Posts Tagged ‘communications’

What’s that smell?

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010


What is it: ScentAir Technologies is building a billboard that emits a particular smell. Shaped like a giant fork holding a piece of steak, the billboard fans a pepper steak and charcoal smell onto passing traffic and pedestrians, aiming to promote a new line of beef available at Bloom grocery stores.

Why is it cool: Using smell in marketing is not a new idea –supermarkets place the bakery section near the entrance to draw shoppers in. It’s powerful because of how closely smell is linked to memory and emotion.

On the other hand, the powerful emotions elicited aren’t always what you want; PETA plans to build a billboard displaying a skinned cow’s head on a slaughter hook, emitting a smell of rotting flesh, urine, faeces and blood.

Where to find it: Article here! PETA’s response here!

Submitted by: Bernard Visperas

Lost and found

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010


What is it: For the past four years, Lost & Found has been the seminal insider guide for culturally conscious people wanting to visit Melbourne. As a promotional tool, for three months they are offering a free hotel room—that’s right, folks, FREE!.  Applicants enjoy a double room at Little Collins Street Hotel (Branded separately as Lost and Found Hotel) where the room itself is tastefully designed as a showcase for Melbourne arts and culture. The kicker is that you get a personal concierge who writes for the Lost and Found Guide, so your own insider to help you wring the most out of your fleeting stay.

Why is it cool: While it’s not a particularly new idea (they based the idea on a Swedish hotel “Creator’s Inn) it appears that this is a brand marriage made in heaven: Tourism Victoria, local artisans and artists and the Lost and Found guide itself promise to genuinely give guests an immersive experience. It’s bang on brand for Melbourne, too, which is all about little hidden secrets and artisanal experiences, so very clever all round I reckon.

Where to find it: here!

Submitted by: Estelle Gohil

Web design trends

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010


What is it: A 62-slide summary pack about the past trends in web design right up trends in 2010 by Tijs Vocker.

Why is it cool: It’s entertaining, enlightening and relevant to our specialty: communications. It also showcases slideshare.net which is filled with business-targeted slideshows, so you should browse to your heart’s content for almost instant gratification.

Where to find it: here!

Submitted by: Rosemary Butcher

Viral vodka

Monday, June 28th, 2010

What is it: An article describing how Pyotr Smirnov, the originator of Smirnoff (French-twist added to the name by his exiled son) Vodka, may well have pioneered ‘guerrilla-marketing’ in the 1800s by rounding up men from various parts of the country and inviting them back to his house. Allowing the vodka to flow (and handing out some cash) they returned to their neighbourhoods to “order meat soups and demand Smirnov vodka.”  It worked a treat.

Why is it cool: A “serf made good” story is always a crowd-pleaser. It’s cool because it reaffirms that some ideas are winners regardless of which century they are used (like word-of-mouth!). Some behaviours and motivations transcend era or origin.

Where to find it: here!

Submitted by: Linley Barden

Marketing advice from above

Monday, June 7th, 2010


What is it: Six “branding lessons” marketers can learn from the major religions.

Why is it cool: If one considers that brands are just an idea, it’s natural to look for other ideas that have successfully spread throughout the world for their “secret formula”. Not surprisingly, many of these secrets are well known to the marketing textbooks, but not so easily activated in market (more due to lack of vision or commitment, than exogenous factors). Most interestingly, there is explicit mention of leveraging your “evangelicals” for their “word of mouth” power.

Where to find it: here!

Submitted by: John Cucka

Honest tea?

Monday, May 31st, 2010

One of these teas is equal to  four slices of cherry pie!

What is it: A countdown of the 20 worst beverages in America – or rather a guide to ‘how to get in as many calories as possible without having to eat 11 bowls of cereal!’.  Apparently America’s ‘worst’ drink contains over 2,000 calories (RDA is 2,000 calories) and 131 grams of saturated fat (RDA is 20g)!

Why is it cool: Although the ‘worst’ drink is described as an ice-cream drink, about whose health credentials you should be suspicious, numerous drinks on the list hide behind health masks such as “fruit” and even “water”! This demonstrates the power of associations in purchase decisions (not to assume this list corresponds to how many people buy these drinks!), and how important it is to educate people about the real baddie: sugar.Marketing leaps on the fact that most people do not read food labels in detail and look for quick cues to make sense of foods. How is this honest!?

Where to find it: here!

Submitted by: Gemma Enright

Reducing stigma

Friday, May 28th, 2010

What a mad cow might look like

What is it: A campaign launched recently in the US by SAMHSA and The Advertising Council that aims to promote acceptance of mental health problems by encouraging, educating and inspiring young adults to talk openly about them. The campaign, which includes TVCs, a website and social media, is aimed at 18-25 year olds, who have the highest prevalence of mental illness, yet are the least likely to receive professional help.

Why is it cool: The campaign is a positive step towards reducing the stigma of mental health problems and opening conversations. Too often mental health problems are misunderstood, many peoplebelieve there is no hope for people with mental health issues and that their problems are a result of weakness of character. As a result, friends and family sometimes believe they can’t help, or don’t know how to help. The campaign helps and encourages people to support a loved one or friend who is dealing with a mental health problem so they will have a better chance at recovery.

Where to find it: here!

Submitted by: Melissa Yee

Facebook facing

Friday, April 30th, 2010

More hits than Babe Ruth

What is it: Article highlighting the benefits (and dangers) of companies using Facebook, as an advocate for a FB presence. Their recommendations are sensible and include:

  • Need a long-term plan, what are your goals?
  • Most content should be created by users. Fans will be put off if too much control
  • Encourage engagement with videos, competitions, discussion groups & topics, exclusive blogs, polls, distribute coupons, discounts, inside info, etc
  • Link to main company/brand site
  • Be honest and authentic (it’s a community, not a direct sales tool)
  • Be active, update often –have enough resources to do this!
  • Listen and adapt (“Brands need to have big ears and really learn from their customers”)

Why is it cool: A strong social networking presence can have direct benefits (e.g. A well-run Facebook page can help to drive traffic to your main site) as well as indirect benefits (e.g. building brand character and consumer loyalty)

The article also includes anecdotes about major Facebook stuff-ups by companies like Nestle, Walmart and Westfield. Moral of the story: when you engage in social media, you are giving people a stage to complain about your brand, and you need to be ready to take a hit – have a process to deal with these problems.

Where to find it: here!

Submitted by: Bernard Visperas

iAd

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

These are not the spies you are looking for

What is it: A new mobile advertising platform from Apple that allows companies to find out where users are and supply relevant ads to their location – ads that combine the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web. For advertisers, it creates a new media outlet that offers consumers highly targeted, relevant and almost personalised information.

Why is it cool: Although the marketing opportunities are profound (e.g. McDonalds could serve 10,000 people mobile ads and receive analytics showing what percentage of them later actually visit; people can already receive ads and special offers for the very shops and restaurants that they are walking past!), there are privacy implications that will likely require regulation.

Where to find it: here!

Submitted by: Melissa Yee

Simply Coasting

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

What Coasting might look like

What is it: A bike with no manual gear change or brakes and a super comfy saddle placing the rider within easy reach of the ground.Automatic gear change is managed through a chip embedded in the front wheel.

Why is it cool: A dramatic shift from talking about the product, something that your traditional cyclist usually laps up, towards an approach based upon an emotional insight. They’ve called it Coasting, and all the communications are pitched around ‘riding as fun’. The aim is to encourage people who remember riding a bike as a kid and want to relive that experience effortlessly. Forget all the rational technology stuff, people ride bikes because they want fun.

Where to find it: here!

Submitted by: Jo Jones