nick burcher

Wispa newspaper ads drive traffic to Wispa Facebook Fan Page

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 21:26:00 +0000

This morning's Metro newspaper featured 4 individual ads for (Cadbury chocolate bar) Wispa on the corners of a double page spread:

Metro spread with 4 Wispa ads (click for larger image)

Each of the ads had a slightly different creative, but on closer inspection there was a common theme - they all promoted Wispa's Facebook page.

Ad 1 - Chocolatetatious features the caption 'SEAN - join him and the 810,820 others at facebook.com/wispa':

Metro Wispa ad 1 (click for larger image)

Ad 2 - Yumtastic - 'Michelle - join her and the 810,820 others at facebook.com/wispa'

Metro Wispa ad 2 (click for larger image)

Ad 3 - Wisperific - 'Sam - join her and the 810,820 others at facebook.com/wispa'

Metro Wispa ad 3 (click for larger image)

Ad 4 - Wonderbubble - 'Ashleigh - join her and the 810,820 others at facebook.com/wispa'

Metro Wispa ad 4 (click for larger image)

* The ads also note that 'We checked our fan numbers on 05/03/2010'

This is another example of a brand using paid media to drive traffic to their 'Owned media' Destination. We have seen Smirnoff, Tropicana and TGI Fridays using TV to drive their Facebook pages whilst Malibu and Lynx promoted their Facebook pages through outdoor and Dance Flick used Search.

This is the first time though that I can recall a brand using newspapers to promote a Facebook account - interesting to see if it works, but promotion of a Fan Page through paid traditional advertising is definitely a trend that seems to be becoming more prominent.

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IKEA Paris Metro furniture - sofas on the platform!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:45:00 +0000

IKEA are displaying furniture on the platforms of the Paris Metro between 10th March and 24th March.

Last year in France IKEA placed chairs and footrests on the concourse at Gare de Lyon. The latest IKEA campaign is in central Paris and sees the platforms of lines 8, 12 and 13 at Saint-Lazare, Champs Elysées Clemenceau, Opéra and Concorde displaying IKEA prints / images alongside IKEA sofas and lamps.

IKEA display on the platform of the Paris Metro subway

IKEA have a history of eyecatching outdoor stunts such as IKEA Crazy Golf, the IKEA reconstruction of the Oval Office and (in 2008) taking over Japanese subway trains where standard seats were replaced with IKEA furniture - this is another quirky example to add to the list!

[hat tip Freshome]

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IKEA Facebook showroom - photo tagging competition on the Malmo store manager's profile

IKEA - 'Flatpack the Opera'!

IKEA virtual furniture inside the Sims 2 game

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Heineken - AC Milan v Real Madrid classical music / poetry stunt

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:24:00 +0000

Heineken ran a stunt event around the AC Milan v Real Madrid Champions League match - aiming to highlight that 'the most sacred moment guys have left is watching football with friends' before stating that 'as time goes by, that moment is increasingly at risk.'

So Heineken decided to remind people of this on the night of a key Champions League match by creating a fake poetry / classical music event - at the same time as the game. 200 accomplices (including girlfriends, professors etc) were recruited by Heineken to secretly persuade / cajole over 1000 AC Milan fans to attend the event rather than watch the football.

The Heineken poetry / classical music concert then starts and..... see for yourself on the video below:

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New Blogger Templates launched (#newbloggertemplate)

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 06:02:00 +0000

One of the frustrations with using Blogger as a blogging platform has been the limited number of blog design templates available. Various designers have offered different versions independently but the core options contained within Blogger have traditionally been limited - hence the huge number of similar blog backdrops.

WordPress, Typepad etc have allowed for more options and design customisation, resulting in many (especially 'professional blogs') choosing them as blog platforms of choice. However, new Blogger Templates have now (finally) been launched, bringing the same kind of design options to Blogger too. With Blogger as the dominant blogging platform, these changes should start to encourage more diversity in blog design.

The stock Blogger templates now give options for:

- 15 new, highly customisable templates split into 4 categories - Simple, Picture Window, Awesome Inc and Watermark
- One, two, and three column layouts with easily adjustable column widths
- 'hundreds of background images and patterns' available through iStock Photo

More information is at www.blogger.com/templates and through the official launch post here.

For the time being to access the new designs you have to login to http://draft.blogger.com instead of Blogger.com. The new designs are available under 'Layout' and then 'Template Designer.'

Bloggers are being encouraged to tweet about their new layouts with the hashtag #newbloggertemplate (see here).

I'm determined to update the layout of this blog soon (suggestions welcome), but feel free to leave links to your redesigned blogs in the comments here too.

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Cyriak - 'Cycles', Worthing and Teddy Bears - the makings of a viral hit?

