Dear Ad Loungers, Jeremy Gutsche || Founder, Trendhunter.com Agenda

Ad Lounge Talk Newsletter
Issue #2 Fall 2008
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
Without our sponsor support, Ad Lounge would not be possible. A special “Thank You” goes out to the fol owing:
PREMIUM GOLD SPONSORS
Newsletter

Issue #2 Fall, 2008
Organic Inc.
Organic® is a leading digital communications agency that uses a consumer-empathy-based approach,
combined with a holistic view of the digital landscape, to design and build exceptional interactive
Dear Ad Loungers,
experiences that effectively engage and persuade customers. Founded in 1993, Organic has ofﬁ ces in
Welcome to another Ad Lounge
“Night Out”. We have focused this
Detroit, L.A., San Francisco, Chicago, NYC and Toronto.
evening around what we feel are
Blog: threeminds.organic.com Site: www.organic.com
two of the most appropriate and
timely topics to marketers today -
innovation and trend hunting.
Torque Customer Strategy
The rapid evolution of technology
Torque specializes in developing marketing strategies that begin with placing the customer ﬁ rmly at the
continues to change how consumers
centre of all marketing activities. By assessing customers and their interactions with a brand or product,
are interacting with our brands, our
Torque helps marketing executives ﬁ nd innovative ways of attracting and retaining customers as well as
products, and with one another,
assessing new market opportunities. www.torquecustomerstrategy.com
thus creating a paradigm shift in
marketing. Today’s demanding
Jeremy Gutsche || Founder, TrendHunter.com
consumer is asking things of brands
that were never before possible – and
Jeremy Gutsche is an innovation expert and the
Creative Niche Inc.
we (marketers) are ﬁ nding that we
founder of TrendHunter.com, the world’s largest
Creative Niche is your full service stafﬁ ng agency dedicated to matching outstanding advertising, marketing
have to react quickly if they want to
network for trend spotting and innovation.
and interactive professionals with the right companies. We have recently launched Account Niche, a new
remain in the game.
division focused on matching account and marketing professionals. Call on Canada’s most innovative
With social media in the mix, trends
He holds an MBA from Queen’s University, is
creative stafﬁ ng agency for temporary, project and permanent placements. www.creativeniche.ca
are popping up from the most
a Chartered Financial Analyst, and a former
random, unexpected places.
Management Consultant. At Capital One, Jeremy built
Sarah Palin love dolls, bullet proof
a bil ion dol ar high-end business while leading the
SILVER SPONSORS
baby carriages, mini Gordon Ramsay
company’s innovation imperative. Jeremy speaks to
chefs, Bill O’Reilly’s teleprompter
Digital Propaganda
audiences international y and is frequently sought after
freak-out, and the spiffs that
Digital Propaganda’s printing department handles all jobs from annual reports, packaging and corporate
by the media for his opinions on the “next big thing”. His broad appeal ranges
fol owed, dancing Philipino prisoners,
stationary to promotional materials, business cards and posters. Their Design Team specializes in logos and
and Muppet gangsters.
from The Economist who sources Jeremy for their ‘World in 2008’ special to
corporate identity, illustration, advertising, package design, magazine layout, event marketing, etc. Their
MTV who cal s Jeremy ‘On the Forefront of Cool’
The public is eating this stuff up, and
team includes printing professionals, designers, illustrators and web developers. www.dpgroup.com
as marketers we should be aware
Jeremy produces an annual Trend Report to help keep you on the cutting
of the viral trends from around the
edge. TrendHunter.com col ects a lot of information that can be useful
world since this could be where the
Communicate New Media
next big idea comes from.
marketers and the insatiably curious. The Trend Newsletter and Micro-Trend
Reports include free rankings of the most popular micro-trends and viral
Communicate New Media has been supporting the Canadian marketing industry with award-winning
This evening should cover some of
digital and interactive solutions since 2002. Brands like Pontiac, Rogers, Loblaws, Sprite, Powerade, Johnson
today’s hottest trends, and should
innovations. These resources can be great tools for staying inspired. The
serve as inspiration for you to take
Premium Research and Trend Reports take the inspiration to the next level.
& Johnson, Shell, Nike, HBC and more have put their trust in CNM to deliver innovative online experiences
back and perhaps provide a fresh
Speciﬁ cal y, the reports aggregate the most popular trends into meaningful
that move product. www.communicatenewmedia.com.
perspective. We thank Jeremy
Clusters of Inspiration.
Gutsche, Founder of TrendHunter.
com, for joining us tonight and we
Sign up for your TrendReport, 2009. www.trendhunter.com/trendreports
BRONZE SPONSORS
hope that you ﬁ nd this evening a
valuable treat.
Electric Company
Electric Company is a production company that specializes in Motion Design and Animation. Speciﬁ cally,
Agenda
Cheers,
they represent artists / groups of artists within the commercial production world. Their talents, however,
WELCOME, INTRODUCTION & LUCKY DRAW
don’t end at Motion Design. They have extensive experience in Illustration, Animation and Programming,
Trina Boos
Trina Boos, Founder. Ad Lounge.
Music, Interface Design and Ideation; and are able to bring many of these talents to the table when
Founder
needed. www.electriccompany.ca
FEATURE PRESENTATION
Ad Lounge
trina@adlounge.ca
Jeremy Gutsche, Founder. TrendHunter.com. (60 mins.)
BEVERAGE SPONSORS
LUCKY DRAW SPONSORS CONTENT SPONSOR
DRINKS & MINGLE
Meet your fel ow Ad Loungers.
Where great minds meet.
www.adlounge.ca
Where great minds meet.
www.adlounge.ca

