Brand Republic Blogs

Rembrandt shows how to use social content to engage External website

by Chris J Reed, 18/06/2013

The opening of the new Rembrandt museum in Holland does not automatically make you think social media and flash mob but it did to sponsors ING with great effect!

D & AD and the Yellow Haired Trophies External website

by Lol and Nat, 17/06/2013

Thanks D & AD, for a great evening last wednesday.

Hats off to the organisers for deciding to jetison the awards do formula of having an overpaid comedian present the awards in between quips about what a silly industry advertising is (as you sometimes get when Simon Amstell, Stephen Mangan, Edith Bowman et.al. are at the mic).

A Wish for Cannes – A More Creative Future External website

by Jonathan Akwue, 17/06/2013

For Britain to regain our position as a creative superpower, we need to learn lessons from the world of sports and open our doors to a more diverse pool of talent.

Has the time for connected TV advertising finally arrived? External website

by Jeff Siegel, 17/06/2013

Brands today understand the importance of using data to tailor their messages and to reach their key target audiences, so it would be reasonable to assume that TV and its ‘shotgun’ approach to advertising is becoming less appealing. Indeed, the IAB announced in 2009 that online advertising spending in the UK had overtaken TV advertising for the first time in 2009, many industry executives believed the death knell had sounded for this channel.

Mobile marketing set to explode in Latin America External website

by Marcio Chaer, 17/06/2013

Telefonica Digital has recently announced it will be the headline sponsor for the Festival of Media LatAm in September. This is a key regional advertising event and, as one of the leading mobile marketing companies in the region, we are excited to support it.

The psychology of nostalgia External website

by Andy Nairn, 17/06/2013

How would you complete the word: “COFF_ _”?

If you answered “COFFIN”, then according to a recent study cited in this month’s edition of The Psychologist, you have a higher-than-average anxiety about death – whereas if you answered “COFFEE”, you have a more positive sense of life and mortality.

What I hope to see at Cannes. External website

by Wayne Deakin, 17/06/2013

So Cannes is sixty. In those sixty years there’s been “changing of the guard” many times over and I am hoping to see a new seminal shift once again this year. I hope this year we see those that challenge the very way we communicate in this industry applauded and rewarded with big shinny doorstops.

How to be socially intelligent External website

by Andrew Needham, 17/06/2013

Today organisations are subjected to a growing level of collective intelligence and value creation from outside the company’s walls as they strive to compete in a much larger ecosystem of consumer participation, innovation and big data. There needs to be a knowledge framework to help companies connect the dots and maximise as much value from this social universe in a way that drives competitive advantage for the business while also driving meaningful experiences for the consumer. We calls this “social intelligence”.

Social intelligence is an adaptive, continuous, collaborative and open consumer driven knowledge framework that sits at the centre of a company’s organisation like the hub of a bicycle wheel where all marketing and business disciplines feed into and out from the customer. In this model the empowered customer is at the heart of everything a company does.

Social intelligence for brands

Don’t be afraid of the ‘dark data’ menace External website

by Nick Evans, 17/06/2013

SAP co-CEO Bill McDermott was speaking at an industry conference recently where he made an interesting declaration: “War on dark data”. I didn’t realise that data could be such a menace!

Smart billboards External website

by Greg Taylor, 17/06/2013

Just because walls are flat doesn’t mean billboards have to be. IBM and Ogilvy France have launched a series of outdoor ads, each with a different shape and purpose. (Good spot, Jamie.) There’s one you can sit on. Another you can shelter under when it rains. And another that makes dragging your bag up steps that little bit easier.

Skip and a trip down memory lane External website

by Rachel Brushfield, 16/06/2013

Do you like reminiscing?

I went to an event this week and one of the speakers was from advertising; Nick Mustoe, a familiar name from my JWT account planning days!

Nick now runs Kindred Agency and as someone rare in advertising with white hair, is living proof that you CAN adapt to a changing profession and still be successful, and my goodness hasn’t it changed!

Media360 2013 engages hearts and minds External website

by Arif Durrani, 14/06/2013

This time last week, we were gearing up to hear Phil Lander (pictured), senior director at BlackBerry, discuss plans for turning around the one time mobile market leader.

If any brand typifies the pace of change we’re all living through right now, then I guess BlackBerry is as good as any, having gone from market leader seven years ago, to battling for survival against new giant rivals Apple and Google Android. It paid a heavy price for failing to adapt quickly to consumer demand in the smartphone space.

Mobile evolution: creating an immersive brand experience External website

by Chris Minas, 14/06/2013

Rumours are circulating that the first iPhone is set to become obsolete this month after six years on the market. It’s clear that mobile technology is moving faster now than over the last six years, and with innovation comes obsolescence.

The power of fluff External website

by Jonathan Staines, 14/06/2013

Do you use the word ‘fluffy’? Do you use it as a criticism? Do you work in brand, marketing or advertising? And you use the word ‘fluffy’ to slag something off? You’re an idiot. Ah, that’s better. I’ve needed to get that off my chest for a few years.

Owned vs paid-for: where placement falls flat External website

by Julia Hutchison, 14/06/2013

The recent release of Australian director Baz Luhrmann’s film, The Great Gatsby, has drawn a tide of column inches. Surprisingly, however, this has not solely been for its screenplay and sumptuous cinematic experience, but also because it appears to have set a new benchmark for promotional tie-ins with luxury brands.

Sheer Art Attack! External website

by Ardi Kolah, 14/06/2013

The UK arts sector looks like it's in for a rough ride in the forthcoming Public Spending review. New research by YouGov lifts the lid on the challenges facing the sector.

Translating big data power to your brand External website

by Rupert Staines, 14/06/2013

The decision to interact with a brand can take many different routes and the journey to purchase is no longer two-dimensional. Customers get inspiration and opinion from many different sources in their offline and online networks. Marketers are desperate to join that journey, to understand what consumers want, desire and need. But how to do this effectively is the real challenge.

10 of the best things to happen to TV in the last decade External website

by Lindsey Clay, 14/06/2013

Media360 turned ten last week and marked the auspicious occasion with its Decade of Achievement Awards. Thinkbox was lucky enough to win Industry Body of the Decade.We have lots of people to thank for this, not least our shareholders, but we must pay tribute to the RAB, without whose inspirational brilliance we wouldn’t exist (and wouldn’t have had lots of ideas to pilfer). And, although she hates me mentioning it and keeps claiming it as an alphabetical bias, our Tess Alps won Industry Leader of the Decade.

Deep-sea packaging External website

by Greg Taylor, 14/06/2013

It’s always a nerve-wracking moment getting your new watch wet. Does waterproof really, really mean waterproof?

To prove to discerning customers that their diving watches do what they say on the pack, Festina is selling their timepieces in clear bags filled with distilled water. (Cool spot, Jamie C.)

Strategy: be decisive but keep an open mind External website

by Hugh Salmon, 14/06/2013

In life, there are only three decisions you need to get right – and one of them is where you live.

In a TV programme called Escape to the Country, couples are helped to move house from an urban to rural location. The format of the programme is simple: