Mac Users Landing Pricier Options Online?

Whipping out your Mac at a coffee shop stirs up a whole round of snap judgement in the room - you're either a creative or tech-savvy entrepreneur; your house is one slick pad, connected by Apple devices; iPhone? obviously. Overall you must be doing pretty well for yourself if you were willing to pay more for a Mac than a cheaper Windows option, right? These branded perceptions of a Mac user may be subjective, but research conducted by Orbitz, has found that Mac users are, in fact, more likely to pay 30 percent more on a hotel room than Windows users. Therefore, in an effort to provide them with better targeted results, Orbitz website is directing Mac users to the more expensive hotel room options. Note: its not showing the same room at different prices, just landing them on the higher quality, higher priced options. 

That's the story with Orbitz, but how many other websites have been using this data to narrow higher-end search results for Mac users? And if you have invested more into you laptop, does that really mean you are willing to invest more into other products and services?  Source: DigitalTrends

Brilliant Example of Linking Social Media with the Real World: Nokia Gift Machine

For a mobile phone giant who has been falling out of touch with its consumers, and more accurately with its brand purpose, "Connecting People"; this is one step in the right direction to re-connect. The Nokia Gift Machine recently opened in Dubai's Mall of the Emirates and resembles a vending machine, except instead of money, users need to check-in on Foursquare to receive instant prizes, from movie tickets, chocolates and accessories to Nokia handsets. The gifts are also providing interesting marketing opportunities for their trade partners. And knowing Dubai I'm sure we can expect some luxury items to start rolling out. The Nokia Gift Machine was created by social agency 1000heads. " Nokia came to us with a specific challenge - to inspire people with a new and innovative way to blend social media and the real world" said Mike Rowe, CEO of 1000heads. Nicely played Nokia, nicely played. Source: brandchannel

That Design Student Now Has the Attention of the Creative World

From grabbing the attention of Coke to the world, that young designer who we spoke about here before, has helped Ogilvy Shanghai nab the Grand Prix award for Outdoor at the Cannes Lions festival. Proving that in a category featuring break-through technology ideas - a simple graphic can still hold its own. " The ["Coke Hands"] billboard is a lovely expression of the brand's philosophy; it's so simple, but embodies a deep meaning," said jury president Lo Sheung Yan. 

Mercedes-Benz "The Invisible Drive" also won a Grand Prix for outdoor; it has used technology purposefully to communicate a clear message: the car leaves no trace. If you haven't seen it yet, you need to watch this. Source: AdAge

Carling Black Label's Mobile Campaign is Ground-Breaking

As a South African let me just say that there are few times when you are, ever, going to see South African men get as excited as when they are watching their favourite game. From wild hand gestures directed at the television to swearing at coaches from the stands; men are desperate to have their frustrations heard. It was insights such as this that led Carling Black Label, a beer from SAB, Brandtone and Ogilvy South Africa to the trailblazing 'Be the Coach' campaign. 

Aimed at ardent soccer fans on the platform they most cherish - their mobile - the campaign centered on the most emotionally-invested game of the season Orlando Pirates vs. Kaizer Cheifs. 'Be the Coach' finally gave supporters a voice and empowered them to select the team and make live substitutions through a mobile voting platform. To enter supporters needed to buy a Black Label and SMS the unique number on their bottle cap to a mobile platform using USSD. The USSD system helped with the mass appeal of the campaign as it wasn't limited to smartphones. Supporters could then keep track of their teams through a user-friendly mobile site and keep in touch with information from the Facebook tab and microsite. The results? Watch this video. Incredible. Source: mobiThinking

Cannes Lions 2012 To Pay Tribute To Mobile And A Peek Into Leo Burnett's Predictions For This Year

While the film stars may have left, in about 5 days Cannes is about to come alive again with some of the worlds most creative minds coming together for the Cannes Lions festival, a renowned celebration of creativity in communication. And witnessing the intense level of hype marketing and communication that goes into ensuring films are a box office hit these days, makes this event possibly more prominent than a celebration of film stars? 

More importantly, this year's festival is a reflection of the changing landscape of communications. And in case you needed any further confirmation this year's event marks the significant shift to mobile communications with the addition of Mobile, Branded Content and Entertainment Lions. You will also notice that fewer than half the entries in Adweek/Leo Burnett's Cannes Predictions are traditional commercials. The rest? Music videos, Facebook apps, mobile-commerce technologies... My personal favourite, the Carling Black Label: "Be the Coach campaign", for providing their core market with the platform they have all been waiting for. There a couple of reasons why this campaign is deserving of your eyeballs and a post of its own to follow. Source: Adweek

Twitter Launches New Bird Logo

Twitter has updated its bird mascot, with the company saying the redesigned mark will now become 'the universally recognisable symbol of Twitter'. The new bird will become Twitter's main identity, replacing the former main logo, which was 'Twitter' in bubbled text. Twitter's creative director Doug Bowman (@stop) says the Twitter bird will be used to represent Twitter in all instances, adding, 'There's no longer a need for text, bubbled typefaces, or a lower-case "t" to represent Twitter. The new Twitter bird is a simplified version of the previous bird mascot, and is rendered in a slightly different shade of blue. Source: SaatchiNow

How a Brand Becomes The Talk of a Nation

We spoke about this before at Branded Citizen When Brands Hijack the News - satirise; poke fun at; ride in the wake of, whatever you want to call it; this ingenuity can result in a whole lot of free press coverage for a brand that nobody in the boardroom is going to complain about when they see the numbers. If you are Nando's this is not unfamiliar territory. In my last post I paid tribute to Nandos latest Diversity campaign, which tackled the present topic of Xenophobia in South Africa, which, since then, has been stirring up feathers with local broadcasters to the point that the TV commercial was banned for being potentially offensive and trivialising the subject of Xenophobia. In the process garnering Nando's more press coverage than the actual commercial itself. And today Nando's made the announcement that they are determined to fight these allegations, arousing another round of publicity as the news media continue to follow and stir the nations conversation with Nando's at the centre of it all. Source: 2oceansvibe

Nando's Hits Home With Its Latest Diversity Campaign

In a country as diverse as South Africa, there is one thing we may all still have in common - a taste for peri-peri grilled chicken and a dose of Nando's candid humour. In their latest Diversity campaign Nando's brings the very real issue of Xenophobia in South Africa (an unfortunate by-product of diversity) to the forefront. The ad mocks the very notion of Xenophobia and instead encourages South Africans to embrace its unique diversity, because in the end it's our differences that unite us. Source: 2oceansvibe