Mobile phones are the new lighters

Last night I took my teenage daughter to the Orpheum Theatre in Boston to see two of her favorite bands: Breaking Benjamin and Three Days Grace. We had a great time. This was one of the first concerts I've been to recently where the audience was in their teens and twenties. Alas, the bands that I choose to see attract forty-somethings like me.

Last night, half the crowd was holding up mobile phones during the show. Some were snapping photos. Some were shooting videos. And still others wanted to be part of the action by waving around a light source.

When I was my daughter's age in the late 1970s, I went to dozens of concerts. Some highlights: The Clash, The Ramones, The Grateful Dead (25 times), Talking Heads, The Romantics, Muddy Waters, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, Frank Zappa… I'll stop naming bands now because this is probably way too much information at this point.

Back in the day we all held up lighters to be a part of the action. Sometimes you'd see thousands of lighters.

Last night there were a thousand mobile phones (and a handful of lighters too).

At rock concerts, mobile phones are the new lighters.

I was thinking how many of the online marketing tactics we use today are really new ways of doing things that have been done for many years.

> Ebooks are the new white papers (but white papers are still important for many audiences)

> Google AdWords are the new Yellow Page ads (but in some local markets the Yellow Pages are still important)

> Wikis are the new print directories (Print directories? Do they still make them?)

> Blogs are the new guy on the barstool who is funny and smart and people listen to (anyone have time for the bar anymore?)

Are your marketing and PR tactics better suited to a previous generation?

Comments

[Nettie Hartsock]

Hi David,

Great post on the concert and blogs being the new guy on the bar stool that is funny and people listen to. I think the key whether it's old or new PR tactics still lies in building authentic relationships with those you're reaching out to and making sure you respect them.

There's nothing worse than getting a bad pitch from someone who doesn't read your blog or news stories and doesn't understand your topics of coverage.

And on bands, I saw the Dead 22 times and have the dancing bear tattoo to prove it. And you can never have seen the Dead one too many times. I miss em. I don't remember us holding up lighters at the shows, but they were mostly outdoors and we were too busy dancing.

[Mike Sigers]

The Clash ?! And I thought I was the only other onw who rocked the Casbah !

[David Meerman Scott]

Holy cow. I'm learning more about you guys. Nettie is a Deadhead and Mike is a fan of The Clash. Too cool. David

[Michael Ryan]

Ahhh, great memories of Rock the Casbah in bars..(have you seen the commercial where the guy thinks the lyrics to the song is "rock the cat box"?, so funny).
Regarding the Yellow Pages.. I think local advertisers aren't getting much results from the overly priced Yellow Page advertising, since more and more of local searches are done through google searches.
I have a company at www.localadvertising4u.com that helps local businesses get more customers using SEO on their website and using Web 2.0 properties. Anyone wanting more info can visit the website.

[alameda dj]

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[Ray Yagubyan]

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