As one who has lobbied hard for some brave soul or souls to create a soundstage in Kansas City, I am thrilled that StagePort has opened just across the street from T2 +Back Alley Films. And I’m not alone – all the local film makers, productions houses and agencies – in and outside the Crossroads Art District have welcomed this new addition.

Jeff Owens, a genius set designer and veteran member of the film community was responsible for building out the 12,500 sq. ft at the back end of the building that houses OfficePort and JavaPort. There is no one better than Jeff to take this on – and his involvement will guarantee StagePort’s financial success. He will be working alongside Jon Trozzolo in managing the facility that includes one large stage and two smaller ones. Jon and Jeff are co-owners of the facility, along with real estate partners Michael Edmondson and Shaul Jolles.

Lots of folks have considered this undertaking – but it was hard to make the numbers work when you consider the investment in the build-out, which is why it made such sense to get Jeff Owens involved. He is not only well connected and well respected within the film community, but he has the “chops” to do the work himself. It took a little longer for Jeff to take on such a large role in the construction process, but it made the investment more palatable. And Jeff got the community involved before the construction began – by contacting a large number of the people who would use it and asking them what they wanted in a soundstage. He brought in the best people to advise on acoustics, lighting, etc. – took that information and created a facility that would meet the needs of the customers who would use it. Pretty smart – pretty impressive.

That kind of homework – focusing on user experience and listening to customers and potential customers and building or creating what they need, instead of what you want – is really a critical component of business success today. I applaud their efforts and wish them much success.

StagePort is located at 208 W. 19th Street, in Kansas City, MO. For more details about StagePort, there’s a great article in the Kansas City Star. And, if you want to find them on Facebook or stalk them on Twitter, I’m sure they’d love the attention.

My favorite Sutton post (so far) is about the importance of killing off ideas – even great ones. This comes from Sutton’s 12 Things That Good Bosses Believe post, and it centers on the premise that good bosses regularly kill ideas – even good ones. What he means is this: as leaders, an integral part of our jobs are to inspire and encourage our people to be innovative, and regularly create lots and lots of ideas and new concepts. But, as important as creativity and innovation are, especially when it comes to the success of any creative services agency, the ability to kill off the bad ideas is critical.

Equally important, says Sutton, and often harder, is the ability of a leader to walk away from really good ideas. Sound crazy? Not really. Sometimes great ideas are just too difficult to execute. And a good user experience or piece of experiential design that’s too difficult or too expensive to execute – well, that’s an idea that just doesn’t make sense. For any one great idea to succeed it needs a lot of time, attention, resources and ingenuity in order to reach its true potential.

Apple’s Steve Jobs is a big proponent of the importance of killing good ideas and calls the ability to do that the hallmark of a great company. Using the premise of Jobs’ argument, here are the metrics that Sutton suggests tracking:

1. How many good ideas are killed? If this number isn’t high enough, that is a bad sign. It means either that not enough ideas are being generated, or that important hard choices aren’t being made.

2. How many people are complaining — even leaving — because of good ideas being killed? This really is what makes the pruning so hard. It’s tough on the people who came up with ideas and are emotionally invested in them. Being the direct cause of their complaining, and even departure, is awful — and certainly doesn’t make you feel like a great boss. But if no one is complaining, that’s a worse sign. This kind of frustration is an unfortunate byproduct of an effective innovation process, and if your people don’t have enough pride and confidence to get upset when their innovative ideas are killed, then something is wrong with them — or your culture.

This makes sense to me. Killing good ideas. Making important, hard choices. And tracking them. My management lesson of the day.

Reading a piece in the Harvard Business Review about devices and how integral they’re becoming to the art of the pitch really struck home with me.

As a creative services shop, we pitch new business all the time. And, being immersed in the digital space, we’re always considering how our clients’ products and services can best be maximized in that space. So even when our clients come to us asking for what they think they need, we’re always thinking about what they might not know they need, but what would make their end result even more impactful.

The reason the HBR piece hit home is because it mentioned that at Fortune’s recent technology conference in Aspen, it was not unusual for innovators to pull out their smartphones and run through a quick presentation on their device when asked for more information. Seeing really is believing and the author of the piece said just that. When you can touch, feel and experience a concept, and see all the different applications while holding a device in your hand, it really makes the selling process more personal.

