86% of brands plan to engage with original content

Good news!

An article over at at e-marketer shares the results of a survey undertaken by King Fish Media which reports that 86% brands are planning on creating original content with which to engage their audience, with 74% believing it to be more effective at generating ROI than traditional advertising.

In addition to this, brands now believe the best ways to communicate with prospective leads + customers are their corporate website (75%), social media (73%), custom content + media (70%) + face-to-face events (69%).

And in line with this, e-marketer + almost everything else I've read today (in particular) seems to talking about the importance of measuring the ROI of social media. And not just the non-financial intangiable return, or even against digital sales; but most importantly how we can measure its impact on offline sales.

Olivier Blanchard talks about this at length over here. And Coca-Cola's Carol Kruse shares a little about their aggressive digital plans for the future + how they plan to measure its affect on sales over here.

Round-up 30//07//08

GAMING
Update on Spore – over 1m creatures are being created each week // Got totally addicted to this, Astroflyer

WORLD WIDE WEB
Oooh, a potential contender to Google created by Google alumni, called Cuil has emerged! // More on customisation – the ultimate in car customisation from Volvo // Google’s launched a Second Life // U.S Chewing Gum brand Stride Gum sponsored this guy Matt to travel around the world and film himself dancing (badly) in each country.

CONTENT
One for…VAMPIRES – a really clever campaign launching in the states that takes product placement to a whole new level. More here // An update on Hideous Productions' Riff Raff Bebo campaign - they're currently at an astonishing 47k Bebo fans + are now looking for a brand sponsor // I was shocked to read that "some commissioners run a mile when they see a brand, even on a small channel where the money is tight." – an interesting article on how broadcasters view brands in the light of the recent demand for content and the popularity of ad-funded broadcasting.

TELECOMS
Met office offers weather service to mobile phones // Orange and Sony Ericsson-sponsored MobileAct Unsigned will be relaunched as "OrangeunsignedAct supported by Sony Ericsson" later this year. The show will launch on November 2 on Channel 4 and will be supported by an integrated marketing campaign // Google is launching an experiential activity to drive awareness of the Google services available on mobile phones, including Google Search + Google Maps. Google ‘lounging areas’ will be found in London’s commons and parks alongside interactive garden games + branded tricycles. And Google representatives will show consumers how to access the various Google services available using their own handsets.

GREEN + ETHICAL
EJF has linked with top designers including Katherine Hamnett + to create some v.cool t-shirts to raise awareness of environmental issues // And linking with designers seems to be the latest thing for getting the green message across..now Cath Kidston has designed a re-usable, recycled bag for Tesco – together they hope to raise £250k for Marie Curie Cancer + discourage the use of plastic bags // Pretty! Solar Powered Fairy Lights // Reverend + The Makers Guitarist, Tom Jarvis performed their last song on the John Peel tent at Glastonbury using a guitar made from recycled materials. More here.

JUST COOL
Brilliant – a food fight spoon // Kids Rock – your favourite bands singing kids songs..kinda // Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. This is a wordle for my blog, so it clearly shows what I talk about the most.

OLYMPICS
Pretty cool – a video created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett (the guys behind the Gorillaz) + based on the classical Chinese Novel ‘Journey to the West’. It’s to promote BBC Sport’s coverage of the Olympics + will be shown on TV, online, on the radio + on mobile // And while we’re on the subject of the Olympics, here’s Nike’s (U.S) effort. I read about it on Contagious, where they also mention Bill Bailey’s comment on The Killers ‘I got Soul’ track, used in the ad (at Latitude festival) - “I’ve got soul but I am not a soldier? You can’t say that - it’s like saying I’ve got ham but I am not a hamster... “ – that made me laugh, a lot.

YOOF
This months 23 things (..rules for brands wishing to attract youth) from Ruby Pseudo // And a nice research presentation here on how young people are using their mobile phones.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Sad to be missing the Innocent Village Fair this weekend // See the best views over London from the Stella Artois Star Over London - a Zeppelin airship which flies for 45 minutes // And this is a proper East End Old Time Music Hall featuring seven incredible quick-change artistes playing over 50 characters with magic, trapeze and everything. It's had mixed reviews, so...

Round-up 08//07//08

ONE FOR SUZ
Have you seen The Flight of the Conchords? Well if me + my blog is like Bret + Jermaine, then you're Mel:

TELECOMS
Nokia has launched the next stage of its Music Almighty campaign - a roller disco tour of the UK visiting London, Manchester + Brum. You can sign up for a pair of tickets here to skate for an hour + be musically entertained by DJ sets from Norman Jay, Zero 7, Guilty Pleasures + more. The tour supports Nokia’s ‘Comes with music’ service which has been set up to take on iTunes + has been doing very well having signed up all the major labels bar 1 (EMI). And they’ve cleverly turned what would otherwise be a purely experiential activity into a traffic + sales-driver for their music store by offering everyone to sign up a free download.