Ad Lounge Talk Newsletter
Issue #2 Fall 2008
Can driving a 1963 Volkswagen be trend setting?
6 Brilliant Business Books That Are Highly Underrated
An Interview with Award-Winning Advertising
By Mitch Joel, Twist Image
and Radio Broadcaster Terry O’Reilly
Not al of the best business books make it to the best-sel er’s list. There are gems
By Mark Daley, American Express Canada
that have sold a little (and some that have sold a lot more) that never make it to any
list... until now.Here are 6 Bril iant Business Books That Are Highly Underrated (in
Terry O’Reilly, host of CBC Radio’s “Age of Persuasion,” Co-Founder of Pirate Radio
alphabetical order):
& Television, and brand new inductee of the Marketing Hall of Legends, talks to Ad
1. The Art of Possibility - Transforming Professional and Personal Life. By
Lounge about trends from his perspective.
Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.

A beautiful book about what shal be in your life if you work at it. Zander was
Q: How would you deﬁne a trend versus a fad?
one of the best speakers at the TED conference this past year (you can see his
A:
astounding presentation here: TED Talks -Benjamin Zander - Classical music with
To me, the difference is time. A trend has staying power. For example, there has
been a trend in the voiceover business to employ the “non-announcer announcer”
shining eyes). He is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, an amazing speaker,
- meaning announcers that lack formality. More conversational, chatty. That trend
and The Art of Possibility (which he co-wrote with his wife) is more life lessons than
is almost 10 years old. A fad, on the other hand, is ﬂeeting. There was a fad a while
business book, but a more powerful weapon when applied to business.
ago for “mnemonics.” But it only seemed to last a year.
2. Funky Business - Talent Makes Capital Dance. By Jonas Ridderstrale

and Kjell Nordstrom.
Q: Who are the top three trend setting creative shops in the Advertising Market today? What makes them so
The world is changing (don’t believe me, take a look at the economy). These two
special?
crazy Swedes real y spark with new ideas about how business is adapting and how
we can al do our best to stay ahead of change or at least embrace it. The book is
A: Crispin Porter Bogusky. They really brought ‘event-like’ thinking to advertising. The “Subservient Chicken.” More
very wel written, quirky and very fast-paced.
than just an ad. Their X-Box games using the (alarming) Burger “King” character. I think all truly creative agencies
have to be led by a formidable Creative Director, and Alex Bogusky is clearly that. It was like he came from a different
3. Never Eat Alone - And Other Secrets To Success, One Relationship at a Time. By Keith Ferrazzi and
planet.
Tahl Raz.
Never Eat Alone is al about the soft skil s in business: how to make connections and how to keep connections.
Droga5 is another trendsetting shop. Never constrained by traditional media. Like the Tap Project – raising millions of
dollars for UNICEF. A huge, simple idea. All their work is bold. I saw David speak in Cannes, and I could tell that he
Networking seems so 1990s, and Ferrazzi real y amps up how we can use technology to be much better at making
was a feisty, Australian street ﬁghter, kind of leader. The work shows.
lasting relationships in business. This is a great book and you should grab it if you have ever felt like you could do more
to meet more people.
Sid Lee is incredible. Remarkable thinkers. I love that they not only have art directors and writers, but architects and
industrial designers under one roof. They are landing international assignments, like Adidas. That should tell you
4. Small Pieces Loosely Joined - A Uniﬁed Theory of the Web. By David Weinberger.
everything.
Weinberger should have been given a lot more praise and attention for Smal Pieces Loosely Joined (instead the focus
was on another book he co-authored titled, The Cluetrain Manifesto). Smal Pieces Loosely Joined is al about how the

