(* Source: Giles Fitzgerald *)

Dr. Dre does his very best to look like an old school Cylon in this latest promo for Hewlett Packard’s continuing collaboration with the producer. Either that or that’s a fairly heavy-duty cycling mask.

The ad sees Dre in a cybernetic music studio in the future embedding Beats technology chips into the very heart of HP’s products, while the track ‘Detox’ from the new Album by Dr Dre – which seems to be in perpetual sate of pre-release – runs in the background.

The commercial is part of an ongoing partnership between the musician and the technology company on the HP Envy Laptop – a device that HP refers to as the “first laptop made for music”.  HP’s sell here is that the added Beats enhancement will enable users to hear the music the way the artist intended. This is a clear swipe at Apple’s dominance of the music market and the increasing pressure the brand is putting on laptop manufacturers with the iPad.

In the age of MP3, where sound quality is already diminished, its questionable whether this will lure in the average consumer. However, the creative partnership is one that is at least pushing the accepted boundaries of quality when it comes to entertainment and what it means to endorse a product.

Posted by brian tiong at 08:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

PSFK says...

Converse continues to use music and the arts as an integral platform for the brand, partnering with musician Kid Cudi on a (very) short film that captures Cudi exploring his native Cleveland while reflecting on his artistic journey. The short film actually represents one third of a collaboration Converse facilitated with 3 artists – Kid Cudi, Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino, and Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij - to produce 1 song, which will be released on July 7th on the Converse Blog. Until that release, visitors to the site can view videos shot with each artist telling their story. It’s worth noting that, while the artists wear Converse throughout the video, it’s very subtle – and the brand is not significantly visible until it appears against a blank screen at the very conclusion of the video.

For a brand like Converse to partner with musicians and artists – arguably to cement their positioning and association as a consistently youthful and relevant lifestyle brand – is not necessarily insightful. But Converse seems to have a very tight understanding of the personality and tone that their customers have come to expect from them, and of the type of artists and musicians that they gravitate towards. Kid Cudi, Best Coast and Vampire Weekend are not little-known musicians, but they have a rather unique, independent style that aligns with Converse’s brand equity.

The Converse Blog also serves as a platform for visitors to add their own artistic work, with the brand selecting a few artists and musicians’ work to showcase regularly. The blog in essence serves as a brand-curated vehicle to publish and publicize musicians’ and artists’ work, and for Converse to strengthen its association to and support of (oftentimes independent) musicians and artists.

Posted by brian tiong at 09:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Chris Shunk *)

The resounding successes of the iPhone and iPad have Apple shareholders dancing in the streets, but one area in which Apple hasn't been as successful, however, has been business applications. In fact, until recently, Apple retail stores used Windows-based devices to ring up orders. Now, Mercedes-Benz aims to be among the first companies to change that paradigm by bringing the popular iPad tablet into its showrooms.

The program, called Mercedes-Benz Advantage, puts the iPad into the hands of the automaker's sales force. With the iPad and Mercedes' new sales tool app, associates will have lightning-fast access to the latest deals, while also providing a quicker turnaround time for customer credit application processes. Benz also says the iPad will help speed up the time it takes to turn-in a leased vehicle. Andreas Hinrichs, Vice President of Marketing for Mercedes-Benz Financial, contends the Apple tablet will "provide a competitive advantage to our dealers by increasing their service levels through a more flexible financing process."

We dig that Mercedes is thinking outside the box to deliver an expedited shopping experience, but even better, we love the fact that the Apple iPad might help customers avoid the dreaded trip to dealership's finance room. Hit the jump to read over the press release.

Posted by brian tiong at 06:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Susan Payton *)

She is the blogger behind The Marketing Eggspert. Download her free white paper, The Importance of Connecting Brands with Bloggers.

Susan says...

With so many different marketing, advertising and PR channels out there, it’s hard to be heard above the din. One relatively new approach is blogger outreach. The opinions of bloggers are heard and respected by thousands, but many companies still ignore their reach. It’s new, unknown, and they don’t understand how to track ROI. Essentially, it’s not like “old school” marketing, so they don’t like it.

That’s a shame, because while those companies are clinging to print ads and TV commercials, other brands like Cover Girl and UbiSoft are building lasting relationships with bloggers that are getting some serious attention.

By targeting and building relationships with bloggers that address your audience, you can garner effective, unbiased reviews of your products. Their readers will be introduced to your brand, get interested in it, visit your site, and hopefully buy.

Why Blogger Outreach?

If it’s not reason enough that your competitors are already doing it, here are some other benefits of blogger outreach:

• People trust consumers (i.e. bloggers) more than they trust advertising (Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey 2009).
• It’s cost effective.
• ROI is measurable if you know what to look for (more on this below).
• It has the potential to go viral. People tweet and share good blog posts, and may do that with a blog review of your brand.

The old methods of marketing simply aren’t cutting it anymore. The landscape is changing. With sharing, community and conversation being today’s keywords, shoving a television commercial down consumers’ throats isn’t the way to create brand evangelists anymore.

How it Works

There’s not a lot of instruction out there on how to do blogger outreach (we PR types like to closely guard our secrets), but Monica O’Brien notes that you should be looking for bloggers who reach the same audience you do with your products.

Start out by doing some research. Search Google (), check out Alltop, and browse blog directories. Search for keywords to find blogs that discuss the area you’re looking for. If you sell onesies, mom blogs (but only those with babies) are a good fit. If you have a social media book, look for marketing or entrepreneur bloggers who reach the readers you’re looking for.

Make a spreadsheet of all the blogs you find. I suggest having some criteria, such as a decent PageRank (I use three as my cutoff) or good web traffic. If they don’t make the grade, skip them. I also pay attention to whether a blogger has posted lately. If they haven’t posted in over a year, don’t waste your time reaching out. Also, be sure to actually read the blog. Doing so may reveal that the blogger isn’t a good fit at all.

Next, it’s important to make an initial connection on the blogger’s own turf. The more you can interact with the blog and blogger, the better your subsequent pitch will be received. Leave comments (relevant ones only) and connect with them on Facebook (), Twitter (), etc.

Once you have enough blogs on your list (I tend to do batches of 15 or 30 a month, depending on how many bloggers there are in a particular niche), move on to your pitch. I know to many, “pitch” is a bad word, but let’s be honest; that’s what it is.

Keep it short, sweet, and customized. You can include some of the basics (what your product/service is), but the rest should be tailored to the recipient. You want to show you’ve paid attention to their work. I like to refer back to a particular post that caught my eye. You need to explain why they and their readers will care about your brand. It’s the “what’s in it for me” thing. They will not waste their time writing a blog post about your brand unless they find it compelling.

If you can offer something, such as a sneak peek at a new product, or free membership, do so. The more exclusive the offer, the better. I was part of a group of mom bloggers in Orlando who were invited to go to Sea World and just experience the park. We were all so pleased to have been noticed, we wrote great reviews of our experience. Giving bloggers access to something they wouldn’t normally have is a great way to get them writing about your brand.

Do not:

• Copy and paste a press release with no intro or other customized information.
• Send a press release at all. You can offer that if they are interested or link to it.
• Send attachments. They won’t be opened.
• Address e-mail to “Dear blogger.” They hate that.
• Send without proofing or making sure you spelled the name and blog correctly.
• Demand or ask for only positive coverage.

Follow up a week later to make sure they got your e-mail and to see if they’re interested. I get far more replies to my second e-mail than my first. If they’re not interested, thank them for their time, and make a note in your spreadsheet of why they weren’t interested. They might be better for a different product down the road, or maybe they don’t want to be pitched at all.

What to Know

Product Types: I find that physical products do best with bloggers. They want something tangible they can touch and use. Services are a harder sell. But it really depends on the blogger and the niche — your mileage may vary.

Measuring ROI: People have been arguing for years that you simply can’t measure ROI on social media. I like Brian Solis’ idea that maybe we’re not looking for return on investment so much as return on engagement, attention, participation or involvement.  Here are a few tips in that department:

Before you begin contacting bloggers, decide what your goals are.

• How many blog posts are you aiming for?
• How many readers in total would you like to read these posts?
• How much interaction do you want (comments on blog, retweets, social bookmarking, etc.)?

On the other end, see where your results stand compared to your goals. If you had posts on 10 sites, with traffic totaling 70,000, that’s great. If you had posts on 100 smaller sites with the same traffic, that could be good too, depending on what your goals are. Many companies, like POM Wonderful for example, aim to develop close relationships with a few key bloggers at a time.

Tie it Together

Like all social media, blogger outreach can be interwoven with your wider marketing strategy. Any time you have a new post on someone’s blog, tweet it, put it on your Facebook Page, share it on bookmarking sites and link to it on your company blog.  That will solidify the relationship for further partnerships.

It may be a hard sell to your boss, but tell him that with 126 million blogs and growing, blogger outreach is something he simply can’t afford to ignore any longer.

Posted by brian tiong at 08:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Jennifer Van Grove *)

It has become standard practice for big brands and businesses to setup shop on Twitter and Facebook and use the social mediums to connect with customers.

That’s all yesterday’s news now. But the early adopter brands who paved the way for the rest to follow suit have become the success stories that the media, the public and the web companies in the limelight turn to first.

Zappos, Ford, Starbucks, Bravo, Tasti D-Lite and Best Buy are all names that come to mind. There’s no real secret to their success. Each did something innovative and identified a future trend just as the press cycle was heating up. Now they’re all riding the wave of rewards earned from their original risk.

In some ways, though, we’re still in the early days of understanding the relationship between businesses and social media. It’s now more crucial than ever to understand why it’s important to be an early adopter brand.

Good Press That Lasts

Early last year we profiled 40 of the best brands on Twitter and some of those brands have gone on to become media darlings continually featured in press coverage on the web/tech space. It was each company’s individual savvy or willingness to experiment that originally caught our eye, but it’s their ongoing tenacity that kept them front-and-center in the public’s mind.

Those brands with a genuine interest in customer engagement and a commitment to push beyond the expected have maintained a high profile social media presence that continually nets them advantages the rest don’t get.

One key advantage is that they’ve developed important media relationships. These relationships open doors for both parties. The press have immediate access to standby contacts anytime they need an extra quote or example for their upcoming piece. In return, the brands get an instant audience responsive to pitches on innovative social media use cases or quirky marketing campaigns. The cycle repeats itself until a particular story becomes saturated or eclipsed by a newer trend.

Right now there’s no brand mastering the press better than Starbucks. Their relationship with Twitter in the initial rollout of Promoted Tweets has ensured that Starbucks gets a major mention in every mainstream and new media article on Promoted Tweets. It is especially fortuitous for them that their sample Promoted Tweets screenshot served as the only visual representation of the official Twitter ad format when the news first broke. The company has managed to maintain this social media favor with the press for years now, also recently making a huge splash with their loyalty program partnership with Foursquare ().

Case Study Standbys

Ever sit through a conference session or keynote on social media where the presenter or panel did not use brand case studies to supplement their talk? Probably not.

The unwritten rule of public speaking is to always back up points with case studies as proof. For example, a few years ago Zappos’ approach to Twitter was so fresh that the company’s story became the case study on everybody lips. You may also recall that Ford’s social presence during the American car company’s financial struggles was also headliner material.

While Zappos and Ford are still no stranger to the social media limelight — their original successes will always guarantee consideration — the new names cropping up in case studies are the brands experimenting with trends happening right now. Take location-sharing services like Foursquare.

The fact of the matter is that Foursquare is still foreign to most, which means the Foursquare brand marketing from Starbucks, Lucky Magazine and the City of Chicago make for interesting material. Each case study can demonstrate the business potential of Foursquare’s experimental platform. It’s this cutting edge material that piques our curiosity and makes for a captive audience.

Now, should Travelocity find a way to translate their mascot’s Chatroulette activities into business sense, we could see a whole new crop of case-study worthy business uses emerge.

Favor From the Flavor of the Week

Brands open to social media innovation have found favor in the eyes of the most influential people on the web: The minds behind today’s hot startups.

Brand partnerships are crucial for these fledgling startups to maintain their edge over competitors, but it’s much safer for them to favor the friends they’ve made on their way up the ladder. Twitter (with Square by association), Facebook, Foursquare and even Chatroulette are all on fire right now. Each of them — with the exception of Chatroulette — have managed to find brand buddies they trust enough to include in their new feature testing phases. These brands get invited into a private fold that then translates into press coverage on launch and introductions to more people in the circle. Rinse, repeat.

Brands that are in Twitter’s good graces have been grandfathered in to Foursquare’s elite fold of trusted businesses. Just look at Starbucks, a Twitter-forward company now trying Foursquare, as a perfect an example. Another example is Bravo. The cable network has consistently taken an avant-garde approach to television and social media, but it wasn’t until their media deal with Foursquare that the network found its way into Twitter’s public graces. Now they’re a launch partner for Twitter’s long-anticipated ad platform.

This isn’t a coincidence or the result of one serendipitous moment. In fact, many of the top startups share the same investors, the same friends and the same brand relationships. Ultimately the inner circle at the top of the startup food chain has become a safe haven for sharing brands and ideas. Find yourself in this circle and you’ll find yourself amongst the elite of early adopter brands.

Posted by brian tiong at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Barb Dybwad *)

Barb says...

In a session yesterday at Forrester’s Marketing Forum, Forrester analysts Josh Bernoff and Augie Ray presented research findings on peer influence and word of mouth marketing. Some of the statistics were surprising, and the presentation was rife with practical tips for marketers we thought worth sharing.

Influencers are Diverse

Ray said that when marketers think about targeting influencers, they tend to think of them “like a stew”: tasty, but undefined. He advises thinking about them instead as a “delicious 3-course meal” in which it’s important to savor the flavors of each. He outlined a Peer Influence Pyramid that breaks down influencers into three types: Social Broadcasters (at the top), Mass Influencers (middle), and Potential Influencers (bottom of the pyramid).

Social Broadcasters are few in number but great in scale — they are the top bloggers, most well-connected individuals, and have a lot of followers looking to them for news and advice on the latest and greatest. They have scale but lack trust, in the sense that their followers will click on the links and recommendations they share but still perform their own evaluation of the data — this makes Social Broadcasters better suited for awareness than preference.

At the bottom of the pyramid are the Potential Influencers — this is where the trust really is. These are the proverbial “average consumer” who have primarily networks of people they actually know in an offline context (friends, family, peers). These networks are rich with trust, and make up 84% of the total population of the pyramid.

In the middle are the Mass Influencers, who make up only 16% of the pyramid but account for 80% of the influence impressions about products and services. Ray says of this group, “you can’t ignore the minority that creates the majority of the influence.” You also need different strategies to reach the different types of influencers.

Tips for Reaching the 3 Types of Influencers

Social Broadcasters tend to hate traditional PR and press releases, so according to Ray the secret to dealing with them is to build relationships. This group doesn’t want to hear from you only when you need something, and they want to be respected for their audience. Develop customized offers for them that they can’t refuse, that reflect your understanding of their uniqueness and their point of view. In doing so you may cross over into the rules of endorsements, so be sure to be very familiar with the FTC guidelines regarding this.

To reach Potential Influencers, you need to make things drop-dead easy. This group is not as motivated nor is it as technically savvy as the people higher on the pyramid. Tell your marketing teams to come up with ideas that are so drop-dead great and so relevant to your defined audience that they can’t help but spread. You also want to keep people engaged over time by reaching out and addressing them between major campaigns.

