Tuttle last week was so much fun, this week we wanted to find a way to say thank you to everyone that came along and made our office such a bubbly place to be on a Friday morning.
Earlier today, we dispatched a crack team of commando 1000heads girls to go out and find the two most cutest and fluffiest fluffy toys they could find.
This is what they came back with…
We’re going to be running a raffle tomorrow morning so you can maybe, just maybe win ONE of the two fluffy things above. I have no preference, well.. I do. The Monkey. But that’s just me…
Last weekend I visited London’s Natural History Museum (the NHM) to take part in a secret filming mission for a new and yet-to-be-made feature film. With an N86 in one pocket and an N900 in the other I set out, intent on recording the action… as it happened.
The first one, I streamed from my N86. The second, from the N900. Not much difference in quality if I’m honest, but that’s not why I’m here.
Take a look at these two images:
Qik - N86Qik - N900
One of the many great things about Qik is that you can share your location while filming. It would seem that the new N900 version has had a slight upgrade over its N86 counterpart.
From what I can tell, the N86 only pinpoints the location of where you started filming. The N900 however pinpoints you where you start, then tracks you while you move around andthen pinpoints you where you stop!
Great stuff.
This might not be a new feature, but it’s certainly a welcome one on the N900. I love geotagging my photos and videos and if we’re now moving into the world of geotracking then I’m a very happy man indeed.
I spotted this one before Christmas but only remembered it recently when I was tasked with finding broad new ways of engaging your man-on-the-street consumer with new and exciting methods.
AR – that’s Augmented Reality to you and me – has come a long way over the past few months, being used in various online campaigns as well as a number of mobile phone applications, both on the iPhone and Android.
However, this example from Hugo Boss, really does bring AR to the masses with an ease of participation so simple, a monkey could do it.
Take a look…
Here at 1000heads we talk a lot about Breadth vs Depth when it comes to levels of engagement. How we do reach as many people as possible while maintaining the option of deep level engagement to those that have the time and interest to cough up some real emotional investment.
Admittedly this isn’t the deepest of campaigns, but then again it doesn’t need to be.
What I love the most is that it takes a tangible real-world asset with digital components to drive real-world traffic to its offline store. In this case, the shop front to get your (personalised?) message – and then once there – it drives you inside to discover if you’ve won a money off coupon.
With the popularity of doing your shopping online showing no sign of waning, high street retailers need to consistently find innovative ways to increasein-store footfall.
Hats off to Hugo Boss. An instant success with instant word of mouth.
Don’t believe me? Watch the video again and see the crowds of people outside the store attracting the attention of passers-by…
Trust us – Re-inventing the shop front: it’s the next big thing.
Recently our Data Systems Manager here at 1000heads, one Mr Andrew Stretton, was extolling the virtues of First Direct. Their first forays into social media have been widely covered by the trade press and – as such – FD have followed up with some facts and figures.
However, it’s these facts and figures that are raising questions with our manager of data systems.
Andrew, the floor is yours
___________________
First Direct captured my attention this week with an innovative ad campaign on London Underground, using the findings of an online market research study as its centrepiece.
“77% of what’s said about us online is positive”
It’s exciting to see companies shouting about their word of mouth. The sample WOM on the advert is also interesting – could we soon see realtime social media feeds on billboards just as Skittles attempted on their website?
On the other hand, the wording of the ad and the methodology used raises a few questions.
First Direct claim that 77% of what’s said about them “online†is positive, based upon a sample of opinions posted in a controlled environment on a brand presence. It would be interesting to know what the results would be if all banks gave their users the same opportunity and what the exact effects of the incentives involved were.
As Data Systems Manager here at 1000heads I’m tasked with bringing our clients a representative sample of spontaneous conversation from the widest variety of online sources possible. Benchmarked, contextual data from realtime, unprompted conversation could provide more interesting top line stats for an advert, giving people a birdseye view of what they themselves are saying online. For example:
“In online conversation, Brand X is strongly endorsed 20% more often than any other major UK bankâ€
This is of course is not to say that surveys have no place, it’s just that there is so much more insight out there to play with.
How do you think these different measures of opinion can be reconciled? Do let us know what you think in the comments, or if you would like to know more about our WOMTrak and WOMActive products please drop us a line.
The event was an interesting one to say the least, with advertisers, media planners and buyers all discussing what kind of cost per engagement (CPE) models they should be working towards and what kind of results they should be expecting.
I went in with a slightly different angle.
My brief was as follows:
“Engagement Beyond Advertising: Identifying and Evaluating Engaged Customers in the Social Space”
First off, it’s important to establish what is meant by ‘the social space’. Social, more now than ever before, implies ‘online’. However, that’s not strictly true. Word of mouth is both an online and an offline activity. Conversations can happen EVERYWHERE.
