US Expert Reveals The Real Debate ‘Winner’
By MARK PENN, US debates expert
Published April 30, 2010
After the media frenzy around “Bigotgate”, last night’s third and final TV debate took place took under a surreal backdrop.
Gordon Brown’s comments about Gillian Duffy were disastrous not just because of the offence it may have caused to (former) Labour voters.
It also took away the one remaining opportunity for Labour strategists to change the narrative of the election and it meant all eyes were on Brown to see how he would handle it.
…The final debate is over. The moment of choice will soon be upon us. After three debates, the clear winner has actually been British politics. Facing public anger and disillusionment for the past few years, especially after the expenses scandal, Iraq and the recession, the introduction of US-style leadership debates transformed a dull and formulaic campaign into something that truly engaged the country in politics once again….
Read Full Article: MarkPenn.com
Friday, April 30, 2010
Brian Solis: In Mobile, Women Rule Social Networking
Based on data collected and analyzed using Google Ad Planner, I recently discovered that in Social Media, women rule. Across almost every major social network, the balance was revealing and in some cases, profound. Read more @ Brian Solis
TAXI - BLOG: Born Free
It’s not interactive. No real time. Doesn’t rely on UGC. Nor is it for the faint of heart. This is old school storytelling at it’s finest. MIA’s new video for her Born Free track is a highly charged, shocking exploration of ethnic cleansing, as seen through the systematic gathering and murdering of “Gingers.” A difficult piece of film to watch (Sudan/Congo/Iran/Rwanda anyone?) but another mighty example of storytelling through film by Romain-Gavras. Put on your headphones, crank the volume and watch it full screen.TAXI - BLOG
M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.
The Steve Rubel Lifestream: Thoughts on Media Reforestation and Algorithmic Journalism
Over a year ago, I published an essay on Media Reforestation. In a nutshell, it's my belief that all tangible forms of media will be in sharp decline or extinct in just a few years. I followed that up this week with some more thoughts for the folks at WeMedia, which you can read in full or view as a PDF below.
Media Reforestation Part II: Algorithmic Journalism It's a quiet April Saturday afternoon in Long Island, NY and I am holed up on the second floor of the Book Revue, writing this essay on my iPad. I could have not chosen a more ironic venue or a more ironic device to pen a think piece about the impact mobile devices will have on media consumption and creation. The Book Revue is one of the last independent bookstores on Long Island, a sprawling New York City suburb. However, it remains a popular hangout for local book lovers, families and singles. The store even attracts a who's who from the literary world for big book signings. That said, I know that my writing days here are numbered. You see, the Book Revue, just like countless of video rentals stores, arcades and newspaper printing presses, will one day fall victim to Media Reforestation.
In less than five years, all tangible media - everything you can see, touch, taste and smell - will be in sharp decline or extinct. This includes printed books, magazines and newspapers but also DVDs and disc-based video games. With connectivity slowly becoming ubiquitous and devices like the iPad, smart phones, the Kindle and netbooks becoming popular and relatively affordable, it's far less likely that we'll be consuming media in anything but a downloadable form. Every day a newsprint reader dies and she isn't replaced.
Media reforestation has been well chronicled. All of these devices are a runaway hits. And all one needs to do is look at the sorry state of newspaper industry financials to see that digital pennies are not, in the words of former NBC exec Jeff Zucker, ever going to replace analog dollars anytime soon. But the changes to come will be even more destructive. That's because they will involve algorithms.
Last decade the big story was how technology enabled all of us to become publishers. However, the reality is quality content remains work. Many people don't have the time or the motivation to consistently churn it out. Truth: those who did manage to attract large followings all worked their tails off to get there. People like Gary Vanyerchuck, Chris Brogan and Jeff Jarvis, just to name three, attained and scaled their influence thanks to a mix of talent and elbow grease. But that was the first chapter of media reforestation. Chapter two is about to begin and tablets and smart phones will take center stage, enabling us to all subconsciously publish and media to form like magic out of algorithms.
Content creation today still requires intent - thought then action. However soon we will be able to put our gadgets on autopilot and have them automatically contribute to the process even when they are safely tucked away in our pockets, pocketbooks and backpacks. When these millions of gadgets become powerful, always-on servers it will revolutionize media.
FourSquare is the beginning. Although the emerging location based service "only" has one million users, it is able to spot trends in data and surface news. When I checked in during the 140 Character Conference earlier this month, Foursquare was able to detect a swarm of check-ins from this one location and determine that news was breaking here - and it awarded me a special badge. Now imagine that our gadgets collect and publish automatically and on a mass scale. FourSquare could turn that data into a news service on the fly. It's services like these that will totally reinvent media, yet again, by opening up to the masses.
Servers - yes, servers - in our pockets will collect data automatically (and anonymously). Cloud services will aggregate this information and - on the fly - create media, some of which we will consume on the go. These consumption patterns will create more data and start the cycle all over again. Rich devices like iPads, iPhones, Blackberries, Kindles and their successors will collect, serve and assemble media on our behalf and in a very personalized way.
Here's what this might look like...
Novelist John Grisham recently made news when he became one of the last holdouts to make his books available on the Kindle. It's a one-size-fits-all experience. He writes. We consume - and on connected devices.
In the near future however, Grisham (or whomever is his successor) will write just the beginning of a novel and then publish it electronically - omitting the ending. Those who purchase it will determine the ending, but not in a manual, Choose-Your-Own Adventure way but in a much more personalized fashion. Ebook devices will spot trends among these Grisham readers and shape the ending based on data they're willing to share in exchange for a more personalized experience. Books won't be seen as static creations but living breathing things. Novels will have several endings that are based on the speed, physical location and duration of our collective reading habits.
It's not just books that will be reshaped by always-connected devices. As more of us consume video on the go, the same algorithmic model could reshape all storytelling, including TV and motion pictures as well.
Just as during the rise of social media, however, the news business will be the first to feel the impact of algorithmically generated media. As our devices begin to collect and share information in aggregate about our habits and environment (privacy concerns not withstanding), local and topical news sites will seamlessly form on the fly, curating torrents of tweets, news stories, images and videos about breaking news.
Tablets and smart phones are powerful, connected devices that we tote everywhere. But as more of them multitask and publish what we allow them to, automatically, it will further revolutionize media and perhaps one day make editing a relic of the past.
Download now or preview on posterous
Algorithmic Journalism.pdf (105 KB)
The Steve Rubel Lifestream
Media Reforestation Part II: Algorithmic Journalism It's a quiet April Saturday afternoon in Long Island, NY and I am holed up on the second floor of the Book Revue, writing this essay on my iPad. I could have not chosen a more ironic venue or a more ironic device to pen a think piece about the impact mobile devices will have on media consumption and creation. The Book Revue is one of the last independent bookstores on Long Island, a sprawling New York City suburb. However, it remains a popular hangout for local book lovers, families and singles. The store even attracts a who's who from the literary world for big book signings. That said, I know that my writing days here are numbered. You see, the Book Revue, just like countless of video rentals stores, arcades and newspaper printing presses, will one day fall victim to Media Reforestation.
In less than five years, all tangible media - everything you can see, touch, taste and smell - will be in sharp decline or extinct. This includes printed books, magazines and newspapers but also DVDs and disc-based video games. With connectivity slowly becoming ubiquitous and devices like the iPad, smart phones, the Kindle and netbooks becoming popular and relatively affordable, it's far less likely that we'll be consuming media in anything but a downloadable form. Every day a newsprint reader dies and she isn't replaced.
Media reforestation has been well chronicled. All of these devices are a runaway hits. And all one needs to do is look at the sorry state of newspaper industry financials to see that digital pennies are not, in the words of former NBC exec Jeff Zucker, ever going to replace analog dollars anytime soon. But the changes to come will be even more destructive. That's because they will involve algorithms.
Last decade the big story was how technology enabled all of us to become publishers. However, the reality is quality content remains work. Many people don't have the time or the motivation to consistently churn it out. Truth: those who did manage to attract large followings all worked their tails off to get there. People like Gary Vanyerchuck, Chris Brogan and Jeff Jarvis, just to name three, attained and scaled their influence thanks to a mix of talent and elbow grease. But that was the first chapter of media reforestation. Chapter two is about to begin and tablets and smart phones will take center stage, enabling us to all subconsciously publish and media to form like magic out of algorithms.
Content creation today still requires intent - thought then action. However soon we will be able to put our gadgets on autopilot and have them automatically contribute to the process even when they are safely tucked away in our pockets, pocketbooks and backpacks. When these millions of gadgets become powerful, always-on servers it will revolutionize media.
FourSquare is the beginning. Although the emerging location based service "only" has one million users, it is able to spot trends in data and surface news. When I checked in during the 140 Character Conference earlier this month, Foursquare was able to detect a swarm of check-ins from this one location and determine that news was breaking here - and it awarded me a special badge. Now imagine that our gadgets collect and publish automatically and on a mass scale. FourSquare could turn that data into a news service on the fly. It's services like these that will totally reinvent media, yet again, by opening up to the masses.
Servers - yes, servers - in our pockets will collect data automatically (and anonymously). Cloud services will aggregate this information and - on the fly - create media, some of which we will consume on the go. These consumption patterns will create more data and start the cycle all over again. Rich devices like iPads, iPhones, Blackberries, Kindles and their successors will collect, serve and assemble media on our behalf and in a very personalized way.
Here's what this might look like...
Novelist John Grisham recently made news when he became one of the last holdouts to make his books available on the Kindle. It's a one-size-fits-all experience. He writes. We consume - and on connected devices.
In the near future however, Grisham (or whomever is his successor) will write just the beginning of a novel and then publish it electronically - omitting the ending. Those who purchase it will determine the ending, but not in a manual, Choose-Your-Own Adventure way but in a much more personalized fashion. Ebook devices will spot trends among these Grisham readers and shape the ending based on data they're willing to share in exchange for a more personalized experience. Books won't be seen as static creations but living breathing things. Novels will have several endings that are based on the speed, physical location and duration of our collective reading habits.
It's not just books that will be reshaped by always-connected devices. As more of us consume video on the go, the same algorithmic model could reshape all storytelling, including TV and motion pictures as well.
Just as during the rise of social media, however, the news business will be the first to feel the impact of algorithmically generated media. As our devices begin to collect and share information in aggregate about our habits and environment (privacy concerns not withstanding), local and topical news sites will seamlessly form on the fly, curating torrents of tweets, news stories, images and videos about breaking news.
Tablets and smart phones are powerful, connected devices that we tote everywhere. But as more of them multitask and publish what we allow them to, automatically, it will further revolutionize media and perhaps one day make editing a relic of the past.
Download now or preview on posterous
Algorithmic Journalism.pdf (105 KB)
The Steve Rubel Lifestream
davefleet.com: Next Is Now
I don’t usually write about client work, but I’m pretty psyched about this video we produced for Rogers so I’m making an exception.
The video features some of the coolest stats and facts we could find about the changing world of communications technology and really – I think – captures the sense of acceleration that technology is fueling nowadays.
One of my favourite stats personally is that by 2017, there will be 7-trillion connected devices – that’s 1,000 for each person alive. That’s just crazy.
Check it out – what do you think?
davefleet.com
The video features some of the coolest stats and facts we could find about the changing world of communications technology and really – I think – captures the sense of acceleration that technology is fueling nowadays.
One of my favourite stats personally is that by 2017, there will be 7-trillion connected devices – that’s 1,000 for each person alive. That’s just crazy.
Check it out – what do you think?
davefleet.com
The Home of Peter Shankman - Shankman.com: Five Rules to Follow If You’re Going to Connect FourSquare to Twitter
So it would seem that everything nowadays has the ability to connect to Twitter and auto-update for you.
This is one of the signs of the impending apocalypse.
I actually own a scale that tweets my weight whenever I step on it.
I don’t step on this scale often.
Foursquare has the ability to post updates to Twitter whenever you check in anywhere. The problem though, is that the majority of us are doing it wrong. And by “doing it wrong” I mean “driving everyone else crazy.”
Five rules to follow if you decide to make the holy matrimony of Twitter and FourSquare:
1) Turn off the “DM your friends every time you check in,” or you’ll find yourself with no friends. I don’t need to get a Direct Message from you that you’re at Starbucks. EVER.
2) I don’t need to get a regular update that you’re at Starbucks, either. Turn off the feature that auto-updates to Twitter and Facebook for each hit.
3) The “Send to Twitter” feature should be used very, very sparingly, like Paprika. Twitter is like a ringmaster with a bullhorn that announces whatever you tell it. That makes you, by association, the announcer. If the announcer is boring, people will leave the circus. Keep people in your circus by only sending things to Twitter that actually have value. (I.e., “Springsteen just pulled me up on stage with him to dance to “Dancing in the Dark!” (@Meadowlands Arena) as opposed to “standing on line at Starbucks ordering a venti chai.
4) You’re not as funny as you think you are. EVER. Tattoo this backwards on your forehead. Going out for drinks and checking in as you’re walking past a small dog is not funny.
5) Finally, remember the adage “too much of a good thing isn’t a good thing.” Forward check-ins sparingly. Never check in publicly at someone’s house/apartment/home unless you have specific permission from them. And never forget – It’s out there for all time. Checking in at the Hustler Club with the shout “Stopped by the ATM for a bunch of Twenties!” might seem funny as hell on a Saturday night at 11:30 after countless drinks. It won’t seem anywhere near as funny Monday morning, when it’s been favorited by your boss or girlfriend. Or both.The Home of Peter Shankman
This is one of the signs of the impending apocalypse.
I actually own a scale that tweets my weight whenever I step on it.
I don’t step on this scale often.
Foursquare has the ability to post updates to Twitter whenever you check in anywhere. The problem though, is that the majority of us are doing it wrong. And by “doing it wrong” I mean “driving everyone else crazy.”
Five rules to follow if you decide to make the holy matrimony of Twitter and FourSquare:
1) Turn off the “DM your friends every time you check in,” or you’ll find yourself with no friends. I don’t need to get a Direct Message from you that you’re at Starbucks. EVER.
2) I don’t need to get a regular update that you’re at Starbucks, either. Turn off the feature that auto-updates to Twitter and Facebook for each hit.
3) The “Send to Twitter” feature should be used very, very sparingly, like Paprika. Twitter is like a ringmaster with a bullhorn that announces whatever you tell it. That makes you, by association, the announcer. If the announcer is boring, people will leave the circus. Keep people in your circus by only sending things to Twitter that actually have value. (I.e., “Springsteen just pulled me up on stage with him to dance to “Dancing in the Dark!” (@Meadowlands Arena) as opposed to “standing on line at Starbucks ordering a venti chai.
