I heart Virgin America

…ignoring the fact that it’s located in the International terminal and I always forget, everything about this brand experience blows the other airlines out of the water.  I am currently posting this from thousands of feet in the air, en route to San Diego (wifi on the house, until Jan 15).  Oh, how I love you, Virgin.  Let me count the ways:

1. Free premium drinks

2. Tweeting while listening to Ted Talks on Red (bonus points for being the top web pick)

3. Fancy, comfy earphones for free (I’m looking at you, JetBlue)

4. Beautiful safety video that is not only watchable, but actually memorable

5. Extra leg room when you have to change your flight last minute and get stuck in the emergency row

6. Local beer from 21st Amendment

6. Tiny boarding passes that actually fit in your pocket

7. And the most important of all - $50 flights

Excellent work, Mr. Branson.  I may never fly Southwest again.

fingerskneesandtoes: hellafilthy: Just reblogging it because it actually made me laugh out loud.

fingerskneesandtoes:

hellafilthy:

Just reblogging it because it actually made me laugh out loud.

Remember when Hulu first came out?  When it was the darling of the interwebs, touting brand spankin’ new innovation and promises of free entertainment for all?  It’s supporters declared it as a game-changer in the future of television - a revelation that would undoubtedly make the experience of watching TV better for all involved.  While I wholeheartedly agree that Hulu could play an integral part in changing how Americans watch television, I don’t think the video-streaming platform has quite delivered on this.

It seems that Hulu possesses all the right tools but has perhaps confused the message.  It’s not about cheeky aliens running around in an evil plot to destroy the world (and your brain in the process), it’s about the power given back to the people to decide when, where and what they will be viewing.  It’s about giving people mobility rather than chaining them to a couch.  Hulu has made your television content responsive, and in turn, it is evolving into an agnostic, customizable, grossly addictive, interactive experience.

I put together this video in class to better illustrate the idea.

It goes without saying that there is still much that can be done for Hulu to further it’s cause and reach it’s full potential.  It’s on the verge of completely revolutionizing television.  But the question still remains - where do they go from here?

The Last Campaign: How Experiences are Becoming the New Advertising

My quasi-boss at a Razorfish internship over the summer is getting some buzz for this article he recently posted on AdAge.  The title pretty much says it all.  If you simply can’t get enough, here’s an excerpt:

In fact, any planner worth his or her salt can reel off a stream of statistics pointing to advertising’s demise — or lack of effectiveness, at least…

But perhaps it’s not that advertising is failing but that brand experiences (both on and offline) are really what are capturing the imagination of today’s consumer. In FEED, a new report that I authored with my colleagues at Razorfish, we found that digital brand experiences are having an inordinate sway on consumer purchasing habits and brand affinity.

Of course, brands that were “born digital” intuitively know this. Google and Amazon are pioneering experiential brands. That’s why Amazon continues to pour money into improving its customer service rather than run traditional advertising or marketing campaigns. As Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has said, “We are not great advertisers. So we start with customers, figure out what they want, and figure out how to get it to them.” Zappos built its brand the same way, as has Facebook.

Experiences, it would seem, are the new advertising. Experiences reach and engage customers in new and more meaningful ways, they promote “trial” over simply messaging and — quite frankly — experiences are much more suited to our digital era when everything is just a click away. Our challenge now, as marketers, is to make sure that our products and brands can actually live up to the experiences that we advertise.

Be sure to check out FEED.  And you can hear Garrick give a riveting talk on app advertising at next year’s SXSW.  You knew interns had to be good for something ;)

cassiokeyboard: (via quitecheeky) I’ve been looking for shoes like this forever. Down with Louboutins.

cassiokeyboard:

(via quitecheeky)

I’ve been looking for shoes like this forever.

Down with Louboutins.

thedailywhat: Wall Clock Design Concept of the Day: “Trace of Time” by Il-Gu Cha. Appointments written on the glass and steel clock face get wiped away by the timepiece’s eraser-hand as it passes over them, symbolizing the transience of urgency or whatever. [via.] See Also: A Clock A Day. (via.)

thedailywhat:

Wall Clock Design Concept of the Day: “Trace of Time” by Il-Gu Cha.

Appointments written on the glass and steel clock face get wiped away by the timepiece’s eraser-hand as it passes over them, symbolizing the transience of urgency or whatever.

[via.]

See Also: A Clock A Day. (via.)

