Magical Art....ookkayy....GO!

In my last post I discussed the idea of "magical art" and how, in many ways, it can be one of the two peas in a pod along with its com padre, brand strategy.

This idea may not fly well in boardrooms or in your strategic planning sessions with clients (which I have been a part of many, many times) but in my humble opinion it has tremendous value and should be considered as part of your 'value add' package that says to your audience...we're distinctive, this is why we matter and here's why we're worthy of your time.

Additionally the world needs new ideas because the traditional ones are choking, wheezing and gasping for air (we're in dire need of fresh oxygen and new blood...and I think a lil' magic may be just what the doctor ordered).

As we scurry around online, in meetings, at networking events, and at social gatherings everyone wants you to pay attention to them. But why on earth should they?! Are you interesting? Are you remarkable? Are you worth paying attention to? Well magical art is. And as magic often does, it entertains, engages and leaves us wanting more, while art adds to the mix, creativity, new ideas and a way to undiscovered possibilities.   

So just yesterday I saw Ok Go's new video and while doing some research about it, came across a blog post from Melinda Newman (the former West Coast Bureau Chief for Billboard Magazine) and she says:

"We want OK Go to take the pooches and create a show in Vegas that we can go to over and over again...sort of like a doggie Siegfried and Roy."

So it was very cool that I wasn't the only one thinking that OK Go had a little magic going on, but Melinda felt that the Ok Go video = a Siegfried and Roy show (two incredible magicians, to say the least...full disclosure - I grew up in Las Vegas so I'm a liiil' bit biased to this comment). Either way... I'm wit'chu on this Melinda!

Magical Art....oookkaayy....GO!

Magical Art

It is the function of art to renew our perception. What we are familiar with we cease to see. The writer shakes up the familiar scene, and, as if by magic, we see a new meaning in it.                                                                                                                                                                                - Anais Nin

How often will you hear magic, art and brand strategy spoken in the same sentence? Rarely. Yet they probably should be in close proximity to each other more often. 

If you look around the marketplace, the value propositions that companies have typically beat their chests on are dissipating. The business models that sustained companies in the past, more than likely won't be viable in the future. The question on the table for many is...what do we do?

Unfortunately there is no silver bullet answer to that question. But there are spaces of exploration, experiments to conduct and creative ideas that could be valuable and well worth your consideration. 

One of those is Magical Art.

Now Magical Art isn't one particular thing, place or idea. It's an approach, a process, a strategy by which you can begin to create new kinds of value.   

So why "Magical Art?" Magic engages our attention. Manufactures the unexpected. Invites us to want to know more. It begs the question - how was that done?!  Art, as Anais Nin mentions, renews our perceptions and brings to the fold new meaning. It's purpose is to impact and influence the way we see and understand things.

Now when those two words come together, what happens? You get a space, a thing or an idea that invites people to be immersed in their curiosity. To learn about what you espouse, be influenced by it and then share it with others around them. You get things like chocolate love, Sweatshoppe, and a guy on a horse.  

Now I just came across Dentsu London the other day, and perusing their site, I'm definitely seeing some very cool magic in their art...

Making Future Magic: iPad light painting from Dentsu London on Vimeo.

What's missing? What's the. . .

About two months ago we were on a telecon with one of our clients who is part of a neighborhood development project here in Washington DC. We are initiating  a brand strategy program for a local community looking to re-capture 125 million dollars of annual loss revenue due to a lack of  sufficient retail and small businesses outlets in the neighborhood.

During the conversation we were sharing out approach on how cities, communities and organizations need to re-orient themselves in light of today's marketplace realities. One of the individuals on the call mentioned that he wanted to talk with us (in the upcoming weeks) about some other potential client work that we may be interested in.

About a week ago we got a call from the gentleman wanting to share with us the projects he spoke about during our meeting a couple of months back. We spoke for a few minutes in greater detail about our approach and shared with him some pertinent blog posts of ours. We hung up the phone and said he'd be back in touch with us.  A day later he said he said he's very much interested in moving forward. Here's part of the email he sent:

"There is a lot of room in the nonprofit market for a firm with the skills you market to find the new or evolved value paradigm in a changing economic, demographic and technology environment.  Many of my clients still devote the vast majority of their resources to an effort to remain relevant in a shrinking, legacy market.  It is not sustainable.  The smart ones see that, but even their visions are limited to better web sites and social media pushing the old value proposition."

