How can Trent Reznor be dead wrong and a genius at the same time?

It’s not fu@%ing marketing. I’m not trying to sell anything. – Trent Reznor, NIN,Wired 01.2008

This is what Trent Reznor, lead singer of Nine Inch Nails, had to say about the alternate reality game (ARG) component of his new album Year Zero. (Note: if you haven’t heard the ARG term before, think of all the online components that surround LOST or the Audi A3 art of the heist campaign). Interestingly he deflects this add-on to his music as a progression of the intricate story lines and liner notes that accompanied the traditional concept album, but denies it’s selling potential. Now in a digital age free of the printed CD accompaniments Reznor has turned to this online technique to tell the story. I think this is genius, not just because this seems to be the next logical step in concept albums, but because of the level of engagement NIN and their ARG partner, 42 Entertainment, were able to achieve through the game.

Games are about engaging with the most entertaining thing on the planet…which is other people. – Jordan Weisman, 42 Entertainment, Wired 01.2008

It all began with a jump drive, containing a copy of a NIN song withering away to the sound of crickets, which was surreptitiously left in a concert arena bathroom. This file was then loaded on a fan forum like Echoing the Sound, setting in motion a chain of clues, 30 connected websites, and events that would eventually touch 2.5 million fans before the album was launched.

Where I have to throw the bull-s#!t flag is when Reznor says this isn’t marketing. This new form of engagement may not be what traditionally comes to mind when you think of marketing (i.e. TV ads, distribution deals, street teams, etc.), however in my opinion this is definitely marketing. The main goal of communication is to engage the audience, and I can’t think of a more immersive experience than this. To me ARGs are just another available tool in a marketer’s tool box that can be used to communicate with a group of people. This nomenclature and weighted connotations that follow words like “marketing” and “advertising”, which all seem tied to the traditional methods of the past, make it harder to talk about what it is that we actually do as marketing and advertising professionals. For this reason I am happy to see that my esteemed alma mater has now changed its name from VCU Adcenter to the VCU Brandcenter. What the school teaches stretches way beyond the bounds of what is typically considered advertising and it is great to see an outward representation of this with a heartfelt stake in the ground. So to me, Reznor is just using a new method of engaging his fans, creating a more entertaining and immersive experience for them and in the end selling albums, that is marketing 101.

Bill Strickland is the man

Bill Strickland is the President and CEO of Manchester Bidwell Corporation. As part of that role he raised funds and developed the Bidwell Training Center, and training center for single parents, welfare mothers and ex-steel workers in Pennsylvania. I recently saw his presentation in a video from the 2002 TED Conference. Besides giving a great presentation, with style (note to self: try presenting with a jazz pianist playing in the background) he deftly and ably shows his heart. Bill Strickland cares deeply about his students, but I would know that without ever seeing him present, just to see the training center is to know his passion. The building is gorgeous, and just happens to be designed by Tasso Katsalas, a student of one of my favorite architects Frank Lloyd Wright. Hand crafted furniture accent the rooms and world-class art hangs on the walls. Here is what Bill, had to say about the look and feel of the center:

If you want to involve yourself in the life of people that have been given up on you have to look like the solution and not the problem.

On why there is a fountain in the courtyard:

As you can see it has a fountain in the courtyard and the reason is that I wanted one and I had the checkbook and I bought one and put it there.

When asked how the fresh flowers in the hallway got to the building:

Well, I got in my car and I went out to the greenhouse and I bought ‘em and I brought ‘em back and I put ‘em there. You don’t need a task force or a study group to buy flowers for your kids. What you need to know is that the children and the adults deserve flowers in their life, the cost is incidental, but the gesture is huge.

It is inspiring to see someone with such conviction to do good. Not only does it hammer home the power of actions over words, but it shows that the measures you do take don’t always have to be large to make a big impact.

