A Box of Free Matter

Matter is a box of free samples sent to the willing, but much better executed than, say, this experience.  Love the idea of book samplers -- first chapters that look like the real thing, with covers and everything.  The project was powered by an idea that will only get stronger with time: "I've long believed that printed matter will gain new value in a digital world as everyone begins to crave the more physical / tactile / emotional nature of printed stuff" (source).  Reminds me of the Gum Magazine, that used to come packed with a bunch of stuff you could touch and play with.  

Dewey Defeats Truman

On Google Finance minutes ago. The graph shows major indexes up, while the left-hand side displays a newspaper reprint of a Bloomberg story from earlier today.

Graph: Credibility of Popular Business Theories Over Time

- via Chris Anderson's

Font Based on Obama's Handwriting

From requesting a date with the Obama girl to signing your own bailout -- this personality-cultish $16 font designed after the President's own leftie handwriting opens a world of creative opportunities.
-- via

Workout Routine from Cirque De Soleil

Why should pro athletes be the only endorsers of fitness products?  Are there other occupations that put certain demands on human bodies?   Are any of these occupations aspirational? (Garbage removal is straining but hardly inspiring).  

This partnership between Reebok and Cirque De Soleil (news release) is brilliant in how well it fits together and how not obvious it must have been until the duh moment:

"JUKARI Fit to Fly makes fitness fun again by introducing a new way to move in a gym workout and is accessible to all women, regardless of fitness levels. The hour-long workout has been created on a specially-designed piece of equipment called the FlySet. The result is a workout that gives the sensation of flying while strengthening and lengthening the body through cardio, strength, balance and core training."

So simple. 

Quote of the Day

"They collect followers on Twitter as proof of how brilliant they are at social media marketing, without realizing the irony that they are just turning their Twitter feed into a broadcast medium that reaches more people than they could possibly hope to have a "relationship" with."
- Kevin Rothermel

Branded Ailments

PlayStation palmar hidradenitis - recently discovered and described lesions that will appear on your  palms after you've played too much PlayStation. Sounds scarier than Nintendo thumb.

Instant Call Back Manager from F9 Group [ad]

A message for direct marketers from our sponsor F9 Group that offers a range of products for phone lead management:

"With a bit of new technology called ICBM (Internet Call Back Manager), a company buying a lead can have that lead flow through our system first. Within 7 seconds of your lead vendors sending the lead, the customer will be called, pre-qualified and transferred to your sales agent. You will get to the customer on average 2-24 hours before anyone else if you are buying non exclusive leads or the customer is online shopping around.

Most companies are either unable to get a hold of a lead customer or the customer was already contacted by another company before you called them back. Odds are that other company that called them back was using our technology."

Reactrix Dead

Just learned that Reactrix has folded last December. Reactrix made devices that created interactive floor projections and was among the coolest ad technologies I've seen on the job. They tried to create a media network of their devices; I always thought they should've been in business of equipment rental.  Catchyoo is a surviving competitor.

Job: Emerging Technology Analyst

A friend who works at this agency is looking for someone who can bridge the gap between geekdom and advertising (tm) and he thinks it just might be an AdLab reader:

"This position is focused on the "what's next" and helps to determine the strategic technology direction for the agency. The role is a mix of research, software and vendor evaluation and strategic planning. If you love social media, digital advertising and mobile technologies and feel like you have great ideas about how to use them and can communicate these ideas to the executive level, you should consider applying for this position. This position reports to the VP Director of Contributions."

In a nutshell, you'll be monitoring and reporting on all this new tech and figuring out how to use it to sell more of clients' stuff.  Eclectic skills required.  For more -- go to the source.