Marketing has changed. We're in the age of one-to-one marketing, where the customer actually has a role in shaping the messaging for your brand. Social Media--blogs, Twitter, Facebook, wikis, user-generated tools--have given her all she needs to effect whether your products and services do well in the marketplace. Long gone are the 4Ps of marketing, these are the days of the 4Cs, a customer centric approach that includes the customer's wants and needs; the cost to satisfy the customer; the convenience; and communication.
Traversing these murky waters can be difficult. Scary even, especially without a plan or understanding of the playing field. You want and need insight, and we've got it. Every week we feature a new marketing innovations expert, sharing what they've learned and observed in the trenches, helping marketers everywhere take those steps toward the future.
Here's a round up of our latest experts, along with their latest blog posts.
I've spent a few columns this week looking at innovative usages of social media by big brands. Along the way, I've noticed many companies fail to fully capitalize on these efforts--they are not promoting their Facebook, Twitter, ...READ»
Julie Rutherford is the Vice President of Marketing and General Manager for Email at Beliefnet.com, the leading online site for inspiration and faith. Prior to joining Beliefnet, Julie served as Marketing Director for WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive (WPNI), where she specialized in Web 2.0 marketing including social media, mobile marketing, widgets, feeds and SEO.
Before the Post, she served as Director of Electronic Publishing for the International Herald Tribune in Paris with responsibility for editorial, marketing, sales and tech operations for IHT.com. Previous experience includes marketing and management positions with several Internet startups during the 1990s.
Over the past year I was introduced to Jane Fonda and have become known as her "tech guy" (a funny term she referred to me as on NBC's Today Show). In truth, I am a part of a trio that included my blogging wife, who gave a 71-year-old ...READ»
James Andrews is a managing partner at Everywhere specializing in the creation of social media strategies, online communications, and Web content production. Everywhere is a strategic communication agency that focuses in helping brands and individuals navigate the social media and online space to build better connections with their audiences. Its clients include Delta, Jane Fonda, Jermaine Dupri, Sanaa Lathan, and Georgia Public Broadcasting. Before launching everywhere, Andrews was VP, Ketchum Digital and worked on social media brand strategy work for Monster.com, FedEx, GeekSquad, Wendy's, and Newell Rubbermaid. Andrews has been working in the area of interactive/new media and non-traditional marketing for 15 years holding senior titles at Columbia Records, Ecko Unlimited, and Isobar/Carat. His experience with brands such as Current TV, Sprite, Vibe Magazine, and Proctor & Gamble places him in a unique category of executives that understand the convergence of both new media, content and digital lifestyle. James blogs at FastCompany.com as an Expert Blogger. He also maintains a blog at www.thekeyinfluencer.com where he covers the "business of pop culture" via news and interviews that span technology, new media, music business and youth/urban culture. Andrews is also a regular contributor to CNN, as an expert in social media. Additionally, James serves as a consultant on social media to a few celebrities and icons including Hill Harper (CSI), DJ Jazzy Jeff, Sanaa Lathan, Macy Gray, and Jane Fonda. James Andrews attended UCLA, grew up in Silicon Valley, and lives in Atlanta with his wife and two children. He is an active speaker globally and is frequently quoted on the subjects of digital media, entertainment and innovative branding/marketing approaches.
Read more innovative marketing experts: Paul Worthington, head of Strategy for the New York office of Wolff Olins; Cheryl Contee, a partner and co-founder of the social media consultancy Fission Strategy; Melinda Partin, CEO and co-founder of Worktank; Rohit Bhargava, SVP of Digital Strategy at Ogilvy PR, Edelman PR; Faris Yakob, Chief Technology Strategist at McCann-Erickson New York; Tru Pettigrew, President of Alloy Access; Joel Rubinson, Chief Research Officer at The ARF; and Lon Safko, co-author of The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies For Business Success here: Fast Company's Most Innovative Marketing Expert Blogs
Jay-Z may have declared the "Death of Autotune," but T-Pain, the King of Auto Tune, strikes back with a new iPhone app that helps anyone sing like him.
