There are certain journalists that can move a market.

Jim Cramer of Mad Money can move a stock 30% overnight by making a strong recommendation as he did last Friday with his recommendation to buy NMT Medical.

Walter Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal can move a tech product like the iPod with a positive review in his weekly column.

But, I have never seen one person move a market like Robert Parker and the 100 point rating system in his wine newsletter The Wine Advocate. Parker can single handily drive a winery’s product to double in price and to out-of-stock in days with a glowing review. He can also make or break the sales of the entire Bordeaux wine region with his views on the quality of a single vintage

I just finished “Emperor of Wine” and while not a hot page-turner it is an excellent look at how one person can drive a market. Here’s a quote for the Publisher’s Weekly review

“Anyone who’s been swayed by the point system when buying

wine—selecting a “93″ over an “86,” for example—can blame

Robert Parker, founder of the newsletter the Wine Advocate

and now considered by many to be the most influential wine

critic ever. McCoy, a wine writer for Bloomberg and Food & Wine,

points out that Parker can ruin a winery simply by stamping a

sub-80 label on its product.”

The learning here for marketers is to try to figure out who moves your market and then work very hard to understand their motivations, their likes and dislikes and then go after them with a concerted campaign to win their favor and their businesses building reviews of your products or services. If your PR firm isn’t doing this for you…. Get a new one.

This is the “What is the 360View Podcast all about?” Blog entry.

My suggestion is that you go to the Podcast itself and listen to it (either via the handy MP3 player below or, better yet, subscribe to it). But, if you must, read on for the written description….

360View is a series of weekly Podcasts that are designed to provide a different perspective and occasional rant on the supersonic changes that are happening in the world of marketing. Changes like the effect of digital video recorders, video-ondemand, Satellite radio which is the fastest growing new media of all time (even before the Howard Stern show moved to Sirius), Blogs, podcasting, video on your computer and on your cell phone and DIY marketing like Google Adwords.

This is a world where marketers need to be aware of the latest new technologies and the best practices associated with traditional media – which, contrary to most marketing Podcasts and Blogs, still deserves care and attention.

I, along with an occasional marketing expert and a few friends in the agency business will discuss these best practices that are in use today by savvy marketers to help create what we call Delighted Customers.

And, just to be very practical, 360View will even discuss life at a small agency and, most importantly, where to eat a great meal (like Delfina in San Francisco.)

If you are wondering who I am, I run Ralston360. We are an advertising and design agency with offices in San Francisco and Bend, Oregon (the sixth fastest growing metro in the USA.)

Before my current gig I founded and ran two internet companies. ActiveBuddy built what we called bots – or computer that you could talk to via instant messaging. Our clients included Intel and capitol records… in fact our first customer was the rock band Radiohead. You can still see the vestiges of one by putting the screen name SmarterChild in to your AOL iM.

The other company was New Jersey Online which I , ok with a lot of other smart people, started for Advance publications newspaper group (think the Newhouses.) New Jersey Online was one of the first online newspapers and in 1997 The Columbia Journalism Review recognized New Jersey Online’s editorial excellence as being one of the “Top Ten News Sites on the Internet”. We also built web sites for clients like Microsoft, Visa and Nabisco. And at one time had the most popular kids site — The Yuckiest Site on the Internet.

From 1980 to my discovery of the Internet in 1995 – Ted Leonsis, I managed Fortune 500 advertising accounts at Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising Worldwide. I held a variety of positions including European Director in London, General Manager of the Minneapolis office, and Senior Vice President in New York. My clients included Johnson & Johnson, General Mills, Sara Lee, Northwest Airlines and Bertelsmann’s BMG Records.

Those are the facts.

So please subscribe and I hope that I will be able to stimulate you and provide the knowledge and energy to make it happen in a world where the consumer is in charge.

If you ever want to reach me please send me an email at peter@ralston360.com

Happy listening!

Listen Now:

 Standard Podcast [4:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I love the world of DIY marketing or mass customization or whatever you want to call it.

My new find is Ecreamery. Ecreamery lets you make premium ice cream customized to your personal specifications.

First you pick the amount of milk fat you want (8%, 12% or 14%). Then you choose from over 69 flavors like cheesecake or saffron and then toppings ranging from basil to lychee slices (yes, they have sprinkles too.) You then get to name your personalized concoction.

The cost? As the site says…. “All orders are made in your choice of 1/2 gallon or 1 gallon batches and shipped in either 4 convenient pint or 4 quart containers. For 8% gelato base, 12% base, and 14% base, the price for a 4-pint, 1 flavor order is $49.95 and $79.95 for 4 quarts.”

This could be next year’s agency holiday gift.

My partner Kevin and I gave away 17 video iPods to our staff as a holiday gift. Big smiles all around.

The reasoning for this largess was two-fold. First, we had a great year, our team worked very hard and while we also gave out very nice bonuses (a tradition here), we know that cash can be ephemeral and a good solid gift is remembered.

The second reason is more important. We need to get all of our staff on the same Podcast page. We are a “traditional” hybrid ad/design agency and while we do interactive programs it isn’t our dally bread. It has to become more daily if we are going to survive in a world where the growth of interactive marketing is way outpacing traditional programs. We are moving a couple of clients this year into the Podcasting space and we are creating a seperate Podcast business and group here. The iPods are the signal of change.

Now, just imagine if BBDO gave EVERY employee a Video iPod. This would be a huge story covered in both ADWEEK and Advertising Age. So keep in mind that we have vision with teeth (sic) and they, big agencies who don’t usually walk the talk, do not. We hope we payout this vision. Stay tuned – we’ll be launching our Podcast business in first quarter.

First post. Why do this?

Well, to be frank, and why not, this is a marketing tool for us. It is designed to help grow awareness of our smart agency (smarter than most), our move into San Francisco and to do so while we help marketers and agency folk think through how to do marketing today.

We all know the issues confronting marketing: fractured audiences, bored audiences, time-shifting, Internet vs. TV viewing, satellite radio vs. terrestrial radio, new media choices like Podcasting; the need for measurable metrics, the ROI quest, failure to retain customers in light of increased competition, etc.

So stay with me, I’ll help. I have some of the answers. I promise.