Here is a startup that wants to use Facebook to harness the power of the female urge to “boy talk”, match-make and give referrals. LikeBright is a new style of dating site that invites women to refer and vouch for their single male friends.

Apparently, you sign in with Facebook which gives you a page that shows only your male friends . You then click on men to vouch for. The next step is to vouch for the guys chosen — doing so puts the (customizable) phrase “I vouched for you on LikeBright” on their respective walls.

One of the founders Nick Soman, formerly a senior product manager for the Amazon Kindle says “Social networks can be simple, social and safe, but they don’t have the tools we’re building to make dating easier for women.”

Now of course guys can opt out and will be aware of what’s being said, when and by whom. As a single gal, I think it’s a great idea. You can tell a lot about a person by the company they keep and how they are spoken about when they’re not in the room.

That’s why even though we are not talking about “brands”, I think this fits nicely into the Brand Sanctuary™ wave. This wave is about using trusted names as a safety shield. If someone had several glowing testimonies from gal pals who think he’s a great catch… that would go a long way in my book.

However, as long time followers of this blog would know, I’m a “dyed in the wool” Apple Fangirl and I simply can’t let the moment pass without writing about how Steve Jobs created one of the greatest examples of Brand Sanctuary™ the world has ever seen.

The Human Truth™ of the Brand Sanctuary™ wave is simply: “I count on your brand not to let me down.”™ On Monday, some were disappointed that there was no iPhone 5 announcement, despite all the superior functions of the 4S.  Now the childish whining about the 4S not “looking different” has been silenced by the bigger picture.  This man created a brand that changed the way we interact with technology.  This brand has changed the world as we know it.

I was really touched by this email tribute from Quentin Kenihan, Australia’s most unique celebrity. For many years he featured on national current affairs programs as he struggled to overcome his severe disability.  Quentin who was not expected to live beyond early childhood, captured the nation’s heart with his wit, humor and never-say-die attitude.
He sums up why a brand like Apple has such a personal relationship to their fans:

“Dear Apple,

As a disabled person with brittle bone disease finding a computer that assisted me was always a challenge. I needed something small, lightweight and powerful. A friend then emailed me the commercial for the Apple iBook that featured Verne Troyer. The next day I got myself a 12 inch iBook and suddenly my world opened up. As I grew to learn and love Apple I began to realise that Steve Jobs didn’t create things for someone. He created them for everyone. As the years passed by I would stay up into the early hours waiting for Steve’s latest keynote and get goose bumps when he’d announce, ‘Just one more thing.’ I became a Mac man. I got an iPhone, iPad, Apple Tv, MacBook Pro. All of which helped me connect better with everyone. Steve was a man that lived in today but dreamt for tomorrow. He inspired me to use the technology to strive for the better, dream big and let my creativity soar. 

As I write this I have a tear rolling down my face. The profound influence of his life is not lost on me and I am humbled and grateful to have been a supporter of him and Apple. His death is sad, so very sad. However, today I shall celebrate what Steve meant to me, to everyone.

To all the employee’s at Apple, today you have lost a fearless leader and good friend. I grieve with you but ask you that you continue to create Steve’s vision of tomorrow with excellence. 

To Steve’s family, I am so sorry for your loss. Words can’t express what you must be going through but please take heart in the fact that your beloved Steve changed the lives of millions. He changed mine so I thank you too. 

I will not desert Apple in Steve’s passing. I will continue to follow Apple towards a brighter tomorrow. Please keep Steve’s legacy alive as we the consumer and friend will too.

Thank you for allowing me to send this to you.

REST IN PEACE STEVE JOBS.

Much love,

Quentin Kenihan

Adelaide, Australia”

RIP Steve.  You did more than “not let us down”, you inspired us to be better. Thank you.

Nobody could have ever predicted how Domino’s Pizza’s latest brand champ came about.

If you have a moment you should really read the story in his own “colorful” words.  (Yeh kinda NSFW if your work doesn’t like strong language…. I don’t how you would avoid that these days, but that’s another topic.)

Anyway, the truncated version is that he had just broken up with a girl who turned out to have serious mental issues and he does what a lot of us do after a break up:  make a date with the TV, a six pack and order in some pizza.

He said he really didn’t have a favorite between Pizza Hut or Domino’s but was intrigued by Domino’s  “Pizza Tracker”.

“If you don’t know what the pizza tracker is, then get your ass online right now and order a pizza from Domino’s. It’s the equivalent of a loading bar on a web browser, except at the end of the loading you get a delicious pizza.”

