is he whale, or is he human?

Over the weekend, I took the time to watch Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s ‘Blackfish.’ While I found the documentary to be interesting at its face-level, I can see why it was overlooked by the Academy when Oscar Season sprung upon us in late November. In essence, while the film attempted to portray a two-fold argument, it failed in presenting a double-sided argument which accounts for both sides of the story.

 

 

Blackfish’s opening alone is enough to get the viewer immediately hooked. Cowperthwaite juxtaposes the 911 voice call audio with the footage of what the viewer suspects will be the infamous YouTube video documenting the 2010 death of Seaworld Trainer, Dawn Brancheau. However, it is not. The user-generated video footage is revealed to be a normal, fantastical Orca trick. This just makes us, as the viewer, hungry for more. Following this tease, they don’t even start with this large event – the event that arguably, sparked the film. They begin to break down Seaworld, and they do this by establishing the scope with which we are about to experience at ‘insider’ look at Seaworld. We get a ‘personal’ tale from previous Seaworld Trainers (established as ‘unqualified’ by their documentary introductions). We sense a feeling of regret and wrongness from their voiceovers from their film. Clearly the antagonist here is Seaworld. However, taking that approach would seem much too corporate. Cowperthwaite needed a better angle – a more human angle. That angle came in Tilikum – Seaworld’s supposed ‘killer breeder.’ He takes the shape of the film’s anti-hero. But is he really a hero?

The major film elements utilized in Blackfish are numerous. However, the ones that really make an impact are the user-generated found footage, the audio voice recordings (with no visuals), and the interviews. The interviews allow the viewer to attach onto a personal story and opinion – a first-hand account, if you will. These interviews also filter through and show the level of Seaworld’s ‘manipulative’ tactics, especially in their depictions of why they bought Tilikum in the first place and how his presence was explained to the trainers. You also see the self-regret of these people giving the interviews, which makes their stories more believable. The found footage allows you to see it as it was. The film boldly shows footage of several of Tilikum’s killings – namely, one at a Canadian seapark called ‘SeaLand of the Pacific.’ They show the footage, typically following interviews with people that witnessed it – it’s proclaiming that these were real events. It really puts an emphasis on the fact that these events actually did happen. It’s much different reading about the death of a 13-year old, and seeing it through the shaky hands of a presumably old-school video camera.

 

 

However, while Tilikum’s story is interesting and heartbreaking and surprisingly scary – this is not the story that made me regret my 2013 spontaneous Christmas trip to Seaworld. Cowperthwaite had to establish what the ‘whale’ was exactly. Why was it important that Tilikum was human-like and intelligent? Because we had to make the connection between human and whale – so we could relate to them on that level, and see them in our scope of thinking. This heightened the argument against Seaworld. We, as viewers, are almost forced to adopt a care-based ethical approach to Cowperthwaite’s argument. The scene in particular that really touched me, and caused me to remember this documentary was their depiction (both through interviews and found footage) of a mother whale being separated from her daughter. They spoke a lot leading up to this sequence about how whales have their own language and how we’ve been working to study it. They described the sounds the mother whale made after her daughter was moved to a different park as ‘unheard of.’ She reached a scale of sound that no whale had ever been recorded making before —- in an effort to recall her lost child. This was the scene that resonated with me most. This was the reason this ‘presentation’ was evocative.

 

 

After watching this film, I know that it’s important to make sure that whatever the topic it is – it must be relatable, and it must be so on some type of emotional level. I’ve found that funny and sad are the emotions that resonate with me. However, a range of emotions is better. There’s a reason that stories always follow an arc. We’re in disarray, we find a sense of union with ourselves, then it’s disrupted to finalize in some type of conclusion. I need to be able to incorporate this arc into every presentation, so that I can take my audience through a full set of emotional reactions. My next presentation very well may be our final on Budweiser. I’m sure the possibilities for a range of emotions are endless – maybe.

give me beer, give me bands

Ok. I saw this yesterday and I tweeted about it. And I Facebook posted about it. Facebook is a very serious thing. Like most of its users, I purely use it on a stalking basis. I think the proper term is ‘lurking?’ Regardless. This was totally post worthy. Firstly, I love a good Stella Artois. Secondly, I love Cold War Kids. And I’ve seen them in concert numerous times. Sadly, none of those times I’ve ordered a Stella. Here’s to next time – because of this campaign.

