What we're listening to. Santana.

We fully understand....it's a 'greatest hits' album rather than 'Moonflower', 'Abraxus' (which got most people hooked on Santana), or 'Love Devotion Surrender' and we empathise. But. 

If you want an introduction to Santana, this is the best Alum to get and certainly in an office, it has everything.

'Evil Ways', 'Black Magic Woman', 'Oye Como Va', 'Samba Pa Ti', 'She's not there' and possibly the best of them all, 'Let the children play'.

It's from 2013 and seems to have a few different covers but it's the Double Album you want, featuring songs from 'Supernatural' and not the 2002 release.

Santana wasn't really a band, just guitarist Carlos Santana and a huge number of people who played with him. I'll guess there were 50 Band members on Albums.

They started in 1967 but their breakthrough came at 'Woodstock' in 1969. Their 'Abraxas' Album of 1970 with the single 'Black Magic Woman' then propelled the Band going to number one. 

Actually, Black Magic Woman was written by Peter Green original founder of 'Fleetwood Mac' and not by Santana as is often assumed.

Like reggae, this does take listening but a Latin groove that easily infects and is very up-lifting. 

They're still about (a Streamabout staffer saw them live in Amsterdam) and there's lots of music to discover if you like this.

For us, it was well, a little bit magical....

I was just amazed to come across this 'Evil Ways' from that Woodstock gig in 1969. A really young Carlos Santana...and there's talk of re-creating this line-up this year to do some concerts.

And here is 'Let the Children Play'.

Tiny Dancer....

Magnificent.

Is your name in the Ashley Madison hack? Or others? Check it out.

Is your name in The Ashley Madison hack?
(Another data dump today by the way, bigger than last weeks).

Or the other data breaches of Adobe, Snapchat, Adult Friend Finder, Domino's, Forbes and many, many others?

https://haveibeenpwned.com/ 

....is the place to check we are reliably told (nope, not a site that has anything to do with us). Cut and Paste it into your browser.

You'll have to verify your email first so that it's not someone else trying to find out. 

And no harm to, because if you have, you can change passwords, stop credit cards and take some action.

Just because we've been asked! 
(And no, we're not there!).

Hope it helps.

What we're listening to. Bob Dylan, 'Desire'.

Yes indeed, we're not Bob Dylan fans either.....but there's one or two Albums that do stand out ('Street Legal' and 'At The Budokan' we're thinking). This is the one.

'Desire' from 1976 was his 15th record (it followed 'Blood on the tracks') but made infamous from the opening track, 'Hurricane' which is the story of black boxer Rubin Carter. His conviction was overturned in 1985 btw, but in no small order from the attention that the song brought.

'Joey' another standout track, is about Mafia gangster, Crazy Joe Gallo ("king of the streets") who was shot in 'Umberto's' Clam House in Little Italy NYC (by 4 Colombo family gunmen including Philip Gambino). But Frank Sheeran claimed later to be the sole gunman in Gallo's shooting (we recommend the book 'I heard you paint houses') and that he also shot Jimmy Hoffa. 'I heard you paint houses' is mafia-speak for 'So you're a hitman?'.

Was rumoured that Gallo was the shooter of legendary Mafiosa, Joe Colombo and separately, Albert Anastasia, so his killing was revenge. His brother was known as 'Kid Blast' and referenced in the song. Dylan was criticised for glorifying, romanticising mob violence - but it's still a great track.

'Sara' is all about his relationship with his then wife whom divorced a year later in 1977. One that hurt him so much, he never played 'Sara' live but he also wrote the classic, 'Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands' for her. For us, this is the winner. 

'Mozambique' and 'One more cup of coffee' are also up there but generally it's an Album of classic storytelling. The track 'Isis' is also often quoted but not sure it's as good as. 

You should get it. Got the Streamabout 'hard to please, thumbs up' in here for sure.

Here's Sara for our Sarah....

And of course, 'Hurricane'.

Video Ads UK Report.. They're marching on as the dominant Ad medium. 18% higher click-thrus too.

Video is becoming the dominant Ad display notably for mobiles.

According to a new Business Insider Report, US digital Video Advertising revenue will top 5 Billion usd this year. That's growth of +22% every year for the last 5.

It's replacing desktop static Advertising Display (currently 26%) forecasted to 40% by 2020.

Video Ads produced higher click-thru rates (CTR) than normal display ads. 18% higher.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter have joined most media in offering new video display opportunities.

And viewability issues are being replaced by guaranteed video views.

So Video Ads march on.
You need to be involved in space with your campaign.

And yes, we create them and yes, we place them.

Ashley Madison data. Fake or Real?

Some talk this morning, notably by the company, that the "infidelity site", AshleyMadison.com hack dump of data yesterday, is fake. 

On the surface, it looks very real.

Firstly, it has been leaked 30 days after the hack as promised so that's significant.

Secondly, the amount of data in the 35 GB file (compressed) of 33 million users, is in itself, more real. It's too much to make up and a fake release would tend to be smaller pots of data posted over time.

Thirdly, the level of data including profile information, credit transactional detail, email addresses and so on, is unusual to say the least, if it was false.

But more critically that perhaps of all that, the data dump included employee records, charts, contracts, sales data on the company, which really could only have come from the hack. It looks more like a full scale compromise.

Finally, those online who do know their stuff are generally looking at it and saying it is real. 

Not unlike a company to raise the doubt to protect their (and their members) reputations but as people acknowledge (and many have this morning) that it is their genuine data, then company doubts will quickly evaporate. 

Interesting though, that the data shows 14% were female and claims "a lot of fake female profiles"....hmmmm. 

One thing for sure, it's going to cause a lot of hurt.
And that's not nice.

What we're listening to. Roxy Music 'For your Pleasure'.

Okay, this is not for everyone.....but although it's more electronic, it still has a coolness that's great.

Their second album from 1973 (the band formed in 1971, ended 1982), it was their last with Brian Eno (he of producer fame and recognised as a bit of a genius). Forget more poppy singles later such as 'Avalon' and 'Dance Away', this is the band before they made it.....so it has more of what they wanted to do. 

Ferry wrote the songs and put his then girlfriend on the cover shot. Well you would, wouldn't you.

'Every dream home', 'Editions of you' are terrific but 'Do the Strand' is an absolute gem. 

In one way it was glam and punk/new wave, with Phil Manzanera and Andy Mackay doing their costume bit 'bowie-esque' which in itself, created a stir at the time. Ferry's vocals are of course, smooth as silk (an English working class miner's son) but he dominated the band and therefore caused problems (in particular, the departure of Brian Eno).

It does take listening - but like all good albums should and then, it'll be worth it.

You can see them here from The Whistle Test at the time and get a sense of the glam with 'Do the strand' ("there's a new sensation, a fabulous creation...");

Frank O'Hare Irish Ad legend, passes on.

Another Irish Advertising Legend, Frank O'Hare, has passed away.

Formerly of 'Arks', 'Arrow' and his own, 'The Creative Department', was a bit of a creative genius. His wife Joan, passed away many years ago suddenly too so now they're together.

One of the old school who "just got it" and both a demon and a pleasure to have worked with. 

Sad day Adland.

Ad Blocking. The story goes on.

(Graphic from independent.ie).

The Ad blocking story goes on.

A story in today's independent.ie shows 18% of Irish users (676,000) blocking ads online and if that's Ireland....it's pretty extensive. The UK is a massive 20% and Germany 25%.

So that's a lot of people not seeing your banners or Ads placed in content. Pure video is of course, not part of it because they're not 'Ad blocked' as such.

The report compiled by Adobe in conjunction with PageFair, estimates the cost to Irish online publishers alone, at 100 million usd a year. Apple too are more and more allowing ad blocking extensions, as does Google Chrome, in their software (notably IOS9) and there are now 198 million (USA 45m) users globally, using ad blocking. Up +41% in a year.

Gaming is the most blocked category (27%) and of course it's more common in that 18-24 year old demographic. Mobile blocking is low but surely that will change we would think? In fact if ever you wanted to block an ad, it's on mobile mostly.

The problem here is for publishers obviously.

Users gain through higher download speeds and less intrusion but publishers lose revenue. And in this day of traditional media owners trying to replace traditional advertising falls with increases from their digital properties, it's a big issue. They're suffering already.

The solution? Native advertising, where promotions appear not as Ads, but as content. Sponsorship another of news pages or of reports or sections. 

But the Banner Ad as a format, was well passed its sell-by date anyway and this will only accelerate that demise.

You can read it all here;

http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/news/irish-publishers-set-to-miss-100m-as-adblocking-continues-to-soar-31447140.html

Stock market hits out at Traditional TV. 37 Billion usd wiped off shares last week.

Following on from our blog of August 6th, about the decline in TV viewing as the audience moves to digital and the consequent shift in Ad budgets, it's now being reflected in TV companies stock.

Last week, 37 Billion usd was wiped from shares in Viacom, Time Warner, Fox, Walt Disney and 5 other major broadcasters. Viacom fell -8% on Wednesday and -14% Thursday being the worst hit.

Lower than expected quarterly earnings was one reason but underscoring it all, is the disruption being caused by YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, Netflix (63 million subscribers) and others, as they erode traditional TV subscriptions. It's now a structural issue in the ongoing shift away from live TV as well as, a shift to lower subscriptions online.

Of course, some large media organisations (such as RTE in Ireland) are immune from these market shifts as they receive state support (probably 200 million euro a year for RTE). One questions why and how long that will last?

In the same week, The New York Times reported lower than expected quarterly revenue too including a fall in print advertising sales. Again, the switch to digital platforms is the key here as their traditional revenue fell -12.8% but their digital revenue was up +14.2%. Up, but not by enough to compensate. Still, they brought in 148 million usd.

So the market is starting to question the future role of traditional media companies in the digital age. 

The corollary of that, is that you're likely to see a rise in the stock of digital media companies filling the gap. But definitively, for traditional TV specially, the game is up.

What we're listening to this week. Bob Marley 'Legend'.

We know, we know, you're saying, 'what? a compilation?' rather than 'Exodus', 'Catch a fire', 'Babylon by Bus' or 'Burnin' and we hear you....sort of.

But if you want to hear what's best of Bob Marley, it's all on 'Legend'. Released in 1984 (after he died in Miami in 1981), it is the best selling reggae album of all time. It still sells up to 5,000 copies a week.

'Stir it up', 'Buffalo Soldier', 'One love', 'I shot the sheriff' (which was written by Marley but Clapton made famous), 'Could you be loved', 'Jamming', of course 'No Woman No cry' (live), 'Get up stand up'....there all here but....without any doubt, the real outstanding Marley track is 'Waiting in vain'. None better.

It's over 30 years old but what Marley did was bring reggae into the mainstream and 11 children. It still sounds fresh, different and summertime. The joy in his music stems from his religious beliefs (which ultimately cost him his life in declining treatments).

They all loved it in Streamabout anyway. Ye man.

Here's 'Waiting in Vain'. Stunner.

And here's the complete Album.

Numbers support the move away from traditional media and notably, TV to Online.

The switch from traditional media, especially TV, to Digital is well underway as we know. Common sense.....because rather than be told differently, we all know that we are spending more time online.

Whether that's web browsing, youtube or Social Media, we see it all around us and especially if you've young kids where their 'devices' are all that matters, rather than say, traditional TV. 

How many of us now, get our news online for free rather than physically buying a newspaper? How many of us watch Ad-free Netflix or Amazon more than before?

If traditional media is not being consumed as much, less people are watching the Ads. In the case of TV, less people are watching the Ad breaks and when they are, they're watching via fast forward on record or, with their laptop open (second screen). So the Ads are getting less and less attention not just, less and less viewers.

So we know it's happening.

A really interesting piece from Social Week Blog, now supports that with numbers.

Flurry (owned by Yahoo!) show mobile is watched in the US (and that'll be no different to other countries with high mobile penetration) for 2 hours, 57 minutes. Traditional TV is behind at 2 hours, 48 minutes.

18-24's according to Nielsen, watch 18 hours a week of TV. Only. A decline of nearly 4 hours viewing in a year.

Yet 41% of them are active on Snapchat and undoubtedly, Facebook (with 4 Billion video views a day).

And these are a key demographic for brands.

As Social Week points out, it has momentum in the switch away notably, from TV. And if that audience is moving to online (and it is), then that's where the Ad money will go. Although the Ad budgets are shifting, far more slowly than the audience is moving.

The fact is that advertisers need to sit up and take notice and be conscious of the advice of their Agency who may, through a lack of skill sets in this changing world, want to maintain the status quo. It's easier to keep doing what you've always done.

"Beliefs are hard to change" says the Social week blog and they are.....but the growth in online digital video (Video Ads) which Streamabout alone have experienced, illustrates that change is coming.

Quickly. But perhaps, not at the pace it deserves.

You can read the Social Week Blog here;


http://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2015/08/the-end-of-advertising/

What we're listening to this week. Stephen Fretwell 'Magpie'

Let us introduce you to someone you've probably never heard of - Stephen Fretwell (and neither had we, until someone here played it this week). But always good to hear something new. And this is stunning.

From Scunthorpe in England (someone has to be), he released his debut 'Magpie' in 2004 (recorded at Abbey Road) and since then, seems to have supported everyone on tour (notably 'Elbow') as well as a couple of more Albums. 

But this is one of those singer/songwriters who just doesn't seem to have broken through - yet should have, with an Album like this. Not unlike Ed Sheeran in some ways, but deeper (if ye know what we mean - less 'poppy').

