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July 18, 2011

19 Essential Google+ Resources

(* Source: Stephanie Buck *)



Google+ hit the news feeds like a strategic and popular ton of bricks. But we haven’t stopped there. In addition to breaking news, Mashable has provided how-tos and tools for maximizing your Google+ experience. We’ve sourced reviews from some of the network’s early adopters, and we’ve also welcomed your input as you navigate one of the most buzzworthy social outlets of the year.

Read on for Mashable‘s roundup of all resources Google+. Gather tips, analyze reviews, participate in polls and, as always, voice your thoughts in the comments below.

Google+ Tips, Tools and Talk

Here are some pros and cons of Google+, from the social network’s early users.

This Google+ cheat sheet includes most of the common syntax, hotkeys and tips you need to know to use Google+ like a pro.

Whether you want to get better notifications, enjoy improved sharing options, or scroll through your stream faster, there’s a free Chrome Extension to help.

A new userscript turns Google+ into a Facebook clone.

Want an easy way to access Google+ while using Google Apps accounts? Here’s how to create a Google+ desktop app.

Who says Android phone users get to have all the fun uploading photos to Google+? Here’s how to do that with an iPhone, too.

Gplus.to lets you create a vanity URL for your Google+ Profile.

A new Google Chrome extension makes extracting Facebook contacts a lot easier, helping new Google+ users more easily reconstruct their respective social graphs.

We’ve scoured the profiles, Twitter feeds and blogs of the top Google+ users. You might be surprised to hear their reviews of the recent social networking phenomenon.

Google+, the search giant’s social network, has just received a strong endorsement from MySpace co-founder Tom Anderson.

Google+ is getting rave reviews in the tech press and from early adopters, but we’ve seen that with social networks before. Does Plus have what it takes to succeed long term?

Ever wonder why Google picked a search-unfriendly and clumsy name for its ambitious new social network? The answer may be right in front of you.

It looks like Google has some big features planned for Google+, including a much rumored Google Games product.

We’ve found five funny videos that offer a comedic look at the new service, including some classic memes updated for the occasion and some spoof walkthroughs that will make you smile.

Now that Facebook has unveiled its video chat service, we have to ask: how does it compare to Google+ Hangouts?

Will Google+ give Facebook a run for its money, or will it fall flat like some of Google’s previous attempts at social?

We’d like to open this question to our readers: what features do you think Google should add to Google+ next?

Posted by brian tiong at 12:23 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

GQ Style and Mr Porter collaborate on fashion manual iPhone app


(* Source: Fash and Mash *)



GQ Style magazine has launched a new iPhone app in partnership with designer e-commerce site Mr Porter, the men’s arm of Natalie Massanet’s Net-a-Porter.
The GQ Style Guide labels itself the essential men’s fashion manual, offering advice on “what to wear, how to wear it, and where to buy it”.

Daily updates cover everything from the best suits, shirts and shoes, to the latest trends from the catwalk shows.

There’s also an “Ask the Style Shrink” section, dedicated to answering fashion questions, and a “How to Dress” reference for specific events.

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Beck’s: Art in the Green Box

(* Source: PopSop *)



For Beck’s, beer always goes hand in hand with art—this year, Anheuser-Busch InBev’s brand is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Art Labels project by launching a plethora of themed activities (the recent Beck’s Art Crawl exhibit if one of them) revolving around creativity. In collaboration with Mother London, the brand has started an ambitious three-year initiative dubbed The Green Box Project, celebrating art, independent talents and technology at the same time. Beck’s is offering artists from various creative fields (not only visual) a unique opportunity to get their pieces showcased in the groundbreaking virtual gallery for people to ‘unlock’ them via augmented-reality in “the visually stunning and technically pioneering” Green Boxes designed by Jason Bruges—they will be located across more than 80 countries in major cities of the world including London, Miami, Milan, New York and Rome to name but a few.

As part of the project, Beck’s will select 1,000 works submitted by creative individuals, fund and put them on display via 6.5 feet glowing cubes. The most surprising thing here is that no art pieces are visible to the naked eye there—to see them, you should use a special mobile application that allows to locate the nearest Green Box, start the augmented-reality experience, learn more about the ways to participate, etc. (so far, the apps available only foriPhones and iPads, but soon Android users will also be able to marvel the art and watch the related content).

From July through September, the brand will distribute “30 Green Boxes holding exclusive virtual pieces by renowned artists in the US, UK and Italy,” the official website states. “You have, so to speak, a pair of glasses that allows you to experience what is inside of the Beck’s green box. Every box is filled with a piece of art, fashion, music or design or a combination of those, because we’re talking about those four passion points of our target consumer,” commented Peter van Overstraeten, global marketing manager for Beck’s , to AdAge. For the launch of the project, on July 4 Beck’s unveiled the first work by Belgian-born artist Arne Quinze—he created a giant 200-feet virtual intense orange-red flame coming out of the torch of the Statue of Liberty (the initial piece didn’t require the box to view it—people can see it via the green box as well as the Statue of Liberty through their smartphones).

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June 30, 2011

Pringles: Home Party

(* Source: Giles Fitzgerald *)



Can a website really initiate an actual party? Perhaps in Argentina it can, where this particular slice of music-based marketing stems from – courtesy of ‘once you pop you can’t stop’ chip brand, Pringles.

The Home Party idea is based on the concept that Pringles offers the ability to “Organise a Party Right Now” and the website attempts to convey the party package in a one-stop shop by teaming up with a number of DJs to produce a unique party soundtrack.

Pringles teamed up with 12 international DJs (Carlos Belatti & Joy Marquez; Christian Berger; Felipe Valenzuela, etc) and invited them to compose a set of 12 exclusive tracks, with the whole process curated and produced by internationally renowned DJ, Jimmy Van M.

This exclusive music was then made accessible online, requiring people to sign in with their friends and via social networks in order to utilise the soundtrack for their own party.  The site also features accompanying visuals and VJ tools to aid with the overall atmosphere of the shared dance event experience.

Although the concept can feel a little caged in by its website constraints (it seems to beg for an actual live activation accompaniment) the premise of the ‘party where you’re at’ concept is one that works well for the brand’s regional markets, with the curation and exclusivity angle providing the draw of a big dance event in a compact package, echoing the ‘party in can’ message that underlies the brand itself.

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ArtsThread Aims To Be The LinkedIn For Design

(* Source: Piers Fawkes *)



ArtsThread is a global site that publishes the portfolio of emerging creative talent as they graduate. UK fashion authority Alex Brownless and his partners have created relationships with many of the leading design schools around the world so that when their students graduate there’s a place for potential employers to go to find fashion, arts and design talent.

Since its launch in 2008, ArtsThread have partnered with over 100 colleges in 15 countries including Royal College of Art, the Academy of Art – San Francisco, Glasgow School of Art, Whitehouse-Sydney & Melbourne and Pearl Academy-Delhi. ArtsThread is free for all design graduates: the graduate uploads their portfolio and they get their own individual URL & QR code.

The creative industry can then browse through the portfolios and hire for free. Some of the companies that have contacted graduates on their website include Nike, Gucci, Razorfish, Philips, Nokia, Lego, Nissan, Puma, VF Corporation, Abercrombie & Fitch, Burberry, Urban Outfitters and American Eagle.
Currently ArtsThread have just over 3,000 design graduates on our website but they imagine this figure will increase to 5,000 by September as the students graduate. Brownless hopes that in the next 12 months the number of students signed up increase to 10,000 members.

Brownless explains the benefits to businesses:
“A very user friendly search facility which means an employer can find exactly what they are looking for in just a few clicks. They can search by specialism, school & location. For example. you could be looking for a mens fully fashioned knitwear designer from Nottingham Trent University. An employer can contact the graduate directly and hire.”

Posted by brian tiong at 04:29 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Why Marvin Gaye Is Having a Resurgence on Facebook & Twitter

(* Source: Todd Wasserman *)

Marvin Gaye - What's going on in your neighbourhood

Marvin Gaye’s been dead for almost 30 years, yet he’s a viral sensation right now. What’s going on?
Universal Motown, Marvin Gaye’s record label, has launched a successful Facebook campaign to celebrate the 40th anniversary of his What’s Going On album. The campaign asks fans to post photos of “What’s going on” all over the world.

Fans responded by loading photos, videos and even editorials. A few people posted pictures from the flooding in North Dakota. A woman named Kelly Salazar complained about segregation in Santa Cruz, California.

There are only about 20 posts, yet Inside Facebook reports that the campaign has been a big success. Gaye had fewer than 300,000 fans at the beginning of the week and, as of Thursday morning, had more than 900,000 — an increase of more than 200%. Reps from Universal Motown could not be reached for comment.
Coincidentally, Gaye’s name also popped up as a trending topic in Twitter this week as a result of Big Sean & Kanye West’s hit “Marvin Gaye & Chardonnay.”

Posted by brian tiong at 04:24 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Samsung Launches the SIM Project in Portugal

(* Source: PopSop.com *)



Samsung presented its SIM project in Portugal aimed at promoting creativity in the country. Starting May, the brand is collaborating with recognized artists and encouraging young creative talents from a range of industries to join in, become part of the grandiose movement, share their insights and win Samsung’s YES award.

The brand is on the lookout for geniuses in the following fields: Creative (architecture, performing arts), Visual Arts and Design, Marketing and Advertising, Film, Television and Radio, Fashion, Music, New Digital Technologies and Applications. Representatives of these areas are encouraged to submit their projects from May 26 through August 31 for a chance to win €25,000. On November 17, the jury will select five finalists based on the innovation, market potential, community impact and economic viability of their idea— they will have to make a live 10-minute presentation of their work and prove it’s worth receiving the money. On November 24, the grand winner will be announced.

Samsung encourages creatives to sign the SIM manifesto (use can do it via Facebook as well) and sing its anthem together with the brand. The project already has Paulo Arraianoaka YUP, one of the most impressive visual artists in the country, who also collaborated with Volkswagen and Nike. For SIM, he turned Samsung kitchen appliances (a dishwasher and a fridge) into an awesome piece of graphic art (watch the video below to see the whole process of magic transformation). The project is also supported by a number of cultural organizations and Portuguese creative personalities, which will partake in a range of upcoming activities to be announced over the coming months and covered of the website of the project.

Posted by brian tiong at 04:12 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Music Deals Service Hosts Band DJs & Brand Giveaways on Turntable.fm

(* Source: Brenna Elrich *)



Much buzzed-about startup Turntable.fm has been a big favorite among music heads for several weeks, and Thursday, another startup — 1band 1brand — will be attempting to use it for promotional purposes.

Turntable.fm, which is still in beta, comes from the Stickybits team, and is basically like (musical) AOL chatrooms of old — a series of user-created browser-based chatroom/listening rooms where “DJs” (a.k.a. you and others) can play songs, vote on how “lame” or “awesome” those songs are, score points for picking good tunes, and chat with others in a sidebar. You can choose songs from a Medianet-powered library, or upload your own.

The service is still not open to all — you have to connect via Facebook, and you can only get in if one of your friends is already a member. But it has already crested 140,000 users. At present, only those in the U.S. can play with the service, as it’s striving to stay DMCA compliant to avoid licensing issues.

Today, music and brand deals site 1band 1brand will host a Turntable room at 4 p.m. EST, where it will have trivia contests, giveaways, artist DJs (Eastern Conference Champions and Kopecky Family Band) and open mic spots for participating users. You can find said room via the startup‘s Facebook Page.

In recent weeks, there’s been a lot of buzz about how Turntable.fm can be used within the music industry. Some suggested that music venues plug in to promote shows, and Hypebot postulated that musicians could use it to connect with fans.
However, aside from surprise visits from the likes of Diplo and Talib Kweli, much of the use we’ve seen has been of the recreational variety — music publications, PR companies and even labels (yes, labels) spinning tracks for friends.

Posted by brian tiong at 04:06 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

June 29, 2011

Incubus Launches Week-Long Livestream To Promote New Album

(* Source: Carlos Varela *)



Incubus has a new album coming out in July, and instead of doing the usual press tour, the band has decided to set up shop in its hometown of Los Angeles, hosting a livestream to get fans pumped for the new disc.

“Incubus HQ Live” kicks off Thursday and will run until July 6, with the band interacting with fans — in person and on camera — daily from roughly 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT. As of right now, Incubus isn’t exactly sure how its going to use the stream, according to guitarist Mike Einziger. “We haven’t really planned a lot of it,” he says. “We’re going to leave a lot of it up in the air. There are a few things that are going to be planned, like I’m the guitarist, so I’m going to do an guitar clinic with fans.”

The band also plans to perform live on the stream — the first performance of which will be tonight — answer fan questions sent in via social media, and conduct any interviews with the press from Incubus HQ. The band has also teamed up with video-sharing app Viddy (which is rapidly becoming a favorite among members of the music scene, like Panic at the Disco), asking fans to create 15-second videos inspired by upcoming album, If Not Now, When? [iTunes link]. The band even has their own Viddy production pack — or effects that users can apply — which includes the ability to soundtrack a video with their single “Adolescents.”

Although most bands are loathe to delve into the marketing side of an album release, Incubus conceived the livestream idea on its own, attempting to tailor the concept to its image. Einziger acknowledges that the promotional side of music “kind of sucks,” but looks upon the livestream as a chance to let fans know about the disc in the band’s own way.

“That’s the key for us — being able to let people know that we have an album coming out, but allow people to find out about it through the channels that we prefer,” says Einziger. “None of us are great at talking about our music, we’d rather just play it. [But] we want people to know that we have an album coming out…. If we don’t tell the story ourselves, maybe somebody else will tell it in the way that we don’t like.”

“I can only imagine what this would have been like with me, if I had this opportunity with some of the bands that I grew up listening to,” he adds. “I would have lost my mind.”
The band does feel a bit apprehensive going into the first day of the promotion. “We don’t know what we’re going to get. This could be the worst idea in the world,” Einziger says, his sentiment almost exactly mirroring Death Cab For Cutie bassist Nick Harmer’s apprehension before the band filmed a live music video for their song, “You Are A Tourist.”

