bling bling blog

Bling Bling Blog

domenica, febbraio 25, 2007

Dan's News

Gaming
Google buys ‘in game’ advertising company
http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2007Feb/gee20070219002777.htm
"Google will be entering the world of in-game advertising through a new acquisition, according to Red Herring. Google is reported to be acquiring Adscape Media for US$23 million. Adscape Media delivers ads to online game platforms based on patented technology first developed in 2002. The company was founded by Dan Willis, the company's Chief Technology Officer. By introducing new game related revenues, the company hopes to encourage "a more affordable, higher quality gaming experience.""
Thanks to Hannah Evershed for the link!
The innovation in gaming ‘is in the input devices’
http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2007/02/the_innovation_.html
"This evening with the kids, somewhere between the Wiimote and RC Simulator controller, or perhaps the DS stylus or Guitar Hero axe, I realized that all real innovation in the videogame industry these days seems to be in input devices. As the industry finds it harder and harder to come up with really new gameplay modes on-screen (I thought Gears of War was basically an updated Area 51), the spread of dedicated controllers that make you get off the couch and move are reinventing the medium and creating an excitement about gaming I haven't see in years."
New Xbox game Crackdown sells out due to preview of Halo3
http://www.lostremote.com/2007/02/20/halo-fans-scoop-up-crackdown/
"Tt contains a key to unlock an Xbox Live beta test of Halo 3, which is due to come out later this year. A brilliant marketing move. I was just talking with a couple of my Xbox friends who saw an advance screening of Halo 3, and they assure me it’s sick (that’s awesome, for you out-of-the-demo folks)."

Social Networks
Social Networks ‘about to let outside developers in’
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2007/tc20070213_172619.htm
"Several social networks are about to open up. Facebook—aimed at college students and a pioneer in opening up its APIs—will move its developer program out of beta testing. The company won't say exactly when it will make its software generally available, but says it will be soon. Rivals such as News Corp.'s (NWS) MySpace.com, LinkedIn, Friendster, and Google's (GOOG) orkut are expected to follow suit and open their code to third-party developers this year as well—promising to kick off a spurt of innovation in social networking. "Part of what's exciting about a developer community is you don't know what people are going to do," says Lucian Beebe, director of product management at LinkedIn, which is considering opening up its software. "It offers you the ability to harness innovation.""
Thanks to Nandor Kovacs for the link!

Web 2.0
25 Startups to watch
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/biz2/0702/gallery.nextnet.biz2/
Includes Meebo, Wikia, Dabble, Revision3, Loopt…and – um – 20 others
Thanks to Oliver Hughes for the link!

Satellite Radio
Sirius and XM set for a merger
http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/br/article/633868/us-satellite-radio-firms-sirius-xm-set-11bn-merger/
"Sirius Satellite Radio, the US radio network and home to US shock-jock Howard Stern and Oprah Winfrey, is to buy its rival XM Satellite Radio in an $11.4bn (£5.9bn) merger.
As part of the deal, Sirius buy its US rival XM for $4.6bn in stock creating an $11.4bn combined company.
The move will create the largest satellite radio network in the US, at a time when the growth of the two companies is slowing.
The deal is being proposed in an attempt to bring a wealth of talent under one roof, including 'Sex and the City' author Candace Bushnell, singer Bob Dylan, Major League Baseball and motivational guru Deepak Chopra, whose programmes are split between the services."
Thanks to Sam Tait for the link!

Global Databases
The top ten global databases of information
http://www.businessintelligencelowdown.com/2007/02/top_10_largest_.html
"There are currently organizations around the world in the business of amassing collections of things, and their collections number into and above the trillions. In many cases these collections, or databases, consist of items we use every day.
In this list, we cover the top 10 largest databases in the world:"
Amazon at 8, YouTube at 7, Google only at 4…
Thanks to Nandor Kovacs for the link!

iTunes
Anime sold on iTunes for the first time
http://blogs.pcworld.com/digitalworld/archives/2007/02/anime_makes_its.html
"Japanese animation has finally made it to iTunes. Though some anime companies have made deals with Handheld Entertainment and Google Video, last June's rumour that Toei Animation and Apple were in talks had us wondering when we'd be able to get our anime fix on the big daddy of downloadable movie services."

iProspect University
Erica Schmidt from iProspect writes:
"From February 6-8th the third formal iProspect University was conducted for Isobar sister agencies in Munich Germany. Erica Schmidt, Abigail Reider and Jennifer MacLean of iProspect conducted the organic search training and Alyson Kurlya, Madan Bharadwaj and Hannah Evershed of Isobar conducted the iSEBA/Paid Search training. We had approximately 30 attendees from the following companies:
Diffiniti, Carat UK, Kirowski, Vizeum UK, iProspect Netherlands, NT Buscadores, Hypermedia, Xenion, Bookmark, One Digital, Carat Norway, Carat Denmark
At the end of the training, attendees completed a certification, which if they pass, will enable them to market themselves as iProspect Certified Professionals. I am still in the midst of grading the exams."
Well done to everyone who was there!

