My own little motivational poster to remind me of what I saw at first light yesterday morning. Good times!
All posts by Robert Payne
France
Click here to view the larger image.
Places Visited:
- Paris
- Aix-en-Provence
- Pourrières
- Lacoste
- Bonnieux
- Vauvenargues
- Maximin
- Baume
Paris
This was not my first time to Paris, so I had no interest in battling it out for a hunchback’s view of Notre Dame, or elbowing my way towards the gaze of Momma Lisa. Instead, I did the Louvre on roller skates and then spent the rest of the time poking around arrondissements, riding bikes and running on the Seine.
I threw enough Euro around to feed a small village, and www.agapesubstance.com was no exception. But it was worth every unfair conversion because, well, it is Paris and there simply is no other.
Tip: Stay in the St Germaine district.
Aix-en-Provence
After a few wonderful days in Paris it was off on the train to Aix-en-Provence where a rental car was commandeered and put in to perpetual motion around one particular roundabout. Signs for Marseilles, Aix and Avignon passed by repeatedly. The Earth traveled around the sun and then the car was shot in to the gravitational pull of another roundabout.
Tip 1: Get a rental car with GPS, roadmap and a guide book specific to the Provence region.
Tip 2: Always be clear about what side of Aix you are leaving from and relate it to where you are going. Highway exits where you can turn around are not as predominant as they are in the U.S.
Tip 3: There is a parking garage on the south end of town as you enter – use it.
Tip 4: Musée Granet is worth a visit to get a good understanding of what life was like in Aix in the early days, as well as see some of the works of Cézanne, Picasso and others.
Pourrières
Eventually a village with a name that stands for putrid or rotten flesh appeared in the headlights. The Romans obliterated a few testy Galls at the base of Saint-Victoire in 100 B.C. Unfortunately Cézanne was not alive yet to catalogue the blow by blow, but apparently they started to stink up the place and the name Pourrières was born.
Tip: There is no reason to stay in Pourrières but there are some great vineyards to visit in close proximity, and the trailhead to hike Saint-Victoire is nearby.
Lacoste & Bonnieux
The Marquis de Sade called this area home and settled in a little
hilltop village called Lacoste. Interestingly enough, the Savannah College of Art and Design recently did as well. The best route to the ruins is walking through the village. His chateau also serves as a museum of modern art and there are some provocative sculptures and installations.
The nearby village of Bonnieux is also well worth a visit if not simply for lunch and a stroll to the top of the hill.
Tip: There is great road and mountain biking in this area.
Vauvenargues
Picasso purchased a not-so-shabby chateau in the nearby village of
Vauvenargues; in fact, he’s buried on the grounds. I know, I know, he’s gotten to be a bit of a cliché, but it is for good reason. The man was a master of many mediums, and you will certainly appreciate them here.
Tip: You must schedule a tour ahead of time as they do fill up.
Maximin
If you want to look headlong in to Mary Magdalene’s eye sockets then this is the town to visit. I’m not buying the oarless floating boat fable, but it is purported to be Jesus’s very mother that is entombed at the Basilique, which was constructed in the 1200s. The religious fervor extends not only to the beautiful architecture of this cathedral but also to the Sainte-Baume mountains where you will find a spirited walk up to a cave containing another place of worship. The views are gorgeous and granite is all around.
Tip: Another 1.5 km from the cave and you are presented with panoramic views of the Mediterranean.
I regret not having made it to Arles, Avignon, Cassis, and about a billion other places, but I think we often forget to actually relax on our vacations. I did not forget. Keep in mind there are some wonderful wineries in the Provence region, and plenty of cafes and street corners to sit back and soak it all in.
Final Note
Upon returning to Paris, I was struck by the deep connection to America. Not only are there prominent statues, for example, of Washington and Jefferson, but we share many common bonds when it comes to revolution, liberty and education. In the 1800s many Americans traveled to Paris and the Sarbonne to learn more about medicine and architecture. The Brooklyn Bridge and a myriad of medical procedures wouldn’t exist without the French. Chances are we would not have won the Revolutionary War without them.
So any of you still eating freedom fries, get over it.
Audience Engagement
When you embark upon a professional path or pursue a particular degree in school, you never know where it might lead. When I decided to specialize in marketing while working on my MBA, I never thought in a million years that I would eventually need to learn the features and functionalities of newspaper circulation systems.
Recently, I produced a new Circulation brochure for my company, which involved peeling back the layers on technology that before was very foreign to me. It turned out to be much more than I expected.
I know, you’re thinking, isn’t the printed newspaper going away? The answer is – not any time soon. Even if they did, these technology platforms are designed to handle partnerships and distribution patterns for a variety of different printed products. They also provide things like automated customer service communications, business analytics, postal data, PCI compliance and so much more.