The track 'Emily' seems to have got him most notice, but 'Play' is undoubtedly one of the best songs we've heard. Ever. Followed by 'Brother' and 'New York'. 

Worth getting the Album for those 4 tracks alone.
Try 'Play' here - you'll love it, trust us.

And then try 'New York' live, here.

Facebook announces great Q2 numbers. And the stock is?

Facebook just announced its Q2 numbers.
And like Twitter, its stock is down circa -4%....

Revenue of 4.04 Billion usd is +39% year on year! 

968 million DAILY actives users and that's up +17% year on year!

Only about 17% of those users are USA/Canada so Facebook's reach is more global.

About 65% of Facebook active monthly users are now daily users so it's being used more often.

And daily users are using it on average, for 46 minutes a day.

Facebook generates 1.5 Billion searches a day.
And users are sharing +40% more video than they were.

Margin has dropped from 48% to 31% but that's on the back of increased costs through investment which to be fair, Facebook warned it was doing.
They have 2 million advertisers.

Video too, is driving their Ad growth said Sandberg because it's now more targeted.

So overall, that's a pretty great performance no matter what way you look at it. Huge increases in Revenue, Daily active users, better global spread, longer dwell times, video drivers, new investment, more advertisers....and the stock is what? 
Down? 
Explain that because it's making no sense. 
At all.

Twitter gets a break.

Bit of a revival in the Twittersphere with better than expected numbers this week.

Q2 Revenue of 502 million usd was +4% better than expected. Active monthly users at 316 million was up from 302 million and up from 288 million end last year. 

That's growth in the face of what was considered a "flat" curve. So no, more people are actively using Twitter. 80% active on mobile giving 88% of the revenue (398 million usd).

It has cash of 3.6 Billion usd and shares gained +5% on the day with of course, Jack Dorsey doing all the talking (and straight talking by all accounts). 

But what this does it raise expectations for Q3 and in particular, growth in users as well as, revenues. The shares have fallen back now somewhat.

So it's a bit of good news that has to be sustained and therein, lies the difficulty. Hung by your own success.

(Postscript Wednesday - after hours trading in shares showed at nearly -13% decline in prices at one stage. So there was an offload......which seems to be about comments made about the slow user growth - Monthly active Users MAU's).

What we're listening to this week. James Taylor 'Sweet Baby James'.

James Taylor's second Album from 1970 (the first was just self titled JT), is the one that made him and beats all else. He was in fact 21 and homeless at the time (he's 67 now) and recorded it on a tiny budget with the help of Peter Asher.

'Fire and Rain' was the Album song that sold the record but 'Sweet Baby James' (written for his son, also called James), 'Lo and Behold', 'Country Road' are the stand out tracks. Carole King is here too on piano and vocals, as is Randy Meisner from The Eagles (they were long time struggling pals).

Taylor had his problems then too - mental health and notably heroin addictions- which is reflected in 'Fire and Rain'. This is a rock-country-folk classic. There's no other words really for a master at work and very summery listening. 

But it's the very start of Taylor's long career and superb songwriting ('You've got a friend', 'Handy Man', 'Something in the way she moves', 'Mexico') as well as appearing with everyone you care to mention. 

In fact, in 1971, he was a session man on Joni's legendary 'Blue' (if you like that kinda' thing....).

Always worth a listen. Loved in Streamabout anyway. Have a go here - 

Ashley Madison. The hack that could cost 200 million.

The Ashley Madison site hack, comes at a bad time for those who use it and for, Ashley Madison.

The hackers, called 'The Impact Team', were able to take profile information and credit card detail (as well as "personal" details) in a high profile hacking - but this is coming only months after Avid Life Media (Ashley Madison, Established Men, Cougar Life and others) announced a 200 million usd IPO in London at the end of the year. 

The hack which took real life names, addresses is sure going to cause some embarrassment with an estimated 37 million profiles vulnerable but is likely to cause real difficulties for the IPO - probably rules it out completely.

The hack seems to be aimed at "punishing" the site for some problems with a 'delete all' button where users could delete their profile history forever at a charge of 19 usd - or could they? The hack seems to be trying to show that 'delete all' didn't happen.

The hackers say that if the site isn't closed, they'll release all the data and Channel 4 news, says it has seen some of that data as "proof'. Some of the names are seemingly, "high profile".......

What's really astonishing too, is that the "have an affair" site, had 37 million paying users to begin with. And that's only the second biggest site, behind Match.com

In 2014 it had 115 million usd in "sales' expected to rise over 150 million usd this year with 70% of users men (30% are women....wow!).

Will they publish the data? Unlikely we'd think, although they might release some juicy profiles to create a greater stir.