Q:
Web connects us and is changing us. The book is one part Internet culture, one part philosophy and one part what
Are there any consumer/public movements, quietly happening, which we should all be paying attention to?
business needs to know (and embrace) in this ever-changing world.
A: Authenticity. I think that’s why Obama is doing so well. Even if he is inexperienced for the post, he still gives me
5. Waiting for Your Cat to Bark? - Persuading Customers When They Ignore Marketing. By Bryan
the feeling he is authentic in his desire to make the U.S. a better place. Authenticity means be clear, be forthright,
Eisenberg, Jeffrey Eisenberg and Lisa T. Davis.
have admirable motives and walk the talk.
Waiting For Your Cat to Bark is geared more towards the online marketer (or the general marketer). The Eisenberg

brothers (along with Lisa) have created an amazing system for al us to get better at understanding what consumers are
Q: Given the YouTube, Digg and Twitter revolutions, can this trend towards user-generated content be directly
looking for online, and how we can help them ﬁnd it. Waiting For Your Cat To Bark is fun and a highly important read
monetized and made to be proﬁtable?
if you work in the Marketing, Advertising or Communications space.
A: I think... Yes. I bet someone will ﬁgure out a fantastic idea for user-generated content, and people will pay to have
6. Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins. By Richard Farson and Ralph Keyes.
access. It just needs context.
Whoever Makes The Most Mistakes Wins is a smal but important read. Trying things, being different or looking for

new opportunities, this book on innovation is awesome. There are tons of quote-worthy content to boot and it doesn’t
Q: Looking ahead 5 years what trends will be going strong, having had their birth in 2008?
get trapped in the minutia that so many innovation books tend to fal into to.
A: Frugality. This economic meltdown will be one of the worst our generation will have seen. I believe it will affect
Mitch Joel is President of the award-winning Digital Marketing and Communications agency, Twist Image. Marketing
the way we all look at money and savings and mortgages and indulgence. This one will resound into the next decade.
Magazine dubbed him the, “Rock Star of Digital Marketing” and the research ﬁrm, Onalytica, named him one of
the most inﬂuential authorities in the world on Blog Marketing. Mitch is presently writing his ﬁrst book, Six Pixels of
Separation (Grand Central Publishing – Fal 2009), named after his very successful Blog and Podcast.
Where great minds meet.
www.adlounge.ca

Issue #2 Fall 2008
Can Driving a 1963 Volkswagen be trend setting? (Terry O’Reilly)
cont...

Q: Have you ever been a trend setter?
A: Who knows. Everyone did tell me you couldn’t make a living directing and writing radio spots. Is that a trend?
Well, I didn’t have any competitors 18 years ago. Do now.

Q: Which trends have you been “caught up in” during your life, and why?
A: Flock of Seagulls hairstyle. Kidding. I’m a classics kind of guy. Love old movies. Classic rock. I drive a 1963
Volkswagen. I think if you called me a trendster, my wife would do a spit take.

Q: Which trends could we probably have lived without?
A: Disco. Mullets. Spandex. Acid-washed jeans. The use of the phrase “My bad.” And possibly reality television.
Time will tell.

