Ready to work together?

Call Lee at 212.253.7500

or email lee@digobrands.com

Category : DiGo Values

DIGO Brands Switched

Switched.com
by Terrence O’Brien
September 9, 2010

If you’re a regular reader of Switched then you know by now the addictive power of technology. Gamers in South Korea are being prescribed antidepressants and are dropping dead of exhaustion, Americans routinely pick the Web over sex, and evidence is mounting that too much time spent online can lead to depression, anxiety and fatigue. It’s no wonder that many people and organizations have urged us to unplug, even just temporarily, before our brains become little more than balls of gelatin we use to click “add as friend” on Facebook and perform Google searches.

Mark DiMassimo and Eric Yaverbaum, former marketing execs, started Offlining Inc. to encourage people to put down the technology, and to reconnect with the world and the people around them. This isn’t some extremist group. To read more click here.

 

DIGO Brands CNN

September 9th, 2010
Jessica Ravitz, CNN.com

Eric Yaverbaum is as guilty as anyone of making technological transgressions. He’s ignored family to check emails while at the dinner table and tuned out of actual conversations to tune into Twitter. But the 49-year-old New York public relations executive isn’t afraid to admit his sins. “I’m the guy who sleeps with his BlackBerry,” Yaverbaum says. “I’m raising my hand and saying, ‘Yes, I’m an addict.” He is trying to make amends, though, and thinks you should, too. It is that time of year, after all.

The Jewish High Holy Days began at sunset Wednesday with the start of Rosh Hashana, or the Jewish New Year. They end at the conclusion of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, on the night of September 18. These 10 days, often referred to as the Days of Awe, are a time when Jews take stock of their lives, how they’ve lived them over the past year and seek forgiveness from individuals they may have wronged, intentionally or otherwise.

Yaverbaum and Mark DiMassimo, a New York advertising exec who is not Jewish, partnered up to launch Offlining, an initiative to promote unplugging that was introduced on Father’s Day. The challenge they put forth then was to ask people to make a pledge to have 10 device-free dinners between then and Thanksgiving. So far, more than 10,500 have signed on. To read more click click here.

 

DIGO Brands CNET

August 30, 2010
CNET.com

Click, send, call, text, Like, tweet, undo, reset, delete… it just doesn’t end. Which is why a couple of marketing guys are dubbing September 18 “No Device Day” for consumers who might be too involved with their gadgets.

Though the idea of dedicating an entire day to shutting devices off may seem silly (or virtually impossible) to some, Mark DiMassimo, CEO of ad firm Digo, and Eric Yaverbaum say they believe Americans need to be reminded to turn off their electronics from time to time. Thus, their “lifestyle intervention.”

They didn’t randomly choose September 18 for the latest installment of the larger Offlining ad campaign, though. It’s also Yom Kippur, considered by many Jews to be the holiest day of the year. On this day, also known as the Day of Atonement, observant Jews disengage from things like playing on their BlackBerrys, as well as other daily activities like writing, playing instruments, and even eating. To read more click here.

 

DIGO Brands Mel Gibson

Choose your poster child for drunk dialing — we’ve chosen ours! Mel Gibson taught the world not to mix alcohol and communications devices, and he’s generously left us many, many recordings to remind us should we ever forget. We created Offlining Inc. to sell you on establishing a sane balance between online and offline time — and, well, we just felt that when it comes to insane examples of too much digital communication, well Mel set a new standard for us all to avoid. But, he’s not alone. Lindsay and Tiger have been pressed into service in this campaign as well.

 

DIGO Brands Your True Face

LoHud.com
August, 22nd 2010

In the spring, Mark DiMassimo, CEO and chief creative officer of DIGO, and Eric Yaverbaum, president of Ericho Communications  residents of Rye and Larchmont respectively — founded Offlining Inc., a campaign that calls on dads to forego their wireless devices (more…)

Tweeting On Weekends: Are We Becoming Socially Anti-Social?

At kids soccer games around the country, hyperconnected Dads tweet about trivia to pass the time. Meanwhile, as you walk into a supposedly social event, people all around you pull out their devices to “check in” on Foursquare or Gowalla. Through the night, people continue sharing their real feelings and thoughts not with the person in front of them but to their audience of “followers” on Twitter, making a real life social event feel decidedly ANTI-social. Sound familiar? As technology allows us to share every moment instantaneously online, are we missing out on what is right in front us? And if so, is the only solution to turn our gadgets off, or is there some imaginary line of balance that we can strike? This session will explore those questions, and the anti-social path that our always-connectedness may be leading us towards. Most importantly, we’ll try to uncover how you might fight back and reclaim your humanity from the social media bubble around you. We like the idea, let them know what you think! … To read more click here.

 

Can’t Imagine Life Without a Cellphone? Read This Now

Even though it was only a few years ago, life in the year 1999 B.C. – Before Cell Phones – is difficult to imagine now. More than a platform to play ‘Bejeweled’, cell phones have become an essential tool for communicating in today’s modern world. With text messaging, e-mail and evenTwitter now used as vital modes of communication, life without a cell phone seems little more than a a Yakov Smirnoff “In Soviet Russia…” joke — or if you’re truly tech-obsessed, a total nightmare.

But even with the added convenience and ease that a cell phone brings, there are some definite downsides. Some experts believe excessive use can cause us to become more impatient, impulsive, forgetful and even more narcissistic, reports  the New York Times. A recent poll conducted by the paper found that people think cell phones are intrusive and increase stress levels. To read more click here.