Our boys @ Google have done it again: analytics for Flash!  According to Mashable, “The explosion of Flash content like widgets has created several complex problems, like how to index it in search engines, how to make it work on mobile, and how to track it.”

The second problem, mobile, is being addressed.  Adobe has already demonstrated its latest release, Flash Player 10, “running on Nokia’s Symbian operating system, Microsoft’s Windows Mobile, and Google’s Android. Real Flash, not Flash Lite. That leaves the Blackberry and iPhone platforms as the major holdouts in the Flash-free zone.”  (ZDNet)

The first problem, now has an answer.  And what does this mean for marketers?  More authenticity, honest, and accountibility!  “Advertisers can now (in theory) pay for actual engagement, because it can be accurately measured.”  (Mashable)

Sprout Builder is an interesting tool for developers. Now, users who publish widgets and other Flash apps using Sprout can track metrics such as time spent, what links and objects users click within an app, and goal tracking – all from within the same Google Analytics account as their website.

Yes.  Ma’am.  Yes.

If we can answer the third problem, indexing for search engines, then the creative world as we know it will change instantly.  And who better than Adobe to change the game?

My people are a very connected people. We are 24/7 25/8 uplinked and downloading. We make pronouns into verbs, and verbs into daily routines.

We google on our Crackberry iPhone.

We tivo on our Tivo. (And hulu on Hulu.)

We tweet on Twitter.

We facebook on Facebook. (And sometimes, we still myspace on MySpace.)

We don’t like commercials. We don’t like billboards. We don’t want you, Mr. or Mrs. Big Brand, invading our lives, unless we say it’s okay. Then, and only then, may you engage us. And don’t talk to us ONLY when you want to sell us something. We have but precious little money, and we’ll spend it how WE see fit (on 007 tickets and the new Kaiser Chiefs album).

So if you want to earn the right to engage us, be relevant, be witty, and be self-effacing. We know that you’re not the greatest thing since sliced bread.*

(*That statement does not apply to Mini Coopers. Or the Puma Speed Cat. Or pre-LA Galaxy David Beckham.)

Speak to me when I want to be spoken to. If your timing is serendipitous enough, we’ll do the heavy lifting for you. We’ll write blogs and post videos. We’ll make our friends your friends.

Example: Apple on Vista. (This ad actually landed right on cnet.com’s Vista page. Whoever landed Apple this media buy gets a gold star.)

The message is humorous, and placement is impeccable. The result? It got blogged about and passed along countless times. The viral nature of the ad far outweighs the media spend.

Don’t be a dolt. Be innovative. Don’t talk at me, talk with me.

George Carlin may have passed away (and have been severely far removed from the ultra-connected genNEXT consumers), but he had it right:

We all have to tools to let you in or shut you out. We are the new gatekeepers. Play nice, or we won’t play at all.

(The preceding was just some random musings, morphed into a manifesto, on a quiet Thursday afternoon.)

If that title made sense to you, you (like me) have read one too many Seth Godin books. 

How’s this for a nontraditional spin on traditional media: tell people the opposite of what you want them to do.  People are going to do the opposite of what they’re told to do, anyroad.

Think of it like this:

You say: Buy now!  Supplies are limited!  First 30 callers get a bonus!

They hear: I desperately need your business!  We have too many of these fangled things!  Our product sucks so bad that we need to give you free stuff just to swindle you into buying it!

In 2004, P. Diddy decided to tell everyone to “Vote or Die.”  And yet, no one died.  He took himself too seriously.  And we didn’t.

For this election, a cast of Hollywood’s finest and brightest (and Borat) tell us, refreshingly, “don’t vote.”  The obvious sarcascm is that voting is important—that, at their very core, these celebs believe in the power of a vote.

I love Borat saying, “Don’t vote! Not!”

It’s only a few days before the election.  And for the sake of everything holy, get informed; VOTE!

And speaking of not taking themselves too seriously, here are a few snapshots from the latest Coyotes shoot:

Check our Pierre on Pierre08.com. He is running for president. He may not be able to beat John McCain or Barack Obama, but he does have a sweet slap shot… (Stay tuned.)

