Podcasts

I was recently asked by one of our colleagues in Malta on how to set-up a podcast and remember many years ago doing a series of podcasts for my PGCHE. I like my colleague had no clue on where to start, but after a bit of digging around online and speaking to a few people in the industry they guided me and I created this which was pretty basic but I thought I would share for anyone else out there who is in the same boat as I was. I also found this article which I thought was gold dust for anyone started out which is well worth a read. A full step-by-step guide on getting started.

Neymar and Pokerstars shaking up poker

Interactive tech gaming

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drawing some lines, playing with some balls - interactive line drawing . . . . . #mixedreality #creativecoding #mediaart #madewithunity #unity3d #code #multimediaart #new_media_art #interactiveinstallation #projectionmapping #projectionart #projection #physics #installationart #creativetechnology #codeart #interactivemedia #interactiveart #creativecode #animation #touchdesigner #videomapping #computergraphics #newmedia #opencv #artxcode #interactive #twentytwohalo #creative

A post shared by Roelof Knol (@roelofknol) on Mar 2, 2020 at 8:05am PST

How lovely is this? This interaction is so fluid and with this tech you can see the potential from a creative perspective for brands either in-store or at a PR event.

Love this, sums it up.

Sharing Creativity and Thinking

As a Creative Director with over 25 year's experience 18 years of that in pure play digital agencies one thing has taught me is that we all need mentors or teachers, even after all these years you can never stop learning, that is why I took my teaching degree at Falmouth University recently, spending long nights for over 26 weeks including weekends, all of this was online and while I was doing my day job. It was extremely hard and I now have a real appreciation for students currently studying, they get a bad rap sometimes and for the most part unfairly. One thing that taking this course has taught me is that you need people to talk and share your thoughts, collaboration is key to any form of working relationship either in the office or in the student halls, you need that interaction. Even though the course was all online, the platform we had gave us the opportunity to talk via forums and through weekly Hangouts, I didn't feel isolated far from it. I did however have one mentor behind the scenes a colleague I had worked with when I first started in advertising, the lovely Gail Parameter she's now a lecturer herself and I relied on her a lot, especially when it got a bit wobbly, tight deadlines, papers to write and lead pitches in my day job. So all students out there young or old, a word of wisdom find your mentor(s) we all need them from time to time. Have a great weekend.

Creative Director Is More Than Just A Title

A student recently asked; 'what's it like to be a Creative Director?" While watching this it dawned on me; with looming deadlines hanging over you, this is seriously what it is like to be a Creative Director -fighting for a proper brief, getting that idea, fighting for it, selling it, fighting for it, delivering it. Once done. Repeat.

But what other factors contribute to the stress? Why tight timelimes? Sometimes it is a quick turn around, its the nature of the business, but some stressful timings and working conditions are self-inflicted by many agency folk. We all know the industry is transforming, with start-ups, consultants and agencies reinventing their offerings.It's now not unusual for pure digital agencies to be the 'lead agency' and to do TV spots and across the way, good old PR agencies creating digital experiences with all of them saying that they can create 'micro-moment' rich content in a day. No wonder there's confusion within the departments and even more confusing for our clients. One such client who has become a good friend over the years spoke to me recently with eyes rolling about another offering from her agency of record. She said something quite interesting in the next breath by saying; 'I nod and I always refer to the Creative Director, if you take away all the jargon it will always come back to the idea'. 'No idea no offering' and key factor is can that agency deliever that idea within the agreed timeframe? Is it going to make a difference within my sector in either brand equity or a strong KPI that has been agreed? All basic stuff nut gets missed time and time again. So why the rolling surf bearing down the neck of the Creative Director from the student who asked the original question? I thought about his question long and hard and it's quite simple really, most companies 'faff' and what I mean by that statement is we have too many people talking and not actually doing what they are been paid to do. I remember many moons ago, AMV London had a website that showcased all their work as a simple sketch on a post-it note. You got the purity and genius of the ideas, where all the other agencies at the time where into Flash sites as it looked 'cool' yes a bastard to load but hey; 'they'll love it' was the shout from the new business directors. Experienced CD's have a knack to cut-through quickly, most are as sharp as a razor in thinking and clarity, and there lies the problem, while all departments have been faffing beforehand many turn their attention in cretaing ideas as it deflects what they should be doing but when it comes to the crunch most come up short,so before you try to catch a wave focus on what you get paid to do then maybe the whole process could be less of a kick bollock scramble and the surf deadlines bearing down your/our neck wouldn't be common practise. Just maybe we could service our clients better, just a thought. Have great creative productive week, surfs up!

