I'm currently relocating to Amsterdam with a limited access to the Internet.
Adverblog's posts will be back in a few days.
Martina

The Sydney Morning Herald (free reg.) investigates the net generation which proves cynical towards advertising messages. Cashed-up and brand-conscious, teenagers and young adults born between 1979 and 1994 are heavily involved in family purchases, and the spend money on DVDs, mobile phones, videogames and iPods. Winning their attention is strategic for any advertiser in technology, entertainment and leisure.

Random Culture reports about an interesting online game created to support the launch of an upcoming horror movie "Cry Wolf". In order to play the Cry Wolf Game you need an AOL Instant Messenger account, because you will have to chat with 15 people to find out who is the killer. The curious thing is that the website offers a tutorial to explain how the game works. A mobile version of the game is also available and allows player to win a trip to Hollywood.

A nice integrated effort to generate buzz around a movie, the only thing I don't like is that there are five different websites hosting the content. One for the trailer, one for the mobile game, one for the online game, one for the "Wolfpack" and one for the making-of video.

In France Nike is online with a micro-site to promote its Air Max shoes. It is features four excellent (viral?) videos created by Olivier Megaton (a friend of Luc Besson) and an online competition which allows people to win the shoes by spamming referring ten friends.

The videos are quite funny and extremely well done, the graphics is good and the overall concept is appealing and original but in the end, the site leaves you kind of disappointed because the game idea is very poor, definitely not in Nike style.

[via Marketing Alternatif]

Sometimes strange things happen. Today, for example, Brand Republic reports that Bartle Bogle Hegarty signed up Ben Affleck as face for Lynx. The handsome but not so good actor will star in a commercial shot in Los Angeles.

ClickZ has launched a blog (via BL Ochman) which features only one post per day. So does the blog launched in Australia by B&T;, which doesn't even indicate the posts' date.

Sorry but for now they aren't worth a feed subscription. As magazines they do much better.

On his Searchblog John Battelle writes about link selling. Quoting a post on O'Reilly Radar John questions whether it's appropriate to sell text links on a popular website just to help the advertiser taking advantage of the site Page Rank popularity. Should we consider this practice as search engine spamming? The discussion is open, and opinions differ.
If you have quite a few time and you're interested in search engine advertising, you should definitely follow the debate.

iPod marketing is not just about sponsored podcasting. On the iPod you can download audio files, but also plain text (notes). Content is always the king when it comes to marketing to portable devices, so Kraft Food has decided to offer plain text downloadable recipes. Simple text you can read while shopping in the supermarket wondering what to cook for dinner. The concept is very simple, but extremely attractive. The new consumer listens to brands when brands offer value, not just promotional messages. Quoted on AdAge, Kraft said that since the July 25 launch, several thousand people have downloaded recipes.

With the support of MindMatics and Cognito, Nivea has launched a mobile marketing campaign offering customers the chance to win £1,000 cash to spend on a spree with celebrity stylist Hannah Sandling. Entrants are asked to text in their worst ever fashion mistake to a designated shortcode along with the word "Pure" – for example "Pure - Shell Suit" or "Pure -Puff Ball Skirt".  Their number is then entered into a prize-draw to win the £1,000. Designed to support the launch of Nivea’s new Pure deodorant range, the mobile campaign is the first step in establishing a dialogue with consumers. The competition is being promoted through leaflet hand outs at events and a UK media advertising campaign.

Following the success of Nokia Game, on September 19th Nokia will introduce a new interactive adventure, Nokia 20Lives (the site doesn't work yet), combining the online and mobile experience in a unique challenge. Nokia 20Lives uses video and animated images on the Internet, as well as SMS, email and voice messages to share information with the players. During the game players have a chance to win a mobile phone or compete for the grand prizes, such as helicopter ride, spa weekend or trip to a Formula 1 weekend in Monaco, related to the lives of the 20 characters. To take part in Nokia 20Lives, participants need to have access to the Internet, an e-mail address, and a mobile phone with the capacity to receive short messages. Nokia 20Lives is open to all mobile phone users over the age of 16 in the 21 participating countries, and there is no participation fee.

Registration for Nokia 20Lives opens on August 29, 2005 at www.nokia.com/20Lives/, and players can register during the game until October 11. Nokia 20Lives will kick off on September 19 and it will be played until October 13, covering 21 European countries in 11 languages.

