This week, on the Theater of Public influence, it’s Player/Played-Up/Played-Out with Ben, Brady and the Mikes. First up, we take a look at Bud Light’s “Real Men of Genius” campaign. Since 1999, Bud light has given us over 100 installments of their hilarious tribute to everyday heroes and there’s no end in sight. Next up it’s wave 3(GS) of iPhone hysteria and 3 of our panelists are drinking the Kool-Aid and loving it. Then, following the announced shutdown of Boston’s WBCN, we discuss morning radio and terrestrial radio in general in hopes of finding a cure for this struggling medium. And finally, we get angry at a certain salt-n-pepper haired weekend warrior in Mike Stevens’ 30 Seconds of Rage. Follow us on Twitter @GYKtweets and listen to the end for a sneak peak at GYKbeats.
Archive for July, 2009
Theater of Public Influence – Episode 20
Thursday, July 30th, 2009Snickers Bar Hunger
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
In an economic recession philanthropic dollars are hard to come by as a number of companies and brands must think of survival first and charity second, but one iconic candy maker recently launched a campaign to give back to America. Snickers, a Mars snack food brand, is teaming up with Feeding America to help feed the hungry. The campaign titled “Bar Hunger” is setup to help the one in eight Americans who are struggling with hunger on a daily basis. Snickers tagline for years has been “satisfies hunger”, so for them to join Feeding America in order to raise donations to help the hungry fits perfectly with their brand image. Plus the title of their campaign, bar hunger, helps with brand reinforcement. The campaign is great for so many reasons beyond its primary purpose, as Snickers has thought up some pretty creative marketing ideas to bring awareness to their campaign.
Music Industry: Tour sponsor matchups off key, innovative download pushes
Thursday, July 16th, 2009The art of music marketing these days is a fascinating one, isn’t it? From how people sell music to how the performers generate new revenue to everything in between, the past five years and the next five years have been a revolutionary period in how to package, sell and perform the tunes that get in our heads on a daily basis.
Amidst it all, there were two techniques that caught my eyes and ears recently – one that I didn’t particularly care for and the other being a concept so simple, it’s a shame others didn’t catch on years ago to start trying. (more…)
Theater of Public Influence – Episode 19
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
After a brief detour as we payed tribute to Michael Jackson, we’re back to our regular format this week with Check It Out. Travis York rejoins the panel along with Ben, Brady, Holly and Mike G. Our guest this episode is PR team member and published author, Kevin Flynn who talks to us about 
Playboy’s unprecedented July/August combo issue sparking a discussion about the state of print media and the fate of those who produce it. But first Travis, fresh off the Doves and Wild Light concert at the House of Blues, starts a conversation about pop music in advertising and Ben recaps his experience making a short film as part of the 48 Hour Film Project.
The King of Pop
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
On Thursday, June 25, 2009 the world of pop culture received a jolt of massive proportions as its king, Michael Jackson, passed away. Since then the entire world has been consumed with the sudden death of a mega superstar and everywhere you look people are discussing his immense impact on the world. He was the most successful musician of all time and sold reportedly more than 750 million albums worldwide. To put that in perspective, he sold one album to 11.82% of the world’s 6.7 billion person population. It is simply amazing how he impacted the culture of our world and it was astonishing to watch his fall from superstar to superfreak. Jackson is going to be remembered for many things from music, to almost dropping his child from a balcony, to his impact on the advertising industry.