In the video below, see artists like Keri Hilson, Soulja Boy, and Akon using the "I Am T-Pain" app to help them sound like him.
Just choose your favorite T-Pain beat, then sing your freestyle verses directly into your iPhone to record and become T-Pain. Well, not exactly, but your voice will sound computer generated. And if you're happy with the recording, you can upload the track and share it with your friends via email, Facebook or MySpace
Created by Smule, a developer of interactive sonic applications for the iPhone and iPod touch including Ocarina, Leaf Trombone World Stage and Sonic Lighter, the "I Am T-Pain" app features:
Authentic Auto-Tune technology by Antares
Bundled T-Pain tracks, including lyrics, for singing along alone or with friends
The option to record tracks and stream your songs to Facebook and MySpace
Freestyle mode--where you create your own songs
Additional tracks for purchase, available in the app, via iPhone OS 3.0 features
"I Am T-Pain" is available from the iTunes store for $2.99.
Social networking has completely tangled itself into the fabric of our daily lives, and though Facebook is still de rigueur, people with specific interests and advertisers who want to reach those people are becoming more the norm. For an advertiser, niche networks are like targeting campaigns by demographics.
gamerDNA Yesterday's news of a site refresh for gamerDNA, brings gamers a real-time source of info tied to a robust recommendation engine. The engine delivers a real-time stream of gaming content, conversations, and games that are tied to members' interests. Gamers connect their accounts to popular gaming networks, including PlayStation and Xbox Live, as well as Web-based gaming networks, and then distribute their activity to their followers on the site as well as other social networks like Twitter and Facebook. These streams of info include reviews, videos, images, trailers and user-generated content.
SuperGlued
We wrote about this site when it launched last week. Members share photos from Flickr, videos from YouTube, stories, and bragging rights about the concerts they've attended. What they've shared on Superglue they can also share with their friends on Facebook. And like new freshman connect on Facebook before ever hitting campus, the SuperGlued can connect with one another for the shows they're attending. An upcoming iPhone app promises to futher the real-time, real-world aspects of this community, enabling music aficionados to send text, video, and photos from their phone while they're watching concerts live.
MAGMA
At it's heart, Mag.ma is an aggregator for all the hot video on the Web, from what's being watched on Hulu, YouTube, Vimeo, College Humor and more. Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are processed in the algorithm to determine what are the best videos of the day. But what the site does best is that it offers you the opportunity to find all the top video content in one place, instead of having to look all over the Web for it. What's even better, is that it gives you tools to build up your discovered video collection (think of delicious bookmarks), and to share and customize your own charts.
Platogo
Play Together Online wants to be the one-stop-shop for simple online multiplayer gaming--that's Web based games created with Flash. It brings together gamers to play, produce, and connect. "Users can play alone, with or against each other; they can measure their performances against others; they can rate games and individual levels, comment on them, post them or recommend them onwards. Users can also create and share their own levels: in a racing game, for example, they have the opportunity to build their own racetracks," says the site. And for developers, revenues are driven by game sales of microtransactions to site members, as well as in-game advertising. Further, developers can be members of the community with their own profile pages to connect with gamers who can provide feedback for the future development of games.
JHB Sports
Launching nationwide in time for the beginning of the 2009 NFL season, think of JHB Sports as a social network for fantasy football. But unlike fantasy football, there's no drafting or trading position players. It's simple with the same teams starting each week. At the end of the NFL week, members are sent an e-mail reminder to log in and see how their points are adding up and how they are doing against other players in their league. There's 1 simple draft before the season starts and with 32 teams in the NFL the draft only lasts about 30-60 minutes. Once all teams are picked the draft is over. No point spread, no weekly office pools, no changes to the starting lineup plus the Player's interests are perfectly in line with those of each team--to win football games. And scoring is unbelievably simple. During the regular season, Players get 1 point for every one of their teams that win and 0 points for their teams that lose or tie each week. That's it.
