Introduction
When I look at a book in the store, I think about it in terms of what I’m going to learn and be able to share after reading it. After all, reading a book is an investment of time you’ll never get back, so I always try to make sure I’m looking for the best return. In the hope of jump-starting your reading list, here are three books that are well worth the investment – both in buying the book and taking the time to read it.
Drive by Daniel Pink 
Drive is a great, easy-to-read book about what motivates people. If you’re in a leadership position at your company, this is a good look at how to get the best out of the people with whom you work. If you’re in the advertising industry, I thought it was interesting to think of Pink’s conclusions in terms of how to motivate consumers to develop a relationship with a brand or purchase a product.
Pink delves into a deep discussion of motivation and which factors intrinsically motivate people versus extrinsic motivators. Pink also discusses the need for autonomy, mastery and purpose in work. Being able to apply the above factors as a frame of reference when working with motivating teams or consumers makes this book great for any discipline, but especially planning and brand management.
It took me about two and a half hours to get through this book – it’s a pretty easy read and it’s structured to make it a quick read. I appreciated the summaries at the back; Pink provides a “Twitter Summary,” “Cocktail Party Summary” and a more detailed summary for easy reference once you’ve finished the book.
Perfect Pitch by Jon Steel
Yep, I admit it – this is a well-known advertising classic. But if you haven’t read it, it’s worth reading. Or if you have, it’s worth reading again. I recently re-read this book and looked at it in a whole new light. For me, re-reading this book reminded me that every single client presentation should be approached with the same intensity and care as a new business pitch. Every presentation is an opportunity to tell or remind your audience why they hired you, why they should care and is a chance to show how much you care.
Steel emphasizes the need for storytelling in presentations and the importance of making a personal connection with the audience. He also has great tips for delivery, presentation aids and the importance of fitting the presentation for the audience.
This book is the “perfect” read for anyone who has to give a presentation in just about any field, but at 288 pages, it’s a bit lengthier than Drive. This book took me a good four or five hours to get through, but I did spend some time pondering Steel’s stories and tips.
A Leader’s Legacy by James Kouzes and Barry Posner
This book is a good reminder about always keeping in mind the legacy you are leaving behind. Whether it’s the legacy you leave behind at a job when you move on or your life’s work, it’s always worth thinking about. I was reminded of this on Friday at the Chick-fil-A Leadercast, where Suzy Welch asked a simple question “What will you regret at your 70th birthday?” Keeping your legacy in mind is an effective way to keep yourself focused on what is most important to you.
The other thing I think about when I think about legacy is that of a company. What will your company’s legacy be?
Kouzes and Posner focus on four main areas of development – significance, relationships, aspirations and courage. Each section has about five to six subsections, with examples being “Leaders should want to be liked,” “The best leaders are teachers” and “It’s not just the leader’s vision.”
Kouzes and Posner have set out a clear path to thinking about your legacy, and this book is a quick read, well worth the two hours it takes to get through it. It’s broken up into easy sections that can be read in the five minutes while dinner is in the microwave or you’re waiting for soccer practice to end. These sections are structured with a clear moral or thought to keep in mind for each part, so you can walk away with ideas to implement after each one.
As a Millennial, I sometimes have to fight against the stereotypes so lovingly bestowed upon my generation. Quite often, co-workers, clients and even my not-so-far-removed Gen X friends fall into the trap of quickly writing off my age group. In not so many words, we’ve been called a lazy, mush-brained generation that believes we deserve everything live-streamed to us on our iPads while we enjoy being served Four Loko from a silver spoon. Awesome mental picture, but it’s not true!
If you’ve read anything about my generation, you know that aside from being more “plugged in” and “digitally mobile” than any other generation group, we’re also very interested in being civically involved and like to support nonprofit causes.
A recent study released by the consulting firms JGA and Achieve found that, in 2010, 93% of 3,000 Millennials surveyed donated their time or money to a nonprofit organization.
Now, that’s a cool number, and I’m glad to see that my peers are supporting good causes. However, here’s a stat I found alarming:
Eighty-five percent of those who were not involved with a nonprofit in 2010 attributed “not having enough time” to their lack of involvement.
