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Google Search Stories

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:19:29 -0500

What a lovely, simple concept behind these Google promotional videos to create a narrative through search. Robert Wong of Google Creative Lab introduced the Search Stories videos by writing:

While we’re proud of the innovations we’re making in search, we’re proudest of the things people use search to accomplish. In other words, the best search results don’t show up on a webpage — they show up in somebody’s life.

Check out the full set of videos here.

Brand I Love: Help Remedies

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:29:29 -0500

Health and medicine can be a confusing and overwhelming category, look no further than the health care reform debate as evidence. But not every medical issue is serious. Headaches, minor cuts, allergies, and blisters are small obstacles in our path to wellness, but pharmaceutical companies still treat these issues as serious business, aside from a few cartoon characters on bandages and overly cheery people in medicine commercials.

Help Remedies believes the best way to solve simple medical issues is to be simple. They do this with straight-to-the-point language and color-coded packaging, which also happens to be bio-degradable. Adding a little personality and fun to the equation makes Help Remedies an easy-to-love brand. And if you’re bored, they can help you with that.

on the web: Help Remedies

How Important is a Typeface to IKEA's Brand?

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:26:00 -0400

When IKEA recently mailed their annual catalog, eagle-eyed fans of the brand noticed something was a bit different compared to last year’s edition - and just about every other piece of IKEA branding ever produced. After 50 years, IKEA has replaced the iconic Futura-style IKEA Sans typeface with Verdana, a font designed for Microsoft in 1996. Typophiles were shocked (shocked!) IKEA, a company that built its brand with forward-thinking design, would choose what they felt was an inferior typeface.

The anti-Verdana group voiced their displeasure on blogs and on Twitter, while some cracked jokes elsewhere. There is even an online petition (serious business) that has received over 3000 signatures.

IKEA spokeswoman Camilla Meiby says, “Verdana is a simple, cost-effective font which works well in all media and languages,” something I guess they weren’t able to do with IKEA Sans. Verdana has an advantage over IKEA Sans in that it is designed specifically to be read on computer screens. With that in mind, maybe this move is a signal that IKEA will ramp up its digital marketing efforts, both on the web and with mobile phones, and perhaps Verdana is more practical than IKEA Sans in accomplishing those goals.

In a similar rebranding move, when Tropicana changed their packaging last winter, complaints from customers they deemed too loyal to upset forced them to switch back in a well-publicized debacle. IKEA, on the other hand, is brushing off the initial criticism by saying they “don’t think the broad public is that interested” in the typeface switch. For their sake, I hope they are right, and I hope the switch doesn’t cause more harm than good in the long run.

via idsgn

Personas

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:22:51 -0400

Personas is a project created by Aaron Zinman for the Metropath(ologies) exhibit at the MIT Museum. When you enter your name in the dialog box, Personas attempts to build a visualization of your online identity using information accessed by the internet and natural language processing. The result is a color coded diagram that “shows how the internet sees you.” Mine is above.

It’s a neat idea even if it isn’t entirely accurate. There aren’t too many people with my name, so I imagine the results are mostly related to me. However, if my name was John Smith it would be a different story. But perhaps that is the point. We can’t always control what results pop up in Google when someone searches our name, so how the web views us (and others who share the same name) influences how others see us as well, for better or worse.

link: personas

Hand-Me-Ups

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 16:33:08 -0400

Speaking of unconsumption, PSFK introduced me to the phenomenon of “hand-me-ups.” The concept of handing-up was even featured as the word-of-the-day at Urban Dictionary and defined as:

“Where the young generation in a family adopts and purchases new technology product at a fast rate, and old versions (that are in working order but are not up to current standards) of that technology product are given to the parents or older generations of family.”

