You Might Want to Wear a Mask to The Game

Not a mask to save your face from a foul ball or a hockey puck. No, we’re talking about a Halloween mask or a mask like those worn by actors in a Japanese opera.

If you take offense to questionnaires, avoid survey takers, and hang up on recorded telephone call, you might want to disguise yourself when you go to a sport game. You see, marketers are finding how to get information by looking at you, not for you in new ways to gather personal consumer data.

According to writer Sean Gregory of Time Magazine, there’s a computer scientist at NYU’s Movement Lab who is pushing the field of consumer research. This techie has spent the past three years developing new camera software that scans facial expressions to identify fan behavior. We’re not talking about cheering or jeering. This would be like a Nielsen rating for crowd behavior. Think what is each and everyone doing?

Are they talking on their phone? Looking at the scoreboard? Talking to their buds? Laughing? Frowning? What ARE they doing? One NFL executive, watching a demonstration at the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytic conference in early March, said “This information is incredibly valuable!”

In better words what happens is analytics software converts the photos to heat maps with different color splotches indicating different behaviors. Getting that kind of detailed feedback could encourage team owners to improve their ads and promotions — even their teams –- to create a more engaging experience and ultimately sell more tickets. Maybe even more beer to a happy grouping! Or have vendors rush ice cream and pop to heat patches of fidgety kids!

From Karsh Hagan’s perspective, layering on this qualitative data would provide more concrete metrics for estimating the true value of sports and event sponsorships. Currently, values are based largely on average historical attendance and potential impressions.

Tracy Broderick, VP of Media at KH says, “This new technology follows the trend of moving beyond generating awareness to building a 1-to-1 connection. The ability for brands to offer a relevant interaction with real-time feedback on an event experience is exciting.”

This new research tool will get a slow rollout starting with one pro-sport organization in late summer. If it works, where does it go? Where does it end? Think airports, concert venues, shopping malls, downtown parties! Could it help with riots? Mob scenes? (Police are researchers, too.)

And, naturally, this tech raises privacy issues. But think painting your face. Or wearing a nylon over your head. That, too, would give marketers some insight into methodology.

Written by Tom Hagan, with commentary from Tracy Broderick, VP Media

Happy Father’s Day

To help you remember, it’s been on the third Sunday of June after it was made official by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966.

The idea to honor fathers, and organize the event, came to Sonora Smart Dodd in Spokane, Washington on June 19, 1910. It was right after she heard, in church, of an effort to officiate Mothers Day.

Her father, William Smart, was a civil war veteran who became a single dad when his wife (Mrs. Dodd’s mother) died in childbirth with her sixth child.

In 2008, President George W. Bush, wrote in the official Fathers Day Proclamation, “By providing their children with a positive example, fathers help give their children the necessary foundation they need to make wise decisions throughout the rest of their lives.” He directed display of the U.S. flag on all government buildings on Fathers Day.

Super Dads made it to TV in 1950. Remember Ward Cleaver? Plus Mike Brady and Howard Cunningham. And everybody loved Raymond’s Ray Barone.

There are 64.3 million fathers in America, not to mention the “Adopted Dad”. Here are other statistics you might consider if you’re marketing Fathers Day gifts and the variety of cards one can find on display in a supermarket.

• 14% of fathers are full-time “stay at homers”
• 25% of married dads have 3 or more children living at home
• 11% of dads are “step dads” living fulltime with their spouse’s children
• 85% of dads live only with their biological children
• 33% of children under six years of age, were praised at least 3 times a day
• 8.5% of dads served in the U.S. Army
• 25% of dads work outside the home and spend under 1 hour a day with the children
• 38% of working dads would take a pay-cut to spend more time with their kids.

Thanks to Holiday.com for providing some of the details in the above blog.

Written by Tom Hagan, dad and granddad

Future Artists and Designers at Aurora Frontier K-8

I recently visited Aurora Frontier K-8 to talk to the students about careers in Art and Communications and to share with them my experience as a Graphic Designer. I was curious to know how many of them knew what Graphic Design is, if they understand that Designers are Artists, and that it’s a career option for them. I found it to be a fun and exciting challenge to explain what we do to such a young group.

