Chipotle's Content Marketing Works

Recently I watched a Bloomberg documentary about Chipotle, the burrito restaurant chain. One section of the video talked about Chipotle’s marketing techniques, and I have to say, there was nothing typical about what they talked about. Chipotle’s advertising and marketing portfolio is rather skimpy, with no typical broadcast advertisements and limited print ads over the years, Chipotle’s founder Steve Ells says the company has mostly relied on word of mouth to spread their business to new customers.  

But Chipotle has experimented with “alternative” marketing techniques in the category if ‘content marketing,’ a relatively new form of promotion. Executives at Chipotle have recognized the disconnect between traditional media advertising and the millennial generation, who sees these traditional techniques, such as typical TV advertisements, as ‘less authentic’ and hard to connect with. Chipotle takes a more ‘grassroots’ position, hosting music festivals and their Farm Team, which is a spin on traditional customer loyalty programs but with a focus on sustainable agriculture. Chipotle founder Steve Ells says this type of promotion is much more effective at reaching younger audiences.

RedBull is another notable company utilizing content marketing, with their numerous events they host (RedBull Flugtag,extreme sports events, music concerts, etc). RedBull also hosts an annual music collaborative ‘symposium’ of sorts called Red Bull Music Academy. Musicians from all over the world are invited to spend two weeks working together in one place creating new music and performing at shows. All of this to spread their brand and sell Red Bull, and it appears to be working really well for them.

Chipotle’s most recent marketing venture is a four-episode original comedy series entitled “Farmed and Dangerous,” which debuted on Hulu in February 2014. The series, which barely  mentions the restaurant chain, is a satire of modern industrial farming. The series comes on the heels of two short films produced by Chipotle (one in 2011 and another in 2013) with an emphasis on the need for more small farming operations. Chipotle says their intention is to educate viewers about the problems with industrial farming. This message-infused promotion is called cause marketing or ‘values branding’ amongst marketers.

Some experts claim promotional methods are becoming less and less effective, especially amongst younger audiences. It looks as if this type of marketing will stay popular into the next several years, with some experts claiming this is absolutely not a fad.

Wenzel, John. "Chipotle's Comedy Series Is a New Way to Brand, but Not All Are Amused." - The Denver Post. Denver Post, 17 Feb. 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

Schoultz Mike. "A Story about Chipotle’s Non-Traditional Marketing Strategy." Digital Spark Marketing. Digital Spark Marketing, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

"Chipotle's Farm Team Grows Customer Loyalty." Widgets RSS. Wayne Hicks, 2 Sept. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

4 Tips for promoting your music online

I have produced music for about seven years now, and from the very beginning I was using social media to promote my work. Back then, bands and artists were primarily using Myspace to show off and promote their music. But today there is more diversity in promotion platforms. Today, Soundcloud, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook have become staples in musicians’ promotion toolkit, amongst other smaller platforms. Utilizing all of these services effectively isn’t always easy and can be a lot of work, but here’s a few things musicians can do to spread their work to larger audiences:

1. Use free downloads to gain Facebook ‘likes’

Everybody loves free music. Not only because it’s free, but because it’s usually more convenient to download. In my experience, a song released for free will gain much more attention than a song that costs listeners money to download. I prefer to release music for free because of this. But just because my music is free, doesn’t mean I don’t earn something in return for downloads. I began charging Facebook “likes” for downloads in 2012. This means a listener will need to ‘follow’ my Facebook page in order to get the free download link. Before I did this I had less than 500 followers on Facebook, but today, I have nearly 5,000 likes, which I attribute mostly to this strategy of charging “likes” for a download.

2. Build relationships with other artists on Twitter

Twitter is an amazing platform that has the ability to easily connect artists to their fans. I have found it to be an excellent service for building relationships in a very casual way. The trick to doing this is to be very active on Twitter and most importantly, tweet out to other users instead of just talking to yourself. When you engage other users on Twitter, it makes promoting yourself or your new album far easier. 

3. Upload all your music to YouTube

This is something I think a lot of new musicians and producers overlook. YouTube has become one of the most widely used music platforms for young listeners all around the world. It might seem backwards, but it’s incredibly common for listeners to first search for a song on youtube, before going to iTunes or Soundcloud. Youtube videos also appear at the top of google search results making them super easy to find (with the right keywords). This blog entry discusses this phenomena in greater detail. New artists should all have YouTube accounts with as much of their own music online as possible, and should always include an eye-catching graphic as the video. And don’t forget to include links to your other social media pages in the description!