What I find interesting is how younger generations are giving their parents and grandparents out-dated iPods and digital cameras while simultaneously discovering older technology like vinyl turntables and Polaroid cameras. They’re handing-up while getting hand-me-downs. Maybe the overall concept is “tech trading” and in each case, both generations are dealing with technologies that are largely unfamiliar to them and helping each other master the learning curves on these devices.

via PSFK
photo via flickr (graciepoo)

Unconsumption

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:57:51 -0400

Some time ago I came across a wonderful blog titled Unconsumption. If consumption is the act of acquiring an object, unconsumption is anything that happens to that object after acquisition. In short, the blog is about recycling, reusing, and creative re-purposing of items that would be discarded otherwise.

Some recent highlight from Unconsumption:
- a TIE Fighter made of Starbucks cups and coffee stirrers
- Dumpster pools in Brooklyn
- a trivet made out of wine corks
- packing materials transformed into a play area
- old playground ball made into a hanging planter

photo via readymade blog

A Viral Video Lesson for Record Labels

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:40:00 -0400

By now you’ve probably seen it or at least heard of it. A wedding video featuring a choreographed dance routine as the bridal party enters the ceremony has received over 11 million views in 10 days.

What’s not surprising is how fast the video spread, nor is it surprising the group was invited to recreate the dance on Today. But the fact the song in the video - Chris Brown’s “Forever” - leaped into the top 10 on iTunes is surprising considering Brown’s career tumble after an assault scandal involving his ex-girlfriend Rihanna. According to Soundscan, “Forever” sales increased from 3,000 to 50,000 in one week, while sales of Brown’s 2008 album Exclusive went up 130%.

What does this mean for artists and record labels? For starters, it means they should stop the ridiculous censoring and silencing of YouTube videos that feature even the slightest snippets of their songs.

Just this month, Warner Music Group - perhaps the most prolific censor - removed the audio from a popular Keyboard Cat/Hall & Oates mash-up. Were the creators of the video earning any money from that mash-up? Probably not. Would that video help expose people to Hall & Oates and perhaps bump up sales figures? Absolutely. If I were Daryl Hall or John Oates, which unfortunately I am not, I would be furious at Warner right now.

Luckily for Chris Brown, Zomba Records - a division of Sony Music - kept their hands off the wedding video, and they brought in a nice little sum of money as a result. And the happy couple was able to share their wedding experience with their family and 10 million new friends. Everyone wins.

Source: Viral video increases music sales (Razorfish’s Amnesia Blog)

Advertising vs. Reality

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:33:20 -0400

The first video below is a recent spot for Cellcom, a major Israeli telecommunications company. A vehicle carrying Israeli soldiers patrolling a wall separating Israel and Palestine is hit with a soccer ball coming from the Palestinian side of the wall, but instead of responding with violence, the troops engage in a playful back-and-forth game with the Palestinians. The spot ends with a voiceover roughly translating to “What do we all want? Some fun, that’s all.”

The Guardian criticized the spot for trivializing the conflicts between the two sides, and one blogger suggests the ad highlights “how mainstream Israel likes to see itself and the Palestinians.” A Facebook group protesting the ad has over 2,300 members from Israel, Palestine, and other countries around the world.

So what happened when citizens from the Palestinian village of Bil’in, in their weekly demonstration against the Israeli wall, decided to kick some soccer balls over to the Israeli troops? See for yourself.

An interesting note that should be mentioned is the Cellcom ad was produced by McCann Erickson Israel, part of McCann Worldgroup, whose guiding philosophy is “Truth Well Told.” Do you think this Israeli cellphone ad showed the truth?

Thanks to EB for the original link that brought this to my attention.

826 Stores

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:51:52 -0400

826 is a non-profit creative writing and tutoring organization for youth with chapters in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Brooklyn, Chicago, Seattle, Boston and Ann Arbor. Most of the centers are partly supported by creatively themed store-fronts that sell unusual novelty goods, as well as the writings of their local students. The store-fronts also serve as inspiration to the students and raise awareness of 826’s presence in the local communities.

