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I’m just now getting caught up and piecing together my thoughts from South by Southwest Interactive. In case you haven’t heard, the biggest keynote #fail was that of Twitter founder Evan Williams who was interviewed by Umair Haque of Harvard Business Review.

Twenty to thirty minutes into the interview the audience packed in the auditorium began leaving in droves. A quick search for the Twitter hash tag for the keynote #MondayKeynote turns up disgruntled after disgruntled remark about the the interview.

Reading the tweets from the keynote it’s clear the interviewer did not know the audience and severely underestimated the sophistication of the audience present.

The questions were dull, feel-good softballs served up to an audience that wanted depth and critical conversation.

The interview was a one-way conversation that was more political stump than interactive conversation, which an audience like those at SxSWi have grown accustomed to participating in.

The Backchannel Abandoned

It’s ironic that the company responsible for pioneering backchannel communications would fail to use the backchannel to listen and react in real time.

If Umair had been remotely aware of the conversation that was swirling around the room in his midst, the interview could have been a huge success and testament to the power of Twitter.

Don’t Fail Your Panel or Keynote: Listen

The keynotes and panels I attended, which were failures all had one thing in common. The participants failed to listen in real-time. It’s too easy to listen using Twitter. Think of it as a real time focus group.

Most of the panels where the participants did listen were like rocket fuel. They were fast, fun, engaging and I walked away actually learning something.

Listen and Pivot

Listening isn’t enough. The panelists have to do something with that information. One of my favorite panels was the Community Innovation Summit #CommunityInnovation. It was awesome. You can follow that hash tag and see exactly how the panelists interacted with the audience.

Not only did they interact with the audience, but that interaction shaped critical pivots in the panel to give the audience (and the panelists for that matter) what they wanted.

Panelist Dave Mcclure was a #hashtag DJ monitoring that backchannel, interacting with the channel and still remained fully engaged with the panel discussion. Absolutely awesome to see and experience. That level of interaction made this one of the most valuable and entertaining panels I attended.

Don’t Forget to Listen

I’ll make the point one more time. Listen. Listening is marketing and marketing is listening. Pay attention to the backchannel.

Do you have a failure of listening to report?

Photos by Flickr/ Randy Stewart

The discussion centered around innovative and not so innovative mobile applications developed by brands and their agencies. There were also some interesting thoughts on how brands should develop and execute their mobile strategies.

An additional point, which I touched on was why brands should be building and charging for mobile products and how your mobile marketing activities can be a profit center, rather than a cost center.

I thought I would I expand on the concept.

Build Something People Will Pay For

I find many brands and agencies drifting towards the same old awareness building campaigns with their mobile applications. Most are sharp enough to include some utility, but generally it doesn’t appear most brand’s mobile applications go far enough to deliver compelling utility.

One of the best measures of utility is a simple question.

Would you pay for it?

If it’s not something you would pay for your customers probably won’t either. A next fair question is - why would someone pay attention? The wow factor of a brand having a mobile application is over and differentiation like everyone else is a must.

Delivering something useful that aligns with the brand is the best way to differentiate.

Mobile Marketing: Solve Pain or Entertain

Utility should do something useful. Mapping the pain points around the world your brand exists is the easiest way to identify an opportunity to create something useful.

If you’re an airline you know your world is surrounded by pain. Getting to the airport can be a pain, sitting around and waiting on a missed connection can be a pain, finding a hotel can be a pain, and so on and so on.

Brands that truly solve a problem become heros. Being a hero is the best way to market in my opinion.

Aside from utility, building entertaining mobile applications is another approach to brand building. Some brands, in particular movies have taken this approach with some modest successes.

Entertainment and building something that is truly fun can be more challenging than building something useful.

Additional Questions

Can the brand support any customer service issues?

How can the mobile application integrate with other marketing efforts?

Is there a way to generate publicity for the mobile product?

What are competitors doing in the mobile space?

—-

What thoughts do you have?

How can brands build tasty mobile products?

