this week i have mostly been thinking about data, charity and turkey . . . data and charity from a work perspective, turkey from a “go away and do no work for a week perspective” . . .  so next week this will be brought to you by our own version of BAD (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc8zkz9XSRU) – Betts, Aves and Davies . . . anyway,

1) http://google-cpg.blogspot.com/2009/04/paid-search-builds-brands-unilever.html

apparently search works . . . or something . . . well, helps drive brand metrics for a rather large fmcg company – which leads me tenuously to

as far as i’m concerned don’t ask what google can do for your brands ask what search data can do for your planning (those of you who have been party to learning to love data know what the hell i’m talking about)

2)

this is just interesting as a way of visualising data, moving people, telling stories, it will also wind up your creative agency friends no end . . .

whilst on the charity tip

at the harlequins annual dinner dance (oh yes i move in stratospheric circles even though i look nowt like a highly networked driver individual type ) a man talked about this charity . . .  http://www.hopehiv.org/ – his presentation technique was genius – he gave all 800 people at the dinner a tenner (a real one) not from the charity, nor from quins, but from his bank account . . . and said they could do three things with it . . . . 1) keep it (if they thought they were worse off than aids orphans in africa) 2) give it back (if they already did lots of work for other charities) 3) turn it into more money .  . . i guarantee he at least doubled his money not by asking for loads of money, but by talking about small, environmentally realistic amounts, on which . . . (oh yes, look at that for flow)

3) http://trendwatching.com/briefing/

trendwatching’s may briefing is about “innovation jubilation” . . . building on the links walshy and i have fired you to mr neumeier’s work, the simple question is how fit for purpose is what your brand is doing and saying RIGHT NOW (are you in tune with people trends or just projecting stuff to overcome brand barriers)  . . . most of our tools are too slow to help with this – one thing that isn’t ? real time search data

i’m off for a week of swimming pools and water slides, don’t be surprised if i look even more knackered when i get back . . .  at which point i will post something in more detail on data (you can’t wait can you ?)

see ya

binns