Life is short but if you're having an affair, use an alias!

What we're listening to this week. Deep Purple 'Machine Head'.

A 'Machine Head' is the 6 tuning keys on top of a guitar by the way and this 1972 Album was recorded in Montreux Switzerland of course, featuring 'Smoke on the water' ("We all went down to Montreux, on the lake Geneva shoreline...).

The reference to smoke, is from Frank Zappa's December concert there where a fan set off a flare ("Some stupid with a flare gun, he burned the place to the ground") meaning Deep Purple had to change recording plans. 

The Album was recorded in a mobile unit owned by The Rolling Stones.

It is Deep Purple's most successful Album but fans will always point out 'Made in Japan' (featuring a superb live version of 'Lazy' which debuted here on 'Machine Head') and which was from the Japanese tour to promote this Album.

They'll also talk about 'In Rock' (featuring 'Child in time) as possibly better.
But it all starts here really on this Album.

Because it's heavy rock, it's not for everyone although it features the best Purple line-up; Blackmore, Lord, Ian Gillian on vocals (ex Black Sabbath), Glover and drummer Ian Paice (Paicey). Whilst there's no doubting of the strength of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, or Jon Lord on keyboards, the band is one of the tiny few where the drummer really leads it. Paice was Deep Purple.

Still, it's great for a change and perhaps opens doors into a genre of music that you mightn't normally have listened too. Went down well here anyway! Have a listen to 'Lazy' (give it a minute at the start) with the classic band line-up and actually this was recorded in advance of the Machine Head release......

Likeagirl videos tops weekly viral charts at 16 million views....in a week!

Likeagirl video tops viral charts with more than 16 million views in a week!

Produced by Agency Leo Burnett (for 'Always'), the Likeagirl videos really get attention after debuting last summer. They've beaten Duracell 'Teddy Bear' (12m views), Go Pro (7m), Amazon (6m) and Google (5m) this week.

What's interesting too, is that these videos are averaging about 2 minutes long so long form video is being watched and far more effectively than a traditional 30 second TV spot.

But the views at 16 million a week is stunning, given the no cost media per se and highlights yet again, the role online video can play in marketing comms. They are more effective in terms of views than traditional TV, longer and better in terms of storytelling but a real key to success is sharing which drives a video viral. 

When after all, was the last time you shared a TV Commercial?

What we're listening to this week. Springsteen 'Darkness on the edge of town'.

Although everyone talks about 'Born to Run' (the Album just before this), there's little doubt that 'Darkness' is the Album that made Springsteen.

His fourth Album from 1978 it features classics like 'Racing in the Street', 'Candy's Room', 'Darkness', 'Factory' and at the time, he discarded a lot of material which didn't go on the Album. One being, 'Because the Night' which was recorded by Patti Smith. 

It's very blue collar and his pic on the cover reflects that. But it's a classic and also brought the E Street Band to greater prominence. Clarence Clemons is here and Steve Van Zandt was crucial to the production and credited as such.

There's a 2010 excellent documentary too about the making of the Album but again, it's a "must have" in any rightful music collection. And it's a great introduction to Springsteen. Here's the stand out track for us anyway - 'we only run for the money, got no strings attached"........

Facebook April 2015. 4 Billion video views A DAY. You need to get a Video Ad!

Very short blog, very interesting numbers.

Facebook, for April 2015, have now 4 Billion Video views A DAY. 
And that's an increase of their 1 Billion video views a day only last September.
And an increase on their 3 Billion video views a day only last January.

So it's staggering growth and as they role out more video opportunities, that can only grow. But shows how video is well viewed.

It further highlights the need for Clients to get Video Ads and to utilise Facebook targeting. And Yes, we can help.

IMusic? Stunningly Magnificent.

And this Ladies and Gentlemen, is about as stunning as you get.

Apple IMusic simply has just turned the music business on its head to the benefit of listeners. 

It is superb.

Does it allow you to listen to any Album? Yes it does
Can you add to that to your music collection (my music) as if you own it? You can, unlimited
Can you buy the Album directly through Itunes? Yep although we're not sure why you would
Can you "follow" artists as in a Social Media way? Sure
Can you form playlists or listen to curated playlists by artists? Indeed, like the one Joni Mitchell just made
Is it easy and beautiful to navigate? It is, although like a new Fax machine, takes a day to get around it
Is there anything wrong with it? Not a bit

All for under 10 euro a month with a free 3 month trial which presumably, is designed to attract in those Spotify or Pandora users whom, quite frankly, it's hard to see why they'd move back.

If you have an Apple product it's there by now and you should simply sign up. 

