I came across this video on YouTube and really liked it!
It’s a video about big red push button on a quiet square in Belgium. The sign above the button had the text “Push to add drama”.

Whenever someone pushed the button, drama was added onto the scene. What type of drama? I suggest you watch the video

The video was made for TNT TV channel in Belgium. Their slogan is “We know drama”. They really tapped into that with this video! It may be a bit over the top for some, but that’s why I like it . And I guess a lot more people liked it ’cause the video went viral. I would be surprised if you haven’t seen it already!

I came across these awesome high heel shoes by Kobi Levi, a designer that specializes in footwear design and development.

I don’t know about you, but I want me some of them!

I always love it when people take a different take on ordinary things. I find it sometimes hard to do it in my job as a Communications specialist. Awesome design like this always gets my creative juices flowing though, it keeps me inspired to be creative in my field as well!

In case you haven’t had a enough yet, check out the video below

via: Kobi Levi & I waste so much time

Intimacy is a fashion project by Dutch design team Studio Roosegaarde made out of material that becomes transparent based on personal interaction. It consists of a set of dresses. The latest set of dresses being Intimacy 2.0, interactive dresses composed of leather and special material that become transparent.

I have to say, the dresses look A-MA-ZING! Some of them even look somewhat wearable. I think it’s an interesting concept, dresses that become transparent upon touch. I wouldn’t like to be caught wearing one while on a crowded train though…

What do you think of the dresses? Would you dare wear one on a night out?

Via: Designboom.com

Two weeks ago Dutch retailer Zeeman stunned many fashion gurus by going undercover at Amsterdam International Fashion Week.

They created a fake brand called ‘Frank’ and put on a show at the fashion week. Before fashion week even started they already ‘teased’ everyone in the industry about this new and exciting brand. They basically did everything they could do to create rumor around the brand.

Before the show and during the show everyone was excited, so imagine the look on their faces when at the end of the show the cheap retailers yellow and blue logo ‘Zeeman’ was shown on the big screen!

With this stunt Zeeman wanted to show everyone that ‘looking good doesn’t have to be expensive’. The brand is named after Swiss designer Frank Kungl who has created 6 designs that will be sold at Zeeman.

Check out the video to see the reactions (click CC for subtitles)

I think stunts like this are awesome. IKEA did a similar stunt with their furniture in 2006 at a housing fair. In fact, many in the Dutch advertising industry criticized the stunt and called it a rip-off. The agency that came up with the stunt denied that it ripped off the stunt though. Either way, I still think it’s a good stunt! It makes you think of the cheaper brands in a different way. Whether or not this is a strategic good move from Zeeman, I don’t know. There is a place and a market for cheap retailers like Zeeman. Why try to be chic when you’re good at being cheap?

What’s your take on this stunt?

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Okay, now I’ve really come across one of the weirdest photoshoots ever!

It’s a series of photos called Kindsköpfe by photographer Paul Ripke, art director Florian Schmucker and post-production company POP.

The series consists of photos of baby heads on grown up bodies AND… grown up heads on baby bodies, tjongolongo! How freaky is that!

Ater seeing the photos on Trendhunter I did a quite search on the internet and found out that a lot of people are calling these photos Manbabies, which sounds suitable

I have to say, putting a baby’s head on anything would make anything look cute. Putting a grown ups head on anything can make anything look creepy..

How freaky do you think these photos are?

That’s a exactly what Australian comedy show ‘The Hungry Beast’ was wondering. They have created a video called ‘The Offline Social Network’. The video basically pokes fun at the information people post on their Facebook account.

In the video comedians Nick McDougall and Nick Hayden walk around with blue books with the word ‘Face’ on it and ask people questions that Facebook asks to fill in your profile.

You have to watch the video to understand, but I can tell you this much. If somebody comes up to you and asks ‘What are you doing right now’ and after you answer it repeat it through a loudspeaker for the world to know you might feel a little embarressed.

The video made me laugh. I actually already tweeted about it, but came across it again and since it made me go ‘tjongolongo’ I decided to post it on my blog as well.

I do have to say, we may laugh about the video, but it does makes you think (or at least it did me) about what it is you’re posting online. I try to go by the rule: If I wouldn’t say it offline, I shouldn’t post it online!

Via: Trendhunter & Mashable

The Royal Wedding of William and Kate has taken the internet by storm. The Social Media Buzz around their wedding has been increasing the last few days.

Webtrends has been so kind to create a nice infographic based on stats gathered and analyzed by them about the Royal Wedding.

According to Mashable, on Twitter and Facebook the term ‘Royal Wedding’ (#RoyalWedding) was the trending topic today. They also say that the wedding has broken live streaming records!

Google has also done a little extra for the special day. They’ve created a special Google Doodle.

And they’ve added a little bride and groom to Google Maps to replace the normal Street View man. Very cute!

All and all there’s been quite a buzz going on about the Royal Wedding. Mostly from the UK and the US as you can see in the infographic. But I’m sure all over the world people are buzzing about the wedding whether they like it or not!

I wasn’t planning on writing about the wedding, but seeing all the buzz on Social Media, I couldn’t help not to!

Have you been buzzing about the Royal Wedding today?

You end up with half a logo. The Dorothy group has created a collection of paintings of iconic logos without the brand’s name in it. Or as they say on their website, strip the logos back to their basic graphic forms.

The collection contains logos from companies such as Coca-Cola, MasterCard, Levi’s, Kodak, Heineken and Burger King.

Dorothy is a collective of like-minded people working on unlike-minded ideas. I have to say that I like their unlike-minded ideas! And it seems I’m not the only one, according to their website this project has taken them by storm. They’ve received many request from people that would like to buy the artwork.

I personally really like this kind of stuff. If you have a logo for a product, company or whatever, just try and visualize it without the words. Will the logo still be recognizable?

By the way, is there anyone out there that recognizes the yellow flowery logo? Please let me know cause I’ve got no idea!

UPDATE:

The yellow flowery logo is the Chupa Chups logo (lollipops). Thanks CostaRican91 for pointing this out!

Spotted @ Trendhunter

What if Google didn’t exists, what would the world look like? It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it?

Google is such a big part of our lifes now, it’s hard to picture life without it. Singlegrain has created an infographic that shows a timeline of all the features Google has released so far.

Looking at all the features they ask the question, what if there was no Google? What would life be lie, who would be the top dog?

[click image to enlarge]

I think the infographic is very interesting and makes you think. At the moment, I can’t imagine life without Google. I do however know that in time, things can change, and who knows, maybe in 50 years we will all say, remember when Google was big?

It’s April Fools’ Day so all over the world wide web there are pranks being posted everywhere.

Three of my favourite ones I’ve seen today are:

Gmail Motion

According to Google, the mouse and the keyboard are outdated. With all of the new technologies that exist today, why still use the old stuff? It’s time for some human computer interaction. Introducing Gmail Motion — now you can control Gmail with your body!

LinkedIn ‘People You May Know’

LinkedIn has a very cute April Fools prank. If you’ve got an account and log in today, you can see on the ‘People You May Know’ list that you may know Alber Einstein or Robin Hood.

Starbucks Mobile Pour

At Starbucks they announced today that you no longer have to find a Starbucks location when you get a craving for Starbucks coffee. They have introduced the Starbucks Mobile Pour service. A service that puts baristas on scooters and includes a special Mobile Pour app for your smartphone. When you get a craving for a coffee simply, pinpoint your location on the app, select your cofee order and your coffee will be delivered to you in a matter of seconds by one of the baristas on scooters.

And many more

These are just a few of the April Fools’ jokes I’ve seen today that made me smile. I also noticed you can register your hashtag and Richard Branson has bought Pluto and many more.

What’s your favourite April Fools’ joke of 2011?

I came across this amazing design project called The Caluso Concept. It’s a box that contains an entire room!

