Jacob Leffler's Short Attention Span Theatre

Super Bowl XLVI and Buzzfunnel

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:34:00 +0000

I am happy to announce a fun web experience that launched last night called buzzfunnel . Our interactive development team worked with Borshoff on this interesting web site that allows anyone to share videos, social media input and answer quick polls relating to all things Super Bowl XLVI .

Check it out and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

The Manchurian Candidate

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:18:00 +0000

I received a phone call yesterday morning and the caller was very frustrated. No, it was not my wife, it was one of my business partners exclaiming that she could not believe what she just read. Here is the headline to what she was referring, GM's in a Korean State of Mind But can it give Cheil the win on Chevy's creative? Basically if you read the piece it states that Cheil, a Korean advertising agency, is one of the finalists for the American icon's creative agency account. The article, penned by Noreen O'Leary, seems to me to be a pretty objective and fact-based piece. Noreen continues on explaining why it might and might not make sense for Chevrolet to select Cheil Worldwide for this desirable task. By the way I went to Cheil's web site (linked to in this piece) and it was not a pleasant experience.

Needless to say, my partner's amazement that Chevrolet would consider, even just as a finalist, any non-stateside shop as the creative lead for the brand disappointed her, to put it mildly. And why wouldn't it? Let's look at the Chevrolet campaign that is eating up our airwaves as I write this.

"Runs Deep" has been plastered all over television, billboards, the web and in print for a decent part of 2011 and as possibly best evidenced in this spot http://www.chevrolet.com/culture/article/1964-impala-younger-family/ , is really tugging on our collective Americana heart strings. This campaign is effectively saying, "Hey, we have grown up with this country, with your family, with YOU. We are still here making great American products that will evoke the same emotions, in you, that this guy is experiencing as he cries about his old Impala SS." They are really pouring it on, and I will admit, when I first saw this spot air, I thought it was well done. Understanding the current Chevrolet brand statement and upon reading this AdWeek article, Lee Clow has got to be shitting himself right about now.

Accomplished brand agencies who understand the value of true brand advertising and marketing will read this article and NOT react to the obvious hypocrisy of a US tax payer funded bailout recipient opting for a foreign service provider when there are plenty of good, qualified AND unemployed advertising folks roaming the streets looking for a place to practice their craft. They will, however, react to how Chevy, even by simply naming a non-US agency as a finalist, is contradicting the very foundation of the biggest campaign it has run in the last several years. What does this say to their current US employees, their non-marketing executives and most importantly, like my business partner, their US customers? Her reaction to me was one of betrayal. She expressed to me, "How could they even consider a non-US agency after the events of the last couple of years!?" I am a free market guy and I get Noreen's consideration of a Korean agency for a growing Korean market. Makes total sense. To have a non-US agency, lead the entire Chevy brand, a brand staking its comeback on a heavy emotional connection with its Americana roots and American customer base, to me, makes no sense. It is a total contradiction to itself. Lee Clow iterated in the documentary Art & Copy, and I am paraphrasing, but he essentially said the best way to sell a brand, and see the brand succeed, is by expressing the one simple truth about that brand, to the consuming public, in a way they understand. The next step is to ensure the brand lives up to and delivers on that truth.

So Chevy, is this consideration of Cheil how you are "Running Deep?"

Google AdWords model is applied to YouTube video ads - Related Stories - IAB SmartBrief

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Google AdWords model is applied to YouTube video ads.

This is a great peek into the future of television advertising. I knew it was merely a matter of time before the AdWords model would be applied, as accurately as text-based ads, to video content.

The Basement's Todd Bolster Presenting at MBO

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 19:17:00 +0000

I just wanted to give you a head's up that our own Todd Bolster will be presenting at the MBO Conference on October 11th. Check out Masters of Business Online - Speakers to get the full rundown.

A little about Todd...
"Todd Bolster is currently a Business Development Manager at The Basement Design + Motion, a digital studio in Indianapolis specializing in the concept, design, and production of contemporary interactive media, games, motion graphics, and animations. His clients include some of the largest ad agencies and non-profits in the world. At The Basement, he co-founded that^me, a series of educational animations teaching life skills to college students.

