Digital Corner

NEWS

Google Phone? The writing is on the wall and now people who have been briefed on Google’s phone project have revealed that Google has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into it. And yes, it has developed prototype handsets, is currently in talks with operators such as T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless, and has talked through technical specifications with phone manufacturers. Consumers can expect a variety of Google phones from multiple manufacturers based on its specs and better yet you may not even have to change carriers because it’s more than likely multiple operators will offer them.

Burgerking gets 'posh': Burger King is launching its ‘Smokey Blue Angus’ burger in the UK with a marketing campaign which positions the product as the 'poshest' burger on the high street. The four-week campaign, which breaks tonight, was created by US advertising agency Crispin Porter & Bogusky and has two TV spots as its centrepiece. The tongue-in-cheek spots, entitled "too posh", aim to show that the fast food chain is making "posh" burgers available to everyone. The Smokey Blue, which consists of Aberdeen Angus beef topped with a blue cheese flavoured mayonnaise, Applewood smoked bacon and tangy steakhouse sauce, is a gourmet follow-up to The Angus, which launched in November last year. In one of the spots a Burger King employee quizzes a smartly dressed customer, to check she is not too posh, before allowing her to buy a Smokey Blue Angus burger. He asks her questions such as, "Do you have any friends called Rupert?" and "Do you make involuntary noises when you laugh?"
The campaign also includes a website, which allows users to be transformed into their posh alter-ego by uploading a photo. You can view the website here.

*****Check tomorrow morning for the facebook special!*****

Digital Corner

Facebook quarrel to be thrown out of court: The judge has delayed a ruling and has given a group of former Harvard students two weeks to produce evidence that Zuckerberg stole their ideas to create his site. The three-year-old legal battle revolves around accusations, strongly denied by Facebook, that Zuckerberg stole ideas when he was hired by the Harvard students to write code for a site called Harvard Connection. The judge said in court yesterday the former Harvard students may be using the lawsuit as a tactic to extract a settlement from Facebook, and pressed their lawyer to produce evidence of a commercial arrangement with Zuckerberg, “Dorm room chitchat does not make a contract, so I want to see it.”
The courtroom battle comes amid mounting speculation that Facebook is heading for an initial public offering. The speculation was fuelled by Facebook's appointment of Gideon Yu, the former YouTube chief financial officer, as its chief financial officer. Yu became CFO of video-sharing site YouTube shortly before it was acquired by Google last year for $1.65bn.


Dell promotes Latitude XT tablet by sawing another in half: Dell has certainly brought its a-game to the table in promoting its Latitude XT, in what may be described as an already saturated market. This consumer obviously felt it more appropriate to take an electrical saw to his tablet. (See the ad here!) The Latitude XT is expected by the end of the year, its main feature will include a revolving touch-sensitive screen.

Lloyds TSB has launched a website, called “Help I'm Flooded”: to provide information for people who have been affected by the floods that have been sweeping parts of the UK. The site, http://www.helpimflooded.co.uk/, was built by search conversion agency Tamar in just 72 hours, to help and support both Lloyds TSB and non-Lloyds TSB customers. Simon Roberts, eBusiness implementation manager at Lloyds TSB Insurance, said: “During this difficult time, we wanted to try and help the general public as quickly as possible. We are extremely pleased with the outcome and have had some great feedback from our customers. We will be continually updating the website to provide as much information as possible over the coming weeks.”

Telegraph posts 50 must-watch web clips: here is the top 3, for the full list click here

1. Dramatic chipmunk
   The most menacing five seconds in rodent history.
   Watch this clip
2. Hitler's Sheffield United
   Not even the master race could have succeeded at Bramall Lane. (Warning: contains strong language.)
   Watch this clip
3. Welcome to iRack
   Watch 'Steve Jobs' launch Apple's least stable product.
   Watch this clip
   

BBC iPlayer has now launched - giving real TV on your PC:

At launch, once viewers have accessed BBC iPlayer at bbc.co.uk/iplayer and have downloaded a programme, they will have up to 30 days in which to watch it. Once watched, the programme file clears itself up by deleting itself. BBC iPlayer is far more than a standalone application. Later this year, it will become widely accessible across bbc.co.uk, as well as via links from YouTube and a number of other potential distribution partners (subject to the BBC Trust's new syndication policy and management's guidelines). Users will be able to watch promotional clips of programmes, and link back to BBC iPlayer on bbc.co.uk, enabling them to download the full programme. The BBC is in discussion with a wide range of potential distribution partners, including MSN, telegraph.co.uk, AOL, Tiscali, Yahoo!, MySpace, Blinkx and Bebo.

Nintendo tapped into a rich and, until then, unknown market when it launched its Wii games console late last year – the non-sedentary gamer: The revolutionary idea of getting gamers out of their chairs and moving struck a chord with key demographics, not least of all women. The secret lay in Nintendo's revolutionary motion sensor controller that allows your whole body to interact with the on-screen action. Suddenly, video games didn't mean being stuck in a darkened room for hours with only your online buddies for company. Gaming could also mean getting the blood pumping and - with a second controller - alongside real live buddies in the same room. The proof of its success lies in the sales: figures released this month show the Wii has outsold rival PlayStation 3 almost fivefold in the quarter to June with Sony claiming 710,000 PS3 sales worldwide, while Nintendo reported Wii sales of 3.43 million. The technology has been so effective, gyms have started incorporating the Wii and its Sports games suite into their fitness regimes. And now Nintendo has gone one better with the Wii Fit. Introduced at the E3 annual computer and video games industry trade show held this month in California, the Wii Fit features a wireless, pressure-sensitive foot pad, dubbed the Wii Balance Board. It allows you to control on-screen action - heading a soccer ball, for example - simply by shifting your weight on the board. Nintendo said that the Wii Fit will come with more than 40 activities, including aerobics, yoga, muscle stretches and games, many of which will focus on providing a ‘core’ workout that emphasises slower, controlled motions. The board, which is powered by four AA batteries, is due to be launched next year.

