Star Wars Collectible Media

Walking to work every morning i always check out the street posting and random tags that went up overnight. Living in the East Village means im pretty much in ground zero when it comes to street art. Usually the corporate stuff isn't too catchy but this morning I saw a gem. The History Channel is promoting its upcoming Star Wars 30th Anniversary behind-the-scenes show, which explores the influences and intricacies of the Star Wars Franchise. They are using giant tear sheet posters, which passerbys can rip off and post on their own wall. A brilliant use of media, which not only sets it apart but hits true Star Wars fanatics at the heart who are always looking for collectible memorabilia. I snagged a Yoda 'origins' sheet, similar to this one which illustrates Yoda's evolution from Buddha. For a few Star Wars facts you may not know click here. The History channel show airs May 30th at 9pm (thanks tipster!) Im not a huge Star Wars fan, but this certainly has piqued my interest. How about yours?


YodaMan

+tag me+
+del.icio.us
+digg
+marktd

Read more...

Results: Sapporo Case Study

Advertising Age has a nice article on the result of our workings of the Sapporo brand that we worked on a few years back. According to Ad Age, "Last year, as Sapporo began to use hip-hop fashion tie-ins to gain broader acceptance, its distribution widened, and total sales rose by about 15%, Mr. Pronio said. The brand's slim budget limits its beer marketing activity to events and some in-house print and out-of-home ads." Not too bad considering the market as a whole experienced flat-growth. While we have nothing to do with the current events crafted by Coltrane and crew, we can proudly state our role in strategic and brand development that has led to the growth.

Rarely in advertising does the hard work get a mention, and even rarer are accredited positive results. Kudos to the whole team who made this reality successful and have positioned the brand for future success as well.

For all those parties interested in consultations, the Sapporo Case Study is available.
Growth

+tag me+
+del.icio.us
+digg
+marktd

Read more...

The Fame Game

Does it matter if you win American Idol? These days it doesn't seem like fame means the same thing. Gil Kaufman posted an interesting article over on mtv.com that explores how much emphasis we put on winning Idol, yet those that retain power usually aren't the winners. Chris Daughtry put that band together and released a self-titled debut that has sold more than 2 million copies, "easily eclipsing some guy named Taylor Hicks, who won "Idol" last year and has sold a very respectable, if more modest, 700,000." The definition of fame has changed ladies and gents. This a common occurrence these days not just in idol but also when exploring the lot of popular tv shows currently populating the tube.

Remember the first survivor and that character Richard? It was all about winning the game. How about the Bachelor? These days seems like everyone on reality TV is single and there to mingle. MTV has launched countless reality shows, many such as the inferno are reality-drama-competitions. These shows merely involve c-level actors recycled from previous shows based on consumer awareness and likability. Heard of dancing with the stars? Who is competing? Oh thats right celebrity A and celebrity B, each eclipsed by the other's story. While TV execs seem to think this is a boon for ratings, its merely diluting the fame of the celebrities. Commodity shows like this are changing the state of fame.

While advertisers are swearing that its about great connections and more meaningful relationships, i think a reverse situation is brewing amongst the role of celebrity and even status. Status used to attained through an over-glorification of achievement, ala movie stars to hockey players. All paid ridiculous salaries for tough work but no more so deserving than joe from atlanta. The rise of the internet has ushered control to consumers, who often aren't pulled necessarily by the historical shallows of fame.

Fame is now attainable by all. You don't have to do anything, just something unusual or sticky. Fame is about putting yourself out there (connections) and by being recognized (character). Its not necessarily what you do anymore but how you set yourself apart in a way thats memorable. So now the speed and path of the message are bigger than the message itself.

Any other thoughts on the changing status of fame in today's wired world?





[ed. note. -more thoughts to come, this is a bit half baked at the moment]
FalseIdols

+tag me+
+del.icio.us
+digg
+marktd

Read more...

The 24K Facial

This image just reminds me of ancient kings and royalty. Plus i have seen it cropping up in various places the last few weeks. Doing a bit of naturals/Skin work, i am amazed at the amount of technology/science that goes into this stuff, but i guess when it comes down to it, Gold & diamonds will persevere forever. Restore your skin with the ultimate skin rejuvenating treatment, 24 Karat Gold. UMO, a Japanese beauty company, has introduced the gold facial as a new way of skin treatment by using a sheet of pure gold. The company claims that gold can lift and firm skin, reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, lighten and brighten skin. The treatment costs 30,000 yen ($250). Is this a sign of the new VIP experiences to come?