Before I talk about why this all makes perfect sense, I’m trying to dig back to how they even got on the right track. They must’ve dug a heck of a lot of leaves out of the way. But my first thoughts center around the word ‘craft.’ Stella is, essentially, a craft beer. And whether we want to admit it or not, craft beer has a lot of connotations in its own. I’ll admit, I’ve taken my fair share of Buzzfeed quizzes: ‘which drink are you?’ ‘what does your favorite drink say about you?’ Anyway, apparently I’m a super hipster who always knows ‘somewhere better.’ Maybe that’s true. I’m leaving it up in the air. But there’s an obvious connection here. Craft. Like, was that the word they wrote on the board to contemplate? I really hope it is. The copy in the ad, (I’m not sure it’s the one that I posted) is brilliant. It makes the connection perfectly. They talk incessantly (but in a great way) about the way that these glass chalices are crafted. They’re ‘crafted’ in a way that each makes its a unique noise which makes a larger part of this symphony. The ‘craft’ of the beer. The ‘craft’ of the chalice. The ‘craft’ of the sound. That’s fantastic stuff. And it leads way to the perfect way to drive interest to their product. Music.

Again, I’m going back to that idea of the ‘hipster.’ It’s a negative word, but there’s clearly a cultural lifestyle out there that is prevalent and may or may not resemble this derogatory term. We’re more cultured. Anyway. These are the people that are drinking your product, your ‘craft’ beer drinkers. And a lot of these people also happen to be really into music. Really into music you’ve probably never heard of. That’s the crossroad. And it’s amazing. I’ve been to my fair share of concerts, and more – the more craft the beer (but you’ve always got your solid PBR drinkers), the cooler you are. You don’t go to concerts and see people holding mixed drinks – often. I’m not saying it hasn’t happened, because it did. It happened right in front of me in Richmond, Virginia this July at the Local Natives concert – and it ruined an otherwise unearthly experience. These are beer drinkers. And they like beer for the taste. And they know their beer. It’s not a ‘specials’ type environment. Music venues and beer are a thing. These people are your drinkers. And Stella took great advantage of them.

Cold War Kids is a band that’s been around, but their old enough that you respect their stuff. They might even have had a new album come out in the past few years? I’m not sure. Maybe it’s better if they haven’t? (Your’e itching to get at their new stuff). They’re a staple. They’re a kick-back. And it’s super cool that Stella decided to team up with them to make music. Beer, bands, and bad-ass instruments. The minute they released the song on their website, I clicked so hard. So hard. I’d like to see some stats, actually – it’d be pretty interesting stuff. But beyond the drive of awareness of their brand, they’re totally making connections that are going to sell. These people are not drinking out of solo cups. It’s a multi-focal attack and I dig it. They’re pressing a lifestyle here, they’re driving their main product, but they’re really giving you incentive to make them big bucks (I haven’t priced the chalice yet, but I’d totes be itching to get one and I bet you they cost a pretty penny). The way they know their consumer is unreal, assuming I’m tracing them back the right way, which I hope I am. Regardless, it’s a very cool campaign and I’m all over it.

Not to mention it’s helluva creative. As I’ve said over and over and over again, I’m interested in the ways that things intersect, and this intersection is magnificent. Kudos to you.

she lit a fire

We don’t have a blog post this week, so instead I’m posting about something I think is out of this world. And that ‘thing’ is one of my favorite bands, Lord Huron. In specific, their frontman Ben Schneider. (I wont’ even go into all the details about that time he threw his drum stick into the audience and how it landed at my feet…..but that’s a pretty pivotal part of the story as well). Anyway, my goal in advertising (and maybe life in general) is to find new and interesting ways that various media hit, bump, and intersect. I want to make media a real life experience, and move it beyond being a stationary timeline or a feed. I’m interested in the ways that media can  springboard and be applied as background to real life. In a storytelling element. That’s always the key here. Storytelling. We make up stories about ourselves, our lives. We go see movies, watch television — listen to music. I want to be everybody but me, and I think that’s why storytelling is so appealing to me. And it is to Ben Schneider too. I literally have the biggest brain crush.

