As if I have not already been to mini.com enough, configuring and reconfiguring Mini Cooper’s; Mini gives me yet another reason to check out their fabulous website. They sent out an email blast with “Secret Codes” that you can type into the search box, on the Mini website, that allow you to play with the site’s hidden features. Pretty cool. Give them a try.
Once you type in the code (case sensitive), look to the bottom left of the main window for instructions on how to use the hidden feature.
The Secret Codes (shhh!):
Reverse
Take It For a Spin
Under The Hood
MINImize
Great Flash work and another piece of Mini’s masterful marketing.
How far would you go run to get a new client? A team from BooneOakley literally ran from their Charlotte office to Saucony’s Boston office (all 859 miles) to deliver an RFP by hand. An interesting, and seemingly effective, way to generate positive attention for BooneOakley and their new potential client.
One year ago, yesterday, Smirnoff launched it’s award-winning Tea Partay viral video advertising campaign on YouTube. The purpose being to promote it’s Raw Tea malt beverage product. The video used a hip-hop theme to exploit the stereo-typical east-coast preppie style. Something about this video made me, and a lot of other people, watch it repeatedly and talk about it (the true sign of a successful viral marketing campaign). The YouTube Tea Partay videos alone have accrued more than 3.5 million combined views. That is a whole lot of (nearly) free advertising.
Yesterday, in an attempt to repeat the success, Smirnoff released the west-coast response. This time, it is a Green Tea Partay. I am not sure this attempt will prove as successful for the Smirnoff crew, as this video is just not nearly as fun or catchy. But, who knows, sequels do tend to make money in the box office, because people can’t seem to pass them up (regardless of not typically meeting expectations). In addition, YouTube certainly has more users than it did last year at this time. Could that make a difference? Time will tell.
In science, absolute proof of a theory is considered impossible to achieve (you know like global warming…and gravity), but I think we have proved my theory that people in this world are absolutely, without a doubt, weird.
As if we needed proof, here he is in all his glory, the professional line-sitter, Greg Packer. Already well-known for his desire to be first in line, Greg starting sitting in front of the 5th Avenue NYC Apple Store this past Monday at 5 AM, waiting for tomorrow’s release of the much-anticipated iPhone. Does he care that much about the iPhone? Not at all (see video below). So what does this guy love so much about always being the first in line? Maybe he was always last in the lunch line in school, or maybe he makes a bundle selling Wii’s and signed Brandy posters on eBay…who knows.
Regardless of how weird he may be, I still find myself envious that he will have an iPhone and I (living in wonderful Vermont) will not.
“Leopard is shipping in October. Basic version, $129. Premium version, $129. Business version, $129, Enterprise version $129. Ultimate version, $129. It’s all the same… most people are going to buy the ultimate version.”
In 1988, I wore fluorescent green snow pants, a black and hot pink jacket, and matching neon Zinc Oxide on my nose. Without a doubt, I was stylin’ on the ski slopes.
All of these bright memories came racing back when I saw the logo for the 2012 London Olympics, which was unveiled today in London.
My iPod Shuffle This logo not only comes in pink, but also shades of orange, green and blue.
The new design, which cost £400,000, has received a mixed response, but Lord Coe was adamant it put across the image and message that he wanted the London Games to deliver to the world.
“It’s not a logo, it’s a brand that will take us forward for the next five years,” he told BBC Five Live.
“It won’t be to be everybody’s taste immediately but it’s a brand that we genuinely believe can be a hard working brand which builds on pretty much everything we said in Singapore about reaching out and engaging young people, which is where our challenge is over the next five years.
All this being said, styles do repeat themselves eventually in some shape or form. Maybe I am just not forward thinking enough, or maybe this design trend was one I was hoping would be left in the 80’s; but this is the British equivalent of $793,216 US dollars ill spent.
[UPDATE] Expert says, 2012 Olympics logo is not fit for TV and may cause epileptic seizures. Good thing the Olympics are never televised…oops.
FedEx’s new Launchapackage.com “service” is fantastic! Not only is it fun to use, but also a great example of effective online branding. It is very simple to send a virtual package. You start by filling out your FedEx delivery slip, of course.
