Occupy Wall Street, Defining Your Brand, and Storytelling

Posted by Jon Thomas, 28 Nov 2011

This post originally appeared in our October issue of "Live Report from the Future of Marketing," our monthly Post-Advertising newsletter. Subscribe for free here.

As the Occupy Wall Street movement starting to fade with the public still confused as to exactly what their story exactly was, many lessons can be learned from their efforts to change the world and why their movement never really gained traction. Could it have been because they were letting others define who they were and what their message was?

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Digital Archaeology Takes Manhattan

Posted by Andrea Fjeld, 06 Jun 2011

This post originally appeared in our June issue of “Live Report from the Future of Marketing,” our monthly Post-Advertising newsletter. Subscribe for free here.

A much buzzed-about event at last year’s Internet Week Europe, Digital Archaeology is now making its US debut at Internet Week New York. Archiving some the most significant websites in history on the machines and adjacent technologies of their respective years, the project makes an interactive museum of our recent past.

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Hooters and Hall Pass Team Up for Marriage

Posted by Andrea Fjeld, 15 Mar 2011
Attention married men: do your like your buffalo wings with a side of cleavage? Well, the week after Valentine’s Day you should have hit up the West 56th Street Hooters in New York, which gave away discounts to any guy with a wedding band. Just another day on the front lines of post advertising.
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A Brooklyn State of Mind Invasion

Posted by Andrea Fjeld, 08 Jan 2011
I ♥ NY? More like I ♥ BK! Over the past twenty-plus years, The Island has been ceding its monopoly on cool as the southeastern borough gains popularity. Brooklyn has long been defined by experimentation and innovation, and today it draws creative minds from around the world to its pleasant brownstones and industrial lofts. And of course, businesses are eager to capitalize on Brooklyn's cutting-edge appeal, with a growing number of Brooklyn-branded goods popping up in New York and internationally. What happens when a borough becomes more than just a borough? We examine the complexities of the Brooklyn brand after the jump.
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Follow That Ad! Geo-Based Marketing Takes Over Your City

Posted by Andrea Fjeld, 17 Dec 2010
You know who takes cabs in New York? The rich and the drunk. And tourists. Can't forget about them. Basically, the audience the Blue Man Group is looking for! So next time your taxi takes you through the East Village, don’t be surprised if an ad for its Astor Place show pops up on the rear-facing screen. Marketers are beginning to capitalize on in-cab, location-based advertising to dictate when and where their commercials should air.
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A Party Favor Greater than the Sum of its Parts

Posted by Martin Mulkeen, 30 Nov 2010
A couple weeks ago, I attended a fundraiser at the Brooklyn Brewery for the New York-based nonprofit IOBY (In Our BackYards), an organization that connects supporters and volunteers to environmental projects in their neighborhoods. Attendees sipped tasty cocktails, perused the silent auction tables, and examined exhibits showcasing IOBY's work. But the evening's real kicker came in the form of a killer party favor: the gift of giving someone else the gift of giving a gift to IOBY. What? Here's how it works.
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The Bullet-hard Nipples of Hollister’s Immersive Retail Experience

Posted by Martin Mulkeen, 02 Sep 2010
The advent of online retail has forced brands to take a good, long look at the in-person shopping experiences they offer. One of the best ways to woo pavement-pounding customers is with in-store experiences and offerings that go way beyond the merchandise. One need only look at the velvet rope and the long lines outside of the Abercrombie & Fitch store on Fifth avenue in Manhattan to see that this strategy can work very well. But are chiseled, shirtless men enough to bring in these crowds? I've always wondered. Is it the aura of exclusivity and luxury that these shirtless men convey? Thankfully, an essay in the newest issue of The Believer sheds some light on this kind of "Immersive Retail Experience," examining the Hollister clothing brand phenomenon. From what I gather, the Hollister store has everything you could want out of a shopping experience: half naked dudes with enviable pecks, music that's almost too loud for comfort, and of course, that inimitable SoCal vibe. Wait, I can get all of that on the internet. Or can I?
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Taking Back the Village

Posted by Andrea Fjeld, 03 Nov 2009
It's hard for me to badmouth Marc Jacobs, but this needs to be said. The West Village has become the ritzy part of town cluttered with upscale brunch spots, luxury shops, and the beatnik-turned-bourgeois. And it needs to be stopped.
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