I recently read this NYT article about the band. The title caught me — ‘A Musical Project that is Also An Alternate Reality Game.’ Interesting. Schneider, go figure, has an advertising background.  He talks about his inspiration for his creation, (or his many creations stemming from) a Mr. George Ranger Johnson. I won’t lie, I have a record player and I love listening to music on it. He’s right, it is nostalgic. He wanted to embody this thought in the new digital age. An inspiration. A feeling. And he embodied it through a great media-esque game. George Ranger Johnson, while he does have his own website, is a fictional character out of Schneider’s mind. His books (all conveniently out of print) are titles of the bands many songs – Time To Run, Lonesome Dreams, etc. The music videos for their various songs function as trailers for movies. Schneider is telling the ultimate story, and he’s doing it through so many mediums that it’s incredible. Again – biggest brain crush ever. And it all stemmed from his original thought about what it was like to see an album cover after buying that new vinyl. This is an insight. A great insight. What did that album cover say about the band? Who designed it? What type of thoughts did it provoke? Schneider has intensified this feeling ten-fold. This band is so in-tune with the media world around them, it’s crazy – and it helps that their music is equally as incredible. Beyond Schneider’s genius, it’s also amazing branding.

I know a Lord Huron music video when I see it, and critics praise their sound. They’re  imaginative and dreamy. We’re waiting for the next installment. Both of their ongoing music videos as well as their new album. ‘Like’ them on Facebook, they even post these wonderful rhythmic tunes of post-cards. This blend of old and new within the digital age is incredible. Schneider’s brilliant (but maybe inconvenient) idea for his next album is to release the songs based on location. To unlock a song, you will have to be in a certain location. Literally, invoking. While this could be a pain, I think it’s a great experiment. It’s daring. And it’s doing exactly what Schneider wants it to. He’s really putting his fans into a world. Go see one of their shows; they literally put you in a different world. He wears a cowboy hat. There’s a mountain background. Everything about them is invoking of something wonderful and Southwestern and Schneider’s ability to tie something that visual to a digital medium is fantastic. As I’ve said before, I’m very interested in this real-life intersection between the digital and life. I think that Schneider has found a way to combine it in a most fantastical way. Kudos to him and his project. I want to see more of this. Less of tweeting pictures of yourself or hashtagging a phrase and more of the brand itself being involved. I don’t want to know I’m directly participating in this social media brain wall. I want it to feel natural.

Thanks Lord Huron.  

#GTHD

Ok, I’m going to start this post by admitting: I’m not a great sports fan. Or a sports fan. Period. Disclaimer ended.

I mean, I did intend to go to the Duke game in all the snow and mess. Maybe it shows how much of a fan I’m not in that I still hadn’t reached the Dean Dome at the time of the game’s cancellation. Whoops, sorry.

However, I’ve done some research.

And a lot of it looked like that. From what I’ve gathered (and I guess from my personal fan support of other less showy sports), big qualities for fandom include: apparel, superstitious beliefs, routine, and a level of ardency that often leads to violence – probably coaxed on a little by the consumption of alcohol. The biggest thing that I’ve noticed about fandom is that it’s not a very positive experience. A lot of fandom circles around promoting negative thoughts, notably about rivals. This is interesting. This is also probably the reason why fandom, from my research, has also gone hand-in-hand with violence (hello hockey!). Just for fun, I’ll share my most recent example of what true ‘fandom’ is. Exhibit A: Friends of mine engaging in a 3-day GroupMe discussion about where/how much/what price is best/how permanent getting ‘GTHD’ lip tattoos would be. They even got to the point of discussing price points for traveling to Smithfield because the tattoo (being non-permanent) was $20 cheaper than here in Chapel Hill. People who had class at the discussed traveling time considered ‘biting the bullet’ and paying the extra $20. The plan fell through – maybe for the better, since the game was cancelled. If that’s not a fan – I’m not sure what a fan is. I also heard about a solid amount of people walking from Chapel Hill to Dook in protest. I don’t know anyone who did it personally, so I can’t verify whether or not this was actually a thing.

Exhibit B) Not a personal example — but one I really like. I’m a film nerd. I live life vicariously through films, because I’m boring. Ok, maybe not ‘boring,’ but I definitely could lead a more exciting and invigorating lifestyle. As much as I love David O’Russell, I often wonder if Silver Linings Playbook is a film film or just a homage to the Philadelphia Eagles. Sadly, I couldn’t find the clip of the gigantic Eagles fan fight scene on YouTube….but I found the clip of DeNiro complaining about the ruins of the Eagle’s JuJu – which plays into the idea of superstition and ritual (homeboy sits in the same seat, positions his remote in the same way during every game in a bizarre OCD way). The entirety of the film dives into the various aspects of fandom that I’ve previously identified. If you’ve seen it, you’ll totally understand what I’m saying (and might not have previously realized all the ways that the mentality is working in the film, even beyond the obvious Eagles plot-line). For those of you who haven’t seen it: I’ll do a check list. Cooper wears a Desean Jackson jersey to a dinner – apparel, check. Superstitious belief/routines — see the clip, check. Ardency — again, see the clip and I really wish I could find the fight scene. Anyway, love the film. I also think it’s pertinent to this post.

