Hill+Knowlton Strategies

3D printing has long been a hot topic in the tech industry, with investors and consumers closely following the evolution of this exciting technology. The prospect of being able to design and print 3D objects or being able to doodle into thin air (something which 3Doodler is fast turning into a reality) has captured the imagination of the general public as well as technological innovators.

3D printing is already a relatively established technology in industrial manufacturing but now we are seeing the technology becoming more readily available to individuals and small businesses.  This begs the question…could 3D printing for the consumer be just around the corner?

There have been some amazing stories in the media recently illustrating how 3D printing technology could have a profound impact on healthcare; take the 3D printer which produced a jaw bone for a transplant patient, or the news that donor organs could soon be printed on demand.

The fashion industry has also followed suit, with Dita Von Teese stepping out last week in the world’s first dress produced with a 3D printer. It seems like almost everything from organs to clothing, and even garden gnomes like these showcased by Makerbot last week at SXSW, is within the realm of possibility.

Excitement around this phenomenon has reached an all-time peak, but tongues are wagging as experts question what such a shift could mean for both intellectual property rights and public safety.

Firstly from a copyright perspective, there has been concern that ability to share and print digital files will make Intellectual Property regulation almost impossible.  There are worries about the implications in terms of the repercussions for businesses; what impact could 3D printing have on the economy if we can print off products on demand?

Moreover, in the face of the recent US gun crime debate, concerns have been raised that one day it could be possible for people to download files for weapons. CNET reported that Alice Taylor, CEO of Makie Labs doesn’t believe the dangers are imminent.  She said “I feel like it’s going to be easier for at least a decade to go and buy a gun off the shelf…I think this is a problem of the future, but it’s a long way away.”

The general consensus on 3D printing seems to be – as with many technology innovations – although there are risks and challenges, the pros outweigh the cons.  The move of 3D printing to a more consumer market could help to empower entrepreneurship, innovation and creative thinking and there could be huge potential health benefits. Although there are certainly substantial flaws which need to be ironed out and regulations which will need to be introduced, we’ve already got our thinking caps on in the office as to what we’d like to try our hand at printing!

One of the joys of attending the WPP Stream unconference is the glorious stew of participants. Agency and brand people join platform executives, hackers, tech media, artists, and entrepreneurs. Among the latter this year were three startups that captured my attention as well as my imagination. While quite different, they are all concerned with digital content — which is one of the big things we help clients with at H+K.

Condition One

This technology company has created an immersive video player that wowed a pretty clued-in crowd when it was shown at the Stream Gadgethon show. Their software takes video that is shot and edited in the usual way and uses the gyroscopes and accelerometers of the iPad / iPhone to let the user swipe or tilt for a different view. While CEO Danfung Dennis, a photojournalist and documentary filmmaker, was motivated by society’s numbness to flat images of war, happier uses for our clients immediately sprang to mind. Watching video online has always been a fairly passive experience, so I love the idea of users being ‘hands-on’ as they experience brand content.

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The Tech team went to the Mizuno Performance Centre last Wednesday to attend the London Bloggers Meetup.

The Mizuno Performance Centre itself is quite impressive and decorated with paintings in Japanese style, due to the heritage of the brand itself. The different types of shoes were not only on display, people could also try them on and compare their football and handball skills to others. The Centre was even equipped with a 20 metre track and very keen people could measure how fast they were in spikes.    

Here are our recommended out-takes from the event:

- Peter Woodford from Starcount
- Colin Newlyn, who blogs about product development (www.colinnewlyn.com)
- Prad Patel, a blogger and photographer (http://uncoveringmylens.com/)
- Nick Silversides, tech & videogames blogger (http://www.theaveragegamer.com/)
- Filip Matous check this out yourself  (http://www.londonphilosophyclub.com/, http://evergreenreputation.com/)
- Laurence Borel – http://www.laurenceborel.com/
-And of course Andy Wilkes – find the London2012 blog here

One lucky member of the team even won a shoe personally signed by Sally Gunnell, for a creative picture taken (she didn’t remember which one it was, apparently she spammed the hash tag with pictures all night .

-  Eva

Last weekend, we popped down to the V&A to check out the showdown, ‘Wilcox vs. 3D Printer: The Re-Match’.

Dominic Wilcox is a British designer known for his innovative creations inspired by everyday items. He recently won the battle against a 3D printer at Milan design week and challenged the machine to a re-match last weekend.

