The Zeitgeists

Goodbye my lover

2009-12-03T23:46:00.004+11:00

Dear you,

I have moved to a new address and can no longer be found here.

I now live at www.katekendall.com. Come follow me.

From,

An unloved blog

Get a load of this...

2009-09-14T22:41:00.004+10:00

As many of you may be aware, I started a new role today. Same company, different position. I will still be working across Marketingmag.com.au from a strategy perspective, but also on the other titles in our online portfolio as Niche's digital director. There's quite a bit of work to do, but for now, I thought I would share some of the sites. And, you know, if you want to pass on any feedback, please do – I'll do my very best to make 'change' (thanks Obama) happen!

Presentation for OMD's Think Fresh Festival

2009-09-06T23:10:00.008+10:00

Social Media: The Future is Now

View more presentations from Kate Kendall.

Last week I gave a presentation at OMD's Think Fresh Festival 2009 on social media with the designated theme of 'The Future is Now'. I find it always hard to pitch a social media talk at the right level due to the drastic variations in knowledge of marketers at the moment, so I hope I got close to catering to the majority of the audience. I would appreciate any comments any of you have on the slides – especially areas for improvement. I thought I would share them now, as like anything in this space, they will be out of date by next month. Oh, and to give you an idea of timing, the presentation's duration was around the 20-minute mark. Thanks. :-)

Branding – logo progression

2009-08-23T22:05:00.006+10:00

I wanted to share the following images that I have in the 'Kate vaults'. Perhaps the idea is old, but it's good to curate a few in one place.

It's interesting to see the progression of the brands from a 'visual identity' perspective. I believe the strongest brands witness minimal change over time – timelessness is an important factor for logo design. Coca-Cola is a great example of this as it has hardly changed since inception. On the other hand, Pepsi's ongoing changes do carry the 'spirit' of an age but inconsistency is not a good thing when it comes to branding when you are looking for awareness and recall.

I'm now trying to think of my favourite brand's logo – what's yours? *Off to check out Interbrand's 2008 list*

Which LinkedIn 'collective' are you?

2009-08-11T20:44:00.012+10:00

I love LinkedIn, as you may be aware, and am so fascinated by it that I am even thinking about starting a whole website for LinkedIn strategy, tips and tricks... well, perhaps after I get the new blog off the ground. Anyway, on your profile – in the bottom right-hand corner, you can see who else viewers of your profile viewed. I find this very interesting as after a while you begin to identify certain community pockets or collectives that are associated together. I've included mine below and it is certainly is a diverse bunch.

Just a little bit different from Barack Obama's one: ;-)

We aren't the ones selling hope – insecurity in marketing

2009-08-03T22:57:00.011+10:00

The old notion is that we as marketers don't really market a product or service to consumers, but rather hope in what that object can do for them – for their lives and everyday existence. You see it in the beauty industry all the time with cellulite lotions and pore-minimising potions that are placebo-licking good.

The other night, I tweeted about how digital innovation in general could be haltered due to too much blinkered thought being focused on Twitter. The hype around Twitter – especially from businesses and marketers – has become almost... well... sad. Sad in the way that we are clinging to the notion that we can make a difference in our consumers' lives, sad in that we are desperate to have a one-on-one connection with them, sad in that we need to believe that our marketing efforts mean something... that they work... that they satisfy a need or want. Twitter provides gratification for this insecurity – when you strip everything back, there's a raw dialogue between provider and consumer, allowing direct feedback, therefore grading marketing efforts if you like.

I recently ran a poll on the site I edit, Marketingmag.com.au, about what is the biggest challenge that marketers face and over a third of responses were to do with measuring ROI. The AMI were actually onto something when they launched the Marketing Value metrics and measurement website last year. I say let's stop focusing on the lure of Twitter, and start focusing on incorporating Twitter elements into all mediums with solid research, measurement and confidence. Then hopefully some of this insecurity about justifying activities will dwindle.

Marketers need to stop pandering about trying to fulfill the wishes of everyone by listening to anyone, and collect the ammunition to make strong marketing decisions themselves.

Selling out with sales promotions in the UK

2009-07-02T09:08:00.003+10:00

I'm on a little sojourn in the UK for three weeks enjoying Andy Murray play in the newly-roofed Wimbledon and visiting Austen-esque historic houses as well as catching up with the family. The first thing I've noticed since I last ventured in these woods (a year and a half ago) is the amount of sales promotion going on. They are really flogging it to death. And it's the good ole' 'Buy one, get one free' culprit. You can really tell the recession has hit hard. In the differentiated-pharmacy store Boots, nearly everything can be purchased for less, as part of some sort of offer. Wine is another story - you practically can't buy a bottle of vino for over 20 dollars in a chain store or supermarket, that doesn't come with two other bottles 'free'.

And now for my favourite part - the analogy:

Overused sales promotions become like drugs to customers. The effect slowly wears off and customers will be left wanting more, more, more to try to get the same result as the first hit. Eventually they won't be able to function without the drug - so they're going to be back at square one, but this time with a nasty habit to break. ;-)

Michael Jackson montage

2009-06-26T11:16:00.016+10:00

What the online newspapers and magazines had to say about Michael Jackson's death:

You have to look hard for the WSJ's coverage:
Rest In Peace MJ.

No 'marketers' in Top 50 Marketing Blogs

2009-06-13T17:13:00.005+10:00

I don't like to discuss blog lists too much due to the contention surrounding them but they are a very informative way for newbies to bookmark links and become aware of the array of quality free citizen-generated content available. The lists can often be criticised of being subjective to the composer and can cause disappointment to those not included on them. They can enforce status and hierarchy within online communities that should strive to be flat. Nevertheless, anti-listers are hypocritical because they enjoy being included on such lists and the accolade does make its way into the individual's speaker bio and the like. So, with the recent launch of B&T's Top 50 Marketing Blogs, I did enjoy having the blog section of the site I edit, Marketingmag.com.au come in at sixth, and this 'thing' coming in at 46th. And a heartfelt thanks to the guys for including us.

Today I revisited the list, however, to scroll through the rest of the Top 50 and to see how people fared. Knowing many of the inclusions off the top of my head, and having met many of the bloggers personally, something stood out. And that was that everyone on it, wasn't actually a marketer. The list is therefore a Top 50 Marketing Blogs without marketers. I know this could sound absurd, so I should explain what I mean by a 'marketer'. This is someone who has the word 'marketer' in their title or whose main role is to serve in a marketing capacity. Yes, we all have elements of marketing in our roles, but are we marketers? For instance, the list includes many agency adland types, PR gurus, digital strategists, social media strategists, online evangelists, general commentators and (copy)writers but I couldn't recall any marketers. We exist to help marketers – our 'clients' – under the marketing umbrella, but don't directly function in the same capacity as marketers. This is a case echoed by my work on a publication for marketers – it's difficult to get marketers to do the talking or writing, as one, they don't want to give away IP or competitive advantages and secondly, they are busy people. It's also a similar scenario at events – it's mainly the agency's voice or periphery businesses presenting – it's difficult to lock in marketers who aren't in the B2B space with something to sell!

I think one of the gaps for me in the Australian marketing blogosphere is the result of this. There aren't really any strategic business-marketing blogs. Blogs which look at ROI, metrics, other mediums outside the current sexiness of social media such as direct or database marketing, brand management (and by this I don't mean a logo or packaging), research, channel management/distribution and most importantly, sales! Actually I think 70% resolve around social media and 99% digital in some way. Only natural for online it seems.

I once stumbled across FMCG Blog – fmcgblog.com.au and though the blog doesn't appear to be longer updated, was amazed at the scope of such a thing. It was written by a FMCG marketer for FMCG marketers. Imagine that! There are a huge number of marketers working in FMCG-client side, yet there aren't any blogs dedicated to transferring knowledge and experience in this area outside the creative aspect.

Some bloggers do include case studies that are useful strategic tools but again, these are mainly of digital or social media campaigns and are light on results with a skew towards creative execution. In a case of the echo chamber, bloggers who start off blogging about their area of expertise often migrate over to full-time social media after several posts because they are drawing inspiration from social media.

While I am not offering solutions or even posing that it really is a problem at this point in time, I would like to see the gap bridged between marketers and what I'll call content producers and at least, have the producers address more issues that are applicable to marketers.

To not rain completely on the parade, I would like to finish by saying congratulations to Australian marketing bloggers for their part in building the community and for the list composers for dedicating their effort.

Getting stuck into the debate – online and off

2009-06-09T21:32:00.005+10:00

Trevor Young of PR Warrior (& Marketingmag.com.au) fame posted some thought-provoking insights in regards to the heritage (what a word for it!) media, who seem to be on a propaganda campaign against Twitter – in a piece titled 'Twitterrific' Time Magazine Shows Up The Australian Newspaper'. Anyway, I got my hack hat on and left some quick tips and tricks in my comment, which Trevor then published as a guest post. You can check it out here: http://prwarrior.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/06/guest-post-a-twosecond-guide-to-the-future-of-newspaper-journalism.html.

Also, just left a lengthy comment on Master Zac Martin's post 'Pretend I Used A Hilarious Acronym For B&T Here', which covers some similar thoughts about the publishing industry and digital uptake.

Finally on the 15 June, I will be appearing on a panel, and quite ironically mind you (since I am a relative speaker- n00b), at the National Speakers Association of Australia. The panel will be following a speech by the futurist Morris Miselowski on 'What, Why, Wow and So What of Social Media (Web 2.0)'. The ever-lively Graeme Bowman and Sam Mutimer will also be joining me. You can view more about the event here: http://www.nationalspeakers.asn.au/Vic_events.html.

Quick LinkedIn tip – connect with your colleagues

2009-06-07T22:23:00.006+10:00

When joining LinkedIn, or updating your profile, one of the first things you should consider doing is to do a group email around your office asking if anyone else is on the network. My tip is that you then should all connect, and secondly, if you are apart of a small business and your company profile is not set up yet, do it. Once you are all connected, you will have access to each other's connections, which in turn becomes an internal resource – a giant rolodex if you like. This allows for a state of greater collaboration and connectedness.

I'm suggesting this because there have been so many times where I have gone to connect with someone from a certain company, knowing that I am already connected to an employee from there, and then see that the two are not connected. Now, I know in huge organisations, it might not be possible to have this level of connectedness, but I always wonder why the two employees aren't connected. Do they know each other? Do they communicate regularly? Do they like each each other? Who should I contact? Is it due to hierarchical reasons that they aren't connected? Have they just been primitive in their people search?

After every new connection, LinkedIn makes a suggestion on who to connect to next and this often covers profiles with the same company listed, so the level of transparency is there – it's just waiting to be taken advantage of.

The use of social media for personal or corporate reasons needs to be strategised by all businesses. Connected employees who display a consistent message allows for a more thorough branding of a company.

So, if you are a CEO or MD, connect to your inferiors, and if you are a budding account executive and see your boss on the network, be bold and send through a request. LinkedIn doesn't have to been about the external promotion only – it could help you get the internal exposure to bring you over the line when next considered for a more senior role.

Twenty Twitter types

2009-06-03T20:12:00.008+10:00

Now, I've seen a few of these kinds of posts around – the type that generalise the different types of people who use Twitter, but I'm determined to give it a shot myself. So, here goes:

1) 'The statesmen' – usually an 'internet guru', 'entrepreneur', 'marketer' or 'social media expert'. The profile pic is shot in some 90's studio and highly stylised (posed). Almost all tweets are spruiking the self.

