Adding Value in the Music Business: Cut Down Trees!

I recently won a competition on FOX FM.

They said, in twenty-five words or less tell us why you should win Brandon Flowers' solo album, Flamingo. I did. And I won. I don't remember what I wrote, but it wasn't, "OMG LOLZ! His so hawt [sic]" which is what other people wrote, and, deservedly lost.

The album arrived, along with a handwritten note from someone at the FOX congratulating me. Thanks handwritten note-writing computer machine, you write in such a human-like way. Where can I get one of you from? Preferably for cheap.

Well, I haven't actually listened to the whole thing yet, though I do like track 2 ('Only The Young'), but what I liked immediately was the cardboard cover. Now, I know the planet is dying and everything and we should cut down on using paper superfluously but it felt like something I'd want to keep. Which (segue) brings me to speak of someone of whom I'm a big fan, and who has actually talked about this in the past -- Albert Hammond Jr. (rhythm/occasional lead guitarist for The Strokes). He released his solo album Yours To Keep a few years ago and it came in a lovely cardboard box with hand drawings and he said, emphatically, this is 'yours to keep'.

And, in the age of digital downloads and iTunes soaring popularity - among niche music fans, I'm sure this forethought makes a difference. It certainly does to me. It won't make the music sound better, but in JB Hi-Fi it sure makes your album stand apart from the rest. One may actually want to keep.*

*NB: Bands who are environmentally-friendly (John Butler Trio comes to mind) can only really do this only on recycled paper, otherwise there's an inherent conflict of interest.

P.S. The other way, is to just make incredible video clips, a la OK GO! style. Here's their latest:

Dorito's "Make An Ad Campaign" Campaign: Why Creative Talent Needs To Be Nurtured

Dorito's new campaign is down to its final stages with us, the people, being given the chance to vote on three user-generated ads for the Australian market. Check it out here. All three are great - my favourite is the "Un-Tasmanian" one, despite my love of beatboxing.

The thing though, is that prize money, whilst it rewards a person who the public thinks has a great idea, ought to be better nurtured. What if the guys/girls who came up with these ideas are just ideas machines? They could keep on generating great content for a long, long time. I'm not saying these people should get jobs immediately, but surely judging by the calibre of the ads, industry people will understand they can offer something great. Prize money just stops the creative cycle.

ZARA in Australia: The Problem of Exclusivity in a Smaller Market

Everyone's heard the news by now. For me, Rag Trader broke it and you can read about it here. Inditex are (likely) to bring ZARA to Australia as early as next year. And, if the results of the Westfield "Which Shop Do You Want?" survey are any indication, ZARA may set up shop in Highpoint Shopping Centre in Victoria. I would have thought a walk in store on Chapel Street more fitting, a la Orchard Road in Singapore. A more glamourous Sydney location is probably in order. Back to topic.

There's no surprise that there's so much excitement in the air. But then, comes the reservation. Let me explain. ZARA's success is owed to a few simple "truths" found in their methods of production and supply chain management. They have big stores, but they never fill them up -- their designers are constantly working, creating up to 50,000 styles a year and only ever putting into production 10,000 of these. Stupid? Well, time-consuming and costly, yes - stupid, I think not. The designs that do make it are produced in limited quantities and given ample space in the store. When a customer comes along, they don't know if it'll be there tomorrow so they buy it because it feels "exclusive" yet they don't have to pay a couture price tag. That's where ZARA's supply chain comes in. They make their clothes quickly - from design to production to stores in as little as fifteen days in Europe. What does that mean? A runway style can be emulated and remodeled for a wider market virtually instantly and at a fraction of the price. It could fit perfectly anywhere that younger demographics with disposable incomes want fashionable clothes. Right? Not exactly.

For me, a very real issue for ZARA in Australia is that our market is unlike the consumerist havens of other Southeast Asian nations. The demographic ZARA will infiltrate in Australia is minute in comparison to Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia. What will start as everyone loving ZARA's presence is likely to turn into the brand losing its exclusivity amongst consumers. When two twenty-one year olds are at a party wearing the same dress, shit breaks loose. You don't see it, but you can feel that if you're in the presence of these twins, that the universe is not quite in order.