4) You’re not as funny as you think you are. EVER. Tattoo this backwards on your forehead. Going out for drinks and checking in as you’re walking past a small dog is not funny.
5) Finally, remember the adage “too much of a good thing isn’t a good thing.” Forward check-ins sparingly. Never check in publicly at someone’s house/apartment/home unless you have specific permission from them. And never forget – It’s out there for all time. Checking in at the Hustler Club with the shout “Stopped by the ATM for a bunch of Twenties!” might seem funny as hell on a Saturday night at 11:30 after countless drinks. It won’t seem anywhere near as funny Monday morning, when it’s been favorited by your boss or girlfriend. Or both.The Home of Peter Shankman
Thornley Fallis: Inside PR 2.01: introducing your new hosts
Well, the torch has been passed and Inside PR’s two creators, Terry Fallis and Dave Jones have decided to hang up their Zoom recorders (well for this podcast, anyway). I think that for all the listeners of Inside PR (including me), this signaled the end of an era.
When Terry and Dave started in 2006, social media (and podcasting) was still quite new and many PR folks had yet to embrace it. Their chemistry, wit, caustic humour and insights helped guide us along the way.
Fast forward. Episode 101 featured three new co-hosts, Julie Rusciolelli, Keith McArthur and me.
Fast forward again. It’s episode 2.01 and now it’s time to introduce our new helmers: Joe Thornley and Gini Dietrich. Welcome!
I’m sure many of you already know Joe, he’s the founder of Thornley Fallis, the agency that created and produces the podcast. Joe is one of Canada’s social media pioneers and leading practitioners. He blogs at ProPR.
Gini is the CEO of Arment Dietrich, a Chicago PR and social media agency. She’s a smart, outspoken strategist who blogs at Fight Against Destructive Spin blog (aka Spin Sucks) and never minces words.
We’re still looking at PR and social media from an agency perspective, and adding a tri-city POV.
What’s next? A lot of that is up to you. I hope you’ll listen to Episode 2.01 to get a preview (and our new voices).
Apologies if it sounds a bit disjointed – we had to record in two tries due to a glitch with one of the tracks.
We’d love to hear your ideas and hope you’ll continue to listen, find value in our discussions and share your thoughts. Thank you again for taking part!
And now: on with the show… Thornley Fallis
When Terry and Dave started in 2006, social media (and podcasting) was still quite new and many PR folks had yet to embrace it. Their chemistry, wit, caustic humour and insights helped guide us along the way.
Fast forward. Episode 101 featured three new co-hosts, Julie Rusciolelli, Keith McArthur and me.
Fast forward again. It’s episode 2.01 and now it’s time to introduce our new helmers: Joe Thornley and Gini Dietrich. Welcome!
I’m sure many of you already know Joe, he’s the founder of Thornley Fallis, the agency that created and produces the podcast. Joe is one of Canada’s social media pioneers and leading practitioners. He blogs at ProPR.
Gini is the CEO of Arment Dietrich, a Chicago PR and social media agency. She’s a smart, outspoken strategist who blogs at Fight Against Destructive Spin blog (aka Spin Sucks) and never minces words.
We’re still looking at PR and social media from an agency perspective, and adding a tri-city POV.
What’s next? A lot of that is up to you. I hope you’ll listen to Episode 2.01 to get a preview (and our new voices).
Apologies if it sounds a bit disjointed – we had to record in two tries due to a glitch with one of the tracks.
We’d love to hear your ideas and hope you’ll continue to listen, find value in our discussions and share your thoughts. Thank you again for taking part!
And now: on with the show… Thornley Fallis
Simon Mainwaring: Gary Vee’s ‘Crush It’: Facebook, Twitter and social media marketing that makes money
I was speaking at the Connect Now conference with Gary Vaynerchuk a couple of weeks ago and he kindly gave me a signed copy of ‘Crush It!’ to pass on to someone. That’s him signing it below. It’s a truly inspirational read which exhorts you to “cash in on your passion.”
‘Crush It!’ is written with all the energy and bravado that Gary offers when he speaks – no fluff, all honesty. From strategies on building your personal brand to step-by-step marketing advice on how to utilize platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to propel your online persona, ‘Crush It!’ illustrates the new age of business, and how to make it work for you in a way that escapes corporate marketing and celebrates the entrepreneur.
Gary is a breath – actually, a storm – of fresh air with equally fresh ideas in the marketing space. Something that is truly needed to help the marketing world make the necessary transition into the social web space.
I’ll send out this signed copy to someone who leaves a comment in the next week. And if you want more of Gary, check out the interview we did about arrogance, ad agencies and the one thing brands need to know. As always, thanks for the support.
Simon Mainwaring
‘Crush It!’ is written with all the energy and bravado that Gary offers when he speaks – no fluff, all honesty. From strategies on building your personal brand to step-by-step marketing advice on how to utilize platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to propel your online persona, ‘Crush It!’ illustrates the new age of business, and how to make it work for you in a way that escapes corporate marketing and celebrates the entrepreneur.
Gary is a breath – actually, a storm – of fresh air with equally fresh ideas in the marketing space. Something that is truly needed to help the marketing world make the necessary transition into the social web space.
I’ll send out this signed copy to someone who leaves a comment in the next week. And if you want more of Gary, check out the interview we did about arrogance, ad agencies and the one thing brands need to know. As always, thanks for the support.
Simon Mainwaring
welcome to optimism: Nike GRID - Close Up
Nice essay in this week's Campaign about Nike GRID - compiled by one of the planners involved, W+K's Graeme Douglas
Campaign 30 April Nike Grid
Here's the piece in full:
Nike is a brand built on running. Trace the company’s lineage back and you eventually arrive about forty years ago, with running pioneer and legendary Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman’s quest to build lighter, more technologically advanced running shoes to better serve the elite athletes with which he worked.
That quest for innovation is also something that’s inherent in Nike’s DNA and drives not only product development but also how the brand engages with consumers, so the creation of Nike GRID – an engagement idea built around fluid, unrestricted running – seemed a fitting concept.
THE BRIEF
Nike set us the task of engaging young people with Nike Running around the weekend of the London Marathon. The insight driving this was that there are groups of young people running, but who were not yet adopting the title ‘runner’.
Whilst it was vital that whatever we did was consistent with and conveyed Nike’s POV on running, it was evident from the start that a message-based campaign wasn’t going to be enough. We needed to get people out and active; and introduce to them a new way to run. The main goal was to make it accessible, both in its location and the format of the event. We decided the best strategic option to deliver this would be to augment the running experience; creating a layer of experience on top of the run that aimed to alter how the activity would be interacted with.
CREATING THE GRID
We set six core objectives for the concept to deliver against:
- A playful, game-like experience
- Make it flexible and fun
- Technology as an enabler, not a barrier
- Consistent with the Nike running POV
- Uniquely London
- A platform that can be built on in the future
The basic premise of GRID turns London into a game board, challenging runners to ‘claim their streets’ by amassing points for runs completed in their, and other, postcodes. Points, badges and prizes are awarded for speed, attrition, routes and various other ‘unlockables’ that became apparent as the game unfolds. Players could play at any time of the day or night, in any postcode, as casually or as seriously as they wanted. Players connected their GRID profiles with their own social networking platforms, and a central Facebook group allowed GRID to engage in a live dialogue with players as events unfolded.
Advertising also played a role: digital out-of-home in each postcode celebrated the leaders in real-time throughout the day. This had a dual purpose: not only did it motivate the participants; it also amplified the game to a larger, non-participating audience, turning the idea into a wider Nike Running brand campaign.
The GRID itself – or how we pinpointed player location – was the biggest question that we faced. Partnering with one of the major mobile location services du jour was an obvious option, but instead, we focussed one of the massive pieces of pre-digital infrastructure still lying around London: BT phone boxes.
This re-appropriation of an iconic system achieved a few things. Firstly, it completely removed technological barriers to entry. Secondly, it delivered a surprising, subversive and urban tone to the game. Thirdly, it grounded the game firmly in the real world, and provided a unique ‘sense of place’ that simply wouldn’t be achievable solely through mobile platforms.
IMPLICATIONS
GRID is part of a growing category of ideas that sits within, as Tom Coates of Yahoo! describes, the ‘real world web’; connected things that blur the physical and virtual spaces - things that thrive primarily because they excite us as humans, rather than being a vehicle for demonstrating technical capability. Fun and competition ruled over technology and tradition, which led to almost 3,000 individual, runs being logged on the day. Further performance data is not yet available, but given some of the initial feedback via the group, the experience was a rewarding and enjoyable one for those involved.
Nike GRID was a collaboration between W+K London, AKQA, Mindshare and Nike. Planning, creative, media and production responsibilities were shared between all agencies. welcome to optimism
Campaign 30 April Nike Grid
Here's the piece in full:
Nike is a brand built on running. Trace the company’s lineage back and you eventually arrive about forty years ago, with running pioneer and legendary Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman’s quest to build lighter, more technologically advanced running shoes to better serve the elite athletes with which he worked.
That quest for innovation is also something that’s inherent in Nike’s DNA and drives not only product development but also how the brand engages with consumers, so the creation of Nike GRID – an engagement idea built around fluid, unrestricted running – seemed a fitting concept.
THE BRIEF
Nike set us the task of engaging young people with Nike Running around the weekend of the London Marathon. The insight driving this was that there are groups of young people running, but who were not yet adopting the title ‘runner’.
Whilst it was vital that whatever we did was consistent with and conveyed Nike’s POV on running, it was evident from the start that a message-based campaign wasn’t going to be enough. We needed to get people out and active; and introduce to them a new way to run. The main goal was to make it accessible, both in its location and the format of the event. We decided the best strategic option to deliver this would be to augment the running experience; creating a layer of experience on top of the run that aimed to alter how the activity would be interacted with.
CREATING THE GRID
We set six core objectives for the concept to deliver against:
- A playful, game-like experience
- Make it flexible and fun
- Technology as an enabler, not a barrier
- Consistent with the Nike running POV
- Uniquely London
- A platform that can be built on in the future
The basic premise of GRID turns London into a game board, challenging runners to ‘claim their streets’ by amassing points for runs completed in their, and other, postcodes. Points, badges and prizes are awarded for speed, attrition, routes and various other ‘unlockables’ that became apparent as the game unfolds. Players could play at any time of the day or night, in any postcode, as casually or as seriously as they wanted. Players connected their GRID profiles with their own social networking platforms, and a central Facebook group allowed GRID to engage in a live dialogue with players as events unfolded.
Advertising also played a role: digital out-of-home in each postcode celebrated the leaders in real-time throughout the day. This had a dual purpose: not only did it motivate the participants; it also amplified the game to a larger, non-participating audience, turning the idea into a wider Nike Running brand campaign.
The GRID itself – or how we pinpointed player location – was the biggest question that we faced. Partnering with one of the major mobile location services du jour was an obvious option, but instead, we focussed one of the massive pieces of pre-digital infrastructure still lying around London: BT phone boxes.
This re-appropriation of an iconic system achieved a few things. Firstly, it completely removed technological barriers to entry. Secondly, it delivered a surprising, subversive and urban tone to the game. Thirdly, it grounded the game firmly in the real world, and provided a unique ‘sense of place’ that simply wouldn’t be achievable solely through mobile platforms.
IMPLICATIONS
GRID is part of a growing category of ideas that sits within, as Tom Coates of Yahoo! describes, the ‘real world web’; connected things that blur the physical and virtual spaces - things that thrive primarily because they excite us as humans, rather than being a vehicle for demonstrating technical capability. Fun and competition ruled over technology and tradition, which led to almost 3,000 individual, runs being logged on the day. Further performance data is not yet available, but given some of the initial feedback via the group, the experience was a rewarding and enjoyable one for those involved.
Nike GRID was a collaboration between W+K London, AKQA, Mindshare and Nike. Planning, creative, media and production responsibilities were shared between all agencies. welcome to optimism
Bloomberg Businessweek Giving Away Free Copies On Wall Street
Get 'em while they're free! Bloomberg Businessweek hired some hawkers to hand out free copies of their newly redesigned magazine.
We got ours at the corner of Wall St. and Broadway – or just right outside the 4, 5 Wall St. subway stop.
Let us know if you see them handing them out elsewhere.
Read more: Clusterstock
We got ours at the corner of Wall St. and Broadway – or just right outside the 4, 5 Wall St. subway stop.
Let us know if you see them handing them out elsewhere.
Read more: Clusterstock
Clusterstock: 10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell
Good morning. Here's what you need to know:
* Q1 GDP has come in at 3.2%, just slightly below the 3.3% analysts were expecting. Check back here for full coverage of today's economic developments.
* The euro is gaining today on one last hope that a Greece bailout will get done. Final details are expected this weekend, or perhaps as early as early as tonight.
* Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK) annual shareholder's meeting is this weekend. Expect non-stop coverage in the media, and word is that the oracle Warren Buffett is willing to answer questions about his investment in Goldman Sachs (GS), the source of plenty of new controversy.
* Spanish unemployment has officially topped 20%.
* BP (BP), which has lost over $20 billion in market cap since the Gulf oil spill began, is ramping up efforts to curb the damage. The company has installed the rest of its marine protection booms, but the oil is still expected to make landfall today across several Gulf states.
* One week out from the vote, things are looking down for UK Gordon Brown. Three of four instant polls showed him losing yesterday's debate with David Cameron and Nick Clegg.
* China has just instituted its toughest measures yet to cool its housing bubble. Families are now banned from buying more than one home, even if they're paying cash. For more on why China has the most obvious housing bubble ever, see here.
* Crude oil rose about $86/barrel for the first time in two weeks. Investors may be anticipating brisk GDP growth combined with a backsliding US dollar.
* The White House has just announced a halt to new drilling as a result of the Gulf oil spill.
* Democrats have unveiled details of a new immigration bill that would combine an easier path to citizenship for immigrants, along with tighter security. Republicans aren't likely to go for it.
* BONUS: According to TMZ, Lindsay Lohan has failed to comply with terms of her probation -- getting alcohol education -- and could be headed for jail.
Read more: Clusterstock
* Q1 GDP has come in at 3.2%, just slightly below the 3.3% analysts were expecting. Check back here for full coverage of today's economic developments.
* The euro is gaining today on one last hope that a Greece bailout will get done. Final details are expected this weekend, or perhaps as early as early as tonight.
* Berkshire Hathaway's (BRK) annual shareholder's meeting is this weekend. Expect non-stop coverage in the media, and word is that the oracle Warren Buffett is willing to answer questions about his investment in Goldman Sachs (GS), the source of plenty of new controversy.
* Spanish unemployment has officially topped 20%.
* BP (BP), which has lost over $20 billion in market cap since the Gulf oil spill began, is ramping up efforts to curb the damage. The company has installed the rest of its marine protection booms, but the oil is still expected to make landfall today across several Gulf states.
