The Sparkbeat | Sparksheet

7 Feb 2012

Behind the Cover: Beckoning Cat

2012/02/07 · Dan Levy · Responses (4)

Sharp-eyed Sparksheet readers may recognize the cloned feline in our latest Feature Article “cover image” as Maneki Neko, the “beckoning cat” whose ceramic likeness is seen in restaurants and shops around the world. They may also be wondering why we used a Japanese icon to illustrate a story about China’s copycat brands.

It turns out that the so-called “lucky cat” is frequently mistaken as being Chinese in origin due to its popularity in Chinese communities. But, of course, we’re worldly enough at Sparksheet to know a Japanese cat when we see it. In fact, our adoption of Maneki Neko for this story was no accident at all. Here’s the story behind the cover image, from the mouth of Sparksheet Creative Director Charles Lim, who created it:

So when we first take a look at illustrating a Feature Article, it’s important to have some idea or concept before attempting a visual execution. Pushing pixels around without any solid idea often results in the ultimate shame: banality.

For this piece, we looked at the word “copycat,” and eventually honed in on the Lucky Cat (Maneki Neko). Yes, we were aware that the cat’s origin is Japanese, but it made sense within the context of counterfeit brands, and how Chinese communities adopted the sculpture to the point where it’s frequently mistaken as the original. We turned the cat into a repeating background, and gradually degraded the quality and alignment until it looked like a bad photocopy.

Choosing a suitable type is always informed by the article’s content, so in this case we used a trendy condensed Franklin and used its industrial-ness to contrast with the humanity of the Pigeon font underneath. To reinforce the copycat theme even more, we offset the type using a slighly greenish neon yellow and a warm magenta, which vaguely recall China’s national colours – but not quite.

Check out the article: Shenzhai: China’s Brand Copycats.

3 Feb 2012

Super Bowl Ad Roundup

2012/02/03 · Sophie Woodrooffe · Responses (11)

Super Bowl commercials have always been hyped, but these days brands are looking beyond TV to reach American football fans before, during, and after the biggest sports event of the year. From pre-game contests to post-game hangouts, social media has changed the game for Super Bowl advertisers.

The social Super Bowl

Goodbye Super Bowl on TV, hello Super Bowl online: NBC and Verizon Wireless are teaming up to provide live streaming of the game for the first time. But given that the 2010 Olympics and World Cup were both available on the net, the real question is: why the wait?

Another first is the social media command centre headquartered in downtown Indianapolis, the city hosting the event. For 15 hours each day a team of 20 will assist local fans and tourists with everything from finding parking spaces to restaurants – using channels like Facebook and Twitter to do it.

And then there’s mobile discovery company Shazam. Similar to how QR codes act as portals to digital content, the Shazam mobile app ‘listens’ to sound cues in the physical environment and directs users to content online.

The NY Times reports that nearly half of this year’s Super Bowl ads will be “Shazam enabled,” meaning more consumers will be directed to more content during commercial breaks (think coupons, free videos and gift cards).

Polar bear’s first word

Coca-Cola is doing its best to distract audiences from the game on whatever device they’re using to watch it.

On Sunday people can attend the Coke Polar Bowl event on Facebook or follow the bears’ real-time reactions on Twitter. It’s a bold move for the company – the bears have never had a chance to ‘speak’ before.

More buzz is coming from another precedent-setting move: Coke execs will be on-site at NBC studios to select which version their commercial to air. Will it be the bear with the Giants or Patriots insignia who “catches” the Coke bottle?

Ferris Bueller’s Pay Off

Everyone’s a sucker for nostalgia. That’s what brands Proctor & Gamble and Honda are betting on with their spots. If they pull it off, the recession-weary audience will enjoy revisiting some iconic moments in Super Bowl commercial history.

P&G are doing a re-make of Coke’s classic Super Bowl ad “Mean Joe Greene,” replacing the can of Coke with Downy.

Honda and actor Matthew Broderick team up for a long-awaited sequel of sorts to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

And Jerry Seinfeld dusts off some of his old Seinfeld catchphrases (and characters) in a spot for Nissan.

