2. Play
Head Coach Hugh Weber has a New Year’s message for you!
We’ve got one last 2009 surprise for you…our own Head Coach Hugh Weber rallies the troops as we head into the new year. Watch the video, get inspired, and let’s kick some major butt in 2010!
See YOU In 2010, Friends!
Well, as the year comes to an end, it’s probably time for us to drop a year-end post on you guys. We thought about listing ways to achieve your goals in 2010. Then we thought of posting some stuff on what we thought was great about 2009. Ultimately, we just decided to say this…
We hope you had a good 2009. A lot of people did. Also, a lot of people didn’t. Ours was up and down at times here at Deep Bench. But either way, 2009 is done and gone, and it’s time to rock and roll in 2010. We intend to do some crazy things in this next year, and we’ll be excited to share them with you along the way.
From Hugh (seen here) getting in shape for the 2010 Tour de Kota here in Sioux Falls to Mike actually needing to not be awful at video content (no link provided), Deep Bench has plenty of reasons to step its game up. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to do so, and we hope you guys are as excited as we are to head into 2010 with new expectations and an inspired passion.
See you in the new millenn…wait, nevermind. That was 10 years ago. See you in 2010, friends!
“New Year’s Ball, Times Square” photo c/o berk2804.
PRESENTING: Deep Bench’s 9-9-09 “9 Hour Giveaway”
You want advice. You need consulting. You just need a little bit of help with your marketing.
But you don’t want to pay for it.
We feel your pain. And you’re not alone. But on this legendary day of 09/09/09, Deep Bench is prepared to make an offer that will forever be known as the greatest offer ever in the storied history of marketing consultancy.
We will give you nine – that’s right, NINE – free hours of Deep Bench’s time and strategic efforts if you participate in and win the Deep Bench Facebook Fan Page Contest of 9-9-09. You know what, let’s shorten that to our 9 Hour Giveaway.
“How can we win such an amazing offer?!” you ask? By leaving us a message on our fan page telling the community how you would use your 9 free hours of Deep Bench consulting and then encouraging everyone you know to “Like” your idea on the fan page.
We are ready and willing to share our insight with the winner of the contest, whether that means helping the local flower shop revamp its traditional and online media strategy or teaching a roomful of bank or hospital employees the do’s and don’ts of social media.
Are you desperately hoping to conduct some research before kicking off a new campaign or looking for strategy on which promotional materials you should be using to spread the word about your new business? Let Deep Bench’s nine free hours serve that role (and save you some cash money).
Or maybe you want to conduct a focus group, but can’t afford the 40 hours of work it would take. If you win the Deep Bench Facebook Fan Page Contest of 9-9-09… 9 Hour Giveaway, we’ll credit you with 9 hours of that 40 to lessen the burden of a full-priced focus group analysis.
All we’re asking you to do is encourage your friends and colleagues to become Deep Bench Facebook Fans and support your great idea.
Seems too good to be true, right? Well it’s not. Seriously.
Only a (very) few restrictions apply.
- Nothing criminal or illegal. No matter how cool it may sound.
- We won’t do any work to benefit the pornography industry (that goes for you too, Twitter spambots).
- Deep Bench reserves the right to decline work for people or businesses that may present a conflict of interest or conflict of character.
- The 9 hours have to be used before December 31st, 2009.
On a final note, if you don’t feel like you, your company, or anything related to your livelihood could put 9 hours of Deep Bench consulting to good use, share why you think Deep Bench should donate its time to a charity or non-profit of your choosing. You could end up making a huge difference in the world of a non-profit that could use the strategy and insight without the usual costs that come along with it.
So there you have it. Join the fan page, post how you would use 9 free hours of Deep Bench’s time and brainpower, and build up support for it with “likes.” In fact, we might even make comments on your idea worth a bonus point, so share your idea with everyone you can, and you might just end up spending 9 hours with our Deep Bench crew (and getting some great advice along the way).
The contest will run through the 19th, so you have 10 days to get rolling. We look forward to all of your ideas and suggestions until then!
-The Deep Bench Team
UPDATE: To be clear, the winner will be determined by three criteria:
1. Quality of answer to the question “How would you use 9 hours of Deep Bench support?”
3. Number of “likes,” comments, retweets and other mentions of an individual’s entry and/or of the giveaway in general.
That leaves 2. But 2 is tricky like that. Good luck everyone.
Are You Making The Most Of Now?
A few months ago I came across a song that made me stop and think. It’s not the greatest song ever, and it’s not the deepest song ever, but it has some thought-provoking lines and an upbeat tune, and sometimes that’s all it takes to rock my world.
