Mr.
Matt
Spangler

Spangler's Log.

  • 05.10.11 9 months ago mrmattspangler
    It was fun to work on this a while back. I was the other guy sitting next to Doug throughout this project.  It was just the two of us and I remember fondly the late night sessions around our work table with beers where we collaborated on the strategy to come up with the content programs to find outdoor bars and the best Saturday night parties. We wanted to provide real utility for the brand and not just an advertising message. The key with the program, and what we always pushed for, was that ABSOLUT was providing content, not just a marketing message. Access to your phone in relation to brand messages was a much more sacred land at that point in time, so the friending program was just that - something you felt like your friend would tell you about  - and wasn’t a hollow message like receiving a text advertisement. It was also one of those programs that probably got as much marketing exposure for Dodgeball as it did for the brand paying for the marketing - a popular trend today with the explosion in startups competing for attention. There are a lot of other great happycorp projects up on the JaegerSloan site that a lot of really really really talented people contributed to. Its good to see the case studies up on the interwebs again. via dpstyles: For a trip down memory lane, check out my my buddy’s JaegerSloan’s case study on dodgeball. (make sure to flip thru all the photos!)  Doug helped out w/ the design & branding for dodgeball in the pre-Google days.  #respect

    It was fun to work on this a while back. I was the other guy sitting next to Doug throughout this project.  It was just the two of us and I remember fondly the late night sessions around our work table with beers where we collaborated on the strategy to come up with the content programs to find outdoor bars and the best Saturday night parties.

    We wanted to provide real utility for the brand and not just an advertising message. The key with the program, and what we always pushed for, was that ABSOLUT was providing content, not just a marketing message. Access to your phone in relation to brand messages was a much more sacred land at that point in time, so the friending program was just that - something you felt like your friend would tell you about  - and wasn’t a hollow message like receiving a text advertisement. It was also one of those programs that probably got as much marketing exposure for Dodgeball as it did for the brand paying for the marketing - a popular trend today with the explosion in startups competing for attention.

    There are a lot of other great happycorp projects up on the JaegerSloan site that a lot of really really really talented people contributed to. Its good to see the case studies up on the interwebs again.

    via dpstyles:

    For a trip down memory lane, check out my my buddy’s JaegerSloan’s case study on dodgeball. (make sure to flip thru all the photos!) 

    Doug helped out w/ the design & branding for dodgeball in the pre-Google days.  #respect

  • 10.27.10 1 year ago mrmattspangler

    The iPod wall from a great little company called welikesmall.

  • 12.28.09 2 years ago mrmattspangler

    Have heard about the Spur video series that talks with planners in the industry but haven’t had a chance to watch the videos until the break. I enjoyed the first three episodes and would encourage anyone interested in the fields of strategy, planning, management consulting or the agency environment in general to check them out.

    This particular one about the planning “identity crisis” seems to offer the the most diverse sound bites that I connected with from my experiences of 2009 so I thought I’d pass it along with a few personal thoughts about the coming year.

    1. Hank Leber (McKinney), Heidi Hackemer (BBH) and Robin Hafitz (KBSP) talk about the antiquated idea that most advertising/marketing agencies still hold onto regarding who owns the creativity, the titles that come along with it and thus the credit and accolades tied to it.  This is an issue that I think is still pervasive at agencies of all size and especially among creative directors (something Russell Davies and David Armano spoke about a bit last year). The most intelligent and forward thinking agencies I have been talking to the past 6 months are starting to tear this down and I think 2010 will mark a significant shift in this thinking. Good ideas come from many different places, but the structure of the top down pyramid creative direction can often stifle the best collaborative thinking.

    2. John Gerzama stresses the importance of hybrid talent and compares it with hollywood writer/director/actor.  I think this year marks the continued consolidation between this entertainment driven hybrid thinker and the kind of talent that agencies have to recruit.  As everything becomes a form of “entertainment”, experience and storytelling has increased value, and the ability to reach the right audience becomes more confusing (not necessarily harder), the blending of the talent between these two worlds will become more necessary and for those in the strategist and planner position, this wider perspective will make them more critical to the success of the organization and its ideas.

    3. One thing that I didn’t hear touched on in any of the videos that I think is critical is the idea of problem identification before starting to work on the solution. Robin briefly whispers about being a good listener which I think is a true art for the best planners and strategists. In a world where everyone is looking to provide the next great “idea”, there is less and less time spent on identifying the real problems. Often times, there are bigger communications issues that go beyond the next marketing campaign. This analysis and the ability and process of identifying the problems will become more critical then ever for the success of clients in the coming year.

    4. Paul Woolmington from Naked talks about the fact that good planners worth their salt want to get upstream to solve more critical business issues.  From my experience and discussions this is incredibly challenging from inside many agencies but will be more important then ever in the coming year. For the past 3 months I’ve been consulting with Naked Communications on the extension of this thought. As a consultancy they have already had many successful engagements using communications to solve problems that go well beyond the traditional marketing challenges. We are working to develop updated processes that emphasize identification of the problems and communication plans that may not fit within the traditional “marketing” buckets but help solve core business issues. While keeping an eye on the changing way that organizations are using digital communications channels daily (with consumers, partners, employees…whatever label you want to give them) this becomes more important then ever and thus more critical for marketers to extend their thinking beyond the next campaign.

