Art has always been a source of inspiration for the ad industry and continues to lead to new avenues for brand expression. If art imitates life, ads imitate art for good reason. Our talent is still about storytelling and words are still some of our most important tools, but technology continues to provide new canvases for bringing brand messages to life.
While paper and pixels are the default solutions for marketers to get their words into the world, there is an exciting new frontier to explore at the intersection of art and technology. The examples shown illustrate that, in the hands of creative minds, technology innovations provide opportunities to say things in new, unexpected and artful ways. Brands that can demonstrate their creativity through new kinds of canvases have the chance to be seen in a groundbreaking light.
Bit.Fall: 320 ectromagnetic nozzles are used to create falling streams of water that form words and images
Bit.Flow: A hydraulic pump sends colored liquids through tubing to spell out messages
SMS Guerilla Projector: A portable device that lets users project text messages onto any surface
Spoke POV: An LED device that fits on your bike and displays text when your wheels are in motion
GraffitiWriter: A remote vehicle equipped with computer-controlled spray cans that paint messages as it moves
As revolutionary as the iPhone was when it was introduced, the ultimate potential of this all-display device was realized when apps came along. Those amazing downloadable programs that sit on your screen are transforming the iPhone from a really great mobile phone into a device that can become virtually anything you need it to be. In the words of NY Times technology writer David Pogue: “they make the iPhone (or the iPod Touch) do absolutely amazing things…stunts a cellphone has no right to perform.” And apps not only make the device more functional and fun, they make the iPhone a device that changes around you — the things you like, your hobbies and interests, your career, your sense of humor. Although everyone has the same hardware, the apps people choose to add make every phone unique and personal.
While the selection of apps is wildly diverse (from dog whistles to apps that find your parking spot) what makes them great is surprisingly consistent. The best apps are all about looking and acting simple while leveraging the iPhone’s “senses” (multi-touch interface, accelerometer, GPS, camera, mic) in interesting ways. They’re like technology amplifiers that can help you make plans on the go (Fandango), get you out of a jam (Urbanspoon) or just make it more fun to waste some time (Rolando). And now as downloads top 800 million worldwide, they are also becoming an entirely new medium for brands.
The best branded apps are about finding the part of your brand that can become a great mobile experience, whether that’s providing entertainment, utility or social value. These bite-sized brand experiences show how technology can actually change audience behavior, and provide marketers with the chance to flex new creative muscles. Success though can’t just be about how cool it looks, or even how many downloads it’s gotten — success should be measured on the audience’s terms: good reviews and ratings, blog chatter, tweets and ultimately whether people find a use for them in their everyday lives.
While other mobile companies are beginning to throw their hat in the app ring, the iPhone App Store has a sizeable lead and will soon be the single largest distributor of mobile content. But, with over 30,000 apps and counting, the challenge for marketers is both to make a great app, as well as help people discover it.
When done well, branded apps will help customers interact with your brand in a more meaningful way because it becomes an extension of the brand, not simply an extension of the marketing.
The Media Arts Monday (MAM) by TBWA\Media Arts Lab for almost three years; mad-blog.com is re-publishing the MAM Top 10 by Eric Hanson and Frank Striefler.
AUDIENCE BEHAVIOR – In today’s dynamic media landscape, people are living their lives at the speed of real time. News is expected to be up to the second, friends keep up with each others’ lives online, step by step and hour by hour, and the latest and greatest can change every time you “refresh the page.” It has created a culture where there is a lot of cache in knowing and being part of what’s current, and anything slightly out-of-date can feel awkwardly out of synch. And it’s not just newsrooms and networking sites that need to keep up; it’s an expectation that audiences are applying to every part of their lives, including the brands they invite to become a part of them. When the context of culture changes on a real-time basis, brands that allow a little spontaneity in their strategy can be the ones that stay most consistently relevant.
