5 Blogs Before Lunch

The faux-world of Dunder Mifflin shows up in the real-world of Staples office supply stores

Until recently, Dunder Mifflin was a fictional paper company created for the plotline of the NBC comedy “The Office.” The storyline had the company struggling to compete with real-life office supply chains like Staples, and OfficeMax.

But now, faux-life comedy TV has merged with real-life business with the introduction of the Dunder Mifflin brand of copy paper for the Staples online outlet Quill.com.

The Staples brand licensing deal with NBC will see real life branding of a copy paper line with advertising slogans taken from the show—lines  such as "Our motto is, 'Quabity First' " and "Get Your Scrant on,"

Of course, the Staples/NBC deal is not the first Hollywood-to-Main Street licensing deal. Nestle’s Willy Wonka Candy Company was created sin 1971 as a packaging and marketing gimmick using the popularity of the film adaptations of from Roald Dahl's Charlie & the Chocolate Factory

Think of it as the opposite of product placement—the process of real-world brands embedding their products in film and TV sets and scripts. In this case, it is a faux-world brand being embedded into the real-world.

See also: NBC’s website for the faux Dunder Mifflin brand, and Dunder Mifflin-branded clothing in the NBC store

Oil Story 3: Canadian oil company renames itself Pixar...seriously

Paramount Resources, a Canadian oil company with a name connected to one film company--Paramount, has renamed a subsidary after another film company--Pixar.

As strange as this sounds, it appears to be a legitimate naming shift, with a press release issued on the company's website.

Paramount Resources Ltd. (TSX:POU) ("Paramount" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the reorganization of all of the Company's oil sands and carbonate bitumen interests into a new wholly-owned subsidiary, Pixar Petroleum Corp. ("Pixar"). The reorganization is being undertaken to create a focused, self-funding oil sands entity in order to accelerate the development of Paramount's bitumen interests.

We look forward to their release of Oil Story 3.

Additional sources: Boing Boing and The Disney Blog

Funny Siri Commercial Parody: Husband and Wife Argument

Fab.com: A Black Friday Sale All The Time

Rocky McGredy takes a look at Fab.com, which started out as a social network for the gay community, then successfully transformed itself into a flash-sale online store that sells well-designed products such as furniture, jewelry and art. The brand recently announced it had signed up 1 million registered users, and was selling about $1million in merchandising every week. I’d say that was a successful pivot. Now, read what RockyMcG has to say...

For those of you who haven’t heard of Fab.com yet, I guess it’s not that surprising. It’s definitely not on that Amazon level yet, but what is? Either way, Fab isn’t really your average shopping site anyway. No search bar in the upper-right hand corner, no angle to why you should use that site over the many other options out there. It’s not really about that. Fab is about being cool. You know, being trendy and awesome and unique. It’s like the Sharper Image for hipsters– and, being pretty hip myself, I’m pretty stoked off of it.

Basically, logging on to Fab goes like this for me: I login with my account (which, I had to be invited to the site to get), I click through the various sections of intriguingly designed and colorful things, and I drool over the thought of owning such items. It’s a dangerous idea, having the limited inventory that fab does, because you tend to not need anything on the site. But that doesn’t mean you don’t want it all. I can’t quite tell how they do it. I think it’s a combination of things. Fab keeps a limited inventory of products with incredibly cool designs, discounts them majorly, and puts a time limit on how long you can keep things in your cart. If you don’t check out fast, there’s a possibility your cool and inexpensive things can disappear forever! 

It’s like a Black Friday sale, all the time.

The point is, this idea works. Fab is apparently reporting over one million in sales every week. This is huge considering they were originally built on a failing model. Though, they weren’t originally in the business of sales at all. Before Fab was in the business of selling well-designed products to the impulsive and trendy, they were a social networking-site geared toward gay audiences. It’s kind of broad to make the connection between the two iterations of the site, but both ideas are pretty “fab” in my book. 

I think it’s a pretty amazing story, though. Here’s a business that had one idea that they thought was really going to succeed, but after a year things didn’t quite pan out. So, instead of changing up their tactics for gaining members, they changed what they were doing entirely. The only social aspect of the original Fab that’s left is the fact that you can link it to your Facebook. Before their remodel Fab had only reached about 150,000 members, now they have over a million.

