Grown Up Thinking

From outlandish one-on-one encounters to themed bar nights, ChatRoulette has swept the nation with its unapologetically uncensored take on the classic internet chat. Marketing types around the world held their breath wondering who would be the first brand to tap in to the 500,000+ unique users per day.

And the winner is…. French Connection. The international clothing brand has launched a ChatRoulette competition challenging participants to use the service to seduce a woman in exchange for a $250 voucher. Risky move for an international brand, considering the proliferation of shady stuff going down on the site. But foolish or not, they’ve been getting a lot of coverage for being the first.

Only time will tell if ChatRoulette can become a useful tool in the marketer’s arsenal. Thoughts?

Growing up as a teen in the late ’80s and early ’90s was much simpler on so many levels. I never remember hearing the words economy, terrorism, war or debt. Instead, my thoughts were left to my dreams and curiosity. Since the library was not the place I aspired to be, and the Internet was far from reach, I was left to my imagination about much of what the world had to offer.The catalyst for my dreams growing up as a teen were the icons I looked up to and aspired to be like. Long before celebrity scandals were everyday news I, like many of my peers, were left with the innocent feeling of putting my heroes on impenetrable pedestals. Bobby Brown (see: mug shot), Charles Barkley (ditto), and yes, Brandon from Beverly Hills 90210 were at the top of my list.

No matter whom I looked up to as a teen, every icon had one thing in common … cool. They acted cool, dressed cool, talked cool and walked cool.

Fast forward to 2010, and the headlines are much different as are teens’ perceptions of their icons. The Internet, camera phones, and Perez Hilton have exposed those who might otherwise be teens’ everyday heroes as frauds or creeps, and there is little left to the imagination. The halo of cool has become blurred and faded with yet another flash from a TMZ photographer.

Enter the “age of anti-cool” for the modern teen. With each new celebrity wart exposed, the notion of hero and idol has virtually disappeared only to be awkwardly replaced by the likes of Michael Cera, Shaun White and Glee. Today’s rising teen heroes are largely embraced because of their flaws rather than their airbrushed perfection. We are entering an age that celebrates and promotes imperfection.

Teens are infatuated with Shaun White not only because he is an American teen icon* that is a killer snowboarder but because he is in many ways as relatable as the free-spirited, pimply kid next door. Michael Cera (or Jonah Hill for that matter) is not as easy on the eyes as Jason Priestly once was, but who would you rather spend a night playing Xbox with? Glee celebrates the inner shower singer in all of us that just wants to belt out some “Journey” … and something about that feels so right.

Social media has made the anti-cool acceptable and widespread. No longer does today’s teen need to be a cheerleader or sports jock to fit in. There are meet-ups for Star Wars geeks and tweetups for Circus Freaks and everything in between. Pepsi, long seen as an arbiter of teen pop culture, no longer uses the likes of Britney, MJ, Madonna or Shaq in its ads, but instead a promise for everyday people to make a difference.

Is your brand still hiding behind the bright lights and makeup of a paid celebrity shill to tout your wares? Or are you embracing your warts while becoming more authentic and relatable? The jig is up for fooling teen consumers with a paid endorsement by their heroes. Now you must earn their trust by letting it all out and embracing the anti-cool.

This article appeared as part of MediaPost’s Engage:Teens Publications. To read the original post, click here.

There are many among us who cherish the days when we get to indulge in a hearty breakfast of pancakes and syrup instead of our usual cup of coffee and too much to do. Well today is our day, because it is officially National Pancake Day according to IHOP, and the folks over at the famed food shop are taking a new approach to promoting it with a Web 2.0 spin!

For starters, IHOP enlisted Miss America 2010 to be the official spokesperson for National Pancake Day to support the nationwide promotion and tie-in with the Children’s Miracle Network. On the official National Pancake Day website consumers can share information via their social networks and sign up to receive celebrity wake up calls reminding them to celebrate with some pancakes. If you’re one of the 74,000+ IHOP Facebook fans you may have noticed that you were automatically sent to the National Pancake Day tab this morning while IHOP employees across the country took to their local IHOP Twitter accounts to spread the news about the promotion and were even triumphant enough to earn IHOP a spot in the coveted “Trending Topics” list on Twitter. Overall I’d give IHOP an “A” for effort, but a “B” overall for their Web 2.0 centered celebration. They’ve got a lot of room to make this a full-blown social media extravaganza, and this is a great step in that direction.

The new Vampire Weekend album, Contra, came out a few weeks ago. As a fan, I did what I always do… I downloaded it illegally. I didn’t even think twice.

Then a curious thing happened. One of my coworkers rushed to the record store to buy the very same album.  Huh? He enthusiastically explained the beauty of having something tangible, described pouring over the inset, the liner notes, the bonus poster that came in the sleeve. Having the album ensures that you listen to the tracks in the order the artist intended, he said, the time and energy involved in tracking down the record made it that much better. It all sounded very transcendental – something Penny Lane would wax poetic about in Almost Famous.

I can’t relate. At 22, I don’t think I’ve ever purchased an album. I got onboard the Napster train early on and haven’t looked back since.

All legal issues aside, is it possible that I’m missing something fundamental by skipping the pomp and fanfare of the record store? By downloading an artist’s tracks individually online, am I reducing the integrity of the music to a 99 cent commodity?

PS. Vampire Weekend, it you’re reading this – I’m very sorry. I owe you 12 dollars.