Reaching Mass Influencers in the middle involves giving them something to talk about. Understand their characteristics and give them more content they can’t resist sharing. This part of the pyramid includes the people their friends and family turn to frequently before making important purchases, so don’t forget their significant offline influence and tailor your campaigns accordingly.

Influence Impression Data: 500 Billion Per Year

Bernoff presented a number of research findings around influence impressions, defining two key buckets where people are sharing information about products and services online:

1. Influence impressions: these happen on social media and networking sites: Twitter, Facebook, MySpace (), LinkedIn (), and others. The people who make them know generally who they’re connecting with and who will read them (people they know).
2. Influence posts: these are more permanent data points in blog posts, ratings and reviews sites, and in discussion forums. These tend to be less directed, in that when putting a post online it’s not usually known how many or who will be reading it.

In the first category, the research study found 256 billion influence impressions occurring per year. Influence posts were numbered at 1.64 billion per year, which accounted for generating another 250 billion impressions. In other words, people are making 500 billion influence impressions on one another about products and services every year.

The research also looked at where those influence impressions are happening. The following graph captures the results of where people are sharing influence online in both of the above categories:

Bernoff and Ray shared a case study of analyzing the three types of influencers in the consumer electronics sector and how to approach them, and stressed that it’s possible (and indeed, necessary) for marketers to be doing this type of analysis in any industry, any product category, and for any age or demographic.

In summary, Bernoff and Ray’s advice to marketers includes:

• Build a strategy for reaching all three types of influencers.
• Allocate your budget in light of a potential 500 billion impressions of peer influence.
• Analyze and reach out to your mass influencers specifically for maximum reach.

Posted by brian tiong at 07:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Tamar Weinberg *)

When we write about how companies or individuals are using social media in their marketing strategies, it’s usually in the context of a business to consumer relationship. However, business-to-business (B2B) marketing is really getting a boost from social media as well. According to a recent study, 60% of B2B marketers plan to increase social media marketing spending this year.

As we discussed earlier this week in the context of PR professionals and social media, even non-B2B-centric services like Twitter and Facebook can still offer great opportunities for B2B shops. Sometimes, the approach is the same as it would be in non-B2B marketing, sometimes it can be very different.

Figuring out how to best implement and harness social media in the course of B2B marketing can be difficult but we’ve put together ten tips to help get you on the right track!

1. Use Twitter Effectively

This may seem like a no-brainer, but plenty of businesses and even B2B marketers aren’t on Twitter. Get an account on Twitter and start engaging. While having profiles on other social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn can be equally important, Twitter remains one of the best ways to find and engage with others.

How do you do that? Start by searching for phrases relevant to your business and by monitoring those searches regularly. Look at what people are saying and join in the conversation. If people aren’t necessarily looking for your business offerings right away, start joining other conversations of interest. The more you build bridges, the more likely you are to be noticed.

Second, use hashtags. The #B2B hashtag, for example, will connect you with several other like-minded businesses who are also trying to leverage Twitter to build an online presence. Don’t overdo it, though. There are some people #who #tweet #like #this.

We’ll discuss this in the next point, but consider Twitter to be an informal medium. With social media, businesses can (and should) be human again. That’s why it’s safe to use Twitter not just for pure self promotion but to build a meaningful relationships with those who you are likely to do business with you in the future. If you feel comfortable using your business Twitter feed to talk about what makes you tick (versus purely promoting your business), you might be pleasantly surprised to see that your audience might very well be receptive to that messaging.

What’s great about Twitter, especially from a B2B perspective, is that you can follow just about everyone. Take advantage of the opportunity to follow your industry influencers, connect with potential customers, and keep a heads up on the competition.

A great example of Twitter usage from a B2B perspective is @salesforce. Salesforce has used its Twitter feed to share relevant news, to empower current customers, and to offer customer support.

2. Figure Out Your ‘Social Voice’

Social media works best when it is personal and authentic, and thus, it’s important to make sure that the way you communicate when using social media tools comes from a personal and authentic place.

Kevin Dugan, the Director of Social Marketing for Empower MediaMarketing recently wrote a blog post about finding your social voice. I spoke with Dugan about establishing a social voice, and he had this to say:

“It is critical that brands understand a social voice is different from brand voice. Social voice reinforces the brand voice indirectly. Social voice doesn’t follow communication guidelines or identity standards. That’s because a social voice equates to a person. A brand voice is anonymous while a social voice can be found on Google (). They must also have an understanding of the brand and a passion for it.”

Social networks are now helping to put the “human” back in businesses again. The traditional messaging of yore has been replaced by businesses who actually appear to show that they care about their customers. With a social voice, informal is perfectly acceptable. Having a social voice, as opposed to just a generic “brand voice,” is an important step when connecting with potential customers. Prospective customers want to connect with businesses who think just like them.

Just because your clients are other businesses doesn’t mean that the “social” aspect of social media needs to disappear.

3. Take Advantage of Opportunities on LinkedIn

LinkedIn () is continuing to get bigger and bigger — and it continues to be a great resource for businesses and employees to connect with one another.

One of the best things about LinkedIn is the Shared Connections feature. This feature makes it possible to find people — like potential clients — and then see what connections you have in common. Shared Connections then makes getting a virtual introduction that much easier.

Building up a strong LinkedIn network and being willing to introduce others (in good faith, of course — always use your best judgment) can also increase what opportunities you can get in the future.

B2B marketing is often built through trust and word of mouth. Having a shared connection is a great way to start establishing some of that trust from the very beginning.

LinkedIn also has a community of active participants. LinkedIn Answers serves as a knowledge base where business representatives can establish authority and expertise by participating in the ongoing discussions. LinkedIn Groups is an opportunity for business professionals to interact with other topics relevant to his/her interests. One business successfully used LinkedIn Groups as a way to build business leads. This business opted to engage in relevant industry discussion and offered business services when requests were made, thereby bringing in a highly targeted business lead. Actively participating in LinkedIn is often one of the best ways to not only help people out, but also to make a connection for your service and even generate leads.

Answering questions across LinkedIn Answers and LinkedIn Groups doesn’t mean to simply put out the marketing blurb, but to really engage and offer feedback and solutions. Again, social media is most effective when it is genuine.

4. Start a Blog

Social media provides the opportunity for companies to promote themselves but also to welcome commentary from a community of peers. By starting a blog, you give your readers an opportunity to see you with your social voice outside the typical corporate website’s newsroom. Blogs become platforms where you can announce new product releases, share personal company stories, answer any specific questions from your customers, and empower customers to achieve success with your products and service offerings. Blogging can also establish business professionals as thought leaders in their field, thereby aiding with client acquisition.

Blogs can build up qualified prospects through search engine rankings too. Be sure to update your blog regularly with valuable content and follow up with the comments written on each individual post.

5. Monitor Your Industry

Social media means that content is being posted everywhere, and businesses have a unique opportunity to gather intelligence to make well-educated and informed business decisions. Google Alerts is a great tool to keep up with what’s happening in relation to your company, your industry and your competitors. You can get updates via e-mail or in RSS (and even in real-time) about new search results or news stories for a certain query or topic.

Further, free tools like Social Mention and YackTrack will monitor the social sphere for other mentions of your business on social sites, especially. BackType will take that a step further and monitor phrases in comments on blog posts. All of these aforementioned services can be emailed to you in a daily digest format which your team can evaluate to find opportunities.

If you don’t already have alerts set up on these services for your company name, do it now. Also set up a more generic alert for your industry as a whole to see what people are talking about. If you want to see what your competition or other big industry players are doing, add those to the mix as well.

Monitoring can also be useful because you can then highlight the big stories on your own social media channels like Facebook (), Twitter (), Google Buzz (), etc.

6. Be Consistent and Don’t Be Afraid to Follow Up

While you don’t want to be creepy (see below), it’s important to not let potential opportunities slip by when using social media. If you’ve answered someone’s question on LinkedIn or on Twitter, don’t be afraid to reach back out to that person to ask if they have any follow-up questions or if you can send them more information. There’s an abundance of opportunity to strengthen a business relationship but it starts by initiating and then making sure that your business is fresh in your prospects’ minds.

Staying engaged and staying communicative is really important. Social media is not about setting it and forgetting it. It’s about being social, so don’t be afraid to reach out and check back in with potential leads you meet using social media. Similarly, don’t be afraid to direct message your followers on Twitter when an opportunity presents itself. They followed you because they want to hear from you. Use that opportunity to your advantage but don’t overdo it. Auto-DMs are a no-no.

If you’re going to blog, don’t leave that blog stagnant. Provide valuable content on a regular basis. Give employees of your company an opportunity to help build your brand. You can get a lot of great blog content by involving many company employees in the process. Similarly, get many employees of your company to utilize the social networks and to be continually responsive to customer inquiries. Remember, the more visible you are on the social networks, the more likely you are to be remembered when another business actually needs to utilize your services.

7. Leverage Your Analytics for Business Metric Measurement

After you’re involved enough in the social space, you’ll likely see tweets, retweets, traffic, and social network links that point to various parts of your company website. Take a look at your website analytics and start seeing where you’re making a difference, especially as it relates to ROI measurement. Don’t lose sight of your business metrics and start considering practical social media measurement to assess clickthroughs, popularity of links, and other important metrics.

As part of measurement, consider using URL shorteners. Not only do they make links more manageable (and limit the number of characters in a Tweet or Facebook message), they also can be a great way to track data as many URL shorteners provide valuable statistics about the performance of each individual shortened URL. Monitor this data throughout the process with your main website analytics package to see if your message attached to the shortened URL resulted in conversions.

When looking at conversion trends or successful tools in building leads with social media, reviewing analytics data is crucial. It gives you insight into content that performs very well in the social space but also through other marketing techniques, such as search engine optimization. Use the data as an opportunity to improve your content or your social media/search marketing efforts.

8. Find and Follow Industry Influencers

B2B social media marketing is often about connecting with the right people and about building relationships. Social media makes both of these actions simple and painless. Being aware of who the influencers in your industry are and then following them, whether it’s on Twitter, Facebook or their own blogs, is the first step to building a connection with those influencers. With a genuine relationship, these influencers may be able to help you make your mark in the social media marketplace. This is especially true of influencers who may already have your target audience at their disposal.

This doesn’t mean you need to retweet every tweet or share every blog post on Facebook, but it does mean that you should be aware of who the movers and shakers are. By following them and then reaching out when appropriate or just to get to know them further, you have a much better shot at getting some attention.

Even if you’re not necessarily connecting to influencers, social media affords the opportunity to connect with other people in your industry and your customers. Use the various social media platforms as an opportunity to connect with these industry colleagues and peers and build upon each other. Consider celebrating your colleagues’ or customers’ success. Make it known that you’re here to help them — not just yourself. Repeat this process with anyone of interest and you’re bound to attract eyeballs.

9. Use Social Media for Giveaways and Promotions

Sometimes, the hardest part of social media is sticking out from the sea of other users. Giveaways and promotions are a great way to help differentiate yourself and your business. Using Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, you can target your desired customer base and then let them know (if appropriate) about different promotions or giveaways related to your product. If you offer a service, consider giving a free year to a loyal customer. If you manufacture products, give some away.

Offer a coupon on your company’s Facebook Page and pair it with a lead-generation form for future contact. Let people know on Twitter about specials or contests that are going on and follow-up with those that show an interest. Perhaps you can have a retweet contest where you can monitor responses or host some trivia on your Facebook Page. You can also open an online survey to get feedback about your offerings and reward participants. The possibilities are endless. Creativity in this capacity breeds success.

Companies like Wildfire make it really easy to build these sorts of promotions directly inside your own social media channels.

10. Don’t Be Creepy

If you use social media like a keyword searching robot, you are going to come across as creepy and turn off potential clients. Don’t be creepy.

Use best judgment and common sense when approaching people using social networks. If you wouldn’t want to be approached the way you are approaching another user, don’t use that approach. It’s as simple as that. Social media etiquette isn’t much different than real life relationships, so what won’t work in “real life” probably won’t work online.

Respecting boundaries doesn’t mean you can’t still answer questions, engage and follow-up with potential leads, it just means that if it’s clear that the other party isn’t interested, or more importantly, if the context of their communication really doesn’t involve or seek out input from your company, don’t do it.

Context is really important in social media and it is something that is very, very easy to overlook. While we think that using keywords and Google Alerts are good methods for keeping atop of your field, that doesn’t mean you can automate your responses or just go into autopilot based on those alerts.

Posted by brian tiong at 01:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: three billion *)

Content is king. Actually, content is the king, queen and all the heirs apparent.

Posted by brian tiong at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by brian tiong at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Mike Johansson *)

Posted by brian tiong at 09:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Adam says...

The company has launched a Facebook app that brings together the biggest highlights from Jordan’s career, letting users vote for their favorite, which is then shared to their Wall. Each highlight includes commentary from a well-known sports journalist, and at the end of the competition, the highlight receiving the most votes will become a Gatorade label (the sports drink maker has already produced 6 commemorative MJ labels – this will be the 7th).

The app is part of Gatorade’s Facebook page, where the company has around a quarter million fans and shares lots of behind-the-scenes clips from its iconic commercials. Here, Gatorade shares the making of the commemorative bottles, shown in this 30-second spot:

Also worth checking out – the “Play” button on the main page for the Jordan app loads a spectacular visual display of Jordan’s career highlights. In all, a very cool promotion to celebrate the career of Number 23.

Posted by brian tiong at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Kyle Austin *)

 

Kyle says...

One online service that I’ve grown attached to is Mint.com. Simply, Mint.com is the most effective way to manage your money, rent, loans, bills, expenses, financial planning in the Web era (Personally, I love the email alerts when I go over my chosen budget). All of this has allowed Mint to become the most used online personal finance service on the Internet, with more than 1 million users.

It has also enabled the company to build a high brand affinity with its users. In addition to being a great service, Mint has harnessed user’s positive experiences with the service and turned them into brand fans on Facebook. As I’ve followed closely over the last several months, Facebook is making very steady progress in appealing to marketers. Fan and brand pages, check. Vanity URL’s, check. Mint.com is one company that has taken advantage of these changes.

Their Facebook page has grown extremely popular with more than 32, 000 followers and constant interaction. From Mint.com prize pack giveaways, to financial haiku contests, to updates on their latest blog posts, Mint leverages Facebook to the fullest.

Before the vanity URL gold rush I speculated that Mint would be one of the first companies to get their customized Facebook URL. And they were. You can now find them easily at www.facebook.com/mint. Yup, they beat the US Mint, the herb and Wrigley to the findable, SEO-friendly domain.

In addition, Mint’s Facebook admins have been diligent in integrating video and their other social media channels (i.e. Twitter) into the Facebook experience. They’ve also started to use Facebook as their de-facto HARO or Profnet service; allowing their PR and marketing team to track down users for stories that may fit a particular angle or be from a certain area. Anyone from Minn-e-sota?

Mint’s approach is not siloed within Facebook. Their aforementioned blog is extremely popular with more than 11,000 RSS subscribers. This visual-friendly post got 400 plus Digs.

It’s obvious that Aaron and his team understand the future of integrated marketing and are building a brand that has real staying power.

Posted by brian tiong at 09:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Inside Facebook *)

Chick-fil-A and Pizza Hut were the first quick-serve restaurants to gain at least 1 million fans on their Facebook pages, but top fast food burger chain McDonald’s has closed the gap. It hit nearly 1.2 million fans by the end of last week, after adding some 250,000 fans on August 26th, and 400,000 more on August 28th.