* One week out from the vote, things are looking down for UK Gordon Brown. Three of four instant polls showed him losing yesterday's debate with David Cameron and Nick Clegg.
* China has just instituted its toughest measures yet to cool its housing bubble. Families are now banned from buying more than one home, even if they're paying cash. For more on why China has the most obvious housing bubble ever, see here.
* Crude oil rose about $86/barrel for the first time in two weeks. Investors may be anticipating brisk GDP growth combined with a backsliding US dollar.
* The White House has just announced a halt to new drilling as a result of the Gulf oil spill.
* Democrats have unveiled details of a new immigration bill that would combine an easier path to citizenship for immigrants, along with tighter security. Republicans aren't likely to go for it.
* BONUS: According to TMZ, Lindsay Lohan has failed to comply with terms of her probation -- getting alcohol education -- and could be headed for jail.
Read more: Clusterstock
Thursday, April 29, 2010
prsarahevans.com: BREAKING: Twitter Usage In America: 2010
Twitter Usage In America: 2010, a report released today from Edison Research/Arbitron Internet and Multimedia Series, is among the most significant data released to date on Twitter. A three-year project that is both nationally representative and projectable.
The report outlines key findings related to both the history of Twitter along with future predictions, trends and brutal facts (i.e. monetization).
For as active as I am on Twitter, and most likely the majority of you, only seven percent (granted that’s a lot of people) of American use the platform. Of those seven percent, the majority update weekly (30 percent). I share with you now, my key takeaways after reading the report in its entirety: prsarahevans.com
The report outlines key findings related to both the history of Twitter along with future predictions, trends and brutal facts (i.e. monetization).
For as active as I am on Twitter, and most likely the majority of you, only seven percent (granted that’s a lot of people) of American use the platform. Of those seven percent, the majority update weekly (30 percent). I share with you now, my key takeaways after reading the report in its entirety: prsarahevans.com
GlobeLink: 2010 Globe Young Lions Competition: Winners Gallery
This year's competition received a great response--187 participants, a 23% increase over 2009.
The winning teams in each category have won a trip to Cannes and the opportunity to represent Canada in the official Cannes Lions Young Lions competition held during the festival this summer.
Congratulations to everyone who participated. The quality of the entries was top notch and the judges had a hard time picking winners. For that reason, this year, we have decided to recognize the top three in each category. Although only the winners receive the coveted trip to Cannes, we felt it was important to recognize our top Canadian talent. Read more @ GlobeLink
The winning teams in each category have won a trip to Cannes and the opportunity to represent Canada in the official Cannes Lions Young Lions competition held during the festival this summer.
Congratulations to everyone who participated. The quality of the entries was top notch and the judges had a hard time picking winners. For that reason, this year, we have decided to recognize the top three in each category. Although only the winners receive the coveted trip to Cannes, we felt it was important to recognize our top Canadian talent. Read more @ GlobeLink
Partners and Napier: Ladykillers kill at the One Show
This poster, designed by our own Katie Woodson and Tanya Harding for their team, Roc City Roller Derby, was recognized for merit by the One Show. Even better, proceeds from the bout were donated to combat the two biggest killers of women, heart disease and breast cancer. A double win for our ladies! Partners and Napier
DRAFTFCBlog: The value of strategy
Body:
Posted by Michael Fassnacht, Global Chief Strategy Officer
I just started reading the book “The lords of strategy” by Walter Kiechel, who is the former Editorial Director of the Harvard Business Review. I have not yet finished the book but it’s a worthwhile read. Kiechel explains the origins of business strategy and the increasing importance of strategy in most corporations over the last 50 years. One can dislike the book’ strong focus on business consultants and their ever changing strategy memes (From “Just-in-time” to “Re-engineering”) but companies have significantly increased their strategic intelligence over the last years. And yes, business consultancies like BCG or McKinsey were critical to enable this positive change.
The more surprising is that it seems that most advertising agencies don’t pursue consistently a strategy of their own. It seems a lot of agencies live in a strategic vacuum that manifests itself in three different organizational life forms with different levels of strategic blindness:
* Service clients and make them happy. These agencies don’t see the need for their own strategic plan. Their belief is the satisfaction of their clients is sufficient for long term survival
* Satisfy the visionary ego of the key agency leader. These agencies don’t have a strategic outline beyond the eye sight of the charismatic company leader. A well researched and defined company plan with a three to five year horizon would assume that the leader does not intuitively understand and accordingly change the company’s structure for long-term success. Surely, he or she does not, but no one dares to tell him or her.
* Deliver profit to the agency’s holding company. While the ultimate goal of any business organization is to deliver profit for its shareholder and benefits for its stakeholder, a lot of people confuse the result of making profit with a strategically defined plan and purpose. Generating long-term profit is the outcome of a well design strategy, not a strategy by itself.
Not surprisingly I believe that agencies that ignore the importance of strategic intelligence and the benefits of a well designed strategic plan will have only a short window of success. The need for strategic planning for any agency should answer at minimum the following questions:
* How is your serviced market changing over the next three to five years? What are the key implications for your current business model and competitive positioning?
* How would you describe the current and the desired state of your organization?
* What are the key strategic bets that your company will focus on to get you to your desired organizational capabilities and offerings?
* How are you going to measure your progress against the strategic plan?
Business strategy is a much less complex field than most marketers believe. It just requires a good understanding of the key market trends, the analytical and intuitive understanding of the core and essence of the own organization, and the courage to put down a stake for the future. And it can be as insightful, creative, and entertaining as creating a 30 seconds TV spot or a iPad application.
DRAFTFCBlog
Posted by Michael Fassnacht, Global Chief Strategy Officer
I just started reading the book “The lords of strategy” by Walter Kiechel, who is the former Editorial Director of the Harvard Business Review. I have not yet finished the book but it’s a worthwhile read. Kiechel explains the origins of business strategy and the increasing importance of strategy in most corporations over the last 50 years. One can dislike the book’ strong focus on business consultants and their ever changing strategy memes (From “Just-in-time” to “Re-engineering”) but companies have significantly increased their strategic intelligence over the last years. And yes, business consultancies like BCG or McKinsey were critical to enable this positive change.
The more surprising is that it seems that most advertising agencies don’t pursue consistently a strategy of their own. It seems a lot of agencies live in a strategic vacuum that manifests itself in three different organizational life forms with different levels of strategic blindness:
* Service clients and make them happy. These agencies don’t see the need for their own strategic plan. Their belief is the satisfaction of their clients is sufficient for long term survival
* Satisfy the visionary ego of the key agency leader. These agencies don’t have a strategic outline beyond the eye sight of the charismatic company leader. A well researched and defined company plan with a three to five year horizon would assume that the leader does not intuitively understand and accordingly change the company’s structure for long-term success. Surely, he or she does not, but no one dares to tell him or her.
* Deliver profit to the agency’s holding company. While the ultimate goal of any business organization is to deliver profit for its shareholder and benefits for its stakeholder, a lot of people confuse the result of making profit with a strategically defined plan and purpose. Generating long-term profit is the outcome of a well design strategy, not a strategy by itself.
Not surprisingly I believe that agencies that ignore the importance of strategic intelligence and the benefits of a well designed strategic plan will have only a short window of success. The need for strategic planning for any agency should answer at minimum the following questions:
* How is your serviced market changing over the next three to five years? What are the key implications for your current business model and competitive positioning?
* How would you describe the current and the desired state of your organization?
* What are the key strategic bets that your company will focus on to get you to your desired organizational capabilities and offerings?
* How are you going to measure your progress against the strategic plan?
Business strategy is a much less complex field than most marketers believe. It just requires a good understanding of the key market trends, the analytical and intuitive understanding of the core and essence of the own organization, and the courage to put down a stake for the future. And it can be as insightful, creative, and entertaining as creating a 30 seconds TV spot or a iPad application.
DRAFTFCBlog
(BLOG) RED: (RED) LAUNCHES THE LAZARUS EFFECT CAMPAIGN
Today we’ve announced the launch of The Lazarus Effect campaign, a multi-platform campaign across TV, digital and print, inluding a documentary that will air on May 24th on HBO, YouTube (globally) and Channel 4 (in the UK).
AIDS is a preventable and treatable disease yet it has killed more than 20 million people in Africa. If people have access to lifesaving antiretroviral medicine that costs around 40 cents a day, they can live a full life with HIV instead of dying from AIDS. In as few as 40 days, people on ARVs can undergo a remarkable transformation. That transformation is called “The Lazarus Effect.”
“The Lazarus Effect” film by (RED), HBO and Anonymous Content is a 30 minute documentary directed by Lance Bangs and executive produced by Spike Jonze. The film follows the story of four people who were at death’s door and were brought back to life thanks to access to treatment.
“The Lazarus Effect” film will premiere on May 24th on HBO at 9pmET/8c, YouTube and Channel 4 in the UK.
To help raise awareness and spread the word about The Lazarus Effect, we are also launching today The Lazarus Effect campaign to accompany the film. The campaign is directed by renowned photographer Brigette Lancombe and features Bono, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Julianne Moore, Naomi Watts, Claire Danes, Alek Wek, Iman, John Turturro, Toni Collette, Hugh Jackman, Orlando Bloom, Lucy Liu, Gabourey Sidibe, Kerry Washington, Bryan Cranston, LeAnn Rimes, Jane Lynch, Michelle Rodriguez, Gwen Stefani, Hayden Christensen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Don Cheadle, Ludacris, Common, Benicio Del Toro, Dakota Fanning, Christy Turlington and the Jonas Brothers.Take a look:
(BLOG) RED
AIDS is a preventable and treatable disease yet it has killed more than 20 million people in Africa. If people have access to lifesaving antiretroviral medicine that costs around 40 cents a day, they can live a full life with HIV instead of dying from AIDS. In as few as 40 days, people on ARVs can undergo a remarkable transformation. That transformation is called “The Lazarus Effect.”
“The Lazarus Effect” film by (RED), HBO and Anonymous Content is a 30 minute documentary directed by Lance Bangs and executive produced by Spike Jonze. The film follows the story of four people who were at death’s door and were brought back to life thanks to access to treatment.
“The Lazarus Effect” film will premiere on May 24th on HBO at 9pmET/8c, YouTube and Channel 4 in the UK.
To help raise awareness and spread the word about The Lazarus Effect, we are also launching today The Lazarus Effect campaign to accompany the film. The campaign is directed by renowned photographer Brigette Lancombe and features Bono, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Julianne Moore, Naomi Watts, Claire Danes, Alek Wek, Iman, John Turturro, Toni Collette, Hugh Jackman, Orlando Bloom, Lucy Liu, Gabourey Sidibe, Kerry Washington, Bryan Cranston, LeAnn Rimes, Jane Lynch, Michelle Rodriguez, Gwen Stefani, Hayden Christensen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Don Cheadle, Ludacris, Common, Benicio Del Toro, Dakota Fanning, Christy Turlington and the Jonas Brothers.Take a look:
(BLOG) RED
Talent imitates, genius steals: Robin of Shoreditch and The Values of Brands
The 100 Brands Project from Robin of Shoreditch on Vimeo.
The 100 Brands Project from Robin of Shoreditch on Vimeo.
As the video above admirably explains, Robin of Shoreditch are an anonymous group of creative outlaws that are doing what they know how to do to help Haiti - creating ideas for brands.
Specifically the top 100 brands by brand value, as listed on the BrandZ report that WPP puts together.
Conitnue reading @ Talent imitates, genius steals by farisyakob
Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim: Apple’s Cracked the App $ Code: Charge Developers for iAds
Apparently Apple just isn’t making enough money off the iPhone. In addition to making at least a little on each unit sold, Apple also gets a cut on the apps and other media sold for the device.
But they want more. The Wall Street Journal reports on a rumor that the new iAd network will come with a hefty price tag—possibly $1M to join the program, and $10M to be among the first. Additionally, Apple’s split of the ad revenue is 40%, and the price tag “comes with initial demands for greater control over advertisers’ marketing campaigns.”
It’s often routine to charge a premium to participate or especially launch a new platform, but even established advertisers are surprised by the price tag. Says the WSJ, “Ad executives say they are used to paying between $100,000 and $200,000 for similar mobile deals.”
But, says the WSJ, the bigger fish are still biting: “Despite the high price, ad executives at agencies from Boston to New York and San Francisco to Los Angeles have crowded into conference rooms in recent weeks to listen to the tech company’s pitch for iAd.”
Another feature that makes the iAd attractive is the format. Advertisers pay a very low CPM, but when consumers click on and interact with the interactive ads, the price for advertisers jumps up:
One example Apple has been showing advertisers is an ad for Nike’s Air Jordan basketball shoe, says Baba Shetty, chief media officer at Boston-based ad agency Hill Holiday, owned by Interpublic Group. When a user is in an application, an animated banner ad appears on the border of the screen, along with an iAd logo. If the user taps on the ad, it expands across the screen, displaying a video, an interactive store locator and exclusive offers at local stores, among other features. . . .
Apple is planning to charge advertisers a penny each time a consumer sees a banner ad, ad executives say. When a user taps on the banner and the ad pops up, Apple will charge $2. Under large ad buys, such as the $1 million package, costs would rack up to reach $1 million with the various views and taps.
With 85M devices and approximately 42.5M hours of screen time for apps a day, it’s little wonder advertisers are interested. But with cheaper alternatives out there, will it be enough to make it worth their while? What do you think? Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim
But they want more. The Wall Street Journal reports on a rumor that the new iAd network will come with a hefty price tag—possibly $1M to join the program, and $10M to be among the first. Additionally, Apple’s split of the ad revenue is 40%, and the price tag “comes with initial demands for greater control over advertisers’ marketing campaigns.”
It’s often routine to charge a premium to participate or especially launch a new platform, but even established advertisers are surprised by the price tag. Says the WSJ, “Ad executives say they are used to paying between $100,000 and $200,000 for similar mobile deals.”
But, says the WSJ, the bigger fish are still biting: “Despite the high price, ad executives at agencies from Boston to New York and San Francisco to Los Angeles have crowded into conference rooms in recent weeks to listen to the tech company’s pitch for iAd.”
Another feature that makes the iAd attractive is the format. Advertisers pay a very low CPM, but when consumers click on and interact with the interactive ads, the price for advertisers jumps up:
One example Apple has been showing advertisers is an ad for Nike’s Air Jordan basketball shoe, says Baba Shetty, chief media officer at Boston-based ad agency Hill Holiday, owned by Interpublic Group. When a user is in an application, an animated banner ad appears on the border of the screen, along with an iAd logo. If the user taps on the ad, it expands across the screen, displaying a video, an interactive store locator and exclusive offers at local stores, among other features. . . .
