Posts tagged digital
Is Kodak really out of the picture?
Jan 23rd
I feel sad for Kodak. A brand that defined an entire industry has been beaten by evolution.
But digital isn’t responsible for its demise; it was Kodak’s resistance to it and other change that saw the final nail in the coffin called bankruptcy.
Having never quite capitalised on the digital technology it pioneered, Kodak stood firmly behind its stand alone stores and print offers – trying to push its film brand.
Kodak, say analysts, also misunderstood the new ways consumers in which consumers wanted to interact with their photos. I hate to make this judgement, but it seems to have been the Yahoo of the photo world. Laughing in the face of competition and resting on the laurels that the brand was once the best in its field – surely that would be enough. And what about our loyal customers?
For a brand that created “moments” it certainly struck the rest of the world as odd when it left itself out of the picture. Indeed, missing the digital moment that would thrust it into the future.
Another aspect of that was online photo publishing, printing services that delivered prints to your door and department stores joining the bandwagon, printing photos for a few pence a shot.
Indeed, there were many things that went wrong for Kodak, but no real reason why it couldn’t have caught up if it tried.
Yet, even in bankruptcy, Kodak boasts some enviable strengths: a golden brand, technology firepower that includes a rich collection of photo patents and more than US$4 billion in annual sales of digital cameras, printers and inks.
It’ll be an interesting one to watch with some speculating that a revival isn’t completely out of the question.
But it sure would take one hell of a marketing effort to restore any faith in the brand.
For now, we’ll wait and see. In the meantime, here are some cute “moments” from a brand that will always be remembered as a pioneer, a ‘titan’ of the photographic and printing industry.
Not even Rihanna could save it…I guess it was love in a hopeless place.
How to be a digital ninja in 2012
Jan 16th
Looking to bolster your digital capabilities in 2012? There’s only one device you’ll need, and finally it is your mobile.
We’ve published many a headline over the years to the effect of “Is this the year of mobile?”
While we’ve all waited eagerly – knowing the broad capabilities our pocket devices hold – we have been disappointed year and year again.
But finally, it seems like 2012 is it for mobile.
And we’ve not waited because there hasn’t been cool stuff on mobile until now, we’ve just all been so caught up with devices that have come since mobile.
You have to remember that mobile is an old platform – reinvigorated perhaps by replacing ‘mobile’ with ‘smart’. The year of the smartphone has dawned.
Why?
Our insistent need to be socially connected at all times. But not only is social growing, content is.
Facebook currently boasts 800 million users worldwide. Of those, 350 million are using Facebook mobile – sharing news clips, photos and blogs.
We’ve said content is King before, but this will ring true more than ever in 2012 as internet users shy away from simple status updates.
Branded apps are also on the rise as smartphone take up steadily increases and the naysayers of the iPhone, HTC, iPads and other smart devices join the life of the living.
Brands have been trying to get into the pockets of consumers for years, but there has always been a challenge for some to do it in an organic, fun and engaging way.
So with the huge growth in online shopping outside of eBay, there’s never been a better time.
With this, brands will also become more creative when it come to geo-location platforms and there will be a smoother, more complete social integration.
I had never quite realised how much my phone could do until I was given an iPhone 4 recently. But it wasn’t until after my laptop and iPad were stolen in a break and enter until I realised I could actually do everything I wanted and needed to do from my phone – my iPhone 4.
I think others are starting to notice also…especially brands and marketers.
I can’t even catch public transport with checking the app to see how long I have to wait, go to dinner without checking out Yelp or start my morning without checking the latest specials on ASOS.
It’s an increasingly digitally mobile world.
The digital event of the year – the best Royal Wedding ads
Apr 28th
The digital medium is owning the Royal Wedding – from various broadcasters streaming the event online, to Twitter hastags, live pictures and 24-hour round the world news coverage from London, digital is going where no one else can, front row.
So it’s only natural that marketers would take advantage of the space, too. And we’re glad they did. It definitely provides some great content for some very creative campaigns.
