The Naked Blog

Garbage In.....Garbage Out....

We didn't have kids signed up for one of the City run day camps.

We didn't need a building permit.

We didn't need to go to the Island on the Ferry.

And we managed to get our garbage taken care of by some enterprising students.

But we were still pissed at the way the whole city strike thing shook out. 

So when David Miler, the Mayor of Toronto, returned to council yesterday, his only request was to "...put this behind us."   Huh?

We prefer a 'really hope he's got a sense of humour', on-going reminder for the Mayor.

So below you will find handy, dandy protest stickers for your garbage bins and recycling containers. Print them out yourself and adhere them or simply email us and we'll send you a couple already printed on adhesive paper. Tell 'em how you feel. Show your colours. Take a stand.

Your Dog Have Talent?

If you think so...click here

Heaven Is A Better Place Today

This past weekend one of our designers - Omar Ramos - died very suddenly. Very tragic and very sad. He was in his early fifties and had altered his entire lifestyle over the past years - he'd put his (small) vices behind him, became a vegetarian, practiced and taught yoga, etc., etc.  Omar was one of the most  gentle souls on earth, peaceful, full of laughter and just a joy to be around. To say he'll be missed does not do him or the memories of those who've met him, justice.  His family is coping with the loss as anyone in their position would do - bravely and with dignity - but inside we can't even imagine what they're going through. 

If any of you have any memories of Omar to pass along to the family (they've asked for this) please email us and we'll make sure they get through. RIP Omar.

Sir Ken part II

We've spoken about Sir Kenneth Robinson before; his amazing TED talk has been viewed, praised and passed along the Interweb many, many times. This week he was in Toronto and spoke at The Glenn Gould Studio at the CBC. "Nuturing passion and talent" was sponsored in part by The Globe and Mail and you can see it here on the Globe Campus web site. Part 1. Part 2.

The Velocity of Business

One of the things we're noticing about work today is that the expectations of when projects need to be completed (NOW!!) and how long work is expected to take to get from brief to completion (NOW!). It's no longer enough to say, we'll need a week or we'll need some time. Economic pressures, business realities and the need to drive sales NOW!! have forced companies like ours (and anyone in a service business for that matter) to adapt. It's not warp speed. It's hyper-warp speed.

And one of the biggest mistake companies in the service business can make is to compare themselves to others in their business as a point of  reference. 

"If every other company like ours takes a week, then we have a week." Wrong. 

It's wrong because that's not what you're being compared against. The frame of reference has changed.

We recently ordered a USB power adapter for an iphone from the apple.ca web site. Cost us about $40.

We ordered it just after midnight on March 12. It arrived in our office on March 13. But what was more astounding was the rout it took to get here; Started in China, went to Hong Kong, then to Alaska, then to Newark, then to Mississauga and then to our office in downtown Toronto. In one day. And did we mention, the shipping was free? 

Obviously, shipping a product from a warehouse is different than delivering an idea or a creative solution to a problem. But, as the rules of the game change and companies like FedEx, Amazon, Apple, Zappos and others continue to raise the bar, how will your company adapt to the new speed of business?

"I see what you mean..."

We can argue for days about the role the media is playing in accelerating the fears people have about the current economy. Negative headlines & stories abound but journalists remain devout in fanning the flames  ("The news isn't good." one scribe was quoted as saying, "What do you want us to do, write about stuff that isn't true?" - no, but there are two ways to look at a glass of water; half full or half empty.). All the good news seems to be buried or glossed over ("AT&T to add 3,000 jobs" "RIM bringing on new workers") but the net take away is that people are scared, uncertain and fearful.

But this post isn't about that. 

This is about how visual thinking can sometimes help people understand better things that they have trouble grasping. Like the economy.

 

Here's a very good web site which has captured a number of visual representations of the current crisis. Maybe when you see information presented visually instead of a just headline, it'll make you feel better. Or not.

Is This The Best You Can Do?

The folks from GM (and Chrysler) have been in Washington DC talking to Congress about hand outs to help them survive. We can forever debate the pros and cons as to whether the government should be in come to town and tell them why you need the money, what you'll do with it,   how you won't blow it God help you - this time you mean it -you'll never do this again and on and on and on, couldn't they have done better than this????

All the money they spend non innovating the car business you'd think someone in head office could've hired a presentation coach or someone with an eye for communication.

Charts, graphs, bullet points,lots and lots and lots of copy and only one that had a photo of a car in it. 

Can't imagine being on the receiving  end of this presentation, and we can't confirm it but apparently this guy was in the front row.

Globe and Mail Mediterranean Cruise Campaign

We're getting lots of feedback from a campaign we developed for The Globe and Mail and their Mediterranean cruise. We wrote about the value and highlights of the cruise here, but we've been asked to show all of the ads together, which were happy to do. Our goal with this campaign is to focus on various events from the trip to ensure the reader understands that this is not only a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity but also that this cruise has been customized for Globe readers and will not and cannot be replicated elsewhere. In terms of value, there is no comparison to any other cruise you might be considering. When you take into account the exclusivity afforded the Globe as well as the 'all inclusive' nature of the voyage, there is no comparison. As the ads say This is only one day of fourteen on this journey of a lifetime.

  

Is This The Best You Can Do?

The folks from GM (and Chrysler) have been in Washington DC talking to Congress about hand outs to help them survive. We can forever debate the pros and cons as to whether the government should be in come to town and tell them why you need the money, what you'll do with it,   how you won't blow it God help you - this time you mean it -you'll never do this again and on and on and on, couldn't they have done better than this????

All the money they spend non innovating the car business you'd think someone in head office could've hired a presentation coach or someone with an eye for communication.