Anyway, when the door swung open 10mins after ordering, he new it wasn’t his pizza because the tracker said it was just going into the oven.  It was his knife wielding ex.  He was able to keep her talking (or screaming) with one eye on the tracker in the hopes that the delivery guy will somehow be able to help.  Much time goes by after the tracker said his driver should have been there and he’s losing hope as the woman become more unhinged.
“Alejandro had shown up to the door wide open and saw psycho with the knife and went back to his ’98 Honda Accord and called the cops. Domino’s pizza literally saved my life. They should change the name from the pizza tracker to the savior tracker.”

The comments section is filled with kudos and promises to only eat Domino’s from now on.

Brand Sanctuary™ sits in the Safety tier of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs because it’s usually about loving a brand …and feeling safe about that choice.  This, on the other hand, was a freakish incident in which someone feels SAVED by a brand, and has become a big fan.  That surely wont happen often, but it’s an in interesting way to think about encouraging brand champions.  How could your product or service “save the day” in it’s own way?

Lots of stores have friendly greeters, but not all have iPad in hand ready for any kind of query.  I knew what I was interested in so he took me directly to the two models I wanted to compare.  Everything on display has an “info iPad” now so I began checking out the specs. He said someone would be with me shortly as he pressed the blue apple shirt icon and I saw that I was 2nd in the queue.  As I admired the fine lines and amazing lightness of the Air,  I noticed how busy the store was but all the staff seemed cool, calm and personable.  Passing team members would let me know someone would be with me shortly…  One even recognized me from my acting days and we chatted about my appearance on Lost.

Then my super nice Mac Guy came over and began talking me through the decision process.  We talked through my work and travel plans and and he seemed genuinely interested in my needs and matching the right computer to them.  Once we came to a decision, he rang me up on his portable iPhone-esque transaction device.  Since I was paying some in cash, he went over to a cash drawer cleverly concealed at the end of the wooden display tables.

Once he presented me with my new “baby”, we unwrapped it together so he could walk me through the set up process and help with getting certain things configured.  Being a Mac nerd I probably could have done it myself but it was nice to have someone there in case I needed to ask something.  While this was happening, I was eavesdropping on a very patient “Mac Genius” give a “One-On-One” tutorial to an elderly lady who was learning what a url was and how to type something into google.
I gave him a knowing smile and he didn’t take that chance to roll his eyes at having to “deal with her”, he merely politely smiled back as if to say: “All part of the job.”

I left the store so happy and satisfied with my purchase I felt like hugging someone!  I know good service is not unusual in the United States but I really felt that Apple Store was a welcoming, well oiled, helpful machine.  Brand Sanctuary™ is about BRAND INTEGRITY.  The Human Truth™ is: “I count on your brand not to let me down.”™ I’ve been a fan for 12yrs now and they haven’t let me down yet

I was prompted to think about this because two celebs have recently branched out into fields that are far from what they became famous for.  Firstly, you may have seen the Justin Bieber perfume ad that is causing A LOT of internet buzz.  This is to be expected because not only do you have the millions of “Beliebers” swooning over it but you have just as many snarky comments from people who think it’s funny/creepy/crazy.

Popstars lending their persona to a scent is nothing knew, but I’m pretty sure this is the first time a teenage boy has done it… I can’t seem to recall a New Kids On the Block perfume (and heck yes I would have bought it!)

Then there is soccer star David Beckham who announced he’ll be launching a “lifestyle brand”. And by that I think he just means all sorts of products that will make big bucks:  “a men’s bodywear line, a men’s fragrance in collaboration with license partner Coty Inc. among other ventures. Beckham added, “It’s not my natural inclination to see myself as a brand, I’m just a person who has been fortunate to explore other interests and passions outside of the game I love. I will always be associated with my sport but I am now working across other areas that will continue long after my career has finished.”

The Human Truth™ of Brand Sanctuary™ is “I count on your brand not to let me down.” In this world where it seem so many things let us down; annoying TelCos, politics, banks, planned obsolescence…  It’s little wonder that people gravitate to celebs they adore, admire and trust.

Anyway I’m in the minority.  Seems people are quite willing to make a lifelong commitment to things that I deem fleeting.  This brings me to this example of Brand Sanctuary™.

Ecko, the hip hop, fashion brand is offering people who commit to their brand with a logo tattoo: a 20% discount for life.

Hmmmm.  Fair enough. For me it would have to be infinitely more than that. However, there might be some people out there that embodies the essence of the Brand Sanctuary™ wave, which is:  “BRAND INTEGRITY”

The Human Truth is “I count on your brand to let me down”.  Which in my mind happens too often to make a tattoo statement!

Well these guys are in for the long haul!!  Facial tatts no less!!

When you love something you love it, I guess!  I just can’t relate…. Maybe I’m a cynic. ( read: sane!!)

Oh and yes the Taco Bell Knuckle thing? Yeh, that happened.

But with the release of Epic Mickey, a game for Nintendo Wii that chronicles Mickey Mouse through and alternate idea of what Disney utopia is; things are changing. New Era is launching its first hat based off a videogame. And fans are in mixed feelings.

