Thanks to Promax BDA's Brief Magazine and to Daisy Whitney for the great article on next gen marketing.
Check out the issue online - Pages 68-71 - Be sure to check out the full issue. Lots of great content.
Included below is the full interview from Amy Miranda from which the excerpts of the article in Brief were taken.
The transition to digital, or any new skill set is daunting. I think with digital it seems more daunting because of the role of technology. There’s been a lot of negative connotations to the digital space and the medium in general has unfortunately been oversaturated with people communicating that the transition is difficult, that people will be “left behind” or there’s an implication that if you don’t have experience in one area you can’t possibly transition to another. To me, that’s not a reality. Making the transition to anything new requires one thing: Passion. A real interest in learning. I can say that because although I’ve been in this business since it became a business, I learned as I went. I didn’t wake up and have the skills, I wasn’t taught them in school, in fact, I wasn’t mentored by any one person. Ever. I think that’s why I’ve concentrated so much on training, sharing the things I’ve learned so that other people can hone it, and make it better, and not have to go through the same challenges I did. My entire career has been a transition. I began thinking I wanted to do one thing, and specializing, to exploring different roles and learning about what I liked and what I didn’t. I asked a lot of questions, and I always encourage people to do the same. If you can’t find resources or people who are willing to help, it just means you should keep looking. People who approach the digital shift or next generation with a closed fist will be left behind, the future of the next generation of marketers is in transparency. I’ve seen too many good ideas, suffer, and in effect suffocate because people held on too tight. It’s really a balance, and whether we always are cognoscente of it or not, marketing is an art, and it’s about that balance between art and commerce. It’s about thinking differently, and taking risks – conversations. In terms of skills it’s about agility, and again a keen interest. Being adaptable and wearing different hats is critical, because everything is really becoming more efficient. So it’s about finding those efficiencies and developing solutions based on that. That’s a skill set that a lot of people have, when I do training and consulting with my clients about making the shift, whether it’s shifting the operational structure, or themselves it’s about knowing what you’re interested in doing and identifying what parts you don’t know. It becomes simpler to backfill. It’s about demystifying all of the unknowns. Most people, figure out quite quickly that they’re not missing the kind of skills they thought they were. You can’t teach people that, people are either interested or they aren’t. The next generation marketer is required to think about everything holistically, not elements individually, So when making the transition I think it’s important to be able to identify people who are thinking that way in what they do currently, and if you’re looking to learn attaching yourself to those people or companies is a great way to learn. You may not necessarily end up working directly with those people, but you can spend time with them. That happens a lot in my business, where people will ask to spend time with me, shadowing, taking part in industry functions or just talking. To me, that’s the best thing to do, is create a network where there’s a trade of knowledge happening, it’s been critical to what I do, and it’s where great ideas and new thinking is born. It’s like a nebula of ideas when you get enough smart people together and share knowledge. You can be a “traditional” marketer, or a “digital” marketer, or a designer, or a broadcaster but the soft skills are the same. It’s the application of those skills that’s different. I think people become daunted by the transition, to me it’s about being excited about it, if you’re not learning or engaged in what might be coming next, I can’t imagine still wanting to be in this business. Our currency is ideas, you can’t be left behind when that’s your focus.
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We're very pleased to announce the addition of Ben&Julia to the lunch network.
Ben&Julia are a French-Swiss duo of multidisciplinary talented
Directors and Art Directors.
We're thrilled to have them, from their art to their puppets, to their incredible sense of whimsy Ben&Julia join the team and are now available for work in Canada through lunch.
Julia graduated from Central Saint Martins and worked as an associate producer and graphic designer for MTV and as an art director for TV and press.
Ben studied editing at CLCF and 3D animation at Isart Digital and worked as a director, editor and VFX artist for various agencies in Paris.
In 2006, Ben & Julia decided to join their forces in order to create colorful and creative work, mixing animations, live footage, drawings, puppetry for commercials, virals, music videos and animations.
This year they've created Ben&Julia Studio in Berlin.
They work worldwide with clients such as: MTV, Swatch, St Michel, Tissot, RATP, Olympic Museum, Atari, Microsoft, Sega, EA.
Their work has been featured in books, magazines and websites such as Pictoplasma’s Characters in Motion vol.3, Digital Arts, Promo News, Motionographer, Videos Antville, Computer Arts, Computerlove and IdN.
Pictured: Special & Delicious FWY Chocolate bar from Magic Pony.