You love the people that love you!  (Thanks, Atmosphere.)

True.  And we love the brands that love our alternative-tactic plight.

lululemon, a high-end yoga fashion brand out of Vancouver, invests solely in nontraditional marketing.  Instead of flooding magazine pages and television airwaves, they invest in brand evangelists going to yoga classes, getting to know the yoga community, and talking about lululemon.

None of this is executed under the radar, or in stealth mode, mind you.  Evangelists proudly identify themselves as part of the lululemon brand.

For our recent shoot with Ape Index, we dressed the female model head-to-toe in lululemon, which gave her a very aspirational/desirable look, and followed the lululemon brand mantra to a T.

Here’s a sneaky sneak peek of the poster:

Click it to see a larger version.  We’ll unveil the campaign in due course.

As so the love goes ’round.  We love the people that love us.  If you’re in Scottsdale, Arizona, stop by lululemon and ask for Emily; she’s good people.

(The nod to Atmosphere is called foreshadowing.   Have I said too much?  I certainly hope so.)

The economy sucks, okay? Okay. When life gives you lemons…you paint those bad boys gold! Instead of complaining and refusing to adapt (I’m talking to you, RIAA), innovative companies are turning vacant storefronts into unholy amounts of prime time advertising space. And this is turning into a megavictory for both advertisers and mall-owners.

Writes the Wall Street Journal: Vacant storefronts are one of the fastest-growing ad venues. Vacancy rates at malls and shopping centers this year have hit their highest levels in at least seven years, and vacancies likely will increase next year.

The article is here.

Ok, maybe that’s a little over the top – but the new open source mobile platform ‘Android’ is going to be pimp!

The first consumer phone powered by Android is the T-Mobile G1 to be released on Oct 22nd.  You can see it in action here

To jump start the open source development community, Google put up $10 Million bucks in prize money challenging software developers to think outside the box and develop applications that have never been seen before.

The first round of the contest is over and the apps that are out are pretty sick.  Check out the initial winners at http://code.google.com/android/adc_gallery/

PS – If you’re not familiar with open source – that means it’s 100% free.

Seriously, how rad do we think we are (we say sardonically)?  The NY Times Hockey section picked up Pierre, our snide, gap-tooth smile, immigrant hockey snowman.

In case you didn’t know, Pierre is the biggest Coyotes hockey fan on the planet.  And that, he feels, is justification to run for president.  Currently, he has deployed a double-fisted smear campaign against John McCain and Barack Obama.  He claims that McCain is a figure skater, and that Obama has a weak slap shot.  (The validity of either claim is up for debate.)

Click below for the video that the NY Times featured:

Here is the article.

And, as a treat, you can download the video for your iPods and iPhones here: Pierre’s Smear Campaign

Pierre’s platform and propaganda are available for enjoyment and scrutiny. Give the image below a punishing crosscheck with your mouse.

When brands engage consumers uniquely, and in an appropriate setting, everybody wins.  The amount of visual spam that graces billboards and magazines and television is overstimulating, and almost as unwelcome.  When brands connect in meaningful ways, the results are exactly the opposite.

For years, in-game advertising was frowned upon.  The demographic, marketers argued, was full of “lost boys.”  Ever so slowly, brands have become integrally interwoven into game plots and environments.

The most highly-recalled brands included Coke, Nike, Burger King, and Axe.  Among these brands, Burger King showed sublime amounts of innovation, including the King in several video games, NFL Street and Need for Speed foremost among the hottest titles.

Whereas most direct response ads tout a 1% buy rate, Nielsen found that 11% of gamers purchased a brand featured in-game; 19% talked about it after seeing an ad; 10 percent recommended the product.

Said Brian Gries, vp-marketing at Burger King, “Burger King’s goal is always to engage gamers in the BK brand through a medium they love.  Throughout, it’s been about knowing the target audience [young adult males] and finding relevant ways to reach them through great consumer experiences.”

