This past weekend I attended the Anime Boston 2007 Expo with my brilliant 12 year old niece (who shall remain nameless). Other than feeling like the ultimate creepy old guy, I found the experience fascinating. Thousands of creative, bright young people gathering together to explore shared interests is quite refreshing. At a time when the news media is quick to point fingers at young people who don’t adhere to the Abercrombie prescribed way of life, events like this help to prove the idea that most people are fundamentally good regardless of their attire.One thing I noticed was the absolute lack of companies looking at the expo as an opportunity to reach an engaged audience (other than the expected comic & DVD vendors). If you walk the streets at the Boston Marathon or attend a college fest, marketers will be there to hand out food samples, coupons, free memberships and credit card applications(evil). Yet the current and future consumers at Anime 2007 were totally ignored. I’m not sure why. Perhaps the organizer doesn’t allow it, but I think it’s more likely marketers forget that people who dress as cat girls, elves, or just buy anime books and DVDs; use OXY10, Sure deodorant, and iTunes like the rest of young America. Ignoring this and other youth and affinity subgroups can only be a major lost opportunity.

Recently I created a music video to promote singer and Miss Black Howard Stern pageant winner, Charlie Superfly. The video is comprised of odds and ends that she's recorded over the past year. I was able to put it all together within a day of her winning the contest, and she's using it to promote her new music online. I'll post a making of explainer video in the near future. www.charliesuperfly.com www.myspace.com/charliesuperfly

 

With the ongoing discussions about immigration and the changing face of America, one of the important things to think about is what does a human look like? A Turkish artist named Mike Mike has been traveling the world to find out. He takes pictures of random young adults in various cities, and produces morphed composites of their faces. The result is a collection of male and female faces that look amazingly like family portraits of one family. How can one be afraid of family? The Face Of Tomorrow

A while back I worked with Akamai to announce the coming of the Demand Economy, a time defined by the need to have access to any information, entertainment or media whenever you want. Who knew that what the public really wants is a good conversation? Interactive marketing expert David Armano writes that "anyone who plays a role in branding needs to become a conversation architect." This means facilitating exchanges between customers and marketers, rather than simply communicating marketing messages. Business Week