Sunday, April 26, 2009

Art Inspires Art

The Tate Modern in London is Britain's national museum of international and contemporary modern art from 1900 onwards and is, with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool, Tate St Ives, and Tate Online, part of the group now known simply as Tate.



To learn more about Tate, go here.

Trident Take-Off of T-Mobile Dance


100 Single Ladies stop traffic with Beyonce's famous leggy dance in Piccadilly Circus, to celebrate the announcement by Trident of its free Beyonce gig in November.



Like Music? Love freebies?

Well you're in luck, because 'Trident Unwrapped' is here to give you both. And all you need to do is get your hands on any pack of Trident gum and you could be holding your ticket to an exclusive Beyoncé 'I AM' show at London's 02 on November 15th!


More info here.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Chips + Bag = given the right conditions, they're both biodegradable.

Having personally picked up one too many carelessly discarded food and candy wrappers on the beach, and on streets near storm drains ... this is good news:)



Additionally - SunChips and National Geographic have created an online campaign inviting people to submit their own sustainability success stories for a chance to win $20,000 to be used to implement their project. The winner's project will be featured in the publication.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Ben Harper Celebrates Earth Day in Italy with National Geographic


To celebrate Earth Day, Nat Geo Music channel is hosting a live broadcast concert featuring Grammy award-winning artist Ben Harper with Relentless 7, in Rome's famed Piazza del Popolo.

Nat Geo Music launched in October 2007 and is now available in Italy, Portugal and Latin America with further expansion expected globally. The channel is part of National Geographic Channels International (NGCI), along with the National Geographic Channel, National Geographic Channel HD, Nat Geo Wild and Nat Geo Adventure.

The concert will air live on April 22nd beginning at 8 p.m. in Italy (2 p.m. US EST), and will be featured simultaneously on Nat Geo Music channel, www.natgeomusic.net, in the United States and www.natgeotv.com/earthday internationally. All of the concert's carbon emissions will be offset by planting 1,000 trees this fall in Rome's Riserva della Valle dell'Aniene park. The project is run through Impatto Zero, an initiative from Italian organization LifeGate that enables individuals and organizations to offset carbon emissions through tree-planting.

The concert will also mark the debut performance of Bibi Tanga & The Selenites, one of the first signings to Nat Geo Music's new record label. In celebration of Earth Day, Nat Geo Music will release Bibi Tanga's It's The Earth That Moves EP on April 21. The digital-only EP will mark the first ever release on the recently launched Nat Geo Music label. Also on stage will be Subsonica, an Italian-based group whose fusion of electronic and rock music helped them sell out their most recent European tour.

The Nat Geo Music concert is just one of the many events that National Geographic Channels International will be holding around the world to help raise environmental awareness and encourage everyone that "what you do counts." Digital exhibits featuring imagery from photographer James Balog for National Geographic Channel's "Extreme Ice" will be held in select territories, including India and Taiwan. The images uniquely illustrate the effects of climate change on the coldest regions of our planet through special time-lapse camera technology. In Portugal, National Geographic Channel has constructed an eco-friendly house that demonstrates how to "green" your home without making a huge investment or foregoing everyday comforts.

Embracing the concept of raising awareness through music, National Geographic Channel in Latin America has launched a music contest through MySpace for viewers to submit a song that helps increase understanding about significant environmental issues. National Geographic Channels International has also recently partnered with the EMI record label and Spanish band Macaco on a special music video for Earth Day featuring acclaimed actor Javier Bardem.



This album will be released in the USA on Tuesday, May 5, 2009.

Source: Nat Geo Music Celebrates Earth Day With Ben Harper & Relentless7 Live In Concert, Nat Geo News, 4/6/09

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Surfers Worldwide Unite to Celebreate the 5th Annual International Surfing Day


photo: Cathy Brunmier catches a wave at the Blackies Classic Longboard Association's 5th annual Halloween costume contest at the Newport Pier in 2008. She took home the win for best costume. Photo by Tom Cozad, newportsurfshots.com

Founded 5 years ago by the Surfrider Foundation and Surfing Magazine, International Surfing Day (June 20, 2009) unites surfers from around the world in celebration of the sport of surfing. As is tradition with the annual holiday, surfers will do their part to give back to our oceans, waves and beaches through various organized events such as clean-ups and restoration projects courtesy of the Surfrider Foundation.