I guess it makes sense, though. Jason Goldberg, the CEO of Fab, seems like a pretty intuitive guy. He also founded Social Median, a news site that sold in a heartbeat to Xing. Not to mention that Ashton Kutcher, who has changed his hat quite a bit in his career as well, is on board as an investor. Considering he’s a young Steve Jobs look-alike, I’d say that this company has a bright future. Oh, I guess it’s that fact and that they convinced me to buy plastic watches like I’ve never bought plastic watches before. Oh wait, I never did buy plastic watches until now.

American Express CMO John Hayes on the "Social Consumer" (at Pivot Conference)

I recently had the pleasure of attending the Pivot Conference in New York. One of the speakers, John Hayes CMO of American Express, was particularly articualte on how the social consumer is changing how we market. His talk focuses on three organizing principles of navigating the social web: 1). Speed. 2). The art of isteinging 3). The complete loss of control:

First Wave of “Social Web” is Over from Pivot Conference on Vimeo.

The Melt disrupts the concept of grilled-cheese-and-soup

Rocky McGredy discusses how The Melt, a new chain of grilled-cheese-and-soup fast-casual restaurants founded by Jonathan Kaplan--Flip video founder-turned restaurateur, measures up.

Recently, the staff of 5 Blogs Before Lunch took a field trip to investigate a new “comfort food” establishment in San Francisco called The Melt. I don’t feel right calling it a fast food establishment, but I also don’t feel right calling it a sit-down restaurant. The Melt is an entirely new breed of eatery. If it’s not their all-things-grilled-cheese-and-soup menu that gets you, it’s how incredibly cool they are that will.

The first thing you’ll notice about The Melt when you walk in is how familiar it feels. Now, I’ve only been to one location and I’m not sure if every other one is a cookie cutter, but I’m saying I’d be alright if each location was identical. The light friendly tones of maple-wood, and the white brick walls make me think of an ice cream parlor. Not to mention their logo is reminiscent of an era when businesses felt they had to prove themselves reliable, not to show how sleek and shiny they were.

Though the design choices may be a throwback, the way The Melt works is not a throwback at all. It’s sort of like Star Trek. I mean, not like Star Trek in the sense like I feel like I’m in outer space. That would be geeky. I mean, like Star Trek in the sense that the universe has been developed in a way that technology is an aide in every aspect of society. Making each external action easier and more instantaneous. Okay, the Star Trek reference is still geeky.

As soon as you order your meal and provide your initials, the progress of the preparation your meal is displayed on a digital board hanging in the store. You also have the ability to order online and scan a QR code in store to skip the line. The soda fountains are comically sized beer taps, allowing you to select a soda and then pull the lever to dispense.

As for the food, the soups are pureed together, giving them an interesting colorful look but they still manage to taste like what they’ve been labeled as. Every utensil you use has the ability to either be composted or recycled, and when you purchase your meal the cashier asks you to round up your tax to the next dollar and donate it to a cause. It’s truly a unique experience to visit this establishment. It’s very apparent that The Melt had a clear business strategy in mind when they opened their first shop. This is no mom-and-pop venture.

So, how does The Melt manage to do it? This was clearly the creative brain-child of someone trying to build a lasting business. The Melt is the new fast food. It’s the “disruptive technology” that’s going to put the McDonalds’ of the world to shame. It would only make sense for such an idea to come from Jonathan Kaplan, who also disrupted the HD camcorder market with Flip video. Which, in case you forgot, was a company that Cisco bought at one point for $590 million. Congratulations Jonathan.

Even better, I think that this is just the beginning. Remember how a million affordable HD camcorders sprouted up after the Flip? I think we might see some similar food establishments in the near future. Hell, Super Duper Burger feels a tiny bit like The Melt already. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’d mind seeing Ronald grimace... or the Colonel fry.

Hover Effect: Realtor uses an electronic helicopter to go to new heights for the perfect aerial photo

Real Estate advertising is often mocked and ridiculed for bad taste, near false-advertising claims, airbrushed photos of realtors and low-tech tactics.

But one real estate sales team is taking their advertising to new heights <pun intended> by filming aerial videos shot from an electronic helicopter. The real estate team in question is Teed Haze, and the house is just around the corner from the 5 Blogs Before Lunch clubhouse on Washington Street in San Francisco (you can even see the clubhouse in a couple of the frames). It is also located in the exact place where the Zodiac killer claimed his last victim--just a bit of San Francisco trivia for you.

But I digress...

Aerial photography used to be an expensive proposition, but now with Hover Effect, a lithium battery-powered craft small enough to take off from a patio (see photo) can be used by the masses.

