Adidas: All In

This video reminds me of what Beth Kaiser from Arnold said in the PSFK series about psychology leading to better advertising, i.e. the video and heart pumping music probably activated certain parts of my brain that got my adrenaline going.This is a kick ass video. You'll watch it and for a moment you'll get pumped. You'll want to go out for a jog - no - sprint, go clubbing, or like me, contemplate getting your 3rd pair of black and white, Gazelle sneakers just to walk around the city. You'll watch it and in the end think, "fuck yeah" and think you're moderately "hard core" for identifying with that feeling of intensity. You'll think back to playing high school sports when your coach made you run suicides until you were beat red, contemplating how this kind of torture could be legal. And you'll think about Adidas as a brand and how you kind of forgot how much you loved them, mainly for the simplistic elegance and symbol of their iconic three stripes, how wearing them made you feel a little bit more European, cool and in the know. And will seriously consider purchasing an Adidas zip-up windbreaker now that you're more inclined to run outside since getting the Nike + app.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0A0jVkFs3C4&w=640&h=390]

Population Growth Infographic

My latest obsession is infographics and the value of data in telling a story. I thought this infographic video was timely considering that the Republicans are threatening to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood because they believe it encourages abortions when it really encourages the prevention of unwanted pregnancies.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b98JmQ0Cc3k?version=3]

The Styles of San Francisco

I spent most of Saturday wandering around the Mission and downtown photographing people. Actually, I left my apartment as a bag lady holding a box to ship back home, my camera, purse and shoulder bag full of clothing to sell. I ended up making $30 from Buffalo Exchange selling a Kenneth Cole bag I bought over the summer, an Ella Moss dress I liked but it always brought back memories as the dress I wore on my first date w/ my ex, and another dress that brought back unpleasant memories. Actually, the blue Ella Moss dress was dangerously breezy and light as I learned last summer while walking over a sidewalk grate (to the delight of an unsuspecting Chinese delivery man). There is something therapeutic about getting rid of physical "baggage" especially knowing that I won't be lugging them as literal baggage across the country. There was a moment of hesitation and a deep breath involved but I know that I won't regret my decision. I highly recommend cleaning out ones closet, often.Speaking of closets, I don't think San Francisco gets enough credit for their fashionable citizens or at least fashionable tourists that flock to the city. It's hard to make general comparisons between city styles since I've been in and out of NYC for the last 5 months but San Francisco really knows how to do casual well. I guess you can invest in better clothing when the temperature is around the same all year round and you can work the layering. It seems there is less pressure to conform in SF but I'll have to think about this further when I'm back in NYC. In NYC you have to wander around the East Village, Lower East Side, West Village, Soho, Meatpacking, Chelsea and Williamsburg to find an eclectic mix of fashions. Each neighborhood has its own group of people based on their age, job, etc. and a Williamsburg hipster will stick out like a sore thumb on the Upper East Side. Hell - when I moved to East 66th street, I felt my purple Uniqlo jeans and gray Converse made me stand out. Whereas in San Francisco, I believe because it's smaller, the hats, accessories and clothing associated with hipsters can be seen on middle aged men in North Beach, teenagers in the mall and young parents in Hayes Valley. A picture says a thousand words right?

PSFK Video Skills of the Rockstar Planner: Understanding the Human Condition

The final video in the PSFK Series: Skills of the Rockstar Planner is one of the most insightful of the series. The title, Understanding the Human Condition sounds profound and hard to grasp but it's actually very simple; it's the idea that planners need to think of their consumers as humans and really delve into what makes them tick. Beth Kaiser from Arnold often takes psychology, anthropology and sociology into account when researching her target and developing strategies. Alda Alpert simplifies the inherent skills of a planner as someone who is curious about what makes people tick, recognizing that skill as key to understanding how to engage consumers at various points. I agreed with both Dylan Viner, from JWT and Ben Parker, from Mother's zen approach in that planning is about valuing virtually every type of consumer and understanding their hopes, dreams and interests in order to connect with them.But above all, I have been thinking a lot about what Lee Maicon, from 360i said, about how more than ever, the skills of the planner aren't modern, that the height of technology has actually made us more human, drawing us back to humans as individuals rather than the masses. How are our needs as individuals shaping our relationships with brands? How is technology making us more human and what does "more human" even mean? My feelings are that social media enables us to virtually make the small, supportive communities that we've had in the physical world for centuries. In what other ways does technology make us more human?