I asked, “What do you think an artists does?” The popular answers were paint, draw pictures or make sculptures. I asked them to take those ideas of art and add words, concepts and messages to them; that is when you get Graphic Design. The presentation had to be toned down from the usual stuff we might show our adult audience. That meant no alcohol labels or sexy advertisements, but instead they got to see beautiful posters, logos, toy packaging, silly print ads, ski and snowboard art, fun food packaging and other amazing pieces of Communication Art that our local and global design communities create.

The other term I threw out to the kids was “branding.” I got a lot of blank stares, but most adults I talk to outside of the creative industry give me the same blank stare. They weren’t quite sure what a brand was. To help explain I pulled up the brand guessing game. Fields of color, slivers of typography, close crops of products and other recognizable elements of well-known brands popped up one by one. The students were engaged with hands popping up. They were able to guess Coca-Cola after the first flash of red. After the game they really understood what makes a brand.

I ended with showing them the not-so-creative tagging that was done on our office windows last month. I’m sure being artistic was not that tagger’s goal, but there are so many other ways to express creativity and create graffiti art through murals, on canvas, on skate and snow boards, and on other materials that adds artistic value to the community. It must have been the inspiration of the day because directly after my visit the class went outside and created spray paint art on paper.

This group was so excited about art and design. One student surprised me by asking for my autograph. I was happy and proud knowing that what they learned made such an impression and hope she continues to explore her creativity. I also was thoroughly impressed by one boy that was wearing amazing magenta socks.

When students complete their education at Frontier K-8 they have the option of selecting a High School that offers special areas of study, one of them being Art and Communication. The purpose of my visit to Frontier was to inform the students about career options in this field of study so they get excited about their early education in a field that interests them and to help them select a more focused path to success. I could see many of them becoming great future leaders, artists and designers.

Written by Karen Hofmeister, graphic designer

Photo caption: Karen Hofmeister with the amazing and creative students from Aurora Frontier K-8. The short guy in the front may be an exchange student from another galaxy.

Mobile and Tablet Round Up

With smartphone and tablet usage and evolving so rapidly, and with trends changing so quickly, we thought it’d be nice to do a little recap of the most recent developments. Here’s what you need to know:

• Usage is at an all time high, and growth is exploding. According to a Delloitte study, tablet ownership is at 36% of the US population, and grew 177% in the past year. Smartphone ownership increased by 28%, meaning that 55% of the country owns a smartphone. Also interesting, the number of US consumers who own a tablet, smartphone, and PC device grew 160% year over year, and is at 26% of the population overall. (All from MobileMarketer.)
• In the wise words of MediaPost: don’t lump mobile and tablet together! Many assume that any mobile stat applies to both smartphones and tablets, and therefore the devices are the exact same—but this just isn’t true.
  • Tablets are preferred for web & app usage, having double the time spent on mobile web and seven times more on apps (ComScore).
  • They also now drive equally as much e-commerce as smartphones. 20% of all e-commerce traffic comes from mobile devices, and right now, that’s evenly split between smartphones and tablets.
  • The functions used while on each device differ:
    • Tablet: shopping, gaming and entertainment—more emotional activities
    • Mobile: social, photos, weather and maps—more functional activities
• Mobile-only users are here, and growing. 31% of mobile internet users say that it’s the primary way they access the internet. Mobile-only users aren’t much different from any other user—they want good content and experiences—the same experience, just on a different device. And, along those lines, they aren’t anywhere strange either. They are at home or at work—according to Google, that’s where 77% of searches from mobile devices take place. Only 17% take place on the go. Mobile-only users aren’t a fringe phenomenon, they will continue to grow. (All from Harvard Business Review.)

These facts, along with PC sales being at an all time low, and with some common sense, these mobile trends shouldn’t be surprising. So what does this all mean for us as marketers?

• Mobile absolutely should be a part of any digital advertising conversation you are having. With usage so high and continuing to grow, it’s foolish to ignore.
• Know the differences between mobile devices and plan accordingly. Between smartphones and tablets, the usage just isn’t the same, and marketers would be wise to take advantage of those differences, not force them into a one size fits all plan.
• Savvy marketers will be monitoring and taking advantage of opportunities amongst the mobile-only user, as that group will only be getting bigger and bigger.