In addition to 100+ coastal events taking place worldwide, various International Surfing Day sponsors (like Monster Energy) will be hosting special “challenges,” that will allow the public to compete for prizes through various activities.

5 on-site challenges:
You Tube Challenge:
* Best ISD Influence Video
* Most Unique Piece of Trash
* Best Trash Sculpture

Costume Party:
* Best Costume While Riding a Wave

Most Spots Surfed on ISD:
* Photo and/or Video Contest.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Hanson, Maggie Grace, and DMB remove their shoes today

Blake of TOMS shoes along with the band Hanson, Maggie Grace and Dave Matthews Band are all encouraging their fans to take off their shoes for 1 day - April 16, 2009. Take your shoes off and go barefoot for a day, get your friends involved and raise awareness that kids need shoes. TOMS shoes started in 2006 when Blake Mycoskie traveled to Argentina and discovered the kids there had no shoes to protect their feet. When they don’t protect their feet they can get infections and many other diseases. For every pair of shoes that are purchased, TOMS shoes gives a pair to kids in need.



Be sure to go to www.myspace.com/tomsshoes and add one of their badges to your page to encourage your friends to get involved.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Your Neighbors Eat Their Broccoli ...


This is a super interesting, thought-provoking article about the Obama administration's application of behavioral marketing to federal policy making.

How Obama Is Using the Science of Change
By Michael Grunwald
TIME Magazine
Thursday, April 2, 2009

Friday, April 3, 2009

Caraoke. (No, that wasn't a typo.)

Nominee for a Webby Award - People's Choice - in the category of Online Guerilla Marketing:

VW CARAOKE

VW has been out representing at Autoshows around the country. Usually these Autoshows are pretty boring. This year we wanted to create something that didn't just let people look at the cars - they got to have a lot of fun in them. For the New Beetle we dared autoshow-goers to lose their cooler-than-thou cultural shackles and be recorded singing along to songs by a dash mounted camera inside a New Beetle, called the VW Caraoke.

These videos were then automatically uploaded to vwcaraoke.com, where all you’ve got to do is choose your city then watch, listen and laugh as people cut loose in the VW Caraoke. Each video can be also be rated by the users and is available on YouTube, giving users the option to mail it to friends or share it on their own personal websites.


Here's an example - filmed in a GTI MkV at the LA Auto Show on 11/25/07.



Another good one - filmed in a VW New Beetle at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, 01/12/07.

Let's Face It!

This campaign, "Let's Face It!", created for Bioré, earned the agency Enlighten a nomination for Standalone Video (Not Principally Deployed on YouTube) at the 2008 OMMA Social Awards in NYC.

To promote bioré's line of facial and skin care products, Enlighten created a series of entertaining vignettes called "Let's Face It!"

The four-episode series incorporates a different Bioré product. The vignettes are hosted on a branded microsite, which was surrounded with Bioré product promotions and links sending users to additional information.

Here's Episode 4: Saving Face:



Make sure to check out the microsite, too.

Credits: John Gray, vice president, interactive media; Courtney Nowicki, associated director of interactive marketing; Karl Tiedemann, Senior Creative Lead; Ami Walsh, Senior Interactive Designer; Sheila Geis, Project Manager; Carlos Pena, CondeNet; Regina Chen, CondeNet; Show Cobra Productions, Inc.

I also really like this nominee in the same category - promoting Unilever's Sunsilk’s new "Color Boost."

