Simple question for you to answer. Does celebrity endorsement still work?
Saturday, 13 November 2010
Orland Bloom's Miranda Kerr in a Victoria's Secret Sexy Lingerie Commercial
Simple question for you to answer. Does celebrity endorsement still work?
Organisers of a food festival at Tatton Park are threatening legal action
Tatton Park Food Festival Down £50,000 Due To Surprise Motorway Closure
Organisers of a food festival at Tatton Park are threatening legal action claiming a surprise motorway closure cost them £50,000.
Bowdon View bridge
The North West Food Lovers’ Festival had been planned to come the weekend after the closure of the M56 to rebuild the Bowdon View bridge.
But the work unexpectedly went on a for a third weekend – meaning the motorway was closed on the Saturday of the event, causing huge delays to traffic.
The event brought together around 120 food producers from across the north west and expected to pull in 14,000 visitors.
But organiser Steven Wundke estimates that 1,400 fewer people than he expected came – and he’s sending a bill to the Highways Agency.
He reckons they lost £10,000 from tickets sales, with vendors losing a further £40,000 from lack of custom.
iShamari: The First Wildlife Documentary
Shot Entirely on iPhone
Check out this SlideShare Presentation:
iShamari: The First Wildlife Documentary Shot Entirely on iPhone
View more presentations from @JESSEDEE.
McDonald's and PepsiCo to help write UK health policy | Politics | The Guardian
McDonald's and other food companies will help write policy on obesity and diet-related diseases. Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the Guardian
The Department of Health is putting the fast food companies McDonald's and KFC and processed food and drink manufacturers such as PepsiCo, Kellogg's, Unilever, Mars and Diageo at the heart of writing government policy on obesity, alcohol and diet-related disease, the Guardian has learned.
Friday, 12 November 2010
The Retail Bulletin / Debenhams launches promotional Voucher Card.
This new product, one of the biggest uses of promotional cards that PrePay Solutions has worked on to date, is currently being sent out to hundreds of thousands of people across the UK.
Jane Exon, Head of Marketing, at Debenhams, adds,“This new type of voucher adds to Debenhams range of promotional offers – this is of particular benefit to our customers enabling them to make valuable savings on their purchases, especially in the run up to Christmas!.”The invitation to register for a Promotional Voucher is sent out to Debenhams customers via email and through affiliate websites, and allows them money off their purchases. Once they have registered their details, customers receive a unique single use virtual voucher via email or SMS, and can then use it to receive £5 off in store.
PrePay Solutions activates and loads the card with value and manages the redemption process, ensuring the voucher is redeemed correctly and within the arranged expiry date. This also allows Debenhams to track and monitor the performance of their promotion and gives them control over the redemption as this takes place within a set time period.
Recipients are encouraged to pass on details of the promotion to friends and family so they can sign up to receive the voucher. This increases data capture for the retailer and expands their database of customers. With the redemption period from Monday 25th October - Friday 12th November 2010, the current promotional voucher also capitalises on the valuable pre Christmas sales period, driving sales at the start of the festive season.
eCircle premieres the ultimate integrated solution for email, social media and mobile marketing: eC-messenger 6.0
http://bit.ly/9Ynn9b
eCircle has just launched the latest version of its innovative email marketing broadcast technology, eC-messenger. The new eC-messenger 6.0 is the first complete solution for the effective integration of email, social media and mobile marketing.
The powerful new 6.0 version uses internet-based cloud computing, making it one of the fastest, most flexible on-demand email marketing platforms in the world. It achieves optimum marketing integration via its combination of a new Social Media Suite and Mobile Suite, and connects online and offline campaigns like never before with the help of the new Barcode Generator, which helps clients track email campaigns at Point of Sale (POS).
Speaking about the launch, Volker Wiewer, CEO of eCircle comments: “Social media and email together creates a potent marketing force, but only if you can control and integrate them effectively. For our clients to capitalise on the opportunities provided by this ever changing digital arena they need technology sophisticated enough to meet its demands. We are therefore very proud to launch the answer to these demands: eC-messenger 6.0.
