What Is Sisomo?

The digital revolution is transforming marketing, entertainment and technology everywhere. The boundaries between media and advertising, content and products, creator and producer, audience and critic are dissolving. This new world demands new language.

sisomo is the powerful combination of Sight, Sound and Motion on screen. sisomo is an idea at Saatchi & Saatchi’s core. A new word that powers our creatives, our interactives, our media thinkers, our planners, our account lines. sisomo is the great melting pot of creative communications and digital technologies. Life gets more fun when you think sisomo.

sisomo is not about tools and technologies. It’s about people, ideas and creativity. The idea with the most attitude, personality, authenticity and truth, wins.

DJ Spooky: The Future of Sound

Real Car for the Virtual World

Visitors to the Paris Motor Show had the opportunity to watch digital become reality when the French automaker, Citroen, unveiled the GTbyCITROËN, the first ever car to be specifically designed to bring the virtual and real worlds together.

“The GTbyCITROËN is the product of a partnership built up during the creation of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Takumi Yamamoto, from Citroen and Kazunori Yamauchi from Polyphony Digital Inc, the games developer were inspired by each others industries to design a concept car for the game that then flowed further into the real-world. The game version of the car mirrors the real-world performance of the concept.” Read more at ITWire.com.

Allstate’s New Test Drive

Insurance company, Allstate, “is currently piloting a new program which seeks to find out if playing driving video games could make better drivers out of those over 50. If the study shows that it can, the insurance company plans to offer discounts to mature drivers who pass the online tests and the current, single-state pilot would be spread across other states next year”. Read more at arstechnica.com.

Class of 2012: IT Index

Peter Schilling, Director of IT at Amherst College, reports on the technology usage and behaviour of the school’s newly enrolled student population.

Interesting Facts:
* Number of students in the class of 2012 who brought desktop computers to campus: 14.
* Number that brought iPhones/iTouches: 93.
* The number of individual film titles in the College’s digital video streaming collection: 1,260.
* The number of times these films were watched last year: 20,662.

Read more at academiccommons.org

MTV Backchannel

The Hills Backchannel is a multi-player social game you play while watching The Hills. Respond to what’s happening on the show by creating comments in real-time. Score points when other players click on your comments, and when you predict the most popular comments. Visit MTV Backchannel.

Teens, Gaming and Civics

The Pew Institute has released the first national survey of its kind on youth and gaming culture. The report finds that “virtually all American teens play computer, console, or cell phone games and that the gaming experience is rich and varied, with a significant amount of social interaction and potential for civic engagement”.

Interesting Facts:
* Almost all (97%) of teens play games. They play many different kinds of games and gender is a salient factor.
* Gaming is often social and teens often game with people they know.
* Parental monitoring of game play varies.
* Teens encounter both pro-social and anti-social behavior while gaming.
* There are civic dimensions to video game play.

Read full report at pewrinternet.org.

Podcast Popularity Grows

"Nearly one-fifth (19 percent) of U.S. internet users say they have downloaded a podcast so they can view it or listen to it later - up from 12 percent in August 2006 and 7 percent in February/April 2006 - according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, writes MarketingCharts.”

Interesting Facts:
* The percentage of younger generations downloading podcasts has nearly doubled since 2006.
* 22 percent of male internet users (vs. 16 percent of online women) report ever having downloaded a podcast.
* The most extensive podcast subject is “technology,” with more than 4,000 podcasts available, followed closely by comedy, religion and spirituality, and business.

Read more at mediabuyerplanner.com.

Branding a New Dimension

Bob Greenberg at Adweek writes about building a brand and a relationship in a Web 2.0 world:

“Though consumers may be adept at tuning out traditional, top-down marketing messages, they’re proactively using technology to conduct their own brand research to decide whether or not to pursue a relationship. Like flipping through profiles on Match.com, consumers are searching for brands that are right for them…The digital age has redefined what it means to be a brand. It’s changed the way we approach the discipline and it’s prompted many new questions we need to consider. For instance, what does the logo sound like? How does the text move? How can an experience draw an emotion? And perhaps most importantly, what are consumers saying about the brand? After all, listening is branding, too”. Read more at adweek.com.

Louis Vuitton Soundwalk

Luxury brand, Louis Vuittion, gives a new twist to the term ‘soundscape’ by producing a series of MP3 tours in collaboration with Soundwalk. The narrated tours through Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai are led by noted Chinese actresses, Gong Li, Joan Chen and Shu Qi.

“The hour-long tours blend walking instructions with nostalgic story-telling, accompanied by the signature sounds of each city, and are carefully synchronized with the itinerary.” Read more at springwise.com or visit louisvuittonsoundwalk.com.

Dell’s Digital Nomads

This video explains what it means to be a Digital Nomad.

Matthias Weber from PSFK Germany, shares his thoughts on Dell’s Digital Nomads campaign:

Digital Nomads picks up the theme (or trend as you will) of said changes in working behavior. The site features ‘Nomad Stories’ where according to the company’s press-release “Community members can come together to read about other digital nomads and share ideas, tips, tricks and best practices.” Read more at psfk.com.

Woman To Woman, Online

Websites aimed primarily at women, from “mommy blogs” to makeup and fashion sites, grew 35 percent last year — faster than every other category on the Web except politics, according to comScore, an Internet traffic measurement company. The success of websites such as Dooce.com (above) lies in forming trust between the site and the reader, which is valuable for companies who seek to build their reputation through association.Read more at nytimes.com.

Pot Noodle: The Musical

A revolution has begun in the advertising world, with a clever new way to get into consumer’s heads. 

Ad agencies on both sides of the Atlantic are turning themselves into content creators to connect their clients with an increasingly fragmented and sophisticated audience. The maverick London-based ad agency, Mother, for example, has set up a separate department to produce “content”, or entertainment that is only distantly related to traditional advertising.

“The age of using adverts as a megaphone to yell at people and irritate them is coming to an end,” said Ed Warren, one of the creatives at Mother who worked on Pot Noodle: The Musical – the first stage show backed by a fast-moving consumer good. Read more at timesonline.com.

YouTube Anthropology

Professor Michael Wesch’s presents his speech –‘An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube’– to the Library of Congress on June 23, 2008. Read more at mediatedcultures.net.

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Digital Esquire Cover
Esquire, one of America’s iconic magazines, is turning 75 this year. As part of the celebration of this milestone, the October issue will be the first magazine ever to embed a revolutionary digital technology - electronic paper - into a mass-produced print product (Source: postchronicle.com)

Terabyte Lifestyle
Home servers with huge storage will become common as part of the ‘terabyte lifestyle’, researchers say. (Source: pcworld.com)

China Loggin In
China said the number of Internet users in the country reached about 253 million last month, putting it ahead of the United States as the world’s biggest Internet market. (Source: nytimes.com)

GreenPix Curtainwall
A “zero energy” media wall that applies sustainable and digital media technology to the curtainwall of an entertainment complex near the site of the 2008 Olympics is up and running. (Source: dcnonl.com)

Bio Mapping
The Biomapping project visualizes emotional data within cities. Christian Nold, a London-based artist, used GPS coordinates coupled with a device that measured participant’s galvanic skin response as they walked through a designated urban area.

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Key Emerging Media Trends 1 and 2
The digital lifestyle is changing marketing. New technologies are creating new opportunities, releasing digital marketing from the confines of the personal computer. Looks at the Web, Out of home digital; personalization and widgets. (Source: clickz.com)

Spend On Online Ads Surpasses TV
“Everyone knows that online advertising keeps growing and growing. But according to a report being released today, it’s growing so fast that in 2008 it is projected to surpass ad spending on TV, radio and movies combined for the first time ever.” (Source: latimes.com)

InnoCentive
Want to take a crack at solving the world’s most critical problems? Check out InnoCentive, a bustling marketplace of challenges. InnoCentive partners with companies and researchers who need solutions to tough problem facing today’s world.

