Nick Malham

Win Tickets to Bon Iver.

2012-02-13T20:36:00.000-08:00

Win Tickets to Bon Iver.
Double Grammy award winning artist Bon Iver is coming to Sydney Opera House in March. If you missed out on tickets to his three sold out shows you can win one of three pairs on Sydney Opera House's Music Facebook page here. Listen to the latest Bon Iver album here.

Erykah Badu

2012-02-12T19:39:00.001-08:00

Think Different...

2011-12-26T19:01:00.001-08:00

Beautiful videos...

2011-12-23T00:13:00.001-08:00

Video is the future of us browsing the web. Beautiful imagery, enticing music, a solid voiceover and you'll turn a browser into a viewer.

Let the adventure begin...

2011-06-23T05:37:00.000-07:00

So yes, I've been a bit quiet recently (unlike me I hear you say), but there is reason. In two days time Joni and I will depart for a 3 month adventure around Europe finishing back in the land down under.

I've done a fair bit of travelling in the past, which I'm sure like many of us, has turned into a blur and distant memory. The wonderful world of technology has now changed this forever. Depending on wifi availability I'll be trying to update the odd snap of where we are and what we're up to, so when I'm old and grey I can bore my grandchildren looking back over this on their iPad 88Gs.

Our rough itinerary is below but subject to change as we're taking the car and haven't actually booked much accommodation (Joni, don't panic!). Follow the journey 3701miles.tumblr.com

25-Jun London to Rouen, France

26-Jun Rouen to Chateauroux

27-Jun Chateauroux to Les Magnes

28-Jun Les Magnes to Toulouse

29-Jun Toulouse to Barcalona

30-Jun Barcalona

01-Jul Barcalona

02-Jul Barcalona to Perpignan

03-Jul Perpignan to Montpellier

04-Jul Montpellier to Provance

05-Jul Provance

06-Jul Provance to St Tropez

07-Jul St Tropez to Cannes

08-Jul Cannes to Monaco

09-Jul Monaco

10-Jul Monaco to Genova

11-Jul Genova to Siena

12-Jul Siena

13-Jul Siena to Rome

14-Jul Rome

15-Jul Rome

16-Jul Rome to Amalfi Coast

17-Jul Amalfi Coast

18-Jul Amalfi Coast to Siena

19-Jul Siena to Florence

20-Jul Florence to Venice

21-Jul Venice

22-Jul Venice to Milan via Verona

23-Jul Milan

24-Jul Milan to Ticino

25-Jul Ticino

26-Jul Ticino to Zurich

27-Jul Zurich to Frankfurt

28-Jul Frankfurt to Amsterdam

29-Jul Amsterdam

30-Jul Amsterdam to Lille

31-Jul Lille to Ferry to London

01-Aug Home

02-Aug Home

03-Aug London to York via Oxford

04-Aug York to Melrose, Scotland

05-Aug Melrose to Edinburgh

06-Aug Edinburgh to Killin

07-Aug Killin to Chester

08-Aug Chester to London

09-Aug World Vision

10-Aug World Vision

11-Aug World Vision

12-Aug World Vision

13-Aug Pakefield Pontins (Amazing!)

14-Aug Pakefield Pontins

15-Aug Pakefield Pontins

16-Aug Pakefield Pontins

17-Aug Pakefield Pontins

18-Aug Pakefield Pontins

19-Aug Pakefield Pontins

20-Aug Pack up stuff

21-Aug Pack up stuff

22-Aug Pack up stuff

23-Aug Fly to Athens

24-Aug Day in Athens

25-Aug Athens to Mykonos

26-Aug Mykonos

27-Aug Mykonos to Paros

28-Aug Paros

29-Aug Paros to Santorini

30-Aug Santorini

31-Aug Santorini to Ios

01-Sep Ios

02-Sep Ios to Athens

03-Sep Pack up stuff

04-Sep Pack up stuff

05-Sep Pack up stuff

06-Sep Pack up stuff

07-Sep Pack up stuff

08-Sep Pack up stuff

09-Sep Pack up stuff

10-Sep Leaving party

11-Sep Pack up stuff

12-Sep London to Bangkok

13-Sep Arrive in Bangkok

14-Sep Bangkok

15-Sep Bangkok

16-Sep Bangkok

17-Sep Brisbane

18-Sep Byron

19-Sep Byron

20-Sep Byron

21-Sep Byron

22-Sep Demasi Stag do

23-Sep Demasi Stag do

24-Sep Demasi Stag do

25-Sep Demasi Stag do

26-Sep Byron

27-Sep Move to Sydney

Facebook.

