If you love music you have to have a play with Spotify
It allows you to search for and listen to any music of your choice. Nothing new? Its the social aspect that gives Spotify an edge. Start creating a playlist and send the link to your friends so they can share. Choose to turn it to ‘collaborative playlist’ and then they can then add their songs too.
Its so easy to use and intuitive. I recommend you give it a go.
Since attending the Future of Social Media Conference last month - I am a converted 'tweeter' or 'twitterer' - whichever you prefer. Since joining in, there are a few things that I have picked up:
Be selective with who you follow, and you will be updated with the exact news, opinions and cool stuff that you want to be - with no need to search for it. And its all in one place.
Don’t waffle - well you cant you only have 140 characters! Welcome to micro-blogging! Get to the point and thoughtfully share comments, opinions and links. Use ‘tinyurl’ your shorten your links.
Mobile apps - I found Twitteriffic to be a great free iPhone app that allows you to update on the move.
‘Retweet’ - seen a tweet that you love? Re-post it on your profile, but be sure to credit the original in your tweet.
Don’t use it for boring status updates - like what you are having for dinner etc - this is not Facebook.
Celebrities - Stephen Fry is still the most followed person on twitter - over 195,000 now. There is nothing groundbreaking in his tweets, they are simply entertaining, and give you and insight into his life - meanwhile raising his public profile. And why not.
Corporate Tweets - More and more companies are creating profiles, I think its a good thing, the audience after all select which brands they choose to follow, they are in control.
I read in Marketing magazine last week that Twitter is looking into how they can start charging for corporate accounts - no doubt the first of many tactics in the development of the revenue model.
I just set up the PlaygroupTweet where we’ll post our best blogs, and cool things the Playmates spot in the industry.
If you want to be one of the first followers - you can find us here:
http://twitter.com/PlaygroupTweet
Clare
The snow yesterday took us out of our usual routine. For those not able to get to work or without VPN access, there wasn't much else to do other than get stuck in - we had the permission to play.
The last few months have been particularly tough for all, so it was great to see plenty of smiles as the snow brought people together - or drove people apart depending on which side of the snow ball you were on!
The snow allowed some pretty impressive creativity too, with some people even breaking the mould to make snowwomen. Check out some of the pictures on Flickr
Amazing what a change in environment makes and the effect it has on all us. It would be good to be taken out of our usual environment more often.
As I look outside to see the snowmen melting away, it seems a bit sad.
Roll in the next snowboarding trip!
My last blog in delight of Cadbury's advertising campaign was met with plenty of comments in disagreement. The ads 'lacked imagination' and led to 'disappointment' - apparently.
So what do we think about the new glass and a half production staring the eyebrow dancing kids?
Its definitely got people talking once more, and is by far the most entertaining ad I have seen on UK TV recently. Its also being promoted by consumers themselves (every brands dream?). My attention has been drawn to the ad several times through social media - mainly facebook status updates.
By creating content that entertains rather than a traditional one one brand push Cadbury have got it right again. And social media is key to increasing their success.
You may be thinking that with a general air of doom and gloom hanging over the global economy, that now is not the time to be thinking seriously about play – but with experts in agreement that we need to spend our way out of recession, now is it the time for battening down the hatches, making safe decisions and cutting back on innovation.
Innovation, creativity and play all have a pivotal role in driving economic change.
This period of change is triggering a much needed shake up in the way that we interact with brands. In the coming year we will invariably find ourselves in situations that are outside of our comfort zone and with the added pressure to succeed with even more limited resources. We will be challenged to approach and think in new ways.
At Playgroup we have developed a strategy that places play at the centre of everything we do. We have found that by embedding the concept of play into our culture and our methodologies we can bring out the very best creativity, both from ourselves and from our clients, with the result that we better engage audiences with their brands. Take a peek at some of the work from our portfolio.
It’s interesting to look back at what came out of the last economic downturn. A perfectly packaged example of iconic success is the Apple iPod which was launched late in 2001. Ample proof that despite the state of the economy, spirits can be lifted through dedicated innovation, creativity and belief. Ideas will only diminish in value over time. We need to act now, before someone else does.
Microsoft's new approach to advertising definitely caused a stir but in general I think most were impressed by their bold approach to try something new.
However, the Bill Gates/Seinfeld and subsequent ads have provoked a hilarious response from Apple - check out the new bean counter ad
Enjoy!
I don't think I will ever tire of seeing the Gorilla playing the drums. It might have been done already with the Phil Collins number but I am still loving the latest ad...and the glass and a half productions.
Like with Orange and Microsoft ads that I have commented on in my recent blogs, Cadbury use pure entertainment successfully to capture the attention of the audience and create positive brand association.
Have you seen Microsoft's latest ad? It launched in the US last week:
Watch it on YouTube here
Definitely different to Microsoft's usual approach, it seems they are trying to make Microsoft more personable, putting Bill at the forefront of this entertaining campaign that has no mention of technology, features or innovation. Quite a bold step, but one that needs to be taken. We want to be entertained - and the ad attempts to achieve that rather than so blatantly pushing the Microsoft brand and its products.
However, I am not sure they have yet successfully tackled the negativity and geeky image that was amplified by Apple's 'I'm a Mac, I'm a PC' campaign.
Still some way to go.
Is it any wonder that Coke Plus has been a disaster? Until read this article I for one, had never even seen it in the shops.
http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=61881&d=254&h=5&f=3&nl=BN&ln=08060801
As part of the ‘functional drinks’ category, I understand that soft drinks market has had to respond to the health conscious consumer by removing artificial additives and preservatives, but adding vitamins to Coke? I think most would pick up a smoothie or a juice instead? The rest of the standard Diet Coke ingredients probably counteract the goodness that has been artificially added!
Another example of a brand trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the consumer - this really isn't a healthy option. Once again the consumer has not fallen for it, with shocking performance as the sales figures show. I am sure it wont be long before it is removed entirely from the shelves.
I just watched the new Orange ad which will launch their new positioning ‘I am’
Take a look at the ad here www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1hhN-hy66c
Personally I like it, it is an innovative approach, it is not ramming the brand down the consumers throat , instead it uses an abstract and thoughtful style.
The message is that you 'are' all the people that you have come into contact with – they make you who you are. I guess Orange are the best network providers to put you in contact with all of these people ;-)
On a practical note, I wonder if the market is ready for this - will they simply think –what’s the point? It doesn’t tell you anything about the produce or service?
