Beautiful Marketing-is-Bullshit-Typography
Sehr hübsche Arbeiten von Jordan Metcalf für „Adobe’s social, marketing, and analytics software.“ (via The Orange)
Atheist Shoes vs Discrimination of godless people by the US Postal Service
Großartiger Marketing-Stunt der Schuhverkäufer von Atheist Berlin, die festgestellt haben, dass ihre Päckchen in den USA mit Atheist-Klebeband ziemlich oft ziemlich spät ankommen oder gleich ganz verloren gehen. Also haben sie’s getestet und insgesamt 178 Päckchen an 89 Leute verschickt, jeder Kunde bekam zwei, einmal mit und ohne Atheist-Klebeband. Ergebnis: 9 Atheisten-Pakete gingen verloren, nur 1 ohne Branding, die Atheisten-Pakete brauchten dreimal länger. Tolle Aktion! Auf dem Bild rechts trägt Matthew Chapman, Ur-Ur-Ur-Enkel von Charles Darwin, ein paar der gottlosen Schlappen.
We have lots of customers in the USA, but sometimes the shoes we send them take longer than they should to arrive, or even go missing. And, when some of our customers asked us not to use ATHEIST-branded packing tape on their shipments, we started to wonder if the delays were caused by the US Postal Service taking offence at our overt godlessness…
We sent 178 packages to 89 people, in 49 US-States. Each person was sent 2 packages; one sealed with ATHEIST-branded packing tape, the other with neutral tape. They all left Berlin on November 21st, 2012 and, in theory, the branded and unbranded packages should have travelled at exactly the same speed.
USPS Discrimination against Atheism? A Study by the makers of Atheist Shoes
R.I.P. Bazooka Joe
Ich war noch nie großer Fan von Kaugummi, aber ich hatte zwei (eigentlich drei, aber die dritte verrate ich nicht) ausgeprägte Bubblegum-Phasen: Hubba Bubba und Bazooka Joe. Letzteres vor allem wegen der Comics, in denen der Kaugummi eingewickelt war. Und nachdem sie den Kaugummikollegen von Huckleberry Finn schon vor einer ganzen Weile von der Packung verbannt haben, stampfen sie nun nach 60 Jahren auch die Comics ein. Damit ist Bazooka Joe Geschichte. There goes my childhood.
What adults may remember best about Bazooka, however, is disappearing. The tiny comic strip featuring the eyepatch-wearing brand mascot Bazooka Joe that has been wrapped around each piece of gum since 1953 is being replaced.
New inserts will feature brainteasers, like a challenge to list 10 comic book heroes named after animals, or activities, like instructions on folding the insert into an airplane. They also include codes that, when entered at BazookaJoe.com, will unlock content like videos and video games.
Bazooka Joe and his sidekick, Mort, who wears his turtleneck up over his mouth, will appear only occasionally as illustrations in the new inserts, but without the antics and corny jokes of the three-panel strips.
Bazooka Gum Overhauls Brand and Loses Comic Strips: Change Comes to Playground Funny Papers (via Gawker), hier findet man einen alten Forum-Thread mit jeder Menge Bildern von alten Bazooka-Strips und Packaging.
These Mannequins are watching your ass while Shopping
Letzte Woche ging ‘ne Meldung über Shops rum, deren Marketingfuzzis die Überwachungskameras in den Kaufhäusern mit Marketing-Tools versehen und so Kunden erkennen und Profile anlegen können. Aber es geht noch creepiger: Benetton und ein paar andere Luxus- und Fashion-Marken benutzen Überwachungskameras in den Augen von Schaufensterpuppen, um ihre Kunden auszuspionieren. Die Viecher können nicht nur gucken, die können auch hören und man testet grade eine Marketing-Lauschaktion. Uncanny Valley is watching you.
Bloomberg Direktcreeps, via Animal NY
Fashion brands are deploying mannequins equipped with technology used to identify criminals at airports to watch over shoppers in their stores. Retailers are introducing the EyeSee, sold by Italian mannequin maker Almax SpA, to glean data on customers much as online merchants are able to do.
Five companies are using a total of “a few dozen” of the mannequins with orders for at least that many more, Almax Chief Executive Officer Max Catanese said. The 4,000-euro ($5,130) device has spurred shops to adjust window displays, store layouts and promotions to keep consumers walking in the door and spending.
“It’s spooky,” said Luca Solca, head of luxury goods research at Exane BNP Paribas in London. “You wouldn’t expect a mannequin to be observing you.”
Bionic Mannequins Spy on Shoppers to Boost Luxury Sales (Bild: Mannequins by Manuel W.)