And if conversations can happen everywhere then people can be engaged anywhere.
But what do I mean by engagement? Each speaker had their own interpretation. For me, an engagement isn’t just simply clicking through on a banner ad, nor is it really watching the video that rolls after said click.
True engagement is about the beginnings of something much bigger. The beginnings of conversation.
Whether that conversation be between brands and people or between people and people, what does it mean to be truly ‘engaged’?
How many brands have to ‘engaged’ with today? How many people?
How and where?
This is something I’m going to have to come back to another time. The NMA has written up their thoughts on the subject (based on the presentations from the day), but for now, take a look at the slides below and let me know what you think –
A few days ago, interes10 mentioned that London’s Natural History Museum was a fairly decent place to visit for a family day out.
Whenever I think of the Natural History Museum I immediately have images of the giant Blue Whale model in the Mammals hall, or even the huge fossil collection that inhabits the entrance hall.
Dinosaurs spring to mind.
Always.
Today I found myself back there again. But not for a family day out this time, oh no. My presence was required for a much different purpose.
Operation: BIG GNAW was my very own secret mission for today.
Part of an overall plan –PLAN 9 to be exact – I was to be at a set location, at a set time and armed with a very specific set of responses to a set of questions of which I had no knowledge. With a map in my pocket and some guidelines around exactly what I could and could not say, I set out.
“But what the hell is PLAN 9? What is Operation BIG GNAW?”
Allow me to explain…
Mr Dan Light (pictured, top), is currently in the process of putting together a sizzle/trailer for a new film entitled Loch Ghoon. The script, based on an original screenplay by Dan’s cousin Max, requires a few vox pops from everyday folk (that’s where I come in), shot in and around London’s Natural History Museum (NHM).
‘PLAN 9’ was the codename for the operation that took us secretly deep inside the NHM and BIG GNAW was the pseudonym under which my instructions were left for me. Along with a few other cheeky cameo stars, the aim was to get in, shoot what we needed and then get out again before we were rumbled by the NHM security.
Not an easy task.
I’ve tried filming in a you-think-it’s-public-but-it’s-not-really kind of place before and that did not end well. However, thanks to Dan’s meticulous planning (see above), the whole shoot went off without hitch.
Being a Saturday afternoon, the museum was naturally very busy. With Joe Public taking photos left, right and centre, somehow a small collection of inconspicuous-looking men gathered ’round a camera, interviewing each other suddenly became something rather normal. Par for the course in fact. Business as usual.
To the average passer-by, we were merely tourists.
There’s a Plan9 photo set from today’s fun and games up over on flickr and, if you’re interested in following the progress of Loch Ghoon, I suggest you stay tuned to Dan’s blog – if anything, it’s just a good read.
Sometimes the best kind of word of mouth is that created out of taking the mundane, everyday things we’re so used to and simply doing something different with them.
Take this example here from fast-food giant, McDonalds.
Nice huh?
They took your average, everyday bus stop and turned it into a point of conversation.
How?
By building a bespoke steam machine made to the exact measurements of the bus shelter which then fills the space whenever anyone sits near. Only when the ad is filled with steam does the message become visible. Very smart.
Suddenly the free coffee promotion becomes the point of a conversation, instead of just merely a call to action.
Look around you, what everyday things could you turn to your advantage?
Plane: England -> South Africa
Plane: South Africa -> Zambia
Bus: Zambia -> Chobe River
Boat: Chobe River -> Botswana (for 45mins)
4×4: Botswana -> Chobe River
Boat: Chobe River -> Namibia
When we were told this challenge was to ride the Zambezi, all of the information we had been given (before our itineraries arrived), implied that we were to be staying in Zambia.
As it turned out, we were actually to spend the majority of our time in Zimbabwe. Not before however, we returned to Namibia for one night of relaxation at the Ichingo Chobe River Lodge, situated right on the banks of the Chobe River itself.
Tonight’s treat? Speedboat Safari.
I’ll hopefully get some good photos… I can’t believe how much I’m really enjoying this camera.
We’ve just changed our Twitter background like so:
Why? Well…
We think, when it comes to talking to brands, it’s important to know exactly who you are talking to. Putting a human face to the oft-faceless corporations is something we believe in and, fortunately also specialise in.
Obviously the above method isn’t for everyone – I still have artichokes as my personal background (it’s a long story). But by updating your contact info using this under-used medium is just one way of maximising the impact of your company’s Twitter presence.
If you’re using twitter from a brand perspective, as we are above, how do you use your background?
whatleydude.com 