Musical Interlude

I'm on the road to Miami and am therefore unable to even fake being clever, thoughtful or worth reading. I can, however, provide you with some music for your browsing pleasure. I never mind getting this song stuck in my head. Just open another browser window and allow this song to serenade you as you waste away the hours seeking celebrity gossip and humiliating videos, tweeting and checking your Facebook, fooling your overlords that your work is really hard and you'll meet that deadline, but it may require some overtime.




Once in Miami, aside from useless meetings that will infuriate me ("face time" we call it) I intend to photograph my brand new Construction Orange Plaid Nation t-shirt on Miami Beach sometime tomorrow morning. So there's that to look forward to. Woohoo.

This is a Lot of Work for a Free T-Shirt

You know how when a band gets big, the people who followed their earlier tours get all bent out of shape, saying things like, "Oh, you don't have the bootleg video of the Portland show? I was there, man! You guys aren't real fans!" That's how I feel now as one of my favorite groups hits the road for the third year in a row. I covered their previous two tours and met up with them when they were down here in O-town on what they called a "working weekend." (Drawing pictures in a public park downtown is hardly working.) I've had the opportunity to work with them professionally and they are a fun bunch who don't give you a lot pf pushback. Or maybe they're just so good with their people skills that when they give you pushback you don't even realize it.


I'm talking, of course, about the mentally challenged children of Plaid, a not-for-profit ministry in downtown Danbury, Connecticut. Led by a former punk rocker who had a vision of providing shelter and guidance to wayward urchins who'd been turned out on the streets, Plaid seeks to bring hope and healing to a hurting world. And I believe that children are our future.

This time, the Plaidiators will focus on the central states, taking in Detroit, Milwaukee, Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City, Branson, Memphis, Jackson and New Orleans. I will follow with interest the Branson portion of their journey, as I have experience in that region, experience I don't like to talk about unless there is someone standing nearby ready to sedate me.

And this time, the Plaid Summer Tour is different. They have sponsors now. They even got their vehicle supplied by Ford. This time instead of a giant church van, they'll travel in a Ford Flex. That's really cool. And sponsorship means the swag will be better for the bloggers who took the time to write about the trip.

It's a mobile exercise in new biz development. This is no cold call journey. The Plaid people have it all planned out: seeing new places, maybe landing a client or two, meeting the friends from Twitter and blogs they've never actually met in person. If they're swinging through your town, you'd be well-advised to buy them a beer and hang out. Until they start kissing your cheek and rubbing your leg. Then it's time to go because the weird stuff is about to happen.

Follow along starting July 20th.

I'm ready for my swag now.

Agencies - Save Money and Headaches!

Was chatting with Darryl via IM this morning about someday opening up a Plaid office down here in Florida. It's a far-fetched dream that I'm sure I hold more than he does, but I bug him about it every so often to remind him I haven't lost hope. Working with Plaid is fun as they have cool clients and the copy process goes smoothly. The Plaid designers are easy to work with and they're open to concepts. I submit my ideas and headlines, and Darryl usually replies with "You totally rock," which is a refreshing alternative to what I usually hear in my job, something along the lines of, "I think you need to give us ten more ideas, none of which we will use. If we do use it, once we've finished diluting whatever you gave us, you won't recognize it anyway."

Anyway, Darryl promises he isn't ordering this new product, hatched from my brain during our IM.

Now I Get Twitter

I've been sucked into the Twitterverse Black Hole through work-related necessity. I joined as a student of social media, and I've communicated through it on a few jobs. Mostly, it's a place to read witty tweets by snarky ad people or find out what some guy I've never met ate for breakfast this morning. Until tonight, I didn't understand Twitter's true power.

One of the people I follow is Justus Johnson of Plaid. Tonight, Justus tweeted this about what he was watching on TV.


Now, I know my cable has a built-in guide, and I know I can go to any number of sites that will list for me what is showing in my area, but this is much easier. I wasn't going to look that show up on any guide. Instead, I had the random chance, the unplanned catching of a show I'd been thinking about and wondering whatever happened to. Because Justus saw it, I saw it, ABC got another viewer, and I got to witness why this show doesn't make the rounds much anymore.

Wizards, warlocks. Santa is an outlaw, chased by toy-hating Nazis. Santa as an abandoned Moses baby, left on the doorstep of some family named Kringle. Grows up to defy the Nazis and deliver toys to kids who are needy. Nazis raid houses and confiscate toys, then hold a town-square rally where they burn all the toys and laugh as the town's children cry. Santa (Kris Kringle) locked up as a criminal. Kris' girlfriend gives the reindeer some drugs and they fly. Kris leads his people to the Promised Land (the North Pole), where they practice the works of Jesus, giving to the poor and needy, making life brighter for all the world.

Wow. It's been a while since I watched that show. Thanks, Justus. And long live Twitter.

Stalking The Wild Plaid

I went on a daring mission this morning, chasing the elusive Plaid in downtown Orlando. I unfortunately shut down the camera before they figured out who I was, so the ensuing confusion and hilarity was not documented. The button I toss to them at the end was one of their own, from their recent West Coast tour.

