WEEKLY DIGITAL/COMMS HIGHLIGHTS

02 – THINKING OF KATIE 

Have you ever dreamed of having your favourite artist performing just for you? Well, O2 made this happen for one very lucky fan, Katie Hobbs. She, along with 399 punters, turned up at Islington O2 Academy on the 30th of March expecting an intimate gig by Tinie Tempah. Little did Katie know that in a moment, those 399 left the dancefloor and she had Tinie all to herself, singing his latest single ‘Wonderman’ just for her. This is the first known example of a ‘flash exit’ (opposite of a ‘flash mob’), emptying the crowded venue in just seconds.

JOHN SMITHS – THE ROYAL WEDDING 

Beer brand John Smith's is bringing its no-nonsense, plain-speaking humour to the Royal Wedding, with the launch of a commemorative paper plate. Punters get a free plate, one of the tens of thousands being distributed, when they buy a pint of John Smith's.

MOAT – THE BANNER AD SEARCH ENGINE 

Moat offers a free service that allows you to search for banner ads by brand name. It’s a great tool when creating a competitor overview, finding inspiration or just curious.
Here’s my example for Coca Cola: http://www.moat.com/search/results?q=coca+cola 

FIRST LOOK AT FACEBOOK DEALS 

Facebook’s competitive offer to Groupon is launching in 5 US cities this week. Mashable has a run down of the features, where it will appear & screenshots.

NIKE 6.0 – THE POOL 

Nike 6.0 have just released a teaser trailer for their new campaign ‘The Pool’. It features their BMX talent in a ‘lock-stock’ style treatment. It introduces the concept of ‘The Pool’ but remains vague as to what it actually will be. A competition? A mini-series? It’s not clear but I’m sure it will be very cool.

ANTI SLAVERY INTERNATIONAL - CHOCO COAT IT 

Anti-Slavery International and Lean Mean Fighting Machine are raising awareness of the most bitter of issues with a sweet site that turns your vile utterances into chocolatey goodness. The site's aim is to put the spotlight on child slavery in the Ivory Coast's cocoa production industry. Like marketers who greenwash rather than actually institute sustainable practices, according to ASI, cocoa traders choco-coat their anti-child slavery measures. Simply time in your bitter truth, press the ‘choco coat it’ button & have it turned into a sweeter sentiment. Users of the site can tweet choco-coated outbursts and click through to see the original. It’s a very simple mechanic to get the message out.

WHY FACEBOOK SUCCESS SHOULD NOT BE MEASURED BY FAN COUNT 

A great article by Shiv Singh, formerly of Razorfish and now at Pepsi, he states ‘Facebook fans is not a measure of online brand health or social media savviness. [they are] a factor of budgets, consumer incentives, history, what else the brand is doing online and where it is choosing to focus its efforts’ He goes on to point out 5 key reasons why we should not be judging success based on Facebook fan counts & how/why we should be focusing on other things. If you’re in anyway involved in creating or running a FB Page, this is a must-read.

FRESH GREEN ADS 

Eco-friendly advertising has been a recent topic of conversation for advertisers. The Toyota Prius created a flower-based outdoor ad in the US, Tropicana recently utilized the natural energy of oranges to light their advertisement…
Fresh Green Ads is an agency that specializes in all types of eco advertising including street ads that only show when it rains, sand sculptures, crop art (in fields) and even water drop advertising using something called ‘aqua script’. Check it out, worth consideration. 

WEEKLY DIGITAL/COMMS HIGHLIGHTS

PEPSI TO TRACK TV ADS DIRECTLY THROUGH IPHONES


This is genius. For a TV commercial to get some attention on social media, it generally has to be funny, outlandish or awful enough for consumers to want to share it. But a partnership between Pepsi and a new iPhone app called IntoNow may have found a way around that.

IntoNow, which debuted in January, is a Shazam-like app that uses a four to 12 second audio sample to identify what TV show a user is watching , then posts a notification - "Doug is watching 'Community' " - to that user's social media streams, as well as the app's own news feed. The idea is to allow users to exchange comments with others as they watch TV, as well as to find out what their friends and people in their area are watching.

Starting today, IntoNow users who "tag" a new PepsiMax commercial appearing on Major League Baseball broadcasts will receive a coupon on their phones for a free 20-ounce PepsiMax. 

WTF IS NFC?

We’re only a few months into 2011, and already there is a new contender for ‘biggest buzzword of the year’: NFC.

NFC stands for ‘Near Field Communication’, and is a variant of RFID, the wireless transfer technology that has enabled everything from travel cards to that seamlessly social Coca-Cola Facebook “Like” wristband. NFC is a super short-range version of RFID that is being natively built into next generation smartphones, and is tipped to be the technology of choice for everything from location check-ins to mobile payments.