The rapid prototype machine was armed with the manufacturing specifications to create a model of the iconic St Paul’s Cathedral. On the other side, Wilcox was also prepared for battle, sporting a poker face and a T-shirt reading ‘I eat computer chips for breakfast’ as he started manufacturing his model using a photo of the cathedral and a lump of marzipan.

And at the end of it all, you’ll be pleased to hear that on this occasion, man won the battle against machine.

Keep an eye out for live updates from tech events at @HK_TechLabs.

- Ching-Han Wan

With this year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) behind us, we caught up with some of the H+K’ers from across our network that were on the ground in Barcelona supporting clients to get their take on the event, the stand-out news and recommendations for next year:

Was MWC12 how you expected and/or how it was described to you?

Jasper Jansen (H+K Amsterdam): “This year was my first MWC and I was surprised by the size of the show. Being part of an event that draws so many mobile technology experts was a unique and very cool experience!”

Sophie Jones (H+K UK): “MWC was bigger, bolder and sometimes brasher than I’d expected. My feet were fine because I heeded the advice of wearing flat shoes… many didn’t, and seeing women in towering heels lurching about with some mad, Tyrannosaurus Rex-like gait was an oft-seen occurrence.”

Nick Fishleigh (H+K UK): “2012 was my fourth year at MWC and this year felt more upbeat and busy than a few years ago. It was really interesting to see the continued presence of mobile-aligned industries like automotive and entertainment brands at the show and proof-positive of the growing influence of mobile.”

Any ‘stand out’ stands? Which announcements caught your eye?

Joe Dawes (H+K UK): “I’m slightly biased but quad core smart phones such as LG’s Optimus 4X HD were a definite hit and there was a lot of talk about 4G/LTE networks. I also had my eye on a couple of augmented reality companies like Aurasma. Oh, not to mention the dancing Androids around every corner!”

Sophie: “I’m going to say what the majority of people would probably say was the stand-out stand: Android… a slide AND ice cream sandwiches… What more could you want?”

Cristin Anthens (H+K Germany): “I’m also showing my bias but the launch of the Ford B-MAX and its SYNC technology at the show generated a lot of buzz.”

Jasper: “With LTE and quad cores all around, ‘speed’ was certainly a big theme.”

Any recommendations for MWC13?

Joe: “Age-old tradeshow advice but sensible shoes are a must… an ill-fitting winkle picker is not the way to go! Other than that, my advice would be to plan ahead and have as much as possible prepared before you arrive. It’s also worth checking in with press ahead of briefings… I spent the morning cab journey to MWC texting everyone I was expecting that day and it made a big difference.”

Cristin: “The Congress is changing venues for 2013 and will be hosted at the Fira de Barcelona Gran Via, offering 50 per cent more floor space and lots of new offsite meeting options. It’ll definitely be worth having a pre-MWC visit to spot opportunities and better plan for any venue pitfalls.”

Jasper: “I’d recommend branded lanyards or easy-to-spot badges. When the stand is busy it becomes almost impossible for press to spot those who can give them more information.”

Sophie: “Have as many interactive demos as possible… the amount of people who were drawn to the Visa contactless vending machine was astonishing! It’s also worth making sure the people on your stand’s reception desk have your contact details in case press drop by when you’re not around.”

Nick: “I’m going to regret saying this but it’s definitely worth keeping MWC13 in mind from now onwards when planning other mobile-related communications activities so that your story builds towards the event. I’ll regret saying this too, but I’d also recommend having as much as possible in place for MWC13 by this December so that you can hit the ground running in the New Year and give yourself the best lead time possible.”

Was this your first year at the show or are you a MWC veteran? What caught your eye and do you have any top tips to share for the road to MWC13?

Last week, we attended a fascinating lecture at the Royal Academy of Engineering to hear about open data and its impact on modern world.

Nigel Shadbolt, Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Head of the Web and Internet Science Group was joined by Dr Roger Highfield, Director of External Affairs for the National Museum of Science and Industry, and former Science Editor of The Daily Telegraph and New Scientist. Together, they delivered their visions for the future.

Here are some of the highlights from the event:

According to Nigel, data is at the root of all science and engineering developments. He explained that data alone is interesting but it’s when data is analysed, that it becomes a powerful tool.

