SPINNING AROUND: SEVENTY SEVEN THINKING OUT LOUD

MORE CRACKING NINTENDO AND AARDMAN WORK

Back-story is here. Meantime, some more lovely shorts by Aardman for Nintendo.

BTW, the videos have now had over 400,000 views. Not bad, we reckon.

NOT SOCIAL MEDIA WANK

The lovely folks at Google popped together what is a very good presentation on the best uses of some of their tools by creative types and brands alike. And very handy brainfood it is too. Definitely NOT social media wank.

Until I've worked out how to embed it, it's here.

... cracked the whole embedding thing (problem was that it was too big for this blog frame and got the whole thing out of kilter and generally made a mess). A spot of searching (on Google) sorted the issue. Bloody baffling tho it may have been.

SOCIAL MEDIA WANK

This film sums up exactly how I feel about too much social media talk.

Working at an agency where a bunch of "social media" work is a given as part of any piece of work for any client, from doing a spot of blogger relations to managing content on behalf of clients to creating campaigns that work almost entirely online, it's just what we do.

I'm not saying it's universal, but all you social media specialists could do with watching this because, too often, it's exactly how you come across.

NB. it's a bit sweary.

BACK FROM ME HOLS ...

Have just got back from two weeks away, so am playing catch up really. Have posted a few bits and bobs from France (Monesties, little village near Albi and Toulouse, recommend it). But have got a handful of things that I spotted that I didn't have time/technology to pop up. Blogging on Typepad from an iPhone is not all that it could be, to be honest.

TWO VERY GOOD PRESENTATIONS

Social Media: It's Not What You Say That Matters by Paul Isakson

 

Advertising Fireworks, Social Bonfires by John V Willshire

THE ROLE FOR THE 90"

I was having an interesting chat with an ECD at a big London ad agency the other day.

It was a really interesting one. Because I found myself defending his territory while he was advocating mine.

Odd.

Basically, we were talking about a big new brand thought that the agency has developed for one of their clients. The marketing director wants to launch the big new brand thought with a big new 90" brand film.

But the ECD (who's film it was), really felt that the big new idea should launch with something else altogether ... something with some engagement: an event, a stunt, a digital something ... ANYTHING, in fact, other than a 90" TV spot.

Which kind of led him to say that there is almost no role for this kind of big brand film. Or at least to seriously question the central stature that such epics have been given in the "big campaigns" of recent times.

Oddly, I sort of disagree.

And then tried to find an example.

It wasn't hard.

The T Mobile Trafalgar Square work only makes sense (indeed only worked) because of the big 90" flash mob ad that preceded it, made clear the brand's position and started to build a community of fans who wanted to come down for the event.

The Barclaycard Waterslide game is now the most downloaded branded app on iTunes of all time. But that is only so because we saw the big ad that preceded it. And the game only makes sense (or delivers any brand message at all) if you know that Barclaycard is all about contactless payment making real life easier.

The Cadbury work that carries that brand idea of a Glass and a Half Full of Joy - the sheer, random burst of pleasure that their product delivers - only makes sense if you saw the Gorilla.

I could go on.

Actually, anyone who might say that TV advertising has had its day in a world of big integrated thinking, of digital engagement, of branded content, of experiential is talking shit.

The big 90" TV ad remains a phenomenal way of engaging people with a big brand idea. Sure, the nature of those films has to change, so that rather than delivering a response message, they deliver a brand promise, but their role has become even more central in many ways, I think.

In PR, we talk about our work creating a favourable environment in which to sell (we might create some response, but primarily, we make it easier to sell through all channels and more likely that a consumer will close the deal).

For my money, these kinds of big brand idea expressed through TV spots create a favourable environment for brands to engage and communicate. If you don't know what the big thought is behind the game, the event, the Facebook app, they might as well not exist. The big ad delivers that context.

Now I'm not saying that the big TV spot is the only way to deliver that brand context. It isn't. But it remains a very, very powerful one.

GUITAR HERO PUTS THE BOOT IN

Thought that this was a lovely collaboration: Guitar Hero x DM limited editions.

Classic 14 hole DM boots with an extremely subtle (so subtle you wouldn't know unless you were an "insider") guitar logo across the back.

But it also got me to thinking that if experiential might've been en vogue a couple of years back and that it's now all about social meeja, maybe PR agencies should be thinking more about taking a lead in putting together these kinds of partnerships for their clients.

As brands become more social and as so many have huge fan bases or communities (whether online or off), so a smart partnership provides a way of sharing those fan bases and a way for both brands to benefit as a result.

So, in this case, Guitar Hero makes DM contemporary and "now" and helps them access a younger generation of rockers, keeping the brand modern and transitioning it into Generation Y, so DM gives Guitar Hero an aura of rock legend credibility and endorsement.

It's a funny thing, but we seem to be working on a lot more of this kind of activity for a couple of our clients at the moment. But it feels to me like we should be doing more of it.

A smart brand partnership, where there is something to be gained for both partners, means that each can create and access the other's consumer base (whether online or off), new and surprising (and therefore newsworthy) things can be created and the world starts to look a happy place.

Sure, there have already been some stunners (Nike+ with Apple springs to mind, H&M or New Look working with designers and style leaders likewise).

But it also feels to me like PR agencies should be at the forefront of these kinds of partnerships. We're a bunch of people who are tactically minded, we understand relationships and how they can be forged to mutual benefit and we ought to know how to make these kinds of partnerships work hard for all parties.

I reckon that this is going to be an area that we really should be watching and developing our skills in, because done well, it ought to be one in which we have a lot to offer, skills-wise.

GET INVOLVED ...

Liked this post that Amelia put up about VCCP's much-lauded Meerkat campaign.

But particularly like the notion of "participatory creative ideas". A very smart approach and a very smart piece of thinking. Neatly encapsulated in a rather natty single line.

Relates to a couple of things that I have been mulling over and am shortly to get down on (digital) paper. Honest.

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AND ALL THAT

All fun and games it appears ... and some people are taking the vote for People's Choice of most admired agency very seriously. Which I guess is all good.