That's objective recommendation too, because we have nothing to do with Apple but just thought it was something very cool.

What it will do is of course, lose revenue to Apple (and the artists) from downloads and replace that revenue with streaming subscriptions. Which probably, will mean less for everyone in the business. 

Although, the user benefits with every possible Album for a low cost.

On the other hand, it also democratises music, allowing you access to free new Albums that you'd never had bought you thought, but can now listen to and might stream. So it's great for new bands.

But it's a Wow. Really. Did you get that? A total, complete WOW.

What we're listening to this week. Leon Bridges 'Coming Home'. Wow.

Very, very rarely do you come across a debut Album that's as good as this. The Album cover design, straight out the 1950's gives more than a clue as to what Leon Bridges is about. It's Sam Cooke, Curtis Mayfield, Otis, Marvin Gaye retro - almost gospel - but boy, pretty excellent at that.

The 25 year old Texan, sings blues but in a new way from the soul. So it sounds classic from the outset and the studio set-up has a rawness that actually is under produced. They used classic, vintage equipment and you can hear it wonderfully. Which is exactly what the Album needed. 

Released in June this year it's getting real talkabout already and we're not surprised. This will go big, being restricted only be the style of music which mightn't appeal to a broad, young, record buying public.

But you'll like it.
Trust us.
Amazing was the consensus in Streamabout.
And you don't hear that, like, never.

This is just one track - it's not even a single - but you'll get it. 

Facebook Video to take on YouTube. More good news for video Ads!

Facebook are having a go at YouTube.

Whilst they have been using video on autoplay in feeds for a year now, they now want video creators to upload more video and make money from them. Same as YouTube.

So they'll share the Ad revenue generated by the video in the first place, both with the video creator and Media placer.

Those Ads are not pre-rolls, but rather an overlay that appears under the video that you initially watch and making further recommendations based on what you've watched (further relevant content). Those recommendations will include sponsored ad video.

It's a 45% split to Facebook and 55% to others.

Early days though as it's unclear how much revenue is generated when you watch part of a video and so on. But the intent is there.

Facebook is going to monetise video and therefore, encourage more video.
That will work.

And it's good for online digital video companies such as Streamabout as clients will want to make more for Facebook. And that can't be bad....

What we're listening to this week. The Eagles, Hotel California.

From 1976, Hotel California is considered the Album that really got The Eagles critical attention winning them a Grammy and remains their best seller in studio terms. Their 'Greatest Hits' Album will probably become the biggest selling Album of all time.

It was their 5th and their first with legendarily strange guitarist, Joe Walsh.

The title track was released as a single and it refers to "warm smell of colitas" which in fact, is Mexican slang for cannabis. Betcha didn't know that...

The cover is a shot of the Beverly Hills Hotel and sometimes an Album can be justified by two or three standout tracks. This is one of those - 'Hotel California', 'New kid in town' and 'Life in the fast lane' are worth it alone and after that, it gets a bit lost. Although 'Last Resort' is there too. 

Hardly the masterpiece that everyone touts.....but undoubtedly three great songs anyway that make it really worthwhile. And that's not to be unfair to them because they were solidly, consistently good. One of us here, has seen them live and they are a great live band.

It's country rock really, albeit with a big studio sound. Here's a live version YouTube link below, from the year after release and it'll give you an idea. It certainly went down well at Streamabout this week!

But every good collection should have this in it. It's evocative of a time and a band that developed that country rock niche all on their own. 

Tinder add video.

Tinder is adding video.

The idea being that brands (such as a test with Bud Light) can get involved through video, in the dating app. Ideal too for brands trying to reach that young, engaged audience but should take cognisance of the 'editorial environment' too.

With 8 billion connections in 196 countries and 97,000 swipes a minute, the average user spends 11 minutes a day on Tinder. Pretty staggering.

However, of course, do the users want to be interrupted by Ads? and then, these users will be very switched on to Ad blocking anyway.

But it again points to online video being important as an engaging ad platform (Video Ads) and the need for "publishers" to have it as an offering. And if you need Video Ads, go to Streamabot.com. 

But hey, let's be careful out there.

Drinkable Ads.....

There's something very cool about this from Ogilvy. 

Using technology, traditional advertising, digital downloads to create samples and particularly Shazam, it's fairly cutting edge....

First mover advantage too.

What we're listening to. Jungle.

And now a brand new Album that sounds like the 70's!

If you had told us that it was produced by Sly & Robbie we'd have believed you or that it was the follow-up from Daft Punk's 'Discovery'. We keep hearing Otis Redding singing too (bizarrely). So you get the picture - retro uptempo funk. Albeit with plenty of hip hop scratching.

