How often have you heard something like this in a conference room. “Let’s create a video about our product put it on our site. Then new customers will sign up to see this cool video so we can collect all of their data. It will be all over the internet by the end of the week.”
You look out across the conference room and you can see three battle groups form instantly. This is a passionate media so nobody is about to back down. The battle lines are drawn by the three groups -- cup holders, leather binders and scratchpads.
The first thing you notice is, how online developers all close their eyes and you can see them biting their tongues. You can see these geeks trying to formulate the politically correct words to say “You are a complete idiot.”
The Marketing battle line forms with glee and joy about how this new campaign will just be a huge hit. The online customer will flock by the billions and give all of their personal information just to see this new company clip. Victory is just one step away! The high fives are going on everywhere and the latest buzz words are flowing. The company has been saved!
The last group is upper management. At first they are hearing all the right buzz words and some even jump in with examples of how other companies put their video on YouTube and they are very successful. Most of the people in this group start to sense a divide and remain silent. Finally with tepid discretion, a senior member will venture out on the limb and ask one of the online nerds why they aren’t jumping around like monkeys in a cage.
First Blood.
The normally beat down online developer will start out agreeing that using online video is a great thing and it is good to see the company is going in this direction. BUT. By accident, Marketing has but the online developer in a position to draw first blood. Good move by them. So here we go. The defensive nerd says “Just because you build it doesn’t mean they will come. Also, why are you having them sign up to view our product?” Valid questions but you might has well tossed a match on the ethanol.
“I knew it.” screams the marketing pro that has spent 30 minutes before this meeting coming up with this brilliant idea. “You internet guys don’t want to work with us. You don’t understand what we need to do to get more customers.” “If you guys would just do what we say then we will be the most successful company around”. The offensive attack has begun.
The upper management group watches as this entrenched battle begins in shock. They start reaching for their battle weapon the infamous BlackBerry. Getting the hell out of this meeting is their goal to victory. One by one, they leave because of more important meetings that must be attended. Oh sweet victory! Within minutes, the last one exists with the precision of a Tamohac missle.
Now at the table are just the traditional marketing folks and the online staff. These are two groups that should really never live in the same city let alone be in the same room. Traditional marketing people have grown up with TV and print their whole lives doing wonderful marketing campaigns and know what practices works best. My hat goes off to them. What they can’t accept or even remotely realize is very few if any of these traditional media rules apply to this new medium.
This medium is about the user controlling the experience. It is that simple. Most of all, they don’t want to be marketed too or be feed lines of PR nonsense. Imagine telling that to seasoned professionals. It doesn’t set well.
The biggest loser in this battle is your customer.
How often have you heard something like this in a conference room. “Let’s create a video about our product put it on our site. Then new customers will sign up to see this cool video so we can collect all of their data. It will be all over the internet by the end of the week.” 
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