The Secret Location

Is your web site a true representation of your company? Does your brand resonate throughout the user experience on your site? The Secret Location is an integrated media company that carries the message of their experiential marketing roots into the experience on their site. If you’ve got the time, I encourage you to take a step into the looking glass and search for the secret location…

That Brand Makes $¢ents: Part I

Sometime in 1968, I was standing on a chair at a table spooning out heaps of chocolate powder from a large tin container of Nestle’s QUICK into my glass of milk, making a big mess. Suddenly, on the radio, a Beatles song began playing: “Help…I need somebody, help….not just anybody, help…you know I need someone…help…” and then the melodic part: “When I was younger so much younger than today…”

Now in my adult life, every single time I hear that song, whether in the car, in the mall, or at a party…I smell the distinct scent of that luscious dry Nestle’s chocolate powder, and a happy childhood memory makes time stand still for me.

Bottling this experience is what some brands are now trying to do. While some “scent marketing” comes naturally, such as Cinnabon using the scent of its fabulous cinnamon buns to lure passersby to want to have a cinnamon bun, there is a type of scent marketing that is synthetic. Not two-faced, but two-nosed, if you will.

Rachel Herz, author of “The Scent of Desire,” explains how some stores are using smell to enhance the purchase environment. She says smell is the retailer’s dream.

Cinnabon is also actually one of many retailers known to pump synthetic smells into its immediate environment to entice customers. KFC is doing it, and Exxon On The Run has been adding a coffee scent to their brewing kiosks. And their sales have increased 55 percent for coffee.

Hermann Behrens, CEO Middle East, The Brand Union, said: “83 per cent of the commercial communication we’re exposed to everyday is crafted to appeal to just our eyes….The branding trend is moving towards experience and everyday it is becoming more and more difficult to reach out to audiences through different touch points.”

For an interview with Rachel Herz revealing fascinating research into scents and human reactions: http://www.nerve.com/screeningroom/books/interview_rachelherz/

Christine Babick is a marketing strategist and linguist specializing in marketing language, website text, “emo copy,” and cause and relationship marketing. More…

BMW’s Skin

BMW is again proving it is an innovative brand that pushes the limits of what a car company can be. They’ve put out the following video that highlights GINA, a new development concept that uses a “skin” technology for the exterior of vehicles that could open the door for new designs and adaptive construction for vehicles.

The material may never see the light of day from a production standpoint but they use video and good storytelling to continue to reinforce their position as an innovative brand and industry leader.

Technorati Tags: Beneath the Brand,Jamey Shiels,BMW,GINA,Innovation,Automobile Industry

The Billboard is Watching You

Technology developed after 9/11 is finding its way into the advertising world. Small cameras were developed for placement at security checkpoints to scan faces and collect the information and compare against most wanted databases. The quality of the images didn’t quite cut it for identification purposes so a new application has now been discovered. These video cameras are finding new life in outdoor advertising. They are being used to capture the faces of people who turn to pay attention to the advertisement.

The idea is that the information will be used to better target audiences based on information collected. As marketers are trying to gather as much information on their audiences as possible, this is an interesting new approach that is trying to work with an old medium.

It’s an interesting idea but it’s also a little creepy. It makes me think of the one hit wonder from Rockwell, “I always feel like, somebody’s watching me…”

Compliments of endgaget.

Do You Know the Muffin Man?

His name is Keith Johnson and he has made a Muffin Car: a cupcake-shaped runabout, which conceals a tiny electric all-terrain vehicle complete with handlebars from a Hello Kitty bicycle. You could think of Keith as a lone eccentric, toiling away in his garage, fueled by butter cream, but you’d be wrong. He’s actually one of a dozen or so people who make and race muffin cars.

And they are not alone. In fact, there are thousands of people who are now making things again. Curious, new things, with a real sense of wonder to them. These modern day inventors — half hackers and half mad scientists — have not one but two mainstream magazines: Make and Craft, and even have their own gathering: Maker Faire, where this year, you could see, among the many exhibits, a 17 foot tall robotic giraffe, a life-sized version of the game Mouse Trap, and a live performance from those makers of Mentos mayhem, Messrs Grobe and Voltz, who sent jets of Diet Coke shooting high into the air on the faire’s final afternoon.

