Washinton Post Seeks Sponsors for its Reporters

For a tidy sum of $25,000, corporate sponsors were invited to meet privately with Washington Post reporters last week. As part of a Congressional confab including lawmakers and Obama administration officials. The meetings were to be held over dinner in the “relaxed setting” of Post publisher Katharine Weymouth’s Washington home.

The Post sent out a flier, which was exposed by Politico.com, to a health care lobbyist inviting him to an exclusive “salon” July 21 at Weymouth’s house. The asking price from a corporate sponsor for a single gathering is $25,000 (the newspaper hoped to have two sponsors each session) with “annual series sponsorship of 11 Salons offered at $250,000.”

The invitation read: “Bring your organization’s CEO or executive director literally to the table. Interact with key Obama Administration and Congressional leaders."

Traditional media has always been active in offering event sponsorships. But the line being crossed here is the involvement with the journalistic product. No one needs more evidence that the newspaper business is crashing down. It's stunning to witness the ethics go with it.

More on the story here...

"Free" to Be You and Me: Chris Anderson's New Book

Seth, Malcolm and Chris are in a bit of a dust up. The kvetch is about Chris Anderson's brand new book, Free: The Future of a Radical Price (Hyperion, July 2009). I’m talking about guru and author Seth Godin, author and frequent contributor to the New Yorker Malcolm Gladwell and Chris Anderson, author and editor at Wired magazine.

These three gentlemen stand at the pinnacle of thought leadership in American business. But as Chris Anderson points out in his latest book, the value of “authority” is rapidly eroding. I guess top-down paternalism ain't what it used to be. As seismic shifts transform our culture, part of what is needed, now more than ever in business, is perspective. While Seth, Malcom and Chris have plenty of insight, I'm not sure it lends fresh perspective. It's time for fresh voices. New faces. And dare I say it--a woman or two--to point a new way forward.

In March, I got the chance to sit down with Chris Anderson during the SXSW Interactive Conference. We talked about the concept of "free" in terms of broader social trends. I had read his manuscript on the plane and was impressed with his factual and dispassionate rendering of an otherwise crazy idea--namely, that you can make money giving things away.

I asked Chris if the style of the blogosphere, where writers pour their hearts out to their audiences, would eventually bleed into business writing. Will business writers ever unlace their wing tips? He sat erect and spat out a "No!" As he saw it, personal narrative is subjective, unreliable and, frankly, lazy. I see.

The posture and “voice” of authority remains resolutely unchanged, I remember thinking. It derives from a set of values dominated by a masculine, rational/technological orientation. Yet Anderson himself redefines business reality giving top-down authority has-been status. He plots out how "free" is changing everything. But not some things, I guess.

“Free” is a truly revolutionary concept. Anderson has balls for taking it on. But the book labors under the weight of a traditional approach to economics, marketing and business, influenced by a historical production-oriented bias. In such a realm, the tendency is to view “reality,” “information” or “knowledge” as concrete, absolute, real and immutable. In short, Anderson has taken on a bold idea, but the treatment of it stems from an absolutist position.

Meanwhile, the culture is adjusting to embrace a broader spectrum of values. Scratch the surface of the hopeful idealist of the rising RenGen--renaissance generation--whose job it is to detoxify a poisoned world and you’ll expose a deep cultural longing to feel connected. To join with something larger than themselves and to each other. It’s partly spiritual and partly social.

Connection, warmth, immediacy, humor, authenticity, intensity hold allure in the emerging culture. It's all about the intensity of experience—visceral, gritty, and emotional. In today's marketplace, facts and data remain on the B-list until they can cozy up to A-list types who tell self-effacing stories and reveal hard-won personal truths. So far, the masters of this style of communication have been female. (Although male bloggers are beginning to emulate them.)

The future of business will be forged by people emotionally in touch enough to realize that the customer wants to recover a lost sense of soulful connection. Be it through creative self-expression (blogging, Etsy ), forming social groups (Facebook, MySpace) or forging links to lifestyles that help people transition meaningfully between their digital and analogue worlds by establishing customs and rituals that transfer meaning (Apple, Starbucks).

