Billboard Effect: Sweeping Montage Puts a Human Face on Poverty in Rio’s Favelas

French photographer JR shoots provocative
black-and-white photos, enlarges them to 

billboard-size, then cuts and pastes 

them into sweeping narratives

Funny how the digital age has redefined terms like “billboard,” “cut and paste,” and “posting.” For our purposes here their meaning is strictly old-school and low-tech.  

JR is a young French photographer known for his provocative black-and-white photos, which he enlarges to billboard-size prints and then, working hurriedly under cover of night, cuts and illegally pastes them on large walls in public urban spaces.  Much of JR’s work makes a political statement, putting hauntingly real faces on serious social issues. 

For one project JR spent a year taking portraits of victimized women in Africa, Asia and South America. His goal was to showcase strong, courageous women struggling amid oppression and poverty. 

A profound example of this is JR's unauthorized 2008 “installation” in Rio de Janiero's infamous favela Morro da Providencia. These images are especially pertinent now as many favela residents are being evicted as part of Brazil's controversial "clean up" for the World Cup in June of this year and the 2016 Rio Olympics. 

Images such as these need no written explanation.

Their scale and presentation make his message 

disruptive and thought-provoking. 

While some of JR’s installations are done legally, 

many such as this one are hastily cut and 

pasted up under cover of night.

Listen to this audio interview and you will find JR downright genial. Frankly, I’d expected someone angry and radical, but then I realized that JR's images are in the voice of a warmly compassionate storyteller. His artistic process includes using harsh, authentic settings because they give his images impact, context and relevance. It's interesting that JR began as a Paris graffiti artist and then gravitated to the billboard-like platform favored by advertisers.

Beyond words. One image expresses outrage 

and empathy for residents struggling invisibly. 

JR’s work reminds me that a compelling story can be told simply in a style and format that may not require words, sound -- or links. 

TRANSMEDIA STORYTELLING: A DYNAMIC MULTI-CHANNEL EXPERIENCE

Definitely worth a quick read:  Indiewire’s Q&A interview with Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment and a leading figure in the emerging field of transmedia storytelling. Among his transmedia credits are major projects, such as "Avatar," "Pirates of the Caribbean," and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." 

What is transmedia? In Gomez’s words, transmedia is about delivering a big story across various media platforms so that the totality provides a richer, more dynamic and multi-channel viewer experience. 

There’s one central story in the form of a film or a TV or web series, but it is enhanced through supplemental side stories told via a mix of channels, possibly including an interactive book, a video site, video game, blog, Facebook community, Twitter news feeds, Instagram and Pinterest galleries, mobile apps, and more.  

The challenge with transmedia lies in funding, planning, producing and then choreographing the release of all this extra content.  But for popular, high profile franchises it may be possible to monetize each story stream with media and commercial partnerships and in some cases subscription access to exclusive material. 

On a smaller scale, could brands use transmedia for marketing? It's an intriguing idea. Stay tuned. 

SKETCHBOOK STORYTELLING: PEER INSIDE AND STAY A WHILE

An artist's sketchbook can read like a personal journal. These pages got me thinking ... what a great approach for telling brand stories - in print or digitally. 

Who could resist spending time snooping around? 

The art is totally engaging and I especially like the way the copy is broken into bits and bites. 

GLOSSY PRINT: BACK TO THE FUTURE FOR LUXE E-COM?

So interesting, this recent story in Adweek about high-end e-commerce brands using print magazines and catalogs to drive deeper fan engagement. 

You can't beat digital media for its touch-and-go immediacy, but there is something undeniably special about a good glossy pub - the kind you hang on to for months and leisurely re-read many times. 

Glossy print is expensive to publish of course, but for some brands it can be a worthy investment. I've long admired American Express for its very upscale Departures magazine - available exclusively to Platnium Card and Centurion members. 

This pub is world-classy - superbly written, beautifully edited and art directed, printed on quality paper stock - and it delivers real reader value with news, tips and feature stories that make you want to buy, buy, buy ... using your Amex card. 

Plus, each issue is plump with ads that command attention on the printed page. These ads translate well on screen, too, since Departures' members-only online edition is plenty luxe. However, the feel and smell of fine paper make them seem a lot more personal, if not more memorable. 

Yes, print is still relevant.  Costly no doubt, but Amex seems to monetize it just fine. Let's see how new players such as Porter do. 

5 Questions Help Filter and Align Social Content

Anyone managing a brand's robust social media program knows the pressure of pumping out continuous content.  

There are lots of ways to feed the content pipeline, like generating original material, re-purposing old content, tapping syndicated sources, re-tweeting, commenting on forums, posting news links, etc. Being flush with content isn't enough, however. It's important that every bit of content that's fed out connects back to the brand in a meaningful way.  

One way to keep content on-strategy is to use a brand filter against which all content - original or borrowed – can be judged.

Filtering brings focus and discipline to content management and an effective filter can simply pose five key questions:

1.     Does this content accurately position the brand?

2.     Is it relevant to our target audiences?  What value does it provide?

3.     Does this put the brand in proper, authentic context?

4.     Will it have traction in media channels that reach our targets?

5.    How does this content tie back to the business?  Does the message leverage brand news, a competitive attribute, keywords, or promote a measurable call-to-action?

 How do you align content with your communications and business strategy?  Do you use a filter? 

Instagram Hits 200 Million Users. But Will Any of Them Care About Your Brand?

Last week the social photo-sharing platform Instagram announced it had reached the 200 million monthly active users mark – doubling in size from just a year ago. Among those users are many well-known brands; reportedly 43% of the top 100 brands now post content on Instagram upwards of six times each week.

The highly viral nature of photo-sharing makes Instagram extremely appealing to marketers. Indeed, some brands see their content fly fast and wide on it, but in truth far more get little to no traction at all. Why not?  Consider that the core of Instagram’s estimated 75 million daily users is young – very young in fact. Half are females between the ages of 12-24, of which 20% are between 12-17. 

Is this group part of your target market? If yes, then certainly hitch your publicity wagon to Instagram’s success and give it a go. If not, your social marketing efforts are probably better spent elsewhere. 

Filmmaker George Lucas: Great Illustrators Tell a Grand Story in a Single Frame

                                                                                                              Illustration by N.C Wyeth

Fascinating CBS Early Show interview with filmmaker George Lucas who said great American illustrators, including Maxfield Parrish, NC Wyeth and Norman Rockwell, inspired him to make movies. He talks about his admiration for illustrators and how they portray a rich and moving story in just a single image. As a youth Lucas aspired to become an illustrator - a dream dashed by his pragmatic father. But come to think of it, don't you see an illustrator's eye in his films?