The Adnostic

I'm getting further into my account planning schoolwork. I finished reading the JWT Account Planning Manual from 1974 and although it was interesting to read a manual that is older than I am, I was surprised by how relevant it was. Sure the methodology and tools have changed, but the fundamental process and need for integration with the creative team has not.

Here's my advice: If you work for a design firm that is moving in the direction of becoming a full service agency on behalf of a large client, and the brass knows that they need something called an "account planner," but they're not sure how such a person would fit into their processes or actually benefit the agency - give them the JTW manual. It is a very thorough explanation of how an account planning team is supposed to contribute before, during, and after a campaign.

Now I've started reading Testing to Destruction about the uses of research in advertising. From what I have gathered from various account planning luminaries is that an account planner who has not read this book is like a clergyman who hasn't read the bible, ignorant and fairly useless.

In other news....

I'm going to M Squared on the 3rd of October. No, I didn't win the contest, but I was the closest person to San Francisco who didn't lose the contest, so Russell got me a ticket. Luckily, after much chewing it over, my boss agreed to send me. This was after he complimented me as being "autodidactic" for taking part in the Account Planning School. Now I'm sure he would just call me a pushy little ingrate.

I got some further feed back on my creative brief from Exit Creative and was told that my brief was missing a great-big-idea to blow the creative away. With this, I agree. I knew it didn't have that explosive idea and that's why I was very nervous over the possibility that I was missing the whole point when I sent it in, but I'm not convinced that it is always necessary and that sometimes it can even be better without it.

What I'm trying to get at, and failing miserably, is where does our job end and the creative's begin? I perceive my goal is to give the creative a solid understanding of the task at hand and the state of the brand and it's target audience. I think that you are overstepping your role when you give the creative the great-big-idea and basically tell him/her to hurry off and fill in the lines with those fancy bits of color. I wouldn't want the creative department to start handling research any more than I'm sure they would appreciate me concepting a campaign.

Beyond that, Exit, I have your request to review your brief in kind and fully intend to do so. Soon. Really. Don't look at me like that. (and thank you for the feedback)

One thing that I could not help noticing while I was at Bumbershoot was all the parents and their kids. Now Bumbershoot is a relatively kid friendly event compared to other music festivals, but it isn't exactly Disneyland either. They have a kid's science activity area and allow people to play in the fountains, but that's about it. Otherwise the programming is somewhat adult.

I saw parents sitting with their kids and grooving to the New Pornographers or dancing with them on their shoulders. I witnessed the lead singer from Of Montreal freak out over the fact that there were five year olds in the audience and asked them to use "earmuffs" as he continued to drop the f-bomb. While we were waiting for Atmosphere to take the stage on the last night, the father sitting next to us in his Piston's jersey broke out a mini-DVD player and earphones for his daughter to watch Toy Story before and during the concert. When did this start happening? When did a cutting edge music and arts festival become a normal avenue for family bonding?

Never before in history has it been so easy for people to stay on top of what is cool and trendy than with today's internet culture. Today's parents are choosing to not trade in their sneakers for a pair of loafers or their low-slung designer jeans for a pair of Gap chinos. They are redefining what it means to be a grown up and how to act their age. Sure, their maturity grows over time just the same as it always did, but they've begun to realize that they don't have to put away the trappings of their youth anymore. It is no longer uncool to be the one creepy old fart at an MIA concert because there will probably be at least a dozen other matures there with you and one of them probably brought their five year old with a pair brightly colored ear protectors at the ready. These are Grups - adults who are not ready to accept the traditional characteristics of adulthood and are still sensitive to pop-culture.

As an old co-worker once put it, "Your thirties are just like your twenties with more money." And young parents are incorporating what they enjoy into family together time. Just because you gave birth doesn't mean you're dead or that you suddenly don't enjoy the same things you enjoyed nine months before, and although little Johnny may not be able to truly appreciate Death Cab for Cutie just yet, but he'll learn and it's a damn sight more enjoyable than listening to the Wiggles non-stop every car ride.