Blackberry will be pleased. As demonstrated in its latest campaign, Blackberry is trying to position itself as more of a consumer device. And now it turns out it’s benefiting from iPhone hype as consumers look for a more affordable option. The Samsung Soul does pretty well too..

Sony Ericsson has linked with the Women’s Tennis Association + to support it is launching an ad campaign across 75 countries worth £75m. They’ve also linked with Maria Sharapova to launch a range of mobile phone accessories for women in the 3rd quarter of this year called the Design Collection. Consisting of phone cases, party bags and travel wallets made with Sharapova’s ‘style, fashion + glamour’.

Worth reading but very long. This report talks about the predicted growth in global entertainment + media driven by digital + mobile. Now, we've been talking about this for 8 months or so, but suddenly the whole world is talking about mobile advertising as the next big thing. Nokia has even created Ad Labs in London + Boston to educate + certify ad agency staff on the dark art of mobile advertising + the huge potential for their clients’ brands.

Disney has linked up with Sharp to launch a

Cinderella themed handset aimed at tweens.

Watch this space - thanks to the Nintendo Wii making gaming more accessible, men + women of all ages now consider themselves to be 'casual gamers'. Nokia’s UK Marketing Director, Will Harris reckons gaming will be bigger than music as an industry this year + have made it a top priority. After the modest success of the Nokia NGage, its gaming software now sits alongside it's music + mapping software. Sony Ericsson have launched a Wii-style motion-gaming enabled handset, the F305.

INTERNET + SOCIAL MEDIA
Jim came across this one – Skittle Yourself is a simple but clever microsite that allows kids to create their own characters, Skittles packets + more + then export them into their Bebo profiles + other social networks. A nice example of creating online groundswell - Spore is an EA Games endeavour, which is not to be officially released until September, when it will be released on platforms including the iPhone. But such is the pedigree of its creator the buzz starts now. Created by the guy behind The Sims and Sim City in this new game you get to play God starting at the beginning of evolution and extending all the way to dominating outer space. To build a community online + get people talking + interacting, EA has created a site where you can create + download your own Spore creature + keep up-to-date on Spore news. Some of us were talking yesterday about the likelihood of an application that tells you where in the world your friends are popping up soon. And then literally 30 mins later EI sent through a link to Loopt - a social compass that does just that.

YOOF...+ A BIT OF TELECOMS
Everyone’s been talking about social media, buzz marketing, branded content blah blah blah as the favoured methods of creating a deeper interaction + 2-way conversations between brands + consumers. No longer do consumers just react to what a brand is telling them..they now have control + influence like never before. And while some brands have (to some extent) enabled their customers to even influence the design of products for a while now, I have a feeling this will become even more common - especially among the youth audience to whom expressing individuality is absolutely essential. Nike has been doing the customisation thing for a while, but has now stepped it up a notch by tapping into the mobile world. With Nike PhotoID, consumers can MMS a picture from the real world to inspire their footwear design. Nike will take the 2 main colours from the image to create a personalised pair of trainers. The user is then sent a link to view the trainers on the Nike PhotoID mobile site where they can use the image as wallpaper, send it to a friend + buy the trainers. They’ve timed it pretty well because as people are getting more + more dependant on the internet, social networks, email etc, they’re less averse to paying the connection charges to access the internet on their mobiles (the main barrier before). However, my thinking is that while the youth audience should demonstrate the biggest opportunity for this kind of campaign, they also have the least disposable income..to pay the connection charges + for the trainers themselves?!

..however, Blyk might just solve this problem. Blyk is an advertiser-funded free mobile phone service for 16-24 year olds. In exchange for agreeing to receive up to 6 commercial messages a day (MMS + SMS), users are given 43 minutes of talk + 217 texts free each month. Potentially freeing up cash for mobile internet (?), hmm. Blyk rents space on Orange’s network + has been around for 7 months now – they’ve reached 100k users ahead of schedule and hope to reach 250k users by Christmas.

And just to support the above…here’s another interesting presentation from Mobile Youth discussing what’s next in media for youth. And here are some great stats + graphs + things on the whole customisation thing.

