NORTHERN PLANNER

Here’s and interesting thought. Grant McCracken believes that since virtual reality is beginning to  allow interaction with more people, they’ll feel more ‘real’. Makes sense since it’s the unpredictability of other people’s behavior that make the ‘real world’ so vital, and continuously gives us new things. It’s happening in games, but what about films? What could this mean for brands?

A weakness of most  communications in general is that they are linear and predictable. Reality TV tends to work because it works the other way, you don’t know what will happen next,although you are helping to create the story (if you vote).

Perhaps we’ll be creating ‘living’ brand stories that evolve thanks to decisions made by real people rather than boardrooms. Just like people decide who stays in Big Brother, perhaps they’ll decide the the development in next week’s ad, or on online film. The trick will be to set an agenda, rather than offer a limited choice. It will mean leaving space for them to surprise us and each other.

Nike’s ‘Joga Bonita’ stuff works like this. The ads are one thing, but the online stuff is really interesting. Instead of star players, real people can compete against each other, filming their best moves and tricks to post on the web for all to see, inspiring each other to do better. We’ll see more of this.

Someone who spends all day thinking about brands shouldn’t fall for marketing should he?

Yet I couldn’t stop myself buying these vintage Nike Cross Trainers from Ebay. They remind me what it felt like be a rebellious junior tennis player refusing to wear white at the my local club. I totally bought into the rebellious Andre Agassi thing and nothing that Nike has done since has made me feel anything differently.

This thing about having fans instead of customers will become ever more important as more people become able to filter out more marketing with things like PVR’s, not to mention using search engines and blogs to find stuff for themselves. More brands are resorting to Urban Spam, a phrase coined by Russell Davies. But instead of more int eruption,shouldn’t they be creating communication people want to find and, dare I say it, pass on instead? Honda’s ‘Choir’ ad had been downloaded over 3 million times for example.

Halzephron Farm is a fabulous concept. They sell an amazing choice of natural herbal remedies, sauces, chutneys and dips. The wonderful packaging and sheer naturalness of it go a long way to persuading you to buy something. But what makes it so special is the sheer passion of the place. They love their stuff and want to share it with as many people as possible. There are always bowls filled with a treasure trove of different tastes and some stuff to dip with. And you can stay as long as you like.
Some would call this this experiential marketing, they see it as sharing. What a great point of view for a brand. You can also buy their stuff online.

If you’re looking for your first role in planning, read this first. A bit different to what happened to me, I was just an average suit who realised I was better at thinking than doing.

This group from Finland won the Eurovision Song Contest.

If you’re not from Europe, don’t worry, we can’t work it out either.

It’s nearly the football World Cup, which means that English people get a bigger chance to be cynical than usual. England fans are already looking for excuses for us not winning; from the manager to Wayne Rooney’s foot. After seeing their base in Baden Baden, I predict lack of motivation this time. From the views to the natural spa’s it’s simply too relaxing for anything too hectic.

Even the ‘Bad Hotel’ was good and NEARLY everyone we met embarrassed us with their perfect English and good humour.

South Africans are thinking twice about buying a pirated copy of the next Pirates of the Carribean film. TBWA Hunt Lascaris has hired street corner hustlers to sell fake pirated DVDs, according to this story. You get a few seconds of Robin Williams, then all you get is: "Thank you for buying this DVD. Your R40 has been donated to the Anti Piracy Foundation. Piracy is a crime." To get over the resentment of being had, local cinemas will actually accept the fake DVD’s in exchange for a cinema ticket to see the real thing.

Really smart strategy. Goes straight to the moment of truth, that point when you wait for your film to load up on the player, and encourages you to experience the alternative without losing any more hard earned cash.

I’ve been uploading some shots and found this. Nothing stops surfers doing what they love, even when it’s this cold. When the tourists disappear in winter it means more space to surf.
You see people wrapped up in winter woollies, yet surfers are still running all the way down the hill, and across the beach, as if they can’t stand to miss a single wave they don’t have to.
Wouldn’t it be amazing to find one thing you love doing tha t much

I love Edward Monkton, and not just because he creates charming books that are witty, funny and endlessly entertaining. He’s also got a great understanding about the way people think and behave. A lot of what agencies do is about saying a lot simply; this snapshot demonstrates the difference between men and women better than a thousand words ever could.