So I thought that I would take this opportunity to make a couple of observations. And to do some thanks.

The observations (apart from Cake being cheeky self-voting buggers) are that there is an interesting dynamic going on in PR at the moment.

First of all, there are actually a lot of very good agencies out there, it strikes me. Yes, we probably all do different things really well to some degree. But actually the market is strong, lots of good people, some good ideas and good work. Which is a good thing.

Sure, there are plenty of crap agencies and some people who aren't up to it, but we are blessed with a crop of good businesses.

The other interesting thing tho is that there are a bunch of agencies out there that are, quite simply, better at this social media stuff. One of the things that I always suspected was that there would be a bunch of people who would hit Twitter, Facebook, there own blogs to try to get people in and voting for them.

Canvassing, rabble-rousing, whatever you may call it.

And a bunch of them have. What's interesting is that some agencies out there are really bloody good at it.

As far as I can make out, there are some that are just voting for themselves, but others (honourable mentions to Andrew at FRANK and the guys at We Are Social, while Mark B is threatening a blog post), have taken to their online networks to get the clicks in.

So one of the odd things that has come out of this is the observation that there are a handful (tiny) that are doing some of this stuff really well. Law of unintended consequences and all that, but it strikes me that the agencies that have noted their presence in this poll and have used the tools they should be using for clients to get people along are those that deserve to be at the top of the list, given that it's where so much of our industry is going.

Not sure that those are particularly deep and I am going to keep mulling, but if nothing else, it's been an interesting experiment in understanding who has influence as much as they have a stock of good work behind them. A thought to be continued ...

Oh ... and the thanks go to wearesocial, Adam Vincenzi, Chris Reed, Mike Mathieson, Andrew Bloch, Reema Babakhan, Jay Sorrels, Kate Brackenborough, Vio and Andrea ... and no doubt a bunch of other people I'm, not aware of who have seen fit to mention the poll/canvass votes/whatever.

PR AGENCY OF THE YEAR ... PEOPLE'S CHOICE

Thought that we would revisit something that we did a while back and see who (as the PR Week Awards confirms their Agency of the Year), the PEOPLE'S choice of "Most Admired Agency" would be.

From the entirely undemocratic list of agencies (which is basically those that were suggested by various folk in Seventy Seven PR), who would YOU make agency of the year ...?

NB. if you can AVOID voting for your own agency, it might make it a bit more interesting. We can't police it, of course, but go on, give it a go ...

UPDATE 17.57, 1 September: anyone get the sense that an email might've gone around Cake? I know that you're good guys, but am not quite sure that you justify 57% of the votes?!

UPDATE 10.26, 4 September: interest in this wee spate of PR jollity has been slightly higher than expected. Which is nice. Mike Matthieson raises a fair point about whether the We Are Social and FRANK scores are a bit higher than you might expect from online supporters alone (ie. they could be taking a lead from Afghanistan in the ballot stakes). Interesting one, that. All my logs say that their traffic is coming from Twitter and facebook and that a lot of it is legit. Which means that I should probably revise my opinion of Cake's score as I noted that Mike was punting his vote about the place. Who knows, maybe this is as much a look at the most web- and socially-connected agencies as it is the most admired.

UPDATE 10.30, 4 September: thanks to Mark for his hat tip and call for honesty.

UPDATE: 16.10, 5 September: it turns out that Poll Gate (as it shall henceforth be known) has gone national as the Telegraph has picked up the "story". Thanks to MikeMath for mentioning it. Am not really sure who comes out worst really, us, Cake or Mark B. Which I suppose is as it should be when journalists write about PRs.

poll by twiigs.com

ANOTHER NOTE TO SELF ... GAME CHANGERS

Some folks might know that I do bits and bobs (few of late, it has to be admitted) with the IPA Strategy Group.

Well, the team did an event on Game Changers, those who are using strategy to come up with genuinely new stuff.

Hence presentations by Six to Start, Made by Many and Zopa. All of them are well-worth a watch.

Dan Hon from Six to Start from The IPA on Vimeo.

Tim Malbon from Made by Many from The IPA on Vimeo.

Giles Andrews from Zopa from The IPA on Vimeo.

MTV STICKY LAUNCHES WITH YOUTH TRENDS

Well-worth a look is this new site launched by MTV and Viacom: MTV Sticky.

The site has already got a bunch of interesting bits and bobs on everything from gaming to smoking, from fashion trends to music.

Valuable reading indeed.

MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT JP PS CAMPAIGN

I was more than mildly cross when Alice sent around what is quite a cute Japanese spot for the new slim PS3 - which promotes the campaign website at Playface.jp.

Not cross with Alice, you understand, but with the fact that I knew I had seen the idea before. As it turns out, I had seen (and have blogged about) a project that looks almost identical to the Japanese work.

Which is mammothly irritating. And shows that you can't get away with seeing something somewhere, using it in a completely different country and no one spotting it. Which is a good thing in itself.

So I am now not sure what to think ... the Japanese ad is good work - nicely shot, gets the message across (a bit clunky around the packshot regions, but basically lovely. But it's more than a little a rip off.

Hmmm ...

The Japanese ad here ...

The project (Robbie Cooper, Immersion) from which it was lifted here ...

 

 

MORE THINGS DIGITAL MARKETING

Following the post about all things digital, Paul Isakson has popped up another deck on, well, all things digital ... and how marketing needs to change in response to changing consumers. Well worth a look.

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COMPANY BLOGS SHOULD BE LIKE THIS?

The World's Best Ever features a piece on all of the finest ads for off-beat fashion and lifestyle retailer, American Apparel. SEE, there IS a marketing-related reason for the image above.

Seriously, though, flicking through some of the ads, it got me to thinking that this is a brand that is utterly and remarkably of the moment. You can understand in so many ways, flcking through Dov Charney's almost-pornographic images, how the brand has gone global.

It's a business that wears its heart on its sleeve (sweatshop free cotton was where it started out), celebrates its people (many of those who feature in the ads are staff) and sells bloody good product at pretty reasonable prices.

