Yesterday Maryam and I were driving to Oakland’s airport when we passed by a HUGE billboard right in front of the Oakland Colliseum. This is one of the most trafficed billboards in the Western United States. I wish I had a picture (I wasn’t able to get my camera out in time).
It simply said:
Blogging
In huge type.
Delivered. In smaller type.
at&t’s logo was there too. It turned out this is one of the new at&t campaigns that they are spending a billion on. Hey, they could have gotten much more hype if they had just given a billion away to bloggers. Heck, give me a million or two and I’ll even switch to your blog tool! Sorry, Matt! 
Now I know the world is nutty.
More later, just had to tell you that in between interviews.
Comment No. 5: check out the latest A List Apart article =)
Goebbels, I have to say that despite Microsoft’s recent advertising attempts (“Start Something”), it’s been Scoble’s openness, along with various other things Scoble has pointed to, that has me convinced things are Microsoft are changing. I’ve only been reading for six months.
Blogging & the internet is changing the nature of advertising, so why won’t you admit it?
Scoble, keep up the good work, and ask for a pay rise some time =)
Comment No. 5: check out the latest A List Apart article =)
Goebbels, I have to say that despite Microsoft’s recent advertising attempts (“Start Something”), it’s been Scoble’s openness, along with various other things Scoble has pointed to, that has me convinced things are Microsoft are changing. I’ve only been reading for six months.
Blogging & the internet is changing the nature of advertising, so why won’t you admit it?
Scoble, keep up the good work, and ask for a pay rise some time =)
What at&t doesn’t mention is that their service sucks. Long distance is dead, they are they same old phone company. I hate at&t and no amount of advertising, especially this lame campaign is going to change my opinion about them. Perhaps if they had a billboard that said “VOIP” Delivered or “IPTV” Delivered, but really “Blogging?” c’mon, they don’t create content, that’s like the power company claiming to deliver your computer because it supplies power. Power to Vonage, power to Word Press, Power to SKYPE, power to all the companies that actually deliver.
What at&t doesn’t mention is that their service sucks. Long distance is dead, they are they same old phone company. I hate at&t and no amount of advertising, especially this lame campaign is going to change my opinion about them. Perhaps if they had a billboard that said “VOIP” Delivered or “IPTV” Delivered, but really “Blogging?” c’mon, they don’t create content, that’s like the power company claiming to deliver your computer because it supplies power. Power to Vonage, power to Word Press, Power to SKYPE, power to all the companies that actually deliver.
that has me convinced things are Microsoft are changing.
Is that so? Hey, in that case, special price on this bridge in Brooklyn, reduced, must-sell-now. Song and dance and blogger smokescreens, all it takes to convince you that things are changing? Then the marketing puppets can count you as a smashing success, the overall picture is differing however; just talk to the CIOs on the Software Assurance front-lines.
And if blogs are what did it, then venture to Mini-Microsoft, the worst enemy is them, themselves, even the harshest press critics are mild in comparison to that self-whipping. But I would argue THAT’s true openness, telling like it is, without fear of being blacklisted or labeled. What you get on Scoble’s blog and the countless others like it, is only a bad photocopy of reality, filtered thru nose-level view marketing, posing as new frontier openness.
Blogging is just the latest wrinkle in Internet media, it will change and expand, it always does, and once you reduce the revolutionary hype triumphalism talk from the self-appointed incestuous toolmakers, it becomes all commodity adapted and industry-consolidated. Simple history will tell you that; just usual boom and bust to commodity cycle. Nothing new under the sun, just lottsa upper crusts making a killing offa selling the story and writing books, all Amway and MLM-style.
that has me convinced things are Microsoft are changing.
Is that so? Hey, in that case, special price on this bridge in Brooklyn, reduced, must-sell-now. Song and dance and blogger smokescreens, all it takes to convince you that things are changing? Then the marketing puppets can count you as a smashing success, the overall picture is differing however; just talk to the CIOs on the Software Assurance front-lines.
And if blogs are what did it, then venture to Mini-Microsoft, the worst enemy is them, themselves, even the harshest press critics are mild in comparison to that self-whipping. But I would argue THAT’s true openness, telling like it is, without fear of being blacklisted or labeled. What you get on Scoble’s blog and the countless others like it, is only a bad photocopy of reality, filtered thru nose-level view marketing, posing as new frontier openness.
