“Make no little plans: they have no magic to stir men’s blood.” — Daniel Burnham (Chicago architect responsible for recreating the city after the great fire of 1871)
AD TEACHINGS: THE SECRET WEAPON OF THE STUDENT, AND WHY THE HECK AREN'T YOU USING IT?! -
A couple of days ago (http://bit.ly/IjXbjG), I wrote about Jonathan Mak and his student assignment, which has been picked up by Coke in China:
I’ve been thinking more about Jonathan’s accomplishment, and I’d like to talk now about the main reason such an accomplishment is a practical…
Hastune Miku has been selling out shows in Japan for years now. Who is Hastune Miku you ask? Oh just some made up hologram that prances around on stage “singing” mechanically engineered songs. Once again the Japanese are way ahead of us in the technology curve. While an American might have seen this concert as strange a couple years ago, it’s applying the technology in a meaningful, culturally relevant and emotionally impacting way that makes technology+art magical. Regardless, I’m definitely going to start scouring Japanese trends and tech news to bring new ideas to my agencies next digital brainstorm.
We all just want to feel alive. This might be stating the obvious, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while. People do things, crazy things, stupid things, even mundane things just to feel the full spectrum of human emotions. Listening to sad songs, watching scary movies, drinking too much, singing, stirring up drama with an ex, going to a comedy club, all of these things - everything - makes us feel something. It makes us feel alive to feel all these things. And what is life without emotions? Feeling something is the reason we do most things in life, the things we do by choice not necessity. I think that the daily ho hum of life can really wear someone down, not out of intensity but of the exact opposite, from the lack of intensity. That’s why people seek “entertainment.” It’s not entertainment, it’s escapism of some sort, maybe even a purging. As humans we love stories because we enjoy losing ourselves in our emotions. We want those feelings to be stirred up and bubble over. Whether it’s a middle aged woman getting riled up over some housewife reality TV show, an angsty teenager crying over a Taylor Swift song, or some dude getting fired up over a playoff game, it’s not really about the medium or what the information is, it’s about touching the soul of a person through getting them to feel. As storytellers the main goal should not be entertainment. We are not in the “entertainment” industry, it should be rethought of as the “emotion” industry. Just my opinion, but I think it’s a different way of looking at it.
People aren’t stupid. The one major shift that the internet and social media has done is it’s made everything transparent. People can’t be sold on what they’re told via broadcast anymore. With yelp, tumblr, google, amazon, facebook, twitter and whatever the hot new network will be in a month or two, every user is empowered to be informed about their purchasing decisions. So big brands like Pepsi, can’t get away with doing dumb shit like this: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/kfc-selling-mega-jugs-of-pepsi-for-diabetes That news is gonna be blasted all over the internet and whatever you invested is working to lower brand perception. Today, people see cause-related marketing by big corporations as exactly what it is: a marketing tactic. It’s not philanthropy in your audience’s eyes, it’s throwing money at poor or unfortunate people to look good. Businesses that are finding success today are purpose driven brands, not brands with purpose driven advertising. Tom’s, Warby Parker, Neighborgoods, Getaround, all the new hot start-ups have good at their core. Word spreads fast when people feel like they’re backing something that is larger than just the material world. With business revenues of giants like Wal-Mart rivaling GDP’s of entire nations, capitalism can be used as a huge force for good, and people are starting to see that. So stop pretending to care, and start actually redesigning your entire business so that good is at the core. People want to follow leaders with a vision, be that leader and that catalyst for change and you will create not only loyalists but advocates.
Coca Cola is switching to measuring expressions over impressions.
With increasingly complex outlets it’s getting harder to justify using impressions as a sole analytic. As advertiser’s in the new digital world, we don’t control things anymore. It’s not like the olden days of there being a set number of tv shows, radio stations, and newspapers with ads people basically had to pay attention to. Measuring impressions in that world made sense.
