In the world of business and medical publications, most rely exclusively on advertising. Through a system called “controlled circulation”, readers “qualify” themselves by filling out a form or answering questions over the phone that determine that they are indeed part of the target audience that publication pledges to reach for its readers. There are even outside auditing companies that make sure this happens correctly.

Now as advertisers bail, the walls are closing in on many of these publications. They have no other sources of income. Oh sure, they can cut their frequency of issue from 12x to 6x or 6x to quarterly but what if you really like reading the publication and find it has useful information for your business but it is wilting under the pressure of this economy. If it were on the newsstand, you would buy a copy to help support them. But how do you support a dying business publication (short of advertising)?

One publisher has chosen a path so obvious you might ask yourself why others have not considered his solution. He simply asked his loyal readers to cough up a few bucks (like a subscription) to help him survive and publish another day. Although this publisher has a unique magazine with a distinct point of view and some very loyal readers (including yours truly), it will be very interesting to see what comes of his plea.

Many trade magazines are boring and seem to survive simply to provide a forum for their advertisers (readers be damned). Good luck to them ever trying to ask readers to support them with their wallets. Just wouldn’t happen. But if your readers love you and your advertisers simply can’t afford to buy ads during this deep recession, can you survive by asking for a hand?  After all, isn’t this how NPR and PBS have done it for years?

What we are really talking about here is going back to old idea of patrons who support something they love whether it is an orchestra, a radio station, an artist or a business publication. Maybe in his desperation, this noble publisher is opening the door to the future of the business press.

The next couple of years should be interesting. Keep your checkbook nearby. You could become a patron.

Today, that boxer is print. Bullied, bloodied and beaten, print is on his butt in the middle of the ring but there are plenty of rounds left. The question is whether or not he will rise with a fury to win.

We have all seen print take a terrible beating over the last two years. The combination of the growing strength of the web and the low blow from the economy has almost been too much to bear.

Our clients have complained about their thinner and thinner print products—the same ones that just a couple of years ago were kings of the ring. As advertisers baled, the domino effect took hold. If my competitor is not advertising, that gives me license to drop out as well. As a result, many of these thinning magazines went completely bald and ceased publishing completely.

The real question here is whether advertisers are dropping out of print because “nobody reads magazines any more” as so many of them lament or whether advertisers are dropping out of print because other advertisers have dropped out of print and the remaining advertisers don’t have the belief in their own convictions to hold the line.

Well, finally magazine publishers have had enough and they’re not going to take it anymore. Five of the largest consumer print publishers have combined forces (and dollars) to launch a huge campaign to promote the fact that print is not dead. The five companies are Time Warner’s Time, Inc., Hearst, Advance Publications’ Conde Nast, Wenner Media and Meridith. The initiative was orchestrated by Jann Wenner, CEO of Wenner Media. Check out an article on this subject from the Wall Street Journal. Just as TV did not kill radio and video stores did not kill movie theaters, the web will not kill print. It may change reading habits. It may change how and when magazines are read. But it will not kill print. The fact is that print is already waging a comeback. As in any industry that has taken its lumps, many titles have died and will not return. In many markets, this was a necessary change, as few markets require four, five or even six titles to serve that market. But the top two or three titles should continue to thrive and serve their markets for many years to come.

If you’ve thrown in the towel on your print campaign, think again.

This fighter is not down for the count.

Most of us have spent much of our TV-watching lives trying to avoid advertising. Some of us have it down to a science—channel surfing when the ads interrupt our favorite show only to return at just the right time as the show returns. We have the one-minute surf, the two-minute surf and the 3-minute surf (the long ones on the half hour).

With marketers spending so much money on those ads, why is our instinct to avoid them at all costs? The answer is that we want to choose when and where we want to learn about that new car or that new drug (with all of the horrible side effects) that we should ask our doctor about. We don’t want it washing over us like a tsunami of useless information. When TiVO was introduced, ad agency people got really worried. This device could skip commercials. I never got one but then my cable company offered me a DVR, which is almost as good. True, it won’t skip commercials but I sure can FF past them. Of course, there is now research from desperate marketers that says that even when you FF past those commercials, they are still making an impact on you. I suppose that is true in the same way that a billboard would make an impact on you if you were driving at NASCAR speeds down a city street. So where will this all end?

