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

Heineken Tackles Social Media

Seen the iconic red star pop up on your Facebook news feed lately? It all forms part of Heineken, the maker of one of the most valuable global brands, social media strategy to build brand awareness with a younger generation of consumers. As Europe's age graphs take a dive, Heineken has been looking at the upswing in emerging economies. To target this group Heineken recently launched an advertising partnership with Google for worldwide digital campaigns on YouTube and mobile phones. (Mobile internet being the dominant form of internet access in developing countries). Read More on Heineken's strategy at INSEAD.

A recently launched campaign in South Africa involves Heineken, the worldwide sponsor of the UEFA Champion's League, challenging football fans to a virtual shootout through an innovative Facebook app. The winner each week will be treated to a VIP experience at the Heineken Star Final, where they can watch a live screening of the UEFA Champion's League Final Munich 2012 in comfort and style. Source: Ideate