Why the massive growth all at once? Quite likely, McDonald’s requested that Facebook fold some large unofficial fan Pages into its official Page. Facebook intends for Pages to be owned by companies themselves, so it has been helping various organizations do this already.

However, that is not to say that unofficial Pages accounted for all of McDonald’s growth. The official Page has been gaining roughly between 5,000 and 20,000 fans on more typical days in August. The steadiness of that growth suggests, first, that many of its “billions and billions served” were satisfied customers who wanted to express their loyalty by joining the page. It also suggests that some of the features on the Page are drawing additional people in.

The company actively posts few updates, and the ones they do post link to full-featured advertisements on its home site. Interestingly, the company has tried to duplicate some of these advertisements as tabs within the Page. For example, there’s an interactive ad on McDonalds.com about its Angus beef burgers, called Angus Axioms – on Facebook, that same interactive ad also appears on the landing tab. The Angus beef feature lets users browse the different elements of various styles of Angus burgers (browse your mouse over the bacon part and you’ll see a close up photo and a description of the bacon).

Chick-a-Fil and Pizza Hut have seen growth through highly customized integrations into Facebook, like photo contests and online ordering. McDonald’s hasn’t taken its page that far, but the rollup of its unofficial Pages shows that it cares — so watch for more from the company in the future.

Posted by brian tiong at 03:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Inside Facebook *)

Posted by brian tiong at 09:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Mark Walsh *)

Mark says...

Giveaways pay on Facebook. Starbucks has surged past Coca-Cola to become the most popular corporate brand on the social network, powered by its recent free pastry promotion.

As of Thursday, Starbucks' Facebook page boasted 3.7 million fans compared to Coke's 3.5 million -- with their sites ranking 8th and 9th, respectively, among all pages, according to data compiled by Inside Facebook. (Fan pages for celebrities and prominent figures like Michael Jackson and Barack Obama generally top the list.)

A well-designed page, fun promotions and effective use of Engagement Ads on the Facebook home page have all helped Starbucks drive a large following on the social network, according to the Facebook-tracking blog. Promotions have played an especially big part lately.

Starbucks added 200,000 fans this week alone -- pushing it past Coke -- with its Free Pastry Day on July 21 allowing fans to print out coupons for complimentary pastries with any beverage purchase.

It's not the first giveaway campaign the coffee chain has run on Facebook. Earlier this month, it promoted the launch of branded ice cream by offering coupons for free pints through its Facebook application. Among other social media initiatives, Starbucks in May asked people to take photos of new outdoor advertising in several cities and post them on Twitter. And it used a YouTube video to promote its Election Day offer of free java to anyone who voted.

A report released earlier this week by social media platform Wetpaint and digital consulting firm Altimeter Group rated Starbucks the highest among the top 100 brands for its efforts in social media based on engagement across 10 categories including blogs, Facebook, Twitter and wikis.

"Free coupons can be a very viral way to do promotions on social networks, as long as it's a compelling offer," noted Justin Smith, editor of Inside Facebook. He pointed out that other companies such as Papa John's and Ben & Jerry's have also had success at making coupons available via Facebook.

What about erstwhile brand king Coke? The beverage giant's Facebook page, famously, wasn't created by the company but by a pair of Coke enthusiasts in Los Angeles. A case study of a brand "letting go." (Dusty Sorg and Michael Jedrzejewski have since been hired to co-manage the page with Coke's marketing team.)

The contrasting approaches of Starbucks and Coke to brand-building, however, suggest there's more than one way to bring consumers to a Facebook fan page. Then again, giving stuff away for free tends to draw a crowd anywhere. 

Posted by brian tiong at 05:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Giles Fitzgerald *)

“This is a great example of a label really nurturing a fan base and giving them genuine reasons to interact with each other and with the artist. In an age where the value of recorded music is hard to guarantee, a platform that rewards fans with richer content and money can’t buy rewards is bound to have cut through”

Dom Hodge

Island Records Group and Casablanca Records are teaming up on a unique reward based online venture in support of Mika’s upcoming album. Mika is launching a loyalty scheme via his website which will enable fans to earn points that can then be traded for rewards. Points are awarded for creating a profile, uploading content, adding comments and buying products. Points can be used to acquire free music, video downloads, screen-savers and even a private acoustic gig from the artist.

“For over 3 years Island have been developing innovative community solutions for our artist sites. Now we are taking it to the next level with the fantastic platform Push Entertainment has developed for Mika’s Magic Numbers,” said Glenn Cooper Head of Digital, Island Records Group. “We are rewarding Mika’s fans for interacting on all levels by bringing them closer to the artist.”

Points can be accrued via CD, DVD and iTunes music purchases, plus selected official merchandise and ticket purchases will contain a Magic Number which can be redeemed for points. In addition a selection of “special events” will randomly appear in the Mika calendar –such as ‘Double Points’ purchases and ‘Bonus Points’ activities.

Island highlights that the concept has been designed to integrate “seamlessly into external Brand Sponsorship deals” – which would imply that they are eager to find sponsors for the initiative.

Mika’s second album ‘We Are Golden’ is released on 21st September.

So what?: This campaign takes its cue from the loyalty card model as depicted by the Nectar reward card system – which recently launched the Nectar Music Store offering up free music downloads in return for acquiring points whilst shopping. It also served up exclusive competitions and content from the likes of Dido and Alesha Dixon. This campaign ticks many of those same boxes, but makes it artist specific. It’s good to see a label providing a strong incentivised platform for fans to interact with the artist. Rather than a short term hit of free content, or a one off gimmick gig, this campaign aims for the long-term, building momentum and requiring fans to return again and again in order to catch limited offers. It also builds on the notion of working to acquire music which activates ‘value’ receptors in consumer’s brains – something they are missing from a simple P2P music grab. Getting the best from this platform means putting effort in, and effort translates easily into engagement. Although less altruistic than say Orange’s Rock Corps campaign it harnesses the same principles of fan involvement. Furthermore it creates a platform that can easily be harnessed by brand sponsors with minimum effort, working across a variety of mediums – online, mobile and live.

www.mikasounds.com

Posted by brian tiong at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Michael says...

SMSGupShup, a Twitter-like service in India, is getting a ton of buzz over here in the U.S., too. In an interview with CEO Beerud Sheth now says the service now has 20 million users (and that’s without an appearance on Oprah), nearly all of which are in India. That’s up from 7 million late last year.

The service can only be accessed via SMS, which works just fine for India’s 400 million mobile phone users (there are just 40 million broadband Internet users, Sheth says). Users sign up and use the service all via text messages. They never need to visit the website at all.

The service’s main variable costs are fees for text messages, and Sheth says that they’ve had to implement caps to keep costs under control. But as the service grows, says Sheth, they are able to negotiate much better pricing. Already SMSGupShup accounts for 400 million monthly text messages, around “5%-6%” of the total Indian market.

Three months ago the service added advertising to messages. Three months in and they’re making $150,000/month in revenue. Not bad for a SMS-based service.

Posted by brian tiong at 09:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Robin Wauters *)

Robin says...

I’m not going to discuss the economic meltdown and its devastating effect on technology companies and internet startups in this post, but rather something that crossed my mind earlier this morning: “Web 2.0″ seems to become more and more a void (and an avoided) term. Of course, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is definitely apparent.

So why do I say it’s fading? For one, because the number of startups that contact us and include the term Web 2.0 in the subject line or message is visibly dropping (and that’s a good thing), and I hardly ever see it mentioned anymore on other technology blogs and news sites either. That’s not really tangible, so I took a look at the number of mentions of the phrase across the web, and they seem to be decreasing significantly, reflecting my feeling on this.

Judging by Google Trends, which shows how often a particular search term is entered relative to the total search volume across various regions of the world (and in various languages), the term started being used at the end of 2004 when Tim O’Reilly organized the first edition of the Web 2.0 Conference. Search queries for the term started picking up in the middle of 2005, when TechCrunch was started - with the tagline “Tracking Web 2.0″ by the way - and the number kept increasing until the end of 2007. After that, the trend is clearly downwards, falling back to the level it reached in early 2006 today. If the trend continues, there should only be a handful of people left who scour search engines for “Web 2.0″ by 2011.

Also noteworthy: take a look at the geographic regions that have generated the highest volumes of worldwide search traffic for the term over the years - it’s Asia, with the top 5 regions being India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia (in that order). Furthermore, Google Trends pegs the number one language in which people search for stuff related to the topic of Web 2.0 to be Russian before English.

And just in case you’re curious: “Web 3.0″ doesn’t seem to picking up much.
Let’s all rejoice.

Google’s “Insights for Search”, a beta service that analyzes a portion of worldwide Google web searches from all Google domains to compute how many searches have been done for the terms you’ve entered - relative to the total number of searches done on Google over time - gives an even better overview:

Posted by brian tiong at 02:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Matt O'Hern *)

You won't love the way they fly.

That's the point of an angry customer's rant about Delta.

A video by Phil Defranco, AKA, sxephil and phillyd, was one of the most popular on Youtube this week.  Defranco is a blogger and self-proclaimed former fan of Delta. He shared his nightmare story about the airline,and 313,000 people have viewed the video since Monday.

Among Phil's top complaints::

1. The flight was delayed four hours, because they had the WRONG plane, with too much fuel.
2. Delta ran out of food after they served just 10 people.
3. When his luggage arrived at baggage claim it was soaked, and the water ruined his MacBook.
4. Customer service's reply to his luggage complaint was: "Well sir, how do we know you didn't have a water bottle in your suitcase?"

My favorite quote::

I apparently paid them a $15 fee  to destroy my luggage.

Phil ends his rant by asking viewers to share their worst airplane story.

 If you search" Delta on Youtube, you'll find sxephil's video is in the top ten, followed by a video titled: Delta Flight 6499, SEVEN HOURS on the tarmac.After 313,000 people watch bad press about your company in a matter of days, you have a lot of PR work ahead.

British Airways' took a PR hit when a few disgrunitled employees vented their frustrations on Facebook.  Delta has learned the hard way that web-savvy customers have the power to become a corporations worst nightmare.

Posted by brian tiong at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Alan H Gerson *)

Good summary from Alan on the elements that an advertising campaign needs in digital today.

Alan says...

The importance of sound creative executions and integrated strategies cannot be overemphasized in today's online ad market. Follow these steps to get on the right track.

1. Capture interest and attention
Advertising is, of course, a specific communication strategy designed to shape consumer action towards, or opinions about, particular products or services. Advertising, like every other communication strategy, will not and cannot work unless it finds an audience and actually delivers its message. We live in an increasingly crowded media environment. The average consumer is exposed to thousands of different advertising messages every week. Many of those messages are repeated with a frequency that deadens the senses. Even finding the right potential customer and placing the advertising message in front of him or her does not guarantee interest or focus on what the ad message is trying to communicate. 

The new media consumers have been taught that they are in charge of what, where, when, and why they will pay attention to an ad message. Nevertheless, capturing interest and focusing attention remains the prerequisite for a successful advertisement.  More

2. Extend engagement
Engagement is a new hot metric. In the battle for the attention of the consumer, "time spent" is a valuable indication of whether the advertising communication has been successful, and delivering an ad impression does not necessarily equate to consumer attention and interest. There are all levels of impressions, but do they communicate in a world where consumers have the ability to scan, fast forward, jump, and abandon content with the touch of a button on myriad of different devices?

Therefore, truly engaging and focusing a consumer on the advertising message is increasingly valuable and effective. Engagement for a significant period of time, especially if that engagement is interactive, clearly indicates that the message has been delivered to a consumer who has -- by the investment of their time and actions -- demonstrated interest and attentiveness.  More

3. Activate toward client goals
Today, even if branding is the main objective, some sort of measurable action by the consumer that can be translated into a concrete return on the advertising investment is almost always a parallel goal.

Every marketer of every brand, product, or service has a hierarchy of real-world results they would like to see from their advertising. This goes beyond metrics and measurement. Ultimately, they want to see sales increase, or product sampling, or store visits, or a consumer database developed from information requests, or promotional registrations. 

Advertising, even brand advertising, needs to be able to multi-task and create real-world results in terms of sales or the establishment of a relationship with/or communication path to a potential consumer. Digital media, messages, and promotions are increasingly being bundled into an integrated marketing, advertising, and promotional strategy that activates a consumer toward specific goals or creates a communication path to a potential consumer for just that reason. 

4. Branding and brand building
All advertising can and should reinforce brand values or brand positioning, even if its primary goal is more directly sales oriented. 

In the digital age, the ability to use websites, microsites, and online promotions -- not only to create sales but to convey information about the company behind the product or service -- makes this a required part of any advertising strategy.

Never before in history have marketers had the tools that can so readily facilitate the ability to provide information in various levels of detail to consumers about their products and services, what they stand for and what they mean for their customers. More

5. Reinforce recall and retention
The multiplicity of channels, messages, and media can make it harder to make advertising messages stand out enough to be remembered or acted upon. Nevertheless, fostering message recall and retention remains a central goal of any advertising campaign.

Digital media and certain technologies provide new and powerful ways to accomplish this goal through their ability to reach consumers where they are, on a variety of platforms, and with messages of different lengths and complexities. Flexibility of approach, use of integrated strategies -- which include traditional media as well as digital platforms -- and creation of different messages that may communicate different pieces of information can all enhance recall and retention. Whether the message is price, value, brand or feature-based, nothing is more important today than the power of communities and the impact of promotions. Today's consumer wants validation and reinforcement from other consumers, and the opinions and testimonials of their peers are more important and impactful than the same words from a company spokesperson or message. More

6. Promote intention to purchase
The marketing chain for most products and services today is complex and multi-channel. Products are offered for sale through retail stores, through networks of distributors, through online stores, and in a variety of both online and offline direct messaging to former or potential customers. Advertising messages, wherever and however they are made or delivered, need to support the communication of product benefits, features, advantages, and uses. Especially in today's economy, they need to support the communication of specific price and value messages and incentive offers. More

7. Build an opt-in and viral database
One key difference between traditional media and digital media is the ability of digital media to readily identify its audience members and establish a two-way communication with willing individuals in that audience. Building a customer database that has fully opted in creates a valuable resource for all companies that can and should be used to inform, reward, thank and re-sell customers, increasing the lifetime value of that customer. Permission-based marketing was one of the first breakthrough concepts in digital marketing, and it remains a very valuable goal of advertising today.

Not only can advertising be used to drive potential customers to registration pages connected to sweepstakes or contest entries or purchase opportunities, but it can also be used to incentivize those customers to "refer a friend," thus building and extending the potential list to persons who might not otherwise have seen or responded to the advertisement. More

8. Create differentiation in the marketplace
Ultimately, the last goal of advertising I want to discuss is differentiation in the marketplace, which is an umbrella principle closely related to No. 1: Capturing interest and attention. 

The importance of sound creative executions, different media channels, and integrated strategies that allow an advertising message or campaign to reach its target audience and capture interest and attention cannot be overemphasized. These elements should be coupled with integrated advertising and marketing approaches that include strong promotional elements and that powerfully position the features, advantages, benefits, and uses of the product or service being advertised.

Posted by brian tiong at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Paul Isakson *)

I'm been a big fan of Paul for a while now and here is another reason why.  Paul talks about modern brand building is this presentation.

Posted by brian tiong at 09:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Helge Tennø *)

Posted by brian tiong at 09:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Chris Anderson *)

Posted by brian tiong at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Jason Kincaid *)

Jason says... 