We could end up right where we started. Soap operas are called soap operas because, in the beginning, the show was actually paid for and sponsored by the soap companies. There were no commercial interruptions. The viewer was simply told at the beginning of the show that the show was “brought to you by ABC Soap Company”. That was it. The approach is similar to what PBS does today and you’ll notice that non-commercial PBS has longer and longer intros—but I digress.

We still have the dilemma that marketers want to tell people about their products so they can sell them and consumers want to learn about new products so they might consider purchasing them—but how do consumers want to learn about products? That is the question.

Let’s take a recent product introduction—the Apple iPad. So far, no commercials but everyone seems to know about it. How has this happened? It’s a combination of Apple’s superior PR machine being able to get virtually every media outlet (broadcast, print and online) to do their work for them by talking about and reviewing their new product. But how did most people initially hear about it? Probably through a headline of an article on one of their myriad online news sites. Most people probably did not click on and read the article unless they were really interested but that headline still made an impression. So when that person was cornered at the water cooler the next morning and asked whether they heard about that new Apple iPad, they could answer, “yeah, I read something about it.” In many cases, that something was simply the headline to an article titled  “Apple Rolls Out iPad But Where Will It Fit?”

Think of your own online behavior. I’ll bet you learn a lot about what is going on in the world just by reading headlines—no different than if you glanced at the headlines in your local newspaper. Then, when something really grabs your attention, you click and read. With marketing so prevalent in today’s society, many of the headlines in the “news” are product driven.

It’s a good day to be a PR mogul. It’s a good day to write a good headline.

If you are going to build your reputation on quality and safety, then you need to make an uncompromising promise to deliver. That means following up on reports of sticky gas pedals as soon as they are reported and not just after multiple deaths have occurred. Like the Firestone 500 tire did to Firestone, Toyota will be forever tarnished by this safety overlook. Toyota also pulled the plug on a major new marketing campaign that, in part, promoted the company’s record in terms of safety and reliability. Consumer Reports editors—get out your red pens.

Large companies take a major risk when they build their reputation on certain principles and then fail miserably on those same principles.

Take Tiger and Accenture as a prime case in point.

But it doesn’t end with just corporations. How about John Edwards and his fall from grace as the real John Edwards reared his ugly head over a two-year period. His reputation as the consummate family man may have been a larger fall than Tiger Woods because whereas most of us knew precious little about Tiger Woods private life (and now we know why), we felt we knew John Edwards. How can you not when you are running for the highest position in the land and the press hounds you day and night? Once again, the PR machine did not ultimately match the product.

Ever think what your company’s reputation is? If your company could afford to run a super bowl ad, what image would your company be projecting?

What I hope not to find are links to any other “Larry Claymans” that are up to no good out in the world. In a recent search, I found a link that stated F**K Larry Clayman. Quite disturbing but in this case, it was a Larry Clayman who is head of a group called Judicial Watch and is sometimes a controversial or polarizing figure. This was on Page One of a Google search for my name. OUCH!

What can I do about it? Not much. The only thing I can hope to do is to create enough links about the “good” Larry Clayman (that would be me, dear reader) so as to push the link to the “bad” Larry Clayman off of page one. Easier said than done but that is one of the reasons why we recommend having as many different opportunities as possible for someone to find you or your company or products. You never know through which door they will come—and ultimately it doesn’t matter which door they come through as long as they enter.

If you do not have a common name (and my last name is not that common), you will have fewer issues in this area. But if you have a very common name such as John Smith, you can be assured that among all of the “good” John Smiths, you will have to fight for your position among all of the “bad” John Smiths. Good luck with that one.

Go ahead. Try Googling your name and see what you find. You might be surprised. I would be interested in hearing about your experience.

Oh yeah, don’t feel that you are an ego-maniac for Googling your own name. It’s all in the name of research, you know.

Content has become the “handle” that we all use when we discuss what will fill these vast empty spaces. It’s one thing to say we need to revamp our website. But with what? And where will that content come from? When I was young and asked my Dad for money, he would often say, “I don’t see any money trees growing in the backyard.” Well I don’t see any content trees growing back there either. Creating good content doesn’t just happen. It takes time, effort, research and good writing.

Proper word choice is a key ingredient. One only need watch the tube for any period of time to find examples of poor word choice. For instance, two days after the earthquake in Haiti, a CNN commentator noted that if help did not come soon, officials were concerned about looting. LOOTING? Looting is what happens when riots take place or when protests go awry. On the other hand, when one is starving and there is no help in sight, I don’t see how anyone could call that looting! If the quake had hit us, don’t you think you would do what ever it took to keep you and your loved ones alive—including “stealing” food from wherever you could find it? I would hardly call that looting. Yet, I have seen many other networks and reporters pick up this unfortunate word choice.