ZARA are hugely successful elsewhere and it's unlikely to be any different in Australia. That said, I think for Inditex Group monitoring such brands as Country Road or Sportsgirl is a sound idea. These brands are accessible yet allow for the customer to feel like they're not shopping somewhere everyone else does, even if the store's full. ZARA can't afford their brand image to become one for all in a small market like ours; their brand will come to represent where everyone shops, and in a society where one's own sense of individualism can mean more than having the same Balmain-inspired jacket as your best friend, that's going to hit them where it hurts.

The Brand Space on SYN

Today Rob and I did our first episode of The Brand Space. We're on SYN 90.7 FM radio in Melbourne talking about advertising, branding and consumer culture. In many ways, it's kind of like our real-life conversations, but on radio. We're on every Monday afternoon at 3pm.

You can read more about The Brand Space here or download the podcast for Episode One here. Shoot us an email at thebrandspace@gmail.com or reach us on Twitter.Com/TheBrandSpace.

Next week we're talking masculinity.

When Promotions Don't Match Your Service Experience: Slow Sundays @ Dockland's

That's Melbourne are doing their Slow Sundays at Dockland's again this year. In theory, the idea is fantastic. A bunch of participating restaurants offer tasting plates or smaller-than-main sized meals (usually three-quarter size) and a glass of wine or a beer for $15. Plus, you get the lovely water views, the idyllic location and proper service.

My argument is that if you eat at one place and are still hungry, you can go somewhere completely different and for another $15 (a grand total of $30) you get the equivalent of one and a half meals and two standard drinks (and a slightly different view of the same body of water).

So, we checked it out! A booking was made for Meccah Bah at 3pm. At 2.58pm, we arrived. We were told we were 'late' for our 2pm booking but 'that's okay'. We then had clumsy waiters fumble around and not know what was going on. One told us that the 'Slow Sunday menu comes with a small sausage. It is very small' so we 'may want to get something else'. This sort of thing continued with the same waiter later. What looked to be someone's credit card was lying on the ground and we pointed it out to him, but he picked it up and walked back and said, 'That's not a credit card. It belongs to a waiter. It's what we use.'

I really wish I'd told him, 'Who gives a shit?!' I thought the usual custom was to say, 'Thanks, how's your meal?' and walk away. Attentive, yet not there. Helpful, but not overbearing. I've never worked in the industry, aside from a brief stint at KFC at 14 years and 9 months of age, but I think they couldn't have tried harder to be less enthusiastic about being there.

It sounds like my beef is with the waiters and it is, so I shouldn't blame the promotion, right? It's not that simple. Restaurants aren't forced to be part of Slow Sunday's -- in fact -- less restaurants are doing it this year than last. By choice. Also, the vibe the ads create (and what the restaurants sign up to deliver) is one where someone can relax on a Sunday afternoon, sample some fine food, receive great service and not have to pay a fortune because A) It's Sunday; and, B) It's Lunchtime! The theory works.

What instead happens is you walk in thinking you're getting business-class service for an economy fare, but soon enough find yourself like cattle, trudging to the back of the plane. Sad thing is though, at only $15, we'll probably be there again this Sunday, "late" for our 3pm booking.

Purely Dicta Edition One 2010

As part of my involvement with the Melbourne Uni Law Students' Society, I'm responsible for publishing a magazine called Purely Dicta. I do this with my friend Paul.

We released it today and if you do law at Melbourne or you're ever around the Law School, grab a copy on Level Two. Otherwise, download it here.

Putting the whole thing together was a fair amount of work hence why I've been in hermit mode blogging wise. At the same time, it's a lot of fun and I am no longer petrified by InDesign.

Have a read, it's got some great articles. The whole thing is written by Melbourne Law School students on anything they want to write about. Most of the time, it's not about law. My article (p. 22) is about fashion blogging. How surprising!

Let me know what you think.

