OMFG. Brands and Social Media in China.

August 11th, 2010 • View Comments Brands, Social, Underway
Tags: Brands, Business, China, Prediction, Presentation, Report, Social, Social Influence Marketing, Strategy, Trends, Truth, We like, World

Sometimes when you do research on tech adaption worldwide you get the impression it is completely enough to look at figures from the U.S. Take for example the excellent ‘State of the Blogosphere 2009‘ report by technorati. It presents all the charts and diagrams you need if you research statistics on blog usage….but if you dig a little bit deeper you find out that it’s actually nothing but a study about the American blogosphere.

This is particularly interesting if you take a serious look at the figures. China for example has surpassed the U.S. in social media usage last year. According to Netpop almost every Chinese online user is part of a social network. There are three times more bloggers per online user in China compared to the U.S. No major study will explain an average European or American strategist what these people do, what they talk about and how to engage them. By the way, we are talking about 1.6 billion Chinese and billions of Asians that I did not even consider in this calculation.

Check out this deck by Ogilvy One Shanghai (via Giles) about the connected Chinese digital landscape which is absolutely stunning. And afterwards do me a favor and answer one question: Is it actually possible to understand and lead the complexity of this world from a desk in Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam or London and to make the right decisions? How can we build cross cultural knowledge which is so important to get away from our subjective western perspective?

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google. A not so evil look back on its History.

August 9th, 2010 • View Comments Brands
Tags: Business, google, history, net neutrality, Presentation, Truth, visual, World

google sure does combine many elements of a modern tech fairy tale. It is extremely successful (please, don’t mention social networks now), it did not exist 15 years ago and started with a very philanthropic vision…at least they tried. While the company still pretends to stick to its ‘Don’t be evil‘ mantra, others call it ‘a company on steroids with fingers in every industry’. The glass is always half full or half empty, right?

Google UK has now staged a (very) quick look back at the its history over the last 11 years. From Stanford to Mountain View and around the world, featuring many different products, starting with BackRub (Search) up to Google Wave, StreetView and Chrome. Enjoy the cute little animations and in case you are keener on a more critical view of the brand, try the Beast File. (via)

Apple + T-Mobile. United in Impotence.

August 9th, 2010 • View Comments Brands
Tags: Apple, Brands, disaster, iPhone, Iphone4, Mobile, Netherlands, PR

Dear Apple. Not ‘Antennagate’ is influencing my decision to buy an iPhone 4. Your inability to deliver does influence my decision. One day after the second launch wave hit Holland I tried to buy one in Amsterdam. Answer: I have to wait for at least 8-10 weeks. I mean WTF? We are talking about the day after the product launch. This is no intended artificial shortage – that is a disasterous launch for a product.

A week later I decided to really sign up for the waiting list via T-Mobile’s website in the Netherlands. I chose the desired model, click ‘bestellen’ (order) – and this is the result.

T-Mobile + Apple – wow, I am impressed. Well, in T-Mobile’s case I am at least happy they manage to keep up a consistent brand image no matter where you go.

Telekom. Witness my Personal Shitstorm Live.

Juli 29th, 2010 • View Comments Brands, CRM
Tags: Brands, Mobile, Service, Telekom, TMobile, Truth, Twitter, Underway, World

This morning I checked my German bank account and found out that 1,400 Euro were missing. The reason? My former telecom provider Telekom had withdrawn the money. I had terminated my iPhone contract months ago. So why did they withdraw so much money?

In Germany you usually have two year mobile contracts.

• If you cancel your contract prior to this two year period, your telecom provider is nice to you, offers new handsets, special conditions etc. to make you return to him
• If you forget to terminate the contract it is automatically prolonged for another year without a real option for you to get out

Sounds bizarre? Yes, absolutely. Actually we all know that keeping a pleased client is much cheaper than acquiring (or reacquiring) a new one – but telecom providers in Germany don’t seem to think that far.

Back to the 1,400 EUR. Where were they? In April 2010 I found out that I am moving to Amsterdam to start a new job. I immediately withdrew from my iPhone contract which was still in effect by September 2010. In other words – I had to pay at least 4-5 more months.

Later I realized, there is  a way out of this little problem. Simply because I moved abroad – Germany’s Telekom could not offer their services in the Netherlands. A German law gave me the right to instantly terminate the agreement  if this is the case. So, in June (while already being in Amsterdam) I sent them another letter, withdrawing from my German mobile contract with instant effect.

What I did not know was – by withdrawing for the second time my first contract termination was considered as inoperative. The result…

• Telekom disconnected me instantly
• But (as I withdrew ‘too late’) they prolonged my existing contract for one more year and
• Made me pay for this prolongation for the whole prolonged year = 1,400 Euros

Very twisted ‘reality’. Of course I instantly screamed at a poor guy from customer service who promised me to solve the problem asap. And as usual, nothing happened. I called up my bank and got the money returned…but of course the problem with Telekom was not yet solved.

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Brew Dog. The World’s Strongest Beers now also served in Dead Squirrels.

Juli 26th, 2010 • View Comments Brands, Business, Experimental, Social Business
Tags: Beer, Brew Dog, Cool, Creativity, ecommerce, Experimental, Funny, Ideas, Long Tail, Strategy, visual, We like, World

If there is one thing that I like about e-commerce it is the beauty of the long tail. You know what I am talking about – bizarre niche products and, sometimes, even more bizarre ways to market them.

Talking about bizarre…

Get to know Brew Dog, a brewery from North-East scotland. What the scots do is simply to c

reate some of the strongest beers on earth. Being sold under names such as ‘Tactical Nuclear Penguin‘ or ‘Sink the Bismarck‘ we are talking about beer with 32% – 50% ABV!!! That’s more than most vodkas have.

