Archive for April, 2009

Honda took to Vimeo, a video sharing site to help promote their Hybrid vehicle, the Insight. Instead of uploading another viral video they took over the whole page, letting it fade completely to black when their video plays and naturally bringing the light back up with the sunrise. Interesting way to go viral. Check it out here

Jergens, a leader in the health and beauty skin care product category, is taking a stand against sun abusers. They’ve created a website/blog that mimics the popular celebrity gossip sites, and posts information about sun abuse, skin damage, “sunaholics” and of course tips to prevent all of this. 

They’ve created and designed their blog in such a way that at first glance, you can’t tell that it was created by Jergens. Check it out at http://skintervention.ca/blog/, and remember to use SPF!

Happy Earth day fellow Sourcies!! If you’re looking for an easy way to reduce your carbon footprint and help the environment, look no further than Marcal’s new line of Small Steps products — paper towels, bath tissue, facial tissue and napkins made from 100 percent recycled paper. In an effort to raise awareness about consumers’ paper use, Marcal unveiled an exhibit with an 8×8-foot roll of toilet paper in New York City’s Times Square which represents how much toilet paper the average U.S. household uses in a year. The display also includes three tons of recycled newspapers, junk mail, office paper, and the like that would go into making the giant roll as well as 34 trees, which represent what an average family can save by buying recycled-paper goods instead of virgin-paper products. And with Marcal’s low price point and quality product there’s no reason not to choose recycled paper products; So do your part and take “A Small, Easy Step to a Greener Earth“!

Read the full article here at consumerreports.org

Puma is promoting its new shoe, the “lift” with an interactive game on their website. To prove that their shoe is extremley light weight, they put it to the test on a scale versus some random but funny objects. Check it out at http://lift.puma.com/

Yowza!!

Want an app that makes shopping easier? This new iPhone app points you toward the deals and steals at your favorite retailers.

Yowza!! is a mobile coupon app. It’s different because it’s tailored to your location. Yowza!! uses your iPhone’s GPS to deliver deals that are relevant to your location.

You choose your radius — 1 mile, 5 miles, 15 miles — and Yowza!! shows you what retailers in your area are offering deals and steals exclusively through the app. So you walk into the mall and you open up the app and you see what the current exclusive sales are.

So easy!

Yowza!! then generates a coupon, and there’s no printing involved. When you are done shopping, you check out as usual; open the app on your phone, click the relevant coupon, and the clerk scans the barcode, from your phone, and you score the discount.

Yowza!! cofounder Greg Grunberg, says “Yowza!! will save you money everywhere you spend, with everything you buy,”. Current participating retailers include Target, Guitar Center, Children’s Place, Finish Line, Islands Restaurants, and the Container Store; Yowza!! is in talks with Forever 21, Victoria’s Secret, and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

Currently, deals through Yowza!! are only available in store, but Grunberg says they are hoping to offer an online component in the future. But shopping in an actual store is okay, especially in this economy, he argues. “That’s the whole idea: we need to be in the stores spending, and retailers need to be offering incredible deals.” If you can use your iPhone to find those deals, so much the better.

Yowza!! isn’t just another way for big chains to reach consumers, though; any retailer, no matter how small, can participate. The hope, Grunberg says, is that small boutiques will join and will be able to compete with larger box stores by offering comparable — or better — deals through the app. Owners of boutiques or other small retail businesses can go directly to the Yowza!! website and get their deals included in the app, for a small fee. It’s a win-win for local businesses: local consumers who might overlook your shop will see it on their phone, right next to the big chains — if your deal is as good or better than theirs, you’re a winner. “It levels the playing field,” Grunberg says, and in the post-WalMart world, the ability to find local retailers is an added bonus for community-minded shoppers and local businesses alike.

Make your iPhone work for you the next time you’re shopping. Yowza!! is available at the Apple store — and it’s free.