The Super Bowl is the biggest advertising event in the U.S., which means there is just too much content for one Sparkbeat post to cover. We haven’t mentioned VW’s “The Dog Strikes Back,” why Pepsi Max chose to go gimmicky, or whether GE’s decision to ditch celebrity glitz will pay off, for instance.

But given that most of these commercials already have millions of views on YouTube, and NBC’s post-game Google+ Hangout is already scheduled to discuss and decide which ad was best, it looks like we needn’t worry. Thanks social media – see you at the game.

23 Jan 2012

Sparksheet at Dx3 Canada

2012/01/23 · Dan Levy · Responses (3)

Update: Check out our Sparksheet review of Dx3, Digital De-Siloed: Five Lessons from Dx3 Canada 2012, plus photo roundups from Day 1 and Day 2 on the Dx3 Digest.

The Sparksheet team is heading to Toronto this week for Dx3 Canada, the first-annual trade show and conference about Canadian digital marketing, advertising and retail. The event takes place on Wednesday and Thursday at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

As Dx3’s official content partner, we launched a special micro-magazine – the Dx3 Digest – filled with original think pieces and Q&As with top execs at Canadian brands like Roots, The Bay, Freshbooks and Casale Media.

Sparksheet will also have its very own booth on the trade show floor where you’ll find us shooting video interviews and promoting our Sparksheet Events content services. We’ll also be covering the full slate of awesome Dx3 conference sessions, which were expertly curated by our good friend Ron Tite.

The trade show floor is open to all so if you’re in the neighbourhood make sure to stop by and say hello (you can register for free online).

Sparksheet readers are also entitled to a discount on Dx3 sessions: Use promo code “dx3sparksheet” when you sign up.

For topic-by-topic breakdowns of can’t miss sessions, check out our Dx3 Session Guides.

And to get to know Dx3’s big name exhibitors, speakers and stakeholders before the show, visit dx3.sparksheet.com

17 Jan 2012

What is SOPA?

2012/01/17 · Ilan Mester · Responses (0)

On Wednesday, Jan. 18, you will have to live without Wikipedia. That’s right, the English version of the popular online encyclopedia is going dark for a day. But more importantly, today marks the day in which a number of technology companies from the United States will fight over a pair of internet-regulation bills.

Wikipedia, Reddit and other prominent websites and online ventures are up in arms about two bills that are relatively similar: Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP (intellectual property) Act. Both bills are meant to tackle the issue of websites from abroad that offer pirated content.

Other major players, including Microsoft, oppose SOPA but won’t shut down services.

Forbes’ Paul Tassi commends websites like Reddit for blacking out, but he argues major corporations should follow suit.

“Rather, even though Reddit is a massive site, the industry needs a nuclear option to truly decimate SOPA once and for all,” he writes. “Titans like Google and Facebook need to have a similar blackout, which would reach an audience far, far wider than Reddit’s.”

Mashable’s Chris Heald says SOPA is dangerous. “If ever a bill was spaghetti, this is it,” he wrote. “If a programmer on my team wrote code as convoluted as this bill, I would fire him on the spot.”

GoDaddy originally backed SOPA, but the company later issued an apology.

“GoDaddy opposes SOPA because the legislation has not fulfilled its basic requirement to build a consensus among stake-holders in the technology and Internet communities,” Warren Adelman, GoDaddy’s CEO, said in a statement.

Organizations like the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) have also announced their support for SOPA. Below is an excerpt of the statement the company released:

“As an industry of innovators and creators, we understand the importance of both technological innovation and content protection, and do not believe the two are mutually exclusive. Rogue websites — those singularly devoted to profiting from their blatant illegal piracy — restrict demand for legitimate video game products and services, thereby costing jobs.”

What remains to be seen is if we can all survive a day without Wikipedia’s world of information at our fingertips.

17 Jan 2012

Apple’s January Surprise

2012/01/17 · Ilan Mester · Responses (1)

Everyone knows that Apple sat out last week’s International CES, the largest tech-related trade show in the world.

The big secret is what the famous tech company will reveal during a media event in New York City later this week.

Multiple media outlets reported last week that Apple started to send out invitations for an “education event” on Jan. 19 and that the company would be making some sort of announcement at the gathering.