Gen Y A Generation Apart
A Forrester Technographics Benchmark Survey reveals that although Gen Y (those 18-28 years old) is a small generation, comprising just 38 million US adults, they set the pace for technology adoption. (Source: marketingvox.com)

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Jump In: Murray Streets
Murray Streets from Saatchi & Saatchi, New Zealand, talks to Jump In to discuss some of the most common objections to companies learning about social media, and why the Internet is like a party.” (Source: ijump.co.nz)

Part 1

Part 2

What Teens Want
“From the latest mobile phone and game system to a new Apple i-something and a virtual apartment, technology increasingly defines the lifestyles of teenagers, say marketing experts and company executives.” (Source: smh.com.au)

TV And Online Connect
“Online content tied to television viewing is rising in value as a means to reach potential buyers of new vehicles, according to a J.D. Power and Associates study released today.” (Source: adweek.com)

Profit In Crowdsourcing
“From product-design contests by major consumer brands to ad agencies for consumer-created ads, there’s no doubt companies are finally starting to realize (and reward) the potential and profitability of crowdsourcing and the customer-made trend.” (Source: kippreport.com)

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To MySpace With Love
“Famed French jeweler and watchmaker Cartier has chosen to kick off an online campaign for its latest collection, Love by Cartier, on MySpace.” (Source: publications.mediapost.com)

Nike Interactive DIY
“Designed by R/GA London, the interactive display on the first floor of the store enables anyone to customize a complete Nike football (soccer) kit for themselves and/or their teammates.” (Source: psfk.com)

Internet - Failed As A Storytelling Medium?
“I would argue that they fail because they succeed. What I mean is that both work beautifully by being custom-tailored to the short attention span and interconnectedness of the internet.” (Source: adage.com)

Ads Interact With Moviegoers
“A deal struck earlier this month between Verizon Wireless and cinema-advertising network Screenvision combines mobile and social-networking applications to test an interactive polling program in American movie theaters.” (Source: adweek.com)

Listen. Talk. Repeat.
“How many times do we see a company put a product into market because it will soothe Wall Street, or promote a high-margin sister product? When was the last time you went to a big company’s site and were greeted with a “tell us how we can help you” widget? Not nearly as often as we should.” (Source: adotas.com)

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Virtual Vegas
The Rio Casino in Las Vegas is debuting Surface enabled tables in its “iBar ultralounge”. Patrons will be able to interact with the touch screen tables for a variety of purposes. A program called Flirt lets them video chat and exchange messages with others in the bar, and they can order drinks for themselves or friends across the room. (Source: blogs.msdn.com)

SMS Consumatori
With food prices soaring across the globe, consumers are understandably concerned. To help ensure that retailers don’t pass on more of the price increases than is strictly necessary, Italy’s Department for Agriculture, Food & Forestry is offering transparency by text message. (Source: springwise.com)

Microsoft’s Mission
Good all round video. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has made the bold claim that print will be extinct within the next 10 years. (Source: washingtonpost.com)

Big Buyer Is Watching
Advertisers only want to reach customers interested in their products; media buyers think they’ve found a way to connect the two on cable TV. (Source: portfolio.com)

A Live Promotion, At 14,000 Feet
Live TV advertisements have been making a comeback in the United States, usually with the host of a late-night program promoting the virtues of a specific product. The idea is to reach people who normally fast-forward through commercials, and at the same time to have the host’s popularity rub off on the brand. (Source: nytimes.com)

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Drawing The World
An ingenious faux idea by artist Erik Nordenankar to create the largest (virtual) drawing in the world, using a briefcase, GPS, and DHL’s shipping services. (Source: psfk.com)

Heineken: Authenticity
“Leo Burnett Sydney has launched Heineken AuthentiCity, which takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the fast-evolving digital world, reminding us that while it may seem limitless, there are certain real experiences it will never be able to substitute.” (Source: duncans.tv)

‘Cwinging’ Between TV and Web
“As part of its upfront negotiations, the CW is offering advertisers a chance to attach commercials to a series of up to two-minute-long video clips that will tell a story around one of its teen stars. The catch: To see the entire tale, viewers must watch the first clip on TV, the next one online and then tune back in to TV to see the end.” (Source: adage.com)

Game-Changer
An article by Arianna Huffington on how the online news revolution is altering the media landscape. (Source: huffingtonpost.com)

Facebook Gangsta
“Laughing Squid points us toward this fun video poking fun at people’s infatuation with Facebook...and reveals some truths about our relationship with the SNS and the people we meet and connect with through it.” (Source: psfk.com)

The Illuminati
The Illuminati is a selection of photos by photographer Evan Baden that show people seemingly mesmerized by the glow of their electronic devices. (Source: filemagazine.com)

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Old World Artifacts On Screen
“The Detroit Institute of Arts recently underwent an extensive six year, $158 million renovation that sought, among other things, to rethink the display of the museum’s permanent collection”. The result is an impressive integration of old world artifact and sisomo. (Source: blog.pentagram.com)

The Internet on Steroids
“If advertisers thought online/digital advertising was a challenge, there is bad news. A tidal wave is about to hit a brand near you...Yes, this is mobile advertising, and it’s everything you ever imagined and more.” (Source: adweek.com)

Microsoft Launches Global Ad Brand
“The new brand, unveiled at Microsoft’s advance08 advertiser and publisher conference yesterday, aims to simplify the increasingly complex range of advertising businesses that the software giant runs.(Source: guardian.co.uk)

Wii Advergames
View some examples of advergames designed to be played on the popular Nintendo Wii. (Source: adverlab.blogspot.com)

The ‘New’ Rules of User Engagement
“There’s more destination-like surfing conducive to consumer lifestyles, rather than window shopping online. So as media professionals, instead of wondering “how” we get new customers, we need to start thinking about “where” we get them.” (Source: adotas.com)

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Local TV Push Mobile TV
“Owners of more than 800 local [American] TV stations where ad revenue has plunged recently said they’ve formed a group that’s testing three standards for sending local digital TV signals to cell phones, laptops and other mobile devices.” (Source: businessweek.com)

Monocle: Design Notes
Dan Hill, Director of Web & Broadcast for Monocle between 2007-2008, describes how he integrates the Web into the publishing process while retaining high quality standards. (Source: cityofsound.com)

Lamborghini Races To iTunes
Lamborghini launched a video series called “The World of Lamborghini”, which highlights features offered by the Italian sports car brand. (Source: brandweek.com)

IBM’s Virtual World Guidelines
IBM has created a set of guidelines that will help its employees “address the some of the choices that individual IBMers may face in virtual worlds”. (Source: ibm.com)

Online Video: A Hard Sell
“Now the television industry is moving online and mounting its most ambitious attempt to date to restore mandatory viewing of commercials.” (Source: nytimes.com)

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Social Media: ‘Agencies Don’t Get It’
“Clients are placing more emphasis on mastering social media but find their agencies ill equipped to help them succeed in that space, according to a new survey.” (Source: adweek.com)

Locking In Viewers
“The ABC network is offering an on-demand service that allows viewers to watch shows any time they choose. The catch: viewers’ can’t fast-forward through commercials.” (Source: nytimes.com)

The luxury world after Web 2.0
“The next big thing in fashion is not a hot young designer or a new label but an online evolution driven by peer-to-peer recommendation and consumers who want what they see others are buying online - in short, a new kind of conspicuous cyber consumption.” (Source: ft.com)

TV Ads Are Less Effective
“A majority of marketers believe that television advertising has become less effective in the past two years, according to a new survey from the National Association of Advertisers and Forrester Research.” (Source: adweek.com)

