Author Archive

The Future of the App

Thursday, June 9th, 2011



Video streaming by Ustream

SaatchiNY’s Jared Grant attended a panel this morning at Internet Week New York 2011. Here’s his recap:

At IWNY HQ Ford hosted a panel discussion called “The Appification of Your Life”.  Topics ranged from mobile targeting and privacy to platform development and the overall future of apps and mobile.  It was the looking ahead that interested me most.

Panelist Seth Sternberg, CEO of Meebo, was brazen enough to proclaim that apps would be gone in 3-5 years.  We heard similar hints of this from a Google presenter at the UnConference back in May.  Another panelist, Jared Hecht, who is a co-founder of the app GroupMe also agreed by comparing apps to software CD-roms in the early computer years.  The feeling was that apps are just the first step until everything goes completely to the cloud.

This is a very interesting hypothesis that could have lots of implications on the mobile space and the way we think about ideas for clients.  One of the biggest wins is for developers being able to work off one platform.  Right now app makers have to make versions for iPhones, Android devices, Blackberries, and some even on simpler feature phones.  I could hear the hopeful sighs of reliefs from the panelist imagining one universal platform to develop for.

The hold up really is mobile connection speeds.  They can be slow which make mobile web based experience frustrating to users.  Seth said increased connection speeds will get rid of much of the need for apps.

Additionally, Shawn Gunn of NAVTEQ, which specialized in location based products (like GPS) said that once things move off local phone storage to the more open environment in the mobile web we will be able to better target, track, and analyze.

Thinking about how this affects the way we think for our clients, it made me wonder if we should start steering our “app” ideas to more mobile web based platforms.  My gut says in the short term we shouldn’t as the bandwidth isn’t there yet.  But we could start by thinking about how to optimize our clients’ websites for mobile – what kinds of information would someone want from our brand when they have to access us on their phone, it’s probably quick product information, store locators, or coupons they can grab while they are in-store vs robust experiences they can hang out in.

I am excited to see how the digital landscape shifts more and more to this smaller more nimble space. When I got my iPhone 4 I had a grandfathered unlimited data plan that AT&T no longer offers to new customers.  They were trying to get me give  it up as most people don’t currently have such heavy mobile data needs (a brand trying to get me to down grade, hmmm). On a hunch I told myself to hold onto it – looks like I made a good decision.

Category: Digital & Interactive, Events, New York

Saatchinspiration: Links You Should Give a S#*t about

Friday, May 27th, 2011

For this week’s installment of “Links you should give a s#*t about,” we’ve asked Participation Planner Jared Grant to share some of the more entertaining, enlighting and engaging links from the web. Enjoy!

GAGAVILLE

We all are probably on Lady Gaga overload (I personally can’t get enough).  Well she is popping on more than our TVs, magazine covers, YouTube videos, and iPods.  She is now in Farmville.  The hilarious promotional video at the top of the post says it all.

GOOGLE WALLET


Keywod convenient, Google is going to help us pay for our late night Sour Patch Kids and taxi rides with their newest product Google Wallet

CONAN O’BRIAN’S GUIDE TO CREATIVITY


This great Fast Company article offers an inside look at the way Conan O’Brian and his staff build out a show. It’s a really interesting read.

PINTEREST


Pinterest has been around for a bit but it’s still ramping up.  This is a great digital pinboard platform to help you easily keep track of your inspirations.  Request an invite to get started.

PRIZES FOR NOTHING

If you like a prize enter the Shopularity contest and secure as many votes as possible by any means necessary.  If you have the most votes, you win the prize.  No singing in-front of J.Lo, trivia to know the answers to, or entry cards to mail. You can be stupid and talentless as long as you have friends that like to vote.

JESSICA AND HUNTER

They’re a self-created provocative duo from YouTube.  Their off-the-wall videos have made them local characters in LA and they are starting to ripple outward into the rest of culture. They are even making songs which you can get off iTunes.  Just goes to show the power of originality and persistence  can pay off.  Check out their latest video.

FIND MISSING PEOPLE WITH FACEBOOK

To bring awareness to National Missing Children’s Day (May 25th), Miami Ad School creatives in Hamburg created a platform that uses facial recognition technology which scans public photos on Facebook to find your missing loved ones.  If you are being kidnapped try to photo crash other people’s photos. Maybe you’ll get found.

TOM HANKS AS ANIMALS

For a completely absurd amount of entertainment, we present this Tumblr collection of gifs featuring Tom Hanks’ face on animal’s bodies. (We’ll just say “you’re welcome” in advance)

Category: Digital & Interactive, Links

Tomato, Tomahto & Tangerine

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011

Tangerine tackles innovation

Jared Grant is a Participation Planner @ SaatchiNY. Last week he attended a panel hosted by Tangerine NY discussing the nature of innovation and how to market that to clients. Below are some of his thoughts on the evening.

Last week the NY-based talent recruitment firm Tangerine invited speakers from Google, Converse, Victors & Spoils, Bruce Mau Designs, and Grey NY to discuss what “innovation” means and how to sell it.  Everyone speaking had a different answer, and some even disagreed with what the other had to say.

NO RIGHT ANSWER
Listening to the discussion, my biggest takeaway was that innovation is very subjective, especially within the advertising community.  One panelist said it was about change, another said it was about being new, another said it was about inventing, another said it was about embracing a digital culture, and yet another said it was about recognizing your weakness and looking outside your company to fill in the gap.  I think everyone was right.  It’s a word I’ve personally thrown around, and am only now realizing that I haven’t thought too hard about. For me, innovation is kind of like irony; we know it when we see it, but sometimes fail to define it correctly.