These grup offspring may be just along for the ride right now, covering their ears to the strains of "Spanish Techno" or being more interested in the movie or the people behind her than the two rappers on stage, but that's temporary. These children will eventually appreciate the performances they go to and probably at a much younger age than you or I. But then what? Here you have an eleven year old who thinks hanging out with her parents at a show with The Rapture is an awesome night out, but do you really think that s/he will still feel that way in a few years once puberty sets in? Children naturally require an outlet for rebellion with the onslaught of puberty. How will they establish their independence and self-possession from parents who think that getting your eyebrow pierced or a wrist tattoo is kind of cool. You know that they're going to find a way to push mom and dad's buttons and when they do it's not going to be pretty.

What is the future for these kids? For these parents? When is that Misfits t-shirt going start looking way too dated on that middle-aged body? Will their kids join the Young Republicans while their parents shake their heads and hope that it’s just a phase? What about drugs and alcohol? Will the trademark grup tendency to treat and talk to their children as equals circumvent any travel down a path deemed too dark? Will adult hearing loss one day reach epidemic proportions?

In the mean time, I foresee an increasing market for youth sized band merch, kid-sized earmuffs in bright funky colors, hearing aids, kid-friendly rock bands and concerts, child/parent "time out" areas concert venues both small and large, and unobtrusive GPS tracking/paging systems for when kids get older and want to head off to another stage on their own.

As for myself, having kids is not a high priority at the moment, and it may very well be that I never procreate, but as we were exiting the Main Stage after the New Pornographers, I looked at The Zen Master and said, "If we ever do have kids, can we be the kind of parents that take our kids to places like this?" He smiled, looked back at me, and said, "Of course we will."

Grups together forever.

[all photos (except one) courtesy of Dave Shea]

I entered a contest through the Account Planning School to win tickets to the M Squared Conference in San Francisco by looking into my crystal ball and prognosticating on the future of marketing. A tough assignment filled with conjecture and multiple correct answers, but I gave it my best shot and because I am a shameless whore I am now asking for your help by going to the site and voting for my answer (and then praying that my boss will let me go and pay for my travel expenses).

My answer was "It will become less of a jarring disruption and more a welcome informant." The third from the top. Now let your mouse do the clicking and send me to a marketing conference!

Well, I finally got my creative brief back from the Russell Davies Account Planning School of the Web and although I didn't win, I did get a special mention for my insight linking post WW2 Germany with post Apartheid South Africa. Not bad for a first entry. Especially considering that the format was completely different from the way I was taught.

At the old agency I worked for it was all about communicating the ideas and goals of the project through the written word on one typed page (font size could be manipulated to maintain length). Under the Davies method it is all about the pictures because (and I have found this to be true) creatives don't like to read about ideas, they want to see them. So the main focus of the brief must be the pictures and they better be strong images.

I got a lot of positive feedback from the judges over at The Design Conspiracy. I was very pleased that they liked the positioning continuums I had made and they also liked the page explaining the complexity of the audience they had to communicate to. Which is good. I was really afraid they wouldn't like that page because it tried to say too much and would have preferred that I bring it down to one picture and statement that said it all. I took a risk and it paid off. I'm actually really proud of that page now because it communicates all the different aspects of being an intense fan that they need to be aware of.

The only negative comment I got, and the main reason that I didn't win, was that the brief wasn't inspiring enough. This is a very difficult criticism to receive because it is not specific or quantifiable. How do I make a brief more "inspiring?" Do I make the pictures bigger? Find better pictures? Find better words? I'm not really sure how to write the next brief assignment based off of that.

Back when I submitted the brief, I showed it to Ms. Jen (a creative) along side a winning brief and expressed concern that I wasn't really getting it right. She said that she actually liked mine better and that it gave her more of a sense of what to do. That made me feel more confident about my entry.

The Zen Master (also a creative) went through the critiques of my brief and evaluated the winning entry, and although I'm sure he's biased, he said that my brief was better. It was his opinion that the winning brief was lacked real substance while mine gave concrete, meaty ideas that he could really work off of. It was nice to hear that unprompted, but trouble with creative briefs is that they seem to lack any hard science. It all comes down to opinion and as a planner I have to be aware of how different creatives work and adjust my methods and delivery accordingly. ZM would prefer strong parameters with context along side the direction. The people over at The Design Conspiracy need strong statements and powerful images with loose structure (I think). Different strokes, different folks, and so the world goes round.

