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2.0 Part 2: The Long Approach

November 25, 2015

One of my favorite questions that I often get is “why don’t I know about you?” I love it--a declaration of supremacy, ignorance, and guilt all at the same time. Re-phrased, complete with backhanded undertones it actually sounds more like, “How could I--a ‘high-powered tastemaker’ who has been in this business longer than you have been alive--have no clue that I’ve been competing with [and losing to] you this entire time!?” What I love even more about this question are not my quick, witty responses, but taking note of the people who ask. Can you guess who typically asks these questions? Yep you nailed it, The Old Rep^[1].

I will hold off on divulging some of my more…“choice” responses, but suffice to say with the AICP event here in Chicago last week, opportunities to audition and perfect my response were far from lacking. Joking aside, what we have here is a real problem and the current solution is well, you know...

Let me explain where I came from; I came up under you. Not in the way that you’d like to think--where I, as a young, junior-rep watched longingly at the way you carried yourself, and spoke to clients waiting for the opportunity to emulate your behavior. No. What I mean is that I grew and solidified my roots underground [yes, like a weed]. Face it, cool shit happens underground - we don’t particularly care for rules, sustainability is secondary [for the moment], and arguably the only rule or perhaps as Captain Jack Sparrow would put it, guideline is; “best idea wins”. Sounds cool, right? It is; but, like the best punk bands, artists, and fight clubs eventually the underground moves above ground - those roots grow stronger and dig deeper; eventually breaking through to the surface. Interestingly it’s here at this moment when brands, agencies, clients, etc. want to latch on to “the underground” vibe…when it’s above ground [read: safe]. This isn’t an op/ed on the state of branding [though maybe that will be a future topic] so I will leave you with this point--when you talk about “knowing who I am” [or in this case not knowing] understand this: in the underground you learn to see in the dark. You couldn’t see me, but I’ve been watching you this entire time.

Oddly enough, this segues quite nicely to the second defining characteristic in our New Rep series; unlike our friend The Old Rep, The New Rep will take a decidedly different approach when it comes to attracting, signing, growing, and of course representing the next generation of talent - we’ll call it: “The Obsidian Guide to Getting Things Right the First Time”. On second thought how about, the “Long Approach” instead? In my last post I wrote primarily about identifying new talent - cutting through the ‘noise’ to locate the source or ‘signal’, but let’s say you’ve found [what you believe to be] the signal, what now?

Those in the biz love to tout the fact that it’s so “dynamic”; waxing poetic about an environment that’s always-changing, typically followed up by some bullshit comment roughly equating to “adapt or die”, but have they really adapted? Think about the last major adaptation you made in your practice, e.g., the way in which you communicate with clients, a new media or distribution platform/channel, or perhaps [God forbid] another social media service. Hell, even a new Gmail layout. We think we make these giant advances when all that’s really being done is talk and quite literally anyone can do that, but advertising may do it the best. SXSW or AICP panels, PowerPoint presentations, press releases, podcasts, the avenues are seemingly endless for those that wish to talk, but answer me this: what good is one’s ability to talk about ‘in-house’ this, ‘streamlined’ that, resulting in increased these if one can’t put that talk into practice with [read: sell to] one’s client? We find ourselves in the midst of a capabilities arms race - media shops producing content, PR shops vying for advertising AOR, advertising agencies taking production & post in-house, advertisers attempting to take their digital departments in house, and the list goes on, but like a dog chasing a car - would they know what to do if they ever were to catch it [except talk about it some more]? Ladies and gentlemen I present to you a glimpse of The [unfortunate] New Normal: where ideas are chased and no longer created. That’s not dynamic that’s insanity.

“But Matt, it sounds like you’re the one who’s waxing poetic and talking just like everyone else”, some astute reader will inevitably fire back. Well, much like Adam Sandler’s wedding singer “I have a microphone and you don’t so you’re going to listen to every damn word I have to say” and [more importantly] like I mentioned earlier, we’ve been watching you. Not only did we see and recognize this New Normal as a system we are going to have to work with for a while^[2], but we we’ve been counting on it. Now here’s some good news: all hope is not lost and for as much of the burden to change rests upon everyone in this business, we can’t forget the subject of this post; our X-Factor, The New Rep. The ones who spent their time underground identifying signal from noise, the fad from the legitimate, and filmmaker from film-taker. Can you feel it? That’s right, I’m bringing this bad boy full circle.

