Blog

Just kicked off our Microsoft Advertising Slideshare presence……

Was kindly collared at SES Hong Kong to talk about social media and how we do the B2B community and ROI measurement side of things at Microsoft Advertising.

My boss, Jenny Leahy, has written a post her on PR and Social Media which introduces this video very nicely.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I’m in Seattle right now for my last meetings of 2010.

Just bought a new camera – Panasonic Lumix G2 – and got to try it out for the 1st time just now.

It’s just started snowing here, so I popped out with my new Pancake (!) lens and took a few snaps.

It’s really just out of the box, but I’m loving the micro-four-thirds way of doing things.

The camera is much smaller and lighter than a traditional digital SLR, but it’s just the sort of thing I need for holidays and conference work.

More detail on how it’s working out soon…..in the meantime, enjoy our head office in the snow…I used Windows Live Photo Gallery for the editing…

My blog is due for a revamp!

In this ever-changing landscape of advertising and technology, we’re always being advised to re-invent ourselves, think of new ways to push boundaries, and consider looking, and talking, about things from different angles.

A few days ago I spent my lunch hour getting some photos done with Jon Nicholson.

Jon’s a supremely talented guy who has had exclusive access to McLaren’s F1 team and Lewis Hamilton, shooting amazing images throughout his career including: Damon Hill’s championship year, getting the inside view of what it’s like at Ferrari during the season, books about cowboys, the England rugby team and, more recently, National Geographic, Condé Nast Traveller and now tops it all off with exclusive photography tours with Abercrombie & Kent.

“They” say a picture tells a thousand things, and the above says a lot about Jon. I’ve walked past this mirror outside Waterloo Station ten thousand times, but have never seen what Jon saw that day: Pictures within pictures within pictures. That’s us in the centre!

Suffice to say I wasn’t disappointed with our shoot either!

You can see my new “avatar” on my Twitter page and on Facebook, the rest will be revealed when Kean’s had a think. 

Follow Jon on Twitter too! I’ve persuaded him to start a blog as well, because I think his work needs more exposure, and I learned so much in just one hour with him.

Stay tuned….

Think Mobile, Games Consoles, TV and PC!

Nice video from our team on how advertising across multiple screens, and taking the integrated and seamless approach to marketing online will pay dividends for advertisers, agencies and brands.

During our wine tasting trip to Napa in California, we stayed in a couple of really great places.

The first stop for 2 nights was Dr Wilkinson’s Motel which boasts hot springs and a mud bath spa!

You can get some really good deals on a room if you take up one of their spa packages.

Ashley had booked us on a two hour jolly where we got to sit in a bath of hot mud for 15 minutes – bit weird, especially as you’re totally naked – but nevertheless an authentic and box-ticking experience.

Then we had a 10 minute whirlpool bath followed by a blanket wrap, which is essentially a “lie down” with a sheet covering your modesty.

The highlight was the massage, which was a welcome antidote to the long flight there, coupled with “post-wine imbibing twisted sleeping position” aches and pains!

It was a totally grey few days, so these photos don’t give it true justice, but the motel was seriously 1950’s Americana in style which was excellent for an out of towner like me and really added to ambiance.

There were two swimming pools, one heated and one fffffreezing cold, but I imagine on a nice Spring/Summer’s day (we went late October) they’d be gorgeous to lounge out by.

There are plenty of restaurants a few minutes walk away, but if you’re wine tasting, be aware you’ll get nobbled with a minimum $10 bill for each one, so I’d recommend popping to the fabulous supermarket next door and stocking up breakfast provisions and “to go” coffee, and scoffing them in your room before heading out for the day…….with a designated driver of course!

Edgy video from our team in Europe to promote multiscreen advertising.

Download the multi-screen digital advertising research they’ve conducted to see just how consumers are using different devices throughout the day to access content, and why an integrated marketing campaign is a must in a fast-paced digitally divers world.

Last year it was Stephen Fry, this year the IAB managed to secure the acerbic services of Jimmy Carr to end their marvellous Engage 2010 event in London’s Mermaid Theatre.

Jimmy used to be in marketing at Shell, so was well placed to take the p*ss out of us advertising folk, something he did in spades. Not that anyone minded because of the hilarious way he did it, leaving Richard Eyre, chairman on the IAB, speechless on more than one, if not most of the time Mr Carr was on stage.

Sat in the front row, I couldn’t resist asking a question when the time came, and wondered what brand would Jimmy like to do a voice-over for or represent in a TV commercial.

At first he said, “Show me the money!” but then actually got quite serious citing that celebs have to think really hard about what brand they align with because it has to help them in their careers as well as them helping the brand.

He mentioned what the John Smiths ads had done for Jack Dee’s early life as a comedian and how Peter Kay had perfectly picked up the baton and run with an evolved advertising campaign with the same beer-maker to great success – not just in sales, but for the personal brand of Peter Kay.

It was genuinely interesting stuff from a bloke who’s obviously as super-sharp as the suit he was wearing!

Halloween has more of a “cult” following over here in the US where I’ve been for the last 3 weeks. Just jotting this down before we’re on our way back this afternoon to Blighty!

Trick or treating, dressing up and copious amounts of “candy” must have contributed huge amounts of well needed revenue to the teetering US economy this year.

Invited to my sister-in-law’s Halloween party last night, I was amazed at the creativity of our American cousins in what they turned up in.

Winners by far in my eyes were Chrissie, Matt and the adorable Miles. They looked like they’d just walked off the set of an Asterix movie, although I’m not sure what to make of Chrissie’s pose!

[Side note: Chrissie’s brother, Eric Cozens, runs the Mission Mexican Restaurant in West Seattle. Awesome eatery with equally impressive beer and tequila list.]

Below is a video of my other sister-in-law Aubrey and her husband, Chasen, who wowed us all the night before at a party with their glow-in-the-dark stickmen fancy dress.

Just glad I’ve got another 364 days to think of how to out-do them all next year…..

Just published a post from Mark Kroese on the Ellen Xbox Kinect Giveaway

Mark runs the advertising on Xbox and I interviewed him at Advertising Week last month about the 4th November launch.

To see what kind of opportunities are available, and how effective and relevant advertising might work on a platform like Kinect, take a look at Mark Young’s Kinectimals demo at AdWeek which has had several thousand views on YT.