Brand Noise

Apple iPhone Lineups

Human behavior in action - there is nothing like a great lineup of passionate consumers. Perhaps the last photoblogging these folks will be doing on a non-Apple device.  Johnny Vulkan of Anomaly claimed first place spot a couple days ago on the Soho queue all for a good charity. Track the lines here on: Flickr

Wired Plugs People into Cover Art

(from NY Times) In its April issue, Wired magazine, in partnership with Xerox, invited subscribers to upload their photographs to Wired.com. The first 5,000 who did so are now receiving their July issue with themselves as the cover art.

Eager to boost their image both Wired and Xerox Xgot involved at the March convention of TED — they set up a booth at which attendees could have their pictures taken. Each will receive a personalized July issue of Wired. They also printed covers for David Letterman, Katie Couric and other television celebrities who could possible mention it on their shows.

Cool Site Ideas: Bugaboo DayTrips

Bugaboo Strollers offers daytrips that parents can take with their kids in around various urban landscapes using a neat online application with cool illustrations from various artists.  Bugaboodaytrips.com

Sprint's Old is New Branding

(from Adweek) Sprint launches its third rebranding effort in as many years on Monday with a new campaign from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners tagged "Sprint ahead." channeling the same positioning developed by McCann back in 1998.

"We're in a category that underdelivers on its potential because so many of the carriers have focused on the shortcoming," said Tim Kelly, Sprint's CMO. "Our view is that there's something great about wireless that's being lost." ..and on IPhone Kelly says.. "The iPhone is a product from Apple. It's a cool device, but it's a product launch. We're talking about a repositioning of our brand," he said.  "If we're successful, Sprint Speed will be our Nike Air, a real demonstration of how we're taking people ahead," said Kelly.

Critic Pick: Ask.com "Chicks with Swords"

Google Maps Propel the Interface Paradigm

The power in Google Street View is how it connects the perception of "real" space with "virtual" space.  This interface model gives a hint into the next generation for collaborative virtual social networks like Second Life. Connecting these places as part of one larger ecosystem for global collaboration..the opportunities are huge for normalizing the role of technology in everyday life by making everything immediately accessible and limitless in creative customization.  Our location as a gateway or portal.  Worlds living on top of worlds and all connected.  Imagine the impact on city planning 100 years from now.  If people stay in control of the technology - the possibilities are mind blowing.

(from Wired) The idea of providing digital maps  for the masses is not new. Xerox Parc launched its first online mapping application a year before Netscape produced its first browser in the early '90s, and online driving directions of varying reliability have been ubiquitous for nearly a decade. Google released the first version of Google Maps in January 2005, followed by the more intricate 3-D world of Google Earth five months later. "Someday, there will be the Paul Rademacher statue in front of the Googleplex," says Greg Sterling, an analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence. Today, the number of mashed-up Google Maps exceeds 50,000. (Google Maps itself is now the second-most-trafficked mapping site, after MapQuest.) Practically overnight, new companies were formed to meet the demand for Web sites and software tools to help people create and distribute their maps. Platial features thousands of user-generated maps of favorite bookstores, bar crawls, and road trips. Panoramio lets users peg their personal photos to Google maps, and it has already logged more than a million pics.

Are Restaurants The New Sweatshops?

(from Time magazine) A new report from the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, Unregulated Work in the Global City, documents a disturbing pattern of health and safety violations, wage inequities, and other indignities that plague a surprisingly broad swath of low-wage urban laborers. The report highlights a range of dramatic daily violations. And while the Brennan Center focused its research between 2003 and 2006 on New York City specifically, labor experts say the problem manifests itself in cities across the country. The number of federal lawsuits alleging violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act has more than doubled in recent years, growing from 1,854 in 2000 to 4,389 in 2006.

The mistreatment of restaurant workers at a number of well-known eateries has recently prompted public outrage. At Saigon Grill, Ollie's and Jing Fong in New York City, delivery workers walked off the job in protest of wage and tip policies.