According to trendhunter.com The Caluso Concept was created as part of Marcel Kring’s and Sebastian Mühlhäuser’s dissertation at the Köln International School of Design.

They’ve created a box which turns into a room with a desk, a closet and more within a matter of minutes.

Check out the video to see how quickly the room is assembled.

It doesn’t look to comfortable though, than again, looks can be deceiving. It is easy if you move around a lot though!

Would you use it?

What do lingerie models, guns and helicopters have in common? As strange as it may sound, they are all part of an ad for a house…

Yes, you’re reading it right, a house. Australian real estate agency NEO Property has taken a somewhat unorthodox approach to selling houses.

Real estate agents Ian Adams and Adrian Jenkins have made a mini movie for 15 Queen Anne Court in Queensland, Australia which features more close-ups of model Elle Polson than it does of the house.

I came across this video first on Newslite. A little search on the web tells me that this isn’t the first time that they’ve made such sexy adverts though.

The very first video they made was originally sent to 100 clients and has had more than 150,000 views since it went viral. Within a few days the phone didn’t stop ringing for Ian and Adrian.

According to Newswarped.com Mr Adams said it was “unashamedly sexy and fun” and all done “tongue-in-cheek” but it was a serious indication of the need for innovation in property sales.

“This industry takes itself too seriously sometimes. In the current market, we need to be making a point of difference and the traditional marketing tools just aren’t enough any more,” he said.

Well, a different way of marketing it is indeed and I’m sure they’ll eventually sell the house as well. They certainly aren’t marketing towards women, that’s for sure!

I’m sure a lot of men would like to buy a house like this including all lingerie models.

It seems that more and more company’s are reverting back to the old ‘Sex Sells’ tactic. After the Shameless Campaign by Suit Supply I wasn’t expecting this from a real estate agency though. I don’t know what to expect now!

What do you think of the sex selling tactic?

Warner Bros has signed an interesting deal with Facebook. For 30 Facebook credits ($3) consumers can rent a movie for 48 hours.

The first movie to be offered through Facebook will be The Dark Knight.

There aren’t many details available about the service yet. For example it’s unknown whether or not you can watch the movie twice. It is possible however to pause the movie and resume the movie within the 48 hours. According to Reuters, initially the service will only be available in the U.S.

Personally, I think this is a very interesting development. I wonder what it will mean to big U.S rental firms such as Netflix. And what it will do to rental firms worldwide. Currencies are automatically converted to Facebook credits, so no currency issues there. If companies such as Warner Bros. start offering movies themselves and taking out the middle man, this could become a very interesting development.

Who knows, maybe in a few years time we can rent movies 24×7 all over the world.

Japanese artist Natsumi Hayashi has created a series of self-portraits of her levitating. The photos have gone viral on the internet.

According to Newslite the artist came up with the idea two years ago. She started playing around with the idea of being pictured levitating as a way of showing her true self and how she is different.

Whatever the reason, I think the photos are amazing! See for yourself!

I always love creative ideas like these. It makes you (or at least me) think of ordinary things in a different way.

The US entertainment company, Fox, has announced that one of their hit shows ‘American Idol‘ will add online voting for the first time.

Users can use their Facebook accounts to vote on the contestants on a specific Idol voting page.

Accorinding to Entertainment Weekly, viewers and fans of the show that have a Facebook account will be able to vote for their favourite contestant 50 times.

The new online voting will not replace the normal vote via text messaging and toll-free phone calls.

I personally think this is a great development and one that’s long overdue!

It’ll be interesting to see what will happen once the online voting will start to commence. Will the online Idol voting page freeze for example?

One thing I would like to know is how the results will differ. Who’s the favourite contestant online, via text message or by phone? I wonder if there will be a difference in the result based on the type of people that use each platform. I don’t think we’ll find out though, it’ll all be added up to one winner. Still, I’d like to know

Now that American Idol is starting with online voting I’m sure other shows all over the world will follow quickly. According to Entertainment Weekly it’s already leaked that the US version of The X-Factor will also introduce Facebook voting next fall.

