suz keen

This is one of those times where I'm reminded why I adore technology and how it relates to music. Get lost in this collaboration called In Bb 2.0 where a bunch of musicians play ambient sounds and tunes along the same tones. The results are glorious.

April 30, 07:01 PM

B is for B-cycle.

Alex Bogusky (CP+B), Humana and Trek have teamed up to create B-Cycle, which will be implemented for a pilot in Denver. The B-Cycle program is solar-powered and will be installed as stations all around the city. To use a B-cycle one can swipe either a credit card or a membership card. Watch the video below for more. Also note how nicely the video is executed. Look for B-cycle stations around Denver this summer.

April 28, 07:20 PM

Great use of Twitter - Tony Hawk Style

So there's this excellent twitter skateboard hunt that Tony Hawk started up where he plants a board somewhere then tweets a clue as to it's location. From there it's finders keepers. Now he has sent numerous boards to his contacts across the globe, they plant the board, then give him a clue to tweet to his twitter followers. See the full article here.

April 08, 01:38 AM

The Web "Tubes"

notcot.org posted a fascinating web trend map.

"The Web Trend Map 2009 by the Information Architects gives you the perfect overview of the internet, with the 333 most influential web domains and the 111 most influential internet people mapped onto the Tokyo Metro map."

My friends in Insight & Strategy (they get all the cool toys) printed out this map in a large format for me. I've been staring at it ever since. No, I'm not on mushrooms, it's really that cool.

February 02, 07:48 PM

muxtape relaunch

I was one of those music nerds who made hundreds of mixtapes growing up and loved receiving them from others. On the new Muxtape platform, bands can promote and market themselves, while people like me can discover new music and create a mix from the available music.

The hope of course is that the site's library of available music will grow and grow so the selection is always fresh.

Check out the interview Rocketboom did with the creators here.

November 20, 01:40 PM

Uniqlo - Try A New Approach to CRM

We usually moan and groan about working in the segmentation questions our CRM group develops. No doubt they're very important and we're playing pin the tail on the donkey without them. It's just that after collecting all the necessary information that a typical registration requires for a promotion, to ask even more of a consumer is painful for them and painful for the designer.

I came across this Uniqlo Try promotion to get the word out about their newly launched Bra Top. Hundreds of women participate in a video survey with a wide range of questions, many of them CRM types of questions. The site uses a filtration system so that visitors can see and sort through the videos that apply.

It was eyeopening for me to see those questions tackled in a fun way rather than viewing them as a necessary burden.

September 29, 05:07 PM

Totally Rad Newsreader

Just was turned onto this way to organize feeds. It's more visual.
It's cleaner. It's fresh. I likey.

August 25, 01:29 PM

Twistori is Rad

Thanks to a comment from Michael, I discovered Twistori and I can't stop! It's a filter for Twitter based on simple words: love, hate, think, believe, feel and wish. Fascinating. Imagine the applications for brands and people who have become a brand. Based on a filter of simple words, one could find out a lot.

August 25, 01:17 PM

Big Fan of this Vodafone Promo

This Vodafone promotion started awhile back, but I wanted to post about it because it's still alive. I'm still getting links from people with the streaker and it makes me giggle every time. Ideas like this one are simple brilliance. I wonder what kind of conversion rate a fat little red streaker gets you.

June 13, 12:41 PM

MySpace Finally Gets Clued In

Oh hey! Great idea guys! Let's not make our stuff look like a dumpster fire!

Get the deets on MySpace's plans for a redesign here.

It always surprises me how people don't realize the importance of good user interface design. Or how people don't realize the importance of good design period. In-store, online, product design or otherwise. People like things that are pleasing to the eye. It's an experience. Make it clean. Make it pretty. Make it hot.

May 28, 01:11 PM

"That's Why I'm a Card Member"

I'm sure you've seen these beautiful American Express spots and campaign over the last year. They've always caught my attention as they've casted interesting celebrities and professionals and they tell a great story with the perfect balance of glimpses into who this person is and what they do, rather than people we see in the tabloids all the time. I just saw this one and it has to be my favorite.

I have to ask, is the end line really necessary? I think showing the back of the card and leaving it alone would've been more powerful. I feel that way about all these American Express spots. They evoke an emotion and garner attention then they tack a tag line on at the end. It's a bummer they couldn't have branded these more elegantly.

April 16, 08:30 PM

Presidential Campaign Buzz

I love stuff like this. Similar to We Feel Fine and Coke's World Chill, Presidential Watch 2008 is a site that tracks public consciousness through the blogosphere. And it just looks cool.

April 11, 11:54 AM

I Heart Design.

Finally! No more low-rent looking web invites. While Evite has brilliantly monopolized the online invitation biz in the past, I have always yearned for something more sophisticated. Introducing Pingg. So clean and well designed.

