You are currently browsing the monthly archive for June 2008.
Universal Mccann have recently published a research study on social media, Wave 3. Sadly they ignored all of Africa (boo) but it’s interesting nevertheless. The main message is just how mainstream social media (i.e. blogs, web video, social networks) has become – 48% of internet users read blogs/consumer generated media at least once a week for example.
I came across Fred Water whilst looking through the PSFK LA conference videos on itunes. Sadly unavailable as yet in South Africa, the brand was brought to life by some frustrated creative marketing types (I assume from the desire to indulge their wildest brand dreams). In a way it could have been anything and i suspect the choice of something as simple as water was part internal challenge, part desire to prove that even water could be a cool brand (although to be fair Evian has also had a crack at it). The brand has become a much loved cult (particularly amongst frustrated creative marketing types…) over the last few years. It’s also a great example of finding a niche, ignoring the rut of conventional industry thinking and winning people over by being so obviously passionate about the brand (to the point of obsession). Fred Water also has a great blog site in FredSpot. The brand has parallels with the approach Stormhoek takes although was applied from conception and is carried through from product design to marketing.
Mich (who has the painful task of being are drinks/wine specialist amongst other things) sent me this great case study of how PR helped Yuppy Yuppie Chef (not a client of Atmosphere I hasten to add). It’s from the highly recommended Ideate blog. I’m tempted to send this all of our clients. It’s a shame that most PR campaigns aren’t this measurable (PR is pretty much the only marketing route these guys used and they we’re going from just about a standing start).
I suspected something was up when my mum started downloading podcasts to listen to while she cooks the Sunday roast rather than just turning on Radio 4 (she lives in Wales). Apparently over 16 million podcasts are downloaded from the BBC (by an international audience) every month. Whilst the BBC is a large player undoubtedly, if you consider every one else producing podcasts from media outlets like The Mail & Guardian through to the long tail of individuals (from the wine industry to people that want to talk about shoes) its clear podcasting is fast becoming a mainstream media. By the way if you haven’t figured it out yet you can use itunes to search and download podcasts for free (even though you can’t buy stuff in SA yet).
Dan