This Shit Is Getting Hectic: Strange New Players in the Hi-Top Market

The Independent (UK) reported yesterday that that even more luxury retailers are entering the sneaker market 'cause that's where the dollars are!

Kanye West has designed for Louis Vuitton, with last year's range selling out super quickly, and men's hi-tops in the luxury goods market are ubiquitous - think Hugo Boss, Dior Homme; and then Japanese brands such as Comme des Garcons or Spring Court (which may not be a luxury brand but do have a luxury price tag).

But, when Havaianas are launching a range of hi-tops, I'm getting worried. Sure, they're likely to make money and people will buy them - shit, we spend $18-25 on a pair of flip-flop thongs, so their brand name is obviously selling itself - but, who are they going to get to endorse this?

I say this because Kanye West is heavily involved (or at least shown to be through viral hits on YouTube and his own blog) in the production of his collaborations with LV. This brand association works; but Havaianas Hi-Tops just seems weird. Where's the "super cool" factor going to come from?

What Does Your Website Say About Your Brand: Online Retailers Worth Visiting

In the past week I've made some posts on online stores for fashion brands. Below are a list of sites of brands I think are worth having a look at:

Patrik Ervell

Uniqlo (Thanks to Stan Lee for this one)

TOM FORD

Michael Bastian NYC

The thing about the sites above, for me, is that in some sense they seem to just "to work" and they "feel right". A brand's website is sometimes the first point of contact someone has with that fashion label. It's important, then, that it reflects what you're about. This doesn't mean you need an amazing flash-heavy website - it just means it needs to give the consumer the right kind of feeling.

For example, Uniqlo are a fun brand and their flash-driven website when you start clicking and checking out the jeans shows this off really well. Patrik Ervell feels a little bit hipster, but I think it works 'cause Patrik Ervell are a hipster-ish brand (same goes for Oliver Spencer from the UK, as well as ALBAM, both worth checking out). Their websites are purposefully minimalist, but that doesn't mean they don't have content. They have content that's relevant to the kind of person who they feel would visit their site, but is inclusive enough not to alienate someone new to the site.

Michael Bastian's site is also pretty simple. But as is the case with TOM FORD's, the colours are an extension of the brand. For Bastian, the colour palettes are what you see in print, while for FORD it's an extension of how the clothes, accessories and fragrances are visually merchandised.

Dishonourable mention to Thom Browne:

The site is plain. On the one hand, one could argue that this might actually work given that the designer favours a late 1950s aesthetic, and he aims to embrace the uniformity of this period in his collections. I don't think it does -- the designer charges upwards of $4000 US for a suit - one with shrunken proportions and a decidedly Pee Wee Herman look about it -- and so, the website should have something to add value, either for the person paying that much for the garment, or for someone considering it. The existence of runway videos isn't enough, in my opinion.

Now, obviously, a person visiting the site doesn't spend ages thinking about this -- but when it comes down to the important stuff about how long they spend on it, what they make of it, and most importantly, how it makes them FEEL, this stuff is important.

Also, if you haven't already, check out my post on the functionality of online stores for Sportsgirl and General pants and a brief bit about the upcoming Country Road/Trenery launch.

If you liked/disliked any of the sites, let me know why by commenting!

A Clever Little Bag: PUMA Goes Green

PUMA want to go green, really green. The company has vowed to offset its CO2 emissions and those of its sponsored soccer players in the World Cup. The consumer gets an extra value add with a nice little bag to store their new sneakers, aptly titled "A Clever Little Bag".

PUMA spent 21 months working with Yves Behar from fuseproject to develop the best box for storing shoes. The answer = no box at all. The cool thing for the consumer is that they don't actually have to go through a radical lifestyle change in order to make a more sound environmental choice. Watch the video below.

