FRANKthoughts

Check out their link here >> http://www.google.com/intl/en/earthhour/

If NineMSN homepage OTP is $100,000+ per day… I wonder with Google’s traffic, how much will their Google-page takeover will be worth?  I agree with Paul Isakson…Makes me feel good that Google is not all for profits! 

FYI - Citipower reported a 10.1% drop between 8-9pm in Melbourne’s CBD.

Ad Age recently asked the most influential bloggers of the moment, the top 150 to ponder….

 “we see a lot of chatter on the Power 150 about different digital technologies, websites and web applications, but which single technology, site or application do you think is most deserving of marketers’ attention in 2008 and why?” 

The results have been published in Crystal Ball 2.0. Interesting stuff offering a spectrum of thinking.

The overidding takeout for me is not to make technology the obsession. Make connecting with consumers and employees the obsession. If technology can help then great, use it.

Thanks to Get Shouty for making me aware

Here’s how I feel when I’m visiting your customer feedback/ideas website:

1. I expect no selling on your behalf - This is not the place to push your products.

2. I want to talk about the things I want to talk about - don’t push your agenda or limit our conversation.

3. I need to know my feedback is received and that something is being done about it - treat my time with respect. If I’m writing to you I expect to get an answer.

Here’s a great example on how this can be done. Starbucks My Starbucks Idea is a website for users to submit their ideas on how to improve the Starbucks experience. The process is dead easy: post an idea and the community will vote on it. Ideas that float to the top are then being considered for implementation. The site’s user experience is brilliant. No pushing of products or other “related” websites, no limitation on topics and an authentic voice are making this one a winner.

The site’s 2.0ish social element and design is riding the “wisdom of crowds” wave also developed by the likes of Kluster and ideablob.

So, can you introduce this in your organisation? How about starting with an internal idea generator?

Just when we thought Wii was the salvation to sedentary gaming along comes GPS-enabled phone gaming LocoMatrix . Currently in beta, the basics are…you text “loco” to a number (UK only) then download either ‘Fruit Farmer’ or ‘Treasure Hunt.’

In Fruit Farmer you have to be the first to collect fruit without being captured by the killer wasps!

You can play with a group of friends, either in teams or individually. All you need is a field or park and some good weather. You track your real life position using the map on your phone’s screen. Collect fruit as quickly as you can, and avoid the killer wasps!

There are more games in the pipeline and users are invited to design their own games. Each game has a chit chat forum too. Massive fun.

A not disimilar 3G-based game called, funnily enough i like frank, was pioneered in Adelaide in 2004 as part of the fringe festival. Ahead of its space.

As part of the WOTIF brand launch, FRANk and Leo Burnetts collaborated to deliver a unique media and creative digital placement. Using Ad Synchronisation, it helped achieved cut through in afternoon news placements throughout Fairfax, News Digital and Yahoo!7.

Here is a mock running up version (the M-Rec plays up so may need to reload/refresh) and below is a live screenshot:

This is a great slide show, courtesy of Paul Isakson. The future is engaging content not finger crossing humour…as we suspected. Please enjoy.

Worth1000 is doing a great job showing what can be done with Photoshop and a bit of imagination. The site runs themed based competitions where winners get up to $1000 - Take a look at the gallery section to find some truly amazing photos.

The site was brought to me by BoingBoing.

Everything we do in marketing has to do ultimately with creating an experience. It doesn’t matter if it’s a billboard, a TV spot or a website.

What’s your website role? Is it your online storefront? A place where you engage your community? A place where consumers can get the latest updates about you and your products? Whatever it is, it will be an experience and your job is to make it a great one.

To help doing that we try to replace the words “website” or “campaign” with the word “experience”. Another thing we do is to go to our clients websites and think like a user. Did I say “Wow” at some point? Did I feel frustrated? Did I think: “This sucks?”

Another thing I do is getting inspired with some exceptional experiences at one of my all time favorites: ThreeMinds. Check out this 2008 Olympics post.

Here’s the trailer to get you started:

 Just back from Vietnam and couldn’t help but be impressed by Bobby Brewers Express in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). There i was sitting on the sidewalk in downtown HCMC taking in the noise, chaos and smog and my mate asks if i fancy a coffee. A phone call and 10 mins later a very respectable couple of lattes turn up by courier @ about 40c each. As if this is not enough they also support ongoing victims of agent orange with their ‘Charity Tuesday.’

A great idea largely possible due to labour costs in Vietnam being close to zero. Only one concern…there is currently a vacancy for a barista with no previous experience. In addition to bread and sundries they also offer delivery of wine, beer and breakfast.

While watching Liverpool beat Inter Milan 1-0 highlights on YouTube, I thought I’d give a full screen version a shot and I noticed a little weird button next to the Play button (bottom left). I clicked on it and this popped up:

It basically brings up a network of relevant videos link to what you’re watching. Click on a surrounding video circle and it then brings up another bunch of videos (colour coded of course). Want to view it? Simply hit play in the circle to watch it without taking you outside of this box.

Highly rated! Cool experience! Give it a shot…