"A mobile media technology company developing the tools and platform to combine filmmaking, photojournalism and mobile devices to pioneer powerful immersive experiences."
"SRCH by Starbucks is off and running. Did you finish the first round in time to win a prize? Did you get stumped and find yourself wondering what to do next? For those who want to see how it all went down, you’ve come to the right place.
The game started with a scan of the QR code in Starbucks stores or online. That directed you to the game site where the first clue was unlocked – a video of Lady Gaga quoting lyrics from her song “Born This Way.”...."
"In my last post, I focused on how storytelling impacts business by enlisting people as participants in stories they care about so they buy the products required to fullfill a human need.
But questions remain as to how brands can build narratives that tap into pre-existing stories and communities.
For Coca-Cola, this has become quite an exploration. While seizing market share is an ongoing battle with rival brand Pepsi, tapping into consumer advocacy and niche communities has become an equally important brand goal – a goal that was achieved almost by accident, with results that not only boosted sales but presented a host of new media opportunities.
Branding happiness
In 2007, Coca-Cola ran a series of commercials for a campaign called Open Happiness; the spots were beautifully conceived, animated brushstrokes of colour and imagination, depicting a storyworld centred around the idea that happiness is what we create for ourselves in our everyday lives.
They featured Coke as more than a product or brand, but as a support base for individual explorations around the meaning of happiness. There was no harsh product placement or forced messaging. The commercials tested remarkably well.
Coke knew that there was a bigger narrative to explore here, so it decided to expand the commercials into different narrative pieces leveraging established music and artist communities. What became the Happiness Factory created a groundswell of interest around the “metastory” of happiness that culminated in a variety of media types that were adopted, shaped and shared as new stories. This involved everything from mobile applications, to games, blogs and video extensions.
Eventually those pieces blew out even further. Open Happiness kickstarted a world tour of Coke bloggers and laid the foundation for platforms like Coca-Cola Conversations, in which brand stewards curate interesting and fun social artifacts such as Eric Clapton signature guitars, secret soda formulas, subway murals, circus caravans, old inventory lists and a host of cool memorabilia that have been generated or supported by the brand over the years.
As for the measurable success of the Open Happiness campaign to date, we know this:
- There are more than 25 million likes on Coca-Cola’s Facebook page, which is centered around Open Happiness (by contrast, Pepsi has less than 4 million likes).
- Coca-Cola’s worldwide sales have spiked since Open Happiness began.
- Open Happiness has become the new global platform for all integrated marketing for the brand.
- Earlier this year, Coke was awarded the “Best in Show” Addy award for the campaign...."
"Companies worldwide are increasingly incorporating mobile technology and applications into their operations to increase productivity and revenue and reduce paperwork, as this infographic, commissioned by helpdesk software company Zendesk and based in part on GigaOM Pro research into the future of workplaces (sub. req.), clearly shows.
Forty-three percent of businesses are planning to increase their mobile use in the future, and by 2015, it’s expected that half of all devices on corporate networks will be mobile devices. This explosion in the use of mobile devices in the enterprise will help fuel demand for mobile apps, with the worldwide market expected to grow from approximately $6.8 billion in 2010 to $25 billion by 2015. Click the image for the full-size version..."
"We’ve entered a new Renaissance period in business that has moved us past selling products and services for the sole benefit of the companies selling them.
With global economic parity looming, companies can no longer rely on themselves for the answers. They must co-create new value systems with their customers and other businesses not only to survive, but to grow. And stories – or the act of curating them – can provide amazing new opportunities for growth.
There are a host of companies that have built strong values and a strong “metastory” around their businesses, from more traditional brands like 3M, to the modern darlings of the technology boom, like TOMS or Zappos. Across this spectrum is a way of thinking that takes on organizational inefficiences and creates layers of transparency and authenticity that permeate all communications.
At the same time, more and more companies are taking on the complex problems of the world – from socio-economics, to trade, to education and government. The ability to directly address problems and provide solutions to complexity is the bedrock of storytelling in the 21st century...."
"Apologue, an experience design studio founded by Tali Krakowsky, created a dynamic signage project based on cloud computing and real-time generative graphics. The public digital installation is part of the LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes cultural center in Downtown Los Angeles, which opened to the public on April 16th."
Jeff Melanson on Toronto's Graffiti Summit
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Jeff Melanson, executive director of Canada's National Ballet School and special advisor on arts and culture to the Toronto Mayor, discusses the genesis of the Graffiti Summit Town Hall, to be held at the Drake Hotel on Tuesday, May 31st. This is an excerpt from Mr. Melanson's lecture on the Evolving Role of the Arts in Canada, recorded at the Gardiner Museum and produced in collaboration with the Literary Review of Canada.