Insta Depressed

I saw this idea from WWF, called #TooLatergram caught my eye and I thought it was clever way to draw attention we are doing to the World we live in from crystal clear seas, to Alice In Wonderland Coral reefs and snow-topped glaciers covered in snowdrop coloured flowers. Through the lens of travel bloggers they truly look awe inspiring the locations just look like a place we all want to go. There lies the problem, as earth’s natural wonders have disappeared because of people. In this social activation WWF tries to engage millennials to take environmental action. They invited famous travel Instagramers to post images of international beauty spots as if they were paying them a visit. But thousands of followers who gushed over the pics discovered there was a bleak story behind the post. The sites had already been ruined and bloggers responded by posting a picture of the current situation at the same place. #TooLatergram well one thing it did for me is depressed me on what we have done, I clicked on the link at the end and as it was in French, didn't give me the option for English version and the site was pretty slick in interface, but that's it just information on the places and a newsletter sign-up, surely we should be doing something more? Pre-perpared letters to Govs? Protest? Not sure but it just felt a bit design and idea over end output. I go back to feeling miserable after watching this.

Maggi Fish Sauce Launch

Some work I was involved in from a Creative Director's perspective, Nestle Maggi new launch of their fish sauce. I was pleased with this piece in the idea and art direction which translated from TV, digital into paid and earned media channels. A complete 360 degree marketing campaign. If you know anything about Vietnam you'll know the Vietnamese love their food and I mean love their food!! Communities are built around food, the sharing of stories, and families still sit around the dinner table. Which is wonderful to see and hear. We played to that human interaction and it became a good way to share our story from Maggi on how they salt and barrel their black anchovies from Phu Quoc this gives its unique premium taste. #HatTip to all the people who we're involved in making this happen, you know who you are, a great project to be involved in.

Unreal Virtual Reality

HYPER-REALITY from Keiichi Matsuda on Vimeo.

The elephant in the room

Marketing Murmur on diversity in our industry and that comment from Justin Tidall

IKEA - Place Looking Nice Via AR

We have for a long time as agency folk sold in 'transformative' retail work for our clients and harnessing new tech and not so new tech such as AR. The trouble is; the idea is great in scamp form but sadly the end result always failed to impress mainly regarding the technology as it always to me fell short. Not a great experience if anything, it hindered it. The other problem many marketing and agency folk missed was how to push the app through marketing, a more joined approach, connected thinking was always a missing. Then I saw this from IKEA The hope is that Ikea can now inspire customers in new ways and make their lives so much easier. Now instead of going to the store maybe two or three times to look at a couch, feel it, sit on it, envision it within your own home, the customer might only have to make one trip to the store. The app now allows shoppers to actually see the product, in all its assembled glory, as it would really appear in your home. You can see what it looks like in different rooms, against a different wall, etc. IKEA is in a good place when it comes to creativity and innovation to the benefit of its customers. A good place to be for any brand.

Tech Wearables In Sport That Can Make A Difference

I have blogged on here before about IoT especially on the subject of sport apparel for athletes. As a keen runner and swimmer I know what it is like, how can you improve on your PB or performance? I have in the past also been very critical of some IoT in sports and viewed many as a gimmick or developing for tech sake without really thinking about the athlete. One thing, that all of us are aware as athletes is cramping and if you have ever experienced it while competing it can be incredible painful and very frustrating. (I once cramped out in the open sea while 6 foot waves came rolling in, not a very nice experience I still get flash backs) Now here’s something that caught my eye and could be useful in detailing and monitoring cramping and they do this by analysing.... your sweat.

The team at Kenzen have created ECHO H2, a wearable that includes two components: a hardware-based continuous sports monitor, and the flexible H2 Smart Patch. ECHO is based on groundbreaking technology developed for aerospace and medical research in Switzerland. This rechargeable device combines a number of sensor technologies and algorithms that provide real-time feedback on sports performance and vitals.

ECHO captures previously inaccessible measurements like skin conductivity and 3D motion. H2 is a disposable adhesive patch that, when connected to the ECHO monitor, enables wearers to monitor hydration, lactic acid and calorie levels using sweat analysis. It can be worn on the calf or abdomen for up to one week. A corresponding app enables the user to monitor levels and export data to other fitness apps.

Now that’s something that could be very useful as in the past much of this data had to then go off to labs for tests, this IoT wearable saves a lot of running around ☺ and can tell you pretty straight away. Nice

Is there a DJ in the Bacardi house?

Nice hack on Instagram Stories turn your Instagram Story into a DJ simulator.Search @BacardiUSA and tap the profile to DJ like a pro! Puts a new meaning to Bacardi mixer

This 360-treadmill is the future of virtual reality gaming

Love this - if it means getting the kids of the couch when it comes to gaming this has now gone to the next level.VUE VR Treadmill is a first-of-its-kind active virtual reality motion platform in which your actions in the virtual world are controlled by first-person navigation like walking ,running, creating an unprecedented sense of immersion that cannot be experienced with sitting down. VUE VR Treadmill lets you walk, run, sit and crouch with 360-degree freedom of movement allowing you to control your avatar without restraints.

