The Economics of Attention with Jamie Mustard and Holt McCallany
b'\\u201cAttention is the defining business challenge of our time.\\u201d This prolific idea was noted by not one but two guests this week. Jamie Mustard is a strategic multimedia consultant who helps create brands, ideas, and messages that stand out. His new book\\xa0The Iconist\\xa0features bold examples from the world of business, art, and music including the story of Mindhunter actor Holt McCallany. We\\u2019re lucky to be joined by both Jamie and Holt this week on the On Brand podcast.\\nAbout Jamie Mustard and Holt McCallany\\nJamie Mustard\\xa0is a strategic multimedia consultant and Iconist. His passion is to teach the science and \\u201cart of obviousness,\\u201d helping professionals, change agents, artists, and businesses confidently and at-will make their messages, brands, and ideas stand out to their desired audiences. A graduate of the London School of Economics, Jamie\\u2019s work is an explanation of the \\u201ceconomics of attention,\\u201d based on the primal laws of human perception called Blocks. He has spoken, educated, and inspired others with his work prolifically, including TED at the creative giant, Wieden and Kennedy. Jamie\\u2019s Iconist work has spanned some of the world\\u2019s leading companies, artists, and the globe. Growing up in severe poverty in inner-city Los Angeles, Jamie overcame obstacles to eventually codify a system of primal laws that can now help us all.\\nIn a film career spanning over 30 years,\\xa0Holt McCallany\\xa0has appeared in well over 100 films and television shows, working with some of the world\\u2019s most storied directors. Throughout his varied and versatile career, Holt has worked for David Fincher, David O\\u2019Russell, William Friedkin, Lawrence Kasdan, Walter Hill, Clint Eastwood, Brian De Palma, and Michael Mann among many others. He has appeared in notable and pivotal supporting roles in movies like\\xa0Fight Club, Three Kings, Black Hat, Alien III, Justice League,\\xa0and\\xa0Sully. Holt currently stars in the Netflix series\\xa0Mindhunter\\xa0for director David Fincher where he plays Bill Tench, a complex, real-life FBI agent researching serial killers in the late 1970s.\\nEpisode Highlights\\nThe Jamie Mustard-Holt McCallany connection.\\xa0So how does a famous actor like Holt McCallany know a branding guy like Jamie Mustard? Jamie met Holt years ago when he produced a documentary about Holt\\u2019s mother, a famous cabaret singer from the 1950s.\\n\\u201cHolt\\u2019s story helped me illustrate a point about The Dilution Effect.\\u201d\\xa0One of the central ideas in Jamie\\u2019s book\\xa0The Iconist\\xa0deals with the economics of attention. Specifically, the fact that there\\u2019s so much information, so much content that it\\u2019s harder than ever to stand out. Holt starred in a critically acclaimed FX series called\\xa0Lights Out\\xa0that was canceled after one season. As the President of FX said at the time, \\u201cThere were so many shows no one could find it.\\u201d Both noted that everyone in every field experiences this to some extent today.\\n\\u201cPeople feel invisible,\\u201d\\xa0said Holt of the endless sources of online media and continuous assaults by advertising, echoing some of the themes from\\xa0Mindhunter. Jamie\\u2019s concept of \\u2018blocks\\u2019 gives creators tools to stand out. Simply put, blocks are \\u201clarge big road signs someone can understand in their lizard brain.\\u201d\\nWhat brands have made Jamie and Holt and smile recently?\\xa0Both were decidedly\\xa0on brand\\xa0with examples illustrating attention-getting ideas. Holt pointed us to Extinction Rebellion for their work calling attention to climate change and other causes through bold demonstrations. Jamie shared the story of Burger King\\u2019s \\u201cmoldy Whopper\\u201d ad, which demonstrates the fast-food favorite\\u2019s lack of preservatives in gross detail.\\nTo learn more about Holt McCallany,\\xa0check out\\xa0HoltMcCallany.com\\xa0and\\xa0follow him on Twitter.\\nTo learn more about Jamie Mustard,\\xa0check out\\xa0TheIconist.org.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'