Rocketboom Redux July 15, 2006
Posted by eCommando in : General , add a commentOk.. I know we’re all sick of the Rocketboom soap opera, but Debbie Deese asked a question on our meetup message board, and I thought it was a good one…
RocketBoom Crashes
HEADLINE: RocketBoom Crashes, and is Burning
Randy, did you hear the news about your HipCast sensation, Rocketboom???
I am just shocked!!! I thought they had such a good thing going. There is already a new person in her place following Amanda’s shocking last broadcast.http://www.rocketboom.co m/vlog/archives/2006/07/rb_06_jul_12.html
Funny that…
At the last SXSW (South By Southwest conference), I sat in the last session and Andrew was on the podium with a few others. Scoble and many other notables were on hand in the peanut gallery as well.
I asked Andrew why he thought Rocketboom was the brand, and that even to a neophyte it should be obvious that Amanda was the brand and Rocketboom was just a venue for her. Apparently, I was more right than I thought.
Amanda, who was sitting a few rows ahead of me, turned around and thanked me 
The content of Rocketboom was weak at best.
This teaches an important lesson…
If content is the product, don’t make light of it… make it center stage.
Also, make sure the delivery of the content is uniform no matter who is presenting it. That way, the presenter can be replaced and, short of hiring a horrible new presenter, the consumer should not go away.
Amanda will do well. She’s personable, attractive, and talented.
Andrew will also probably do well, but the public has painted him as a bit of an ogre in this, and I’m sure they share some part of the responsibility for the failure.
Breakups like this are rarely one sided.
The Obvious Expert July 7, 2006
Posted by eCommando in : eMarketing , 1 comment so farFor those of you who attend my monthly meetup (click here for info), you’ve always heard me speak about “the obvious expert.”
The “obvious expert” is anyone who is perceived, rightly or not, to know more about a subject than anyone else. This person is usually a “go-to” person for clients, meaning that before a client does anything in that space, they consult with that person to validate their ideas before they act.
The benefit of being the obvious expert is, well, obvious. You get the benefit of the doubt on all subjects relating to your topic of expertise. Customers defer to you, news sources quote you, and best of all, people pay you for your knowledge and insight into that subject matter and how it relates to their business, lives, etc.
Someone I consider an “obvious expert” is Paul Hartunian. Paul has positioned himself as one of the best sources for generating free publicity on a very large scale. His entire business, which generates several million dollars of sales each year, is showing people how to generate very low cost public interest in their businesses using press releases and other media sources. For more information on Paul’s business, click here.
Another “obvious expert” I know in a similar space is Emmy Award winning television reporter Jeff Crilley.
Jeff is a reporter for the Fox Television Network affiliate in Dallas, Texas, and has written a very easy to read book about how the average person can get free local and national television airtime, simply by framing their story properly.
Jeff is also speaking regularly at a meetup group in North Dallas. Conveniently, his book is usually available there and it’s only $10. You won’t find a better investment. For more information on Jeff’s book or to join his mailing list, click here. To attend the meetup on July 19th 2006, click here.
The $64,000 question is: How do *you* become an obvious expert?
Well, if you look at the two guys I just mentioned, you’ll see a pattern. Even with only two data points, it’s glaring.
They know their stuff.
There’s no question about it.
And without being too obvious, they’re both coaches.
That’s right. They both coach you in the creation of “buzz” without spending a lot of bucks.
They’re both showing you how to work the system, without having to deal with the hordes of companies that want to charge you $200 an hour to write a press release that, surprise surprise!, takes 20 hours to write and never gets published in any major press outlets.
If you can’t see where I’m headed here… Stay tuned.. I’ll wrap it up in the next post…
Cheers!
Randy
