Hasta La Creative!

Durex Australia and agency Havas Worldwide in Sydney have invented Fundawear—underwear that's fun to wear because it allows your partner to remotely operate sensors and "touch" you over the Internet. Tickle her titties or send a jolt down under with electric pulses from sensors built into the underwear and controlled via a cellphone app. I guess when you can't be close enough to use a condom, it's the next best thing. The idea is just one of the brand's "Durexperiments" (why are science-y projects so popular in ads all of a sudden?). It's pretty awesome, and designed for viral success, but of course when they call it a world's first in the video, it's not. Remote-control sex toys have been around for ages. Many of the female ones are wearable, and you know there are even existing phone apps to control them long distance. But who gives a bleeping flip? It's a great experiment. Want your own pair? You have to enter a contest on Durex Austrialia's Facebook page. Or jury-rig a Tens unit.

It’s no longer enough to be a leader in content.

Perhaps to please investors but certainly for competitive advantage, media companies are increasingly positioning themselves as advertising-technology firms and putting significant money behind the assertion.

Notably, some of the most successful digital-native publishers are now launching their own ad exchanges or demand-side platforms. The tools are designed to help advertisers buy space in a programatic and cost-effective manner across many related sites — and at scale.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

George Grune, who rose from ad salesman at Reader’s Digest Association to CEO, died April 17 in Jacksonville, Fla., after complications from open heart surgery. He was 83.

Mr. Grune helped lead a turnaround at Reader’s Digest Association, where he was named chairman-CEO in 1984, by developing the company’s first strategic plan, modernizing its image and positioning it as a global player. By 1990, the year the company went public, Reader’s Digest Association was enjoying record profits at home and abroad. Mr. Grune retired in 1995.

George Vincent Grune was born in White Plains, N.Y., and graduated from Duke University, where he attended on a football scholarship, in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in English. He served in the Marine Corps for two years, completed two years of law school at University of Florida and worked briefly for the Continental Can Company before joining Reader’s Digest Association in 1960.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

We can chalk this up to coincidence that Huge has certainly been on our radar today. Now, we’ve received word in the form of a memo from those in the know that a couple of the agency’s vets are splitting to “start something new.” From what we’ve been told, the announce was made internally today that partner/global creative director Joe Stewart (pictured) and partner/user experience Felipe Memoria, who worked out of the L.A. and NY offices, respectively, are leaving the agency after seven years.

Stewart will continue working with his crew in L.A. as he transitions out over the next month or so and the global creative team will continue to be led by Conor Brady, who joined Huge last fall. As for the UX portion, longtime Huge staffer Michal Pasternak will continue leading said department’s team out of New York.

On another note, the Brooklyn-based, IPG-owned shop has started to cement its operations in Atlanta by hiring Ant Farm co-founder/Nurun alum Michael Koziol as its managing director in the 404 while appointing Derek Fridman, a SapientNitro alum who’s spent the last year at Huge, to serve as GCD in said office. As for Stewart and Memoria, who are in the process of “fleshing out” plans for their new company, you can read their lengthy, heartfelt farewell after the jump.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Dude's got the right stuff! Talk about a payload specialist! No "Houston, we've got a problem" for this rocket jockey! Etc.! BBH London and Blink director Tom Tagholm score with its latest, interestingly shot "Nothing beats an astronaut" spot for Axe's Apollo and Deep Space body washes, thanks to playful morning-after imagery. A woman's clothing and underwear are strewn around an apartment, along with astronaut gear like boots, a helmet and a spacesuit. She wakes up looking supremely satisfied, while her lusty inner-space traveler showers with Axe, all systems presumably "go" for re-entry. Remember to practice safe sex, people, and keep your helmet on! Credits below.

CREDITS
Client: Axe
Agency: Bartle Bogle Hegarty, London
Creative Director: David Kolbusz
Creative: Gary McCreadie, Wesley Hawes
TV Producer: Ruben Mercadal
Production Company: Blink
Director: Tom Tagholm
Producer: Bruce Williamson
Executive Producer: James Bland
Photography: Vincent Warin
Production Designer: Andy Kelly
Production Manager: Ellie Britton
Postproduction: Framestore
Editing House: Stitch
Editor: Tim Hardy
Audio: Wave
Sound Designer: Aaron Reynolds
Music Production: Beacon Street Studios

Volkswagen announces the New Beetle in a video that clicks “skip ad” for you. To announce the New Beetle, AlmapBBDO created a YouTube action showing the benefits of the DSG Tiptronic transmission. In a differentiated way, the film uses the pre-roll format, commercials that are displayed before the video is watched. In the intervention, in the end of the 5 seconds of mandatory waiting time, the video clicks the “skip ad” button. The lettering explains: “New Beetle with DSG Tiptronic transmission. You don’t shift gears. Neither does the commercial”.

