Game marketing is usually one level up, and there’s a lot to learn there from those trying to capturing attention of consumers.
One campaign that has been making the rounds is APB: All Points Bulletin‘s take on The Human Avatar, a real-time experiment in identity and transformation.

During several stages, Josh, a fan chosen by APB’s online community, will subject himself to a extreme makeover: hair style, piercings, tattoos, and clothing, just as it would happen with the in-game avatar personalization tool.

With 3 stages left, the piercing episode was pretty hardcore but i’m curious about the tattoo :) . Oh, and you can follow Josh’s hardships @human_avatar or check the pictures on Twitter.

I’m not much into games (time is precious) but as far as marketing is concerned, this does level up. Or are reality shows venturing into videogames?

Loving the new YouTube based campaign for Coke by Wieden+Kennedy Portland.

Centered around the keyhole bottle icon, symbolizing Coca-Cola’s mysterious secret formula, the video has several overlays leading to unique digital experiences.

I’ll throw a few spoilers linked on the video overlays:

On Twitter, you can follow Dr.Pemberton, Coke’s 179 year old inventor, and ask questions about Coke’s secret formula.
On Facebook, send your friends a polar bear video message (and the chance to win a free Coke, US only).

Not to mention the video feed tracking the safe where the secret formula is probably hidden.

And by sending a Coke bubble on www.mycoke.com/smileizer , Coke will donate $1 to the National Parks Service for each laugh.

Something tells me that this is not the end of Dr. Pemberton’s adventure. There’s probably more to it.

Stamen Design just published their new visualization for CNN, that maps coalition casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Home and Away goes beyond the regular news reporting, showing real data that is now becoming a platform for participation, with “people using the map to post memories and share stories about their lost loved ones”.

I’m no Jay Rosen or Jeff Jarvis, but the future of journalism will be relying a lot on information visualization and social experiences, acknowledging that readers are not only consuming information, but they want to actually participate (beyond the regular comment box).

Source: Stamen Design

Andrew Bell, Robert Hodgin, and The Barbarian Group just released LibCinder, a creative coding framework in C++.

It’s a cross platform, open-source project, very similar to Processing or OpenFrameworks, but with better memory management and OpenGL support. Features include standalone applications and screensaver creation, Cocoa touch support (iPhone, iPad), OpenGL texture classes, webcam capture support and full Quicktime support. Besides the tech specs, what can it really do?


The most famous example is probably the Augmented Reality cover on Esquire but there’s lot of video goodness by Robert Hodgin (aka flight404) below.

(more…)

Yes, there’s a big connection. Just watch. And share with your designers, developers and clients.

An analogy, by John Boykin, seen at Johny Holland

For the past 3 years, dozens of leading marketeers, writers and thinkers have collaborated on a book that brings some of the best insights on modern marketing. Led by Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton, this third book in the Age of Conversation series brings together authors from across the world, with diverse and practical insights for the changing nature of business today.

Chapters include topics like Conversational branding, Influence, Getting to work, Corporate conversations, Measurement, In the boardroom, Innovation and execution, Pitching social media and Identities (the topic I wrote a short essay for).

With cover illustration by Chris Wilson and our new publisher Channel V Books (from co-authors Gretel Going & Kate Fleming), i’m counting on you to order a copy once it’s released, specially considering the sales profits are donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Get to know the rest of the authors or follow the Twitter AOC3 list created by  Steve Ponder:

• Adam Joseph
• Priyanka Sachar
• Mark Earls
• Cory Coley-Christakos
• Stefan Erschwendner
• Paul Hebert
• Jeff De Cagna
• Thomas Clifford
• Phil Gerbyshak
• Jon Burg
• Toby Bloomberg
• Shambhu Neil Vineberg
• Joseph Jaffe
• Uwe Hook
• Steve Roesler
• Michael E. Rubin
• anibal casso
• Steve Woodruff
• Steve Sponder
• Becky Carroll
• Tim Tyler
• Chris Wilson
• Beth Harte
• Tinu Abayomi-Paul
• Dan Schawbel
• Carol Bodensteiner
• Trey Pennington
• David Weinfeld
• Dan Sitter
• Vanessa DiMauro
• Ed Brenegar
• David Zinger
• Brett T. T. Macfarlane
• Efrain Mendicuti
• Deb Brown
• Brian Reich
• Gaurav Mishra
• Dennis Deery
• C.B. Whittemore
• Gordon Whitehead
• Heather Rast
• Cam Beck
• Hajj E. Flemings
• Joan Endicott
• Cathryn Hrudicka
• Jeroen Verkroost
• Karen D. Swim
• Christopher Morris
• Joe Pulizzi
• Leah Otto
• Corentin Monot
• Karalee Evans
• Leigh Durst
• David Berkowitz
• Kevin Jessop
• Lesley Lambert
• Duane Brown
• Peter Korchnak
• Mark Price
• Dustin Jacobsen
• Piet Wulleman
• Mike Maddaloni
• Ernie Mosteller
• Scott Townsend
• Nick Burcher
• Frank Stiefler
• Steve Olenski
• Rich Nadworny
• John Rosen
• Tim Jackson
• Suzanne Hull
• Len Kendall
• Amber Naslund
• Wayne Buckhanan
• Mark McGuinness
• Caroline Melberg
• Andy Drish
• Oleksandr Skorokhod
• Claire Grinton
• Angela Maiers
• Paul Williams
• Gary Cohen
• Armando Alves
• Sam Ismail
• Gautam Ramdurai
• B.J. Smith
• Tamera Kremer
• Eaon Pritchard
• Brendan Tripp
• Adelino de Almeida
• Jacob Morgan
• Casey Hibbard
• Andy Hunter
• Julian Cole
• Debra Helwig
• Anjali Ramachandran
• Jye Smith
• Drew McLellan
• Craig Wilson
• Karin Hermans
• Emily Reed
• David Petherick
• Katie Harris
• Gavin Heaton
• Dennis Price
• Mark Levy
• George Jenkins
• Doug Mitchell
• Mark W. Schaefer
• Helge Tenno
• Douglas Hanna
• Marshall Sponder
• James Stevens
• Ian Lurie
• Ryan Hanser
• Jenny Meade
• Jeff Larche
• Sacha Tueni and Katherine Maher
• David Svet
• Jessica Hagy
• Simon Payn
• Joanne Austin-Olsen
• Mark Avnet
• Stanley Johnson
• Marilyn Pratt
• Mark Hancock
• Steve Kellogg
• Michelle Beckham-Corbin
• Michelle Chmielewski
• Amy Mengel
• Veronique Rabuteau
• Peter Komendowski
• Andrea Vascellari
• Timothy L Johnson
• Phil Osborne
• Beth Wampler
• Amy Jussel
• Rick Liebling
• Eric Brody
• Arun Rajagopal
• Dr Letitia Wright
• Hugh de Winton
• David Koopmans
• Aki Spicer
• Jeff Wallace
• Don Frederiksen
• Charles Sipe
• Katie McIntyre
• James G Lindberg & Sandra Renshaw
• David Reich
• Lynae Johnson
• Jasmin Tragas
• Deborah Chaddock Brown
• Mike O’Toole
• Jeanne Dininni
• Iqbal Mohammed
• Morriss M. Partee
• Katie Chatfield
• Jeff Cutler
• Pete Jones
• Riku Vassinen
• Jeff Garrison
• Kevin Dugan
• Tiphereth Gloria
• Mike Sansone
• Lori Magno
• Valerie Simon
• Nettie Hartsock
• Mark Goren
• Peter Salvitti

Can’t wait to read the great thinking from the “fellowship” !

After the famous Let It Shine for Honda (by W+K), now it’s Goodby Silverstein and Partners to deliver some takeover action on this video for Tostitos (Frito Lay).
The movie is below, but you should visit the vimeo URL to really appreciate it.

For many years Google was one of the last companies avoiding mass media advertising (though they’ve done it outside the US). That stronghold ended the last SuperBowl, with the now famous (and parodied) Parisian Love ad:

Even web companies with true fans reach a point when branding becomes necessary to grow a market that’s getting crowded. With many people starting to explore Google’s products and services, an ad that is relevant and tells a powerful story only helps to conquer more users, responding to needs that later get extended to their professional choices (think AdWords or Google Apps).

This need for branding for web companies will become even more evident the next few years, as startups try seduce advertisers by getting more reach and visibility. But instead of using the eyeballs approach, we’ll have a more combined branding approach.

Foursquare, the location based game, and their recent partnerships with Zagat or Marc Jacobs is an example of this sponsorship leveraging a web brand, . Other examples include ExecTweets with Federated Media and Microsoft or even more tactical approaches like the Let It Shine commercial for Honda and Vimeo.

Larger brands should take notice of these opportunities, by teaming up with web brands on relevant, win-win partnerships. As for web companies, Branding, even on a different form, is one step to leave their Beta label behind.