Are you a self described “voicemail phobic”? Do you let your mailbox fill up only to get phone calls from Mom asking, “Do you know your voicemail is full?!”. Well you are certainly not alone! 

Tim Kassouf from Baltimore, 24, who calls himself “a certified voice mail hater,” said he had 68 messages, 62 of them unheard, in his cellphone mail box. Scott Taylor, 41, a senior manager at an e-commerce company in Phoenix, said voice mail was “just totally an ineffective communication method, almost ancient now.”

Research shows that people take longer to reply to voice messages than other types of communication. Data from uReach Technologies, which operates the voice messaging systems of Verizon Wireless and other cellphone carriers, shows that over 30 percent of voice messages linger unheard for three days or longer and that more than 20 percent of people with messages in their mailboxes “rarely even dial in” to check them, said Saul Einbinder, senior vice president for marketing and business development for uReach, in an e-mail message.

There are no definitive studies of how many voice mail messages American leave compared with earlier periods, but if the technology is heading toward obsolescence — as many communication experts suspect — the trend is being driven by young people. Again and again, people under 25 recount returning calls from older colleagues and family members without bothering to listen to messages first. Thanks to cellphone technology, they can see who called and hit the Send button to reply without calling their voice mail box. “Didn’t you get my message?” parents ask. “No,” their children reply, “but I saw that you called.

Full Article from New York Times

 DiGiorno is launching a flatbread pizza by way of TV, print and … Twitter. The freezer aisle’s largest-selling pizza brand is wading into social media for the launch, tapping tweeters with strong followings and offering to provide food for tweetups.

“We’ve always been out there with a lot of different media touch points, with a combination of online and offline,” said Tom Moe, director-marketing for Kraft’s DiGiorno brand. “We’re always looking for the newest and most relevant places to be in both areas, and we thought this would be a great offer to combine with Twitter.”

DiGiorno’s new flatbread pizza is a thinner, crispier version of the premium frozen product.

The brand has tasked PR agency Weber Shandwick with reaching out to influential tweeters willing to host tweetups, or in-person get-togethers prearranged on Twitter, in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Kraft will deliver DiGiorno to the events and hope attendees spread the word.

Just what makes an influential tweeter “is something we’re in the process of working out with the folks at Weber,” Mr. Moe said. The brand’s advertising agencies include DraftFCB, MediaVest and Digitas, all out of Chicago, and AKQA, San Francisco.

“The beauty of the tweetup is it’s not necessarily millions of impressions at that point in time,” Mr. Moe said. “It’s the quality of interaction we’re going to have with these folks who are passionate about relevant new news.” But that makes for something of a fuzzy return-on-investment measurement. Mr. Moe said Kraft will measure success based on engagement at the event, and how much tweeting and blogging is generated by it.

DiGiorno has been among Kraft Foods’ more technologically forward brands. When its popular “DiGiornomics” campaign launched in August, Kraft built accompanying contextual-search ads designed to intercept Yelp and Citysearch users looking for “pizza delivery” and instead offer DiGiorno. That program has been expanded for 2009.

Read Full Article

Adidas is incenting purchase of their Rebel Super 14 rugby jerseys with a free ticket offer to a 09 Rebel game (in New Zealand) and a chance to exchange jerseys with an all star at the game! An added bonus feature gives ladies a sneak peak at what’s under the guys jerseys and an opportunity to create a personalized player poster with your name on it - a little different!  

http://www.adidas.com/campaigns/campaigns_nz/content/popup/index.asp#

Leave your mark on a piece of interactive toast and help feed the hungry. That’s what the Bread Art Project is aiming to do. Visit www.breadartproject.com to create and submit your masterpiece. For every submission a donation of $1 is made to help fight hunger in the US. While you’re there, check out the toast gallery to see what others have designed. And if you want to get really inspired, take a look at the featured artists toast art. 

The site also provides information about the world hunger and - you guessed it - bread. So go design a piece of toast and know that you’ve done something good today.