Our new software also effortlessly marries the individual strengths of online and offline campaigns. It gives you the option to view complete message history per individual recipient and, with domain statistics reporting, an overall greater insight into how your campaigns perform.”
Social Media Suite: eC-messenger 6.0's social media suite allows you to promote your social media presence through email. This includes embedding tweets in to email with Twitter2Email, sharing emails on social networks with Share2Social, generating subscribers through Facebook using Facebook2Subscribe, and incorporating product reviews from user generated content.
Critique two Skoda TV ads to win a £2,000 schedule in Hospitality &Catering News
Calling all marketers with an opinion, is the latest Skoda TV ad better than the ‘cake’ ad made 3 years ago..?
Post your vote and reason why in no more than 30 words here, to win £2,000.00 worth of advertising for your business.
The winning post will receive a 2011 advertising schedule in Hospitality and Catering News worth £2,000.00. The winner will be notified by email on Wed 17th November
Thursday, 11 November 2010
One Third Of The Top Grossing iPhone Apps Are Free Apps
One Third Of The Top Grossing iPhone Apps Are Free Apps
You wouldn’t expect free applications to make a lot of money for developers, but it seems they are are GigaOM are reporting that one third of the top grossing iPhone apps are actually free applications.Out of the to 100 grossing iPhone apps, 34 of those applications are free apps, so how do the developers make their money? Through in app purchases, and its seems this method is becoming a success for developers.
How this works is that developers give the initial application away free to iPhone users, whether it is a game or a social media or a utility app. Then those who have downloaded the free app, can enhance it by purchasing more features or add ons via in app purchases.
This sort of way of making money off applications is good for both developers and customers, as the customers get to try out the application, and if they like it they can purchase more features.
Bra introduces Japan to foreign visitors
Bra introduces Japan to foreign visitors
Lingerie maker Triumph International Japan Ltd on Wednesday unveiled a concept brassiere meant to introduce Japanese tourism spots to foreign visitors. The dark blue bustier has a holder placed around the stomach to display an image of one of six major tourist spots such as Mt Fuji, the Asakusa district known for the Senso temple and the Akihabara electronics shopping area.
It also has three buttons that can be pushed to play a message saying, ‘‘Welcome to Japan,’’ in English, Chinese or Korean. Another feature is a short skirt attached to the dark blue outfit that flips up to reveal a map of Japan.
A Manchester-based outfit is changing the way customers can buy tickets to gigs and concerts
http://ticketsense.co.uk/
Rhys Davies and Kevin Hankinson of Ticketsense
A Manchester-based outfit is changing the way customers can buy tickets to gigs and concerts.
Ticketsense is aimed at independent venues and promoters who want to promote and sell tickets directly to customers’ mobile phones.
Customers can request, pay for and receive their tickets as a barcode directly to their mobile phone, saving them time going online. The company, based at Peter’s House, was set up by accountant Rhys Davies and Kevin Hankinson in August 2008 and was followed by 18 months of development, creating a basic ticketing service piloted to a limited group of customers in February.
Some background on Albert
The Experience Agency
http://www.albert.co.uk Albert offers brands a way of creating immersive, meaningful and relevant connections. Whatever the medium, the result for the recipient is an emotional connection to the brand - delivered by an experience. Albert believes that relevant and compelling brand immersion only comes from genuine insights into the market and customer. Their work is based on high quality insight and objective based planning that results in a multi-platform execution – utilising experts from both within and outside the agency.
Why are we called Albert?
The inspiration for our name and identity stems from Prince Albert, who was the driving force behind the Great Exhibition of 1851, which provided a unique, immersive and inspiring experience for its six million visitors.
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Vox Pops : Was the Marks and Spencer Christmas ad too long?
Vox Pops: Find out what the public think of the new M&S ad
CIM and Deloitte : "What's the point of measuring marketing if companies are not going to take decisions based on that insight?"
