Just an update

Sitting on the train to Newcastle on the way home for the weekend and not thinking about too much. Pretty tired after a work night out last night to establish our local pub. We have an initiative at the minute to further develop the social integration of our office which to be honest isn't as shocking as I thought. Sometimes I guess in the advertising world people are in a certain area based on their personality which creates a collection of a very different set of people when you put us all together, from creatives, to account handler to planners it becomes quite a clash of emotions, prides, egos and personalities in general.

Anyway never mind that, a good night was had by most and it will be interesting to see the voting results as they come out. Lot of scope to do some cool stuff with these guys, and they are a good bunch even though I wouldn't tell most of them.

What have I been up to recently? I have been to Venice and France both of which are amazing. I think I personally prefer Venice because it is warn in. It is lived in a little shabby in parts but has a past. Where as Paris was unreal, like a backdrop kind of views but was almost too perfect and clean. I mean come on I am Geordie now living in London, I expect Pigeons, beggers, sick, kebab leftovers none of which I saw in either place so when somewhere is too perfect it doesn't have the reality feel which after a while can become a bit too much.

I am looking to live abroad in a few different places over the course of my life to really get a feel for the world and myself and the different ways of life. As much as I would like to live in Paris I think it would get a bit too much, however living in Venice I think could be a great place, the warmth you get just walking into the place, the river the nature the beauty is overwhelming at times. The food is also good not too foof for me like the french food and I have to tell you the bread was good. French bread was better though I have never ate so many carbs in my life as I did in France it was not good.

However France I want to concentrate in a seperate blog as the adventures I had there are worthy of their own dedicated time.

Nothing to really stimulate your lives with in this post just wanted to give you a bit of an update.

I will be writing about France soon. Maybe even try and post some pictures up.

Thinking outloud once again.

Geordie in London x

Augmented Reality

I was sitting to day delving into my own skills and working on some innovation task force work when I was reminded of the minority report. How far away are we from the level of technology they feature in this film and the ability to target messages to the individual as they walk past? Not so far it seems. I was reading some articles on augmented reality and location based advertising and it all seems so close. Ok so it may not be using iris recognition although this, I think, isn't far off particularly if the government eventually gets to go ahead with ID cards and the mainstream introduction of Iris Recognition in airports as security measures. Thinking about it we do draw a lot from utilising individual data captured for other reasons. I know people see this as becoming a big brother nation but really we draw entertainment from more and more reality TV and... there is such an issue over spam and unrelated advertising that surely this level of data and targeting will allow the advertiser to sift out and desensitise individuals by simply avoiding advertising to people who may not wish to see certain adverts.

Anyway that is off the subject of what I was intending to write about. Augmented reality was what I was talking about, with the increased use of touch screen and GPS to achieve this. Already we have iphone apps to show us where the nearest tube station is in London and also there is the development of google maps street view. How long is it before we no longer see a 2D image of anything? Before we actually don't see blueprints of an architects design or website map but see a 3D augmented reality version of it? Already Ikea is utilising new technology to try before you buy and Virgin Media is one of the risk taking brands trying out this not so new but developing technology.

Working in recruitment advertising I am trying to see how we can apply this. Perhaps it brings more power back to the applicant that the client now needs to pander to. How long before when applying for a job you expect to have a tour of the office on your computer screen? I don't mean just a video tour I mean actually seeing what it would be like and have an experiential day there without leaving your house. For engineering roles how long before we start using Wii technology to actually get graduates to do the job without the potential damage of ruining a project or making a major mistake?

Unless the recruitment advertising world starts to innovate and find clients with enough balls and money to take a risk more and more clients are going to go down the McDonalds route and get a commercial agency to take on their recruitment and employer branding business.

With product and commercial inevitably ahead of recruitment advertising agency it may become a dying sector. Augmented reality, virtual, touch screen, technological dominance are inevitable right?

Unless we start to pick up speed or leapfrog commercial agencies in the digital world it could become a major issue to survive. Another possible direction may be the specialisation and fragmentation of the sector the same way in which commercial advertising agencies have gone with brands now outsourcing social media, employer branding to one agency, web design to another, PR to another, direct marketing to another, media buying to another? Do we need to specialise or can we continue to attempt to achieve the once strived for and talked about integrated marketing agency?

Or when is that high flyers and innovators start to turn to advertisers to develop a brand for them? Turn to an agency to create them an online profile and brand? Give them the brand that people keep advising them to develop and protect with more and more employers scoping out a person online before a decision is made. Lets face it even in real life when we meet new people we rarely ask for a number or an email, the question is.. are you on facebook? Ok I'll find you!

Be online or be lost?!

Dancing has taken over in popularity?

Don't get me wrong I have not whole heartedly been watching Britain’s got talent but from the media coverage these things obviously get it is hard to miss. Maybe instead of product placement brands should approach potential candidates to have a fetish for them and openly promote this on the show. Let's see who has a strong preference for Haribo out of the contestants? View product shots behind the scenes and a Haribo world t-shirt when out and about buying Starbucks.