A bit ridiculous if you ask me, especially since you have to wash off the gold. Heck if i paid that, id want the gold on at least for a day. Ridiculousness at its best.
Au-ch

+tag me+
+del.icio.us
+digg
+marktd

Read more...

Knowledge is the New Currency

In this day and age technology brings together worlds. It also proliferates information faster than we often care to. Being able to manage the flow or become an expert in a particular area is a trait of the new breed of consumers. They are often immune to advertising, not willing to commit to a brand through purchase and want involvement in the creation process. These try before you buy folk need a little hand holding to get brand commitment out of them. While places like the Landrover schools, or Weber grill restaurant show consumers how to use their (potential) products, why haven't tech stores done this? Best Buy lets you try it, but doesn't show you how to wire it. Consumers are so hands-on and DIY-oriented, you would think tech teaching would be hot.

Looks like Apple gets it, as usual. OnetoOne, which is now being featured in their ads is personal interaction with a specialist on anything Mac. While their classes are still a cut above what anyone else offers, there is no substitute for direct conversation. All of this is offered at $99 a year, which even i believe is a good deal for access to knowledge.

I myself have always wanted to know do i go Apple TV or the mac mini route on my multimedia network? How do i get it on the HDTV? Looks like i can finally get an answer. Look for more brands in the future to educate consumers on the category and become a concierge, establishing stronger emotional and functional connections through knowledge guidance. This is the DIY- internet age after all and a brand can't exist assuming that consumers are naive or in the dark. They have dreams and visions and a brand that isn't prepared to help consumers get their on their own might need to watch its back.
121

+tag me+
+del.icio.us
+digg
+marktd

Read more...

Redscout Goes Live

Redscout's new site has gone live. See what all the clamoring is about.

Redscout

+tag me+
+del.icio.us
+digg
+marktd

Read more...

Advertising is the Commodity

How highly do you care about advertising? Enough to get paid for it or get free products? Vending company Apex Corp. are planning to bring free or subsidized non-alcoholic beverages to consumers willing to watch a 30-second commercial before partaking in a tasty beverage. This should be launching in June in Japan(only), the MediCafe project will give users the option of plunking down the ¥70 ($0.58) to ¥120 ($1) required to purchase an item, or watching an advertisement for half a minute while the machine dispenses their liquid of choice. Not all drinks would be free, as some advertisers would only be offering up discounts in exchange for your attention. "We will select the locations of vending machines which would best suit the customers targetted by advertisers," said an Apex company official.

The question is how highly do you value advertising? Is it now a commodity, interchangeable with products themselves? Is it worthy of a free drink or is it something in between. I think this is a step in the right direction, in terms of relationship building with consumers. So often advertising shouts, attempting to sell a product, in an unnatural way. I think most marketers agree, that the best advertising establishes dialogue in a humanistic manner and is beneficial for both parties. This seems to fall somewhere in the middle. Might we be able to change the perception of advertising with rewards like this?


TrendingMachine

+tag me+
+del.icio.us
+digg
+marktd

Read more...

Running The Numbers

Waste is a bit of a sticky issue in the USA. Our recycling is sketchy and impractical at best, and the city I live in, NYC ships tons of garbage to New Jersey on a daily basis. YECK. Sometimes things need to be seen on the scale of impact ot be truly appreciated. Everest certainly looks tall to me, but on paper it just can't convey justice. Artist Chris Jordan's Running the Numbers "series looks at contemporary American culture through the lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on... Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 426,000 cell phones retired every day."

Beautifully poignant, this is a reminder of the world we populate and impact everyday. What is waste? Is it the wrapper left behind after we eat a sandwich or is it something that is dissolvable, sustainable or reusable in another avenue of life? Heck New York city's foundations were built on garbage and dead livestock. Its time we consider the lifestyle of things before we produce and consumer them. Reduce your impact and improve your life.

via core 77


Running the Numbers

+tag me+
+del.icio.us
+digg
+marktd

Read more...

