Weekly Feeder: July 28, 2014

Why businesses should pay attention to extreme consumers; a chance to see your words on a bottle of Beam; music licensing and YouTube publishers; bringing Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley from film to Florida; and a solar superstorm’s near-miss. (Whew!) ★

• An interesting article on extreme consumers – those who love or hate your product most – and how they can alert you to your strengths and potential areas of competitive weakness. It also makes the case for uncovering the difference between what consumers say versus what they do. [Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge via HBR Blog Network]

Too often, management and clients are tempted to dismiss these extremes as outliers and focus solely on the “average” consumer, but in my experience, the super-fans and haters provide some of the biggest a-ha moments. It shouldn’t be an either-or choice. Both tracks of research can complement each other. Bookmarked for future use…

• To bring more attention to its relatively new Single Barrel bourbon, Jim Beam is hosting a “Single Barrel Single Statement” contest to determine the product’s tagline(s). The catch? You’re limited to 50 characters. See this fun promotional video and the official site for more information. [Jim Beam and Jim Beam Official on YouTube via Paste Magazine]

YouTube makeup artist Michelle Phan currently faces a lawsuit from a record company that alleges she is using their music in her makeup tutorial videos without permission. Plus, what this means for content creators on YouTube and other popular video services. [Adweek]

This is incredibly unsurprising to me, but at the same time, it’s not something that a lot of people realize can happen.

For several employers/clients, I’ve been the person responsible for filing the YouTube counterclaims, which are basically informal legal statements that say, “Yes, we do have permission to use this music (and/or video footage), and/or our license for this show/movie/whatever includes the right to use this music (and/or video footage) to promote the show/movie/whatever.”

Many labels will overlook usage here and there, but once you start making money with the video – either directly or by using it to promote something you are selling – the record labels and publishers will want their share. I suspect the significant amount of YouTube partner income Phan is earning – plus the endorsement deals and her starring role in YouTube’s television campaign – made her a high-profile target.

How designers from the Harry Potter films translated their big-screen sets for Diagon Alley into a real-life shopping district for the latest expansion of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the Universal Studios theme park in Orlando, Florida. [Fast Co.Design]

Sobering details from NASA about a cosmic near-miss – in the form of a solar superstorm in July 2012. [NASA Science News via astronomer and planetarian George Fleenor]