We are in a constant state of tension between two opposing poles: our uniqueness as individuals and our need to unite with the collective. Too much on one side and the teeter-totter tilts. In economics, the theories behind Capitalism and Socialism each gravitate to one end of a spectrum. But in practice, each theory learned to include elements of the opposite to help keep society in balance.

The evolution of marketing must also obey the evolution of opposites. Both sides have to grow in order to maintain a center. Broadcast media is a communal form – everyone sits down together and receives the same message. To counter the form, the message is often about individuality.

The same goes for how the development of products. We may all buy the same iPod, but because you think different, the ubiquitous becomes individual thanks to almost infinite ways to accessorize it.

Social marketing is continuing to push the opposites even further. On one hand, it’s about the power of savvy influencers to lend authenticity to a brand by sharing it with their friends. On the other hand, it’s about the brand conversing with a loyal community of brand advocates.

But both examples also embrace the opposite. The influencers are seeking connection with their community and use their insider influence to maintain their uniqueness. And your risk backlash if your don’t listen to the needs of your  community.

As trends in social marketing develop, our two-fold desire to be both an individual and a member of a community will continue to pull us in both directions. The further your campaign touches both ends of the ends of the spectrum, the more dynamic the center point will be.

How do your campaigns harness these opposites to drive greater effectiveness?

The XX Installation: Quote from Partizan director and creator Saam Farahmand-“Music videos are a 2D visual interpretation of a song. We are interested in creating spaces that exist as a 3D physical interpretation of a song or an album, and that is what we have created for the album xx.” A beautiful meld of music, technology and art that creates a “physical music video.” (via Creative Review Blog)

Levis’ DIY Closet: Simple. Smart. Surprising.

One Frame of Fame video: C-Mon & Kipski crowdsource their music video.

When I first downloaded Foursquare, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I mean, I’m already a Facebook and Twitter addict- how much more social media can a girl really need? Do my friends even care to know where I am at all times of the day? How often am I supposed to check in? Do I accept all friend requests or only people who I know? Do I really want complete strangers to know where I am?

After much thought, I came to the conclusion that everyone uses Foursquare for different purposes. Here are the five types of Foursquare users I have encountered:

The Cheater: Every Sunday night at 11:59pm EST the Foursquare leaderboard resets. Ever wake up on Monday morning and wonder how one of your friends already has 150 points? The truth is you probably need to get more honest friends, because this friend is a cheater.

The Hungry Tiger: Have any friends on Foursquare who check in at every single place they go- including every subway stop or convenience store? The friend may be classified as “The Hungry Tiger”, someone who can never get enough of Foursquare.

The Hot ‘n’ Cold: I have a few friends like this- those who can’t decide how they really feel about Foursquare. Sometimes they will check in and once they get a badge they quickly turn into The Hungry Tiger, but that rapidly slows down after about a week.

The Commitment-Phobe: This type of user (such as Melvin) has an account, but never uses it. Simple as that.

The Star Performer: This user in my opinion is the ideal Foursquare user. They check in at the appropriate places, such as restaurants and bars, yet refrain from checking in while simply purchasing a pack of gum at the deli across the street.

Given Foursquare’s rapid popularity, users are bound to encounter at least one of the above types. Some people even believe Foursquare could become the next Twitter. Keep your eyes open, folks- this is one social networking bus you won’t want to miss.

Dorthy.com, the ‘Dream Search Engine:’ The start of the year always has us rarin’ to go and conquer the world, but this delightful site allows do-gooders and dreamers to acquire relevant articles/photos/videos to help realize their goals, collaborative tools to connect with people who can help and sharing functionality. Seriously- lots of fun.

Appropriated Poster Campaign: brainchild of artist Sean Wolsey to use outdoor ads as a canvas to create a more meaningful, positive message.

TED Talk: enthnographer Stephana Broadbent talks about how the internet enables intimacy. Not all that new, but a must-watch for social media enthusiasts and brand managers alike.

LoveJingles.com: a “why in the hell didn’t I think of this” idea that has a Swedish musician writing customized jingles and creating videos to promote them. Almost as cool as Lo Fi Love Songs by Gretel Prinn (a perfect Valentine’s Gift, hrm?).

With a single evolutionary change to its search engine, Google has facilitated a major shift in user experience for finding, exploring, and purchasing music online.

The search giant has tapped leading social music platforms Pandora, iMeem, Lala, Rhapsody, and the recent MySpace acquisition, iLike, to provide intelligent music-related search results and legal downloads through the Google Music Search.

Search Google for an artist, album, song, or string of lyrics and you’ll be greeted with full-length previews of the music streamed from Lala.com or MySpace Music.

Google search results for "david bowie"

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In yet another chapter of recession-morphed retail, Rent the Runway is proving you’re either in or out…of the mailbox, that is. For most people, $3,000 couture dresses are simply out of the budget. Rent the Runway is striving to change that by offering high-end, in-season fashions as easily accessible as your Netflix queue. A bold new twist on Cinderella’s fairy godmother, that priceless Proenza Schouler gown can now arrive just in time for the ball directly to your front door! The $50-$200 price tag includes a return envelope and dry cleaning is even included.

Time will ultimately tell how the newbie service pans out. The New York Times reported on some of the potential shortfalls, namely keeping up-to-date with the current fashions. (Is that last season? The HORROR!) But ultimately, I think this is a sweet valuable service for chicas who want to live like a frugalista princess until the stroke of midnight…or until the UPS guy shows up, I guess.