search that listens to you
Siri is a new search and "getting things done" tool for your magical iPhone. Whatever you need, just say it outloud, and Siri gets you on your way.
Like a personal assistant in your pocket. Not sure if "fill out my expense reports" will work, but if it involves search, Siri is there for you. From @mtlb & @thebeancast
posted by darryl ohrt @ 6:44 AM
0 comments
Friday, March 05, 2010
in the future, we'll work naked at the office
Forget touch screens. Touch skin is all the rage in device design. You need this, all over your body.
Next, we need the ability to "mute" people with a single touch to the forehead.
Labels: mobile, technology
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:51 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
how to keep airplanes free of screaming kids
The Boost Mobile spots aren't new, but if you haven't seen the kid in the cage spot, you'll get a laugh. In a it's-funny-when-kids-are-in-cages kind of way. (Excellent copywriting, too.)
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:19 AM
0 comments
Thursday, February 18, 2010
how google goggles can help you eat
Did you ever order dinner while at a restaurant in a foreign country, and make your best guess on what the translation for "chicken" is? And then your meal arrives, and you learn that you've ordered cow stomach?
This genius Google scientist shows the near future of Google Goggles on your Android. You'll never eat cow stomach again. Holy smoke.
Labels: augmented reality, google, mobile, technology
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:38 AM
0 comments
Monday, January 11, 2010
google's most favorite places
Google has a new program that allows retailers and businesses to register as a Local Business Center. Google then sends the more popular Local Business Centers window decals with a custom QR code.
Visitors to the store can scan the code with their mobile device to learn about the business, post reviews, get information, coupons and other marketing juice. Wow. Google really is everywhere. From @webmetricsguru.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:51 AM
0 comments
Monday, December 21, 2009
synchronized phones for your holiday pleasure
This is definitely the best agency card that we've seen this year. Hooray for engineers, coders and geeks.
Labels: adindustry, holiday, mobile
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:36 AM
1 comments
Thursday, December 10, 2009
how to put your team in the world cup
People love tweeting about sports. Home runs, touchdowns, bad calls, rants and raves about their favorite teams, everyone knows it's more fun to watch the game with Twitter by your side than it is with just the TV alone.
Sony Ericsson saw this as an opportunity, and created the Twitter Cup. It's a World Cup soccer tournament of tweets. If you like a particular team, you tweet their name with the appropriate hashtag (ie: #twc England), and the team with the most tweets wins the World Cup. (The Twitter one, at least.)
Labels: ads, mobile, sports marketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:15 AM
2 comments
Thursday, December 03, 2009
hot cookie action.
You just really can't go wrong with a gingerbread man and 70's style action. Sugar Streak is a fun interactive YouTube game to promote Koodo Mobile.
Gingerbread man. Chase scenes. Nothing more needs to be said.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:35 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
add a little apple store style to your retail experience
Square Up looks like an awesome credit card payment solution for retail. It's a credit card processing system that works with mobile phones. Scan credit cards for payment. Get photo verification of your customers. Send receipts via email rather than paper.
Seems like a sweet way for small business to add a great service, and look cool in the process. The next best thing to being the apple store. From @miconian
Labels: apple, iphone, mobile, retail, technology
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:43 AM
1 comments
Monday, November 30, 2009
is mobile the great pumpkin of the ad industry?
Ben Kunz over at Thought Gadgets points out that the mobile ad market is never as big as everyone says it is. Sure, it's growing in leaps and bounds - but it never quite reaches the point that all of the forecasters predict.
So all of those prediction numbers you hear on the business news reports? They're just the great pumpkin of the ad industry...keep waiting. (We're just happy that someone other than us is checking the math.)
Labels: adindustry, mobile, trends
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:33 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
nokia 900 turns you into an e-freak
The Nokia N900 ships this month, and they're launching it with a clip that should appeal to all of the scifi/CGI geeks. It's fast, has all of the tools you want, and might get into your system. Pretty sure that's what they're saying here.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:50 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
apps: your new ad campaign
Ben Kunz points out a terrific way to view the ever growing popularity of apps. There's loads of data that illustrates how people don't use most apps past the first day after download. Some may say that's reason to reconsider your app development budget.
Ben Kunz suggests just the opposite. Go app wild. If new, cool apps are always the new, cool thing that become a part of our conversation, why not allow your brand to be a part of it? Rather than attempt to produce the end-all, best-and-only-app-you-ever-need, create a hundred apps. Create two hundred apps. Think of them as individual components to your ad campaign.