Beale’s Best In Show: Carlsberg
“Carlsberg and its agency, Saatchi & Saatchi, has scored a wonder goal with this viral for Carlsberg. It’s “not doing” football wives. No, not the Wag kind. The Carlsberg footie wife would be much more accommodating than that.” (Source: independent.co.uk)

Toyota: Corolla Dream Estate
“Saatchi & Saatchi, LA’s site for the brand gives visitors an extensive taste of the blue-blood lifestyle by placing them directly in the middle of a vast estate and giving them a chance to roam the surroundings.” (Source: creativity-online.com)

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Talking Stain Touts Tide
“Procter & Gamble Co.’s high-priced, talking-stain ad on Super Bowl Sunday spoke loud and clear to thousands of football fans by Monday morning.” (Source: news.enquirer.com)

Marketing’s Most Valuable Player
“He singled out as notable the one for the Tide to Go stain remover sold by Procter & Gamble (mytalkingstain.com). The site was created by the Digitas division of the Publicis Groupe, whose Saatchi & Saatchi division created the Tide to Go commercial for the game.” (Source: nytimes.com)

Generation MySpace Is Getting Fed Up
“The MySpace generation may be getting annoyed with ads and a bit bored with profile pages. The average amount of time each user spends on social networking sites has fallen by 14% over the last four months.” (Source: businessweek.com)

Providers get a piece of ad income
“BT, Carphone Warehouse and Virgin Media announces a deal with a company called Phorm, whose technology tracks Web users and serves them ads related to their interests.” (Source: iht.com)

UK Mobile Companies Get Advertising Standards
“The UK’s five mobile operators, Vodafone, Orange, O2, T-Mobile and 3, will on Monday announce that they are working together to develop common measurement standards for mobile advertising.” (Source: ft.com)

Reusable Graffiti Wall
“Graffiti Wall is not just a digital wall you can tag, it is also a performance installation for artists When the installation is over, the walls can be cleared and everyone use it.” (Source: blog)

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So Much Media-Multitasking
“Technology is creating new media options faster than most people can assimilate and is causing more multitasking,” said Gary Drenik, president of BIGresearch. “Unfortunately for marketers faced with the challenges of an uncertain economy and the need to increase marketing ROI, new media options are impacting how consumers use traditional media.” (Source: mediabuyerplanner.com)

Vuitton ads venture onto television
“Luxury goods brand, Louis Vuitton, plans to advertise on television for the first time, with a travel-themed 90-second spot that was shot in France, Spain, India and Japan.” (Source: iht.com)

Creating a Web of Worlds
“Metaplace builds a different architecture for virtual worlds…"We think virtual worlds are just a new medium,” Koster says. “That means that like other media--like pictures, audio, and video--virtual worlds are eventually going to start being ubiquitous on all sorts of Web pages.” (Source: technologyreview.com)

Can a sandwich be slandered?
“Sandwich chain Subway is alleging that rival Quiznos and Viacom’s iFilm damaged its brand via a user-generated video contest. The lawsuit could determine whether marketers can be held liable for messages contained in content created by outsiders, according to this article.” (Source: nytimes.com)

Target Tells a Blogger to Go Away
“Target doesn’t participate in new media channels?” asked the Web site for the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. Target “dismisses bloggers” commented the blog for Parents for Ethical Marketing. “Ahem! So bloggers don’t count!” Ms. Jussel chimed in on ShapingYouth.(Source: nytimes.com)

Be Kind Rewind
“The website for the new Michel Gondry film ‘Be Kind Rewind’ allows people to ‘swede (rebuild)’ the internet and a selection of movies.” (Source: bekindmovie.com)

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Integrated-Marketing Pros Wanted
“Expertise in “integrated marketing” has become a hot commodity in the market for senior talent at ad agencies.” (Source: online.wsj.com)

Advertising: Now a Conversation
“A recent McKinsey report predicts that, “Traditional TV advertising will be one-third as effective in 2010 as it was in 1990…In a 2006 study, researchers found that only 53% of consumers said they believed ads were a good way to learn about new products. That was down from a 78% response in 2002.” (Source: businessweek.com)

Streaming Ads Driving Users Away
“While marketers have always found a way to get themselves in front of a largely captive audience, whether through TV commercials or banner ads, advertising on streaming videos is presenting some particular challenges, according to a survey from interactive marketer services company Burst Media.” (Source: nytimes.com)

The Era of the 5-D Magazine Ad
“..The result is full-page paper ads that unfold themselves into intricate designs and movements at the same time they play sounds and emit smells.” (Source: adage.com)

The Marketing Power of Link Love
“JC Penney aggregates content from blogs and lets readers talk among themselves; Google results soar. (Password required)” (Source: adage.com)

U2 in 3D
“U2 launches the first live-action 3D concert movie.” (Source: adage.com)

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Coke Brings ‘Happiness’ Online
“Coca-Cola is exploring how far it can extend the ‘Happiness Factor‎y’ concept with a foray into digital games. “What we recognized is we had a great TV commercial that resonated,” said Carol Kruse, vp, global interactive marketing at Coke. “We wanted to expand that consumer experience and where else can you do that but online?"” (Source: adweek.com)

A Classic Series, Retooled and Swingin’
““Our goal, through our multitiered marketing program, is to generate excitement and buzz for the new show among kid ‘influencers,’ who will pass it on to their friends,” she added.” (Source: nytimes.com)

MySpace Builds Game Portal?
“Looks like MySpace is working on a gaming portal. The URL for this page is games.myspace.com.” (Source: blogspot.com)

Secret Websites, Code Messages: The New World of Immersive Games
“…"When done well, ARGs [alternate reality games] can be extraordinarily effective,” says Ty Montague, creative director of the J. Walter Thompson ad agency. That’s because the games offer marketers a solution to a growing problem: how to reach people who are so media-saturated they block all attempts to get through.” (Source: wired.com)

Virtual Extras
“The behavior of computer-generated crowds in movies and video games could soon appear much more realistic, thanks to new software that gives each character a complex personality of its own.” (Source: technologyreview.com)

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Billboards Throw Snowballs
“Fido, a Canadian wireless provide, created interactive billboards that feature a man and a woman throwing snowballs via video projected on buildings.” (Source: blogspot.com)

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Borders joins the TV bandwagon
“Borders bookstores have installed 60 screens in Southern California, and will begin testing serving ads and content via TV. The network, Borders TV, will be found in 250 stores by February.” (Source: mediabuyerplanner.com)

Playing the advertising game
“In-game advertising is a relatively unexplored channel for brand communication. Leading in-game advertising network IGA teamed up with media agency MindShare to assess the effectiveness of advertising in Electronic Art’s futuristic, first-person shooter Battlefield 2142.” (Source: marketingweek.co.uk)

Brands choose apps over ads when going mobile
“Instead of relying on passive ad messages on mobile platforms, brands are finding success with applications that are useful to the mobile user. Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and other companies have created branded mobile applications.” (Source: marketingvox.com)

Funding the future of entertainment
“Where there are people on the Internet, chances are there will soon be money. Social networking and user-generated content sites, online advertising optimizers, casual video games, and virtual worlds are not only attracting growing numbers of consumers, they’ve caught the eye of forward-thinking investors.” (Source: hollywoodreporter.com)

Empathy at the movies
“New research suggests that producers of emotional films can increase their male audience by emphasizing the films’ disconnection from reality.” (Source: nytimes.com)

News Corp’s online advertising plans
“News Corp has announced plans to enter the online advertising market, saying it will roll out a platform across its own websites - and sites belonging to other companies - in the first half of next year.” (Source: timesonline.co.uk)

Facebook draws privacy complaints
“Some users of Facebook are complaining that its two-week-old marketing program is publicizing their purchases for friends to see. Those users say they never noticed a small box that appears on a corner of their Web browsers following transactions at Fandango, Overstock and other online retailers.” (Source: adweek.com)