[news via Darla Mack]

In less than one year football fans from around the world will have only one thing in mind: the FIFA World Cup. As Ahmed Siddiqui writes on New Media Age the event offers tremendous opportunities to mobile marketers. Germany 2006 has a potential of $8.4 billion in content revenues but brands need to take into account the event's peculiarities.

The World Cup is a disruptive event as it stops people from doing what they would normally do, so marketers also need to think different, concentrating on pre-game and after-game initiative, when the target's attention will be higher. According to Siddiqui, who is research manager for the Wireless World Forum, mobile messaging will play a key role in marketing campaigns, since it is immediate and easy to use for the end users.

Apparel maker Levi's is about to launch the Andy Warhol Factory X line hoping to attract young (and wealthy) customers. The new collection will be presented next week in Las Vegas, and will include $250 jeans and $300 jackets. The LA Times explains in 1984 Levi's commissioned Warhol to create art for its "501 Blues" ad campaign. Quoted in the article, Joel Wachs, president of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in New York, commented:

On ClickZ an article provides five tips to improve the performance of email marketing campaign. Basically it says: be nice and be clear (about privacy, unsubscribing procedures, personalization options) and people will read your messages.

According to Robert MacMillan of the Washington Post, users are not annoyed by floating ads (but he is). The journalist talked with a few publishers and advertisers who explained customers haven't complained about this form of rich media moving around the screen. Pop-up and pop-unders are perceived much worser they said.

I tend to think people hasn't complained over floating ads just because they haven't been asked the right question...

On The Independent Peter York writes an article entitled "How the weight of the world killed British creativity". British agencies still win prizes, but they no longer dominate the scene as it used to be in the past. Globalization is the cause to blame, says John Hegarty, Chairman and Worldwide Creative Director at BBH:

In The Netherlands Renault is online with a campaign and a micro-site to promote its Scenic model, featuring the message "Live it with Scenic". The site looks very nice at first sight, but when you explore it, it disappoints you. No interactivity, just text and links to events and appointments around the country.

Ogilvy & Mather Singapore for The Economist, winner of the gold award at The One Show 2004.

Tv advertising is dying or even worse, is already dead. Everybody talks about this tragic event, complaining and looking for alternative solutions but, most of the times, avoiding to investigate the causes of this mortal disease. Today, thanks to an article on Mediapost we learn about the "Project Wanamaker" carried out in the US by The PreTesting Company's MediaCheck. The study, currently engaging 38 advertisers such as Subway, Chevrolet and Pepsi, found out that TV advertising reaches very fast the saturation point. Overexposure and poor creative are the main factors generating lack of interest towards Tv commercials. Campaigns shouldn't last more than two weeks, or should change the creative to avoid being ignored.

Pepsi TattooCorporacion JWT for Pepsi (Uruguay) to celebrate its 50th anniversary in the country.
Copy says: "Get it, without your parents' permission"

Remove from your mind the stereotypes connected to advertising targeting men. The time for sexy ads is over: the new masculinity requires a different approach. In an upcoming book, JWT Worldwide unveils the "M-ness" a new form of masculinity that combines the best of traditional manliness with traits traditionally associated with females. The Future of Men suggests a new "reinvented" way of looking at the men's market, with more balance and less stereotypical solutions. Marian Salzman, JWT Executive Vice President, Director of Strategic Content, explains (with quite a lot of emphasis) the point:

Viral marketing agency Asa Bailey is behind "The Irish Job" a video created to generate buzz around Lucky Charms, a General Mills brand. The video has been initially seeded to a sample of 250,000 student and 20 something in the United States. The campaign's objective is to build awareness in the target market. Saatchi & Saatchi NY is also in the game.

I know it sounds like a joke, but it's not. According to a research by Steven Most of the Yale University, when you look to a smutty picture you will suffer of "emotion-induced blindness". The news is reported on The Economist which indirectly suggests this finding might affect billboard advertising, since Dr Most made this discovery while studying the rubbernecking effect (when people slow down to stare at a car accident). According to the research, the lapse of attention to the road (temporary blindness) lasts between two-tenths and eight-tenths of a second, which "is long enough for a driver transfixed by an erotic advert on a billboard to cause an accident".

TBWA/London for new Sony PSP (United Kingdom).

What role should blogs have in media buying? On iMediaConnection tries to answer the question. It's interesting to read because the author, Jim Meskauskas, is not a big fan of blogs, therefore he provides an unusual perspective on the issue.