The New, New Thing
Mindmeister
http://www.mindmeister.com/
"MindMeister is a collaborative online mind mapping tool - you can capture your thoughts and share them instantly with friends and colleagues."
Thanks to Josh Greenfield for the link!
Like Google Maps for shopping
http://adverlab.blogspot.com/2007/02/visual-mapl-like-shopping-browser.html
"Brilliance. Pure brilliance. BrowseGoods.com, a shopping comparison engine by Dotted Pair that has just launched, works like Google Maps for merchandise. The entire universe of stuff is displayed on one page, and then you can drag it around and zoom in and out. Perfect for shoppers who are not sure about the exact item they are looking for but will know it when they see it."
Sony Ericsson and fashion shows
http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_6380000/newsid_6383100/6383157.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm
Sony Ericsson is working with street fashion houses in Japan to promote cellphones as fashion items
Thanks to Keith Pinney for the link!
Does anyone else love the new magazine Monocle?
http://www.monocle.com/
"A fresh focus on global affairs, business, culture, design and all you need in life."

Creatives

More at my blog:
http://digital-examples.blogspot.com
EA Sports NBA Live 07 Ads by Freestyle Interactive
http://www.freestyleinteractive.com/submissions06/nba/
"A leading sentiment for this year¹s release of EA Sports NBA Live 07 is ‘Elevate Your Game.’ In order to bring this concept to life in an exciting way within an ad unit, we decided to utilize multiple videos featuring the amazing looking game play. To further strengthen this theme of high-flying superstars, we created a tandem unit that literally has players floating high above the earth. Users pull the players down from the top of the ad to view their respective videos, and the accompanying lifelike physics add a playful element to the interaction."
Thanks to Chris Gatewood for the info!
Hammer & Coop campaign for Mini USA
http://hammerandcoop.com/#
Very cool webisodes, in a Starsky & Hutch / Knightrider sort of style
Thanks to everyone who sent this over, including Martin Bremer!
Google puts ads for Gmail on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBbmiQhuAhU
Love them or hate them?
In-Stadium stunt for Shweppes
http://directdaily.blogspot.com/2007/02/quiet-please.html
"Everytime the referee was asking "Quiet please" the first letters of the Scweppes Brand (Schhhhh...) appeared on the score screens of the Masters Arena Stadium"
Official Chelsea FC YouTube page
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=chelseafc

& Finally
Going to hell in a handcart – Ringtones for your car
http://adverlab.blogspot.com/2007/02/ringtones-for-your-car.html
"Or, simply, Horntones. "The Horntones FX-550 system is the first mobile audio system that allows you to customize the sound of your vehicle’s horn function using virtually any standard audio file."
How would you get the tunes to your car? Elementary. Through a fuel dispenser that "is an Internet-ready, WiFi-capable gas pump with a 15-inch touchscreen and speakers, which enables the transfer of media content to other WiFi-enabled devices""

Si ringrazia per la gentile concessione di Dan Calladine - Isobar Global London

lunedì, febbraio 05, 2007

‘Internet il medium con le più elevate potenzialità di sviluppo nel panorama italiano’

L'Osservatorio FCP (Federazione concessionarie pubblicità) - Assointernet e IAB Italia hanno reso noti stamani i dati relativi ai fatturati del periodo gennaio-dicembre 2006, raffrontati al periodo gennaio-dicembre2005.
In crescita i numeri di dicembre 2006 rispetto al gennaio-dicembre 2005 (+43%); in particolare, la tipologia Ad-banner cresce del 55%; sponsorizzazioni e bottoni del +66%; altre tipologie del +25%; la voce sms del +120%, ma su volumi di fatturato molto bassi; e-mail e newsletter del +9%, mentre le Keywords del +24%.