2011-04-26T02:47:00.000-07:00

Facebook. When you think about it, it’s a pretty phenomenal thing. Here are some stats for you to paint the picture:

More than 500 million active users
50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
Average user has 130 friends
People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook

Of the 500 million active users, half of us are accessing facebook from our phones. Those who are accessing from their phone are much more active than those who don’t.

What I’ve have been thinking about lately is mobile technology. You see, Facebook makes it money through advertising on the facebook.com website. Facebook looks over our profiles and understands what we like and then matches our interests to potential advertisers.

However, if 50% of us are accessing facebook through our phones (and this is rapidly growing) and there is no advertising currently featured on the mobile platform, what does facebook have in store to make sure it keeps on making bucket loads of money?

The facebook philosophy has always been to put us, the user first and ensure that advertising doesn’t ruin our experience. But with the rapid growth of mobile tech, will the corporate heads take advantage of this and start pushing adverts through our phone? I hope not, you can kind of ignore facebook adverts on your computer, but on your phone it will be much more in your face. Only time will tell but I have a feeling something is going to be changing soon.

iPad 2 - What you need to know

2011-03-03T04:48:00.000-08:00

It's finally arrived and an air of disappointment is floating around. Why? Well, its everything we expected, almost. Essentially its nothing new and amazing, but it was never meant to be. The iPad 2 to the iPad is the iPhone 4 to the iPhone 3GS. Slightly better technology, slightly thinner and with a couple of cameras thrown in for good measure. Apple website

Rumours are already floating around that the iPhone 5 and iPad 3 will be the ones we're not expecting and re-align how we use technology, but who wants to wait another 12 months and then hear the rumours about iPhone 6 and iPad 4!! It's a never ending circle of gizmo's and gadgets. So if you missed it, here is what the iPad 2 will have to offer....

33% thinner
15% lighter
Dual core processor (quicker)
Dual cameras for FaceTime
Smart Cover (this is the best part for me)
Starting price of £499
Available 25 March 2011

What it can't do:

No built in SD card slot for your camera memory card
No USB port
Still doesn't support Flash videos!!!!!
Retina display

All in all, I still want one. Watch these videos to see the new features and the amazing new case!

App of the week - 1

2011-02-27T05:30:00.000-08:00

MyVoucherCodes

Uses GPS location services to pick up where you are and what discounts you can get within walking distance. Also able to search by area and category. No more printing :)

App store

What you didn't know about your iPhone: Part II

2011-02-24T06:31:00.000-08:00

Ding ding...round two. Here is the next instalment of maximising the functionality of your iPhone.

6. Google search

I'm not sure if you are the same but I never ever use the search function if you swipe your screen to the right. However, now instead of searching your music, contacts and everything else on your iPhone, the search actually can be used as a google search on the web.

7. Sending/deleting multiple pictures at once

This used be to be right pain in the a&$e! But now, when you go into your photos app and onto the camera roll (so you can see all of your pictures at once not just one) click on the top right arrow. You can copy, print, delete, email and MMS images in one go. Just tap on the ones you wish to highlight then do what you will with them. Note, you can only email five images at a time.

8. Better than Shazam!

We all have Shazam on our iPhone. Those who don't know what is it (where have you been), it's essentially an App that allows you to play a song into it and it will identify who it is. The problem with it is (with the free version) you can only do about five searches per month and you need to play the song for about 30 seconds for it to recognise it. However, fear not, SoundHound is here. You can sing, hum, or play a five second clip for it to recognise your song. Also, it has a clever little function that shows you popular music in the charts and if you have it on your iPod it will allow you to multi task and play it without leaving the App. Oh and it's free!

9. Mobile me

This is great! Sorry its only free for iPad and iPhone4 users but still its brilliant. To set it up, go to your Settings App > Mail, Contact & Calendar > Add Account > Mobile me. Register with your iTunes email account details and your off. Now if you lose your iPhone just go to www.me.com. You can use GPS to track exactly where you iPhone is using Google maps. You can send it a message so if someone has stolen it you can send them a message and tell them what you think of them. If you think you've just lost it and left it on silent you can turn the ringer on for two minutes and you can also wipe all your data and lock it as well.

