The Middle Ground

I'm sorry, did anyone else think Vertical Horizon had fallen off the planet? I know I did. Apparently they have a new album out, and some of the stuff isn't too bad! It may be the 90s child in me, but I quite enjoy The Middle Ground



Speaking of grounds. Ad Age is featuring an article on Starbucks' new product today. The instant coffee called Via.

The chain is expecting between 8 million and 10 million consumers to visit its 7,500 company-run cafes in the U.S. and Canada to participate in a taste test that runs Friday through Monday. Participants will receive a "thank you" card good for a free coffee on their next visit, and $1 off their purchase of Via at any Starbucks.

They are doing an all out attack on various forms of tradition and social media. This includes inviting all of their facebook friends to the taste testing event.

Here's the Ad, I couldn't embed it.
Starbucks Via Taste Test Ad

The best part is when the guy stands up in the middle of the town meeting and says "I can't taste the difference!... I CAN'T!" hahaha

I think it might be the smartest thing they've done in a while. My friend Nash and I have long seen Starbucks as a dying brand. It just got too big too fast, and you can go to a Starbucks location and watch the place kill itself. And the thing is, I know I read an article where they brought in their original guy and were trying to 'get back to their roots'. Remember when Starbucks used to be a warm inviting place, with comfy chairs, plenty of space, with intelligent, hardworking, kind employees, and the strong aroma of fresh ground coffee? Today it's a place that is over cluttered with it's POP items, overpriced mugs, stupid anecdotes and quotes strategically place all around the store, and incompetency. Everyone I've talked to about Starbucks tells me the biggest difference they see is in the service. No one wants to go to a coffee shop with 6 people working behind the counter trying to make coffee for 3 people and still managing to ruin the orders. I remember that was a big reason we used to go to Starbucks. They made your coffee lickety split, and without too much hassle.

Another problem?
Those print ads with the anecdotes and facts? They have a tone of arrogance that I don't see any of middle America being fooled by. They try to relate to their customers and say "Hey, we're friends here." To which I say-- When have we ever been friends? You sell me overpriced coffee and you sell it HARD. Too hard. You're pretending to be my friend to make more money. So fail fail fail with the print ads.



But here's where the Facebook thing comes in. People actually feel some sort of connection to the company, not just because they are friends with them on Facebook (because we all know how fake that can be) , but because they are getting some sort of tangible feedback with the invites and the offers. Capitalize on that while it lasts because nothing is good forever.

So sell your instant coffee and get people away from your store while you try to piece it back together!!

Yet. Even So. Are they behind McDonalds in the taste test concept? Struggling to reel their customers back in as more and more head next door to McDonalds?

Let me tell you two personal stories about this whole thing:
When my dad and I were driving to Lbk more recently, we stopped at a Starbucks to get our morning coffee fix. There is a sign (on the door at 8 or 9 am mind you!) that says, 'We will only be open from 2pm to 6 pm due to lack of employees" WOW. FATAL mistake. There was a McDonalds RIGHT NEXT DOOR. We watched several people try the Starbucks, realize it was closed and head to McDonalds, including ourselves.

Second. When I was interning at the Ad Agency, I volunteered to help with a lot of PR events on the McDonalds account. In one case, we were set up outside of a baseball game, giving out free samples of McDonalds McCafe Iced Coffee. Talking to people, connecting with people, getting them to try the product. There was no mention of Starbucks, or being better than them, it was just straight up-- "Check us out". That was over a month ago, and here comes Starbucks with their taste tests. A little late starting if you ask me.

Until next time! Hope they come out with syringes with which you can just inject caffeine right into your bloodstream. WHOO!

Eyes Seal Shut in a Slumber

My absolute song of the moment :
New Drink for the Old Drunk- Crooked Fingers.

If you haven't heard it, get to listening.




I've always been better with print words. text. If I really sit down and think about something I want to write, it's fairly easy for me to write it well.

This is why I love advertising. Beauty and simplicity in words: I'm good with them. But then when I talk... it's harder. That's what a good ad does. It conveys a certain beauty through it simplicity. Don't try to con someone with a typical sell. You can't do it. The customer knows when you are lying. So use the truth and convey it in a way to draw the response that benefits the brand.