We agree. Not just because that kind of thinking brings us loads of business, but it's an approach that's utilizing the media in a way that the audience has already decided to use it. Hooray. Increase your app spend now.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:45 AM
0 comments
Friday, October 16, 2009
the super branded future tent
Orange has been a part of the Glastonbury Music Festival before, and now they're using their mad R&D skills to help bring a better experience to festival goers.
They've invented the most excellent future tent that you've ever seen:
+ Solar power? Yep.
+ Charging station for your cell phone? Yep.
+ Wifi? Yep.
+ Ground heat amplification? Yep.
And get THIS - the tent can be set to glow in a distinctive color that you can initiate from your cell phone. Can't find your tent because you're in a drunken stupor? Activate your glow system, and see it from a mile away. This is the way camping should be. Thanks, Orange.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:31 AM
5 comments
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
remix your friends
Say goodbye to the rest of your day. Orange has created a wonderous tool that lets you create remixes of songs using your own voice and the sounds produced by your friends.
The Sound of Orange RockCorps lets you sample videos and sounds from your friends, auto tune them to perfection, and then lay them all down on a pre-arranged hit song. Sounds confusing, but if you watch the video, you'll want to spend the rest of your day creating mixes.
The effort helps raise awareness about Rock Corps, Orange's promotion to incentivize volunteerism. Super awesome.
Labels: autotune, creativeinspiration, mobile, music
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:37 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
how texting kills
Make the Logo Bigger points to an excellent spot intended to illustrate the dangers of texting while driving.
While this spot is directed toward teens, I have a feeling that about 50% of the adults on the road could use the same talking to. Send to your friend.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:21 AM
0 comments
Friday, September 25, 2009
because you've always wanted to be in a paint fight?
Not entirely sure what this says about the Samsung Corby mobile phone, but who doesn't love a great paint fight?
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:42 AM
0 comments
Monday, August 24, 2009
texts from last night
If you're stumbling in this morning all groggy and a little unsure of what happened this weekend, hopefully you didn't send any regretful text messages.
Texts from last night is a site devoted to collecting text messages that you kind of can't believe someone actually sent. But did. Beauties, like:
(201): I'm trying real hard to keep it on the DL how drunk I am at lunch with my grandma.
(Not all entirely work safe, if you get in trouble for seeing the F bomb in it's written form.) From Scott Monty
Labels: creativeinspiration, mobile
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:19 AM
0 comments
Monday, July 20, 2009
take a picture, it lasts longer
You're stuck on a train, see an ad, want to remember it but can't find a pen.
Jagtag offers marketers a solution for capturing customers at that moment, with a 2D barcode inserted on ads. People snap a photo with their cell phone, text it in, and get back a message or YouTube video bragging about the brand (iPhone users, always different, need to forward the pic via email). The idea is to stick a little longer with that potential customer, now with a message embedded on their phone.
Bad news is all this ain't cheap. Jagtag charges a setup fee and also fees per response or impression. But if you want to reach teens or adults 18-34 where they are bored or trapped -- we see college textbook advertising, baby! -- Jag could be your tag.
posted by Ben Kunz @ 7:32 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
buddha inspired phones. for when karma calls.
Check out this Buddhalicious collection of phones featured on If It's Hip It's Here.
And these aren't just novelty phones. One comes with TWO cameras - one on the front and one on the back, with two SIM cards. Apple - time for some spirituality?
Labels: mobile, productdesign, technology
posted by darryl ohrt @ 6:05 AM
1 comments
Thursday, April 16, 2009
camera tricks on a camera phone
To promote the new Samsung phone that comes with an HD video camera (!!), they've produced a little puzzle for you to solve.
Watch the spot above, and see if you can figure out how they did it. Then record your response on YouTube. Doesn't look like you'll win a new car, or phone, or trip to Hawaii by solving the mystery, but you'll feel smart in front of your friends.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:07 AM
0 comments
Monday, March 23, 2009
how the iphone will create its own economy
This is a little scary, because it reminds me of similar stories about the micro economies within Second Life during its peak. Mashable has an excellent post on how the new iPhone capabilities could indeed launch a new mobile economy. But at least people are using their iPhones.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 6:57 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
people staring at their phones aren't tweeting
Check out the paintings that Jorge Colombo has produced on his iPhone. While you probably thought he was tweeting.