Written by Nikki Burmaster, Media Planner

Three-Dimensional Mobile: Are we there yet?

The human eye has an amazing ability to perceive depth. Our eyes are set apart just enough to give us two distinct images that when assimilated; allow us to understand how far away objects in our view are from each other and us.

Rumor has it that there is yet another 3-D Smartphone about to hit the market (http://dailym.ai/Zpjgrl), begging the questions: Will this one really deliver a true three-dimensional image? What next: 3-D games? Banner ads? Interactive appetizer apps? “Reach out and touch that chalupa!!”

We’ve seen 3-D imagery for the last 60 years, first in movie theaters, then televisions, and now handheld computers and phones. Yet, this is difficult to do well, at least without feeling kind of silly while doing it.

We have been able to project 3-D images, filmed using two cameras that record the same scene, but from slightly different perspectives (stereoscopic film). Recording in 3-D is one thing, but until recently, we’ve relied on special glasses to trick our brains into thinking what we are seeing is three-dimensional.

Since the early days of 3-D cinema, we’ve used either color filters (red and green or red and blue), or polarizing filters along with 3-D glasses. In the first case, two images (one in red and one in blue for example), are projected on a screen and the glasses you wear only allow your eye to see either the red or blue image, which gives the illusion of 3-D. With the polarized approach, the two images each have a different polarization, and your glasses do the rest. It’s acceptable for some people to put on a pair of specks that enhance the viewing experience. Do you want to do that at home? Maybe. Things start to get a little weird when you insist on riding public transportation while donning your red/blue paper-frame shades to get three stars on all levels of Angry Birds: Star Wars during your commute.

Traditional 2-D displays emit light in all directions at once, which means that images look flat, but you can view them from any angle. In order to produce a 3-D image, while making it viewable without having to hold your head at a certain angle, the device has to push out that same 2-D image at many different angles simultaneously.

Hewlett-Packard just released some information about their new screens which promise to deliver a much improved 3-D viewing experience. Their new screen will scatter light in 64 directions at once, giving the user the illusion of three-dimensions.
“Essentially, in a 64-bit display, the backlight produces 64 2D displays that merge together, each independently rendering images to suit one perspective in the 180-degree viewing field.” (Taken from: http://bit.ly/14cacYs)

It seems like they are always “Just around the corner” (http://engt.co/15wAi7J). Products have been put out year after year for the last decade which claimed to be glasses-free 3-D, but they always fell short. Although there are some companies out there that can build you a 3D banner to target this early-adopter market (http://bit.ly/15wAxjb), this technology is still ‘around the corner’ for the mainstream audience. Of course, being ahead of the curve in terms of capability is a great, but it isn’t yet time to invest heavy in 3D cameras for our CTO ads, yet (but think of how sick they would look!!).

The first 3D capable Smartphone to hit the U.S. market was the HTC Evo 3D (circa 2011), and it came out just more than two years ago. It was a good introduction of this technology, but as it goes with first-run devices, there was something left to be desired. The dual cameras used to capture 3D images were only 5 megapixels each, which meant that even in 2D mode, the phone wasn’t able to record video of higher resolution than 720p. The battery of this phone was substantial, but when just taking several 3D photos and sending a few emails, the device would be drained of juice, causing the user to hover near a wall outlet. Not so handy when you are trying to grab a shot of an Oso Perisoso (Tree Sloth) in the Costa Rican rainforest.

Someday soon, we will see 3D rendering of maps on your palm-sized devices. Cities will pop out of our screen as we navigate to the next sushi spot. We will see advertisements that appear to jump out of your screen, beckoning us to buy that chalupa. And, we will see three-dimensional video that looks great, doesn’t deplete our batteries too fast, and makes us wonder how we lived without it.

“Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.”

And yet, we wait.

Written by Jeff Shappard, Network/IT Support

Want to Start-Up a new Business? Go To A Start-Up School!