World Building in a Crazy World - Jonathan Harris

Some excellent thoughts on the state of the digital world and how we should be moving forward accordingly.  Put together by Jonathan Harris at UCLA’s Mobile Media Lecture Series.

"I was ready to jump off the balcony of my office,” (Randy) Phillips says. “We went and met with Michael, and Kenny (Ortega) said, ‘Michael, you’ve got to stop. We’ve got an incredible show; we don’t need any more vignettes.’ Michael said, ‘But Kenny, God channels this through me at night. I can’t sleep because I’m so supercharged.’ Kenny said, ‘But Michael, we have to finish. Can’t God take a vacation?’ Without missing a beat, Michael said, ‘You don’t understand — if I’m not there to receive these ideas, God might give them to Prince.’"
—

MJ_thisisit

From the Entertainment Weekly cover story about the documentary about Michael Jackson’s preparation for his come-back shows immediately before his death in July. I think this quote says a lot about the man as an artist. I do find myself wondering — if this is true, how many of Prince’s great moments were intended by God for Michael Jackson? (via perpetua) (via fingerskneesandtoes)

A Student's Take on the Planning-ness Conference

Sorry for the late post.  After a fantastic weekend full of inspired and inspiring moments, I’m just now getting to the sink full of dishes, neglected dogs, and the work precariously piled up on my desk.  I handed over mind and body to work for the 4A’s Planning-ness conference in exchange for entry and the opportunity to interact with some of the big names that we student-folk admire.  My “opportunity to interact” presented itself as mostly a quiet form of obsessing from across the room, and a few moments of clumsy (but treasured) conversation.  I must say Adrian Ho and Grant McCracken were quite accommodating about being chatted up as they waited for me to hurry up and pour their wine.

One of the things I took note of at this event was the amount of young, bright planners in attendance.  I suppose it’s not surprising given it’s unconventional nature.  Some were a couple years in, and some were just trying to get started (present company included).  If this ragtag bunch are what you can fathom as the “future of planning,” then I dare say that the future looks pretty good.

I was also extremely impressed by the variety and range of speakers that were mined for this conference - from seasoned culture vets like Frank Striefler, Rob White, and Gareth Kay, to kid geniuses making the web a better place like Garry Tan and Clay Parker Jones.  Props to Mark Lewis for an excellent job pulling it all together.  As much as I am intimidated by how much others have accomplished in such a short amount of time, it also energizes me and makes me want to show others what I can do too.  It’s like my head has been so filled to the brim with new approaches and ways of thinking that it’s about to explode with (hopefully brilliant) ideas.  Needless to say, I’m still getting my sea legs in the planning world and have a long way to go before I will feel fully confident enough to share them.  So don’t worry, you’re not going to hear about my lofty plans to change the face of advertising… yet.

Some of the weekend’s learnings that have resonated with me are that planners are making the move from ideas and messages to true action.  The focus has shifted from finding innovative ways to interrupt people, to maximizing value for all.  Branding, in turn, needs to shift from imagery, promise, and transactional relationships, to experience, purpose, and community.  Your company can do it best by mastering culture and creating transparency.

The conference highlights, for me, were learning how to apply semiotics, taking an entire documentary film-making course in under 90 minutes, and working with Ed Cotton on building a low bar, high ceiling Twitter client (so glad he didn’t remember me from my Influx Curated mishap).  There were lots of eye opening moments (Steph Redlener’s short presentation on managing your career like you manage your brand made me want to rip up every resume, cover letter, and career objective I’ve ever written and choke myself in my own shame).  And the workshop portions of the event proved very useful - if not for pure ideation, at least for some thought-provoking conversation.  When else would a student, still coming to terms with her own crazy ideas, ever be put on the same problem-solving tasks as the planning elite?  The experience served to both affirm and push forth my opinions.

The one drawback I found was that because there were two sessions going on at all times, I always felt like I was missing out some of the good stuff.  Luckily, the slideshare presentations should be posted here.  And you should check back in a week for actual videos.

All in all, an excellent showing for the plannerly events I’ve attended so far.  Since that official number is only 2, that’s not a whole lot to judge by.  In addition, I’m also kind of apt to take everything said as the word of God, given my malleable, young, planning mind.  However, I do intend on internalizing everything I’ve learned, applying it, and deciding for myself what works and what doesn’t.  Who knows how I’ll feel in the next year or so after I’ve gotten a little more experience under my belt.  What I can say for sure is if this is the kind of work, people, and exciting thinking I have to look forward to, then I am definitely in the right business.

1 of 3