Francis Anderson

Wireless Divergence: Zipit Z2

Zipit Wireless is promoting the tween targeted Z2 mobile device, which plays music, displays photos and has Instant Messaging capabilities … it just doesn’t make calls… I guess its a good set of “training wheels” for the newly digital consumer, and takes away the worry from parents about the $300 phone bill…

(tags: wireless tween marketing strategy design digital)

Anger Over Viral Prius Ad Spreads Just as Virally

“Anthem,” a recent Prius ad that pokes a bit of fun at Fresno, CA (a city that has had a hard time shaking its reputation as a pass-through tourist stop) has just been pulled, thanks largely to the Digg Effect.

(tags: advertising video viral socialmedia)

World of Datecraft: Finding Love in the Dungeon

The younger generation is all about gaming– and multi-tasking. So the question inevitably arose: Why tear yourself away from a game of Warcraft to meet girls? Now it seems there is a social networking site attached. Interesting idea, but I fear that getting to “Level Three” with a female warrior might indeed be a difficult quest … being as WoW male players outnumber females by a ratio of 6:1!

(tags: warcraft gaming socialmedia gen-y)

15-Year-Old Russian Fashion Designer Eyes US Market

Kira Plastinina is a 15-year-old Russian girl with a filthy-rich father. She’s also the public face of and (ostensibly) the designer for her own fashion label: Kira Plastinina Style.

(tags: gen-y russia retail fashion)

Reebok Enters Showbiz with Branded Entertainment

As the lines continue to blur between marketing, media, retail and entertainment, Reebok is having a go at show business with a series of short films to debut on IFC.

(tags: brandedentertainment marketing reebok brands)

Top 10 US Social-Network and Blog Site Rankings Issur October

MySpace again tops the rankings of top US social-networking sites, with more than 58.8 million uniques in October, according to Nielsen. Google’s Blogger is the top blog site with 34.1 million.

(tags: blogs socialmedia blogosphere)