Anyways, I'm proud of the work I did. I think it's a good brief. It may not be an amazing brief, but a good solid effort all the same.

[I perform a deep bow of gratitude in the general direction of Russell Davies and the good people over at The Design Conspiracy]

As promised, here is the brief, warts and all. Take a look at the other efforts. I found it interesting to see what the other students did.

Day 3 - Monday

Day three seemed surprisingly quiet. I think it was because the big show with Kanye West was the previous night so the throngs of people that made the second day such a nightmare had no reason to come back. It was because of this lack of crowds that we decided to try seeing one of the comedy shows which are usually impossible to get into.

We killed some time before the show by going to the flatstock exhibit. Flatstock is silk-screened posters usually made for rock shows or tours but are also sometimes used as stand alone art pieces and if you ever have the opportunity to see a flatstock exhibit, go. Don't make excuses, just make the time and go. You won't be disappointed. The art ranges for the simple to the complex and no matter what you're into, there will be one artist there who will blow you away. PushMePullYou, Tiny Media Empire, BirdMachine, and The Small Stakes were our favorites.

Then went back to wait in line for the comedy. I was really excited to see the headliner, Paul F. Tompkins, but actually ended up laughing the hardest at the opener, Arj Barker. His set was mostly pot jokes and one liners, but he had good timing, stage presence, and the five minutes spent riffing off some guy in the audience proved he was quick. The two after Arj were such a let down, especially Tompkins, who has such a great reputation here in LA.

After getting out of the comedy stage, finding some more disappointing food, and meeting back up with Keith and Staci at the beer garden it was time for the Great Band Block. This was a point when three great bands that I really wanted to see were playing one right after the other but on different stages. First was Bettye Lavette an old school soul singer who must be in her fifties and will never stop having "it." Next up were The BellRays who ROCKED. They were like hearing the love child of Tina Turner and the SuperSuckers all grown up and ready to rip your head off. I loved them. Then we had to run to the other side of the park for Bitter:Sweet a mellow acid jazz band from LA. We didn't get a chance to hear them play "The Mating Game," but we really liked them and Dave wants to try and catch one of their shows next time he's in town.

Then it was off to the Main stage to wait for Atmosphere. I had never heard of them, but Dave was really excited about seeing them live and the guide from The Stranger said something about emo rap. I was intrigued. I wasn't totally happy about being at the Main stage so close to the day’s headliner, because I'm not a big fan of massive crowds, but we found some seats in the bleachers that had a good view of the stage and kept us away from the heaving masses below.

At first it was just two guys rapping, which was okay, but not particularly interesting. Then one of the guys left and they brought out a band which made things much better, but we didn't get a chance to really enjoy it because we had to hoof it over to the More Music stage for Feist.

If any of you know me and have gotten one of my emails, you know that I use a quote from "Mushaboom" as part of my signature. So you know how much I needed to see this performance. Lucky for me she didn't disappoint. She had a great rapport with the audience, asking us what we wanted to hear, telling us about their plans to go home, rest, and make a new album after the festival, and just seeming to have a good time. We got to hear "Mushaboom" and an a cappella version of "Inside and Out" that allowed her band members to take center stage and show what they could do.

Then, the festival was over and it was time to head back to house we were staying at so I could get some sleep before a 6am conference call with a client in Nashville. Oh, lucky me.

Day 4 - Tuesday

5:45am. I wake up, pull on a pair of old boxer shorts, and set up a place in my host's office for the call. Dave wakes up with me to be sure I don't have any computer problems and when he's assured that I'll be okay he goes back to bed. I love having a sweet geek like him around.

Three and a half hours later the conference call was over and I summoned the dogs to wake up Dave. Roxie eagerly obliged by jumping up on the bed and licking his ear. Dave eyed me with half-hearted contempt and told me that he used to like me. I couldn't let that pass so I jumped on the bed and licked his ear myself. He seemed to like that much better.

We had brunch in Pioneer Square and walked around the art galleries and antique stores before heading up to Queen Anne to hang out with Mike and tour the super fantastic amazing office of Newsvine. We talked, the subject of moving to Seattle came up, the necessary placates were returned, and before we knew it, it was time to head off to the airport for my flight home. The weekend was officially over and it was time to go back to the real world.

We’re already talking about going back next year.