Orlando Turns Plaid

Caught up with the world-renowned Plaid gang this afternoon in downtown Orlando. Plaid is here on their annual end-of-year regroup, where they assess what worked and what didn't. Had a great lunch and finally got to put faces to the people I've been collaborating with recently. Later, I'll upload the video of me stalking them at Lake Eola, where they were actually having a meeting.

There's My Jetpack!

• 1931. The Glide-o-Bike, which looks super-safe and really practical. And at only 25¢, that's some pretty affordable death and dismemberment.
• Bill Green, currently on a weekend furlough in SanFran in the middle of the Plaid Tour, alerts me to an alternative jetpack possibility.
• And Brian Ellis (who has a Richmond, VA area code) has emailed to invite me to the AirVenture show in Oshkosh, WI later this month to see "the first practical Jetpack." A teaser video is here, but if I'm listening correctly, this thing will fly for all of two and a half minutes. Not practical, Brian, but a nice step in the right direction.

I will be unveiling my own crude jetpack (of sorts) later this year, as soon as I assemble all the supplies and map out the video. Seriously.

You Didn't Think of This

And they did. Which makes them pretty damn smart.

Plaid Nation is back in gear, this time on a West Coast tour. The tour planners have conveniently skirted Florida on the last two tours. They'll probably do Europe next year.Darryl & Co: If you're hiring, I can take some night courses and become a Social Media Guru. I've been known to pose as a Thought Leader in the Interactive Space. But when I go on the road, I'd like to blog a cross-country Amtrak nightmare.

Have SWAG, Will Blog

I'm a cheap slut if you give me stuff.

I guess that really makes me a dirty whore, but the fine folks at Plaid sent me an email last week asking if I'd blog about their upcoming West Coast Tour in exchange for some Plaidness. Plaidness arrived today in the form of a lime green T and a cool little button, along with a nice card begging me to blog about them. So here we go.

In seriousness, I blog about Plaid because they are an agency getting it right. They did this last year, and it was a bizarre success. After their East Coast Tour, I shamelessly asked Darryl if he'd hire me on as Plaid's Southeast Doer of Whatever It Is I Do. Darryl graciously replied, "Dude. Uh. No."

Reason I'd gladly be a Plaid Head is that they're not claiming to be Web 2.0 Social Media Gurus - even though they are. They aren't claiming to understand all there is to know about traditional media - even though they do. They are innovators - in a traditional way. And like Advance out of Denmark, or Th!nk here in Orlando, they are doing the agency blog thing in a way that isn't ruthless corporate huckstering. Read Brand Flakes for Breakfast. You'll rarely find a self-promoting post in that entertaining and educational blog.

I mean seriously - who piles a bunch of media pros into a rented van covered in branded plaid stickers and outfitted with three video cameras and high-speed wi-fi to traverse the country in an effort to drum up business and draw attention to their efforts? They'll have live video, a Twitter feed, an ever-growing Flickr set and updates from not just themselves, but the people they meet along the way. That is unique, daring and smart. To top it all off, Uncle Bill is a part of it, doubling the cool factor.

It almost inspires me to be daring enough to wear this lime green T.

Keep an eye on the Plaid Tour and learn a thing or two about advertising, business development and customer service. It's not only an education, it's a fun, real-time summer diversion.

If they're heading to your town (Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Redding, San Fran, San Luis Obispo, LA, San Diego, Vegas) get out and have a beer with them.

Bald Bobble Bill

The Plaid Tour is the most well-executed advertising campaign for an advertising agency I've ever seen. From the concept of "Brand Aid" to the website with its little plaid van crossing the globe, these people have thought of everything. Regular updates via (cough) Twitter, instant messaging with van occupants, live camera, a growing Flickr set and the sneaking suspicion that when they get back at the end of the week, the press coverage alone should be responsible for even more new business. I expect to see this effort written up as a feature in some industry trades soon.

And Bill of MTLB finally got himself immortalized as a bobblehead figure on the Plaid "meet the staff" page. I've heard it joked that white guys can't do the bald thing very well. Bill pulls it off. He's likely using Plaid client HeadBlade to achieve the Mr. Clean look.

I predict this agency is about to explode, and I'm putting in my request now to be their Florida office.

Cross Country Barnstorm Begins

The Plaid Van has hit the road, and it looks like it'll be an interesting ride. Part new business development journey, part client service outing, part transparent opening-up to the advertising community, the notion of a 21-day half-country trek in a strange looking vehicle reminds me of the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile. They're having some technical difficulties, but all in all, it seems to be moving along fairly successfully. The ride looks a little bouncy, but that van is huge, with plenty of room to stretch out and blog the journey.

And if I've done my research correctly, I might have an image here of Bill Green of Make the Logo Bigger. Can't be sure until he shows up here to comment. In fact, he might be commenting right here in this picture, as Bill is the holder of the Most Prolific Poster and Commenter Cup two years running. He's not exactly a Weinermobile babe, but he sports a well groomed dome. (It's always interesting the first time you see a radio host you've listened to for a while. Same applies to bloggers who've remained visually anonymous for a while.)

I will be curious to find out what sort of new biz was hatched from this trip and how the expense vs. results of the trip might compare to the ROI of say, a brand summit, a webinar or a speaking engagement. (Did I just say, "ROI?" I'm sorry for that. Really.)