Marketing & Media

In a move so bold that it seems to channel Peter Daicos’ penchant for the unexpected, Australian retailer Kogan and Collingwood FC together have announced the world’s first club-branded TV. The 42-inch HD LED television, available exclusively from the Kogan website, is no slouch either. The Collingwood-branded TV features the Magpies’ logo on the front, at the startup screen, and on the clicker.

The goal for every marketer who uses Facebook is twofold: first, to find creative ways for their target audience to ‘Like’ their page and secondly to engage with the content on their wall. Many times, that can involve some questionable methods for winning consumers over.

Ok, so books may be so 2004. But there is something about walking into a bookstore that can be intoxicating. This video was put together by a small team of staff and volunteers that support a single-store bookshop, Type Books in Toronto, Canada. Its elegant choreography and music make it mesmerising viewing.

Consumers are spoiled for choice when it comes to long distance communication, but it wasn’t always the case. Just a little over two decades ago you had two whole options: mail and telephone.

There's nothing like having a brilliant creative team at your fingertips. So far, three great guerrilla advertising campaigns have emerged from the 2012 London Olympics. Check out the inspirational brilliance from Nike, the fast-response campaign from Specsavers and an, ahem, tongue-in-check offering from Durex.

Software solutions provider Pitney Bowes has laid down the law regarding customer data for the retail industry. Perhaps you’ve been labouring under the delusion that old-school broad customer data will do the trick when it comes to growing your retail business. I'm afraid not.

Do I shop at Coles? Occasionally, but I feel wrong about it when I do. Why? I prefer to support independent farmers and food producers. There are better ways of doing this than by shopping at Australia's two largest supermarket chains. Why do I feel this way? Ironically, the Olympic TVC from Coles is why.

Do we treat hire cars the same as we treat our own cars? There have long been jokes about the invincibility of rental cars. Like most jokes, they are funny because they are based in reality. In response to this urge, car hire companies hit drivers with insurance excesses. It's fair enough that they do. If the car is damaged, then it has to be fixed. However, this is one industry that is being shaken up by a local start-up. Suffice to say, the hire car companies don't like it one little bit.

Gary Vaynerchuk is the quintessential entrepreneur. He comes from entrepreneurial stock. His father, after escaping political upheaval in Belarus, had limited English and money, and went from stock boy to part owner of a liquor store in five years. In this frank discussion, Vaynerchuk spells out why he loves social media and how he's used it to sell and generate true word of mouth.

“Diners are hungry for restaurants to use the online space to communicate with them and it is those restaurants that make an effort to interact with their customers long before they enter the restaurant that are winning the battle.”

Did you endure the Olympics opening ceremony? I really liked the tribute to that great English invention, the rave party. It has, however, been dubbed the first Olympics in the social era - the Socalympics, if you will. Social media featured throughout the aforementioned rave sequence. So, no matter which way you look at it, this is going to be the social Games. Many of the mass market social media tools are banned in China. The Beijing Games were a Twitter free event. This means that the London Games will set the standard for how social media supports, reports and rolls along with the Olympics.

When was the last time you undertook intensive research on your audience or competition? Having up-to-date market knowledge is essential when it comes to planning your strategy and setting your business goals.

By enhancing your creative thinking you can benefit many different areas of your business and even your life. These range from marketing strategy to business development, improving your problem-solving skills and exploring new markets.

With the Australian business sector stuck with risk-adverse strategies and stifling of creativity and innovation, Ci2012 also intends to submit its findings and results to the Australian government for consideration.

Sometimes it's worthwhile thinking about what life would be like without things that we take for granted. In this video, Ikea pitches us a world without textiles. How about a dress made of crockery, alfoil undies and cactus back scrubbers? One of the biggest questions that many entrepreneurs wrestle with is 'will anyone want this?' So, by imagining a world without your innovation, you may be able to answer your own question.

Today, hardly anybody steps out of their homes without their mobiles and that could become equally true of Google Glasses.

There's nothing like getting banned by the Advertising Standards Board for generating masses of free PR. The latest Lynx ad, which seeks to encourage Australians to clean their dirty balls (the double entendre is more than intended), has been censured for denigrating the elderly.

Often customers remember your business’ initial offering, but have difficulty imagining you producing new services. You’re not alone: being pigeonholed is a common business problem.

Imagine you're a multinational oil company. Then, think about the general reputation oil companies have, not forgetting the BP spill. Now, think about a marketing campaign to draw a lot of attention to the industry. Did you come up with a build-your-own-caption campaign? One that allows lots of sharing on social media? No? Well someone did.

ExactTarget, a global marketing firm that maps the digital footprint, has come out with data that suggest 94% of the Australian population is hooked to the Internet and a stunning 13 million – or nearly 60% of the nation – spends 18 hours a day, or nearly all of its waking time, online.