Find the simple story in the product and present it in an articulate, intelligent, and
persuasive way.
-Bill Bernbach, DDB

Simplicity is all. Simple logic, simple arguments, simple visual images. It you can’t
reduce your argument to a few crisp words and phrases, there’s something wrong with
your argument. There is nothing long-winded about ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.’
-Maurice Saatchi, Saatchi & Saatchi

I took this strengths quest thing for free from Texas Tech, and one of the big things was 'You should think about writing a novel'. Gross. But kind of a cool thought.

I WONDER

What the hell do you do when everything that comes up on shuffle on your ipod is SHIT?! You clean house. An organized music library is the first step to an organized life. Too bad apple doesn't have some sort of way to manage your library from the internet. I could literally do this at school whilst bored. Maybe I should write Jobs a letter. Ha!

Just Put It On Shuffle

I hate the way break ups ruin your entire musical library but at the same time, recreate them in an entirely new and different way.

It's not just a few songs. It's every single song that played any time anything even seemingly significant happens. I can't listen to any of my playlists anymore. And when I shuffle, I run the risk of hitting that one song that has just enough sentiment and meaning to push me to tears.

The power that music has in connection with memory is striking. I'll hear a song from years ago, remembering the way I used to play the song over and over, memorizing the words, burning my emotions and mental state into every verse. Once, (this is the nerdiest example I've ever cited) I listened to a song on repeat while I read Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, and today, when I hear the song, I feel the way I felt reading that book.

So sometimes, you have to abandon songs for a while. I always know that someday I will be able to hear these songs again, and remember how they felt, and not hurt. These songs are to an emotional eruption are like when you put hydrogen peroxide on a cut. It burns so damn badly, but you know it's cleansing the wound. So if you're into self punishment, you make a playlist of only those songs and tune in for some abuse.

Sometimes, very rarely, I completely cut the song out of my life. I hear it, remember loving it, and have no interest in it whatsoever. It's been long enough not to wince at the opening chords, but also long enough not to like the song anymore either.

During this time of destruction of an itunes library and an entire top 25, I always look for new music, and even resurrect some oldies. I need to have music in my ears, so I adjust my tunes to my lifestyle. Doesn't everyone?

I found this site today, where individuals can post a mix tape that an ex made them back when they were together, and then tell the story of the relationship and the power the mix tape held for them. You can even listen to the tapes right there.

http://www.cassettefrommyex.com/

Gotta Keep Movin'

This weekend I went on a road-trip with my college friends to Ruidoso and White Sands, New Mexico.

There are some beautiful places here in the United States, even on this side of the map. I love the mountains. I love everything about them. Nothing can compare to the fresh air and natural atmosphere. 5 people from our usual gang made the journey, and we camped outside and explored and hiked and cooked s'mores.

I think that everyone had a good time and can't complain about how it all turned out.

Here are a few pictures from the adventure:






On the Road

White Sands


Before

After


I love that these people are my friends. The group just fits now. I used to write often about how sometimes I felt like it was missing something, and it is-- but I realize that those things come with time and you can't dwell on that.

I hope for something epic next, like Colorado. We'll see.

On the way to New Mexico, there were just two of us to start. We played MASH to make the time pass. You know the game you played as kids where you map out your future based on chance? Great game. 5 hour trip. It's too bad we bitched and bickered like an old couple once we got there because it was getting dark and he's a man who only needs matches to camp and I'm a woman who thinks logically about necessary items such as a flashlight, or a cooler. We did eventually calm down and just talked in the dark tent while we waited. But that included him asking me why everyone thinks he's so judgmental. If the others hadn't gotten there, I am pretty sure one of us would have killed the other. Regardless, it was funny in retrospect.

ALSO. 2 weeks ago I went to atx for the Austin City Limits Music Festival (ACL). It was amazing. I fell in love with a few new bands, saw a ton of hippies and re-enforced my love for bands I liked pre-festival. Pictures are the best way to show this one--