12.10.09
25.9.09
Sony Ericsson attempts online flash mob with space hoppers
Hopper Invasion by Sony Ericsson
Ericsson Globe
22.9.09
Talk Talk:::Put-Pocketing
Londoners tend to expect the worst when they see somebody loitering near their bag, and usually they would be right to. But telecoms operator, Talk Talk, has launched a campaign employing ex-pickpockets to distribute cash to people in London without them even realising.
Certain factions, including those that have previously been pick-pocketed, have taken issue with the idea. But the campaign has been given the blessing of the Metropolitan police and each ‘put-pocket’ – as they are being called – carries ID, in case he is caught in the act, and is watched by a minder.
20 put-pockets roamed around the traditional pick-pocketing heartlands including Leicester Square, Oxford Circus and Covent Garden as well as on the tube network. Once they had found a ‘mark’, they would approach and slip a crisp £20 note onto their person, along with a branded Talk Talk card. The telecoms company plans to distribute over £100,000 in this way. Strategically placed signs, reading ‘Rejoice! Put-pockets operating in this area’, warn the public of the put-pockets presence.
A YouTube video showing the operation in action has turned into a very successful viral. The scheme has been in operation since July and so far none of the put-pockets have been rumbled.
BRAND: Talk Talk
BRAND OWNER: Carphone Warehouse
CATEGORY: Telecoms/ Mobile
REGION: UK
DATE: Jul 2009 - Oct 2009
AGENCY: In House
MEDIA CHANNEL
16.9.09
STC ripps off an ad to mock competition?
To know more about telecom war in Saudi Arabia, see http://advertiser-in-arabia.blogspot.com/2009/09/competition-centric-strategy-mobily-stc.html
2020 update.
This time STC hijacked a full identity from an American IT company to develop its new strategic move to digitizing age.
9.9.09
HP:::Engine room
Worried it was losing touch with the next generation of computer users, and losing sales to rival brands like Apple and Sony that were seen as ‘cooler’ amongst its target demographic, HP partnered with MTV to create Engine Room. The remit: to engage with young people across the world, challenging them to demonstrate their own creative skills and the capabilities of the HP computer.
Research carried out by the computer manufacturer showed that HP’s target audience saw the brand as being less progressive than both Apple and Sony with only 36% agreeing HP was innovative vs. 68% for Apple and 52% for Sony. Since 2006, HP’s partnership with MTV has sought to rectify this trend.
Engine Room provided 16 talented digital artists, representing Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America, the opportunity to compete on HP’s newest technology, battling it out for $400,000 USD, a load of HP gear and programming control of MTV’s screen in Times Square. The progress of the 16 was broadcast by MTV through a short-form series airing around the world on TV and online.
BRAND:HP
BRAND OWNER:Hewlett Packard
CATEGORY:Computers/Software
REGION:Global
DATE:Jun 2008 - Dec 2008
MEDIA OWNER:MTV
MEDIA CHANNEL
2.9.09
Mobialy DeMarketing
Who is after Mobily ( one of Saudi Arabia mobile and internet service provider)? Is this spoof is user generated or rivalry sponsored?
Either ways, it is poor production to demarket a great brand.
26.8.09
25.8.09
Hewlett-Packard with the new "You on You" campaign.
24.8.09
Zain commercial ads - Ramadan 2009
Zain is a leading emerging markets player in the field of telecommunications aiming to become one of the top ten mobile operators in the world by 2011. Today it is the 4th largest mobile network in the world in terms of geographical footprint with commercial presence in 24 countries spread across the Middle East and Africa providing mobile voice and data services to over 64.7 million active customers as of May 2009.
Zain operates in the following countries: Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Kenya, Kuwait, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. In Lebanon, the company manages the network on behalf of the government operating as mtc-touch. In Morocco, Zain in a joint venture owns 31% of Wana Telecom. On May 18, 2009, Zain entered into an agreement with Palestinian operator Paltel to attain a 56.5% stake in the company serving 1.5 million mobile customers.