So what’s the takeaway?  Seeing as over 1/3 of all users Engage consumers where they’re at, with what they love, and they’ll show you the love back.

Don’t be noise—be relevant.

It’s good to be the King.

Photosynth takes a collection of regular photographs and reconstructs the scene or object in a 3-D environment. 

National Geographic did an a great synth of Stonehenge.  Normally you are not allowed inside the center ring of Stonehenge, but their photographers got special permission so you can experience it here.

Once this technology is adopted by the mainstream – this is going to be amazing!

If you’re not yet using LinkedIn, I highly recommend that you sign up and give it a try.  It’s completely free and it’s interested to see how far your network of friends, colleagues and clients stretch around the world.

We’ve been using LinkedIn for a couple years now simply to stay in touch with clients and vendors who we don’t speak to on a regular basis.  We’ve talked many times about the idea of using Linkedin to leverage our existing relationships to help make new ones. 

I came across this case study today on how Dave Smith CEO of MediaSmith got his two largest accounts from using LinkedIn.

It’s nothing magical – just another touch point with the contacts you already have and a wakeup call that we can all get better at this.

If you aren’t leveraging your existing relationships, what are you leaving on the table?

Since energy prices are rising through the roof, and there doesn’t appear to be any slow down in sight… it’s time to consider what we can do about it.  One man has taken it upon himself to create an auto concept that is using a hybrid of existing battery and electric motor technologies.  The dream car has 80 batteries and can travel 280 miles on a single charge.  Oh, and by the way it costs $1,000 to make.

Learn more at - Dreamcar123

AdAge.com — Carbonated soft drinks may be flagging, but there’s no stopping ready-to-drink teas.

The market for teas, of which ready-to-drink varieties account for 75%, was valued at $7.4 billion at retail in 2007, according to research firm Packaged Facts, and is expected to reach nearly $15 billion by 2012. Just four years ago, sales were $4.6 billion.

“Tea is one of the most underdeveloped beverages in the U.S.,” wrote Packaged Facts Publisher Tatjana Meerman in a recent report. “The potential is enormous, as tea barely compares in market size to beverage categories such as carbonated soft drinks, coffee and water.”

As brands big and small acknowledge those opportunities for growth, they’re stepping up their marketing and fine-tuning their public-relations efforts. This summer will see an influx of tea marketing, with Coca-Cola doubling its media spending, PepsiCo homing in on target customers, and up-and-coming labels such as Honest Tea and Sweet Leaf Tea blanketing the country with field-marketing teams.

Doubled spending
“We are doing significantly more this year with Nestea and Gold Peak,” said Penny McIntyre, senior VP-general manager of coffee and tea at Coca-Cola North America. “In addition to sampling, we are spending well over double in media vs. [the] recent past.”

Even so, teas are a relatively small portion of Coca-Cola’s overall budget; the company spent just $5.9 million on measured media for the Gold Peak and Nestea brands in 2006 and 2007 combined, according to TNS Media Intelligence.

Nestea is introducing new graphics and packaging, as well as two new green-tea products this month. That will be supported by a digital campaign and sampling at sporting events and concerts this summer. Gold Peak, meanwhile, is focusing on chef endorsements and will have a presence at food and wine festivals in the coming months.

Sampling is also a key focus at the 10-year-old Honest Tea label, as the brand hopes to rack up 2 million tastings this year. Founder Seth Goldman said Coca-Cola’s recent 40% acquisition of the brand has fueled an increase in spending on marketing, which is handled in-house. Similarly, Sweet Leaf Tea will use much of its recent $18 million infusion from a private-equity firm to drive tasting in its emerging markets of Boston, New York, Atlanta and Chicago.

‘Cup-to-mouth’ sampling
Getting beverages into consumers’ hands, according to marketers, is even more key today, given the increasing number of competitors in the category. Between July 2006 and June 2007 alone, 957 new tea products were introduced in the U.S., according to Packaged Facts.  “How many messages are people hit with every day? It’s the quality of impressions [that are important], if you were to look at conversions to consumers,” Mr. Goldman said. “I would trade 100 media impressions for one person-to-person, cup-to-mouth sampling impression.”

