 | Ypulse Daily Update 05.29.09
Directory and more at Ypulse.com | |  | Quick Links Ypulse Essentials: Guitar Hero's Scavenger Hunt, Teen Takes Top Speller Spot, Hip-Hop Detoxx Posted by meredith Two very short days until the Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup event in San Francisco! Register today before it's too late! Enter the code READER for 30 percent off!  Name that tune (Guitar Hero creator Activision challenges players to an online scavenger hunt to identify all 85 bands represented on the fifth installment game. Plus, the "Where The Wild Things Are" video game seeks another publisher) (MediaPost, reg. required) (Los Angeles Times)
- Kansas teen takes the title of top speller (the aspiring neurosurgeon wins the national spelling contest with the word "Laodicean") (Yahoo! News)
- The guy that would be queen (at a high school in Los Angeles a gay student was awarded the title of Prom Queen. Looks like further reinforcement of Anastasia's point re: hugging. Also, at the University of Chicago a student starts a male empowerment group that meets with some critics) (Los Angeles Times, reg. required) (Chicago Tribune)
- Jessica Simpson shops body image show (in the wake of coming under fire by the tabloids for her weight) (MTV News)
- Gotcha (new ads from the anti-tobacco "truth" campaign feature real wannabe tobacco execs being interviewed in a mock recruitment office with the tagline, "Do you have what it takes?". Plus Axe tries viewer created ads on Current TV and Sunkist attempts to reach youth by being "awesome.") (MediaPost, reg. required) (BrandWeek)
- IAB launches the Young People's Handbook (in an attempt to make sense of the online behavior of 15-24 year olds) (IABUK)
- Archie chooses (after 65 years and 600 issues of the comic series the redheaded loverboy has made a decision between Betty and Veronica) (XX)
- High heels for baby (just one of the many offerings at the Baby & Tween Celebration L.A. Sigh. Plus the latest Pangea survey reveals teens are indeed feeling closer to mom and dad.) (Slate)
- Hip-Hop Detoxx (an after school program where students listen and discuss songs they've written about the issues that affect their daily life. Plus, the stigma surrounding depression keeps teens from seeking treatment. And according to this study, there is less swearing in teen movies) (Medill Reports) (U.S. News and Report) (Newswise)
- Summer jobs trump more leisurely options (for teens who previously would have opted to travel, take summer courses or go to camp) (New York Times, reg. required)
- Copyright on the curriculum (the Electronic Frontier Foundation launches a curriculum to "give students the real story about their digital rights and responsibilities on the Internet and beyond) (ars technica)
P.S. For all you Twilight fans, the "New Moon" trailer will debut on MySpace Sunday night.
P.P.S. REMINDER: We will be "mashing it up" at our big event Monday and Tuesday and will not be sending out the newsletter or have regular coverage. Please see this post about where to find live coverage of the event.
Posted in: Ypulse Essentials Ypulse Sponsored Post: Creating Community Through Advertising Posted by anastasia Today's Ypulse Sponsored post is from Kiel Fletcher (pictured below) the events marketing manager at Fuse, anchor sponsor for this year's Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup. This post is part of that sponsorship.
To learn more about Fuse Marketing and their unique approach to effectively reaching youth, be sure to catch Fuse founder Bill Carter and his session "Listen to Teens and Stop Wasting 50% of Your Marketing Budget" at the Mashup next week!
Creating Community Through Advertising
 It is safe to say that between our mobile phones, television, online media, billboards, and every other medium, we are constantly bombarded with messaging all day long. For advertisers, this creates a huge challenge to make sure the message is not lost amongst all other competing and non-competing content.
With so much messaging, some traditional ways of reaching the youth audience through television, print and even some online advertising is becoming a thing of the past. If you think of the old adage, "Time is Money," it is overwhelming in relation to a single person's daily schedule, which is spent receiving messages from advertisements – whether they are receptive to the message or not. So how does a company get over such hurdles and get your message across? By simply adding value to the community you are trying to reach, and make them want to seek you out.
