Topics for the 8/2/09 Show

Here are the proposed topics for this week's episode of The BeanCast. Please feel free to send in your thoughts and questions.

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This week's panel will be David Cherry (Cherry Interactive), Bill Green (Make the Logo Bigger) and Brian Morrissey (Adweek)

TOPICS

Yahoo! Bings Too: Yahoo is getting out of the search business with a partnership with Bing. Is this a wise move? Should Yahoo! be focusing all it's resources on content, networking and content aggregation? Who's the real winner? Is this good for agencies? Does it really pose a threat to Google and inspire competition? Will the combined effort really command 30% of the search market?

GM's New, Old Guy: Much has been made of the appointment of GM veteran Bob Lutz to head up marketing. Some claim it's a slap in the face of marketers, other that he's exactly the guy they need. First impressions? Are his ideas too pedestrian? Is he ruffling feathers unnecessarily? Will his guidance drive a resurgence? Do existing partner shops need to worry or is it internal marketing heads on the block? What about Al Reis criticism in Ad Age? Is it fair to characterize Lutz as a product guy, when he's actually a marketing guy returning from product? What about Jack Trout's counterpoint in Ad Age?

Cash for Clunkers: While we're on cars, is advertising really the answer? Doesn't the recent craze over cash for clunkers prove that incentives are more important at this juncture for the economy? Why or why not? What about this particular program? Given that we're all supposed shareholders in GM now, was it a wise promotion to subsidize as much as a quarter of the value of a new car? What happens after the money is gone? Has it improved anything?

The Blogher Swag Debate: Women's bloggers gathered in Chicago and so did the marketers. In spite of PPP still being a hot topic of debate in marketing circles, there seems to be no slow down in promotional spending to attract this group. Is this a sign that the debate is really moot and that this will happen not matter what the FTC or the general population may feel?

Silverman Out at NBCU: Normally an exec leaving after a bad upfront wouldn't be news, but doing a deal with Barry Diller is. Why should we be interested in Reveille? Why are marketers excited? Is it too late for entry into this branded entertainment space or good timing? Is Ben Silverman the right guy? What does Ryan Seacrest's involvement do for the venture? Is this a credibility play or just standard signing of talent to the venture?

(NOTE: I personally really like the story about China pushing to expand it's brands into the US. But it doesn't seem to have a lot of play in the press and interest seems to be low. Thoughts? Is it more interesting than the Silverman story?)