CrapHammer

The Passion Economy eBook

It all started when I first read Saul Kaplan's article on "Creating a Passion Economy". I was so enamored with this concept that I asked eleven people I respect to weigh in on their views regarding "The Passion Economy" and it's role or impact on business, brands and each of us.

 

 

 
Downloadable Link:
The Passion Economy: opportunity for brands or jut a fad? (PDF, 2.3 megs)

First, a big thanks to:
Saul Kaplan for the article that kicked this all off (catalyst!)
Valeria Maltoni for the idea I stole (eBook)
Peter Flaschner for his design vision, ideas and wine
Eli McIlveen for urging me on and his amazing editorial reviews

And now, a round of applause for the contributors:

Scott Suthren
Ellen Di Resta
Gavin Heaton
Charles Frith
Mike Wagner
Mack Collier
Mike Arauz
Katie Chatfield
Alan Wolk
Peter Flaschner
Matthew Milan

Please share this document freely and join in the conversation!

 

Digital Storytelling

I concur that this is a wonderful example of digital storytelling by a brand.  I enjoyed the flow, pace, and the fact that it treated me as a person.  Funny how many sites forget the last part.

http://www.truthaboutsmart.co.uk/

Pros:

• Great use of the medium.  I love the opening while it's loading the flash.  One of the best wait screens ever.
• The interactive parts were integral to the experience and I found it sort of fun.  Something I didn't expect from a selling-a-car website
• Simple and consistent progression of the story, allowing me to dig deeper should I so choose.

Cons:

• I could have done without is the flying cursors of previous visitors.  It looks like a "cool gadget" that someone wanted to try but it really doesn't play into the experience at all.  Sort of distracts from it.
• I'll save you from my "yet another micro-site" rant and just leave it at that.
• It would be nice to see some elements I could have used to spread the word about this campaign.  A short youtube video teaser?  A small interactive guess the right answer widget?

P.S.  Let it sit idle for a minute.  LOL.  Nice.

Many thanks to swissmiss for this find.

Future of Account Planning (JWT)

I have to come clean.  I've too often put slides in front of my audiences touting the insane number of mobile subscribers globally or the penetration of broadband in North America.

Guy Murphy's talk on the future of account planning gives a sobering view of a world where "more people in the world do not have a mobile phone than do have one, that only 13 per cent of the world have a computer and the global penetration of broadband is just 4%".  It's an awesome and cogent plea for a focus on building global brands, albeit a little strong on the ever increasing profits front. 

"There is no such thing as a global consumer. There are only local consumers enjoying more and more globally available things."

"Ideas for global brands will be rooted less in consumer insight and more more in human truth."

Guy Murphy:'What would Stephen say?' from JWT on Vimeo.

A quick shout out to Paul at Hee Haw for this find.  His post is worth checking out as it had no less than 5 tantalizing links from Mantyhose to an amazing book I have finally put on my wishlist.

The Unbrand is connected to the ...

A wonderful "un-brand" campaign.  Enjoy.

[link to embedded video]

Naked 3 Minutes, Episode 1

I'm back.  New job is crazy but I'm starting to find my footing and some time to participate once again.  Way behind on my reading.  So rather than give you all some reading, I thought I would take my first stab at a naked show.

Apologies for all the "ums" and "ahhs", but hey, I'm naked.  I think I deserve some leeway.  ;)

[embedded naked video below]

Craphammer Naked 3 Minutes, episode 1 from craphammer on Vimeo.

Exposing Marketing in the Conversation Age
http://www.onedegree.ca/
Wonderful new design to One Degree (one of the top 10 marketing blogs in Canada according [to] Marketing Magazine.)  Be sure to check out Kate's wonderful post on twitter and microblogging.  Perfect for client-side and agency-side marketers alike.

Exposing the Future
http://tinyurl.com/32sadb
Communities Dominate Brands and their ten predictions for 2008.  Here's some wonderful quotes from their document.  Alan Moore and Tomi Ahonen have created one of the most impressive sources of emerging mobile trends and data on the web.  And if you haven't read "Communities Dominate Brands" yet, then it's time to go sit in the corner.

Exposing her Marketing Brain
http://leighhimel.blogspot.com/
Taking risks is par for the course for Leigh Himel.  I'd like to call specific attention to her An Ecosystem Approach to Marketing in the Digital Age.  Brilliant application of not just system thinking, but environmental assessment criteria to communications.  Give us part two, Leigh!

Most Exposed Blogger (this week)
Connie Reece:  http://www.everydotconnects.com/
Frozen Pea Fund:  http://frozenpeafund.com/
Her ability to extend her persona into the digital world is amazing to behold.  And her work to support Susan Reynolds with the Frozen Pea Fund is both inspiring and empowering.  They have raised well over $3500 to support Breast Cancer research and I encourage everyone to participate.

