Dec 29, 2012

Ladder - Homepage for the Homeless


Classification: Creativity: 4,2;  Call to action: 4;  Empathy for the Brand: 4
Total: 4,1

Redirect your consumerism this holiday season and make your shopping benefit the 1 in 200 Australians who will be homeless this year. GPY&R Melbourne and youth charity Ladder present "Homepage for the Homeless." Click through to participating retailers' sites from the hompage, so 15% of what you buy will be donated to the cause by the store -- with no cost to you. - (via creativity online)







Advertising Agency: GPY&R, Melbourne, Australia
Executive Creative Director: Ben Coulson
Senior Art Director: Paul Meates
Senior Copywriter: Alex Wadelton & Katie Britton
Group Account Director: Julian Bell
Account Manager: Rachel Semmens
Producer: Carrie Burman & Jessica Krt
Designer: Kota Matsuda

Developers: Brett Harris, Chris Upjohn 


Dec 22, 2012

6 Dos & Don'ts for Better Content Marketing

Think having a bold, eye-catching homepage is enough? Think again. Outbrain's CEO shares his best strategies for attracting quality visitors to your site--and keeping them engaged. 

by: Marla Tabaka (inc)

Hey, your blog looks great! And those videos certainly add the finishing touch. Congratulations!
Now what?

Is it really enough to create your own content, push it out to your list, and wait for sales to boom?
This strategy may bring some measure of success to business owners with lists consisting of hundreds of thousands of contacts, but not for the average entrepreneur.  According to Yaron Galai, the CEO of Outbrain, a content-discovery platform that places their clients' articles, mobile, and video content on high-profile publisher sites, you need to get creative about how you market your content. 

So, ask yourself: What's your most outstanding digital content? Does your content marketing plan to ensure that it's actually found and appreciated by the right people?
"Whether it's through the social Web, sponsored placement on a publisher site, or via others channels, readers are not searching for your content," Galai says. "It's vital to provide them with the opportunity to essentially 'happen upon it.'"

Of course, to qualify as recommended reading you'll want to produce the most brilliant content possible and, regardless of earned media, many brands and businesses are doing just that. Here are Galai's tips to ensure that your efforts produce quality pieces of content--not just thinly veiled marketing pushes that your readers can see right through--and always fail to produce results.

1. Don't Skimp on Design
Sure, it's the quality of the content that will keep your visitors coming back, but don't underestimate the power of a slick, eye-catching site. Designing your site with a high-quality screen resolution will help your viewers to think of your site as premium, as does using high-quality images that take up their entire frames.



2. Don't Go for the Hard Sell
Although the ultimate purpose of all marketing is to drive sales, content marketing employs a fairly nuanced approach. The focus is on educating, entertaining, and delivering value to the consumer, rather than giving a hard pitch for your products or services.

3. Do Make It Multimedia
This goes hand-in-hand with investing in design. Varying the type of content you show on your site is essential to providing an engaging, well-rounded user experience that sucks people in and keeps them clicking for more.

4. Don't Leave Dead Ends 
When it comes to content marketing, the old adage about "leave 'em wanting more" most definitely does not apply. The best time to engage your audience is when they're already in content consumption mode, which is why every page on your site should offer plenty of links to further content.

5. Do Run Both Earned & Owned Media
Have great press coverage or a fantastic review? This is a perfect opportunity to maximize your earned media. Adding it to the mix of your own content is a good way to engage your audience and increase your brand's credibility.

6. Do Make Sharing Easy
If you create great content, there's a good chance that you'll garner some fans along the way, which is why it's so important to give them mechanisms to share that content with their friends.

Dec 15, 2012

Engage With the Superfans


Most of Your Fans Are Dormant, but Active Ones Can Spread a Message Virally
By: (adage)



Brands work hard to accumulate fans and connect with a large fan base on Facebook, but studies reveal that only a tiny fraction of those fans are engaging with the product. This is discouraging news. And it raises the question: What should a brand do next?
Brands should be focusing on identifying and activating their top advocates on Facebook, the superfans. These are a powerful species, masters of spreading content virally to households around the globe. Brand evangelists with a fervor, they can motivate into action even those who are typically dormant.