Not apathy, but TIME! “I swear I want to help someone, Nate – but I just don’t have enough time between work and friends and watching Netflix and laying out by the pool and catching up with ‘Gossip Girl’!“ Pweef – are we really that busy, or are those Boomers actually right about us? Are we just plain lazy?
Well, fear not, you technology-rich but time-poor Millennial! Below you will find a few useful services that have combined tech + charity in some pretty cool and innovative ways. So now you can become involved with a nonprofit without having to cut down on your monthly minutes at the tanning salon. Also, there are only five examples, so you still have time tonight to cruise YouTube for Rebecca Black parodies.
SwipeGood (http://swipegood.com)
Support charity while supporting your shopping addiction.
Similar to Bank of America’s “Keep the Change” functionality, SwipeGood rounds up your credit card transactions to the nearest dollar and donates the spare change to the charity of your choice. There are currently almost 500 charities supported and more are being added frequently, so you’re bound to find a cause that will be worth your nickels and dimes. And in case you’re worried that you’ll accidentally blow your budget if you’re not watching your transactions, SwipeGood offers the ability to set a monthly limit.
SocialVibe (http://www.socialvibe.com)
Good for advertisers, great for charities.
SocialVibe bills itself as the leading social media utility that connects brands and consumers for the benefit of a charitable organization. Their platform is built on a pretty simple pay-for-engagement system where you interact with a brand’s advertising for a donation to charity – then you share with your social graph. It’s a dead-simple service that you can do on your lunch break or during Tuesday morning’s conference call.
HelpAttack! (http://www.helpattack.com)
A good reason for your tweets to stop being so lame.
HelpAttack! operates under the philosophy that giving back isn’t something we should only do when disaster strikes or when your company has their annual 5K – it should be ingrained in our everyday life. For many of us, our lives are just as much online as they are offline, so HelpAttack! allows users to pledge a small donation every time they update their social network. So with every scandalous spring break picture you post on Facebook or live tweet you send during jury duty, you can actually be supporting a great cause – one small donation at a time.
charity: water’s online portal (http://www.charitywater.org or http://mycharitywater.org)
An easier way to motivate other lazy friends’ giving.
charity: water is a not-for-profit organization that sponsors clean water projects in developing countries. They are also an organization that supports grassroots involvement of its supporters to spread the word and garner donations. Their online portal makes it incredibly easy for one person to plan an event or campaign and encourage others to donate to it. Actually, just last month for my 24th birthday, I used this service to rally my friends to raise over $2,500 for a soon-to-be-built clean water project.
FreeRice.com (http://www.freerice.com)
Do something productive while you’re bored on the Internet.
You’ve probably heard of this one before since it’s been around for ages – since 2007. FreeRice is a very simple online game that asks you to define a word for the chance to donate 10 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program. The sponsors of this program allow you to flex your brain while giving food to those who desperately need it.
So there you have it – five really simple, really easy and really great ways to donate your time or money to help a good cause. So you have no more excuses for not getting involved, OK?
Now be a good Millennial and retweet this article to all your followers.
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The most important Internet-capable device in your life may very soon be your television. The Web is poised to invade your living room and revolutionize the way we consume media. Companies like Apple and Google have introduced products this year that transform the way we watch television. What these Internet-capable set-top boxes provide is what has always been the promise of the Internet, convenience. Traditional television is clunky and difficult to manage. It requires users to conform to the rules of the content providers. Who today has time to plan their lives around an 8:30 p.m. time slot on Thursday nights? Streaming video allows users control over their television viewing. People want to watch what they want and when they want it. People also want choice. Online video gives viewers this freedom in ways that traditional media can’t. Devices such as Apple TV allow users to stream online video instantly and on their own terms.
The company known primarily for search announced Google TV at this year’s Google I/O. It promises to be a very interesting addition to your living room media cabinet. As with their Android mobile operating system, Google has chosen to focus on the platform while allowing others to create hardware to run its new TV-centric software. Google TV provides streaming services such as Netflix and Pandora along with a TV-friendly Internet browser. You can already purchase devices running Google TV, such as the Logitech Revue or Sony Internet TV Blu-ray Disc Player, or even built into a standalone TV, such as the Sony Internet TV.