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Photos by Flickr/ Nick Bilton

Most liquor stores are organized by wine, beer and spirits. The system of organization then goes into deeper levels of sub-categorization. Rarer spirits like Cachaça (a Portuguese liquor made of sugarcane) that are difficult to categorize usually find themselves at the bottom of a shelf and they don’t even get the benefit of a category.

These brands that line the shelves of the liquor store come from all over the world. Some are small independent brands with deep histories, some are massive corporate behemoths flexing that cash and others are independent startups hoping to gain a foothold in an intensely competitive marketplace. Sound familiar?

Marketing Challenges in Noisy Stores

As I walked around this giant liquor store I kept thinking of the marketing challenges liquor producers face (noise and endless choice) and how those challenges parallel the one’s that face app developers.

The metaphor isn’t a perfect one. More often than not liquor is purchased out of habit, the restrictions on marketing liquor are a complex patchwork of undecipherable nonsense (though similar to the app store approval process) and consumer tastes can run from fickle to downright schizophrenic.

With that out of the way, I’ve put together some things on what developers might learn from the marketing efforts of liquor companies.

Three Things Learned From Liquor Companies

Product Narrative

All spirits have a product narrative, which is either implied or intentional. The product narrative of a spirit might play up the brand heritage, the region it’s produced in, a unique distillation process or a glamorous lifestyle. Some try to do all the above.

The product narrative often goes to great lengths to differentiate the spirit in it’s category.

Apps are similar. A unique game mechanic might unlock a compelling product narrative. Check out the game Spider of Bryce Manor as an example of what I mean.

Endless Assets

Liquor companies have an endless supply of assets that reinforce their product and product narrative. These assets can include hard goods like hats and shirts, entertaining video that they’ve produced, or mini websites with cryptic messages.

In the case of apps this means having a pack of graphic assets that can be utilized for any number of opportunities. You never know when a unique marketing opportunity will present itself. Be ready.

Channel Alignment

A well marketed liquor company is usually firing on all cylinders. The offline marketing speaks to the online marketing.

If only getting attention for an iPhone app meant a website, a facebook page, a twitter account and a demo video. Yes, these are important, but the lesson to be learned is how to get all of these elements to work in unison.

————

#Question

Am I far off base? Do you see similarities in the efforts? What lessons can be learned?

##Extra Credit Assignment

Visit a liquor store and observe what thoughts flow into your head when you encounter the spirits around you. Where did these thoughts come from? What marketing efforts were responsible for the brands around you to capture a slice of your thoughts?

###Learn More Wednesday Night, October 27th

We’re hosting Sea of Apps: iPhone Application Marketing in Columbus, Ohio tonight at Surly Girl from 5:30 to 7:00PM. For more information or to RSVP (not required, but appreciated) for this event here.

Sea of Apps in your city. We’re taking the show on the road. Hit me up if you have an interest in hosting a Sea of Apps.

All hope is not lost. I wanted to use this blog post to kick off a series of events around iPhone application marketing. The events will be called Sea of Apps. The organizing premise is how not to get lost at sea and how to get noticed in a sea of apps.

App Marketing for Indie Appers, Brands and Agencies

Whether you have a big app idea, are thinking about building an app or an iDev startup polishing your masterpiece the role of marketing is now critical to surviving and staying alive in the app store.

Businesses and digital agency’s clientele can’t afford to ignore mobile. Especially the iPhone. The level of brand engagement an app has the potential to deliver makes it foolish to ignore apps. However, the marketing circumstances are somewhat different than those of indie appers. The wow factor of I can’t believe this brand has an app will also begin to fade. Brands will soon be no exception and will get lost in the sauce without the right marketing considerations.

Again all this gets back to how the app is marketed from pre-marketing to launch marketing to post launch marketing is a now an effort that is equal to the development of the app itself. Those efforts look different for agencies and brands.

