If your mantra is “if I could only get the money, I’d be a success,” check out the story of Delgo, an animated film with all the right pieces, but the wrong execution.

The film’s creator/producer/director wanted to create a big-budget animated film without the help of Hollywood powerhouse studios. He lined up big-time name voice talent (well, Freddy Prinze Jr.), and pitched the finished product around for distribution. No takers.

No takers after $40 million was spent? That’s the first problem. If you don’t have a plausible and meaningful experience to show after $40 million, you’re in trouble. He financed the distribution himself, launching in over 2,160 theatres. But the first weekend take was $511,920 — the all-time lowest for a wide box office opening.

But perhaps the biggest problem was that he failed to consider the marketing costs needed to “stand out in the already crowded holiday movie season.”

Know this: a $40 million-dollar movie is actually an $80 million movie. It takes time, effort, resources, and a strategic team to deploy a movie (that’s why studios will never go away). Independent, DIY creators must remember that it takes a team to create buzz — the necessary buzz to generate action (the kind of action that means $$$).

The internet can serve as a quick community-building tool for building buzz, but it isn’t cheap. It’s not free. It’s not “viral.” Real buzz that translates into revenues is a calculated strategy executed well.

For $40 million, I would have created a company that generated a lot of small, consumable content, and built an audience — a legion — of loyal children and pre-teens to get behind the storylines and the world. And then license the heck out of it. Figurines, t-shirts, stickers, and social network add-ons. For that kind of money, you could run for 2-3 years.

With a track record and a loyal core audience, then you might get a studio to back a movie. Or just return a call…

Unlike many meandering online comedy series, there are actual jokes written into the first episode, and lots of obscure baseball references, sure to please any sports fan (they’re lost on me, but I get the gist). Pre-launch promos for the show include Jordan Farmar of the LA Lakers and Dennis Rodman of the Crazytown Crazies.

In particular, the receptionist at Topps, Bev, plays her role brilliantly in the midst of a male-dominated cast and subject matter, reminiscent of Kaitlin Olson (Sweet Dee on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia).

The show has all kinds of things going right for it — niche subject matter paid off by thoughtful knowledgeable jokes. The editing is a tad slow, but it’s forgiven with the snappy writing. I’m a fan of the video content… but that’s all…

Now, for the marketing, I’ve been woefully disappointed in most of the support given to Vuguru shows, but Back on Topps takes the cake. The BackonTopps.com web site has no further information on any character (not even a mocked-up baseball card? come on!), no clickable links, no information on guest stars, and you can’t embed their video. A few days after Episode 1 appeared, they added some content to the BackonTopps.com site. Better, but not mind-blowingly awesome (which is what I demand!). Lots of “Coming Soon.” Eh. Still Strike 1.

Perhaps Back on Topps is hoping its Fox Sports/MSN Video home with provide it a super-targeted audience, but the user experience there is fourteen times more difficult to manuever. Strike 2.

Where is the heart of this show’s audience? Just 43 views on “special partner” Veoh for Episode 1. Episode 1 hasn’t fared better on YouTube. It barely has 400 500 750 views. Not the right view counts for such a good show. Strike 3?

You’d think that a niche show like backing from a smart guy like Eisner would have secured bigger distribution (uhhhh, ESPN?) and sports blogger attention ahead of launch. Without it, this show may be destined for the bench (I couldn’t resist).

I stumbled upon an illustrator who shares my passion for the 1960’s advertising drama, and has created a whole slew of retro illustrations from the show’s most memorable moments, including Joan and the Xerox (below), Duck and the Dog, and Betty and the Chair.

All are available for download for desktops or other fine use. You can also buy some of the work at Zazzle (t-shirts, framed prints, etc.).

Link to: NobodysSweetheart.com
Link to: Mad Men Illustrations on Flickr

But I was impressed with I saw these introduction videos of the 14th season’s new cast members Eric Price, Erica Ash, and Matt Braunger. (14 seasons? really?)

I think this is a great roll-out strategy for generating some buzz around new blood. I think it would also be worthwhile to see the new cast members blog or create regular videos about their own experience coming into the world of MadTV. It would give fans something to sink their teeth into, and perhaps separate it from its NY doppelganger.

Eric Price

There are a lot of bloggers up-in-arms about this, as bloggers can be (read: “The DMCA sucks!” “Burn copyrights!” “Anarchy!”). Bloggers, who tend to be writers, creatives, artists, and marketing self-promoters are probably especially fond of Mad Men, and were, probably, like me, excited about further interacting with the characters. Twitter seemed to be a spot-on communications tool for the show.

I 100% agree that AMC (which pays for and owns the show) has the right to do this.

I just hope the cable network takes note of the moment and makes these Twitter accounts official. They should continue the good work of their anonymous (and probably now pissed-off) fans. I can only hope that staff writers or assistants are tasked with maintaining these accounts, and they don’t have to run things through legal before each post.

Links of note:

• I am @Paul_Kinsey
• Mad Men on Twitter
• DMCA takedown notice forces Twitter to blacklist Mad Men characters (Venture Beat)

The original Hulu promo ad for ‘Mad Men. No Photoshopping on my part (except for inserting the presumed heights of the cast).

Assuming Jon Hamm (Don Draper) is a rugged 6-foot man as he appears on TV, the implications are astonishing. The Mad Men cast more resemble a couple of towering Gandalfs and some hobbits.