The cost per League to use the site for an entire NFL Season is $80. Leagues have anywhere from 2-16 Players (8 Players is optimal). For a League with 8 Players it breaks down to $10 per player for the 5 month season or $2 per month/player.
Last night in New York, at a TV launch party for Popular Science's "Future Of..." Debbie Myers, Science Channel general manager asked what was missing from science programming.
The overall response, from the 50-plus room full of mostly New York digerati, was resoundingly, "a show that was both entertaining and smart--not dumbed down." Well, if last night's Twitter response could be utilized as any sort of indicator, then in "Future Of..." Discovery and its Science Channel, along with PopSci, have stumbled upon the answer to that question.
According to the PopSci and Science Channel brass, the secret sauce was finding the right host. Someone who was, "chill yet energetic--chillergetic."
That host is Baratunde Thurston, a comedian, political pundit, and author, who guides us through the future of play, war, sex, security, and many other topics affecting human life. Thurston will conduct in-depth interviews with creative inventors, unconventional scientists, and talented entrepreneurs, all while experimenting with their astonishing prototypes. It's meant to serve as a glimpse at how the technological breakthroughs of today will reshape our lives tomorrow. Last night's premiere episode focused on the future of superhumans, featuring:
"Prosthetic limbs better than biological ones. A powder regrows missing body parts. Bigger, stronger muscles without the side-effects of steroids. A bionic eye that turns your world into a computer screen."
Here's what the Twitterverse, selected from those in attendance at the launch party, had to say about the series priemere:
Liza Sabater, a feminist culture pundit, new media producer, online strategy consultant and blogpreneur, and founder of two political blogs: culturekitchen and The Daily Gotham, said she was gong to be addicted to the show.
Deanna Zandt, a media technologist and consultant to key progressive media organizations who hosts TechGrrl Tips on GRITtv with Laura Flanders, thought the show's examples of future tech were cool and that Baratunde was an awesome host.
Anil Dash, a blogger, entrepreneur and Vice President at Six Apart, which makes TypePad and Moveable Type, said that Baratunde was going to blow up the Science Channel with "Future of..."
It doesn't get much cooler than that.
"Future of..." airs Mondays at 9 P.M. ET, check your local listings for repeat and first-run schedules.
Marketing has changed. We're in the age of one-to-one marketing, where the customer actually has a role in shaping the messaging for your brand. Social Media--blogs, Twitter, Facebook, wikis, user-generated tools--have given her all she needs to effect whether your products and services do well in the marketplace. Long gone are the 4Ps of marketing, these are the days of the 4Cs, a customer centric approach that includes the customer's wants and needs; the cost to satisfy the customer; the convenience; and communication.
Traversing these murky waters can be difficult. Scary even, especially without a plan or understanding of the playing field. You want and need insight, and we've got it. Every week we feature a new marketing innovations expert, sharing what they've learned and observed in the trenches, helping marketers everywhere take those steps toward the future.
Here's a round up of our latest experts, along with their latest blog posts.
In the U.S., the average tenure for a CMO is roughly 23 months. In the U.K., it is even shorter. Al Ries states over at AdAge that of all the firms in the Fortune 1000, only 7% of the most highly paid executives have marketing in ...READ»
Paul Worthington is head of Strategy for the New York office of Wolff Olins, a global brand and innovation consultancy. You can find both Paul (@pworthington) and Wolff Olins (@wolffolins) on Twitter.