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:55:00 +0000

This week everyone seems to have been talking about the new YouTube video from OK Go for 'This Too Shall Pass' . This follows the original OK Go video that featured performing on treadmills and continues the trend of 'video that causes Conversation = attention and hit potential.'

Then today I stumbled across something else that follows this kind of principle, but takes it to another level.

To promote the new track 'Cycles' Cyriak has used Adobe After Effects software to produce a video that features Worthing Sea Front, rampaging teddy bears and lots of cars:

The track used is also called 'Cycles' and is available to download on this link http://www.beatsdigital.com/track/683463

So will this go viral and help Cyriak score a hit or is it just too random?

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Nick Burcher - Swedish Hero!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:50:00 +0000

In the UK the BBC is kept ad free as it has a public service remit that is funded by a licence fee that everyone has to pay. In Sweden the same situation applies with public service broadcasting - Sveriges Television, Sveriges Radio and Sveriges Utbildningsradio are kept ad free and paid for by a public licence fee.

Radiotjänst is the body entrusted to collect these fees and to encourage people to pay, the Swedish Hero viral film was created. This was fully personalisable (if this word doesn't exist then it should), integrated with Facebook / Twitter etc and was simple to adapt and pass on. As a result it gained 14 million unique visits in 8 weeks (the total population of Sweden is 9.2m people......)

[film only has to load once and on completion viewers are presented with a range of options, to forward on or create your own film]

Sweden point out the positives that come out of paying the licence fee and say 'thank you' to those that have paid, British TV licensing take a different approach - 'Evaders will pay......'

Swedish carrot or UK stick?

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Swedish army recruitment test - awesome use of flash

MoveOn personalised videos encourage people to vote in US Presidential election

FlashForward personalised trailers through Facebook Connect

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Lego Star Wars stop motion - 'The Force Unleashed'

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:32:00 +0000

Lego stop motion films seem to be getting more common and more spectacular. We've seen Michael Jackson 'Thriller in Lego', a Visit Denmark Lego film, the '8 bit trip' Lego stop animation film and 'Lego Does The Matrix.'

Now 'fancypants' has uploaded a Lego Star Wars film to YouTube in responseto a Lego stop motion challenge on bricksinmotion.com - the aim to use stop motion filming to make 'the coolest lightsaber duel possible' (blaster / lightsaber effects were then added with photoshop.)

The result is this spectacular Lego Star Wars film, 'The Force Unleashed', which is starting to attract large numbers of views on YouTube:

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Chicane try viral - 'Come Back & Stay' on YouTube - music video or 'branded content?'

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:25:00 +0000

Chicane have produced some epic dance tracks over the last 10 years, a kind of chilled trance sound with accompanying moody videos such as:

'Poppiholla' from 2009 (note preceded by a 40 second promotional ad)

and 1999 hit 'Saltwater' (sampling Clannad and subsequently used in ads for Visit Ireland):

However, for new release 'Come Back & Stay' Chicane have taken a different approach to their video - rather than black & white and arty, Chicane have gone for humour and viral. The video can be embedded and seems tailored to the YouTube generation - the sound is unmistakably Chicane, but the video execution shows how times have changed!

Based on the Paul Young 80's hit, the new Chicane video is headlined 'Hi Babes..... Please COME BACK & STAY xXx' whilst the description explains 'It broke my heart when we split up. So, I've made you this video to show how much I love you and I want you to come back & stay!!'

Music video sales pitch or branded content awareness driver? With the official release of 'Come Back & Stay' not until 12th April, it will be interesting to see how many views this gets / if this approach delivers a bigger hit than the previous tracks that have been backed with the traditional Chicane approach to videos?

[Hat tip Digital Examples]

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Tropicana bring the Sun to Arctic Canada - and drive people to their Facebook Page

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:24:00 +0000

In Canada Tropicana have been running activity to promote Tropicana Essentials, its new juice with added calcium and Vitamin D. The hook has been that Tropicana is 'Canada's National Provider of Brighter Mornings.'

Tropicana also used a stunt to get people talking.

Inuvik is a Canadian town of around 3,500 people situated 200km north of the Arctic Circle. This location means that in the depth of winter Inuvik lies in perpetual darkness for several weeks, however, in keeping with the idea of providing 'brighter mornings', Tropicana decided to brighten up Inuvik's day.

On January 8th 2010 Tropicana floated a 36 foot wide helium balloon above Inuvik and then lit it up so that it produced 100,000 lumens of light. This giant, man-made sun brought Inuvik a brighter morning and provided the basis for the current Tropicana Essentials TV ad:

The ad is the latest to drive viewers to a Facebook page rather than a website address - facebook.com/tropicanacanada:

Tropicana TV ad / video tagged with Facebook Page address

The Tropicana Canada Facebook page has a separate tab for 'The Arctic Sun' which displays the thinking behind the campaign, 3 HD videos (including behind the scenes footage) and promises 'What you'll find here in the coming days is an account of everything that went into bringing a brighter morning to the tiny arctic town of Inuvik in the Northwest Territories' with Tropicana also encouraging Facebook users to post 'your thoughts, pictures and videos letting us know what makes your mornings bright!'