Let’s suppose you’re young, but determined to start a new business -– one you dream about and talk about, but figure first you’ll have to finish school and get a degree. Maybe a B.A. degree. Or maybe a Masters degree. And maybe after four to six years of school, you’ll be able to start your own business.

According to a recent article in Denver Business Journal, written by Greg Avery (http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/boosters_bits/2012/11/galvanize-gschool.html?page=all) you can take a shortcut by going to a “start-up school.” They are blooming from coast to coast, from San Francisco to Chicago to New York City. And in Colorado, the land of youth and entrepreneurials, there are several schools already up and running.

In Denver, Galvanize’s gSchool offers an intensive six-month training program to turn novices into skilled web developers. When they graduate, they’ll be ready to get an awesome job or build your own business or products.

Yes, Galvanize’s gSchool’s tuition is $60,000 for a six-month training. But that’s less than the tuition for most colleges and tech schools. And, yes, some of the start-up schools demand an equity stake in businesses they help nurture. But Galvanize’s gSchool grads get a $60K job or get their tuition back.

Does it work for those who have an idea for a business and are in a hurry to birth it, work it and grow it before the idea fades? According to research group VentureSource, 42% of its participants have been able to attract investors in their first six months in business. (FYI—9% have failed.)

How do Old Schools react to this kind of competition? More traditional schools see this alternate educational concept as a sign there’s a market for a new age of entrepreneurs. The University of South Carolina, Harvard and George Washington Universities have responded to the marketplace with their own centers, coursework and connections to venture funding.

Will it pay off for wannabes with a business idea and a dream? Steve Blank, a serial entrepreneur and a lecturer who teaches entrepreneurship at the University of California, Berkeley business school told Time Magazine “It’s a hot industry right now, but a lot of people aren’t built to be entrepreneurs.”

Galvanize’s gSchool was founded by Jim Deters, now 37, who grew up during the first dotcom boom. He became a techie right out of college and worked for a slew of software companies that bloomed in Denver. He started up with the launch of Ascendant Technology which he sold to Avnet last year.

After a year and a half of being an angel investor, he felt there was a better way to be a venture capitalist. He also felt “In most cases people are wasting their money on traditional education.”

So, Deters and his friend/partner launched a computer-programming class at Galvanize’s gSchool. Now they plan to roll out other courses in design and mobile development. The rest of the school’s 30,000-sq-ft. space will provide rentable workspace for existing start-ups and seed investors.

So, consider this scenario: you tell your parents they can spend less on your starter school tuition so you can start a business sooner so you can get rich sooner –- so you can help them retire younger!

Written by Tom Hagan

Working From Home

It has officially been 1 year since I left Karsh Hagan in Denver, CO, and started working remotely from my new home in Atlanta, GA. I know what you’re thinking—WORKING FROM HOME IS THE GREATEST!—and you would be right, about half the time. As with anything, there are pros and cons to working from home. It takes the right environment, the right personality, and the right work ethic to make it a positive experience for you and your employer (this is a two-way street, after all).

CEO for Yahoo! Marissa Mayer banner her employees from working from home earlier this year. In a recent Wired article (http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/05/fa_thompson/), she is quoted as saying “Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home.” She is not wrong, but she’s also not right. There are certain things that I can do marvelously from home, that would be near-to-impossible in my Denver Agency environment.

Being honest about your limitations, and your strengths is critical as you evaluate whether a at-home job is best for you. If you’re the kind of person who needs to see people on a daily basis, and collaborate in-person, perhaps working at home is not best. If you’re the kind of person who needs to hunker down with earphones on to get anything accomplished, perhaps working at home is best for that huge assignment.

Given my one-year of experience, here are some thoughts to consider for employees and managers alike:

• Remain flexible with work environments, hours, and everything else that comes along with a varied plate of “to dos” inherent in working at an advertising Agency
• Acknowledge that some things are best done independently, and some things mandate collaboration
• Encourage team mates to find the right environment for the work they need to accomplish, and the appropriate hours of the day in which they are sharpest (not everyone is a morning person!)
• Talk with your supervisors to identify appropriate work environments for  assignments—explore options beyond your cubicle that get the juices flowing, or limit the distractions

Written by Lindsay Koehler, Account Supervisor