In March of 2008, Wired Magazine featured an article by Chris Anderson entitled "Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business." The article gives great insights on how the idea of free, as an economy, is driven by the technologies that fuel the web and how everything that touches the internet is affected in return. So, not only should you have to give back to those same folks you are trying to connect with, but you are supposed to do it for free? Sounds crazy right?
Well not entirely. Two incredibly successful websites dedicated to giving their community an alternative outlet for information, and providing them a haven for videos, gear and entertainment, are TheBerrics.com and Newschoolers.com. The Berrics is the private skatepark owned by skateboard legends Steve Berra and Eric Koston. The website documents the life of these legends through a series of weekly weblogs and features that revolve around the day to day happenings at the park. Newschoolers.com has proved its staying power year after year as a source of information for the freeskiing community, as well as an online interactive network for freeskiers of all ability levels to connect and communicate.
These two free sites, though executed in much different formats, have the same ethical principal to give back to the community of skaters and skiers they love. One of the major keys to their success is that they are not only fans, but they are credible participants who constantly add new content. Though the sole reason for these sites' existence is to create an online hub for athletes, a very similar model has been created with great success by a number of other brands as well.
Brands in the footwear industry, using Nike, Gravis and Adidas as examples, all execute this idea extremely well throughout their multiple lines and many websites. These brands have created online communities through a combination of YouTube channels, viral videos, and their respective websites. The latter of which are a pure source for creative, original content that revolves around advertising shoes and apparel, and is also an extension of other advertising channels.
They have created a huge amount of brand equity by taking candid moments with their athletes, musicians and artists and giving these moments as content back to their established and prospective fan base. In both cases, the hub of information revolves around their focus on the lifestyle of the product rather than the products themselves. Nike executes this idea most successfully through their Nike Soccer (most notably their YouTube channel full of viral videos) and Nike 6.0 websites, while Adidas centers at their "Celebrate Originality" campaign, and Gravis executes it best on their ivtv web channel.
It's not all web-based however, as brands also use an added element of traditional media to support their online presence. Converse Skateboarding is a great example of this practice, as they recently unveiled Parlour, an original skateboarding zine, with limited print and distributed only to high-level, core retailers.
By creating these outlets and videos, many of which become online viral sensations, brands can lessen the intrusiveness of their advertising and become more of a free service provider than an advertiser. Brand equity is gained with a younger demographic through these advertising channels and can have a huge impact on customer loyalty. If a company's advertising becomes a form of entertainment, a source of insight or a free commodity - rather than a distracted message - it's hard not to reach your audience.
For more coverage of youth marketing, go to the Ypulse Youth Marketing Channel sponsored by Youth Marketing Connection. Posted in: Ypulse Essentials | Youth Marketing The 2009 Totally Wired Teacher Is...Mike Roberts! Posted by anastasia  I'm extremely excited to announce the 2009 Totally Wired Teacher -- Mike Roberts, who teaches technology to students in grades 7-12 in the rural town of Big Fork, Montana.
With the help of Brianne Brewer, Head of Community Development for Dell's Edu4U Community and Derek Baird, an ed tech strategist & much more, we read over 200 nominations of "wired" teachers from around the country. We chose Mike because he not only overcame the challenges of integrating technology into his classroom, but because he has been an active evangelist with his school board and other teachers, especially those teachers who were struggling with using technology. He has helped to transform a very rural school that would have been disadvantaged when it came to using technology into a leader in the space. Mike was not only nominated by colleagues but by several of his students as well. We tried to fly him to San Francisco for the event to accept his award in person, but alas, he is chaperoning the graduation party Sunday night. For those of you attending Mashup, you'll get to see his video acceptance speech.
In addition to Mike, we also selected two finalists -- all three teachers will receive a new Dell Latitude 2100 Netbook to use in their classrooms. We chose Kristine Bybee-Finley, a high school special ed teacher in Hurricane, WV. We were excited to see a teacher engaging special ed students with technology and in awe at some of the self described challenges Kristine faced:
Latching on to a projector from someone not using it, then absconding with the Intelliboard that was gathering dust in the library conference room (I swear, I have no idea where it is). Working with a monitor glommed from a trash heap after the first monitor gave out. Use of an ancient computer (1 USB port--shameful) that understands only Morse code.
