Category Archives: Seattle

A Few Notes on Rob Glaser Leaving Real

Posted by Andy Boyer in Seattle

I was going to resist sharing any public thoughts on the end of Rob Glaser’s 16 year reign at the head of RealNetworks.  But as I read through some of the comment boards, trolls and scrubs who have never started anything in their life have taken some cheap shots, so I’m going to give my take.

In 1994, we had 14.4 modems and something called Mozilla to surf the web.  Microsoft was finally rethinking their now infamous decision that the Internet wasn’t a place where they should concentrate. And Glaser looked into his crystal ball and said, “You know what, I bet some day we’re going to use our computers to watch programming more than we use our TV’s.” You have to remember, that back in 1994 that idea was akin to someone today saying, “I’m going to be able to take this IP signal from my watch and make it a holographic projector that plays HD signals against blank walls at 1080i.” 

Now, not every decision was right.  And plenty of smart people were under-utilized.  I was just a young Marketing Manager, and never in the inner circle of decision making, so I have little insight, and sometimes fell victim, to some head scratching decisions.

But at the end of the day, Rob built an industry from scratch, weathered recessions of 2001 and 2009, had to battle the full force of Microsoft’s vengeance when they realized it was a space they needed to be in, distributed more than a billion RealPlayers without much of a marketing budget, took his company public, changed his business model on the fly from software to subscription, and had to balance the public’s desire for free media vs the music industry’s desire to extort money from all of us.  That’s a pretty complex game of Lemonade Stand he had going.  Go through and name all the companies that you’ve seen in your lifetime that started before (or around) Real and have been more successful while staying independent.  Microsoft, Apple, Google, ebay, Amazon, Yahoo.  You can’t say AOL – they sold out.  Skype – sell out.  YouTube – sell out.  Netscape – gone.  Napster – gone.  Maybe Adobe and Oracle? Sidewalk – gone.  Expedia came out of Microsoft and sold out to IAB, so they don’t count.  I’m sure there are a few more, but the list is pretty small.

It would have been easy for Rob to sell to Microsoft in the late 90’s for a few billion.  We all probably would have made a few more short-term bucks.  And Microsoft would have had to spend way less money than they did over the next decade systematically trying to destroy Real.  But he didn’t sell, so we all took our sticks and bows to fight against the machine guns – and we did pretty well.

I have a lot of anecdotes about Rob that don’t need to be shared here, but I’ll sum it all up with this.  If you have the pleasure to run into him at an event, introduce yourself and say hi.  He’ll grill you on your business and ask 100 questions abut what you’re working on.  The conversation will move so fast that it will be hard to keep up.  But you’ll understand how smart the guy really is, and you’ll see that he simply wanted to win.  

My guess is that around the halls of RealNetworks this week, people are looking forward to change.  They see a happier, more corporate, less politically incorrect place where they won’t get yelled at for mistakes.  But the problem is that most of those people weren’t there in the 90’s.  To them, there’s always been audio and video on the Internet, and they simply don’t get why Real was such a big deal.  They don’t understand that they worked for the Web’s very own Marconi, they just want to complain about his flaws.  But around the city, you see Real Alumni collectively tipping our caps.  And I know a lot of people say this, but I still have more friends than I can count from my days at Real.  The people were there (with some notable exceptions) were fantastic.  Smart, gifted, ridiculously focused and cool.  There was something about that company, especially back in the 1990’s, that drew great people who were glutton for punishment.  I remember telling my dad when I first started there, “It’s pretty scary.  Every meeting I feel like I’m the dumbest guy in the room.” 

No one is perfect, and like everyone Rob has his flaws, but it was a real professional privilege to work down the food chain from someone who built an entire industry.  

Going Once…Gone. Seattle Loses Legend Dick Friel

Posted by Andy Boyer in Charity, Seattle

If you don’t know the name Dick Friel, well then you simply need to re-evaluate how much money you give to charity, because it’s not enough.  There’s a small number of A-list auctioneers in this town, so if your event was any good, you had about a 1 in 3 chance of seeing Dick and Sharon Friel at the mic.

The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that Mr. Friel has passed away at the age of 76.  I had the pleasure of working with him and his wife on the Cure Autism Now Auction back in the early 2000’s.  He was a genuine professional, with a jovial smile and demeanor that was all about business – the business of making money for charity.

