Taylor Swift’s cryptic messages send fans to madness

Hello! 🙂

Friday, Oct 24th (which is today) marks the end of my degree journey here in Monash University. While a fair few of you will jump blithely out of superfluous joy, me on the other hand, I feel ..well, there’s no other word for it – sad. 

-> Now on to business. For my 11th post, (11th! Can you believe it?) we are going to have a look on country singer turns 7 times Grammy winner turns pop artist and all-around American sweetheart, Taylor Swift.

Unlike other artist her age, Taylor practically defines the word: Unique (and I’m not saying this because I’m a Swiftie) She wrote her own songs and promotes them differently too. As potential marketers, we can all learn from T.Swift.

Taylor Swift has already promised her fans a very big Halloween treat, as her eagerly anticipated first official pop album: 1989, hit the stands on October 27^th.

But before all the buzz and the hype surrounding her first solo pop album, let’s go on a little investigation a la Scooby-Doo on how she used social media marketing to promote her album, ergo more album sales.

How she engaged with her audience & how she lured their attention are particularly interesting. It’s a simple  method: By using clues.

Let’s find out!

 

T.Swift’s clue #1: Cryptic Clues

T.Swift knows how to create buzz. Seriously. She knows it all too well – Playing Blues Clues to tease an announcement sure did gotten her fan base excited. Well, I for one obediently fall for her very clever digital marketing plans.

For those who are on Instagram (which I think comprises most of us) you’ll know what I’m talking about here. T.Swift utilizes her account to provide cryptic clues to her fans leading up to her album release.

 

For example, 2 weeks before her 1989 album, the 1st clue was a 15 seconds video of her pressing the elevator button of floor 18 for about 6 times.  As predicted, her comment box flooded with replies from her 12 million Instagram followers.

 

Does it means that her new album will have 18 songs? Is her single’s going to be released on the 18th of some month? Or is she shooting a video clip to a forthcoming song, titled 18? These were some of the thousands of reaction posts T.Swift had gained from posting a mere 15 seconds video.

 

T.Swift clue #2: Nothing much. Just this one incredibly cryptic picture…of her cat.

 

 

 

 

T.Swift Clue #3: Something with YAHOO! Now fans are lost. JUST WHAT IS IT?

 

 

 

 

 

THE BIG REVELATION! 

After what seemed like an eternity, T.Swift is finally spilling the beans!

 

Via her Twitter account and alongside the caption, Did you guess it right?, T.Swift revealed that on the 18th of August at precisely 5p.m, she will be performing live on YAHOO!

Naturally, after she tweeted the message, #TaylorSwiftYahoo7Days is trending worldwide. (I guess I know now what the term: Taking the world by storm means)

Besides social media marketing, Taylor also uses viral marketing to promote her album.

Note: [Viral marketing, or also known as viral marketing or marketing buzz is a form of marketing technique whereby information about a company is passed electronicaly from one Internet user to another].

 

 

Above, Taylor can be seen streaming live in a studio via YAHOO! to her fans.

 

So what can marketers learn from T.Swift’s social media campaign? 

Despite being a mega-star with multi-million dollar records, life is all good for Miss Swift but she is definitely NOT the complacent type. She went beyond publicity & actually innovate in a way that speaks directly to her top advocates – her fans!

This is precisely why Swift has turned to Instagram to tell the story of her upcoming 1989 album in a clever way: A 13 day visual countdown.

Swift launched the countdown on October 14 with the promise of revealing one set of lyrics per album track daily, each in a unique image with some level of personalization, either to the song, or where Swift is at the moment (e.g. in a plane, on an elevator). Each image is also in her handwriting and some also include doodles, offering another personal touch.

 

 

If you look closely at the images, the engagement stats are impressive!  The first post netted over 535,000 likes at press time and the remainder range from 360,000 to over 600,000 which seems on par, if not above average for the star’s Instagram posts. The posts are also being shared on Twitter, where considerable engagement is being generated as well.

