MindShare Performance 2.0

Bebo & Sure Partnership

  There would be no real point of having our own blog if we weren't able to shout about the great and innovative projects we have developed. This project demonstrates the strength of integrated ways of working; a joint effort between the Unilever planning team, Performance & Interaction.

The campaign is based around our integration with the latest web based drama on Bebo 'Sofia's Diary' and is a great example of MindShare providing a combined associative partnership, digital media and creative solution for Unilever.

We have product placement on the show and storyline integrations with our branded Sure Girl Bebo profile - Sofia will visit our page on the show and one of our profile 'friends' will get to appear in the show through a competition we are running on the profile.

The profile went live on Monday 17th March and to date has received 92,000 pages views and has 2062 friends.

And Now A Game From Our Sponsors...

Heralded in an article by Wired magazine last month - as "the future of advertising" - it seems that AGR or Alternative Gaming Reality is creating a bit of a buzz within the film and music industry.  The concept - consumers find hidden clues that enthrall and create buzz has had a long running association with the film industry - recent examples with Cloverfield (and The Dark Knight) as referenced in our post below.

Whether it is a revolutionary as Wired's article makes out is debatable.  What is true however is that it is a new form of buzz marketing, utilising blogs and a wealth of content to create excitement and desire for a product.  It effectively repositions the notion of driving people to view a single piece of content, instead surrounding them with small snippets of exciting and unique brand collateral.  The Nine Inch Nails example in the article highlights the extent fans will go to - to unearth the clues, once hooked.  Read the full article here..

Effects of the Hollywood Writers Strike...

New research from MindShare in the US concludes that the writers strike, which began in November, is beginning to take a serious toll on TV viewing behavior.

Almost half of those surveyed in the poll said they were spending more time online as a result of the repeat programming they have encountered because of the strike. More than 60% of viewers said their favorite shows were now in repeat mode.

"Most people believe the strike will continue for another three weeks or a month, so I think they realize this is a somewhat long-term proposition," said Tata Sato, director of consumer insights at MindShare. Sato added that while close to half of those polled are "frustrated" that their favorite programs are affected, "they still support the idea of the writers getting a fair deal."

We here at Performance think is pretty interesting, as it is forcing people to change habits and look else where for entertainment - the internet. It is also having a knock-on effect here in the UK with broadcasters commissioning their own programming as they cannot rely on imported shows.

Why So Serious..

As far as we're concerned the best film of 2008 will be the new Batman film, The Dark Knight.  If you happen to go and watch I Am Legend one of the few IMAX cinemas then you'll be lucky enough to see a 7 minute prequel to the film - explaining how Heath Ledger becomes the Joker.

What has been interesting though is the approach Warner Bros have taken in generating hype and interest in the movie - as far back as a year ago they started seeding online pages rather than direct people to one particular site.  Released with no big PR hype or spin - the pages are seeded - allowing fans to seek them out and share in blogs and post-rooms.   Particularly useful in our opinion in generating buzz and chatter with influencers, getting the film hyped early on..the amount of pages created are simple but pretty extensive (allowing for new sites to be out there quickly enough and maintain buzz and excitement..) - check these out..

www.thehahahatimes.com: A version of the Gotham Times, but with additions and scribbles from The Joker, which will likely make you giggle and freak your shit out in equal measure.

www.wearetheanswer.org: A vigilante site calling for Gothamites to report corrupt behaviour by the city's police force.

www.gothampolice.com: A site for Gotham City's police force. You can apply to join the force, whereby you too can fight fictional comic book crime!

www.GothamNationalBank.com: A wesbite for the city's biggest bank. We suspect this might be the site of the rumoured botched heist  that leaves The Joker with those disfiguring scars that make his freakish grin.

www.rememberinggina.com: A tribute site to the mystery girl whose death is mentioned in The Gotham Times. If you email the site you receive the following email:

"I'm Gina's Aunt Gail and I'm maintaining this website for my sister, Gina's mother. Thank you for your remembrance of Gina. So many people have moved away from the old neighborhood that it's easy to forget how many people are still here. When we first moved here, I can remember we used to all sit on the stoops and the whole neighborhood knew each other. But that was before the Stratalinni's Grocery on the corner was burned down--I remember Gina and her sister used to beg for quarters to go down there and buy candy. It was a different place then. Now I know my son will never allow my new grandson to go down to the avenue on his own. Everybody is locked up tight in the evening, we don't see each other. It takes a tragedy to remember we have neighbors. Thank you for reminding us."

www.whysoserious.com/personalityprofile: An extension of the original Joker site which asks you to take a test to see whether you're worthy of joining his gang, which then gives you a reading on a strength test type light up machine (we can't get beyond 'Hilarious', dammit!). It suggests there will be further tests in days to come.

other pages included...

www.whysoserious.com/mausoleum

http://www.gvafoundation.org/gothamvictimsfoundation

http://www.acmesecuritysystems.com/

http://www.gothamusd.net/security.