Furthermore, Tropicana are supporting community based programs (Sir Alexander Mackenzie School, Tot Spot Daycare and the Inuvik Food Bank) and distributed 1,200 free cartons of Tropicana juice to local residents around the Arctic Sun stunt.

Traditional campaign + stunt + social amplification + ongoing discussion at Tropicana Canada Facebook Page = engaging activity across the consumer journey, though it hasn't stopped one Facebook user commenting on the Tropicana wall that 'the Arctic Sun' campaign reminds him of this previous TV ad for Nestle D'Onofrio.......

(hat tip Cream Global)

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Top 30 Facebook Fan Pages - Jan 2010

Adidas Originals use TV to drive Facebook Fan Page traffic

Facebook Fan Pages promoted with TV and offline media - Smirnoff, Lynx and Malibu

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Chatroulette French Connection Challenge - FCUK jump in to the Chatroulette hype

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:25:00 +0000

The hottest thing on the internet right now is Chatroulette. Created by 17 year old Moscow student Andrey Ternovskiy towards the end of 2009, Chatroulette allows webcam users to randomly connect and chat with other webcam users from across the world. You just plug in your webcam and microphone, go to the Chatroulette site and click 'Play' - you are then connected to another Chatroulette webcam user who you can see on screen (and if you don't like them you can click 'Next' and be instantly connected to someone else.)

Mainstream news services don't seem to be fans - Fox News calling Chatroulette a 'Predators Paradise', the Daily Mail saying 'the experience of being beamed into a stranger's bedroom [via Chatroulette] feels intrusive and unsettling and has worrying implications for teenagers' and the Times likening the Chatroulette experience to 'being trapped in a darkened Tube carriage for an hour with a bunch of exhibitionist nonentities who were either painfully amused with themselves, or exposing their genitals, or staring back in ominous, glazed fashion.'

Whilst there are concerns, Chatroulette is what people (especially younger audiences) seem to be doing, with 543,000 images returned for a Google Image Search on "Chatroulette" and Alexa traffic stats showing a traffic increase of +174,000% across the last 3 months, with Chatroulette.com now ranked within the top 4000 websites in the world:

Chatroulette traffic statistics from Alexa (click for larger image)

Furthermore, celebrities now appear to be taking to Chatroulette with Fox News reporting on Chris Brown, Rihanna, Jessica Alba and Ashton Kutcher using Chatroulette, whilst the Jonas Brothers also logged on to Chatroulette recently causing surprise and delight to the crowd of girls gathered on the linking Webcam:

Celebrity endorsement drove Twitter reach and with the hype (and growing usage) that Chatroulette is getting it was inevitable that a brand would jump in - and through their MANIFESTO blog French Connection have launched 'CHALLENGE: CHAT ROULETTE.'

Under the strapline 'Going where no manly man has gone before' French Connection have challenged fans - 'Can you prove yourself by venturing into the most terrifying terrain on the internet to seduce a woman?'

French Connection describe Chatroulette as 'a world of middle-aged exhibitionists' and point out that the challenge they have set is one of 'fiendish difficulty' as in their experience it can 'take an hour plus to find an actual, real life woman' - the following graphic is used to illustrate the difficulty (!):

French Connection Chatroulette challenge graphic

However, successful French Connection Chatroulette participants, who copy and paste the chat log as proof, will be given 'a token for a real life date-winning outfit: A French Connection voucher for £250' and will have their efforts showcased on the French Connection Manifesto blog. (This competition has also just been opened up to women - but they will still have to 'seduce a lady.')

Promoted via blog with vouchers as the prize and Conversation as the driver, this is a low cost way of capitalising on Chatroulette buzz and is in line with the edgy / FCUK type positioning of French Connection (the word 'Connection' also seems to work well in this context.) Interesting to see what happens.......

(hat tip Rax Rax Rax)

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Severn Bore surfing on one of the world's longest waves - with help from social media

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 22:44:00 +0000

The River Severn in South West England has the second largest tide in the world and the 'Severn Bore' is one of the world's longest waves - attracting large numbers of surfers who attempt to ride it.

The Severn Bore is a natural phenomenon that occurs around the spring and autumn equinoxes when tidal forces push a wave of up two metres in height along the Severn Estuary at up to 16km an hour.

The UK's Environment agency publishes predictions of wave size and times here, and whilst initally predicted to be '4 star', today's Severn Bore was the first '5 star' Severn Bore for 8 years with a huge wave rolling along the River Severn.

Some TV news featured the wave, but the age of self-publishing / citizen journalism means there is far more coverage of the Severn Bore online with some incredible photos and stunning footage being shared through social platforms.