Great art direction craft is truly an art form

This post is going back to old skool _well I'm listening to some old skool Soul so it seems quite fitting, but I wanted to share as I think it's vital for young art directors, designers or budding photographers the importance of craft. In an age where time is money and money is time and most people have neither this is a great case study in how to save money and time but still create something magically. Step forward Felix Hernandez Rodriguez who was commissioned by Audi to shoot their top of the range sports car retail price at a tidy $200,000 and what does he do? He shoots a toy $40 model of the car.

Now mere mortals would seriously struggle in making this look slick and something that could be used in print in fact even for online we would struggle, but this cat by using props, clever angles and lighting has produced something truly incredible. Now I don't know this photographer but looking at the shots this guy is highly trained and knows how to art direct, it's not just a job title. Not only is he talented but smart too. Could you imagine getting the real car on different locations? I know from experience of working on many car brands just getting the car on set is an issue and when you do, you have a time slot.

It reminded me of a shoot I did for Castrol the concept was a visual of one of those old fashioned chimney sweeps coming out of the exhaust. (Castrol stopped the build-up of soot in your engine apparently) So everything was signed-off and as a young art director everything was planned out, re-sizing my crops etc. But I had over looked one thing; the exhaust was too short so you couldn't fit the sweep in. Slight panic on my face started to appear as I wss in the studio that was charging 10K a day!! The photographer Kevin Summers at the time saw my face of horror and smiled, he went away and then 10 minutes later he returned with a cardboard tube sprayed black - he walked over to the BMW and whacked it on the back, at that point even more look of horror spread across my face, he smiled further and said he would light it and no one would know, I was nervous but he was right. No one ever knew till now. This was a great learning curve in my career, in you must really learn your trade to break the rules, this principle still applies today even in the tech world we live in You can see the full joyous piece here

Amazing use of 3D printing

How cool is this, somewhere you and kids could visit, making your own cakes but using 3D printing, idessert where you create and select your cake via a touchscreen, and then voila it is then made via 3D printing. Now you can enjoy not just eating cake but watching it been made. More Cake Off than Bake Off.

Arduino Is Now Kids Play

I love this, now we can all create working prototypes from scratch without all the geekiness

Marketing Ideas and spooky job titles

Funny thing I noticed recently, and it's this; our industry is now changing not by the year or week it's changing by the day,a quick search today this is what came up; Snapchat glasses, BMW built a power plant from old electric-car batteries, Microsoft puts AI to work in Office 365 I could go on and in that new roles are created and others evolve; for instant job titles; 'digital creative directors' are now becoming 'heads of digital transformation' others too like 'design directors' with a tap of a key command are now; 'product innovation directors'. So what's happening? I think as an industry we are in a state of flux. Don't panic, I've seen 4 major changes so far in my career, we're just in another transition. Many companies trying to find their niche on what to do? What do they stand for? Or as the old school would say; what's our USP? No different of old but now the lines are now blurred for instance we now have cross-over from PR, media into agency land and vice versa, marketing directors becoming an agency planner. It's now not unusual for even creatives going client side working for the likes of Uber and Facebook. I personally think it's great with all this cross over as it shows that companies are in search of the ideas but many muddy the water, they complicate things. As always it's the idea that counts not the title or where you work, that's super exciting for me, is an idea or ideas that truly transform a business which sets them apart either agency or client side. Enjoy the ride. Here's an image I love which made me laugh, when someone asked me when I was working in Australia 'what's the difference between a front end and and a back end developer? I shared this from my image bank. Thankfully these roles never changed.

Everything Can Have An Idea In It

I was on TNW and the usually cookie policy pop-up came up but what caught my eye here on this site was a cute playful neat little idea, WOW someone actually thought of a creative idea rather than the usual bland copy only cookie policy. It gives the site a bit of personality, it's very simple on a loop video, a man is trying to eat a 'cookie' without using his hands, much more fun than the usual. Tip for all young creatives, even with no budget, no time and a boring message you can still get an idea in there, you just need to sit down drink some coffee and perhaps a cookie to crack even the most mundane brief.

There's More Pop -Ups In-store From Amazon

The march continues in owning the shopping experience from Amazon, according to Business Insider, the tech giant has a master plan to open even more pop-up stores in the coming year, they are keen in particularly to showcase its Echo speakers and other devices and hardware like; Kindles and Fire TV. You could be looking at over 100 pop-up stores in the coming months, as the e-retailer is reportedly putting up one almost every week across the US. They are keen to stress though just because Amazon is expanding its physical presence it doesn't mean it's focusing more on bricks-and-mortar shops. Having said that, apparently, these pop-ups are there to give potential customers a chance to play and interact with the products to then drive up their sales online, so surely the increase will continue. We all know this is the best retail strategy for any brand worth their salt that they have a fully integrated experience. Let's see how this shakes up and maybe what partnerships could evolve for big brands on the high street.