Being underground comes with it’s advantages and disadvantages, some of the advantages being: we were never caught up in the politics, gossip, approved vendor lists, and endless agency/client drama. We spent our time pinpointing where, based on what we knew and what we believed the business was headed and we’ve arrived; right on schedule. Before I go on, here’s a real-life example of pinpointing an industry, separating a signal from the noise: remember the MiniDisc?

It's like holding the future in your hand!

In the timeline of personal audio devices the MiniDisc [and it’s corresponding player] fell somewhere between the portable CD player and the mp3 player. I can’t commit to consumer adoption metrics, but it wasn’t the most “adopted” piece of portable audio technology. While reasons for this vary from consumers not wanting to re-purchase their CD [or cassette] library as MiniDiscs to not understanding the point [carrying a separate piece of physical media to be played ala cassette tapes or CD...always seemed redundant], see where I’m headed? When looking at where this media & it’s corresponding device fell in the zeitgeist of portable audio equipment, it became abundantly clear that the underlying technology [digitized, file-based music] was far more interesting than the medium on which it came “packaged”. In other words, the .mp3 file format predated the physical MiniDisc so wouldn’t it stand to reason that a device - essentially a hard drive could hold these files without the need for individualized MiniDisc albums?^[3] Yes, there still needed to be some developments made with operating system and file/folder management, but I think you’re getting the point. The application of existing technology - the digital audio format [.mp3] found its way onto, wait for it…the MP3 player all, but cementing the MiniDisc as the last new, physical audio format in the music industry^[4].

'90's Sony Mini Disc Commercial / R.I.P. Circuit City

Awesomess Quotient [AQ] over Time [T]

*this is in no way a scientific representation of ANYTHING*

You see, our Long Approach isn’t a sales tool or a special intellectual property that is available to only a select few. It’s not a reinvention of the wheel either. It is an application of what we already know about the wheel compared and contrasted against what we believe the wheel could become^[5]. We at Obsidian do not claim to be rocket scientists, quantum physicists, or anything else that requires more than 4 years of schooling, but there are some commonalities between us. Just like ‘real’ scientists, The New Rep looks at the current landscape, notices a new trend, technology, distribution channel, etc. and asks themselves a simple 2-part question: what do I know and what do I believe? The goal being to find an intersection between what you believe about [a] aforementioned trend and [b] consumer behavior/adoption [and by extension advertising & media adoption] while comparing and contrasting against what you know^[6].

Truthfully this is a dynamic business, but by the time the pundits who pontificate about ‘dynamacy’ get around to pointing it out to the masses [or worse, their clients], the current strategy is often a case of too little too late. I know you’re thinking, “this doesn’t apply to our strategy” or “that’s not really what our client is looking for” so let me tell you right now: it does and they are. Show me a company actively trying not to be successful^[7] or profitable^[8]; ridiculous, right? Then why allow your clients, these companies or individuals trying desperately to stay above water in a media-ocean that they are literally drowning in to become another statistic of The New Normal just to show off offer some capability that you may or may not actually have let alone be able to execute at the level required?

Wrapping up, it is not too late to pull the e-brake and stop chasing. It is time for everyone, not just reps, not just advertising or PR agencies; all of us to stand up and be the experts in our respective fields once again. If you are reading this and don’t know where to start, call your rep. If they don’t know the answer then a good one will find the answer and deliver it along with contingency options. If that is not your experience then find a New Rep.

So why don’t you “know about me”? I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.

[1] Read Part 1 here.

[2] Regimes, Systems, Paradigms are all fluid and never built to last

[3] I had nothing to do with any aspect of the ideation or invention of the mp3 player

[4] Audiophiles will quickly point out that the HDCD came well after the Mini Disc and to them all I have to say is, “Really?!?”

[5] Given current market trends in the ‘wheel-business’...it’s a bumpy road ahead [#unsubscribe]

[6] We are assuming that knowledge is fluid and that what we knew may no longer be what we know

[7] Twitter doesn’t count, you just don’t get it.

[8] Registered 501c3 companies excluded.

