Showing posts with label Advertising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Advertising. Show all posts

Social media is the pen pal of communications


I profess to have this inside scoop on social media.  Yet how can I be?  Especially, since I work full time and was launched among the sweat and tears of looking for work, five years ago.  (Yawn, you've heard it before:  it all started on Linked In where I met Sandy who guided me into Twitter, graciously introduced me to people on the clicking edge of social media.  The rest of us were soon to be groupies, drooling at the incredible talent this world we live in together is so talented!!  

Aren't we all so lucky that we don't have to rely on our TVs, newspapers, magazines, radio any more.  Well, certainly, we are an information consumption oriented folk who may eventually be considered the early adopters.  Long long after the visionaries sat around a library table, having a few beers together, deciding to join forces to prove a point to the rest of the world.  Passing notes is not disruptive, bad behavior is rarely found among day dreamers,

Yet, what is this world it has become?  You can't get into trouble for passing notes (unless you are Donald Trump, or a raging has been star), because there is this BIG THING called social media.  Where you can speak your mind, share what you know, share what you love, share what you consume, want to consume, whether anyone is listening really.  Well, at the start anyhow.


That is at its core:  it thumbs its nose at conventional discipline for doing what others perhaps expect you to do or be.  Good things happen to great people is its mantra.  Why there are people that become overnight sensational storytellers, photographers, authors, writers, historians, foodies, models, lonely hearts clubbers retired from the frump frumping of the you should be out doing something beat.  

Embarrassingly, there others that take to airing dirty laundry, opinionated beyond reason because they aren't being held to question .... often.  There are some that may have some fame, notoriety who won't settle to being a small number .... they want to have a very BIG ..... numbers represented by followers.

Heavens, a young lad in the middle of nowhere to most people (until the world finances crumble remembered its name) Canada, to get young tweens (pre-teen 9-12 year old) girls hearts to tremble with love and adoration, who could go off and actually achieve fame and fortune, if not always good.

It is a place where so many can share one shadey association by saying or doing some stupid things that can get you minimally laughed at, smirked about, quoted, replayed, rewritten, if not quietened to the hummmm and tsk tsk of a once adoring audience or group.


Social media has created a revolution of expression, artistry, music, events, global proximity that has never been seen before.  Imagine ... in just a few years, our kids will site library visits as a mandatory curriculum field trip, like we used to visit museums in our time.  

The most notable are honorees immersed and embraced by every form of traditional medias who are feeling overwhelmed driven into survival mode, clambering for funnel of advertising revenues that are being distracted elsewhere.  

 As a study on millinial short attention spanners dropping their parents methods of obtaining news.  Where anything called Daily news, Daily mirror, Daily anything falls into the background of THE NOISE.  The noise is created by individual people of all ages, all cultures, all races, all types of family dynamics, domestic arrangements, from the learning to the learned are the ones who matter now.  They can decide what is important by creating #hashtags that catch on like fire, drowning out some of the noise we need to hear on health, economy, poverty, bullying, violence.  

Are we creating a world that we are creating our own robotic existence?  Do we only pay attention to those that think the way we do.  Where the heck did guru come from?  Do we open our empathy or does it increase our apathy.  The scientists, not typically known for gregarious characteristics, may be drowned out by dishonesty, falsehood, scams, SPAM, and the loudest of all:  PICK me, SELL me.

Like children with a gift packaged in a gigantic box, we are only playing with the box:  the computer, and rapidly being overtaken by smart phones.  The complicated and cumbersome are being tossed for the aesthetic more pleasing, better working, customized, following partner that goes everything, asking for so little:  just read, like, share, write, communicate, post, blog that it has to give you.  So portable, easy to access, quick, painful, joyful or hopeful these little instruments allow us to read, look, watch, admire, visualize whatever we love.

Like masters, our behavior lends the devices our respect, finances, images, opinions, hearts, needs, and lessening humility.  



The real geniuses of social media are the ones that use it as a tool to communicate, teach, share, inspire, motivate others to want to be better.  Not just hope to be better.  We only get better when we interact with others.  The fact that we have such a great opportunity to gravitate towards those that tend to share our own ideals, visions, outlook, positions on important matters, or less important matters.   

Has an elementary child ever heard of the term of PEN PAL?  

