Google Hater: Ad Tech VISA CMO Antonio Lucio Slams Giant

Ad Tech VISA CMO Talks Digital Transformation, a photo by zennie62 on Flickr.

Ad Tech Day Two San Francisco's Moscone Center West (really Day One, as it's the first full day), started with a keynote presentation by VISA CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) Antonio Lucio, who's talk was one part about digital and e-commerce from VISA's experience, another part how he hates Google.

Well, hate is a strong word, but it's appropriate, because in the middle of his talk, he presented Google as, er, arrogant "We're smart (er than you), we have 73 percent of the market." And showing the kind of distain for the search giants expressed by everyone from newspaper publishers, to online marketers, and bloggers.

But aside from his issues with Google, Lucio shared some interesting findings from VISA's foray into social media:

1) Facebook has changed the way we interact and even shop.
2) Zynga, the Facebook gaming platform, has a higher level of "engagement" than the norm for the Internet. "Engagement" is the act of sharing information about a something online.
3) There's a process VISA observers in the online path to the purchase of a "something" that has been influenced by social media. It starts with 1) Advocate, 2) Consider, 3) Evaluate, then 4) Buy.
4) Today, a brand needs what Lucio calls "An Army of Advocates." Those are people talking favorably about your brand or about you.

Lucio didn't talk about the negatives, like people not talking favorably about you online. Moreover, he didn't talk about the fact that, even online, bad buzz, if based on an opinion, and not a fact, can cause a backlash and create good buzz over time.

Press Briefing Intros New Apps.

At the press briefing after the keynote, we were introduced to new product apps Made In Social (which looks at who's saying what about your brand), Loyalize (a real time audience engagement product where you can block cussing trolls), and AYTM (for Ask Your Target Market). (And an apology to other firm's I missed because I had to walk away and do The Tonya Hall Radio Show at 1300 AM in Colorado Springs - plug for her show.)

Stay tuned with me at AdTech via Twitter! Click here to follow me at Zennie62.

Cheaters TV Show: Joey Greco On Cheating At Reality Rocks LA

If you've ever stayed up late, then chances you watched "Cheaters," a show featuring Joey Greco where people have him and his crew spy on the partner they think is cheating on them. Of course, Cheaters always catches the cheater.

When they do, it always ends up going bad, where the person being cheated on wants to beat up the person who's loving the cheater. It almost never fails to happen, that story line.

This blogger met Joey Greco at Reality Rocks Expo LA, and talked briefly about his show's popularity. "If you ask me, I just would simply have to say, it touches on a topic that everyone can relate to. You either have done it, had it done to you, or know someone that their life has been touched by (cheating). And, in any of those scenarios, you see and recognize the fallout from those decisions. And I think that's what makes our show compelling as it is to watch.

Mr. Greco says his show has changed how he views and looks at relationships. He says that he now believes that one should immediately act to fix a situation where cheating has occurred. "It doesn't mean you have to break up," he said, "but move to a place where you figure out if it's something worth continuing and everyone gets to go their own direction.

In his answers, it felt like Greco had a story to tell himself. Has Joey Greco ever been cheated on? The answer he gave was cryptic: "I think, at one point in our lives, we've all been on one side or the other."

Interesting. Which side for Greco, we may never know.

2011 NFL Draft - Arizona Cardinals Don't Need A Quarterback

For some reason that smells of helping a certain agent, some at the NFL Network are jack-bull-determined to push Missouri Quarterback Blaine Gabbert as a top pick, even trying to push teams like The Arizona Cardinals to pick him.

Blaine Gabbert really isn't that good. He didn't win a national championship or his last bowl game. And on long passes he's not accurate at all. Plus, the moment he sniffs a pass rush, he runs for the hills, or in football, the sidelines.

Even with all of that, and more, people like ESPN's Todd McShay, NFL Network's Mike Mayock and Charles Davis, still talk about Gabbert as if they are reciting political talking points. Think about that, the next time you hear these guys talk about the Mizzou thrower.

Now, they're trying to push Gabbert on the Arizona Cardinals, just because the Cards have the fifth pick, and had a terrible passing game in 2010, and they have something going where they feel compelled to constantly pump Gabbert's name.  It's weird.

Here's why the Arizona Cardinals don't need to waste their 2011 NFL Draft First Round Pick on a quarterback:

First, they have a ton of young quarterbacks. Derek Anderson and Richard Bartel are 27 and 28 years old, and BYU Rookie Max Hall is just 25, and John Skelton of Fordham is just 23.  Their average age is  25.75 years old, and all of the signal callers have great potential.

