Remain Relevant in Changing Times

How American Idol remains relevant

One thing Americans seem to do exceptionally well is watch TV... especially when it comes to American Idol. We can't get enough of it. The show has never been more popular than it is in its sixth season. Interestingly, when I talk to people about American Idol, it never ceases to amaze me how they go about selecting their choice for a winner.

Often, people tell me they like a particular participant because the person's backstory is so interesting. Maybe the singer had a tough childhood, or "really seems to want it." One friend told me he liked a particular girl singer because she "had the look." So what? To me, none of that seems relevant to what the contest is really about - finding a phenomenal  voice talent. But, hey, relevance is in the eye of the viewer, isn't it?

Producers have the formidable task of keeping the show relevant year after year while honoring their original purpose of discovering great singers. This season they promise a mid-season "surprise." Already, they've gone to unexpected cities, like Seattle and Minneapolis, looking for talent (and largely failed, based on what we've seen so far). They seem to be focusing even more (at least initially) on the remarkably bad candidates. Nothing makes viewers feel more superior than watching some really weird people sing very badly. Now, THAT's entertainment!

So, for better or worse, highlighting the most bizarre singers is one way to keep the show relevant to voyeurs (oops, I mean viewers). By the way, I confess I fall solidly into this category. I think Simon is especially entertaining and I usually agree with his assessment. I have no sympathy for the singers who get ridiculed. It's not like they didn't know what they were risking when they signed up.

Another way American Idol producers are making the show more relevant is finding new ways to involve the viewers. Now, for instance, you can go onto the AI web site and  vote on which singer made the biggest impression (usually a negative one),and who made the most interesting fashion statement. There are multiple ways to get involved in the show and get friends in on the action as well. Find out what's happening with past AI candidates. Go behind the scenes to see what it's like to get on the show. Even the ubiquitous Coke cup that we always see in front of the judges is up for redesign by the viewers. What a great way to get people to pay attention to every little detail and stay tuned to see if their design makes the final cut!

And let's not forget the mobile component. Not only can fans vote for their favorite singer, they can download AI ringtones.

What started as an entertaining TV show has, in fact, become a cult of sorts. The show  attracts kids and older adults alike and when it gets into the final stages, it becomes the focus of viewing parties, much like the Super Bowl.

Frankly, I believe the biggest challenge now will be to resist extending the brand so much that it becomes overexposed, people OD on it and decide to tune out. This season will be a pivotal one. It's the show to watch, not just because of the water cooler talk it generates, but because of the lessons we can learn as it embraces new ways to remain relevant.

Lessons learned from prom dress shopping

I spent a good part of my weekend prom dress shopping with my youngest daughter, Sydney. Although her senior prom isn't until March 24, she decided she had better get started, since it's much harder to find a dress than it is a date (at least if you're a beautiful, popular girl).

After going to the four stores where we have bought previous formal dresses and feeling more like an intruder than a customer, Syd and I gave up and came home to turn to the Internet for help. That's how we found A Formal Affair in Roswell, GA, which turned out to be a new store in a strip shopping mall on Holcomb Bridge Road. We were blown away from the moment we walked in the door. Sydney said it best: "Don't you love to go into a place to looks expensive only to find out it doesn't cost more than those crowded stores we went to?"

(Relevance lesson number 1: customers like to feel special from the first moment of contact. Even teenagers like to feel important... they notice things like how spacious a store is.)

Vanessa, a beautiful young African-American woman, greeted us warmly, told us the store was family owned and immediately started asking how she could help. She explained that the dresses were arranged by color, then size. She asked which prom Sydney would be attending and what kind of dresses she liked. Her questions weren't gratuitous. She seemed to actually be interested in Sydney's answers. Within minutes, Sydney had selected six dresses to try on. (She hadn't found six in the four previous stores combined, primarily because she tends to be modest and didn't really care for the most common style - plunging necklines and a back that started just above the crack her her butt. My God, some of these dresses could have their own reality show!)

(Relevance lesson number 2: understand that the decision maker isn't necessarily the person who swipes the debit card. In this case, focusing on Sydney's likes and dislikes while looking at me "offline" for an approving glance, ensured neither of us felt alienated.)