As more consumers are converted, Christiane Paul, director-marketing for the Pepsi-Lipton partnership, said eventually tea could step up to compete with the big boys. “It’s been growing at a healthy clip over the last few years, and we think that there’s actually even more upside to be had,” she said. “You talk about carbonated soft drinks and the like; they’re pretty ubiquitous. But when you look at tea globally, it’s actually the second-most-consumed beverage in the world.”

Lipton is marketing accordingly. It spent $43 million on measured media in 2007, according to TNS Media Intelligence. Although Ms. Paul said the company’s marketing levels are “healthy” and will remain about the same, she did say the company is beginning to more carefully target its media.

In preparation for the busy summer season, Lipton Green Tea with Citrus, the most mainstream of the labels, launched a TV campaign May 5. Lipton White Tea, which Ms. Paul said has a “more youthful attitude,” is being promoted with an online-video contest.

This awesome article by Peter Merholz describes how the founder of Kodak revolutionized photography by simplifying the process, and looking at the Kodak camera as a service rather than a product.

This is a consumer centric experiential approach, and one that is seemingly being ignored by many of today’s “leading” brands.

Why is it that what Eastman figured out over 100 years ago seems forgotten today? Why do so few products seem concerned with how they fit into the lives of their customers? (Been to a consumer electronics event recently?) Why is it that people still approach products as isolated entities, unconnected with the world around them?

A comment that sheds additional light on this comes from Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple:
When you start looking at a problem and it seems really simple, you don’t really understand the complexity of the problem. Then you get into the problem, and you see that it’s really complicated, and you come up with all these convoluted solutions. That’s sort of the middle, and that’s where most people stop….

But the really great person will keep on going and find the key, the underlying principle of the problem—and come up with an elegant, really beautiful solution that works.
That’s what we wanted to do with Mac. —from Insanely Great, written by Steven Levy

Until the last sentence, you might have thought he was taking about the iPod or even the iPhone. But the quote came from 1984, and demonstrates that transcendent product design is a matter of philosophy and approach. The reason product development has gone wrong is that people stop at the worst time—when the solutions are most convoluted.

What Eastman knew, what Jobs knows, is that you have to go beyond; you have to think about the experience people are having.

It’s a great read.  So go read it!

The much anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV is out today.  I’m not going to lie… Like a little boy on Christmas, I am rushing out today after work to snag a copy before they all fly off the shelves.  The anticipation since the December release date push-back has been unbearable at times but  I am sure it will prove worth the wait.
 
Despite the fact that there aren’t any Burger King tie-ins, special flavors of Mountain Dew, commercials directed by Peter Jackson, or even an action figure. Consumer reports are already stating that first weeks game sales will exceed 9 million copies.  At $60 a game that is $ 540 Million in it’s first week.   Last year’s record breaking release of Halo 3 hit a measly $300 Million in first week sales.

The months leading up to the game’s release has been considerably less mass marketed than last year’s over-the-top “Halo 3” debut. Yet “GTA IV” is expected to be the most lucrative launch in entertainment history.  The success is accredited to Rockstar Games keeping their marketing initiatives on the down-low.  By Rockstar maintaining their dedication to controlling the message at all times they were able to be seen and perceived exactly the way they set out to be.  That is why, outside of the official trailers they released — people haven’t seen any gameplay footage in advance of ’GTA IV’ shipping.  That successfully built a ton of hype and online buzz in the gaming community.

Rockstar vice president Dan Houser told The Associated Press that the infamous game developer was being overly protective for one very important reason… “We want people to be really excited and not know everything by the time they play the game,” said Houser. “Of course, we want them to understand what they’re buying, but we want there to be surprises along the way.”

Now go buy the game – see you on Xbox Live.

Unless you’ve been living under a large rock for the last few years you are very familiar with the popular Google owned site - YouTube.  StartYourTube.com is a new player that has just emerged online.  Just like Ning enables users to build their own custom social networking sites for free - StartYourTube allows users to create their own custom video sharing sites totally free and it takes just 2 minutes. 

