Faris Yakob - Genius Steals - PSFK 2015 Update from PSFK on Vimeo.
I did a 6 minute talk at the PSFK NYC Conference.
The theme was Live, Work, Play Better so I told the story of how I've been trying to optimize those aspects of my life and why you shouldn't take that, or anyone's life, as a guide for your own.
Henry very kindly interviewed me for his blog about Paid Attention.
Part 1 and Part 2 are up so far.
Here is one question to whet your appetite to click through - I'm really happy with it and people seem to be enjoying it.
You have a very interesting section in the book about the emergence of street artist Banksy. What can advertisers learn from the Banksy phenomenon?
Banksy is an attention hacker like no one else in this generation, a modern day Warhol.
All of his work is designed to invite debate, to get into the news, to hack culture. Every stunt, every collection, is differently delivered, wrapped in mystery, laughing at and with society, advertising and the art world.
His concerns almost always reflect concerns of the time, he has clear values and well established viewpoints, he appropriates culture as much as creating it, leveraging old schemas to explain new ideas. He utilizes technology but never fetishes it.
He manages the almost impossible balancing act of being one of the world’s most commercially successful artists but without any hint of corporate acquiescence or sense that money is a motivator.
He easily traverses media, from art, to film, through PR, events, carefully curated digital spaces, protecting his brand by being utterly distinguishable in whatever he does.
It’s hard to imagine a better role model for a marketer, but that of course doesn’t mean it’s easy to steal his genius. -