Posted by brian tiong at 05:04 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Brands travel fast on Facebook

(* Source: Mark Terry *)

travel_facebook

The web is dying and Facebook is thriving. In 2001, the 10 most-visited sites online accounted for 31% of US page views, in 2006 it was 40% – now it’s 75%, which suggests the medium- and long-tail of the web is decreasing in importance, according to L2’s Digital IQ Index: Travel report.

And travel brands are aiming to make that count. “Facebook alone accounts for 12.3% of all consumer time on the Internet,” says L2. “Facebook usage is nearly ubiquitous across the travel category, and all but four brands [in the Index] feature at least one dedicated page. During the first-quarter 2011 measurement period, travel brand Facebook communities grew an average of 20%.”

“Your customers already spend their time on Facebook, so targeting them there is more efficient and effective than driving them to custom-built social networking portals,” says Melissa Dowler, CMO of travel and lifestyle marketing agency ISM. “Facebook continues to enhance its flexibility for custom fan page and application development, making the social networking site an increasingly attractive option for brands.”

And travel brands take a variety of approaches when it comes to managing social media across properties and geographies. Almost 50% of hotel brands have more than one account on Facebook and Twitter, while Four Seasons maintains accounts on both social media platforms for each of its properties. Norwegian Cruise Line boasts separate pages by region, including specific ones for Argentinean and Brazilian passengers.

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Honda's Motor Music

(* Source: brand-e.biz *)

civic

Honda America has launched a songwriting competition, The Sounds of Civic, tasking Facebook fans with submitting and voting for original songs inspired by… the 2012 Civic.

To kickstart the contest and get the juices flowing, the brand got a number YouTube musicians to create their own songs about the self-same car, with artists such as Maria Zouroudis, Julia Dales, Greg Holden, Madi Diaz and Free Will joining in. The videos have been posted on the Honda Civic Facebook Page and on the branded YouTube channel. Throughout the contest, fans can follow updates through the #soundsofcivic hashtag on Twitter.
The first round of voting will begin 6 June, and the top eight finalists will each receive $2,500 in music gear from Sam Ash Music Stores. The top vote-getter among will be awarded a brand new 2012 Civic and have the opportunity to perform live on a 2011 Honda Civic Tour date in Los Angeles.

“We’ve seen a high crossover of Civic fans and music lovers,” says Steve Center, vp of national marketing operations for American Honda Motor Co. “And with the launch of the 2012 Honda Civic we saw a perfect opportunity to give our amazing fans a little bit of both.”

Posted by brian tiong at 04:48 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dressing Room Drama Web Series

(* Source: Maria Stadtmeuller *)

deeley

Yahoo and Collective Digital Studio have launched an original online series, In The Dressing Room, with Cat Deeley, the host of Fox show So You Think You Can Dance.

In the Dressing Room is a 20-webisode, twice-weekly series, which provides backstage access to Deeley’s room before she goes live on So You Think You Can Dance. In each programme, she will provide viewers with fashion and beauty tips, wardrobe selections and the scoop on her fashion inspiration behind each look.
In the Dressing Room will run for 10 weeks and will be promoted across the Yahoo network.

“Video is a top priority for Yahoo, and this new web series… is an important part of enhancing the video experience across the Yahoo network, and will add to our premium portfolio of original programming,” says Erin McPherson, head of originals and video programming. “Yahoo has eight out of the top 10 shows online and In The Dressing Room will continue to grow our ability to offer a rich canvas for brands to tell their stories and integrate their brand into the next generation of digital programming.” Yahoo’s original programming US audience for May was 24.2 million unique visitors.

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June 27, 2011

Glaceau Rolls out Summer Festival Activity

(* Source: Loulla-Mae Eleftherioau Smith *)

Glaceau: installs photo booths at UK festivals

Glaceau VitaminWater, the enhanced water brand owned by Coca-Cola, has launched a national digital marketing campaign for the summer, targeting fashion and music savvy consumers through a series of festival tie-ups.

The summer campaign will feature an experiential tour of UK festivals that will create material for a digital above-the-line campaign, which uses the strapline "Brought to you by GlaceauVitaminWater".  The experiential tour began last week at Beach Break Live. It will visit 12 festivals in total including Lovebox in London and Bestival on the Isle of Wight.

Two customised photo-booths will be installed at the events and the pictures taken with it can be uploaded to users' Facebook profiles.

In the week following each festival, Glaceau will pick photos taken in the booths to appear on digital screens in six UK cities including London and Manchester. The digital ads will use the name of the festival within the strapline, such as "Live from Beach Break Live". Further activity will involve outdoor ads of the VitaminWater range and doctored, "humorous" straplines to push Glaceau's "distinctive personality".

John Luck, GB business manager, Glaceau VitaminWater, said: "We wanted to give festivalgoers the unique opportunity to feature as a piece of advertising on a digital screen as well as enabling the brand to showcase its festival activity to wider audience."

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Are You The Next Coach Guest Blogger?

(* Source: Krista Peck *)

Jen Tam Coach

Coach is launching a campaign to find a series of guest bloggers for the handbag brand. The search for these social media-istas starts this week on Twitter via the #CoachBlogger hashtag, with Coach announcing its new blogging line-up in early July.

Digital writers will need to come up with cool looks to accompany their Coach bags with the aim of giving the brand some social media marketing lift.

Coach engages with its target audience online and involves not only online influentials, but up-and-coming voices.  From Coach’s collaboration with NYC fashion bloggers to the launch of the Poppy Project, through March when they took the search toTwitter via #CoachBlogger and found a few up-and-coming fans to work with, Coach seems dedicated to reaching its customers in a modern and stylish way.
A Coach representative said: “We are going to relaunch this successful search via Twitter once again! We are launched our second Guest Blogger Search via Twitter on June 22nd through June 29th. Then an announcement will be made on@Coach on July 6th. “

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June 25, 2011

Pose 2.0: Fashion Hauls Meet Crowdsourcing

(* Source: Laura Feinstein *)

Pose 2.0: Fashion Hauls Meet Crowdsourcing

While it would be nice if you could bring your best-friend along every time you needed a second fashion opinion, the truth is that sometimes those whose opinions you value most aren’t always at your disposal. While photo-capable phones like the Droid or iPhone have made sharing digital dressing room pictures a breeze, what if your trusty style guru is indisposed?

Enter Pose 2.0, a new social site which allows users to upload their finds to the site to then be “loved” or shared by others on the network. Pose’s platform allows users to showcase their style finds through photos, geo-tagging, Twitter and Facebook sharing, and also provides a place for brand, price, and store location info. Currently early adopters of the platform include brands and retailers like Aerie (see recent ad campaign above), Levi’s and Jewelmint.com, in addition to valued endorsements from influencers such as Blair and Elle Fowler (the masterminds behind the YouTube vlog haul phenomenon), Leandra Medine of The Man Repeller, and Geri Hirsch of Because I’m Addicted.

In addition, retailers and brands will also be able to use Pose  for promotions and deals while they’re in-store. The edge over other QR Code gimmicks and in-store coupons is that Pose “captures the rarely documented conversation that revolves around the brick and mortar shopping experience.” While it’ll be nice to give friends a break from the constant barrage of dressing room photo-texts, one can’t help but wish that the application also had comment function for encouraging posts.

Posted by brian tiong at 05:48 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

MTV Invites Fans to Participate in ‘Posted’

(* Source: PopSop.com *)



MTV Music Group offers music fans to post their own content on its digital interactive platform Posted. Launched last year, now the resource widens its functions available to general users.

Posted was created as a web platform containing all kinds of information about popular musicians. In addition to just providing general data the platform offers the most current news from music idols showing their Twitter updates. It also allows sharing artists’ videos, news, photos and other content created specially for Posted. Featured musicians are rotated monthly being chosen according to their ‘hotness’.

In its second year of existence Posted will become even more fun and interactive. Starting from July its users will be able to join ‘The Posted Fan Club’ and upload their own content to the web site. The process will be moderated, however fans are free to choose what kind of photos, videos etc. they want to share with the others. To make the platform easier to use and raise its popularity among users it will be integrated with mobile apps created for MTV, VH1 and CMT.

“With social media providing a loud voice to millions, MTV Music Group has been innovating and iterating in the space to offer music fans with a much needed curated filter,” commentsDermot McCormack, executive VP of digital media at MTV.

Posted by brian tiong at 05:45 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Pop Tarts – The Sweet Experience

(* Source: FruktComms.com *)



Pop Tarts, the pre-baked toasted pastry brand from Kellogg’s, is “unveiling a series of events over the coming months under its ‘Front Row’ experiences banner, which combines a high octane mix of music, art, sport and fashion.

A dedicated Front Row digital hub has a total of eight events lined up with two having already taken place in May and June. “Front Row is your place to discover new music and sweet acts. From art and fashion, surfing and biking, to filling and frosting,” states the campaign mantra.

The Front Row stop in Minnesota in May, entitled Sweet Tricks & Beats, featured X-Games gold medallist and BMX rider, Terry Adams, and BMX rider Jon “The Duke” Dowker collaborating with rock band The Kickson a unique live performance within a local shopping mall.
 
On 18th June Front Row landed at The Wave House in San Diego for its second outing, ‘Sprinke Splash’. The music meets surf event saw a variety of surfers performing stunts on a flow barrel (a man made wave), while rock act 2am Club took to the stage to play live and a sand sculpting team turned the beach into branded PopTarts sand sculptures.

Front Row is in essence a mini travelling branded festival experience, with the live acts gracing the stage split out over eight different venues, each providing its own unique meld of live music and sport. It will be interesting to see how the brand extends the platform over the coming sessions beyond sporting activities into art and fashion.

With some 3 million plus fans on Facebook, the slow release of this promotion is a great way for the brand to connect directly with its social media audience. Bringing a music festival experience directly to their door, as opposed to setting up shop at existing festivals, avoids the brand being lost amongst a host of direct and indirect competition for audience attention.

Posted by brian tiong at 05:42 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

With the Flowd

(* Source: Mark Terry *)

flowd

DJ Alex M.O.R.P.H. has signed up to music social network Flowd’s Frequent Fans programme. The trance deejay will be using the platform to engage with fans for his performances this summer. He will be debuting the new and unreleased track Connected on Flowd, and the music destination’s users will be sent a mobile coupon which they can use to download song for free. The DJ is the first artist to provide content as exclusive as an unreleased track on the platform.

Alex M.O.R.P.H. is the latest performer to use the Frequent Fans programme, which was pioneered through a collaboration with Sony Music Entertainment to market Britney Spears’ new album across Europe. Alex M.O.R.P.H. has also set up his popular weekly radio show, HeavensGate, to run a separate promo for its Ibiza residency.

“I already engage with thousands of fans on Flowd, but with tens of thousands of people attending my performances at festivals this summer, I felt that this was the perfect opportunity to use Flowd to deepen my engagement with everyone who hears me,” says the artist.

“Artists are beginning to embrace mobile social marketing to build their fan base and promote their latest activity,” says Tommi Laitinen, SVP, Flowd. “As artists take advantage of Flowd, the industry is recognising how useful our application is at building robust loyalty programme tools.”

Posted by brian tiong at 05:42 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

June 23, 2011

Bacardi Announces ‘Best Shared Live’ Multi-Platform Marketing Program

(* Source: PopSop.com *)



Bacardi and Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., the world’s leading live entertainment and eCommerce company, announced an innovative, multi-platform marketing campaign kicking off this summer titled, ‘Best Shared Live.’

Taking the ‘Bacardi Together’ campaign to new heights, the ‘Best Shared Live’ program creates dynamic opportunities designed to bring people together to celebrate live music, friends and legendary cocktails.  It will leverage Live Nation Entertainment’s marketing distribution platforms including digital, mobile and social media properties (Ticketmaster.comand LiveNation.com) to reach millions of fans as they plan their summer concert experiences.
Targeting twenty-something consumers who enjoy nightlife and music, the ‘Best Shared Live’ encompasses a robust array of elements featuring both promotional assets and digital media, including:

—Live Nation Entertainment Concert Cash: Bacardi products will feature download codes for Live Nation Entertainment Concert Cash, redeemable on LiveNation.com’s Bacardi-branded landing page for tickets and artist merchandise.

—Best Shared Live Sweepstakes: Fans may also enter the Best Shared Live Sweepstakes, which supports the ad platform and reinforces the Bacardi brand message of bringing people together, in this case, through live music. The grand prize winner will win four tickets to the Live Nation Entertainment concert of his/her choice anywhere in the U.S., plus airfare and hotel accommodations.

—Branded Concert Guide: Live Nation Entertainment will create a Bacardi branded summer concert guide, a custom content platform with unique videos highlighting some of the hottest artists on tour this summer.

—Custom Facebook Module on LiveNation.com and Ticketmaster.com: Live Nation Entertainment will position Bacardi as a brand that brings music fans ‘together’ within the social media environment through a bilateral Facebook application on LiveNation.com and Ticketmaster.com, which will allow fans to let their friends know which concerts they are planning to attend.

—Mobile Web Platform: Live Nation Entertainment will also integrate Bacardi into its mobile advertising platform, providing the brand with an even deeper connection to fans whenever they seek music information.

Posted by brian tiong at 02:35 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Stella Artois' The Black Diamond

(* Source: Dazed Digital *)



This summer sees a new immersive theatre experience as a collaboration with Felix Barratt via a dramatic mix of film and online ventures

"2 lovers. 1 diamond. A thief. A curse. A classic film noir movie coming straight from late night Paris in the 1960s. And you. You are the spectator, but also the actor. Only you will discover the secrets of The Black Diamond", says the blurb for the new immersive film-theatre experience to come from Stella Artois Black.

Set to be this summer’s most exciting filmic event, their latest venture into a theatre experience builds on the success of last year’s The Night Chauffeur, where alluring characters and one-to-one interactions mingle with the audience. Commissioned by Stella Artois Black and working with acclaimed immersive theatre producer Felix Barrett, The Black Diamond will be a dramatic mix of online experiences and real-life cinema in locations across Shoreditch, London.

The Black Diamond will run from 3rd – 21st July, offering just a few thousand lucky invitees the chance to be part of this unique immersive theatre experience; whilst the story will develop simultaneously online, giving a new depth to the production and offering an additional interactive perspective for the audience, whether they’ve attended the experience or not.

