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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.

Razor Report: Q1 2015 Now Available

April 18, 2015

Check It

Mark Kudsi joins Whitelabel & Sibling Rivalry Studios

January 4, 2015

Los Angeles, CA - - Director Mark Kudsi creates visually striking projects with compelling and emotionally resonant narratives. A natural storyteller with a background in design, Mark’s filmmaking career was born out of passions for music, photography and art direction.

In the commercial realm, Mark has lent his talents to the launches of several notable brands and products. He revealed the Apple iMac with Retina display. He helped reintroduce North America to Fiat, after a 30-year absence. He also launched Nintendo’s Wii U gaming console, Tide Pods as well as projects and campaigns for Glad, HP, Microsoft, Google, Sears and more.

Mark’s breakout work on The Black Eyed Peas’ technology-infused “Boom Boom Pow” music video earned him a Grammy Award and solidified his reputation as a director on the rise. For Katy Perry’s smash-hit single “Roar,” Mark orchestrated a playful jungle-inspired music video. “Roar” and “Boom Boom Pow” have racked up over a billion views.

Over the past decade, he has amassed an array of industry accolades for his work. Publications such as Creativity, Shoot, CommArts, VideoStatic, FXGuide and StudioDaily have recognized Mark’s diverse efforts, which have also garnered kudos from the Art Directors Club, D&AD, AICP and the Clios, among others.

Drawing upon many years of experience as a creative director, Mark approaches each new venture with a fresh perspective, while leveraging a distinct ability to enhance live action through design.

In rebellious fashion, Mark, a Southern California native, dedicates his limited free time to playing ice hockey.

Like what you see? Click 'View Reel' for Mark's general reel.

iMac with Retina 5K display - The Evolution of Retina

Katy Perry - Roar (Official)

Fiat "Get Ready" Anthem

iMac with Retina 5K display - The Evolution of Retina

View Reel

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.

...Or Die

April 8, 2014

Once a skater, always a skater. It’s a mentality just as much as it is the actual act of skateboarding. I’ve been skating since I was about 12 years old…on and off as I got older [and more prone to injuries]. Skateboarders, though perceived as counterculture social outcasts, see the world through a different lens- where one person may see 6 stairs leading up to a library or school, a skateboarder immediately wonders if they can kick flip that stair set or if there’s enough clearance to boardslide that ledge to the left. The whole world becomes a secret playground accessible only to those who know where to look and what to look for. Growing up, I absolutely idolized Rodney Mullen. I wanted to be this dude so bad, but his skating was on another level, a place reserved for gods.

I would highly recommend watching this interview with Rodney Mullen. He is much older now than he was in the above clip, but listening to him speak is just as interesting as watching him skate.

I always had respect for Rodney because he could some of the most incredible things with a piece of wood on wheels. Things that I would never be able to do even with all the practice time in the world. It’s easy to write it off by saying “he’s a gifted skateboarder” or “he’s professional and that’s all he does”. Both are true statements, but there is something else and it’s even more simple of an explanation: he gets up after he falls. Again and again and again. It’s something more than persistence that gets him back on that skateboard - watch the clip of him skating again or even the TED clip [below] and listen to him even speak about skateboarding and tell me that there is anything less than sheer joy on his face. He skates to live, and he expresses himself through the innovation and invention of tricks. If you watch the interview piece above, you’ll see an emotion that can’t be faked when he talks about skateboarding and what it means to him. It’s almost as if he needs it to live…skate or die - that was what really struck me most.

What would it look like, and more importantly feel like, if we as creators had this connection to our creations? Not just the successful projects, but the myriad failures that lead up to that one success? If we looked at each failure as an opportunity to get up, adjust, and try it again. When innovation or creation is our life then we better feel and speak the way about these lives the way that Rodney Mullen speaks about skateboarding. One of my favorite parts of this interview was the anecdote about the professors after TED talk. These were MIT faculty coming up to Rodney and expressing their inability to teach this exact intangible to their students. These decorated, highly educated professors can understand and teach some of the most complex subjects on the planet, but they cannot teach their students drive. This drive comes from within and you either have it or you don’t. The question is, do you have what it takes inside to overcome what happens on the outside?

The creative industry is gnarly, no doubt. We’re not Blunt sliding 30-stair railings or boosting 30’ out of a vert ramp, but we’re putting everything we have on the line every day - our names, our reputations, our ideas - things that could just as easily be kept safe and sound inside our minds. So why subject ourselves to the torture of critiques and potential rejection? Because we BELIEVE in our idea, design, application, screenplay, etc. We believe in our idea so much that putting it out there is the only option. We want to innovate, and in a way, give back not just to the creative community, but also improve lives outside of our immediate community. Nobody gets innovation right on the first try just as a skate rarely stomps a trick the first time they try it. Here’s the best part - even if a skater stomps the trick on their first try, what do they do next? You guessed it, they try and use that trick in combination with another. This drive is internal and they do it [innovate] not because they like the sound of the word ‘innovator’ [or entrepreneur], but because they simply wonder if it can be done. Obsidian wants to encourage everyone to push themselves creatively, professionally, and personally. Just make sure that you remember why you are pushing yourself in the first place. That is all.

Additional TED Talks w/ Rodney Mullen

"On Getting Up Again"

Rodney Mullen is widely considered to be the most influential skateboarder in skateboarding history. He shares with humility and passion how the constant search for improvement has led to outstanding innovations and how we can all learn from lessons of great skateboarders.

"Pop an Ollie and Innovate"

The last thing Rodney Mullen, the godfather of street skating, wanted were competitive victories. In this exuberant talk he shares his love of the open skateboarding community and how the unique environments it plays in drive the creation of new tricks -- fostering prolific ingenuity purely for passion's sake.

Razor Report: Q3.Y13

January 17, 2014

The Razor Report is back! This issue covers all of the activities from 4th quarter of 2013. Though Obsidian always strives to look forward, sometimes we like to reflect on accomplishments as well...

Click HERE to read the report

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Awesomess Quotient [AQ] over Time [T]