a trend room

I'm currently handling duties to construct a Trend Lab that functions as a think tank, findings holding ground, and all-around cool place for the agency to do some brainstorming.

To start, I collected all the trends from Iconoculture and Trendwatching.
I separated them by year and plotted them on a continuum. I started to look for patterns, but then I stopped.

What IS a trend? I wanted to figure this out first and foremost. If this was to be an ongoing project, it needs to be founded on a belief system with agreed upon values.

A trend is of significance when it concerns a mass amount of people (i.e. it's not just a blip on the radar, it's multiple blips that = a movement). A fad is not a movement; a fad is a blip. Ok, so a trend is a movement. A movement of what? Or why? I birthed a hypothesis that a trend is a reflection of consumers' needs gaining momentum. Trends with names like "Transparency Tyranny" or "InfoLust" both signify that marketing has asked a question, and the cultural cosmos has answered with a stance - a need - a reflection - an insight. Then because the trend is called out and contained within a definition, marketers can, in turn, react to this "need." Iconoculture and Trendwatching both identify brands and companies that excel in these trend times (probably because they have fulfilled a need).

Maybe this has already been out there in the ad world for a while, but I feel like I just stumbled on it for the first time. A "trend" before now has seemed like just a cool thing; a fad in itself; a subject to write newsletters on and start websites about. Trends are identified with words like what's hot, cool finds, things to watch. etc.

Trendwatching.com says a trend is:

• A manifestation of something that has 'unlocked' or newly serviced an existing consumer need, desire, want, value.

See. They knew it all along. :p Well, at least they knew it in 2002, and Iconoculture knew it in 2003. And now I know it, and I value its application and implications.

So with a room, my teams and I will be collecting "cries" for help: Consumers who need - validation, acceptance, an answer, a response, community - a trend. A movement...to rally around a need.

In a brand world of relationships with consumers, brands have to be nimble enough to respond to these needs accordingly. If there's a movement and your brand doesn't respond, that's one notch on the "honey, you didn't listen to me" contention-belt. And points of contention in a market full of choices will weed yours out pretty quick. May the best brands win. Plan on.

Good 'Google Juice'

What comes up when you Google your name? And what does it mean now that you can Google your name?

Find out what 'Google Juice" means in the following video (via Viral Garden):



Maybe "Got Googled?" could be the next version of the Milk Campaign; Goodby want to tackle it? Come on.

connecting the dots

where do all you go for blog feedback/conversation threads? By this I mean, if you have a blog > where do you go to see who's talking about it? Or who has linked to it? Sites I check/bookmark are:

• blogs where I have posted comments
• Technorati
• My Blog Log > I can't really figure this tool out
• Digg
• Del.icio.us

Looking for some new ideas...

if Einstein blogged

Want to know your Blog's readability level? Go here and find out.

Via How does your Blog stack up against the rest? Thanks Cam!

(look to the right and down for usability purposes, and BTW, I have NO idea how they calculate their answers. I don't feel like a Genius: Did Einstein really ever know how smart he was when he was equating? This is basic stuff that I'm sharing.)

a little branding history

I saw this sign at the Fort Worth Stockyards last weekend. Cowboys were the first branders:

• Brands are one of the most interesting tools used by livestock people. Each brand is by necessity different than all the others and often conveys the character of the owner.
• Choose as simple a brand as possible.
  
• Apply the brand properly.
• Brands have a language all their own. That language, like any other, follows certain rules. The ability to read these symbols is referred to as "callin' the brand."

Hmmm, maybe this makes Cowgirl Planner even the more relevant. And for Planners everywhere, here's to callin' the brand correctly. :)

Wal-Mart as a neighborhood market?

WTF? I saw one of these yesterday in Dallas' Uptown area. Wikipedia had more:

• Launched in 1998, these "Neighborhood Markets" are a quarter the size of a Supercenter and are meant to woo shoppers in search of a quainter Wal-Mart experience. There are currently 118 of these nationwide.
  

I think this is a bunch of bologna. It's just a way for "what's wrong with America" to weezel its way into the shop local trend that is sweeping America. Ok, smart business plan WallyWorld but...I am still not buying it.

the definition of new

I was at the gym this morning, lifting some weights thinking about my form and such. I thought about all the variations of simple exercises that trainers and other likeminds have come up with purely for the sake of "something new." This is a thread from my thoughts below, spurred by Scott's comment in semi-support of "the box." In my gym metaphor, the box is traditional, simple exercises.

There is a difference between coming up with something new and using differently what's already available. Miami Ad School taught us each to find our own stride; what makes us unique as a planner; how will we position ourselves as we try to break in to a popular category. And there's much to be said for new ideas and innovation (a planner should have this skill as well) but what's under-rated but just as important is looking at the existing elements and re-arranging them: saying "what about this?"

It is our job to bring something new to the table, but now I'm starting to shift my idea of what new means. It's somewhat easier to dismiss new ideas, those that create something that's never been created before because they're too unique. Ideas that refresh elements that already exist; however, might be easier to digest.

I'm not sure if I have articulated this well enough, so stay tuned for an update. Basically, when you say "new" what do you mean? New way to think? Or is it new, never been created before?

creating Fansumers

My blogreads this AM started with "PR is useless...when actions create the real story." Real PR = Real WOM if it's 'generated at the roots'. Frontline employees tell the greatest and most authentic stories when it comes to what's really going on with a brand. After spending two years in customer-service, I definitely support deploying more of a brand's budget in creating advocates out of these people. Ben McConnell says "Campaigns are designed. Movements are born." Love it! It's just another notch in the brands-need-to-be-honest belt.

Then I hopped over to Interactive Marketing Trends where I read "Google defined the market as a 'when' and not a 'who'. Demography means little when someone is actively searching for your brand or product." The post is titled "Facebook ad model - the new Google?" While I agree that it's important to be "hanging out" in the consumers environment, I'm not sure how I feel about behavioral targeting. It makes sense, but if we're taking the brand-as-person model as an example: who lets their friends use them? That doesn't feel cool at all.

At Unit Structures, Fred Stutzman says, Project Beacon (as the Facebook app is called) is "trying to turn us all into lifestyle marketers. It might be breaking the user-experience."
My planner ears are perked.

creative intellectual juice

One of AdAge's most emailed stories of the day is It's not about new media, it's about new marketing. I would be curious to know the statistics of the recipients of these emails. It might be fair to guess that the majority is on the client-side; Using the article as leverage to open up the table for conversation about thinking outside the box. The box being one of the many traditional marketing tactics that are now ubiquitous in the mainstream.

