http://www.psfk.com Your Go-To Source For New Ideas And Inspiration Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:24:54 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.psfk.com/2011/08/new-ways-of-marketing-to-children.html Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:04:26 +0000 To boost sales new technologies are being utilized, aimed directly at youngsters.]]> http://www.psfk.com/2010/11/mobile-platform-goldrun-allows-airwalk-to-execute-the-worlds-first-invisible-pop-up-store.html Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:28:33 +0000 A look into the mechanics behind the sneaker brand's innovative campaign.]]> http://www.psfk.com/2010/08/skipping-class-is-about-to-get-an-1984-style-response.html Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:55:43 +0000 RFID tags will be used to track students, faculty and equipment in the New Canaan Public School system.]]> http://www.psfk.com/2010/05/interview-jonathan-beilin-and-erhardt-graeff-on-information-flows-between-culture-and-communities-online.html Mon, 03 May 2010 16:39:29 +0000 In the shade of the Austin Convention Center, we spoke to Jonathan Beilin and Erhardt Graeff of the Web Ecology Project the day after their SXSWi Panel, "Seven Years in Online Dating."]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/12/44-brands-in-6-minute-good-brands-in-the-music-space.html Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:00:45 +0000 We’ve heard a lot of brands wishing to ‘own’ music recently, and we always get a bit, well, annoyed about it, because music belongs to people and persons, not brands. And the only thing brands should be trying to do in terms of music are those bandied-brand words, ‘facilitating’ and ‘enabling’. Ruby Pseudo’s team in the UK did a focus group recently where – in six minutes – the kids named 44 brands they saw as being part of the whole music “thing”, either in a good or an appropriate way. Our results? The same brands kept coming up. AsRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/12/microsofts-latest-upgrade-softwear.html Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:49:39 +0000 Last night, we attended Microsoft’s soft launch party for Softwear, the company’s new line of graphic tees designed by hip-hop artist Common and “inspired by the 1980s when both Microsoft and hip-hop really came of age.” The software giant’s foray into fashion is intended to conjure a sense of nostalgic hipness around the brand, while reacting to the “I’m a PC” stereotype made popular by Apple. The shirts, which will hit select stores in the US on Dec 15, incorporate old DOS iconography, geek vernacular, and a retro-futuristic aesthetic into some surprisingly stylish designs. Softwear’s two lines, Classic and Common’sRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/12/recap-good-ideas-in-2009-in-digital-shaping-our-online-identities.html Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:58:17 +0000 At our Good Ideas in 2009: Digital salon yesterday, much of the conversation surrounded how our online identities are created, both actively – through our own decisions of what we share about ourselves – and passively – through the actions and perceptions of others. Given that we only have control over half of that equation, how do we ensure that the best and brightest portrait of ourselves is seen by the wider community? Piers posited his “Red Coat, Black Coat” theory back in 2006, which proved to be a harbinger of conversations to come about approaches to online privacy asRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/11/att-text-jumbli-many-screens-one-experience-2.html Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:04:58 +0000 Screens are everywhere—in bars, taxis, movie theaters, living rooms, city streets, in your hand, in front of you right now—and it’s making media increasingly fragmented. Yesterday we talked about how the ad business is being affected by this proliferation of media channels. “We have a story we want to tell, and we use different media channels and different touch points to tell it. We have to rely on the consumer to pull the story together,” said Robert Rasmussen. However, the mark of a good campaign is not just narrative cohesion between these channels, but truly connecting them in an interactive,Read more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/11/have-it-your-way.html Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:35:50 +0000 Taking a page from their customer friendly food service model, Burger King recently took “Have It Your Way” into the realms of D.I.Y. fashion.  A collaboration between 5 designers and artists tasked with reinterpreting elements of Burger King’s icons and logos culminated at an event held in Chicago on October 24th.  