Sea of Apps Key Points of Discussion

My hope is to start some discussions around iPhone application marketing for indie appers, agencies and brands. The Sea of Apps event will feature one presenter who will present for 5 minutes, followed by a chill salon style environment that promotes further discussion of app marketing. The key points:

Understanding What’s Unique About Your App
Is there anything that distinguishes your app from the competition? Does that distinction unlock unique marketing opportunities that can deliver that distinction to targeted audiences? Drilling down into the unique value of your app will help you determine who the target audience is and who the competitors your competing with to attract that audience.

App Marketing Plans
Twitter and Facebook are not enough to get the word out about your app. Having a focused marketing plan that takes the uniqueness of your app and translates them into viable marketing tactics is key to being a successful app marketer.

App Store Pricing
The introduction of in-app transactions for free iPhone applications has further disrupted the pricing games that were successful for a minute. App pricing is currently a race to the bottom. Sharing thoughts on how to design your app for alternative means of monetization.

Sea of Apps Columbus Details:

PRESENTING: JUFTi

DATE: Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

TIME: 5:30 - 7:00PM

VENUE: Surly Girl Saloon

ADDRESS: 1126 N High St, Columbus OH 43201

RSVP: Tweetvite

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Sea of Apps In Your City:

We want to bring Sea of Apps to a city near you. If you’re interested in hosting an event in your city please shoot me an email. jon [at] jufti .com

App Marketing Topics

What topics would you like to see presented? Also, let me know if you’d like to present.

If you live in the same place and constantly go to the same spots you start to experience less and less serendipity. Eventually that pattern takes the form of what most people call a rut. A lack of serendipitous happenings in your world means your odds of a breakthrough in life and business decrease, which is why it’s important to recognize and create opportunities for the unexpected.

There are ways to introduce serendipity. Starting with an open mind is a must, aside from that the number one way for me to introduce serendipity has always been travel that’s outside of my comfort zone. The number two way has always been a dedication to maintaining a large variety of interests. If you’re a one hit wonder and have one all consuming interest whether it’s business, work or technology you’re missing out on serendipity that could lead to breakthroughs. Not to mention you’re probably a dull person.

Happy Tweeting Accidents

More and more though, I’m finding myself in real world unexpected situations that were the result of just sharing what I’m doing and connecting with people on Twitter. From a recent trip to Toronto where I met other iDevice developers who it seemed like I’ve known for ten years, to news articles written by reporters who follow me on Twitter, to a computer cable borrowed from a stranger, to a bar owner in a strange city who happened to be listening to my tweets and invited me in for a free drink, the force that made these situations possible has been Twitter.

Using Twitter to Influence Serendipity

I’ve been thinking quite a bit about how you might better use Twitter to influence and increase the number of serendipitous opportunities you unlock. I have some ideas.

1. Be the world’s help desk. Well sort of. Listen and consistently questions.

2. Share the mundane. I’m constantly amazed by the power of the seemingly mundane and it’s humanizing power.

3. Ask and you shall receive. Just like it sounds. You would be shocked at the power of a question mark..??

4. Show up. It’s harder to experience serendipity while sitting on your butt.

5. Constantly connect others. Often it isn’t about you.

Any other ideas out there? How has Twitter powered the unexpected for you? Are you doing anything to create serendipity?

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Photos by Flickr/ Left Wing Lucy

First I want to thank everyone for the huge props on our game. The response has been overwhelming. We’re already working on improvements and new features. Some of the improvements you’ll see in an upcoming release waiting on approval at Apple right now include way faster load times, several bugs addressed like a victory bug and more.

Since the launch of the game we’ve had the opportunity to speak a huge range of people who are really enthusiastic about our vision for JUFTi. One of the questions that keeps coming up is “how can we help support JUFTi and Cornhole All-Stars?”. I decided to put together a list that details some really simple ways to pitch in and help indy app developers.

10 Ways You Can Support Independent App Developers

This list is obviously geared towards JUFTi and Cornhole All-Stars, but if you have an indy game you love you should help spread the word. Here goes.

1. Buy It

Right now you can buy Cornhole All-Stars for a song $.99 - Click the app icon below to buy it.