Watch (or just listen to) this video. After that, I’ve got a question for you.
My question is this: Do you make the most of every day?
In the first verse, Adams states,
“Some make it happen and they make the most, and some get shot down, forced to close…as long as I’ve got this breath to breathe, I’ve gotta get to livin’ my legacy…”
When you get to work on a Friday, is the above thought your mindset? Or is it simply a matter of “only a few more hours until the weekend?” When Monday rolls around, do you walk in the door to “live your legacy,” or are you simply hoping to survive the week?
The song’s title is “Such A Time.” The chorus simply states, “For such a time as this…right here, for such a time…”
This is a time when anybody with a blog or a Twitter account can change the world. So…will you take advantage of such a time as this, or simply spend your life “surviving each week?”
“Sometimes I feel like I’m doomed, I wanna give up, wanna go home soon… I lose my faith and jump off the track, don’t wanna wait I’d rather overreact now… Think ‘bout the next man and his joys and prize, and lose my voice and forfeit my pride…render me useless in a world of wax, but deep down I know I’m not all about that, no.”
We here at Deep Bench aren’t all about that either. How about you?
What do you do to keep your excitement and passion high? Is it the clients you work with, the projects you undertake, or simply the people you interact with on a daily basis? We’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback, so leave us a comment below, tweet us on Twitter or hit us up on our Facebook fan page.
-Mike
Fiesta Mission 5 – We want YOUR help!
As we move into month five of the Ford Fiesta Movement campaign, Deep Bench’s favorite Fiesta Agent, Hugh Weber, has received his next mission. The potential for this mission is nearly limitless, so we need your help in narrowing down what exactly it is Hugh should do. Watch the clip below, and when you’re finished, share your ideas in the comments section. Or, you can throw thoughts at Hugh on Twitter or on our Facebook fan page. Thanks!
Shoot Some Fireworks…In the Office!
You’re no rookie to this holiday thing. The 4th of July is coming around, and you know what that means. It means that many of us will gather with friends and family this weekend to celebrate the birth of our nation with great food, fun fellowship, and (usually) some exciting fireworks that elicit “Oohs” and “Ahhs” from everyone gathered, age 3 to age 93.
Our question is this: Does the work you’re doing right now give you that 4th of July fireworks feeling every day?
If you’re a firm or agency in the marketing and advertising industry, are you enjoying the work you do for your clients so much that each project is as celebratory from concept as it is at completion? Does gathering and discussing ideas with your team (and your clients) inspire you to come in, work hard, and create some “Oohs” and “Ahhs” for your clients and customers every day?
If you’re a business currently working with an agency or firm, does the work of your ad agency make you feel fireworks when you see their new idea for a TV spot or their concept for how you can make a strong push in the online and social media realm? Do your customers rant and rave about how your latest YouTube video had them laughing out loud at work or how they love your exciting new logo redesign?
At Deep Bench, we try to light those fireworks in our hearts and in our minds every day that we come into the office. It makes for a wonderful atmosphere where fun and creativity flow freely and ideas big and small get us excited like it’s the 4th of July.
It’s a beautiful thing, and we’d encourage you to search for and find that same passion in your workplace. If you find it, try to spread it around a bit. Some fireworks in the office never hurt anyone.*
Happy Independence Day, everyone. Enjoy the weekend, and we’ll be back with Box Scores on Monday!
*Deep Bench does not condone lighting fireworks in the workplace…have a safe holiday!
Image c/o A Million To One
The Shaq Effect: Just how influential is the Big Cactus?
So…the Oprah Effect. You’ve heard of it. How much she – and other celebrities - are affecting the social media realm. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing can be discussed in other places, but one thing’s for sure…it’s definitely a “thing” and it should not be ignored.
Take, for example, “The Shaq Effect.” The argument could be made, in fact, that the Shaq Effect served as the precursor to the Oprah Effect. His engagement with fans via Twitter and his Facebook Fan Page led to all kinds of buzz and excitement as his follower numbers skyrocketed and he enjoyed interacting with his adoring public.
But how can you really measure something like The Shaq Effect? Sure you could use detailed metrics of Twitter number increases and Fan Page fan statistics, but that’s way too boring and scientific. We’re going to go with something way cooler and more fun: screen shots and videos. Hooray!
Here’s the situation: At 10:40 p.m. CT, on the night of Tuesday, June 23rd, Shaq tweeted this:
The video he’s tweeting about can be seen below. As the screen shot shows, it had about 340 views at the time of the tweet. That’s not bad. (Screenshot first, then video below that)
(Here’s the video itself…)
Being the studious and curious thinker I am, I made a point to check back in at exactly 10:40 this morning. Here’s the number of views, exactly 12 hours after Shaq’s tweet:
And now, as of the time that this post was created, the view numbers are almost 35,000.