2) 'The hipster' – MySpacers who have migrated over. Profile pic is shot from an angle, with head tilt. References to fixed-gear bikes appear often. The more random and nonsensical the tweet, the better.

3) 'The mom' – Bio reads: "Just new to Twitter, making my living through the 'internet' while my kids are at school".

4) 'The spammer' – Sophisticated and somewhat rare... for the moment at least.

5) 'The friend' – High school or 'college' friend that follows you only to realise they have no idea what you are talking about and quickly unfollow because you tweet too often and spam their feed.

6) 'The fraudster' – One of the influx of 'fakes'. Often politicians or memes.

7) 'The placeholder' – Too important/busy/old school to tweet at this point in time. Savvy enough to register their name.

8) 'The follower' – Uses Twitter as some sort of RSS feeder. Does not understand or want to partake in dialogue. No avatar. Could be a stalker.

9) 'The gods' – One of the originals, with a gazillion followers who retweet them every five seconds. Only people new to Twitter don't follow them, and that's just because they haven't discovered them yet. E.g. @Mashable.

10) 'The shy-peeps' – A little like 'The follower' but have inserted a profile picture and bio, even if it's not of themselves or is their eye only.

11) 'The newbie' – Registered five minutes ago with their first tweet reading, "New to Twitter", "Checking this out" or "WTF is this?".

12) 'The chronic Twitpicker' – 140 characters is too laborious for them. Every tweet is a link to the latest photo of their nightly run, coffee, view from the office and so forth.

13) 'The abandoner' – Joined in '06 or '07, left a few tweets and then got the hell out of there.

14) 'The prand' – The merging of the person with the brand. Cannot tell if it's a robot or a human. Solid follower numbers and usually a stay-at-home blogger.

15) 'The tribute' – Some sort of historical figure that doesn't have the opportunity to or can no longer tweet, basically because their dead! E.g @David_Ogilvy.

16) 'The unoriginal' – Every tweet is a retweet. That is all.

17) 'The offline celeb' – Yawn.

18) 'The comedian' – Discovered Twitter after Rove plugged it on his show. Every tweet has to prove how funny they really are. Even if it's 2am in the morning.

19) 'The plugger' – auto RSS feed of someone's blog – all links.

20) 'The weird-word bot' – Some sort of wired-auto bot that picks up certain words when you tweet. Just don't mention 'Oprah'...

Remember kiddies, generalisations are always fun and not meant to be offensive. I'm just having a laugh. "Are you having a laff'?". Yes. :-P

The week ahead...

2009-05-17T22:17:00.016+10:00

Hello,

It feels so strange to be devoting any attention to this weak, ill-excuse for a blog. After re-organising my RSS reader and pimping my new iMac setup I thought I would at least communicate what I am up to for anyone who has been very concerned about my whereabouts. Even if it's just the other side of my split personality. ;-)

– So, tomorrow I will be at the Future Summit here in Melbourne, which is affiliated with Australian Davos Connection. Basically, it's a gathering of leaders from business, government, the public sector, academia and the broader community with the aim of improving their understanding of key issues affecting Australia. Will be a welcome break from the marketing and digital-event overdose that I've had of late.
– Then tomorrow night, I will head to my Marketing Research & Forecasting course as part of my masters of marketing program. Around 7.30pm I usually duck out and grab a sugarfree Red Bull to keep my batteries going.
– Tuesday, will spend the day largely commissioning, editing, sub-editing and uploading content onto the Marketing site, so that I can aim to get the weekly enewsletter out. This will be followed by me frantically researching the history, composition and operation of the entire L'Oreal group before I interview five of their senior members, so that I can at least dribble out some articulate questions.
– Tuesday evening, I'm heading to see good ole' Conroy speak about the NBN at the FTTH Council Asia Pacific Conference.
– Wednesday should offer a bit of an activity breather, although will be more of the same at work, followed by me hopefully churning 2,500 words out for an assignment as part of an Entrepreneurship & Innovation course I'm also taking this semester.
– On Thursday, if I'm not inundated, I'm meant to be supporting some business friends by heading down to their online marketing workshop as part of Internet Marketing Academy for a few hours.
– Then to finish off the week, on Friday, I'll head to the weekly #socialmelb to enjoy some hearty conversation followed by a couple of hours at this special Google seminar organised for a select group of marketing directors and managers around Melbourne. Friday also happens to be my publisher's last day at work as she embarks on maternity leave, so there will be some leaving stuff on.
– Then perhaps next weekend, I'll start on the strategy behind our annual readers' survey, the ironing baskets from hell that have sat there for three months, a trip to the NGV to use up some freebies to the John Brack exhibition and to also check out 'Persuasion: Fashion in the Age of Jane Austen'. Perhaps I'll also attack the growing pile of books and magazines on my bedside table or the growing subscriptions to a gazillion forms of online media. Follow this all by a good dose of the extremely-popular Flight Control iPhone application – I've got to build on the 207 current score. :-P

So, there you have it – potentially 500 wasted words? Or rather, 500 building blocks of insights into the life of Kate.

10 business authors on Twitter and their blogs

2009-04-27T22:52:00.016+10:00

This post is probably more for introductory tweeters and blogosphere-surfers, as it is no where near as comprehensive as it should be. I've just quickly listed 10 business/marketing/new media/yeah-perhaps-not-business-at-all authors and their corresponding links. I'm sure there are thousands of others out there, but I'd say these are the more prominent ones. Please feel free to add to the list in the comment box below. So, in alphabetical order:

Alain de Botton: @alaindebotton & http://www.alaindebotton.com/
Chris Anderson: @chr1sa & http://www.longtail.com/
Clay Shirky: @cshirky & http://www.shirky.com/
Jeff Jarvis: @jeffjarvis & http://www.buzzmachine.com/
Joseph Jaffe: @jaffejuice & http://www.jaffejuice.com/
Malcolm Gladwell: @Gladwell & http://www.gladwell.com/
Richard Branson: @richardbranson & http://entrepreneur.virgin.com/
Seth Godin: @SethGodin - (placeholder) & http://sethgodin.typepad.com/
Timothy Ferriss: @tferriss & http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/
Warren Buffet: @W_Buffett & http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/

So, who is your favourite author? Blogger? Tweeter?

Also, there are some particularly funny parodies of them going around. You know you've touched some people at least when you've got a Twitter-parody!

And, un-surprisingly enough, there are no female authors on the list. Would appreciate any suggestions or recommendations that you may have (even just it's the offline counterparts).

The web is inherently social-ist

2009-04-21T21:10:00.005+10:00

So-cial-ism:
-- noun
1. a theory or system of social organisation that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

2. refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organisation advocating public or state ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods, and a society characterised by equality for all individuals, with a fair or egalitarian method of compensation.

3. a system of society or group living in which there is no private property or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state.

= which all sound like SOCIAL MEDIA and Web 2.0 to me.

Therefore, is the internet inherently a socialist 'state'? Can it be a capitalist one? Can people genuinely reap financial benefit out of it? Can networks be monetised? Can people's social interaction actually be monetised online? Are community managers the new facilitators? Is society now owned by its users?

Is capitalism dying because of the internet?

Five things I would have trouble marketing

2009-04-21T21:00:00.002+10:00

Freebirthing
Apple stickers (yes the ones on fruit... not on fanbois. At least there's one other person in the world with this phobia.)
A Neo-Nazi Association
Lindsay Lohan (where to start... where to stop), and
Grout.

You?

Newbies -- if you read anything, read these:

2009-04-05T22:25:00.007+10:00

Thought I would do one of those posts for new visitors to The Zeitgeists, that aggregates some hopefully memorable old content for ease. And no, I'm not struggling to write a post... just nostalgic for some of the buried content out there!

+ The exchange is now the bonus
+ The 5 Cs of online publishing
+ The accidental content foodie
+ Warning warning content saturation approaching
+ Engage thy enemy

Enjoy.

How will Twitter make money? Biz Stone, co-founder, responds...

2009-04-05T19:51:00.007+10:00

Although it's an hour-long lecture by Biz Stone (first he co-founds Blogger and then Twitter!) and dates back to the 15th of November last year, this video really is fascinating and a must watch for anyone interested in Twitter. Stone discusses possible revenue sources and monetisation strategies for the platform, which includes the on and off again rumour of charging business users for the service. All I can say is blurry lines... blurry lines. Oh, and of course you don't need to sit here on my blog watching -- feel free to check it out at the Haas School of Business Channel.

Social Media Breakfast Melbourne Facebook group

2009-04-05T00:56:00.005+11:00

I've just started a Facebook group separate from the Social Media Club Melbourne one, specifically for the weekly breakfast. Melburnians can join here. There's been a fantastic turnout in recent weeks complete with really interesting and inspiring conversations so keep coming peeps - especially during those dark winter mornings. We're having a break for Easter and will resume at Mr Tulk (8am) on the 17th. For updates though, be sure to follow the #socialmelb tag in Tweetland.

Consumer Psychology in a Recession - Harvard Business

2009-04-05T00:44:00.003+11:00

This video is worth the watch. It highlights how marketers can segment and market to their consumers in the economic downturn. The interview is with John Quelch. Check out his blog here.

One of the really interesting points (around the 10-minute mark) from Quelch was that during a recession consumers may train themselves into new behaviours that might not be reversed when the good times roll back in. For instance, if someone had a broken washing machine, instead of going out and buying a new one right away, they would call a repairer and try and another couple of years out of it. If this turns out to be the general case, the recession could actually curb the consumerist nature of society.

How brands will look once the economic crisis is over...

2009-03-23T22:09:00.022+11:00

I received an email forward with these logos in at work but due to copyright issues, thought it'd be safer if I uploaded them here instead. They certainly got a smirk or two out of me!

The first rule of social club... well, not really

2009-03-08T19:34:00.007+11:00

There’s been a little confusion regarding the set-up of the social media breakfasts that are happening in Melbourne every Friday morning. Lucio from Marketing Easy has been getting queries left, right and centre, therefore has indicated that it would be great if some of the details behind the foundations of the breakfast could be clarified so that he can provide some responses. So, I am just going to jot down some points and then open up the discussion.

This confusion is completely understandable as there are many that may not be familiar with the origin of the breakfasts and the format that they were modelled on. The weekly meet is meant to be the parallel of the coffee mornings currently happening at Single Origin in Sydney, where a medium-size crowd meets to extend and build their online relationships, offline. Discussion is free-flowing and as far as I can tell, no agenda is set.

The Melbourne breakfast is entirely social, open and collaborative. Anyone is welcome to come along and the more the merrier, as it makes for interesting and diverse conversation. The conversation does tend to revolve around social media, since that is the thing that we all have in common, so someone who doesn’t spend anytime connecting online may feel a little lost.

The meet is community organised and led, this means that no one person is responsible for determining the direction of the mornings apart from the odd occurrence where we (admin/organisers) might decide on a new location, but this would be after consulting with everyone first. Think of a grassroots effort.

The meet is a social event with friends, and yes it involves networking, but in a peer-to-peer way where we discuss things informally. It is not meant to a place where you go to ‘win’ business or try to sell to people. Obviously being friendly and social with someone can have its benefits, but ideally these interactions would occur outside of the morning’s chatter.