A Wicked Cool Publicity Stunt: Naturally 7 A Capella Group

Naturally 7 are an a capella group from America. They opened for Michael Buble when he toured here and they are awesome. Proper awesome. Check it out for yourselves:

Yep, that's right - they're on the Paris Subway. Save for the one dude with white earphones who's evidently too cool for their sounds, most people are having a wicked time. What's cooler though, is that this video now has 3.8 million views on YouTube and counting. I did a little searching to see how many views Justin Timberlake has on YouTube (on the JustinTimberlakeSME channel):

1. LoveStoned/I Think She Knows = 520,000 views

2. Cry Me A River = 1.2 Million views

3. What Goes Around ... Comes Around = 1.57 million views

4. SexyBack = 400,000 views

Total = 3.69 million views

The Naturally 7 stunt cost nothing and more people have one watched one unique video than four Justin Timberlake video clips that all cost a fair bit of money to make. Love it!

Your Online Presence Should Reflect Your Brand Identity: Sportsgirl vs General Pants, Country Road and Trenery

Ragtrader revealed that Country Road plan to open up an online store for both their Country Road and Trenery brands in August this year. Online trading amongst big name Australian retailers isn't exactly new - Sportsgirl have had a store for a while now, although General Pants just entered the online game in December 2009.

What's important for any clothing brand is ensuring that their online presence, including their store, reflects or in some way adds value to the in-store experience.

Sportsgirl appear to be doing this well ... Though it's essentially similar to the Amazon(ian) "Customers who bought Item X, also bought ..." the 'Style Me Up' cue with accessories that can be coordinated to create an entire outfit works well. Add to this the bright vibrant colours in the background and the easy to use interface and it begins to feel like an enjoyable experience for the consumer -- one where even if they don't buy anything initially, they're likely to spend time clicking around and either eventually/later buy something OR actually go into the store later. All of those are positives. I don't think General Pants do this as well. Clicking on an item does little more than bring up a big version with little further options. People might just close the window then and a potential sale or at least greater time spent at the site may be lost.

To get back to Country Road and Trenery - in my opinion it's important that the online store interfaces have a point of difference. Given that Country Road aims to target a younger demographic now, an online store which reflects this in some way is important. Similarly, I think that Trenery could value-add by having a greater focus on the premium nature of the materials they (assumedly) use. If they need inspiration, they could just copy J Crew's "Suit Shop" idea for menswear as it appears on the web. By placing little departments and giving some areas a more wholesome user experience, I think it'll help the brands remain together yet forge their own individual identities for the consumer. Right now, they just seem too much the same.

Happy 10th Birthday Ksubi

Happy 10th Birthday Ksubi!

I have fond memories of you as Tsubi before Tsubo decided to sue you and you changed your name and your jeans somehow didn't fit the same as they did before and then the quality didn't feel the same and the price went up and then it all went a bit ... differently for me and you after that point.

What do you think of Edwin Jeans? I bought a pair.

Hmm ... I celebrated my 10th birthday by having a roller-blading party. It was the best!

Something We Won't See Much Of Anymore

Looking about the ThreeThousand website I came across this article back in 2007, advertising the Wes Anderson film (one of my favourite movies), The Darjeeling Limited.

On the bottom left it says that to WIN tickets you have to write a caption for the film and they'll notify you if you win by posting on YOUR MySpace page. As of April 20, 2010, I know a total of ZERO people who regularly use, or even check their MySpace. I don't think people are going to be finding any winnings on MySpace anymore ...

Trying Too Hard For Credibility: Bonds "The Pant" Ads

I'm sure most young Melburnian's will have seen the new Bonds ads about town - they're literally everywhere. If you haven't seen them yet, I've got some samples posted below.

"The Pant" as it's called is Bonds new trackpant which are a long drop-crotch style with a slim fitting leg, a lot like some guys skinny jeans and TSL is even selling them as the "Jean Trackie".

There's another version of the ad that has the top and bottom images spliced in half so one side shows the guy in his leather biker jacket and the other in his singlet, with sleeve tattoo exposed (which is the ad I'm talking about). At first glance, it looks pretty cool.

