When the boys paid a visit to Rob Dyrdek—King of the Fantasy Factory—to talk about some exciting new projects, they clearly couldn’t show up empty handed. You know what Martha Stewart says, “When in doubt, bring a ginormous, red, papier-mâché chimp.” So that’s exactly what they did. Jim asked Rob to give the prettiest member of Blind a cameo his MTV show Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory. The monkey won (Jeremy was having a bad hair day). Jeremy cried a little, but the piñata looked great! Check out the piñata’s celebrity appearance here:

We were hoping to see Chanel, Big Black, Drama, Meaty, Beefy and Mini Horse, but they were nowhere to be found…Guess that means we’ll have to go back. Darren’s still jonesin’ for some of that foam pit action anyway. Until then we’ll have to get our Rob fix by watching this video on loop:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOpZ5ppKeMc

Or if we want to see him smellin’ so fresh and so clean in the flesh, we can check him and his Street League skaters out as they launch the Street League Pro Tour. This competition features the 24 most baller skateboarders in the world. After my days of competitive Dance Dance Revolution, my joints aren’t what they once were so unfortunately I won’t be skating. But the skaters who are will undoubtedly turn out some revolutionary, record-breaking moves.

They’ll compete in groups of 8, doing 7 tricks per section on 3 of 4 sections. Finals will be the top 7 skaters doing 7 tricks each on all 4 sections. And they don’t mess around with prize money here. We’re talking about the biggest purse in skate competition history: $1.2 million big ones. Lucky for us the first stop is right here in Glendale, AZ on 09/28. Then they head to Ontario, CA on 9/11, ending with a bang in Sin City on 9/25. Check it out. We dare you.

If you haven’t seen PBR’s (Pabst Blue Ribbon) most recent campaign it’s probably because you’re not a hipster. Well, that may not be entirely true. PBR’s grass-roots efforts began years ago and they did everything to avoid traditional marketing. At the time, they weren’t exactly trying to win over the hearts of billions of beer drinkers. It was more about respecting the loyal underground fans that embraced them and brought them back from near extinction. But the rising popularity of PBR has led them to “advertise” on wall murals in select cities across the country, even in Phoenix. More and more billboards began popping up which has led to a backlash from loyal fans – as seen in the image below. It seems someone has conveniently pointed out how closely the PBR mural resembles stereotypical beer ads. Something PBR has always tried to avoid.

The once iconic brand that was known for being the “cheap beer” was recently bought out by the same company who owns Vlasic Pickles and Chef Boyardee.  With newfound shareholders usually comes the need to crank out bigger profits. We’ve already seen an increase in the price of the beer.  There are even talks about giving the brand a makeover. Something fans will not appreciate.  It will be interesting to see what develops as this brand evolves, and if its faithful followers continue to stay loyal.

At Blind Society we’ve had beer on the brain lately due to our working relationship with the local master brewers at Four Peaks Brewing Company. Four Peaks is focused on strengthening relationships with local and loyal fans. We are currently working on their online experience and digital engagement outreach campaigns to create interesting new ways to interact with people who already love the brand, while making new friends along the way. The driving strategy is more about offering experiences that are meaningful and entertaining to them. Neither Four Peaks nor Blind Society has any plans of abandoning that strategy. It wouldn’t be a smart move, plus that’s just not how we roll. Check back in mid to late July for the official unveiling of the new Four Peaks Online Experience.

Holy Fro-Yo Batman! Mojo Yogurt hits 5,000 fans. Blind Society started working with Mojo a year ago. We implemented their Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube pages, along with a blog and integrated them together. We engaged our fans with Mojovations, word of the day discounts, consistent article postings, and of course everyday conversations with our Mojo peeps. We listened, learned, interacted, and engaged our audience. All of this reinforced what we already believe; social media is a powerful tool to create online experiences and build brand loyalty. Not to mention, we had a lot of fun with it. We found if you show them love, they’ll show you love. Treat them like friends and they’ll do the same. We’d like to think all this success is our doing. But we’re kinda sure Mojo’s deliciousness had something to do with it.

Blind Society’s very own Carlie Christensen, now Carlie Garcia, tied the knot this past weekend. The newly minted Mrs. Garcia keeps the six guys at Blind Society in line everyday, so one man at home should be no problem for her. We wish the Garcias all the best as they begin their new life together. We’re excited to hear about their trip to Africa. Hopefully they bring us back some cool ceremonial head masks.

The iPhone—that Jesus-like piece of technology that has revolutionized the mobile industry everything that ever has, does, or will exist—is getting a fresh new OS update.  And, with it, a fancy new ad platform, iAd.

Apple demoed Pixar’s Toy Story, Nike, and Target—three top-tier brands with incredible user experiences in their ads.  Will the integrity of ads be maintained?

How can brands utilize this to enhance the user experience?

If the iPhone becomes a series of pop-up windows, I will lose it.  I already find no joy in continuously telling Tap Tap Revenge 3 that I have no desire to download Justin Bieber Revenge.  Ad-supported free apps are one thing.  iAd-supported paid apps are entirely another.

I am most intrigued to see which brands and agencies create a revolutionary experience with this platform first.

(Via Gizmodo)

Too often, we have seen brands focus on the right side of the chart: Facebook and Twitter.  Those are the most hyped outlets.  It’s important to feed the entire supply line.  This graph is an intriguing visualization representing the common ebb and flow of content as it spreads.

“Everyone knows that content is king for search engine optimisation, but can often forget that content is a primary driver social media buzz (in turn helping your organic rankings), and to leverage the power of the chart you’ll find below (The Social Media Effect) brands need to focus on developing great content on a consistent basis.”

(Via Digital Buzz Blog)

The official email from Facebook reads, “‘Like’ offers a simple, consistent way for people to connect with the things they are interested in. These lighter-weight actions mean people will make more connections across the site, including with your branded Facebook Pages. We believe this will result in brands gaining more connections to pages since our research has shown that some users would be more comfortable with the term ‘Like’. The goal is to get the most user connections so that you can have ongoing conversations in the news feeds of as many users as possible.”

Via http://bit.ly/aL7b13.

We’d like to thank our clients for allowing us to produce some amazing work. It’s always nice to be recognized for the work you do, plus it does wonders for our egos. We look forward to creating more smart work for our clients again this year.

We may have had a little too much to drink and maybe did far too much celebrating but all in all it was a good night. At least what we can remember of it.

Who We Need:
The Interactive Experience team at Blind Society is seeking visionary Flash/Interactive Developers.  Are you a crazy thinker? Do you have a portfolio that will inspire us?  If you’re a person with multiple interactive skills and passions, we probably have projects that can utilize all of them. We have an amazing team of creatives, technologists, and strategists all working in an incredibly collaborative environment, concepting and prototyping together. We work on a broad array of media including gaming, web, mobile, industrial, product design, interactive retail environments, and experiential outdoor. If you’re passionate about the merging of various media channels and creative disciplines, you will want to come push the limits with us.

Position Requirements:
An innovative thinker and code expert that enjoys tackling challenging projects with a positive attitude.
Must be an expert problem solver and possess a failure is not an option mentality.
Excellent people skills and ability to clearly communicate ideas, decisions, and reasoning to a non-technical audience.
Ability to play a large role in managing the interactive experience development process of our projects.
Always maintain a keen sense of professionalism, be goal oriented, extremely self-driven and have a positive attitude.
Ability to juggle multiple projects and clients regularly.
You must be passionate about programming and technology
You will be working with others who are dedicated, driven, and talented
You will develop technical and creative solutions through research and experimentation
You will participate in brainstorming sessions, scoping meetings, and may also participate in meetings with clients
Need Bachelor’s Degree or higher
You must be at an expert-level with Flash, Flex, and Actionscript
You must have experience with. NET, SQL, JavaScript, XML, and HTML/CSS experience
Minimum of 5 years of interactive experience
Animation and user interface experience is helpful
Relevant design experience includes rich interactive applications, game development, motion graphics, web development, photography, and print advertising
Extra credit: a programming background and experience working on interactive campaigns outside the web

What we offer you besides a Killer Job:
Competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a very unique company culture.

How To Apply:
Please send your resume, cover letter, link to portfolio, and the number one reason why you would be the perfect addition to our team exceptional team to jeremy.watson@blindsociety.com
No Phone calls please.
No recruiters or agencies.

To the Blind generation—the 15–35-year-old consumer, content should not be controlled by the brand, but rather, by the consumer.  This attitude stems from the fact that the brand, itself, is not controlled by the brand, but rather by the perception of the consumer.  To that end, it’s frustrating when television networks and music labels will not allow us to share their content as we see fit.