Here are the most important tips for getting the most our of your brand's superfans :
Reward loyalty. Superfans are a brand's most loyal fans. Most brands understand the importance of rewarding repeat customers, and this principle holds true on Facebook. Just as a store might reward loyal customers with early access to sales, brands should reward superfans. Surprising superfans with discount codes or branded SWAG delights them, making them more likely to continue coming back and spreading their viral word about a brand.
Make it mutual. Building a two-way, genuine relationship with superfans can be just as effective at driving repeat engagement as physical rewards. Just as regulars at a restaurant are more likely to return if the manager greets them by name or comes over to their table to say hi, superfans will be more likely to return if a brand acknowledges their repeat presence and constantly engages with them. Brands should go out of their way to build relationships with superfans by responding to their comments, answering their questions immediately and liking or commenting on the content they share.
Ask for their help. Superfans represent a brand's most passionate, dedicated customers, so brands should dedicate extra effort to finding out what these customers like. Invite superfans into experiences where they can openly share ideas and feedback to make the brand better. Most superfans will feel honored by the invitation and eager to help shape the future of a brand they love.
I'm not suggesting that brands ignore the rest of their fans, just that they pay more attention to their superfans. For every dollar or minute a brand dedicates to Facebook, the brand will receive more back from superfans than the average fan. So treat them accordingly.

Dec 14, 2012

Top 2012 Viral Campaigns


  1. Kony 2012 - Invisible Children
This holiday season, give the best gift of all - the gift of coming home. A recent study found that 89% of former LRA combatants said "Come Home" messaging was what motivated them to escape and return to their families and communities.



2.  Stratos - Red Bull 
The mission, Red Bull Stratos, will take renowned athlete Felix Baumgartner to at least 120,000 feet above the earth, to the very edge of Space.From there, he will attempt a stratospheric free fall jump - the longest in the history of man - and hopefully will become the first human to break the speed of sound with his own body.



3.  Angry Birds Space - Rovio
The FIRST ever game announcement and gameplay footage from space: http://angrybirds.com/space. Brought to you by NASA and Don Pettit from the ISS.



4.  Galaxy S III - Samsung

Intuitive, innovative, and stylish, the Galaxy S III is The Next Big Thing—and it's already here



5. The Beauty Inside - Toshiba

 The Beauty Inside is an interactive social film, presented by Intel and Toshiba, directed by Drake Doremus, starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Topher Grace, and all of YOU. It's Hollywood's first film that gives the audience a chance to play the lead role.



6.  Just my Shell - M&M'S

And now, a milestone in M&M's history - the debut of Ms. Brown! Here you'll get to see exactly why she hadn't revealed herself to the public in years.


7.  Proud Sponsors of Moms 2012 - P&G



8.  Your Daily dose of Drama - TNT 

To launch the high quality TV channel TNT in Belgium we placed a big red push button on an average Flemish square of an average Flemish town. A sign with the text "Push to add drama" invited people to use the button. And then we waited...



9.  LeBron's Day - Samsung

When LeBron James was choosing his next smartphone, he wanted something unique—something that would turn heads but could also make day-to-day tasks effortless. Something that had all the functional capabilities of a smartphone and all the creative elements of a tablet. With its fine-tuned S Pen, enhanced multitasking functions, and beautiful 5.5" Super Amoled screen, the Galaxy Note II was the Best of Both.




10. Angry Birds Star Wars -  Rovio

On November 8, the Angry Birds and Star Wars universes will collide, in our best game to date. http://angrybirds.com/starwars
It doesn't stop there though, we'll have a whole host of toys, animations and other Angry Birds Star Wars goodness to enjoy! So, watch the video a few times, follow ourhttp://angrybirds.tumblr.com page and check back *every* day - this is just the beginning. 
May the birds be with you