But more, it's got a leader who feels like he still stamps a mark on a helluvalot that the company still does - including how it speaks to its consumers.

(PS. should agency blogs have posts like this on them - particularly with pics like the one above? Dunno, strikes me that if they don't have them, they should.)

ALL THINGS DIGITAL

This is HUGE. But it's also VERY good.

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via Crackunit

THANKS, ROB!

Having another bugger of a week with a pitch or two and lots of fun client stuff to be working on. So a quick one to say "thanks Rob" for making Spinning Around his blog of the week this week. Too kind, sir, too kind. A star and a gentleman indeed, I would say.

BECAUSE NOT ALL CLIENTS ARE GOOD

NEXT GENERATION TALENT IS BACK

Some folks might be aware that I did a spot of judging for the Panasonic "Next Generation Talent" contest last year. And jolly good fun it was too.

Well, it looks like (thanks Mel!) I shall be doing that judging thing again this time around. So it seemed only right and fitting that I popped up their promo film here to make folks aware that the contest is up and running once again.

T-MOBILE: THE FATAL FLAW

I found myself watching the T Mobile spots again.

And I thought to myself "there's something wrong with this. It doesn't fit quite as it should."

And do you know what? It doesn't.

The spots are supposed to be all about community, about sharing, about people - anyone, anywhere - getting together to do great stuff together. And they seem to extole a mantra of "get together, do amazing things".

BUT ... actually what the second spot in the campaign shows is that, when a bunch of amateurs - REAL people - get together, the result is shite: loads of people singing piss-poor karaoke in a way that makes me want to wretch.

WHEREAS ... when a bunch of professionals - dancers in the case of the flashmob - gets together, the result is utterly watchable: loads of people dancing really smoothly to a cracking mash that makes me smile. A lot.

Now, maybe I am taking the whole thing too literally and am comparing two very different pieces of work (the whole experience and media coverage of the second piece was great and did add hugely to its impact).

But it also says that, when it comes down to it, interesting and creative things CAN come from anywhere. But that they are FAR more likely to come from people who are good at what they do are well curated, than it is to come from a group of rank amateurs pissing about with microphones in a town square.

So where does that leave crowdsourcing, social engagement, the whole "help create a flickr pool", contribute to our Facebook Group movement?

Says to me that this sort of thing needs tight curation and people with real talent.

Otherwise, we will end up with a bunch of campaigns that are interesting and engaging only to the people who take part in them and of sod all interest to anyone else because the content will be crap.

By way of reminder, here's the Trafalgar Square thing (410,000 views) ...

And here's the Liverpool Street bash (11.7 million views) ...

DISPOSABLE MEMORIES ... WHAT A GREAT IDEA

This is such a great idea. Brilliant. And SO lovely that it works.

Basically, a chap by the name of Matthew Knight (soon to join W+K) dropped a heap of disposable cameras in all manner of places.

He asked that people take the cameras on their travels, pass them on, take some snaps ... whatever. And then send them back to him for the images to be developed and shown on the website dedicated to the project.

What a stunning idea.

Now, the numbers might look a bit ropey. There were 93 cameras released. Five have come back and 19 have been found. A bunch of them are MIA. Which doesn't sound that great.

But these things take time - as Knight says, the project was inspired by the Slow Movement, so it seems appropriate that it takes a bunch of days to take off - we marketers too often expect immediacy, I think. And sometimes patience pays dividends..

via Contagious

T-MOBILE: COMMUNITY BEATS CELEBRITY?

This is sort of interesting, I thought ...

Most people will be familiar with the T-Mobile flashmob video, right. So far, that particularly lovely piece of work has garnered around 12 million views. Which doesn't include all the teasers, user-generated bits and bobs and steals.

Good stuff.

Less well known are the celebrity films that they have created. The best of them features young Kelly Brook. There's also one with Bez in it, another with Peter Crouch.

They've done alright ... 150,000 views for the best of them, unaccountably, 220,000 for Peter Crouch.

But they've come NOWHERE near the orginal. So I started to wonder whether community might be the new celebrity.

I kind of hope so.

Celebs have their place in advertising - you can't be in an agency in the AMV Group and deny that - but community feels like it might be the natural successor. Particularly in a world where consumers are demanding more reality and less gloss from the brands that they embrace - they want more of the sausage and less of the bought sizzle.

And in a world where some brands have created this sort of community feeling (and if T-Mobile can do it, maybe anyone can - offering their fans and customers new ways of taking part in the brand itself is the natural next step.

So it was pretty lovely to see that you can take part in the next gathering ...

This is REAL behaviour for the brands of the future, if you ask me. But what do you reckon?

LONDON TO TAKE IT EASY ...

Perhaps reflecting the mood of the times, we're to have a Slow Down London event from 24th April to 4th May.

With a slow walk during rush hour across Waterloo Bridge and a read-in at Foyles amongst the events planned, this just struck us as a brilliant idea. According to them, "Slow Down London is a new project to inspire Londoners to improve their lives by slowing down to do things well".

There are also events at the Southbank Centre (one of the event partners), including a breakfast that we were thinking of tipping down to. There are also events on creativity and meditation.

Our prediction is that this sort of thing will only get bigger in the months to come and that we are quite likely to see this sort of thing spread - as organised "slowing down" feels like it might be more than just a reaction to the credit crunch and more like something that will stick longer-term.

SURVIVAL OF THE FASTEST ...

Part client-related, partly just plain interesting, this one.

Google, YouTube, London Business School and the Daily Telegraph have partnered together to create an interesting business channel on the video site: Survival of the Fastest.

On the one hand, it demonstrates the fact that YouTube is interesting beyond animals falling off stuff and babies eating things. Which is a good thing in itself.

It's also interesting because of some of the people who are involved - one of whom is Ije Nwokore at Wolff Olins (Seventy Seven's very own clients). He does a piece on whether brands matter in tough economic times. And we think that it's jolly interesting ...

Also of interest is the IPA and Ogilvy's Rory Sutherland talking about customer service in a downturn ...

There's a LOAD of other good stuff on the channel - it's well worth a watch. Variously, they are on the themes of Speed, Marketing and Insights.

