I’ve really missed London.
Inspired by Rupert’s first entry into this year’s NaVloPoMo –
“What People Do With Their Hands”
Enjoy.
Category: London Town
Come on, someone just do it already #1
This might turn into a semi-regular feature.
Hence the number. We’ll see.
On with the post.
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These adverts – from UK-based electronics retailer, Dixons – have been springing up all around London lately. Take a look:
Read all that? Good. Right then.
Is it just me or is there a MASSIVE opportunity here for a competitor to come along and have some fun with this?
Alright the ads are actually quite well done. Providing a playful spin on the words ‘the last place you want to go’ as well as taking a cheeky swipe at some of the more… stuffier… of London’s largest department stores, these billboards do raise a smile.
But still. If I was a keen-eyed ad man I might be tempted, with the right client, of course (someone like ebay maybe?) to go away, knock up some good-sized stickers and then in one night, do one big hit on them all.
Guerrilla style.
You see what I mean? Bam.
So come on, someone just do it already!
And that was going to be it from me but, when I researched the ads some more it turned out that not everyone is a fan of this new campaign.
“Then there are the nasty Dixons Ads on the tube at the moment. They tell you to spend your time learning about your product from well-trained (threfore ponsy) shop assistants in well-known stores like Harrods, Peter Jones and John Lewis and then buy at Dixons on line. Why do I not find this amusing?
.
Firstly because of the snobbery, and secondly that Dixon’s shop assistants are the diametric opposite of knowledgable and helpful, and a terrible glimpse at what shopping might become if Dixons had its way. Thirdly the idea of checking out the store first and talking about what you want, and then checking out online vendors to get the best price happens all the time.
.
Better not bite the hand that feeds you!”
He makes a good point.
The value of the online shopping market is growing year on year while that of the high street is steadily declining. And while you have to applaud Dixons for attempting to drive traffic to their online store, I for one can’t help thinking that there is a slight danger of them shooting themselves in the foot:
Time will tell. After all, similar things have happened before.
Thanks for reading.
Bloody Poetry
This isn’t a rant about how much I despise prose and rhyme in all its forms, no, no. Of poetry, I am a fan.
Something else I am a fan of is bloody good theatre and bloody good theatre is something that I saw last night.
Bloody Poetry – a play written by Howard Brenton and currently showing at the White Bear Theatre in Kennington – is not a play I’m familiar with, however I must say that it was thoroughly enjoyable. Good theatre is often difficult to seek out in London. Often you find yourself paying way over the odds to watch a cast that would be lucky to get a walk-on part on Hollyoaks (the West End production of Lord of the Rings for instance). However, with Bloody Poetry, I was fortunate to be entertained by not only a bloody good script, but also a fantastic troupe of bloody good actors.
The piece itself tells the tale of two great poets of our time – Shelley and Byron – and how they first met on the shores of Lake Geneva, then of the subsequent summer of love that followed…
I’ll admit I originally only went along to support my dear friend and old acting partner, Alex Barclay. He’s a damn fine actor and appears in the play as Doctor Polidori, biographer to Lord Byron. I haven’t seen Al in a few months, so I saw last night as a chance to catch up and say hi etc…
But I’m not writing this post for him (sorry Al – I love you really).
I’m putting this post together because the play really is that good. I came out beaming. Byron is perfectly pitched as the horny, swashbuckling cad he no doubt was back in his day. Providing some humorous asides throughout the performance, just think of Rik Mayall’s Lord Flashheart, add in some poetic pathos and you’re there. Ellie Turner – cast as soon-to-be author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley – brings a fantastic realism and stoic worldly-ness to a woman who no doubt would have felt almost on the outskirts of the strange quartet that forms around her. Wise beyond her years, her talent is plain to see and was played perfectly. It feels rude to neglect the rest of the cast (who were all excellent) but I fear I am rambling so will leave you with a piece of blurb from the website and booking details too.
If you’re in London and you fancy something different one night this October, go and see Bloody Poetry, you won’t be disappointed.
“Percy Bysshe Shelley, radical nonconformist, poet, essayist, and committed vegetarian, fled England in 1816 with Mary Shelley and her step-sister Claire Clairmont.
Faced with unrest at home and Revolution abroad, England in 1816 had become a repressive surveillance state; exile was both a choice and a necessity for a poet who advocated for social justice, practised free love and opposed inherited power in any form.
On 25th May 1816, the Shelleys met Lord Byron on the shore of Lake Geneva. Together with Byron’s physician, Dr Polidori, the group spent the summer together, during which Mary began writing ‘Frankenstein’ and Byron and Shelley deepened their friendship. ‘Bloody Poetry’ explores the personal and political passions which drove these young writers and the obstacles they faced. It celebrates their daring while revealing their humanity. As a qualified idealist, Shelley still dares us to dream:
“The great instrument of moral good is the imagination. We must not let it become diseased…We might be all we dream of, happy, high, majestical. Where is the love, beauty and truth we seek, but in our mind? Poets are the legislators of mankind!—
The play runs Tuesday – Sunday until the end of this month. Tickets are £12.00 (£10.00 concessions) and are available from the White Bear Box Office website.