But how does this relate to brands?

It’s the same thing, that’s how. People can be fans of brands – but brands ingrain themselves via lifestyle culture (vs. athletic culture like sports teams). First example I can think of: Apple. Typical, I know. I thought of another, I’ll elaborate after the obvious choice. Replace apparel with product. Superstitious beliefs — this is what advertising tells you about the product. Not just advertising, I guess, but what the world of consumers tell you, the way that people engage with the brand. It’s a superstitious belief to think that all graphic designers use MacBooks….but they do. Routine. People are creatures of habit. That’s a fact. Lastly, a level of passionate ardency – this is the one that kind of differs depending on how well branding has been done. For Apple, the ardency is real. People live, eat, sleep, breathe Apple. This might not be the case for example, a toilet paper brand (but you could easily check off the other items on my list).

(This is literally the only thing I could think about while writing about Apple…)

Another example I thought of is Lululemon. Girls eat this stuff up (I know I do). The superstitious belief about this product is that it’s the haute couture of athletic garb — you wear Lulu and you’re a forreal, active working out gal (despite whether or not this is true). They’re an entryway into a socioeconomic status…..through working out. People gobble the Lululemon lifestyle — and I guarantee the brand has upped the level of ridiculous women in yoga classes. Like my grandmother, for instance, who outfits herself in pearls, diamonds, and Lulu — the holy trinity. People are fans of this brand. Actual and true fans. When the LuLulemon store opened at South Park in Charlotte, NC there was a line of women at least 200-strong. There was an Internet outrage when Lulu pulled a large majority of a recent shipment of yoga pants because they were too ‘see through’ – things got real. If these aren’t aspects of fandom, again, I’m not sure what is. People buy into the lifestyle, and see the brand as their guiding light.

These concepts relate in an awesome way – meaning, if a brand is developed properly, it sets itself up for a fan base. From what I’ve gathered, this is done via creating a lifestyle around a brand. As I said earlier, rather than tapping into the athletic world (which in itself is a crazy crazy culture), they do it through pop culture and lifestyle. Buy this brand, live this life. Well, or at least be perceived to live this type of life — to yourself, to others, or to both. It’s interesting the way these two concepts correlate, and when I first started writing this post I didn’t see it. However, working through my examples, it all kind of crystalized. Glass un-fogged.

literal briefs.

I meant to include this in my last post, but I completely spaced — again, probably because I spent the majority of the post-writing process drooling over hamburger pictures while google searching images. Anyway, I found this website, and thus a link to these creative briefs. I wanted to write about them, but couldn’t find (FOR THE LIFE OF ME) the inside contents of these briefs. So, here’s to hoping that the inside is as awesome as its packaging. I also perused Creature’s website and it seems like they do pretty neat work. New Zealand is a bike ride, a skip hop, and long ocean swim away though. Sadly.

(Missed my rantings of hamburger-driven advice about why to always have your briefs? See here)

My creative mind is already giddy. And I haven’t even been tasked anything yet. This is a brief. This is the goal.

never leave home without ya (creative) briefs

As someone interested in working within the advertising world in a creative capacity, the brief is key. Inspiration is key. In order to really take off with an idea, it has to talk to me. I think I dove into this a little bit in my creativity post — creativity is communication. It’s finding a cool, unique and exciting way to convey something. And that communication could be through any medium. Actually, it’s cooler when it’s a medium you wouldn’t have expected. I’m interested in communication and the way that people use various media to make that happen. Creative briefs have a lot to say. And it’s important that creatives get to use what it’s saying and get a spring board. Because let’s be real here, creative people are really just interested in creating cool and exciting stuff. The brief lays down the nuts and bolts and reigns them in a little bit. Can’t just have a bunch of creative people running around in a wall-less room. Things would be crazy! But fun.

I did some super searching (and believe me, I mean super) for a brief that I liked. The bulk of my search was finding brief formats at all, actually. But nonetheless, with guided help (thanks!) I found some! This one in particular spoke to me. It’s a personal approach brief from one of the account planners at McCann Erickson. Of course I like the personal one. I also like that it’s in red writing. I’ve taken a few graphic design classes (out of curiosity mainly, not quite sure it’s my thing), and through it I learned that white background/black text is a standard. There’s hardly anything creatively inspiring about the standard. That’s like ordering a hamburger with no condiments – and who does that? Let’s get a visual.

