Surf Art from Insight

I stumbled upon and borrowed this image of Jess Faen from Insight 51 thanks to my daily NYLON magazine email. It tickled my fancy so just maybe it will do the same for you.


You can visit them at: http://www.insight51.com/

Welcome to the Future: Buying Coffee through an iPad App

I'm at my new favorite coffee shop, Coffee Commissary in West Hollywood, and just paid for my coffee with an iPad app. They placed my order through the app, swiped my card in a card reader, and had me sign the screen with my finger. Then the app asked if I wanted a receipt emailed to me (to which I declined), and a friendly note thanked me with an image of a coffee displayed on the screen.

I expect we'll be seeing this a lot more often soon, but I'm wondering who will take the lead in moving this technology to the next step. Maybe I can order my coffee myself through the app, ship my mom some beans, share my contact info with the shop, rate my coffee, see a list of the most frequently ordered drinks, friend them on facebook, etc. Perhaps I have a future in building iPad apps too.

This is the future. Simple and progressive with integrated design. In a society where consumers seek to be an active participant and engaged with their brands I imagine this is a new point of contact where it can easily happen.

Doritos Tapatio Tortilla Chips

A few years ago I met a man who worked for Doritos creating flavors. He told me they were working on Doritos chips that would come with a packet of hot sauce where you were to squeeze it into the bag and shake it up to flavor the chips. I hear this exists in Mexico but I haven’t seen this before so I was excited and anxious to see this come to market. Unfortunately I’m still waiting however I recently tried Doritos Tapatio chips. While they didn’t taste like Tapatio to me they were pretty delicious. Doritos always seems to amaze me with their innovative flavor creations.

Women in Media: A Cultural Shift?

I’ve been watching a lot of movies lately (this is not a movie review) and have noticed a recent shift in leading women of romantic comedies. Before you sigh and jump to conclusions, let me just say, I am not a feminist so this blab will not be going that direction, it’s just interesting to see the striking similarities in a few recent comedic releases.

In Love and Other Drugs “Maggie (Anne Hathaway) is an alluring free spirit who won't let anyone - or anything - tie her down (IMDB).” In No Strings Attached Emma (Natalie Portman) “guards her emotions (calling her father's funeral "a thing"), so after a quick shag in the moments she has before leaving for the hospital, she asks if he wants a no-strings-attached, sex-only relationship, without romance or complications (IMDB).” And in Bridesmaids Annie (Kristen Wiig) has just “one chance to get it perfect, she'll show Lillian and her bridesmaids just how far you'll go for someone you love (IMDB).”

What do all these movies have in common? The leading female character is the one in control. She enters the relationship more similar to how we typically see the male character played out- just looking for sex and nothing more serious. She has her guard up throughout the movie until she finally realizes she’s found her one true love. Alternatively, their male counterparts are borrowing from stereotypical female attributes; he’s just looking for the right woman to fall in love with (who is unlike anybody he’s ever met before) so he’s willing to fight for what he wants all while getting trampled on and hurt along the way.

What does this mean?! Could this be a sign of a real cultural shift? In the past year I’ve been reading more about the growing focus on women as an increasingly important target for brands. Women are now obtaining more higher education degrees than are men, and slowly but surly dominating the professional workforce. Large purchases are not just made by the male head of household, but by the couple jointly. As women take a greater share of what was formerly male power, it will be imperative for brands to keep their finger on the pulse and not lose sight of this important and growing target - women.

I’d like to wrap this blab up with a quote from one of my favorite female artists, Beyonce Knowles that goes like this, “who runs the world, girls!”.

Alexander McQueen: Fashion is Just a Medium of Expression

This is a page from Alexander McQueen's book "Savage Beauty" which reads "I want to empower women. I want people to be afraid of the women I dress. When you see a woman wearing McQueen, there's a certain hardness to the clothes that makes her look powerful. It kind of fends people off. It's almost like putting armor on a woman. It's a very psychological way of dressing." On another page it reads "For me, what I do is an artistic expression which is channeled through me. Fashion is just the medium." And when you visit his website on the homepage it reads "Experience". 

This was a man who truly understood what it meant to be a brand. It's not the clothes themselves that sell, it's the experience.... the psychology behind how the brand makes you feel is what you're paying for, and McQueen was a man who truly understood how to tap into that psychology and deliver on it through visual expression.

Looking for Your Dream Mascara? Me Too

Mascara! I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this but buying mascara is by far the most overwhelming product purchase for me. No purchase should bring such anxiety and confusion but this one does it for me, and thank god I've set $12 as my price cap because the premium department store brands are a whole different beast to battle.

So, how do I go about navigating the homogeneous landscape? Typically it begins with seeing girlfriends with great eyelashes and then asking them what kind of mascara they're wearing. Unfortunately I forget 100% of the time so then I turn to commercials which I’m not afraid to admit influence me, and this is coming from somebody who works in the marketing industry (Note: no other GenXer would ever be so honest). I rarely read fashion magazines or beauty sites; I used to frequent makeupalley.com and only recently have I become interested in Nylon magazine so I feel rather removed from the beauty Influencers. Those TV ads though are what pulls me in... beautiful models with big bold eyelashes that extend beyond their eyebrows. They all look equally amazing regardless of the brand. Long ago the claims began as 2X as thick or 100% longer but now I'm seeing 700% longer... no !@#$ing way that is even possible, yet these brands continue to outdo one another with outrageous claims and eyelashes that all look equally amazing. 

So, what's a girl to do? As I stand there motionless with eyes glazed over just staring blankly for a bit I notice that the friendly CVS staff are keeping a close eye on me thinking I’m looking for a five-finger discount, when in reality I’m looking for commercials deep in my frontal cortex. Drew Barrymore, the talented and cute actress and face of Cover Girl, comes to mind, so does some girl in sexy black clothes on a motorcycle using Maybelline's Falsies. I think to myself "Falsies, that's a cute name, I'll try that today" and maybe next time I’ll go for the one that's on sale and the time after that the one in the new square tube packaging because that one has nice design (they're usually cylindrical tubes). 

I am not brand loyal when it comes to mascara but I'd like to be. Now is the time for mascara brands to step up to the plate and claim their position in the marketplace so that if I can't tell a difference in their product quality, I can look for a difference in their brand personalities and then select my mascara based off the one who taps into my values most. From what I’ve seen, all mascara brands seem to exist as the lover or rebel archetype, but I’m not a lover nor a rebel so how do they plan to relate to me? As many brands across a range of product categories seek authenticity today, I don’t yet see that any mascara brand has tapped into that value yet. The curvy full-sized woman who uses Dove soap... what kind of mascara does she wear? The powerful executive in a pencil skirt who only has time to apply once in the morning... what kind of mascara does she wear? The athletic hiker who’s looking for a man but doesn’t want him to believe she ever wears makeup... what kind of mascara does she wear? I think you get my point by now. Women are complicated and we all have different needs and wants. 

My advice to brands is to learn what your target values most and then deliver a product that taps into that value... all while differentiating yourself from your competition. Only when you tap into my values will I become loyal.