Mac Lovers and Creatives Unite!

From weekend edition on NPR, a Duke University researcher reports in that just being exposed to the Apple logo can make you more creative.

A new study shows that just being exposed to the Apple logo can make you more creative. Duke researcher Gavan Fitzsimons talks with NPR's Susan Stamberg about his study on logos and the brain.

Listen up to this archived report from npr.org.

Too bad they're suing New York City for use of this green initiative logo. :(

New Facebook Chat: A Blessing or Annoyance?

There's AIM, MSN, iChat, Adium, Google Chat, and now...Facebook Chat? (Oh, I guess I should include MySpace chat, too.) The world's largest social networking site will stop at nothing! Conveniently, no buddy list is needed since users already have friends' lists from which to pick and choose who they'll converse with. Another difference: the mini-feeds will display in the chat windows so users can see who's been up to what and where and when!

A grad student seems to think, ""[Facebook Chat] looks like it's going to be an interesting and useful feature...My bet is that this will surpass [Google's] GChat as No. 2 behind AIM, because it's so universally used and logged into."

While that may be true, it can also pose as an annoyance. Yet another window to keep open! According to a computer programmer, "Not only do I need to keep each of the IM programs open now, but I also need to keep a copy of Gmail open in my browser, and now a copy of Facebook open in my browser...It's not like I need five different e-mail programs open to e-mail five different people."

Personally, I'm a fan of the clean, Google approach to chatting. I think I'll stick to it. My beloved Facebook has become such a smorgasbord of "impressive" eye candy over the past several months. Thus, yet another feature doesn't seem so appealing anymore.

How do you celebrate the 30th anniversary of Space Invaders?

Yahoo! Japan and Tatio (the original game developers of Space Invaders) celebrated it in a big way with a full yahoo homepage takeover in japan on April 1st. I'll let the creative speak for itself.

http://event.yahoo.co.jp/invaders/beginning/

If you can't laugh at yourself...

So, for years, the relationship between Account and Creative Services in the Agency world has been an interesting one. Despite those claiming to have the most highly evolved and mature relationship, I will argue that there will always be a healthy dose of antagonism between these two disciplines. And that is a good thing as it pushes us to challenge, question and be better in our respective positions.

That said, everyone should check out this video on YouTube (if you haven’t already – I’m usually the last to see these!). Enjoy, and remember that the only way to stay sane on the rollercoaster is to be able to laugh at yourself!

Wal-Mart Cracks the Code on Social Media Integration

By Jeff Zabin

"Based on a survey conducted last month of more than 250 companies for the benchmark report Social Media Monitoring and Analysis, the Aberdeen Group found that organizations are coming to view company-hosted blogs, discussion forums, and other Web 2.0 platforms as a critical prerequisite for their online content strategy.

In fact, according to the research findings, 62% of best-in-class companies already host such platforms (compared to 42% of laggards), with an additional 22% planning to do so in the next 12 months.

Yet, despite the proliferation of company-hosted blogs and discussion forums, most companies have yet to treat social media as an additional touch point, and one that can be integrated into their overall customer-facing activities. Retailers, in particular, have a golden opportunity to leverage consumer-generated content from their discussion forums to create cross-promotional campaigns and to even drive in-store sales."

Read on....

Has everyone forgotten that so much of early web activity was built on forums, message boards and 1 to 1 interaction? That was the most exciting thing for myself and many friends was the ability to connect with someone else virtually through the web. Why should that seem so foreign to so many brands already?

I like the quote from Wal-Mart exec discussing the greater goal of online/offline related activity, as opposed to the lesson learned about 7-10 years ago, that web cannot solely replace brick n' mortar businesses. Discuss!

12 Future Apps For Your iPhone

Here is an awesome article at ReadWriteWeb on future iPhone applications and how they will change the way we do many things. Applications that give us better savings, time sensitive based on location.

Software that would make payment by credit cards obsolete and no more receipts either, thanks to your Bluetooth connection. Have your friends eaten at the restaurant your sitting in? Check out their review of it before you commit.

12 future iPhone applications.

