It's no surprise that we've come to this: there's a family for sale on the Internet.
No, these aren't hostages held by Somali pirates or advertised on a Craigslist adult S&M posting. I'm talking about a middle American family that may have willingly, enthusiastically crossed the line between personal brand management and indentured servitude.
Anyone with a digital footprint is selling themselves these days. But in the spooky wasteland where product placement meets slavery, you will find the Martins.
Not to diss entrepreneurial spirit in a down economy. Patriarch Carl Martin told me today that "overall, this has been the best decision we have ever made."
The Martins call themselves "The Billboard Family," with what ad industry site Adrants says is "an offering that allows advertisers to own the Martin's lives." Yikes. Dad Carl, mom Amy and kids Layne and Kaitlyn have turned themselves into human signage. With a social media upsell.
I know they're serious but it's a pretty funny pitch on their website. "We are a REAL family of 4 (with one on the way) who wears YOUR COMPANY SHIRTS all day long, taking loads of photos and videos. We then promote your company online on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and our Website, as well as to all of the many people who ask us why we are all wearing the same shirts."
Uh, because you're from St. Louis?
Carl says "most of the companies we have already reached out to are ones whose products we use." Their "main demographic is family oriented companies, being that we are a real family." Still, "we are happy to advertise for any companies that do not violate our terms and conditions."
They may be an actual family, but potential sponsors usually like organic reality, as in real doctors who prescribe Nexium in their practice, not people just selling their endorsement. But on their video, the likable Martins even show a sonogram snap of their unborn child.
Getting a t-shirt on a fetus might be tough.
I was just about to ask the marketing department here about inking a deal for the Martins to wear Chronicle t-shirts -- you have to send them the shirts; like Google, they don't make products. Then I wondered just how many people might actually notice what the family is wearing.
No worries there. The Martins "travel and take vacations frequently" from their Missouri home to places like Chicago, Seattle, and Walt Disney World (where at might be hard to stand out among people wearing black socks and bermudas). "We have plans to travel much more in the near future."
Don't we all?
They also have 2,700 followers on Twitter and 200 Facebook fans. (Over 2,500," Carl says, if you include friends on personal pages.) Not exactly the makings of a viral stampede. "Many of our followers help spread the word," according to Carl. "The potential to reach a large audience is there."
The "Billboard Family" also has two competitors: I Wear Your Shirt (Carl: "They are not family-centric") and Girl In Your Shirt (doesn't sound very family-centric).
In their "About Us" section they have more personal stats for each of them than the average big league ball player: eye color, favorite color, height, weight and shoe size.
How else would you ever know that four-year-old Layne wants a Power Wheels Cadillac Escalade? Carl's dream job is to be a "professional t-shirt wearer", which makes sense given this particular value-added business proposition.
Carl, who has a computer sciences degree, was "inspired" in this new enterprise "by his desire to make a respectable living." Well, who these days can really afford to make fun of that?
Also, he said to me he "really wanted to teach our kids about self-reliance and business..They're very young but they have been very involved..They also love the attention."
The Martin site is thick with optimism, including nifty separate sections for them to publish all their "National Press, "Local Press", and "Other Media Outlets." They're all empty. I wonder where my blog post will go.
They also have Yelp-like social media page for clients who write "a review of our services." Empty. Also a place for Flickr photos and YouTube videos. Zip. Except a short about the Martins. To be fair, they only launched a few days ago.
But in the "Only 84 Days left for sale!" calendar, 30 of them are filled with "SOLD" signs, all for around $550 per, calculated by their graduated pricing formula throughout the year (Would you rather have four people wearing your brand on their tees or buy an iPad?).
So far one advertiser -- "Studio-R" -- has bought the Martins for a day, according to the calendar. And they boast that their October through November "Non-Profit slots filled" by a children's literacy program, "Everybody WINS!"
Maybe they do. Here I am writing about them. Besides, it's a buyer's market out there and who's to say the Martins aren't the next big thing in digital marketing services?
Being a slow news day (thus far at least), I started to look around and a report from July of this year from Network Solutions and some partners caught my eye. It was used to make a point over at Small Business Trends about SMB’s (small and medium business) and social media (a point which is much different than the one here so go check it out). When you take a little deeper dive into the findings it looks like the SMB group as a whole is saying what it says a lot when it comes to the latest and greatest business practices: We aren’t getting it like you think we are.