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e--9ZkuP7QY&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3&w=640&h=390]

Moving Towards Success

One of the areas of life that I'm fascinated with is how people find success and what drives people towards success, especially if they've taken a unique path. It seems that over and over again, we hear stories of great pain leading to great and unique accomplishments. My mother emailed me a link to this article about a friend of my sister's from my hometown who has finally "hit it big" or is on the verge of something great. Anne MarsenGirl Walk // All Day is yet another example of someone who pushed on and pursued what she loved doing and is finally being recognized. When you really think about entertainers who have made a name for themselves, I'm guessing on average, they were working for a good ten years before having a featured article about them in a national publication, and Anne is no exception. I remember hearing about her constantly working as an extra or auditioning for parts, probably when she was in middle school. Her perseverance is a total inspiration.Anyway, I highly recommend you take the time to check out this video of her dancing to the latest Girl Talk mashup on the Staten Island Ferry. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to just randomly run around dancing in a public space in Manhattan. Maybe I'll ask her to teach me some moves.

[vimeo 18446531 w=400 h=225]

Girl Walk // All Day from jacob krupnick on Vimeo.

The End of Throw Away Fashion?

There have been many articles written about the rising prices of cotton, upcoming inflation and how it will effect clothing prices. The NY Times recently discussed how consumers are holding on to products longer and making them last. PSFK linked an article from The Telegraph about factories in China slowing down denim production because of an increase in wages, government restrictions and rising cost of cotton. As someone who's slightly addicted to cheap clothing, I thought this was an interesting issue. I have trouble stomaching a huge, one time purchase that I can just as likely stain, rip, or wear out on my lengthy walks throughout whatever city I'm in, as cheap clothing. And yet, it's quite possible that I spend just as much a year on clothing as my designer-brand-loving counterparts. I recognize that having two of the same shirt in different colors and a $15 beaded t-shirt from Forever 21 isn't helping anyone. I've lived on two suitcases worth of clothing for the last three months and have survived happily. In fact, I plan on donating or selling clothing before I head back to New York. There's something to be said about having less stuff.But where does this leave marketers? How will our consumption driven society cope with people spending less? Companies will have to emphasize the quality and timelessness of their clothing over having the latest styles. I went to the Garden State Plaza mall recently and was blown away by how many copycat, cheap clothing stores had opened since the last time I was there. Despite the recession, the Garden State, 30 minutes away from Manhattan, has actually expanded to include a movie theater, a multitude of new retail and restaurant spaces and has gone both upscale and downscale - if that were possible. Personally, I for one, do not want to support an economy based on disposable goods of every type and believe that smart retailers who buck that trend, will adjust and prosper.

In fact, I do remember a time before H&M and Forever 21 when teenage style was driven by reasonably priced Express, oversized, vintage flannel shirts and once per season shopping trips. We're becoming an ADD society where in addition to having a constant stream of information thrown at us, we're also constantly tempted to purchase new stuff. I predict a backlash against overconsumption, being overly informed and hyper-connected.

Did Natalie Portman's Dream Turn into Reality?

If there's one thing I'm curious about, it's how our dreams dreams go about turning into reality and how people get to where they are. I've had a blog for about 4 years. Every once in a while I look back on old posts and see how I've fulfilled some of my dreams and am doing exactly what I want to be doing. In many ways, I've come to my current path in a round about, unpredictable way but regardless, I'm there. I'm not sure what the lesson to be learned here is except that it's important to have constantly evolving goals that you should put on paper ever-so-often. I also think it's important to trust ones instincts and recognize what and who we're drawn to. The other day, I found a three year old post where I mention someone who was a stranger to me then, but is in my life now. Weird. So I thought it was appropriate to dig through my large collection of old magazines and see what Natalie Portman was saying 10+ years ago. Was there anything in her past that drove her to becoming an Oscar Nominee for a dancing movie like Black Swan? Or being pregnant and dating her choreographer, Benjamin Millepied?As a matter of fact, yes - in the September 1999 issue of Jane Magazine, Natalie Portman sits down with Susan Sarandon to discuss boyfriends and babies for the release of their movie, Anywhere But Here. She mentioned that her real dream was to be a dancer in Fosse on Broadway - Broadway/Lincoln Center -- close enough. And she wants a man who she can discuss culture with and experience new things.. I've scanned the article for your enjoyment.

12 Tips for Future Miami Ad School Account Planning Boot Camp Students

I felt I was fairly well prepared for Miami Ad School's Account Planning Boot Camp but there were definitely some things I wish I had learned, done or read beforehand and during the program. Hindsight is 20/20 right? The program is fairly fast paced, so I recommend doing whatever needs to be done beforehand to prepare.1. At the very least, read [amazon_link id="0471189626" target="_blank" ]Truth, Lies and Advertising: The Art of Account Planning, by Jon Steel[/amazon_link], essentially the closest thing to an account planning textbook.