But other than that, not much else is known about what Apple will reveal. So naturally, many prominent news sources and blogs have been speculating about the event and what the announcement will entail.

Wired points out that there have been rumours swirling about Apple wanting to make some changes to its iBooks platform, which will involve education in some way.

According to eWeek, it’s basically a no-brainer that Apple will likely be showcasing digital textbooks at the event. The magazine also suggests that the iPad will probably be brought up in the context of education.

All Things D reported earlier this month that the event would not involve the upcoming iPad 3 or a widely reported interactive television project, according to its sources.

An unnamed insider told The New York Times that Apple is keen on entering the digital textbook business and that no new products will be unveiled at the event.

We’ll just have to wait until Thursday to find out for sure, but what do you think Apple will announce at the event?

12 Jan 2012

CES 2012 Field Notes

2012/01/12 · Dimitry Zolotaryov · Responses (13)

Our colleague Dimitry Zolotaryov is in Las Vegas this week attending the annual (and much hyped) International Consumer Electronics Show. We asked him to send us a quick summary of CES highlights so far.

The year of Samsung?

The South Korean tech giant is flexing its muscles at this year’s CES.

Samsung’s Note phone-tablet hybrid combines the functionality of a phone with a stylus and a larger, 5-inch screen. The main strength of this gadget, reflected in its name, is the ability to take notes or drawings via the stylus.

But the Note doesn’t feel ready for primetime just yet as hand interference and a slight delay when writing take away from the experience.

Next is Samsung’s updated line of Series 9 laptops. The company listened to feedback from users of the original model, resulting in the most portable and practical Windows laptop yet.

The 13-inch model is especially attractive with a very slender body and high-quality display. This is definitely something to watch out for in March.

Last but not least is the Samsung Super OLED, 55-inch TV. Its slender width and thin bezel nicely complement the incredible quality of the image.

Expect Samsung to focus their product lines on fewer models this year with an emphasis on quality, rather than breadth

Android takes a bite

Samsung Demo, image courtesy of CES International, via Flickr

Apple is notorious for sitting out CES but 2012 will see many new Android tablets nipping at the iPad’s heels. Last year signaled the beginning of what is now a flood of mid- to high-range tablets running both the Android 3.2 Honeycomb or the more advanced 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating systems.

Their distinguishing features remain few, often just one or two unique elements in size or software. Below is a quick rundown of what some brands are offering:

Sony introduced two tablets last year. The two-screen, clamshell Tablet P and the Sony Tablet S. The latter connects with a variety of television sets and plays older Playstation 1 games from the Sony game store.
Toshiba is showing off a range of tablet prototypes from a slender 21:9 ratio, 5-inch tablet to a monster 13.3 version with variations in between. All of their new models come with Super AMOLED display, giving them a sharp and bright image quality. No information yet on what operating system they will run
Samsung is releasing their own 7.7” tablet with a Super AMOLED display (like Toshiba)
Fujitsu introduced the 10” Arrow tablet capable of full submersion in water, up to 1.5 m. A company called Pantech is doing something similar with their Element Android tablet
The Motorola Xyboard tablet comes in two flavours: the 8-inch and the 10-inch
Many (and I mean many) other brands will be releasing their own Android tablets in the coming months.

Despite the variety, these tablets share many common qualities. Most are shipping now with the older Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) operating system and many will be upgradable to the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) version.

They all feature dual-core processors in the 1.5 GHz range and feature the same storage options. All have a slender build and a responsive quality. It’s really their screens and brand names that set them apart.

RIM ready to Play

It’s easy to pick on Research In Motion. They had a terrible year of outages, missed deadlines, poor sales and privacy concerns. But on a positive note, we’re told that the PlayBook tablet will receive a much-needed upgrade in February.

The version 2.0 software will include the much-needed email client, calendar and address book applications. Considering the device is price tagged at $300, the new PlayBook should be a darling for people looking for a small, rugged and high-performing device.

Made in China

Chinese manufacturers are out in number on the floors of CES. Their wares are generic by North American standards but we are starting to see innovation from the larger companies.

TCL, for instance, showcased some interesting experiments in cloud services and 3D glasses-free television. It isn’t production-worthy yet, but it rivals the research outcomes of traditional frontrunner brands like Toshiba.