My only point is don't think about blogs just as places where you can advertise, but look & listen to what bloggers say to understand how your products are perceived and consider starting a blog yourself to engage with direct and informal relationship with your target audience. Blogs are more complex than you might think. They're often powerful and attractive. Just don't overstimate their importance.

Revolver, the new movie directed by Guy Ritchie (Madonna's husband) is ready to debut on the UK market. Its launch will be supported by an online campaign created by Greenroom Digital, featuring a micro-site, interactive ads and a viral video. Revolution reports The Sun is partner in the campaign, with a >trailer preview currently running on its site. The movie micro-site will go online in September.

According to a new study by Spanish mobile marketing company i-Touch Movilisto, mobile marketing campaigns receive an average direct response rate between 5 and 20 percent. When we talk about direct response, we refer to an active behavior where the user replies to a promotional message, usually via SMS, in order to enter a competition, to get a discount or to receive information.

Mobile marketing is most of the times used in multi-channel campaigns (65 percent), in which users can reply to the promotional message also online or via snail mail. Usually campaigns which give away sure prizes receive the best response rates (up to 49 percent), while the promotions that allow users to enter draws for prizes get a 25 percent response.

DDB Germany for Henkel Pattex adhesives (Epica Award winner 2004).

Media & Marketing Europe reports KPN Telecom, the Netherlands’ biggest advertiser, has fired its advertising agency FHV BBDO less than two months after the sudden departure of three of its four directors. The agency will continue working for KPN to manage its Hi mobile business.

Even fat women and ugly men can be the models in advertising. After years of sexy bodies and beautiful faces, eventually "normal" people starts starring in ads, ending the age of perfection in advertising.

Business Week points out that just like it's happening with reality Tv, advertising tries to get real, to help consumers identify with real stories and therefore perceive products as real also. Dove, Eileen Fisher and now also Nike are among the brands following this new trend. As the article points out, reality ads might not change mass perceptions of beauty, we can expect the trend to continue as they fuel sales and draw connections with people who see the ads.

My friends at LaComunidad are behind the MTV's Kabuki Battle, an advertainment website (in english) recently launched by the music network in the Netherlands and Belgium. On the website you can meet Foolio (?) and a series of curious characters fighting one against the other.

The site is promoted on TV with 5 seconds "speed" commercials and has already generated a lot of buzz among teenagers who are having fun with the multiplayer advergame and downloading mobile content.

The Backstreet Boys are in back in music with the Never Gone Tour, but the are most of all back in business taking advantage of mobile communication. During the concerts fans can send text messages to the group, which will then read them on the stage. Vibes Media is providing the technology for this initiative. Music fans can also sign-up to receive behind-the-scenes footage from the tour. Promomagazine reports each message sent to the band costs $2.99 and the band has already generated more than $25.000 in mobile sales.

A funny TV spot from Ukraine. Chip'n'Go: don't stop (opens .mpg).

On the site of Pronto Production, you can also see the backstage pictures.

In the US Virgin Mobile is running an advertising campaign (tv, radio and Internet) targeting the Hispanic market. The campaign's theme is "No Soy Normal" ("I'm Not Normal") and it encourages people not to suffer the consequences of the typical wireless contracts like everyone else does. A website invites users through an interactive story where they have to decide whether they are "normal" or not. If you can speak Spanish, it's quite funny.

Poster advertising from Leo Burnett Praha for Association of Librarians of the Czech Republic, winner of the Silver Lion at the Cannes Advertising Festival 2005 and of the Gold at the Art Directors Club of Europe Awards 2005.
Copy: Read it before Hollywood does

The Wall Street Journal writes about the disappointing summer movie season and its tight relationship with network-television advertising which appears to be no longer able to deliver results in promoting new films. It would be too simplistic to blame TV ads for movies' failures. The problem is not (only) with the medium, but also with the target audience: Hollywood is eventually discovering consumers are changing, they spend more time online and/or playing videogames, they don't watch much TV and they don't like the idea each movie is always promoted like a huge marketing event. Studios should rather rely on Internet marketing, which can be especially effective in reaching a pre-existing audience. For example, the WSJ points out the online campaign for Batman Begins was successful also because it unveiled the movie trailer online about a year in advance, using a variety of corporate and fan sites.