2. If you finish Truth, Lies and Advertising, read [amazon_link id="0471789763" target="_blank" ]Jon Steel's The Perfect Pitch[/amazon_link]. Developing compelling presentations and knowing how to sell the work is half the battle because in this program, winning is (almost) everything.

3. Immerse yourself in the world of advertising. What are agencies doing? Which ones are hot? Who's winning awards? What's going on in pop culture? The world of advertising moves at lightening speed and you won't have time to catch up while your knee deep in school, so it's best to get an understanding of who the players are before the program starts.

4. Have a vague idea of who you want to work for and where when you graduate, then find a Miami Ad School grad via LinkedIn. You're at a well recognized school within the planning community and now it's time to start a conversation with the places you want to work for. Timing is everything, so start getting to know them now. Hopefully when there's an opening, you'll be the first person they call.

5. Don't just learn PowerPoint - master it. Finding human truths and suggesting an intelligent, unique strategy is par the course, but presenting your case in a pretty little package - that's icing on the cake.

6. Always get every single file related to your weekly assignment; PSD, InDesign, Jpg, or PPT. It's much easier to get this now when you're in the same room as your creatives than at the end of the quarter when everyone is pulling all nighters. And it's very likely that you'll revise the work at some point in the portfolio process.

7. Genuinely respect your creatives and include them in the strategy process. By involving them from the beginning, everyone will be on board with the strategy and less likely to change it the day of the presentation. Your creatives have been at Miami Ad School for a year, even taking strategy classes. It's likely they'll take your strategy to the next level and you'll learn from them.

8. Look at examples of previous portfolios midway through your program and find graduate portfolios online. Get a sense of what works and what doesn't and start formulating what your portfolio will look like. Because suddenly it will be the end of the program and you will only have 5 days to compile the first draft of one of your most important program outputs.

9. When finally creating your portfolio, ask your creatives for advice. Even their simple and quick suggestions regarding what font or colors work together can take the design of your portfolio in the right direction. Most are like human Google searches, able to name a font on sight.

10. Go to every single lecture, weekend workshop and class because, hey, you might learn something. Actually, don't just attend - be on your A Game. Avoid the temptation to cope with the pressure through excessive partying and remember that learning and excelling is why you put your life on hold, moved to another city and shelled out a decent amount of dough for, to do.

11. Don't be shy about contacting your weekend workshop teachers or even arranging coffee while they're teaching your class. You have their undivided attention now but all that may change when they go back to their day jobs - jobs that usually involve running an entire account planning department.

12. And finally... don't forget to find a balance between work and play. This is a very unique experience to meet intelligent, interesting people from all around the world. Everyone comes from a different background and has different strengths so listen to your classmates and learn from them. If you're an anti-social jerk who doesn't get to know your fellow classmates, works 24-7 and doesn't know how to have fun, you're not going to make the connections that could eventually lead to jobs. In fact, you're missing out on a huge part of what the school is about; the Miami Ad School network and the unique experience itself. So pop open a beer or pick up a ping pong paddle, enjoy the moment and make a connection!

Word On The Street... Is That This Is For Real

Yeah, so apparently this Word Lens App is for real.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2OfQdYrHRs&w=640&h=390]

Tyranny of the Alphabet: A new study explores how your last name influences how fast you buy stuff.

As someone who's last name starts with Aa, I'm strongly aware as to how last names influence ones perspective and behavior. Being at the beginning of the alphabet, I do not hold extreme will power and the ability to bounce off any attempts at advertising persuasion, but I am also not a shopaholic. Where do you stand? Click on the link for the complete article.

via the Slate

By Timothy NoahPosted Friday, Jan. 28, 2011, at 6:16 PM ET

My surname falls almost precisely in the middle of the alphabet, N being the 14^th of 26 letters. That may explain my previous indifference to the societal implications of alphabetization. Or perhaps I should say alphabetism, defined as discrimination against people whose last names fall near the end of the alphabet. We're talking about you, David Vitter, Reese Witherspoon, Carl Yastrzemski, and Fareed Zakaria (though it doesn't seem to have held any of them back). According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research (registration required) by Kurt A. Carlson, assistant professor at Georgetown's McDonough School of Business, and Jacqueline M. Conard, assistant professor at Belmont University's Massey Graduate School of Business, the farther back in the alphabet the first letter of your surname falls, the quicker you're likely to chase some enticing new consumer offer. This response is rooted in childhood trauma.

