Lee Dunbar

Apr

30

“Women don’t buy brands. They join them.”

Faith Popcorn & Lys Marigold
EVEolution

I love this quote. It really wraps things up in a nice, neat package. However, I would argue that in many respects this is not exclusive to women. You could say the same about both sexes.

The iMac, iPod, iBook, iPhone. Apple has built a loyal, fervent customer base. It isn’t just because the Apple products are well designed, it’s about what owning an Apple product says about you.

People buy into experiences. To lifestyles. To a brand that they can identify with.

Tags: Brand Experience Stuff, Design Stuff, Experience Design Stuff, Marketing Stuff, Retail Stuff, Web Stuff
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Apr

29

Now here’s something that you don’t see everyday. A backpack that was reported to police as being suspicious is blown up by the bomb squad just outside of the Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney.

 

Tags: Just Stuff
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Apr

28

Monday Round-Up

April 28, 2008

Disney has announced the winner of its Chief Magical Officer competition. Congratulations to Justin Muchoney who took the prize. And of course, if you, like thousands of others, applied for this position and are still interested in working at the Most Magical Place on Earth, (or any other Disney property for that matter), you can head over to the competition’s sponsor, Careerbuilder, to view open Disney positions.

A piece of our cultural lexicon holds on — the New York Times profiles what is thought to be the last pinball machine manufacturer. They are able to stay open as their market shifts from the arcade and pub to the rec room.

The University of Texas has discovered a new source of bio-fuel. To me, for a whole host of environmental, social and political reasons, it is clear that we do need to find new sources of energy — clean energy. And I don’t think that there is one answer or one technology that will satisfy our needs. It will take a combination of technologies and behavioural changes.

Spam is turning 30! Happy Anniversary! While I detest spam — as both a consumer and marketer, I also appreciate legitimate use of email marketing tools. Opt-in newsletters, service reminders, news updates and subscription notices are all useful communication between organizations and subscribers. Always try to offer value in your communications.

Disney invests money in public transportation to help get its 62,000 employees to its Walt Disney World parks and resort properties. As the country’s largest single location employer, its important to guarantee that service to the parks will not be reduced due to budget cuts.

Here is a story about a woman who was falsely accused by the RIAA of music piracy. She is now taking the RIAA to task for their questionable investigative procedures. Good luck Tanya!

Speaking of the RIAA, since the success of Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails releasing their music online for free, there is a hint in the air that Metalica may follow suit (pun in tended).

Tags: Brand Experience Stuff, Business Stuff, Community Stuff, Customer Service Stuff, Marketing Stuff, Neat Stuff, Technology Stuff
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Apr

24


This 3D sidewalk art kit from Crayola looks like a lot of fun! Chalk this one up with the, “Where was this stuff when I was a kid?” department.

Tags: Brand Experience Stuff, Design Stuff, Neat Stuff, Retail Stuff
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Apr

24

So you’re watching A&E TV, and these strange images fill the screen. You see a grainy picture full of static. A dog walks down a deserted small-town street. You might notice what appears to be dead bodies lying around. A website URL flashes on the screen www.whathappenedinpiedmont.com.

You visit the site and find the blog of one Andrew Tobler, a student at Berkley,  who apparently received a “bizarre” voicemail from his sister who lives in Piedmont, Utah. Despite his attempts, Tobler has not been able to reach anyone from his hometown.

A search for Piedmont, Utah on Google returns a list of links to blogs, Yahoo! Answers, news stories and, yes, Andrew’s blog all discussing the military build-up and the mystery that surrounds this small town.

You can find pictures of a military blockade,


and a screenshot of a news clip about a chemical spill,


you can even watch a video news clip that Andrew was able to capture, digitize and upload to YouTube,

 

but what you won’t find in your Google search is any information about Piedmont, Utah, because it doesn’t exist.

And thus begins a viral campaign for A&E’s adaptation of Michael Crichton’s The Andromeda Strain.

Looking at posts on forums, blogs and services such as Yahoo! Answers, it seems some people have bit. There has even been some distressed speculation that this could have been terrorism. We haven’t seen people jumping from buildings, or the hysteria that surrounded Orson Welles’ 1938, radio adaptation of the H. G. Wells’ classic novel, The War of the Worlds, but discussion of the mysterious happenings in Piedmont, Utah is certainly making the rounds on the net.

The success of this campaign is yet to be determined (although Google Trends does show a definate sign of some action around keywords that include variations around Piedmont), but other media properties have seen great success extending the story beyond a passive experience into a more experiential, interactive activity.