The above may be an extreme example but you can see how choosing the wrong word can create the entire wrong connotation.

So next time you need to create content for your various marketing vehicles, think about word choice. The right word can make all of the difference in your message.

And those are my words of the day.

In advertising and marketing, context is also vitally important. In fact, it may be the most important aspect to good media buying decisions. After all, is it any surprise that we see beer commercials during football games? Yet while that logic is easy to deduce, one must wonder if everyone watching the nightly national news reports is suffering from some serious health issue requiring numerous prescription drugs. What’s more, one must further wonder if most of the people watching the national news at 6:30 are impotent men. This conclusion would also be logical given the number of Cialis and Viagra commercials in this time slot. I guess they don’t call it “broadcasting” for nothing. Network TV is “broadcast” to the masses. It’s like a direct mail piece going out to everybody. You know your target is in there somewhere so you’ll deal with the waste to find the gold. Cable channels created “narrow casting” where science lovers could tune in the National Geographic channel; animal lovers could dial in Animal Planet and history buffs could watch The History Channel. This provided the opportunity for much more targeted advertising, knowing that you are reaching a specific audience. I must admit though that I don’t see this being done with great aplomb as one would think.

So it reasons to follow that if it makes sense to have your advertising message in proximity to an audience who is predisposed to that subject matter, your message will be more roundly approved.

Having said all that, the world of online contextual advertising is certainly where it is at as we enter 2010. In a broader sense, Google AdWord ads (the little text ads to the right of the organic search results) are the best example of this. Unfortunately, as we all have learned, those little ads don’t always deliver the goods for what you were hoping to find. So what other options are there?

Here are just a few:

• sponsorship of an e-newsletter with relevant articles related to your product or service

• sponsorship of a specific page of an industry website with highly targeted information related to your product or service

• an online ad on a key trade show site where your company will be exhibiting

• an online ad on a major distributor’s website who handles your product

There are many more opportunities to engage in contextual advertising but don’t feel that your opportunities are limited to Google, Yahoo or Bing. In the industrial sector, thomasnet.com, globalspec.com and industrynet.com are just three online directories that provide an opportunity for advertisers to do contextual advertising based on keyword searches.

So as you prepare for 2010, keep it all in context and spend your marketing dollar where it best reaches your audience.

But you may have wondered as did I how we ever got into this mess in the first place. How and why was our health insurance system first started through employers? What are the various roles of insurance companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, medical facilities and physicians in this complex mix? Who is really calling the shots and what needs to be done to right the system?

These are questions that should be of interest to all regardless of what side of the aisle you sit.

Fortunately, I can point you in the right direction. It will take 2 hours of your life but given the gravity of the situation, it might be helpful to have this background information before you start sending letters to your congressional representative pleading with them to vote one way or the other.

The NPR radio show “The American Life” hosted by Ira Glass has investigated the healthcare issue from a historical perspective right up to the current crisis. I guarantee you that you will learn plenty from these two shows that you most likely did not know. I certainly did.

I challenge you to listen to these two show and then let me know what you think so we can have an informed dialogue. I assure you that it will be well worth your time.

The first program explains why costs keep rising.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1320

The second program goes deeper into the healthcare insurance industry. You need to hear this.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1321

Remember, I want to hear from you. Comment to this blog, send me an e-mail or pick up the phone. Let’s talk healthcare. It’s a subject we can all relate to.

Can Print Take On A New Life?

If you are a football fan, you are well aware of the technology introduced a few years ago that allows broadcasters to artificially show you where the first down line is through a bright yellow line. This line somehow is not “painted” over any players who may stand in front of it or even on it. Although I am not a hockey fan, I am told this same technology is used to help viewers follow the puck during the action. This technology is called AR—short for augmented reality.

It turns out that AR may play a significant role in the future of print.

The current issue (December) of Esquire magazine incorporates AR that allows the reader to hold the page up to a web cam, which, in turn, triggers a video, to play. I know. Sounds like science fiction but it could be the next wave in making print more interactive. Would B2B publishers ever consider using AR? Who knows? But since B2B publishers typically adopt ideas from the consumer world once they are convinced it will fly, we could see AR in our favorite trade magazine as early as—say—2015?

