Trends
Chime In and the Olympics
So like many people, I got sucked into watching a lot of NBC’s coverage of the Olympics. Other than developing an attachment to Bob Costas that surprised and scared me, I noticed something new that NBC is doing. When they promote their upcoming programming and show their logo at the end of the spot, they are using the wonderful message: “chime in.” Obviously this is a creatively phrased call to action that references one of their brand assets—the chiming three tone melody that has accompanied their logo for decades. more »
Triple Word Score and the Three-Strand Process
It’s finally here. The week you’ve been waiting for all year: National Scrabble Week! Did you know that Scrabble was originally called Lexiko? This challenging crossword game was invented by an out-of-work architect in the midst of the great depression. When the manufacturing rights were purchased from the inventor in 1948, the name was changed to “Scrabble,” which literally means, “to scratch frantically.” Now you can amaze your friends with this important trivia at the next party you attend. This historic game requiring proficient strategy and anagramming skills is not unlike the process that happens here at CHANGEffect. more »
Viral Storytelling Without Over-Striding
If I need a little pick-me-up I just watch the “Where the Hell is Matt” video (http://www.vimeo.com/1211060). Stride gum has done a great job of providing an inspirational experience without gratuitously plastering their logo over everything. Instead they tap into an audience’s desire to become connected and part of a story…and they’re happy with a just a post roll credit. Makes me want to book tickets to…anywhere. By the way, it would probably take me two weeks to learn to dance Matt’s simple little jig. more »
Taking the Facebook Plunge
I resisted while others persisted. I hesitated while others activated. I cowered while others powered. And finally, taking a deep breath and big swallow I entered the www.facebook.com site onto my browser and waited. more »
Change is in the Air
Change has been a big buzzword this year, especially among the politicians in the presidential campaign. One of the team members at C2 (one of our web development partners), sent us this You Tube video. We think it’s hilarious, considering that many of our clients refer to us simply as “CHANGE.” Enjoy. more »
The Fray Unplugged and Mustaches
The crazy popular band The Fray capped off the second night of the Q Conference in midtown Manhattan (actually two of the four band members did the gig). They played an unplugged set that was a great way to chill out after almost 20 speaker talks on Wednesday and Thursday. They played familiar hits like “Over My Head” and “How To Save A Life” and cracked open several new songs off their upcoming album as well as a new mustache sported by the lead singer. It was the first time that the he had performed with the blond beauty and he complained about how it got jammed up in his microphone when he was singing. more »
The Story of Coffee
I heard a radio ad for Starbucks the other day. First of all, this is something that’s still fairly new for Starbucks. It’s only been in the last year or so that they’ve engaged in any kind of advertising. I guess that just shows that they’ve done a great job to this point of communicating their story through their brand citizens. (If you’ve never heard that phrase before, brand citizens are people that believe in your story enough to tell other people about you. They are incredibly loyal. Trust me, you want brand citizens!)
But back to my thought about the Starbucks ad. more »
Ice Cream and Poverty
“Americans spend $20 billion a year on ice cream. Providing clean water and basic sanitation for the entire world would cost $7 billion a year for the next 10 years.” This quote comes from Chap Clark & Kara Powell’s book called Deep Justice in a Broken World. more »
Imagine That
The rate of economic change is forcing--and enabling--people to innovate faster than ever. And as more people are paid to think, more organizations are giving employees license to muck around with ideas. Smart companies are realizing that they have to give up a lot of control so that they can unleash and sustain serious innovation. But unbridled creativity isn’t a complete business solution. Control, structure, and results still matter--even though you are only as good as your last idea. more »
Not For Sale Campaign Uses Facebook to Raise Money
Want to see a social network fundraising strategy at work? Check out http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/.
Not For Sale can earn up $50,000 for your $10 donation as part of the Cause Giving Challenge on Facebook. It’s a three-day challenge that ends noon PST February 1, 2008.
The winner of the Challenge will be the organization that has the highest number of unique donations. The minimum donation to qualify is only $10. This means that for the cost of a couple of trips to Starbucks, you could net potential thousands to help victims of human trafficking. more »
Rock Me Gently
If you haven’t seen the Jeep commercial with the singing animals, go here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8qVM6f9Ogs and check it out. It’s so simple but so memorable. How can you use The Song of The South to inspire your next branding effort? more »
The McTwisty Phenomena
If you’re looking for a good study of how a cultural phenomena gets accepted and used by brands, check out the X-Games and see how many big brands you can spot trying to get some air time on those wild, high-flying, long-haired, snow kickin’ crazy people. Somehow Taco Bell is a little cooler because their logo was on Shaun White’s jersey while he did a “1280.” more »