BRAND BEHAVIOR – Marketers have optimized processes and tools to plan their marketing initiatives meticulously. Detailed annual plans are standard, treating the world like a predictable 12-month cycle with little room for the unplanned. While companies have learned to switch to crisis-management mode in real time when facing a negative situation, it appears that fewer brands are prepared to embrace the unpredictable positive opportunities. Brands need to leave some room for the unplanned and be spontaneous, to make decisions in real time to be in synch with the pace of culture.
MARK LIVES IN IKEA
Comedian/filmmaker Mark Malkoff was looking for a temporary residence while his NYC apartment was being fumigated, when he asked IKEA for permission to stay for free in the local store. Without letting bureaucracy get in the way, IKEA capitalized on this real-time marketing opportunity by allowing him to move in for an entire week. Documenting his experience 24/7 on MarkLivesInIkea. com generated not only a million hits daily—with plenty of product demonstrations— but it also reinforced a good-natured image for the Swedish company.
NIKE: WORLD-RECORD CELEBRATION
When Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang broke the 110-meterhurdle world record with a time of 12.88 seconds, Nike didn’t waste a minute churning out an instant ad campaign to celebrate the track star’s achievement in record time. Just 13 hours after Xiang broke the world record, Nike had created and placed an ad at the prominent electronic billboard on the side of the Aurora skyscraper, and online ads were up and running. When the hero arrived home the same afternoon, his Nike-branded “12.88” T-shirt gave the brand national press coverage.
CREST: LIQUID BAN RESPONSE
In the wake of banning liquid products in carry-on bags on airplanes, Crest approached Avis quickly to partner up on a relief program of their own. At a time when not many travelers had a lot to smile about, 25,000 free Crest “smile packs” were placed on the seats of all Avis preferred renters’ cars in 25 of the top U.S. airports. The highly appreciated sampling packs included a full-sized Crest toothpaste, mouthwash and dental floss, helping Avis’ frequent costumers to start their vacations or business trips with healthy, bright smiles and fresh breath.
AUDIENCE BEHAVIOR – Advertising, for the most part, works by appealing to people’s eyes and ears — 80% of all brand communication is audio or visual. And while mainstream ad media will probably always exist in people’s lives as mostly sight and sound, the way audiences make sense of their world is obviously a more holistic sensory experience. Taste is an important part of how people develop, well, their individual tastes and palates. Touch is how people connect with and attach to the physical world and affects people’s perceptions of value. And smell is an incredibly important part of memory and feelings, affecting people emotionally 75% more than any other sense. Admittedly, multisensory media can sound a bit Orwellian, and bad advertising is still bad advertising whether you’re seeing it or smelling it, but maybe in an increasingly audio/visual world, the ways brands let people touch, taste and smell will become even more meaningful.
BRAND BEHAVIOR – While marketers have embraced sensory branding in creating product and brand environments that engage all the senses, advertising still primarily relies on sound and sight. But with recall rates at an all-time low, a multisensory approach incorporating the other senses can help make a brand’s message more appealing and memorable. Using only sight and sound limits brands to a 2-D media world, but adding taste, touch and smell opens up a 5-D brand experience. However, brands must be careful not to overdo it or put sense over substance.
A BILLBOARD WITH TASTE
Instead of just talking about how good their chocolate tastes or showing an appealing visual, Thorntons Chocolate Company decided to actually let people try their product with an edible billboard. Thorntons created the world’s first chocolate billboard (just in time for Easter) consisting of ten massive chocolate bunnies, 72 giant chocolate eggs and 128 panels made of pure chocolate. People walking by were encouraged to sample pieces of the 860-lb. 14.5×9.5 foot billboard and have a literal taste of the product.
COLLATERAL YOU TOUCH
In Portugal, 4,500 new cases of breast cancer are detected annually. Roche, the world’s largest cancer-treating drug company, is raising curiosity and generating awareness regarding the importance of self-exams using stress balls with a “lump” inside and the message: “You don’t see breast cancer. You feel it. Do the self-exam.” By physically squeezing the ball, women were shown what to look for and just how vital self-exams are. There program has inspired a 22% increase in mammograms and 28% in hospital visits.