As one of the most popular forms of communication in the world, SMS has become a favorite channel for advertisers to reach out to their audience. Everywhere we go, billboards and TV shows try to convince us that we should “Text MAGIC to 9340″, with promises of goodies like free ringtones and coupon codes.

Now Tagga, a Canadian startup launching today, is looking to help you create your own SMS campaign. The service is currently live in Canada, but is still smoothing some things out with American carriers so it may not work quite yet on your phone (the company says any issues should be resolved over the next few weeks).

To create a campaign, users first designate what keyword they’d like to use. For example, we might choose to use the word “Tech”. From then on, any user to text “Tech” to 82442 (it spells TAGGA) would receive whatever content we’d decided to distribute. The company says that users won’t be allowed to namesquat the keywords, as it will delete any accounts that are inactive for too long.

For most people, Tagga offers two pricing plans. The first option allows users to create free campaigns, but 80 of the 160 characters on each text messages are reserved for ads from sponsors. The site also offers a paid premium account at 20 cents per message delivered which eliminates the ads.

Tagga also has a plan in place for “publishers”, who can use the service to offer their readers a sort of short form RSS. Publishers can choose to include ads as part of their message campaigns, but unlike the standard program, they receive a revenue share from each ad. To participate, members have to prove that they are actually generating unique content, as opposed to spamming someone else’s blog material.

Tagga has a huge market to try to capitalize on: there were an estimated 1.9 trillion text messages sent in 2007 alone. But the company will face steep competition from a number of more mature services that do nearly the same thing, like Mozes, which recently closed an $11.5 million round of funding. To help differentiate itself, Tagga is offering keywords for free (Mozes charges $5 per month), but this plan may backfire if Tagga is unable to handle the rush of name squatters.

Posted by brian tiong at 01:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Dean McRobie *) 

Dean says... 

This is a fantastic example of some outside the box thinking on connecting the offline, mobile, and online experience with customized products. By now I am sure you are all familiar with the NIKEiD program. The next evolution is using MMS on your cell phone to help you pick and match your outfit. The technology behind this isn't too complicated, but the experience design is interesting: see something that catches your eye, snap a picture, Nike sends you the matching shoes overlaid on your picture, and of course linking over to ordering online too! This technology and experience could apply to all kinds of clothing and retail products with strong color choices and a relatively minimal infrastructure.

Masterminded by AKQA, London, NIKE PHOTOiD is a brand new mobile application which allows users to customize their own set of sneakers according to their physical surroundings. You simply take a picture of something on your camera phone (it could be anything from a piece of graffiti to an ice cream sundae) and then send this pic off to a shortcode via MMS. The NIKEiD website then picks out the two strongest colours from your image and uses them to colour your custom sneakers. Within a minute, you are sent a link with your design superimposed over the original source of pantone inspiration.

You can then save this image as wallpaper for your mobile, send it to a mate or, by entering the unique DESIGNiD at NIKEiD.com, link directly to your design to complete and actually purchase the sneakers. As one particularly over-excited sneaker-freak in our office inquired with a faint hint of dribble at the corner of his mouth: 'So I could take a picture of a grassy meadow and then it would text me a link to buy my very own Nike Grassy Meadows?' Yeap chap - that's about the long and short of it...

Posted by brian tiong at 03:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: John Biggs *) 

In the grand tradition of UPC codes and CueCat, ScanBuy/ScanLife is attempting to barcode the world. Their mission: to allow companies and individuals to place small barcodes on their publications that are readable by over 70 phone models including an upcoming application for the iPhone.

The 2d barcodes - meaning that unlike standard barcodes they are read in both the X and Y axis - can trigger menu events, download content, lead you to a website, or create a contact or calendar entry in your phone. They currently appear in outdoor ads, some magazines, as well as transit schedules in Europe. The program is actually compatible with multiple types of codes, ensuring international compatibility.

ScanLife wanted to offer TechCrunch users a chance to create their own EZCodes for placement on business cards, documents, and tattoos. You can download the application by texting SCAN to 43588 (U.S. only) or visiting www.getscanlife.com in your phone’s browser.

You can then get your own EZCode by visiting this link and typing in the invitation code techcrunch. One thousand invitations are available under this code.

The company, founded in 2000, is dedicated to making 2d barcodes a mainstay of the modern experience. Current ScanLife users can scan the barcode below to receive a special surprise.

Posted by brian tiong at 02:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Taly Weiss *) 

"Online Media is the mass media" great quote and report by Taly showing how Coke has experimented with all these new media platforms and I can only suspect they have a better understanding than most other FMCG brands on what i think is only the start of "conversational marketing".  Read on...

Taly says...

We all follow the growing success of Users Generated Content (UGC) sites. As the top websites still struggle to allow marketers inside, users keep rejecting those efforts and are strongly organizing not to allow marketing campaigns on their behalves.
While marketers realize its time to transfer their focus online, let us follow the top brands activity in the hubs global users spend their time in.

case study: Coca-Cola (no. 4 brand according to BrandZ, no. 1 brand according to Interbrand).

Coca-Cola on Youtube:
Starring on YouTube, the closest to resemble the TV online, Coca-Cola’s biggest success was due to the known series of Diet Coke experiments with Mentos (nostalgia: not too long ago, marketers were carefully picking other brands only if their values found to match- well see how Coke and Mentos nicely match today!). The most viewed from these take offs brought about 8 million views (Comments: 12,500, Favorited: 9704 times), while other videos with this concept brought few million more.
Coca-Cola’s original video (GTA Coke, Coca-Cola video game) brought together about 5 million views (aggregated results: Comments: 5,140, Favorited: 18,575 times), when Coca-Cola presented a car theft video performed by second world avatars.

Coca-Cola on MySpace:
Many MySpace groups were established in connection with Coca-Cola, but all hold very small number of members.
The largest group I could find was Coca-Cola’s Fan club – with 6319 friends.

Coca-Cola on Facebook:
Coca-Cola fans on Facebook count no more than 625.
Coca Cola’s events using Facebook application (Coca-Cola my summer application) involves no more than 17 daily active users.
Largest Facebook’s group for Coca-Cola - counts about 13,000 members (calls to bring the old Xmas advert).

Coca-Cola on Second worlds:
After few innovative experiments – Coca-Cola leaves Second Life to try another second world platform.

Coca-Cola on blogs, forums, Coca-Cola website:
While Coca-Cola generates higher volume in blogs and forums than its direct competitor (Pepsi), it can hardly confront other leading brands on the top brands list (having technology or online advantage).

According to US traffic data provided by Compete, over the last year Coca-Cola lost more than 40% of its visitors (currently = 290k uniques). Alexa, on the other hand presents an opposite trend of world wide traffic (is it that Coca-Cola is losing its power in the USA?)

Results:
Over the top social networking sites - Coca-Cola fails to create fans, members and friends.
The YouTube findings, can serve as the best model for Coca-Cola. The most successful Coca- Cola related activity observed, was due to users experimenting in splashing Diet Coke on the ground…

********************************************************

Conclusions:

1. Coca Cola – needs to step aside, contribute underground innovative concepts for users to create their own Coke experience. Coca-Cola must understand that “Coke jokes” might be the best brand experience it can empower.

2. If the name of the game is online presence – Coca-Cola as a global leading brand needs to re-think its business assets. For years Coca-Cola met its audiences through mass media, constantly engaging with its targets. Today, when online media is the mass media – Coca-Cola must improve the channels needed to make an optimal reach over. If Coca-Cola wishes to stay on the top brands list – side by side with technology monsters – it should create its own “technology” solution.

Posted by brian tiong at 03:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Kristen Nicole *) 

We haven’t seen Nike get too heavily involved with online virtual “avatar hubs”, but its latest campaign gets pretty wrapped up in Zwinky, taking a few star athletes along for the ride. A new challenge launched by IAC’s Zwinky and Nike invites users to engage in the site in order to get their chance to meet a star athlete, a la Zwinky avatar.

The Field Reporter challenge requires the user to know a thing or two about a particular star athlete, which includes Maria Sharpova, Kobe Bryant, Serena Williams, LeBron James and Abbey Wambach. If you pass the first round of questions, then you’ll still need to solve the clues that will lead you to your star athlete. Find them, and then cart them off to a virtual press release in your stretch Hummer, where you’ll also get the opportunity to ask them a question. It looks like you only get one shot to ask something of your star athlete, so make it good. You’ll also get some Nike gear to take home.

Seeing virtual events or brand marketing inside virtual worlds is nothing new–the trend grew quite rampant earlier this year with th sudden growth of Second Life. What often differs in these smaller, temporary campaigns, is the level of integration for the users. Depending on the brand, the type of campaign, and the long-term goals for that brand, we’ll see different levels of integration into the virtual world. The Nike campaign doesn’t seem to be looking for a virtual way to market its products for long-term use on Zwinky, though this wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Posted by brian tiong at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Wired *)

Jenna Wortham says :

Posted by brian tiong at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Walstreet Journal *)

A feel-good film about a girl from the Chinese countryside who moves to the big city to discover love, blogging and Starbucks will premier this month in an unusual venue: Shanghai's subway.

"A Sunny Day," is scheduled to play exclusively on thousands of high-tech flat screen monitors on Shanghai's subway cars and station platforms.

Girl meets boy and Starbucks in 'A Sunny Day,' to be shown in installments

Tailored for an audience of 2.2 million who cram onto China's biggest underground railway each day, the full-length feature film will be shown in daily segments of a few minutes each over 40 weekdays, soap-opera style. Subtitles in Chinese will help commuters follow the dialogue over the subway noise, and multiple daily rebroadcasts and tie-ins on the Internet are designed to ensure no one misses any of the cliffhangers.

Instead of an ordinary film, the so-called "subopera" is a blend of drama and advertising. A venture between Starbucks Coffee Co. and PepsiCo Inc. financed and helped produce the drama as part of a campaign that kicks off today in Shanghai to introduce bottled frappuccino drinks to the Chinese market.

"It's quite unique and demonstrates a departure from conventional marketing," says Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman. The coffee company hasn't traditionally advertised, Mr. Schultz says, adding that a soap opera can be effective since it creates "real entertainment for our customers and along the way there is a complementary message." PepsiCo, which will bottle and distribute the Starbucks-branded drinks, referred questions to Starbucks

The film has a clear commercial bent. In some shots, the mermaid from the Starbucks logo gets as much face-time as the movie's big turnstile draw, Huang Xiao Ming, a 29-year-old pop star who is so well known he is sometimes called China's Justin Timberlake.

Still, "A Sunny Day" is no infomercial. Mr. Huang's character "CC" is a struggling musician who strums his guitar for coins in the subway, and falls for big-hearted Sunny, who is trying to get over the death of a boyfriend and fit into a new job.

During the shooting on a recent Sunday, as a gaggle of teenage women sneaked onto the set, Mr. Huang described the subway a "fashionable, very modern" venue that will appeal to a trendy audience.

Subways around the world have long featured visual distractions. A century ago, platforms were showcases for art, like the swank metro stations in Paris. In the 1970s, spray paint enlivened the dank and dangerous New York subway, and in the 1980s, the late Keith Haring helped make graffiti a respected art form with projects like "Studio in the Subway."

This year, the Berlin subway's 1.5 million daily passengers were the judges in a weeklong festival of 90-second, silent films called "Going Underground."

Advertisers are also pressing beneath the streets. Sidetrack Technologies Inc. of Winnipeg and New York-based Submedia LLC place light-board advertising in subway tunnels in several cities around the world, giving riders the motion-picture like effect of seeing a flipbook.

China's $20 billion advertising industry is increasingly adopting the global trend toward marketing disguised as entertainment. In addition to Hollywood-style product placements in TV shows and movies, a rapidly expanding segment is directed at an emerging middle class during the workday hours with slickly crafted TV-style ads in taxis, airplanes and even elevators.

More here 

Posted by brian tiong at 04:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : NextGreatThing *)

Allison says :

Artists and labels have been exploring different ways to market and monetize their music beyond MySpace. We just heard that Sony BMG is going to be selling J Lo’s latest album, Brave, on a fancy wooden flash drive (for $70!!) Meanwhile, artists are dropping their labels like bad habits. AmieStreet, MOG, Pure Volume, Indistr, Sellaband, Navio, Roadsound, iFanz, RCRDLBL, iMeem, Popfolio… These are just a few sites out of hundreds they can use to do promotion, distribution, and sales. In addition to the bands we mentioned last week, even the Oldies are going new media; the Eagles, Joni Mitchell and now Aretha Franklin have all dropped their labels to try the digital model.

The next frontier is the handset. Mozes has taken a step there by enabling bands to text fans updates and messages. The real application, though, will be mobile social networking sites, like the newly launched KylieKonnect for Australian singer Kylie Minogue. The dot mobi site (www.kyliekonnect.com redirects to ourtribe.mobi) lets fans blog, communicate with other users and upload images and video all via mobile phone. There is a Kylie’s own blog, a newsfeed and place to buy Monogued-up wallpapers and ringtones. The site, set up by New Visions Mobile, will allow Kylie’s fans to establish a closer connection with her (or the illusion of one), and she will likely profit off it through site sales. Unfortunately for fans, Mashable reports that you seem to need a European-based mobile number to register, just going to show that this sort of technology not as widely embraced (and developed) in the U.S. as it is in Europe, Australia, and Asia.

Posted by brian tiong at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Kristen Nicole *)

Radiohead blew us away with the “donated” sales revenue from its last album “In Rainbows.” The band offered the music for free, and let fans choose how much they’d pay, almost as a tip for the album. What comScore found was that 62% of global users chose not to pay for the album at all.

What’s equally as interesting is the fact that international fans were less likely to pay than US fans. You’d have to do a fairly extensive study to figure out why this may be the case, considering variables such as the native country of the band, the amount of disposable income per capita in various countries around the world, the musical preferences of countries’ citizens, the prevalence of P2P networks as legal options in other countries, etc. So there’s really not much to say in regards to these stats for Radiohead’s album at this particular point.

But what is another topic of conversation is something we’ve touched on in previous coverage of Radiohead’s flip of the script: is this an anomaly and how can regular musicians replicate such success? I’ve said my two cents on the matter–it’s currently rather difficult to make a killing on album sales in the same manner that Radiohead has done, if you don’t already have the fan base. The music industry knows this and may use it to its full advantage.

Radiohead used to be part of the music industry’s machine. Having now cut out the middle man, the band offers content direct to the fans. So with the music industry now looking for ways in which to continually make the same amount of money it raked in during its peak years, I wouldn’t be surprised if Radiohead gets sued.

It was that industry machine that enabled Radiohead to garner such a large fan base, right? So now that the band has kicked the middle man to the curb, the middle man may still want a cut of current sales. While the music industry is still boo-hooing about the decline of sales and the slower adoption of current legal trends, it still has a machine to run. In order to close that gap between previous power and current influence, it will have to find better, more cost-efficient ways in which to advertise artists, and market them across the web.

We’ve seen some pretty under-handed effects arise from this kind of pressure (that means you, Marie Digby), but the evolution will go on, and balance out at some point. As we all know, advertising isn’t going anywhere. The music industry will just need to continue to shift its approach. So will we still have artists able to gain major traction without the music industry’s machine? We won’t have to. The machine will just be better operated.

Posted by brian tiong at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Tameka Kee *)

THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE United States (HSUS) has partnered with Makena Technologies to launch an interactive campaign at There.com. HSUS will use branded virtual and real world merchandise, as well as live events to raise awareness and funds in the fight against animal cruelty.