Through Vibrant in-text advertising, Unilever highlighted the words 'blondes' and 'brunettes' inside relevant web content and delivered its sassy ‘Color Showdown’ video creative. Vibrant enabled Unilever to create a virtual duel between the two, perfectly illustrating the battle between blondes and brunettes while conveying product attributes.

In order to fully appreciate this campaign, you need to check out the example, here.

CEO's Embrace Twitter

Several companies have earned notoriety for their use of Twitter. Here are a few:

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh




Tony is a big fan of Twitter - for personal use. (As in, not to make money.) You can tell because:
* he created the "Beginner's Quick Start Guide and Tutorial to Using Twitter."

* He writes, "...but I promise you if you can talk your friends into joining it and you all use it for 2 weeks, it will change your life. You will wonder how you ever lived without it."

Here are a couple of his posts:

Got into hotel late in Orlando so ordered room service. First time I've ever seen any place automatically add 21% for gratuity.

Seriously bizarre moment: Gardener knocks on my door this morning and asks for shots of tequila. I hope my trees don't grow sideways.

At doctor's office. Just had 4 vials of blood drawn for my physical. I don't remember a needle hurting this much, but it sure woke me up! :)


* The Zappos website has an entire page dedicated just to Twitter - it lists all of Tony's posts, as well as the posts of 454 Zappos employees.

source: Zappos + Twitter = Innovative Success!, by Sage Lewis, Search Engine Watch, Oct 23, 2008


JetBlue

JetBlue opened a Twitter account to monitor comments made about JetBlue. In response to what they found, they started offering real time deals. For example, when the Twitter community started talking about difficulties finding flights to/from South by Southwest (SXSW), JetBlue offered more flights.

JetBlue also responds in real time to individual consumers' needs. For example, a Twitter user needed a wheelchair for her grandmother’s JetBlue flight. She decided to post a quick message to Twitter before calling customer service, saying: JetBlue, I need a Wheelchair!. Before the customer could reach the JetBlue customer service desk, a representative handling JetBlue’s Twitter account had responded to the customer, offering to put the customer directly in touch with someone who could help.




ComcastCares

Frank Eliason, Comcast Director of Digital Care, oversees a unit within Comast called ComcastCares. Based in Philadelphina, the team of seven employees uses Twitter to resolve Comcast customers' concerns coming from across the USA.

Another way to find out if you’re being bashed or praised on the Internet? Blogs. The Comcast Care team reads more than 1500 over the course of a week. “When I started about a year ago in the customer service area, people kept bringing me blogs showing people talking about Comcast.” He goes on to say, “It was clear there was public discussion about us, and once we started to reach out to these bloggers, it’s just perpetuated itself.” Shortly after, one of his team told him about Twitter and the tweeting began.

Here, Frank provides advice to other businesses who want to use Twitter for customer service purposes:



Also check out these Twitter Tips for businesses:

Do Your Homework
Twitter might not be for everyone, so before you start in and post one single “tweet”, do a little homework. Tweetscan and Twitter Search are two ways to see if your customers are even talking about you. If they are, see what they have to say, but say nothing just yet. Search for your competition, too. If either of you are being discussed, good or bad, it’s probably a strong indication you need to be there. Another way to find out if you’re being bashed or praised on the Internet? Blogs. The Comcast Care team reads more than 1500 over the course of a week. “When I started about a year ago in the customer service area, people kept bringing me blogs showing people talking about Comcast.” He goes on to say, “It was clear there was public discussion about us, and once we started to reach out to these bloggers, it’s just perpetuated itself.” Shortly after, one of his team told him about Twitter and the tweeting began. Their first tweet was to Michael Arrington of TechCrunch, read his story here.

Pay Attention First
Go ahead and set up your profile, but Frank points out that a common mistake for some businesses is to jump right on Twitter and start talking or even following customers who are talking about them. Customers can get turned off right away, so it’s important to just listen for awhile and understand the conversations before deciding to reply or comment. You’ll have a better idea of how the conversations are going, the general types of complaints or comments, so later, you’ll be better prepared to manage your replies and help. You never want to come off as a “stalker” or as my kid puts it, “a creeper.” Respect the consumers space and let them talk first and actively listen, you’ll learn much.