[/caption] Media everywhere Beyond tablets and mobile phones, several CES presenters are showing off new ways we might interact with technology throughout our daily lives. Car companies are experimenting with voice controls in their navigation and multimedia dashboards. Third-party manufacturers such as DriveNTalk are doing the same by integrating phones into the driving experience via voice commands. Another interface innovation incorporates the Microsoft Kinect into the home entertainment experience, allowing TV viewers to control their sites through hand gestures. Most of these technologies are in prototype or early release stages. Do not expect them to make a mainstream appearance in 2012. Stay tuned for our Sparksheet CES 2012 roundup in the coming days.

6 Jan 2012

Sparksheet’s 2012 Trend Watch

2012/01/06 · Sophie Woodrooffe · Responses (8)

The new year is upon us and if Mayan deity Quetzalcoatl has his way, we’ll be goners by December. In the meantime, Sparksheet presents a curated sampling of pre-apocalypse predictions.

Events

This summer sports fans, brands, and anglophiles will be flocking to London for the Summer Olympics.

According to JWT, social media will be playing a bigger role than ever, with an IOC sanctioned social media policy already in place for athletes and affiliates. #Olympics is expected to trend for months.

As the event approaches, expect to see lots of ads from traditional sponsors, like this…

…and a few unexpected ones, too:

Entertainment

Netflix will be turning heads with its first offering of original programming. Lilyhammer, starring The Sopranos’ Steven Van Zandt and set in Norway (you might remember it as the location of the 1994 Olympic Winter Games) is scheduled to air early February. It’s a bold move for the streaming powerhouse. We’ll see whether critics give it a gold.

In other TV news, Apple plans to enter the television market this year with a TV/computer hybrid that has a chance to do for the crowded TV market what iPod did for mp3 players.

The first installment of Peter Jackson’s two-part epic, The Hobbit will be hitting the big screen this year in time for the 75^th anniversary of J.R. Tolkien’s much loved classic. Will it be the blockbuster of the year?

Social Media

While Facebook’s early adopter markets reach the saturation point (and it plans for its early summer IPO, currently speculated at $100 billion), Google + has been growing fast, with one analyst predicting it will reach 400 million users by the year’s end.

If Zynga’s recent IPO is any indication, free and social gaming, and more generally, social design, will emerge as ‘the next big thing’ across digital industries, says Facebook VP of partnerships and platforms, Dan Rose.

Mobile

Apple’s recent announcement that its iPhone 4S will launch this month in 22 countries – including key-market China – means big business for the company. But speculation abounds as to how Apple will transition into the post-Jobsian era.

Android, on the other hand, has surged in popularity, taking nearly 50% of the U.S. smartphone market in 2011. If all goes according to plan, they’ll be hitting the 60% mark by the end of 2012.

Finally, with speculation of a leadership shuffle at struggling RIM, and with Nokia giving a boost to Windows Phone, expect to see plenty of mobile headlines this year.

Technology

Mobile payment services like Google Wallet were introduced to the U.S. last year, and will launch in the U.K. in 2012. But according to ABI research group, we shouldn’t expect to see too much growth until at least 2013 thanks to difficulties developing effective business models.

Cloud computing is also getting its fair share of buzz. While it’s been around for half a decade (is there anyone left who doesn’t have a Gmail account?), end-users will begin to see more applications emerge in areas ranging from security and databases to games and music.

And while the cloud bubble continues expanding, Berkeley scholar Vivek Wadhwa predicts that a cloudburst may rain on the market’s parade if big companies experience security breaches, which is far and away cloud computing’s biggest concern.

If you’ve got time to kill before the apocalypse, check out JWT’s slideshare, 100 Things to Watch in 2012 and Wired’s series 25 big ideas for 2012.

23 Dec 2011

Happy Holidays from Sparksheet

2011/12/23 · Dan Levy · Responses (3)

rudolph

On behalf of the Sparksheet team, a heartfelt thank you to all our readers, contributors, advocates and friends for your support and engagement over the past year.

2011 was the year that Sparksheet evolved from an upstart marketing blog to a truly multiplatform magazine and it couldn’t have happened without your think pieces, Q&As, columns, comments and (of course) likes, tweets and shares.

