Mobile Couponing, Infographics and Tesco
Our Thoughts Rich, 3 August 2010
I had lunch yesterday with an old colleague who moved to Toronto a couple of years ago to work with Transcontinental Media. We had an interesting conversation about couponing, which is apparently a big thing in North America – much bigger than it is here in the UK. My ex-colleague was concerned that, as a consumer publisher, Transcontinental’s use as a channel for distributing coupons was falling.
Advertising vs Storytelling
Our Thoughts Rich, 14 July 2010
People talk a lot about telling brand stories. They also talk a lot about the idea that traditional advertising is dead. I agree with the former, whilst not entirely agreeing with the latter. But today I came across something that illustrates the tension between the two ideas pretty well.
I read with interest that the Union of Concerned Scientists have decided, in the wake of climategate, to run a series of ads to make themselves appear a little more ‘cuddly’.
Blogs, Twitter and old-school media
Our Thoughts Rich, 18 June 2010
Nice graphical piece from one of our favourites, good.is. Apparently, a study by journalism.org in the US has found that most of the thousands of stories that are passed around the internet via blogs and twitter each day are actually generated by “old-school media” – ie the press.
Speaking to the past
Our Thoughts Rich, 13 April 2010
Penguin are turning 75 this year, and their iconic orange spines and minimal covers have got Douglas Coupland and Penguin Canada thinking. Penguin covers, says Coupland, act as a time stamp. Taking a look at a cover design can take you back to a time and a place – they’re a bit of a Proust’s Madeleine triggering involuntary memory in and of themselves.
Feel the (Marmite) love
Our Thoughts Rich, 29 March 2010
We’re rather enjoying the build up to the 2010 general election. On the one hand, the media are talking up ‘the digital election‘, we’re seeing some lovely grass-roots political satire and we have, in Facebook and Twitter, a couple of social media environments that didn’t even exist last time around. On the other hand, it’s amusing to sit back and watch as the main political parties mess it up.
Heineken Italy get creative
Our Thoughts Rich, 25 March 2010
Some great work here from Heineken Italy – love the way they’ve done a bit more with their sponsorship than just logo slapping. And the mixture of sheer joy and relief coming from the audience is palpable – genuinely delightful.
Bing it.
Our Thoughts Rich, 16 March 2010
Interesting to see that Microsoft have turned on the advertising budget to promote their search engine Bing in its seemingly futile attempt to take on Google.
It’s David vs David, a clash of the titans. But Microsoft is so far off the pace it’s hard to watch as it scrambles to play catch-up.
‘I’m on a horse’
Our Thoughts Rich, 27 February 2010
Old Spice. Something worn by everyone’s Dad in the seventies, and possibly still worn by everyone’s grandad. Redolent of sweaty Saturday nights in dodgy boozers with swirly carpets and fake velvet seat coverings. Not something any self-respecting young gent would want to associate themselves with, you would think.
Pepsi falls out of love with Super Bowl
Our Thoughts Rich, 22 February 2010
Media sales guys don’t usually struggle too much trying to sell Super Bowl ad spots. After all, with a huge US television audience (around 90 million this year) it must be a no-brainer for brands, right?
Wrong. Pepsi, usually a shoe-in for a Super Bowl spot, have this year bucked their own trend by eschewing the NFL showpiece in order to invest the money in…you guessed it, social media.
American Apparel, web 2.0 and pants
Our Thoughts Rich, 22 February 2010
A wonderful example of UGC and crowdsourcing from American Apparel:
“We’re looking for a brand new bum (the best in the world!) to be the new “face” for our always expanding intimates and briefs lines. The winners will be flown to LA, photographed and featured online. Send in a close-up photo of your backside wearing American Apparel panties, bodysuits or briefs for consideration and vote for your personal favorites.”
Reed sponsors short film competition
Our Thoughts Rich, 22 February 2010
I don’t know about you, but I always think of Reed, the job site, recruiter and supplier of temporary labour as a little bit evil. I don’t know all that much about them, but I bracket them broadly with recruiters, which condemns them to be dismissed instantly and without much thought.
But Reed have gone and launched a lovely little short film competition which has changed my perception of them a little bit.