The site is currently promoting monthly cash giveaways of $500 to the Top Tubers. 

This article by The American Psychological Association titled “The Egocentrism over E-Mail: Can We Communicate as Well as We Think?” is an interesting read that opens a window of insight into the frequent digital communication breakdown that happens all too often.

As communicators we tend to believe that we can communicate over e-mail more effectively than we actually do. The studies conducted suggest that this overconfidence is born of egocentrism, the inherent difficulty of detaching oneself from one’s own perspective when evaluating the perspective of someone else.  In short, we know what we are trying to say and do not always put ourselves in the shoes of the recipient to make sure we explain ourselves in a way they will easily understand. 

Be honest, how many times have you crafted an email that from your perspective was clear and concise but was misinterpreted by the receiver?  Email is a sensitive form of communication as it is not difficult for the other party to either misunderstand what is being stated, or to pick up on some unintentedl tones or emotions.

I think we can all take something away from this read.

Here is an interesting short video highlighting some strategies for youtube & viral video success.

The newspaper industry has experienced the worst drop in advertising revenue in more than 50 years.

According to new data released by the Newspaper Association of America, total print advertising revenue in 2007 plunged 9.4% to $42 billion compared to 2006 — the most severe percent decline since the association started measuring advertising expenditures in 1950.

The drop-off points to an economic slowdown on top of the secular challenges faced by the industry. The second worst decline in advertising revenue occurred in 2001 when it fell 9.0%.

Total advertising revenue in 2007 — including online revenue — decreased 7.9% to $45.3 billion compared to the prior year.

There are signs that online revenue is beginning to slow as well. Internet ad revenue in 2007 grew 18.8% to $3.2 billion compared to 2006. In 2006, online ad revenue had soared 31.4% to $2.6 billion. In 2005, it jumped 31.4% to $2 billion.

As newspaper Web sites generate more advertising revenue, the growth rate naturally slows.

The NAA reported that online revenue now represents 7.5% of total newspaper ad revenue in 2007 compared to 5.7% in 2006.

That growth could not stave off the losses in the print however. National print advertising revenue dropped 6.7% to $7 billion last year. Retail slipped 5% to $21 billion. Classified plunged 16.5% to $14.1 billion.

“Even with the near-term challenges posed to print media by a more fragmented information environment and the economic headwinds facing all advertising media, newspapers publishers are continuing to drive strong revenue growth from their increasingly robust Web platforms,” John Sturm, president and CEO of the NAA, said in a statement.

 DEATH TO TRADITIONAL.

The National Hockey League (NHL) presented the Phoenix Coyotes with the NHL’s 2007-08 Best Member Club Marketing Campaign award last week at the annual NHL Club Business Meetings held in Denver this year.

“We’re honored to have our campaign recognized by the NHL,” said Phoenix Coyotes Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Michael Bucek. “SME helped create a customized and unique approach to market the Coyotes in Phoenix with our Hockey Headquarters branding and Blind Society was instrumental in developing Pierre the Fanatic Hockey Snowman and other non-traditional marketing initiatives that have produced effective results this season.”
 
The NHL’s 2007-08 Best Member Club Marketing Campaign award is presented for overall marketing efforts throughout the season. Campaigns were judged by panelists from Sports Business Journal, Brandweek and Adrenalin, Inc.
 
Susan Cohig, senior vice president, Club Consulting & Services for the NHL commented, “Our panel judged the top 5 submissions based on creative execution, outside media support and impact to the consumer. We congratulate the Coyotes and all the Clubs on their outstanding and creative campaigns and the NHL is proud to recognize the Coyotes for their 2007–08 marketing campaign.”
 
For more information about the Phoenix Coyotes, visit www.PhoenixCoyotes.com
 

NXT is a new line of men’s care products aimed at the 18-24 year old market.  To call consumer attention to the line, the products will glow on the shelves -inviting customers to pick them up.  Every 15 seconds, a LED light in the bottom of the container flares on, stays illuminated for a few seconds, then fades out.  Different colored lights signify different ingredients in the product itself.