Personalize It
It’s true, when someone has an obscure or indistinguishable picture, I’m not sure what to make of it. When it’s a business and it’s just a logo, you really aren’t sure who you’re tweeting with. Frank recommends having a profile for each on your team and putting a picture of yourself and making your bio a little more personal, so it’s less “corporate”. Personalizing things doesn’t end with the profile, and needs to carry over to your messaging. “I came from a financial services background, so communications were always a little more stiff and formal. People on Twitter remarked that I should “loosen up” a bit, so I did, and I think it’s helped me reach people better.”That doesn’t mean you can start dropping f-bombs, it just means to write in a more casual way, adding a human element to your words.

Be Eager to Help
It seems like an obvious thing, but in customer service, you are there to help. Instead of viewing complaints as just that, look at instead as opportunity to fix something or change a way your company is handling something. “Don’t just say you’ll check things, actually offer a solution. If they’re mad, empathize and become their advocate and don’t get defensive.” Many times, Frank said customers would not even complain directly to Comcast about an issue with a program change or bad service, but would do so publicly. “This is a great opportunity to solve a problem maybe even more quickly than if they did call in.” His team has the ability to diagnose many things remotely, and some fixes are simple, but it’s an added touch of service the customer appreciates. “There’s a snowball effect when we help someone. They usually blog or post about it and others read about it, they share the story.” To date, they’ve helped more than 7,000 customers and he said they are typically overwhelmingly thrilled, while he could count on one hand those that weren’t. With numbers like this, it’s clear why Comcast is continuing to hire and develop this segment of their service area.

So how do they reach out? “We usually use Twitter Search and see if people are talking about us and see if there’s an opportunity to reach out.” He said a simple, “Let me help you” is a good place to start, and people are surprised, but willing to accept the help. “Wow, Comcast is on Twitter” is a pretty common reaction.

Make A Commitment
Sometimes curiosity is just not enough. If you put your toe in the water, be prepared to jump all the way in. Once you begin conversing and making a presence for your company, be committed to staying engaged. Frank comments, “You have to allow customers to be themselves and not allow negative people to drive you away from this. Stay focused on helping them and solving their problem, then they will become committed to you.” He adds that, “If you just post a couple messages then disappear, you won’t have credibility.” I would add that it’s just as bad to flood your posts with salesy pitches, similar to a circular in your local paper. People that come here are looking for two-way conversation, if they want you’re product or service, they’ll seek it out. Commit to helping others first.

So there you have it, five ways to put your own company on the Twitter path to great customer service. While Frank and his team say they use other social media tools like Facebook, MySpace, Plurk, LinkedIn, and Identica, they have their best results with Twitter, that’s where their customers seem to be right now. “The world of social media continues to grow and change, so we’re always keeping our eyes out for the next “Twitter” and I test stuff out all the time.” Good advice for the rest of us.


Source: Blowing the Lid Off Customer Service: How Comcast Cares Leverages Twitter, blog BizCoachDeb.com

For more information about this topic check out BusinessWeek's article "CEO's Take On Twitter."

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Buy a Ticket, and Disney Plants a Tree


Mar 26, 2009 6:04 AM, Brian Quinton for PROMO Xtra

First-week audiences for Disney’s eco-feature “Earth” can help replant the Brazilian rainforest.

To promote the first full-length theatrical film launched under its year-old Disneynature documentary label, the Walt Disney company is offering to plant a tree for every U.S. ticket it sells during the movie’s first week of release.

The entertainment giant has announced that it will plant a tree in honor of every moviegoer who sees the new eco-documentary “Earth” in its first week in theaters. The movie opens nationwide on Earth Day, April 22.

Advance tickets are on sale for the opening at the Web site Disneynature has set up for the film. Moviegoers can also get tickets by phone at 1-888-Disney8.