Some fans of the brand feel that it is a good extension, while brand loyalists claim it to be watering down the brand heritage. Either way, expect the house of mouse to soon appear on New Era hats. The duality of this is one that exists in several marketplaces, do you extend your brand or do you remain the unchanging hero. Either way wins and loses fans, and while loyalists may flock to a new location; an entire swarm of hat wearing gamers gets amped up for a release date.

So if people want to have a McDonald’s wedding… who are we to judge, right?

“Hong Kong will be the first city in the world to roll out McDonald’s nuptial packages for couples starting January 1 next year. The package has all the details to attract a wedding banquet cynic or a Golden Arches obsessive: a baked apple pie wedding cake, dress made out of party balloons, kiddie party favors for guests, and of course, catering by McDonald’s. Alcohol is banned to make sure there won’t be drunk party guests acting inappropriately at the family venue, so newly weds will have to toast their union with soft drinks instead.”

*shudder *

I’ll admit, I was one of the (probably) millions of people who scoffed at this story and had a “what’s the world coming to” moment, but then I thought more deeply about the motivations.

We cover a lot of “fandom” in the Brand Sanctuary™ wave. You would have to be a massive fan to include a brand in your wedding -one of the most important days of one’s life.  The Human Truth™ for this wave is “I count on your brand not to let me down”. I’ve seen Bridezilla’s and it looks like a very stressful time, I’m not surprised people seek the safety of the familiar.

After all, that’s one of the key points of what a couple is promising with this ceremony:  I’m willing to commit to you and trust you “till death do us part”.  Every product or service seeks that kind of loyalty.

How many brands can claim the theme wedding?  More than you might think actually, Apple and Waffle House spring to mind….. yes, I did say Waffle House and it makes the McDonald’s one look “High Falutin”.

Are you wooing your customer enough to make them want to “marry” you?  Are they like “family” to you?  Or are you trying to put the “spark” back into the relationship?

Hmmm, am I pushing the metaphor too far by bringing up divorce statistics? probably….  but it’s something to ponder.

Now to go get that “Waffle House Woman” song outta my head…..

CultureWaves® has always been about looking ahead, finding relevance in a world of flash-in-the-pan products, promotions and a stream of pop culture moving fast enough to drown even the strongest swimmers.

We do this by asking one simple question, and that is why. Why do people act the way they do? Why do they purchase what makes them happy, and why does home feel like home. These, among other questions formed the basis of the business.  And from the answers we created the Waves, according to where they sit on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

We do this because people are not numbers, they are not a percentage on a pie chart, and they are definitely not just a demographic in a bar graph. People are free willed, constantly changing beings, and if you can’t change with them and understand why they change, you’re going to simply get left behind.

We ran across this extremely interesting video from TED Conference, where Simon Sinek speaks about the Golden Circle and the reason with starting at Why. And while I won’t give anything away, and I encourage you to watch it, I believe it’s something we hold very close to our beliefs, and that is why it struck such a chord with us.

If you’d like more information on how we can work towards understanding your own why, or are just curious as to what we have to offer to help you be first faster, please contact us at info@culturewav.es or 1-800-545-4085.

But it’s a thing that grows curiouser in the fact that I think many people, especially on Marvel’s end and within the theater community are very interested to see how the little musical-that-almost-didn’t-happen fairs on the stage circuit; especially during a slump in Spider-Man related hype, with the last Spider-Man movie being miserable, a new video game coming out and yet another “reboot” on the way to spin Spider-Man back into his angsty teen roots.

This of course, like most things, paved the way for other things.

Things like The Intergalactic Nemesis: A Live Action Graphic Novel.

The stage version of The Intergalactic Nemesis projects the comic book artwork panel-by-panel while three actors perform the voices, one foley artist creates the sound effects, and one keyboardist plays the score, all live.

So comics made their way into literature, college curriculums, movies, video games, pop culture and “vintage” shirts all over the world. Now they’re making their way into theater. The Spider-Man musical seems ridiculous at best; a spectacle that will be seen more for the freak show aspect of it rather than genuine entertainment value. It will be a property that banks on curiosity and star power (All music written by Bono and The Edge of U2, directed by Julie Taymor of The Lion King fame).

This other bit though, is something different.

Intergalactic Nemisis seems more….viable. The fact that they’re not recreating the comics, but simply adding to them, giving them another dimension as it were, puts it on an altogether separate platform than Turn Off The Dark. Hopefully this will open the door for more well known comic performances. I would love to see a Live Action rendition of say Scud: The Disposable Assassin or Transmetropolitan.

It also reminds me of the film A Prairie Home Companion, which is fantastic.

Here’s episodes one of Nemesis in two parts below. Enjoy.