 

 

What can you learn from a T.Swift’s Instagram teaser campaign?

Make It Special
Whether you opt for a teaser or countdown, make sure the announcement warrants the special attention. Not every product launch or initiative warrants a teaser, nor do consumers want to see you take the same formulaic approach for every announcement. You almost run the risk of “crying wolf” if you tease a big announcement and it’s not all that special to your consumers.

The best strategy is to map out your year and understand which initiatives deserve above and beyond support. Align this with insights from your social media communities on their top wishes and questions to aid in your decision making.

 

Teaser vs. Countdown?
While Taylor Swift’s campaign was a mix of both, you’ll see many companies picking a course of action depending on the company’s overall strategy for the announcement, marketing campaign objectives and anticipated excitement from your customers. For a teaser, you’ll typically see one to two teaser posts that are clever yet coy without spilling the beans before the big reveal. Others may opt for a countdown when there’s more to communicate. This involves a big reveal followed by a series of engaging content that drives buzz and reminds fans that a new product is coming, or event is happening, etc.

Set An Established Timeline
Regardless of which approach your select, it is critical to ensure that all external communications (e.g. PR, marketing, web, customer care) are aligned on the same announcement timeline and flow. If the information is really juicy and has the potential to leak sooner, develop contingency plans should you need to make the big reveal early.

Embrace Visual Storytelling
It would have been easy for Taylor Swift to reveal the lyrics from her upcoming album as text on Facebook or Twitter, but the combination of song lyrics and visuals strikes the right chord. Compiled together, they form a visual story that generates fan excitement around the new songs while showcasing her passion for using social media to connect directly with her fans.

The visuals also allow her fans to share the images with the text intact and in the way the singer intended them to be seen.

The Best Marketing Is Personal
From the handwritten lyrics to imagery that feels in line with Swift’s lifestyle, her album promotion effort feels deeply personal and authentic and not at all like marketing. We as marketers can take a page from Taylor Swift’s playbook. Social media was intended as a channel where people can come together and share experiences and stories.

Next time you’re tempted to go straight for the sell, take a step back and think through how you can make the communication more human and personable. Your consumers will thank you.

So, there you go folks! She can be a singer, but T.Swift sure knows how to create the buzz to gain more sales, something that we can all adapt in the future!

 

From plain old Jin to JinnyBoyTV: A local, Malaysian boy goes big (Part 2)

 

Hello again! 🙂

As promised, here you go! The continuation of the article: JinnyBoyTV, who shot to fame by producing short films on his YouTube channel.

-> For Part 2, the focus is more on JinnyBoy’s video & how major companies like Canon & Samsung uses product placement as part of their digital marketing strategy by sponsoring them.

[Note: Product placement is a marketing concept where companies gain exposure for their products by reimbursing them to be featured in their films & television programs.This concept is especially common in American movies & TV series]

Ever since the allure of smartphones has taken its toll among societies worldwide, advertisers seemed to join the hype too. Bloggers are now tapping into this growing market & finding new and refreshing ways to make an income from their respective sites.

In a research done by PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PWC) –  in Australia alone, the spending through the online medium reached $1.83 billion as compared to $1.81 billion for television.

Here, we’re going to explore how marketers uses JinnyBoy’s YouTube channel to advertise by tapping into the heart of their 470,461 subscribers.

Ding Ding Ding…Here comes the fun part!

#1 Pixie Lott’s concert promotion LIVE in Malaysia. 

 

British born singer, Pixie Lott uses JinnyBoy’s Youtube channel to promote her concert in Malaysia by offering a special contest to win her concert tickets. Pixie’s management team  knows in order to lure the attention of the local she needs to make use of the local media.

Not just any media, but one with the right group of consumers. The age range of Pixie’s consumers are about the same as JinnyBoy’s consumers which comprises of urban, English speaking young adults.

Pixie has the potential to increase the number of sales of her concert tickets by promoting it through JinnyBoy, a local Malaysian YouTube blogger.