I Walked Into My Office and Nothing Made Sense

OK, if you’ve ever walked into my office, you would know that nothing has made sense there for quite a few years. But in this case, I’m not talking about your every day disorganization or slovenliness. I am talking about a much higher order of chaos.

I am talking about the fact that we marketers may not be sitting on top of the mountain preaching to the masses (our customers) for much longer. Through the power of social media, which effectively is the universe’s largest word of mouth vehicle, the masses are now talking amongst themselves. They are tired of being preached to. They want to tell US what they want and when they want it. And if we still want to get their attention, we had better find a damn creative way to do it that entices their curiosity. The world of marketing and advertising is in the midst of a mind-numbing storm that makes Katrina look like scattered showers (no offense intended to the tragedy of those who suffered and or died). I can assure you that nobody knows where this will go. If somebody does attempt to tell you the end story of this seismic shift, they are probably the same people trying to tell you which stocks will go up or down and which teams will win on Sunday. In short, they are taking educated guesses. Stay tuned because when everything in my office stops flying around and finally settles, it will be a much different world. I’ll keep you posted. Meanwhile, I’m wearing a hard hat.

What Does LeBron James Have To Do With the Machine Tool Business?

Absolutely nothing. But that is why I love Today’s Machining World.

This wonderful trade magazine is the brainchild of Lloyd Graff. Lloyd is a different kind of trade magazine publisher. First, he knows of what he speaks as he has run a company – Graf Pinkert—that actually sells equipment into the industry about which he writes. Conflict of interest? Maybe but he addressed that long ago. Other than one self-serving ad for his company in each issue, his presentation is even handed. So not being the most technical guy in the world (some would say that is an exaggerated understatement), why do I enjoy this magazine? Because Lloyd is one of the only people in B2B publishing that recognizes that if he put a variety of content into his magazine, people are more apt to read it. Therefore, each issue includes a book review, a puzzle, and an article on an out-of-the-box thinker who may or may not be part of the machine tool industry. In short, I read Today’s Machining World with the same mindset that I read magazines that I subscribe to at home. I’m relaxed. I pour a glass of wine and I dig in. It is always a pleasure. Lloyd also puts a lot of himself into the magazine both through his regular column, which includes snippets about local Chicago sports, his religion, his health, his family, and politics in addition to his keen insight on what is going on in his industry. It’s the ultimate gossip column for his readers because, after all, we are not just what we do for a living. Lloyd recognizes this and brings this to his readers. It was Lloyd who actually inspired the blog you are reading. It has been my mission to infuse my marketing blog with a lot of other issues important to me. Not all of these topics will be important to you but hopefully enough will be to keep you reading.

NOTE TO READER: Here is the self-serving part. Lloyd was kind enough to ask me to write a book review on Shooting Stars, the new book by LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger about LeBron’s high school years. He asked me because he wanted the spin of an Akron observer.

About a month ago, I saw the Hollywood film Frost/Nixon that depicted the back-story of how the Nixon interviews with David Frost came to happen. This later inspired me to check with NetFlix to see if they had the actual Nixon/Frost interviews. Sure enough, they did. I had seen them back in the day, but I was not the political animal then that I am now so they were seen through the eyes of a 20-something college kid as opposed to a more shall we say seasoned observer. A couple of things caught my eye. First, the amazing fact that Frost was able to pull this interview off by cobbling together financing for an independent production is amazing in itself. The networks were sideline observers to an event of colossal proportions. They were not willing to offer as many hours in prime time as Frost was guaranteeing. Not only did Frost beat them at their own game, he actually got Nixon and his people to agree that they would not be privy to any questions prior to the interview nor would they have any ability to see the final program before airing. Now stop right there. Imagine an interview with any former president (or any key figure for that matter) agreeing to those terms today. Not a chance.

The other interesting thing I noticed was the kind of money being offered as “hush money” to make sure that people like E. Howard Hunt and others would not spill the beans. In Hunt’s case, the payoff being bandied about was the lofty sum of $120,000. A tidy sum to be sure in those days but certainly that figure pails by comparison to the 2 million that Bob Halderman allegedly tried to extort from David Letterman recently to keep some untimely sexual liaisons quiet.

So, the bottom line is this. In 2009, it takes 2 million dollars to keep a sexual tryst (or shall we say several sexual trysts) quiet and a mere 37 years earlier it only took $120k to keep a white house “plumber” from springing leaks. And they say we’re in a recession?