Q: After completing the break-through radio show on advertising “Age of Persuasion”, do you have any new
projects in the works?
A: Yes, a book. Have been offered a book contract with Knopf. The book is based on the radio series, but with way
more content and examples. A 26-minute show means you leave a lot of goodies on the editing room ﬂoor. The
book will sweep them all up. Publication Fall 2009.
Facebook Groups to Check Out
Aside from Ad Lounge’s group on Facebook, here are
some others that might tickle your fancy.
Third Tuesday Toronto
A free monthly meet-up for Toronto area PR and marketing folks
interested in learning/sharing more about the practical applications of
social media in business.
Advertising Club of Toronto
A not-for-proﬁt organization that serves the advertising industry and all its related services including media, creative,
production, advertising management and marketing.
AMA Toronto
The American Marketing Association is a professional association for individuals and organizations involved in the
practice, teaching and study of marketing worldwide. They are a resource to all marketers looking to connect,
learn & grow.
Ad Lounge Volunteers Needed
Send all required materials to trina@adlounge.ca. Thank you for your kind interest.

www.adlounge.ca

Ad Lounge Talk Newsletter
Getting to Know Them, Getting to Know All
JOB OPENINGS
About Them
Intermediate Web Developer
Full time opening. Seeking
By Mark Healy, Torque Customer Strategy
Developer with 2-3 years

experience. XHTML, CSS,
When I was a little kid, about once a week my dad would take me to the
Javascript (+libraries), AJAX, XML.
local corner store in my very small home town. The treat never varied –
Intermediate Flash & ActionScript.
a stubby glass bottle of Hires root beer and a box of Smarties. And my
Send resume to:
routine never varied. I would sit in the kitchen and empty all the Smarties
janet@creativeniche.ca
on the table. Then, I would methodically separate the pieces of chocolaty
gold by colour, and arrange them in sequential rows.
Intermediate Account
The point here is not that I was obsessive-compulsive starting at a
Manager
young age, it is that even back then I was a segmenter. As a marketing
Full time opening. 5+ years Account
consultant, I spend a lot of time and energy trying to understand my
Management experience, passion
client’s customer segments. Good segmentation these days has a lot less to
for innovative marketing and
do with age/gender/postal code, and a lot more to do with understanding
a full understanding of ins and
not who the people are but the how’s and why’s of their decision-making
outs of agency life. Positive work
process. I always use the same analogy when explaining this: read any
culture where no idea is a bad idea
classic marketing analysis relating to who buys a Ford Mustang, and this
-Seriously!
is what you’ll see: 25-35-year old white male, single, middle class income.

I promise you that if I draw a blood sample from any 30-year old white,
Send resume to:
single male, there will be nothing in his DNA that predisposes him to buy
tanya@accountniche.ca
a Mustang. What is more likely is that Ford Mustang drivers tend to be
image conscious, mild thrill seeking individuals who put styling ahead
Interactive Project Manager
of reliability on their list of buying criteria. It’s easy to miss the 40-year
Freelance. Boutique interactive
old female divorcee, or the 50-year old immigrant when trying to box
agency has an immediate opening.
customers into one demographic.
4 months to start with potential
Wonderful. How do you sort out your customer segments, based on
for ongoing work. Interface with
behaviours?
internal and external clients for a
major campaign of a leading brand.
1. Buying Criteria is Key - If you only asked your customers one

thing, this would be it: “What criteria do you use when you purchase my
Send resume to:
product/service, and in what order?” There are obvious criterions: price,
janet@creativeniche.ca
quality, after-sales support. But you may ﬁnd others you didn’t know crept
Ad For Ad Lounge Newsletter:Layout 1 28/10/08 2:55

into the buying equation, like relationship with sales representative, trust,
corporate social responsibility and simplicity of transaction.
2. The Buying Process is next most important - This seems pretty
obvious too, but I’m continually amazed at how complex the purchase
process is for everything from corporate telephony services to magazines.
The object of the game here is to map out the steps in the process
different groups of people take that ultimately lead to purchase.
3. Talk to non-customers - Rules 1 and 2 are crucial, but only help you
segment your existing customers. You may be missing another segment(s)
entirely. The only way to ﬁnd out is talk to people who aren’t buying your
product/service and ﬁnd out why.
Where great minds meet.