This may be news to some of you who are not gamers, or not big YouTube users, or born before 1990. But on the internet, there is a massively popular type of video called a “Let’s Play.”

The name, as far as I know, comes from the phrase “Let’s Play (INSERT GAME NAME HERE)” because that’s exactly what they are. It’s a video of someone else playing a game. The whole game sometimes, from start to finish, with commentary put over it.

And I know that seems, confusing...baffling. I think there was even a South Park episode making fun of it at one point. But, it is a thing, and it is popular, and I am a fan. Which is why I thought I’d discuss this a bit.

Because, if you look around Clearwater, you will see a few GameStop locations, and in Countryside Mall there’s also - in addition to GameStop - another store called GameXChange. And I wonder, how do Let’s Play videos affect those stores and their sales?

Because there are two sides to this. The first is that these videos sometimes get upwards of a couple million views. And you would assume that’s gold, publicity-wise. It’s essentially a celebrity endorsement. It’s serious marketing potential.

But the second, the flip-side, is that though more people know about the game, they might also feel no need to play it once they’ve seen it all. Like, when it comes to me, I’ve used Let’s Plays as a substitute for purchasing a game. And I imagine I’m not the only one.

So, as you can see, it’s up in the air. But, there is one thing that leans me towards it being a beneficial marketing scenario.

And that, is a digital download horror game called Five Nights at Freddy’s, which made its creator a stupid amount of money, and became one of the most popular choices for Let’s Plays. The game was so successful, it spawned three sequels.

So, it’s yet to be seen how this will all play out. Perhaps, Five Nights at Freddy’s was an exception. Right time, right place. Or maybe this doesn't translate to physical sales. Or maybe...it’s part of the opening act of something a little different. A form of art that is itself a marketing method.

But, really, only time will tell.

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If you liked this article, you can read more of Brandon Scott’s work over at The Hive, or on his website: www.coolerbs.com.  

We’re angry. We’re Americans. We’re pissed-off. WE’RE AMERICANS! And we have seen the administration and the banks and others screw us over so many times that is it any wonder Donald Trump is as far as he is?

Now, before I go any further with this article: I’m just going to clarify up front that it does not matter where I stand, personally, on the entire Donald Trump political debate. That’s not the point. I am only here to talk about how one man rose this fast with a strategy that’s fairly different than all the other candidates’.

Because you know what people are sick of? Being lied to. Or manipulated, or placated. You know…what a lot of politicians seem to be up to? And I’ve talked to, and heard enough from, people who support Donald Trump during this last year to see a running theme for why.

It usually boils down to this phrase: “Well, he’s the only one talking about these things.” And those things, he talks about, yet again, I’m not going to weigh in on. But for the sake of this article it doesn’t even matter. Because it’s marketing. And that I can talk about. It’s marketing with anger. Donald Trump, if he means someone ill will, uses a metaphorical sword, in broad daylight. Not a poison-tipped dagger.

And that’s new, and refreshing even. People have been so disabused of how effective our government can actually be. We’re cynical. I’m cynical. And he’s marketing to the cynical. He talks about how great America can be again—which acknowledges that it’s not that way now. He talks about solutions that sound like actual changes. And not in the typical way a politician would use the term “changes.”

And I can’t argue that it would cause change, across the whole of America, and it’s up to you, reader, if you think it would be good. But from the businesses on Cleveland Street through the whole of Clearwater, and everywhere else, we will feel it. Donald, above all, is a businessman—and a Republican. And I have no doubt he will change healthcare, and regulation, and possibly even our entire economy.

That is. If he wins.

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If you liked this article, you can read more of Brandon Scott’s work over at The Hive, or on his website: www.coolerbs.com.   

So, somehow I’d managed to completely forget that there’s a Whole Foods at Countryside Mall until recently when I ended up there for some reason or another. And after walking around the, honestly, rather aesthetically pleasing store, it got me thinking: is the reason the health food movement got so big just another example of marketing?

Well, yeah. I mean, obviously it is. Under the umbrella of the term “marketing” you will find every successful business/organization/group using it in some way or another. But it’s also different than any other type of marketing I talked about before…because it’s, dare I say, tinged with fear.

Because, while places like Nature’s Food Patch, and Whole Foods, and a lot of local mom and pop stores all offer high-grade, organic, natural food that does a lot for our community–I posit that half the reason we have so many of those kinds of stores lately is because we’re scared of our food.

