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BBC’s product placement double standards

By Mike King

One thing I find irritating about BBC TV news reporters is their apparent blatant promotion of clothing from The North Face.  As a public broadcaster the BBC has strict rules regarding product placement, rules that the corporation is usually very careful to follow.   Except, it seems, for outside news broadcasters.  

This isn’t a particularly new development, a couple of years ago The Daily Mail highlighted the very same issue.

Interestingly, last month the BBC announced that it had tightened up its (obviously only sometimes followed) rules regarding product placement.

Strange then that this morning, as I was watching BBC news over a bowl of corn based breakfast cereal, there was an outside broadcast from Aberdeenshire with the reporter, James Cook, sporting the customary The North Face jacket (there’s an online version of the report here).  

As James Cook ended his report, the focus switched to a report by Hywel Griffith from a gritting station in Caerphilly, Wales.  Of course, Hywell was also wearing a jacket from The North Face; no surprise there. 

Amazingly, as the programme switched from one reporter to the other, there was a point where a split screen showed both James Cook in Scotland and Hywell Griffith in Wales, both facing straight to camera with two The North Face logos in full view, side by side. 

I don’t know who handles PR for The North Face, but hats off to them. 

 

Technology is the new fashion

By Erin Peterson

For centuries, fashion has been the revolutionary in moulding our ideas of beauty.  From corsets to shoulder pads, from skinny jeans to parachute pants, designers are constantly changing our views of what is attractive.  But now fashion has a rival, and it has come armed with gizmos and gadgets.  Technology is on the rise and is quickly becoming a spectacle to admire.

In my mind, it began with the never-ending battle between Microsoft and Apple.  I remember running across the street to my neighbour’s house as a kid wanting to play on their new colourful Apple computer, and thinking less fondly about the beige, chunky PC we had back at my house. 

I remember getting the new iPod Nano when I was fourteen, how small and thin it was, and then looking at my sister’s three years older and almost three times larger first generation iPod with disgust.  And then the iPhone came out.  Yes, it was larger than any other mobile phone I had seen before, but it had a touch screen!  Whenever I saw it in the shop windows or in an ad on TV, I would imagine how great I would look holding that phone in my hand.

It seems that Apple has truly embraced the notion that fashion, trend and design are just as important in spending habits as the functionality and usability of devices.  Ever since the iPhone was unveiled, it has led the way in the smartphone market despite its relatively small market share of around 17%.  Its engineers understood early on that the more eye-catching something is, the more likely a consumer is to buy it.  Just as if we saw a beautiful coat, or bag, or hat in a shop window, we admire new technology devices for their size, their capability, and, wait, which colours does that come in?  I’ll take it in red. 

We can shape our computers, our mobile phones, our iPods, and our tablets to reflect our personalities, just like a brand new pair of bright red stilettos!  Like fashion, technology is changing the way we think of beauty.  It’s not Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa in Paris... it’s not a flower in the midst of winter... it’s a sleek and shiny iPad.

Not a Gmail killer but a Google killer?

by Rachel Phythian

Last Monday, with much fanfare, Facebook revealed its ‘next generation’ messaging system at an invitation-only event in San Francisco.  The product, billed as a ‘Gmail killer’ by the media prior to the announcement, comprises three main elements:

1.       ‘Seamless Messaging’ – real-time communication where the participants each choose their own medium and device

2.       ‘Conversation History’ – a record of all communication between participants, regardless of medium, in one thread

3.       ‘Social Inbox’ – a division of Inbox and ‘Other’, whereby messages from people within your social network (your Facebook friends and their Facebook friends) appear in the Inbox but all others are automatically filed into ‘Other’

Does it live up to the hype?  Well, it’s difficult to say without having actually used the product (Facebook is rolling it out over the next few months).   However, the move towards making e-communication more ‘human’ is certainly interesting and the unified communications system provides increased flexibility for users which can only be good.

Moreover, the social inbox, probably the most exciting feature of the product, could really revolutionise the way email operates.   If adopted across the board, it could signal the end of spam and of course, minimise unwanted attention from cyber stalkers...   And in today’s geek chic world, where Apple in particular has become a new religion, the allure of an @facebook address will surely be enough for many.

Nevertheless, you have to question not just whether we need this, since necessity has long since ceased to be relevant in social media, but whether we actually want it. Elements of the service are highly reminiscent of Google’s failed Wave project, albeit in a better integrated and better marketed model, and Wave was emphatically rejected by the mass market. 

