Small but Practical Gifts

Well done Nokia. I was having a coffee today & got into a conversation with someone with a Nokia XpressMusic phone...but what was cool that Julia [I think that was her name] a 21 year old fashion student, looking for an internship at Dazed & Confused had a small plastic stand to prop her phone on, so she could just leave it like a mini-music system on the table.

"I'm a bit sick of the Apple stuff. Yeah it's cool that you have all that music, but you can't really share it with anyone...at least when you have this phone, & put it on this stand, other people can hear it as well!"

A small gift in the box that goes a long way. Nice.

ABN-AMRO - Frauds

This is one way NOT to treat a customer...here's a transcript of a call that I had with Fraud & Risk Management this morning.
Slite - "Hi, I'm calling because I got a letter from you temporarily blocking my card. It actually caused me a big problem because I was actually on a trip, I was supposed to buy a Mac!"
ABN - "Well, we saw that there was AN unusual transaction on this card, $___ was spent at an electrical store in New York, & then someone tried to use it at the Guggenheim for $20, so we blocked it"
Slite - "urrm, well it wasn't unusual...I was on holiday!? I can leave the country right"
ABN - "Well maybe you can contact us before you go on a trip to let us know"
Slite - "I'm sorry, but that makes NO sense at all. I shouldn't have to let you know everytime I leave the country, and if you DO suspect that my card is being used fraudulantly, then call me, DON'T send me a letter I received when I'm still on holiday!"
ABN - 'urrm, yes...well I suppose that does make sense...can you give me your number please?"

So to all you financial institutions out there...how about actually 'talking' [do you remember that?] to your customers, rather than leaving them stranded & fu**d.

Thanks

Seeing the Unexpected

After hankering for a frappaccino when in New York last week, it seemed more community friendly to find somewhere local. That's how I stumbled on a 75 cent coffee sandwich-board sign on Bowery Street in Soho...after wandering in, I heard sounds drifting from what turned out to be a back room.

I peered through a gap in the curtain, swinging at the side of the coffee bar, to see a dread sitting on a bar stool, & thought..'riiighhhtt, what's this then?'

I went through..curiousity taking the better of me & was lucky enough to have one of the best experiences of my life. Inside were these amazing kids from Brooklyn & Harlem, spitting street poetry, clicking their fingers to words & phrases that resonated with each other. Like the poet Purple, who rhymed about life experiences; about being young, black & gay, equating Obama to being a manager of McDonalds...America is like McDonalds, still the same but with a different manager.

Being on a payphone to their fictitious mothers, imagining they were saying words they'd always meant to say..'"Please deposit"....Mom, my time's running out.'

So without dwelling on it too much, [you can see it for yourself on the videos attached] next time you're in a new or even your own city...forgo your usual restaurant, cafe or bar. Don't go & get that frappaccino from Starbucks. Go somewhere new, experience something different & you'll feel enriched...You'll never know what or who you'll discover.
Check out these talented kids at www.bowerypoetry.com &

www.urbanartbeat.org
To provide underserved youth with innovative opportunities in the arts

Blogs about Brands, or some such

My mate at Nike, sent me this little link from this website in good old Skandie...It's so you [us?] marketers can stay up to date with how to market & engage with youngsters.
The nice thing about the BRAND BLOG is that one recent post gives you tips on what books to read on the beach over the summer...
If you're lucky enough to have a lot of time on your hands...post this period of lay-offs, curl up in the fetal position, cocoon on a nice sandy dune & plan how to reconquer the world, one consumer/partner at a time!

BRIGHT WHITE NIGHTS #2

Some more photos...

BRIGHT WHITE NIGHTS

They did it! Club Zonder Filter's queens of the nights Kristel & Josine pulled of a 2009 'Nuit Blanche-Light' rehearsal for the real thing in 2010...
It was the time for the creative experimentalists to come out. Here are a few snapped at Belle Noir, at club WHY NOT, on Spuistraat #3.