Hill+Knowlton Strategies

This could be an amazing way to leave a temporary mark in a temporary world, or it could just be a mad dude from Christchurch chasing something only he can see under the New Brighton Pier.

Whatever you think of his intentions, the effect is mesmerising.

I’ll be spending this year trying to keep the same type of giggling enthusiasm for the creative work I’m lucky enough to undertake on a daily basis.

Gulf Restoration Network / interactive postcard from Gab + Fraser on Vimeo.

Ever wonder what happens to a creative after they win a Young Lion? They keep on creating beautiful communications.

My mate Frae won a Young Lion a couple of years back, after many years of working for little or nothing, based only on a belief he could do the job and do it well.

He now lives in the land of clocks and chocolate delivering ideas around the globe; the video above showcases the latest piece of work he and his creative partner have been been involved in.

I love the use of thermodynamic ink, the message strikingly clear that your hands can make a difference. I also love that in an increasing digital world, there are still ideas left that leverage the power of touch in building a memorable connection.

I’d encourage you to show some support and share it, and to go lend a hand if you have the time and resources to get to the Gulf Coast.

Here’s a fun little project we just executed last night for our clients Air New Zealand and Positively Wellington Tourism.

Our friends at Host scripted and filmed the video, not to mention edited it in a single evening.

I wrote the script for the in restaurant announcement, and you can hear me dulcid tones from about 1.13 on. I don’t expect that this will be the start of a lucrative voice career for me, but if you’re reading this and you work for Pixar, I’m certainly open to offers. Kudos too to our wicked press team, for driving the story out of the restaurant and into the media. You can read the Australian article here.

Interesting results published by Procter & Gamble on the frequency of word of mouth brand conversations.

Their research agency, Keller Fay, persuaded 32,000 people to keep dairies that tracked when they had brand related discussions. An overwhelming 91% were reported to occur either in person or on the telephone, leaving only 9% for new media channels.

60% of these conversations made participants “more likely” to purchase, and 67% of conversations were “positive” in tone. That seems like an opportunity to good to pass up.

Digital conversations are far more visible, and they remain online long after the discussion has faded away, so it’s perhaps unsurprising that they seem more important to me as a marketer.

The social optimist in me says that the online environment is ‘closer’ to a point of sale, and retains it importance. The social pessimist in me feels like he always knew that the vast majority of folk aren’t talking about brands online.

I think the key takeout from this for me, is the need for a renewed focus on channel neutrality and ensuring that from the ground up; your product, your offer and your communications are more than just present on a channel in proximity to a genericised consumer. As a brand you need to be worth talking about, especially if you want to end up competing on something more than price.

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Sometimes an agency let’s the work it does tell its story. Other times, it makes a video about cats.

Brilliant work from John St in Toronto.

Finally, an (almost) antidote to the seemy, hipster, post-ironic offensiveness that plays out across many a comment string right across the internet.

Vice Magazine caters to tragic youth across the world, serving up snarky fashion commentary, adventure journalism, creative profiling and at least for today, cuddly snow leopards. It used to be cool, but is rapidly becoming not so, thanks largely to my knowing about it and now putting down a form of words.

The comment streams under articles and their legendary Do’s & Don’t’s (caution, not always SFW) used to be a fine example of the internet at its callous, bigoted best. As users trolled each other for a reaction it almost always got offensive.

In the last few days, Vice has implemented a plugin that requires users to authenticate before they post a comment using facebook or another third party account.

A few interesting things have happened since then. Interaction seems down, and as such offensiveness seems to plateau much earlier than it did before.

Chalk one up for accountability and its mitigating effects of social norming.

I was lucky enough to be in New Zealand two nights ago, sitting on the halfway line, watching history unfold.

Regardless of the result, the tournament would be seen a successful one. Kiwi’s are fine hospitable folk and any who had made trip to the country had experienced that on a truly national scale (with the possible exception of Quade Cooper)

I sat worried and with baited breath, on the edge of my seat as one of the tightest games of rugby union I have ever witnessed played out in front of me.

It has been 24 years since New Zealand has held the world title in the sport we care the most about.

Growing up the cup has seemed within fingers reach many times, but always eluded us.

It was fantastic to watch the citizens of an elated country, my country, rightly proud of a team that represents so many great values, share a moment in history and celebrate. It absolutely feels great to be world champions.

Jared Bradon has captured Sunday night’s emotion in a way that my words simply cannot. It’s well worth the three and a half minutes and shows just how powerful video can be as a medium in transporting you to a different time and place. It’s been up 21 hours and picked up 38.7 thousand views.

It’s easy to forget the powerful role sport plays in uniting nations, and in a year where tragedy has seemed just too close for my liking in regards to my homeland, it was a great feeling to be able to share something positive.

Our World Champion All Blacks! from Jared Brandon Productions on Vimeo.

Sometimes, I look at the weird, human analogue robots trying to walk up stairs and think that no-one will will ever manage to make one that is both cheap and universally useful.

Then I see something like this that restores my faith in humans and their ability to mash up the tools that are available to them and create something that does an elegant job, enormously effectively. I for one have had countless occasions where I’ve been holding a rubiks cube and just wanting to get it solved, and now there is the perfect solution.

How do you encourage the creativity of your audience once your product is in their hands?

This just out from mapquest today, suburbs ordered by social fit. A new way to browse local services based on what you do at home.

If you’re in the US, it’s probably worth having  a play with.

Read more here.

Humans throughout eternity have yearned for the horizon, been fascinated at the inner workings of the tiniest motes or simply striven to to articulate a better, more elaborate or possibly more simple story to convey their experience of the world unfolding around them.

Books, maps and the written word gave this movement for more much. The ability to share, learn and build on the ideas of others became possible and then prevalent.

Technology has continued to play a driving role, allowing humans to delve ever deeper into the world around them.

What does all this mean for strategic communications? I hear all who have waded through the florid sentences above protest.

Immense technology is now in the hands of the individual in all developed markets and many developing ones. In this brave new world considered thought or intellectual prowess are no longer the tickets of admission, it seems now that the whole world is embarked on a new age of discovery, one where it is no longer enough to discover. Many individuals display behaviours around the acquisition of social capital, a new form of value ripped from finding the best, the newest, the most authentic and sharing it with your circle(s).

As brands, how are you making your story discoverable? It’s no longer enough to buy your way in front of an audience, the value of finding a story is diminished if it feels like it has been placed there, and how do you encourage sharing and make it as easy as possible, without it seeming as though it was built to be that way.

These are the questions that keep me up at night.