Links for 2007-11-30 : Coutts, Trends, Mobile Metaverse, E-Waste, Digital Planning, Zeus Jones, PCs, Nokia

• The Coutts cocktail

  The newly developed Coutts cocktail launched last month, to great acclaim. Created by Salvator Calabrese, the cocktail was inspired by a unique part of Coutts’ history – the Chinese wallpaper in the boardroom.

  (tags: marketing brandextension coutts)



• 8 trends to capitalize on in 2008

  Over the last 11 months, Trendwatching has highlighted trends like (STILL) MADE HERE, FEMALE FEVER, TRANSPARENCY TYRANNY, TRYSUMERS and more. No doubt 2008 will be as trend-heavy…

  (tags: branding business design DIY entertainment future marketing networking trend trends)



• Chipuya Town – Mobile Metaverse

  Recently launched in Japan, a new virtual world called Chipuya Town allows users to take their gaming on-the-go through the use of any Flash-enabled cell phone.

  (tags: metaverse virtualworld mobile telecoms secondlife)



• E-Waste: Think Before You Recycle

  The tale of what happens to your old, forgotten television sets is sad, shocking, and may even turn you off from the very idea of recycling your gadgets.

  (tags: eco green e-waste recycle toxins hazardouswaste)



• How To Do Digital Planning

  Iain Tait has written a great (and inspiring) post on CrackUnit, about how to “do” digital planning.

  (tags: accountplanning advertising blog business digital internet planning strategy technology)



• Marketing Focus Versus Brand Impact

  Adrian Ho pondering the fact that the majority of a consumer’s perceptions of a brand will be formed by usage rather than marketing.

  (tags: advertising business culture marketing ideas)



• PCs Losing Their Relevance In Japan

  The Japanese were always more mobile … but what’s going on there could be a glimpse in to the future for the US…

  (tags: business computer marketing mobile technology trend trends planning)



• Nokia lights up Regent Street

  Nokia has sponsored the Regent Street lights as part of a campaign to advertise the imminent arrival of its flagship London store. United Visual Artists designed 14 “light clusters”.

  (tags: advertising ambient art christmas creativity interactive london retail)



• Online Consumer-Generated Reviews Have Big Impact on Offline Purchases

  One in four internet users read consumer-generated reviews online, which then have a big impact – affecting not only what they purchase offline but also how much they are willing to pay for it.

  (tags: consumergenerated usergenerated reviews socialmedia)



• Heinz Credits Marketing Strategy For 19% Profit Hike

  Marketing works??. Heinz reported strong double-digit growth in its second fiscal quarter, thanks to “creative, targeted marketing in support of our new product innovation,” per the company. Net profit rose 19%.

  (tags: marketing heinz)

Links for 2007-11-30 : Podcasts, Snooth, DNA, Tread Lightly, Hymini, Billy, Silos

• Whatever Happened To… Podcasts?

  There used to be such a buzz about podcasting and now it’s all Facebook this, Twitter-that … and Adam Curry “go away”. David Card points us to a Jupiter stat that suggests that a measly 13 percent of online users have downloaded or listened to a podcast. Oh dear.

  (tags: podcast research stats socialmedia)



• Snooth: Long Buttery Finish

  “Snooth is a powerful tool that helps average wine drinkers and connoisseurs alike find better wine experiences,” said site founder Philip James. An oenophiliac niche network. Sign me up!

  (tags: nichenetwork socialmedia wine review oenophilia)



• 23andMe – Genetics Just Got Personal.

  “23andme” offers a service to analyse a DNA sample to find out all about a human’s heritage and genetic predestinations … including calculating the likeness to be affected by an illness.

  (tags: genetic google health research startup web2.0 genetics dna)



• The Guardian’s Tread Lightly

  Now in its fourth week, the Guardian’s Tread Lightly campaign asks readers to take a “carbon diet”, offering a new weekly carbon-reducing challenge for 12 weeks.

  (tags: carbon climatechange environment ethical green eco)



• HYMINI Tiny Portable Wind-powered Gadget Charger

  This personal wind turbine can be hooked up to various devices to charge your phones, cameras, and other small electronics when you are on the go: walking around, driving or even riding your bike.

  (tags: eco windpower design npd)



• Pimp my Billy

  Three young designers from Germany, taking issue with Ikea’s rather bland Billy shelving units, reinvented the furniture in a series of designs that repurpose the unit.