A COMMERCIAL YOU SMELL
Nivea was the first company to utilize scent to add a new dimension of realism to cinema advertising. As moviegoers watched a typical beach setting, the scent of suntan lotion filled the theater. The ad, ending with the line, “Nivea. The smell of summer.” engaged a sense that is always on. The scent tapped into people’s memory and invoked a psychological trigger that significantly increased the ad’s impact. Exit polls showed a 515% higher rate of recall compared to the same ad shown without the scent.
The Media Arts Monday (MAM) by TBWA\Media Arts Lab for almost three years; mad-blog.com is re-publishing the MAM Top 10 by Eric Hanson and Frank Striefler.
AUDIENCE BEHAVIOR – Since we treat people like an audience, not just a consumer, it changes the way we think about how to create ideas for our brands. But at the same time it must also change the way we think about measuring these ideas — particularly with the growing significance of social media. Audiences are not just exposed to marketing messages. They react, reject, discuss, share, contribute, create — a ripple effect of responses that conventional models for measuring advertising effectiveness tend to ignore. To truly measure the impact of our ideas, we need to shift from campaign metrics to customer motivations, or what we like to call “audience currencies.” When an idea is passed along, it means people cared enough to pay attention. When an idea is spoofed on YouTube, it means audiences were compelled enough to act. When an idea is blogged about, it means audiences recognize a point of view. So start measuring what matters.
BRAND BEHAVIOR – The inherent measurability of “the click” has established the Web as the most quantifiable medium, which is why online initiatives tend to be more about driving response than about branding. But with the rapid growth of social media comes the challenge of measuring the new ways audiences are sharing advertisers’ messages and content, which cannot be done using traditional online metrics, like measuring ad exposures and click-through rates. Marketers need to realize that it’s a different game and that success looks different in the social-media space. Read more…
AUDIENCE BEHAVIOR – Audiences don’t live above or below-the-line, and it has taken our industry too long to truly embrace a through-the-line approach. But with the explosive growth of the Internet and the need for a specialized craft, we were quick to draw another line to differentiate on- and off-line advertising. But today’s audiences don’t live in an on- or off-line world either – they live in a “nonline” world. The more people and technology advance, the less separated these two places become in our daily lives. People can hardly tell the difference anymore between when they are “on” and when they are “off”; when they’re connected and when they’re not. People now lead seamless lives existing somewhere between the digital and the physical world with an endless number of connections linking them together.
BRAND BEHAVIOR – Online campaigns tend to be limited to screens and often times don’t affect people’s off-line lives. Brands that stop drawing the line have the opportunity to create entirely new connections that seamlessly and simultaneously impact people’s nonline lives. Marketers need to tear down the self-imposed walls between on- and offline and break through the tyranny of click-through based online advertising. Instead of using separate on- and off-line performance tools, marketers need to look at nonline success metrics to evaluate their initiatives holistically.
NIKE+: THE HUMAN RACE
Nike+ is the world’s largest running club, connecting runners from ever corner of the Web, where anyone can be challenged to a virtual race. On Aug. 31, 2008, Nike took this initiative to the next level and to the streets with the world’s largest running event: The Human Race. The charity race brought the online community together with 700,000+ runners competing in 25 cities across the globe. Nike rounded up this unprecedented experience with exclusive post-race concerts as part of the grand finale in each city.
POD HOTEL: PODCULTURE
The Pod Hotel combines high style with high tech, offering hostel-style, discount accommodations for spendthrifty and Web-savvy travelers. To compete with trendy boutique hotels, the hotel lets visitors make advanced connections with other guests via its closed social network PodCulture. Improving the real-world customer experience, guests connect online in specific forums to meet up in real life to drink, dine, shop or go out. Sales and traffic have increased 40% since PodCulture has been introduced.
TWITTER: TWESTIVAL
On Feb. 12, Tweeters in 202 cities around the world came together for Twestival under the mantra of “tweet.meet.give.” The volunteer-organized Tweetup with a social conscience was a fundraiser for charity:water offering entertainment, food and drinks while building awareness for the global water crisis. The call-to-action was Tweeted and in less than a month the event attracted 10,000+ attendees. The live gathering is a testament to Twitter’s ability to mobilize Internet activity into real-world action.