4. Build a media promo kit with all the trimmings

This is something you want to have made, even if you aren’t sure you need it. It’s very handy to have this prepared ahead of time. Include a photo or two of yourself, a few graphics (hire someone if you don’t know how to make these), a bio, and a few choice songs. This will be useful in getting deals with labels, live event promoters, and blogs. 

5. Get to know music bloggers and send them your music (a lot)!

This has without a doubt been the single most significant factor in the promotion of my work. It is crucial for new artists to make relationships with at least a few music bloggers, and obviously the bigger the blog, the better. Talk to these bloggers frequently, even when you don’t have new music coming out. These people are the “media gatekeepers” and will give you access to thousands of potential fans. And in the EDM world, where I live, music blogs are the kings of what get’s heard. 

Net Neutrality Takes Major Hit

Net Neutrality took a major hit last month when a federal judge ruled against new FCC-proposed regulations for internet service providers. The basic gist of the new laws would prohibit ISPs from altering, interfering, throttling, or censoring websites and content at their discretion. Watch the video below for a basic explanation for the need to have net neutrality laws:

But aren’t there already laws similar to net neutrality that protect telecom consumers? Yes there are. The FCC labels telecoms and phone service providers as “common carriers,” and there are consumer protections enforced on these “common carriers.” But under the George W. Bush FCC administration, internet service providers were labeled as “information services,” not “common carriers.” And so they received different, less stringent regulations. The Obama FCC administration has now been attempting to enforce tighter regulations, and this latest ruling has had a major blow on these efforts.

Opponents to net neutrality have argued that even if given the freedom to provide this suggested "selective" service, that carriers and ISPs would not likely pursue such actions in order to stay competitive with other ISPs. The problem, besides the fact that there is evidence that shows Verizon has already begun throttling users since the federal judge’s ruling, is that the “competition” isn’t nearly as stiff as the federal government claims. The judge cited the infantile Google Fiber service, which has only been rolled out in small areas in Kansas City, KS and Provo, UT, as a main reason for rejecting the FCC proposal. His claim is that with this new Fiber service, consumers do indeed have a choice and power in the market. But in reality, this service is very new and Google has been taking their sweet time setting it up, while meanwhile, millions of internet users still have little to no buyer bargaining power. 

Of course, I am all for net neutrality. But I’m a libertarian, so it feels a little strange to be so in favor of massive federal regulations. Let me explain why this is important to me. In the past 20 years, the internet has evolved from a small project amongst academics and universities, and become one of our most vital pieces of infrastructure. Financial systems, communications, entertainment, marketing, product retailing…. I could go on and on about what we rely on the internet for and how important a non-censored and unaltered internet is for our society. Verizon, Time Warner, Comcast, and other ISPs have agreed that they want to be in the business of providing us these internet services. But since the internet is so vital for what seems like just about every corner of civilization, these companies should absolutely not be allowed to alter our experience or internet capabilities in any way. This isn’t like telling a local tavern they can’t allow people to smoke inside, a regulation I’m staunchly opposed to. Nobody needs to go to that tavern, bars are not vital to the function of our society like the internet, and consumers do indeed have other options for that. But if we are going to let these companies sell us internet service, they need to do it on our terms.

1. Drum, Kevin. "Net Neutrality Takes a Big Hit in Court." Mother Jones. N.p., 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/01/net-neutrality-takes-big-hit-court

2. Lilly, Paul. "Verizon Allegedly Already Throttling Customers After Net Neutrality Ruling." HotHardware Computing and Tech News. N.p., 9 Feb. 2014. Web. 14 Feb. 2014.

http://hothardware.com/News/Verizon-Allegedly-Already-Throttling-Customers-After-Net-Neutrality-Ruling/

Journalists Complain About Sochi Conditions

The winter Olympic games in Sochi, Russia have gotten off to a rather rocky start. Before the games even began, there was controversy surrounding the country’s backwards homosexuality “propaganda” laws, terror attack risks, and general human-rights violations (specifically free speech, or lack-of).

As athletes, spectators, and journalists began pouring into the newly constructed olympic villages in Sochi, one thing became very obvious to them, and the rest of the world: Russia is completely unprepared to host the Olympic games. Almost immediately, reports began to surface on news sites and Twitter regarding packs of stray dogs, toxic tap water, unfinished streets and buildings, brown grass being spray painted green, unfurnished hotel rooms, and  just a general sense of chaos all around Sochi.  