All in all, a very interesting development. What do you think of online voting?

Image: Mashable

According to the American Marketing Association a brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.

Next to just a name, term, design and symbol I also feel that branding is an experience or a feeling that a customer gets from your brand.

A brand can be anything, a product, a company or even yourself.

To me, Branding is:

The experience or the feeling you try to give to people about your brand.

People will have formed an opinion about your product, company (etc.,etc.) that, if done correctly, corresponds with the message you try to put out.

Successful branding means that people will understand your brand and (preferably) choose it as their favourite. When branding is successful they will pick your brand from your competitors because the feeling you put out about your brand corresponds with theirs.

Branding is more than just a logo

Branding doesn’t mean get a logo and stick in on everything. Branding tells the story you want to get across to your prospects, customers and all others that come into contact with your brand. When you’re dealing with a brand you are basically asking yourself the question, what are the values of my brand?

• What is my mission, what do I stand for?
• What is my personality, how do I deliver my message?
• How do I interact with customers?

It’s all these things and more, and based on those values you create a brand strategy.

Successful branding doesn’t happen overnight

Or at least, not for most companies. One thing that irritates me when I see people in new high positions in a company, whether it’s a new CEO or a new Head of Communications, is that they almost always don’t like the current brand and want to change it into something completely different. Thinking that that’s going to make them money and get in new business.

To me, that’s actually the worst thing you can do. A brand takes time and you need to give it that time. Changing it every three years isn’t going to help. As with a lot of things, with branding consistency is key. You need to be consistent in your messaging, in your look and feel and in your interaction, that’s what’s ultimately going to get your customers to know and understand who you are and what it is you stand for.

It seems so logical to me, if I say to people today that chocolate is my favourite snack and tomorrow I tell them it’s cupcakes and the next day I say that it’s carrots all because I think that that’s what’s going to make them like me even more, think again.  It will only confuse them. They won’t see me as someone that likes chocolate, or cupcakes, or carrots. They will just see me as someone that likes a lot of things and can’t make up her mind. If you were to ask them what it is that I really like, they wouldn’t be able to tell you.

It’s the same with companies. If you change your brand every few years, your prospects and customers will never really know what it is you stand for. The best known brands are mostly brands that haven’t changed much since the day they started. There are of course brands that have changed a lot, but still, the majority of the brands that are considered strong brands are brands that have evolved through the years but did not make any drastic changes.

Brands shouldn’t change, they should evolve.

Take coca Cola for example, the brand hasn’t changed a lot, they’ve still got the distinctive logo, bottle and colors. They have evolved through the years though, they started to sell Coca-Cola from bottles which was a bold idea at the time. They quickly started bottling Coca-Cola in the distinctive bottle we all know today and they branded Coca-Cola as the Cola to drink from bottles. Later on it evolved into ‘Drink Coca-Cola’, ‘Always Coca-Cola’ to the current ‘Life Begins Here’. Eventhough the message and even the packaging has evolved, you still know what Coca-Cola stands for. Coca-Cola is still seen as a quality bottled coke that is favoured by many.

The same thing should be true for your company. Figure out what it is you stand for, create a consistent message and visualisation and stick to it. It’s like Malcom X said, “If you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything.” Don’t let your brand fall.

Branding isn’t something you do, it’s something you are.

The last and to me most important thing about branding  you should never forget is that branding isn’t something you ‘do’, it’s something you ‘are’. You can’t say, as of now our company is known for it’s nice receptionists and friendly employees, but when people come to the office they aren’t greeted in such a way. Your brand should also attract the kind of people that your brand claims to be. If you claim to be a nice brand, employ nice people. They will already have a piece of your brand in them. You can’t teach people to be totally different from what they are, they have to be a bit of your brand in order for them to carry it out to others.