 

#2  “Asians at work” : A video to promote Canon’s new range of cameras including DSLR with special appearance from Greyson Chance!

 

To really capture the consumers’ attention regarding the new range of Canon’s cameras, JinnyBoy & his team decided to take the advertising technique to the next level.

As shown in the video above, JinnyBoy used tons of silly, hilarious scenes to appear different from the mainstream ads that you can see on TVs. (I mean, who here doesn’t feel sick of watching the same old traditional way of advertising in TVs or YouTube?).

JinnyBoy set up a different scenes in each segments of the video. The 1st one is Asians at work, where he introduces a lot of silly ( & funny!) pose a cameraman can possibly pick to tackle the right angle.

2nd, there’s the camwhore theory where the video showcased 10 possible pose an a girl can have using her Canon camera. 

Lastly – the most special one, the video features American singer-songwriter, Greyson Chance where he too adapts the typical Malaysian tradition of capturing the image of the food & used lots of silly hashtags before he eats them.

 

#3  “Typical Malaysian drivers” : To promote the new Ford Focus car

 

In this video, JinnyBoy  is REALLY funny probably because I’m a Malaysian myself & I can relate to this situation all too well. He showcased a range of possible ‘situation’ where most Malaysian drivers went through including listing the many ‘types’ of Malaysian drivers.

Notice that Ford’s Focus car was featured prominently in the video & JinnyBoy even provide an end-credit to promote Ford’s new car.

Clearly, Ford had made a special sponsorship arrangement with the JinnyBoy team to advertise their new car because of their similar target consumers.

 

The end credit of Ford Focus as seen at the end of JinnyBoy’s video

 

 

#4  “Today’s Generasi” : Promoting Samsung Galaxy Note 

 

First of, the word ‘Generasi’ is Malaysian’s word for ‘Generations’.  JinnyBoy featured the current typical trends of the young adults in not just Malaysia actually, the whole world seems to be in the ‘social media’ trends too thanks to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Here, JinnyBoy showed how current ‘generasi’ of young adults use Facebook’s poking technique to flirt with the opposite gender, far different from those years where long, sappy love letters used to be the in-thing.

Notice that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab (equivalent to Apple’s iPad) was positioned prominently in this video. This was all part of the marketing strategy that Samsung used to advertise.

This short film was an example of what JinnyBoy wanted his subscribers to do: By entering a competition. How? By posting one video that depicts one generation, be it the current ones or the from the previous ‘heydays’ era. By participating, contestants stand a chance to win a Samsung Galaxy Note!

 

#5 “Priorities” : Featuring British singer Joe Brooks!

 

Okay, I have to admit, this video doesn’t have any digital marketing concept in it. In fact this video was to spread awareness of the danger of  the procrastinating habits among school students sitting for their final exam (Equivalent to Australia’s Year 12 exams).

But I just included it here anyways because well, he’s cute (Hey, I can do whatever I want, right? It’s my blog after all). It’s hilarious too!

So there you go folks! How product placement in a simple short films of a YouTube blogger can provide tremendous impact on either brand recognition or brand awareness.

These are all crucial in digital marketing.

 

#Bonus!

As a bonus for all you potential marketers out there, here’s a short tutorial video featuring JinnyBoy & his partner, Reuben on how to make a viral video. Check it out & enjoy!

 

Bonus #1: How to make a viral video

 

Bonus #2: Since Malaysia has been wrongly misinterpreted these days (due to some unfortunate incidents) here’s a video to clear out your judgements!

Beware, it’s really funny 🙂 Psst, special celebrity include Mark O’Dea!

From plain old Jin to JinnyBoyTV: A local, Malaysian boy goes big (Part 1)

 

Hello again ! 🙂

30 degrees of nothing but sunshine today in Melbourne! I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. (Well, that’s because I don’t know whether to be thankful or to complain about it)

Today’s post is a bit special because it’s my 9th post in my blog! It seemed just yesterday I was frantically rummaging through the website hoping to find the perfect article to feature on my first ever blog. (For most of you who didn’t know,  Manchester United was my 1st article here. Do check it out!)