  (tags: art design DIY furniture inspiration trends)



• Steve Raddock tells it how it is…

  “I believe we have an advertising service industry that has been built…as a manufacturing system for 30-second ads … the challenge … is to rethink the way we work together.” Nice work Steve … and music to my jaded ears…

  (tags: commsplanning connectionsplanning integrated unbiased holistic friggin-a)



• Media Violence as dangerous as Smoking

  A team at the University of Michigan waded through 50 years of research and concluded media violence is as hazardous as smoking. Yep. Violent video games and TV shows were targeted, and – surprise – children were more heavily influenced by what they see than adults.

  (tags: gaming research stats consumer smoking)

Links for 2007-11-28 : Green Room, Neuromarketing, Smart House, Disruption

• Green Room’s Guy McCarter on Entertainment Marketing
  Guy McCarter is MD of of Omnicom’s new company Green Room Entertainment, which offers branded entertainment consultancy, negotiation and activation for TV, the Internet, film, music, wireless content and video game initiatives. I worked with Guy on a few projects at Chiat\Day … in this article he gives his take on what’s up in the world of Branded Entertainment.
  (tags: brandedentertainment greenroom omnicom marketing strategy)



• What Makes a Product Cool – Neuromarketing
  Neuromarketing is a new field that uses brain science to understand consumer behavior. Its findings are challenging some basic assumptions about marketing and economics…
  (tags: design marketing neuromarketing research)



• Smart House
  A Venice Beach building has been made into a temporary event space and showroom for the new Smart ForTwo. The space is known as The Smart House.
  (tags: smartfortwo smartcar marketing experiential)



• How Disruption Brought Order (aka “Disruption 3”). Jean-Marie Dru’s new book
  I always had a lot of time for JMD, and I will make a valiant attempt to read his latest oeuvre. Looking at the table of contents I see that – disappointingly – Connections seems to have withered on the vine somewhat. Ho Hum.
  (tags: jeanmariedru tbwa disruption book marketing advertising)

Links for 2007-11-27 : Broken Ad Model, Ecopods, Theater Events, Tattoos

• Consumers Still Bombarded With Advertising, Ad Model Still Broken
  The average consumer STILL can’t go through a day without seeing 3,500 commercial messages. The inimitable Steve Hall takes us through the reality of today’s advertising marketplace.
  (tags: advertising urbanspam marketing consumer)



• Ecopods for the Cross River Tram in London
  With the 100-year-old London Underground system struggling to cope with the ever-increasing number of daily commuters and still not able to deal with the unpredictable British weather, Transport For London have been looking to introduce a new tram system
  (tags: transport masstransit london eco tram lightrail)
• Fathom Events – “Groundbreaking Cinema Entertainment”
  Fathom is giving theatregoers the opportunity to experience events in a new way. Ranging from HD screenings of concerts to revivals of cult favorites. Fathom is replicating the feel of a live event
  (tags: entertainment cinema experiential)
• No Taglines!
  Not long ago, every ad had a tagline that stuck with the consumer after the message was delivered. But that former rule may no longer be the norm.
  (tags: advertising branding marketing tagline)
• Tattoo ads turn people into ‘walking billboards’
  Once a silent cry of rebellion, tattoos are now so mainstream that advertisers are using them to market everything from tires and shoes to wine and energy drinks.
  (tags: tattoos bodyart marketing nontraditional)

Black Friday … Cyber Monday … Green Wednesday

Two years ago, a group of marketers christened the first workday after Thanksgiving (and its famous retail orgy “Black Friday”) as “Cyber Monday“: the biggest online shopping day of the year. It seems though, that the digital dollars don’t really start flowing until two weeks later…

Last year, Wednesday, Dec. 13 was the chart-topper with $667 million in sales, according to comScore. In fact, the second week of December is traditionally so big that eBay staff have come up with their own name for the weekday that kicks it off: “Green Monday” (a reference to cash, rather than eco-friendly shopping).

All this said, it is thought that Cyber Monday still beat out Black Friday this year … with expected sales of over $700MM online, compared to $531MM spent in stores.

