Su Savaşları: www.StartaLie.com

Tappening.com daha yeşil bir dünya için su endüstrisini gözüne kestirmiş. StartaLie.com sitesinde şişelenmiş su endüstrisine Web 2.0 nimetleriyle mizahi bir yöntemle savaş açıyorlar. Sitenin altındaki "tappening" ikonunu tıklayınca da Starbucks'larda sıklıkla görmeye alışkın olduğunuz renkli plastik su şişeleriyle karşılaşıyorsunuz. Tabi tek farkı şişe üzerinde şişelenmiş su endüstrisine karşı tutumunuzu yansıtabilmeniz. 

Afişleri gerçekten çok etkileyici..:)

Bir kap su = Hayat

Adidas: Live Online Interactive Competition

Scholz & Volkmer are launching a new campaign for Adidas where they are staging a live “interactive” online competition from this Sunday (26th July) for 5 days where fans will be able to control everything a German actor (who wants to become the 12th man of FC Bayern) is required to do online. Users will be able to set tasks for him to complete, control what he can or can’t do or even provide information to help complete objectives! The entire event can be experienced live here.

BK.com: Burger King’s New Portal

Burger King has just launched the new BK.com portal that houses the very best of their viral and advertising content, plus you can interact with their menu in a whole range of interesting ways. It’s now a really cool place to waste some time for anyone that loves their campaigns or the menu! Possibly the best new feature they’ve introduced their “have it your way” tag-line as the key navigation structure with 3 sliders that allow you to control the type content you want to access on the home page.

Check out: http://www.bk.com/

Google Maps: Favourite Places

Google Maps has just launched a new app called “Favourite Places” as a tourist guide from the many different perspectives of influential locals. Selecting somewhere like New York City gives you personally bookmarked locations to visit, each with personal notes of why that spot was chosen and related images.

Not sure it will be a tourist “must see” before you go, but its an interesting experience depending on the person you choose to browse a city with… Musician, Chef, Mayor, Sporting Star… Check out the Google Favourite Places website here.

Location-Based Services Pinpoint Success

Consumers are using GPS-enabled mobile devices to navigate their worlds with applications to find local businesses, one another and even family pets. 

Gartner is predicting huge gains for mobile location-based services (LBS) in 2009. The firm estimates that total LBS subscribers will more than double worldwide this year, to 95.7 million.

“The LBS industry has matured rapidly in recent months through a mixture of consolidation, improved price/performance of the enabling technologies and compelling location applications,” said Annette Zimmermann, Gartner analyst. 

Worldwide revenues from consumer location-based services were under $1 billion in 2008, but Gartner projects they will top $2.2 billion this year. North America’s share will be the largest, at $713.7 million.
Currently, about 10% to 15% of users in North America and Western Europe take advantage of free services. The researcher expects that share to climb to between 40% and 50% by 2013. 

The rise of mobile applications and availability of a wider variety of location-based services will continue to fuel popularity—and new mobile marketing opportunities. Locally tailored digital coupons, for example, will go hand in hand with local search.

ref: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007175

Search Marketers' PPC Usage Report - May 2009

As this chart shows, usage of the recently introduced PPC on Facebook is only slightly less than that of Yahoo!’s well established content network. The somewhat sticky question this provokes is why, in a siloed world of search, display and offline media buying, are search marketers buying display ads? If more and more media buying moves to performance-based PPC bid models, does that put the Search Marketer in charge of the larger media buying budget?

To muddy the waters further, PPC ads on Facebook are often designed to drive users to Facebook-markable web pages creating a viral spread effect within the social network. These engaged users posting links on their Facebook pages drive organic traffic-until now the domain of SEO experts. The effect of all this is that more experts have to become generalists, and cross-functional strategies are becoming more common. 

Wherever there are consumers clicking, there are search marketers and PPC ad buyers at work. In fact, as more publishers opt to offer a PPC buying option, the universe of PPC ads will continue to increase. Facebook serves as a perfect example. They offer advertisers the choice to buy display ads on a CPM basis or bid for PPC placements in nearly the same way that Google sells text ads on their content network. These big, successful publishers would not be using the model if it didn’t work. The collective web has arrived, and trained search marketers stand to benefit greatly from this shift in the advertising industry.

ref: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=31289#

Asıl motosiklet kullanmamak çılgınlık

Ülkemizde motosikletin şehir yaşamınının içinde yer alması ve sevilmesi için yapılan en büyük kampanyaya MOTED imza atıyor. Temmuz ayından başlayarak Eylül ayına kadar sürecek olan kampanyanın ilk bölümünde “Asıl motosiklet kullanmamak çılgınlık” ve “Motosiklet çağdaşlıktır” mesajları İstanbul’da billboard, internet, radyo spotu ve otobüs arkası uygulaması olarak yer alacak.