OK Go became a viral sensation a few years ago with their grassroots video to the song, “Here Is Goes Again.”

(This is not EMI’s version. Embedding is, of course, disabled by request.)

The fast-spreading nature of the video was due, in large part, to it being embeddable.  Recently, their new videos have no longer been embeddable.  Such a move breeds ill will amongst fans.  OK Go, smartly, spoke out in an open letter.

Of particular interest is this paragraph:

Four years after we posted our first homemade videos to YouTube and they spread across the globe faster than swine flu, making our bassist’s glasses recognizable to 70-year-olds in Wichita and 5-year-olds in Seoul and eventually turning a tidy little profit for EMI, we’re – unbelievably – stuck in the position of arguing with our own label about the merits of having our videos be easily shared. It’s like the world has gone backwards.

Indeed.  The lesson for adroit marketers is simple: treat your fans like gold.  Give them the tools to share their love for your brand (or band).  Let them do as much heavy lifting as possible.  When an advocate lifts his finger, it is more powerful than much of the corporate muscle.  They posses something no brand can every posses: true, unspoiled credibility.

In the book The Pirate’s Dilemma, by Matt Mason, the example of the original Napster is given.  Napster was more than a file-sharing P2P network.  It became the dawn of a new era for how people consume media.  Brands that clung ignorantly to the old way of speaking to consumers, such as music labels, fought the trends brought on by Napster.  Smart brands, like Apple, launched brands dedicated to a Napster-like experience in iTunes.

Embrace your buying society’s call for change, or brace yourself for war.  At the end of the day, do you want to do everything you can to please your customers, or do you want to do everything you can to discourage and argue with them?

For further exploration, start by reading War in the Boardroom, by Al and Laura Ries, and then hop over to The PR Warrior for his thoughts on the issue in a post entitled, “Why Is Lack of Control Suddenly Such a Big Deal?”

Blind Society has done several campaigns utilizing the Immersive Fan Experience. We’ve developed this proprietary technology for a number of sports teams across the nation.

The goal for FOX was to get viewers more involved with 24 and Human Target. So we created an online experience that made people feel like they were a character in the show. As the campaign progresses we will incorporate social media strategies to attract more people to the website and build a bigger fan base. To see what we’ve done so far, go to:

24andhumantargetonfox.fox.com THE PASSWORD IS ACTION

His presentation was colorful and animated, as were his slides.  We wanted to bring the slides to you, the Digital Elsewhere (or those who want to relive his speech over and again).

The presentation starts with the generally held opinions about creatives and industry professionals in Phoenix, then moves on to how we can change the course of Phoenix’s future.

Coming away from PHXDW09, it is clear that we, as a Valley, are on the brink of making something great happen.

Check out the slides and leave some thoughts below.

Teens interact with media and brands in a very unique way.  A Nielson study this past summer set out to demystify their preferences for engagement.  This topic is nothing new—marketers have always struggled to understand the engagement preferences for each new generation of teens.

The most dangerous fact: TV is king insofar as consumption is concerned, with the average teen snacking on nearly three-and-a-half hours of television a day.

If you’ll pardon the expression, “Facts are like bikinis.  What they reveal is enticing.  What they cover up is essential.”  Ergo, these results should be read with scrutiny when choosing a media mix.

The fact is that teens consume a lot of television.  This study does little to address how teens want to be spoken to.  The article does, however, give us some clues that lead to a simple conclusion: teens crave interactivity and customization in their lives.

The biggest question that the study raises for the smart marketer, then, is, “Are TV ads effective?”  And if so, why?  If not, why not?  In my experience, TV ads, especially as a sole medium, are very ineffective at changing behavior.  For the vast, vast majority of brands, changing behavior is part of the marketing process.  TV, then, should be used only to supplement more engaging tactics—ones that are tailored toward the specific buying society.  In the case of teens, they will seek opinions from peers, both online and off.  Those opinions are reinforced by reputable press sources, forums, blogs, and networks, and fueled by engaging tactics, such as viral videos, microsites, games, guerilla tactics, and social media campaigns.

TV is, at best, a rite of passage for the big boys.  Android’s slick new Apple-spoof/government conspiracy commercials are unlikely to change behavior on their own.  Window’s “I’m a PC” commercials are unlikely to change behavior on their own.  The most effective Windows commercial I have seen in a long while was the overly-if-not-sickly cute “I’m a PC and I’m 7 and happy times are coming” commercial.  Microsoft, knowing full well that their opinion of Windows means very little to the average consumer, focused on what OTHERS said about Windows 7.

Back to the original point: teens have a very unique media mix, as do all generations.  Acknowledge it, absolutely, then filter it through your common sense and marketing savvy.  Consuming media and influencing purchasing decisions are not the same beast, much the same that Disney and Marvel’s union now features an office with two different Beasts.

Read the full results of the study here.

A big shout out to Culture Buzz, as well.

A few examples:

These sites are essential, but with the absolute dominance of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, brands are focusing on going where the people already are.

Facebook is up 700% over the past year.  Twitter is up 3200%.

The iPhone 3GS’ launch marked a new era for digital video.  For the first time, the mobile world’s darling device was fully equipped to shoot video, and upload it direct to YouTube.  The result: mobile uploads on YouTube shot up 400%.

Flip, makers of pocket-sized direct-to-computer/web camcorders, offer the highest quality video per dollar.  Flip has chosen Facebook as their horse.  New Flip camcorders, which shoot in full HD for under $250, come with direct-to-Facebook uploading software.

Interesting!

As consumers get more and more savvy, and continue uploading more and more videos, which of these brands will win?  Are they even fighting for the same dollar, or do they serve separate purposes?  More and more, marketers are engaging their buying societies through online/offline competitions which involve video uploads.  Integration with these portals has become important—nay, essential—for smart brands.

How’s this for engaging and being a socially responsible advertiser?  Telstra, a mobile carrier in Australia, published a microsite chalk full of tips for mums in an online world.  The site has pithy, clever one-to-two-minute videos covering topics such as adding friends, applications, and privacy.  The site has easy-to-share social media links via Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon, and Delicious.

My personal favorite is the “joining a group” video.  The mum, trying desperately to keep up with her daughter’s trends, is sitting amongst a slumber party of tweens.  She wants desperately to get involved in a conversation about Robert Pattinson, whom she mistakenly calls…oh, I don’t want to ruin the video for you.

Check it out: Digital Makeover.

I was really impressed with Sony’s new Twilight campaign, which puts their camera equipment to the twilight test of low-light shooting, a prominent feature on the new cameras.

The microsite, while not particularly visually stunning, serves as an effective springboard for the contest, giving Sony fans (and fans of the creative arts, for that matter) the tools they need to get involved.

Smart brands give their buying society a chance to engage with the brand.  Loyalists and evangelists love to do some of the heavy lifting, if they know that their actions are approved and appreciated.

Break down the barriers between online and offline engagements.  The smart marketer threads the needles through every medium.  This creates consistency, coherency, and completes the engagement cycle most effectively, both figuratively and monetarily.

Mashable recently ran an intriguing article about how to attract and empower a crowd.  Hmmm, that sounds like Blind-speak, does it not?

Attracting a crowd=engaging your buying society.

Empowering a crowd=giving them the tools to share your brand.

From the article:

1. Focus on The Need. Chris Brogan does a lot of things right, but the community he is building around his and Julien Smith’s new book, “Trust Agents,” is the best thing I think he’s ever done. Chris found a common bond, something that goes beyond his network and touches everyone: trust. More specifically, how to earn and build on that trust. Listen to people. Anybody will do. When you listen to enough of them, you’ll start to hear the same needs. Identify the need and build a solution from there.

2. It’s Not You, It’s We. You have to allow room for your project to evolve beyond you. “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,” remember? Phrase everything in terms of being a team and working toward a common goal that benefits everyone, not just you.

3. Determine Your Touchpoints. A touchpoint is any point online where a member of the crowd can contact you. Your blog, Twitter, and Facebook presence are all touchpoints. You should aim for at least two to show up in search results because that’s how most people find things. But be careful not to over extend yourself — it’s better to have no presence at all in social media than to have an inactive one. It also doesn’t hurt to link out to your active touchpoints from your blog as a way to let people know they can find you there.

4. Set Clear Goals. Mark Horvath of InvisiblePeople.tv has a clear goal: Give a voice to the voiceless. With Mark’s project, you know what you’re getting into by supporting it, and a cool thing happens: his audience forms a bond with each other. Now the members of the crowd have something to discuss and work towards together, allowing a community to form around the project. The motivation of each member of the crowd is different but your task is to allow the crowd to come in and easily identify the project’s goal.

