Three Minds On Digital Marketing @ Organic

It's noon pacific time and that means April Fool's jokes are officially passe'. So we'll let you in on our little prank.

We're sorry to inform you that the Senior Re-tweeter position is no longer available. Interestingly enough, we did have lots of tweets and retweets and a few applicants. Four on the latter, to be exact. Here's some of the other stats it garnered:

Hits to job posting:  1569
Rickrolled viewers:  309
Appeared on:
Agency Spy's list of pranks 
TechCrunch (scroll down the page)
Tribble 

But hey, while you're in the neighborhood, feel free to check out the REAL jobs we do have open at Organic. 

Special shout out to Sam Cannon, Scott Lange and Dan Sicko for crafting this faux job. Thanks to all who retweeted, posted to their Facebook page and spread the word -- either knowingly or unknowingly. 

Traci Armstrong 

About three years ago, a couple people in our Toronto office shared their cravings for roti. Little did they know it would drive new traditions -- or enlighten those of us who had never heard of the addictive bread. It started as a communal gathering that spawned the need for online ordering (known around the office as Rotitron 3000). The ordering system provides weekly stats on the number of rotis ordered, the type ordered, strength of roti and more. Since November 10, 2006, Organics have spent $9,703 on roti lunches.

Today, we've launched the iPhone app "Rotitron Mobile." No more missed rotis if you can't get to your computer before the Thursday deadline.

Thanks to David Feldt in Toronto for the scoop.

Sarah Jo Sautter

In the spirit of Inauguration Day, try your hands at decorating White House with fiscally responsible Ikea furniture:

http://embracechange09.com/

As part of their Embrace Change '09 campaign, IKEA also set up a mock oval office in the Main Hall of Union Station that allowed passers-by to sit behind the presidential desk, and launched a motorcade of limos strapped down with IKEA furniture that road around in the DC area.

Fang-Yu Lin

Congratulations to Organic's own Fang-Yu Lin on the upcoming release of his DIY book. Outside of the office, Fang's work as a new media artist led him to this latest project as co-author of Switch Craft, a book which marries technology, fashion, and craft.

After two years of preparation and labor, Switch Craft: Battery-Powered Crafts to Make and Sew, the design DIY book that Fang co-authored with Alison Lewis, is finally ready for release on October 28th. The book is intended to introduce the previous niche fashion/wearable technology to the mass audience in an accessible and appealing manner. It's Fang's hope that the book would inspire more professional or amateur crafters, designers and artists to incorporate electronic features in their creative endeavors.

For more information please visit http://www.iheartswitch.com/switchcraft/ (the site is under redesign; a new version will be launched soon).

Definitely check the book out when it hits shelves at the end of the month.

Charlie Zicari

Current conventional wisdom: How do you create ad revenue on sites that repurpose television content? With interstitials. With the longer content you don't have to be constrained by file size or viewing time like you do with a banner. And in many ways it's a lot like a commercial - with one crucial difference. People hate interstitials way more. Way, way more.

We're trained to be passive viewers with TV (TiVo and clickers aside), but online everybody expects a lot of control. That's probably why brands that have simply repurposed their TV commercials have seen dismal click through rates. Online viewers don't like feeling hijacked.

Generally we advertising types try to circumvent this with interactivity, so that viewers become participators. Games, avatars, interactive storytelling and user-generated content are the usual tactics - concept, style, content, and design all effect whether each instance is successful.

Rarer is an entirely passive interstitial that manages to compel click throughs. You have to offer something else to foster a sense of active engagement. Sometimes just a "what-the-hell-was-that?" quirkiness will do the trick.

AdGabber had a few thoughts about an unusual ad that Organic did for the Chrysler Town & Country on abc.com: Lots of Words, and Something About a Pony.

Dave Sylvestre

Weather: Oven-like
Energy Levels: Running on empty
Mental State: Sleep mode

Last night was the Film, Titanium and Integrated awards show and the Closing Gala. While HBO Voyeur continued to make waves, it was Halo 3 "Believe" that took both the Integrated Grand Prix and a Film Grand Prix. In an unprecedented and questionable move, the Film Jury also awarded a second Film Grand Prix to Cadbury's "Gorilla" viral video because, as Jury President Craig Davis explained, they couldn't decide between the two. Really?? One is a piece of art that redefined its category, the other is a guy in a gorilla suit playing drums with a punchline that warrants a single viewing. Oh well...

The Titanium Grand Prix, on the other hand, was a welcome surprise for us. To channel Bill Murray, the kids from nowhere...from just outside of Tokyo...tears in their eyes I guess...the two guys from Projector Tokyo took home their second Grand Prix of the week for Uniqlock. Hooray for widgets with dancing Japanese girls!