Branding also isn’t something you can just put on your tasks list to tick off once you’re done. Branding is something that happens 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s not just a logo on a building or a poster on the wall, it’s how you answer the phone, how you treat your employees, how you treat your customers, etc. It’s everything you do, all the time. You can’t make people do the things you want 24×7 but if it’s something they already are, it just comes naturally.

This is my (long) take on branding. What’s yours?

In case you’ve missed it, one of my favorite people of 2010 is back, Old Spice Guy! If you don’t know who I’m talking about, check out my post on him and the ‘ Smell Like a Man, Man’ campaign. Just one of the best Social Media campaigns of 2010!

Anyways, so it looks like Old Spicey is back!
In a short YouTube video the spicy hunk has announced that he has returned for a new campaign to, as he says ‘inform the people on this crazy blue marble that we call earth how they or their man can use Old Spice to smell as fresh as the freshest-smelling places on earth’.

In normal language, he’s going to tell us all about the latest Old Spice product.

Not only is a new campaign starting, but Old Spicey is also looking for his Super Fan.

The Super Fan will be given exclusive access to the new commercial and Old Spicey himself.

I’m glad to see Old Spice Guy is back. If he’ll be as huge a success as he was last year, probably not. That is, not if he just does the same trick, but I’m sure gonna love watching this new campaign! It hasn’t annoyed me yet!

What do you think of this new campaign, does it have chance?

Last year YouTube started a new initiative called The YouTube Symphony Orchestra (YSO). The idea was that professional musicians as well as skilled hobbyists could send in an audition YouTube video. The chosen ones formed The YouTube Symphony Orchestra and performed at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Picture that, an orchestra formed entirely out of people that have auditioned on YouTube and don’t know each other at all! How could that work?

Well, it did work, in fact, it was such a huge success that this year they’re doing it again. People from all over the world have auditioned for a spot in the YSO. From a German guy playing a vuvuzela, to a Brazilian electric guitarist to the ‘standard’ violin, chello etc. players. Votes as well as an expert panel decided on the winners. The winners have been invited to a week of rehearsals and master classes at an orchestra and summit at Sydney Opera House in March, 2011, culminating in a performance conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas (Source: ibtimes.com)

According to Mashable, Ed Sanders, YouTube’s Group Marketing Manager states: ” Usually [an audition] is done behind a curtain. With our partners, we wanted to challenge that.” He continues by saying: ” If you have the skill and a webcam, you should be able to give it a crack”

Online Classical Music Community

I was really excited to see that this initiative didn’t stop at an orchestra performing somewhere, just once. The goal of the YSO is actually to open up classical music to a new, curious community.

What they did was, provide online master classes, improvisations, musician profiles and human interest stories to keep visitors of the site interested and provide them with new and useful information about classical music.

The master classes are mostly geared to people that actually play the instrument

But the improvs are just fun to watch

The Experiment – Play music through your webcam

One thing I really like about this site is the fact that they’ve also made it really interactive by adding ‘ Experiment’. Experiment allows anyone with a webcam and a photo or a printout of a specific QR code to play music. All you have to do is wave the code in front of your webcam and start experimenting!

My thoughts?

Personally, I think this is a great initiative by YouTube. It just goes to show, that just because classical music is perceived as ‘old’ it doesn’t mean it can’t keep up with the times!

I think it’s a very creative way to get people back in touch with some of the classics. What do you think?

Samsung has created a refrigerator that allows people to tweet! And not only that, you can also use the fridge to find recipes on Epicurious, listen to music on Pandora and check your Google Calenadar.

My first thought, was, tjongolongo, who needs it? Than I thought about the recipes bit or the fact that you can create Memo’s and put them up on the display part of the fridge. Than I thought again, tjongolongo, who needs it?

I’m sure there’s somebody out there that would love to use one of these, but at this point in time, I don’t see the use of it for me personally. Perhaps in a couple of years, I can’t imagine life without a tweeting fridge, but for now my Macbook and phone are enough

What’s your take on the tweeting fridge? Take it? or just leave it?

Via: Mashable