MEDIAWATCH RELAUNCH MOMENT

Thought that folks might like to know that we have revamped and relaunched our MediaWatch weblog.

Taking a look at it, we realised that it'd got a bit behind the latest moves (too much real work to be blogging for the last couple of months). So we've stripped it back and are relaunching it.

Lots of good stuff, including the latest journalist moves (the useful ones, not the fact that Needlework and Cross-stitch Monthly has got a new editor), as well as relaunches of mags, supps and websites.

Oh, and the odd piece of commentary on the media news that we think matters.

THE BEST IDEAS SHOULD LIVE ...!

I liked this idea so much when Kate from Axicom got in touch to tell me about it that I thought it should be shared ...

Steve Hall of Adrants is putting together a book called Killed Ideas ... the best pieces of creative thinking that never quite saw the light of day.

The plan is that a bunch of these ideas will be submitted to www.killedideas.com and that Steve will pick his fifty favourites to pop into  forthcoming tome.

The ideas can be anonymised to protect the guilty where there is a need to do so and ... hell, it beats sitting in the pub telling everyone who will listen about your cracking plan that never quite saw thecold light of day ...

GOOD SHIZZLE TO DO IN MARCH

They're like buses, good gallery shows ...

First up, some doses of artistic inspiration as a couple of blockbuster spring shows open their doors. Picasso at the National and Rodchenko at Tate Modern. I remember seeing a Rodchenko at MoMA a fair few years ago (ooh ... ten? twelve? fifteen?) and thinking that, if ever there was a chance to see him again, I would go and go again. It's fascinating stuff, steeped in Soviet politics and thinking, an industrial and artistic revolution. Just brilliant stuff.

Oh, and on the subject of blockbusters, I also noted that there is a Corbusier show at the Barbican. I've always found architecture exhibitions a bit like hard work, but this one is at the Barbican Gallery, which has a track record in making difficult subjects engaging and fun. So another one to check out ...

For a slightly more pop culture take on the art world, am also looking forward to taking in the Murakami show at the Gagosian gallery. Am reading a cracking book that has in it a chapter on the Japanese misanthrope (there was a rumour that Murakami's work was hard to get hold of because he didn't like westerners at one stage) and his artistic studio practice. Murakami has over 300 people working in his studios to create his works. What a wonderfully odd way of making art ... but always pleasing.

Other than that (and as if that weren't enough), there are a couple of books that I was going to recommend for reading this month ... "Brand Immortality" (basically, "why advertising is good") by Hamish Pringle. I haven't read it yet, but plannerly folks in ad land tell me that it's a good read and well worth the effort.

The book that I have read and can firmly recommend is Rob Walker's "I'm With the Brand". Really interesting piece on why, in a world where we are so disaffected by brands and branding, there are some that we take to our hearts and advocate like fury. A lovely, counter-intuitive read.

Right ... that should be enough to keep us busy this month ... bring on April, I say!

STOP STRESSING STRATEGY ... CHAMPION IDEAS

Right ... this is a bit of a rant. But it's been bothering me for a while ...

I've found myself (as PR's resident plannerly type it would appear) asked about my view of PR as a strategic discipline.

People keep telling me how great it is that PR is now considered a key strategic element and that - to an ever-increasing degree - it has boardroom presence. These people then go on to say that PRs should take an even more strategic approach to guarantee this position.

Now, don't get me wrong, I think that it's great that my clients have board level positions. And that they are consulted on some very important business issues. It's all good.

Now ... back to PR and an obsession with strategy ...

Of course a lot of agencies love this. We see "strategy" as high-margin stuff. Our senior consultants can charge top dollar for doing a lot of thinking. And - once again - so that I am not misunderstood, some of that thinking is really good stuff.

But this whole approach has started to piss me off. For two reasons ...

First of all, I've always thought that one of PR's real strengths over marketing disciplines is its speed. Go on, ask an ad man how long the average campaign takes from idea to execution ... months. And the same for our friends in media, in DM even in digital.

In PR, I can have an idea in the morning that is coverage across the nationals the following day. Done and dusted.

I think that is an incredibly powerful thing to our clients. We don't sell it hard enough. Really. Being fast these days is important to clients. We're fast. Why don't we get off our "slow strategy" high horses and spend some time selling what makes us different to other disciplines, rather than what we do that is the same.

Second of all, however, we've spent years jumping up and down and parading our strategic thinking. But I think that what we've lost while our focus was "over there" selling strategy was a campaign to put a better value (by which I mean a higher value, naturally) on our ideas and our creative product.

Now, it feels to me, creativity is too often considered cheap. Great ideas from PRs are considered low-cost. And those ideas are - in some cases - capable of having a profound impact on a business: bringing greater brand attention, affection, footfall, traffic ... ultimately, sales.

Reckon that you can buy a year's worth of brilliant ideas from an ad agency for £60,000? Or for £100,000? You can in PR, though. And that is not because you have to buy strategy and planning from the ad agency. That's because we sell our ideas for less money than sometimes they are worth.

So my challenge (and please bear in mind that I am to some degree at least a planner in a PR agency by trade), is for PR agencies to stop campaigning for places on boardroom tables and instead to start campaigning for better payment for the ideas that we come up with for our clients.

Understand that I am not saying that we should stop being strategic and understanding the commercial and communication requirements of our clients. Otherwise the ideas that we came up with would be pointless.

Apologies if I am asking for "cake and eat it," but what I am saying is that we need to value ideas better and start asking for clients to pay a bit more for creative excellence.

Thanks for reading this. Please let me know what you reckon.

Rant over ...

TEXT FOR FUN ... AND BRANDED UTILITY

This service got me to thinking ...

For those who couldn't be arsed to click, it's a service from Zoomdogggle that enables you to text a shortcode, at which point the service will text you a fun thing to do in 140 characters. They are aiming for a database of 10,000 fun things (from a starting point of around 200-odd now). i spotted it on the excellent Josh Spear, BTW.

Given the sheer range of technologies and the low cost of media, there are some really interesting services that brands could be delivering.