5. Let Go. Once the crowd understands the goal, take a step back. Follow Wikipedia’s approach. The crowd comes in and makes edits, but there is still someone keeping an eye on things to make sure the goal is reached. When the project does evolve beyond you, let the crowd know how to police itself, and they will. You can see that in action on any Wikipedia Talk page. Your role is now to steer people coming to join the crowd in the right direction.

We were in a meeting with a Fortune 500 client, and one of them asked, “What if one of our social media team members says the wrong thing?”

We replied, “At least you’re out there!  Yesterday, you weren’t even listening.”

People give a longer leash of goodwill to brands that are at least TRYING.  Trying humanizes the brand.  And letting go, well, that can be hard, but it is absolutely necessary.

Apple could have squashed this popular farce, making its way around the ‘net, but they chose not to:

Have fun with your brand, and let others have fun with it, as well!  Marketing is supposed to delight and intrigue, not bore and upset!

Let me say that again, because it bears repeating: marketing is supposed to delight and intrigue, not bore and upset!

I know, it’s hardly an epiphany, but it’s hard for some to understand.

Another example of a brand approaching marketing with a lighthearted candor:

Australian Football (Soccer) World Cup Qualifier Viral Videos

In a departure from the norm, the Aussie’s showed how dominant their opponents are. Pleading for their fans to join, the ‘Roos said that they could be knocked out at any stage.

One of the biggest, baddest video game franchises of all time is EA’s Madden series.  The 2010 installation features our very own Larry Fitzgerald sharing the cover with Troy Palimalu.  Blind Society’s partner, bluemedia, did the large-format printing for the launch party in Malibu, CA.  Blind Society was in attendance for the event, which featured a scrimmage and plenty of time to catch up with the best and brightest EA has to offer.  Hop o’er to Flickr for some cell phone snaps.

Make sure to dig into bluemedia’s blueline blog post about the event.

Group Y is a sublime network of marketers aimed squarely at reaching the hyper-connected consumers in the Gen Y sect.  Recently, Blind Society’s own Ben Bacon attended the very first Action Sports Conference with bluemedia’s very own action sports hero, Brian Pryor.  Marketing’s finest and brightest were on hand, including Braden Dahl from New Era Cap, Vipe Desai from Monster Energy Drink, and Patt McIlvain from Oakley.

What made the event even greater was the surroundings: the Home Depot Center on the first day of the X Games.  The motocross set were out in full force rehearsing their lines for the course, the BMXers were hitting their stride in the park, and the girls were displaying some gnarly kick-flips and 50/50 grinds.

It was a great opportunity to connect and learn.  We strongly advice any marketer focused on reaching consumers (or reaching brands that reach consumers) in the Gen Y space to get involved.  Get connected with Mark Sperling.  Jump over to the Group Y Network page for more info.

Ben Bacon and Brian Pryor in front of the massive jumps at the Home Depot Center

Our fearless leader, Mark Sperling.

Karmaloop gave a great recap of the show:

And check out this amazing video covering the events surrounding the US Open of Surfing, including Nike 6.0 BMX and Converse Costal Carnage.

Along with some great images, courtesy of the Facebook group page:

Click on the image below to see snaps taken at Agenda and the US Open of Surf, as seen through my iPhone:

And the hits just keep coming! First, Adobe debuted the Mojo Yogurt website as their Site of the Day in June, and now industry-leading publication Communication Arts has featured the very same site in their Webpix for July 15, 2009.

Says Communication Arts: Reflecting Mojo Yogurt’s in-store customer experience and successfully conveying the brand’s mantra attracts a target audience of hip and health-conscious consumers.

Thank you to Communication Arts for the wonderful recognition.  We are indeed honored.

Take a peek at the new design.  Notice how, as new elements crash and tumble around, the boarders integrate them into their mass hysteria of boarding antics.

The site begins with video housed in a traditional Flash-based player, which is merely a visual trick—the Flash player is merely part of a bigger Flash player.

Check out a few screenies in progression below.

Check out the site in its full glory: http://skate.quiksilver.com.

First things first: a video is just a video is just a video.  It’s only viral once people spread it.

Three drastically different videos highlight three drastically different products: a tour, a racquet, and a sports drink.

First up, Venus Williams, the fastest-serving woman in .  In this video for the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, Venus is pitted against a squad of rowdy football players.  She serves at them mercilessly.  The point?  Women’s tennis ain’t no joke.  The humor is purposely over-the-top, and Venus’ quiet candor makes it a success.

Next, Andy Roddick, who has the fastest serve in men’s tennis, having reached 155 MPH.  We still have people mention this video as though it were real.  “Did you see when Andy Roddick served so hard the ball got stuck?”

“Yeah, that was a fake,” we reply.

People are astounded.  The video is a success because people watch it.  It could have been a bigger success if people remembered that it was tied to Powerade.

And finally, a new favorite, Novak Djokovic’s brilliant new viral.  His prankster personality gained him shiploads of media attention and fan adoration.  Videos of his light-hearted imitations of other famous tennis stars’ serve techniques and oddities circulated.  HEAD smartly jumped on that momentum, producing this viral:

What do we learn from these videos?  One, there is no shortage of content online, but there is aways room for great content.  Andy Roddick’s video, for example, is several years old.  Yet still, it is receiving views (nearly 1,000,000).

Sometimes, videos become viral organically—something miraculous happens on television and it is recorded and uploaded.  Sometimes, it’s all part of the plan.  Novak’s impressions were uploaded and viewed well over a million times.  HEAD had nothing to do with this.  But, smartly, they capitalized on it.

Smart brands play well with their enthusiasts.  Smart marketers give their enthusiasts the tools and the venue to be heard.

If they are uploading content, embrace it.  If they are commenting, listen and respond in kind.

Give them a voice!

By the by: whilst Wimbledon continues, we are cheering for another HEAD representative, Andy Murray.  Of course, we want to support our countryman, but seeing the 73-year winless streak of Brits at Wimbledon come to a close is just too enticing.  Plus, we are really, really big fans of the HEAD brand.

A few years ago, Simon Gladwell penned “The Tipping Point,” which, as a concept, became a Tipping Point. Mobile video has reached powerhouse status. Smartphone users have the ability to shoot and upload on the fly. And then came the Flip series of camcorders. HD for $200 and a no-hassle uplink to YouTube. Brilliant. Purists finally had an outlet for their creative whims.

And now, with the iPhone 3GS, the rest of us have an excuse to create beautiful content. Typically, mobile video has been thought of as a 15-fps, grainy exercise in frustration. Apple, in typical brilliant fashion, upped the ante, giving their newest incarnation of the annual iPhone hardware the ability to shoot and edit glorious 30-fps video on the fly.

There’s a number of apps that have already hit the market to capitalize on the video features, like Kyte, and uploading services like Posterous. These apps/sites instantly distribute content across multiple social media channels. Twitter and Facebook, being the front-runners in social media, can instantly let followers/friends know that the user is broadcasting new content.

Thanks to these new apps, plus iPhone’s built-in integration with MobileMe and YouTube, online video distribution has skyrocketed over the past few weeks. YouTube is reporting a 400% increase in mobile uploads since the day the iPhone released.

Keep in mind that more than 500,000 iPhone 3GS’ have been sold to date. 28% of the new buyers were leaving their old carrier. 12% were ditching a Blackberry device.

To the non-iPhone user, it might seem silly that the market is pandering to iPhone users! But, to marketers, it makes plenty of sense: iPhone users are evangelists just waiting for an opportunity to share their love for their favorite brands. And now, that opportunity is merely a few taps away.

The smart brand will allow consumers to broadcast. The brilliant brand will enable and empower the consumer to broadcast. Brands need to give their Buying Society the opportunities to get out their phones and begin creating content.

Want to engage with your customers? There’s an app for that!

THQ

Disney Pixar’s first 3D movie, Up.  Worldwide, it has netted a smooth $200M and counting.

THQ’s game extends the brand experience to the Wii, XBox 360, and PS3 consoles.

The game lets players enter the world of Russell and Carl as they adventure through Paradise Falls.  Blind Society handled the creative behind the web development.  Users can experience the game with screen shots, videos, downloads, and even play a demo.

Some screenies:

Check out the site, now playing at www.upvideogame.com.

