If we got together we could make brown babies

There is a tabletop game called Risk! I cannot quite remember all the territories but I think the most difficult to win with was the Russians. Fighting a war on so many fronts was a costly business and often the death of many a player. It’s seems clear that Google never played Risk! as their purchase of YouTube was much like buying the Russian territory in the game – a relentless battle on many fronts that drains resources. But if there was ever an organisation with a war chest big enough to to take the ‘risk’ then it would have to be Google. With some of the brightest minds pouring over the YouTube business looking for revenue models, they have done well to at least stem some of the flow if not plug it entirely. With that we’ve also seen an ascent (?) taking YouTube from ‘Poacher to Gamekeeper‘ and this continues with the (very discreet) launch of their new video rental service.

This is a HUGE piece of news due to the potential impact of this business model succeeding.

last seen wearing a T-shirt that read "I killed Blockbuster Video"

First, there is the competitive marketplace that already exists in this sector. Netflix is the major player here but there are many more like LoveFilm (UK) or the new Hulu service. The issue for those guys is the sheer size of YouTube’s audience which should steam roll them and mean it starts with a significant advantage.

Taking a bite out of Apple

Then there is the already existing rental service of iTunes. This is a big player too but Apple benefits from a large community of advocates (sometimes against reason) who will remain loyal. But this is not the biggest fear for Apple or potential ‘win’ for Google. That comes when we move to future technology. Let’s consider the YouTube rental service does well and picks up momentum. It would be very logical to build a YouTube Android phone…

take me to your iPhone

Android is already hotly tipped to take over the iPhone as the number one smartphone. There is no doubt it can win on units but what about the service. I’ve long said that Apple stands head and shoulders over it’s rivals because of the iTunes platform. It is more reliable, intuitive and ‘ingrained’ with the audience than any other store (including Ovi). But a YouTube Android phone changes that game. Imagine YouTube start serving all music (with optional videos) too. Now with an API on my phone (or dedicated handset) I could stream (on tether to my phone) a massive library of my music and video content. This becomes a major selling point for Google (and their partners like HTC) whilst really eating in to the iTunes dependency of some user. Consider, that I could then also easily share my playlists with friends or arrange to watch a movie at the same time (in different locations) and chat or skype too. There are a lot of possibilities here and it’s very exciting to see where things go.

argg, me hearties. I love's a good Googlin' on the high seas!

Finally, there is the irony element. Forget the potential here, let’s look at the service being a success and YouTube creating original content for their audience. Pretty much every online video service has done this at one point or another. You then have to consider the irony of YouTube creating original content which will be ripped and pirated by the audience and uploaded for free around the web – maybe even on another future YouTube. And is that the point when we recognise YouTube has finally come of age?

NB. I couldn’t put all this in and not mention Blockbuster Video. What has happened to them and where will this leave them?

"I used to be a somebody..."

Peter Griffin hates Facebook new Terms too.

Sometimes you just wish for the freedom of being a cartoon character – even if that is Peter Griffin from Family Guy. He’s an idiot but fans of the show will know and love the episode where he gets his own News section on things that wind him up. If he were working in digital marketing I’m sure he would of adapted his famous rant to “You know what really grinds my gears America? Facebook. F**k Facebook!” because Facebook have recently changed their Terms and Conditions.

They say it is to improve the service, reduce spam and unwanted news feed items. The problem was that they then froze several client pages for reasons known only to the technical team. The UK account team were zero help. We were actually working with them in advance of the new T&Cs yet it turns out that everything they told us became null and void 48 hours later. Grr. So let’s be clear, no competitions run on or from Facebook.

Their change to the wall publishing nullified the functionality in several iPhone apps and Flash widgets. Great.

The main issue here is not all the wasted development time in corecting the functionality or the tiny amount of consideration given to our clients. It’s the fact they are working the circuit really hard right now trying to promote Facebook as the ultimate channel for brands to spend their cash. This is a hard pill to swallow when in the last 72 hours we’ve had several client campaigns hampered by new terms that for the most part don’t make much sense.

Oh and they could do with improving their targted ad service too.

this ball is tracked bouncing across windows. Yeah, I bet you love my Firefox theme too huh?

