I stumbled across an article talking about items Cabracega have designed and one caught my eye. They have designed a sofa with built in hard disks so that users sitting at the sofa can instantly transfer data to each other by just plugging in on of the USB cords that come out of the sofa, they have 14gb hard disks built in which is ideal for a quick swap of films and music.
It is such a simple idea but the thing that really got me is the amazing retro design of the sofa and the juxtaposition of the iconic USB symbol. It is also great to see designers re-thinking how we are starting to use our environment as social media has meant sharing is more of a necessity in a digital world.
Check out http://www.cabracega.org/ for some other intriguing designs including the umbrella to help you get spotted on Google Maps.
An email just landed in my inbox that made me smile. Pizza Express are now cashing in on the X Factor hype and why not! A very simple idea that, no doubt, will see sales over the weekend increase and shave off some from competitors which are more synonymous with reality TV sponsorship such as Dominos.
The creative is amusing and plays on the main themes that have been causing hype in the media. The link to TV is strong whilst not affiliating the brand with a ’slob’ lifestyle but more a take away for the discerning pizza eater. Best of all this will be a lot cheaper than a 30 second ad spot which is estimated at £190,000 for this weekends show in which a majority of the country will miss due to making a cup of tea!
I just stumbled across such a simple idea entitled ‘I Wear Your Shirt’. Basically some guy in America will wear any T-Shirt for a 24 hour period. Some of the companies have included Cruise Liners, Tooth Paste Brands, Social Media Websites etc.
The idea is that an advertiser buys the day at face value so, for example, January 1st = $1 and December 31st = $365. All days for 2009 are fully booked however he is planing on teaming up with a mate from a different time zone for 2010 and selling the spaces at double the price (2 people!).
Here is what you get for you hard earned dollar:
This year he will be set to make $67,000! Check the site out at: http://iwearyourshirt.com/
On Sunday night’s X Factor the world saw Simon Cowell give a life line to the young duo Jedward as the vote went to the public. Now unfortunately, for most of us sane enough to understand the ramifications of this event, Jedward beat Lucie and stayed in to cause our ears immense pain and embarrassment for at least another week.
Simon Cowells’ decision to go to a deadlock has already seen 3,000 complaints to Ofcom, unfortunately this is out of their jurisdiction (to get this clear, I can not stand Jedward if you have not already guessed) so no further action will be taken.
Now, to the reason why I am actually admitting to watching X Factor. Simon Cowell is the Executive Producer of X Factor and obviously is only really interested in the revenue he can make from the show. One main revenue stream is through the advertising that occurs during the live shows. The more controversy that Cowell can create means the more media attention across offline mediums and online sources. Humans love controversy and it pretty much innately correlates to our levels of interest and curiosity. The more interest created then the more people that will tune in to subsequent episodes.
Currently, according to a source at Advertising Agency Starcom, last minute 30 second ad spaces are being sold for this week’s show at the cool price of £190,000. Sources are also suggesting the final show will generate £6m worth of advertising placing X factor along the same levels of when England played in the Rugby World cup back in 2007.
Now I don’t want to be a conspiracy theorist but on reflection of the above figures, the fact that Simon Cowell is Executive Producer of X Factor and other current media stories surrounding Jedward, I would place a little wager that they will remain Cowells’ secret Love Children.
Jedward
I have noticed that Kingsmill have moved away from generic advertising in their latest campaign ‘Kingsmill Confessions’. The offline creative has a strong call to action which directs users to www.kingsmillconfessions.com. On this site the user is then directed to enter their confessions relating to their hard core bread eating habits.
I liked the fact that Kinsgmill is breaking the mould for a normally boring sector. I then, however, got a wave of ”will this really, ever work!?”. I had a look at the website and one thing that increased by cynicism is the fact that the amount of ‘confessions’ that have been submitted is not obvious. One main thing consumers are pushing for is greater transparency and one part of me felt that it felt like a lot of the confessions had been set up by the agency looking after the campaign.
I guess one main reason why I am so skeptical is due to the fact that, historically, FMCG brands have never encouraged a dialogue with the consumer. This dialogue my be welcomed with open arms or consumers may feel confused as to why they should ‘chat’ to a brand with which they interact with very little throughout their normal day. I feel that expensive goods such as TVs, cars etc. should be encouraging this open dialogue and use it as part of their R&D to help improve goods before they come on the market, consumers also want to to talk about these goods more as they hit their pocket harder and, by extension, the consumer feels more of an emotional attachment.
One can easily argue that I am thinking too much from a DR perspective and I am not fully appreciating the brand engagement that this sort of activity can bring about, especially during a recession where brand affinity is even more important to keep one step ahead of competitors when the better times start to emerge once more.
Guerrilla marketing has been around for decades but these terms always come from some Marketing Exec wanting to label everything. Essentially it is marketing a product in a space that, at first, would not seem to be a contextual fit. It is about ad placement that interacts seamlessly with the environment in which it is placed.
Guerrilla advertising can be very effective for brand awareness and making people think however there has been limited experimentation especially with more DR focused brands as they can not quantify the returns on these advertising stunts. There are also many examples where brands have tried to be ‘hip’ and failed miserably as also happens lot with viral marketing.
Francesco Mugnai has documented an extensive list of successful examples.
It was announced yesterday that Google picked up Admob for a cool $750m. Currently Google has been dabbling with content network ads on iPhone apps and Android phone apps but they have never really had an ad network similar to it’s Content Network on phones.
This buy will allow Google to display small banner ads on the top of applications:
Example of Google Admob
This buy is exceptionally good considering Admob only had an original Venture Capitalist investment of $45m according to Crunchbase.com – not a bad way to beat the credit crunch!
Google are really going to have to think of some innovative applications of Admob as there are already several mobile ad networks in the market currently but one can assume, due to Google’s huge volumes of advertisers, that their new purchase will start gaining strong foothold in the market.
