When I realized that I could download the OPML file from the Power 150 site and then hack it around into a contact list of over 900 of the top advertising, marketing, PR, and SEO bloggers on the planet, I did so.

Ever since, I have been scheduling calls with all of the folks I have been admiring on a daily basis. Two days ago I spent an hour on the horn with Lee Hopkins, “one of Australia’s leading thinkers on communication strategy in an online environment,” who is, in fact, one of the World’s leading thinkers on communication strategy in an online environment.  We had a great chat — and amazing talk!

At the end, Lee asked me if he could blog the conversation and I jumped at the opportunity and late last night Lee published Is email marketing still relevant in a 2.0 world? which is not only the most complete description of what we at Abraham Harrison LLC do on a daily basis but it is said in a better, more comprehensive, way than I could even conceive of doing myself.  Here it is, in full.  Be sure to visit (and subscribe to) Better Communication Results, Lee Hopkin’s blog.

Is email marketing still relevant in a 2.0 world?

G’day – thanks for returning!

I just finished a fantastic conversation with Chris Abraham, the President and COO of AbrahamHarrison.

If you’ve been around the internet for a while, especially in the ‘marcoms’ (marketing communications) space, you would certainly have heard of Chris; if not of the man himself then certainly of one of his marketing and outreach programs.

Chris is one of those select few online marketers who’s text doesn’t read like a traditional online direct mail piece – you know, with LOTS OF CAPITALS and heaps of bold text and yellow highlighting and italics and

• bullet
• points
• a-
• plenty

and testimonials by the kazillion…

I could point you to a zillion of those sites – which is not to say that the style of marketing they use is not successful; it is, otherwise they wouldn’t keep doing it. But you know as soon as you see the huge, bold, bright red and often in CAPS headline what to expect for the rest of the (very) long toilet roll of a page.

Chris takes a much softer approach, always has done, and it seems to work for him and his style of copywriting.

Video, the radio star and plain ol’ bandwagon idjuts

With the advent of Web2.0/Social Media there were many ill-informed and just plain ‘bandwagon’ pundits who hailed the death of traditional communication tools such as email, web1.0 sites and – gasp – newspaper, magazine, radio and television.

Much as television didn’t kill radio as force it to rethink its place and find its niche, so too with Social Media. Every new technology platform or societal change brings with it a change in how all that came before it must view themselves and continue to offer relevancy.

Radio didn’t die, newspapers haven’t been killed off, I can still pick up plenty of magazines that appeal to all demographics and both genders from my local newsagent, and email hasn’t disappeared off the radar (if my bulging inbox every morning is anything to go by).

So it was fantastic to finally chat with someone who, like me, believes that email is STILL a fundamental part of the marketing toolkit.

In talking with Chris today, he was genuinely flattered that a fellow copywriter would find his material engaging; I thought it was brilliant reading and his deployment strategies for his clients brilliantly executed.

You see, Chris, like me, believes that email won’t go away, but WILL have to change in order to survive in the new communication landscape. Our shared view is that it will have to evolve in a couple of ways:

1. Shorter emails will be the best way of getting people’s attention
2. Long-form emails are best saved for newsletters; trying to ‘sell’ via email will become even harder to excel at.

If you’ve ever received one of Chris’ emails, you will be stunned by several things:

1. They are short – only 2-3 paragraphs
2. They link off to a SMNR (Social Media News Release) that gives a far more in-depth level of information (and all the material you might need to help you spread the word or get involved)
3. If you email Chris or anyone of his team back you WILL get a response, usually within 24 hours (Chris says they try to get back within the hour, but time zones can sometime defeat them)
4. The emails ‘read’ like they were written by a human being, not by a ‘PR’ flack or a ex-journalist hack; they aren’t full of ‘me, me, me’ stuff telling you how wonderful I (the company) am, but neither do they ‘strip-tease tantalise’ you so that when you do click on the link you end up feeling cheated
5. You get the very real feeling that there’s someone real at the end of the email.

Here’s an example (taken from my post about the Fresh Air Fund):

Hello again, Lee

On Sunday I asked if you would kindly help me spread the word about 200 inner-city children I have yet to place with host families in August. I apologize for following up so soon, but time is of the essence and you know how funny email can be. To make things simple, everything is collected into an online resource page http://freshair.smnr.us

This appeal comes straight from the top, so please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Yours sincerely,

Sara

–
Sara Wilson
Fresh Air Fund
sara@freshair.org
www.freshair.org

Sara is a real person, not a ‘fake’ character. I sent her an email yesterday, wondering if her ears were burning, because Chris and I were talking about her:

G’day Sara,
Just finished the phone call with Chris — oh boy! Were your ears burning? They should have been!!!
Kindests,
Lee

From: Sara Wilson [mailto:swilson@chrisabraham.com]
Sent: Tuesday, 24 February 2009 2:02 AM
To: Lee@leehopkins.com
Subject: Re: Fellow Power 150 blogger

Hello Lee,
Just a quick note to re-confirm that Chris will be calling you at 10 am, your time, tomorrow (Tuesday).
No need to reply unless something has come up on your end, otherwise he will speak to you in about 7.5 hours!
Best,
Sara

In reply, Sara said,

Lee,
And I thought it was just hot where I was last night … 
It’s very kind of you to mention it, thanks.   Chris is a great guy to work for, and generous with compliments, but it’s always nice to know that someone appreciates you, isn’t it?
Cheers,
Sara

Controversy

Because Chris and his team start any campaign with an email-based blogger outreach, some of the ‘holier than thou’ social media purists occasionally give him ‘stick’, or snicker behind his back and call him a ‘spammer’. Not true – the team are very hot on ensuring only a good taste remains in the mouth of any blogger they contact, and of only offering bloggers something of actual value to the blogger.

