You’ve got your business “Big Idea”! Excellent, now where do you go? Creating a new product, real estate development, or commercial business is an exciting, intense project. There are many moving parts that require scrutiny and attention to detail. One of these is determining branding and market strategy. One of the first steps is determining what you are...
The marketing industry is knee-deep in continuous cycles of innovation. A recent cycle was the introduction of websites. Companies were slapping up something, anything to create a presence (animated GIFs anyone?), and then they caught their breath, and a second wave came through to clean things up and optimize sites. Social Media was then introduced and the cycle...
I was watching George Strombolopolous a few nights ago and Seth Godin was a guest. Seth had some great opinions and projections, and he said it best with "either you are in a race to the bottom, or a race to the top." Business these days is unwielding, cut-throat, and yet ripe for the picking. It seems...
It seems that brand identities have tipped the scales towards what is termed as 2.0 design. Perhaps I am aging myself again, but “back in my day” certain restrictions and processes had to be factored in when creating logos. How does it look on 2 colour printing? How does it work in reverse applications? Can it Fax?...
Recently, The Huffington Post - an online news site recently purchased by AOL - has joined the latest trend of crowdsourcing creative work with their “Huffington Post Politics Icon Competition.” It seems that the final straw has been drawn on large corporations seeking free work. When a company like AOL spends $315 Million to buy your company,...
Google is taking on Facebook once again. After failed attempts to break into the social networking juggernaut with Google Buzz and Google Wave (2009 & 2010 respectively), Google+ is focusing in on social relationships again with “real-life” sharing services. It looks like they take the Facebook Groups feature and kick it up a notch with Circles, Huddle...
When the Sussex Safer Partnership ad “Embrace Life” won YouTube’s 2010 Ad of the Year, you knew they would have their hands full with following up with something as equally emotional and as beautifully constructed for the next campaign. With a new year comes a new spot. This time it follows a boy constructing a make-believe motorcycle...
With the success of Google’s latest endeavor to catalog famous indoor art from museums around the world, RedBull and agency Loducca kicked up the cool factor. “Street Art View” allows users to use Google Maps to catalog and share street art. It has a random art feature, latest additions, and choose an artist options. Toss in...
Picture this: a quick trip to the local grocery market. Grabbing a few bananas here, a carton of milk there, you make a bee-line to the checkout by cutting down the cereal aisle. What ensues is a sensory overload. Colourful, cartoon-character toting boxes of sugar cranked cereals vie for your attention as you battle through. Now....
Continuing on my theme of not requiring big money for big ideas, I want to draw your attention to a successful band that is as popular for their music videos as for their music. OK Go. If you have seen any of their music videos, you can appreciate the creativity and planning gone into each one....
I heard some comforting news this week. SunChips Canada has decided to keep their eco-friendly, biodegradable bags in circulation. Even after much heated debate about the bags being too noisy which has caused the US brand to ditch the green bags. Instead of returning to the original, land-filling packaging, SunChips has decided stand up to the naysayers...
It seems that nowadays it is difficult to get away from lumbering zombies. After years of being in the shadow of the vampire (pun intended) it appears that the undead have found themselves in a social revival. There have been a surge of zombie sightings recently. From Hollywood flicks to video game to TV commercials, you...
Pepsi’s current initiate: Pepsi Refresh Project, is ramping up speed. The idea is visitors post suggestions for possible projects that require funding. Covering areas such as health, culture, education and the planet, they are all admirable groups. With average donations of under $25,000, and 1 million + to go around, there will be lots of winners....
Recently a U.S. environmental group has created quite the stir by attacking Alberta’s oilsands and the way the do business. Without getting into the ethics of fossil fuels and energy consumption, I would like to discuss the way the attack and rebuttal have been handled. Corporate Ethics International, came out with a video, billboards and other online...
It is finally summer. Along with the sun and the fun comes the latest installments of Hollywood blockbusters with their mega CGI productions. After being bombarded with a lot of this mainstream highly polished media it is as refreshing as a spring breeze to come across something new, creative, and (seemingly) basic. Check out this video below....
With my dealings with everyday life, I still continue to come across folks that are in denial that Social Media is here to stay. I recently came across a great video produced by a fellow agency that illustrates the monstrosity that is Social Media and the Internet. When you get into some of these stats, it...
I have been trying out Microsoft’s free Office Web Apps that came out last week. All you need is a Windows Live account (read Hotmail account, and who doesn’t have one of those?) Needless to say, I have been pretty impressed on how it is as a first-gen cloud app goes. While it does not have...