To the extent I ever thought about this issue at all, I was inclined to believe that having your name at the end of the alphabet set you apart from the common herd in a good way. My Slate colleague and friend of 30 years, Emily Yoffe, has always been among the easiest people to find in what was, at various stages of my life, my address book, my Rolodex, my Palm Pilot, my PDA, and my bouquet of Apple devices (iTouch, iPhone, iPad). No matter what the platform, the way to find Emily was always the same: Go right to the end! Family members, by comparison, could be found only by stumbling around the middle, tempting me more than once not to send them Christmas cards. But Emily set me straight, confiding, for instance, that applause at her nephew Zachary Yoffe's graduation from the Naval Academy "was considerably less than for the kid whose last name was Anderson." She directed me to this survey in the Telegraph of London, in which readers with surnames at the start of the alphabet rated themselves more successful than readers with surnames at the end. Even in my address-book competition, Emily's advantage from being at the end is bested by that of my friend of 35 years, David Atkins, who resides at the beginning....

PSFK Skills of the Rockstar Planner: Insatiable Curiosity

The title of the next video in the PSFK Skills of the Rockstar Planner should really be "Traits of the Rockstar Planner." In one of my weekend workshops at Miami Ad School, our teacher talked about planners always asking the "why" to every situation. From the moment I could form complete sentences, to the onset of Google, I managed to annoy my father completely by following up his answer to every single one of my questions with "why." Not to get too kumbaya but isn't understanding the first step to solving a problem?The planners in the video talk about having an innate and deep curiosity about the world, seeing patterns where others don't and being able to synthesize vast quantities of information. Fortunately for us planners, our abilities to synthesize information has yet to be replaced by a super RSS Reader or Google algorithm. But it's not just about absorbing information like a sponge, but about knowing how to find those facts and insights. Why get a Library Science degree when you can enter the seemingly more exciting world of planning?

Dominico Vitale from People, Ideas & Culture takes insatiable curiosity to the next level, saying that the "ability to turn knowledge into ideas is the core of talent. It's about what hasn't happened yet and what could be."

Vitale touches on the idea of disruption and planning leading to a behavior change which ultimately leads to the behavior of using a particular product. But it also leads to another area of planning, that which leads to research and development. What's a good ad without a good product?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTqGmzCq1qw&w=640&h=390]

The World's Most Innovative Companies 2011

So now that you have the skills and strategies to getting a job, your "karmatic" balance is in check, have refined your intuitive problem solving abilities, and have a strong sense of where the world is headed, it's time you simplify your message and sell yourself with passion to get a job at one of these companies:Fast Company has just released their report on The World's Most Innovative Companies 2011. See the top ten here and click here for the rest of the article.

 

The World'sMost Innovative Companies 2011

Rank	Name	Last Year
01 /	APPLEFor dominating the business landscape, in 101 ways	3
02 /	TWITTERFor five years of explosive growth that have redefined communication	50
03 /	FACEBOOKFor 600 million users, despite Hollywood	1
04 /	NISSANFor creating the Leaf, the first mass- market all- electric car	–
05 /	GROUPONFor reinvigorating retail -- and turning down $6 billion.	–
06 /	GOOGLEFor instantly upgrading the search experience	4
07 /	DAWNING INFORMATION INDUSTRYFor building the world's fastest supercomputer	–
08 /	NETFLIXFor streaming itself into a $9 billion powerhouse (and crushing Blockbuster)	12
09 /	ZYNGAFor being the $500 million alpha dog of social gaming
10 /	EPOCRATESFor giving doctors and nurses instant drug reference

Advice for women turning 30

Re-Blogged via Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist. I though this was appropriate given that I'm less than 2 months away from the big 3-0. She reviews data via OkCupid on how dating changes for women. It's interesting to see how one year can change a woman's self perception and how she is perceived in society. A friend recently told me that turning 30 is great because you find a certain level of confidence and calm that you didn't have in your 20's. In the past, I have found that reaching age milestones usually don't change a person from one day to the next but I have a feeling that turning 30 will be different.Advice for women turning 30

This is Caitlin McCabe. She's turning 30 this week. I met Caitlin through my Brazen Careerist co-founder, Ryan Paugh. They are getting married, and every day I thank goodness that Ryan found her, because I don't have a lot of friends in Madison, and I can't have one fall to the wayside for marrying someone I don't like.