This may also sound like a no-brainer but it has cropped up - the meet is not meant to be commercialised. This means there are no sponsorships, no display advertising for sale on the external site and no leveraging of the breakfast against a company or the like.

The discussion will continue to be relaxed without a schedule, so, no there won't be any monologues or speeches to the crowd by anyone. No profiles on attendees or their companies either. If you are interested, try going for a one-on-one.

Finally, everyone is responsible for paying their own bill – you wouldn’t leave your friend with a $50 discrepancy on the way out (yes this happened... twice) so you make sure you fix your own bill.

For those interested in a regular, more formal business-oriented meet in Melbourne, this could become a reality in the coming months, so stay tuned.

Having said all this, I've really had such a great time meeting everyone over the last three months and hope that it will continue on well into this year and beyond. I love going to the breakfast (when I can make it) because I simply enjoy meeting new people, and getting to know connections from my networks offline. (I wish I started the site: meetup.com.) :-P

So... if it's blistering 45 degrees or chilly dark Melbourne morning, come along at 8am to Mr Tulk @ The State Library of Victoria (corner La Trobe and Swanston Streets - map at this post). Look for #socialmelb tags on Twitter for updates, join the Social Media Club Melbourne Facebook group, the Meetup group organised by Ross Hill or visit the website Lucio knocked-up - http://socialmediaclubmelbourne.com.

The exchange is now the bonus

2009-03-07T22:29:00.007+11:00

I had to come up with some quick sentiments yesterday at a marketing breakfast here in Melbourne. After hearing the first three speakers (financial services, FMCG and info/search backgrounds), talk about value, value and value, it became increasingly clear to me that marketing is no longer about an exchange in value, rather, it's about providing value. We obviously would like it to be the former, but to remain competitive in this age of transparency, dialogue and choice we need to constantly think about giving our users, our consumers, value in all aspects of our offering. I think the web is a great indication of this, with many solely web-based companies naturalising into global giants completely through caring about the user and adding value to their experience. The bottom line for them is their users, as this is where the power lies. If an exchange takes place, perfect - it is now the bonus. If not, a timely awakening might be on the cards.

This progression in marketing has shifted to an almost political-like model - we have leaders, but really these are nothing without the people. They are followers to their people - dictated to on a daily basis. The power has shifted. This is democracy in its purest form. People are being collectively given what they want, and if not they'll move onto someone else who will. The same goes for brands.

The only products or services where this is redundant are luxury brands, since they have always done the dictating. People want to be told what to want. On the downside, with disposable incomes on the decline, it will interesting to see if this will be the case in a couple of years.

Thoughts?

You think you're a real man? Hugh tells you how it is.

2009-02-23T22:00:00.005+11:00

Hugh MacLeod applied the principles from the 1982 bestseller, Real Men Don't Eat Quiche, into a list of The Behaviour of Real Men in the Web 2.0 Generation. I've included some of my favourites from the list below (as well as some of Hugh's gems):

Real Men don't have to wipe off their keyboard with a Kleenex after every time they read a news story about Apple.
Real Men never use use the phrase, "Interesting Conversations" to justify their lame-ass online addiction.
Real Men don't blog about blogging.
Real Men don't give a rat's ass if you prefer Linux over Windows.
Real Men actually spend time AWAY from their computers.
Real Men don't cry like schoolgirls every time another blogger starts making real money.
Real Men don't confuse Cluetrain with Religion.
Real Men don't linkbait.
Real Men don't confuse "Getting mentioned on Techcrunch" with "Having a real business model".
Real Men never say, "If it doesn't have comments, it isn't a real blog". (Cough Laurel...)
Real Men don't leave comments.
Real Men don't wait overnight in line to get into the Apple Store.
Real Men don't even know who Jerry Yang is.

Real Men don't care if your blog doesn't have as much "Quality Content" as it used to.
Real Men don't have "Personal Brands".
Real Men don't "Open-Source" the name of their firstborn.

So, yes I've included basically the whole list, and used Hugh's genius to scrape another post together, which is totally not 'Real Men' like. But then again, I'm not a real man, so Hi Ho Silver, content reproduction, away!

My Twitter Wordle

2009-02-18T01:02:00.005+11:00

This Twitter tag cloud or Wordle is aggregated from all of my tweets on Twitter so the words that I use more often increase in font size. Surprise surprise I use the word Twitter the most and even more surprising is my use of such positive language such as 'thanks, nice, great, good, love and hope'. Who knew? :-p. Also do you spot anyone you know in my @ replies?

You can get one too at http://www.wordle.net/compose.
(I'm @KateKendall in tweetland.)

We want YOU - join the Australian WOMM!

2009-01-30T22:40:00.009+11:00

And no, I'm not talking about word-of-mouth marketing. I'm talking about the Australian women in online marketing movement (WOMM). There are simply too few of us. Head to any digital space and you'll find that the commentary is composed of around 90% male contributions. While this is fantastic contribution in its own right and critical to the advancement of the industry, more females need to get into this space and be recognised.

As part of the weekly social media club breakfasts that we've been holding in Melbourne, I'm constantly surprised that again only 10% of attendees are female. They are missing out on such valuable collaborative communication and networking in an informal environment.

You know that we need some more diversity when it seems like most of the females in the Australian online marketing community have the name Kate or Katie!

There's:
Katie Chatfield of Get Shouty
Katie Harris of Zebra Bites
Kate Richardson of Stickywood
Kate Tribe of Tribe Research
Kate Carruthers of Aide-Memoire
Kate Gamble of Bruce Clay
And obviously yours truly, to name but a few.

So perhaps the next time that you are having a conversation with a colleague or friend, who is showing the hint of an interest in social media, remember to show encouragement and insight. Then hopefully we'll start to see more of a balance in 2009.

Enjoy your weekend.

The 5 Cs of online publishing

2009-01-29T22:25:00.010+11:00

I've been thinking about what online publishing is to me and the elements that I feel are vital in maintaining a holistic offering with integrity. Apologies in advance for the density in the writing - I wanted to keep the post 'digestible'. I'm just having fun with this, so please feel free to add your two cents/pence by commenting.

The Cs (in order of progression):

1) Content

It goes without saying really but if a site doesn't have a unique and solid content proposition that it's going to be very hard to be sustainable. The core product is the foundation for everything else to be built on, so quality is critical.

2) Collaboration

No one is perfect. Most people aren't outstanding or capable of leading (aside from someone like Seth Godin). To produce something truly amazing out of a one person outfit is difficult. The origins of the web lay in collaboration between educational institutions. Better ideas are always generated by working with others. Google's whole ethos is collaboration and look where it's got them. Personal brands are only created on the web from collaborative brands first; you need communication with your audience before you amount to anything greater.

3) Conversation

You can have the best site and offering in your market, but what does it amount to if people aren't talking? And I'm not just talking about the obligatory conversations happening in the comments sections in blogs or forums. Visitors to sites need to be talking about them offline. To friends, associates, family, colleagues, strangers - word-of-mouth marketing is invaluable. Conversations are important for collaboration and collaboration is needed for producing original content.

4) Community

If you have conversations, regular and repeated visitors, site evangelists, new users and so forth you will have a budding community. Much has been written online about 'community' so I don't want to go into too much detail here - it's also pretty much inherently obvious.

5) Coexistence

This is a new addition to the Cs. The web is a complex ecosystem which is growing fastidiously every day. I've already touched on 'content saturation' here but it's important to note that you will always have new entrants to the online and offline markets, especially in publishing. The barriers to entry for online content production are practically nonexistent, with anyone being able to set up a blog for free and upload videos onto YouTube. Yes you need to be aware and prepared but also rational and realise that as long as you have your position down pat and are keeping your core readership happy you will be able to still exist in the food chain. News share sites and the 'mashable' kind are in a very strong position, because they don't act carnivorously. And number two, collaboration rears its head again!

I have a final C that I would like to put out there, this is more of a mantra than a must-do.

Charm

I've see it too many times - websites that are promising but upon further inspection just sound arrogant, aggressive and pretentious. You know charm is lost when you see that Wikipedia refers to the BlackBerry Charm, phone charms, lucky charms and charm bracelets before the origin of the world. Even the awful TV series gets a look in. An example... I do not want to be greeted with an 'about' me page written in the third person about your life, when you are Gen Y and haven't really achieved anything yet. Let's not forget it - afterall, charm is the biggest attractant you can have! Humble people are truly unique.

To summarise:

1) Content 2) Collaboration 3) Conversation 4) Community 5) Coexistence

The accidental content foodie

2009-01-20T23:25:00.007+11:00

Ok first, I must have full disclosure; I ain't no foodie! I eat to live, rather than live to eat (well apart from cravings for Natural Confectionery Company sour lollies and the odd Boost Juice). This could be because I have an immature palate. Or because I'm English and grew up on Birds Eye fish fingers served on 70s brown glass plates and never had the luxury of being educated by Jamie's School Dinners. I don't know. I'm just not that interested in wanking on about the origin of a tomato, haloumi or where to go for the best farmer's market fish in town. I could perhaps learn to appreciate these things over time but for the moment I am happy in the kingdom of take-away and frozen meals. Hell, I might even author a microwave cookbook one day. Prepare yourselves.

So in MarketingProfs style, I'll 'get to my point' - food is like content and content is like food. Versatile. Dynamic. Good and bad. Mixed. New and old. Sometimes convenient. Sometimes slow.

And... in the war of new vs. heritage media it is entirely to do with consumption. What I know about food is that too much of a good thing is actually a bad thing and the best nutritional dietry requirements involve variety. In the content game the same holds true.

Books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, tweets, texts, pings, ribbits (ok now I'm bullshitting...) all hold value and are all important in creating a balanced diet, ripe for consumption.

I love tweeting and following other people's tweets because they are, if you like, treats. Small, bite-sized portions that provide me with instant gratification. They aren't exactly good for me (time-gobbling, distracting, noisy) and they don't really fill me up but they are perfect for tasting everything that is out there so I can stay in touch and consume as many treats as I can within a small amount of time.

Blogs on the other hand, take a little more time to consume and do squash my hunger somewhat, but are often hard to find in my bustling pantry of RSS feeds due to too much choice. I have to make a decision, and decision-making is quite difficult to master, so often I return to the impulse consumption of tweeting.

After doing some analysis on consumption, I got to thinking, if I really want to start the new year with some good resolutions and really consume what I need to, to squander my hunger in the long-term so that I don't overindulge in content, I should be looking for a filling solution.

And then I saw it... a return to books (not that they ever went away). Glorious things that fill me up and provide energy (and ideas) for me to take away for weeks and months to come. Unlike treats (tweets) which sit in my short-term memory before being leaked out, books live on in me for years. After reading a book, I am at rest.

The same goes for all other mediums... appreciate that there's a balance and your metabolism will thank you. ;-)

Inaugural Melbourne Social Media Friday Breakfast

2009-01-14T14:09:00.021+11:00

This has been a long time coming but Melburnians can now enjoy the same privileges that our Sydney counterparts have, with a weekly social media breakfast. For the first meet the following details have been set but we'll see how it pans out after the first week. (It's not a roasters, or Single Origin, just central and semi-spacious).