Non-profit organizations usually have smaller budgets than for-profit corporations. And often, their staff is smaller too. It's for this reason that many nonprofits have embraced online outreach and engagement. Social media in ...READ»
Cheryl Contee is a partner and co-founder of the social media consultancy Fission Strategy where she specializes in online advocacy, engagement, and communications. Prior to launching Fission Strategy, Cheryl was Vice President at Fleishman-Hillard San Francisco where she acted as lead digital strategist for the West Coast, helping clients manage their brands and online campaigns. Before Fleishman-Hillard, Cheryl led the interactive team as Vice President at Washington, DC public affairs firm Issue Dynamics Inc. where she launched and led the group blog BloggerRelations.com. Previously, she was the Web Director for Oceana, an international marine conservation organization. Before Oceana, Ms. Contee launched 40 multi-lingual Web sites for Discovery Communications as Senior Producer for International Networks for television brands Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, Discovery Health, Discovery Kids, and more. You can follow her on Twitter @ch3ryl
At its very core, marketing is storytelling. The best advertising campaigns take us on an emotional journey--appealing to our wants, needs and desires--while at the same time telling us about a product or service. A brand's story ...READ»
As CEO and co-founder of Worktank, Melinda leads the company's strategic direction with the goal of worldwide expansion to better serve our global customer base. Her vision is central to Worktank's mission of helping clients find new and compelling ways to establish meaningful relationships with their customers.
Drawing on over a decade of interactive experience, Melinda helps companies transition from traditional marketing to Web- and interactive-based channels. Her wide-ranging background includes Fortune 500 and small- to mid-sized companies in technology, real estate, corporate housing, and telecommunications, and the non-profit sector in HIV/AIDS and hunger issues. Melinda moved to the agency side after stints with Microsoft Sidewalk and Microsoft Studios, where she pushed the edge of media technology.
A reverb (or reverberation) is typically used to describe sound--or more specifically the instance where a sound continues despite the original source of the sound being removed. If you apply the same idea to social media, a reverb ...READ»
Rohit Bhargava is SVP of Digital Strategy at Ogilvy PR and author of the award-winning book Personality Not Included, a guide for brands to be more authentic. He writes the popular non-obvious marketing blog Influential Marketing and speaks frequently around the world on social media, marketing and the power of personality. Follow him on Twitter at @rohitbhargava or become a fan on Facebook before July 31 to be among the first to get a free download of his new ebook on August 1.
I tuned into NBC’s Breakfast at Wimbledon last Sunday morning to catch Roger Federer outduel--and outlast--a re-energized Andy Roddick to win the men’s championship at Wimbledon, his 15th major.READ»
Rick Murray, president of Edelman Digital, directs Edelman’s global approach to digital communications. Edelman Digital’s mission is to transform Edelman into a digitally-centric communications company; to out-innovate the market with new approaches, new products and new processes; and to create a world-class digital agency with a global footprint. The combined group has doubled in size over the past two years, and now includes more than 150 digital and social media experts worldwide. Rick’s principal areas of expertise include: brand identity, positioning and strategy; integrated marketing communications; and engaging audiences through online communities and social media. Today, he provides strategic and creative counsel to many of Edelman’s accounts including eBay, RIM, HP, Microsoft, Unilever and JP Morgan Chase.
The radical decentralization of the means of cultural production and distribution it has brought about, that I mentioned in the slidecast in my last post, "Social Begins At Home," has changed the very nature of the audience--of what ...READ»
Faris is Chief Technology Strategist at McCann-Erickson New York. Before that he was the Digital Ninja at Naked Communications. He writes and speaks about brands, media, communication, and technology. You can find him all over the Internet, but his blog--Talent Imitates, Genius Steals --and twitter @faris are good places to start.
About a month ago I was invited to speak at a preeminent youth conference. I'm not sure if it was our PR department or the coordinators of the event that chose the title of my topic, but when I read it, I found myself in a bit of a ...READ»
Tru Pettigrew is the President of Alloy Access. As its founder, Tru is passionate about providing fresh ideas and identifying emerging platforms to make products and brands relevant to today's urban and multicultural consumers. Tru and his team travel around the country immersing themselves in culture at basketball courts, nightclubs, music stores and barbershops. In educating his Fortune 500 clients, he provides a reflection of today's multicultural world. Tru started his career performing as one half of a Los Angeles-based rap duo. He executed promotions for Converse, which led to a position with Houston Herstek Favat. He later joined AMP Agency's Triple Dot Communications (acquired by Alloy) and co-founded its consumer insights division.
