Brand Noise

Psychology of Leaving (Your Social Network)

Last week, our favorite femme fatale announced she was leaving Facebook until further notice. 48 hours, nay — 36 hours, later she was back posting status updates like nothing ever happened. (Harrumph.) At the same time, another friend was MIA on Facebook. He slipped away without a word months ago. There’s been no trace of him on FB since. We know he’s alive. Four Square and Twitter tell us he’s getting around quite well.

Common wisdom says we leave to move on to cooler and better things. Back when social networking was new, some left Myspace for Facebook, didn’t we? Now, leaving seems to be more a form of martyrdom. Because — let’s be real — are there cooler, better networks to move on to — yet? Do we care? Of course, we do...

Read the rest on Uncluttered White Spaces. (Thanks, Ben Rennie!)

Don't let Detroit be erased. Tell its stories.

On Tuesday, a film about the Milton Hershey School was screened at Tribeca Cinema. The director Cynthia Wade and the producing agency ArnoldNYC walked a fine line with their closed wall client to come up with a documentary that would be both compelling and serve the clients' needs. Together, they solved a big problem. They stretched a thin budget, recast client suggestions, and took cameras outside the school walls. Trust and vision let the film meet its mark. 

In Detroit, an even bigger problem needs to be solved: “America’s most struggling city needs to attract business and talent.” To help, Time Inc. invited agencies with Detroit offices to develop campaigns to encourage young and creative people to consider Detroit as a place to live and work. The result? Pretty conventional. Yet, no barriers were placed on the agencies. With skies wide open, why hold back? Has the nature of advertising in general become to create: oatmeal?

Think about it. The problem with Detroit is an American problem, not a regional one. We've been quick to let our cities sink into the sea once they're tarnished. What makes cities work is intensity. To revive their spirit means to conjure up that intensity. 

In Detroit, you have a city that once sold its soul to the auto companies. It couldn't hold onto many of its own. Consider Detroit's Class of 1984. scenarioDNA's own Tim Stock (a University of Detroit high school grad), Majesty Crush's Odell Nails (now a lawyer and with Mahogany in NYC), Philly artist Michael Frechette, NY film maker John Walter who cut his teeth in Detroit on Evil Dead II with Sam Raimi's Renaissance Pictures and Mark Crilley creator of Akiko who went around the world before choosing to settle in an outlying Michigan city, not Detroit. Has anyone ever thought to ask them why they left and how to strengthen bonds to bring them (or those like them) back?

Powerful stories exist within the city, as well as among all the ex-pat Detroiters, who never dress the city down while the rest of us sweep where we come from under the rug. Now that's compelling. There is a dialog to leverage from those ex-pats to those living and breathing within the city limits.

Detroit is a narrative that extends beyond the city and its suburbs. It lives in New York. It lives in Arizona. It lives in LA. It lives in Philly.

Sadly, unimaginative thinking among those charged with pushing the message of Detroit will further erase the troubled city from the states if we don't all pull together. To bring the city back to its glory, all the narrative threads need to be identified, organized and brought together. We can't get bogged down by politeness and mired in consensus. Don't erase Detroit. Tweet your Detroit stories with the hashtag #erasedetroit. (Photo: Abandoned house by smooveb)

Transformer Generation: Cultural Context Required

The Transformer Generation from scenarioDNA on Vimeo.

We're launching our position statement on the Transformer Generation. The gist is this:

 

For the kids who played with Transformers twenty-odd years ago, the story has fluidly evolved into a tale of open-source collaboration, new globalism, a currency of culture, eBay economics and mash-up. In this new narrative, the impact of technology blurs the lines from urban/suburban and east/west making cultural context more critical now than ever before. The Transformer Generation is a game changer. They won’t become us. They’ll change us.