I said special because this time, I’m breaking up the post in 2 sections: Part 1 & Part 2. Both these parts are interlinked so make sure you read both parts! (You won’t regret, I promise!)

Unlike all the articles I’ve posted before, Part 1 doesn’t have  any videos in it but fret not, in Part 2 there are tons!

Here, I’m going to feature Malaysia’s very own Youtube star, Jin Lim who rose to fame by making short films on his own Youtube channel called JinnyBoyTV. How did he do it & what can we learn from him? Let’s find out!

-> Born and raised in Malaysia, Jin Lim is just like any other ordinary boy. Like me, he was a Malaysian student who go to school, do homework, eat, sleep – repeat. At least that’s what he was 2 years ago.

 

This radio DJ and Youtube filmmaker never even give fame a thought before. He never expected to become a household name in Malaysia. What is his secret? What did he do that is different from all the other boy his age that resulted him to rise to fame?

“Do you want to be famous or not?” That’s where it all began. That one question changes his life.

Before he became renowned for his short films that he now posted up on his Youtube channel – which happened to have 470, 203 subscribers as of now (and still counting) as well as a whopping 54 million views (Proud of you, Jin!) – Jin lived just like any other Malaysian.

 

 

(JinnyBoy’s Youtube channel logo)

 

The 29 years old lad grew up in Subang, a suburb close to the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In 2006, he enrolled himself in Curtin University in Perth, Australia majoring in marketing and advertising.

“Actually, I wanted to be a pilot when I was young,” Jin reveals

“But I wear glasses, so I gave up on that.”

 

On JinnyBoyTV

 Jin soon set up a Youtube channel under the nickname “JinnyBoyTV”. Initially, that channel was meant for him to post videos of his radio interviews so non-radio listeners (believe me, they still exist) would have the chance to watch them.

 

“ I thought to myself that at least, when I grow old, I can tell myself that I’ve made a film before. I don’t care how many hit it makes.”

His first short film, Ah Wing – Malaysia’s No.1 Salesman surpassed any of his expectations. It racked up 103,000 views in just 4 days; the channel was gaining subscribers and Jin’s email box was overflowing with people saying how they loved the film.

Since then, he didn’t stop. JinnyBoy’s latest short film, ABUDEN hit 1 million views under 3 days, after going viral on Facebook.

 

“We never expected any of these videos to have such a huge response.”

 

The most recent success (and by far the biggest) was when one of his video got 9GAG’s attention. 9GAG who is famous for posting anything hilarious decided to screen-shot one of the scenes in JinnyBoyTV’s video and posted it on their Instagram account.

 

Here’s the picture as seen in 9GAG’s Instagram:

Note: (9GAG is an American based company that operates an online platform and social media websites whereby users upload and share user-generated images, videos and GIFs.)

 

On Going forward

So what does the future holds for Jin?

Jin mentioned in his recent interview that online media has the potential of overtaking mainstream press such as newspapers, TV and radio.

Jin offers advice for students wanting to craft a career in new media:

 

“ Don’t try to make it big in the industry, just do what you love.”

 

Jin & his partner, Reuben Kang.

 

And he’s doing just that, keeping himself busy with his many projects.

“The reason why we are so passionate about what we do is because we want to show the world that Malaysia has a voice.”

So there you go folks!  For those with a marketing major (like me), this is one valuable lesson that we can learn. Do what you love, and the rest will fall into place.

All I can say is, being a fellow Malaysian – I’m proud of Jin! Bravo.

Stay tune for Part 2!  🙂

Chanel’s way of utilizing digital marketing

 

Hello! 🙂

What a beautiful sunny, spring day here in Melbourne! As much as I have enjoyed sipping hot caramel mocha while striding down the campus’ hallway in my Jo Mercer boots, I can’t say I didn’t miss donning my dresses!

