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Budweiser Toasts Facebook-Integrated 'Buddy Cup' - A New Way to Make Friends (Video)

 

I'll drink to that.

As I write in my book THE ON-DEMAND BRAND, we've reached a point now where brands should no longer view social media as a cool new way to connect with consumers.

We must now view social media as a means by which we as brands can enable consumers not just to connect with us, but to each other. And not just in some virtual space, but in the physical world as well.

This initiative can help break the ice in a social setting - as well as continue the conversation (and/or flirtation) after that beer (or the many, many beers, as the case may be) is gone.

Cheers to Bud for the bold idea.

Read all about it, here.

 

 

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3D Projection Mapping - On A Miniature Model of Tokyo (Video)

 

Call it 3D projection writ small. Very, very small.

In January, I posted about an initiative we spearheaded to super-size a client's core message on a 12-story building through the power and magic of 3D projection mapping.

In celebrating its 10th anniversary, Roppongi Hills - a renowned Tokyo landmark, decided to use the technology in reverse - with a remarkable digital campaign called "Tokyo City Symphony," an interactive website where you can experience playing with 3D projection mapping on a 1:1000 miniature model of Tokyo.

According to the Mori Building Company, the handcrafted model is an exact replica of the cityscape of Tokyo in every detail. Three visual motifs are projected onto the city in sync with music: "Future City," conjuring futuristic images, "Rock" that playfully transforms Roppongi Hills into colorful musical instruments and monsters, and "Edo City," or "Traditional Tokyo," that portrays beautiful Japanese images.

One very big small idea.

Check it all out yourself, here.

 

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Interview: BSSP's John Butler (Pt 2) - On Driving Digital Innovation for Mini

Mini motorby "Let's advertise to people who already own the car."

That, in a nutshell, sums up John Butler's unconventional approach to marketing MINI, which I explore in my book, THE ON-DEMAND BRAND (available everywhere books are sold).

In part two of this source interview, Butler talks about how this mindset, combined with in-house digital expertise at Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners led to such innovations like billboards that use RFID technology to call out to MINI drivers, with messages like "Nice day to have the top down, Ed!"

The effort was part of the MINI "Covert" campaign that has helped MINI make a major splash in the world of automotive marketing. 

Here's more from a great interview that offers some outstanding insights on success in the digital age.

Listen to: John Butler (Pt. 2) - Driving Digital Innovation for MINI

(approx 5:34)

 

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Interview: BSSP's John Butler on Brands in the Digital Age (Pt 1)

John butler shine stern partners "Building brands in the digital age comes down to a single word, and that word is 'experience.'"

It's just one of the pitch-perfect comments made by John Butler in this source interview from my book, THE ON-DEMAND BRAND (available everywhere books are sold).

This podcast is the first from that interview, which offers an exclusive look at how John and his agency, Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners, approach digital marketing initiatives ranging from RFID-based billboards that call out to MINI drivers by name, to the new Jamboxx iPad app.

It's a great interview that offers some outstanding insights on success in the digital age.

Listen to 'BSSP's John Butler on Brands in the Digital Age (Part 1)'

(approx 4:08)

 

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Durex 'Fundawear': Reach Out & Roger Someone, Over the Net (Video)

 

Seems like the last week has been a boon for racy lifestyle brands, what with the Samsung UltraWide bathroom bust-up and now this.

From a brand perspective, it does kind of negate the need for Durex's product, doesn't it? I mean, isn't this yet another once-removed experience made possible through the Internet?

But to be fair, the video says this is for those times when proximity is out of the question - and it is, in fact, a new way to enable an on-demand brand experience. 

Which begs the question Why didn't Trojan think of this?

Get the full scoop - including a behind-the-scenes look at the technology, from ADWEEK.

 

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LG Monitors Inspire 'Stage Fright' in Men's Bathrooms (Video)

 

If you thought LG's elevator shaft experience was scary, just wait until you see this.

According to Mashable, this little initiative comes courtesy of the brand's UltraWide monitors, which were strategically placed above urinals in Amsterdam to show off the devices' lifelike colors - and just how many hues of red it can bring to men's faces.

Average stage fright delay: 16 sceonds. Failure to launch rate: 26%.

Hilarity score: Approaching 100%.

Read more, here.

 

 


Interview: Forrester Analyst Josh Bernoff on Shaping Consumer Sentiment via Social Media

Josh bernoff forrester "The power has now shifted such that big companies need to be worried about one individual with a microphone called a 'blog.'"

When I first read that quote from Forrester analyst Josh Bernoff, I was compelled to ask him about what many brands may perceive as the downside to the democratization of digital media.

In this source interview for my book, THE ON-DEMAND BRAND (available everywhere books are sold), Bernoff (co-author of Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies and Empowered), shares his views on what brands must do to monitor and shape consumer sentiment in the age of social media.
Listen to: Josh Bernoff: Monitoring & Shaping Consumer Sentiment in the Age of Social Media (approx 8:49)


Interview: Tina Sharkey, Chairwoman, BabyCenter - Pt 3: How Agencies Can Conquer Social

OD_Tina_Sharkey1 In part three, Sharkey shares her views on what ad agencies need to do to stay on top of digital in general, social media in particular - and how BabyCenter delivers the gamut for its agency and brand clients.

Listen: Interview with Tina Sharkey, Chairwoman of Baby Center: The Care & Feeding of Social Networks, Part 3


(Approx. 5:32)

Also hear:

Part One: On how BabyCenter leverages the power of social networks to tap into the tribe of motherhood

Part Two: On Johnson & Johnson's strategy for using BabyCenter to connect with moms


 


Interview: Tina Sharkey, Chairwoman of BabyCenter (Pt 2)

Babycenter chairwoman tinay sharkey Many people don't realize that BabyCenter - the hugely popular social network for mothers - is owned by Johnson & Johnson, which acquired the site from eToys in 2001. That makes BabyCenter the only major social network owned by a consumer goods company.

In part two of my interview with BabyCenter Chairwoman Tina Sharkey, I ask her about how Johnson & Johnson makes use of BabyCenter to connect with its target consumers - and how its business model works given it (wisely) accepts advertising from other marketers, even competitors in its categories.

Listen to Tina Sharkey: The Care & Feeding of Social Networks, Part 2

(Approx 3:48)


Interview: Tina Sharkey, CEO of BabyCenter - On The Care & Feeding of Social Networks

OD_Tina_Sharkey1 BabyCenter, the phenomenally successful online community that reaches 78 percent of all online women who are pregnant or mothers of children under 24 months old, has become a soc-net cause celebré America's moms.

In fact, more moms visit BabyCenter in the US than there are babies born in the US in a year.

In part one of this exclusive interview with BabyCenter Chairwoman Tina Sharkey, portions of which are featured in my book, THE ON-DEMAND BRAND, I get the inside scoop on how BabyCenter has connects with moms through blogs, forums and branded content - as well as an interesting mobile app called "Booty Call."

Tina Sharkey: The Care & Feeding of Social Networks, Part 1

(Approx 6:17)

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