[Advertisement] Subscribe to The Wall Street Journal Europe and save 50% off the cover price.

- Will spray-on salad dressing stick with consumers?
- On Advertising: Hey, that was my idea! (The International Herald Tribune)
- To Market a Magazine, Fill It With Celebrity Gossip (New York Times)
- iVillage to Launch Web Search and Targeted Advertising by Yahoo! (press release)
- UK advertising watchdog backs Tesco's complaint vs Asda (Forbes)
- Wrigley Icons Nominated for Advertising Walk of Fame (press release)

- Emotional, not factual, ads win skeptical consumers, study shows (Medical News Today)
- Do you know what women want? Urban South African women believe that advertisers don't understand them as women (MarketingWeb South Africa)
- Sears shifts advertising to one agency (Business Week)
- Web: The great cookie debate heats up (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
- Internet causes 'fundamental advertising shift' (Financial Times)

Sorry, I'm travelling, online quick links for today...

- Charities begin at home - then they develop a brand name that corporates can only dream of (The Independent)
- Big Brands Still Won't Use Mobile (160 Characters)
- Opt-In Emails Often Spam-Blocked (iMediaconnection)
- WPP in front for control (The Australian)
- What ever happened to one-to-one marketing? (NZ Marketing Magazine)

Podcasts, blogs and online social networks have created a new kind of consumer, the one who wants to control the medium and the message, to create its own ads and engage with a brand when and how he prefers. On The Age (free reg.) there's a good article on how interactive advertising is changing in order to adapt to the preferences of the new consumer. Adam Good, marketing director at Tribal DDB Sydney comments:

FCB Paris for RATP Public Transport (France).

Last week the AFA (Australia) announced the winners of the 8th AFA Advertising Effectiveness Awards. The Virgin Mobile campaign by HOST and The Glue Society won the ‘best of show’ award from a total of 72 entries. The campaign delivered $37.9 million in incremental profit and a return on investment of $4.36 for every $1 spent while Virgin outstripped market growth by up to five times. Two other campaigns were awarded with the gold: Clemenger BBDO Sydney’s Hahn premium Light for Lion Nathan Australia, and bellamyhayden with VCD for Sunbeam Electric Blankets.

If you want an iPodified (!?) version of your baby, check out these baby dresses...

Giovanni FCB to promote Disney/Buenavista movie "Dark Water" (Agua Negra in Brazil).

Online betting service Cantor Spreadfair has launched a table top cricket game. The idea, of course, is to attract cricket fans and convert them to clients: anyone who opens a Cantor Spreadfair account through the game gets a £50 first trade bonus.

Advergames' specialist Kerb created the game. Check out their website, which is an advergame itself.

- Adidas-Reebok merger provokes branding debate (PR Week)
- Dunkin' Donuts, Budget in Cross-Promotion Giveaway (Brand Week)
- The Serious Cachet of "Secret Brands" (Business Week)
- Television characters blamed for children's unhealthy diets (Market Research Bulletin)

Sony Ericsson has launched an online global campaign to promote its its first Walkman-branded mobile phone/music player, the W800. New Media Age reports the ads, created by Bartle Bogle Hegarty in partnership with Dare, will premiere online, and then debut on TV at the end of August. The W800 microsite is online to introduce the phone and generate buzz, receiving traffic from a rich media campaign.

- 3 launches mobile video dating (Netimperative)
- Web design: sex differences matter on the Internet (Usa Today)
- Take Email Marketing to the Next Level (iMediaConnection)
- Ikea picks Mediaedge:cia and MediaCom for €200m global media task (Brand Republic - reg. req.)
- ValueClick to buy Fastclick to expand online ad services (Internet Retailer)

Leo Burnett Lisbon for Heinz Hot Ketchup (Portugal).

[ad via Brainstorm #9]

- Digital agencies hunt for video talent (ClickZ)
- Aegis buys Glue London for £14m (Media Guardian)
- Marketers wrestle with hard-to-control web content (AdAge)
- Leo Burnett ad agency quits Morgan Stanley account (Reuters)
- Calls for legislation to outlaw guerrilla PR tactics (Irish Examiner)
- Brief, the impossible brief - an open letter to BMW (Jaffe Juice)

Arnold Worldwide for Hasbro.
Copy: It’s the last 20 years. In a box. With new categories and questions about stuff you couldn’t possibly forget.

