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The Hawthorne Media Newsletter

IN THIS ISSUE

What’s all the hype about the new Video iPod?
Why Portable Media Players are the New Frontier in Media, Marketing and Training

If you’re like most adults, you’ve seen ads for iPods, and you don’t think they’re aimed at your generation...or relevant for business. With the recent introduction of the new video iPod, you should think again. This tiny media player, launched in early October is revolutionary, not just for personal entertainment but for marketing, advertising and training. Why? Very simply, the video iPod is going to change the way people relate to content.

The new video iPod is the most versatile personal media player yet, allowing users to “play music, podcasts, photos, home movies, TV shows, music videos and more” anywhere and anytime. Apple’s iTunes software (bundled with the video iPod) makes it easy to find, download and organize the universe of content available on the internet. Put another way, the video iPod leverages the potential of the intersection of Web 2.0 and content, creating new ways to reach customers, train employees, and build community.

Some changes that media producers are already gearing up for include the emergence of video and audio content that is customized to be consumed in short, easily digestible chunks. This anticipates the way people will use their iPods - while riding public transportation, standing in line at Starbucks or even...in the bathroom. The iPod also opens up opportunities to develop training and educational apps that take advantage of the iPod’s portability, crystal clear screen, and simple interface. And perhaps most exciting of all, the iPod enables companies to use the power of Internet distribution to turn traditional web sites into content channels, extending their reach into the rapidly growing podosphere.

With the arrival of video-capable players like the iPod, companies have a way to make video or audio content available to an audience of millions, and Apple’s iTunes Store shows that this kind of distribution works: the company has sold tens of millions of songs, and 1 million videos in the first 20 days after the new iPod's launch. All this means the video iPod is more than a toy for college freshman and early adopters - it's also a sound business purchase. The sooner you understand the video iPod on the most fundamental level - as a user - the sooner you will be able to craft your media and marketing strategy to take advantage of this important new technology.

To learn more about how to extend your businesses reach into the podosphere, and what Hawthorne Media is watching on the iPod, contact us today.

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Hawthorne Associates Becomes Hawthorne Media
Hawthorne has changed its name and its look, added to its toolbox, and broadened its focus. Our legal name is still Hawthorne Communications, Inc., but our business name has changed from Hawthorne Associates to Hawthorne Media.

For nearly 20 years Hawthorne has helped clients generate awareness, leads and sales through direct marketing, advertising and public relations. Our tools have evolved over time particularly with the advent of e-mail and the Internet. The transition to Hawthorne Media represents the most significant change in two decades.

• First, we are adding emerging media capabilities. We now help clients understand and integrate new applications such as wikis, podcasts, VLOGs and social networking into their marketing campaigns.

• Second, we are becoming a one-stop agency by adding in-house design capabilities and in-house video and audio production, including custom podcasts and videos.

• Third, while continuing to serve our long-time core market - companies selling to corporate training and HR departments - we are broadening our focus to serve businesses throughout the creative economy sector.

What has not changed is our commitment to provide our clients with strategic advice to maximize the effectiveness of their branding, marketing, sales and communications.

How, you may ask, are we able to change so dramatically? By adding the design and production skills and new media knowledge of John Neely, Jr., Vice President of New Media to Hawthorne’s extensive experience with traditional, tried-and true marketing and PR.

John brings a Bachelors in Modern Culture and Media from Brown and a Masters in Communication from Stanford. He has worked as an interactive media consultant and as art director and designer for companies including the ground-breaking eMagazine, Salon.com. He comes to Hawthorne from South Africa where he co-produced a film about Zulu youth and taught filmmaking at the University of Cape Town and the University of the Western Cape. John is active in the Creative Economy Association of the North Shore (CEANS) and is a member of the board of the Phoenix School in Salem.

John, Jr., joins President John Neely (now styled John, Sr.) in a continuation of the family-firm tradition - a tradition that began in 1995 when John, Sr., joined wife and Hawthorne founder Christine Sullivan. Christine is now the Executive Director of the Enterprise Center at Salem State College. She continues as chairman of Hawthorne.