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Digital Corner

NEWS

• Google has begun tests to embed AdSense ads: which allow publishers to place ads on their sites - on mobile web pages for the first time: Google contacted publishers last week with a request for them to join a beta test. In return for embedding targeted ads from Google, they will receive a portion of any revenue generated when a visitor clicks on an ad link. The email from Google to publishers stated: “As part of our efforts to develop new and improved AdSense products for our partners, we will begin a limited beta test for AdSense for mobile. AdSense for mobile allows publishers to monetise their mobile websites through the placement of targeted text ads. Publishers can take advantage of the fast-growing mobile advertising market and benefit from our targeting technology.”

• Oxford staff uses Facebook to check up on students: Staff at the University are accessing student profiles on social network Facebook to note any troublesome behavior. The university is using the site to search for any indiscriminating photographs of students who they say have broken rules on post-examination celebrations, and then handing out fines. A spokesman for the university said: “Despite the advice given out before exams, there have been a lot more complaints made and there seems to have been a very high volume of incidents. The proctors wish to take the steps available to them to identify and discipline the culprits. Facebook forms part of the evidence that the proctors might use.”

• Time magazines - 50 best websites 2007: From Photonhead.com to Cellswapper and FunnyorDie.com to Lastfm, Time magazine lists our favourite sites of the year (*). full list here

• Yahoo! has seen its profits fall year-on-year over the second quarter of 2007: In the same period the internet giant saw its CEO replaced amid pressures to generate more efficient revenue streams. For the three months to 30 June, profits were $161m (£86.6m), down from $164m (£88.21) the year before, although the company saw revenues grow by 8% to £1.7bn. (full article)

Blogging and Market Research

• “The Dark Art of Email Deliverability” (part 2)
• “Advertising Changes”
• “The Next Big Thing: Why Web 2.0 Isn’t Enough”
• “Targeting – to what end?”
• “The Ten Tech Trends that will define 2007”

Viral Marketing Special

Greenpeace Viral Campaign

Happy Feat Viral: 18,027,838 views

Honda ASIMO


Influential Viral Games:

• 'Snack Dash' (School Food Trust)
• 'Ace Driver' (computerquoteinsurance.com)
• 'Temple of Zoom' (Panasonic Lumix)

Digital Corner

News

• Sony Ericsson has launched an interactive outdoor campaign to promote a T-mobile music download service on its W880i Walkman Phone: Specially designed displays by JCDecaux, which involve LCD touch screens, allow the public to choose music, video and product information. The five interactive displays will be located at bus shelters in urban locations UK wide, including two in central London


• Fifth of ad spend will be online by 2012: Spending on internet advertising in Europe will more than double over the next five years and represent almost a fifth of total media budgets by 2012, according to forecasts from American research group Forrester


• Search giant Google is being sued by the Australian competition regulator over claims that the paid-for text ads it displays alongside search results are misleading consumers: Google itself is facing what could be a landmark legal case for all websites that use text advertising. The ACCC has accused Google of "misleading and deceptive conduct", claiming the way its pages are designed fail to make a clear distinction between sponsored links and genuine search links


• Microsoft has clinched the top spot for the second year running in a survey of the UK's most powerful brands, but the company failed to make the top 10 in a separate survey of media and marketing experts: Brand monitoring group Superbrands surveyed 3,000 consumers for its annual rankings, which put Microsoft at number one, followed by Coca-Cola, Google, the BBC, BP, British Airways, Lego, Guinness, Mercedes-Benz and Cadbury. Brands which fell out of the top 10 this year included Porsche, Marks & Spencer, Heinz and Duracell


• Yahoo launches Smart Ads to further tailor display ads to audiences: an advertising platform that allows marketers to deliver tailored display ads to their audiences. In tests conducted on Yahoo FareChase, SmartAds generally resulted in click-through rates that were two to three times higher than static, non-customized display ads using the same targeting and placement. SmartAds combines Yahoo’s consumer insights and rich media capabilities with new ad serving technology that converts marketers’ creative campaign elements and targeted offerings into customized and relevant display ads

Advertising Interpretation

Your signature is more powerful than you think!

Cannes Cyber Lions:

QuickSilver viral (Silver)

Saatchi & Saatchi

Dove: Winner and Parody

Blogs

• The Linux-Powered 'iPhone Killer' Arrives
• Lifecasting
• Had enough of user-generated content?
• Apple emasculates the iPhone

Progress?

• Great feature in this week’s MarketingWeek regarding how digital marketing agencies are beginning to take an increasing share of the marketing budget. It goes on to describe how such digital agencies will become more prominent to a point where the traditional (and very large) marketing agencies will soon become “under serious threat” and “are in a crisis together” and gives a recent eBay pitch won by a digital-focused agency as an example:
  “The continuing battle for supremacy between established advertising agencies and the new breed of digital upstarts rose to the surface last week when online auction site eBay appointed self-professed “integrated agency” Albion to handle its advertising highlights. In this case, eBay rejected the overtures of shops famed for their television ads such as Mother and WCRS in favour of an agency that promises to use the internet as lead medium.”
  There is an argument for and against from commenter’s: some say that digital specialists, although with the technical know-how, don’t have the creative skills of the larger agencies. The last paragraph ends in quite a controversial one:
  “…the online threat and the recruitment crisis facing multinationals is rewriting the rules of the advertising industry. In ten years’ time, the business models of the UK’s top shops are likely to be radically different from today. Many agencies will not survive in their present form.”

Thanks to Anna Sims for the blog section this week!