29th July 2016
From The Monday Note. News Publishers Facebook Problem – ‘The relationship between traditional media and Facebook is the result of a huge misunderstanding. Based on navel-gazing prophecies, news companies started to believe they were indispensable to the Facebook ecosystem as their production was in fact crucial to the social newsfeed. They were also mesmerised by the staggering amount of time users spent on Facebook: currently 50 minutes per day, compared to a few minutes spent poring over news brands sites.‘
A real threat to Ad Agency copywriters as Goldman Sachs gives tech startup Persado $30 million to create better ad copywriting software. Automated copywriters have arrived and are connecting with consumers. Human copywriters, you best get searching for a new career….
On this subject, (and rather less seriously) there is the threat of the AdBot 9000. All you have to do is tell it which brand, and it spits out the copy on its digital screen in less than one second. This piece on @digiday, highlights there are still some ‘bugs’. Take this example for Axe Anarchy (Lynx in the UK) – ‘Do you like the way I smell, baby? I smell like Anarchy baby. I sprayed my whole body with Anarchy. Sex with me is a riot, baby. That’s the Axe effect baby……’
From @nesta – Spaces for Innovation, a new book commissioned by Nesta, explores the link between physical space and creativity in workplaces. ‘While not intended to be a definitive ‘how-to’ guide of formulating a creative office, the book offers up much workspace food-for-thought, encouraging readers to systematically work through ten core themes, in order to become better prepared to make appropriate workplace changes to support their workforces and organisations.’ Also from @nestaThe Geography of Creativity in the UK. ‘In this report, in partnership with Creative England, we have used the latest data and official definitions to map the creative industries in the UK. Our goal is to provide a data resource to demonstrate the economic significance of the creative industries across the country.’
Here is how to win at Pokemon Go. And, on a related topic, do you think that wandering the streets whilst being ‘glued’ to a handheld device and playing a game, is solely a product of the 20th / 21st centuries? Think again….welcome to the Forgotten Kaleidoscope Craze of Victorian England’.
Economics is a very complicated field right? But we should all attempt to understand it, especially in the current political/economic climate. Here is some help from RSA Animate and this fun and informative video.
I’m sure we all remember the fabulously fresh commercial for Dollar Shave Club, that went viral a few years ago. Well now DSC has been bought by Unilever. DSC disrupted the market with a new business proposition around a new kind of insight: ‘American men were simply not changing their razor blades often enough. Rather than go the traditional route and add another blade – where we seemed to be on the verge of shaving with machetes – they identified a mechanism by which they could get products to consumers before the consumer even entered active shopping mode.‘
Back in 1991, this was the first video game I completed. Sitting in front of the TV all day and very nearly failing on the final level. To mark the 25th anniversary, Sega are going retro with a 2-D version of Sonic The Hedgehog.
Great campaign extension. Following on from the Rugby World Cup videos ,Jack Whitehall is schooled by Olympic greats in Samsung’s ‘School of Rio’ campaign.
…..And finally, this is rather wonderful. Witness hurdler Kendra Harrison’s delayed reaction to breaking a world record.
No newsletter till the 26th August due to the Summer break. Wishing all our readers a very Happy Holidays!!