Coke Zero Skyfall Guerilla Marketing Makes Viral Video

One of the best examples of guerilla marketing seen today is Coke Zero's clever campaign to advertise the upcoming release of the new Bond movie, Skyfall.

A few Coke Zero indulgers were chosen to participate in their own Bond mission at the Antwerp Central station in Belgium. Unsuspecting agents were prompted, after their purchase, with a question: "Want the chance to win exclusive tickets to see Skyfall?". Those who chose yes had 70 seconds to sprint up stairs, weave through heavy traffic of travelers, dodge fallen oranges, jump dumped luggage, nearly miss glass movers, and bypass more absurd obstacles strategically planned by Coke Zero. Women that resemble those of Miss America Pageant contestants stand with tablets showing the time countdown as these daring travelers race against the clock to make it to the corresponding Coke Zero machine on platform 6. BUT, the mission is not over yet. With a push of a button, a figure of man that may or may not be Daniel Craig holds a card with one last task. 

With over 6 million views on YouTube to date, this joint campaign by Coke Zero and Skyfall created not only a very successful viral video, but also set the bar for advertisers. With this said, I am excited to see what they will come up with next...


To find out more about this campaign visit Coke Zero's facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/cocacolazero) or go to http://www.cokezone.co.uk/007.

Marketing Challenges: iPad Mini

Today Apple held yet another keynote adress for its new line of products. The sleek and thin iMac was introduced fallowed by the revealing of a new 13-inch Macbook Pro with Retina Display, and 2 new iPads.

What struck my attention was the iPad mini. the iPad mini is Apple's new 7.9-inch screen tablet that features a 1024 x 768 pixel resolution and the Apple A5 chip. It can connect via wifi and is compatible with LTE wireless.

Before when Apple just had the iPad it was competing with several other big companies in the Tablet market, but now Apple has moved themselves into a different area. The iPad mini will be for people who want a smaller more portable device than the iPad, but also want the power of a tablet. They will be competing with the new 7-inch Nexus tablet made by Google and Amazons new Kindles.

What does this mean for Apple? What challenges will they face with their competition? Lastly what does this mean for companies with products like the iPad mini?

All information taken from: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/apple-unveils-ipad-mini-new-ipad-new-imac-13-inch-1C6630274

Monster Drink

F.D.A has gotten death reports from the popular energy drink "Monster". One girl named, Wendy Crossland, had died from heart arrhythmia by drinking Monster drink two consecutive days. There were several other reports from 2004. So Wendy mother filed that they (monster) failed to issue a warning the risks of drinking them. I am very shocked by this because it had no alcohol or drugs in it that makes the death. It was too high on caffeine. This is why my mom, a nurse, told me many times not to drink energy drinks because it is dangerous especially when I have ADHD. So what is your opinion about this? look at the link below to read the article.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/f-d-receives-death-reports-185008634.html

Technology Then veresus Technology Now

I remember being 12 years old with my first cell phone.

It was one of those pre-paid phones and was one of the bulkiest, most annoying piece of equipment to carry around everywhere.

Yet, as I got older and started exploring other cellphones, I noticed something very interesting.

Now, being a 12 year old with a cellphone, you tend not to take care of the phone as well as you would if you were older. I dropped that phone down stairs, stepped on it by accident etc... You name it, it happened to that phone, yet it still worked!

But when I got a new phone, I noticed I started going through new ones almost one per year because they just weren't lasting like my first cellphone.


This picture helped me realize a lot of the technology then versus technology now.

 Phones now, you have to treat them like a baby because they are so fragile where as the older phones were indestructible.

Now don't get me wrong, the technology now is WAY BETTER, just the durability of the phones are terrible. Only if we could combine the durability of the phones then with the looks and technological features of the ones now will only create the best phone ever.


#randomthoughts 

Top 5 Awesomely horrible websites

http://www.sundoginteractive.com/sunblog/posts/top-5-awesomely-horrible-websites

Check out what not to do when designing a website. It is just horrible what people do when designing a website.

Advertising Fail

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151154664694171&set=a.457743769170.251118.178734754170&type=1&theater

Want a good laugh? CLICK THIS PHOTO NOW!
Is this good or bad marketing?

