Volkswagen and its 'fun theory'

The Fun Theory (Rolighetsteorin), a competition / campaign / initiative from Volkswagen Sweden – created by DDB Stockholm in 2009 – it presents a series of clever ‘design interventions’ aimed at influencing behaviour through making things “fun to do” – taking the stairs instead of the escalator, recycling glass via a bottle bank and using a litter bin. The stairs are turned into a giant piano keyboard, with audio accompaniment; the bottle bank is turned into an arcade game, with sound effects and scores prominently displayed; and the litter bin has a “deep pit” effect created through sound effects played as items are dropped into it. It’s exciting to see that exploring design for behaviour change is being so enthusiastically pursued and explored, especially by ad agencies, since – if we’re honest – advertisers have long been the most successful at influencing human behaviour effectively (in the contexts intended).

Ideas, the winning idea and the implementation of the winning idea is shown further.

KLM magic

This post described a Netherlands airline company and how it uses magic as a PR campaign and later, the interesting use of social media - foursquare campaign! Just want these two examples to store here, as in my opinion they are reaaally good :)

Some of you have no doubt seen this video already, but for those of you who haven't, here is magician Ramana showcasing the comfort of KLM's the premium economy product at Manchester airport T2.

and the other example....

The power of 'likes'

Facebook marketing has become extremely important aspect of online marketing and social media strategies.

With Facebook, one of the important tools for a successful marketing solution is the Facebook like.

The Facebook likes are very popular for many reasons. With likes, your message status, links and all other posts you place on your fan page will look appealing and worth looking at. With Facebook likes, the more likes you have on your fan page, the better authority you have on your niche. With Facebook likes, you can get a chance to meet people who actually support or follow your website or blog or buy things from you. As a business or as personality online, the Facebook likes are incredibly beneficial in ensuring that your presence is quantifiable and you know exactly how your market interacts with you.

Probably Facebook likes are good for creating awareness. It’s like when Starbucks releases its new promotion – its posts it on Facebook and if I see that my friend has liked the post – I will probably read it as well. But it greatly depends… Maybe because I am a marketing student and I act differently and I think about too many things.. Yes, it creates awareness, but it doesn’t mean I will be hooked up with the promotion. Firstly, it is all about the person who ‘liked’ – if that’s a simple acquaintance, or a friend, a colleague or a best friend? It depends how popular that person is – if it is not from my ‘close friends’ list – I may not even see this like. But when I saw it, I might not go and check that new promotion. Is it quantifiable? I am really interested in correlation between Facebook likes and sales.

So what is the purpose of a Facebook like?

Stella Artois - 60s aesthetic

Stella Artois is the biggest alcohol brand in the UK and, through its defining 60s aesthetic, proves that big can be beautiful.

Its advertising projects the personality of a cool sophisticate with a wry sense of humour, and it is one that has proved irresistible to its audience. And the brand has sustained this personality across several products. For example, the Anheuser-Busch Inbev-owned beer brand launched into the fast-growing cider market in 2011. Stella Artois Cidre was so successful that the company actually ran out of apples.

Stella’s "she is a thing of beauty" campaign, first launched in 2010, came into its own in 2011. The gorgeous TV and cinema spots led to advances in the Stella aesthetic. The work is testament to the creative chemistry between Stella and its agency, Mother.

Have a look at the amazzziiiiingly brilliant tv commercials!

the joy of books