Ignore my awesome Firefox theme (or download here) and check out this cool little tech test. It’s extremely basic and simply let’s you bounce a beach ball. The interesting part is that you can bounce the ball across multiple windows. It’s interesting. Not sure right now how this is going to develop but there is definitely something in this.

It’s these little fun/ interesting/ weird/ quirky links that we find and post on our twitter feed so make sure you follow and stay in the loop.

OK so it’s what we expected – isn’t it? Maybe that’s the thing missing? Apple has delivered the iPad and it’s exactly what we thought it would be  – a large iPhone. Maybe all the hype surrounding it meant it was always going to fail in some respects. Unlike the iPhone, which filled an already well-established need, there is no existing need the iPad fills.

The success of the product is going to be in the deals that are made with publishers and such like. It feels like the opportunity the publishing industry has been wanting and waiting for. The device does look like a natural digital fit for books and magazines. We’ve been talking to a few clients for some time now as to how to turn their print publications into successful digital publications. With the current size of the iTunes store and the press around launch this maybe the platform that gives each party what they are looking for and give more power and profit back to the publishers themselves.

The locked-down platform strategy will help the success of the product, raising the quality standard of the content and Apps as it has done on the iPhone. This strategy can only benefit the end-user who already knows how to interact with this new technology before it goes on the sale.

The tablet concepts that have been floating the net prior to the launch of the iPad all seem to have a similar solution for the user, which is to have a web ‘esq’ digital interpretation of a magazine layout. Much like the iPad itself, this is what we would expect. However, we’re going to want much more very quickly.

The content and interface should be focused around the device and the user, not existing magazine or website formats. Publishers and designers are going to need to get over this hurdle quickly if they are to help this industry cherish and grow.

The opportunities for such an intuitive device are massive, but it does require lateral thinking, better use of content integration and mix, and a client who is willing to lead the market. The device should throw up some really exciting solutions which I can’t wait to see.

Overall it looks like it’s going to be a very successful product for them and exceed expectations. I guess the bottom line for the consumer is do I want one? I know I do!

the Highlander battle of phones has begun - There can be ONLY one! iPhone vs Nexus; how does the Nexus fair?

Wow, everyone’s out with their review of the new Nexus handset and how it stacks up as the latest iPhone killer… So here I am to add my own review:

What a load of sh*t. A real missed opportunity for Google to move the market forwards but instead they just release a ‘me too’ product. Yeah, it looks alright but it’s no iPhone. Better camera but that’s about it. Where’s the power? Where’s the wow factor? What they needed to do was release something that made my iPhone-hugging ass think about how I could dump this crappy O2 contract and get me a sweet new Nexus. Instead it’s just another failed opportunity. Another failed launch of an iPhone killer. Everyone – including us iPhone owners – want to see an iPhone killer and set the industry and consumer wars on fire, but so far, no-one has delivered. And here we have the central problem with the mobile industry; it’s failure to deliver on promise. How long has everyone waited for Year of the Mobile… year after year since the early noughties. The iPhone finally kicked things off and now we are back to the waiting game. The only good thing about the Nexus is that it is (just) enough to keep things ticking over until the real iPhone killer gets unveiled later in the year – the iPhone 4.0/ 4G

Legendary sportswear brand Russell Athletic celebrates its return to the UK with the launch of a fun viral experience that lets consumers be the star of their own retro movies – the‘80s-izer’. The site is now live at http://80s-izer.russellathletic.eu/

Created by Neoco and our friends at Frank PR the tongue in cheek site allows consumers to upload photos of themselves, friends, family or anyone else into the 80s-izer where they can star as a number of classic 80s characters in a series of short films. The site also allows users to Twitter and Facebook their films.

Starring a roller skater, muscle beach body builder, break dancer, American footballer and a trio of aerobics instructors, the Russell Athletic viral has been inspired by the return of the 80s in popular culture and its roots as a classic American college brand.

The viral is a celebration of an iconic decade – one synonymous with the rise of Russell Athletic and its legacy as one of America’s largest sports and athletic apparel producers. The site also showcases the Russell Athletic SS10 collection.

