meet sara.
Sara has now taken a pledge, and devoted her life to Plaid. She's the newest member of the Plaidalicious team, and makes the greatest agency in all of the land just a little bit sweeter.
Sara's got a really cool background. She's lived in Orlando, Miami, NYC, San Francisco, and now finds herself stuck in New England, with the rest of us. What better way to pass the time, than a career at Plaid.
Sara has joined us in the role of "Producer", even though we don't believe in titles around here. Her job role is to keep everyone happy. By making sure clients get what they need. And creatives have what they need. And that everything makes Plaid money.
Random things you probably didn't already know about Sara:
+ She likes the Gun Club and The Replacements
+ She survived a lightning strike
+ She's almost ten feet tall
+ Her sister is a model
Send Sara a big howdy at Sara (AT) thinkplaid (dot) com, or follow her on Twitter.
Welcome, Sara!!!
Labels: plaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 9:03 AM
3 comments
best podcast ever recorded
Maybe even the best audio ever recorded. Imagine hearing my voice - drone on and on, about the new Zyrtek campaign, about Earth Day, and online ethics (!)
Now you can. Thanks to The Custom Scoop Magazine and their Media Bullseye Roundtable.
I'm featured on the latest episode, along with experts Sarah Wurrey and Jennifer Zingsheim. Listen to be dazzled. Or listen to count how many times that I say "um."
This is a great series, featuring some really intelligent discussion about marketing, branding, social media and our industry in general. They've lowered their standards for this episode on a one-time-only basis, and assure me that the rest of their shows will feature real guests. Who don't say "um" as much.
Labels: branding, green, plaid, podcasting, self promotion
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:24 AM
2 comments
Giuli loves her husband more than she loves Plaid.
We've got some sad news to share. Giuli's husband has accepted a wonderful new position at P&G. In Cincinnati. That's a bit of a commute from our offices.
Over the last few weeks, we've attempted to convince Giuli that it's time to leave her husband, and commit to a life of Plaid. That her job here is like a marriage. That we have needs, too. So far, she's not seeing things our way.
So next week, Giuli's leaves for Ohio. The place that's not next to the ocean. That state that doesn't have New York City. The part of the country that almost touches Canada.
She'll continue to work with us (from Ohio) to help us with the transition to her replacement (more on that, next week!)
In the meantime, we have some advice for Ohio. If you want to be prepared for Giuli's arrival, we suggest:
+ Open a Uniqlo and Crate&Barrel store.
+ Have really good sushi.
+ Be less cold.
If you live in Cincinnati, and would like to show Giuli (and her lousy husband) the town, introduce them to other creative people, or offer her employment, please contact her at Giuli (at) thinkplaid (dot) com. She's Plaid-certified AWESOME.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:51 AM
4 comments
darryl: too sexy for online adage
AdAge readership is expected to soar this week, as they've printed a super sexy pic of me, in their article Separating Brilliance from Blabber. You'll need to buy the print copy to see my headshot - it was too damn sexy to include in the online version.
You can also get a good view of my left ear, in the group shot. Mmmm. Hot. Obviously, my quotes were even too brilliant for an article with 'brilliance' in the headline.
I will be appearing at Borders this Friday night, signing copies, and accepting gifts. Links to pics of less attractive bloggers can be found on ToddAnd's coverage of the piece.
Labels: adindustry, blogging, plaid, self promotion
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:14 AM
3 comments
last week at Plaid:
Damn. Two weeks in a row where we forgot to post happenings at the greatest agency in all of the land. Here's what's happened in past days:
I attended Blogger Social '08, and met a few of my favorite bloggers from across the world. A truly inspirational event that took place in meatspace, not internet space, so I was a little uncomfortable.
We normally have a strict policy that says khaki wearing geeks aren't allowed in our studio. But the marketing and brand people from Duracell were so nice, that we made an exception. They included Plaid on their scavenger hunt field trip, that had multiple teams of marketing geeks traversing the area to complete challenges. (Winning team of Mark, Mark, Greg and Dan, pictured above.) We had them navigate a Mac, in our conference room. Hilarity ensued.