Nick Brien, CEO of Universal McCann says the idea of new media is almost irrelevant. My thoughts are when clients ask for something new, they mean to say "something unique." And maybe using this lingo would provide the agency with more creative flexibility. New media = box; something unique = endless possibilities. Add in some planning to give some direction: unique to who, unique where, unique when, and more importantly: what is unique to our target?

Brien supports using media to enhance personality. I like that. It could be thought of in this way: the media department adds personality to the idea, gives it an attitude, gives it a feel, creates a context. I've never thought of personality as context before but it makes perfect sense.

A couple months ago, I posted about planning and its biggest challenge of being up to date. The AdAge article I cited said Today's planning ideas need to stand up to all forms of advertising. Ideas cannot be boxed, should not be boxed. They need to be insightfully strong which will make them inherently unique. But then they're really simple and that's the beautiful thing about the art of planning. It comes down to people and motivations. Brien adds support here: the two greatest motivators are love and fear.

Now go find yourself a thinking partner and get that creative intellectual juice a brewin. Plan on.

"I saw the commercial"

I heard this quote this morning on NPR. It was a story on everyday American citizens getting swept up in candidates' marketing efforts. I think the quote was mentioned in relation to Obama's TV campaign. A woman had seen the commercial and therefore trusted (?) Obama and his message a bit more. Does advertising work? I think so.

My posting reason was not to high five advertising but rather to make note of its simplicity with middle America. It made me think about planning > we're smart people; we've got a good pulse on culture; we have conversations about strategy for pete's sake. But sometimes I think we might forget that the average person "doesn't get it." Advertising is on TV. It's what they see; what they experience unknowingly.

I don't like to admit that advertising does something to people. I like to think of the active consumer. I'd like to give them more credit than mere marketers do. I want to engage them. But... I need to think about this post: It will bring me back to reality. Advertising is a message and middle America gets it. They saw the commercial.

ps: the small print in the picture says: the Simplest solutions are often the cleverest. They are also usually wrong. - I wish the second part would meet Planning. :p

It's all for the consumer

Yesterday, a co-worker was fancying a new pair of sandals he bought online > "it was such a good deal, how could I pass it up?" The pair was a half size smaller than what he normally wears so he was apprehensive about being 100% sure of his purchase. He paced back and forth, admiring them from time to time and thinking...what to do? The "possibility to return" looming over his decision: "It's so hard to decide," he said. I tried to comfort him with the consumer community he's actively a part of: "It's not easy being a consumer."

And did you know?: Borders will accept returned magazines. Yes, really. "So, I can go home and read this magazine and then return it when I'm done?" The sales associate confirmed it was possible if the magazine was in the exact same condition that I bought it in. At home, after flipping through the magazine, I found it hard to fully enjoy the content because the "possibility to return" was looming over my head. I could get my money back! This magazine could be free! But the convenience factor chimed in: returning it takes time. Yeah, but you could get your money back!

Now, if Borders did the same type of branding spots as Sony did there would be no question. The product would be worth my money and even if it mal-functioned, and I had to inconvenience myself to return it, I wouldn't mind. Any interaction with such an awesome brand would be enjoyed. Over at Only Dead Fish, watch the teaser first and then enjoy Sony's latest addition to the Like.No.Other branding campaign.

And taking the idea of like no other into the plannersphere is Planning for Good (the link will take you to their Facebook page). The latest news from them is a listing of all the new PFG City Groups, Leaders & Participants:

• 31 city groups globally:
  
  3 groups in Asia/Oceania
  21 groups in North America
  7 groups in Europe

So start your day with a little consumer love in mind > it's not easy being them. When it comes to branding, strive to be like no other. And Planners, when it's our job to differentiate each brand by identifying a consumer need, each project should be thought of as planning for good. Because it's all for the consumer. Plan on!

calvin & hobbes

These two are a riot. Each album by Bill Watterson offers up new parodies on everyday life. Me gusta mucho.

And alas, Calvin has something to say about TV advertising:

Look at these TV commercials. Each one is a jumble of lightning quick, unrelated images and film techniques.

It duplicates the effect of rapidly flipping through channels. It's a barrage of non-linear free association.

Hobbes: I guess they're admitting that a 15-second commercial exceeds the American attention span by a good 14 seconds.

Huh? Are you still talking about that?

I've always thought of TV commercials as little movies. Each one setting up a problem for a hero character/product to over come and all the while, vying for our attention with flashy photography and images. Some commercials shouldn't be missed, but I have to agree with Hobbes's wisdom: Americans don't hang out long enough unless there's a reason to. Hmmm, a second. So significant and yet so precious and completely innocent.

i've got a viral

Today was my first "ah ha! Yeah! I gotta spread that" experience. It was with Greenormal, John Grant's (Brand Tarot) new project.

This is what I spread:


I put it on my Facebook and Myspace. Dothegreenthing has a bunch of catchy icons, tips and tools. It's merits rely on two principles: Easy & Creative.

change the way you see celebrity

In a period where the latest news with Britney Spears and her child custody problems is aired alongside the morning traffic report, Iconoclasts presents a nice alternative context for celebrities.

• Join twelve of the world's leading visionaries as they share surprising revelations and insights into their creative process and unyielding quest for excellence. Take a journey inside the lives of these remarkable individuals through the eyes of their fellow iconoclasts and forever change the way you see celebrity.

This relatively new series (in its 3rd season) from the Sundance Channel is garnering wonderful brand affiliation too: I was reminded of the series while flipping through Wired Magazine. And Grey Goose Entertainment (yes, the Vodka brand) is behind the show in the spirit of artistry and innovation. It will be a neat counterpoint to Star, Ok, Life&Style, InTouch, UsWeekly that compete for the majority of our attentions while in the checkout line.

Some celebrity pairings that have been celebrated are: Howard Schultz (Starbucks) & Norman Lear (All in the Family); Mike Myers (Austin Powers) & Deepak Chopra (mind-body specialist); Robert Redford & Paul Newman; Sean Penn & Jon Krakauer; etc.