Spring is my favorite season & in my favorite season I’m going to blog about my favorite topic today: Fashion. I swear my skin started to prickle with excitement whenever I hear the word!

 

-> It has been a rough couple of (digital) years for fashion brands. Most of them, especially luxury brands, were notoriously slow starters and reluctant to yield control and invest in digital marketing medium and instead, they very much prefer their beloved glossies (i.e Vogue magazine).

 It was a decade-long effort for fashion marketers seeking to establish a strong digital marketing presence. Yes, the period was long perhaps because technology is something that is evolving gradually. Year by year the world gave birth to innovators that sought to change the way we live forever. We have Steve Jobs who created iTunes & iPods back in 2001 and changed how people hear & perceived music. Not long after that, Mark Zuckerberg came into the scene and launches Facebook from his Harvard dorm room in 2004 and basically reshapes the way the world works.

Then, more & more fashion brands began to realize just how significant it is to establish a strong digital presence in the 21^st century. The explosion of social networks & the ever-expanding blogosphere has led fashion designers worldwide to innovate in the field of digital marketing.

One good example for this would be Karl Lagerfeld’s 20 minutes short story film to commemorate Chanel’s 100^th anniversary. The video was directed by Karl himself, chronicling the opening of Gabrielle Chanel’s store in Deauville and was set in the early 1900s era, which was the period where Chanel set up her first shop in the northern France. British actress, Keira Knightly was casted as the leading role.

 

In this video, you can see how Karl delicately markets Chanel’s iconic pieces such as the tweed jackets, pearls and box hats.

 

 

The very recent Chanel ad circulates around the brand’s iconic perfume, Chanel No.5 (I swear I can’t sleep unless I spritz the scent on my pillow). Of course, iconic perfumes need to be paired with an equally iconic model. Highest paid model, Gisele Bundchen had the honor to be the spokesperson.

 

Titled The Want That I Want, directed by the legendary Baz Luhrmann, (There’s nothing NOT legendary when it comes to Chanel, isn’t it?) the ad was a combination between the world’ highest paid model (Gisele earned a whopping $47mil. USD last year) and Hollywood’s very own director. What’s not to love?

 

 

 

 

The One That I Want is as stunning in the same way as Luhrmann’s 2004 film starring Nicole Kidman for Chanel No.5 was. The sultry acoustics, enchanting story-line & at best, the visual details: Firstly, it’s Gisele herself (She can really act!), and then there was the Chanel earrings, the Chanel pillows, the New York City skyline and the bold colors are all something you don’t see in a regular fashion ads. (Seriously, when you see the video, it’s like you’re practically live in Chanel No.5 world – And for those 3 minutes, we’re living in it.

 

 

 

3 Things marketers can learn from Miley Cyrus

 

Hello! 🙂

I don’t think I need to explain who Miley Cyrus is. She may be my age, but we are world’s apart….In terms of image and well, bank account figures too.

It’s almost a year since #twerking became part of our vernacular after Miley & Robin redefined ‘raunchy’ 2013. I remembered the buzz when her bizarre spectacle was being broadcasted in live TV and the consequent world’s reaction to her arguably disturbing performance.

 

 

-> Like Madonna before her (remember her song, Like A Virgin?), the sweet Disney sweetheart grew up from teen idol to a twerking superstar. The tongue, the foam finger, that flesh-colored latex bikini and those risqué moves. Those will forever haunt our minds. For months, all anyone could talk about  was the sexed-up, depraved, tounge-wagging songstress who rose from the ashes of Hannah Montana.

 

 

 

So, what can marketers learn from Miley Cyrus?

 

• Strategic timings

Marketers can learn from Miley’s perfect timing. She debuted her track Wrecking Ball on the VERY SAME DAY she performed (and twerk) at the VMAs. Do you actually think all these were mere coincidence? Of course not! Was it a slip-up then that she decided to used her VMAs to shock the crowd by gyrating, twerking, basically turning the music award show into a porn club? No way. That performance was carefully crafted and rehearsed. Nothing was unintentional or accidental. The result was exactly how she wanted: More Sales. Your marketing campaigns should be just as strategic & intentional.