Chris Anderson has written a brave book. It will be talked about. But will it change the fundamentals of business? Malcolm Gladwell thinks not. Why? Because there’s no there there in “free.” Seth Godin throws his hands up and says, "Hey, business is messy right now."

I say, if we are serious about addressing our world-wide problems and growing new enterprises, we must once and for all commit ourselves to alternative ideas, new voices and thought leaders whose experiences stretch beyond the Stanford Business School or the Ivys. Intriguing as it was to follow the wrestling match between the triumvirate this week, it made me long for an Oprah in the business community!

What's So Cool about Cory Doctorow?

Last week, I returned to my office after a flurry of meetings to find a nice little email from Cory Doctorow. "Yes, let's connect when I'm in Chicago," he said. Doctorow is one of those rare talents who tips the culture with sticky concepts like "whuffie"-- a reputation-based currency. (A new book by Tara Hunt titled The Whuffie Factor exploits the concept further.)

This weekend, I rooted myself in the sand at Gordon Beach in Michigan and re-read Doctorow's dystopian novel "Little Brother." It's a gut punch for those unclear about the dangers of surveillance and privacy abuses. Doctorow has backed the ALA's attempt to crystallize for library patrons their rights in controlling what happens to their information in a world where privacy is virtually non-existent.

Griffin Theatre Company in Chicago has adapted "Little Brother" for the stage to rave reviews. Doctorow, an energetic proponent of Creative Commons, made his content available for adaptation without the usual hoops and formalities. He's coming to see the show in a few weeks. While he's in town, I will sit down with him to hear his thoughts on what it takes to get your "whuffie" on in a world overflowing with creative content.

So...what's so cool about Cory Doctorow? He has the attributes of a great contemporary brand: he's authentic, has a voice, is connected, committed, and remains accessible to his tribe for collaboration. He's a poster child for the RenGen.

Killer proposals: Testimonials That Motivate

A few months ago, I posted this and it got a lot of views. Believing it might be useful, I am re-posting it now:

There is a “me too” factor in sponsorship marketing. Sponsors want to join a successful endeavor. And one way they'll measure your cred is to see if other well-known brands are already sponsoring your property. That's why including testimonials in your proposals is so powerful. Consider also that ac­cess to your cosponsors can be very enticing. If a sponsor sees one of the company’s prospects among your sponsors, he or she will have added motivation to invest.

In a killer sponsorship proposal, the testimonials page should be more than a list of companies or logos. It includes endorsement remarks that both answer objections you anticipate from prospects and emphasize the top motivations all sponsors share.

A few examples:

Consideration: Will it really help me grow my business?

“Our tie with this event was a key motivator for our sales associates. We turned 6% more in sales that we directly attribute to our sponsorship.”
—Brand Manager, ABC Beverage Company

Consideration: Will it be easy to implement?

“This is our third year sponsoring the event. We like the help we get from very professional event managers who help us execute. It makes our lives a lot easier.”
—Director of Community Relations, LMN Financial Services

Consideration: Will I gain more brand awareness?

“The press coverage alone was a boon. Not to mention the way we were touted in all their advertisements and signage.”
—Director of Marketing, XYZ Computer Company

I recently met with my publisher. She lamented the state of her industry. Sales are flat. Innovation dawns at a snail's pace. So naturally, my curiosity was peaked by the latest from Glen Cummings and Adam Michaels. From June 26 - 29 "X" (the Xhibition) will combine gallery exhibition with a book launch and a music project. It proves the point that a great way to revive a brand, idea, category--whatever--is to fuse it with something else. "X" documents the trajectory of the x symbol within (and without) underground music culture." It is the first step of an ongoing project, building upon the varied meanings and form of the x in a range of media. As a clever participation device, "Attendees are encouraged to contribute materials to future iterations of the project." Very RenGen. In New York? Check it out at W/---- Gallery, 141 Division Street in New York.

Hat tip to Steven Heller.