The show will remind us that celebrities are people too; some extraordinary people with visions and goals, who have fallen into an extremely commercial and often times soulless industry. Good people are all around; Sundance is showcasing them and bringing them into our homes. Cool.

breaking the chains on advertising

Advertising v. marketing v. branding: what's the big idea here? (pun intended)

In a recent post over at Adliterate, Richard develops his idea that branding is getting crammed into advertising. Like, if we just clump the two together, then one equals the other. It's something I've never thought about, but I really like his thinking.

BIG BRAND ideas, he says, are the driving philosophy of the business rather than just a strategy for marketing communications; or short lived creative; or even one-dimensional advertising ideas that just have tactical responses.

• The desire to communicate the entire brand experience can compromise advertising's ambition to sell.

FREE Advertising! Let it be as ambitious as it can be when attached to a specific business problem. When sales are low (easy example), let advertising focus on increasing them.

• Advertising is always sharper when it is attached to a specific business problem rather than wafting around conjuring up beautiful brand worlds.

A problem ad agencies are facing these days in the new (brand) world is that of branding being stymied by traditional media: 15, 30 or even 60 seconds is not a lot of time to communicate a brand, and if you're dealing with a banner ad or other digital tactic, it's even less time. So why are we forcing branding into the small confines of advertising? If it's so hard, let's look closely on why it's so hard: maybe Richard has hit on it -- because advertising is just not meant to be the (one and only) branding tool.

It's something to think about. It's here that planners can play the biggest role. For now, let's free up advertising to do what it needs to do: stay close to the product; involve the consumer and his/her attention; and when it comes to real engagement, then (and only then) pull out the branding guns (if the client has the budget).

Plan on.

on the tail of Blog Action Day

Ok, so I missed Blog Action Day, but I'm dedicating this post in its wake.

The Pixel is Mightier Than the Sword over at Get Shouty, took me to threeminds@Organic, which is where i saw this:



and it made me think of when Richard Wolffe of Newsweek asked Bush for his definition of torture:

• "QUESTION: The word torture, what's your definition?

  "BUSH: That's defined in U.S. law, and we don't torture.

  "QUESTION: Can you give me your version of it, sir?

  "BUSH: No. Whatever the law says."

[via Cliff Schecter]

The issue of Blog Action Day in its inaugural year was the environment (whose issue isn't the environment right now?). My Tail issue is that of Bush's idiocy and the issue of Torture. Errrr! I am pained to be recognized as an American in a country that condones torture as a form of interrogation. The U.S. has a prominent place in interested minds worldwide. Bush needs to get his ducks in a row on this one. The above, wonderful piece for Amnesty International could certainly be applied to Mr. B and his illegitimate definition of "security" for this leading country. Peace.

For Blog's Sake

I was over at Misentropy just now, reading what blogging does to planners. I think it should more accurately be titled: what blogging does FOR planners. Here are some of his highlights:

• helps us take notes
• mimics the process of memory formation
• helps us all grow big but remain small: i.e. we can have a multitude of conversations from one small place online, spreading our brand and our ideas everywhere but remaining in one place at the same time.
  

He leaves some more reasons unexplored: the 'Sandbox Universe,' the 'Mesh Memory' system, and the 'Free Lunch Cafe'. Send him a note over there if you want to know more, and let me know when you do so I can hop over and read it too. :)

I think blogging is great. I think growing, exploring, enthusiastic planners should be encouraged to blog: to share and develop their ideas. It's also very encouraging to read a blog and be inspired to push an idea further. A blog is a great digital example of how hard people work and how much time they devote to the important things in life (their life). A blog needs attention, it needs to be cultivated, organized and shared.

These are some planning/idea/creative blogs that get top honors for their devoted author and audience participation.

• Diablogue
• NoahBrier.com
• Herd
• Whistle Through Your Comb
• Russell Davies
• Get Shouty

And if you're a TED lover, hop over to Keeping Track to see a list of the 150 posts so far.
Blog on!

branding at its best

two spots to note for awesome branding:

Dove Onslaught



and Axe Naughty to Nice



Girl Branding and Boy Branding aren't categories yet but I think if they existed, these spots would win awards in each for their brilliance.

convenience, food tech, control and opportunity

The consumption of food is a cultural conundrum. Us Americans just can't figure it all out: diet, convenience, health, family-time, 6 small meals, 3 large ones, no breakfast, Kellogg's flakes for breakfast-lunch-and dinner, etc.
How does one make sense of it all? A recent article in Dallas News, has called it out: Convenience.

• Restaurants are in a bid to replace Mom as the family's primary chef.
• Today, consumers are eating more but cooking less. (ouch)

For some examples, look at California Pizza Kitchen, TGI Friday's, Wolfgang Puck and Marie Calendars. More from the article:

• Food technology has blurred the line between ready-to-eat food from a restaurant and ready-to-heat food from a grocer.
• Sales of frozen entrees are growing slowly > the challenge has set in.
• "Companies will be tempted to offer fresh - not frozen - prepared meals. And that will put the competition between grocery and restaurant take-out on more equal footing."
  

There is something to be said for being the brand on the shelf when the consumer says, I want convenience.

• "It all goes to the Starbucks strategy of giving the consumer 360-degree exposure to your brand."

Personally, I don't think restaurant take-out can viably compete with ready-to-heat frozen food. Both sound as in-convenient if I'm in a lazy mood. I propose we combine a delivery service with customer-service for a solution. These vehicles could be a chance to exhibit more sides of a brand personality: say an SUV with TGI Friday's comes to your door and a hybrid from California Pizza Kitchen pulls up at the neighbor's. I know some consumers would cringe to hear about advertising creeping into another area of their life but there already is advertising on the road - Billboards.

Delivery = Convenience. Brand that pulls through with the solution = Awesome. Let the races begin. Good lucK!

NYC's new tourism campaign

this is what it was like...

My Planner 10

inspired by Gretchen over at The Happiness Project, The Ten (absolutely hilarious), and the fact that I'm starting a new gig - these are My Planner Ten:

1. be creative
2. focus
3. enjoy the process
   
4. keep it simple
   
5. listen
6. beware of over-thinking
   
7. don't be on auto-pilot
   
8. show rather than tell
   
9. own it
10. continue learning
    

Bluetooth: The Borg

A friend emailed the other day: I want a robot.

