I slowly wake up and blink my eyes open a bit. It’s early but my alarm hasn’t gone off yet, as I adjust to my surroundings. My very, very interesting surroundings. I realize where I am. I’m in a hotel in San Francisco, and I’m awake early because I’m still on New York time. I pull on my running shoes, shorts, t-shirt, and a pullover, excited for a morning run along the Embarcadero.
When I hit the lobby, I stop at the front desk. There’s a cheerful, eager-to-help person behind the counter at the Hotel Triton. I nod as I walk by, pause, turn back and say,
“Excuse me, I’m sorry. I was tired from my cross-country flight last night when I got in very late, but I could have sworn that you told me that you had upgraded my room, and that I could have all the Haagen-Dazs ice cream I could eat during my stay.”
“Yes, sir, that’s true” was the reply.
“So I wasn’t dreaming? I can eat every pint of ice cream in that mini refrigerator and you won’t charge me anything extra?” I say, to the person working in an industry that routinely charges $36 for scrambled eggs room service or $13 for a bottle of water and a Snickers from the mini bar.
“That’s correct, sir. Enjoy your run.”
Enjoy my run I did. In fact, I did a few more miles than I planned. After all, I would need to burn some extra calories over the next few days.
Today’s Show: Sweet Suite Marketing – Hotel Triton gave me free unlimited Haagen-Dazs in my hotel room. I did NOT have a problem with this.
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
Here’s a summary of today’s topic:
It wasn’t a dream, but it as a great marketing angle to discuss.
Over the holiday break I saw the movie “Up in the Air” starring George Clooney, which has pulled in about $50 million at the box office as of this recording. The film shows Clooney as a lifetime veteran of airline travel, operating with ruthless efficiency while showing a new business traveler the ropes.
While I’m not hanging out in the Admirals Club with executive platinum members, I do have a decent amount of business travel under my belt over the years.
So as I prepare to head out to the Wired office in San Francisco for a few days and need to crank out a quick podcast before I go, having just packed for my flight tomorrow, I figured I’d give you a glance into my bag. Doing this has gained some popularity, just do a google image search for What’s in my bag or check out the What’s in your Bag group on Flickr.
So I decided to put together a podcast titled:
How to Pack for a Business Trip
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
Here’s an outline of today’s topics:
First – the global rules
- In the age of IM, email, conference calls, and video chat, why do business travel in the first place?
- Always fly direct
- Never check bags
- The time of day I always try to fly
- My tips (or lack thereof) for dealing with Jetlag
- Keep a vacation / trip checklist
Hey everybody and Happy New Year! It is so great to be back and diving into 2010 like a toddler at a kiddie pool.
Today’s topic is a little of everything. A pot pourri. A pot luck dinner of a multitude of topics.
It’s Ramblings and Rants.
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
Here’s an outline of today’s topics:
The 4-Hour Workweek
I talked about this book last year in my Book Report post listing my favorite marketing and business books, and to be honest, not much has changed so I will give you my review again below.
But what HAS changed is that he has an updated version of the book, with 100 new pages. Were these amazing new updates? Not really. However, I really wanted to read the book again, so figured the low price of $11 for The 4-Hour Workweek on Amazon.com was worth it.
Do you set goals at the end of every year? Not cliched, forgettable “I need to lose 5 pounds” goals. But real, tangible, goals? Do you write them down? And do they matter? Let’s find out.
This week I did things a little differently. Rather than interview a guest, and rather than meticulously write out a blog post, I ranted for a bit unscripted. And I liked it. So until I post the full transcript, the best way to hear this week’s topic is to listen to the podcast:
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
In the meantime, I’ll expand just a bit on the outline that I followed:
“Scary WalMart Security Guards In Black Hoodies Prevent Black Friday Deaths” was a headline I read over the Thanksgiving break on The Business Insider, referring to the sad death of a temporary worker that died last year when early bird customers rushed the doors. Oh, and they forgot to mention the bullhorns. (Photo credit: NY Times slideshow).
But it never should have come to that.
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
As a self-proclaimed “hyper-influencer” and in layman’s terms “the guy everyone asks for tech and shopping advice,” there’s no way I would ever recommend forsaking time with family during the holidays, getting out of a warm bed at 5am, and elbowing other like-minded, bad-at-math, so-called bargain hunters for the lowest possible quality flat-screen TV available at retail.
Before I even get to my rules, I can tell you they violate good shopping logic on so many levels.
Hi, this is Jim Hopkinson, Wired’s Marketing Guy, bringing you the marketing trends that matter. Welcome!
Today’s topic is Auto-Tune, an interview with the Gregory Brothers from ‘Auto-Tune the News.’
Jim Hopkinson: Oh, yeah! [Auto-Tune] Hey everyone, this is Jim. Today’s episode is a fun one. I’ll keep the intro fairly short – there are three main points you need to know:
It’s sort of like your TV news as you always wished to receive it… with a poppin’ beat and a happenin’ bass line .”
That’s how The Gregory Brothers describe their series of videos, Auto-Tune the News. I’ve been following the series for months now, and tweeting and forwarding them to anyone looking for funny entertainment at the intersection of pop culture, music, and technology.
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
For those unfamiliar, there are 3 main points you need to know:
# 1) There’s a digital process in music called Auto-Tune. Think of it as photoshop for your voice. Almost every artist makes small touches to enhance the product, while others use it liberally to radically alter the original recording. You might originally know the effect from Cher’s 1998 Grammy-award winning, multi-platinum dance song “Believe.”
# 2) Modern artists like T-Pain have brought it back big time, not only with award-winning songs, but also collaborating with Saturday Night Live for their popular digital short “I’m on a boat,” with Jimmy Kimmel for skits on his show, and he has an iPhone app called “I am T-Pain.” More on that in a second.
