Friday Fives, Vol. 221
This week we’re singing our hearts out with Spotify’s new feature, unpacking what makes a client-agency relationship succeed, and adding “move-to-earn” to our lexicon of marketing terms.
In agency news, one of our talented designers is running the NYC 2022 Marathon and raising funds for a worthy cause. Any donations made here to our superstar creative-turned-marathon runner are greatly appreciated.
Happy 4th of July! We’ll be back with more Friday Fives on July 15th.
What’s the difference between a brand and a cult? That isn’t the setup to a joke — we’re genuinely curious, because upon further inspection, the two seem eerily similar. The chilling docu-series Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults inadvertently draws stark parallels between brands and cultish activities. In the Heaven’s Gate cult, they had a charismatic founder, an outlined series of beliefs, an overarching aesthetic, and they relied on community cultivation, with an emphasis on cult. Sound familiar? No need to update your LinkedIn to reflect “cult leadership” experience, but next time you’re planning an elaborate strategy to gain more “followers,” keep the similarities in mind.
If you and your friends have a friendly (or not-so-friendly) rivalry about who’s the best karaoke artist in the group, you’re in luck. Spotify is rolling out a new karaoke feature that lets you sing along to your favorite tunes. Once the song is over, they’ll give you a rating. Spotify karaoke is rolling out slowly but should be available to all in a few months. We love this idea of gamifying music, but we question the rating process. Are we being scored on how well we sing? Because we all know karaoke isn’t about vocal ability. It’s about heart, bravery, and secretly hating that one friend who can actually sing well and ruins it for the rest of us.
The Key to Client-Agency Chemistry
In a recent study of top agencies, branding professionals ranked the most important elements of a healthy client relationship. One might think the obvious answer is creative freedom, or the ability to really flex your marketing muscles to make something memorable. Nope. The two top responses were respect and chemistry. Creatives would rather work on something less innovative in a supportive environment than swing for the fences in a hurricane of stressful client interactions. The study also delves into how creativity should be measured, what creatives care about today, and what the future of creativity looks like. Find the full study here.
Anyone who considers themselves an artist has probably dreamed of owning a loft in New York. Part industrial, part modern, full of natural light and overflowing with floor space, lofts provide the perfect backdrop for both living and creating. What lofts didn’t always have was legality. Lofts are often converted from old commercial spaces, not equipped with safety measures or compliant with NYC codes. The Loft Law was passed in 1982, thus preserving a key piece of the city’s design history. Today, these sparse spaces once inhabited by struggling up-and-comers like Agnes Martin and Jasper Johns are ludicrously expensive. Still, the dream of living in a loft remains for New Yorkers like us. If we can’t live in one, maybe someone we know will invite us up to one for drinks. And possibly a rooftop BBQ. Anyone? Let us know.
Move-to-earn is a concept we’ve seen before in real life. Take squats for free subway tickets, for example. Simple, right? Well, the fitness-to-funds model is now gaining popularity in the Metaverse, and it’s anything but straightforward. The core concept, as demonstrated by the Metaverse company StepN, is as follows. Buy digital shoes from an online marketplace for virtual coins, which are purchased with US dollars. Then “equip” the shoes by clicking a button on an app. From there, just go into the real world and exercise. The app tracks your movement and converts your steps into in-game currency, which can then be converted back into hard money. It sounds remarkably like a Ponzi scheme, but the threat of losing the money you invested in virtual footwear might finally be the motivation you need to get in shape. You could also just put on the shoes you have and go for a walk right now. It’s free.
The Working Assembly is an award-winning branding and creative agency.
Established in 2017, we collaborate with emerging and evolving companies for end-to-end brand building, including strategy and visual identity, print and digital design, content, and creative campaigns.
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The Working Assembly
NYC branding agency exploring the intersection of art, design, technology and culture. Partnering with emerging and evolving brands.