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Jeep – Drive Your Track

(* Source: Giles Fitzgerald *)



Not content with hitting up Mr Cab Driver himself, Lenny Kravitz, for their recent ad campaign, the Jeep brand is rolling out an innovative digital promotion, which lets users map their favourite tracks online.

The ‘Drive Your Track’ digital campaign, which apparently originates in Spain, centres on the Infinity Sound System built into the company’s Wrangler model. “Wherever you want to go, music will follow you” runs the tag line.

Visitors simply upload a track of their choosing via the site, which is then analysed, and the resulting sound waves converted into geographical features from around the world, including mountain ranges such as the Himalayas, Andes and Alps.

Interestingly, Jeep makes a clear distinction here about the supposed music taste of its target audience, utilising both AC/DC and Albert Hammond Jnr as suggested acts someone might upload. Not content with playing a fairly generic dad rock card they also offer something for their urban customers in the form of Kanye West. However, in case their target market isn’t completely sold they go a step further with a dig aimed squarely at a certain popular Tween idol.
“If you like Bieber, you ‘re looking for another car” states the voiceover.

Building on the idea that music is the first stepping-stone on your next big adventure, Jeep provides a host of information based on the journey your chosen song has inspired. Clicking on any of the individual destinations highlights its distance from your location on a map and outlines localised information, including hotel accommodation and restaurants, from the area. Not to mention details of those all-important Jeep dealerships you could make a pit stop at in your current vicinity.

It’s a  piece of travel recommendation wrapped up in a personalised music app, which tugs at the desires of those eager to explore. It also cleverly succeeds in disguising its true test drive intentions behind a layer of adventure-based content, while effectively pushing it’s in-car music capabilities.

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Digital theatre gets a global stage

(* Source: Brande-biz.com *)

ipercast

London’s Camden Theatres has begun offering live and on-demand streaming from its theatrical venues via an online TV channel on its website. The platform currently hosts content from the recent Accidental Festival at the Camden Roundhouse, as well as an interview with arts duo Gilbert & George. Coverage of a number of summer festivals is in the pipeline.

The new streaming video service, provided by entertainment enabler ipercast, meansCamden Theatres can extend its footprint far outside its normal marketplace.

“Increasingly, our customers – many of whom have high-quality content – are wanting value-added services on top of the network we provide,” Drazen Kerzan, pre-sales specialist at ipercast, said at this week’s CDN World Forum in London. “With the service we’re providing for Camden Theatres in London, we are bringing them a worldwide audience for their venues. We are enabling them to monetise this and to reach people around the globe.”

Ipercast has also been helping Absolute Radio distribute its digital content, and at last year’s Glastonbury Festival ran a ‘Social Media Experiment’ event which featured comedians, musicians and performance artists incorporating social media and interactive online technologies.

“We are all about making entertaining content more readily available to consumers wherever they are,” says Marina Sirotkin, UK country manager for ipercast. “And there’s a real opportunity in the arts education space for these kinds of services too.”

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June 21, 2011

Nissan Juke Studio Open for Creative Collaboration

(* Source: PopSop.com *)



Nissan Juke continues to reach its audience, technically savvy young people living in urban areas, using all forms of the modern art. Last week we announced the musical campaign sponsored by the car model on European TV, and today we’ve got a news on another art project. This time Nissan Juke employs contemporary up-and-coming artists to create their visions of the car’s potential.

So, in course of the campaign Jim Mahfood, Jeremyville, and Tristan Eaton were invited to create their own vision of three driving modes of Nissan Juke (Eco, Sport, Normal).

So many men, so many minds: each of the artists has picked a unique approach in depicting the nature of the driving modes. For instance, LA-based artist Jim Mahfood portrayed three different girls with different characters and appearance to symbolize each of the driving modes of the automobile.

At the same time, Nissan Juke has launched an online creative laboratory at www.nissangraphics.com/juke and calls everyone passionate about the model to join the competition. The task of each participant is to create their own version of the Nissan Juke design out of elements of the artwork created by the above-mentioned artists. Each of the submitted models will be ranked based on the number of votes it receives. The first place winner will be awarded with Nissan Juke—featuring exactly the same exterior design as submitted by the winner.

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Confectionery brand creates perfect J-pop idol

(* Source: Giles Fitzgerald *)



AKB48 is a Japanese all female pop group, notable for being the world’s largest girl band, for which they currently hold a Guinness World Record. Comprised of some 58 full time members (split across four separate teams) – this troupe of singers makes the Polyphonic Spree look like a duet.

The group has teamed up with confectionery brand Glico on a new digital initiative, which invites fans of the Otaku group to take component parts of each group member (hair, eyebrows, nose, mouth, etc) to create their ideal member.  These ‘perfected’ versions of their favourite stars can be shared via Twitter and Facebook and voted for online. In addition, the creations can be downloaded for use as avatars and desktop backgrounds.
However, what is really interesting in this particular campaign is the fact that fans of the group have suspected for some time that one of the members of AKB48 was in fact a digital creation already.
Eguchi Aimi has long being considered to possibly be a CGI creation, with the name of the new product ‘Aisu no Mi’ (equating to an abbreviation of her name) only fueling the suspicion.  Not to mention the fact that taking features from the six most popular members actually ends up looking like Aimi.

It turns out that she was in fact created directly by the brand, which introduced her into the group before the launch of the digital campaign.

It’s a clever use of pre-emptive marketing by the brand, whether it ties into the product is another question entirely, but for this audience – so eager to connect and interact with their idols – that wouldn’t seem to matter. Fans we’re quick to get involved with the campaign in an attempt to outdo Glico by creating their own version of the perfect AKB48 member.

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How Social Shopping Is Changing Fashion Production

(* Source: Lauren Indvik *)



Fashion editors and department store buyers have long had the biggest say in what parts of designer collections make it to market.

In an effort to drive deeper engagement between designers and those who purchase their clothes and accessories, a mix of established and lesser-known brands are now giving consumers opportunities to choose what gets produced and, in some cases, even what gets designed. The result is both a more engaged shopper and less waste as manufacturers and retailers are better able to estimate demand before garments are produced.

Be The Buyer
“Fashion is morphing into a two-way dialogue,” says Vivian Weng, who launched fashion ecommerce venture FashionStake with fellow Harvard Business School alum Daniel Gulati last fall.
Although FashionStake has since evolved into a somewhat more traditional ecommerce site, the two recognized that consumers “were craving an opportunity to somehow be a part of the creative process.”

Weng and Gulati also wanted to discover new talent in the fashion industry. They created a platform where designers and shoppers could collaborate to fund the creation of new work through pre-orders. Clothes were only manufactured after enough orders were placed.
Be The Designer

Some brands are going a step further by inviting shoppers directly into the design process. Burberry is following the lead of startups such as Blank Label (pictured above) and Gemvara, which allow customers to choose patterns, materials and other details in step-by-step web apps to create “one of a kind” apparel and accessories. Later this year, Burberry will let customers design their own trench coats.

It’s an efficient model because garments are only produced after an order is placed, thus negating any possibility of excess inventory. Accessories designer Rebecca Minkoff has allowed consumers even more freedom. She turned to online fashion styling community Polyvore to help design her next “morning-after clutch” earlier this year. She supplied users with images of signature materials, including leather, hooks, tassels, studs, zippers and straps, and asked them to get creative.

Nearly 4,000 users submitted more than 6,000 different designs in the course of a week.
Minkoff believes that collaborations between consumers and designers are “a great way for all designers to truly understand what their customer wants from their brand,” she says. “Having my customers be a part of this collaboration has truly shown that they understand my aesthetic and design theory.”

Is the Notion of “The Designer” Becoming Obsolete?
Although there are new opportunities for engagement between designers and consumers, Polyvore co-founder Jess Lee is aware that some people think these collaborations compromise the artistic integrity of the design process.

“Some people people feel that crowdsourced design takes away from the specialness of artistic creativity,” she says. What’s important, she adds, is to preserve the vision of the designer which, ultimately, all of the projects cited above do.

Although Minkoff and Burberry Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey have invited consumers to become part of the design process, they retain control, ensuring that the products express their style and choice, while engaging the consumer in a new way.

“Customers need to be part of a personal experience,” Weng says. “More and more websites will try to build direct connections with their customers to directly engage them.”

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ABSOLUT to Launch the ‘Cee Lo Distilled’ Film on Facebook

(* Source: PopSop.com *)
 


 

ABSOLUT Vodka, the iconic alcohol brand deeply involved into creative movement (focusing on visual art—its numerous themed projects prove it), also collaborates with music talents on short documentaries, celebrating the performers and their achievements. The brand is announcing a two-part film starring rapper and record producer Cee Lo Green—the first chapter of their work titled ‘Cee Lo Distilled’ will appear on the brand’s Facebook page on June 27.

As for now, ABSOLUT launched a 1’45’’ teaser, which previews the upcoming film produced by the brand in cooperation with The Fader. The new creation is taking viewers into the world of the celebrated rapper as he tells about his family and childhood, shares on what ‘being truly exceptional’ in today’s world of music means to him and what inspires and influences his work. In general, the movie seems to be just a new piece revolving around another performer—but since this musician has a unique charisma and talent, the film is really worth seeing. The second and the final chapter of the documentary will go online on July 6.

ABSOLUT creates an app on its Facebook page for almost every new thing the vodka brand launches. As part of the promotion of the recently presented SF edition, it introduced the ‘Make My Video’ digital extension on the social media hub, and for the release of the film starring Cee Lo, the brand created “a Facebook app along the lines of ‘Forget You,’ the ultimate break-up song—the app will send a custom video message direct from Cee Lo, commenting on friends’ Relationship Status updates (if you’ve currently updated as ‘In A Relationship,’ you may prove an easy target!),” psfk.com reports. So far, it’s quite hard to get the point of this application, but the whole thing will get clear shortly before the release. The protagonist of the film will become Guest Editor for 10 days surrounding the launch of ‘Cee Lo Distilled,’ and will be deeply engaged in communication with the brand’s fans on the page.

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June 19, 2011

Activia: Social Rhythms in a Pot

(* Source: FruktComms.com *)



Proving that even the most difficult of brand messages can be better served through music, the Danone owned yogurt brand Activia developed a slightly bizarre musical campaign in order to side step the “regulating your intestines” premise of its product.
The ‘Rhythm in a Pot’ campaign from Activia Brazil pretty much did exactly what it suggests, putting musicians – whether guitarists or rappers – into a larger-than-life Activia yoghurt pot to perform live.

The promotion was integrated with Facebook enabling the various musicians involved to base their improvised compositions on the timelines of various Facebook users, thereby putting these user’s lives – rather than their digestive systems – in rhythm.

Sticking musicians in a giant yogurt tub and letting them wax lyrical over the most banal of updates may not seem like the most digitally progressive campaign.  However, over 1,000 Facebook users submitted their personal lives to be put into rhythm, with the campaign videos shared to a further 200,000, and the whole thing apparently impacting over 4 million people across the Internet.

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Heineken Invites Young Designers to Co-Create Future Nightlife Concepts

(* Source: TheFinancial *) 

 

Heineken revealed plans for a new design program, termed the ‘open design explorations,’ that will create vibrant new concepts for bars, clubs and social spaces. The first project in the program will launch in June 2011 and will invite emerging design talent from around the world to envisage and create a pioneering ‘pop up club’ that will be unveiled in Milan to coincide with Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2012.

Based on the theme ‘light up the night,’ the design brief for the concept club will ask upcoming designers to be part of a multidisciplinary design exploration team that will study social interaction in clubs around the world. This study of the ‘science of social interaction’ will provide real-world insights that will help them create the pop up club, a visionary nightlife environment designed to encourage an enjoyable and memorable experience.

To become part of the design exploration team, young designers will be selected via the modern-equivalent of sketching on the back of a beer mat. Talent nights will take place in major design and nightlife hubs in Asia, Europe, USA and Latin America. Once chosen, the design exploration teams will focus on designs in the fields of interior architecture, product, graphic, interactive and experiential, fashion and identity, all integral elements of an exciting and unique nightlife experience. Each team will be led by a world-class designer and tasked with creating a particular element of the club space.

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Heineken Launching ‘The Spot’ to Experience Latino Culture

(* Source: PopSop.com *)

 

Heineken, the brand famous for supporting musical events and festivals will inspire New Yorkers with Latin music and culture this summer. Trendsetting Latino artists, musicians, DJs, filmmakers and fashionistas will hang out under one roof at The Spot by Heineken. Located in the heart of Soho’s Nolita neighborhood, The Spot by Heineken will be arranged in partnership with Remezcla, a leading creative house and content authority on emerging Latin culture. The three-week festival includes all elements of a performance space, art gallery and music concerts.

The Spot by Heineken launches on July 13 with over 12 events bringing together the targeted young audience for live concerts, art exhibits and film screenings, thoughtfully curated by Remezcla. Kinky, Tego Calderon, La Mala Rodriguez, Vico C and Carla Morrison, and the New York International Latino Film Festival are just some of the over 30 artists and organizations who will be part of the event’s line-up.

A digital access to The Spot’s content will also be available on the Remezcla web site, providing access to events, as well as original videos, music and interviews of performing artists.

“Latin music and culture have revolutionized urban trends, so we’re thrilled to be partnering with Remezcla to offer our audience an enhanced cultural experience this summer,” saidCarolyn Concepcion, Brand Manager of Heineken. “The Spot by Heineken offers the community access to some of today’s hottest and more unique Latinos in the music and art world through an engaging platform, all while strengthening Heineken’s support of creative and innovative minds in the Latino community.”

 

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June 16, 2011

Giorgio Armani: Frames of Your Life

(* Source: InDesignLive.com *) 

 

Frames of Your Life takes 4 bloggers – photographers and trendsetters in their own right – and sets them loose on the streets of Milan, Paris, London and Berlin to snap everyday people, captured in a single moment wearing Armani specs.
In the tradition of street style blogs like The Sartorialist and Jak and Jil, the resulting photographs reveal distinct personalities and styles– ones that wouldn’t otherwise be found in a conventional ad campaign. The cities themselves are also brought to life, each revealing its own flavour and aesthetic. Of Berlin, blogger Natalie Weiss observes “It is difficult to frame something that is on the move, and Berlin definitely is.”
 
