FanCulture: The Evolution of Influence is a short film exploring the role fans could, and should, play in brands and marketing.

Featuring expert opinion and insight from academics, marketeers and the fans themselves, this documentary looks at how a brand can identify their fans and, more importantly, harness their passion.

NIKE’s latest campaign installment highlighting their Free shoes is called “Building Twist”. It’s a great example of complex technology supporting a simple idea and creating a hands-on brand experience.

via @digitalbuzzblog

This campaign comes from solar power company Sunrun and agency Heat (fitting name). The ads make fun of the stereotypical green energy user and claim Sunrun customers just want to save money.

View the others on their Youtube page.

It’s Thursday and therefore an excuse to re-post the famous “pink pony” video mocking agencies’ video case studies… lest we take ourselves too seriously. (As we say here at Jack, take the work seriously, but not ourselves.)

Marimekko creates bold, vibrant textiles that are impossible to go unnoticed. The Finnish company has made their mark in America by collaborating with giants, such as Crate and Barrel and being featured in Google’s First Day of Spring 2012 Doodle. This past weekend, I was excited to experience Marimekko’s brand at Mad. Sq. Eats via their brightly printed floral umbrellas and table covers. Their sponsorship wasn’t simply a footnote at the bottom of a banner, but instead, a functional and eye-popping presentation. Plus, it didn’t hurt that the Flatiron Building and Madison Square Park provided the backdrop to accentuate the vibrant colors of Marimekko!

Why can’t tradeshows be more like art fairs?

The first-ever New York iteration of the Frieze Art Fair closed yesterday—and apparently, it was a huge success: gazillions of people traveled (I went by ferry) to Randall’s Island, not just for the art, but for the whole experience.

It made me wonder: why can’t tradeshows be more like art fairs? Here are some potential lessons:

• The amazing, serpentine 250,000-square foot white tent designed by architectural firm SO-IL proves that a tradeshow space doesn’t have to be as dog-ugly as they mostly are.
• The fact that 180 galleries were able to exhibit within a space that worked as a whole but allowed for the parts to shine individually proves that the typical chaos of the tradeshow environment is just unnecessary. (The galleries’ displays were even judged by a special panel, competing for a $10,000 prize for most inventive.) 
• The fact that the Frieze organizers brought in food vendors ranging from Sant Ambroeus to (yum) Frankies Spuntino to a smattering of food trucks outside proves that tradeshows can work harder to satisfy the tastes of attendees and not dumb these details down.
• Even the signage was cool: all the galleries’ signs were consistently branded, color coded to place them within one of three main corridors—and inventively (and inexpensively) constructed out of thin cardboard boxes.