And long tail is what Brew Dog is all about

Beer was never meant to be bland, tasteless and apathetic. (…) We are proud to be an intrepid David in a desperate ocean of insipid Goliaths.

As a German I particularly like their little personal war with my Fatherland. I think not one product was named ‘Sink the Bismarck‘ since 1941. But hey, in Brew Dog’s case it’s absolutely alright. I mean they serve their beer in squirrels. That’s just genius!

Check out Brew Dog’s products, read their blog and buy their dead squirrel beer. They deserved it.

And here is the brilliant new video of the guys, announcing the strongest beer on earth, called ‘The End of history‘ which weighs about 55% ABV (OMFG)!!!

I am a fan. And here is the clip…

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Social Activation. An Overview about U.S. Grocery Chains.

Juli 8th, 2010 • View Comments Brands, Business, Social
Tags: Brands, Business, Diagram, Facebook, Groceries, Social Media, Twitter, US, USA, visual

First up, I hate info visual wallpapers. They just seem to pop up everywhere and there is nothing which has not yet been transferred into an info visual of some sort. But there also are the good ones.

The following diagram by Pace Communications gives a good, brief overview about fans and followers of U.S. grocery chains. No doubt, this is quite a specialized market. Nevertheless you can spot the relevance of Facebook and Twitter (in comparison to Youtube and Flickr) for these major companies – with Walmart and Wholefood being frontrunners here. At least as long as you accept fans and followers as indicators of social activation.

Hot Wheels. Now that’s a Media Award.

Juni 24th, 2010 • View Comments Brands, Media, We like
Tags: Brands, Cool, Creativity, Experimental, Ideas, Kids, Media, Mexico, Ogilvy, Out of Home, Toys, visual

Good idea, Ogilvy Mexico. The big boy looking down to the thousands of cars roaming Mexico City’s streets is a little bit scary. Nevertheless it’s just a perfect Media buy for Hot Wheels. No doubt, this is one, not mainstream applicable Award Idea. But I have to admit it’s a nice one. (via Ibelieveinadv)

Amsterdam. Triple X City Branding Deluxe.

Juni 21st, 2010 • View Comments Allgemein, Brands, Underway, We like
Tags: Amsterdam, Branding, Brands, Cool, Underway, visual, World

My new hometown Amsterdam is a unique city in many different ways. Its liberal laws, its multicultural approach, its channels and of course its beauty stuns me and millions of tourists every other day. One thing I like in particular is the city’s strong sense for branding. Amsterdam does not only know about its brand values, it also stages its corporate design consistently wherever you go.

Amsterdam’s branding is based on the city’s coat of arms. It consists of a red shield and a black pale with three silver Saint Andrew’s Crosses, the Imperial Crown of Austria, two golden lions, and the motto of Amsterdam. And as usual, such complex Coats of arms do not come with a simple story. Of course, there are different theories, especially where the three crosses came from. Sure, Wikipedia knows more…

Some people say the three saltires represent the three dangers of ancient Amsterdam: fire, floods, and the Black Death. That theory however has no historical basis. The crosses probably have their origin in the shield of the noble family Persijn. The knight Jan Persijn was ‘lord’ of Amstelledamme (Amsterdam) from 1280 to 1282.^[1]In the escutcheons of Dordrecht and Delft, two other cities in Holland, the pale refers to water. In analogy with this, the black pale in the escutcheon of Amsterdam would refer to the river Amstel.

By the way, I learned one funny fact about Amsterdam’s Coat of Arms.

The city symbol for Amsterdam is “XXX”, although no one really knows why. During the 60’s and 70’s, pornography was only legally available in the Netherlands, and when people would receive packages of this nature, it would have the symbol of XXX on it to note where it came from. This is how “XXX” or “X-rated” became associated with erotica.

Back to the branding topic. I have never walked the streets of any city and witnessed such a high sense about branding. The coat of arms and especially the three X’s are everwhere. Check out just some of these examples of Amsterdam’s city corporate design.

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Absolut. Wallpapering Italy.

Juni 10th, 2010 • View Comments Brands, Display, Media
Tags: Absolut, Ads, Art, Brands, Cool, Creativity, Display, Experimental, Ideas, Italy, Lifestyle, Media, Out of Home, Outdoor, visual, We like, World

There are a few brands in this world that simply know how to stage themselves. Absolut doublessly is one of them. Check out ‘Absolut Wallpaper’, a wonderful revision of Modern Art by Ron English. This is currently on display in Rome and Milan. Thanks to PSFK and Wooster Collective for the link.

Rome

Milan

Nike. Write the Future.

Mai 21st, 2010 • View Comments Ads, Brands
Tags: Ads, Agencies, Brands, Cool, Creativity, fifa, Fun, Funny, Ideas, Lifestyle, Media, Nike, soccer, visual, We like, wieden & kennedy, World

Okay Nike. Nice one.

The sportswear brand really becomes a web video specialist. After the last couple of really cool, entertaining commercials Nike brings the fun back into advertising (and to be honest – I don’t care whether a commercial entertains me on TV or Youtube, as long as it’s fun to watch.) ‘Write the Future’ is an inspiring ride, featuring some of the greatest football stars of today. Its topic is the one moment when a player is in control of the ball and whole nations start to scream and shout or start to cry.

The new commercial was created by Wieden & Kennedy and was directed by director and producer Alejandro G. Iñarritu (21 Grams, Babel). It stages stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Wayne Rooney, Fabio Cannavaro, Franck Ribery, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Patrice Evra, Gerard Pique, Ronaldinho, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Thiago Silva, with guest cameos by tennis legend Roger Federer and basketball superstar Kobe Bryant. Homer Simpson completes the star-studded cast of appearances. The film will be shown on TV for the first time on May 22nd during the European Club Final.

You will like it.

Via Fubiz
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