PixelVulture » Advertising

How ambient advertising can help the public sector

Matthew Arnold — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 05:30:49 +0000

The typical way to promote a product or service has often centred around placing a large poster in a public place or running a commercial on a collection of television channels. However, ambient advertising has turned this norm on its head and has gone for the approach of getting people to recognise a product by advertising it in places where you wouldn’t often expect to see any kind of publication. It is not just high-street firms looking to sell a shedload of new merchandise which can capitalise on this form of advertising though, with those in the public sector also taking advantage of the strategy. Organisations which are hoping to promote their services in a little more of an unusual fashion can get some inspiration by looking at the two examples below.

Using ambient advertising to stamp out gang violence

Well-known marketing agency Kommando has recently demonstrated how it can use ambient advertising in a bid to make streets much safer. The firm partnered with Strathclyde Police in an effort to tackle the issue of gang violence in and around Glasgow. With more than 60,000 officers on the force, who work in a city notorious for murders and attempted murders, this was no small task. An in-depth look at what Kommando and Strathclyde Police came up with can be seen here. However, the basis is that the marketing agency used projection technology to create realistic chalkings of crime scenes. As such, the streets of Glasgow featured a series of scenes which had people initially thinking that knife crime had claimed a few more unfortunate victims. Once people got closer the crime scene, they were able to read the phrases of “gang violence…”, “there’s a price to pay” and “you have a choice” to realise that this was in fact not a crime scene, but a way of warning the public of how to avoid such tragedies.

At the time of the launch of the ambient advertising strategy, Strathclyde Police’s assistant chief constable Campbell Corrigan said: “We’re delighted to be working with Kommando in this unique way to heighten awareness about the issues surrounding gang violence. “There are over 170 gangs operating across the Force area and the majority of their members are aged between 13 and 19 years of age. Too many young lives are being lost or ruined by gang violence.”

Using ambient advertising to aid ongoing worldwide problems

There are many endangered animals now fighting for their very existence, with South Africa home to many of these. In fact, as recently as 2011 around ten per cent of the country’s 299 mammal species were under threat. In a bid to keep endangered animals safe, game farmers in South Africa have begun to sell advertising rights to the country’s big five to try and raise much-needed money to assist conservation efforts (have a look through this link for a better idea of how these scheme has been put into action). One such strategy which falls into the ambient advertising category is how Karoo-based farmer Fanie Dwaasenmaan teamed up with 2Stroke Interactive to begin charging firms for advertising space on his animals. As a result, organisations can now see their products and services advertised on the side of an elephant, while the species themselves have better protection against being hunted and becoming even more endangered.

The Era of Video Marketing

Matthew Arnold — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 09:59:03 +0000

With 2012 statistics claiming video to be the 6^th most popular content marketing tactic (behind social media, website articles, eNewsletters, Blogs, and case studies respectively), its popularity is only expected to rise. Marketers around the world are capitalising from the likes of YouTube and Vimeo to promote their product, share their knowledge and educate their audience. Not to mention to entertain their target markets and get that video viral!

How it came to power

To bridge the gap between TV advertising and website content, video marketing was born. Integrated into many-a-homepage, video marketing allows website users to find out more information about the websites brand, products and services all collaborated in an easy-to-digest 90 second clip. And it works! According to a recent Content Marketing Institute survey, 46% of respondents claimed they would be “more likely” to seek additional information regarding a product or service if they were introduced to it via online video. Obviously what people say, or intend to do, is a lot different to how they actually behave but it certainly is an encouraging start for the future of video content marketing.

Industry examples

Video marketing has been welcomed with open arms by a multitude of industries and has been used to promote everything from slimming aids by Newcastle-based Digital agency Guerilla to blenders in the USA. Aside from online, video marketing can also be incorporated into in-store digital signage and various outdoor advertising methods too (i.e. outdoor LED screens).

The benefits

Whether you have been in business 2 days or 200 years, video gets you noticed. Research compiled by entrepreneurs lifeline Kickstarter found that new companies seeking to take their first steps in the business world were more successful (50% vs. 30%) if they featured a video on their website.
Industry predictions foresee that by 2014 video could account for 50% of all internet traffic.
As more people join the millions of smartphone users, your videos will be viewed more often and for longer! Industry stats show that people who watch videos on mobiles are more likely to watch more (or all) of the video compared to PC, laptop and tablet users.
Integration is reaching an all-time peak as advertising agencies are seeking new ways to get the message across in multiple formats. For example, 500 years of YouTube videos are watched on Facebook every day; that’s not even on the main YouTube website… crazy stuff!
An exciting video evokes trust, familiarity and can lead to loyalty. If you can use anything to separate your brand and your products from rival offerings, video is the consumers’ favourite choice.

So what does this mean for the future of content and marketing in general? Will words be replaced by pictures and video as consumers seek newer, more exciting ways to absorb information? When it comes to share-ability and integration with social media it certainly looks that way. But as new technologies are evolving all the time, it makes us wonder what’s around the next marketing corner.