RJ is in the midst of making hotel arrangements for our summer tour, which has us totally stoked. Matt's designed the first batch of tour t-shirts. Can't wait to hit the west coast.
We interviewed for some of the open positions here. Interviewed, and interviewed, and interviewed. Almost there. We've met some really awesome, talented people, and it's going to be tough to narrow it down.
We're casting for a part in a video we're shooting, and having a tough time finding just the right person. David, Giuli and RJ continue to work through demo reel after demo reel.
This is going to be a busy week, so stay tuned for more awesome fun.
Labels: plaid, plaidsummertour, thisweekatPlaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:09 AM
0 comments
jet blue owns the internets
Our agency LOVES JetBlue. It's the unofficial, official airline of Plaid. They get branding, they get the internet. And I'm pretty sure they also know how to fly. Now they're even using Twitter. And doing it right.
Yesterday, as I was rolling through my Twitter timeline, I noticed a tweet from JetBlue - warning NY area travelers that there might be weather delays, due to the sucky weather we were experiencing. I know when I travel, I'm constantly checking tweets (more than email sometimes), to keep up - so that's a pretty cool way to keep Twitter users informed.
But it gets even better. Moments later, Brian Shaler (via Twitter) points to some additional detail on how JetBlue is using Twitter.
They get it. They're using tools to be a part of the conversation, to enhance your service experience and to build their brand. Awesome. How could you use tools like no one else in your industry?
Labels: plaid, social media, travel, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:42 AM
0 comments
meet steph.
Steph is a total geek. And she needed a home. As a part of our support for the adopt-a-geek program, we've agreed to let her work at Plaid.
Steph joins our team as our only girl coder - and can write javascript like a man. (She's probably going to hit me for that comment.)
Random facts about Steph:
+ She likes Star Wars. (Totally awesome)
+ She likes Macs. (For this alone, we love her more than other coders)
+ Born with mad Segway skills
+ She can drink almost as much coffee as Justus. (Have you seen the size of Justus? He's like 9 feet tall.)
You can follow Steph on Twitter at Stephanie_42, or email her funny Star Wars YouTube videos at Steph (at) ThinkPlaid.com.
Labels: plaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 3:12 PM
0 comments
meet rj.
RJ is one of two new talents to join the Plaid team this week. RJ is our latest addition to the client services/office management team. He'll perform crazy stunts like buying odd props for shoots, researching weird things on the interweb, and helping to keep Plaid running smoothly.
We love that RJ has PR talents too. He can actually put words together in a real sentence. We've seen him do this.
Some random facts about RJ:
+ RJ likes baseball. (gross)
+ He doesn't drink soda. (This is weird, and scares us.)
+ Likes chili cheese fries
+ Sports a fauxhawk (we're going to get him drunk, and shave the sides.)
Say hi to RJ on Twitter (iRJ) or email him pictures of real mohawks at RJ (at) thinkplaid.com
Labels: plaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 2:39 PM
0 comments
Plaid tour '08. We need sponsors!
It's official. We're doing another Plaid road tour. Last year had us traversing down the east coast into the deep south. This year, we're headed WEST.
The Plaid tour kicks off on July 21, in VANCOUVER. We head south, and make stops in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and ends in LAS VEGAS. Vancouver to Vegas, with California in-between.
Here's the tentative schedule:
Monday, July 21: Vancouver
Tuesday, July 22: Seattle
Wednesday, July 23: Portland
Thursday, July 24: driving day
Friday, July 25: San Francisco
Monday, July 28: San Francisco
Tuesday, July 29: driving day
Wednesday, July 30: Los Angeles
Thursday, July 31: San Diego
Friday, July 31: Las Vegas
All along the way, we'll be visiting brands and other agencies, and sharing our love of the latest social media tools. (If you're on the route, and want us to stop by, let us know!)
