Posts Tagged ‘creative’
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
We love stories at 1000heads.
We also love puns (heck, I do anyway). Which is why I smiled a little when reading about WiTHiNTENT today.
They’re a new company who take the trampled wreckage of tents from festival sites nationwide and turn them into bags and jackets of a distinctly waterproof nature.
This is good for several reasons, and not least because it keeps the landfills just a little emptier. What perks my muffin (as they almost certainly say nowhere) however, is that the end product – your waterproof cape for example – becomes much more than a cape. It’s another chapter of a story.
It isn’t often that I have cause to reminisce about the history of my coat, but were I to find myself in just that situation this week I’d merely be able to weave a simple tale of grinning shop girls, plastic bags and wardrobes. I might have caught it in the doors of a Northern Line train once, but I couldn’t say for sure.
I want my coat to have history. I want to tell people it saw Hendrix when I never had the chance to. I want to surmise that it was used to store dundee cake in a snap storm, rather than keep someone’s socks dry. I’d even settle for it sheltering the conception of twins by a UK/Argentinian couple who would later name them Falkland and Malvinas because they were fun like that.
But this isn’t about tents. Or coats. It’s about giving products that little extra.
It might be a cute history, sure, but it doesn’t have to be.
Maybe there’s a personal touch to the steak you receive from your local butcher; ‘selected by Dave’ you notice, branded on the fat.
Or maybe you find yourself at the start of a story, the cardboard packaging for your latest electronic gadget actively encourages you to turn it into compost and grow yourself a carbon-offsetting tree (and gives you the seeds to get cracking).
Or maybe you’ve simply bought a book with a really good story. It doesn’t have to be complex.
Go on, give it a story. It might just have a happy ending.
Friday, August 6th, 2010
It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for things we like, number 3.
I’m a big fan of things being re-appropriated for alternative uses. Like a nice bit of Rubik’s Cube art for example. Latest to pique my interest however was this work from Ghost of a Dream, turning discarded lottery tickets into the items they might once have been destined to become. A wonderfully simple execution. Love it.
Click through for more examples including a car, a holiday and a unicorn with the power of x-ray vision. Well, there’s no unicorn, but I’ll give you one guess what I’d try and buy if I won the lottery… Have a great weekend one and all!
Monday, May 31st, 2010
I love Ikea Hacker.
I love it because it’s creative in a most industrious way.
I love it because it fuels my interest in getting the most out of a postage stamp sized London flat.
I love it because it lets you look at things in a different way.
Which is a good thing.
I wonder what Ikea think about the site and, for that matter, the movement? I’m sure they’re chuffed. As far as I know – research = ‘a bit of Googling’ – Ikea have never pushed the hacking phenomenon growing on their own doorstep (if you know different, I’d love to hear about it) but then they don’t have to. Every line they introduce just stokes the fires of inspiration for the hacking massive.
Which is a great thing.
Inspiring the fans of your products or services to do awesome things is something we’re big fans of at 1000heads. And it shouldn’t matter whether you’re Ikea, or Nokia or a local manufacturer of carpet catalogues – you can offer your customers a way to get involved if you want to. Carpet is a very versatile material in the right hands.
Have you seen any great examples of brands inspiring the masses?
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010
I love this.
I’ve long been a fan of ASCII Art. Where one man sees a terminal that will only output text only good for the written messages, another sees a canvas full of possibilities. I find it quite beautiful.
But I think it goes further than this. What’s happening in the ‘movie’ above isn’t just a clever idea, or a neat trick – it’s the foundations of the kind of thinking that brings up new ideas. When limits are imposed, you have to become creative to solve a problem. Whether that’s making a film with no more than a typewriter, selling your film with no budget or working out how to give your citizens both free health care and free education without taxing them (we can dream), these limits open a new way of looking at the problem.
In 2010, like any other year, we’ll be given limitations. In 2010 like any other year, we’ll all be asked to come up with ideas to solve problems. Why not let 2010 be the year you embrace the limitations and see them as a help, more than a hindrance.
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010
I love this.
I’ve long been a fan of ASCII Art. Where one man sees a terminal that will only output text only good for the written messages, another sees a canvas full of possibilities. I find it quite beautiful.
But I think it goes further than this. What’s happening in the ‘movie’ above isn’t just a clever idea, or a neat trick – it’s the foundations of the kind of thinking that brings up new ideas. When limits are imposed, you have to become creative to solve a problem. Whether that’s making a film with no more than a typewriter, selling your film with no budget or working out how to give your citizens both free health care and free education without taxing them (we can dream), these limits open a new way of looking at the problem.
In 2010, like any other year, we’ll be given limitations. In 2010 like any other year, we’ll all be asked to come up with ideas to solve problems. Why not let 2010 be the year you embrace the limitations and see them as a help, more than a hindrance.
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
When it comes to generating word of mouth, we don’t like to limit ourselves. Why would we? There is a virtually unlimited list of things that can create conversations. Take these for example; they’re barcodes. Functional, boring, scan-em-and-forget-em barcodes. Yet if these were on the back of your own brand digestives, or generic cotton sock six-pack, then they’d probably stir a little emotion. Anything can be conversational, you’ve just got to apply a little thinking.
[via Geekologie]
Monday, September 28th, 2009
Here’s a little thought…
I was at the theatre last week (a much belated re-acquaintance with Phantom of the Opera if you must know) where I had my interest piqued by the curtain call.
This is the section of the show, that isn’t really a section of the show. The actors are just actors once more, not characters. It’s OK to whistle loudly and stamp your feet. The orchestra can get a little jazzy. Because it isn’t part of the illusion anymore, you also imagine that they don’t really think too much about it. They stride onto the stage all smiles and sweat, taking their order from a list plastered up in the wings, and bowing successfully because, well, it’s easy. But of course this isn’t the case.
