social-creature

In Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between Who We Are and What We Buy, Rob Walker talks about “underground brands”–lifestyle symbols created by independent entrepreneurs. In fact, I actually think it’s easier to think of underground brands as “independent brands,” (cuz what does “underground” really mean, anyway?) much like independent music:
In popular music, independent music, [...]

“We read to know we are not alone.”
- C.S. Lewis

in retrospect, it’s not so surprising that while i was studying film in college i was also producing art and music events as an extra-curricular activity. i joke that producing a movie and producing an event are pretty much exactly the same process, except with [...]

“THEORY ENDS HERE”
- sign on the door to the production office at Boston University’s film department

working with so many music festivals i’ve come to see the pattern in their ticket sales to be a kind of concentrated tour through all the major factors involved in driving adoption.
like the type of excursion that shuttles travellers to [...]

while the rest of the do lab spent the last week preparing to syndicate our show for japan, i spent it putting together a powerpoint presentation. slide number 17, the one titled:
“Expanding Brands into Experience Platforms”
ended up featuring this image from lucent l’amour 2006 :

photo by: mickipedia
i figure, depending on how well the presentation has [...]

you know… sometimes the point isn’t about how many people see your ad, it’s about actually changing people’s behavior.
if it’s a matter of getting them to drink diet pepsi vs. diet coke, or getting them to shop at target vs. walmart… no one’s gonna die.
it’s not really a matter of life or death.
however, when the [...]

starting this blog seems kinda like merging onto a freeway. one doesn’t just take a sharp left turn and blurt out some sort of doctoral thesis, rather it’s a continuous, gradual process of edging closer and closer to the main flow of traffic, with ideas expanding on ideas, expanding on ideas.
i’ve been tinkering with [...]

It’s your campaign, you know.
You. The Client.
Sure, you’re hiring an agency to direct it, but YOU are paying for it. It belongs to you. Or even more precisely, it belongs to your brand. The ad agency is like the au pair you hire to make sure your baby gets the best care. It also happens [...]