A Phaser Beam in the Foot

Sometimes jumping on the techie bandwagon makes the darned thing backfire. Let\'s take for example CNN\'s election night hologram technology. Over at CNET, columnist Don Rensigner called the CNN hologram \"dumb.\" Yes, Don. It was. These examples of tech overreach have an adverse effect on the advertising community as well. We\'re well aware that all forms of marketing communication are being transformed by interactive media, ideas and experiences. But to embrace this wave of transformation -- after having been burned by the fallout of the dot-com bust earlier this decade -- we need to remain focused on the best and most compelling means, methods and media for delivering interactive experiences. When we see missteps such as CNN\'s glitchy hologram (really, R2D2\'s projector looked better), we\'re reminded that new media technologies and the vast array of emerging platforms carry risks. However, there are an unprecedented number of very real, very tested and very excellent interactive/emerging platforms technologies in the marketplace right now. They\'ve never been more available and cost-effective. And they\'re only getting cheaper and easier to manage. We need to be motivated to embrace them and recommend brilliant new ideas that use them to our clients. CNN deserves kudos for their hologram experiment. But their embarrassing misfire reminds us that exercising good judgement is a key component of the value we bring to our clients\' businesses.

Reposted from Draftfcblog - http://www.draftfcblog.com/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=49