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Video: Augmented Reality 'Space Invaders' Brings New Life To Classic Game Brand

Talk about breathing fresh life into a handheld video game.

Here's how Space Invader plays in a new mobile AR game from Zentium.

Sure, it's rudimentary - and it's only for Android-based mobile phones - but just image where this is going to go next.

Read more here.

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OD_cover "... EXCELLENT ..."

 “Through persuasive arguments and Q&A's with the major players in advertising, Mathieson makes an excellent case for greater creativity and outside-the-box thinking backed up with solid ideas."

Publisher's Weekly


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Video: Adidas Augmented Reality DJ Game With Shoe As Controller

If you were wondering what some of those games would look like for Adidas' new augmented reality shoes - shoes that act as controllers for augmented reality games - here you go. This one's some kind of DJ game that uses the shoe to put on a show. 

I hope future games work with a mobile phone while you're actually wearing the shoes - a real world/virtual world adventure of some kind.

You know, so you don't have to hold the shoe in your hands in front of your webcam at home. I'm just saying.

But this is good eye candy for now.

 

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>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

OD_cover "... EXCELLENT ..."

 “Through persuasive arguments and Q&A's with the major players in advertising, Mathieson makes an excellent case for greater creativity and outside-the-box thinking backed up with solid ideas."

Publisher's Weekly


>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

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Wired's iPad App Sells 24,000 Copies In One Day

Sure, GQ's Men of the Year iPad edition only sold 350 copies. But Condé Naste appears to have scored big with Wired.

First projected to sell 2,500 to 3,000 copies of its new iPad app, Business Insider reports that the app is the top paid app in the Apple App store and sold 24,000 downloads in its first day.

At $4.99 each, that's about $120,000 in total revenue, or about $84,000 for the pub. Now before you get too excited, remember that Wired has newsstand sales of 82,357 and subscription sales of 672,217. And then there's the question of just how much that $84K covers of all the spiffy interactive content developed for the issue beyond what interactive ads may have earned the pub.

But still, a promising development - and one fitting for a pub that prides itself on being on the cutting edge (even if its actual name seems even more anachronistic in the iPad era).

Read more here.

 

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>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

OD_cover "... EXCELLENT ..."

 “Through persuasive arguments and Q&A's with the major players in advertising, Mathieson makes an excellent case for greater creativity and outside-the-box thinking backed up with solid ideas."

Publisher's Weekly

 

 

 

 

 

 

>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

 

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A New Update To A Vlasic Character

Can Charlie Tuna be far behind?

The Vlasic Stork has gotten an update, one that balances the nostalgia act so common in uncertain times with new relevance.

In the stork's case, that means a transmedia campaign, from Merkley & Partners NY, that involves TV, print, social media, online banner ads and, of course, a microsite called tastewhatavlasiccando that's just begging to be spoofed.

It's just that this microsite takes the perky pickle brand to a new place. You choose occasions to see how a pickle will enhance the experience. Road trip? "Dump the buddies and just take the pickels." Hungover? Why settle for a stalk of celery in that Bloody Mary? Get the crunch and the brine with a Vlasic.

“The Vlasic stork now embodies the brand in a contemporary and relevant way,” Eric Hintz, vice president for marketing at Pinnacle in Mountain Lakes, N.J., said in a statement cited by the New York Times, “while retaining the characteristics that people have come to know and love.”

Will consumers bite? It's too early to tell. But when Mr. Clean starts clubbing or Tony the Tiger starts doing hip-hop, these classic characters run the risk of jumping the shark.

This particular execution doesn't seem to over the top. At least anymore than a sarcastic, 6-ft. tall talking stork who pitches pickles was in the first place.

Read all about the new campaign here

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>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

OD_cover "... EXCELLENT ..."

 “Through persuasive arguments and Q&A's with the major players in advertising, Mathieson makes an excellent case for greater creativity and outside-the-box thinking backed up with solid ideas."

Publisher's Weekly

 

 

 

 

 

 

>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

 

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Rick Interviewed on 'The CNN Morning Show' - On Nike, Burger King, P&G, BMW & More

I was a guest on CNN Radio 650's "CNN Morning Show" the other morning for a wide-ranging interview on digital marketing initiatives from Burger King, Nike, P&G, BMW and many others - and spanning social networking, mobile, augmented reality, personalizable video and more. 

Hosts Brent Clanton and Steven Kay were a lot of fun, and it made for a lively conversation.

Listen in here:

Audio link - Listen to interview here. (Approx. 22:21)

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>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

OD_cover "... EXCELLENT ..."

 “Through persuasive arguments and Q&A's with the major players in advertising, Mathieson makes an excellent case for greater creativity and outside-the-box thinking backed up with solid ideas."

Publisher's Weekly

 

 

 

 

 

 

>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

 

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Pop-Up Stores? Passe. Enter: The Automated Retail Store

 Futuristic vending machines are transforming the face of retailing.

You've seen them: The high-tech vending machines from Best Buy, Sephora (like the one shown here), Apple (thank you!), often at airports.

As today's New York Times reports, a new wave of flashy "automated retail stores" give brands a new way to extend their presence without a lot of cost.

As Gower Smith of ZoomSystems, which creates so-called ZoomShops puts it, one of these vending machines "costs less than an employee." And they can reack up the sales. Mall stores produce about $330 a square foot per year, while a 28-square-foot ZoomShop can generate $3,000 to $10,000 a square foot per year.