So…did the numbers spike so rapidly due to the video itself simply being awesome, or is it the fact that Shaq’s network of 1,372,200 people (at the time) rushed to view a video that inspired Shaq to want to play a guy in a game of horse for $1,000 (many of whom probably then shared it with THEIR networks)? Bearing in mind that the video had been posted since June 11 and only had 340 views in almost 2 weeks, I’m guessing Shaq had a bit to do with the view number increase of over 5,000% in a 12-hour span. Obviously there’s more to this equation than page view numbers in the bottom corner of a YouTube screen, but this was simply meant to be an observation that happened to morph into a blog post.
Our question is this – Could any Twitter celebrity have made that happen or is it the sheer numbers behind the army of Shaq Twitter followers that made it happen? If Gary Vaynerchuk had thrown it out there to his 566,000+ followers, would the video views still have jumped to 20,000? If Chris Brogan had shared it with his almost 80,000 followers would his followers (and their networks) have gotten the video 20,000 views? On the flip side, would Ellen DeGeneres’s network of 2,100,000+ followers have taken the video to 40,000 views?
Or would simply landing on the front page of Digg have been all it needed to get there? Are you at all surprised that Shaq’s network didn’t get the video MORE than 20,000 views?
All of these many questions are questions that we’re currently debating in the office, so we figured we’d see what you have to say. We’d love to hear your thoughts, so fill us in on your views in the comments section below or on Twitter at @deepbench.
P.S. – We’d love to hear your favorite Shaqalicious nickname while you’re at it, so let us know. Big Cactus, Big Diesel, Big Jabberwocky, Big Aristotle (my personal favorite) or one of the dozens of others?
UPDATE: As of a few hours after we posted this highly detailed analysis (around 6:00 on June 24th), it appears Shaq has been traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to TechCrunch, it’s possible he found out about this trade via Twitter. On a side note, it is this writer’s fear that, when Shaq gets to Cleveland, the potential combination of his HUGE personality combined with LeBron James’ equally outgoing personality could cause the entire city of Cleveland to explode from a fun, passion, and excitement overload. Things could get crazy, folks.
Are YouTube videos the website of the future?
As firm believers in an innovation-focused approach when it comes to projects and campaigns, we were thoroughly impressed when we stumbled across the new BooneOakley website. Why? Because they are clearly bold enough to take a game-changing approach as far as corporate websites go. For the record, by website, we mean, YouTube video…website…thing. If you want to see what we’re talking about, take a look at
the embedded video below and then read up on what this means for the future of websites and interactively engaging your audience.
It’s not easy to be one of the first to embrace a new effort. But based on some of their ad campaigns, it’s obvious that BooneOakley lives in the realm of telling stories through video. So why not embrace that medium with a website dedicated to telling a story through video? It’s a prime example of understanding where your talents lie and taking them to the next level.
Although there will definitely be people who A) Don’t understand this “website” and B) Don’t like this “website,” we definitely expect to see more and more of this type of effort in the future from other companies and agencies.
According to our Head Coach Hugh Weber, “You can go through a hundred agency sites and see 99 of them that are exactly the same. It’s another unique approach to ‘What is a website?’ A website doesn’t have to be static HTML, it’s whatever you want it to be. I love that level of interactivity.”
Our question is this: what are your thoughts? Were you impressed with this new approach to an interactive “website?” Did you find it to be confusing or too different from the norm, or did you really enjoy it the same way we did? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below or hit us up on Twitter at @deepbench.
BBC Blast Studio: Letting You Control Machines in London (From Your Computer)
Have you ever wanted to control machines in a random room in London?
Well now you can! Courtesy of BBC’s Blast Studio, you can control one of four artistic devices (remotely, via your computer) that respond your keyboard commands in real time. (Here’s a screenshot for you so you can see what I’m talking about…)
Want to play a song on a set of hanging colored lights that light up and make a musical tone when you type the corresponding key? Do it!
Want to decorate a wall with paints that you control? Do it!
Want to type a message and have it print out on paper inside the studio to be saved forever (barring any disastrous fires or floods in London)? Do it!
Want to drop goops of paint on some randomly big spinning thing in the middle of the room? Do it.
You control the room. From your computer. Very far away. If you don’t think this is fascinating and awesome, let me know why you aren’t impressed. That’s not meant to come off as a challenging tone, I’m just curious as to what people do/don’t like about it. I think it’s got great potential as projects like this down the line continue to grow and flourish. I mean, you’re controlling machines from your own computer at home. And they’re in LONDON!