Todd serves on the board of the Indianapolis Chapter of the American Advertising Federation, Butler University Career Services, and the Intercollegiate YMCA."

Hopefully you can make it and say hi to Todd if you get the chance.

The Basement Design + Motion is Hiring

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:11:00 +0000

Due to increased client demand, The Basement Design + Motion is looking to fill two full-time positions.

The first position is for a digital designer. Experience designing for the web and mobile is required. Online display advertising design experience a plus, but not required. Motion design is a plus, but not required. 1 - 3 years experience preferred. Send a link to your portfolio for review if you have interest to jacob{at}thebasement.tv

The second position is for a interactive developer. 1 - 2 years experience preferred developing AS3. Less experience is okay if you can exhibit solid fundamental object oriented development skills. This is an excellent learning opportunity for the right candidate. Please send your online portfolio to jacob{at}thebasement.tv

Basement's Todd Bolster Guest Post on Bohlsen PR Blog

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:03:00 +0000

I just finished reading Todd Bolster's short, but poignant piece on the Bohlsen PR blog. Check it out HERE

Social Failures, Integration is Key and MasterCard

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 13:06:00 +0000

I just finished reading a good piece by Jonathan Salem Baskin on AdAge CMO Strategy.

Jonathan makes several great points about how many prominent and noted social media campaigns have garnered eyeballs but not pushed the needle on sales for their respective products or brands. Specifically, Jonathan mentions some common social media concepts or retorts as to why the social campaign did not increase sales for, as an example, consumer goods purchased at a counter, and not online, such as fast food and soda pop. I agree with Jonathan and building on specific points made in his article, I see the inability of the fly-by-night "social media experts" who have no real experience in disciplines like customer service, marketing or even consumer oriented operational process, being the cause for them to fall by the wayside in the next 12 months. No results in the revenue column typically means no more job, whether employed full-time or on contract a la Mr. Baskin.

I will never forget an experience I had when marketing for my old employer, a very large fast feeder. I was working on strategy to not only increase customer counts, but to do it in a way that gave cause for my local market customers to rave about things like our fresh food, superb service, family oriented experience and cleanliness, so in affect they would come back again and go out into their communities and spread the word (this was called word of mouth - you know, viral media before the term "viral" existed beyond describing a cold or flu). My boss told me not to execute any traffic generating activities until the operational procedures at my stores were excellent. Period. The point? Don't drive large amounts of customers to something that will prove out to be a bad experience. The short term gain in sales will turn into a long term loss for the brand and my stores. That sage advice was dually noted, I followed her direction, and consequently we had not just a short term gain, but long term positive gains across our entire local system, to the point where our local group of stores lead the entire national system in sales increases. Awards and bonuses were soon to follow. Score one for the good guys.

This has direct correlation to Jonathan's article. Another example - specifically a social media campaign I worked on (with our agency client) that garnered large sales increases for the end client. The client was yet again another national restaurant chain. They wanted to experiment in Facebook to see if/how they could get positive word of mouth AND increase sales, not just give away free product. Summary - very targeted and strategic media buy in Facebook, very well thought out coupon strategy distributed via Facebook and it was a long term solution, not a one time gimmick. A lot of detailed thought went into the coupon offers, how frequently they would be released, the redemption time frame, and how the stores would deal with the potential wave of customers redeeming the offers. Unfortunately, I feel like integration opportunity was lost ion this campaign, even though it was pitched to the client, they decided against updating or even optimizing their old brand web site for this big initiative. That was a missed opportunity in this guy's opinion. Results? Going from 3,000 likes on Facebook to 400,000+ in about 30 days. So what? Sales matter right? They experienced some of the largest sales increases in a decade and this campaign sustained over months. Could this have done even better with more integration through more online, in-store and traditional media channels? Of course, but the client, and more importantly their customers, were very pleased.

