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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably aware that last week Apple announced the newest addition to their lineup, the iPad. After months of speculation, leaked specs, pricing suppositions and hundreds of leaked photos and imagined renderings, Steve Jobs came on stage and showed off what he calls a “magical and revolutionary” device. The initial response was mostly ho-hum at best and the throng expecting a life changing device was left mostly unsatisfied.

Personally, I was initially excited and intrigued when Steve first showed off the device, but as he went through his demo and brought game developers on stage to show off their work, then highlighted items I found to be extremely dull (I’m looking at you iWork) I found myself less and less interested in the device and instead thinking about “what could have been.” Judging from the response I’m seeing on most gadget focused websites, I’m not alone.

But then I took a step back, this is a company that is forecast their Q1 revenue at over $15B, so obviously they’re doing something right. In looking at their product launch, there were many elements that jumped out at me at that I can apply to my business process. These elements fall on the agency side as well as on the client side. Let’s take a look at some of these.

1. Build a buzz

I’m not breaking new ground when I say this, but no one knows how to build a buzz better than Apple. If you follow their activity closely, you’ve probably been expecting a table announcement for several months. There are literally thousands of websites who do nothing but speculate on what Apple is going to do next. Apple of course never addresses any of these items publicly (as anyone who has ever asked an Apple Genius knows firsthand) but more importantly, they never try to stop the speculation.

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A group called Unplug design has come up with a new idea for the UN and Red Cross. They designed packages for the UN and Red Cross to deliver supplies in, but these aren’t just the regular boxes that the citizens of these third world countries are used to.

These new packages have patterns on them that can be used to make a soccer ball once the contents of the packages are taken out. In countries where children make soccer balls from dirt, string, coconut leaves or plastic bags the organizations could take time to help the children put together the balls and create positive relationships with the children.

For more information visit Unplug Design.

Congratulations goes out to our Oscar and Christina Lutteroth who had their first baby early this morning. Baby Sebastian welcome to the world!

Today the Hansen’s team as well as our very own Keith and Cindy are taking to the streets to spread awareness for the Hansen’s Loves SF contest. They are going to be out and about almost every day from now until September 27th sharing free samples of Hansen’s and getting the information about the contest out. The street team is going to be driving around in these awesome vehicles, designed in house by Jet. You can see more pics of the street team in action on Hansen’s facebook fan page.

All of us at the office are really excited about this contest. We are eagerly awaiting new submissions and we can’t wait to share the tweets and photos taken by the street team. They are going to be posting to @HansensNatural as they cruise the city.

While I am excited to see who wins each week as well as who wins the grand prize I am really excited about the fact that Hansen’s partnered up with The National Gardening Association and are going to donate 10 cents for every vote made on the Hansens Loves SF website. Each time you vote San Francisco School Gardens are going to reap the benefits. How awesome is that? Kids will get a change to learn how to grow gardens and they will learn the benefits of fresh, healthy foods.

Needless to say, I am going to be getting as many people as possible to vote, whether they live in San Francisco or not. Helping students learn about healthy, sustainable living in any city is a benefit to every city.

When you have some time, check out what’s going on!

I have decided that today on Facebook, PW blog and twitter it is Ziggy day. A day to look back at all the good and bad times we have had with him here in the office.

The good times are definitely when he is not barking. Sometimes he will sit on Cindy’s lap or mine, sometimes he will lay curled in a ball in his bed or in the corner behind Cindy’s desk.

The good times are when Cindy comes in and Ziggy goes charging full speed at her. Cindy is definitely Ziggy’s favorite.

The good times are also when you get Ziggy to chase his stuffed bunny because he slides all over the wood floor and can’t fully get a good grip to stop when he wants to.

Ziggy is good to have around if you need a scapegoat, for instance, Keith asks “who ate my hot tamales?” and we can say “Ziggy did it!” Nevermind that the hot tamales are in a candy jar at the front desk that requires thumbs to open. Ziggy will still take the blame like a champ, tail wagging the whole time.