We need sponsors! We'd love a hotel sponsor, and/or cash sponsors to help cover at least some of the ridiculous expenses. (You have no idea how much it takes to feed a Plaid van with fuel, and a Plaid staff with food.)
So - if you're working with a brand that could benefit from an audience of over 250,000 blog readers, would love the social media coverage on our blogs, our dashboards, our videos, Twitters and more - let us know. You're welcome to reach out to me directly at darryl AT thinkplaid DOT com, for more details.
Just four months to go!
Labels: plaid, plaidsummertour, self promotion, social media, streetteams
posted by darryl ohrt @ 5:11 PM
3 comments
we're off to sxsw!!!
Rob, Dave and I are on the way to the airport, heading for SXSW. We'll be blogging our trip in as much detail on our SXSW Edition of BrandFlakesForBreakfast. Check in often - we're expecting to meet some fabulous people, learn some new cool thinking, and show Austin how to party.
I'll be keeping BrandFlakes up to date, in between panels, meetings, work and beer. Should be interesting.
Labels: plaid, sxsw, technology, trends
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:03 AM
0 comments
this week at Plaid
Here's what happened this week at the world's most "it's f'in freezing here" design and branding firm:
Giuli and I raced in the Polar Bear Challenge. Giuli was kind enough to slow her pace through the entire race, so that I wouldn't be running alone. I returned the favor by sprinting ahead of her, right at the finish line, to beat her by one second. (Still can't believe she fell for that.)
We launched a couple of live webcams in our office, so that you can keep track of what's going on in our office. We've set up one camera focused on one of our brainstorm areas, and another one monitoring our bathroom. The bathroom monitor should be interesting, because you'll be able to chart which Plaid employees take the longest bathroom breaks. Let us know if anyone takes too much time. There's some funky stuff going on in that bathroom.
Our elevator went out yesterday, giving us all some much needed exercise. Maybe more than some of us needed.
We've been interviewing like mad, for a couple of new positions here. Will be cool to see some fresh faces in Plaid.
Next week, a few of us head to SXSW! Getting totally stoked.
Labels: plaid, thisweekatPlaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 5:44 PM
0 comments
follow plaid at sxsw!
We're goin' to Texas!
We're pretty stoked that a handful of us get to go to SXSW this year. David, Rob and I will embark on a Texas adventure like no other.
We plan on sharing the entire experience with you, sharing found ideas with you, and sharing new tools, tips and technology with you. We've started a SXSW edition of BrandFlakes, which will serve as the hub of these activities. Bookmark it now, and stay tuned for more information and details.
And - if you're also attending, let us know. We'd love to share a Texas-size drink with you.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:16 AM
0 comments
talk to your favorite bloggers, live.
We're working on the most exciting project. And you can become a part of it. Crayon, one of the most talked about new media firms in the world, has just launched a really cool promotion for ooVoo, a new video chat tool.
Titled My ooVoo Day With, this event will allow you to try out the free ooVoo video chat tool, while chatting with some of the world's most famous bloggers.
ooVoo lets you video chat with up to six people at once. So crayon talked some pretty influential bloggers into trying it out, with YOU. At MyooVooDay.com, you can sign up and join a few other people in some very limited video chat sessions. Bloggers brought into your living room. Or your office. You decide.
Starting on February 10, you'll be able to ooVoo with luminaries like Chris Brogan, Steve Hall, Irina Slutsky, Susan Reynolds, Joseph Jaffe, and so many more.
Where does Plaid come in? Working with crayon, we built the registration engine and promotional site for the event.
Oh yeah - if that wasn't enough, ooVoo is thanking the host bloggers with a sponsorship of the Frozen Pea Fund, a fund established to support the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer campaign, in honor of blogger, Twitterer and cancer patient Susan Reynolds.
So, what are you waiting for? Sign up now, while there are still slots open!
Labels: blogging, plaid, social media, video, web2.0
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:52 AM
0 comments
this week at Plaid:
Here's what happened this week at the world's most superbowl-ready creative agency:
They nearly finished our addition. It's pictured above. The custom wainscoting and lights were installed. All that's left is some staining, and carpet. All due for installation next week, if we're lucky. It's looking AWESOME.
