Matchstic’s On The House
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"I LOVED the work you did with SWIFT School. I was rencelty there while my son Thomas received tutoring and just adored the new look and feel of the..."
- Carol English
Balls
Focus Groups. Market Research. They're part of the oppposing side of a never-ending battle fought by designers. Very few have found commercial success while being able to stand their ground creatively. Pixar Animation Studios is one of them.
According to a recent article in the Times, Wall Street and toy manufacturers are concerned about the commercial prospects of "Up," the studio's newest film. Despite Pixar's spotless track record, many "industry watchers" (greedy shareholders?) are complaining because "[they] doubt younger boys will be that excited by the main character and the the lack of a female lead." Meanwhile, retailers see slim merchandising opportunities from the lead cast of characters.
In the midst of these ridiculous "analyses", I find it truly commendable that Pixar is continuing to just do their thing — to make the movies they want to make, regardless of potential for peddling cheap Happy Meal plastics (seems like these critics didn't bother to pay attention during Wall-E).
Robert Iger, Disney’s chief executive, said it best: “A check-the-boxes approach to creativity is more likely to result in blandness and failure.” It's the kind of thinking that has ruined many big studios.
These days, it's rare to see any organization show this kind of boldness, especially in such a high-level player as Pixar. Kudos.
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"I know this is a really old post (was digging through your archives to hear your thoughts on market research). Anyways, just thought this bit was interesting from the Times..."
- Chris Allison
On The House Finalists Interviews 6- 10
The bar has been raised! Last week we concluded our Top Ten Finalist interviews with five more in-office interviews. They are all GREAT organizations and narrowing to the final 3 will be a real tough decision. Check out the highlight video below and see for yourself! The Final 3 will be announced this Wednesday April 8th, here on the matchstic blog.
On The House Finalists Interviews 6- 10 from matchstic on Vimeo.
The ministries featured in this video are:
#6. AIGA Atlanta: aiga-atl.org
#7. Redeemed Ministries: redeemedlove.org
#8. Ministry Ventures: ministryventures.org
#9. Essential 2 Life: e2lonline.org
#10. Myles Apart: mylesapart.org
To see the first five interviews click here.
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"love that you guys have posted this. what an awesome opportunity!"
- jfuhlbruck
Last Chance to Spread the Word
Its the last big push before the On the House application period comes to a close. We've all heard about the economic hit that non-profits have taken in the last several months. I'm sure you know of a worthy 501(c)3 in the Atlanta area that not only needs a boost right now, but also needs some assistance with their brand strategy and brand presence.
Here's your chance…send ‘em to www.matchstic.com/onthehouse to apply before EOD this upcoming Mon, March 23. You'll be giving them the opportunity for a chance to make an even larger impact.
Its the next best thing to giving them actual cash (meaning that doesn't excuse you from still supporting them financially…come on).
Do it. Right Now.
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Partner Spotlight – Standard Press
The great thing about Matchstic, is that we don't do it all. We focus on our strengths and bring in partners who can add their strengths to make a project better. Standard Press fits perfectly into that way of working. Being the print manager here I'm always seeing print projects to completion and working with different printers to get the finishing touches on a project. Alot of the times is nerve-racking once you send the file to a printer and all you can do is wait and hope for the best. I can say without a doubt, that is not the case when we work with Standard. I know that once it is in their hands, I don't have to worry about anything and that they are going to produce the highest quality product there is. So thanks Candice and Andy for partnering with Matchstic and helping us provide the highest quality product we can for all of our clients.
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Major Award
Blake and Craig were honored Thurs night as one of ATLs "40 under 40″ – one of Atlanta's 40 most promising young stars! We're proud of them and all they've built together as partners that has created the framework for our house.
As part of the team, its really cool to see things like this happen as we approach our 5 year anniversary.
Here's hoping they make it to the "40 over 40″ in another decade!
Click here to check out the article.
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"[...] RIES: Blake, Craig and I were all chosen as Top 40 Under 40 award winners by the Atlanta Business Chronicle in the [...]"
- Matchstic Blog » Blog Archive » Guest Blogger: Laura Ries
No Brand Branding?
McDonalds Japan is testing out a new marketing/branding strategy, that can only be described as No Brand Branding. They have opened "Quarter Pounder Stores" in select locations in Japan. There is no mention of the name "McDonalds", no sighting of Golden Arches, and even the beloved Ronald McDonald is no where in site. Word is, that curious customers are lining up to see whats happening behind the stark black and red storefronts.
Once they are inside they only have 2 menu choices, a Quarter Pounder with Cheese Set for 500 yen (about $5.15) or a Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese Set that goes for 600 yen (about $6.20).
It's an interesting strategy that seems to play on the "intrigue" factor to get customer's through the door, but I'm not sure how effective it will be to get repeat business or to re-ignite customer's love affair with the Golden Arches.
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"This is the kind of positioning that companies like American Apparel, Muji or even your local restaurant, like Taqueria Del Sol, thrive on. The Quarter Pounder brand seems a little..."
- Alvin
Everyone loves small aliens
Well, our 4th Carv-O-rama came to a close on Fri afternoon. Early polling showed Gordon Shumway as the leading candidate, and while voting was tight between Alf and E.T., the final result was a come-behind win from E.T. | www.carvorama.com.
The 3 "non-creatives" were at the bottom of the pack (is anyone surprised?), with only Justin's dark horse – Ziggy Stardust – falling into last place.
So we can deduce one thing from this year's contest – people love small, odd-looking, aliens who crash landed on our planet, had endearing relationships with children, were obsessed with eating mankind's food, and learned to speak English. Next year I'm doing an Ewok.
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"i mean i don't want to be that person or anything, but ewoks didn't crash land onto earth. they inhabited their own planet of endor which was in actuality a..."
- bek
Final “Benched” Movie!
Benched from Brandon McCormick on Vimeo.
For more information on this project click here to get the full story.
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"You guys (and gal!) absolutely ROCK! I have a funny feeling running up my spine (where have I heard that line before?) that this is going to be..."
- VHJ
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"Hahaha. I was wondering "why the 200?" when I saw the ad, then wondering afterwards "why eminem?". It's hard to go against a decade of poor quality...unless you're selling the..."
- Nate Henderson