Last example - and I did not work on this one. I had the TV on the other night, ABC, prime time. I saw a commercial during one of the breaks for Mastercard. It was a spot for entrepreneurs/small business owners. That is me! I am their audience. It was a great piece of storytelling. The spot was well-written, I related to their pitch, and they left me with a call to action to go to their web site to learn more. I want to the web site to learn more!! Success right? Nope major fail. The site was horrible - no reference at all to what they were promoting on the TV spot. None! No consistent branding, no consistent messaging and the experience was completely different. I bounced off the site in 20 seconds. No integration at all. No new customer at all. Mastercard spent a lot of money on that TV spot, it was well done. They spent a lot on the media, major network in prime time on a highly rated show, and they lost me at the web site. No integration whatsoever, no positive experience whatsoever and no new customer whatsoever.

Moving Back, Moving Forward

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 02:50:00 +0000

It is really pretty amazing to see how the media industry and communications technology has progressed, and in some cases regressed, over a few short years.

I was going through an old email file the other day and I stumbled across an old project that a friend and I started about six years ago. We established a wiki and we each contributed periodically with thoughts on all things digital as they related to marketing, advertising, social and corporate communications. We went back and forth for months and met over breakfast every other week to discuss our online volleys. It was fun and pretty productive to have focused sessions like that with someone who was as into the industry, if not more so, than myself.

Well, as I hit the link to revisit the Wiki, relatively untouched five years later, I was pretty entertained by the postings. It was very interesting to see how things had progressed in our industry, but really some things haven't. The tools, hardware, terminology, software, bandwidth and more has evolved seemingly decades in a few short years. What hasn't changed? Principals, foundational strategy, how to use digital channels in a strategic/successful way, how to understand your audience and how to be a benefit, not a nuisance. Offering value, not offering a slightly less palpable alternative to spam. Listening, not yelling. Basically good old fashioned marketing sense.

Bad marketing still is ineffective no matter what new technology you are "leveraging." Sorry had to work in that tired cliche. Good marketing principal and relevance to your "crowd" still works, no matter the technology you have at your disposal.

Yeah, the channels are more sophisticated, the ability to wow greater and the pinpointing is finer, but ultimately the best product or services win no matter the shiny marketing object du jour. The old rules still apply, deliver a relevant, quality and valued product and/or service and know how to deal with your customers. Technology can make that whole process more efficient and effective but only if you address the basics first.

I know this is not nearly as fun to read as the "Top 10 things that will kill Twitter" or "How you can become a social media rock star overnight." Medicine never tastes as good as candy but it heals you much quicker.

The Basement Claims a Cincinnati Addy

Sat, 26 Feb 2011 02:50:00 +0000

The Basement Design + Motion was notified by our agency client this week that we were the recipients of a Gold Addy in the Cincinnati market competition. Thanks to our client and the Cincinnati Advertising Federation. Nice work Basement team.

The Basement Wins Another Award

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 04:25:00 +0000

The Basement Design + Motion learned over the weekend that we won another Gold Louie for our work on the KFC Buckets for the Cure web site. Congratulations to all the staff at The Basement that put their hard work in to the project. A big thank you to our agency client Creative Alliance for selecting us to work on the project!!

Break the Cycle of Creative Abuse

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 13:29:00 +0000

I have read more than a few articles in the last 60 days all about top shelf creatives leaving the advertising business. These are not underpaid interns, recent graphic design grads or even mid-level producers, rather they are executive-level creative directors and top-of-the-food-chain creative leads migrating away from high-profile positions at the big-boy conglomerates.

Why is this? Yesterday Ad Age distributed a great piece talking about some of the reasons. You can read Daniele Fiandaca's piece in whole HERE

Basically the article states there are a few core reasons for the industry needing a vast re-tooling. Some factors include the impact of technology, outdated industry in an ever evolving media landscape and burnt out and commoditized creative talent.

I would like to focus on the last point, while made, in my opinion, not emphasized enough. This is a very real, far reaching and long term issue.