L'andamento del mese di dicembre 2006, rispetto allo stesso mese del 2005, registra un incremento totale del +32%. Considerando l'andamento di ogni tipologia di prodotto si rileva che la tipologia Ad-banner registra un elevato incremento (+39%); le voci sponsorizzazioni e bottoni e altre tipologie presentano un incremento entrambe del 29%; la tipologia sms non è confrontabile in quanto nel dicembre 2005 non aveva registrato alcun fatturato.
Si registra, inoltre, un incremento nella tipologia e-mail/newsletter (+17%) e una crescita anche per la voce Keywords (+21%). Considerando l'anno in corso, il mese di dicembre 2006 ha registrato un incremento totale rispetto al mese di novembre 2006 (+11,5%).
Le categorie in aumento sono: Ad-banner (+19%), sponsorizzazioni e bottoni (+11%), altre tipologie (+4%), Keywords (+10%). Registrano un calo la voce e-mail/newsletter (-7%) e la categoria sms (-38%). Pertanto la chiusura dell'anno 2006 vede crescere gli investimenti sul mezzo internet a ritmo sostenuto, con una crescita superiore al 50% per le due tipologie a più alto fatturato, Ad-banner e sponsorizzazioni/bottoni. La prima, in particolare, è passata da un fatturato di 3,5 milioni di euro a gennaio 2006, al superamento dei 10 milioni a dicembre 2006.

Layla Pavone, presidente di IAB Italia e managing director di Isobar, ha spiegato: “…Il 2006 ha chiuso secondo le nostre più rosee aspettative dichiarate all'inizio dello scorso anno; 197 milioni di euro rappresenta una cifra importante soprattutto se visto in relazione alle percentuali di crescita sull'anno precedente: +43%”.
“…Questo incremento – ha detto ancora la Pavone - conferma internet come il media con le più elevate potenzialità di sviluppo nel panorama italiano. Considerando poi che la rilevazione che IAB Italia effettua insieme ad Assointernet, con la collaborazione di Nielsen Media Research, copre circa il 75% della raccolta pubblicitaria e nettizzando dai 197 milioni di euro le voci relative al search ovvero il Keyword advertising e il Mobile advertising, la fotografia del mercato degli investimenti pubblicitari sul web ed attraverso l'email advertising è di oltre 215 milioni di euro, dato totalmente coerente con le previsioni di chiusura presentate all'inizio di Novembre 2006 in occasione di IAB Forum”.

Il presidente di IAB Italia ha anche ricordato che “…in questa circostanza il fatturato globale relativo ai Motori di ricerca ed al Mobile advertising per il 2006, stimato con la collaborazione dei principali player di questi mercati, è rispettivamente di 130 milioni di euro e di 15 milioni di euro”.
“Per la prima volta inoltre – ha precisato - abbiamo anche stimato il fatturato della pubblicità relativa alle directories che ha chiuso l'anno con altri 130 milioni di euro. Il totale quindi degli investimenti pubblicitari effettuati dalle aziende italiane sui media interattivi è di circa 490 milioni di euro. Sono passati più di dieci anni dall'avvento di internet in Italia e finalmente oggi possiamo ritenerci soddisfatti dell'andamento di questo settore”.

La Pavone ha concluso, sottolineando la speranza che il 2007 esprima ancora meglio le sue enormi potenzialità in termini di Roi per le aziende.
“Uno dei formati pubblicitari che riteniamo si imporrà con decisione è il VideoSpot, avendo già nel 2006 riscosso grande apprezzamento da parte degli inserzionisti. Anche il Mobile advertising è un veicolo che sta maturando molto velocemente e che andrà certamente ad arricchire la torta della pubblicità interattiva nella logica di un consumatore sempre più dinamico e multi-tasking”.

Massimo Crotti, presidente Fcp-Assointernet, ha dichiarato: “…I dati di chiusura 2006 confermano quanto già prospettato negli ultimi mesi ovvero una chiusura in linea con il successo registrato durante tutto l'anno. Noto tra l'altro come la tipologia Ad-banner confermi la sua importanza strategica nel mix di comunicazione a suggello della positiva evoluzione che questi formati hanno saputo registrare in termini di creatività sempre più accattivanti”.

Crotti ha aggiunto che “…Ogni progetto speciale sul web non può fare a meno del prezioso apporto in termini di contatti e visibilità che questi formati sono in grado di fornire al mercato pubblicitario e la differenza nel 2006 la si è avuta attraverso una sempre più accurata scelta dei formati e dei posizionamenti migliori, fondamentali nel successo di una campagna. Il 2007, ne sono certo, saprà ancor meglio valorizzare questa capacità di scelta e l'offerta, rappresentata dalle concessionarie di pubblicità, farà di tutto per consentire al mercato un approccio distintivo e sempre più quality oriented”.

