Definition of the day: ROI - Return on Ideas

Source: Idea Management

Eyebrow Dancing

The ad is by Fallon in London. I think I’m adding this to PSFK for personal reasons more than anything.

The parody is already placed in the UK.

Interactive Sharpie e-cast Billboard

Many of us have a fascination with graffiti art, and we sometimes even look over our shoulders to make sure no one’s watching when we scratch out our initials in a freshly laid slab of cement – or carve them into a wooden desk – or even scribble profanities across the stall door in a public restroom. 

The creative minds working for Sharpie, the ultimate in permanent markers, have discovered a way to satiate our desires to deface public domain. Interactive e-cast billboards have been scattered around cities, which allow people to experience the rush of creating their own graffiti. Choose some colors, write a message and Sharpie makes it possible for anyone to leave his permanent mark on the side of the bus stop or the public phone or anywhere else billboard adverting may be experienced. 

Source USA Cool Hunter

The new business isn’t the same as the old business, just with computers.

See more here

Printing. Paper. Ink. RFID. And cleverer phones will be the perfect things to interact with these clever objects.

Marketing guru Russell Davies recently wrote up his notes on his latest presentation on his blog. Russell has been looking at how RFID and similar technology can allow brands to tell stories about their brands. He says that the world is moving to Post Digital and that for any marketer that thought the internet was complicated, they’re going to get a lot more confused. Technology we associate with the web - Twitter tweets, imagery, games and further information - is going to become infused in real products and those products will become their own communication channels. See more.

Source russell davies blog and PSFK

2010: Entertainment and Communication

2010: Entertainment and Communication from Faris Yakob on Vimeo.

A short history of marketing

Scholz & Friends: "Dramatic shift in marketing reality" from Michael Reissinger on Vimeo.

A Link Between the Real and Digital Worlds

Microsoft Tag is a mobile application that offers a way for users to quickly move between the real and digital worlds. Users simply snap a picture of a tag using the camera on their internet-enabled phone and they are taken to a page that shares additional information on the particular product or service without the extra step of entering complicated web addresses or texting special codes. In our modern society where instant gratification is increasingly expected and attention spans are fractured and short, mobile tagging provides a vital tool to businesses hoping to instantly connect with their customers.

Though the idea of mobile tagging is nothing new, the color-coded Microsoft Tag includes a number of improvements over earlier version. It has been designed to work with the fixed focus of cellphone cameras and can still be scanned when blurry or partially damaged. In many cases, an actual picture doesn’t even need to be taken as the camera simply reads the tag and directs users to the appropriate page. Additionally, the smaller format makes the tags less obtrusive without sacrificing on the amount of stored information.

Tags are generated through the Microsoft site by supplying a URL to a web page or any text you want displayed when the tag is snapped (while in its Beta stage this service will be free). This information is dynamic and can be changed or updated at any time by revisiting the Microsoft site. The tags can then be printed out and placed on virtually any surface, from product packaging and displays to billboards and business cards, to create an interactive experience for consumers. As these tags become more commonplace we anticipate the varieties of experiences enabled by this technology to further obscure the lines that separate the physical from the virtual.

Source PSFK

THE FUTURE OF ADVERTISING – HAS THE MOVING FINGER WRIT?

LONDON: The moving finger has writ, according to the UK'sInstitute of Practitioners in Advertising  – the body representing British advertising, marketing communications and media agencies. And having writ moves on … etc.   

And this is what the finger writ: 'Web 2.0 is God and Social Networking His High Priest.' 

Unless that prophesy is heeded, warns the IPA, advertisers and agencies cannot "Lure it back to cancel half a Line, / Nor all their tears wash out a word of it". See more  here
Source IPA (UK); additional content by WARC staff, 16 January 2009

Talks Success Through Failure

Honda is premiering three new short documentaries online as part of their relaunched “Power of Dreams” website. Director Derek Cianfrance filmed unscripted conversations with Honda associates talking about their approach to solving problems and finding solutions. The debut includes three films with more to follow every few months. The series can be viewed at the “Power of Dreams” website or on the company’s YouTube channel.

Worth a view is “Failure: The Secret to Success” which depicts Honda’s belief in the importance of never being afraid to try something new. The film feature Honda designers, engineers, and members of the race team talking about failures and risks taken that helped lead to new innovations.

More on "Dreaming impossible" from The Cat Empire band:

Discover The Cat Empire!

Source PSFK

Ikea Lobbying for Oval Office Decor

The tight economy has inspired Ikea to offer a fiscally responsible furniture option to incoming president Barak Obama for his oval office. The furniture retailer recently created a mock-up of the office in the main hall of the Union subway station. Along with the mock-up, a website called Embrace Change 09 has been established. For now it is counting down to move in day, but visitors can leave an email address for updates on the project.

Source PSFK

An Animated History of the Internet

We came across this eight minute animated documentary titled “The History of the Internet” by Mehil Bilgil that touches on the innovations that have made our interconnected online lives possible.  The video uses voiceover accompanied by PICOL icons, a pictorial communication language created by Bilgil for his university thesis.  The project is in the early stages of developing a simplistic and universal sign system to enable easier electronic communication that is free from the constraints of written language.  While the current library of icons available for download is small, the open source system invites more designers to get involved.  We’ll be interested to see if it will grow into the more sophisticated sibling of the emoticon or remain a niche form of discourse for a select few.

History of the Internet from PICOL on Vimeo.

Source PICOL