Is Anyone Listening?

I'm an unread blogger, with very few inbound links.  True to the name of my blog, I usually post interesting things I come across without much editorial.  I'm not terribly influential in terms of reach, but I am very vocal in my offline world about brands I admire [or don't].  And people do often turn to me for POVs, questions or advice based on what I know about these brands.  So this is a test ... I'm curious to see who's listening. 

A few brands I love: Adidas, Potbelly, Lego, Levi's, Paul Smith, W Hotels, The Chicago Cubs, Swiss Army, Virgin Atlantic, ING, Heinz, Target, Dyson, Flickr, Sierra Nevada

End of experiment.  I'll keep you posted on the results.

Brand Tags

Noah Brier put together a cool little app called Brand Tags ["The basic idea of this site is that a brand exists entirely in people's heads. Therefore, whatever it is they say a brand is, is what it is"].  Essentially a brand flashes on the screen and you enter one word to describe it.  Then you get to see what others entered [as visualized by a tag cloud].  When Yahoo! popped up I entered "Google." Apparently I'm not the only one to feel this way.  Yahoo! [which I have always been a HUGE fan of] should be very scared based on this little experiment.

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DIY Online Ads

I love this example of how smaller marketers are taking a DIY approach to online display advertising [from an interesting article in the WSJ] ...

Andy Dunn is one of the new do-it-yourself-ers. Mr.Dunn is chief executive of Bonobos Pants, an online clothing company that says it makes "pants for real guys," aimed at men who want well-tailored and fashionable clothes but hate to shop in stores. The company, which the 29-year-old Mr. Dunn launched last fall with a classmate from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, initially didn't do much to market its wares. "We think advertising is pretty wasteful for a company like ours," Mr. Dunn said.

But for a pants line aimed at Chicago Cubs baseball fans, Bonobos took a chance on Facebook's new self-service ad system. In less than five minutes, Bonobos created ads that would be seen only by young men in the Chicago area who identified themselves on their Facebook profiles as Cubs fans. With a picture of the "Cubbie blue" pants -- named Clarks, after one of the streets surrounding the Cubs' home of Wrigley Field -- and simple ad taglines like "pants for Cubs fans," the ad was seen more than 250,000 times. Quickly, Bonobos sold out of Clarks, at $120 a pop. Total cost for the ads: about $63.

Level Vodka Tunnel

I am digging this.  Level Vodka has teamed with fashion designer Hussein Chalayan to create the “Level Tunnel.”  Level started a blog - - to track the progress of the building of the tunnel and its travels around the world. 

To quote the press release:

The Level Tunnel by Hussein Chalayan vol. 08 is a world of its own, which can be experienced by viewing it from the outside and exploring it blindfolded from the inside. It’s a 15 m meter- long, almost 5-meter-high installation made of fiberglass, glass and leather – to mention just a few of its materials. The installation will tour the world, starting in Mexico City in May 2008.

“… The idea is to engage in a captivating sensual experience of scent, sound and touch. I want to match all senses – excluding vision – to emphasize the exceptional taste of Level Vodka,” explains Hussein Chalayan.

Visitors will enter and walk through the installation blindfolded. Inside, they will be sensually and innovatively enveloped with the unique taste of Level Vodka through scent, sound and touch. They will hear music played on a flute made with a Level Vodka bottle. The glass bottle creates a protective shell that results in muted, hypnotic acoustics. Also inside: a breeze carries the scent of lemon and cedar and conjures up the flavor of Level Vodka. Railings coated in the softest leather run through the installation to create an exclusive tactile experience. Before entering the installation, visitors will be fitted with a heart monitor, which displays their heartbeat on the outside of the tunnel.

The blog features a few videos – I really like this making of the tunnel video here.

Marketing Your Agency

[Via Creativity]

The London office of ad agency Mother has let its creatives produce a quarterly graphic novel that is being distributed as an insert within Time Out magazine.

Mother creative Stuart Outhwaite said, “It’s an opportunity for all writers at Mother to come in and have a go; relief for the frustrated creatives who want to do things other than advertising.”

The swap is that the agency is reducing the fees it charges the magazine for work it does for it, and the magazine offers the pages for the agency’s project. The agency hopes to publish all the installments (three more are planned) as a graphic novel that can be bought.

I think this is a very clever idea.  Mother's management is smart to position it as something they are doing for the good of their creative team [talent attraction and retention], when it's also clearly a new business development tool.

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Monocolorists

I'm very interested in the idea of wearing a uniform, which doesn't literally mean I like to wear a pilot's outfit to work, but rather that I find value in having consistent style hallmarks that [1] make me stand out in a crowd [2] save me time and money.  I've previously written about this topic.

