Crowdsourcing and the Music Video

Approximately 40,000 people helped director Chris Milk create The Johnny Cash Project's "Aint No Grave" music video -- and score a Grammy nomination. The following interview with Milk, who was present at CaT London, goes through his experiences and inspirations in creating some of the most innovative music projects to date. In an era where crowdsourcing and interaction are king, Milk is at the forefront in combining the two for the ultimate user experience.

Chris Milk at CaT London 2010

The Johnny Cash Project

~ alicia

We Love to Share

Mashable posted an article on Monday that has been resonating in my head for the past 2 days.

What is the best part about watching television? Personally, it's going straight to my Facebook or Twitter afterwards (or even during), posting a status about it, and then checking it constantly for replies so I can start a conversation about whatever I just watched. There is nothing we human beings love more than sharing, so an app dedicated to this experience just seems... right.

So instead of checking-in at a location with a smartphone, new apps like Philo and GetGlue allow users to check-in when they're watching a television show (or in GetGlue's case, while watching a movie, reading a book, thinking about a topic, or drinking wine). While the idea of an entertainment check-in was completely foreign to me before I read the article, now I'm concerned as to why it didn't occur to me before. It not only is another way of connecting, but it's waaay less creepy than FourSquare (which I love t00).

~ alicia

Insight Chasers

on a long drive today, I started to think about what if...I started my own agency. Thinking about filling a niche that traditional agencies try so hard to reach while setting myself up for long-term planner wisdom and connections planning 101, I arrived at the name (and purpose) of Insight Chasers.

now, if I can only harness the power of the creative collective online via social media, maybe this 'agency' could be virtual, of the future, and accessible to anyone.

read The New Socialism by Wired and you'll get a better sense of the collectivist community I'm referring to.

doing some reading

just a small round-up of "news" from Mediaweek:

Addictinggames.com, which targets males 12-24, is now MTV Networks' largest online property with over 11 million monthly uniques.

Could the next evolution of MTV being a gaming space?

Entertainment brands like movie studios and game publishers seek higher impact ad placements, which casual games can offer better than most content sites.

Is this saying that doing advertising in the form of games is high-impact placement or that placing ads on casual gaming sites is high-impact? not very good writing.

New Character Project by usanetwork.com celebrates interesting, dazzling, and distinctive people from all walks of life, who make this country extraordinary.

Sounds cool, but this sounds like it could be a great TV show - maybe one of the only good TV shows on TV these days (do people seriously watch good TV somewhere? let me know). Anyway, I checked out the website and this also seems like it would be a good project to benefit a nonprofit, but...again, doesn't look like USA is coming through on this. Hmmm. I bet they aren't even on Twitter. OH, I was wrong; check this out! :P

Peter Daboll says: "Smart marketers will use this economic lull as an opportunity to stop, listen and learn how to communicate with consumers instead of spinning their wheels."

You should read this awesome case study about Bank of America and their Twitter account; it's about how brands can be providing exceptionally personal customer-service for FREE using Twitter. Yes, really.

47% of U.S. homes upgraded to HDTVs, up from 34% in 2007 but...why? "TV" isn't getting any better.

>>>>
Ok, done reading now. Thanks for letting me share.

We the people of 2050

In a little over 40 years from now, America will be a minority-majority country where non-Hispanic whites are projected to account for 47% of the population. Knowing this now, how can we prepare for the transition to more multicultural marketing? What are we doing now if we know where we need to be in 40 years? Crazy, I know.

I know Hispanic marketing is gaining a lot of traction and agencies are getting recognition for award-winning work for this consumer segment. But what about African-Americans? Shouldn't their lifestyle and culture be recognized with similarly insightful work and attention? Or even Asian-Americans? There is a lot of room to grow with multicultural marketing, interesting that Hispanics are the first ones to receive significant advertising dollars.

Although when you take into account their large families, affinity for socializing, and the fact that they actually like advertising, they're definitely appealing as a target audience. But they're so diverse!

• 63% are from Mexico
• 10% are from Puerto Rico
• 4% from Cuba
• 3% from the Dominican Republic
• 3% from El Salvador
• etc.

Lots of persona profiles to build. Best get to work now.

"25 things"

I got tagged the other day for the cyclical "25 things" meme, and you know what? It made me happy. It made me feel included. The rules were you had to get tagged to do it. You weren't supposed to just download the app and post it to your profile but rather wait until you were tagged; then pay it forward. So Mark Lewis paid it forward to me. I thought it was so cool! I felt like I was in; finally!

I had read other people's comments on the exercise. I think one person had written that it was hard to come up with 25 things to describe themselves...I thought I was in for a challenge, but really, 25 things isn't hard. Just sit in one place and look at all the stuff you have around you, each object is a story, each thought a potential one. You can do it. :)

I decided to write a post about this because my friend Paul twittered about "25 things," saying it was the first sign of Facebook's demise, down the path of Myspace, which he thinks is littered with these sorts of quizzes/postings/etc. I would agree that Myspace is a bit more adolescent, but come on, "25 things" has a viral quality about it. I wanted to be a part of it.

