Category Archives: Rants

posted by Julie

Oct 16, 2012 @ 2:39pm

The Power of Music and Casting

Last week I was working on a quick video project with our pals at Mad Monkey — who as usual — just blew the ball through the stadium and out of the parking lot. This project wasn’t huge by any means but it reminded me of two things I adore about video and TV production.

First, music. The right music ratchets up the quality of any project. It doesn’t have to be scored or go through sound design although that’s always delightful to have in your budget. In fact, the music chosen for my project was stock, but it was ideal for the feelings it radiated: light and youth. The first time I heard it I liked it. The third time, I loved it. When I laughed to the editor that I couldn’t get it out of my head, he said that was actually a good very sign the music was right.

Even better was the handful of times this stock music fit our onscreen graphics like a glove. That synchronicity is gift you rarely achieve without the work of a highly talented sound designer. A highly impactful phrase of onscreen text that’s punctuated by music easily carries twice the power. In the edit suite and on consumers’ TVs and computer screens that togetherness is pure magic.

The second thing I love about TV work is great casting. One of the finest examples of ideal casting we’re currently enjoying is Allstate’s Mayhem — Liz Lemon’s pager wearing, scumbag of an ex-boyfriend, Dennis (Dean Winters). It’s casting so perfect I practically purr when a spot comes on.

You can have stellar casting in local spots, too. Those folks at Mad Monkey have an uncanny knack — dare I say talent — for finding THE talent that fits your concept even better than you imagined. Around the time of my edit, they’d just released a new campaign of lottery spots that have awesome casting. The office worker is my hero all the way down to his beige socks.

Working last week I was reminded that even a smaller-scope project can feel bigger when you sweat the details. When you work with smart, highly attuned professionals like Mad Monkey, they key in on even the smallest points.

Music and casting aren’t just steps in the production cycle. They should be wielded to their full effect. They are as important as the words and images that accompany them. They are light and shadows that can turn a good concept into something far better: a TV spot that’s actually worth remembering.

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posted by Ryon

Jun 04, 2012 @ 7:00am

Gotham: the new Helvetica

Man, I love the typeface Gotham and the foundry that created it: Hoefler and Frere-Jones. Gotham’s a great design and has been used successfully for many companies and organizations since its release back in 2001.

The problem is that it’s just been overused — and yes, I’m guilty.

In a world where distinctiveness and originality is more important than ever, it’s hard to justify using a typestyle that is reaching Helvetica-like status. Typography trends come and go, and Gotham has had an amazing run. From my perspective, it’s just time to move on.

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posted by Kevin

Mar 28, 2012 @ 7:30am

Bee Day

For the past two years advocates across our state have gathered together on the same day for an important cause. That cause is to stand against growing assaults on reproductive and women’s health rights. If you’ve been following the news lately, you’ll know just how relevant these issues are. Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has spoken out against the so-called dangers of contraception, promising to end its federal funding if elected. Infamous talk show host, Rush Limbaugh, called a law student a slut for speaking out about the need for contraception. The Left is calling it a war on women. The Right considers it a war on morality. Such divisive talk is only serving to further polarize our nation, painting conservatives as womanizing religious nuts and liberals as sex-crazed maniacs. No matter where you stand on the issue, it’s clear that amid such chaos lies a great need for cooperation and understanding that reaches across party lines — a need for a voice of reason.

Enter Tell Them, a nonpartisan grassroots e-advocacy network of more than 10,000 members across our state whose primary purpose is to give voice to the issues that matter. They advocate for those who support age appropriate reproductive health education and access to reproductive health counseling and services for all South Carolinians. I recently designed promotional materials for their third annual Bee Day, an event (happening today) in which members and reproductive health advocates stand together as one to tell legislators statewide that reproductive health rights are important to them.

These issues are more relevant to South Carolinians now more than ever. On average, three out of ten young women in our state will become pregnant by the age of twenty, yet we continue to pour millions of dollars into abstinence-only programs that fail to help in the prevention of teen pregnancy. The result, instead, is higher teen pregnancy rates in the South than anywhere else in the country. Regardless of your background, beliefs, gender or political affiliations, it’s clear that something must be done before these numbers get any higher. Tell Them is the resounding voice of reason needed to enact real change for the future of reproductive health rights. Join today and make your voice heard.

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posted by Kevin

Feb 01, 2012 @ 11:16am

Consider Your Audience

My mom recently told me a story about one of her 4th grade students interrupting class to ask about a picture of her on Facebook. Other students immediately chimed in as well, revealing their extensive knowledge of her family, where she went on summer vacation, what she did on her birthday last week, her favorite inspirational quote, and so on and so forth. Her profile — which she thought was set to private and could only be viewed by friends — was Facebook-stalked by a bunch of 10-year-olds with nothing better to do.

