DISQUS

Dear Blogger: Did you know that if you were a member of spout.com, imported this blog's RSS feed (I can explain if needed) and included a link to the page for Quantum of Solace your review would have appeared on that page, adding to the community driven nature of movie recommendations? Drop me a line if you have any questions.

Chris Thilk (Dir. of Mktg at Spout)

It's hard-hitting, insightful commentary like this that keeps me subscribed to your blog, David. Thanks.

I'd love to know what exactly is behind this. I read somewhere that it has to do with broken embargoes and a firm complaining about that, in which case this might not be the best issue for TC to go on the warpath over.

I'd love to try to explain it to you but I really can't.

While I do agree that personal blogs are personal blogs and should not be held as corporate positioning in any sense, I do think there's a point here about the connection between employee and employer, though it's not the one Arrington is making.

While this gentleman was not (in all likelihood) acting as a Microsoft representative, the fact that a person is publicly associated with a company, whatever it is, should factor to some extent in how they comport themselves online. Commenting on a post is the equivalent of getting into a conversation with someone at a restaurant while wearing a shirt that makes it clear who they work for. While they are not expressing a party line they need to be aware that their actions, in this situation, do have an impact on their employer's reputation and they need to be careful in what they do.

I'm not saying Arrington is right for throwing a little tantrum there, nor is Scoble, who's always ready to align himself with Mike because, as he consistently refrains, TC was one of the first blogs to link to him. But there is something to be said for making sure you're behaving in a manner that your employer would approve of and not doing anything that would cause their reputation to be damaged.

Well hey there sonny...I remember when I used to write for this here blogsite. Sure was a good time back in the day...yessir. T'weren't nothing quite like that...

I feel I should point out that my respect for you has at least doubled since reading this post.

You're my idol for including not just one but two pictures of video game-animated Hawkeye here.

I actually think this is part of a movie marketing campaign for a movie called Goliath about a missing cat. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1151339/

I think social media tools - not the content that's produced but the tools to produce it - actually do more to break down these silos than anything else. There are too many instances of good ideas being thrown out because people think "those are more marketing."

Social media is about finding the right tools to become a natural part of the conversation and not just shouting ad messages at people. The disintegrating lines between practice areas is why you see so many social media specialists who are just looking for a good way to talk to people.

Here's mine: http://twitter.com/CThilk. I do social media strategy at my PR firm.

I'll go beyond "pretty" and label it very smart. Instead of just making it easy to pass along the clip with a "Send to Friend" or some other tactic they've gone ahead and incentivized word of mouth. That, I think, creates an even stronger sense of people having a stake in the success of the movie.

If there's one problem I have with this, it's that there's no way to just link to the preview. That takes email more or less out of the picture, which shouldn't be overlooked in the age of social networks and embed codes and such. Just a thought.

It does only get better from here, trust me. Congratulations to you and your family.

OK, I'll take a shot.

Chris Thilk

[removed]

OK, you just guaranteed my entering this - whatever it is - with the Wordpress theme prize. I'm so in need of that on my site but lack the appropriate mad skillz.

No, no. As one of the guys who fed you his RSS feed, it's I who should thank you for the shout-out.

Movie Marketing Madness: http://feeds.feedburner.com/MovieMarketingMadness

You're right, of course, and bad on me for forgetting that so much of the
revenue stays with the distributor. Considering how much time I spend ragging
on the current distribution model I should be ashamed of myself for such a
lapse.

Yes, but could you tell us how you feel about TechMeme?

Hey Robert,
I'm actually one of the guys who organized this. Feel free to drop me a line and say hello. See you there!

For Immediate Release: www.forimmediaterelease.biz
Across the Sound: www.acrossthesound.net

Those are my favorites and fit the bill perfectly.

This is the same kind of thinking that has people more excited about "brand awareness" than sales increases. The campaign was, IMO, ill-thought out and poorly executed. No one knew anything about the movie. For all the emphasis about getting people started talking about the movie the main component of the promotion were those cup holders. Lombard's reaction is all about spinning an unfortunate outcome.