2. App Store Review

Good, bad or indifferent you should review the game. If you love the game tell us so, if you think it needs improvement or lacks features you’d like to see in future updates please tell us in the reviews.

If you bought the game click the link below to add your review.

Add App Store Review

3. Tweet and Be Retweeted

We’re really fortunate to have a super hoppin social media scene in Columbus that really supports each other. We’re really thankful that the Columbus Twitteratti helped us get the word out. If you do tweet about the game link to our Twitter profiles is here:

Cornhole All-Stars Twitter

http://www.twitter.com/cornholeallstar

@CornholeAllStar

ReTweet This Post - Click Here.

Cornhole All-Stars Hashtags

#CHAS
#JUFTI

4. Facebook Us

Facebook is an excellent way for us to interact with friends and fans. It also gives us a channel to talk about how to constantly improve the game. Something we’re really committed to doing. Fan us on Facebook, comment and tell your friends.

Cornhole All-Stars Facebook

http://www.Facebook.com/cornholeallstars

5. Blog It

We love to share. We’re willing to share most anything about what we’re doing with our game studio. We have beautiful graphics and videos to support a story on your blog. If you blog about social media or marketing we’re doing innovative things the marketplace has yet to see to get the word out about our app.. If you blog about iPhones we’d love to talk about the technology under the hood. If you blog about games review our game.

If you’re a blogger and want help with story ideas please email me.

Jon at JUFTI (dot) com

6. Email Signature

If you really, really love the game tell the world in your email signature. We have a great looking website people can check out the game at. You might want to tell people in your signature link like this:

Check out Cornhole All-Stars for the iPhone.
A game Built In Columbus!

CornholeAllStars.com

7. Hassle Apple. Seriously

The App Store is broken. It’s hard to find some of the great apps that are buried in there. You can help by emailing Apple and suggesting Cornhole All-Stars become a Featured App or better yet ask them to create a new category like “Best Toss Games”.

Apple iTunes Connect email address:

itunesconnect@apple.com

8. Tell The Mainstream Media

The mainstream media has picked up on the iPhone, Apple and Apps and are reporting on it like mad. The first wave of stories focused on the few sensational success stories of independent App developers. Now the stories have shifted their focus to getting noticed in the app store. We have a really unique business story with innovative marketing firsts we’re unleashing that all indy app developers could benefit from. Help us get this message out by telling the mainstream media. If you’re a member of the mainstream media we love to talk. Hit us up.

Again, my email.

Jon at JUFTI (dot) com

9. Comment About It

If you regularly visit blogs or forums that are relevant to Apple, video games, iPhones or Apps mention the game.

10. Have A Beer and Play It

Ohh yeah, I almost forgot play it! Tell your friends your playing it and use good old fashioned word of mouth.

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What else are missing here? Do you have any other ideas on how to help independent app developers? How can indy appers help each other?

Long before the rise of Texas Hold’em and Chris Moneymaker’s ESPN televised 2003 victory captured the public’s imagination, poker has been a dominate force in the technology and startup circles I run in. Aside from the obvious “playing poker is like running a business” I’ve put together some basic metaphors that draws relationships to some of the finer points of playing the game of poker and building startups. The point is to paint a picture of why playing a hand of poker is like running a technology startup.

Meet Your Startup. The Pocket Cards.

In Hold’em the game begins with a total of two pocket cards being dealt. This is all you have to work with so you have to make it good.

Table Image is Your Brand

In poker your table image is how your opponents perceive you at the table. Some poker players alter their physical appearance with sunglasses, clothes and jewelry to project a certain type of image. The obvious difference between poker table image and brand is that the objective of a table image is to project one thing and mean another. For example, in a poker game you may wear flashy things to project a loose image when in fact your play is conservative. Regardless, the question is what kind of “table image” is your startup projecting to your target audience, potential investors and friends and family. What do they know about you outside of the game, if anything? Are there opportunities to alter your table image?

The Chip Stack Becomes Seed Capital

This is what you’ll have to work with to market your hand. Are you up on the chips? Down on the chips? This will impact how you market the two cards you have face down on the table.

