Brand Noise

Men are Twits

Twitter falls in line with the sentiment that girls blog and guys post video. An engine like Twitter facilitates the quick in and out that guys require--kind of like how old department stores used to be designed with menswear consolidated on the first floor and close to the exit, never making the guys walk through any of the girly stuff.

Because of the limited amount of characters (140) and how sore thumbs can get pushing those little keys, Twitter postings are usually space-efficient and to the point. All that's missing is location-based functionality--ideally GPS.

By following only the users you want to hear from, it limits the amount of unwanted tweets. "I quickly realized that decrying the banality of tweets missed their point," says Jason Pontin, publisher of Technology Review. "The only people in the world who might be interested in my twittering – my family, my close friends – were precisely the ones who would be entertained and comforted by their triviality."

Twitter met its Internet hipster tipping point at least year's SXSWi. This year, it was even more firmly entrenched with most attendees gaining a general awareness of their friends' SXSWi experience by constantly monitoring their Twitter feeds. When some after-show parties began to fill too quickly...frustrated groups would spin off from the long, outdoor lines to collect in impromptu "tweet-up" parties.

At the show's Day 2 keynote with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg and the audience grew bored with the interviewer's questions, causing the 23-year-old CEO to clam up and the audience to start heckling—by monitoring other attendees' Twitter feeds.

Read more.

New Study Says Boys Do Desire Real Relationships

“Let’s give boys more credit,'’ said study author Andrew Smiler, an assistant professor of psychology at the university. “Although some of them are just looking for sex, most boys are looking for a relationship. The kids we know mostly aren’t like this horrible stereotype. They are generally interested in dating and getting to know their partners.'’

The data also suggest that teenage boys will be receptive to parental messages about the importance of getting to know a girl and respect within relationships, even if they act otherwise. “Very few parents really talk to their sons about relationships,'’ Dr. Smiler said. “We know that many parents do have these kinds of conversations with girls.'’

The report, published in this month’s Journal of Adolescence, paints a far different picture of teen boys than the stereotype of testosterone-fueled youth. Psychology researchers from the State University of New York at Oswego surveyed 105 10th-grade boys whose average age was about 16.

Read the whole story.

Worth Watching: Girls Rock! The Movie

Sci Fi Programming Proves Girls Go For Details

Once considered a network exclusively for sweatpants-clad men residing in their parents' basements, [The Sci Fi Channel] has in recent years been attracting increasing numbers of female viewers. Ghost Hunters, which is entering its fourth season in March, actually draws more women than men-once unheard of for the Sci Fi Channel specifically or science-fiction programming in general. Other shows on the network, like Eureka, are also skewing female.

The network's increasing appeal to women is no accident, but rather orchestrated by its president, Bonnie Hammer, who focuses less on interplanetary warfare than she does on so-called "Earth-based" dramas.

These are shows with complex characters, romance and elements of the supernatural—all of which resonate with women in focus groups.

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US Girls Playing Indian Arranged Marriages

Online research of nearly 2 million gamers by Indian gaming portal games2win has found that girls aged between 13 and 17 years make for almost 80% of its US traffic. What’s intriguing is that these girls are playing games related to Indian customs: dolling up like brides or playing roles in an Indian arranged marriage.

games2win CEO Alok Kejriwal says: “Our research has found that an average user would be on our site for over 10 minutes, which is almost like watching half of uninterrupted telecast of a soap opera on TV.”

Girls love to engage in stories. Girl gamers are no exception. Indian culture offers an exotic fantasy appeal that girls don’t get from American pop culture. Reason why manga and anime are so appealing. American teens are too old and too cool for Disneyana, yet they still want the dramatics.

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The American Male: Not So Pretty in Pain

Growing pains are painful. And those pains are becoming increasingly evident as we move into a more Creative Class society. Hardest hit is the ideal American male and how he relates to Gen Y. As Gen Y moves toward a new standard as to what is okay male-wise, they’re see-sawing from Queer Eye to Man-vertising. The bumpy ride rambles over ambiguity, macho myths, sensitivity, intellect, prowess, et al. The good news is: the process is necessary.

It will be curious to see how it all evolves.

No more Marlboro man. Artist Richard Prince wrangled that identity in 1977 when he pilfered a bit of pop culture by rephotographing Marlboro ad images and presented them as his own.

No more jocks. Thanks, OJ, Michael Vick. The rest of the world views our athletes as criminal. Or so that’s what I overheard while eavesdropping on a conversation at Doma.

Canadian Club is trying to recapture an ideal of the 60s/70s via its campaign entitled “Damn right your Dad drank it.” Candid imagery calls to mind the confident thinking indie man of the era. The era of the “player,” one of the first in which women were celebrated.

But who identifies with this male? Gen X? Gen Y? Gen X may possibly relate. For Gen Y, the closest male they know to that era is Austin Powers.

Dr. Seuss had no idea of the precedent he would set when he first used the word "nerd." Apparently, his intent was to denote “a combination of school success, precision, unselfconsciousness, closeness to adults and interest in fantasy.”

Yet this isn’t the first time we’ve questioned the ideal male. In 1889, Mark Twain satired the reverence for Medieval knights, favoring industrial smarts over chivalric braun.

Conde Nast Gets in Step with Facebook

Why fight what’s already working? It’s more important to be the one who is empowering consumers. Conde Nast is beginning to catch on:

Flip.com launched in February as CondeNet's effort to target teen girls with an ambitious social media site. Less than a year later, the digital arm of Conde Nast is reversing course to embrace a distributed media strategy and converting the destination site into a series of applications that will live on social networks, starting with Facebook.