Regardless, these systems are being further developed to handle increasingly more sophisticated data sets, segmentation and integration with other systems. Many newspapers are already powering their tablet subscriptions with their printed circulation systems. Start cross-pollinating these interactions and you have a much more holistic view of your audience.
It’s more than Circulation, it’s Audience Engagement.
The Revolution and Brand Evolution of Newspapers
There is some discrepancy as to when the first newspaper was ever published in America, but suffice to say by the early 1700s ink met paper and they formed a lucrative and informative bond.
Over the course of the past 300+ years many of our largest newspapers have evolved in to multifaceted media organizations publishing content in multiple channels. They require sophisticated technology for handling workflow across editorial and advertising departments with a bridge between print and digital publishing.
Media companies must also possess the mechanisms for understanding their audience. A host of demographic and psychographic criteria along with features and functionality for capturing, integrating and reporting on data help define and automate these relationships within the community.
This customer data is extremely valuable for publishers and advertisers alike, but it is increasingly being eroded by competitors. In fact, many newspapers allow companies like Groupon to occupy advertising space on their websites where they effectively net data with one simple click. Groupon is smart. Newspapers? Not so much. They need to protect their valuable asset, which is their customer data.
Newspapers are working hard to create new products and partnerships, and they are certainly embracing new channels like tablets and mobile devices. Really, the term “newspaper” is in many cases not an accurate description of the various facets of these media houses.
Media companies, whether print or online, have in many cases built their brands over the course of hundreds of years. They are important conduits for community information, and by and large are trusted sources. But sometimes they make decisions that erode the brand. The above image is proof in point.
News in this case does not even appear to be the selling point. Ouch.
Newspapers of Canada
I just recently returned from the Ink+Beyond conference in Vancouver, BC where many of Canada’s largest newspapers and media companies were in attendance: Postmedia, Glacier Media and Black Press editors and publishers were there just to name a few.
Everyone struck me as being quite positive about the future of media creation, and there were some interesting sessions surrounding mobile, tablets, and print. I especially enjoyed Geoff Tan’s Print+ presentation as it touched on some very interesting new advertising formats they are providing businesses in Singapore.
Sell Ideas
Taking his ideas one more step forward, I think there is a lot of great opportunity in developing web publishing software that allows newsrooms to freestyle publish editorial and advertising content to the web as opposed to being constrained by fixed templates and layouts. I’m thinking beyond banners, interstitials and overlays to faster and more freeform. To quote Tan, “Don’t sell boxes, sell solutions; don’t sell inventory, sell ideas.”
Vancouver
Vancouver is a gorgeous city with a quirky amalgamation of architecture ranging from classic to Victorian, Tudor to modern, and definitely Asian. The people are nice, the trains are clean, and our liberal is their conservative.
Sea to Sky
Heading out of town on the Sea to Sky Highway is breathtaking, and I can certainly understand why Squamish is considered to be the Outdoor Capital of America. Where else can you ski, hike, climb, kite board, kayak, and kiss a bear or a bald eagle all in the same day.
Whistler
Further up the road are the snow covered peaks of Whistler upon which I stood in awe of the vastness of the Coastal Range. If only I had more than a couple of days to soak them in! I was blessed with Spring conditions and plenty of snow on what was literally the 1st of May. I thought this Florida boy had forgotten how to ski, but you just get back on that bike and ride it.
Repletion
On the way back to the Vancouver airport I thought back on John Furlong’s keynote speech at the conference regarding his time at the helm of the 2010 Winter Olympics. There were a lot of trials and tribulations – lack of snow and an athlete death just to name two – but he and his staff still managed to pull off a successful multi-day event watched by the world. There was a palpable amount of Canadian pride in the room and two women at the table next to me had tears in their eyes. I found myself moved as well.
Canadians have a lot to be thankful for, and I am glad to have scratched the surface.
NCAA
I post this because I know quite a few folks who have been hard at work on the ncaa.com website. Burning the midnight oil at Turner Broadcasting’s headquarters in Atlanta, Drupal developers are bringing some very cool functionality to the Web. Aside from the impressive organization of content, live streaming video, social media, developer toolkit and much more, I especially like the way they have integrated ads in to the experience.
This is a great use case of a media company using open source effectively to build a profitable and user-friendly experience online.
Event Marketing and the Brand Rub
One fundamental aspect of marketing is that competition is fierce, and you must continually find new and distinct ways of resonating with prospects and customers. Of course, there are many different digital and traditional communication channels, and they all have their value. But there is nothing better for building relationships than actually getting people physically together.