This year's big Severn Bore wave (and surfer's attempts to ride it) have been immortalised through social channels with some great stuff on Flickr and YouTube:

Severn Bore on Flickr:

Severn Bore 2nd March 2010 from Dive Sally on Flickr

Severn Bore 2nd March 2010 from keehotee on Flickr

Severn Bore 2nd March 2010 from Aaron A. Aardvark on Flickr

Severn Bore on YouTube:

Severn Bore Surf cam!

'Chasing the Severn Bore by Paramotor 2/3/2010'

If it's good enough it will bring people together and they will want to talk about it and share it. This morning it was a force of nature that got the Conversation going followed by social channels amplifying the Conversation and allowing it to be shared with a larger audience - the Severn Bore is a local event, but social media globalises it.

There are endless potential puns about waves, ripples and undercurrents here, but I think there is a lesson - if the content / event is compelling enough then people will get involved in a variety of ways - either directly interacting, in this case surfing and chasing it in boats, or spectating, from a variety of vantage points (on the bank, from above etc.) The same content is viewed through a variety of lenses creating a different experience for different groups (surfers vs local family day trip?) which can then be shared through different channels.

This isn't about messages, it's about experiences that bring people together and make them want to share........

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Massive Google infographic - all the facts and figures on one big picture

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:51:00 +0000

Pingdom have taken all the data they could find about Google and put it all into one big picture! A nice way of visualising all the different Google data sources (Google's own info, SEC filings, Wikipedia, Comscore data etc)......

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Rick Astley is back! (YouTube restores original RickRoll video)

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:59:00 +0000

There was much sadness yesterday, as news circulated of YouTube's deletion of the original Rick Astley 'Never Gonna Give You Up' RickRoll video due to 'terms of use violation.' However, YouTube have since admitted that this was a mistake and have restored this piece of social media history - Rick Astley is back on YouTube in all his glory!

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Banksy 'Lambeth Palace' - pop-up cinema in Waterloo tunnel for 'Exit Through The Gift Shop' film screenings

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:06:00 +0000

We've seen pop-up shops, now, for the premiere of the new Banksy film 'Exit Through The Gift Shop', London has a pop-up cinema underneath Waterloo station!

'Exit Through The Gift Shop' will get its first London screenings in the makeshift theatre on Leake Street in South London, complete with 'red carpet' that has been painted on the roadside:

Banksy 'Lambeth Palace' pop up cinema (click for larger image)

Banksy has named this cinema 'Lambeth Palace' and writes that it 'is a makeshift 150 seat auditorium in a tunnel under Waterloo train station with popcorn stall, lounge bar and stunning temporary toilet facilities.' Furthermore Banksy describes the Lambeth Palace as London's newest darkest, and dirtiest purpose built cinema ('*Cineworld Edmonton not included.')

Screenings of 'Exit Through The Gift Shop' will run until 4th March when the Banksy film gets full UK release.

The Independent write that 'The foyer boasts a few of Banksy's latest artworks. Against one brick wall, effigies of the Queen and Prince Philip are seen unveiling a big white anarchist sign. On another is a big Hollywood-style sign for production company, Paranoid Pictures. In a corner is a fake bonfire, burning a selection of 18th- and 19th-century paintings, portraits of Napoleon and Queen Victoria among them. There is an ice-cream van from which a youngish man with a goatee beard serves popcorn and soda.'

Film viewers are also apparently given a can of spray paint as a leaving gift!

When Avatar was released the posters told people to 'Experience Avatar in 3D.' Watching Banksy's 'Exit Through The Gift Shop' in a Banksy themed tunnel underneath Waterloo station will bring this film to life, with the props and setting allowing viewers to have more of a 'Banksy experience' than they would have watching it in a standard cinema. It's also a recipe for Conversation - and a quick Twitter Search confirms that the 'Lambeth Palace' news has already got people talking.........

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Facebook pages promoted with TV ads and offline media - Smirnoff, Lynx Twist and Malibu

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:01:00 +0000

More and more advertisers are using traditional media to drive traffic to their Facebook Fan Pages - promoting their Facebook Fan Page as their primary Destination, rather than promote their website or a microsite.

Smirnoff

Smirnoff have recently launched a UK TV ad which is tagged with their Facebook Fan Page address:

Extraordinary Night'..
Watch the ad...

Video embed of Smirnoff ad

Last frame in Smirnoff ad - clearly showing Facebook address

Malibu

In December Malibu used posters to promote their Malibu Dance Night and all tickets / registration was through their Facebook page (which was the only web address promoted on their posters.)

