ZZ blog in English.

Strong candidate for win in Cannes Lions 2011?

Literally in a last days of Cannes Lions 2010 very strong candidate for a bunch of awards in next year festivals is launched at New York Time Square. 

Why I love it?

• Real-time. Smart usage of real-time in combination with involvement of everybody who is standing/going/driving next to outdoor. 
• Context. The action is closely linked to the context of the situation - thousands of tourists wondering around; 
• Interactivity (although simulated). Adds a lot, particularly in such a scale. 
• Using new technology for communication projects (surveillance software used, the solution developed in cooperation with surveillance experts); 
• Integration. Combines video, outdoor, interactivity and some elements of augmented realty tools. Placed next to few "permanent" Forever 21 outdoors (and to what seems to be an entrance in store?)
• Easy to share. 
• It's fun. 

Lets wait for last week of 2011 - my guess is that there will be some kind of metal in Cannes

*** - N.B. In the comments around Vimeo.com and FastCompany there is a bit of controversy in the projects - it seems that Space 150 team has been influenced by the work of british designer Chris O'Shea "The Hand from Above". Still comparing both I thing Space 150 has brought the idea much further and added a lot of interactivity and fun to the project. 

"I'm in Campaing": Effies 2010 Grand Prix US Winner

The case that won Grand Prix in US Effies 2010. Although the idea is simple, "easy-to-spread" and with great social value I still don't get why particularly this campaign won - there were so many great ones among winners. Anybody?

You are made of music!

Great campaign and particularly great of interactive part of it for Billboard Magazine by one of most awarded ad agencies in the World - Almap BBDO. 

Why I like it and believe it is great campaign? Few quick points rather focusing on interactive par to the campaign: 

• Interactive and dynamic, not static. You can influence the result. You have to participate to make it work.
• Eye-catching. Visually attractive and merges technology and self-expression putting the result (not the technology!) in the center. 
• Unleashes your creativity. Brand provides you platform (digital canvas) to make your own piece of work, your own unique version of ad rather than saying you what to think. 
• Linked with major social platform (http://www.flickr.com/photos/billboardyourself/) to publish and share the result of work with others. And to see what other people has done.  
• Makes some buzz. At least in advertising community. 
• Relevant to the brand.

Besides of that "You are made of music" is such a great insight for music magazine. Because you really are!

Before the very last remark - enjoy the gallery: 

"What about GRP and TRP???" would some mass-media age people shout out. 

In theses times impact very often is much more important than immediate reach. If there is impact - through involvement, relevancy, creativity and potential to share - reach could follow, sooner or later. If you focus on reach sacrificing impact - at the very best case it will be short-term. 

ESPN Monday Night Football - the game comes to the streets

Great example for creating interactive experience, great example of using store windows, great example of involving customers by making it fan, great example of creating buzz potential by making it public.

Internet Trends 2010 (with a little help of Morgan Stanley)

Just "few-days-new" presentation by Morgan Stanley on main trends in the digital world. Includes quite a lot of useful facts and observations about mobile revolution we are part of and about significant changes in online advertising and communication. 

What does it mean to communication and creative businesses (formerly known as advertising industry)? Few quick and a bit uncritical thoughts based the presentations and few observations on developments in mobile markets and social networks:

1. Mobile seems going to be much bigger theme than expected and it will be all around much faster. Also in communication - from any kind of commercial communication to our daily conversations. Head-to-head competition of more than few top-class-phones with no clear leader (HTC Evo, iPhone4, Nokia N3, Google Nexus) and more coming out this Summer/Autumn will only accelerate it. 
   
   
2. "Tipping-point" for smart-phones AND 3G penetration seems to be there. Both has been available for a while but it seems that there is enough critical mass in environment that will engage people in more active using and benefiting from both. Combined with (hopefully) decreasing traffic prices "this is going to change a lot". The main consequence - most of us will have access to web everywhere, increasingly more multi-tasking situations and multi-screen environments to everybody of us; even to those who are avoiding or rarely using desktop computers and notebooks. 
   
   
3. Android vs. iPhone battle. Will it be as epic as Microsoft/PC vs. Apple? With same scale drama? There are more than few similarities in the these early years to those early years. 
   
   
4. New age is requiring new skills (slide 16). We will have to relearn some quite quickly. It could create some discomfort to those who were comfortable with existing state of things. But most importantly - this time will create a lot of comfort to those who were in discomfort with mouse & keyboard & multiple windows environment. The user base of digital technologies will rapidly extend. 
   
   
5. Morgan Stanley call it "Unusually high level of innovation" all around us. I call it unusually high level of opportunities. For new and existing businesses. For designers and developers. For everybody who is curious, ready to explore and experiment. For communication agencies and any company that who is looking for how to create a value or how to deliver great content to customers. 
   
   
6. "Golden Age of Online Advertising"? Most probably it is coming. But will it be "Online Advertising"? Yes, communication, but will it be advertising at all? And can it be golden only for "Online" - what really matters is what we do in real life and how it links with real life. But one thing is clear - it will be completely different kind of "Golden Age" from one that One-Direction-Mass-Media-Age-Communication players expected. 
   
   
7. Social Networking taking over e-mails (by Morgan Stanley and also by other, earlier sources) and also seems to be taking over search (at least already in UK). Thats is natural. And it also is turning the game around. The main consequence - everybody is increasingly deciding who can reach him and when; everybody will increasingly rely on information only from sources he trust and he chooses; everybody will increasingly be involved not only in consuming content but also in creating it in one form or another. Because Social Networks very much are about what you choose (what kind of world do you build for yourself) and what you do (you can't just listen). 

Bud FIFA World Cup 2010

And one more out of many activities around World Cup 2010. This time Bud announces quite a nice and clear mechanics based on Realty Show with International team and a platform to tell the stories (and to follow your favorite) through all the championship. 

McDonalds FIFA World Cup 2010: solve a puzzle, get a ticket

Simple yet attractive promotion by McDonalds for FIFA World Cup 2010 - solve the puzzle and get a chance to go to South Africa and watch some games.

Although reminds a little bit a upgraded yet far-not-soo-insightful version of great Swedish Armed Forces recruiting campaign in 2007 or super-light-version of SAF 2008 Recruiting still it is fun and very much to the point.

What motivates us?

The higher the reward, the worse the performance. Basics of motivation (for non-algorithmic tasks that require some creative or conceptual skills) in an attractive white-board animation. 

via: http://www.crackunit.com/