Is it too late to change my vote?

Shark!

Getting It

Earlier I wrote about how (most) newspaper publishers don’t seem to understand what business they’re in. They think they’re in the printing business.

The New Yorker gets it. They're in the content business.

You can buy the mag at any newsstand for $4.50. If you like it, you can subscribe and get it for (according to the blow-in) a single American dollar per issue. That's how I get my favorite Dirty Hippie Magazine every week.

Or, you can browse their Web site for (almost) everything in the current issue. Oh, yeah: for FREE.

They alsso have no problem with the writers on their masthead reprinting their New Yorker work on their personal blogs.

And for a hundred bucks or so, you can get everything they’ve ever published – ads included – on a digital drive to read at your leisure.

Hannah Montana is a Slut

That seems to be one mini-narrative of the day.

Another is that she was duped by Annie Leibovitz.

... or something.

Disney’s in full containment mode. But are they really? Their statement criticizes Vanity Fair for ‘‘a situation created ... to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines.’’

At least Disney would never sexualize the image of a 15-year-old.

What’s with all the apologies, anyway? Who actually believes there wasn’t a Disney Channel representative IN THE ROOM when those photos were taken?

Let’s break down the play:

Miley/Hannah’s narrative is all about a pretty, wholesome and innocent – but mostly regular – girl who just happens to be a pop star. Affirmed.

Vanity Fair’s dominant narrative is all about provocation and art. Check.

Disney’s is all about marketing. Oh, and control of the brand image.

Sounds like four-for-four.

Message Force Multipliers

In SoCal they’re looking for a Killer Shark. Way back in the sleepy summer of 2001, before the Terrah sucked all of the oxygen out of everything else, there was Gary-Condit-and-predators-among-us, and there was The Summer of The Shark!

Despite all evidence to the contrary, shark attacks were on the rise. Everybody knew it.

I hear about it all the time this year. When have you ever heard of so many shark attacks?

That’s what we call a classic dominant narrative. It may or may not have any basis in fact, but if that’s what your audience knows, it’s their truth. It’s the environment in which you operate.

Hook your message to one of these dominant narratives and your message gains a force multiplier.

Summer is always the silly season: in politics, in finance, in news and in branding. It seems to be starting early this year with the Rice Shortage [that phrase ought to boost the ol’ google numbers]

There's a RICE SHORTAGE!

The grainy fun begins at about 4:02

Friday Freakin'

... or Funkin' in this case.

I just got an email from from Sherri Friedman. If you don't know Sherri, well ... you should.

Anyway, she works with a very creative and constructive NFP in my hometown, but they have operations in cities across the country. And they're looking for more (hint).

Here's the deal.

Here's the org.

Here's the funk:

Great Juxtapositions in History

From Media Bistro:

Head down to the Nintendo World Store in Rockefeller Center on Saturday from 2-6 PM to play Mario Kart Wii against actor and racing enthusiast Jason Priestley.
Yup, as in Jason Priestly from Beverly Hills 90210. We are sooooo there!

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media

Just sayin'

Graphic Design ...

... is a profession I have never loved before as much as I do right now.

From The Register:

In April last year, London design outfit FHD proudly announced it would be rebranding the UK's Office of Government Commerce (OGC) - the HM Treasury tentacle "responsible for improving value for money by driving up standards and capability in procurement".

The result:





Now turn your head slightly to the left.

via KO

AP Hearts Zombies

Even when the National Association of Realtors comes clean, the established dominant narrative lives on.

Though disproved, some narratives persist. I blogged about NAR and their Tinker Bell strategy earlier, but now the Associated Press is repeating the association line in filling out their story.

The March decline, which was in line with expectations, followed a 2.9 percent increase in sales in February.

The Power of Story: Once it's loosed on the world, you can't stop it with a gun.



Pic Pinch

Protect Your Narrative

Nobody but you will look out for your good name.



I just posted a picture of al Zawahiri.