Does anyone really have to wait for a music CD to hit a retail store anymore?  With iTunes, Spotify and the whole she-bang, their kids will never have heard of half of the things we have now?  How about a wallet (there's an APP for that), an album (you download a song, not an album, you silly), or wondering when their favorite author will publish their next novel (oh dear, um, sorry if you don't read from your smartphone or tablet).




How many of us have the anti-social in our lives?  The ones who have discovered a text message (sms) is far quicker than an email, haven't quite caught on to an all persons in persons meeting without having to spring for flights, or hotels, or airport parking to join with their colleagues for an immediate and important conversation virtually personal appearances by all with 100% attendance.  The ones on a teleconference call are the cousins to the emailers.  

In all of this midst, it is confounding the advertising gurus and disgruntling the brands who want to be captured, not optionally, viewed or read.




Well, one thing is certain and obvious to me.  We're all adapting together and trying to draw in the outsiders and refusers to get on board.  A key board that is.

Minions Mayhem

"I should be given an award for keeping my mouth shut when there is so much that needs to be said."
                                                                                ~Minions Quote

 
You can hardly go anywhere these days or do anything without some reference to Minions.  It might have something to do with a movie that has taken off in popularity and the stars are graphic creations.  That’s fair.   Credit where credit is due.  These creatures, however, have invaded advertisements and pretty much anywhere even adults hang out.  I admit to not having seeing the movie.  Gone are the days when I could hide my guilty pleasure of going to see a movie that looks like fun by taking my youngsters and a car load of their friends on an outing to see a movie. 
I remember and invite to a grand opening for a mega theatre in Calgary.  Part of the celebration were free treats, ice cream, junk food, goodie bags and coupons for car washes even, proving that professionals do like to kick back and have a little fun, escaping back to childhood giddiness, and not just a golf course.  The cherry on the top was a free screening of Antz in 1998.  The brainchild of Pixel studios that followed the success of the first Toy Story in 1995.   

 
When I started to write this, I wasn't quite sure if it was Walt Disney who started it all by recognizing that kids are taken to movies by their adult parents and the idea born to insert adult humor  to make it an enjoyable adventure for everyone of all ages and not only as a chaperoned outing.  In my mind, as I reflect, Toy Story was the brainchild that most of us recognize as an animated escapade that adults embraced.  Some of the scenes took us back to our childhood, we could relate to many of the characters as ourselves or situations from childhood while several lines zipped over the kids’ heads to land firmly on belly laughs from the adults who relished the humor.  Interestingly, PIXAR's profile proclaims:
Animators and writers at Pixar have often cited that the movies they make are for adults, just as much as they are for kids. As such, a certain amount of adult humor slips into their projects that kids won't get.
It has been going on for years.  The success of a movie in our commercial world is identified by how many residual their are:  toys, advertisements, copyrights linked to a movie specifically surrounding a character.  Think Terminator.  Figurines, dodads,  figurines, trucks and gadgets high on the must have lists to be given as birthday gifts or Christmas presents.  Meanwhile the money didn't just roll in for the studios, the creators, producers .... smart actors recognized the financial gain from inking in the royalties for the actors who were central to the characters.  A ca-ching caught on when the movie and/or characters became a hit, music to their ears of  cash registers ringing a money tune.
Check out the McDonald’s commercial where Minions took over the fast food giant’s restaurant to the gafaw of the patrons who discovered the order board was swapped out for bananas.  They seem like harmless, fun-loving creatures so why not?  

I decided put on my curiosity cap and set out on a Minions crusade to find out more about them.  Not surprisingly, they are everywhere on social media:  even Pinterest boards dedicated to Minions.  Fascinating. 

I started out with my handy dandy source I use to launch research -- Wikipedia -- to figure out what all the mayhem was about.  Amazingly, instead of my search uncovering a WIKIpedia explanation, behold my animated adventurers, there is actually a page dedicated to the cute mischief makers:  Dispicable Me Minions Wiki page. It is a jackpot of anything one would ever want to know about Minions.  It answered my own question:  Who are minions? 

The Minions are small, yellow, cylindrical, creatures who have one or two eyes.  They are impulsive creatures with little self-control, but with a wide-eyed wonder and odd innocence that endears them to viewers and makes them relatable. They can be pesky when they are doing weird interactions with other people, animals, or objects. Minions have standard English names.




