TRACTA :: 4eyes

Here’s another selection of clever, creative and cunning executions from around the world.  Enjoy!

Outdoor

Outdoor advertising expanded beyond the standard billboard long ago.  We’ve all seen examples of billboards that visually depict the message as well as just saying it.  Here’s another one, for road safety from the Colorado State Patrol. Not all outdoor advertising needs a billboard site, as this pedestrian crossing for a McDonalds in Switzerland shows.  And sometimes it doesn’t matter where you put it, if the message is compelling, it will get noticed.  Clever copywriting in this poster for Dayton Boots from Canada.

Online Banners

Some recent reports have stated that banner advertising is dead, and social is king.  But banner advertising still provides excellent reach, and is a great support for campaigns in other media.  And with the merging of Flash and interactive technologies into display ads, there is still a lot of potential for increasing engagement and interactivity.  This banner for Orcon Internet (from Special Group in Auckland) shows what is possible with a strong, innovative idea and good investment in production.  It’s been getting good press locally and internationally!

And taking interactivity to the next level, this campaign for a men’s fragrance from Brazil developed a truly expanding banner!

Partnerships

Not necessarily advertising, but business partnerships can form a platform for marketing initiatives.  One example is this partnership between Payless Shoes and Office Max, for the back-to-school season in the US.  If you spend at one store, you get a discount voucher for the other.  Both stores should benefit from increased patronage, and the consumer gets to save a bit more.  It’s a win=win=win!

And while it’s not purely commercial, ASB supporting NZ Police with their Serial Number Action Project shows social responsibility and community support.  It could also potentially reduce insurance payouts. Hmmm… ASB offers insurance — maybe there is a commercial imperative behind it?

TV/Video

Just one… a new “moment of joy” from Cadbury’s Glass and a Half Full Productions.

Cheers,

I’m not sure how recent these ads are, but I enjoyed them.

Auckland City Mission text appeal in conjunction with ASB… giving a new meaning to “cold hard cash”.  This is a great way of providing engagement for what is essentially a text campaign.  And it’s got robots!! (NZ)

Motorola highlights the deficiencies of the iPhone.  Aiming to leverage the “big noise” about iPhone in the market. (USA)

Smirnoff put on a party in movie theatres.  Another good example of creating engagement and a memorable brand experience. (Australia)

Sky Travel channel shows an innovative use of shopping mall poster advertising.  Turn them into 3D viewing booths! (NZ)

If you have any HOT ads you’d like to share, please do so in this blog’s Comments section.

Cheers,

Artistically driven, this press ad from MAF highlights the dangers of buying imported timber.

Here’s an excellent example of integrating real-time content (in this case, Twitter feeds) into an ambient experience, from Tourism Canada.

Car advertising taken to the next level, with a virtual test drive from Toyota in Germany.  A number of advertisers are incorporating “augmented reality” into their campaigns, such as 42 Below.  This sort of thing can definitely generate increased brand interaction within a loyal audience, and create interest while the technology is new and interesting.  There must be more potential than just delivering cool pictures on a screen though… that’s what I’m waiting to see!

Here’s the best collection of old NZ ads I’ve seen, from the Film Archive.  With classics such as Mr Dollar introducing decimal currency, Raro the instant breakfast drink, Cadbury Crunchie train and heaps more (did you know there were ads for bananas in the 1960s?  Maybe you do, if you were alive then..).

Finally, here’s another chance for you creative types to get something for free.  Design your own personal wrap for a new Mini Cabriolet, get it made and keep the car (for 4 months).

Cheers,

Social media. Heard of it?  Use it personally?  Professionally???

While recommendations from Social Media sites are still not as well regarded as true word-of-mouth from friends or family, social media channels are an important means of connecting with current and potential customers.  The common rule of “don’t put all of your eggs in one basket” still applies, so social media should not be seen as THE solution to all marketing problems, but should definitely be part of the mix.  And not just for da yoof, as Facebook is experiencing biggest growth amongst the 50+ age group. 

Pepsi are taking this on board, as they commit more to social media conversation and interaction with their customers, rather than just shouting messages.  They have even gone so far as not placing an ad in the Superbowl this year (the first time in 25 years), reasoning they get better return on investment from alternative media.

Here are some tips on effective use of video marketing for small-medium businesses.  Of course it includes social media distribution!  I hope we all know this already, but it doesn’t hurt to reinforce the basics!

So how will you access your favourite social media sites in 2011?  Desktop, laptop, netbook, smartphone, game console, television?  What about a games console/smartphone in one?  There are whispers that Sony is planning to launch a Playstation smartphone sometime in 2010.  Where will it end?  And when can I get my hologram-video-phone-watch like they have in the movies?!

In more local news, TVNZ have made a couple of announcements recently.  Reservoir Hill - TVNZ’s first online-only, interactive programme for teens – has been nominated for a Digital Emmy.  That’s the real deal, so they can be very proud of themselves.  It’s not often NZ-produced TV gets awarded anything!

TVNZ today also announced they will be launching a new channel on Sky.  It will be available as part of the Sky start-up package, and will be called TVNZ Heartland.  Content will be entirely NZ-made, sourced from TVNZ Archives.

My picks for programming: A Dog’s Show, Country Calendar, maybe University Challenge and Krypton Factor?  It will be a challenge to present “old” content that is relevant and not just reminiscing, but they say they are aiming for a 40-64 year old demographic, so perhaps reminiscing is the way to go.  The channel will carry advertising: TVNZ say they are in the process of approaching selected advertisers for exclusive agreements with the channel.  Read TVNZ’s report and see an interview with John Fellet (Sky TV) and Rick Ellis (TVNZ) here.

Ads of the week

Two more outdoor executions that utilise the environment to carry the message.

Painting the town red… and blue and pink and yellow and green…

Clever, but I don’t know about walking through in a white shirt…

Cheerio!

Phew!  Next week it will be December.  Christmas is coming, the sun is shining and we’re all busy as really busy things, so I’ll keep this short and sweet.

In fact, I’m going to keep this post clear of any “hard” news.  Nothing Googley, nothing statisticy, this is pure entertainment.  But be warned – you may learn something too!

In New Zealand…

Did you know that some courier companies are offering advertising on their fleet vehicles?  As they have dozens of cars doing hundreds of kilometres around urban centres, TelstraClear saw this as an opportunity to promote their Business Network in Auckland.

Want to know what’s going to be on TV in March 2010?  TVNZ have released their New Season 2010 programming and schedules – all the links are here.

Want to know what TV people have been complaining about in 2009?  It’s all here.

Around the World…

How to integrate outdoor, PR, online and viral activity to sell 337% more chowder.  Clever, well executed and successful!

According to Guiness World Records, this is the most viewed online ad in the world.  Cute eh?

Sorry, I couldn’t do it.  Again!  I couldn’t do a whole post without a reference to Google Almighty. Sometimes their algorithms throw up results they’re not proud of, and they have to apologise.  However when I read this article and clicked on the “see the search results here” link I didn’t see the image in question, BUT Google kindly suggested a separate search for me!  And then they’ll apologise for it!

That’s the weird world wide web wrapped up for another week.  Have a good one!