DigiThoughts

Digi@themovies - Woman in Black, Chronicle

 February 03, 2012 by Digitaria Staff

The Woman in Black is a throwback to old-fashioned haunted house movies, and the best one I can think of since The Others. Fresh off the Harry Potter franchise, Daniel Radcliffe is sent back to the Victorian age to star as recent widower Arthur Kipps, dispatched to a small town to work out the legal entanglements surrounding an estate whose owner recently died.

Arthur spends time in the estate’s mansion, setting out to improve the estate and sell the place, but gets caught up in chasing the "Woman in Black" who haunts the desolate house, and solving the mystery of her history.

The first half of the movie is an expert update of the traditional old spooky mansion movie – full of slowly building suspense and subtle scares that keep you on the edge of your seat: Shadows, creaking floors, porcelain dolls and windup toys all creep you out and brought screams from the audience I saw it with.  This, in fact, is the best ting about the movie – with a minimum of blood or gore or violence, The Woman in Black brings the fear.

Directed by James Watkins, the film visually pulses with lovely dark gothic look.  Towards the end, as the pieces start to come together, the movie loses traction and the plot veers into the cheesy before a weak ending. But horror film finishes are always tough, so at least the ride there is satisfyingly full of chills and thrills.

Overall, The Woman in Black is was a very successful first role for Radcliffe in his post-Harry Potter career.  Perhaps most pivotally, by picture’s (mediocre) end, I didn’t see him as Harry anymore. But, then again, even though he’s the movie’s lead, the haunted house is the star and that’s ultimately what makes it successful. *** – Ashley Sullivan

Chronicle is a movie to be seen in theaters, and the largest theater you can find – IMAX, if possible. It’s a picture with moments of true exhilaration that leaves you frustrated – and I mean that in the best possible way.

Read full article

Comments (0) | Permalink
Digitaria Staff Co-authored Post

Read more from the Web Trends category. If you would like to leave a comment, click here: Comment. or stay up to date with this post via RSS, or you can Trackback from your site.

Avoiding Rhinos & Getting Things Done

 February 01, 2012 by Michelle Andrews

It takes an average of 15 minutes to start working at maximum productivity. Interruptions--from coworkers, phone calls and breaks--all reset the productivity clock. Recently, Digitaria’s Chief Technology Officer Chuck Phillips emphasized the significance of interruptions, helped raise awareness of limiting our own interruptions and shared tips on maintaining productivity despite them.

Interruptions are a necessary evil. We’ve all done it and we do so in our own style in an effort to get our own work done. Interrupting styles include:

The Fawn: The fawn does not wish to interrupt you, but feels as though it must. The fawn will timidly make laps around your desk until you make eye contact, which the fawn interprets as an invitation to interrupt.
The Lion: The lion is all about the surprise attack. If you appear to lose focus at any point, the lion will strike, e.g. if you stop typing to stretch your arms -- BAM!
The Rhino: Nothing is of greater importance than the rhino’s interruption. The rhino charges. The rhino is made up of pure and supreme self-confidence which gives it the ability to remain unaware of the fact that the rhino is even interrupting anyone at all.

Read full article

Comments (0) | Permalink
Michelle Andrews Office Coordinator

Read more from the Web Trends category. If you would like to leave a comment, click here: Comment. or stay up to date with this post via RSS, or you can Trackback from your site.

Digi@themovies - Man on a Ledge, Underword, Albert Nobbs

 January 27, 2012 by Digitaria Staff
Movie Reviews

Man on a Ledge is set up like your typical bank heist movie, only this time the leader of the pack, our "Danny Ocean," is trying to prove he didn't steal something....by stealing it.

The problem is, most other caper movies know viewers like to see how the heist will be pulled off through a series of montages, as each specialist does his or her part, usually with a dash of dry humor and sarcasm. This setup is exactly what’s missing from Man on a Ledge.  The story hinges on the audience not minding that the incarcerated protagonist could put a plan together that required in-depth knowledge of a building he has never been to or seen inside.

Now that I’ve put this critical narrative flaw on the table, the movie’s not half bad: Predictable but not dull, moderately enjoyable. Sam Worthington, whose breakout role as a humanoid robot in Terminator: Salvation was slightly ironic since he has always been labeled as a stiff, emotionless actor since. But the writing for Worthington's character is decent and the story is paced well enough to build enough suspense that I occasionally found myself on the edge of my ledge...er, seat.

Man on a Ledge is okay multiplex fodder and not horribly long to sit through. If you’re looking for a crime thriller that’s smarter than you, though, this ain’t it. It’s got nothing new to put on the table. ** -- Guy Meyer

Underworld: Awakening is the the fourth movie in an action/horror genre franchise. Any number of word combinations from that statement raises flags. But you know what you’re getting, and if you’re not already a fan of the series and go to see it, you’re probably just looking for something to complain about. But if you’re already on board for this sort of thing, chances are you’ll enjoy the ride. 

Read full article

Comments (0) | Permalink
Digitaria Staff Co-authored Post

Read more from the Web Trends category. If you would like to leave a comment, click here: Comment. or stay up to date with this post via RSS, or you can Trackback from your site.

