Random Culture

Cannes Cyber Lion Case Studies

One of my favorite parts of the Cannes Cyber Lions is the ability to view the full entries that were submitted for the winners. These entries are sometimes as interesting as the work itself. They also provide a behind-the-scenes look at how great work is made.

In the following post, I've included a few of my favorite entries from the winners announced this last week.

Why So Serious?
 
This entry is a work of art itself, including videos, infographics and screenshots that bring an extremely innovative and integrated campaign to life.

Banner Concerts

This campaign for Belgian company Axion, featured live concerts within the frame of traditional online ads. The entry takes you step-by-step through all elements of the campaign.

Happy New Vibrations to You

It's not often that you stumble across a campaign from Japan that's easily understood without speaking Japanese. This case study provides all the details about an interesting campaign utilizing mobile.

View the complete list of winners here, and click on the large image to access the entries for each.

Quick Links: June 17, 2009

Can't Go to Cannes? Rapp Brings it to You: Cannes Cast
Rapp has branded their coverage of Cannes into a website... launching June 22nd.

What Words Do We Not Understand?
The NY Times has compiled lists of words that send people to the dictionary.

We're Watching 49% More Video!
According to Nielsen, online per-person viewing of video jumped 49% from the same time last year, with the average person watching 189 minutes of online video each month.

The Power of Visualization

Apple's "App Wall" is a beautiful example of data visualization. Watch the video here:

Via John Winsor.

Print Isn't Dead... Just Ask Dave Eggers

At a recent conference, Dave Eggers gave out an email address, and promised that anyone who was feeling down about the future of print media could send him an email and he'd personally send them back a response as to why print isn't dead... Here's his response:

"Hello and thank you so much for writing. I feel honored that you would takethe time to reach out and in many cases tell me your very real struggles with writing and work and the future of the printed word.

I have a few thoughts to share, though unfortunately in this space I can't detail all the reasons I think we have a fighting chance at keeping newspapers and books alive in physical form. But before I do blather for a few paragraphs, I should apologize for sending you a mass email."

View the complete letter here.

The Mobile Shopping Divide

I have made a purchase using my mobile phone. Why? Because it was from Amazon, a brand I trust, and because I didn't have to enter my credit card information, because I already had an account. It was a wonderful experience, and it appears that I am not alone in my desire to see more of it.

According to a new Brandweek article, a new study conducted by Harris Interactive for the mobile credit card security firm Billing Revolution confirms that Americans are warming up to the idea of purchasing through mobile.

Harris surveyed 2,029 adults from April 29 to May 1; 1,883 of those surveyed were cell phone owners (93 percent). Close to half (45 percent) said they think that shopping via cell phones is “somewhat safe,” though just over a quarter (26 percent) feel that mobile shopping is completely safe.

It may seem a bit funny to translate a study that proposes "somewhat safe" signals an opportunity, but when you focus on the people who are ready to buy, the 26% who think it's completely safe, it's easy to begin to see a "mobile shopping divide." It's brands that are falling short... they aren't fulfilling this mobile commerce desire.

Take, for example, a recent survey by the e-tailing group, where a full 89% of merchants said they weren't engaging customers via mobile in any way. In fact, only 7% said they were even gathering mobile opt-ins as a part of email subscription. This reflects a retail environment that's well behind consumer demand.

Mobile commerce is clearly positioned to grow not just because consumers feel safe, but because the mobile web is growing. The iPhone has exponentially grown mobile web activity, and the mobile web experience on an iPhone is very similar to our everyday online experience. Purchasing is an expectation we have in our everyday online experience, and will be expected as the mobile web grows.

If you are a retailer who's audience is primarily men ages 18-34, you should investigate how mobile commerce can contribute to your business. If you are also a retailer with an audience that indexes high for owning an iPhone, investigate it as well. There are plenty of opportunities to narrow the mobile commerce divide.

The Facebook Advertiser Homepage

With the release of Facebook's latest version of Pages for advertisers, the ability to create "custom" tabs was added, as well as the ability to set any tab as the default when people arrive at the page. This has spawned an interesting new phenomenon with advertisers using custom tabs as default "homepages" for their Facebook Pages. There are a couple good examples I've run across in the last week:

Bud Light: http://www.facebook.com/BudLight
 

Volkswagen: http://www.facebook.com/vw

What's interesting to me is that this seems to be the result of a fairly traditional online mindset... that one must create a very "branded" environment. It's as if many of these advertisers are trying to force the "microsite" mentality into the Facebook platform. The argument could be made that these advertisers would be much better off having the page default to the wall, where more credible fan conversations are happening. In addition, at this time, it's more likely that people will find your page through their friends' news feeds then by typing in an advertiser's URL.