At the office, we are currently coming off a few very busy months that have kept us all running and working hard. It’s when you get a chance to catch your breath that you realize just how frantic things were, how loopy you had become and how much of your life it consumes. Here are a few...
I like to think of myself as a tech-savvy, hip guy. But there is etiquette to the gadgetry era that has seemed to have been deleted. This is a rant to all the folks that think answering a text while you are in a conversation with me is more important. And at what point did it...
My last post “Social Media Strangers” touched on a two new SM sites that revolve around randomness as a method to interactive with strangers. The more popular of the two; ChatRoulette has been the topic of quite a few conversations around here, as well as the new addiction of one of our colleagues. I had been struggling...
There have been a few revelations on the internet regarding social connections. Facebook is still a roaring success of keeping in touch with user-selected friends and family, Twitter allows quick, rapid conversations within 140 characters. Two of the latest sites that are creating some buzz are ChatRoulette and Mystery Seeker. Both sites feed off randomness but...
Creative projects are more than the cliché of blood, sweat and tears. There are years of industry experience, demographic pinpointing, identifying realistic unique selling differentiators, and colour psychology, etc.. A lot of ingredients in the recipe. So it is difficult to have projects shot down in a blaze of glory right into the dumpster (quickly or...
The latest buzzword. Wikipedia’s definition: the study of ethics in the marketplace. For years now, companies have been working hard to "Go Green" (it's almost business suicide not to). What started out as company one-upper, has quickly become an expectation from consumable-conscious consumers. Purchase decisions are no longer just based on price comparison, or calorie intake...
I started the workday as usual, going through the emails and making lists for the upcoming day. Lucky for me there were lots of emails concerned about any form of EDS I might be having. Who knew that at 31 I was in the target market for Viagra? Perhaps due to the fact that I am...
Super Bowl XLIV is coming up February 7, 2010, and while it is still going to be a advertising gong show, it seems that the rising costs for TV spots has almost reached its limits. At an average cost of $2.5 - $3 million, some recession hit companies are pulling in the reins. Such notable names...
Just in time for the holidays I came across this list that breaks down just how magical Santa needs to be in order to gettr’ done. Over the years, I have been fortunate to have been taken care of by St. Nick. So I can appreciate all the hard work and months of prep needed. Having...
Once again Facebook, and primarily it’s privacy issues has reared its ugly head. If you are 1 of the 350 million users, you will have noticed that recent upgrade went live Dec. 9. Facebook changed its openness options on what updates, status changes, photos etc. can be viewed by who. Simply put, it’s about letting you...
The Christmas season can be hectic enough as it is. People spend a lot of time searching for that perfect gift for loved ones and friends. There are lots of lists and flyers to assist in finding that special toy for Bobby, or the ideal trinket for Aunt Ruby. But how can you share your opinion...
Perception vs. Reality. For years Hollywood has done a great job of portraying ad agencies as glorified frat parties, filled with designers lounging on couches with glamorous women, or playing foosball while mixing their micro-brewery beers with bowls of uppers/downers that can be found at the reception desk. Gone are the days of 3 martini lunches and...
Building a corporate brand is a big job with a lot of components. Gone are the days when a logo, business cards, and a yellow page ad was considered a brand strategy. At Copeland, we offer Brand Audits that help determine company values, target markets, and personality. From the collected findings, the brand begins its building process....
The world is moving along one day at time. But the online world is a buzz with the next big thing. Social media sites are the latest craze, people making connections and spreading their opinions. Welcome to Web 2.0. But what of the looming online revolution? Here comes Web 3.0. Imagine being able to research your entire vacation...
I will be the first to say that I am new to the Social Media scene. I am not 24/7 tweeter, nor do I blog scribe. But I do like to think that I have a groove going. I know the lingo, I follow the golden rules to Twitter, and I engage with the big boys...
Have you ever had the fortune to work on a major project where the budget is "whatever it takes to get it right" and expectations are high? And while you are on said job, you find the winning idea super fast? Fast, as in the first idea you put to paper fast? At the agency we use a brainstorming...
Some things should never be changed. Kraft Foods has made some changes to the Australian icon, Vegemite. Sacrilegious! Besides an attempt to try to modernize something that I recognize to be as Aussie as kangaroos and boomerangs, Kraft opened up the naming of the new Vegemite to consumers via social media. Social Media has pounced on the...
