Identity/biometrics/technology marketing and writing services
When your content bucket is empty, Bredemarket can help your identity, biometric, and technology marketing leaders fill it.
Because your prospects want some content from you, or they will go elsewhere.
Schedule a free meeting: https://bredemarket.com/mark/
I performed some slight edits to my “Content For Tech Marketers” brochure.
For more information, visit this page.
Repurposing can be found all over the place. Let’s look at the history of the Cure song “A Forest.”
Somehow I escaped hearing “A Forest” until decades after it was released, when the song was used on the old Fox Soccer Channel. This song was originally released in 1980, very early in the Cure’s career, and was a goth-yet-driving track that fit in with the times. And Robert Smith had not yet become Edward Scissorhands.
But then another Robert, Robert Palmer, would inject himself into the story.
Palmer had not yet become The Mannequin Guy (that would come four years later), but he was still pretty big. Big enough to rank higher than the Cure in the lineup for the Rock Werchter Festival on July 5, 1981. And when you’re a supporting act like the Cure was on that day, things don’t always go your way.
“The day before in Torhout the band had been able to play 15 songs, in Werchter they would only play 13 songs skipping “Three Imaginary Boys” and “Faith”. The Cure, consisting of Robert Smith, Simon Gallup and Laurence Tolhurst, was scheduled to play just before Robert Palmer and while they were playing, they were told to cut their set short by Robert Palmer’s managers.”
So the Cure was only allowed to play one more song. Robert Smith announced to the crowd:
“This is the final song because we’re not allowed to carry on anymore, cause everybody want’s to see Robert Palmer I think. It’s called ‘A Forest.'”
Cue malicious compliance.
The band starts playing the slow introduction to the song…with a few extra flourishes that stretched the intro out a bit.
After a minute-long introduction, the song finally picks up at the normal tempo. Well, with a little more of an instrumental introduction before Smith starts singing.
He sings the verses of the song, through the final words “again and again and again and again and again.” And five minutes in, it appears that the Cure has “a bad case of loving” the song, because they keep on playing.
And playing.
And playing.
With less of a drum beat and bass line as Smith explores every chord, and every note, on his guitar.
Six and a half minutes in, as you start to see backstage activity, Smith begins to sing new lyrics, “parting is such sweet sorrow” among them.
But the Cure didn’t part. They kept on playing. And at seven and a half minutes in, they picked up the pace again.
By the 8 minute mark, Smith is channeling his inner Hendrix/Townshend as the band finally concludes the song, “encouraged” by Robert Palmer’s roadies.
You can see the performance for yourself. Language warning at the end.
This sudden, provoked improvisation permanently affected future live performances of “A Forest.” Here’s a 1992 example, in which the song stretched for over 13 minutes. Minute-long slow intro, four-minute song proper, and a coda as long as the entire Werchter performance.
So feel free to repurpose YOUR content, longer or shorter as you wish. The original piece may resonate with some, while the newer pieces may resonate with others.
If the Fox Soccer Channel had played “A Forest” more often, maybe it would still be around today.
I haven’t mentioned the Bredemarket 4444 Partner Retainer in a while (since May, in fact), but since I recently proposed it to a prospect I thought I’d mention it again.
Originally envisioned as a service for clients who wanted a flat monthly rate for high-volume content creation, I have since extended the Bredemarket 4444 Partner Retainer to also apply to Bredemarket’s analysis services and related strategic services. Embed me for the month and I’ll handle your strategy.
The structure: you pay a flat fee, in advance, and I give you a certain number of prepaid base hours for the following calendar month. In exchange for prepayment, you get a discount from my standard hourly rate.
Benefits to you include an “embedded partner” relationship.
And easier budgeting.
Benefits to me include a more predictable income and a better understanding of your needs.
The brochure at the end of this post includes sample pricing for 15, 30, or 45 hour per month increments. Any additional hours above the maximum are billed at Bredemarket’s standard hourly rate.
Interested? Book a free meeting.
“Embedded” picture: By Staff Sgt. Michael L. Casteel – [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2407244.
Are you a technology marketing leader who lies awake at night worrying about the following?
“Keeping up with the speed and complexity of the digital landscape.”
Well, maybe not that exact phrase. That sounds like something generative AI would write.
And in fact, my buddy Bredebot wrote it when answering a question about Chief Marketing Officer pain points relative to content.
But I’m not going to let Bredebot write an entire post about it, because I’m going to write it myself.
The human way to reflect the sentiment above is to ask whether your content is up-to-date, or is as dated as a Pentium.
And that’s something that a marketing leader DOES worry about, because they (usually) want their firms to be perceived as innovative, not old fashioned.
Let me give you an example of outdated content that persists today.