Maybe I'm just gullible (which is entirely possible) but I think we'll see more things like this; hopefully not as extensive; but more "viral" social networking fads. Or maybe I'm clueless and they've been happening before my active Twittering or Facebooking lately. If so, disregard this post.

Thanks for stopping by.

in today's "knowledge economy"

For a new breed of professional, life is a blend of work and leisure where you're never in the right place. Always on the go, we feel like we are in the right place at the right time only when in transit, moving from point A to B. Constant motion is a balm to an anxious culture where we are haunted by the feeling that we are frauds, expendable in the workplace because so much of our service work is intangible.

Otherwise known as the "Elsewhere Class," never have so many professionals worked in such abstract industries.

I would place account planning/brand strategy in this new breed, and there have been many blog posts by green and mature planners alike that say something like "I need to think for hours and then come back with a fresh mind to tackle a problem." This thinking time is definitely not the same "labor" as being able to quantify the bottles of beer, milk, or juice you filled and packaged, and are now ready to ship by the crate (which you can also count). We can't look at our thinking time and assess its worth.

The ubiquity of information in today's "knowledge economy" makes each occupation's claim to unique expertise flimsier and flimsier.

Trend-watching services have dubbed this on-all-the-time trend with many names, but not until I read this article did I feel validated in my professional struggle to prove my value. As a Millennial in a workplace with Gen X, Boomers, and Matures; and as a planner, a fairly new discipline unto itself; I'm working constantly to bring to life the abstract. As an active member with many social media, I like to think that the tangible part to evaluate is a conversation, but I know people would disagree with me. What can I take away from a conversation? What value is a conversation? I've been asked this before and my answer is often actionable ideas. But is this good enough?

Time and social media will tell.

For more, read the article "Welcome to Elsewhere" in Newsweek

Newsweek and a Saturday afternoon

Just read Newsweek from January 26, 2009 and learned a lot of really applicable information for clients, trends, etc.

The first feature length article that caught my attention was "Who we are now." I was shocked to learn that Bronx county in NYC is the most diverse in America.

If you choose any two residents at random, there's an 89.7% chance that they'll be of different races or ethnicities.

This is called heterogeneity. We the People of 2009 are not the We the People of 1959, etc....

The article concludes with facts about Millennials - the more assimilated we are, the fact that we're more female, more secular, less socially conservative and more willing to describe ourselves as liberals....

And we're 75 million strong. Watch out world. :)

SuperBowl favs

The ones that got my attention:
Doritos' "Power of the crunch" - love this. I think Pepsi-Co Corporate has got itself a good agency: Pepsi's ready to take on Coca-Cola and Doritos succeeds well with branding.
Bridgestone's "Moonmen"
Careerbuilder's "Punching a Koala" > not the actual spot title
NFL.com/superad
Hulu "Taking over the world"
GE's ecoimagination.com spots
Heineken with John Turturro
Pepsi's "Refresh Anthem"

Runner-ups:
cash4gold.com > I have an image in my head of a guy drinking a glass of cold, thought it was from this spot but my colleague recalls it in the Careerbuilder spot. Interesting confusion.

Sobe's "Lizard Lake" > everyone at our party said this was nothing out of the ordinary, but I liked it, thought it was hilarious; except for the lizard face morph at the end. again, wtf?

Pepsi's "Pepsuber" > pretty hilarious

Teleflora's "Talking Flowers"

Conan's Bud-light "Glam" spot

For a full list of official winners & losers check out the article at Ad Age, and I'm sure there are various others around the web.

Happy Monday.

likemind was in the news

Just reminded of this article that the NYTimes wrote last year. And you might recognize the name in the first line...

For the sake of getting people interested in coming to the next one, likemind made the news in October of 2008: That Business Card Won't Fly Here covers what this once monthly, social (networking) group is all about:

Participants exchange ideas, job tips and useful contacts, while also batting around ideas about technology, art, business and culture.

It's a great way to get a Friday started. Check out the website to find one happening near you.

a comfortable calm

Just a week in the Oval office, and Obama's feeling at home - a changing one, that is.



I love the example he sets. If someone asked me right now, who's a person in history with whom you want to have a conversation? I would say Barack Obama. Damn.

this makes me happy

because "Life's for sharing"



The fact that they used dance to reach people, in addition to the popularity of Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance, (and isn't there another one premiering soon?) - I'm wondering what's with the trend of dancing? I know it's been around forever (Fred & Ginger), but is there something bigger going on?

Vote: it's a verb

To express one's choice or opinion. (i know you all have one, do you?)

look what we've done

If you're in advertising, see this movie: America the Beautiful. With all of the Planning for Good and brand utility that gets furthered by smart agencies every day, let's not forget where our industry has come from and what the social ramifications are; the ones we must address and tackle before we can get consumers to really believe (buy into) our newly "good-hearted" and honest attempts at reflecting society rather than shaping it (no pun intended).