I was naive to how auctions worked when I first saw him prepping.  He asked for the attendee list and list of items.  He then ran through his mental rolodex as easily as I remember baseball stats.  “Oh, Mr. Brown loves vacations.  He’s good for $1000 every event so let’s save this Italy trip and focus on him.” “The Jacobsons would go nuts for this necklace, but they always leave by 9:00.  Let’s move it to Item 3.”   “I know Mike and John are Pearl Jam freaks.  Let’s get a bidding war on that studio session and then convince Eddie to let them both in.”  From a marketing perspective, it was a thing of beauty to watch.  And the winners were always the charities.  

Farewell, Mr. Friel.

SonicsCentral.com Reviews Candidates

Posted by Andy Boyer in Economy, Politics, Seattle, Sports

SonicsCentral.com has done a good job of keeping us up to date on Seattle candidates’ views on the NBA returning to Seattle.  

Props to David Nelson of the P-I for asking these questions:

http://blog.seattlepi.com/insidebelltown/archives/182579.asp

Joe Mallahan:

I think we have to work very hard to attract an NBA team back to Seattle. That particular proposal I haven’t examined closely. The NBA’s not coming back if we don’t provide an arena that’s at NBA standards, the NBA’s come a long way. We have to figure a way for private and public dollars to partner to make that happen but it has to be done in a way where it’s not on the backs of the taxpayer. I am committed to working fervently to get a team back. The NBA is a huge part of our culture.

…With the tax payers paying their fair share. That’s a complex formula that we’re going to have to work on and partner with the private interests that are interested in owning an NBA team. As a community we blew it and we have to recover, it’s a big part of our history and culture and I would be very proud if I could help bring a team back.

Mike McGinn:

I need to know more about the proposal before committing to supporting it. My key issue here is ensuring that we’re making a wise investment of public resources into the arena and not finding our self in a position where the city ends up on the hook, these are pretty serious budget times. I’m open to a renovation of Key Arena, but I have to see what the payoff is.

We have to be careful with taxpayers and we have to make sure we’re doing the right thing for the surrounding business district, the arena, and Seattle Center. But I’m certainly open to people making the case.

Did FC Barcelona Force Sounders FC Into Their First Marketing Non-Win?

Posted by Andy Boyer in Marketing, Seattle, Sports

If you’ve read this blog a few times, you know that I have unabashedly praised the management of Sounders FC since Day 1.  I admit I’m a little biased due to my previous professional relationship with a person in a high level of management there, plus my overall interest in soccer.  But I have objective arguments for how much I admire their work.

That being said, I’m not going to shy away from saying that tonight’s match with FC Barcelona left me underwhelmed for the first time out of the 11 or 12 games I’ve attended so far.  On one hand, maybe my expectations were too high.  The best team in the world comes to town, I want to see magic.  And in the first half, I saw some really cool things from Messi, Xavi, Henry, etc..

Then a funny thing happenned at halftime.  The Sounders decided that this was indeed a friendly, and they didn’t need to play any regulars for the second 45 minutes.  After all, the team is 2/3 of the way through their season, in a playoff hunt and coming off their worst loss of the year.  It made tactical sense to rest the starters.

And so for the first time all year, they forgot who they were.  They confused themselves with the Seahawks and 1996-2003 Mariners.  They forgot that out of the 65,000+ who came to the game tonight, 25-30,000 of them had never been to a Sounders game before.  They forgot that the MLS is the MLS.  And for the first time all year, they forgot to put on a show.

The result was 45 minutes of second half football that resembled 2 people kicking a ball of yarn away from a cat.  The Barcelona second team seemed to be under strict orders not to attack the goal until at least 10 passes had been completed.  (And yes, we were counting as they passed the ball easily from one side of the field to another.)  The Sounders first team is a very competitive MLS team.. With all due respect, the Sounders second team is made up of guys who can’t play on a first team in Norway or Sweden.  I don’t say this with contempt.  I’m just saying when I fire up my Xbox 360 and play Fifa 09, a game with about 1.2 gajillion players in its database, the guys on the Sounders reserve squad are not in that database.

So, imagine you are the Sounders management.  Your immediate response is, “Andy, what do you want?  I brought you Chelsea and Barcelona.  Oh, and we’re in 2nd place.  Oh, and we made it to the US Open Cup Final. So take your blog and smoke it.”