That’s not to say, though, that conceptually, this ‘modern messaging’ product won’t change how we communicate.  Zuckerberg denied that Facebook had created a Gmail killer, but that may be because he has bigger aims.  While he conceded that email is a good product, he also implied that it would be become increasingly irrelevant, describing it as slow and too formal, particularly in the opinion of the high school students he has met.  A separate announcement this week, one which has received less attention, is that Facebook has also teamed up with Microsoft on the messaging product.  This represents a real threat, not just to Gmail but to Google Apps as a whole and gives Facebook some of the business credibility which it has always lacked.  Given Facebook’s refusal to share data with Google, resulting in Google recently blocking Facebook API access, it seems like Facebook is determined not only to move into Google’s communication territory but also to hinder Google’s ability to build on its social graph (i.e. to encroach on Facebook’s own territory).

Despite Zuckerberg’s admission at this week’s Web 2.0 conference that he has made “any mistake you can think of”, the fact that it was described as its largest ever engineering project demonstrates that the company is taking it very seriously indeed.  Perhaps we (and Google) would do well to do the same.

Would the real tweeter please stand up?

By Hannah Townsend

There seems to be a new Twitter trend on the rise – that of the Twitterati or ‘Phweeters’ (that’s phony tweets to you and me).  From A-list celebrities and historical figures to politicians and members of the public, Twitter appears to have created an acceptable platform for non-threatening identity theft, which is catapulting many of the ‘phweeters’ into the media spotlight.  

The fact that these types of account have become so popular is somewhat ironic considering the current debates surrounding the not-so-stringent privacy settings of social networking sites such as Facebook.

So, who are these impersonators that are attracting in some cases up to 45,000 followers?  One of the most recent spoofs to gain national attention is @CherylKerl, a phonetic Geordie take on the tweets of Cheryl Cole.  Only last week was the imposter revealed to be that of 53 year old father-of-two John Duffy, a salesman as far removed from the glamorous life of Cheryl that you could imagine.  

Or take the recent tweets of @chilean_miner, aka Stephen Morrison, a receptionist, and Alex Jenkins, a journalist, who decided to tweet from the ‘bottom of the mine’.  And lest we forget,  @CatBinLady, in which an ex-computer programmer uses the media interpretation of the now infamous cat bin lady as a platform for his comedic one-liners.

Of course, there are those that also border on controversial, such as @dianainheaven, which sees Princess Diana tweet about the afterlife from Heaven’s VIP section.  The culprit has faced negativity at the hands of national newspapers and the public, yet still attracts more than 21,000 followers.

Twitter is, without doubt, a fantastic way to communicate, gather information and discover news updates, however it seems to me that  this social media platform is fast becoming an acceptable form of adult escapism.  Maybe it’s the high unemployment figures or the global economic situation which is pushing adults to revert to the childhood game of ‘make believe’ by living vicariously through their chosen persona.  Or perhaps  it’s the fact that Twitter bridges the gap between us mere mortals and our idols, or acts as a platform to gain recognition.

Whatever the reasons, with publishing deals resulting off the back of them, it’s just a matter of time before a whole lot more decide to jump on the bandwagon and the lines between fiction and reality are blurred even more...

Internet Week Europe

This week saw the start of London’s first Internet Week Europe – a five day ‘open source’ festival set up to celebrate the best of Europe’s digital industry.  In conjunction with partners like the BBC, Yahoo! and Lonely Planet, the organisers have scheduled a wide range of both fun and educational events to raise the profile of Europe’s digital industry, as well as the companies and organisations who participate.

To kick things off, creative agency Saint has challenged their industry colleagues to draw the internet – an intriguing task!  The agency then plans to pit a ‘professional’ against pictures drawn by a group of children from an association of east London schools at its workshop event. 

The idea behind it?  To gain an insight into how those who’ve never known a world without the web see it, as well as encourage underprivileged students to realise they too can contribute to Britain’s creative industries.

We’ve selected a few of our favourite images below for you, but how would you draw the internet?  Tweet us with your suggestions....

 

 

What’s going on in the blogosphere?

This week, Technorati presented its annual survey about the State of the Blogosphere for 2010.  7,205 bloggers from all over the world took part in this study about trends and developments and the results give an interesting insight into this continually growing part of social media.