Caitlin wrote a thoughtful post about turning 30, which reminded me that I have a lot to say about turning 30. So this post is my birthday present to Caitlin. If you can call unsolicited advice a gift.

1. Don’t look to men for turning-30 camaraderie.Turning 30 is different for men and women. Take a look at OKCupid, which is a dating site, yes, but it is also one of the most intoxicating data centers online. Their official blogger, Christian Rudder, does an incredible job of parsing the data from millions of people who use the site to figure out surprising answers to intriguing questions.

Rudder parses OKCupid data to find that, women are most desirable to men when women are in their 20s, and men are least desirable to women when they are in their 20s. Makes sense—men select for looks and women select for money. This is not some sexist social artifact—this is just how the world works and you cannot change it by forcing a generation of girls to play soccer.

What is also true is that women in their 20s earn more than men. So women feel relatively confident at work. But this switches in their 30s, when men start earning more. Sure, this is a result of a string of career-limiting decisions women make (like, they don’t want to be at the Consumer Electronics Show delivering a baby), but the bottom line is that the security women had in their earning power will go down and the men’s security will go up.

What this means for the turning-30 crowd is that men feel great and women feel trepidation.

2. Approach your biological clock head on.First, for most women, the biological clock starts ticking like an earthquake when you turn 30 and have no kids. I know it is not scientifically proven, but most women will tell you that even if you thought you didn’t want kids, if you are ever going to change your mind, it’ll be when you turn 30. Something weird happens. And don’t tell me it’s society, because the Baby Boomer moms of Gen Xers were vehement that there is no rush to have kids, and thirty year old daughters should focus on careers, and still, Gen Xers felt the crush of the clock at age 30.

It is logical that you would panic about your clock because your clock is about to explode. Have you looked at data for mothers who are over 35? Here's a chart from Classhelp.com, and while this is just Down's Syndrome, most pregnancy risk-factor slopes look like this one:

But it’s not like you can’t control your dating life. It’s all you. If you want to find a husband, you’ll find one. Just make it a priority. First, you get rid of all the things you know are bringing you down. Junky eating. Junky friends. No exercise. No passion about work or anything outside of work. Fix all that. There are 1000 self-help books to tell you how, but really, you just need one thing—a will to change.

You will attract who you deserve. If you don’t like who you are getting, change yourself. If you can’t change yourself, get a reality check.

Then just choose the guy. Here are two things to consider:  1. There is no good time to have a baby. It'll always mess up your career, so just do it if want one. 2. There is no best way to choose a mate. Men will change careers, eventually have health problems, make parenting promises they won’t keep—it’s astounding how much marriage turns out to be a bait-and-switch. You can control so little, so don’t waste a lot of time trying to control for stuff you can’t—ultimately—control.

3. Relish the upcoming decade: it will probably be your best. You know why? Because for women, their 30s decade is the best one of their sexual life. OK Cupid has outstanding data about women and sex. Women overwhelmingly report that they had no idea how bad they were in bed during their 20s, but they got much better in their 30s. By the time women are in their 40s, their sex drive is at its highest and their competence in bed is at its highest. When asked why, women report that their self-confidence and self-knowledge is at an all-time high.

The problem is that while women in their 40s are great in bed, they are increasingly unhappy in life. Women in their 40s report the most anxiety, sleeplessness, and pressure than any other demographic, and women, after 40, grow more and more unhappy as time goes on.

I, of course, have scoured research to find ways to overcome this statistical nightmare. But, in the meantime, women turning thirty can console yourselves: You are gaining self-confidence in leaps and bounds during your 30s, and your bedroom skills have the same slope as the graph above—but in a good way.

So really, Caitlin, and all you other women entering your 30s, you’re entering the decade that is best for women. Honestly, I’m hoping I’m in my best decade too. But I’ll tell you something: My 30s were hard to beat. And I’m saying that even though I turned 30 with no job, no boyfriend and no money. So I know you'll have a great time as well.

PSFK Salon: Future of Real Time

Last Friday I essentially had my mind blown away from 9am to 9pm. In the morning I attended the PSFK Salon: Future of Real Time, afternoon took a Rorschach test for my friend's psychology class, and evening attended a screening of The Last Lions. Post on my evening to come but first I'll address the salon at the Soho House. To simplify, the salon discussed what the implications are of data created in real time; i.e. through mobile applications, GPS, status updates, instant photographs and video. Like a Twitter feed in 2011, there was a lot of information to take in within the one hour presentation. Their presentation is available online and breaks the topics down more thoroughly but here's what I took away:Implications of real time data for psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists and planners who study human behavior:

Sites like OkCupid collect data on dating preferences, behavior, dynamics between men and women etc. leading to a data-driven, better understanding of what influences our dating choices - among other insights.

