Starting from Scratch

So...Alejandro is coming to LA tomorrow night for a couple of days. We are tentatively planning some serious debauchery for Thursday night at one of the many places in LA. Most probably Elevate, but might quickly turn into Les Deux if we make a last minute adjustment. Everyone is more than welcome to come. I'll post the details later tomorrow afternoon here and Facebook. If you're looking for an excuse to get incredibly trashed on a Thursday, here is your olive branch.

Not sure if a lot of you are tracking this, or give a damn, buttttttt....the new Batman movie (The Dark Knight) looks amazing! On top of that, they've unleashed this fantastic viral marketing campaign that looks to be a huge success thus far. Basically, the studio has rolled out a number of websites related to the Batman universe (Gotham Post etc...) and on each page are clues that lead you down a path to eventually unlock more and more secrets about the movie. Its a completely interactive experience that really immerses the consumer in the world of the movie, and has done its job by building a huge amount of word-of-mouth buzz in the online community. 

Viral marketing is the wave of the future. My good friend Marco Hansell has taken this concept to the next level thru his company Fan Force. He's been successful so far by being at least four steps ahead of the ivory-tower mentality. Marketing used to be a bland and stuffy landscape populated by burnout B-School students and lazy homemakers looking to get a foot in the door. Almost instantly (last five years) however, it has transformed into the second most important piece to the proverbial puzzle. I find it hilarious when my peers make light of its significance or talk disdainfully about the possibilities of innovation outside the lines. Little do they know the changes that are taking place all around them. Hats off to those of you working to revolutionize the product experience. 

PS - buy some Merrill Lynch stock :)