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A Web Site for Pet Lovers, and Marketers Who Love Them
“KNOWING that you can never underestimate people’s love for their cats and dogs, NBC Universal and Procter & Gamble have set up a Web portal that looks something like a Yahoo or AOL for pet owners, with a bit of Facebook and MySpace thrown in.” (Source: nytimes.com)

Web Sites Go Fishing in TV’s Advertising Revenue Stream
“…And, although other Web sites may not have laid out the battleground quite as explicitly, their content is starting to look a lot more like traditional TV, including the commercials.” (Source: nytimes.com)

One Year Of Social Media Spinning
“It has really been a wild year in the social media and social media advertising space. I thought I’d take today’s post and look back at some of the hot topics of the past year and a few of my personal favorite Spins...” (Source: mediapost.com)

Can Amazon Kindle Digital Book Fever?
“If Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has any say, bookstores could eventually be a thing of the past. While other media, including music, are readily available over digital delivery devices, the book has stuck with its covers and dog-eared pages for hundreds of years.” (Source: businessweek.com)

The Web starts gunning for TV ads
“Heavy.com and other Web video services are turning their hammer on television. Video is proliferating on the Internet, and it is no longer limited to short clips...” (Source: iht.com)

At least the chicken kebabs were real
“At the Virtual Worlds Forum in London, the line between what existed and what was imaginary was very faint...” (Source: timesonline.co.uk)

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Shops Stand to Lose in Digital Revolution
“According to 70 industry leaders surveyed by Accenture, agencies have the most to lose in the new order, even more than broadcasters. When asked who would fare worst in the transition to digital advertising, 43 percent said agencies, compared to 33 percent who answered broadcasters.” (Source: adweek.com)

Shoppers Want More Customer Reviews
“Consumers are turning to customer reviews on marketers’ Web sites regularly as they narrow their purchase choices, and they want to see those reviews for a wider range of products, particularly toys and specialty foods.” (Source: adweek.com)

Game News in a Duel of Print and Online
““If information is all that we require, the Web wins. Game over,” said Simon Cox, the vice president for content at Ziff Davis Media’s game group, which includes Electronic Gaming Monthly, a print magazine, and the 1UP Network, an online gaming portal. “But people want content and perspective.”” (Source: nytimes.com)

How the Ad World’s Dealing With the Decline of the :30
“The 30-second spot isn’t dead yet, but it’s taken a turn for the worse.
As marketers continue to embrace unmeasured media and funnel fewer dollars toward TV-production budgets, 2007 will go down as the year the 30-second spot’s health took a noticeable downturn.” (Source: adage.com)

Ad Track: Trying more ways to snag viewers
“…"For the first time, networks are searching for ways to get viewers to stay tuned to commercials,” says Steven Sternberg, an audience analyst for ad-buying giant Magna Global. “And for the first time, they are working with advertisers to research the most effective commercial pod structures."” (Source: usatoday.com)

Virtual Mall Works in Browser
“The Mall Plus is a new 3d shopping environment from New Zealand. Kind of like Kinset, only more photorealistic and doesn’t require a client download.” (Source: blogspot.com)

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Conversational marketing: Word of mouse
“Mark Zuckerberg, 23-year-old boss of Facebook, says marketers are going to be part of social conversation. Using his firm’s new approach, he claimed, advertisers will be able to piggyback on the “social actions” of Facebook users, since “people influence people”.” (Source: economist.com)

IBM Predicts the End of Advertising as We Know It
“Global Business Services unveiled its new report, forecasting greater disruption for the advertising industry in the next five years than occurred in the previous 50. The IBM report shows increasingly empowered consumers, more self-reliant advertisers and ever-evolving technologies are redefining how advertising is sold, created, consumed and tracked. ” (Source: money.cnn.com)

PCs Losing Their Relevance In Japan
“AP suggests that the computer’s role in Japanese homes is diminishing, replaced by gadgets like smart phones that act like pocket-size computers; advanced Internet-connected game consoles; and digital video recorders with terabytes of memory.” (Source: psfk.com)

Ellen Degeneres’ Toyota commercial part one
“Ellen DeGeneres promotes Toyota part I.” (Source: youtube.com)
Ellen’s Toyota commercial part two
“Ellen DeGeneres promotes Toyota part II.” (Source: youtube.com)

Across the divide
“Two macro-dynamics are driving the next generation of digital screen media at retail. The first dynamic is the change in technology, and the second is the transition from early adopters into retail’s mainstream.” (Source: hubmagazine.com)

Best of web: winning sites
“Located at the base of San Francisco’s Rincon Hill in the South Financial District, Foundry Square is a commercial real-estate campus. Using meticulously detailed 3D renderings is an effective way to do pre-visualization that helps boost sales and leases of all types of real-estate offerings.” (Source: stepinsidedesign.com)

Animated Packaging For Hearing Aid
“The Die Line (one of the new great additions on my feed list) writes: This digital hearing aid by Widex has a semi-translucent plastic sleeve around the box to create an animated illusion of a sound wave as you slide it out.” (Source: adverlab.blogspot.com)

Better Search in Virtual Worlds: Second Life’s new search tool helps users find 3-D objects
“Linden Lab recently released a new 3-dimensional search tool. Building on a commercially available platform from Google, the new tool gives Second Life residents search results ranked by relevance.” (Source: technologyreview.com)

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Consumer Groups Want ‘Do Not Track’ List of Web Surfers
“A coalition of privacy groups Wednesday called for creation of a “Do Not Track List” that would prohibit advertisers from tracking online movements of consumers.” (Source: foxnews.com)

E-Paper Displays Video
“A novel electronic-paper display developed by Qualcomm can deliver high-quality video images, making it more versatile than other e-paper technologies.” (Source: technologyreview.com)

Toward User-Generated Targeting: From Intrusion To Invitation
“Matt Sanchez, CEO of VideoEgg, explains how a rethink is needed on a deeper level on what a “consumer” of information and entertainment is. To remain relevant in a user-generated media world, brands need to move beyond their current comfort zone of targeting unique but still passive consumers, to engaging active “prosumers.” (Source: technologyreview.com)

Making games physical
“A new vest from TN Games aims to bring more realism to the video-game experience by simulating impacts. In a first-person shooter, for example, the gaming vest, called 3rd Space, mimics the force of enemy fire.” (Source: technologyreview.com)

A Consumer’s Spot for Apple Grows Up
“A television commercial for the new iPod Touch from Apple was created by the longtime Apple agency TBWA/Chiat/Day. But it is based on a commercial that an 18-year-old student in Britain — an Apple devotee named Nick Haley - created on his own one day last month.” (Source: nytimes.com)

Subway rides mobile marketing success
“The new My Subway Mobile program is an opt-in promotion that sends customers timely product offers and coupons via email and text messages. The cell phone-based promotional program is already paying dividends in the Buffalo/Rochester market.” (Source: techtarget.com)

Advertising in the New New Media, Part 1
“Questions you should ask to evaluate the new new media. This time, we’ll look at virtual worlds and podcasting...” (Source: clickz.com)

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Making Your Mark With the Millennials
“To effectively reach the youngest generation of adult Americans, whose lives are being shaped by digital media, marketers must deliver smarter, more sophisticated messages and build brands with them rather than for them, a study by advertising firm, Saatchi & Saatchi suggests.” (Source: hannekezoratti.ircblog.net)

Targeting Youth Behavior
“The research, titled “Circuits of Cool,” reveals that despite the increasing adoption of a digital lifestyle, most of what young people do today hasn’t drastically changed in the last 15 years.” (Source: clickz.com)

Web 2.0: new internet, new etiquette…new law?
“Despite calls for change, however, established copyright and privacy laws remain relevant and effective, even if they are unknown to many of the Web 2.0 generation.” (Source: timesonline.co.uk)