Big news: We've decided to embark on another Plaid road tour, this summer! It's looking like we're coming to the west coast, for a couple of weeks in July. Brian's already mapping out potential routes. We'll begin sharing details real soon.
We were featured in Inc Magazine! Well, if you can call a paragraph in an article on blogging a feature, I guess. Maybe that's a stretch of the word - but we're proud anyway.
A few of us are going to SXSW!! We're totally stoked, as none of us have ever gone before. And we've never been to Austin, Texas, either. Should be a Texas size load of fun. We're planning on sharing the entire experience with you. We're setting up a special edition of Brandflakes, and will be blogging, Twittering, and more live from the show. If you're going, please let us know - we want to buy you a drink!
We're off for a weekend of beer guzzling, SuperBowl watching, and ad criticizing. Happy SuperBowl, everyone.
Labels: plaid, plaidsummertour, superbowl, sxsw, thisweekatPlaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 5:16 PM
3 comments
publicity wit realizes my genius
PR blogger Laura Newman has posted a really awesome interview with me! I swear that I didn't even pay her anything for this.
I ramble on about branding, hiring an agency, and the social media bandwagon. Read it and worship my total genius. Memorize every word that I've said, because this will be important. Shepard Fairey is probably preparing my portrait as we speak.
Labels: blogging, plaid, self promotion, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:48 AM
0 comments
brandflakes: better than any other blog in the world
Simon Owens is on a quest for the truth. He has a theory that in order for the popular link blog BoingBoing to remain popular, it would have to consistently scoop its competitors by retrieving and posting links earlier than everyone else. So he conducted a little experiment to test the theory.
You can see the details of his theory and his findings here. But that's not what's important. What's important to note is that according to Simon, Brand Flakes for Breakfast was one of only 112 blogs that scooped BoingBoing. One of 112 blogs in the world. And, while Simon didn't indicate this, I'm pretty sure that the other 111 blogs were cheating.
Thanks Simon!
Labels: blogging, marketing, plaid, self promotion
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:37 AM
0 comments
black star photography blog now better than ever
Black Star, the infamous photography agency, has launched a sweet new blog geared toward the photography community.
I wrote a guest post - which will undoubtedly drive massive traffic and response and ultimately make the Black Star Rising blog the most popular blog in the history of all blogs.
I'll be posting regularly there, until they wise up and kick me out. Tell your friends.
Labels: blogging, photography, plaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:53 AM
2 comments
we tried to kill katie yesterday
Yesterday was Katie's birthday. Even after a week-long eatfest of sugar, Plaid employees love a good excuse for cake, cookies or cupcakes. So we jumped at the chance to kill Katie, for the cause.
You see, Katie is allergic to chocolate. So we got her the biggest chocolate chip cookie available on earth. That's how we roll. It's not about Katie's birthday, or her right to live another year - it's all about feeding our addiction to sugar sweetness.
Happy B-day Katie!!
Labels: plaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:18 AM
0 comments
happy birthday blogging!
Blogging just turned ten years old this week! Way back in December of 1997 Jorn Barger of Robot Wisdom created the term "weblog." And by the looks of it, he immediately decided to never ever cut his hair again.
In news that's almost as momentous, we reached 3000 posts this week at BrandFlakes! That's a lot of posts. If you stretched them end to end, they'd probably reach to Venus. Or Uranus. ;)
You should start a pool in your office today to buy a massively huge blogging birthday cake in celebration of all of this blogging goodness.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:04 AM
0 comments
this week at Plaid
We produced a really fun online greeting card for client RMI Direct Marketing. Check it out, and see what a bunch of no-talent singers sound like when you put them together in a chorus. It's really bad. No really. Bad. (We've advised them not to quit their day jobs.)
Eric from Segway talks about the project we're working on in the SegwayToday podcast. This is going to be awesome. Should be launching early next year.