The effort is a departure from HSUS' typical marketing campaigns, which are geared toward the 50+ demographic. By establishing a presence in There.com, the organization is aiming squarely at the 20- to-30-year-old market.

There.com members can purchase HSUS merchandise for their avatars--and even acquire the corresponding real-life version at the HSUS storefront, connecting real merchandise to virtual sales.

"We are always looking for new ways to celebrate animals and confront cruelty; and working with There.com to take animal protection into the virtual world reaches a new audience with a message of compassion," said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States.

Posted by brian tiong at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Kristen Nicole *)

PanRaven has teamed up with Universal Mowtown Records to create a promotional story for Nelly, who’s getting ready to release his first album in 3 years, “Brass Knuckles.” You may remember that PanRaven is an online tool for creating stories, similar to scrap-booking services like ScrapBlog.

With this particular partnership, a story of Nelly’s filming of the video for his most recent Single “Wadsyaname” is being published on PanRaven’s website, as well as Nelly’s website and MySpace profile. PanRaven is also promoting the story through its Facebook application. The story contains exclusive, behind the scenes footage from the filming of a music video.

And in an effort to encourage users to virally spread this promotion, PanRaven and Universal are holding a contest. The person that spreads the promotion the furthest and widest across the web will win a trip to a future filming session of a Nelly video. The runner-up gets some autograhped merchandise. Not too shabby, as far as prizes go. Kanye West, 50 Cent and Bruce Springsteen have all held similar promotions on MySpace in recent weeks.

Posted by brian tiong at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Mashable *)

Kristen Nicole says :

MyItThings, which is a user-generated lifestyle magazine of sorts, will soon be offering a widget for your Wish List and Virtual Closet, which can be placed on other websites, blogs and social networking profiles, like MySpace and Facebook. A few of these widgets are holiday-themed, so MyItThings is taking advantage of the holiday season and letting you spread some Christmas cheer (i.e. your gift list).

The new widget is powered by Clearspring,so you know there are easy sharing options, including embed code for a variety of social networks and blogging platforms. Wishpot and Glimpse have similar wishlists and widget-sharing options as well.

Posted by brian tiong at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Dennis Bouchand *)

Posted by brian tiong at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Nick Gonzales *)

However, free doesn’t seem cheap enough. Despite the potentially free download, over 240,000 users got the album from peer to peer BitTorrent networks on the first day of release, according to Forbes. Since then, the album was downloaded about 100,000 more times each day, totaling more than 500,000. By comparison, Radiohead pushed 1.2 million sales of the album through their site, including pre-orders. File sharing networks are expected to surpass legal downloads in the coming days.

While the numbers may seem drastic, it’s really more a tale of how late to the game the music industry has been. Piracy networks have been growing over the past couple of years, despite the industry’s declared “war” on illegal file sharing. The networks have grown into easy-to-use distribution methods for digital music — even easier than what Radiohead offered. Users could easily grab “In Rainbows” while downloading music from other artists. Radiohead couldn’t be as compelling by only offering their own music and requiring users to take the time to set up an account.

But Radiohead doesn’t have that much to be sad about. The band gets to keep all the proceeds of their digital experiment and has distributed about six times more albums than their last release, which sold 300,000. That seemed to be enough to get EMI thinking harder about changing. Forbes obtained a email form EMI’s chairman saying “The industry, rather than embracing digitalization and the opportunities it brings for promotion of product and distribution through multiple channels, has stuck its head in the sand. Radiohead’s actions are a wake-up call which we should all welcome and respond to with creativity and energy.” So it seems there’s still hope yet that those legal war chests will be put to use on some innovations.

Posted by brian tiong at 01:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Karl Greensberg *)

The 10-week site allows users to play a variety of online games and view film content. The site dangles a chance to win prizes, including a new Mercedes-Benz filled with treasure, with winners to be announced on "Entertainment Tonight" before the film opens.

Mercedes' C-Class sedan is also featured in a chase scene in the film.

Posted by brian tiong at 11:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : NYTimes *)

Louise Story says :

Rob Bennett for The New York Times

Joggers in the Nike Running Club in Manhattan last month. Nike is spending more of its advertising dollars on services for consumers like workout advice, online communities and races.

Since April, Mr. Saenz, 53, has been running with a Nike+, a small sensor in his running shoes that tracks his progress on an Apple iPod he carries. After each run near his home in Louisville, Ky., he docks the iPod into his computer and posts details of his run on the Nike+ Web site. There, he has made friends with other runners around the world who post running routes, meet up in the real world and encourage one another on the site.

Nike’s famous swoosh is there all along. For Nike, this is advertising.

“It’s a very different way to connect with consumers,” says Trevor Edwards, Nike’s corporate vice president for global brand and category management. “People are coming into it on average three times a week. So we’re not having to go to them.”

The success of Nike+ is bad news for the traditional media companies that have long made money from Nike’s television commercials and glossy magazine ads.

Last year, Nike spent just 33 percent of its $678 million United States advertising budget on ads with television networks and other traditional media companies. That’s down from 55 percent 10 years ago, according to the trade publication Advertising Age.

“We’re not in the business of keeping the media companies alive,” Mr. Edwards says he tells many media executives. “We’re in the business of connecting with consumers.”

Mr. Edwards may be more blunt than most. But many large marketers are taking huge chunks of money out of their budgets for traditional media and using the funds to develop new, more direct interactions with consumers — not only on the Internet, but also through in-person events.

Adventurous companies like Nike have been experimenting with these alternatives since the 1990s. But now, even the most conventional marketers are making these alternatives a permanent — and ever bigger — part of their advertising budgets.

Last year, Johnson & Johnson decided to boycott the so-called upfronts, an annual event when advertisers get together with television executives to negotiate for commercial time. In August, General Motors said that 2008 would be the last year for its longtime sponsorship of the Olympics. In May, A. G. Lafley, the chief executive of Procter & Gamble, told financial analysts that the company would spend less on traditional media and more on its Web site, in-store advertising and promotional events.

“If you step back and look at our mix across most of the major brands,” Mr. Lafley said, “it is clearly shifting.”

More here 

Posted by brian tiong at 05:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Rachel Konrad *)

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Your favorite pants are fraying? You may soon be able to order replacements directly from the factory where they were made, according to the chief scientist of an ambitious Chinese Internet project.

China's government is building a vast virtual world dubbed Beijing Cyber Recreation District, which founders say will help the manufacturing superpower evolve into an e-commerce juggernaut.

Some supply-chain experts say the project is impossibly grandiose in its goal to provide direct links between tens of thousands of Chinese manufacturers and millions of individual customers around the world. But every "Made in China" label eventually could include a Web site where customers could order more — and Chinese factories would produce custom-made goods and send them directly to consumers' homes, mused Chi Tau Robert Lai, chief scientist of the virtual world.

The 3D world is supposed to be the online counterpart to the China Recreation District, a theme park, mall and playground being built in a former steel plant in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics.

Some Chinese-language Web sites of the CRD are already up, but most of it — including the first direct links to manufacturers — won't come until the second half of next year at the earliest, Lai said.

In addition to connecting factories with people outside China, the project will allow businesses outside China to tap the nation's burgeoning middle class, he said.

"This makes you have to think of China in a different way," Lai said Thursday evening at the Virtual Worlds Conference & Expo in San Jose. "We are stepping back and trying to blend the human and the computer to touch everything associated with people's lives."

More here 

Posted by brian tiong at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Reuters *)

David Ward says :

Reuters Photo: Anthony Zuiker

SAN JOSE, California (Hollywood Reporter) - "CSI" creator Anthony Zuiker dropped some clues to an upcoming Second Life integration with his CBS series in his address here Wednesday at the Virtual Worlds Conference and Expo.

Zuiker was part of a Hollywood contingent at the event, signaling the mainstream entertainment business' growing investments in the space.

In his keynote speech, he declared that the future of television "will be TV, online, mobile and games."

Zuiker appeared more than willing to be a pioneer in bringing Hollywood to virtual worlds, announcing that a two-part "CSI: NY" -- the first installment airing October 24 and the second February 6 -- will have Gary Sinise's character go into Second Life to chase a killer's avatar.

"And here's the great thing," he added. "CBS is willing to commit to two 30-second spots that night to tell 16 million people that we're having a 'CSI: NY' virtual world . . . that will be up forever."

Zuiker stressed that the "CSI: NY" virtual world in Second Life will be geared for the "CSI" fan rather than the early adopter, with shorter download times and an avatar of Zuiker to walk visitors through the virtual Manhattan.

In addition to casual games for beginners like "Facial Reconstruction," there also will be content for advanced visitors, including the blog game "Murder by Zuiker," where Zuiker will evaluate entries by people trying to solve a crime based on the evidence found in a crime scene in Second Life.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Posted by brian tiong at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Techcrunch *)

Duncan Riley says :

Since reporting Monday that Nine Inch Nails had dumped its record label and was to offer future albums direct to the public, Oasis and Jamiroquai have also joined the move away from the record industry, but the biggest announcement of all is news today that Madonna has dumped the record industry.

According to reports, Madonna has signed a $120million deal with L.A. based concert promotion firm Live Nation to distribute three studio albums, promote concert tours, sell merchandise and license Madonna’s name.

Whilst the deal differs from Nine Inch Nails in that Madonna is not offering direct-to-public albums, Live Nation isn’t a record company. The deal shows that even for a world famous act, a record company is no longer required in the days of digital downloads and P2P music sharing.

The only real question now is how fast will the music industry model come tumbling down. When Radiohead led the way in offering their music directly to fans many predicted that the move was the beginning of the end; Madonna may well be the tipping point from where we will now see a flood of recording artists dumping record labels and where todays model will shortly become a footnote in Wikipedia.

Posted by brian tiong at 01:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Kristen Nicole *)

There.com has partnered with CosmoGIRL to bring its brand into the virtual world. This will be a “physical” virtual location where users can come to a dance party, fashion shows, spa makeovers, play in photo booths, shop for clothing and accessories, and visit live events held by CosmoGIRL. The extension of branding in this way is a good format for the publication to use, considering the growing popularity of web-based virtual worlds and the niche audience of teen girls that are found on There.com.

This could prove to be a better alternative for branding than Second Life, which has a broader user base. It could also prove to be a good distribution channel for other brands looking to market to teen girls in a virtual manner, as they can offer digital goods to be doled out via CosmoGIRL without the necessity of launching a full-fledged virtual marketing effort on their own. It will be interesting to see if a virtual venue of this nature could do better than an online network like Flip, which hasn’t met company expectations for growth. CosmoGIRL’s virtual playland opens up at There.com on November 20, 2007.

In other virtual world news, SceneCaster has recently signed on Turbo Squid for the provision of 3D objects to be used in its graphic creations, and Multiverse has signed a similar deal with Google 3D Warehouse.

Posted by brian tiong at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Kristen Nicole *)

Bands Jamiroquai and Oasis may be following Radiohead’s lead to let fans download new music from the band’s latest album for free, if they visit the site for the radio station XFM. With no contracts to labels, Jamiroquai and Oasis could be considering this move, which often gains a good amount of traction from the fans and spurs the viral growth of their content.

The success of Radiohead’s promotion is cited as the cause for people to pre-order the band’s box set, which costs about $80 and includes vinyl records, a CD and artwork. The hope is to make money on the peripherals, which still come at a premium. That means Radiohead is looking to make money from concert ticket sales, and other merchandise. We’ve already seen Throwdown’s opinion on the matter. And while the concept of giving away something for free isn’t new, it does look to be gaining steam.

[via the telegraph]

Posted by brian tiong at 01:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Release *)

Jemima Kiss says :

Them again: Last.fm's latest project to support new music is a site called nowformaband.last.fm, which shows unsigned bands how to use free web tools to produce and distribute their music.

Inspired by the 1976 punk-zine Sideburns, the initiative is part-inspired by Last.fm's hype chart, which picks out bands and trends from users' listening habits before they hit the mainstream.

The site introduces users to Luna Free, which offers a free digital audio workshop tool, the distributon service Tunecore and - of course - Last.fm, as a promotional tool.

Co-founder Martin Stiksel said the company wants to help new music find a wider audience (as well as encouraging take-up of its own site, of course): "There's a lot of talk about all these things in the media but not much action in the real world - so we're going to show new bands how".

Posted by brian tiong at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(*Source : Emarketer *)

Paul Verna says :

Since the beginning of the digital music revolution, artists have taken the lead on innovative ways to deliver music directly to their fans.

Some, like Prince, have given away front-line product free. Others, like Tori Amos and Alanis Morissette, have offered up Web-only exclusives, also free.

Then there have been the famous holdouts: Metallica, which joined the fight to shut down Napster, and the Beatles, who, despite years of rumors to the contrary, are still conspicuously absent from iTunes and the rest of the legal Web.

Now comes Radiohead with potentially the most ground-breaking move of all: putting its new album, "In Rainbows," out there for fans to pay what they want.

This museum model of a "suggested donation" is entirely untested, and the industry will be watching closely to see how the experiment plays out.

That said, it is important to keep in mind that this is a niche play from a band that already has a huge, loyal audience, not to mention ownership of its own masters. Whether fans pay for this album will have little bearing on the decisions of rank-and-file artists who don't have Radiohead's clout.

Nor is this move likely to affect the labels' digital strategies. Even if the gambit is wildly successful, it will not change the fact that the industry is staring down the barrel of free-falling CD sales and insufficient digital volume to make up the slack.

Still, it will be interesting to see what happens with "In Rainbows." Some of Radiohead's legions may actually pony up some serious dough, if nothing else to reward the band for not treating its fans as if they were criminals.

While most fans will probably help themselves to the album gratis, inevitably there will be a few crackpots who will pay obscene sums for it, maybe for the attention, or maybe just because they have money to burn and can't help themselves.

It will take only a few of those to give Radiohead a much bigger and more immediate payday than it would have ever gotten from Capitol, its former label.

Posted by brian tiong at 09:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Billboard.com *)

Michael Paoletta says : 

Missy Elliott

Missy Elliott is adding flair to a new ad campaign for Doritos Collisions, Billboard has learned. In a TV spot that debuts Sept. 17, Elliott is seen working on a new track and then pausing to snack on Doritos Collisions chips. Inspired by the two different-tasting chips in the same bag, Elliott has an epiphany: her song needs two different musical styles. So, she immediately injects her hip-hop track with a little bit of country twang.

The multi-platform campaign was created by the Goodby, Silverstein & Partners agency. According to Rudy Wilson, brand manager of Doritos, the campaign's multi-million dollar media buy is the brand's biggest advertising spend of the year, outside of its Super Bowl ad buy.

Elliott's manager, Mona Scott of Violator Management, says the campaign offered her client the perfect creative outlet. "The whole idea of the mash-up is so prevalent and popular in music today," Scott says. "It's so Missy. And the fact that the campaign takes place in a studio means that Missy remains in her element, which makes the whole thing authentic."

But Scott acknowledges there was another important element that helped cinch the deal: "The TV portion is fine," she explains, "but the Internet element provides us with a great back-end." A link takes fans to Elliott's Web site, where they learn more about the artist and her forthcoming, new album (tentatively titled "The Countdown"), due in December from The Gold Mind/Atlantic Records. "We see this as a great way to further maximize Missy the artist and the new album," Scott adds.