Now of course not everyone has been affected from these issues, in fact I would bet most people are probably having a pleasant time. But there is a common trait about these reports on Twitter I have noticed: They are mostly all from journalists. That’s right, it seems that journalists as a group have been thrown under the bus, and yes I am talking about Russia’s “spaceship” bus. The Olympic games are watched by millions of people, and of course nearly all of them are not in attendance, but watching on TV, reading articles, and reading Tweets. And Sochi organizers have screwed over the very people who get their games out to the rest of the world, and of course there is not a better way to guarantee bad press than by screwing over the very people that control the flow of information. So naturally, there has been a steady flow of bad press coming out of Sochi, which has cast a shadow over the entire games. But journalists aren’t the only ones complaining; local residents say the Olympic games have greatly and negatively affected their lives.

Russia says that they have spent a whopping 54 million dollars on 2014 Winter Olympic Games, which is more than five times as expensive as the last Winter Olympic Games in 2010 in Vancouver.

Johnson, Benny. "Sochi 2014 Opens as Stray Dogs, Empty Malls Greet Spectators." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 6 Feb. 2014. Web. 08 Feb. 2014. www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-07/sochi-2014-opens-as-stray-dogs-empty-malls-greet-spectators.html

 Phillips, Mark. "Russian Villagers Say the Olympics Have Ruined Their Town." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 4 Feb. 2013. Web. 08 Feb. 2014.  www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-villagers-say-olympics-have-ruined-their-town/

Ethics In Public Relations

Ethics are an important facet in all aspects of society. They are social and professional rules that go beyond laws, which are usually far easier to interpret. Anyone working in media or communication deals with ethical dilemmas all the time, and since much of what these people do is in the public spotlight, it is important for them to practice proper ethics standards at all times. 

But why are ethics important? Without ethical guidelines, the industry is vulnerable to corruption, an issue already plaguing so much of society.

A hot ethical topic in the public relations world is the phenomena of “pay-to-play journalism.” Pay-to-play journalism is an undisclosed exchange of value, some might call it a kickback or bribe, between public relations professionals and journalists. It’s the undisclosed exchange of value that is considered unethical here. 

In 2009, the PRSA updated its Member Code of Ethics and published commentary on the issue stating, ”The code now specifies that public relations practitioners must disclose any exchange of value with journalists that is intended to garner or influence editorial coverage.”

According to the PRSA’s Code of Ethics, it does not appear that offering journalists incentives including cash, gifts, travel, or favors is unethical, so long as it is fully disclosed to the public. This goes in line with the PRSA’s prime ethical objective, which is to promote integrity and transparency throughout the industry. 

Ethics obviously play a vital role in the world of communication and public relations, but some say that the strict ethical guidelines followed by the industry professionals have not always been so strict. Shannon Bowen, a researcher at the University of South Carolina who specializes in PR, wrote an article for PRWeek discussing how the obsession with ethics in the PR world is a recent occurrence. Bowen says that having ethics courses be required in public relations degree plans is also a new trend. Bowen suggests the recent rise of interest in ethics is because of the general public’s increasing awareness of how corrupt many parts of society (politics, banking/finance, and private corporations) really are. 

To add to Bowen’s thoughts, I think the internet has played an incredibly important role in the enlightening of the masses. Information can move from any source, to any consumer instantly now. Information is controlled by “fat-cats” and powerful people far less than it was before the internet. The public eye can now peer deeper into places it once was not able. The “opaqueness” of government and corporate America is being destroyed, and transparency is becoming a major concern for more and more average people. 

In just the past year, the issue of transparency became front page news and is a common discussion topic amongst Americans. The ethical models, of not just the public relations industry, but all industries will be tested and surely reformed over the next several years. I believe it is important these guidelines are taught and instilled in all primary and secondary students before graduating and moving into the real world. Proper ethical guidelines need to become a social standard if society wants to call itself civilized.

Citations:

 "PRSA Speaks out on "Pay for Play," Strengthens Code of Ethics' Transparency Provisions." PRSA. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014. http://www.prsa.org/SearchResults/view/8138/105/PRSA_speaks_out_on_Pay_for_Play_strengthens_Code_o#.UuXb2GTnY18

 Bowen, Shannon. "Explaining PR's 'newfound' Interest in Ethics." - PRWeek US. PRWeekly, 13 Sept. 2013. Web. 27 Jan. 2014. http://www.prweekus.com/explaining-prs-newfound-interest-in-ethics/article/311265/# 

Consumer Data + Robot Cars = Creepiest Marketing Theory Ever

The increasingly ubiquitous nature of marketing is fascinating. It seems like ads, personalized content, and other marketing tools have managed to creep into every corner of civilized life. Advertising, itself, is both a curse and a blessing. On one hand it is easy to become annoyed and bothered by ads, but an individual can also learn about products and services that they are genuinely interested in. With the internet, marketers have the ability to build profiles for individuals and target specific messages to them. We see this all the time online. Products on Amazon, eBay, Facebook etc, are suggested to us based on past purchases, search history,or even our private messages on Facebook!