Today, people own brands now, so instead of measuring how many people are hearing what we’ve said, measuring how many people responded to the brand is a much more indicative and robust measurement. With the internet, social media, yelp, youtube, amazon, whathaveyou, people are finding infinite outlets to get their opinions heard, and with digital word of mouth, advertising has a lot less say on what a brand means to someone. Instead of fighting against it, we should use it to our advantage:
1. Create work that people will respond to, optimize work for that over impressions or click-throughs. People will create much more content for you than your brand ever could on it’s own.
2. Learn from expressions. I can’t tell you how much I learn about general consumer sentiment over a brand or tv spot after reading just a couple pages of youtube comments. Spending tens of thousands of dollars in traditional focus groups is pretty old school and pricey when you can learn so much online for free. (Of course there’s a right time and place for that as well.)
(Source: blogs.hbr.org)
Emerging Adulthood.
Not a new concept, there’s been books written, TV shows made, and endless movie characters (See: Will Ferrell Stepbrothers, Matthew Mcconaughey in Failure to Launch) based on the Manchild and even Womanchild syndrome (See: Now in theatres starring Charlize Theron Young Adult) but it’s interesting to see this not as a special case for certain people, but as an actual LIFE STAGE that all people will now go through, kind of like the teenager life stage.
“The concept of “childhood” emerged in Victorian times. “Teenage” was born in the 1950s. Consider “emerging adulthood” as this decade’s contribution to lifestage chronology.
When reality is fluid, opportunities abound. So do fear and confusion. Products, services or brands that help 20somethings find success and fulfillment in an environment that may feel like failure will be their heroes.”
I think this is right on point. As a young 20 something year old with a job I get a lot of groans and moans from my peers and (even people in their late 20’s) that have yet to launch their career and become in their mind “a real adult.” On the other hand, I know a lot of people that scoff at me for starting my career early instead of living it up in pure wild abandonment.
I’d say “Emerging Adults” fall into two camps:
Peter Pans - These people don’t want to grow up. They’d like to live the easy life without responsibilities for as long as possible. They resent and resist societal pressures and people that are constantly pushing them to grow up.
Cinderellas - They’ve done everything right, moved out, went to college, but other circumstances are preventing them from blooming (like high unemployment). They’re waiting for their golden opportunity to get out of their current circumstance. Until then, they don’t consider themselves “real adults” and may feel like failures.
Brands should seek to understand the Peter Pans and help the Cinderellas.
(Source: iconoculture.com)
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” — Darwin
The entertainment industry has done a great job of taking our deepest desires and bringing them to life. The problem with that is instead of entertainment, it’s become expectations.
I can’t tell you the number of times I hear girls complaining about men and not finding the perfect guy, that perfect Ashton Kutcher or Ryan Reynolds type. Tall, handsome, charming, funny, a self-made millionaire, who cooks, and is romantic, and professes his love for her on the street with a boom box with her watching from her 4th story bedroom. This is a fantasy character. Created from our wishes. NOT based in reality. We know this, but we don’t know this. Always looking for reasons why the men around us aren’t perfect.
Same goes for men. I can’t tell you the number of times I hear guys scrutinizing women, their appearance, and sexual prowess when if they looked in a mirror, they’d realize they’re no dime themselves. It’s nuts. There was this one time this guy, homely looking man, Chris, in his 30’s, balding, probably 90 pounds too heavy for his height, looked at a girl who was not overweight by any means, laughed and said something along the lines of “oh man I could never fuck a whale like that.” I just looked at him with confusion and told him “You’re no skinny minnie yourself.” Or another time, I was talking to my friend Peter, good dude, and he was telling me how he was sooo into this girl until the day she wore shorts. Her calves were too skinny.
The entertainment industry has set impossibly high standards for the people that aren’t in the top 2% of looks and personality. There will always be someone better out there, but are you better? Do you deserve Heidi Klum or Ashton Kutcher? And if so, are you not going to settle down until you find someone in that top 2%? We all need a reality check and to realize, love and relationships isn’t about the little fantasies you build up in your mind, or what you think you deserve. Reality is tits sag, heads bald, and doors will one day stop being opened. All the beginning shit is just make believe. Infatuation creates a better, temporary, version of ourselves. Love is accepting the reality.
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