#dodgedartregistry is righteous, great idea. props to @wiedenkennedy

so, i saw the ad for the the dodgedartregistry during the pats-ravens nfl playoff game. I thought interesting, then i did just a little bit of homework. hit the twitter. hit the site. saw what was happening. 

chatter was positive for the most part - i'd say 60-65% postive or at least fair. During the game - I saw there were 90 registries already, 1-day later, there were over 400. 

People dis integration - but this is in a way, an inverted integration program, and in a way, very traditional, and in a way pretty innovative.

the central marketing or business idea is 'crowdfunding' - this is based on understandingof current cultural/social trends - where people are using sites like kickstarter or crowdrise to fund projects, wether home brewing, documentary filmmaking or social philanthropy home builds. I think this is amazing, yet it reminds me of the old SNL skit done by #EddieMuprhy in the 1980's where he suited up as a white person to better understand white culure. The skit was brilliant. There's a scene where Eddie explains through his interactions with other whites - that 'when white people are alone, they give things to each other.' This is cultural insight behind crowdfunding. I believe it's true.

Moving forward, what dodge did was to take this a) cultural insight, b) pair it with today's tech-open crowdfunding platform opportunity and create an automobile e-commerce solution. Really fucking amazing. Not exactly 'new' - but I'd say new for this category.

Now, here's where we add kitty and 'integration' and some of the old-school mktng: The registry is essentially a storefront, right. we need to tell ppl about - so we advertise it - with a tv commercial aired during one of the most watched live events of the week/month/year - that drives awareness to site - yes that's old school - but effective. now where this site, itself wins is a) PR - yes, in auto and media/ad trades b) online chatter, the aformentioned twitter, but also c) through the registry itself - each registry calls on friends to help - so that's awareness buildings, friends.

This is an entirely modern marketing program: a sharing e-commerce site that hits on both converstion and awarness elements, incorporates current, as well as deeper, human cultural attitudes and behavioral (what & how) as the base, and also uses the communications tools available for promotion/scale - TV, Press, ppl.

One other thing - there's a business growth objective - do not forget, please. in my estimation, this program pays for itself, and will be a model for other vehicles within this price range and audience composition - because event though, say 500 registries may seem like a small number, the money raised goes to fund a car or down payment. @ $30K/car x 500 = $15MM - that certainly is enough to cover the cost of the program. During the same game the twits @mercedesbenz ran maybe 10 :15 teasers telling viewers to 'wait' for the next ad. What a fucking waste of money - go hire some people who know what they're doing please, rather than layoff people and live inside the moat. (a litttle anger, there, sure). We are in the new world. Burn the ships.

Further - there's no reason this program can't live on - a 365 idea v. a campaign idea. this is how we have to think today. 365, as opposed to 360 - but we can certainly use 360 tactics. Just brilliant. The agency:@wiedenkennedy. Kudos.  This is something i want to do.

Predictably Irrational. @danariely leaves me wanting more

Finished reading Predictably Irrational by @danariely. For me, I'd say it's just a bit above average. There are many examples of what people do, and how to shape behavior, but what's missing for me is the why. There is a some attention to say that most people have fear of losing what they've attained - hence risk aversion. For me - that's not the insight. For me I want to know why people are afraid of losing what they've attained? Why do people fear the unknown, and prefer the devil they know over the devil they don't.

Don't we want to unlock that answer? the human truth? is risk aversion because people have worked hard to attain where they are/what they have and don't want to give that back? (is it that simple?) or is risk aversion because they're afraid of what happens when they have a new (blank) canvas? that to me is interesting. particularly today because we're so connected. I think this is interesting. I think what it says is that connections still have to begin on a personal level. they can grow from there - really just like ideas.  maybe now we're getting somewhere.  

Thanks. God Bless

integrated media today means social media, and people's rights

Where I am today is social media - it is the modern live ingredient of an integrated campaign.

SM contributes to loyalty, and to brand building with content both from the customer and the brand.  Today, social media is a stable channel, and a brand needs to be involved in this space.  I recall Alex Wippurfurth's book Brand Hijack specifially calling for brands to allow consumers to input into the brand building process, with examples like RedBull.  His book certainly preceded the social media explosion - but the idea that people own brands as much as the brands themselves was prescient and 100% accurate. 

I don't know which direction social media will take right now, but it's not simply a trend, and continuing top down business comms as usual is just wrong.  Social media is real, powerful and has implications for your business.  And while we may say or think it's almost come out of nowhere - it hasn't. It's only been amplified through technology.  This is the piece that may change - we don't know the how necessarily, but we do know the what - people talk and they talk about your brand.  

Think about this - we for years had been in the business of making the brands on which we work buzzworthy, something to be talked about.  That was the goal of advertising - we wanted people to talk about our brands.  And we know they were - we just didn't the details before the explosion.  

Now that they're where we can see them, we need to give the people rights.  

What i'm saying is, i'm in support of Wippurfuth's thesis that brands need to formally recognize the consumer's control on their business, on their strategy. Content is and will continue to be uber-important, of course, but the shape of that content really has to include the consumer.  It has to be real, authentic, like the Sarah Silverman campaign a few year ago.  The results speak for themselves.  Like my friend Ben Stiller says, "Do It"

How can we say US econ policy has been good for American?

So, I read The Atlantic article by Adam Davidson about the changing landscape of American manufacturing.  Thomas Friedman also commented on the piece.  

I thought it was going to be longer, but it was fine.  Length aside, I thought it was pretty straightforward, and made sense - about how the US is holding on to skilled labor - ie heavy and/or precise machinery, engineering, etc., but outsourcing unskilled labor - ie apparel, toys, and the like.  I didn't see anything in the article that was surprising; it was essentially upholding the rule we've been living with as long as I can remember: education takes you farther.

There was one area of the article I thought was interesting: Standard's engineers examining parts to identify where they could be produced most (cost) effectively.  For me - that connected with what I do - but hadn't thought of in that way.  I work in advertising, and up until recently had thought of what I do as creative exercise.

I just never thought of advertising as a business - probably lucky for me.  Until now.  That piece of the article really just clarified for me 1) that I do in fact work in a factory, 2) I do produce a specialized product, and 3) that managers upstream determine which direction work flows.

I'm fortunate I have the education to work in this 'factory' and produce the product I do. I'm feeling a little more grown up now...

Prescient Super Sad True Love Story - Delivers

I finished the novel Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart.  I loved this book.  It was just super plain fun to read, which is a major irony running in the book's not-too-distant future setting.  The main story, multiple story lines, setting, and characters are more than prescient - they're radically current.  The ending is apropot. 

Thanks to @TedManger for the recommendation.