Generosity is good business. Therefore, I expect Starbucks' plan to provide free Wi-Fi in all its U.S. stores by July 1 to be very good for the coffee chain's business. Speaking today at WIRED's Disruptive by Design conference today, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said his company continues to look for new ways to bridge the "third place" coffeehouse experience with the digital world. And that's why Schultz's big news …
People Will Listen, Provided You Tell Them A Good Story
Jawbone TV, which is powered by Swarm Entertainment, is highlighting 10 brands that know how to tell stories. One of the Jawbone's picks is 42 Below, a vodka brand from New Zealand. Here's a 40 second film by Chris Milk commissioned by the spirits company: According to an earlier Jawbone piece, 42 Below's art project included contributions from David Lynch, Larry Clark, Harmony Korine, Lou Ye, Gaspar Noe, James …
Continue Reading about People Will Listen, Provided You Tell Them A Good Story →
SoBe Turns To Hidden Camera Hijinks
PepsiCo's SoBe brand is working with CollegeHumor to produce a steady stream of brand-relevant videos for distribution across multiple media platforms, including TV and the Web. The partnership launched "Mr. Vicarious," today. Featuring comedians Paul Scheer and Nick Kroll, the new series coincides with SoBe's redesign or "re-skin" of the SoBe Elixir and Tea bottles. Angelique Krembs, SoBe Marketing Director says, …
Continue Reading about SoBe Turns To Hidden Camera Hijinks →
iAd: Keeping Free Apps Free And Other Reasons For Being
According to The Guardian, Apple has taken more than $60 million in bookings for its new iAd mobile advertising network - weeks before its scheduled launch on 1 July. Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, said: "iAd offers advertisers the emotion of TV with the interactivity of the web, and offers users a new way to explore ads without being hijacked out of their favorite apps." Liberty Mutual is one of iAd's early …
Continue Reading about iAd: Keeping Free Apps Free And Other Reasons For Being →
Crowdsourcing The New Substrate Of Exploitation, Or Deliverer From Evil? You Decide.
Dan Robles is the Director of The Ingenesist Project, a private think tank in Seattle. One of the things he's thinking deeply about is what crowdsourcing means for the emerging economy and the workers who perform Human Intelligence Tasks. Turking is a phenomenon of crowdsourcing where people perform simple tasks on-line for money. Highly intellectual tasks are broken down into small components easily managed by a …
Your Data For A Song
Levi's is one of America's most enduring lifestyle brands. As such, it's natural thing for the brand to use content to pull you in. In fact, Levi's Pioneer Sessions, a new showcase of 12 "pioneering artists spanning multiple genres" fits the brand perfectly, like a favorite pair of 501s. The newly recorded tracks are available for download on the Pioneer Sessions site, but you have to give Levi's your contact …
VW Introduces Das (Digital Automotive Space) To iPad
This week, Volkswagen launched DAS (Digital Automotive Space), the first iPad-exclusive digital magazine developed by an automaker. This app puts the user in the driver's seat, allowing them to enjoy the magazine's themes in an innovative virtual reality, using the familiar functions of the iPhone. I don't feel qualified to comment on the utility of this app, since I'm not an iPad owner*. If you are an iPad owner …
Continue Reading about VW Introduces Das (Digital Automotive Space) To iPad →
She Shall Seek And She Shall Find–Where’s Your Brand In That?
Writing on Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab, Gina Chen, a 20-year veteran newspaper journalist makes some good points about information consumers today. The people formerly known as the audience know if they want a certain type of information, they head to Twitter. Another type, they'll go to YouTube. Something else, that's what FourSquare is for. It's likely not a conscious decision -- it's more visceral than that. …
Continue Reading about She Shall Seek And She Shall Find–Where’s Your Brand In That? →
Spike Jonze Makes A “Love Story” And Absolut Lovers Drink It Up
I'm Here, a 30-minute film by Spike Jonze, that was financed by Absolut Vodka debuted at Sundance in January. According to Hollywood Insider, it feels like a modern-day retelling of Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree. Post Advertising explains how the brand helped create buzz for the short online by limiting access to the work. Screenings were limited to every two hours (it started as four-hour intervals, but ramped …
Continue Reading about Spike Jonze Makes A “Love Story” And Absolut Lovers Drink It Up →
A Nation’s Story Told In Brands
According to Ad Age, Latin America's leading branded-entertainment agency, Fire Advertainment, is telling the country's story through 30 of its strongest and most beloved brands -- from Aceitera General Deheza olive oil to Zanella motorcyles -- in exactly 181 seconds each. The 181:0 project is airing this week on Fox cable channels and in movie theaters in Argentina. Each brand's story will air a total of 150 times …