July 6, 2006
Welcome to Idealog Weekly, the free email newsletter for New Zealand commercial creatives, entrepreneurs and anyone rich with ideas. In this week’s issue: the wisdom of Misery, survey away, football frescoes, a reminder on our Gen C event and the quote of the week. The wisdom of Misery  Things are happening quickly for Tanya ‘Misery’ Thompson. Still only in her early 20s, Thompson is on her way to developing a fashion brand that could stretch well beyond these islands. Don’t let her subversive fashion sense distract you from her business mind; Thompson is keenly aware of the possibilities of her Misery brand and alert to the dangers of knock-offs and over-exposure.
Read our story to learn how Thompson is turning her ideas into a global business. Don’t have time? Read Thompson’s own rules of business: 1. Think global. You’ve got to look beyond New Zealand if you want to make real money. 2. Get your product in front of buyers overseas. Get on a plane, go to trade shows, knock on doors, keep trying. 3. Don’t limit yourself. Keep your options open. The future for Misery clothing includes everything from babywear to couture. Not to mention cosmetics, linens, jewellery, shoes, dolls, and animated film. 4. Making a commercial success of your artwork is a long-term goal. It takes up to ten years to establish your name and brand. 5. Remain true to your vision. All the creatives at Illicit and Misery were thrown out of art school or left early because teachers tried to tamper with their style. 6. Get good advice. If you’re not a natural business brain, form a partnership with someone who is. 7. Keep it real. New Zealand is a great place for creatives to live and work because there is little chance of getting caught up in hype that can destroy artists overseas. Survey away If you haven’t already completed our reader survey, please do—your answers will help us improve our magazine. It will take only ten minutes and there is some prize swag to be won: every completed response we receive will be entered into the prize draw to win a great Nokia 6265 mobile phone from Telecom.  Football frescoes
Germany’s marketing and advertising industries have been working overtime to make the most of the World Cup. Some of the ideas have garnered worldwide attention, such as TBWA’s football tribute to the Sistine Chapel installed at a Cologne railway station and a Munich overpass turned into a massive version of German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. The client, of course, is adidas. We look forward to seeing what adidas and local creatives invent for the Rugby World Cup here in 2011.
The drama den The Dragons’ Den gets better and better. Don’t miss tonight’s episode, sponsored by Idealog, tonight at 8.30 on TV ONE. Generation conversation Jake Pearce received plenty of great feedback from his Generation C cover story in Idealog #3. He’s spent the past few months with his thinking cap on and come up with some new ideas on marketing, advertising and business. Hear Jake at Marketing Association breakfast events this month in Auckland and Wellington, presented in assocation with Idealog and compered by Idealog’s Vincent Heeringa. Register online! Quote of the week “I really love what I do but I am business-minded and I like money.”
—Tanya ‘Misery’ Thompson More at Idealog online Read more on our website: Web exclusives, opinion, Idealog IP and the Idealog blogs. See you at idealog.co.nz. Matt Cooney
Editor
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