Facebook vs Foursquare – Check-In Here for the Battle Royale
If you’re one of the 500 million current subscribers to Facebook, then you probably noticed a new feature called “Places” added to the social network. Places is a geo-social tool that allows people to “check-in” at specific locations, alerting their friends to where they are at that moment. If this sounds like a passing novelty [...]
Why The Beatles Are Still “Nowhere Men” with iTunes
I first want to quickly note how, in terms of practicality, the music industry’s fight to sustain a relevance for the physical product for recorded music in the eyes of the consumer has been a tough sell. People have voted with their dollars (or lack thereof) that, for the average music listener (which is by [...]
Arcade Fire Teams Up with American Express for Live Streaming Concert on YouTube
Arcade Fire might just be the best band on the planet. Since forming in 2003, they have released two critically-acclaimed albums, Funeral and Neon Bible, that are so refreshingly creative that, if the albums could, would stand up to recent chart-topping imitators like ColdPlay’s “Viva La Vida” and smack it straight in the mouth. (Sharp [...]
Kanye West Shows Us All How Not to Tweet
(Let me preface this article by saying Sharp Dressed Brand LOVES Kanye’s music. I own every album he’s released on a major label, and other than 808′s and Heartbreak, I celebrate his entire collection.) Kanye West, rapper, mogul, and all-around gentleman (just ask Taylor Swift), finally joined Twitter two weeks ago, and the tech and [...]
5 Great Musician and Band Websites for Design, Functionality, and Branding
With the current Web 2.0 trend that is pushing design and functionality toward ease-of-use, standardization, and simple integration into social communities, the stand-alone website, especially for musicians, might ever-so-slowly becoming obsolete, or at least somewhat unnecessary. The impact that Facebook Pages, Twitter feeds, ReverbNation, and MySpace Music have had on the music industry is revolutionary, [...]
New England Patriots Use SCVNGR technology to Build Excitement for 2010 Season
Usually when you hear social media and the New England Patriots in the same sentence, you would be referring to the latest trending Twitter topic about Tom Brady’s newest actress or supermodel conquest, but the marketing department for the storied Patriots franchise has developed a cleverly engaging campaign to energize the Foxboro fanbase for the [...]
Gilt Groupe Launches Gilt City Brand Extension
Gilt Groupe, the discount luxury e-retailer, is trying to capitalize on the current Groupon-inspired “collective buying craze coming to a city near you” with a brand extension called Gilt City, currently in Beta. Similar to their other branded channels (Gilt, Gilt Man, Jetstter), Gilt City caters to the fashion-conscious socialite on a budget, but this [...]
Digital Throwback – The Awkward Awesomeness of Burger King and the Subservient Chicken
Back in 2001, before Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter, or any of the other players now considered prerequisites for fostering a truly “viral” marketing campaign, Burger King launched one of their most successful, intriguing, and borderline disturbing online promotional campaigns in the web’s short history. Taking their “Have It Your Way” campaign to its logical ends, [...]
Parody Accounts on Twitter Redefine Corporate Brands
If you’re a Twitter enthusiast or follower of industry news in the tech sector, you’ve probably heard of fake twitter accounts that parody a person, brand, event, or other entity. As of this morning, @BPGlobalPR, a fake “BP Global Public Relations” account created after the company’s massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, now [...]
Prince Declares the End of the Technology Formerly Known as the Internet
For as innovative and forward-thinking Prince’s music has been over the past three decades, the 52 year-old pop star, who has had a public love-hate relationship with about every aspect of the music and entertainment industry, has now started an East Coast, West Coast style feud against, who else, the Internet.
Chris Johnson – The Titan of Tweets
Chris Johnson might be the most intriguing player in the National Football League, and not just because he spent his first two seasons with the Tennessee Titans establishing himself as the best running back in the NFL (you heard me AP). Chris Johnson, like many young athletes thrust from collegiate obscurity to national stardom, wants [...]
Glastonbury Music Festival Tags Concert Goers on Giant Facebook Photo
The Glastonbury Music Festival might possibly b the “pinnacle” of annual music festivals in the world, featuring a mish mash of amazing bands that range the entire auditory spectrum, from up-and-coming acts like Mumford & Sons and The Xx to seasoned rockers like Muse and The Flaming Lips.
Woot! The Underdog Whose Character and Charm Won the Heart of Amazon
Earlier Today, Woot! CEO Matt Rutledge announced that his simple “One Deal a Day” startup turned tech-darling-for-the-thrifty-shopper had been acquired by Amazon. How this will affect Woot! into the future is unknown, but when a multi-billion dollar giant like Amazon comes knocking on your door, you can expect your future’s probably so bright, you gotta [...]
Sports Illustrated iPad App – An Exercise in Beautiful Functionality
As magazine publishers are beginning to embrace the full spectrum of functionality provided by new channels of consumption (ie. computers, mobile devices, etc.), some have quickly “stepped up to the plate,” supplementing their magazine’s experience with rich and compelling media, beautiful photography, exclusive downloads, audio and video interviews, and many other perks.
The Best-Dressed List: My Top Discount Luxury Retailers
Over the past decade, the discount-luxury industry has exploded, first with big box retailers like Stein Mart and TJ Maxx selling the picked-over duds from a season’s past. Next, the concept of the “sample sale” turned mainstream when TV shows and movies like “Sex in the City,” encouraged the low-budget but fashion-engaged shopper to open [...]
SwiperBoy – Tennessee Vols Basketball Player and Rapper Goes Viral
Over the last few decades, we’ve been blessed with witnessing some astoundingly random yet totally awesome sports to music mashups. Whether it was the now legendary Superbowl Shuffle or more recently Shaquille O’Neal, aka Shaq, Shaq Diesel, Shaq-Fu, etc., and his lyrical prowess featured on the hit single “Fu-shnickens” or in one of his chart-busting [...]
MIX ME IN2 Taylor Swift – an iPhone App with Purpose
If you’re familiar with Big Machine Records, the new kings of Music Row in Nashville, TN, then you’ll know that this newly-formed country label led by founder and CEO Scott Borchetta sings a different kind of tune, and it turns out, they’re not singing that tune alone. Over the past five years, Big Machine Records [...]
Rugby by Ralph Lauren – Another Says Bye Bye to Flash
A few years ago, I stumbled into New York’s “Rugby by Ralph Lauren store,” a small, well-kept little joint a few blocks below Union Square, and within minutes of checking out the “Ivy-league professor meets classic rebel” style and savoring the brand’s self-described “irreverent sensibility,” I knew my list of favorite wardrobe duds was about [...]
The Dirty Guv’nahs – Swamp, Sweat, and Social Media
One of the exciting things about closely following the music industry is watching the clever and effective ways independent artists are taking responsibility for their own marketing and promotion due to the rise in cheap and accessible web 2.0 technology. Case in Point: The Dirty Guv’nahs, a rock and roll six-piece that is currently burning [...]
Conan O’Brien and Jack White – Live, In Concert… Together?!?
So, I just spent four plus hour standing in the ninety-five degree heat for a chance to watch Conan O’Brien and Jack White perform an exclusive show for 325 people. For those Nashvillians, Jack White is a local, and he owns his own studio/concert hall called Third Man Records. Conan O’Brien is in town because [...]