Which is a behaviour totally unlike the hapless, clueless and insulting PR flacks who regularly show up on The Bad Pitch Blog and who attempt to fill my inbox with material about electronics, or sanitary napkins, or (ahem) extension kits, or pharmaceuticals shipped from Canada. Thank goodness I have SpamArrest to filter them out before they hit my inbox!

Chris and his team have painstakingly built up a list of nearly 35,000 bloggers across several different demographics and topic areas of interest. Visiting their blogs, they harvest their email address. They then politely email them once to offer them something of interest – if the blogger likes it, they very often blog about it; it they don’t then they don’t. What is fascinating is the response rate Chris gets for his clients.

Word of mouth and gossip-sharing amongst internet marketers has the average rate of sales of anything (be it a blog post or an ebook or a ‘course you cannot live without’) as around 0.01-0.05% from an initial mailing, with the follow-up mailings increasing that to, perhaps, 1.0-2.0%…

Chris and his team regularly get a takeup in the order of 5%, which is phenomenal. In addition, once you start developing an email relationship with anyone in their team (as I have with Sara Wilson) then all future mailings will receive much more attention than would otherwise be the case. A case in point is my own, later, post on the illegal cluster bombing being carried out in South Ossetia and The Survivor Corps run by activist and author of the very powerful book,  I Will Not Be Broken, Jerry White. It is only because Sara had taken the time to develop a relationship with me over previous months that I read and responded to the material from Jerry White. Without that relationship I would never have bothered with a topic outside of my normal areas of interest.

It is the classic ‘relationship marketing’ that Social Media Marketing pundits claim to aim for but rarely achieve.

Goodness, if I could have a dollar for every new ‘expert’ that’s popped up in the Social Media space I would retire a very rich trillionaire (and at the same time wondering how you could be a trillionaire and not be very rich – I guess if you were living in Zimbabwe you wouldn’t be…).

You wouldn’t believe the number of ‘leading social networking and social media marketing experts’ who have suddenly come out of the woodwork and set up communities in places like LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook, etc. Curiously, I’ve never heard of these folks before. Most of them don’t even have blogs, or if they do those blogs have only been around for less than a year. Curious, hey?

But Chris, on the other hand, has been around for a long time, has figured out what works and what doesn’t, and as evidence offers the following case studies:

• Energy Bill 2007 Case Study
• Financial Services Reputation Defense Case Study
• Firebrand TV Case Study
• Fresh Air Fund Case Study
• International Medical Corps Case Study
• Movie Producer Reputation Defense Case Study
• Snapple Antioxidant Water Case Study
• Survivor Corps Book Promotion Case Study

If you want to see the sort of posts that are associated with Chris’ kind of blogger PR pitch outreach, here are some examples:

• Thank You Operation Survivor Bloggers
• Thank You All Who Supported International Medical Corps!
• Thank You Again Survivor Corps Bloggers
• Thank You International Medical Corps Bloggers
• Thank You Fresh Air Fund Holiday Bloggers
• Thank You Fresh Air Fund Bloggers
• Thank You Fresh Air Fund Camp Counselor Bloggers!
• The Powerful SEO Benefits of Blogger PR Outreach
• Happy Thanksgiving from Abraham Harrison

Here are some examples of client SMNRs from Chris and his team that I especially like:

• http://anamigo.smnr.us
• http://freshair.smnr.us
• http://banclusterbombs.smnr.us
• http://freshairfundcounselors.smnr.us
• http://survivorcorps.smnr.us
• http://iwillnotbebroken.smnr.us
• http://internationalmedicalcorps.smnr.us

So what???

The whole point of this post is NOT to fawn at the feet of someone who clearly knows what he is doing.

The whole point IS to let you know that you don’t need to throw out your baby with the bathwater:

• Don’t jump on the Social Media bandwagon without educated advice
• Don’t take advice from a pimply 17 year old fresh out of high school
• Don’t take advice from a less-pimply 23 year old fresh out of university
• Don’t ditch all of your understanding of how ‘people’ and networks work
• Don’t take advice from someone who doesn’t even blog themselves, or Twitter, or Facebook… (see my post about Social Media Gurus)
• Don’t take advice from someone who has been blogging less than 24 months

Instead:

1. Download Todd Defren’s absolutely superb ‘Brink’ guide to Social Media and Richard Meyer’s great presentation, ‘Social Media : What you’re afraid to admit you didn’t know’ (he also has a great pharma and biotech-focused pdf presentation). Download and read Trevor Cook’s and my ‘Social Media Report’.
2. Talk to someone who actually knows what they are doing – in Australia that means folks like Stephen Collins, Laurel Papworth, Trevor Cook, Darren Rowse, Gavin Heaton and, humbly, yours truly. If WE can’t help you, we can certainly put you in touch with someone who can. Unlike the USA, where there seems to be a spirit of “You’ll prize my rolodex out of my frozen dead fingers!”, there is no fierce spirit of competition here in Australia – we have  ‘co-opertition’ wherein we all help each other out if the ‘fit’ seems better for the client.
3. Stick to reading the seasoned ‘pros’ of the online marketing and/or business communication space: you cannot go wrong if you start at folks like any of the above, or Shel Holtz, Neville Hobson, Chris Brogan, Darren Rowse, Mitch Joel, Joe Jaffe , Laura Fitton and Chris Abraham himself; see who they link to. Follow your nose from them – all the way along the path you will be reading ‘the good oil’ as we say here in Australia
4. Examine Chris’ examples above and see for yourself how simple but effective your online marketing can be if you do it with the right intention – of helping out the blogger, not flogging stuff for your client. Get the relationship right and you will flog stuff for your client anyway, trust me!

---

Technorati Tags: chris abraham, laura fitton, joe jaffe, mitch joel, darren rowse, chris brogan, neville hobson, shel holtz, gavin heaton, trevor cook, laurel papworth, stephen collins, richard meyer, todd defren, sara wilson, fresh air fund, chrisabraham, bad pitch blog, social media, blogger relations, social marketing, email marketing, email, spam, spam arrest, spamarrest, business communication

Currently listening to ‘Next’ by The Necks from the album ‘Next’. Superb jazz funk from one of Australia’s great cult bands.

Firebrand was a client of mine. I got to hang out with Firebrand’s CJ Lauren and tour the Firebrand studios. My CEO, Mark Harrison, and I eagerly watched Firebrand from Berlin — until the house went dark and Firebrand was forced into bankruptcy when all their investors bailed on them — and us! Well, like a Phoenix, Firebrand has risen from the ashes in the form of Firemedia Partners. Good luck, guys! Here’s the Press Release I just received in my INBOX from Shari F. Leventhal:

FIREMEDIA PARTNERS TO LAUNCH ADVANCED CREATIVE AND MEDIA SOLUTIONS FOR TV, WEB AND MOBILE

Former Firebrand Executives form New Media Company Designed to Deliver Integrated Marketing, Creative and Media Services

New York (June 9, 2008) – Just over two months since the doors were abruptly closed at Firebrand headquarters in Lower Manhattan, former Firebrand executives have joined forces to form Firemedia Partners, designed to provide brands with integrated solutions for marketing across today’s emerging media

Firebrand, the world’s first synchronous multi-platform brand experience, launched across TV, web and mobile platforms in late November and closed in early March.

Firebrand’s former CMO, Shari F. Leventhal says, “The knowledge we gained from our Firebrand experience was invaluable, beginning with the streaming video website, the downloadable playlists, the nightly TV show and of course, the launch marketing campaign. The integrated effort, which combined traditional media with search marketing and social media networking, garnered over 2 million television viewers per week, generated over 250,000 unique visitors, and saw over 100,000 playlist downloads — all in just 90 days. We only scratched the surface in responding to the consumer appetite for great creative advertising. Now, we are tapping the creative talents of our Firebrand “A” team, to deliver entertaining and relevant content to consumers across all new media platforms on behalf of our clients.”

Firemedia services will include multi-platform strategy, branding, advertising, design, web development, production, promotions, social media networking and search engine marketing. Former Firebrand executives include: CMO Shari F. Leventhal, Creative Director Stacy Van Wickler, Brand Designer Patrick McDonough. Roman Vinoly, Firebrand’s co-founder, will serve as Creative Advisor.

More information on Firemedia Partners can be found at www.firemediapartners.com.

Press Contact: pr@firemediapartners.com

PR Contact
Nikki Marconi
#954 673-4164
pr@firemediapartners.com

Press can access images and further information at: Firemediapartners.com/press

Hopefully, a check will be forthcoming, too! Anyway, here’s the email she sent along with the news release:

If you have been wondering what’s next for Firebrand…the home of only the world’s best commercials across TV, web and mobile. Firebrand’s offices in lower Manhattan were abruptly closed a few months ago when our investors decided to stop funding the venture. But in its short though illustrious history, Firebrand’s efforts confirmed today’s consumer interest and appetite for the best in creative advertising across all platforms. And many of us involved with Firebrand still share that passion and believe that the journey has just begun. Enter Firemedia Partners.
(see attached RELEASE)

If you would like to share your insights as we continue on this journey, we invite you to join us via our Firemedia community on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19270015177

Also, feel free to contact us if you would like further information.

Shari F. Leventhal
Firemedia Partner
shari@firemediapartners.com

I am a huge fan of watching cars buzz through cities. Well, I like to keep Firebrand running sometimes in its “broadcast mode” which just plays and plays through 30-second spots. Well, I heard the sweetest little buzz of the Ferrari and ALT-TABBED to see what was playing. Well, it was this commercial:

The best video until this Shell ad came out was the video of a Ferrari 275 GTB buzzing through Paris at 140+ mpg:

Chris Abraham with Firebrand CJ Lauren, originally uploaded by Chris Abraham.