Kampanyada modern bir dil kullanılarak motosiklet kullanıcılarına yönelik olumsuz bakışın tam tersi mesaj verilmesi hedefleniyor. MOTED’e teşekkürler.

Ayrıntılı bilgi: www.moted.net

Mobile usage Trends

According to the “Smartphone Usage and Brand Study” from Crowd Science, 13% of mobile phone users surveyed worldwide (with approximately half from the US) use iPhones, overtaking Blackberry at 9%.

The iPhone is among the most hyped of all smartphones—especially with the recent launch of the 3GS model. Even better for Apple, though, is the fact that the hype may translate to real brand loyalty. 

Not only are iPhone owners more satisfied—and more brand-loyal—than any other smartphone users, they use the most smartphone features. 

iPhone owners were more likely than users of BlackBerrys and other advanced handsets to use all of the most popular functions, including Wi-Fi and GPS.

iPhone users were also more satisfied with their screen size, navigation within their phone, the availability of add-ons and the quality of video playback. 

The most commonly used smartphone functions, on average, were the Internet (80% of respondents), camera (74%) and e-mail (73%).

Highly satisfied customers add up to big brand equity for Apple. Fully 82% of iPhone users told Crowd Science they would probably or definitely purchase an iPhone again, and 97% would recommend the device to someone else. 

What’s more, 38% of smartphone users without an iPhone said they would probably or definitely buy one next, compared with just 14% of non-BlackBerry users who would purchase a BlackBerry.

Mercedes Benz (Kanada) - "B Class" Mikrosite

Mercedes-Benz Kanada yalnızca B Class modelleri için yeni bir mikrosite kurmuş. 3 basit sorudan sonra B Class aracını test edebiliyorsunuz. Bu sorularla araçtan beklentileriniz, nerede yaşadığınız, nasıl bir sürüş keyfi yaşamak istediğiniz ve B Class'ın bu isteklerinizi nasıl yerine getirdiğiyle ilgili bir çok bilgiye ulaşılabiliyor.

Sitede istenilen bilgiler kompakt olarak veriliyor fakat daha detaylı bilgiye ulaşmak da mümkün. 

Siteyi merak edenler için: http://www.mercedes-benz.ca/b/

Her Hafta Yeni Bir Tişört - Tasarti.com

Alışverişe çıktığınızda çoğunlukla gözünüze takılan ürünler ya birbirinin benzeri ya da cüzdanınızı üzecek kıvamdadır. Bugün web'de gezinirken gözüme takılan güzel bir siteyi paylaşmak istedim; www.Tasarti.com

"HER HAFTA YENİ BİR TİŞÖRT!" mottosuyla yola çıkan websayfası ürünlerini kendi tasarlamak isteyen herkese açık.. Ürünlerin fiyatlarının ortalama 25 TL olması ise tasarım ürünler için gayet makul bir fiyat.

Göz atmak isteyenler için: www.Tasarti.com

Kendi ağzından Tasarti;

Tasartı.com’da devam etmekte olan Tasarım Yarışması sonucu, her hafta bir tasarım, tişört olarak satışa çıkar. Dolayısıyla, Tasartı.com’da her hafta yeni bir tişört satın alabileceksiniz. İleride yeni tişört ekleme sıklığını arttırmayı planlıyoruz. 

Peki, tasarımların arasından basılacak tişört nasıl seçiliyor? Bu tişörtü, oylamalarınızla siz seçiyorsunuz. Haftanın tişörtü, o tarihe kadar gönderilmiş tasarımlar içinde en fazla ve en yüksek oyu almış olan tasarımlar arasından seçiliyor.
Ben ilk siparişimi verdim, ürün geldikten sonraki yorumlarımı da buradan paylaşacağım..

Not Twitter - Its CivilCivil.com :))

Biz türkler herşeyin amiyane tabirle çakmasını yapmaya pek bayılırız. Uzunca bir dönem internet kafe ve simit sarayları bunun en güzel örnekleriydi. Facebook çıktı, hatrı sayılır bir kitle eş-dost-arkadaşlarını bulma dışında profillerine romanya ve rusya'dan 90-60-90 fotograflı arkadaşları eklemeye başladı. Ne demişler bir insanın fikri neyse zikri de odur:)

Bugün beni twitter'dan ekleyen web sayfası ise takdire şayan bir oluşum!!!:) Twitter'ın template'i üzerinde ufak oynamalarla yerli twitter'ı oluşturmuşlar. Kendilerini pazarlama yöntemleri ise yine twitter:) 

Bu fikir dehası arkadaşları FriendFeed ve Hi5 gibi siteleri uygularken de görmek isteriz:))

Web Sayfası: http://www.civilcivil.com/

Ana sayfa;

P.S: Olurda blog'uma ulaşırlarsa, Ne demişler: "Reklamın iyisi kötüsü olmaz":))

Hakan @ EMOK Festival..

