There have finally been a handful of pleasant, spring days in Austin and that always puts one thing on our minds: South by Southwest (March 12-21). Once again, Door Number 3 will be bringing you all the coverage, interviews and two cents from the marketing and advertising perspective we can muster.
The biggest news this year, which is sort of not surprising, is the continued growth of SXSW Interactive. 2009 was the largest attendance yet, and this year looks to top that. The nerdy younger brother of the SXSW family has finally come into his own and convincingly commands as many days as SXSW Music. Here are a few quick things that have been on the radar so far:
QR Codes (aka Quick Response Codes/Smartcodes) and location-based applications were around last year but expect 2010 to be their year. Everything from Austin-based Gowalla to QM Codes. In fact, every SXSW badge this year features a unique QR code to enable attendees to electronically “follow” people.
Kicking off SXSW Film is the comic book adaptation Kick Ass, which has used its series of Internet-only red band trailers to great effect.
“Surf music” definitely seems to be the trend this year when it comes to the hottest bands. Surfer Blood has gotten most of the hype, as has New Zealand-based Surf City, but we’re holding out for NYC’s The Drums.
Bookmark this link (Door Number 3 blog) for SXSW coverage starting March 15.
Fundred
Normally we wouldn’t recommend counterfeiting money, but we promise it’s for a good cause. To match the estimated cost needed to protect New Orleans’ youth from lead contamination, the Fundred Dollar Bill Project wants at least 3 million Americans to create their own $100 bills. When their goal is met, they’ll ask Congress for an equal contribution.
fundred.org
OurGoods
Bartering? Isn’t that for, like, fur trappers? Don’t tell the people behind OurGoods, a new social network that lets creative individuals share their resources. The site streamlines the process by matching up artists based on their “skills, spaces and objects.”
ourgoods.org
Emotional Cities
“How are you today?” This leads to simple visualizations of how cities around the world are feeling that day. As of press time, Austin is in a better mood than Hollywood.
EmotionalCities.com
(h)earing aid
Hipsters don’t believe it, but they too, get old. The (h)earing aid from Designaffairs is a way to cope. Crafted to resemble earplugs, this little bit of technology helps aging indie rockers keep their street cred. Still no word on if it’ll make your band sound better.
DesignAffairs.com
You know those people who clog your social media page with their constant narcissistic updates about their latest adventure?
“In France! Where should I eat?”
“Backstage with Radiohead!”
“Three weeks in Singapore. Woo-hoo!”
Yep, you know them. And now, you can rob them – thanks to the social media pranksters behind Please Rob Me.
Using services like Twitter and Foursquare, the site rebroadcasts updates that indicate whose homes are empty and primed for burglarizing. Most of the updates also include where the person has gone and for how long, making it even easier to rob them blind.
The idea behind the website, created by the self-proclaimed “concept and idea factory” known as Forthehack, is to remind consumers about the privacy issues that we sacrifice as our social media obsession grows. It’s also reminding us that what we say online doesn’t necessarily stay online.
So before announcing your next out-of-home experience, keep in mind that you’re not just annoying your friends; you’re annoying burglars, too.
What? You haven’t heard of Chatroulette?
NEXT!
On the popular new video chat site, Chatroulette, users engage face-to-face with random people around the world. And just like advertising, users have less than two seconds to grab their audience’s attention. Failure to do so results in getting “nexted,” the advertising equivalent of someone changing the TV channel to avoid a horrendous commercial.
So, the age-old ad question remains: how does a brand capture the attention of a complete stranger in mere seconds?
Witnessing the way people interact on the site provides some understanding of how people get, and sustain, viewer attention. Chatrouletters respond to positive energy and resist pressing the “next” button when they’re faced with excitement and enthusiasm. In fact, most users actually initiate conversation by reflexively typing “hi” when someone simply waves to them.
Brands today could take a lesson from the basic communication Chatroulette re-introduces: put on a friendly, energetic face and just be yourself. And be prepared to have something to say when someone does give you the chance to speak. The more we become aware of what attracts “consumers” and how they interact with each other, the better we can understand what it takes to get a consumer to reply “hi” the next time our brand waves to them.