I have been in the media industry for 13 years and have worked on the agency side, the client side and the media side. I am currently own a business that services some ad agencies. It is my observation that the industry has a real problem with creative abuse. Similar to other forms of abuse (see child abuse) it seems this creative abuse is hard to break because it is formed in a nasty cycle. Client abuses agency, agency abuses creative, creative/producer abuses partner/vendor based on behavior exhibited or pressure applied to them by account leads. It is trickle down abuse. The net result is under performing work, budgets that do not fit the business objectives and everyone is frustrated, if not down right demoralized.

The agency industry has been complaining and moaning about commoditization of good creative work for decades, this is nothing new, yet they pass that same abuse and commoditization on to everyone they work with. When does the cycle end? How do you break the cycle? I think technology, for all its foibles, offers at least, a potential break. I have thought this for a long time.

Commoditization occurs when the market becomes saturated and the "cheaper" providers can move in and offer goods or services at a level that can satisfy the market at a low price point - pushing away the value from a high quality, higher cost provider. Understanding that, we see the ad business has been commoditized in the traditional services - standard graphic design, copy writing, print services, and traditional broadcast services. Funny how the "big idea" is not mentioned, mostly because it can never be commoditized because it is rarely found within a commodity agency. Have you ever taken the time to ignore the major advertisers that you see on the Super Bowl or that are featured in creative publications? Look at the other 85% of advertising that runs. There is a lot of VERY BAD advertising out there. The industry even admits it. You can chalk up all that poor work to low budgets, clients with low expectations and agencies willing to accommodate and commoditize their offering to serve that market. I am not judging, I am just calling out what I see. The abuse is a big piece of this puzzle.

Lee Clow said in a recent Independent Lens documentary, Art & Copy. I am paraphrasing, but he basically said there is a ton of poor advertising out there because many agencies are not advertising the truth. They are taking money to perform for poor products and services. Maybe that is the genesis of this abusive cycle? Taking payment to promote something that inherently offers little value to the customer? Does that promote a low image of not only the client, but of the agency? Low self esteem certainly fuels an abusive situation. I am not sure, but it certainly provokes thought.

The solution? I want to be a part of it for sure. Getting back to technology. Is this an opportunity to start fresh? To break the cycle? Is it too late? Based on the rapidly advancing evolution of the media industry, based on technology and moving audience habits, I believe this has offered, the past 15 years and continuing, an opportunity to leave the commoditizers in the past and progress towards a more creative, value driven model. Advertising is a creative-driven business. Yes it is fueled by business objectives, but make no mistake, creatives are the gasoline of this engine. To lose the best creatives is akin to running out of gas and being stranded.

So if this opportunity has existed for the past 15 years and is moving forward in an undeniable fashion, why so much flight from the industry? If the horizon is just over the hill, why the frustration? This opportunity has not been embraced. It has been fought and frankly a lot of the commoditizers in the industry have down played the progress even though it can help to effectively free them from the yoke. This resistance to evolve has gone a long way to not only motivate legions of creatives to leave traditional agencies and migrate towards boutiques with a fresh perspective, start their own shops or even leave the industry all together, it has effectively kept fresh blood out of traditional agency recruitment.

I cannot count how many young, talented creatives that I have chatted with over the past 5 years who have expressed no desire to work at a large, traditional shop. They want to work for a smaller, nimble digital shop or a boutique who focuses on smaller clients, and premium work. It has been incredibly interesting to witness. People turning down opportunities with large shops in major metros for small boutiques in major metros or even mid-major cities.

I am not sure I have the solution to break this cycle, but I will leave you with a few paragraphs quoted from the Why Aren't Ad Agencies Rewiring piece referenced earlier in this post, "Mind boggling isn't it? We're relying on a model established nearly 50 years ago to carry us into the future where massive changes are taking place in the wider media world. It's no wonder this model isn't working for us, as evidenced by the fact that industry talent is leaving places they fear can't and won't change.

For the most part, it's not that agencies don't want to evolve. They are simply stuck in old processes and production models that can't adjust. I hear it from my students in every class I facilitate. Well-established agencies are really struggling to figure out how to shift their focus and think beyond single disciplines such as "advertising" and "digital." They are trying to change their DNA -- no small feat compared with the characteristics baked in at smaller, start up agencies born in the digital age."