Marketers focus on their brands and customers as the family jewels--and they are. But there is another kind of marketing asset that I call "runways" and if you don't have them, you will miss huge opportunities. In this ADD world of ...READ»
Joel Rubinson is Chief Research Officer at The ARF, where he directs the organization's priorities and initiatives on behalf of 400+ advertisers, advertising agencies, associations, research firms, and media companies. Joel is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and an active blogger. He holds an MBA in statistics and economics from the University of Chicago and a BS from NYU and never leaves home without his harmonica. Follow him on Twitter: @joelrubinson.
A blog is the most important thing that you can create for yourself and for your company. It provides an environment that promotes two-way communication with your customers, your prospects, and establishes you as a thought-leader in ...READ»
Lon Safko is the co-author of The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies For Business Success. He is also an innovator and professional speaker with over 20 years of experience in entrepreneurship, marketing, sales, strategic partnering, speaking, training, writing, and e-commerce. He is the founder of eight successful companies, including Paper Models, Inc.
Not to be thwarted by declining record sales, Island Def Jam's top gun Antonio "L.A." Reid is introducing an advertising model into his artists' CD booklets. Starting with the release of Mariah Carey's Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel, slated for September 15, fans will be treated to a 34-page mini-magazine that will include lifestyle ads from Elizabeth Arden, Angel Champagne, and the Bahamas Board of Tourism, among others.
'We sell millions of records, so you should advertise with us,' " said Antonio "L.A." Reid, IDJ's chairman. "My artists have substantial circulation--when you sell 2 million, 5 million, 8 million, that's a lot of eyeballs. Most magazines aren't as successful as those records."
Along with the ads, the Mariah Mag, co-produced by Elle will include photos of Mariah, as well as editorial about the artist, lyrics, and liner notes. If the Mariah test case goes well, the label will set up similar, and broader, CD booklet deals for Rihanna, Bon Jovi, Kanye West, and other artists. Def Jam is the first label to embark on such a venture.
"The booklets were created for the first run of U.S. CDs (1 million) and the first 500,000 overseas, said Jeff Straughn, svp-strategic marketing for Island Def Jam Music Group. It will also be available in a digital format for those who buy music online. A condensed version of the Mariah mag, sans the 14 pages of CD-specific material, will be inserted into 500,000 subscription copies of Elle's October issue, which arrives mid-September."
L.A. Reid must have given this some serious thought. If people aren't going into the music section to buy music, and there really are no music retailers anymore--this move offers him the opportunity to move his product out of the music section and into other key areas in big boxers like Wal-Mart and Target. Wal-Mart will display Carey's latest project alongside her new fragrance, Forever.
But it's a wonder just how successful this project will be, with Carey's first single "Obsessed," not faring very well on radio or in iTunes. It's also gotta hurt, maybe just a little, that the release date was pushed from August 25 to September 15. Fans can turn on you in a blink of an eye if you don't deliver what you promised, when you promised it.
Still, there's no question that Def Jam's latest business model is a clever one. But let's keep it real, the albums are going to have to sell for the advertisers to get a return on their investment. If Mimi mini mag--well, Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel to be fair--sucks as much as Glitter did (both the movie and the album), advertisers won't come back for those bigger deals with the other artists that Reid is pushing.
Unlike our recent Enertia drive, where we got to go out for a full ride, we merely took a spin around a Chelsea Piers parking lot. What did we learn during our short time on the bike?