Here’s CJ Lauren from Firebrand and she’s posing with me in my new Firebrand hat (sweet!). To the left is a reflective neutral gray fabric seamless draped behind the CJs. To the right is a simple reflector — simply some foam core or even cardboard. “Marks” are taped to the floor. This is the cool reality behind modern video production. I am super surprised how teeny-weeny Lauren is — such a petite woman. However, I am also enormous, so she might be normal-sized.

Behind the Scenes in the Firebrand Studio, originally uploaded by Chris Abraham.

Check it out. Behind-the-scenes access to the magic behind the super-high-tech Firebrand world. You can see the video screen and the teleprompter. Her name is Lauren because I can read it there. I will find out what the lady’s name is who is doing the magic because she deserves some serious kudos.

Check out the screen — you can see better how the entire thing works. In the foreground is a soft white light — needed to make sure there aren’t that many shadows thrown onto the “green screen” which is actually neutral gray with a mono-directional reflector. This allows the camera to work with an LED-bejeweled ringlight fit with either blue or a green LED lights allowing more flexibility when it comes to the costuming of the CJs. Super cool.

As you’ll see, the studio is super small but that doesn’t matter, eh! It is super super close and when you throw the CJs into the Magical World of Firebrand, you have an entire universe!

Live Blogging Firebrand Thursday, originally uploaded by Chris Abraham.

I caught Firebrand on ION last night. Again, laughed my ass off. What I like most about Firebrand is that they treat commercials like little movies. The CJs discuss the directors, the actors, the agencies, and the outcomes of the ads. For any of you who are in the industry, it is a great education.

Actually, Firebrand is interesting for anyone interested in products, services, or television and the way things work. It also allows me to do come comparative studies since Firebrand isn’t jingoistic and offers access to commercials from around the world, especially online.

And, of course, cute CJs. Oh, and while Firebrand is and has been my client, the truth is is that they continue retaining me because I am a super fan.

The Firebrand Studio Undressed, originally uploaded by Chris Abraham.

I got to visit the Firebrand offices yesterday. I was an hour late because some guys from New York decided to win a Very Important Sporting Event and there was a ticker tape parade help. Well, when I arrived, I met Shari and Dawn, grabbed some za, and get to visit the Firebrand studio. Here it is. All the magic is super high-tech. Lauren, the CJ, is standing in front of a neutral density gray seamless with an interesting reflector component that “takes” the color of an LED rimlight around the lens: blue, green — whatever! And, the CJs need to learn how to interact with the Firebrand.com and ION UI. I had a lot of fun — it was great. What a great bunch of people. Very cool.

Hanging with a Beautiful Firebrand CJ!, originally uploaded by Chris Abraham.

I grabbed a meeting over at the Firebrand studios today and got to meet one of the Firebrand CJs, Lauren. I think that’s her name. I hope it’s her name. She was super great. They also gifted me that smashing hipster stocking cap. Sporting it, yo yo.

MON Feb 4th: It’s Firebrand Monday, the day after the Super Bowl – celebrate the holiest day in advertising with Reebok Office Linebacker, Terry Tate, heartbreaker Carmen Elektra and classic Super Bowl commercials!

The Road to Firebrand Monday
Promo Schedule

You’ve already seen all of the Firebrand Monday Spots. Now check out the blogger exclusive, The Road to Firebrand Monday, where only the greatest commercials get to play. Just tune in to the best Super Bowl commercials all this week on ION TV at 11PM/10C.

• TUE Jan 29th: “Big Budget Productions”
• WED Jan 30th: “Chicks in Charge”
• THU Jan 31st: “Big Time Celebrities”
• FRI Feb 1st: “Big Time Brands”
• SUNDAY is the Super Bowl!
• MON Feb 4th: It’s Firebrand Monday, the day after the Super Bowl – celebrate the holiest day in advertising with Reebok Office Linebacker, Terry Tate, heartbreaker Carmen Elektra and classic Super Bowl commercials!

For schedule information or for your local ION station, check out the Firebrand page on TV Guide. Or use your Zip code to find ION on your TV. Don’t forget to visit Firebrand online.

What is Firebrand Monday?

“The Super Bowl has always been the holy grail of advertising and Firebrand celebrates that,” says Shari F. Leventhal, Chief Marketing Officer. “Most people watch the Super Bowl with hopes of seeing the best, most creative commercials the ad industry can serve up. The greatest commercials get to play every day at Firebrand. So the Firebrand Monday campaign is our way of saluting the best of these commercials, past and present, as well as the famous icons that make commercials so memorable, and in many cases, a part of pop culture.

You have just under 24-hours until you can watch all of the very best commercials of the year — the Super Bowl commercials — on ION! Or, you can see the commercials all morning tomorrow on Firebrand.com. Why? Well, in case you were under a rock, tomorrow is Firebrand Monday! Check out all the best Super Bowl ads tomorrow night at 11/10C on ION TV.