A good example of this is ABC’s Lost, which has used a number of websites to reveal clues, provide back story and allow fans to discuss the show. In doing so, they have successfully created a massive online social community built around a one hour sci-fi drama.  On the larger screen, we saw the producers of The Blair Witch Project provide back story and a treasure trove of bonus features and extras that helped vault this low budget horror into the mainstream.

If you want to experience Piedmont, Utah, you’ll have to tune into the Andromeda Strain mini-series which is to air starting on the US Memorial Day, or you’ll have to visit British Columbia, CA, as the film was actually shot there.

Tags: Advertising Stuff, Brand Experience Stuff, Design Stuff, Experience Design Stuff, Marketing Stuff, Search Engine Stuff, Web Stuff
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Apr

20

Tomorrow is shaping up to be a pretty busy day, so we hit the wires a day early …

You had to see this one coming. After success with the increased amount of product placement campaigns, (I’m looking your way 24, CSI and ER), NBC Universal and an ad agency are teaming up to produce shows written around products.

Dilbert has gone all Dibert2.0. That’s right, a new Flash-heavy version of the site has been launched and according to a few reports I’ve read, some of the regulars aren’t overly fond of the new digs. You can even create your own Dilbert Mash-Ups – how trendy. Next thing you know, he’ll be shedding his pocket protector.

AT&T has made claim that without serious investment in infrastructure, the Internet will reach capacity by 2010.

Speaking at a Westminster eForum on Web 2.0 this week in London, Jim Cicconi, vice president of legislative affairs for AT&T, warned that the current systems that constitute the Internet will not be able to cope with the increasing amounts of video and user-generated content being uploaded.

“The surge in online content is at the center of the most dramatic changes affecting the Internet today,” he said. “In three years’ time, 20 typical households will generate more traffic than the entire Internet today.”

And finally, here’s a pretty good article about how companies that engage their customers with [buzzword alert] 360 degree experience design [/buzzword alert] are flourishing. CEOs, CFOs, and COOs please take note of this article, your entire marketing department isn’t on crack after all. ‘Design’ is the differentiator that will separate the successful companies from the rest of the pack – more-so now than ever before.

Tags: Advertising Stuff, Brand Experience Stuff, Business Stuff, Design Stuff, Experience Design Stuff, Funny Stuff, Marketing Stuff, Technology Stuff, Web Stuff
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Apr

16

Live from Everest!

April 16, 2008

You can read live dispatches from Andrew Brash has he climbs Everest.

Read the live dispatches from Everest here.

More about Andrew Brash here.

Tags: Sports Stuff, Technology Stuff, Web Stuff
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Apr

15

The Art of Brick

April 15, 2008

Caught a segment on ABC News about Nathan Sawaya, an artist who uses brick as his medium. I have seen examples of this before – at the Lego Store in Downtown Disney, Florida and at Brick City in Niagara Falls, Ontario (a bit of a disappointment) – but Nathan’s work exceeds what I’ve seen.

I found this video on YouTube that speaks about his museum tour.

 

Here are some of my favourites:

Blue Man | Building himself, representing birth


Red Man | Rising from the bricks, representing life


Yellow Man | Destroying himself, representing death


Reflection


Bear


Hand


Check out his gallery for many more pictures of his artwork.

Tags: Design Stuff, Experience Design Stuff, Neat Stuff
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Apr

14

Had to laugh when I saw this … and yes, it’s a busy day! :)

Tags: Funny Stuff, Web Stuff
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Apr

8

Here is a neat story about how CBS has created a division called, Eyelab. This is essentially a team of four who chop up network shows into small segments and then forward these videos to a number of web sites and blogs.

Some of what Eyelab produces looks much like the promos that are commonly seen on television. Others offer amusing twists: a compendium of slaps doled out on “How I Met Your Mother”; the various times David Caruso dramatically removes his sunglasses on “CSI: Miami”; and “Smut Whisperer,” a clip of dialogue from “Ghost Whisperer” with words bleeped out to pretend the characters were talking dirty.  

Ron Scalera, executive vice president and creative director for CBS Marketing, said he specifically went after people with no mainstream advertising experience in hiring the four employees whose day-to-day job is creating this material. He wanted people who saw the world differently.

“The bottom line is we just don’t want to create something that you can see anywhere else,” Scalera said.

Another great example of a viral web strategy.

Tags: Advertising Stuff, Brand Experience Stuff, Web Stuff
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