Screw social media and iPhone apps and Flash games and all the other new-fangled digital marketing channels. Katy Perry wants fans to pick up the phone and give her a call.

She’s got numbers in the US, UK Spain, France, Italy and Australia.

You’ll hear Katy Perry’s voice answer and ask you to leave a message.  She shares a little news, but also encourages you to share the news of your day too.  She says she listens to her messages and even calls some people back.

At first the the idea seems very old school and silly.  Shouldn’t she be sending you to her website?  But isn’t this a mobile age  just as much as its a computer one? And how much more time do kids spend with their cells than on their computer?

There’s also the added dimension of a little human contact - even if recorded - beats another blog post any day.  This is brilliant; and so simple and cheap.  $5 and 5 minutes and you’ve launched a new service that fans will love.

Katy uses a company called SayNow (www.saynow.com) for this service…Artists with as many fans as Katy make a TON of money based on the number of people who call the phone number.

This is a great move for any artist. Ironically, all of this social networking nowadays makes people feel less and less connected with their artists. This is a little personal touch that will go a long way for a lot of people.