Quicksilver offers swimming suits in machines at Standard hotels. U*tique plans on selling high-end beauty products in machines. And in Abu Dhabi, a lobby of a luxury hotel has a vending machine that dispenses gold bars and coins at $1,000 an ounce. Those ubiquitous RedBox vending machines are already changing the way we rent DVDs. Why not most anything else?

But hold on. Doesn't this cheapen brands?

According to a study from NCR Corporation, 86% of North American consumers say they're more likely to do business with companies offering some sort of self-service. And they really like self-service technology. Of course, NCR is behind transactional technologies, so consider the source.

Still, these vending machines are already the rage in Japan. Time will tell if these vending machines really take off. But really, is dealing with a machine much different than dealing with most store clerks? And if machine interfaces are good enough for banks (ala ATMs), aren't they good enough for retailers?

Get the full scoop here.

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>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

OD_cover "... EXCELLENT ..."

 “Through persuasive arguments and Q&A's with the major players in advertising, Mathieson makes an excellent case for greater creativity and outside-the-box thinking backed up with solid ideas."

Publisher's Weekly

 

 

 

 

 

 

>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

 

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The On-Demand Brand Visits 'The Wayne Hurlbert Show'

OD_imedia_book_cover I was there for the full hour, and it was a lot of fun - covering everything from augmented reality to branded games to viral video and more.

Listen to the interview here.

And don't miss Wayne's review of the book here.

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>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

OD_cover "... EXCELLENT ..."

 “Through persuasive arguments and Q&A's with the major players in advertising, Mathieson makes an excellent case for greater creativity and outside-the-box thinking backed up with solid ideas."

Publisher's Weekly


>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

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Video: Wired Officially Launches its iPad App

Wired showed us what the iPad edition of its magazine might look like, and now it has launched its own pub for real.

The app costs $4.99 per issue and does bring some value add to the notion: According to Creativity, 41 of this month's articles include some form of interactivity - including editorial video, 360-degree imagery, slide shows and more. What's more, advertisers like GE, Olympus and HBO have interactive content as well, including in HBO's case, a slide show recap of True Blood Season 2.

Now, inaugural issues are inaugural issues. The real question is whether editorial and advertisers can keep up with additional content for each new issue - so things don't go from Wired to Tired as they say.

Read more. here.

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>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

OD_cover "... EXCELLENT ..."

 “Through persuasive arguments and Q&A's with the major players in advertising, Mathieson makes an excellent case for greater creativity and outside-the-box thinking backed up with solid ideas."

Publisher's Weekly


>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

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Razorfish Study: How Brands Are Investing In Social Media, Mobile, Digital Out-of-Home & More

 Interesting stats from Razorfish (by way of Guy Kawasaki on OPEN FORUM):

• Razorfish clients' spending on digital increased 4% in 2009, v. a 13% decrease in 2008 - which has more to say about the economy than anything.

• During the recession, spending trended toward branding v. direct - which is very unusual for economic downturns. Smart marketers understand when to take advantage of others' weakness.

• Digital out-of-home was the most experimented channel in 2009, followed by ad exchanges.

• Social media garnered only 4% of marketers' media spend. This is reflected of the free or very inexpensive nature of social promotions.

• Mobile remains a small part of the media buy. The good news here is that that's because they're not buying mobile ads; they're creating mobile apps and infrastructure.

• Brazil's the market to watch - with 70 million people are becoming upwardly mobile in that country, one of the so-called BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China).

Read more here, and get the report yourself here.

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>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

OD_cover "... EXCELLENT ..."

 “Through persuasive arguments and Q&A's with the major players in advertising, Mathieson makes an excellent case for greater creativity and outside-the-box thinking backed up with solid ideas."

Publisher's Weekly

 

 

 

 

 

 

>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

 

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Wendy's Frosty Promotions Aim for Warm Reception on Social Networks

Ole' Dave might not have been into all this newfangled tech stuff, but somebody at Wendy's is certainly paying attention.

Word's out that the fast fooder will launch three different social network-oriented promotions to kick off the summer. According to Mashable, they include:

Frosty Summer Vacation: Frosty is on vacation, and now through June 6, it's leaving hints about its whereabouts on Facebook. Think digital scavenger hunt.

Treat it Forward: Runs June 7 through 20 and is aimed to raise money for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Fans can "pay it forward" with a #TreatitFwd hashtag tweet, a virtual Frosty Facebook gift, a Foursquare check in at a Wendy's location or a Father's Day e-card created on Frostycard.com. With each fan action, Wendy's will donate 50 cents to the foundation.

The Frosty Project: Fans share photos, videos and stories on how they enjoy Frostys, June 21 to July 18. Fans vote for the best entries through August 19 for the award to win prizes.

In my new book, THE ON-DEMAND BRAND (available everywhere books are sold) I look at how brands are optimizing the effectiveness of their social network presence by running limited time, soc-net specific offers and promotions. Burger King, Pizza Hut, Sony and Visa in particular seem especially attuned to the power of this dynamic.

You can read more about Wendy's summer soc-net plans here.

And read more about the book here.

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>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

OD_cover "... EXCELLENT ..."

 “Through persuasive arguments and Q&A's with the major players in advertising, Mathieson makes an excellent case for greater creativity and outside-the-box thinking backed up with solid ideas."

Publisher's Weekly

 

 

 

 

 

 

>>> IN STORES NOW - LEARN MORE (AND ORDER YOUR COPY) - HERE <<<

 

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