You expect Nile Rodgers to show too. So it has all of that Chic bass lines and harmonies.

Have a listen here and you'll know.

A London band's debut and shortlisted for a Mercury Prize but it's pretty hot. It's very Summer and feels classic already. Here they are on Jools....

We recommend it. 
Loved it really. 
If you're looking for something new, try Jungle.

"Leaked" Emails for Jeb Bush Presidential Campaign. (We'll say nothing but can relate to it!)

The death of the global traditional brand is nigh. (We think).

The death of brands as we know them, is nigh.
We think.

A product brand is something which consumers are prepared to pay a higher price (a premium) for, largely, because they know what to expect in terms of taste, packaging, quality, cleanliness and so on. Brands come with a global standard.

You trust it.

So when you buy Persil, you know what you're getting, or Guinness. Anytime, everytime, anywhere in the world. You pay more for that standard (and so you should because it costs more to achieve). So brands demand a premium price.

A 'personal' brand is similar, but one endorsed by a person (obviously) but more of a celeb - like a perfume from Kim Kardashian - so you're buying into her recommendation, her lifestyle.

But of course, all brands reflect your lifestyle.

And because you're different to me, with different outlooks on life, we buy different brands. If you're an Outdoor type, you smoked Marlboro. If you were a creative type, you smoked Camel.

And brands were built on Advertising. 

You saw them on TV, heard their story, you recognised them in-store and you felt happy about buying them. You kept buying them too, because they worked, you felt comfortable with them and therefore, you had loyalty to them. 

That brand loyalty at least, has definitely changed and that's the key to this.

Consumers are now far more promiscuous and will try new brands, new products for new reasons and be more prepared to switch easier.

Prepared to switch for Functionality/Purpose and value reasons and hence for example, the rise of discount grocery retailers who sell products, brands you don't really know, you've never heard of - but you buy them largely because they're cheaper and they 'do the job'.

Or at least, you try them. You switch without really thinking. Whereas in the past, you'd have stuck by your loyal favourite brand.

Craft beers another example. In fact, you'll move away from the traditional brewery brands and try a craft beer because it's different, it's cheaper. It serves its purpose and probably, costs you less.

Because of digital too you switch.

You've tried new services that have been able to be created over the last 10 years - Iphone, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Netflix - which will become brands in their own right..... if they're not already....but they're more services than products. However, they've accelerated your promiscuity.

So the consumer (you) is more prepared to switch away from traditional, global brands than ever before.

Digital too, has also opened up a revolution in advertising which is outside of the manner in which we've promoted brands for the last 70 years anyway. That's also having an impact.

Because.... the most effective Ad is recommendation (always has been) and digital allows you to get personal, instant recommendation. Word of mouth.

For example, a Facebook friend tells you about a new beer and how great it is, so you try it. On Twitter, a pal has told you about a new healthy Soya milk or warned you about the dangers of sugar. So you switch on their say-so.

And therefore, traditional brands lose loyalty on which the brand was based because of another recommendation.

Advertising only really works once - it's an attempt to get you to try a product once because if you like it, you'll stick with it and they'll get repeat purchases. That's the essence of brand loyalty. The essence of brand revenues. Repeat business.

But if you keep switching.....brands cannot depend on those repeat purchases.

We've got used to farmers markets and artisan suppliers. We use sites that we didn't know before. We download new Apps. We've got happy with a new beer or a new washing powder and we'd rather support those smaller businesses, than the global, big brand giants.

We'd even rather get our news from outside the norm media players despite the 'trust' issues.

Because that's what digital does. It encourages you to try new things.

It's the great 'brand-leveller'.

Hence we've opted to buy from sites that are cooler, better, more like us and not the global sellers. Boo Hoo, Asos, Misguided, Ebay.....(If you look at the top 50 Fashion brands in the UK, not one is a traditional high street name). To try new things, to try new brands.

So there's more of a generational shift happening away from the traditional big global household brand name. Or, should we say, brands don't work they way they used to.

They no longer can depend on the repeat purchase of brand loyalty.

And that impacts on Advertising and notably, Ad Agencies who used to manage these brands. 

Like for example, the way AOL have set up their own in-house Ad Agency just to deal with their AOL digital clients (called 'Partner Studios'). Because no one understands how to produce creative work for AOL, than, AOL.

More of that will happen as Ad Agencies have been slow, defensive, about digital over a long time and because, the old brand rules have changed. So their old skills are becoming redundant unless they're prepared to tool up.

Traditional Advertising is even possibly becoming wallpaper as viewers leave to other media and have a new Ad cynicism.