(Looks sad, doesn’t it?)

(Even just a little more inspiring, right? And all it’s got is ketchup)

(Anyway, so inspired I can’t finish this post.)

Well, now that I’m so hungry this blog post is looking less and less intriguing. I’ll get into my analysis. What I believe is so powerful about this brief (beyond that it’s in cool red color), is the way it’s talking. The brief itself takes on a personality, so the brand can too. That’s awesome. Creatives like to be talked to. This brief allows room for personality. The brand can literally talk. And it can do so because the brief uses expressions like ‘what do they think of us?’ and ‘what do we want to say?’ – we, us. It’s speaking from the perspective of brand. So beyond just getting the answers to these questions, the creative is also getting the way in which the brand would respond to the question. We’re basically interviewing the brand here – what could be more ideal? A lot of the briefs I looked at didn’t have this awesome wording opportunity (and trust me, I’ve got a folder of 24 saved on my computer now – because they’ll come in handy later, right?). The wording is casual. It’s not too jargon-ridden. It’s to the point. The thing that turns a creative off most is rigidness. ‘Things to be anal about’ – that’s great! It’s how I would talk. I can have an effective conversation with the brand I’m working with.

The opening thought is a cool notion too. It gets me into a mindset to start thinking about something. Anything. It doesn’t just jump straight to business – I like that. Isn’t it proper to have at least a 10 min convo before jumping into official talk? Or did I make that up? Maybe it’s because that’s how the Swiss banker explained things in ‘Wolf of Wall Street.’ Anyway, I also like how it moves downright into the question of all creativity – ‘what do we need the communication to do?’ It’s easy, simple, and clear. Clarity is such a key. I think the major thing that I would look into changing would be the question ‘what do we need and by when?’ I feel this is really open-ended. Maybe I’d move to a bit more specific and maybe key that up into two questions. ‘What are we doing?’ ‘By when do we need to do it?’ I don’t know – those probably weren’t better. It’s the only question on the brief that doesn’t dive directly into dealing with how the brand-consumer-creative triangle is functioning, so that might be why I think it’s weaker.

I like that the strengths of this brief come in the form of knowing how the brand perceives its consumers. It allows for the brief to develop a personality for the brand. And this is inspiring. Moving back to that hamburger thing I’ve got going on. Yes – I am judging you by what condiments you put on your burger. And yes, those condiments do say something about where you’re functioning and what you’re about –> just like this creative brief. You go account planner at McCann Erickson! Now go eat a burger!

my blank wall.

My creative mind is constantly running. Like, I’m talking Iron Man training stuff.

(Except I feel that my brain would be wearing cuter trainers…maybe)

I’ve got my hand dipped in a lot of different honey pots. But I like to connect them. That’s how I get to ‘scratching,’ as Tharp calls it. I’ll talk about my choreographing process first, because I do it more than writing and it comes more naturally. I guess I have to start by talking about how I view dance, or what ‘dance’ means to me. A particular moment comes to mind. Middle school. Community recital. Our studio owner called us up onto the stage and passed a microphone around to each of us so that we could explain what ‘dance meant to us.’ After a plethora of answers bordering this response: ‘I love dance because it’s my family, these are my friends and we get to do what we love with each other’  yadda yadda yadda — I responded with one single sentence. ‘Dance is like poetry through the body,’ and trust me, the jokes never ended. Branded a geek for life. But I don’t apologize for my passions. It’s true. Dancers are the Shakespeare of body language. And quite frankly, body language constitutes for about 70% of communication. Dance to me, is a form of communication; it’s a conversation with an audience. And quite frankly, I feel privileged that I can emote through physical movement. I don’t know how people listen to music without this ability. We dance to emote. We dance to make up for words can’t – because let’s be real here, words are outdated. This is what I have to know before I begin choreographing. What conversation am I going to have?