JWT for Smirnoff Vodka (United Kingdom).

Remember the indignation generated in 2004 by the Ford's SportKa viral which showed a cat being decapitated by a sunroof?
This time is the Opel Astra dog thrown out of a car which raised negative reactions. Revolution reports animal rights charities protested by General Motors defended its work saying no animal was hurt in the making of the ad. By the way, the ad agency behind the controversial spot is McCann Erickson. Watch it here and share your opinion.

Tag: viral marketing

Moblog.co.uk and Sony Ericsson are launching a mobile camera phone competition. It's called Memorable movie moments and it has already received a lot of funny submissions. To enter re-enact your favourite moment, snap with your cameraphone and send your images (max size: 250Kb) to: pics at memorablemoviemoments.com. Prizes include an all expenses paid trip to London and a Sony Ericsson K750i.

[via PicturePhoning]

On Revenews, Bill Flitter, Chief Marketing Officer at Pheedo shares his views and ideas on RSS advertising. The first article is basically just an introduction to the topic, but it's worth reading if you're trying to make sense of this new marketing channel. Stay tuned, because the next articles will talk about building a smart RSS advertising media plan and measuring RSS advertising effectiveness.

Tag: RSS marketing, RSS Advertising

From Finland a smart idea that integrates traditional and mobile marketing: you buy Flora Margarine (Unilever brand), you collect ten packages, you mail them to a "snail mail" address. Then you receive a 100 euros mobile gift certificate to Finnmatkat, a Finnish travel agency (well, you can also decide to get a mail certificate). The agency behind this is Lowe Forever, while the technology is provided by FlyerOne.

[News via the mobile experience]

On his blog Russell Davies shares his thoughts on the recent Chicago Account Planning Conference (I wish I was there). The event was perfectly organized but several speakers "were a bit dull". An interesting post to read also for the comments it has generated.

Not just short mobisodes, but even entire TV shows delivered directly to your mobile phone. Are you interested? Many of you at the moment would probably answer "no", but according to the mobile industry experts, 291 million people worldwide will use mobile video services by 2010 (source: Informa Telecom).
The International Herald Tribune has a good article on the future of mobile TV, looking at what is happening in South Korea, and at the opportunities currently being considered by European carriers. Some companies are trying to replicate the "living room effect", some other prefer to focus on content on-the-go.

From the US we hear that Cingular Wireless is trying to sign a partnership with cable network HBO to offer a mobile version of Sex and the City, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and Deadwood. Newsweek reports the business model for this deal will be based on a monthly subscription offer.

Publicis Vienna for Linda Zlok Fashion (Austria).

- Smirnoff Ice starts 'cool' radio push (MediaWeek)
- Coke's latest marketing experiment: art (AdAge)
- Pfizer Sets Guidelines on Its Advertising (Forbes)
- The Blogosphere Offers More Advertising Reach (Destination CRM)
- Quarter of Americans Have Downloaded a Ringtone (Cellular News)

Euro RSCG Prague for Belda Jewelry (Czech Republic).

Tag: print advertising

Belgian mobile carrier Ugly Duck has launched three viral videos to generate some buzz around its new brand. To me, the first is the best.

[news via Culture Buzz]

"Test of character" is the viral video launched in the UK to promote the new Mégane Renaultsport 225. Check it out!

Tag: viral marketing

This is the book everybody with a "passion for advertising" should have. 2 Kilo of Kessels Kramer is a 880 pages book with 9 years of Kessel Kramer work. To get an idea of how genial Kessel Kramer is, just check their awful website. Once you've visited, reload the page, and see what happens. Then do it again, and again ;-)

The book is available only at Amazon UK with a 30% discount. If you use this link to buy, you indirectly support Adverblog. Thanks!

Digital agency Holler has created a viral advergame to promote The Mitchell Brothers' new single "Excuse my brother". In the game you are a drunk brother trying to walk as far as you can, avoiding bins and collecting more pints. Top scorers win tickets to The Mitchell Brothers' concerts.

Recently I posted about an advergame to promote the Chemical Brothers.

Fuel Games Blog points to Sammy the Salmon, the advergame GCcubed created for Cheapsmells.com. Well, CheapSmells (what a name!) sells perfumes so I'm sorry, but I don't see how a swimming fish advergame could help their business. They also give away cash prizes, and again, I don't understand the goal they want to reach. Sorry, but I feel this advergame is just a good example of wasted money in online marketing.

