7.7.09

Virgin Holidays forced to axe 'lastminute' ad campaign

LONDON - Virgin Holidays has been forced to ditch its summer advertising campaign following legal action from lastminute.com.

Virgin Holidays forced to axe 'lastminute' ad campaign

The outdoor and print ads - which featured the strapline dontleaveituntilthelastminute.com - were the centrepiece of the group's key summer marketing campaign.

Mark Fells, UK marketing director at Lastminute.com, issued a statement last week saying ‘We have issued a claim for damages against Virgin Holidays. We have had a lot of success in protecting the copyright of our URL and take potential breaches very seriously.'

The ads are to be taken down immediately and a spokeswoman for lastminute.com confirmed it is pursuing Virgin Holidays for damages.

Lastminute.com's group managing director and chief marketing officer, Simon Thompson, added: `We are delighted Virgin has taken the right decision to remove their campaign in the next seven days. As a company, we will always be a consumer champion; any confusion in the consumer's mind is not acceptable. We are still pursuing legal action against Virgin for substantial damages. Like Virgin, we believe in strongly defending our brand perception.'

Gillette launches first global brand campaign in five years

Gillette launches first global brand campaign in five years


LONDON - Procter & Gamble is introducing a new core brand message to Gillette following the recent addition of hair styling and personal care products to its shaving care range.


Gillette's first global branding campaign in five years is designed to expand the brand beyond shaving and strengthen the brand's emotional bond among men.

Following extensive global research among thousands of men, which found that even confident males have doubts at many moments throughout their lives, Gillette is progressing its "The Best A Man Can Get" message by with a new campaign called "The Moment." The FMCG giant says men are looking for products that give them the confidence they want and need to look, perform and feel their best.

The campaign features everyday guys, as well as the Gillette brand ambassadors -- Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Derek Jeter -- experiencing moments of doubt and how they overcome them to succeed. The ad was created by BBDO New York.

Corporate Identity Designs, Innovation and Excellence

Corporate Identity Resources


David Plouffe's::: lessons from a historic presidential victory


Plouffe

As far as a campaign brief goes, taking a man with barely two years in the U.S. Senate and making him the most powerful person in the world is a pretty tough nut to crack. That's what David Plouffe, Barack Obama's campaign manager, discussed in his Cannes seminar on Thursday, laying out some lessons from the winning presidential run. Plouffe tied the success of the Obama campaign, beyond having a tremendously gifted candidate, to its marriage of grassroots activism and digital technology. "We benefited in many ways that we could look at everything from a fresh set of eyes," he said. Here are some of the key points Plouffe made:
1.
Small is the new big. Obama was not the first politician to realize the collective power of small donors. But the former community organizer imbued his campaign with the notion that individuals on a local level can make a big difference beyond mere donations. Those donations helped power the campaign, of course, as Obama attracted 4 million donors through the Web. But innovations like My Barack Obama, a social network, allowed the campaign to go beyond that and have supporters involved directly in outreach and in combatting attacks on the candidate. "It started with a dictate from him," said Plouffe. "He wanted to run a grassroots campaign."

2. Word of mouth rules. On the local level, the Obama campaign eschewed paid operatives and out-of-town volunteers in favor of those within the communities. Plouffe noted that while people would tune out chattering from a political junkie, they'd listen to a neighbor energized by a candidate for the first time. The campaign tried to encourage word of mouth by stressing authenticity. Volunteers weren't given scripts, for example. "We said, 'Speak from your own heart,' " Plouffe said. "Nothing is more powerful than authenticity. People can have a very sensitive bullshit meter."
3.
Conventional paths are dangerous. The campaign went against the grain in many of its choices. Obama directly confronted the issue of Rev. Jeremiah Wright with a high-profile speech. He held his convention speech in a huge outdoor stadium. He traveled abroad as a candidate. "When we did [conventional things], we paid a price for it," Plouffe said.
4.
Integration and ubiquity. One of the biggest challenges for the Obama campaign, Plouffe said, was making sure its messaging stayed consistent on a daily basis. If the candidate was talking health care on a particular day, the ads in that market needed to reinforce the message, and local volunteers needed to be armed with information on the subject. Not coordinating the messaging "is a mistake a lot of organizations make," Plouffe said. The campaign also wanted to be everywhere—online, on the air and on the ground.
5.
Traditional media is still king. The Obama brand's biggest challenge early on was a familiar one: It had very low awareness and wasn't in the consideration set for many voters. TV was the key to changing that. The Obama campaign has been praised for its online efforts, but TV still played a major role, Plouffe said, particularly in helping to introduce the candidate. The campaign made different use of the medium, however, most notably with the 90-minute infomercial it aired two weeks prior to the election. Even within its online efforts, its most important tools were fairly old school, particularly e-mail. The campaign also made extensive use of Web video. "I know it's fashionable to suggest TV advertising is less and less important," Plouffe said. "In our campaign, it played a critical role."
The presentation, hosted by DDB, got a rapturous reception from the international crowd. It remains to be seen if the Obama campaign is seen as groundbreaking enough to garner a Titanium Lion.