Labels: art, creativeinspiration, iphone, mobile
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:42 AM
0 comments
Thursday, February 19, 2009
how cute animals might use your cell phone
Samsung has a new phone with a big, sweet screen. What better way to demonstrate its awesomeness than with a video devoted to how 38 cute animals might utilize such a screen of wonder?
Labels: ads, mobile, technology, video
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:31 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
flash mobs for fun and profit
Nothing could possibly be more fun than a spontaneous dance party. This one was produced as a promotion for T-Mobile, but that doesn't mean that you can't start your own, wherever you are at this very moment.
Labels: mobile, streetteams, stunts
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:45 AM
1 comments
Thursday, December 04, 2008
hipster santa uses a palm centro
I know what you're thinking...there are still Palm devices? Turns out - yes . Apparently, not everyone has an iPhone or Blackberry, and Santa's out to spread the word about the new Palm Centro.
In the Palm world, Santa has lost a lot of weight and sports a hipster beard. And he wears red velvet skinny jeans. And goes by Claus. And he's on Facebook.
Ummmm...OK. Does he live in Brooklyn now? Does he still hang with reindeer? Did he drop the old lady for a hipster chick? So many important questions.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:21 AM
2 comments
Monday, November 17, 2008
welcome to now.
Sprint just launched a super festival of widget goodness for your enjoyment. If that wasn't enough fun, they added super-future girl voice soundtrack so that you might feel that you're actually on the dashboard of a spaceship.
Dashboards rock. Girls from the future rock. And this Sprint mega-future-dashboard-of-widgets-from-the-future definitely rocks.
Thanks, Eric!
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:05 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
mobile gets awesome in capetown
Good mobile promotions are hard to find. Most suck, don't get adoption, and don't provide real value for the participants. But Cow Africa has done something awesome.
Cow created Mobikasi - the first ever geo-tagged documentary. It's a 25 minute documentary - but realizing that no human on earth has a 25 minute attention span anymore - they've made the film available in 25 individual downloads.
And here's where it gets good. Each minute of the documentary is based on a different topic relevant to the youth in Soweto, and it's geo-tagged to the location where it was shot. They feature cool stuff like the street fashion crew Smarteez, pictured above. So kids can experience the production, and then go check out the area where it was shot. Genius.
(And how do I start my own street fashion crew?? Anyone want to join?)
Labels: fashion, film, marketing, mobile, social media, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:15 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
sprint: using social media for good
While on our company's summer promotional tour, we utilized Sprint's mobile USB cards for the majority of our internet connectivity in the van. Fantastic service.
The first day of the tour had us crossing the border to Canada, and of course we utilized our internet cards for the 20 or so hours we spent over the border. To our surprise, we recently received an invoice for the "roaming" charges while in Canada. OVER ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS per card, for less than 24 hours of internet service.
Laughing at the absurdity, I called Sprint customer service. Yes - you've undoubtedly been in this situation yourself before. The sticking to the scripts, the time on hold, the ratcheting up to a supervisor, the sticking to the scripts, the time spent on hold again, etc. The call ended with a supervisor indicating "that's the plan that we agreed to, and the charges were fair."
Not happy with paying $1000/day for internet, I tweeted about the experience, as I prepared a blistering blog post in my head. Here's the awesome part: SPRINT WAS LISTENING. (Not to the blog post in my head. They were monitoring Twitter.)
Justin Goldsborough sent me a tweet, (having seen mine on a Twitter search for the word "Sprint"), asking if everything was taken care of. We connected, I explained our situation, and he brought it to someone's attention.
A day later, I received a call from John Crowdis, from their executive and regulatory services department. Within minutes, John looked at the situation (as a human, without a script or robot decision making tools), and realized this wasn't fair. He reduced the invoice on the spot. To our satisfaction.
That's how you use social media to create customer evangelists. You don't need silly campaigns. You don't need fictional characters tweeting. Just real people, listening, connecting and providing human to human interaction.
Will we use Sprint on next year's tour? You bet.
Labels: branding, mobile, plaidsummertour, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:09 AM
7 comments
Friday, September 19, 2008
yer keep the texting above deck
Are ya using yer devices below deck? Even a hard workin' pirate needs a good long nap to ready yerself for a day of pillaging. So ye best not be bringin' yer Blackberry's and iPhones to yer sleepin quarters with ya.