And that is an argument I can totally agree with.  So maybe next year, bring me one of Chelsea and Barcelona.  And maybe bring me someone else not so good that we can actually compete with.  Maybe AC Milan and Watford.  Or Tottenham and PSV.   Or maybe the MLS needs to give the teams a week off o they can book friendlies and not get screwed by the schedule.

My rambling point, is that the MLS lost out tonight when Barcelona’s subs playes Seattle’s subs for 45 minutes on front of 65,000 people that paid full price to see at least one of the teams play starters all night long.  Or if you were going to sub everyone out, at least do it at the 50 minute mark and pull them off the field to a standing ovation.  Instead, we got one half of fun soccer, then the teams sneaking the players off the field at halftime, with a level of play in the second half that simply confirmed for soccer haters why they dislike the sport.   Blame it on the MLS, blame it on Barcelona, or blame it on the Sounders.  But I think for the first time, they allowed a crowd to leave the stadium saying, “I don’t get what the excitement is all about.”

Non-Sounders MLS Game, A Review

Posted by Andy Boyer in Seattle, Sports

Ok, I’ll admit I’ve crossed over into soccer nerd-dom.  I actually consciously and purposely sat down on my couch to watch an MLS game that didn’t involve the Sounders.

In my defense, the game that drew my interest tonight involved the team ahead of the Sounders in the standings (Houston Dynamo), and the team the Sounders play in the US Open Cup final (DC United).  Plus, now that we’re not in conflict with any World Cup qualifiers, Gold Cup or Confederation Cup games, it was the firsttime to see all the teams at full strength for quite a while.  For example, I had no idea the Dynamo had like 4 or 5 US National team players (Clark, Ching, Holden, Brad Davis and someone else). 

But the reason for my post here, is that after watching the game being played in Houston, I can see why the game isn’t attended well in other cities.  You really couldn’t help but feel for the poor fans of Houston.  The PA Announcer seemed to treat the game as some sort of minor league football or basketball game.  His cheesy cadence, tone and enthusiasm made me feel like I was at a hockey game or rock concert.  It didn’t feel like a soccer game at all.

I couldn’t tell if the stadium was custom built for soccer – because it looked a lot like they took over the Rice University football stadium, so I apologize if it’s nicer in real life than it looks on TV.

Anyway, I guess my point is that I have a new appreciation for Sounders management for treating Sounders games like a real soccer game, not a minor league baseball game.   Sure its a little hammed-up, but at least it’s not Houston.

Chelsea v Seattle – What to look for

Posted by Andy Boyer in Seattle, Sports

I’ve been asked a bunch by my non-soccer fans what to expect from today’s friendly vs Chelsea.  Here are a few thoughts about what “success” looks like, in no particular order.

  • A sellout crowd – Weekend afternoons in July are a premium in Seattle, especially sunny 90 degree ones.  So to get 65,000 people to spend one of them watching an exhibition soccer game is a pretty neat feat.
  • Big showing from Supporters Group – This is  really their only chance to impress the European Supporter Groups, so expect the Brougham end to be loud, lead the crowd in some good chants, and have some creative signs.
  • A Chelsea win – After all, they are one of the top 5 or 6 teams in the world.  You’d expect Drogba, Lampard, Anelka, Terry, Essien, Malouda, etc… to put on a pretty good show, even if it is pre-season, and put in a few goals before half.
  • Some good showings from the Sounders – In the 2nd half, it would be great to really see some young Sounders step up agains the young guys from Chelsea.  Look for Montero and Zakuani to really be featured as they try to play themselves into a potential European contract, which would be great fot the MLS.

All told, I think if the Sounders played competitively and went down 2-0 at half, then played a 1-1 or 2-2 tie in the 2nd half vs the Chelsea reserves, everyone would be happy.  The crowd should have a blast, the Sounders will gain some experience, and for one of the first times, a European football team will roll into the U.S. and see this as a potentially fun place to end their careers.  If we see a 38 year old Didier Drogba or Frank Lampard in a Sounders jersey in 5 or 6 years, this may be why.

 

A Good Article on Community Stadiums

Posted by Andy Boyer in Marketing, Seattle, Sports

With the Sounders selling out their entire season, it’s easy to forget that the rest of the MLS is not sharing the same attendance success.