We love smart, sassy reactive adverts, here a selection of the best:
It goes without saying, T-Mobile has hit the nail on the head once again with its T-Mobile Royal Wedding viral:
Coca-Cola and Diageo GB have both ensured that they are helping retailers make the most of the Royal Wedding occasion and as part of the campaign for their long-term, joint initiative to drive spirit and mixer sales, they will be running this print ad. To take advantage of all those extra eyes online this Friday, Schweppes has teamed up with Facebook to create a wedding card for consumers to sign, which will feature people’s names hand-written on the card when the page is “liked” by users.
Kraft-owned chocolate brand Green & Blacks has created this print and digital outdoor campaign that will break on the big day itself.
And then there is this for Kodak.
It’s amazing what we can do given a joyous occasion.
Will the growth of digital video slow because of lack of ROI?
Apr 19th
Digital video advertising grew 40% in the US last year as the medium finally gathered momentum. Today’s news that Audi is taking advantage of this growth spurt has us wondering if it’s finally time for video to reign in the UK also.
Although it is only representing a small fraction of the market, spending on digital video ads hit $1.5 billion in 2010, up from $1 billion the previous year, according to the report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
Without a doubt, online video is one of the fastest growing sectors – even continuing to grow throughout the recession.
Advertisers expect to boost spending on digital video ads, with many planning to allocate as much as 22% of their ad budgets over the next 12 months, according to an IAB survey of 500 marketers.
It’s also welcome news for a growing number of video companies offering video advertising opportunities including Google’s YouTube and Yahoo!.
Meanwhile, one research company estimates a 38.6% rise in online video ad spending. Furthermore, Break Media indicates most advertisers (79%) will spend less than 25% of their online display budget on digital video advertising in 2011, the majority (70%) plan to increase digital video ad spend within the next 12 months.
But when choosing online video ad placements, channels or providers, the most important determinants are audience targeting capabilities, RIO tracking and audience reach.
So while the medium is growing, there is still work to be done in order to convince marketers this is a trackable medium that is, at the end of the day, worth it.
Japan launches billboards that can read your mind
Sep 6th
Imagine a billboard that can read your age and what soft drinks you like just by looking at you. Billboard advertising, after falling a little behind in the ‘cool’ stakes of the ad world lately, is coming up with some pretty nifty that take ‘interactive’ and ‘digital’ to a whole new level.
Japan is taking the lead when it comes t billboard advertising. It is developing flat-screen monitors used like billboards and is incorporating mobile phone technologies to make them more interactive.
Inside the bustling Shinagawa train station, a futuristic-looking vending machine has replaced rows of drink bottles and cans with a 47-inch touch-screen monitor.
When a person stands in front of the screen, a camera captures his image and a sensor determines the person’s gender and approximate age.
Based on that reading, the machine “recommends” drinks that fit the customer’s profile.
The idea is to transform billboards and the like into sophisticated marketing tools that identify and target a specific audience.
NEC, the third-largest maker of public displays, behind Panasonic and Samsung, is using facial-recognition technology that can determine how many people looked at a particular display, their gender and even their level of attentiveness.
NEC said the technology allows advertisers to gather hard data about the display’s effectiveness.
The company says its system can identify people’s gender correctly about 90% of the time and guess a person’s age within a 10-year range about 70% of the time.
But the technology raises privacy concerns — as does everything that has to with advertising these days, it seems.
The problem is that there’s no clear regulation that prohibits those signage systems from storing images.
The protection of personal privacy depends too much on the conscience of each company involved.
The question is though, is this sort of advertising fool proof? Or is it just another advertiser trying to convince us we want something we don’t actually need?
Tell us your thoughts.
The UK’s digital Startup 100 champions
Aug 27th
This year’s Startups 100 list contains some of the UK’s most innovative companies, but its digital companies that have been the true heroes during a turbulent recession.
Startups 100 is the definitive countdown to the UK’s most innovative, inspiring and ground-breaking new companies.
The list is unashamedly unscientific in its methodology for this year’s Startups 100 – it represents the best, most exciting, promising, disruptive new businesses and entrepreneurs shaping the start-up market right now.