6.7.09

when someone was looking at the billboard


Amnesty International has a long track record of producing hard-hitting ads, and continues the trend with its latest campaign against domestic abuse in Germany. Violence in the home often goes unnoticed or ignored by friends and neighbours, even when it is happening right under their noses. Victims and abusers have a tendency to present a united front in public, and Amnesty wanted to remind people to be more vigilant and aware of the issue.

Amnesty created an interactive billboard that tracked eye movement at a bus stop in Hamburg. The message of the ad read: “It happens when nobody is watching”. An eye-tracking device detected when someone was looking at the billboard and delivered an image of a seemingly happy couple smiling at whoever was looking at it. When that person looked away, the image transformed into a scene of violence, with the man beating up the woman. A slight delay in the image swap enabled the person viewing the billboard to get a glimpse of the violence, but if they looked back, the camera would detect their eyes and then deliver the happy image again. People were encouraged to visit www.amnesty.de to find out more.

This technology has been used by brands so that their ad is only delivered to passers by that are actively looking at the billboard, but it is interesting to see the message delivered when the person is not looking at it.

The billboard engaged passers by for a much higher than average time and it attracted a lot of publicity for the cause.



BRAND:Amnesty International
BRAND OWNER:Amnesty International
CATEGORY:Charities
REGION:Germany
DATE:Jun 2009
MEDIA AGENC:YJung von Matt

MEDIA CHANNEL

Out of HomeAmbient

Bleeding shame:::hard-hitting road safety ad

“Rain changes everything. Drive to the conditions”



BRAND:Papakura District Council
CATEGORY:Government/Public Sector
REGION:New Zealand
DATE:Apr 2009 - May 2009
OTHER AGENCIES:Colenso BBDO
MEDIA CHANNEL
Out of HomeAmbientPR





The rains after the summer in New Zealand can be torrential, and have been known to cause many road accidents. Drivers don’t adapt their driving styles to accommodate the wet weather and often don’t realise how compromised their breaking abilities are until it is too late.

After a weekend in which 15 people were killed on the roads, the Papakura District Council decided to act quickly to warn drivers to slow down in rainy conditions in an attempt to reduce the road death toll. It developed a roadside billboard which showed a young boy’s face. When it rained, sensors in the billboard triggered fake blood to flow down the boy’s face – from his nose, ears and eyebrows. The message on the billboard read: “Rain changes everything. Please drive to the conditions.”

There were no deaths on the road in Papakura during the Easter period



Local and national media picked up the story, helping motorists everywhere make the connection between the weather conditions and their driving habits. The end result for Papakura District Council was a zero-fatality Easter season


Credits

The Bleeding Billboard was developed at Colenso BBDO, Auckland, by executive creative director Nick Worthington, art director Emmanuel Bougneres, agency producer Paul Courtney, account director Scott Coldham, account manager Janelle Van Wonderen, photographer Steven Boniface, and produced by Greg Skinner at Rollercoaster Design.

15.6.09

TOP MARKETING BLOGS 2009


The Top 50 Top Australian Marketing Blogs 2009



01.

Bannerblog

Bannerblog.com.au

These guys are getting rather good at the blogging game. Retaining top-spot from the list B&T published in 2008 are Bannerblog creators Ashley Ringrose of Soap Creative and Ashadi Hopper of RMG Connect. Launched in 2005 to showcase online banner ads, it continues to go from strength to strength.





02.

Acidlabs.org

Acidlabs.org

Canberra-based Stephen Collins is the man behind this blog. His stated intention is "to help individuals, brands and organisations understand their clients, stakeholders and people by working with them on listening, engaging and being human."



03.

Servant of Chaos

Servantofchaos.com

With a background in marketing and publishing, Sydney-based Gavin Heaton slips back one spot from the 2008 list into third. Heaton says he's focused - among other things - on the scripting and crafting of brand stories. Well worth a look for content on branding, digital strategy and social media.



04.

Inspiration Room Daily

Theinspirationroom.com/daily

Part of The Inspiration Room - a site that "through the use of world-leading visual search technology offers members a unique platform to display, search and filter creative work" - the daily'blog is authored by the Gold Coast's Duncan Macleod.



05.

Mumbrella

Mumbrella.com.au

Founded at the turn of the year by former B&T editor Tim Burrowes, Mumbrella came out of the traps fast with a mix of news, opinion and diary sections. The site looks to have a met a pent-up demand for conversation around big topics for those in and around the social media community.



06.