Digi@themovies: Red Tails, Haywire, Extremely Loud

 January 20, 2012 by Digitaria Staff
movie reviews

Today we launch the weekly Digi@themovies blog entry, thanks to our friends at Allied Advertising. Each week, different Digitarians will offer their thoughts on what’s new at the multiplex, and whether it’s worth the money now or better off waiting to pirate it in a couple months (only kidding, SOPA!). Here goes.

EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE -- The highest profile release this weekend is director Stephen Baldry’s critically polarizing 9/11 aftermath movie, which opened in New York and L.A. last year as Oscar-bait but goes wide around the country today. There’s not been a lot of middle ground on this adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s best-selling novel -- people seem to think it's either one of the most powerful, moving films of the year or a shamelessly manipulative piece of claptrap.

I got picked to review this movie for Digitaria because I’d read the book, but after seeing it I’m not sure literary familiarity with the material gives you a leg up on enjoying the movie -- if “enjoying” is the proper term for a picture that left at least half the theater is gut-wrenching sobs.

Read full article

Comments (0) | Permalink
Digitaria Staff Co-authored Post

Read more from the Web Trends category. If you would like to leave a comment, click here: Comment. or stay up to date with this post via RSS, or you can Trackback from your site.

An Unconventional Take on CES: Tracking, Television, Creativity and Power

 January 19, 2012 by Sarah Kotlova
Creativity and Power

Last week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was an overwhelming swirl of badge-wearing and suited humanity, packed tightly into the tradeshow floors and the Venetian Hotel.

The actual gadgets, roughly (and inaccurately) defined by me as: Beeping Things, Glowing Things, Loud Things, Connectivity Things, Things that Work with your iPhone/iPad, and Things that Cover your iPhone/iPad – I am generalizing here of course, but the mind does glaze under those florescent lights after a while – offered the usual cornucopia of slight functional improvements and rather more design improvements.  The two trends I noted (or maybe just enjoyed) the most, however, were:

(1)    You Can Now Monitor Everything. Especially Yourself.

Calories, location, physical activity (duration AND intensity), objects behind you in a car or in front of you on a ski slope, levels of milk and eggs in your refrigerator (thanks LG) … there are systems and devices to constantly monitor all these things now, and post them on Facebook (sorry Google+) while you’re at it.  Clearly, the future is in carefully recording the metrics on our favorite subject: ourselves.  I predict next year the trend will be how this information is best integrated with reality TV, which brings me to our second trend.

(2) Television is Dead (but Long Live Television)

Between continuing press and push for both Google TV and the Yahoo! Connected TV (now augmented further by the new Tom Hanks content deal), and the increasing connectivity of every device we have with large-scale whisper-thin LCD screens that hang on our (presumably) Architectural Digest-worthy walls … traditional television networks as content streamers have never seemed less relevant, while the creative format they devised continues to expand and develop.

Read full article

Comments (0) | Permalink
Sarah Kotlova Account Director

Read more from the Web Trends category. If you would like to leave a comment, click here: Comment. or stay up to date with this post via RSS, or you can Trackback from your site.

Never Stop Learning with SDSU & the AdClub

 January 18, 2012 by Susie Pollasky
Lisa Kaufmann, Digitaria Sports - SDSU Ad Club

Even though I graduated from San Diego State University last May, my heart hasn't wandered far, and I continue to find myself back on campus. I found good reason, when SDSU's College of Extended Studies and San Diego Ad Club hosted Marketing and Media Careers Panel in support of its Digital Marketing Certificate program.

Three successful San Diego MarCom professionals told stories and gave advice on starting a career in marketing and communications, industry trends, marketing processes, and client engagement activities. The panel featured Lisa Kaufmann of Digitaria, Sean Monzet of NBC San Diego and Dana Meyer-Maxwell of Cricket Communications. All three began their journey from very different starting points, yet arrived at a very similar place.

Lisa, an account strategist for Digitaria Sports, discussed the “digital process”: getting to know your client’s business, engaging on multiple levels via the client's social media, analyzing the competitive space, understanding business challenges, keeping ahead of trends. This sets a foundation for translating goals and strategy into a healthy and innovative user experience and then engaging a client's objectives consistently across multiple disciplines within the agency--design, tech and marketing--and providing actionable insights through analytics.

Read full article

Comments (1) | Permalink
Susie Pollasky Digital Marketing Associate

Read more from the Web Trends category. If you would like to leave a comment, click here: Comment. or stay up to date with this post via RSS, or you can Trackback from your site.

CES Learnings: How to get women...

 January 13, 2012 by Kristina Eastham
Women and Technology at CES

 

...To buy your technology.

Preparing for my first CES experience, I was warned by veterans about how crazy and overwhelming the experience can be. With 140,000 attendees and an exhibition hall the size of 36 football fields, I found the reality equaled the hype.

I was grateful for Advertising Age, which provided a safe-haven from the madness with a wireless lounge at the Venetian, where they hosted intimate and informative events. One panel on Women and Technology was inspired by the Ad Age Insights White Paper “Always On Women,”  which was sponsored by Meredith Publishing, in collaboration with Digitaria’s parent company, JWT.