As I choreograph, I need a scene. Like I said, I also write films and plays. I need an aesthetic. I create a vivid world in my mind. I need to do this, so I know where to place my dancers (my actors); how are they going to communicate with each other? What type of communication is prompted by the world I put them in? This is how I begin to create. This is how the scratching begins. I transform an empty studio space and let the mirrors reflect an imaginary scene I’ve created. The dancers are my actors, and their bodies form the words they might’ve spoken. It’s like a silent film. A concave of the shoulders and chest expresses the beginnings of aggression, a sadness, a vulnerability. The sway of the hips represent a confidence, a subtle tone of sexuality maybe. A single arm movement, in the way its executed, could show complete control. I might have to geek out for a second – but it’s beautiful the way that a dancer can control their body. It’s powerful.

(It’s hypnotizing, right? And I can’t even begin to talk about what it’s like to see it live) 

I like to work in empty spaces. I hate being around other people. When other people are around, I feel judgmental. Or I feel judged? Or I feel there’s all these weird things about skewed perceptions – who really cares in the long run? I feel cluttered. When I create in a space where I can be alone, I can focus. Let me not forget to mention that I have the most severe forms of ADD. I don’t like to constantly create in the same space. I get far too bored with routine – despite what Tharp claims. The process stays the same, I like to switch up locations to get new perspectives. I’m interested in expanding my mind, and my ability to think beyond borders. Being in new spaces is integral to this process. If I’m writing I’ll drive to a book store and tuck myself in a small corner. I’ll drive anywhere that seems like it might be interesting. And I tuck myself away. If I’m writing – I also always bring a Mountain Lodge Yankee Candle; I guess it’s part of my mantra….and I think it smells good. For choreography, I like to be outside. I’ll bring headphones and go to a park. I went hiking once. That was pretty cool. A lot of the time though, I find myself doing choreography in my room. I work on deadlines so it’s hard to be able to get to cool spaces all the time. My room is the place where I feel most comfortable. I can dance wearing whatever I want. I can play the music as loud as I want. And I’m not afraid to experiment with new shapes.

For fun, I can walk you through my process a little. I’ll use my most recent dance:

‘This is the most recent dance I choreographed (it’s messy – dress rehearsal stuff). This came out of a deadline. We get groups we choreograph for the year and we have a date choreography starts. That date was looming near and I had no clues. No inspiration. So, instead of homework – I watched the Bling Ring one night. That was interesting. Youth culture. Rebellion. Life without restrictions. What does one do when one gets bored? It was all really interesting to me. I channelled poster children like Kate Moss, George May Jagger. As the song states, ‘super rich kids with nothing but fake friends,’ and thought about what that would look like. I’m deeply involved in the process of creating the dance. I pick the music, I cut the music, I design the costumes, and I choreograph the routine. Leather rompers. Black cat-eye shades. A kind of cool slinky song that crashes into crazy, rhythmic pulsating beats. And I wanted weird movement. Strong, hard hitting, but just that much of a bit off – because they can. Because of who they are. And that was the ending product. Looking back, the only thing that might’ve made it better would’ve been a fur vest. And for this particular video, more cleaning. I’ve since changed a few parts. But you know, creativity is never really settled. I don’t think I’ll  ever be 100% happy with a product because I’m constantly seeing ways that I can change things and make them better both aesthetically, musically, technically – you name it.

potato or potato.

Here’s a list of questions.

1. Have you ever sent a text message while driving?
2. Would you say you travel abroad frequently?
3. Do you post a lot of pictures on Instagram?
4. Do you prefer to stop at big boxes or locally owned stores?
5. Do you have an iPhone or an Android phone?
6. How often do you eat sweets?
7. Do you tend to buy things that are on sale?

Our goal: Get people to tell stories. Because check yes, check no is so middle school, friends.

(Pertinent, yes?)

So let’s reword these questions and make them a little more fun.

1. Have you ever sent a text message while driving?
Or…. A) You’re in the middle of an intense texting conversation, but you’ve gotta go pronto — what’s your exit strategy? Or do you even exit the conversation?   B)  What would you say is your average speed for stop-light texting?

2. Would you say you travel abroad frequently?
Or…..A) Your thoughts on the travel-selfie. Cool? Or like your head photoshopped into photos with iconic landmarks? Your method?    B) What’s traveling like for you? A planned method? Or more of a throw a dart on a map approach? …. Or are you more of a Pinterest traveler? Be honest.

3. Do you post a lot of pictures on Instagram?
Or….. A) In lieu of J. Franco’s NYT article on the selfie, have you changed your thoughts about them? Do you post a lot of them? If not — then what of?   B)  What’s your method for Instagram pictures? Are you in it for the ‘likes?’ More of a foodie type? Could you categorize your Instagram?