My first question was: Do you use the voice activation option on your phone or in your car? This was the only robot-esque behavior that came to my mind. I completely forgot about Bluetooth! (This guy to the left looks part-robot, no?)

It seems a design that all futurama enthusiasts and trekkies would love. I can see a fashion show now that molds metal-technology with livable, breathable nowadays comfort: here we have the latest cyborg fashion, technology that fits to your head, etc. Are we really watching two worlds come together? Is there a slow transition happening that some people are a part of and others are oblivious to? ARE WE BECOMING ROBOTS? or rather, ARE WE BUYING INTO ROBOT LIFESTYLES?

Or is technology becoming much "more convenient"? Is convenience really to blame (?) for these tech animals? Telecom is already a category, but have we ever considered one for robots?

Or maybe it's the Robot-Fashion one, like this guy: found via Stumbleupon in hemmy.net's Gadget category.

I need to know more about the positioning strategy of BlueTooth, but currently, I think they are Borg-like: just waiting to assimilate more people.

consumer responsibility

wanted to share a response I gave at Now in Colour. Andy talks about the choice consumers have to pay what they want for the new Radiohead album and asks: if you decide to be tight, are you cheating the musicians, or yourself?

• Great post! I love that I don't have an answer. I think this topic comes at a good time in the history of consumer-honesty (with themselves). It's sort of like Planning for Good on Facebook (more here) or All Day Buffet. People want to do the right thing; they'd like to imagine they have good intentions; at the end of the day, they want to be happy and feel good.

• Planning has a huge role to play here (I think). If we can properly identify what consumers' needs really are, then we're one step closer to making them feel good and happy about themselves and their purchases.

• When I saw the Radiohead news a while back, I thought Cool! But I think I thought cool, only because it's so unique. Go Radiohead! If we give consumers the responsibility to think for themselves before they're ready to, then we might be opening a huge can of worms. People love to place blame and find fault (is it really human nature?) and this kind of free-for-all sounds like it might have loopholes. Who knows. I don't.

• Anyway, still don't have an answer. I really liked your thinking process. So keep it up!

consumer reaction time

I was having a G-chat (Gmail) with a family member: Messages are flying back and forth. He's typing, I'm typing, a date & time are entered for reference, etc. etc.

This made me think about a "consumer reaction time" section for briefs. If you think about media and markets, there are different times allotted for messages to attract, sink in and motivate. Not only that, but we all live in different communities, each with its own communication intensity level. New York would be a 10 on this scale, Langlois, Oregon (where?) would be a 1.

Media Planners/Connections Planners/Engagement Planners, whathaveyou, are slowly etching their importance in regards to this communications environment. Time is of the utmost importance in this (American) culture. Time is probably really important to Yugoslavians too, but America exacerbates 24/7 to an exciting (and overwhelming) degree. To stay on the positive side of things, we all want to be happy and give our attention to the things that will give us the most pleasure. Our culture has groomed us to look for the things (all-encompassing term) that will give us gratification quickly, hence the term instant gratification.

G-chat is the perfect example of instant gratification; along with text-messaging, these two environments can quickly make us happy: just like Google or TiVo or redeemable in-store coupons (what's going on here these days?).

Thinking about a consumer-reaction time means we've taken their messaging environment into consideration. And it makes us a bit smarter. I don't know if this has any merit, just an idea I'm hashing out. Time is precious to all of us. Advertising competes for our attention. Attention takes time. I think it's about time (damn play on words) that we consider "reaction time" in our strategizing. Anybody with me?

kid's advertising: Kandoo

For just $4.69 you can make wiping FuN! Kandoo wipes are flushable and smell like melon; Perfect for the kids!

Was watching the Biggest Loser (more on this later) and a surprising amount of kids' commercials were being aired. (based on audience demographics/psychographics...think about it; kind of interesting to think that the audience watching the biggest loser are parents, and not just parents, they are obese parents: what does that say between the lines?) Kandoo has a cute, playful, brand character that is geared to intrigue and excite children.

[Kandoo makes you think of Kangaroo, but the character is more of a frog creature than anything. I think some creatives were getting high or were tripping on acid; or maybe it was one of those genius word agencies that label themselves Verbal Identity.]

Kandoo is a brand available to help kids through their stage of potty training. On the website, you can click the character to hear songs to help kids master the toilet. And actually, now that I think about it, kids these days in their potty training stage ARE online, clicking around, going to websites, etc. I met a 5 year old who has her own laptop for crying outloud; so suppose this 5 year old is having problems in the lavatory > Presto, she's got a fun brand to access in her own time to help her in a fun way. Wow!

Kandoo maybe for You!

creative inspiration & clues

was researching the new JCPenney Ad with (I believe) Feist as soundtrack vocals, and stumbled across Boards > "the creative edge in commercial production."

• Boards is a brand focused on bringing the international commercial production industry community together for dialogue, debate and discussion about the global business of commercial production.

kind of cool.

next steps in customer-service

In a USA Today story this morning, it's reported that Concierges go the extra mile in the Internet age:

• High-end brands are upgrading concierge operations and training staffs to improve their neighborhood knowledge. And other brands are looking for better ways to share information with guests...

I think it's a great way for the consumer review popularity online to mix with a Let's Go/Lonely Planet DIY feel, moving the authenticity of these reviews to a brand experience.

• Hotels must not only figure how to get local knowledge in the hands of employees and train them to deliver it, but also how to provide local knowledge that is relevant to guests' needs. (Marriott)
• Guests are looking for whatever it is that makes Detroit Detroit. There's a desire to say, I caught a slice of that. - Michelle Lapierre, Marriott's senior director of customer relationship marketing. COOL!

This could be a push for updating the hiring process when looking for hotel employees. Hire the people who are passionate about their city and enhancing tourists' stays. See the sites! Get out: go to this restaurant, see this offroad place, etc.

Some of the more notable initiatives are:

• Courtyard by Marriott later this year will roll out its first "Go Board," a flat panel HDTV with local information, including restaurant recommendations, for guests.
  
• At Loews, the new "In The Know" program calls on concierges each week to come up with a list of local tips.
• Marriott's extended-stay brand, TownePlace Suites, plans to put an 8 by 8 feet wide map marked with restaurants and local places of interest on the lobby walls of all 128 hotels.
  