Virgin Comics Enlists Celeb Comic Synergies

(from Fast Company) ...anime and manga have gained significant ground with comic book and animation aficionados far beyond the geographical confines of Japan lacks the element of surprise that it might have engendered some years ago. Positioning itself to redefine the comic book industry, Virgin Comics touts its mission as the creation of global comic properties that take their basis and inspiration from the east, particularly India, in a manner that resonates with both western and larger eastern audiences alike. In a quest to induct celebrity creatorship right from the word go, Virgin has successfully wooed big names like director, John Woo and actor, Nicholas Cage. Sharad Devarajan, CEO of the New York headquartered Virgin Comics and Animation, who unabashedly self-identifies as a "comic addict," explains that fleshing out a printed property to encompass other creative arenas makes for a far more durable outcome in the long-term.

Give the Gen Yers A Little Credit, Please

For some odd reason in conflict with my Gen X self, I feel very protective of Gen Y. The way we slice and dice their motivation across very decided lines doesn’t do them justice, or even us as brand planners.

The highly criticized paper by Danah Boyd makes some sweeping statements about Gen Y that does not look at the underpinnings of their decisions.

We talk with more Gen Y influencers across all ethnicities than socially acceptable for 40-yr-olds (like 3am MySpace conversations with high school students on Friday nights. Their parents are well aware.) These MySpacers are not freaks. They’re intense about everything they do—the same person who Cosplays on Saturday shows up for her Model Congress debate on Monday.

They’re not spending their time collecting countless friends—that is for freaks.

They use their social networking for what it does for them. To date, nothing exists that meets all their needs. So they jump around using MySpace for one thing and Facebook for another, plus a myriad of niche networks and invite-only networks. It hasn’t been a trade off of one for the other. The point where they add Facebook is when they need to network with college people. Picture them sitting in front of a control station for command central and that’s where we’re at.

We’ve got to move beyond talking to the masses…haven’t we learned that yet? Being dragged down by the least common denominator helps no one. If we continue to look at the majority, we’ll get the watered down version of what’s really happening. Doing it that way only let’s you watch the followers. It doesn’t let you look forward. Kinda like sitting on the railroad car facing backward. Sometimes, I like that—when I’m feeling reflective. Drives me insane when I need to get in step with things.

Trend Report: "Generational Synergy"

Here is a brief synopsis from our latest trend report titled "Generational Synergy"

The convergence of two consumer groups, Gen Y and Baby Boomers (which came two generations before them) lend a unique spin on generational marketing. scenarioDNA terms that uniqueness as Ironic Consumption.

“We’re faced with two compelling generations: One: The baby boomers who’ve lived through decades of excess and indulgence. Two: The Gen Y children of Gen X, who have been taught that they can do anything and don’t settle for mediocrity,” says Marie Lena Tupot, research director, scenarioDNA inc. “Kind of hubris meets Machiavelli. Why wouldn’t we expect a cross-generational collusion that diverts mass media?”

Where the two groups converge and diverge has significant implications for a brand. Going singly after one group or the other will fall short of their requirements. The trick is to rein the duality of young adults coming into their own and mature adults approaching seniorhood into one cohesive momentum.

We’re quickly moving beyond the effectiveness of generational marketing, as consumers stay younger longer while youth gains its access to information earlier than ever before.

From granddaughter to grandmother, each generation has taken on its own view of the world around them. Of course, they are at contrasting lifestages. Gen Yers are entering adulthood, likely to be starting a family and consequently budget and nutrition conscious. Meanwhile, Boomers are at the empty nest stage, likely to be heading toward retirement.  But they’re also budget conscious and health concerned. And so begins the allegiance. What differentiates the two are between-the-lines nuances.

Strategies that Cross the Generational Divide
1) Leverage the ability to collect, aggregate and share information that can then be turned into something useful for users, such as for decision making or to find information.
2) Leverage the confidence required on the part of the consumer to consciously make strategic decisions involving brand cherry picking, as well as mix-and-matching price points.
3) Leverage that it is okay to celebrate yourself, however you want to be. It’s the authenticity that matters.
4) Leverage the great amount of effort that goes into the seeming “basics.” Sometimes, it’s the smallest tasks like finding real food or moving money that trip us up. These are the times when we don’t even think to ask for help.