When the Phantom, or Raul, or Christine come out onto the stage to soak up their deserved applause, they know exactly what they are doing. This moment of adulation is carefully constructed to draw the best from the audience and ensure the hard work of cast, crew, orchestra (and even the ice cream boy who fetched an extra chocolate pot from the freezer) is held in high regard. Somehow, I don’t think they would get the same reaction if they just ran around aimlessly…
We don’t put on theatrical spectaculars of course, we build conversation. But the principles remain.
If you want to be successful at whatever you do, you have to think about every aspect from beginning, to end. Lose focus, even when it seems like it shouldn’t matter, and never know what effect it may have.
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009
My Friday night was spent perched at one end of the O2 arena with beer in hand cheering as some poor soul was flung at high speed from his chariot. This was, of course, the arena spectacular ‘Ben Hur‘, finally realised after 15 years inside the head of one Franz Abraham.
If you’re based in the UK (or even Europe and beyond), and do not dwell in the hollow of a tree, I’m going to guess you’ve heard about the show. You’ve probably even talked about it, and mused on where it sits in the spectrum of the arts. You might even have considered looking into tickets, what with all the chat.
When I looked around that arena on Friday however, I saw several things. An eagle (or some other bird of prey, part of the show fortunately); a man with a horrendous choice in Hawaiian shirts (you couldn’t miss him) and empty seats. Quite a few of them.
Despite all the conversation about Ben Hur – my dad, girlfriend and local publican all mentioned it, and that’s a fair cross-section of society, believe me – it wasn’t translating into sales.
What could be the reason for this? Could it be that they were talking to the wrong people. That’s a possibility, but unlikely given the spread of coverage. Could it be that the economic situation was seeing people stay at home? I doubt that too, theatre ticket sales and other entertainments have been defying the usual trends and ‘booming’.
Or, in a much more straight forward way, could it be that the product just wasn’t right in the first place? Maybe no matter how many horses you fling into a live chariot race, or how many fireworks or doves you let off in one go, there is only a finite amount of interest.
Conversation is a great thing, just trundle round the rest of the site to find out just how much we like it (it’s a lot, but not a disturbing amount). The thing is, conversation need to be about something, and that something decides whether the conversation will be long lasting, or one off. It decides if it will inspire new conversations branching out from the original. It decides if it will polarise opinion, or simply generating a few nods.
Above all the subject of your conversation determines whether that discussion can grow into something more concrete. In Ben Hur’s case, a ticket sale. It looks like it could, sometimes. Just not often enough. Could they have done more? Maybe. Coming home Friday night however, I was asked for a review of the show:
“The Show?” I asked. “4 Stars probably, it was pretty much everything you expected it to be”
“So it was really good then?” asked my girlfriend.
“Maybe”
She looked puzzled.
“I’m just not sure it was even worth doing in the first place…”
Generating conversation is important. As Oscar Wilde noted, it’s better than the silent treatment. You should remember however that just because people are talking about you, it doesn’t mean things are sorted. When people talk, you need to listen and, if you can, adapt. What you put at the heart of that conversation is just as important as it happening in the first place.
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
Can’t remember how, or where I found this, but I like it. Simple, charming and a very neat way of passing on an important message.
Why is it great? Don’t think too hard about that, we all think too hard about these things sometimes. Just head over and browse through the archives, it will make you smile – and who doesn’t like to smile?
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
A first post from me on this blog, so I thought I’d mark the occasion by gently tossing one of my daily (relevant!) thoughts into the ether…
On the train this morning I listened to my favourite track of the moment – Dog Days Are Over by Florence and The Machine. I love that track. Actually, that’s a lie. I love the first 1 minute 40 seconds.
They’re sublime. After 1 minute 40 however, my interest wanes. Sure, the track is still great, but the fragile brutality of the first chorus (and the deft build up to get us there) just isn’t matched.
And this isn’t a one off. For me, the supreme intro to Can’t Stop by The Red Hot Chili Peppers precedes a merely satisfactory 3 minutes, while the gorgeous electronica of The Pet Shop Boy’s Always On My Mind riff outdoes the rest of the track like Usain Bolt out-jogging a grounded narwhal.
Isn’t this so often true of the way brands approach consumers too? You get courted at the off with flashy promises that a brand will listen to their customers – and react accordingly – but before too long you suspect their heart isn’t really in it. Or a company sets out to integrate sincerely with social media, but loses their way. Sure, they start with good intentions: “@customer123 sorry to hear things haven’t gone so well, DM me your ref no. and I’ll see what we can do” but before long the slickly branded platforms read “Last updated by Noah and a couple of goats”.
And what is the value in that? A box ticking exercise it may be, but that isn’t helping people to connect.
One of the most common struggles I find with creative approaches to encouraging conversation is the consideration of ‘the long game’. Of course, it’s great to have a stunningly clever kick-off idea (let’s shave it onto a llama!!), but if you don’t then develop the relationships you build with customers and potential customers, the investment in the llama farm could all be in vain. They might take a bit of work, but long term relationships are a lot more meaningful than commercial one night stands.
Carrying a conversation over time is what turns me on. As denizen of the creative corner here at 1000heads, I’m constantly exploring ways to connect people over extended periods and while not an easy thing to do, it’s most satisfying when it works. When it comes to compiling my Desert Island Discs you see, I’ll be returning to my White Rabbits. Tracks that ooze quality from beginning to end, leaving you more than satisfied long after the needle has left the record…