Beyond being just cool as a concept, what does this mean for companies and brands down the line? Are there companies that could use this type of technology to better engage fans or customers? Is this the next step in the process of letting customers personalize their brand experiences?
After talking with our own Hugh Weber about it, he’s got some cool ideas for efforts like this in the future. For example, one thought was to create a group problem-solving project that utilizes people in various locations working together to move an object in the room from one point to another. Another concept would be a group-painting that involves various artists taking turns to create works of art all from remote locations. With so many possibilities, it will be interesting to see where endeavors like this take us in the future. Let us know what you think about all this in the comments section below or hit us up on Twitter at @deepbench.
Is YOUR passion contagious? (What we learned at Big Omaha…)
When you think of tech and innovation conferences, it’s likely that the first place that comes to mind isn’t the Midwest. While Silicon Valley and the East Coast seem to be hot spots for those types of gatherings, we Midwesterners had a chance to gather for an awesome and exciting event in a place much closer to home than usual: Omaha, Nebraska.
For the millions of you East and West Coast readers who don’t travel much to our humble Midwest region, try to contain your snickers and smiles. While it may not be New York City or Los Angeles, Omaha has plenty of action and excitement of its own. This action and excitement was encapsulated in last Thursday and Friday’s FANTASTIC event known as Big Omaha.
Featuring some unbelievable guest speakers, top-notch facilities and rockin’ pre/post parties, Big Omaha’s goal was simple: “What happens when the country’s foremost creatives, entrepreneurs and innovators descend on one place? That place explodes. Which is precisely what we plan for Omaha…The energy will be impossible to contain. We will begin building communities, companies and friendships. We will inspire new thoughts and completely new ways of thinking. We will develop visions: personal, shared, and civic.”
They succeeded. Big time. With some unbelievable presenters sharing their thoughts on entrepreneurship (or Jason Fried’s dislike of the word entrepreneurship), success and failure (or Jason’s disdain for the concept of failing early and often) and how to maintain your company’s culture as your environment changes around you, as well as a glimpse of the fun and energy of Omaha’s community and the people that represent it, Big Omaha proved that the Midwest can be just as innovative and tech-savvy as any other region of the U.S.
Beyond the great speakers themselves (Gary Vaynerchuk, Micah Baldwin, Jeffrey Kalmikoff, Jason Fried, Micah Laaker, Ben Rattray, and Adriana Gascoigne), the guys putting on the conference (Jeff Slobotski and Dusty Davidson) did an unbelievable job of providing a great conference environment, engaging people with fun pre- and post-event parties, and keeping the show running as smoothly as a freshly-zambonied hockey rink.
Although I could take time trying to recap what it was that the speakers said (or, for more humor, I could recap my first lesson in driving a stick shift from the Omaha airport to downtown Omaha…which was a self-taught lesson, mind you), I’d rather focus on what I feel is the most important element of Big Omaha, and that is this:
If you believe in the creative community of your region and you believe that your region has plenty to offer the rest of the world, you can build an extremely strong and engaging event to reflect the brainpower and passion of your creative community.
Don’t think small!
Don’t think that because you live in a (relatively) smaller community, you can’t make BIG things happen. Dusty and Jeff felt like they could truly represent the passion of Omaha’s creative community and they did so with abundant success.
And I don’t mean that strictly in the sense of building a conference either. I’m talking about it in any form of life or business. There is NO client or project too big for you if you truly have the desire to work with someone great or do something amazing.
It’s up to you. Big Omaha proved that. Every speaker at the conference shared how he or she was blown away by what Omaha had to offer. But here’s the important part: if Jeff and Dusty hadn’t brought their passion to this project, those speakers probably wouldn’t have ever known Omaha had so much to offer.
That’s what you can do. Bring your passion to the table every single day. Show the world that you love what you do and that your passion is contagious. How could someone NOT want to work with a team of people completely thrilled with and invigorated by what they’re doing?
Big Omaha wasn’t just about Omaha. It was about taking your passion and turning it into everyone’s passion. From the people of Omaha themselves to the many visitors from around the country, it seemed like just about everybody was ready to up and move to Omaha by the time Friday night rolled around. How can you build that kind of excitement for your brand or your clients?
Most importantly, how can you build and maintain that passion for yourself?
P.S. - If you want to see some awesome photos from Big Omaha, check out our friend Aaron Mentele’s shots in his flickr photostream. As soon as the videos from the event are up online, we’ll link to those as well.