WOWzers!  I went looking for a McDonald’s Minions commercial on YouTube and was bombarded with tons of commercials dedicated to these mischievious marvels.  You know it is big when McDonald's Happy Meals include such a toy.  Not surprising, (even though it initially was to me) many brands have jumped on the miniwagon with ads of their own like this one for smartphones:



I like to think I have a sixth sense about what is the latest craze as it relates to business, sales and social media.  Talk about being asleep at the wheel.  They are certainly everywhere.  The lesson to this?  If you want to be hip, with it, in touch with the world, include a Minion image, quote, song or video and you will be sure to have a retweet #RT or share or four.  It will certainly communicate that you have a fun side, it is not always serious business.  Completely broadcasting to your followers and potentially attracting more fun loving adults, you are hip, you’re with it, and you have a sense of humour!

Take my word for it:  put on your fun cap and get in on the mayhem -- an image with a Minion quote is definitely going to endear you to many or promise others a fun ride!  You don't have to look far to find websites dedicated to Minion quotes.  Start now!  Show a personable side while you poke fun at yourself.  I can promise you connection and engagement.

After a lot of background research on the origin of adult humor injected into animation.  I discovered the miracle Animator Ralph Bakshi.



Bakshi interpretation of Lord of the Rings
In my opinion, history should honor Animator Ralph Bakshi as the the brainchild of incorporating adult humor into animated features.  In  the late-1960s, animator Ralph Bakshi felt that he could not continue to produce the same kind of animation as he had in the past. Bakshi was quoted in a 1971 article for the Los Angeles Times as saying that the idea of "grown men sitting in cubicles drawing butterflies floating over a field of flowers, while American planes are dropping bombs in Vietnam and kids are marching in the streets, is ludicrous."[7] With producer Steve Krantz, Bakshi founded his own studio, Bakshi Productions,[8] establishing the studio as an alternative to mainstream animation by producing animation his own way and accelerating the advancement of female and minority animators. He also paid his employees a higher salary than any other studio at that time.[9]Ralph Bakshi successfully established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions in the 1970s.


RALPH BAKSHI BIO



FACEBOOK PAGE: Ralph Bakshi relaxing with Maggie and Bailey
Ralph Bakshi is an American director of ani-mated and live-action films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to main-stream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, five of which he wrote. He has been involved in
numerous television
projects as director,
writer, producer and animator.





"We don't stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing" 
~ George Bernard Shaw
 
 
Now spin it by combining it with a fun image to Tweet, share, post, Tumblr, Pinterest, Google+ Facebook -- to discover some new connections who share the same humor.


 
 Note:  they most likely perform better when using Minion-ese speak, songs or sayings.  Just test the theory I am sharing and see if you have some luck and notice an increase in #RT or even better if you hashtag #Minions to see if it may start trending on Twitter so all their devotees are assembled together to sing their praises.
 
 
 
 
 

All about me


"All I can do is be me, whoever that is."
~Bob Dylan
Goodness gracious, another birthday behind me.  Good times, glad tidings and all that crap.  Seriously, though .... why do we make such a major event of birthday's to begin with?  

Starting with our first birthday ... who is it really for?  Not the child who is given birthday cake without mom or dad feeding it to them with a spoon.  What else would you expect other than the child scooping it up with their hands to help themselves.  That's the beauty of being so young, if you want it, you simply help yourself.   Our memory probably serves to remind us that we were always taught and used our manners:




Those first birthday photos really are taken by and for the parents, not the child.  Who wants to be humiliated in their teens, 40th birthday or wedding day when they appear in a slideshow back drop for a big event!

I'm lucky.  I was the third of four children.  I would imagine my parents were just thankful assemble us all to celebrate!  Yeppers, that was the 60s.  Now it's about who can take the the best photo and load first on Facebook.




I do have to admit that I did get a resounding 27 messages from Linked In sending birthday wishes my way -- I like how Linked In provides its users with innovative ways to keep in touch, like birthday wishes, new jobs, new photos.  Responsible me, I personally wrote and thanked every single person who did.  Even the ones that just used the feature, it was the thought that count.  (Hint:  at least drop the last name before you send so it doesn't look so impersonal).  It was in responding I asked others why bother celebrating birthdays once you pass a "certain" age?  I decided then and there, it should be all about celebrating life!


