another scary...youth preso?

Building Lasting Youth Brands

view presentation (tags: marketing youth digital advertising)

i've become slightly cynical of youth marketing prezos. having attended a few conferences and client mtgs that paid top dollar for trendspotters and youth marketing gurus, it seems like they're always pretty formulaic, nothing really new that one couldn't discover on their own by watching some MTV, going out to the anti-mall, or hitting up an all-ages show?

says, threebillion.com:

Good presentations on youth culture are hard to find. They normally fall into one of the following categories:

1. Repetitions of everything you've heard before ("we've found that teenagers love social networking and mobile phones")

2. Written by research geeks ("and here's another graph which means nothing")

3. Sponsored by a corporate ("kids love us and so should you")

4. Pretty pictures and cool logos ("have you any idea how long this put together!")

i couldn't agree more. i enjoyed this share today. check it out for yourself. does it give you some insight that you couldn't come up on your own from watching another episode of made? cya, i'm off to 7-11 for a slurpee.

via threebillion.com

Kampai!

Kampai!
Originally uploaded by LookingThruTheLens

If you find this, buy it. It is really good. I keep pics of the sake
labels that i can't read, so it makes it idiot proof for me to find
the same one. Hopefully they'll have this at the Mitsuwa.

Nguyen Duong
Sent from my "not as cool as the new 3G iPhone"

shaking it up

we just had a pretty good kick-in-ass, jolt about an hour ago. looks like it was a 5.4 magnitude rumbler 20 miles east of my oficina. maybe this'll shake up a few ideas out me today?

market to people that care

This was something I always struggled with at the Bell. The client always aspired to be relevant to the core, 24yr old male, that was into gaming, action sports, music, etc. However at the the end of the day, client and customer would CRUMBLE and SETTLE for safe, be all things to all people, cast the widest net, general market idea that would try to try to make my 64-year old knitting and gardening mom AND my 18-year old trendinista niece to...CARE.

This video is an oldie but a goodie. Skip pass to the “otaku*” section of the video at time code 9:37 to hear what Seth Godin proposes to us marketing types...

“MARKET TO PEOPLE THAT CARE.”

How? Why? Watch this video to find out.

*otaku refers to a Japanese term used to describe people that have obsessive interests. whether you’ve been obsessive lately about yelp.com, Pita Grill, Tap Tap Revenge, or Facebook, you more likely to be a better brand advocate for these brands than any other “general market” consumer that probably gives two shits about.


"hey you hoser, stop watering it down!"

monday morning inspiration

this is one of 3 winners in a recent youtube competition for a scholarship to the vancouver film school. candidates were asked to submit a video on the theme of "what matters to you." to see the rest of the winners and entries, click here.

Didn't know El Segundo, CA was NASCAR country?

Didn't know El Segundo, CA was NASCAR country
Originally uploaded by LookingThruTheLens

Saw this stock car inspired limo today. I would expect to see this
in the deep south, but never in the South Bay.

Nguyen Duong
Sent from my "not as cool as the new 3G iPhone"

putting lipstick on a pig

the homeless meter program in laguna beach, ca...by the numbers:

# of meters: 5
est. # of homeless: 65
est. revenue from meters: $40/month


via the oc register

the process

the situation: "we're seeing reports that people don't know what to do at an intersection. some are slowing, others are excelerating, a small percentage are backing up..."

the assignment: "so we're looking for signage that brings people to a stop, before they continue..."

the result: watch the vid and see how you to can produce creative with stopping power

red chair

red chair
Originally uploaded by LookingThruTheLens

a friend of mine took a photo of a red chair alone in the room. i really liked it's simplicity and calmness. here's my attempt to capture that quiet feeling. not sure my photo is there yet. will have to work on it w/different angles and lighting.

The power of play

The power of play, originally uploaded by LookingThruTheLens.

We should have signs like this around the office.

@ Target, Foothill Ranch, CA

Nguyen Duong
Sent from my "not as cool as the new 3G iPhone"

So long stale cereal

Archer Farm's bag-free, reclosable cereal container.

Neat packaging, takes up less space, and keeps my cereal fresh. And
it's made partially from recycled paper...the canister, not the cereal.

idiot-proof my crib

i've been baby-proofing the house for the past few weeks now. cover the electrical sockets, lock-down the cupboards, putting away sharp objects. however, since downloading the latest iphone 2.0 software i've been a tad bit preoccupied with besting my high scores on tap tap revenge and not paying attention...being an idiot around the house. maybe i need to install some of these?

via engadget

better portraits

picked up this book yesterday at arcana books in santa monica. it's a photo book featuring portraits taken 14 years ago, of some of the regulars at a popular bar in reykjavik. each barfly was taken in one shot, under the same light, against the same background, with the one hasselblad, fixed in the same position for each shot. i'm putting the 50mm back on my rig.

find out more about the book or buy it here.