It's a lookin' like many a swarmy internet folk are a doin' just that. Like that salty, saucy wench Madonna who be pictured above.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:08 AM
2 comments
Thursday, August 21, 2008
turning the unbox into an event
If you can't make a phone that competes with the iPhone, perhaps you can make an unboxing experience that competes with the iPhone.
Here's the unboxing of the Samsung Omnia phone that's making the rounds. From Screwdriver, via Twitter.
Labels: mobile, pop culture, technology
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:13 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
is that a cell phone in your pocket?
Aram Bartholl is starting a new line of vintage style jeans. Showing their cell phone 'memories'.
What a cool way to illustrate mobile history. Imagine a shot of a vintage shop, with a rack of vintage jeans, all sporting their cell phone history. Of course if baggy jeans come back in style, they'll have to feature images of those lunchbox size 1987 cell phones on them. That would be hot.
Labels: fashion, mobile, photography, technology
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:31 AM
0 comments
Thursday, August 07, 2008
cell phones: not what you think they're for.
You might be surprised at what the most used features on cell phones are. Not sure what the source for this information is (or the demographics surveyed), but it's interesting nonetheless. Calling is out. Calculating is in.
Labels: mobile, technology, trends
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:07 AM
0 comments
Thursday, July 17, 2008
nike dunks based on the color of your neighborhood
This cool application for Nike lets you take a snapshot with your cell phone, and then create a custom pair of Nike Dunks based on the color scheme in your photo.
So awesome, you could be rockin' a new pair every week. Or for every favorite scene in your life. Like urban camo. This is a great idea that could be applied to a multitude of situations and brands. From Three Minds.
Labels: fashion, mobile, pop culture, technology, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 5:26 AM
0 comments
Friday, June 06, 2008
world re-created on paper
Isn't it great when ads can make a statement, and be cool production pieces, and be ads too??? Really, really loving this clip that promotes the Samsung F480.
I guess this was produced on a Samsung 480. But I'm not sure. Maybe it's just a cool video with a Samsung 480 title at the end. Or showing that with the Samsung 480 you'll be totally in control of the world, like it was a piece of paper. Yeah, that's probably it. I need some Samsung 480.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:45 AM
0 comments
Friday, May 30, 2008
pictures of yesterday's geekdom
I just found a cool collection of vintage IBM photography. A treasure trove of tech history, presented in the most boring, unfriendly way, on IBM's site. (There's soooo many cool things they COULD be doing here.)
I especially loved the "Mobile Customer Engineer" pictured above. I'm pretty sure he's the guy who would come and fix your mobile device, when it had trouble syncing with your corporate email account. But that's just a guess. ;-)
Labels: creativeinspiration, mobile, photography, technology, trends
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:04 AM
1 comments
Thursday, May 29, 2008
tweet from your phone
If you live in the suburbs, you probably spend a fair amount of time in your car. Because we know that you're a safe driver, we know that you don't text and drive. Which means that your Twitter updates are reduced to traffic jams and stop lights.
What's a driver to do when you need to tell your Twitter friends about the sweet Jack-in-the-Box that you just passed? TwitterFone. You call in your tweet, and some magic elves convert it to text and publish to your Twitter stream. Wow.
From Kevin Dugan. Via Twitter, through Twitterfone.
Labels: mashup, mobile, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:07 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
you've seen this before
It's great when someone comes along and does something that you've seen a hundred million times, and makes it fresh.
Optical illusions. You've seen most of these when you were 6 years old. But Samsung just made them fun again. Nicely done.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:04 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
iphone: now with bar code reader.
Mashable has a nice piece on ScanLife, a service that allows brands to create barcodes that are readable by your mobile device. The video demonstrates how it could be used.
I can't wait until they work at retail. When the shelf-talker can give me a coupon for the item in my basket, and I hand my cell phone to the cashier to scan. That's the future that I want to live in.
Labels: mobile, retail, technology
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:39 AM
4 comments
Thursday, May 15, 2008
mobile phones more important than wallets
More than one-third of workers would choose their mobile phone over their wallet, keys, laptop or digital music player. Thankfully, pants and shoes are still important.
Labels: mobile, technology, trends
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:27 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
stuff you can't do on an iphone
To showcase what you might be able to do with the new Motorola Z10 phone, agency Cake has produced a campaign that features a marriage proposal. A proposal shot and edited on the phone.
