Author Archives: Jembo42

Get ‘appy

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Mobile phone apps that become hugely popular are few and very far between. Most of the good ones either save time or waste time – in an engaging and simple way. Maps and Angry Birds, as two good example.

Now take a look at this little puppy. It neither wastes nor saves time, necessarily. However it’s got two key human truths at its heart. Which I think make it rather interesting.

GymPact offers aspiring Arnies and Jodies a smart way to fiscally incentivise themselves (human truth: we all like money) to go to the gym more (human truth: all of us benefit from exercise). So…

How does GymPact work? Like this:

  • download app
  • specify how much you commit to going to the gym in a week/month/year
  • nominate a fine you will pay each time you don’t meet your commitment
  • go to gym and check in with your iPhone
  • don’t meet your commitment and pay said fines (automatically via the app) into a communal pot
  • if you meet your commitments, enjoy your share of communal pot
  • get buff or broke

Smart, huh? Right I’m off to bench-press twice my bodyweight. Or quickly lose 50 quid. Choices, choices…

Get out there – fill your intellectual boots…

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Okay – money’s tight and so are the jeans you bought in November. The party season is well and truly over.

So, what better way to feed your brain (and not your waistline), while saving money, than getting together with some chums (including, perhaps, that special person with whom you didn’t get a chance to properly chat at our damn-good Xmas party) and taking in a free/well-priced exhibition/museum/collection?

Thanks to @clarenewman for inspiring me to visit this little beauty: Painting byNumbers: Making Sense of Statistics.

Or check out anything/everything at: The Wellcome Institute, Museum of London, The Horniman, The V&A, Geffrye Museum, The Design Museum (ad infinitum).

If you need specific inspiration/information, swing by CID and someone can oblige.

 

Get some in…

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To anyone who has been travelling around the streets of London in the last month or so – ie all of us – one hasn’t failed to spot OOH gershizzle with Blippar all over it, surely? Cadbury’s, Domino’s, Marmite. All the major food groups covered. And all layer-caking into the bargain. Yum. And lots of press bizzle too:

So – I didn’t do anything about getting Blippar in to see me and find out why all those other brands are using it and none of our brands are. Shame on me.

So my idea of the day is: to immediately get a tech provider/publisher/media owner in to see me the moment I see something cool they provide that we haven’t done yet.

Obviously, don’t all get Blippar in tomorrow. I’ll see them and let you know the SP…

 

 

Help yourself to better images

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In his excellent book Presentation Secrets, Alexander Kapterev says many smart things about the art of telling stories via Powerpoint. If you’d like the potted version, try this SlideShare presentation. For me, slides 21 to 26 describe an easily adoptable set of principles which make perfect sense. Especially the point about contrasting facts to make them more relevant.

To the point, Jem.

As well as following Alex’ 3 key principles, why not spruce up your charts with some fresh imagery?

Best place to find some free, nickable stuff is flickr. Mashable have neatly put a magnificent seven of the best flickr search engines together here.

I particularly like compfight and flickr storm, since you asked. And here’s a nice photo of a layer cake:

 

 

Inspire your clients with amazing digital creative ideas

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Everyone needs inspiration – gawd knows it can be a strain getting out of bed some days without the help of some nose-bleed techno to reinvigorate my weary senses…

Where better to find great digital inspiration than in the vast library of rich-media creative housed on Media Mind’s Creative Zone.

My mantra is always: if you can think it, we can do it in digital. Never is that so true than in the creative sphere. So it’s worth a scoot through, if only to see how digital creative works and the possibilities within. And knowing a bit more about how digital creative works will help make you the smartest person in the room – again. It sure will help you when you come to enter into debate with some of our less-advanced colleagues in the creative world about doing some spectacular stuff next year.

It’s searchable by industry vertical so, if you’re working on FMCG you can fill your boots with amazing creative examples to show your clients. Cars. Pharma. And so on…

Let me know what your faves are, if you get a moment…