Author Archives: Jembo42

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…

Crowdsourced digital resource: good start

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For anyone searching for inspiration, information or innovation in digital need look no further. Here, in no particular order, are MediaCom’s recommendations:

  • techmeme.com – great single destination to see at a glance what the big tech/digital news stories are for the day
  • Slideshare – a good source of insight
  • Digitalbuzzblog - constant rotation of interesting articles (the most recommended source from the crowd, btw)
  • PSFK – your go-to source for ideas and innovation (their words, not mine)
  • Pete Fyfe’s paper.li needs no introduction (according to Dave Mills)
  • Dave Trott’s blog puts a good twist on things (according to Dave again)
  • Twitter search – Pete Fyfe’s favourite way to unearth good stuff
  • SearchEngineWatch -Mark Taylor’s search-based guilty pleasure
  • Mashable for latest digital news and some interesting editorial.
  • InformationisBeautiful  for ideas on how to illustrate boring data.
  • TimeMagazine for (infrequent) mass consumer trends (thanks again to Mark)
  • Adverblog is great for wacky/envelope pushing digital creative, according to Dan Whitmarsh
  • Ligtbulb factory is all the most relevant Economist content in one place. Considered and influential thought pieces that always ooze credibility, according to Jimmy Marples.
  • Fast Company -  It gives Dan Brown a glimpse into the future, whilst not forgetting the past and present.
  • Smithery -  Slightly ‘media w**k’, says Lloydy, but he’s a mate from the IPA Excellence Diploma so I give it a read every so often.

Tom Mills came out of leftfield with:

  • Brain Pickings – creative problem solving – demystifying human behaviour. Varied. Steal-able-quotes.
  • M Wiegel  – Nike creative geniuses. Dutch. ‘nuff said.
  • See what’s happening  – Group M family. Super-relevant to everyday problems/challenges/briefs. Good pictures.

And finally, from Tom Saunter:

  • mediagazer – aggregator that shows top media/digital stories of the day (US-skew)
  • techcrunch – “startup” and silicon valley news
  • paid content uk – broader digital media news from UK, including products & earnings
  • giga om - mix of content, startup, theory, new products
  • read write web - mix of content, startup, theory incl good analysis, & some enterprise
  • a vc - broad coverage, but centred around VCs & tech startups
  • ross dawson - a lot of great theory thinking including frameworks
  • john battelle - wrote the seminal book on google – but covers content & products & more recommended
  • iab uk social - multiple contributors covering “everyday” questions
  • hacker news - bit techier, but good coverage and bit ahead of mainstream
  • emarketer - digital marketing statistics and analysis (can be US-centric)
  • bbh labs - technology & creative & strategy
  • cream global - global marketing innovation – case studies
  • econsultancy – best practice in digital marketing with original research and news

 

Mobile genius: Go George!

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I’m referring, of course, to both the highly talented Mr Dixon AND this achingly cool, brilliantly executed and compellingly simple idea from Lego.

The use of mobile to add layers of engagement over a physical product and then potentially enable fans to atomise their Lego stuff across their networks chums (all of them more potential Lego fans) is so well thought-out I think I might weep. It’s not layercake, it’s poetry.

Go George…

Via @itinerantgeoff. Props.

Get some Maven stim

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A maven is an expert in a particular field who sets out to spread their knowledge to others who are interested.

Our own set of digital mavens have prepared some answers to a set of searching digital questions, captured in a set of content to share with you. I’m sure you’ll find it interesting and stimulating. You can find it here: M:\project maven\Questions and answers.

All are works in progress, so any additions/builds etc are most welcome.

All of it is applicable, in the right circumstances, to our clients’ businesses too.

So…

  • if you want to impress a client with your knowledge of SEO, there’s a great piece on QDF (read the piece and you’ll find out what it stands for)
  • for anyone talking to clients about bought/owned/earned media there’s a cracking piece on how to capitalise on the relationship between the three
  • if clients want to know more about how to brand products and services online, you could do a lot worse than taking them through Whitmarsh’s tome

There’s stuff on the future of paid content, a strategic balance of paid and organic search, the relative strengths of YouTube versus Vevo and more.

It’s all there for you to look at and use/pinch/reskin – whatever. The folder will swell in the coming months as more content is added. Will keep you posted on new additions.

And if you disagree with, want to add to, or don’t understand anything in there, come see me and we can discuss.

Cheers,

Jem