2.0 Part 1: Nothing Is the Same, but It's Not That Different Either...

September 20, 2015

Obsidian turned 5 years old in March of this year - it's a mile marker, but we've still got a long way to go to become what I know we can be. Along the way I've been paid compliments ranging from being referred to as "a breath of fresh air" to "I've never thought about it that way before" and of course "how is your hair so perfect all the time?!?”. Ok, that last one doesn't quite count, but a compliment is a compliment. The frequency of the comments really made me think about what it means to “represent” something or somebody in 2015 and it made me wonder if what we’re doing at Obsidian is really all that different.

A month or so ago I promised a three part look at "The New Rep" and this post will serve as Part 1. In this part I want to focus on something that's fairly obvious, but also overlooked from a sales or in this case, representation standpoint - technology. It is omnipresent in this business. We are all vying for seconds, not minutes of attention and technology has made the distribution of content as easy as the click of a button. The simplicity presents a paradox however - a boon and a challenge on both micro and macro levels; a challenge that requires an upgraded skill set - enter “Thew New Rep”.

In order for me to talk about The New Rep I need to take a minute to talk about “The Old Rep". We are going to take the high ground here, acknowledging and appreciating what The Old Rep has brought to the industry and while the cynical Creative Director or Executive Producer may say something along the lines of "a headache" or some other bullshit, I don't buy it. Back in the day before every production company had a website and before Wiredrive or any digital asset management service existed you, Mr. Agency Creative would be stuck trying to find that perfect visual storyteller and who would you call? Sure you might have a few contacts here and there, but this, this idea needs a real visionary and George Lucas isn't taking your calls. Enter the Rep who acts as liason between [in this example] production talent and the agency production team. This person is a resource and is able to put you in touch with a director that aligns with your creative. Hell, they may even have one or two that are doing things with a camera that you didn’t even realize could be done! They know which directors are available for your shoot dates, they know the bios & past experience of their directors and they are your best bet for getting this show on the road. Remember: at one point reps did not exist.

>>> 25 years [ish]

It's here where I want to actually begin; Internet, Laptops, Wifi, i-[EVERYTHING], and Social Media. Where once the ultimate idea was to create a :30 live action "spot" that lives on broadcast television we are now presented with myriad platforms on which to present what we create. Production, post, music companies, etc. have their own websites where anyone can see the most recent work of every director, editor, animator, composer, VFX artist, etc. There are entire databases dedicated to who concepted/shot/cut/composed/finished what. We have Wiredrive [and other lesser services] which have simplified the sharing of assets from a production and sales standpoint so I know what you’re thinking, “WTF do we need a rep for?!?” The truth is that reps are even more important now than ever. A good rep, The New Rep will separate the signal from the noise.

Nate Silver wrote the book aptly titled, "The Signal and the Noise". It's a fantastic read of you’re an information/statistics geek like me or if you are just tired of being told what to think and actually would like to try your hand at thinking for yourself. The basic premise is this: technology is a wonderful thing, but it's prevalence, and the abundance of information it creates can be a deterrent to whatever it is we are trying to use the information to accomplish. I'm not reaching when I say that [it feels like] everyone and their brother is starting a production company, music company, post company, etc. I love the entrepreneurial spirit, and the idea of competition within a talent pool, but just because one can start a company doesn't mean one should. The cost of high-quality cameras have come down dramatically and post production/editing software suites can be had for as little as $60/month [ala Adobe's Creative Cloud]. My point here is that in an industry where everyone fancies themselves an artist, it's awfully easy to play pretend and create some decent looking work for not a lot of money and throw it up on your fancy responsive website potentially adding to the "noise" in our business. Has this new “lightweight creative collective” ever even worked with an advertising agency? Have they ever dealt with clients of advertising agencies? Do you, Mrs. Producer feel 100% certain that their “all under one roof” approach will get the deliverables correct? The New Rep came into this business sifting through noise, they’ve never had the luxury of somebody with a legitimate attention span so they must be adept at quickly finding the signal. It’s not a skill, it’s survival.

"What exactly would you say YOU DO HERE?" The New Rep knows how to trim the fat.