AUDIENCE BEHAVIOR – If there is one thing people have learned from this economic crisis it’s to be careful whom they trust. As business magnates head off to prison, major corporations are shuttered overnight and others get billions in bailouts. Trust in business has hit a 10-year low in the U.S. And now, whether it’s a big bad business or just guilty by association, every brand has to work a little harder to earn people’s trust before they earn their dollar. And as the new president is asking individual citizens to give back to their communities to get America back on track, brands should recognize the opportunity to become more engaged corporate citizens as well. At least for the near future, the trusted brands will be the ones that answer their own call to service and give back to the community by helping people pay it forward.
BRAND BEHAVIOR – Companies need to realize that serving the country doesn’t always have to mean wearing a uniform and that good corporate citizens have duties they shouldn’t neglect in tough times. And it’s not just deciding whether to still pull out the checkbook for community programs when budgets get tighter — it’s actually rolling up their sleeves to actively and creatively get involved as engaged citizens giving their best effort to renew communities all-around. It’s about an opportunity to express the brand’s beliefs while having a lasting impact on people’s lives.
STARBUCK’S: I’M IN
“I’m in”campaign is a call for national service and a compelling statement about how committed Starbucks is in its community efforts. Consumers who pledged five volunteer hours to the cause of their choice with their community received a free coffee between January 21-25. More than 1.3 million hours of service were pledged and still counting (an estimated dollar value of over $25mm). It’s partnership with HandsOn Networks allowed volunteers to find local opportunity.
FROSTED FLAKES: PLANT A SEED
Frosted Flakes “Plant a Seed” program is based on Kellogg’s belief that every kid deserves a place to play and be active so they can be their very best. Realizing that communities everywhere face funding issues preventing them from maintaining their local playing fields, the program helps rebuild fields across America — with benefits that last a lifetime. People are asked to nominate a field in their community and go online where they can also download a DIYrestoration kit to become a supporter.
ARK: CHANGE YOUR WORLD
ARK (Acts of Random Kindness) is an entire brand with a purpose other than profit. The company asks that the wearer of their ARK branded shirts perform one act of kindness every day they take it out of the closet—like buy someone a coffee, or give up your seat on the bus. In addition to suggestions for acts of kindness on the clothing tag, the company organizes local events for people to come together for the community and proudly wear their service on their sleeve.
AUDIENCE BEHAVIOR – It’s clear people are striving to lead more sustainable lives — 83% of consumers are willing to change their own consumption habits to help make tomorrow’s world a better place. And if the old adage of judging a book by its cover is true, then a product’s packaging makes a pretty important first impression. The packaging is what a brand comes wrapped in — in more than just the physical sense. It can often be a representation of how much a brand understands its audience’s values, needs and behaviors. And as today’s more demanding consumers look for brands that do as much for the environment as they do for them (even in a recession, 1/3 of consumers say they are more likely to buy environmentally-friendly products), closing the sale is sometimes all about how it’s packaged.
BRAND BEHAVIOR – As an upside, companies are using the recession to reinvent their packaging in order to save money on materials and shipping while addressing environmental concerns. “Lean and green” packaging creates a win-win-win scenario. It saves costs and reduces the company’s footprint while creating a “green halo” for the brand — all while meeting retail partners’ needs to cut operational costs and adding consumer relevance by being less wasteful. “Eco-effectiveness” proves that capitalism and environmentalism don’t need to be mutually exclusive.
SAM’S CLUB: SQUARE MILK JUGS
As part of a 189 store trial Sam’s Club is switching to a square case-less milk jugs that can be stacked on top of one another, saving room during shipping, on store shelves and in homes. Store coolers now hold 224 gallons compared to 80 previously. They also eliminate the need for milk crates and their costly upkeep. All the costs associated with packing, shipping and storing are passed on as savings (10-20 cents per gallon) to consumers who also benefit from the milk’s extended shelf life and added freshness.