Blogging is just the latest wrinkle in Internet media, it will change and expand, it always does, and once you reduce the revolutionary hype triumphalism talk from the self-appointed incestuous toolmakers, it becomes all commodity adapted and industry-consolidated. Simple history will tell you that; just usual boom and bust to commodity cycle. Nothing new under the sun, just lottsa upper crusts making a killing offa selling the story and writing books, all Amway and MLM-style.
Just in from the Media Bistro folks…
IDEA OF BLOGGING OVERSOLD (ADAGE)
Simon Dumenco: There is no such thing as blogging. There is no such thing as a blogger. Blogging is just writing-writing using a particularly efficient type of publishing technology. It’s just software, people! The underlying creative/media function remains exactly the same. WaPo: Schools warn teen bloggers. Riverfront Times: Video blogging, or vlogging, is taking the web to the next level.
http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=47467
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/16/AR2006011601489.html
http://www.riverfronttimes.com/Issues/2006-01-11/news/feature.html
Just in from the Media Bistro folks…
IDEA OF BLOGGING OVERSOLD (ADAGE)
Simon Dumenco: There is no such thing as blogging. There is no such thing as a blogger. Blogging is just writing-writing using a particularly efficient type of publishing technology. It’s just software, people! The underlying creative/media function remains exactly the same. WaPo: Schools warn teen bloggers. Riverfront Times: Video blogging, or vlogging, is taking the web to the next level.
http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=47467
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/16/AR2006011601489.html
http://www.riverfronttimes.com/Issues/2006-01-11/news/feature.html
[...] Blogging jumps the shark on at&t ads [...]
I wish this blog had karma points like slashdot so I could give a +5 insightful to Chris’ message #28.
Mr. Scoble, does slashdot count as a web 2.0-ish or “blog” thing? I’m puzzled why “web 2.0″ is suddenly a “new thing” when these tools and implementations have really been around since the late 90s.
Is “web 2.0″ Microsoft’s sly rebranding of past innovations/functionality as if it were their own?
I wish this blog had karma points like slashdot so I could give a +5 insightful to Chris’ message #28.
Mr. Scoble, does slashdot count as a web 2.0-ish or “blog” thing? I’m puzzled why “web 2.0″ is suddenly a “new thing” when these tools and implementations have really been around since the late 90s.
Is “web 2.0″ Microsoft’s sly rebranding of past innovations/functionality as if it were their own?
one thing
http://artivated.com
regards
one thing
http://artivated.com
regards
Guzzard, I don’t get it.
Why would IPTV or VOIP be acceptable to you “if they don’t create content”
They don’t create the TV/Video content for IPTV and they certainly don’t create the voice conversations for VOIP.
But they run the network and the pipe to your home to DELIVER them. Just like blogging. I believe this is part of their “Your World. Delivered” campaign.
Guzzard, I don’t get it.
Why would IPTV or VOIP be acceptable to you “if they don’t create content”
They don’t create the TV/Video content for IPTV and they certainly don’t create the voice conversations for VOIP.
But they run the network and the pipe to your home to DELIVER them. Just like blogging. I believe this is part of their “Your World. Delivered” campaign.
I am saying that they should offer these things as services. I am saying that they are *just* repackaging the same ol’ same ol’. They continue to worry more about image than service and quality. They are more of a NETWORK company, true, however delivering a BLOG, who cares. Combine the over-bearing ad campaign with something NEW! Overpriced, crap is what at&t is selling.
I am saying that they should offer these things as services. I am saying that they are *just* repackaging the same ol’ same ol’. They continue to worry more about image than service and quality. They are more of a NETWORK company, true, however delivering a BLOG, who cares. Combine the over-bearing ad campaign with something NEW! Overpriced, crap is what at&t is selling.
Plus, Scoble, Jumping the Shark is frakking lame.
Plus, Scoble, Jumping the Shark is frakking lame.
“Goebbels, I have to say that despite Microsoft’s recent advertising attempts (”Start Something”), it’s been Scoble’s openness, along with various other things Scoble has pointed to, that has me convinced things are Microsoft are changing. I’ve only been reading for six months.”
In other words, you are a sucker for advertising. Why do I care? Scoble has NO decision-making ability, he has few high-level information or even contacts. He’s a marketer, and you’ve decided that since you like the guy, you like the company. Am I supposed to be impressed? I’m not.
