Sweetmantra: Internet Marketing Advice

Window Tinting Search Reveals Smart Use of Video

Did you know you can buy and install special tinting film on your home windows to reduce the amount of heat transmitted into your house? It's kind of like tinting the windows of your car, except, well, it's your home windows.

I had no idea such a product existed until about 10 days ago when I Googled "residential window tinting" and quickly found myself at Gila Film Products, makers of window tinting film. Not only was I thrilled to discover there was a solution to my problem (the south-facing rooms on third floor of our house were turning into saunas) but I also stumbled across a great use of video on a corporate Website.

The Gila Film Products Website features a "how to install the window tinting film" page that includes a downloadable 11-minute instructional video that covers topics like the tools you need, preparing the work area, and correcting mistakes. Sure, I read the written instructions (also available on the Gila Website in both HTML and PDF flavours), but it was also extremely helpful to be able to watch the video and see how the professionals apply the window tinting film.

My wife, who helped me with the task (and lived to tell about it), also appreciated watching the video because she's one of those people who prefers to be shown how to do something rather than read an instruction manual. (I believe these are referred to as "normal" people!)

I'm not for one moment suggesting that this is the most groundbreaking use of video on the Internet. It is, however, an incredibly helpful and practical idea, and one that benefits everyday people...in the here and now. I only wish there were more manufacturers like Gila Film Products that offered "how to" videos like this on their Website. It's a smart idea, simply executed, and the world can always use more of these.

American Idol Demonstrates Power of the On-Demand Consumer

I am addicted to American Idol. There, I said it.

Now that I have confessed, let me explain why I am hooked on this show. It is a great example of what I call the new "On-Demand Consumer" in action.

Every year (every season), millions of consumers vote for their favourite product (the singer), the one they want to be manufactured (their album produced and released by a major music label).

And how do these On-Demand Consumers vote? By calling a toll-free number or sending a text message from their mobile phone. It's a simple - yet utterly brilliant - model. And it is being replicated all around the world with Canadian Idol, Australian Idol, Latin American Idol, etc.

Last week I was giving a talk on the On-Demand Consumer and I was asked what percentage of American Idol voting was done via SMS (text messaging). I didn't have an answer at the time, but I did get one later.

According to figures released by Telescope, the company that handles the voting for American Idol, a combined total of 580 million toll-free and SMS votes were placed during Season 5 (2006).

Cingular, the telco partner of Telescope for the American Idol voting, claims that 64.5 million text message votes were received for that season.

When you crunch the numbers, that means that 11.12% of voting was done via SMS.

I don't know why I thought this number would be higher, but I did. Then I realized that not only is 64.5 million an enormous number, but each and every one of those 64.5 million votes was paid for by the voter.

That's right.

Millions of Americans, mostly teenage girls (right?), were so motivated by the On-Demand nature of this show that they were willing to pay 5-10 cents per vote to help influence the 'design' of a product. A product they would then be willing to fork over more money - a lot more money - to buy when it was released a few months later.

Take, for instance, the first American Idol, Kelly Clarkson. Her debut album debuted at number one on the Billboard chart and went on to sell over 2.5 million copies in the United States.

With all due respect to Ms. Clarkson's talent as a singer, it's no surprise her first album was a bestseller. Those millions of On-Demand Consumers were getting precisely the product they had voted for.

Welcome to the world of the On-Demand Consumer.

ICE 2007

I will be speaking at, and attending, ICE 2007, March 21-22, 2007 in Toronto, Canada. In case you are wondering, "ICE" stands for Interactive Content Exchange.

ICE 2007 is a conference dedicated to the business of content on interactive platforms and is a follow-up to last year's amazing iSummit conference, which I also attended and spoke at.

The theme of this year's conference is devoted to understanding the new consumer as creator. During the course of the three-day event over 100 speakers from around the world will explore the new and changing roles and relationships media and content has with this new consumer.

I will be participating in a panel discussion entitled "The New World Order" on Wednesday, March 21 alongside Brady Gilchrist, Jim Griffin, Maria Hale, Shel Israel, and Mike Lee. James Lewis will moderate the session, and we're going to explore how media companies and advertisers will engage the new consumer in this fragmented, anywhere, anytime, any device on-demand world.

If ICE 2007 is only half as good as iSummit was, attendees are in for a treat. For more information about the conference, visit www.ice07.com.