Anyway that is beside my point. What struck me when having a cheeky fag in the break was the inexplicable amount of dance acts after one George Sampson won. Has anyone else noticed this? It seems the masses have now caught on to the fact there are far too many singing shows for one to be entertained continuously, we as a nation have reached saturation. Xfactor will continue to be a cash cow however the stars as so 'theoretically' name them are the dance groups or individuals it seems. Is this an interlinking thought into the movement online and ability to have video ipods and interactive adverts or the youtube nation and yahoo’s video search functions. Let’s not doubt that youtube grows these stars and moves them worldwide just look at the wifey who wants to be Elaine Paige. Who in my opinion ain’t all that amazing second time round anyway. Could it be our need to have multiple stimuli and continuous movement links well with the new found acceptance of body popping and wheelbarrow dancing?

Is the nation moving away from the music to mainstream dancing (of all kinds and variations, my preference being street or true hip hop). How many people can come out belt a tune we have heard time and time again. Does dancing have this allure of requiring hard work and talent that (untruly) doesn't always seem in the eyes of the public to apply with a god given talent of a beautiful voice.

Do we want more from our entertainment? Dancing changes and needs too to be fresh. Styles change, moves are created, and combinations are unique. What is it that has made us suddenly switch to wanting to see people dance for us rather than sing?

Pondering outloud!

Rejuvinate!

It has been a while since I wrote anything, my excuses which are bullshit include bloggers block and lacking time to enjoy the finer elements of writing.

Today I come to you with a fresh start, new beginning and time to trully cut through the bullshit and get back to what is real....

Chapter two begins again.

Friends we know!

I have a lot of mates but not so many friends. I used to think I had a lot maybe I was naive, maybe certain things in my past lead to the alienation of some I don't know. I was starting to think, as I do tend to over-think, about what makes friendship? What makes this bond with a person which leads you to divulge your deepest darkest secrets? Does this require, so called 'best friend' status? Which annoys me in the fact that to be the best is a singular status but yet most of us have multiple best friends all suitable for different circumstances?

When you meet new people is it those you find of a similar age? Is those predetermined by society norms who fit into your category, that you choose like brands or products? Ever see a stranger on the street and think we could be mint friends? Or is it simply when seeing/meeting strangers we automatically assume the basic instinct of sexual attraction? Is there an element of this in selecting friends, if you do actually choose? Are we only friends of pretty people, or people in our own ‘band’? I am first to admit I totally prejudge people and make assumptions instantaneously based on looks, similarly to what I do with my choice of restaurant, supermarket, bar or clothes. That doesn’t mean this assumption and initial analysis of that thing doesn’t change, more often than not it does, but not everything gets given that chance.

Anyway I digress, my original thought was this idea of what exactly is the glue binding our connections? Is it the fact we live in close proximity and have been thrown together so we make the best of what we have got? Is it personality and taste we might go for, similar to the choice of a boyfriend or girlfriend? Is it reflection of ourselves in that person and the ability to turn to them for a certain activity? Is the ability to keep up with our drinking pace and not be a lightweight or a liver destroyer?

I am sure we all have friends for life. I have friends I have grown up with and stayed truly in touch with along the way even though our paths have often lead in different directions. Others have either been lost along the way or simply shut out for one reason or another. Those who are my friends I couldn't tell you why they are. Is it how long we have known each other, is it the fact we 'get along'? Is that we enjoy similar things? Or is it just random selection which has kept us together through thick and thin?

All these questions are random and pointless, similar to that of who once thought hmmm my potatoes are bland I will try sprinkling this thing from the sea on them and use this acidic liquid to see what happens. But wouldn't you like to know? Or is it just me?

Eve

Reading into the not getting of Facebook & Twitter

I read a blog today talking about people who don’t understand social media platforms and their potential. The main message to be extracted from the entire article/blog was this idea of ‘ambient awareness’. The meaning of such a label was the idea and concept of being in close proximity to someone and picking up on their thoughts, moods and behaviours.

This made me think about the connection between the need for brands to project a message continually to its audience in a manner of ways, over a progressive period, to develop a relationship with their audience.

This links to the age old idea of cognitive processing, i.e. how we absorb information and assimilate this into meaning, leading to memory schemas which collect and store brand information, images and perceptions. Much like we do about our friends on a day-to-day basis, learning their traits and habits.

This becomes even more relevant in today’s media environment. The article discusses this idea of collecting posted information (on Facebook, Twitter etc) together, over time, bringing little snippets into a surprisingly sophisticated portrait of your friends and family members.

This paradox of ambient awareness is such a relevant concept in todays development of social media and its use. Reading one individual twitter post or status update is irrelevant, mundane and insignificant - take for example reading a strangers update, one entry means nothing, it is simply babble. However, following the entries throughout a day becomes intriguing, almost like a short story or window into their world. Follow them for a week and it may lead to an insight and connection never expected from this original insignificant entry. This repetition and continuous message exposure can lead to the development of a more comprehensive picture and allows an educated view to be created of that person/brand from which you make judgements and decisions, to further develop intelligent strategies moving forward.