Yo Momma

Postcardsfromyomomma is kind of like Postsecret for moms but in a reverse way: readers submit emails from their mothers, thus displaying secrets of moms.

Great insight for any mother/daughter brand.

Here's one post titled "My husband lives like a pauper"

Did I tell you that I called the producer at Millionaire to re-schedule my air date? I told them I relocated to Reno and that I couldn’t make the July date. They said,”No problem…we’ll call you and send a letter after we look at the schedule”. I really think I can do well on that show. If I make some big bucks I will NOT give it to my husband. I will split it up between you and your sister. My husband doesn’t need money. He’s got his squirreled away and lives like a pauper so I’ll dispense any award money where it will be put to good use.

Dancing

A viral Internet sensation with four million web fans says The New York Times:

In many ways “Dancing” is an almost perfect piece of Internet art: it’s short, pleasingly weird and so minimal in its content that it’s open to a multitude of interpretations. It could be a little commercial for one-world feel-goodism. It could be an allegory of American foreign policy: a bumptious foreigner turning up all over the world and answering just to his own inner music. Or it could be about nothing at all — just a guy dancing.

Here, for your viewing pleasure (see if it doesn't make you a bit happier):

Next generation brands have bigger shoes to fill

Just read another thought-provoking presentation over at Change This.

Their latest manifesto talks about the Invisible Badge: Moving past conspicuous consumption. I find it fascinating. Upfront Rob Walker says, "What the Joneses might think is, really, beside the point. Because what you are really doing is telling that story to yourself" - a greater sense of self-fulfillment with support from consumption of goods.

Rob says "Really getting who the audience is you're trying to impress and tell your [brand] story to is freeing." I think he hits strategy on the head with this: Really what we are trying to do is get the product's selling point to fit seamlessly within people's lives, and if we truly understand WHO they are and what drives them, this should be easy, freeing, and attainable.

But what the real challenge is, he says, is "perhaps the fundamental tension of modern life: the challenge of feeling like both an individual and a part of something bigger than ourselves."

Yikes. How do we link a brand's relevance to attaining a sense of self while at the same time, linking people to the greater good? This is what a lot of brands are struggling with now: how to serve the greater good, a brand conscious that serves the individual while serving the world. Rob defines this new marketplace as finding material ways to express a connection instead of extracting a belief system from the mere fact that a lot of people purchase product X.

And this is rather revolutionary for the industry. Brands have figured out how to be brands, how to rally around an insight, and shine their uniqueness in an emotional way and drive sales. What brands need to do NOW is link people to a greater sense of something good for the world. And this will be successful because, as Rob says, "participation is its own reward."

The new marketing era of "Going green" does not only mean you should recycle more, it means think about others, think about the future, make conscious decisions to be a better person within society. And so, brands now need to "go green" and think about the greater good and not just themselves or their ROI. The world has made a cultural, life-serving investment for a long time and now it's analyzing its ROI. It's time now to give back. The Invisible Badge asks us to really reflect on who we are and what our life will mean in the great scheme of things.
Here here.

making the world a better place

In the past, I used to blog...a lot. :) I miss those days, but I also can't let my mind be consumed by the desire to blog more, because frankly, I just don't have the time. I will cultivate it in time, if I don't then it wasn't meant to be.

Anyway, I have reason and time to post now, and it's to draw your attention to All Day Buffet. I was reading a magazine this weekend that I picked up in Austin, TX at Whole Foods central headquarters. It's called L & G style. It's a flip format where one side caters to women (ladies) and the other focuses on men (gents). So far the three articles I've read have covered homeopathy, yoga, and doing something GOOD for the world.

I wrote a blog post at All Day Buffet here about a spa owner who sees it as her mission to make people feel more comfortable, more beautiful, and less stressed. Sounds pretty good to me.

The Recession (?)

Just a quick set of links for inquiring minds:

Wired News says, "It won't repeat the dot-com bust."

The American analyzes the recession debate.

U.S. News & World Report lists 4 signs that the U.S. is not in a recession.

The New York Times says Wall Street Earning have sent stock prices soaring.

Nowpublic asks if the U.S. economic suffering will result in a global economic crisis?

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen says she won't get paid in dollars here.

And get a synopsis of how each of the presidential candidates feel here.

Opinion piece to follow...

Continued information:

Just found this on Popmatters:

Gallup reported at the end of March that three in five Americans worry “a great deal” about the economy, and that a majority call economic issues the most important problem facing the country.

______ is the new _______

Urban is the New Mainstream is a great first person perspective on what the ad world is largely missing out on: multi-cultural targeting.

"What's most tragic -- beyond the racial implications -- is how out of touch it is with the consumer reality. We are in a business where professionals are paid to be in touch with the target -- unless that runs counter to their usual comfort zone. Brands and agencies have got to get clued in or get left behind."

We're all too comfortable sticking with what we know. I agree that we can be more intuitive about what we personally have experience with, but...coming up with a target that's "mostly" white is mostly old-school thinking. Wake up and smell the urban coffee.