Enjoy! 🙂
A Hero’s Quest: Launching a TV channel in 2009
Back in the Spring, I attended a launch party for a new free-to-air digital channel called Quest TV.
Unfortunately, due to some last minute complications, the launch was inexplicably delayed and is now scheduled to go live tomorrow instead.
What follows it the post I wrote on May 22nd. Most of the points still stand so I have no qualms about dusting it off and finally publishing.
Your thoughts and comments, as always, are welcome.
Enjoy.
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Hero Quest was one of my favourite board games when i was a kid. Yeah you had your Monopoly and your Cluedo, but when it came to getting your Wizard on (and if D&D was too complicated) then Hero Quest was the way to go…
Last night folks, I attended the launch party for Quest TV.
With previews of programs such as Heli-loggers, Rescue Me and the old school Mission Impossible, the whole package was delivered in a jaunty, rather tongue-in-cheek but seriously amusing way.
However, because of the trek down to London from my office in Marlow however, I was late and arrived just as they were showing the channel’s idents. These I thought were quite clever and the scope to expand on them is definitely there, but we’ll come back to this one later.
As the evening went on I was introduced to a couple of representatives from Discovery – the television company behind Quest TV, and we spoke about how/why the social media outreach had been done specifically for this Quest TV’s launch. Aside from the low-cost aspect (and subsequent potential ROI), they insisted it was mainly stemmed from their desire to try something different.
A courageous move for sure and one that should be applauded. What with there being no real case studies to point to (regarding successes/failures with new ‘old media’ channel launches), they have carte blanche to pretty much do as they please. New TV Channels are a rarity here in the UK, so it’ll be interesting to see how they move this forward; it was noted at the time that the worst thing they could possibly do right now, would be to reach out… and then walk away.
Social media isn’t a channel, it’s the nonsense term applied to all things conversational and online, (these days I’ve taken to calling it ‘the web’), however – sticking to that principal – the web isn’t just another channel either. It opens up a world of interactivity and engagement which has never been seen before, especially in the world of ‘old/traditional’ media.
The idents that I touched upon earlier, are a great example of how the web could be used to further their brand.
Here’s a selection of the ones they had on show last night:
Not bad at all.
I can totally see an online campaign which involves viewers at home producing their own Quest TV idents. The ones shown above are short, fun and relatively easy to make. Why not further the conversation by reaching out to your own ‘users’ to help build the Quest TV brand?
Or, maybe ask viewers if they are on some kind of quest themselves. I’m reminded of the Britglyph project which famously had a mad Scotsman take part by placing his own rock in the rain in the middle of the night.
Hilarious, but awesome.
If that was online, what kind of scope do we have with TV?
Like I said the channel launches tomorrow and it seems Quest have already dipped their toes in, let’s see if they’re ready for a swim.
The day after Avatar Day
Yesterday, was ‘Avatar Day‘. 
We’re going to do something unprecedented.
It’s a social marketing experiment.
We’re going to take over as many IMAX 3D theaters and other select 3D theaters worldwide on August 21 and we’re going to let an international global audience come see 15 minutes of Avatar for free.
It’s going to be Avatar day.
I touched upon this in an earlier post, but if you’re unfamiliar with the notion of Avatar Day, then you’re probably not too up on your Avatar knowledge either. Allow me to summarise the latter so we can get on with talking about the former.
Avatar is the new film from James Cameron, 14-odd years in the making, this $237 million epic is apparently set to change the movie making landscape forever. Not thanks to amazing story telling (although we’re hoping for something pretty good at least), or even due to the ever present trademark blue tint he likes to add to his work.
No, this film has been 12 years in the making because Cameron has been waiting and waiting for the technology to be ready to fully realise a vision he had all those years ago.
The plot itself snagged my interest some time ago (two years ago maybe?); set in the 22nd Century, the majority of the story takes place on a distant planet called Pandora, inhabited by a humanoid race with its own language and culture. Humans cannot breathe the air on Pandora so have created avatars, hybrid creatures controlled via a mental link by a human operator. Add to that that it’s an original story and one being brought to the screen by a certain Mr James Cameron, and I was hooked.
Yes, I like films. Yes, I like science-fiction films. But this film is being billed as something as revolutionary as when Hollywood first introduced sound and colour. Why? Well that’s down to the much-heralded Digital 3D.