“Paris is really about ‘less is more’ for fashion, design, and way of life,” says Eleonore Bridge of the city she documented for the campaign.
 
 “Milan is often considered a severe city but it’s able to surprise you with its unexpected energy and vitality,” says photographer Micol Sabbadini of the Italian style capital.
 
The one common thread between the 4 series of portraits is the strong structural shape of the designer frames.
 
Frames of Your Life is now set to leave Europe and travel across the world, with New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai next on the list to be snapped. The best shots from around the world will then be curated and showcased at a special event celebrating the project.

 

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A|X STYLEPAD: The First Digital Portfolio Application

(* Source: PR Newswire *)



In Spring 2011, A|X launched A|X STYLEPAD™ – a multimedia, interactive create-your-own ad app that gives exclusive access to the captivating world of A|X Armani Exchange. The app gives iPhone and iPad users creative control to design "their A|X", selecting the background, casting the model from supplied images, and add a personalized message by writing text over the image to create a one-of-a-kind ad to save or share with friends on social networks.

The A|X STYLEPAD™ offers the client a more visually sophisticated way to experience the A|X lifestyle with well-crafted visual integration. Leveraging assets from the A|X brand -­ building blocks of sexy imagery, modern style, electronic dance music and nightlife culture, we continually enhance our extremely powerful online platform to target our consumers' lifestyle, taking advantage of the influential amplifier of online entertainment.

The app feature is housed on the A|X Mobile site that will feature an exclusive A|XX 20 Years of Style global branded content. Highlights will include special A|XX Limited Edition Collection preview, exclusive A|XX video, access to the A|X Life section for events, trends, music, and brand news. This content will gain additional exposure with marketing elements via the A|X blog, A|X social networks, A|X YouTube, A|X in­store promotions, A|X text mobile marketing, and press materials covering this digital media endeavor.

With the application, Armani Exchange brings together three marketing trends – exclusive content, online entertainment, and social networking – in a unique and interesting way. Operated by an in-house cross-functional team, these initiatives are an evolution of our marketing message, linked to strategic goals and integrated with other marketing initiatives.

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Garnier Fructis Styled Participants of the ‘Do You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star’ Contest

(* Source:  PopSop.com *)

 

Garnier Fructis joined Atlantic Records and Rolling Stone Magazine for the ‘Do You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star’ contest to promote the Pure Clean products.

Garnier Fructis suggested U.S. citizens to vote for the best rock musician on the Rolling Stone web-site or on the Facebook page. In addition users were welcome to upload their own photos in a rockstar-like fun photo frames, the most voted pics won free concert tickets. With its eco-product line Pure Clean, Garnier Fructis provided all the hair-style stuff for the Garnier celebrity stylist Peter Butler to trim the contestants’ heads in a special Green Room.

The grand prize is every beginning rocker’s dream. Of 16 unsigned contestants, one will be the first unsigned act ever to grace the cover of Rolling Stone issue on August 18, win a recording contract with Atlantic Records, and perform on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The final two contestants—songstress Lelia Broussard and Canadian rockers, The Sheepdogs were set to play a battle of the bands-style set at this year’s Bonnaroo Festival on June 9-12 in Manchester.

Previously, Garnier Fructis in collaboration with Terra Cycle also invited customers to join its nationwide 7-city tour and bring the recyclables for repurpose.

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June 15, 2011

Louis Vuitton Launched the REcreative Online Community for Aspiring Visual Artists

(* Source: PopSop.com *) 



Today’s unconventional solutions in visual art often become tomorrow’s fashion trends—emerging talents with their avant-garde thinking and unpredicted approaches to unleashing creativity are one of the biggest treasures for the world of fashion. Knowing that, Louis Vuitton teamed up with a dozen of aspiring artists to provide young geniuses from across the city with an opportunity to demonstrate what they can and learn more about the contemporary art at the awesome website called REcreative.

The new online hub was devised and developed as part of the Louis Vuitton Young Arts Project, the three-year contemporary art-focused initiative for young Londoners aged 13-25, which was launched in 2010 by the Hayward Gallery, the Royal Academy of Arts, the South London Gallery, Tate Britain, the Whitechapel Gallery and the fashion giant. A group of 12 young people, who are taking part in the program, wanted to create a website that would “inspire interest in contemporary art amongst their peers, that would offer information and insight into the workings of the professional art world and that, most importantly, would be an online community for young people to share and showcase their own work.”

It took one year to develop REcreative—for this, the team of young artists collaborated with the design agency SIFT to have everything done properly. The online destination features artwork as well as news, information on the upcoming events and interviews with industry experts. “REcreative is a word that was invented to reflect the interest of the participants in creating new work that references or reinterprets existing works and concepts. It refers to process and that’s what this website explores and celebrates.”

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Burn Launches Music Making Platform and Producer Competition

(* Source: CMU *)

Burn Studios Audiotool

Energy drink Burn has officially launched a new electronic music platform called the Burn Studios Audiotool, which will “enable music creation, discovery and sharing” in that good old cloud in the digital sky. The aim is to build a community of grass roots dance music makers.

Burn soft launched is Burn Studios programme at the International Music Summit in Ibiza this time last year, and has been developing and beta testing the Audiotool platform ever since. It went properly live at this year’s IMS yesterday, with Richie Hawtin confirmed as the new venture’s Creative Director. “The use of cloud technologies will revolutionise the way we think and do things, especially how we approach music making in the future… well the future is now”.

To coincide with the launch, Burn also announced a big competition for aspiring dance producers, fourteen of whom will be flown over to the Burn Studios physical base on Ibiza in July for a production bootcamp. One overall winner will then go to New York to work with Sasha no less. To enter bedroom producers must remix a track created by Sasha and upload it to the audiotools platform. Full info will be posted at burn.com I’m sure.

Commenting on all this shenanigans, Burn’s Dan White told reporters: “Burn Studios is the epitome of Burn’s personality, it captures the essence of the brand and blasts it into a real life dimension of energy filled passion and fearless creativity. I’m proud that we are able to ignite creative passion and bring the community together with this pioneering studio concept”.

Posted by brian tiong at 10:18 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Burberry X Keane in Beijing

(* Source: AllAboutGeomarketing.com *) 



British luxury label Burberry has been well-known for digital innovation. Most recently, Burberry has intensified its digital push into China, launching official accounts on four Chinese social media platforms (Kaixin001, Douban, Youku, Sina Weibo). Burberry has been expanding on the ground as well, with an announcement of doubling its 57 China locations within the next few years.

On April the 13th, Burberry included virtual image technology that combines live models, animated footage and holograms, music performances, and live-streaming during their fashion show in Beijing. Look at the video for the great work from the British brand.

This event, which celebrates the opening of Burberry’s most technologically advanced flagship at Sparkle Roll Plaza, a 12,500 square foot megastore featuring exterior LED video walls, will be held at the Beijing Television Centre. The event will also feature the British band Keane, performing for the first time in China.

Burberry makes this event even more unique is that local pre-event promotion was heavily social media-based. Which makes Burberry the first international luxury label to experiment with China’s location-based social network, Jiepang (街旁网).

Fans of Burberry’s Sina Weibo account who “checked in” on Jiepang at Burberry store locations recieved a Burberry Virtual Badge was entered into a drawing for VIP guest passes to the Burberry extravaganza on April 13th.

Jeremy Webb of Ogilvy Beijing, who works with a number of luxury brands in China, told Jing Daily that the use of location-based platforms by major brands is “not just about driving direct sales,” but is instead about “increasing general awareness, positioning themselves as being more ‘accessible,’ and driving attention to other initiatives to tell a more in-depth story about brand, products, and heritage.”

Posted by brian tiong at 09:53 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Volvo: Art Session

(* Source: FruktComms *) 

Volvo is the latest brand to position its new vehicle, the Volvo s60, side-by-side with the world of art, following in the footsteps of BMW and Aston Martin (both of which let artist Jeff Koons loose with the paint brushes on their vehicles). Citroen also recently opted for an exterior and interior designmakeover from designer Orla Kiely for its DS3 model.

The Volvo ‘Art Session‘ campaign echoes a recentoutdoor effort from Mini in Japan, which saw artists spray-painting a Mini in the brand’s showroom within the Ginza district.  Volvo has recruited a swathe of artists – including Blackyard, Nevercrew, Suki Bamboo and Daim – to develop a constantly evolving work of public art at the centre of Zurich station.
‘10 artists, 1 car, 1 canvas’ runs the campaigns tag line, which will see the artists in question using the new model as a 3D canvas to develop limited edition live art. What is particularly notable here is the transient nature of the promotion which will see each artist painting directly over the work of their predecessor.

An accompanying website is offered up two webcams from different viewpoints so online viewers could follow the creative action as it unfolded. The overall campaign will then be turned into a short film which will be available to view online, ensuring that the creators work is captured in a tangible form once its has been effectively destroyed.

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June 14, 2011

Mixing The Artists, DJ's

(* Source: Mark Terry *)

 

Pioneer Electronics has rolled out the PioneerDJ Art Mix Tour, a fundraising programme aiming to bring together the world’s best DJs, urban artists and designers to create original works of art using the brand’s CDJ-2000 digital music player.

Each participant in the Tour will receive one piece of kit from the brand to serve as a blank canvas on which to paint, design or otherwise decorate as customised works of art.

The art pieces will be exhibited across the country during the summer, starting in LA, culminating in an online auction to benefit the VH1 Save The Music Foundation to restore music education to public schools.

“There is an inherent synergy in the working dynamics of the DJ culture and urban artists,” says David Arevalo, senior marketing manager at Pioneer. “To be able to bring these two groups together in one exhibit, while also communicating the importance of music education and appreciation with our youth, is incredibly gratifying.”

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Trojan Wrapped up Emcee Contest Magnum ‘Live Large’ Project 2

(* Source: PopSop.com *)

 

After more than 200,000 YouTube votes, four regional contests and plenty of Magnum-sized rhymes, the makers of Trojan Brand Condoms and GRAMMY-winning entertainerLudacris have announced the five winners of the Magnum ‘Live Large’ Project 2. The emcees, voted in by users on YouTube, performed live on stage alongside Ludacris in front of 20,000 fans at Miami’s Spring Fest music festival on May 29.

The project gave emerging musicians the opportunity to show the world how they exude the Magnum ‘live large’ lifestyle every day by taking care of business, pleasure, their partner and themselves.

The makers of Magnum Condoms hit the road this spring, hosting emcee competitions in Detroit, San Francisco, New Yorkand Miami, calling on aspiring rappers to come out and compete. The artists competed in live freestyle battles, where the top three rappers from each city were selected to appear on YouTube for a national vote to uncover the top rapper in each region.

Emcees that could not make it to the live events were invited to enter via the Magnum at-large YouTube contest, where they could download sample tracks to create a video performing a song that embodied the brand’s ‘live large’ lifestyle. Of the nearly 1,800 YouTube entries, fans online voted Prince EA to the top of the list.

“These artists are incredibly talented, creative and really do stand out from the pack,” said Bruce Tetreault, Trojan Group Product Manager. “They’ve all stayed authentic to who they are, and truly live up to the Magnum gold standard.”

 

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Brands, Facebook and the dialogue

(* Source: Maria Statdmeuller *)

wongdoody

Posting video content is the number-one Facebook practice, common among close to 90% of Interbrand’s Top 100 global brands, according to the Facebook Global Best Practices study from WongDoody.

And as they are broadcasters at heart, it’s easy to understand marketers’ thinking. However, brands need to be careful. “A Facebook page is no place for a hard sell,” says WongDoody. “Post content that is relevant to your fans and encourages a social experience, and remember that unique content is most motivating for fans to join your community.”

Seventy nine percent of the top global brands allow fans to post on their Facebook wall and there’s no longer room for fear of giving consumers a voice.

“Facebook exists for the fans and members, not companies. We have been invited into a social, personal domain. This is not a place to broadcast – it is a place for mutual sharing. Opening your Facebook wall to consumer content is an invitation for your customers to join in the conversation and contribute to your brand. Even on your corporate Facebook page, it’s important to let go of control and give your fans a voice.”

And two out of three of Interbrand’s best global brands on Facebook reply to fan wall posts and comments consistently, behaviour which WongDoody commends.

“Replying to fan comments and wall posts is the one-to-one relationship companies should be eager to embrace, and fans are certainly looking for that level of attentiveness. Devote resources to your social media programme and start talking to your consumers in a direct two-way dialogue.”

Posted by brian tiong at 09:48 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Keds Shoes as Catalyst for Creative Minds

(* Source: Francisco Hui *) 


keds works on canvas

Keds latest campaign efforts to champion “creativity on canvas” were announced recently with a collection by conceptual artist Jenny Holzer.

Extending their support to younger artists in a collaboration with The Whitney and Bloomingdale’s, the brands are providing three MFA students with support to showcase their work. The department store is providing 2 weeks of converted window displays, designed by Night Agency, as studio space. Once the work is completed, it will be showcased at the museum, during the Whitney Live summer concert series.

For creatives outside MFA programs, Keds is encouraging users to customize their own shoes for themselves or to sell online and receive a percentage off each sale from their creations

keds touch screen

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June 13, 2011

Brands Play Well In Music

(* Source: Mark Terry *) 


phoenix

While consumers used to view brands becoming more involved in music as a necessary evil, a spike in creativity has led them to now openly accept brand involvement, say Bauer Media/Crowd DNA in their Phoenix: Discover Music report.
The research also found that live music experiences remain the pinnacle for any music fan, and have a heavy and long-lasting impact on the ‘musical journey’. Gigs and festivals drive heavy consumer engagement and word of mouth within social networks.

And on the subject of social, it’s clear it has become all too easy for folk to follow their musical icons on a minute-by-minute basis. However, there’s a consensus within the music industry that this ease of access is leading to artists losing appeal.

The research also found that the album lives. “The album still holds appeal for consumers,” says the report. “Where the quality and creativity is strong, consumers place value on the physical product, with an initial digital download often followed up with an album purchase.”

However, genres are indeed dead.

“As access to music has become more universal for even less fanatical musical listeners, music consumption is less stringently defined by genres as consumers cherry pick their journey through music from a much broader selection.”