 

• Know your audience

The We Can’t Stop singer is very much aware who her fans are. Miley’s not pretending to appear all do-goody to any moms or dads out there. To re-brand herself, she chose to own her provocative image and isn’t apologetic about it at all (Or worry that she might cause offence). She purposely target the Hannah Montana’s audience (who like me has grown alongside her & are now in their early 20s) Coincidence? Again. A big NO.

 

• Be Memorable

Marketers need campaigns that resonate with their respective audience. Be it a positive or a negative ones, you want people to remember your BRAND and your CAMPAIGN. The number of tweets, re-tweets, likes, iTune downloades and album sales grew higher & higher & Miley’s sudden shot to stardom made headlines everywhere. Had she stuck in her Hannah Montana image, I don’t think she will gain any of these successes. Despite her sometimes vulgar choice of languages, photos & hashtags, Miley has accumulated, to date, 18.7 million Twitter followers. Since departing from Hannah Montana, Miley had to shake-off the ‘good girl’ image brand & compete with pop singers her age like Demi Lovato and Justin Bieber and she knew she had to do something so different & controversial that she’d become ubiquitous & memorable. Sure she can belt out decent, catchy tunes but she also knows that it takes more than that to strengthen her image.

So peeps, there you go. If you have yet another lessons that you think marketers can learn from Miss Cyrus herself, feel free to comment below 🙂

(Fair warning, you don’t have to twerk in order to gain more sales. That works only for Ms. Cyrus)

 

The Happiest Thank You: Coca-Cola

 

Hello! 🙂

Despite my lack of enthusiasm towards Coke, (or Pepsi or anything gas for that matter) I never failed to widen my eyes in awe every time I witness a Coke ad. Most of them are geniusly creative (if there is such a thing) & it almost makes me want to actually buy a Coke & drink it.

This time, Coca-Cola goes to extra length in tapping the emotions of its consumers. Instead of coming up with the normal, boring carbonated drink ads, this new Coca-Cola ads released in Philippines has gained widespread attention. Alongside the advert, the company inserted a powerful message.

Ever stop to think whether the people in you everyday life (I’m not just referring to families & close friends) like your milk delivery guy, postmen, local police patrols, land mowers, bus drivers or even waitresses at your favorite cafe? You might taking a liking towards one of these people & thank them immensely simply because they are the ones who smiles at you, greets you, or helps you deliver or sell something every other day.

Coca-Cola seize this opportunity by going one step further: Do you actually know their names?

Published on YouTube, the ads ask: “Who are the people you say Thank You to everyday?”

 

 

 

Although each person is grateful for a certain person whom they see in their day to day lives, none of them seem to know the names of the people they so appreciate. The issue that Coca-Cola was trying to address here is so subtle yet so powerful at the same time.

 

Sure, it’s a wonderful marketing ad, but this still serves as a vital reminder to us all on the importance of gratitude (which I think most of us youth, lacks) for the unappreciated, servant-hearted people we stumbled upon on a daily basis.

Challenge yourself to take time to say thank you to those who serve you – just be sure to get their name.

Not only will you make their day, you will encourage them to continue their work with the knowledge they are positively impacting the lives of those around them.

Now that’s a good feeling, don’t ya think? Make this world a better place & be thankful! 🙂 

 

 

“Do it for Denmark!” wants Danes to have more sex.

 

Hello! 🙂

When you think of Denmark, sex is probably the last thing that’ll come to your mind. In my case, when people say Denmark, I’ll immediately long for those scrumptious & oh-so-sinful Danish pastries. (You know, those kind of fancy breads that you normally eat in posh hotels or First Class flights? Delish! They’re my weakness!!!)