Construction continued on the addition to our space. All the walls are up, and they've installed the roof rafters. We can really get an idea on how the space will feel now.
Today, we met a significant sales goal - and celebrated by getting the crew new Nikon Coolpix cameras. They're the first digital cameras with WIFI on board. For real. We can now shoot pics and upload them right from the camera to Flickr. Or email. Or whatever. Expect lots of action on our Flickr page in the coming weeks.
Some skiing, shopping, movie watching and snow shoveling planned for the crew this weekend. Next week's going to be a MADHOUSE.
Labels: holiday, plaid, thisweekatPlaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:02 PM
3 comments
special gifts for special people
If you haven't checked out the BrandFlakesForBreakfast Gift Guide, here's your reminder to do so. Rob, David, Giuli, Matt and the gang have been posting furiously like elves in tight clothing. All so you can look good on Christmas morning.
And - have you noticed how we've totally kicked off a massive Plaid trend? Our agency goes Plaid, and so does the world. The latest Plaid-converts: Kid Robot, with some super sweet plaidriffic gift goodness. (Thanks Devon!)
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:47 AM
0 comments
brand flakes for breakfast gift guide
We've re-launched the Brand Flakes for Breakfast Gift Guide - now an annual Plaid holiday tradition. Just like the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center. Or the airing of Charlie Brown Christmas on TV (tonight in the US!)
The BFFB Gift Guide is our wayfinding tool to cool gifts for creative people. We try to keep the featured items to gifts under $100, and items that are appropriately suited for creative people.
Use it for daily shopping inspiration. Or a sweet place to bookmark the stuff you want. Check back daily for more awesome consumer loving bliss! And please share any cool ideas that you find in your travels!
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:44 AM
0 comments
denver post: best paper/blog/site in the entire world.
Check out the #1 blog on Neal's list! Thanks Neal!!!!
Labels: plaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 5:10 PM
2 comments
this week at Plaid:
Here's what happened this week at the world's most magically delicious design and branding firm:
Lots of photo shoots. Rob and I had a shoot at an incredibly unique spine and sports medicine facility in NYC earlier in the week. And today, the majority of the Plaid team got together for a really awesome shoot for our upcoming holiday card. All that I can say is there were some silly outfits and embarrassing positions.
Katie brought her dog Taco to the office. Taco rocks. He's got his own Facebook page, and he's already getting popular. Everyone loves Taco.
Giuli used our Segway for an interesting experiment. She rolled out a long strip of bubble wrap, and then rode the Segway over it. So much fun. We're already planning on buying one of those huge bubble wrap rolls, and doing a bubble wrap glide on the sidewalk in front of our office. Should be fun.
Someone sent us a bunch of beer (always appreciated) and some summer sausage. Sausage jokes were flowing all over the office. David discovered that he could shoot pieces of sausage from an air gun that was in the office. So David was shooting his sausage all over the place.
There's some amazing work going on at our shop. Lots of really big stuff is getting close to launching, so we'll be sharing soon.
We met with an architect to discuss some ideas for the new addition to our space. Construction should be kicking off in the next couple of weeks. We need the space bad, so we can't wait.
Next week is Thanksgiving here in the U.S., so it's a short week, which we're all looking forward to.
Have a great weekend! Hope you're somewhere warmer than we are.
Labels: plaid, thisweekatPlaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 9:22 PM
1 comments
why you need to have a strategy before you make a facebook fan page
I couldn't say it any better than Jeremia has brilliantly posted on his blog...
In the meantime, go ahead and become a fan of the single most important agency in all of the history of design, branding and interactive sweetness.
Labels: facebook, plaid, social media, strategy
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:12 AM
0 comments
plaid: home of the hot guys
Be sure to pick up this month's Cosmo Magazine. Because inside, you'll see Ryan, as the 'Hot guy blooper of the month.'
You may remember Ryan from the PlaidNation tour this summer - who not only shot all of the awesome footage from the road, but entertained everyone with the most amazing stories you've ever imagined. He's a walking book. We want to turn him into a TV show. And now Cosmo has found him.
