June: 5 Cool Things to Love This Month
June. The month of the Gemini, symbolized by the twins. But not all duos this month are identical. Consider ... summer solstice + June gloom. And the two birthstones of this month ... the smoothness of pearls + the flash and rarity of Alexandrite. And another duality of modern life ... once again they are fraternal twinsies: online + offline.Here are four cool things from both those worlds, and one from onscreen.
Online: Chatbook Ad
Chances are you have already seen this video, which is in essence an ad but one that thousands have now watched several times over. The ad is for Chatbook, an app aimed at busy moms who take a lot of pictures on their phones and then leave them on Facebook or Instagram because making photo books is so time consuming. They hired Lisa Clark from the YouTube show Pretty Darn Funny (which it definitely is... the Jane Austen rap in Episode 6 is a must-see).
In the ad she laments about all those things modern moms are supposed to do well, like photo books: “They’re designed for moms with lots of free time: imaginary moms. But at least scrapbooking is great, if you have no job and no kids. So, not great.” It's watchable, hilarious and makes everyone who sees it want the app, even if they don't have kids!It's an example of:1. Humor in advertising2. Story telling -- people will tune in when the story is compelling, entertaining, well written3. Video marketing done right
Offline: Books
It would seem that highly illustrated books are a happening. Here are three that speak right to my favorite question for creative entrepreneurs: "What would you start tomorrow if you knew you couldn't fail? These three complement the passions that drive each of these people.Oliver the Schnoodle. Marta Elena Vassilakis, a fashion photographer, began taking pictures of her adorable dog, Oliver. They were so popular that she turned it into a book with full spreads of Oliver in a number of fashion shoots. The book is launching June 17. She's self published the book, so check back into her website later in the month for how to buy it.
Trainer Tim's Gym and Trainer Tim's Trouble Friend. Tim Green, a personal trainer, uses his series of books to help empower children through exercise. It mirrors his own life of how he used exercise as a foster child to get through some tough times. These sweet books are available on Amazon in large-format paperback right now.
Straight Up Teen Talk. Julia Endean, the daughter of event producer Tahira Endean, CMP, is the classic put-together teen you always wanted to be (okay, I always wanted to be). In this book, she and her squad offer up some truths straight up! These nuggets of wisdom help others making that very scary leap from elementary to middle school. And #truth? There is advice here for us all! Available on Amazon.
Online: Linktree
Little details that take put the polish on our marketing efforts make me smile! If you have blogs, an online store, or simply want to drive traffic to different pages on your website, Linktree is a very cool way to do that in your Instagram profile. Instead of just one shortened url in your bio, viewers click on the Linktree url. It comes up looking like it does below (or for a fee, it can be customized), giving your viewers a wider variety of places to link. As the site itself says, you only get one chance to link on Instagram, make it a good one!
Offline: Smaller Conferences
One thing I'm personally loving about June is a small work shop I'm doing. Some background: Last week I mentioned the new conference, Haute Dokimazo in my blog post about Wired for Reinvention. It was for 100 people and the organizers curated the attendee list to create a good mix of experiential marketers and suppliers. It was a very special day of education and connection and the good news I can share here is that it will be coming to San Diego soon in the fall.I was inspired by it enough to take the leap and launch Brand Therapy. This style of marketing from the heart -- breathing life into what matters most in our businesses and marketing -- is something I have done one-on-one with my clients for 18 years. But after attending Haute Dokimazo, I'm doing it as what best can be described as a facilitated round table. It's intent is to create a deeper connection to one another and to new ideas in a safe, friendly environment. Twenty invited guests will come together for lunch and conversation at Warner Bros. Studios on June 21. Up for discussion: the barriers that hold us back from marketing our brand with full power. I'll let you know how it goes![bctt tweet="Brand Therapy #truth. One person's glimmer of an idea can be another's total business revelation!" username="@liesegardner"]I'm very grateful to Mary Harris and Natalie Hagee from Warner Bros. Studio Special Events for the venue and lunch, to Sarah Zahran from XO Bloom for flowers and design, to Wanda Wen from Wanda Wen Soolip for the journals and to Jillian Rose for the photos. And thanks to Lisa King Design for the logo!
Onscreen: Wonder Woman
Online, offline, onscreen, on fire ... Wonder Woman doesn't choose her worlds, she makes them. I was happy when this film received such great audience response. It's proven that a female character can anchor a superhero franchise and that there is yet another character onscreen to provide a role model for women of all ages. The entertainment industry is not exactly evenly stacked. According to the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, aka SeeJane.org, 81 percent of the working characters -- that means people with jobs -- in G-rated films are male. While not all girls will strive to be superheroes, of course, Wonder Woman speaks to that adage -- you can't be what you can't see. It's at least a step in the right direction to show a strong female character who can do anything."Anytime we see women in powerful roles onscreen, it challenges narrowly defined and antiquated views of leadership." Stacy Smith, a communications professor at USC whose research discusses diversity in media.And that is Wonder Woman's real power.
Have a wondrous and powerful June!!
