★ Peter's Marketing Blog ★

This past Friday, through the band Louder Than Love, I was given the opportunity to attend an incredible mentor session panel discussion. The panel featured several music legends discussing the evolving states of the music industry and was sponsored by 99.3 the Fox and the Nimbus School of Recording Arts. The panel was moderated by Danger from 99.3 the fox.

The panel members were…

Bob Ezrin: producer, engineer, arranger and songwriter. Bob is best known for his work with Pink Floyd, Kiss, Alice Cooper, Taylor Swift and many more chart topping artists.

Alice Cooper: shock rock pioneer

Chad Smith: drummer for Chickenfoot and a relatively obscure band called the Red Hot Chili Peppers

GGGarth Richardson: engineer for bands including Nickelback, Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Motley Crue and more…

If you are interested in checking out the full discussion, you can watch it below!

Below is my summary of a few key take aways

• When Chad Smith stole music in his youth, he had to hide LP records under his jacket. Now, people just click a few buttons on a computer.
• Someone needs to be held accountable for this “theft” of musical art. Bob Ezrin suggested taxing high speed internet services (utilized to more quickly download media files) to help adequately compensate artists.
•  Alice Cooper doesn’t own a cell phone or do anything on social media. He didn’t see the value on focusing on non-artistic musical objectives. However, Bob Ezrin pointed out that Cooper has a team that manages his social media accounts and maintains an online presence.
• Alice Cooper hired management that looked out for his long-term interests declining a substantial upfront payment in order to keep musical publishing rights.
•  Taylor Swift is successful today as people desire her physically branded products. Everyone wants a piece of Taylor Swift. Her physical album sales and branded merchandise sales are through the roof. Artists desire this type of connection with fans.
• There was a general consensus that artists like One Direction and Justin Bieber have a short shelf life. It was mentioned that they are handsome, but don’t have the talent or songs to back up their image.
• In today’s music industry record labels are trying to re-create other recent hits, they should be aspiring to find the next NEW sound.
• Artists such as U2 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers would not have been signed by record labels today.
• Labels have a “P&G” mentality wanting to sell a well-packaged product as soon as possible.
• This mentality leads to a lack of development in potentially successful future talent. It took both U2 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers several albums before they became commercially successful.
• Record labels are no longer in the business of developing talent. This is due to a separation of ownership and management.
• In the past, owners used to operate record labels. Currently, the operators are not owners and are evaluated based on short term sales statistics.
• No matter what field or profession you chose, follow your passion. No matter how simple your job is, be the best at whatever you do!
• The role of producer in music is like getting someone to proofread a university paper. Artists often fear losing artistic integrity, however if one can effectively collaborate with a producer, a higher quality product will result. Chad Smith mentioned how some of their most successful songs were created through trusting the vision of producer Rick Ruban.
• Quality songs are the core of a musical product. Having a shtick like putting socks on your dicks can only last so long…
• Current Rock music doesn’t have enough aggression. Could this be due to the improved socioeconomic backgrounds of today’s musicians?
• Hip-Hop and Rap have lost their authenticity. Hip Hop is no longer from the streets and the heart. It has become commercialized.

Chad Smith Showing his skills to a few musicians before the Red Hot Chili Peppers Show

The Red Hot Chili Peppers Show at Rogers Arena

Barack Obama’s campaign thrived on a little support from a significant number of supporters. Furthermore, the Obama campaign made it really convenient and straightforward for supporters to volunteer. The Obama campaign implemented many successful online eMarketing strategies. In my opinion, one of the best was the Online Call Tool.

In this day and age, people are tired of picking up the telephone to receive a prerecorded message. It is important to have another human on the phone to stimulate conversation. At the same time, the flexibility of the call tool helps volunteers overcome many of the barriers to volunteering. With this system, a volunteer is able to make calls at their convenience based on their scheduling needs. Moreover, being located in a rural area does not restrict active participation. All that the Online Call Tool volunteers require is a telephone and a computer. Finally, it is such a simple tool to use. Even volunteers like Walter, the 91 year old World War II veteran can use it with ease! This sends the message, if Walter is making calls using the computer, why can’t you?

In addition to illustrating the ease with which the online calling system functions, Walter’s honorable social standing as a World War II Veteran surely helped attract votes from older, more conservative voters. In the United States, there is a misconception that Obama’s campaign was driven by young people with “socialist” ideals. People like Walter assisted the Obama campaign in gaining the respect of voters that may not even have listened to a younger person articulating the same information about Obama’s political policies. I believe that even the most devout Republicans would have taken the time to listen to the messages Walter articulated.

Indochino was founded by UVIC students Kyle Vucko and Heikal Gani in 2007. Gani realized a business opportunity after being unable to find a reasonably priced, good quality suit that would fit without the need for extensive (and expensive) alterations. Today, Indochino is the market leader in online custom menswear.

So, I’m sure you are wondering how Indochino is able to offer their high-quality, custom merchandise at reasonable prices.

Their business operations advantage is based on the concept of disintermediation. Essentially, Indochino directly deals with their essential manufacturing partners. They do not need to deal with an extensive variety of wholesalers, distributors and retailers. A typical retail product passes through a variety of  these aforementioned intermediaries who all mark up merchandise. The end result is an inflated rack retail price.

An Illustrative Graphic From Indochino

Furthermore, Indochino doesn’t need to manage excessive amounts of inventory as each clothing item is made to order. The only downside with custom-made merchandise is it takes time. If you would like an Indochino suit, it will take just under a month from the time of your order until it is delivered to your door.

