Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant signs pairs of the new Nike KD IV Coppers for select fans in Oklahoma City, Friday, Dec., 23, 2011. (Photo by Alonzo J. Adams)

This past December, NBA superstar Kevin Durant (KD), with the help of MKTG INC and Nike Basketball, set out in his conversion van to give away pairs of his Nike Zoom kicks, known as the “KD IV Copper.”  The shoe’s unique copper colorway was developed for his Christmas Day matchup with the Orlando Magic.

KD gave away the highly anticipated shoes to fans at three different locations. The twist? No one knew where those locations were ahead of time.

To match KD’s humble demeanor, MKTG INC avoided in-store chaos with a grassroots approach that built a groundswell online. KD posted teasers about the activation via Twitter, giving fans a heads up that they’d need to keep their eyes open to score a free pair.

By featuring destinations from KD’s ‘Basketball Never Stops’ commercial, MKTG INC tied the programming to the brand, while giving fans an intimate experience with their local star.  KD tweeted the destinations in real-time, as fans flocked from all over Oklahoma City for a chance to win a pair of the KD IV Copper and meet the NBA’s quiet superstar.

The response on Twitter was overwhelmingly positive. Over 6000 related tweets were posted over the course of three days, all with one recurring theme: Kevin Durant is awesome (and generous). In fact, a Santa hat-wearing KD made ESPN’s Top 10 Plays on the night before Christmas, spreading Christmas cheer and wishing all a good night.

Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant poses for a group photo with fans and winners of the new Nike KD IV Coppers in Oklahoma City, Friday, Dec., 23, 2011. (Photo by Alonzo J. Adams)

As the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks approaches, there is a strong urge to put those fateful events in context. MKTG EVP Bryan Duffy shares his thoughts about the day and what unfolded afterwards in a guest post for Chief Marketer’s The Big Fat Marketing Blog. Read the full text here.

Monster Mania

What’s the first thing you think when you think of Lady Gaga? If your name is Louis Marino, you think direct-to-consumer marketing.

In the inaugural post for his new column for Fast Company, MKTG’s own Creative Studio head explains what we as experiential marketers can learn from Mother Monster, leaving us with just one question — does this new column make Louis a member of the papa … paparazzi?

Image credit: violet.blue

From Bad Boy to mad man

Ad-industry rag The NY Egotist got a real earful this week when they came by the MKTG Creative Studio for a chat with our own Louis Marino. After 20 years in the music and fashion industries, including 2 as creative director at Bad Boy Entertainment, our man Marino knows a thing or two about keeping beat with the big boys. In the Egotist profile posted here, he talks about how music informs his craft, how celebrities can best avoid Twitter troubles but still engage their audience, and what MKTG’s own future business objectives are (clue: rhymes with Pick Grass).

Image credit: The NY Egotist

Our Social Media Guru of the Galaxy, Francesca, just got back from the SXSW music festival in Austin, so what better way to celebrate her return than with this? A list of social media pet peeves from the bands themselves. Maybe Fran’s team can help them out?

Good news: you CAN take it with you. With E-Tomb, you can keep in touch with
your social networks even from the great beyond. The solar-powered headstone
contains a Bluetooth-enabled device that stores the deceased’s
social-networking data, so all those ranting blog posts, drunken party pics
and hilarious kitty videos can enjoy everlasting life.

Ever had a few too many and gotten behind the computer screen to post about your epic night? Or come home from a seemingly harmless happy hour and then commented on your brother’s Facebook page on how your new nephew looks more like Yoda than a beautiful baby boy? Or maybe you overloaded…and ended up over-sharing?

Now there’s designated damage control: a Social Media Sobriety Test available from Webroot - making the Web a less embarrassing place, one post at a time.

La Blogotheque publishes a series of videos that they refer to as concerts a emporter or take away concerts. Take away concerts are quick, thrown-together performances by fairly well known bands that offer a raw unpolished side of these artists that generally isn’t made public. What makes these videos so interesting is the level of talent that is at the core of these artists and the way this talent becomes even more evident when all the sheen of production is stripped away. Throw in some fantastic cinematography and the backdrop of Paris and you’ve got a result that is always engaging – and sometimes breathtaking.

Some highlights on the site include Sigur Ros in a café, Grizzly Bear singing acapella, Menomena making a local Parisian child boogie, Beirut playing with a full street band (including trash can drums) and Architecture in Helsinki utilizing a choir of onlookers to sing the bass sections of “Heart it Races”.

You can see the entire library of take away shows here.

In the “Social Times” blog I found this article about a new web series called “How to Make it on YouTube.”  It is conceived by David Jewell (18-yo YouTube contributer of over 5 years) and will be acted/directed by Jewell’s comedy group. The series is looking to generate enough funding to complete 9-14 episodes (you can donate the the Kickstarter page) is described as a parody of the HBO series “How to Make it in America.”  From SaxJewell’s YouTube channel comes this description.

Its a live action Drama/Comedy Web-Series about a few of High school graduates wanting and trying to get Big on Youtube in 2010. Now that the Youtube is as big as it is now, things are more competitive, and its now harder to get noticed on Youtube. The Story follows the characters on their Journey to Internet stardom and success. The Series will be very realistic and will show the disappointed, and struggle that comes with trying to become a Youtube star today. Some of those struggles include Accounts getting closed or hacked, balancing life and Youtube, and more importantly, trying to get people watching your videos that you worked so hard on. In 2010 trying to become a Youtube success is a full time job, that requires hard work, dedication, networking, and a thick skin. This series is for anyone who has uploaded a Youtube Video, anyone who wants to become a partner, anyone who has put their all into a video and gotten no views, for anyone who would do anything to make it on Youtube. Its a true Underdog Story.

Public radio – not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about social media. And yet here they are with a simple yet potentially brilliant use of the social web–a real-time feed providing the rhythm of a city.

Starting this week New York Public Radio wants you to share your commuter playlist.

From your posts, they will curate crowdsourced playlists for specific commutes throughout New York.

Imagine mapping the ebb and flow of genres and artists from station to station — beautiful and informative. Nothing reveals a city like cultural connections among its neighborhoods. Get the RSS feed. See Hear you on the 2/3 to Brooklyn.