• http://adcomments.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/firebrand-monday/
• http://adcomments.wordpress.com/2008/02/01/firebrand-press-release/
• http://agencyspy.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/is-that-lint-down-there-firebrands-superbowl-shuffle/
• http://aleyh.com/blogs/Tv-Series/440686/
• http://anbui.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/now-receiving-pitches-over-facebook-firebrand-monday/
• http://beinteractive.blogspot.com/2008/01/road-to-firebrand-monday.html
• http://blog.digitalbackcountry.com/?p=1254
• http://blog.holtz.com/index.php/weblog/will_firebrand_monday_breathe_new_life_into_30_second_spots/
• http://buzztter.com/en/k/Firebrand
• http://cabraham.com/one-day-firebrand-monday-and-all-super-bowl-commercials
• http://chris-abraham.com/
• http://chrisabraham.com/2008/02/02/liveblogging-firebrand-on-ion-on-friday/
• http://chrisabraham.com/tag/campaigns/
• http://chrisabraham.jaiku.com/
• http://chrisabraham.vox.com/library/post/watch-firebrand-monday-for-super-bowl-sunday-commercials.html
• http://chrisabraham.vox.com/library/post/watch-firebrand-monday-for-super-bowl-sunday-commercials.html?_c=feed-atom
• http://community.tvguide.com/thread/Firebrand/Road-Firebrand-Monday/800031742
• http://digg.com/television/Firebrand_Finds_a_Point
• http://digg.com/television/Will_Firebrand_Monday_breathe_new_life_into_30_second_spots
• http://digg.com/television/YouTube_-_Firebrand_Monday_Blogger_Exclusive_Video (29 diggs)
• http://digg.com/television/YouTube_Firebrand_Monday_Blogger_Exclusive_Video
• http://downloads-home.com/test/?p=31232
• http://experiencecurve.com/archives/firebrand-extremely-ambitious-advertising-as-content-destination
• http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/marcon/~3/225900156/
• http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/marcon/~3/226049388/
• http://freemyspaceicons.blogspot.com/2008/01/road-to-firebrand-monday-is-paved-with.html
• http://hiebingsuperblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/where-my-ads-at.html
• http://joannapenabickley.typepad.com/on/2008/01/on-a-holiday-to.html
• http://marketingconversation.com/2008/01/24/the-road-to-firebrand-monday-is-paved-with-super-bowl-turf/
• http://marketingconversation.com/2008/01/30/firebrand-getting-some-love-and-grief-from-the-blogosphere/
• http://marketingconversation.com/2008/01/30/its-the-road-to-firebrand-monday/
• http://memes.org/road-firebrand-monday-paved-icons
• http://memes.org/road-firebrand-monday-paved-super-bowl-turf
• http://mythologyretellings.blogspot.com/2008/01/road-to-firebrand-monday-is-paved-with.html
• http://mythologyretellings.blogspot.com/2008/01/road-to-firebrand-mondays.html
• http://news.myspace.com/style/fashion/item/14224832
• http://pownce.com/chrisabraham/notes/1287678/
• http://press.firebrand.com/?p=65
• http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=18898948
• http://repdis.com/
• http://repdis.com/category/uncategorized/
• http://roadtofirebrandspots.smnr.us/
• http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/weblog/2008/01/firebrand-helps.html
• http://rss.furl.net/item/30214399
• http://tattooedmarketer.com/2008/01/23/the-road-to-firebrand-monday-is-paved-with-super-bowl-turf/
• http://technoflak.blogspot.com/2008/01/what-is-firebrand-monday.html
• http://technorati.com/tag/Firebrand%20Monday
• http://technorati.com/tag/firebrand
• http://television.rockerreport.com/will_firebrand_monday_breathe_new_life_30_second_spots
• http://tezis.blogspot.com/2008/01/latest-from-shels-holtzs-blog_30.html
• http://tnc-most-emailed.blogspot.com/2008/01/firebrand-launches-first-national-ad.html
• http://toddand.com/2008/02/01/the-25-most-memorable-super-bowl-ads/
• http://twitter.com/chrisabraham/statuses/660330402
• http://twitter.com/chrisabraham/statuses/668810552
• http://twittervision.com/chrisabraham
• http://www.adrants.com/2008/01/firebrand-to-create-national-holiday-out.php
• http://www.adrants.com/2008/01/prediction-firebrand-will-not-exist-in.php
• http://www.armchairgm.com/Article:A_look_at_20_classic_Super_Bowl_Commercials
• http://www.armchairgm.com/Article:Super_Bowl_commercials_throughout_next_week
• http://www.beneaththebrand.com/2008/01/29/road-to-firebrand-mondays/
• http://www.beneaththebrand.com/category/television/
• http://www.blogcatalog.com/post-tag/launch/
• http://www.blogcatalog.com/post-tag/super%20bowl%20commercials/
• http://www.blogowogo.com/blog_article.php?aid=1227260&t=
• http://www.blogowogo.com/blog_article.php?aid=1227260&t=11
• http://www.boxxet.com/XM_Satellite_Radio/The_Road_to_Firebrand_Monday_is_Paved_With_Super_Bowl_Turf.1hlbzw.d
• http://www.brandflakesforbreakfast.com/2008/01/watch-nothing-but-commercials-between.html
• http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080122/FREE/901414345/1078/rss01&rssfeed=rss01
• http://www.buzztracker.com/permalink/30248/58842877/Will-Firebrand-Monday-breathe-new-life-into-30-second-spots
• http://www.buzztracker.com/permalink/32672/59136349/Ads-as-Content-with-Firebrand-Monday
• http://www.cabraham.com/pownce
• http://www.christopherabraham.com/twitter
• http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2008/01/31/ads-content-firebrand-monday
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisabraham/2235426769/
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• http://www.jackmyers.com/commentary/media-business-report/13810507.html
• http://www.la-story.com/television/road_to_firebrand_pregame_spot_rolls_out_catch_it/
• http://www.la-story.com/television/the_road_to_firebrand_the_best_of_commercials_unin/
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• http://www.meevee.com/channels/smartChannel.aspx?q=monday%20night%20football
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• http://www.techdispenser.com/posts/view/25002
• http://www.trendylist.com.ar/tag/ion-television/
• http://www.tweetmeme.com/2008/02/01/2205/videos.html
• http://www.tylerschnaidt.com/blocked/nph-index.pl/010110A/http/chrisabraham.com/
• http://www.urlfan.com/local/the_road_to_firebrand_monday_is_paved_with_super_bowl_turf_httptinyurl_com25mkfj/64150934.html
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs4M9FqgOrU (1,066 views!)
• http://www.zango.com/results.aspx?ct=200&search=firebrand
• http://xyiencediet.blogspot.com/2008/02/watch-firebrand-monday-for-super-bowl.html