ONE FOR TOM
Puma has created i-cycle – a site that explores + celebrates the culture of cycling through a series of films following cyclists in New York. While I do think the films go some way to capture what’s great about cycling, they’re just slightly too long + not quite engaging enough. However, I do think Puma is onto something + could do more with this…what with the whole green thing + because cycling IS fun, liberating, adventurous + should be shared. In fact I think they’d do well to get me + Tom involved.

GREEN + ETHICAL
Really liking Tonic – they make lovely ethical + organic clothes + bags..altho they are lacking in the female department at the moment. I do think it would be a crime if a certain Art Director of ours lived much longer without this. Camping, learning + entertainment – amazing. The Howies ‘Do’ lectures are taking place in September + they’re looking for applicants with causes they’re passionate about to learn how to actively make a difference. I’m pretty sure you have to write a handwritten letter to apply - find out more here. This is great - Time Out's A-Z of Green.

JUST PLAIN WEIRD
I think Alex + co. should wear these interesting Xbox trousers to their next client meeting…(g)eeeek! Weird – Open Please is a website selling ‘distinctive gifts for the dentist profession’ (WHAT?) – tho I have to say I do quite like the Dentist watch. This reminds me of the Family Guy episode where Peter wishes for his own personal soundtrack – this t-shirt plays different soundtracks selected by you based on your mood, including ‘sexy time’ and ‘sad accident’ themes. I’d love it for maybe 10 minutes.

Creative Control

With the rise of online video agencies are launching in-house broadcast divisions. Are they anticipating a new market or treading on toes? Nicola Smith reports

Last month, digital agency AKQA became the latest in a rash of creative agencies to launch an in-house film division (NMA 08.05.08). Agencies are reacting to brands' rapidly increasing demand for online campaigns centred around film and video. So is now the right time to be creating one-stop shops for clients? Or do advertisers not care where this capability comes from, as long as the work is achieved on time, on budget and to brief?

In-house in vogue?

"The exciting thing is that digital agencies can now make creative, engaging video content for their clients' audiences, whereas before it seemed to be the domain of the more traditional agencies," says James Hilton, founder and executive creative director at AKQA. "I love the fact that the playing field is levelling off and the name of the game is 'best idea wins'."

Honda (UK) is one brand that welcomes the shift. Jonny Freeman, digital marketing manager at Honda (UK), says, "We need to know we can be flexible and retain creative control. Having video-editing capabilities within a digital agency is an advantage for any brand owner."

Cheryl Calverley, UK marketing manager for Chrysalis brands at Unilever - which recently worked with AKQA on the 'Tipping pot' online film for Pot Noodle, a spoof of Guinness's well-known 'Tipping point' TV ad - also sees the trend as a positive move for brands. She says that in-house production brings "far greater experience to the process at an earlier stage, allowing creative development to be tailored more specifically to capabilities."

Yet these brands appear to be in the minority. For others, strong relationships and brand affinity outweigh increased in-house functionality. Sports brand Fila recently worked initially with its PR agency Frank PR and then directly with content specialists Red Bee Media to produce a viral campaign to promote its new trainer, the White Line Fila Vintage. While Fila and Frank PR jointly came up with the concept of a short online film that spoofed the British gangster genre, Red Bee wrote the script and made the film, but outsourced post-production. For Fila it was about finding the right fit. "Red Bee had experience in producing virals but this wasn't a huge factor when choosing a company to work with," says Marc Travis, marketing manager of Fila." It was more about finding a company that understood Fila, had a feel for its background and was able to tap into the edginess that would appeal to our consumer market."

British Red Cross has a similar take. It recently worked with digital agency Enable Interactive to create a campaign that engaged and educated young people about the global HIV pandemic. Enable doesn't have a digital film unit in-house so worked with an external agency to produce three 30-second films. The campaign was launched on social networks, achieving more than 25,000 profile views on World AIDS Day on Bebo alone.

Lack of in-house production capabilities was not an issue to Red Cross new media manager Dorothea Arndt. "I'm a big fan of working with the best people available for the job, of bringing together different agencies," she says. "The principle is very simple: you treat everyone as part of your internal team. We weren't at all fazed by not having some of the expertise in-house, we just made sure we got everyone in one room when we briefed the screenplay."

Team work

Animation specialist Aardman has recently collaborated on a project with Digital Outlook Studios, the digital film arm of agency Digital Outlook. Aardman's online creative director Dan Efergan is equally relaxed. "We'll happily work with any agency, specialist or individual, or a combination of them all, as long as we believe the outcome will be strong," he says. Aardman and Digital Outlook worked together to create a new franchise, a set of animated characters for teens called the JellyBeats, which will be launched on Bebo and will be promoted via a series of short films.