Easy to handle and comparable to a 250cc, it's a pretty light bike--225 pounds to be exact, of which 80 pounds is taken up by its battery. Though it's light, you never have to worry about flying off the thing because its suspension is pretty solid. "Its configuration is what's called a supermoto style. It's got very long travel suspension, and our idea there is for an urban motorcycle you may need to climb stairs or jump curbs. It's got the kind of suspension that can handle that kind of rough riding," says Zero's CEO Gene Banman.
Granted the test ride didn't offer the opportunity to really get a sense of this, but I can say that I barely felt the one speed bump I went over in the parking lot.
Given all of its tech wizadry though, I couldn't help feeling that something was amiss in its design. If a comparison had to be made, the Brammo is a beautifully designed piece of machinery, while the Zero S left something to be desired. But there's an explanation for this.
The bike appears unfinished. But where it lacks body and design the rider is given easy access to its battery and charger. The zero-emission, 100% pure electric motorcycle charges off of a 110V plug for four hours for about 50 miles of driving. "This type of battery loves being topped off. There's no memory in the battery so the more you keep it charged the better." says Banman.
When asked whether he saw Brammo as competition, Banman said: "It's great for the market. You need competition to create a market, and the time is absolutely right for this kind of vehicle. The technology is to the state where we can build fully functional motorcycles that are very competitive with gasoline motorcycles. The advantages of electric: You don't have oil changes or tune ups--basically no service required on the drive train at all. It's very inexpensive to run, about a penny a mile. And the motor and the battery last the life of the motorcycle. So we think having multiple players in the market is good for everybody. Their bike is built to a different configuration than ours so it'll appeal to a different kind of customer."
In that case, I guess I'm a Brammo girl then. Don't get me wrong, it's a fine bike sure, but overall it didn't feel quite as comfortable, and you already know I'm hung up on its design.
The Zero S sells for $9,950 with a 10% tax credit, which brings the price down to approximately $8,950. It can be ordered directly from the Zero S Web site or by phone, with a shipping charge of $500. There are local representatives where you can take the S for a test drive before purchase.
Fingerbeat, a new iPhone/iTouch app, puts the power of a recording studio in the palm of your hand.
Main Features & Technical Specifications:
Step Sequencer: Making beats is easy as drawing and tapping boxes to generate unique sequences. Each color is associated to each channel type of pad.
Pitch Keyboard + Editor: While recording, the notes you play will immediately appear in the editor. Its easy to make changes and draw free-form to create / delete notes using your finger.
Multi-Touch Mixer: FingerBeat is built for user experience & live performance. Create your very own mix.
Pocket Sampler + Kit Edit: Record any external sound using the built-in *microphone. Load any existing sounds in the library.
Perform & Sing: Once you have programmed some patterns, connect to headphones and hear yourself sing over your musical creation. Conveniently change patterns with your thumb for live performance.
Low latency pads
x8 Pads/Channels with Volume, Balance Mixer + Mute functions
x6 Pattern blocks per Kit
x6 Themed Skins + User Photo option using iPhone camera or gallery
x16 Kits "x8 User"
Built in sounds + kit templates
16bit 44Khz Sampler using internal microphone
Demo Patterns
Ability to use microphone* with external speaker source
Though Fingerbeat isn't the only beatmaker available for the iPhone--there's also the free Melody Box Lite, iDrum, and Looptastic to name a few--it's probably the most comprehensive for making your own original beats with vocals.
Fingerbeat is available from the iTunes store for $3.99.
1. DeAndre "Soulja Boy Tell'em" Way, rapper/producer
The 18-year-old Web wunderkind took a crazy song and dance, and propelled it via YouTube and MySpace fame into an Interscope recording contract and platinum record sales. And to prove he was no one-hit wonder, he returned with a chart topping sophomore set. Now he's branched out into a live-action animation series and an endorsement deal with Yums footwear and fashions. Next up: a video game for Xbox 360, and acting.