Malibu 'Mish Mash' poster promotes Malibu Facebook Page

Lynx Twist

Lynx have socialised their latest campaign for Lynx Twist. Aimed at young men the TV and outdoor promotes the Lynx Facebook Fan Page, where users can then interact with Keeley:

Lynx Twist outdoor posters promoting Lynx Effect Facebook Fan Page

To date the most prominent examples of traditional media executions tagged with a Facebook address are targeted towards younger audiences. The Fan Pages that are being promoted are well set up and regularly updated, with lots of things for Fans to do - Lynx offer an interactive Keeley game, Smirnoff promote club nights and discussion etc.

It's not just a question of promoting the Facebook Destination though, it's a two stage process. Stage one is getting people to the page, stage two is keeping them as Fans - the page needs to be interesting when people arrive and then constantly updated to keep Fans engaged.

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Craig Bellamy Man City viral campaign - spoilt by training ground 'bust-up'?

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:16:00 +0000

Manchester City have been running ad activity to promote key games against the Premiership's so called 'Big Four.'

- Manchester United were the target for the Carlos Tevez 'Welcome To Manchester' poster displayed in Manchester at the start of the season

- a huge image of Emmanuel Adebayor was printed onto the floor of Manchester's Arndale Shopping Centre to promote the visit of Arsenal

- Sean Wright-Phillips was pictured on Manchester walls with speed marks behind him to draw attention to the forthcoming Manchester City v Chelsea match

- and for the visit of Liverpool on Sunday, Manchester City have created a Craig Bellamy viral:

This film is hosted on a YouTube channel called 'iwillgivemyall' and on the City website here. Furthermore, the viral is complemented by a billboard that shows Bellamy as half man / half beast and uses the phrase 'the harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.'

However, Bellamy has been rumoured to have been involved in a 'furious bust-up' with Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini yesterday. The Sun reports that this led to Mancini snapping 'I want you to leave now. And do not come back for three months.'

The perils of topical virals - 'events, dear boy, events.' Maybe Bellamy won't be giving his all on Sunday after all...............

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Online views of 2010 Superbowl TV ads - Visible Measures' publish TrueReach figures

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:59:00 +0000

I've previously discussed TV events like the X-Factor, Eurovision and the Obama Inauguration in highlighting the trend for social TV, but these have been based around people discussing programme content rather than the ads around that content.

In certain cases TV ads have successfully become branded content that people want to watch again online and share with their friends (the Cadbury Eyebrows as an example), however the unique production budgets (and consumer anticipation) around the Superbowl ads means that we can judge ads side by side and use social interest as part of the effectiveness measures around these spots.

With 30-second ads selling for between $2.5m and $2.8m around Superbowl 2010, having ads live on through the internet is not just desirable but vital for the ROI equation too. The quest for further engagement online has prompted some advertisers, like GoDaddy, to (successfully) use creative to drive viewers directly to their sites to see further footage - or in GoDaddy's case the content that was 'Too Hot For TV'. However, no advertiser took the plunge on pushing a social Destination like a Facebook page or Twitter account via a Superbowl creative and bloggers like Jon Burg think this was a missed opportunity - especially as whether they like it or not, ads are living on and being discussed in social spaces.

Visible Measures have used their TrueReach technology (that aggregates total content views from multiple sites) to identify this years winners / losers from the Superbowl ad fest and have now published their results (based on social video viewing performance between Sunday, February 7, 2010 and Sunday, February 14, 2010.)

- In total the 2010 Super Bowl ads have been viewed 90 million times in social video. The ads have spanned nearly 3,000 total unique video placements across more than 30 video-sharing networks and have generated more than 60,000 comments and 90,000 ratings.

- Doritos, who ran four user-produced ads during the 2010 SuperBowl broadcast, had the #1, #9, #10, and #15 most-viewed ads in social video. Taken together, these ads have been viewed over 16 million times – or 18% of all social video views in the study.

- Two of the more controversial campaigns attracted high numbers of comments with Audi's Green Police ad in second and the Focus on the Family spot fourth.

The full list of the 'Social video views top 20 - Superbowl 2010' can be seen below:

SuperBowl 2010 - top 20 most viewed online with number of TrueReach views and number of comments
(click for larger image)

The Visible Measures figures are another example of how TV exposure drives consumers online. Clearly some of the TV ads were part of strategies that had heavy online components (the Dorito's UGC competition, the Budweiser Facebook 'choose the ad' vote etc), but it is interesting to see the extent to which ad views and ad commenting have occurred after the event - and worth noting that this has happened regardless of advertiser involvement.