So if you're an advertiser, should you create a "homepage" for your Facebook Page? Yes! The platform is new enough, that all advertisers should have an experimental mindset. Try it out, and see what happens. You can always change it..

Quick Links: May 13, 2009

Malcolm Gladwell on Underdogs
Great article in the New Yorker, "How David Beats Goliath."

Second-Hand Online Marketplace for IKEA
Interesting online business model from Sweden.

Don't Shift Your Budget Completely to Search
Study from iProspect shows ads are essential to generating search.

The Facebook Marketing Microcosm

Here's my latest post on the Click Here Blog:

In the not too distant past, Facebook was just a social network where advertisers could buy media. However, the addition of new ad formats and the Facebook Applications and Facebook Pages platforms have transformed Facebook into a marketing microcosm where virtually any marketing objective will find a solution. Evidence is found in the fact that if you’ve considered creating a Facebook Page, you’ve probably asked some of the following questions:

Should PR be in charge of messaging? Or should it be our CRM folks? Don’t we need to get our promotions agency involved since we’re running a sweepstakes, and our media planners, since we’re buying Facebook Ads?

In fact, each one of the disciplines in your agency or marketing department has a channel within Facebook to achieve their objectives. In this blog post, I’ve outlined a few different approaches to Facebook based on different disciplines and objectives. Hopefully, it will expand how you think of Facebook, as well as give you some ideas for how to address your specific marketing challenges:

Read the complete post on the Click Here Blog.

Quick Links: April 27, 2009

What College Students Want in an App
Interesting thought starters about designing mobile apps for the college crowd.

12 Brands That Will Die by 2010
Interesting list of brands that will suffer a similar fate to Pontiac. [via Planning from the Outside]

Pew asks: Who Needs TV?
Only 52% of people say it's a necessity.

Leo Burnett - Crisis vs. Opportunity
Marketing stunt by Leo Burnett in Lisbon. Download a plug-in that replaces the word "crisis" with "opportunity."

Zappos Real-Time Shopping Map

The folks at Zappos have launched a cool new map that allows you to see real-time purchases as they happen. Visit http://www.zappos.com/map/.

Link via Silicon Alley Insider.

Back to Blogging!

I've returned home after a wonderful honeymoon in the Maldives and will be blogging again this week. I was completely unplugged for almost two weeks, and it feels like I've missed quite a bit. I'm spending today getting caught back up with everything that's happened online in the last couple weeks... and will be blogging again in a couple days!

Sorry Blogosphere, I'm Getting Hitched

I won't be posting over the next couple weeks, as I'll be halfway around the world on my honeymoon... I'll be back posting the week of April 12th!

Quick Links: March 20, 2009

Why Teach Journalism if Newspapers are Dying?
Great question asked by Salon.com...

Computer Science Degrees Make a Comeback
Unlike journalists, computer scientists might be in demand!

The Fallacy of Free
Two-part article on "free" and "giveaway" policies and services online.

iPhone 3.0 Revealed

Apple has posted video of yesterday's announcement of the new features the iPhone 3.0 operating system will contain. Watch the video here. We will finally get to send MMS messages!

New Facebook Pages and Your Brand

Check out my latest post on the Click Here blog, entitled "New Facebook Pages and Your Brand." The post provides a summary of the most important changes in Facebook's recent update of this platform for advertisers.

"Facebook Pages was first launched in 2007 for brands to create a presence on the popular social network. These brand pages have become an important part of many brands’ social networking strategies as evidenced by a recent study from The Participatory Marketing Network and Pace University. The study revealed that 62% of millennials have visited a brand or fan page on a social network, and an incredible 48% have become fans of such brand pages.

This is clearly a nod towards a viable social networking strategy for brands in an environment where the traditional online ad model of banners and clicks isn’t working. For those brands with a Facebook Page, or thinking of creating one, this new version should change your strategy."

Read the full post here