NIKE ZUPERFLY

A fantastic idea from our friends at Naked Communications Sweden, they strapped a camera to the back of AC Milan player Zlatan Ibrahimovic (a very popular guy with over 1m Facebook Fans). The result? A virtual experience that puts you into Zlatan’s shoes, allowing you to play as the man himself to see if you can make key decisions to score the same 3 goals.

http://www.zlatanzuperfly.com/

GOOGLE OFFERS

Google Offers, the company’s long-awaited response to Groupon, has gone live with a signup for beta program in Portland, Oregon.

RAZORFISH – 5 TECHNOLOGIES THAT WILL CHANGE THE BUSINESS OF BRANDS

Razorfish’s Chief Technology Officer led the production of a report that focuses on how companies can work with emerging trends in technology. The report starts by pointing to data regarding Apple’s expansion & Android’s growth. Moving on, it delves deeply into 5 main areas that will impact the business of brands in the near future including Near Field Communications (NFC), the interface revolution & holistic data management.

BEYOND THE MOBILE WEB

A fantastic overarching presentation which is a must to bring yourself up to speed with where we’re at in the world of technology as well as our resulting behaviours and connections. Steal aspects of it for client presentations, it’s brilliant. A mobile strategy these days is no longer a ‘nice to have’, it’s essential (130 is a great slide).

MAGNUM PLEASURE HUNT

One of the best executions I’ve ever seen. This week Magnum have launched a flash-based adver-game. Players control a woman who darts, jumps and swings around the internet, grabbing chocolate bonbons to gain points. There is some great brand integration including the lady dancing around the Spotify website, driving a Saab convertible and jumping into a YouTube fashion video. If you haven’t already, check it out. It’s addictive, fun & wonderfully simple!

REEBOK PROMISE KEEPER

The running app is a territory well & truly owned by Nike/RunKeeper. Therefore when a brand such as Reebok wants in on the action to promote their new ZigTech trainers, they need a clear point of difference to avoid a ‘late-to-the-party-me-too’ outcome. Cleverly, they’ve focused on the insight that in order to get any actual benefit from a running app you need to first get out of bed & motivate yourself to run…enter Promise Keeper.

The idea is that you pick a day/time when you want to go for a run, if you do it then Promise Keeper amplifies this fact to your friends & praises your efforts, however, if you don’t go running, it still amplifies it to your friends but names/shames you instead. They have also enlisted the help of their paid athletes to send personalized tweets to participants.

FACEBOOK STUDIO

Facebook has this week launched ‘Facebook Studio’ which showcases what the company considers to be successful marketing campaigns and explains Facebook’s marketing products. The stand-alone site’s goal is to foster a community where ad agencies can be inspired to develop marketing strategies that are inherently social. Worth a look if you’re in need of some inspiration or case studies to show clients.

TWITTER REAL-WORLD GIFTING

Currently in beta, Giftee is an online service that lets users send small “thank you” gifts via Twitter, they then choose a gift from among Giftee's myriad of options — currently limited to the offerings from select shops in Japan — and then type a message and pay by credit card

           

WEEKLY DIGITAL/COMMS HIGHLIGHTS

PUFFIN BRINGS BITE-SIZE LITERATURE TO CEREAL BOXES

British supermarket Asda, Penguin UK imprint Puffin, and the estate of Roald Dahl have teamed up with the hopes of reinvigorating literature in the eyes of younger audiences. Asda plans to reproduce short excerpts from Dahl’s The Witches; The Twits, The BFG; Danny, the Champion of the World; and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on at least 10 million boxes of Asda-brand cereal to be sold in the coming weeks. The excerpts will replace normal puzzles and games printed on cereal boxes that kids are used to doodling on and filling out as they eat their morning meal.

  

CELLCOM INTERACTIVE FACEBOOK CONCERTS

Cellcom, Israel’s largest telco has launched a series of live, interactive Facebook concerts to be broadcast each night for two hours. Cellcom are inviting the very best bands and performers in the country to play live to thousands of awaiting Facebook fans, who will in turn, be beamed in via webcam and empowered to make comments and ask questions throughout the event, creating a unique interactive experience between the performers and Facebook fans in real time.

AIDES – CLEVER DICK

The French Aids awareness organisation, is running “Clever Dick”, a television commercial with the tag line, A young man demonstrates the multiple intelligences and abilities of his member in the mathematics, writing, bomb squad and painting scenes, as well as in the bedroom. Bizarre but a great way to revisit a sometimes ‘too serious’ message…

PAMPERS PAYS IT FORWARD WITH ‘MIRACLES’ CAMPAIGN

Procter & Gamble Co. is launching a heart-tugging "Miracles" campaign behind the 50th anniversary of the Pampers brand, including a series of "random acts of kindness" by the brand and its employees and soliciting stories of miracle babies on the brand's Facebook fan page. In the first charitable effort linked to the Pampers Miracle Campaign, the brand has begun distributing 30,000 care packages to the more than 800 infant intensive-care units in the U.S. As part of a "Little Miracle Mission" on the Pampers Facebook page, the brand will issue challenges to parents, families and friends. When consumers pledge to support the mission, the brand will in turn help throw baby showers for expectant mothers nationwide.

