Brand Noise

NYC Gets Drive-ins This Summer

“Drive-ins have been disappearing for decades, declining to about 400 today from a peak of more than 4,000 in 1958, largely because of rising property prices and changing movie-going habits. After today, there will be 30 or so scattered across New York State, two in Connecticut, and just one, the Delsea in Vineland, in all of New Jersey, the state where drive-ins were born in 1933.” —The New York Times
                   
                    DRV-IN, a pop-up drive-in at 139 Norfolk that ends this week, will partner this summer with area parking lots, car rental companies, and car manufacturers to produce a spectacular series that will bring back the drive-in: Cars Under the Stars.                    

                   

iTunes/BBC..."Computer says no"

I love news of internet media partnerships that seem like they are going to be great and yet...NOT.  The news of the BBC/iTunes deal seemed great until I learned that it is only in the UK.  The BBC says it is Britain's first broadcaster to offer television programmes on iTunes for download onto Apple's video iPods and iPhones. I need Little Britain and Alan Partridge  on the go more than tired repeats of CSI Miami.  Work it out people - I'm waiting.

Kid Robot, Secret to “Yo Gabba Gabba!” Success?

“Yo Gabba Gabba!” began appearing on Nickelodeon in August, and with remarkable speed it has acquired fans who are preschoolers and fans who are old enough to be their parents...Charles Rivkin, the president and chief executive of Wildbrain, which produces the show, says, “I challenge you to find another preschool show that four months after going on the air is actually selling adult apparel at Barneys.”

While plenty of shows for children have also appealed to adults — “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” “H. R. Pufnstuf,” even “Sesame Street” — “Yo Gabba Gabba!” updates this idea for a generation that, it has been argued, is ambivalent about letting go of its own youth.

The real deal came when the original creators hooked up with Wildbrain. Back in 2006, Wildbrain acquired a majority interest in Kidrobot, which makes and sells high-end “designer toys” and apparel that appeal to fashionable young adults (who may or may not be parents). Thus “Gabba”-related products arrived in exclusive retail settings much faster than usual, demonstrating consumer demand to other merchandise partners.

You couldn’t ask for more perfect serendipity in partners, which goes to prove that authenticity starts at the drawing board. Had “Yo Gabba Gabba!” been conceived under other premises, it wouldn’t have been strong enough to bring into the Kid Robot world. On the other hand, if “Yo Gabba Gabba!” merchandise went straight to big box retailers you would’ve had a watered down product. The Kid Robot connection offers the brand longevity, with more staying power than it would have had on its own.

(Image: T-shirt recrafted into dress by JinJur.)
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Expanding on Social Software Behavior

Google.org's technology project to help save lives in the event of natural disasters or public health threats is set to launch Thursday.

The project, called Innovative Support to Emergencies, Diseases and Disaster (InSTEDD), is a nonprofit organization that ambitiously aims to help communities around the world use Web and communications technology to identify and warn others of outbreaks like Avian flu or disasters like Hurricane Katrina. That technology, which will include social software Twitter and Facebook, will be used to coordinate rescue responses and help save lives.

"We're not talking about pulling the red phone out of the bottom drawer here," said Eric Rasmussen, president and CEO of InSTEDD and a former adviser to U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense, referring to Twitter and Facebook. "We're talking about using ubiquitous, free software that is repurposed when necessary to fit into a humanitarian need."

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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.

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GM Denies Hummer HX Inspired by Halo

A lot of Halo fans think Hummer's new HX concept SUV looks quite a bit like the Warthog all-terrain vehicle from Bungie's hit games. The designers must have been thinking of the Warthog when they built it, right?

Wrong. Carl Zipfel, GM's director of exterior design for the HX concept, says the Warthog was not an inspiration for the new compact SUV.

Zipfel emphasized the futuristic look and off-road capabilities of the HX at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit today. But he says the design comes from modern-day ATVs, not Halo's heavily armed military vehicles.

Zipfel says he saw the buzz about the HX in video game blogs, and he seemed flattered by the the comparison. He even said he and several of the vehicle's young designers play Halo.

But as for the Warthog resemblance — that's just a coincidence.

GM's dismissing this too quickly. I see shades of the Coke/Mentos denial. GM, time to introduce yourself to the gang at Bungie and maybe connect with the Rooster Toothers.

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Nike Looks Under The Radar

Under current Chief Executive Mark Parker, Nike is depending on lesser-known figures -- like a Los Angeles tattoo artist known as Mister Cartoon. Though far from mainstream, Mr. Cartoon rivals Nike's high-profile jocks for influence among a certain crowd that is young, Latino and hip-hop...Athletes still rule at Nike. But the game is changing. Nike's traditional endorsement strategy has taken a few hits recently. It dumped NFL star Michael Vick.

Mr. Parker sees the challenge thusly: "The question is, how do you not let your size become a disadvantage? How do you keep an edge, a crispness, a relevance?" At Nike, the drive to recruit under-the-radar influencers like Mr. Cartoon is on the rise and a key part of the company's strategy.

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Coke & Illy Break Bread for Global RTD Deal

The Coca-Cola Company and illycaffè SpA have signed a memorandum of understanding to form a global joint venture focused on the premium ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee segment leveraging illy's world class expertise in the art of the espresso to capture opportunities in this high growth, profitable beverage category with new brands and products.

Says Andrea Illy chairman, illycaffè, "Our R&D and product know-how will join The Coca-Cola Company's industrial and distribution infrastructure to develop a high quality ready-to-drink coffee."

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Meantime in Asia: Working side by side with scientists, Coca-Cola said its researchers will focus on beverages using Chinese herbal ingredients and formulas.

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Candela: From Here to Oxo

From niche to line to mass market, the Candela evolved beyond its maker…The Candela was one of [design firm Vessel’s] first creations. A rechargeable light, it split the difference between a candle and a lamp, giving off a low, atmosphere-setting glow. It was also rigged to turn on automatically during a power outage. A set of four sells for $70.

When parents told them that their kids liked Candelas, Vessel introduced a new version, now known as the Tooli, in brighter, more saturated colors and a slightly Seuss-ish anthropomorphic shape. This took the brand into children’s boutiques.

After hearing from customers who wanted an outdoor take on the Candela, they created the Luau: bigger and brighter, with a handle on top and a more bulbous profile, it sells for $200. Despite the higher price, it has sold well in places like the MoMA Store and Vessel’s first nationwide retail chain, Design Within Reach.

The only downside in all of this was that lighting was taking over the company…So they approached Oxo, the New York-based company known for selling a wide range of home products (most notably its Good Grips kitchen items)...Ultimately, Oxo bought the entire line, which it now manufactures and distributes.

Vessel still gets credit on Candela’s packaging and will sell the line through its online store and a small shop of its own in Boston.

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More complexity in marketing to men

Times have changed reaching that male demographic, it has become a more complex proposition as technology has improved and the media landscape offers more choices. One way marketers can keep the demo hooked is to literally "surround" young men with the message by using multiple media channels and leaning on branded entertainment vehicles to drive their points home.  read more (from Adweek)