Oh yeah - the agency says that she said yes. I would assume that she called him to say yes, using a Motorola Z10.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 5:55 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
verizon clueless?
Apparently Verizon is including text ads on all of the photos uploaded to services like Flickr, from any of their cellphones. I really hope this isn't true. Really hoping that one of the largest cell phone providers isn't that out of touch with what's important to their users, to the industry and social media.
I couldn't find examples in a quick search on Flickr, so I opted to include a photo of Rob, enjoying BBQ, instead. I think it's just as appropriate.
Labels: mobile, photography, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:10 AM
1 comments
Friday, March 14, 2008
we're running out of space
Another post of brilliance from Ben at Thought Gadgets. Lots of wondering about the pending challenge of an ad crunch. People are ignoring ads on social media sites, and mobile devices don't have room. Some interesting points that will be fun to watch play out in the very near future.
Labels: google, mobile, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:11 AM
0 comments
Friday, February 15, 2008
people are really using iphones
Google sees 50 times more searches from the iPhone than any other mobile handset.
“We thought it was a mistake and made our engineers check the logs again,” says Vic Gundotra, head of Google’s mobile operations. (Yeah, like Google can make mistakes.)
This is an important trend. Not that you aren't already sick of hearing how 'mobile is the future.' But here's tangible evidence that users are actually using. As the Financial Times points out, when other manufacturers make the internet as easy as Apple, this will be huge. Internet. Maybe this thing is catching on.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:39 AM
0 comments
Thursday, January 31, 2008
where is your old cellphone?
Inhabitant points to a cool piece titled The Secret Life of Cellphones. The video showcases the fact that most people don't know they can recycle their phones. Many keep them, many toss them in the garbage.
There's a massive opportunity here for a cell brand. Most brands have a recycle box tucked away in the back corner of their retail stores, out of view from their customers.
What about a brand campaign that encourages consumers to recycle? Wouldn't that be a unique way to drive traffic to their stores? And encourage people from competing brands to come into their stores and recycle? All while sending a "we care about the world and environment" brand message. Hello?
Labels: adindustry, branding, mobile
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:42 AM
0 comments
Friday, December 14, 2007
text yourself an email reminder
Ever find yourself in a situation thinking "I should check that out" and then totally forgetting by the time you're in front of a computer? (Another reason to have internet with you, all the time, everywhere.)
With Kwiry, you can text yourself a message, and the Kwiry bots will email the message to you. The site is down this morning (not a good sign), but the service sounds interesting. I'm wondering what kind of mashups and integration can be done with other services and online promotions. From bub.blicio.us
Labels: mobile, technology, web2.0
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:24 AM
1 comments
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
spot produced on a samsung G800
Gotta love stop motion. And this spot totally rocks. Not just because the animation was cool - but because the whole thing was shot, and uploaded on a Samsung phone. That's the way to inspire a purchase - by showing real benefits and fun uses for the product. Sweet. From Creativity Online.
Labels: ads, illustration, mobile, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 6:24 AM
0 comments
Monday, December 10, 2007
obama's mighty marketing
Check out this post detailing some Obama marketing techniques. From fundraising tactics, innovative list building, and the world's largest phone bank, this is a marketing team that's spot on. There's not a brand that couldn't learn something here.
Sooo many impressive tactics - but my fave is getting people while they're at an event to call four friends. Think about that...you're at an event - so you're already pre-disposed to the brand. Because all of the people around you are doing it, you're more likely to participate in something you wouldn't normally do. Because you're at an exciting event, you have a speaking point to begin discussions with your friends. Brilliant.
The same technique could work for most non-profit live events, and even some consumer brands. Why are we learning marketing from a politician?
Thanks Eliza!
Labels: marketing, mobile, politics, streetteams, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:40 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
you are the future of media distribution.
Duh. In case you didn't already know, consumer generated/distributed media is a really big deal.
A new study from Nokia claims that by 2012, a quarter of all entertainment will be created, edited and shared within peer groups rather than coming out of traditional media groups.
In an attempt to coin a new buzz word (cuz we need more of those,) Mark Selby, Vice President, Multimedia for Nokia says that a quarter of media will be ‘Circular’: "The trends we are seeing show us that people will have a genuine desire not only to create and share their own content, but also to remix it, mash it up and pass it on within their peer groups - a form of collaborative social
media.”
From Micro Persuasion.