For years we have been discussing search engine optimization, or SEO. The whole point of SEO is to ensure that your content appears at the top of results when you use Google or Bing or another search engine to launch a search. (Ignore “sponsored content” for a minute here.)
In case you haven’t noticed, fewer and fewer people are using search engines. Instead, they are searching for answers from their favorite generative AI tool, and now the new term the kids are using is answer engine optimization, or AEO. Or perhaps you can follow the lead of Go Fish and refer to generative engine optimization, or GEO.
Now some people are continuing to use SEO when they mean AEO and GEO, under the theory that it’s all just optimization, and it’s all just searching but just with a different tool. Personally, I believe that continuing to refer to SEO is confusing because the term has always been associated with search engines.
Plus, the concept of keywords is fading away, as Lisa Garrud noted in May.
“Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses on ranking for keywords, AEO concentrates on providing comprehensive, authoritative answers that AI systems can easily process and deliver to users….
“Think about how you use AI tools today. You don’t ask for ‘electrician Auckland residential services’, you ask, ‘What’s causing the flickering in my kitchen lights?’ or ‘How much should it cost to rewire a 1970s house?’ You want answers, not search results.”
But forget about XEO and let’s return to the content YOU create.
Let’s say that you’ve reached the point in your content calendar where you have to write a blog post about pop music.
And let’s also say that you’re old enough to remember the 20th century.
You may have a problem.
For example, when you see the words “pop music,” you may immediately spell the second word with a “z” and a “k” when you TALK ABOUT.
Or if someone mentions INTERPOL, you immediately respond with Deutsche Bank, FBI, and (und?) Scotland Yard.
And now that I’ve lost half my reading audience, you can see my point. While personas are approximations, you need to refer to them when crafting your content. If your hungry people (target audience) tend to be in their 20s and 30s, they’re probably not going to understand or respond to songs from M (Robin Scott) or Kraftwerk.
There are other things you can write that are obviously old, such as “fingerprint identification decisions are infallible.” That statement was questioned back in 2003…BEFORE the whole Brandon Mayfield thingie.
So how does a marketer ensure that their content is not dated? By remembering to ask, then act. Question your assumptions, do your research, write your content, then check your content.
Before you write your content, ensure your premise is correct. For example, I didn’t assume without questioning that “keeping up with the speed and complexity of the digital landscape” was a pressing issue. I KNEW that it was a pressing issue, because I encounter it daily.
Next, take a moment and check what you are about to say. Was your assumption about fingerprint examiner infallibility affected by the NAS report? Was your assumption affected by activities that occurred after the NAS report?
At some point you have to stop asking and start acting, writing your content. Write your draft 0.5 to get your thoughts down, then write your draft 1.0. And keep your personas in mind while you do it.
Once it’s drafted, check it again. Have your dated assumptions crept into your writing? Did you use the term “SEO” out of habit, by mistake? Fix it.
If you do all these things, you’ll ensure that your competitors don’t laugh at your content and tell you how out of touch you are.
Ideally, you want your competitors to show how out of date they are.
“Look at WidgetCorp, who doesn’t even know how to spell! Their writer’s left finger slipped while typing, and they typed the so-called word ‘AEO’ rather than ‘SEO’! Everybody know the term is SEO!”
Which gives you the opportunity to write a succinct reply to your bozo competitor.
I’ll give you the joy of writing it yourself.
Unless you want Bredemarket to write it, or other content. Book a free meeting to discuss your needs. https://bredemarket.com/mark/
Technology marketing leaders know that product marketing is a puzzle that your firm can solve…with the proper resources.
Think of these four product marketing puzzle pieces:
Does your firm have all four puzzle pieces? Or are one or more of the pieces lacking?
Can a technology product marketing expert with proven content, proposal, and analysis skills help your firm move forward?
Proven expertise from Printrak BIS, MorphoWay, and a recent launch for a Bredemarket client?
If you are ready to move your firm’s product marketing forward with Bredemarket’s content-proposal-analysis services for technology firms, let’s discuss your needs and how Bredemarket can help you solve them. Book a free meeting at https://bredemarket.com/mark/.
(Picture designed by Freepik.)
I’ve previously discussed the difference between Identity Assurance Level 2 (IAL2) and Identity Assurance Level 3 (IAL3). The key differentiator is that IAL3 requires either (1) in-person identity proofing or (2) remote supervised identity proofing.
Who can provide remote supervised identity proofing?
“NextgenID Trusted Services Solution provides Supervised Remote Identity Proofing identity stations to collect, review, validate, proof, and package IAL-3 identity evidence and enrollment data for CSPs operating at IAL-3.”