The electronic helicopters can fly at altitudes up to 400 feet. Hover Effect shoots with an 18-megapixel Canon DSLR Camera. in full HD Video. The images being recorded by the helicopter (both stills and video) can be transmitted down to the ground for the client to see while the helicopter is still in the air.

And as for the house in question, it is available for the very affordable price of $8,900,000.

Source: CurbedSF

Benetton introduces UNHATE project...imagining world leaders, and you and I, locked in a kiss

A new campaign from Benetton features world leaders with lips locked to launch the UNHATE project, a new Benetton foundation of the same name, launched by Alessandro Benetton, executive deputy chairman of the Benetton Group. The foundation "seeks to contribute to the creation of a new culture of tolerance, to combat hatred, building on Benetton’s underpinning values."

According to Benetton "These are symbolic images of reconciliation - with a touch of ironic hope and constructive provocation - to stimulate reflection on how politics, faith and ideas, even when they are divergent and mutually opposed, must still lead to dialogue and mediation."

World leaders locked in a kiss include North Korean's Kim Jong-Il and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, among others.

The website also includes a kissing wall, where visitors can upload images and write a sentence to let the world know what visitors most "unhate". The system will randomly match your image with other pictures.

A tweet could win you a new Citroën DS5

Twitter users get the chance to win a new Citroën DS5 by posting the most persuasive tweets in the first ever Twitter Race.

Starting on November 17 in Amersfoort, Netherlands, Citroen will sponsor a road rally being directed by Twitter followers. Tweets will navigate the car on the one-day user-led tour around the Netherlands. A co-pilot will instruct the driver through the course--as directed by Tweets. At the end of the race, which is timed and can be monitored on a Facebook page, the driver will stop, hold up a sign with the most recent Twitter message and the first person who sees it and tweets back wins the car.

“We wanted to bring the brand DNA of Citroën 'Creative Technology' alive in this unique project and stay close to our agency philosophy of digital at the core. In Perfect Fools we found a very special partner that showed us how human and entertaining an online experience can be,” stated Peter Hamelinck, creative director at Euro RSCG Amsterdam.

The company is planning a wider integrated campaign beginning in January to broadcast the DS5’s February launch.

Sources: brandchannel and Adrants

Penn State hires Ketchum for communications crisis management of child sex abuse scandal

The Board of Trustees of Penn State University has hired a crisis communications specialist to help them deal with the brand reputation crisis brought on by the child sexual abuse scandal connected to the school's football coaches, and university administration.

The school has hired the massive Ketchum, owned by the Omnicom Group on November 6, a day after a former football coach was arrested and charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse of eight young boys over a 15-year period.

Ad Age reports that Ketchum assisted with a press conference two days later during which the vice chairman announced that the school's head football coach, and its university were stepping down.

From Ad Age:

It's likely that the connection between the PSU board and Ketchum was made through an existing or former agency client. Ketchum is better known as a consumer PR shop rather than a crisis-communications firm, but it has a team of around 50 crisis executives domestically. It's understood that a few team members are currently on the ground at PSU's campus.

Bank of America has been brandhijacked on Google+: You will sit down and shut up, or we will foreclose on you.”

A Google+ brand page for Bank of America has been set up to mock and satirize the financial institution. The page includes unattractive photos of bank executives, and includes posts like this one:

“Starting tomorrow, all Occupy Wall Street protestors with Bank of America accounts around the country will have their assets seized as part of BofA’s new Counter-Financial-Terrorism policy,” reads a post on November 8, “You will sit down and shut up, or we will foreclose on you.”

Bank of America--you've been brandhijacked.

Of course, fake accounts are nothing new. Twitter has dealt with this for quite some time, opting for "verifying" of accounts when their legitimacy is questions. Apparently though, Google+ allows anyone to create a Plus Page for any business, so long as they link to that business’s official website.

Clearly, there is no question that this is an impostor-generated site.

Note: the site has since been removed from Google+

Source: Talking Points Memo

Catvertising. It is persuasive, unignorable, relevant and rememberable: P.U.R.R.

Everything is moving to cat videos.

"To stay on top of the ever-changing advertising landscape, john st. has opened the world's first cat video division. With production, filming and seeding all in-house. Ask yourself, what can cat videos do for your business?"

CrackBerry addicts have sobered up, and moved on. Will RIM and BlackBerry disrupt themselves, or brush off the signs of trouble?

Clearly, the BlackBerry is going the way of the PalmPilot, the Motorola FlipPhone, and the slide-rule and the abacus.