Marketing Magazine

Marketingmag.com.au/blogs

Leaving its bigger rivals from the B2B publishing world in the dust is the blog from Marketing Magazine. The site has leapt a whopping 14 places since the last time B&T published it Top 50 Bloggers list back in October 2008, so hats off to these guys for making up so much ground.



07.

Laurel Papworth

Laurelpapworth.com

Slipping back from 4th spot in our 2008 list, Papworth is among the most active, prolific and outspoken bloggers in the Australian social media community. Her blog, which also made it in to AdAge's recent Power 150 list, is focused on "the business of being social".



08.

Young PR

Youngie.prblogs.org

With the stated intent of discussing issues affecting PR students and new practitioners to the industry, the blog is authored by the eponymous Paul Young. It slides back from the heady heights of third position versus our 2008 list.



09.

Adspace Pioneers

Adspace-pioneers.blogspot.com

Digital strategist at The Population, Julian Cole has been running this blog since his university days. Well written and very collaborative in tone, there's the odd bit of activist-type activity on here too. Earlier this year, Cole hijacked an online Samboy Crisps competition to raise funds for the bushfire appeal.



10.

London Calling

Andrewgrill.com/blog

A new entrant to the top-10, author Andrew Grill is focusing on mobile advertising here. With a mix of stories from overseas and his own views and theories on related events, Grill's blog could continue to go from strength to strength as marketers' attention increasingly turns to mobile.

11. Personalize Media

Personalizemedia.com

12. Get Shouty

Katiechatfield.wordpress.com

13. Brand DNA

Branddna.blogspot.com

14. The Marketer

Themarketer.typepad.com

15. Copywrite

Jonathancrossfield.com/blog

16.Online Marketing Banter

Onlinemarketingbanter.com

17. Amnesia Blog

Amnesiablog.wordpress.com

18. Mark Pollard

Markpollard.net

19. Better Communications Results

Leehopkins.net

20. Gourmet Ads

Gourmetads.com

21. Gold Coast Web Designers

Tailored.com.au

22. Angus Whines

Anguswhines.typepad.com

23. Pigs Don't Fly

Pigsdontfly.com

24. Three Billion

Threebillion.com

25. PR Disasters

Prdisasters.com

26. Creative Is Not A Department

Davidgillespie.wordpress.com

27. A Pespective

Jyesmith.com

28. Business of Marketing and Branding

Mokummarketing.com/blog

29. Marketing Easy

Marketingeasy.net

30. Zakazukhazoo

E-cbd.com/zakazukhazoo

31. Kate@Stickywood

Stickywood.blogspot.com

32. Corporate Engagement

Trevorcook.typepad.com/weblog

33. Shifted Pixels

Shiftedpixels.com.au/blog

34. Sticky Ads

Stickyads.com.au

35. Mark Neely's Blog

Infolution.com.au

36. Talking Digital

Talkingdigital.wordpress.com

37. Media Hunter

Mediahunter.typepad.com

38. Preneur Marketing

Preneurmarketing.com

39. WOM Marketing For Small Business

Wordofmouthmagic.com

40. The Digestif

Thedigestif.blogspot.com

41. PR Warrior

Prwarrior.typepad.com

42. The Flasher

Sydnaked.typepad.com

43. Who Is In Control Of Your Brand

From.simontsmall.com

44. Another Advertising Wanker

Anotheradvertisingwanker.blogspot.com

45. Dominique Hind Collective

Dominiquehind.wordpress.com

46. The Zeitgeists

Thezeitgeists.blogspot.com

47. Ecio Lab

Eicolab.com.au/blog

48. In My Atmosphere

Inmyatmosphere.blogspot.com

49. Frank Thoughts

Frankmedia.com.au/blog

50. Ryan's View

Hillandknowlton.com/blogs/ryanpeal



Methodology

The Population Top 50 Australian Marketing Blogs are scored out of 50 with scores out of 10 given in five categories. A subjective mark is given for how thought provoking the content is, how often the site is updated and how much insight the authors provides into the field of marketing.

Google Page Rank, Alexa Traffic Rank, and a list of the number of unique blogs that link into that website and the number of posts that have cited that website in a post are also calculated with a score given out of 10.