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The Soundtrack to London, apped

(* Source:  Brand-M *)

 

The Museum of London’s and Nokia’s Ovi Store have launched the Soundtrack To London app aimed at revealing the people, places and events which have made the UK capital a ‘musical city’.

Users can search over 200 locations – and 160 artists – or find nearby locations to see which music stories are truly local. There’s a broad catalogue to dip into – from David Bowie to Dizzee Rascal, Handel to Hendrix, or Elgar to Elton John.

“From entertainment enjoyed by Roman Londoners to today’s thriving record industry, music has played an important role in London’s story,” says the museum. “The capital has inspired some of the most celebrated talents and works, and in turn has been changed by the people who have come to this remarkable city to make remarkable music.”

So, which Londoner tracks are on this app? West End Girls from the Pet Shop Boys, natch. Lily Allen’s LDN, and Sultans Of Swing fro Dire Straits. I Live In Camberwell, as performed by Basement Jax, and, wait for it… Ralph McTell’s Streets Of London.

Don’t have a Nokia handset? Then it’s time to visit Spotify and listen to some of the tracks on the Soundtrack To London app.

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Orange, Xperia mobilise Guetta

(* Source: Steve Mullings *)  


Starting this month, Orange customers can get access David Guetta’s new Android app via Sony Ericsson’s Xperia handset range. It will feature behind-the-scenes videos, new tracks and exclusive content while also enabling fans to interact with the artist via his Facebook fan wall.

Sony Ericsson and Orange have set up an exclusive Facebook page where consumers will have the opportunity to become an official Orange David Guetta ‘reporter’, able to update the site with their own personal VIP experience as they follow him on his summer world tour.

“We already have an important and really active community on the web, and I believe that thanks to the application developed with Sony Ericsson, I will be able to interact with a lot of new fans,” says Guetta. “They will be able to access my music more easily and I will be able to share how passionate I am about my life as a DJ.”

“At Sony Ericsson, we are always looking for ways to reward consumers with exclusive experiences they can enjoy on their Xperia smartphones,” says Pieter Pierle, director of the brand’s global account. “David Guetta is a natural partner for us – he is a truly global star and understands the importance of communicating via social media.”

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June 12, 2011

Vice Style / Blackberry - Visionaries

(* Source: Vice.com *)

 

Vice Style and Blackberry bring you Visionaries, a three part series which takes a look at established and up-and-coming individuals who make fashion happen. Each installment will be dedicated to a different artist, designer, stylist, photographer or editor.

Together, BlackBerry and Vice Style bring you Visionaries, a look at the established and up-and-coming individuals who make fashion happen. Each film stars a seminal fashion visionary and a rising star of their choosing. The visionaries are the art directors, designers, stylists, photographers and editors who broke ground with their work and helped define the look of a generation. Their chosen luminaries have the potential to alter the landscape of fashion in years to come, embodying the fashion world’s predilection for innovation and subversion of the accepted blueprint.

These edifying films reveal the inimitable qualities that got these people where they are today - the skill, passion, luck, and unique personal vision. The fashion world is evolving faster than ever and influencing our culture in ways we never imagined, due in part to the democratisation of the internet. With the advent of fashion film well underway as the medium de jour, the lines between fashion and art are becoming increasingly blurred. Through a close up on these two individuals we ultimately observe how far the industry has come and where it is headed next.

The first in the series takes a look at designer Gareth Pugh - best known for this elaborate and eccentric designs. He invites us in to his studio to talk about his ongoing collaborations with fashion filmmaker Ruth Hogben and he explains why he believes film is so instrumental in the fashion industry. 

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Here Comes Brand Love: Edward Burns / Tiffany & Co

(*  Source: Voytech.com *)

 

Tiffany & Co has launched the WhatMakesLoveTrue.com website featuring filmic and photographic tales of real-life couples recalling their romantic experiences. The digital destination also explores New York, ‘the ultimate city for falling ecstatically in love’.

WhatMakesLoveTrue.com has bowed with a short film, Will You Marry Me?, from Edward Burns, created exclusively for the campaign. The actor/director shot the couples in iconic Manhattan settings, including the city’s skyline as a majestic backdrop, a cobbled street in Greenwich Village, and the Hudson River at dusk.

There’s also a Tiffany Tips: When Love Gets Serious channel, a compendium of guidelines for couples gleaned from the prestige brand’s 175 years’ experience of the subject. “Tips touch on mutual respect and the art of compromise; how important it is to be oneself, to listen carefully and keep excitement alive,” says Tiffany. “There are also clever caveats regarding money and family matters that help make true love run smooth.”

In addition, the brand has compiled a playlist of classic love songs as well as songs aimed at inspiring a new generation of romantics. One of them, singer-songwriter Josh Radin’s arrangement of the classic hit, You’re the First, the Last, My Everything, will be introduced exclusively on the website. Tiffany will release other exclusive new songs by various artists throughout the year.

Consumers can also enter the world of branded romance though a companion iPhone app, while lovers can post digital hearts on an online map of New York to suggest a favourite rendezvous or tell a location-based story, and share on Facebook.

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Oakley has eyes for Facebook

(* Source: BrandE.biz *)

 

Oakley will launch a six-month campaign, You Vs, on 13 June aimed at growing the European community on its new Facebook page. A teaser film, produced and seeded by Bigballs Films, will feature archive Oakley footage and voiceovers, plus a CTA to join and ‘like’ the brand’s Europe Facebook page.

Once they’re fans, users will then be directed to a microsite on Oakley.com/eu to view a series of interactive brand films featuring Oakley athletes like Mark Cavendish, Kevin Pieterson, Ian Poulter, Janko Tipsarevic and Sebastien Loeb.

In the films, the athlete invites the user to take part in a You-Vs-them sporting challenge where POV action sequences based on their decisions put the user at the centre of the action. And their experience will be personalised through graphics, text and photographs of them and their Facebook friends.

“With You Vs we’ve blurred the lines between the real and online worlds,” says Chris Kelly, director at Bigballs Films. “The personalised, interactive film format seamlessly blends social functionality with a competition mechanic to reward existing Oakley fans, as well as reaching out to new ones, making them feel part of something exclusive and exciting.”

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June 10, 2011

Into the Film Night: Stella Artois

(* Source:  Steve Mullins *)

 

OK, Stella Artois and film has been done. But theatre? Well, the brand’s Night Chauffeur campaign isn’t the stage as we know it, but cinema acted out on the city streets of London.

Stella Artois Black drinkers need to fill in an entry card and wait for that e-mail so they can reserve tickets. Once they’re in the experience and in the designated bar (there are 10 happenings in all, with the first slated to kick off at Village East in Bermondsey) they get a chauffeur-driven Citroen DS taking them around town where they meet various characters – like femmes fatales and secret agents – from various nouvelle vague movies. We’re talking street theatre with a cinematic bent.

“Along the way [consumers] will be thrust into what feels like the final act of a film, with an intense narrative, tales of love, loss, loyalty and regret, an immersive and thrilling experience for everyone involved,” the brand says.
“Because Stella Artois Black is an exclusive beer launching in just a few selected bars, instead of writing commercials or posters, we felt the best way to promote this launch would be to create an exclusive theatre experience,” says James Watson, marketing director, Stella Artois Western Europe.
“We wanted to keep the brand’s tradition of telling stories, but in a completely new way for a new product. The aim is to have each person’s experience a unique one.”

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Fashion World Live: Social Network For Fashion Next Generation

(* Source: Agenda Magazine *)


Global publisher of interactive entertainment 505 Games, global fashion, entertainment, and media company IMG, and world-renowned online gaming developer Funcom today announced the pre-launch of Fashion World Live with Creative Director Pat McGrath at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York. Fashion World Live is the first interactive online entertainment platform for fashion lovers and the first to fully integrate fashion brands into social media.

Fashion World Live, due to launch in September 2011, will premiere the first virtual fashion universe to exist in the social media space. Fashion World Live allows users to create and collaborate across all facets of the fashion industry— from design, styling, modeling, makeup artistry, photography, show production and more. Within the Fashion World Live community, which will exist initially on Facebook, users will explore andactivate their own individual creative talents, collaborate and network with each other to create and build various dimensions of the fashion industry, and rise to fame with each challenge and success.

“A realistic and creatively legitimate online destination for fashion insiders and admirers to virtually collaborate is something that has not existed until now,” said Pat McGrath. “Fashion World Live gives fashion its voice in social media and truly reflects the style and ingenuity of the real world of fashion.”

“Fashion World Live brings the industry to a truly global audience through the power of social media,” said Peter Levy, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of IMG Fashion Worldwide. “Fashion World Live is the next evolution of IMG’s forward movement, leading the fashion industry’s break-through into online social media.”

Matthew Primack, Managing Director of Fashion World Live and Vice President of IMG Licensing said, “Fashion World Live is a destination that is creatively and commercially developed for the socially networked consumer world. It will present countless opportunities for major consumer brands to be naturally integrated into a virtual fashion world and it will encourage a personal connection with a globally interactive audience.”

“Our partnership with IMG has enabled the creation of a new platform for the fashion industry and its consumers to engage for the next 50 years,” said Tim Woodley, Head of Global Brands for 505 Games. “Fashion World Live is the ultimate authentic online fashion-focused social community experience where ideas are shared and users are inspired to create and connect with one another.”

“Fashion World Live harnesses the established global community and reach of Facebook--and its endless networking capabilities--to enable millions of users to become part of the fashion industry,” said Trond Arne Aas, CEO of Funcom. ”Fashion World Live is visually and functionallyengaging and creates a unique online space for innovation.”

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Schwarzkopf: The Look of Music

(* Source: Giles Fitzgerald *)

 

One of the most bizarre musical events in this year’s calendar, The Eurovision Song Contest, is set to hit our collective screens in May as the world once again endures some of the most off kilter musical offerings known to man.

Less about music and more about the spectacle of the occasion, the event is now much more than just about song sand one brand is set to capitalise on the visual interest in the performers through its new sponsorship deal.

Schwarzkopf, a leading global beauty brand (part of the Henkel consumer goods company) is the sole Presenting Partner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany.  The brand previously sponsored the show in 2009 when it was held in Moscow.

“The Eurovision Song Contest is truly a perfect fit for our Schwarzkopf brand as they are both unique in heritage and professional quality, reaching millions of homes worldwide,” says Björn Osterndorff, Corporate Director International Media at Henkel.

The brand has debuted a digital destination, entitled ‘The Look of Music,‘ to coincide with its sponsorship offering up VIP tickets to the event to those who create inspiring musical looks with their hair products. Participants are invited to upload their own creations under a variety of musical styles, from rock to pop to hip hop. The most voted for style will have the chance to win tickets, as will some of the voters themselves.

The site – which is currently available in English and German – also features hands-on exclusive styling-tips from top stylist Armin Morbach, who offers advice on creating various ‘Pop’, ‘Rock‘ and ‘Soul‘ music video ready hairstyles.

The UGC element is fairly rudimentary, as is the competition mechanic, however, bearing in mind some of the countries involved overcomplicating the platform may not be the most sensible idea here. Despite the fact the show comes in for some derision by the media in the UK and increased apathy by British consumers it still nets around 120 million viewers through its global syndication, a sizeable Super Bowl audience parallel, yet with a heavy swing towards niche European markets.

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June 09, 2011

Project Imagin8ion: Inspire A Short Film Directed By Ron Howard

(* Source: Emma Hutchings *)



Project Imagin8ion, a photography contest promoted by Canon, invites people to submit their imaginative photos for the chance to inspire a Hollywood short film by Oscar-winning director Ron Howard.

The eight winning photos will be used to shape different aspects of the movie: setting, time, character, mood, relationship, goal, obstacle and the unknown. Contestants can submit a maximum of five photos for each of these categories. They can be uploaded from your computer or selected from your Facebook or Flickr photos. Finalists will be selected by the Project Imagin8ion community (via online voting) and Canon experts, with the Grand Prize for each category chosen by Ron Howard.

A one-minute TV commercial to promote the contest has been created. “Parade” features a city street full of visual effects as an astronaut, a little girl riding a huge diamond dog, a mermaid, firefighters, and a winged knight fighting a giant snake, all pass by Ron Howard’s apartment. He is seemingly unaware, as he gazes at a selection of photographs in search of inspiration.

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HP Broadcasts Live Streaming Comedy Show on YouTube, Inspired by Audience

(* Source:  PopSop.com *)

On January 21, HP launched a crowd-sourced live event and video series ‘HP ePrint Live’ hosted by comedian Rob Riggle that was broadcast live on the web. The brand put viewers in control by allowing them to send ideas for skits via HP ePrint technology—they can simply email submissions for the cast to turn into a performance.
The two-hour live show aired on the HP ePrint Live YouTube channel as well as the HP for Home Facebook page. The event itself wasn’t the only thing on the list since the technology leader also wanted to encourage viewers with writing skills to join the project. The company invited everyone to participate for five days following the show (January 21-26), as suggestions will be converted into original comedy shorts for viewing and sharing across online networks.

“HP continues to explore new ways to engage with its consumers and give them unique content experiences whether they are at home or on the go,” said Tariq Hassan, vice president, Worldwide Marketing and Communications, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. “HP ePrint Live exposes YouTube viewers to a new technology by making it the central communications tool for an original, fun and engaging online event.”

Creative minds can submit their ideas to ideas@hpeprintlive.com. The accepted messages will print to one of the HP printers on stage. Riggle and the team of UCB Theatre comedians will choose skit ideas and perform them live before millions of YouTube viewers.

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Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Searching New Talents

(* Source: PopSop.com *)



Bombay Sapphire, Russell & Danny Simmons’ Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation and Complex Media joined forces to continue the last year initiative called Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series that took place last year as well.

June 7, the 2nd Annual started, which means a nationwide search to identify the finest undiscovered talent in the field of visual arts began. Last year there were nearly 2,000 artist entries and over 175,000 fans from across the country voting to select their favorite works. This year the next wave of artists have all chances to become famous.

Artists who are up to the challenge can enter by creating a piece of inspired, original art and submitting it via www.Complex.com/SapphireArt, www.juxtapoz.com,www.curatedmag.com, www.deviantart.com, www.Facebook.com/BombaySapphire by August 31, 2011. During this time fans can go to the Bombay Sapphire Facebook page and vote for their favorite piece of art.