So a brand that wants to reach kids and parents (anyone from MotherCare to Persil to Fairy to ... you get the picture) could do a similar service with fun things to do for kids. Or a music and clubbing brand (think O2, Levis, Budweiser ...) could do something - perhaps geolocated - that delivers great places to drink, eat, dance.

But then you could do really interesting things ... streaming music that plays that is relevant to specific places - Waterloo Sunset played as you cross the Bridge of the same name, for example, all brought to you by ... well, someone who wants association with music.

The potential of mobile (particularly) and the low cost of media (more generally) will mean that smart brands stop simply slapping their names across other people's properties and start to think about how they can create utilities - genuinely interesting or useful applications - that carry their brands, build association and create new modes of engagement.

One to ponder further on ... Interesting times, interesting times ...

BIG IN 2009

At least the Economist had the decency to apologise for its 2008 predictions as it got its correspondents to pen their predictions for the year. Daniel Franklin, editor of the magazine's The World in 2009 special had to write a piece saying sorry for just how much they got wrong last time around ...

So it got me to thinking about what the various pundits are tipping around the world for domination in 2009. Thought that it would be useful to round them up (and we can always laugh at them at the end of the year ...).

In the Sunday Times, Ruby Warrington makes a bunch of predictions about what we'll be buying, watching, where we'll be visiting and all such other things in 2009.

Rather more seriously, the BBC's Stephen Sackur, Justin Webb, Lyse Doucet, Paul Mason and James Robbins have all put their predictions about the world in general in the coming year.

Wired collects a bunch of predictions from some of the web's biggest pundits - thereby neatly avoiding having to make their own. Over at the BBC, Maggie Shiels puts down her tech predictions from the Valley. And the Daily Telegraph adds to the speculation on what might happen in the tech sphere. And over at The Guardian, Charles Arthur sticks an oar into the debate with the best list that I've seen ...

Meantime, lost in music, HMV released their list of the top pop acts likely to break through in 2009 - scoring a lovely piece in The Guardian in the process. On a related note, Hype Machine looked back (tho you can sort of forecast forward) at the most-mentioned bands of 2008 in their zeitgeist list.

In looking at what might be on our tables (or at least on American's tables), Epicurious.com has published their top 10 trends for the year - I rather liked "value is the new sustainable".

Daniel Franklin of the Economist also stops by AdAge to share the magazine's media predictions for 2009 in a handy three minute video-ette. Which is nice. Not that you would want to believe any of them if you read the first piece in this post, of course ...

So there you have it, the shape of 2009 so far. There are a bunch of people yet to pen their predictions, so we will add to this over the course of the next week or so. But we thought that it would be a handy guide.

What are your predictions for the year ahead?

VOTE FOR THE NEXT PANASONIC AD ...

Just wanted to mention that you should head over to vote for the best piece of creative work in a competition arranged by Panasonic for their new TV.

Some of the shortlisted work (there are six pieces that a panel of judges, including my goodself selected) is stunning and well worth a look ... As Ged says ... In the words of a wise politician vote now and vote often.

For my money, Messing Around is a bit too Sony given the Play-Doh, but in another media could work ... Boxes is lovely but perhaps a bit generic ... Tree could do with some work but is a lovely concept ... and Memories is a lovely, lovely idea that I can see working well for the brand ...

The fellow judges were ...

- Head of Advertising at Panasonic, John Dixon

- Beri Cheetham, Creative Director for Billington Cartmell

- Oli Christie, Creative Director at Inbox digital agency

- Rich Trenholm, reviewer for technology news site CNET

- Willem van der Horst, digital strategist for Ice Cream 4 Everyone

- Social media and tech expert Ged Carroll

- Guillaume Foutry, social media and photographer/design blogger

- Alternative culture mag, Vice Magazine's Alice Judge-Talbot

- Matt Gierhart of advertising and creative sites Josh Spear and mattgierhart.com

- Chris Osburn of the Londonist

SOME THOUGHTS ON PLANNING IN PR ...

Some folks will know that I found myself speaking at "Stratstock: How the Other Half Plans", an IPA Strategy Group "do". Thought that I would bash out some thoughts on the whole thing ...

First of all, planning is by and large the same at heart. Like any other planner, those is PR are charged with understanding the commercial requirements, getting under the skin of the consumer and establishing what actions will produce the best results: whether shifting awareness or behaviour.  Quirks of individual planner or agency approach are as likely to make one approach different as the requirements of the discipline, in that respect

That said, some things that those working with PR planners, or keen to get into PR planning would do well to remember ...

- that the thing that gives public relations its power is that someone else (who has influence over others) is saying good things about you. So you are planning for (and need to understand what will influence and prompt to action) the intermediary, as well as end-consumers of the message conveyed.

- that the balance in the creative brief needs to be between that which will be of interest to the media and the message the brand-owner believes will motivate the consumer. While "kills 99 per cent of germs" will motivate, a journalist won't care unless its brought to life and made "new news" - "kills 99 per cent of the 158 germs found on a commuter's hands" might cut it.

- "Transexual bishop resuscitates Prince Charles' polo pony" has everything the media loves: sex, religion, health, royalty/celebrity, animals and sport. With the addition of housing and money, perhaps, find a way that the brand can weave some of those things in to create a story. Simple, pragmatic, but effective.

- that the output is content-led. Your travel brand's users like fine wine and seek advice about money? Great, advertise across the wine page and the money pages. But don't believe that a PR will deliver meaningful coverage in those places regularly. We do help brands break out of their ghetto (financial services out of the money pages, travel brands out of the travel pages, and so on), but the creative changes every time to reach those places

- that PR doesn't pay for wastage when it comes to media. By and large, a piece in The Sun costs as much as a piece in the Independent, so someone hitting ABC1s might as well be in The Sun and deliver the numbers. However, what the PR planner needs to understand is a title's influence.  There may be more people who take advice about wine reading The Sun, those in the know will trust and act on what Anthony Rose has got to say in the Indy.