2. Tim Westergren, Chief Strategy Officer & Founder, Pandora
An award-winning composer, an accomplished musician, and a record producer, Westergren founded the Music Genome Music Project, a technology that uses over 400 attributes to describe songs and a complex mathematical algorithm to organize them and launched it with Pandora in January 2000. Nine years later, it's the world's favorite Internet and mobile radio station, with the best built-in system for music discovery ever.
3. Alexandra Patsavas, Owner, Chop Shop Music Supervision
She has a gift for matching the right song to the right scene in some of TV's most popular shows. The day after Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" played on Grey's Anatomy, it became the most downloaded song on iTunes, and the show's soundtrack was later nominated for a Grammy. After that, Atlantic Records gave Patsavas her own label.
4. Gregg Gillis, Mashup artist
The ex-biomedical engineer, also known as Girl Talk, layers unlicensed song samples and "performs" them live, with his laptop center stage. Last year, he released his fourth album, Feed the Animals, online, using Radiohead's pay-what-you-want model.
5. Pharrell Williams,
Musician
As half of the production duo known as the Neptunes, he has helped everyone from Britney Spears to the Hives land on the charts. He also fronts the funk-rock band N.E.R.D., produces a clothing line called Billionaire Boys Club, hawks a line of shoes under the Ice Cream Footwear brand, and designed sunglasses and jewelry for Louis Vuitton. Most recently, Limelight, an updated version of Fame that he created with film director McG, was picked up by ABC.
6. A.R. Rahman, Composer
He's the Oscar-winning composer behind Slumdog Millionaire's "Jai Ho," which has been downloaded more than 100,000 times on iTunes and was re-recorded as a hit collaboration with the Pussycat Dolls. Rahman also created the musical Bombay Dreams and has been testing new forms of music distribution; through a tie-up with Nokia, he recently released an album just for the company's music-phone users in India.
7. Jimmy Iovine, Chairman, Interscope Geffen A&M Records
In music, all roads lead to--and from--Jimmy Iovine. The resurrection of the New Kids on the Block. The exclusive Best Buy deal for Guns N' Roses. MySpace's music venture. Dr. Dre's high-tech headphones. Iovine had a hand in all these projects--and he's still thinking big, bold, and increasingly multimedia.
8. Bart Decrem, Chief executive officer, Tapulous
Three days after its release last July, Tap Tap Revenge--an iPhone game that's basically Dance Dance Revolution except that you tap your fingers to a song rather than dance to it--shot to No. 1 among free game downloads on iTunes. It was testimony to the appeal of playing along to bands such as Coldplay. Within a week, artists were reaching out to the game's developer, because the game links to purchase songs on iTunes. Decrem has partnered with labels (EMI) as well as individual acts to create band-branded apps.
9. Dave Stewart, Musician and record producer
The Eurythmics cofounder and a singer's songwriter--he's written hits for Tom Petty, Celine Dion, and No Doubt--also started the consulting company DeepStew with Deepak Chopra, acts as U.S. creative director for the Law Firm ad group, serves as president of entertainment for fashion designer Christian Audigier's brand-management unit, and is an official Change Agent for Nokia.
10. Brian Eno, Musician
On his recent collaboration with David Byrne, Byrne wrote lyrics in New York to the instrumental tracks Eno sent from London. Then they prereleased the album, "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today," online. Now he's curating a lights-and-music festival in Australia that includes his own light show projected on the Sydney Opera House.
In our February cover story, "Shaun White's Business is Red Hot," Fast Company Senior Editor Mark Borden, who wrote the article, told you that snowboarding gold medalist and skate boarder Shaun White had the creativity and authenticity to kill in the $150 billion youth market.