I’ve seen 3D films before, or films with at least ‘some scenes in 3D’ – the last one being Superman Returns back at the IMAX actually. Anyway, my point is, these films/scenes that have come before – they seemed to be in 3D just for the sake of it.
“Oh this bit? We’re shooting this in 3D! So, so, so therefore we’ll throw some things out at the audience!”
But with Avatar, not so.
The 3D element here is almost organic. It’s just there, if that makes sense? You don’t watch this film (or at least the 15min trailer that I saw yesterday), you experience it.
And it… was… beautiful.
Stunning even.
Completely immersive and – at one point in particular – simply breath-taking.
There’s another post in me about the whole ‘experiment in social marketing’ thing, but I’ll save that for another day. For now at least…
Roll on December 18th 🙂
Friday, oh Friday!
‘Out of service’ the machine stares silently… ‘The other side!’ he thinks, knowing there is only minutes to spare.
It’s 07:26:54.
Can he make it to platform 2, use the (seemingly empty) machine over there and then get back in time for departure at 07:29:00?
Too late, his legs are already moving; two, five, eight steps up. Rucksack strapped tight he bounds over the footbridge… ‘Must be quick, must be quick!’.
These ticket machines are not new to him, in fact he knows exactly what parts of their screens to touch and when: Mid-bottom left, Zones 1-6 travel card. Confirm selection, bottom right. Card in, PIN number, payment and Print! The whole process should take no more than fifteen seconds. He notes (as he dashes past fellow commuters, oblivious to his challenge), the merits of majoring in something so seemingly minor could be a point of amusement later today, but this is lost on him now, all he can hear is the train, there, already arrived on the now opposite platform.
‘Must be quick, must be quick’, he repeats his speedy refrain, ‘I must be quick, I must be fast. I mustn’t miss my train!’
Button, confirm, card. It’s so simple, he simply can’t complain.
‘I must be quick, I must be fast. I mustn’t miss my train!’
Alas, he can. ‘Coins and notes only’ the wretched contraption says ‘No payment cards today’. He has the cash, there’s a twenty in his wallet, he saw it there this morning. ‘£14.80’ the machine says, ‘Coins only, no payment cards today’. Time creeps forward, slowly ticking by. The purple note, it shines and glistens in this early morning Sun. Cash in, ticket out – ching ching sounds his change, now go – GO GO! You’re going to miss your train!
Three, six, nine steps up – swiftly swerving the elderly woman, as he reaches the top – race fast, quick now –
….
He laughs, loudly when at the start of his descent he hears the high pitch beep of the doors. Still grinning when he reaches the bottom, the train pulls away.
07:28:47
Damn thing left early.
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Today is Friday August 21st, it’s now 12:59 and I’m sat at The Tuttle Club typing this all up. This morning I was a brief guest at Likemind, good chat and new people too. Then I was a guest of my new best friend, Dan Light at London’s IMAX for the ‘experiment in social marketing’ known as ‘Avatar Day’, (more on this later).
The footage was saw was simply stunning and, thanks to the really nice guys at Vue Cinemas, I’m going to see it again later on this evening.
I can’t wait.
As I said – More, later… I promise 🙂
James Whatley meets: Richard Mills
Every day I meet new and exciting people.
Every day I come across fresh ideas that force me to look at the world with a fresh pair of eyes.
Every day someone or something challenges my way of thinking so much that I can only sit back and marvel as my imagination is stretched into whole new dimensions.
Last week ladies and gentlemen, I met Richard Mills.
Richard, or ‘Richie’ as he prefers to be known, is an extreme sportsman of the highest caliber. But, unlike any other extreme sportsman I have met before, Richard is a real live Suburban Warrior.
Adrenalin junkies are not new to me; I’ve leapt from planes, thrown myself down mountains and even taken the odd wake-board ramp from time to time… But Richie Mills? This is a man who takes it to the next level.
Filmed at a secret location in West London, the following video takes place on a normal Monday afternoon. Blindfolded en route, Rich explained to me the level of competition that goes into these kinds of events, his love for the sport and then, we arrived…
Remember one thing folks: Richard Mills is a trained professional.
Do not try this at home.
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All video shot and filmed on a Nokia N97.
All photos shot and uploaded with a Nokia N95 8GB.
There is a Vimeo version of the video if you’d prefer and also a Flickr Set of all the photos from the day’s activites.
Check it.
Thanks for watching.
The value of ideas
They can be good, they can be awesome – some can even change the world.
But who owns them?
If your idea is shared with another, does that other then co-own it with you?
Your ideas maybe the most valuable things you ever, ever own. Guard them well and be careful with whom you share them with.
Something that maybe so obvious to you may not be as obvious to the next person.
Before opening your mouth next time, take a moment – pause, take a break and think.
How much do you value your time? Your ideas?
Is it the price of a coffee? Lunch? Dinner?
Or is it a day of work, a week maybe?