Toby Keith writes for Willie Nelson and becomes an anthropologist

According to his artist biography on CMT.com Toby Keith received his first guitar at the age of 8 and, after a brief stint in the United States Football League, turned to music full time at the age of 23. Due to this early start in the industry I doubt that Toby has much, if any, first-hand experience as a blue-collar worker. That just makes the fact that he wrote the Willie Nelson song Tired all the more impressive. Having grown up in a hardworking blue-collar household I can say that Toby does a fantastic job of capturing the accepting, constant and persistent nature that pervades this life. I only hope that I can capture audience truths this well in advertising I help create.

Song: Tired
Album: It Always Will Be
Artist: Willie Nelson
Writer: Toby Keith

My name is Jackson, I was named after my father
I followed in his footsteps down here to this factory
And I ain’t complainin’ wouldn’t waste my breath to bother
This work ain’t hard it’s only borin’ as can be

I married Rebecca back in seventy-seven
And I still love her and I guess she loves me too
We go to church on Sunday ‘cause we want to go to heaven
Me and my family ain’t that how you’re supposed to do?

But I’m tired, Lord, I’m tired
Life is wearin’ me smooth down to the bone
No rest for the weary you just move on
And I’m tired

Only missed six days and nights of twenty years of working
Money went to taxes and these bills I’ve paid on time
Raise I got six months ago don’t meet the cost of living
Selling my body for these nickels and these dimes

The smell of Becky’s coffee rolled me out of bed this morning
I showered and I shaved and dressed and pulled my work boots on
Waked in the kitchen, and she was starin’ out of the window
And the way she said good morning
Made me ask, “Is something wrong?”

She said, “I’m tired, I woke up tired”
Life is wearin’ me smooth down to the bone
No rest for the weary you just move on
And I guess we’ll just keep goin’ till we’re gone
And I’m tired, Lord, I’m tired
Said, I’m tired, Lord, I’m tired

Homemade mixtapes and the beauty of effort

A couple weeks ago I was going through some old boxes, preparing to remove some clutter from my room when I came across a mixtape. I mean an actual mixtape, not a burned CD or iTunes playlist, but an honest to goodness A-side and B-side reel-to-reel magnetic strip containing a homespun mélange of melodious delights. Funny thing about the tape is that it wasn’t made by me or even for me, so how it found a place among my old stuff is beyond me. More importantly is that the joy I got from listening to the tape wasn’t dependent on being personally involved with its production.

 What I heard when I listened to the tape in my car was two things (if you’re paying attention you now know that I have a recently decluttered room and drive a car from the 1990s). The first was that it was a fantastic playlist, including songs from Disney movie soundtracks, TV show theme songs, classic country hits and US Navy SEALs marching cadences. The second thing that was easy to hear if you really listened was the obvious effort that went into its creation.

From the first second that the tape was popped in the first sound you could hear was the warm hiss of dead air coming from the speakers. Following this came the familiar ker-chunk of record being pressed. These sounds reminded me of how much thought and effort it required to make a mixtape. I can remember devoting entire days to creating them. I would sit with a stack of original tapes, and later CDs, along with a calculator and plan out the entire arrangement of songs being careful that the songs made sense to follow or precede one another and would all fit on the side I was working on. I enjoyed putting in a great deal of effort to create just the right mix, but even if you didn’t care it could still take hours to complete a tape.

While I was in school I made a few mixtapes in the hopes of wooing someone special, and I suspect I am not the only one. All were appreciated, I hope, yet none were successful at converting a crush to a date, but that is neither here nor there. I just don’t think there is the same amount of meaning conveyed in giving someone a CD that you burned. I believe it wasn’t just a perfectly crafted collection of music that I was giving to the girls I was interested in, it was also a symbol of my level of interest as evidenced by the effort that went into the tapes creation.

I hope that with the advent of new technologies that continue to make professional and personal tasks easier and faster that we don’t lose too much of the thoughtfulness that comes with devoting time and effort to a project.