Hawthorne Media is located in historic Salem Massachusetts, known for its architecture, its maritime history and the witch trials of the late 1600's. Home to the House of the Seven Gables, immortalized by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the book of the same name, and the renowned Peabody Essex Museum, Salem is a place where the past inspires the future. Our company name is of course taken from the author, and our offices are in the former home of Nathaniel Bowditch. Bowditch became the most famous navigator of his day when he published The New American Practical Navigator in 1802. A copy of the current edition, now simply called The Bowditch, can be found on the bridge of every US naval vessel. More modern initiatives in Salem include the creation of a downtown WiFi zone and the Creative Economy Association of the North Shore, the first organization of its kind in the US.

To reconnect with us, and to learn more about the new Hawthorne Media [HM], visit our web site, www.hawthornemedia.com, e-mail Christine, John, Sr., or John, Jr., or phone us at 978-745-4878.

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Our first ever Hawthorne Media Contest!
...and tips on how to avoid using the same photo or graphics as your competitor

Pictures of this woman - all apparently from a single photo shoot - have appeared in ads, collateral materials and trade show graphics for close to ten years. We have seen her five times in just the past three months:

The "Send in the Clones" Contest:

• Get 1 point for each company you identify as having used a photo of her.

• 3 points if you can identify the source or owner of the photos.

• 10 points if you can identify someone else (not a celebrity) whose image has been used by more companies.

The prize for the most points: A 20-song *iMix from the Apple Music Store (compiled by our staff) and recognition in a future issue of the Hawthorne Media newsletter!

Email us to enter the contest today

*An iMix is a custom mix of songs published to the iTunes store that anyone can browse and purchase using Apple's iTunes software. Tech support will be provided!

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The point: you can minimize the risk of using embarrassing clones

• Have you ever been an exhibitor at a trade show displaying a nice printed brochure with a photograph on the cover only to see the same photo used in a six-foot-tall blow-up right across the aisle?

• Have you ever seen collateral from two companies with the same colors, fonts, style and appearance?

These problems happen all too often.   Here are some tips for minimizing your risk.

Consider paying royalties for photos and art.

Royalty-free images are less expensive and there is a broad range available. But most clone problems come from this source. Consider licensing royalty images.

Ask the owner to identify all current and recent licensees in industries that might compete with you or sell to your buyers. Read the license agreement carefully. It may limit the frequency of use and the media you may employ. If it has an expiration date, ask for renewal terms. Ask for exclusivity for a time within an industry or geographical area.

Consider custom photography or art.

Custom photography is sure to be unique and may not be more expensive than royalty photos. Even so, be careful that your concept is not identical to another in the market or that year photos are not too similar. If you commission custom cartoons or images, the artist may have a distinct style. Therefore determine who else has used their work and examine their portfolio carefully.

Use competitive intelligence

Have experienced marketing and sales people inside and outside your company review your choices for clone risk, as well as for style, message and impact. If you are using an ad agency, ask them to show the images around internally to identify any clone problems. Do this particularly if you are using a royalty-free image.

Protect your copyrights

The first user of an image may have the right to force a second user to desist. Consult your attorney about how and how often to make copyright claims.

And, if an image will be part of your long-term branding rather than just a campaign, consider researching pre-existing claims before you use it and filing to include it in a registered trade mark.

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Hawthorne Goes to University - and to England and to Australia...

Since the Hawthorne White Paper, Getting the Organization to Adopt E-Learning: From Challenge to Action was published three years ago, it has been a perennial best-seller. Copies are downloaded from the Hawthorne media site every week.

It was the regular fall flurry of downloads at Université Laval that led us to look deeper. The White Paper is required reading in a graduate level course on organizational e-learning management in this major Quebec City institution. It is also available through ZDNet in England, the Australian Computer Society, and e-LearningGuru just about anywhere.

Christine Sullivan, founder of Hawthorne and author of the paper says, “Many e-Learning implementations are still falling short of expectations. The straightforward process explained in our paper has helped many organizations. It is as timely now as it was three years ago.”

If you have never read Getting the Organization to Adopt E-Learning or if you haven’t read it for some time, please download it now from www.hawthornemedia.com and check out our other white papers as well.

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