Facebook, Twitter and a new British site, Mappiness, collect data on people's general state of being, monitoring social sentiment. Wouldn't it be nice to discover how a population feels at any given point in time and what influences these feelings without having to do a labor intensive survey? And there's Voyurl, which allows you to view the actual behavior of people on the web, understanding what websites interest them. Users can discover the most popular sites and content they never thought to look for without user generated, deliberate recommendations.

Implications of real time data for marketers and advertisers:

Marketers and advertisers can take all the above data and use it to better market their products. Fast Society creates a temporary network allowing groups to communicate via text, voice and share their location. Marketers can take advantage of Fast Society, connecting their product to an event or location. Twitcritic is a service that monitors the online buzz of movies. The service has a track record of predicting box office success. Essentially, the "like" or positive sentiments has become a new form of currency, creating a stronger connection between the consumer and brand. Before social media, all an advertiser had to do was sell a product. With the advent of the Like button, spread of information and consumer advocates, it is absolutely essential that a product stay true to their message and maintain the trust of their consumer. That sounds like progress to me!

The implications for real time data in the physical world:

Services like Harassmap allow users to anonymously report physical locations of where they were harassed in the world. Instant Mapping is a local tool that allows users to create a shared, visual experience of their environment. Viz Center creates a shared visual experience for disaster response teams, allowing for more efficiency in disaster response. SF Park is a sensor installed into San Francisco parking spaces and an iPhone app that reveals when spaces are empty, enabling users to find parking more efficiently and prevent traffic as long as their not too absorbed looking at the app while driving.

Finally, during the question and answer section, a passionate debate ensued about the implications of all this real time data being public. Andrew Hoppin, the former CIO of the New York Senate advocated making most of the government data public in the hopes that it will facilitate a conversation that will improve our society as a whole or give businesses the information to better serve their community. Services like New York's 311, is a step in the right direction, collecting data from their call center and sharing it with the public on open311.org. But governments need to be more transparent and make data easy to digest. While there is an obvious push from consumers for marketers to be transparent, governments are not held to the same standards. It seems we hold more power as consumers than as citizens but hopefully that will change with more government transparency. Adam Leibsohn from voyURL touched on the practice of corporations using our data for their gain, saying it was okay they did this, as long as they were transparent. I strongly agree with his statement. I value honesty, transparency and an attempt at understanding as a means to solve most problems and think that if a marketer wants to use my information to sell me a product that I want, then the more power to them, especially if they are improving my life.

(Polymaps: site that allows you to overlay data onto different maps)

So what did I learn from all this? In 2006, Time marked "You" as the person of the year, implying a shift that the individual and collective have control, a shift from corporations and the government. Taking this idea further - I believe our collective data will be the driving force behind government changes, cultural shifts and marketing in the years to come. Because Information is beautiful.

PSFK Skills of a Rockstar Planner: Communicating Ideas

The second video in the PSFK series published last summer is below. Once again, I looked back on the video with a new perspective and felt it was important to share and summarize their comments with my readers. As account planners, our audience is the creative team. We are essentially making ads to the creatives, hoping that they buy into our findings and ideas. Therefore, it's no surprise that the qualities needed to deliver an effective Creative Brief mimic that of a successful piece of marketing communication. The thread that runs through their responses is that account planners need to simplifying their message and sell the idea in a way that seduces the listener. This thinking can even be extended to the brand. Look at the top three most valuable global brands; Google, IBM and Apple. Can you simplify each brands' message in a few words? Google = internet search, IBM = computer intelligence, Apple = innovative, functional design.Now let's extend this to the interview process. Ada Alpert's coaches her candidates to be able to walk through their case studies during interviews, first mentioning the problem, answer, insight that lead to that answer, strategy then walking the interviewer through how you got there to solve the problem. So in essence, it's your job as a planner not only to sell the strategy and the creative work, but to also sell the idea that you know how to sell ideas. Pick case studies you feel passionate about and believe in without hesitation. I wrote about the first PSFK video in the series here and stay tuned for the rest of the series.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn40fvPDWeE&w=640&h=390]

Inpsired by Design

On any given day, I'm overwhelmingly inspired by Design Sponge. Why not take something slightly worn and make it beautiful? See full article here.

Or take something generic and make it your own.