Two years ago, BlackBerry owned 43% of the U.S. smartphone market. That number has dropped to 19% (according to ComScore) and will no doubt continue to fall. The company's stock price has fallen 70% since the beginning of this year, making the company worth less than the net value of its property, patents and other assets.

There are four contributing factors to this decline:

1. Consumers who previously loved their BlackBerry's as a superior choice over regular phones now have options with other smartphone devices like the iPhone and Andorid devices.
2. Corporate IT is loosing up it's control over communication security, and letting employees choose the device they use for communication (a stranglehold that BlackBerry used to own)
3. Consumers have been beaten up by outages, and numerous product and software delays--all of which have contributed to a reputation of a not-cool, antiquated gadget. "I'm like that old lady driving an Oldsmobile in a parking lot when everyone else is driving BMWs," said Jesica Ryzenberg, 32, a BlackBerry owner in San Francisco.
4. And finally, and most importantly, Research-in-Motion (the company that makes BlackBerry) failed to disrupt itself. It clung on to old technology, and the belief that their fans, those people who were so zealous that they called themselves CrackBerries would stick with the brand no matter what. but, "Clearly the market has moved on," said Chris Jones, principal analyst at research firm Canalys. "From applications to multimedia to the quality of the cameras to the quality of the browsing experience, it's lacking in all of those areas, plus more."

Apple is a prime example of a company who knows how to disrupt itself and move its customers with them. They've move us from the desktop, to the laptop, to the iPhone, to the iPad. But RIM executives don't seem to understand the need for disruption, and appear to be brushing off signs of trouble. They say BlackBerry continues to have a loyal customer base of 70 million subscribers, many of them professionals and young tech users, and point to a marketplace that has yet to be fully tapped: In the U.S., only 37% of cellphone users have a smartphone, said Rick Costanzo, regional managing director of RIM's Americas division. "We are in the very early, early stages of a huge global transition, and we have everything to play for. This game is far from over," he said. "Our challenge is to educate the marketplace."

Don't count on it.

Source: The Los Angeles Times

Consumers answer the "Call of Duty" with first day sales topping $400 million

Actvision, the makers of "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" can now claim the trophy for the biggest video game first-day launch ever--with $400 million in sales, and of over 6.5 million units sold in the U.S. and the U.K. in the 24-hours after the game's release.

The company took a big risk on the launch, which makes up one-third of the company's $4 billion in annual revenue. Activision's strategy is to focus on releasing fewer titles, and banking on each of them being big hits. The "putting most of our eggs in one basket" strategy is a risky one, but one that (at least in the short-term) has paid off for the company.

Activision releases game titles similar to the approach that movie companies releases feature films--hoping for a big launch day, then hyping the big first-day numbers to stimulate immediate follow-on sales.

"We believe the launch of 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3' is the biggest entertainment launch of all time in any medium, and we achieved this record with sales from only two territories," Chief Executive Bobby Kotick said.

This strategy is all well and good, until one of their big title release misses the mark and shatters revenue projections, or when a title can't hype 1st day sales to stimulate follow-on numbers. Risky business, but one with big rewards if it works.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Jenny Craig has a slimmed-down name (just call her "Jenny"), and a slimmed-down spokesperson (post-baby weight Mariah Carey)

Madonna. Cher. Tiger. Angelina. And now, Jenny.

Jenny Craig, the diet brand, is changing up its image with a new approach to dieting which they say is more holistic, and goes beyond simple dieting. To signal their change of approach, they've adopted a new name--just "Jenny." and hired a new spokesperson.

"'Jenny' has a greater vision," CEO Dana Fiser told brandchannel. "We can do good work. Overweight is, of course, a huge part of the population. And we're concerned about children. We really think with this new brand platform and the American Heart Association that we can help modify behaviors with mothers and also influence the behaviors of children."

In addition to the name change, they've signed-on a slimmed-down post baby weight Mariah Carey (who you could just call "Mariah") to serve as the first spokesperson under the "Jenny" moniker. In her first campaign, Mariah will not show off the standard "before and after" pictures (can you image he agreeing to that?) Rather, the new Jenny will only to show the "after" Carey.

"It was important to see her coming out looking absolutely incredible," Fiser said. "This is a huge strategic shift in our branding and advertising campaign. Not the process of the [weight-loss] journey, but bringing her out and having her messages be more about higher-minded causes." Jenny plans a new focus on community-boosting work at its 600 U.S. locations.

CBS recasts the Early Show with Gayle King and Charlie Rose.

