My name is Conrad Lisco, and this is my blog, where I post odds and ends, things and thoughts.
I work at R/GA in the Mobile & Emerging Platforms group. I'm most interested in the intersection of technology and culture. Addicted to location-based services. Live in Chinatown and love sneakers and street art.
Mag+, a joint project by Bonnier and BERG, is a digital magazine concept and represents what magazines could be like in the future. The concept focuses on the essence of story-telling -- “high-quality” writing and “stunning imagery.” As the Kindle continues to gain momentum and Apple prepares to launch some tablet-like object, this prototype is very timely.
Wired Magazine is also thinking about the future of print media, and created this iTablet concept.
This commercial, created for the Your Amazon Ad Contest, shows us yet again that creativity can and does come from anywhere. As user generated production quality goes up and costs come down, we’ll likely start seeing more of this kind of work. It really comes down to quality thinking and production for a fraction of the cost - I think this Amazon contest winner received $20k. Agencies are going to have to find new ways of competing with this kind of production. Zappos just announced that they plan on increasing the number of product videos they make to 50,000 next year (+500%). According to Rico Nasol, Zappos content team senior manager, the videos are stripped down and cost anywhere from $17 to $50 per video to create, and will be shot in one of ten new studios in its Kentucky and Las Vegas offices.
What makes this commercial so great is also the fact that the creators made everything themselves. From costume and set design to music composition and recording.
"My boyfriend, Ithyle Griffiths, and I had just purchased Kindles and were doing a lot of traveling when we got the e-mail about the contest. We were constantly approached in airports with questions about them. The best thing about the Kindle was that we no longer had to each pack five books in our luggage, and could pick and choose what book to open every time we boarded a flight. We wanted our commercial to reflect all the different books you can carry around in one device. On a plane from Japan to Thailand, we brainstormed ideas and sketched out little stories that our character could fall into following different literary genres. We scribbled out pictures on napkins and made a flip-book, putting the little scenes in different orders. The day of the shoot, we gutted a pillow to make clouds and smoke (a last-minute addition) and did the commercial in one seven-hour take. Our friend Annie Little starred in the spot, Sharon Williams was in charge of the wardrobe, Rachel DeSimone did the hair and makeup and we all worked together moving the scene inch by inch between shots. After we assembled the 300 or so frames, Ithyle wrote some music to accompany the clip, and that same day Annie sent over some lyrics that just happened to fit perfectly. They recorded it together the next day. We are so thrilled to have won both prizes because it means our film resonates with both Amazon corporate and their customers. We are really looking forward to attending the Gen Art Film Festival, and having our video recognized at the event is definitely icing on the cake."
Since it was posted, the commercial has inspired new videos. People have really taken to the music. This is what most brands hope for, but very few actually get - organic and viral.
The reason is simple—but not simple enough apparently for most managers in most global companies to comprehend. Apple and Amazon have created disruptive platform innovations that change the game for consumers. And they have done it within a price range ($300 to $400) that reduces the cost and risks to people even in a recession.
Let’s take this strategy apart. First, a game-changing BIG innovation—a platform innovation. Second, a price for consumers that is low enough to entice them to take the leap into the new, disruptive innovation. Third, a multitude of applications and “stuff” (products, services, experiences) on the platform that provide value (information, insight,entertainment) to people.