Next up: Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter.  Drawn to Life is THQ’s brilliant coloring-book platformer.  The first release, exclusively on the DS, dropped in 2007.  This time, the title is back and better than ever, coming for the first time to the Wii.

Point and click your way to www.drawntolife.com.

NAMCO BANDAI

We are talking with Namco about collaborating on some huge launches.  And we are also supporting a huge launch: Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao.

Invincible Tiger is a fast-paced, over-the-top, hand-to-hand action brawler for XBox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.  What really makes the title incredible is that it’s fully 3D!  We watched people play the demo at E3.  Those donning 3D glasses were thrilled and amazed.  Those who didn’t were clamoring for a pair, hoping to experience this revolutionary title with their very own eyes.  It was quite a sight to behold (with our without the übernerdy/überchic 3D spectacles).

Links/screenies forthcoming.  Stay tuned!

Share and Enjoy:

]]> http://www.blindsociety.com/blindspot/mojo-yogurt-online-experience-awarded-site-day-adobe/feed/ 3 http://www.blindsociety.com/blindspot/e3-2009-changing-industrys-call-change/ http://www.blindsociety.com/blindspot/e3-2009-changing-industrys-call-change/#comments Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:24:27 +0000 DarrenWilson http://www.blindsociety.com/blindspot/?p=317

A few days before Kobe and Dwight took to the hardwood floors of the Staples Center, the biggest show in town was across the street at the Los Angeles Convention Center, home of the video game industry’s sparkling darling, E3.  Returning to its former glory, E3 featured the biggest, brightest, and boldest in the video game industry.  A huge PlayStation banner (above) greeted the lucky attendees.  The excitement was almost palpable.

NEW TITLES ON DISPLAY

New titles were put on display.  EA debuted their foray into the tennis genre with Grand Slam Tennis (which, when coupled with Nintendo’s brilliant new Wii Motion Plus, makes for some cardio-burning, living-room destroying fun).  Sony gave the public their first taste of The Last Guardian.

Familiar series were refreshed and renewed for the show.

Ubisoft demoed a level from the latest incarnation in their Splinter Cell series, titled Splinter Cell: Conviction.

Namco Bandai gave the public their first hands-on experience with the stylish Tekken 6.

We were treated to Konami’s Metal Gear Solid reveal at their press-only event.  To make the sweet even sweeter, the news was delivered by none other than Hideo Kojima.

Master Chief is officially back for Halo Reach.

Mario, perhaps the industry’s most famed character, is back for several titles, including Super Mario Bros. Wii, and in cohorts with his former console competitor, Sonic, for Mario & Sonic at the Winter Games.

Capcom’s beyond-brilliant series, Lost Planet, was back with a vengence.

And, brilliantly, every form of nostalgia crept up on the collective mass of E3 show-goers with Atari (yes!) and Ghostbusters (yes!).  The Ecto1 and Stay Puff Marshmallow Man were popular mainstays at the event.

SETS & LARGE-FORMAT PRINTING

Inside and out, the show featured beautiful sets (like MTV Games’ Rock Band) and amazing large-format printing.  The two most breath-taking examples were the 500′ x 60′ Assassin’s Creed 2 poster and the Final Fantasy XIII building wrap at the Hotel Figueroa (which, incidentally, was where IGN hosted a stellar soirée.

Our boys over @ bluemedia would have a field day at this event.

HARDWARE & PERIPHERALS

The story of the show, however, was hardware.

Tony Hawk’s category-leading series found a new developer, and, with it, a new device: an actual skateboard.

Activision seems at home with high priced title/device combos, continuing the success of the Guitar Hero series with Guitar Hero 5 and the spin-off (no pun intended) DJ Hero.

Nintendo’s long-awaited Wii Motion Plus took the already game-changing Wiimote to a whole new level.  People smacked drives as Tiger Woods and hit aces as Rafael Nadal using lifelike motions.  Nintendo even showcased weights that house the Wiimote for their new Wii Fit Plus title.  Microsoft and Sony, not to be outdone, both launched motion-sensitive additions to their units: Natal, a motion sensitive camera, for Xbox 360, and a yet-unnamed motion sensitive controller for the PS3.

From a marketing perspective, the video game industry is one rife with possibilities and frustrations.  It is arguably one of the most innovative industries on the planet, yet it is apparent that marketers are still looking for equally innovative creative.  A few brilliant examples were on display, but for the most part, print and television are still the driving forces.

2009 is a year of huge changes for the video game industry, as it is for Blind Society.  Publishers have to move smartly through these tumultuous times, launching some of their most expensive titles of all time, aimed squarely at people’s expendable cash.

As we moved from booth to booth, and meeting room to meeting room, we met with some of the hardest working, most dedicated and creative minds in the world.  Without exception, they are all calling for one thing: change.  From Namco Bandai to Electronic Arts, and SouthPeak to Capcom, the message was the same: we need $100,000 to work like it’s $1,000,000; we need to be relevant; we need to rise above the clatter and clutter; we need to connect with our buying society; we need to be top-of-mind when consumers are making their buying decisions.

If the industry is calling for change, then, dear readers, change we shall bring them.

We will see you all next year in LA, June 15-17, for E3 ’10!

PS: Ben has a standing offer to join the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Darren (with his 3D glasses for Invincible Tiger) is in negotiations to play Fred Savage’s best friend in The Wizard 2.

Check out some of the images that we snapped on our fancy phones.

//

A special thanks to the many participants who uploaded terrific pics on Flickr, including NKDBY, dropslash, pinguino, lauralollipop, and kekoax.

//

We didn’t shoot the Assassin’s Creed 2 image above, but you can download it here.

The very same tactic was used by Blind a few years ago for the Coyotes:

While I was poking around on the ‘net today, I saw this wonderful gem:

And, once again, I had to smile.  A few months ago, Blind Society pulled off the sidewalk graffiti tactic for Mojo Yogurt:

The sidewalk chalkings were placed up and down Mill Avenue, one of the busiest foot-traffic streets in Arizona, and also the site of one of Mojo’s newest fro yo shops.  The stencils definitely turned some heads.

Kudos to the London Sea Life Aquarium.  Well done!  (And using saltwater, nonetheless…)

When it comes to iPhone apps, the best brands are entertainment first, brand second. They are relaxed. They invite people to enjoy the app and engage with the brand to whatever degree they choose. Their apps simple. They focus on doing one thing extremely well. Apple’s brand is synonymous with simplicity. So, too are the best branded apps.  And, more than anything, the apps generate incredible word of mouth. People should want to talk about it—to blog, tweet, email, and show off your app. Here are some brands that did it right.

OAKLEY

Oakley teamed up with Surfline to create Surf Report. The app allows surfers to check surf height, swell, direction and tide, all from their iPhone. No longer were surfers tied to their computer. When they are stuck in a low tide, they can quickly launch the app and find better beaches. Surf Report also allows users to interact, connecting surfers from different communities, and it features news and bios about the Oakley Team Rider.

NIKE

NikeWomen launched the Training Club app. The app allows women to access a personalized training program, create an avatar (known as a Mini), and invite friends into a bit of healthy competition. Recently, they added a workout timer and the ability to invite friends to join.

COKE

Coke’s Magic Coke Bottle app is like a very, very new school Magic 8-Ball. You ask the bottle a question, shake it (gently or viciously—your choice), then flip the lid. The contents pour out and reveal your answer.

COBRA BEER

The Indian brewer addressed an essential part of the bar scene: social interaction. Cobra’s iBanter app keeps users witty and ready with a punch line, no matter how tough the crowd may be. They gathered up-and-coming comedians from around the globe, recorded their best bits, and filled the app with wonderful content. New jokes are constantly being uploaded. The branded tie-in is simple: a bottle cap drops at the end of every video, and Cobra offers informational screens of their latest promotions.

The app is best experienced, or at least viewed.

What is a brand to make of this?  One, the iPhone is a powerful tool.  And two, the real estate on each user’s screen is extremely valuable.  Look at these stats:

• 17 million iPhones have been sold, and it owns 50%+ of the US smartphone market
• Apps provide repeat and prolonged brand engagement
• They are not perceived as advertising
• 73% of iPhone users have more than 5 apps on their phone

Another tool in the never-ending quest for connecting with your buying society.

Without a doubt, Twitter is pop culture’s sparkling darling right now. The all-too ballyhooed competition between Ashton Kutcher and CNN pushed Twitter into superstardom. The challenge gave people a reason to care—a reason to pick sides. Essentially, it pitted Ashton Kutcher against Larry King.

It should come as little shock, America’s class clown, Mr. Kutcher, @aplusk, won the bet.