“Blogging & the internet is changing the nature of advertising, so why won’t you admit it?”
No, it hasn’t. Advertising still wants to create an image for the consumer, it still wants to explain how its products or services work and are desirable to the consumer, it still wants to convince the consumer through flash, appeal, testimony, whatever that the consumer likes the product.
What we have here is a clear example of where blogging cannot achieve the purpose: one of the most massive rebrandings ever. (And let’s not forget: this is SBC which purchased some of AT&Ts assets renaming themselves AT&T; not AT&T.) Rebranding requires creating an image (literal and figurative) with the user and hammering over and over. There is no way even 10,000 bloggers could achieve what this very simple ad, in addition to many, many others can via billboards, direct mailers, magazine ads, tv ads, and numerous other advertising outlets (including blogging). What is clear is blogging is just one mode of advertising, but that it works in the same way as traditional advertising. (It may have particular strengths and weaknesses as any mode of advertising does have.)
But… just because the ad says “blogging”, it’s Scoble’s absurd theory that paying 1,000 bloggers 1 million dollars each would achieve a massive national and even multinational rebranding? Absurd. The purpose of the ad is primarily to say: remember SBC, remember AT&T, well we’re now one company, this is our new logo, this is a new tag line, we’ll be harking various services via the “Word. Delivered” tag (not just blogging) to try to create a new mission and image for our company going forward.
I do not know a single blogger that can reach all of the demographics that SBC must reach; I do not even imagine 10,000 bloggers put together have the same reach that SBC must achieve. And I think it’s clear that some silly bloggers typing away about SBC cannot achieve rebranding goals: make the audience aware of the new name, logo, and vision as well as visual ads.
So, Scoble, the alleged marketing wunderkind for Microsoft (when he is actually just a low-level tech evangelist who makes movies and writes poorly thoughtout blog entries) makes the silly mistake of claiming that SBC/AT&T is behind the times, wasting money on something that could be accomplished soley through blogging because the ad mentions “blogging” when “blogging” is in fact almost entirely irrelevent to the campaign.
So I’ll leave you and Robert with this simple question: are you asserting that this massive rebranding can be accomplished soley through blogs? And, is yes, are you aware of how irrelevent and foolish that makes you sound to anyone who knows a piss about advertising?
“Goebbels, I have to say that despite Microsoft’s recent advertising attempts (”Start Something”), it’s been Scoble’s openness, along with various other things Scoble has pointed to, that has me convinced things are Microsoft are changing. I’ve only been reading for six months.”
In other words, you are a sucker for advertising. Why do I care? Scoble has NO decision-making ability, he has few high-level information or even contacts. He’s a marketer, and you’ve decided that since you like the guy, you like the company. Am I supposed to be impressed? I’m not.
“Blogging & the internet is changing the nature of advertising, so why won’t you admit it?”
No, it hasn’t. Advertising still wants to create an image for the consumer, it still wants to explain how its products or services work and are desirable to the consumer, it still wants to convince the consumer through flash, appeal, testimony, whatever that the consumer likes the product.
What we have here is a clear example of where blogging cannot achieve the purpose: one of the most massive rebrandings ever. (And let’s not forget: this is SBC which purchased some of AT&Ts assets renaming themselves AT&T; not AT&T.) Rebranding requires creating an image (literal and figurative) with the user and hammering over and over. There is no way even 10,000 bloggers could achieve what this very simple ad, in addition to many, many others can via billboards, direct mailers, magazine ads, tv ads, and numerous other advertising outlets (including blogging). What is clear is blogging is just one mode of advertising, but that it works in the same way as traditional advertising. (It may have particular strengths and weaknesses as any mode of advertising does have.)
But… just because the ad says “blogging”, it’s Scoble’s absurd theory that paying 1,000 bloggers 1 million dollars each would achieve a massive national and even multinational rebranding? Absurd. The purpose of the ad is primarily to say: remember SBC, remember AT&T, well we’re now one company, this is our new logo, this is a new tag line, we’ll be harking various services via the “Word. Delivered” tag (not just blogging) to try to create a new mission and image for our company going forward.
I do not know a single blogger that can reach all of the demographics that SBC must reach; I do not even imagine 10,000 bloggers put together have the same reach that SBC must achieve. And I think it’s clear that some silly bloggers typing away about SBC cannot achieve rebranding goals: make the audience aware of the new name, logo, and vision as well as visual ads.