We also chose George Mayo, a middle school language arts teacher in Silver Springs, MD, as our second finalist. Derek explains, "George is one of the most amazing teachers I've ever met. He goes out of his way to get his students involved in social justice issues (most recently on Darfur) and social advocacy. I love that he uses film making as a teaching tool. I'm a big supporter of student film making and the power it has to teach. He knows how to use tech to SUPPORT LEARNING and is always sharing his knowledge with other teachers via Twitter or other social networks. An all around amazing teacher."
I want to personally thank Dell for sponsoring the award and enabling us to recognize these three Totally Wired teachers' amazing work with students and colleagues.
Sorta Related
A Generation of Change in American Public Education (Harris Interactive Trends & Tudes)
For more campus coverage, visit the Ypulse Campus Channel, sponsored by Campus Media Group.Posted in: Ypulse Essentials | Youth Marketing | 2009 Mashup | Campus | Education What The Rebecca Rubin Doll Means For Real Jewish American Girls Posted by meredith  Earlier this week details were revealed about Rebecca Rubin, the first Jewish American Girl doll, and the latest addition to the company's steadily growing line of historical characters who hail from different ethnic backgrounds.
Like those who came before her, Rebecca's figurine comes paired with a series of books that weave her fictional backstory into a real era of American history. In the case of 9-year-old Rebecca, the scene, partially based on the author Jacqueline Dembar Greene's own family history, will be set in a row house on the Lower East Side in 1914 where she lives with her Jewish-Russian immigrant parents, her siblings and her grandmother known as Bubbie.
While the doll may fill another niche in a long line for the brand, Rebecca's debut marks a significant moment for young Jewish American girls and women like me who don't often get to see themselves in the commercial space. Especially in doll form. In part, because defining what a Jewish girl looks like can be such a touchy issue. Not only for the toy industry, but also within the culture where it's increasingly common for girls to seek out surgical and cosmetic procedures to correct their "Jewish noses" or straighten their "Jewish hair." Even girls who don't fit the stereotype, can be made to feel uncomfortable about the Jewishness or lack thereof of their appearance with ambiguous comments like, "You don't look Jewish." (It's been 23 years and I still don't have a good comeback).
Although specific physical traits like these become non-issues with the brand's uniform look, and many would agree that their inclusion would be unnecessary regardless, the mere visibility of a well-defined Jewish character makes a statement. A statement that's further reinforced by the company's years of extensive research, including consultations with both the American Jewish Historical Society and the Yeshiva University Museum. As an offering by a mainstream company, Rebecca invites girls of any background (in theory. It'll be interesting to see whether non-Jewish girls also seek her out) to embrace, explore and gain a better understanding of Jewish culture. An invitation that for girls growing up in cities like L.A. or New York may seem natural and comforting (looking back my only distinctly Jewish fictional girl icons lived in YA books like Sally J. Freedman), but may especially resonate with those who live outside of Jewish centers.
Regardless of whether Rebecca's looks or background (her family immigrates to escape the pogroms in Russia) match up with a girl's own, the sense of harboring an internal difference will certainly ring true for many. We've come a long way in terms of tolerance from 1914, but awkward dilemmas like an instance in one book where Rebecca's teacher asks the class to make Christmas centerpieces still have their modern day equivalent.
Yes, some will say that the doll is a token gesture by the company and clearly Rebecca will not represent every Jewish girl in America. Only time will tell if this is just a one-off, or if we'll ever see a Jewish tween icon on par with Miley Cyrus, talking freely about her faith. In the meantime, if Rebecca's presence and story inspire young girls to ask questions about their heritage, to feel more comfortable explaining that they don't actually celebrate Christmas, and to just generally want to celebrate their Jewish identity, then it's hard not to give American Girl credit for the effort.
For more coverage of the tween space, check out the Ypulse Tweens Channel, sponsored by the Tween Tribune.
Posted in: Ypulse Essentials | Youth Marketing | 2009 Mashup | Campus | Education | Tweens
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