KELLOGG’S: SPACE-SAVING BOX
Kellogg’s is testing a new space-saving box for its line of breakfast cereals that will use 8% less packing materials than a traditional box. The new boxes contain the same amount of cereal, but take up 5% less shelf space. The shorter, fatter design meets consumers’ desire for a more convenient fit on their pantry shelves. In addition to saving space at home, the new boxes allow retailers to fit more inventory on store shelves - consequently providing added variety for customers.
HP: REPURPOSABLE PACKAGING
Sometimes the most innovative packaging is no packaging. HP has reduced 97% of the materials customers normally discard for its Pavilion dv6929 Notebook. Gone is the box and excess Styrofoam, replaced by the HP Protect Messenger Bag. Three of the award-winning bags fit in one box - eliminating a quarter of the delivery trucks used previously and reducing costs and CO2 emissions. The laptop will be displayed inside the protective bag and customers will leave stores with laptop, accessories and bag - sans box.
As revolutionary as the iPhone was when it was introduced, the ultimate potential of this all-display device was realized when apps came along. Those amazing downloadable programs that sit on your screen are transforming the iPhone from a really great mobile phone into a device that can become virtually anything you need it to be. In the words of NY Times technology writer David Pogue: “they make the iPhone (or the iPod Touch) do absolutely amazing things…stunts a cellphone has no right to perform.” And apps not only make the device more functional and fun, they make the iPhone a device that changes around you — the things you like, your hobbies and interests, your career, your sense of humor. Although everyone has the same hardware, the apps people choose to add make every phone unique and personal. 
AUDIENCE BEHAVIOR – Advertising, for the most part, works by appealing to people’s eyes and ears — 80% of all brand communication is audio or visual. And while mainstream ad media will probably always exist in people’s lives as mostly sight and sound, the way audiences make sense of their world is obviously a more holistic sensory experience. Taste is an important part of how people develop, well, their individual tastes and palates. Touch is how people connect with and attach to the physical world and affects people’s perceptions of value. And smell is an incredibly important part of memory and feelings, affecting people emotionally 75% more than any other sense. Admittedly, multisensory media can sound a bit Orwellian, and bad advertising is still bad advertising whether you’re seeing it or smelling it, but maybe in an increasingly audio/visual world, the ways brands let people touch, taste and smell will become even more meaningful.
AUDIENCE BEHAVIOR – Since we treat people like an audience, not just a consumer, it changes the way we think about how to create ideas for our brands. But at the same time it must also change the way we think about measuring these ideas — particularly with the growing significance of social media. Audiences are not just exposed to marketing messages. They react, reject, discuss, share, contribute, create — a ripple effect of responses that conventional models for measuring advertising effectiveness tend to ignore. To truly measure the impact of our ideas, we need to shift from campaign metrics to customer motivations, or what we like to call “audience currencies.” When an idea is passed along, it means people cared enough to pay attention. When an idea is spoofed on YouTube, it means audiences were compelled enough to act. When an idea is blogged about, it means audiences recognize a point of view. So start measuring what matters.
AUDIENCE BEHAVIOR – Audiences don’t live above or below-the-line, and it has taken our industry too long to truly embrace a through-the-line approach. But with the explosive growth of the Internet and the need for a specialized craft, we were quick to draw another line to differentiate on- and off-line advertising. But today’s audiences don’t live in an on- or off-line world either – they live in a “nonline” world. The more people and technology advance, the less separated these two places become in our daily lives. People can hardly tell the difference anymore between when they are “on” and when they are “off”; when they’re connected and when they’re not. People now lead seamless lives existing somewhere between the digital and the physical world with an endless number of connections linking them together.
Frosted Flakes 
ARK 
Kellogg’s is testing a new 
Sometimes the most innovative packaging is no packaging. HP has reduced 97% of the materials customers normally discard for its Pavilion dv6929 Notebook. Gone is the box and excess Styrofoam, replaced by the 