The gathering invited participants to take part in the studio creation process by silk-screening the final designs onto their own clothing in any combination they chose.  Essentially, a clever form of marketing that allowed Burger King to subvert their own image, while at the same time maintaining recognizable aspectsRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/11/sea-change-new-attitudes-on-pirated-material.html Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:34:24 +0000 MySpace and Viacom’s MTV Networks announced a deal that will partner them with Auditude, a technology firm that has developed a means of identifying whether uploaded video clips belong to a particular TV Network by recognizing unique electronic signatures.  Auditude approached these two companies with this technology, marketing it as a means of incorporating advertising.  Essentially, any content appearing on MySpace belonging to MTV Networks will be tagged, allowing either business the option of inserting ads. This represents a significant change in attitude for both companies.  In the past, MySpace TV, the second largest video site behind YouTube, might haveRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/11/are-brands-compromising-their-morals-to-increase-sales.html Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:28:03 +0000 As pop-culture and celebrity gossip blogs continue to see increased traffic, particularly with the youth demographic, advertisers’ views on what counts as acceptable have started to change.  Given the uneasy economic climate and tightening budgets, it’s become increasingly important for mainstream brands to be mindful of where their ad dollars are going.  As a result, following the crowds, even if that means entering non-traditional venues on the web with less respectable material, makes a good deal of sense.  Despite the inherent logic of this move, some in the media still question whether this issue has more to do with negligentRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/10/milk-marketing-in-the-21st-century.html Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:35:56 +0000 The dairy lobby has always been a powerful force in America, but recently they saw their classic ad campaigns overtaken by cartoon characters that children more readily relate to.  These new school cultural icons easily sway children in purchasing choices.  The proliferation of SpongeBob snacks or Spiderman cereals drove Big Milk to form a modern marketing group known as “Milk Media.”  In the venture’s first deal, school milk consumption increased 34% after the implementation of Disney’s Doug into the milk campaign.  While milk has enemies, they certainly have fans in the federal government who wish to promote the milk alternativeRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2008/07/volkswagen-sponsors-free-css-downloads.html Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:31:41 +0000 Volkswagen has teamed up with the much buzzed about Brazilian band Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS) to offer its latest release, Donkey, for free. Everyone (in Brazil only, unfortunately) can download the internationally famous band’s newest album on this official site, thanks to full sponsorship by VW. This new distribution format is very innovative for Brazil and could potentially be a successful way to combat piracy in the country. Official CSS/Volkwagen Download Site]]> http://www.psfk.com/2007/10/improving-barbies-packaging.html Mon, 08 Oct 2007 22:33:12 +0000 In an attempt to reduce excessive packaging and create an unwrapping experiences that was best suited for their demographic, Mattel conducted a little market research to observe how girls were attempting to open the painstakingly complicated packaging, and then spent some time with their designers and engineers to come up with a solution that both saved them money and increased the overall unwrapping experience – all while ensuring that Barbie safely made her trip over from China. After observing that most girls attempted to just “pull and tear” Barbie from her package, the design team decided they needed to streamlineRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2007/08/skateboarders-switch-to-un-branded-boards.html Wed, 01 Aug 2007 19:34:23 +0000 The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article about skateboarders newfound preference for blank, un-branded skateboards. When kids first start skating, the allure of name brand boards is strong, but as skaters become more advanced with their tricks, they break more boards. Thus, paying the high prices that “cool” boards command can get pretty lame if you’re