Ziggy is a wonderful substitute for an instant vacuum if we drop something in the kitchen. He is also a good warning system for incoming people.

The not so great side is when his warning system means he barks and drives Keith crazy. Then Ziggy has two crimes to answer for (barking and Hot Tamales of course.)

The human ear trying to listen on the phone might have troubles doing so if Ziggy decides that the mailman/mailwoman needs to be barked at. Barking during conference calls is hard to explain. All you can say is, “that’s Ziggy!”

Over the weeks and months we have come to create a pretty good environment with Ziggy though. We’ve found some solutions for barking, and he keeps us company when we need a friend.

I’ve come to look forward to seeing Ziggy run through the door every morning and miss his presence greatly when he misses a day of work.

Ziggy has become so much of a part of the team that he told me he needed his own Facebook page. Considering the fact that he doesn’t have fingers he has designated me to be his official Facebook page keeper upper (he’s working on his grammar, forgive him).

If you are ever wondering what Ziggy is doing from day to day, or week to week just swing by Facebook and visit his group:

9-to-5 Dogs

Who doesn’t have fond memories involving a Polaroid camera? The unmistakable sound of the camera spitting out your image. The anticipation as the shot slowly develops. The instant gratification and keepsake. So it’s no wonder that there was such a public outcry when Polaroid announced it was discontinuing production of its instant film last year.

The Impossible Project to the rescue! Led by Austrian photographer Florian Kaps, the project’s aim is to reinvent instant film from the ground up and have it ready for production by next year. Read more about their remarkable story here.

As everything is quickly becoming digital, what is our fascination with the analog? Whatever it is, Polaroid isn’t going anywhere soon. There are hundreds of Flickr groups dedicated to Polaroid film. A documentary film in the works about the last year of Polaroid. There are dozens of iPhone apps that mimic the look and feel of Polaroid. And let’s not forget the 2003 mantra “Shake it like a Polaroid picture.” Any others that I’m missing? What analog antiques are you holding on to?

UPDATE: Great news! Because of The Impossible Project’s efforts, Polaroid’s parent company has announced that they will relaunch some of their most popular Instant Cameras! More here.

Image: David Hockney via

While most days this summer have been sunny and bright, today is looking a bit cloudy. Oh the joys of working close to the beach. While there are a good amount of perks that go along with our location there are also some downsides. The lovely employees came up with a few of each to share with you.

Perks:

• you get to see the  beach from the window (or the ones with the best offices do)
• You can take your break at the beach
• There is a nice ocean breeze that comes in so temperature stays comfortable

Downsides:

• You see the surfers enjoying the waves from your office
• There is a barrage of bare feet that attacks your eyes with no remorse
• You can get sand in your sandwich, burrito or even clothes if you decide to eat at the beach
• Seagulls. Loud, greedy seagulls.

All in all, I would say that the perks definitely make up for the downsides. During the summer we have mostly blue skies (when the marine layer hasn’t graced us with its presence), we have the fresh sea air and a beautiful place to get away and unwind on our lunch breaks. So despite seagulls, sand and surfers we love the location of our home away from home.

What is your office environment like? Would you like to be by the beach or do you prefer the hustle and bustle of downtown? Or is working from home your absolute dream? Tell us in the comments.

I am constantly impressed by the amount of creative people doing great things to effect change in whatever way they can. One example that I recently came across is the DoGood Movement. Started by three college students, DoGood is an iPhone app that suggests a different act of goodness for the user each day.

What if 300,000 people did the same random act of kindness in one day? DoGood leverages millions of iPhones/iPods to unite individual acts of kindness into a significant movement. Every day. Across the world. For 365 days.

This is perfect for people like me who are never without their iPhone and might need a little daily reminder to give someone a hug (one of my favorites so far). Download DoGood for free from the iTunes store and be sure to check out what ParkerWhite is doing to help fight hunger in San Diego.