My brother is a car guy. An expert in general automotive knowledge. You’re welcome to voir dire him. Feel free. Ask him the correct ignition timing for 1955 Chevy Bel Air with a 327 cubic inch engine and a four-barrel carburetor.
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A few years back, I was in the market for a car and I was at a light. There was this burnt orange sport thing in front of me. Curvy. Hot. With those big red brake calipers. I called my bro, “I think I see the car of my dreams.” I didn’t know what the car was. I described it as maybe a Jag I’d never seen. Or, a diminutive Porsche. I couldn’t place it. After a low-speed chase through suburban streets, I could read the name on the back. S-T-I-N-G-E-R.
“Stinger.” And, he said, “You’re not going to buy it.” I had to know why. “Too expensive?” Nope. In my price range. “Bad parts?” Nope. Excellent parts. Leather from Italy. The same brakes as a Ferrari. Now, I really had to know why. “It’s a Kia and you’re a badge guy.” His chortle dripped with condescension. I’m not that guy. I value merit, not brands. He implied I’m superficial. Damn that. I have depth.
Famously, Bob Pittman had this philosophy, “We live in America. Brands win.” Pittman was a fair radio DJ. Oh, and, he helped found MTV, he was CEO of Six Flags, CEO of Century 21 Real Estate, President of AOL, and today, he’s CEO of iHeartRadio. Voir dired.
What does that mean for media?
For a long time — in my opinion, too long — brands didn’t win. The algorithms that governed our digital journeys at Google and on social media in concert with click baited headlines decided who won. “8 Quick and Easy ways to shed those unwanted pounds.” I have to read that. Click. “Why you shouldn’t feel bad not buying a Kia.” A feel-good story if I ever clicked one. We were cattle and they had the electrified prods.
They’d usher us to sites we’d never heard of or, at best, sites we’d never think of going to without a flashlight to lead the way. They weren’t brands and weren’t customers. They were proxies and we were merely, “traffic.” I say this with dripping condescension and maximal disgust.
But, now, a funny thing seems to be happening. The places that guided us to content stopped guiding us to content. Google snips Reddit garbage for far too many searches. Certainly not must-see content. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other socials eschew content. YouTube’s algorithm — likely based loosely on Google’s own ideas — guide you away from content. Especially away from news.
Which means we are left to fend finds for ourselves. We can’t know every site and we don’t StumbleUpon headlines. So, what happens? Brands win. We go to the sites we value.
What does this mean for content? It means the outlets built to spew a ton of low-quality, high-volume content won’t be found, can’t be remembered, and certainly won’t be trafficked. Which makes them toast. Ergo, and, I use that word correctly, the corollary holds. We will visit sites we value and remember. It’s like the old days. And, it’s contrary to everything that has been for twenty plus years.
Sports fans I know visit ESPN multiple times per day. To them, social is in a rear-view mirror. News wonks have their go-to sites. The same goes for fashionistas, long-readers, and anyone with any affinity. Travelers go to this little travel book shoppe in Notting Hill. Equine types are avid readers of Horse and Hound.
How do we know brands win? Because Google hates that we love them. Google’s leaked algo details showed they value where we go when we’re not searching. Which means in their evil heart of hearts, they’ve known for a long time that brands win. It’s been their goal to break down relationships between brands and fans. That’s what gives them power. When brands don’t win, Google does. They foist second-tier brands at us to sate us. We search for Kleenex and get facial tissue. We want Band-aid and we get Elastoplast. Hydrox over Oreos. The horrors. Meanwhile, they hoover up our data all the way to the perpetual ad machine bank.
How does high-quality traffic help someone peddling branded stuff?
Watch. Big-box retailers LOVE traffic. Any traffic that sumly marketing spend or lavish location can deliver. The theft rate for an average big-box store is 1.44% of sales. Now, compare that to Costco. The place that doesn’t beg for just any traffic. They get the right traffic. They get the right traffic to pay. They get the right traffic to line up, show ID, roll around ugly orange dollies in a utilitarian warehouse. Costco’s theft rate is less than 0.2% of sales. Feel free to use theft (or the lack thereof) as a proxy for traffic quality. Because, here, that’s what it is.
Fewer outlets. More quality. Tighter relationships between customers and brands. Brands *will* start winning again.
Because… We live in America. The land where giant bottles of brands don’t just come in three-packs, we pay for the privilege of shopping for them. And, because Hydrox and Elastoplast cut it as brands like a Ginsu.
Oh, I didn’t buy the Stinger. I am a badge guy. My brother knows cars. And me.