Now the rest of us will have to submit photos to the ladies magazines. And the Plaid girls can submit photos to Maxim. I'm sending mine to Better Homes and Gardens today. Hat Tip to Bill's daughter, who reads Cosmo. (That's what he claims, at least)
Labels: plaid, plaidsummertour
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:25 AM
0 comments
giuli won the ny marathon
Since Rob and I left the office early to get drunk on knowledge, I totally forgot to write a "this week at Plaid" post last week. Yes, lots of stuff happened at the agency last week, but none more important than Giuli running the NY Marathon.
And I think she won. Because all of the people ahead of her don't really count. AND - more importantly, she kicked Katie Holmes' ass. By 20 minutes. Giuli says that "if Katie had worn a sports bra, maybe she would have done better". Damn. Beat Katie, and then kick sand in her face. This competitive thing has really changed Giuli.
Thanks to the thousands of people who stood on the streets and rooted for her, so that we could stay home and avoid the traffic and crowds. (Dave still swears he can beat her, once he puts his mind to it.)
Labels: newyork, plaid, thisweekatPlaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:37 AM
0 comments
Plaid checks out Design, Wit, and the Creative Act
Rob and I cut out of the office early Friday and checked out Core 77's event, Design Wit and the Creative Act. Some super awesome speakers, together in one space, on one panel.
The whole thing was moderated by internet superstar Ze Frank, who I chatted with after the event. I was curious now that Ze has a worldwide audience of kabillions of viewers, does he second guess any of his work, prior to publishing? You can see his response above. Oh yeah, and we discovered that Ze Loves Plaid.
Labels: plaid, social media, trends, video
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:17 AM
0 comments
flip cameras are hot
Great to see that Flip cameras are getting loads of buzz in the blogoverse. We recently bought them for the crew in our office, and record everything. Even produced a rough and ready 'beer with Plaid' vodcast.
If you haven't checked them out yet, Flip cameras are video cameras about the size of a large cell phone that record 640 x 480 video. WITHOUT TAPE. It's completely digital, and the cameras come with a built in usb port, so digitizing is a snap.
Our office halloween field trip was produced entirely on a Flip camera (above). We'll be recording and vloging and doing whatever with ours. You should too.
Labels: blogging, plaid, podcasting, video
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:44 AM
0 comments
donks rock.
When we were on the Plaid nation tour this summer, fellow tour mate Ryan taught us all about the details of donks.
And we saw a few while on tour. While cruising around on Current, I found this sweet video all about donks. Nice. (C'mon Current - why no embed feature??)
Labels: automotive, plaid, plaidsummertour, pop culture, trends, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:52 AM
0 comments
we're hiring.
We're hiring a Tech Lead at our agency Plaid. Send this job description to your coder/geek/tech friends who kick your ass in Halo3:
Tech Lead
An agency full of creatives needs a geek to be our friend. We'll make you
cool, you'll make us error free.
As the interactive lead for an uber-hot agency, you'll:
+ Manage all programming and development for our interactive business.
+ Interact with outside developers and coordinate/manage all details of
projects.
+ Coordinate with designers/art directors needs, changes, and requirements.
+ Perform some programming for projects
+ Communicate with client IT personnel, to review needs and implementation
plans.
Skillz you've mastered:
+ Intimately familiar with html, javascript, PHP, Ajax, Flash and other current internet programming tools.
+ Ability to write code. The old fashioned way - not just with wysiwyg tools.
+ Project management master. Capable of pulling together (and scheduling, coordinating) multiple team members to get the job done.
+ Great communication skills, with ability to explain any of the above to designers and clients and people who generally won't know what you're talking about.
Plaid is the coolest agency in all of the world, sporting clients from entertainment industry to action sports to consumer brands and b2b. Name brands you know, and stuff you've never heard of.
Extremely relaxed and fun work environment, where you'll never wear khakis. (Unless you're into that sort of thing.) Profit sharing, 401(k), 100% paid health benefits, and a salary lower than you'd get at the big stressful agency.
