The New Subaru Campaign
This is a pretty good campaign that not only executes well on their TV commercial (check it out here or below) but also has a nice "Engagement" follow through on "SexySubaru.com". The microsite allows users to "engage" with what they saw on the commercial. It allows you to "become the photographer" of a new Subaru photoshoot. You can "share it with a friend" or "submit your photo to a contest", all with the underlying purpose of lead generation. The execution is well done - smooth, well written and well developed.
It's not about technology it's about sociology - Live Streaming Video
This is the topic of the "live broadcast" interview by David Armano at Critical Mass, Chicago as he interviews Bruce Nussbaum from Business Week. I'm sharing this for two reasons.... first, the content isn't bad (albeit quite long). Second, I found the delivery interesting. It's a "live broadcast" (not now, but when it was first shot). So, it's pretty raw, unedited. The guy from CM sits down, starts the camera and starts asking questions. It's not beautifully framed, lighted or produce, but it's effective. The live broadcast is brought to you from Ustream.tv - a free service. It's kind of crazy, actually. You can watch a live streaming video, and users can "comment" to the person doing the video, so he/she can "respond live". You can also see how many "viewers" are watching him/her and see all other "past" live broadcasts. It's crazy and a little bit scary.
Beautiful Site Design
Who wouldn't expect a beautifully designed site from a company that brings you a beautifully designed bottle? Level Vodka. That got me thinking... Vodka bottles are notorous for their beautiful bottle designs. Are they all that good in their web designs? Here are a few more...they enjoy their video, tis for sure:
Grey Goose - Has some interesting visuals/functionality
Belvedere-vodka - Of course.
Chopin - You need a new interactive agency
Interactive Buzz - May 16 '08
How Little Do Web Users Read?
This study shows some interesting facts about how little users read and how much they scan...Summary: On the average Web page, users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely. Going back to the primal rule of pulling out content that is the MOST important and making it “bold” or bulleted in some way... Or shortening paragraphs and using strong paragraph titles, all while maintaining the integrity of the content and making sure it's SEO friendly. By the way, SEO friendly often means 200-400 words per page. So, if you're building a 400-page count page, make sure your most important message is covered in about 80 stand-out words.
Agency site - Nice design
I'm sharing this site (SeedGivesLife.com) only because I appreciate that the design is "different". It has a nice fluid navigation all based around a "tree landscape" concept. With that said (and noting the paragraph above this one) it's 100% Flash and not likely very SEO compliant. And I'm disappointed that they don't supply any "over" states for their content navigation so I have to guess if it's a link or not...and their copy is a little difficult to read...and they're "portfolio" area is confusing to find and difficult to use...and their home page is useless. However, I do think it's interesting that their "news" area is all contained within a Blog. So overall, maybe I don't like it as much as I thought. I like the design but give it a low usability rating.
This cartoon made me laugh - and oh-so-true.
This study shows some interesting facts about how little users read and how much they scan...Summary: On the average Web page, users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely. Going back to the primal rule of pulling out content that is the MOST important and making it “bold” or bulleted in some way... Or shortening paragraphs and using strong paragraph titles, all while maintaining the integrity of the content and making sure it's SEO friendly. By the way, SEO friendly often means 200-400 words per page. So, if you're building a 400-page count page, make sure your most important message is covered in about 80 stand-out words.
Agency site - Nice design
I'm sharing this site (SeedGivesLife.com) only because I appreciate that the design is "different". It has a nice fluid navigation all based around a "tree landscape" concept. With that said (and noting the paragraph above this one) it's 100% Flash and not likely very SEO compliant. And I'm disappointed that they don't supply any "over" states for their content navigation so I have to guess if it's a link or not...and their copy is a little difficult to read...and they're "portfolio" area is confusing to find and difficult to use...and their home page is useless. However, I do think it's interesting that their "news" area is all contained within a Blog. So overall, maybe I don't like it as much as I thought. I like the design but give it a low usability rating.
This cartoon made me laugh - and oh-so-true.
