Panasonic's "Def Perception" marketing blog for the HVX

[Michael Pappas]

Great points Derek West.......



Here are some definitions of the word blog. When you read these, it makes it very clear that Panasonic marketing did a ""FUBAR"" on this blog matter....


Definition:

1. • A blog is basically a journal that is available on the web. The activity of updating a blog is "blogging" and someone who keeps a blog is a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated daily using software that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain the blog.

2. • a public web site where users post informal journals of their thoughts, comments, and philosophies, updated frequently and normally reflecting the views of the blog's creator.

3 • A personal journal/diary that is available on the web.




Making up a person/voice was bad just like Sony Pictures did in 2001 with the fake critic named: "" David Manning ""

very, very ucky............

Pappas

In my opinion, and this is no way a reflection on Jan, I think the term "BLOG" is just a popular "Internets" term tossed loosely around board room tables, with half of the people using the term not even knowing the meaning.

[John Mitchell]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

My apologies John for not catching that the first time around.

Chris you never have to apologise for anything around here.

As usual you are just the voice of reason...

[Jan Crittenden Livingston]

Derek West wrote:

>Why be deceitful then by making up a person?

Hi Derek,

I don't see it as deceit, but a response to a rather a known fact about human nature. People talk to people and giving it a persona, does this.

>Why not just post what you just wrote here at the top of the page?

We were trying something new, however from the beginning it was always identified as Panasonic, by the copyright notice. But since none of us have done this before, we are learning. Maybe not fast enough for the most critical but frankly we are working at it and trying to make the turns necessary to make it a resource.

>Why did you choose a blog instead of a forum?

A forum would compete with nice places like this. It is not a forum, we didn't want that, the post stays on track and doesn't get hijacked. And even in the best of forums this happens. We wanted to establish a learning scenario about P2, DVCPRO HD and the HVX200, and with luck it can become a world wide spot. It has some growing pains and I hope we can make it past the uproar, because the one thing we am not willing to have happen, is that the uproar over an informational "blog" turn folks sour on one of the coolest little cameras introduced in years. We will pull the plug on Tosh if need be.

>Then why not hire a real person who knows the product (and other HDV products) like the back of their hand? Pay them $40 to $50k per year and/or give them a % on units sold directly through the site as an incentive.

We have a team of brilliant folks that are behind Tosh and we make alot more money than that. ;-) See, the problem is with notoriety, comes fame, and it drives me nuts. I can be standing in a tradeshow booth and one of our sales people will bring a customer over that is familiar with me via the internet. I can see it happen, there is an immediate disconnect with their local sales person and the followup email that is to me and not to their local person, proves me out. To make it an individual, creates a monster, Barry Green, Chris Hurd, all know what I am talking about. It happens, it is human. We wanted a person to talk to but to leave him as a persona so he wouldn't be tracked down at every trade show.

>Plus, if your person was good (and product proves to be good), you could begin capturing the HDV market while it's in its beginning stages.

Frankly the team that back Tosh right now is some of the best. Our marketing the blog has been a little flawed, but show me the model to follow in the video industry. We are doing something that is totally out of the box, not to be trite or use a cliche, but it has not been done before.

>Easy enough to tell. Ask Chris if you can do a poll in this forum to see how many people from this forum are going (and continue to go back to) to your blog after they read about here.

You may find that over time you do go back to Tosh for info, and then come here to discuss, as I can assure you that Tosh will have the information first. ;-)

>You can take a look at my profile, as well as some of my other post and see that I'm a member of your target audience. And will be buying another camera, which actually at this point will probably be a DVX100B, but I may wait a little bit longer to see if my money would be better spent on a HVX.

I apreciate that and the fact that you are considering a Pansonic camera. And the DVX100B is an awesome little camera, I am absolutely pleased with the features that the factory gave us, it truly made a great little camera even better.

>Like I said at the beginning - I applaud you for being so active in this forum. It's for that reason that I just took 30 minutes of my 24 hour day(18, after six hours of sleep) to give you a few suggestions.

Thank you, I appreciate the feedback. It is only with the feedback that we can round out the site and make it into what we want it to be. We don't want it to compete with the forums, this is really one of the best ones, and in no way do I want to change that. But if I want to have a site that helps even the beginners along, that is part of the aim, or acts a resource for the more experienced, that too is the objective. It is so much in its intital growing stages that it cannot all be covered here, and only with some time behind it can it develop to what it will become.

>But hey what do I know, I'm just a college grad with a degree in Advertising, with an additional Area of Emphasis in Marketing and a minor in Graphic Design... who's discovered the wonderful world of DV!

And it is one of the reasons that I responded to this post. I do appreciate your suggestions, and you have been respectful to the folks that worked very hard on this project with me. I have been on the web since 1992, and a geek since a child. I have been in this business since 1974, and no I wasn't 12 when I took my first professional job. ;-) I think that the internet has and will continue to play an influential role in the video business as Video and IT become closer and closer. All of this means that we are paying attention, we are attempting to develop something that has not been done before and before we go crazy with it, we need to see if it can at least stop drawing negative commentary like we are some evil empire.