The Basement Updates the Motion/Animation Reel

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:15:00 +0000

**Shameless plug warning**
The Basement Design + Motion has updated our motion/animation reel.
Check it out below.

The Basement Design + Motion 2010 Reel Updated from Brian Phillips on Vimeo.

Quote Monkeys Don't Offer Solutions

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 23:06:00 +0000

In the past couple of years I have noticed a lot of interesting things working with many different advertising, public relations and social media agencies. One thing that sticks out, is consistent among them all, and is very interesting to me is the way many (most) of the agencies I have been exposed to feel the need to run around and throw out, what I call, shallow quotes.

Shallow quotes, it seems, are something a lot of agencies feel compelled to do for their demanding clients. I am not sure what came first, the ridiculous request for "quick turn" quote, or the agencies willingness to throw out some willy-nilly number based on little more than a loose idea with no real thought on actual execution, or even real solution providing value. Whichever the case, it seems very few are immune. Even the social media agencies, who position the value of the "conversation" do not seem to be averse to this tired approach. I do not completely blame the agencies, many of these requests come from clients who simply do not want to take the time to think through what they are asking for, and who may very easily interpret unwillingness to play along as an open door for another service provider.

So what is the net result of this exercise? From my perspective it rarely equates to a meaningful project. It usually positions the agency, and their partners, as a price-based vendor who is left to wonder why the client resorts to radio silence once the "number" is submitted.

My solution? In a perfect world when a client asks for this number, agency or otherwise, may want to take a step back, ask the client for their motivation for wanting this "number" and dissect, in an efficient and meaningful way, the true objective and reason for this request. Once that is discovered, you can formulate a real solution based on fact and a very real execution. It may take a little more time, but in this scenario I have seen a much better success rate of actual, and successful, project execution. Moreover, the agency is providing a much higher level of value. If your client does not recognize that, maybe they are not the type of client you want.

Quote monkeys rarely get the reward, and their clients rarely get a solution.

Storytelling Goes Much Further

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 02:38:00 +0000

Compliments of my pal Jim Lefevere at the Digital Strategist Blog, here is a short piece that tells a nice story....created by Pfizer of all people. It is very well done. Compelling, sincere and sparks a bit of curiosity.

Enjoy the piece.

Critics are Good, So Be a Critic

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 02:31:00 +0000

I absolutely love the Internet and the ease with which anyone can offer opinion, insight and even critique with a few simple keystrokes. It has empowered millions of voices worldwide, and will continue to do so for a long long time.

That is a beautiful thing. I have offered many many opinions over the years. Most of them delivered either here on this blog in longer form, or on Twitter in a much more abbreviated fashion.

I appreciate critics. One of the most fruitful learning opportunities in life comes from honest, direct critique. I have learned more from critics than I care to admit.

When does a critic cease being fruitful? The beauty of a critic is typically they are out there, perhaps a little brazen, known to be a critic, and because of their bold opinions, seasoned with reasoning, they earn respect and the public ear.

When you hide behind an alias and lob shallow insults with no reasoning, you cease being a critic and enter jackass territory. I guess good solid critique is always helpful. There is a lot of anonymous chatter online, and thus there tends to be some folks who feel being a critic requires no more than an alias and shallow insults.

This anonymous mud slinging really does not qualify as critique, rather it qualifies for no more than what it is, some shallow mope who has nothing better to do than hide behind a web site and throw cheap epithets at others. That is not transparency, nor is it helpful.

Pay attention to those willing and brave enough to offer honest, up front critique. Learn from it. Allow it to help improve you. The other stuff, ignore it and move on. Do not waste your time responding, it will only drag you down.

Painful Post - When to Say "No Thank You"

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 01:07:00 +0000

This article has been written at least 250,000,000 times before, however there will undoubtedly be someone who reads it for the first time, and undoubtedly it will save that person from a painful experience.

If you are in advertising, marketing services, interactive media services, design, web development, social media or another media services industry you are familiar with the ever hovering request for the dreaded free work (or greatly discounted work, I say in my most hurried, end of the commercial, legal disclaimer announcer guy voice).