This is not to say that SMB’s are not using social media. That’s not the case at all. What appears to be all over the map are expectations and what happens when SMB’s, social media and reality intersect. Look at the chart below, which puts marketing barely into the “very important” category AND tells us that it’s not performing well.
That kind of response in a poor economy is reasonable since businesses are hurting no matter what is being tried to pick up the pace. What is interesting though is that marketing is not the top of the food chain for SMB’s – getting money to PAY for marketing is! It doesn’t get any clearer moving forward either.
What’s baffling are the details about using social media for this elusive group that makes up most of the businesses in the US. They always want to play but can’t seem to get over the hump when it come to Internet marketing as a whole.
For instance, if social media is the “wave of the future” why are the responses showing no growth or even some reduction in social media offerings like blogs?
But then in fine SMB tradition, they like to talk a great game and their expectations of social media ‘success’ have increased! Incongruent for sure but this is important to understand about the SMB. They love to talk about stuff but when it gets to doing it the walk rarely lives up to the talk. There is plenty of optimism as always but optimism without action is fantasy.
Here may be the real reason why SMB’s seem to have put the brakes on a bit with regard to social media. It’s not all unicorns and rainbows like the industry likes to portray.
This is another part of reality that the SMB hates to recognize. Oftentimes social media criticisms are very personal because the SMB is a person or that person is the face of the company. The “everything is roses” approach by social media consultants to this group usually neglects the potential risks and downsides. The cold hard facts are that social media takes time and money despite the industry push to present it as free and easy. Oh and it can sting a bit as well if someone wants to take an online swipe at an SMB.
So the world of SMB’s, Internet marketing and social media continues to be a puzzle wrapped in an enigma. It’s hard to pin down. Maybe it’s just time to stop trying to draw broad generalizations about a group that is as diverse as any on the planet. Each SMB has their own signature and fingerprint even within the same vertical but we still try to tell them “This will work because it’s cool, it’s current and everyone is doing it successfully!” That’s just not true.
The reality is that not all SMB’s are suited for the Internet in general and social media specifically. Some are perfectly suited for it but they may not be the majority of SMB’s when it is all said and done.
So what is your take on the SMB and social media? How do you see this huge market that proves to be so elusive? What are the biggest opportunities and / or barriers that exist for this group?
Social Media Monitoring in Just 60-Seconds. Guaranteed!
Tony Hawk: Shred dated <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net
Activision's launched an interactive website "that gives players a head start on honing their over-the-top skate and snowboarding skills as they explore new game content, the latest news and much, much more!" Check it out here. ...
<b>News</b> Corp. Donates $1 Million to U.S. Chamber of Commerce <b>...</b>
The donation is the News Corporation's second known contribution to a group that is advertising heavily to support Republicans this year.
Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/2 - Arrowhead Pride
Good morning, AP and welcome to the weekend. As always, you'll find today's Kansas City Chiefs news below. Lots of love today. The O-line, Crennel, Happy Haley, and our Rookies should be feeling pretty proud of themselves according to ...
bench craft company rip off
bench craft company rip off
Tony Hawk: Shred dated <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net
Activision's launched an interactive website "that gives players a head start on honing their over-the-top skate and snowboarding skills as they explore new game content, the latest news and much, much more!" Check it out here. ...
<b>News</b> Corp. Donates $1 Million to U.S. Chamber of Commerce <b>...</b>
The donation is the News Corporation's second known contribution to a group that is advertising heavily to support Republicans this year.
Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/2 - Arrowhead Pride
Good morning, AP and welcome to the weekend. As always, you'll find today's Kansas City Chiefs news below. Lots of love today. The O-line, Crennel, Happy Haley, and our Rookies should be feeling pretty proud of themselves according to ...
bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off
It's no surprise that we've come to this: there's a family for sale on the Internet.
No, these aren't hostages held by Somali pirates or advertised on a Craigslist adult S&M posting. I'm talking about a middle American family that may have willingly, enthusiastically crossed the line between personal brand management and indentured servitude.
Anyone with a digital footprint is selling themselves these days. But in the spooky wasteland where product placement meets slavery, you will find the Martins.