Social Media Demographics Defined - Marketing to the Users Generating the Content
“Today’s travel and tourism marketers must first acknowledge and understand the new segments of the population that define the demographics of social media and market their travel community around them.” (Source: hospitalitynet.org)

P&G: From Soap Operas to Online/Mobile Shows
While advertisers have been creating funny and unique clips or commercials online, this is one of the first times an advertiser has used both the Web and mobile for distribution of original programming. (Source: mediapost.com)

Advertising ban spur interactive TV market
“The Eyemagnet software allows content to be customised on multiple screens, in different locations, offering wide-ranging opportunities to retailers, as well as to bars, and at sporting and entertainment events.” (Source: computerworld.co.nz)

Watch This - The Sisomo Report

The Sisomo Report - October 2007
In-game and mobile advertising has become big business, this month we take a look at new work and industry news on this theme from: http://www.massiveincorporated.com ; http://www.monocle.com ; http://www.washingtonpost.com ; http://www.rockstargames.com ; http://www.universalmccann.com ; http://www.hitlabnz.org ; and http://www.saatchi-interactive.com.

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Toyota Shows How Game Is Changing
Toyota releases a free promotional video game for Xbox360 users to build awareness of the Yaris among 20-somethings. (Source: washingtonpost.com)

Toyota’s Latest Work Is Not On TV
“Like scores of other consumer brand companies, Toyota is increasingly creating its own content like video games rather than relying simply on advertising during commercial breaks.” (Source: nytimes.com)

Tacoma Braves The Beast
“Saatchi & Saatchi places a Toyota Tacoma pickup inside a convincing simulation of Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft game in a 30-second spot.” (Source: adweek.com)

Nintendo: Marketer of the Year
Advertising Age magazine has crowned Nintendo Marketer of the Year. Runners-up are Apple, Nike, Al Gore, Geico and Unilever. Password required for full-access. (Source: adage.com)

Outward Looking Consumers
“Young dynamic Vietnamese are increasingly accessing products through the internet, television and smart mobile phones that also serve as a bridge to advertise within the demographic.” (Source: vietnamnet.vn)

Online Ads Failed In China. Why?
This article takes a look at why some online advertising campaigns fail in China. (Source: chinatechnews.com)

Magic Work for JCPenney
Watch a bit of magic occur for US retailer, JCPenney. TVC by Saatchi & Saatchi New York.

Lady Geek

Belinda Parmar, Planning Director of Saatchi & Saatchi, takes a look at the relationships that women have with technology in the blog Lady Geek.

Most recently, Palmer authored the a report on the failure of electronics manufacturers and retailers to connect with female consumers. The study unveiled that a staggering one in two women said they walk out of shops and leave websites without buying anything because they’re unable to find what they want, representing a huge opportunity for brand owners and retailers who are prepared to rethink their approach.

“There’s a real opportunity here for brands and retailers in the consumer electronics sector to target women. This group of women told us loud and clear that they do not want diamante encrusted mobile phones and baby pink DAB radios. Our aim is to get clients to think differently about how they develop, distribute and market products to women,” says Parmar.

Visit Lady Geek for more consumer insight.

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Microsoft as Media King?
“Microsoft sees its future in advertising and mobile, and is taking the message to Europe — and to Google and Yahoo!.” (Source: businessweek.com)

Seeing the signs: digital in-store advertising
“Digital signage is taking in-store advertising to new heights, but as with most things, it’s how you use it that counts…” (Source: insideretailing.com.au)

At Starbucks, Songs of Instant Gratifications
“It’s just the tip of the iced latte. Businesses are using new technologies to enhance the impulse buy so consumers can purchase their temptations whenever they want, wherever they are, before the urge passes.” (Source: nytimes.com)

TV Remote Moves Over For Mouse
“Media consumers have said that they want to watch what they want, when and where they want it. Last week NBC called that bluff, saying that its prime-time broadcast schedule would be there for free downloading for a week after being shown on television.” (Source: nytimes.com)

All Digital, All Commerce
“Get over the stale notions of what you think convergence ought to be. It is becoming abundantly clear that every digital interactive device and platform will be driven by advertising, marketing and transactions.” (Source: mediapost.com)

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Rationale for Mobile Advertising Growth
“A mobile advertising forecast conducted by The Kelsey Group has the mobile ad market growing at a phenomenal rate, from US$33.2 million at present to US$1.4 billion in 2012.” (Source: mediapost.com)

Company Will Monitor Phone Calls to Tailor Ads
“Pudding Media is introducing an internet phone service today that will be supported by advertising related to what people are talking about in their calls. The service is similar to Skype, except they won’t charge for toll calls.” (Source: nytimes.com)

What Consumers Think About Advertising
“JWT and AdWeek have taken a poll on how everyday Americans perceive advertising and the ad industry. The online poll was conducted on 966 Americans over 18 years from Sep 5 - 12.” (Source: mediaweek.com)

Getting Free Cellphone Calls for Ads
“British cellphone users will get their first look Monday at a new mobile service called Blyk, which will offer subscribers some free calls and text messages in return for their agreeing to accept advertising on their phones.” (Source: nytimes.com)

Madison Avenue: More influential than ever?
“Despite the fact that AOL’s head office is moving to NY, and Ogilvy executive Andrew Berndt is to supervise Google’s Creative Lab unit, Madison Avenue’s influence on the world of online advertising is growing...” (Source: nytimes.com)

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MySpace to Discuss Effort to Customize Ads
“[MySpace] says that after experimenting with technology over the last six months it can tailor ads to the personal information that its 110 million active users leave on their profile pages.” (Source: nytimes.com)

Women find tech ads a turn off
“‘Women are more interested in the benefits rather than the specs,’ says Eleanor Conroy, Communications Director of Saatchi & Saatchi. ‘They don’t want to know how many megabytes something is, just how many songs it holds, how it will be a benefit to their life.’” (Source: pcpro.co.uk)

Understanding the Advertising Revolution
“Consumers now believe they have a right to choose whether to view advertising or not, simply as they please. You can bet your marketing budgets that when consumers have the choice between advertising and their favorite television programming, they will likely choose the latter.” (Source: mediapost.com)

Advertisers, service providers take aim at mobile phone users
“Two-thirds of respondents in a Telephia survey recently said they considered mobile ads to be unacceptable.
But a growing number of advertisers and content providers are undeterred: They believe they can make mobile advertising more palatable by serving it up with freebies and discounts for amenable cell phone users.” (Source: sfgate.com)

The next generation of online advertising: the lead exchange
“The Interactive Advertising Bureau says Internet advertising is a $16.9B per year business; online lead generation is a $1.3B per year business, growing faster than any other type of online advertising.” (Source: dmnews.com)

Web 3.0
“New technologies are changing the infrastructure of the Web, turning fragmented data sources into searchable wholes. Computers will gain the intelligence to understand, organize, and draw conclusions from online data.” (Source: technologyreview.com)

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Broadcast Networks Tap Into New Media
“New this fall season: Broadcast networks will rely on social networks, guerrilla events, video-on-demand, YouTube, Web portals and mobile technology more than ever before to promote their new lineups to increasingly distracted consumers.” (Source: adweek.com)

Users Click With YouTube Ads
“Eileen Naughton, Google’s director of media platforms, said between five and 10 times as many people are checking out the in-video ads compared with the number who view regular display ads — banners or boxes on Web pages.” (Source: seattletimes.nwsource.com)

TV Tops At Building Awareness
“Consumers recognize TV as the No. 1 medium for building awareness...indicating that 43 percent of those polled rate it as excellent or very good at doing so.” (Source: adweek.com)