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Google Winter Olympics 2010 - 5 ways to experience Vancouver through Google

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:19:00 +0000

Google are running a number of initiatives to help enhance the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics:

1) Vancouver Winter Olympics OneSearch Box

Typing any variant of 'Winter Olympics', 'Vancouver', 'Olympics 2010' etc into the Google Search Engine produces an up to date medals table as the first (natural) result:

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics OneSearch Box
(click for larger image)

2) Google Maps / Google Earth 3D view of Vancouver Winter Olympics venues

Google Maps and Google Earth have 3D Vancouver views embedded into them. Users can look for a venue or click through to it from Google event listings. There is then the option to look at the venue on a Google Map or 'See it in 3D'. Users can then zoom in, spin round and explore. Here is Whistler Creek:

Google 3D images of Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics venues - here is Whistler Creek
(click for larger image)

3) Google Street View of Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics courses

Google Maps also has the option to 'see it on Street View'. Google have photographed extensively around Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics venues, but have also photographed the pistes and the various Olympics courses. This means Street View users are able to explore every inch of every track and course. This view was taken from one of the scenes around Whistler:

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Google Street View from Whistler

and if you want to know how Google got Street View pictures from around the venues, then the following video highlights the specially adapted Google Street View Vancouver snow mobile:

4) iGoogle Vancouver Winter Olympics gadget

An embeddable Winter Olympics iGoogle gadget brings all of the up to date info to your iGoogle homepage (though I'm not sure about the choice of fonts on the install page!)

iGoogle Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics gadget (click for larger image)

5) Google Maps Favorite Places

Google Maps have created a special series of 'Favorite Places' for the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Google Maps feature the Vancouver choices of a range of different people - from medalists to the Premier of British Columbia.

Google 2010 Vancouver Favorite Places

A really nice selection of Google tools and features that can be used to enhance the experience of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Details of these and further Google Olympics offerings (eg YouTube, real time search and Picassa) can be found at the Google Olympics site at www.google.com/games10, the Official Google blog here or the Google LatLong blog here.

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Samsung Winter Olympics virals - Vancouver 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:31:00 +0000

With the Winter Olympics 2010 about to start in Vancouver, official sponsor Samsung have released two more viral films.

In November 2009 two viral videos were released by Samsung under the name of the 'Samsung Mobile Explorers':

The hardest hockey shot ever:

Awesome ice skating warm-up routine:

I like these and they both have good view counts, indicating that others liked them too. The new films follow the same sort of format, unexpected actions on ice and snow:

Snowboard Basketball FTW!

Epic Beat Boxing Ice Tricks:

So will these latest videos prove as popular?

Related posts

5 ways to use Google to enhance your experience of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

Samsung LED Sheep

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PUMA Hardchorus Valentine's Day viral - love vs football

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:07:00 +0000

This year the 14th February, Valentine's Day, falls on a Sunday.

For men everywhere this presents a dilemma - love or football. Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona, Manchester City vs Liverpool, Napoli vs Inter or romance with a loved one?

The PUMA Hardchorus Valentine's Day dilemma (click for larger image)

PUMA have recognised this dilemma, 'They want to be in your arms. You want to be in the stands', and have created the PUMA HardChorus. A crowd of football supporting men, assembled in a pub sing 'Truly Madly Deeply', which football fans can send to their loved ones - whilst they enjoy the game:

PUMA HardChorus singers (click for larger image)

The videos are in English and Italian and can be accessed through www.pumahardchorus.com or seen on YouTube below:

PUMA HardChorus English version:

PUMA HardChorus Italian version:

Accessing these videos through the PUMA HardChorus site allows them to be shared with friends and loved ones through email, whilst the integration of Facebook Connect allows the PUMA HardChorus videos to be personalised and easily posted to Facebook walls:

PUMA HardChorus sharing options - Facebook Connect and email (click for larger image)

There will also be a range of other activity to bring the PUMA HardChorus and the love=football message to life.

[Disclaimer: PUMA is a client of ZenithOptimedia, a part of VivaKi]

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Google Buzz - Gmail adds social network functionality [VIDEOS]

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:25:00 +0000

Google have launched Google Buzz - effectively turning Gmail into a social networking platform.

According to the BBC there are 170 million regular Gmail users so this new Google Buzz service could turn into a big rival for Facebook, Twitter and the other status update / info sharing social platforms. Google Buzz supports public and private messaging, is an 'open' platform, has a slick mobile application for Android phones and is integrated with existing social sites and Google profiles.

Google Buzz is gradually being rolled out over the next few days and as soon as it is active on my Gmail I will post some screenshots / analysis - so I'm hoping that it is easier to use than Google Wave!

In the meantime, Google explain more on the Official Google Blog here, and the Google Buzz YouTube videos below:

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FourSquare signs content deals with Zagat, HBO and 'Valentine's Day' movie (following partnerships with Harvard and Bravo)

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:02:00 +0000

Location-based check-in service FourSquare is continuing to sign 'content' deals with mainstream partners that tie in to the service. The partnerships are about using FourSquare to bring venues to life by 'socialising' them through creation of a dedicated FourSquare presence. FourSquare users then get rewards for visiting / 'checking in' at a venue as well as being able to both read and leave 'Tips' for a specific location.