And because of this request you, like me, have spent precious time of your life debating on whether or not to perform this task. Even the hottest of creative, social media and advertising genius hot shots has had this dilemma at some point in their career. It is almost a right of passage, albeit a painful and ridiculous one.

Let's be fair, once in a blue moon, every third decade or so, the free work pays off. The carrot that has been dangled, actually gets a delicious bite taken from its juicy being. Truth be told, that is the gross minority outcomes. Most typically the post squeeze result is the desire for a long, hot and decontaminating shower.

How do you recognize the request for free work as being a simple waste of your time?

Let's create the ever popular list (this is decent, but by far not a complete list. Feel free to add in the comments section)....
1. The person or company requesting your talent, skill and investment of work has never requested your input before and they have been fully aware of your services for some time. Simply put - you have marketed to them, know they can use your services, but they have flat out refused time and time again. All of the sudden they have seen the light, well, at least the light that shines through a budget consisting of 0 dollars and 0 cents

2. At the first mention of a letter of intent, should your work yield actual payment or a project for the requesting party, to guarantee your place on the agreement defining a paying project, they balk - no signee, no workee.

3. Carrots galore are dangled in hopes that you "see the vision" and "understand the upside" and you hear repeatedly "If they buy off you will get a huge budget."

4. You are not given a seat at the table. If you are putting skin in the game, why not help craft a winning initiative?

5. Questions you ask for clarity and a solid path to execute are dismissed as too time consuming.

6. The time line is not healthy enough to produce quality work.

7. Carrots dangling in every other sentence. Did I mention carrots yet? If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.

8. You are threatened (did I say that?), or it is "implied" that if you do not do it, you may not get another shot at working with this "client" ever again. Really? If you do good work, have other paying clients, who cares? Let the beggar go hassle someone else. This of course only applies if you really do good work and are confident in your abilities. Legal disclaimer guy voice used here again.

9. The requesting party tries to leverage their "huge client base" as a bargaining chip for your time/work. Not cool. If their clients knew that they were being used in that manner, they would not be happy.

10. They only time you hear from these "clients" is when they need something done on the cheap or even free for pitching or otherwise. When they spend money on real projects, why don't they call? I know what you are thinking, "This sounds ridiculous, who is this crass?" Really? Ask anyone who has been in the industry for any amount of time and they will tell you it is not. This happens everyday. Trust me, I have seen it first hand too many times.

On the flip side, once in a blue moon one of these free "projects" pays off and you win a big one, and the requesting party actually delivers. That is very sweet and makes all the rest of this post seem worthwhile. Despite all of the hypocrites and loonies that bash free work, yet request it from their vendors regularly, this may be why the practice still occurs on a daily basis in the aforementioned industries.

Or, like child abuse, it is sadly passed down from generation to generation. At some point, someone or something has to break the cycle to make it to stop.

"Cup Full" by The Basement Design + Motion

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:34:00 +0000

Here is a short piece of storytelling created by the friendly folks at The Basement Design + Motion. Hope you like it.

"Cup Full" by The Basement Design + Motion from The Basement Design + Motion on Vimeo.

Enjoy

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 03:54:00 +0000

Every now and again I post something I enjoy - this is one.

Jon Bond's "New" Advertising Services Model

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 13:25:00 +0000

From the original Ad Age article...
"Four months after departing Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal and Partners, the New York agency he co-founded in 1987, Jon Bond -- backed with some $100 million in financing -- is setting out to build a new marketing services entity to rival Kirshenbaum's owner, MDC Partners, and other holding companies, according to several industry executives.

The entity is being dubbed a "cooperative" to prospective partners and touted as an alternative structure to the current advertising and marketing holding-company model. Mr. Bond is said to have met with some 80 to 100 marketing services firms and tech outfits , in the U.S. and in Europe with a range of specialties. People familiar with the situation said Mr. Bond has raised $100 million from multiple resources and has invested his own money into the venture, too."