“The Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series has established itself as a platform for emerging artists who seek to shape our contemporary cultural landscape—artists who look to defy boundaries with the power of their imagination,” says Russell Simmons, Chairman of GlobalGrind.com and co-founder of the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. “With the extraordinary success of last year’s program, I am excited to see what emerges from this year’s roster of talent.”

In 2010, Washington, D.C. photographer Stanley Squirewell and Miami artist Jorge Cavelierwere announced as the first ever winners of the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series and could exhibit their works at Art Basel in Miami, recognized as one of the world’s premiere art events.

This year select artists to display their work at a sequence of gallery exhibits and events, taking place from September through November in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Two artists will be chosen from each local event to compete in the finale during Art Basel Miami. Compiling its own collection of works to display at the Miami finale, will be the next step of the Bombay Sapphire brand.

The submitted works will be reviewed by the program’s esteemed panel of judges, including Rush Philanthropic Vice Chairman, Co-Founder and artist Danny Simmons, program curator Andre Guichard and other guest curators and museum heads from around the country, including famed Miami-based artist Miguel Paredes.

After Art Basel two winners will have their work installed at Rush Arts Gallery and Resource Center in New York City’s Chelsea arts district for the month of February 2012.

Other activities will include creation of a signature Bombay Sapphire cocktail to be photographed by BevShots and featured with its final images at Art Basel; as well as production of a limited edition gift bags and tins highlighting the works of national Artisan Series winners, Danny Simmons and program curator Andre Guichard. The souvenirs will be available with the purchase of a Bombay Sapphire 750ml bottle.

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Graffiti Can Live Forever — Google Releases Street Art View Powered by Red Bull

 (* Source: Amanda Cosco *)

 

Street art has a temporary lifespan.

Unlike classical art, which hangs safely on the walls of art galleries and museums inside frames and behind glass-casings and thick red velvet ropes, urban art isn’t protected in any way. In fact, graffiti art remains counter-cultural and subversive precisely because of it’s interaction with (and integration into) public spaces.

Since the release of Banksy’s street art documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, there’s a frantic urge to document graffiti around the world before it literally disintegrates before our eyes, weathering away into our long- forgotten past.

Enter Google Street Art View.

The search engine turned multinational company now offers digital voyeurism across the globe, focusing in on cityscapes that have been branded, sprayed, muraled and tagged – both legally and illegally.

The project – which is fueled by Red Bull – provides an instantly updated record of street art that is searchable by artist or area. After only a few days on the air, more than 200 walls have been tagged in countries across the world, and experts anticipate that Google Street Art View will be the biggest online art collection in the world.

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Perrier turns up the temperature

(* Source: Giles Fitzgerald *) 

 

Perrier have released a somewhat voyeuristic marketing effort via the brand’s YouTube channel, as they offer up ‘Le Club’ the first YouTube video promotion that evolves based on the number of viewers who tune in.

The bottled water brand has uploaded a total of six separate versions of the same video, which depicts a low-lit point of view nightclub scene, to the site. A teaser video highlights a number of female club attendees as they strut around looking hot (in both senses of the word).

As more viewers tune in the club scene becomes more developed. “The more people who watch, the hotter the party” states Perrier. A temperature gauge next to the videos highlights which videos in the series have been unlocked, as the brand invites visitors to “share the heat”.  (Although the teaser element suggests something more seedy, we’re led to believe that the packed club actually starts to melt by the last video)

The promotion – part of a wider campaign that is live in US, France, Belgium and Canada this summer – is directly related to Societe Perrier, the brand’s blog destination that has been running since May last year, which acts as a hub for social nightlife experiences.

An accompanying sweepstakes also offers up the chance to win VIP access to the “Le Club Perrier” party in September in New York at one of the city’s hottest nightclubs.

Music in the YouTube campaign is supplied by Babe Youth, and the brand has provided a link to a free download of the track at the band’s website, offering up a dose of good karma for the brand with its youth audience, and a great bit of click through awareness for the group.

The videos themselves were created by Nez Khammal, who has worked on music videos for the likes of Kid Cudi, M.I.A. and Mika, again adding to the credibility of this nightlife based promotion.

In addition to all the digital activity there are some basic, yet interesting point of sale activities in bars and cafes, including phone numbers printed on napkins which invite those who ring to receive text messages related to the promotion and competition.

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June 08, 2011

The Pepsi Music Index: a New Ranking of Emerging Musicians

(* Source: PopSop *) 

Pepsi is celebrating up-and-coming artists by launching a new system that rates their popularity based on social media buzz around them. The iconic soda brand launched The Pepsi Music Index, a live ranking engine which analyses people’s real-time opinions on the performers and presents ‘the feedback’ in a clear ranking. The new system is very similar tothe MTV Music Meter launched in mid-December 2010, which also builds a chart of the most popular emerging performers based on real-time discussions about them in the digital world.
The brand presented The Pepsi Music Index at the South by Southwest Music festival (SXSW), which was running in Austin, TX from March 11 through March 20. PepsiCo commissioned The Fader, a United States-based music/culture/fashion magazine, to pick up 250 emerging bands with 100 of which to be then featured in the ranking—they also were invited to perform on the festival stage. The developers built a discovery engine, which is ‘reading’ statuses, updates, posts and tweets in real time to figure out which 100 performers of the 250 are most discussed (the bigger digital buzz a band creates, the higher position it takes) and so have a potential to succeed on a music scene and have record sales in future. Pepsi’s engine, powered by Bluefin Labs, is “scientifically analyzing real-time conversations about the artists across the social ecosystem” as the press release states.


The ranking was projected onto large monitors at The Fader Fort in Austin, TX, at SXSW from March 16 through March 19, during the Music week of the festival. It’s not mentioned when PepsiCo and The Fader will continue the initiative beyond the festival and choose another two hundred and a half artists to be ranked based on their popularity around the web.  ”We’re excited about the possibilities inherent in the Pepsi Music Index, the value it can provide to the music community and look forward to learning and continuing to refine the index together with fans and the music community,” commented Shiv Singh, head of digital for PepsiCo Beverages.

 

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Fashion Designer Turns to Polyvore to Find Fashion Week Stylist

(* Source: SignatureVirus *) 

 

Accessories designer Rebecca Minkoff is staged her first show at New York Fashion Week ans she turned to online styling community Polyvore to find a stylist for the show.

Users created fashion collages with pieces from Minkoff’s spring collection and submitted them to the contest. Minkoff  selected her favorite look and flew the winner to New York City for three days to help her style the show.
Previously, the winner of another recent Minkoff-sponsored contest on Polyvore, in which more than 4,000 users competed to design the brand’s next “morning after clutch” using photographs of materials selected by Minkoff herself. The winning clutch will go on sale this spring under the Rebecca Minkoff label.

Polyvore is just one of the many platforms the brand has recently begun leveraging to engage users online. Minkoff recently named former independent fashion blogger Daniel Saynt the new Chief Marketing Officer for the company. Previously, Saynt consulted with Minkoff and a number of more established brands, including Burberry and Louis Vuitton, on social media initiatives, and is now pushing the company onto new platforms.

Saynt is working aggressively to align Minkoff with the creators of what he sees as the next generation of media, mainly by developing partnerships with blog networks such as Bloglovin, as well as individual fashion bloggers. In addition to branded promotions, chosen bloggers are now invited to borrow Rebecca Minkoff accessories for everyday use, a privilege previously limited to celebrities and the editors of major magazines.

Saynt is also looking at younger platforms, such as SCVNGR and GoldRun to create new kinds of experiences.
“I think it’s important for brands to take calculated risks,” he says. “You want to be ahead, doing what’s next and ahead of the curve. It’s not about Facebook and Twitter anymore, it’s about so much more online.”
In addition, Saynt is planning to fill the front row of the company’s first fashion show not just with celebrities, buyers, editors from traditional media and fashion bloggers, but also with influential CEOs in the tech industry.
“We want to work with companies that are pushing where media is going, we want to be associated with them,” he says, citing Tumblr as an example. “We’re a brand growing phenomenally, and we want to make sure we can associate our brand with [those companies] in every way possible. They are determining the future of retail.”

 

Posted by brian tiong at 03:42 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Nars Launches Interactive Makeover Site for Beauty Enthusiasts

(* Source: Lauren Indvik *) 

 

To promote the forthcoming release of a makeup how-to book from Nars founder and creative director François Nars, the company has launched a microsite of makeover tutorials with a strong community component.

The site, which marks the Shiseido-owned company’s largest digital initiative to date, contains 12 step-by-step tutorials adapted from the pages of the book.

To encourage visitors to try out the products and makeovers, Nars is offering 13 prizes to the women who upload photos of their makeovers to the site. The look with the most votes by August 31 will win a backstage pass to New York Fashion Week in February 2012, travel accommodations included.

The contest not only promises to increase engagement on the site, but it also creates a rich resource of user-generated imagery. It gives visitors an idea of how featured makeovers will appear when applied by less expert hands on a variety of complexions.

The site, which was designed and developed by agency ceft and company, features heavy Facebook integration throughout. One must log in to Facebook to vote and comment on looks, and users are somewhat frequently prompted to share content with their Facebook friends.

When asked why Nars created a separate site for the experience, rather than building it directly into Facebook, a spokesperson said that it was important for the site to have “our own aesthetic and feeling” — a complaintoften expressed by fashion and beauty brands that want to use social media but don’t want their content to sit under a Facebook or YouTube logo.

 

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Intel: Targeting a Digitally Savvy Audience

(* Source: Erica Swallow *)


 

Ad agency Amsterdam Worldwide unveiled the first in a series of blogger films, called “Visual Life,” for technology brand Intel back in January 2011. The series showcases top bloggers discussing how they use technology and how it has transformed their work.

The first video of the series documented the work of fashion blogger and photographer Scott Schumann, The Sartorialist. The video garnered nearly a quarter of a million views in its first two weeks and has been viewed more than 850,000 times on YouTube and the Intel site, helping increase Intel’s YouTube channel views by 200%.

The video went viral when it was embedded on The Sartorialist blog, but also gained a lot of views from Facebook, The Cool Hunter and mobile devices. This campaign has done quite well, as it targets a digital savvy audience that is interested in learning about how top bloggers are utilizing photo and video technologies. Such viewers are more likely to share the videos with their social graphs, increasing the virality of the series.

This week, the campaign launched its most recent video (embedded above), which documents the role technology plays for two young Chinese wedding photographers, Kitty and Lala.

Overall, the series takes on a lifestyle approach that is uncommon for tech brands, focusing on the effects that technology has had on each video’s featured subject, both personally and professionally.

 

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Bergdorf Goodman & Lucky Magazine Host Casting Call on Facebook

(* Source: Lauren Indvik *) 

 

Bergdorf Goodman is using Facebook to find models for its “Faces of 5F” fall advertising campaign, set to debut in Lucky magazine’s October issue.

The contest is one of a string of admirably progressive social media campaigns the Manhattan-based luxury retailer has launched in recent months, including a Facebook contest to design a Fendi tote and a competition to design one of its store windows on Polyvore.

Like the Fendi design contest, the “Faces of 5F” campaign is hosted on a separate tab on the retailer’s Facebook Page, where users can submit a short questionnaire and two photos from now until June 24. Men and women over the age of 16 without modeling contracts are eligible; semi-finalists will be invited to a casting call on July 7, from which a panel of judges, including Lucky Editor in Chief Brandon Holley, will select the winners.

 

 

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June 07, 2011

5 Gum ‘Stimulates Your Senses’ with 3rd Annual ‘Vive tu Musica’ Music Battle

(* Source: PopSop.com *)  

 

Wrigley’s 5 gum is inviting talented bands from across the nation to participate in the 3rd annual Vive tu Musica with 5™ ultimate concert. This year the online talent-search competition for unsigned rock and pop-star hopefuls has a new twist. New to 2011, selected bands will compete for a place in the finale concert within the new Vive tu Musica with 5 reality TV show. Ten bands will be voted to appear on the reality show to showcase their talent while taking part in a series of musical challenges.

Musicians and bands can now upload their video/audio demos on vivetumusica5.com through April 4. Between April 7—May 1, fans can cast their votes online to help choose the top 10 bands to move onto the reality TV show. Through a series of challenges, five finalist bands will proceed to perform with the popular Mexican band Belanova and before a panel of industry and celebrity judges in a LIVE concert on August 11 at the Club Nokia in Los Angeles. LATV, the nation’s first bilingual music/entertainment network, will air the concert within the new Vive tu Musica with 5 reality TV show that is scheduled to launch on July 10. As part of the grand prize, the winning band will perform at the LATV En Concierto, receive a private professional photo shoot, an opportunity to showcase their music before an industry panelist with production cost covered and will also win a gift card for new music equipment.

“For 5 gum, music is the ultimate way to stimulate the senses and Vive tu Musica with 5 offers the ultimate music battle to help find the best unsigned talent in the Latin rock & pop genre,” said Juan Carlos Davila, Wrigley’s U.S. Multicultural Marketing Director. “This year the program moves into a new dimension by adding the Vive tu Musica with 5 reality TV show competition to find our five finalists. We are excited to provide the opportunity for aspiring musicians to receive national exposure and perform in front of key industry influencers and thousands of fans.”

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Take On Ted

(* Source: PSFK.com *)

Take On Ted

Ted Baker London went live broadcasting the ‘world’s first remote-controlled, digitally-powered live styling project’. Key US fashion bloggers will be in charge of a professional styling studio in Ted Baker’s London headquarters, using a live video stream and Twitter – and nothing more. Each of 7 selected US fashion bloggers has 15 minutes to demonstrate their fashion expertise by styling exclusive Ted Baker looks, via Twitter. In London, hair stylists, make-up artists and models will be taking direction from these US bloggers and wearing about 450 items from Ted Baker’s Autumn/Winter 2010 collection.

You can follow the event on Ted Baker’s Twitter stream (@ted_baker), and via theTed Baker blog. In addition to the bloggers, any interested participants are invited to pitch styling suggestions by Tweeting Ted with the hash tag #takeonted. The best ideas may win a prize.

We found this to offer an example of how a brand can use an influencer strategy (tapping into key fashion bloggers) to generate excitement in the brand’s current line. By inviting everyone to participate, it’s also making the brand more accessible, beyond the traditional fashion editorial crowd.