And that’s part of a much bigger cultural problem, but just focusing on this one aspect, take a mental journey with me here. There was a time, and I’m going to leave it up to the reader to decide the exact length of it, where we assumed that all the food we were getting was perfectly fine to eat. That if the FDA let it through, and it was on our shelves and not spoiled, we were fine. We could eat it, chow down. No real risk.

I mean I wasn’t there, but I’d wager there was time where you wouldn’t even have a qualm with picking an apple directly off a random tree and eating it, when nowadays—no…just no. Bad plan.

And then, over time, we got these exposés, these documentaries, these sad stories of children getting diabetes, and in a flurry of online activity we attacked everyone. Parents, restaurants, the FDA, the government, Monsanto, GMO, literally anyone we could think of. And suddenly, and though they were there before, we found ourselves flocking in-mass to anything that we perceive to be healthier than the crap we found out most modern day food is.

So, this brings me to my point. While the majority of the appeal of health food and health food stores is it’s flavorful, more environmentally conscious, and–of course–healthier, we only discovered we wanted that when we found out most of what was available wasn’t all of those things.

Because on some level, however small, “organic” doesn’t just mean “good for me,” it means “not semi-edible poison.”

And whether they intended it or not, that’s a pretty effective way to get someone to buy a product.

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If you liked this article, you can read more of Brandon Scott’s work over at The Hive, or on his website: www.coolerbs.com.  

Where do I even begin? Years. I waited years for this. This rebirth. A green lightsaber toy–I’ve had since I was a child–held in my hand. A four-hour long wait in a line. Others, my friends, my fellow nerds, gathered at AMC Woodlands Square 20. Ready for something we’ve dreamed of, but never knew we could have. It was worth it. It was all worth it. The moment the song began, the song you know in your heart, we cheered and the world cheered.

For Star Wars…RETURNED!

And I won’t spoil anything major. I wouldn’t dare. I am not a member of the dark side. But know this: you must see it. All of you reading this, you must watch this film. Soon.

Now, it is unnecessary for me to state just how much of an effect the original Star Wars trilogy had on everything. It changed the world of cinema. So when they decided to bring it back, to continue the series so iconic that even though the last movie came out around ten years ago we are still talking about it, they were careful. They marketed it perfectly. They calculated exactly what we wanted: a return to form.

A return to the things that made Star Wars great, with new technology to show it, and yet keep to its heart. Practical effects, no more Jar Jar Binks, a focus on interesting characters, and action instead of politics. And it had that. All of that.

So, though your business is probably not Star Wars, I think the lesson, the takeaway, is one of respect for your public. To give it your all. To not change what works, and improve everything else. To keep to the heart, the purpose of whatever it is you create, market, or sell. Be it customer service, quality, efficiency, or even the light of the Force.

And may it be with you. Always.
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If you liked this article, you can read more of Brandon Scott’s work over at The Hive, or on his website: www.coolerbs.com.   

Starbucks, America’s guilty pleasure. No, not because there’s something wrong with the drinks—there’s not, at least to my knowledge. But because of how much we are willing to drink the stuff. In fact, you’re probably having one right now, as you’re reading this.  

And when you find people buying something in that bulk, you know there’s good marketing afoot. And while Starbucks is a prime example of many clever practices, today I’m focusing on their holiday specialty drinks.

You know the ones. I’ve seen the lines at the Starbucks on Cleveland street, we all get them—there’s no hiding it. And they are really good. I’m not even going to argue against that. They are sugary goodness in a red cup.

They’re also a prime example of one of marketer’s favorite techniques. Pop quiz: what is one of the basic rules of economics? Answer: supply and demand. And one of the easiest ways to make a demand for something–to make it have value–is to limit its supply.

And now we come back to the gingerbread latte. Available only during a small portion of the year, and not even guaranteed to come around next time. It creates a want, based on scarcity. Sure, you maybe craved the drink before, but it sure does make it more of a priority when you know it’s not around for long, doesn’t it?

It’s a time-tested method. Why do you think people still get excited about the McRib? Even Christmas sales to some level operate on the same principle, just to a lesser degree.

And, as a technique, it’s one that a company can do, easily. Simply create a product that is of high quality, known to be wanted by your client base, and then make it only available for a limited time.  Sure, you might not always get the reaction you want. But I think the aforementioned lines at Starbucks speak for themselves.
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If you liked this article, you can read more of Brandon Scott’s work over at The Hive, or on his website: www.coolerbs.com.