Liveblogging Firebrand on ION, originally uploaded by Chris Abraham.

Well, today’s the last day on the Road to Firebrand — Friday night! Cute foreign CJ and lots of bizarre ads, including the famous preppy Smirnoff Tea Partay commercial. I am pretty sure that the Tea Partay idea started on YouTube, right? and then was co-opted by Smirnoff. Anyway, Firebrand Monday is on Monday so set your alarms, your Tivos, and your biological clock. Watch Firebrand on Monday night instead of the local news, which will suck anyway.

31/01/2008, originally uploaded by Chris Abraham.

Firebrand is my client and they love me because I love commercials. However, in the past, I consumed Firebrand exclusively via the Internet because I didn’t have cable and I lived in Berlin, Germany. Right this very moment, I am in the US and I am crashing at a Verizon FIOS Cable household and I am watching Firebrand on ION. It started at 11PM here in Arlington, VA, and it is great! The experience is very Web. Logos scroll along the bottom, just like they do online.

Also, there is a scrolling ticker along the top that promoted both the online Firebrand property, Firebrand.com. I love the CJ, too. I wish I knew her name. She’s in the picture above. Hopefully, someone will drop a comment for me and let me know more about her. Tonight is Thursday on the Road to Firebrand Monday! I really love it. I am pretty psyched to have Firebrand as a client, if you couldn’t already tell.

What’s even better is that I don’t have to watch the Super Bowl in order to see the commercials.  What is Firebrand Monday?  Well, while Super Bowl Sunday may broadcast all of the Super Bowl commercials, it breaks them up with football!

However, on Monday night at 11PM Eastern / 10PM Central, all of the commercials that will be featured for the big bucks during the Super Bowl XLII will be squished into an hour right along with the charming commentary from one of the super-charming and super-gorgeous CJs (Commercial Jockies).

And, if you don’t have ION, don’t worry. It’s all online as well on Firebrand Online.

You’ve already seen all of the Firebrand Monday Spots. Now check out the blogger exclusive, The Road to Firebrand Monday, where only the greatest commercials get to play. Just tune in to the best Super Bowl commercials all this week on ION TV at 11PM/10C.

• TUE Jan 29th: “Big Budget Productions”
• WED Jan 30th: “Chicks in Charge”
• THU Jan 31st: “Big Time Celebrities”
• FRI Feb 1st: “Big Time Brands”
• SUNDAY is the Super Bowl!
• MON Feb 4th: It’s Firebrand Monday, the day after the Super Bowl – celebrate the holiest day in advertising with Reebok Office Linebacker, Terry Tate, heartbreaker Carmen Elektra and classic Super Bowl commercials!

For schedule information or for your local ION station, check out the Firebrand page on TV Guide. Or use your Zip code to find ION on your TV. Don’t forget to visit Firebrand online.

What is Firebrand Monday?

“The Super Bowl has always been the holy grail of advertising and Firebrand celebrates that,” says Shari F. Leventhal, Chief Marketing Officer. “Most people watch the Super Bowl with hopes of seeing the best, most creative commercials the ad industry can serve up. The greatest commercials get to play every day at Firebrand. So the Firebrand Monday campaign is our way of saluting the best of these commercials, past and present, as well as the famous icons that make commercials so memorable, and in many cases, a part of pop culture.

• Blogger Exclusive Video: http://firebrandbloggerexclusive.smnr.us/ (with handy EMBED code)
• Road to Firebrand Schedule on ION TV: http://firebrandmonsched.smnr.us/
• Road to Firebrand Spots: http://roadtofirebrandspots.smnr.us/
• Road to Firebrand Press Release: http://firebrandmonday.smnr.us/
• Firebrand Online: http://www.firebrand.com

In response to my recent post, Here’s a Dead Sexy Look at Firebrand TV For You!, I defined Firebrand as Dead Sexy. Well, it is, but it was Dude Sexy. Then came Stevie Wilson, who commented, “love that DIRT section. Bring it on. Give me that game or whatever to play. I am all for that one. The other stuff— cmon.. don’t they do stuff that the *ladies* would really love or do they need to add a woman’s touch to the content…” So, I looked for something more for the ladies. I don’t know how well I did, but you tell me: Firebrand Water World.