10. Faded screen

This one is a little pointless but hey, it works and you most probably don't know about it. Lock your screen. before you go to unlock it, put your finger across the top part of your iPhone. Now when you unlock it your screen will be dim lit, until you remove your finger and bring it to light. As I said, a little pointless but apparently can save 0.0367% of your battery life if its low :)

Oh, and if you were wondering how to do the screen shots of each of the iPhone images, press your lock and home button together (but I'm sure you already know that one as well....didn't you?).

What you don't know about your iPhone

2011-02-18T04:46:00.000-08:00

Your iPhone is smarter than you know. Here are my top five new tricks I have picked up that you probably didn't know about. Another five coming next week!

1. Typing a text message

Save your time switching between keypad screens every time you want to put a full stop by simply double tapping the space bar button.Kaboom!

2. Multi tasking

Yes we all heard about the joys of the new iPhone software being able to multi task. What you didn't hear was that without closing them all down they considerably slow down the running of your iPhone. If you double tap the home button (the big circle one at the bottom) this will bring up every application that is still running. Now if you hold your finger on one application until it starts to shuffle a little delete button will appear. Simply press this to close all your multi tasking apps that are running and see how much faster your iPhone runs! (Don't worry, deleting them from your multi tasking bar will not delete them from your home screen!). Hurrah!

3. Screen orientation lock

This one is handy when the automatic screen orientation changes when you try to turn your iPhone to look at something. Double click the home button, swipe to the right and your iPod play button and a circle (refresh like) button will appear. Click on this and go back to your main screen and you will see your iPhone orientation will be locked vertically. To unlock simply go back and click again. Pow!

4. Live TV on your iPhone

Visit the website www.tvcatchup.com from your iPhone internet browser. Create an account (only name and email needed) and click on the iPhone option at the bottom of the page. You'll then gain live (technically about 10 seconds behind live) TV from your iPhone. The quality is top notch but watch your data package, it might be eaten into. If you have a wifi connection it will stream pretty much perfect. You'll gain access to all the freeview UK TV channels direct from your iPhone! If you click the little arrow button at the bottom of your browser you'll be able to "Add to Home Screen" and it will appear as an App does (but I'm sure you already knew that!). Boom!

5. Scientific calculator

Remember those old school days when you needed a scientific calculator to work out the sin, cos and tan?! Well Apple thought, just encase you ever need to use those handy things again, we will make sure you have them! Open your calculator and rotate your orientation to horizontal and shazam, your GCSE Maths questions will be answered! Geek

iTunes in the cloud

2011-02-15T08:36:00.000-08:00

I love my parents.

I'm finally back in the world of iPhone goodness thanks to my parents getting me an iPhone 4 for my birthday! It feels good.

As everyone with a new iPhone does for the first week, I've been searching the App Store for hours and downloaded loads of Apps to keep me busy, entertained, efficient and informed.

The joy of open platform Apps is that developers seem to find micro niches and holes that the bigger organisations have either over looked or found its just not profitable for them to waste their time with. The latest I have found is Audiogalaxy.

The problem Audiogalaxy solves is around deciding of your 120GB of music on your iTunes at home which to transfer to your iPhone. I never quite understood why iTunes wasn't built or transferable into the cloud to allow you to access your music online as platforms such as Spotify have now done. What Audiogalaxy essentially does is transfers your whole iTunes music library into the cloud and allows you to gain access via your iPhone - meaning you can free up all the storage space on your iPhone and always have your entire music catalogue available for free! There are a few kinks such as you need to have your home iTunes hooked up to the internet and ideally needing a wifi connection on your iPhone not to eat into your data package, but they are on the right tracks.

So here's to all those App developers who can be bothered and don't charge for it, free the apps!

What a visa application to australia looks like...

2011-01-16T04:49:00.001-08:00

£2000 and 4 months of collecting later...

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Jump In!

2011-01-13T12:44:00.000-08:00

I find it funny how certain things trend and what we as consumers buy. This next story comes from Norway and a bunch of students who were hungover, introducing...The OnePiece! http://www.onepiece.co.uk/#about

I'll leave you to be the judge, but then again, I kind of want one now!

Streaming live from your phone.....

2011-01-08T08:09:00.000-08:00

Now if I was going to be really clever I would have video recorded this post live onto facebook but I'm not much of a fan of videos of me in the public arena so I'll leave it up to you.

www.qik.com lets you stream live videos from your mobile to others (public or private) - a bit like facetime with Apple. However, forget the phone limitations of having to have an iPhone, Qik is essentially for every other smartphone in the world. You can direct people to your qik page, stream to your social media network or just go straight to your friends phone. The stream can be a little bitty as expected but its def going to be the future of mobile live videos, especially with Skype backing them!