Apple is planning to charge advertisers a penny each time a consumer sees a banner ad, ad executives say. When a user taps on the banner and the ad pops up, Apple will charge $2. Under large ad buys, such as the $1 million package, costs would rack up to reach $1 million with the various views and taps.
With 85M devices and approximately 42.5M hours of screen time for apps a day, it’s little wonder advertisers are interested. But with cheaper alternatives out there, will it be enough to make it worth their while? What do you think? Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim
Landor.com: Blog: The People's Republic of Brand
Warning: This post is a shameless plug for a Landor Salon Series online event that is happening today. The content is designed to get you interested in this event and sign up for it. There. I've made my intentions known. Read on, if you dare.
If you were going to put together a list of things to read or watch to generate interest in a panel discussion event on social media, what would you include? Here's some of the things I found while I was putting together a list for a pre-event pizza lunch and learn: please read @Landor.com: Blog
If you were going to put together a list of things to read or watch to generate interest in a panel discussion event on social media, what would you include? Here's some of the things I found while I was putting together a list for a pre-event pizza lunch and learn: please read @Landor.com: Blog
Canadian Marketing Blog - Canadian Marketing Association: Design Intelligence
Kev (my business partner) and I were chatting about the influence of design in marketing. He has great insights into design intelligence. Like most great insights, it's stuff that is floating in the back ground of our minds but too often we don't let it come to the forefront and really impact our work. He sees design intelligence for marketing as one of the most critical components for impacting and motivating choice. But too often marketing teams don't use design intelligence. Some designs are totally consumed by layout. That's the technical skill behind great design: white space, typography, use of colour, clean lines, careful attention to grids. While great layout makes the piece pretty -- it's doesn't push the edges towards brand personality, marketing principals and offer insight.
On the other extreme are the marketing teams who sacrifice design intelligence for fine art. Fine art is focused on the visual experience -- not the message. The message is often subtle or determined by the viewer. It belongs on living room walls and museums. Great marketing motivates and inspires action. Design intelligence starts with understanding the overall goal, the underlying challenge, the audience, human motivations and, maybe most of all, takes the designer out of the picture. As we were chatting, we were musing about a piece that we did for a client many years ago. Both of us hated it. While the offer was intact and the design intelligence was strong in understanding the overall brand and the motivations of the direct audience -- our visual minds were really turned off. It was the second highest performing acquisition piece that year. That taught us a lesson.
Our overall goal was to communicate to the audience. Frankly, neither of us were the audience. While neither Kev or I would be motivated by this piece -- we were not the people the client wanted to motivated. The biggest mistake marketers make is to allow our own preferences to interfere with truly understanding the audience. One more story.... when my son was about 2 years old my husband and I worked in a kid's program. One of the features of the program was a dorky beanie that had a helicopter blade on the top. On the way home I was nattering about the lack of sophistication of the premium when Chris piped up from his car seat: "I can hardly wait until I can get one of those hats!" The designer of the program was bang on in assessing the level of sophistication of the audience. Design intelligence refuses to be tainted by personal taste. It is objective, rational and results oriented.
Barefoot Creative is looking for a designer as I write. Without a question we are looking for a designer with design intelligence!
from Canadian Marketing Blog - Canadian Marketing Association by CMA on behalf of Gayle Goossen
On the other extreme are the marketing teams who sacrifice design intelligence for fine art. Fine art is focused on the visual experience -- not the message. The message is often subtle or determined by the viewer. It belongs on living room walls and museums. Great marketing motivates and inspires action. Design intelligence starts with understanding the overall goal, the underlying challenge, the audience, human motivations and, maybe most of all, takes the designer out of the picture. As we were chatting, we were musing about a piece that we did for a client many years ago. Both of us hated it. While the offer was intact and the design intelligence was strong in understanding the overall brand and the motivations of the direct audience -- our visual minds were really turned off. It was the second highest performing acquisition piece that year. That taught us a lesson.
Our overall goal was to communicate to the audience. Frankly, neither of us were the audience. While neither Kev or I would be motivated by this piece -- we were not the people the client wanted to motivated. The biggest mistake marketers make is to allow our own preferences to interfere with truly understanding the audience. One more story.... when my son was about 2 years old my husband and I worked in a kid's program. One of the features of the program was a dorky beanie that had a helicopter blade on the top. On the way home I was nattering about the lack of sophistication of the premium when Chris piped up from his car seat: "I can hardly wait until I can get one of those hats!" The designer of the program was bang on in assessing the level of sophistication of the audience. Design intelligence refuses to be tainted by personal taste. It is objective, rational and results oriented.
Barefoot Creative is looking for a designer as I write. Without a question we are looking for a designer with design intelligence!
from Canadian Marketing Blog - Canadian Marketing Association by CMA on behalf of Gayle Goossen
Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim: Facebook Social Plugins on 50,000 Sites Already
Facebook has its good and bad days. If we are talking about Facebook and privacy then it’s probably a bad day. In this case, we are talking about the rapid adoption of Facebook’s set of social plugins, in particular their “Like” button. According to Facebook they have hit the “50,000 sites served” mark with these new social media integration tools.
TechCrunch tells us some more
Facebook has just given us an idea of how quickly these widgets are being adopted: a week after f8, 50,000 websites now feature the Like button and the other new plugins.
75 of those websites were Facebook’s launch partners, which included sites like CNN and the New York Times — everyone else handled the integration on their own, which Facebook has made very straightforward (it generally just involves copy-and-pasting a few lines of code). This growth is important, because as more sites integrate these social widgets, Facebook will increasingly own social interaction across the web.
In classic Facebook fashion, the wizard of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, made the prediction there would be over 1 billlion “likes” in the first 24 hours of the service’s existence. I say classic fashion because it was such an outrageous claim and read as if there would be 1 billion hits of a like button there was need for Zuckerberg spin control as TC reported an update
A Facebook spokesman has clarified that Zuckerberg was referring to the number of impressions the Like button had, not how many times people clicked the Like button.
Spin is still the forefront of the Internet hype and hyperbole machine. Facebook does it better than anyone. With their predictions and then their “cat who ate the canary” looks when confronted with privacy matters, it gets ridiculous but guess what? We’re stuck with it because they are big and getting more powerful.
So do you “like” Facebook and their approach or are you just going to play along because there are no other options?
Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim
TechCrunch tells us some more
Facebook has just given us an idea of how quickly these widgets are being adopted: a week after f8, 50,000 websites now feature the Like button and the other new plugins.
75 of those websites were Facebook’s launch partners, which included sites like CNN and the New York Times — everyone else handled the integration on their own, which Facebook has made very straightforward (it generally just involves copy-and-pasting a few lines of code). This growth is important, because as more sites integrate these social widgets, Facebook will increasingly own social interaction across the web.
In classic Facebook fashion, the wizard of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, made the prediction there would be over 1 billlion “likes” in the first 24 hours of the service’s existence. I say classic fashion because it was such an outrageous claim and read as if there would be 1 billion hits of a like button there was need for Zuckerberg spin control as TC reported an update
A Facebook spokesman has clarified that Zuckerberg was referring to the number of impressions the Like button had, not how many times people clicked the Like button.
Spin is still the forefront of the Internet hype and hyperbole machine. Facebook does it better than anyone. With their predictions and then their “cat who ate the canary” looks when confronted with privacy matters, it gets ridiculous but guess what? We’re stuck with it because they are big and getting more powerful.
So do you “like” Facebook and their approach or are you just going to play along because there are no other options?
Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim
Pro PR by Joseph Thornley: Canada’s Consumer Privacy Consultations: Elizabeth Denham
I’m in Toronto today at the 2010 Consumer Privacy Consultation convened by Canada’s Privacy Commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart.
There are several people tweeting to the #priv2010 hashtag. I’m going to capture the session stream using CoverItLive and post during the day.
follow here: Pro PR by Joseph Thornley
There are several people tweeting to the #priv2010 hashtag. I’m going to capture the session stream using CoverItLive and post during the day.
follow here: Pro PR by Joseph Thornley
Tribble Ad Agency : The Advertising Agency of Record: Comical parodies of madness in Arizona spring up
Clearly people are viewing this as a complete mess. There are people rioting in the streets, protests that are expected to reach millions regarding the immigration issue.
read more here: Tribble Ad Agency : The Advertising Agency of Record by TheFounder
read more here: Tribble Ad Agency : The Advertising Agency of Record by TheFounder
Clusterstock: 10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell (GS, PG)
Good morning. Here's what you need to know:
* Greece shares are surging on renewed hope of some kind of bailout. Yesterday Barack Obama put pressure on Germany's Angela Merkel, and the IMF has pledged increased support. Of course, we've seen this movie before.
* Sovereign debt spreads are narrower across the board, suggesting a day of breathing room after the madness of this week.
* Goldman Sachs (GS) may be nearing a settlement with the SEC, according to the New York Post.
* The massive oil spill in the gulf is 5x more severe than previously thought.
* Weekly jobless claims are out at 8:30 AM. Analysts are expecting initial claims of 445K. Check back here for the results.
* UK traders are buzzing about their own sovereign debt risks, and fears that S&P will reduce its ratings next. The origin, according to FT Alphaville, is a specific Barclays report, though there doesn't seem to be much to it.
* Speaking of the UK, the Labour party is in serious damage control mode after the Prime Minister's horrendous gaffe yesterday, when he called a little old lady a bigot. Word from the Labour party is that yes, immigration questions are perfectly legitimate. A major debate is scheduled for tonight.
* France's Sarkozy pays official state visit to China in effort to strengthen ties between the two countries.
* Today labor unions will descend onto Wall Street for a day of protest. Should make for some good pictures.
* Shares of Procter & Gamble (PG) are slipping pre-market after the company reported light revenues.
* BONUS: A new report from UK's Daily Mirror claims Tiger Woods has enumerated the exact number of women he cheated with. The number is... wait for it... 121.
Clusterstock
* Greece shares are surging on renewed hope of some kind of bailout. Yesterday Barack Obama put pressure on Germany's Angela Merkel, and the IMF has pledged increased support. Of course, we've seen this movie before.
* Sovereign debt spreads are narrower across the board, suggesting a day of breathing room after the madness of this week.
* Goldman Sachs (GS) may be nearing a settlement with the SEC, according to the New York Post.
* The massive oil spill in the gulf is 5x more severe than previously thought.
* Weekly jobless claims are out at 8:30 AM. Analysts are expecting initial claims of 445K. Check back here for the results.
* UK traders are buzzing about their own sovereign debt risks, and fears that S&P will reduce its ratings next. The origin, according to FT Alphaville, is a specific Barclays report, though there doesn't seem to be much to it.
* Speaking of the UK, the Labour party is in serious damage control mode after the Prime Minister's horrendous gaffe yesterday, when he called a little old lady a bigot. Word from the Labour party is that yes, immigration questions are perfectly legitimate. A major debate is scheduled for tonight.
* France's Sarkozy pays official state visit to China in effort to strengthen ties between the two countries.
* Today labor unions will descend onto Wall Street for a day of protest. Should make for some good pictures.
* Shares of Procter & Gamble (PG) are slipping pre-market after the company reported light revenues.
* BONUS: A new report from UK's Daily Mirror claims Tiger Woods has enumerated the exact number of women he cheated with. The number is... wait for it... 121.
Clusterstock
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Richard Edelman - 6 A.M: Capitalism 4.0
Capitalism 4.0
I spent the weekend reading the final draft of Anatole Kaletsky’s book, Capitalism 4.0, due out at the end of June. Kaletsky, a columnist at the Times of London and economist serving the financial community, has given us a brave prognosis on the future relationship between business and government. His thesis is that “Instead of separating the State and private economy, Capitalism 4.0 will bring them into a closer relationship.”
No surprise here, you think. Business screwed things up in the period of deregulation. The world is moving back to heavy government regulation. According to Anatole, you would be wrong. “The size of government will have to shrink, even as its responsibilities and influence expand… One reason is the size of deficits created by the crisis... A deeper cause will be the inability of bureaucratically inflexible big government to meet society’s ever-changing demands.”
So where does this leave business? Continue reading: Richard Edelman - 6 A.M.
I spent the weekend reading the final draft of Anatole Kaletsky’s book, Capitalism 4.0, due out at the end of June. Kaletsky, a columnist at the Times of London and economist serving the financial community, has given us a brave prognosis on the future relationship between business and government. His thesis is that “Instead of separating the State and private economy, Capitalism 4.0 will bring them into a closer relationship.”
No surprise here, you think. Business screwed things up in the period of deregulation. The world is moving back to heavy government regulation. According to Anatole, you would be wrong. “The size of government will have to shrink, even as its responsibilities and influence expand… One reason is the size of deficits created by the crisis... A deeper cause will be the inability of bureaucratically inflexible big government to meet society’s ever-changing demands.”
So where does this leave business? Continue reading: Richard Edelman - 6 A.M.
PR2.0: The Future of Marketing Starts with Publishing Part 2
As social media moves from the edge to the center of adoption and practice, the future of marketing hinges on the ability for brands to evolve from the broadcasting of one-to-many sales and marketing messages to an authentic media company that creates and publishes meaningful and timely content. In Part 1, we examined the idea that every company is a media company: EC=MC, the various forms of pervasive media in the social Web, the need for editorial calendars, and how through the creation and proliferation of social objects, businesses could earn awareness and presence.
In this Part 2, we’ll now examine the infrastructure necessary to create a fully-functional media team and channel and also how to optimize social objects to dramatically increase findability and shareability.
Read full article: PR2.0
In this Part 2, we’ll now examine the infrastructure necessary to create a fully-functional media team and channel and also how to optimize social objects to dramatically increase findability and shareability.
Read full article: PR2.0
JWT AnxietyIndex: As U.K. election nears, ?The Independent? taps into reader anxieties, while IKEA finds the humor
As the U.K. counts down to the May 6 general election, a tight three-way race, an ad campaign from The Independent is tapping into the political anxieties of its target readers and attempting to inspire them. “A few people count way too much,” an election-themed video warns, listing Rupert Murdoch (who will “throw the weight of the country’s two biggest newspapers behind one party”) and the millions spent by the Tory-supporting Lord Ashcroft and by unions.
The point is not only that The Independent will provide the facts—“Truth matters” is the campaign’s tagline—but that the facts will empower voters (“People should not fear their government. Government should fear you”). Outdoor ads distill the message—says one: “Rupert Murdoch won’t decide this election. You will.” The campaign, which coincides with a major redesign of the newspaper and the arrival of a new owner, seems like a smart way to connect with readers at a tense time.