We at Lunch are very excited about the week to come. This week the opening of Daydreamers - the first solo exhibition of FriendsWithYou paintings in recent years, as a part of the Wish Come True Festival during Luminato.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Narwhal Art Projects
Street:680 Queen Street West
Narwhal Art Projects is pleased to present a FriendsWithYou solo exhibition, "Daydreamers". With their first exhibition of their painted works in recent years, FriendsWithYou artists Sam Borskon and Arturo Sandoval III draw on a personal mythology of magical themes and spirituality from their colourful universe. Much like the powerful enchantment and creative adventure they insert into all their projects, "Daydreamers" will be specifically dealing with the spirit of their experience with their "Wish Come True" installation for Luminato Festival in Toronto.
FriendsWithYou are globally-renowned for their vivid pop art aesthetic and brilliant character design. "Daydreamers" offers a rare look into the dense, delicate personal layers that take place behind the large-scale, physical presence of the artists' experimental installations. Exploring the more unseen dimensions of the FriendsWithYou psyche, "Daydreamers" presents a softer, more ephemeral portrait of their recent narratives, as Borkson and Sandoval put forward a deeply intimate glimpse into the representations of their transitory, dream-like states where the spirit of their expressive process is just coming into invention. Reflecting themes of metamorphosis, pleasure seeking and pure innocence in the portraiture of their fledgling subjects, Borkson and Sandoval present an unadulterated celebration of the imagination that defines their artistic practice and the visionary outlook that inspired their project for "Wish Come True". Much in the manner that Borkson and Sandoval aim to create immersive totalities for the playful environments of their installations, with "Daydreamers" the artists bring us into an inward realm unto themselves, creating heartfelt emotional space between the greater unknowns of their magical world.
In 2002, Miami-born artists Sam Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III began FriendsWithYou with the aim to promote a different kind of creative practice, and one that is fundamentally inspiring. Developing larger-than-life artistic environments to immerse patrons into their FriendsWithYou universe, the duo seeks to create common ground to give people the chance to believe in themselves and connect with one another. The imaginative world of FriendsWithYou has taken shape in the form of designer toys, large-scale installations, experimental gallery exhibitions, digital video, graphic design and other media—running the gamut of fine arts, public events, advertising and entertainment.
From the "Skywalkers Parade" with 60-foot tall characters for Art Basel Miami, to an inflatable fun house for 30,000 people at Scope Art Fair, to creating a permanent playground "Rainbow Valley" inside Miami's largest shopping mall, one can see why Borkson and Sandoval would describe their large-scale art projects as an "explosion". Creating modern-day sanctums, they curate wonderful performances that are part confessional and part mystical ceremony—furthering the artists' mandate to foster good wishes for luck, friendship and fortune. As a message that is invariably accessible and positive, FriendsWithYou believe in promoting a sense of exuberance against today's general attitude of detachment. As Borkson feels, "In the sterile settings of modern society, spiritual outlets have become a low priority within our daily routines".
With a strong emphasis on belief, FriendsWithYou maintain that the more you believe in their magic powers, the more they become a reality. FriendsWithYou truly believe that items can be enchanted totems and talismans can bring good fortune. And after having established their place in the art world, the group have expanded their reach with FWYstudios to create incredible and innovative products; a home for the characters and concepts that foster/bridge new territory between the fine art and the commercial realm.
This, comes the first in our series of Lunchentach. An opportunity for members of the lunch network to "officially" provide commentary on anything they'd like pertaining to the world of integrated production. First up, as usual it's me, because everyone else is too busy making stuff.
Talking about digital is our favorite thing next to making stuff. Training and educating people on best practices is something the entire lunch network takes very seriously. We're a network of close to 100 developers, and I can assure you that harnessing that brainpower can be a challenge, mostly because there's so much to know, and because they've been in the game for decades, it's important to share, because not one person can know everything there is to know.
At the end of the day we're in the business of production, and having been in that business specifically for the past 12 years - there's something I get asked - a lot.
What does it take to get up to speed? How does one make the transition? Recently I was asked that very same question by Promax|BDA. The article will be appearing soon, but in the interim here's the unedited response I provided to that question.