They have just sold to Skype for $150m after just 2 years of trading. To say mobile technology is the way of the future would be a bold underestimate.

Anyway, check it out, its pretty damn cool.

Bring back engaging advertising...

2010-12-24T03:20:00.000-08:00

Thank you Ikea. You have brought back the banner advert and made it cool.

No matter how targeted and relevant online adverts can be, they must engage its audience to warrant and deserve a click through. Advertisers have become lazy and due to the stalker like ability Google and facebook have to 'understand' who we are, advertisers think they can simply stick up an advert and we will answer. Wrong.

We have grown in a generation to almost despise advertising and not believe a word of it. The world of sharing opinions and recommending to your peers through your social networks is now how the online shopper acts. I am one of those people who will google something and if I see an paid for search result of an organisation next to an organic one I will always click the paid - if companies are stupid enough to have paid results show up literally next to organic ones (which they will have also paid for), they should pay the price.

Anyway I digress from my rant and revert you back to Ikea, go have a play with this link and see what you think. I think it deserves them to be clicked organically.

Ikea banner ad 1
Ikea banner ad 2
Ikea banner ad 3

What a male marketing department looks like...

2010-12-20T03:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Christmas to one and all

What's your loyalty worth?

2010-11-04T10:08:00.000-07:00

Having a Sainsbury's local just down the road and putting £50 of petrol in the car every week to travel to work, I figured getting a Nectar card might be worth while. I also found out you can collect points when booking flights with certain air carriers (Easy Jet) also - bonus. I was racking up loyalty points left right and center.

Then I got an email from Nectar, showing me the wonderful gifts that are available and all the options of where I can spend points. Too good to be true almost. Well it was.

After logging into my account for the first time to see how many points I'd gathered and what amazing gift I could receive, I start digging a little deeper and here's what I found:

On average you gain 2 points for every £1 you spend
For 500 points you can redeem £2.50 worth of gifts
So lets do the math, £1 = 2 points, therefore 500 points divided by 2 (for every £ we spend) = 250
£250 spent gives you a gift value of £2.50

That works out at 1% of every pound I spend! A little on the cheap side if you ask me.

A recent report also showed that within the UK there are over £5bn unclaimed on loyalty cards! So for me, I'll be scrapping the loyalty cards....well apart from subway, I'll always be loyal to you!

Banksy does the Simpsons

2010-10-24T04:40:00.000-07:00

Banksy, the UK's top graffiti artist is way cool. Known for his controversial style, he has given his imprint on a new Simpsons intro, amongst rumours that much of the animation is outsourced to South Korea. I'm sure I could put some sort of marketing swing on this but hey, its just worth a watch...

Go check out some more of Banksy's work here.

The not so funny side of diarrhoea

2010-10-09T02:53:00.000-07:00

This award winning DTV from WaterAid is a hard hitting eye opener to the effects of diarrhoea in third world countries.

Produced by agency: Kitcatt Nohr

They also cleverly developed an iPhone app using GPS to help you find your closest toilet whilst reminding you how luck you are to have the facilities. Check it out and download it here.

Smell like a man, man.

2010-08-02T08:54:00.000-07:00

For those of you who aren't on the social media scene you may have missed the latest campaign from Old Spice - before I go any further let me give you a sneak preview...

To me, they are mini clips based on the legend Ron Burgundy and just brilliant. The campaign created by W+K was a true social media success for Old Spice with over 750,000 Fans on Facebook and 1,000,000 followers on twitter. The shift of demographic from my granddad to me is the real achievement for the campaign which has gathered global media coverage setting new standards for all future campaigns.

The campaign gathered its momentum after responding to twitter followers questions directed at the Old Spice Guy - Isaiah Mustafa. Across a three day period over 180 personalised video responses were created - everything from marriage proposals to Ashton Kutcher commenting were tweeted and duly responded to....

Initial bloggers slated the campaign arguing the message to the target audience was lost and it would never increase sales. However, after the first month sales increased 107% and hits to the website and social media outlets were massive. I'm sure W+K have a 'I told you so' smile on their face :)

These fun, interactive videos are something that must be praised, partly the copy writing skills from W+K. I could watch them all day and still be entertained and who knows, I might even pick up some Old Spice on my next shopping trip, who ever said advertising was dead?