(Note:  I'm looking for a logo and music for this crazy little "show".  Feeling creative?  Fire it my way.  I'll use it.)

Neumeier, does he still have it?

This is pretty old, but while I had seen the book, I had never seen the Slidecast.

It's an awesome little refresher on branding and the gap between strategy and creativity.

| View | Upload your own

I love the simplicity of the presentation. Some wonderful gems in there.

“It's not what YOU say it is.  It's what THEY say it is.”

“How do you know when an idea is innovative?  When it scares the hell out of everybody.”

The one part that I still have a strong disagreement with is this whole "valuation of a brand" thing going around still.  Where we take away the revenue and assets and say, "Hey... everything left is the brand."  Strikes me as overly simplistic, but I suppose it's useful to understand that there is an impact to building a strong emotional connection with our audiences.

All in all, I would say Neumeier definitely still has it, that sly old fox.

Digital in context of experience

"media are not extensions of ourselves but interfaces with experience"

Michele perras twittered the above statement over to me the other day.  Yup, just me (and her other 300 followers.)  What struck me, beyond the insight of the statement, was that the source of this thought was not a philosophical marketing, advertising or brand debate.  Rather it was a look at "Prosthetic Technologies as Interfaces".

This is something we have been talking about this week at Lift Communications.  Experiences are becoming the cornerstone of engagement and it's impossible to build a strategy of engagement without considering context.

Digital is just that:  a context.  It's an extension of our being.  Cell phones, PDAs, laptops, YouTube, portable entertainment devices, nike plus, etc.  So many of these tools are akin to cyber extensions.  They have become interfaces with experiences we are having or desire to share.

David Armano speaks on AdAge's announcement that digital agencies have failed to prove they can manage brands strategically.  And he concurs with AdAge's assessment, but in typical Armano style he paints a clear picture of a path forward.

And I think we can agree that it's not just digital shops that have to pay attention.  Many traditional agencies are so focused on the "Ad" as the ultimate expression and vehicle for a brand idea that they are missing the point.  Or rather, they are unable to interface with the very experience they wish to create.  ;)

Love and Lust

So.  You are riding a train and you see the "girl of your dreams."  She exits.  You tell yourself, "She's got a boyfriend," or "I'm not her type."  But a few hours later, you are running a fever, and all thoughts are still on her.  A day goes by and your friends refuse to hang out with you because you are beyond obsessing.  What do you do?

Well, this young man (if this is real) plays for keeps. Ya gotta check this out.

http://www.nygirlofmydreams.com/

Raises an interesting question of whether "love at first site" exists or if this is just lust in an obsessive/scary form.  There are so many things we lust after that once we get them we find we don't really want them anymore.  Whereas, once in a while, true love forms between two entities and a relationship is born.

I think that Love and Lust are important concepts when it comes to new media.  So many new tools are erupting onto the playing field every few minutes.  New social marketing sites.  New technology.  Who doesn't want an iPhone?  Or a Joost?  Or a Seesmic?

How much of this is Lust?  And how many of these companies are setting the stage for true love?  Or at least a relationship that goes past a one night stand?

Echo Generation: Are You Ready?

We've been talking a bit at my company about the Echo generation for a new project we're working on.  There appear to be strong shifts towards working together (interdependent), making things from scratch, and getting out and actively participating more.  All of this together with an increase in virtual activities makes for a very interesting stew.

In one of our recent internal discussions, Eli brought up the potential correlation to the growth of Parkour.  And so when I saw this video, I felt it both fascinating and also pertinent to understanding this emerging generation.  Not to mention that what this kid can do with a skateboard defies all odds.

WARNING:  Severe language in this video.  Paul level or higher.

Thanks to Mike Arauz for this video.

Eat. Sleep. Blog. Episode 6 with Katie Chatield

Paul McEnany, Gavin Heaton and I are back with another episode.  This time we invited Katie Chatfield to talk about her viral Mountain Dew brand campaign in New Zealand.  You can see part of the campaign that has accounted for over 25% growth of the brand this year alone.

Here are the highlights from Gavin:

• Sean leads us out and straight into trouble -- man-style trouble. Well, you will see what I mean. (0:00)
• The Grim Reaper's ugly assistant drops by (2:55) to introduce our special guest star, Katie Chatfield (3:45), talking about some of her great recent work for Mountain Dew
• Paul unpacks his thinking around extreme sports, brand association and niche marketing without swearing once. True (7:02)! But then, he was the one who brought up paedophiles in the first place.
• Sean gets the chance to imagine himself in Captain Kirk's tight fitting velour sweater and showcase the great William Shattner's efforts at hawking Commodore 64s way back when home computers were a revolution (8:43).

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