Category Archives: Posts

Black Eyed Domination

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Will.I.AM reminds me of Ashton Kutcher.  They have huge followings and realize the importance of courting the favor of heavy corporate hitters.  Instead of shrinking into the label of ‘artist’ they are becoming their own captains of their brands and business.  And they realize how important it can be to be an early adopter for technology.  The Black Eyed Peas conceived a song (I Gotta Feeling)that will play at every major function forever and have woven their sponsors into their day to day business.  Hopefully they will be able to pull a little Bono action and leverage their connections for big change.  The Black Eyed Peas are building an empire.  Get out of the way or join in.  This article gives a great look into their business deals.

Teeball Economics

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Why do our online players mimic our TV screens?  It makes no sense.  It’s a totally different experience and should reflect that.  Why not tap into the plethora of information conveyed on screen by supping up the video player?  Oh wait, someone else thought of that!

Media/And’s Smart Bar is just another tool in helping monetize online behavior and encourage consumers to purchase items they see in shows.  They key to any of these technologies is ease.  If I am watching a program online and see a piece of clothing I like – I am most likely not going to go through the trouble of tracking it down and purchasing it.  But if that information popped up next to my online viewer and I could buy it right there?  Well, that might be an impulse buy.  And maybe I will buy that wok in the kitchen scene.

The key is ‘Teeball Economics’ – where buying decisions are made based on how easy and set up the interaction is.

Judge Me By Results Not Methods

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Nine to five is an arbitrary time frame for work.  Our internal clocks are all different and we all get work done in different ways.  An office culture is important but there is no doubt that it has been over- valued.  Just us consumers are looking for customized everything – we not apply the same patterns for work flow?  If my results are solid and I am not hurting anybody then why can’t I work 4 days a week for longer hours?  Also, who says being busy means you are being effective?  The amount of hours you put in does not always dictate the quality of your work.  Rather, it’s the focus and creativity that propels great work.  I think I will take an early lunch…

Dennis Crowley Is A Brand

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As one of Silicon Valley’s most famous entrepreneurs, Dennis Crowley also has made his online brand presence transparent by using the technology that he fosters.  As founder of Foursquare, Crowley regularly gives glimpses into his life and all the interesting people and places that it takes him.  More and more – you are your company.   And when your company is on top like Mr. Crowley – well then you are your own Where’s Waldo.

Early Branded Collaboration

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Getting brands integrated into films or TV shows can be done thoughtfully and without distraction.  The key is to get the brands involved in the creative process at an earlier entry point.  This gives the principal creatives time to figure out how to incorporate it.  The worst is when a brand gets shoved down the throats of the creative team and then the integration is unsightly and distracting.  Most brands only want to get involved in ‘winners’ and are afraid to get involved in the messy creative process because it involves loosening the grip on their brands.  Brands should take some more chances and understand that failing is part of the process of getting that perfect integration.  Because when someone cool in a movie or TV show uses your product – that can be worth a generation of advertising budgets.

Old School Mogul

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You can have every gadget, every bit of proper schooling and all the proper protocols – but nothing trumps connections.

Jerry Weintraub is the type of mogul who looked for opportunities in whatever field – Broadway, music, film, TV etc. He found John Denver, produced the Oceans movies, and booked Led Zeppelin and a million other things – this is a guy you want to share a steak and martini with. He works the phones – trading favors for favors and getting stuff made.

Your relationships are your currency.

Foster them, nurture them and build off them.

Big Hops

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Never mind the feat or the impressive vertical leap. Let’s look at the timeline. 2 days ago in a gym in Arkansas a 16 year old kid did something cool. There is no such thing as local anymore. Local just means – not big/crazy/superlative enough for national. If something is really good it cannot stay hidden. If you write an amazing pop song, and emailed it to your 100 closest friends. If it was really good, and I mean really good – you would be discovered within the week. This begs the questions – how do we handle development? Many people and ideas need development and time and refinement and trial and error. If we take our most promising and thrust them into the spotlight – it won’t work. I have no answers. Get your reps, don’t be afraid to fail and quality rises to the top.

Happy April Fools Day!

Network Down

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If you want to be a global brand with longevity you must continue to find new audiences to reach out to and do so tastefully.  Jay Z is the master of this – collaborating with rock music acts that exposed his brand/music to new audiences.  Here, Pharrell is adding to his legacy by going after the kids.  Tweens of today are the most connected most discerning customers who will be the backbone of consumer behavior in the next decade.  So establishing a presence in the world can pay dividends in keeping your name alive and your brand healthy.  Networking down to the kids – that’s how you create more than a flash in a generation.

Design, Behavior and IDEO

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Many times ‘change’ is just looking for the right vehicle or infrastructure to prosper.  Providing a low cost, easy to use, widely available tool can create the type of macro change necessary to impact a society.  This is one reason why apps have so much potential.  With more people using smart phones and downloading relatively easy/inexpensive apps – we can share data and enact change with these simple tools.  I love the example of the CDC’s campaign for washing hands which has been a big success.  Washing hands.  So simple and yet it needed that designed interference (advertising) to enact the mass changes.

Food Revolution

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Check out Jamie Oliver’s fantastic new show on ABC.  TV is still the most powerful medium to getting your message out and Jamie has created a new hybrid muckraker reality show..  This show takes the worst of our eating habits – personified in Huntington, West Virginia and aims to re-educate our food beliefs.  While cities like NYC have fully embraced ideas of organic vs. processed, or locavore or even the ‘outrageous’ belief in vegetables – many parts of our country have lost their most basic skill of feeding their kids and themselves.  Our ancestors would be shocked at the loss of culinary skill.  Just because we are more technologically savvy does not make us advanced.  I support the move towards slow and right instead of fast and now.