Fonte: www.key4biz.it

The voice of Dan

Oggi inauguro una nuova rubrica che e' dedicata alla novita' da tutto il mondo che il mio collega Dan Calladine redige ogni mese e che ringrazio per il tempo che riesce a dedicare per tenerci aggiornati.
Credo sia un "cadeaux" apprezzabile che insieme a Dan ho deciso di rendere pubblico per gli aficionados del mio blog :-)
Thank you Dan!!!


TV
Bill Gates – The web will revolutionise TV within five years
http://articles.news.aol.com/business/_a/gates-says-web-will-revolutionize-tv/20070127110009990004?ncid=NWS00010000000001
""I'm stunned how people aren't seeing that with TV, in five years from now, people will laugh at what we've had," he told business leaders and politicians at the World Economic Forum.
The rise of high-speed Internet and the popularity of video sites like Google Inc.'s YouTube has already led to a worldwide decline in the number hours spent by young people in front of a TV set.
In the years ahead, more and more viewers will hanker after the flexibility offered by online video and abandon conventional broadcast television, with its fixed program slots and advertisements that interrupt shows, Gates said.
"Certain things like elections or the Olympics really point out how TV is terrible. You have to wait for the guy to talk about the thing you care about or you miss the event and want to go back and see it," he said."

Mobile
1bn Mobile ads served in 6 months
http://www.wirelessweek.com/article/CA6410949.html
"AdMob says that mobile Web users are drawn to mobile communities and downloading sites, where they have served 1 billion mobile Web advertisements in the last six months.
The United States and South Africa represented the top two countries in terms of mobile Web traffic, with 90 million and 66 million page views per month, respectively. India, the UK and Romania rounded out the top 5.
The top manufacturers’ devices being used to surf the mobile Web were, not surprisingly, Nokia, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson, Samsung and LG. What was surprising was the margin by which Nokia overshadowed Motorola. Three times as many users were surfing the Web on a Nokia device compared to a Motorola device."
Thanks to Christina Buck for the link!

Virtual Worlds
Nickelodeon launches Nicktropolis
http://www.marketingvox.com/archives/2007/01/30/nickelodeon-launches-nicktropolis-virtual-world-for-kids/?rss1
"Viacom's Nickelodeon is today launching a virtual world called Nicktropolis, which will allow kids to play games, watch TV and interact with Nickelodeon characters as well as each other online.
Nicktropolis, which has been in development for the last 18 months, will be aimed at 6-14-year-olds; Nickelodeon execs expect the site to be especially popular with 9-12-year-olds, given the number of online games available, CNET writes. Nickelodeon says there will be no advertising on the site at launch - but that ads will be added later."
Swedes to open embassy in Second Life
http://www.marketingvox.com/archives/2007/01/31/sweden-to-open-second-life-embassy/?rss1
"Sweden plans to be the first country to open an embassy in the virtual world.
According to Reuters, the embassy will be called House of Sweden and is modeled after the country's new embassy in Washington.
It will open in a couple of weeks, and "will have answers to questions on all aspects of Sweden," said Olle Wastberg, general director of the Swedish Institute."
Spanish Charity put homeless kid in Second Life
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/12/05/homeless_kid_in_seco.html
"From December 4 on, the Spain-based NGO Mensajeros de la Paz will be present in the virtual world of Second Life as a homeless teenager avatar named MensajerosDeLaPaz Jubilee. The kid hasn't any land nor properties, except for a cardboard box, some newspapers and a sign that says: 'Help a child have a second oportunity in his First Life.'"
"The action is intended to reach out for young people, and ask for help for abandoned and abused children in developing countries in South America and Africa," says Ana de la Calle, a communications representative of the organization."

Web 2.0
Mainstream adoption of Web 2.0 features is close
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/mainstream_media_web20.php
"It appears that we are nearing a tipping point for the mass adoption of prominent web 2.0 services, like digg and del.icio.us. Endorsement by mainstream media opens these services up to millions of people who otherwise would either not know about them, or not take them seriously. So these are not just links, these are literally endorsements - or recognition of additional value for mainstream media."
Thanks to Lynette Webb for the link!
28% of American web users ‘tag’
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/201/report_display.asp
"Just as the internet allows users to create and share their own media, it is also enabling them to organize digital material their own way, rather than relying on pre-existing formats of classifying information.
A December 2006 survey has found that 28% of internet users have tagged or categorized content online such as photos, news stories or blog posts. On a typical day online, 7% of internet users say they tag or categorize online content."