• Marriott (clearly the leader in this trend) will also give guests pocket guides and two-sided cards with local information.
• Hyatt will launch a website that lets members chat with concierges and other travelers.
  

I'm not sure if recommendations will be tainted with marketing sway...but I'm hoping for a more "consumer review" / authentic approach to the information provided. It could be real easy for money hungry, less-educated advertisers to see this as a marketing jackpot calling their name. Let's hope it stays more honest and real. :)

it's not easy being green

I subscribed some time ago to The Hartman Group's newsletter. The following is their intro to a new publication to follow the trend in sustainability:

• In 1969, the cultural icon, Kermit the frog sang, “It’s not easy being green.” Now almost 40 years later those words still ring true for most corporations interested in or involved in sustainable issues.

It's overwhelming for Americans to think about all of the sustainable hippie activities that they aren't doing/could be doing. "Green with just a touch of blush: the environmentally conscious feel guilty when they slip up," an article in USA Today Monday touched on this a bit more:

• 20% of Americans experience so-called green guilt.
  
• A Catholic priest in England is reportedly taking green confessions at environmental festivals. (potential sponsorship idea here anyone?)
• Danny Seo, an environmental lifestyle expert, sees a lot of eco-inspired guilt. "The No. 1 thing I get from everyone is I'm sorry, I have an SUV, but I have children." He notes that guilting someone can easily backfire.
• Environmentalists have a bit of a reputation for being sanctimonious.
  

When I was in Miami Ad School, my team put together a campaign for the NRDC: National Resources Defense Council. Our message was in response to this notion of guilt; we wanted to address what people actually are doing to help the environment, so we said Thank you.

• Thank you. By turning down the dimmer all the way, you've [closed the gap and] taken the first step in protecting the environment. We know you might think you are not doing enough, but know that small things like this support a healthier Earth. So keep doing the little things. The world appreciates your contribution.
  

We tried to bridge the gap between thinking that what you're doing isn't enough and realizing/being aware of what you are doing is appreciated (that's where close the gap came in). It would be a first for a company to spend a lot of money on a campaign to thank people, but we agreed that acknowledgment of efforts in the environmental arena should be rewarded in the efforts to accentuate their importance. :)

The USA article provided some web resources for more info:

• Carbon Fund
  
• Native Energy
  
• Care2 > a social networking site dedicated to social change and action: recommended
  
• Grist

"Right now, green is trendy. We want it to become second nature, like it is to put on a seat belt. Word. Green on!

symbolism of a smile

The smile is crazy. Whether you see someone on the street smiling to themselves, or you're looking at a baby and you smile to solicitate the same response from the infant, the smile my friends is a powerful thing.

This post was influenced by the smiles I frequently saw in educational advertising on the subways in New York: Maybe the students were in cap & gown like above, or maybe they were in another situation, but the ads seemed to communicate that the educational system gave them a smile (i.e. gave them a reason to smile.) The smile communicates a list of positive, possible emotions: happiness, success, pleasure, achievement, glee, euphoria, etc. But in ads; smile=happiness=success=education=you gotta have this product in order to get a smile. Hmmm, what about the other emotions that are part of the personal development process that education also rewards you with?

The symbolism of a smile: I Googled this phrase and the first thing to come up was a website about Art Direction & the Web. My first Smile Point revolves around the smile as communication:

• An art director would perhaps come up with a concept which communicates the importance of the smile. What does a smile communicate? Power? Confidence? Happiness? Amusement? All of the above? The art director might choose to delve into the smile as a symbol of healthy teeth and gums. She might even choose to categorize types of smiles and relate these to types of toothpaste, exaggerating the images used to portray the toothpaste types:

• Cool Minty Fresh: the smile of a climber on Mount Everest.
• Extra Sensitive: the smile of Dr. Phil.
• Extra Strength: the smile of Dracula.

• Smiles of “power people” paired with success stories. Smiles of comedians — laughter is the best medicine. The smile as an international language of friendship. Why not develop our own “smilies” or emoticons?

"The smile as an international language of friendship" leads me to my second Smile Point: that of seeing a smile and wanting to smile in return. We do this with babies and even other people, trying to get them to smile by smiling ourselves. "Smile and whole world smiles with you" has a nice community/networking aspect to it. Want to learn how to smile? Yeah, there's a website for that too.

The smile is infectious. The smile is a phenomenon. It's been a fad with the ever popular Smiley face (yellow background, black eyes and smile). Emoticons have given us the ability to smile online. Smiling, backed by scientific support, actually has the power to make you happier if you force one to your face.

There's even a bit of disgruntlement (ok, this is personal) when someone requests a smile. This typically seems to happen with a man making the request to a female: smile more, can I get a smile? I think this is a bit out-dated: the idea that women should be constantly happy and smiling is...sexism and to say the least, highly unlikely a state to occur round the clock.

Anyway, I like smiling. Smiling is good. Advertising is a powerful industry to take advantage of such such an innocent thing. Let's make sure we're using our smiles in an honest way.

strategy takes the reins

• "It's surprising to me how much opportunity there is to offer insight, whether it's helping [clients] to better target their existing customer set, or helping them with straightforward things like emerging media and social platforms," said Organic's CEO Mark Kingdon.

Organic announced it's starting up a strategy pracice > basically a consulting group to help clients understand what it is we (planner/strategists) can bring to the table.

• "Historically, the weight was a lot more on execution, not strategy. It's a lot harder today. There's a huge digital connection strategy that needs to be considered with lots of touch points that have been considered individually but not holistically."

Touch points have to make sense and weave a trail for the consumer/customer/audience to find and opt-into. They need to make sense from one to the next, intriguing a consumer and sustaining that interest through to the point of purchase. THIS is strategy > how are all these puzzle pieces going to fit together. It's not quite a game of cat and mouse, fish & hook; it's more like planting a seed and making sure the environment is right for it to grow.

Hope + Change: Barack

Obama's message takes experience out of the equation, saying that his is a different kind of experience.

Obama's got the social network thing going with pages on myspace, facebook, partybuilder (?), eventful (?), flickr, and youtube.
Again, I am not turning this blog into a political forum, just wanted to get the messages out there for discussion.

Wowsers, just found out he's got a page on LinkedIn. Only 152 connections thus far. Hmmm...

Experience + Change: Hillary

"Change is just a word without the strength and experience to make it happen." I like Clinton's campaign title.

