Fresh media insights from Fleabark Creative

Christabel Shaler

Posted: Nov 22nd, 2010

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We live in a world where media saturates our lives. An average city dweller consumes roughly 5,000 ads per day. Within this white noise, big brands are often the loudest. How can we hear the little guys?

The old hierarchies are currently crumbling and shifting. When social media was born, we entered a conversation where we began to hear the voices of the smaller companies.

I recently caught up with Krishna Bhowmik of Fleabark Creative, who was featured in the latest edition of CRAVE. After 12 years in international advertising, she became fascinated by smaller companies and the importance of everyday people. Krishna is launching a movement called Share the Power. "My goal is to empower everyday people, start ups, small and medium businesses, so they will be able to share the power with the big corporations. Everyone is important," explained Krishna.

When it comes to acquiring power within new media, it all comes down to fresh ideas. Many of the freshest ideas are happening both on and off-line. "No matter how much money you have...you can’t buy an idea machine. Ideas have to be thought of and I love that the little guys have a chance to show what they are made of," explains Krishna as her eyes brighten with excitement.

The rapid expansion of new media is exciting and elusive. It is moving so fast that there are very few constant elements to grasp onto. Companies are hiring social media “experts”, so they can harness the power of this movement and turn it into a calculated formula. There are now websites where you can apparently buy facebook fans. This approach misses the point.

When it comes to new media, Krishna argues that it is a question of how fresh your ideas are. New technologies can expose your brand, but this process of exposure requires thinking outside of the digital realm. Successful brand movements often consist of traditional creative elements, such as: performance art, singing, dancing, theatrics, art installations, ambient ideas, jokes, story telling and good conversations.

"We all want answers. We all want the recipe. We all want to know

what’s going to happen for some reason. It settles our fears. The unknown is scary but also exciting. That’s why we love to travel. That’s why we love relationships. That’s why we are intrigued by new things in life. That’s why we are intrigued by technology and social media. Not knowing is a beautiful thing. It forces us to use our imagination." said Krishna

Krishna will be continuing to provide monthly insights for Vancouver Observer readers. Please stay tuned. We welcome you to ask her questions and share your ideas in the comment section below.