He wrote:
"White has sought out companies he truly connects with. Working with a tight team of advisers that include his 29-year-old brother, Jesse, and his agent, Mark Ervin of IMG, White sees these deals as a long-term investment portfolio, something that will outlast his knees. Each corporation meshes with a discrete slice of his actual life, and with each one, White dives in and takes a central role, from the design of specific products to pulling deals together among his various partners. Last fall, his street-wear line appeared in Target stores across the country. This year, he expanded his best-selling Burton collection of snowboarding gear to include a stand-alone extension for women. There are marketing deals with HP, Oakley, and Red Bull. He collaborated on a snowboarding video game with Ubisoft that went on sale just before the holidays. And whether it's the quirky commercials for Target, the reality-style video shorts in the back-to-school Web campaign for HP, or the high-energy ads for Ubisoft, the ecstatic look and feel of the White DNA comes through."
His Target clothing line's launch was so successful, the big box retailer has re-upped for a second season. The clothes are a collaboration with his brother Jesse and represent White's interests in music and travel. Similarly to White's line for Burton, brainstorming begins with hand sketches by big bro, and CoolHunting got a peek inside his notebook.
This sketch shows the design for a jacket:
The new Shaun White for Target collection will be available in the fall at all Target locations and online. See more sketches at CoolHunting.
Julie Rutherford is the Vice President of Marketing and General Manager for Email at Beliefnet.com, the leading online site for inspiration and faith. Prior to joining Beliefnet, Julie served as Marketing Director for WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive (WPNI), where she specialized in Web 2.0 marketing including social media, mobile marketing, widgets, feeds and SEO.
James Andrews is a managing partner at Everywhere specializing in the creation of social media strategies, online communications, and Web content production. Everywhere is a strategic communication agency that focuses in helping brands and individuals navigate the social media and online space to build better connections with their audiences. Its clients include Delta, Jane Fonda, Jermaine Dupri, Sanaa Lathan, and Georgia Public Broadcasting. Before launching everywhere, Andrews was VP, Ketchum Digital and worked on social media brand strategy work for Monster.com, FedEx, GeekSquad, Wendy's, and Newell Rubbermaid. Andrews has been working in the area of interactive/new media and non-traditional marketing for 15 years holding senior titles at Columbia Records, Ecko Unlimited, and Isobar/Carat. His experience with brands such as Current TV, Sprite, Vibe Magazine, and Proctor & Gamble places him in a unique category of executives that understand the convergence of both new media, content and digital lifestyle. James blogs at FastCompany.com as an Expert Blogger. He also maintains a blog at www.thekeyinfluencer.com where he covers the "business of pop culture" via news and interviews that span technology, new media, music business and youth/urban culture. Andrews is also a regular contributor to CNN, as an expert in social media. Additionally, James serves as a consultant on social media to a few celebrities and icons including Hill Harper (CSI), DJ Jazzy Jeff, Sanaa Lathan, Macy Gray, and Jane Fonda. James Andrews attended UCLA, grew up in Silicon Valley, and lives in Atlanta with his wife and two children. He is an active speaker globally and is frequently quoted on the subjects of digital media, entertainment and innovative branding/marketing approaches.
Just choose your favorite T-Pain beat, then sing your freestyle verses directly into your iPhone to record and become T-Pain. Well, not exactly, but your voice will sound computer generated. And if you're happy with the recording, you can upload the track and share it with your friends via email, Facebook or MySpace
Paul Worthington is head of Strategy for the New York office of 
Cheryl Contee is a partner and co-founder of the social media consultancy 
As CEO and co-founder of 
Rick Murray, president of 
Faris is Chief Technology Strategist at McCann-Erickson New York. Before that he was the Digital Ninja at Naked Communications. He writes and speaks about brands, media, communication, and technology. You can find him all over the Internet, but his blog--
Tru Pettigrew is the President of 
Joel Rubinson is Chief Research Officer at 
Not to be thwarted by declining record sales, Island Def Jam's top gun Antonio "L.A." Reid is introducing an advertising model into his artists' CD booklets. Starting with the release of Mariah Carey's Memoirs Of An Imperfect Angel, slated for September 15, fans will be treated to a 34-page mini-magazine that will include lifestyle ads from Elizabeth Arden, Angel Champagne, and the Bahamas Board of Tourism, among others.
