Hasta La Creative!

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Three marketers discussed the ways in which technology has changed their companies from both an internal and external standpoint at Ad Age's Digital Conference in New York.

Polyester and lycra have never seemed all that rad to me, but apparently Cotton Inc. decided its chosen fabric needed to step up its game, and the brand sent its famous jingle to rock star rehab. The industry organization has enlisted Miranda Lambert, Jazmine Sullivan and Zooey Deschanel to spin the song in TV ads, which began airing Sunday.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Three of the nation's five big broadcast networks showed year-over-year declines in 2008 ad revenue, according to TNS Media Intelligence, a sign that one of the media industry's most stable venues continues to struggle in an extremely challenging and changing economic and media landscape.

Google and Twitter, rumored to be meeting late last week, were huddling to discuss: a) new applications, b) mergers, c) acquisition, d) monetizing strategies, or, e) “We didn’t huddle, we didn’t even talk!”
The answer, much to our curiosity’s disappointment, was “none of the above,” and we were left, yearning, with no juicy story. Until that is, we looked a little deeper: There it was, a story, neatly nestled inside the rumor…our dusky jewel, ripe for choosing.

Whether Google buys Twitter, doesn’t buy Twitter, or marries them is not news…it’s a forgone conclusion. Some company, (probably Google), is going to purchase Twitter. But, it could also turn out to be MSN, Yahoo!, AOL, NewsCorp, or even Verizon.  The real content, the actual tale to be told is this: Whenever Google acts, we, the denizens of the Internet, pay attention. We sit up, sign in, and search for news. Once found, like kids with secrets, we repeat it. Discuss it. Argue about it.  Text it. Blog it. E-mail it. Tweet it. Opine it. Feed it. Post it. Which leads us to face it: Google is more respected than Bill Gates, Jack Welch, Bono, and Perez Hilton, combined. Google is the Internet’s darling, the sweet Lindsay Lohan before she was arrested. Twice. Google is young and beautiful, the little girl from Disney that won our hearts. Google is the online business’ shining star. In December 2007, FastCompany had this to say about Google:  

“… Its performance is the envy of executives and engineers around the world … For techno-evangelists, Google is a marvel of Web brilliance … For Wall Street, it may be the IPO that changes everything (again) … But Google is also a case study in savvy management — a company filled with cutting-edge ideas, rigorous accountability, and relentless attention to detail … Here’s a search for the growth secrets of one of the world’s most exciting young companies — a company from which every company can learn.”

Which is not to say that Google is perfect, or has not made mistakes; they just don’t make many. As a highly respected company, with the starlet flair, Google is in the spotlight, the subject of speculation, rumor, innuendo, and gossip. So, as in the case  of the Twitter reporting last week, online and traditional media sources, thirsty for being credited with announcing Google’s next venture, often print rumors before the facts are known. Although it’s shoddy journalism, many of the online sources probably don’t care about being wrong, as long as they’re first. Headlines and copy can be changed in seconds. The take-away is simple: Not only does Google play an important part in our lives, but we spend a lot of time and energy making Google important to society.

Google’s other major foray into Social Media, YouTube, is expected to lose $470 million dollars in 2009. But, it’s not all bad news: Revenues are expected to increase by 20% YOY (Google will only lose 80% of what they could have). Not asking for government handouts as of yet, YouTube’s major challenge is no different from that of  Twitter and other Social Media sites: Monetization. In the short-term, Google has signed a deal with Disney-ABC Television Group and ESPN to provide “professional” content, driving advertiser demand “through standardization of ad formats and improved ad effectiveness.”  Or, to restate it clearly, YouTube will provide better videos to reel in bigger advertisers. It remains to be seen if having Disney on YouTube will provide the revenue needed for YouTube, but the main question is how the users will react to the site “incorporation.”

(TrendHunter.com) The Hamiltons Gallery in London opened a powerful Miles Aldridge Exhibition this month. As they say, the new Doll Face series is “stupendously glossy and magnetically vibrant world with ultra slick, hyper-lit…

Um dos setores mais afetados com essa crise econômica é o de fabricante de automóveis. As montadoras estão investindo com tudo na criatividade e nas melhores idéias para aproximar os consumidores mais receosos. No Reino Unido, a Renault apostou na convergência e inaugurou um projeto que traz uma imersiva experiência em torno da marca.

Agora, os britânicos podem acessar o RenaultTV: um canal de televisão interativa através da internet.

O “canal de televisão” traz uma dezena de funcionalidades e conteúdo que vão desde entretenimento (moda, música e publicidade) até informações sobre esportes automotivos (seções sobre Formula 1, por exemplo).

Este pode ser facilmente, categorizado como um projeto de Branded Content, levando em conta que a marca consegue promover a sua identidade, os seus produtos ou os seus serviços, junto dos seus públicos-alvo de um modo direcionado e impactante. O Branded Content é, hoje, uma das mais poderosas ferramentas de comunicação do século XXI.

:: Via Brand Republic

(TrendHunter.com) The art of Peruvian designier Cecilia Paredes is wonderfully inspiring. These amazing pictures of wall-blending female bodies that look like they are about to disappear into the flower patterned wallpaper…

(TrendHunter.com) These amazing modern day nightlife mosh pit paintings are made by New York loving street artist Dan Witz. He crawled out of the graffiti scene and made a career for himself creating extraordinary mixed-media…

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Coca-Cola is taking a minority stake in Innocent, a U.K.-based smoothie company known for its environmental bent and clever marketing. The investment is valued at about $45 million.

Funny thing. In the midst of all this data, they never seem to mention how many users experience a call drop in a given day.