word. daily. (it should be noted that today’s date is 9-02-10 – see you at the Peach Pit)

Now Smell This: Replay, an Israeli perfume company, has a molecule in its perfume called cyclodextrin.  Now, I don’t want to talk down to you because you probably already know cyclodextrin is – but essentially it releases the scent of the perfume when it comes in contact with water. To play up this technology, Replay tied thousands of water guns to trees, bikes and benches in order to encourage the best-smelling water fight ever.

 Paperless Class: The University of Notre Dame is testing an iPad-based class model. The Fightin’ Irish who are taking Project Management 118 Section 7* are encouraged to use the pad for class – as well as everyday life.

*completely inaccurate

FashionStake: Founded by two Harvard grads last fall, FashionStake allows consumers to help fund and shape a designer’s collection before it’s been manufactured. Members can provide feedback to a designer, preorder from the to-be collection and/or throw some dollars the way of the designers so they can produce their pieces. (via @ARBetts)

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—Lauren M.

word. daily. (august 30, 2010)

Marty McFly: Nike seems to have filed patent papers for a shoe that will automatically lace itself - citizens of Maine will be relieved to hear this, since it’s illegal to walk down the street with your shoes untied there.

Ping Pong Wine: To try to create some buzz for their in-house package designers, Rethink created a series of table wines to show off their skills. (Sample text from one of the labels: “At Rethink, we believe great package design is like a ping-pong table: it should inspire intense competition and heated dialogue. Not to mention the occasional fist pump and victory dance”). We love the self-promo and wish wine was really labeled and packaged this way.

Boardwalk Empire: Take a look at this ad for HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, a new series taking place during Prohibition in, of all places, Atlantic City. The MTA bus station ad features a glass bottle filled with moonshine — each day closer to the premiere, the liquid in the bottle goes down, smoothly. (via @mattrichardson)

Get Your Sweet On: Not for any other reason than besides showing their sweet side (and, ahem, to drive traffic to the store), Opening Ceremony is offering in-store Candygrams. You can leave a card and lollipop candygram for a special someone and the swoonee can only get it by picking it up from the store - someone can do this for me at their Ace Hotel location.

Click here to let us know that you’d like to be added to the mailing list for the monthly edition of “word.”

—Lauren M.

word. daily. (august 17, 2010)

Twitter Quest for a Job: We’ve seen some pretty interesting job-getting tactics the past few months, and this one is no exception. Mark Trueblood (apparently, his real last name), an unemployed copywriter, is using a “choose your own adventure” set of tweets to send people to his website.

You’re a Good (Lookin’) Man, Charlie Brown: To celebrate their 60^th anniversary, the Peanuts cartoon gang has teamed up with Lacoste (almost as unusual as that Lilly Pulitzer/Barnum Animal Crackers collab in May). Debuting this fall, the pair will release a shirt that features the polo maker’s famed alligator somehow interacting with Charlie Brown and his crew. No word on whether or not Brown will to pop his collar. (via word. Secretary of State @roblongert)

Unsuck It: Ever wish Google Translate could take those ridiculous buzzwords your boss used in your meeting this morning and put them into layman’s terms? Check out this new tool that takes industry jargon and translates it into plain ole English.

Click here to let us know that you’d like to be added to the mailing list for the monthly edition of “word.”

—Lauren M.

word. daily. (august 12, 2010)

Gambling for Grades: According to the Newark Star-Ledger, 36 universities have a site allowing students to place bets on the grades they will receive. The site is privy to official school transcripts and calculates odds based on the student’s track record, class schedule and difficulty of the course. And with the goal of motivating students, the site gets around gambling legality rules. 

Not As Easy As Apple Pie: There been a lot a hullabaloo over the iPhone 4 and its antenna problem. Apple said free bumpers for all, then they said, “No free bumpers for people in Puerto Rico,” forgetting it is in fact, a U.S. territory. Then they said, “We take that back, Puerto Rico does get free bumpers.” And most recently, they told Jordan Linville he isn’t eligible for one. So, Linville sent Apple’s rebate center a humorous proof of life - in hopes they cough up the 29 bucks in his direction.