But yesterday when I saw it for the fiftieth time at Richmond Station I noticed just how fake the tattoo looks on the guys arm. That's not really a problem in itself, but it seems to me that in a bid to be "cool" Bonds is trying a little too hard for credibility. It's really not necessary and I don't think that it's successful in the long term because all the young people I know switch off and think you're an old gimpy loser the moment you (i.e. a brand) starts trying too hard to be cool in their eyes. You're better off doing what you do, than trying to show us splitting images of ourselves that aren't really "us".

I wish I could say that I won this battle, but I had already fallen prey to their coolness campaign and bought a pair of these late last week. For the record, they're pretty comfortable. I'm wearing them now.

Fail.

The Powers of Social Media Series (Part One): Buying Furniture

Welcome to Part 1 of the Powers of Social Media Series.

The story goes: I live at home with my parents. I want them to buy a solid timber lowline entertainment audio visual unit for our television. I did not know where to buy one of better quality for less cash money (which is the goal for most of my things in life).

I put the call out on Twitter.

I got this back.

@Chanoz79 on Twitter (who I don't know) decides (on his OWN accord) to 'check out names of stores' because it's easy for him as he's in Richmond. The next day:

He sent me 12+ stores. What a MAN! That weekend, my mum, dad and me (my sister didn't come because she wasn't feeling well) went and looked at the shops. We haven't bought anything yet which would mean that this post should or could wait till we do buy something, but that's not the point. We will buy something, likely from one of the above stores and they have @Chanoz79 on Twitter to thank for it.

Do you guys have any Powers of Social Media stories?

Country Road Goes For The Win: Hit 'Em From Every Angle

Two hours ago I received an email from Country Road that said "Check out our AW range" and all that blah blah blah. I clicked on it, Safari (yes, I use the unreliable, but not quite as bad as IE, but much more than Firefox, web browser) opened up a neat little PDF with the catalogue and I got to look at it.

Ten minutes ago I walked outside (not for the first time today) and opened the mailbox. In it was a Country Road catalogue and some other stuff included in the post. In an ideal world, they'd have some kind of value-add in there, a coupon, anything to make me go, "Hmm, I need to consume some Country Road".

Anyway, given that SO many brands have people on mailing lists and e-mail lists and in my own experience many of those don't coordinate their send-outs, sometimes the message gets lost. Country Road, you've hit me from every angle - I will see you soon to buy something I probably don't need.

P.S. I bought some plimsolls from your Lygon Street store. They were royally shit and fell apart very quickly and emailed your online customer service - never heard back. Please don't do that again. It's not nice.

The New Media Problem With Selling Australia

So let's get this first part over with ...

The $180 million advertising campaign Tourism Australia launched in 2006, done by M&C Saatchi in Sydney, pretty much failed miserably. I thought it was shit, too.

Now that there's a new campaign with the tag line, "There's Nothing Like Australia", Tourism Australia wants the public to get involved in the marketing of the campaign. We're encouraged to upload photos of what makes Australia so unique, etc. to a website with the allure of winning prizes and cash money. SICK!

But, not even a day in and people have already started making online parodies. It seems that since the "Where The Bloody Hell Are You?" campaign, no slogan is going to be left untouched. The problem, though, is that the 'real' competition to upload photos hasn't even started yet and there's already a tumblr site set up that, frankly, is quite funny. Check it at There's Nothing Like Australia.

With the reach and increased usage of online social media, this kind of stuff has the potential to really damage Tourism Australia's efforts. Any attempt to get everyone on-side is going to result in an Epic Fail of the worst kind (one not even worthy of a YouTube video). The worst thing they can do, I think, is if they follow that all too familiar path Nestle did with Greenpeace by trying to get all litigious. The so-often-referred-to Australian underdog mentality just might kick in and even more people will start supporting those who try to defame the campaign.

The marketers need to keep their wits about them and the lawyers, well, let's hope they don't get too out of touch. Letting some things go might just mean they pass over and the whole campaign isn't sabotaged before it's hardly begun.

Advertising Pop Up Sales: Optimising The Mobile Experience

Pop up sales are cool. I mean, that's not entirely true. Sometimes they suck because you go all the way to somewhere out of the way and they don't have anything in your size or the prices aren't nearly as cheap as you were expecting (because the ad lied - don't do that - it's just poor practice).

