April 25, 2007
Last post was about karma, which got us to thinking about others who operate with the currency of karma. First person who comes to mind is Rich Lobel, EVP at CBS RIOT. Some know him best from his days as SVP of live entertainment marketing and sales at Clear Channel, while others know him as the guy who started the CBS Altitude Group, where he generated over $225 million of new business (now there’s a man who has some sweet karma). It’s said that with Rich at the helm, clients who rarely considered radio before became seduced by its local power and persuasiveness. We think the power and persuasiveness only had to do with Rich — not radio.
Here’s to one succesful, smart mother#!$%er, who plays the way we play. We like his hot ink, too. 
April 22, 2007
There are lots of books about how to be successful in business. It’s always fun to watch the mad scramble that happens from the marketing/business book-of-the-moment. Blink. The Tipping Point. The Rise of the Creative Class. Anything written by Donald Trump. It’s all good stuff– and yes, they’re on our shelf. But no amount of theories, poignant points, or trademarked processes for gaining success can hold a candle to good, old-fashioned karma. If you’re not Hindu, simply refer to the Golden Rule, “Do unto others, as you would have others do unto you.” It’s a quid pro quo kind of thing, and it’s the only way to go. Tattoo Projects is a fan of The Golden Rule, cool vibes,?Ǭ† and karma in general. It’s our foundation for everything we do. We don’t mind a little voodoo here and there either, but that’s for another post.?Ǭ† Make good karma, and that makes good business (shout-out to Rich Lobel, CBS RIOT).?Ǭ† Wonder why somebody doesn’t write a book about that? (if you know of one, don’t be shy about letting us know.)
April 20, 2007
Tattoo Projects was chosen as one of twelve finalists for the Creativity annual Genius on Paper Report. Featured in the April issue of the magazine is a photographic interpretation of “future”, shot by our own Jay Green. About the photo, titled “Gone Green”: Even with the celeb status of hybrid cars and recyclable Starbucks napkins, we just can’t seem to get our shit together to truly protect our environment. This future gives a glimpse of what it’ll be like when we get what’s coming to us.
More interesting than the photo, is the fact that Jay Green’s primary creative role is that of music composer. He also owns Big Science, an award-winning music house in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Just a little more than a year ago, Creativity chose Jay’s work (in collaboration with Tattoo talent) as one of the top ten original commercial tracks of the year. Talk about multi-talented. And that’s not even including his cooking ability.
April 18, 2007
Went to Noda today, and met a bunch of interactive guys. Carbonhouse, seems to know their stuff. And there’s Big Noise, right down the street, equally knowing their stuff. Plus, there’s Rich Nadworny in Vermont. It may be cold there, but it’s the perfect temperature for Communications Arts-worthy interactive. And let’s not forget our good friends in Pennyslvania, the interactive group Andculture.
Lots of smart, talented guys. We dig the work, and the brains. But we can’t help but wonder– where the heck are all the girls?? (just one at Carbonhouse).
April 17, 2007
Tattoo enjoys nice wheels. The official Tattoo ride, a 1971 Buick Riv owned by Tattoo’s Rudy Banny, has never let us down on the way to a client meeting. The same cannot be said for the other, not-so-official Tattoo ride– a 1960 Austin Healy, owned by Tattoo’s Buffy McCoy Kelly. It’s a cute little cherry, as shiny as a new penny. Unfortunately, it’s a car with a rotten attitude. Some have said it’s possessed. There’s ample proof of this, on file with several insurance companies and police departments. There seems to be little recourse from the car’s bad juju. For example, while tooling along on a beautiful Charlotte back road, one of the rear wheels mysteriously came undone, flew threw the air, and landed deep in the woods somewhere. After careening along by an axle, the car was left sitting on its butt-cheek on the roadside. After that, for only $25.00, a voodoo Double Luck spell has now been cast on the car. Hopefully, this will help the situation.
The Virginia Tech tragedy hits us all very hard. The shootings happened at two different locations, across campus, within a couple hours’ time. We know that the VA Tech security sent emails to the students, alerting them to the situation on campus. But the news tells us that an alarming number didn’t get the message. Research shows many students now carry cell phones and other mobile devices with them wherever they go– that’s old news. We’re wondering if VA Tech used simple mobile alert systems like the one offered by e2Campus. e2Campus works by enabling college administrators and public safety officers to send an instant alert to all student?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s cell phones and email addresses the minute an event occurs, via (SMS) text messages (see another blogger’s opinion here, at Mobile Campus). e2Campus says, “For instance, if a student is walking across campus at night and learns that a crime was recently committed and the criminal is at large, then that student can take immediate actions to protect his/her safety.” We’re sure plenty of other tech-types are wondering about this, too. After all, VA Tech’s tagline is “Invent the Future”. Mobile alerts are inexpensive, simple to do, and it’s how we communicate today. Wondering if there would be a few less students dead today at Virginia Tech, if a text message had been sent.
April 16, 2007
Video podcast is a term used for the online delivery of video on demand content via Atom or RSS enclosures. They’re called podcasts because of their distribution– like their audio brothers, consumers can subscribe to video podcasts using a PC, TV, set-up box, media center or mobile multimedia device. Because they can be easily and automatically updated, video podcasts are great ways to feed new content directly to your target audience’s iPod. Tattoo Projects is a fan of the video podcast for our clients, and is currently creating new content for one brand that highly values the ability to feed new content to their audiences, quickly. The work will hit the feeds the first week in May, and you’ll be able to see it here then.
April 13, 2007
It’s interesting to us how many marketers don’t utilize the fabulousness of bluetooth. So many love to talk about cross channel communications, and multi-media efforts. Not that many actually pull through with it. Fortunately for us, we have some adventurous clients who see bluetooth the same way we do: as Krazy Glue for campaign components. We’re currently working on a handful of projects, where we’ve created bluetooth-enabled out-of-home for our clients. You can see a demo here: demobluetooth.wmv. Tattoo Projects is a member of The Bluetooth SIG organization. The group consists of technology and adopter companies who focus on specific areas, such as engineering, qualification, and marketing. Interoperability is maintained by strict qualification procedures and regular testing of products at events sponsored by the organization.
April 12, 2007
The TSA gave their blessing on advertising at airport security checkpoints in January. We’re happy about this, because we’ve been part of the security checkpoint captive audience so often. It’s a great place for creative communications– why not? According to a 2004 study of frequent flyers by market research company Arbitron, airline travelers are 80% more likely to have an annual household income over $100,000. They’re also more often household or business decision makers. We’re excited about the security checkpoint advertising campaigns we’re currently working on for our clients (one sample of the work, above). We’ll share more on this with you, as it unfolds– keep your eyes peeled at the checkpoints for a Tattoo Project!
April 10, 2007
Tattoo enjoys Second Life (those are the Tattoo founders’ avatars above). It’s a fun medium, and we’re excited about ANY new, different way to communicate. We recently worked with CBS R.I.O.T. on a Dodge Avenger project– and incorporated a cool Second Life element in the work. While every marketer has heard of SL, not all have made avatars of themselves and traipsed around the shops and clubs there. To set the mood for the creative we presented to our client, we first shared a video we made about SL. You can see it here: second-life.mov.
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