Singapore Green

Courtesy of PSFK & Nanyang Technological University

LX.tv acquired by NBC

LX.tv got acquired NBC’s Local Media Division. The site showcases the latest and greatest in high end restaurants, clubs and other nightlife activity through online video. This site got a major piece in Wall Street Journal about a year ago or so but whenever I asked people about it no one ever knew what it was.

I like the idea but still seems like an old media approach to the new media platform and how many high end people are really surfing the internet for the latest and greatest in their worlds?

With that being said this brand can develop to be the spot for young affluent people but I think they will just rely on that old Word of Mouth versus heading to lx.tv.

Power of Experiential Marketing

However, purchase intent rose to 54% when customers interacted with the 14 different brands studied. This included Cisco, Dell and Microsoft which were measured across four different events. The shows ranged in size from the Consumer Electronics Show to regional events. Gallup & Robinson and Exhibit Surveys conducted the study online.


This press release on a new study that was released illustrating the powers behind experiential marketing reminded me of this book I read last year called Experience the Message by Max Lenderman.

I outlined the main points of his book in one of my first blog entries.

Non-traditional/more personal marketing will become more and more common in the future and needs to start happening more and more right now. People don’t want the smiles, flashing lights and sales pitch. They want to have a real connection to the brands and products they buy and if you are not with that concept then you will watch the world and your customers pass you by.

Click here to read Trust in Experience blog entry (relevant content)

Consequence, Tribe and the Roots

Thought this semi-vintage clip of Consequence, Tribe and the Roots was dope. Check out Cons killing it in the beginning.



When you are through, see who wins the battle between Jay-Z and Cons.



Check out MTV's coverage on the match here.

Mobile is all the rage in '08

I keep reading how Mobile is going to see some serious growth in 2008.

Peep this interesting eMarketer article to get caught up to speed.

If you want to keep up with the latest and greatest in the mobile market then peep this dudes blog.

Music Business Report

My dawg out in NYC sent me this great article on the state of affairs in the music biz. Some interesting trends were pointed out.

• Indies are gaining market share
• Digital downloads up 45% in one year
• Well-known brand name artists going indie
• DRM-free downloads from all major labels
• Major label revenues declining
• CD sales in a death spiral
  

While the “record” business is out of control, the music business will continue to grow as artist see a bulk of their revenue generated through sponsorships, tours and merchandise.

This article reminded me of this great David Byrne piece that was in Wired.

Ad Biz in Flux

Read a great piece today on the state of affairs in the ad biz. It is reminiscent of what I was talking about the media biz as a whole.

Here’s a preview:

The Bottom Line
Agencies focused on profit alone may find themselves shrinking as they continue to chase dollars. Without investments in infrastructure that can thrive in digitally enhanced environments--agencies who rank revenue as priority #1 may end up with short term gains and long term losses.

There is more to this article and I suggest you peep the entire entry courtesy of Marketing + Strategy Innovation blog.

Do Not Sleep on Marcus Carr courtesy of Grind Time Tommy

Mr. Wardlow made me aware of this kid name Marcus Carr who has some serious skillz.



Courtesy of Grind Time Tommy...big things to come for Mr. Wardlow.

BOYZ by MIA

Yo! Gabba Gabba

So I watched this nutty clip back in ‘07 that to this day still cracks me up. I read today on Rob Walker’s blog that the brain trust behind this show also has an ownership interest in Kid Robot. The successful toy maker turned successful streetwear brand. Interesting, very interesting.

This clip guarantees to make you laugh and smile. I love this insanity!

Hotness via Japan

What is there not to like about this picture? These chicks are hot AND they have style. Love it.


Courtesy of The Hundreds

Paris Fashion Week: Menswear

Here is what I liked from what I saw after cruising through the gallery courtesy of Wallpaper*.

Greenest Building in the World

It costs more but it saves mad energy! Check the worlds greenest office building on PSFK site that will be going up just outside Paris. What’s up with that America? We gonna let those French folks do us like that? I thought we are the only ones that do it big.

