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If I tweet from our account and that teet contains the word “millennial” it will receive twice the clicks as anything else we share, without fail. Our followers clamor for any and all information they can find about how young people work, play, connect and consume. If I didn’t know better (or weren’t 27 years old) I might think the term describes a race of confusing, tiny screen addicted, glowing faced aliens. Why are Millennials such an interesting cohort to dissect and study? Cultural observers (especially those of us in advertising/marketing) have always tried to decode the world of the young and coming of age among us. We attempt to chart trend lines into the future and predict where we are headed based on the lives and actions of those that will help build that future. So why are Millennial’s so hard to nail down?

As Halloween approaches and we finalize our Psy costumes (I mean, we all know we’re going as him, right?) we also are here to give you all a very special treat this month. We kick it off with Nintendo’s highly anticipated Wii U launch, the first of the next “next-gen” consoles. While it may look a lot like its predecessor, the new GamePad should usher in a whole new set of gameplay experiences for consumers and developers. We follow up new console news with new console games and our fall titles preview. Though most are sequels, we’re not complaining with the likes of Halo 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, and Assassins Creed 3 on the docket.

Download PLAYED now!

Convention Virgin

The first panel I arrive at has been canceled. First panel of the day, SXSW, what the hell!? Regardless, “Brands as Patterns,” my second or third choice I’m pretty sure, had been substituted in the same room. The panel consisted of a couple of creative directors, a strategist, and a composer. They described the importance in “consistent inconsistencies” when telling the story of a brand. Way over my head, but I stayed till the end hoping for some intelligence by osmosis to occur. My next talk of the day, “We Made This and It’s Not an Ad“, gets at an important piece of why and how we operate at Denuo. This one was a solo performance from a San Francisco company, Duncan/Channon, a group that’s creating products outside of client work; obviously for their own benefit, but also for the benefit of those of us who are hungry for more “stuff“. Creating something from the ground up, anything, regardless of its success intrinsically creates valuable knowledge as well as that “thing”. If you learned from the process, it was a success.

Our VivaKi sister agency, Razorfish, has released its annual Outlook Report to much-tweeted fanfare. Among the eye-opening perspectives on media, retail, collaboration and social, Denuo was able to offer some clarity on industry hot topic, gamification. Let us know what you think.

Read the full article: The Rules of Gamification

This issue looks at a range of sites, videos and projects. The first is a time lapse video of Mars Rover images. It’s and amazing up close view of the Red Planet. The next article examines an infographic that will be enjoyed by both the foodies and struggling cooks among us. ‘Taste Buds’ will become your go to source for food pairings.

On page two we start with the tumblr for the Occupy Wall Street protests – We are the 99%. This site is updated dozens of times a day and is a great example of using the digital space to bring individual faces to a larger movement. Finally, we lighten the mood with ‘Ballon Hats’ which proves that balloon hats really are universally enjoyed.

Download Issue 95 of Reflecteur here