So thanks again for your support and we’ll see you in the new year!

13 Dec 2011

Why Media Outlets Are Embracing E-books

2011/12/13 · Ilan Mester · Responses (10)

Major media outlets around the world – from The Guardian and La Vanguardia in Europe to The Huffington Post and Vanity Fair in the U.S. – have put out e-books this year.

Most of these publications are neither repurposed magazine or newspaper features nor full-length books – they’re something in between.

Take for example The Los Angeles Times, which released its first e-book this month (available for 99 cents). Nightmare Made Real won’t be completely new to L.A. Times readers: the e-book is essentially a longer version of staff writer Christopher Goffard’s two-part newspaper story.

Similarly, The Huffington Post’s first e-book – which they’re selling for $4.99 – is a curated collection of reporting by HuffPo contributor Arthur Delaney.

“As a content company, we are enthusiastic about harnessing new mediums and business models that expand the reach of our unique storytelling,” L.A. Times president Kathy Thomson said in a statement. “The immediacy of e-book publishing allows us to easily adapt Times coverage to a convenient reader experience that’s being heavily embraced.”

One of the main reasons media outlets are embracing online publishing is simple: it’s cheap.

“Instead of paying writers hefty advances and then sending them out on the road to report for months at a time, publishers can rely on reporters who are already doing the work as part of their day job,” Julie Bosman and Jeremy W. Peters write in The New York Times.

This is yet another example of how what it means to be a newspaper or magazine is changing in the digital age. Media outlets are no longer just publishers but brands whose content can be found on all platforms wherever their audiences may be.

7 Dec 2011

Asia Gets Innovative at the Festival of Media Awards

2011/12/07 · Sarah McMahon-Sperber · Responses (5)

The first Asian edition of the Festival of Media Awards was held in Singapore last month. With Asia expected to become the world’s second largest advertising market by 2012, the event highlighted the region’s best campaigns.

Johnnie Walker was applauded for its newly-branded vision of Chinese progress. In its ‘Vision of Words’ or ‘Yulu’ campaign, BBH and Ogilvy & Mather targeted the “fickle” young adult demographic by showcasing 12 success stories of Chinese pioneers from all walks of life. The ads struck a chord, winning them Best Use of Content.

Keeping up its winning streak, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia scooped up the Best Use of Mobile Technology at both the Global and Asian editions of the awards with its Property Guide iPhone app.

The app lets shoppers access information about past sales history, current property listings and recent property sales simply by snapping a photo.

And thanks to handy features like financial tools, consumer guides, click-to-call functionality and instant dialing to CBA, the app has resulted in over 1.2 million property searches to date.

The National Australian Bank also saw success, picking up the Best Communication Strategy Award for its quirky ‘Break Up’ campaign.

Teaming up with ZenithOptimedia and Clemenger BBDO, the bank capitalized on public perception that all banks are similar by staging a nationwide, multiplatform “break up” with its three main competitors.

The ensuing 100,000 visits to their Break Up blog and extensive media coverage resulted in $5 million of earned media and more than 225,000 new customers.

Innovation also came out of Vietnam, where Unilever used Augmented Reality technology to get through to grocery market consumers and ultimately, to take home the award for Best In-Store Activation.

Consumers stand in front of a screen at the entrance of a store. From there, they see themselves interacting on-screen with Unilever’s Comfort fabric softener, its virtual “perfume bubbles” and its mascot, Andy.

Taking top spot in the Creative Use of Media category was Coca-Cola along with UM and the McCann WorldGroup, for their interactive ‘Chok’ or ‘Swing’ TVC ad.

The campaign reinvented their under-the-cap concept for digital media with an app that had viewers waving their phones at their TVs during Coca-Cola’s TVC ads.

The aim is to “catch” virtual bottle caps, which are redeemable for prizes including movie tickets, travel coupons, sports apparel – and in some cases – cars.

Tapping into the rapidly-changing realities of the Asian consumer base has proven to be an interesting challenge for advertisers and brands

With increasing access to a growing array of products, Asian consumers have come to expect creativity and innovation, offering further proof that great, platform agnostic storytelling will pave the way to new, emerging markets.

« Older Entries