Meanwhile, IKEA is tackling election anxiety with levity on its U.K. site, presenting “kitchen designs inspired by our would-be PMs.” Each candidate gets a suitably Swedish name—for example, Brown becomes Brün; his kitchen is “durable and prudent for the economically conscious.” The idea reminds us of 7-Eleven’s recent whimsical elections-themed promotion in the Philippines.
JWT AnxietyIndex
The point is not only that The Independent will provide the facts—“Truth matters” is the campaign’s tagline—but that the facts will empower voters (“People should not fear their government. Government should fear you”). Outdoor ads distill the message—says one: “Rupert Murdoch won’t decide this election. You will.” The campaign, which coincides with a major redesign of the newspaper and the arrival of a new owner, seems like a smart way to connect with readers at a tense time.
Meanwhile, IKEA is tackling election anxiety with levity on its U.K. site, presenting “kitchen designs inspired by our would-be PMs.” Each candidate gets a suitably Swedish name—for example, Brown becomes Brün; his kitchen is “durable and prudent for the economically conscious.” The idea reminds us of 7-Eleven’s recent whimsical elections-themed promotion in the Philippines.
JWT AnxietyIndex
TAXI - BLOG: Boulder Digital Workshop
from TAXI - BLOG by Cynthia
I was fortunate to attend the Boulder Digital Workshop last week held in Toronto.
Dubbed “Digital Bootcamp”, the workshops covered many topics from digital strategy, the importance of technology and UX in the creative process to how to structure teams. There were deep dives into planning, the mobile space, online video & OOH and social media. These two days were built to illustrate and discuss all the various parts of what the boulder folks describe as the digital ecosystem.
BDW is developed by the University of Colorado at Boulder through the early support of founding partner MDC Partners and with input from Sweden’s Hyper Island and The Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA). It was led by leaders from business, creative, and technology disciplines. In Toronto the key presenters were Scott Pringle – director of technology and Joe Corr, senior technical lead from CP&B and Matt Howell from Modernista.
I will write here about the beginning of day two which focused on the emerging technologies affecting Digital OOH and Video, clearly a topic close to my heart! Digital OOH presentation showcased both the passive experience ie projection mapping, ambient work as well as the interactive experience which was the most immersive and engaging work Рtruly inspiring. Each piece is customized and is a shared experience for those viewing. When it is truly interactive it turns the actions of the viewer into visible results. The times square work with Microsoft and Nike are probably the most well known but my favourite piece presented was the Hard Rock Caf̩ touch wall which had viewers able to access a full catalogue of music info and content pieces. The possibilities are endless and this space will only get more and more inventive. Another possibility discussed was helio technology that generates a mist into the air so that you can project against that.
There’s a lot of buzz around the future of video, be it IPTV, Internet TV or aggregate sites like YouTube, Veoh and Hulu. Migrating “traditional” advertising strategies to digital means integrating video into the digital process. David U.K. (Managing Director of Digital Percent and previous general Manager at Heavy.com) discussed the creative and production opportunities.
Online video spending will grow 45% over the next year and the new technologies are providing very creative ways to engage with the consumer. The landscape for Digital video spans everything from user generated You tube hits to webisodes to SPUG – semi professional User generated work to real time web shows such as fearless Q&A & Justin TV PCHookupshow. The discussion centered around how a brand can be involved in the space of branded content/entertainment. Many of the examples started from an event. Taking a sponsorship and making it bigger; adding a layer of Social media on top of it and promoting the piece – ie Kokanee crankworx
One of the most entertaining viral pieces showcased was created for Samsung and was hugely successful. It was simply tagged by the advertiser and did so well because it was original, entertaining and not expensive.
Samsung produced the viral video to promote its new LED TV range. The brand came up with an idea to make sure that its new product will be talked about: viral sheep advertising. They simply equipped a flock of sheep with LED lights and filmed them being shepherded on a steep hill in Wales. The “Baaa-Studs” team, including among others a shepherd, a cameraman, and several sheepdogs, did a great job. They made a sheep form different contours on the hill, played LED sheep Pong in the dark and even created the Mona Lisa entirely out of sheep. This got over 3.5 million hits in its first week. It’s about a year old but so entertaining.
See for yourself:
Click here to view the embedded video.
While this viral was highly entertaining the most innovation is being seen in the real time web. Sites such as Ustream and kyte.com allow consumers to watch and interact with the show live. (in fact Boulders 3 day workshop in Boulder was streamed live on Ustream.com – (wish I had known that!) and they both have online and mobile platforms. Their premise is to stream live, build a community and of course increase revenue opportunities. It is not a one way video delivery platform but is designed to be interactive via comments, chat or uploading their own videos – you can also see who is watching online or on mobile. The system also offers a variety of metrics to see how the audience is engaging.
Another real time web show was created by Microsoft & Justin.TV to create a live talk show called PC Hook up with host Christian Lander , author of “Stuff White People Like: A Definitive Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions” The show run as a late night talk show format, starting with a monologue from Christian and followed by interviews. Each episode was broadcast live and offers real time interaction with viewers at: http://justin.tv/pchookup. The PC Hook Up Show hosted celebrities from the technology, media and entertainment worlds and the first 10 episodes showed interviews with various artists as they described their PC experience. It also allowed viewers to call in or chat and be a part of the show as well as have the chance to win a free PC. It may not be the best show but a great example of reaching consumers online in real time.
The show got 1.5 million view and was supported by a twitter feed. It is high production quality and 10 episodes were made for the cost of 1 TV spot (ok US budget – $600K). It ran for 5 weeks, interviewed 50 guests and created more than 450 minutes of content. Most importantly it created real time dialogue with its viewers. The branded content/entertainment space has much potential for our clients particularly as interactivity becomes more viable.
I was fortunate to attend the Boulder Digital Workshop last week held in Toronto.
Dubbed “Digital Bootcamp”, the workshops covered many topics from digital strategy, the importance of technology and UX in the creative process to how to structure teams. There were deep dives into planning, the mobile space, online video & OOH and social media. These two days were built to illustrate and discuss all the various parts of what the boulder folks describe as the digital ecosystem.
BDW is developed by the University of Colorado at Boulder through the early support of founding partner MDC Partners and with input from Sweden’s Hyper Island and The Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA). It was led by leaders from business, creative, and technology disciplines. In Toronto the key presenters were Scott Pringle – director of technology and Joe Corr, senior technical lead from CP&B and Matt Howell from Modernista.
I will write here about the beginning of day two which focused on the emerging technologies affecting Digital OOH and Video, clearly a topic close to my heart! Digital OOH presentation showcased both the passive experience ie projection mapping, ambient work as well as the interactive experience which was the most immersive and engaging work Рtruly inspiring. Each piece is customized and is a shared experience for those viewing. When it is truly interactive it turns the actions of the viewer into visible results. The times square work with Microsoft and Nike are probably the most well known but my favourite piece presented was the Hard Rock Caf̩ touch wall which had viewers able to access a full catalogue of music info and content pieces. The possibilities are endless and this space will only get more and more inventive. Another possibility discussed was helio technology that generates a mist into the air so that you can project against that.
There’s a lot of buzz around the future of video, be it IPTV, Internet TV or aggregate sites like YouTube, Veoh and Hulu. Migrating “traditional” advertising strategies to digital means integrating video into the digital process. David U.K. (Managing Director of Digital Percent and previous general Manager at Heavy.com) discussed the creative and production opportunities.
Online video spending will grow 45% over the next year and the new technologies are providing very creative ways to engage with the consumer. The landscape for Digital video spans everything from user generated You tube hits to webisodes to SPUG – semi professional User generated work to real time web shows such as fearless Q&A & Justin TV PCHookupshow. The discussion centered around how a brand can be involved in the space of branded content/entertainment. Many of the examples started from an event. Taking a sponsorship and making it bigger; adding a layer of Social media on top of it and promoting the piece – ie Kokanee crankworx
One of the most entertaining viral pieces showcased was created for Samsung and was hugely successful. It was simply tagged by the advertiser and did so well because it was original, entertaining and not expensive.
Samsung produced the viral video to promote its new LED TV range. The brand came up with an idea to make sure that its new product will be talked about: viral sheep advertising. They simply equipped a flock of sheep with LED lights and filmed them being shepherded on a steep hill in Wales. The “Baaa-Studs” team, including among others a shepherd, a cameraman, and several sheepdogs, did a great job. They made a sheep form different contours on the hill, played LED sheep Pong in the dark and even created the Mona Lisa entirely out of sheep. This got over 3.5 million hits in its first week. It’s about a year old but so entertaining.
See for yourself:
Click here to view the embedded video.
While this viral was highly entertaining the most innovation is being seen in the real time web. Sites such as Ustream and kyte.com allow consumers to watch and interact with the show live. (in fact Boulders 3 day workshop in Boulder was streamed live on Ustream.com – (wish I had known that!) and they both have online and mobile platforms. Their premise is to stream live, build a community and of course increase revenue opportunities. It is not a one way video delivery platform but is designed to be interactive via comments, chat or uploading their own videos – you can also see who is watching online or on mobile. The system also offers a variety of metrics to see how the audience is engaging.
Another real time web show was created by Microsoft & Justin.TV to create a live talk show called PC Hook up with host Christian Lander , author of “Stuff White People Like: A Definitive Guide to the Unique Taste of Millions” The show run as a late night talk show format, starting with a monologue from Christian and followed by interviews. Each episode was broadcast live and offers real time interaction with viewers at: http://justin.tv/pchookup. The PC Hook Up Show hosted celebrities from the technology, media and entertainment worlds and the first 10 episodes showed interviews with various artists as they described their PC experience. It also allowed viewers to call in or chat and be a part of the show as well as have the chance to win a free PC. It may not be the best show but a great example of reaching consumers online in real time.
The show got 1.5 million view and was supported by a twitter feed. It is high production quality and 10 episodes were made for the cost of 1 TV spot (ok US budget – $600K). It ran for 5 weeks, interviewed 50 guests and created more than 450 minutes of content. Most importantly it created real time dialogue with its viewers. The branded content/entertainment space has much potential for our clients particularly as interactivity becomes more viable.
Simon Mainwaring: Allvoices.com: How social media built a global community of citizen journalists with Amra Tareen
I recently had the pleasure of chatting to Amra Tareen, CEO and founder of the world’s largest citizen journalism platform, allvoices.com She is deeply committed to making sure all people have a voice and to shine a spotlight on those areas that can help the lives of others the most.
Amra commands 300,000 citizen journalists in over 160 countries and her site enjoys an amazing 5 million unique visitors a month. As the fastest growing media platform for citizen journalism in the world, allvoices.com is a model of how to engage individuals to contribute content, how to build a global community and how to leverage new technology tools to do meaningful work.
I hope you enjoy the interview and please fire away with any questions
Please read more & watch interview: Simon Mainwaring
Amra commands 300,000 citizen journalists in over 160 countries and her site enjoys an amazing 5 million unique visitors a month. As the fastest growing media platform for citizen journalism in the world, allvoices.com is a model of how to engage individuals to contribute content, how to build a global community and how to leverage new technology tools to do meaningful work.
I hope you enjoy the interview and please fire away with any questions
Please read more & watch interview: Simon Mainwaring
Landor.com: Blog: Weighing in on brand value and the BrandZ Top 100 for 2010
Which of the world’s great brands grew the most in value over the past five years? No one should be too surprised to learn that this honor was earned by BlackBerry, according to Millward Brown Optimor’s ranking in the BrandZ Top 100 most valuable global brands 2010. In this, the fifth year running that Millward Brown has produced its global survey ranking the world’s leading brands according to their financial value, it is particularly interesting to note some of the macro trends that its researchers and statisticians have observed. To learn about it first hand, visit BrandZ's website for the full report, and/or read the story in the April 28 edition of the Financial Times.
For starters, Millward Brown contends that consideration of brand in the purchase decision has increased by 20 percentage points since 2005—despite global economic turmoil and the perceived “flight to price” that many marketing experts have been preaching over the past two years. Indeed, brand values increased overall from 2008 to 2009, according to the study, during arguably the darkest days of the recession. Much of this growth in value, of course, is attributable to strong showings by emerging brands from the BRIC and their neighboring countries, demonstrating the symbiotic effect of growth economies and the ascendant brands that serve them. Indeed, when the BrandZ Top 100 was introduced in 2006, there was just one BRIC brand on the list; today there are 13 brands from emerging markets, including the addition of the first Indian brand (ICICI Bank).
Of course, this is just one global brand ranking list among several so it begs the question: what does the BrandZ survey have that the others (most notably BusinessWeek’s) do not? The Millward people cite a list of distinctions in their report, naturally, but (to me) the most important difference is that the BrandZ study uses broad-based consumer data, accumulated in large quantities (they claim over 1.5 million people queried since the inception of BrandZ 12 years ago) and tracked consistently over time. With the exception of Landor’s own Breakaway Brands survey, BrandZ's Top 100 list is the only financial brand valuation survey that uses quantitative consumer perceptions as part of its model. In other words, no mysterious “black box” analyses based on judgment calls and assumptions—just the facts, ma’am.
Needless to add, it’s always nice to see how our Landor client brands fare in all the rankings, but especially this one. And a good number of them have performed exceptionally well, starting with the aforementioned BlackBerry. But others can be equally proud: Verizon is No. 7 on the list of Top 20 risers and No. 3 among the world’s mobile operators (behind China Mobile and Vodaphone, a partner firm). BP leads the oil and gas company brands, and Bradesco is the third most valuable overall brand in Latin America, and the most valuable among all LatAm banks.
There’s much more to the study than what I've discussed here, including key sector analysis by WPP experts, and valuation rankings by geographies—but you will have to see for yourself. It's time well spent for any marketer interested in understanding today’s global brandscape and its implications for the future. Landor.com: Blog
For starters, Millward Brown contends that consideration of brand in the purchase decision has increased by 20 percentage points since 2005—despite global economic turmoil and the perceived “flight to price” that many marketing experts have been preaching over the past two years. Indeed, brand values increased overall from 2008 to 2009, according to the study, during arguably the darkest days of the recession. Much of this growth in value, of course, is attributable to strong showings by emerging brands from the BRIC and their neighboring countries, demonstrating the symbiotic effect of growth economies and the ascendant brands that serve them. Indeed, when the BrandZ Top 100 was introduced in 2006, there was just one BRIC brand on the list; today there are 13 brands from emerging markets, including the addition of the first Indian brand (ICICI Bank).
Of course, this is just one global brand ranking list among several so it begs the question: what does the BrandZ survey have that the others (most notably BusinessWeek’s) do not? The Millward people cite a list of distinctions in their report, naturally, but (to me) the most important difference is that the BrandZ study uses broad-based consumer data, accumulated in large quantities (they claim over 1.5 million people queried since the inception of BrandZ 12 years ago) and tracked consistently over time. With the exception of Landor’s own Breakaway Brands survey, BrandZ's Top 100 list is the only financial brand valuation survey that uses quantitative consumer perceptions as part of its model. In other words, no mysterious “black box” analyses based on judgment calls and assumptions—just the facts, ma’am.