Founded in 1902, Russell Athletic is the original American sportswear brand. The Russell Athletic heritage began in Alabama, with just eight knitting and 12 sewing machines, plus a focus on developing quality fabric. From these humble origins, the brand has grown into one of America’s largest sports and athletics apparel producers. During its 107 year history, Russell Athletic has dressed American athletes across field, track and court – including stars of the Major League Baseball, the NBA and the AFL.
This is one of many numerous fashion/ sports related activity by Neoco for an impressive and growing client list. If you are looking to use innovative digital marketing to reach your audience, contact Benn at Neoco on benn @ neoco.com or 020 7025 6940.

More importantly for the brand is the lack of any social integration. Absolutely crazy. There is a tiny ‘Email a friend’ option. Which let’s face it, how many friends emails can you remember off the top of your head? Probably about the same amount of friends mobile numbers – not many. There was/ is a real opportunity to integrate some great social features as being ill is now a social broadcast – how many Facebook status say “I’m home unwell “? Boots could and can jump on this with some great integration.  As an employer I know I’d be happy to post a few remedies and links to an employees wall. I also have many friends who need encouragement to stop smoking – what about letting me share this content with them, or encouraging tweets, or even announcing I’m quitting (I don’t smoke BTW) via the Boots tools and getting loads of positive encouragement from my peers.  The list is nearly endless of the amount of ways this content can and should be socially integrated. Hopefully Boots or the agency behind it will wake up and small the social Lemsip.

Welcome to Boots WebMD

Our brand new website combines years of Boots expertise with comprehensive health information from WebMD; one of the leading online healthcare resources; plus NHS Choices and the British Medical Journal. With content reviewed by doctors and Boots healthcare professionals, you’ll find reliable information to help you look after your health, available 24 hours a day.

brilliant online resource with fantastic journalists and articles... like the one about us yay!

If you are up to speed with our agency tweeting (if not, please explain why – ed) then you’ll know we applied for and were accepted in to the IPA! Hooray. Well, it looks like the IPA were proud to have us and Brand Republic obliged with some press coverage. You can read the article here

Or you can read the original IPA article here.

yay! look our logo on the IPA homepage. sweet.

Touchnote.com

We like the guys and girls at Touchnote. Having been working with them for months before launch, it’s really nice to see things coming together. Touchnote is a service that lets you turn your digital photos into greetings cards. The latest addition to the (already numerous) digital ways to make this happen is a Nokia app.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/4884246]

Apps are a great way to extend brand reach, engage new and existing audiences and drive revenue. iPhone apps are big business right now – with over 1 billion downloaded!

But apps are not for everyone… Check out our supplementary pages that explain more about what an App is and take our App Test to see if one will work for your brand.

Jody Minton is having the time of his life!

Neoco are really happy to announce a period of recruitment in this time of global economic downturn – we like to buck the trend! Jody Minton is new to our Account team and comes with a prestigous agency background including Stream\TBWA & Tequila, working on large pan-Euro projects with clients including Adidas, Nissan, Playstation, Masterfoods and more. Jody is really into football and also supports the Spuds… I mean Spurs.

Without further ado, I’ll hand over to the man himself:

“So, how did I end up at Neoco?  Well, it’s all about what you want from your next big move I think.

You want to feel excited about work, you want to feel like you’ve got a new challenge, and a big one at that.
You want to feel like you can really add something to the process – and make things happen.

Neoco represents that for me.  Cool place, cool work, cool clients and cool team.  That doesn’t happen very often.

I don’t need to tell everyone that digital has been the biggest growth area of our industry (advertising and marketing) in the last decade and the steamroller’s not stopping… but I do need to tell you I want to be a key part of it. We’re still scaring the hell out of the big ad boys (and girls), while they scrabble around with a 30sec TVC, we’re creating social media apps and mashups!

It’s clear the agency wants to drive forward and challenge things, meaning I’ve been gifted a unique opportunity to influence the future here – and I’m lucky enough to find that bundled up with fun people, in a fun environment.

And that, doesn’t happen very often either.”

Thanks to Jody, we already have an assortment of cool/ cheesey phrases bounding around the office, including:

“What’s going down in Chinatown?” and my personal fave “This is Soho, not Guantanemo!”

Looks like I’ll have to watch my back on this one as Jody is definitely going places. Welcome to the team.