On that note, and on top of the…we’ll call it “traditional noise” there are new types of talent that didn't even exist 25 years ago, due once again to advances in technology [distribution platforms as well as digital creativity] including various specialty post production artists, interactive developers & animators, and experiential design/architectural creatives. The noise just tripled so how are our agency partners supposed to get their amazing 360 idea off the ground? The New Rep has done their homework. They understand and can articulate the capabilities of everyone that they represent. They know where their clients are strongest and they know where their clients skill sets may not be up to snuff for the creative ask and will communicate that honestly with their agency partner. They may even represent companies or artists that offset each other’s skill sets to create a custom solution.

Is this getting long? It’s getting long so I’ll make my final point so pay attention: agencies & clients, you are not alone in this “noise”. Let’s face it, there is so much bullshit out there, but don’t hate the player hate the game. If you don’t do your homework and ask the right questions then those snake oil production, post, VR, or whatever companies aren’t going to check your math. In this tech-obsessed climate, you need somebody you can trust; somebody who may even know a thing or two more than you about a particular subject. Feeling lost now? Just wait and see what the next 5 years brings. The disparity between “Old” and “New” will compound many times over so take control of your creative and put it in the hands of the next-gen. Love us or hate us you need us. We’ve opened the door so suck it up and take a step through.

Art Basel 2014 [or] "I'm in a Gallery, Bitch!"

December 19, 2014

Art Basel is an event I’ve always read about, but never gave much thought to attending until a few years back. I suppose I never really thought I belonged there…I’m not a billionaire and therefore don’t collect art. Also, the only artists I can name are the ones you typically learn about in high school or college 101 classes, but in December 2014 I was in for a real education.

When I first sat down to write this post, I wanted to simply talk about Miami - how I had never really been to Miami and how I was basically expecting to be walking amongst throngs of these tools. The fortunate reality is that Miami is really nothing like what Chicago, namely the “Chiami” crew would lead you to believe…yes, fuck you @ChiamiLifestyle you’re ruining not one, but two perfectly good cities.

I digress.

Art Basel is pretty gnarly; for one week in December people from all over the world descend upon the relatively small city of Miami - all in the name of 'art'. Some come to purchase, some to look, while others simply come for the party. Basel itself is held at the convention center and is difficult to describe without using words like ‘enormous’ or ‘overwhelming’. There is so much stimulus - paintings, sculptures, photography, interactive exhibits, film, etc that museum fatigue [yes that’s a thing] sets in within about 2 hours. It took me two days to navigate Basel itself and I still didn’t come close to seeing everything.

In addition to Basel there are other exhibitions that are held all over Miami during the same time frame such as: Pulse, Scope, Design Miami, NADA, and Aqua to name just a few. I was lucky enough to have procured a pass from my friends at Artsy that would allow me access to all of these exhibitions. For the next 4 days I shuttled [and UBER'd] around Miami trying to dedicate a ‘morning’ to one particular exhibition and an ‘afternoon’ to another. This method worked for a few days, but the deeper I went, the longer I stayed…I was on to something. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but every exhibition I went to was slightly more ‘underground’ than the last - if there isn’t a designated shuttle then that is ‘underground’.

"The Death of Love 2" by Katsutoshi Yuasa

After a few days of soaking it all in [including the aloe for my sunburn] I thought I should get some of these thoughts down. Art Basel is the 'Main Event' with famous people like Jay-Z, Leo D, Pharrell Williams, etc. looking at [and tweeting about] famous pieces from famous artists, but you never read about any famous person popping by the smaller exhibitions where in my humble, non-celebrity opinion the real art is. Is it because they haven’t heard of the artists that are showcasing at the smaller exhibitions or [more likely] is it because it's not 'The Main Event'? As much as I’d like to believe it’s the former, odds are it’s the latter and that’s totally fine. Each of the above mentioned celebs are artists in their own right and have earned the right to go to whatever they want.

The point here is not to say that one [exhibition] is better than the other and it certainly is not to position myself as an art critic. The point here is simple…OPEN YOUR EYES and find what you like. If you fancy yourself creative then DON’T BE LAZY and go with what you know or with what everyone "says" they know - there are so many beautiful, fascinating, intricate, creative things out there and while it’s so easy to simply go to ‘The Main Event’ the REAL tastemakers & trendsetters won’t be found there. And if they are, they're probably not the ones posting every single piece they pass by to their ‘insta’ [that’s Instagram, people] feed to show how cultured and cool they are. This is my challenge to you, creative industry. 2015 is around the corner. There is some really amazing stuff out there, but there's also a lot of bullshit so open your eyes, put down your 'insta' and let’s see what you’ve got.