The transition to digital, or any new skill set is daunting. I think with digital it seems more daunting because of the role of technology. There’s been a lot of negative connotations to the digital space and the medium in general has unfortunately been oversaturated with people communicating that the transition is difficult, that people will be “left behind” or there’s an implication that if you don’t have experience in one area you can’t possibly transition to another. To me, that’s not a reality. Making the transition to anything new requires one thing: Passion. A real interest in learning. I can say that because although I’ve been in this business since it became a business, I learned as I went. I didn’t wake up and have the skills, I wasn’t taught them in school, in fact, I wasn’t mentored by any one person. Ever. I think that’s why I’ve concentrated so much on training, sharing the things I’ve learned so that other people can hone it, and make it better, and not have to go through the same challenges I did. My entire career has been a transition. I began thinking I wanted to do one thing, and specializing, to exploring different roles and learning about what I liked and what I didn’t. I asked a lot of questions, and I always encourage people to do the same. If you can’t find resources or people who are willing to help, it just means you should keep looking. People who approach the digital shift or next generation with a closed fist will be left behind, the future of the next generation of marketers is in transparency. I’ve seen too many good ideas, suffer, and in effect suffocate because people held on too tight. It’s really a balance, and whether we always are cognoscente of it or not, marketing is an art, and it’s about that balance between art and commerce. It’s about thinking differently, and taking risks – conversations. In terms of skills it’s about agility, and again a keen interest. Being adaptable and wearing different hats is critical, because everything is really becoming more efficient. So it’s about finding those efficiencies and developing solutions based on that. That’s a skill set that a lot of people have, when I do training and consulting with my clients about making the shift, whether it’s shifting the operational structure, or themselves it’s about knowing what you’re interested in doing and identifying what parts you don’t know. It becomes simpler to backfill. It’s about demystifying all of the unknowns. Most people, figure out quite quickly that they’re not missing the kind of skills they thought they were. You can’t teach people that, people are either interested or they aren’t. The next generation marketer is required to think about everything holistically, not elements individually, So when making the transition I think it’s important to be able to identify people who are thinking that way in what they do currently, and if you’re looking to learn attaching yourself to those people or companies is a great way to learn. You may not necessarily end up working directly with those people, but you can spend time with them. That happens a lot in my business, where people will ask to spend time with me, shadowing, taking part in industry functions or just talking. To me, that’s the best thing to do, is create a network where there’s a trade of knowledge happening, it’s been critical to what I do, and it’s where great ideas and new thinking is born. It’s like a nebula of ideas when you get enough smart people together and share knowledge. You can be a “traditional” marketer, or a “digital” marketer, or a designer, or a broadcaster but the soft skills are the same. It’s the application of those skills that’s different. I think people become daunted by the transition, to me it’s about being excited about it, if you’re not learning or engaged in what might be coming next, I can’t imagine still wanting to be in this business. Our currency is ideas, you can’t be left behind when that’s your focus.
Those of you who know Amy know, that she enjoys a good story. Lunch's founder Amy Miranda, has been confirmed to speak at NXNEi (June 14-16) and will be discussing The Lost Art of Storytelling. Amy believes that without a story, there's nothing to produce and on the heels of just wrapping up a semester teaching Interactive Storytelling @ Centennial College, she'll be discussing the lost art of Storytelling at NXNEi.
The Lost Art of Storytelling
Humans have been telling stories for thousands of years, but the earliest mode of communication was oral, supported by hand gestures and expressions. Over time visual mediums were introduced to help tell stories as well. While the art of the storyteller has persisted over generations, the interactive world is often quick to re-invent the wheel, or loses site of the fundamentals in the quest to develop new ways to make the consumer an active part of the story.
What can we learn from the people who carry on the basics of oral storytelling, be they radio hosts, comedians or anyone else who still relies on their words, sounds and movements to tell a tale? A mix of old and new will aim to take you back to the basics in an attempt to inform your visions for new narrative forms.
Recently for Icograda's Design Week in Vancouver Rethink came up with a pretty amazing idea to actually enable attendees, speakers and designers alike to weigh in on great design. We were lucky enough to help execute, STEM, General Metrics, Fatbox and Lunch came together to help launch the Design Currency Counter.
The symbol represents the value of design calculated by its impact on communication, culture and commerce.
Use the site to help define, debate and expand your understanding of design value.
We're pretty excited about FITC in Toronto this weekend. Not only are we thrilled to be sponsoring a special Saturday night installment of Inter-action (For details go to Inter-Act.ca along with lunch family members,Fatbox, Pixelpusher and STEM - but we're thrilled to be a studio sponsor of FITC along with our partners atRelish
Lunch's founder Amy Miranda will be doing double duty as a panelist & moderator with North Kingdom's David Eriksson, Tool's Jason Zada, Birthplace's Adrian Gunadi and TBWA Vancouver's Jennifer Mete in her panel on Producing Creative in the Global Digital Playground
We also seem to be out in full force this year judging the FITC Awards show with: Andrew Harris, Pixelpusher, Nathan Jurevicius, Narwhal/Lunch, Amy Miranda, Lunch, Adrian Busschaert, SociMedia, and Dayton Pereira of Indusblue being included among the many judges.
We're excited that 95% of the lunch family will be in town for FITC this year!
Looking forward to seeing everyone in the next few days. It's been a big year for digital and we're all looking forward to celebrating it with you!
Once again inter-action hits Toronto in March. Location to be announced this week, as well as speakers. For now, it's in your calendars.