snapping a board a month. The Wall Street Journal reports on the 12 million American teenagers who skateboard: They are the industry’s prime customers, both devoted to the sport and savvy. And when they started out, most of them invested in premium boardsRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2007/03/mtvs-puberty.html Tue, 27 Mar 2007 14:43:17 +0000 There’s something pretty wonderful about the little puberty characters that MTV have made over at immaturity.tv. Each character has its own film, sometimes an intro para – brings it all back to you with a bump. We think there’s some way of putting all this on your mobile phone but we’re probably too old to work that out. http://www.immaturity.tv/]]> http://www.psfk.com/2007/03/nike-rethinks.html Mon, 26 Mar 2007 16:12:32 +0000 An article in Philly.com examines the new drive Nike has taken to make its products relevant for today’s market: Parker, 51, who became CEO in January 2006, is promoting new products such as basketball uniforms that are tailored rather than baggy… Under Parker’s new marketing structure, teams focus on six main categories: running, soccer, basketball, men’s training, women’s fitness, and sports culture, which the company defines as products for casual wear rather than athletic performance. The shift came as Nike lost market share to Baltimore-based Under Armour, which sells tight-fitting, sweat-wicking athletic clothes. Under Armour gained ground by targeting high-schoolRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2007/03/suba.html Fri, 23 Mar 2007 21:55:21 +0000 In 2002 a group of Buenos Aires art students from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) created their own clothes brand. SUBA as it’s named has become the brand to be seen in on the streets of Buenos Aires. According to PSFK’s Argentine correspondent Hernando Gomez Salinas SUBA has become “the ‘official clothes’ of all people who try to look ‘Street’ in Buenos Aires”. Hernando goes onto say that SUBA have become so successful by collaborating with worldwide artists but also in the way that they have spread their name through guerrilla and viral marketing. The brand has been adoptedRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2007/03/montanas-meth-project.html Tue, 13 Mar 2007 20:16:28 +0000 Making its way from the west coast, methamphetamine is reaching epidemic levels, hitting rural communities particularly hard. The Meth Project is an anti-meth campaign that’s attempting to graphically communicate the risks of methamphetamine to the youth of Montana with a unique and sensible approach: We approach Methamphetamine as a consumer products marketing problem. Meth is a consumer product. It is readily available. It is affordably priced. It is distributed statewide through a very effective distribution channel. It has many product attributes that are perceived as attractive. The Meth Project is the largest advertiser in Montana, reaching 70-90 percent of teensRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2007/03/mobile-gaming-interview-with-ea-founder.html Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:24:26 +0000 There’s an interesting interview with Trip Hawkins of Digital Chocolate who co-founded Electronic Arts. The learnings here could be applied to how a brand uses gaming on phones: Here’s a snippet: Is the wild success of the Nintendo DS (and failure of all hybrid phone-game devices) an indication that perhaps gaming is best suited for dedicated gaming devices? There are important differences between a good phone and a good game console, even a handheld one. The phone needs to fit in your pocket, be comfortable to hold up to your ear, and cost less than $100. What it can doRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2007/02/pepsis-counter-intuitive-branding-strategy.html Tue, 20 Feb 2007 17:44:44 +0000 The International Herald Tribune takes a look at how Pepsi is trying to connect with the Second Life generation with the use of avatar iconography: Frank Lampard, a midfielder for Chelsea, the English soccer team, is known for his quiet persona, but when he steps onto the pitch, he sometimes undergoes a Clark Kent-style transformation into Superman. So a new Pepsi can featuring Lampard depicts him as a cartoon superhero, like an alter-ego avatar from the online virtual world Second Life. The Lampard packaging, which is being prepared for the British market, is one of dozens of new can andRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2007/01/a-tale-of-two-videos-psp-vs-american-chopper.html Wed, 31 Jan 2007 22:52:26 +0000 We got hit up by two PRs promoting video work for the Sony Playstation 3 and the American Chopper TV series. Now, on paper you’d expect