Aside from that, pop up sales are cool. The problem lies in how they're sometimes advertised. When it's a day before or morning-of email, often you're checking it on your iPhone/BlackBerry/alternate mobile device and when you do, you sometimes have to go through a bit of clutter to know where to click. Not only that, sometimes it just won't work on your phone.

For brands this means less customers at sale events and arguably, less product sold. Optimising for mobile users is a simple theory that may pose some tech complications but for impromptu sales/events is likely to benefit brands. Just think of a group of people coffeeing and one checks their phones and says, "Hey, Sass & Bide are having a sale ...". All of a sudden the whole group are going to the sale, some of whom tell their other friends and then more people sign up to that same email list. More exposure for the brand. But sometimes not if that email can't be seen on your iPhone.

Managing Fashion: The Business of Fashion vs The Business of Running a Business

I win for using the word business the most times in a title.

I feel a little under-qualified speaking about the American retail market; but what I've noticed is that over a period of a few years J Crew has gone from being a brand that went by relatively unnoticed to being an affordable place to shop with good quality clothing that extends beyond 'basics', and became cool again, too.

For an Australian comparison, Country Road is a good example. Not too long ago they were a tired brand, in need of serious market repositioning and along came Ian Moir and things changed for the better.

I read Valet Mag's interview with J Crew's CEO Mickey Drexler - I think part of their success has been an ability to branch out and collaborate with other brands on items such as luggage, shoes, and other accessories. Ultimately, the customer benefits from this because they get to buy well-made products without paying the same premium as some other luxury brands. Done properly, it helps the host company's bottom line as is the case with J Crew.

On the whole though, for those in the fashion business as designers or those who have an interest in it - it's imperative that you understand the importance of proper management. The idea that clothes will sell themselves and making what you want and selling just that is one that can have mixed results. For example, Tom Ford calling himself his "muse" and designing clothes solely for himself has worked a treat. There are now 21 freestanding stores and shops-in-shops worldwide. Meanwhile, Thom Browne who popularised the shrunken suit aesthetic and decided to sell it widely "because it's what he likes to wear" was rumoured to be filing for bankruptcy last year.

In the end, he didn't but his business has hardly had the sort of phenomenal growth that MR. Ford's has (news is that he is seeking financing for a women's line). Though Tom Ford may talk at length about how he designs what he likes, his previous experience at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent work in his favour. Similar to what Ralph Lauren has done, Tom Ford has created a world around his brand that invites the buyer into it. This is not easy to do and a good management team can often help guide the process from an often overlooked perspective.

Just making shit you think looks good or that you like is not always going to work. Ksubi knows this now. A little bit of insight into your consumers never goes astray.

Mr. Tom FORD: Marketing Right

P.S. As Jay-Z raps, "I ain't a business man; I'm a business, man/ So let me handle my business, damn"

Give The Purely Dicta Editors Something To Do

If you study at Melbourne Law School, you'll be seeing these videos soon.

Retail Fashion Branding at POS

I work at Herringbone. As is the case with a lot of stores, company policy requires that when working we wear Herringbone stock at all times, preferably current season too. Admittedly, I don't always do this. I always wear a Herringbone shirt/tie/sweater/blazer, etc. but am often wearing my own jeans from Nudie or shorts from American Apparel/Herringbone shorts altered to fit differently.

I've never had anyone express anything negative about me wearing jeans and sometimes people have liked the idea and said they would wear their Herringbone shirts more casually, too. However, the other day when I was at Country Road, a customer asked the sales assistant about her belt. She blushed, said it was from Kinki Gerlinki and proceeded to tell the customer all about how good their stuff is and how much she LOVES shopping there. Great, but what favours does that do your own brand?

More important than just wearing current season stock for POS staff is, in my view, being able to show how those items fit into other people's wardrobes but always re-emphasising the features + benefits of your own brand's items. Finishing a sale with how good the other brand is means potentially losing future sales. Instead, after the transaction is the best time to reaffirm the customer/sales assistant/brand relationship.