Did you go to Big Omaha last week? Share your thoughts on the event in the comments section below. What did you enjoy? What could have been done better? What did you learn from the experience? If you weren’t there, why do you wish you could have been? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so drop us your insight below or hit us up on Twitter at @deepbench.
From a Fiesta Agent understudy: How Ford’s doing it right…
Doing something unique is fun. Doing something really unique is really fun. And doing something that only about 120 other people in the entire United States get to do is just flat-out wicked awesome.
Luckily, last Tuesday, I was fortunate enough to be a part of Ford’s “Fiesta Movement.” No, I didn’t win one of the cars (which would have led to an entirely different post…probably just a video of me screaming and shouting for joy), but I DO happen to have a boss who DID happen to win a car. And, seeing as the 10+ hour drive from Denver isn’t all that fun on one’s own, I was fortunate enough to have a boss who wanted me out there to help him film, stay awake on the drive back to Sioux Falls, and do all of the other cool things that assistant-ish employees get to do.
After an early morning journey with boring details, I eventually found myself in Denver, meeting up with Hugh and the other 7 or so “Fiesta Agents” who were preparing to go see their cars for the first time. After a lengthy drive out of the city, we pulled up to the raceway where the cars were waiting for their respective Agents. Hugh’s excitement at finally meeting Ruby (his name for his Fiesta……yeah…I know…) was like a kid who just found out Christmas was happening every day for six months. I couldn’t have punched the smile off his face. And I’ve got really strong fists (that’s me on the left…)
Needless to say, Ford did it right. Nothing around but racetrack and open air, and a set of brand new cars begging their owners to sit down inside them (and probably literally begging, because these Fiestas are the smartest cars ever…it’s almost creepy…more on that later…). After the initial introductions, Hugh handed out the soon-to-be iconic “Fiesta Hugh” shirts (crafted by none other than Deep Bench’s own up-and-coming graphic design phenom, Andrew Brynjulson (Bren-yool-son)), which you can see in the image below.
And then it got even more awesome. After a quick instructional session on the cars themselves, the Fiesta Agents got to take their babies out on the speedway track. Although the maximum speed limit was 55 mph, the curves on the course were insanely tight and they managed to make 55 feel like 85. Although I can’t drive a stick shift, Hugh absolutely dominated his test runs like he was Jeff Gordon himself (or whichever NASCAR racer is relevant these days).
After it was all said and done, we were on the road back to Sioux Falls, and that’s a different story for a different post. For a sample of what’s on the way, here’s this photo:
Onto the point of this post… I was extremely impressed with Ford’s ability to make this Fiesta Movement a true social media campaign throughout the entire day. Although there are a few (necessary) rules and restrictions, I was blown away with how open everything was to filming and photography. I was loaded up with two video cameras and one photography camera, and I was never once asked to put them down or turn them off. Whether it was instructional sessions or video-recording conversations between agents and the marketing crew, I was never restricted from taking photos or footage. They’re perfectly willing to let this be a living, breathing social media effort, relatively out of their control.
In my opinion, Ford is taking big steps (and potentially big risks) to ensure that it’s on the forefront of online/social media marketing efforts. This isn’t a crafted and scripted series of videos and tweets that Ford’s invested in to get positive brand recognition. These are real people, doing real things, with the only rules being don’t break the law and don’t destroy your car.
Oh, and share it with the whole world.
It’ll be a blast to see where this goes (mostly because I hope to be going along with Hugh and Ruby wherever it all goes). I have a feeling the Secret Missions and subsequent adventures will be a lot of fun. Luckily, Ford’s willing to let you be there every step of the way too.
What do you think? Do you think Ford’s taking the right steps by putting its brand in the hands of customers for the world to see? Would you rather see a different campaign or strategy from Ford rather than the Fiesta Movement? Let me know your thoughts and I’ll pass them along to Hugh. With no restrictions, we’re willing to try just about anything, so don’t hesitate to leave a comment and let me know what you’d like to see!
And here are some more pictures of the journey:
“Sioux Falls man’s video attracted Ford’s attention”
The Sioux Falls Argus Leader covers Deep Bench’s own Hugh Weber, who was recently named one of 100 Ford “Fiesta Agents.” The Argus’s Jay Kirschenmann covers the story, which you can read below or at the Argus Leader online by clicking here.
“Sioux Falls man’s video attracted Ford’s attention”
A creative video application for an upcoming national promotion won a Sioux Falls marketing company owner free use of a 2011 Ford Fiesta for six months.
It won’t be hard to miss Hugh Weber as he cruises around town: The big guy will be driving the small, bold-magenta-colored car with custom detailing.