No Brand Can Ignore The Social World

Forrester reports, "Mazda And Honda Have The Most Active Customers; GMC And Mercury The Least". Here's the topline executive summary.

"Car owners have widely different affinities for social applications. Mazda, Honda, Pontiac, Hyundai, and Jeep have the most active customers; Ford, Nissan, Chevrolet, GMC, and Mercury have the least. Car brands should use these tendencies to plan strategy. For example, Honda owners are the most likely to react to online content, which the company could exploit with consumer ratings. No brand can ignore the social world; even among Mercury owners, the least active, half are connecting with social media."

American Airlines to offer in flight broadband this year

Online broadband is coming sooner than you think, so now you can play multi-payer games while in flight to your hearts content. 

With the news out today that you can't hide from your email any more, are you happy? sad? discuss.

TextBuyIt - Super or Super Silly?

Amazon.com just launched "TextBuyIt", a system through which mobile users can use text messaging through their phone to purchase products from Amazon.com. Is this a great stride forward for Amazon or simply a company trying to be "hip" in the mobile scene? Amazon continues to try and be the one-stop-shop for anything and everything, and this is their latest push.

Pros:
- The claim: according to Amazon, the system is "simple and convenient"
- It lets you price compare on the go... no need to go back home and check the deals on Amazon.com to see if you can get a better price.
- You can purchase Jimmy Buffet's latest CD from your spot on the lawn, in the middle of the concert, in less than a minute, on your phone (ok, for some this may not be a "pro" - pick your favorite band and insert in place of JB then).

Cons:
- The reality: the process involves several text messages and an automated phone call from amazon (still "simple"? debatable...) - What if you don't have an account already set up with Amazon?
- What if you don't own an iPhone?
- What happens if you want to buy multiple products (and not several of one item)?
- This service doesn't allow you to tap into your gold box savings.

Amazon claims that they will continue to expand on the accessibility of this service into "regular" cell phones. But will this service be a springboard for success or will it remain a limited, price comparison-only tool?

The Wall Goes Interactive

Until now, loved ones of Vietnam War victims had to travel all the way to D.C. to pay their respects. Last week, a digitized version of the Wall was launched.

The article sums up its features:

"The Web site, unveiled last week, links names to casualty reports, historical documents and digital photographs, and allows users to leave online tributes to those who died."

I think it could come in handy for web-savvy kids and teens conducting their next research project. It also establishes community and "in loving memory" on a whole new level. But, I can see folks (those who are more personally touched by the events) arguing as to whether it's really necessary. So, is it helping to further preserve history? Thoughts?

Why cyberspace isn't, and will never be, nirvana

Back in February of 1995, what did you think of the internet? Newsweek resurrected this really interesting article called "The Internet? Bah!"

It's one mans rant on the web and how useless it is, it's his perspective in 1995. (i wonder if he's changed it?) Take a read through this, it's amazing that 90 percent of what he mentions, actually comes true. Talk about seeing the future, but backwards... Here's a bit of it:

"Then there's cyberbusiness. We're promised instant catalog shopping--just point and click for great deals. We'll order airline tickets over the network, make restaurant reservations and negotiate sales contracts. Stores will become obselete. So how come my local mall does more business in an afternoon than the entire Internet handles in a month? Even if there were a trustworthy way to send money over the Internet--which there isn't--the network is missing a most essential ingredient of capitalism: salespeople."

Apple: so hot right now

What's the best brand to accompany to a dinner party? With whom to get into an argument? Not sure? Looks like you might have to dig deep and appreciate the emotional value of brands in everyday life.

Interbrand's Brandjunkie survey advocated just that earlier this year. They delved into the emotional impact brands have had on consumers with up-close-and-personal questions. The end result? Apple, for the win! (One participant made an interesting point about Microsoft; for a company so fast and multi-faceted, there has been "very little innovation".) Concur?

Read the full article.

Your Tax Dollars at Work

The National Archives have created a really interesting interface to be able to peruse 1,200 historical documents and photographs from their "vault" of over 10BB records at www.digitalvaults.org. It's really slick and every artifact is tagged to allow good reference searching on a topic of interest (like the civil war, kennedy, etc).