The above was just a thought. What do you think?

Twitter's Search Results: Popularity over Instantaneity Silences Occasional Users

Never thought I would use the word 'instantaneity'. After I wrote it, I Googled it to make sure it was even a word. It is. Anyway.

News from a few days ago is that Twitter plans to search results by order of popularity, rather than the newest first. I read about it in the mX but if you wanna know more check here. The arguments raised in the mX in favour of this were that ranking by popularity would lower the reach of spambots that automatically retweet messages, and would afford regular users more reach.

I've only been on Twitter for about five (human) days, e.g. 120 hours. so feel ill-advised to comment, BUT on the face I think it's a bit alienating. Part of the beauty of Twitter is that regular/occasional users can tweet something and it's instantly made available for everyone. Here, people who already have reach may get more just by becoming increasingly popular. It might become harder for the newer users looking to establish their online presence.

Just a final point, the Gen Y Marketing podcast were saying that Facebook may institute two forms of status update in the near future; one which goes public to everyone on Facebook, and the other which goes only to your friends/people you want it too. Whilst it won't replace Twitter, it enroaches upon its territory a bit and may damage it. What do you guys think?

P.S. Just remembered another argument raised for the Twitter change was "the popularity of similar measures being implemented on Facebook's NewsFeed" - it seems that ever since MySpace became so mid-2000s no-one considers themselves able to go against Facebook, but just a supplement to it.

Fashion and Blogs

Today I joined The Thinkers show on SYN 90.7 FM. With L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival on the girls (Tash and Mary) were keen to talk about ... fashion!

Apart from the usual 'worst fashion trends', etc. I talked about just how many fashion blogs have taken off. Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist is for most the first foray into fashion blogging and was even named one of TIME Magazine's Top 100 design influencers. Yet, on a smaller scale the world over fashion and blogging are often synonymous with each other for so many people.

It's been used as a way of helping the underprivileged (The Uniform Project) or just to document fashion in one's own city (Melbourne Street Fashion). Just the other day a girl who studies at Uni stopped me to take a photo. Check out her blog at Koh & Co.

As elementary as it sounds, it's great that blogs and "social media" are giving people an avenue to express their creativity in something they're genuinely passionate about, while even benefitting others.

P.S. I'll be on SYN Radio soon in a regular position with a friend of mine (Rob White). I'll keep you all posted and help support community radio!

The 500 Dollar Project

FOX FM: Hot Cross Buns Competition

My buns are suffering from a little muffin top action, but that doesn't reduce their overall chocolatey gooeyness.

VOTE FOR THEM and then tell your friends to vote. YOU could win $500. For doing nothing. Except voting. That's all. Vote for #134 HERE.

When To Go With Your Gut Feeling

I wish I had some statistics to back this back up but I'm just going to go with my gut feeling on this one ...

That's it. That's my question.

How often do marketers now rely on an instinctive/gut feeling of what they think will work? I mean, with the huge range of online and other means of studying consumers and what they want, sometimes for whatever reason you can't put all of that into action or you don't want to 'cause it may prove to be a waste of resources. When this happens, do any of you ever wing it?

Online Media: Make Sure Your Web Link Works

I doubt this guy is selling a product or a service and even if he is, I'm sure most of us probably don't need it ...

But, if you're going to make yourself a billboard for istreak.com - why not put something there? I get that he's just a streaker and it's probably a laugh and the 'i' prefix quite possibly refers to Apple, but in broader terms - it's happened to me before where brands tell you to check out their website and spend so much time/money/energy/resources getting you there only to leave you feeling really disappointed.