So, Scoble, the alleged marketing wunderkind for Microsoft (when he is actually just a low-level tech evangelist who makes movies and writes poorly thoughtout blog entries) makes the silly mistake of claiming that SBC/AT&T is behind the times, wasting money on something that could be accomplished soley through blogging because the ad mentions “blogging” when “blogging” is in fact almost entirely irrelevent to the campaign.
So I’ll leave you and Robert with this simple question: are you asserting that this massive rebranding can be accomplished soley through blogs? And, is yes, are you aware of how irrelevent and foolish that makes you sound to anyone who knows a piss about advertising?
On my way home from work, they have one of these billboards off of Montague Expressway (in Milpitas, Calif.) as you head onto the 880.
On my way home from work, they have one of these billboards off of Montague Expressway (in Milpitas, Calif.) as you head onto the 880.
Maybe they were too focused on the Ampersand
It’s all over the blogosphere [Scoble] [Rogue] [AdRants] [etc]..but I thought I needed to add my 2 cents as well. You may have the biggest-most-hugest-earth-shattering ad budget the world has ever seen…but you have to
I saw the same bilboard (in Detroit) a few days ago but it wasn’t up for long. AT&T has replaced it with another bilboard but I forgot what the newer one has on it. Obviously the newer one didn’t capture my attention like the blogging one did.
I saw the same bilboard (in Detroit) a few days ago but it wasn’t up for long. AT&T has replaced it with another bilboard but I forgot what the newer one has on it. Obviously the newer one didn’t capture my attention like the blogging one did.
>So I’ll leave you and Robert with this simple question: are you asserting that this massive rebranding can be accomplished soley through blogs?
If at&t gave out a billion to bloggers the press would go into a feeding frenzy. The people reached would be far more than just who reads my blog.
By the way, how did Google or Amazon happen? They don’t even advertise.
>So I’ll leave you and Robert with this simple question: are you asserting that this massive rebranding can be accomplished soley through blogs?
If at&t gave out a billion to bloggers the press would go into a feeding frenzy. The people reached would be far more than just who reads my blog.
By the way, how did Google or Amazon happen? They don’t even advertise.
“If at&t gave out a billion to bloggers the press would go into a feeding frenzy.”
And? How the hell would that accomplish rebranding SBC? Where I live I’ve received two mailers, their are TV commercials every commercial break on most major channels, and many billboards, and many newspaper articles. And it’s about re-branding: solidfying the new image, not just a silly tizzy because they foolishly threw money at bloggers.
“By the way, how did Google or Amazon happen?”
Umm, several guys formed businesses based on millions of venture fund capital and opened for service. Is it your theory that SBC can provide cellphone, traditional phone, business services, internet access, cable access via a website or something?
“They don’t even advertise.”
Yes, they do. Jesus.
Each statement of yours gets progressively dumber and dumber.
“If at&t gave out a billion to bloggers the press would go into a feeding frenzy.”
And? How the hell would that accomplish rebranding SBC? Where I live I’ve received two mailers, their are TV commercials every commercial break on most major channels, and many billboards, and many newspaper articles. And it’s about re-branding: solidfying the new image, not just a silly tizzy because they foolishly threw money at bloggers.
“By the way, how did Google or Amazon happen?”
Umm, several guys formed businesses based on millions of venture fund capital and opened for service. Is it your theory that SBC can provide cellphone, traditional phone, business services, internet access, cable access via a website or something?
“They don’t even advertise.”
Yes, they do. Jesus.
Each statement of yours gets progressively dumber and dumber.
By the way, I should add: isn’t it massively lame and pathetic to switch from saying that “blogs could do it” to “well, admittedly blogs would not do it, but it would create atizzy in traditional media outlets which would be both more impactful and larger than the relatively paltry effect of the bloggers”?
Aren’t you essentially admitting bloggers couldn’t do it? That traditional medias commentary on the blogs would do it?
Pathetic and foolish.
By the way, I should add: isn’t it massively lame and pathetic to switch from saying that “blogs could do it” to “well, admittedly blogs would not do it, but it would create atizzy in traditional media outlets which would be both more impactful and larger than the relatively paltry effect of the bloggers”?
Aren’t you essentially admitting bloggers couldn’t do it? That traditional medias commentary on the blogs would do it?
Pathetic and foolish.
Each statement of yours [Scobles] gets progressively dumber and dumber.