It’s scary to me how easy it is to make our personal lives public in today’s digital world. We market and brand ourselves daily via social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook without truly considering our audience. With over 400 million people connecting to Facebook every day, we now have the chance to share our personal lives and opinions with an audience 10x greater than the one President Barack Obama had for his recent State of the Union address. These onlookers could include anyone from your grandmother to your future boss to your creepy next door neighbor who strolls to the mailbox every morning wearing nothing but a bath robe, so it’s comforting to know that there are options available to minimize how much of our lives we share online.

However, the method of securing our privacy through these social networking sites is constantly changing: either being made simpler for the sake of clarity or more intricate for a more personal approach to your privacy. While it is beneficial for companies to update their policies for the sake of the user, it can often lead to consumer confusion in the process. For example, I helped my mom update her Facebook settings and found the new options far too verbose and confusing. By the time I’d finished, I wasn’t even positive that I’d checked the right options.

Google recently updated their privacy policy by getting rid of 60 different policies and combining them into one that is more concise and easy to understand. Perhaps some day other companies will follow suit. But until that happens, I think we should all take another look at the information we are sharing with the world — literally, the world.

To see just how much the internet has invaded your personal life, click here and type in your name and city.

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posted by Cathy

Jan 25, 2012 @ 3:39pm

The Rise (and Fall?) of Brand Paula Deen

I find Paula Deen to be utterly magnetic. Her allure goes way beyond charm, I think; I want to hang out with her, to sit on that magnificent Lowcountry porch and dish about the neighbors, to be invited over for Thanksgiving dinner with Michael and the boys. (I would bring Bourbon Cranberry Sauce, and it would be a Big Hit.)

Isn’t that just the effect a really great brand has on you? I can see Paula as part of my life, a celebrity friendship as casual and easy as any meaningful relationship in my life.

So I was heartbroken to watch her appearance on The Today Show last week when she announced the Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis. Not so much because of the disease—I believe she will successfully manage it—but because the entire handling of the announcement was such a debacle.

How I wish I had been Paula Deen’s brand consultant when she learned of the diagnosis three years ago. (Of course, the report that her longtime publicist resigned last month after Paula began hawking a diabetes drug indicates the Food Network star didn’t follow the counsel she received anyway.) But I would have made a powerful pitch to her—one she may never have thought about or considered—and that perspective, I believe, could have changed every misstep that followed.

At issue is the protection of a multi-million dollar brand built around the very culprit in this significant and dangerous health diagnosis: rich, fatty, unhealthful Southern recipes. Paula and her team created an empire promoting comfort food, beginning with The Lady and Sons Savannah, Georgia restaurant, then expanding in every direction—publishing of cookbooks and magazines, multiple television shows, an extensive line of signature cookware, online and retail interests. A heavy consideration in the what do we do about this diagnosis discussion, no doubt, was Dean’s endless array of ”strategic partnerships” with other national brands, including Walmart, Smithfield, Harrah’s, International Greeting and Cooking.com, to name just a few.

Here, apparently, was the Protect the Brand strategy:

  1. Wait three years to publicly announce that she has Type 2 Diabetes, all the while continuing to expand—rather than refining—her brand
  2. Form another strategic partnership, but with a drug company rather than a highly respected, mission-driven nonprofit
  3. Make the diabetes announcement during a live segment on The Today Show, an appearance in which she was (uncharacteristically) nervous and disingenuous

How did a brilliant business woman capable of such extensive brand expansion come to make so many poor crisis communications decisions? Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t believe greed is the heart of the issue. (Pollyanna, I know. But I don’t.)

I believe the problem is having a brand strategy based on this flawed core premise:

Brand Paula Deen = Southern Cooking

Wrong. So wrong. This powerful brand is based on one thing that should have been protected at all cost, but wasn’t:

Brand Paula Deen = the authenticity of Paula Deen, herself

I can’t think of another celebrity more utterly charming and disarming in her honesty. Likely to say anything at any time, she lights up stage and screen by saying exactly what she’s thinking—and what we are thinking, too, but are too timid to say.

How powerful it could have been had she announced the diagnosis early, long before she had “something to bring to the table.” What if, three years ago, she’d said:

I didn’t expect this. I don’t know enough. I am afraid.

What if she’d invited us all to take this very human journey with her, changing our lifestyles and habits and menus, one day at a time, together.

Would her brand have disintegrated? Would the Food Network have dropped her? Would corporate partners have abandoned her?

Would we?

I surely don’t think so.

Paula Deen, the person, will survive this misstep, I do believe. But the brand has suffered a severe blow. And the best thing it can do (I sure hope it moves quickly) is to get real about what Paula Dean, the brand, stands for. I, for one, think there is way more there than just another stick of butter.

 

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