EMAIL SEGMENTATION
Welcome home, flyers. Here’s some Iggy Pop, courtesy of T Mobile
OK, when's the last time a mobile-phone carrier made you feel all warm and cuddly inside? Never? Yeah, us, too. With its latest advert, T Mobile UK does its doggonedest to change that.
Lesley-Ann Trow talks Word-Of-Mouth for Whitepages
It's always pleasing to see an Anthill contributor gain the opportunity to share his or her unique views 'beyond the hill'. In this clip, first aired on The Workshop, an online resource for business builders developed by the Whitepages, Lesley-Ann Trow shares tips on word-of-mouth marketing with Judy Leach from Limelight Illuminations.
What the interwebs were talking about this week
Sure, this clip involves innovation, creativity and mild commentary on the evolution of technology. But it also includes the whacked out claim that Charlie Chaplin accidentally caught a time traveller on film. And for that, this video is among the Top 10 viewed on YouTube this week. Happy Beer O'Clock Anthillians!
Now even unions can be crowdsourced. But weren’t they always?
The whole concept of a unionism depends on having a 'crowd' and harnessing the power of that crowd to gain collective bargaining power. Therefore, it might seem slightly strange to describe ThePoint's online service, designed to help office workers anonymously organise with their coworkers, as 'crowdsourced unionism'.
Does this company deserve $100k in seed funding? Heck, yeah!
Australia's richest business plan competition, offering $100,000 for one savvy Australian business, reached its conclusion at the Queensland State Library in Brisbane last Wednesday night. Does this company deserve $100k in seed funding? Heck, yeah! Now watch the clip.
Could this adorable, app-enhanced doggie be YouTube’s next pop star?
The music industry's backlash against Auto-Tune is well-documented, though it reportedly endures on countless CDs and on every episode of "Glee." LaDiDa isn't designed to be insidious; it's tech is actually quite cool. The user chooses a musical tempo and style, then serenades the iPhone or iPad. The app uses the voice to compose a melody. Think of it as karaoke in reverse.
How a branding business became a condom company, in 10 days
Sebastien's plan was to present that model to the likes of Donald Trump and convince him to donate a portable shelter every time he builds a condo (for placement in areas struck by natural disasters). And convince Richard Branson to donate a flight to Doctors Without Borders every time a First Class ticket is sold. But like any entrepreneurial adventure, the universe had different ideas.
Why smell like Old Spice when you can smell like Grover!
The Old Spice commercial captured the imagination of marketers the world over by demonstrating how clever advertising can be used to bypass traditional media (and the costs). And it clearly sold a lot of deodorant. But there is one more test that any media and marketing phenomena must pass before it enters the Anthill Hall of Fame. And, yes, Old Spice now qualifies.
Banksy’s dark, dark jab at 20th Century Fox
The darkly comedic introduction sequence, which was developed by UK stencil artist Banksy at the invitation of The Simpsons' producers, was pulled from YouTube earlier today, prompting many tech-scene observers to speculate that the clip, which is clearly critical of the program's production processes, ruffled some of the wrong feathers at Fox.
Playbook toys with Apple’s onions
When the Apple iPad came out, I think I speak for most folks when I said, “Ooo, another premature Apple release!” (with emphasis on that initial bleat). This is because Apple, in my opinion, tends to push its products on us a little too early. Hence Blackberry’s confident stride into the same as yet tentatively-described ether; the Blackberry Playbook.
Australian’s buoyancy bazooka wins international Dyson design contest
Longreach -- a portable water-rescue device that can fire an expandable buoyancy device up to 150 metres -- has won the international 2010 James Dyson Awards, an annual competition aimed at coaxing crazy-like-a-fox ideas from the next generation of design engineers.
My mobile phone can cook chicken while mowing the lawn. What can yours do?
If you're a sucker for mobile phone technologies, prepare to be wowed. In fact, if this amazing concept phone ever becomes a reality, it's likely that every device you own right now will suddenly look and feel like the single-purpose brick you carried around circa 1990.
Creepy and underhand or viral advertising gold? Coco-cola brings back its Happiness Machine
We wrote about Coca-Cola's 'Happiness machine' when it first appeared in an unnamed US university campus in January. Indeed, we asked whether it could be the 'worst viral campaign' ever, simply because it seemed so contrived. However, the pimped-out vending machine is back. This time, in Europe.
Suffering from the entrepreneur blues? Here’s some guaranteed perspective
If you're suffering from one the many interminable troubles that plague your average entrepreneur -- slow paying debtors, recalcitrant staff, feelings of isolation and loneliness (yes, it's common) -- sit back and sink into this digital representation of the earth and all the asteroids (that we know of), which are forever navigating our planet.
What your business can learn from computer games
I've been trying to work up a new equation. Could it be that business models that demand a certain (albeit tiny) amount of exertion from the customer, in return for a proportionate (or slightly greater) and guaranteed reward, are more likely to build brand loyalty than those which provide a solution that's seemingly effortless to achieve?
OK Go brings you… Chihuahuas on swivel chairs.
As big fans of creativity in any form, we've covered this rock act before, when it released its This Too Shall Pass video featuring this most bodacious Rube Goldberg Machine, likely to inspire the inventor in us all. Today ('cause it's Friday), we're pleased to bring you the band's latest clip (and song), White Knuckles. The video doesn't stray too far from OK Go's winning recipe, featuring the band, one-take and some entertaining extras.
Re-design someone else’s website with Stylebot
Have you ever thought about turning over the design of your website -- your precious digital home -- to the great unwashed? A a new Chrome extension was launched yesterday that allows visitors to access and modify the CSS for any web page (not just their own) from within the browser.
Google Instant is like a drunken binge without the alcohol
That's the big selling point of Google Instant: it shaves, on average, two-to-five seconds from every search you do. That's a valuable chunk of time, right there: that's the time it takes me to take a sip from my cup of coffee, or if I'm feeling particularly dexterous, grab a nibble from the adjacent chocolate chip cookie.
Cute girl has a catchy dance (and Samsung spins a viral winner)
Last week's Beer O'Clock email was dedicated to viral marketing creations, which naturally prompted a flood of examples from passionate readers. This cute clip caught our attention simply due to the double-take it inspires. It was created to promote the Galaxy Samsung 580, for those who tend to feel cheated when they discover that a seemingly home-made clip has a hidden (or not-so-hidden) commercial purpose.
What do balloons, purple cows and Dyson fans have in common?
When Godin uses the word 'remarkable', he's applying the word's most literal definition; things that are worth making 'remarks' about. In many ways, the following clip is a product demonstration. Yet, here am I, sharing it with tens of thousands of people, for free. Now that's remarkable! (Quite literally.)
