scott goodson's writings

CRAYFISH TIME IN SWEDEN

Just got back from the Sweden. I left just as the Crayfish Festival was starting. For the month of August the Swedes enjoy plates and plates of steamed and dill-marinated crayfish. Along with the little creatures, that take a lot of work to eat, comes buckets of aquavit, known locally as brainnvin. This is spiced vodka which is drunk in small glasses. It's meant to be sipped and savored like wine, not 'shot' like tequila.

The best place to experience this ritual, that dates back to the time of Thor and the Vikings is in the Stockholm Archipelago. Take a dip in the crystal crisp waters, jump into the sauna...and then to the table and the little crayfish.

BROTHER'S GAO AND THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION

On a recent haunt in Paris, I came across an incredible exhibition on rue de Seine at the 'GalerieVallois' - a small out of the way gallery owned by a quiet but most fully informed man by the name of David. The exhibit 'Gao Brothers Sculptures' featured about a dozen huge multi-colored plastic sculptures of Mao with breasts. This you gotta see this. The entire exhibit is a statement of the absurdity of the Cultural Revolution. It is a silly and fun show about something that went so terribly wrong.

Meet the brothers Gao

The Gao Brothers are a pair of artist brothers based in Beijing, the authors of several published works, including "How Far Can You Walk in One Day in Beijing", "The Current State Of Chinese Avant-Garde Art" and "The Report Of Art Environment", who have been collaborating on installation, performance, photography works and writing since the mid-1980s. Some of their works were published in "A History Of China Modern Art", "China Avant-garde Photography", "The Best Photography Of China", etc. and collected by Chinese and foreign people and museums.

THE NEW STRAWBERRYFROG WEBSITE

 

Yesterday, we launched our newest version of our website. It boasts the latest digital video technology and we have created one of the more original portfolio navigations out there. The StrawberryFrog digital animation is cutting edge, and we used the best out there for that.

This is the third StrawberryFrog website we have done since launching StrawberryFrog in Europe back in 1999. We developed our first site together with a 14 year old high school student from Leeds UK who was the world's best flash animator back then. He and I had corresponded on email and then one day I decided to call him and ask if he'd take on a much larger assignment. His reply "Hold on, you'll need to speak to my mum".  That site used a wireframe frog leaping around the site. It was ahead of it's time and had a very cool wow factor. The second site, the one we had for the last 6 years and until yesterday, was developed with flash video capability. It took a year to build but it was worth the wait.

And now our third site. I just love it. Simple, elegant, clean, a little silly. All the information you need and nothing more.

Kudos to the FrogTeam. And a HUGE thanks to our partners in it's development Coolbirth and Thornberg and Forester.

Enjoy,

TOP TALENT WANTED

You, yes you. We are looking for a few good men (not gender specific).

Yes it's a downturn.  What leading marketers realize in a downturn is that everyone, every brand is a challenger brand with modest budgets. They see from studying challenger cases, that this is a time for creativity and innovation. And that when it's applied brands can grow and beat the establishment in a downturn.

StrawberryFrog focuses on challengers because they are a lot like us. And in an economic downturn, clients are looking for an edge which they may not be finding from their legacy corporate agency. Not that the dinosaur agencies don't have great talent. They do indeed, it's just that their structures and systems make it very difficult to deliver the kind of efficiency, innovation and excellence with agility that is needed for the rest of 08 and for all of 2009, which is shaping up to be a tough year in the US and European markets, due to high commodity and oil prices.

It's not strange then that we have put on substantial business with clients that are looking for a smarter, better, more effective, more efficient way.

As a result, we are looking for a few good people, mainly in the sr account management and planning areas. Please get in touch if you have experience leading iconic brands, think differently, and want to make a difference.

Image courtesy of CJ Paulin.

EXCLUSIVE: CROWDSOURCING FOR ALL (COMPANIES THAT IS)

Now's that's the spirit!
In the coming weeks, CrowdSpirit will launch a new platform for offering our "crowdsourcing" services to companies. It means that every companies will be able to use our platform in order to "crowdsource" its products or services.

STRAWBERRYFROG BRAZIL SPARKS A CULTURAL MOVEMENT

Check out this blogspot piece about StrawberryFrog's Pond in Brazil:

A little frog that is helping us re-think our communication strategy
We just concluded a pitch to find a new advertising agency for some of our accounts.  It was an extremely rewarding experience since we had the opportunity to see creative work through the lens of some of Brazil's most amazing Brazilian agencies.  At the end, we rewarded four brands to a small creative boutique that has been operating in São Paulo for less than a year: StrawberryFrog Brazil. The agency which was founded in Amsterdam in 1999, is headed in Brazil by one of the country's most talented creatives Alexandre Peralta. They have a fascinating more collaborative approach to the entire brief and creative process, bringing revived energy, fresh ideas and a different approach to just about everything, a spirit that has captivated my marketing team. In the few weeks we have been working together, I can already feel that this little frog will inspire us to re-think our communication in a beautiful way.

More here

TASTEMAKERS SOCIETY - THE MODERN WAY TO LAUNCH A MAGAZINE

The old days was all about launching a new culture defining magazine by making a full color magazine, think Wallpaper, Interview. These magazines showcased some of the most amazing words and images and then seeded it all with the right distribution to ensure the right readership.

But now with Gen Y living and breathing the digilove and consuming traditional media brands through new and web-based channels, the smart way to launch a new challenger magazine is on the web. But the web makes it more difficult to do something cutting edge, cool, and with the same impact of a glossy mag.

