Why Things Catch On

By the end of the summer, we will have all read this book!

One Minute Briefs

I came across this on Twitter and the name grabbed my attention. So, I checked it out.  What is it all about, you ask? Well the premise is, often the first idea you have is the best. So a brief is set and you (anyone in Twitter land) have one minute to work on it! As they say themselves:

The beauty of One Minute Briefs is that the ideas that come out of them can be really, really, shit or really, really, good. But you’ve only spent one minute on it so it’s all good whatever happens.

And if your work gets picked up, you get paid!

Here are some recent One Minute Briefs and examples of the work:

Can’t afford to make an ad

Think again.

The latest AIB ad was made by Dublin agency Rothco using an iphone 5. Yes you will still pay for creative work and editing and the music isnt free – but this has to change how we think about making ads – it doesn’t have to cost the earth.

Twitter Music

As you have probably heard, twitter has launched a new service, Twitter music with an iPhone app for U.S., Canada, Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Through the app, users can find tracks that are popular on Twitter, tracks from emerging artists and tracks that are popular with their friends. They can also check out the music of the artists they follow and the artists that those artists follow.

Twitter launched its music service without striking deals with music companies , they used existing deals the labels have in place with subscription music services, choosing to partner with Spotify and Rdio to allow users to listen to full-length tracks.

Some were left wondering what it was all about. But as Wired pointed out – its simple (and therefore a pretty genius move!)

But really, it’s simple: Twitter Music is all about getting you to spend more quality time with Twitter. It’s about everybody’s favorite buzzword: engagement.

(source: Wired) 

Twitter are simply tapping into users behaviour and recognising that users follow musicians and talk and share music a lot on the service, so this is a smart play for them. It also continues to engage musicians and their labels who are likely to invest in advertising on the platform.  All in all this is a really interesting move by Twitter and with BBC America partnering with Twitter (for their Doctor Who and Top Gear programmes) the future seems bright for the blue bird.

 

Global Rich List

With the Sunday Times Rich List out we are all lamenting how “unrich” we are. Or are we. Global Rich List  is a really clever site by Poke London. You submit your income or wealth and then it tells you what percentile you are in – how many are richer than you and how many you are richer than. As you scroll down the page, it tells you what your hourly wage is and it tells you how that compares to developing countries and asks you to donate to Care.

I hate heart disease – BHF campaign

Speaks for itself really.

I like how they have positioned heart disease and also how they are using the fight sentiment so associated with diseases like cancer. More great work by BHF

Good To Know

I sometimes get asked by people for digital stats in Ireland and it can be hard to track down the latest information. Well obviously the folks over at Publicis D have been asked the same question. So they have, cleverly, developed the Good To Know app.

The app will help you keep on top of the latest “good to know” trends, behaviors and market information in Ireland. Developed by Publicis Dublin, there are six sections of information for marketers that cover the economy, consumer trends, media consumption and digital behaviors.

Nice work!

download the app here Good To Know

Frozen Cinema

To let the privileged experience how homeless people feel during the winter, non-profit organization fiftyfifty turned the temperature down in cinemas across Germany.

There is something I like about this – but there is something that jars with me slightly. I think it might be a bit too intrusive and forced on people. Im actually not sure it needed the video on screen, feels a bit preachy to me. I think a simple explanation would have done the trick – maybe something like- “We turned the temperature down to 8 degrees – homeless people have to sleep in temperatures as low as minus 4 – please help” then knock the heat back u.p

Girls Can – Plan Finland

Great innovative campaign. Financially not a winner yet, but they are doing something to fix a problem and embracing new technology. I imagine they are on to a winner here in the longer term.

I did not know this…

Shaquille O’Neal, the basketball player, has a doctorate in Education. I did not know this.

I also did not know that Dr. Shaq is a  self confessed geek (according to Brian Solis). Always looking for the next tech thing:

He bypassed traditional media and announced his retirement on Tout, a platform that at the time had only been live for six weeks. Shaq was early to embrace Twitter where he still engages with his now 7 million fans. In fact, Jack Dorsey was once asked who he thought the ideal Twitter user was and his response was Shaq. Why? Because he’s engaged, it’s him, and he believes in community

Social Media Today

You learn something new everyday.

So far this may not have been a really useful post – but I think his mantra for social media will help, its

 60% to make you laugh, 30% to inspire you and 10% to let you know about this product.

At SXSW he took part in Pitch Shaq and is taking official meetings with two  startups, Speakerfy and Beam – worth a look

Great Ad by Low Low

Well done to the folks at Low Low and their Agency (Chemistry) on this really great ad. Feels kind of brave taking the piss out of both adland and lots of products targeted at women. Some direct lifts from other ads we all know and some cheeky references with their use of colours like Red! But its done with such humour and the 80’s style jingle works really well. This will do great stuff for the brand and you can be sure it will generate PR, social buzz and will be shared organically. Nice work folks.

 

New Lurpak TV Ad – The Cook

Lovely new ad from Lurpak – I love how they use sound so effectively in their ads (as soon as I hear lurpak I hear the sounds)

An Intro to Facebook Home

So Facebook didnt really launch a phone yesterday.

“I’m finally going to talk about that Facebook phone, or more accurately turn your phone into a great simple social device. Or turn your Android phone into a great social phone.” Mark Zuckerberg said “We asked ourselves — if we’re already spending this much time on our phones, how can we make it easier? What if they were designed around people first, and you could also just happen to interact with apps?”

Is this a game changer?

Incredible Ad for Childrens Hospital

I came across this on AdFreak and they explain it better than I can. I would love to make an ad like this.

New York Presbyterian Hospital and ad agency Munn Rabôt recently made this video celebrating the life of Danion Jones, who was 3 years old when he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. NYPH treated him until his death at age 7, and the video isn’t an ad so much as a promise to find new and better ways to help kids like Danion. It’s hard to use kids in videos like this without looking schmaltzy and insincere. But you’re made of stone if you don’t get a little misty watching Danion, who got to perform at the Apollo Theater before his death, sing “When You’re Smiling.”