- the best PR planners embrace the fact that PR is faster, fleeter and can be delivered in a day. While a tactical ad campaign that makes use of the news agenda might have been months in the making, some PR reacting to a news event can be dreamt up, executed and delivered in days, minutes even. Learn to love that fact and sell it as one of the things that makes PR powerful - rather than bemoaning its sometimes tactical nature.

Understand those few things and you'll make a successful PR planner ... in my view at least.

What do you think?

STRATSTOCK IN SUMMARY

Last night saw planners from across London (and Rob, who made the trip down), gather for StratStock - the IPA Strategy Group's first stab at trying to show "how the other half plan".

Key thing for me from the evening was actually the simple fact that, when it comes down to it, planners do the same thing in most places. There are nuances of style, models and method (though those are as much to do with individuals and their agencies as it is to do with discipline), as you would rather hope.

But fundamentally, we're all out there doing pretty much the same thing - trying to pull as much information into one place to understand a client's business, brand, market and consumer in order to sell more stuff. Which was strangely both refreshing and something of a relief.

There will be a bunch of people who blog about the event far more intelligently than me (and links to those pieces will follow shortly - Nick Fell, Tim and Paul have all popped a pieces up), but top marks go to David Bain of BMB who came up with the little model above to demonstrate how they judge ideas - neat and worth bearing in mind, I thought.

STRATSTOCK TWITTERED

DOING STRATEGY ... FAST

Cute ... the IPA's Fast Strategy "top tips" cards (which feature advice from some top marketers ... and me) have just gone live on a website ... here.

GOOD SHIZZLE TO DO IN NOVEMBER ...

We get through a lot of cultural stuff in Seventy Seven – either going to it or just reading about it.

Stuff that we thought was worth sharing that others might be interested in over the course of the coming month includes ...

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year show at the Natural History Museum is, as ever, well-worth a look. Basically, it's a fantastical collection of the finest images shot during the course of the year - much of it editorial, so there is even a vague reason for putting it on a blog ostensibly about communications.

The same cannot be said for pick number two, the Tatty Devine and Mark Pawson collaboration ... as Mark puts it ...  For SIGNS at Tatty Devine, Mark is designing 12 new limited edition Perspex signs, following on from the success of his 'Open/Closed' signs (which can be seen in the windows of several stylish boutiques around London). Themes range from practical and useful to whimsical and provocative. Some of the pieces will be based on themes from previous works, such as 'Wear More Badges' and 'Never Throw Anything Away Ever'.

They look lovely ...

On an altogether "back to the point of this weblog" note, I will be following the exploits of Oakley's brand ambassadors, who have been set up with personal profiles on the brand's recently re-vamped website. They include snowboarders, Vicci Miller and Tyler Chorlton. What a great website. Well worth spending some time with over the course of the next month or so ...

And finally, if you are of a designerly bent, take a look at All I Want for Christmas ... "Ian Hambleton (of Studio Output) and Nick Clement (Made Studio) have launched a seasonal competition. Creatives are invited to respond to the statement, “All I want for Christmas is…” to be in with a chance of winning some rather tasty prizes". Cute idea altogether ...

EXPERIENCE THE CHINESE INTERNET

This is really, really interesting ... a Firefox add-on that enables you to see the web from a Chinese web-user's perspective.

You can download it here ... As the site-owners put it ... "Take an unforgetable virtual trip to China and experience the technical expertise of the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry (supported by western companies)."

Your connection is then routed through a proxy web server located somewhere in China, which means that you experience the Chinese web ... "For the most part the Chinese web will feel a lot like home. You will, however, begin to notices differences if you start asking Google about sensitive issues (for example Tananmen Square protests, or Pro Tibetan issues)."

Really interesting idea and a great way of bringing an issue to life ... quite literally enabling us to see the world through the eyes of the people that an organisation is supporting ...

via Rubbishcorp

WILLIAM ECCELSHARE ON "WHAT'S NEXT ..."

Our chums over in Fishburn Hedges did their latest "What's Next ...?" event this week - as style writer Peter York and William Eccleshare, CEO of BBDO Europe, talked to our friends and colleagues about changing consumer attitudes and how brands and businesses should respond to these shifting sands.

The debate about what's next for style, advertising and consumer choice was wide-ranging ellicited some lively debate.

William's piece in the film below spans areas as diverse as whether there will be any structural differences between a pre- and post-downturn world - a new frugalism, the role of celebrity and humour in branding - and some things may well not change at all ...

William Eccleshare on "What's Next ...?" on Vimeo.

WHY DON'T THEY GET IT? ... LAUNCHES

The Age of Conversation 2: Why Don't They Get It?" launches later today on Lulu.

Featuring the thoughts of 236 leading thinkers ... and me ... on social media and why it's important, it's sure to be a bloody good read full of interesting perspectives on the world of marketing today.

What's more, it's all in a good cause: the aim is to raise £15,000 for Variety ...

For those who might be interested, the various other authors are established bloggers in their own right and are well-worth checking out. The author list includes a bunch of names that will be familar to the UK ad blogging scene including Aki Spicer, Faris, Mark Earls and Richard Huntington. So it'll be a good read altogether ...

The author list in full is ...

Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock, Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, Gareth Kay, Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins, G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter,  Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

A COMING CAMPAIGN ... AGAINST RECEIPTS

Perhaps this is something that will filter over to the UK at some stage ... Sustainablog is mounting a bit of a campaign to get people to "just say no" to receipts.

As their piece (entitled "Make receipts optional to save paper") says ...

Of course, some receipts end up being helpful, even if you initially might not have wanted them.

I have found myself digging through my recycling box countless times in order to find a discarded receipt so I could return a now-unwanted item.

And no one would want to buy some big-ticket item, say a TV or computer, and not get a receipt. But still, by and large, most receipts are rather pointless.

I mean, do we really need de facto receipts from fast-food restaurants?

Interesting stuff and the stirrings of a campaign, more than likely ...

STRATSTOCK TO ROCK AD-LAND

I seem to have got involved with another IPA event. Should be fun, I reckon. Thought that I would give it a plug as (with the exception of me), there are some cracking speakers. More detail here and the blurb from the IPA is below ...

