Brand Republic Blogs

Printed wi-fi External website

by Greg Taylor, 22/05/2013

To promote its new Office 365 software, Microsoft placed an ad with free wifi in a special edition of Forbes magazine. (Nice spot, Alex.)

The ad was made up of four pages, with a super-skinny router and battery packed in between. After activating the wifi, readers could get online for free (thanks to T-Mobile) for 15 days, wherever they took the magazine.

by Dave Henderson, 22/05/2013

For anyone who grew up during the 70’s and 80’s, the continued digital revolution is staggering to behold. Each new development brings us more wonderful experiences, with amazing freedom, at a hitherto unimaginable speed. But for the next generation, my 12 year old daughter included, nothing has changed.

by @gordonmacmillan, 21/05/2013

A useful study here from the ‘Pew Research Center’ taking a look at the demographic make-up of US social media users across Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook. No data on LinkedIn of Google+, but great stats all the same.

by Sarah Todd, 21/05/2013

Technological innovations are everywhere, and while we may hear about a number of fascinating new developments, few will actually truly define the future of retail. Considering the changing landscape, technology is irrelevant if you don’t first understand both the behaviours and motivations of consumers in a hyper-connected, multi-channel world.

by Polly Becker, 21/05/2013

It has been just over a year this week since Facebook’s IPO and this infographic takes a timely look back at some of the milestones that the social network has racked up along the way.

by Lol and Nat, 21/05/2013

Apologies in advance for what may be a darker post than usual. Dark, but in some way practical, I hope.

Yesterday a friend and co-member of the DDC* and I hit upon a realisation. At the risk of sounding curmudgeonly, wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to magically edit those bits of the internet that remind you of things you’d rather not be reminded of? Banners, Facebook ASUs, emails, etc.

by @gordonmacmillan, 21/05/2013

On the same day Yahoo confirmed its acquisition of Tumblr, and promised not to “screw it up”, it announced an over haul of Flickr the photo sharing service it screwed up over a number of years.

by Greg Taylor, 21/05/2013

Mayonnaise isn’t just for sandwiches. At a supermarket in São Paulo, Hellmann’s used NFC technology to suggest new recipes to shoppers as they perused the aisles. (Thanks, Tim.)

by Dave Trott, 21/05/2013

In 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait.
By 1991 it escalated into what became known as The First Gulf War.
Kuwait couldn’t be allowed to just fall into the hands of a military dictator.
Everyone was outraged.
Kuwait would have to be invaded.
Iraq would have to be thrown out.

by Christian Baker, 21/05/2013

I’m sure you’ve all seen a Vine, the six second looping images have been widely embraced by brands across social media. Some have got it completely right with well thought out directed mini movies whilst others just post content and hope for the best. A potential use for Vine, which has gone mostly unnoticed so far, is it’s potential use in Citizen Journalism.

by John Reynolds, 20/05/2013

The Barclays Premier League season may have finished for the players, who have nothing more taxing to look forward to than kicking back and relaxing for two months somewhere they see as exotic, more than likely to be a teammate’s marital bed.

Why do clever people keep doing stupid stuff? External website

by Andy Nairn, 20/05/2013

Everybody’s heard of the code-crackers of Bletchley Park. The boffins at this Buckinghamshire mansion were responsible for British Intelligence’s biggest breakthrough of all time and were instrumental in turning World War II in the Allies’ favour. They deciphered the Germans’ infamous Enigma code, were hailed by Churchill as “the geese that laid the golden eggs but never cackled” and have been immortalised in several blockbuster movies and books.

by @gordonmacmillan, 20/05/2013

Pinterest is getting closer to big brands as it announces three new types of pin that will highlight major US retailers.

It marks Pinterest’s first step towards associating images directly with brands and could be the beginning of a change on the social network that sees it become a marketplace as well as a site where people pin ideas of things they like or that inspire them.

by Andrew Walsh, 20/05/2013

The Barclays Premier League is increasingly looking like a recession proof business but there are good reasons why it attracts so much money.

We all know about the rising value of TV rights, thanks not just to the forthcoming battle between BSkyB and BT but also to the fact that it’s now broadcast in 212 territories by 80 different broadcasters.

Undervalued External website

by Jonathan Staines, 20/05/2013

Can I tell you about my local fish and chip shop? It’s excellent. The quality of their product is superb. The staff are friendly, helpful and seemingly loyal to their employer. The shop is always busy – it’s a thriving business. But get this. Amazingly, Mr Fish doesn’t have brand values. And what’s more – they don’t appear to need them. So, my question is this. Brand values – what’s the point?

by Robert Phillips, 20/05/2013

Despite predictions of the demise of email, figures from the Radicati Group show that there were around 2.1 billion emails users in 2012, with the number set to grow beyond 2.8 billion in the next four years.

by Jeff Siegel, 20/05/2013

Parks Associates recently forecast that by the end of 2013, connected TVs will be present in 32 per cent of all Western European homes. By 2016 this is expected to have risen to 54 per cent – and when you consider how “new” this technology is, such adoption rates really should make industries such as advertising stand up and take notice.

by @gordonmacmillan, 20/05/2013

The UK Independence Party is looking to exploit divisions in the Conservative Party with an ad campaign launched today.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage has sent a rallying cry to disaffected Tories to join his party’s growing ranks as the Conservatives fight over Europe and gay marriage.

by Greg Taylor, 20/05/2013

First there was easyJet. Then easyHotel. And now there’s easyGym.
Yes, Stelios has expanded into the fitness market with a chain of no-frill gyms. You can already work up an orange sweat in six spots across the UK. And from next month, there’ll be a new branch on Oxford Street, too. (Good find, Andy P.)

by Chris J Reed, 19/05/2013

In the week that it was shown that users only visited the planet Google+ for less than 7 minutes a month it’s interesting to look at how a contemporary rock artist brand goes about using social media in their marketing and the different levels of interest on different platforms.