Digital Hive

Two Sites: Tons of Engagement

The fine folks at the California Milk Processor Board (with the help of Goodby Silverstein) are still making me laugh two weeks after a friend sent the link to WhiteGoldisWhiteGold.

The site is gorgeous and deep and funny, and in this super-social, 2.0, fully shareable world - the site has a ton of content ready to share, blog and download. I found it easy to get sucked in by the pseudo-cheesy (okay, cheesy cheesy) band rockumentary vH1 "Where are they now?" feeling. And I'm still exploring the site a video at a time.

You can find White Gold on MySpace, FaceBook and their own YouTube channel. (BTW, what's with the lack of spaces in all those names?) You can "download the album" and after you visit every corner of the site, download the special White Gold remixes. I'm not sure if it is selling any milk, but I notice my cereal in drowning in a sea of white gold instead of its former yogurt. Check out One Gallon Axe, most definitely chill.

TIME WASTING WORTHINESS RANK: 4 out of 4 cats

Putting the Un in Fun

The other thing that wasted a huge amount of time this week provided me with a terrific amount of research into this topic is the Tostitos Nolaf.org site. The site was created by Element 79 with help from Mekanism SF, and it goes to my sweet spot of dark, snarktastic humor. It is a home run for me by virtue of the truly stunning, brilliant and absolutely unhinged improvisation of actor Scott Parkin. Mr. Parkin's performance is so good that I will never be able to attend another orientation or training seminar without falling out of my chair laughing (before a word is spoken.) There should be a new category of awards invented for Mr. Parkin's electrifying performance.

I imagine this is going to move some chips because the link has been emailed or twittered to me a dozen times over the last week. And anyone who shows up to a meeting with a pout on is getting the link from me.

TIME WASTING WORTHINESS RANK: 4 out of 4 cats

Scott Parkin receives the Golden Magno award for genius improvisation.

Interesting LG viral/branded content campaign-WSJ

Check out this great WSJ article about an LG viral/branded content campaign.

LG created a faux "show" called Scarlet starring an action star like character.

Very interesting stuff......

Download wsj_article.pdf

David Kenny at the ARF

Check out these great videos of David Kenny's recent speech at the ARF: http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1519094847  http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1519113334

Brand as souvenir of experience - CNN

I had to share this amazing post from 3 Minds. The idea in a nutshell: you can get a T-shirt of a CNN headline on CNN.com. It's not T-shirts made to order, it's a choice among pre-determined options. But the options are pretty cool. These are just the first 3, and I'd happily sport any of them in Boston's uber-trendy South End:

- Pelosi says 'no' to combined ticket
- Sinkhole gulps entire lane of highway
- Church steeple is cell tower goldmine

I was particularly interested in the potential brand story behind this idea. What I think is happening here is CNN is giving readers a "souvenir" of their CNN news-engagement experience. A free gift with purchase, if you will (actually it's without purchase, since CNN.com is free, also, I think you have to buy the shirts; but you know what I mean).

What other souvenirs of experience can we give an online user, I wonder - you can print out a story, email it to a friend (like a postcard from a tourist destination), digg it, rate or comment on it, download a photo from it. The T-shirt thing is nice because it's different from these other "souvenirs" plus it's very tangible (even though you have to purchase it), maybe even a tad old-fashioned and human. Everyone can use a T-shirt (and smile at a funny one), even if they're not literate with the worldwide interwebs.

The brand is also (perhaps unconsciously?) interjecting a little humor (hello, those lines are funny, right?) into its brand, having fun with itself, being a little relaxed, encouraging readers to have fun with CNN. I think of CNN as being kind of "strong" in personality - so fast-moving, so intense, so sexy, etc.. But I don't think of it as funny - all of its aspects are quite serious. Nice to see a brand not taking itself so seriously for once.

I would like a widget for my Facebook page that constantly updates the "headline T-shirts" that are available and enables 1-click ordering, virtual gifting, etc.. Hello, CNN, are you listening?

Let's all try to use our right hemispheres, OK?

I discovered this incredibly cool YouTube video of Dr Jill Bolte Taylor (actually, she's an neuroanatomist) describing her own experience with a stroke (brain hemmorhage). It's fascinating to hear her describe how her reduced brain function affects her abilities and perception; particularly interesting is her description of how the right and left lobes of the brain differ, and how it's easy to let the left (linear, serial processing) lobe dominate our human experiences.

Interesting stuff........

FaceBook apps are....the new Second Life?

OK so this is a tad scary in light of how frequently we are recommending (and building) FaceBook apps. This post at Three Minds provides some interesting commentary on the reality of what FaceBook apps are accomplishing. In most instances, it ain't much. The posting has provocative and relevant do's and don'ts for doing a FaceBook app - I recommend a thorough reading for all. A good example?

"Possibly the only impressive case study I have run across in the realm of branded apps, Sony decided rebrand the popular Vampires application for the launch of the movie 30 Days of Night. The page trafficked over 11 million visits and the connected sweepstakes received six times the amount of projected entrants."

Don'ts include......
1. Don't start a new version of something that is already popular.
2. Don't overcomplicate the concept or interface.
3. Don't extend a campaign without thinking about the social context.
4. Don't separate your fans, reach them where they already exist.

The posting also reminds us not to forget about FaceBook groups - which can accomplish more for marketers than apps.

Read the whole post here.

I think retail's about to change

You have to check this out. I am sad to say I'm late in discovering Threadless (thanks to Doris and Moynihan for egging me on), but it's amazing. As everyone knows, I pretty much only wear T shirts. But I also get bored easily (in case you didn't know that). Which means I'm constantly on the hunt for cool new Ts. If my accountant is reading this, don't worry, they only cost like $15 each.

Threadless is an online T shirt retailer specializing in designs from ordinary folks (not "brands"). Which would be reason enough for me to really love it (you'll all recall my recent Etsy binge). But it's also a site where anyone can submit a design for a T-shirt and have it voted on by anyone online. If they choose your design for a shirt, they pay you $12,500 (and you get famous). It's also a place where you can determine what is later sold (by rating the submitted designs). You can even ask them to reprint designs that are sold out.

This is listening to customers in a whole new way, I think. And giving them value, some of which is brand new to the marketplace (a T shirt is no longer just a shirt, it's a way to participate with a brand, a souvenir of an engaging process where you participated in the product's design - brilliant).

I see big changes for mass market retail coming. Sure it could be in 10 years, but I think once people get a taste of this new approach to acquiring stuff (influencing what's made before you buy it), it's pretty hard to go back to pre-packaged at WalMart.

Think of the implications for a retailer like Zara that already has pretty quick inventory turns. They could be cranking out a new set of items every day (I think I just got a tingle).

I wish the site were more viral-enabled; e.g., had a quick link to allow me to email a design that's perfect for my friend DeMane to her new boyfriend Eduardo so he can get it for her as a gift. They offer a way to embed items in social media (which I've done here), which I really enjoy using.

Anyway, it's a cool site with decent UI and a compelling concept. Check it out.