It's all about making ideas actionable. I agree there needs to be a plan in place (eh hem Mr. Bush) and experience is more likely to make the plan a good one.

This is not indicative of who I'm voting for, just a campaign and a brand's message.

what to wear to an interview

So you've got your resume and it looks great: check. And you've got your portfolio all in line, the pieces you think represent your skills the best: check. And you've got a list of really good questions to ask your interviewer based on research you've done on the agency/company: check. You've gone on a run to clear your mind and you're feeling optimistic: check. You want to feel your best so you put on your favorite jeans with your favorite button-up shirt and these awesome sneakers that everyone gives you compliments on, you look like a perfect version of you: NO! WAIT! STOP! Do not pass go, do not collect $200. The wheels are screeching to a halt. huh?

My story is the above one. It's like the first day of school and this is the outfit that makes me feel good about myself. When we were children, our parents and communities would emphasize "be yourself, be you, don't conform, have opinions."

I am trying to get into a creative field, and so, my clothing choices reflect my creative personality. Come to find out, when it comes to interviewing (even at ad agencies), the process is the same across all fields: look like everyone else in a suit or otherwise, spiffy outfit.

At about.com they tell you how to "Dress for Success." Adjectives such as moderate, conservative, coordinated, limited, professional, etc. are used to describe women's and men's attire to get the job. Ugh. Gross. Ew. Ick. Bleh. And god forbid you have highlights or lowlights or some other color punctuation in your hair: This would not fit into the "neat, professional hairstyle" about.com says is necessary for success.

I don't want to be Diane Sawyer or Katie Couric applying for a job at a creative boutique agency. I don't want to play pretends like I'm stodgy a-hole who wants to look better than everyone else. I did sales for a bit and everyday, I felt like I was playing a part. I think I could have sold a lot more if I'd felt comfortable and approachable. That's what advertising should be, so why should the industry expect the people in it to be anything else? Dar.

my world: overhead in New York

"You're black. I'm brown." ~ teen on the phone with her significant other (?)

"You stupid bum, get up! This is America!" ~ late 20s man to a bum in Brooklyn

"What is this? A glass of water. No. Wait for the object to show you what it is." ~ friend explaining patience to another friend in Park Slope

"It's America! ...it's just two people in love. Yes, there's a matchmaker! But it's not a pre-arranged marriage like..." ~ early 30s Chinese man on phone in the back of the store where his mother is running the cash register

"I love to barf." ~ teen talking with two girlfriends on first-day of school

Fallon-London still has it

just watch....wait...and enjoy

Consumption Consumption

"What the World Eats" was an exhibit I saw last year at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. It detailed what a family eats in ONE WEEK, photos and exact foods are listed for 24 different families in different regions of the world.

You can read more at NPR.

Today is BlogDay

What IS blogday?

• BlogDay was created with the belief that bloggers should have one day dedicated to getting to know other bloggers from other countries and areas of interest. On that day Bloggers will recommend other blogs to their blog visitors.

The site suggests that we mention 5 blogs that deviate from our own blog subject theme and in a thought-provoking manner:

1. Kanardo
   
2. HispanicTrending
3. EggLog
4. Mashable
5. AllDayBuffet

There ya go. Happy Blog Day. Blog oN!

art of dialogue

Not too long ago, I watched the movie Interview with Sienna Miller and Steve Buscemi. I'd rate it about a 3 of 5, interesting to watch but so-so in terms of entertainment value. It make me think about asking questions and engaging someone in a dialogue; How, if you ask bad questions, the respondent will most likely give a bad answer.

I like reading interviews. I like seeing how the question is presented and watching the ellipses in thought or that emotion in language unfold in reaction to a stimulating question. (check out Interview Magazine if you're into this too) There is a certain art to engagement. Maybe this is nothing new for you smarty-pants interviewers out there, but for some people (you don't know who you are) there is a reason that a question needs to be asked in a certain way if you want a good answer. NPR did a story called "The Art of the Interview" that detailed ESPN's awareness of low-profile, sucky interviews. "We weren't capturing moments," says the SVP.

Capturing moments is what art seeks to do. I like that. I like the awareness it calls to the situation. Photography captures moments. It's neat to think of interviews trying to do the same thing, but really it's all about information being available in the present moment in such a way that you have an "ah ha" moment of enlightenment and growth.

I'd like to create advertising that does the same sort of thing; advertising that makes the audience go "oh...I never thought of that before" or "hmm...that makes me think blah blah blah." The art of engagement. We know it's there. Seek to attain the status, and I think we'll be handsomely rewarded with "moments" that are unique.

add stuff to your portfolio time...

Wandering around the internet this weekend, I found two ways to get your mind thinking AND possibly add work to your planning portfolio:

1. Planning for Good, a relatively new Facebook group has posted a brief for an Idea Village in New Orleans. Take a stab at it here, brief provided.
2. Account Planning School of the Web, originally created by planning celeb Russell Davies, is now being handled by Gareth at Brand New. The current assignment is for Mr. Clean, brief provided with project due date here.

It's Idea Time: Go! Have fun!

enough already, Write!

I've been in a writing funk since relocating to New York. I really thought my blogging was going to take off in full force once I was here. I was sadly un-aware that my environment had so much to do with my ability to focus on content quality. I thought all I needed was the thoughts.

It's not that I don't want to write or that I don't have anything to write about; it's more that "finding the time" hasn't moved itself to the priority list with get a job, find friends, settle into a living situation, etc. My life is chaotic and it's ironic that I can't find time to do the one thing that settles my mind. It's time to take control of my mind and harness it's power to focus on a path. So with a little help from Scott Berkun and his tips for writing, my goal is to get back into the swing of things.

start with a word: PR, Public Relations

write about writing: PR is something I want to figure out. It's in the realm of communications, I can't be too far off from comprehending HOW, WHAT or WHY in relation to the topic.

have a conversation: working on a blog-PR project right now, I shared my anxious reaction with a friend who was in total agreement with my take on the duty: It's like you're bugging people to pay attention to your topic; really intrusive, etc. But isn't this how some people view advertising? (yes) Thinking along these lines, I should be able to get the hang of PR. It's messaging and every message needs an audience, blah blah blah.

read/talk about/find something you hate: I thought about all of the Spam I get in my inboxes-these solicitations are very irritating. How is PR different? Hmmm...

warm up with something motivating: "All we can hope is that more people in the [PR] profession realize that it's about relationships and not pitches or target audiences." Ok, I've got my feet somewhat wet in the relationship/online department with blogs and whatnot, so using these relationships to network a message should be doable. (quote via Hyku) And actually now that I think about it, the way I currently think about PR is just an attitude which is changeable. :)

Ok, I'm ready to write. For other writing tips check out Berkun's blog (he goes on to recommend running and drinking whiskey). Cheers!

quote at Anomaly

The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW, Maxims for Revolutionists

quote from Anomaly's wall. see you Monday ~

consumer generated content

We give them advertising and they give us:
#1 - "Whores"
#2 - Child: "Help" Father: "This is turning me on."
#3 - notice the line drawn on the tennis player, or maybe Chase bank wanted to emphasize the buttocks...?