Wilson calls the online experience "a bold, intensive experience for our consumers." Visitors logging on to snackstrongproductions.com will be encouraged to create their own mash-ups (or "collisions"), using Elliott's track as the foundation. Completed mixes can be posted and shared in a "gallery" on the site. Five winners -- with prizes still to be determined -- will be selected.

More here 

Posted by brian tiong at 05:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : New York Times *)

David Itzkoff says :

Visitors to the Sundance Channel area of the Web site Second Life can watch full-length feature films in a virtual screening room

IF you can find him, Vincent Tibbett is precisely the sort of well-connected cultural liaison any emerging filmmaker should want to know. An employee of the Sundance Channel, he is as easily recognizable for his shaggy haircut and assertively casual attire as he is for the crowds of aspiring artists who follow him around, hoping to chat him up about cinematic trends, get him to evaluate their movies or simply score his e-mail address.

But if Mr. Tibbett seems a bit harder to pin down for a lunch date than the average in-demand tastemaker, that’s because he doesn’t exist on our plane of reality. He is an electronic avatar found only in Second Life, the popular online virtual community.

Just six months old, Mr. Tibbett is one experiment in the Sundance Channel’s larger exploration of Internet-based virtual reality, a sort of canary down the mine shaft of a new technology that may or may not take hold among mainstream audiences.

And he is not alone. In the last year broadcast networks, cable channels and television content providers have all set up camp in virtual communities, where they hope that viewers who have forsaken television for computer screens might rediscover their programming online. Some outlets, like Showtime and Sundance, are establishing themselves in existing worlds; others, like MTV, are creating their own. Either way, if the wildest dreams of some very excited technology developers come true, virtual reality might finally be the medium that unites the passive experience of watching television with the interactive potential of the Web.

If that happens, the television industry — which has not been particularly speedy in adapting to the Internet revolution — sees an opportunity not only to recover lost ground from online competitors but also to take a lead, and in so doing create an entirely new environment in which to influence and sell to its audience.

“You want to be in this because you know, as a content provider, that this is where the future is going,” said Quincy Smith, the president of CBS Interactive. “I don’t look at it as science fiction. I look at it as the future of communication.”

For decades ambitious programmers and designers have sought to establish virtual worlds like the one put forth in Neal Stephenson’s influential 1992 novel, “Snow Crash,” which imagines computer users interacting in a simulated three-dimensional world called the Metaverse. But only in recent years, as graphics-accelerator cards and broadband Internet connections have grown more affordable and ubiquitous, has it become possible even to approximate such an experience.

IN Second Life (secondlife.com), visitors to the Sundance Channel area can watch full-length feature films in a three-dimensional screening room or take part in an environmental forum; fans of Showtime’s drama “The L Word” can meet the avatars of the show’s stars and design their own floats for a virtual gay pride parade. In MTV’s Virtual Laguna Beach (at vmtv.com) inhabitants can shop at digital versions of Emporio Optic and Laguna Surf and Sport or, at the click of a mouse, arrive in a virtual version of “The Hills,” where they can then join the party at an electronic replica of the Los Angeles nightclub Area.

More here 

Posted by brian tiong at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : THe Guardian *)

Owen Gibson says :

• Band bypass record labels to get release out quickly

• Internet experiment lets fans put a price on art

Their music has long been praised for blurring boundaries and breaking moulds. Now Radiohead are hoping to establish a new model for the struggling record industry by inviting music buyers to decide how much they want to pay for their new album.

To their biggest fans, eagerly awaiting their first studio album for four years, it is near priceless. Those who believe Radiohead long ago descended into self-indulgence may only risk pennies. But thanks to this ground-breaking experiment, the band will bypass record labels altogether and will be able to put a fiscal value on the public's appreciation of their art.

 The release was announced with a short message from guitarist Jonny Greenwood on the band's website, revealing that the new album, In Rainbows, would be available to download from October 10. Orders started rolling in yesterday, with customers able decide how much to pay - from nothing (plus a 45p administration charge) upwards.

Radiohead's "honesty box" experiment will be closely watched by other artists, their record labels and management companies.

In Rainbows is the most high-profile attempt yet to restructure the economics of a music industry struggling with the effects of digital piracy. Despite a booming live scene, CD sales are less profitable than ever thanks to increased competition and piracy.

With the role of the internet in helping new acts from Arctic Monkeys to Enter Shikari rise to prominence already well documented, more established artists are attempting to revolutionise the way music is sold.

Prince caused uproar among music retailers by giving his latest album away with the Mail on Sunday and yesterday the Charlatans said they would give their new single and album away for nothing through the radio station Xfm.

More here 

Posted by brian tiong at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Leigh Alexander *)

eopets Announces Massive Retail Toy Initiative

Posted by brian tiong at 03:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Reuters *)

Starbucks on Monday said it will give away millions of songs via downloads starting next month, as it launches a wireless music service with Apple. From October 2 to November 7 at more than 10,000 U.S. Starbucks locations, customers can receive "Song of the Day" cards redeemable on Apple's iTunes store for a complimentary song hand-selected by Starbucks Entertainment, the company said.

Starbucks said it will give away 1.5 million downloads per day for a total of more than 50 million free songs. Customers will have until the end of the year to redeem the song on iTunes. Earlier this month, Apple and Starbucks said they had reached a deal to allow people to buy songs wirelessly from Apple's iTunes music store in Starbucks coffee shops without paying Wi-Fi connection fees. The service is to debut at more than 600 Starbucks stores in New York and Seattle on October 2, and will be expanded to other major U.S. cities later this year and next.

Posted by brian tiong at 04:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Reuters *)

Michele Gershberg says :

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Young girls waiting to grow into full-time fashionistas will get a chance to experiment with couture as designer Donna Karan and cosmetics chain Sephora open shop in the virtual play-dress world of Stardoll.

Posted by brian tiong at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : Nextgreatthing.com*)

Sherrie Hui says : 

Posted by brian tiong at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source : John Conroy *)

The "Halo" legacy is one that in many ways represents the state of the video game industry as a whole. Top titles are more than just games; they are entertainment properties on the level of blockbuster movies, spawning sequels, spin-offs, soundtracks and collectible merchandise. The current development process for a major video game title bears more in common with the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy than "Pong." Because of the confluence of modern-day multimedia entertainment opportunities, games require equally broad marketing campaigns in order to catch the consumer eye. As a game developer, you aren't just competing with other game titles, you're competing with movies, television, YouTube and MySpace.

When it comes to sequels, video games do have one unique quality, however. They are almost always better than the original. So when the third installment of the legendary "Halo" franchise was announced, its marketing campaign pretty much hit the ground running without having to do anything. The first game in the series, "Halo: Combat Evolved" single-handedly "made" Microsoft's Xbox in 2001. It is considered by many to be the most influential first-person shooter game ever made for a console. "Halo: Combat Evolved" and "Halo 2" have since created a global cultural phenomenon, selling more than 14.8 million units (equivalent to roughly $600 million) and logging nearly 1 billion hours of multiplayer time on Xbox LIVE.

The franchise's reach has also expanded into other games, books, graphic novels and toys. Its legion of fans -- known as the "Halo Nation" -- range from everyday gamers to Oscar-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson, who is producing a new interactive game set in the "Halo" universe and may produce a feature film, as well. To put its popularity into perspective for non-gamers: when "Halo 2" was launched in 2004, its official strategy guide was second only to "My Life" by Bill Clinton on the best-seller list.

So how do you execute a compelling marketing campaign when you're already starting off with one of the biggest worldwide entertainment properties in history? We talked to Microsoft to find out how the company was stoking the flames for an already hotly-anticipated product, and discovered that some interactive elements of its marketing campaign might, much like "Halo" itself, change the way we think about the medium.

More here 

Posted by brian tiong at 02:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(*Source: Adam Ostrow *)

Starting today, US consumers will be able to listen to all the tracks on James Blunt’s new CD on the artist’s MySpace profile for free. They can then opt to purchase the entire album for $9.99, which will allow them to play the album on an iPod and also send the user the CD through snail mail.

The new Blunt album, “All the Lost Souls,” will be sold through a widget on Blunt’s page that is powered by LaLa.com. With nearly 250,000 “friends,” Blunt is a fairly significant artist with whom to try the new sales approach. Currently, the artist has a SNOCAP widget on his page featuring a la carte songs from his previous album.

While Warner has previously tried selling music through MySpace, the copyright protection on it made it incompatible with the iPod, making it a tough sell with most consumers.

Posted by brian tiong at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: IMediaconnection.com *)

Krisserin Canary says:

Coca-Cola has embraced social networking, expanding its online strategy with a new Cherry Coke MySpace campaign. Shane Steele, Coca-Cola's director of emerging media and online advertising, discusses the company's new approach to Web 2.0.

Shane Steele is Coca-Cola's director of emerging media and online advertising.

Krisserin Canary: The new Cherry Coke campaign  is indicative of a move towards more interactive and involved MySpace campaigns. How did you approach creating this campaign? What were your priorities?

Shane Steele: Our main priority was to generate awareness and excitement with the relaunch of Cherry Coke and launch of Cherry Coke Zero amongst today's multicultural youth. Social networks offer an amazing opportunity to engage our target audience and communicate with them on their own terms. We needed to break-through the clutter and contemporize the brand by speaking to our consumers in a relevant and meaningful way. We understood the influence of the MySpace community and we wanted to give one lucky teen the chance to own it. We wanted to empower self-expression, inspire creativity and enable teens to showcase their passion for the Cherry Coke brand.

More here

Posted by brian tiong at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Mashable *)

Kristen Nicole says:

Habbo, the online virtual world, is holding its first worldwide Habbowood Digital Movie Awards. Using the MovieMaker tool, filmmakers are encouraged to create animated movies. The top film in Habbo.com will be entered into the “worldwide” competition where it will go up against the top films from 18 other Habbo communities. The winner gets a trip for two to Hollywood.

With the MovieMaker tool, you can edit your film and use a provided set of sets, props, special effects, music, etc. to create sets for virtual avatars to act out your movie. This editing tool supports up to ten different scenes to create a film that’s 5 minutes in length. The Habbo community will choose the ten finalists, based on page views and ratings. Editors will choose a winner from the top ten, and there will be awards handed out for Best Director, Best Writer, Best Actor and Best Actress as well. These awards will be presented live at a virtual gala in Habbowood.

Clearly the virtual “movie” world is heating up. Origin Digital now offers on-demand streaming media to be used in virtual worlds, while the rights for a documentary filmed in Second Life have been acquired by HBO.

 Check Youtubevideo

Posted by brian tiong at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Reuters *)

Posted by brian tiong at 04:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

 (* Source: Michael Estrin *)

Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) is betting that apparel will be a good fit for the emerging social networking space. The company has created a social network around Arrow, one of its oldest and best known brands for men's shirts.

In a $20 million print, TV and internet campaign, Arrow will encourage users to go to weareellisisland.org to share their own stories of how their family immigrated to the U.S.

Arrow, which has been in business for more than 150 years, prides itself on the tagline "Authentic American Style."

Michael Kelly, PVH executive vice president of marketing, told The Wall Street Journal the site would succeed only if it had good content, but pointed out that Arrow is committed to encouraging users to talk about values that matter to them, not the clothes specifically.

In recent months, more than a few big brands have used social networks to boost their image. In June, Coca-Cola launched Sprite Yard, a mobile social networking community. Earlier this year, Proctor and Gamble worked with Yahoo! to create a social networking area for women to talk about pregnancy and weight loss.

Posted by brian tiong at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Rey Peralta *)

Posted by brian tiong at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source:Kristen Nicole *

Goombah, the social music discovery site, now lets you vote for and download tracks from the 3rd annual Starbucks Music Makers Competition. The 49 semi-finalists have been announced today.

The online contest portion of the contest is powered by Goombah, and is extending voting rights to users. Listen to the music of the semi-finalists and vote for who you like best. Download the tracks that you like as well. Included in this promo is a Starbucks radio player, which has been created by Goombah. Email the player out to friends or put it on your MySpace, hi5 or Piczo profile.

The competition will take place at 7 different Starbucks locations in August and September as well, and the finalists will be chosen from both the online voting and the decision from the judges. The final performance will take place on October 11, 2007 at Hard Rock Cafe in Boston. The musicians that are participating will be able to extend their reach and hopefully jump start their career as well, given the distribution network of Starbucks and its dedication to indie artists.

YouTube is also holding a music contest, allowing submissions from users, and Babelgum has been partnering with several film festivals in a similar manner to how Goombah has teamed up with Starbucks.

Posted by brian tiong at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Music mogul Sean Combs is looking for an assistant, but don't send a resume. The star is accepting only video applications uploaded onto YouTube.

Combs, known as Diddy, videotaped a help-wanted ad on the popular video Web site hoping to find a helper to replace his former assistant, who did everything from holding his umbrella in the rain to playing chaperone to his hip-hop group Da Band.

While Combs declined to comment on why he chose YouTube instead of a job-recruiting site like Monster.com, he offered some explanation in the video.

"It's a new age, new time, new era," he said in his first posting, a minute-and-a-half clip of him yelling behind his desk. "Forget coming into the office and having a meeting with me and being all nervous."

Hopefuls must audition by posting a video that is less than three minutes long explaining why they deserve the job. Initially, Combs opened it to anybody with a camera or a little creativity, but in a second posting, narrowed the applicant pool to only college graduates.

Combs's two short video clips did not provide a job description or list of qualifications. But if his previous actions are any indication of what the new assistant can expect, the job could be very demanding.

Combs once made members of Da Band walk from Manhattan to Brooklyn to fetch him a slice of cheesecake. And his last assistant, whom he named Fonzworth Bentley, became famous as the umbrella-toting manservant often seen fluffing Combs's bow ties on the red carpet. Bentley, whose parents named him Derek Watkins, has turned his job as Combs's assistant into endorsement deals, a record contract--and a line of umbrellas.

"What better job than that to have me scream at you, go crazy, keep you up at late hours, have you sleep-deprived?" Combs asked.

More than 600 people have submitted videos.

John Challenger, chief of the recruiting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said Combs's online video search is more than a ploy to get attention. More applicants are adding video clips to their applications. "It helps put a face to all the faceless resumes," he said.

Viewers will pick the finalists on YouTube, but Combs will pick the winner.

"It's an interesting way to engage his fan base, and it's a creative way to do it," Challenger said. "It's like 'American Idol,' and you can only choose one."

Posted by brian tiong at 02:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Nextgreatthing.com *)

Posted by brian tiong at 02:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Kristen Nicole *)

Boo-box, the contextual marketing company, has raised $300,000 in a round of seed funding, led by Monashees Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm.

The funds will be used for product development and expansion of the Brazil-based company. The boo-box service lets you create contextually based content throughout your site, and when visitors click on the links, they will receive recommended items that are relevant to your site. These recommendations appear in a new box, and visitors can scroll through the items as they please. Publishers are rewarded when a visitor completes a purchase. Boo-box has global ambitions, and has launched its service here in the US as well. Similar services include Media River and Open ads.

Posted by brian tiong at 01:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: 901AM *)

YouTube announced its second major music promotion, the YouTube OntheRise Rap Edition. This follow-up to last year’s highly successful YouTube Underground contest is the first of three genre-specific music competitions. This first installment seeks to discover the best rap and hip-hop artists in the United States, inviting unsigned talent who aspire to be professional artists to submit their own original music videos.

