Marketing

Kinder, Gentler, Smokier: Japan Tobacco's 'Smoking Manners for Adults' Ads, Part 6

Japan Tobacco's admen likely burned through a lot of the company's main product in conjuring up 73 "Smoking Manners for Adults" ads. Here's part 6; ads 51 through 60.

New & Old Communication Collide: Email Meets Snail Mail With Free Shipping From Quabb

by Beth Graddon-Hodgson

We've seen businesses that combine traditional communication methods which contemporary ones based in technology, but we've never seen ones that provide their services totally for free. It's really not good to be true; keep on reading and find out why!

Social Networks Pin Winner At Cannes Film Festival

social networks pick best animated short at Cannes

by Ron Callari

Voodoo twittering? The Cannes 2009 Competition drew more than 193,000 views in 9 days in May. An innovative American filmmaker took home the top prize in the annual Online Short Film Competition run by the National Film Board of Canada in conjunction with the Cannes Film Festival. And YouTube and Twitter were largely responsible for selecting the winner!

Samurai Armor Underwear Induces Hot Pants In 'History Girls'

by Steve Levenstein

Make love not war? Why not do both - while wearing your samurai underwear! These elaborate and expensive briefs feature the logos and styles of Japanese most formidable warlords of the Warring Era, and are a big hit amongst modern ladies!

A Microblogging Search Engine by Google?

by Ron Callari

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! The Google Operating System blog, which is widely known as the town crier for Google's "unofficial news" reports that Google Inc. is preparing to launch a search platform that will index content from Twitter and other microblogging sites.

Top Five Giants Stealing Twitter's Golden Eggs

by Ron Callari

Fee Fie Foe Fum, I smell wampum in Twitterdom! Twitter is like the goose that laid the golden eggs, allowing the giants of industry to run off with all the spoils! Has Twitter sat in its Ivory Tower too long trying to figure out the "perfect" business model, while the corporate kingpins are in the counting house counting all their returns?

Increase Twitter Followers Using Niche Business Sticky Twits

by Beth Graddon-Hodgson

Instead of giving out business cards with phone numbers and emails alone, a new trend is to connect with business associates using various social networking site contact information. Since Twitter seems to be the fastest growing trend for social networking communication, there's one business that's so confident of the popularity of Twitter, they only create materials to help people market their Twitter contacts.

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Vanity URL Gold Rush at Facebook

by Ron Callari

Well Twitter's done it. LinkedIn's done it. Why has it taken Facebook this long to allow its registered members to sign up for vanity URLs? Well that oversight will be rectified soon. Let the Gold Rush begin...

Top Ten Meet & Tweet Gatherings

by Ron Callari

Starting in June, until the end of the year, there are hundreds of conferences held in the US that focus on social media, Web 2.0, Web 3.0 and beyond. With so many events and so little time, you might want to focus on the content that speaks to your needs. This Top Ten highlights the best of the best that provide most current and innovative content available today.

Recession-Friendly Ad Agency Nil Lets Clients Set Their Prices

by Beth Graddon-Hodgson

In order to survive the economic recession, we're seen many businesses offer products and services where clients can pay whatever they want. While previously this has only applied to restaurants and hotels, now an ad agency is getting in on the pay what you want formula and it's finding that business is better than ever.

Top Ten Most Mentioned Brands On Twitter

by Ron Callari

How is Twitter faring as a business model? What brands are succeeding in grabbing our attention and why? We're in a recession. Money is tight. So which brands are diligent in positioning themselves up front and personal on Twitter to capture what dwindling disposable incomes we have left.

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Bing Vs. Google: First Impressions

by Austin Keenan

Microsoft has spent considerable time and effort to get attention to its new search engine, the hopeful Google-killer Bing.com. Let's see how the two sites stack up against each other, after just one day of use.

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Sushi Look Adds Taste to Issey Miyake's 'Pleats Please' Clothing Line

by Steve Levenstein

Issey Miyake's "Pleats Please" designer clothing line is being presented in a most tasteful manner - by dressing up the fabrics to look like sumptuous sushi!

Funware, A New Game Theory For Marketers

by Ron Callari

The generation of the new online game players has motivated consumer brands, websites and charities to use gaming devices to attract attention to their products and services. "Funware" is the application of game-like qualities to non-games. Researchers say that when we play online games, we enter a "flow state" that makes us receptive to the images and information we encounter. While traditional commercials interrupt that state, funware allows for these messages to seep through.

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Spark.ly, the Dungeons & Dragons of Social Networks?

by Ron Callari

Spark.ly describes itself as the "definitive social and economic ecosystem that empowers people around the world to communicate, engage in commerce and have fun in a culturally aware and profitable virtual environment." With a BETA launch date of June 16, 2009, nobody knows yet whether that description is an illusion, bravado, grand self-promotion or truly the next big shiny thing. To date there are no blogs written, no product announcements, and no press releases to alert the media. One would think with a June 9th launch date, Spark.ly should be 'sparking' a few conversations out there? Or is this part of their master marketing plan to create buzz about their emerging online kingdom?

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Starbucks Japan Shakes Up Summer With Coffee Jelly Frappuccino

by Steve Levenstein

Coffee Jelly Frappuccino is coming back on the menu at Starbucks Japan, just in time for another hot, humid Tokyo summer! Starbucks bills this cool, caffeinated treat as "Coffee To Eat", but doing so through a straw really, er, sucks.

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As Seen On TV: Is the Awesome Auger Truly Awesome?

by John P. Barker

In today's jaded age, it's difficult to determine the quality of a product based on the ad campaign. The Awesome Auger is a great example. It looks great. But does the product equal the pitch?

Environmental Twist Plastic Bottle Saves Space, Reduces Waste

by Steve Levenstein

I LOHAS, Coca Cola Japan's entry in the bottled water sweepstakes, is going green... with a twist. Once you've drained the bottle just give it a twist - and help save up to 40 percent in disposable volume.

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Flu Masks Lined With Ostrich Antibodies Fly Off Shelves

by Steve Levenstein

Japanese by the thousands are flocking to a new type of surgical face mask lined with ostrich antibodies. The flightless birds have a robust immune system and the new Ostrich Pharma influenza preventing masks claim to fight four kinds of flu virus.

One Way To Make Green Soda: The EcoStream

by Myra Per-Lee

It's not all in the mix, but the newest green machine, the EcoStream, does enable an interesting mix of soda flavors, if you want it. How about an orange Coke, for example? But what exactly makes the EcoStream green? It's BYOC: Bring Your Own Container.

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