January 30, 12:00 AM

I'm a Fan of your Brand.... For Now

Attention brands using Facebook. So you've added a brand page to Facebook and people have become a "fan" of your brand and they wear that badge on their profile pages. How easy is it to have a brand page on Facebook? You can create one in a minute or less. And it costs nothing. So congratulations, you have a brand page and you think you're a player in the space. Welcome to the party, the keg is in the garage.

*insert buzzer sound here* WRONG

This won't last for long. I've become fans of various brands and none of them have anything on their brand page that would make me revisit. Not one. Naturally, I consider the brands I vouch for to be pretty rad, and I'm sure everybody else does too for their chosen brands. But if you're going to play in this space that is interactive (which, last time I checked, pertains to a two-way means of communication) then you better figure out what you're going to offer us quickly.

I've become a fan of brands on my profile and I've opted in to communications. Not because your current brand pages are fantastical, but because I'm waiting to see if you get it. I cannot BELIEVE you're passing on this opportunity! I'm asking you to talk to me, consumers are pulling. Why are you ignoring the tug? Nevermind, don't answer that question, I'm sure you have a million excuses. Don't care. Just fix it.

Soon I'll realize that this relationship is one sided and I'll dump you. And all of my friends will see it in the feed. And then they're all going to laugh at you. But really, not a positive right? I'm willing to bet that the kinds of people who are up for vouching for your brand and displaying your logo as a badge on their profile page are either early adapters (important to any brand) or they are your loyalists (also important to any brand). Pretty influential types of people right? Those people wouldn't become fans of your brand if they weren't actively and voluntarily participating in word-of-mouth for you. We're seeking you out! Can you ASK for anything better after years of you talking at us? So please, if you're going to show up to the game then bring your strategy to win. Retain me and the others who are throwing you a bone.

January 15, 04:12 PM

FWA Site of the Year Award

The FWA (Favorite Website Awards) chose the Goodby Silverstein & Partners/North Kingdom site Get the Glass for their site of the year award. I have to say that I agree, that site is best in class from all angles. If you haven't spent much time with it, shame on you. Set aside 15 minutes and experience the site of the year.

January 14, 06:34 PM

2 of my Favorite Things

iPhone and Starbucks = a good match. "iPhone/iPod Touch application that allows the users to purchase their favorite Starbucks drink without waiting in line. This application also includes QuickPay, a swipe transaction system using semacode technology." Check it out.

January 14, 11:57 AM

Microsoft + Digital Cart Displays

Microsoft and MediaCart will be serving up ads to supermarket shoppers based on their shopping lists, past behaviors and purchases via the shopping cart.
Sounds pretty rad to me.
Read about it here.

January 06, 08:21 PM

Classic.

This isn't new or anything, but it just crossed my path again.
And I love it.

January 04, 01:34 PM

Radiohead - Democratic Payment Experiment

My friends and I were curious as to how this would work out for Radiohead. However, speculating that it would be a success.

Some background: Radiohead released their latest album, In Rainbows, as a download from their website. It's pay-as-you-wish. And it worked out well for them. Read more about the deets here.

October 15, 02:04 PM

Cool Branding Elements Table

Rollover each branding element to discover each definition. Groups include: Advertising, Direct, Branding, Marketing Communications, M&A, Misc.

Built by Kolbrener, branding experts

October 01, 02:50 PM

HOT, JUICY BURGER!!

I spent some time on Wendy's "Hot, Juicy Burgers for Life (that's right)" site. Let me tell you, it's cracking me up. Wendy's thinks that everyone deserves a hot, juicy burger and invites you to join the cause. The more you interact, the more points you get, the more rewards you reap. The CRM model is nicely intertwined with the content, it's so much more seamless than just standard data-collection.

Find out Why - Join the Cause

October 01, 02:13 PM

Dove Beauty Campaign Continued.... "Onslaught"

This is a brilliant follow up to "evolution". Take a look at "onslaught". I was wondering what they were going to do next, this is even more moving to me than the evolution spot.

September 21, 01:52 PM

More funnies from CareerBuilder.com

CareerBuilder.com has done some really humorous advertising over the last year. Monk E-mail is one of my favorites and their tv spots are funny EVERY TIME. I saw this Facebook posting in the newsfeed the other day and it cracked me up. The first two thumbnail pics are irreverent but clever. Good all-around holistic campaigning. For a long time monster.com would be at the forefront when thinking of job searching websites. It would be interesting to see if Career Builders efforts over the last year has won them some of that mind share.

September 18, 12:19 PM

Throw Food at a Ninja

My friend Paul sent me this recipe for spinach filled fish rolls. In my mind I was thinking, "that sounds vile, WTF". I entertained the link anyway. At this site you can grab food items and throw them at this mini ninja who jumps all around the content and talks smack to you while launching his own food items at you. Hilarious, and a great use of Flash video.

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