When? Friday the 16th January @ 8am (Repeating weekly on Fridays)
Where? Mr Tulk at the State Library of Victoria on Swanston Street (info here and here)
Who? Everyone and anyone, although an interest in social media, marketing, advertising etc. might help!

We've got quite a few people hanging out for the meet already but make sure you pass the details along to spread the word.

So... looking forward to meeting a few of you then and seeing those I've met already again. Send me a tweet if you have any problems - @KateKendall. I'll try to be there nice and early. :-D

View Larger Map

Edit 17/01/09
Thanks everyone for coming, it was a great turnout! Looking forward to seeing everyone again from week-to-week. We are going to put a link list together so we can remember who everyone is!

For now, here is a twitpic care of Ross Hill. More to come!

Edit 26/01/09
Also Lucio has kindly created a fantastic separate website with polls, pictures, blog links etc. Check it out - http://socialmediaclubmelbourne.com/.

Edit 4/04/09
I've started the 'Social Media Breakfast Melbourne' group on Facebook. Please join here.
Also, don't forget to follow the tag on Twitter: #socialmelb.

20 Australians to follow in Tweetland

2009-01-14T14:00:00.006+11:00

Thanks to Lucio Dias Ribeiro of Marketingeasy.net for inclusion in his '20 Australians you should be following on Twitter' list.

It's great to be included with the likes of Darren, Gavin, Duncan, Laurel, Trib, Jules etc.

Check out the full listing here:
http://marketingeasy.net/20-australians-you-should-be-following-on-twitter/2009-01-13/

Two shout-outs

2009-01-05T23:10:00.002+11:00

Two quick shout-outs to two of my favourite members of the online marketing community.

First is a belated thanks to Daniel Oyston for inclusion in his Oyster Project's Xmas Hits 08. I had to choose a song that was key for me in 2008. I chose 'Business Time' by Flight of the Conchords because well, it's hilarious and I found out about it, like many things, through social media. Check out the full post here and see what Stan, Nathan, Zac, Jules, Peter, Josh, Tony, Morgan and finally Daniel himself had to say.

Secondly, Matt Granfield, of Zakazukha Zoo and Marketingmag.com.a u blogging fame, has posted this vital post detailing the complete list of the Australian Marketing Interwebs Bloggers. While not yet complete, this comprehensive list has members of the community listed by state and in alphabetical order which makes it very user-friendly, and a welcome break from all the ranking and hierachical listings of late.

Anyway thanks again guys for inclusion on both and here's to an exciting 2009.

And yes they're my feet in some red Keds! :-)

Kate says Happy New Year

2009-01-04T21:30:00.008+11:00

I've just got back from two weeks of blissful local holidaying around Victoria and celebratory seasonal festivities that got the mind refreshed and pumping with possibilities for 2009, not to forget the obligatory fab happy-snaps. I hope to post a few more in the coming days but for now I'll leave you with an almost peaceful Sorrento sunset.(NB: For the claustrophobe, Sorrento is horrible to visit in the high summer - it's infested with the grossly affected rich and their spoilt tanned spawn, who drive two minutes from their multi-million dollar designer beach houses to the main street in their Toorak tractors for a decaf soy latte.)

Nifty Google docs holiday message

2008-12-20T01:53:00.005+11:00

Four Googlers worked together simultaneously on a single Google Docs spreadsheet. Each cell in the 100 row x 186 col spreadsheet was filled using 18 different colours. The entire process was captured in time-lapse.

Ideas for your Out of Office automated message

2008-12-19T20:17:00.003+11:00

I am currently out at a job interview and will reply to you if I fail to get the position. Be prepared for my mood.
You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of the office. If I was in, chances are you wouldn’t have received anything at all.
Sorry to have missed you but I am at the doctors having my brain removed so that I may be promoted to management.
I will be unable to delete all the unread, worthless emails you send me until I return from vacation on 5/18. Please be patient and your mail will be deleted in the order it was received.
Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged $5.99 for the first ten words and $1.99 for each additional word in your message.
The e-mail server is unable to verify your server connection and is unable to deliver this message. Please restart your computer and try sending again. (The beauty of this one is that when you return, you can see how many in-duh-viduals did this over and over).
Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing system. You are currently in 352nd place and can expect to receive a reply in approximately 19 weeks.
Please reply to this e-mail so I will know that you got this message.
I am on holiday. Your e-mail has been deleted.
Hi. I’m thinking about what you’ve just sent me. Please wait by your PC for my response.
Hi! I’m busy negotiating the salary for my new job. Don’t bother to leave me any messages.
I’ve run away to join a different circus.
I will be out of the office for the next 2 weeks for medical reasons. When I return, please refer to me as ‘Loretta’ instead of ‘Anthony’.

I've gone with two because... well... it's the truth. :-p

Thanks to Noah Kagan for the list.

Laggard! Facebook groups to join...

2008-12-18T22:50:00.003+11:00

Following on from my iPhone apps recs post, I decided to quickly whip up a Facebook group one. So here are some groups that I have joined (note: pages are a different story):

Got one that's not on the list? Let me know and I'll check it out.

Who should take centre stage? Heritage vs. new.

2008-12-16T22:09:00.010+11:00

Tim Burrowes, former group editor of B&T magazine, has recently entered the blogosphere with a new project called mUmBRELLA and despite the title the offering has nothing to do with Mums or umbrellas... rather 'everything under Australia's marketing and media umbrealla'.

Anyway to cut a long story short I was very perplexed by the following post, and admittedly it is an 'opinion' piece, titled the media vs. Laurel Papworth. I've included some excerpts below to paint the picture:

"It’s that snide use of the phrase “heritage media”. You have to hear it come out of her mouth to feel the full contempt she appears to have for things non-digital.

"Her usual argument is that the established media, whether print or broadcast, is stuck in its ways, ignorant of the new and doomed, doomed, doomed…

"And there is a certain type of digerati who really winds me up. So obsessed are they with the new, that they refuse to accept the possibility that anything that went before has any value. Don’t Twitter? Then you’re a muppet. What do you mean you haven’t been on People Browsr yet? It’s been available in beta for nearly a fortnight - what are you thinking?"

+ So whilst I do agree with a lot of the sentiment, which... I guess is like what I was trying to channel in my post here, I do believe that there is a way to approach things, especially when 'knocking' someone in their own turf if you like, and so personally.

Without involving myself too much (apolitical stance please), I guess I am in the fortunate position of actively working and playing in both 'heritage' and new media so can cling firmly on the top of the fence and appreciate both - separately and in unison, for what they're worth.

Anyway I am eager to hear how Laurel responds - if she does... and to see the official launch of mUmBRELLA next year.

Moggies top ten out

2008-12-16T21:34:00.006+11:00

Craig Wilson aka The Media Hunter has released a post containing the list of the top ten nominees for the marketing and media post of the year. Congratulations must go to the following bloggers:

Jonathan Crossfield - Linkbait at any Cost?
Daniel Oyston - Deeeer, It’s Red Bull You Idiot!
Matt Granfield - How to get the world’s attention without being remarkable… which was also released on Marketing mag here, then published in the print magazine as we were following The Marketer's suggestion of placing 'under every marketers nose and making them read it.' :-P
Charis Palmer - Why bankers are wary of social media
Gavin Heaton - Where the hell is the sponsor?
Nic Hodges - Why aren’t we creating great digital work?
Julian Cole - Top 50 Australian Marketing Pioneer Blogs
Julian Cole - NAB Spamming: A story of a maverick blog personality
Bret Treasure - On Passion and Influence
Katie Chatfield - Take the frickin’ red pill

So now the hard part for me is to judge them. They have all been critical in building this great community as we know it so it's going to be tought rating each one! Results will be published next Monday.

Thesis... so much to write about

2008-12-13T15:50:00.007+11:00

In '09 I will be writing my masters' thesis on a marketing topic that I have yet to determine. It involves a literature review, primary and/or secondary research and then the report. The report itself will be between 15,000 - 20,000 words.

At the moment I am thinking along the broad topic lines of something to do with brand management and digital (incl. new media). I guess I could look at online branding (such as looking at recent results released through the IAB).

I'm also tossing up between doing a coursework module in 'Services Marketing' (a bit repetitive on my existing theory) or lashing out a little into something under the advertising or PR umbrella.

Would love to hear people's opinions...

Warning warning content saturation approaching

2008-12-11T00:06:00.009+11:00

Seth posted this fantastic post regarding the future of content on the net and how it is nearing its saturation point. I thought I would share (have included the post below) and I must say I tend to agree.

I'm all for the long tail and niches but after a while the environment will feel like it is very cluttered. For instance how many Australian marketing and advertising blogs do we need? How many can we actually sustain? How many do we actually consume? If there aren't enough readers out there ever, it seems like an awful waste of time and energy, and almost a revisit to the early years of the blogosphere à la an extension of the personal diary. By you, for you if you like. And what is really the ROI on that?

Despite my pet hates with the platform, I think Twitter has really found an interesting space in the greater web. If we as individuals are almost full as Seth says, people have to be a lot more proactive about getting their content out there and to the consumers who matter (the return of direct marketing?). If Twitter itself had a filtering mechanism (and yes I'm sure there are third party programs that do) it would really take user-generated content and suggestions/recommendations to the next level to truly find its semantic calling.

+ Warning: The internet is almost full
"Due to the extraordinary explosion in video, blogs, news feeds and social network postings, the internet is dangerously close to running out of room.

Nothing can grow forever, and exponential growth is always short lived. We're running out of disk space, so if you have something left to say, better hurry. Once it's full, it's full.

Of course, the decentralized nature of the net means that it will never be physically full. As long as we can keep making hard drives, we won't run out of space to store those inane videos of your Aunt Sally. What is full is our attention.

Ten years ago, you had a shot of at least being aware of everything that mattered. Five years ago, you had to be really selective about what you took in, but at least it was possible to know what you didn't know. Today, it's impossible. Today, you can't even read every article on a thin slice of a thin topic.

You can't keep up with the status of your friends on the social networks. No way. You can't read every important blog... you can't even read all the blogs that tell you what the important blogs are saying.

Used to be, you could finish reading your email, hit "check email" and nothing new would show up. Now, of course, the new mail is probably a longer list than the mail you just finished processing.

The internet isn't full, but we are."

Quantum of Bonds: Pierce vs. Craig

2008-12-08T21:46:00.003+11:00

Engage thy enemy

2008-12-04T23:48:00.008+11:00

Another word for my (overused/annoying) marketing word of the week - engagement.

I was doing the blog browsing rounds recently and thought it quite amazing how many members of the Digerati are labelling themselves as experts in engagement. I mean... how can someone or something become an expert in engagement? Engagement involves both the party doing the engaging and the party being engaged, therefore to be an expert is somewhat undefinable as engagement is such an individual notion. It's like people who think themselves fluent in online conversation... how can they? Why can they? Your appreciation of conversational elements will be different from mine and vice versa. Anyway I then thought that collective engagement via social media could actually be ironic and that engagement must be something that is user led between two parties; something organic...

To finish, I would like to make mention that the word engagement can also mean something that involves a hostile encounter - something which I don't think is too far off at the rate and method that some companies are trying to dabble in social media.