Last eMarketing class, Chris and a colleague (I can’t recall his name) from Indochino’s marketing department took the time to speak to our class about Indochino and some of the strategies they have implemented to overcome the inherent challenges of the online clothing business. They were really engaging speakers and offered some unique insights.

Challenges/Solutions

Accurate Measurements

• Offer free tape measure and online measuring guide
• Offer customers $75 local alteration credit and remake suit if necessary
• Traveling Tailor Events where professionals record your measurements

Demonstrating product quality to customer without physically seeing the item

• Offer sample kit
• Traveling Tailor Event has complete suits
• Clear photos and descriptions

An inherent challenge Indochino faces is the time required for a suit to be custom made. It is not feasible for orders to be rushed as staff do not simply grab an item from a warehouse and expedite shipping. Most guys leave things until the last minute. I advise trying to plan in advance to ensure Inochino is still a feasible option when searching for a suit.

Also, I noticed that after researching Indochino, I receive a lot of targeted Google ads directing me to Indochino’s website…

I’m not a guy that is REALLY into fashion, but I am into getting a deal. After the presentation, I won one of Indochino’s Suit Utility Kits.

I must say that I was really impressed with the quality of all the items, especially the handmade 100% silk tie! The fabric felt so soft and it looked incredibly sharp (just as shown online!) If you are in the market for purchasing a tie, tie clip, pocket square or cufflinks, I would highly recommend this set!

Next time I need a suit, I’ll definitely check Indochino. Being tall and slim I have a difficult time finding clothing that fits well from a store rack. If you are on the fence about trying Indochino, go for it. For my next suit purchase, I certainly will.

One of Indochino’s biggest challenges moving forward will be overcoming the misconception that all Chinese products are poor quality. Today, most designer-branded products are manufactured overseas. Until Indochino develops a strong brand recognition like Tommy Hilfiger or Jones New York, they will rely heavily on word of mouth to expand their rapidly growing business.

According to the Rolling Stone, Neil Young’s company Pono plans to introduce a line of portable music players, a music downloading service and technology that converts digital signals to analog sounds. This digital to analog conversion technology would provide an unparalleled accurate representation of original recording sessions. As somewhat of an audiophile, I am excited by this news. Although I love my iPod and my iPhone, MP3’s fail to provide the richness and warmth of a live recording.

However, Apple is clearly dominating the MP3 download and player sales markets. Is there room in the market for Pono?

Neil Young believes Pono can help preserve the artistic integrity of music, but artists have little control over the way consumers listen to their music.

I think Pono will need to target the niche market of audiophiles to succeed. Here is why…

• Electronic music is becoming more popular (do dubstep listeners really care about music sound quality?)
• Fewer and fewer recording artists are using tape, instead they are using digital recording systems such as pro-tools
• I do not think improved audio quality will add value to typical music consumers even though Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea mentions “It’s not like some vague thing that you need dogs’ ears to hear. It’s a drastic difference.”
• Switching costs are high as consumers likely have extensive MP3 libraries and would need to re-purchase higher quality songs
• Consumers are content with the status quo of MP3’s and devices like the iPhone that conveniently integrate music into their daily routines

Some artists such as Jimmy Page believe that their music is best experienced in an analog format.

Pono has the ability to encourage a very narrow market of vinyl listeners to transition into the digital age. The bottom line is this is an awesome concept and I would probably buy a Pono. However, I do not see Pono rivaling the success of Apple’s iPod. In the event that Pono becomes overwhelmingly successful, I believe Apple will buy Pono’s technology, release higher quality iPods and expand the iTunes store to sell higher quality audio files!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_DLJK4o2YM

This video is on its way to becoming a viral video. So, where are you going to purchase your next iPad or other electronic device?

Assuming you will pay the same price, are you more inclined to go to Walmart or The Apple Store?

I would assume The Apple Store…

Having employees film videos that reflect negatively on their parent company employer is nothing new. Remember the guy who took a bath in the Burger King sink?

In class, we have often talked about fostering the development of positive user generated content. What can corporations do to restrict negative employee generated content?

I’m sure most large corporations have policies on taking unauthorized photos and videos, especially during working hours. But It seems that all employers can do in a situation like this is after the fact damage control by disciplining employees and attempting  to reassure customers.

Perhaps if the employees were tossing around a football instead of an iPad, viewers may have been left with the impression of Walmart providing an enjoyable work environment!

It Gets Better was a project started in 2010 by Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller. (Yes, Dan Savage is the guy who writes the syndicated sex-advice column you may have read in the Georgia Straight.)

The intention of the project is to foster the development of user created videos to help LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgendered) youth survive extraordinarily difficult teenage years with a sense of hope. Although teenage years may be difficult, after high school things get a lot better for gay youth. Hearing the hardships of bulling and discrimination endured by successful people can help encourage young people to flourish and pursue their dreams. The project has featured over 50,000 videos and received over 50 Million YouTube Views. Celebrities such as President Obama, Ellen DeGeneres and Matthew Morrison (Glee) have all created videos.

By creating the above video, the RCMP has positioned itself as an employer who embraces diversity. This helps contradict the misconception that all police officers are just  “jocks” that probably bullied students in high school. In addition to showcasing a diverse workforce, the video serves as a recruiting tool. This video has viral qualities and is likely to be shared on social networking sites like Facebook. Facebook provides a great platform to reach younger generations who tend to be more socially conscious and are inclined to work for an employer that embraces diversity. Also, the timing of this campaign couldn’t be better. The RCMP have endured months of negative publicity surrounding the sexual harassment claims brought forward by hundreds of current and former female mounties. Finally, this video directly targets members of the LGBT community who may be looking for a career and are now considering utilizing their talents serving communities as RCMP members.