Guerrilla Marketing
‘Adult Swim’ marketing devices cause bomb scares in Boston
http://www.lostremote.com/2007/01/31/boston-crippled-by-aqua-teen-hunger-force/
"It’s enough to make you rethink the term "guerrilla marketing." Police, bomb squads, the feds, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and more all converged on Boston Wednesday because of … a "mooninite." Viewers of Cartoon Network’s "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" immediately recognized the "devices" as LEDs put on a circuit board and powered by some batteries. The police and the media, however, had the event play out as though there were 10 bombs (and then 10 "hoax bombs") planted suddenly around Boston. Turns out the devices had been up for weeks. And not just in Boston, but in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, and Philadelphia, according to Turner Broadcasting, the parent of the Cartoon Network."

Blogging
Newspaper blogs grow – as users look for more meaningful content
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/blake-fleetwood/exclusive-nytimescom-up_b_39948.html
"Traffic to the top ten newspaper blogs more than tripled over the last year, reaching 3.8 million in December. The implication from the data seems to be that the Internet audience is searching for meaning and analysis and a point of view, as opposed to mere breaking news. Whether newspaper blogs, with restricted access, will substantially BIGFOOT and drive out the independent - more inclusive and diverse - blogs is a question that the market will answer in time.
Are 1,000 bloggers posting more attractive than a half a dozen? Can they come up with new, uncovered and unexpressed opinions and facts not written about in the MSM?"

Yahoo
Yahoo to create special content areas for entertainment brands, independent of the producers
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/yahoos-branded-universe-unfolding/#When:06:27:00Z
"Yahoo has announced some more details in a press junket at Sunnyvale, picked up by ClickZ. The idea is: Branded Universes will collect the various media within the Yahoo network at a single location focused on a brand selected by Yahoo.
It has selected the first six of the supposed 100 it plans: video games "The Sims" and "Halo," TV shows "Lost" and "The Office," and franchises Harry Potter and Transformers. Interestingly, Yahoo is not allowing marketers a voice in this, nor seeking licensing for the content. It will not try to monetize these sections until a later date, the company said."

Superbowl Weekend

NFL to sell highlights on iTunes
http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/interactive/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003539489
"The NFL will begin selling highlight packages from Super Bowl XLI via Apple’s iTunes Music store beginning Monday Feb. 5, the day after the big game.
Fans will be able to purchase extensive highlights as well as exclusive NFL Network content for the standard $1.99 per download fee. Included will be a wrap-up show, hosted by NFL Network commentators Rich Eisen, Steve Mariucci and Deion Sanders, which features post-game reaction and analysis that will not be available to the majority of TV households, given the network’s limited distribution."

The Old, Old Thing
In the week of Vista, some screen shots of different Microsoft operating systems
http://blog.wired.com/wiredphotos31/2007/01/windows_10.html
Thanks to Dan Green for the link!

The New, New Thing

Senduit – a fantastic, free FTP service
http://www.senduit.com/
Works really well, but probably best not for confidential stuff…
Custom-print M&Ms
http://www.mymms.com/customprint/index.asp

Creatives
More at my blog:
http://digital-examples.blogspot.com
Sneak preview of the new Guinness TV campaign
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQDjynOzgCk
Guinness is to launch the next phase of its 'Good things come to those who wait' advertising campaign on 5th February, with a £2.5 million marketing push across TV, cinema, online, and digital out-of-home.
The new ad, called 'Hands' has been created by AMV BBDO using stop frame animation shot in black and white. It shows one pair of hands waiting in anticipation for a pint of the Irish stout. Media planning and buying is being handled by Carat.
Thanks to James Neill and James Gyngell for the info!
New Nokia Pjotro campaign
Nokia Nseries proudly presents: Pjotro vs. DJ eFFeX Pjotro - The man with the musical suit
has returned to stake his claim against a new challenger! Human beatbox prodigy
DJ eFFeX has appeared, and he wants in on the title of "I am my Music". Become a part of the
interactive online battle and create your own version of the outcome at www.pjotrovsdjeffex.com
There's also a cheesy theatrical trailer for the site here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSsB4SJ672c&eurl=
Thanks to Per Hansson for the info!
Wii want cricket – a viral campaign to persuade Nintendo to do a Wii cricket game
http://wiiwantcricket.com/

& Finally
San Francisco Chronicle put angry reader rants up as podcasts
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=5&entry_id=12853
"We listen to them and read them, and we think some of the more interesting and unusual ones are worth sharing. So, today, we're starting a new feature to showcase these communications. It's called, "Correct Me If I'm Wrong.""
Thanks to Lynette Webb & Steve Lawson for the link!