Where to find 'The Old Spice Guy'
Website: http://www.oldspice.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OldSpice?v=app_130435530325515#!/OldSpice?v=app_130435530325515
Twitter: http://twitter.com/oldspice
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/OldSpice?blend=2&ob=1

Social media...what does it say about you?

2010-07-10T09:05:00.000-07:00

Some of us think of social media as just a means of killing time, yet it is more than that, much more. Particularly for those school leavers and job seekers, social media is a tool which will most likely be used to give a first impression of you. As soon as an employer or recruitment agent receives your CV the first thing they will do is Google you. What they find may either enhance or kill off any chance of getting a job before you have even started, so it's important you are aware.

Google yourself

Their has been much debate around what is legal and not when reviewing job seekers online profile - whatever the case, the internet is a public arena and you must be aware of what is out there. I will use myself as an example - when you Google 'Nick Malham' the majority of results are from my Twitter, LinkedIn, Blog and the odd football news report. Due to this, I aim to keep my profile on all these accounts strictly business Google Nick Malham (I am determined to knock the other Nick Malham comedian from the top spot).

My job is boring

In contrast, a girl from Essex England last year was fired from her job after she posted her office job as 'boring' on Facebook. BBC news story. The fine line between work and your social life online must be drawn and where the two meet with regards to social media. I'm sure many of you have had the awkward situation when your boss tries to add you on Facebook, and simply sometimes a 'No thanks, I'd rather you didn't see the pictures of me off my face last weekend!' ignore request is the only way to go.

Facebook privacy

Facebook has improved it's privacy so you wont find me on Facebook through Google and people I don't know can't see any of my profile - however these settings are not pre-set so maybe it's time to check what's public about you online? 10 Facebook privacy setting you should know

Creative World Cup advertising

2010-06-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

The World Cup is more than just a game - it's business. Global organisations spend millions to be involved with the Fifa tournament and bear the World Cup logo on their adverts so they need to make sure their money is well spent. Below are a few adverts from global sponsors around the world, what's your favourite Country?

Brazil

Holland

Germany

Mauritius

England

The 50th Law

2010-05-21T23:25:00.000-07:00

Between transit of leaving Sydney, being in Byron and arriving in London has given me a chance to get back into something I love - reading and learning. Currently I'm engulfed in 'The 50th Law', a book written by Robert Greene after spending time with rapper 50 Cent. The book discusses the philosophy of fear and the effect it can have on life and particularly in business.

Below I have put together a few extracts I felt were particularly interesting regarding the evolution and importance of change; reinvention; and leadership style:

The Hustler's Flow

The old musicians stay where they are and become like museum pieces under glass, safe, easy to understand, playing that tired old shit over and over again...bebop was about change, about evolution, it wasn't about standing still and becoming safe. If anyone wants to keep creating they have to be about change.

- Miles Davis

The Fearlessness Approach

50 Cent is a person I created. Soon it will be time to destroy him and become somebody else.

- 50 Cent

The Hustler King

No man can properly command an army from the rear. He must be at the front - at the very head of the army. He must be seen there, and the effect of his mind and personal energy must be felt by every officer and man present with it...

- General William Sherman

An ideas man - Phase 1: The business plan

2010-04-26T23:07:00.000-07:00

Turning ideas into reality...
After deciding to leave Aus for the next 6-12 months and return to the UK I've been trying to figure out what to do about the little problem of income. I always believe I've been an ideas person, but often lacked the back-end technology 'know-how' to follow through with them - that is until now.

After a few beers down the pub I got chatting to a friend who I mentioned one of my ideas to - "That's easy, I could put together a sample of the software in a few days." So that's exactly what we're going to do.

Without giving away too much, we are planning to develop a piece of software to sell to the DVD industry, which will enhance your experience at a DVD retailer and also give you special offers which you will actually use!

I'm aiming to keep a blog entry of each phase of development until we make our millions....or at least until we realise what we're trying to do is near impossible and fails horribly - either way I figure it will be a good learning curve and an interesting read.

Phase one is the business plan. I'll put this together over the next few days so we can access the capability of the product and the business reality of it all. Time to research the non-existent competition and most importantly the finances. Stayed tuned.

The new world of advertising

2010-04-22T23:45:00.000-07:00

I've recently been seeing more and more augmented reality campaigns and every time I'm blown away - this is the future of the ad industry. For those who aren't aware of what augmented reality is, it's defined as "live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery"...so now you should be clear?!