Then there's this link to Blograffiti. The images drawn are repulsive & disgusting. Who draws these and why doesn't Blograffiti say anything about it?

I don't have much to say about this point, merely to note it and draw attention to the other side of cgc - the one where they add their thoughts to a message v. creating their own. I guess in a world of messages everyone's looking to make their mark (literally). In an industry that emphasizes "engagement" these days, I don't think this is quite what we're going for. :p

my world: overhead in New York

(preface: this is my version as opposed to the actual online community if you didn't know about it already.)

"What's wi-fi?" - employee in Carroll Gardens cafe

"He asked me to be his Myspace friend..." - 25+ something girl on cellphone in Brooklyn

"This is like a pop-culture museum." - 20-something guy about Simpson's 7-11 in Midtown

"I'm a super-freak, super-freak, I'm super-freaky" - three street-men , dancing at 8a in the West Village, it was awesome and should be picked up for a music video asap!

"Art doesn't kill." - 75+ teacher at the School for Visiaul Arts, having a conversation about art & politics at a bar in SoHo

"Shoes, that was the 80s. Today, it's iPods." - NYPD talking to me about safety and theft

a dialogue takes many forms

In museums, there is a language that goes on between each piece of art. It's something I hadn't really thought of before until I read an article about Carmen Gimenez, a curator for modernist sculpture.

Designing a show or museum exhibit requires a vision for how the artwork will communicate from piece to piece. There is a language here: "Sculpture is a very spatial idea. When you build a museum you need to think about sculpture. It needs space. All in their own space, they aren't mixed at all, but they are in dialogue."

It made me think of a museum curator as a planner: setting up the creative brief as a tool to stimulate possibilities. A brief should not mandate and focus on only one path. It should open up the room for creative dialogue and let the reader/viewer/user take their own journey.

Gimenez works in the Guggenheim Museum, a beautiful building by Frank Lloyd Wright. "The whole museum becomes a situation," she says, "there are many possibilities for dialogue." Her exhibit Shapes of Space is on exhibit through September 5.

What are Windorphins?

I don't know what the campaign's presence is outside of New York, but for those of you in the city, I'm sure you've seen the colorful characters on the subways by now. These characters are called Windorphins.

They're like endorphins only they don't come from exercise, they come from eBay-ercise. Weird, right? The campaign itself (all print for what I've seen) makes no mention of eBay. Subway passengers can sit in front of the campaign for 30+ minutes but unless they're active consumers (enter % of active v passive consumers here) they won't follow up at home to actually see where windorphins.com takes them. And further more, in a city of distractions everywhere, New York is not really the place to try and firmly cement curiosity and hope that it peaks hours later when you're in front of your computer.

Random guy Frank is an avid eBay user in NY. He brings his laptop to a wifi area and peruses it consistently while he does other things: drinking beer, having a conversation, talking on the phone. He is familiar with the campaign: "oh yeah, I've seen those in the subway, they're cute." I asked Frank if he knew they were associated with eBay: "No. Really? Weird." There you go client/advertiser/whoever you are. Yay creatives but where's the communications planning?

I did a little web research and this is what I found:
Objective: increase brand fun factor
Tactics: make your own windorphin chracter at ebay.com
Results: increased awareness for Windorphins, connection to eBay is up for discussion

Consumer Behavior: windorph mania here Windorph

creative possibilties and ideas

are endless at a Museum! Go to one NOW! This post comes after going to Target FREE Friday at the MoMA with my friend Kent (copywriter in training).

First of all, if you're not into crowds do not, repeat DO NOT go on Free Fridays. The place is swarming with people. There is no sidewalk to follow, no path you should take. It's chaos! It's like Pamplona and the running of the bulls only they have cameras and children. There's no set pace; everyone's moving in their own directions at their own speed. I wondered if there's ever been any studies done on crowd movement within museums. What I found:

• something called adaptive movement behaviors
  
• the Crowd Farm by two MIT students hoping to harness energy from human movement

and not much else. Hmmm...seems that "movement science" as defined for human physical and mechanical movements should/could be applied to crowd flow. It could help us determine factors that contribute to movement, blah blah blah. Architects and structural engineers probably have to consider this sort of thing: where should we put the stairs? how do we position the escalators? I think there's a difference between walking on a sidewalk and moving around a museum. I see an opportunity here for research or maybe I just haven't found it.

Weird fact: You can take pictures (no flash) of the permanent art collections in the MoMA but not the temporary exhibits. Yeah, you can take pictures but you can't point at the art (bringing your finger inches from the canvas). Miss Pointy here got reprimanded several times with "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Nothing. I'm pointing. Those people are taking pictures in a museum.

Next thing that occurred to me was the potential for copywriters to exercise their skills with "Untitled" works of art. When I moved from Ringaround Arosie to Sleeping Gypsy to Untitled I became irked by the lack of name. Like, come on, if there are blank boards titled The Twin and The Tree, surely you can name a sculpture of three pillars and some mysteriously hanging balls (Magic, Storm, and Horizon come to mind). Anyway, I see this as a campaign opportunity for copywriters. Maybe they could pair up with artists who don't want to spend the time titling their work. But then we have to ask: What's in a name? Google returns 261 million websites for the question: ranging from "What's your Viking Name?" to "What's your Spammer name?" Sounds like quiz time to me.