New Air New Zealand Safety video

Matthew Arnold — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 10:32:27 +0000

AIr New Zealand launch a new safety video featuring Modern Family's Ed O'Niell and other celebs. Airline safety videos rank right up there with watching paint dry and grass grow. For frequent flyers there is nothin worse than sitting through a boring speech of video about how to put on your seatbelt. Airlines have a hard job to do here because they often have first time flyers as well as the fact that in an emergency people forget even the most basic of things. How can you get airline passengers to pay attention? Well Air New Zealand has created a quirky and fun air safety video featuring Ed O'Neill (Modern Family, Married with Children) and Melanie Lynskey (Two and a Half Men, Up in the Air) walking you through the do's and don'ts of safety onboard Air New Zealand flights. They're also joined by a host of other big name celebs from all over the globe. This is the latest in a series of popular YouTube videos produced by Air New Zealand. Their “Bare Essentials” in-flight safety video was also a big hit (featuring the airline crew in nothing but body paint), and previous videos have starred David Hasselhoff and Air New Zealand’s former mascot, Rico, among others. In fact, there a more celebrity cameos scattered throughout the new video, and one lucky winner who can identify them all will win a trip around the world via Air New Zealand’s social media hub, theflyingsocialnetwork.com. We love to see innovative use of video and exciting ways to engage people, while this may come across as a bit cheesy, I think Air New Zealand should be commended on their approach to bring a bit of fun to this otherwise serious and often boring event.

A TED talk from the future: 2023. By Peter Weyland

Brett Greaves — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:30:06 +0000

Awesome & unique teaser/viral video for the blockbuster movie Prometheus...an actual TED talk from the future, from Peter Weyland. Created initially by the writer of the blockbuster sensation, Prometheus - an avid fan of TED - created this viral video in alignment with the futuristic story of the movie. Not expecting the TED team to actually allow their branding to be incorporated into the video, was pleasantly surprised to find out that the team at TED are actually hard-core Aliens fans! The result? An 'official' TED talk of the future, by tycoon Peter Wayland and what he may have said at the time...laying the foundation for the movies plot... If you enjoyed the movie and have not seen this yet, you will love it! Enjoy.

VW Beetle bug run campaign

Brett Greaves — Wed, 30 May 2012 09:50:54 +0000

This has to be one of the coolest idea’s I have ever seen in my life. In an effort to generate some hype around the launch the new Beetle turbo, VW has created a real life beetle race…with real, live beetles. Races take place daily at around 9pm South African time, users can log into the website and read all about the ‘contestants’ who will be taking part in the next race, along with their biography, weight, past lap times and odds. Users are even afforded the opportunity to watch past races and even bet on who they think will win the next race. The spin off is that users can bet for fun, or go head-to-head and bet for real money. The rules are simple - choose a bug you think will win, then enter a finishing time. Your estimate will be used in the event of multiple winners to determine a single champion for each event. What I really like is that VW are not waiting till the end to reward people for their participation, rather the winner at the end of each heat with first place will win a prize comprising of a weekend trip for two to London, to watch an Arsenal match and an STCC race. There are also smaller runner-up prizes for the winners who came in 2^nd and 3^rd places…sick! Users earn points as follows: 100 for a win, 90 for second and so on. The points level will be increased for a win in race two, race three and race four. This is to ensure players who join late can have the chance to win the overall grand prize. – Which is a once in a lifetime experience. Don’t rush off to enter just yet, this competition is only open to users who reside in Sweden and Denmark – which sucks for us. Two races have already taken place, but if you do want to check it out live, the third race will be happening tonight at 21:00. There is also a section on the site dedicated to the person responsible for taking care of the bugs and how the bugs are looked after, just in case you thought that this was an act of cruelty… Oh, and there is also a section on the site that allows a user to read more about the new VW Beetle Turbo…which is pretty cool too. My opinion, this is one of the most exiting campaigns I have seen in a long time! 10 Points to VW for innovation! This campaign has massive potential to go viral, and maybe win some big awards, hopefully they will also sell some cars during the process. Check it out here.

How videos go viral [TED]

Matthew Arnold — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 11:49:06 +0000

This TED presentation is by the “trend manager” at YouTube – a guy who watches YouTube for a living. He gives us four very deep insights onto why we seem to love the most silly videos in the world and how they go viral. What kick starts the maelstrom of views on some of the webs most popular videos?

The Bark Side: New VW advert

Matthew Arnold — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 05:06:31 +0000

The last VW advert that featured the little boy trying his best to use the force to help with his daily activities, must have struck a cord with Star Wars fans around the world. This year VW has created another Star Wars themed advert, but not one you would expect. Check out this awesome advert simply titled The Bark Side.

Samsung Galaxy Note FCU campaign

Matthew Arnold — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:36:36 +0000

Samsung have pulled out all the stops with their new Fact Checkers Unit (FCU) ad campaign. They have created a wacky series of videos featuring two guys that stop at nothing to verify different facts. Talk about breaking through the clutter! The videos really give the Galaxy Note a bit of character :) The latest episode titled "Fly like a butteress" features DMC (from Run-DMC) in order to check if he really thinks he is a king. Check it out below:

This kick-ass article is sponsored by Samsung.

Where is Google making its money? [INFOGRAPHIC]

Louisa Korkie — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:14:27 +0000

via Tech Crunch