Presentation: TBA
Innovation: TBA
Dissection: TBA
inter-action is a bi-monthly thinktank/discussion group/task force for interactive thinkers. It’s comprised of you. People in the industry. From Agencies to Development partners - creatives, developers, producers etc. So, this is a time to get together, have a drink and chat about what we’re up to, where things are going, and how together we can continue to push innovation locally. Collaboration, is a good thing. We like it.
I recently uncovered this - back in September 2005 (click the graphic for the original post) I was asked by Hyper Island in Sweden if they could ask me some questions. Of course I said yes. When I read this, I realized that even though it was close to 2 years ago, I feel exactly the same way. I guess thats how you know you're on the right track.
September 2, 2005
I got an email last week from Hyper Island. If you haven’t heard of them and are in the digital space - check them out. They pride themselves on creating freethinking digital idealists. Something that I think more of us should be taking the opportunity and initiative to do.
Pretty cool. They asked me about whether I might be able to answer some questions about what Digital Trends/Influences might be.
Of course I was happy to share some ideas on my favorite topic. Digital. I’ve included the questions and my responses below.
> 1a. In the upcoming 2-5 years what do think the biggest digital trends/influences will be?
I’d like to see people get out from behind their computers. I know I’d certainly like to be able to engage outside of the traditional “digital” experience. More development and innovation in terms of interactive projections, the graffiti research lab stuff, more interaction between communities in general. I think consumers are finally ready to have the
kinds of experiences we’re now able to produce. I think we’ll see a lot more installations and digital production as art. It’s what’s next in my mind. Websites and banner ads will become a necessary component in terms of media-
but I truly believe that open source/guerilla style technology will turn the industry on it’s ear. It has to get beyond desktop. The future is multi-tasking, anything that enables people to do this more easily is going to be a key influencer.
> b. What kind of industry research does your company do regarding future trends?
To be honest, I’m not sure we do enough of this. I think a lot of companies get caught up in the day-to-day work and it’s hard to stay involved/in the loop as a company. I think it comes down to individuals keeping themselves informed and up to date on what’s out there, what can be done, and what’s coming next. The interest has to be there at the individual level. I rely heavily on my team in addition to my own network to stay engaged on what’s next.
> c. What does your company do to keep up to date with industry trends?
>
It really comes down to working groups within the company. I think individuals do their own research and networking to stay involved in emerging trends. I learn most about what’s next by just keeping an ear to the ground and trying to stay as up to speed as possible with what everyone else is working on. Dialogue between companies is important. I think we have to get past the idea that sharing erodes the industry - I think not sharing is eroding it.
> 2. In your opinion what is missing in the industry today?
Production Management training in addition to cross training of creatives.
Much emphasis is put on the education and training of
development/programming talent, and creative skils like design, copywriting etc, with comparatively little emphasis being placed on the overall management of the production. As projects become increasingly complex, it’s essential to have talent who have a general understanding of the actual
production. I’d love to see Producers become a greater segment of the market. Broadcast producers have long been a creative asset and resource in execution of a project, I’d like to see the same emphasis on Interactive/Digital Producers. I think to some extent the idea of an
Interactive Producer or Project manager brings with it the idea of pencil pushing and a pretty rigid perspective. I’d like to see the term Project Manager be eliminated from our vocabulary as it pertains to production management. The last thing I think that’s missing - or that could be done
better is communication. I think the industry in Europe has done a much better job of staying in contact with each other and keeping an open dialogue that we have in North America. I’ve been working towards trying to get the industry in Toronto talking again. I think it’s imperative to the evolution of the industry.
> 3. What skills are you looking for in future employees?
I tend look for 3 things. Multifaceted Creativity, Innovative thinking, and Passion. You can’t be a true contributor, whether on a development, creative or production level without being engaged and passionate about the work.
It’s really a spark. I usually know right away whether I think someone is going to be able to be a contributor. I think of what first got me into the industry, and it was really my desire to produce cool work on whatever level. I think that helped me to stay involved and engaged all of these
years. It’s an industry that’s ever changing, evolving, the job I did 3 years ago, although the same in title, is completely different in execution due to the evolving nature of the business and industry. There’s something inspiring about that.
Come up to my room is the Gladstone Hotel's annual alternative design event. CUTMR invites artists and designers to show us what goes on inside their heads. Coming together in dialogue and collaboration, participants are limited only by their imaginations, making CUTMR one of the most exciting design shows in Toronto. The four-day event is in its seventh year at the Gladstone Hotel, featuring 11 room and 14 public space installations, and over 50 designers
This year is an exciting one for the Lunch Family.
Alchemy has sponsored the installation of Jamie Webster & Berkeley Poole
and
Jacob Whibley collaborates with Jennifer Sciarrino, and Naomi Yasui
Jacob is one fifth of Team Macho and represented through Narwhal by Lunch