So why am I telling you about this? Because these are people on the fringe — and that’s where ideas come from. Poke around the fringes of society and you’ll find real excitement and a real indicator of the future. All of the stuff we take for granted today, like yoga, the green movement and yes, even blogs, were all started way off in the fringes, by a small but obsessed group of people who felt they had found something new and worth pursuing.

Want to think different thoughts, find something that delights, and bring truly new ideas to your work? Then spend some time around the edges, where people lurk, and you too will know the Muffin Man.

Steven Stark is a writer and creative director who doesn’t really care for muffins, but does love donuts, particularly in the workplace. You can see his work and read some of his other musings here.

Samsung Illusions

Here’s a cool video that Samsung has put together that features optical illusions. It’s interesting to see how the eyes can play tricks on you but I’m not exactly sure how this helps sell phones. After seeing the other elements, the way they highlight the phone is the least effective optical illusion of them all and detracts from the presentation. I’m not sure what the selling proposition is here or what it has to do with the phone other than pretty buttons/images on the base.

What do you think? Cool video and what’s up with the phone or give me that phone?

Anti Smoking Goes Interactive

We see the anti-smoking ad campaigns every where we turn; yet they seem to have little effect on smokers.

QUIT realizes this as well and will be attempting a new approach to advertising and marketing with launching an Interactive Poster Campaign.

According to Trendhunter, the ads have been put up in place of public ashtrays around London. Each ashtray box features an image with a cut out in the shape of lungs… as people use the ashtray, they see the lungs fill with ash and cigarette butts.

Targeting all smokers with the campaign, Steve Crone of QUIT says, “The campaign has been designed to make smokers think about the effects of their habit, and most importantly signpost them toward the help available if they do want to quit. ”

Do you think the shock factor will be effective?

Source: Trendhunter

The World Goes Wiki

There has been a lot of talk recently about the Geoweb. In this world, geo-tagging cameras equipped with GPS know exactly where the picture was taken. Microsoft’s Photosynth wowed us with its ability to combine images of geo-tagged photos. All this technology is great, but what about more practical uses for global imaging technology?

Wikimapia is just that. It is a Wikipedia style reference on top of a Google Earth platform. You can search for businesses near your house or find historic sites close by. Your home might even be a historic landmark. I used it to check out London recently and I found it to be a good resource. I was able to get a better sense of direction and location. It’s perfect for those who are new in town. You can have a look around without wasting gas. The site has been up for a few years now, but it needs more info. So have a look and add your favorite location to the map for the world to see. If you are a business or a brand, it’s an easy way to get your name out there.

Mac clone Psystar controversy lights up tech forums and blogs

What if you could buy a Mac, or most of a Mac, from a startup for $399 instead of the roughly $2,000 you have to fork out to buy the real thing? Discussions on the Web are hissing and spitting like a backyard grill about that issue. Tom Spring has the scoop at the PC World blog. He wrote, “Budget conscious Mac shoppers can save a bundle on a $399 mid-level Macintosh computer running OSX called an OpenMac sold by a Florida-based company called Psystar.” And with that statement the fun began. Call it ad hominem or just plain insults, but techies are very sensitive about their equipment, sort of like throwing rotten apples if you catch my drift.

One reader wrote he’d grab the cheaper system “in a heartbeat.” Another responded—this is verbatim—“Are you an idiot? The cheapest “similar computer, a Mac Pro, starts at $2000.Mac. Dumbass, look at the Mac mini.” That’s one of the gentler responses. Read more

Food Court Musical

The Internet creates a whole new medium for content distribution. It is a tool for groups like improv everywhere to create unique content and make it available to the public. Ten, maybe even five years ago, there would be no way to distribute this production for everyone who wasn’t at this mall to see and experience.