Arteries

The Miramar Family Fig Tree at the Fairmont, originally uploaded by LookingThruTheLens.

The Miramar family fig tree at the Fairmont Hotel in Santa Monica. Magnificent.

found it

here's the spot that had that beautiful music bed.

gamer 101

"Wen"

"Wen", originally uploaded by LookingThruTheLens.

I usually give an easy to spell name like "Leo" or "Lou" whenever I'm
at the Starbucks. Since I haven't been going as lately I thought I
give "Nguyen" a try. I guess it's not as bad as those crappy IVRs
when you call your credit card company..."I said Big Boy!"

Nguyen Duong
Sent from my "not as cool as the new 3G iPhone"

wii music vs. rock band vs. guitar hero vs. real musical talent

who wins this battle?

i'm liking the wii music simply because it appears that it'll take up less space vs the rock band set-up. i'm already struggling to find space for the logitech steering wheel when gt5 releases. for me it's a matter of less is more, that is, less wires, less accessories, less clutter around our "gaming room." for others, i suspect it's about the ease and simplicity of play, which i can appreciate. too many buttons and combo moves gets confusing for this casual gamer.

also, back in the day, anyone w/the guitar (or even the piano) at a party, would be the life of the party. seems like today, it's the kid who can hit all the colors/beats on DDR Max, GH or RB? what happened to real musical talent?

simply chilling

i recently stumbled across a spot with this dustin o'halloran music, it's called opus 28. i can't find the spot, so here's a video some fan put together using the same beautifully haunting music.

Fendi Bears

Fendi Bears, originally uploaded by LookingThruTheLens.

@ South Coast Plaza

Nguyen Duong
Sent from my "not as cool as the new 3G iPhone"

Mildly en fuego hoy

should've seen this coming

i really wish i had read this before trying to update my iphone. now i'm holding onto a glorified paper weight. damn it to hell all you trying to activate your fancy new 3G phones.

gripping

this gave me chills. i agree with punk planning's charles firth's notion of ditching the traditional pitch tools like charts and data for a more compelling way to tell the story. i'd like to see these more often in our meetings.

via punk planning

more mash-ups please

i'm a fan of brand collaborations. i can't recall the last time i saw one that i didn't like. when i came across news about the, timbuk2 and threadless mashup, i wondered what took 'em so long? the content was always there either online or at their retail store. but, how about new canvases that the content could live on? ipod skins? grip tape for skateboard decks? recyclable grocery bags? or how about seeing the threadless designs on a twist 'n go cup at your favorite QSR? okay, maybe that one would be the one that i wouldn't really like.



via john winsor cultural radar

work hard, play even harder

i hear this phrase a lot. especially about companies that talk about their culture and their people. however, i rarely ever see it. maybe they're all working in the er? just read a really inspiring (or maybe deep down inside i'm really envious) interview about a ER doctor by night, world-traveling surfer by day. faye lee, the er doc in this interview goes full-tilt cramming in a month's worth of work into 2 weeks, and then takes a couple weeks off to travel the globe in search of waves. now that's my idea of work hard, play even harder!



via theme magazine

my brand timeline

inspired by dear jane sample's brand timeline portrait, i finally got around to creating one of my own. this is a portrait from last saturday. i'll probably get around to making one of my typical work day, perhaps it'll be interesting to see a monday vs. friday?

i'm not here to make friends

being the reality tv whore that i am, it was scary that i recognized a lot of the scenes in this clip. interesting to see that almost all of the characters that "weren't there to make friends," were the more compelling people to watch. too bad jen from hell's kitchen didn't make it further, it would've made for a nice finale tonight.

a bat-tacular DVD

no new music for me this week, instead i'm gonna put my money on batman: gotham knight a dvd release similar to the Animatrix DVD that led up to the matrix reloaded. okee dorkee says: "batman: the gotham knight contains a series of all-new chapters in Batman lore by some of the heavy hitters in comics, screenwriting, and Japanese animation!" this will get my fix on until next weekend's theatrical release. from what i've been hearing, the heavy hitting action continues into the movie.