What Makes Some Brands Anti-Social?
What makes a brands succeed in tapping into existing passionate audiences on online social networks or offer some functionality that cannot be found already on popular social media sites? (Source: brandweek.com)

Setting Your Show Apart
“...The similarity between efforts to create anticipation for a major summer movie and efforts to encourage viewers to watch a TV series illustrates the increasing sophistication of campaigns to promote new shows.” (Source: nytimes.com)

Traditional Tactics Fail On Social Networks
“New research suggests that most marketers continue to use traditional marketing tactics on social networking sites, and it’s affecting their return on investment.” (Source: bizreport.com)

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Folgers’ Integrated Advertising
Procter & Gamble’s Folgers Gourmet brand has launched a new marketing effort that includes new ads and a call for consumer-generated content. The campaign is created by Saatchi & Saatchi New York. (Source: publications.mediapost.com)

Streaming Video Hits A Niche
“The potential of new streaming video services - fast, full screen and in sharp resolution - is unleashing a torrent of movies and television shows, much of it aimed at narrowly defined audiences that can’t find niche programming even on cable systems with 500 or more channels.” (Source: nytimes.com)

Hollywood Writers Want A Cut
Hollywood writers “want a piece of the new-media pie. That’s online reruns and secondary content like webisodes, mobisodes, minisodes, and character blogs - all the goodies you can get on your laptop, cell phone, and iPod.” (Source: wired.com)

In-game Advertising Works
“Microsoft’s Massive in-game advertising division commissioned a study from Nielsen on the effectiveness of in-game ads. Not surprisingly, it showed that ads in games really work well at raising awareness of a brand.” (Source: mercurynews.com)

Pepsi Tests User Content
“Pepsi has rolled out its ‘Put Pepsi to the taste’ campaign, as part of the brand’s efforts to become a major online user-generated content portal.” (Source: nma.co.uk)

A Website Where Ads Are the Draw
“Scheduled to launch in first-quarter 2008, Didja is designed to be a destination for consumers who want to watch their favorite ads off the TV screen in a social-networking setting.” (Source: adage.com)

Watch This

Peugeot 107’s ‘Break Free’
A video case-study of the Peugeot 107 campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi AtPlay, entitled “Break Free“.



The Sisomo Report - October 2007
In-game and mobile advertising has become big business, this month we take a look at new work and industry news on this theme from: http://www.massiveincorporated.com ; http://www.monocle.com ; http://www.washingtonpost.com ; http://www.rockstargames.com ; http://www.universalmccann.com ; http://www.hitlabnz.org ; and http://www.saatchi-interactive.com.




Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase
Watch an excerpt from Saatchi & Saatchi’s 17th annual New Directors Showcase as presented at the Cannes Lions 2007. 




The Future On Screen
Five inspirational planners from the Saatchi & Saatchi network got together in Rome, Italy, to discuss how sisomo’d people are today. The result is this exploratory podcast created by Dana Schick (LA), Wanda Pogue (NY), Jo Barholomeu (London), Camilla Rannes (Denmark) and Jonas Vail (London).




Quiksilver Dynamite Surfing
To reach out to the community and make its brand applicable to the Nordic consumer, Quiksilver launched a viral campaign that received 10 million hits in the first 2 weeks; making it one of the fastest growing viral videos of all time. Campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi, Denmark.




Toyota Yaris Mobisodes
In a first of its kind agreement, Toyota partnered with Fox to produce a series of 10 second mobile phone ads for the launch of the new Yaris. Campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi, Los Angeles. 




Folgers Happy Mornings
Folger’s released this viral video and television commercial to show how a cup of its coffee can help make mornings tolerable. Campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi, New York.




Being Lote
The Australian rugby team, NSW Waratahs, launched a bold advertising campaign that invited the public to take the place of backline star Lote Tuqiri. Campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi, Australia.




Lexus ES - The Science of Desire
To support the launch of the its 2007 ES luxury sedan, Lexus released a three part long-form series to answer the question, “Is it possible to engineer desire?” Campaign by Team One, California, USA.

Lexus IS Mosaic and Hologram
In 2005, Lexus re-launched its performance sedan, IS, with a sisomo campaign that laid out the challenge - “Why Live in One Dimension?” Campaign by Team One, California, USA.

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Wendy’s Red Wig Hits The Spot
Wendy’s red wig ads are a hit with consumers. “The downright weirdness of the ad has made it a hit among the very consumers the chain felt it needed to win over—young people. It has been viewed nearly 800,000 times on video sharing site YouTube.com and also has inspired amateur copycat videos, now spreading across the

Twitter: A Future App
“The animating genius behind Twitter will live on in future apps. That tactile sense of your community is simply too much fun, too useful — and it makes the group more than the sum of its parts.” (Source: wired.com)

Video Helps Retail
“More than one in three Internet users would find their number one method of product research more impactful if accompanied by video-based product opinions, according to a new study.” (Source: adotas.com)

e-Sports
“One of the most curious by-products of South Korea’s broadband boom has been the creation of an online gaming culture unlike anything seen anywhere in the world.” Watch this Monocle report on Ongamenet, a TV-channel dedicated to pro-gaming. (Source: monocle.com)

Consumers Hold Media Aces
Consumers call the shots in the media industry more than ever, a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers has found.”...The balance of power in the industry continued to shift to consumers from content owners thanks to technological changes and the internet.” (Source: news.com.au)

Control Vs. User Choice
“VideoEgg’s CMO explains why advertisers need to re-think how they support the new media experience...According [to a study by Millward Brown], viewers of online video pre-roll ads were less distracted and came away with higher brand awareness than those who watch traditional TV ads.” (source: imediaconnection.com)

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Wal-Mart Raises User Reviews
“Wal-Mart has launched customer product reviews and ratings on its Walmart.com Web site, allowing customers to evaluate and pass judgment on all products listed on the site, both online-only and in-store.” (Source: directmag.com)

The Whole World In Their Laptops
“Surrounded by teenagers playing online video games, Jim Stengel cut an unlikely figure in PC Bang, one of South Korea’s many internet cafés...His task: to explore whether Asian broadband hotspots such as Seoul can teach the US consumer goods giant how to reach out to younger audiences across the world as they drift away from traditional mass media...” (Source: ft.com)

Broadband Drama
“The captains of the television industry may want to switch off their sets for a minute (actually, 37 seconds) to assess the potential of interactive web drama. This week, a new series called ‘KateModern’ launched on Bebo, the global social networking site with a pioneering, young audience.” (Source: cnn.com)

H&M Brings Fashion To The Sims
“Fashion retailer H&M teamed up with Electronic Arts to bring modern fashion into the game world of the Sims with the H&M Fashion “stuff” extension pack.” (Source: adverlab.blogspot.com)

Wasting Time On Second Life
“Adrift in the uncharted sea that is Web 2.0 - YouTube, MySpace, social networking, user-generated content, virtual worlds - corporate marketers look at Second Life and see something to grab onto...Unfortunately, the reality doesn’t justify the excitement.” (Source: wired.com)

Debates To Connect Candidates And Voters Online
“The first of a new kind of presidential debate..., one in which members of the general public pose questions to the candidates via homemade video. CNN and YouTube are sponsoring the debate, which will take place among the eight Democratic presidential candidates. They are sponsoring a similar debate for the nine Republican candidates on Sept. 17.” (Source: nytimes.com)

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Social Media Blurs the Lines
“The line between consumer and marketer is getting increasingly blurry thanks to blogs, video-sharing sites and social networks...Companies that fail [to partipate in this growing phenomenon]...will miss out on reaching target audiences and give up what little control they still have over their image.” (Source: azcentral.com)

Controlling The Conversation
“Heavy.com is set to launch what it is calling “sequential advertising,” a new offering that will provide advertisers with the ability to run a series of spots featuring a continuous narrative during the course of a video program...” (Source: mediaweek.com)

Twittering To Share The Message
“NBC, CBS, ABC Family and MTV are among several networks experimenting with the marketing possibilities of Twitter, a nascent social-networking service that sends messages in super-short bursts.” (Source: wsj.com)

TiVO Owners Watching Fewer Commercials
“...Ratings just released by TiVo...suggest the falloff in ratings from program to commercial is much steeper. TiVo viewers are not only fast-forwarding through recorded commercials. They’re also simply turning off commercials when watching shows live in their original broadcast.” (Source: medialifemagazine.com)

The Launch Of Sequential Advertising
“Heavy.com is set to launch what it is calling ‘sequential advertising’, a new offering that will provide advertisers with the ability to run a series of spots featuring a continuous narrative during the course of a video program...” (Source: mediaweek.com)

TIME’s 50 Best Websites 2007
Time.com lists the 50 Best websites of 2007 for Arts & Leisure, Audio & Video, News & Information, Social Networks and Web Services.