From Mashable:

In case you missed it in People, Entertainment Weekly, or on ABC News, it all started when Kutcher (@aplusk) put out a video declaring that he wanted to beat CNN to one million followers. He upped the ante today by tweeting that he’d also donate 10,000 bed nets to help fight malaria if he was first.

CNN responded in the form of a Larry King video, in which the iconic TV host pulls a fairly classic “do you know who I am?” routine. Incidentally, it turns out CNN didn’t actually own the account (@cnnbrk) that is closing in on one million followers until recently reaching a deal with the person that started it.

Here are the videos:

Oddly enough, only about 6% of CNN’s viewers use Twitter. 64% do not, and 30% responded, “What’s Twitter?”

This feels a bit like MySpace circa 2006, does it not?

The importance of Twitter isn’t really put on display by this battle for attention. Twitter is about a real-life connection with the people and brands that influence our world.

Oprah, @oprah, made her first post (with the help of Twitter’s golden boy, Ashton) on live TV.

Shaq, @THE_REAL_SHAQ, has become one of the most colorful and influential celebrities to tweet.  He broadcasts live and unedited, misspelled words and all: “Sittn in a police management class, I will b a sheriff , put yo hands up”.

I recently read a very interesting article about seven ways to approach Twitter. One can be 1) themselves, 2) a personal brand, 3) a corporate brand, 4) a fictional character or dead historical person, 5) a literature, 6) a robot, or 7) a blend. I’ll spare a description of that—jump over here if you want to learn more.

From a marketing perspective, the brands that do it right give people a look behind the veil of the corporate machine. CEO’s who tweet humanize a brand. Brands who tweet create instant customer connections.

Two great examples of this are Sweet Leaf Tea in Austin, TX and Zappos in Henderson, NV.

Sweet Leaf Tea makes ready-to-drink organic teas and lemonades. Their founder, Clayton Christopher (@SweetLeafCEO), updates this Twitter page daily, commonly with TwitPics (a free service for attaching pics to a tweet). He recently posted about the MS150 bike ride from Houston to Austin, including a few tweets from his BlackBerry.

Zappos (@Zappos_Service) uses their account to keep customer service on the up-and-up. @BUKSHUN tweeted, less than an hour before this was written, “Just ordered 5 pairs of shoes from ZAPPOS, shhhhhh don’t tell the wife… At least not yet! Gotta love them Classics..” Within minutes, @Zappos_Service responded, “@BUKSHUN We’ll keep it on the low down for you. Enjoy the new shoes!”

What a great touch!

How are you connecting with your customers? Customer service is no longer answering calls from angry customers—it starts far, far earlier than that. Social media has empowered consumers like never before. It’s up to brands to be a part of that conversation.

For brands just learning how to tweet, check out this amazing article about the practice of retweeting, which, in essence, is how content becomes viral on Twitter.  Click and learn.

Go ahead and join our conversation.  Follow us @blindsociety.  And follow Mashable (@Mashable), our favorite social media newssource and the inspiration behind many of our posts, And, as always, subscribe to the RSS feed below.

The status updates on Facebook received a very welcome update over the past few weeks.  Before the updates, Facebook automatically inserted “is” after the user’s name, before the update.  Updates would read like a “what’s up” for the user.

“Micah Johnson is going to the premier of Watchmen.”

“Lisa Sorenson is hanging out with her BFFs @ Lake Calhoun.  What a nice day in MPLS!”

And, so updates were so bold as to be, “John Jacobs is.”

That was all fine and good, when people followed the rules of grammar and common sense.  However, people would ignore the “is” and begin their own personal dialog with the world of Facebook, making for some brutally awkward syntax: “Kevin Manning is Why do people act like such jerks?”

Or they would change voice from third to first: “Aaron Tague is happy to be home with his kids.  I love them so much.”

Facebook dropped the ubiquitous “is” from their updates, making the status box almost EXACTLY like, um, Twitter.  But here is the separating factor: Facebook has created a venue for people to discuss everything—everything—neatly.

Writes Mashable:

Some of my friends have been known to give me flack for not replying to posts to my “Wall” on Facebook (and in earlier times, MySpace). The main reason I usually don’t do this is because I think it’s a silly way to have a conversation – you end up with random comments on your wall that don’t make any sense to the other people viewing your profile. Facebook has finally fixed this problem in a sensible way by adding Comments to Wall postings. In the same way you can now comment on Status Updates (which, seems to have become the most popular means of communicating within my network), you can now comment on Wall Posts, both on your profile and on those of your friends.

Ah!  A place for everything and everything in its place!  Truly, an inspired move.  Now, users can comment on a status update, a note, a video…anything.  The conversation stays in one place.  Neat!

These changes have been implemented alongside this (even more brilliant) move: the “like” button.  Users can “like” anything on which they can comment.  It is the ultimate in information gathering.

What’s more, Facebook is beta testing a point system.

Reports VentureBeat:

Facebook is testing out a way for people to show how much they appreciate friends’ status updates, links and other items on the site — its a new feature called “credits.” The idea is a more advanced form of commenting or liking an item on the site — and if it works, it could spur people to share more information that they think their friends will enjoy (and give them credits for).

Hmm.  Interesting.  MySpace has become stunningly obsolete (outside of the music realm).  The complete mishmashtrash of information become entirely too overwhelming for most users.

Brands that grasp changes decisively will connect with consumers in a powerful manner.  With new features pouring out onto the ‘net constantly, there is always a great way for a brand to deliver its message effectively and powerfully, given the right media mix and messaging.

Speaking of media mix and messaging, our very own Arizona State Univeristy…ahhhh, it’s too soon.  I’ll get back to you on that one.

*** GOLD ***

// ASU Pool Table Graphic

// ASU Parking Lot Pitch Fork Stripes

// ASU “Let Nothing” Wall Graphics

*** SILVER ***

// Phoenix Coyotes “Fastest Slap Shot”

// Phoenix Coyotes “Pierre ‘Nonsense Speech’”

// Phoenix Coyotes “Pierre ‘Pierreocratican’ Viral Video”

// Phoenix Coyotes “Pierre on Issues”

// Ape Index Web Site

And oh! how I would be remiss to fail to mention that our firm’s partner and Creative Visionary (the Blind Society equivalent of a creative director), Jim Clark, won Copywriter of the Year.

Want to wish him congrats?  Be a millennial-hipster: tweet it.

I am honored to be a part of the Blind Society squad.  Cheers to 2008′s work, and double cheers to 2009′s!

At Blind, we are immersed in the unique and mind-blowing world of nontraditional day in and day out.  So it’s rare that I see a tactic that absolutely pwns me.  (Yes, pwns, n00bs.)  This crazy augmented reality technology is just insane, though.

I first saw it via MINI:

And then GE:

And here’s a glimpse at what could be the future of toys…

What can brands take from this? Pardon the cliché, but the line between the online and offline worlds is getting blurred.

It’s no longer about the one-way shouting match from a 30-second spot to a viewer who just wants, more than anything, to watch 30 Rock. TiVo FTW!

It’s no longer about the one-way shouting match between the radio and the driver who just wants, more than anything, to hear that catchy Kid Cudi tune. iPod FTW!

Brands must engage and delight their consumers. They must connect with them. They must take them in and let them explore and delight in their brand, be it MP3 players or running shoes or laundry detergent. Every brand has its believers. Find yours and start a conversation with them. And then surprise the heebie-jeebies out of ‘em with some cool augmented reality tactics.

What the what?

Zach Braff, the inescapably nerdy/cutesy lead from the television series, Scrubs, is the voiceover for Cottonelle’s potty puppy. He is very proud of this, even blogging about it:

I did it for free because I love toilet paper so much, I wanted to spread the word about how amazing Cottonelle is on your twosie region (no I didn’t do it for free, but I must admit, it is a damn fine product). My twosie region never chafes.

The commercials don’t make me want to scrub my “twosie”, they make me want to park my twosie on a couch and watch Scrubs.

This again points out the flaws in traditional thinking.

When presented with a problem of a similar fate, The Privy Council tried a different kind of bathroom talk:

Diggin’ in the crates, I found a Blind Society concept done a while back:

And, in staying with the bathroom talk…

Interesting, no? 

I hate March Madness.  It’s my favorite time of year.  And I freakin’ hate it.

There are a sundry of options in which bracketeers can participate.  To the winner go the spoils and glorious bragging rights.