Moderated by Ad Age editor Abbey Klaassen, the panel explored the evolving relationship women have with technology. The panel featured:
    •    Ann Mack, director of trendspotting for JWT
    •    Danielle Lee, VP of product marketing and innovation for AT&T
    •    James McQuivey, PhD, VP and principal analyst for Forresters Research
    •    Liz Schimel, EVP and chief digital officer of Meredith Publishing

Women and technology was a particularly interesting topic for a conference where men were the only ones waiting in restroom lines, outnumbering women at CES four-to-one. But CES attendance is not representative of women’s engagement with technology on the whole: women are involved in over 50% of technology purchasing decisions—even game consoles. Women spend 40% more time on social networking sites than men do and are responsible for 60% of online spending.

Read full article

Comments (0) | Permalink
Kristina Eastham Communications Coordinator

Read more from the Web Trends category. If you would like to leave a comment, click here: Comment. or stay up to date with this post via RSS, or you can Trackback from your site.

10 Trends & 100 Things to Watch in 2012

January 04, 2012 by Kristina Eastham
2012 Trend Report

“This is the year of sustainable palm oil.”

“Smart clothing is the new black.”

You have those friends who know what’s now and next – in fashion, technology, music, whatever – long before you see it trending on Twitter. These folks are the innovators, identifying trends even ahead of the early adopters. At Digitaria, part of the JWT network, Ann Mack is our innovator. She’s JWT’s Trendspotter, entrusted with being ahead of “the know” on all topics and potential trends. She recently released her trend reports for 2012 that include 10 overarching themes to watch for, as well as 100 things that are about to be “so hot right now” (but that saying isn’t one of them).

Some trends showcase further evolution of certain ideas and technologies. Screened Interactions, which I’m guessing will play a prominent role in the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) next week, is one of Mack’s digital trends. The Rise of Shared Value, as companies find ways to marry corporate responsibility and social good with viable business solutions, is the continuing evolution of the public role of corporations.

Others are a backlash resisting long-established trends and traditions -- including the institution of marriage, with more women opting for the single life and an aging population embracing what more candles on the birthday cake means.

Read full article

Comments (0) | Permalink
Kristina Eastham Communications Coordinator

Read more from the Web Trends category. If you would like to leave a comment, click here: Comment. or stay up to date with this post via RSS, or you can Trackback from your site.

The Path Less Traveled

 December 28, 2011 by Allison Mason Mellon
Path App Review

In the form versus function debate, the social network app Path has them both. The first thing that catches your eye about this recently launched photo sharing and messaging service for mobile devices is the design: simple, majestic icons, not a dot of Social Media Blue to be seen (will Crayola add it to their Big Box?), and a connect-the-dots representation of your social history.

Path is privatizing your social network, incorporating the closest friends of your choosing (originally 50 but now up to 150 - Thanks for the correction @iPodschun) so you don’t experience the common chronic friends overload. So all those posts you try to hide from lesser friends, acquaintances, coworkers, or your dearest mum? With Path, you don’t have to censor since you’re whittling down your friends list to people you actually want to communicate with day to day, showing them warts and all. It’s like starting over with Facebook, but knowing what you know now.

Read full article

Comments (3) | Permalink
Allison Mason Mellon Producer

Read more from the Web Trends category. If you would like to leave a comment, click here: Comment. or stay up to date with this post via RSS, or you can Trackback from your site.

To execute in-house or to hire a digital marketing agency, that is thy question

 December 15, 2011 by Stephanie Shkolnik
Twitter Birds in the Nest

There are marketing teams in-house, and then there are marketing agencies. If you’re in-house, you’re concerned with developing ongoing campaigns and programs to exceed the past year’s bottom line -  revenue, awareness, you know the target. At an agency you’re tasked with developing innovative ideas that will enable your clients to pave the way as industry leaders, and support their day-to-day tasks to enhance their initiatives, effectively making their lives easier.  

Clients often ask: Why bring in an external agency when we can hire in-house? There are pros and cons to each, and here’s what a marketing manager should consider before making a decision

In-house
Working in-house provides an immersive full-circle brand experience where it’s easier to gain access to a plethora of content, including quotes from internal members and upcoming breaking news. While the execution of certain technical tasks may be outsourced, working inter-departmentally to align ideas and develop cohesive campaigns is often simplified - and critical to success.  

Working within a company provides streamlined access to content in real-time, enabling social content production at a more rapid pace, from the development to approval process. Digitaria supports these efforts by utilizing brand-centric content in a story-like format to resonate with the end consumer.

Agency Life
In the fast-paced agency life, brands have access to collective groups. While team members and point of contacts may be involved in day-to-day activities, their engagement in other agency initiatives allow them to be more open-minded, which often results in innovative thinking with a fresh approach.

Read full article

Comments (0) | Permalink
Stephanie Shkolnik Social Media Strategist

Read more from the Web Trends category. If you would like to leave a comment, click here: Comment. or stay up to date with this post via RSS, or you can Trackback from your site.