Determined to offer... confusion in uncertain times

2008-11-25T22:00:00.008+11:00

Crisis management, where art thou? Commbank, Commbank... Bommbank. As a long-term customer, I, like many others (200,000 people) awoke today to find my account balances playing musical chairs with me. What's even worse is that I found out about the error via News.com.au, I'm still yet to receive any communication from the bank.

http://www.news.com.au/comments/0,23600,24703544-5014239,00.html

It's also funny to see the comments section of the above link has turned into a meat market for tellers and call centre staff to throw in their two cents:

As a staff member at a call centre for CBA I would just like to than all the CBA customers for their patience and understanding. After being on the phones with you customers all day, I do understand the inconveniance this problem has caused. We are only human and systems do have problems from time time. I just know that the team I work with are trying hard to keep our customers happy....and things are sometimes just out of our hands. I hear that we now may have a fix for the problem, and I know personally that I will make every effort tomorrow at work with every client by being patient and understanding

Posted by: Terri of of CBA 8:36pm today, Comment 324 of 328

I am a staff member for the commonwealth bank, some of you people need to realise that we are all humans and people and systems can make mistakes from time to time, even as a staff member i have been affected. This is what i have been explaining to customers all day and they have all gone away happy that at least they know what has happened and they have been told they're money will be returned and any fees will be refunded. Not everything in life is picture perfect. And just for everyone's information they have found a way to fix the problem which will hopefully be fixed overnight tonight.

Posted by: Todd of cba of melbourne 6:36pm today, Comment 320 of 328

Don't Worry all, you will be reimbursed for this technical glitch. This is not a problem with our outsourced services to India, this always happens. It's just neva effected this many people before. We like your business, so please be patient.

Posted by: jude of cba of frankston 3:54pm today, Comment 308 of 328

So it happens all the time? Wow reassuring.

Where is the important clear and consistent message from senior management? Why weren't employees briefed about what they can and cannot say online and to the media? I know CBA is a mammoth organisation but surely they can see the same principles that apply offline, should be replicated online!

And to finish, naturally a couple of ranting customers (not including this post!):

Paying fees to banks to use our savings money on the stock exchange : disgusting ATM fees : abhorrent Bank Spin : disgraceful Interest rates : higher than everywhere else on the planet. Why am I paying acct keeping fees, loan fees, application fees, exit fees, henious overdrawal fees..the list goes on and on. ..and now they LOSE MY MONEY! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

Posted by: dougie of brisneyland 11:04am today, Comment 41 of 328

It would be courtesy for the bank to have a pop up on netbank or auto recorded mge on phone banking to advise customers of the glitch. I found out via news.com.au. Not good enough. Now lets the the repurcussions of this from o/drawn fees, overdraft interest and unpaid credit card interest...... lets see how quick they are to fix all that!

Posted by: Mel of Tas 10:54am today, Comment 28 of 328

iPhone Applications that I may or may not endorse...

2008-11-15T21:09:00.007+11:00

The next hundred words or so are going to bang on about the iPhone, so I'd recommend haters and laggards stop reading now, or read and realise that there is a whole other world of marketing possibilities that you are missing out on. You don't have to like the platform, just acknowledge that there's a good chance your customers might.

At the moment, I am just one app away from moving onto my fourth screen page full, so I thought I'd give a run down on what I have downloaded so far and perhaps... you know... we can share app stories. I must mention though that nearly all apps but one on my list were free of charge. I don't really believe in paying for apps, in the same way that I don't believe that websites should charge users a subscription fee to access their content. It's so not Web 2.0.

Ok here goes...

Must haves:
--> Facebook
--> Twitterific
--> Google
--> eBay
--> Wikipanion

Neat for work:
--> MProfs
--> MProfsQ&A
--> Dictionaire
--> NYTimes
--> WritePad (a little PDA never goes astray)

Fun but can live without:
--> Google Earth
--> MetroFree (Melbourne public transport timetables)
--> Remote (universal digital remote)

Party Trick central:
--> Shazam (this is the most innovative app to-date)
--> MiniPiano (just learnt how to play Happy Birthday - meaning I can add that extra touch to birthday voice mails)
--> Lightsaber (seeing is believing)
--> iPint (best product integration so far by Carling)

Download because you can:
--> Chanel
--> Style.com (home of US Vogue)
--> GeoPedia (Like Wiki but content is derived by your current location, so a walk down Swanston Street in Melb's CBD might give you the history of the architecture, places to eat or prominent people)
--> Shakespeare (nothing like reading the great works of a literary master on a 7x5cm screen ;-P)
--> 100 Words to Sound Smart (meant for trailer trash, as smart words include 'angst', 'Catch-22' and 'epitome')
--> Flashlight (points out a flaw in the iPhone)
--> Translator & French (perfect for travelling)

Neat games:
--> Hangman
--> F25 Hockey (ah... arcade games)
(Not really a gamer so you can see I really need to expand this section)

My lonely paid app:
--> Koi Pond (too hard to describe... a pond with fish in it and the water ripples... seems boring but the beauty is in the fact that it is an excellent relaxant)

Quick profile pimp

2008-11-11T20:40:00.007+11:00

Jules just did a belated post about Mr Scott Drummond of Sports Hydrant (& formerly of marketingmag.com.au), which included a shout-out this way. Thanks Jules and great post! Scott was instrumental in humanising and bringing personality to the Marketing brand, after all who wants to connect to a masthead when they could connect to a face (and an afro). I've mentioned it in my post on the site and will here as well, I've got big shoes to fill but I feel that having some preexisting understanding of the community will help me to continue on from where Scott left off. The only thing is, it's hard to maintain things on the home front with such a large task at hand so apologies if my blog is/becomes as boring as bat shit.

On another note, would love to meet Melburnian bloggers at this Thurday's Beersphere, David posted the details over on his blog here.

Twitter and why it's not just the whale that fails...

2008-10-29T23:03:00.004+11:00

Ok, I've been feeling a bit negative towards Twitter as a social platform and wanted to jot some thoughts down as to why:

Too much noise, so much noise in fact that it is nearly impossible for any brand to cut through the clutter without spamming their followers.
If you want to follow more than 50 people (which most Tweeters do) then you are looking at about a tweet per minute showing up on your home page, meaning that any Tweet you make, rapidly becomes hidden in the myriad of other tweets.
The platform is so one-dimensional it's not funny. Ok, I know the web lends itself well to succinctness but what really can 140 words display about a product or service? It's like going back a hundred years to the joyous days of when advertisement artwork just lay with the copywriter. No colour, no images, not visual assault... I have a mental image of a black and white poster on some swinging saloon doors in the wild wild west!
If a brand wanted to appear professional then Twitter isn't the place. Do I really want to know when you are going to bed, going for lunch, getting a plane, enjoying your holiday (I'd suggest you gtf off Twitter if that's the case) or scratching your arse? No!
^ All of these personal activity Tweets were once the forefront of Twitter's USP but now? Well now it's like some late 90's congested internet chat room.
It's simply a time-killer, after looking at the amount of time people spend Tweeting, I'm amazed that they can sustain it with other work related activities during their day. Other than personal fulfilment, what ROI is Twitter really offering? I know from my Tweeting experience that hardly anyone has clicked through to visit my blog but yes that's probably just me.
Without any internal filtering systems, it is really hard to find relevant Tweets. You can be really selective with who you follows by just having 10 or so really informative and inspirational Twitters but where is the fun in that. You won't understand half of the @ replies.

That's it for now but I'm sure there's another 10 or so inside of me.

Night...

Pepsi goes fugalicious

2008-10-27T20:29:00.011+11:00

Pepsi have redesigned their packaging and logo... into the style which you see below. Drastic but cyclical measures for any brand.

Before:

After:

So what are you thoughts? Fugalicious or ridiculously fresh and zexy?

P.S. Wtf is with the text speak on Mountain Dew.

Sssh! I'm being quiet!

2008-10-22T23:12:00.004+11:00

Just wanted to do a quick post to say that I've just started a new role, so have been a little physically and mentally inundated with that. I hope to get some posts up soon as I've hit a creative streak again.

In the meantime, feel free to start following me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KateKendall.

Hamish & Andy Cadbury Gorilla ad parody

2008-10-17T00:51:00.001+11:00

Phil Collins would be proud.

Original ad can be viewed here: http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=CbLr2NEV_7o

The Zeitgeists ranked number 88 in top 100 Australian blogs *!

2008-10-13T22:59:00.007+11:00

* Marketing Blogs ;)

Thanks to Julian @ Adspace-Pioneers for the inclusion in the updated Top 100 Australian Marketing Pioneer Blogs. The list includes some invaluable marketing content from talented and upcoming bloggers.

Check out the full list here:
http://adspace-pioneers.blogspot.com/2008/10/top-100-australian-marketing-pioneer.html

Shanghai Walkabout

2008-10-10T01:41:00.005+11:00

It escaped me that there were numerous versions of the new Tourism Australia TVC; my critique below was focussed around the "New York" one, so here is the "Shanghai" one for completion. Thoughts? Looks a little bit more like Tim Burton, than Baz Luhrmann to me with the tealight candles in the tree. =) My preference is for the "New York" one as I feel the story doesn't develop as well in this version.

I also just wanted to throw some e-pinions in here from some comments following the clop on YouTube... interesting but mixed messages:

RoboDouche
Oh you Americans and your miserable urban existence. Don't you wish a small Aboriginal stereotype would wander into your home off the street and throw dirt at you so you could jump around in a river too?
Oh Baz.
Impressive production values as always... but very little class.

homiejarvis
Absolutely glorious. No sweeping shots of beaches and skyscrapers and running horses and smily children with zinc. Just a beautiful waterhole at sunset. Beautiful, sexy and smart. With a brilliant understanding that there are wealthy women all over the world who have lost themselves and who make the choices about travel destinations! Brilliant move Baz.

liberatesputnik
Absolutely perfect.
With the way the market is going, the only Americans who could afford to travel to Australia will be the rich ... who will probably be overworked and stressed. They recognized their market, and they hit home.
Well done Baz. Gave me chills.

fivecougarsoz
why is it so depressing!?!? and why is there 1 minute of a depressed woman, backed by depressing piano, and only 30 seconds of anything about Australia???
Stick to movies Baz.

Ok, one last point superficial point before moving on, wtf is with the bleached blond hair on the little boy!

Come Walkabout - Bazza's New 'Australia' TVC

2008-10-09T17:00:00.008+11:00

Ok, quickly wanted to get this up as I've just watched it... it's the new Australia TVC by Baz Luhrmann:

+++++
- I like the use of Sybilla Budd as the actress and prefer her any day to Lara Bingle (but it seems a little strange that she would play an American?)
- Beautiful scenery and Australian imagery which shows a different side to the usual tourist-clap (like beaches and Sydney - please no more Opera House & HB)
- I feel that the way it is executed would help it stand out internationally amongst the competing clutter

------
- It must have to be the corniest, most awful, OTT tagline (or whatever it is)... "She arrived as Ms K Matheison, Executive VP of Sales" and "she departed as Kate". Which by the way, is an interesting use of the name Kate, as the epitome of a female Australian name =) Anyway please excuse me whilst I go vomit; which is in large part due to the choosing of sales as the chosen profession.
- Perhaps the execution is also too similar to Bazza's other Chanel TVC with Nicole Kidman; the suspense, the melodrama, the excitement, the predictable resolution, blah blah blah - I'm a little bit like I've seen it all before
- The Aboriginal boy is a good inclusion but the way that he is represented is a bit cliché, if want of a better word, and perhaps lacks a modern day portrayal of Indigenous culture
- Finally, the target audience... wtf! Which is from what I can gather is some overtly sophisticated, affluent, lonely, city work-horse in a poor relationship. Now that is where Hollywood and marketing differ - there needs to be a real empathy with the audience.