Each year, I consult the insights of Bracketologists, as well as my obsessive DirecTV-subscribing friends. I separate the good from the bad, dissecting each team’s AP rank and strength of schedule and daily calorie intake (okay, maybe not). I compare home versus away records.  I try to figure out why Tyler Hansbrough is so good despite the fact that he looks like the reincarnation of Christian Laettner.  I wonder, is Hansbrough’s career arch is going to follow the exact same NBA sputter-out?

I print five sets of brackets.  I fill them out, including one featuring nothing but improbable underdogs winning through the Final Four, so when the next George Mason University goes on a veritable tear, I can proudly announce, “I called that!”

After days of deliberation and agony, I chicken out and submit my most modest bracket, which puts mostly #1 seeds going deep.  (Yes, I did have all 4 #1 seeds in the Final Four last year.)

And then the madness—er, Madness—begins. In high school, I would skip class to watch the opening rounds, glued to the TV in the student lounge.  My teachers didn’t care—they would often skip class, too.  Educational system FTW!

But that was a crude time, the ’90s.  Technology was limited to brick-like cell phones and infuriatingly slow 28.8 baud modems.  Streaming audio was out of the question, let alone streaming video.

As I grew up, so did my technology.  Games were broadcast on specialty channels, and they were streamed online, in all of their pixilated, 320×320, lagging 10fps glory.

Then, in 2008, games were streamed beautifully on Joost.  How do you top that?  Enter MobiTV, with one of the most ambitious apps to date: March Madness on Demand.  Games will be streamed on the iPhone!  The only downfall is the need of a WiFi connection.  (3G, anybody?)

Cell phone video has been a nearly dormant platform at best, with about 5% of all users accessing video during a given month.  But, with 4.3 million iPhones roaming around, and the always entertaining office pool, this app could give mobile video a significant boost.

Via Brandweek: …The March Madness on Demand app will also provide users with a variety of tournament related content, include updated scores and brackets, along with game and team previews from CBSSports.com. During games viewers can also access live box scores and statistics through an overlay placement — without interrupting the live video feed.

What could be better?  The Onion News Network weighs in:

NCAA Expands March Madness To Include 4,096 Teams

“Look out for Eckert—they have a full roster and they’re having practices!”  LOL!

iPhone apps are a terrific way to connect a very on-demand generation with your brand.  MINI has their own app.  Nike has their own app.  Shoot, even Nintendo’s Zelda has its own app: the Ocarina.

That app is just silly. Back to the matter at hand.

So why do I hate March Madness?  Because, after I carefully craft my brackets, my mother beats me by 12 points because she picked the schools based on uniform color and whether or not I have a cousin who lives nearby.  Blërg.

What next?

• Check out some more cool iPhone apps.
• Mashable posted 19 great ways to get involved with March Madness, though the post is nearly a year old.
• Fill out your brackets @ Yahoo! Pick ‘Em.  And play against your friendly neighborhood blogger: me.  Join the Sun Devils FTW! group.  (I’m reppin’ our home town heroes.)
• Get excited for the iPhone 3.0 OS, set to drop on March 17.

Social networking is now more popular than email, says Nielson in a new study entitled “Global Faces and Networked Places.”

Here are some tasty morsels from the Brandweek article which posted the results of the study:

“For publishers, social networks are eating into time spent with other online activities…For advertisers, the phenomenon at this stage represents mostly unfulfilled promise for a deeper connection with consumers who are more difficult to reach in social environments.”

“…Two-thirds of the world’s Internet users visited a social networking site in 2008. All told, social media now accounts for almost 10 percent of Internet time. Facebook is leading the pack worldwide, with monthly visits by three out of 10 Internet users in nine global markets.”

And, in the biggest “No duh!” moment of the century:

“The larger challenge for advertising is to move from an interruptive role to joining conversations. That means advertisers need to find ways to add value to users’ experiences.”

Please, allow me to paraphrase and repeat that, because it is SO essential:

Advertisers need to 1) move from an interruptive role to joining conversations and 2) find ways to add value to the users’ experience.

Click-through rates are dismal.  One stat suggests a puny 0.04%.  Barack Obama, the pop culture validation of social networking’s effectiveness, has 5.9 million fans on Facebook.  Interruptive advertising on a Lifehacker banner or Hulu pre-roll are still met with resistance, much like television (thank God for TiVo) and radio spots (thank God for the iPod).  Obama joined the conversation—he gave it a place to happen.

One last thing before you go.  Check out this nifty lil’ chart, which shares just a few of the more popular social networking brands.  Never mind that new sites pop up daily (like iminlikewithyou.com!) and give us an even more exhausting choice of ways to spend our hours in front of the sickly glow of our laptop monitors.

I have spent the week in the whipping winds of the Midwest, staying at my grandparent’s house.  They have basic cable.  And no TiVo.  Choke me now.

The lack of “luxury” has given me a chance to consume countless commercials, however.  You would think, given that I am an advertising guy, I would be totally in to watching commercials.  I’m not.  And those who know the Blind Society mantra understand: DEATH TO TRADITIONAL!

Some of the worst culprits of überboring television spots are cable companies.  Most of their attempts to seem hip and cool leave me feeling unmoved at best; annoyed at worst.

And then there’s this gem:

Kimya, is that you?  Whoever penned this lil’ diddy must have watched Juno two- or three-thousand times.  (As did I.)

Apparently, I’m not the only one to realize this connection.  Writes AdFreak: [The new Comcast Town ads are] a groovy mix of live action and animation, with characters singing in a Moldy Peaches/”Juno”-esque hipster monotone.

Here’s Ms. Dawson singing “Tire Swing.”

Do we not grasp the obvious connection?

Great job, Comcast—you made me watch your commercial. I th—oh, wait, there’s more? You have a website? Okay, let’s check it out.

At first blush, it’s impressive…some real FWA-level work. Let’s dig! The site has content—honest-to-goodness content—on it. I can watch videos, read lyrics, create a Second Life-esque abode, connect with Comcast Town on Facebook, and download wallpapers and ringtones.

¿Qué en la tierra? This is actually engaging and unique!  I don’t know how to process this information!

On a blog post by Ari Herzog, replies are mixed.

Writes one person: I totally thought it was cute too. Who doesn’t love the guy in the hot tub, watching football with the giant finger? Love it. And how about the guitar playing squirrel?

Writes another: I honestly think the commercial is the most disturbing thing I’ve ever seen. All the people are so monotone and sound like zombies. They could have at least had the people be more excited in their singing to bring it out of “awkwardville”. I’d really like to know who came up with the idea; they should see a psychiatrist.

There is no accounting for taste, is there?

What are your thoughts, roving readers?  Do these ads inspire you to connect, or, as one Twitterer put it, do these ads “blow“?

The scene is so memorable: Tom Cruise hustling about a mall in Minority Report.  All around him, targeted, interactive ads speak to him.

After obtaining the eye of one Mr. Yakamoto, and entering a Gap store, the interactive employee incorrectly/correctly identifies Mr. Yakamoto and asks him about his previous purchase.

Ahhh, the future is brilliant, is it not?!  Hoverboards and jetpacks and Jetson’s-style walkways.  Yes!

Discluding the “magic carpet” walkways in airports, none of those technologies have seen their mainstream debut.  But the marvelous interactivity from Minority Report is on its way.

We have yet to reach the actual Minority Report-style adverts, but interactivity has seen tremendous boosts lately.

Consider Ford’s interactive poster o’er in Germany.  An actor views mall-goers through a tiny video camera.  He reacts to, and interacts with, these unsuspecting participants.  It is “active ambient” advertising, if you will.

MINI took outdoor advertising to an interactive place by linking participants in “The Club” with RFID key chains.  In a sense, users opted-in to this interactivity.

And Mark Ecko created this serious bus stop time-passer: an interactive billboard that connects to Bluetooth-enabled cell phones (which, if your phone is anything past the black-on-yellow models, is likely your phone), allowing the connected individual to tag the billboard.

On Curtis J. Morley listed some ways that advertisers can currently target ads interactively:

• Cell phones – It has a unique number, it is with us constantly and the French are using cell phones to do location advertising currently.
• Key Fob – Most employees will carry around an electronic key card that allows them into a building these have personal identifiers on them such as name and company.
• PDA – My PDA has Bluetooth, IR, and Wifi and much personal information.
• Gaming Device – PSP among others have wireless capabilities. Why not send a simple signal out to the advertising terminal as a kid walks into target to display a companion game or upgrade for the game that is currently being played?
• Credit Cards – Newer cards are containing RFID and can be scan rathered than slid.
• Medical Devices – Medical devices are being tagged with personal identifiers in case of theft.
• Medical ID tags – A simple scan of a necklace or wrist bracelet with a small amount of OCR and the person is easily identified.
• Cars – GM and OnStar, Honda, Infiniti etc… all have a GPS device within the car. This data can be read and matched with DMV records at any time.
• GPS Devices
• Facial Recognition software – The creepy big brother devices that I saw at ComDEX. The camera took a picture of me and from that point on any time I was even close to booth the camera locked onto me and displayed my name and info.
• Retinal scanners -already at use in some airports
• Watches – Fossil, among others, are now carrying a bluetooth line of watches.
• Pets – Most pets are now carrying an identification chip inside of them that could easily be used to change an interactive poster into an advertisement of dog food or the latest in neutering.