via okee dorkee

something to feel good about

I just got done reading the latest GfK Roper Report on the American consumer. the report covers a wide range of topics from the consumer mood, personal values, technology use, and their perception of "the good life." it's an online survey conducted at the beginning of the year among, 2000 people age 18+

some of the highlights below:

John and Jane Smith are still not feeling confident about the economy and their prospects for the future (18% say that now is a good time to buy the things they want/need vs 22% last year); in addition only 18% of Americans feel that the country is going in the right direction and 1 in 3 is confident about the nation’s future. Why the worry? Think back to earlier this year when we saw continuing traffic declines into restaurants, news of $5/gallon gas prices, and the bust of the subprime market...all of that could have played into this uneasiness and the lack of confidence. Even now, as we are well into the summer, we’re still hearing about some of the same concerns from earlier in the year. So what can marketers do to alleviate some of this apprehension to spend? Maybe give ‘em something that’ll impact their wallet? How many of us are seeing free fuel promotions out there?

However, when asked what type of activity John and Jane Smith has done in the past 12 months and the level of frequency they took part in that particular activity... 89% said dining out and 64% said cooking for fun. I wonder if dining out meant going to grab a value meal at your favorite QSR? Also, could eateries such as Papa Murphy’s Take ‘n Bake Pizza do something to optimize the "cooking for fun" at home idea? or perhaps create a fun twist on Pizza Hut’s Tuscany pasta program where consumers can "prepare" the pasta halfway from their own ovens?

And finally, news last week of the updated Pew Internet & American Life Project sharing out their findings on Home Broadband Adoption 2008 study, headlined for us that ‘adoption stalls for low-income Americans.’ Can you believe it? There are still people out there accessing the internet via dial-up? My mom and dad being 2 of 'em. they just don't need the fast connection. they're not downloading ahem...streaming videos. Of those are still on dial-up, they cite the reasons for not using broadband is due to: availability, price and lack of interest. From the GfK survey, 97% of adults 18+ report accessing the net from home, 49% from work, 17% from WiFi laptop, 12% thru a cell phone. marketers should keep this in mind the next time they develop a Flash-heavy web page for their code-on-cup, code-under-the rim, code on peel n’ win, code on a CD-under the lid, etc. Is the CD under the lid still cool? Sheesh, whatever happened to that 1-hit wonder? We’ve learned this through all of our code-on-cup promotions at the Bell, gotta make it dummy-proof and simple for the masses out there who are dialing up to enter their code. This often came into conflict w/the Flash animation and trick apps that we would want to elevate the brand experience to, however, at the end of the day, the costs to do this type of creative and the strategic decision to “beat year ago” by reaching the most number of people outweighed any need for more trick ways to enter our promotions. for me, what it all should come down to is a simple idea that is transparent to the consumer. flashy bells and whistles can only get you so far. when it comes to creating that relevant brand experience, give 'em something to believe in...something to feel good about.

a boat trip to the mentawais

the mentawai islands, for me this is the surf trip of a lifetime. i dug up these pix from a pal who has already been there twice. that's him, paul, taking off on the nice reeling right. perfectly groomed, cylindrical, not a drop out of place. "it's an incredible wave machine" as he recalled it. every time i look at these pix, i daydream of maybe one day going. i think for any passionate enthusiast, we all have the one place that we want to experience in our lifetime. be it, hitting a tiny white ball on some well manicured lawn, or carving thru some twisty roads along coast highway, or bombing down a glacier in the dolomites, these are the experiences that should keep us inspired.

Rasta Board anyone?

i've never really had any desire to buy a sector 9 board. my freebie santa cruz mountain dew board does the trick bombing down the trail to trestles sure it's ugly as hell, but i never have to worry about anyone taking off with it. yes, these sector 9 boards are pretty cool to look at, and i really appreciate their "coffee table book" appeal to their designs, however, i just can justify dropping the $200 for one.

when i heard about billabong buying out sector 9 today, and seeing a mixed bag of haters and supporters, i leaned on the side of optimism for this deal. with two very core brands, both having their own distinctive design influence, i would expect to see some collaboration between the two companies. maybe we'll see a David Rastovich influenced board? this guy is one of the truly innovative soul surfers out there today. he's always pushing the line to try different types of board designs. i'm sure billabong will bring him into the fold with the sector 9 guys to come up with something we've never seen before. and that could be a really good thing.

fruit salad

kauai fruit 2, originally uploaded by LookingThruTheLens.

i think i'm suffering from the vacation withdrawals. this is some of the fresh fruit we picked up last week at the farmer's market in old town koloa, kauai. good thing this is a short work week, i need another vacay.