Not to diss entrepreneurial spirit in a down economy. Patriarch Carl Martin told me today that "overall, this has been the best decision we have ever made."
The Martins call themselves "The Billboard Family," with what ad industry site Adrants says is "an offering that allows advertisers to own the Martin's lives." Yikes. Dad Carl, mom Amy and kids Layne and Kaitlyn have turned themselves into human signage. With a social media upsell.
I know they're serious but it's a pretty funny pitch on their website. "We are a REAL family of 4 (with one on the way) who wears YOUR COMPANY SHIRTS all day long, taking loads of photos and videos. We then promote your company online on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and our Website, as well as to all of the many people who ask us why we are all wearing the same shirts."
Uh, because you're from St. Louis?
Carl says "most of the companies we have already reached out to are ones whose products we use." Their "main demographic is family oriented companies, being that we are a real family." Still, "we are happy to advertise for any companies that do not violate our terms and conditions."
They may be an actual family, but potential sponsors usually like organic reality, as in real doctors who prescribe Nexium in their practice, not people just selling their endorsement. But on their video, the likable Martins even show a sonogram snap of their unborn child.
Getting a t-shirt on a fetus might be tough.
I was just about to ask the marketing department here about inking a deal for the Martins to wear Chronicle t-shirts -- you have to send them the shirts; like Google, they don't make products. Then I wondered just how many people might actually notice what the family is wearing.
No worries there. The Martins "travel and take vacations frequently" from their Missouri home to places like Chicago, Seattle, and Walt Disney World (where at might be hard to stand out among people wearing black socks and bermudas). "We have plans to travel much more in the near future."
Don't we all?
They also have 2,700 followers on Twitter and 200 Facebook fans. (Over 2,500," Carl says, if you include friends on personal pages.) Not exactly the makings of a viral stampede. "Many of our followers help spread the word," according to Carl. "The potential to reach a large audience is there."
The "Billboard Family" also has two competitors: I Wear Your Shirt (Carl: "They are not family-centric") and Girl In Your Shirt (doesn't sound very family-centric).
In their "About Us" section they have more personal stats for each of them than the average big league ball player: eye color, favorite color, height, weight and shoe size.
How else would you ever know that four-year-old Layne wants a Power Wheels Cadillac Escalade? Carl's dream job is to be a "professional t-shirt wearer", which makes sense given this particular value-added business proposition.
Carl, who has a computer sciences degree, was "inspired" in this new enterprise "by his desire to make a respectable living." Well, who these days can really afford to make fun of that?
Also, he said to me he "really wanted to teach our kids about self-reliance and business..They're very young but they have been very involved..They also love the attention."
The Martin site is thick with optimism, including nifty separate sections for them to publish all their "National Press, "Local Press", and "Other Media Outlets." They're all empty. I wonder where my blog post will go.
They also have Yelp-like social media page for clients who write "a review of our services." Empty. Also a place for Flickr photos and YouTube videos. Zip. Except a short about the Martins. To be fair, they only launched a few days ago.
But in the "Only 84 Days left for sale!" calendar, 30 of them are filled with "SOLD" signs, all for around $550 per, calculated by their graduated pricing formula throughout the year (Would you rather have four people wearing your brand on their tees or buy an iPad?).
So far one advertiser -- "Studio-R" -- has bought the Martins for a day, according to the calendar. And they boast that their October through November "Non-Profit slots filled" by a children's literacy program, "Everybody WINS!"
Maybe they do. Here I am writing about them. Besides, it's a buyer's market out there and who's to say the Martins aren't the next big thing in digital marketing services?
Being a slow news day (thus far at least), I started to look around and a report from July of this year from Network Solutions and some partners caught my eye. It was used to make a point over at Small Business Trends about SMB’s (small and medium business) and social media (a point which is much different than the one here so go check it out). When you take a little deeper dive into the findings it looks like the SMB group as a whole is saying what it says a lot when it comes to the latest and greatest business practices: We aren’t getting it like you think we are.
This is not to say that SMB’s are not using social media. That’s not the case at all. What appears to be all over the map are expectations and what happens when SMB’s, social media and reality intersect. Look at the chart below, which puts marketing barely into the “very important” category AND tells us that it’s not performing well.