Second, the Cardinals elevated Mike Miller to Offensive Coordinator and the word is that now Second-Year QB John Skelton is looked at as the heir apparent.

It would be just plain stupid for the Cardinals to go up and pick a quarterback and get hooked up with paying a large signing bonus of around $27 million at that level, then actually lose teaching time because they can't have contact with him beyond the Draft, and all to solve what really is a passing scheme problem?

That is simply not logical.  It would be great if the NFL Network and ESPN draft talkers admitted that. 

Sun Cal And US Army Exchange Properties In Dublin, CA

Sun Cal, once hard at work in trying to redevelop the Alameda Naval Air Station in a politically-complex environment, has just assembled a deal to swap land with the US Army.

The objective? For Sun Cal to build new military facilities at Camp Parks Reserve Forces Training Area in Dublin, Ca, in exchange for 180 acres of land that will be developed into a master - planned community.

Sun Cal was selected for this after a competitive bid process that saw 150 investors, contractors, developers and other interested parties attended an "industry day" to launch the Army's search.

What About Camp Parks?

Camp Parks will gain a new main gate and 4,300 square-foot administrative building for base police. This will be followed by a 33,000 square-foot area maintenance support facility; a 33,000 square-foot regional medical training facility; a 42,000 square-foot Army Reserve training facility; a 40,000 square-foot public works/logistics warehouse; and a variety of road and utilities infrastructure construction and improvements.

On the 180 acres Sun Cal receives, it will build a 1,500 home "new town" called "Dublin Crossing," a pedestrian - friendly, mixed - use community that planners say will connect the east and west sides of town currently separated by Camp Parks.

We're pleased to reach this important milestone so new base facilities can be built at no added cost to taxpayers," said Joseph Calcara, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army. "This exchange represents the type of innovative public - private partnerships that will enable us to maintain top - rate facilities for our Reserve Forces for many decades to come."

"We can now move forward with the planning and construction of new facilities for the Army," said David Soyka, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, SunCal. "Dublin Crossing is designed to serve the ongoing growth needs of the Bay Area fueled by job growth. Through the use of public transportation, families will be able to walk to BART and leave their cars at home."

"This brings the vision of Dublin Crossing a step closer to reality," said Dublin Mayor Tim Sbranti. "We're excited to continue working with SunCal as we partner to bring new jobs, shops, restaurants and homes, plus parks and trails, to Dublin. This new neighborhood is a significant part of our city’s future."

Jenn Sterger, WNBA Draft Rookies Maya Moore, Liz Cambage, Hotter

Now, former New York Jets sideline reporter is the hot search on Google, but really it should be the  two-time NCAA Women's Basketball Champion UConn Huskies star Maya Moore, who was drafted number one by the Minnesote Lynx today. Sorry, but Maya Moore is much hotter than Jenn Sterger, and she can dunk, too.

In fact, in watching the first six WNBA Draft picks on ESPN (before they switched to ESPNU), all of them were much hotter than Jenn Sterger. They're beautiful, tall, athletic, buffed, smart chics. Two from the Stanford Cardinal among them, Kayla Forward Pedersen and Guard Jeanette Pohlen, who were drafted by the Tulsa Shock and the Indiana Fever, respectively, look like star movie actresses on the red carpet.

And Elizabeth Cambage from down under and drafted after Moore by the Tulsa Shock? Six-feet eight inches of still-growing hotness in a dress, with incredible legs. Take a look at this video about her, before the WNBA Draft:



Yes, this blogger's objectifying WNBA rookies, and why not? Something's really screwed up in a society where we pay homage to weak women, talk about the athleticism of men and have NFL Combines with guys running around in shorts and shirtless, and try to cover up the sexuality of women in sports.

That ESPN produced the WNBA Draft for television and got all of these amazing athletes "done up" will change how people in America look at women's basketball, and tune in more often.  But it also calls into question the WNBA's whole marketing strategy.

Regardless of what anyone says, the WNBA and women's sports in general, should emphasize sexuality.   We know they can play and love to see them play, but this blogger's sick and tired of the implication that to like how these women look is wrong.  Especially since we hear NFL draft expert, after NFL draft expert talk about some guy's chest.  C'mon, folks.  Give me a break!

Indeed, it's just plain sick to try and hide the incredible sexual power of these female athletes.  If the WNBA had its marketing act together, and American society had its head screwed on straight, Maya Moore would be the top Google search trend, not Jenn Sterger.

Someone call Hugh Hefner, now! The Women Of The WNBA?  Hell yes!  Do it!  I'd rather see them than some skinny-mini like Jenn Sterger.