Jumpers for Goalposts....

Last night at The David Beckham Academy Performance took part in a 5-a-side tournament along with Ogilvy, Kempster, H & K, BlueStar, EuroSport, Attention, Haymarket and Castrol A & B.....This was all in celebration of the Castrol association with next years European Championships - The Castrol Agency 5's. We interviewed coach and captain / manager Mike Jackson who said:

"I'm immensely proud of my team, we had the shape, fitness, style and fluidity to top our league and sail through the Semi-Final. However, in the final, we played a bunch of ringers from BlueStar, and decided that the pub was calling. A special mention must go to Emily (the only female in the team) who shone like the north star and to Vinny's forehead - which also shone like the North Star".

Codename: Project Kangaroo

It was only a matter of time before a platform like this was created, a unified platform for Video on Demand. It was revealed in June 2007 that the BBC would be developing this content streaming platform (which also allows you to download) and had invited ITV and C4 to join in too. At the moment it is only available on PC's, so it is still limited, but no doubt it will continue to evolve over time, as will the partners who come on board.

Log on....Tune in

If you're not really looking forward to another re-run of 'Only Fools and Horses' on Christmas Day, how about introducing the family to some quality online content? Launched a month ago is the newest addition to the growing number of online soaps / drama's is Quarterlife.

Earlier this year, MySpace signed up Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, the creators of "My So-Called Life" and "thirtysomething," to produce the new series, exclusively, at first, for My Space TV.

The Emmy-winning producers agreed to create 36 eight-minute episodes of "quarterlife," which focuses on six creative twentysomethings with tendencies toward highly revealing video blogging - very handy!

The deal seems to represent an ongoing plan by MySpace (still the most popular social networking site online) to attract more investment with sponsor-friendly programming. Toyota being a key brand linked with Quarterlife.

However, it has been publicised that NBC have picked up the rights and it looks like it may air on TV, some have been cynical to suggest this has been the plan all along, to build buzz and a fanbase as a way to promote the show.  It could be seen to demonstrate an interesting model from which writers and producers will test popularity of their work from here on in.

Of course Quarterlife is not the first of its kind, the original being LonelyGirl15 which debuted in May 2006, which as of September 2007 has had 70 million views. Then along came KateModern, which is the British version of LG15, they inhabit the same virtual world. The other one worth mentioning is YoungAmericanBodies, which is about the love lives of a group of young people, set in Chicago.

Enjoy!

MindShare:Debating World Champions

...well the Annual 44 Club Inter-Agency Debate champions. Last night saw the gathering of some great brains to battle it out for this years crown. We're delighted to annouce that our very Lyndon Morant, along with Jan Neumeister fought off stiff competition from Leo Burnett, Grand Union, Publicis, M & C Saatchi & EuroRSCG to take the title home. Job well done.

Acer signs up as major sponsor for London 2012

The International Olympic Committee has signed computer manufacturer Acer as a major sponsor of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Acer will join The Olympic Partner Programme on January 1 2009, which will position it as the official worldwide partner in the computing hardware category for the Vancouver 2010 winter Olympics, as well as London 2012.

The Taiwanese company replaces Lenovo, the Chinese computer giant, which announced yesterday that it will end its Olympic backing after the Beijing games in 2008.

If you want to find out a bit more about the sponsorship structure of the 2012 Games, then do give us a shout - we're lucky to have a few experts in the team so you're in safe hands.

Introducing...Simon M Willis

Now we don't know what the 'M' stands for, but we do know he is great at what he does. Simon works across the road at GroupM Enterainment developing & producing innovative and relevant programming for our brands. He is going to pop up now and then with an update from him, and here is the first:

 

"Well what a year we've had, with some great programming on MTV, Channel 4 and on-line the branded content message in spreading. Off-line we've also been discussing with broadcasters branded content opportunities in their business, in fact we are now in a position with Virgin Media to have two prime-time slots just waiting for some great programming. Monday 21.00 on Living (in the Britain's Next Top Model slot) and 22.00 (weekdays) on Virgin 1 are available from Q3 next year, Virgin and Living have also said they will fund a % of the programming. This is the type of opportunity that will really move our genre forward, but only if we get some great leads that allow us to create some great programming. I really hope we can get some of these projects away in '08 and continue our revolution!"