Love.Matt.

ULTRA SPECIAL THANK YOU'S TO: Stas @ Artsy, Apollonia @ Gallery on Wade, Yuki @ Yuki-Sis Gallery and UPS

Here are a few SFW images from the event.

A Punk Rock Guide to Connecting Correctly

September 21, 2014

Last weekend Riot Fest invaded Humboldt Park. For the un-initiated, Riot Fest is a 3-day music festival/carnival that typically caters to the punk & alternative rock scene. Anybody that knows me at all knows full well that I wait all year for Riot Fest and this year was no exception. The line up was [in my humble opinion] considerably better than Lollapalooza and completely blew Pitchfork out of the water

*NOTE TO HATERS: I attended both those festivals as well and they sucked*

Riot Fest has a history of being able to book bands that [a] don’t necessarily tour a lot [b] broke up 10+ years ago [c] re-unite for the first time in the aforementioned 10+ years [d] maintain a cult following despite all of the above. I want to give credit where credit is due to the event coordinators, but this 'alchemy' that is performed in putting these epic lineups together requires an X-Factor and that’s what I want to talk about for a minute. How is it that a band that faded into obscurity in the late 90’s / early 2000’s can take a stage at a festival in Chicago and draw a crowd that gives ANY Lollapalooza performer a run for their money? Emotion.

Let me explain why this one-word answer is so important. At some point, probably in or around high school [at least for myself] we discovered music that we thought would shape the rest of our lives. It doesn’t matter if it was Siouxsie and the Banshees, Depeche Mode, Mineral, or Nickelback - actually if Nickelback emotionally resonates with you, just…stop. ANYWAY, that was the music that we connected with; could have been right place/right time; could have been the lyrics, there are no right or wrong answers. My point is that there was a connection that went beyond having a crush on the lead singer and his too-perfect application of guy-liner…an emotional component. That component is what makes you feel like that lead singer is singing directly to YOU and that they’ve been through the things that you are/were going through - in other words there is a bond.

The emotional bond that is created between you and a particular performer, band, song, etc. is something that doesn’t go away. You may have ‘grown up’, but when that song plays you remember EXACTLY where you were the first time you heard it, why? Because that bond isn’t broken by age, time, distance, etc. That bond, although pushed to the back of the mind re-emerges, unbroken as soon as you hear the first chord of that one song - it’s just as powerful as olfactory [scent] memories. That feeling, that emotion is the X-factor that I’m trying to explain, the intangible that Riot Fest planners see. Once that connection is made, it’s nearly impossible to forget it - it’s the reason I was singing/screaming every word of every song during New Found Glory’s set. Do I still listen to them? On occasion, but I do remember that initial connection from my Freshman year at Wheaton North High School. The alchemy that Riot Fest has been performing is nothing more than bringing in bands that have been able to create those types of bonds with their fans - it does not matter in what year that bond was created because those fans REMEMBER and they will show up in droves [even in the driving, sideways rain] to collectively remember.

You can call me Emo. That’s fine, I definitely was [and still kind of am], but as an advertising agency, isn’t the goal to engage viewers/users in a way that resonates with them; a way that creates the kind of bond that these 'old punk bands' have created so effortlessly? Ask your clients, I’m fairly certain I know the answer. Perhaps there *is* something to be learned from punk rock & emo culture - two genres of music that are unapologetically geared toward eliciting an emotional response from listeners. Yes punk has become commercialized and yes emo is all but gone, but Riot Fest demonstrates one very important thing: we CANNOT discount the effect of emotions. These bands make what they make and they never gave a shit about who was going to like it. They sang/screamed [off key] with all their hearts and you know what? People connected despite the lack of polished, produced, sonic perfection. Maybe it’s time advertising got a little more punk.

Riot Fest 2014 Spotify Playlist

Banksy on Permission, Advertising, and Life

May 15, 2014

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