The company offers innovative services in its markets such as One Network, the world's first borderless mobile telecommunication network enabling customers to receive calls and sms without charge and to make them at local rates throughout many countries in Africa and the Middle East.
The Zain brand is wholly owned by Mobile Telecommunications Company KSC, which is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange ( Stock ticker: ZAIN ). Zain is listed in the Financial Times' Global 500 Index which ranks the world's largest companies based on market capitalization ( http://www.ft.com/reports/ft5002008 ).For more, please visit www.zain.com
Zain Ramadan Ads revealed a religious tie up with Sheikh Moshari AlAfassi and song of Ramadan, in three languages Arabic, English and French to communicate virtue of the holy month.
19.8.09
Sony Vaio W Series | Social Media Addicts Association
Vodafone:::Who Killed Summer 2009
Vodafone are bringing together 6 music lovers from around Europe to embark on an extreme summer of festivals, gigs and parties. Following them will be a TV crew, capturing every moment on their incredible journey.
But at the end of the summer, one of our six will be dead and one will be a killer...
Vodafone wanted to put across the idea that a mobile phone is more than just a functional device, that it contains a world of intimate details about the owner’s life. Its solution was to commission the world’s first truly-interactive soap opera.
Who Killed Summer 09 follows six beautiful young things through a summer of love – and death – around Europe’s top music festivals. Professionally written, the series is formed of 20 short (3 to 4 minute) episodes screened over a two month period. Six additional pieces of footage – or B-rolls – accompany each episode and provide a backdrop to the group’s adventures.
The B-rolls sometimes feature members of the group or can be footage of one of the real-life music acts at the festivals. The advantage of the latter is that those short music videos are then seeded onto Vodafone’s own music site, as well as websites such as You Tube, and provide an alternative route into the drama for viewers.
Fans of the series are able to watch episodes and B-rolls online and on their mobiles as well as read blogs written by each of the six characters and the production team. A Vodafone application gives users constant updates, telling them when an event has taken place or new footage has been added online.
BRAND:Vodafone
BRAND OWNER:Vodafone
CATEGORY:Telecoms/ Mobile
REGION:UK
DATE:Aug 2009 - Sep 2009
AGENCY: Mworks,Bigballs Films
MEDIA CHANNEL
16.8.09
Aircel boat – brand to the rescue?
Brands love telling consumers their products are lifesavers, but rarely does the claim hold as much water as when Aircel’s Mumbia billboard rescued stranded citizens during India’s monsoon season.
The weather can turn very quickly in India during monsoon season, often with fatal effects. Flash floods have claimed the lives of many in the past. It was this knowledge that prompted Aircel to attach a life-raft to its billboard, with the instructions: in case of an emergency, pull rope.
On July 15th, flash flooding, as expected, occurred. The Milan Subway beneath Aircel’s billboard became virtually impassable. Six lucky Mumbians, taking advantage of Aircel’s foresight, cut the rope and rowed themselves to safety aboard Aircel’s branded dinghy.
The innovative idea gained major press coverage in India; Aircel was crediting with achieving where the government failed. It now plans to extend the billboard scheme to Delhi and KolKata as well.