Top of the list is Huddle, one of the most successful tech companies to come
out of the UK in years.
Founded by Alastair Mitchell and Andy McLouglin, Huddle provides packages of project management and online collaboration software and, while there are many players in this market, has managed to gain a remarkable stronghold both in the UK and the US, securing some impressive blue-chip and public sector clients including Nokia, Panasonic, Kia Motors and the NHS.
Sara Rizk, editor of Startups.co.uk, said, “Huddle was an obvious choice to top this year’s Startups 100 list. In just a few years Alastair and Andy have created a market-leading brand with global reach. What these two entrepreneurs have achieved, supported by an enthusiastic, fast-growing team, is proof that world-beating technology companies are not the preserve of Silicon Valley. We’re incredibly proud to have them heading up our list.”
The list also contains other such digital champions including TweetDeck – a personal browser for staying in touch with what’s happening now, connecting users with their contacts across Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and more.
But most importantly, every single company on the 2010 list has felt the effects of launching during one of the most turbulent economic periods in modern history, says Rizk.
“For some it has presented unexpected challenges, while others have relished the opportunities the downturn has thrown up. The result is a list of companies and entrepreneurs to be proud of. The Startups 100 is made up of a truly eclectic group of businesses and entrepreneurs. On our list, global
brands sit alongside one-man bands in what we believe is an accurate reflection of the UK’s colourful, diverse and vibrant start-up community.”
To be eligible, businesses had to have started trading post January 2007 and demonstrate:
* Innovation, in concept or delivery
* Ability to disrupt existing market places
* Demonstratable growth potential
* Strong management, bright thinkers
* Evidence of existing or future revenues
Startups 100, selected by the startups.co.uk team, celebrates the 100 most exciting, promising, disruptive new businesses and entrepreneurs shaping the start-up market right now.
Here’s the full list: Read the rest of this entry »
Twitter still evolving and experimenting with digital media ad space
Jul 27th
Twitter has unveiled a whole host of new features over the past six months, but could this new surprise be the icing on the cake?
Remember about a year ago when Twitter co-founder and CEO Biz Stone said that 2010 would be the micro-blogging site’s revenue year?
Finally the site has delivered something compelling enough that could see that wish, I mean, assertion, come to fruition.
The social site has just added a new feature that will allow Twitter users to upload videos and other media to their tweets. That also could mean video advertising…
‘Tweet Media’, is: “By default, you’ll only see images and videos shared by people you’re following, and reveal those by people you’re not. Check this box to see media from everyone on Twitter,” describes Twitter.
The feature will enable the embedding of multimedia into the stream. It comes after a string of other innovations this year such as Promoted Tweets – which is already earning the site much need advertising revenues.
The ‘media’ approach is though contrary to the ethos of the site. Adding embeddable media to the stream has the potential to complicate the traditionally simple, 140-characters-of-text aesthetic of the network. This may have something to do with why Twitter has now removed the feature.
Mashable unearthered ‘Tweet Media’ earlier today. But when we went poking around we discovered the feature no longer existed.
Here’s the line from Twitter (from Mashable) “We’re constantly exploring features and settings. What you saw was a small test of a potential consumption setting for inline media.”
Twitter also notes that this feature is already a part of both the official apps for iPhone and Android, as well as for certain third-party Twitter apps.
But it’s worth remembering that many users already share photos and videos – either via TwitPic or their other more ‘social’ networks such as Facebook. However, it could be a golden opportunity for advertisers looking for cut-through on the site.
Does the Twitter feed need media? Or, an even better question is, who is still using Twitter anyway?
With so many users, Twitter needs to do something more compelling not just to attract revenues, but to attract creative ads that get people to stop and watch.
How digital and interactive advertising has come of age
Jul 23rd
In a saturated advertising and consumer market, brands are constantly battling against each other for airspace. So what’s the best way to stand out through digital channels? One beer brand has proved itself with the ‘experience’ route…
First, appeal to your ‘fans’, the consumers you already have.
Secondly, reward them by inspiring them to act in the favour of your brand.
