i’ve been receiving emails from people asking to meet up because they still think i’m running around europe. sorry guys, i’m actually back in new york. but these are some of my last photos from madrid. they are from a 2 day telefonica conference on innovation. some friends of mine from amsterdam invited me to check it out. telefonica is a spanish telecommunications company based out of madrid. they are like the AT&T of Spain. in the UK they operate as 02 and got the exclusive rights to carry the iPhone. it was pretty cool to see how such a big company embraced innovation. they set out to inspire their team internally to help spark fresh new ideas for change. listening to their head strategists, managers and innovators speak about their current barriers was just another reminder that when it comes down to solving problems at a corporate level, it doesn’t matter how much money you have, it matters what kind of people you have on your team and how you facilitate their work environment. i once asked a top exec from nike how they managed to do what they do so well at a local level, but be as big as they are at a global level. he smiled and said, “companies are just people”, then went on, but that is basically the point.

they built a new complex on their corporate campus to embrace their newly headed direction, like buildings with huge glass windows, really high ceilings, event spaces that can act as galleries, sweet bathrooms that you’d see in some fancy club or restaurant, and a huge multimedia auditorium. Imagine coming to work in a very suit and tie environment and your entrance is a gallery space. They did something really cool which kind of gave me goosebumps when I heard the announcement. They said on the first day to the audience, “propose a really cool idea of your choice that will benefit the company. After the submissions, our team will vote for a winner which will be announced tomorrow and grant them $500k to make their idea come to life”. Isn’t that cool?! They proposed that everyone take off their ties and jackets, get loose and have fun. A very cool look into the corporate world and how they go about handling their issues.

introduction of russ shaw on screen, the director of innovation. right before he actually walked up to talk.


they had little pods set up with thinking games inside to inspire collaborative participation. people had to duck down and almost crawl to get inside of them.


that is kirsten, my friend from strative branding in amsterdam. they were the creative directors of this conference and helped organize the event


a look at some of the crowd.


eboman aka mr. sample madness and his wild assistant. they were there to provide entertainment and i think their personalities were just as entertaining as their actual work. this girl would like flick rubberbands at people, take power naps throughout the day and be psyched all day long, fully wired on life. both of them definitely on another planet. so, eboman basically takes video of you screaming or making a sound on video, then makes a song on the spot using a sample of your video. pretty neat. check the attached youtube to see what i mean.



thats jenny aka ruby pseudo screaming into the cam


me fast asleep from jet lag. it was horrible. jenny took this photo. but also really cool in this picture are the tables we could write on! no need to write down your idea on a napkin to explain it to your friends. just draw it on the table, then erase it when you’re done. other offices embrace this idea with turning their actual office walls into chalkboards, like naked new york for example


and that is me on screen directly after getting my voice on video. eboman mixed me into a song with russ shaw, the director of innovation at telefonica


me and simon from streative amsterdam. i got the worst meal ever at this place called wagaboo. i asked the waiter to recommend a banging ass dish from the menu and he orders me some fried rice with a fried egg on top. thanks bro thats so tight of you


i should fire his ass for ruining my dinner at my own shopping mall!