Two key stats really caught our attention from the results: 64 % of bloggers say they are treated less professionally by brand representatives than the traditional media.  Also, just 20% characterise their interactions with brand representatives as positive (See slide 25). 

So, as brands start to harness the power of social media in their outreach, isn’t it time they started taking bloggers more seriously too?

Tweet a protest – an internet revolution?

By Nicole Melzer

The restructuring of Stuttgart’s central train station – a project called ‘Stuttgart 21’ – seemed to be a straightforward, local transport project in the south of Germany.  The enactment took place in the 1990s, however today thousands of people are protesting against the decision because they believe the area to be too unstable for large underground works.

Social media has undoubtedly accounted for this recent surge in protests, but can thousands of people tweeting and texting their concerns about the project really generate a vox populi?  Globally, the number of active social network users is growing by 30 percent , with Facebook and Twitter posting large year-on-year gains in terms of unique visitors in the US alone (69 percent and 45 percent respectively), so there is certainly a loud enough voice out there.

Social networks have rapidly become the perfect platform for protesters, largely thanks to their free, mobile, accessible and quick nature – an ideal canvas for any budding crusader.  For instance, in the Stuttgart case, campaigners are using Twitter to recruit and update followers, publishing live streams on the internet, opening up digital signing lists and linking to Facebook groups.

A prime example of just how effective social media campaigns can be is Greenpeace’s ‘meant to shock’ YouTube video – initially aimed at Nestle – which documented the devastating effects of palm oil such as deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions and endangered species loss.  The provocative ‘Killer’ video generated some unpleasant backlash on Nestle’s Facebook fan page, which eventually forced the food conglomerate to modify the way in which it uses said palm oil in its products.  What’s more, the campaign had wider reach, with a number of western companies dropping any palm oil suppliers with links to illegal deforestation, while Cadbury New Zealand dumped palm oil altogether after consumer complaints.

Back in Stuttgart, not only are  there thousands of citizens on the street who want to get involved with ‘Stuttgart 21’, there are also masses of followers already discussing the project in various blogs, chat rooms or across certain platforms.  With the trusty pamphlet giving way to the power of the tweet, social media has not only infiltrated our society, but now digital protests can reinforce demonstrators on the street – through technology, a new form of public opinion is taking shape.   

Fashion goes digital

By Erin Peterson

It’s a fashion event that anyone from anywhere in the world can attend, all made possible by the world wide web.  On November 1, Vogue.com hosted the first ever Fashion’s Night In, an event dedicated to online shopping.  You may have heard of the famous Fashion’s Night Out which debuted last year, an annual event dedicated to going out on the town in style, finding top merchandise at great prices, and catching a glimpse of some of the top names in the fashion world.   For Fashion’s Night In, the digital equivalent to FNO, there’s no need to even change out of your pyjamas. 

Vogue.com hosted a live blog telling readers where to be and when, and, as they promised it would be, Twitter was “alive with fashion action,” with stylists and editors telling fans what to buy and where to buy it.

In preparation, Vogue.com was furiously updating its website last week with the newest deals being offered by online fashion’s chicest etailers for FNI, ranging from a free gift with each purchase to a Treasure Hunt around the site with a prize at the end.  Like FNO, the proceeds from all the night’s activities were donated to KidsCo.

So, the big question is: Will FNI’s turn to digital put it ahead of FNO?   

The money is currently being counted, but the general consensus is that FNI was a huge success.

We’re recruiting

by Mike King

I was surprised to hear last week that one of the biggest UK headquartered tech agencies has just laid-off five people.  This is on top of another recent round of redundancies at the same firm.  By contrast, since the start of this year we’ve seen steady growth and over the past few months we’ve continued to win plenty of new business.  I guess it just goes to show how patchy the recovery is. 

One advantage we have is that we no longer have any public sector clients, and haven’t done for a while, but I don’t think that is the only reason.  Our almost obsessive focus on delivering exceptional results has a lot to do with our success.

As a result of our continued, steady expansion we are recruiting again and are looking for another trainee account executive to join our growing team in London.  We’re after a bright, enthusiastic trainee with a demonstrable desire to work in business to business PR.  Applicants must have a good degree (minimum 2.1) and at least 3 A-Levels at grade B or above.  Critically, they must be able to demonstrate a genuine interest in working in a business to business technology PR agency. 

I would stress that we have exacting standards and are looking for bright candidates.  If you think you fit the bill, details of how to apply are here: http://www.johnsonking.com/technology-pr-careers.php