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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.
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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…
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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.
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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.
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Iain Tait has written a great (and inspiring) post on CrackUnit, about how to “do” digital planning.
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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.
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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…
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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”.
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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.
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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%.
Month: November 2007
Links for 2007-11-30 : Podcasts, Snooth, DNA, Tread Lightly, Hymini, Billy, Silos
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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.
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“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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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…
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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.
Links for 2007-11-28 : Green Room, Neuromarketing, Smart House, Disruption
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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.
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Neuromarketing is a new field that uses brain science to understand consumer behavior. Its findings are challenging some basic assumptions about marketing and economics…
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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.
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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.
Links for 2007-11-27 : Broken Ad Model, Ecopods, Theater Events, Tattoos
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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.
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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
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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.
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Nearly half of people who were dubbed Yuppies in the 1980s say they now struggling financially, according to a report.
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Almost everything is available online to make your holiday shopping as painless as possible. Check back often as the guide will be updated daily.
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If we dislike the experience of mall-shopping (especially in the pre-Festive season) why re-create this experience in digital 3D?
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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”.
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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.
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Another good post from Drew McLellan – some steps you can take to get even bigger and better ideas (and when occasionally facing idea block!)
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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Y Water’s new bottled drink tackles sustainability concerns by packing its drink in a bottle with a second life as a toy
Links for 2007-11-24 : Middle Eastern Gaming, The Kids, Web 2.0
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“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.
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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.”
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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
Links for 2007-11-23 : Samsung, Terreform, Iraq, Conversation Marketing, Mini, Social Mapping, Social Media
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Samsung Gives Travelers A Little More Attention
Transport is becoming wired for wireless … Samsung spotted business travelers sitting on the floor in the corridors of airports near the only available power socket … and decided to offer them a little bit more… Another excellent example of Branded Utility.
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Grow Your Own Treehouse with Terreform
As part of the ecological architecture nonprofit Terreform, Mitchell Joachim, Lara Greden, and Javier Arbona designed this living treehouse in which the dwelling itself merges with its environment and nourishes its inhabitants.
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Ron Paul points out Iraq Money “Down the Rat Hole”
Republican Ron Paul points out that for what the Iraq war costs, we could present each US family of four a check for $46,000 — this exceeds the $43,000 median household income in his Texas district.
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National Priorities Project – Cost of War
Someone has made a site which dimensionalizes the cost of President Bush’s wars by comparing what the public money could have bought instead,
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Branded Social Net Sites A Common Feature In Ad Campaigns
Many marketers are increasingly setting up their own branded social nets as part of their larger ad campaigns … including Jockey, Dove and recently NBC/P&G’s PetSide.com.
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Bum Rush “The Age of Conversation” – December 14th
Over 4 months ago The Age of Conversation was launched, with all of the proceeds going to Variety, The Children’s Charity. In just over 90 days, the goal of $10k in charity money was raised. But that wasn’t enough for the folks at AoC … “as Drew points out, sales are slowing. It’s time to hit high with a serious spike in social media activity. The idea is [borrowed] from … the band Black Lab, which held an iTunes “bum rush” launching their single Mine Again up the charts.” Chris Wilson has made a list of things you can do to help … and YOU CAN BUY THE BOOK HERE!
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Mini-Branded Eatery Is a Big Deal in Paris
The Mini Palais in Paris is a surprisingly successful branded environment. That’s because it’s not too heavy-footed. In fact, unless you’re really alert, you could miss the Mini influence completely.
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An Interactive Database of Ideas
Boston Consulting Group’s social mapping tool enables researchers and companies to map who’s working on what and where, allowing innovative collaboration
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Pepperidge Farm Embraces Social Networking, Women
Cookie and snack maker Pepperidge Farm has launched a new website that uses social networking to build a community around its products, reports The New York Times.
Links for 2007-11-21 : Art Basel, Fuck’d
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Where to stay for Art Basel in Miami
As the city gears up for next month’s orgy of partying, commercialism, and oh, yeah, art, two new crash pads are jostling for reservations from the Miami Basel hordes … Angler’s Resort and The Tides
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Thanks to Giles Rhys-Jones for alerting me to the Bob Garfield “Fuck’dometer”. Priceless! (Now if I can just recreate with powerpoint build …)
Mr Whipple RIP
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Dick Wilson, best known as the grocer Mr. Whipple from his two-plus decades of squeezing the Charmin for Procter & Gamble Co.’s leading toilet-paper brand, died Monday at 91. I have been wracking my brains for toilet-related-but-respectful puns to surprisea and delight my readers … so far to no avail.