(I know this is from Facebook —
but please do see his Instagram @jamesfrancotv)

4. Do you prefer to stop at big boxes or locally owned stores?
Or…. A)  If you’re on vacation and you come across a Starbucks, do you go there? Or are you the type that finds a cool local option?    B) Which is more interesting to you — the familiarity of knowing that every Wal-Mart is a replica (albeit they sometimes switch around that pet section)? Or the familiarity of knowing the community in which your goods came from? Or does this stuff even matter in that long run?

5. Do you have an iPhone or an Android phone?
Or…. A) I’ve heard this. Can’t verify it. That iPhones are made for easy usage. Droids are for people who like customization. What type of person are you? Does your phone reflect that?    B) This recent TIME article claims ‘iPhone Users Have More Sex’ — pretty bold statement, you think?

6. How often do you eat sweets?
Or…. A) If you’re standing in line and all you’ve ordered is a danish – are you one of those people that feels the need to explain your ordering choices to the person behind you?   B)  I’m handing you this pyramid. Where would you categorize the food you eat — bottom being the most of. Remember — talk me through your choices.

7. Do you tend to buy things that are on sale?
Or… A) What’s the appeal of Black Friday and After Christmas shopping for you?    B) What are the first three thoughts that come to mind when I say the word ‘sale’ item. (Example: mine are ‘out of season, ‘probably size large’, ‘there for a reason’)

It’s important to ask the right questions. I’m not at all saying these alternatives are the ‘right’ questions by any means. Asking the right questions allows for your interviewee to open up. You don’t get insights from ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions — you get facts. Fact – this lady does in fact shop sales. The insight comes in why she shops those sales. Is it because she likes that these items are cheaper? Or does she not shop them because of what ‘sale’ means to her. Asking the right question will allow you to maybe even come up with a better way to promote ‘sale.’ Maybe even change up the word if you discover (via asking the right questions) that sale is negatively connoted.

** I highly recommend following the above hyperlinks for interesting reads.

fact tackles insight – cause of provocation, undeclared.

Our task is to investigate the difference between ‘fact’ and ‘insight.’  So, I had to start somewhere. That somewhere was with the dictionary.

Fact: |fakt| (noun) a thing that is indisputably the case

Insight: |’in,sit| (noun) the capacity to gain an accurate and deep intuitive understanding of a person or thing.

I guess things that I want to highlight here are a) indisputably and b) intuitive. Facts are bored in data. They’re indisputable – unable to challenged or denied. Insights are based in feeling without particular rationale. Beyond insights being exponentially cooler, (for reasons I will discuss), they’re more resonating with audiences, because they come from that weird and irrational place. I’ll use fashion here as my outlet to explain these key differences. Recently, I went through style.com’s runway photos for some of my favorite fashion labels’ Spring/Summer 2014 RTW pieces. Despite my day-to-day appearance, I really do have a thing for style. I noticed some things as I was meandering through these photos. Based on the conclusions I came to after viewing the collections of Tory Burch, The Row, Sass and Bide, Rebecca Minkoff, Rag and Bone, Rachel Zoe, Mulberry, Jason-Wu, J.Mendel, DVF, Chloe, Bagdley Mischka, and Alice and Olivia, I flew to Elle.com.

Elle likes to think of itself as a type of authority on fashion and style. In this long-winded metaphor, we’ll call ‘Elle’ the facts. The dictionary. The statistical data. Elle claims these facts about Spring/Summer 2014 to be the truth and nothing but the truth. Prepare for crop tops, overwhelming amounts of sheer panelling, white wide-leg pants, graphic black and white prints, fringe, embellished details, and the return of floral. A lot of my notes on my favorite labels resonated with these facts. However, because we’re in the business of fashion here we have to look a little deeper. All of these individual labels have personalities. As Chris Kocek says in his Practical Pocket Guide to Account Planning – brands (which these fashion labels essentially are) have to sell a world view. These labels are selling their consumers a way to viewed in the world. For example, Rachel Zoe – trendy, sophisticated, chic. Mulberry – neutral, local, organic. Rebecca Minkoff – edgy, trendy, on the cusp of something. Rachel Zoe, for instance, knows what type of people are buying her clothes – and why. Why do people wear those awesome Rachel Zoe fur vests? Because they want the world around them to see them in a certain way. Labels know this.

