May 30, 2012 Leave a comment
The New Statesman has been taking a look at the top 10 best (worse) Jubilee products and it really is amazing what people will buy.
A crown pizza from Pizza Hut, a solar powered waving Queen or even a loaf of Kingsmill renamed for the weekend!
See the top 10 here.
May 28, 2012 Leave a comment
VW has created three new ads, which are currently running at independent cinemas across the UK.
Each one focuses on a famous movie – Taxi Driver, Silence of the Lambs and Jaws – and imagines what inspired the classic moments in the films.
The series is directed by Ivan Zacharias and was dreamed up by DDB London as part of the VW ‘See Film Differently’ campaign.
See the three ads below:
May 22, 2012 Leave a comment
As part of the Cannes Film Festival Prada has launched a short film called ‘A Therapy’, directed by Roman Polanski and starring Helena Bonham Carter and Ben Kingsley in a beautiful 70s setting.
The film was premiered right before the official screening of Polanski’s film Tess.
A great twist at the end.
May 22, 2012 Leave a comment
A town in South Wales has taken the step to promote its local landmarks through QR codes in a project called ‘Monmouthpedia‘.
The original idea came from TEDx talk in Bristol, where they suggested that Wikipedia should “do a whole town” using QR codes. With more than 1,000 QR codes residents and businesses have taken up the challenge and launched Monmouthpedia last weekend.
The Wikipedia entry for the project says “Lest you think this is a passing interest, the town of Monmouth is in it for the long haul. Many of the QRpedia codes are printed on ceramic plaques that should last for decades. The information in articles is backed by the Wikipedia community and will be continually improved and expanded. Physical guides and maps will become outdated, but the Wikipedia articles will always be able to be updated. This potential for on-site access to up-to-date information in any language is what makes the Monmouthpedia model so exciting.”
Speaking as someone who never has a guide book to and in a new town this is a great idea and very engaging.
Find out more on Wikipedia here.
May 20, 2012 Leave a comment
QR codes have been a popular addition to marketing campaigns in recent years. Now BBDO New York has created a QR code on a beer glass for Guinness.
The QR code is only visible when the glass is full and when scanned it “tweets about your pint, updates your Facebook status, checks you in via Foursquare, downloads coupons and promotions, invites your friends to join you, and even launches exclusive Guinness content.’
A great promotional gimick and use of QR codes.
April 29, 2012 Leave a comment
Burberry launched their flagship store in Taipei in April with Burberry World Live, a 360 immersive experience.
A custom-made cylindrical space was designed by Christopher Bailey and brought to life the Burberry worlds of British Heritage, Fashion, Music and Weather.
It combined an eight part 360 degree film, a live musical performance and digital weather experience. Burberry World Live will be touring the world, coming to cities including London, Hong Kong and Chicago later this year.The multi sensory experience blurs the physical and digital dimensions of the brand to great effect.
Quite an experience. See how the event went below:
April 23, 2012 Leave a comment
In the build up to a period of significant investment in the UK’s rail infrastructure Signalling Solutions approached The Think Tank to raise the profile of the brand and support the marketing function of the business in a variety of ways.
Signalling Solutions is a joint venture between leading energy and transport solutions company Alstom and Balfour Beatty, one of the world’s leading infrastructure businesses. It was formed to provide advanced signalling solutions to the rail sector in the UK, combining the technology of Alstom with the contracting expertise of Balfour Beatty. The company provides design, installation, testing, commissioning and product support for signalling, power and telecommunications applications.
In answer to the brief, The Think Tank developed an eye-catching advertising campaign that promoted the three core products provided by Signalling Solutions. These combined abstract images that represented the core benefits of the products alongside a new brand style for current and future advertising.
This campaign was also extended to a corporate advert which brought together the three core solutions to demonstrate the opportunities for integration that Signalling Solutions offers.
An advertising schedule was planned by the client with ads appearing across the rail press in the build up to a series of tender opportunities. The goal was to position the Signalling Solutions brand at the forefront of the minds of specifiers and purchasers within the sector during this period, raising awareness whilst also communicating the brand ethos and values.
Find out more about Signalling Solutions here.
April 21, 2012 Leave a comment
Is your website ready to meet the new data protection rules that come into force on 26th May?
If you run cookies on your website to track and store information about users then from 26th May you will need their permission or you may be in breach of new EU legislation.