New technologies are in beta testing that will allow interactive ads to correctly identify a person’s gender, age (in a range), and possibly even ethnicity.

A single billboard could have targeted ads for a razor (for men), a fragrance (for women), and a video game (for teens).

Not only can end-users experience a highly-targeted, relevant experience, but advertisers can resell the same space several times, all the while collecting intense amounts of data: what types of people are stopping, and for how long.  (And that’s just the start…)

To borrow (and then maliciously repackage for my own selfish purposes) Hoover’s new Platinum-series model slogan: Data hounds rejoice.

The “Big Brother” connotations are there.  Are you perturbed or excited by the dawning of this new level of interactivity?

Mae, a Seattle-based emo group, has deployed a very unique approach to combat music pirating.  Their next 12 singles will be released once a month, and will be available for the nice price of $1 or more.

Wait, wha?  $1 or MORE?!  The site, www.whatismae.com/charity, explains the three simple principles for this cause-based campaign:

•    Each month during 2009, we will be bringing you a new Mae song.
•    When you visit whatismae.com, you will be able to hear the music for free.
•    Every song will be available as a digital download for a min. donation of $1.

“Our promise…is to commit all of the profits from digital downloads to fund humanitarian projects that Mae and you will be a part of all year long,” writes Mae.

Mae is appealing to a sense of greater good in their fan base, and, in doing so, motivating them to be a part of this movement.

Great stuff, Mae.

Check out the track below.  Join the cause.

The House that Fire Built – Mae

Here’s a big, giant brag: we won a really, really awesome award. And we had some serious results to go along with it.

Let me back up a few steps. Arizona State University—ASU—came to Blind with a request: sell a ton of tickets. Using the same exact budget that they have used for years, Blind found unique ways to engage with ASU’s best customers.  Here’s a smattering of our tactics used:

And what came of that completely alternative campaign was a 20-year record for season tickets sold: over 50,000. That’s enough to make a cartoon hippie say “Zoinks!” (That’s a long way to go for a Scooby Doo reference, I know.)

And now, on to the awards.

This year, we attended our second National Sports Forum, which happened to be conveniently located in our backyard: Glendale, Arizona.

It’s always nice to have home field advantage.

The main sessions were at the Renaissance Hotel, with events being held in Jobing.com Arena (where another one of our clients, the Phoenix Coyotes, have skated their way into playoff contention), and the University of Phoenix Stadium (where the surprise Super Bowl runner-up Arizona Cardinals made tens of thousands of new believers by becoming the 2008 NFC Champs).

Submissions for the 2009 ADchievement Awards came from the MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, NCAA, minor league teams, NASCAR, television networks, retail products and stores, and private corporations. The competition was tough indeed.

So, here’s the shameless self-promotion:

Blind Society received nominations for our work with ASU and the Phoenix Coyotes in several categories, including Best Television, Best Alternative Media, and Best Radio (twice!).

After the votes were tallied, Blind Society and ASU won Best Alternative Media. Funny, that’s EXACTLY what we do—alternative media.

So here is your friendly neighborhood blogger, Blind Society’s own Ben Bacon, hanging out with the captains of the sports marketing industry.

And, to top it all off, Blind Society and the Phoenix Coyotes received 5th place for in the Overall category, behind heavy hitters such as Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, the Minnesota Twins, the San Francisco 49ers, and Turner Sports.  Some of the award winners weren’t there to receive their hardware.

Thank you to everyone who came, and an extra thanks to everyone who voted kindly towards our work!

And thank you to the wonderful folks at the National Sports Forum for putting on an amazing event. Next year, there will be much, much more competition. Advertising Age, Brandweek, and several other publications of notoriety will be covering the event.

Make sure to check out the National Sports Forum’s website, and sign up for next year’s event!

Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that you wanted to start, say, an argument.  What would you do?  My suggestion: bug somebody—seriously annoy the daylights out of ‘em.

Are our mobile phones fair game for marketers?  Most people would say no way.  Unless we opt-in to a texting program, our phones are most certainly not a space for your advert.

So, for 2009, I would like to announce a new award: the EPIC FAIL!  This week’s winner: American Idol.  Idol, whom I truly believe is attempting to make a 150% saturation into the market, felt the need to interrupt people’s lives with a branded message.

Using the show’s exclusive provider, AT&T, Idol sent out text messages to a “‘significant number’ of its 75 million customers, urging them to tune in to the season premiere.”  (NY Times)

Twitter lit up immediately.  “Seriously AT&T? Did you just text me twice during a meeting to tell me about ‘American Idol?’ Very professional!” wrote one Twitterer.  “AT&T just sent me a text message advertisement about ‘American Idol.’ Evil,” wrote another.

A spokesperson for AT&T said recipients were given notice that they “were not charged for the message, and that they could opt out of future advertisements by responding the word ‘stop.’  The message went to subscribers who had voted ‘Idol’ in the past, and other ‘heavy texters.’”

They people were qualified recipients, but Idol failed to get PERMISSION.  (There’s a simple lesson: ask first.)

Are we a generation of spoiled brats, or evil marketers?  Perhaps it’s both.  Personally, I would keep the buyers happy, even at the expense of the marketers’ feelings.

American Idol, you’re officially on notice.  EPIC FAIL!

“Viral.” Isn’t that the hip buzzword that all the in-the-know folks are throwing around like grapes in a fruit fight? Branders monitor ever so closely their page views on MySpace, their followers on Twitter, and their hits on YouTube. And with good reason!

But this struck me as a bit bass ackwards. Fox News is actually forcing people to remove content. Let me repeat that, because it bears repeating. Fox News is actually forcing people to taken down their content.

Without getting into the legal gobble-gobble about fair use laws, allow for people to take clips from broadcast TV and add their own commentary, let’s examine the goodwill that it destroys between a brand and its consumers.

ProgressIllinois, a reputable political commentator, was forced to shut down his YouTube channel, thanks to Fox News crying “COPYRIGHT VIOLATION! COPYRIGHT VIOLATION!”

Ugh.

Does Fox News not realize that, by letting ProgressIllinois post videos and commentary, more and more people will experience the Fox News brand?

I guess not.

And then we have Apple. Our boys at Apple are finally dropping DRM (digital rights management—that little annoying piece of code that makes you enter your password before playing purchased songs, just so you can’t send that infectious Kate Nash single, “Merry Happy,” to your friend).

But wait, there’s more: Apple is charging users to remove DRM from previously purchased songs. I’ll repeat that as well, because it, too, bears repeating. Apple is charging users to remove DRM from previously purchased songs.

Where is the goodwill in this? I can purchase a song, burn it, and transfer it back it as an unprotected audio file, or I can pay Apple $0.30/song for the same process. On a 15 song album, my costs could be $10 or $14.50. Der!

Maybe I’m just hunting for a bit of good will (yes, that’s a shameless movie plug for the completely classic “Good Will Hunting”), and maybe I’m just getting my “don’t let the man get you down” vibe started for ’09. But am I the only one who finds these moves from Fox News and Apple completely absurd?

Fox News: let everybody post everything everywhere. PRAY that your content spreads like crazy. It’s a marketers dream.

Apple: don’t charge for DRM removal. Just do it. And watch people return the love by buying a nice, new 17” MacBook Pro for nearly $3,000.

Enough ranting. Let’s rave over Kate Nash’s terrific tune.

I love the line:
Don’t tell me that you didn’t try and check out my bum
‘Cause I know that you did
‘Cause your friend told me that you liked it

Seriously, who says the word “bum” and still sounds rad? I love the Brits.

This kid flips—seriously—over his Christmas gift: a shiny new Wii. At first, he goes nearly catatonic. And then, he geeks like a LAN party.

Call me crazy, but I think he has that “I know that I’m going to end up on YouTube” gleem in his eye, does he not?

If you are a brander, PRAY that your brand makes people this go-nuts.