Needless to add, it’s always nice to see how our Landor client brands fare in all the rankings, but especially this one. And a good number of them have performed exceptionally well, starting with the aforementioned BlackBerry. But others can be equally proud: Verizon is No. 7 on the list of Top 20 risers and No. 3 among the world’s mobile operators (behind China Mobile and Vodaphone, a partner firm). BP leads the oil and gas company brands, and Bradesco is the third most valuable overall brand in Latin America, and the most valuable among all LatAm banks.
There’s much more to the study than what I've discussed here, including key sector analysis by WPP experts, and valuation rankings by geographies—but you will have to see for yourself. It's time well spent for any marketer interested in understanding today’s global brandscape and its implications for the future. Landor.com: Blog
nick burcher: Heineken 'Men With Talent' new viral
Britain's Got Talent is back on air and a new video has started to spread across the web - but this time it's not Susan Boyle, it's Heineken's 'Men With Talent.'
Read more & video @ nick burcher
Read more & video @ nick burcher
Idea Peepshow: Big Ideas, Big Award
“Big ideas trump big budgets.”
Our agency was built on that mantra. We usually get hired because our client is looking for a heavy dose of creativity to stretch their marketing dollar. That doesn’t mean that we don’t work with some healthy budgets. We do. But because our clients don’t often throw terms like Gross Ratings Points around, they are forced to find ways to build awareness and drive sales in non-traditional ways. That’s where we come in.
When I started Fast Horse back in 2001, the marketing landscape was very different. But I was as convinced then as I am now that a small, independent agency could effectively compete with the kind of intergalactic agency where I had cut my teeth. I always say, nobody buys what we do in bulk. Creativity and flawless execution are the great equalizers, and that’s why boutique shops like ours routinely knock off the Big Boys in competitive pitches. And it why we’re able to give every client that walks through our door a chance to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with even the most deep-pocketed of marketers in the country. Witness:
On May 11 in New York City, the following six companies will vie for top honors in the Category of “Business-to-Consumer Marketing, New Product” at the annual SABRE awards:
Starbucks: Annual Revenue –$9.77 billion
McDonald’s: Annual Revenue — $22.7 billion
Barnes and Noble: Annual Revenue – $5.1 billion
Cargill: Annual Revenue — $120 billion
Unilever: Annual Revenue — $57.1 billion
Next Big Thing, Inc.: Annual Revenue — Well, let’s just say it doesn’t start with a “B.” Or even an “M.”
One of these things is decidedly not like the other ones. The first five need no introduction. (And rest-assured, we’d love to have any one of them as a client.) The last one, we’re proud to say, is our client. Next Big Thing is a coorperative of apple growers who last year launched a new variety called Sweetango. You can read more about it here. We helped create a lot of demand for this Sweetango in the handful of markets where it was available last year. That’s why NBT is a finalist for for this prestigious PR industry award. The next challenge will be to maintain and build on the buzz as NBT continues to ramp up to national distribution of Sweetango over the next couple years.
Don’t bet against us. Big ideas trump big budgets. Idea Peepshow
Clusterstock: 10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell (RDSA, HMC)
Here's what you need to know this morning:
* Greece remains the center of attention this morning, with the country's sovereign CDS indicating increasing uncertainty over the EU-IMF bailout and its long term position as a euro zone member. Greece's CDS is now the most expensive in the world, at 945 bps.
* The Greek crisis is having an impact across the European Union, with Portugal and Poland both showing signs of CDS stress this morning. The euro is also under pressure, approaching the $1.30 EUR/USD value.
* The IMF is considering increasing its portion or the size of the bailout for Greece as euro zone members, like Germany, continue to have doubts over the bailout. The president of the European Council tried to reassure markets that the bailout would occur, but said it was likely to be delayed until next month.
* Concerns are rising that Britain may too experience a similar situation to Greece, this according to the Liberal Democrats' finance spokesman. With the election 8 days away, the country's third party Liberal Democrats continue to gain on the Conservatives and Labour, increasing the likelihood of a hung parliament.
* Thai protests in the capital of Bangkok have turned violent today, with reported deaths and injuries. A soldier was killed in a friendly fire incident, as riot police and troops began to fire on the protesters.
* Shell has seen its profits grow by 60% in Q1 2010 as a result of higher oil prices. The firm beat estimates for a 30% profit growth.
* Honda has returned to profit because of strong growth in the Asian markets of Japan and China, as well as cost cutting measures. The company is expecting an 8.9% growth in sales for 2010.
* The oil slick still growing in the Gulf of Mexico is forcing officials into action as they try to prevent the spill from reaching shore. Setting the slick on fire, to burn off the fuel, is now being considered.
* The SEC is now investigating hedge funds for a potential illegal use of a strategy known as "side pockets" where managers could prevent clients from removing funds during times of stress, like the 2008 financial crisis. This is one of the first moves by the SEC's new division focused on the asset management community.
* Progress of the financial reform bill through the Senate has stalled as Democratic Sen. Nelson of Nebraska has remained loyal to a key constituent, Warren Buffett, and voted against the progress of the bill. The bill still needs two further votes besides Sen. Nelson to progress.
* Bonus: Courtney Love has suggested this morning that Bush lead singer Gavin Rossdale cheated on his wife Gwen Stefani, with her.
Clusterstock
* Greece remains the center of attention this morning, with the country's sovereign CDS indicating increasing uncertainty over the EU-IMF bailout and its long term position as a euro zone member. Greece's CDS is now the most expensive in the world, at 945 bps.
* The Greek crisis is having an impact across the European Union, with Portugal and Poland both showing signs of CDS stress this morning. The euro is also under pressure, approaching the $1.30 EUR/USD value.
* The IMF is considering increasing its portion or the size of the bailout for Greece as euro zone members, like Germany, continue to have doubts over the bailout. The president of the European Council tried to reassure markets that the bailout would occur, but said it was likely to be delayed until next month.
* Concerns are rising that Britain may too experience a similar situation to Greece, this according to the Liberal Democrats' finance spokesman. With the election 8 days away, the country's third party Liberal Democrats continue to gain on the Conservatives and Labour, increasing the likelihood of a hung parliament.
* Thai protests in the capital of Bangkok have turned violent today, with reported deaths and injuries. A soldier was killed in a friendly fire incident, as riot police and troops began to fire on the protesters.
* Shell has seen its profits grow by 60% in Q1 2010 as a result of higher oil prices. The firm beat estimates for a 30% profit growth.
* Honda has returned to profit because of strong growth in the Asian markets of Japan and China, as well as cost cutting measures. The company is expecting an 8.9% growth in sales for 2010.
* The oil slick still growing in the Gulf of Mexico is forcing officials into action as they try to prevent the spill from reaching shore. Setting the slick on fire, to burn off the fuel, is now being considered.
* The SEC is now investigating hedge funds for a potential illegal use of a strategy known as "side pockets" where managers could prevent clients from removing funds during times of stress, like the 2008 financial crisis. This is one of the first moves by the SEC's new division focused on the asset management community.
* Progress of the financial reform bill through the Senate has stalled as Democratic Sen. Nelson of Nebraska has remained loyal to a key constituent, Warren Buffett, and voted against the progress of the bill. The bill still needs two further votes besides Sen. Nelson to progress.
* Bonus: Courtney Love has suggested this morning that Bush lead singer Gavin Rossdale cheated on his wife Gwen Stefani, with her.
Clusterstock
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Ad Blog Arabia: Cupcakes like little affairs
Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett, Dubai
Executive Creative Director: Malek Ghorayeb
Creative Director: Yayati Godbole
Copywriter: Clevin Antao
Account Supervisor: Ramzi Sleiman
Art Buyer: Sylvia Trinidad
Art Director: Kapil Bhimekar
Illustrator: Kapil Bhimekar
Ad Blog Arabia
(BLOG) RED - Buy (RED). Save Lives: Want to Pick the Next (PRODUCT) RED Idea for College Students?
Now is your chance.
Pearson, the authors of Marketing: Real People, Real Choices asked Principles of Marketing students across the country to create their own marketing plan for a product targeted to college students that would fit into the (RED) product line. Just like all (PRODUCT) RED items the product would help raise awareness of and drive contributions to the Global Fund to help fight AIDS in Africa.
Students from all over submitted videos describing their proposed product and from now until May 1st you can vote for your favorite. So get voting now on Facebook. The grand prize winner will even be flown to New York to present their winning idea in front of the (RED) team - we can’t wait!
Read more about the contest in the New York Times here. (BLOG) RED - Buy (RED). Save Lives.
Pearson, the authors of Marketing: Real People, Real Choices asked Principles of Marketing students across the country to create their own marketing plan for a product targeted to college students that would fit into the (RED) product line. Just like all (PRODUCT) RED items the product would help raise awareness of and drive contributions to the Global Fund to help fight AIDS in Africa.
Students from all over submitted videos describing their proposed product and from now until May 1st you can vote for your favorite. So get voting now on Facebook. The grand prize winner will even be flown to New York to present their winning idea in front of the (RED) team - we can’t wait!
Read more about the contest in the New York Times here. (BLOG) RED - Buy (RED). Save Lives.
Clusterstock: Maria Bartiromo: Here Are The 3 Keys To Success
Over the last 10 days we've published excerpts from our exclusive interview with Maria Bartiromo.
We learned about the start of her career working for Lou Dobbs at CNN, why she doesn't sucker-punch her guests with brutal questions, and how she deals with media and public comments about her weight among every other aspect of her life.
We are ending the series with Maria's ultimate keys to success.
She has recently published a new book – The 10 Laws of Enduring Success – that draws on the experiences of the thousands of executives she has interviewed over the years, as well as her own career and professional philosophy.
Here are Maria's three laws that helped her climb to the top of the her field.
This is a clip from our longer interview with Maria. It's part of our Leadership series, which is presented by Marriott.
See Maria Bartiromo's Full Interview HERE >
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/maria-bartiromos-keys-to-success-2010-4?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+clusterstock+%28ClusterStock%29#ixzz0mKglu4oq
Clusterstock
We learned about the start of her career working for Lou Dobbs at CNN, why she doesn't sucker-punch her guests with brutal questions, and how she deals with media and public comments about her weight among every other aspect of her life.
We are ending the series with Maria's ultimate keys to success.
She has recently published a new book – The 10 Laws of Enduring Success – that draws on the experiences of the thousands of executives she has interviewed over the years, as well as her own career and professional philosophy.
Here are Maria's three laws that helped her climb to the top of the her field.
This is a clip from our longer interview with Maria. It's part of our Leadership series, which is presented by Marriott.
See Maria Bartiromo's Full Interview HERE >
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/maria-bartiromos-keys-to-success-2010-4?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+clusterstock+%28ClusterStock%29#ixzz0mKglu4oq
Clusterstock
Great Advertising, Clever Ads: Taylor Swift Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX7 "Fans" TV Commercial Ad
Sony Electronics has teamed up with four-time GRAMMY award-winning singer/songwriter Taylor Swift to promote its latest Cyber-shot® digital cameras in an integrated marketing campaign that puts the spotlight on the company’s latest innovations.
The ads with Swift zero in on the sleek and powerful Cyber-shot DSC-TX7 digital still camera and its intelligent iSweep Panorama feature that captures ultra-wide panoramic shots in one easy “press and sweep” motion; a technology innovation currently only available by Sony.
Primetime advertising spots featuring Swift discovering that she can capture the breadth of her audience with the new TX7 camera will start airing today on NBC, FOX and CW, accompanied by digital and print ads carried out through June. Sony will also spread the word about the new digital camera commercial through social networks.
“My fans are on the cutting edge, and I’m very interested in the newest and best technologies out there,” said Swift. “I’m super excited to be working with Sony and using the TX7 camera. The iSweep panorama mode is amazing.”
“This campaign with Swift and the TX7 camera is the start of a year-long campaign designed to demonstrate the quality, innovation, style and design that only Sony-branded products stand for,” said Stuart Redsun, Sony Electronics’ senior vice president, corporate marketing. “Sony is the only electronics company that creates entertainment and the only entertainment company that makes electronics. The ‘wow’ factor in our newest ad is clearly illustrated when Taylor puts the TX7 in action.”
“The campaign launches with Taylor Swift visiting Sony's Innovation Center to try out the new Cyber-shot,” noted Ari Weiss, Creative Director for 180 Los Angeles. “Throughout the year we’ll have different visitors drop in to experience the latest in Sony innovations. You may even see Justin Timberlake stop by.”
Credits:
Credits:
Campaign: 2010 Sony HQ
Length: 30
Spot: Fans
Agency: 180 Los Angeles
Client: Sony
Agency: 180LA
Executive Creative Director: William Gelner
Creative Directors: Ari Weiss & Gavin Lester
Copywriter: Kevin Doyle
Art Director: Chris Toland
Head of Production/Managing Partner: Peter Cline
Executive Producer: Colleen Wellman
Producer: Bé Garrett
Group Account Director: Kelli Stam
Account Director: Michele Tebbe
Planner: Sebastian Gunnewig
Production Co.: Smuggler
Director: Guy Shelmerdine
Great Advertising, Clever Ads
the fruits of imagination: The $73,000 bar tab
Imagine you're at the bar and you've set up a tab so you can drink the night away in merry bliss. Now it's 2am, you're drunk, and when you get your bill it's upwards of $73,000. That'd be a pretty powerful moment, regardless of how much you've had to drink.
It's all part of a drunk driving PSA from OgilvyBrazil that aims for 'quality of reach' over 'quantity of reach'. While the scale isn't there, the people involved look like they got the message. And just think of how big a 'free media' number the PR firm will pin to this initiative once I've supported it with this post.
the fruits of imagination
Marketingmagazine.com: HuffPo at 5: attracting readers but not profit
The Huffington Post will soon turn five-years-old—veritable old-age in Internet years.
As the site, co-founded by Arianna Huffington and launched on May 9, 2005, marks the anniversary, its proclaimed mission to be an “Internet newspaper” gains more credence every time its traffic surpasses the websites of its print brethren.
It recently made the top 10 current events and global news sites, with 13 million unique users in March, an increase of more than 94% over the year before, according to Nielsen Online. If the trend continues, The Huffington Post could soon pass The New York Times’ website (16.6 million uniques in March) in traffic this year.
The growth is a remarkable feat for a site launched as little more than a collection of celebrity bloggers, a liberal rival to the Drudge Report.
Since then, HuffPo, as it is known, has developed 20 sections ranging from food to books, launched four city-specific pages and integrated itself with social networks, partnering with Facebook and Twitter.