So, as I noticed, all these brands are following facts. They all have the fringe, the crop tops, the sheer (panels) in their collections. The insight comes in how they present it. Their insight comes in incorporating these ‘facts’ about a particular season and making it relevant to their particular consumers. Fashion labels famously use insight about their consumers. They take these industry facts and use insight to create relevancy. They use insight in knowing the way consumers want the world to view them while they wear their pieces – and they use it to keep the fuel going. To prove my point (or rather, a few of my points), I’ve compiled some pictures so we can compare. Besides, visuals are always nice. They really drive home a point.

Let’s take ‘sheer’ for instance:
All three of these pieces incorporate a sheer element, but how they do it differs based on the way the brand/label perceives itself.

Rebecca Minkoff, as a brand, is known for being exclusive, cutting-edge, and edgy (let’s be real here, her big selling point is her work with leather). Of course, there would be a risqué factor in the way that the sheer panelling is implemented in this top – accentuated with the texture of the floral print. It’s fun. It’s exciting. It’s something different, and this is how people want to be perceived while they wear this particular brand.

Chloé, on the other hand, is more utility-based. More practical. More eco-friendly. More calm. The way the sheer is incorporated here, accentuates this about the brand. It’s sheer, but not in a way that’s flashy. It’s there, it’s on trend, and it’s wearable – which is what Chloé, as a brand, is all about. Neutral.

And lastly, Alice and Olivia – which I view to be a pretty feminine brand. You have here the sheer mixed with some lace embellishments with texture. It’s feminine. It’s pretty. Alice and Olivia is big on big wide skirts with large prints – über feminine. This insight about consumers wanting that feminine, soft look is prominent here in the way they’ve used sheer.

While, this might seem long-winded. I think this very visually illustrates a difference between ‘fact’ and ‘insight.’ You’ve got something that’s known as a universal truth – what people are wearing for Spring/Summer 2014. The insight, or the irrational intuition, comes in knowing how this fact is relevant to your consumers. What does your insight tell you about who your consumers are, what their worldview is, what they’re interested in.

the social music box

The Chüne Smart Speaker.

This springwise.com article appealed to me mainly because I’m fresh out of the creaking movie theater seat after viewing Spike Jonze’s masterpiece, ‘Her.’ A music box that feels the ‘vibe’ of the room for a party. How cool is that? (I’ll tell you – not as cool as an OS1, am I right or am I right?) I’m kidding. Maybe.

With the Chüne Smart Speaker people will be able to connect their phones via app to the music box where it will be able to sort through the various interests of people in the room to create a relevant playlist (throwback!). However, if my friends are any indication, ‘varying interests’ can be a little scary. I’m not saying I have a Wu-Tang addiction to contrast my friends’ obsession of Ke$ha…but I am. To prevent these types of clashes from happening you can adjust the setting on the box from something like ‘low-key’ event to ‘full-on’ party, according to the article. I guess, in this respect, the title of the article was a little misleading. You still essentially have to set the mood of the party. However, you get to eliminate people requesting their favorites, because essentially the music box has already accounted for your guests’ interests. Still cool, I must admit.

I guess what’s more interesting here is the use of an app, and the idea that an app can address a community. Social media, as I understand it at this point, is a way to archive and network. This app takes this to an entirely new level. It’s not like Facebook – let me add you as my friend so we can talk (and stalk your pictures). It’s not like SnapChat – let me send you selfies. And it doesn’t have the quirkiness of Twitter necessarily. It’s using social media in real-time, as a background. The background part is important (Twitter is also real-time, but Twitter as the app is entirely the foreground). The Chüne Smart Speaker takes what you’ve archived about yourself (your musical interest) and allows you to fully engage with people in real-time. Maybe I’m overthinking this. Music is important. Think about movies – what does music do? It enhances your experience in a hyper real way. It sets the tone. It allows you to create visual memories. I would argue it’s the same in real life. With the Smart Speaker’s abilities to set the tone for you, you are able to really network with those around you. I suppose I’m going out on a limb here calling a college keg party (assuming that’s our market here) a chance to network. But at its root – that’s what parties are for, right?

In these respects, and for what it is at its bare product form – the Chüne Smart Speaker is neat. It’s exploring a connection between app and hard product that I haven’t really seen done before. Drawing back to the connection to Spike Jonze’s ‘Her’ that I was making before. This is the type of technology we see permeating through the future. Something that knows us. Something that allows us to focus on being in ‘real time’ and existing. I won’t go into the points made in Jonze’s film, because they’re quite the contrary – but it’s interesting to see where we’re taking technology and how we’re harnessing what it’s doing.

(Thought this was relevant, and kind of funny)