How much are you worth?
Writing this, as I am currently, in the bar of the ICA – home of the London Social Media Cafe – I am comforted by words of wisdom from my good friend Carl Jeffrey:
“Share your ideas and your dreams, you’ll be surprised how many people come out of the woodwork to help you – but make sure to hold off telling the full story until the end. Remember; genius has limits, stupidity has none.”
Mobile Geeks of London VI
Hey there folks!
Can you believe it?!
We’re not two months into the start of 2009 and it’s already time for the next…
– WOOP WOOP –
I can’t believe it’s come round so quickly. It seems like only yesterday that we were all meeting up for the last gathering of 2008…
But No!
It wasn’t yesterday! It was November! Bleedin’ AGES ago!
Let’s crack on with it shall we?
😉
This time round, with Mobile World Congress still fresh in the memory there should be lots to talk about, drink to and of course secretly discuss… Heh.
I know I’m bringing a whole host of phone-based toys to play with, what are you bringing?
If you’re new here then you’ll find all the details you need on the facebook event page.
If you want to keep up with future events then by all means join the facebook group page to stay in the loop.
However, if you’re not a facebook person – and I know some of you aren’t – the basics are as follows:
Date: 26th February 2009 – That’s TONIGHT!
Time: 18:30ish – 23:00ish
Location: All Bar One
Street: New Oxford Street (nearest tube: Tottenham Court Road)
Town/City: London Baby!
If you like beer and you like Mobile then you are very, very welcome to join us.
“lt’s not about buying stuff.
It’s not about selling stuff.
It’s about mobile geeks having a genuine discussion about using stuff…”
See you tonight boys and girls.
😉
Ps. If for some reason you can’t make it along. Keep an eye on the Qik video window on the top of the right hand coloumn over there —–>
I’ll try and take some video for you 🙂
See ya!
Social Tool, Tool!
There I was, on the train, on the way into work this morning and I’m listening to a couple of chaps in the next seat talk about plans for a new online marketing strategy…
Yes. That’s right. ON A TRAIN.
So before we even GET to the whole ‘Social’ thing that I’m about to rant about, let’s just take a moment to appreciate the stupidity… or maybe even the complete lack of joined-up thinking that goes hand-in-hand with talking about this kind of stuff on PUBLIC transport…
Done that? Goooooooood.
Idiots.
Anyway – so here they were, these two suits fellas, talking about ‘Social Networking’ and how they ‘really need to get involved’ to make this campaign really work.
Well I say ‘they’ it was more like just the older bloke telling the younger bloke, what he needed to get their new campaign off the ground…
The older chap opens:
“Look, I need you to tell me about what you can do with YouTube?”
“I can upload videos…”
“Yes. I’ve seen that. But what can we do with YouTube?”
“Aside from upload the videos, well…er…”
“WE NEED YOUTUBE!”
“We have…er…”
“Listen, we’ve got to hit millions of people! Millions. We won’t do it without YouTube.”
And so the conversation carried on, covering such things like MySpace, Facebook and even Flickr but all the while keeping the same familiar pattern, (I’m actually quite surprised I didn’t hear the classic phrase ‘Right, we need a viral’… I may’ve said something at that point)
Anyway, this whole thing got me thinking. I wrote a post about Mobile Advertising for Mobile Industry Review, (then SMS Text News), a few months back outlining the need for complete alignment when dipping your toe into the mobile ad space.
This one was easy, at least this time round they had some kind of idea as to what they were doing…
These two guys on the 9:53 out of Paddington however? Not a hope.
YouTube, to use the example given, is not something you ‘do’, it’s something you use, (like a tool, see).
The best way for me to illustrate this is with cups.
If your boss turns to you one day and says “I want to do something with YouTube”, what do you say back?
Well look, you’re clearly happy to put anything into the cup as it were; be it lemonade, orange juice, blackcurrant or whatever – But your boss, or whoever’s running the marketing team needs to tell you what that is. The cup is another way of presenting your content. It will speak to different people in different ways. I would not use a cup for anything other than what it is good for… and that is drinking, nay – consuming!
On top of that you also need to ensure that the same blackcurrant you’re using in your cups is being used in the other dispensers that you have at your disposal. I mean, you have other cups right? Right?!
Yeah you do… The banner ads, the traditional print, the skyscrapers, the tv/radio spots etc…
Them. Yeah. They’re cups too.
So when asked, “…like flickr, like YouTube”…etc, they’re just a variation on the cup.
You can help them hold it, you can help others drink from it but what you can’t do is fill it.
Give people some cool stuff inside the cup, don’t just give them the cup.
On it’s own, the cup is nothing.
With planning, time and effort from all parties – the cup can become an integral part of a much larger picnic.
Social Cups, Hugh would be proud.
whatleydude.com 