Lastly, when Kent and I came to the Sleeping Gypsy (above), he interpreted it as pre-feast for the lion: "That lion's ready to tear her apart." I interpreted it as lion curiosity: "The lion is just checking things out, saying hello to another being in the desert way of life." He was shocked that I would have such a contrast in perception. But I think our interpretations say more about who we are rather than what we're looking at.

These ideas & observations are open to YOUR interpretation. Feel free to comment. Have a great Sunday.

Where did you take your insight?

This is a question I've been asked many times in interviews. It takes a bit of thinking (that in an interview might be an awkward pause) so take some time now to map it out:

• what is your insight?

What was the gold nugget that set your creative work (supposing your showing a portfolio) in motion? Don't get stressed out about it, this is where planning should be simple in nature. An insight is an "ah ha" or "that's it" moment. Just know where and why your conversation happened: what the problem was and how your insight addressed it.

• where did it come from?
• research you did
• questions you asked

What did you do to support and develop your insight? Was it a conversation with your creatives or fellow planners? Was it research-based? Jen M (a fellow planner) told me there are two kinds of planners: Madness and Meticulous. Madness planners are all over the place, gathering culture here, talking about it there. Meticulous planners are all about the #s and research: based on this study, we know that blah blah blah. I want to point out that neither of these answers is right v. wrong. Don't think that because you didn't do any research that you're insight isn't insightful. Just be conscientious of how you grounded your gold nugget.

• where you did you take your insight? > Strategy
• how did you make it actionable? > tactics

Easier said than done, I know. Christopher Owens, from The Richards Group, broke it down for us. An example:

Insight - I feel unhealthy
Objective - lower stress levels
Strategy - go on vacation
Tactics - visit South Beach, fly JetBlue, leave Sunday

Just do some thinking before you throw some bomb creative work on the table and say "look what I did." We all need to know how we got there and why our specific solution makes the most sense.

different media habits for different generations

Looks like we ALL don't use media the same! What a surprise, right? It shouldn't be.

• Millenials - embrace new tech like instant messaging, texting and uploading their own videos to the internet. They are at the forefront of the social networking and user-generated content trends.
  
• Xers - embrace digital video recorders and are the most likely group to watch TV-shows online.
  
• Boomers - browse the web the most, still read newspaper and care about local news and weather content.
• Matures - use the web for personal use and make frequent online purchases. They care about national and world news content in addition to financial information.
  

how to have a conversation

In this age of conversation, it might be nice to evaluate the pieces that contribute to this art form. I just finished Plato's Symposium, and for anyone who hasn't read it, it is the ultimate conversation book. The topic is Love, but on a larger scale, the topic is discourse. Read it and learn. I will now take this post as an opportunity to expand on what Richard said a couple weeks ago: "great dialogues start with a passionate monologue."

When I came to New York, my roommate gave me some interview advice: Make statements rather than ask questions. Say what? It's important to have a point of view. Someone else told me, "It's easier to react to a statement than answer a question." Interesting.

So when a brand (new or old) comes into the market and starts spouting brand speak, this and that, shouting deals or mantras, or whatever, think about it. If the brand wasn't opinionated or didn't have a point of view, it would be neutral in a sense. And of all things, neutral is certainly not engaging by nature.

To conclude, I'll give you a rough idea of how to have a proper discussion via Plato and his buddies:

1. fill everyone's cup with wine and refill as necessary
   
2. set a topic for the evening and lay the ground with some established definitions
3. start on the left, do not speak out of turn, and only speak your pov when the person is finished entirely with their own pov
4. borrow snippets from each speaker to show respect for each and to also help make your point more relevant
5. sound as wise as possible (i.e. have a point of view and speak with conviction).

stage-setting for your message

Call it a messaging environment. Call it a context. The message you (as a planner) have decided is the most important to communicate, needs a world to belong to.

This is where a manifesto can play a huge role, or a tonal board, brand film or brand book. These tools have been created (most likely by planners) to give a big picture personality and tone to their message.

Found this about context & meaning from the book Beyond Buzz, some examples of context:

• "fast-food companies talking about their products and values in the context of healthy eating
• car makers talking about hybrid vehicles in the context of being less dependent on gas and being better stewards of the environment
• insurance providers talking about long-term care in the context of aging and health care policy.
  
• Today, public policy is framed in the context of security and the war against global terrorism.
• As you can see, marketing anything requires explaining ideas within people’s existing frames of reference–that is, in a context they already understand.”

A term you'll hear a lot these days is Brand Relevance: making brands seamlessly fit within a consumer's lifestyle so that all elements of the marketing mix make sense to both the brand and to the consumer. It is largely the planner's responsibility to make this relationship seem effortless and simple.

Here in New York, there's a lot of developing going on in the departments for experiential marketing and digital strategy. Both of these are so distinguished because they're disciplines built around the importance of the user's experience, the messaging environment and brand relevance. Planners, get your fingers in this dirt!

Consumer Reviews

Research done by Spendallyourmoneyhere-Mart says:

• 80% of shoppers have more trust in brands that feature reviews and that 75% of shoppers say it's extremely or very important to read customer reviews before making a purchase. Peer reviews are preferred over expert reviews by a margin of 6 to 1. (adagemobile)

Stick this in the back of your mind and take a trot around the internet. More companies these days are welcoming customer feedback (not Sprint) and are creating online platforms for user reviews. Yelp.com is fast-emerging as user-friendly and fun.

• Yelp is part social network, part localized review site - think Facebook meets Zagat - and it's fast becoming the web's gift to small business.
• When we discover something wonderful (or horrible), we love to tell our friends about it. We also turn to people we trust when we need a good recommendation. Yelp is enabling those conversations to happen on a massive scale. (money.cnn.com)

Yelp is quickly blending the boarders between a consumer review site (amazon, consumerreports, or epinions) and a social networking function (myspace & facebook). Web browsers (I'm referring to the people) are of course looking for convenience online as well as off. If a site can provide information as well as community, then it's good to go > or at least live on someone's toolbar for a while.

The question on companies' lips is: Will social networking sites make people buy more products? Answer: No, via Jupiter Research. But maybe the question should be: Will social networking sites make my products better, in turn creating greater customer love and loyalty? Answer: Yes.

• “Your customers are out there saying things about you, whether it’s on Yelp or on some blog. The faster you can fix problems, the better you’re going to do. Customer service is the new marketing.” (itbusinessedge)