All you really need to know is that it's uber cool and brings 3D images and holograms into life before your very eyes through your webcam. It's less about words and more about just sitting back and watching the show - so I'll practice what I preach.

A little less hurt

2010-04-21T21:54:00.000-07:00

I only read auto-biographies and business books. My favourite movies are the ones which begin 'the following is based on a true story.' I have a fascination with non-fiction so much so that it continually inspires me to become better...at everything. All these types of stories are based on real life, relatable human emotion - the most powerful and lasting memory. As a marketing tool its used on us all the time and sports brands have notoriously done this well. Below I'll show you a few examples how:

Oh and in case you were wondering, some of those books include:

Books
The element – Ken Robinson
Losing my virginity – Richard Branson
Open – Andre Agassi
It’s not about the bike - Lance Armstrong

Eye of the tiger

2010-04-09T02:42:00.000-07:00

Tiger is back. The biggest sports personality in the world has finally returned to his homeland...the golf course. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all against adultery but from a sporting sense this guy is the man. Let's forget for a second that potential mistress number 16 has just come out, it's all a little boring now and yesterdays news.

Brand Tiger is back on the road to recovery and Nike has already gone to work on their first TVC featuring Tigers late father. It's a little dark and doesn't answer any questions but more asks them and is strong enough to not need an answer. Being released on YouTube last week, this video has already received over 2.5m views, now tell me there's a brand with a following.

A quick scan of facebook fan pages will show several ‘I’ve had an affair with Tiger Woods’ pages with over 50,000 members. However what you will also notice is the fan page with over 1,391,953 fans (at 12 April 2010) - obviously more lovers than haters, no pun intended.

Although he didn’t return with a win at the Masters this weekend, I have no doubt he will go on to win many more and although his brand will always have the affairs tagged to it, he will officially go down as the greatest golfer that has ever gifted this earth.

Now I can understand the short term reasoning for his sponsors leaving him behind, they don’t want to support that type of character - but as I said in my post last week we are fickle consumers of media and we do easily forget if not always forgive. From this perspective I applaud Nike and their brave long term strategy not to dump Tiger, because in the long run he'll make them a bucket more money, which as a business investment is his job. I could go on for days about this but I think you get the picture - Tiger's back.

When the shit hits the fan

2010-04-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

I've been a little slack over the past couple of weeks with new entries to my blog. Little to your knowledge it's been because I was on holiday in New Zealand for 10 days (awesome) and then was sick for another 10 days when I got back (not so awesome).

This change of routine knocked my good blogging habits out the window. It got me thinking, this happens to all of us - whether you’re trying to get fit, going on a diet, trying to quit smoking or even trying to build your company’s brand - life happens all around us and will often try to kick back all the hard work we have done to get to where we are.

Long term success, whether it be with life, work, sport or building a brand, comes down to consistency. Those willing to stick out the hard yards and keep plugging away, even when things change and the shit hits the fan, will be the ones that succeed. Because life does happen and we need to adapt and change our routines to continually develop. Those with the will power to go for a run when we just don’t feel like it, or not have a cigarette when all your friends are, or continue to invest in your marketing and PR strategy will be the ones who emerge ahead of the rest.

Back to the future

2010-03-31T19:29:00.000-07:00

It's funny how fickle we are as consumers of media. We embrace it, spread it and soon enough forget it before the cycle starts again.

My most recent example comes from two media celebs who 24 months ago were hot property. 12 months on and they were both slammed and defamed enough to be removed from air. To today, where the air has settled and they both starring on their own shows and the face of their own TVC's.

Yes I'm talking about Matty John's and Kyle Sandilands. They inspire and give hope to even the Lara Bingle’s of the modern day celebrity. It takes a fair bit of gusto to go through that process and come out with some light at the end of the tunnel so good on em I say...or should I point my congratulations toward their publicist? Either way it seems they have gunned the Delorean to 88mph and taken a ride back to the good ol days!

An awesome waste of time

2010-03-09T17:58:00.000-08:00

Competitions can often work well as a tool to engage with new customers.

A recent example is BPAYs 'The World's biggest most awesome waste of time' competition.
http://www.awesometimewasting.com.au/

I'm currently crafting my entry of building a world record jenga pyramid, I wont be asking this reporter however!

A logo to stand the test of time

2010-02-14T21:27:00.000-08:00

There aren't many logos out there that can stand the test of time. Poor designs can be quickly outdated and re-brands can be an expensive exercise.