Another company that has achieved impressive results working with a specialist production company is Tenon, the UK's ninth largest accountancy firm. It launched its own online TV channel in March, working with online business channel Moviecom. The channel launched with a video announcement of the company's annual results, which Moviecom scripted, filmed and edited. But Bev Cook, Tenon's associate director of national marketing, doesn't believe success hinges on working with one partner. "As long as you've done your homework and you have the brief right, the right relationship and the agency is happy to work with other outfits, there's no reason why a creative agency shouldn't work successfully with an external production company."
While the majority of brands place greater emphasis on the relationship and cultural fit over in-house production expertise, they do acknowledge the advantages of working with a full-service partner. As Aardman's Efergan says, "With every additional link in a production the creative vision has more opportunities to get corrupted - the Chinese whisper effect that leaves an idea warped and further removed from its original intentions."

Travis adds that consistency is a boon of working with an agency with in-house film production skills. "It was beneficial to have input from Marcus [Jones, director of Red Bee] from day one, right through to filming and final edit. You get immediate ownership, improved communication and consistency from the start."

Unilever's Calverley is also quick to reel off the advantages. "Reduced expense, the ability to develop creative with an eye on production at all times, and a collaborative team with the same vision at all stages of the project."

Agencies that have recently launched specialist film units in an effort to capitalise on the online video boom are also, predictably, vocal about the benefits. AKQA's Hilton says, "Our in-house directors work hand in hand with our creative teams, bringing with them insight and familiarity with our clients' brands that an outside director may not have."

Simon Cam, head of Superglue, the digital film department of agency Glue, also believes its clients welcome the hand-in-hand approach. "Not many people are putting Flash developers, directors and post-production people in the same room and saying, 'Talk to each other constantly throughout the project.' It means we can achieve some of the more ambitious pieces we want to produce," he says.

Patrick Holtkamp, MD of online video agency Wax, agrees. "Our directors are our creative directors and the producers are the account directors. By doing this we're cutting huge layers of communication and we get the client talking and working directly with the people who make the campaign happen."

In-house limits

Efergan offers an alternative school of thought, believing that working with numerous good people from different sources can also serve to "magnify a project's outcome, not corrupt it".
There are certainly potential advantages to working with an agency that is forced to outsource film production. For example, an opportunity to find a better skill fit for specific projects, something that even Jens Bachem, MD of Digital Outlook and its film division Digital Outlook Studios, readily acknowledges. The company still calls on freelance skills to ensure each brief is met by the best people. Bachem believes this approach avoids one of the possible dangers of relying solely on in-house talent. "If an agency has hired a particular team of in-house directors or writers, then it'll be tempted to shoehorn them into a project, even if it's not 100% their style or skill."

Liz Smith, founder of production company Film38, supports this view. "Sub-contracting to specialists means you have more choice," she says. "You may be able to find a supplier better able to serve a certain brief, not to mention the fact that they're forced to be competitive in order to win business."

Most agencies that have launched specialist film arms do still dip into the freelance pool, but Bachem's point is a valid one, particularly when brands' budgets restrict how much additional outside expertise an agency can bring in. Hilton claims AKQA simply does whatever it needs to do. "We work with the most talented people in the industry, many of whom we're fortunate enough to have here at AKQA, but other times we go outside to use the skills of other individuals or production facilities."

Cam states that one of Glue's big aims when it launched Superglue was to remain flexible. "We wanted to foster in-house specialism but not at the expense of using third party suppliers. We might pull in live-action film work from someone who specialises in comedy, for example, then bolt on Superglue's post production and digital integration skills. It's about keeping it flexible and modular."

However the landscape pans out, it's valid to ask whether we might see decoupling in the world of digital advertising as brands begin working directly with production specialists rather than via creative agencies. It has been a huge debate in the world of traditional advertising, with agencies like Wax invited to speak to advertisers at a recent ISBA conference devoted to decoupling (see Opinion, page 31).

For digital, the jury is definitely still out, with brands less convinced than agencies. Aardman's Efergan believes that, as campaigns become more integrated, there will be a greater need for agencies to pull the different elements together and ensure a cohesive approach from different specialists working on the same project. Calverley agrees that the shift is unlikely. "We work with digital agencies on far more than films - they're just one aspect of a complex digital strategy," she says.

It's a view backed up by Film38's Smith, who says that most clients are looking for more than just film production, such as a communication strategy or tracking and analysis. "In those scenarios, I expect production to continue to be commissioned by agencies."
Fila's Travis is more open-minded. "It could definitely be the way things move forward. If there's good chemistry between the parties you can really make something that's strong and unexpected, which is what I believe we did with the White Line Fila Vintage film."
Positive outlook

The digital agencies that have already launched specialist units are understandably more positive that this is the future, and some are already working in this way. Holtkamp says the need to have a separate creative shop is no longer there, while Hilton says AKQA has always worked directly with its clients and its film division is no different. "It means none of the innovation and creativity are lost in translation."