BigSoccer.com has a good article about how Frisco, TX (suburn of Dallas), used their MLS squad as a way to get an entire community complex developed, and how everything works together in a nice synergy.  Perhaps there’s a way to do something similar with a basketball/hockey/concert arena type complex in Seattle? 

A Few Tips for College Grads Looking for Marketing Jobs

Posted by Andy Boyer in Marketing, Seattle

In the last few months, thanks mainly to my association with the UW Foster School of Business, I’ve been able to meet with a number of top flight students and recent graduates hunting for jobs in Advertising or Marketing.

I keep seeing a few common themes.  There aren’t that many new marketing jobs out there, many firms who have marketing jobs are cutting people, and many people who currently have these jobs are reinventing themselves so they can keep getting their paychecks.  This does not lead to a simple path to employment for a rookie.

So, as a person at a company who is hiring, not firing, at the current moment, here are a few things from my personal perspective that I think can help you. (Please note: this point of view is not necessarily endorsed by my company and will not necessarily help your resume get through our screeners.  It’s simply my opinion.)

  • If you are going after a job in marketing, first and foremost, you better be able to market yourself.  Think about the 4 P’s and apply them to you.  Your personal “brand” should be packaged professionally, priced appropriately, promoted in the right areas and you should come to the table with the proper set of skills to provide solutions to the problems that job is designed to deal with.
  • Remember that the job opening is there for the benefit of the company, not you.  Some executive, director or hiring manager has a specific and relevant problem that needs to be solved.  It’s not an opening for a “job.”  It’s a call for someone to provide a solution to an outstanding issue.
  • There is no such thing as “menial work” while you search for a career job.  The market stinks.  We get that.  But showing up every day for work at your barista job shows you understand customers.  Working as a deckhand on a fishing boat illustrates that you will work hard.  Spending 20 hours a week donating time to a non-profit proves you have a general interest in learning skills and networking.  Any of those things prove you are scrappy and worth hiring.
  • This environment favors the scrappy.  The Social Media world makes it easy to prove competence in the field you are interested in.  Take side projects, help friends, work on any marketing gig you can find.
  • Start a blog.  It’s free. It takes 20 minutes a day.  Write about anything professional you read and have an opinion on.  If nothing else, it proves you are reading the things I want my employees to know something about.
  • Know all the tools.  Basecamp, Google Docs, Office Live, Twitter, Flickr, Digg, Delicious, Digsby, etc… just know all the online applications that make collaboration easier.
  • Above all, remember there are two type of people who are distinctly different.  There are unemployed people who want a marketing job, and marketing people who aren’t currently employed.  Be the latter.  
  • Finally, for the non-recent grads.  If you are applying for a senior level role in a small firm, come with a book of business, or at leastthe willingness to build one.  Senior people are expensive.  Small firms rarely have a stack of cash sitting around in which to donate to a new person.  Show that you can generate clients, no matter how small, so that you can help the firm justify your senior level paycheck.

I Need a Place to get News

Posted by Andy Boyer in Media, Seattle

Ok, I’m throwing my hands up in the air.  We have all these sources for “News” but it feels like everyone is just writing Op-Ed pieces.  Is there anyplace where real journalists report real stories, by researching real facts and attaching them to real analysis, all in a single place?

What sent me over the edge, was a snarky blurb on a local Seattle technology pub, which backhandedly complimented Microsoft for “finally” getting a corporate twitter account.  If would have been a perfect opporunity for any of the following stories:

  • How a Fortune 100 decides to build a Twitter Account.
  • An analysis of Microsoft’s individual business units run their Twitter accounts, and the similarieties and differences between them. 
  • Comparison between other other Fortune 500 companies’ use of Twitter.
  • A conversation with the major marketing and advertising agencies about how Twitter is affecting brands.
  • An interview with Starbucks and Alaska Airlines Social Media and or Marketing?PR folks.
  • How companies are profiting from their twitter campaigns.

Instead, we got a few lines about how Microsoft PR is late to the Twitter game, with absolutely no rationale or arguments about why a corporate Twitter account has to be well thought out, or even a list of the potential risks.

Now, I understand stories like the ones I hoped for require research and interviews that go deeper than gettign an email shot to you, and it’s hard to write them while at the bar watching a sporting event.  But where are the journalists who would write stories like this?

So my question:  Where are you guys actually getting real news these days?  What journalism sources are stimulating your brain more than a John Grisham novel?