The Restless Consumer

Yes, dear reader, you’re wondering: Who is this new guy?

Well, I’ve been covering the marketing and media beat for over a quarter century. And it’s the third time in my career that I’ve been on a marketing title, so I feel like Al Pacino in Godfather III. (“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back.”)

I’ve been focused for the last decade on packaged media (i.e., DVDs, CDs and video games). Neither Blu-ray nor HD DVD have particularly impressed large numbers of consumers. Talk about an industry in need of a kickass marketing campaign.

Prior to that job, I did the obligatory new media stint and got out just before the dot-com bubble burst. Helping to judge the entries for PROMO’s third annual Interactive Marketing Awards (winners announced next issue) made me realize all the strides that marketers have made in building online communities of consumers who willingly participate in blatant, yet subliminal brand-building exercises.

Next April, I’ll be celebrating my 50th birthday, so that firmly places me in the baby-boomer club. Apologies to Neil Young for borrowing a recent song title for my column headline, but that’s how I feel.

They say parents live through their children, and I humbly realize that my nine-year-old daughter Annie knows more about using the Internet than I do. She’s a member in good standing of Club Penguin and the Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana fan clubs and frequents YouTube.

My 12-year-old son Jake is more of an old-school media consumer, and we recently had a surreal conversation about how he relates to the Geico Cavemen commercials. He asked me: “Did you see the one where the Caveman is with his psychiatrist and his mom calls?”

In mid-February, right around the time I started on the job, Jake and I saw The Astronaut Farmer, a movie starring Billy Bob Thornton. Thornton’s character realizes that sponsorship will help him pay for rocket fuel before the feds shut him down, pitching the local Dunkin’ Donuts and Dairy Queen franchisees to put their logos on his rocket. It hit me that there’s a PROMO story in there somewhere. Executive Editor Patty Odell figured it out in her cover story on product placement starting on page 16.

Next issue, you’re going to see some exciting changes in PROMO. Be sure to let me know what you think by e-mailing [email protected].