That was then, the Tastemakers Society is now. This is this age's version of Wallpaper. A glossy web-based magazine about those tastemakers leading the culture today.

It is an elegant site - one of the best ones I have seen lately. Easy navigation. Very cool content up front which is easy to navigate. The menu gives it up: Architecture Art Dangerous Minds Design desin drawing Entertainment Features Film/TV Flavors illustration Interviews jewelry Magazines Marketing mens style Mindless Thoughts Music painting Photography Publications Random sculptor shoes Style Tech tour Transportation video womens style

Check out the site here.

There are some profiles and interviews that are fun to read of the movers and shakers and those who are doing interesting things in this day and age. Read some here. Modesty aside, I had the fortune to be asked to be one of the dancing bears - here.

Check out stories about the world's taste makers: The Heavy, Rob Roy, The Factz of Life, Ivana Kalafatic, Chris Bevens.

Well done.

WHAT SMARTER MARKETERS DO IN A DOWNTURN

I think it's fair to say that 2009 will be a touch year. While the credit crises will shake itself out by the end of the year, the bigger issue is inflation driven primarily by oil and commodity price increases. As the US Fed reigns in inflation, interest rates will rise modestly. So 2009 will be a soft market for marketers particularly in the mature markets of the US and Western Europe.

Ad Age reported that some advertisers are readying themselves for the age of austerity
P&G, GM, Coke, Nissan and A-B Look to Tighten Their Belts
BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Amid roiling financial markets, a who's who of blue-chip marketers are making moves to slash marketing spending, or at least apply tougher financial discipline to what they do spend. Among them are five major companies that together contribute more than $10 billion to the U.S. ad economy: General Motors Corp., Procter & Gamble Co., Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola Co. and Nissan.

It’s obviously going to be a hard couple of years in terms of budgets. On the other hand I think this economy is a perfect time for smarter marketers and for companies like StrawberryFrog, who specialize in building challenger brands.

The key for a client is not to confuse less money with the need for conservatism. What studying challengers, brands with modest budgets tell us, is that in fact this is a time for creativity and innovation. We developed and honed StrawberryFrog's competitive edge - Cultural Movements - working with the world's most iconic challenger brands such as Heineken, Pepsico or the smart car.

What is important to realize is that in a downturn EVERYONE and EVERY BRAND is going to be a challenger. So how do you outperform and out smart when all have their budgets cut and are readying themselves for the age of austerity?

Good question to ask.

In the Ad Age piece they talk about companies like GM and Nissa. However these companies are in different mode than say P&G or brands that are clearly benefiting from innovations in NPD and in marketing. GM and Nissan have an altogether different problem - there is overcapacity in their businesses. For smarter markets, the right answer is stay the course and not slash spending. The street will understand. Companies deciding to stay the course will be rewarded.

MARK BURNETT'S NEW SHOW JINGLES MAKES A HIT WITH ROEHM BUT A MISS WITH SIMMONS AND THALER

Mark Burnett, the person behind American Idol is about to launch a new TV show entitled Jingles. The concept for the show is good. Advertising is culture just like music is culture, so why not have a TV show based on people trying to break into advertising by writing that killer jingle.

The thing is the show will be hosted and judged by Julie Roehm, one of America's most accomplished marketing directors - but then it falls pretty short. Together with Julie will be Gene Simmons, someone who knows nothing about advertising. Backing up Julie and Gene will be someone who represents where the ad industry used to be.

I give a lot of credit to the producers of the show who are helping make advertising a culturally defining profession on national television, much like the top rated show Mad Men has done.

Maybe I'm jaded, but I would have expected Mr. Burnett to have selected the kind of people (other than Julie who is perfect for this role) who would be taken seriously by the very industry who is at the heart of the show. And moreover would have attracted the kind of young viewers that this show needs to succeed. It could have been so much cooler.

SPORTS MANAGEMENT WORLDWIDE APPOINTS WILLY BADGER TO LAUNCH JAPAN

My good friend Willy Badger informs me that he has added his name to a renowned online education service called: Sports Management Worldwide. Working with Willing, SMW will officially begin operations in Japan on July 15 with the launch of its Japanese-language Web site (www.smwwjapan.com), SMWW Japan Operations head Willy Badger, which was announced on July 12th.

Sports Management Worldwide, which is based in the United States, was founded in 2003 by Dr. Lynn Lashbrook, who created the first ever online sports career training company with a mission to educate and mentor future sports business executives. SMWW trains thousands of students every year for sports business careers in more than 100 countries.

SMWW will offer its first online course for Japanese students beginning on Sept. 22. The Japanese Baseball Expert Course will feature experts from the field of journalism and pro sports and help Japanese-speaking students get closer to starting a career as a:

•Team interpreter for the MLB and NPB

• Sports tour guide

• Individual player expert

• Merchandiser for pro sports teams in Japan and throughout the world

• Translator for a variety of sports-related companies

The Japanese Baseball Expert Course will have Japanese-speaking students select the field in which they wish to gain expertise and guide them on their journey to finding a new career in sports.

On completion of the course, the student’s names and profiles will be added to SMWW’s sports database, which will be available to sports teams in North America, Japan and the rest of the world. Teams can search for qualified Japanese candidates for a variety of roles they may be seeking to fill.  

For more information please contact Willy Badger, Director of Sports Management Worldwide Japan

2356-1 Yakatabara,Numata , Gunma, Japan 378-0022

www.smwwjapan.com, 0278-25-9007
Willy's email is wbadger@smww.com