Apple, on the other hand, prefers to be the master of its own hardware with Apple TV. The Cupertino-based computer giant launched the second generation of its set-top box at their September Keynote. The software/hardware integration allows virtually flawless syncing with iTunes along with your iPhone or iPad. Also, Apple TV is running a version of Apple’s mobile iOS, which means we could be seeing an iPhone-like app store for the set-top box in the near future. This is a long way from the device that Steve Jobs originally called just a “hobby” for Apple.
Apple is in a slightly better position than Google to take advantage of this new streaming video reality. Beyond the obvious advantage of hardware compatibility, they have a history of working with content providers with products such as iTunes and iBooks. Networks are less skittish when dealing with Apple’s closed and controlled ecosystem than they are with Google’s open platform, with its promise of free online use. But Apple and Google aren’t the only players in this market. The Roku Player, while still relatively unknown, beat both of the Internet giants into the market and has a very loyal, if small, following. It also features extremely competitive pricing and a tiered system of hardware choices. And let’s not forget about the stealthy Internet-capable devices that you likely already have connected to your television. Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft have very quietly positioned themselves to compete in this new space with their gaming consoles. Reports show as many as 21% of Americans already use their video game console to watch television and movies, including streaming online content from providers such as Netflix. In fact, Nintendo has admitted that it sees Apple as its main competitor in the coming years.
With the ever-increasing availability of broadband connectivity, online streaming video has become more and more prevalent. Yet, major networks are already fighting to prevent these new devices from distributing their content. ABC, NBC and CBS have all made moves to block their otherwise free online content from being distributed over devices such as Google TV. However, if we have learned one thing from similar attempts by the record industry and publishers, it’s that the people’s will will be done. Apple and Google have both recognized the need for Internet platforms attached to your television. These channels will reach users across millions of devices that are not traditional computers or laptops as any of us currently know them. Picture a person browsing the Web while sitting on their couch. Perhaps they use a tablet to read online articles, search for the latest episode of their favorite television show from their phone and then use the phone or tablet as a remote to watch the video on the living room TV set. That day is already here and, as always, the technology is simply waiting on the content providers to catch up.
Despite hesitancy from some, it is a fact that streaming Internet video is the future of television. All that remains to be seen is how content providers react to the current trends. The smart ones will embrace the new shift in viewing habits and find ways to extend advertising and other revenue-generating models to online. In this sort of race, it’s very frequently those who act fastest that thrive. It’s also likely that we will see fresh and new content providers that are built on a sleek, low-budget model that is designed specifically for this type of environment. These newcomers will likely thrive in the new world of streaming video. Because of this drastic change in media consumption, marketers will have to act quickly to make sure their brands stay relevant in this space. Without a comprehensive digital strategy, it will be easy to get lost in the noise. Because if there is one thing that the freedom of the Internet also delivers, it’s parity. When everyone’s voice is heard equally, it’s much harder to stand out. Digital presence no longer just means a website, but exposure across multiple web platforms: blogs, social media, search, display ads, podcasting and, yes, online video.
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This past week I had the chance to revisit one of the longest-standing interactive industry trade shows – ad:tech – at “home base”, The Moscone Center in San Francisco. Frankly, the show had lost some punch over the past two years as most of the event felt like one continuous vendor sales pitch. Thankfully, that was not the case in 2010.
With a reported show attendance of over 11,000, it’s clear the business is back in full force. The conference sessions and exhibit hall featured new product introductions, technology platforms and services that span the digital advertising world, including:
Ad Networks, Ad Servers, Affiliates, Creative Services, Email Marketing, Rich Media, Media Planning, Metrics/Analytics, Mobile, Portals, Publishers, Research, SEM and Viral Marketing, just to name a few.
Chatting with a long-time friend and Chief Revenue Officer Mike Pubentz of dmg world media and producer of ad:tech, the show was completely overhauled to create higher quality engagement between speakers, exhibitors and attendees. For example, a new “Marketing Masters” series provided a two-hour session on hot topics that mattered most to attendees. The sessions featured broad panels and allowed a good deal of back-and forth between attendees and speakers.
One of the most gee-whiz demos I saw was a true Multi-Touch interface from a company called Dedo located in Dallas, Texas (yes, I know, the irony of traveling all the way across the country to discover a cool technology located right in your own backyard). The best part of the technology is that it’s built with Adobe Air and does not require a lot of the expensive hardware equipment associated with Microsoft’s Surface computing initiative.