BRAND : Aircel
BRAND OWNER: Maxis communications
CATEGORY: Telecoms/ Mobile
REGION: India
DATE: Jul 2009
MEDIA OWNER: Primesite
MEDIA CHANNEL
15.8.09
14.8.09
The Grid:::line by line
|
A case in point is a brand experience where real and virtual worlds intersect, called The Grid. A mobile social network that allows users to chat with friends, locate them on a map and share media, The Grid is a first for the African continent. Part Facebook, part Flickr, and a dash of Twitter combined with a GPS-type navigation system, The Grid allows customers to share their lives in a mobile location-based matrix with all of their friends. The application is all about socializing on the go. If users want to have a cup of coffee with a friend, all they need do is log into The Grid to see which friends are nearby and tag the location of a nearby coffee shop. Then they send a coffee invitation with directions to tempt their mate to pop on over. If the coffee drinking duo wants more friends to join them, they can log in again and type up a blog, message or record a quick video and invite everyone who’s free and happens to be nearby. Because The Grid displays the user’s approximate position on a street map, everyone can easily see where friends are and what they are doing where. Users from any network can join in because the independent and network-neutral application was developed to showcase innovative new technologies to all South Africans. “There are several areas where users get significant value when interacting with The Grid,” says Vincent Maher, portfolio manager for social media at Vodacom. “The service enables low-cost and real-time conversations, as well as an opportunity to meet new people and interact with them via mobile phones. Then users can create the mobile equivalent of a blog by combining multimedia elements and maps to show where the content was created. The Grid is a highly social environment, and what we are seeing is that people love to share their experiences and contribute to creating a social map of their experiences across all walks of life in South Africa.” The Grid is offered as a free or value-added service to users, who only pay for the data usage from their mobile phone to access the service. “Right now people are using The Grid to meet and interact with friends and new people, and to share their experiences through photos and stories about the things they do in their day-to-day lives. The service is busy most of the day, but usage peaks in the evenings when people are home from work and relaxing,” Maher says. The winner of the New Telecommunications Service at the Comms MEA Awards—held to recognize outstanding performance in the Middle East and African telecommunications sector—The Grid’s branding plays a significant role in promoting the larger Vodacom brand as a technological mover and shaker. Not only does it underscore innovation as a key brand value, but it does so in a way that is completely experiential. What’s more, it is changing the way marketing is delivered by offering a new paradigm for brand messaging. “The Grid demonstrates how the physical and digital can be meshed to create a more compelling and relevant marketing message,” Maher says. “By tying location to the delivery of messages it means small businesses finally have a viable digital platform to advertise on, and this means that bigger brands can leverage multiple locations simultaneously to interact with their customers in an interesting, innovative way. There are a lot of very interesting ways that brands can leverage The Grid to integrate digital and mobile campaigns with the physical world. The revenue model has been developed in such a way that deeper integration can be done to encourage users to go to specific places as part of a promotion. Another element of the model is the ability to deliver location-targeted advertising, which makes the content of the ads more relevant. At the heart of The Grid is the digital marketing “holy grail”—the viral effect. “Usage is driven partly by viral growth as users invite their friends to join and partly by innovative media integrations,” Maher says. The more friends users have on The Grid, the more they can get out of the service and the more they can do with it. “The stickiness is directly connected to how many friends a user has and the quality of conversations. The ability to meet new people without revealing your mobile number is also very appealing and, as users become more advanced, they start to use the features like the street maps and content uploads,” he says. To launch the new service, Vodacom commissioned the world’s first geo-tagged documentary for mobile phones, which centered on the issue of youth culture in South Africa’s biggest urban township, Soweto. Called Mobikasi (literally translated this meansmobile township), the mobile documentary utilizes The Grid’s location-based service capabilities to tag real-life physical locations and link them to relevant content in the movie. When users look at the film, they can explore Sowetan youth culture on their mobile phones from anywhere in South Africa through The Grid’s map interface, or by physically touring the famous township and watching documentary clips on their phones at the locations where they were shot. Mobikasi features people, music, fashion, social issues and places of interest and is unique in that it is not linear in nature. Rather, Mobikasi splits the content up into 25 one-minute inserts, and each is geo-tagged to the location where it was shot. This means that viewers can now explore Soweto’s vibrant youth culture by virtually “traveling” through a mobile street map of the township and stopping off at points of interest to enjoy the short video clips about each destination. The mobile documentary has proved so successful that a second season of Mobikasi is on its way and will take place in other townships around South Africa. In short, The Grid is a smart social networking solution with a branding strategy and message that targets a continent where mobile connections are more pervasive than television, the radio or the Internet. |
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