New research from The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and Deloitte finds that 49% of companies are not using customer or marketing measures to inform board level decision making. Improving Marketing Effectiveness: leading practices in marketing accountability investigates how companies measure the performance of marketing and act upon the results. At the heart of the research is a quantitative benchmarking assessment of over 200 senior marketers and board level executives.
Mums Mean Business with hotfrog
This decade has seen the rise of the mum-trepreneur: mothers who decide to start their own businesses whilst at the same time continuing to provide a high-level of care to their families and children. Online business directory hotfrog offers mums nationwide the chance to get ahead of the competition with their quick and easy service.
hotfrog, which provides a FREE internet profile to more than four million small businesses in the UK is the largest global online business directory. The company has been active in the UK since 2007, with more than five million local searches and 2.6 million unique users per month, representing a vital route to market for the small businesses which power the UK economy.
Bringing home the Digits with Digital Signage / Next Generation Retail Europe
Digital signage is on a meteoric rise, both in Europe and the US. Originally utilized as branding and advertising on high streets, landmark sites and sports events, digital signage is now being utilized as a successful in-store marketing tool; revolutionizing retail and providing a whole new dimension to customers’ shopping experience.
Research in 2007 indicated that around 75 percent or retail purchasing decisions were made in store, highlighting how underused digital signage was in relation to a marketing opportunity. Yet the Return on Investment (ROI) figures have been increasing every year, highlighting that there is still room for improvement for retailers keen to employ digital signage to its full potential. In 2009, a Digicom survey found that 78 percent of customers felt that in-store digital signage displays made a particular product more attractive than if it was advertised via standard print signage.
An extraordinary twist in the public battle between Gordon Ramsay and his father-in-law
The Michelin-starred presenter of the TV series Kitchen Nightmares wrote the emotional appeal after falling out with Chris Hutcheson – the father of his wife, Tana, 37, and his mentor and business partner for 12 years – who was dismissed last month as chief executive of Gordon Ramsay Holdings (GRH).
Can you imagine a world without brand managers? Would it be a better place?
Brand managers should be replaced by 'conversation managers' if brands are to be successful in the future, according to Steven van Belleghem, head of the brand and communications research unit at Belgian consultancy Insites Consulting.
Van Belleghem urges marketers to let go of the illusion of being in control. He said: "Say goodbye to brand managers as you don't have to manage a brand any more, consumers manage a brand." The most successful companies in 2020, according to van Belleghem, will be ones that build conversation and dialogue by involving consumers in the decision-making process.
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
A Hot Shots calendar to benefit the charity Help for Heroes
Buy the calendar - now!
“They are all drop dead gorgeous, how does a guy choose in life”.
Here's a video of the photoshoot which resulted in a Hot Shots calendar to benefit the charity Help for Heroes. http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/
Research announced today shows that 96% of mums are planning some serious cut backs this Christmas as well as tightening their belts for 2011
Research announced today shows that 96% of mums are planning some serious cut backs this Christmas as well as tightening their belts for 2011. Following George Osborne’s £18.5 million cuts, the deepest since the 1970s, mums are taking the lead in terms of a radical change to spending habits in order to play their part in the new “frugal economy”.
Researchers spoke to 1,000 respondents to input into a ‘Marketing To Mums’ report by marketing agency Haygarth http://www.haygarth.co.uk/ which works with brands including LEGO, Walt Disney Studio Home Entertainment, Pampers, Heinz, Dairy Crest and SCA Hygiene.
· The independent nationwide quantitative mums’ research was undertaken for Haygarth by One Poll (www.onepoll.com) and had a base of 1,000.
Monday, 8 November 2010
WAX viral passes one million views - all organic
From the WAX blog… http://bit.ly/cFptVR
Our viral video for Sony artists The Mentalists has broken through the 1 million views barrier
We totally missed it until a friendly client pointed it out to us. Nice one.
Needless to say that we are very happy with the result (and so is our client for sure).
It does not seem so radical anymore but at the time it was the first live performance on an iPhone. The video had international press coverage and not a penny was spent on seeding or promoting it.