Türkiye Motoriders Grubu (www.trmotoriders.org) ile bu yıl 8. si düzenlenen Emok (Enduro Motosiklet Kulübü) festivali için Bilecik pazaryeri'nde çadırımı kurdum. 3-4-5 Temmuz günleri boyunca gün içindeki aktiviteler, enduro eğitimi ve gece konserleri tam anlamıyla müthişti.

9.Emok'ta görüşmek üzere..

Hakan'ın KTM 250 Exc denemeleri.. Bu motor kesinlikle tork canavarı..

Michael Jackson Death Completely Overwhelms Media

The breaking news of Michael Jackson’s sudden death last week dramatically slowed the internet, crippled Google, crashed Twitter, sent iTunes and BitTorrent downloads skyrocketing and made for a huge portion of TV news and radio airplay, according to The Nielsen Company, Billboard and a number of other analysts that tracked coverage of the event.

An Online Outpouring

Nielsen reported that Jackson-related news dominated web discussion on June 25, causing huge spikes in traffic and overwhelming social networks with bursts of information and updates from millions of users.

In comparison, the high volume of blog discussions about Jackson made recent buzz around the swine flu scare and President Obama’s inauguration seem paltry and insignificant.

Similarly a Nielsen Buzzmetrics analysis revealed that more than 16% of tweets in the 24-hour period after Jackson’s death mentioned the singer, while less than 2% of mentioned Farrah Fawcett and Iran - two other high-profile news topics during the same time period.

Information from Mashable put the percentage of MJ-tribute tweets higher, at close to 30%, with a reported 50,000 tweets in just one hour. Mashable said that Twitter tracking tool Twist showed 22.61% of Tweets following Jackson’s death with the phrase “Michael Jackson,” 9% containing “MJ,” and 25% including the name “Michael.” Twitter is reported to have crashed at least once during this time.

The ICM News site in the UK reported that search engine Google dramatically slowed down between 2:40 pm and 3:15 pm Pacific time on June 25, as millions of Googlers entering the star’s name got an error page rather than a list of results. These difficulties were later confirmed by Google.

In addition, many entertainment sites slowed significantly and became difficult to access, including celebrity gossip site TMZ.com, according to TechCrunch. TMZ.com first broke the story that Jackson’s heart had stopped and paramedics had been summoned.

MP3 Downloads Surge

Rolling Stone reported that, following Jackson’s death, the top five albums on iTunes, and seven of the Top 10, were all Jackson releases, with The Essential Michael Jackson, Thriller and Off the Wall ranking as the top three.

Similarly, the Amazon MP3 store listed Jackson as the service’s top-selling artist of the day following his death, said Rolling Stone. Last.fm also documented a large increase in listeners to “The King of Pop” in the moments following his passing, with a peak of roughly 42,000 of his songs played on the service between 6 pm and 8 pm ET.

Downloads of Michael Jackson’s music also caused a surge on BitTorrent, where, immediately after his death, the three most active torrents in the music section on the largest torrent indexer, Mininova, were all compilations or discographies from MJ. On top was a torrent listing 30 Michael Jackson albums, The Jackson 5 and The Jacksons, totaling 1.94 GB of music.

ref: http://tinyurl.com/nf9t8q

"Yıldız TERLİK Üniversitesi"

’Gerilla pazarlama’ olarak anılan kışkırtıcı reklamlarıyla bilinen Türkiye’nin en fırlama markalarından Twigy’nin ’Yıldız Terlik Üniversitesi’ esprisi 15 bin TL’ye patladı. Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi’nin açtığı dava aleyhine sonuçlanan Twigy’nin sahibi Sinan Öncel, "Yaptığımız espri ilk kez bu kadar pahalıya mal oldu" dedi.

TÜRKİYE’nin en ’fırlama’ markalarından birisi olarak kabul edilen Twigy’nin Beşiktaş Yıldız’daki mağaza açılışı öncesi Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi’ne gönderme yaptığı ’Yıldız Terlik Üniversitesi’ reklamlarına para cezası kesildi. Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi’nin açtığı maddi ve manevi tazminat davasında 15 bin lira ödemeye mahkum olmalarını değerlendiren Twigy Yönetim Kurulu Başkanı Sinan Öncel, "Biz yaratıcı, sıra dışı, kışkırtıcı reklamlar ile fark yaratmaya çalışan bir markayız. Yaptığımız espri ilk kez bu kadar pahalıya mal oldu" dedi. 