Sheryl Crow/Amazon & John Legend/Target

Interesting that retailers are getting these exclusive deals with artists to launch and promote their albums. Amazon's deal with Sheryl should be interesting as they are doing an unplugged type of deal with her to help promote her new album and bring sales on the site. Target’s deal with John Legend marks the first of its kind for Target as they move into the digital music business. Both the retailer and the artist need each other in these tough times in the music biz!

untitled observations

Yes, i am your angel but no i won't make out with you.

stop. taking. picures. of. me.

is it me or am i just that f-ing cool?

Courtesy of Mr. Cobrasnake.

Murakami Hotness

Courtesy of Hypebeast

Inspiration: ALIFE

Slamxhype brought this article on ALIFE to my attention. Inquiringmind Magazine did this great interview with the founders/heads of the popular streetwear brand ALIFE.

Here is a comment from ALIFE's Matt that I thought hit the nail on it's head:

…it’s about being an independent thinker and having the desire to go after stuff that is exciting, and having the willingness to try thing you don’t know a lot about, or having enough of an open mind or open ear to see and hear things you don’t know much about. But it’s about fun and passion and creativity and that’s life. Entrepreneurial spirit is something that you have. Entrepreneurial knowledge is something you gain by being an entrepreneurial spirit.

yessirrrr.

Cory Kennedy - thoughts?

What do you guys think of Cory Kennedy?

I definitely dig her look. Sometimes I see pictures of her that don't even look like her which I find interesting.

Here were my thoughts on her back in October 2007:

Last but not least in terms of NYLON. The cover story! It was on CORY KENNEDY the new IT GIRL of the moment, or at least one of them. I am fascinated by the IT GIRL concept, to me it is like a painting in motion. The woman or person has all of our attention. The girl who is so darn sexy, so in style and so into the nightlife-party culture that we all want to be her yet at the same time when we look at her, we know she is riding a fine line.

As Mark the Cobrasnake put it "The key to being an IT girl is to still manage to show yourself and be vulnerable-to give a keyhole into your soul.....now you have everyone's attention. What are you gonna do with it?"

Who are these people? I first heard about Cobra and Cory when I went to the PSFK conference in LA a few months back. Cobra is a photographer that is THE SCENE and documenting it the entire time. He helped blast Cory into phenom status by putting pictures of her on his site.

eMarketer's 3 Hidden Trends in 2008

Mr. Geoff Ramsey put out an interesting article on three trends to look for in 2008. Click here to read.

Here is a preview:

As a result, advertisers and their agencies who want to engage with today’s consumers will have to start turning their ads into content. Ultimately, they will need to be able to produce content that is so compelling, relevant and entertaining that consumers will seek it out and want to share it with others. The new ad model is about creating great content and finding clever ways to embed it in the fabric of communities and content platforms where consumers are hanging out and actively participating.

Beautiful Fall by Alicia Drake

I told my girl GC about this interview I saw and loved by Charlie Rose with Karl Lagerfeld and Harriet Mays Powell (watch below) that Rickey Kim brought to my attention. She encouraged me to buy this book called Beautiful Fall by Alicia Drake. She was madly in love with the book and after I picked it up, I fell in love too.

The book is about 1970s Paris focusing on Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld. Alicia does a magnificent job maneuvering between historical facts and describing the fantasy that these people created around them. I found myself imagining this world and longing to be living in it for reasons I can not explain.

This book has changed my life and what I once looked at as an industry that was too shallow or snobby to be worthy of my attention has now turned into a desire to learn everything I can about the fashion world.

Damn you GC and Alicia Drake for casting the fashion spell on me.

Dr. Cornel West is the shit!

My boy Tone at Enough Said reminded me of Dr. West. I first got to know the genius when I saw him on the Bill Maher show when he was a guest with Mos Def (watch below, no seriously watch it now). This episode was the best Maher show I have ever seen in my life.

Click on this link to hear Dr. West answer to the question "How do you think this time will be remembered?" Listen closely friends because Mr. West is a man that calls them like he sees them. Indifference, are you indifferent or are you about getting your focus right so we all can be alright?

Media Biz Wheels are coming off

The Writers Strike is plaguing Hollywood.

BBDO Detroit and Ogilvy had to make layoffs this week and more will continue throughout 2008 in the ad biz.

The record industry saw more woes in 2007 and will continue to see more in the future.

What is up with the media biz today? It seems that old media's grip on their long established-proven business models are coming loose and their will be blood.