The publisher HarperCollins will promote Meg Cabot new children's novel with mobile marketing. ClickZ reports the promotional messages will be delivered to the fans who subscribe online to the Meg Cabot Mobile Club. Online advertising will be used to drive traffic and raise subscriptions. If the program proves successful, the publisher will add further features to its mobile content offer. FlyTxt will provide the technology. It's ok to integrate different channels, but it's a pity fans can subscribe only using the Web and not simply texting to a special number.

Tag: mobile marketing

The list of marketing and advertising blogs has been updated. I've also created a new page to list all the advertising agencies blogging. As usual, if you have a suggestion, email me.

The finalists in the Cresta International Advertising Awards have been selected. The 2005 entries were judged on the basis of two criteria only: the originality of the idea; and the quality of its execution. From the 50 countries participating in this year's awards, 29 achieved finalists status. A total of 223 finalists were chosen by 150 creatives. The winners will be announced at the end of October.

(in the interactive section it looks like only German agencies have submitted their work...)

TBWA/Paris for Hansaplast Burns Plaster.

Grey & Trace, Barcelona for Pilot (Spain).
The pleasure of writing (the blue boxes are for the paper).

[ad via Blog de Publicidade]

Triomega Fish Oil has created a very funny TV spot, too bad the Company doesn't really take advantage of its viral potentials.

If when you fly you suffer of "Sansbarophobia", "Rigamortaphobia" or "Inclinaphobia", Virgin Atlantic has the cure for you.
Adrants points to an advertainment (or edutainment?) microsite created by Australian agency NetX to promote Virgin's business class benefits. The site humorously highlights Virgin Atlantic in-flight features, presenting them as the "cure" for the most common flight phobias. Check it out, it's excellent.

Tribal DDB London has created an online campaign for The Guardian Weekly publication, geo-targeting US users with the objective of raise subscriptions from overseas. Using animated banners and skyscrapers Tribal DDB satirises the egocentric agenda of America's largest television broadcasters. Matt Law, account director at Tribal DDB comments:

MSN has assigned its third annual MSN Creative Awards. Eight agencies received a total of $50,000 to honor their groundbreaking work in four categories of online advertising for campaigns that appeared on MSN sites over the past year. The winners were chosen from more than 300 creative entries representing over 130 brands in a competition centered on the theme of Web pioneers.
The gold award was assigned to Hill Holliday for the video campaign on behalf of The American Red Cross. Silver awards were assigned to Critical Mass for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco for Subway and for HP PhotoSmart, Real Pie Media for Fox Film "Sideways", Carat Interactive San Francisco for Adidas a3 Megaride, OMD Digital and Fallon Worldwide for United Airlines, MECi-The Digital Edge, Los Angeles and Dare London for Sony Ericsson P910 smartphone; Media 8 Digital Marketing (in partnership with The Cartel Group) for U.S. Army.

Lowe GGK for Volkswagen Austria.
Copy: The new Golf GTI is coming to Austria.

[ad via Der Standard]

Avenue A / Razorfish has created a new website for Mercedes-Benz AMG. Mercedes-AMG's website takes users on an interactive drive of the AMG brand, automobiles and its unique headquarters in Affalterbach. The site's design and handling mirrors the AMG racing driven experience. Scott Preacher, client partner of Avenue A / Razorfish East comments:

In the UK, the Association of Online Publishers is considering to start charging penalties to advertisers who deliver late copy. The association will meet next month to work on a series of guidelines for advertisers. It complains that in many cases the ads are delivered not just "late", but even after the campaign was due to launch. Many publishers agree a "use it or lose it" policy would be the best solution.

Giuseppe Troisi, chair of the working group and consultant to GCap Media, commented:

Jean-Remy von Matt founder and chairman of the independent Germany agency Jung von Matt has been named jury president for the Eurobest Awards 2005 competition. This year, for the first time the category "interactive" has been added to the competition. The awards' website hasn't been yet updated for the 2005 edition, but don't worry, you have time to submit your entries, since the winners will be announced only in December.

In Germany the online advertising market will reach a record level this year, generating a business of over 750 million Euros. Banner advertising and sponsorships will be worth 490 million Euros, while search engine advertising will account for about 160 million Euros, with a 46 percent growth compared to 2004. Affiliate marketing is the sector showing the most relevant growth in percentage (67%), with a business now worth 100 million Euros.