But how can marketers apply these techniques and target ads and promotions to individual people in the real world? Patrick Lin, a journalist for The Atlantic,wrote an article discussing the use of advertising in vehicles. He suggests that in the future, vehicles equipped with onboard computers and internet could theoretically see that you are driving by a particular business, and would then display a pop-up with an advertisement or coupon for the business. The system can use personal data about the driver that has already been collected to figure out what types of promotions would most likely interest you. This is pretty similar to technology we already have on the internet. Nothing too futuristic here. 

But it’s the other part of Lin’s theory that is wildly futuristic. Automated robotic cars are inevitable. Google has been working on and test driving them on public streets with great success for several years. The marketing technique described above + robotic cars presents an eery possibility for marketers. Lin’s idea is that robotic cars in the future could not only display promotions on a dashboard computer, but could actually re-route the car and drive you near a particular business. This presents a cornucopia of legal and ethical dilemmas, but certainly doesn’t seem too farfetched to ever become real. 

1. Gullo, Karen. "Facebook Sued Over Alleged Scanning of Private Messages." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 2 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-02/facebook-sued-over-alleged-scanning-of-private-messages.html

2. Lin, Patrick. "What If Your Autonomous Car Keeps Routing You Past Krispy Kreme?" The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 22 Jan. 2014. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/01/what-if-your-autonomous-car-keeps-routing-you-past-krispy-kreme/283221/

3. "Self-Driving Car Test: Steve Mahan - Google Jobs." Self-Driving Car Test: Steve Mahan - Google Jobs. Google, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2014.

http://www.google.com/about/jobs/lifeatgoogle/self-driving-car-test-steve-mahan.html

Do Social Media Platforms Like Fake Metrics?

I read an interesting article yesterday discussing the phenomena of artificial web traffic being used to boost ad prices. 

This got me thinking about social media and artificial metrics/traffic. I remember reading about how Facebook regularly deletes swaths of “fake” Facebook accounts, used by companies (who charge Facebook page admins money) to create fake metrics for Facebook pages. There are several online services that do this. But what if there was a way to boost traffic without using advertising/marketing nor faking it completely? 

Soundcloud is a social media site for musicians (and just about anyone who creates audio content) to share their work. Having a lot of plays and comments on Soundcloud is just as important, if not more, than having high numbers on Facebook for musicians. One unique service that provides users with extra plays and feedback for their work is Cloudkillers. This company doesn’t use fake accounts to generate fake metrics, but instead allows users to use listen to songs on other users’ Soundcloud accounts via a portal, and for every comment they leave, they earn a point. The more comments you leave, the more points you earn. And the more points you earn, then more users will leave you comments. Cloudkillers encourages people to truly listen to the song and give real feedback, and those who “spam” comment are banned. Cloudkillers earns revenue by charging people money to let them earn more points faster. It’s a pretty crafty system. The traffic is from real people with real accounts, but not necessarily 100% genuine. 

Cloudkillers is somewhat of a mix of buying advertising and fake traffic. I have experimented with Cloudkillers in the past (I’m a music producer by night). Does it work well? Yes. Is it ethical? Maybe, maybe not. But my sense of accomplishment is diminished when I’ve used Cloudkillers enough to the point where I’ve chosen not to use it.

Ok now I’m going to get to the point of this whole blog entry: I wonder how social media sites feel about these fake metric services. When you first think about it, it makes sense that social media sites would do all they could to block people from utilizing these illegitimate services. But actually, wouldn’t it make sense for facebook and sound cloud and others to like what these services do? Not only do they help out individual users by making them seem more popular, but these services are also inflating the numbers for the platforms themselves. If all the fake comments and plays on Soundcloud could instantly be deleted, Soundcloud would probably lose a large portion of it’s total activity. It might sound kind of “conspiracy theory-ish” but what if these platforms were intentionally staying their ability to cut these services out of their users’ toolkit. It makes a lot of sense for them to appreciate these fake metric services.