Weber, 32, made the application video driving his SUV, wearing a giant sombrero, occasionally stopping to play the maracas and a piñata shaped like a guitar. Ford picked his video from among more than 4,000 entrants looking for a chance to become a part of the carmaker’s “Fiesta Movement.”
Ford is loaning 100 of its 2011 Fiestas for the promotion that leads to the car’s upcoming release.
Weber picks up the 2011 Fiesta May 6 in Denver.
Weber is president – he calls himself head coach – of the Deep Bench, a strategic planning and innovation firm.
“We knew we’d have to be big thinkers to cut through the clutter and get Ford’s attention,” Weber says. “Several people have said our video was their favorite, which is pretty humbling.”
Weber will keep the cameras rolling for the next six months as he travels and documents special “missions” as one of what Ford calls “Fiesta Agents.” See his winning video online at http://tinyurl.com/bnmyq9 or search with key words “Hugh Weber Ford” on YouTube.com. Or, you can just watch the embedded video below.
Or, check out the (hilarious) outtakes here…
What’s going on at Deep Bench?
Life has been a little scattered over the last few days for the Deep Bench crew. This is partially due to the fact that our Team President, Hugh (and his lovely wife Amy), have just given birth to their first child, little Emerson Victoria Weber. Here’s the family:
D2D Update: The Weber Family on 12seconds.tv
This is also partially due to…well pretty much just that. It’s a big deal. But hey, while we’ve got an embedded 12 Seconds video up there, I might as well mention something fun.
Hugh’s online “Daddy Blogger” persona of Dude To Dad was mentioned in the first paragraph of this week’s 12 Seconds e-mail update:
“Dear 12ers,
Documentally had Kidumentally, DudetoDad is now completely a Dad and Jeremy had himself a little mon (spelled correctly, trust me, click it). Congrats to all!”
While we don’t intend for it to be the last time Dude To Dad is mentioned in the 12 Seconds update, it was a pleasant surprise, to say the least.
And while we’re talking about being mentioned on the interwebs, Deep Bench’s Mike Billeter also made an appearance on the blog of Lee Odden, a pretty influential SEO and Social Media professional in Minneapolis. Even though all he did was ask a question to a “Queen, Diva, and Goddess of PR Measurement” (Katie Delahaye Paine), in our minds, asking the question and getting an informative answer is better than simply reading the answers to questions other people asked.
Don’t worry, we’ve still been producing some of our own work for you guys too. We dropped Deep Bench’s weekly Box Scores on Monday and we’ve got some exciting Dude To Dad videos coming your way in the very near future (of course, if you’re not a Dude To Dad follower, you should join us on the journey by following the Dude To Dad Twitter account, watching the videos at dudetodad.com, and becoming a member of the Dude To Dad community at dudetodad.ning.com).
We’ve got tons of excitement bubbling up here at Deep Bench, and we’re excited to be delivering that excitement straight to you, so be prepared to have your socks rocked off by the Deep Bench/Dude To Dad combo that will knock you out faster than Iron Mike takes down Little Mac in Punch-Out…
Yeah…you know what I’m talkin’ about…
So that’s what’s going on in our world. Now…what’s going on in yours? Let us know what’s gotten you excited lately so we can check it out. Leave your thoughts in the comments section or hit us up on Twitter at @hughweber, @mikebilleter, or @deepbench.
Windmills straight off your CHEST!
Alright, even though we just recently posted it, we hope you’ve had a chance to watch the mind-blowing video in this post.
In that video, Hugh throws out the possibility of a band t-shirt that lets the band pop out and play music right from the middle of your chest. Rather than wait for someone else to jump on that idea, Hugh threw on a very small t-shirt to make sure it would work.
Here are the results:
T-Shirt Test of Hologram Technology! from Hugh Weber on Vimeo.
BOOM! And there you have it. Let’s start making some t-shirts…
Want your mind BLOWN? Check this out…
Imagine sitting in front of your computer with your favorite band’s t-shirt on. Then, as you head over to the band’s website, your computer’s webcam picks up an image on the shirt and out of it pops the band, which promptly begins playing its latest hit single right there on your computer screen and speakers. Sound like a little too much Back To The Future for you? Well…watch this video of the Deep Bench crew testing out GE’s “Plug Into The Smart Grid,” and you’ll see why this isn’t too far-fetched an idea.
First Look at an innovative GE campaign from Hugh Weber on Vimeo.
The endless possibilities of online and web-based marketing just got even…endlesser, courtesy of this effort from GE.
The question is, how far can your imagination run with it?