The image featured here takes Twitter data and displays it real-time, and classifies the posts by different parameters. Here, the Puma brand was recently mentioned in a keynote session and therefore has more prominence. It’s a quick and easy way to identify hot topics with a volume of mentions.
Here are some key take-aways from ad:tech San Francisco…
Zig when others zag
Jaime Cohen Szulc, CMO, Levi Strauss & Co. delivered the opening keynote and stressed the importance of creating clearer separation of strategy and execution when deploying new campaigns. He noted that most marketers are like 5-year olds playing soccer – they tend to all run to the ball in the same spot on the field. He says to play your position and be strategic about deploying your assets where the competition is not.
Content is no longer king – data is
Just a glance at the trade show flow to see the huge number of data platforms, aggregators, demand-side platforms, networks and exchanges quickly left you with the feeling that you better bone up on your math skills or you’ll quickly feel out of touch. Even keeping up-to-speed with the industry acronyms during presentations was a hurdle. Most folks agreed that a vast majority of VC money is pouring into anything with the word “data” in the elevator speech. Word of caution: most also noted there will be major consolidation in the coming months. So be very careful whom you trust data to or else the info may disappear with the company.
Design is critically important
We’re not talking about the debate of how best to design work for print or web, we’re talking how to design for specific channels. For your next project, if the design resource you are using is not assigning the project to a digital art director who lives and breathes the medium, then skip it. There’s no way they will get the project right unless they are sensitive to the intricacies of the social tribe they are participating with.
Measurement – please stop focusing on the click-through, really!
Dave Smith of MediaSmith was spot on in his plea to get all marketers to look at their response data in a holistic fashion. While many of us in the digital space know this well, it’s worth repeating; an impression is still an impression – even if there is no click. Bottom line – you are flying blind if you don’t invest in better measurement. Why not get the complete picture and leverage all the data points at your disposal?
The iPad is freakin’ HAWT… so get on board.
Tablets are the new TT – Transformational Technology – and many at the conference agree the form, function and features of the new iPad will revolutionize how we consume many forms of media. The real question is when. Suddenly all those iPhone developers are dropping what they are doing and jumping to iPad projects. Hint, hint.
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We’re now in Day 6 since the 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. All of us have seen the coverage, the images and stories of tragedy in the impoverished nation. We’ve also seen the pleas for help, from former Presidents Bush and Clinton to Wyclef Jean. If you’re having a hard time wading through all the options and want to make sure help gets where it’s most needed, here are some digital tools you can utilize to make your decision for the current crisis in Haiti as well as research on any charitable organization.
First, what are the options for online giving? The traditional methods of giving by phone and mail are still widely available, we’re seeing more charitable organizations experimenting with new ways of making it an easier, faster and smoother process. Giving through websites for charities is now a standard that no charity can go without. But one particular method of giving that has received a lot of attention in recent days has been through text messaging. If you haven’t heard, organizations like the Red Cross have partnered with a text message intermediary called mGive. To donate via text message to the Red Cross, you text the word “HAITI” to the number “90999” and you’ll automatically get a $10 line item added to your next cell phone bill. Other charities get other keywords to text to that same number. For the Red Cross alone, this method of giving has raised over $22 million (as of Monday).
One thing to note about donating via text messages is the delay that occurs because the money has to pass through middlemen before actually getting to the charity. This is less of an issue for big charities like the Red Cross which has an emergency fund and can get the financing they need in times of crises, but may be more of an issue for smaller, less-established charities.
For all those who have given via text message, here’s what the Red Cross has to say: “The processing delay doesn’t mean we’re waiting,” said Jonathan Aiken, spokesman for the Red Cross. “Our policy is always to work in good faith and assume people will make the contributions they pledge.”