What I find most compelling from a digital market perspective is how the National Archives is using the web, and very a non-traditional navigation architecture, to create a "Brand" for itself by developing a great immersive experience, not just creating a public service announcement that you might find in the back of a magazine. I just wish it had more video and web 2.0 functionality (there's no feedback or commentary or sharing capability for instance). But it does point out to me how the traditional "C-Frame" navigation and user experience architecture is slowly melting away.

Mobile Ads - More to Ponder

To take the mobile ads post – DOA or the next big thing - one step further... Although a rational and viable channel for us as marketers, there still seem to be concerns about user acceptance. And despite stats that show high views, recall and response rates, there are still opposing stats that show only 10% of mobile users find mobile advertising acceptable. This latter stat, though, can probably be influenced but I suspect it will come at a cost in terms of plan costs, richer content and ability to “close the deal” so to speak with content delivery.

And if acceptability is not an issue, then are they making sense? Per a recent article in Mobile Insider, there seems to still be a bit of confusion around the relevancy topic. I think that, in the end, reality is most likely somewhere in the middle and varies by audience/age. Regardless, if we ignore the consumer as "boss" and don't find a better way to finely target the mobile audience, we may find that the boost and sprint customers mentioned in the Ad Age article keep the phone's locator buttons disabled intentionally.

In the last couple of days, emarketer also published two articles in a strikingly similar vein: "Mobile Ads Still Taking Baby Steps" and "What's Holding up Mobile Advertising". Worth a read.

Just curious, is anyone else having deja vu to articles written 10 yrs ago about the internet and email with similar acceptance, privacy, measurability and technology concerns??

Hubbard ‘88

JetBlue "Gets It"

JetBlue has long been the poster child of how to do a ticket-less, web-based airline the right way. From the point of purchase at the website, to the terminal, to the on-flight experience; I've always been a fond admirer of their marketing.

In accordance with their strong online presence, JetBlue was an early adopter of Twitter. Yesterday, a recent post alerted travelers to potential delays from the poor weather in NY. Last month, a simple shout-out was given to the 2,000 JetBlue travelers that flew to Austin for SXSW.

The thing that separates them from a lot of other corporate initiatives on Twitter is that - along with typical promotional Tweets - they encourage direct dialog with users. Questions from users are answered, and questions to the user are presented. This active engagement encourages the user to provide valuable feedback and feel valued for being listened to.

A prime example of good social media utilization, indeed.

RSS The Creative Bureau, it's easy.

Just add this URL to your reader and .... Presto!
http://creativebureau.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

About.com's top 10 RSS Readers
And my favorite: Netvibes
and Netvibes for the iPhone

Mobile ads: DOA in 08, or the next big thing?

Here are 2 very disparate articles on the potential for mobile advertising. On the one hand, Ad Age this week points out all the barriers keeping mobile advertising from taking off. On the other, Ad Age, in the same issue, describes advances in place-based mobile ad delivery that will drive growth in Mobile as more carriers adopt this technology.

So, when your client asks, :Hey, should I be in mobile", you'll have lots to consider before giving your answer.

Mobile remains limited article here

Mobile is making great strides on geo-location here

Instore displays

This is my first posting straight to the CB thru my iphone. I took this in my local supermarket and blogged right there on the spot. Sweet!.

More and more I'm noticing the trend of LCD's in the retail environment.

Wendy's puts digital ads in bars.

From AdAge
Late night advertising on screen and at locations close to their restaurants. Not a bad idea, I wonder if they provide drunken coupons that late?

On second thought, that time of the night they could really charge whatever they wanted to their inebriated customers.

the $25.00 cheeseburger? No problem!

The Article is here.

Big Dog the robot mule, or something.

When i first came across this animal like looking robot seemingly designed to carry supplies, i was like wow, this is probably the creepiest thing I've seen. Imagine a forest full of these? It's super Sci-Fi, no doubt.



and when i saw this other version of Big Dog, i frigging laughed my ass off. I love Web 2.0