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SISOMO SIZZLES

The waning days of 2006 and the first half of 2007 saw sisomo continue its takeover of the mainstream in terms of media, marketing and consumer preferences. A number of trends and events occurred that showed signs of culture-bending stickiness. Here’s a look at some that caught our attention.

That Gobbling Sound You Hear Is Google
Continuing the conquest of the Internet, in late 2006 Google snapped up video-sharing service YouTube for US$1.65 billion. Fittingly, YouTube founders Chad Hurly and Steve Chen used their own creation to announce the sale: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCVxQ_3Ejkg

Year Of The Widget
Widgets are mini-applications that you can easily drag onto your desktop or paste into a personal page to constantly update information you want. If 2006 was all about social networks, user-generated content and viral video, Newsweek magazine declares it’s a fair bet that 2007 will be all about further personalizing life online. They’re great for consumers and are a goldmine for marketers. JC Penney, for example, launched a desktop widget in June 2007 - jcptoday - that brings deals and content directly to consumers: http://www.jcptoday.com/jcptoday_demo.html

Swap Meet
News Corporation head Rupert Murdoch offered in June 2007 to swap his wildly popular social networking site MySpace for a stake in Yahoo. Murdoch has been looking for ways to expand his media company’s online exposure while Yahoo has been eager to find the right social networking play. Here’s a look at the scope of Murdoch’s far-flung media monolith: http://www.newscorp.com/

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: Happy Birthday, PowerPoint!
For better or worse, the business world was dragged kicking and screaming into the age of sisomo with the launch 20 years ago of PowerPoint 1.0, a presentation program that makes it possible to replace the mind-numbing overhead transparencies of yore with slideshow extravaganzas enlivened by the use of sight, sound and motion. The fault with PowerPoint, dear Brutus, is not in the program, but in ourselves. http://youtube.com/watch?v=HLpjrHzgSRM

Plays Well With Others
This year, social networking site Facebook opened its 24-million-member site to external programmers. The company’s new f8 program allows them to integrate their features with Facebook’s messaging infrastructure and other services. “This is basically a move by Facebook to become the next major operating system,” says Max Levchin, a co-founder of PayPal. The following month the site’s much-larger rival, MySpace, followed suit. The move marks a new step in the evolution of social networks into full-fledged Internet platforms and opens a new front in the battle for audience share. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s 23-year-old founder, announced the new program at a developer’s conference in May 2007: http://developers.facebook.com/videos.php

Reality Check
Marketers have flocked to Second Life’s virtual Web world ever since it went live in 2003. Coca-Cola, H&R Block and Toyota are among the 80 companies that have set up a virtual presence there to capture eyeballs - Second Life boasts a population of 7.1 million registered users who spend more than US$220 million each year - and experiment with online branding. Once reason is that it’s cheap: Linden Lab, the site’s creator, charges as little as US$1,675 plus US$295 a month to occupy an island. Toyota is using Second Life to market its edge Scion line of vehicles. Watch video here.

Hangover
It’s the morning after for Anheuser-Bush and Bud.TV, its $30 million online marketing effort aimed at the young male crowd. The beer maker’s new digital entertainment network quickly lost its fizz after its Super Bowl kickoff in February 2007, averaging just 250,000 visitors a month, well shy of the projected 2-3 million. Budweiser executives are now going back into the studio in the hopes of making major changes to revitalize their struggling Web channel: http://youtube.com/watch?v=G57Do6ZlZpI&mode=related&search=

Content Wants To Be Free
Digital Rights Management (DRM) software has been a major bone of contention for music lovers. EMI made a stand for musical freedom in April 2007 when the world’s third-largest music label began selling its music without copyright protections through Apple’s iTunes Store. Sales have been good, and EMI is now unlocking DRM-free music for other retailers. Amazon.com is also reported to be gearing up for DRM-free music sales.

Kingmaker
Burger King and Microsoft partnered in a first-of-its-kind deal to build three video games around the restaurant chain’s ubiquitous King mascot. The deal marked the first time any major consumer marketer has had a video game built from the ground up around its advertising icon. The games were created by Microsoft for its popular Xbox systems and were distributed through Burger King restaurants during a five-week promotion in December 2006. They sold for US$3.99 with the purchase of a value meal. The company sold over 2 million games and is gearing up plans for another series. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnh-6d2oi1k

The Second Coming
Anticipation - and expectations for the Apple iPhone introduction on June 29, 2007, ran so high that even the normally even-measured Wall Street Journal referred to its as the “Jesus phone.” But early evaluations by critics such as the New York Times’s David Pogue and the Journal’s Walter Mossberg indicated that the device would live up to its advance billing. A Piper Jaffray analyst estimated that 500,000 iPhones were sold over the opening weekend.

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Children Of The Web
“...We’re now at the busy crossroads where globalization meets Web 2.0. This presents both a challenge to the old ways of doing business and an opportunity to gain tremendous leverage via the right goods and services.” (Source: businessweek.com)

Internet Video: The Impending Deluge
“...The computer appears to be well on its way toward total entertainment domination in the home. As evidence, look at new data from comScore Inc.: more than 70 percent of Internet users streamed video online in March this year. Television, movies, music and more — it’s all there in that box, awaiting full integration.” (Source: nytimes.com)

Digital Strategy
“...With marketing and advertising online enjoying meteoric growth, marketing executives at companies of all sizes are waking up to the fact they need to take the channel seriously...It’s clearly now time for boards to construct digital marketing strategies that reflect the fact that the channel which has long superseded cinema and radio advertising and is now second only to TV.” (Source: nma.co.uk)

How To User Social Media To Engage
“Less than a third of professional communicators surveyed feel confident about using social media as part of an integrated communication strategy, according to Melcrum’s new report How to use social media to engage employees.” (Source: earthtimes.org)

Why Content Is King
“...The more in-demand content is the more valuable it becomes. The value is in the audience, and the opportunities that the audience brings to businesses that leverage them. Think of advertising and commerce as two primary benefits of a sizeable, loyal audience.” (Source: bizcommunity.com)

Agency Fun
The agency, Connected Ventures, releases a fun online agency “music video” that has quickly gone viral.

Watch This - New Directors Showcase

Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase
Watch an excerpt from Saatchi & Saatchi’s 17th annual New Directors Showcase as presented at the Cannes Lions 2007. 