Labels: mobile, social media, trends, tv, video, viral, youthmarketing, youtube
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:38 AM
0 comments
Friday, November 16, 2007
teens: IM is easier than speaking
This is nothing new to you, if you read Brand Flakes on a regular basis - but if you're putting together a presentation for your board on how to connect with teens, here's some great fodder for your PowerPoint. (Or, be old-school, and email the links to your boss.)
First, Wired News reports from the Associated Press story. And then The Slate has an excellent write up too.
Expect to see Matt Lauer and the Today Show doing a special report on this subject, in a few weeks. And acting all amazed, like they've just discovered some new cult that kids are participating in.
"Next, on Today. Are teens abandoning email!? Find out how teens are communicating on the internet. When we return...this new teen trend may take you by surprise..."
Matt Lauer: So, you're telling me that you really don't check email at all??
Teen: Uh....dude, what's up with your hair?
Labels: facebook, mobile, technology, trends, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:41 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
good campaigns never end
Orange just launched a new campaign to promote their unlimited text plan. The spot is cute - but what's more awesome is how they tied the campaign site to the concept. Nice.
Labels: ads, branding, mobile, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:39 AM
0 comments
tmobile now owns magenta
Please stop using it now. You are welcome to use it if you're not in a competing business. Just not phones, communication devices, email, communications, internet, content creation, media, media delivery and stuff like that.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:24 AM
0 comments
Monday, October 01, 2007
when razr phones attack
Silly outdoor for Razr, that's making the rounds this morning. Not sure what it says, other than watch out for giant flying cell phones. Or, if you own a giant cell phone, don't throw it out your window while driving. Or, the new Razr's are so big, they don't fit in your car.
Labels: automotive, mobile, outdoor
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:50 AM
0 comments
Thursday, September 27, 2007
firebrand is advertising tv
Nearly all of us have said at one time or another that there should be a channel devoted entirely to advertising. Firebrand just announced something even better.
A destination devoted entirely to commercials. Ads. All in one place. Well, actually - more than one place. They'll also have FireBrand on TV, on mobile and on-demand. Commercials wherever, and whenever.
Will there be enough content? One of the founders John Lack says "when we started MTV, we only had 26 videos." (And they didn't have the cavemen, either.)
They're arranging the whole thing around a really well designed dashboard, that allows users to explore and watch and get details and offers from the brands they're interacting with. Like watching a trailer, and getting a coupon for a discount to the show.
There's a pretty massive campaign set to promote the launch on October 22. See a lot of it on their YouTube channel.
I'm lovin' the concept. Can't wait to see the beta. I have a feeling that we'll all be spending loads of time there. Watching ads. Heh.
Labels: adindustry, ads, mobile, pop culture, tv
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:09 AM
0 comments
Thursday, September 13, 2007
a lesson for every consumer promotion
Church of the Customer posts the photo above, and asks "what's wrong?" (And the answer isn't the grey sky, or a lack of a healthy crowd.)
There's a lesson here for every branding person who's ever produced a consumer promotion.
Think about how consumers save, share and remember. If I was attending this event, how would I likely remember it? How would I share it with my buddy across the country? My cell phone camera, of course.
And so, here's what's wrong: There's nothing to tell you that this festival is in Austin, Texas. Nothing about the band name. No url to visit. Someone enjoying this experience snapped a cell phone photo to share with friends - and opportunities were lost.
What about your next promotion? Or billboard? Or event? Can users gain anything from a cell phone pic that's been posted to Facebook?
Awesome advice.
Labels: branding, marketing, mobile, outdoor, streetteams, viral, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:39 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
how to compete with the iphone
Saw this on BoingBoing yesterday, and thought it was a smart strategy. Don't get me wrong - I still believe in the power and magic of the almighty iPhone - I just think that a lot of competitors lost their vision for marketing when the iPhone arrived. Rather than play on their own product/service strengths, they tried to attack with half-hearted truths.
HP is being smart, with their iPaq. They've realized that the iPhone (for now) doesn't record audio. (or video.) And they've sponsored an audio blog post on one of the most famous blogs in all of the land. That's an excellent way to demo your product's unique features, AND get a product endorsement. Nice marketing.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:04 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
japanese publishers outlaw teenagers talking about their product
The latest Japanese girlie trend: sending cell phone snapshots of magazine spreads to their friends, to show cool fashions and haircuts.
Instead of seeing this as buzz or credibility building, publishers have moved to outlaw the practice. Sending Japanese school girls to jail?