Ken Lerer, chairman and co-founder, says he recently looked up the Huffington Post from 2005 on Archive.org.
“I was floored,” he says. “It seemed really boring, very clean. It was great, but there wasn’t a lot there compared to where we are now.”
Now, the breadth of the Huffington Post—combining work from a paid staff of 70 reporters and editors, some 6,000 bloggers writing for free, and content from The Associated Press (they’re a paying customer) and other media companies—is considerably greater.
It’s a low cost, high content formula that has proven exceptionally efficient at attracting readers, though it hasn’t yet achieved profitability through advertising, which Lerer says is robust this year. (Greg Coleman, formerly an ad executive at AOL and Yahoo, was recently hired as chief revenue officer to increase advertising revenue.)
“I’m completely sure the site will be profitable by the end of the year,” Huffington says. “It would have been profitable a lot sooner if we hadn’t kept growing.”
Maturing from primarily a political news site to a general interest destination is an interesting proposition in an online world where success has often meant focusing on niche markets. In some ways, HuffPo is beginning to resemble an old-fashioned newspaper.
“Huffington Post is still saying, ‘What people still like is everything—or a lot—in one place,’ ” says Ken Doctor, author of Newsonomics: Twelve New Trends That Will Shape the News You Get.
“It’s the same principle [of a newspaper]. It’s just some different content and it’s organized different. The irony is just too rich.”
To recognize the importance of investigative journalism, the Huffington Post Investigative Fund was started. Its articles are available for anyone to post freely. And the site earned a question at President Barack Obama’s first press conference in 2009, although the prearranging of that question brought some criticism, too.
Nevertheless, while HuffPo has made advances in original reporting, it still relies largely on commentary and aggregation for attention.
“We’ll always curate news in addition to having our own original content because that’s the way the Internet works,” Lerer says. “That’s the model. If you don’t link and if you don’t get linked to, then I think it’s an impossible model.”
Though some sites are adopting or considering pay walls (the Times says it will begin metering traffic next year), the Huffington Post has thoroughly embraced web culture.
Says Huffington: “Those who still can’t believe, ‘Why are people updating their Facebook profiles for free? Why are they editing Wikipedia entries for free? Why are they blogging on the Huffington Post for free?’—the truth is that many people want to do that as part of their own self-expression. Nobody asks why are people watching bad TV for seven hours a day.”
The site has launched a social news feature with Facebook Connect, which gives users the option to link their commenting to their Facebook profile, thus roping in their friends and family to the discussion. More recently, HuffPo debuted Twitter feeds for each of its sections; it will soon launch one for it home page.
One exception to web openness: The site moderates commenting to keep the discourse civil. This has helped, Huffington says, to create a sense of community. CEO Eric Hippeau says that there were 2.3 million comments posted in March, “which is a lot of different opinions,” he notes.
At the five-year-old Huffington Post, optimism abounds to one day pass the Times and Tribune Newspapers (the only newspapers in the top 10) and even the other top sites in traffic: Yahoo! News (40.2 million uniques in March, according to Nielsen Online); CNN Digital Network (38.7 million); and the MSNBC Digital Network (33.8 million).
“We’ve got cash, we’ve got traffic—things are pretty good right now,” Lerer says. “It’s nice to have a pure Internet model.”
Marketingmagazine.com
As the site, co-founded by Arianna Huffington and launched on May 9, 2005, marks the anniversary, its proclaimed mission to be an “Internet newspaper” gains more credence every time its traffic surpasses the websites of its print brethren.
It recently made the top 10 current events and global news sites, with 13 million unique users in March, an increase of more than 94% over the year before, according to Nielsen Online. If the trend continues, The Huffington Post could soon pass The New York Times’ website (16.6 million uniques in March) in traffic this year.
The growth is a remarkable feat for a site launched as little more than a collection of celebrity bloggers, a liberal rival to the Drudge Report.
Since then, HuffPo, as it is known, has developed 20 sections ranging from food to books, launched four city-specific pages and integrated itself with social networks, partnering with Facebook and Twitter.
Ken Lerer, chairman and co-founder, says he recently looked up the Huffington Post from 2005 on Archive.org.
“I was floored,” he says. “It seemed really boring, very clean. It was great, but there wasn’t a lot there compared to where we are now.”
Now, the breadth of the Huffington Post—combining work from a paid staff of 70 reporters and editors, some 6,000 bloggers writing for free, and content from The Associated Press (they’re a paying customer) and other media companies—is considerably greater.
It’s a low cost, high content formula that has proven exceptionally efficient at attracting readers, though it hasn’t yet achieved profitability through advertising, which Lerer says is robust this year. (Greg Coleman, formerly an ad executive at AOL and Yahoo, was recently hired as chief revenue officer to increase advertising revenue.)
“I’m completely sure the site will be profitable by the end of the year,” Huffington says. “It would have been profitable a lot sooner if we hadn’t kept growing.”
Maturing from primarily a political news site to a general interest destination is an interesting proposition in an online world where success has often meant focusing on niche markets. In some ways, HuffPo is beginning to resemble an old-fashioned newspaper.
“Huffington Post is still saying, ‘What people still like is everything—or a lot—in one place,’ ” says Ken Doctor, author of Newsonomics: Twelve New Trends That Will Shape the News You Get.
“It’s the same principle [of a newspaper]. It’s just some different content and it’s organized different. The irony is just too rich.”
To recognize the importance of investigative journalism, the Huffington Post Investigative Fund was started. Its articles are available for anyone to post freely. And the site earned a question at President Barack Obama’s first press conference in 2009, although the prearranging of that question brought some criticism, too.
Nevertheless, while HuffPo has made advances in original reporting, it still relies largely on commentary and aggregation for attention.
“We’ll always curate news in addition to having our own original content because that’s the way the Internet works,” Lerer says. “That’s the model. If you don’t link and if you don’t get linked to, then I think it’s an impossible model.”
Though some sites are adopting or considering pay walls (the Times says it will begin metering traffic next year), the Huffington Post has thoroughly embraced web culture.
Says Huffington: “Those who still can’t believe, ‘Why are people updating their Facebook profiles for free? Why are they editing Wikipedia entries for free? Why are they blogging on the Huffington Post for free?’—the truth is that many people want to do that as part of their own self-expression. Nobody asks why are people watching bad TV for seven hours a day.”
The site has launched a social news feature with Facebook Connect, which gives users the option to link their commenting to their Facebook profile, thus roping in their friends and family to the discussion. More recently, HuffPo debuted Twitter feeds for each of its sections; it will soon launch one for it home page.
One exception to web openness: The site moderates commenting to keep the discourse civil. This has helped, Huffington says, to create a sense of community. CEO Eric Hippeau says that there were 2.3 million comments posted in March, “which is a lot of different opinions,” he notes.
At the five-year-old Huffington Post, optimism abounds to one day pass the Times and Tribune Newspapers (the only newspapers in the top 10) and even the other top sites in traffic: Yahoo! News (40.2 million uniques in March, according to Nielsen Online); CNN Digital Network (38.7 million); and the MSNBC Digital Network (33.8 million).
“We’ve got cash, we’ve got traffic—things are pretty good right now,” Lerer says. “It’s nice to have a pure Internet model.”
Marketingmagazine.com
Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim: Newspaper Circulation Contines to Nosedive
The headline alone is nothing that will surprise people, especially those in the online marketing industry. In fact, watching the decline and fall of the newspaper industry is some kind of guilty pleasure that everyone seems to relish. Since there are jobs and things at stake maybe that’s not such a good position to take but it is what it is, as they say.
The continued circulation declines however, are real news in the sense that it truly signifies the shift in how people get their information these days. Because of our ‘go-go’ lifestyle most people can’t be bothered with the print version of a newspaper. Commutes in cars make it harder to read a paper (notice I didn’t say impossible since there are still morons that think driving and reading the paper is simply multi-tasking). There is less time in the morning to ‘relax’ while reading the paper. Life is just different. Maybe not better but certainly different.
The Audit Bureau of Circulation’s latest figures confirms this change as 10 of the top 25 newspapers experienced a decline of more than 10% in the six months ending March 31, 2010. The Wall Street Journal reports
Newspaper circulation has been ebbing slowly for decades, but the pace has picked up of late, as more readers turn to a range of digital media such as the Web, smartphones and the iPad. Some publishers also have drastically curtailed the distribution of their papers, while others have abandoned print partially or altogether for the Internet.
Among the country’s largest papers, the sharpest drops were at the San Francisco Chronicle, owned by Hearst Corp., where circulation fell nearly 23%, and the Dallas Morning News, owned by A.H. Belo Corp. Its circulation declined 21%.
The one bright spot is actually the Wall Street Journal itself as it retains the top circulation spot it took last year from USA Today. Just that fact alone is enough to make one think. The Wall Street Journal is read by the business community and in particular business leadership. That leadership tends to be older because of experience levels. As a result, when will that group finally “age out” and the Journal’s numbers will also slide as a result of demographics more than anything else?
The plight of USA Today is actually tied to business as well. It is tied to the economy though not because the readers are the business barons like the WSJ but rather the road warrior that gets their USA Today in the hotels and motels of the workweek business traveler. Business travel is down so the USA Today circulation is down as well. Down a whopping 14%.
So the discussion turns to paywalls and what is next for the newspaper industries. These declines have been piling up for the last three six month periods. Obviously, this is not a sustainable path.
Will Rupert Murdoch’s cry for paid content be heard? Does anyone take into account that the success of the Wall Street Journal is that business people require the information it gives AND have the resources to keep paying for the information? WSJ readers are nothing like the common reader. Also, if you live in a high-tech region like San Francisco wouldn’t it make sense that the decline in circulation will be accelerated?
Honestly, these results don’t uncover anything we haven’t known for a while now. What is becoming evident though is that time is truly running out for newspapers to “you know what” or get off the pot. If they continue on this path the end is already known. Does anyone really want to see that ending? I know I don’t.
Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim
The continued circulation declines however, are real news in the sense that it truly signifies the shift in how people get their information these days. Because of our ‘go-go’ lifestyle most people can’t be bothered with the print version of a newspaper. Commutes in cars make it harder to read a paper (notice I didn’t say impossible since there are still morons that think driving and reading the paper is simply multi-tasking). There is less time in the morning to ‘relax’ while reading the paper. Life is just different. Maybe not better but certainly different.
The Audit Bureau of Circulation’s latest figures confirms this change as 10 of the top 25 newspapers experienced a decline of more than 10% in the six months ending March 31, 2010. The Wall Street Journal reports
Newspaper circulation has been ebbing slowly for decades, but the pace has picked up of late, as more readers turn to a range of digital media such as the Web, smartphones and the iPad. Some publishers also have drastically curtailed the distribution of their papers, while others have abandoned print partially or altogether for the Internet.
Among the country’s largest papers, the sharpest drops were at the San Francisco Chronicle, owned by Hearst Corp., where circulation fell nearly 23%, and the Dallas Morning News, owned by A.H. Belo Corp. Its circulation declined 21%.
The one bright spot is actually the Wall Street Journal itself as it retains the top circulation spot it took last year from USA Today. Just that fact alone is enough to make one think. The Wall Street Journal is read by the business community and in particular business leadership. That leadership tends to be older because of experience levels. As a result, when will that group finally “age out” and the Journal’s numbers will also slide as a result of demographics more than anything else?
The plight of USA Today is actually tied to business as well. It is tied to the economy though not because the readers are the business barons like the WSJ but rather the road warrior that gets their USA Today in the hotels and motels of the workweek business traveler. Business travel is down so the USA Today circulation is down as well. Down a whopping 14%.
So the discussion turns to paywalls and what is next for the newspaper industries. These declines have been piling up for the last three six month periods. Obviously, this is not a sustainable path.
Will Rupert Murdoch’s cry for paid content be heard? Does anyone take into account that the success of the Wall Street Journal is that business people require the information it gives AND have the resources to keep paying for the information? WSJ readers are nothing like the common reader. Also, if you live in a high-tech region like San Francisco wouldn’t it make sense that the decline in circulation will be accelerated?
Honestly, these results don’t uncover anything we haven’t known for a while now. What is becoming evident though is that time is truly running out for newspapers to “you know what” or get off the pot. If they continue on this path the end is already known. Does anyone really want to see that ending? I know I don’t.
Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim
Mobile Industry Review: Video: BlackBerry OS 6.0 sneak peak
I have to say that the all new BlackBerry OS 6.0 is looking rather nice. I’m looking forward to seeing how it actually works in the real world. Meantime, here’s a sneak peak video from today’s WES2010 event:
Mobile Industry Review
Mobile Industry Review
Profectio: Nominate The Most Influential Mommy Bloggers
We all love our mothers and with Mother’s Day fast approaching we here at Profectio and PR In Canada want to pay tribute to all the Mommy Bloggers out there, but we need your help. Some of you will recall that we open the door to you to help nominate the “Most Influential In Social Media” and this time we want to do the same for all the Mother’s out there who are bloggers as well.
Simply leave a comment at the bottom of the post with the name and url of any Mommy Blogger, you can even add your own name to the list. We will then compile all the nominations and use a system similar to what we used in the past to help determine the Top 10 and Most Influential Mommy Bloggers. We will announced all of the nominations just in time for Mother’s Day on May 9th and then shortly after we’ll announce the final winners.
Show some love to a mommy blogger, nominate her now…
Profectio
Simply leave a comment at the bottom of the post with the name and url of any Mommy Blogger, you can even add your own name to the list. We will then compile all the nominations and use a system similar to what we used in the past to help determine the Top 10 and Most Influential Mommy Bloggers. We will announced all of the nominations just in time for Mother’s Day on May 9th and then shortly after we’ll announce the final winners.
Show some love to a mommy blogger, nominate her now…
Profectio
Monday, April 26, 2010
The Hobson & Holtz Report - Podcast #544: April 26, 2010
Content summary: Neville’s solo on Sunday and Shel’s on a plane; FIR Interview with Kelly Hoey published, Katie Paine’s NewComm Forum session is up; Shel’s review of NewComm Forum 2010; Neville looks at celebrity iPhone apps and Google Maps Navigation; a shout out to Effective Edge Communications for the revised FIR banner; listener comments; News That Fits: Marriott launches virtual meetings, how social media helped travelers during the Iceland volcano crisis, the Media Monitoring Minute with CustomScoop, Michael Netzley in Singapore reports on political unrest in Thailand, a Canadian company adopts Facebook as its official investor forum, Dan York reports on Facebook, Ning, and the open internet; music from Jeff Ronay; and more.