“Data is the new raw material of the 21st century”, Nigel Shadbolt

The UK is paving the way with Open Government Data and with increasing access to open data we will see a network effect take place. This means that by linking all sorts of data sets, we will have the ability to empower smart cities of the future. Just some examples of how data becomes powerful through collective crowdsourcing and analysis of datasets to date:

• During the Haiti earthquake, people on the ground were uploading data via GPS which in effect, created a detailed representation and timeline of the city on Open Source Map that was then used to aid relief efforts
• The police street crime map is one of the most popular websites built by the Government, it logs datasets of reported crimes so that people can see crime rates on a street level. The site is visited by 100,000’s of people
• Flickr photos that are uploaded using geo-tags enable researchers to match images to location, with some analysis we can see on a map the most popular tourist attractions for example

Nigel summarised nicely, “it’s not just about technology; it’s about people collaborating”. Without ignoring the privacy and security challenges that exists with open data, he believes that there are huge social and economic values in the semantic web, e.g. transparency, accountability and economic growth.

“Most of the really powerful systems involve people and machines collaborating together”, Nigel Shadbolt

To view the full lecture, please see here, and stay tuned for more updates on the latest technology events.

- Ching-Han Wan

Flights reserved. Hotels booked. Euro’s ordered.

There are just a few weeks until we head out to the world’s largest annual mobile event, Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Some our clients on exhibitor list include, Visa Mobile, Dolby and Tata Communications.

As a look ahead, here are the top 3 things we’re most excited in the lead up to the event:

• Connected devices: the rise of cross-platform apps to create the ultimate machine-to-machine experience, from TV, mobile, gaming consoles, tablets and cars
• LTE roll-out and equipment: as demands for high-bandwidth capacity continue to grow, operators will be looking to evolve their infrastructure and offerings
• New products: the rumour mill tells us product launches may include handsets and tablets from Samsung, HTC, Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Huawei

If you haven’t already planned your itinerary for MWC12, here are some handy guides that we’ve found online:

• Conference schedule and events calendar by fonearena.com
• Networking, events and parties list by m-trends.org
• Analyst preview by Mobile World Live

Watch this space for more news and photos from MWC in the next fortnight, we’ll also be reporting live on the ground from MWC.

If you’re going to be at MWC and fancy meeting up for a quick chinwag, you can reach us on Twitter via @HK_TechLabs.

- Ching-Han Wan

Launching the world’s first snore absorption room; creating the world’s biggest shave; reinterpreting art with technology; revealing the best place in the UK to bring up a family… As 2011 draws to a close, we take a look back month by month at some H+K Strategies campaigns and work throughout the year.

January: City & Guilds Million Extra

You're hired: Karren Brady+ City & Guilds' Chris Jones

To start the new year, preparations to launch City & Guilds first ever Apprenticeship Summit went underway early on. The aim of the campaign was to help ensure one million Apprenticeship starts by summer 2013.

In January, we commissioned a report to identify the barriers employers face in hiring apprentices with the findings discussed by key political and business leaders at the Summit, hosted by Apprentice star Karren Brady.

Nearly 100 pieces of coverage resulted from this campaign as well as a request from Professor Alison Wolf to receive a copy of the full report after seeing the articles to include in her Government review of 14-19 education.

February: Intel Remastered

Shortlisted for various industry awards, our Technology team created an exciting art campaign- Intel Remastered to showcase the creative application of Intel technology. The project saw 13 modern artists reinterpret iconic masterpieces using digital technology and techniques.

Pushing the boundaries of art and creating one of the most talked about art events on the year, the stories and inspiration behind classics such as Picasso’s ‘Guernica’ and Da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’ were retold and presented to a digital-savvy audience.

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You may have noticed (or you may have been blissfully indifferent to) the fact that Web Curios has been absent for a while. So much has happened! I went to Rome! The visit of an old German man in a bulletproof car led to a rash of increasingly lazy and unfunny paedophile jokes! It was discovered that Bono’s not really making AIDS history, but is instead carrying out really, really crap (not to mention crass) direct marketing campaigns! Pea-headed footballer Stephen Ireland did wonders for the reputation of footballers everyhere by opening the doors of his lovely, tasteful, understated home! Truly, it has been a time of wonder and miracles, and it is a wonder we are not seeing rains of fish or frogs as a harbinger of the coming end times.

Ach, who am I kidding? September’s been a horrible month, webmongs, and I for one can’t wait to see the back of it. All I can say is that I hope the past few weeks of your lives have been better than the past few weeks of mine. Anyway, enough maudlin whinging; I’ve got nothing this week, ‘comedy’ intro-wise, so on with the webrubbish. ‘Enjoy’.

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Take an insightful 5 minute spin through today’s top trends effecting communication with H&K’s Kati Sulin. (There has never been a more exciting time to be in PR imho.) For Finnish speakers, there’s lots more from Demystifying Digital on the Helsinki office blog.