"What are you in for?"
"Snapping a cell phone pic of Glamour."
Labels: mobile, trends, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:29 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
all of your numbers in one sweet place. under google.
I posted about Grand Central months ago. This cool new service allows you to consolidate all of your phone numbers together in one place. The only problem was that they only had numbers in obscure places available. (Not that there's anything wrong with Oklahoma. I'm just not looking for an Oklahoma area code.)
Anyway - good news. Google just bought Grand Central. Which probably means they'll have loads of area codes coming. Hell, with Google money, they could stop people in the streets and pay cash for their area codes. Or buy entire cities area codes. Or buy iphones for everyone. (Sorry, couldn't have a post about phone numbers, and not mention the ever-lovable iphone.)
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:43 AM
1 comments
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
obama dude gets branding and design
Or has a crack crew who gets it. Two recent points of interest about the Obama campaign, both pointing to smart marketing.
First, NOTCOT points to Obama's sweet button designs. Putting all politics aside, these buttons are hot. Love how they put the 008 on his shoulder. And even the way they've positioned 008, making it unique. 08 is soooo 07. Everyone's doing 008.
And next, we discover that Obama has ringtones. No opinion on politics - but this campaign certainly gets branding. And design. Nice job.
Labels: branding, design, mobile, politics, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:37 AM
0 comments
Monday, June 25, 2007
levis launches mobile phone. will anyone notice?
Great timing. Let's launch something totally out of category during the same period that the Jesus Phone will be hitting the streets.
"In tune with its young consumers, the Levis brand is adding a fashionable, steel mobile phone to its range of lifestyle accessories." Right. In tune.
This is not the Prada phone. This is the Levis phone. It comes with a chain. (Although, I have to admit, I wish the iPhone was going to be steel.)
I'd love to know how things like this get approved. I'd also love to spend half of the development budget for this failure of a phone on branding. To sell jeans.
Labels: fashion, mobile, technology, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:33 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
silent krumpers krump for motorola
The Viral Factory and Cake just launched a campaign for Motorola featuring the Wirebreakers - a fictional dance crew put together to promote Motorola's wireless headphones.
I laughed at the tip toe through the driving range. It may be just funny enough to prompt user generated versions, which would make the campaign an awesome success. I like the idea of public unsuspecting dance offs. Or krump offs. The world needs more of those. (Am I allowed to say krump? Because it feels silly.)
Labels: ads, mobile, video, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:37 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
iphone to open up marketing opportunities galore
I've been real careful not to jump on the iPhone hype and rumor bandwagon.
But there's a post over at Gigaom that is interesting. Five ways that the iPhone will change the wireless biz. If they're correct, this has tremendous impact for our industry. Limitless possibilities.
Nobody argues that mobile is the massive opportunity for marketers. But the existing carriers have created roadblocks (or walled gardens, as the post refers to them) around content, and around the things consumers really want to use. Once these doors are opened, everything changes. Promotional opportunities galore. Content creation free-for-all.
People are already creating 3rd party applications for the new Jesus phone. What a massively cool opportunity for branded applications, content and entertainment.
16 days, if you're counting.
Labels: adindustry, marketing, mobile, pop culture, technology, trends, web2.0
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:39 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
24 days until the iphone is here
Which means 24 days of fandom, hype, pre-celebration and rumors. Check out the spec spot that Ryan Landels created for it, using classic 2001 footage. From Adrants.
Labels: ads, apple, mobile, pop culture, technology
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:02 AM
0 comments
Monday, May 21, 2007
irina visits brickhouse
Yahoo has officially launched Brickhouse, their indie division tasked with creating cool stuff for the early adopters (how big companies do small.) This is the same group that's developed the tremendously successful Yahoo Pipes.
Irina Slutsky gets invited to the opening party, and reports from the Brickhouse about some of the new cool Yahoo tools. (Video link wasn't working this morning, so try later)
Labels: blogging, mobile, social media, technology
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:14 AM
0 comments
Monday, April 30, 2007
solo walkie connects bus shelters
There's a wonderful profile on ReThink in the new Communication Arts. One of the many brilliant pieces profiled is a campaign for Solo. The outdoor campaign features bus shelters with larger than life phones. Each phone contained an actual walkie talkie, that users could push and communicate. With other bus shelters. Sooo cool.
Although I have to admit that I wish the walkie feature on cell phones would just die, already.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:36 AM
0 comments