Betting Rounds Are a Marketing Tactic

I like to think of the betting rounds as an opportunity to market the hand you’ve been dealt. What does the amount you’re betting say about the hand you’re marketing?

Table Position. The Research Department.

Where you’re sitting in relationship to the various rounds of play is referred to as table position. The last person around the table to bet, raise or fold has the most information to act on and the opportunity to do “research” that guides how they’ll play the hand. The first person to go has the least information and has to retain information about the players patterns from previous rounds of play to guide how they will their hand. What’s your research strategy?

The Odds Win/ Fail

I always try to know the odds of what I’m up against. Sometimes I decide to play against the odds and sometimes I don’t.

How to “Play” Your Startup Like a Poker Hand

Fold Often, Fail Fast

The Ace King is said to be one of the hardest hands to play. Some even jokingly call the hand Anna Kournikova AK (the pretty, but bad tennis player). Players will often get blinded by that hand because they fail to read the rest of the game and fixate on what they think is a guaranteed winning hand. Don’t get blinded by what you’re certain is a “guaranteed win” in your startup. Pay attention to the market, constantly do your research, adjust and fail fast if need be.

Create Randomness, Act and Test

If you predictably play ever single hand the same way you’ll be a poor poker player. Creating randomness means you have a strategy switch up how you play. Sometimes you’ll play aggressively, other times you might play conservatively and every other style in between. Startups are the same way. You need a strategy to create randomness, act on it and test it. Going to the same 3 coffee shops over and over is pretty much a guarantee you’ll never expand your network.

Skill vs. Luck

One benefit of poker is that it gives you a psychology model to deal with winning and losing. At the heart of this model is a balance of skill and luck. I tend to remember the big hands I lost more so rather than the hands I’ve won. The more hands you play, the more you refine your skill set. It takes a lot of skill to lose big money in poker and the same holds true for startups. A serious entrepreneur may play a lot of hands to achieve the right balance between skill and luck. The point is constantly be on the lookout for opportunities those skills. They may present themselves in obvious, and not so obvious ways.

Have Fun and Detach From Money

If it’s not fun there’s really no point in sitting there for hours at the poker tables and of course the same holds true for startupping. Working for hours and hours and sometimes years on a project, which may not be fruitful can suck. If it isn’t any fun then it really, really sucks. You have to be committed to having fun and quickly weed out toxic relationships and situations, which can kill the fun.

The biggest thing though is not fixating what you’re sure “you’re gonna make”. You almost never make what you think you’re going to in poker or running a startup. I’m not saying not to be sensitive to costs, but what I am saying is not to over-fixate on a financial outcome that isn’t even a reality. If you do detach from that you’ll have a lot more fun.

——

Poker players what do you think? Are you running a startup and a poker player? How do you perceive the similarities between poker and running a startup?

——

images via Flickr

The “Job”

The successful applicant must have a passion for the game of Cornhole. You will learn about the iPhone/ iPod, iPhone gaming and of course our game “Cornhole All-Stars”. The “job” entails hanging around various bars and front yards, having a beer (or two on us), playing old-school Cornhole and our game Cornhole All-Stars. You will be sending dispatches of your antics to the “cornhole stream” via Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and the Cornhole All-Stars blog.

“Job” Requirements

All applicants must be at least 21 years old, have somewhat of an entrepreneurial spirit and be a heavy user of social media who is happy to share their thoughts on Cornhole at a moments notice.

Opportunity

We’re a fast growing game studio. This could evolve into a full-time marketing position if we achieve some results. There is the opportunity to carve out your own position for the right, motivated person.

Salary

Competitive entry level compensation. A bar tab.

How to Apply

Step 1 - Leave a comment

Talk about why you would be a good fit for the opportunity. How would you improve what we’re trying to do? Leave some links to things that display your social media prowess including your social profiles.

Step 2 - Send a resume

I hate to be so old fashioned, but we’ll want to see a resume. Please send it to:

work@jufti dot com

That’s it and good day.

Image credit: hello.mabel via Flickr