 

Economy on the tops (chugging out aprrox. $211 billion in annual GDP), low economic inequality, gorgeous scenic landmarks plus tasty pastries – It appears as if Denmark has it all. Here comes the non-fairy tale part: Denmark suffers from relatively low population. 

Yes, you’ve heard that right. Birth rate is said to be so low that the government is currently taking heaps of initiatives to encourage the Danes to have more sex, ergo more babies. To put it bluntly, Denmark has a sex problem. In fact, the country posted a birth rate of only 10 per 1,000 residents in 2013 alone.

 

 

This plummeting population has what left the Danes government to be worried (worried sick, shall we say?). As reported in Copenhagen Daily, despite claiming they only want 2 or 3 kids, most Danes couples wind up childless.

Denmark’s birth rate is currently the lowest in 27 years – Almost 58,000 children were born in 2012, but the present rate of 1.7 children per family is not sufficient to maintain Denmark.

Cue bold, hilarious, catchy adverts! (& okay provocative too). For the salvation of the country, Denmark’s travel company, Spies Resjer Travel has came up with nation-wide campaign called: “Do it for Denmark!”

To counter the dismal population figure, the campaign encourages the Danes to act & act now – without precautions, for the sake of the country. The company is calling for Danes to have more sex on holidays. They even launched a competition to encourage couples to take a break & conceive kids & stand a chance of winning cool baby prizes like free diapers for 2 years. (I know, sounds cool huh?)

“Denmark is facing a crisis,” a representative from Denmark tourism, says. “We are concerned. The fewer Danes means fewer people to support the aging population”. A report published in February described the birth rate among Danish women as “dangerously low” and found that one in five couples in Denmark are childless.

Eva Lundgren, a spokeswoman for Spies, said that sexologists believe one of the reasons for the low birth rate is that Danes are too busy to have sex.

“Sex specialists believe that Danes are too busy with their daily life and they need to get away, so we hope we encourage people to take a break and have some romance,” she told RT.

The thinking behind the initiative is that a couple’s desire for each other increases while they are taking a break together.

Check out the video below: (Honestly, if this doesn’t encourage you to have sex, I don’t know what will)

 

 

So Danes, what are ya’ll waiting for? (Haha)

Have a great weekend! XO

 

 

 

How Sony Music uses Google Cloud for One Direction’s 1D-Day event

 

Hello again! 🙂

Okay. While I’m aware that most of you (especially guys) are not that biggie of a fan towards the new British boy band: One Direction, I’ll admit that they’re my ultimate guilty pleasure. C’mon, their songs are not that bad. It’s catchy & fun & I listens to them on my iTunes whenever I went out for a jog.

 

Following their 4^th album: Midnight Memories, Columbia Records has decided to celebrate the release by introducing a 1D Day Event. As predicted, the news went viral among the fans, aka the Directioners. To date, 1D Day Event has: 

 

• has drawn 772,000 concurrent viewers
• 7 million playbacks
• 15 million mentions on social media sites
• 3 million views on YouTube

 

 

What exactly is a 1D Day Event ?

> For those of you who didn’t know (which I think comprises the majority of us)

1D Day is a 7-hour live stream event; hosted by the band themselves, featuring never before seen clips (to me, more like footage that can make already hysterical girls, hysterical) in the likes of behind-the-scenes footage, brand news songs, personal interviews & games.

The event is stream via Youtube & Google+ & is made available in 62 countries around the world. Special guests including some impressive A-listers like Simon Cowell, Kelly Rowland & Celine Dion.

The real catchy part is that while fans can always watch it later via Youtube, there is an added benefit of watching it live.

At different points throughout/during the live broadcast, 1D members: Harry, Louis, Liam, Niall & Zayn will surprise the fans by dropping their Google+ hangouts & actually chatting face-to-face live! (Like I said earlier, already hysterical girls will go even more unbearably hysterical).

 

Check out the video below to know more about 1D Day Event!

