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Yesterday's conference went really well and I would like to thank everyone who attended and of course, our great speakers.

Jonah Bloom (Ad Age)- Encouraged us to believe that advertising agencies do have a future, but only if they can move into new arenas

Christian Simm- Explained how Switzerland, a country of just 7.5 million people and is the world leader in innovation, reaches out and starts important conversations using Swissnex (part conference space and part C21st technology attache).

Sarah Rich (Dwell)- Reminded us that the environment does matter and that brands need to start thinking about doing the right thing, but they need to be honest, if not, they will get caught out and ridiculed.

Kent Nichols (Ask a Ninja) and Chas Edwards (Federated)- Showed us how brands can participate in conversations and in the new world of online video entertainment.

Gregory Kennedy (Millions of Us)- Convinced us that virtual worlds like Second Life are now important media for teenagers, but showing us some nice work for Scion, WWE and WB.

Scott Wyatt (NBBJ)- Showed us how architecture can be a poweful force in branding, by helping to motivate and engage a brand's most powerful asset, it's own employees.

5X5 Speakers- Who braved stage fright, technological glitches and the chalenge of a 5 minute slot to share some very interesting perspectives.

Becky Saeger- Explained how Charles Schwab and made the massive brand shift from Chuck talking to Talk to Chuck and explained that it was not just about an ad campaign, but making changes to the organization. She also highllighted the need for CMOs to stay curious about the changing marketing world, in order to remain relevant.

Finally, I would like to thank Stacey Price of Pfeifer Price for organizing the confernce and making sure we all ate local, organic and sustainable food and Neal Zimmermann and his team for really great design work.


Posted by Ed Cotton
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Posted by Ed Cotton Sarah Rich is one of the speakers at our conference, Influx Ideas 07 held on October 19th in San Francisco. Sarah is currently the managing editor at Worldchanging; one of the most influencial "guides" to the issues surrounding the environment and sustainability.

Here's a short interview we recently did with Sarah.

1. How has the issue of the "environment" changed in the last 18 months?

Well obviously it's become the concern of a much wider swathe of the population, and has infused all aspects of culture and politics. This is a result of things like An Inconvenient Truth, scientific reports blowing previous assumptions out of the water and holding humans responsible for planetary destruction, and of course, actual weather disasters. It's become valuable from a marketing and a social perspective to demonstrate awareness of environmental problems. The "green theme" is ubiquitous everywhere -- fashion shows, music festivals, magazines. There's some sweet spot where environment as a cultural symbol and environment as an issue that motivates people to action are at their most effective, and I sometimes think we're in a somewhat precarious place near the peak of that; on the other hand, while that's a common perspective from deep inside the field, I think the public at large hasn't passed or gotten over the critical point of adopting and acting on environmental concern.

2. Do you feel most companies understand the importance of the issue?

I do. Many companies have had environmental statements for a while that enhance their brand value (at least for some consumers), but now not having one is a real reason for criticism or for choosing a different brand. Even those who've been "environmental" for a while have polished their statements and clarified their positions. The financial benefits for business are much clearer now, both in terms of actual savings from things like increased energy efficiency, and in terms of consumer preferences and priorities shifting.

3. What brand efforts stand out for you?

Wal-Mart (minus the negative social/community impacts they still cause), Nau, Interface, Tesla...I don't know enough to say with certaintly, but I read and hear a lot of interesting stuff about Nokia.

4. Do you think consumers are prepared to act?

I'd like to think so but I guess I'm somewhat cynical or skeptical about the power of consumers to take the lead in making change. Generally consumers follow trends and precedents set by brands they like or leaders they admire or simply advertising, which means that while consumers are capable of creating change because they are such a large population, I think it's harder for them to be mass catalysts. I hope I'm wrong, though.


Posted by Ed Cotton marketing conferences and gnawed legs (37.862538663049186 , -122.49388933181763) Robin and Jay, creatives at BSSP, developed this concept to promote the Influx Ideas 07 conference (details here).

We ran an ad version in this year's EFFIE awards program.




Posted by Ed Cotton influx interview-three questions for reuben steiger-millions of us (37.86346191571964 , -122.49182939529419) Ruben Steiger is the founder of Millions of Us, one of the premier virtual architecture firms for Second Life and one of our speakers at Influx Ideas 07.

Recently, we asked Reuben three questions.

1. What has Millions of Us been up to in the last 6 months?

We've now brought one-third of the Fortune 50 into Second Life. We've grown to almost 30 full-time employees, and we've been enhancing our programming, incorporating early lessons and taking advantage of new resources. One example is a recent Microsoft campaign where we achieved participation rates of up to 74 hours for participants in a contest - these numbers are unheard of. We've also officially become a cross-platform social media agency, with a specialty in virtual worlds - this includes but does not limit us to Second Life. We've just announced a partnership with Gaia Online, a very hot teen online community with virtual world elements. Gaia delivers a much sought-after teen audience to our clients, and they provide a venue for some really cheeky programming. Gaia clocks up 2.5 million unique users per month, spending an average of 2-3 hours online per visit - amazing.

2. Is the recent criticism of Second Life as a branding tool warranted?

Not really - it's an inevitable part of the media cycle. Some of the criticism is partially warranted, but a lot of it is poorly contextualized and opportunistic, in the sense that pundits love to tear down technologies that have ridden a wave of hype. IT analyst firm Gartner calls this the hype cycle - new technologies spark a wave of initial excitement, expectations inflate, the technology is found to be imperfect in some ways, and there is a backlash - but in the long term, a good technology will overcome the hype cycle and enjoy long-term adoption. Long-term adoption cements opportunities for marketers.  All of the possibilities that made industry-watchers so excited about Second Life are still out there, and just a few have been realized, while many are just around the corner. People taking the long view understand that as digital natives come to dominate marketing spend, virtual worlds are going to be critical - and the virtual worlds phenomenon is much bigger than Second Life. That said, we continue to be very optimistic about Second Life; our clients' investments today will yield solid benefits in the short term, and huge dividends in the long term. Another thing to consider is Second Life's growth vector internationally - it's huge in places as diverse as Germany, Brazil, Poland, the Netherlands and South Korea, with higher per capita usage figures than those in the US. When the client is released in Japanese- and Korean- language versions later this summer, we expect to see turbocharged growth in Asia. In sum, Second Life has gone from obscurity to world domination in less than a year, making it an irresistible target for professional skeptics.


3. What do you think brands have learned from their Second Life experiences and where do you think it's headed?

Brands have learned that they have to engage as opposed to merely planting a flag - those that have been willing to join in dialogues, experiments, and games with users have been much more successful than those that have just thrown up buildings and expected people to pay attention. The Microsoft campaign we mentioned above is a perfect example. There are a couple of big trends for 2007 and beyond that we see. The first is the use of Second Life to market films and TV - it allows people to walk on to sets and to interact with characters in a way that's been impossible up to now. Our Warner Bros. Gossip Girl project is evidence of this, and the trend will only strengthen as several studios make a big push into distributing more 3D films (Dreamworks has stated that all of its animation output after 2009 will be in 3D). The second trend is in virtual goods, which are already generating US$1.5 billion per year in sales. These goods can be exchanged in environments ranging from Facebook to Second Life, and many others. There are big opportunities here for brands.





Posted by Ed Cotton The founder of Worldchanging, Alex Steffen, is profiled in this Sunday's New York Times magazine. Sarah Rich of Worldchanging will be one of the speakers at our Influx Ideas 07 conference on October 19th in San Francisco.

• Conference information and registration details can be found here.