FRANKthoughts

We are moving on the 25th and 26th of September to our great new office just around the corner.

Our new address will be:
28 St Edmonds Rd
Prahran VIC 3181

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All our contact details will remain the same.

We’ve lost our balcony but picked up four!

Social media is sometime described as the magic solution. Simply get a facebook profile/blog template/twitter account, start talking and voila - your target audience is now talking with you and about you, commenting, sharing and providing you with endless amounts of free word of mouth.

Hmm… it’s actually a bit more complicated then that. “The social media fallacy” is a new video presentation from David Spark (spark media). It shows the right way to approach building your online strategy - from the beginning, with research and planning. Take a look - it’s worth it.

Thanks to Shana Albert from social desire for the cool diagram.

Check it out, watch it, comment it, rate it!

My friend James just came back from the Carnival in Salvador where every section is sponsored by different brands. The branded singlets in the shot are actually your ticket to the event/section. It made me think about all these branded t-shirts we see around. None of them looks appealing like these singlets. The design is quite amazing and the quality is great. It also helps that the singlet actually stands for something. It reminds you of a place, music, friends you’ve been with and the experience you shared. Slapping your logo on a t-shirt is not enough anymore. Instead try to wrap it with an experience people will love to talk about.

Several people have asked for my opinion on Microsoft’s intention to purchase Yahoo (Microhoo) for around $41 billion, as well as WPP’s merging of their of 24/7 Real Media search division with its other search agencies - Outrider, Catalyst and Quisma - to form the world’s largest search agency.

Well, to be ‘Frank’, I say bring it on. Like in most industries, consolidations make sense and it also proves that the Australian marketplace is taking search engine marketing (SEM) seriously. In Australia, Online advertising has cracked the $1 billion mark and is growing rapidly. Mergers and acquisitions are bound to occur when there is demand, or more importantly, perceived demand in the marketplace.

Due to the vast amount of media coverage concerning the potential merger of Microhoo, more and more people are starting to investigate SEM and realising that SEM is both a cost effective and accountable form of online advertising. Even my father, a web novice, has begun asking the right questions. And thats great news if you are in the business of providing SEM solutions.

Will the deal proceed? I have my doubts. For starters, Jerry Yang (founder of Yahoo) is not a great ally of Microsoft and I sense a deal is potentially forming between Yahoo and News Corp…

This is my FRANk-bag made from part of a recycled billboard vinyl skin, (Qantas i believe) all good. But here’s the tip. Next time you recommend to a client that they recycle their ’skins,’ post-campaign, ensure they build in their logo with a stipled effect. This will only be visible close up, not detracting from the ad, pre-branding their recycled merchandise…computer bags, wallets, cube seats, bean bags, shoulder bags, dog collars, folders etc.

Last week, FRANk sent 160 pineapples to client, partners, and suppliers as a Welcome to 2008 gesture (blog post). On the pineapples, all we attached was a link to our newly designed blog that was also launched last Tuesday. So here are the results after 1 week:

Cost of 160 Pineapples = $720
Cost of Courier = $380
Cost of Printer = $170
Total Cost = $1270

Result = 289 Visits (202 Unique Visits)

Cost Per Visit = $ 4.39

Not bad for a Cost per Click/Visit return on investment. A creative way to generate a bit of buzz with our clients/partners and a direct response to visit our new blog. And, the engagement with the FRANk brand from clients = Priceless!!

Thanks to Dion and the crew at Lifelounge

So you’re in the company of your parents, in-laws, grandparents, friends & maybe even your boss… it’s supposed to be the most amazing day of your life… and you walk down the aisle COMPLETELY NUDE! It sounds like something you would only ever read about but I was in hysterics on the weekend when a friend announced she was one of three finalists in the Fox Fm Nude Wedding competition. For those that aren’t Fox listeners, basically they are in search of a couple who are willing to bare all and tie the knot in the complete raw! The couple voted by listeners will exchange vows (nude of course) at a wedding valued at over $40,000.

I can’t say any amount of bling would convince me to get my gear off however these guys are totally up for it.

Please check them out and vote for couple # 1 - Singrid & Brad!

Best of luck guys!

Thanks to Scott from Haul!

Finally a half decent photo of the adspace we’ve created for kidspot, first mentioned here on 24th October. Kids and mums queue up for ice creams/drinks and there’s the ad right in your face. Well we like it