The most outspoken is Andy Rogers, MD of eTV, which produces and distributes interactive video content. He says digital and TV will combine within the next five years, creating a new industry. "There will always be room in the marketplace for specialists, but the industry will be led by those willing to bring together and fully exploit both disciplines," he says. Indeed, research by Thinkbox and the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) in May showed that, already, using TV and online together in ad campaigns results in 47% more positivity about a brand than using either in isolation, while the likelihood of buying or using a product increases by more than 50% when the two channels are used together.

So maybe digital agencies already investing in film capability are simply anticipating what their slightly sceptical clients will demand in months to come.

Quick facts -- Brands don't view film production capabilities as key to a creative agency's armour, although they recognise the benefits -- Key advantages to having in-house film production are improved communication and consistency, reduced expense and brand familiarity -- Key advantages to outsourcing film production include sourcing skills specific to each project and, potentially, more competitive prices -- Research by Thinkbox and the IAB shows that using TV and online together in ad campaigns can result in 47% more positivity about a brand -- The research also shows that the likelihood of buying or using a product increases by more than 50% when the two channels are used together

Source: nma.co.uk

BBC iPlayer + tips on VOD

More than 42 million programmes have been accessed via the BBC's iPlayer since its launch on Christmas Day 2007, and in March viewing figures were up 25 percent on the previous month. iPlayer's popularity was further confirmed with its recent launch on Nintendo's Wii games console. Phil Fearnley, director, HUGE Entertainment explains more.

This overwhelming success has resulted in video-on-demand (VOD) both coming to the public's attention and being hailed as ‘the next big thing’. As a result, there has been a rush of interested parties - from media platforms to content owners - wanting to jump on the VOD bandwagon.

As an on-demand digital entertainment specialist, HUGE Entertainment, believes that there is now a massive opportunity for content owners to create their own offerings to distribute via PC, TV and mobile. However, we also argue that many of these players do not have the know-how to make a real success of their proposition.

Here, we offer our advice on getting it right when it comes to VOD.

1. Consumers don't care about technology
The majority of people aren't interested in how something works, they just want to know that it does. So don't bombard consumers with a complex feat of engineering – just make sure that your offering is easy to use.

2. Make it pretty
Following on from point one, you need to ensure the consumer's experience is a good one to encourage them to pay for content, either via a subscription service or pay-per-view. This means that, as well as being easy to navigate, the user interface needs to be visually enticing.

3. Be a retailer
VOD players need to think like high street retailers in terms of what content is provided, where it is displayed and how it is promoted. To encourage consumers to return, there always has to be something new and fresh available, at the same time as older material being easily accessible.

4. Don't make lists
Access to content should not take the form of endless lists that consumers need to scroll through to find what they want. Referencing the retailer analogy above, shops don't line up products in alphabetical order – neither should VOD operators.

5. Is it free?
To encourage a longterm relationship with consumers be clear about what content is free and what they must pay to access.

6. Get viral
VOD is still a very new concept. Many people have not yet experienced it, and it is complex to explain briefly. Significant amounts have been spent on advertising to promote services, but results to date have been mixed. Instead VOD players should focus on word-of-mouth endorsement, confident in the knowledge that, if they have put the points above into place, once consumers do try the service they will use it.

7. Brave new advertising world
VOD offers opportunities for new advertising models that are a world away from the low engagement, 'interruption marketing' of today's TV arena. You need to maximise these and be ready to generate new revenue from day one. How can you tailor your offerings for specific audiences? How can you interact with users to better engage with them? Do your homework and be prepared.

8. No constants
These are still very early days. Viewer behaviour is changing rapidly, and will continue to do so. You need to monitor what is happening and ensure that you stay one step ahead in order to remain appealing to consumers and relevant for advertisers.

9. Beware of sharks
Global technology companies are investing significant sums to establish content delivery devices for the home and terrestrial TV channels are also spending large amounts on VOD applications. Everyone is vying for a direct relationship with the subscriber. If a deal with a third party looks too good to be true, it probably is – and will be likely to remove you one step too far from your customers, which in turn can be detrimental to advertising potential.

10. You only get one chance
VOD is a killer application – people like it and are already demonstrating their appetite for using it. But you only get one chance to make a lasting impact on peoples’ perceptions – your launch is therefore critical, so get it right.

..article unashamedly stolen from mad.co.uk