POST DIGITAL

ON: UNIQLO TRY

Just Try at http://www.uniqlo.com/try

ON: Sites Worth Visiting

Over the last few weeks I have had a number of public relations representatives contact me to review their sites.  Due to the phenomenally busy week I have had, I have not had the time to get to the bottom of the ON in box.  So in the spirit of not falling completely off the radar - I have listed a few that that have ideas worth sharing.

Lipton Clear Green
The Incredible Hulk
Twix - Get The Girl
Nike: The Girl Effect
Stonehenge Decoded
Ford Flex
jetBlue - Happy Jetting

Clear creative ideas, sexy design, smart content and a cause you can stand for.

ON: A Weekly Exercise in Thinking

Ted speakers inspire me to think in new ways.

Nathan Myhrvold talks about a few of his latest fascinations -- animal photography, archeology, BBQ and generally being an eccentric genius multimillionaire. Listen for wild stories from the (somewhat raunchy) edge of the animal world.

ON: Wildfire at Cannes

If you are rolling with your hommies to France for Cannes make sure to attend Wildfire!  This is yet another joint creative partnership that combines the world of publishing and agencies who give them something to write about.  (contagious magazine out of the UK and Leo Burnett) Over the last few years I have attended when it was in NYC and it is a great gathering of people.  Lots of creative blood to network with. 

One of the many thinkgs that I love about this event is that that they highlight work and the best ideas that real people engaged with. 

This year:
Leo Burnett will be talking about their fresh, 'HumanKind' approach to marketing - always putting people at the center of their thinking. Not the brand, not the category. In keeping with this, we’ve got case studies from the world’s biggest brand Nokia, and will be finding out how Swedish retailer IKEA personalized their meatballs and MDF shopping experience. We’ll be looking at how Guinness in Hong Kong and Coca-Cola in China transformed community events with a little smart thinking, and bringing you the branded content emerging from unlikely places and winning viewers worldwide.

If you are lucky enough to be amongst the glitter and glam side of our business Wildfire is a must!

Ripped From Their Press Release:
Everything that matters in the advertising business begins and ends with two things: people and behaviour. Wildfire brands understand this better than any, and are themselves built and defined by the people who buy them – people with the imagination, tools and enthusiasm to share their feelings and opinions about their favourite products with their peers.

Wildfire brands were created for, and thrive within today's 'People Era' – an era when marketers have to be more human in their behavior, insight and voice than ever before.

With this in mind, some of the most successful brands of the 21st century will be explored as well as new forms of advertising that feel more like real life than marketing. The panel will talk to people from all over the world about what they expect in return from the brands they invest their valuable time and money in, and show what turns a buyer of a brand into an advocate.

In short, Wildfire 2008 will look at the business of advertising through a distinctly human lens.

ON: Finding Me Qik

Qik video.  get it.  play with it. be one with it.

Qik enables you to share moments of your life with your friends, family and the world - directly from your cell phone! Keep your world in the know, share a laugh, tell engaging stories. Just point your cell phone and stream video live to your your friends on Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, etc. OR use your cell phone like a camcorder and stream hours and hours of video without worrying about storage on your cell phone.

Get in to Qik at http://qik.com you can use it with our iPhone. Right now qik has 30 supported devices.

ON: In Box Tag

Finally got to the bottom of my ON - In box today and I ran across a little something that Michael Donnelly, Director, Worldwide Interactive Marketing at Coke sent me. The note contained a link to grab a CokeTag. 

A CokeTag is a personal, customizable widget for individuals, bands, bloggers, artists, and companies to share links to content they want to promote and drive traffic to anywhere on the Web.

Michael says:
"While Facebook may be the starting point for CokeTag, it is only the beginning. We are excited to be working towards the potential of expanding the use of the CokeTag application throughout the web and we are now working on the best way to leverage the OpenSocial platform. We are looking forward to the day when anyone could potentially create a CokeTag and have it on all of their social network profiles and their blog and only have to worry about updating it in one place. That excites me."

