Okay, I seriously need to get a life. The bozos leave for a long weekend and I steal into their offices and troll YouTube for interesting videos.
This 3D animation short by Nicolas Deveaux was the winner winner chicken dinner of the weekend.
Directed, designed, animated and illustrated by Deveaux, 7 Tonnes 2 is a 3D animation short film produced by Cube Creative, a production company in Paris specializing in animation, special effects, digital art and 3d animation.
It is impossible to watch this video without laughing. And admiring the talent that it took to create it. These crazies that work here at T2 + Back Alley love this animation stuff – maybe they’ll even give me an extra treat or two when I show ‘em what I found.
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?
Gillette’s “Razor Guys” are the latest in a series of brands turning to consumers to help market or launch a product.
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.
Target tapped Venice, California-based Motion Theory to do a spot for them integrating animation design into their marketing mix. The spot was designed to showcase the creativity, team spirit and personality of the Target brand in a manner completely different from traditional TV spots.
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.
A new web series, FCU: Fact Checkers Unit is generating buzz. Samsung’s new Android phone the Galaxy S will be promoted via the new web series, hyped by NBC Universal as “the world’s first globally distributed web series.”
Hype aside, FCU is breaking new ground. FCU: Fact Checkers Unit is being distributed on multiple platforms in many countries. Here in the US, it will appear on NBC.com, Hulu, and Syfy.com along with the video-on-demand service. Mobile phone carriers like AT&T, Verizon and Sprint will deliver the show to smart phones and FCU will be available for download on your Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, and iTunes.
FCU: Fact Checkers Unit will appear in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Japan via Syfy Channel and Sci-Fi Channel in Australia.
Based on the short film of the same name that appeared at Sundance in 2008, FCU: Fact Checkers Unit will be available in an unprecedented number of platforms and regions. According to social media blog Mashable, the series follows two celebrity fact checkers:
The series will follow two zealous fact checkers for the magazine Dictum; in each episode they will attempt to verify a fact about some celebrity the magazine is covering. For example, they must determine in the first episode whether or not 90210’s Luke Perry really believes his house is haunted by ghosts.
Each of the eight episodes in the series’ current order will feature some celebrity. The celebs named so far include the aforementioned Luke Perry, Jeopardy’s Alex Trebek, legendary rock guitarist Dave Navarro, model Karolina Kurkova , Scrubs‘ Donald Faison, NCIS‘ Pauley Perrette, Friday Night Lights‘ Zach Gilford, and Napoleon Dynamite himself, Jon Heder.
The show features the Samsung Galaxy S featured prominently in every episode. For example, it’s used to record a bedroom overnight in the first episode to document potential paranormal activity. If this venture is a success, look for more “globally distributed web shows” coming soon. Here’s a trailer for the series:
T2 + Back Alley Films is a visual design and storytelling company. For more information, please visit our sites at t2.tv and backalleyfilms.com or call 800-471-6554.