[all photos courtesy of Dave Shea]

Day 2 - Sunday

We started the day with the New Pornographers (minus Neko Case) at the main stage. I really enjoyed them, very upbeat and I thought Case's substitute held her own.

After that it was off to the Bumberella stage for Dengue Fever. Dave was intrigued and slightly skeptical of a Cambodian rock band with only one Cambodian member, but it was right after the New Pornographers and we were able to meet up with two more of Dave's friends, Keith and Staci, at the beer garden. Dengue Fever was one of those bands I had always meant to see, but never got around to it. Funny how I had to go all the way to Seattle to catch a band from LA, but oh well, at least I got there. Dengue was good. I couldn't understand a word they sang, but the melodies were so solid and well executed that it didn't matter.

With two bands down it was time to get some disappointing lunch before we headed over to the Alki room for a reading by another one of my favorite authors, Gary Shteyngart, and, to quote The Stranger, "some Arab chick." Both authors were great, very different, but great and clearly impassioned by their work. Laila Lalami read from her book about Moroccan refugees making the illegal voyage to Spain which was very sad and poetic, while Shteyngart read a passage about an overweight eighteen year old Russian Jewish immigrant about to get circumcised by a group of Chasids that have been paid off by his father, which was very funny and somewhat self-depricating.

After the readings we walked around the art exhibits which were curated based on the themes of technology and craft. We saw a dress that incorporated CDs as sequins (which I would totally wear), a sculpture of a gutted stag with knitted entrails that were drawn out to form a crimson chandelier, and an exhibit on art and self-expression in SecondLife. All of which were very interesting and worth seeing.

Then it was off to the beer garden again to meet up with Keith and Staci and meet another one of Dave's friends, Mike. There was lots of laughing and talking and killing time before Zero 7 on the other side of the park.

We walked over to the Backyard stage with Mike and his girlfriend (I forget her name, but she was really nice) and grabbed more disappointing food for dinner before staking claim to a patch of ground with a reasonable view of the stage. Zero 7 was wonderful. Even though they were competing with Kanye they drew a very large crowd and pulled out a few of the old hits to go along with the songs from the new album. I sang along to "Destiny" while snatching glances back at Dave (totally cheesy, but practically obligatory). We also caught another couple trying to make out on the grass next to us. Sexy music does strange things to people.

For the encore Sia brought out Dancing Matt to do his jig to one of her songs and she even joined in at one point. When Internet phenomena and real life intersects it is completely surreal.

[all photos (except one) courtesy of Dave Shea]

I had never been to a big multi-day music festival. I had always wanted to go to Coachella or Street Scene but it always seemed like too much of a hassle and I never had a wingman to go with me. But this year and this event were a little different. After telling Felicity about a friend of mine who just moved to Seattle, she suggested that I go to Bumbershoot. I looked at Dave and he looked at me and it was settled. We were going to be spending our Labor Day weekend at a music and arts festival in the great state of Washington.

Day 1 - Saturday

Right off the bat we had a major decision to make. Go see the legendary Blondie or hear Chuck Palahniuk do a reading. Dave was voting for Chuck. He had no emotional attachment to the great Deborah Harry, but I did. This was a very difficult decision for me. I love Blondie, but Chuck is fucked up and I love fucked up. All my friends were saying Blondie, but in the end I went with Fucked Up Chuck.

Before he even started reading one of his four stories, all of which had to do with pubescent and prepubescent sexual experimentation, Chuck buttered us up by throwing at least three dozen little sample bottles of Wild Turkey into the audience. After that, he read to us the most graphic and empathetically painful story about masturbating while slightly high, which devolved into something horrible involving wax and a urethra. Then he told a story that was so much worse. I won't go into it, because if I did, you would never eat calamari again.

After he was done, and Dave and I were close to puking, Chuck pulled out foam replicas of severed body parts and started throwing them to eager fans. This is what makes a reading with Chucky P. one of the most memorable experiences you'll ever have.

After that we went off to the Backyard Stage to wait for Of Montreal to play after Rouge Wave and meet up with Dave's friends, Nick and Crystal. Rouge Wave was okay, Of Montreal was more fun but neither was particularly captivating. We left early to get some dinner and decided against staying around for Lady Sovereign in favor of saving our strength for Zero 7 the next night.