Someone with a bit of time on their hands (Dr. Andrew Hudson-Smith, from UCL’s Centre for Advanced Spacial Analysis, no less) has uploaded data from the urban landscape of London into Second Life. You can see it taking on 3D form in a Matrix-worthy way here:
Its actually great to see Second Life being used in a relevant way …
UPDATE: As an interesting follow-up, the Ordnance Survey requested that Dr Hudson-Smith’s crew remove this project from Second Life. The rotters!
Links for 2007-12-30: Google, Second Life, Media Democracy, Moms, Marketers, Apple v Netflix, Virgin
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An amusing take (from the Telegraph) on 2008…
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The use of online and mobile devices for entertainment has rocketed in the US according to the “State of Media Democracy” new-media survey from Deloitte & Touche
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Marketers’ biggest regret of 2007 was not investing enough in understanding customers according to Next Level SMG’s first annual “Brand Strategy Trends Survey” of marketing executives.
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According to a recent survey of 3,500 U.S. mothers by BSM Media, 65% feel that they are “under-served” by advertisers either because the executions don’t resonate with them or the ads do not address them.
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Apple and 20th Century Fox studio have inked an agreement that enables consumers to rent Fox DVDs on iTunes.
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Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. plans to fit its A380 superjumbos with private rooms, showers and roulette tables, the billionaire said.
Links for 2007-12-28 : Blogging, Shoetube
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For hard-up small or mid-sized businesses, The New York Times calls blogging a “low-cost, high-return tool” for marketing, public relations, raising company profiles and brand-building.
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Launching on Valentine’s Day, the ad-supported web channel has already secured Nine West as an advertiser.
Employee Generated Content…
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Interesting “Employee-Generated” marketing…
Vintage T-Shirts from Tide.com
An interesting program from Tide, who have created vintage-looking tees featuring their logo and are selling them for charity. I don’t know much about the program but I am intrigued.
“Created in soft cotton (actually, its polycotton, but whatever), this vintage tee shows both your sense of style and your support for families affected by disasters. All proceeds from the sale of the tees will go towards rebuilding efforts for families affected by the wildfires in Southern California and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.”
I can almost forgive the “Give Loads of Hope” copyline …
UPDATE: After a bit of light googling I learn that the program is not without warts …
“Call me cynical, but the maximum output of buying Tide vintage T-shirts will be 10 houses in New Orleans. To me, this reflects something deeply wrong with a lot of corporate social responsibility efforts. Rather than making a donation of a share of profits to a cause a routine part of business or, better still, part of the business plan, companies mark a donation to charity as an extraordinary event.”
Links for 2007-12-16: Actual Chat, Johnny Vulkan, Knol, Google Zeitgeist, Ann Summers
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Chat puts gaming social awkwardness into physical space
Featuring a keyboard that hangs in front of the “chatter” and a giant illuminated speech bubble overhead, the wearer can type any message and have it show up in lights.
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Vulkan On 2007: Advertising Suffers While Innovation Blooms
Business Week has invited Johnny Vulkan to discuss his view on the year in advertising (2007). The mate o’ mine and partner at Anomaly painted a none-too rosy picture of the sector.
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Knol – Wikipedia, Google-Style
Yesterday, Google introduced their latest social media heavy-hitter: Knol, a free, user-generated information database that puts an emphasis on the user (and a bit of social networking).
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Google’s 2007 Year-End Zeitgeist offers a narrow but telling window into what topics, stories, and searches topped their charts this past year, from Anna Nicole Smith to Club Penguin.
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Rather than retain an expensive ad agency, media agency Good Stuff have persuaded Ann Summers that they don’t need a traditional creative agency. Instead they have asked the creative classes to join their freelance creative roster.
Apple Christmas Ad
I am a loyal Mac user, but I confess I have always had mixed feelings about the Apple “character” TV ads … you know, the ones where the “PC” is represented by a chubby guy in a suit and the Mac by a skinny guy dressed in Gap-nerd chic.
This festive season though, the chaps at TBWA\ Media Arts Lab have come up with a seasonal spot for the campaign which is at least engaging and funny:
Recently I have been much more impressed by what Apple has been doing outside TV ads … and as for the recent i-Phone “testimonial” offering … please!
Thanks to Drew for bringing it to my attention.