Most people think this is a bit obsessive [in reality, it's quite sane, and frees up my mind to focus on other things - especially in the morning].  Well thanks to these folks recently profiled in New York Magazine, I look downright sane.  Read this article about five New Yorker's who wear only one color a day ...

[via]

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The Story of Adi Dassler

When I read Creativity's article about Adidas' latest corporate branding video, I figured I would love it.  As creativity says ...

Adidas' latest campaign, a global effort for Originals, starts at the very beginning, with company co-founder Adi Dassler at his desk in ahumble workshop. Using his bicycle-operated leather cutter, a painstakingly constructed, stop-motion Adi puts the finishing touches on a proto-Samba before the narrator, famed German actor Jurgen Prochnow, begins to speak of Dassler's achievements, from ensuring the German football team was properly shod in the 1954 World Cup final to providing Ilie Nastase footwear for his tantrums.

Sounds great, right?  The production value is incredible ... very pleasing on the eye.  Unfortunately, the story didn't capture my imagination as I had expected [it's an interesting story, but not quite the pace and tone I expected].  Watch for yourself, maybe you'll feel differently ...

I was reminded that I declared on this very blog that the Adidas commercial below is one of my all-time favorites.  I understand the Adi Dassler piece serves a totally different purpose, but nonetheless ...

What's Your Whopper?

BurgerkingAs I spent the better part of yesterday traipsing around Chicago looking for a new pair of jeans, something occurred to me.  My favorite denim brand?  Levi's.  My favorite fast-food brand?  Burger King.  My favorite products from those brands ... 501s and the Whopper respectively. 

Here's the rub ... I haven't owned a pair of 501s in, well, maybe ever.  And I can't tell you the last time I ate a Whopper.  So what gives? 

I'm not 100% sure.  But I think it's that both brands have done an incredible job iconizing their hero products, and that's what draws me into the brand.  And when I get there I realize that 501s don't fit me all that well and I prefer the chicken sandwich.  But I don't care, because what I'm really after is an association with the brand, not necessarily any one product.

So my question is, what's your Whopper?  What's the service or product that customers come to you for, even if they end up buying something else?

P.S. I ended up with a pair of 514s [slim fit, straight leg]

P.P.S.  In case you've been living under a rock, check out Whopper Freakout to see what true brand obsession is.  I love this campaign - one of my favorites in a long time.

What's Your Uniform?

On at least two  occasions [here, here] I've written about the necktie as a very simple, yet effective differentiator.  Now David Granger, Editor in Chief at Esquire Magazine, is singing a similar tune.  Granger writes [full post here]:

This fall, after 18 months of going without a tie, it started toseem appropriate to wear nothing but white shirts and dark ties under a dark jacket adorned with the thin stripe of a white pocket square in the breast pocket. Every day.

The first thing about this choice was how much it simplifies one's life. White shirt, dark tie every day. No thought required.

The second thing is that everyone notices. Everyone. The word women use is sharp. Or dapper. Or fantastic. They often touch your shoulder or lay their hand on your forearm. Men tell you you look "great," and they say it with something like puzzlement or suspicion. As though you're pulling something on them.

Granger refers to the notion of wearing a daily uniform.  For the last few years I've preached this idea ... that consistency and continuity in your wardrobe are (1) reassuring to those around you (2) a simple way to make a statement - albeit somewhat superficial - about who you are and (3) is much easier [and cheaper]!

So, what's your uniform?

Braille Tattoos

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I guess I am very late to hear about the idea of implanting beads under the skin in order to create a braille tattoo.  I just read a piece in the New York Times [full article here].  Not surprised that the visually-impaired community is split on the topic but was very surprised to read that only 10 percent of visually-impaired people read Braille.

The Journey of Sean Aiken

Interesting article in the NYT about a young man called Sean Aiken [read article here].  Sean, like many others of his generation, is trying to find his path in life.  He has decided to try one new job every week, for 52 weeks.  He has turned his search into something we can all follow on his blog.

The idea itself is ... eh, I've seen better.  But what struck me was how professional and well-produced his blog is.  The video quality is strong.  He's got sponsors [!].  He has a section dedicated to all the media attention he's received. 

The finale of the NYT article perfectly captures my thoughts ...

Mr. Aiken’s life work might well turn out to be the marketing of Sean Aiken.

As a French psychologist wrote on Mr. Aiken’s blog: “He has in effect created a new business, he is a ‘Sean — the-vocation-searcher.’ It is a job that only one applicant can fit and is made up of all the skills and talents of Sean. The best way to involve all your skills in your job is to create a job made of all your skills — instead of trying to fit in an existing and traditional one. Sean is now the hero of a quest turned into an adventure.”

One can already envision the book. And the reality show. And the Sean Aiken line of luggage.