Thanks to the team at Sony UK and to everyone who worked on it.
The Bigpoint Success Story - some useful facts and figures on online games
Bigpoint that has built its success on developing online games, which users play for free but can purchase in-game items.
Their business model demonstrates a strong economy for virtual goods and how this can generate significant revenues and profits for companies. The company generates well over €20m per year and some of its users spend more than $100 per month on in-game purchases. The company also has several strong media partners, including NBC, MSN and SyFy.
Bigpoint’s Chairman of the Board, Simon Guild (former CEO of MTV Networks Europe) is attending the Social Gaming / Virtual Goods Summit for Bigpoint and is giving the opening keynote speech
Bigpoint Success Story
· Bigpoint.com is one of the world’s largest portals for browser games and has just announced that they have over 150 million users worldwide with 250,000 new users daily
· Bigpoint generates enough revenue to fund in-house development of high-profile and high-quality games titles such as Ruined Online and Battlestar Galactica Online – something that many other games publishers are struggling with
· The company has now expanded to 500 employees from 35 nations
· Simon Guild was previously president and CEO of MTV Networks Europe and responsible for the European expansion of MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central
In-game purchases / advertising
· Games through Bigpoint are free-to-play and revenues are generated through in-game purchases with some users spending more than $100 per month
· Bigpoint is hugely successful with significant annual revenues – for instance, in 2008 they announced annual revenues of €20m and they have grown exponentially since then in users and revenues
· Bigpoint is also able to work with organisations to place in-game branded content and in-game advertising
Media Partners
· Bigpoint targets specific audiences through appropriate media partners for individual games, or collections of games, so that they can tap into readymade and relevant audiences. The relationship is mutually beneficial as the game publisher brings value-add content and a new revenue stream to the media partner
· Bigpoint has teamed up with major players such as NBC, MSN, MTV, SyFy to offer more content and collateral around existing and new products such as Battlestar Galactica Online
Not another football sex scandal - surely the public have had enough? | Media | guardian.co.uk
What's the point of the tabloid obsession with footballers' private lives? Does anyone care? Is anyone surprised?
This is The Sun's front page on Saturday. It claims that Arsenal's manager, Arsene Wenger, had had an affair with a French singer [Not on the paper's website].
The following day, the News of the World alleged that two Newcastle United players had been partying with women while celebrating a victory.
Rockmelt social browser launches in beta | RCR Unplugged
Rockmelt social browser launches in beta
Want to get a bit more social in your browser? No, not just in your browser, but in your browser. Everybody knows having actual tabs open to browse your social media is passée, you want it all built in so that you can never escape that one nagging cousin or that crazy ex.
Rockmelt is, at it’s heart, Chromium – the open source browser project that builds all the groundwork that Google Chrome is based on. You’ll notice a lot of similarities between the two is terms of functionality and visual style. However, while Chrome is a streamlined, svelte Kris Kristofferson of a browser, RockMelt is a little more Lady Gaga.
Simply incredible
http://askmen.com/video/entertainment/1080-people-are-awesome-video.html
Normally we're not too big on compilation videos, but this one is simply incredible
Sunday, 7 November 2010
The Dawn of the Social Consumer | Fast Company
Tweet ... ReTweet
Like
Share
Check-in
Group buy
QR code scan
Augmented reality
RFID
What may sound like buzz words or mere hype, is actually the beginning of the end of business as usual. Welcome to the rise of the social consumer and a new era of social commerce. Look at the picture above and think about how physical and online stores can integrate the social graph into the shopping experience right now. The possibilities are limitless and we can introduce everything today.
From online to offline to online again, social consumers are checking into businesses, fusing online and offline engagement and influencing behavior and decisions in the process. These increasingly important acts of social exchanges are gaining in value and delivering benefits for both sides. As a result, social consumers now expect to be rewarded for their role in the socialization of your brand ... and rightly so.
Rumors are already swirling that the recently launched Facebook Places geo-location service will soon encourage businesses to offer deals in exchange for check-ins.
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