      Would love to hear your thoughts…

  • 09.16.09 2 years ago mrmattspangler
    “ So, instead of doing spec work, they see our process in action and they’re right there with us experiencing the whole thing. It’s also a demonstration of our collaborative, interdisciplinary model, which clients love. When you have little time, everyone has to work together to get to a solution. There’s no room for ego. ”
    Zak Mroueh
  • 09.16.09 2 years ago mrmattspangler
    Great project from Toronto agency Zulu Alpha Kilo.  Thoughtful approach to promote their agency and actually give something back to the local community. Fun site with smart quick solutions to problems.  Reminds me of the rapid cognition theories discussed in “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell. Interesting to read the interview about how they used the technique in new business pitches to give away a 20 minute “session” of thinking for free to show clients how they work. As a side note, I’m surprised their own agency website is so bad and it would give me pause regarding their digital expertise. Thinking inside the box

    Great project from Toronto agency Zulu Alpha Kilo.  Thoughtful approach to promote their agency and actually give something back to the local community. Fun site with smart quick solutions to problems.  Reminds me of the rapid cognition theories discussed in “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell. Interesting to read the interview about how they used the technique in new business pitches to give away a 20 minute “session” of thinking for free to show clients how they work. As a side note, I’m surprised their own agency website is so bad and it would give me pause regarding their digital expertise.

    Thinking inside the box

  • 08.31.09 2 years ago mrmattspangler

    Birkin on Digital Experience

    Michael Birkin, former vice chairman of Omnicom Group and Omnicom Asia-Pacific CEO, recently took a 70% position in RPMC, a leader in events and entertainment marketing.  He had some interesting perspective on why he made the investment and why having a digital strategy should be pervasive throughout the organization and not seen as separate from your other communication channels.

    From the MediaPost article: “Michael Birkin believes it’s more about building brands like the Olympics and World Cup with a variety of tools. Every campaign should have a digital component, but not digital for the sake of being digital, he says.”

    “You can’t play the World Cup or run 100 meters on the computer,” Birkin says. “We have to make sure we understand the way the digital world can impact our support of brands in live events, such as Olympics, World Cup and Formula One.”

    Birkin believes agencies get it wrong by seeing digital as an end in and of itself. The concept he has always struggled with, and continues to struggle with, is when companies try to support digital campaigns for the sake of being digital.

    “It’s a bit like saying you go to the Sistine Chapel because Michelangelo was a mathematician,” he says. “The fact that he was a mathematician and could use that perspective meant that he created a better product. The digital world is no different. It’s a question of harnessing what it can do, rather than looking at it as being a digital product. It’s almost an oxymoron.”

  • 07.20.09 2 years ago mrmattspangler
    Great for New York City since so many bags end up on the street and never make their way into cans. via simko: Pet Goldfish Bin Bags designed by Wieden & Kennedy

    Great for New York City since so many bags end up on the street and never make their way into cans.

    via simko:

    Pet Goldfish Bin Bags designed by Wieden & Kennedy

  • 07.06.09 2 years ago mrmattspangler

    Great new low-fi video concept and a great example of participatory media.

    Via BBH Labs

  • 05.14.09 2 years ago mrmattspangler

    Thoughts on “A New Business Model for Digital Agencies”

    Through Mansi Trivedi’s Tumblr, I came upon Mike Arauz’s post.  Not surprised Mike works at Undercurrent.  Josh and Aaron hire sharp cats.

    I’ve told a couple of people recently that their strategy driven shop is a business model to emulate and I plan to build a consulting practice using some similar methodologies.  No need for massive production, you can get the ideas MADE anywhere.  We’ll give you the strategic thinking, the ideas, the plan to execute it, the access to resources and the oversight…thank you very much.

    I have read Mike’s post on the new business model and I think it brings up great valid points and also has some folly.  I’ll get all whiteboard on this one…

    1. The work CAN be done cheaply and quickly - so get used to that and start updating the model around that (pricing, production, what you sell etc).  Clients won’t be stupid for long.  You can build a great site with a CMS on Wordpress in 2-4 weeks with a talented team of 2-3 people

    2. The future is outsourced production by agencies.  I’ve seen the work of too many great, cheap, off-shore production facilities recently to think otherwise. Digital agencies paying top dollar for in-house developers in America is a dying model.  You have no R&D or training baked into your process and you can’t possibly compete in the long run. 

    Ajax, PHP, all the old code bases, iPhone apps, Android apps, Facebook aps, new widget platforms (AIR etc), Twitter aps, Aps for sites you haven’t even heard of yet.  You think your Flash developer is studying this stuff? Think about it.

    3.  Embrace the tools that help get it done. Yes, yes!  Smart strategists, planners and creatives are gonna require a great grasp of the tools available to help develop the right ideas.

    4.  Totally agree with sell ideas, not things…but to me the folly is - we’ll execute the idea as well.  Why not sell the 100 ideas, give feedback as they get made and then sell the ability to evangelize those ideas after they are ready to hit the market?

    I think that’s basicallllllly what Mike means, Undercurrent won’t actually be excuting, but they will provide the oversight to do so. To me the question is just whether or not that is transparent and how you price it and sell it.

    A big miss (even though a bit off topic…)

    1. No mention of one of the biggest folly’s out there with digital agencies: The “build it and they will come” mentality.  Everyone loves creating the next cool thing, but few shops plan or spend the proper time promoting, marketing and getting behind the work they create for an extended period of time.  

    Its launched, and its on to the next idea.  Making it useful and visible by the people that should (and might) care is rarely considered.

    Obviously tons more to say but its great that Mike kicked off a conversation that is bound to continue.

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Mr. Matt Spangler uses Flickr
Mr. Matt Spangler uses Twitter. Follow him here.