In The News
October 22, 2008
Eliot Van Buskirk
Wired.com
Cellphones are the new lighters, with tens, hundreds or thousands of them being waved at concerts around the world as if they were lighters waved aloft by the crowds at '70s stadium concerts of yore.
Don't believe me? Go to a show – or, if you don't do that anymore, rent U23D.
Moderati capitalizes on the trend with its lighter simulator app, Virtual Zippo Lighter. It's a branding effort, of course, but that doesn't stop it from being a darn cool app with multiple designs, a realistic flame that always wants to point up and accurate clicking noises when you open, close or light the lighter.
We caught up with Cindy Lundin Mesaros, Moderati's SVP of marketing, and Vijay Chattha, from Moderati's PR company, to find out what it's like to have your idea waved around by half a million iPhone users at rock shows, how this whole thing came about and what's up with the ongoing scuffle between Coors and iPint.
Wired.com Listening Post: Why wave an iPhone with a lighter on it? Why not just wave an iPhone? I've seen people at concerts just waving a cellphone around, and I'm wondering: why put the lighter on there? Is the phone the lighter or is the lighter the phone?
Vijay Chattha, chief talker, VSC Consulting: It comes down to people having an affinity to the Zippo lighter. It's sort of a classic as far as concerts and this is an opportunity to get that real experience – flick on the lighter when you want it – and display that sort of concert waving experience just like it used to be. With your cellphone screen you can technically show light, but in terms of being cool, it's better to look like there's an actual lighter.
Wired.com: I was wondering how the whole thing came about – did you guys approach Zippo or did they approach you?
Cindy Lundin Mesaros, SVP of marketing, Moderati: We've been selling wallpaper to all the carriers with lighter images on it for a while now, just because we know people do that at shows: They hold up their cellphone. We thought, "Why not make it actually look like a lighter?" So, we were itching to get into iPhone development, and we thought, "Let's just make a really cool lighter for the iPhone platform." Then I thought, "Why not work with someone who's got a really good brand." So we approached Zippo. We literally found their info on their website ... they jumped on really fast, to their credit. Most brands move a little slowly, but they were right there with us.
Wired.com: When I first saw this, I thought "Zippo's going to sue them" – before I realized it was an officially licensed deal. Usually, that's how it works.
Mesaros: Yeah, with that iPint thing, they turned around and did their own and then got sued ... a developer did one showing a beer draining, and then the beer brand turned around and launched the same thing, essentially. The developer sued them for lost profits.
Chattha: IBeer sued iPint, which was made by Coors.
Mesaros: But there was some bad blood there because I think Coors had approached iBeer and said, "Hey, can you do this for us," and they couldn't work out terms. So then [Coors] turned around and did their own. That was a little bit sketchy. But no, this is completely above board. There were some lighter apps already on the iPhone platform, but they just weren't that cool.
Wired.com: And the other difference is that this one's free, whereas the other ones are 99 cents. The branding probably plays into that.
Mesaros: Yep, it's purely a brand exercise for Zippo. They're just looking to get their name out there a little more, and they can showcase what their lighters look like.... There's a clicking sound when you light the flint, and that was super important to them, [and] they were very particular about the flame being the exact color and being very true to their brand.
Wired.com: Were you surprised to see this shoot up to become the second most popular application in the App Store?
Mesaros: Absolutely. It was our first foray into app development, and we just weren't sure. We come from a world where we develop for the carriers, and we sit in their queue for eight months and try to get approved.... Apple launched it within three days of us submitting it to them, which completely caught us off guard. And then all of a sudden, there it goes into the top ten, which puts it on the iTunes home page, which then really starts to snowball in terms of downloads.... We're trying to tell everyone that it probably isn't going to be this easy going forward.
Wired.com: Do you personally enjoy "Free Bird"?
Mesaros: (Laughs) Do I personally? I do not.
Wired.com: If you were going to wave a lighter in the air to a song, what would it be?
Mesaros: It would be one of those reunion tours from an '80s hair band. I think the R.E.O. Speedwagon track.... "I Can't Fight This Feeling." Yes, the one with the line about "it's time to bring the ship into the shore." It's such a ridiculous song. How can you not wave your Zippo when you hear it? I mean, totally, I'm there.
About Moderati, a Bellrock Media Company
Moderati is a digital content agency that helps media companies and consumer brands connect with their consumers through the creation of engaging entertainment experiences. The company delivers the best digital content to consumers when, where and how they want it, with a mission to engage and entertain through creativity, technology and humor. Moderati has deep roots in mobile content and entertainment, and has been a trusted partner of top-tier wireless carriers and major media companies since 2001, having delivered over 100M individual content downloads. The company is a subsidiary of Japan's leading branded entertainment production company, Bellrock Media, backed by Yoshimoto Kogyo, the largest pure play media company in Japan with interests in TV, talent representation, film, music, physical venues and consumer products. Moderati is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. For more information, visit the Website at http://www.moderati.com.