Interested? Send resume to:
darryl(AT)thinkPlaid.com
Labels: adindustry, plaid, webdev, workplace
posted by darryl ohrt @ 5:54 PM
0 comments
plaid kicks back into action
We're back in action full swing today, after attending the annual Plaid Planning Meetings. Held at a resort in Mexico. A resort without wifi. Or high speed access. Loads of posts to follow in the next couple of days, including highlights of our trip over at our agency blog, blog.thinkplaid.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:57 AM
0 comments
the big plaid video experiment
We just purchased the Plaid design and brand crew these really sweet video cameras. Flip video cameras that record 640 x 480 digital video (60 minutes of video, without tape!) with built-in usb plugs. They fit in your pocket. Basically, a video camera designed for the YouTube generation. AWESOME IDEA.
Anyway - we're embarking on an experiment of sorts. Everyone's now armed with these cameras. So we're going to try video blogging. Not the vidcast-shot-from-the-laptop that everyone else is doing - but sharing our experiences, as they happen. (You can't carry your laptop camera into the Bodega, can you?) Funny, stupid, creatively inspiring, or people falling asleep at their desks. Low production, no edits, no soundtracks, just video clips. Whatever happens when we're recording.
The experiment kicks off tomorrow morning, as a bunch of us leave for Mexico. Should make for some fun video. We're traveling tech-lite (only ONE laptop!!), so we won't be uploading every hour, but I promise some good regular video. If we like the results of the experiment, we'll get cameras for the extended Plaid team, across the country. This could really be a cool, creative group video blog. Or a complete waste of time.
So as not to bog down BrandFlakes, we won't post here - but instead on our 'behind the scenes' agency blog - http://blog.thinkplaid.com/. Stay tuned.
Labels: blogging, plaid, smallagency, video, workplace
posted by darryl ohrt @ 11:17 PM
3 comments
we're off to mexico!
Tomorrow morning, we're taking off for Mexico, to attend the annual Plaid Planning Meetings.
Blogging will likely be light for the next couple of days - but I'll bet Wilson Cleveland will pick up some of that slack.
Eliza, our copywriter supreme has supplied a few key phrases that we've asked the crew to memorize. (Note that I'm adding the word "supreme" to things, because that's what they do at Taco Bell. And that must be what it's like in Mexico, too.) With these language tools in our heads, we're sure to blend in real well:
How many beers for one American dollar?
¿Cuántas cervezas para un dólar americano?
Does this enchilada contain pigeon meat?
¿Este enchilada contiene la carne de la paloma?
Could my enchilada contain pigeon meat?
¿Podía mi enchilada contener la carne de la paloma?
Giuli is not for sale!
Giuli no está para la venta!
My drunken friends mean no harm
Mis amigos borrachos no significan ningún daño
Do you have a girly drink for Darryl?
¿Usted tiene girly una bebida para Darryl?
Is that hole in the ground the only toilet?
¿Es ese agujero en la tierra el único tocador?
Step away from the Justus, he can explode
Paso lejos del Justus, él puede estallar
Warning! Do not leave Dave alone with your womenfolk!
¡Advertencia! ¡No deje Dave solo con su womenfolk!
Where is the nearest Taco Bell?
¿Dónde es el Taco Bell más cercano?
There’s no need to be afraid of Rob’s pale skin
No esté asustado de la piel pálida del robo
Step back! Matt is licensed to kill
¡Parte posteriora del paso! Mate se licencia para matar
I want to apply for political amnesty
Deseo solicitar amnistía política
I like spicy food, please hurt me with your cuisine
Tengo gusto del alimento picante, me lastimé por favor con su cocina
Thanks Eliza!
Labels: plaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 10:27 PM
1 comments
now hiring: we need a new intern.
Our last one got away. Brian, our old intern has escaped. He's pictured above, skooling the crew in Guitar Hero. If you see him, please kick him for us.