 

Posted by brian tiong at 07:12 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Range Rover goes viral with OK Go and their new geo-mapping app

(* Source: TheNextWeb.com *) 

 

Hire awesome band, add geo-location app, throw in some cool visuals and voila! In Los Angeles, musical innovators OK Go took to the streets with their instruments to embark on a five-hour, 8-mile parade. Using Range Rover’s Pulse of the City app, which utilizes GPS technology, they made a giant geo-art OK Go sign, branding themselves into the fabric of L.A.’s city streets.

The idea behind the “Evoque Pulse of the City” project, spearheaded by Range Rover Europe to promote the Evoque, their latest automobile, is for OK Go to create a beautiful, geo-mapped, street parade in celebration of their home city, Los Angeles, California. The band described the project as a “big, awesome psycho-spatial geo-musical techno-sonic parade party.” Range Rover wants consumers to do the same thing with their own streets in their own city and with their own designs, using the app’s technology to “write, draw, dance and scream out loud the things you want to tell the world about the place you live and love. When that’s done the band will pick the best ones to accompany an exclusive video launching in January 2011.” The campaign fits in with Range Rover’s description ofthe Evoque, calling it a car that was inspired by some of the most exciting cities in the world.”

Ever wonder what your day looked like? Created by Fantasy Interactive, Inc. Range Rover’s Pulse of the City app tracks your journey around a city and then “brings it to life with a unique visualization.” I haven’t played with it yet, but if it’s really awesome, I’ll let you know. Range Rover “wants to bring the world’s cities to life through the people that make them amazing.” Every month they will be asking users questions about their city and the answers will become part of a larger visual project.

The electric parade began yesterday afternoon in Los Angeles as OK Go and an accompanying parade played songs from the band’s new album, “Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky,” as well as dozens of covers.

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Shazam Teams Up With The Wombats To Create Scratch-Off Website Replete With Prizes

(* Source: Brenna Ehrlich *) 

 

As a musician, you could send out an email entreating folks to check out your new album, or you could create a rad, interactive experience bursting with music and freebies for fans to get them pumped for said album. Indie rock band The Wombats chose the latter option.

In order to introduce their new album, The Wombats Proudly Present … This Modern Glitch (out April 25), the British band has teamed up with music discovery service Shazam to create www.wombatizer.com. Upon visiting the URL, enter in any site you wish to “Wombatize” (as you can see above, I chose Mashable).

The site then transforms into a Wombats-themed location, in which you can “scratch off” images in order to reveal videos, pictures, giveaways (including a free download) and songs. By Shazaming a certain song when prompted, a user will garner a promo code, which he or she can then use to enter a contest. The prize? A trip to see the band play in Spain on May 21.

We’re increasingly seeing musicians call upon fans to interact with their music pre-release. Just yesterday,Jennifer Lopez launched an initiative on her Facebook Page, calling upon her followers to “Like” her new song in order to unlock it early on iTunes.

What do you think of efforts like this when it comes to hyping an album release? Do they make you more likely to hit “buy”? Do they make you feel more involved with the work of the band in question?

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June 06, 2011

Fashioncast 2.0: Socializing The Runway With DKNY

 (* Source: Jackie Rangel *)

 Fashioncast 2.0: Socializing The Runway With DKNY

While most fashion eyes may be on the couture shows in Paris this week, the quintessentially American brand DKNY garnered attention on Monday night by hosting an online showing of its Spring 2011 ready-to-wear line. Taking cues from Burberry, DKNY jumped on the digital bandwagon, adding an interactive twist to the webcast-meets-fashion-show recipe (while also conveniently timed with the imminent rollout of the collection).
 

To do this, DKNY ran the show on BigLive.com, a relatively new site that aims to inject an element of social discovery into the world of online entertainment. Although the collection was originally presented last September, the social networking site offered viewers the opportunity to chat with one another, discussing each style as it paraded down the catwalk. Adding another layer of social engagement, the event was moderated by @dkny, the anonymous social media darling known as ‘DKNY PR Girl’ who has amassed over 250,000 Twitter followers. Viewers and participants were also offered an exclusive (and limited-time) 15% discount on purchases made

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Uniqlooks: Uniqlo’s New Fashion Community

(* Source: Paloma Vazquez *) 

 Uniqlooks: Uniqlo’s New Fashion Community

Japanese retailer Uniqlo has launched ‘Uniqlooks’, the brand’s new fashion community. The site affords customers, fans and visitors the opportunity to populate the global community with images of themselves wearing Uniqlo merchandise in varying combinations. The photographs represent the brand’s global audience, whose looks can be voted on by visitors. According to Uniqlo, ‘the most popular looks will be recognized by specialists from a variety of fields such as fashion and design’. We’re not yet sure who these specialists are, and if the looks will be recognized in any other fashion beyond selecting and showcasing a ‘look of the week’ and its creator.  From our perspective, Uniqlooks seeks to engage fans and brand advocates by making their community both their models and their stylists.

 

One aspect we couldn’t help but notice is the predominance of ‘Sartorialist‘ influenced street style photography on fashion and retail properties lately, including the Gap 1969 Stream, which we recently discussed. The shots are beautiful and celebrate the customer as the stylist – vs. the styles more traditionally curated and merchandised by retailers on professional models. We can’t help but wonder if the democratization of fashion also involves the ‘Sartorialization’ of fashion retail photography?

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Brand As Matchmaker: Moleskine Marketplace

(* Source: Emma Hutchings *) 

Brand As Matchmaker: Moleskine Marketplace


The Moleskine Artist Marketplace is an online community, currently in beta, where people can buy and sell customized Moleskine notebooks. Artists use the authentic Moleskine notebooks as their blank canvas, create a unique design for the cover, and then sell it to a customer. Payments are made using Paypal, and notebooks are shipped out directly from the designer to the buyer.

There are a large number of techniques used to customize the covers, which you can explore on the site. Adhesive, carved, collage, embroidered, painted, recycled, sketched, and many other ways to create a one-of-a-kind notebook. You can search by technique, the type of notebook, and the occasion if you are buying it for a gift. A keyword search or the ability to search for notebooks by theme would be a useful addition. There is also a ‘Meet the artists’ page on the website where you can view the profiles of those who have submitted notebook designs and ‘like’ them.

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Prediction: Facebook Will Surpass Google In Advertising Revenues

(* Source: Hussein Fazal *)

 

Despite all their success, Facebook’s revenues are still far behind the search giant, and claiming that they will surpass Google is a bold statement. However, there is a very clear path for this to happen and it is simply a question of when. The timeline will be dependent on how aggressively Facebook executes on their advertising products. The fundamental reason why Facebook’s revenues will surpass Google is the untapped power of social advertising. The concept that your friend “likes” and endorses the content behind a particular ad unit changes the game.

Data from over a hundred billion Facebook marketplace (right-hand-column) impressions that AdParlor has managed shows indisputable evidence that social ads produce a significant jump in performance. In several cases, we have seen social marketplace ads double the Click-Through-Rate (CTR) and deliver 5-10x the volume of impressions at the same Cost-Per-Click (CPC) bid compared to regular marketplace ads on Facebook (plain-vanilla display ads not socially targeted). Combine that with a lift in brand recall (1.6X), message awareness (2X), and purchase intent (4X) and we can see why social ads is an extremely powerful product. However, to see the real benefit, we need to look beyond the right-hand column ads and see how social advertising can be applied in other areas. Data from Nielsen shows a similar trend:



Display Advertising
When looking at online advertising revenues as a whole, roughly a quarter come from display. With over 2.5 million web sites having integrated with Facebook Connect and 10,000 new ones joining daily, Facebook is building up a huge network of external web sites with deep Facebook integration. While Google and others leverage re-targeting, Facebook will be able to take it one step further with social re-targeting. If my significant-other visits Nordstrom.com and “likes” a pair of boots, that advertisement could now follow both of us around the web.
Social will be the next fundamental change, and Facebook is positioned to take advantage of it.

Search Advertising
Roughly 45% of online advertising revenues come from search. The reason why search is so much more powerful than any other medium is because it targets users that have explicit purchase intent.
Alongside Facebook’s deeper integration with Bing, it is inevitable that at some point we will see advertising that combines the power of intent-based search with social recommendations. However, this will be dependent on how much users are willing to share and “like.” This will undoubtedly be more powerful than traditional search.
Even with this layer of social, in order to be successful, search market share must be won. With Facebook’s social graph, they have the first real opportunity at dethroning Google and winning that market share. Whether Microsoft ends up selling their money-losing search business to Facebook as a starting point, or whether Facebook builds an independent search product from the ground-up, this is where the biggest impact will be made in increasing Facebook’s advertising revenues relative to Google.

Mobile Advertising
With over 250 Million active users accessing Facebook via their mobile device, Facebook is building up an audience on the hottest emerging platform. Combine local with mobile and social—and you have the blueprint to build a money-spitting machine. Facebook could theoretically serve you an advertisement like this directly on your phone—“You and your good friend John are a block away from each other, you both like Pizza and its lunch time, go to Pizza Hut together and save $5 on your order”—of course with less words and more pretty pictures. 

While many people think about Facebook as a powerhouse due to the number of users on the site, the real power comes with the way they are mapping users to their friends and the products, people, and places that they “like.” When Facebook decides to turn up the revenue dial, they will be able to leverage this graph and create powerful social ads across multiple platforms to a degree of scale and sophistication that no other company can match.

 

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June 05, 2011

Music Startup & Coffee Shop Team Up for Live Online Concert Series

(* Source:  Jolie O'Dell *)

 

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, a classic L.A.-based coffee chain, is partnering with StageIt, an SF-based music startup, to bring an exclusive series of concerts to a web-wide audience.

The Live from The Coffee Bean concert series will be performed live from Coffee Bean stores and will stream exclusively on StageIt.com, where fans will get an intimate, front-row-seat experience with indie bands and musicians.

StageIt solves a problem the music and tech industries have been working on for a couple of years: How can musicians make money online beyond just selling tracks and merchandise? The startup lets fans and “superfans” purchase virtual tickets for webcam-based performances that include live chats with the artist.

StageIt aims to create special experiences for fans, and also aims to let artists find and speak directly to the fans who care most about them. The platform also has a built-in tipping system for fans who want to show a little extra love — and they often do.

StageIt solves a problem unique to the music industry and does so very well. We’re sure the company’s provenance has a lot to do with its early successes; founder Evan Lowenstein is one half of Evan and Jaron, the pop group behind the 2000 hit, “Crazy for This Girl.” Sometimes it takes a musician to come up with good tools for fellow musicians.

The Coffee Bean lineup kicks off May 16 with indie-pop singer Lelia Broussard and alt-rock artist Terra Naomi, who will perform from a Coffee Bean store in Beverly Hills. Both artists are particularly known for their popular YouTube clips.

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Beck’s Art Crawl: The Art Label Turns 25

(* Source:  PopSop.com *)

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of its ongoing Art Labels campaign, Beck’s is presenting the best graphics which appeared on its limited edition bottles over the past two and a half decades. The exhibit dubbed ‘Beck’s Art Crawl’ and is rolling out at eight pubs across East London from April 11 through April 28, unveiling the archive of bespoke label artworks by celebrated international artists including Tracey Emin, Jeff Koons, Bruce McLean, Richard Long, Tim Head, Tony Oursler, Tim Noble & Sue Webster and Roderick Buchanan.

The brand also invites its fans to join the celebration in two ways—by dropping in on the participating pubs or creating their own imagery. They can visit the venues, where the graphics are on display (each of the pubs features one art label), and win limited edition prints by iconic artists as well as one of 150 bottles of Beck’s beer. In addition to this, beer fans who check-in to these locations via Facebook will be able to listen to exclusive new audio interviews with the artist, who created the labels.

Beck’s thinks about the future as well, and is viewing to expand its collection of art visuals. The brand is inviting aspiring students from the UK’s leading art colleges to come up with their own unconventional designs for a new Beck’s Art Label. If their creations will be really worth it, the young artists will have them painted on Saturday, April 16. They can submit their works to the the Beck’s Vier Facebook page, and in a few days the contestants will be shortlisted by the brand to only six—the winning designs will be taken to a wall on Great Eastern Street, Shoreditch, by leading art collective End of the Line during the Art Crawl LIVE event.

In addition to this, Beck’s is also inviting photographers to register as groups of 2-4 members and participate in the Shoot Experience event on April 16 by creating their own labels inspired by the labels’ graphics and the streets of London, In the end of the day, the stills will be judged, and each member of the winning team will receive a limited edition print of the Art Label artwork of their choice plus a limited edition print of Douglas Gordon‘s Art Label.

 

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adidas Released the Women’s Lookbook SS11 with an Art Touch

(* Source: Brands Magazine Online *) 

adidas Originals presents Women’s Lookbook SS11, featuring original looks created by 9 stylists from 9 cities across the globe. The outfits were made as tribute to the locations, where the fashion experts reside, and so embody their unique approach, which can be rated by the visitors to the online destination.

“Sidewalk meets catwalk, vintage mixes with trendy, sporty get a glam-over. Stylists from 9 fashion forward cities compete in one-on-one battles to represent their turf. You vote on who styled it best,” says the brand at the lookbook’s page.

Today, New York’s outfit (styled byStreet Peeper and Styl Bubble) has stepped against Rio de Janeiro’s look (styled by Rioetc), with the second winning with 62% votes so far. The cities represented by designers include the two ones mentioned above as well as Paris (on the top in the overall ranking), Stockholm (the second place), Milan, Berlin, Hong Kong, London and Tokyo—NYC is the third on the list (the results are changing all the time).

Fashionistas can explore other looks as well as the collection itself at the dedicated hub and download it in the PDF format. They are also invited to learn more about the stylists, visit their blogs and social media channels, find out what they like and get inspired with. To add a touch of art to the presentation, the portraits of all the stylists participating in the project are made in watercolor.

