Monthly Archive for May, 2008

Octagon Global Recruiting

Published
by
Matt
on May 29, 2008
in Viral Marketing and Web Sites
. 4 Comments

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I knew something was up when that low budget, semi-confusing commercial for Octagon Global Recruiting ran during the last 15 minutes of the season finale of LOST. I’m a big fan and to me everything about it screamed Dharma Initiative. Apparently I wasn’t the only one, seeing as how the site was so bogged down it took me a solid 10 minutes to get there.

Sad thing is, once you hit the site the jig is somewhat up. No more mystery after that. Clearly ABC is shooting for some sort of viral initiative here, and it will be interesting to see how it pans out.

Oh well, just like LOST, we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
::cue dramatic cut to black::

No Sir, Your Gaming PC Does Not Take Flight

Published
by
Matt
on May 27, 2008
in Analysis and Products
. 1 Comment

But it sure does look like it.

I love hardcore gaming PC’s. I don’t know, but there’s just something about a computer with enough horsepower to run a small country that appeals to me.

For a long time, these gaming computers looked just like their mundane cubicle-dwelling counterparts. If you think about it, that’s like having a Ford Taurus that runs like a Lamborghini Gallardo. But somewhere along the line, someone decided that these machines need to be as intimidating and intense on the outside as they are on the inside. It’s about time.

Take a long look at the Acer Predator (above), the HP Blackbird 002 (left), the Dell XPS 730 (center), and the Alienware Area-51 (right).

All beautiful, but in a F-22 Raptor sort of way.

The “big idea” here is form meeting function. Just like Apple and Nintendo, these PC makers understand that design matters in this market. It doesn’t everywhere (nails, manhole covers, manila folders), but figuring out where design is really important, and where its superfluous is something that you always have to pay attention to.

I would love to take any of these for a test drive, but doubt I’ll ever have the opportunity. So if you’re out there Acer, HP, Dell, or Alienware and are looking for a few good testers, let me know.

Hey, it’s cheaper than a few plane tickets.

Pork and Memes

Published
by
Matt
on May 23, 2008
in Web 2.0
. 0 Comments

You’ve probably seen this already, but just in case, here’s Weezer’s internet zeitgeist stuffed “Pork and Beans”

“If Twitter Is Down, How Can We Twitter About it?” And 15 Other New Marketing Paradoxes

Published
by
Matt
on May 21, 2008
in New Marketing and Web 2.0
. 0 Comments

If Twitter is down, then how can we Twitter about it?

Why do early adopters tell everyone they know about the next big thing, and then complain when everyone starts using it?

Is it still a wiki if only one person edits it?

If you accept a friend request from someone you hate, does that make you friends?

We want brands to join the conversation, but do we really want to talk to all of them?

If blogging gives everyone a voice, why is it still so hard to hear anyone?

If you’re in Second Life more than half the time, is it still second?

Why is the next big thing small now?

If knowledge is so valuable, why is everyone giving it away?

If you can’t find yourself in Google, do you really matter?

Why is it that when you’re completely busy, the first thing you do is tweet about how busy you are?

If people are so lazy, why isn’t RSS more popular?

Which came first? The troll or the message board?

When did something behaving like a virus become a good thing?

If the consumer finding out is inevitable, why do companies still try and trick us?

If a blog has more comments than posts, who’s blog is it?

What did I miss? Feel free to add your own.

Idea Mashup - Isakson + Maltoni

Published
by
Matt
on May 13, 2008
in Communication and Mashups
. 2 Comments

Synthesis is one of the best things about marketing. Take two separate ideas and slam them together to get some great new thing. So here’s my Idea Mashup of the week. Paul Isakson + Valeria Maltoni.

First off, if you haven’t seen Paul Isakson’s The Future of Advertising + Marketing, then do it. Now.

A recent post from Paul talks about how a former CD at Urban Outfitters is moving to Anomaly. The best stuff is towards the end when he says “As more and more advertising gets ignored, agencies have got to come up with better, more meaningful ways to help their clients reach and connect with people.” and then wraps it up with “Maybe the title of the post should have been, “The Future of Advertising Is More Than Communications.”

And speaking of communications, the Conversation Agent, Valeria Maltoni had a great post about RSS, Email, and the whole push vs. pull argument. She talks about how, “It is so much better when you have people sign up voluntarily, when they choose to pull your content and give you permission to occupy a space in their reader and day.”

Both are great ideas. Here’s where things get interesting:

In the middle.

If the future of advertising and marketing is more than communications, and the next step in communications is based on “pull”, then the future is a place where more than just communication is “pulled”. This could be design, production, interaction, delivery, or any other part of the process. All on demand.

How would things change if we could “pull” something like design, and get something how we wanted it, when we wanted it?

Monday Lightning Round 5/12

Published
by
Matt
on May 12, 2008
in Kickstarts
. 8 Comments

Most Monday posts are serious, well thought out discourses that people put a lot of time into over the weekend. But not here! Let’s get it in gear with a Monday Lightning Round. Responses in the comments!

1. What product can you absolutely not live without?
2. What one word describes that product?
3. If you were in charge of your brand/company/product, what’s the first thing you’d do?
4. Paper or Plastic?
5. Will Twitter ever catch on with the mainstream?

Go!

Don’t Be A Fat Kid In Skinny Jeans

Published
by
Matt
on May 8, 2008
in New Marketing and Web 2.0
. 0 Comments

Sometimes you really can’t follow the trends.

I’m not quite what you’d call a small person. And as such, this whole hipster/skinny jean trend is killing me. Think of an apple stuck on top of two toothpicks. Not a very exciting picture.

But the important thing is that I recognize this. You won’t see me trying to squeeze myself into any ultra-slim low rise Levi’s. And I don’t expect you to be forcing yourself into social media.

If it’s not right, it’s not right, I don’t care how trendy and “hip it is with the kids”.

If you run a concrete business, or a pizza pan company, then a Facebook ad might not be right for you. A blogger outreach project might not be smart if you’re the number one supplier of caulk in North America.

I still think that the future of marketing is connecting with people. But you have to pick your battles. Besides, “Caulk Talk” probably wouldn’t fly anyway…

I am a product of advertising

Published
by
Matt
on May 4, 2008
in Advertising and New Marketing
. 0 Comments

And so are you. And pretty much everyone else you know.

And despite what some people (get a job, hippies!) might say, it’s not really a bad thing.

If not for the advertising, I wouldn’t have remembered what day Grand Theft Auto IV was coming out. I’m almost positive I would have never discovered The Ting Tings without the newest iPod commercial (see below). It’s this element that usually goes unnoticed, but it’s actually the most important part.

I know that the point of advertising is to sell, but I think we’ve come to a point where it needs to be more that that. It needs to be useful. We’re here because people don’t want to see/read/hear ads. Think I’m lying? Check out the numbers of DVR and satellite radio owners. Ask the average person how they feel. It sure ain’t pretty.

So where does that leave us?

Well, a very tricky place, it seems. How do we pitch our product and provide value at the same time? Perhaps a change of priorities is in order. What would be really interesting is if we focused first on providing value to people, and also manage to get our product/service/company into the picture.

But hey, if that doesn’t work, we could always bombard people with as many ads as humanly possible and try to keep shouting until they can’t possibly ignore us anymore. That’s gonna work too right?