[update] Statement von Benetton, Zitat wurde entsprechend der Story bei Bloomberg editiert: „Benetton Group does not employ any mannequins – or, for that matter, anything else – with the technology described in various media reports that circulated in the last days.“
Illegal O******s: Crowdsourced Book about olympic Pirate-Marketing
Craig Atkinson sammelt grade Fotos von „illegal“ mit olympischen Symbolen gebrandeten Läden, um einen Fotoband als semi-soziologische Studie zu veröffentlichen. Schickes Projekt, ich halte Schattenwirtschaften von Schwarzmarkt bis Piraterie in allen Formen für wirtschaftlich nicht nur logisch, sondern auch für sinnvoll. Natürlich nicht für die Corporate Businesskasper.
The book isn’t a ‘name and shame’, or a ‘snitch’ just a document of the celebration. For a long time I have collected things, including images or scans of things. One of those things is hand-made signs, another is serviettes, another is found photographs, all categorised as collections of certain things. My personal view is that the Olympic branding laws are too harsh and prevent the ‘British Spirit’. I think it would be great to see every shop front have hand-drawn Olympic rings on its window. A lot of my books document something that is either transient, ephemeral or could potentially be of sociological interest in the future. This is ‘just another’ of them. I am documenting something that wont last, but which is here now.
Illegal O******s (via IZ Reloaded)
Trust me, I’m lying – Book about New School Media-Manipulation
Youtube Direktlyer, via BoingBoing
Superinteressantes Buch von Ryan Holiday: Trust me, I’m lying. Der Mann arbeitet derzeit als „Media Manipulator“ und sein Job ist es, Storys seiner Kundschaft auf Seiten wie Gawker oder Buzzfeed unterzubringen.
I am a media manipulator for billion dollar brands to #1 New York Times bestselling authors. For the first time, I expose all the secrets of my profession, analyze why it exists and ultimately, what it means for the world in which we live. It’s a book deeply rooted in history and research, along with my first-person experiences. I didn’t want this to be some toothless, condescending book of media criticism. I name names in it, and I show where the bodies are buried—because I put many of them there. Ultimately, it’s not just a book about marketing but about strategy, culture and media. […]
In a world where blogs control and distort the news, my job is to control blogs—as much as any one person can.
In today’s culture…
1) Blogs like Gawker, Buzzfeed and the Huffington Post drive the media agenda.
2) Bloggers are slaves to money, technology, and deadlines.
3) Manipulators wield these levers to shape everything you read, see and watch—online and off.Why am I giving away these secrets? Because I’m tired of a world where blogs take indirect bribes, marketers help write the news, reckless journalists spread lies, and no one is accountable for any of it. I’m pulling back the curtain because I don’t want anyone else to get blindsided.
Ich war selbst mal an so ‘ner Medienmanipulations-Geschichte beteiligt, damals haben wir einen Terroranschlag in Kalifornien gefaked, um Promo für ‘nen Film zu machen, ich hab dabei Online-Fakery übernommen und für ‘ne halbe Stunde hatten wir die DPA im Sack. Nicht zuletzt deshalb werde ich das Buch oben wohl verschlingen.
Amazon-Partnerlink: Trust Me, I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator
McTwitters Marketing-Fail
Bei der Story kann man ja nur hämisch grinsen: Ein FastFood-Restaurant wollte eine gemütliche PR-Aktion über ein Twitter-Hashtag starten, während der User unter #McDStories schöne Geschichten aus dem gesündesten aller Restaurants erzählen. Und die lesen sich so:
#McDStories mentally-disadvantaged girl working the kitchen overnight undercooks a dozen 1/4 pounder patties. Some of them were served. #ugh
I use to eat McDonalds every day for lunch and gained 45 pounds, I stopped and have lost 30 thus far! Damn Fries!! #mcdstories
#mcdstories My dad ate there, pulled off the road, puked violently in empty cooler.Hasn’t been back since. I was 7. Thanks for that memory
uncontrollable shits, physical pain, good god help us, this place serves nuclear waste #McDStories
#McDStories Working drive-thru shift as a teenager. Arch Deluxe fell off the conveyor belt onto the floor. Re-wrapped it and sent it out.
Auch hübsch: Das Statement von McD nach dem Desaster: „We quickly pulled #mcdstories and it was promoted for less than two hours.“ Zwei kurze Anmerkungen dazu: 1.) Hier gibt es nichts mehr zu „pullen“. Das Hashtag ist draußen und es wird die Pfeiffen noch eine Weile verfolgen. 2.) Wenn man sich solche Aktionen ausdenkt, sollte man vorher sicher gehen, dass man gute Produkte verkauft. Oder aber eben diese „Socialmedia-Experimente“ in geschlossenen Online-Biotopen starten, wo dann auch kein vernünftiger Mensch davon belästigt wird. Idiots.