Get FIR:
Get FIR:
Great Advertising, Clever Ads: NHL History Will Be Made 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs Ad Campaign
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are heating up as the remaining NHL teams face off for the right to hoist the most famous trophy in all of sports in June. As intense as the current action is, the journey takes on even greater significance when the storied history of the NHL and the epic battles for the Cup are considered. Smoke & Mirrors, working via Y&R, played a key role in a stirring seven-spot campaign spotlighting some of the League’s all-time great players in their legendary moments of glory.
The spots are remarkable replays of these classic moments, portrayed in slow motion and in reverse, rendered so that the on-screen look captures the exact tone and feel of a particular era, and set to dramatic piano music. The New York Rangers’ Mark Messier triumphantly raises the Stanley Cup over his head. Bobby Orr emerges from a pile of fellow Boston Bruins to fly backward through time, scoring a dramatic airborne goal. The Detroit Red Wings’ Steve Yzerman scores a dramatic game-winning goal, a spot that begins in regular speed as the team celebrates and then kicks into slow-motion reverse until he’s poised to take a slap shot. Other spots feature Patrick Roy, Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky and Ray Bourque.
“What a joy to take the best moments in NHL history and be given the chance to help create something this cool,” noted Smoke & Mirrors CCO Sean Broughton. “As spectacular as this footage is in regular replays, the dramatic spots that our team came together to build are mesmerizing. They beautifully portray the game’s incredible history in a compelling way that would capture hockey fans and nonfans alike.”
The historic footage came from multiple formats and cameras and was of varying quality, presenting unique challenges. Smoke & Mirrors found a look to bind the various pieces together, then up-rezed to HD from SD. Some of the film had deteriorated into a state of disrepair, compelling the crew to clean the footage, strip out miscellaneous video tears and film gromits, and then hand the freshly restored footage off to their new Resolve 360 grading suite, where the legendary Ben Eagleton whipped up a beautiful grade that felt authentic and unified the footage.
In the Flame suite, Phil Akka and Brian Benson skillfully time warped the footage to create seamless slowdowns to reverses, creating brand new slow-motion sequences of the historic footage from scratch. To maintain the historic nature of these, Smoke & Mirrors added real film grain and the occasional scratch back in, being constant in nature to one footage source. Once the look and process had been established on one spot, the crew copied it for each film allowing for different quality issues with each piece of archival footage.Great Advertising, Clever Ads
Credits:
Client: NHL
Spots Title: History Will Be Made
Bobby Orr (featured) / Mark Messier (featured) / Steve Yzerman (featured) / Mario Lemieux / Ray Borque / Patrick Roy / Wayne Gretzky
Airdate: March 2010
Agency: Y&R
Chief Creative Officer(s): Ian Reichenthal, Scott Vitrone
Associate CD (s): Cliff Skeete, Bruce Jacobson
Copywriter: Anthony Falvo
Director(s) Content Production: Nathy Aviram , Lora Schulson
EP, Content Production: Alex Gianni
Editorial: Cosmo Street
Editor: Steve Bell
Producer: Stacey Piculell
Telecine: Smoke & Mirrors NY
Colorist: Ben Eagleton
Post/Effects: Smoke & Mirrors NY
CCO: Sean Broughton
Lead VFX Artist: Philip Akka
Flame: Brian Benson and Sam Caine
Producer: Paul O’Beirne
Audio: Sound Lounge
Mixer: Philip Loe
Edelman Digital: WOMMA Interview With David Armano
Originally posted on WOMMA.
WOMMA: After the social media hype is finally done, where do you see it fitting into the marketing profession?
David Armano: I don’t see it fitting neatly into the “marketing profession” and this is going to be challenge for organizations. That said, marketing will be a key element. Social media often touches customer service, PR, marketing, IT, and even HR responsibilities. I see the need for a center of excellence or “core team” in large organizations that help train and develop competencies, which can then be implemented through ALL of these disciplines. I see the need for more integration as well, not only between the different departments but also with partners. Think of all the different agencies and firms a large company works with. It’s all very complex, but I’m convinced that there needs to be multiple hubs or better yet nodes within an organization that plug into a centralized social media resource. It’s the best of both worlds.
WOMMA: The phrase “word of mouth” is usually pegged to marketing. What other ways should brands think about word of mouth?
DA: “WOM” does seem to be limited to marketing and it’s a shame because it’s so much bigger. Employees of large companies rely on word of mouth just as much as “consumers”. We look for references for prospective hires, and “word of mouth” also tells us when a team has done something worthy of taking notice. Ratings aren’t just for products, in a way they also work for people. Just look at all the reputation building that is going on in the world. Edelman’s trust barometer indicated that people increasingly trust expertise and often times expertise is built upon word of mouth, both within the marketing world and outside of it.
WOMMA: You attended SXSW. What or who did you see there that Word readers should keep their eye on?
DA: Well, the founders of Foursquare for starters and lots of platform developers not to mention user experience professionals or brilliant minds such as Microsoft’s Danah Boyd (client). SXSW is special not so much because of the size but also for its diversity. There are marketers there for sure but there are also hard-core developers and geeks from all over the world. There are also folks from smaller firms such as Altimeter Group who really grasp the big picture of where this is all going. Again, it’s way bigger than marketing.
WOMMA: How does a brand move past thinking about their image and begin thinking about their personality?
DA: Let’s be honest—a brand worries about their personality when they are in decline. Does Apple worry about their personality? Perhaps their brand police do, but really I see a laser focus on amazing products. Is Facebook focused on their personality? No—they are focused on keeping you addicted to their platform. I think that it’s more important for a brand to be valuable and authentic. If your brand’s product is a commodity, like toothpaste—then you are more reliant on clever marketing. But honestly, I think even innovation can happen with toothpaste.
WOMMA: Many brands are WOM-Curious but are stalled when confronted with the overabundance of specialists, experts and gurus. What is the shortlist of traits that they should look for in a WOM agency or consultant?
DA: Call it a WOM, social media, marketing, advertising agency or even a business consultancy—you are looking for the same things:
* Relevant industry experience
* Professional business conduct
* Case studies
* Talent and of course, “word of mouth”. What do others say about this firm or individual—what is their reputation? Referrals are just as important here as they are in every other facet of life.
On a personal note, when I made the news public that I had joined Edelman there were literally hundreds of responses on Twitter. I couldn’t find anything negative—in fact it was the opposite. This was probably the best indicator of my decision that I could have hoped for. Edelman Digital
WOMMA: After the social media hype is finally done, where do you see it fitting into the marketing profession?
David Armano: I don’t see it fitting neatly into the “marketing profession” and this is going to be challenge for organizations. That said, marketing will be a key element. Social media often touches customer service, PR, marketing, IT, and even HR responsibilities. I see the need for a center of excellence or “core team” in large organizations that help train and develop competencies, which can then be implemented through ALL of these disciplines. I see the need for more integration as well, not only between the different departments but also with partners. Think of all the different agencies and firms a large company works with. It’s all very complex, but I’m convinced that there needs to be multiple hubs or better yet nodes within an organization that plug into a centralized social media resource. It’s the best of both worlds.
WOMMA: The phrase “word of mouth” is usually pegged to marketing. What other ways should brands think about word of mouth?
DA: “WOM” does seem to be limited to marketing and it’s a shame because it’s so much bigger. Employees of large companies rely on word of mouth just as much as “consumers”. We look for references for prospective hires, and “word of mouth” also tells us when a team has done something worthy of taking notice. Ratings aren’t just for products, in a way they also work for people. Just look at all the reputation building that is going on in the world. Edelman’s trust barometer indicated that people increasingly trust expertise and often times expertise is built upon word of mouth, both within the marketing world and outside of it.
WOMMA: You attended SXSW. What or who did you see there that Word readers should keep their eye on?
DA: Well, the founders of Foursquare for starters and lots of platform developers not to mention user experience professionals or brilliant minds such as Microsoft’s Danah Boyd (client). SXSW is special not so much because of the size but also for its diversity. There are marketers there for sure but there are also hard-core developers and geeks from all over the world. There are also folks from smaller firms such as Altimeter Group who really grasp the big picture of where this is all going. Again, it’s way bigger than marketing.
WOMMA: How does a brand move past thinking about their image and begin thinking about their personality?
DA: Let’s be honest—a brand worries about their personality when they are in decline. Does Apple worry about their personality? Perhaps their brand police do, but really I see a laser focus on amazing products. Is Facebook focused on their personality? No—they are focused on keeping you addicted to their platform. I think that it’s more important for a brand to be valuable and authentic. If your brand’s product is a commodity, like toothpaste—then you are more reliant on clever marketing. But honestly, I think even innovation can happen with toothpaste.
WOMMA: Many brands are WOM-Curious but are stalled when confronted with the overabundance of specialists, experts and gurus. What is the shortlist of traits that they should look for in a WOM agency or consultant?
DA: Call it a WOM, social media, marketing, advertising agency or even a business consultancy—you are looking for the same things:
* Relevant industry experience
* Professional business conduct
* Case studies
* Talent and of course, “word of mouth”. What do others say about this firm or individual—what is their reputation? Referrals are just as important here as they are in every other facet of life.
On a personal note, when I made the news public that I had joined Edelman there were literally hundreds of responses on Twitter. I couldn’t find anything negative—in fact it was the opposite. This was probably the best indicator of my decision that I could have hoped for. Edelman Digital
alexbogusky's posterous: Fearless QA Video interview with Mayor Hickenlooper and more as we launch @Denver_Bcycle
Share our Earth Day 2010. We went remote for the first time with the show and it was a blast. It rained and our VIP guest, Mayor Hickenlooper got caught in traffic but we got the goods with Live coverage of the launch of Bcycle. The first large scale US bike share program and the most technologically advanced with GPS on every bike.
See video click here: alexbogusky's posterous
See video click here: alexbogusky's posterous
Simon Mainwaring: Facebook’s Open Graph: Is privacy a given or a taken away?
The internet has been ablaze this week with discussion around the impact of Facebook’s announcements at the f8 conference last week. Effectively Facebook has dismantled the walls between it and the entire web inviting conjecture that the entire web will become social and that Facebook is making a bid for control. From a user’s point of view the issue at the center of the storm is privacy, or more specifically, the ability of third party sites to access user profile information when that user clicks the Facebook ‘Like’ or ‘Recommend’ buttons that will now populate the entire web.
Dana Boyd explored the critical issue of social privacy in depth at SXSW only two months ago (why does that already feel like a lifetime in this real time world!) stressing that its our responsibility to consider whether someone wants their personal life shared beyond the extent to which they chose to share it themselves. For example, whether personal photos published on Facebook or twitter should become the sport of the public domain.
Not surprisingly, the new features of Facebook have inspired a variety of reactions. Some see evil in it, like MG Siegler at TechCrunch. Others are fed up with the appropriation of their privacy by Google and Facebook like Daggle. There are those that question such sinister concerns such as Dan Costa and Mike Melanson at ReadWriteWeb. And somewhere in between there are those like Ian Paul at PC World who took a more tempered approach by simply showing others how to effectively opt out of the over-sharing bonanza (for now, at least).
Like any Facebook user, I have my concerns. I recently shared my fears that Twitter’s promotional Tweets would pollute the social ecosystem. This week’s announcement by Facebook dwarfs such concerns. Yet there are other issues to consider. So much of this information is already public that we may be crying over spilt milk. The opt out approach used by Google and Facebook is hardly proprietary or new – it’s standard marketing fare. And before we point the finger at the Facebook, shouldn’t we consider the fact that we’re the ones who chose to participate by taking our private lives public?
What Facebook is doing is big stuff. Huge. There’s no doubt about that. It has the potential to affect everyone and everything on the web. Yet given the choice between guarding my privacy and stemming the socialization of the web, and embracing it for the positive potential it holds, I choose the latter. That is in no small part due to the sensitivity and priorities demonstrated by founders such as Mark Zuckerberg, Biz Stone and Evan Williams so far. (Facebook went so far as to wryly include an ‘Evil’ button as one of the color scheme options. Clearly they knew this wouldn’t be a cake walk.)
I believe these founders take their custodial role very seriously and know only too well that betrayal is the launch pad for their replacement. Moving forward I shall manage my privacy as best as I can and keep my eye on the great things that may come from an internet that is not just a web of information but a global community aligned around shared values. I believe Facebook is simply enabling the inevitable evolution of the web, and while the tireless battle between openness and privacy will rage on, we can’t imagine what kind of world the social web will unfold.
How do you feel? Do you feel like Facebook is betraying your privacy? Or is this issue a storm in a tea cup? Simon Mainwaring
Dana Boyd explored the critical issue of social privacy in depth at SXSW only two months ago (why does that already feel like a lifetime in this real time world!) stressing that its our responsibility to consider whether someone wants their personal life shared beyond the extent to which they chose to share it themselves. For example, whether personal photos published on Facebook or twitter should become the sport of the public domain.
Not surprisingly, the new features of Facebook have inspired a variety of reactions. Some see evil in it, like MG Siegler at TechCrunch. Others are fed up with the appropriation of their privacy by Google and Facebook like Daggle. There are those that question such sinister concerns such as Dan Costa and Mike Melanson at ReadWriteWeb. And somewhere in between there are those like Ian Paul at PC World who took a more tempered approach by simply showing others how to effectively opt out of the over-sharing bonanza (for now, at least).
Like any Facebook user, I have my concerns. I recently shared my fears that Twitter’s promotional Tweets would pollute the social ecosystem. This week’s announcement by Facebook dwarfs such concerns. Yet there are other issues to consider. So much of this information is already public that we may be crying over spilt milk. The opt out approach used by Google and Facebook is hardly proprietary or new – it’s standard marketing fare. And before we point the finger at the Facebook, shouldn’t we consider the fact that we’re the ones who chose to participate by taking our private lives public?
What Facebook is doing is big stuff. Huge. There’s no doubt about that. It has the potential to affect everyone and everything on the web. Yet given the choice between guarding my privacy and stemming the socialization of the web, and embracing it for the positive potential it holds, I choose the latter. That is in no small part due to the sensitivity and priorities demonstrated by founders such as Mark Zuckerberg, Biz Stone and Evan Williams so far. (Facebook went so far as to wryly include an ‘Evil’ button as one of the color scheme options. Clearly they knew this wouldn’t be a cake walk.)
I believe these founders take their custodial role very seriously and know only too well that betrayal is the launch pad for their replacement. Moving forward I shall manage my privacy as best as I can and keep my eye on the great things that may come from an internet that is not just a web of information but a global community aligned around shared values. I believe Facebook is simply enabling the inevitable evolution of the web, and while the tireless battle between openness and privacy will rage on, we can’t imagine what kind of world the social web will unfold.
How do you feel? Do you feel like Facebook is betraying your privacy? Or is this issue a storm in a tea cup? Simon Mainwaring
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