It’s been such a busy year that I’ve found it impossible to post regularly, so here’s a round-up of just some of the business/brand/communications/design ideas that caught my eye in 2011.
1. O2 Academy TV
Having recently become a Dad, it’s been difficult to get out to see many gigs in 2011. O2 Academy TV has been a useful substitute - showcasing the best of live gigs from the various O2 venues via a bespoke youtube channel. There’s a great understanding of the audience and what it means to be a music fan, with plenty of additional content to fuel the excitement pre- and post-gig, and some unique features that really add value to the experience; such as the ‘fan cam’ in which users’ own mobile phone videos of a gig are compiled into an edit over the official soundtrack - creating a very immersive film both for those that were there, and for those who were ‘almost there’.
http://www.youtube.com/user/O2AcademyTV
2. Ford - Sync/OpenXC SDK
Ford continues to demonstrate its increasingly-impressive technological credentials with extensions and open-source developments of its in-car systems.
One of the projects this year, has seen Ford partner with medical monitoring and technology companies to adapt the in-car entertainment ‘Sync’ system to allow diabetes sufferers to monitor themselves whilst driving. The system allows users to plug their own blood sugar monitors into the Sync interface and then notify the driver if the levels become abnormal.
Another initiative sees developers creating customised apps to work with Ford’s in-car hardware: an open source policy that was initiated some time ago, but is now beginning to take hold, with a number of add-ons now being developed, including a ‘Ford Fuel Economy Challenge’ app (by Buglabs) which plugs into a Ford car to show how fuel-efficient the driver is being and connects the other drivers taking the challenge to encourage some eco-healthy competitive driving.
3. Xbox Kinect
Microsoft have started to capitalise on the interest in the motion-control Kinect system beyond the world of gaming. The announcement of an official software development kit, a Kinect Effect page on the Xbox website and the focus of the global TV ad celebrating the various ways that the Kinect has been adopted shows that contrary to what might have been expected, Microsoft are ready to fully embrace the crowdsourcing potential of the technology.
4. Life In a Day
A great example of the creative potential for crowdsourcing, and how technology has dramatically reduced the barriers to entry for self-expression on a mass-scale.
5. DC shoes - Ken Block Gymkhana Four: The Hollywood Megamercial
The next jaw-dropping film in the phenomenally-successful series.
6. KLM - Live
KLM is demonstrating how social media can be used to best effect in order to improve customers’ relationship with the brand. Recent initiatives include a policy to answer every Tweet and Facebook post in person within an hour - promoted with a campaign which over a 12 hour period featured a team of 500 cabin crew answering online questions by holding up an alphabet of letter boards.
7. Tesco/Home Plus
A lovely piece of service design from Korea, in which commuters had the opportunity to save themselves a trip to the supermarket and place a grocery order for home delivery by scanning QR codes of products, on an interactive 2-D shelf in a subway station.
8. John Lewis - the Long Wait
Despite the speculation about what is really contained in the box, and questions surrounding how the young protagonist managed to get hold of the present from the department store by himself, this is one of my favourite TV ads of 2011 - continuing the series of emotive stories based on charming and authentic insights into people’s hopes, feelings and memories of Christmas. No need to over-think it!
9. Intel - Museum of Me
Self-centered and perhaps a little creepy, but still an entertaining demonstration of re-purposing existing content in order to drive engagement and help position Intel as a more human-orientated brand. According to Contagious, within 3 days of the launch more than 440,000 people had created their own museums using content sourced via Facebook Connect, and more than 21 million impressions were recorded on Facebook. So kudos to Intel for tapping into the collective ego and ensuring that the experience was worthwhile.
10. Budweiser - Ice Cold Index
An example of a branded app that is genuinely rewarding to the consumer and an innovative way of driving sales. The free app links daily weather feeds with a discount system at 2500 participating pubs so that the hotter it is, the less you pay (for the duration of the summer campaign).