Wanna see more great stuff?

Join the Death to Traditional group on Facebook.

Whatever the case, my tummy is flippin’ about right now.

And this absolutely takes the cake. Or pie. Or piecake. Ew.

What the what?!

And while we have you here, check out “Holly Jolly Christmas” from the throwback classic, 1998’s “The Magic of Christmas” by Joy Electric. He is the only artist on the planet whose genre is best classified as Nintendo Pop. Dig it.

Holly Jolly Christmas – Joy Electric

Ick.

Gen Ys aren’t moved by hard numbers and data. And only God can save your brand if you approach your marketing as such

Mashable, a social networking news site, recently posted a 22 Step Social Media Marketing Plan. Here is their list, including examples.

1. Blogs (Johnson & Johnson, Delta Air Lines)
2. Bookmarking/Tagging (Adobe, Kodak)
3. Brand monitoring (Dell, MINI)
4. Content aggregation (Alltop, EMC)
5. Crowdsourcing/Voting (Oracle, Starbucks)
6. Discussion boards and forums (IBM, Mountain Dew)
7. Events and meetups (Molson, Pampers)
8. Mashups (Fidelity Investments, Nike)
9. Microblogging (method, Whole Foods)
10. Online video (Eukanuba, Home Depot)
11. Organization and staffing (Ford, Pepsi)
12. Outreach programs (Nokia, Yum Brands)
13. Photosharing (Rubbermaid, UK Government)
14. Podcasting (Ericsson, McDonalds)
15. Presentation sharing (CapGemini, Daimler AG)
16. Public Relations – social media releases (Avon, Intel)
17. Ratings and reviews (Loblaws, TurboTax)
18. Social networks: applications, fan pages, groups, and personalities (British Airways, Saturn)
19. Sponsorships (Coca-Cola, Whirlpool)
20. Virtual worlds (National Geographic, Toyota)
21. Widgets (Southwest Airlines, Target)
22. Wikis (Second Life, T-Mobile Sidekick)

The beauty of social marketing is that it’s completely customizable. Pick one or two or twenty. And go. Give your fans content. Make contests. Give them the down-low. Tease them with videos. Start conversations with them. Ask questions. Answer questions.

A great example of a strong social media usage are the efforts of NBC’s “Late Night” with Jimmy Fallon campaign. In prepping for Fallon’s takeover of “Late Night,” they have been building hype primarily via a vlog (video blog). He announced his house band, The Roots—a severe, welcome, departure from the norm—on the site only days ago.

At the bottom of his vlog are 18 (count ‘em—18!) different social media outlets, ranging from the usual suspects (MySpace, Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube) to several niche entities, like MyYearbook, imeem, and Last.fm.

NBC is simply giving fans a chance to connect and share the NEW “Late Night” brand. It’s not astrophysics, it’s common sense.

Twitter, the foremost microblogging site, has an incidentally famous “system error” screen. When too many people tweet (post), which causes an overload, an inconspicuous illustration of a whale, being hoisted from the water by birds, appears. This terms has organically been branded the “Fail Whale.” It has become synonymous with failing—at anything.

So don’t be a Fail Whale. Get in. Get gritty. Try something. Tweet. Blog. Post videos. Write down your thoughts. It doesn’t have to be sharply refined, it just has to BE.

Be honest and transparent and authentic, and you will be a major part of your consumers’ lives. And that is certainly no Fail Whale.

Atmosphere, the hip-hop duo from Minneapolis, MN, recently played Letterman. Blind Society and Atmosphere’s label, Rhymesayers, have joined forces like the Justice League. The newest update to the Blind Society website will feature music from Rhymesayers recording artists, such as Atmosphere, Grayskul, MF Doom, and the legendary Jake One (producer for hip-hop icons such as 50 Cent and Freeway).

Aside from making phenomenal music, Rhymesayers encapsulates the Blind Society belief quite nicely: create a conversation with your best customer, and give them the tools to share your brand.

An example: to promote Atmosphere’s latest album, “When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Sh*t Gold,” Rhymesayers used several nontraditional/alternative tactics to separate the band from the heaps and heaps of other artists vying for everybody’s limited attention span and iPod space.

They aired a series on YouTube called “Paint It Gold.” Each week, Slug and Ant (the members of Atmospere) would sit in Slug’s basement, answering questions from fans. The show is not glitzy and glammy—it is shot with two handheld camcorders on tripods. The low-budget feel, however, speaks to Atmosphere’s positioning; it strengthens their brand.

In one webisode, they received two questions that, from a brander’s standpoint, are rather intriguing. The first question inquired about Atmosphere’s feelings on illegal downloading. Here is a transcript of their response:

Slug: I can’t really say I’m mad at it; I can see how it’s f*ckin’ up the industry. You know—

Ant: It’s not the worst thing in the world, though, huh?

Slug: There you have it. I know for a fact that there are lots of people, in the beginning of our career, who would’ve never heard of us had it not been for file sharing and things of that nature, you know? And people like us, we’ll adapt. We’ll figure it out. You can’t download a t-shirt, you know, right? We’ll figure it out, man, you know, like, whatever—we’re like cockroaches! Arrrrgh! Swashbucklin’!

Atmosphere on Downloading.mp3 – Atmosphere

The second question asked how the new revolution of social media and Web2.0 affects the underground culture. After joking around for a moment, Slug again fields the question with surprising insight.

Atmosphere – DIY & Web 2.0.mp3 – Atmosphere

From Paste Magazine:

As a national music magazine, we receive approximately 1.4 quillion promotional CDs each year in the office. For the most part, the dozens of bubble mailers that arrive every day keep it short and sweet. Inside, we find a CD, a one-sheet band bio, and very little else. It’s true that after hundreds, these mostly start to appear the same…

It was a Thursday. We were sifting through our bins of unopened mail, and I spotted an oddly-shaped package at the top of one heap. Intrigued, I ripped it open, and as always, stuck my hand in. Forgive the reference, but as they say in Titanic, at this point, all my experience was working against me. Months of bubble mailer opening had taught me that it’s safe to just reach in and pull out whatever is inside—and moreover, that whatever is inside will be clean and safe and dry. My mistake. My fingers found not the run-of-the-mill CD and random attention-getting object I had learned to expect from an unusually-proportioned press kit. Instead, an unfamiliar half-rancid, half-zesty odor assaulted my nostrils and I reflexively pulled my hand back out again. It was wet. There were flecks of gold on my fingers.

We were bewildered and without conclusion as we crowded around and peered inside the offending envelope. None of the sensory clues added up to anything any of us could identify. It’s a strange feeling when you think you should have enough input to at least hazard a guess at the situation, and yet you’re still completely dumbfounded. There was no visual to be had from the open end except for the shadowy side of something mottled and bulbous that intermittently caught the light.

After I vigorously washed my hands, we sprang into action. A pair of scissors was procured, which we used to cut open the envelope and to handle the contents inside. When aforementioned contents were first revealed to us, however, we still couldn’t say what we were looking at. It was round-ish. And squished-ish. And green-ish. And there were gold flakes everywhere. Below nestled a very damp and forlorn slimline CD case and an absolutely soaked one-sheet. Extracting the CD, we turned it over.

The unlucky album was by a hip-hop group called Atmosphere, and boasted the optimistic title, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold (out April 22 on Rhymesayers). We stared at it. The front cover sported a picture of Slug (Atmosphere’s MC and primary creative driving force) holding stacks and stacks of lemons.

Suddenly, it all came together in the same way all the facts add up at the end of a murder mystery. The citrus-cleaner smell. The juice. The fuzzy green substance. The gold flakes.

“IT’S A MOLDY LEMON!” someone shouted. Someone else shrieked, “Painted gold!”

Now wait a second before you berate us for having taken so long to work through this particular puzzle. It seems simple enough to an outsider, I imagine (especially as it revealed itself to be so literal in the end), but take into account the fact that in no way would we ever expect to receive spoiled produce in a press kit. In a perfect world, in fact, no one would ever mail gold-coated citrus fruit in an unprotected, non-refrigerated package from so far away that it would have the time and opportunity to crush, soak everything, and then completely mold. These weren’t eventualities we knew to expect. Our collective jaws were on the floor.

They say any publicity is good publicity. I guess the jury’s still out on this one.

Here’s the music video for “You.” Who doesn’t love finger skateboards?!!

And here’s the music video for “Guarantees.” The whole song was recorded in one take—as was the video. Unique, me thinks…

And, thusly, Rhymesayers’ mentality lines up with that of Blind Society’s oh so nicely. What a fit.