Brainy Bike: To raise money for Livestrong, “bike with a brain” was built. Precious (yes, that’s the bike’s name — and it’s a boy) will tweet about its 3-month travel from east coast to west coast. The bike is outfitted with a device that captures temperature, humidity, grade, speed, pedal rotation, direction and GPS. Mix all this around in a cloud-based system and Precious is able to express himself in his own words. 

Good-Looking Construction: Instead of a “Please Excuse Us While We’re Under Construction” sign, NYC’s Dior store decorated the construction site with a huge purse.

Click here to let us know that you’d like to be added to the mailing list for the monthly edition of “word.”

—Lauren

word. daily. (august 10, 2010)

What’s Your Flavor?: University of Tokyo researchers have brought their augmented reality “A” game with the “meta cookie” – they created a plain, tasteless cookie that can flavor-shift thanks to a headset that modifies perception by using image overlays and scents. 

Liquid Ink: Seen as one of the coolest inventions of all time, Sharpie will be introducing the Liquid Pencil this fall. The pencil/pen combo will have graphite “ink” that allows young Dickenses to erase at will for a three day period; after that, anything written will be permanent.  

Follow Me: Michael Krivicka, @whoisthebaldguy, really wants Jimmy Fallon to follow him on Twitter – the NYC resident posted a video full of reasons why Fallon should follow him, one being that he tweets about The Naked Cowboy (and who doesn’t want to miss those TwitPics?).

Textile Taxidermy: Take a look at this hunting jacket that can be transformed into a lined coat, a lighter-weight quilted jacket, a fitted city windbreaker, and a ram’s head to mount on your wall. Yup, bet you didn’t see that coming!

Click here to let us know that you’d like to be added to the mailing list for the monthly edition of “word.”

—Lauren

word. daily. (june 25, 2010)

Beer Me: Dutch beer brand Grolsch knows that brew-ha-ha (word play!) is a vital part of watching the World Cup, and they are stepping in to lend a hand to those fans who find themselves in a pickle. If your fridge breaks down during World Cup season, people can call the “Koelkast Julplijn” (fridge hotline) and Grolsch will deliver a loaner fridge to hold you over.

Streetwalk: Reminiscent of the cows that took over NYC a decade ago (yes, it has been that long), here come the mannequins. Organized by the Fashion Center Business Improvement District, designers (who include DVF, Victor Alfaro, and Tommy Hilfiger) customized mannequins in their signature style with a touch of weatherproof to line the streets of the Garment District, in an attempt to get back its identity as a place where fashion is born.

Reverse Inspiration: In recent years, we’ve seen quite a few fast food chains introduce more high-end offerings (croissan’wich, anyone?) – Eric Ripert turns that trend by introducing a McDonald’s-inspired burger at his DC outpost.

Lighting Strikes…Thrice: In case you missed it, lighting strikes the three tallest buildings in Chicago. At the same time. 

Click here to let us know that you’d like to be added to the mailing list for the monthly edition of “word.”

—Lauren

Fashion Feed Frenzy

I have never experienced a Fashion Week through social media like I have this season. I think it’s a huge sign of the extent to which the fashion industry has increased its embrace, or at least acceptance, of the medium in such a short span of time. My Google Reader is bursting at the seams, my Twitter feed is off the charts and I seem to know everyone’s opinion about each show before I’ve even had the chance to form my own. I can’t figure out whether I love the crossfire of information or if it’s just too overwhelming. Did I love the simple lines and soft beiges of the Marc Jacobs collection, or did I just read that somewhere? How does social media change the way we think for ourselves?

-Kristin

Louis Vuitton Gets Techie

Okay, so this is interesting, but it needs to be properly fleshed out in order to actually be cool – and I’m not sure what its ultimate purpose is, as of yet. Nonetheless, it feels exciting, which is usually the emotion elicited from us when we have the sense that something has potential to create change.