Top 164 Australian Marketing Pioneer Blogs

Top 164 Australian Marketing Pioneers BlogsPioneer RankingGoogle Page RankTech Authority ScoreTech Reactions 10Alexa Rating ScoreTotal
1Bannerblog8675935
3Acidlabs8676734
2Servant of Chaos9576734
4Inspiration Room Daily7575933
5mUmbrella9464932
6Marketing Magazine8554830
7Laurel Papworth8463829
8Young PR8544829
9Adspace-Pioneers8455628
10London Calling8544728
11Personalize Media8544728
12Amnesia Blog7454828
13Get Shouty8445627
14Brand DNA8545527
15The Marketer8454627
16Copywrite7453827
17Online Marketing Banter8443827
18Media Hunter8444727
19Better Communication Results7354726
20Three Billion8543525
21Gold Coast Web Designers6433824
22Angus Whines7444524
23Pigs Don’t Fly8443524
24PR Disasters7443523
25Creative Is Not A Department8443423
26A perspective8432623
27Gourmet Ads8403823
28Business of Marketing and Branding6444422
29Marketing Easy6442622
30Zakazukhazoo8421722
31Kate @ Stickywood8432522
32Mark Pollard8332622
33Zebra Bites8432522
34Sticky Ads7324622
35Corporate Engagement7423521
36Shifted Pixels8331621
37Mark Neely's Blog7422621
38Talking Digital8331621
39In My Atomosphere8433321
40Preneur Marketing7322620
41Word of Mouth Marketing for Small Business5334520
42The Digestif8422420
43PR Warrior8322520
44The Flasher8332420
45Who is in conrtol of your b****8331520
46Another Advertising Wanker8421520
47Dominique Hind Collective8321519
48Innovation Feeder6422519
49EcioLab7520519
50FRANKthoughts8321519
51Ryan's view6221819
52The Zeitgeists7331519
53Digital Buzz Blog7301819
54Taming the beast6423419
55Campaign Brief6400818
56Tim Longhurst7421418
57Tony from the Population8421318
58CIIMS8312418
59Publicity Queen8321418
60Consumer Psychologist8402418
61WayCoolJnr8401518
62B&T4501818
63Start Up Blog4332618
64Scott Drummond7331418
65Lexy Klain7421418
66Ineedhits6521418
67The oyster Project8321418
68Publicis Digital7311517
69Filter Media4422517
70Will Scully Power7310617
71Insight + Ideas8312317
72Business and the internet7410517
73Sitemost5301716
74Matt Jones Blog8121416
75Diffusion7411316
76How good you want to be7311416
77Beyond Digital Media7221416
78Free Beer5321516
79Ben Hamin8310416
80The White Agency ffffff6400616
81Re: Turn On8402317
81Fresh Chat6311415
82Uneven Distribution7121415
83online marketing sydney5400615
84doingwords.com7211415
85BMF Sticky6310515
86Slide Media7220415
87Send Up a larger room7201515
88OMG with Emily7310415
89I hate ads7301415
90Australian SEO blog4013614
91Peter Sheanan6301414
92Australian Small Business6301414
93The Wayfarer8201314
94Adnotes6401314
95Jax Interactive7301314
96Semfire Search Enging MarketingBlog5311414
97The Gloo4400614
98The Communications Room6310414
99Strike a Cord7300414
100Lets refresh7100614
101Marketing Results6400414
102SEO Company5500414
103Dan Pankraz Vs. Youth8200414
104Digital Oz8210314
105Digital Tip8010514
106The F Rant8400214
107Frontiering Talking8000513
108David Wesson Digital Entertainment8310113
109The Jason Recliner5411213
110Pixel Paddock7210313
111Mobilista5301413
112Stellar Blog8100413
113Idea Garden8000412
114Josh Anstey6300312
115Classy Marketing6310212
116Pity the Cool8300112
117Who put the devil in you?8300112
118Simon Reynolds7200312
119Arrow Internet SEO5300412
120Joely Righteous8000412
121Digital Marketing Lab7000512
122To the WordUp6000511
123Layman's Term6300211
124Chalkboard Websites6200311
125Simons Says7300111
126Gruen Transfer6200311
127Quintessentially Digital6200311
128Portz Interactive7200211
129Work.netx5200411
130Community Girl7000411
131Refined Geek6200311
132Wunderman Aus6200311
133Kevin C Ferry7200211
134Influencing the Influencers7000411
135Behind Digital PR7000411
136Feeding Kat8000311
137Hothouse4000610
138Marketing is a dirty word7210010
139Via Media - The Way7200110
140Know Your Tribe5000510
141The Lost Agency7000310
142Kruppy Rants7200110
143Down with 30kb7000310
144Digital Strategy - Clear Blue Day500049
145The Odd one out600039
146Tick Yes400059
147Reputational Democrarcy600039
148Frank, Hayley and the circus700029
149Winged Wicked Things700029
150Words, thoughts and other stuff700029
151Virtual Ryf520018
152Ponderings of The Orange Cow430018
153Love number 2600028
154Just Another PR700018
156Latin Ocean500027
157RMD's Marcom600017
158Roger Down Under500027
159Stop, Collaborate and Listen420017
160Geared for Profit400037
161Write across media600017
162Death by Digital600017
163Check Later400015
164The Social Pages400004

7 Skills for a Post-Pandemic Marketer

The impact of Covid-19 has had a significant impact across the board with the marketing and advertising industry in 2020, but there is hope...