CNET Networks, Univision, Weather.com and Yahoo! have announced yesterday they have started implementing the Global Ad Campaign Measurement and Audit Guidelines issued by the IAB last November. The guidelines offer a detailed definition for counting an online ad impression and were issued to satisfy the need for a standardized method of measuring Interactive advertising by offering a detailed definition for counting online ad impressions. The global guidelines can be downloaded here.

On the Blogspotting blog, Heather Green questions the potentials of RSS advertising, moving from an article Bill Flitter, co-founder of Pheedo, wrote on CNET. Flitter pointed out most media companies haven't yet understood the impact of RSS on web site traffic. They are missing a lot of important information and, as a consequence, the opportunity of monetize this content channel. The post on Blogspotting has generated a lot of interesting comments on the role RSS for publishers.

Jupiter Research forecasts that online advertising will continue to growth in the next five years, reaching $18.9 billion in 2010, compared to $9.3 billion at the end of 2004. Search engine advertising will generate more revenue than standard display advertising by 2010. Rich media spending will grow at a 25% compound annual growth rate (to $3.5 billion) and streaming media will grow at a 30% compound annual growth rate (to $943 million) by 2010.

On The Guardian, Tess Alps writes an excellent article on advertising in the age of terrorism. Commercial sense and sensibility investigates the relationship among advertising and tragic news, looking at the reaction in the UK media industry following the July attacks, but also taking a wider and "theoretical" perspective. Among the points touched in the article, the author wonders whether different media have different impact on audience perception of an ad placed closed to a tragic news.

In the UK BT Broadband will invest £6m pounds to promote its agreement with Apple iTunes music store. Agency.com will create an online campaign, while Ogilvy will work on direct marketing and Abbot Mead Vickers will take care of the TV spot.. Netimperative reports new customers who sign up for BT Broadband will get 40 songs for free and a £15 discount when buying an iPod.

In the meantime, Steve Jobs announced that the iTunes music store, launched last week in Japan, sold one million songs in just four days.

Bausch & Lomb starts today in the US a multi-channel advertising campaign to promote its soft contact lenses Pure Vision. A TV spot will run on US network and cable stations and will also be available online. Along with the TV campaign, Bausch & Lomb is hosting an online sweepstakes where participants can vote for "America's Greatest Sight" and register for a chance to win a grand prize trip to the winning location, either New York City, Washington, D.C., San Francisco or Las Vegas. Visitors to the www.purevision.com web site can also print a certificate that they can take to their eye care professional and exchange for a free pair trial of PureVision contact lenses.

In the UK 3G operator 3 has partnered with viral content provider Kontraband to start serving viral ads to mobile phones. New Media Age (sub. req.) reports the funny content will be available using video shortcodes (so it won't be 100% viral), but at least it's a first in the viral direction.

Anyway I will be curious to know the pricing model. On the Internet, what is viral, it's free. But when it comes to mobile phones the word "free" almost has no meaning, carriers dominate the scene and want to make money anytime, anywhere, which isn't something good neither for marketers nor end-users.

Tag: mobile marketing, viral marketing

If you're looking for "real" satisfaction, and the farting pig is not enough, then check www.snickerssatisfies.com. Every day an irreverent game created by Atmosphere BBDO and sponsored by Snickers will provide you with an unforgettable experience. The game changes every day, don't miss the one online today, fly over the park and... well, check it out by yourself ;-)

Tag: advergames

HP Asia Pacific and The National Geographic Channel are "On the trail of Zheng He" with Ong Boon Kiat, a tech journalist, blogging on the travel and the making of the documentary.

Marketing Magazine reports Arc Worldwide has created an interactive screensaver which allows users to follow the journey. The idea is to target online users interested in travel, geography and photography, with an application grabbing live feeds when Ong posts new entries on his blog. The screensaver also allows users to enjoy the pictures captured with hp Digital Photography products, used by the documentary staff.

Tag: blog marketing

We know why you fail... Netimperative reports the results of the Internet Campaign Effectiveness Study from Web testing firm SciVisum which found out a lack of technology knowledge is the key factor impacting successful Internet campaign planning. According to the study, a IT and marketing departments usually "don't talk with each other", and this often causes severe problems as website overloads and server crashes.

Lapiz Advertising for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, looks like an Addam's family video filmed with a touch of Almodovar style. This TV ad won the silver ad at the Effie Awards 2005 in the category "hispanic".