# 3) A Brooklyn-based band called The Gregory Brothers have made a hilarious string of viral videos called “Auto-Tune the News,” which mix political and pop culture news footage with a poppin beat and a happenin’ bass line, all set to Auto-Tune. I interviewed Andrew, Michael, and Evan on the podcast.
Auto-Tune the News #2 is one of my favorites, and the original where Katie Couric utters the now-famous line “Very Thin Ice.” As you’ll see, the brothers superimpose themselves into the newscasts, wearing outfits ranging from hip hop garb to an angry gorilla.
As a service (torture) to my readers, I show how Auto-Tune can take a hopelessly horrible singer like myself, and at least give you a laugh. Play the podcast to see how my opening intro sounds after running it through T-Pain’s Auto-Tune iPhone app.
If there are two other words that best describe internet marketing in the last few years, I don’t know what they are. As a marketing guy at Wired.com, I must come across that term 100 times a week. Maybe 1,000.
It’s not shocking that I’m immersed in social media because I’m directly dealing with social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and reddit.
It’s not surprising when I read about strategies that 5 person tech startups, apartment-based entrepreneurs, digital ad agencies, and veteran web-based companies are rolling out.
But what I really find fascinating is when non-traditional companies embrace — and dominate — social media.
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
I think about some of the random companies that really ‘get’ social media, and when you think about it objectively, it can actually be amusing. What if you did this quiz just 2 years ago, before the Twitter explosion, asking people who they thought would have millions of followers.
Has there ever been a better quote on the topic of longevity?
This means one of my favorite weekend activities in New York City, going to long brunches with friends… savoring a hot cup of coffee… debating the eggs vs. pancakes vs. french toast conundrum… and without fail, ordering a side of delicious, crispy bacon, is actually helping me live a long and fulfilling life.
- This is a quote of legends
– This is a quote that was tailor-made for bacon fans (and oh, there are many)
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
In an interview with the The Hopkinson Report (read the full transcript of the Spreadshirt interview here), Jana tells how a deal they’ve done with CNN allows users to instantly take any headline that CNN runs and make it into a t-shirt. (Buy the bacon shirt here). They’ve also done a similar deal with reddit.com.
It’s just another way that users are getting customized, real-time products online. No longer do users need to watch network TV when they can make their own movies with a Flip Camera, iMovie, and YouTube. No longer do users need newspapers when they can write their own blog. And of course, your everyday marketing guy can create his own podcast for thousands to listen to.
With Spreadshirt, users no longer have to order huge quantities and guess on sizing to get a custom t-shirt created. In fact, I’ve been using Spreadshirt long before I was introduced to Jana, having created a Hopkinson Report T-shirt back in March.
I did it to do a little promotion while I was at SXSW and have kept it low-key, but if any fans out there want a unique t-shirt, you can check it out at TheHopkinsonReport.com/Store.
More than just a t-shirt
More than just the shirt itself, the great thing about it is that you can choose from several styles, from basic heavyweight T’s to American Apparel… from your standard cotton guy’s shirt, to the girly ones that have the little microsleeves… from long sleeve shirts to hoodies… in just about any color you want… and you can price it any way you want to.
Shirts + Social Media = Fashionable, Profitable Marketing for IWearYourShirt.com
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
In my profession as an online marketer in the social media arena in New York City, I often find myself surrounded by three types of people…
1) Entrepreneurs looking to start a fun, unique business
2) Companies asking for new and inventive ways to market their product on a budget
3) People trying to harness the power of social media
Jason Sadler from IWearYourShirt.com is a walking, talking Venn Diagram of these three concepts merged together.
First, he has come up with a side business that not only generates more than $66,000 a year, but also ensures that he never has to buy another t-shirt nor worry about what to put on in the morning.
Second, he is offering a unique way for companies to get the word out about their product in 2009 for $365 or less, that doesn’t involve a traditional banner ad or Google keyword.
Lastly, he is harnessing the power of social media. By building up a personal network of followers on his blog, Facebook, Twitter, and video channels, he can expose a sponsor’s message to thousands of people, who then may in turn spread the word to thousands more. One company estimates Jason increased their social media presence 230%! See the transcript below for details (stats are bolded).
We had a great interview where he talks about:
- How he got the idea - Why businesses get their money’s worth - How his girlfriend — and grandmother — feel about him wearing a t-shirt every day.
Speaking of Venn Diagrams, Wired took the opportunity to buy Friday, September 18 Monday, September 28 from I Wear Your Shirt to promote the fact that they are giving away a FREE one-of-a-kind Venn Diagram with the purchase of an annual Wired Magazine subscription.
Update: Jason ‘wore our shirt’ on 9/28. See his blog post or watch the video below.
Last I checked, t-shirts were running anywhere from $15-$50 at retail outlets. This offer is $10 for a cool shirt AND you get 12 issues of Wired Magazine delivered to your door? No brainer.
—————————————————————- Full transcript of Jim Hopkinson interviewing Jason Sadler of I Wear Your Shirt on The Hopkinson Report podcast.
Jim Hopkinson: Hi, I’m on the line with Jason from IWearYourShirt.com which is a really unique business where Jason has actually outsourced his wardrobe to corporate America. Welcome Jason.
Jason Sadler: Thanks for having me.
Jim: So tell me, what is IWearYourShirt, why did you start this, and how did you get this crazy idea?
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Do you set goals at the end of every year? Not cliched, forgettable “I need to lose 5 pounds” goals. But real, tangible, goals? Do you write them down? And do they matter? Let’s find out.
“World’s Oldest Person Credits Bacon”