You can use events to align your brand with other individuals and locations, build awareness and generate a variety of different communications whether email marketing, social media, video, ads, press releases, and surveys; or preferably all of them. I’ve done events around art, education, coding and designing, branding, publishing, skiing, motorcycle and car racing, and even gambling.
My most recent event was organized around the new Dali Museum in St Petersburg as part of the Multimedia Key Executives Conference. The museum is listed as “one of the top buildings you have to see before you die” in AOL Travel News, and it is the only structure of its kind in North America.
Dali was a transformative artist and a master of many different media types. Along with the architecture of the new museum, this provided a nice metaphor for the state of publishing and media: transform and resonate in multiple channels.
It was a fun event and more than 400 people attended. But more importantly, it gave me the opportunity to reach out to a targeted audience. It’s not rocket science, just hard work, but generally worth the effort. If events are not a part of your marketing strategy, now is the time to consider it.
Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Book of Lists”
The Tampa Bay Business Journal recently selected one of my photos for their “2011 Books of Lists.”
They held a rather extravagant party at The Venue in Clearwater where more than 400 people were in attendance.
The Cirque performer and the 7 different themed rooms, bars and food were definitely a nice touch. How Maria Antoinette stood for hours in the midst of all those champagne glasses is anyone’s guess.
A big kudos to Alyssa Rhoads and the folks that put together the event. There were countless details that were not overlooked. It was especially nice to see the Tampa Bay business community out and about and definitely thriving. Who said the economy was suffering?
I’m not an artist or a professional photographer, but if little forays with my camera get me in to cool parties, well, I guess I’ll keep doing it.
Florida Mountain Biking
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While the rest of the country bundles up and digs out, folks here in Florida have to make tough decisions in January like, should I ride a surfboard, bike, both? Went out to Balm Boyette today for a bike ride with a buddy and brought the camera, which is something I have been rather slack about doing lately. Tons of fun rides to do including The Ridgeline Trail.
As the Swamp Club accurately describes,
The Ridgeline Trail, completed in December of 2008, is unlike any trail in our system. The climbs are challenging, but within one’s reach. The descents are definitely steep enough to cause a moment of hesitation, but the smooth run-out at the bottom puts each drop within your grasp. The trail is wide, with few turns; all designed to allow the rider to build and maintain speed. This trail is all about going downhill really fast…
Fun stuff!
Tis the Season for a Holiday Greeting
Holiday cards are not what immediately comes to mind when we reflect upon a season full of color and lights, family and love, and hope and reflection. Unless, of course, these cards come loaded with cold hard cash. But I rather enjoy receiving them. They serve as a testament to the amount of friends, family and business contacts we have accumulated over the years, and they hang like temporary trophies of relevance on countless refrigerators and reception desks.
Despite my appreciation for printed holiday cards, I have always been rather slack about getting my own in the mail. Of course, this one would have been a good contender with a Photoshop Santa hat for good measure – that’s my boy!
I did, however, distribute a holiday message for my employer, which is something I have done for many different companies over the years.
The Standard Approach
A common approach for businesses is to send a simple holiday greeting from the company and staff. There is nothing wrong with this. Instead of selling you something under the guise of a Seasons Greeting, a thoughtful card reminding you of the relationship can go a long way. If there is something charitable, humorous or creative about the card, which relates back to the brand of the business, then even better. But there are limitations to print, and it can be equally or more expensive than digital communications.
The Multi-channel Approach
This year I sought to communicate a message to a large and diverse audience across the globe. The recipients consisted of large and medium-sized media companies in the Americas, Europe, Asia and beyond. Companies like McClatchy, Scripps, Gannett, and the New York Times use our technology to publish content to the Web, print, mobile devices and tablets.
Here is a look at what I chose to do (click on any of the images for a larger view):
Email
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The email was distributed using Vertical Response, which manages email deliverability such as Bounces and Unsubscribes, as well as Open Rates and Clickthroughs. It also integrates with Salesforce.com to record activity at the Account and Contact level. |
Web
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Recipients of the email were invited to click over to the company website to view the holiday message. Because the message resided on the website, it served to capture anyone who might have missed the email communication. |
Video
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A secondary component to the email blast and the website was the invitation to view a video demo on our iPad application. My goal was to keep it subtle so as not to conflict with the holiday message, but it was there and further backed the basic framework the flash animation conveys. I decided to use YouTube for video hosting but a popup to keep viewers from leaving the website. |
Advertising
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In conjunction with the digital aspects of this holiday campaign, I also made plans to run an ad in key publications focused on our target market. You’ll see that the creative very much matches that of the holiday communications. |
Print
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Last but not least I was able to complete a printed brochure that further details our capabilities in multi-channel publishing. Site visitors are free to download it from the website. |
Hopefully this will give you something to think about for 2011. Cheers and I hope you have a wonderful new year!