographic and time boundaries. This power to connect with others who share the same passions as you tends to pull you deeper into the hobbies and work you love. However it can come with a price.

Unfortunately no one has invented a clock that adds more time to the standard 24 hour day. For each moment spent inside social media is a moment not spent with family and friends. And it’s so easy to forget this because social media is snacksized and easy to consume. Traditional relationships, spending time playing a game with a child, dinner with your spouse, lending an ear on a call with a friend all are full course meals, if I continue with the analogy. And they are important.

So my number one resolution this year is to find balance – to invest in both social media and traditional family and friends relationships. Social media is not going away and to ignore it or withdraw from it would be akin to becoming a digital hermit. No, I want to have both but not at the expense of the relationships in either one. 2008 is about balance.

January 2nd, 2008 - Posted in media snacking, social media | | 0 Comments

Why “media snacking” seems so familiar

So I’m driving home tonight and I start to wonder about media snacking. I’m certainly a snacker but why does it just feel so darn familiar. Probably because the term is new and the activity is old. I realize that tweets taste so good because I’ve been media snacking in other ways for many years. Here are a few “old school” ways that I’ve been consuming small bite-sized media nuggets:

Headlines – Yup, I can blast through the local paper in 5 minutes flat each night. Why? Because I generally just snack on the headlines and a sprinkling of subheads and picture tags. I also get a lot of my news from the radio during my commute too so it helps me graze quicker in the paper.

PVR’s – I’ve been using PVR’s for watching the tube since they first appeared. Not completely on topic here but again I can skip through a reality show and consume the bits that seem interesting pretty darn fast. Couch snacking might be another interesting topic for all to discuss sometime because I think the “vegging” state makes us more prone to consuming larger portions (and we wondered where the “couch potato” phrase came from

Website homepages – I checked the stats on a website the other day to get a reading on the number of visitors etc. While there I also was able to learn how long people snacked on the website. For most – in and out in 10-20 seconds. Zip, zip, zip – eyes darting around, maybe a single click on one link for a few seconds and then gone.

The elevator pitch – “So what do you do?” we get asked. We then know the response better be carved down to one simple statement or else. Yes, I realize that most of us are into serving up these snacks rather than feeding on them but we still understand the expectations the snacker/receiver has.

The Far Side comic – When I do decide to check out the funnies on occasion I only look at one – The Far Side. One block, one or two lines, I laugh or I don’t, next page. If I want a laugh then I want to get to it quick. I occasionally look at a 4 block comic but when I do the payoff better be really good in exchange for chewing up my time. And those 4 block ones that go on for weeks like a soap opera – forget about it. Doesn’t anybody actually consume those?

The photo – Yes, that “picture is a thousand words” thing. We all know the best ads, the most powerful editorial photos, etc… can convey an entire story or feeling in a single frame.

The first impression – there is an entire ga-zillion dollar industry built up around making us look the way we want to look for the first impression. We all know how long it takes to size someone up.

So I guess for me, I’ve been “media snacking” for well, a lot longer than I care to say. Twitter, texting, facebook status updates, and email subjects are the newest tasty delicacies for me to enjoy off the shiny social media serving tray. Mmmmmmm.

UPDATED: And check out how the media snacking conversation looks analyzed over the past 14 days on Kami’s blog.

November 1st, 2007 - Posted in media snacking, social media, twitter | | 1 Comments