Chris Lambrecht's Strategic Marketing Thoughts
60 Seconds of Information Impacting You and Our Fast Forward Economy

July 2005 --
Estimated Reading Time: 60 Seconds

60 Second Articles
1. It's Been A "Mind-Blogging" Month
2. Staid And Traditional General Motors Turns To Podcasting
3. What You Look Like From Above: Google's Satellite Photos
4. ABC's Sam Donaldson Tells It Like It Is: Network Newscasts Are Dead
5. The 60 Second Close: Time To Refine Your Marketing Strategies?
6. This Month's Wine Recommendations

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1. It's Been A "Mind-Blogging" Month

• In this fast forward economy, it seems like a day doesn't go by without mainstream media chiming in on the state of Blogs and Podcasts. No other cutting edge, early-adopter program has created as much talk as Blogs and Podcasts have. At the same time, no other early-adopter program has posed as great of a threat to mainstream media –- radio, TV and print -- as these two have.
  
  
• Recently, Business Week made Blogs its front cover story. You can read that article at: www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_18/b3931001_mz001.htm
  
  
• Forbes Magazine did a major story on Podcasting that you can read by clicking on: www.forbes.com/technology/2005/04/21/cz_sw_0421whitmore.html?partner=rss
  
  
• Forrester Research says 300,000 households in the US will download Podcasts this year, 700,000 next year and 12.3 million by the year 2020. The growth will be driven by growing sales of mp3 players -- 7.6 million now and 11 million next year.
  

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2. Staid And Traditional General Motors Turns To Podcasting

• The Detroit News reports that GM is attempting to create a buzz about its new Chevrolet HHR through Podcasting -- posting mp3 audio interviews about the product and making them available for downloading.
  
  
• GM posted 4 recorded interviews on its Blog, www.fastlane.gmblogs.com
  
  
• What's the marketing rationale behind this? "We're really just trying to create the buzz and hit these people where they are," said Steve McGuire, HHR marketing chief, in the Detroit News article. "We know that the people who are likely to be looking at the car have iPods, and they're online."
  
  
• Blogs and message boards have become a common way for companies to generate publicity for new products outside of traditional marketing channels. Unlike TV commercials and newspaper ads, there's minimal cost and consumers can weigh in with their opinions.
  
  
• The article can be found at:
  www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0504/24/B01-157351.htm
  
  
• You can download the mp3 interviews by right clicking on: http://fastlane.gmblogs.com/podcast/HHR.mp3
  

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3. What You Look Like From Above: Google's New Satellite Maps

• Last month, Google introduced a brand new mapping technique that includes a satellite photo of your directions. Just click on: http://maps.google.com then place in your driving directions and click on "Satellite."
  
  
• And staying on the Google topic, a company has made searching on Google even easier, taking into account all of Google's many search services. Just click on www.xtragoogle.com
  

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4. ABC's Sam Donaldson Tells It Like It Is: Network Newscasts Are Dead

• The question has always been, how many people get home in time to watch the networks' evening newscasts at 6:30pm? With long commutes, more and more people eating out, and now the ability to get the news any time you want it, has the evening network news become a dinosaur?
  
  
• What's even worse is that if you're in the central time zone, the network news comes on an hour earlier at 5:30pm. Who's home in time for that?
  
  
• At the recent Radio Television News Directors Association conference, ABC's Sam Donaldson, always know for telling it straight up, said, "I think the evening network newscast dead. The average age of the evening network newscast audience is 60. The average age of Americans is 35. One of the reasons Nightline is declining in audience, is you don't have to wait up anymore to get the news."
  

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5. The 60 Second Close: Time To Refine Your Marketing Strategies?

• Changes are coming at us fast and furious. There are new ways to reach your potential customers. GM utilizing a Podcast to reach their target customer is just one example of how our marketing world is changing -- right before our very eyes.
  
  
• Is it time to look at your current advertising and marketing plans and make sure they're in synch with the changing economy? Do you have a Blog? Should you do a Podcast?
  
  
• If you're not sure, call us. The marketing plan we'll lay out for you will be customer centric and affordable.
  

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6. This Month's Wine Recommendations

Greg Norman Shiraz, 200-This is a medium intensity wine with great overtones; rated 91 by Wine Spectator, and widely available, you should grab a case or two quickly before the price increases. The label says overtones of dark plum, cherry, and spice.


Goat-Roti, 2003 The Goats do Roam Wine Company, South Africa. This blended red, vintage 2003, is a good value and interesting. The 2001 I tasted recently was barely drinkable. About $12.

Best Wishes,
Chris Lambrecht
Intelligent Marketing Solutions
www.intellmkt.com