826 NYC is home to the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co., an emporium featuring capes, disguises, superpowers, and crime-fighting gear. 826 Valencia’s Echo Park Time Travel Mart is a convenience store that offers essential time traveling goods from the past, present, and future. The Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co. at 826 Seattle has all of your space travel needs.

What a wonderful organization that uses creativity, design, and inspiration for a worthwhile cause. Visit the 826 National website for more info.

photo via flickr (diegoluis)

Significant Objects (More eBay Storytelling)

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 03:26:04 -0400

With sort of a natural segue from my last post, let me introduce you to an experiment from authors Joshua Glenn and Rob Walker. The two have each written books examining the significance we place on the inanimate objects in our lives. They have a theory that even with invented significance - through a fictional, creative story for example - an item’s objective value can increase. To test that theory, they created the Significant Objects project.

The process is straightforward: they buy ordinary objects for cheap at thrift stores and garage sales, then they list the objects on eBay complete with a fictional and often over-the-top story about that object’s history by an author of their choosing. It is made very clear to prospective bidders the stories associated with the items are fictitious, so no one is getting duped. The items, stories, and auction results are all cataloged on the Significant Objects blog, and so far their theory has proven correct. As of June 20, the total purchase cost of the items was $15.40 with aggregate sales totaling $247.30!

No doubt there are some implications advertisers can take away from this experiment. Stories - real or imagined - sell. The key is to make sure your story is captivating, entertaining, or just plain fun.

Significant Objects via Leo Burnett blog

More Storytelling

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:19:25 -0400

The other day I linked to a case study in which a South American eBay competitor used storytelling and emotion for a successful marketing campaign. They used the stories behind the items for sale to make the shopping experience more fun.

A friend of mine passed along this video of two guys in Australia who also decided to use the art of storytelling for their own eBay experiment, which they dubbed “The Wicked Sick Project.” They purchased a BMX bike with an ordinary item description for $27.50 AUD ($22.05 USD). Then they re-sold the same exact bike on eBay, this time with a more creative item description. Watch the video to see the amazing results.

via @clevahgrrl

We Choose The Moon

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:56:00 -0400

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the Martin Agency and the JFK Presidential Library & Museum created We Choose the Moon, an interactive web experience that lets us follow the moon mission in real-time plus 40 years. The site is rich in content, featuring an audio broadcast, photos, and videos. You can also follow the action on Twitter with three streams for the spacecraft, lunar lander, and mission control.

Be sure to check out the site tomorrow (July 20) around 4pm to experience the moon landing. Once the mission is over, you will be able to replay every stage of the mission at your convenience.

We Choose the Moon

The Economist: Thinking Space

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:51:56 -0400

The Economist has a great little microsite that gives us the opportunity to explore the thinking spaces of a few creative individuals in such fields as technology, design, academics, and filmmaking. Thinking Space lets us visualize those spaces as interview clips from those individuals explain what it is about those spaces that inspires them. The site also encourages visitors to upload their own thinking spaces, whether or not those will be displayed on another part of the site remains to be seen however.

Thinking Space via Leo Burnett blog

PingWire

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:13:00 -0400

PingWire is a live feed of photos shared on Yfrog, which in theory offers a real-time glimpse at what people are experiencing and sharing with their mobile phones, digital cameras, and webcams as it happens. It’s especially fascinating when you receive multiple perspectives of a big event. For example, as I type this, Paul McCartney is performing live on the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater for the Late Show with David Letterman and people have posted pictures here, here, here, and here. I didn’t even know that was going on, and now I do thanks to PingWire.

PingWire

Radiohead vs. Plastic Bottles

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:40:32 -0400

For several years, Radiohead has made a point to highlight environmental issues on their website, in the press, and at their concerts. They keep track of their carbon footprint and encourage fans to carpool to their shows. And their merchandise is produced with their environmental impact in mind.