Interested? Know someone who's interested? Spread the word. If you're the college student that we choose to take advantage of, here's some stuff you'll probably be stoked about:
+ Make your own hours
+ Build your resume and portfolio
+ Get paid to play around on the internet
+ Be involved in all aspects of agency life
And, some things you'll have to deal with:
+ Work for the ridiculously low wage of $10/hour
+ Loads of crap work
+ Need to work from our CT office
+ Dave.
Interested? Send a resume (or entertaining links) today, to GiuliATthinkplaid.com.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:47 AM
1 comments
this week at Plaid:
Phew. Loads of work this week. But who cares about work when you're out on the open seas?
We'll devote this week's wrap-up to today only. Just because...
We closed the office today, and the crew from CT went deep sea fishing. A little bit of beer, a little salty air, and pounds and pounds of fish. Plaid setup a $100 prize for the biggest fish, which David managed to capture. Matt caught the biggest fish that got away. Probably half the size of the boat. Probably the biggest fish to ever be measured in the history of fishing. But it got away, so David is $100 richer.
I was stoked that the boat had cell service, and that photos could be posted to Facebook. And email could be checked. And Twitter. To hell with life jackets - never leave shore without the internet. And I learned that Cap'n Pete was a Mac lover. Nice.
Nobody talked like a pirate. That makes me sad, in retrospect. But then again, if we did, I'm sure that First Mate Gordy would have cut us to pieces with his fillet knife.
You can see pics of the winning catch, salty First Mate Gordy, and some of the fun on our Flickr page. Have a wonderous weekend.
Labels: plaid, thisweekatPlaid, workplace
posted by darryl ohrt @ 11:23 PM
1 comments
i need these pants to teach matt a lesson
We've been spending quality time with Guitar Hero in our office lately, and it's pretty obvious that I suck. Bad. We got to discussing that other game - the one that comes with the full drum set, and I'm convinced I'd rock at it.
Matt swears he's a better drummer. Sure, he's in a really cool band, lives the lifestyle of a rockstar and everything, but I'm old and wise. A
So, I need these drum pants to walk around the office and constantly remind him of my rhythmic superiority.
Labels: fashion, gaming, plaid, technology, workplace
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:43 AM
0 comments
that's one nice pooper.
Think that maybe that guy is always there for you, ready to flush?
If you know us, or you've been to our agency, then you'll know we have this weird bathroom thing. Our poop room is painted safety orange. We keep all of our kabillions of awards in the room. And we stack our toilet paper in pyramids. Recently, we even installed the FlushMaster 4000.
So we got pretty stoked upon learning about the Cintas Best Bathroom awards. We'll definitely be submitting to this next time. See a nice gallery here.
Thanks Jen!
Labels: architecture, plaid, workplace
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:52 AM
3 comments
this week at Plaid:
Here's what happened this week at the world's greatest design and branding firm:
It's the first week we're all back in the office together, following the tour. So much fun. That's me above, getting totally stoked that we had almost made it to Dallas. (Right before losing a shoe in 3 inches of mud, and remembering that Texas has rattlesnakes.)
Ryan is digitizing and editing hours and hours of tour footage, and we should have clips documenting all of the fun people we met live by next week.
We enjoyed the vancam so much on tour that we're going to install it at our office. So that you can keep an eye on us. Especially David. We're pretty sure he's up to no good.
We've started loads of new projects, which we love. Web 2.0 applications, an e-card site, a mapping sweepstakes, several product catalog sites, and some other stuff that I can't remember at the moment. In talks with a few new clients that we've met on tour. THAT'S EXCITING. Proof it worked.
Our office bathroom is getting a new toilet. We've already named it the Flushmaster 4000. Supposedly, it will flush anything. (Our office will be a real test.) Brian is working on having the toilet seat wrapped in Plaid. Because that's what interns do best.
I'm really glad to be sitting at a desk, but part of me also thinks we should be leaving right now, to drive somewhere new.
Have a Plaidlicious weekend!
Labels: plaid, plaidsummertour, thisweekatPlaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 4:54 PM
1 comments
plaid van gets stripped