“Be stupid,” Diesel proclaims. Profoundly.
In their new campaign, Anomaly Advertising Agency in London blasts this anthem in print, outdoor and on the web. The ads are bright, outrageous and youthful, continuing its long history of provocative campaigns. Online, the Diesel website gives consumers the chance to submit their own “stupid” act, maintaining the rebellious energy of the brand but with a spin; the campaign involves the consumer more than previous campaigns have, a familiar tactic in advertising today.
With lines like, “Smart says no. Stupid says yes,” “Smart critiques. Stupid Creates” and “If we didn’t have stupid thoughts we’d have no interesting thoughts at all,” Anomaly positions Diesel in the realm of the wild, creative and unrestrained. The campaign has received a lot of attention within the industry, and as far as tweets go, viewers are responding favorably. Gavindevlin tweets, “Ironically Diesel’s ‘be stupid’ ads are very clever.”
Wieden + Kennedy’s “Go Forth” Levi’s campaign preceded “Be Stupid,” and also called for liberation and expression. The current trend in approaching younger consumers poses the question: does advertising create culture or does it merely respond to existing movements? In Diesel’s case, the answer is both. With “Be Stupid,” Anomaly taps into the current explosion of consumer-created content, of young people making sure they are heard—in writing, video or whatever means they can. The campaign reinforces the consumer voice but it also gives them a platform to use it.
And if, according to Diesel, “Stupid is the relentless pursuit of a regret-free life,” who doesn’t have something stupid to say?
Our friends over in Ireland haven’t been getting much love lately. FIFA robbed their team of a World Cup appearance, their government limited their free speech and the global recession has burst their economic balloon.
Looks like the Irish could use a little luck.
UK-based Vodafone has come up with a plan to “Cheer Up Ireland.” In January, the phone company began hosting a Flickr photo pool, encouraging the Irish to submit original photographs that might lift the Emerald Isle’s spirits. While the feel-good promotion is running in tandem with a discount for Irish cell phone users, its true brilliance is in reminding us that there are inexpensive and creative ways to foster goodwill.
And as extra incentive to boost their photo count, and Ireland’s morale, Vodafone will reward the best entrant with a 3000€ shopping spree. For those of you already doing the math, that’s $5324.34 – or 887 pints of Guinness. And if that doesn’t do the trick, nothing will.
We’re pretty lucky to live in a city like Austin and have so many great local businesses to support. And it seems like everyone who lives here has that same attitude. Even though “going local” is second-nature, we were still struck by a grassroots call-to-action to support local banks, a type of business that hasn’t gotten much attention before. That is before all the large, national banks became the target of ire because of bailouts, bonuses, forclosures, etc.
It all originated in an article written by Ariana Huffington on her site Huffingtonpost, which has been following the financial crisis carefully and has been very critical of corporate banks. Since that article was published, a few sites have popped up, notably MyCommunityMyBank and MoveYourMoney that provide resources and other opportunities to get involved.
While one could correctly argue that the sudden drive to support local banks comes directly from the extremely sour public mood towards bailed-out national banks, any reason to support a local business is good in our opinion.
For what it’s worth, we’re proud to bank locally with (and create branding and advertising for) our client American Bank of Texas.
Check out Trendwatching.com’s “10 CRUCIAL CONSUMER TRENDS FOR 2010.” Number 3 on the list: Real-Time Reviews. As people continue to share (in real time) everything they buy, watch, eat, wear, attend and so on, and with even more search engines and tracking services making it easy to find and group these ‘live dispatches’ by theme, topic or brand, 2010 will see ready-to-buy consumers tapping into a live stream of experiences from fellow consumers.
Don’t believe the hype? Don’t think the opinions of fellow consumers weigh heavily into our purchasing decisions? Well then explain what led us to purchase 100 of these from Amazon.com back in the spring.
image from trendwatching.com
