© Washington Post
If you ever needed a reminder of
how big an economic influence the US is on us in the UK, then Black Friday and
Cyber Monday which took place this week is a great example. Designed to entice
consumers to relinquish their hard-earned cash after the Thanksgiving public
holiday, the events have now become big news in the UK too (even though we
don’t share the holiday part!) with big name retailers, such as Amazon and
Apple joining in and shoppers snapping up pre-Christmas bargains. At first glance the idea of pre-Christmas Sales
seems an odd one, but actually it recognises that customers and potential sales
are more important than ever and big names have been advertising their
aggressive sales ploys using all mediums, from print media to broadcast and
especially online. The emergence of Cyber Monday further demonstrates that the
IT sector is just as keen to publicise its wares as anyone else and shows the direct
impact an exciting marketing drive can have on sales figures.
The BBC News website this week
reported that South Korean pop phenomenon, Psy, and his hit song ‘Gangnam
Style’ have become YouTube’s
most watched video of all time. To the uninitiated, the song takes a rather
tongue-in-cheek sideswipe at the heavy consumerism of one of the more upmarket
areas of Seoul and its affluent residents. The fact that the commercial version
became the first ever UK number one single by a Korean artist suggests that the
performer has managed to, ahem, strike a chord with the international music
buying public. Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, it would seem it is
largely due to its exposure on YouTube. Even 10-15 years ago such a feat would
have seemed most unlikely and love it or hate it, ‘Gangnam Style’ is proof of
the potential a worldwide Internet audience (and therefore potential worldwide
market) can provide to the right product or service.
This week MCC Agency Director Graham
Thatcher has been mulling over the myriad of business-to-business media that we
are, and have been involved with over the years. Here he takes an affectionate
look at its often evolving line-up:
And your specialist subject
is…..
Whenever I am sat with friends at
the weekend and we dissect our working week, they are always amazed that I can
name a publication for just about any topic that they can imagine. Sometimes
you forget that everyone else doesn’t appreciate that there is a whole world of
business-to-business media that extends beyond the shelves of the newsagent and
supermarket! They are even surprised to hear that PR itself has its own
magazine!
So for a little fun and to find
out how many people could compete with me on my Mastermind specialist subject,
here are a few brain teasers, some perhaps obvious, other a little more
obscure, for those who have been in the technology PR and publishing world for
a little while…
- What monthly newsstand computing publication was launched in February 1978 and closed in June 2009?
- What publication did Channel 2000 replace?
- Which publisher of PC Magazine and IT Week was bought by VNU in 2000?
- Who was the Editor of Customer Service News and CRM Magazine
- Which trailblazing online publication that launched in 1998 delivered IT news and interviews via video?
- Who succeeded Brian McKenna as Editor of Infosecurity Magazine?
- Who was Guardian IT expert Ask….?
- What were the titles of the two glossy Haymarket publication for marketing professionals?
- Name the three security titles published by UBM that became Info4Security?
- Which online IT publication bites the hand that feeds IT and has a vulture for a logo?
How did you get on? If you want
to know the answer to any of the questions then email me at: graham.thatcher@mccint.com
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