The Korea Herald reports LG Electronics has started renovating its 5,000 outdoor ads around the world. To emphasize high-end, cutting-edge images as an information technology company, LG Electronics will focus its ads on two groups of products: plasma display panels and mobile handsets.

Mobile content provider Zed has asked interactive agency Panlogic to create an advergame to connect with its young audience. Panlogic, whose tagline is "Intelligent Digital Marketing" come up the "brilliant" idea of Pig Blast, a fart flying pig...

If you really love this game, you can even get a free fart ringtone :-(
Check out the record: I just can't believe someone passed 30 minutes in his life keeping the pig flying.

In the UK, Land Rover is promoting its new Range Rover Sport Tourer with a mobile game created by Blue Sphere Games. The game takes drivers to some of the world's most famous landmarks such as Mount Rushmore, the Pyramids or the Great Wall of China. The challenge is not only to drive through as fast as you can, but also to take pictures of the landmark you're visiting during the driving stage.

Quoted on Digital Bulletin, Land Rover said that the game is the first of many planned for future Land Rover and Range Rover models.

On New Media Age (reg. req.) Hugh Burrows, commercial director at Que Pasa, reviews the WAP portal Warner Bros has created to support its movie Batman Begins.

The m-site, created by Minick, offers few free and a lot of paid content: details on the movie, a photo gallery, ringtones, screensavers and a mobile game. Overall, Burrows' assessment is positive, although he argues Warner Bros should have provided more content for free to attract more users.

As an Italian soon relocating abroad to start a new job, I certainly enjoyed this article published on Mediaweek, presenting the the Ethnic Representation in Agencies report authored by COI senior campaign manager Mehboob Umarji.
According to the study published last June, ethnic minorities account for only 8% of the media and creative agency workforce and almost half of those staff can be found in back-office functions. The research points out that the agencies which embraced diversity were also the most successful in terms of new business wins. Colin Colin Gillespie, managing director of All Response Media, shares his opinion on the issue:

Manchester-based agency magneticNorth is behind the online push for Vauxhall Tribes, a series of three London urban events featuring music, games and other funny stuffs.

Revolution Magazine reports the results of the Bluetooth marketing campaign carried out last June by Parlophone to promote Coldplay's new album.
The promotion allowed music fans in London to get free mobile content such as song excerpts, video clips and video interviews, just by turning on the Bluetooth connection on their mobile phones. In two weeks, over 13,000 users opted in to receive. Filter provided the technology.

Tags: mobile marketing, bluetooth marketing, coldplay

The list of marketing and advertising blogs has been updated. Now I've started collecting links to advertising agencies blogging. If you have a suggestion, just drop me a line.

Hi-Res! London has Hi-Res! Feed.

Mediacatalyst blogs The irresistible force.

TBWA\Lisboa publishes Tblogwa.

Proximity and BBDO Worldwide have set up "The Lab", which unfortunately isn't very much updated.

From San Francisco, advertising agency Butler, Shine, Stern and Partners blogs on Influxinsights (thanks Ed!).

German New Media Agency "Aperto" (Berlin) blogs about eBusiness related stuff (thanks Christian!).

Wieden and Kennedy London blog at Welcome to optimism (thanks Sandeep!).

Missouri ad agency Sullivan, Higdon & Sink is both blogging and podcasting at American Copywriter (thanks Bruno!).

Another agency from the US, IdeaMill has a blog about ideas (thanks Michael!).

Reason inc. is behind the Being Reasonable blog (thanks Marc!).

Brazilian agency Almap BBDO has created a series of Pepsi Twist icons to be used to personalize MSN Messenger. The emoticons are part of an online strategy in which Pepsi has used also rich media and email marketing to build awareness about its new drink.

The IAB and MSN have awarded UK agency Wheel with the Creative Showcase for the US launch of Brahma beer.

The campaign "You add - we multiplay" created by Poke London for the Christian Aid Week received an honorable mention (have a look at the Big Cow Farm viral).

The microsite for the new Sony Ericsson K750 (by Dare Digital) we talked about recently, is also showcased on MSN's site.

Brand Republic writes about the future of mobile marketing now that smartphones are becoming more and more popular. Pasi Leino, managing director at BrandHand, for example, declares:

Are looking for more cool interactive ideas? Check the archives