Interesting that Ad Age is touting this model as new. I do not think the concept of a cooperative in this industry is new, but perhaps having an ex-conglomerate executive proceed with serious capital investment and getting national ink upon announcement is.

Independent agencies and boutique studios that are smaller, but put out high quality work have worked within this structure for years. Personally speaking, my digital studio, The Basement, has worked as a co-op partner, maybe in not so many words, with regional agencies, marcomm firms and social media shops (some independent and some not) for the past three years. This was also the model I recommended implementing at my old shop.

My hats off to Jon Bond for pursuing this model, because as we all know, those that try to be all things to all people tend to be good at a few things and perform malpractice at the rest.

I will be interested to see how this works for Mr. Bond.

Hard Time Writing

Sat, 08 May 2010 01:30:00 +0000

It has been tough lately to find time and topics to write about. I am not motivated to jump on the Apple v. Flash bandwagon, nor do I give a crap about Apple, the iPad or any other iDevice that seems to be taking up space in every fan boys blog and backpack these days.

As I sit here I think about much more important things like when are the wife and baby going to get home from the ER? Is my son in bed or is he running around his room again? The list goes on with family, the businesses and all other things that fill my busy head.

I am finding it hard to write about digital trinkets built to be old news in 3 months, ad network consolidation or even the almighty media landscape and its non-stop evolution.

Perhaps I will get back on the bully pulpit soon, but for now I am taking a rest from it. We have a lot of really cool stuff going on, but it would not be wise for me to start talking about all of it here now. It is in development and will be released in good time.

Until then, check out the Basement facebook page or my twitter feed for sporadic thoughts.

Client Work Knocking Down Walls and Getting Huge Results

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:50:00 +0000

One of our agency clients put together a fantastically successful Facebook campaign for Einstein Bros. Bagels. We worked with them on the creative execution for the fan/like page and the design work for the offers that generated the extremely positive results.

A couple of different media outlets picked up the story and you can read those here:
Fast Company Magazine ARTICLE
Quick facts from the Fast Company piece: In less than three days Einsteins went from a Facebook fan count of 4,700 to a massive 336,000-plus
According to the company, this is the first instance of a Facebook advertiser providing a free offer though instant digital coupons

More media about this promotion:
The Louisville Business Journal ARTICLE

SocialMedia.org ARTICLE

These are just a few. It is nice to see The Basement's design work on all of these articles.

The Basement Looking for a Lead Flash Developer

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:01:00 +0000

Lead Flash Developer
The Basement Design + Motion Indianapolis, IN USA Posted on: April 19, 2010

Lead Flash Developer

The Basement Design + Motion is seeking a Lead Flash Developer to accommodate new growth. The right candidate needs to live flash and have a passion for design, animation and innovation. We are working within AS3.

Required Skills:

• Excellent communication skills with clients and internal project team • 5+ years experience in AS2 and AS3 and a strong understanding of OOP • An eye for motion design and timing • Building or working within frameworks • Experience integrating Flash with php and .Net services required • PaperVision experience a plus • Game design experience a plus • A/R experience a plus• Strong knowledge of Javascript, XML, HTML and CSS • Experience working within a team and using SVN a plus

If you possess the right mix of talent and experience, you can make an immediate impact in this growing studio. This is an in house position and candidates must reside in or be willing to relocate to Indianapolis or a surrounding area. If you wish to be considered for this position please email your online portfolio and a list of urls clearly explaining your involvement on each project along with a current resume. Label "Lead Flash Developer" in the subject header.

The Basement Design + Motion is a growing motion design studio located in Historic Fort Ben, in Indianapolis. Please refer to our site to learn more www.thebasement.tv

Apply at: jacob@thebasement.tv

The Basement Announced as a 2010 Mira Award Finalist

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:47:00 +0000

The Basement Design + Motion Announced as Finalist for Prestigious Mira Awards Program

Five independent panels of judges have chosen 60 Indiana companies, including
The Basement Design + Motion, to compete for state’s top technology honors

INDIANAPOLIS (APRIL 12, 2009) — Five independent panels of judges have chosen 60 finalists to compete for the state’s top technology honors — the TechPoint Mira Awards presented by BKD.