Restaurant review service Zagat now have a FourSquare presence at http://foursquare.com/zagat:

Zagat FourSquare presence

Zagat say "ZAGAT + Foursquare = Foodie Love. We're excited to bring the enthusiastic Foursquare community together with ZAGAT's dining expertise. Now Foursquare users can benefit from official ZAGAT tips, show they love food by unlocking the new foodie badge and have opportunities to be featured on ZAGAT.com with our new "Meet The Mayor" series."

New movie 'Valentine's Day' have also embraced FourSquare setting up a dedicated presence on the site:

FourSquare Valentine's Day movie

The Valentine's Day / FourSquare page description stating "Visit and check-in on Foursquare at any of the locations on our Valentine's Day inspired list of the most romantic places in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston to get a Valentine's Day badge! Then go see the movie, in theaters on February 12!"

HBO have created a FourSquare presence around new series 'How To Make It In America' and again encourage user interactivity through check-in's:

FourSquare & HBO 'How To Make It In America'

"Hustle your way in to the NYC scene with HBO's How to Make It. Unlock one or all four of the badges: Culture, Living, Cocktails, and Nightlife."

Bravo continue to work with FourSquare, with activity based around restaurant and bar reviews:

FourSquare and Bravo

"Bravo fans do more than sit on their couches and watch Housewives yell at each other all day (shocking, right?). They eat where Top Chefs eat (and cook), they shop where the Housewives shop, they drink, er, responsibly (and most likely with Andy Cohen), and they foursquare! Download Guides by Bravo to get Bravolebrities' picks for the best restaurants, bars, and stores in your city, then start earning your Bravo badges! We didn't ask Team Zoe, but we hear badges are always in style."

Whilst the Harvard FourSquare partnership (more here) continues too:

Harvard: 'Explore the campus wth FourSquare'

"Harvard is more than classrooms and buildings. It’s an interconnected community of people, ideas, and experiences, and we are actively pursuing ways to enhance those connections. Foursquare allows our community to engage with friends, professors, and colleagues in new ways. We also hope visitors and neighbors will benefit from the platform as it grows through use."

FourSquare have an advantage over Twitter (at the moment) in so far as the FourSquare service is intrinsically tied to real world locations. FourSquare can then be used to bring these locations to life (with specific pages, bespoke badges to unlock, tips for things to do etc) and create / enhance location specific experiences. At the same time Fourquare has the potential to offer response based / coupon advertising as well as special offers in return for check-in's or mayorships, again all location based and tied into the real world.

Furthermore, the social connectedness of FourSquare (both within itself and with it's links to Facebook and Twitter) enables FourSquare usage to drive Conversation too.

In the Destination and Conversation model FourSquare can therefore be used to drive traffic to the Destination (offers and ads), enhance the Destination (interactive experiences etc) or drive the Conversation (through public check-in's, tips and comments), whilst mobile helps facilitate functionality as activity is primarily on the go and in real time.

FourSquare is growing fast with over a million check-in's a week now (doubling in a month). This time last year it was Twitter reporting astronomical growth, but 2010 looks to be the year of FourSquare - and instead of growing through celebrity adoption, FourSquare's growth appears to be coming from a combination of virality (with Facebook Connect / Twitter integration fuelling awareness) and the exposure the service is getting from brands and advertisers adopting the service.

One to watch.......

Related posts

FourSquare and Harvard - a tipping point?

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Google Parisian Love Superbowl ad

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:02:00 +0000

After using newspapers / buses to advertise YouTube, and billboards / newspaper wraps to advertise Google Chrome, last night Google ran their first Superbowl commercial.

The Google Superbowl ad is the story of 'Parisian Love' and long distance relationships. It's not new (having been uploaded to YouTube on 19th November) but it is elegant way of getting across the different capabilities of Google and the way it enhances our lives:

Originally uploaded to YouTube as part of a series of films called 'SearchStories', other examples of Google 'ads' / branded content around this theme can be seen below:

Search Stories: Mad to Live

Search Stories: Potholes

Search Stories: Out Of Office

See the full selection on the Search Stories YouTube channel.

After relying purely on word of mouth for so long, it's interesting to see Google embracing 'traditional' channels like TV, print and outdoor to get their message across - though I think they chose the best of the 'Search stories' to feature as their Superbowl ad!

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Lost - the flag bearer for cross platform TV content [no spoilers]

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:56:00 +0000

After starting in the US earlier this week, the final series of Lost airs in the UK tonight.

Lost Series 6 billboard in Times Square

What started off as a simple concept - plane crashes on island, survivors want to escape, especially as a giant polar bear is present too - has evolved into an amazing 6 season, complicated mish-mash of plots, sub-plots, interlocking characters, time travelling story jumping and (at times ridiculous) cliff hanger moments.