The only exception to this rule, according to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) is, ‘if what you are doing is ‘strictly necessary’ for a service requested by the user. This exception is a narrow one but might apply, for example, to a cookie you use to ensure that when a user of your site has chosen the goods they wish to buy and clicks the ‘add to basket’ or ‘proceed to checkout’ button, your site ‘remembers’ what they chose on a previous page. You would not need to get consent for this type of activity.
How you gain this approval is the next challenge. If you visit the ICO’s website you will see that they now ask you the following question:
‘The ICO would like to place cookies on your computer to help us make this website better. To find out more about the cookies, see our privacy notice.’
‘I accept cookies from this site’
Many sites will be able to ask a specific question when users register for a service or locked off content however others will also need to ask similar questions not to be in breach of the legislation.
The ICO has issued a guidance document on this subject which you can download below.
April 20, 2012 Leave a comment
A scene of Armageddon or not? This French ad keeps you and the victim entranced until the end.
Very clever and quite unexpected.
April 11, 2012 Leave a comment
We are are always looking for talented individuals to join our team. We currently have one permanent Account Executive position working on a multinational client.You will need to be:
Results oriented
Have an interest in integrated marketing and social media
Be a self starter
Demonstrate excellent organisational skills
Have the ability to multi-task and show an attention to detail
Display a confident manner
European or other foreign language useful.
Interested applicants should apply first by email to liamb@thinktank.org.uk with a CV and brief covering letter.
March 27, 2012 Leave a comment
The Think Tank was recently briefed to create, from conception, a new brand and identity for a recently incorporated property asset management company and the subsequent launch of the business in the North West area of the UK.
We worked with the client on a selection of brand names and identities until Nurture was chosen for this fledgling company, complementing their ethos of asset growth through effective management.
Through a coordinated campaign of advertising, PR, direct mail, telesales and social media we launched the business to landlords and tenants across the North West, delivering enquiry and new contracts and raising the profile of the brand. The campaign focussed upon Nurture’s Guaranteed Rent scheme and the offer of a Free Gas Safety Certification for new customers. Advertising and PR in the local property pages was supported by a direct mail campaign and telesales to local landlords. The brand profile was further raised through social media activity focussed upon Twitter and LinkedIn.
There has been a great response to the marketing so far and the campaign continues.
March 25, 2012 Leave a comment
We recently found this great brand work for Kracken Rum by Brooklyn based agency ‘Dead As We Know It’.
The campaign launches what was apparently the world’s first spiced black rum. The agency developed the backstory of the Kraken’s true existence from a scientific point of view through a journal and a series of movies which brings the brand to life in a an interesting way.
There is a series of animated videos for the brand which you can find here. We have added Chapter 3 of the series below which we thought was great fun.
Well done on a very engaging launch campaign.
March 20, 2012 1 Comment
These print ads for Lego are by German ad agency Jung von Matt.
They’ve created a series of ads called ‘Imagine’ that feature minimalist interpretations of some of the best known cartoon characters.
See if you can work out which is which:
Some hints for you:
Revolutionary Gaul
Underground Martial Arts
On the Street
A Nuclear Family
Not North of the Playground
March 7, 2012 Leave a comment
In a world that is going paperless, or so we have been told for the last 20 years, Canadian paper manufacturer Domtar Paper is challenging the concept through a campaign called ‘Paper Because’ by ad agency Eric Mower Associates.
In an ad called ‘Office’ they show what the digital world would be like without paper.
Let’s hope it doesn’t come to this for the sake of all our sanity!
Find out more about the campaign here.
March 3, 2012 Leave a comment
The Moleskine book has been a favourite of designers, creatives, writers and many others including Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway for more than two centuries.
Now, to celebrate the notepad’s association with architects and their sketchpads, Moleskine has launched a new range of raw grey cardboard books with excerpts from the original notebooks of four inspirational architects. Zaha Hadid, Giancarlo De Carlo, Peter Wilson of BOLLES+WILSON and Alberto Kalach.
Providing unprecedented access to their archives and personal files these small Moleskine books show reproductions of their works alongside blank pages for the owner’s own use. Passages of handwritten text from the architects explaining their inspiration for the original sketches are also shown within the notebooks as well as replicas of line drawings on table napkins and scraps of paper and early plans for now completed buildings.