İlk kez tazminat ödüyor

13 Aralık 2006 tarihinde açtıkları Yıldız mağazasının dekorasyonu sırasında mağazanın üzerini, tam karşısında yer alan Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi’nden esinlenerek ’Yıldız Terlik Üniversitesi’ görselleriyle kapladıklarını hatırlatan Sinan Öncel şöyle konuştu: "Çok kısa bir süre sonra da mağazamız açılmış ve görsel kaldırılmıştık. Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi’nin tarafımıza açtığı maddi ve manevi tazminat davası geçenlerde sonuçlandı ve 15 bin lira tazminat ödemeye mahkum olduk.Üniversite kendilerine yaptığımız ’maddi kazanç sağlamak için haksız saldırılar’nedeniyle bu davayı açmıştı. Bundan önce yaptığımız reklamlara olumlu veya olumsuz eleştiriler almıştık, ancak ilk defa tazminat ödeyeceğiz."

FB Cumhuriyeti’ne itiraz

Twigy’nin daha öncede pek çok reklamı çok ses getirmişti. Kızıltoprak’taki ’Fenerbahçe Cumhuriyeti Nüfus 25 Milyon’ panosu şikayet üzerine indirilmişti. Sinan Öncel bu panoyla ilgili Kadıköy Savcılığı’na ifade vermişti.

Gerilla pazarlama taktiği

Şu an Ali Sami Yen’in üzerindeki reklam alanlarında ’Galatasaray Üniversitesi Tarih Fakültesi’ yazdığını belirten Öncel, "Bu reklamda ayrıca Galatasaray’ın Avrupa ve dünya şampiyonluklarının listesi var. İnşallah bir tarih fakultesi dava açmaz! İçerenköy’deki mağaza açılışımızda dekorasyon süresince dükkanın etrafı ’Zzzıt Erenköy’ görseliyle kaplanmıştı. Allahtan Erenköylüler hoşgörülüydü" dedi. Öncel, dünyanın her yerinde ’Gerilla pazarlama’ olarak adlandırılan bu yöntemin Türkiye’de bazen bedel ödemek zorunda bıraktığını da sözlerine ekledi.
ref: http://arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=11862008

TDK'da En çok aranan Türkçe kelimeler

Türk Dil Kurumu'nun internet sitesine 99 ülke giriş yapıyor... Yabancılar hakkımızda en çok hangi kelimeleri arıyor dersiniz?

İSVİÇRE LAİKLİĞİ, FAS ATATÜRK'Ü SORDU

Türk Dil Kurumu (TDK) Haiti’den bile siteye girilerek arama yapıldığını belirledi. TDK’nın arama motoruna giren 99 ülkeden bazılarının "Atatürk" ve "laik" kelimesini aradıkları ortaya çıktı. Bu ülkelerden özellikle Malezya ve İsviçre "laik"i, Fas, Suriye ve Avusturya ise Atatürk’ü sordu.

EN ÇOK ARAYANLAR ABD'LİLER

13 bin 760 kelime ile en çok arama ABD’den yapılırken, Almanya’dan 11 bin 383, Rusya’dan 3 bin 635, Hollanda’dan 3 bin 496, Fransa’dan 2 bin 465, İngiltere’den 2 bin 30, Mısır’dan 508, Danimarka’dan 468, Çin’den 129, İsrail’den 118, Arabistan’dan 115, Ermenistan’dan 17, Haiti ve Irak’tan 10, Meksika’dan 6, Jameika’dan ise 2 kelime arandığı belirlendi. TDK Başkanı Şükrü Haluk Akalın, "Önümüzdeki günlerde Türkçe-İngilizce, İngilizce-Türkçe sözlüğünü de sitemize koyacağız" dedi. 
ref: http://www.internethaber.com/news_detail.php?id=196064

Work to Ride Day

Hepimiz trafikte motorların fark edilmesini, bizlere saygı gösterilmesini ve daha çok insanın motosiklet kullanmaya başlamasını istiyoruz. Ancak bu isteklerin kendi kendine gerçekleşmesi mümkün değil. Elimizi taşın altına sokmamız ve bir şeyler yapmamız gerekiyor. İş Günü Sürüşü‘de tam bu amaca yönelik bir oluşum.

Özetle 1992′den beri süregelen ve ABD’de başlayan bu oluşumu artık Türkiye’de de daha aktif şekilde hayata geçirerek insanların işlerine motosikeltleriyle gitmelerini sağlamaya çalışıyoruz. Bu sayede trafikte farkedilmeyi, sektörün gelişmesini ve en önemlisi ön yargıları kırmayı hedefliyoruz.

Peki neden işe motosikletle gitmeli?

Çünkü işe motorla gitmek eğlencelidir.
Çünkü işe motorla gitmek daha ucuzdur.
Çünkü işe motorla gitmek daha hızlıdır.
Çünkü işe motorla gitmek yaşadığımızı hissettirir.

Kayıp zaman olarak geçen, trafikte beklediğimiz o saatleri motosiklet sayesinde eğlenceye, spora ve bir güzelliğe çevirebiliriz. Bunu yaparken başkalarına örnek olarak yollarda daha fazla motorun görünmesine ve bu sayede diğer araç sürücülerinin bizleri daha çok farketmesini yani daha güvende olmayı sağlayabiliriz.

İş Günü Sürüşü yılda bir gün tüm motosiklet kullanıcılarını işe motorlarıyla gitmek üzere davet ediyor. İşe motosikletinizi sürerek gidin. İşe, bankaya, okula, eve, alışverişe, misafirliğe, devlet dairesine, spora…Her nereye gidiyorsanız her yılın 3. pazartesi günü İş Günü Sürüşü‘nü gerçekleştirin ve o gün motosikletinize binerek sizi, herkesin her gittiğiniz yerde motorunuzla veya kaskınızla-ekipmanınızla görmesini sağlayın.

Dünya İş Günü Sürüşü'nü kutlamak üzere 15 Haziran günü iş çıkışında İstanbul’un her iki yakasında da buluşarak bu güzel günü keyifli bir sohbetle noktalamanın ugun olacağını düşündük. Böylece işe motorumuzla giderek yollarda ve iş yerlerimizde “motorcu” kimliğimizle boy göstermiş olmamızın keyfini çıkartıp ortak noktası motosiklet sevdası olan insanlar olarak bir birimizi tanıma fırsatını da bulmuş olacağız.

Tarih: 15 Haziran - Saat 19:00
Anadolu Yakası: Moda Çay Bahçesi
Avrupa Yakası: Dolmabahçe Çay Bahçesi

Detaylar: www.issurusu.org - www.ridetowork.org

Harley 4ever..

Without any comment..

WonderBra Ad

Without any comment:)

2009 yılı ilk çeyrek reklam yatırımları

Kids care more about love and respect than owning cool brands

A generation of young people in Britain is growing up in a highly commercialised social environment. Individuals, the arguments go, increasingly rely on material goods as tools to gain respect and contentment, and friendships, family life and their own happiness are being adversely affected.

Inevitably, questions are being raised about what constitutes responsible marketing, and whether the youth marketing industry requires regulation to prevent further harm.

In this context, it seems appropriate to ask young people about their hopes and aspirations, the pressures they face in modern Britain and the commercial world and marketing as it affects them.

In March 2008, my company, which specialises in youth communications, started taking responses from 650 subjects aged between 11 and 17 from across the UK. The initial phase, a quantitative online survey, focuses firstly on the young people's aspirations and concerns, and the role that is played within these by commercial products and materialism.

Secondly, it looks at their specific feelings about different forms of advertising: which are the ones young people believe are more effective, and which are the ones they respect more.

Why is this research needed? Marketing agencies have a responsibility to their audience, especially when that audience is young, and should gauge the impact their activities have on well-being. Research also helps tailor marketing strategies to what young people see as responsible and respected forms of advertising.

We began by focusing on what they wished for from life (Figure 1). Among the 24 factors they were asked to rate on a scale of one to seven, from 'not important at all' to 'very important', we included several wealth, fashion and brand-orientated statements, alongside those concerning religion, friends, family, jobs and respecting others.

Figure 1: Important things in life 

The results suggest that young people's materialism is not as developed as some would have us believe. If you rank each of the factors according to how they rated in the 'very important' categories, 'close friends', 'safe home' and 'enjoyable job' rank over 77%. Close behind follow 'close family', 'respect from others' and 'respecting others'.

Material needs appear low on the list, with 'being able to buy the things I want', 'lots of money' and 'being able to buy cool brands' in the bottom half. It is, rather, their social circle that seems to be deemed most important in young people's lives. This is further reinforced by the more aggressive individualistic factors (such as 'being better than others') being the lowest rated.

NON-MATERIAL CONCERNS
When asked about their main worries, young people did not indicate great concern over material possessions. Schoolwork and personal/social relationships led the list, and health, safety and job potential were ranked above monetary concerns.

Lowest in the list were fashion, brands and 'being cool'. When asked what makes them respect other people, such material and commercial concerns were, again, rated as unimportant. This trend was repeated in a further question regarding how they would gain the respect of others: material effects were lowest rated, and the highest-rated choices were 'care for your friends', 'help other people', 'be funny', and 'show your skills'.

Although young people do not entirely discount wealth and possessions, they do not overtly recognise them as drivers of respect. In light of these results, the commercial world seems to have a lesser impact than we are led to expect, at least in the opinions of young people.

It must be recognised that these methods are not infallible, and that when faced with questions of this nature, these young people may choose (either consciously or otherwise) to represent themselves as less materialistic than they really are. We currently only have a quantitative assessment of young people's opinions of themselves, and no independent ethnographic study of their behaviour. Our own qualitative research is still in progress.

Another area of the research investigated how much commercialism is contributing to bullying. These questions are less personal, more about observed behaviour, and on a subject that is often cited as a serious outcome of a materialist tendency in youth.