NBA star Kevin Garnett gets an autograph session going for Foot Locker, and Codemasters gets behind the wheel with legendary rally driver Colin McRae. Plus, some serious cell defense from Sprint-Nextel, and even more serious Nascar fans from Oreo!

This is basically a good “first experience” of what every minute of every day is like at Firebrand, 24-hours/day online and for an hour-a-day on ION Network, from 11PM, week nights.

Anyway, this is a big couple weeks for Firebrand — the Road to Firebrand Monday. Here’s an excerpt of the email I sent out last Monday:

…We’re only a couple weeks away from the Big Game — and all the associated commercials. Why not check out all of the best ads from the “holiest days of advertising” over at Firebrand, http://www.firebrand.com.

Next week Monday, I’m going to offer you up a blogger exclusive — a spot called “the road to Firebrand Monday” (teaser below) — but for now, I just wanted to get back in touch and catch you up and offer up a couple spots we launched today: the Pre-Game Spot: http://youtube.com/watch?v=C8rYZWReyzw, the Kick-Off Spot: http://youtube.com/watch?v=iEXhigptdM8, and the Half-Time Spot: http://youtube.com/watch?v=c8fwNM. You can check out the full details over at our press release, http://firebrandmonday.smnr.us.

I’ll get back to you next Monday with the blogger exclusive but for now here’s a teaser, “We’re kicking off the road to Firebrand Monday, playing with some of the best names in the game — Mr. Peanut, Bob’s Big Boy, the Cavemen and a California raisin, just to name a few. Some of the greatest icons in advertising are going head-to-head during the Big Game, but who will come out on top?”

And, if you have any questions, please pop me an email and I will get back to you personally — and if you’re interested in more general Firebrand info, feel free to join the official Firebrand group on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5967126396.

My Blog Post About the Road to Firebrand Monday
http://chrisabraham.com/2008/01/24/the-road-to-firebrand-monday-is-paved-with-astroturf/

Road to Firebrand Monday Press Release
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=SPORTNET.story&STORY=/www/story/01-21-2008/0004739662&EDATE=MON+Jan+21+2008,+08:00+AM
http://press.firebrand.com/?p=63

YouTube Group: http://youtube.com/Firebrandtv
MySpace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/FirebrandTV
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5967126396

Road to Firebrand Monday Spots on YouTube
http://youtube.com/watch?v=C8rYZWReyzw
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iEXhigptdM8
http://youtube.com/watch?v=c8fwNMrBvMk

ION Television
http://www.ionline.tv/schedule.php

Firebrand on TV Guide
http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/firebrand/292213

The Firebrand Site (All Commercials, All the Time)
http://www.firebrand.com/

The Road to Firebrand starts next week on ION (at 11PM every weekday night) and online at Firebrand.com. Firebrand loves working with me because I love commercials more than I love television. I am an evangelist. This week, they’re coming down the pike with something called The Road to Firebrand, “the multi-million dollar media buy will include spots on cable networks like MTV, G4, Sci Fi and VHI, as well as online video placements on TVGuide.com, YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, among others.” Check it out — it’s quite good and highlights all of our favorite stars from a lifetime of TV commercials and ads — true icons. Here are the teaser spots: Pregame, Kickoff, and Half Time:

Pre Game

Kick Off

Half Time

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR Contact:
Dawn Rowan
646-747-3600
dawn.rowan@firebrandtv.com

Press can access images and further information at
http://press.firebrand.com

FIREBRAND LAUNCHES FIRST NATIONAL AD CAMPAIGN:
“THE ROAD TO FIREBRAND MONDAY”
WHERE ONLY THE GREATEST COMMERCIALS GET TO PLAY

All-Star Campaign includes the Caveman, the St. Pauli Girl, the Crash Test Dummy,
Mr. Peanut, Bob’s Big Boy and Mr. Clean, among others.

New York (January 21, 2008) – Firebrand, the hottest spots from the coolest brands, on TV, web and mobile, will celebrate “the Holiest Day in Advertising,” with the launch of its first national holiday campaign, “The Road to Firebrand Monday.” The multi-million dollar media buy will include spots on cable networks like MTV, G4, Sci Fi and VHI, as well as online video placements on TVGuide.com, YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, among others.

The Road to Firebrand Monday campaign begins today with at least three new commercials– PreGame, KickOff and HalfTime – on-air and online over the next two weeks, driving viewers to tune into Firebrand, starting January 28th on ION TV (weeknights 11PM/10C). And all that week on TV, web and mobile, Firebrand will begin showcasing playlists related to the Big Game.

The campaign culminates on the first annual “Firebrand Monday,” February 4th, the day after the Big Game. On TV, the hour will be dedicated to major ads from the Big Game, featuring Celebrity CJs such as Reebok’s “Office Linebacker” Terry Tate and Carmen Electra, who makes her Big Game debut in an ad for Hershey’s “Ice Breakers.” All content is downloadable on mobile devices, iTunes and Firebrand.com. And that morning, Firebrand.com will have only the best of the previous day’s commercials ready for download, allowing viewers to share and rate them all, and to decide for themselves which spot wins the coveted “Firebrand Water Cooler” trophy.