Lost is more than a TV show though, through a whole range of initiatives Lost has become a multi-media franchise arguably unlike any TV show that has come before. Each Lost episode functions as standalone / self-contained content (and was one of the first TV shows to be available on iTunes after broadcast), but opportunities have been created for viewers to explore Lost content in other areas and drill down into it's secrets.

Henry Jenkins describes this as trans media story telling, and whilst he was writing about The Matrix in 'Convergence Culture', his thoughts can be applied to Lost too 'The depth and breadth of the Matrix [Lost] universe made it impossible for any one consumer to "get it" but the emergence of knowledge cultures made it possible for the community as a whole to dig deeper into this bottomless text.'

Lost isn't so much a series that you casually discuss at the watercooler, Lost is a series that you have to discuss at the watercooler to make any sense of it! This enhances the status of Lost as must-see TV, but also turns it into something more than just glossy TV content that is broadcast to a passive audience.

As Gladwell says in The Tipping Point 'It’s easier to remember and appreciate something, after all, if you discuss it for two hours with your best friends. It becomes a social experience, an object of conversation.'

The idea of Lost as a social experience is reflected in the huge volume of both official and unofficial Lost content that exists outside of the individual episodes:

- Unofficial communities like Lostpedia debate and dissect episodes (currently 5949 articles on Lostpedia), whilst channels carrying the programme have launched their own Conversation platforms, like Sky One's UK podcasts that analyse each episode after it airs.

- Official ARG online content like the Lost Experience and Find 815 sent fans on elaborate scavenger hunts across the internet and promised clues and information in return.

- Between series, back stories for characters and plot were filled in with online video content and mobisodes like 'Lost: The Missing Pieces.'

- Secret websites were created to enhance plot features like the Dharma Initiative, the Hanso Foundation and Oceanic Airlines

- Official tie in's like the Lost jigsaws were not just spin-offs but contained clues and hints about things that were happening in the programme

- Other secret tie-ins were published - the novel Bad Twin by (fictional author) Gary Troup featured a story set around the Widmore family and was available to buy from Amazon

- Ronie Midfew Arts (an anagram of Widmore Fine Arts) was established to sell limited edition Lost art, whilst delivering a multi-pieced riddle that needed to be solved (each element of the riddle had a bespoke, random web address that pointed to a new section of the Arts site - starting with www.actuallyitsketchup.com)

(click for larger image - Ronie Midfew Lost clue)

- and offline marketing around the series' launch has been esoteric with the creative hinting at storylines (for example the random billboards for Oceanic Airlines that were used to promote Series 4) rather than featuring huge call to action statements (series 6 excepted)

Fly Oceanic billboard

Lost content is distributed outside of the TV series (particularly across the internet) and the deeper people engage with it, the more rewarding it is to watch the series. Unique insight can be gained by playing the games, watching the DVD extras and exploring the microsites. Fan communities can then dissect everything together and make the group smarter than the some of it's parts.

TV viewers can therefore enjoy Lost by just following the episodes on TV, but hardcore fans have lots of other things to do outside of the TV content - Lost becomes a social experience and rewards commitment accordingly. Even if Lost is not your thing, the techniques and strategies used to bring the series to life (distributed content across multiple platforms, the way that every element from jigsaws to microsites adds to the narrative, fan communities bringing people deeper into the series and the way that Lost is 'always on') are good pointers to help approach the multi-platform media world now prevalent.

If you missed the first 5 series then the 8 minute 15 second video below will bring you up to speed.......

.......and as I don't have Sky I may well be waiting for the DVD release before I get to watch series 6 - so please don't leave spoiler information in the comments!

Related posts

Real time Lost! Flight 815 in 24 style YouTube mash up

5 great examples of Lost viral marketing

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Jedward - Ice Ice Baby takes over the internet!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick Burcher) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:46:00 +0000

(The magnificent) Jedward have released their first official single, their mashup of Under Pressure and Ice Ice Baby - and they even have a guest appearance from Vanilla Ice himself(!):

Not content with just a YouTube video though, Jedward have launched a Planet Jedward official YouTube channel..........but this is just the tip of the iceberg........

There is also:

- a Planet Jedward official site www.planetjedward.net
- a Planet Jedward Twitter account @planetjedward
- a Planet Jedward MySpace www.myspace.com/planetjedward
- a Planet Jedward Bebo profile www.bebo.com/planetjedward
- and a Planet Jedward Facebook page here

Wherever possible these profiles have links to a wide range of different download sites where fans can buy the new Jedward track.

This is all very slick and well executed, with strong imagery, widespread distribution of content and tailoring to each venue. The Planet Jedward Facebook page is a good example of this as it currently encouraging Facebook users to change their middle name to 'Jedward' - and leaving a comment on the Jedward Fan Page will then result in 3 randomly selected winners receiving personal video messages from the Jedward boys.

The Jedward juggernaut may have only just started rolling, but, with this much activity on social sites, it seems likely to pick up speed quickly!

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