"It's hard to carve out enough time from those girls [because of] Facebook," said Sarah Chubb, president of CondeNet. "Why fight it and try to build your own social network when there is one that is open to things being built on top of it?"

By abandoning a destination strategy, CondeNet hopes to draw an expanded audience from the peak of 300,000 users the site attracted.

Flip already has a series of applications on Facebook that have proven moderately popular.

Read the whole story.

Chrysler Carcoons

An very interesting article in today's NY Times puts some motion in the water about how we think about cars and the place they have in our lives.  Bob Nardelli is making his vision known, spring boarding off of what he knows best which is home improvement and consumer nesting habits via his leadership at Home Depot.

“I think a vehicle today has to be your most favorite room under your roof,” Mr. Nardelli said. “I really believe that. I mean, it has to bring you gratification, it has to be tranquil. It’s incidental that it gets you from Point A to B, right?”

Bob is partly right.    The place cars play in the family has clearly evolved from the post WW2 consumer boom.  From one car garages to the "second car" (video)    phenomenon, fueled by manufacturing innovation and global access to raw materials,  got more women and teens on the road and changed how we think about cars.  Cars were about escape, freedom.  They got us out exploring. Roads and businesses evolved as this product reshaped how people worked, played and shopped for goods and services. They spawned road trip vacations and drive-in restaurants- youth culture and new political realities with more of the country opened up to view by the general public. They became a way of communicating who you were because the role they played was fundamentally social and moving out of your home base to do something - to define who you are.   

Now, home base is where more connecting and communication of status  takes place.  Technology has fueled this.  From home theaters, to home draft beer, coffee and wine bars.  Home is now a crucial hub. The need to venture out has changed and become more specific and less open-ended.  More people  share a greater percentage of their work life at home.  More takes place in this space than ever before. There is more venturing inward and bringing people in based on connections helped by a new level of connectivity among people .  The journey is now far more introspective.  And in this move inward women play a far greater role in deciding what that experience is in this hub.  So when we think of cars now we don't think of them as less escape pods and more comfort pods that need to keep that same level of cocooned experience.  More similar to what we see happening in airline interior design.  The other reality is that much of the experience of driving has been taken away  via cruise control and improved roads and highways - so basically the weight of the experience is now a reinforcement of the comfort zone that is established in the home. 

The position of the car as second living room is a bit of a quick jump though. It is more complex than that.  Balancing aspects of car culture with aspects of home cocooning will be crucial.

A Chrysler spokesman, Mike Aberlich, said Mr. Nardelli’s comments might have stemmed from the briefings he received from the company’s marketing experts and car designers.

Their research has shown that customers are placing a greater emphasis on vehicle interiors. In fact, Chrysler has frequently referred to its minivans as “living rooms on wheels,” he said.

Fashion Bullying Moves to Middle School

Dorothy Espelage, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign,  says she has seen an increase in "bullying related to clothes." Having access to designer clothing affords some kids "the opportunity to become popular -- and that protects you and gives you social power and leverage over others," she says.

Over the past three years, numerous designers have targeted the lucrative children's and teens' markets. Little Marc, the kids' clothing label by New York designer Marc Jacobs, expanded its line this winter and dropped its price, making it more accessible to a greater number of shoppers...

What's curious here is that middle school kids are at a crossroad, moving beyond the parental threshold. Yet they still are looking back for parental approval. Branding at this age shoots right back at the parents. How kids are perceived at this stage and how they receive that perception shapes their future brand directions. WIll they become Abercrombie kids and constantly seek what's "in" or will they break out of the mold?

Read the whole story.

(Photo: Vintage tintype of a pre-teen.)

Nuanced Disney Princesses in new Bridal Line

Disney and renowned designer Kirstie Kelly today will unveil the "Blossoms" for flower girls collection alongside a new line of bridal gowns inspired by the strength and beauty of each Disney Princess. Kirstie Kelly For Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings will be showcased on the runways this evening as part of New York Bridal Fashion Week. The expanded collection now includes a new line of bridal gowns, "Maidens" for bridesmaids and "Jewels," jewelry and veils, each inspired by the Disney Princesses. (read the full release)

While the level of design has been certainly taken up a notch in this new line by Disney, I am left wondering if the brand can stand up to an increased "trade up" trend in weddings.  It demonstrates a certain lack of imagination or originality on the part of the bride if she chooses something as packaged as this. Disney in this context implies a less sophisticated consumer. Can I hear the bride easily brag that her gown is a Disney Cinderella?  Not sure that works in the context of so many luxury brands becoming far more ubiquitous and accessible to average consumers.  The general execution of the line looks quite good but at the end the day you are buying a Garanimals of sorts.  Not sure that works with the current consumer zeitgeist.

For certain, the brand has traction with those seeking one-stop Disney weddings. The dilemma we see lies outside that group. There, it has two things in its favor: modest pricing $1000-$3000 and a recognized name. In the bridal biz, women learn about bridal gown labels as they're under the planning gun. For certain, this is a relationship that can be cultivated. Young girls aged 3 to 6 currently fuel a $3.5 billion Disney Princess merchandising market, and Disney wants to be around decades from now when they say "I do." Not sure if this way is the ideal? Yes, getting married is serious business but I think a bit of humor and surprise is lacking here that, if present, could enable the brand to move past its core groupies.