If this group can do it, why can’t brands?

Compliments of the Google CPG Blog

Design Coding

I work at a digital agency and we have an amazing team of programmers that can build just about anything we can dream up for our clients (and sell, that is). We’ve developed a motion sensing basketball game based on the Wii concept, interactive sweepstakes and experiential marketing programs. Tons of fun stuff.

That’s why I get a kick of of m0serious and his design code rap. Coding is critical to making the creative voice and message of a brand come alive online. Not many clients are that concerned with what’s under the hood as long as their brand can interact and communicate online. The online experience is critical to the brand experience. For that, I say thank you to all the tech teams out there that make brand dreams come true online.

compliments of Fresh Peel

Crayon Physics Deluxe

Greg Verdino points us to a little game called Crayon Graphics by KlooniGames. There’s also a write up over at slate which explains the background a bit more. This game sits in stark contrast to the high definition gaming that is so popular today. It’s simplistic yet thought provoking and incredibly engaging. With the right idea, and good delivery, an idea can be powerful without all the bells and whistles.

I’ve downloaded the demo and look forward to playing around with it. My Xbox is off right now while I go exploring the physics of the crayon.

 

Do you know about Scribd and iPaper?

I happened across this amazing start-up recently and immediately fell in love. Scribd describes itself as a “Silicon Valley startup creating technology that makes it easy to share documents online” and goes on to say that you can think of it “as a big online library where everyone can publish original content”. I believe that this iPaper is excellent for businesses because it allows you to present whitepapers, presentations and outlines of your services right on a web page using flash instead of expecting a person to download a PDF, WORD document or PowerPoint presentation. I can see why they managed to secure funding from Y Combinator, Redpoint Ventures and others - they are unto something.

Read more

Digital Magazine Ads More Engaging to Readers

Another slap in the face to print advertising has just been announced. Turns out magazine readers find the ads contained in digital versions of publications hold more appeal than their print media cousins.

Some 37% of people who have purchased at least one digital magazine said that they were more likely to read an ad in digital format than in print. And almost half said that they found ads on screen more appealing than their analog counterparts.

Now that I think about it, I’d have to agree with that conclusion. Though I don’t read digital magazines that often, I do tend to spend a little more time looking at the ads than when I’m reading the print version. Needless to say, I scour quickly past those to get to the content that interests me.

Part of the reason may have to do with aesthetics, says Rich Maggiotto, CEO of Zinio, a company that does digitization for major publishers like Hearst and Ziff-Davis. “When you look at a full-page spread online, you don’t have a gutter anymore,” Maggiotto said. “There’s a depth to the imagery because of the way the ad fits on the screen. And you get what was the original intent of the creative director without the disruption of a gutter.”

Personally, I think part of it also has to do with usability. Turning the page in a digital magazine is not as easy or quick as doing so in the print version.

Who knows, maybe one day magazines will only be available in digital form. I mean, if you think about it, television is now on the Internet, why not pubs. Regardless, one thing is almost for certain — advertising will always be with us.

Science inches closer to mind reading

Has a person ever read your mind? For much of my life, I thought my mother could read mine. Then I surprised her in the act of reading my diary. Imagine the creative possibilities if you could accurately predict what images people like to look at. The Guardian (UK) reported on research by scientists at the University of California where MRI scanning equipment was used “to observe patterns of brain activity when a subject examined a range of black and white photographs.” Afterwards, a computer accurately predicted 90% of the time which image the subject focused on.

The research is still very young—only still images can be used. But the implications are clear—there’ll be implications in many different areas such as invasion of privacy, unfair screening because computers as we know have their own emotional issues, “thought crimes” and many others we haven’t even thought of. I wonder how this technology will impact creatives 30 or 40 years from now? Will humans adapt and be able to trick the machine? Will employers use an offshoot of this to screen potential hires? Will all the poets with those quirky minds be arrested? Sounds like a great platform for another sci-fi novel.

I found a solution to my mother’s curiosity. I wrote my diary in Latin from that day forward.