These are really interesting insights into the thought processes of some of the world’s leading architects and a must have for architecture fans.
They are a bit difficult to find on the Moleskine website but if this link does not take you straight to them search for Architecture. You can also see more on Design Boom.
February 29, 2012 1 Comment
Last week TTT met CURB, the natural media company that helps brands create innovative and award winning media.
CURB uses attention-grabbing media such as chalk advertising or bespoke interactive productions where the individual acts as an instrument for creating the experience or message – pedal to charge your phone or dance to make the music louder! CURB also uses natural media which they tailor to their clients’ briefs – to promote the movie Contagion they worked with a world renowned microbiologist to create an enormous Petri dish inoculated with mould, penicillin and Pantone-matched live bacteria. Over the span of a few days these grew into the movie title ‘Contagion’ (and yes, it went viral).
During the Multisensory Media demonstration TTT’s meeting room was filled with the scent of grass from the AC Milan’s San Siro football pitch. Unfortunately for CURB there were no football fans in the meeting to appreciate this particular experience; nevertheless we were amazed at how particular they can be with creating scents and sounds. We found out that specific scents can be used to change an emotion as well as perception of time and environments.
CURB has also developed a technique to package the scents in a way that is sustainable and fun. We enjoyed the experience of small customizable pouches that released a lovely scent with just one squeeze – some of the scents included the smell of chocolate truffles or red roses (a note to all men – do not use as a substitute for a gift).
CURB uses entirely natural or sustainable materials that are recycled after they’ve been used. If that is not possible, the materials are upcycled; for example a huge poster of Michael Jackson’s album next to Heathrow airport was made out of plastic that was later upcycled to mobile phone cases and various other goods.
To find out more about their fun and innovative approach to Out-Of-Home media, PR and experiential marketing, visit www.curbmedia.com
February 19, 2012 Leave a comment
Audi takes a rather different approach to promoting their A7 in the States with a party out in the woods.
A bit of fun for vampire lovers!
February 19, 2012 1 Comment
Twitter has started to broaden its revenue streams by rolling out its self-serve ad platform to 10,000 small and midsize businesses in the US through a partnership with American Express.
From 16th February American Express card members and merchants are able to register to use the platform on a first-come, first-serve basis. They will receive $100 in advertising credits to put towards bidding on promoted tweets and promoted accounts. Twitter had begun the rollout of self-serve, which lets advertisers make electronic payments instead of being invoiced by the sales team, in mid-November with a group of fewer than 20 advertisers and expanded the group to about 100.
Dick Costolo, CEO, commented, “So many hundreds of thousands and even millions of small businesses have been using Twitter effectively for years already, so by opening up our ad platform to all these folks as a mechanism for them to amplify the value they’re already creating.”
Find out more on Adage.
February 18, 2012 Leave a comment
A great deal has been written about social media and most of it about the opportunities that it offers brands and marketers. However, a recent survey by YouGov has suggested a negative side to using social media for marketing. Is this a turning point?
New research has revealed that brand engagement on social networks is not as positive as first thought.
According to B2B Marketing Magazine, ‘Although the uptake remains high, users are demanding more, with two in five participants claiming to be ‘getting bored’ with social media.
The survey of 1275 British social media users found that just under half of respondents would not be positive about a product their ‘friends’ have followed and/or ‘liked’, with 43 per cent saying they are unlikely to talk about a brand on social media sites. In addition, just over half of participants revealed that they ‘do mind’ seeing ads on social networks that are based on their profile activities.
Dan Brilot, media consulting director at YouGov, says, “It appears that while social media can be a key tool in the brand marketer’s armoury, in particular to maximise commitment among those already highly engaged with the brand, it has not quite reached the effectiveness necessary to be considered as a truly mass media marketing tool.”
February 18, 2012 1 Comment
Spiral Cellars has launched a retractable round glass trap door, featuring a motorised action which drops one of the panels before swivelling under a fixed panel. Finished in satin polished stainless steel and sturdy glass it is the ultimate addition to a slick modern interior.
They say, ‘Cellars are sunk into the untapped earth beneath a house, working by using the earth’s natural attributes and a clever ventilation system, and can easily be installed into existing rooms or as part of an extension.’
For those that collect fine and drinking wine but don’t have the room to store it this is a great solution, holding up to 1,870 bottles.
Find out more about these great space saving solutions here.
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