Zombie Running App - genius

Yes you have Nike+, Runkeeper and MapMyRun and I've used them all great functional apps but I came across this last night that literally changes the game and more importantly puts the fun back into functionality.

Zombies, Run!, to be released early next year for iPhone and Android, is an app in the style of Runkeeper, with an exciting undead twist.

You start up the app, plug in your headphones and go for a run. As you begin to sprint, jog or walk to your destination of choice, you’ll hear the narrated story of a zombie-infested, dystopian future. You’re a “runner” in this world, which means that your job is to go out and collect supplies like ammo, medicine and batteries for your ragtag base of human survivors. The more you run, the more stuff you’ll acquire.

“We want to tap into a fantasy that we think a lot of people have when they’re running or deciding to get fit — that you can be the hero of your own action movie,” said the game’s designer, Adrian Hon, in an e-mail.

“After all, why does anyone want to run? Probably so we know that if things get bad, we can rely on our bodies to get us out of trouble.”


The idea first came from a class for amateur runners, which Zombies, Run! writer Naomi Alderman had joined. During an introductory session, one of the organizers asked the group why they wanted to run.

“To outrun the zombie horde,” said one of the participants. Everybody laughed — except for Alderman. Her mind was busy running races of its own.

Hon says you’ll be able to make meaningful decisions as you progress through Zombies, Run. For example, once you’ve finished a running session, you’ll be able to allocate resources to different areas of your city, choosing which people to help out. He hints that your decisions could result in life-or-death consequences for some of the game’s survivors. Bloody genius and as always an idea sprung from someones passion, in this case running.

Fans have flocked to Zombies, Run!, which has garnered over $53,000 on crowd-funding site Kickstarter in the past month. Hon and Alderman say they’re psyched about the positive reaction, noting that the game already has a “guaranteed audience.”

Combined with fun and functionality that's intune with your target audience, wonderful work is created.

Linkedin profile as an infographic

vizualize.me - Kevin's profile I came across this last night, such fun and pretty impressive, simple but functional. Interesting Linkedin over the last couple of months have really enhanced their platform. This by Vizualize.me is just another cool add on.

Someone asked the Dalai Lama what suprises him most. He responded, "Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived."

Super Fly better than looting and burning

Win a car that made your dad look cool - shot and art directed this for Ribena in the UK- based on the campaign idea - Ribena 'Grow Up One Day' - all based around pranks, this promo was part of the campaign. I wanted something a bit more different and fun than giving away a cool Vespa - so we went for a second hand Capri - Ribena gave away 5 in total, the retro guy - seriously dressed liked that all the time- easy casting.

Twitter promo that's a little cracker

If you haven't picked this up on Twitter then in the next day or so you will - this appeared about 4 hours ago it caught my eye as it has been streaming through my tweetdeck under the hashtag #tweetcracker and it takes you to a site where all is relieved- it's a cross promotion with Samsung and Intel the idea is beautifully simple just log on using your Twitter handle tweet the correct code to disarm the lasers, bust the safe and win what's inside: 10K worth of gold and a Series 9 notebook, and as they say: the only thing that is stopping you are evil lasers and a lucky tweet, lovely work, I also love the video where we see a fit looking looking James Bond leather clad women place the prize in the safe, and arm the lasers, great promo and great fun, a great way to use Twitter as a promo platform site here

5 keys to successful online video.

1. Create context (label and tag the videos to help with searching)

2. Encourage snacking (which is the term they use for displaying related videos around the main video)

3. Produce for the medium (i.e. short form content, bearing in mind not all genres are equal).

a. Av length is 2.6 mins. (In a 2010 report from Cisco, 30% of Internet traffic is currently video. By 2013, 90% of Internet traffic will be video.)

b. Less videos provide fictional narrative and drama more at news, paparazzi video, individual personalities.

4. Use internet distribution.

a. Allow consumers to embed your videos.

b. Organise syndication with internet video distributors.

5. Monetize (for non branded sites)

a. Need to thinking through how to integrate 15 sec pre-rolls.

b. For brands, the creation of 15 sec pre-rolls is an important strategy

Hey dude you were a 1969 lifestyle visionary

Great video, love the music and voiceover but what is amazing is this was done in 1969 and none of this stuff was even invented, all the things we now take for granted; eShopping, paying bills online, email etc. Creative tip: When someone says; 'it can't be done or that idea is crazy'you know you're onto a winner.

3 billion women are wonderful

Seen this ad for the Body Shop - anyone who has kids especially girl's should show this ad to them, I have three girls so this is something close to my heart.