Add the contents to your package; write a message to your recipient, upload pictures and documents. Then launch your package (the fun part). Pull back on your rubber band loaded package and let that sucker fly. Don’t pull hard enough and you are warned by messages such as these:
(Posting continued after images.)
Now to be more critical of a service that could be truly outstanding and useful. The service is fun and a great marketing tool for FedEx, but it really does not do anything my email cannot. The maximum size for document attachments is 3MB (1MB per document). The total picture size limit is 2.5MB (500kb per picture). Most email services can send and receive attachments up to 10MB.
So, how about increasing the capacity of the service to make it more like Senduit, which allows users to upload and transfer files up to 100MB in size. The virtual FedEx service would then truly be useful, because it picks up where email file transfers leave off.
A more useful FedEx online delivery service would make sense. Make FedEx the first company/service that comes to mind when shipping or transferring any type of information. After all, as online transfer speeds and capacities increase, many will no longer be using traditional FedEx shipping services to send information (via CDs or DVDs). FedEx might as well capture the online file transfer market while they can.
5/20/07 - Interesting tie-in:
Traditional FedEx delivery still faster than file-transfer over a high-speed Internet connection, when transferring more than 1 terabyte of data. In other words, if you have a lot (a whole lot!) of data to transfer, just send it via an overnight delivery service. It will get there faster than the online file transfer (even if ideal transfer speeds are sustained).
Keep in mind that 1 terabyte of info is more than any typical company would need to send. We are talking about more than 212 DVDs of data to equal the 1 terabyte. So this info is more trivial, than useful. Nevertheless, still interesting…if you’re into this kind of stuff.
Steve Jobs made a formal statement today about Apple’s intentions to become a “greener” company. Read the press release.
Apple is already a leader in innovation and engineering, and we are applying these same talents to become an environmental leader. Based on our tangible actions and results over time, hopefully our customers, employees, shareholders and professional colleagues will all feel proud of our ongoing efforts to become a greener Apple.
- Steve Jobs, Apple CEO
I had previously posted about Greenpeace’s criticisms of Apple not being an environmental leader.
The “Design for Living” survey, of more than 2,000 Americans, shows that young Americans are heavily influenced by good design. If you or your company has overlooked the importance of design in the past, maybe you should look again.
Excerpts from the “Design for Living” survey:
In marked contrast to other generations, young Americans ages 18 to 29 are driven by the influence of good design on major life decisions.
Compared to others, the 18 to 29 age group – the so-called millennial generation – places greater importance on design in the workplace:
Millennials are happier (74 percent), more motivated (64 percent) and more efficient (31 percent) in a well-designed workplace.
An overwhelming 82 percent of survey participants would let the prospect of working in a beautifully designed building influence their decision to accept a job.
They give serious thought to public spaces (66 percent), beauty and architecture (42 percent) when considering relocation to a new city.
Nine in 10 Millennials also care more than any other age group about sustainable design of new buildings for well-being and resource efficiency.
Survey results also show that design has a considerable influence in many Americans’ daily choices. Almost seven in ten respondents said that the last time they saw a product in a store that they “just had to have,” it was because of its design. In addition:
Three-quarters of those surveyed – and more, among 30- to 39-year-olds – said they have enjoyed a movie simply because of its visual effects, despite other flaws.
They are willing to pay more for an appealing product design, whether it’s a car (67 percent), furniture (60 percent) or a video game system (31 percent).
A majority of those surveyed (55 percent) believe that good design can actually improve a product’s functionality while also making it look better.
BusinessWeek innovation editor Bruce Nussbaum urged the nation’s future designers at the prestigious Parsons School of Design to consider the increasingly important role of design in consumers’ everyday lives. Anticipating ever-greater influence of design on business and society, he stated, “Design, with a capital D, can move beyond fashion, graphics and products, services into education, transportation, economics and politics.” And as consumers design more of their lives, from their MySpace pages to their music experience, computer screens and cars, Nussbaum observed that “Design Democracy is the wave of the future.”*