Whatever happened to the good old backpacker market, or even the grey army? I can see what they are trying to do... highlight Australia's USP - space but you can also get space and wilderness driving an hour or two out of the average city. Is it really enough to promote people flying 15-20 hours across the world to rediscover themselves by having space?

Overall it's a big improvement on the previous campaign and I like the fact that they will leverage the TVC against the release of Australia the film but still I feel there are a few weaknesses. It will be interested to see the impact on the Aussie tourism dollar...

Two Talking Cats for Thursday

2008-10-02T12:14:00.002+10:00

The original:

The translation:

IBM - Mitsukoshi: Marketing to Japan's Ageing Population

2008-09-29T20:56:00.004+10:00

I liked this micro-documentary that I saw on IBM's Documentary Channel. It's interesting to see the benefits of optimising websites for differing generations, including the addition of verbal directions/prompters. With Gen Y being so topical and blinding, especially in relation to technology it's easy to forget the older generation. I'd love to see more examples of strategies tailored towards the 65 plus market.

IBM's channel can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/IBMDocumentaries

Follow My Blog

2008-09-27T12:14:00.002+10:00

In what seems a rip-off of Twitter, Blogger now has a follower ap/add-on which I think works quite well on this platform. Good for cross-promotion too ;) so please don't be afraid to become my first follower! -->

POL Publications placed in administration

2008-09-25T10:22:00.003+10:00

I was startled to hear about the reports of the closure of POL Publications earlier this week. They do VIVE magazine (of which I am a subscriber and have half my subscription left!), POL Oxygen, Fashion Capital magazine for Chadstone SC, Luxe and VIVE La France. I hope ACP, News or Pacific think about picking up their mastheads - if they can't continue operations after the proposed finance review. Pacific could do what they did with Text Pacific, the name POL Pacific works! I'm not sure what the details are behind the financial mis-management, but the current climate hardly supports the sustainability of Niche magazine publishers. You'd think as consumers tastes tighten, sales would increase, but the whole magazine publishing industry in Australia has seen a period of decline.

The real difference between a heavy Mac and PC user

2008-09-24T21:21:00.010+10:00

Yes that's even the leopard screen saver displayed on the iPods and not to forget, the plasma TV - this must be the biggest fanboi/brand loyal ever...

Whilst my favourite touch here is what looks like an accountant's calculator. It's work and play for this user.

(Thanks to Flickr for pics)

It continues... Microsoft's long awaited comeback to the "I'm a PC" campaign!

2008-09-24T00:49:00.007+10:00

First things first, I'll get the movie-length follow up to the Shoe Circus ad done and dusted...

Check it out below if you want to see Gates doing a highly embarrassing robot dance:

I've got really mixed opinions about this one. It is actually much funnier than the first Shoe Circus TVC; I find it always helps when you take the piss out of yourself ;) They are less subtle this time around with divulging the campaign's purpose, it resonates around Seinfeld and Gates trying to connect to the 'real people'. Overall it's an ok follow up that I wouldn't find assaulting if I watched it more than once due to some hidden meaning. The major downside is the tagline which is PC = perpetually connecting - to me this is nothing but meaningless jargon. Yes it's an acronym - congratulations but I would have preferred something that broke through the current clutter and noise - something which was dimensional and in line with the repositioning strategy.

Anyway onto the second video offering, after all this is where is gets interesting!

So after setting up their own YouTube channel back on the 28th of August, Windows/Microsoft have added a new video launching The Real PC campaign. In true Microsoft style they are back to full fledged sporting competition, but this time it's an away game (against team Apple, hosted at Google Stadium). The channel can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/WindowsVideos and the video in question:

Featuring Sean Siler, the piece talks about the stereotype of PC and the idea of collective uniqueness within PC users. They've also integrated it into the updated website: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/, which encourages PC users to become the face of PC by submitting a photo/video and PC-use spiel which then can be shown on their website in the PC Gallery, in online advertising and in Times Square. Nifty.

Three reasons why I think The Real PC campaign will work:
1) No Gates (currently too much of a negative brand ambassador?)
2) Branding of choice is Windows throughout and not Microsoft, it makes sense to distance Microsoft as the parent company
3) Acknowledging the past attack from Apple, turning it around and saying touché - what is 'cool' anyway!

For it to work, you need to have an understanding of what their core objective is. To me it revolves around changing consumer perception and launching the Windows portfolio as a serious competitor in today's online climate by using the concept of the PC as a channel.

Microsoft follow up with Seinfeld ad axing

2008-09-20T17:15:00.008+10:00

Not surprisingly, that Microsoft ad has been axed just two weeks after its first appearance.

The article below even describes it being referred to one of the worst ads in history. I would have a hard part disagreeing with them there.

Apparently the TVC was meant to be promoting Windows Vista, but I was so baffled by it I though it may have been promoting a new updated system. Don't mind me though, some people just went with the shoes! Furthermore, I don't know why they would be musing on about the future being delicious when promoting Vista, since Vista is hardly new to the market now.

More info can be found here:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/seinfeld-is-axed-ndash-even-he-canrsquot-make-bill-gates-look-cool-935071.html

Brand Extensions gone bad

2008-09-16T01:28:00.010+10:00

I couldn't find an actual product image but the above is in reference to BIC trying to enter the panyhose market... can anyone justify a logical link from biros to pantyhose for me please... anyone?
Crystal clear Pepsi... and the point was??????
Harley Davison Bakery Crafts - Martha Stewart eat your heart out!

Hooters Air took the promise of in-flight entertainment to a whole new level...

Mark Ritson, one of my favourite marketing spokespeople slash writer, has a good article on stupid brand extensions from a 2007 issue of UK Marketing mag. http://www.marketingritson.com/documents/brandextensiondisease.pdf

The current state of the Australian Liberal Party =

2008-09-16T01:08:00.003+10:00

Marketing Word of the Week

2008-09-10T10:39:00.004+10:00

Can someone please remove the word leverage from the English and/or brand management dictionaries? It must be right up there with intangible, in terms of one of the most overused expression I've currently heard my marketing peers use. Anyone got any other pet hate words?

Apple Store to Open in Melbourne... in Chadstone

2008-09-10T10:23:00.005+10:00

Melbourne Fanboi's you're in luck. Apple is heading South and opening a flagship store in Melbourne, which of all places, will be in the depressive monolith that is Chadstone Shopping Centre. The store will open this weekend at 10am, and the first 100 visitors will receive a free Apple T-shirt.

Whilst in Sydney last week (I hope you noticed the lack of posting!), I visited the George Street Store featured above (thanks Gizmodo for the pic) and was pleasantly surprised. The store was really buzzing and plenty of friendly eye-candy staff were on hand to help out if needed. If you're backpacking, don't head on down to an internet cafe, save yourself $2.50 and head to an Apple store instead - if you don't mind standing.

Microsoft Shoe Circus TVC feat. Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates

2008-09-08T22:10:00.008+10:00

Microsoft launched a new TVC featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld, who reportedly received USD$10 million to appear. The whole thing is a bit of a teaser for Microsoft's future, which is tagged as "Delicious" at the end.

Judging by some of the YouTube comments (which should be used as an infallible source of market research!), I don't think the desired result is what was hoped:

Jazkiljok says "Billionaire Bill shops at tacky shoe store at crappy mall where he coincidentally runs into Jerry who being out of work and having nothing to do all day - also hangs out in the same sad ass mall. Jerry makes inane comments cause he's bored, Bill wiggles his ass cause his haemorrhoids are itching."

luvmasterr comments, "The 90's are over, we want our commercials to be about something."

ifoundthemissinglink... "Sorry. The Mac and PC Commercials are still better. At least they make sense. At first I seriously thought this was a shoe commercial."

Fairfax Journos stop work

2008-08-28T22:41:00.007+10:00

After announcements that Fairfax plans to cut down staffing by 550 roles, including some editorial, industrial action has been taken today by journalists in the form of a strike and may continue until Monday. An overwealming majority voted in favour of striking, with most coming from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age mastheads.

Back up systems at Fairfax are supposedly in place in times of strike, although after checking both of the above online offerings, the following was published word-for-word on each (you've got to feel for the poor intern!):

Fairfax Media journalists in Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle and Wollongong today voted to stop work for three days after rejecting the company's latest offer in negotiations over an enterprise bargaining agreement. Fairfax Media Deputy CEO Brian McCarthy said: "This industrial action by editorial staff is disappointing. Publishing arrangements are in place and we anticipate all our newspapers will be published as normal over this period."

Can't wait to see the quality journalism that will come my way in the next few days! ;)

More here from News Ltd's The Australian:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24255753-601,00.html

How to sell soap

2008-08-26T00:30:00.003+10:00

I'm sure this short clip on how to sell soap from a couple of years ago by a company based in Germany has done the rounds already but I wanted to post it in case anyone missed out. Keep it simple stupid with viral marketing is all I will add. Oh the music is a treat too ;) Enjoy...

MMS and Murphy's Law

2008-08-17T21:56:00.006+10:00

In the past say five years, I have probably received a maximum of ten MMS's on my mobile. In other words, hardly enough to warrant having the MMS function on a mobile. So what happens when I cross over to my new iPhone? Yes, that's right I get three in one week and can't even read them as it doesn't support this type of messaging (supposedly to stop people sharing tunes).

Being the curious person that I am, I then have the desire to see what the messages actually entailed, so head online and sit through an excruciating process through Optus fricken' Zoo to try and retrieve them, which btw does not even support Firefox as a browser! What fun. Of course what I then see in front of me, makes me question why I have wasted fifteen minutes of my life on checking them.

Anyway I thought MMS as technology was meant to be dying?! Damn laggards!

City beach proposed for Melbourne CBD

2008-08-13T23:41:00.010+10:00

This must be one of the most stupid ideas proposed by Councillor Sneddon & Co of the City of Melbourne Town Hall Council for this coming summer. Modelled on the Paris Plage, they want to deposit up to a kilometre of sand on the banks of the Yarra to recreate the beach experience in the city.

For one, Melbourne has plenty of city beaches, so instead of polluting the environment further and faking Mother Nature, tell people to catch a tram to Port Melbourne or South Melbourne beach. Melbourne CBD is already busy, why hog foot traffic further?

Two, who would want to relax on a crowded, urban beach complete with a good dose of 'suits' walking past doing their daily lunch run? What about air quality, isn't the good sea breeze a major factor in determining the beach experience!

Furthermore when you heat up enough to brave a dip, you'll have no where to go except in the Yarra, where you'll sure to be refreshed with hepatitis.

For some things I believe you can successfully recreate an experience, others, like the indoor ski centre in Dubai, I believe are pure gimmick!

Wicked Musical in Melbourne

2008-08-13T23:17:00.005+10:00

The Broadway musical Wicked has now been playing at Melbourne's Regent Theatre for quite some time but at $119 a pop per ticket, I've delayed organising to see it for quite a while. Perhaps for good reason though as I've just checked Ticketek and new tickets are becoming available for October this Friday the 15th of August at 12PM AEST, so might be able to secure me some good seats!