During their 2008 world tour, the band sold Radiohead-branded aluminum water bottles by SIGG. And now the band is producing lightweight jackets made with recycled plastic bottles. Additional information about the process used to make the jackets can be found here.

In addition to all of the great things they have been doing for the environment, they have managed to find some time to make some great music as well.

via w.a.s.t.e. merchandise

Nike and Livestrong: Chalkbot

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 03:02:20 -0400

As much as I hate to do two Nike-related posts in a row, this is too cool not to share. Nike and Livestrong teamed up to create Chalkbot, a machine that will spray inspirational messages on the pavement during the Tour de France.

There are three ways to get Chalkbot to deliver your message:
-Send a reply on Twitter to @chalkbot with the #livestrong hash tag.
-Text LIVESTRONG followed by your message to 36453.
-Visit wearyellow.com.

They ask that you keep the message clean and under 40 characters. Once your message is sprayed, you will receive a picture of your message on the course along with the GPS coordinates of the message. Amazing work.

Branding in Real Time

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:09:00 -0400

Shortly after Roger Federer closed out the fifth set in his victory at Wimbledon to win his record 15th major tournament, Nike released this spot congratulating him on his achievement. Federer also donned a Nike/RF-branded jacket with the number 15 embroidered on the side during the trophy ceremony. And of course there is the obligatory Love Fifteen microsite where you can leave congratulatory messages for Roger, although I’m surprised there is no option of leaving a video message for him.

Even though these pieces were probably created weeks in advance of the event, the immediacy of their release right after Federer’s win gives them a sense of freshness that was cool to witness while still “in the moment.” It was the opposite of Nike’s LeBron/Kobe puppet campaign that built up for months with no pay off after LeBron’s Cavs failed to make the NBA Finals. Here, Federer provided the hype on the court, and Nike celebrated with him at the end.

The downside is that all of this pomp and circumstance comes at the expense of Andy Roddick, who played the match of his life when many didn’t expect him to give Federer all he could handle.

MasOportunidades.com: Storytelling + Emotion

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:12:14 -0400

Mas Oportunidades is an Argentinian online auction site that is fighting an uphill battle against Mercado Libre, an eBay partner in Latin America that owns 90% of the e-commerce market share in Argentina. After discovering previous communications efforts by Mas Oportunidades resulted in more business for their competitor, they decided to take a different approach not only for their advertising but the site as well.

Rather than focus on the items for sale on Mas Oportunidades, the brand highlighted the stories behind the items and grouped them on the website in such descriptive categories as “I Inherited Everything But Money” and “My Girlfriend Drew the Line.” The site restructuring was intended to make the buying and selling experience a little more fun compared to what Mercado Libre was offering. Supported by an emotionally tinged integrated campaign, Mas Oportunidades increased monthly site traffic by 400%, proving that great storytelling and selling on emotion can be a successful strategy for a challenger brand.

via PSFK

Mapumental

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:51:24 -0400

Do you work in London and need a new place to live? Mapumental might be able to determine the best location for your new home or flat (at least once it is out of private beta). Users enter criteria such as preferred commute time, price range, and desired level of attractive scenery, and Mapumental calculates ideal locations for you based on data available from transportation authorities and users of the site. This is a neat tool for sure and would be nice to see for other cities across the world.

Mapumental via PSFK via Simon Mainwaring

USPS Virtual Box Simulator

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:34:31 -0400

Here’s a post I had in my drafts but never got around to posting.

I have posted a few examples of brands using augmented reality before, but they were mostly using the technology as a visual gimmick. The United States Postal Service along with their agency AKQA have gone the practical route with augmented reality for their Virtual Box Simulator. As the blog Patched Reality points out, this would be perfect for eBay sellers to gauge which size box would be required to ship their items and inform potential buyers of the shipping costs without even stepping foot in a post office. A simpler way to ship indeed.

Virtual Box Simulator via Patched Reality