We live in a culture where ideas, trends and other assorted memes often spread out from niches and become pervasive across larger segments of society. This phenomena ties back to the rise of Geek culture — what we sometimes refer to as being “geeked-out”. Today, one can be deemed a ‘Geek’ across any number of areas, from music, to street fashion, to role playing games. It’s all about really being into that one thing. Where…
Sometimes old can seem new. This is profoundly true in fashion and music, where ideas from the past get remixed, repurposed and reconstituted into something refreshingly different for a new generation. And sometimes what’s old can transport us back to a time when we felt newer, fresher younger and invigorated. Taking us back to the familiar or what we believe we knew and allowing us to experience it “again for the first time” is a…
New. The need for difference. Something fresh, fun, never before encountered, unexplored. ‘New’ is sometimes all it takes to grab our attention, stop us in our tracks or take a deeper look at a product. What is it about New that is so invigorating to us? Is it because we get bored easily? Despite all the tools, toys and entertainment outlets designed to keep us interested and engaged. Or perhaps we are wired on a…
I’ve always been fascinated with how some ads try to present their products as part of a bigger lifestyle choice. Sure I’ve spent a good part of my adult life helping craft those very messages on behalf of clients. But even when I’m nesting in my den, playing the part of the American everyman watching Sunday football, with my marketing work a distant note on my Monday to-do list, I still find myself mulling over…
A meme is an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture. While genes transmit biological information, memes are said to transmit ideas and belief information. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena (via Wikipedia). Memes are the backbone of marketing communications. That said, there is…
Pizzicato 5 were one of my favorite bands back in the 90s. Like a lot of my favorite bands they managed to evoke retro-cool (and I love the mod 60s) while feeling very much of the moment. Twiggy was just a silly song that sounded great loud with a tacky cocktail in a room filled with orange naugahyde. /enjoy
Brands are often an unwelcome presence on social media platforms. They tend to interrupt conversations with blatant sales pitches. They then often ask for information we don’t deem them entitled to receive. Our email addresses. Answers to incessantly dry, pedantic surveys. Urgent commands to pimp their promotions to our friends. You get the idea. When it comes to social media, many brands and the companies that run them could use an etiquette primer. But where…
A little musical Social Instigation — Love some of the mash-ups being created from individual musician’s YouTube videos. The individual parts are cool, but the sum JAMS! Thx to @brianwaka for sharing.
We just spent a few days at the Natural Product Expo West trade show in Anaheim. I’ve always been a fan of this show. It’s a chance to meet tons of people who do what they love- create products that are good for you, good for the environment and are often unique. Many of these products go on to grow into major brands- Amy’s Kitchen or Kashi are two that come to mind. This trade…
I’ve been thinking about how dated traditional marketing worldviews have become — particularly the notions of brand building. Twentieth century economic growth provided a hothouse for the dogma of brand building. The increasing presence of one-way broadcast mediums, coupled with the industrial revolution and later on the spread of consumption-led economies provided the perfect storm for brand-think. Whether in the guise of ad-agency, consultant or marketing manager, brand shamans shouted their b-invectives to willing minions…
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