Whilst we are on this Wicked subject, one of my favourite YouTube artists, who sounds so much like a Disney character that she constantly gets accused of lip-synching, BeeBop20 covered the song Popular from the musical and it's very catchy! She also does a lot of Fan Dubs which are worth checking out.

Striving for Finger Independence

2008-08-13T22:49:00.006+10:00

The other day whilst lost in a daydream, procrastinating or some other escapist activity, I noticed something about the dynamics of my hand that I had never have noticed before. I noticed that I could not move my little/pinky finger, towards my palm without moving my ring finger as well.

A simple biology lesson would show that these fingers are dependent on the same tendon so this is perfectly normal anatomy for most of the population with approximately 1/20 people having the 'ability', if it actually is one, to move it unaided.

Now you're thinking why did it take me this long to figure it out. Well I never had music lessons; never learnt piano or guitar, or became a game addict so never needed to analyse my finger movement. Anyway my goal now is to 'strengthen' my pinky so it can move by itself. What a goal!

If you want further clarification about what I am rambling on about see here.

Me so slack...

2008-08-06T20:24:00.004+10:00

Sorry I'm becoming snowed under with projects here and there, so haven't had the chance to give TZ the attention it deserves. Please stay tuned!

Cocktail Mummy fashion editorial by Miles Aldridge

2008-07-26T18:15:00.006+10:00

I received this fashion editorial by Miles Aldridge in my inbox last week and really loved it. It's Cocktail Mummy - very nostalgic! I wish magazines in Australia would feature more fashion editorial like this.

Miles has more shots on his site - www.milesaldridge.com.

EDIT 3/08/08: I must eat my own hat, whilst lazily using my Sunday to flick through past issues of Vogue Australia, I saw that they had used an image from this shoot for a typical article about not possessing maternal qualities

Australian Glamour to launch in 2009 and Grazia... me no like

2008-07-24T21:10:00.010+10:00

News Magazines/Limited have finally confirmed they will be launching an Australian version of the high selling handbag-sized women's magazine, Glamour in 2009. It will complement their other female fashion title: Vogue Australia. From my experience with UK Glamour, I am not really a fan of the style and content in the publication but I think it will definitely be a serious contended in the already crowded marketplace. It should sit in that older more mainstream fashion and celeb-loving market well.

This is more than I can say for the recent ACP launch of the weekly Grazia. After checking this out on newstands I must say I was rather disappointed. I didn't like the saddle stitch binding on it as it didn't go with the more luxurious glossy style (it's fine for Who and New Idea though but Grazia should differentiate). The printing and finishing also seemed poor, almost like it was from the office XEROX! The content was a bit hit and miss too... it's like a weekly monthly, which makes it difficult to find a balance - some content was already no longer in touch with the zeitgeist. At $5, it is a bit steep for a weekly, for a few bucks extra I'd rather buy another monthly which I haven't read yet for more content and better editorial (shoots and articles).

(Thanks for GWAS for the Grazia cover shot - she's in the link's list to right...)

Plant Rant

2008-07-24T20:55:00.007+10:00

Someone stole a plant outside the front of my house today.

It was only a $15 Yukka from somewhere like Bunnings with a cracked terracotta pot, so I can't understand why they would have unless they were on crack. Seriously who does that! Now the porch looks all bare and there is nowhere for the postie to hide my online hauls. No one else in the street had their plants stolen and let me tell you, their offerings are much more appetising to steal.

Brands brands brands

2008-07-22T22:41:00.007+10:00

I got asked tonight to name my most loved and hated brand, and after some impulsive thinking I named Burberry as my most loved and Playboy as my most hated.

So why Burberry? Although I love fashion I think there's nothing worse than an aspiring fashion marketer naming a 'label' rather than a brand as their most loved brand. Whilst I know that labels can be brands and brands can be labels, I value a brand's history and 'empire' as well as its strategy and positioning, and I think a lot of new designers' establishing labels out there simply design clothes and that's it.

Perhaps it's also because these labels are still in brand infancy, after all Burberry started somewhere with Thomas Burberry creating the iconic trench coat for English and French soldiers in WWI, but with the choice of all the brand giants out there why choose a boutique fashion label as a most loved?

For me, Burberry has this beautiful history behind it, established in 1856, it's really stood the test of time, and successfully repositioned itself along the way through challenging times (eg. 'Chavdom'). I just love the feeling of British heritage and culture, and feel that their products, extensions and designs have always stayed relevant to the core brand.(My profile picture is even a shot of Kate Moss from the 2005 Spring Summer Burberry campaign).

Playboy on the other hand has just diverged into so many product categories that the initial brand has been cheapened so much, if that was possible! One of their taglines is "Head to Toe: We've Got You Covered", which is exactly the problem; too much, too varied and bad quality. Don't worry about buying fake Playboy as the craftsmanship is probably better than the real thing. Anyway moving on...

A book which I recommend (especially since you can read it for free on Google Books here) is Matt Haig's Brand Royalty which differentiates brands into great categories such as distraction brands, muscle brands, consistent brands and responsibility brands. It really does cover most of the top brands discussed today. He also, has a less popular book Brand Failures, which would be a good retrospective read to get an insight into what went wrong with some brands.

Thanks but no thanks

2008-07-22T21:12:00.006+10:00

Ok, despite wanting an iPhone since early 07, I was not much of an apple consumer-pet when the Australia launch came up as I did not line up overnight to secure one. I then admittedly took my sweet ass time getting down to an Optus store (Vodafone and Telstra's offerings are a joke!) to see if I could finally get my hands on one.

Anyway at first I was told that I would have to sign onto the contact and wait to receive the phone, which would take around one to two weeks. I was planning to sign up to a 24 month contract (which in modern day mobile phone terms, may as well see me through to retirement!) and on one of the higher-spend packages. I also currently reside in pre-paid brick land (... a mobile that dates back at least five years) so to start being charged for a data package and plan when I can't use it seems somewhat absurd.

After further enquiry today however, I was told the phone won't be available for around four weeks after signing a contract! That would mean I would be paying for a whole month's contract to do nothing but sit and smell the roses until the phone arrived. What would happen to customers who had no phone I wonder!

I simply do not understand this service ethos - it's like Optus are of the mindset that they are doing customers the favour rather than the other way around. They told me my order would be rainchecked, but this ain't no Target, if I want a semi-expensive item and its out of stock, simply order it and let me know when its in. If its sold out, fair enough but don't bother me with this raincheck babble!

Edit 23/07/08: I must confess I caved in today and signed up :(

The Dark Knight Spoof

2008-07-21T18:01:00.007+10:00

I saw the new batman movie recently, The Dark Knight and thought it was well worth every accolade it gets. It has received rave reviews, aside from Perez Hilton's bizarre self-important critique, and I can understand why! I'm not sure what the word is on the street yet, but hopefully it will be the Penguin as the nemesis in the next movie, Danny Devito style, or perhaps Catwoman.

Anyway I thought this TDK trailer spoof was hilarious and well done for a budget production. Check it out!

Myer is not their-store

2008-07-21T13:23:00.005+10:00

Myer is planning to open its first overseas store in Dubai late next year. They then plan to open another four outlets across the United Arab Emirates and then eventually in the Eastern European market. I don't know why they are planning on opening overseas when they can't even get things right on the home front...

If you haven't been into Myer Bourke Street lately, then avoid yourself a brain hemorrhage and don't bother! It looks like a bomb has hit it, has the worst traffic flow problems of any department store I've ever been in worldwide and everything is currently merchandised as though it was more suited to being in a down-market discount variety 80s store. I especially liked the placement of the upmarket dinnerware category next to electronics and computers, and hearing customers debate whether or not they 'were allowed to go into that section as it looks like it's been closed off'.

I know its all temporay since they are refurbishing the store (it won't be finished until late 2009!!) but I liked the original store layout and generous retail space it had to begin with.
Oh yeah - one more thing to mention, they are currently in the process of invading the pedestrian pavement on the Bourke St Mall once again with a hideous black box... I don't know how Melbourne City Council approves such things!

Ikea: Nice example of OOH at a bus shelter

2008-07-16T19:40:00.006+10:00

This instalment from Ikea is an impressive way to do out-of-home promotion and beats the bus shelters I've seen done up in Australia (which never seem to make it to Melbourne - probably because we don't use buses!). It's quite old, probably from a campaign in New York in 06 I believe just after doing a quick search. Nevertheless, I really like the idea. Who cares if the product gets damaged or stolen, being cheap and cheerful.

(Thanks to Flickr for the photo).

The Zeitgeists blog ranked number one in Google!

2008-07-14T18:54:00.007+10:00

Just wanted to do a shout out and say that The Zeitgeists is currently ranked number one in organic google searches. It does help if you have an obscure name! ;)

If you hadn't cottoned on, zeitgeist is a German word and for those curious about how to pronounce it, see here: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/zeitgeist. It literally translates to time (Zeit) and spirit (Geist).

Some more definitions:
- the ethos of a select group of people, that express a particular world view which is prevalent at a particular period of socio-cultural progression.
- the mind of the time, and mind is understood as the mental spirit (state of mind)
- the spirit of the time; general trend of thought or feeling characteristic of a particular period of time

There has been a movie and a band named after the noun... and Google also has a nifty tool called Google Zeitgeist, where you can search patterns, trends and surprises! http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/zeitgeist.html

You can even search by country - the latest data for Australia, extracted from May 2008, indicates that searches such as Yoda, Mother Teresa, Mini Cooper, baseball and CBA were some of the top gaining queries. Weird much?!

Globally the fastest rising for year-end 2007 was unsurprisingly, the iPhone, followed by badoo (a multi-lingual social networking site) and then Facebook.

http://thezeitgeists.blogspot.com/

Creative Workspaces

2008-07-12T18:06:00.014+10:00

These shots of workspaces from Design Sponge Online's sneak-peek section are inspiring to say the least. I'm in the process of recreating my office to cope with the ever-increasing amount of books, magazines, bills, textbooks and other papers so could use some ideas! I need functionality as well as form though... http://www.designspongeonline.com/category/sneak-peeks

I love the red shell on this laptop. I mentioned in a previous post that I was thinking about getting an Eee Pc for portability purposes, well I have now changed my mind since testing them out in Myer and am now waiting for the Dell E or mini inspiron instead; which is due out in August in the US. Seeing the above shot just makes me want one more!
Image from: http://gizmodo.com/393815/exclusive-dell-mini-inspiron-their-first-mini-laptop
And I'll finish with a view...

3 Australia Zorbing TVC feat. Lisa Mitchell's Neopolitan Dreams

2008-07-12T15:53:00.008+10:00

Not being much of a extreme sportsperson myself, I wouldn't mind trying Zorbing, otherwise known as Sphereing - the popular sport that originated in 1994 in NZ (the image is from the Rotorua site), where you climb into a giant plastic transparent sphere and roll around, not unlike a hamster in a hamster ball.

Here's a link to footage of behind the scenes at the shooting of the 3 TVC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDz7wDGphuI&feature=related
It's pretty sweet actually seeing the zorb ball roll onto a car! It reminds me of the Sony Bravia LCD ad featuring the rubber balls bouncing down a San Francisco street along to one of my favourite songs: Heartbeats by José González.