When he sent us this email its like he nailed it square on the head. Not just non-profits, but many across the board aren't really able to get the right handle on what's hapenning. It's going to take more than social media first aid kits to fix the gash wounds to businesses and repair the bone fractures in the economy.

The gap in exploration and the void in many discussions, is design thinking in a digital world.  What are the new models for value creation in the networked economy? How does the billion channel universe merge with our physical and abstract spaces? In an environment where information is getting commoditized across our digital platforms, the opportunties lay waiting, right there, at that synthesis. Right at that place that's ripe for re-intepreting old ideas in a modern context, seeing famliar language in a new light and re-invigorating old thoughts in a contemporary space.  

At the intersection of design and digital you are on the verge, at the threshold of what was and what is about to be. Why not push open the door, walk through the entrance and enter into a room that allows for creative solutions, imaginative product design and the chance to create your own category. Here you're exploring the void - working and playing - in an empty space - where most others simply aren't.

The Creative Economy

Over the course of the last four years, as I launched my company, there have been conferences, books individuals and relationships that have proven invaluable and instrumental in the birth, growth and prosperity of Cnvrgnc. I'm not going to go into a long list here, but those of you who have ever had successful accomplishments (whatever they may be) you definitely have a laundry list of 'valuable resources' that helped you successfully navigate from point A to point B. 

For me one of these valuable resources is the book the Creative Economy - How People Make Money From Ideas by John Howkins.  After hearing a keynote presentation of his at the Global Creative Economy Convergence Summit in Philadelphia, that I attended in 2006, I immediately went out and bought the book.

One reason I really enjoyed it (and is often a reference for me) is because it was one of the first books that I read that explored the relationship between creativity and economy (and to this day I still feel it is one of the best books that addresses this issue). It begins identifying, in concrete terms, how to 'quantify' creativity in a way that makes sense.

As a creative entrepreneur I have always looked for opportunities to bring some level of 'concreteness' to the creative realm. Constantly I'm hunting for material that delves into discussions beyond the traditional 'imaginative' aspects and puts on the table it's 'evil' other half, commercial viability. I then look for discussions around economic impact and influence. So in the book, when I came across John's equation, which states: the creative economy (CE) is equivalent to the value of creative products (CP) multiplied by the number of transactions (T); that is CE = CP x T, I got excited by what this equation could mean for me and my ideas. 

Thanks John. Seriously appreciate mi amigo.

Below is a quick interview of John and some of his thoughts on what a creative economy is. He's got some great musings. Check out the video and if you get the chance, check out his book as well.

It's so hot, it Burns

Yesterday, as I was perusing through my twitter feed, I came across a retweet, by a good colleague of mine Digital Tonto (if you're not reading his stuff, you're doing yourself a grave injustice), of a blog post from the Ad Contrarian called "Why Is Advertising So Crappy?"

The blog post title pretty much sums it up, and I always ask my self the very same question.

Here's a few a things that he said:

Despite all the witless proclamations of new age marketing gurus about the death of advertising, advertising isn't just growing, it's metastasising...

You can't swing a dead media planner without hitting an ad.  And while advertising has gotten bigger and bigger, it hasn't gotten much better.

The reason most advertising (and artistic endeavors) are lousy is not that people set out to create crap. It's that creating something good is really, really hard. And there are very few people who can do it.

I loved that the Ad Contrarian wrote this because it reminded me of a post I wrote a year ago to date. In it I discuss how Lee Clow believes every brand touch point needs to be treated as if it were an opportunity to seduce an audience and how he feels that "when advertising is done well, I think it can become a part of our culture. When it's done badly it becomes visual pollution."

A couple of weeks back I came across a very cool video (and marketing campaign) for an energy drink called Burn. After seeing the video I then went to their website. What I liked about it is that I know the site is advertising for the drink, but it soo doesn't feel like it.

It's definitely advertainment and branded content, done well.

Often brands look to converge with culture, but this effort is one of the best I've seen. One of the reasons is because the focus is on the culture, and the participants and creators of the culture. They let you get engaged with the story and connect on some level with the characters, without being hit over the head with cameos of the product. Well done Burn...well done.

Enjoy...

burn presents Ride feat Steve Berra (OFFICIAL HD) on Vimeo from Prodigo Pesquisa on Vimeo.