The phenom of the “Got Talent” shows has created another YouTube superstar like the UK’s Susan Boyle. The latest success story is from the Ukraine spin-off version. 24 year old Kseniya Simonova (who ended up winning the show) creates an amazing sand animation on stage. She tells the story of people’s suffering during the German invasion...
French politicians are teaming up with eating disorder experts to putting together a bill that would require magazine spread, ads and packaging designs to have warnings for airbrushed photos. While not as graphic and in your face as cigarette warnings, the penalties are hefty enough; $16,000 or 50% of the ad campaign cost. Certainly nothing to...
Maybe that is a little harsh. I am jealous of artists. I am a pixel-pusher that can draw really good stick figures, but that is about it. So when I came across a fantastic painter—Francoise Nielly living in Paris—my jealousy boiled over. She creates some spectacular portraits using a painting knife, cake-frosting thick paint, and vibrant, bold...
They say that any publicity—no matter how bad—is good publicity. Sometimes it is so bad that it gives you a swift kick and a black eye for all the world to see. Social media allows these firecrackers and quickly turns them into full-blown bonfires. A few months ago a print ad done by DDB Brasil on behalf...
Most of you have heard that Disney has started the purchase of Marvel for $4 billion bucks. It is good to see that the Happiest Place on Earth hasn’t been hurt too much from the gloom of the economy. This is a pretty big deal. Obviously Disney is hoping to expand on the success of Marvels’ Spider-Man,...
The Sept. 18 issue of Entertainment Weekly (LA and NY only) will preview the upcoming fall season on CBS. Ho-hum right? Well, not quite. In these two cities, there will be special editions that will have “paper-thin interactive video players” built into the article. It will have multiple videos that the reader can choose from. Pretty...
Recently, a social media analytics company – Sysomos Inc. – analyzed over 11.5 million Twitter accounts and have come up with very detailed findings. I have collected the summarized version, but you can check out the full version of their findings here. 72.5% of all users joining during the first five months of 2009 85.3% of all...
I did a bit of dabbling on YouTube and found some fantastic old commercials. Most of them are from the age of innocence and naiveté. Back when smoking was sexy and endorsed by everybody. Who would have thought that having a creepy Ronald McDonald, waterskiing while smoking, or having Barney Rubble smoking would be a logical...
There is a bit of hoopla around Modest Mouse's latest music video, King Rat. It is beautifully illustrated, it tells a very graphic bizarre tale of whales hunting humans. The subject matter is dark and deep. Funny, as soon as something like whale hunting gets humanized it becomes something outrageous, and evil. Perhaps this should be...
Here is a compilation of REAL products that make you wonder what was going through the minds of the “inventors”. Imagine being the agency that get these products to create advertising for. Yikes. The best part of these products is watching the infomercials for them. The complete discomfort of the user prior to their purchase is priceless....
With everybody pitching in these days offering effective ways to environmentally responsible, a Dutch company (Spranq) has constructed an eco typeface. Built by removing up to 1/5th of a letter using tiny circles can sustain readability while reducing ink usage. It doesn’t sound like a lot of savings, but over time can make a difference, however...
I had posted earlier on an amazing stop-motion video of an Art Student’s final project using post-it notes. (Story here) It has become a large success on Youtube—2 million hits +. Now there is a “Making of Video” that has been posted. It is interesting to see how much planning went into the video. Have a...
Working in an agency I am a bit on the fence about the latest backlash that Facebook has been getting. I had been given the heads-up that Facebook has now put together a new “Facebook Ads” feature. The site states: “Facebook occasionally pairs advertisements with relevant social actions from a user's friends to create Facebook Ads. Facebook...
After all the struggles over the last few years to recreate uber-hyper realistic CGI it appears that a backlash has begun. Take Coldplay’s latest music video. A marvel to say the least. It takes simple chalk drawing interaction to the Nth level. Sure it is using CGI, but it is as far from photo realistic as...
Working in an ad agency, I am a firm believer that advertising works. I found this great video that is a reinforcement of the claim. It goes to show that great copywriting is worth its weight in gold. Two Aussies flip a BMX bike on eBay for a 500% profit. Who wouldn’t want to be the proud...
What does your social network usage say about you? I found a great article that breaks down consumer’ interests and habits based on whether they use Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or Linkedin. After conducting surveys on 5,000 individuals, Anderson Analytics has collected some interesting numbers and facts that can help businesses target potential consumers. Here is an abbreviation...