Now we're heading back where we hope to bring home some of the magic...and by "magic" we mean the food from Chez Vincent et Nicholas.

Conor Brady + Sam Cannon

Weather: See Days 2-4
Energy Levels: Hanging on
Mental State: Distracted

We attended the farfar workshop this afternoon entitled "The Story Is The Campaign Is The Story." They showed some of their impressive work (and some from others) and dissected the elements of success and failure. Speaking of the latter, as a live demonstration, Jon and Erik unveiled a makeshift website they'd created especially for the workshop called 10,000 Killers. The premise: A giant rock would drop on one of farfar's Cannes Lions if the site gets 10,000 visits. A web cam monitored the precariously placed Lion. Within an hour, the site surpassed 10,000 but no destruction. An hour or so later, they posted a YouTube vid of the rock dropping (the web cam still stuck on the pre-drop) but none of the aftermath, leading many of us to suspect post-production trickery, lawyers, or both. What's up? Not sure, but farfar's procress includes a step called "Apologize" -- so we're sure this isn't the first time things haven't gone as planned...

We also screened the Titanium and Integrated finalists today. After predicting 2 of 3 Cyber Lions Grand Prix winners off the record, we're going on the record with our predictions for tomorrow night. Here goes...
Conor's Pick for Titanium Grand Prix: Halo 3 "Believe" or NYC Dept. of Education "Million"
Conor's Pick for Integrated Grand Prix: HBO "Voyeur"

Sam's Pick for Titanium Grand Prix: Taxi "15 Below" or NYC Dept. of Education "Million"
Sam's Pick for Integrated Grand Prix: HBO "Voyeur"

Conor Brady + Sam Cannon

 Weather: Bright
Energy Levels: Stable (Conor's better, now Sam has the sore throat)
Mental State: Read Only

We saw a couple of interesting seminars, including one put on by Leo Burnett and our pals at Contagious Magazine which paraded by a good number of campaigns that in some way explemplified what they called "Human Kind" advertising. Here to more of that kind of thinking...

Come to think of it, that may have been yesterday...these days seem to blur together at this point in the week, thanks in part to a nightly ritual called "the gutter bar." By day it's an unassuming bistro next to the Hotel Martinez; by night 72 La Croisette transforms into a sea of drunken (or hopped up on very expensive Coca-Cola Light) advertising fools. As the bar technically accommodates about 50-75 people, the gutter -- and street, alleyway, median, and the Martinez driveway -- is the only place for its hundreds of patrons to go. And there you have it: agency CEOs, ad students, film producers, digital divas, creative directors, and media sales people literally rubbing shoulders with each other into the morning hours. Even when that evenings' parties disappoint or that one friend keeps flaking on you, there's always the gutter bar.

Conor Brady + Sam Cannon

Weather: Azur
Energy Levels: Medium Rare
Mental State: Overstimulated

Our workshop took place yesterday afternoon at the Palais de Festival. Everyone seemed to have fun -- apart from those who were hoping to sleep in a dark, air-conditioned room for a couple hours, or those who were turned away due to room capacity. We discussed why we care so much about empathy-based insight, walked through some work, talked about Camp Organic, and then an intrepid 35 or so attendees stuck around to do a mini-Camp O. The results were really impressive given the fact that "mini" meant 1 hour. To see more, visit Camp Cannes, our workshop blog.

Also, last night was the Cyber Lions ceremony. It was nice to see some of our favorite non-Organic work get represented, with Grand Prix awards going to the Uniqlock and Sol Comments campaigns. It was also nice to see our friend and former CCO Colleen DeCourcy finally unwind after a grueling week as Cyber Lions Jury President. (Nice job, Colleen!)

By comparison, Thursday should be a bit more relaxed. We'll see...

Conor Brady + Sam Cannon

Day: Tuesday, June 17
Weather: Crispy, with bursts of rain
Energy Levels: High (though Conor has a head cold from riding too much)
Mental State: Curious

Yesterday was the big registration day, with most of the attendants rolling into town. So today is the first day proper with all of the media, talks, seminars, kicking in. The awards part is in full swing as well -- they handed out awards last night for Direct and Promo. No idea how any of that went, though, as we have been holed up preparing for our workshop this afternoon. It will be about Camp Organic on the road; we're bringing it to the masses. Hopefully people who attend will take the idea of workshop as literally as we are: "work" = you will be expected to do something, and "shop" = come together as a group, not buy Chanel (very popular in these parts). We will be filming and posting, so keep on the lookout. We will report in tomorrow on how the workshop went, media and what we are seeing that is exciting. Let the games begin...

Conor Brady + Sam Cannon