Charts, graphs, bullet points,lots and lots and lots of copy and only one that had a photo of a car in it. 

Can't imagine being on the receiving  end of this presentation, and we can't confirm it but apparently this guy was in the front row.

Seth, Tribes and Twitter

As we've said before, we're huge fans of Seth Godin. Here he gives his perspective on a few things: Possibilities. Scale. Tribes. The power of 1000 people (1:35). And why he doesn't use Twitter (he's late to it and it's distracting - 9:20) His best quote about reasons for not using twitter is that he "....doesn't want to become a wandering generality rather than a meaningful specific...." Couldn't agree more about that or the whole twitter thing.

Cruising Globe and Mail Style

For the second consecutive year, The Globe and Mail is offering it's readers (or those just interested) a chance to travel in luxury on a customized, 14 day cruise. Last year, The Globe's Caribbean Odyssey cruise was an unqualified success (98% approval rating from guests); this year it's the Mediterranean. 

The Mediterranean Odyssey is a cruise that cannot be matched by any other cruise line or travel company; for news junkies you have the opportunity to discuss the events of the day with Globe and Mail columnists and editorial staff. And not just from afar - you'll start each day with an 'insider breakfast' where the Editor of The Globe will explain the day's top stories, the stories behind the story and what it all means. 

You'll have lunch with some of the top newspaper columnists in Canada (Blatchford, Reguly, Brown and many more). You'll dine on some the finest menu creations from both Massimo Capra (Mistura/Toronto) and Lynn Crawford (The Four Seasons/New York) and sip some of the favourite vintages of Canada's foremost authority on wine, Beppi Crosariol. 

For the historian and culture fanatic there are shore excursions to visit ancient archtethtual ruins and beautiful historical sites of some of Europe's most celebrated locales, including a private concert within the ancient ruins if Ephesus and a private tour of the Vatican Library.

One of the discoveries of the Caribbean cruise was that you were traveling with a small group of 'like minded' people; the majority of guests are Canadians who are world news savvy, interested and interesting. A true mind enriching trip that you'll be talking about for years. 

All in all, this is once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And considering the agenda, the value of a luxurious, customized trip like this is spectacular. 

For more information click here. 

Need an Accounting Firm?

One of our recent new business wins was for an accounting firm based in Calgary who has just expanded into Toronto. Myers, Norris, Penny is Canada's 7th largest accounting and business consultancy.

We've been retained to help them begin their march onto the hallowed halls of Bay Street to take on heavy weights like Ernst & Young, KPMG, PWC and others. 

Tough task. Tough market. But these guys have a lot of experience, a unique positioning that plays off of their Western roots ("It all starts with a cup of coffee....") and we hope to help them make the short list of a few business deals in the near future. Stay tuned. 

Sultans of Science

Who knew that before the Wright Brothers there was Abbas bin Firnas ? And the guy who invented the pinhole camera was not Edward Land or some guy named Nikon, but a Muslim named  Ibn al-Haytham ? 

That's the gist of a new exhibition at Toronto's world famous hub for knowledge, The Ontario Science Centre. 

And in our first campaign for OSC, we were charged with creating some noise and selling some tickets to the event. 

Our outdoor campaign will turn some heads and there's a very cool print campaign along with some highly targeted sponsorship TV ads that have been created for the campaign. There's a newly designed web site coming soon too. 

The Ontario Science Centre is an amazingly interactive and enlightening place. Every time we visit we're struck by how much there is to see & do and it's all very hands on, very engaging. A perfect antidote for the X-box-video game-web surfing kids in your life. And a message for parents: remember visiting the Science Centre on a school trip? Well, that gizmo you put your hand on that makes your hair stand straight up is still there; come share it with your kids!  

We're back....

Hi. Remember us?  Naked? We're still here, just a little out of breath.

We've gone missing for the past, oh, 6 or 8 months or so. Shame on us. We've had lot's to say, plenty to show but we've been so busy getting it out the door.....you know, the shoemakers children yada, yada, yada. But thanks for your cards & letters of encouragement; they kept us going. Really. 

Anyway, we'll give it another whirl and see if we can keep you interested and / or provide you with some interesting goings on through our Naked eyes.

Here's one of the reasons we've been busy. Autohound.ca. It's the newest way to buy used cars in Canada and we did everything from the branding, naming and identity to the tv ads, web design and newspaper ads. The campaign broke on this years Superbowl telecast in Canada. 

We were very happy with the way it all turned out - a very collaborative effort; from storyboards to final edit it was all very seamless. Our way of working is to get our clients very involved in the process, right from the get-go and in this case it worked magically. 

We were able to tell some simple, engaging stories, in a fun and entertaining way to help drive awareness for Autohound. And this was all done -from approved concept to on air - in just under 3 weeks. Yes, 3 weeks.  At a cost that would shock most clients and every large agency CFO.

We've also had some good press about the campaign from Ad Age. Thanks for that. 

UPDATE (02/04/09) : Jennifer Wells has also added some flattering commentary about the Autohound campaign here. 

Think Different

Clients (and friends) often ask us what we do that's different from an ad agency, PR company or design studio. The short answer is that in a world where businesses fight, scratch and claw for a competitive advantage, we develop ideas and creative solutions to help them get noticed and communicate with their constituents in whatever form is appropriate. That's a business advantage. 

Maybe it is an ad campaign. But it's an ad campaign that does something or looks completely different. 

Or maybe it's creating an event to generate awareness. Or developing a documentary film. Or a web site that doesn't look like any other web site in cyberspace. We want clients who want to think differently about how they go to market.

And on that note, here's a great story from Ad Age on some clients who are thinking differently about Marketing.