 

 

 

Here comes the brilliant part:

Sony Music & AIS London adopted Google Cloud Platform Services to handle the popular event. Google Cloud Platform is a portfolio of cloud computing products by Google, using the same supporting infrastructure for Youtube & Google Search.

Not only that, but Sony Music built a companion ‘2^nd screen’ app to engage deeper with One Direction’s fans. A 1D Day Quiz app was also being installed that allowed fans to answer Questions about the band& what was happening in the live stream.

However, all these added features prompted quick spikes in traffic. This is why the scalability of the app is crucial. During the 7-hour live stream, traffic load might shoot from hundreds to thousand queries per second (QPS), which is bad.

To solve this, the team also picked Google App Engine that can write scalable application & can work under heavy loads, hence avoid spikes in traffic.

As you can see, One Direction’s management team make full use of the advancement of today’s technology & embedded it into digital marketing to further attract & retain their targeted customers which in this case, are hysterical screaming girls.

 

If you think you’re Directioner after reading this article, then you can check out the full article available here! 🙂 Just click on the tab below:

One Direction

 

 

 

 

 

When kids in 3rd world countries read 1st world problems.

 

 

Hello! 🙂

(The video below is a total tearjerker)

 

#FirstWorldProblems. Admit it. At least once in your life, you have hash tagged this in your FB, Twitter or Instagram. If you live in either developed or developing country, for one reason or another, you’re probably guilty of uttering this phrase.

Sure, minor inconveniences can piss you off big time, but when you look closer (And I really meant, look HARD), having to stand in long queue at Starbucks at 8am, or when your iPhone’s battery is about to die right when you need it – seemed like it’s not really the end of the world after all.

Not having clean water or a even a place to sleep during the night is however – AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT STORY.

To raise awareness about what “problems” really are, Water Is Life launched the “First World Problems” advertisement video not long ago.

 

 

The message was clear & simple: To spread awareness of the poor standard of living in 3rd world countries.But for me, the real message for us is: Be thankful & Be grateful of what you have instead of launching endless complaints.  – It’s all about perspective.

 

Here’s a full article:

#firstworldproblems ad campaign

Hope all of us can learn something from here:) xx

 

Too cool for school – Do gum chewers get a bad rep?

 

 

Hello again! 🙂

One of my firm policy as a blogger (though an amateur one) is that I pledge to never keep my readers bored. It is one thing to blog with some up-to-date, sophisticated (and stereo-typed) piece of news and another thing entirely to blog with some one-of-a-kind article that no one knows about. And that ladies and gentlemen, is my motto for this week. Think these are all meaningless ramblings of mine? – Wait till you read what I’m about to post here.

 

“Tom, if you continue to chew gums like that you won’t get married till you at least 30”

“Mary, it’s an unbecoming of a girl to chew gums!”

 

These are just some of those typical mother/grandma/aunties nag you often hear whenever you chew gums. Decades old social stigma says that chewing gum gives a bad impression. My little brother once said, “If you chew gums, you’ll look like a gangster”. I don’t know how true this is & coming from a 11 year old, I don’t take much notice.

 

 

Saatchi & Saatchi decided to make a twist in advertising chewing gums for its client, Trident (Also, a well-known American brand for producing gums.)

 

Titled ‘Almost Identical’ the campaign set up a cool combo of art+social experiment  at Buenos Aires Museum of Contemporary Art to see how chewing gums affects society’s perception. You sort of got a cool X-Men lab test vibe when you view the ad.

Mind you, this ad won a whopping 8 LIONS CANNES AWARDS  in 2013. So this is one heck of a cool ad.

To be frank, this ad is bias. The Questions prepared were tailored towards one answer: The one who chews gum gives a better impression.

Saatchi won’t ask serious question like: “Which one is most likely to hand-in work project on time?” (Which obviously, the one who don’t chew gums will get picked on because the face is more serious ergo, more professional). But then again, this ad is after all, a pretty darn good effort to sell some gums.

No matter how you view the ad, in the end you gotta admit, it’s pure genius! 🙂