UPDATE: Inow learn that this year’s Cyber Monday is the “biggest ever” …

Links for 2007-11-26 : Gen Y, Gen X, Gifts, Virtual Malls, Scott Goodson’s Tiger, Creativity, Apple Stores, Green Packaging

• Millennials: Clued in or Clueless?
  Marketers are fascinated by Gen Y’s youngest cohort, the Millennials, who are clued in to — and tuned out of — marketers’ most ingenious means of influence.
  (tags: adage advertising branding business research strategy technology marketing)



• Former ‘Yuppies’ struggle for cash – Lancashire Evening Post
  Nearly half of people who were dubbed Yuppies in the 1980s say they now struggling financially, according to a report.
  (tags: economics trends yuppie research)



• Cool Hunting 2007 Holiday Gift Guide
  Almost everything is available online to make your holiday shopping as painless as possible. Check back often as the guide will be updated daily.
  (tags: christmas cool design ecommerce gifts ideas retail shopping)



• 3D Virtual Malls, a Throwback to 1998?
  If we dislike the experience of mall-shopping (especially in the pre-Festive season) why re-create this experience in digital 3D?
  (tags: 3dinternet 3d digital internet online retail virtualworld metaverse secondlife)



• Onitsuka Tiger – Sneaking Up
  Scott Goodson talks about how Onitsuka Tiger ambushed Nike and Adidas with an explosion of TV-free ideas. I am all in favor of bias-free thiking and as Scott notes “its success speaks for itself”.
  (tags: marketing strategy connectionsplanning commsplanning strawberryfrog scottgoodson)
• Dove Viral Draws Heat From Critics
  Dove’s viral video attack on beauty advertising has produced a blowback against Unilever from activists, writers and bloggers who see it as hypocritical coming from the company that markets Axe.
  (tags: dove viral marketing socialmedia)
• Drew McLellan – The Marketing Minute: Tim Siedell: 15 Steps to Bigger Ideas
  Another good post from Drew McLellan – some steps you can take to get even bigger and better ideas (and when occasionally facing idea block!)
  (tags: drewmclellan ideas creativity business)
• Apple Retail Stores Revamp for Holidays
  Over the past year, Apple Inc. has revamped its 201 stores … its “concierge” service launched last week is only the latest initiative designed to draw more visitors and bolster already record-breaking sales.
  (tags: business retail shopping strategy technology apple experiential)
• Green Packaging – No Easy Answers
  As more Americans go green, debates are fermenting over packaging: plastic vs. paper at the grocery store, plastic vs. glass for beverages. The packaging issue perplexes Goldman. So far, he is agnostic on the issue.
  (tags: packaging eco green sustainable sustainable.design)
• A Little Laptop With Big Ambitions
  Negroponte’s Laptop plans have been derailed … “I’m not good at selling laptops,” Negroponte, a professor on leave from MIT, has told colleagues. “I’m good at selling ideas.”
  (tags: business digital causerelated marketing)
• Drink Up, Get A Toy
  Y Water’s new bottled drink tackles sustainability concerns by packing its drink in a bottle with a second life as a toy
  (tags: sustainable.design design eco green packaging npd ideas)

Links for 2007-11-24 : Middle Eastern Gaming, The Kids, Web 2.0

• “Arabian Lords” targets Middle Eastern gamers

  Inspired by the rise of Islam between the 7th and 13th centuries, Arabian Lords is a bilingual strategy game targeted specifically at Middle Eastern players. I think its an excellent tactic for addressing a previously underserved audience. It puts me in mind of Mecca Cola, which was created as a direct competitor to Coca Cola – which is sometimes seen as a symbol of American cultural tyranny in many Middle Eastern countries.

  (tags: gaming islam niche)



• Faris Yakob Believes the Children are our Future

  Excellent piece from thesis-writing brainiac (who knew?) Faris Yakob. It starts with a great quote (which I intend to steal) from William Gibson: “The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed.” He makes the assertion that “a generation has risen since the emergence of the Internet that is fundamentally different in the way in which it consumes, manipulates and propagates ideas and that the way that brands express themselves must change in response to this new kind of ‘idea consumer’ … [today’s] kids are different, in a very specific sense, which is why communication thinking has to evolve.”
  To be honest I have only got as far as page 7…

  (tags: accountplanning brands planning connectionplanning commsplanning marketing strategy)



• Solid Web 1.0 is key to Web 2.0

  Matt Dickman lays out the keys to Web 2.0 success, stressing that its important to apply lessons learned in Web 1.0

  (tags: web2.0 interactive digital)