Or perhaps the Mad Men ensemble cast is the greatest basketball team of all time, waiting for its time to take the international spotlight. I’d love to see them go up against the USA Basketball team. I don’t think they even have that kind of height.

Some anomalies also come to light: look at actor Vincent Kartheiser (Pete Campbell). He seems like he is almost as tall as the giantess Christina Hendricks (Joan Holloway). His hips must be a full foot lower than hers, giving him a freakishly long torso. Strange casting choice.

Why is Gheorghe Muresan of the critically acclaimed My Giant not in this cast?

This new revelation puts some other Mad Men production stills into question…

Imagine the size of that coat he’s taking off! It must have been custom-made for a Power Rangers giant villian!

All in all, I’m a huge Mad Men fan, and loving season two, but… it’s called Photoshop, people. Use it wisely.

Watchmen (From the director of 300)

Terminator Salvation (with Christian Bale)

What do they have in common?

They all use Ning.com to host a private social network on their sites. They give their fans an opportunity to upload photos, make comments, and engage as a part of the brand experience.

The best part? Ning is free.

Why wouldn’t you create a ning social network? Barack Obama and my University want to keep their social networks internal and closed, so as to tie data back to their main databases, which makes sense.

No matter how you do it, shouldn’t you be creating a social experience for your customers or prospects? Aren’t they expecting it? I mean, if The ‘Hoff is doing it…

But she knows that the Apple iPhone 3G comes out tomorrow. The buzz is on her lips, and everyone’s lips.

My personal measure of marketable buzz is: if my parents are talking about it, it’s big.

How does Apple consistently generate such big buzz? How does any company or movie or product or restaurant or web service generate it, and how do they measurably turn it into revenue?

Being in the viral video business, I have a vested interest in creating tactics for generating buzz about my videos and media, be it for marketing clients or for personal entertainment projects. Here are the characteristics of buzz:

#1 Buzz is Real, But Fleeting

Screenwriter John August and Ask A Ninja’s Kent Nichols have been downplaying the importance of film festival buzz on their blogs.

From Kent:
“I view awards [and film festival wins] as a karmic thumbs up that I’m going in the right direction. Nothing more, nothing less.”

I agree with them in that buzz alone does not create a career, or even a job, but it can generate a first step into a different world. Once in that world, of course, you need to back it up with talent, training, and hard work.

#2 Buzz is Triangulation

Buzz is hearing about something from multiple channels on multiple levels. Media, social, and personal.

Iron Man was a perfect example of a buzz-worthy summer blockbuster movie. The industry said it was good. The commercials made it look good. The reviews were good. All that is standard mass marketing, however. Those media outlets can be bought. The most important component to buzz can’t be bought…

The most important component to buzz, of course, is people. Regarding Iron Man, people I actually connect with said it was good: friends, strangers, acquaintances, bloggers. Then my mom said it was good, and there you go. Buzz achieved.

Iron Man

#3 Buzz is Buzz-Worthy!

Believe the hype! Buzz only works if the thing is actually worthwhile. The iPhone really is as cool as promised. Many friends say its the best device they’ve ever owned bar-none. But there is nothing lamer than buzz for something unbuzz-worthy. But that’s subjective, so be sure to narrow your buzz projecting to audiences that fit your product.

Case in point: Bon Iver. I’m the perfect audience for the indie rock album. So, when I heard about it on public radio, read about it on Pitchfork, and saw it on a friend’s iTunes shared folder, that was enough buzz for me. The media matched my tastes and my friend brought it home. I bought the album on iTunes.

Bon Iver

Takeaway on buzz: generate media and talking points for all kinds of talkers. Reporters from big media. Bloggers. Message boards. Casual fans using Facebook or MySpace. They’ll spread messages to all levels of people, and if it all coordinates on one set of ears, you’ll get the buzz you’re looking for.

The video showcases a debate between a parrot and a valley quail, who argue over which should be official state bird of California (currently the quail).

The video refers to the upcoming legal deadline for California drivers: that they must use hands-free devices for their cell phones starting July 1, 2008.

The video encourages the viewer to check out ParrotNotQuail.com, and only after visiting did I realize that the video was an attempt at localized viral humor, and backed by hands-free device maker Parrot.

The site itself is as good a satirical political site as I’ve seen online. It features a parrot holding babies, walking wing-in-hand with a racially diverse group of people, a open letter to Arnold, and even a chance to win $10,000.

One problem. The video only has 3.328 views on YouTube.

What went wrong? The video is high-quality. The site design and satire is top notch. Perhaps the target market is too niche: Californian drivers who use cell phones and are paying attention to upcoming laws that affect them.

Or perhaps the “just upload it and it will get a million views” strategy doesn’t work. You can have all the right elements, but if you don’t generate conversation and marketed attention to your media, you will end up with just over 3,000 views. (3,000 is the friends-and-family viewcount, btw)

Some advice for Parrot in the days leading up to July 1 (your viral video’s deadline as well): pitch bloggers on the site. Contact your distributors and give them brochures that will drive traffic back to the site. Stage a PR stunt. Go to local zoos. Generate a conversation.

It takes time and energy (and money) to draw an audience. Otherwise, you’re just taking a low-odds risk. You should work just as hard at generating traffic as you did making your content. There are too many other birds squawking in the online video market for you not to.