And another link for Neopolitan Dreams live on Lisa's YouTube channel, which I actually prefer than the released version which has the overlap: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ3Wn50Df0U

Libraries and bikes the rage

2008-07-07T20:48:00.005+10:00

http://www.news.com.au/business/money/story/0,25479,23979965-5017313,00.html

Local libraries, bike riding and camping are making a comeback as families turn to free activities to cope with rising fuel prices. Interest rate rises, soaring petrol prices and growing grocery bills have also made a big dent in our discretionary income, nearly halving it within the past six months. Australians now are focusing on more home-based leisure activities and such free outings as visits to libraries and parks.

= My life...

(Bike courtesy of Chanel; for a cool $12,000AUD you can have one too http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/daily/2007-10/071022-two-wheels-are-better-than-none.aspx)

Forging the consumer experience

2008-07-07T19:38:00.010+10:00

For me, the best part of a buying experience is getting the goods home post-purchase to do the initial unwrapping... there's nothing quite like unpacking the box, peeling off the protective packaging and seeing the product in action for the first time. For larger purchases it is perhaps not wise to repeatedly spend to get this same love, that's why dweebs on YouTube have solved the problem by posting videos of them unwrapping their purchases.

Case 1) MacBook Air:
I would love a MacBook air but for functionality purposes, wouldn't dream of buying one currently. However I can watch the following video (- silence is golden) to get the same post-purchase buzz as if I'd had.

Case 2) Asus Eee Pc
For less than $500AUD a pop, the ultra-portable Asus notebook is seriously on my to-buy list. After watching the unboxing and also another video of the walk through tour of the Linux OS, it has only made me want it more.

After recently purchasing a car I also did a YouTube search to see fellow peer reviews and non-publicity videos of the car in question. This helped me to retain the excitement and desire for the product long before I came to have it.

So what next? Perhaps this could be adapted somehow into online e-tailing strategies as the elements such as touch and feel are lost here. Media showing the product in use and in motion could help recreate the offline consumer experience...

If I read another source which says that DDB won the Tourism Australia account - please kill me!

2008-07-04T18:29:00.005+10:00

Perhaps it's due to the success of The Gruen Transfer, or because promoting Australia as a tourist destination homes in close to people's hearts, but I've never seen so much referencing to one advertising campaign before!

The news that DDB Worldwide won the Tourism Australia account even hit mass media: http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,26058,23968563-5014090,00.html. I mean do the general public even care about this? Should they care about this? Especially enough to have the 'news' in prime 'front page' spot on news.com.au! The article then goes on to mention the other agencies in the selection process such as Satchi & Satchi and M&C Saatchi. Why would a layman again care or need to know about this information?

Melburnians: Something to do this weekend...

2008-07-04T17:41:00.009+10:00

This shopping guide to South Melbourne is courtesy of Lucy @ The Design Files; a blog which is becomingly increasingly influential in the design world scoring interviews with well known retailers/designers such as Liane Rossler from Dinosaur Designs and Kristina Karlsson of kikki.K. These people really understand how to hollistically work publicity in the age of Web 2.0!

Anyway back to the post topic... the full write up of the SM guide can be found here, complete with further info and lovely images.

http://www.thedesignfiles.net/

Melbourne International Design Festival

2008-07-02T22:48:00.013+10:00

MIDF is fast approaching and there are some great events and initiatives happening at Fed Square and surrounds during the festival.

My picks would be:
1) Checking out some of the best of Melbourne's architecture under the open house scheme such as the Manchester Unity Building: http://www.melbourneopenhouse.org

2) Seeing an installation of a vertical wall garden by French artist and scientist Patrick Blanc in Melbourne Central: http://www.nationaldesigncentre.com/Default.aspx?MenuCode=ME0226&ValuePath=ME0182/ME0226.

3) Checking out some of the Design on Toast Breakfast Series speeches such as the 'Branding: What's in a name?' one, not to mention they're FREE: http://www.nationaldesigncentre.com/Default.aspx?MenuCode=ME0261&ValuePath=ME0182/ME0254/ME0261

(Thanks to Apartment Therapy for the second image).

Starbucks Feel the Slump...

2008-07-02T22:15:00.005+10:00

Starbucks announced yesterday that they will close 500 of their US stores, making 12,000 employees redundant. The news comes as a result of the further slow down of the US economy and rising petrol costs. What's surprising is that 70 percent of these stores opened from 2005 onwards, which just goes to show how volatile markets can be and that you can't predict anything, particularly in periods following success/growth.

Whilst 500 stores may sound like a lot, especially in comparison to the Australian market, this is just under five percent of Starbuck's 11,000 US stores and relatively miniscule considering Starbucks opened 2,500 new stores across the globe last year at a rate of seven outlets per day!

More info from The Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121494400432420449.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

The Difference in Gen Y, X & Boomer Communication

2008-07-01T13:00:00.007+10:00

I saw this on http://www.themarketingstudent.com/ and thought it was very interesting. It's about the differences between communication and increasing urgency through the generations. There is an increasing lack of face to face contact and phone contact by Gen Y, and postal mail has become extinct! These are important considerations to take into account for future planning... socially and in business.

1) Baby Boomers2) Gen X
I have never used a beeper!

3) Gen Y

Farewell Bill

2008-06-30T23:09:00.005+10:00

Bill Gates left Microsoft last Friday the 27th of June to focus solely on charitable works in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Although he has not be the CEO of Microsoft since 2000, it will be interesting to see what the future will hold for the company. For Bill however I'm sure his net worth of $58 Billion will suffice in the future.

Picture from Forbes.com

iPhone to be also sold at Telstra come July 11th

2008-06-30T22:34:00.006+10:00

... That makes it Telstra, Vodafone and Optus who will now be stocking the handset, leaving only 3 mobile as the last remaining major carrier left out. I don't know why they couldn't have just given the rights to all in an 'all or nothing' scenario. More information can be found here:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/iphone-insider/telstra-joins-the-iphone-club/2008/06/30/1214677931987.html. 3 mobile have retaliated by launching a new website encouraging customers to register their interest "for the powers that be at Apple to see".

I have been holding out for the launch of the iPhone in Australia for some while. Having resisted the Blackberry bandwagon for some time; I will now be able to step out of the dark ages and access my emails 24/7 a la Madonna!

More info and image sourced from here:
http://www.apple.com/iphone/

Art Deco 1910–1939 NGV Exhibition

2008-06-27T01:11:00.006+10:00

The National Gallery of Victoria (International) has an exhibit opening tomorrow that I really want to check out! It's a celebration of all things art deco, is organised by the V&A museum and has the foyer from the Strand Palace Hotel as a highlight. The NGV art after dark program looks particularly good featuring music from the period followed by a talk, flapper dancing such as The Charleston and refreshments ever Wednesday night until 9pm.

The Age had a good pull-out supplement in last weekend's paper and has a good companion site, the art deco interactive walking tour of Melbourne makes for great viewing for Melburnians who love their architecture: http://www.theage.com.au/interactive/2008/national/art_deco/intro.html. I also recommend reading this PDF of Deco Down Under: http://www.theage.com.au/interactive/2008/national/art_deco/pdf/DecoDownUnder.pdf

More information about the exhibit, running until the 5th of October can be found here: http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/artdeco/index.html

What should you do before launching your own business?

2008-06-27T00:49:00.010+10:00

... Check that someone isn't launching one with exactly the same concept as you!

Case One: Whiteport - www.whiteport.com.au
Blurb: Whiteport was established in 2007 and is the brainchild of Jennifer McCabe. A Sydney girl who lived in London for six years, Jennifer returned home to find an overwhelming absence of quality Australian homewares stores offering online shopping.
Whiteport offers an extensive range of home decor, gifts and accessories, themed around a stylish white palette. Why white? Because white products are simple, timeless and complement any colour scheme.
Website design: Grey/white with crisp images

Case Two: White Home - www.whitehome.com.au
Blurb: White Home was launched in 2007 by Susie Rosen and Isabelle Stanton, who identified an Australian marketplace need for contemporary, high quality white linen for the bedroom and table.
The White Home brand celebrates the simplicity and timelessness of a neutral palette, particularly in the bedroom - linen cupboards overflowing with quality essentials that will stand the test of time.
Website design: Grey/white with crisp images

Did these two start-ups believe there was place for two high-quality all white online homewares e-tailers in the Australian Marketplace? Probably not... Did one rip off the other? Most likely no... Are the businesses aware of their competition? Don't think so... Finally which will preserve or perish? Only time will tell...

Five O'Clock Heroes feat. Agyness Deyn: Who

2008-06-16T22:48:00.010+10:00

After seeing this song performed again on the Sunday Night Project, I had to revisit it as its getting stuck in my head. My preference is for the live version but Agyness is purely mesmerising in the clip. It is refreshing to see someone like her on the Model Scene, instead of the usual bunch of 15 year old tweens. I love how she is the epitome of the punk look with a dose of British attitude. There's also some images from the Spring Summer 2008 Burberry Campaign by Mario Testino that capture her vibe.

Vogue Australia Me Freebie

2008-06-15T17:46:00.006+10:00

It's not very often when I score a freebie or win a competition, in fact I can't even remember a time when I have ever 'won' anything at all. You could say I could count the many eBay auctions 'won' but its a little ironic since they involve still handing over my hard earned cash. Anyway it was a nice surprise in this month's Vogue Australia to see a forum post of mine had been selected as post of the month. It was in response to online shopping and I collect a 12 month subscription to Vogue as a result. Nice!

Inspiring sfgirlbybay!

2008-06-15T17:19:00.011+10:00

I've just purchased the following poster from a seller in San Fransisco whose blog I frequent regularly. For $33 AUD (got to love the exchange rate), I'm going to position it in my study in the hope that it will help me to concentrate more (as the colour green is renowned for).

I was so amazed by photos of her apartment that I've included some recent shots below. (You can also see a couple of the shots of the poster in different colourways). There's also some great photos out and about around SF... I wish I was there right now escaping the Melbourne winter...
http://www.sfgirlbybay.blogspot.com/
Her Etsy store is located here.

Drugs: A Social History in Australia

2008-06-13T22:57:00.009+10:00

I thought the video in the link below was quite entertaining. It is a historical look at the use of Marijuana and LSD in Sydney in the 60's. It's part of an exhibition currently showing at the Melbourne Museum. It wouldn't embed in this post for some reason so you'll have to do some extra mouse clicks sorry.
http://museumvictoria.com.au/Drugs-Social-History

What's Next in Media, Marketing and Advertising?

2008-06-10T20:03:00.008+10:00

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Eco Etsy

2008-06-07T21:09:00.012+10:00

There's so many gorgeous things which I could buy from Etsy at www.etsy.com, which is basically the handmade online marketplace version of eBay.

"Etsy's mission is to enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers, and their vision is to build a new economy and present a better choice."

Another channel to consider for small retailers to sell their wares....

Fifi Lapin - too cute!

2008-06-07T20:10:00.010+10:00

This fashion blog was featured in the July issue of Vogue Australia and it sure is adorable. It features a cute rabbit dressed in some of the latest runway creations.
http://fifi-lapin.blogspot.com/

Some are my favourites are below:

Just Because...

2008-05-27T21:41:00.001+10:00