That kind of response in a poor economy is reasonable since businesses are hurting no matter what is being tried to pick up the pace. What is interesting though is that marketing is not the top of the food chain for SMB’s – getting money to PAY for marketing is! It doesn’t get any clearer moving forward either.
What’s baffling are the details about using social media for this elusive group that makes up most of the businesses in the US. They always want to play but can’t seem to get over the hump when it come to Internet marketing as a whole.
For instance, if social media is the “wave of the future” why are the responses showing no growth or even some reduction in social media offerings like blogs?
But then in fine SMB tradition, they like to talk a great game and their expectations of social media ‘success’ have increased! Incongruent for sure but this is important to understand about the SMB. They love to talk about stuff but when it gets to doing it the walk rarely lives up to the talk. There is plenty of optimism as always but optimism without action is fantasy.
Here may be the real reason why SMB’s seem to have put the brakes on a bit with regard to social media. It’s not all unicorns and rainbows like the industry likes to portray.
This is another part of reality that the SMB hates to recognize. Oftentimes social media criticisms are very personal because the SMB is a person or that person is the face of the company. The “everything is roses” approach by social media consultants to this group usually neglects the potential risks and downsides. The cold hard facts are that social media takes time and money despite the industry push to present it as free and easy. Oh and it can sting a bit as well if someone wants to take an online swipe at an SMB.
So the world of SMB’s, Internet marketing and social media continues to be a puzzle wrapped in an enigma. It’s hard to pin down. Maybe it’s just time to stop trying to draw broad generalizations about a group that is as diverse as any on the planet. Each SMB has their own signature and fingerprint even within the same vertical but we still try to tell them “This will work because it’s cool, it’s current and everyone is doing it successfully!” That’s just not true.
The reality is that not all SMB’s are suited for the Internet in general and social media specifically. Some are perfectly suited for it but they may not be the majority of SMB’s when it is all said and done.
So what is your take on the SMB and social media? How do you see this huge market that proves to be so elusive? What are the biggest opportunities and / or barriers that exist for this group?
Social Media Monitoring in Just 60-Seconds. Guaranteed!
bench craft company rip off
Tony Hawk: Shred dated <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net
Activision's launched an interactive website "that gives players a head start on honing their over-the-top skate and snowboarding skills as they explore new game content, the latest news and much, much more!" Check it out here. ...
<b>News</b> Corp. Donates $1 Million to U.S. Chamber of Commerce <b>...</b>
The donation is the News Corporation's second known contribution to a group that is advertising heavily to support Republicans this year.
Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/2 - Arrowhead Pride
Good morning, AP and welcome to the weekend. As always, you'll find today's Kansas City Chiefs news below. Lots of love today. The O-line, Crennel, Happy Haley, and our Rookies should be feeling pretty proud of themselves according to ...
bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off
Tony Hawk: Shred dated <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net
Activision's launched an interactive website "that gives players a head start on honing their over-the-top skate and snowboarding skills as they explore new game content, the latest news and much, much more!" Check it out here. ...
<b>News</b> Corp. Donates $1 Million to U.S. Chamber of Commerce <b>...</b>
The donation is the News Corporation's second known contribution to a group that is advertising heavily to support Republicans this year.
Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/2 - Arrowhead Pride
Good morning, AP and welcome to the weekend. As always, you'll find today's Kansas City Chiefs news below. Lots of love today. The O-line, Crennel, Happy Haley, and our Rookies should be feeling pretty proud of themselves according to ...
bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off
Tony Hawk: Shred dated <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net
Activision's launched an interactive website "that gives players a head start on honing their over-the-top skate and snowboarding skills as they explore new game content, the latest news and much, much more!" Check it out here. ...
<b>News</b> Corp. Donates $1 Million to U.S. Chamber of Commerce <b>...</b>
The donation is the News Corporation's second known contribution to a group that is advertising heavily to support Republicans this year.
Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 10/2 - Arrowhead Pride
Good morning, AP and welcome to the weekend. As always, you'll find today's Kansas City Chiefs news below. Lots of love today. The O-line, Crennel, Happy Haley, and our Rookies should be feeling pretty proud of themselves according to ...
bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off
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