DM 2.0: Comment Spam

DM 2.0: Comment Spam

When I began this blog, I thought that Direct Mail was the height of marketing clutter. It was the tail end of the holiday season, and even though I did end up purchasing a few items from the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog, I felt deeply annoyed by the sheer volume, poundage, and paper waste in the barrage of glossies that clogged our mailbox.

Almost 6 months later, I have a better sense of just how many electronic forms marketing clutter can come. For whatever reason, the comment spam on this blog has taken off at a hyperbolic rate in the last few weeks and I’m going to need to go to a new verification method.

My real question is, does this actually WORK for anyone? Is this an effective method of generating inbound links to their Viag*ra, p*rn, mortgages, insurance sites, and even Vermont Teddy Bears? I have included some of the worst below for your enjoyment sorted by apparent strategy. Please leave a real comment if you have insight into any sort of effective use of this type of spam.

Flattery

  • Dear web-master ! I looked your site and I want to say that yor very well’
  • I have seen many sites before and most of them do not look this good. I cannot wait to let my friends know about this site. Thanks for the excellent content….

The Confusion Offense

  • fictitious verdigris unexplaining somesthesia dacoity outvictor unvented reducer

The I’m-Not-Even-Going-To-Read-Your-Post

  • I can find the prayer I want. I thank God for this website. (all prayer comment spam links to via*ra sites, funnily enough)
  • Many times, you’ll get stunned by the massive amount of video games material obtainable…

Motivational!

  • Plant the seeds of expectation in your mind; cultivate thoughts that anticipate achievement. Believe in yourself as being capable of overcoming all obstacles and weaknesses…
Motivated Mii

Motivated Mii

I never thought that a brand relationship BENEFIT from telling a customer in graphic detail that he/she is a fattie patattie.

My MiiOn Friday, however, that very scenario took place when our hotly anticipated pre-ordered Wii Fit arrived. The first activity for all users of the Wii Fit is a “body test” that uses your ability to steady your center of balance and weight to calculate your BMI and Wii Fit age. My Mii was created by my husband and has been with me through months of golf, bowling, and tennis (I play Guitar Hero 3 as Slash, naturally).

When I stepped on the Wii Fit balance board and it measured my weight, however, my Mii expanded. Turns out my previous, un-weighed, Mii’s body type was a bit wishful and my fiends at Nintendo have rectified the situation. The only way to shrink my Mii? TO ACTUALLY LOSE REAL WEIGHT.

The surprise? I feel shockingly motivated by playing with my overweight Mii. Perhaps this is the brand equivalent of Mystery’s “Neg” technique where men use a subtle insult to make women want them more. Because Nintendo has unceremoniously judged me, I want to prove that they’re wrong about me. I am a Cindy Crawford Mii trapped inside the “VeeDub” Mii and I am going to show Nintendo. My motivation is certainly encouraged by the fact that the WiiFit’s activities are addictive fun.

When I began my own blog, I originally thought I would join in the Jason Calacanis’ “Fatblogging” meme. Now I think it makes more sense to Wii Fitblog. I am going to try to post every two weeks about my Mii’s progress and hope that anyone else who is motivated by shrinking their Mii’s virtual behind will do the same and tag as “wiifitblogging”.

Top 5 from WOMM-U

Top 5 from WOMM-U

There is an advantage in the tardiness to this wrap up post from WOMM-U in Miami: the following highlights have already stood the test of staying with me for a full week , these are observations that have at least held up through a full week of work, media consumption, deep thoughts and Twitter. As a tribute to WOMMA’s always-useful Daily Five newsletter, I thought I’d use that construct for the wrap up.

Highlights from WOMMA’s WOMM-University in Miami:

1. New Format: WOMMU was the trial run of a new event format that John Bell and I were part of hatching from previous event feedback. There were 3 types of sessions: Mainstage keynotes/case studies, 12-person working group sessions with experts, and large working groups tasked to complete a Word of Mouth Marketing plan for 1 of 3 charitable projects. Most of the feedback I heard was very positive (balanced with the fact that participating in discussions and workgroups is more tiring than being fed Powerpoint presentations), but I also had lively discussions with someone who vehemently disliked the new format. What I learned is that by enacting a radical change, we began a dialogue that no amount of theoretical “how can we improve?” questions could have elicited. Go ahead and build that strawman to get people talking.