 

Go to the site.

http://www.transformergeneration.com

 

Download the press release.

http://tinyurl.com/n3srk7

 

Culture Networks

Culture Networks (Lecture)

View more presentations from Tim Stock. (tags: semiotics branding)

Repercussions of a Sheltered Generation Await

This, from AdAge on PepsiCo's post-BBDO Generation Optimistic campaign:

"It feels like bullshit to me," said Ray Graj, principal at Graj & Gustavsen. "It's like putting your head in the sand. People are scared about their jobs; they're getting reduced bonuses. It feels contrived to go down that path, regardless of what market surveys they're reading."

Mr. Graj went on to say that, while there certainly is some optimism around the upcoming inauguration of Mr. Obama, it will be short lived. "What we're facing is a real deep bad thing, and that's settling in slowly," he said. "[People] are confronting the reality of the situation."

Couldn't have put it better myself. We're at the tip of the iceberg, guys. And the kids are always the last we let know.

Read the whole AdAge story.

Understanding Gen Y Narrative: The Transformer Generation

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: culture marketing)

Air Force Reaching Out Through Xbox

The US Air Force is partnering with Microsoft to promote the Xbox LIVE "Horror Meets Comedy" original short film series premiering this November 19th. The series features eight well-known horror directors who will bring their comedic visions to life. Directors include James Wan & Leigh Whannell creators of the "Saw" franchise, James Gunn ("Slither", "Dawn of the Dead") Andrew Douglas ("The Amityville Horror"), David Slade ("30 Days of Night") and Lucky McKee ("May").

Air Force will create custom intro billboards that will run with each pilot and interactive media placements that will live across the Xbox LIVE online entertainment network and the Xbox.com website. Users can click on these custom units and engage directly with the Air Force Brand Destination which offers users the opportunity to learn more about the Air Force through video downloads, gamer pictures and theme packages.

Seems to me there’s a bigger picture to explore…

Food: Simple, Fresh, Economical--On Message

On the West Coast, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market has introduced a new line of ready-to-eat products that can be mixed and matched to create over 200 meal ideas. The line includes 30 different varieties of fresh pastas, sauces, meat and vegetarian dishes, and sides which pair to create meals for two for about $10.  All Fresh & Easy products contain no added trans fats, no artificial flavors and colors and only use preservatives when absolutely necessary. At roughly 10,000 square feet, Fresh & Easy markets are smaller than the typical supermarket to give customers a faster, easier shopping experience. In addition to fresh, prepared meals and produce, Fresh & Easy offers national brands and household items at everyday low prices. (Photo: Oakmonster.)

Counting Calories Gives Control Back

When all else is failing, it beckons the need to gain control wherever you can. We're seeing it across the board. One way they're seizing the opportunity is by counting calories. It's do-able.

"For the last few decades, the most popular diets were complex formulas that promised abundant eating with just the right combinations of fat, protein and carbohydrates. Now those regimens are starting to look like exotic mortgages and other risky financing instruments. And just like a reliable savings account, good old calorie counting is coming back into fashion...New Yorkers got a harsh dose of calorie reality this summer when restaurants with 15 or more outlets were forced to post the calorie content of food next to the price."

Read more.

Army is Watching Twitter

Recently, Wired’s Noah Shachtman first blogged that the Army’s 304th Military Intelligence Battalion report details three Twitter scenarios:

1. Terrorists use phones with Twitter to relay real-time updates of troop movements in order to coordinate an ambush.
2. Terrorists use cell pics and tweets to coordinate the timing to explode a device.
3. Terrorists follow a soldier’s tweets and use Twitter to obtain logistical information.

A ZD Blogger put it this way: "Twitter is just communication. If it didn’t exist, terrorists would use plain SMS. Or whatever. In a perfectly secure world, there would be no communication."

From our perspective, the key is to understand the power behind the networking and its underpinnings...Twitter today, something new tomorrow. That holds true for military ops, as well as any other brands. The future is filled with opportunities for grassroots movements to gain global reach--which should be a good thing, but there's always another side. It's a study in behavior. You can build stop gaps in, but human nature is to work around it. The issue poses a deeper mindset issue.