Another innovative method of giving that is gaining traction is directly through iTunes – again, the Red Cross has taken the lead here and has become the beneficiary of choice for users of Apple’s Tunes software. Here’s the link to donate via iTunes (this will open up iTunes)
How do you decide who to give to? How do you know an organization is legitimate and will have a positive impact in Haiti? Established charities like The Salvation Army, Oxfam, Red Cross, UNICEF and Doctors Without Borders are safe and effective bets here. But if you have a desire to give to one that isn’t as well known, the key is to do your research; the good news is, there are lots of online resources that make it easy to learn about the legitimacy of the organization you are thinking about supporting. One excellent online resource is Charity Navigator, which is an independent evaluator or non-profits and aid organizations. They’ve put together a page on their site on charities providing relief, their overall rating and descriptions of what the organizations are doing on the ground there. To take it a step further, you can even look up the charity group’s most recent tax filing and non-profit status.
So what has the crisis in Haiti taught us about the age of digital donations? First, text message donations have to be taken seriously. With the huge impact it has had on the Haiti relief effort, it should strongly be considered for any future giving campaigns. Another lesson is to explore even more ways in which organizations can make it as easy as possible for people to give their support: consider platforms like social networking and mobile apps that are increasingly being adopted by a wide audience. And finally, if you are a reputable charitable organization, tout your presence on independent, third-party sites that have deemed you a worthy aid organization. In today’s world, being transparent about your ratings by third-parties can go a long way in establishing trust with the audience you’re trying to impact.
I hope this cleared up some of the questions you may have been asking about giving to help the people of Haiti. Remember, there are lots of different ways to give (some as easy as sending a text message or clicking on a link in iTunes), but do your research and make sure the organization is a legitimate one. And go do some good.
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Every year, for the past 3 or 4 years, someone proclaims the next twelve months will usher in a new era for mobile marketing… but it never happens. Despite the fact that mobile is one of the most widely adopted consumer technologies in the world, 2010 may once again not be the year of mobile.
However, I’d suggest that smart brands who want to stay ahead of the curve will notice that the mobile revolution has reached a crossroads, and it’s being driven by Facebook.
Just today, Facebook announced that 1/4 of their monthly worldwide visits or 65 million visits, are via mobile. You heard me right… Facebook has twice as many mobile visits as Twitter has overall visits, and this number has tripled since December of last year!
We will continue to see these numbers rise, and with Facebook’s release this week of the new Facebook iPhone App. Here are some of the new additions, and what they might mean for your brand:
1.) Mobile Access to Brand Pages
The Facebook Page is turning into a truly versatile platform. They are already functioning for many advertisers as microsites, since custom tabs can be created and linked to directly. With the launch of mobile access to Facebook Pages, is this a stand-in for a mobile website?
2.) Favorite People… and Pages
Another new feature introduced in the latest version of the Facebook iPhone Application is the ability to create a “favorites” page for friends you most often interact with, or pages that you visit most often. This is another great testament to the power of the Facebook Brand Fan Page, that someone might include a brand amongst their friends. This is also a rare opportunity, since Facebook has mostly kept user “profiles” and brand “pages” separate.
3.) Mobile Chat
This may be on the of the most powerful new features offered on the Facebook iPhone App, and one that makes the most sense for a mobile device.
The use of mobile phones for voice calls is dwindling and text messaging is on the rise. Text messaging is already being replaced for some due to the tough economic times. In fact, many consumers are turning towards mobile instant messaging platforms to replace text messages, particularly if they don’t have an unlimited plan. So the question becomes, will consumers at some point choose to chat via Facebook rather than sending a text message? Or perhaps Facebook will allow brands to eventually chat with fans.
It’s easy to see that Facebook is becoming much more than a destination, and much more than a social network. 2010 may not be the year of mobile, but it will certainly be the year that marketers see how important mobile has become to the users of one of the most powerful platforms online…
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Recently, I was tasked with helping one of our clients understand what independent films were doing to promote their film via their website. At first, I thought “no problem” and began with a simple google search. As you can see, that search didn’t pan out too well – and neither did variations of it. I also tapped some of our secondary research resources, but most of them talked about how much the big studios were spending on websites for Harry Potter 6 and Bruno. I needed the independent film perspective. But even the big independent studio film sites weren’t much help: for example, nearly all the films on Magnolia Pictures’ site were on the same template, and not a very good one at that.