2. Word of Mouth is “marketing’s butt crack”. Jeffrey Graham from the New York Times chose to use this particularly colorful metaphor as a tribute to the appearance of the sliver of WOMM spend as a part of the total marketing spend pie. Graham shared great data surrounding the increased return of WOMM as part of an integrated program – brands require both relationships and impressions to achieve communications goals.

3. Dell’s social media transformation story continues to grow and evolve very swiftly. An amazing 120 ideas from Ideastorm have already been put into production. Check out the very light touch of Regeneration.org. My favorite quote from Dell’s VP of Community was “Beware of Content Pushers“.

4. Carnival Cruise Lines has come a long way since Kathie Lee sang “Ain’t We Got Fun?”. The blog of Senior Cruise Director John Heald takes brand personality to the next level as does their enthusiast club named for an on-board drink specialty “The Monkey Head Wasters”. Carnival noticed that a group had formed and built them their own forum to keep in touch. Bringing customers together is powerful marketing.

5. OPI proves names contribute to WOMM. Technically, this wasn’t the point of their case study, but it was demonstrated by the women who asked questions afterwards – all of whom identified themselves by the fun OPI color they were wearing. The effort put into hatching names like “I’m Not Really a Waitress” certainly creates some brand preference.

If you missed it, check out the live blog for all the details. Hope to see you at the next WOMMA event in November!

Happy 60th, Steve Winwood

Happy 60th, Steve Winwood

<this digression from marketing is unavoidable as we celebrate an important day today May 12, 2008>

Dear Music Editors of ABC’s Brothers & Sisters,

Thank you so much for honoring Steve Winwood’s 60th birthday and new album by making his music (both original and covered) the bed for your episode last night. There is nothing like that voice, the Hammond B-3, or the opening melody of “Can’t Find My Way Home” to start the week. I’m not sure anyone else noticed, but I did and it was awesome.
winwood.JPGAnd to you Steve Winwood, thank you for a 45 year catalog (Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith, Solo) that will never get boring and never be fully discovered. I am convinced that if my 9 month old knows any words at all, they are probably the lyrics to “Arc of a Diver”. It wasn’t until college when I first heard you perform “Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” and went back and started listening to all of the Traffic recordings. And the fact that you still bring the house down and end shows with a song that you sang at age 16 in the Spencer Davis Group blows me away. What did I do at 16? Certainly nothing that has aged as well as “Gimme Some Lovin'” or “I’m a Man”. If you want to have you mind blown, check out this interactive timeline of Steve’s career here.

Listening Nuggets for non super-fans:

Spencer Davis Era: I’m a Man, Gimme Some Lovin’

Traffic: Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys, Glad, Dear Mr. Fantasy, Feelin’ Alright?

Blind Faith: Can’t Find My Way Home

Solo: Arc of A Diver, My Love’s Leavin’, Back in the High Life, Talking Back to the Night, Different Light, Chigano

R.I.P. Nau

R.I.P. Nau

I never pictured announcing that a Brand Worthy of a Weekend has gone out of business, but this post is exactly that. Groundbreaking sustainable clothier Nau announced on Friday that, due to an inability to raise another round of capital, they are closing up shop. Click here to read the note from the Nau team or the Treehugger coverage.

It’s been almost 48 hours since I read the news, but I haven’t yet posted, because I’m not sure what to say. I recently heard that the Evanston, IL location of another WOM favorite, Cereality, should also be referred to in past-tense. What do we learn when brands with great Word of Mouth bone structure fail? Here’s the start of a list:

  1. Novelty is enough for me to try you once and to talk about it. If this is what you provide, I hope you are in a place that will constantly expose you to new audiences like tourists. Everyone else needs a strategy for encouraging repeated, valuable engagements with the same set of customers over time.
  2. Sustainability is important to customers, but a huge part of the population is not willing to pay “extra” for it – especially when times are tough. One of the reason the Leonardo DiCaprio light bulbs do so well is that they save you money in the process of drawing less energy.
  3. Let them see you sweat. If your business needs something – press, referrals, investors, testimonials, etc – let your loyal supporters know so they have the opportunity to rally to your aide. Honestly, if I had know last week that Nau needed help, I would have let my networks know and bought items myself if I thought it would have kept them around to fight the good fight another day.

What are your takeaways?
P.S. Good news for shoppers – remaining stock is 50% off at nau.com