A Creative Solution for Disney Parks and Covid19

by | May 7, 2020 | Creativity

Creative ways to open Disney parksDisney has closed their theme parks because of Covid19 and the difficulties of social distancing in a space where people are supposed to get together. Coronavirus isn’t going to go away tomorrow, so what is the answer to opening the parks back up- and making it a magical experience? Does Disney already own the answer?

What does a Stormtrooper and a drone have to do with making the park safe? Well, we’ll share.

Suppose Disney makes real Stormtrooper helmets, that allow you to breathe highly filtered air on your visit? And suppose, we gamify your experience, by building in the same obstacle avoidance system that drones use to keep them from crashing? Every visitor would become a stormtrooper, complete with helmet and gauntlet gloves. Each helmet would be programmed to allow you to be within 6 feet of your family, but, no one else. An audible will go off when you are too close to others. You’ll be given a score that reads in your heads-up display in your visor on how you’re doing. The less contacts, the more rides, the higher the visitors score. The gauntlet gloves- when you make a push sign toward others- will send a signal to others helmets- and increase your score as well as warning them to stand back. People who don’t obey distancing, would eventually be told to return to base for retraining.

Would it be expensive to build the hundred thousand helmets and the gamification systems, sure, but, everyday the parks are closed is costing tens of millions. Estimates of the costs of the closures come in at half a billion. And that’s not including the rest of the tourism ecosystem of hotels, airfare, tourism.

Disney is full of imagineers, they’ve made money with creativity for years. Why not make the parks a true, full time, immersive experience?

And the best part? Who didn’t want to be a stormtrooper, at least once?

Crime Fighting Dogs = Youtube Views

by | Sep 11, 2011 | Creativity, Viral Marketing

I will admit, I’m a music videos junky But lately, it seems like all music videos produced by major-label artists are lacking a certain charm. Super high-budget videos with a boring premise, often consisting of the artist performing in a surreal location. Which is fine for the hottest artists who are going to get views regardless of what content they put out.

But occasionally, a music video comes out that is original, memorable, and appeals to a large audience while still having a living, breathing charm.

Enter: Swedish House Mafia’s video for “Save The World” (bet you’d never heard of them or their music before)

Other artists and directors should take notes, because this video does what a video should; it tells a story, it’s funny, it’s well-produced, it’s memorable, it’s charming, and it gets people talking. Oh, and did I mention that it has over 25 million views? It was uploaded in May, which means that it gets over well a million views per week.

This is a perfect example of marketing through viral videos. Think about it, the whole point of a music video is to promote a musical artist, so it’s basically the same as a commercial. The key is to create a “commercial” that gets people talking, entertains them, and most importantly makes them forget that they are watching a commercial!

Oh, and by the way. I’m Max. I do video work at The Next Wave. Pleased to meet you.

You can be creative in 15 seconds

by | Mar 30, 2008 | Advertising Case Studies for The Next Wave, Dayton Bombers Advertising, Low Budget Advertising, Practical Marketing 101, Secrets of Great Advertising

When the Dayton Bombers called and wanted a 15 second spot, all they thought that could be in there was date and time. Had they had the station do it- they would have had some news footage, with graphics on top and the same announcer that does every single local spot on the air.

The reality is, no one cares about your hockey game that doesn’t already know about it. Advertising is supposed to make people who don’t care- care. Good ads get your attention, and suck you in. Bad ads tell you about a product you could care less about.

Simple connections between client and consumer happens when you grab a fundamental truth- and make it relevant. Here we use “hockey is painful” - complete with missing teeth, black eyes, broken nose and organ music more fit for a funeral than a hockey game.

Getting the message to resonate with something the customer already believes is a great first step to engaging them in your brand. Even in 15 seconds.