In the current financial climate, it's vital that planners and strategists are on top of their game. For one night only, the IPA Strategy Group, in association with News International, are gathering eight top planning/strategy types and giving them a soapbox to bring alive what strategy and planning means from their very different perspectives.

Expect it to be a bit spicy, to challenge some stereotypes and industry clichés… and to satisfy a planner’s natural curiosity about what planners do in other agencies.

Each session will be short, with plenty of time for questions. They'll also run twice across the evening from different stages so you can dip into those that are of most interest.

Curious? You should be. With a thrifty mood spreading across the industry, tickets are only £25 (£35 for non members) and we'll even be throwing in some drinks and nibbly things.

The line-up includes:
- Guy Murphy from JWT on global network agencies
- Martin Bailie from Glue London on digital
- James Gordon-MacIntosh from 77PR on, well, PR
- Paul Gage from Proximity London on direct marketing
- Max Wright from Rapier on integration
- Simon Myers from Figtree on design and branding
- Sam Noble from Iris on sales promotion 
- TBC exciting person on life in an advertising start-up

Everything starts at 6pm on Monday 10th November under the roof of Mary Ward House (5-7 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9SN).

Hope to see you there!

A NIGHT WITH THE PUBLIVORES

Alan and I had a bit of night out at the IPA and ThinkBox-backed "Night of the AdEaters" yesterday.

Has to be said that the event did not start well. In fact, "a bit of a car crash" were the words that sprang to mind as we entered (late) to find some bloke playing accordian pop tunes badly.

However, once the reel of 350 of the world's best ads started to roll, things improved immeasurably. Based on an archive of over 800,000 ads from the five continents, it was a bit like watching Jimmy Carr's Commercial Breakdown without the irritating commentary. Cracking.

Thought that it would be well-worth sharing some of the pieces that we thought stood-out from those we were there to watch ...

Without question, this was the piece that raised the biggest smile and much whooping ...

Other than that, the other things that got the crowd going were those spots that delivered belting little insights, a spot of high-grade comedy and heart-pulling appeals for charity campaigns. A combination of those in our picks below ...

High class comedy ...

Cute ad series ...

Heart-strings stuff ...

Cracking night out ... thanks ThinkBox, the IPA and Nuit des Publivores ...

GOOD SHIZZLE TO DO IN OCTOBER

So … we get through a lot of cultural stuff in Seventy Seven – either going to it or just reading about it (as is sadly increasingly the case for me what with a 17 week old kicking around … but that is another story …).

I thought that it would therefore be worth sticking together a quick list of the really good stuff that is on during the course of the month that we’re hoping to get to at some stage.

First up, the Banksy show in New York - entitled The Village Pet Store and Charcoal Grill - has been getting ACRES of coverage across pretty much every media outlet. This time around, the cunning little devil has created a load of pieces that TV is just lapping up (as is an eager YouTube audience). Self-publicity appears to be something that comes rather easily for the masked man of British art. Let's hope that he keeps it up, I for one am sitting on a couple of prints that I am hoping will continue to appreciate (sorry, Banksy).

Those unlikely to make it might be interested in this clip and this YouTube channel ...

Second attraction (a bit closer to home), is The Night of the AdEaters. An IPA-backed and ThinkBox-sponsored event that takes place on 16th October in Bloomsbury. "Nuit des Publivores" - so-called because its founding was by a French fella - is a screening of the 350 best TV ads ever from around the world in a single evening. There are now events in over 40 cities and it seemed high time that it came to London. Information here if there are still tickets. The international version of the site, with loads more about the concept is here for those who might be interested. See you there if you do make it along.

Thirdly (and finally) hardly an event, it has to be confessed, but The Other Side Magazine is something that I plan to enjoy in the month ahead. Full of interesting and creative-industries-related bits and bobs, it is almost always well worth a read, in my humble. Most recently, they took over Brick Lane bar-cum-club 93 Feet East and set up a big old Market Stall packed with their favourite finds. Nice bunch. Worth a read.

LIKING THE FIESTA SPOT A LOT MORE NOW

I didn't like this spot for Ford Fiesta at all when first I saw it. And a lot of people who know a lot more about advertising than I do did like it.

The premise, I thought, is utterly pointless. A bunch of screens emerge and "drive" through a city-scape. They show random images throughout before turning into a car. Hmmm ... Here it is for those who don't know what I am on about ...

But I just read a piece about the films that are shown on the screens as they travel through the spot ...

Apparently, there are around 20 of them, each made by a young creative team with the idea that collectively, the ad would capture a sense of all that is "now". At the very least, it gave Ford a whole heap of content with which to promote their car ...

To be honest, I've rarely been into the concept of an ad, rather than the creative beauty and the delivery of the message. In this case, the idea of the spot is interesting enough and engaging enough to make it great, I reckon.

Oh ... and I bumped into Robin from We Are Social, who is running an online campaign around the ad. There's a pretty blog here that is worth a peak.

Also worthy of note are these spots that show one of the particularly fab films and has a "making of" that repays a couple of minutes screen-time. This section was made by John Sanders, who has done a fair bit of work with Seventy Seven, as it happens. He's a good fella altogether.

Meatime, some of the cute films that show on those screens in the main ad ...

HELPING BUSINESS GROW

Haven't seen a Royal Mail ad that I liked for a very long time.

However, the brand's "Grow" spot is lovely in itself. And all the lovelier because SME briefs are always tough ones to crack: this one does it beautifully and with all the care that might have been lavished on a consumer or corporate b2b piece.

BIN CRAP ... AND NOT FAST ENOUGH

Apologies for absences of late are due. There's been a gaming brand in my life of late.

I've got some time off coming up so promise more stuff - there's a backlog of stuff to put up here and so I'm actually looking forward to some writing time.

Clearly not getting through things fast enough.

On which note ... those who read the piece on FAST Strategy (and thanks to those who gave comments and tips) might be interested to read this piece by Amelia recounting her experiences of the FAST Strategy day at the IPA.

Fab event and congrats especially to Amelia, Yusuf , Adil, Martin and Martin who were the winning team. FAB work, guys, loving the three hour solution to all things hybrid.