One such brand that has done brilliantly at both is Tooheys – an Australian beer brand that was last night crowned as ‘Best in Show’ for its ‘Six Beers of Separation’ campaign.
Here’s a video of the initial campaign:
Aussie agency Lion Nathan and ZenithOptimedia created a campaign that saw four Tooheys fans travel across the world to find how they are connected to their idols…with six beers.
The project included a number of TV episodes that aired on pay-TV channel Foxtel and online. Digital, print, FTA TV and cinema activity also supported the long form ads.
The episodes showed participants travelling more than 150,000km between them, across three continents. The brand gave each of the four $12,000 and 18 days to find their idol.
There’s a micro site here if you’re interested in the journey and a dedicated YouTube channel here.
Mark Uncles, professor of marketing and judge at the 2010 IAB Australia Awards, said, “If there was ever any doubt, digital and interactive advertising truly has come of age. Many of Australia’s biggest mainstream advertisers have had text book success using online to excellent effect.
“Key to this coming of age, are campaigns that engage consumers in the longer term. This is essential if advertising is to build brands and not simply secure immediate promotional benefits.”
The Tooheys campaign makes use of multiple platforms to deliver a insightful and witty messages that build significantly Tooheys Extra Dry as a strong brand.
The campaign is reminiscent of another Aussie campaign, The Best Job in the World. However, where the ‘Best Job’ campaign succeeded was on the global stage.
A simple YouTube competition catapulted the northern Australian state of Queensland onto the world map and it will certainly be a while before anyone forget the media frenzy it caused. Out of the campaign, the Queensland brand managed a true brand advocate (who is now actually employed as Queensland Tourism’s Ambassador and is travelling all over the world).
That goes to prove that advertising and a lot of money can buy you promotions…but there is more to it than that.
These campaigns both play on the ‘experience’. It shows the audience its consumers having a fantastic experience with their brand. That experience is so great they blog about, they talk about, the even put it on video and that is what resonates with consumers in this age of social media and ‘recommendations’.
These campaigns have won out (‘Best Job’ won a few Cannes Lion’s awards!)because of their innovative use of a number of different digital channels to build an experience and total immersion of the brand.
Yes, digital has come of age, so has marketers’ use of it. The opportunities are endless and I hope these examples give you inspiration. There’s also a great case study at mcn.com.au. Click here to watch it.
Ads can no longer fund free-to-air TV, say Sorrell
Jul 2nd
Pay TV platforms will control the future of the UK broadcasting business, according to advertising king Sir Martin Sorrell, so what does that mean for advertisers?
Sorrell said that the real winners will be Sky, Virgin and BT as advertising will no longer be able to financially support TV as much as it once did.
The CEO of WPP, the world’s largest advertising conglomerate, yesterday (01/07) predicted an increasing battle between device manufacturers, platforms and content providers in the UK TV sector.
Speaking at Intel’s ‘Shaping the Future of TV’ event, Sorrell said that the “increasing battle” would be won by pay TV companies such as Sky or Virgin, as device manufacturers fail to sign enough content deals to ensure their dominance.
But Sorrell can’t be given all the credit. His speech had taken inspiration from Rupert Murdoch’s recent bid to BSkyB.
Sorrell said, “Rupert [Murdoch] is always on the forefront of trends…he and James [Murdoch] display an immense understanding of pay TV… we think the News Corp and Sky deal will happen, and get past the regulators… It will be a very shrewd move,” reported the Telegraph.
Pay TV will account for an increasing amount of the UK TV’s industry revenues, moving from the current 39% to 50-60% by 2020, said Sorrell.
TV subscriptions, he added, will increase and account for a greater percentage of UK TV industry revenues.
IPTV is also poised for rapidly over the next 10 years, according to Sorrell who predicts 50-70% of households would have IP delivered TVs by 2020.
Cautiously, he added that online video advertising only accounted for £39 million in 2009, 1% of the UK’s total TV advertising spend, showing that despite technological developments, IPTV will probably work around broadcast TV, rather than displace it.
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