All trademarks and/or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Eliot Van Buskirk
Wired.com
Cellphones are the new lighters, with tens, hundreds or thousands of them being waved at concerts around the world as if they were lighters waved aloft by the crowds at '70s stadium concerts of yore.
Don't believe me? Go to a show – or, if you don't do that anymore, rent U23D.
Moderati capitalizes on the trend with its lighter simulator app, Virtual Zippo Lighter. It's a branding effort, of course, but that doesn't stop it from being a darn cool app with multiple designs, a realistic flame that always wants to point up and accurate clicking noises when you open, close or light the lighter.
We caught up with Cindy Lundin Mesaros, Moderati's SVP of marketing, and Vijay Chattha, from Moderati's PR company, to find out what it's like to have your idea waved around by half a million iPhone users at rock shows, how this whole thing came about and what's up with the ongoing scuffle between Coors and iPint.
Wired.com Listening Post: Why wave an iPhone with a lighter on it? Why not just wave an iPhone? I've seen people at concerts just waving a cellphone around, and I'm wondering: why put the lighter on there? Is the phone the lighter or is the lighter the phone?
Vijay Chattha, chief talker, VSC Consulting: It comes down to people having an affinity to the Zippo lighter. It's sort of a classic as far as concerts and this is an opportunity to get that real experience – flick on the lighter when you want it – and display that sort of concert waving experience just like it used to be. With your cellphone screen you can technically show light, but in terms of being cool, it's better to look like there's an actual lighter.
Wired.com: I was wondering how the whole thing came about – did you guys approach Zippo or did they approach you?
Cindy Lundin Mesaros, SVP of marketing, Moderati: We've been selling wallpaper to all the carriers with lighter images on it for a while now, just because we know people do that at shows: They hold up their cellphone. We thought, "Why not make it actually look like a lighter?" So, we were itching to get into iPhone development, and we thought, "Let's just make a really cool lighter for the iPhone platform." Then I thought, "Why not work with someone who's got a really good brand." So we approached Zippo. We literally found their info on their website ... they jumped on really fast, to their credit. Most brands move a little slowly, but they were right there with us.
Wired.com: When I first saw this, I thought "Zippo's going to sue them" – before I realized it was an officially licensed deal. Usually, that's how it works.
Mesaros: Yeah, with that iPint thing, they turned around and did their own and then got sued ... a developer did one showing a beer draining, and then the beer brand turned around and launched the same thing, essentially. The developer sued them for lost profits.
Chattha: IBeer sued iPint, which was made by Coors.
Mesaros: But there was some bad blood there because I think Coors had approached iBeer and said, "Hey, can you do this for us," and they couldn't work out terms. So then [Coors] turned around and did their own. That was a little bit sketchy. But no, this is completely above board. There were some lighter apps already on the iPhone platform, but they just weren't that cool.
Wired.com: And the other difference is that this one's free, whereas the other ones are 99 cents. The branding probably plays into that.
Mesaros: Yep, it's purely a brand exercise for Zippo. They're just looking to get their name out there a little more, and they can showcase what their lighters look like.... There's a clicking sound when you light the flint, and that was super important to them, [and] they were very particular about the flame being the exact color and being very true to their brand.
Wired.com: Were you surprised to see this shoot up to become the second most popular application in the App Store?
Mesaros: Absolutely. It was our first foray into app development, and we just weren't sure. We come from a world where we develop for the carriers, and we sit in their queue for eight months and try to get approved.... Apple launched it within three days of us submitting it to them, which completely caught us off guard. And then all of a sudden, there it goes into the top ten, which puts it on the iTunes home page, which then really starts to snowball in terms of downloads.... We're trying to tell everyone that it probably isn't going to be this easy going forward.
Wired.com: Do you personally enjoy "Free Bird"?
Mesaros: (Laughs) Do I personally? I do not.
Wired.com: If you were going to wave a lighter in the air to a song, what would it be?
Mesaros: It would be one of those reunion tours from an '80s hair band. I think the R.E.O. Speedwagon track.... "I Can't Fight This Feeling." Yes, the one with the line about "it's time to bring the ship into the shore." It's such a ridiculous song. How can you not wave your Zippo when you hear it? I mean, totally, I'm there.
About Moderati, a Bellrock Media Company
Moderati is a digital content agency that helps media companies and consumer brands connect with their consumers through the creation of engaging entertainment experiences. The company delivers the best digital content to consumers when, where and how they want it, with a mission to engage and entertain through creativity, technology and humor. Moderati has deep roots in mobile content and entertainment, and has been a trusted partner of top-tier wireless carriers and major media companies since 2001, having delivered over 100M individual content downloads. The company is a subsidiary of Japan's leading branded entertainment production company, Bellrock Media, backed by Yoshimoto Kogyo, the largest pure play media company in Japan with interests in TV, talent representation, film, music, physical venues and consumer products. Moderati is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. For more information, visit the Website at http://www.moderati.com.
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All trademarks and/or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.