Rather than hang the dresses in a room and yell, "Call if you need anything," which is how other shops treated us, Vanessa instead stood by the dressing room and offered to help her try each dress on, showing her how it could be altered if she didn't feel it fit just right. She also pointed out the advantages and disadvantages of each dress. For instance, dresses with trains make lovely photos but can be cumbersome on the dance floor. Beautiful  Southern Belle hoop dresses can be difficult to sit down in. I've still no idea which dress Vanessa liked best. She seemed perfectly objective about them all.

Each time Sydney emerged from the dressing room, Vanessa helped her onto a riser stage that had three-way mirrors and encouraged her to take her time, try to dance, sit down, bend over, all the things a girl in a prom dress would probably do on prom night.

(Relevance lesson number 3: customers will listen to someone who seems to genuinely want to help them by thinking through with them how the product will really be used, not just how cool or beautiful it is.)

By the way, while all this trying of dresses was going on, I was comfortably seated in a big, beautiful, soft chair facing the stage. I could have sat there for hours. Why haven't more retail stores figured out that Moms don't want to stand for a long time holding two purses while trying to be patient and enthusiastic?

(Relevance lesson number 4: consider ALL your customers and do the little things it takes to make them feel they matter.)

After watching Sydney try on several gowns and getting an idea for what really appealed to her, Vanessa then brought a couple of gowns to Sydney that she had not selected for herself. Wouldn't you know the one we bought was one Vanessa selected? And not once did she say, "This looks better on." (That reminds me of my favorite Rita Rudner joke. She said she was looking at an ugly dress in a store when the clerk said, "That looks much better on." Rita replied, "On what? Fire?")

(Relevance lesson number 5: you have to earn trust and respect before you can offer an opinion and be listened to. Vanessa didn't begin her interaction with us by making suggestions. She waited until the right time.)

In the end, we bought the "perfect" dress (pink, in case you're wondering). Vanessa then recorded Sydney's contact information and prom details and guaranteed her she would not sell that same dress to another girl attending Sydney's prom. Moreover, she showed her a couple of tuxedos that would beautifully complement the dress (including a pink vest that matched Sydney's dress perfectly). She told her she could send her date there to rent his tux and he would get a 25 percent discount by mentioning Sydney's name. She asked Sydney to please tell her friends about the store and let them know that they would be open seven days a week through prom season.

(Relevance lesson number 5: treat your customers well and ask them to help you spread the word. They'll gladly do so. Sydney must have "texted" a half dozen friends about A Formal Affair before we got home!)

Finally - the most important lesson of all: it doesn't matter what business you're in or whether your customers are high school seniors or senior citizens: 1) treat them like they matter; 2) earn their trust and respect; and 3) ask them to help you tell your story.

Making Miss America Relevant Again

I almost laughed out loud when I read how CMT plans to hype its second year as broadcaster of the Miss America pageant: by making the theme song, "There She Is, Miss America" available as a downloadable ring tone. It's hard to imagine that there's a big demand for this sort of thing.

On second thought, maybe I should get it. After all, at least once weekly someone comments on the fact that my name is the same as a former Miss America. Well, listen up: it ain't. Mary Ann Mobley was Miss America 1959 (the year I turned 2). We share a last name (note: I'm Marilynn and she's Mary Ann, a subtle, but important difference) but other than that, we don't have much in common. As a matter of fact, her last name is pronounced MO-blee, while mine is pronounced MA-blee.

Anyway, the point is that CMT has chosen this ring tone as a way of further establishing itself as a trendsetter on "the third screen," mobile devices. Interested parties will be able to also download a behind-the-scenes special about the pageant and send text messages to vote for winner of Miss Congeniality Award. But wait a minute! How can we vote on Miss Congeniality if we don't even know the contestants? Problem solved... you can't vote anyway until after the airing of "Pageant School: Becoming Miss America," on January 26. (Haven't you watched enough American Idol yet to know how this works?) By then, you'll feel like you've known them all their lives. And God knows, the editing of the show will in no way skew the outcome. That wouldn't be right.

If Miss America doesn't light your fire, you can always download "Trick My Tuck," another CMT show that is now available under the CMT mobile banner for on-the-go folks who can't bear to miss their high-brow programs. I mean, what else are you going to watch while stuck in traffic trying to get to the guns and ammo exhibition?