PSFK London Conference

Piers put out the call earlier today to let everyone know that his next conference has now started selling tickets. Similar to the NYC event its "A morning will focus on evolving new trends and ideas; the afternoon will look at future design and new marketing." NY was a home run with excellent speakers, a vastly immersing array of topics and some superb business networking. Do check it out and tell Piers Lifefilter sent you!

Confirmed Speakers:

* Niku Banaie, Naked Communications
* Mike Butcher, TBites
* Russell Davies, Open Intelligence Agency
* Regine Debatty, We Make Money Not Art
* Jeremy Ettinghausen, Penguin Books
* John Grant, BrandTarot
* Tamara Giltsoff, OZOlab brand
* Beeker Northam, Bloom
* George Parker, Madscam
* Justin Quirk
* Simon Sinek, Sinek Partners
* Stan Stalnaker, Hub
* Iain Tait, Poke
* Diana Verde Nieto, Clownfish
* Johnny Vulkan, Anomaly
* Faris Yakob, Naked Communications


PSFKLondon

+tag me+
+del.icio.us
+digg
+marktd

Read more...

Joost and ready to Go

Joost could be the future of entertainment or it could be just another filter on how we get information in a converging world. I did though finally get an invite from the ever generous Aaron Tang over at DesignVerb. Very very hip program indeed and now i never have to miss Laguna Beach again. J/K there. Want to find more out about it? Click here. Oh and i do have a few more invites to send so if you want one, send an email to lifefilter(at)gmail.com

GetJoost

+tag me+
+del.icio.us
+digg
+marktd

Read more...

Trash to Treasure: Recyclebank

Readers of Lifefilter, know we are big proponents of anything thats positive for the environment. We even spoke about the possibleEnd of Garbage not too long ago. Little did i know that here on the East Coast, a recycling company is attempting to shift the paradigm. RecycleBank has helped recycling rates explode from 30% to over 90% in one Philadelphia neighborhood. The company picks up all recycleables for free, and records the weight. That is then turned into RB dollars which you can redeem at participating stores (Starbux, Fedex etc) and restaurants as well. Win Win Win situation for local governments too, who have incentives and less strain on their infrastructure. Currently in Pennsylvania, Dirty Jerze, Delaware it is set to expand soon into NY and throughout New England.

While this still may not solve the inherent problem of how we actually classify garbage, its good to see so much support for consumer-driven green initiatives. Would you recycle more if you got paid to do it?

Bags to Riches

+tag me+
+del.icio.us
+digg
+marktd

Read more...

The Den of Innovation

Ive always felt the advertising industry is a bit ego-inflated to begin with, but eternally wondered why there weren't any shows on the TV that focused around the daily activities/hijinx within the offices. What Women Want doesn't count either. Now comes, Dragon's Den, a show that "matches would-be product creators up with a team of potential investors, and lets us see who--and what--makes the cut." Guess no one still wants to sell the product, but everyone wants to create it (exactly why i left advertising).

Interesting yet i find it living in the same lame world as the user-created ads from Doritos or America has talent. No actual idea exists, so lets give the people a go at it! All jokes aside, this apparently has done quite well in the UK and it certainly raises questions of consumer involvement in product innovation. Is there a better way to involve consumers? Is it more than just participatory groups or ethnographies? Why are all reality tv shows contests?

Into The Den

+tag me+
+del.icio.us
+digg
+marktd

Read more...

Sapporo Season Two

I had the opportunity to help rebrand Sapporo several years ago and part of our strategy revolved around creating an iconic lifestyle brand that lived outside the sushi restaurant. In addition to the underground events and crazy concerts we did, a bit of branding revolved outside of the bar venues including creating these awesome custom Air Force 1's. Coltrane Curtis , my former associate and style guru extraordinaire has carried onward creating the second round of Sapporo-inspired streetwear. Trane really gets the streets talking with his collaborations from Spoonfed and Crooks and Castles to create some very very ill apparel. Word is that Steve P had a hand in the designs too. The only way you can get a shirt is to know Coltrane, know Dennis (C&C) or attend the upcoming Sapporo runway fashion show in Miami. Don't hold your breath cause it sounds like the LE is literally around 100 units.

Goodluck to Trane and the Epiphany crew in their future Sapporo Endeavors. Oh and you can send that lasered briefcase my way too Trane!
Sapporo Runway Show

+tag me+
+del.icio.us
+digg
+marktd

Read more...