2013 Trends – Consumer :: Media :: Technology

2013 Trends :: Consumer : Media : Technology from Savannah Strategies

AdZookie: Paint My House!

I was intrigued by AdZookie‘s marketing idea, promoting themselves with unique spectacular billboards … and reaching out to their small business target at the same time. Says AdZookie: “We’re looking for houses to paint. In fact, paint is an understatement. We’re looking for homes to turn into billboards.”

It definitely speaks to the times that the incentive is mortgage repayment …

Here’s their blurb: “Adzookie is a FREE mobile advertising network. If you have a website and want to increase your visibilty we can help. We place free advertisements for your business where ads get noticed the most … on smartphones.”

Their website is here.

Related articles

• Are You Brave Enough To Have The Exterior OF Brooklyn New York Home Turned Into A Billboard While Having Your Mortgage Paid During The Time The House Is Painted In Bold Ad Colors? (cadogan1.wordpress.com)
• In exchange for mortgage payments, consumers’ homes painted with ads (springwise.com)
• Mortgage Troubles? Try a House Billboard (blogs.wsj.com)
• Turn your house into a billboard, get free mortgage (money.cnn.com)
• Would you turn your home into a billboard for a free mortgage? (sfgate.com)
• Looking for someone to pay your mortgage? (findwell.com)
• Life Inc.: A colorful way to avoid foreclosure (lifeinc.today.com)
• Would you turn your house into a billboard to live mortgage free? (thenextweb.com)
• Questionable Marketing in the Age of Desperation (blogs.forbes.com)

Inspiration: Innovation, Integration

Eric Schmidt – ADMS Keynote & Audience Q&A: “Innovation”

Nick Brien, Transforming Media Integration for Greater Marketing Impact

People: Steven Grasse

Steven Grasse Does His Own Thing, or at least that’s what Piers thinks. At the recent PSFK New York Conference, (self described) “maverick creator-entrepreneur” Steven Grasse closed out the day’s discussions with a spirited talk about his journey from “disgruntled ad man to revolutionary businessman”. He spoke candidly about his inspirations, trials and tribulations, and his passion for living a life driven by art, authenticity, and conscience.

I have been an admirer of Mr Grasse’s work for some time, since seeing him and his team (from Giro as it used to be called) present credentials to my then-client Virgin Mobile. I had been particularly impressed with their Camel Lounges and work with Sailor Jerry. I later learned he invented one of my favorite drinks (Hendricks Gin). Such is the esteem in which I hold Mr Grasse I can (almost) forgive his rather strange views on English people…

Alex Bogusky vs Success

Alex Bogusky learns from his successes
It appears Mr Bogusky has been imparting sage advice at my mate Brent Hodgins’ Mirren conference. “I’ve never learned anything from my mistakes,” Bogusky said. “Again, I hate conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom is learning from your mistakes. What about learning from your successes? That’s where I’ve focused [my energies]. Like, this works, we better get down and study on this.”

I have to say I agree. Back in the Chiat days, Carl Johnson was always looking for projects/ groups/ processes that somehow worked, and tried to replicate them. In a big agency culture these successful groups or projects often get ground down by intransigence, inertia or received wisdom.

OMG! PSFK NY!

Try and contain your excitement, dear reader, but PSFK New York is back! (On April 9th, 2010).  Its a (quite liderally) unmissable opportunity to listen to over 20 speakers as they share ideas and opinions from the forefront of culture.

Topics range from the arts to entertainment to business to the web. Previous speakers at PSFK events include Shepard Fairey, Seth Godin, Jeff Staple; and key innovators from Apple, BBC, Esty.com, foursquare, the Guardian, MTV, NASA, Nokia, Starbucks and Virgin America.

This year (it says here) the mainstage will host talks by up 20 speakers behind some of the most inspirational projects that have featured recently on PSFK. This years crew include:

Rob Walker [if you haven't read Buying In, you should]

Grant McCracken [everyone's favourite Chief Culture Officer]

Nick Felton [early prophet of personal data and creator of the FELTRON report]

Shantell Martin: [vj and installation artist]

And many more!

Hosted of course by the purple polymath Piers Fawkes.

Tickets available after the jump.

Piers do I get my £5?

Other coverage:

Psfk-nyc (farisyakob.typepad.com)

Texans Battle Christian Fundamentalism in Education

Texas Freedom Network
A brave band of Texans battling the religious right’s incursion in to the world of education.

1,000,000 Against the Texas School Board’s Version of History

Join this group to express your concern at the right wing, Christian fundamentalist, conservative bias of the new social studies curriculum approved by the Texas School Board.

Here’s Jon Stewart’s take …

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Don’t Mess With Textbooks
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Reform

Revisionist History: Coming Up on Fox News (littlegreenfootballs.com)
Revisionist History: Coming Up on Fox News (trueslant.com)
Texas BOE Throws Thomas Jefferson Down the Memory Hole (littlegreenfootballs.com)
Texas BOE Throws Thomas Jefferson Down the Memory Hole (trueslant.com)

People: Dr. Dan Ivankovich

An inspiring story forwarded to me by my good friend Steve Ivankovich (admittedly about his “little” brother) … Dan Ivankovich was profiled by CBS for their “American Spirit” segment.

“His work takes him to Chicago‘s meanest streets. But at seven feet tall, cruising in his 500-horsepower Dodge and wearing black leather — he knows no fear. He may spend some nights playing the blues with his band, but by day, Dan Ivankovich is all business: a bone doctor with a heart as big as his frame. [Dr Dan Ivankovich] has a policy: treat first, charge later. Doing as many as 800 surgeries per year, half of his patients are uninsured.”

Truly inspiring. Watch the video here.

Get Excited And change Things

Meh.

Courtesy of Flowers & Fleurons

Operation Warrior Library

Operation Warrior Library

Paul Malmont is a twice published author and Copy Director at R/GA in New York. In his spare time, he and his wife have developed a program that gets books in the hands of troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, their wives stationed in far-away bases and soon will do the same for the children. Operation Warrior Library, or OWL, is the Malmonts’ way of supporting our volunteer army without paying credence to one political ideal or another. “We just want to give them a few hours of escapism,” said Malmont, who launched the program with the help of an Army Colonel. The OWL mission is clear: send reading materials across enemy lines to soldiers who would otherwise have to buy them. To accomplish that goal, the Malmonts enlisted (heh) the aid of other authors, and publishers too. To date, some 2,000 books have been donated, giving soldiers a much needed break from their daily chores.