Artists can submit original videos that best represent their talents from August 10 through August 17. 50 Cent, Common and Polow da Don will help judge the contest and will select 20 finalists to be presented to the YouTube community on August 29. The YouTube community will then vote on a final winner who will be unveiled on September 7.

Here’s the OnTheRise RAP Edition ‘07 by 50 Cent.

Posted by brian tiong at 01:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: IMedia Connection *)

The Little Deviant campaign uses an array of innovative elements to underscore the xD's non-conformist personality. These facets include a cinema spot that debuted in key markets on June 15, the Little Deviants interactive website that launched the same day, a pop-up spectacular print ad, a banner campaign and other guerilla activities that kicked off earlier this month.

In the storyline, the xD's virtual accomplices -- a number of uniquely monstrous little Deviant characters -- torment "Sheeple," the conformist clones who paint the world and its inhabitants a dull gray. The xD itself unleashes Deviants from underground, and through the campaign's website, visitors can join the mischievous gremlins in customization... all in the spirit of replacing dreary compliance with vibrant creativity.

More here 

Posted by brian tiong at 12:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Vivian Salama *)

A South Korean version of MySpace is emerging as a potent political force. How Cyworld is reshaping the country’s presidential campaign.

Cyworld, says its creators at SK Communications—South Korea's top Internet provider—was designed to appeal to Koreans with its two-dimensional bubbly cartoon characters and bold graphics. Users exchange real money for the Cyworld currency of dotori, which translates as “acorns.” With it they can accessorize their own pages or buy gifts for others. The virtual currency has become so popular that it spills over into real life, too. Jung-Eun Lee, a 33-year-old Seoul-based reporter, for example, says her birthday gifts included dotori from her husband and Cyworld gifts from friends.

According to company officials, about a third of Cyworld users are between the ages of 30 and 50. But it’s among younger users that the site has hit the mother lode: corporate spokesmen say that a whopping 90 percent of South Koreans in their 20s are registered users of Cyworld. That’s especially important given that the government lowered the country’s voting age to 19 last year, making an additional 4.2 million South Koreans eligible to vote since the last presidential election in 2002.

Not surprisingly, the politicians' Cyworld homepages—known as “minihompys”—blend right in with those of their young constituents. The candidates design their characters—complete with virtual wardrobe; fix up their Cyworld homes; they even have Cyworld buddies who generally consist of their supporters. The candidates reach out to their buddies via messages, articles or save-the-date memos for campaign-related events. Another key feature: in order to register, Cyworld users must have a Korean national ID number, so candidates can be sure they’re connecting with genuine voters.

More than 90 percent of South Korean households have high-speed broadband at home, making it one of the world’s most connected countries. During the 2002 election, South Korea’s current President Roh Moo Hyun’s core supporters consisted of the younger, Internet-savvy generation, as opposed to the conservatives who backed his opponent, Lee Hoi Chang. On the morning of the election, Roh supporters launched a massive campaign, sending e-mails and text messages to more than 800,000 people, urging them to vote. The use of both technologies is attributed by many as one of the main reasons Roh came out on top.

More here 

Posted by brian tiong at 03:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Cristina Ledesma *)

Manpower Inc. announced the launch of the Manpower Island in Second Life, the online virtual community. Manpower Island is a place where job seekers, employers and entrepreneurs can come together in an interactive forum to learn about and explore the World of Virtual Work, share ideas and identify new opportunities in traditional and non-traditional meeting spaces ranging from an amphitheater to a relaxing spot on the virtual beach. Built as a learning community, Manpower Island features a variety of virtual work resources, including an orientation trail to teach “newbies” how to move around, interact and teleport around Second Life; and a series of work-related stations offering advice on creating a virtual resume, preparing for both Real Life and Second Life job interviews, obtaining appropriate attire and finding a job in the virtual world.

Manpower has developed a short informational video about the World of Virtual Work. The video examines how, in an environment of global competition, virtual work has become a powerful way to connect skills and demand, regardless of the distance between them.

Posted by brian tiong at 01:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Del.icio.us *)

More related articles

Posted by brian tiong at 03:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source:Mack Collier *)

Over the last year or so, 'event-blogging' has become more popular. But the Asheville Citizen-Times is upping the ante as The Smashing Pumpkins roll into the North Carolina town for a 9-show gig.

Susan Ihne explains:

Music is not my forte. I had no idea who the Smashing Pumpkins were when they announced a nine-day play date in Asheville.

Thank goodness for Entertainment Editor Tony Kiss, who quickly put it in perspective: This is a BIG deal.

When the 8,478 tickets sold within minutes, I knew he was right.

And then with $20 opening night tickets scalping for $950 or more, I decided I’d never doubt him again — at least when it comes to music....So, when Kiss puts his seal on a big deal, we start planning.

Smashville.com

A couple of weeks ago, we launched a social networking site called smashville.com to connect band fans from around the world.

It’s where you’ll find our coverage — photos, video, audio and stories — of the band’s time in Asheville.

Fans are invited to share their thoughts in blogs, photos and video at the site throughout the band’s stay. About 60 have signed up so far.

Before each show, we’ll have a video of the smashing of something pumpkin. A ceramic pumpkin, a can of pumpkin filling, a frozen pumpkin pie, and a plastic pumpkin — whatever we can find.

The paper ran an article yesterday claiming there were 'about 60' members signed up at the time. I just checked and the site says there's 182 now. Members have already added numerous pictures and videos of the band, mostly concert shots.

Posted by brian tiong at 02:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

 (* Source: Reuters *)

Posted by brian tiong at 01:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Kristen Nicole *)

Treemo, the media-sharing service with mobile phone optimization, announced its Libertad contest in conjunction with the release of the “Libertad” album by the band Velvet Revolver. See here for entry details.

This mobile contest lets you submit content from your cell phone, share ideas and comments about the new Libertad album, and telling Velvet Revolver what the new album means to you. Upload videos, photos and stories. Winners are voted by the Treemo community, and get a trip to see the band in concert on August 18 in New York City, as sponsored by Treemo, Velvet Revolver and Sony BMG. Airfair is provided by Farecast. Among the first contests to occur simultaneously on the web and the mobile phone, for a user-generated social network, Treemo is garnering attention as a marketing platform in the right way.

Going.com took a similar approach for the promotion of its launching in various San Francisco and New York, providing airfare and concert tickets as a prize for a few lucky winners.

Posted by brian tiong at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(*Source: Nextgreatthing.com *)

According to a new study by Grunwald, 71% of youth between the ages of 9 and 17 visit social networking sites on a weekly basis. But the big news is that they are not only going there to socialize with friends, but also to interact with their favorite brands. The study found that in the past month 55% of teens have participated in some kind of advertiser-brand activity such as visiting company profile pages, taking company-sponsored quizzes, and entering sponsored contests.

Here are some fashion brands we’ve noticed doing a great job engaging youth on Facebook, now up to 26.6 million members according Comscore:

• Victoria Secret’s youthful PINK line has a profile with 334,393 members offering free downloads for PINK-themed wallpapers and buddy icons, party invitations, featured video contests, and more.

• With 16,287 members, global retailer H&M offers their Facebook group members free wallpaper and buddy icon downloads. The trendy brand takes it a step further by providing a virtual dressing room where members can create an avatar to try clothes on their virtual body before going into the store to make a purchase.

• American Eagle’s new dormwear and intimates brand, aerie, has group with a following of 48,357 members. Their profile page features the latest aerie fashions and features a daily poll featuring issues that are top-of-mind for their consumers, like “where are you going for spring break?”

According to the study, of the 60% of youth who have created profiles or have personal sites, 20% of them update their profiles or sites at least once a day. This being said, staying current and up-to-date is a major factor in these tweens/teens lives. The challenge for brands will be keeping up with them. They’ll need to make frequent updates and constant innovations to keep their audience coming back for more.

More related articles 

Posted by brian tiong at 01:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Patrick Foster *)

For those who have no hope of making it on to Centre Court, it is a chance to see what it’s like to face a high-speed serve.

Second Life, the online virtual world, has started broadcasting Wimbledon matches to its six million members.

The games, played on a virtual Centre Court, are streamed using real-time data from HawkEye, the ball-tracking software used by players to challenge line calls.

They can be viewed from any angle, making it possible to watch an entire match through the eyes of the players.

Ian Hughes, a “metaverse [online universe] evangelist” for IBM, who worked on the project, said: “There’s a representation of the tennis court and two figures that represent the players. You’ll see the ball move and the players move to hit it. At the back of the court the scoreboard will up-date itself.

“In Second Life you can move your camera view wherever you want to. As the action is played out you have full rein. You can attach yourself to the player and have a player-eye view. You can have a bird’s eye view.”

This year HawkEye has been used as an official arbitration system at Wimbledon for the first time. Five high-speed cameras track the progress of the ball, feeding data back to a computer that renders it into three dimensions.

At the conclusion of every rally, the same data is then broadcast in Second Life. Mr Hughes said: “It’s really a case of rearranging stuff we already have, rather than changing the whole flow of the system. We’re taking the HawkEye coordinate data and putting it into a 3D environment.”

More here 

Posted by brian tiong at 11:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: BD Gamers *)

Through IGA’s deal with French game development studio, Cyanide, consumers will experience contextual dynamic billboards in Pro Cycling Manager, incorporating the world-famous Tour de France, the worlds single largest annual spectator event. The game allows players to be in charge of one of 60 official teams by managing their tactics and strategies for 180 real-time 3D races.

Similarly, the deal with Staggan delivers dynamic billboard ads as well as power-ups and half-time video spots through United Football, a unique massively-multiplayer online soccer game, which gamers can download and play free of charge.

IGA has also signed a portal-wide casual game deal with Morpheme, a wholly-owned subsidiary of game publisher Eidos, for a range of new Morpheme titles including; Finger Frenzy and current top release, Dawn of the Bod. IGA’s network will again provide dynamic billboards and interstitial video clips before and after play. The Morpheme portal www.gimme5games.com receives over one million unique visits per month, mostly in the 16-34M bracket.

Posted by brian tiong at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

 (* Source: Kristen Nicole *)

Vator.tv, The Casual Games Association (CGA) and Pequot Ventures have partnered to seek out innovators and future leaders particularly in the video game industry. This will be done as a sponsored video pitch contest on Vator.

With the increase in casual games, both the CGA and Pequot are interested in finding the next big thing in the industry, and they’ve chosen Vator as their venue for seeking undiscovered talent. The contestants will be judged based on their pitches on Vator, and the winners of the challenge will get free admission to Casual Connect, a conference for the casual games industry next month in Seattle, as well as admission to the European Casual Connect Events in Kyiv and Amsterdam. Winners will also be featured in the Vator Reports, the new show on Vator featuring co-founder Bambi Francisco and Peter Thiel, as well as financial and industry training, and possibly funding from Pequot Ventures. The runner up will get a free XBox.

Regardless of the big gap between the winning and runner up prizes for this challenge, the chance to network with the right people, gain valuable training and have a shot at funding is the chance of a lifetime for anyone interested in casual games. It’s important to find talented individuals for the purpose of furthering development in nearly every industry today, and this is even more so highlighted by the fact that the marketing potential of casual games is rising rapidly. Looks like Vator is on its way to becoming a helpful platform for sharing information and launching careers.

Posted by brian tiong at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Ed Cotton *) 

At this year's Cannes Lions, jury wanted to show the world of advertising has changed, so they and gave the Grand Prix to Dove’s Evolution spot.

The effort was rewarded for two reasons:

1.    It shows that there’s life beyond the 30sec television spot.

2.    It demonstrates the importance and power of corporate social responsibility. It’s not just a statement, it’s an action; Dove isn’t just commenting on the state of women and beauty, it’s actively trying to do something about it.

The problem is that the media world has changed so dramatically in the last 6 months that it might be impossible for a brand to replicate the success of Dove. The ad was truly viral; it was even seeded by the writer directly on YouTube and took off from there.

More here 

Posted by brian tiong at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Yee Peng Chia   *)

Posted by brian tiong at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Matt Heinz *)

Some great views on the state of agencies today in the media world... spot on, Matt.

Consumers are the new medium, and few agencies have figured out how to harness that power.

Ad agencies are in big trouble and may very well become just a memory five to 10 years from now. That's a bold prediction, for sure, but the marketing world is offering far more support for that suggestion than proof against it.

The best, most brilliant, most effective marketing ideas of the past of couple years have not
come from big ad agencies. They've come from small shops, and more often from individual consumers.

New brands such as Zillow and Twitter are ignoring traditional ad channels, yet they are immensely popular with consumers. And at the same time, we're increasingly disappointed with work done by traditional agencies.

Part of the problem lies in what big ad agencies have traditionally done well, vs. what works in marketing today. Even 10 years ago, traditional media was king. Great creative, placed correctly in the right media channels, could build mindshare and drive consumers to action.

Now fast forward to today. Traditional ads are either ignored or assumed to be puffery. Our shorter attention spans and faster lives give us less time to consume messages in traditional media, anyway.

What's more, the best, most credible marketing messages today come directly from consumers. We believe each other now, not the companies who want to sell us something. We assume that our neighbor down the street, or fellow parent on the soccer field sidelines, is going to be far more authentic and credible than the talking head on TV.

Consumers are the medium now, and few (if any) agencies have figured out how to harness the massive power consumers now have. Some agencies (mostly on the PR side) do employ brilliant thought leaders who clearly understand the role consumers now play in building brand influence and mindshare, but those same agencies have little expertise at the tactical and execution level for their clients.

What consumers are telling each other today are stories about their experiences with brands. They're sharing stories about how well a product works, or the great service they recently experienced from a service provider.

The emergence of consumers as the new "king of media" is placing the spotlight not on marketing messages, not on effective ad campaigns, but on the core of our brands -- the very products and services we provide.

The future of media and marketing has nothing to do with ads and promotions and interruptive media.  It has everything to do with how effective our products and services delight our customers.

More here 

Posted by brian tiong at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Julie Shumaker *) 

Game content offers marketers a way to connect with consumers on a deeper, more meaningful level.

We are in the midst of a fundamental shift in the worlds of media and advertising. Everyone recognizes that audiences are fragmented and consumer mindshare is limited given interaction with multiple forms of media at the same time. The use of DVRs, clicks and remote controls to avoid advertising altogether is a known. We're witnessing the most complicated broadcast upfront in history as networks and agencies try to figure out the implications of time shifting and ad avoidance, and how digital fits into this picture.

At the same time, the mass medium of games is tracking to reach $42 billion by the end of the decade. Often referenced as the most immersive form of media ever invented, the influence of video games inescapable and steals countless hours from millions of gamers across the globe. Analysts are predicting a growth curve for in-game advertising that outpaces the growth of online and follows suit with what has already happened: gamer hours surpassing time spent on the internet.

So what makes gaming such an attractive opportunity?

Audience
Targeted and efficient reach into the teen and young adult male buying demographic, an audience that has shifted billions of hours of media attention out of television and into video games. Let's face it, if they are still watching the show, you can bet they are also texting, talking and hitting the remote more often than viewing a 30-second spot.

Engagement
Video games by their very nature are the only medium that can command the audience's attention with limited to no multi-tasking. There are no remote controls, no TiVo or ad-skipping, and to win a race in "Midnight Club," you can bet the phone or IM are not engaged. The audience is completely immersed in the program containing the advertisement and brand message.

Relevance
Build relationships with game consumers in their world versus interrupting them in yours. The key is to move beyond a skyscraper or 30 seconds between shows and introduce your brand into the entertainment, taking a lead role in the action. Game content is varied and broad in the entertainment space and offers marketers a way to engage beyond impressions to connect with consumers on a deeper, more meaningful level.

