There is a market in Turin, Italy, where money is a forbidden trading method. Instead, people barter services and goods in a dark ages sort of way, trading objects for knowledge, or music for services. No money is involved whatsoever (in fact, you are not allowed to bring currency of any kind to the market). The idea is to make people value what they have, what they know and the skills they own, to become more appreciative of one another. After all, you trade something that represents you, be it something you built, a gift you don’t like or an expertise you developed.
There are some other recent initiatives boosting free trading, direct barter and even involving giving away possessions that may boost this parctice into mainstream. Like Freecycle, where people give away objects they no longer need.
Generosity is, no doubt, an excellent status for brands to promote alongside their consumers. This is an increasingly relevant idea, as there are many people trying to downgrade and become less dependent of products and services. Shrinking down good, old fashioned, capitalism, that is.
Jack Bauer wearing a dress… that’s strange. Well, a bet is a bet and a man has to pay his dues. But this offbeat maneuver has certainly changed what could be a completely normal interview into a PR stunt, that generated extra news and notoriety for the actor and his “24″ alter-ego. A pretty good example of how a pretty low cost maneuver (dress+ PR), if associated with some creativity, can generate extra notoriety. For Kiefer, it might just be a good way to communicate to the market that he no longer wants to be typecast as the butchy Bauer…
Here’s a presentation on “retro as a consumer trend”, from a speaking arrangement I gave at ESEIG, on the past 16th of December. Retro is a pretty slick way to deal with some current constraints. Actually, i see retro as more of a permanent counter-trend. One that is always present, opposing the speed of change and restrictions caused by economy. And when change is boosted by uncertainty and identity fragmentation, so does retro’s appeal. If associated with other values such as authenticity, transparency, amateur-ship, fun, escapism, comfort or identity, it can be a nice positioning for brand ideas or activation. But, like any other “trend”, it only makes sense if it helps to boost the brand’s story. Anyway, I hope it can stir up some conversations regarding the subject.
The first open source gaming console is here, and it’s called the Wiz.
With the console wars no closer to ending, and with Nintendo milking their DS by creating new models, does an open source based system have any future? Can independent game-developers rival with big software houses, that invest big money on developing and marketing their products every year? Will Wiz try to mimic Apple’s or Android’s application store/market, by creating free beta games, followed by paid full ones (freemium, anyone )?
This could become yet another great way to promote brands, through entertainment, by creating your very own video game at lower costs - a user generated one, perhaps?
“Brainstorm” is a new web series by Altoids, produced by FOX mobile studios, set to show what the life in an advertising agency is reaaaaally like. A counterpoint to Madmen’s uber glamorous feel, “brainstorm” caricatures today’s hyped-out ad gurus, obsessive account managers, wacky copywriters et al.
Eight online episodes depict the life at Yogurt, an ad agency that has lost it’s biggest client and is going through a rough time, in need for a great creative pitch for the Altoids account. A self-proclaimed ad guru is hired to take over the project, which generates mixed feelings within the staff.
Some of the characters have Facebook and Twitter profiles. Cool way to spread the buzz around social media land.
A nice brand entertainment move for Altoids, generating fun content, and capitalizing on recent Mad Men buzz, while showing off tons of ideas on why to buy the product, in the form of pitches.
Statistics are an important move for Facebook and advertisers, and a partner like Nielsen will probably offer the credibility lost after having shut down beacon.
As updating your status at all times becomes increasingly important for people (where I am, what I’m doing, what I’m working on, what horror movie am I, who I voted for) and Facebook evolves into a life-caching site in which you can organize and share your life, expressing yourself in a variety of ways, while comparing yourself to other people, social media platforms still need to prove to brands that they too deserve a piece of the ad pie. A partnership with Nielsen is a good step in that direction.
Facebook has recently hit 300 million users. “Nielsen’s own measurements of Facebook traffic place the social network as the fourth largest unique audience in the U.S”, Caroline McCarthy reports on CNET. Whether you do ads or digital PR, you need to be there, if only to observe and listen to other people.