I admit I was born in the 1960s because it was a cool time to be born.   It was time when humanity was breaking out of conformity, taking a stand on just about anything and many traditions seemed old.   Maybe that is why I adored Mad Men.   Not only is there a fixation and fascination with the 60s culture, those of us born in the era were given a gift of insight on the times and what was going on in the background.  Most likely,  I was starting to think of myself as an individual and not an extension of my parents, siblings, or teachers.  




"Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine."
~Elvis Presley

My parents were born in the 1930s, post depression. They may have been guided by needs that were more often a struggle to be met.  Then came along the 60s, when it turned around to being about wants. Many believed that the 60s was the dawn of a golden era: the future promised peace, comfort and prosperity.  Couples had larger families, drove larger cars and just about anything bigger was acceptable back then.  

The 1960s has often been defined as the "Me" generation.  I suppose it stemmed from our parents wanting to have and give us everything.  We were expected to have manners, treat elders with respect and do well in school so we went to university or college without questioning how it would be done.   We really didn't seem to have to worry about cancer, gun violence, abortion, foreclosure, unemployment and becoming pregnant before marriage was scandalized.  Even our politicians seemed to be honest --  on January 20, 1961, the handsome and charismatic John F. Kennedy became president of the United States.





"Don't compromise yourself.  You are all you've got."
 ~Janis Joplin


Women started leaving the home in droves to work and earn their own pay cheque.  Our moms wanted her children of the 60s to embrace and go beyond the opportunities they could never dream of.  Not really a wonder so many of us turned out to be perfectionists driven to succeed at all costs - our health, marriages, family relationships.  
Janis Joplin's 1965 Porsche 356 Cabriolet

Historians have said described the 60s as being the ten years having the most significant changes in history. By the end of the 60s humanity had entered the spaceage by putting a man on the moon. The 60s were influenced by the youth of the post-war baby boom - a generation with a fondness for change and "far-out gadgets".  


Let's take a stroll and  highlight inventions of the decade:

  • Valium (1961)
  • Nondairy creamer (1961)
  • Audio cassette (1962)
  • Fiber-tip pen (1962)
  • The first computer video game Spacewar (1962)
  • Dow Corp invents silicone breast implants (1962)
  • The video disk (1963)
  • Acrylic paint (1964)
  • Permanent-press fabric (1964)
  • BASIC (an early computer language)  by John George Kemeny and Tom Kurtz (1964)
  • Astroturf (1965)
  • Soft contact lenses (1965)
  • NutraSweet (1965)
  • The compact disk by James Russell (1965)
  • Kevlar  by Stephanie Louise Kwolek (1965)
  • Electronic Fuel injection for cars (1966)
  • The first handheld calculator (1967)
  • The computer mouse  by Douglas Engelbart (1968)
  • The first computer with integrated circuits made (1968)
  •  RAM (random access memory) by Robert Dennard (1968)
  • The arpanet (first internet) (1969)
  • The artificial heart (1969)
  • The ATM Automated Teller Machine (1969)
  • The bar-code scanner (1969)
There were several other major gains made in the 1960s that impact us today.  1960-64 transcended the Civil Rights movement.   Feminism and women liberation became significant.  



"Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase."
~Martin Luther King Jr.

Musically, the 60s had some of the most influential artists and music of all time.  Think back and reflect on some of our greatest discoveries:
  • Aretha Franklin "Respect" (1971)
  • Beach Boys "I Get Around" (1964)
  • Beatles "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (1964)
  • Ben E. King "Stand by Me" (1961)
  • Bob Dylan "Like a Rolling Stone" (1965)
  • Chubby Checker "The Twist" (1960)
  • Creedence Clearwater Revival "Bad Moon Rising" (1969)
  • Diana Ross and The Supremes "Where Did Our Love Go" (1964)
  • Doors "Light My Fire" (1967)
  • Elvis Presley "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" (1960)
  • Janis Joplin "Piece of my Heart" (1967)
  • Jimi Hendrix "All Along the Watchtower" (1968)
  • Led Zepplin "Communications Breakdown" (1969)
  • Marvin Gaye "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" (1968)
  • Ray Charles "Georgia on my Mind" (1960)
  • Rolling Stones "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (1965)
  • Roy Orbison "Crying" (1961)
  • Sam Cooke "(What A) Wonderful World" (1960)
  • Simon and Garfunkel "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (1969)
  • Stevie Wonder "Fingertips Pt. 2" (1963)
  • Tina Turner "River Deep, Mountain High" (1966)
  • The Who "I Can See For Miles" (1967)



Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to reflect, research and write this post that is personal.  I have to congratulate myself -- I was able to steer clear of any whining about getting older.  I am thankful that I came from the golden generation of the 60s decade.  