However, there is always the odd exception to the rule, and in this case it comes from Baron Pierre de Coubertin - creator of the Olympics Games and designer of Olympic Rings.

The five interlocking rings represent five continents of the world, Africa, the Americas (North and South America are combined), Asia, Europe and Oceania. The colors of the rings represent the flags of the countries that participate in the Olympics and the genius part is, every country's flag participating in the Olympics includes at least one of the following colors: blue, black, red, yellow, and green. Pretty cool huh.

So now you know.

Manipulating the world into a better place

2010-02-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

Marketing and advertising tend to be considered dirty words. Not to be trusted, the world perceives our industry as the enemy - only out to sell to the unwilling and make the rich richer.

However, what onlookers may have forgotten is the other side to our world. How we promote safer driving, support charities and try to convince the public to make the earth a better place to live.

Below is my appeal to all those skeptics who don't realise the other side of our world of manipulating the world into a better place.

RTA - Speeding - No one thinks big of you
This has to be one of the smartest road campaigns over the last decade. Rather than focusing on the tragedy of a car incident - a traditional fear injection angle, it goes for the social element of aligning bad drivers with bogans, chavs or whatever you call those aspiring 'Pimp my ride' wannabes.

The Fun Theory - an initiative of Volkswagen.
This is one of a series of experiments for a new brand campaign of VW. It showcases how 'fun' can change behavior and results from this campaign showed that 66% more people than normal chose to use the stairs rather than escalator - ha I'd love to see this in London's underground stations!

What's the buzz all about?

2010-02-10T14:05:00.000-08:00

Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare and Google Buzz. Social media is growing and expanding at rates faster than ever. Location based social media is the latest trend which has given Google an entry in the social media market.

The latest edition launched by Google yesyerday - Google Buzz is all about sharing links, updating friends, real-time web (yes Facebook), location-based messaging (yes FourSquare) and posting your thoughts and opinions on what's going on (yes Twitter). Just think longer posts than Twitter and better privacy than Facebook.

However Buzz has been integrated into Gmail rather than a stand alone app. With recent stats appearing on market share of email accounts, Hotmail Windows Live Mail topped the list at a huge 65%, Yahoo! in second with 20% and Gmail struggling in third with less than 5%. Unless this is an attempt to draw online users into creating a Gmail account, the number of users that will be jumping on board is already restricted.

With the majority of the world already integrated into a number of social media networks, Buzz seamlessly is able to integrate into Flickr, Twitter and YouTube (but not Facebook due to the conflict between the two companies).

My question is, how many online personalities can we handle? I predict the majority of users will stick to the main network they are on and have built up a profile and friends with (Facebook, MySpace and Twitter) whilst the early adopters will crave these new trends and networks and TweetBuzzPost all at once!

For Google's introduction to buzz have a quick watch of the video below.

How to create a reality TV phenomenon

2010-02-08T18:43:00.000-08:00

Reality TV is like a mosquito. It sneaks around the end of summer, bites and won't stop itching until your left with blisters.

Without realising it, the challenges on TV have changed from Federer and Murray to chocolate cake temptations for the obese.

All at once "The biggest loser", "So you think you can dance", and new editions such as "My kitchen rules" are back to haunt us for another 12-16 weeks of predictable brain numbing television. Great.

Brain washing Australia and the world

So how are these repetitive, predictable shows all such massive successes? Well the clever guys behind the scenes have this uncanny ability to brainwash the general public into an emotional journey which we can’t ignore.

In assessing these shows they all have the common characteristics that make up the core elements of their success. Low and behold I have figured out Simon Cowell’s secrets and am here to spill the beans.

12 steps to creating a reality TV success

So here are your 12 steps (I don't see why it always needs to be 10, I have 12 points to make so 12 steps it is!) to creating a reality TV phenomenon:

1. a good cop and bad cop set of judges who you love to hate

2. a sob story contestant with emotional Cold Play song in the background

3. a magic moment filmed in super slow mo

4. an ugly duckling who's just never been pretty enough

5. a bunch of over excited hormone induced teenagers who will do anything to have 5 mins of fame

6. a TV time where there is nothing else to watch

7. a voting poll that is so obviously fixed it causes a legal enquiry

8. a rags to riches story

9. a hot chick wearing little clothing

10. a competition element that goes down to the wire

11. a catchy name for the show which can be mimicked endlessly over social networks

12. a 'your greatest moments' show reel to finish on

Why am I telling you all this? Well after 10 minutes of brainstorming with my other half we've already figured out the next big thing..."(Dalai) Lama wants a wife", the script writes itself.