Who Makes The Most Dough: AdNews Poll

AdNews is running a poll asking, "At agencies, who are the most overpaid?" At present, the results are as follows:

Creatives - 31%

Digital Gurus - 15%

Planners - 11%

Account Management - 10%

The Bosses - 33%

It's no surprise to anyone that bosses rank the highest, but as I've been thinking lately about thought vs action I'm framing a lot of things I see through that lens. I think for a lot of people, the Creatives must be the ones who 'just come up an idea' and so many people, both within agencies and the general public (when they see a good TVC or a clever concept) immediately think, "I could have done that!" or whatever. Meanwhile, I think the Planners and such terms are perceived to be more real, more tangible, and less concerned with abstractions and more with delivering results.

As for 'Account Management' - well, in my limited experience of the industry, I've seen that many business cards/job titles/self references to everyone being some kind of account manager/executive/etc. that it was never going to be the case they'd all vote against themselves. I mean, who wants LESS money?

On Thought vs Action: At University

There's increasingly a lot of talk about thought vs action in the marketing industry. Whether it's at an agency level about putting a creative idea into practice and making it reality, or at the receiving end where the consumer/recipient of the message is compelled to act and "do" something. NAKED's Ask Richard Campaign is one example of consumer action. It happens in other ways too, when social media leverages the power of consumers to cuss out a brand, for example.

It got me thinking though about the education of Media & Communications at tertiary level. At Melbourne Uni the focus is very much on academic thought, not action, with the course taught under the School of Culture and Communication. The majority of the action is figuring out the Dewey Decimal system to write the best academic essay. Even in subjects such as Asian Public Relations, Marketing Communications, Lifestyle & Consumer Culture or Popular Culture, students are expected to engage foremost with theory and critically analyse this, and a raft of ethical concerns impede efforts to complete tangible case studies. I say it like it's a bad thing, and in some sense - I think it is.

However, after talking to a friend about it, he said it was great that we do get exposure to different kinds of theory and academic thought across different fields. I do think the academic grounding is good at helping to encourage ideas that can later be put into action. However overall, I think it's important students have a range of practical real-life knowledge, over and above simply critiquing what others have said.

For an idea of the Media & Communications program at Melbourne Uni, but mainly for you all to have an idea of my research interests over the past few years, I'm placing some of my academic essays on here. Have a read and share your thoughts on the education of communication at University.

Melbourne Airport Parking TVC

What with the shift from watching television (so 2004) to on-demand, ad-free entertainment, most of us don't get to see good old-fashioned television commercials. Nonetheless, while watching The Departed last night on commercial (read: ad-infested) television, I found this pretty funny. It's by Melbourne agency SMART.

Gen Y Marketing Podcast: Selling Small Condoms

First off, the Gen Y Marketing podcast is great. Only listened to my first one tonight and I can't wait for the next one.

They were discussing the problems faced when marketing smaller sized condoms and said the best idea wins a CD. As long as it's not the Best of Motown which they played all over their last podcast, I want in.

Here's my entry:

Basically, it's a print advert for a men's lifestyle magazine. The whole point of it is to offer a custom product without alluding to smaller penis size, but rather focusing on the "right fit". Secondly, the "whatreallymatters" (doesn't exist ... yet) would be a good way for the condom manufacturer to get on board health issues relating to condom use, with user engagement through forums, etc. for talking about the "doing" part. Lastly, the tag line coming from a famous woman is a nice way of making men feel a little more comfortable.

Anyway, lawyers for Halle Berry and Durex - please don't sue me. Thanks.

Shameful Neglect: Never Again

I have neglected this little place of my own Internet goodness for far too long. For no reason either. It doesn't do me any favours and I like having the blog so from now on, I'm going to write on it.

It's weird the things you learn by NOT writing or acting. I've keenly read Zac Martin's blog for many months and he's partly responsible for me wanting to start one in the first place. Though I've never met you, well done on your new position Zac. Really good stuff! Then there's the advice and support of a really good friend.

Oddly enough though, it's a guy I went to school with who popped into my work at Herringbone and asked why I wasn't posting anymore. The guy confessed to having minimal interest in marketing/advertising/communication/blogs and lived for engineering or whatever other more accepted brown person thing he's doing, but said he genuinely liked the fact that someone he knew had started up a blog.

So, I'm back. And planning to stay =)