Do money, products and marketing feed part of the bullying culture, providing extra ammunition for those with the necessary products to ridicule those on the other side of the fence? We asked the 650 young people in an open question to write down what they think are the five main causes of bullying. Only one in ten cited material factors, such as clothes, gadgets, brands and money, or related issues, such as social class. This shows that, while material factors are involved, they are as random as the other features that may single out a child, including being too intelligent or not intelligent enough, being fat or skinny, or being ugly or pretty.

To take this further, if we examine the group in the survey who listed bullying as one of their greatest worries, we find that love, safety, friends, family and the respect of others are, predictably, the things they worry about most. They are least concerned about having the latest gadgets, brands or fashion trends. Three-quarters feel owning cool products is unnecessary for being cool or making friends.

We cannot find extensive evidence in the results of this survey that the commercial world is making it significantly more difficult for young people to fit in, and it does not appear to have the negative effects that bring the whole industry into question. The next phase of our research will assess whether these currently low negative effects are growing.

TRYING TO FIT IN 

So does marketing increase the pressure on young people? Criticism is based on the idea that the marketing of branded accessories, gadgets and fashion items is increasing the pressure on young people to conform to the world around them, or risk alienation. Many recent reports argue that advertising makes young people more avaricious, and more inclined to prioritise material goods over their spiritual wellbeing. The young people we surveyed do not seem to feel that pressure from youth marketing.

So how important is it for young people to own the latest version of a mobile phone, item of clothing or trainers? Only mobile phones and clothing elicit any real desire, with 30% feeling that keeping up with fashion was 'very important'. The reasons for this seemed to fall into the 'I like keeping up to date' category, or 'keeping up with technology'. Motives of fitting in, gaining others' respect or showing off were not rated by our respondents. Also, when it came to asking why someone might fall out of a friendship group, young people in the sample were resistant to any statements that implied it may be caused by not keeping up-to-date, or fashions, brands or money.

To reinforce this, peer pressure to own what everyone else has is also seen as irrelevant for most young people. Only one in five of our sample felt a friend owning a product had any influence on their purchasing decision. This reflects the decline of some 'brand-orientated' youth tribes in recent years. That doesn't mean that what a friend thinks about a product or brand isn't important, but it does suggest that young people today are able to make their own assessments of the brands and products on offer.

LABELS AREN'T EVERYTHING 

Brands are part of the commercial landscape – as are new products – but young people are not hanging on to every last word of a campaign, or worrying about material items more than they do about their friends and family.

Some commentators imply that any evidence of commercialisation must be replacing love and care in the minds of young people. What we have found is that they co-exist: the commercial world is there, but it is much less important in young people's lives than the more socially-orientated goals.

Where does this leave youth marketing and advertising? Inevitably, a more commercially aware youth audience has more experience of the sales process. It doesn't mean young people are damaged by the experience, but it does mean they are healthily cynical about corporate communications. When questioned about attitudes towards certain forms of marketing, 69% said they believe advertisements exaggerate products, and only one in ten felt an advertisement was an important factor in determining a 'musthave' product.

Some of this negativity may have been fuelled by experience. Of those who had been persuaded to buy a product by a TV or cinema advertisement, many had been disappointed by some of the products once purchased. This is why, when we asked the question, the majority of young people said they preferred advertising they see as straightforward and 'honest'.

This aspect of our research demonstrates why it is even more important to listen to what young people feel about marketers' tactics and advertising channels. It should be the audience that comes up with the key touchpoints for a brand message, and the influences on their purchasing decision.

In an age where youth marketing is being assessed for appropriateness, we need to get young people's endorsement of the medium, not just the message.

ABOVE-THE-LINE MESSAGES 

In terms of achieving awareness about new products or brands, mainstream, above-the-line advertising is still the most effective channel for communicating with young people. Over 42% of our sample felt strongly that, without advertising, they would not know what was available to them, and 32% actually enjoy advertisements. Admittedly, around half said ads were 'annoying', but as respondents were asked to rate each statement out of seven, it is highly likely that some have answered yes to both.

Although advertising did not influence the actual purchasing decision for a new product, more general brand awareness was very influential in determining a must-have product. One could infer from this that advertising operates more for brand reinforcement than for product marketing.

But new technology will change ad delivery, so we asked specifically about personally-targeted advertisements. Targeted or personalised ads are preferred to general advertising, because young people, like most of us, want to hear about products or brands we either already like or will relate to.

Ads on social networking sites, such as Facebook and Bebo, that reflect buying behaviours and stated interests, are preferred by the majority of young people. There was, however, some nervousness about personal details being used to tailor advertisements.

This section of the survey also confirmed that having friends who own the products has very little ripple effect on product awareness. A mere street presence is not enough, but a positive recommendation from friends creates awareness of the brand or product. One in four rated friends' involvement as 'important' or 'very important' in helping them assess a product or purchase decision.