This video offers info about similar research.

Technorati Tags: Beneath the Brand, Kay B. Day, Talent Zoo, mindreading, technology, research, discoveries

Yahoo adds ‘Buzz’ to social news media

With a user base of 500 million according to Wired, Yahoo should see its new Buzz product grow in popularity much like Digg. Yahoo Buzz, currently in beta,  aims to let users choose (“buzz up”) the stories they like; top ranked stories may make the front page.

I spent some time at Yahoo Buzz this morning, and my first reaction was positive. I like the layout much more than I like the layout at Digg. There’s a heavy emphasis on global news and entertainment, and the stories are headlined in a less subjective way. Digg is heavy on politics, and that can get a little wearisome. It’s my opinion that stories at Digg are sometimes lobbed in by organized groups, but that’s an opinion only and there’s no way I can prove it.

Yahoo Buzz presently has stories from New York magazine (one of my favorites, for the quality of writing), Salon and a couple of those gossipy political sites that spring forth like fleas on an untreated dog. It’s my opinion the new Yahoo offering will take off soundly and offer entrepreneurs, hobby bloggers, publicists  and those who work in the advertising industry yet another opportunity in social news distribution.

Technorati Tags: Beneath the Brand, Kay B. Day, Talent Zoo, Buzz, social news, advertising, marketing resources

8 Million Go CrackBerry-less

About 8 million North American users went without access to email and internet via their BlackBerry handset, Monday, the biggest failure for Research in Motion Inc. in the last 10 months.

Research in Motion is best known as the developer of the BlackBerry handheld communication device. 

Both AT&T, the number one Blackberry service provider and Verizon Wireless, the number two, confirmed the disruption. 

Will customers look to rival companies as a result of the “intermittent service delays”? Let’s keep an eye on RIM stock to find out.

Technorati Tags: BlackBerry, CrackBerry, AT&T, Verizon, Research in Motion Inc, Kelliann McDonald, Beneath the Brand

Play with the Ads

Reactrix and TYZK have gotten together to create a system called WAVEscape for users to interact with advertisements using gestures that are recognized by a 3D camera. It’s something like the Wii meets interactive advertising. Reactrix is known for developing "highly entertaining brand displays" in public venues that usually live on the floor and can sense movement and adjust accordingly. This new technology will allow for a more responsive and interactive experience. I’m curious to see what applications this will be valuable for. It has a high novelty factor but how will it help with building brand awareness and equity. We’ll have to keep an eye on it and see where it pops up.

 

Ads in Your Car

Crave pointed me toward a new report stating that China will be ramping up production of screens for use in vehicles. Not only will the size of the screens be increasing, but so will the number of screens in each vehicle.

There are several applications for screens in vehicles including navigation and entertainment systems. The question that came to my mind was this. How long before a vehicle manufacturer begins to use these in-vehicle screens to deliver marketing messages.

For example, GM is connected to your vehicle using OnStar. You’re traveling and decide to fire up a DVD for the kids. Why wouldn’t GM send you a promo spot that plays right before the DVD loads. Maybe a 30 second spot for an oil change or a McDonalds commercial based on your location. Using the OnStar connection, they know when you need service and they know when you’re in your car, why not take it to the next level.

Chrysler minivans have the option for a satellite television hook-up in their new minivan models. I’m sure the spots are already in development. I have to admit, the idea is both intriguing and unsettling at the same time.

What do you think? Innovative, targeted marketing or traditional media up to its usual interruptive routine?

Creative Wii Interactions

This guy is a freakin’ genius. He’s showing ways to user the Wii infrared technology to develop your own multi-point touch and head tracking tools. I’m a huge fan of the Wii and the way they’ve utilized technology to engage a completely new gaming audience. I also think this will cause a rush of technologies that utilize this type of interaction. My question is to marketers and how they can use this technology. Custom games? Touch interaction with brand communication? How long before somebody hires this guy to develop the next interactive game.

The video below is particularly cool and has amazing future application for 3D games and interactivity.