Media too has changed. Despite huge audience shifts to all things digital, most of the Ad dollars remain with traditional media. Programmatic buying will disrupt that.

As for brands? Well, it's a long road to reposition a global brand into something new even if it could be done. Diageo's move into craft beers under totally new branding, is one way, but it might be seen for what it is.

The only real way is to go back to purpose. Go back to trust and go back to the reason the brand originated from. Give the consumer knowledge to make the choice rather than song-and-dance glamour. The days of 'aspirational' advertising to create desire, create demand are over. Advertising needs to be stripped back.

Tell the story that relates to consumers and don't cynically exploit things like sports sponsorship, csr or charity - it's seen through. So too, copy platforms built around fickle, unbelievable concepts like "we believe in friendship".

And therefore, don't behave like a global brand player of old. 

Go back to the reason you exist. If it get clothes whiter, say it. If it tastes good, tell it. If it's quick to make, show it. And use online to tell that story.

And if your brand doesn't have that defining USP (unique proposition), drop it. Move on.

The global brand aspirational days are over.
And the heavy impact of TV Advertising is dwindling.

We think.

Smell like a Man at the top of the page. There's honesty for you. Trust, like these at the bottom of the page.

The world just changed.

                             

What we're listening to. Aretha. 'Soul Queen'.

"Queen of soul, queen of soul" as Van sings about her and she is. In fact "you send me" is here which Van often covers and then, he doesn't really ever do covers as such - so much he's a fan of Aretha.

All the tracks are here - "Do right woman", "Save me", "Respect", "Chain of fools", "Say a little prayer", "The weight" (made famous by The Band and written by Robbie Robertson), "Call me", "Spanish Harlem" and 60 tracks which makes it a well-worthwhile compilation. Magic in fact.

18 Grammys, makes her pretty unbeatable and at 73 is still releasing Albums. 

From Memphis she started as a Gospel singer (her Dad was a Pastor) and you hear those Gospel tones on all her music. Often referred to as Whitney Houston's "aunt" in fact she wasn't - just an "honorary aunt".

There's something beautiful about Aretha and a smooth mezzo-soprano honey voice that just gets into you. Into your soul.

So this is a great introduction to a moment in time and a whole world of soul. It's one to start with to explore that whole genre. The genre of magnificent. This will give you a sense of it below -  Enjoy.

Apple to encourage Ad Blocking. Publishers worry.

Ad Blocking, which really hurts online publishers who depend on Advertising, just got easier.

It looks like Apple have just made it easier to block Ads on Ipad and Iphones through their new 'safari' browser release by allowing ad blocking extensions as an option. 

Ad blocking is growing by over +70% a year with 144 million users in 2014. It's going to hurt Google and Facebook and will push publishers onto Apple's iad product in order to have Ads on Apple devices.

So basically, if Apple is bringing traffic to Ads via their Safari, they want a cut and encouraging general ad blocking is one way.

We'll see but, not a good day for publishers.

Video Ads becoming the top Ad Format says Business Insider! We agree!

Video is becoming the top Advertising formats on desktop and mobile but particularly growing on mobile (3 x faster). That's according to a new Business Insider Report.

Video revenues this year is about 5 Billion usd but it will grow +21% each year for the next 5. It is replacing static display because it performs better and is more watchable.

On Social Media too, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram all now (recently) have video ad platforms/opportunities.

Although we have no doubt at Streamabout. Even in a local market, our business producing online digital video and video ads, is growing +50% year-on-year. It is an exploding space. Great.

And if you need Video Ads.....streamabout.com

What we're listening to this week. Neil Young, 'After the Goldrush'.

Another September 1970 Album (was all good music in the 70's and 80's?), the Canadian's third Studio Album.

It featured an 18 year old genius, Nils Lofgren (now with Springsteen) and at one time, was voted Best Album Ever. Which it could well be.

Stephen Stills of Crosby Nash Stills, is also on here.

It's one great record with 'Only love can break your heart' as a stand out but having been recorded mainly at Young's home, it has a real authentic feel. The songs stand up rather than the production.  

Famously too, the track 'Southern Man' was a dig at the South USA "Southern change going to come at last, now your crosses are burning fast....Southern Man when will you pay them back...."

It was the reason for Lynyrd Skynrd 'Sweet Home Alabama' as a response - "Well I heard Mr. Young sing about her, well I heard old Neil put her down. Well I hope Neil Young will remember, Southern Man don't need him around anyhow!".

You'll hear Neil Young mentioned especially in the intro here.

The full Album is here too. Went down great in Streamabout as a real summer classic. It is, a masterpiece.