Book Recommendations

I recently set up a feature on the right side of my blog that lists book recommendations for people interested in account planning. Honestly, I would love to finally monetize this blog and had very little luck with Google Adsense on my last blog Wandering & Pondering. I mean let's be honest - unless it's for something super duper cool that you're looking for at this very moment, you're not going to click on an ad. And since I write about advertising and strategy, I can't imagine what physical products Adsense could recommend that my readers would want.So, I'm going to try Amazon Affiliates. The truth is, you're going to buy a product via Amazon anyway so why not click on my recommendations. Now the extra exciting part is that because I don't want to lose your trust as a reader, I'm not going to recommend a book or a product that is crap. Okay, books are open to interpretation but you get the idea. I may not have worked as an account planner yet, but over the course of 10 weeks in San Francisco, I took copious notes and got book recommendations from "industry heros," i.e. senior level account strategists from around the country at agencies such as Grey New York, Goodby, Silverstein, BBDO, Venables Bell & Partners and a slew of others.

As someone on a limited budget, I'm slightly obsessive when it comes to researching big electronic purchases and for every $150+ product purchase, there's probably an excel chart somewhere on my computer weighing the pros and cons of one product vs. another. And I have a knack for meeting new people from all different backgrounds and occupations, allowing me to expand my perspective and absorb a wide range of information like a sponge.

That being said, I'm going to start with my first recommendation that has nothing to do with advertising and everything to do with simple curiosity - a book I'm reading now, [amazon_link id="184809101X" target="_blank" ]The Monuments of Men[/amazon_link]. The book chronicles a special task force within the American Army during the end of World War II whose mission is to save monuments and priceless art from both the Nazis and destructive powers of war. Enjoy!

A New Chapter?

So once again, I'm in between coasts and really don't know where life will take me, but I guess it's pretty exciting.This afternoon, I went out to lunch with my mom at a local cafe. She kind of tricked me. I thought we were going to go to the larger Cheesecake Factory because I've had an overwhelming and unexplainable craving for pasta for the last few days. But when I got in the car, she demanded we go some place more local. Okay.. I guess it was a misunderstanding. For me, going to local restaurants in my hometown is kind of torture. I really don't need to make small talk with people my mother knows from town. And I really don't need to be introduced as the "older daughter" only to get mistaken for a recent high school graduate. I kid you not. This happens every time. Actually, today's experience was so typical I could have just had deja vu.

SCENE ONELet me set the scene for you. We enter a nearly full cafe mostly filled with people over 50. My mother and I sit down right smack in the middle of two tables that are only about a foot apart from us. Right away, she says hello to the table next to us, introducing me.. blah blah blah. They make small talk. Two minutes later, she recognizes the woman on her other side. They make small talk. She congratulates the woman because she had recently heard her son was engaged. I ask who her son is. She says that I'm probably too young and don't know him. Yup. Her son is 5 years younger than me and is friends with a childhood friend's younger brother. I don't know him because he's younger than me. She apologizes for the mistake and the whole table nods in agreement that I'm better off looking way younger than I am.END SCENE

SCENE TWOAfter dropping my mother off, I head to the Riverside Square Mall to return a few things. It is incredibly upscale and usually quiet although to my delight, they have recently opened an H&M. I walk around admiring the hair of an Orthodox woman who is, from what I gather, shopping with her husband. She looks incredibly young and I try to figure out how she got her hair to be so thick and shiny with a near professional blow out until I realize, oh yeah, it's a wig. Orthodox women have to shave their heads and wear wigs when they get married. A few minutes later, I enter Victoria's Secret where I hear the Pains of Being Pure at Heart playing in the store. I'm stunned. One of the band members went to both my high school and college. In fact, one time sophomore year in high school, we both got yelled at because we slid out my bedroom window and hung out on my roof. According to my dad, we could have fallen through and broken the roof. Right. END SCENE

SCENE THREEI make my last stop at Barnes & Noble. I would have preferred waiting to purchase a new Moleskin at Borders assuming they carry them and they go on sale, but my Moleskin needs were pressing. As many of my friends know, I'm obsessed with notebooks. I stare at the selections, intensely imagining myself with either a hard covered or soft covered black Moleskin. Red or black. I curse myself for leaving my hard covered, black Moleskin in San Francisco and finally settle on a perfect replacement - soft covered black. My obsessiveness in finding the perfect notebook ties back to a need to start a new chapter in my life. If, God forbid, I made the wrong notebook choice, my new life would be off to a wrong start, right? Yes, knowing my compulsions and quarks in the first step to recovery. It takes me another 10 minutes to choose the perfect Thank You note cards for my job interviews. I finally settle on a delicate case of cards that feature an Eiffel Tower with a scripted "merci" in magenta. So here I am entering a new chapter of my life - a potential new job, definitely a different area of advertising, a new decade (30 in April), potentially a new apartment and even new city (Brooklyn). But on my journey, I have equipped myself with the same type of notebook that I used to plan out my change. The cards I chose reflect my love of Paris and magenta. And actions told me that our purchases strongly reflect who we are in deeper and nuanced ways.END SCENE