These influences continued when young people were asked about sources of trusted information about a product. Nearly nine out of ten would trust a friend's opinion, compared with only a quarter rating TV ads as trustworthy. Product reviews (61%) and customer reviews, as on Amazon (67%), trump more corporate communications. Roughly the same proportion said they would trust a friend's opinion over an advertisement. Having young people approve a product independently, and then talk about it, appears to be an essential part of an effective campaign. But, of course, the product has to be good enough to generate this approval.

This boost for social and real influencers in the youth arena is backed up by the survey's analysis of key factors in the buying decision. When we asked what made a particular marketing campaign more effective, young people were unimpressed by celebrity endorsement, preferring real people, ideally with humour. Interestingly, having people their age in the ad seems unnecessary, while free gifts and multi-buy offers on relevant items would have much more impact.

To explore the issue in further depth, we asked young people three related questions: which forms of marketing did they feel were most effective; which did they prefer to be targeted with; and which would they choose if they were marketing directors launching a new youth product. In-store, outdoor and school advertising all scored better than average in terms of effectiveness and as respected routes to market.

MARKETING TURN-OFFS 

Types of marketing that young people do not approve of include radio advertising, direct email and mail, SMS advertising and any form of interruptive ad, online or in other media. On the whole, internet banner ads and immersive ads in games, both online and console, were seen as effective, but not particularly highly regarded, with young people choosing more 'hands on' campaigns.

Of course, this does not mean young people are unaffected by the forms of advertising they dislike, but it does provide a guide to their engagement (or not) by advertising in the past.

The early stages of this research show young people as savvy, resilient and independent, able to make their own assessments and decisions from the information provided. They do not feel pressured by youth marketing. It doesn't appear to affect their peer relationships, or feed their materialism.

Traditional factors, such as love and relationships, are still key to young people's happiness, and goods and services play only a minor role. Although commercial brands and products are a consideration in the formation of individual identities, they are not relied on to gain the respect of their peers, or seen as factors that encourage them to respect others.

What they ask for is integrity, just as they seek in their own friendships: the brands that respect and include them are the brands they will make friends with. This should be the primary consideration of all youth marketers.

ref: WARC May 09 Article: http://www.warc.com/Tracking/ArticleLink.asp?ID=89348&M=WARC-F-May09

Gillette uArt iPhone App

Gillette have just launched an iPhone app called “uArt“. Its a pretty good attempt at a branded iPhone app, where you get to load in a photo of yourself, apply various types of facial hair and then use the Gillette ”fusion” razor (your finger) complete with vibration to shave yourself a masterpiece!

Catchy little concept, but to go viral and make the most of the app, they really needed some sort of social media “share” option to post back into the likes of facebook, twitter, flickr .etc The app was created by BBDO / AIM Proximity. 

Site: http://www.gillette.com/uart/

High Priced Domains

1 Fund.com, Sold in 2008: 9.99 million dollars
2 Porn.com, Sold in 2007: 9.5 million dollars
3 Diamonds.com, Sold: 7.5 million dollars
4 Toys.com, Sold: 5.1 million dollars. Directed to Toys ‘R’ Us’ website
5 Vodka.com, Sold: 3 million dollars
6 Creditcards.com, Sold in 2000: 5.1 million dollars.
7 Computers.com, Sold: 2.1 million dollars
8 Seniors.com, Sold: 1.8 million dollars
9 DataRecovery.com, Sold: 1.5 million dollars
10 Cameras.com, Sold: 1.5 million dollars

2009 Ad Awards

5/22/2009 International Food and Beverage Creative Excellence Awards - FAB Awards

6/1/2009 The Webby Awards

6/3/2009 Global Effie Awards

6/6/2009 ADDY Awards - New York

6/9/2009 AICP

6/10/2009 Chip Shop Awards

6/11/2009 D&AD Awards

6/11/2009 International Advertising Festival "Golden Hammer"

6/12/2009 Art Directors Club of Europe Awards

6/17/2009 Grand Prix Stratégies de la Publicité

6/21/2009 Cannes Lions - International Advertising Festival

6/30/2009 The New York Festivals International Advertising Awards in All Media

9/11/2009 Kinsale Shark Awards Advertising Festival

9/16/2009 EURO EFFIES

9/25/2009 Loerie Awards

10/4/2009 The Golden Drum Awards

10/9/2009 EFFIE Germany

10/26/2009 The Cresta Awards

11/16/2009 London International Awards - LIA

11/18/2009 Green Awards

11/29/2009 Eurobest

Ref: http://www.adforum.com/creative_archive/award/schedule.asp

Most Web 2.0 Companies Fail

Without any comment..!

Cool Speakers

All in One (concept)

Created by industrial designer Erick Sakal. They combine the subwoofer and stereo speakers in a single package, using directional angles to widen the sound.

E-Pod (concept)

Created by designer Eun Seok Huh. It is the perfect speaker for your bedroom. It has a built in speaker (obviously), a movie projector and an alarm clock. Sweet!