Flint Interactive Buzz - May 9 '08
Word of the week: GEO-TARGETING
Geo targeting (in internet marketing) is the method of determining the physical location of a website visitor and delivering different content to that visitor based his location, such as country, region/state, city, metro code/zip code organization, ISP or other criteria. So if you have a regional-only company, for example, insurance ONLY in North Dakota, you can choose to have the Google AdWords ads ONLY served up to people coming from an IP range within North Dakota. The benefit is that you're not serving up ads to people who will find it irrelevant.
Leading With Digital - Good AdWeek Article
This is an interesting article in AdWeek about companies leading with digital solutions. From what I've been reading & seeing lately, it seems to be the way it's going. In all of our marketing options, what are the two solutions that allow for the most engaged brand experience? PR and Interactive (digital). Here's a quote from the afore mentioned AdWeek article by Brandon Berger titled "Leading with Digital"(May 7, 2008).
Beautiful site by Audi
Audi has a microsite for it's new Audi RS 6. It's quite beautiful. Not only the site with it's array of videos, animation and audio production, but the entire campaign. The site offers specs on the car (the videos are well done, of course), but also a look into their entire campaign. Granted, I may be more interested than many, simply due to my passion for really great advertising, but they did an exceptional job in the concept and execution of this campaign. The site offers their TV commercial (check it out below), the making of the commercial, and wallpaper. I also found it interesting that they're entering the "social sharing" segment by allowing users to "Send, Share and Bookmark" their content.
Here's the commercial. The concept is the power and preciseness of the dancers mimicking the engine of the new Audi. I appreciate that they are not showing a car driving down a winding road overlooking a cliff like everyone else.
Geo targeting (in internet marketing) is the method of determining the physical location of a website visitor and delivering different content to that visitor based his location, such as country, region/state, city, metro code/zip code organization, ISP or other criteria. So if you have a regional-only company, for example, insurance ONLY in North Dakota, you can choose to have the Google AdWords ads ONLY served up to people coming from an IP range within North Dakota. The benefit is that you're not serving up ads to people who will find it irrelevant.
Leading With Digital - Good AdWeek Article
This is an interesting article in AdWeek about companies leading with digital solutions. From what I've been reading & seeing lately, it seems to be the way it's going. In all of our marketing options, what are the two solutions that allow for the most engaged brand experience? PR and Interactive (digital). Here's a quote from the afore mentioned AdWeek article by Brandon Berger titled "Leading with Digital"(May 7, 2008).
When you lead with digital, "How will the consumer interact with my brand?" is always the first question. The key word there is interact. The problem comes first, then the audience, then the solution. You don't go into the brief with an expectation of what you want to create; you go into the brief with an expectation that a solution will manifest itself in the best and most efficient way possible for the target audience. This means that the solution might not necessarily be media, but it could be a product, a Web site, a video game, a banner or even a print ad.
Beautiful site by Audi
Audi has a microsite for it's new Audi RS 6. It's quite beautiful. Not only the site with it's array of videos, animation and audio production, but the entire campaign. The site offers specs on the car (the videos are well done, of course), but also a look into their entire campaign. Granted, I may be more interested than many, simply due to my passion for really great advertising, but they did an exceptional job in the concept and execution of this campaign. The site offers their TV commercial (check it out below), the making of the commercial, and wallpaper. I also found it interesting that they're entering the "social sharing" segment by allowing users to "Send, Share and Bookmark" their content.
Here's the commercial. The concept is the power and preciseness of the dancers mimicking the engine of the new Audi. I appreciate that they are not showing a car driving down a winding road overlooking a cliff like everyone else.
Interactive Buzz - May 2 '08
Today's fact: It's the 2nd of May and it's still cold in Minneapolis, MN (47˚F) Did I fall asleep, miss summer, just wake up and it's really November?
WORD OF THE WEEK - "Del.icio.us"
A social bookmarking website. Instead of bookmarking your favorite sites using Internet Explorer or Firefox, bookmark them to a web-based site. It will keep all your bookmarks in one spot so you can access them from any location. It will also allow you to bookmark things not only for yourself, but your friends as well as give you the ability to see what others are bookmarking.
I defined this a couple weeks ago, but I'm going to do so again:
BRANDED UTILITY: Brands being genuinely useful to their customers, employees, suppliers, and to the people they touch.