SCENE FOURAfter carefully selecting my purchases, I head to the cash register. With a sinking feeling, I recognize the woman at the register. I vaguely remember her being my boss at some job I had about 10 years ago. For some reason, I hope she doesn't recognize me, but she does. She says my face looks so familiar. I completely get her wrong even though I rarely try to guess people's name. Her name is not Dorothy and she's not my boss from Clinique. Nope. She worked with me at B. Dalton, the now defunct bookstore, previously owned by Barnes and Noble. It was one of my first after school jobs that I insisted on getting my senior year of high school. It's where I first heard about Harry Potter way back in 1999 when they were considered just children's books. It's where I first worked in a place that didn't involve sweating in a camp t-shirt. And here she was, working the cash register. Like me, she has probably gone through many hardships and experiences over the last 12 years but honestly hadn't aged a bit. The recent New York Times article about the failings of the publishing industry flashed in my mind. I think about how strongly I'm contemplating finally purchasing a Kindle. We both genuinely smile and wish each other well. As I walk away, I wonder, is this a new chapter? Or am I re-reading a different version of the same story?END SCENE

Why Men Fight: A Look Into a Silicon Valley Fight Club

I recently saw The Fighter with my friend and was left wondering why the hell men fought. I mean.. seriously.. Why would you want to voluntarily get into a ring knowing that you were about to get the crap beaten out of you or be responsible for beating the crap out of someone else? I can imagine it's part of our animal nature to want to fight and I'm sure we can look into the animal kingdom to see them fighting for dominance regardless of whether or not their ability to secure food or procreate is involved. But as a woman, my nature tends to air on the side of motherly and protector. So when I came across a video on Gizmodo via The Next Wave about men in Silicon Valley creating a fight club, I was intrigued.The fighters talked about how the men bonded with each other by hitting each other. It was a way to test each other, build courage and a remedy for sitting at their desks all day. According to one of the participants, Silicon Valley has the highest concentration of aggressive people in the United States. So let's get back to nature for a minute here. For the better part of human existence, aggression was a key component to securing ones food or protecting ones family. Men in Silicon Valley no longer have to use physical force and strength to provide for their family. Instead, they use intelligence, strategic thinking, and endure countless hours behind the a computer - quite possibly for all the same reasons - that they want to provide for themselves and their family. So coming full circle, competitive or violent video games, sports, and... fight clubs are all most likely fueled by that residual aggression. Nike picked up on this insight years ago coming up with the strategy line, "Sport is war without the killing" which resulted in the line "Just Do It." And not to be outdone, Silicon Valley has taken that idea one step further with their very own fight club.

Click on the link to watch the video.

Uppercut from California is a place. on Vimeo.

PSFK: Skills of the Rockstar Planner: Intuitive Problem Solving

Back in June 2010, PSFK posted a video series entitled Skills of the Rockstar Planner. The video came at a perfect time while I was just finishing up my Miami Ad School Account Planning Boot Camp application. It was exciting to learn that all their commentary about planning matched my responses. I find this series especially interesting after having completed the boot camp. There are so many skills and components to planning that it's exciting having this series available as a mini review. Even within each video, you can see how each planner thinks and approaches situations differently. Some core ideas from the Intuitive Problem Solving that I picked up are:- Creativity is at the core of planning.

- Planners need intuitive problem solving skills and emotional intelligence.

- The ability to put disparate information together and connect the dots.

- Innate ability to imagine things that other people couldn't do; i.e. imagination and creativity. I find this particularly interesting because it really touches on how many planning departments look for planners from all different types of backgrounds. Writers, journalists, actors, singers, editors, photographers - all people you wouldn't imagine in advertising but they all have jobs that put them in other people's shoes.

- Take thinking from one discipline to another. There are human truths and patterns that can be applied from one area to another.

- Break logic and find a new space. This goes along the lines of influencing and changing human behavior.

- And one of my favorite lines of thought - it's okay to evolve thinking constantly. The journey of learning is messy but as Domenico Vitale implies, it's exciting and an evolution.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75NepafwxD8&w=640&h=390]