500XL

Designed by Winnif Pang. They mimic the original iPod headphones, but as the number suggest, they are 500 times bigger.

Headphonies

The ninja speakers, or anything you want. Small limited edition speakers that you can either buy pre-designed, or blank, so that you can make up your own design.

ref: http://tinyurl.com/o5dhwt

Google rolls out mobile phone barcode scanning

LONDON - Google's online shopping service Product Search has introduced a barcode scanner for Android mobile phone users that allows for price comparison on the fly.

The free application scans barcodes on products and shows the user what the item is retailing for online. It also provides links for products reviews and specs.

Google said the scanner works best for products like electronics, books, movies and video games, but is planning on adding more barcodes for other items.

The app is similar to iPhone's Snaptell, which provides product reviews and price comparison for CDs, books and movies by taking a picture of the product with the iPhone's camera.

ref: http://tinyurl.com/ov79b6

Banner Ads: Beyond the Click

Display ads do more than look pretty.

Online display ads have gotten a bad rap lately. It’s a format, according to many sources, with declining investment and waning effectiveness. 
But a study from iProspect may have discovered an unexpected benefit of online display ads. 
When Internet users were surveyed to find out what actions they took when viewing a display ad on an ad-supported Website, nearly one-third said they clicked on the ad.

In addition, 27% reported that they did an online search for the product, brand or company, and 21% typed the company Web address in their browser. Nine percent sought additional information using social media tools. 

That means a click is only one measure of a display ad’s effectiveness. 

Among respondents who saw a display ad and performed a related search at some point, the largest proportion (38%) visited the advertiser’s site through search results, 11% searched but did not click on any of the results, and 14% searched, visited the site and purchased the product advertised.

Golden mouse

The Gold Bullion Wireless Mouse (not to be confused the the piratey USB hub) is actually plastic. Which is why it costs $35 and not $35 gajillion. To its credit though, it does have a scroll wheel. But still, why anybody would actually pay for this garish piece of bullionshit (count it) is beyond me.

Untangling Your Brand: 4 Marketing Lessons From Lost

Last night was the season finale of the TV show Lost - and just in case you haven't watched it and have it sitting on DVR waiting for you, don't worry ... there are no spoilers in this post. Actually, though I'm an enthusiast of the show, the reason for this post isn't to gush about how great I think it is. It is about what you learn from how the show has been promoted. Like many recent dramas, it is not an easy show to follow. It isn't about nothing, and you can't just miss a few episodes and still get into it. Yet as I wrote about in PNI (search for "Lost" with the Search Inside feature on Amazon - it is Page 108) - the show's unique format of taking you into the backstory of each characters builds an emotional investment from the viewer in a way that many other shows never manage to do. You believe in the characters because you know about the situations that make them the way that they are.

There is a marketing lesson in that, as there is in several other choices the show's producers and marketing teams have made. Here are a few things that the show does and the marketing lesson that you can learn from them:

1. Share the backstory. As I mentioned above, giving viewers a look at where the characters come from gives each of them a sense purpose and allows you to feel more empathy towards them. As any good screenwriter knows, the point isn't for you to love every character - it's for you to feel something towards them. Once you do that, you're engaged in the show. Marketing Lesson: Make sure you share the story behind your brand so you can give people a reason to believe in it.
2. Untangle the complexity. One of the smartest things the show does is they feature a simplified 3-5 minute version of every episode untangled (see video below in this post). These descriptions are from the outside looking into the show, referring to a character who wears too much eye makeup as "eyeliner" and poking fun generally at the actors in the show and the way they portray their roles. Alongside this irreverance, Lost Untangled explains the plotline of every episode in a way that allows you to understand it despite the complexity of time shifting, multiple characters and hidden clues. Marketing Lesson: If you have something complicated to sell, get creative about how you can simplify it.
3. React to your critics. Early in the show, the creators were criticized because they got people emotionally invested in the core characters of the show, and then introduced new characters and shifted the focus. Many viewers were confused because the characters they knew had essentially vanished. Though this was presumably part of the broader story arc, the producers recognized that viewers needed some connection to the characters they already loved, and found a way to bring that back - while still progressing their story and introducing the new characters they had planned to. Marketing Lesson: Don't ignore your critics, but don't change your strategy because of them either.
4. Have a finite ending. As the trailers after last night's finale noted, next year will be the final season of Lost. For a top rated show, it cannot have been an easy decision to let the show end at what seems to be the height of its popularity - yet having a finite end is important for both audiences and for the writers of the show. Everyone knows that the show is leading toward something. There is a sense of anticipation and excitement, as well as urgency to watch. It's not a soap opera where people go into comas, die, wake up and go on again. Marketing Lesson: Having an ending is important - even if it's just a campaign that ends so you can start a new one.

REF: http://tinyurl.com/qxebab