AWESOME Video – What Microsoft envisions in 2019
This is what Microsoft thinks we’ll be able to do by 2019. They may not foresee flying cars and hoverboards ten years from now, but some of this stuff will be unbelievable if they can have it ready to rock and roll by 2019. What do you think? Think we’ll have any/most/some/none of these capabilities? Any of them seem more realistic than others? Are there any that make you nervous for the future? Share your thoughts and let us know.
Because we here at Deep Bench think just about all of this stuff is awesome.
Would YOU pay $75,000 for a CD?
If you really love a band, musician, rapper, or Gregorian chanter, it’s not hard to spend money on that person or group’s album. But, in an era of CD burning, bit torrents, and illegal downloading in general, it’s not easy for people to part with anywhere between $9 to $15 on an album they really can live without.
So…why would anyone ever pay $75,000 for a music album?
Enter former Nine Inch Nails (and various other bands) drummer Josh Freese, who has decided to take one of the funniest, most unique approaches to selling a music CD that we here at Deep Bench have ever seen.
Beyond paying money for a simple album, Freese is giving fans an opportunity to show a little more love than usual. How so? Well, paying different levels of money will provide you different levels of interaction with him. Not sure what I mean? Check out the specifics here at Soundcheck.freedomblogging.com.
This is absolute genius. Although it starts relatively small ($7 gets you a digital download of his new album, Since 1972, which includes three music videos), he kicks it up progressively as the money increases. And by kicks it up, I mean blows it up into sheer levels of insanity (as the prices increase to sheer levels of insanity, obviously). Here are just a few of the possibilities:
If you drop a solid $500:
- Signed CD/DVD and digital download
- T-shirt
- Signed cymbal and sticks
- Meet Josh in Venice, Calif., and go floating together in a sensory-deprivation tank (to be filmed and posted on YouTube)
- Dinner at Sizzler (get your $8.99 steak and “all you can eat” shrimp on)
And here’s what you get for $10,000:
- Signed CD/DVD and digital download
- T-shirt
- Signed DW snare drum from A Perfect Circle’s 2003 tour
- Josh gives you a private drum lesson OR his and hers foot/back massage (couples welcome, discreet parking)
- Twiggy from Marilyn Manson’s band and Josh take you and a guest to Roscoe’s Chicken ‘n’ Waffles in Long Beach for dinner
- Josh takes you and a guest to Club 33 (the super-duper exclusive and private restaurant at Disneyland located above Pirates of the Caribbean) and then hit a couple rides afterward (preferably the Tiki Room, the Haunted Mansion and Tower of Terror)
- At the end of the day at Disneyland, drive away in Josh’s Volvo station wagon. It’s all yours … take it. Just drop him off on your way home, though, please.
And…well…you’ll just have to look up the $75,000 package yourself. Mostly because much of it seems to be all kinds of illegal. While we will say that we don’t condone many (or most of) the activities presented by Freese, we do condone the creativity he’s using to take a mundane task like buying an album and turning it into a chance for an unforgettable lifetime experience.
It’s probably not an experience you’d get buying your CD at Best Buy or Wal*Mart.
What do you think? Would you pay anything beyond the $7 or $15 offers? Do you know someone who would hit the hundreds or thousands mark? Do you find this approach as hilarious and awesome as we do, or is it simply a publicity stunt to draw attention to a very talented drummer with little name ID?
Let us know. Because we just might sell “A Day with Deep Bench” for $20,000. If you think you’d have fun with Josh Freese, imagine what fun you could have with these guys:
“Dare My Company”… Yeah, bring it!
You know you’ve wanted to do it before. You’re sitting across from a client, tired of listening to the people on the other side of the table drone on and on about “ROI” and how they consider their strategy to be “marketing on steroids,” and all you’re thinking is…our guys would KILL their guys in a game of 5-on-5…I’d give anything to challenge them to a game and just shut them up for a little while.
Well, we here at Deep Bench feel your pain and know where you’re coming from (in fact, those thoughts have entered my mind a time or two as well). And while I’m sure you’ve never felt that way about Deep Bench before, we have recently registered with the newly formed “Dare My Company” website. Yes, it’s pretty self-explanatory, but I’ll give you the background info just in case daring companies is still too foreign a concept for you.
You dare another company to participate in a competition.
Yeah…that’s pretty much it. The cool thing is that you can challenge the company in ANY sport or activity. That means Deep Bench is open to ANY challenge (as long as it’s not unreasonable…we probably won’t take you on in the Alaskan Iditarod or play a game of cricket in Pakistan), and we look forward to dominating your company in various games like racquetball, basketball, whiffle-ball Home Run Derby, lawn games like beanbags or Polish horseshoes, video games, or any other challenge you can conceive.
We just ask that you are willing to let the world view our utter dominance if we decide to film the challenge.