My next direction was more fruitful. I found all the film festivals happening right now and went down their nomination and award list. While many of them don’t have a web presence at all, I was pleasantly surprised to see some neat things that some films are doing to promote themselves, often on what we know is a small budget. Here’s what I found:
Judicious Use of Video
Films like Wah Do Dem engage the visitor immediately with the trailer for the film, using an integrated flash player, vimeo player or even YouTube. Gone are the days where you can find out everything about a movie except for the only thing you’re really interested in – the trailer. Other indie films like Big Fan also put the trailer for the film front and center. I also noticed more films including short videos from the director, teasers and other things you might traditionally see as a DVD extra.
Tying to a Cause
This isn’t so much a trend in film websites as much as it is just something films are thinking about early in the process. Films like Flow and The Cove make “taking action” a big part of the web experience. Often, these are prominently featured on the film site and then link out to a full-blown “activist” site where people can dive much deeper into the issue at hand.
Links to Social Media
This was the big surprise for me. With Flixter’s Movie app on Facebook being one of the most popular (over 17 million active users), you would think that independent films would be all over the social media front. Unfortunately, it’s utilized by only a select few sites. But the ones that are doing it are promoting their social networking links prominently on their homepage. Films like Burma VJ, More Than a Game, and We Are All Precious all take advantage of the power of social media.
So at the end of the process, I was able to help our client understand the space, learn about some of the most effective tactics independent films are using on their websites, and as an extra perk, experienced some websites that did their job – I think I’m going to go see Burma VJ!
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Most of you reading this blog have heard of the Cannes Film Festival and the Cannes Lions – the international advertising festival.
Fewer of you have probably heard of the Cyber Lions, which were launched in 1998, focusing on interactive advertising. For years, this part of the show was relegated to the early part of the week, living in the shadow of TV commercials.
Much has changed since those days. The award night has been moved to be more accessible to more attendees of Cannes and most of the seminars in the last couple years have been focused on digital, with talks being led by Twitter, Razorfish, AKQA and Digitas, all interactive-focused shops. More integration with digital seems to be a reality in today’s Cannes.
Speaking of integration – compared to previous years, this year’s Grand Prix winners are more holistic, integrated campaigns rather than the digital-only executions that tended to win in year’s past. In fact, Lars Bastholm, president of the Cyber Lions judging jury says: “Digital no longer lives in a vacuum, it is integral to larger campaigns and this [campaign] is a great example of that,” referring to Tourism Queensland’s “best job in the world” campaign. He adds, “Digital tied everything together. There was a minuscule budget but it became a global campaign. Digital [allowed it to] blow the budget [in terms of impact].”
Let’s take a closer look at these three Grand Prix awards and what made them so successful.
Tourism Queensland: Best Job in the World
In the interactive campaigns category, Tourism Queensland and their agency Nitro came up with “the best job in the world” which got quite a bit of press for its website promoting this job opening and the applicants it attracted. The person selected for this job would get paid $150,000 to live on an island and blog about their experience there. Yep, that’s it.
They drove traffic there in a very nontraditional manner – newspaper and online classifieds treating this job just like any other on places like monster.com and the big newspapers of the world. They used an almost satirical teaser video that got distributed to news outlets, garnering over $100 million in media coverage with a campaign budget of only $1 million. Their YouTube contest attracted over 35,000 submissions, the bulk of which were surprisingly serious.
Unfortunately, the contest has wrapped up now so you’ve missed your chance at the best job in the world. But the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef have not stopped here – they’ve leveraged the buzz they’re still getting from this campaign by featuring the personal blog of Ben Southall, their winner, as well as putting him to work starting July 1st, where we’ll all get to see what the best job in the world is really like.
Fiat: Eco:Drive
Fiat and AKQA won in the online advertising category for their eco-campaign called Eco:Drive. Seemingly inspired by the data-driven revolution occurring in the mainstream consumer’s life, proven by the success of Nike+iPod running system and the hybrid cars that track your efficiency as you drive, Fiat made the investment to integrate “Blue&Me” technology that allows drivers to transfer their driving information via USB thumb drive to their computer where they can analyze their driving style. The website then dissects the driving style and offers custom recommendations on how to improve fuel efficiency. In a beautifully illustrated interface, Fiat also gives you results of individual road trips and tips on the optimal way to shift gears to maximize efficiency.
