Wired & Adobe get cosy for tablets

by Sam Granleese on February 18, 2010

Well this is heartening to those with imaginations.. though it feels a touch contrived.

Adobe, a California-based software multimedia company, are collaborating with acclaimed technology monthly Wired on a hybrid publishing experience, of their groundbreaking magazine and website Wired.com, to be deployed on internet tablet devices like the soon to be released Apple iPad.

This is pretty much a tablet-version of existing Adobe Flash-based magazines like Pages which have been around for years – so my mind is not really blown by any of this. What really remains to be seen is how this experience can be enhanced beyond simple portability of publishing for advertisers, and incorporate the best of mobile targeting, data and network integration.

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This Week In Mobile

by Sam Granleese on February 16, 2010

Here is your five minute update on all things mobile this week.

Mobile World Congress is midway through in Barcelona and already there has been some major industry news.

Microsoft is back as a serious mobile contender with the release of Windows Phone 7 Series – which has reportedly, drastically improved integration between the operating system and HD video, Bing, Zune and Xbox live. With gaming being such a make or break feature of hardware devices, the Xbox integration is the fix Microsoft needed to be taken seriously again.

Next – A serious posse of global telcos – including AT&T, China Mobile, NTT Docomo, SingTel and Vodafone, representing three billion mobile customers – have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to create an alternative open applicationd platform to rival Apple iPhone OS and Google Android. Currently titled Wholesale Applications Community we can expect more detail in the coming weeks. Handset manufacturers LG, Samsung and Sony Ericsson have also giving initial public support for the initiative – however there is no clear idea on how the alliance will work, who will lead it, and if too many cooks will spoil its broth.

Sportswear company PUMA have collaborated with french manufacturer Sagem to make a unique sports-featured solar powered mobile phone. Whilst light on hardware power and features, it makes it up with strong personality in its bespoke operating system. See the video below for a preview.

Back in Australia, Telstra has continued to invest capital and development in the highly profitable wireless internet market. This week they announced they would be doubling the speed of its Next G HSPA+ network to maximum theoretical speeds of 42 Mbps. The wireless broadband market is booming in Australia with some analysts are predicting the market size to double in size from its current 2.9 million customers by 2014.

The L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival (LMFF) in March has been preceeded with a feature packed iPhone application – currently featued on top of the Australian iTunes store. The app is produced by Melbourne-based Mobile Muse and includes features such as event program, designers features and an intuitive directory to connect you with them, galleries and behind the scenes short-form video content. The app appears to be aimed mainly at the fashion trade, but it really is gorgeously designed in mainly black and white. Download it for free here – iTunes link.

Finally – in the blow-our-own trumpet category – Mojo (my employer) scored #8 overall in the Campaign Brief/Banner Blog Australian/NZ Hot Cold agency list. Digital agency Soap scored best overall, while NZ agency AIM Proximity was the highest ranked full-service (digital and non-digital) agency, the same category that Mojo fits into.

I am sure there is heaps more that will come out of the World Mobile Congress this week, so I will follow up on these next week. Also – I will do a feature on the LMFF app after the event in Melbourne next month so I can properly road test some of the features.

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Google Search Stories

by Sam Granleese on February 9, 2010

This post originally appeared on the official Publicis Digital blog.

Google appears to have, intentionally or not, started its own meme (as if the ‘Googling’ generized synonym for search wasn’t enough).

In December Google USA soft-launched a series of 30-60 second videos on their youtube.com/searchstories channel – where a series of internet searches a woven together to create a short story. A couple are clever, some plain odd.

parisian love youtube

Yesterday the most popular of seven Google created clips – Parisian Love – aired during the Superbowl. This itself was a clever tactic for choosing the most likely TVC to air, as of the seven Google created videos Parisian Love was by far and away the most popular (about 20 times more popular than the next, prior to the national Superbowl spot).

Reference Videos:
parisian love icon out of office icon

From the views on Parisian Love so far the views have doubled in the last 24 hours since the Superbowl. Interestingly, Mashable reported also reported yesterday that 12% of Superbowl viewers use the web during the game.

google search stories graph

So far the majority of responses are probably not what Google had in mind (Tiger Woods, Emos/Suicide, Underwear Bomber), but there is a good chance after the Superbowl exposure, and talk online about the ads, that there will be more and more. All it needs is one quite funny and popular clip (like the Tiger Woods one below being passed around on Twitter this morning) to become the ‘Downfall‘ (Hitler) meme of 2010.

Notable user generated examples so far:
* Is Tiger Woods feeling lucky? (>50,000 views)
* 77777 (via the prodigious CollegeHumor)
* Emo Search Stories (<1000 views)
* Flight 253 (Underwear Bomber) Search Story (<1000 views).

It is a brave brand manager who puts the control of a brand in the hands of a small % of its audience. However, it is also a sign of confidence in your product, service and customer loyalty.

I have discussed previously to people inside the agency, in creating ideas aimed at Gen Y, the validity of campaigns creating numerous pieces of content, connected by a single idea, with the view to firstly share to an audience who will then likely remix and re-distribute to their peers. Most of these in the past have been user-initiated. If a big brand can pull this off, without it backfiring, it will be something to behold.

It is possible. Remember the success of BlendTec Will It Blend?

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Fairfax Digital Relaunches Mobile Sites

February 3, 2010

Fairfax, one of Australia and New Zealand’s largest newspaper and online media companies, and its digital division Fairfax Digital has relaunched the varying mobile versions of their popular websites, such as The Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne’s The Age. The

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Australian Open iPhone App by IBM

January 29, 2010

This is a terrific example of a ‘branded utility’ .. In this case, IBM’s intended audience are affluent, early technology adopters – and in this instance IBM adds value to a lifestyle (sport) experience by demonstrating their understanding and scalability of large IT projects.

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iPad – more reach to more people by more developers of more apps.

January 28, 2010

Is the iPad hype justified? It never is, in my opinion, for a consumer product release. But there is something romantic about worldwide attention being given to innovation and invention (even if this is the second time Apple has attempted this).
Nethertheless, the top-line notes to take out of the official release are:
1. Apps – Apple [...]

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Mobile Premier Awards 2010 in Innovation – Finalists

January 26, 2010
Thumbnail image for Mobile Premier Awards 2010 in Innovation – Finalists

The 2010 Mobile Premier Awards has announced 20 finalists from 49 nominated startups to the Mobile Premier Awards in Innovation

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2010 AIMIA Awards – Mobile Finalists Announced

January 21, 2010

The AIMIA last night announced the finalists for its 16th Annual Awards – here are the mobile finalists in best product or service and best mobile advertising or marketing categories.

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This Week In Mobile

January 13, 2010

13 January 2010 – Australian Open tennis tournament application, Business Spectator, Breville appliances mobile website, Optus IPO, Android Market security concerns.

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This week in mobile

December 29, 2009

Telstra, Australian game sales, Christmas downloads on iPhone & Kindle, Flurry/Pinch merger – this weeks quick 5 minute easy-to-digest wrap up of the big news in mobile.

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