CBS clearly knows that rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic will not make a darn bit of difference to their Early Show ratings. It was last December when they fired Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez and brought in Chris Wragge, Erica Hill and Jeff Glor. Now Wragge is out (and headed to local affiliate WCBS), and they are shifting Hill and Glor to lesser roles. But the big news is the two new additions they are introducing to morning television--two unexpected replacements with major interview chops.

Starting in January, Gayle King and Charlie Rose will be chattin' live as the sun comes up over CBS.

Hill and Glor will helm the Early Show until 7:30, when PBS talk-show legend will stroll in at 7:30. Rose will be followed by Oprahite Gayle King at 8:00.

Rose and King during the morning hours? It seems CBS is serious about hiring some A-list interview talent.

And, according to a source to The New York Times, the new team will not be light on the issues. "We're not going to be sipping chardonnay and dressing up in costumes. There are really serious issues that morning shows should be talking about right now." The new format will emphasize hard news and use a conversational approach like “Morning Joe” on MSNBC and “The View” on ABC.

The only question left seems to be whether Charlie Rose will be capping off his night with the Early Show, or changing-up his late-night habits and waking up early for his new gig.

We all know Charlie Rose for his late night PBS talk-show. But now, he's been recast as one of the hosts of CBS's Early Show. His shift will start at 7:30 am. Clearly, Charlie's best bet is to stay up all night, and bed-down AFTER the show is over.

From The NY Post:

"How will Charlie Rose wake up for the “Early Show?” TV insiders can’t comprehend how CBS plans to rouse the notorious night owl for its revamped 7 a.m. morning show..."

Starbucks to open new chain of Juice Bars, hoping to encourage a daily detox, as well as a daily caffeine fix

Starbucks is planning to launch a new brand with a health and wellness focus, in a head-on attack to Jamba Juice. The cornerstone of the new effort comes from the acquisition of Evolution Fresh, a small Southern California-based upscale fruit and vegetable juice maker, for $30 million. The new retail concept is set to launch in 2012 an will have a new name (yet to be announced).

Evolution Fresh juice is currently in grocery stores such as Safeway, Costco and Whole Foods on the West Coast. The company offers juices such as tangerine and organic ginger limeade. Starbucks plans to extend the distribution of the new brand to more retailers, including its own cafes. Starbucks also plans to open juice bars next year that will sell the Evolution Fresh brand as well as health foods.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said that acquiring Evolution Fresh is an important step toward entering the $1.6-billion premium juice business and the $50-billion health foods market. "Our intention is, over time, we would have a national footprint of juice stores positioned for health and wellness," Schultz said in a conference call.

The new chain will "redefine the super-premium juice category and experience" and offer a "wholesome portfolio" of food and beverages, Starbucks said. Starbucks will replace PepsiCo's Naked brand juices in their coffee shops with Evolution Fresh beverages.

Source: WSJ and the Los Angeles Times

Nickelodeon to launch primetime programming for working moms. Set your channel favorites to "NickMom"

Nickelodeon is launching a new slate of evening programming targeted at moms. Apparently, the Mom's witching hour(s) is 9pm to 1am--after they come home from work, and settle the kids into bed (or doing homework).The old fashioned broadcast networks used to call this "primetime" with programming for the entire family.

For decades, specific women's targeted programming existed during the day--from soap operas to Oprah, but now networks are acknowledging that women, like men, are working during the day, busy afterwork with family duties, and don't settle in to watch television until after 9 pm.

Lifetime, Oxygen, and Bravo know that women are watching at these hours, and now Nickelodeon wants to steal a sub-segment of this audience and is targeting moms with their "NickMom" block.

Nick is catering to an audience of women aged 40 and under, especially mothers who watched the channel when they were children. The Wall Street Journal reports that about 25% of mothers today watched Nick when they were kids, according to Nielsen.

Programming is said to include a "Real Mom" reality show and a show called "Double Mom," where a comedian takes a mother's place for a day.

The network is also considering the airing of old episodes of "The Brady Brunch" with pop-up bubbles showing what Carol Brady and other characters were really thinking. The idea is to create content that "appeals to the sense of humor that mothers share," says Cyma Zarghami, president of Nickelodeon Networks.

A Gleeful protest: Two "watchdog" organizations find an opportunity to promote themselves by criticizing tonight's episode of Glee

Two conservative organizations are making a stink about an episode of the TV series Glee. Of course, the fact that they're raising a ruckus in advance of the airing of the show (tonight at 8pm on Fox) only goes to create publicity for the show itself (and for the organization's themselves).