Like Nike (but on a much larger and costly scale), Fiat made a commitment years ago to open up its in-car diagnostic information not to be a black hole only to be accessed by expensive dealer service bays but by the average Joe. Then they realized that conveying that information via online would be the most user-friendly and engaging platform to build a relationship with their customers.
The Dark Knight: Why So Serious?
In the viral advertising and marketing category, Warner Brothers and 42 Entertainment built a campaign to hype “The Dark Knight” film, called “Why so serious?” It not only involved nearly 30 microsites that got people talking and interested in the world of Gotham, but also integrated an online alternate reality game as well as live events all over the world. People came out in droves to see the bat signal placed on buildings in New York and Chicago, tens of thousands showed up across the national to march with Harvey Dent signs and shout campaign slogans, and many more were sent on a hunt across the world using GPS coordinates for bowling balls left by the Joker.
This campaign attempted (and succeeded) at creating an alternate world where people could feel as if they were citizens of Gotham – through participating in real-world events to visiting the campaign websites of Harvey Dent or the Gotham City Pizza website. This resulted in over 10 million unique participants online and nearly a million in real-world participants.
As you’ve just seen, these Cyber Lion winners aren’t just microsites anymore – they are simply great ideas with digital playing an important role tying components of the campaign together. As our industry evolves, look for more smart, integrated campaigns; no longer treating interactive as an add-on but rather as a foundational piece.
Want to see more stellar, integrated, interactive work? Visit the Cannes Lions website and see the rest of the winner.
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Facebook has just announced the top 50 finalists for their 2009 fbFund. The fbFund is a $10 million seed fund that awards $25-$100k equity investments for innovative applications developers are creating for Facebook. Looking through this list of finalists is a great way to see some of the innovative ways that Facebook is being used.
Below, I’ve included a list of some of the applications I found particularly interesting. Some are already active, others are still in development.
Facebook Connect
Lunchster: Lunchster automatically schedules lunches with nearby friends and colleagues. And a seamless integration with Outlook, iCal, and Google Calendar means that you only need to accept or decline. Sign up now and connect with friends in the real-world.
SocialFeet: SocialFeet enables any website to easily implement “Activity Stream Publishing”. With the SocialFeet widget, a website can increase traffic by empowering its visitors to stream their activities to Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks.
Facebook Platform
GreenBook: Greenbook educates Facebook users on climate change and issues that threaten our fragile planet. The application enables users to find ideas and products to make their life greener, learn about their carbon footprint and even reduce it by using Greenbook.
Twangü: Twangü is a group buying application that allows you to get volume discounts on the stuff you want to buy. Build your shopping team and watch thousands of vendors bid on your team’s business. The bigger the shopping team, the bigger the savings!
iPhone Apps
FriendFreak: Think you know your friends? It’s not what you know, it’s who you know and how well you know them. FriendFreak is an App for your iPhone that improves your knowledge of your social network. FriendFreak was designed by Think Top Down in San Francisco.
View the complete list of the top 50 finalists at the fbFund Facebook Page.
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Balloonimals is a great new iPhone application developed by the folks at the IDEO Toy Lab. Here’s how the application works once you download it to your iPhone:
Blow into the microphone on your iPhone, and watch beautifully rendered Balloonimals spring to life. After the balloon inflates, give your phone a shake. Voila! With each shake, a Balloonimal takes shape. Soon, your Balloonimal appears ready to play. Now, pet your Balloonimal and see what tricks it can do.
You can watch the video below to see Balloonimals in action.
Strengths: There are a few strengths that make this application worth downloading. First off, its use of some unique iPhone features, such as the “shaking” of the accelerometer, means it provides an experience you can’t find anywhere else. In addition, the idea is a clever one, putting it into a category of application “toys” that aren’t quite games, but provide entertainment.
Weaknesses: There are two versions of the application, a “Lite” version that includes only one animal, and a $1.99 paid version that includes more. Quite simply, the application is worth downloading to play with once or twice, but there isn’t enough of a draw to convince me to pay $1.99. This is an important lesson to keep in mind if you’re planning on charging for an iPhone application.
If you’re interested in learning more about what our best practices are for creating iPhone applications, take a look at our presentation, A Marketer’s Guide to iPhone Applications.
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