Interestingly - Target, Wal-Mart and CVS have all elected to carry the products without any supporting ad spending.

Blind Society brought home 8 ADDY Awards from the ADDY Awards Gala on Saturday, March 1st held at the Scottsdale Resort & Conference Center.

The ADDY awards are the advertising industry’s largest competition, recognizing and rewarding creative excellence.  They are organized and hosted every year by the American Advertising Federation.

The local ADDY Awards are the first of a three-tier, nationwide competition. Local entrants from across the country vie for recognition as the very best in their markets.  At the second tier, local winners compete against other winners in one of 14 district competitions. District winners are then forwarded to the third tier, the national ADDY Awards competition.

The number of awards given in each category is determined by a panel of judges who evaluate each entry for all aspects of creativity based upon the relative quality of work in that category. The ADDY Awards, currently in its 23rd year, attracts more than 50,000 entries annually, and recognizes and awards creative excellence in advertising.

Here’s the breakdown of the awards we brought home.

Gold ADDY – Print Campaign : “Love To Look At” – Beau Monde

Gold ADDY – Interactive Online  : “Hockey Face” Micro Site – Phoenix Coyotes

Gold ADDY – Agency Promotion : Company Website – Blind Society

Silver ADDY – Nontraditional Advertising : “Hockey Face” Mirror Clings – Phoenix Coyotes

Silver ADDY - Nontraditional Advertising : “Resume” Toilet Paper - WorkBlast

Silver ADDY - Nontraditional Advertising : Wastebasket Backboards - WorkBlast

Bronze ADDY – Internet Commercial: “Checking Line” Viral Videos – Phoenix Coyotes

The Phoenix Coyotes were awarded first prize for Best Alternative Advertising at the 5th Annual NSF ADchievement Awards, which were presented Jan. 28 – 30 at the 2008 National Sports Forum in Memphis, Tennessee.

The Coyotes’ Alternative Media efforts included a variety of promotions that were implemented throughout Phoenix.  The promotions included 3D Picture Environments at local malls, Mirror Clings installed at bars and restaurants, Bar Coasters that were distributed at local bars and a Puck Truck Stunt to support opening night around the city.  The Coyotes also launched CoyotesHockeyHQ.com, an interactive microsite that promotes the club’s “Hockey Headquarters: All Things Hockey” marketing campaign.

“One of our challenges is to create awareness and excitement for the start of the NHL season while temperatures in Phoenix are still in the triple digits,” said Coyotes Chief Marketing Officer Michael Bucek.  “This season, we decided to try some new methods using Alternative Media to help launch the season and it paid off. This out-of-the-box approach complemented our traditional advertising and helped us sell out Opening Night while creating awareness that Coyotes hockey was back”

The Coyotes worked with local agency, Blind Society in the concepts and execution of their marketing strategies.  “The recognition the Coyotes and Blind Society have received further validates the tremendous growth in alternative media usage,” said Brand Visionary of Blind Society, Darren Wilson. “The Coyotes needed a campaign that was viral, entertaining and cost effective in generating a buzz for their young and aggressive team.”

In addition to winning the Best Alternative Advertising award, the Coyotes were one of only six finalists in the categories for Best Out-of-Home and for the 2008 Grand Prize Overall Award of Excellence.

Finalists in each category were determined by an independent group of Southern California advertising experts, and attendees at the 2008 National Sports Forum determined the winners of each category. This year more than 500 submissions were entered into the competition from teams, universities and agencies. More than 50 total organizations submitted entries from the NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL, MLS, NASCAR, and NCAA as well as numerous others including minor league teams, television networks, and private corporations.

When our little puppet friend Pierre isn’t hard at work for the Phoenix Coyotes he is using his telepathic connection to woo the ladies.  Here is a previously un-released interview with Carmen Electra in which she confesses her not-so-secret love affair with Pierre. 

How could you not love this?

WK Interact versus Obey Giant Presented by Agnes B - Paris / Tokyo 2008