All kidding aside, I'm glad to see CMT be more aggressive in its move toward on-the-go programming. I have a number of music videos on my video iPod (including several from CMT), so I'm a candidate for this sort of thing. The point is that TV networks that fail to provide mobile content will find themselves quickly becoming irrelvant as more and more people jump on bandwagon and buy devices that do everything from serve as a cell phone to back pocket TV. There's no rule that says you have to watch TV shows when they air or even on a TV. If there were, Apple wouldn't have just monopolized media coverage over the past 48 hours with the announcement of the new iPhone.

So, while it's highly unlikely I'll watch the Miss America pageant or download the ring tone, I do love a good killer ap and this is certainly one.

The Painted Veil targets TV viewers with relevant information

I absolutely love to go to the movies. I've been known to see a dozen in a week. Recently, during the week between Christmas and New Years, I managed to see only six, but what can I say? I had other things on my plate to do too.

One of the best movies I saw was The Painted Veil, an independent film staring Naomi Watts and Edward Norton. Shot in China, it is the most beautiful cinematography I've seen in ages. The story is captivating and the casting spot on.

But what intrigues me even more about this great movie is the way it was promoted. Warner Independent Pictures initally boughtTV commercial spots in 18 markets (on cable). Rather than ending each with the typical, "Now playing at a theater near you" or "Now playing at selected theaters," the spots told viewers exactly which theater to go to in their city. In Atlanta, for instance, viewers are told to go to the Landmark's Midtown Art Cinema.

What a great concept: tell consumers what they need to know without making them work for it! It also helped to create a sense of urgency to see the film. Seeing that the movie was playing in only one theater - one known for indies - made me want to rush out to see it before it disappeared. I didn't know if if would ever make the screens in the suburbs.

As it turns out, The Painted Veil will roll out to another 73 markets next week and at that time Warner will run broader national TV campaigns. But this initial targeted campaign was a stroke of genius that speaks once again to how consumers want information that is relevant to them.

By the way, kudos to SpotRunner, an LA-based ad ageny that created the specific tags and handled the execution in each market. Don't be surprised if you see more movies go down this path.

Now if only someone can figure out how to get rid of those annoying commercials that play in front of the movie trailers that play in front of the actual movie you're there to see...

Wall Street Journal Proves Its Relevance With New Look, Format

Most of us probably started 2007 with the goal of being skinnier at the end of the year. Not the Wall Street Journal. It is starting the year in a trimmed down state. It has shed the fat, built up its news analysis muscle and will probably gain nothing but a more loyal readership as a result.

Starting with today's issue, the WSJ showcases a new design that makes the paper much narrower and deeper than it has ever been. I loved it the moment I released it from its pink wrapper on my driveway this morning. I was immediately struck by how much easier it is to read now, solely because of the change in navigation. Summary boxes, increased use of color, photos and a generally less cluttered look wowed me.

Best of all, the new design integrates beautifully with the WSJ's web site. Let's face it: the Internet and broadcast news outlets keep us up to date on the news. People read the WSJ not to learn what's happening, but why and how. The print edition can now do what it does best - offer analysis and deep background - while the web site takes on the task of keeping readers informed on corporate news. What's more, readers who really want to get under the covers of a story can go to the web site for online interviews via podcasts and sidebars that didn't make the print edition.

Page G8's top headline screams, "The Relevance of Good Design" and the accompanying story lists the eight principles that served as the guide for the paper's new look. Here's the top line. They are:

1. Make it easier for readers to navigate the Journal

2. Create a hierarchy of stories, so readers know the relevance of important news

3. Maintain the best visual traditions of the Journal.

4. Remember that Journal readers come to read, not to look.

5. Innovate graphically where improvements can be made.

6. Don't skimp on good journalism.

7. Balance long-form stories with secondary readings and quick story summaries.

8. Guide readers to the Online Journal - but don't overdo it.

Based on the inaugural issue of this new design, I have to say the WSJ absolutely nailed it. You can do that when you spend two years researching what readers really want and how people truly interact with the media.

The lesson for the rest of us is that no matter how relevant we are today, we can't remain relevant without making some changes along the way. But those changes have to be customer-driven. It doesn't matter if we think customers should consume our product a certain way if they prefer a different method. Perhaps nowhere else is this more evident than in the way we consume the news.

Congratulations, WSJ! I hope more papers will follow your lead.