Advertising Agency: AlmapBBDO, Sao Paulo, Brazil
General Creative Director: Luiz Sanches
Creative Director: Renato Simões, Bruno Prosperi
Online Creation Co-Director: Luciana Haguiara, Sandro Rosa
Art Director: André Leotta
Copywriter: Leo Avila
Digital Production Director: Fernando Boniotti
Digital Media Piece Programming: A Madre
Art Buyer: Tereza Setti, Ana Cecilia da Costa
Account Executive: Fernão Cosi, Filipe Bartholomeu, Vanessa Previero, Ana Beatriz Moreira Porto, Vanessa Silva
Planning: Cintia Gonçalves, Sergio Katz, Denis Camargo, Tatiana Weiss
Media: Paulo Camossa, Gabriel Queiroz, Kauê Lara Cury, Raphael Vignola, Larissa Porto de Andrade
Approval: Artur Martins, Tiago Lara, Fábio Rabelo, Ana Paula Lobão, Marileide Negrini da Silva

O outdoor transparente da MetService, empresa especializada em previsão do tempo na Nova Zelândia, foi feito para parecer uma página de browser, enquadrando as condições atuais do tempo e enfatizando a mensagem de que suas previsões são as mais certeiras do mercado.

Criado pela agência Y&R NZ, o outdoor fica do lado de fora do escritório da MetService em Auckland.

De acordo com James Hurman, diretor da Y&R, o outdoor já ganhou mais de 30 mil “curtir” no Facebook, meio milhão de compartilhamento, foi capa do Reddit e ganhou espaço no The Sun.

A ideia era usar pouca verba e tentar fazer com que a mídia externa trabalhasse de forma diferente, gerando uma exposição acima do normal e dando maior retorno.

As necessidades pediram por um conceito simples, inteligente e cotidiano.

Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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Morrisons has put its £73 million advertising account up for pitch.

Advertising Agency: Art&C Comunicação, Natal, Brazil
Creative Director: George Wilde
Art Director: Rodrigo Bonfim
Copywriter: George Wilde, Daniel Felix
Photographer: Thiago Palitot

Between all the different responsibilities, running a business can be difficult. Between marketing, products, customer service, and a ton of other responsibilities, there really is no room for error. One of those things that you have to constantly be concerned about as a business owner is customer retention, as it’s one of the most important things to having success for a business.

Many businesses approach customer retention in different ways, and some of those ways work better than others. What works well for your business might not work well for another business, and vica versa. However, there are some proven customer retention strategies that are essentially universal. If you’re interested in learning what those strategies are, continue to read this article.

Promotional Products

One sure fire way to ensure that customers are coming back for years and years is to offer them free promotional products. Every time your customer buys something from your or uses your service, throw in an extra freebie that’s branded with your company’s logo or phone number, and make sure that promotional product is relevant to what the customer purchased.

You shouldn’t just pass out promotional products every time a customer buys something. Surprise your customers with free promotional products in the mail if you haven’t heard from them in a while, and you’ll no doubt hear from them soon. It’s a great way to remind past customers of their importance to you, and it’s inexpensive too.

Immediately Respond to Any and All Issues

One reason that customers typically get angry with businesses and thus leave them for other businesses is because they feel like their complaints aren’t addressed in a timely fashion. That’s why it’s incredibly important as a business owner to make sure you’re always addressing complaints immediately, and dealing with them in a way that puts the customer first.

You’ve been there before: you complain about a product or service to a company, and get an automated response. This response tells you essentially that the company is too busy to address your issue. Customers aren’t stupid, and they can smell these automated responses from far away. Taking a few minutes to personally respond to any issues will ensure the customer feels like he or she is being taken care of, and it will likely mean that customer comes back for years to come.

Listen to Your Customers

Finally, one of the best strategies to improve customer retention is to just listen to your customers. Ask them what is they liked and didn’t like about doing business with your company, and ask them for any feedback to make their experience with your company better.

Doing so will ensure the customer feels like their needs were met, and you’ll also get valuable feedback that you can use to help better your company’s customer retention rates when it comes to other customers too. Even asking your customers to fill out a short survey could vastly improve the rates at which your customers return.

Image credit: rocketwatcher.com

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