Those interested in the debate about whether fast strategy is a good thing might also want to read some of the debate that seems to be going on online about the whole thing ... The Kaiser, Russell and Faris have all posted thoughts on the matter of late.

Anyhoo, more from me soon ...

INTERESTING EATERIES ...

In a rather duff spot on Wardour Street, there is a new Japanese restaurant. It stands on a spot that a succession of similarly Japanese eateries have tried and failed to make a go of things.

But this one has a trick up its sleeve ... what it claims to be the first interactive menus and tables in the business. Fun, eh? Well, actually, following a brief visit last week, I can confirm that they are quite fun, as it turns out.

The projections onto the tables mean that patrons can enjoy touch-sensitive browsing of the menus and can preview the food as if it were on the plate in front of them. They can also set and re-set the patterns that adorn their tables.

All fun and an interesting example of the ways that technology is cropping up to enhance experience in all sorts of relatively unlikely places.

via Engadget.

THE NEED FOR SPEED: GET INVOLVED!

Have gotten involved in helping out with an IPA event ... the IPA Strategy Group's "Fast Strategy" event that takes place on 1 October.

Should be a cracking event (some blurb below) and will be a chance to see the ever-interesting Adam Morgan (of Eat Big Fish fame), Rita Clifton of Interbrand and Orlando from JWT. Dave Trott, Amelia and Kate Stanners of Saatchis will be doing star turns by answering a live brief on the day.

More about it here - along with the booking bit.

Your chance to get involved

Oh ... and we are putting together a little set of cards with some planner-ly folks' top tips on how to get to strategy FAST. They are a follow up to a set that we created earlier in the year. If you would like to see your pearls of wisdom included in the next set, we're on the hunt for contributors.

Do drop me a line (or pop thoughts in the comments) if you would like to have a crack at being included in the next run of 50 cards. Only thing ... comments are needed by the end of Sunday, 14th September! Let me have your thoughts, you name, title and company and we will see what can be done ...

In the spirit of coming up with something, my thoughts would be ...

Consume everything - blogs, trends, the media, other people's ideas, new models, the best thinking - because nine-times-out-of-ten it will mean that you can find the answer off the "mental shelf" you've created when the brief comes in.

James Gordon-MacIntosh
Managing Partner
Seventy Seven

So now you know ... more gumph below about the event ...

IPA Strategy Group - Fast Strategy Conference - 1st October 2008

 

After the success of its first conference on ‘Fast Strategy’ The IPA Strategy Group, with Times Media, is to host a follow-up conference on the 1st October. The conference will address one of the greatest pressures on our industry today; the demands of arriving at good answers fast. The conference will test strategy-at-speed and examine ways in which ‘Fast Strategy’ can benefit the communications industry.

 

During the conference, teams of leading communications experts including Dave Trott, Creative Director of Chick Smith Trott, Kate Stanners, Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi, and Amelia Torode, Planning Director at VCCP with teams of their choice, will compete to answer a live brief. The contestants will have no previous knowledge of this brief and will then pitch their ideas - on stage that afternoon - for the audience to judge who the fastest strategist is.

 

Throughout the morning, whilst the teams prepare for their afternoon pitch, leading strategists from across the industry will elaborate on how developing strategy fast is changing the way we do business and present top tips for how they think at speed.

Speakers include:

Adam Morgan, Founder, Eat Big Fish
Rita Clifton, Chairman, Interbrand
Orlando Hooper-Greenhill, Director of Global Planning, JWT

GOOD SHIZZLE TO DO IN SEPTEMBER ...

So … we get through a lot of cultural stuff in Seventy Seven – either going to it or just reading about it (as is sadly increasingly the case for me what with a 12 week old kicking around … but that is another story …).

I thought that it would therefore be worth sticking together a quick list of the really good stuff that is on during the course of the month that we’re hoping to get to at some stage.

First up, something that I have been meaning to go on for ages and ages and have somehow never quite managed to get sorted for.  Have a quick look over at Shoot Experience and, if you’re into taking snaps, take part in one of their walking tours and grab some cracking images of our favourite capital city. What a good idea …

Now, who’d have thought that David Tennant would make a decent Hamlet?  Well, tickets go on sale for a limited run of Tennant in Hamlet in London (which kicks-off at the end of the year) on 12th September.  If you’re kicking around in the queue for tickets to what is generally regarded by the crits as one of the best performances of the role since Branagh, I might see you there.

Elms Lesters Drawing Rooms is a hidden gem. Seriously wonderful, eclectic artworks shown in an amazing space just off the junction of Charing Cross Road, the Oxford Streets and TCR. This month sees the launch of their latest exhibition of cross-over fine/street art featuring the talents of WK and Lister.

Meantime, over in Waterloo, news reaches us (via the lovely We Made This) that the CansFestival has been … er … rehung.  The Banksy “curated” show of the finest street art, graf and paste-up has had a bit of a makeover and is well-worth the trog south of the river to have a squizz.

And finally… big thanks to Le Cool for tipping us off about Slinkachu, whose work is showing at the Cosh gallery. As Le Cool says … “Slinkachu is showing his oddly moving tableaux of little figures on London streets and it’s very, very good”.

COMICS THE NEW PRESS RELEASE?

Interesting move from Google, who have created a comic book ahead of the launch of their new browser - Google Chrome.

It's not an amazingly good comic book, but it will no doubt get a shed load of people talking happily on blogs about whether it's a good idea or not.

For my two-penneth, it actually does two things rather well.

Google knows that so many people are interested in what they are doing in the way of NPD that the media barely matter - they need a way of getting the message across to punters first and foremost. A press release doesn't do that, this does.

And by genuinely bringing the people who created the thing, they've managed to hero a couple of their people - again, something that is terribly difficult to do without appearing ... trite? This way around, they make a couple of their software guys really very famous amongst an online community and pay tribute to the people who matter most to their business.

If only for the latter, this is a bloody good piece of work. Nice one, Google.

With big thanks to m'learned colleague Tom Gilbert for the tip-off.