It is sad and exciting all at the same time. I feel for those who are attached to their old business models and can not innovate and create a new model that suits the times we are living in. See the Purple Cow here.

In the coming years we will see the revenue generated off of old media's business models decline while new and smaller-niche companies will form and take advantage of this new media marketplace by moving faster and adapting with the the moment.

MySpace Celebrity & MTV Syndicates content

MySpace has given into the online celebrity craze by starting their own celebrity vertical within the MySpace site and I can't blame them, it is good business! I am sure it will bring some more traffic to their site and therefore more revenue from ads. People love gossip online. It is easy to view and there is always fresh content posted. Therefore it makes for an inviting concept to exploit when it comes to online content.

MTV strikes syndication deals with five online video sites. A trend that continues and we will see more of these type of partnerships. MTV needs to get their content out there because everyone is not going to their site to view MTV content while these niche video sites need fresh content to keep their users engage. These niche sites are also hoping that the 30% ad revenue they will receive from their deal with MTV will help them stay in business!

There is strong pressure to create strategies that enhance the likelihood for consistent online viewership which increases the potential for ad revenue.

The challenge of online entertainment is creating fresh content that is relevant in order to maintain online users attention and keep them coming back.

Online Video Trends

Online video has seen a spike in viewership since the Writers Strike started in November of 2007. Whether or not it is due to the Writers Strike in Hollywood makes little to no difference yet one can argue that people are possibly hungry for new content and don't care to sit through reruns.

Regardless people are spending more and more time watching video online according to latest numbers. What to make of all this? Online video is growing in popularity yet internet sites have not yet grasped on how to monetize it as Silicon Valley Insider pointed out back in September.

I do not think Google has figured out how to make YouTube a cash cow just yet. With that being said when the technology comes around the cost of broadband and storage diminishes, they will be finely positioned to leverage their assets and make the investment pay off.

Teen Online Trends

An interesting survey was published last week on teens online habits. Girls seem to be on the forefront when it comes to posting blogs and photos. The number are below. Also check out this interesting piece about teens and how the use the web to search for what they want, when they want it.

Significant numbers from the report:

• 64% of online teens age 12-17 have participated in one or more among a wide range of content-creating activities on the internet, up from 57% in 2004.
• 39% of online teens share their own artistic creations online, such as artwork, photos, stories, or videos, up from 33% in 2004.
• 33% create or work on webpages or blogs for others, including those for groups they belong to, friends, or school assignments, basically unchanged from 2004 (32%).
• 28% have created their own online journal or blog, up from 19% in 2004.
• 27% maintain their own personal webpage, up from 22% in 2004.
• 26% remix content they find online into their own creations, up from 19% in 2004

Click here to read the press release.
Click here to read the full thirty six page report.

Va$htie

Vashtie, will you marry me?

YouTube page

US PLACERS directed by Vashtie



1992 directed by Vashtie

Cool Hunter blog

My boy RG sent me a link to this blog called Cool Hunter. Now anything called Cool Hunter has got to be some weak stuff but it was okay. But what is real cool is the lay out of the site.

It is a blog set up but with a slight twist. Within the postings is the ability to scroll left to right.

My initial thought was this could be the start of magazines finding out a new format that will enable them to take their content to the next level. Kind of like Interview Magazine's site.

Cool Shit

Courtesy of hypebeast.


Courtesy of Fader. Gotta flex that ol' TX mayne. Click on Chamillionaire for a listen.

Gold Watch by Lupe Fiasco

Kanye brought to my attention this fresh jam off Lupe's latest album called Gold Watch.

Click on Lupe for a listen.

Lupe says "I'm an American mentally with Japanese tendencies, Parisian sensibilities...."

Could not have said it better myself.

Daaaa merk - Wallstrip

This show is pretty funny and drops knowledge at the same time. It is a bunch of dudes talking about a "certain finance exchange" inspired by the SNL skits of the 80s with Myers and co. "Daaaa Bears".

I like how this is a mix of comedy and real news. It grabs my attention because it is original in its approach to delivering news. They are playing around but when they get serious with some knowledge they move in for the close up. Smart.

M.I.A.