Speaking of emotions, here is the premise (courtesy of Jaunted): Louis Vuitton is rumored to be working on a bag accessory that will act as an “emotion monitor” by reading its owner’s heart rate and then syncing up with the owner’s mobile device, super-imposing this data onto a route map. Essentially, you would be able to look back along your strolls through Manhattan (or any lesser city – kidding, sort of!) and correlate where you were with how you were feeling at the time. Already, without the fancy monitor, I’m going to guess Saturday nights could get a little off-the-charts.

From Louis Vuitton’s perspective, this could provide interesting marketing data. From a consumer’s perspective, I’m just not sure how relevant it is to me to have my emotions monitored throughout the day as a function of where I’m going. As a psychology major, I think there are a lot of caveats to this program – we are continuously imprinted on by a myriad of factors in our environment. There is really no way to determine that it was physical location, as opposed to factors such as smell, social company or proximity to designer clothing that had our heart beat in a frenzy.

Also, why Louis Vuitton? How does this tie into fashion, beyond the fact that it attaches to a handbag and looks pretty? Once again, it’s cool, just because it’s always a bit cool when we remember we are biological beings…and we also seem to be obsessed with tracking things (Foursquare, anyone?) – but I’m not sure the concept has reached its full potential.

-Kristin

Fashion Goes Digital?

Last Tuesday, I hopped a cab from work down to Thor bar at the Hotel Rivington on the Lower East Side. I was headed down there to attend a panel about Fashion “going digital,” as part of the events of Social Media Week here in New York City.

Panelists hailed from Ideeli.com and MyItThings, among others, and sat down in close quarters to talk about their take on the role of social media in the fashion industry and vice versa.

In light of Fashion Week beginning this week, I will briefly discuss a topic that arose regarding the streaming of runway shows. Will designers start streaming their runway shows instead of showing live? Marc Jacobs is already livestreaming his show this year in conjunction with the live event.

Perhaps they will, but I do not see this having the potential to debunk Fashion Week. There is a thrill that passes through the air during a live runway show that cannot be experienced digitally. To hear the music live, see the clothes parade before you as the physical manifestation of each designer’s vision is a visceral experience.

However, let’s not forget that Fashion Week is in fact a trade event. This is for members of the industry, despite the consumer, social and celebrity interest it garners. For most worshippers, respectful admirers and even students of fashion, a ticket to the tents at Bryant Park is unattainable – but with an accompanying live, streaming video, the shows can receive a greater audience. As someone who religiously follows the fashion industry, I have to say I would love to see the shows streamed live. It is not the authentic experience of course, but I do think that should be left to the actual industry professionals.

Another interesting subject that becomes an issue when these shows pop up on the internet live, is the instant and rapid spread of trends. The trends reach mainstream audiences so quickly that shoppers want to get these looks before they’ve even hit the storeroom floors. Trends have been viewed 80 plus times, passed between the hands of countless blogs and feel old and tired before they’ve even been unveiled. I wonder how the fashion industry will tackle this issue.

All in all, it was an interesting forum and the fashion industry certainly stands at an interesting crossroads, as it cannot seem to avoid the influence of social media, whether it likes it or not. Sentiments seemed mixed, and I myself am, I confess, ambivalent.

-Kristin

JCPenney, Mary-Kate and Ashley Embrace Social Media

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen recently partnered with our client JCPenney to launch Olsenboye, their new line of junior apparel debuting on November 6. To build buzz among young, fashionable shoppers, they’re using innovative social media tactics like Facebook, Twitter, and viral videos.

In addition, earlier this week, the Olsenboye Treat Truck parked itself in Greeley Square and Washington Square Park here in New York to sell items from the not-yet-released collection (and give out free cupcakes!) to benefit the JCPenney Afterschool Fund.  Customers had their photos taken and uploaded to the JCP Teen Facebook page.

Cool!

- Rebecca