What is prett cool is that one of the first uses of a CokeTag will be to promote the we8 recording artists. we8 is an artistic and cultural exchange, uniting eight of China's most exciting artists and design firms with eight of the West's most progressive musicians to design a vision and soundtrack that celebrates the infinite possibilities that await when the doors are flung open from East to West. The we8 program is being launched as part of The Coca-Cola Company's 2008 Bejing Olympic Games marketing activities. 

CokeTag's use does not end there.  CokeTag has long term legs that will include gathering behavioral data with in social media.

The CokeTag application is being launched as a beta. Among others, the goal is to watch, listen and learn from consumers to determine how the community wishes to use the application and to gather suggestions on how to improve it as it expands outside of Facebook.

See My CokeTag at http://www.facebook.com/pages/ON-digitalmarketing/8105779934

ON: The Lacoste Future

What will your future look like?  I envision a future that allows me to play with my tennis racket my knees will be transformed back in to m twenty year old knees that can sustain the sudden stop at the net.  To have a vision of the future one must know the past.  that is no different when it comes to your brand.  The Lacoste-Future site combines the rich history and give you a say in how their products will impact your future game.

Lacoste gives you a glimpse into the 2083.  A racket that meets the power of the shoe and the flexible fashion that brings new meaning to bionic.  The site's simplicity is the most exciting part of the future.  Easy navigation does not interrupt the full screen video.

The history of the action was just as important to the future action.  The easy to use widget (content sharing mechanism) allowed me three options to share.  The consumer generated-content submission was easy and told me how long it would be before m contribution was posted.

Visit http://www.lacoste-future.com to share your vision of the future.

ON: Cable Providers & Their Value To Consumers

I am researching cable providers for a new campaign I am building.  I have a hypothesis and need your consumer input.

Hypothesis: Now that cable providers are in essence a commodity, offering similar services and access, their relevance  becomes about  their emotional value to us as home entertainment.

1. Why do you like your cable provider? 
2. How does your cable service provide value to your life? 
3. What do you wish to see in a cable provider? 
4. What do you desire when it comes to home entertainment?
5. What would make you switch cable providers?
6. Who is your cable provider?
6a. Why did you Choose them?
6b. What Made You switch?
6c. What could they have done to make their offering better?
7. Is there a real difference in satellite vs. digital cable?
7a. If so what?
8. What is the most important part of home entertainment?
9. Does the extension of Home entertainment to mobile devices play a role in your evaluation of cable providers?
9a. If so which mobile or entertainment devices?
10. Can you give me an example of a nightmare cable installation or customer service story?

Take my facebook survey by clicking here or drop me line in the comments section on how you would approach this assignment with new creative flare.

ON: Mentos Kiss Fight

What's more important than fresh breathe?  Nothing, if you are about to set the stage for a meaningful kiss!

The Mentos launch of “Kiss Fight” (much like fight club - accept we talk about kiss fight) has really got the right formula to increase product volume and velocity with a creative idea that puts their product between you and the perfect kiss.

Kiss Fight is smart and in touch.  Now that I have a teenager who is at the "Kissing" age – I have found that it is no longer the sappy act of the perfect kiss.  the kissing kids are looking for the best action kiss.  Mentos has done a great job of evolving the sappy to the fresh moves category.  A fresh move is about  taking the sublte to action and carpe diem!

   

I love the game!  I enjoyed playing out the scenes. The game designed for maximum freshness.  The video production and compression was superb. The subtle hints of brand at every turn were memorable enough for me to run out and recapture my youth with a pack of fresh and fruity Mentos.  (now all I have to do is up seize the next opportunity for a kiss with the hubby.)

Sharpen your eye for the moment when you an seize a kiss at http://www.mentoskissfight.com  I highly recommend you playing through to the hot mom / cougar / M.I.L.F moment.

ON: A Thought Of The Day

..it is always the simple that produces the marvelous.

—Amelia E. Barr