I kept reading snippets about this girl M.I.A. here and there but never dug into it. I finally went to her MySpace page and loved this tracked called Paper Planes (video above). Then I got to get up close and personal via VBS.tv's Spike Jonze interviews. You can watch Part 1 below. Rolling Stone called her sophomore album, KALA the album of the year in 2007.

To get a real good background check, click here to read an inspiring Rolling Stone piece from 2005.

Her sound is part of a movement that is going on right now that is on the forefront of the search for a new tune in music . Blending sounds and instruments of the world and creating an genre that is evolving and can not be labeled. I admire her courage to speak out on controversial issues in our world, she is inspiring and encouraging.

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

Hedi Slimane

I first heard of Hedi Slimane when I read the Wallpaper* piece on him back in September of '07. He is the former artistic director of Dior Homme and now he is doing an array of projects independently. He started at YSL in the late 90s and sky rocketed through the ranks until he butted heads with Mr. Ego himself, Tom Ford. From there he went to Dior and shined.


Last week, the visionary Robert G reminded me of Hedi and the Wallpaper* piece by sending me an link to his site. Robert thought it was really interesting how Hedi kept a blog on his site with just pictures and no typography. It reminded me of that Wallpaper* article that really pumped me up for reasons I can't explain.

Here are some highlights from the article:

- Slimane's passion for rock n'roll and teenage (and eternally teenage) high jinx is undimmed and after our meeting he is off to hook up with Pete Doherty. . .

- I don't like isolation so much; it freaks me out. I guess it's like cooking with friends in the kitchen - better than alone.

- I guess I am experimenting and trying to work out what's right, but I don't really like the idea of committing to one field. I always thought I coulse use different media to express the same idea.

Some of Slimane's work off his site:

Toyota Passes Ford In Drive To Become No.2 in U.S.

This press release from Media Post reminded me of this terrific New York Times article I read last year on Toyota. Toyota has surpassed Ford to grab a hold of the number two position in regards to units sold in America in 2007. GM firmly holds onto the number one spot but their sales saw a 6% drop from the previous year.

What makes Toyota successful? Here are some highlights from the New York Times piece:

- Toyota has an obsession with customer satisfaction.
- Everything from politeness of the people to the organization of the factories makes sense.
- Carry a mantra "to enrich and serve society" when offering car customer reliability.
- Its human nature to cover up a problem rather than call attention to it. At Toyota a problem at the plant is looked at as good.
- The company is not simply a series of techniques but a way of thinking about teamwork, products and efficiency.
- There is no best way to do something, but there is always a better way.

What stands out is the psychology/attitude the Toyota employees have. They believe they are doing more than just making cars but "serving society". Serving society by manufacturing automobiles? Yup, they believe it. They think in years and decades and look forward to problem solving. The company has a created an environment that invites creativity and relentless searches for solutions.

No matter what business you are in there is plenty you can take from a company like Toyota and apply it to your own business. It is all about perfecting the product and perfecting customer service, to the point of obsession. Everything else will take care of itself.

Meet Jay Electronica

I first met Jay Electronica when I saw him, with the love of my life, Erykah Badu on the hundreds blog (picture above). Then I was reading about Just Blaze in the latest Wax Poetics magazine and was playing around online only to find out that Just and Erykah signed Electronica to their label per a blog posting.

Erykah and Just have a lot of great things to say about this kid. Click here to get a taste. If you don't want to listen to Just and Erykah then skip to 6:30 to listen to this kid flow. Sounds very, very promising.

If you want to hear more,click here.

Can not wait to see what comes out of this.

Mike & Chris

I was hanging out with a friend one day and he pulled out this book with different style garments made by this brand called Mike & Chris. I was blown away. If there was a brand making clothes just for me than they are it. They make classic jackets, sweaters, pants, etc. but with a little spice added to it. Their garments are classic yet slightly unorthodox and I really dig it. It is hard to describe so just click on this link and see for yourself. H O T.

Sade @ Diamond Supply Co.

This is a few months old but I have to give Diamond Supply Co. props for making the Sade t-shirt. It is H O T. First of all, anything with Sade on it is instantly labeled as smooth, butter, cool. Whatever you want to label it. What I really love about this shit is they put these interesting designs around the print of Sade, giving the piece a classic touch which fits perfectly.