Kids should be happy, healthy and keep in good condition with regular exercise and remember:

> 'Supermodels' most of the time don't feel super.
> Diets don't work.
> Keep active, eat healthy foods, fresh fruit and veg- crunchy is best.
> Never skip breakfast...ever.
> Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
> Nearly all fashion ads with women in them have been 'retouched'
> Always keep your back straight and be proud of your body...you look wonderful.

Data Tracking tool - Userfly

userfly.com from Chris Estreich on Vimeo.

Have digital people got a chip on their shoulder?

Digital life is a bowl of cheeries


Interesting at Ad-tech last week I didn't manage to see much apart from the last session around mobile GPS and how marketeers can leverage it. Nothing of real substance in there, speakers shared loads of stats on why mobile is important, and its usage, the ongoing battle between Foursquare and Facebook regarding checkins and an old favourite for many digital marketeers, QR codes. (I thought no one bothered with QR codes anymore)? What was interesting though was the last speaker Seb Chan from the Powerhouse Museum, he shared two pieces of work he had done at the museum around photo tagging using geo location. (As their head of digital he's doing a great job in bringing the Powerhouse experience to the streets, literally).
But what was interesting was Seb having a slight dig at QR codes and marketeers and agencies constant reminder of how good digital is considering that the last speakers were talking of it's capabilities and it's customer interaction Seb said the contray he admitted his first experience of using QR codes was a 'disaster’ basically the reward for the effort was so poor most people felt the whole thing a bit of a faff, in the real world, it just wasn't working. Admittedly it's changing, but what was glorious to watch was the other panels faces, it looked like Seb had just farted in their geo-fenced location.
This friction in this presentation got me thinking on why do so many digital people in marketing and agencies always share stat after stat on why a particular piece of technology or platform is so much more superior that any other form of media? As in reality it's new and there's no real concrete facts around it. I see it time and time again on blogs, presentations, tweets and at events like Adtech - stat after stat of digital been better, better ROI, better engagement, better recall, better than any traditional media. We are obsessed with it and much of it is ‘cherry picked’ in that you’ll see a stat or casestudy that brand X email campaign had a 99% open rate with zilions of new members etc. What they fail to mention is that this eDM was part of a much bigger campaign with an on-pack promo, radio and posters.
Another example I picked up recently was a tweet that said;
Huge! RT @Warlach Cadbury UK pound on tv vs pound on digital. TV returned 60p, online retuned £2. #atsyd (via @ordnung)
Now that is a pretty impressive stat and as a marketing director I would be licking my lips, but much of Cadbury’s advertising was first spent on programme sponsorship and with this ran many successful TV campaigns yes TV which then went online and became very successful viral pieces, not through any great planning just the ads were funny and entertaining I wonder what the ROI if they had just done online? look at 'Gorilla' with the Phil Collins soundtrack and the two kids with the 'dancing eyebrows'. Brilliant. Another I can recall was John West ‘Bear’ where the fisherman grabs the salmon from the clutches of the hungry bear, this started life as a TV, many of us in the digital business forget that bit. It happens all the time, stat after stat is used at any given opportunity.
Does digital have an inferior complex? Why don’t we just do what we are doing well and everything else will come our way? Without selling all the virtues of using online, we all know it works just like TV it depends on the creative, the media placement and with online the technology behind it.
The smart people know successful digital campaigns do rely on offline communication. Not all but most, and there’s campaigns out there where it’s mainly all online, Old Spice is a a good example. (Ironically that idea was conceived by a so- called through-the-line agency, W&K). My view as always; it's down to the idea no matter what the channel and in my mind the campaign success is greatly increased if there's true channel integration.
Do you agree that digital 'cherry pick' stats?
Photo by Tim Irving of Opart.

My hero

We all needs heros people we look up too, mum and dad are always in there but my one and I have many (Spike Milligan, Martin Luther King, JFK) but one person even when I see an image of him I get a shiver and that's Ali. I saw this and I thought it was such a great piece, below is the background to the project, lovely work.Michael Kalish created this elaborate sculpture that, when viewed from the right angle, looks like Muhammad Ali:

Artist Michael Kalish went big, using 1,300 punching bags, 6.5 miles of stainless steel cable, and 2,500 pounds of aluminum pipe to construct a 22-foot-high installation that took three years to complete.
The idea for the project came to Kalish as he was falling asleep one night in 2008: an array of custom-made, teardrop-shaped speed bags suspended in midair that, from just one vantage point, align themselves like pixels into an image of Ali’s face.
It’s not actually quite done yet. Ali himself will hang the final bag at the unveiling.

How would you like your creative Sir?

Saw this and I think it applies to the creative idea process it was done by From Up North

Nice work

An installation by chinese photographer and artist yang yongliang, black and white photographs are collaged and piled to mimic cigarette ash. The tip of a huge cigarette sculpture hung vertically in the installation space is revealed upon closer view
to consist of cut and layered images of city skylines. Neat.