And there are others who can provide the equivalent of IAL3, as we will see later.
How do you supervise a remote identity proofing session?
“The camera(s) a CSP [Credential Service Provider] employs to monitor the actions taken by a remote applicant during the identity proofing session should be positioned in such a way that the upper body, hands, and face of the applicant are visible at all times.”
But that doesn’t matter with me now. What matters to me is WHEN we need remote identity proofing sessions.
Mitek Systems’ Adam Bacia provides one use case:
“IAL3 is reserved for high-risk environments such as sensitive government services.”
So that’s one use case.
But there is another.
Governments aren’t the only entities that need to definitively know identities in critically important situations.
What about banks and other financial institutions, which are required by law to know their customers?
Now it’s one thing when one of my Bredemarket clients used to pay me by paper check. Rather than go to the bank and deposit it in person at a teller window (in person) or at an ATM (remote supervised), I would deposit the check with my smartphone app (remote unsupervised).
Now the bank assumed a level of risk by doing this, especially since the deposited check would not be in the bank’s physical possession after the deposit was completed.
But guess what? The risk was acceptable for my transactions. I’m disclosing Bredemarket company secrets, but that client never wrote me a million dollar check. Actually, none of my clients has ever written me a million dollar check. (Perhaps I should raise my rates. It’s been a while. If I charge an hourly rate of $100,000, I will get those million dollar checks!)
So how do financial institutions implement the two types of IAL3?
Regarding IAL3 and banks, in-person transactions are supported in certain cases, even with the banks’ moves to close branches.
“If you need to initiate a funds transfer payment, an authorized signer for your account may also initiate funds (wire) transfers at any Chase branch.”
Note the use of the word “may.” However, if you don’t want to go to a branch to make a wire transfer, you have to set up an alternate method in advance.
What about remote supervised transactions at financial institutions, where you are not physically present, but someone at the bank remotely sees you and everything you do? Every breath you take? And every move you make? Etcetera.
It turns out that the identity verification providers support video sessions between businesses (such as banks) and their customers. For example, Incode’s Developer Hub includes several references to a video conference capability.
To my knowledge, Incode has not publicly stated whether any of its financial identity customers are employing this video conference capability, but it’s certainly possible. And when done correctly, this can support the IAL3 specifications.
For high-risk transactions such as ones with high value and ones with particular countries, IAL3 protects both the financial institutions and their customers. It lessens the fraud risk and the possible harm to both parties.
Some customers may see IAL3 as an unnecessary bureaucratic hurdle…but they would feel differently if THEY were the ones getting ripped off.
This is why both financial institutions and identity verification vendors need to explain the benefits of IAL3 procedures for riskier transactions. And do it in such a way that the end customers DEMAND IAL3.
To create the content to influence customer perception, you need to answer the critically important questions, including why, how, and benefits. (There are others.)
And if your firm needs help creating that content, Underdog is here.
I mean Bredemarket is here.
Visit https://bredemarket.com/mark/ and schedule a time to talk to me—for free. I won’t remotely verify your identity during our videoconference, but I will help you plan the content your firm needs.
I just created a new reel for my Meta social channels, but in the process invented the Bredemarket t-shirt.
If I didn’t insist on shirts with pockets I’d consider printing some.
No strategy, tactics, or content? Contact Bredemarket. bredemarket.com/mark
“I ask, then I act” is an attention-grabbing statement, but it’s admittedly simplistic. I don’t fall in the “ready, fire, aim” school, but believe that action incorporates review. As the management consultants Daft Punk stated many years ago:
One more time
And they proceeded to say:
One more time
So I guess it’s important.
One time I used my technology product marketing expertise to draft a piece for a client, which the client then edited with Track Changes on. The client made a number of improvements to my text, so I should have been happy with that and let it go. But I thought I’d look at the document.
One more time.
So I made a copy of the document, accepted all the changes in the copy, and had Microsoft Word read the document to me (Review menu, Speech section, Read Aloud).
Unlike the audio transcription tool (now superseded by AI meeting assistants), the built-in “Read Aloud” feature remains essential today.
Everything flowed well, and Word’s built-in editor didn’t flag anything.
But my eye caught something.
In my initial draft, I had referenced the client’s 800 number.
Which in and of itself isn’t bad.
Except for the fact that this is a worldwide company, and many of the prospects who responded to the piece would be calling from outside the United States, where 800 numbers are not supported.
So I shot an urgent message saying to correct my error and change the number from an 800 number to a domestic number.
That one additional review eliminated a possible source of friction between my client and its prospects.
Problem solved, even before anyone noticed there was a problem.
Anyone notice the similarity between this song and Phil Collins’ “One More Night”? Or is it just me?
Bredemarket