Okay so we have now made it about as clear, on the blog, as a blue sky on a hot summer's day as to what the site is, let's see how it goes from here.

Thanks for the insights.

Best regards,

Jan

Jan,

Thank you for your comments. You have some points I agree with and some that I don't. But overall, from what I've seen in this forum you are a real contributor and Panasonic should be happy to have you representing them. I also appreciate that you are trying new concepts that benefit your clients.

You mentioned something -
"We have a team of brilliant folks that are behind Tosh."

Now knowing that, I think you may have gotten an even better response with a "HVX200 team" blog. People like dealing with people, and I'm sure your team would not mind helping you out with the notoriety & fame at the trade shows.

Best of luck to you and your team with your current and future product endeavors. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your comments in DVinfo.net and seeing the HVX200 in December.

[Dennis Wood]

Derek, perhaps you've hit on a key issue for Jan and her team.

My belief is that consumers are yearning for a personal touch to world that is increasingly becoming detached from itself. So substituting Tosh with the "HVX100 Team" would immediately give credibility to the site as the pre-eminent source of accurate information on this product. There is no need for one person to take on this role, personally I'd be more likely to place trust in a team, rather than an individual.

Your point on Jan having a presence here is very well made. I can appreciate why retailers sometimes avoid presence on boards, particulary when their products are causing problems for their users (not suggesting the DVX100 is!). There is a risk associated with making statements about products, particularly considering that DVinfo is very well indexed by google, and the site itself is archived. However, Jan, sites like this and a few others that I participate in (like pana3ccduser, dvxuser etc.) are populated by folks who are fans of particular products, and altruistically volunteering large amounts of time to assist others with the same. This can only lead to sales.

So the fact that the DVX100 is a great product backed by a real human presence "stepping down from the corporate heavens to interact with mere consumers" is refreshing, smart, and entirely appreciated. Why do so many corporations feature their CEO in the marketing scheme on TV and otherwise?

The Blog is another intelligent attempt to connect to your consumers, and with a few tweaks, will be very well received. Cheers.

[Steven White]

Incidentally, I like the idea of a "team".

Now that it has been exlipicitly stated that "Tosh" is a virtual person, any interest in the content I had has plummetted.

What would strike me ideal is having the "blog" openly run by a team of real people - each of which with their own expertise and profile. Questions could be sent to the blog, directed to a specific member of the team, which could then be answered by the person best suited to answering them.

A personal touch is a good thing.

-Steve

[Mike Medavoy]

I agree. The simple fact that Tosh is a virtual entity turns people off immediately. The blog itself is a great idea, if it develops further. But having a non-existent guy run it... well, it has a certain psychological effect on people. I think.

A frank, open alternative - an actual team of unnamed individuals from Panasonic helping out with P2, DVCPRO HD and all these concepts - would have a much, much better impact -if only for the reason that other companies don't do it. It gives us a feeling that Panasonic is warmer, closer to the public.

But put that invented character Tosh there, and the effect is definitely inverted - a feeling of deceit instead of reaching out to people.

[Peter Ferling]

"Tosh" is vaporware, eh?

Jan,

What originally sold me on my cam was seeing footage in DVinfo.net's forum and then seeing the comments behind the footage.

Since resources don't seem to be a problem at Panasonic -

"We have a team of brilliant folks that are behind Tosh and we make alot more money than that."

Why don't you give 5 of your HVX's to some people who can really do something with them and give them space on a site? They could post real comments on the camera and more importantly, the entire workflow related to using their camera all the way from the "shoot" to distributing their finished product. They would use the cameras for their regular work, in addition to special "Panasonic HVX200 Projects."

Good footage sells and knowing that it's possible for me, the average person, to make this footage (with the right skills and other necessary equipment), is why I buy.

This concept would just help Panasonic market it's products like athletic sports equipment & apparel manufacturer's have been doing for decades.

Take a look at this JVC HD100 thread for inspiration:
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=53759

Then take a look at the hits and comments and hits it's gotten (and that's just since Nov 3rd). This thread will be viewed for the next two years by intelligent people wanting to make an educated buying decision, and anyone looking for guidance in which HDV or HD camera is not going to pass it up. When it came to my last purchase, there were actually two people who encouraged me to buy the XL2 and they never said a thing. It was the footage and reading posts by Steev Dinkins & Josh Caldwell.

By the way, Nate, Steev and Josh are real people (or Canon and JVC have done a fine job in creating them).

Kind Regards.

[Kevin Wild]

But remember...it's not marketing. :-)

Kevin

[Peter Ferling]

Don't worry. This issue will solve itself. Once these camera's hit the shelves, I'm sure the blog's we'd like to see will come out..