Door Number 3 @ South by Southwest: Tuesday, March 17
Posted on Tue Mar 17 2009
Bryan Keplesky and Prentice Howe of Door Number 3 in Austin, Texas, are filing reports for BrandFreak from South by Southwest. They are looking at emerging trends, technologies and strategies that brand marketers are using to reach today's trendsetters and tastemakers.
THE DAILIES
T-SHIRT: This shirt bears the logo for Improv Everywhere, a street performance troupe of which the wearer, Dan Winkler, is a member. They pull what are called "anti-pranks" on the streets and in the subway tunnels of New York City and document them on their blog. You can visit their Web site, improveverywhere.com, and read about the highly-organized "No Pants Day," which made life a little more interesting in 24 cities across the nation.
NAMEDROP: 97 bottles. Being around SXSW Interactive has taught me that a social network can be formed around pretty much anything. At 97bottles.com, any beer enthusiast can create a profile and rate beers from 1 to 100 as well as share pictures and reviews. It's a great-looking site and maintains its integrity and focus by separating the experts from the novices, dubbing them beer lords and noobs, respectively. I found out about it while inquiring about this piece of badge flair.
INTERVIEW: David Kim is interactive creative director at San Francisco ad agency Venables Bell & Partners (www.venablesbell.com). He was taking a smoke break in between panels. This is what he had to say about branding at SXSW:
What are you excited about seeing this year?
Well, it's my first year, so I'm just kind of trying to consume as much as I can. And I had a few friends doing panels, so I wanted to see them as well.
What brand-sponsored parties are you looking forward to?
The Crispin thing, but it wasn't all that. Barbarian Group party tonight. Imeem.
If you attend a branded party, are you more likely to use their product?
I'd say I'd probably give it a shot. ... I'm actually bummed that there isn't more crossover with music. And when there are bands or DJs at these parties, they're not properly promoted. It feels like it's more about the guys paying for it, the sponsors, than the artists. So, if they'd flip that, it'd be better so people knew what sort of music would be there, and the brand, I think, would look better that way.
Does street marketing work?
Overall, yeah. But here there is too much clutter, so it's really hard. That's why not any single thing really pops out to me. It's like visual inundation.
CROWDSOURCING
One of the most-talked about trends at SXSW so far has been the subject of crowdsourcing. In a nutshell, crowdsourcing utilizes the large-scale, rapid-response nature of the Web to solve a variety of problems. Say I want to find a good Italian restaurant here in Austin. I can simply post a Tweet and within an hour get recommendations from the online community. That's basically crowdsourcing. It's gotten more complicated with Web sites like 99designs and crowdSPRING because they take that basic idea and apply it on a more professionally creative level.
It's spec work 2.0. The AIGA, for example, very clearly states its position on spec work. There's even a grassroots organization, No-Spec.com. These organizations have provided legitimate, well-established reasons for creatives not to provide their services for free.
However, the influx of creative crowdsourcing Web sites has complicated the issue. Companies no longer have to find designers and ask them to work for free—there are Web sites out there that now do the legwork and utilize a global army of anonymous designers who are eager to take on any job.
This has inspired some passionate debate. On one end, there are the creative professionals who can (rightly) argue that sites like crowdSPRING, with their vague creative briefs and hundreds of design options, can never replace the role of a competent, paid designer. And on the other end are companies with limited budgets and inexperienced executives who don't see the problem with getting as many design options as possible on a fixed budget.
The consensus so far has been that these Web sites will not go away. And companies who want to crowdsource their branding will not go away either. The best position for a creative professional to take is to stand by their own work, to value it, to charge for it and to take solace in the fact that if a company wants to get something for almost nothing, they're probably not worth working with anyway.
SIERRA MIST
Prior to this week, I had never tried Sierra Mist. When I've ordered Sprite at restaurants and been offered the door prize otherwise known as Sierra Mist, I always declined. Then SXSW Interactive started, and I've since had five 12-ouncers. But don't blame me for lack of restraint. Blame their super-chill, crazy-comfortable indoor/outdoor lounge just outside the downtown Convention Center. It's called the Sierra Mist Ruby Splash Sun Lounge. Step inside for a complimentary Vodka Mist on ice, then park yourself on a giant Fatboy pillow under the warm Texas sun. Not a bad way to kill time between panels.
What I like most is that they aren't trying too hard. The whole presentation is clean, light and laid back, which I have to assume is in step with their brand positioning. The packaging has a misty, refreshing vibe. They even mixed my cocktail with a local Austin vodka, which was a smart way to counterbalance the fact that, at the end of the day, I was just drinking another Pepsi product engineered for the masses.
FINANCE 2.0
We don't like spending time managing money. It's a brutal time suck that always leaves us feeling bad about ourselves. Thankfully, a new wave of innovations and resources are quickly changing the landscape of personal finance management. And ironically enough, none of these tools are coming from our own financial institutions.
Mint.com, founded by entrepreneur Aaron Patzer, can be credited with leading the charge. Patzer realizes that, just like in every other facet of our lives, we want simplicity and choice. We want the power in our hands and on our iPhone. Money can't buy happiness, but taking charge of our finances sure can.
Patzer was part of a panel discussing new money-management tactics that take us way beyond antiquated Excel spreadsheets or Quicken software. SmartyPig.com is another resource worth noting. It's a Web-based tool for setting goals, saving smartly and tracking your progress. You can even publicize your goals for friends to see, so everyone in your network can help keep you accountable along the way.
Older generations aren't likely to embrace Mint or any of these other tools because they likely don't trust third-party sites with their finances. But Generation Next eats this stuff up. Patzer says his business has doubled since the recession hit. For those who grew up in the digital age, it's not a hard sell. Welcome to simplicity and accessibility in your pocket, 24/7.
Nearly two-thirds of 20-somethings carry debt. And 40 percent don't have a savings account they contribute to regularly. So, these tools arrive at the most welcome time. I just think it's too bad that banks like Wells Fargo aren't the ones driving these innovations on behalf of their customers. The session's moderator did not let this concern go unnoticed: "Why can't banks grasp these concepts? Why isn't there a banker on this panel?"