 

 

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Dole Partners with Artists and Designers to Help It Inspire Salad Users

(* Source: PopSop.com *) 

 

America’s salad lovers are as excited about making their salads as they are in the final result. And many of them fancy themselves as true culinary artists.These were the findings that led to a new Dole® Salads marketing campaign that uses professional celebrity artists from various non-food genres to inspire consumers to new heights of culinary creativity using Dole’s line of 38 salad blends and all-natural kits.Breaking on May 4, Dole’s ‘Find Your Inspiration’ campaign stars Canadian interior designer Candice Olson as the first in a series of non-food VIPs who apply their distinctive art form to salad creation. Other artists to be spotlighted in the campaign will include fashion designers, musicians, photographers and dancers.

One of the largest salad-specific marketing campaigns in Dole history, ‘Find Your Inspiration’ will combine extensive digital and mobile advertising, in-store promotions, coupons and a consumer sweepstakes with dedicated Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages spotlighting the celebrity artists.

Other campaign elements include QR and Short codes on Dole POS materials that link salad shoppers directly to new product recipes, pairings, nutrition and other information, and a PR program that features Candice Olson appearances on local TV stations across the U.S.

A highlight of the new campaign is Dole’s Inspired Kitchen Sweepstakes, which gives packaged salad and culinary enthusiasts the chance to win a one-on-one kitchen design inspiration session with Olson in her home city of Toronto, Ontario, and up to a $50,000 kitchen remodel budget to implement the inspired results.

Three second-place winners will be sent to a Culinary Institute of America (CIA) campus in New York, California or Texas for a five-day CIA ‘Culinary Boot Camp Basic Training’ cooking vacation which includes round-trip transportation, accommodations, course tuition and materials, and a special CIA cooking toolkit.

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June 03, 2011

"Being Henry" An Interactive Film By Range Rover

(* Source: Paloma Vazquez *)

‘Being Henry’: An Interactive Film By Range Rover

Land Rover, The Brooklyn Brothers London, Somesuch & Co with director Nick Gordon and Less Rain have collaborated to produce Being Henry, a fully interactive ‘Action –Love – Fantasy – Comedy – Adventure’ film about choices. The online film affords viewers the opportunity to make Henry’s choices, via a choose-your-own-adventure style interaction. Leo Fitzpatrick of The Wire plays Henry throughout the film’s nine different story lines and 32 potential endings. Starting out as a an apparently normal, mundane day, that story may escalate from deciding on breakfast cereal to shooting rats to being kidnapping and tortured by instrument of choice, among others. The outcome depends on the viewer’s choices on Henry’s behalf.

The theme and idea behind the interactive film – choices, is meant to embody the wide variety of options available the Range Rover Evoque. Ultimately, the choices made by the viewer on Henry’s behalf translate into their perfect car. Very subtle color, situational and emotional references in each choice are used to compile a personalized auto recommendation to each viewer.

The film, which is part of the Pulse of the City campaign we’ve covered previously, is due to be launched to all English speaking markets on May 5th; this 24 hr advance screening is exclusive to PSFK readers, before the campaign’s global roll-out. The film, along with the overall Pulse of the City campaign, represent a major shift by Range Rover in terms of brand tonality and target, allowing it to engage a  younger audience than what it traditionally has appealed to.

The Land Rover – Brooklyn Brothers London collaboration has resulted in a highly customizable, unique piece of branded content and interactive storytelling. We findBeing Henry interesting because of its interactivity and for its subtle and final integration of the auto’s features and benefits at the film’s conclusion. Proof that branded content can be both entertaining and relevant to and informative of the brand that sponsors it.

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Social Media’s Evolving Role In Fashion Week

(* Source: Laura Feinstein *)

 Social Media’s Evolving Role In Fashion Week

Now that the dust has settled from perhaps one of the more hectic fashion weeks in recent memory, photos have been posted,videos uploaded, and assessments made. Just how were this season’s events changed by the rapid shifts to the use of digital technology that took place this year? When thinking of trends and New York Fashion Week, one would traditionally conjure images of runway shows or popular pantone colors. This year, however, the most interesting developments to come out of this 7 day celebration of all- things- style pertained to the growing influence of social media on the week’s events. From being last year’s niche applications, to this year’s key discussion topics, there’s no denying the elephant in the room: the fashion world and its players must learn to embrace social media, along with the bloggers who are pioneering it, or face irrelevancy.

This lesson was no more painfully clear than to the traditional fashion media elite. While in the past, movie stars and magazine editors claimed most of the front row attention, this year popular bloggers like Susie Bubble, Fashion Toast, and newcomer and The Man Repeller have started claiming their formerly reserved seats, as well as becoming celebrities in their own right. At the Diesel BlackGold show, Internet persona Cory Kennedy filmed a livestream interview segment , with one of the main highlights being her interview with foremost bloggers- something which cemented their elevation in status from the digital peanut gallery to seasoned tastemakers. One of the real digital stars of fashion week, Bryan Boy, even had a crew follow him as he journeyed from tent to studio, with his entire online audience being able to follow him at home. Social media has also extended to changing the way in which fashionistas navigate NYFW. With newly launched Fashion GPS , people can now RSVP for shows online and automatically correct lists, as well as streamline press information- something which should have been common place but up until now proved one of the largest headaches of the season.

So just what does this mean for the future of fashion week and social media’s tenuous alliance? What will come of this rapid digital evolution in the fashion world? And as many in the field may be wondering: is blogging just a fad that’ll pass?

Those on the inside say no. At the recent Evolving Influence conference held byIndependent Fashion Bloggers, major figures in the world of blogging discussed candidly how they’ve been both wooed by brands and dissed by major editors, two things which are not entirely unrelated as the collective power of bloggers (and their ever growing audiences) are becoming a major point of anxiety, debate, and even perhaps envy for the media establishment. While periodicals like Vogue and Glamour may hold the prestige, with every reader a site gets, their collective power and advertising allure grows stronger.

This became more and more apparent at the conference, as the biggest words in the air besides “monetize” and “audience “ included brand collaboration. While hype surrounding high/low collabs has died down recently with the economy bouncing back and consumers being more able (or rather willing) to buy high end goods for just a little more, rather than purchase fast fashion diffusion lines,blogger x brand collaborations seem to be gaining traction.

Non-incidentally, several of the panelists in attendance at Evolving Influence had either been approached by brands, or were actively engaged with a project. However for those quick to cry “sellout” or even “payola” , these big name collabs could hardly be called fast paydays. Speakers often talked of their hesitancy to work with companies they felt either didn’t fit with their site, or of opportunities that didn’t match their needs, and how they had the savvy to forgo the short term paycheck for long-term relationships- both with companies and their own readerships. While none of this was revolutionary, there was an unspoken sentiment of caution to those eager to lend their names or influence indiscriminately: “Your readers gave you this power because they like and trust your opinions, but forget about them and they can also take it away”.

 

 

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Oscar de la Renta Previews New Scent on Facebook

(* Source: Stephanie Pottinger *)

 Oscar de la Renta Previews New Scent On Facebook

With a simple ‘like’ of a dedicated Facebook page, 5,000 fans will be able to get their hands on a sample of Oscar de la Renta’s first eau de parfum in 10 years. Head of marketing for the American fashion house, Michele de Bourbon, told Mashable that the online initiative allows fans of Oscar de la Renta’s who might not be able to afford his more extravagant, couture pieces to “‘experience the world of Oscar’ through its more affordable fragrance line.” She also revealed that the brand sees its Facebook following as an integral value for the company, and that value is only growing. Esprit d’Oscar will be available for retail purchase in two weeks.

Oscar de la Renta’s soft-launch of its fragrance on Facebook is an inventive move that has already picked up steam in the music community. Jay-Z and Kanye West similarly released the single “H.A.M.” from their upcoming full-length, “Watch the Throne” only to Facebook users who clicked ‘like’ on the song’s dedicated Facebook page. The strategy seems like a win for brands employing it—users gain access to and ownership of a coveted, limited-edition, or exclusive product or experience. And with the users’ ‘like,’ brands gain an entryway to insert their own marketing content into these Facebook users’ news feeds.

Posted by brian tiong at 10:54 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

David Bowie Golden Years Remix App

(* Source: Pierce Fawkes *) 

 

David Bowie is reissuing a 1975 single as an iPhone app. Almost four decades after Golden Years was released, the singer’s remastered classic will be available for fans to remix via dedicated, handheld software.

According to Music Radar, the original 16-track Golden Years has been mixed down to eight stem files: Bowie’s lead vocals, 12-string guitar, bass, drums, guitar, harmonium, percussion and backing vocals. From 6 June, aspiring producers can download the app and create their own variation on Harry Maslin’s original mix. For £1.23, a similar program is already available for Bowie’s Space Oddity.

To accompany the new Golden Years app, EMI enlisted four DJs at Los Angeles’s KCRW radio station to remix the song on a new EP. These versions are now streaming at KCRW’s website, and will be issued as 12ins and downloads. EMI claims that each remix was heard by Bowie himself – though it is not known whether he liked them.

This week has seen the Blu-Ray re-release of Bowie’s first major film role, The Man Who Fell to Earth. The Thin White Duke has also announced the forthcoming release of a limited-edition DVD containing films he made with his son, Source Code film-maker Duncan Jones. Shot when Jones was young, these stop-motion animated shorts will be available on a set entitled CONtenders Volume 2. More information is expected soon.

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June 02, 2011

Qantas: Jam with the Youtube Symphony Orchestra

(* Source: Aden Hepburn *)

 

If you’ve ever wanted to play with the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, then here is your best chance. Qantas is giving away the chance to come down under to jam with the YouTube Symphony Orchestra in Sydney, Australia, as part of their YouTube campaign.

All you have to do is jump onto their YouTube page and enter the Qantas “Open Mic” competition by uploading your not so normal talent, in video form, of course! There isn’t long left, so if you are interested, you’ll need to get in pretty quickly. By Ogilvy Sydney. 

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Cellcom: Live “Interactive” Facebook Concerts

(* Source: FruktComms *)

 

Here’s a clever bit of branded content from Cellcom, Israel’s largest telco, that turns the concept of a music festival into an interactive social media event.

The brand is currently staging an online live music festival that puts the focus on the fans as much as the artists in order to promote ‘Cellcom Volume’, its new Facebook enabled music portal.

A number of the regions biggest acts (or so we’re told) such as ‘Monica Sex’ and ‘Mercedes Bend’ are performing live in front of a Facebook audience, whilst also simultaneously making that audience  a central part of the performance. This is achieved by showcasing the fans’ webcams on a giant constantly rotating screen behind the music acts as they play live, highlighting their reactions whilst also enabling them to comment on the unfolding action.

This turns the experience into an interactive concert, enabling fans to dictate the action by asking for song requests and interacting with the band in real time, face to face as they tune in via PCs and mobile devices.

In addtion, the festival was promoted via a YouTube Takeover campaign that saw leading Israeli musicians Efrat Gosh & Shlomi Shaban denouncing the quality of online live music videos as they set about remodeling their YouTube surroundings to enhance the music experience.

Posted by brian tiong at 07:15 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Starbucks Goes Gaga With Epic Scavenger Hunt

(* Source: Kyana Gordon *)

 Starbucks Goes Gaga With Epic Scavenger Hunt

Lady Gaga has partnered with Amazon, Google, Farmville and even Starbucks for the May 23rd release of her latest album, Born This Way.  The world’s largest coffee shop chain and the world’s most powerful celebrity (according to Forbes) announced partnering in Lady Gaga’s digital and promotional presence in Starbucks U.S. stores through June 3. Last Thursday, Lady Gaga and Starbucks launched ‘SRCH,’ a digital scavenger hunt across its online properties from Facebook to Twitter to Foursquare. Gaga fanatics can follow her exploits and search out clues for a chance to win a boatload of prizes, with the top winner gaining special access to a Lady Gaga concert during her 2012 world tour.

Fans can activate the game by scanning the QR code posted in participating Starbucks stores, or by visiting Frappuccino.com/srch. Additionally, Starbucks will offer a special edition of Born this Way for a limited time beginning May 23rd. On that day, Lady Gaga’s music will be played in Starbucks stores across the U.S. for the first time in the coffee chain’s history. Taking inspiration from alternate reality games, past digital scavenger hunts (like Jay-Zs Decoded campaign last year) and from puzzles and metapuzzles, the outcome is an entertaining and fun experience for fans of both coffee and Lady Gaga.

The social media-powered blitz connected to this week’s releae  of Lady Gaga’s third album is of epic proportions, with several mega partnerships and virtual giveaways of the album’s 17 tracks. In the case of Starbucks, this campaign helps the brand remain in tune with the interests of its young but hard-to-reach demographic. But in general, Gaga’s digital dominance represents the kind of bold, new business model that could help rejuvenate a deflated music industry.

Posted by brian tiong at 05:17 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

"Dial a Fan" Music Marketing

setstats (* Source: Giles Fitzgerald *)

 

Here’s a innovative take on the traditional single release from Universal Music in Sweden, which manages to turn one devoted fan into the lynchpin of a major music release

Universal partnered up with Comviq, Sweden’s largest prepaid cellular service provider, to offer the new single by Swedish artist Veronica Maggio‘Välkommen in’ (‘Welcome in’) as an exclusive Ringback tone.

So far, a fairly standard brand/label partnership with not much to write home about… However, the only way you could hear the new single was to call one dedicated phone number, which just happened to connect you to the mobile of 18-year-old student, Firat Delen (an avid Veronuca Maggio fan).

The campaign kicked off with a direct mail promotion to journalists and influential bloggers, and as the word spread Firat became inundated with calls as both fans, radio stations and national media rang in to hear the exclusive new track.

Every caller received a text explaining how they could sign up to Comviq’s Ringback Tone service, whilst also being redirected to the brand’s Facebook destination where they could follow the ongoing story of Firat’s rapid rise to fame as he attempted to get on with student life amid incessant phone calls.

It’s a clever spin on the traditional single release, which manages to put fans at the very epicentre of the promotion as opposed to traditional media outlets. The brand partnership is also executed well here, giving Comviq the ability to facilitate new music in a unique and engaging way that focuses directly on the its core business proposition, as opposed to opting for the more obvious artist endorsement route.

The single itself went gold within the initial first few days of the campaign and by the end of the two week promotion had almost gone platinum.

It was also good news for Comviq, with a somewhat staggering 56% of those who called the number going on to to sign up for the ringback service.

 

Posted by brian tiong at 05:05 PM | |