ADZOOKIE TURNS HOUSES IN BILLBOARDS

Adzookie is a mobile advertising company with its new target being homeowners who need help paying their mortgage. Their new initiative involves transforming regular houses into giant ads. During the time when the painted billboards are on the homes, homeowners get their entire monthly mortgage payment paid for by the company. Although it’s a controversial concept, homeowners seem very receptive. 

MAGNUM CRACKING AMERICA VIA SHORT FILMS

Unilever are due to launch Magnum on US shores later this month & in order to cement Magnums positioning as a luxury ice cream, they have developed a series of short films to help familiarize US consumers with the ‘pleasurable lifestyle Magnum Ice Cream has cultivated around the world’. The series has been created by designer Karl Lagerfeld & stars actress Rebecca Bilson, the red-carpet premier will be at Tribecca Film Festival on 21^st April.

TRANSPORT FOR LONDON – CHROMAROMA

With behaviour change through soft paternalism the flavour of the month with the UK government, London's underground network, buses and 'Boris bikes' (the city's bike scheme) are being turned in to a massive multiplayer game for millions of commuters. Chromaroma takes the data created by the use of London's travel cards known as Oyster Cards and Bike Hire Keys to create an ambient game billed as 'Risk meets Foursquare'.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC – CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

A fantastic short film which charts the journey of the ‘Lost Boys’ from Sudan (the displaced refugees of war) as they fly across to America & experience for the first time what most American's take for granted and as they gain valuable insight on American 'norms.' Insightful, funny & heart warming…

GOOGLE TO FINANCE $100 MILLION OF ORIGINAL PROGRAMMING FOR YOUTUBE

Google plans to create 20 special channels on its Youtube site, and will spend $100 million to create original programming to populate them, according to sources who talked with the Wall Street Journal. The sources said this will be a “major overhaul” to YouTube, which already has a lucrative advertising system in place.

                 

SPEEDSALE

It's commonplace for “deal a day” sites to set a time limit on the opportunities they present, but it's safe to say that few go as far as Swedish site Speedsale does. In fact, visitors to Speedsale get just one fleeting chance to grab each bargain on the site; once those four seconds have elapsed, the opportunity is gone forever.

WEEKLY DIGITAL/COMMS HIGHLIGHTS

JAY-Z LAUNCHES HIS OWN ONLINE PUBLICATION

Rapper, designer and all-around businessman Jay-Z (via his company SC | Enterprises) is expanding his brand’s reach by launching a lifestyle site called Life And Times. While the site’s content – music, style, art & design and gadgetry, is not terribly differentiated from other publications, what Life And Times can claim and lead in building ‘intrigue’ with is Jay-Z as its editorial director and lead curator. He will work directly with a small staff to produce the site’s curated content.

DODGE – CAR CHASES MAKE MOVIES BETTER

Dodge has partnered up with Fast Five, the latest film from the ‘Fast & The Furious’ franchise. The 2010 & 2011 Dodge Charger models have heavy placement throughout the film but not content with purely leveraging the movie, Dodge decided to add a unique twist…Under the positioning ‘car chases make movies better’, they have created a TV ad which showcases a traditionally English movie stereotype of Elizabethan mother & daughter driving mad-max style through the desert whilst enacting a typical forbidden love storyline. Bizarre, but strangely brilliant.

GAME COLLABORATION WITH NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

In collaboration with game designer Jane McGonical, the New York Public Library is organizing a one-night event where 500 select participants will explore hidden areas of the building. The project is set up as a number of quests that will lead participants through the underground stacks of the library through one overnight activity in May – with missions and objectives along the way that will result in each participant being an author at sunrise.

SMIRNOFFS PEELABLE CAIPIROSKA BOTTLES

At Naked one of our core beliefs is that ‘everything communicates’, Smirnoff clearly have the same belief as evidenced by their promotional packaging for their new Caipiroska range. He bottles are ‘skinned’ like the fruit flavours they respresent – lemon, strawberry and passion fruit – and can be peeled!

SKITTLES ‘TOUCH’ YOUTUBE ADS

Skittles have moved from ‘taste the rainbow’ to ‘touch the rainbow’ in their latest attempt at a viral idea. They have created seemingly touchable Youtube interactive videos, which are odd to say the least, your finger or thumb plays a key part in each content piece.

                 

ADIDAS CREATES MUSICAL TAP SHOES FOR BREAKDANCERS

Adidas has teamed up with French coder Didier Brun to build sneakers that allow dancers to make music by moving their feet. The project was designed to promote the release of a new sneaker collection, Mega, in France. Super cool.

WHAT GOOGLE +1 MEANS FOR FACEBOOK

Mashable takes a look at the potential impact of Google’s new social recommendation launch including new user acquisition, data gathering & ad targeting & socially driven search recommendations.