It’s not unusual that we use our seemingly omnipresent iPads during new business pitches or even during meetings with existing clients. We use them to demonstrate an idea or walk them through a presentation or an experiential design piece and that really seems to resonate with them. Sometimes we even build a technology element into a project for a client, that they can subsequently use for their new business pitches.

In fact, Michael Schrage, author of the HBR piece, put it this way:

“My professional bet is that “hand-it-over” innovation pitches will double smartphone and mobile device sales worldwide. Entrepreneurs, salespeople and innovators alike will socialize with at least two devices in the backpacks and breast pockets — one for their personal/professional use and the other to “hand over” for interpersonal play.”

Technology – it pretty much rules all of us these days. Thoughts?

This isn’t new – other brands have done similar campaigns, but it is a new strategic move for P&G, which often taps famous athletes or other celebs to align with its products. For this particular product, the Fusion razor, the desire was to reach a younger demographic. By tapping a couple of young, hip, “every dude” kind of guys for this once-in-a-lifetime experience, P&G shows some savvy when it comes to buzz building and understanding how younger consumers both consume – and generate media. For P&G, the Gillette campaign is an example of a significant social media initiative. The Razor Guys (selected by winning a contest), traveled the country, did a ton of blogging and microblogging, posting reactions on the company’s microsite along the way and even tossed in some celebrity interviews for good measure. They created a lot of buzz, gave away over 10,000 samples and got the Gillette Fusion brand out there, in front of their desired audience, in a big way.

Creating campaigns that allow consumers to be a part of the brand experience is rapidly becoming a tactic that just makes sense. I think this kind of consumer outreach is but one of many “new norms.” More importantly, positioning your business – no matter what it is, so that you are open to change, and regularly adopting and testing different strategies is a critical component of growth and success. Especially when it comes to new media and a consumer group that is technically savvy and as used to creating their own content as they are consuming it.

The “A Better Bullseye” campaign was directed by Motion Theory’s Chris Riehl. Their goal was to create a memorable cast of characters – and a spot that viewers wouldn’t tire of, even after seeing it multiple times. Today’s consumer is easily distracted – or bored – so smart brands and creative shops are using tactics like animation design and creating interactive design experiences in innovative ways.

I love the spot and think they accomplished just what they set out to do. And I also love the fact that major brands are continually looking outside the realm of the traditional and allowing motion graphics firms and 3D animators the chance to showcase their talents – and contribute to the overall brand message – albeit in a different way.

Is the 3D animation trend floundering? The stampede to make more 3D entertainment began after James Cameron’s Avatar brought in $2.7 billion. After Avatar, 3D animation was seen as a breakthrough in technology and a road to higher profits for the big screen.

Gizmodo had an interesting article recently, asking the question is 3D already dying?.

Since the high-water mark of Avatar, where 71% of the revenue came from 3D screenings, numbers for big-budget 3D movies have plummeted to less than 50%.

My take on 3D? If the technology of 3D animation adds to the story and adds to the experience of the movie, I’m all for it. But technology for the sake of technology will never work.

We are storytellers and the tools we use to spin our tales are important but never more important than the story.

Before using 3D animation, producers need to ask themselves if it adds to the movie-going experience. Otherwise, it’s a distraction.

The annual PromaxBDA conference is the largest entertainment marketing, promotion and design event in the world and attracts execs from top television networks, cable channels, media and creative agencies, design and emerging media and other industry leaders. PromaxBDA was held in late June in LA and it is, without question, an awesome conference. I went to the conference when it was held in Miami several years ago – and I wish I could have made it to this one. It’s always a gathering of some of the best strategists, marketers and true thought leaders in the creative fields.

This video features a snippet from a panel on inspiration, and what inspires leaders in the field. Moderated by Will Travis, Dentsu America, the panel included people like David Carson, David Carson Design; Timothy Fisher, CoFounder, Mk12; Mark Kudsi, Director, Motion Theory; Jakob Trollback, Trollback+Company; Garson Yu, President and Creative Director for yU+Co, along with several others.

I found their thoughts and challenges inspiring and thought you might, too. Under the jump, there’s a recap of some of their comments, in case you want to roll them around in your head like I did in mind.

Will Travis opens the clip talking about change and what scares him. He was challenged by having a big shop, one that helped change the way things were done in the industry – and what comes after that. “You can’t rely on your heritage, on who you were” he says. “It’s about who you are going to be – and how you are reforming that“ that matters now.