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Getting Feedback In A Social World
“...While social networks and tools dominate Internet marketing buzz, there’s a lot more to them than impressions and branded communities. This evolution in community technology has created a new platform for consumer feedback.” (Source: clickz.com)

Five Pillars Of Digital Marketing
“Smart advertisers now realize that the trend is not going from old media outlets to new media outlets; rather, the trend is about combining the two media outlets so they work in harmony with each other...Use the following five pillars to enhance the engagement and response of your digital marketing campaign so you can successfully integrate your old and new media approaches.” (Source: furninfo.com)

MySpace, Sony To Launch Classic TV
“MySpace has partnered with Sony Pictures Television to launch a classic TV channel on the News Corp.- owned social networking site that features shortened versions of classics such as Who’s The Boss?, Charlie’s Angels and The Facts of Life.” (Source: mediaweek.com)

TV Finds Stronger Demand For Ads
“The willingness of the big broadcast television networks to embrace change — by making it easier to watch shows online and by adopting new types of ratings — is contributing to stronger demand for commercial time ahead of the fall season.” (Source: nytimes.com)

Profiles Of Poly Identities
Great photo piece in last week’s NY Times Magazine profiling the avatars of various people around the world.

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User-Generated Content Decoded
Brand Republic looks at how brands are responding to the rapid rise of user-generated content, as they formulate new and improved ways of engaging with and cashing in on the consumer. (Source: brandrepublic.com)

Virtually Awaiting Real Sales
“...The opening of virtual stores in Second Life raises interesting questions as virtual worlds mesh elements of both e-commerce and bricks-and-mortar retailing. How, for instance, does a company market itself?” (Source: nytimes.com)

Leaping From Lab To Screen
“...Running a media or entertainment company in the 21st century is not for the faint of heart. The change is relentless, the learning curve sharp, and the
competition both fierce and seemingly infinite.” (Source: nytimes.com)

Reality Series A Gillette Showcase
Procter & Gamble Co., a pioneer in television soap operas, is on the cutting edge of a trend of blending commercial messages with programming in a new TV reality show featuring Gillette. (Source: boston.com)

Making The Most Of Music
“Historically, advertising and branding have been dominated by the visual. But the marketing discipline is evolving past branding to creating brand experiences as people’s expectation for more interesting experiences grows. The marketers that can match and exceed expectations are going to get ahead. Music can turn advertising into a much more powerful brand experience.” (Source: adage.com)

Google Zeitgeist - Attraction Economy

Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi, was recently at Google Zeitgeist Europe (21 May 2007) with a panel of luminaries discussing “Branding Today and Tomorrow”. In this video clip, Kevin takes us on a seven minute journey from Attention to Attraction; illustrating the path to success in the Attraction Economy - moving beyond analyzing the market to being inspired by the market.

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To Survive, Print And TV Must Engage Consumers
“Online advertising is booming and marketeers cannot stop talking about digital and interactive media but that does not mean old-school print and TV are finished. However, their survival, says Mr Kevin Roberts, chief executive worldwide of ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi, means creating new ideas and a better understanding of consumers.” (Source: straitstimes.com)

Shoppers Crave ‘Social’ Experience
“The social shopper, who seeks a pleasant experience and emotional connections to other shoppers - via such things as reviews, bulletin boards, blogs and shared videos - as much as they seek out a specific item to buy.” (Source: adweek.com)

Comedy Business Turns To The Web
“The Internet, of course, is already filled with cheap laughs — YouTube alone offers a lifetime’s supply of home videos (some funny, most not). But now many experienced comedians, talent agents and financiers are seeing the Web as a way to showcase talent while trying to turn a profit.” (Source: nytimes.com)

Street Screenings
A doctor sets up shop on a NYC street offering free skin cancer screenings. Campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi New York for Olay.

Advertisers Fund Indie Projects
“Advertisers have long linked up with Hollywood by placing their products within films or trotting out stars as their official sponsors. But some companies are now going a step further, investing directly in movie productions in the hopes of striking even deeper connections with film audiences.” (Source: latimes.com)

Sisomonitor 41

The Web: 2021
A panel on the future of commerce, journalism, and community on the Internet, featuring Barry Diller, Arianna Huffington, and Craig Newmark. Moderated by Ken Auletta. From “2012: Stories from the Near Future,” the 2007 New Yorker Conference.

The New Generation Gap
“When aging baby boomers get together, talk often turns to how 60 is the new 50, and 50 the new 40…Recent trends in social networking and the digital revolution have widened the perceived differences between generations in ways we haven’t seen in decades.” (Source: aiga.com)

Sounding Out Brand Value
“For those of us in the business of designing brands—the practice of engineering perceptions - our opportunity is to link brands and benefits through the intentional use of music, sound, voice and silence.” (Source: aiga.com)

Second Life Tours
SL Tourguides is a company that focuses on business travellers: “You will learn the lingo, learn the protocols, ask questions as you go and find the places/experiences you need to know about. Once you’ve done a tour you will be better placed to decide whether you want to do business in SL.” (Source: springwise.com)

The High Price Of Free Ads
“Inviting consumers to create their advertising is often more stressful, costly and time-consuming than just rolling up their sleeves and doing the work themselves. Many entries are mediocre, if not downright bad, and sifting through them requires full-time attention.” (Source: nytimes.com)

Joe Lambert: Brands and Storytelling

Joe Lambert is the Founding Director of the Center for Digital Storytelling. Joe founded CDS (formerly the San Francisco Digital Media Center) in 1994, with wife Nina Mullen and colleague Dana Atchley, as a community arts center for new media. Together they developed a unique computer training and arts program known as the Digital Storytelling Workshop.

SSM: Why do you think people are so compelled to create and share their own stories as well as participate in the stories of others (ie.YouTube)?

Joe Lambert: People have always documented to self-substantiate, but the web has proven that the border between public and private no longer has meaning for scores of people, and so we find on YouTube or blogs enormously revealing perspectives on almost all aspects of life that would have been considered purely within the private sphere, between your priest/shrink/therapy group and you. People share into these spaces for various reasons, but you could sum up that they are looking for connection. At the same time, we live in a culture of celebrity where all of us understand more or less about the 15 minutes. And we realize that the shortest cut to fame is outrage. Not necessarily outrage as in stupid stunts or childishly transgressive acts, although that dominates YouTube, but outrage in terms of breaking with any norm of public discourse. 

SSM: There has been discussion amongst media producers regarding quality execution versus a great story. How much of good digital storytelling lies in the creative process and how much is technological know-how?

JL: Form and content are never separable. Stories, any form or art, fail, in the sense they are not effective in communicating their meaning, when the form is not in sync with the message. There is also purposeful discordance between form and content, a calling out of the form to make us think differently about the relationship, but this is mainly a process that works with highly literate audiences, who have grown tired of predictability of any sort, and become engaged when form is discordant with their expectations.

SSM: Do you think digital storytelling is important for companies today?

JL: Many corporations have good stories, and support for those stories throughout their organization and perhaps larger society, and in those cases, the brand of the individuals and the brand values of the corporation are aligned in such a way that letting people share their stories actually can build trust, and trust is the most vital of commodities in all relationships, internal or external. This is where we have seen digital storytelling work, and blogging, and other forms of shared storytelling. There will always be unfortunate abuses by individuals, but we believe openness is always rewarded.

SSM: How does a company/brand discover its own unique story?

JL: The same way as people. Find the decisive moments of challenge and change in the organization’s story. Usually it is a moment where failure is absolutely possible but because of the values of the individuals involved, failure was avoided, and success was made possible. All processes are unique, so it is also digging out from the clichés to the really, really specific details of these events, that demonstrate the values.  Bill Hewlett and David Packards garage where they made equipment for the film industry became legend, as did very specific quotes by those individuals in facing issues early on in the company. Those project the brand as well as anything.

Center for Digital Storytelling

Christy Dena: Designing Cross-Media Entertainment

Designing Cross-Media Entertainment

Christy Dena is a Universe Creator and Transmodiologist. She is cross-media entertainment strategist, PhD researcher, writer, designer, consultant and speaker. Christy has presented to many key organizations in Australia, UK, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands. She mentors film, television, emerging media and print practitioners. http://www.Cross-MediaEnt