Google has launched one of their new Chrome Experiments today called JAM with Chrome. A web app built using HTML5, CSS3, and the Go programming language, this new game gives you a broad selection of instruments to choose from and allows up to four friends to play together simultaneously.
Ayzenberg’s Keith Pape recently talked with iMedia Connection about how getting people to share brand experiences and make them part of their lifestyle is where the real payoff lies for social media marketing.
Pape, who serves as Ayzenberg’s VP of social, mobile and emerging media, pointed to efforts such as Red Bull sponsoring Felix Baumgartner’s record skydive, which he said go beyond campaigning for sales. Rather it’s how a brand can foster affinity and invest in future customers.
“Companies like Red Bull, BMW and others, they’re always planning for their future,” said Pape. “Everything that they do [has] touch points where you understand where you can buy a Red Bull, how you can be part of it, but it’s also always about the future. They’re always finding the diamonds in the rough, like Felix and his big jump.”
“As a brand, they make sure that the next audience and the audience before that are starting to be integrated into what Red Bull means, and probably products they haven’t created yet. But they’re carrying us down that funnel already to put [us] in that consideration. So when I’m in that moment now, next year, five years from now, when I see that, it’s impactful for me and it helps me go and say, I’ve had so many wonderful impressions from them, that’s the choice I’m going to make.”
Not every brand needs to launch into space. According to Pape, some simply get where and how to engage their customers to the point that they become part of their day to day.
“I think American Express is a great example. The way that they’re integrating with Foursquare and with Facebook, they’re experimenting a lot and they’re getting you to commit your card and your information as part of your experiences, as part of your daily life, and making sure that the mobile component is there. So whether you see it in an iAd or you see it on one of their other mobile platforms, or you’re just organically checking in through Facebook, wherever you’re at, they’re giving you an opportunity to interact with their brand and to naturally tell your friends about it.”
What should brands be asking about taking this longer view approach
Pape said, “That’s part of the creative agency’s job is to really go and think about that. What’s this moment about What’s the opportunity here to be authentic to not only close the sale, but to make sure that we’re making it bigger than this one sale ”
Check out the video interview at iMedia Connection.
Seven members of Navy Seal Team 6 have been disciplined for disclosing classified information. This includes one member who was involved in the mission to get Osama bin Laden.
Four other Seals are under investigation for similar alleged violations, according to an official. The classified information was given to Danger Close and Electronic Arts, makers of Medal of Honor Warfighter.
The seven received a letter of reprimand and will be docked pay for two months, actions that will likely impede their ability to be promoted in the U.S. military. “We do not tolerate deviations from the policies that govern who we are and what we do as sailors in the United States Navy,” said Rear Admiral Garry Bonelli.
The first specific complaint for the actions of the Seals was that they did not seek the permission of their command to take part in Medal of Honor Warfighter. The other issue was that they showed off some of their specially designed combat equipment unique to their unit, according to a senior military official.
Source: Guardian.co.uk
Nintendo executive vice president of sales and marketing Scott Moffitt acknowledged the rise of tablet gaming at the BMO 2012 Digital Media Conference. Still, he thinks that Nintendo is well positioned against this new competition.
“It’s undeniable the growth of tablets and their ability to play games,†said Moffitt. “At the same time when we look at our data, the DS didn’t have competition from tablets and smartphones, and yet we are outpacing the rate of sale for the 3DS. These are seemingly conflicting data points. Obviously we see a rise in new competitive products, but we are seeing better results in a tougher environment.”
Source: Polygon
Roku ran an ad after it was official that Barack Obama had won the presidency over Mitt Romney. The video streaming company released an online ad platform as part of their “Keep Streaming America” campaign (they had a similar spot prepared if Obama had lost).
Also piling on with the post election promotion was Spirit Airlines, who sent out an e-mail with the subject line “Romney Wins”; a banner in the body of the message read, “Romney Wins! And so do Obama and you with these incredibly low fares!” as part of an election day sale offering discounted flights between November 28 and December 15. Given the hugely negative reaction from people of both sides of the political spectrum to the email, it may have been poorly conceived.
Source: BusinessInsider.com
According to Strategy Analytics, the Galaxy S3 overtook the iPhone 4S to become the world’s best-selling smartphone model for the first time ever in the third quarter of 2012. Samsung’s phone benefited from a large touchscreen, extensive distribution and various operator subsidies.
Samsung’s Galaxy S3 smartphone model shipped 18.0 million units for a 11 percent share of all smartphones shipped globally Apple shipped an estimated 16.2 million iPhone 4S units worldwide for second place, likely holding off purchases in anticipation of the widely expected iPhone 5 upgrade at the end of the quarter.
“Samsung’s Galaxy S3 has proven wildly popular with consumers and operators across North America, Europe and Asia,” notes Strategy Analytics. “However, the Galaxy S3’s position as the world’s best-selling smartphone model is likely to be short-lived.”
“The Apple iPhone 5 has gotten off to a solid start already with an estimated 6.0 million units shipped globally during Q3 2012. We expect the new iPhone 5 to out-ship Samsung’s Galaxy S3 in the coming fourth quarter of 2012 and Apple should soon reclaim the title of the world’s most popular smartphone model,” Strategy Analytics projects.
Source: StrategyAnalytics.com
Durex condoms posted a very cheeky Chinese ad referencing the two presidential candidates. It’s been confirmed that it says in Chinese zhongwen characters, “The difference between Obama and Romney is . . .”
Source: HuffingtonPost.com
DeNA and Yahoo Japan announced an expansion of the Yahoo Mobage alliance to smartphones and tablets. The two companies started their collaboration on Yahoo Mobage in October 2010 and the platform now has 9 million registered users on PC.
“Through strengthening their alliance, DeNA and Yahoo! Japan will expand the range of their collaboration from PCs to smartphones and tablets, thereby responding to the rapid spread of smart devices in Japan,” said DeNA in a statement. “In addition, the companies plan to interconnect user IDs and loyalty point systems of their respective services on smartphones to explore further opportunities.”
BioWare has announced that the Wii U version of Mass Effect 3 will have the expanded version to the Genesis interactive back story comic from Dark Horse to include both events from the first Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. The Special Edition also includes the From Ashes DLC, the Extended Cut DLC, the Rebellion, Resurgence and Earth multiplayer packs and a bonus heavy weapon on the disc.
“The updated version will allow Wii U players to get the back story of Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 and will allow them to make decisions at key story points,” said BioWare producer Melanie Faulknor. “These choices will then create a save game for you that can be imported into the game, opening up more storylines for each player.”
Source: Blog.BioWare.com
LifeStreet Media says that it has paid more than $125 million in ad revenues to its video game industry clients. LifeStreet Media CEO Mitchell Weisman claims that LifeStreet’s revenue is growing at an annualized rate of more than 250 percent, due to the company’s “RevJet” ad-optimization platform.
“These days people frequently ask us about a future IPO – and we’ll consider this possibility in the future,” Wesiman said. “But right now we’re focused on growing our business by rolling out our RevJet platform to the channels that we believe will help the largest number of advertisers and publishers achieve their customer acquisition and monetization goals.”
Source: Inside Mobile Apps
