Razorfish’s most recent FEED study; the bits and pieces I really enjoyed

I’m not going to post some intricate and complicated response to Razorfish’s newest FEED study, but I do want to write down the statements and bits of data that I think are extremely beneficial (although some feel a bit obvious) for those in the digital advertising and marketing world.

We are all faced with clients that want to know ROI, that don’t “get it” and I know that when I’m looking to educate these types of clients, every piece of data and every quote that supports my point of view comes in handy. So, here are the pieces I think will help me, and hopefully you in future decks and meetings:

• “Simply put, digital brand experiences create customers.”
• “Our findings lead us to believe that marketers need to be dramatic…and not simply settle for awareness or impressions: engagement = affinity”
• “In today’s increasingly digital world, the experience is the message.”
  I work a lot on talking to brands about putting meaning into their brand and about proving that they believe in something bigger than just their product(s). Knowing, through research, that fans and consumers see brand messages through experiences is a great way to grow the argument for brands to actively prove, versus simply telling their audience, who they are.
• “A clear majority of consumers’ affinity for a brand is swayed, either positively or negatively by their digital experience with that brand.”
• “According to our study, 97%- a near unanimous majority- report that a digital brand experience has influences whether or not that consumer would purchase a product or service form a brand”
  A lovely little tid bit when a client wants to talk about ROI- it’s just a new way to talk about it.
• “According to our study, 64% of consumers have made a first purchase from a brand because of a digital experience such as a website, microsite, mobile coupon, or email. No other medium has so impacted-or altered- the traditional marketing funnel in this way.”

Once again, another great read from the folks at Razorfish, thank you!

leveraging the age old battle

I saw this last week and actually spent about 45 minutes testing my intelligence and passing the link around to my friends.

This new push by Trivial Pursuit leverages the never ending quest to declare which sex is superior in intelligence. Not only do I think this is a genius move, and perfect match for Trivial Pursuit, but Hasbro went above and beyond with this one: When you play online at The Trivial Pursuit Experiment you’re first asked if you’re a male or female (duh!, it’s the battle of sexes!)- so, when you answer a question correctly you are served up a nice little kitschy phrase telling you how smart you are, and (in my opinion the best part, and smartest part of this whole thing) a FAIL video of the opposite sex. Coming straight from failblog and/or youtube these videos make you cringe, laugh, let out some UGH, and OWs, and then remember that’s why your sex is smarter- ’cause you don’t do stupid things like that dumb person did in the video. PHEW.

smart, fun, playful- who could want more? nice job Hasbro.

bite sized (laugh-at) stupidity

I’d love to say there are too many websites, blogs, and photo blogs documenting (more often than not) twenty-somethings drunken mistakes, but there aren’t, and I don’t know if there ever will be. Looking at these sites is a wonderful source of entertainment, and something that’s easy to peruse for 5 minutes or 5 hours.

That being said, I give you another to add to your list: Texts From Last Night. I’ve heard some people’s skepticism on whether or not they are actually real, but I’m going to just pretend I didn’t hear that and go on thinking all of them are legit drunken texts…the kind you hope no one ever sees or remembers. At least on the internet no one ever has to know who you really are

follow this adventure:

My adventure seeking brother, and 3 very close friends of mine from college have decided to embark on an incredible journey this summer. Starting May 1st these four guys will begin their coast to coast bike ride. They’ve decided to blog, vlog, photo share, and twitter * the experience so we can all watch with intense jealousy as they travel thousands of miles with their own two legs, sleeping in tents night after night exploring the deep breadth and expanse of the country.

These guys are not only riding as a challenge to themselves, but also as a means to raise money for their charity of choice KIVA.

From an email I received from one of the guys, he writes about KIVA:

“KIVA is the world’s first person-to-person micro lending website, that empowers individuals such as you and I to lend money directly to entrepreneurs throughout the developing world.  It is not that these entrepreneurs lack the know-how, resolve, or determination needed to change their lives and the lives around them; they lack the access to capital. With a repayment rate of 98%, the issuing of micro loans through KIVA is truly a sustainable means of poverty alleviation that rewards those striving to make a difference for themselves and their communities.  For more information on the KIVA Foundation and how you can contribute to our cause, click here: http://www.ridethelightning.org/support-us/.”

When I write about this I’m already consumed with the need for an impossible adventure like this, but also so excited to watch their progress. I hope you follow them and support them!

* these guys are very new to the whole social internet thing…late bloomers if you will, so cut them a little slack- -at least at the beginning!

whether or not you like weather

I think you’ll appreciate and like this…it’s a fun, beautifully creative approach to an otherwise boaring, and often hateful, subject: the weather!

You can look at the next day and change the city you’re looking at. Although the weather is from Yahoo! it’s still more bearable because it’s so pretty to look at!

kids to watch

I posted before about my friend Sergio, of Current TV’s White Hot Top Five fame, and also the Friday Night Lights Crying video- which by the way I still think is amazing. Anywhoo, Sergio and his posse of funny boys in LA have a comedy group called Cream. Their videos are juvenile, ridiculous, and just all around really fun to watch.

Keep checking their channel on FunnyorDie because their videos are worth getting distracted at work,at home, on the go, or…and I cant think of anywhere else you’d watch web based  video…you get what I’m saying.We can expect great stuff out of these guys so they are definitely worth keeping an eye on.

adding another to the cat video phenom.

I was just linked to this via a friends fb status…it’s so stupidly funny that you won’t want to stop watching these videos, and at the same time you’ll realize it’s about at a two year olds level. Don’t miss this!

Let me warn you though, when you go to this site and watch these videos, be somewhere you can laugh out loud without getting weird and awkward stares from your cube mate. Yes, it’s that amazing.

two awesomely entertaining bookmarkable sites

I’ve been checking these sites daily for a while now, but I’ve never posted about them. Neither of them need any explanation, they only need you to click on them, bookmark them, del.ico.us them, and visit them as frequently as possible to keep you smiling and laughing.

I hope they make you as happy as they make me.

i feel…london?

I’m working on a project for work that’s required me to do some research into exciting travel websites that go above and beyond the usual. This site definitely does. Ifeellondon gives suggestions about  things to do, see, eat, and drink  in such a neat and different way- but mood. I love it!

Although there are search options for NYC and Toronto, I wish they would expand the cities they use and the amount of suggestions they have, than it would definitely be my go-to site when I’m out of my own city.

sit or squat or stand

Yeah, I’m talking about peeing. Sitorsquat was introduced to me a few weeks ago, and I’ve already expressed how excited I was about it on twitter, more than once! I immediately downloaded the iphone app and added my favorite place to pee before work:)

Charmin apparently found sitorsquat and put some money into it, lightly branded it, and built an iphone app for it. This is so smart from a brands perspective. They  found a useful and entertaining tool that was relevant to the brand and just went with it. Go Charmin! More brands need to be doing stuff like this!