the PS3 to beat a video for a reality TV show into the ground. But what we got was the other way round. American Chopper rocked, PS3 sank. The PSP video is sell to youth culture by numbers: it’s got BMXs, it’s got BMX riders controlling their bikes with wonderful dexterity, it’s gone beautiful cinematography, it’s even got video game graphics. Bu tit just doesn’t work. The idea is tried and tested. It’s aRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2007/01/sweden-reps-itself-in-secondlife.html Tue, 30 Jan 2007 11:00:15 +0000 Sweden plans to launch a virtual “embassy” in the virtual world of Second Life to act as a marketing outpost for Sweden designed to reach the digital generation. The idea is being developed at Swedish Institute instead of the Ministry of foreign affairs. Via: 3pointD.com]]> http://www.psfk.com/2007/01/heidies-2.html Tue, 23 Jan 2007 16:38:15 +0000 Have you seen this?! Pretty extraordinary campaign by Diesel where 2 girls in their underwear try to convince Diesel to hire them as models – or they’ll chop of the sales assistant’s balls. All streamed live with the girls reacting to the chat forum. Very little censorship too! Wow! (And the campaign’s pretty amazing too). Diesel]]> http://www.psfk.com/2007/01/mobile-marketing.html Mon, 22 Jan 2007 18:13:57 +0000 There’s a pretty lengthy article in the NY Times about mobile marketing – the opportunities and the challenges. Much of this has been said before but there was one idea that stood out where brands supported mobile users who consumers mobile content: Mobile content can be pretty expensive and brands could offer some sort of branded utility to users to offset costs. Madison Avenue Calling – New York Times]]> http://www.psfk.com/2007/01/online-seeding.html Mon, 22 Jan 2007 17:22:28 +0000 Some brands and their agencies think that putting a video on YouTube will bring instant awareness. Influx Insights blog has an excellent critique of Nokia’s attempts to start a discussion about future telephone trends. Influx suggests that Nokia’s taken the wrong route by putting the ads on YouTube and then just expecting them to take off. Influx says: The videos get posted up onto YT where they compete for attention with a gazillion others and because they aren’t entertaining, they go to the bottom of the pile. Not one of these scenarios is going to be a hit. The viewRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2007/01/inspiration-skateboard-mag-first-12-issues-from-81.html Fri, 05 Jan 2007 18:09:30 +0000 To commemorate their 25th anniversary, skateboard magazine Thrasher has released its first 12 issues in PDF form. Lots of inspiration here. [Thrasher] First 12 Mags]]> http://www.psfk.com/2007/01/ringtone-only-a-teen-can-hear.html Wed, 03 Jan 2007 20:57:49 +0000 In an effort to target teens for the upcoming release of “The Messengers,” Sony has created a downloadable ringtone that only teens can hear. The high pitched tone is inaudible for adults over 25 and is meant to tie-in thematic references from the movie. Created specifically for the film, the teen-only ringtone is composed of a combination of several ultrasonic frequencies tied together to mimic a musical sound recognizable from the film that resembles a high pitched chord. “The fact that only kids can hear it winds up being a thematic fit with the notion in the film that herRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2006/12/ifs-2c-why-edelmans-blog-buzz-strategy-for-zune-failed.html Thu, 07 Dec 2006 20:58:45 +0000 There’s an interesting post over at Valleyway that suggests that, frustrated by the lack of positive blogger response over the Zune, Microsoft’s buzz agency Edelman has decided it might be best to hit the old school journos. Valleywag says: Microsoft’s marketers had entertained a fantasy: that the blogs, which increasingly determine buzz on products, would embrace it; the virtues of digital device would spread, virally, as people exchanged music with their friends; and a traditional press relations campaign, with a focus on tame business and national titles, was redundant. After $100 million was spent on a marketing budget to promoteRead more...]]> http://www.psfk.com/2006/11/burger-king-launches-x-box-games.html Thu, 30 Nov 2006 22:36:08 +0000 Fast fooders Burger king have launched three BK branded games for the XBox and XBox 360 consoles for $3.99 with the purchase of a Value Meal. The games are Pocketbike Racer – a racing game; Big Bumpin – with bumper cars; and Sneak King – where the player surprises other characters.The games will also feature other Burger King ad characters including Brooke Burke and the Subservient Chicken. More over at: Burger King Launches Branded Games for XBox · MarketingVOX]]>