Yeah, I’ve noticed that too, downward spiral, but the weebles wobble, yet don’t fall down — ends up writing a book that sells out to the saps, making a major mint. Irony, that. But the progression of dumbness, is backpedaled and excused over with ‘don’t feed the trolls’. And merry merry onto the next new new thing.
Each statement of yours [Scobles] gets progressively dumber and dumber.
Yeah, I’ve noticed that too, downward spiral, but the weebles wobble, yet don’t fall down — ends up writing a book that sells out to the saps, making a major mint. Irony, that. But the progression of dumbness, is backpedaled and excused over with ‘don’t feed the trolls’. And merry merry onto the next new new thing.
Goebbels – What a dumb dick you are!
I would not be suprised if you and scobleizer are in bed together as all advertising/PR is hype for crap companies (or people in this case) want to make you think you need thier product,service (a blog is a communication service at it’s fundemental level). Your continued rants doing nothing more to raise the scobleizer hype.
Who’s the real idiot!
Goebbels – What a dumb dick you are!
I would not be suprised if you and scobleizer are in bed together as all advertising/PR is hype for crap companies (or people in this case) want to make you think you need thier product,service (a blog is a communication service at it’s fundemental level). Your continued rants doing nothing more to raise the scobleizer hype.
Who’s the real idiot!
Hey Goebbels:
You weirdly assume that rebranding is all a numbers game. Who is AT&T trying to reach? Is it little Suzy going to school? The luddite parent? Out of town visitors?
Or maybe, just possibly, would it be better to reach key IT decisionmakers, early-adopter geeks, trendsetters, etc. Gee, you think maybe those sort of people pay attention to blogs? Just possibly?
Maybe if you spent a little less time foaming at the mouth, knee-jerking against Scoble, you’d actually take time to acknowledge some of the benefits of blogging as it pertains to PR (hint: there’s a lot there, despite the hype).
Hey Goebbels:
You weirdly assume that rebranding is all a numbers game. Who is AT&T trying to reach? Is it little Suzy going to school? The luddite parent? Out of town visitors?
Or maybe, just possibly, would it be better to reach key IT decisionmakers, early-adopter geeks, trendsetters, etc. Gee, you think maybe those sort of people pay attention to blogs? Just possibly?
Maybe if you spent a little less time foaming at the mouth, knee-jerking against Scoble, you’d actually take time to acknowledge some of the benefits of blogging as it pertains to PR (hint: there’s a lot there, despite the hype).
Adam, since the bulk of SBC’s business is local telephone service and business data services it is everyone (not just old ladies, kids, etc…) in a large southwestern region of the U.S. primarily. Just reaching bloggers wouldn’t help them at all; they have to reach ALL current and possibly future customers.
Adam, since the bulk of SBC’s business is local telephone service and business data services it is everyone (not just old ladies, kids, etc…) in a large southwestern region of the U.S. primarily. Just reaching bloggers wouldn’t help them at all; they have to reach ALL current and possibly future customers.
Vaspers Spots “Blogging Delivered-AT&T” in Peoria!
Vaspers Spots “Blogging Delivered-AT&T” in Peoria!
n2E7l2pwTlyUcn xUJ23sojpvVs 6lZpgMB0cjm
n2E7l2pwTlyUcn xUJ23sojpvVs 6lZpgMB0cjm
[...] The news comes amidst a massive branding campaign by at&t to reposition itself as the nation’s provider of key services via billboards and newspaper ads that describe the company as “blogging delivered” and “photos delivered” . The campaign, which wraps up next month with “babies delivered,” seeks to revitalize the brand following a 2004 study that over 86% of adult males age 18-26 think that “AT&T” is some sort of pog. In an effort to appear more trendy, the company lowercased its namesake, but the results have been dismal at best. With SBC and now BellSouth under its belt, some analysts speculate that AT&T might be pursuing the holy grail of trendy: a palindrome. [...]
at&t might not get blogs …
But, they get what it means to be captains of industry – or, what it means to have a monumental rebirth as a new company. Yep, talking about the announced acquisition of BellSouth by at&t.
In the Philippines, too many companies try to sell *online* services using *offline* marketing tactics.
I see the US isn’t completely rid of such insanity.
In the Philippines, too many companies try to sell *online* services using *offline* marketing tactics.
I see the US isn’t completely rid of such insanity.