The Basement Design + Motion was named as a finalist for the second year in a row. The Basement Design + Motion is a finalist in the IT Gazelle category. Jacob Leffler, president of The Basement said, “We are honored and humbled to once again be named a finalist for Techpoint Mira Awards. It is an honor to be placed alongside such a prestigious group of nominees and finalists.”

Jim Jay, president and CEO of TechPoint, said that more people are participating in the Mira Awards this year than ever before. He attributes the program growth to a new “Excellence and Innovation in New Media” category, the states thriving health care information technology community, and Indiana’s robust tech industry at large.

“Tech companies based in Indiana realize greater overall business value than those located on the coasts because of our superior tech workforce, educational resources and lower infrastructure costs. I think that’s reflected in receiving a record number of nominations for Mira Awards following the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.”

Mira Awards judges evaluated and scored each submitted nomination, and the scoring determined which nominees became finalists. Finalists will deliver presentations and answer questions in person before one of the five independent panels of judges during the next few weeks.

The winners will be announced at the Mira Awards Gala, an “Oscars-style” award ceremony being held Saturday, May 15, at The Westin Indianapolis.

Nominees, finalists and the general public can purchase Individual tickets for the gala at the event’s website — www.techpoint.org/mira. Ticket packages and some sponsorship opportunities are also available.

The nominees for the 2010 TechPoint Mira Awards, IT Gazelle category, are as follows:

• IT Gazelle
o ENthEnergy, LLC
o Prevel Technology
o BlueLock, LLC
o Compendium
o Marketpath, Inc.
o The Basement Design + Motion, LLC

About the Basement Design + Motion
The Basement Design + Motion is a digital design studio squarely focused on designing and developing cutting edge design and production for interactive and motion-based media. The Basement routinely delivers progressive interactive media, motion graphics, online games and 3D/2D animated content for the web, digital signage and broadcast. Visit www.thebasement.tv

About TechPoint
TechPoint is Indiana’s only statewide technology initiative, representing industry stakeholders including publicly-traded companies, private businesses, colleges and research universities, and local economic development organizations. The mission of TechPoint is to accelerate Indiana’s emerging and vibrant information technology sector by: promoting the successes of IT companies and professionals; supporting the formation, expansion, and attraction of IT companies; and advocating appropriate public policy. Visit www.techpoint.org.

Shut Up and Execute

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 03:03:00 +0000

This one will be short. With all of the conduits for individuals to shout their expertise there is no shortage of experts, presenters, pundits, critics, commentators, observers with opinion, anchors, et al.

With all of this great information flying around, it seems it has provided a severe shortage of individuals and organizations that can actually do something (of value). While everyone trips over themselves (and others) to obtain the ever so valued "engagement" they seem to run the opposite way from actual execution. After all it is easy to talk about the changing world, it is easy to post wisdom when it is restricted to 140 characters and it is easy to grab facts off of a Google search and regurgitate them through a blog.

It is hard to fulfill a contract, it is hard to make payroll, it is hard provide your staff with good health care, it is hard to make a commitment and actually follow through, it is hard to shake some one's hand, look them in the eye, commit to their business and execute to their success. It is very hard to do all of this with regularity, integrity, loyalty, profitably and over a long period of time.

If all of the aforementioned things were easy everyone would have a successful business and stellar reputation. My mother used to tell me, "Just worry about yourself. Do not waste time worrying about what others are doing." She was right, so I, and my organization, spend less time these days trying to "engage" and we spend much more time executing on commitment and insuring the success of our client partners.

Funny thing that execution, it tends to make people want to continue doing actual business with you. It has proven to be much more valuable than a "follow."

Mark Grossnickle Acknowledged in New Flash Games Book

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 00:21:00 +0000

The Basement's own Mark Grossnickle, aka Ickydime, is acknowledged in the new book
The Essential Guide to Flash Games: Building Interactive Entertainment with ActionScript.

So much for short titles. :) Congrats Mark!