What are your thoughts? Think you’ll ever challenge someone on DareMyCompany.com? Are you secretly wishing to take down a former boss or ex-coworker in a brutal game of rugby or ping-pong? Do you see any value in online-challenges resulting in real-life meetings and friendly competition?
We certainly do.
So share your thoughts on here and then go register there to challenge us. We’ll be waiting for you.
Why, Conan, Why?
In his opening monologue Wednesday night, late night host Conan
O’Brien ended nearly 16 years of friendly relations with the Dakota
Territory. His unprovoked tirade is sure to strain relations with the
estimated 1,445,675 residents of the region.
If you weren’t one of the 11 people watching…the transcript of the
comedic blindside follows (NSFW):
“Today, in one of his first official acts as President, Barack Obama
had an emergency meeting with his top economic advisors to find out
just, you know, what the situation is. And apparently it didn’t go
well because after the meeting Obama sold North and South Dakota. Good
news is no one will notice.”
After watching Conan tonight, several residents reminisced about the
much friendlier treatment they had received from David Letterman back
in 1997.
We await your apologies, Mr. O’Brien.
Ladies and Gentlemen… Deep Bench
You’ve heard the expression before – “That team’s got a deep bench.” Most sports fans know what that means. Most people in general know what that means.
So what does that mean?
A “deep bench” is what separates the successful teams from the mediocre teams. A “deep bench” is what makes the difference between teams that win championships and teams that simply make the playoffs a few times. A “deep bench” is what gives a team more options to compete in any field, at any level.
In that same vein, Deep Bench is an organization created to find efficient solutions – through consumer-focused strategies – to the problems that hinder the success of corporations, communities, and non-profits.
That’s right. Consumer-focused strategies. Deep Bench is NOT an “advertising agency.” Deep Bench is NOT a “marketing firm.”
Deep Bench is NOT the stereotype.
So, if you’re in the market to have your product or service shoved in the faces of a few thousand TV viewers or to have your consumers’ web browsing brashly interrupted by flashing banner ads or mass e-mails, then Deep Bench probably isn’t for you.
But, if you’re interested in creating a consumer foundation focused on brand loyalty and relationships between your brand and your customer, then you’ll probably want to work with the people who believe in developing authentic relationships that create experiences where the consumers live. Why? Because this will inevitably lead to loyalty to your product or service.
And why is a consumer’s brand loyalty more valuable than a 30-second TV spot that 50,000 people might watch?
Because, at Deep Bench, we believe that creating conversations and relationships that lead to 100,000 product evangelists who will help sell your product to 100,000 more consumers is more valuable than an expensive, 30-second TV or radio spot. Sure a newspaper ad looks good on paper, but when somebody skips page 9 of the “Life” section and doesn’t see your high-priced ad, then who is talking about your product or service?
Nobody.
And what do you think has more influence in today’s society – the barber who tells each customer receiving a haircut that he’d never buy any other brand of recliner than the one he sits in every night, or the ad on the back of the “Region” section of the paper that gets glanced over and tossed in the recycling?
I’ll tell you this. If my barber were that passionate about that recliner, I’d certainly be inclined to check out that brand the next time I need a new leather lounge chair.
So in the fast-paced technology world where word-of-mouth can have a stronger, deeper impact than any commercial or banner ad could ever dream of having, why not work with people who focus on building the brand loyalty that leads to a strong word-of-mouth buzz.
Because when you’ve got 100,000 evangelists spreading the word of your product or service to 100,000 other potential consumers…I’d say that’s a pretty Deep Bench.
The time has come… Ask Deep Bench!
It’s “Ask a question to Deep Bench” day. You asked for it, we’re providing it, and the world will be a better place as a result.
You can ask any question you’d like and we here at the Deep Bench office will bust out some video and broadcast our answer to the world.
So…what we need from you are questions you want answered. Just leave your inquiry in the comments section below, and we will do our best to answer that question for the world to see.
Some great questions from you, some stellar answers from us. It’ll be beautiful. Or at least it’ll be something. Hopefully something beautiful. And insightful. And funny.
It’ll be amazing.
We’ll be kicking things off with the often-asked, “What is Deep Bench?” so tune in later today to see our answer to the question we’ve heard millions hundreds of times.
For now, leave your question (or general comments) in the comment section below, send us a tweet, or drop us a line on our Facebook fan page. We may not answer every single question, but we’ll do our best to answer the questions that mean something to us, and, more importantly, may provide some value for you. Either way, we encourage you to let us know what you want to know so we’ll all know what it is we want to know.
Trust us. It’ll rock. We know.