In closing, thank you ESPN!

2011 NFL Draft - NFL Lockout Makes Taking QB In Top Ten Questionable

The NFL Lockout presents a problem not commonly talked about by draft experts like ESPN's Mel Kiper and NFL Network's Mike Mayock: teams can't have any kind of direct contact with the players they draft in the 2011 NFL Draft.

That heavily impacts the quarterback conversation, where some, like Kiper and Mayock, have predicted (or is it suggested?) that The Carolina Panthers take either Cam Newton or Blaine Gabbert as the number one pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. So, for the sake of example, let's say the Panthers do that, as unwise as it would be.

Commissioner Roger Goodell says "With the first pick, the Carolina Panthers select Cam Newton, Quarterback, Auburn." Or Commissioner Roger Goodell says "With the first pick, the Carolina Panthers select Blaine Gabbert, Quarterback, Missouri." In ether case, the Panthers are looking at a signing bonus of between $40 million and $50 million, and the need to get their prized selection into team headquarter and then to mini camp, the very next week.

That was the case last year for Sam Bradford, the Oklahoma Sooners signal caller who was picked number one by the St. Louis Rams. Bradford met with the media at the Draft, then got on a plane to St. Louis to meet his new bosses, first among them Rams Head Coach Steve Spagnuolo. Then, the very next week, Rams Rookie Mini Camp started, and allowed Spagnuolo to not just make sense of the new playbook, or new to the draft picks, but how it feels to run the plays in it.

Now, fast-forward to 2011. The Carolina Panthers can't do any of that because of the NFL Lockout. The Panthers can't fly their pick in to town for anything other than a press conference, coach the pick in camps of any kind, or have any direct contact with the pick.

Nothing.

NFL PR Head Greg Aiello says

They can bring in their draft picks for a press conference between the time they are picked and the conclusion of the draft on Saturday afternoon. Once the draft ends, a team can have no further contact with its draft picks until the work stoppage ends.

Sure, Newton and Gabbert can look at the playbook, but with all of the information flying around the Internet, they can already do that. What they can't do is run plays under the direction of the Panthers coaches.

The problem is not just that the teams can't have contact with their new teams, but that no one knows how long the NFL Lockout will go on for. So if the Lockout extends to June, that's two months of direct coaching time lost, and players who have no experience playing with their veteran NFL teammates. That means no time to develop a feel for the speed of the NFL game.

June is the start of training camp, and a month-and-a-half to essentially make up for lost time. Then the 2011 NFL season starts. So, you're going to throw in your Newton or Gabbert in just because you paid $40 million, plus for him?

The whole scenario winds up a waste of $40 million.

That's the situation facing a lot of NFL Teams and according to NFL Draft colleague and 34-year NFL Draft veteran Dr.William Chachkes, taking a QB high in the draft this year is dicey considering the prep time needed:

"The QB position today in 2011 is not the same "beast" as it was in 1996 or 2002, or even 2006. Today the "study" portion of a Qb's Preparation is a 12 month a year-work-in-constant progress. You can not expect to draft a QB in this draft class and expect him to be a major contributor if the Lockout continues past the draft week itself. If your (Team-Coach) expects a "drafted QB" to be ready for opening day 2011 you need to have every available minute to prepare."

Thus, the best decision for the Panthers is to take one of the top defenders available in a defender rich NFL Draft.  A defensive player is more ready to step in and play because the nature of the position is to react to what the offensive player does.  It's easier to get a great athlete and plug that person into the lineup with less training time.

So, in this draft, look for the Caroline Panthers to select a defender like Robert Quinn, the top ranked defensive end from North Carolina who runs like the wind - unless they're willing to spend $40 million and wait a year to see if the investment pays off.

Arianna Huffington At Ad Tech SF Digital Media Meeting

Ad Tech SF Digital Media 2011, a photo by zennie62 on Flickr.

This quick blog post is written from Ad Tech 2011 San Francisco, where the focus is Digital Media...and people, and cocktails.

On Wednesday morning, Huffington Post Founder Arianna Huffington will grace the event and talk for the thousandth time about the AOL purchase of her giant blog and what it means for the digital marketing industry.

But today, people are drinking and talking.

About 400 people are massing on the third level of Moscone Center West for a large party sponsored by, well, just about every company involved with sponsoring AdTech.

What's of interest to this blogger are the various new platforms and apps for everything from sponsorship engagement to online marketing and advertising.

And the parties. The SF Chapter of the American Marketing Association's having on Tuesday evening, and there are more meetups I'm sure to hear about as the time progresses.

Stay tuned.