Marketing

Twilight's New Moon & Social Media, America's New Stimulus Plan?

by Ron Callari

Twilight New Moon & Volvo Social Media Campaign

What is so hot about the Volvo's XC60 coupe? Described on their Web site as a cross-over "with a big attitude," one would expect a car of this type to be owned by soccer moms driving their kids to practice. With a couple of well-placed product placements in a hit teens' & 20-somethings' movie, that same car is going to be on a lot of Christmas wish-lists this holiday season.

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Social Media That Happens In Vegas Doesn't Have To Stay in Vegas!

by Ron Callari

The catch-phrase that transformed Las Vegas' failed attempt at becoming a 'family destination' back into its original 'Sin City' image is now taking another turn. "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas," was not only a brilliant ad campaign slogan, it also became a pop culture mantra used every time someone wanted to alert someone else about keeping things on the DL.

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Google & WOWD Putting Humans Back Into The Search Equation

by Ron Callari

Like Mahalo, ChaCha, Eurekster and a few other social search engines before them, adding humans to the search function seems to be having a resurgence in popularity. After all when Google jumps into the fray, people do stop and listen.

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Transformers Tigatron and Jaguar USB Memory Flash Drives Guard Your Data

by Steve Levenstein

First came Transformers the action figures, then came Transformers the movie, now comes Transformers the USB flash drive. Let Tigatron or Jaguar store your precious data, then transform into fearsome guardians few evildoers will want to mess with!

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Why The Fail Whale Is Here To Stay!

by Ron Callari

While the Fail Whale comes and goes. - sometimes its absence is missed as much as its presence. Ever wonder why the ubiquitous Fail Whale cannot disappear forever? Here's the rationale of some of the top thinkers on the subject.

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Foursquare Clique Has A Ticket To Ride On The BART

by Ron Callari

Odd that Foursquare, the Location-Based Social Network with it roots in Manhattan should strike its first transit deal with the Bay Area Rapid Transit in San Francisco versus the New York Subway system. Is the new location-based social network attracting a narrow demographic of West Coast clique-ish gamers?

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Barcode Plus: Company That Believes In Full Consumer Disclosure

by Beth Hodgson

There's a black market for stolen goods in many countries around the world that get passed off as legitimate. Not only is this misleading to unsuspecting consumers, they can encounter legal ramifications for purchasing counterfeit goods. In order to help businesses and consumers verify the legitimacy of their purchases, Barcode Plus has been created.

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Microsoft Windows 7 Whopper: Big Launch With An Even Bigger Lunch

by Steve Levenstein

Microsoft celebrated the launch of their highly anticipated Windows 7 operating system worldwide with a smorgasbord of offbeat promotions, but nothing could top Burger King's 7-patty Windows 7 Whopper in Japan. DO have a cow, man!

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Learn Japanese or English with a Geek Goddess at Idols Foreign Language Academy

by Steve Levenstein

Japanese Idols... they're not jeweled statues you'll find in a temple. These idols are pretty young girls who show off her cute looks and debatable talents on TV, at websites, in magazines and now... in a unique Akihabara language school.

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Bing & Google Rockin' Real-Time, Baby!

by Ron Callari

When Bing filed for a trademark earlier this year, it appeared that 'local search' was in its cross-hairs. Now it has set it sights on 'real-time search' as well. And not to be outdone, the ubiquitous Google followed suit. Rocking real-time, baby is something both of these search engines needed to stay relevant in today's search engine arena.

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Retro Form + Techno Function = HiPhone (not iPhone)

by Steve Levenstein

It's a phone! It's a music & video player! It's NOT an iPhone, but the HiPhone F320 has a few other things going for it, not the least being its quirky, retro, phone dial wheel style.

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Coca Cola's Magic Mystery Social Media Tour

by Ron Callari

Coca Cola will access the power of social media to create some international buzz for the brand around the globe commencing January 1, 2010 and lasting for a full year. As part of their "Open Happiness" campaign, the year-long quest to find out what makes people happy will go under the code name, "Expedition 206," and will take a team of Happiness Ambassadors from Aruba to Zimbabwe.

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Top 5 Most Terrifying & Disturbing Restaurants To Visit This Halloween

by Beth Hodgson

It seems like no matter where you go around the world, there's a unique experience offered that might just want to make you run screaming home to momma. With Halloween approaching, there's no better time to terrify and disturb yourself or your loved ones, so here are some of the top 5 most terrifying and disturbing restaurants that you just can't miss this year.

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As Seen On TV: The Ionic Whisper

by John P. Barker

I think we can all agree that breathing is a good thing, right? Well, Bell & Howell (via As Seen On TV) has brought us a really small air purifier. But does it work?

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Top Ten Mad Men Parodies

by Ron Callari

If impersonation is the sincerest form of flattery, parodies have to be its kissing cousin. When it comes to Mad Men, one of the most intelligent and entertaining dramas on the tube today, everyone seems to want a piece of Dan Draper and Peggy Olsen...and making fun of them is...well... the icing on the cake!

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Trick or Treat? Ghoulish Halloween Advertisements

by J. Barker

I think the world would be more interesting if companies utilized their Halloween ad campaigns throughout the entire year...

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"New Kids On The Block" Experiment With New Form of Payola!

by Ron Callari

Remember the days, when record companies use to slip a radio station a few extra hundred bucks to promote their favorite artist's latest record? The term, "payola" derived from that practice. Today, those pay-offs are being replaced by a new 21st century social media updated version.

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Twitter, Google SideWiki & Wikileaks Can't Be Gagged!

by Ron Callari

Gag Order overturned by Twitter and Social Media

It's becoming more and more difficult for traditional gatekeepers like the government to control the flow of information to the people. In years past when the authorities issued a "gag order" against the media, they could easily enforce it. Not the case in today's social media world!

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Top Ten Social Shopping Networks (Just In Time) For The Holidays!

by Ron Callari

Holiday Shopping habits are going through a transition states OneUpWeb.com. The recession has changed consumer habits and according to their report on shopping trends, "social" search engines will be used more than traditional search for data regarding holiday purchases. And beyond Twitter Search, the social networking niche gaining the most traction in this area is social shopping network sites.

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Mixi & Poupeegirl vs Twitter Strategy in Japan

by Ron Callari

Can Twitter become a game-changer in Japan, where it just recently launched a new mobile platform? Or will cultural differences and native social networks like Mixi and Poupeegirl thwart its efforts?

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