McDonald’s Twitter Campaign Goes Horribly Wrong #McDStories (via Gizmodo)
The greatest TED Talk ever sold: Morgan Spurlock on TED
Sehr schöner und sehr unterhaltsamer TED-Talk von Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me) über seinen neuen Film „The greatest Movie ever sold“, einer Doku über Product Placement, die er über – genau! – Product Placement finanzierte. Im TED-Talk selbst hat er ebenfalls als Experiment Werbeplätze verkauft. Und nach Minute 6:35 wird jeder, der dieses Video ansieht, nach „Transparency“ googeln.
(Youtube Direktsold, via TED-Blog)
Much of the TV, video, film and sport we watch is sponsored by a brand, a product, a corporation. But … why? With humor and persistence, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock dives into the hidden but influential world of brand marketing, on his quest to make a completely sponsored film about sponsorship. And yes, the onstage naming rights for talk were sponsored too. By whom and for how much? He’ll tell you. (Recorded at TED2011, March 2011, in Long Beach, CA. Duration: 19:28)
Der Trailer zu seiner neuen Doku nach dem Klick.
Pink Pony Case-Study
(Youtube Direktpony, via Swiss Miss)
Sehr tolles Promo für die Werbeagentur John St.: „In 2010 john st. took on its toughest challenge yet. Make Chelsea Bedano’s birthday party a success in an already cluttered birthday market. The results were astounding.“
Zombie-Blitzer-Marketingstunt
Um den Energydrink „Zombie Blood“ zu promoten, hat die Agentur ein paar Leute als Zombies verkleidet und ein Fotoshooting veranstaltet. Und zwar, in dem sie bei Rot über ‘ne Ampel fuhren.
Fun Facts About the Shoot:
- Caution was our primary concern and Patricia driving through the light could only be done at a time when it was guaranteed cars were not proceeding through opposite traffic.
- Took about 30 minutes to set up, with two teams on safety patrol.
- Brandon is getting chain sawed in the neck on the right side of the picture. Unfortunately the chainsaw’er (Derek) as well as the homeless zombie (Jay) were cropped by the camera frame.
-The zombie behind the dead body is holding a smiley face balloon, and the zombie in front of the dead body is holding a Zombie Blood IV stand.
A Red Light Traffic Ticket is 445 bucks. So is our marketing budget! (via Boing Boing)
Topspin – Online-Tool for doing a Radiohead
Jetzt wird’s interessant. Wenn Ian Rogers, der mit den Beastie Boys tourte und dafür sein Studium hinwarf, der Winamp.com betreute und Yahoo! Music mit aufbaute, um Subscribtion Services schließlich den Rücken zu kehren, wozu er folgenden nur zu wahren Absatz schrieb:
Want radio? No problem. Click play, get radio. Want video? Awesome. Click play, get video. Want a track on-demand? Oh have we got a deal for you! If you’re on Windows XP or Vista, and you’re in North America, just download this 20MB application, go through these seven install screens, reboot your computer, go through these five setup screens, these six credit card screens, give us $160 dollars and POW! Now you can hear that song you wanted to hear…if you’re still with us. (Link)
Wenn dieser Ian Rogers nun also ein Music-Technology/Marketing-Startup gründet, das unter anderem am Release von Nine Inch Nails „Ghosts“ beteiligt war, dann könnte das einiges auf den Kopf stellen im Music-Business. Topspin stellt Künstlern eine Technologie-Plattform zur Verfügung, mit der sie selbst Musik veröffentlichen können, zu variablen Konditionen. Doing a Radiohead eben.
The Dandy Warhols recently left Capitol Records after a string of masterpieces, none of which sold to the label’s liking but all of which achieved cult status. For their new record they decided to reward their biggest fans first by offering a subscription package including: the new album months before it hits stores, a silkscreened poster and the physical CD in your home mailbox, and every b-side as its released in your email box for $35. The record is fantastic and you can preview the whole thing on their site for free. Try, buy, enjoy.
Since much of the value Topspin adds is in the artist control panel which is behind the scenes, these three examples show only the very tip of the proverbial Topspin iceberg. The visual design for each of these is done by the artist, Topspin is the enabling platform underneath. And what you can’t see, the back office where the artist manages pricing, catalog, metadata, fans, and most importantly marketing campaigns and analytics, is our bread and butter.
Just to show you Topspin can scale to large consumer demand, I’ll give away a little secret: we pitched in and offered up our content delivery network to Nine Inch Nails for the Ghosts release and the first few weeks of The Slip. While we had nothing to do with the front-end of those (incredible, inspiring, historic) promotions, we stepped in to help after their first couple of days of downtime and subsequently when you downloaded the albums they were coming from our servers and we moved hundreds of terabytes of data for them. It was an honor to be involved, even tangentially.