The storyline of the show has several of the characters (one male/male couple and one male female/male could) having sex for the first time. Of course there are those who will approve, and those who will disapprove of such behavior.

One organization, the Parents Television Council, has decided to take the position that a storyline that includes high school-aged students having sex should not be allowed on television. They say “The fact that Glee intends to not only broadcast, but celebrate children having sex is reprehensible,”

The other organization, the Culture and Media Institute, says that Glee has “waged a relentless campaign of liberal propaganda and pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable on broadcast TV” and that with tonight’s episode “the show is now stepping up its campaign of homosexual promotion.”

"Propaganda?" "Promotion?" yes. These two "watchdog" groups are doing a good job of promoting, and using propaganda to push their own agenda. Which is fine, especially since it also gives voice to the opposing point of view--and potentially much higher viewership of tonight's episode of Glee.

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Time for an upgrade: Ford offers a software fix on a flash drive for MyFord Touch users

The Ford Motor Company has been using a digital-dashboard-control system—called MyFord Touch in many of its models the last couple of years. And now, it is time for an upgrade.

Just like an upgrade to your PC's operating system, or new version of computer software, Ford can now upgrade dashboard controls in existing vehicles, without you having to buy a whole new car to get the latest gadgetry.

Of course, Ford doesn't want to upgrade your dashboard too often, or you'd never want to buy a new car. So, in the case of MyFord touch, they waited until there were enough complaints--and a drop in consumer confidence in the brand, before they offered the upgrade.

The MyFord Touch upgrade, contained on a flash drive, will be sent to customers early next year. The look and feel of the digital dashboard which controls functions like the radio and climate controls allows drivers to use a touch screen display, or voice commands to control the system. More than 1,000 screens in the system have been redesigned to be less cluttered and easier to use, with the screen's virtual buttons responding twice as quickly, and the voice-recognition system working more rapidly.

Speaking of rapid response, the new system can be upgrade by the car's owner (or by a dealer if you wish) in a matter of minutes, using a flash drive.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the software fix is in response to massive complaints by Ford owners. They report that consumer complaints about MyFord Touch have dragged down Ford's standing in some widely followed surveys of vehicle quality. Consumer Reports earlier this year withdrew its recommendations from the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX, citing difficulties using MyFord Touch. The magazine in late October said Ford's overall reliability ranking fell to 20th place from 10th place, in part because of MyFord Touch.

If only they had listened to their customers earlier, or better yet, improved the system themselves without waiting for a barrage of complaints, Ford would be in better shape than it finds itself now--playing catch-up with a software fix.

Wells Fargo to launch Abbot Downing, the bank for the 1%

Wells Fargo is set to open a new bank for those with $50 million to invest. You know, what the Occupy movement calls "the 1%." The bank will be called Abbot Downing, named after a 19th century custom carriage builder who catered to the wealthy.

The timing of the launch could not be worse from a public relations standpoint.

Just as Wall Street is under attack for its lack of attention to the 99% of Americans who DON'T have $50 million, the country's fourth largest bank has just announced plans to open a specialized firm with $27.5 billion in client assets and about 300 people on staff-- including psychologists and staff dedicated to building family genealogies to cater to the super rich. The first branch is set to launch in April 2012 in Chicago. If successful, WFB will open Abbot Downing branches in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Scottsdale, Denver, Houston, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Naples, Jacksonville and Palm Beach.

Financial institutions are looking for new, profitable segments in which to invest, on the heels of the financial crisis caused by the lending institutions, and the increase in government oversight banning fees deemed to be anti-consumer.

Consumers are still looking for a bank who will put customers first.

Occupy Wall Street crowdfunds a television advertising buy

Occupy Wall Street is planning to broadcast their message on cable television to help Americans to better understand what they are protesting. 

Through a crowdfunded media buy, supporters of the Occupy movement will spend around $6,000 on more than 100 commercial spots this weekend. A crowd of 168 people contributed the funds to run a 30-second spot produced by a supporter of the movement. The team responsible for the fund-raising hopes to raise more money and run more ads in the future. This spot was shot in New York City at Occupy Wall Street and produced by director David Sauvage and composer Glenn Grossman.

The media buy includes Bloomberg Business TV, ESPN, CBS Sports, History International, Outdoor Channel, Gayle King Show, Grey’s Anatomy and Friends on the DISH network, Direct TV and Verizon Fios. In addition, the spot will air on  Fox News seven times. You can check out this and other videos on the producer's YouTube channel, and check out media space fund-raising efforts similar to Occupy Wall Street on Loudsauce.