A Really Good Example of Branded Utility: Nike+ Coach
This site is the prime example of Nike being useful in the lives of their consumers. This tool allows users to track their runs (or even just walks) on a daily basis. They define the site as "train individually or as part of a team, with existing training programs or by creating your own." You can set goals, use maps, see a gallery of others challenges and join them if you'd like, see and be a part of a community that shows events, distances and world runs. You can leave motivational messages for friends or teammates. If someone leaves a message on a future training run, you've got to complete the run to unlock the 'support message'. You can also download music that will help you run and a podcast of a "running coach" that assists you along the way. One small link amidst the entire site will bring users to Nike Gear. The rest of the site does no blatant selling.
Here's a quote from Nike and how they're changing their advertising mentality.
Welcome Back Spring (except here in Minnesota, bah humbug)
This is a nice little microsite from Lowes. While it took what felt like 3 hours to load, it's a lovely little site with nice use of video/animation and fun (if you're bored) functionality. The site allows you to visit your neighbors, and build your own yard, using products from none other that Lowes. Plant your shrubs, trim them with the hedge trimmer, add a fountain, firepit and even a disturbing little leap frog statue to your yard. Listen to the birds chirping and settle into your new virtual backyard. Again, Lowes, it's a nice site but work on your load time. Do you seriously think I have all day? Maybe because I'm just short and cranky because it's cold.
WORD OF THE WEEK - "Del.icio.us"
A social bookmarking website. Instead of bookmarking your favorite sites using Internet Explorer or Firefox, bookmark them to a web-based site. It will keep all your bookmarks in one spot so you can access them from any location. It will also allow you to bookmark things not only for yourself, but your friends as well as give you the ability to see what others are bookmarking.
I defined this a couple weeks ago, but I'm going to do so again:
BRANDED UTILITY: Brands being genuinely useful to their customers, employees, suppliers, and to the people they touch.
A Really Good Example of Branded Utility: Nike+ Coach
This site is the prime example of Nike being useful in the lives of their consumers. This tool allows users to track their runs (or even just walks) on a daily basis. They define the site as "train individually or as part of a team, with existing training programs or by creating your own." You can set goals, use maps, see a gallery of others challenges and join them if you'd like, see and be a part of a community that shows events, distances and world runs. You can leave motivational messages for friends or teammates. If someone leaves a message on a future training run, you've got to complete the run to unlock the 'support message'. You can also download music that will help you run and a podcast of a "running coach" that assists you along the way. One small link amidst the entire site will bring users to Nike Gear. The rest of the site does no blatant selling.
Here's a quote from Nike and how they're changing their advertising mentality.
“Last year, Nike spent $220 million of its $678 million United States advertising budget on traditional media (down 55% over ten years), while its nonmedia ad spending increased to a record $457 million. Behind this shift is a fundamental change in Nike’s view of the role of advertising. No longer are ads primarily meant to grab a person’s attention while they’re trying to do something else – like reading an article. ‘We want to find a way to enhance the experience and services, rather than looking for a way to interrupt people. How can we provide a service that makes the consumer go, wow, you really made this easier for me?’ Nike executives say that much of the company’s future advertising spend will take the form of services for consumers – like workout advice, online communities and local sports competitions. Nike portrays the shift in strategy as a return to the company’s roots in the 1970s, when, in the words of an early magazine ad, Nike grew through ‘word-of-foot marketing’. ‘We’re not in the business of keeping media companies alive,’ says Nike Global Branding VP, Trevor Edwards. ‘We’re in the business of connecting with consumers.’” (Steve Saenz, The New York Times)
Welcome Back Spring (except here in Minnesota, bah humbug)
This is a nice little microsite from Lowes. While it took what felt like 3 hours to load, it's a lovely little site with nice use of video/animation and fun (if you're bored) functionality. The site allows you to visit your neighbors, and build your own yard, using products from none other that Lowes. Plant your shrubs, trim them with the hedge trimmer, add a fountain, firepit and even a disturbing little leap frog statue to your yard. Listen to the birds chirping and settle into your new virtual backyard. Again, Lowes, it's a nice site but work on your load time. Do you seriously think I have all day? Maybe because I'm just short and cranky because it's cold.
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