Felix Baumgartner Record Setting Jump

On October 14th 2012   Felix Baumgartner set the record for longest free fall at 24 miles above sea level and landed in  New Mexico and became the first man to break the sound barrier outside of a vehicle in only 4 minutes and 19 seconds.  This jumped was only broadcast on the Discovery Channel in the US which led to the jump breaking the record for most watch live video with 8 million unique viewers on YouTube. This broke records held by Prince Williams wedding to Kate Middleton which reached 3 million unique online viewers according to Akamai and President Barack Obama inauguration which reached 7 million unique online viewers according to Akamai.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/millions-watch-as-felix-baumgartner-378859

What Tablet is best for me?

Being a college student and having to carry around a ton of materials for school began to take a toll on my back.

My backpacks were always extremely heavy due to my school books and my laptop put together in one bag. I needed to change that ASAP.

So I decided to start looking for a tablet that fit my budget and did everything I wanted it to.

I finally decided on the new Kindle Fire HD. Newly released this year, the Amazon Kindle Fire not only holds hundreds of books, but it also music, movies, pictures and also has apps for Games such as Angry Birds and Temple Run. The other cool part about it is that it has the Pandora and Netflix apps so I can listen to music and watch my favorite movies.

It has Wi-Fi connection, amazing speakers and I can check my mail and search the web all on one device. Making my life easier and my book bag lighter!


Definitely would recommend it for other college students out there. It is very affordable! Only $199!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000750701&tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=13951521261&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=18015860551648125523&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&ref=pd_sl_9r586kml72_e

Almost Time for a New Smartphone

My two year contract with my current cell phone provider ends on Oct. 24. Just 10 days! If I stay with my current provider I'll get a discounted phone and if I switch I'll still get a discount for signing a new contract with a new carrier. Win, win! And now is the perfect time to get a new smartphone because of the new mobile Operating Systems that have recently been released (or will be soon). Android released its new OS 4.1, Jelly Bean, in July, Apple just released its OS 6 and Windows will release Windows Mobile 8 soon (I hope).

But, I just read a Forbes article saying Windows Mobile 8 won’t be anything special because Microsoft hasn’t been promoting it very much. The company isn’t giving details about what it can do better than Windows Mobile 7 or why it will be competitive with Android and Apple. Which is a bummer, because I’m excited to see how well the new Nokia Lumina 920 performs.

As far as my decision for a new phone goes I’ll wait… until I get a chance to compare the three mobile Operating Systems and find what works best for me.

Cashback Programs and Affiliate Marketing

Our guest speaker on affiliate marketing mentioned 3rd party sites like Ebates.com as an outlet for deals.

He also suggested that everyone who purchases products online should check out these programs. In his words "if you don't sign up for a program like Ebates.com, you're just leaving money on the table"

These programs have been around for a while and the concept is simple - visit their site first and search for the online retailer you plan to purchase from.  Click the link for that retailer and when you make a purchase you get cash back.

Here are some links to such programs -

Phil mentioned Ebates.com and it is a program I use.

There is also FatWallet.com and a few others to choose from.

Why pass this up if these sites will give you cash for online purchases?

Mobile Apps vs Mobile Websites and our Presenter Damir

Check out a recent blog post from our in-class guest tonight - Damir Saracevic.

In the post he presents some interesting stats on the mobile web and mobile apps and addresses the critical question of whether a company should build a native mobile app or a mobile web friendly site.

Having been through the process myself, I agree with his final reaction - "it depends"

My thoughts on the benefits of a mobile app:
1. They can be very engaging and fast with most of the logic residing right on the device
2. They include "built-in" promotion via the native "app-stores"
3. They can be very expensive to build and maintain. Also, you have to create a native app for each platform you want to support

My thoughts on the benefits of a mobile web site:
1. Ubiquity - build it once and run it on many devices
2. Less expensive to create and maintain
3. Slower and less engaging

Here's his full post
http://blog.catalystinc.com/mobile-website-or-mobile-app/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mobile-website-or-mobile-app

Rock the Vote and Presidential Candidates

The 2012 presidential elections are coming soon. Next month!

If you’re not already registered to vote you can go to rockthevote.com. Once you enter the site click on “register to vote.” Fill out the form, print it, and then mail it. No need to go anywhere or wait in lines. All your work is done until November 6; when it’s time to vote.

Also… there are not only two parties running for president! Yes. All the media is focused around the Democrats and Republicans. But there are other candidates from other parties as well:

Libertarians

The Green Party

Justice Party

These are just a few but there are other independent parties running for president.

Please research and don’t only vote for who is getting the most attention.

A wasted vote is voting for someone who you don’t believe in.