Influx

Q : Is it an ad, a short-film, a car/skateboard movie? A: It’s none of them and all of them. Q: Is it for Ford, Monster or DC Shoes? A: It’s for all of them Q: Where’s the script? A: It has no script, no plot – it doesn’t conform to anything we would know as a...

Diageo is one of the smartest companies around when it comes to brands and branding; one of the few with a Brand University that schools all employees on the importance of building brands with real value. It’s a company that has historically used advertising as a powerful lever to drive sales...

A report in Mashable yesterday stated that social-gaming leader Zynga had made 14 acquisitions in the past 12 months. That kind of pace is quite extraordinary from what many consider to be a relatively small company- albeit with a potential market cap of $10 billion. It makes you think: 1. Category...

For a generation of kids who have never been to a record store, Jack White has the solution. Posted by Ed Cotton

Amazing graphic from Bain Consulting on the rapid demise of the music industry. It reacted far too late digital and allowed a generation to grow up with the concept of free music.  Posted by Ed Cotton

An interesting quote from Brad Gray, the CEO of Paramount about his involvement with the success of the Coen Brothers' movie, True Grit. While artists need to get their time to get their "art" just right, the market waits for no one and making the Christmas window, Gray rightly believed was vital...

Jim Wexler of Brand Games, one of the speakers at our "Meet the Makers" event, recently pointed me to an interesting idea of of the University of Utrecht called Game Seeds. Basically, it's a way to inspire game designers to think differently about game design by forcing them to think...

These are reactions to a radical new book design from Visual Editions, a UK based publisher with a new take on the reading experience. The book is "Tree of Codes" and it's author Jonathan Safran Foer's experiment to cut-in, using die-cuts to his favorite book, "The Street of Crocodiles" by Bruno...

Banksy's recent opening title sequence for The Simpsons confused many who had probably heard or seen about "Exit Through the Gift Shop" and assumed it was a fake of giant proportions and nothing that would ever see the light of day on American television. However, according to sources at the NYT,...

Everyone knows that HBO is the standout brand in the world of television, but what yardsticks does it use to protect its brand and maintain its lead. Vanity Fair spent some time with Michael Lombardi to understand the secrets of the network's success, based on the article, here are HBO's rules for...

According to yesterday's NYT, HBO are going all out to promote their new Martin Scorsese series "Boardwalk Empire.". The unusual thing about the effort is how they've enlisted the help of three brands; Harrah's, Macy's and Canadian Club. Since the show is set in the era prohibition era, it might...

The consolidation in the ticket booking space had a lot of people worried with two much power being concentrated in the hands of two large companies. Now it looks like their stranglehold on the business might be in danger.Take a look at this case study video from the folks at Topspin, who recently...

Thanks to the efforts of David Simon, creator of HBO's critically acclaimed series "The Wire", New Orleans is going to be back in the cultural spotlight with his new series for HBO "Treme". Simon examines one of the most unique cultures in America by looking at the lives of a diverse array of...

There once was a time when attending a music festival meant buying a $50 ticket, sleeping in a tent and not washing for days. As the demographic axis of the Western world has shifted, those who made music an integral part of their lives, now have the cash to enjoy their passion with style.This...

News from Europe of Spotify's approved iPhone application suggests that subscription services might be making a comeback. Interestingly, Spotify's app is not available yet in the United States. Could Apple's iTunes be planning to launch a subscription service to rival Spotify?Posted by Ed Cotton