Make it viral

2010-02-01T16:25:00.000-08:00

A report from data specialist Nielsen recently published, showed Aussie's are the biggest users of social media in the world. On average, we spend 6:52 hours on social media sites every month. Amen.

Social media is a Gen Y/Z thing - we live it, breath it and love it. So why have businesses been slow on the uptake - are they too stuck in their traditional media ways to see the light? As the future leaders of the business world, there is no doubt in my mind these will be the tools we look to first when communicating to our audience.

The results of viral campaigns (when done successfully) speak for themselves - the B2C market craves this new age of advertising and rather than having it pushed upon us, we actively go seeking it. However, the B2B market is still wrapping it brains of how to make a go of it - we will see much a of breakthrough this year?

2009 Success Story
Evian Roller Babies

This video was awarded the Guinness World Record for most views of an online ad - 45,166,109 as of 9 November 2009. If you've not yet seen it, where have been hiding, seriously.

What to look forward to in 2010
Coke - Happiness Machine

2010 has started strong with viral videos and at the moment this is well up there. I don't know about you but I can't wait to search YouTube for the next big online ad...

iReview iPad

2010-01-27T21:05:00.000-08:00

Being unable to attend Steve Jobs unveiling of the iPad, I have been trawling the internet to find the best reviews, analysis and commentary on Apple's new technology break through.

I believe this is the best out there at the minute....

Peter Pan's second home...

2010-01-21T21:11:00.000-08:00

This Sunday will be the celebration of my birth some 25 years ago, quarter of a century, existence across 4 decades....there is no nice way to put it, as a Gen Y I am yesterdays news.

What have I done, where have I been, where am I going? Reflecting, I've experienced a lot, lived in three continents and have a new 5 year plan in motion (there is only so much you can get away with when your thirty), so maybe this whole crisis can be averted?

Us Gen Y's have had first hand experience of the evolution from Walkman to Discman to Minidisc to iPod to Nano to 16GB to iPhone and to where we live today with the iPhone 32GBs. What a ride! Yeah this getting old thing isn't so bad, in fact it's kinda cool, who knows what the next 25 will hold? However....I'm sure many other Gen Y's are starting to have fears of 'settling down', 'being more responsible' and 'being that little bit more sensible'. What am I saying? I don't want to be any of those things either!

Epiphany! There it is, Queensland tourisms next big ad campaign to strike the fear into young Australian hearts. Who wants to be sensible, we have the next 50 years to be responsible, we want to go skinny dipping in the Airlie Beach Lagoon, White Water Rafting down Barron River and swimming with sharks at the Barrier Reef. I want to be young and free again! There you have it my friends, you heard it here first, Queensland’s new tourism campaign to screw responsibility and be young again, 'Finding Queensland - Peter Pan's second home'.

10 things I hate about you...social media

2010-01-20T20:36:00.000-08:00

1. I hate your new websites and fads
2. I hate your annoying facebook ads
3. I hate that I can't take my eyes off you
4. I hate the way I always update you
5. I hate your # and @ and RT
6. I hate my 'friend' I'll never meet
7. I hate how old people try and use you
8. and how the young constantly abuse you
9. I hate those drunk pictures, someone always tags and how you replaced dirty mags
10. But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.

Kazaam...your child brand

2010-01-20T02:16:00.000-08:00

Reflecting on a new marketing and PR personal branding service we have launched at the agency I think back to when I was a kid. Going to sports trials, my old man was my greatest brand ambassador.... 'My son is the best basketballer in the region, just watch him!' dad would say to the coach. However, when my number one fan couldn't get in the left ear of the judges it was down to how I played on the day to whether I was selected or not....or at least that's what I thought.

Even now I still distinctly remember certain kids that were picked ahead of me, but were no better or skillful. Let it go I hear you say.

Without realizing at the time, subtle image branding was everywhere and included anything from kids with red hair to rocking out bright orange socks! One step beyond that is those marketing savvy parents who either decided to brand their children from day one or give them a distinctive nickname no-one would forget. Shaq, Tiger, Prince… what other choice did these kids have apart from growing up to be global superstars?

So I guess my point is, next time I go for an interview, even if I don't have the greatest resume at least the other applicants will remember me as the bastard with the pink Mohawk that got the job!