Re: Flash in the pan

From: James Santagata <jms_at_tribalnoise.com>
Date: Wed 03 May 2000 14:30:39 +0000

BILL ANDERSON WROTE:
> To a certain extent, both businesses and consumers
> expect to see some sort of 'multimedia' display to
> establish any credibility. If you don't have it, you
> must not be serious about your site/business.

TO WHICH HAL PAWLUK REPLIED:
> That's about as poor a rationalization for
> self-indulgence as I've seen this month.
>
> What businesses and consumers expect to see is
> something that responds to their needs. The method of
> presentation is irrelevant. Marshal McLuhan
> notwithstanding, the medium is not the message: the
> message is the message.

I agree with Hal that one can't make a blanket
statement that "some sort of multimedia display" is a
requisite for establishing credibility or seriousness
about the task at hand.

On the other hand, I don't think we can readily dismiss
the method of presentation as being irrelevant. That
would seem to be equally self-indulgent in my mind.

The method of presentation seems extremely relevant to
me. Doesn't it seem reasonable that the presentation of
a business plan on a napkin would have less impact than
having a bound business plan with color charts? Now,
the napkin may surely contain the same message or even
a better message, but would it be conveyed properly and
what type of image would be projected in this
instance? Same message, different method.

If I wanted to convey that Airline A's seating is 25%
larger than Airline B's seating, a picture or animation
showing Airline B's seat being placed or fitting into
Airline A's seat would be much more powerful than
having a table of stats of each Airlines' dimensions.
Same message, different method.

Now, it's one thing to take about the handling of a car
or the torque, horsepower or the lift and duration of
the camshafts, and quite another to sit in the car and
push the gas pedal or even watch the car outperform
another. Same message, different method.

Did you ever wonder why television commercials for
pharmaceutical products are very careful on _who_ and
_how_ their message is communicated? This is why they
like to have lot's of clean, knowledgeable looking
doctors wearing a lab coat in these scenes. It's much
more powerful than having the same doctor (or actor
playing a doctor) deliver message in his pajamas, while
sipping an orange juice. Same message different method.

James Santagata
Internet Marketing Consultant
tel: (408) 885-1311

Tribal Noise!
http://www.tribalnoise.com





Received on Wed May 03 2000 - 09:30:39 CDT