When comparing these data types, such as a brand image, product/service information or simple social updates, we often lose the point or message when looking at information individually without a context or repetition. It therefore becomes increasingly important to understand and embrace the overlap of approaches to social media usage and the basics of advertising principles. Maybe it is because of the industry I am in or the interest I have in the subject, but I still find it difficult to understand how people really don’t ‘get’ the importance of social media and the information it can bring.

Tapping into these little snippets of information and the way in which people express themselves using social media, can become invaluable in relationship building between friends, but also consumers and their brand. We are much more likely to develop perceptions and judgements when we are fed up-to-date information in a way we find intriguing and almost something we kind of feel privileged to have access to. It is not necessarily the message which is the only differentiator but the way in which is portrayed and updated.

Is there more of a need for transparency in both approach and execution, to achieve a deeper level of understanding on both sides of the fence? What I mean by such a statement/question is as we inform our friends of different stages we go through to get to the end of the day, do we, as brands, need to inform people of the development stages of a campaign or identity to truly create interactive engagement?

Moving back-to-basics? The opportunities and plethora of different media strategies and options, marketing strategies, creative messages and tools, creates a clutter which often leads to a loss of simple elements of success i.e. targeting/talking to people at the right time, in the right place, with the right message.

Behavioural targeting is the direction in which we are evolving, which so closely links to what I talked about above. This idea of gathering as much information as possible on each individual in order to group and segment them, which allows us to reach them with the best message through right channel - oh simple! There is a phenomenal amount of research and analysis on behaviours, attitudes and all the elements that make up people. However the simple task of obtaining this information direct from the source (through social media) is often overlooked.

The simple update of Eve is ‘checking her emails’. Obsolete, of no relevance… however take this into account when looking over the course of the updates, which may have ‘gmail is down and Eve is pissed off’, and now you know what email account I have, and when I’m checking my email. Where am I likely to be? Was my last update ‘Eve is on lunch’? What messages am I exposed to? I am also obviously on Facebook at this time, but what have I done on Facebook? Uploaded photos? Wrote on a friend’s wall? Created a group?

Ok then the update changes to ‘I am back to work for the afternoon’. So it’s likely I spend my lunch time on the internet, and if you check these over the week, you have an insight into my key behaviour - when I have time to browse web pages, consume brands and most importantly, you have a channel through which to target your message at me. How many people see it like this? I know it isn’t as simple as all that but you understand what I am getting at right?

Let’s go back to direct marketing and the euphoric scenario of being able to send one message to one person, a relevant message at the right time. Ok in reality I know this is very far stretched, and a lot further down the line, but in the meantime surely this information and way in which we update and collect information, on small insignificant details provides, over time, quite a rich data source which will allow the closer segmentation of groups to directly target and provide more effective communication and strategy?

All worldly and cultured

Ok so I have had a busy weekend which is ultimately lead to me being sick today but in retrospect, it was well worth it.

Lets start with this long running thought I had about me being all open, worldly and cultured but now I think, maybe not. BUT I now think that it is ok not to be in every instance. What started such contemplation in my head, which I won't lie caused a bit of brain pain was a trip to the Tate Modern on Saturday. Don't get me wrong I love art. I find reflection in it, I find stimulation of thought it in but lets face it the most important thing is that it looks pretty. Or so I thought, wandering this expansive and somewhat confusing fucking million floor building I didn't find myself overly stimulated. What I did find myself appreciating was the view out of the window onto the Thames and the idea of feeling all cultured and arty when walking or should I stumbling with sore feet around the gallery.

Some of the artwork was amazing really caught my eye. But majority did not. I think the 80/20 rule would apply here. Maybe it was because I wasn't in the right frame of mind or maybe it was because I was feeling tired and slightly hung-over from Friday’s excursions OR maybe I’m just making excuses but I found myself thinking along the lines of my loveable but slightly intolerant and less cultured Father. One love I did find in there was a box or at least the frame of a box which I want to put in my room with a cushion as a thinking box. Slightly disturbing I know but is what I wanted in my dehydrated slightly more cultured haze.

In more clarity I found myself thinking I claim to enjoy such artistic freedom and creativity but looking at these random shapes of steel or a big canvas painted all black? (like I couldn't do that and sell it for 000's of pounds) I thought what the fuck is this? I know I am so uncouth but hey it is how I felt. Maybe this is ok as I enjoy such things as walking along the Thames or the theatre. I went to see Avenue Q the same evening which I will no doubt write about in a separate blog, but as a very brief summary, impressive, hilarious and better than I expected. Maybe the fact I liked ridiculously sarcastic, hilarious totally foulmouthed puppets says a lot about my character? But there is always room for improvement :).

So Tate modern? For the uncultured of us? For the hung-over of us? For the pretenders of us... who knows? Make your own mind up time!