The film is directed by Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, the creative team behind an Emmy-winning series “Planet Earth” filmed for the BBC and The Discovery Channel. It tells the story of climate change on the planet primarily through the experiences of three animal “families” of polar bears, African elephants and whales. It was released internationally in 2007 to critical acclaim, with U.K. narration by Patrick Stewart; the U.S. version uses a voiceover from James Earl Jones.

The Web site offers the movie trailer and short video footage of the animal families, “making of” excerpts, and the V spot promoting the picture, along with a photo gallery, wallpapers and both teaching and activity guides for download by educators. Visitors can also enter their ZIP code to locate a theater that will show “Earth” in its launch week.

The trees from the movie’s premiere will be planted in the Atlantic Forest region of Brazil, now about 7% of its original size and considered by conservationists to be the most endangered rainforest area on the planet. Disney maintains that it is committed not just to planting the trees but to making sure they are cared for over the long term.

“’Earth’ is a spectacular film from the world’s most acclaimed nature filmmakers, and we couldn’t think of a better way to launch the new Disneynature banner, and to celebrate the spirit of the film and Earth Day at the same time,” Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook said in a release.

In April 2008, Disney announced the formation of the Disneynature label, executives specifically cited the box-office performance of the 2005 Warner Independent film ”March of the Penguins” as proof that moviegoers wanted to see nature on the big screen and in SurroundSound and IMAX. That picture sold $124.5 million in tickets worldwide, including $4 million during its opening weekend, and went on to win a 2005 Academy Award for best documentary feature.

A post in the New York Times’ “Carpetbagger” movie blog calculates that dividing a $4 million opening week by a $7.29 average ticket price would produce almost 550,000 new trees in Brazil.

MS&L Launches Proprietary Social Activism Marketing Offering to Leverage New Age of Cause Marketing

2.25.2009

(CSRwire) BOSTON, MA. - February 25, 2009 – MS&L, one of the world's leading communications firms, today announced the launch of its Social Activism Marketing specialty, a bold approach that blends the power of corporate social responsibility and cause marketing with the penetration of digital tools to spawn social movements that move messages, product and profit on behalf of companies and brands.

The new specialty will be launched at an evening event in Boston on February 26 featuring cause marketing experts who will explore the power of social activism. Attending the event will be Thomas Gensemer, managing partner of Blue State Digital, which spearheaded Obama for America's extensive online fundraising and peer-to-peer networking initiatives, and Eleanor Dowling, editorial and community leader of changeagents.com and a key player in the success of Timberland’s Earthkeeper Heroes Program. Gensemer and Dowling will join MS&L's CSR and marketing experts to explore the renewed focus on cause marketing in the context of President Obama’s spotlight on community service and the increased corporate interest in connecting to a higher purpose.

MS&L’s proprietary Social Activism Marketing (SAM) Optimization process includes four stages of social movement that corporations can utilize to develop unique cause programs. The SAM process takes into account the current economic environment, research on the relationship between corporations and service, and the power of relationship management via digital tools. MS&L will help clients identify the intersection of corporate social responsibility and cause marketing to facilitate social movements, drive influence and maximize the reach of a particular program.

"We consider 2009 the year when values and activism will come together to transform communications and marketing," said Scott Beaudoin, senior vice president and director of cause marketing at MS&L. "Our methodology for Social Activism Marketing pinpoints the best ways to hyper-engage consumers and influencers in support of a powerfully relevant cause, producing maximum business results and social impacts for the sponsor."

A unique relationship between corporate values, activism and reputation has emerged, influencing the launch of MS&L's SAM specialty. Proprietary research from the MS&L Worldwide Global Values study, conducted in May 2008 in partnership with GfK Roper Public Affairs, underscores the ripe opportunity for companies and brands to leverage consumer activism on social issues and their unprecedented access to information about corporate behavior.