Did I forget a fond 1960s memory or one of your favorite artists?   We can fix that:  go ahead and comment, have your say!





















Keep calm and color on


This blog was originally written about Business, Sales, Leadership, Social Media  optioneerJM since May 2010.  As I was critiquing myself, I recognized that I strayed from its main purposes with reflections on matters that are unbusiness-related. 

 I have since branched out to Meanderings because there are many issues I want to write about that don't fall under business.  I hope you will visit, follow, share and help me there.  It is your support that inspires me to write.  If you have an idea or question you would like me to write about on optioneerJM or Meanderings, drop me a line and let me know optioneerJM@gmail.com.

INFORMATION overload or PRIVACY invasion? A new era of advertising.

~Erma Bombeck

We're all bombarded by information overload with "BUY ME" screaming at us everywhere.  It doesn't matter if you're on a solo drive to work or on transit, relaxing at home -- we ARE surrounded by advertisements:  the radio, billboards, bus ads, vehicle wraps. We log on to our computers at home to check our email or check our social media to see what family or friends are up to and even that is surrounded with banner ads.  


Certainly, information is getting more personalized.  Some folks even go so far as to say that too much trust is innocently being handed over to the big engines who monitor our clicks to tailor what we see.  Oh, boy.  Sure sounds like "Big Brother" has arrived doesn't it?  Of course.  There it is: the popular TV show where you can watch people hang out all day and night, get into fights, delve into relationships, intimate or lead others. That's entertainment!

There are plenty of people that are opposed to signing up to social media platforms, holding out and not caving in to what seemingly everyone is doing.  There are definitely good reason for many.  Except, if you think you are avoiding anything, you're being snowed.  Those individuals may see it as a waste of time, perceive narcissism, or simply state that they don't want to broadcast what they're thinking, watching, reading.   Privacy right? 

I'll admit, sometimes when I'm driving I may happen to notice a billboard or transit ad on the back of the bus I'm behind.  Usually the image first catches my eye and if I'm stopped at a stop light,  I might even notice the caption or tag line ... and then .... yes, there it is - the ULTIMATE:  the website.  OK, I ask myself, where is the address?  What about a phone number?  I'm expected to remember the website so then I can go look it up?  Geezwhiz.



Oh, wait a minute, where is that pen/paper or my soft phone to capture a photo of the moving ad to write the website down while I'm DRIVING! That seems pretty dumb, almost hilarious to me.  At least laughing out loud would be safer than juggling steering wheel, feet on the pedal, while keeping your eyes on the road.  Oh right, they want to take your eyes off the road so that you will pay attention to the ad, and memorize the website.  We're not burnt out from work, our eyes are not tired.  We want to jump up and say -- I wanna look that up by golly! 

Forget kissing your spouse, asking your kids how their day went, or walking the dog.  First thing you will do is fire up the computer, log on to the computer to go to the website before you turn on the television or pick up the paper .... all which are tempting you with alternative offers to distract you so you forget about it until you are cleaning up the car you find the rumpled piece of paper or looking for what to delete off your phone to free up space.  By then, you probably won't even remember why you had it to begin with or your budget is already blown. Come to think of it, somebody else is spending  pretty big budgets to tell us to go to a website?


What about when the television is flipped on to relax.  Yeah right!  Who can watch anything these days without being irritated by so many television ads?  Flip on over to Netflix, AMC or HBO special programs and notice if there aren't any product placements with brand logos?  Not too often.


Have I made my point:  Someone is making a lot of dough justifying unsafe habits or invading your privacy so that you will only go to their WEBSITE. 


“There are many things of which a wise man might wish to be ignorant”