“The Big Game has always been the holy grail of advertising and Firebrand celebrates that,” says Shari F. Leventhal, Chief Marketing Officer. “Most people watch the big game with hopes of seeing the best, most creative commercials the ad industry can serve up. The greatest commercials get to play every day at Firebrand. So the Firebrand Monday campaign is our way of saluting the best of these commercials, past and present, as well as the famous icons that make commercials so memorable, and in many cases, a part of pop culture.”

Viewers watching the Firebrand Monday commercials will be treated to a series of spots featuring a parody of some of the most popular commercial icons including Mr. Clean, Mr. Peanut and the Cavemen, among others. The icons are placed on a football backdrop, either behind the scenes getting psyched up for the game, in the locker room, or huddling conspiratorially on the field. No matter how you slice it, Firebrand delivers an entertaining tribute to what has become advertising’s greatest sporting event.

The fun continues for a week starting Firebrand Monday to the following Monday where every spot that is viewed, downloaded, emailed or embedded earns the viewer a chance to enter to win cash.

Major investors in Firebrand include Microsoft, NBC Universal and GE’s Peacock Equity Fund. Firebrand can be found at www.firebrand.com <http://www.firebrand.com> , and weeknights on ION television network at 11 PM/10C and on www.itunes.com <http://www.itunes.com> . For additional information, check out http://press.firebrand.com.

Firebrand. Where only the greatest commercials get to play.

###

Firebrand Multimedia

• Road to Firebrand Monday

  • Half Time 30secTV
  • Kick Off 30secTV
  • Pregame 30secTV
  • Road to Firebrand Monday-JPG

• Screenshots of Firebrand

  • Firebrand Logo-AI
  • Firebrand Logo-JPG
  • Firebrand Logo-SWF
  • Firebrand Search
  • MOBILE
  • SYNCHRONOUS
  • TV
  • WEB

• Firebrand Social Media

  • Del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • iTunes
  • Myspace
  • YouTube

2007

November 27

Just What The World Needs Now

David Burn, AdPulp
(read more…)

Firebrand Makes Its Debut As The First 3 Screen, Multi-Platform Network Dedicated to Commercial Culture

Alan Weinkrantz, 3 Screens.net

(read more…)

November 26

Can Firebrand Make Commercials Hot?

Chris Albrecht, GigaOm

(read more…)

Firebrand Makes its Debut as the First Multi-Platform Network Dedicated to Commercial Culture

create magazine

(read more…)

Commericals as Content

Charles Sipe, Cool Marketing Stuff

(read more…)

Forget about the Super Bowl Ads

By Tarik Moody, RadioMilwaukee’s Diggin’ with the Architect

(read more…)

November 15

Firebrand movie includes work!

Be.Interactive

(read more…)

FirebrandTV; A Great Way to Waste Time at Work

Marketing Conversation

(read more…)

Fond of commercials? This post is for you

VOIP

(read more…)

November 14

In (Mild) Defense of Firebrand

grokdotcom

(read more…)

For the birds

Make The Logo Bigger

(read more…)

Firebrand – For those without enough commmercials in their life

Movie Marketing Madness

(read more…)

November 13

Firebrand

Be.Interactive

(read more…)

November 12

all in one place

zefrank

(read more…)

October 10

Influx Interview- Shari Leventhal- Firebrand

Influx Insights

(read more…)

October 1

Brands on fire

‘Cross The Breeze

(read more…)

September 26

Firebrand Shows Ads The Way MTV Used To Show Music Videos

By Rohit Bhargava, Influential Marketing Blog

(read more…)

September 25

how firebrand lit a blog on fire

Brand Flakes for Breakfast

View Full Article

Firebrand All-Ad Video Network Set to Debut

By Kamau High, Adweek

(read more…)

Commercial Culture Gets Its Due

Brand Noise

(read more…)

Brands on fire (with a little help from crayon)

By Greg Verdino, Greg Verdino’s Marketing Blog

(read more…)

Life after the 30-second spot?

By Joseph Jaffe, Jaffe Juice

(read more…)

Consumers Gain Greater Control As Brands Get Fire

A Media Circ.us

(read more…)

Firebrand Preview Launches during Advertising Week – Love Coverage

By David Berkowitz, Inside the Marketers Studio

(read more…)

Firebrand – Extremely Ambitious Advertising as Content Destination

Karl Long, Experience Curve

(read more…)

Microsoft, NBCU Back Venture That Turns Ads Into Content

By David Goetzl, Media Daily News

(read more…)

Commercials serious business at Firebrand

By Alex Woodson, The Hollywood Reporter

(read more…)

TV Commercials Redistributor Firebrand Raises Funds

Submitted by Mark Hefflinger, Digital Media Wire

(read more…)

Firebrand All-Ad Video Network Set to Debut

By Kamau High, Brandweek

(read more…)

Tech company offers commercials only

By Amanda Fung, Crain’s New York Business.com

(read more…)

NBC: That’s Advertainment

By Stuart Elliott, The New York Times

(read more…)

Sunset over Washington with Contrails, originally uploaded by Chris Abraham.

While I was driving around the Hill while on a business call with Firebrand I came upon this amazing blaze of sky and sunset. Was going to turn left into Eastern Market but continued southwest along North Capitol Street, SE, and grabbed this beauty. Wow, what a sensational sky.