Accountability
If a brand invests in a 30-second placement, it is guaranteed the ad will be seen on screen for that period of time, a commitment no other medium provides its customers. More than just the queue of an ad server while you move to the next page, or a full page you never turned, game impressions are counted only when a gamer is actually there in view playing the game, or in essence, playing your ad.

Mindshare
Look at the numbers: 67.8 million gamers have yet to be reached by an in-game ad. Research to date indicates that the combination of storyline engagement and brand signage offers the greatest lifts in awareness and brand affinity. Media spending against games is not in line with the number of hours games represent in media consumption. What this translates to is an untapped market with the most highly involved consumers on the planet. This is your opportunity to get in, innovate and establish a leadership position with a dominant share of voice before your competition.

So that is enough on the why, let's get to the how. Here are seven in-game executions that rock:

Adidas in Power Football
Pontiac in College Hoops 2K7
Power Bar Triple Threat and College Hoops 2K7
Visa in CSI 3
Chrysler in Splinter Cell Double Agent
Gatorade in NBA 2K7

Conclusion
The best advice I can give you is to think in terms of the overall program, your relationship with the game content and unique-to-medium opportunities. Be a part of the storyline and use that program to educate consumers and provide them with a meaningful connection to your brand. Go beyond the banner, beyond the 30-second spot, while using signage as a relevant tool to drive reach and add a call-to-action in driving your gaming ROI.

Posted by brian tiong at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Michael Estrin *) 

Sony spent up to $500 million on "Spider-Man 3." Here's a glimpse at the multimillion-dollar web.

In Sony Studios' latest -- and priciest to date -- effort to transform a classic comic book hero into a mainstream box office hit, Spider-Man has never before been so embedded with digital media assets, using a broad range of social media perks to bolster the marketing of the studio's third installment of the arachnid superhero's latest adventure ahead of its May 4 U.S. release.

In keeping with the vastness of the "Spider-Man 3" franchise, Sony worked with Google Earth to bring the superhero's Manhattan world to fans around the globe with a "Spider-Man 3" layer for the popular mapping application.

The "Spider-Man 3" layer takes users on a virtual tour of the city, complete with detailed imagery, popup windows for the movie's more recognizable locations and still photos from the film.

In addition to the Google Earth project, Sony reached out to its legions of online fans through its official site, which entices visitors to join the "Spider-Man 3" movie network. The free membership provides updates on the film's news, access to the official fan community, and an invitation to participate in beta testing for upcoming "Spider-Man 3" internet games.

Hoping to arm fans with an arsenal of promotion tools, Sony took fans inside the marketing machine, releasing still photos from the film for use on "Spider-Man 3" blogs. The fan community also allows users to spread their artistic wings by accepting fan challenges such as submitting artwork for fan art assignments or creating original videos for members only content. 

While "Spider-Man 3" is a clear jewel in Sony's movie crown, the film also will play a more strategic roll for the parent company, which is looking to unify a diverse set of brand offerings that include electronics, music, games and financial services.

"Spider-Man 3" is not just another comic book movie, says Forrester's customer experience researcher Ross Popoff-Walker. The often-conflicted superhero is a prime example of Sony Electronics CMO Michael Fasulo's burgeoning customer-centric universe, Popoff-Walker wrote in his blog.

According to Popoff-Walker, Fasulo demonstrated how the popular franchise allows Sony to tie its diverse sub-brands together, explaining that Sony used "Spider-Man" to cross-promote its CyberShot digital camera with a Web advergame.

Fasulo told Forrester that the truly successful brands in the twenty-first century will be those that can fully develop and execute a customer-centric model.

Proving that no superhero story would be complete without villains, "Spider-Man 3" squared off with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. over a widget-driven ad campaign created by Photobucket that allowed users to create their on Spidey slideshows.

MySpace quickly dropped the campaign from its pages, saying that users who created and posted the sponsored slideshows did so in violation of the social networking site's terms of service policy, which forbids commercial activity not authorized or endorsed by Fox Interactive.

"Following discussions with MySpace, we're pleased to announce that all Photobucket videos and remixes are enabled once more on MySpace with immediate effect," Photobucket CEO Alex Welch wrote on his blog. "Both our companies are committed to putting our users first." 

Although MySpace's move against "Spider-Man 3" was part of a general backlash against widget campaigns on its network (Cingular had a similar feud with the social networking site), Greg Verdino of Digitas, which handles Cingular, said such fights must ultimately be settled because closed systems are contrary to the principals of social networking.

As for "Spider-Man 3," Welch says promotions such as the slide show Photobucket created offer real value for brands such as Sony in terms of consumer satisfaction and interactivity.

"These brand sponsorships offer our users another outlet for self expression while engaging with their favorite movies and characters," Welch said. "The real potential for brands comes from being willing to mix their brands up with user generated content, which is then shared among millions of trend setting consumers." 

Posted by brian tiong at 08:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Fred Guillet *)

As he says... a really cool online ad campaign. See for yourself here.

Posted by brian tiong at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Matthew Creamer via Three Billion *) 

Shops Want to Prove Communications Planning Is Vital to Marketers in an Increasingly Digital World

New outlets, new headaches

The explosion of YouTube and all manner of consumer-generated and -distributed content made the internet a platform for brand storytelling. Finally, there was a place other than TV for advertisers to tell their stories, a reality that's made figuring out a communications strategy that actually reaches the right consumers all the more daunting.

Enter communications planning. Or connections planning. Or engagement planning. Or channel planning.

Whatever you call it, it's become clear that the future of media agencies will be determined by how well they can guide marketers through an ever-complicated media world. Responding to that environment represents a huge shift for agencies that have been experts in buying time on TV or space in newspapers but, with a few exceptions, don't have nearly as much experience in giving strategic, consumer-centric counsel.

"Media agencies have been built to give great media recommendations," says Antony Young, president-CEO of the U.S. division of Optimedia, a part of the Publicis Groupe. "They're very good at responding to briefs and delivering audiences. The big shift we need to undergo is move from being media-facing to consumer-facing" and start with studying how a consumer interacts with and uses media.

Lisa Donohue, exec VP-managing director at MediaVest, says just about all marketers these days are in search of media-neutral solutions. The challenge for some is to break down internal silos so communications planners have the requisite information to create strategies that reach beyond media and into in-store settings and packaging and even product design. 

"We are seeing clients shift dollars from TV into other channels," says Peter Mears, head of knowledge at PHD, an Omnicom Group-owned unit that serves companies such as Discovery Networks, Chrysler Group and Safeway. "This is not a deliberate goal, but if you're following consumers, that's where you'll end up."

 

New era of experimentation

It's also likely that the ad business has only seen the beginning of the kind of experimentation that will fiddle significantly with how major marketing budgets are spent. A recent survey by the American Advertising Federation's Center for Media Research found that about three-quarters of the marketers it questioned said that as much as 20% of budgets are reserved for experimentation. Nearly 80% of respondents said they're open to new ways of using traditional media.

All of that will drive the growth of communications planning and with it the fortune of agencies, both media and creative, that do it well.

M.T. Carney, one of the founding partners of Naked's U.S. operation, says "Clients know the model is broken, and they can't keep going back to the same agencies who are using the same tools," she says. "It's like how Einstein defined madness, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." 

 

Full article here. 

Posted by brian tiong at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Gretchen Hyman *)

"But how do you break through and touch an audience?" Mandel asked. What are the most effective vehicles for brand and relationship building?

The following are some of the industry survival strategies Mandel explored and some of the successful campaigns that used creativity and innovation for interacting with consumers on their terms:

Become a better storyteller
Consumers are more likely to pay attention to campaigns based on solid and entertaining storylines. As an example, Mandel referenced the Jerry Seinfeld-Superman-American Express campaign, which was widely successfully because of its integration of online and offline promotional tools and its amusing resurrection of one of America's favorite comic book action heroes. Another example she presented was the "Brawny Academy" campaign and its tie-in to reality TV, as well as its success at integrating Brawny paper towels into the storyline.

Create interaction
Instead of trying to draw the consumer to a campaign, engage the existing community where they are in an interactive experience. For this point, Mandel used Ogilvy's IBM Codestation campaign as an example. Based on research that a high number of people that engage in Second Life are software developers, Ogilvy integrated the campaign into the Second Life environment to tap into that a consumer market most likely to respond to an IBM product.

Mandel stressed the importance of integrating text messaging into a campaign, for which she cited the success of a Dove billboard campaign in New York's Time Square that encouraged consumers to weigh in on how they felt about the image of an older woman. Another example was a campaign titled "Text Messages from God" that successfully connected with the teen 18-21-year-old demographic and yielded 100 percent campaign awareness through texting.

Get them talking
The success rate for viral campaigns can skyrocket a brand to success like never before. Mandel used the "Shave Everywhere" campaign as an example. She also used a Dove spot, Evolution, that had originally been intended for a self esteem workshop that ended up on YouTube and proved more successful than Ogilvy's Super Bowl ad. The Dove spot also spawned numerous spoof videos, proving that a great campaign can experience extended brand recognition when it spurs interaction with consumers.

In summary, Mandel named three key components for winning in the interactive space:

1. On Demand: Get relevant information in front of consumers when and where they want it.
2. Entertainment: Use entertainment to create a consumer connection by being funny, outrageous or pertinent.
3. Community: People are using numerous digital means to communicate, and brands can and should be part of that conversation.

"In today's world, you have to get them to invite you in and agree to interact with your brand," she concluded.

Full article here. 

Posted by brian tiong at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A new ad by H&M with Madonna launching her new range. Odd, weird, a little compelling:

Posted by brian tiong at 02:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Steve Rubel *) 

Posted by brian tiong at 07:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: B.L. Ochman *) 

B.L. Ochman said...Hey, it's Friday, and yes I did spend 20 minutes watching marshmallows, eggs, Christmas lights, and gummy bears cook in the microwave. And so will you.

I also tried feeding the hungry college student, who, a la Subservient Chicken, will eat anything you give him. (Almost.) All that and more on Kraft Easy Mac Cups (microwaveable, natch) new sure-to-go-viral site.

It's all strange enough to be compelling, and silly enough to make you want to tell someone about it. But will it sell macaroni and cheese? I feel more kindly toward Kraft in general, but have no desire to eat the Mac Cups - which I am sure are full of chemicals -- after visiting the site. Do you?

Posted by brian tiong at 06:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

V-dubs rock

First Act

VW

Levis’s RedWire DLX iPod Jeans: Picture Source

Levis Store

Posted by brian tiong at 04:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Pete Cashmore *)

Predictably, perhaps, YouTube is launching a Valentine’s Day promotion that follows the same pattern as the Coke-YouTube eCards at Christmas, and similar holiday promos by StupidVideos and Motionbox.

The sponsor this time around is Procter & Gamble’s Herbal Essences - the promo allows users to send one of six video cards starring a chubby Cupid character, upload their own clips or choose from their previously uploaded YouTube videos.

Alas, they don’t seem to have paid the top Tubers to create clips this time - so no chance of Renetto singing a ballad.

Posted by brian tiong at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Andy Kazeniac *)

Earlier this week I posted how brands are using consumer generated ads during the SuperBowl.

Andy contacted me to inform me that Doritos are the run away leaders. 

Have a look at the results so far.

 
Doritos’ all-online “Crash the Super Bowl” contest encouraged consumers to produce, submit, and vote on their favorite spots. More than 125,000 people visited the site during the first two weeks of January, 10 times as many people than visited Doritos.com. Kudos to Doritos, this promotion sets the standard for how to get the most out of Super Bowl spending.

Posted by brian tiong at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Pete Cashmore *) 

There are too many contests being launched on YouTube these days for anyone to keep track: YouTube Underground, the YouTube-Southwest ad contest, MyCadillacStory and RealHousewives to name a few. CBS also used the site to launch a contest involving the Super Bowl: users could submit 15 minute clips to be included in the channel’s Super Bowl coverage.

In fact, we note today that a holding page has appeared for the official YouTube Super Bowl event, which will allow users to vote on the ads after the game. Incidentally, iFilm wrote to tell us they post the Super Bowl ads every year right after they air - they may post the ads before YouTube.

All of which is a roundabout way of saying that McDonalds is now launching an ad contest on YouTube - the “It’s Your Break” campaign asks users to submit ads for their new Honey Mustard Snack Wrap - the winner gets his or her clip shown on the YouTube homepage on February 19th. The snack food is offering talented YouTubers a big break, says the McDonalds marketing department, touting a slogan that must have taken at least 5 minutes to think up.

Posted by brian tiong at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Misha Cornes *)

Posted by brian tiong at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Jeff Squires *)

A Swarm of Angels is an ambitious new project that's taking aim at the traditional Hollywood approach to making blockbusters and giving it a web 2.0 makeover.

The project is attempting to create a film in an entirely new way.

We are gathering 50,000 people in a giant new media experiment to be part of an exclusive community which funds and helps make this film. We want people to freely download, share and remix the feature film and all original media made for this project and have embraced the flexible digital-age copyright of Creative Commons toward this end.

After paying £25 to join, participants are allowed to vote on major decisions in the film, contribute to the actual development and production of the film through open source technologies, and are encouraged to share and sample portions of the film for their own outside work.

A Swarm of Angels

Posted by brian tiong at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Posted by brian tiong at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Adrian Lai *) 

Nokia has released some videos on Youtube conceptualizing what the future of mobile communications may look like. They're not meant to be showcases of products or devices currently in the works, but to stimulate discussion of the cool stuff we'll be able to do with our phones/mobile readers in the future.

It's a nice effort, even though the videos weren't that impressive. But here are some thoughts:

1) Companies embracing Youtube as a viable media channel. It's free, users can comment, share, and embed videos into other sites. Early this week, Virgin also tapped Youtube to get it off the ground.

2)  It's an example of Marketing Enthusiasm - Finding a bigger enthusiasm than your brand or product, and getting people involved.  Nokia is about new ideas for mobile communications, not just phones. Perhaps they could also get involved with this.

3) The touchscreen interface is shown frequently. I wonder if Nokia expected this technology to come out as early as June?

Watch the Nokia video: Here

Posted by brian tiong at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

(* Source: Misha Cornes *) 

Posted by brian tiong at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The Nokia Music Mixer has been launched last week, it’s available as part of the XpressMusic campaign that accompanies the launch of the Nokia 5300 phone. I’m particularly interested in the music mixer. Nokia once again sets the tone for youngsters enjoying the remix culture.

Anyone can remix tracks to their taste by adding new sound clips and effects in the Nokia Music Mixer. You can start by choosing the loop set of your choice, move clips with drag and drop function to create your own unique mixes and add effects to it. There are R’n'B, Dancehall, HipHop, Reggae, Elektro, Chill, Trance, House, Techno, Disco, Funk, Beatbox and more loop sets to choose from with basic rhythm/bass/guitar/keyboard melody lines and effects to play with. The quality of the loop sets is great, I’m sure anyone can create a cool tune or mix according their taste.

 

Now the fun starts People who own a Nokia phone model supporting AAC can download their mixed ring tones to their phone. The mixes are sent directly to your mobile phone via WAP link (works international). Three mixes a day, free-of-charge can be downloaded per user.

Nokia Club members can take part in the Mix competition and win a new Nokia 5300 XpressMusic phone. More info at the Music Mixer website.

 

 

Posted by brian tiong at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)