The study of 1,000 U.S. consumers found that:

* 72 percent believe a company or organization can have “values” just the way people do;

* 85 percent believe a company can be financially successful by behaving in “a responsible way;”

* 56 percent of describe it as “very important” to them to know about the values of the companies with whom they do business;

* 77 percent almost always or sometimes pay attention to company’s values when deciding whether to give it their business; and

* 59 percent said they can a lot or some about an organization’s “real values” through online information.

"It's clear that the concepts of value and values are rapidly merging in the minds of consumers," said Jim Tsokanos, president of MS&L, North America. "People want to be engaged with companies that share their values. Our Social Activism Marketing specialty will help organizations capitalize on the growing expectation that profit should be pursued in a responsible way locally, nationally and globally."

The launch of this new specialty builds on MS&L’s innovative CSR work in the consumer, corporate and healthcare areas. In 2008, MS&L was honored as the top agency in CSR by Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine; won Cause-Related Campaign of the Year from PRWeek in 2007 and Best Use of the Internet honors from PRWeek in 2006 and 2007; and is currently a PRWeek finalist for Cause-Related Campaign of the Year. MS&L works with companies such as Sunkist Growers and Procter & Gamble on ground-breaking cause programs that empower individuals to contribute to social causes in their communities and around the world.

About MS&L
MS&L is a leading global communications firm and part of MS&L Worldwide, a network of communications brands and consultancies with 54 offices in North America, Latin America, EMEA and Asia, as well as an extensive affiliate network. The agency specializes in using research, insights and technology to create and execute powerful communications strategies that are critical to client success. With a unique combination of advice, advocacy and action, MS&L delivers measurable business results for many of the world's largest companies and most successful brands.

MS&L Worldwide (mslworldwide.com) is a member of the Publicis Groupe (Euronext Paris: FR0000130577), the world’s fourth largest communications group, and a global leader in digital and online advertising, media consulting, and healthcare communications. With some 45,000 professionals in 104 countries, the Groupe's activities cover advertising through three global advertising networks: Leo Burnett, Publicis, Saatchi & Saatchi, as well as through its two multi-hub networks Fallon Worldwide and 49%-owned Bartle Bogle Hegarty; media agencies with two worldwide networks ZenithOptimedia and Starcom MediaVest Group; and marketing services, including digital and interactive communications through Digitas, relationship and direct marketing, public and media relations, corporate and financial communications, multicultural communications, and event communications. The Groupe is also the world leader in healthcare communications. Web site: www.publicisgroupe.com.

For more information please contact:

Sara Donaldson, Media Relations Manager, North America
MS&L
212-468-3893
www.mslworldwide.com

Seattle Ice Scupltures Used to Convey Water Shortage


Commemorating UNICEF's 2009 Tap Project and World Water Week (March 22-28), Publicis in the West placed melting ice sculptures shaped like children throughout Seattle.

The "Ice Children" were on display at Westlake Center alongside a sign asking passersby: "What happens to children when the water runs out."




"Each day, 4,200 children die from a lack of drinking water," continues the sign.



The sculptures aimed to raise funds and awareness for clean drinking water.

Optimedia handled the media buy.


Source: MediaPost Out to Launch April 1, 2009 e-newsletter.

Lucas Nelson supports Ocean Day



photo: Lucas Nelson (Willie Nelson's son) helped kick things off!

March 25th marked the 10th annual "Oceans Day" in the California State Capitol, where ocean advocacy groups met with state decision makers to educate them on the major issues effecting our ocean, including marine debris, oil drilling, marine protected areas, once-through cooling and more.

Along with staff, Surfrider Foundation activists Ximena Waissbluth, Michael Stewart, Jen Savage and Colleen Clifford participated in the event, which culminated in a 3-D showing of Jean Michel Cousteau's "Under the Sea" at the Sacramento IMAX theatre, as well as honoring Cousteau, Lieutenant Governor Garamendi, and Senator Fran Pavley for their commitment to helping the Clean Seas Coalition and for prioritizing ocean issues in the Capitol.


Source: Surfrider SOUP e-newsletter, April 2009 Issue No. 1