IT’S ABOUT EMBRACING OPPORTUNITY
After hearing all of these different takes and perspectives, I tried to create my own definition for innovation. What is it? How do you recognize it? Why is it important?

My conclusion: innovation is about recognizing and embracing opportunity.  Google might recognize a brand new algorithm as innovative, and Converse might say it’s embracing a truth about their brand they haven’t explored before.  A big agency could say it’s about convincing a traditional client to shift their behavior to something more modern (even if that behavior isn’t new from the ad community’s perspective).  It can be creation of something new, leveraging something that was there all along, or simply shifting a behavior. It’s different for all of us.

Category: New York, Our People, Thought Leadership

King St. Q&A w/ Jared Grant

Friday, April 29th, 2011

Jared's a lot of fun. Say hi when you see him around the office!

Jared Grant is a Participation Planner who just joined the SaatchiNY integrated planning team. If you’re interested in learning more about Jared’s background, feel free to check out his LinkedIn page or follow him on twitter @JarGrantuan

WHAT DO YOU DO AT SAATCHI & SAATCHI?
I am a Participation Planner.  I come up with media hungry ideas for our clients and develop communication architectures to bring them to life.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?
I used to work at an arcade as a Birthday Party Host for kids.  The tables were upstairs and the arcade was downstairs.  After their pizza I would walk them down and hand out their tokens and always had to remind them not to run going down the stairs.  One time I was walking them down saying “don’t run” and I totally tripped and fell down the stairs spilling tokens everywhere. The kids stampeded over me grabbing the loose tokens before running off leaving me as road kill.

WHAT LED YOU ON THE PATH YOU’RE ON TODAY?
I actually took a media planning course in college that was terrible.  I told myself, “no matter what, I don’t want to work in media.”  But I fell in love with a little place called The Media Kitchen and had a blast.  The rest is history.

IF YOU WEREN’T IN ADVERTISING, WHAT CAREER WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO TRY?
Talk show host.  I love to chat with people, swap stories, and make people laugh.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE YOUTUBE VIDEO?
Too many.  But the Jessica and Hunter series are awesome.

TELL US SOMETHING SURPRISING ABOUT YOURSELF:
I have a weird ability to remember obscure details from movies and TV shows.  Like that Joan Wilder’s book publisher’s name in Romancing the Stone was Gloria Hart.

WHAT ARE YOUR LOVEMARKS?
Converse, Barefoot Contessa, NY, Sharpies, Diet Coke and HBO

WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE STORY?
Probably my Great Aunt Leslie.  She has this thirst for life and is so active and connected for someone her age who has had overcome hardships like cancer.  She still drives herself 12 hours to her favorite vacation spot in North Carolina every year, hand-makes glass flip-flop decorations which she sells, and she just got an iPad.

FAVORITE CHILDHOOD TELEVISION PROGRAM?
Roseanne. I still watch reruns at night.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE CREATIVE PURSUIT?
Cooking.  I have been cooking for about 10 years now and recently sent a recipe to Ina Garten (host the Food Network program Barefoot Contessa) and received a thank you from her publisist with a note saying Ina is going to try my recipe.

WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN?
Besides cooking I get simple pleasures out of hanging with my closest friends. My favorite moments are hanging in someone’s apartment, listening to music and being huge dorks with each other.  We say off-the-wall stuff and just keep each other laughing non-stop.

WHAT WAS THE LAST SONG YOU PLAYED ON YOUR IPOD?
Judas by Lady Gaga.

WHAT BLOGS/MAGAZINES/BOOKS/PAPERS/WEBSITES CAN YOU NOT LIVE WITHOUT?

Blogs
OhLalaMag.com
MadeinBrazil.typepad.com
CupcakesandCashmere.com
Mashable.com
NotCot.org

Magazines
Vanity Fair
Men’s Health
Sunset
Vman

Books
Anything Cormac McCarthy

BOOK THAT YOU’RE CURRENTLY READING?
“Autobiography of Red” by Anne Carson.  It’s my book club’s pick this month.  Whoever picks the book has to host the group and make dinner for everyone.  Last time we read a Russian novel and my friend Mike made all these Russian delights like salmon caviar appetizers served with cold vodka.

A GUILTY PLEASURE FOR ME IS:
Watching marathons of Sopranos or Six Feet Under on a rainy Saturday afternoon with pizza just for me.

WHAT DO YOU THINK THE GREATEST INVENTION IS IN YOUR LIFETIME AND WHY?
There are so many – Google, Facebook, the iPhone.  But I secretly love Dominos’ online ordering system and pizza tracker (see guilty pleasure).  I can order pizza and wings on hung over afternoons without talking to a soul and can track my order from prep to bake to delivery, letting me know exactly when I have to put on pants in anticipation for the delivery guy.

HAVE YOU EVER WON A TROPHY?
Lowe used to take “Young Stars” from all their global offices to the Cannes Lions every year. I was lucky enough to go and was given the “Miss Congeniality Award” within the group.

WHAT’S THE LAST GREAT TRIP YOU WENT ON?
My family used to go to he Outer Banks in North Carolina every year.  As we grew up we stopped going and this past summer we decided it was time to go back.  It was like being a kid again but with Bloody Marys.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST/MUSICIAN/DESIGNER?
I am really into Lady Gaga.  I actually saw her perform way back before she was huge at an underwear party in Fire Island. I tried to drag my friends but no one would go so I went alone.  I got a spot right up front no more than two feet from Gaga and was jamming out with total strangers in our underwear.

WHEN’S THE LAST TIME YOU GAVE A STANDING OVATION?
When my dog went wee on her wee-wee pad.

Category: King St. Q&A, New York, Our People