And then Trollback wonders, with the advent of the Internet and the fact that sources of inspiration now are so accessible, “are we better, because of that?” And he elaborates that it’s that process – the transformation of one piece of inspiration into another – that drives all of us.

“There is no control over quality anymore” when you put your creative work out there to the public, says Mark Kudsi from Motion Theory. “You lose the details that you put into something.” But then, sometimes, it’s so great to see what the public does when they see a message that you created, and it’s interesting to see how they modify it to suit their own message or their own needs.

David Carson talks about the fact that everybody is influenced by some thing or some body and says “the trick (as a designer) is to take what got you into this field and make it your own.” I like that. And he mentions the creative’s perpetual lament “the tighter the boundaries imposed by a client, the harder it is” to deliver something that will really work for them. Alas. If only clients really understood that.

Bottom line, PromaxBDA is on my list of conferences I should attend whenever I can. It would be great to see you there, too.

OK, yes, I love great design. I live in a world driven by design. Fueled by design. And that’s why I love great designers. Watching this film moved me – like the first time I saw film/art from Charles and Ray Eames.

Dieter Rams is a visionary. He was then, even in the early days of working with Braun, as he moved from a focus on industrial aesthetics to aesthetics for the home. And he is now. In his laboratory, the environment was such that new products were influenced by many and ultimately, made better for all.

The world has come full circle – but some things remain certain and true for all time.  The world of design – and advertising – has always been defined by creativity.  But what really defines great work – is collaboration – work that is influenced by many, working seamlessly together, creating a finished product that is better for all.

Rams’ Ten Principles of Good Design are timeless as well — tenants to live by:

Good design is innovative.

Good design makes a product useful.

Good design is aesthetic.

Good design helps us to understand a product.

Good design is unobtrusive.

Good design is honest.

Good design is durable.

Good design is consequent to the last detail.

Good design is concerned with the environment.

Good design is as little design as possible.

In the film, Rams says “The unspectacular things are the important things, especially in the future.” Real word or not — I liked the way that made me feel.

Photo Credit: Abiasag Tullmann

Gasland was directed by Josh Fox and it was the Winner of the Special Jury Prize – Best US Documentary Feature at Sundance in 2010 and it also screened recently at Cannes. Fracking is not only happening all across rural areas in America, it’s spreading to Europe and Africa, too.  Property owners are tempted by very lucrative offers from big energy companies and, given today’s economy, it’s not surprising that some opt to take the money and run.

I think this is a huge deal – and I agree with Josh that this is a situation that deserves a big spotlight aimed right at it – and this documentary definitely does that. If the trailer intrigued you at all, and you want to do more, visit the Gasland website. Request a screening in your city. Make a donation. If we all just did a little, we could make a huge impact.

And that, my friends, is why I LOVE documentaries. I love watching them. I love making them. I love their inherent power to make a difference.

Design + Technology is the hot new “creative” as it relates to the ad industry. The big Cyber Grand Prix winners at Cannes are indicative of where advertising and the world of design are headed. There’s no argument that great design will always be great design and regarded as such. But, in today’s advertising world, where we are routinely charged with producing great design that drives results, the addition of technology into the mix is, in my opinion, the best recipe for success.

DDB Stockholm’s work for Volkswagen took home a win for its terrific Fun Theory campaign that took ordinary experiences, added technology and not only made the experiences fun, but changed behavior as a result.

Weiden & Kennedy’s Chalkbot campaign for Nike Livestrong was evidence that by integrating technology into an event, you can actually bring the public into the event and make them a part of the experience, almost seamlessly.

In both cases, technology was the hero, and the driving force behind the concept, but the beauty of both of these integrated experiences is that the technology was invisible. The winners at Cannes validate that this is where the world of advertising is moving. Design + Technology may seem like strange bedfellows at first – similar to the traditional agency creative process integrating with the digital creative process. Those agencies that mastered that were way ahead of those who kept them separate.

For us, it has been an adaptive process over the last couple of years. Our designers were at the top of the heap – so we had to learn how to embrace the collaborative effort between technologists and designers. There were fits and starts – but today, I can say without reservation that the line between our designers and our technology gurus has blurred into one big integrated space. And happily, it has changed the face of our business, as well as the kind of work we are able to do for our clients.

*The poster is the 1939 Cannes Film Festival vintage poster, which is from the year of the planned festival debut. The film festival was canceled that year, because of the start of World War II